Clive and Tiamat made their way through the dense crowd. the press of bodies making Clive's lungs squeeze for air. People shoved past him with little regard, and those he bumped into glared back with curses in their own tongue. Clive ignored them. His eyes were fixed upon the the massive docked warship ahead of them, now fully loaded to the brim with refugees and preparing to make sail.
He kept his eyes peeled for any signs of the dominant. He knew that there was no way a convoy that size could remain inconspicuous in this small harbor. If they weren't on the pier then they had to be on the only ship that was docked in the harbor.
Tiamat was right behind him, following his lead. Clive did find it odd that Tiamat did not choose to lead. Behind Clive, Tiamat was careful not to let Clive out of his sights.
" I'm so close. I just need to keep a keen eye on him and deliver him to the duchess " he thought to himself. He began reminiscing about all the hardships he had to face over the last two years for this one mission.
He must not fail. He couldn't afford to fail. He was so close to getting what he had dreamed of throughout his life. He will not fail to deliver Clive to the duchess. He couldn't afford to fail, after all his own head was on line.
In front of him, Clive was scanning the closest docked ship. It was also the largest of all the ships docked at the piers. Even from such a distance Clive recognized the insignia adorning its hull - a stylized image of a sea serpent wielding a long whip. The painting was stylized in such a way that the painting of the whip extended from the wooden figurehead at prow of the ship.
Clive remembered the design of this ship in particular because of the countless loses it had inflicted heavy losses upon the Rosarian army over the years. It was a dreadnought. These vessels were dreaded for the their huge troop carrying capacity and they were armed to the teeth with cannons. These ships were often modified such that they carried catapults or trebuchets which were fixed atop their upper decks and lobbed flaming boulders
Such a fearsome ship was now being used to ferry refugees and soldiers to the mainland. Most of the cannons were gone, likely sacrificed to reduce weight for the packed masses.
" I wonder where they intend to make landfall " Clive thought to himself taking into consideration that the I The Iron Kingdom held no ports nor cities on the mainland. It however did hold a firm grip on Drake's breath.
Drake's breath was located on a island off the cost of the coast of the mainland, located amidst treacherous currents halfway between the mainland and the isles. The seas around the island were perpetually stormy, giving the garrison the island a natural defensive advantage. This had made things difficult for Rosaria in the past, as it had tried reclaiming the island many times and failing each time. Although these attacks weakened the Iron Empire considerably since at the time it had deployed a sizable of portion of its troops to the island for defense.
Clive knew he had to get on the ship somehow before it set sail. This was his last chance to escape the isles. While he and the sergeant were seated at the edge of the port, they heard rumors that the Insaldurian forces were rapidly advancing on them. If these rumors were to be believed, then they had only mere hours to leave before the Empire's forces arrived.
All of a sudden the sound of a horn pierced the air, sending vibrations throughout the pier. It was the dreadnought. Clive watched in horror as the crew began to retract the gangplank.
"No!" he roared, breaking into a desperate run.
Tiamat, who had also been surprised failed to follow pursuit with Clive.
" Wyvern ! slow down ! " he shouted but this shouts were dampened by the crowd around them who were also shouting in their native language.
Although Tiamat couldn't understand it, he was able to ascertain that many were shouting for the ship's crew to stop. Pleas, curses, the heart-wrenching wails of women and the terrified cries of children.
Amidst all this chaos Tiamat tried to keep his gaze fixed on Clive but it was impossible and within a few more seconds he lost sight of Clive.
Panic and fear gripped him as his heart rate quickened in panic. He had succeeded in keeping Clive alive all this time. He wouldn't lose him now, not to a mindless mob. He violently pushed the people ahead of him using all his strength and to reach Clive and with his rage fuelling him, he was unstoppable. Frail bodies were tossed aside like rag dolls. First a frail - an old woman sent sprawling. Then a young maiden and then a young woman holding the hands of a young lad who appeared to be her betrothed. Without any regard for life, Tiamat pushed the lad to the ground who began screaming as the people around began to trample on him, The young woman frantically tried to reach her hand out to him but it was useless as his screams were quickly silenced by the crowd of people now trampling over him. She tried desperately screaming for him with tears flowing down her cheeks and wettening the salt crusted wooden pier below her, but it was a useless gesture. Soon the woman's anguished cries were lost in the din, her tears dissolving into the rough planks of the pier.
As Tiamat continued brute forcing his way through the crowd, he realized that his actions had not gone unnoticed. More people eyeing him and moving away from him, leaving a swathe of empty space seperating him and crowd around him. Worryingly enough several guards had also taken notice of the commotion and were standing at the edge of crowd. He tried walking in the opposite direction but two of the guards pushed him back and drew their swords, ready to pounce on him. Tiamat quickly got up and Tiamat drew his own blade in protection but he was surrounded.
" Dammit ! " he muttered under his breath as he gritted his teeth and scanned his surroundings, making ready to defend himself from the impending onslaught. Just as one guard lunged forward, a figure slammed into him from behind. Clive. In a swift move, he bashed the hilt of his sword against the dazed guard's helmet plunged his sword into the gap between the soldier's helmet and chest plate.
He quickly joined Tiamat and with their backs against each other they faced the guards. Their eyes carefully scanning each guards hand, and ready to block any attacks the guards might make.
" Ready ? " Clive asked, panting from the nervousness and the move he pulled of earlier.
Tiamat growled " Always…."