we survive the onslaught of Yatol De Hamman." She turned to the elves, who were standing quietly off to the side. "You have met with Agradeleous?"
"The dragon is in fine spirits," Juraviel informed her. "And well on the mend. His wing should support him in flight within a few days' time."
"But the danger to him remains, should he take wing at all," Pagonel reminded. "The army of Behren has built weapons to counter Agradeleous, and at the end of the war for To-gai's freedom, those weapons had the dragon in worse condition than he is now. The Behrenese had us beaten, and only their own inner turmoil pulled them from our gates."
Tanalk Grenk gave a bit of a snort at that, but even he did not openly disagree with the reasoning.
"And now those weapons, in the ranks of Yatol De Hamman, do not even constitute the greatest threat to Agradeleous," Pagonel finished.
"The Abellican monks," Brynn remarked.
"They sorely stung the dragon - ever has Agradeleous held great respect for gemstone users, or magic users of any kind."
Brynn nodded throughout the mystic's response. She remembered keenly the time she had flown Agradeleous south about the Mountains of Fire, the land of the Walk of Clouds monastery, which served as home to the Jhesta Tu. Agradeleous had little desire to go anywhere near the magical mystics. Brynn looked back out the window, weighing it all. What she knew beyond doubt was that to try to hole up in the city would eventually prove disastrous, for she and all her forces could not hope to resist the overpowering Behrenese for long. Neither did the prospect of retreating into To-gai appeal to her, particularly given Juraviel's assessment of Aydrian, and the observations of Abbot Olin's entrenchment in Jacintha.
To Brynn, the lack of options all pointed her in the same direction, and that course seemed even more plausible given Pagonel's report of potential unrest within the Honce-the-Bear ranks in Jacintha. She turned back to the group, and the look on her face, so full of determination and sheer grit - an expression that she had worn before most of these same allies for so very long - told them her intentions before she ever spoke them aloud.
"We must shatter this siege before help can arrive," she stated. "We must cut our enemy's ranks apart and send the Behrenese fleeing in terror. We must steal the momentum of their heretofore glorious march and remind them why they once so feared the Dragon of To-gai."
"Our charge will shake the ground beneath their feet!" said an enthusiastic Tanalk Grenk, but the fire seemed to dull quickly, as he added, "But understand, my lady, that such a battle will cost us much in To-gai-ru blood. The Wraps - " He caught himself and stopped, and that, along with his caveat here concerning the battle, showed great progress to Brynn's scrutinizing eyes. Tanalk Grenk was learning to temper his fierce To-gai-ru warrior heritage with the calm understanding of the greater picture that would prove a necessary wisdom within any leader.
"The Behrenese," the man corrected, "are numerous and will not be caught unawares. Without the walls before us, they will sting us with their arrows before battle is ever joined. But we will go, with all of our hearts, if Lady Brynn asks it of us!"
Brynn nodded. "To go out in frontal assault against the encamped army would be folly," she said. "Our greatest weapon here is Agradeleous. The dragon, unchallenged, will strike fear into the hearts of the Behrenese, and his fiery strafes of their ranks will split them asunder and send them running across the open desert sands. But to do that, we must first prepare the battlefield, and our enemies, to our liking."
She turned to Juraviel. "Could you take Agradeleous with you, using your emerald?"
"If the dragon was in his humanoid form, perhaps," the elf replied.
"Then what if you take him out secretly behind Behrenese lines?" Brynn asked. "And Pagonel and me, and some other warriors."
"One at a time," the elf reminded.
"In the dark of night," Brynn agreed. "You set us down, and in position to strike at those positions that would most threaten Agradeleous, and then I shall unbridle the beast, to our enemy's doom."
"You would play the role of assassin before that of warrior?" Pagonel asked.
"I would secure Dharyan-Dharielle and To-gai, by whatever means," Brynn replied without missing a beat, and the nod of the Jhesta Tu told her that he agreed with her reasoning. "If we,