Curse Of The Dark Wind (Book 6) by Charles E. Yallowitz Page B

champions in the nearest town. The Baron wants him watched at all times, so I’m unable to pull any of my toys away for you.”
    “It was worth an inquiry,” the halfling claims. He tucks his hands in his pockets to feel the soothing warmth of the magic buttons inside. “I’ll have to be more careful and keep an eye on that drite. Maybe I should seek to destroy it.”
    “I wouldn’t worry too much,” Nyder states, surprising his ally with his casual tone. He chuckles at the confused look on the soldier’s face. “I forgot that you were hunting down your son when we received news about the drite. Stephen wants this to be left as a rumor, but Trinity happily confirmed that the creature is immune to his time magic. It would appear the gods have gifted it with the power to give our evil prince a true fight.”
    “So there is the chance that the drite is focused on looking for Stephen and has not bothered to look through my minor illusions,” the cunning halfling muses more to himself than the yawning gnome. “Still they have had it too easy during this journey. I feel it is time to give them a scare and put them on edge.”
    “Would Stephen be happy with that?”
    “He would disapprove of me endangering his plan. Though I’m still unclear as to how his plan works. Wait, did you say Isaiah was in the area?”
    “Yes, but you don’t have the power to defeat an opponent like him.”
    Cringing at the cold, General Vile takes his hands out of his pockets and pats himself in search of a piece of paper. Snapping his fingers at the portal, he points at a pen and inkwell near Nyder, who passes the items through the opening. The soldier leans against the tree and uses his knee to sketch a simple picture of a three-headed beast. The middle head is skeletal while the outer heads are shaped like the narrow skulls of a Sword Dragon. Club-like feet and two sets of wings are added to the sketch before he hands it to his friend.
    “This thing is ugly and disgusting,” Nyder angrily declares. He drops the picture on the table as if it is a piece of garbage. “More importantly, a Weapon Dragon like this wouldn’t work for very long. It could only fly for limited amounts of time because of the weight. The feet would make it unstable on the ground due to not having the proper wings and tail. The heads would have to be either synched to move the same way or left to fight independently. This simply isn’t possible, especially if you need it in a day or two.”
    “What if you used spare parts to make a barely functional version?” Vile calmly asks, scratching at his empty eye socket. “I don’t need it to work for longer than ten or fifteen minutes before it fails. In fact, it would be best if it fails.”
    Nyder scratches his head and looks at the offensive drawing again. “To what end?”
    “Isaiah can undo Stephen’s plan if he remains in the area.” The grinning soldier nods when the light of understanding shines in the gnome’s red eyes. “We need to make it look like we’re working on a new type of Weapon Dragon. Add clues that the factory is hidden within the Yagervan Plains or the southern jungles. As the champion’s protector, Isaiah will have to investigate this new development, leaving his charges undefended.”
    Nyder is already marking up the picture with a piece of charcoal as he thinks of ways to improve his ally’s plan. “I can have something put together in a few days and Yola will teleport it to a place near the champion’s location. Best to have it appear to have wandered into the area instead of being sent for a specific reason. Almost like it’s an experiment I lost control of. Not like that would ever happen. Don’t forget to tell Stephen about this, so he doesn’t misinterpret your actions. I’ll report to the Baron and help you recover some of your reputation. It appears the crafty General is back to his old self.”
    “Almost,” Vile softly whispers with a smile. “Thank you for