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"Monsters," Destrang answered, shaking his head. "Sir."
"Monsters," T replied. "What they got hit by was apack of very large,
poisonous snakes. The agent reported that they were larger than anaconda,
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partially armored and their fangs appeared to be metal since they went right
through the unit's armor. They attacked from within the sands, apparently
lying in ambush having determined the team's direction of approach.
"Why the monsters do not wipe out the inhabitants is the question. And
thereare inhabitants. The Nira river is a trade route to inner Frika. Various
materials flow down it, somehow, and it produces a surplus of food which is
sent to the various New Destiny regions. It even trades with Ishtar's
Tauranian domains. Caravans cross the desert. The caravans are guarded by very
large...probably not Changed. They look to be uplifted gorillas or baboons,
heavily modified to survive desert conditions. Extremely vicious and
incredibly strong. Anyone or any thing approaching the caravan other than
through permitted lanes is killed without warning."
"Uplift is proscribed, sir," Destrang noted.
"A proscription that the New Destiny council has apparently overridden," T
replied with a shake of his head. "None of the caravan drivers interact with
anyone outside the caravan. The only contact is the caravan master and his
assistants who are acolytes of Celine. I tried to penetrate the delta at the
head of the Nira river using delphino and selkie.They survived, but only
because the delphinos turned tail when they saw that the region was populated
byvery large sharks and something that they said lookedvery much like an
extinct pleyosaurus. I haven't tried through Frika, yet. I'm almost afraid to
think what she has there. That, of course, is where the Stanel Reactor
resides. I can imagine what she guards that with."
"Yes, sir," Destrang said, sighing.
"They also use ships through the delta," T noted. "We managed to capture one
of the sailors. However, when we started to interrogate him, a mark on his
forehead flashed red and he died, rather horribly."
"Shit," Destrang said, shaking his head.
"So, tell Herzer that it's unlikely that I'll know what she is going to throw
at him until, maybe, the last moment. I have observers around some of the
reactors that they will use for extraction, but reporting back will be
difficult. I willtry to get the information, but I have a finite number of
teams that are capable of what these men do and I won't throw them away
lightly."
"Yes, sir," Destrang said.
"Stygia is an enigma wrapped in a puzzle," T mused. "I have no idea where
Celine resides, where her labs are or, for that matter, how the place is
organized. But I suspect the answer is: Horribly."
"We'll know when we win, sir," Destrang said.
"Yes," T said. "And I suspect we won't want to. We're done here, get back to
Herzer. All of the information is his or Miss Travante's ears only."
"Yes, sir," Destrang said, standing up.
"The colonel will show you out."
"Yes, sir," the lieutenant said, then paused. "Sir, is he areal colonel?"
"He is now," T replied. "I had him appointed when he got back from the recon
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mission in Stygia."
Chapter Thirteen
"I'm glad there was a portal," Megan said as they stepped through the
mirror-like doorway.
"Otherwise you'd have to have made one?" Herzer asked, chuckling. The exit
point was in the 7thLegion's camp, which was set in a valley in central
Sylania, not far from theSussanRiver . The camp was flanked to the east and
west by high ridges but they were at least five klicks away. The camp was
crowded with legionnaires training and tending to chores but the first thing
they saw was a group of officers standing stiffly to attention. Clearly they
were expected.
"Countess Travante," a brigadier general in the lead of the group said,
rendering a salute and then dropping it. "I'm General Eyck. A pleasure to have
you inCampDevil ." As he finished the introduction the officers accompanying
him dropped to parade rest, clearly on cue.
"The pleasure is all mine, general," Megan said, taking his hand. "You know
Commander Herrick?"
"I haven't had the pleasure, ma'am," the general said, nodding at Herzer. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]