Read The Dawn of the Raven Omnibus 1: Episodes 1-5 for Free Online

attack to
defeat them.  It would be a great day for the Raganeans.  He and his men would
drink of the finest mead with the fairest maids at the king’s behest when they
returned triumphant.  He could hardly wait.  He went to Kiella and checked in
with his assistant.
    “How are you
holding up?” he asked her.
    “I’m fine,
captain” she responded.  He smiled at her and patted her on the back.   
    His scouts were slower in returning than Captain Vol had
expected, but when they did, it was with surprising news.  They had found
nothing.  Nothing at all.  No Typhorian trap.  No Gekken.  No sign of either. 
The captain was puzzled.  Assured by his men that there was no threat ahead, he
pushed his men forward and into the clearing.  It spanned a good hundred meters
from edge to edge, and there was no sign that anything had camped there
anywhere within, human or otherwise.  His men examined the whole area
carefully, but found absolutely nothing.  Finally, the captain took rest on an
old fallen limb that served as a perfect bench in the center.  He breathed
easily and let out a hearty laugh, aimed squarely at the caged Typhorian
warrior.
    “Ha!  Well,
did you enjoy your little jest?” asked the captain.  “Sent us out here on a
wild goose chase?   Is this fun for you?  Worth the risk you’ve taken?”
    The Typhorian, however, did not seem to be basking in the
delight of any tricks.  Her beautiful eyes scanned suspiciously all around the
perimeter of the clearing.  The captain continued.
    “Oh, looking
for your people?”  The captain seethed.  His patience had quickly run out.  He
was growing angrier and angrier by the moment.  “They let you down?  Didn’t
show up?  Perhaps they weren’t expecting such an intimidating force to come? 
They must have seen us from afar and abandoned your cause.  Now, you’re left
alone, in our clutches.”  Suddenly, the captain’s smug demeanor turned to
caution as a chilling thought took hold.  “Wait . . . of course . . .  This is
your plan.  This was your plan all along . . .  You have led the king’s best
men out far from the kingdom . . .  You traded yourself to get us away, so we
can’t protect it . . .  Your people, are they attacking the kingdom right now,
as we speak?  And we are so far from our post?”  Captain Vol raged.  He rushed
to the cage, grabbed hold of the bars, and shook it with all his might. 
“Speak, Typhorian murderer!  Was this your plan?  You have tricked us?  Our
kingdom lacks our protection so your people can launch their assault?  Was this
all your evil design?!” His eyes flamed with bloodlust, but the warrior inside
the cage still ignored him.  She paid him no mind whatsoever.  With her body
pressed to the far side of the cage, just out of his reach, she still scanned
the edge of the clearing, carefully searching as best she could through every
tree, every branch.  The captain was angered that she wouldn’t respond, but he
was aware of the intensity of her gaze, and he turned to look to figure out
what it was that she could still be searching for.  “What?  What is it?  You
still think they’re coming for you?  Your people are coming back?  If they do,
we will slaughter them.  Every one of them.”
    The captain’s best scout, Garen, was still carefully scanning
the perimeter.  It felt odd to him that there was nothing.  The clearing was a
perfect stop for poachers or hunters to take a break.  It didn’t feel right
that there were no signs that anyone had been there whatsoever.  He continued
his search, when finally he found something.  Right towards the clearing’s far
edge, he noticed the tip of a footprint.  Just a tiny mark, but it was clear. 
It could have passed easily for an imprint from a rock or a hoof to most, but
his eye was keen.  He was quite sure, yes, it was the remnant of a foot-print,
and probably fresh.  Someone had gone to great lengths to hide their tracks,
but