Karzak Skytalon's Arc

Chapter 2 of 10

Karzak spread the worn maps across the stone table and studied the marked locations. The warlord moved in patterns—raiding, retreating, then striking again days later. He needed to understand these patterns if he wanted to get ahead of his prey. His talon traced the routes between attack sites. Three days between raids. Always moving west. The beast was heading somewhere specific. Karzak pulled out a piece of charcoal and began noting distances on parchment. Numbers didn't lie. If he could predict the next target, he could be waiting when the warlord arrived. But knowing where the warlord would strike next wasn't enough. Karzak needed to understand how the beast thought, how he fought. He rolled up the maps and left the spire at dawn. The military archives sat two days south, carved into the mountain face near the old fortress. When he arrived, he pushed through the heavy doors and found rows of metal frames lining the walls. Each frame held scrolls and stone tablets, some cracked with age. The frames bore carved symbols—marks of past warlords and their battles. Karzak ran his talons along the inscriptions until he found the troll commander's symbol. He pulled the tablets from their frame and spread them across a reading table. Battle reports from ten years of raids. Supply routes the warlord favored. Tactics he used to trap his enemies. Karzak read through the night, his eyes burning in the lamplight. By morning, he knew his enemy's methods. The warlord never attacked fortified positions head-on. He waited, watching, until supplies ran low and defenders grew tired. Then he struck fast and disappeared before reinforcements arrived. Karzak gathered the tablets and secured them in his pack. He knew what he was facing now. The real hunt could begin. Back at the spire, Karzak dragged a metal table to the entrance platform. The lowland settlements stretched below him, their locations etched into the table's surface. He placed markers at each raid site, then added the archive information to his notes. The warlord favored weak targets near water sources. He struck supply lines, not villages. Karzak marked three settlements that fit the pattern. One of them would be next. He checked his blade and counted his rations. Three days to the nearest target. Three days to set his trap. Commander Thrace's face flashed in his mind—the surprise in his eyes as the warlord's blade found him. Karzak's feathers bristled. He would not fail again. This time, he would be ready. Karzak needed scouts at the three marked settlements. He couldn't watch all of them alone. He pulled a flare launcher from the armory storage and tested its mechanism. The metal barrel clicked smoothly as he loaded a practice round. If a scout spotted the warlord, one bright flare would bring Karzak running. He set the launcher on the war table and studied his preparations. Maps marked. Tactics learned. Signal system ready. Everything was in place for the next phase of the hunt. He stood at the platform's edge and looked west across the lowlands. Somewhere out there, the warlord was planning his next raid. But this time, Karzak would be there first. The hunt had moved from study to action. Now he just needed to move fast enough to catch his prey.