According to the caravan master, the sand wraiths had set upon the caravan quite unexpectedly. So much so they’d been forced to leave some of their supplies behind─ signal flares included. It was a careless blunder that could have cost them all their lives, so the caravan master was particularly effusive in his gratitude when Nysid landed and spoke to him.

“I’ll leave Arad and Satalis here to guide you the rest of the way to the garrison,” Nysid said and motioned towards the pair in question, a younger rider and his sand-colored dragon still new to the wing. Arad saluted in acknowledgment and the prince continued, “Give me the coordinates to where you left the rest of your goods and I’ll send a squad out to collect them.”

“There’s no need for that, my lord, we can─” the caravan leader began, but Nysid silenced him with a gesture.

“I need those supplies at the garrison as soon as possible; I won’t leave them to be ruined by more wraiths or stolen by bandits.”

“I─ yes, my lord.”

After getting the information he needed, Nysid returned to Ephinea and took to the sky once more, his remaining rider, Sydala and her dragon Karus, close behind.

Casting an experienced eye to the angle of the sun, the prince estimated the caravan likely wouldn’t arrive until just before dark, assuming Arad was able to get them moving again quickly. The man was a competent rider so he didn’t doubt his ability to do so, but it was always possible some yet undiscovered damage had been done to the carts that would slow them further. Their comm-spells only worked within a five mile radius so if problems did arise, they’d be on their own unless they sent Arad or a runner ahead as a messenger.

Deciding he’d rather nip that potential problem in the bud, Nysid resolved to send another team to assist Arad and the caravan as soon as he returned to the fort.

They didn’t make it very far in that direction before Ephinea dove towards the ground unexpectedly, startling the prince from his reverie. “What are you doing?”

Rather than answer immediately, his dragon skimmed just over the surface of the sand then threw her rear legs to the fore and snatched up one of the sand wraith carcases left behind by Arad and Sydala when he’d ordered them after the fleeing insects. “Dinner,” Ephinea answered simply, casting an amused glance back over her shoulder at him. “Sand wraith is a rare delicacy in these parts, no point wasting it on the scavengers.”

Nysid grimaced at her choice of meal but let it be, and with the desert wind at their backs, the dragons made good time back to Fort Myar where they were garrisoned.

Located within a few hours flight of the Ashenge Mountains that served as Rodshyom’s border with Marilderland, the fort had been built on and into one of the rocky outcroppings that made up the range’s foothills at the edge of the desert. It was no grand structure to behold on approach, but high-walled and built all of stone it was easily defended─ even from dragonfire.

The dragon on watch bellowed its welcome on recognizing them and Ephinea dipped her wings in response before sweeping gracefully past to land on the staging platform at the top of the fort so Nysid could dismount. The prince did so quickly, and after divesting his partner of his riding gear, sent her off to enjoy her meal before handing the mass of reinforced leather straps off to the servant waiting nearby. Most riders had to handle their own gear but being captain did have its perks, leaving Nysid free to descend the stairs down into the fort proper, tugging off his helmet and loosening his leather cuirass as he went.

“Your Highness, welcome back,” Dayd, Nysid’s first lieutenant said when they met in the hall, clearly on his way to meet the prince. “Where are Arad and Satalis?” the man asked, straight to the point as ever.

“We came across our supply caravan off course and under attack by sand wraiths; I left them behind as escorts,” Nysid explained as they reached his office and he deposited his helmet on his desk then turned to regard the duty roster where it hung on the wall.

“This far north?” Dayd murmured, brow furrowing at the news, unconsciously echoing his prince’s own sentiment at the discovery.

Nysid hummed his agreement as he examined the list, and finding his second lieutenant was in residence for the day as he’d hoped, continued, “Find Oceri, tell her to take three riders out to these coordinates and collect the goods abandoned there. If we’re lucky, more sand wraiths haven’t gotten to them yet.” He quickly wrote the rough set of coordinates the caravan master had given him on a slate, then followed up with a second set of his own and added, “Then assign two riders to go assist Arad and the caravan here. Have them bring tools and the blacksmith as well─ in case they need help with repairs. I want that caravan here before dark.”

“Yes, sir,” Dayd said with a smart salute then took the slate and went to carry out his orders.

Alone at last, Nysid divested himself of his armor then took a few minutes to clean and inspect it, insuring everything was in good working order before setting it aside on the rack he’d had built for that purpose. More tired than he realized after a day spent adragonback, the prince dropped into his chair behind his desk and sighed at the pile of paperwork waiting there for his review. It never ceased to amaze him how it could pile up in his absence, even if said absence had been less than half a day.

The caravan finally arrived at the garrison some hours later, just before sunset, preceded by Arad and his fellow riders. The watch dragon’s trumpet of greeting was enough to draw Nysid from his work and out onto the wall where he could watch the procession limp in through the gate. His impulse to send assistance had been justified if the patch job on a few of the carts was anything to go by─ proof that the blacksmith had been hard at work. Oceri and her squad had returned an hour before with the abandoned supplies strung up in cargo nets for ease of carrying by their dragons. Luckily most of it had been non-perishables, with the bulk of the actual food supplies carried off by the caravan when it was attacked.

Food was scarce enough as it was without leaving it to scavengers in the desert.

Frowning to himself as he leaned against the wall, sand-smoothed stone still warm against his palms after a day under the sun, Nysid watched staff and riders alike surge forward to help with the unloading. Even taking into account that some supplies had likely been lost during the caravan’s flight from the sand wraiths, their shipment from the capital was smaller than usual, following a slow but steady trend the prince had been tracking for months now.

Drought the last two growing seasons had lead to lean times in the kingdom, though the rider wings had been some of the last to feel it. Whatever else Nysid might say about his uncle’s policies in court, the man seemed determined to keep the people guarding the border well fed. The fact that those same people would be the most capable of overthrowing his regime by force wasn’t exactly coincidence, or so Nysid suspected.

If even they were having to tighten their belts, however, things were becoming truly dire in Rodshyom.

A royal messenger.

Nysid pushed back from the wall and returned to his office. A moment later, Oceri knocked on his door and let herself in at his invitation. The prince watched her approach, letter in hand, with a heavy sense of foreboding that made him slow to accept it and even slower to open it.

“Your Highness?” Oceri prompted uncertainly when Nysid had read the ostensibly short message for a third time and still said nothing.

Nysid sighed through his nose and folded the letter once more then placed it on the scarred surface his desk. In an uncharacteristic moment of vulnerability, he slumped fractionally and pressed his face into his hands. “First preserve us,” Nysid muttered to himself. Before Oceri could speak up again, however, he gathered himself, took a breath, then straightened and told her, “Summon Dayd. We have new orders from my uncle.”

“New orders?” the lieutenant asked, perturbed enough by her captain’s reaction to actually ask.