26.

The plan is to go to the dragonelles, and see if they will take us up to the citadel. We will use the raising of the standards as the distraction. From the castle, we hear an alarm, echoing from the west gate, and soldiers rushing there. The group is encouraged to head that way. The plan was for us to wait at the gate for Clistrin so he can ask the dragonelles if they will take us. We head that way. On the way, we see Marshal Vendri commanding the army. Just outside of the city's defense perimeter, the dragon army is making camp. There is the flying citadel flying above, and the ancient, re-animated dragons glowing violet. For a time, everything is quiet for us, since we don't have orders.
 
From nearby, there is another set of warning horns being blown. We can spot a flight (4) of dragon army dragonelles flying towards the city walls, coming to intercept where there are 3 ballistae, and some 6 soldiers. We need to defend those. A ballista requires three actions - loading, aiming, and firing. We run to the walls, to help the soldiers with the ballistae against these pests. On the dragonelles, there are 2 bozaks, each! We start the fight, and they slaughter some of the soldiers. We try to defeat them while they are still far, but that does not work. We are able to defeat most of them, even after some of the bozaks tried to run away. Sterling congratulates the remaining soldiers, and we wait to hear from Clistrin.
 
We have a chance to catch our breaths, and some soldiers come to thank us. In the distance, I see what looks like a shooting star, streaking the sky, but with violet flames. It is going to land inside the city, and we need to go figure out what it is, and stop whatever is inside it. There is a screech after it lands, and a terrible dust. There are fangs, and purple flames, and we see a large skeletal dragon. We sprint towards it, about 125 feet from us. Arinona sees a note pinned with a dagger to the backbone of the dragon - we are being sent a message! We finish off the dragon, and the zombie it created. Then we look a the note. "The dragon queen sees you, and I'm the fire in her eyes. It is the dragon queen's will." We know who it is from. One of the officers that we questioned in Vogler said that the general is called Cansaldi Fire-Eyes, so this is likely a message directed to us.
 
I take the time to stand on the dragon's head, and inspire the soldiers. Tell them that yes, Kalaman will stand, and that we will defend it! I even pull out the other dragon head. Marshal Vendri approaches us on our victory, and she is studying the undead dragon's remains. She is concerned because this this the smallest of the dragons that are crawling around the citadel. She tells us that the east wall has a problem, because it is not guarded. She asks us to investigate, so we head that way as fast as possible. Arinona, Sterling, and Mal fly, and they carry Waah and I.
 
We get to the gate right as the portculis is rising, red dragon army people outside, waiting. We need to stop that! Sterling gets into the guard room, and tells us that Bakkaris is there, with a bunch of knights of Kalaman. We dispatch the guards, and he tells us that they have to get away because the city is doomed. Waah had already made another knight fall asleep, and I knock the last one out. Now I can subdue Bakkaris, and then ask him questions. But he is a slug, and Sterling puts him inside a tinderbox. I tell a messenger to tell Vendri that we Bakkaris opened the portcullis, but we have secured it. We will take him to jail. We wake up the soldier, who says that Bakkaris got an important message from someone in the red dragon army, and that if he could get to the city gates, then they would be able to get safe passage out of the gates. That they would have safe passage to their families who were caught outside. That is why those knights had betrayed Kalaman. I want to see this message. Mal stabilizes the other knight, and we will jail all 3. We make our way back to the castle, and there the guards escort the guards and snail to jail. We want to see the message as soon as he is not a snail.
 
Once Bakkaris is back to human, we gag him. We search his body, and we find the note. It says, "Father, the dragon army sends its greeting and proposition. Meet our agents at the warrior's gate. I have found a place here, and I will have glory. You can have a place here, too." We now have the evidence. Bakkaris, with this, told the knights a lie to get them to comply. Darrett finds us at the dungeon. We explain this to him, once he congratulates us. He wants us to rest, because tomorrow the attack may come. We go rest.