Moonfall, #2
The Ballad of Falling Dragons
by Sarah A. Parker
Contents
Chapter 59
Overview
Raeve and Líri infiltrate a snowy wall bastion and, with Bulder’s help, enter unseen. Inside, Raeve discovers deserted quarters and a grand hall packed with Fade soldiers, archers, and Bothaimian guards protecting a sun-marked door—their target’s likely location.
Ambushed by a Fade soldier, Raeve survives when Clode kills him, even as Sereme inflicts pain. Realizing she’s walked into a trap, Raeve abandons stealth and charges to confront the assembled force.
Summary
Raeve and Líri slice through mist toward a white-stone tower atop a shattered wall, remnants of an ancient moonfall underscoring looming stakes. To avoid detection, Raeve discards her dark cloak, coordinates with Líri, and leaps to the wall. She invokes Bulder, who forms a stone hand to catch her and then opens a hidden passage into the structure.
Inside, Raeve finds slumber quarters abandoned in haste—mead left full, clothes and games strewn—signs that defenders suddenly armed and moved out. She navigates deeper into grand, pastel halls that suggest a former temple. Through a Bulder-made peephole, she spies a vast chamber crowded with Fade soldiers, archers on a mezzanine, and three Bothaimian guards in white armor, all facing a sun-carved double door matching her target’s map.
Pain from Sereme cleaves Raeve’s spine as a helmetless Fade soldier stumbles upon her. Both reach for sound-wielding commands; he finishes first. Clode clamps down on both combatants, nearly ripping out Raeve’s lungs before pulverizing the soldier’s from within, killing him violently. Raeve, bloodied but breathing, recognizes the clear ear bead and the readiness of the garrison as signs they anticipated her arrival.
Cold and focused, Raeve expands her sound snare, bleeding from the ears under Clode and Bulder’s roar. Accepting that stealth is no longer viable and that failing to strike first means death, she draws her blades and charges the open doorway toward the massed defenders guarding the sun door.
Who Appears
- RaeveProtagonist infiltrating the wall bastion; uses Bulder’s aid, survives Clode’s deadly intervention, and charges a heavily guarded hall.
- LíriBonded companion who executes the aerial insertion and circles in the mist, checking on Raeve’s safety.
- BulderStone entity who forms a catching ledge, opens a passage, and humors Raeve’s whispered requests.
- ClodeSerpentine power over sound and breath; nearly crushes Raeve’s lungs but kills the attacking Fade soldier.
- SeremeSource of searing spinal agony that assails Raeve at critical moments, heightening the danger.
- Fade soldier (helmetless)Privy-returning guard with clear ear bead; initiates a lethal sound attack before Clode destroys his lungs.
- Bothaimian guardsThree white-armored fae stationed in the hall, signaling elite protection of the sun-marked door.
- Fade militantsMassed soldiers and archers arrayed in a trap-like formation, awaiting an intruder at the sun door.