Dragon Lord Jabez held out his hand so the peregrine could land on it. The scouts he had sent out ahead had attached a small missive to the feet of the bird.
The falconer came and took the bird off his master's outstretched hand so Jabez could read the message with ease.
The peregrine would be brushed down, fed and given water to quench its thirst for another job well done.
Jabez was outraged by what he read in the tiny note, he ripped the paper apart then stomped it furiously beneath his heels.
All of his men that were sent to ambush his half-brother Tiamat were dead.
He spurred his horse forward and, in a few moments, he would come upon the desecrated spot where the mutilated bodies of his soldiers had been left to burn.
Even though this was but a small loss for Jabez since he had more than five times the soldiers in his care. It still irked him that he could not get rid of the only stain on the family's name.
