Not only had he lost the western settlement (which had been built at his expense), he'd gotten a big new debt to Charlie, plus the mystery bugging him all along had led to a sleepless night and a scarce few hours of sleep this morning. Remian was feeling very grumpy. Despite having two cups of coffee and some well-cooked (overcooked?) bacon and sausages (made from Blood Rabbit meat), he still wanted to bite somebody.

Instead, he led an army of wolfcats and lynxmice and let them do the biting.

The 'Deep Desert Den' was an hour north into the desert on Mindy's airs.h.i.+p. The Foresight flew low, barely ten feet off the ground, Miik and his clan scurrying alongside while Carrie and the wolfcats ran on ahead. The wolfcats went ahead and started early. By the time they arrived at the Deep Desert Den, Carrie's three packs already had a pile of kills stacked up in a heap.

By that time, the Desert Lynxmice were already huddling deep inside their den. The Den, incidentally, was a network of tunnels dug into a clay hill atop a small canyon of sorts. Remian got off the airs.h.i.+p; with Carrie by his side, he strolled over to the very top of that hill, waited for a minute until Miik's lynxmice had completely surrounded the area, and then crouched and laid his hand on the ground.

"Burn!" he said, and a stream of fire as thick as his waist sliced through the hill like a hot knife through b.u.t.ter.

The shrieks that erupted were deafening. Like a flood, dozens of Desert Lynxmice scurried out of the burning tunnels right into the jaws and claws of the wolfcats. They tried to run past; Miik's clan and the clans with him cut them off, stopping every last one from escaping. Vigil and the other wolfcat cubs had a free run on the mice, easily picking them off at whim.

At last, they began to gather, cornered between the wolfcats and the fire. They snarled, hissed, backed away, but bared their little teeth threateningly. A few of them backed toward their Den.

"Burn!" Remian sent down another stream of fire and even more smoke erupted from the tunnels. Another round of panicked shrieks erupted, and a few more Desert Lynxmice tried to run for it, only to get clobbered, chomped on, clawed, or stopped one violent way or the other.

"Skwiiieek!" One particularly miserable desert lynxmouse wailed. [We surrender! We surrender!]

"Oh? And where's your leader?" Remian asked, folding his arms.

"Wiikeekk." [He's dead. Burned in fire.]

"Whoops." Remian scratched his head. "Then who can represent you?"

There was a short pause. Then, one small Tier 1 desert lynxmouse fearfully crept out. "Kwik."

Remian frowned. "Seriously?"

[I am… princess…] she s.h.i.+vered. [The only one left.]

Remian glanced at Carrie. "Is this for real?"

[She is the only n.o.ble of her kind that I see here.] Carrie nodded. [Like Vigil, like Shadowflash, she has potential far beyond the average. In the absence of a stronger n.o.ble, she will be their future leader, if she is not already.]

Remian scratched his head for a bit, then turned to the desert lynxmouse princess and said, "You and your clan… I won't accept threats or bullying. If you want cheese, you'll have to work for it, same as all the other lynxmice."

At that, a bigger desert lynxmouse sprang up. [Bullying? You're the bully! You big bully! Coming here with all your wolfcats and your fire! We're just poor desert lynxmice! We have no food, little water…]

"That doesn't give you a right to go around threatening other lynxmice to give you whatever you want." Remian's eyes narrowed. "You can just leave the desert. You can even live with us if you'll work for your cheese."

[We don't work for strangers! We are proud sons and daughters of the desert!] the bigger desert lynxmouse proclaimed.

"Then you can proudly starve by yourselves and don't involve us in it." Remian said. "But you came into our hall demanding our cheese and threatening our people. Threats must be removed. Do you know what we do with Wilds that attack us?"

There was a short pause. [No?]

"We kill them, skin them, cook them, and EAT them!"

There was a long, long silence. Thankfully n.o.body mentioned the Tier 5 exception that was being tracked across the Wildlands this very minute.

[That was a bit too dramatic.] Carrie advised Remian.

[Had to be done. Just had to.] Remian said apologetically. Then he turned back to them desert lynxmice. "I'm offering you the same deal as the other lynxmice. Cheese for work. That's my bottom line."

[If not?] the desert lynxmouse princess asked.

[If not, you die here and now.] Remian shrugged.

[Death before dishonor!] the bigger desert lynxmouse charged straight at Carrie, clawing at her.

CHOMP! Carrie took a bite and that was the end of that. But other desert lynxmice were charging out too, and the other wolfcats were likewise dispatching them with ease and efficiency. In roughly twenty seconds, only a dozen desert lynxmice were left, all younger Tier 1's, cowering behind their princess.

[Enough.] Mikai stepped up. The fastest lynxmouse in Miik's clan looked at the little ones with pity. [Let's adopt them into our clan. That way they won't be enemies, right?]

[No.] The desert lynxmouse princess s.h.i.+vered, but she said, [No adoption. We'll work for our cheese, but we won't join your clan. We will not bully you any more.]

[Swear it upon the desert sands with your own paw!] Mikai ordered.

[I swear it! Never again will the desert lynxmice bully other lynxmice!] She placed her paw on the sand, leaving a clear pawprint.

Miik's clan cheered. The other lynxmice clans cheered. The waved paws in the air, waved tails, and squeaked their celebration all around.

[ As long as you pay us fairly, we will work for our cheese.] She added, then twitched her nose. [But you must swear also! Upon the sands! You will treat us fairly! No sending us into the dragon's jaws for sport!]

[If you treat us as your own, we will treat you the same as our own.] Miik stepped forward and laid his pawprint in the sand. [I swear it upon the sands!]

[May Khar'al-dras take us if we break our oath!] Both the desert lynxmouse princess and Miik said in chorus.

Remian glanced at Carrie. "Who or what is Khar'al-dras?"

[Khar'al-dras is the Dune Dragon. The great Sand Wyrm who rules all of the Endless Desert.] Carrie explained. [He is like a G.o.d to the desert Wilds.]

[Is he real? I mean… an actual dragon in the desert?] Remian asked, stunned.

[As real as Kor'ag-dras and Mal'thor-dras.] Carrie nodded seriously.

[Who?]

[The twin rulers of the Wildlands. The lords of lords of the south] Carrie said patiently. [The masters of Dragon Lake and Wyvern Peak. They are the grandfather and grandmother of the Wildlands dragons. Shadowflash has met them.]

Actual dragons. Remian gulped. That probably explained why no colonization effort of the Wildlands had ever succeeded. "So basically… if a Wild swears on the sands and invokes Khar'al-dras… it can be trusted?"

[Depending on what your foot is on, upon the sands and Khar'al-dras, upon the gra.s.s and Kor'ag-dras, or upon the stones and Mal'thor-dras, yes. All Wilds fear and revere the great dragons.]

[You'd be in shock if you ever go to the Dragon Empire, then. Some folks there actually ride dragons.]

[The Imperial Dragon, Zor'khan-dras, is a Great Dragon also, is he not? To my eyes, it is he that the Dragon Empire is named after.]

"Uh… I don't think it's quite the same…" Remian scratched his head again, then gave up trying to figure it out and focused on the matter at hand. "The point is, if they swear to serve, we can trust them. That means… it should be possible to have other clans working for us too."

Carrie looked him over, mused a bit, then asked, [Do you seek to replace Shadowflash?]

Remian blinked. [I thought Vigil was going to do that?]

[Vigil is too young. He grows well, but it will be years before he is ready. Before then, there are other Tier 5's in Shadowflash's Fief who would seek to become the next Lord.] Carrie s.h.i.+fted uneasily. [Sooner or later, we will have to face them.]

"There are other Tier 5's…?" Remian grimaced. Just as he thought they were making progress, he suddenly discovered that the forces they were up against were far more than he'd antic.i.p.ated.

[Daring Drum, the Diamond Bristle Boar; Bellower, the Burning Bull; and Jujar the Ageless. If you can get THEM to swear on the gra.s.s or the stones to serve you, then you may as well be the Lord of Shadowflash Fief yourself.]