The Flight

I was walking with fast pace towards Atena's palace, city didn't yet wake up but Sun was rising slowly and steady. I slept for nine hours and it felt so refreshing after two days of barely sleeping and constant working, my steps continued trough the empty streets while thinking about possible upcoming mission. 

After ten minutes i've arrived at palace's doors and i met two guards there standing like stone statues before greeting me.

"You may enter."

They said with such mechanical tone and they both opened heavy palace doors. 

Doors opened and i moved closer to throne area with guards escorting me, this time only Athena and couple of her guards were there unlike last time when she was surrounded by bunch of other people. 

"You arrived just in time."

 She said with serious look on her face, i bowed down again and she spoke.

"For your mission you will be checking on southern checkpoint. Scouts who i sent there none of them came back so you need to be fast and well hidden."

I got chills just by hearing where I'll be going for my mission, southern checkpoint is most dangerous area near elven border, any town there is probably pillaged by now since we lost some land trough last four years. She's either sending me with purpose to kill me or she's depends too much in my flying abilities, i gulped and confirmed somewhat nervously.

She smiled.

"I expect successful outcome, Sparrow."

She signalized to her guards and they escorted me out of palace. When doors slammed shut one of guards gave me map with safest path towards southern checkpoint, 

"Your equipment." 

And proceed to give me crossbow with bunch of bolts and shiny iron sword that had weird flower symbol like back in library.

I got at airship dock and saw my Thunderbird levitating gracefully like feather, i boarded on it and signalized for takeoff. Conductors who had a job to signalize ships, signalized back and my ship began flying and rising up to air. 

City was getting further and further and my ship started flying past big fluffy clouds, but even with this nice view my heart was pumping fast of how scared i was to fly again in Thunderbird. 

I'm no rookie but my spine still shivers at the thought of my grandpas death and how it could become my end too, knowing that i'm heading towards enemy land didn't help but i managed to cool down a little bit.

Hour by hour passed until shiny white clouds began turning into grey and birds flied less and less, this gave me a good and bad sign in the same time. Good for knowing i'm getting closer to my destination and bad for knowing that i entered war thorn territory. 

"I should go up." 

I said to myself and made my ship go up, between clouds to cloak myself from any enemy.

My Thunderbird cloaked fast between big clouds and it stopped making almost every noise, i slowed down the airship and grabbed little telescope from my backpack which i carried for this mission. I looked in the distance and saw ruined tower with no trace of any humans or animals down there.

"This place looks like it's abandoned a quite while ago." 

I said quietly as my eyes stared at ruined tower in the distance. Ground had bunch of craters on it and instead of green grass, mud and dead grey ground covered the fields. But before i could continue looking i heard bunch of noises made by airship, fifteen meters below me.

I looked down and saw three medium sized blue airships with light blue flags on them, flags had symbol of yellow crown on them and besides them, ships had people on them. My adrenaline rushed and i continued driving my ship in pace, knowing that if i rise up enemy will hear me.

Minutes passed like hours and i waited and waited for enemy to pass, it felt like eternity until those three ships weren't to be seen anywhere. I checked out multiple times and decided to return to academy, brining bad news about our southern checkpoint and situation in it.