(Around the big caravan,
     day and night of the council meeting)

Dressed in scruffy herders clothing, his sunny blond hair pulled up
and hidden under a gray streaked black wig, not even his mother
would have been able to recognize the Shadow. Dressed this way, he
could freely move undetected around the different groups of the
Caravans already assembled and waiting for the last to arrive.

So far, as he kept track, only six of the seven, tithe trains had
arrived. Only one more to go and by morning, the large group would
get underway.

Shadow had already been in contact with each of the men he had
stationed in and around the supply wagons. Making sure each knew
what they were suppost to do when he gave the single to begin.

So far there had only been the occasional sightings of dragon's in
the sky's above, and those Diemis reported, were only the normal
patrols.

Shadow knew the Warrens would have given the patrol riders, orders
to keep a watch on the caravans during their sweeps over the areas.
It would have made what Shadow had planed more difficult. Not
impossible....but difficult. Come night it would be a different
story, with the caravan expected to post their own guards.

Shadow had counted on this, and figured it into his plans
accordingly. A good many of the night guards were his men. Men not
known to be associated with the raiders. After the completion of
Shadow's plans, those same men would stay with the tithe wagons
until they arrived at the Warren. Thus avoiding any early
suspicions.

A small amount of a sleeping drug, slipped into the coffee of
anyone who might pose as a threat, would assure Shadow's men of the
time they would need to complete the plan. Leaving none the wiser.
For they wouldn't remember a thing when they woke up, and never
admit they had fallen asleep while they were suppost to be watching
the area for any sign of raiders.

Shadow's plan was clean and simple, leaving little chance for anyone
to be harmed. Something he wanted to avoid at all cost. What he was
about to do, would already leave him in deep trouble with his own
Warrenlady.....When The Dragonlady at Keldarra heard about it......
would his reason's even matter?

No... He had to make sure no one got hurt, or else the welcome upon
his return to Telnor might not be the happy joyful one he had hoped
for. For if he was expelled from the Warren, he wouldn't be able to
see Tera....and he would never find out if the blond headed little
flirt still had feelings for him....

>From his vantage point near the cooking wagon, Shadow watched as the
last of the seven delegates arrived, shook hands with the other
leaders of the caravans, and accepted the warm cup of coffee he was
offered. Seated on the ground, with his back against the hub of a
wheel, Shadow watched the nine people sitting around the main fire.
The seven trail bosses and the man he recognized as Lord Etain, Lord
of the city of Raisa, near Telnor, the younger man sitting to his
left looking board, would be his oldest son, Etad. Lord Etain never
missed the chance to visit Telnor Warren, and Shadow knew from
something Sandor had told him about the last hatching, Lord Etain's
youngest child, a daughter, had joined with a lavender dragon. He
couldn't recall the dragon's name off hand, but surely that was why
the man had decided to make the trip this time.

<The dragon's name is Taerith.> the thought came into his head.

<<Thank you my friend>> Shadow's smile hidden behind a spoon  full
of a spicy stew, he was eating. <<You always remember the things I
forget.>>

<With so much going on in your mind, you need someone to help you
remember the little things.>> Diemis chuckled back.

<<Too True,>> Shadow admitted.

His eyes moved to take in the Lordling. Etad of Raisa was better
known around the lands, as Lord Etain's worthless son. He was
known for flaunting the wealth and power his father had worked had
to obtaion. While the people of Raisa loved and respected the older
man for the fair and just way he had always dealt with them, the
son was another story.

He was sneaky and conniving, blaming other's for things that went
wrong, on those occasions when his father's patience had finally
run out. While his father was home nights, working on the farm
accounts, Etad could always be found in one of the seedier inns
around town, whoring it up while getting drunk.
**********************
(Etad's Thoughts as he sits by the fire next to his father)
His father would pay for forcing him to come along on this stupid
trip. He had no interest in learning from his father how to run
the kingdom the way Lord Etain did. When the old man was finally
laid to rest, Etad would run things the way, he thought they should
be run. He'd raise the rents on the leased lands, and demand a
bigger portion of the yields. Refuse to renew the leases when they
came up, for those who spoke out against him.


He'd tell that bitch at the Warren where she could stick the last
of the tithes she'd get out of Raisa. They didn't need the Dragon
Riders' to protect the town. More of those flamecaster's he'd heard
about at one of the other warrens, were being made by the smiths
everyday, soon he would have enough for every man, woman and child.
Then he wouldn't need those worthless leaches anymore in the event
of a wraith attack

His father was a fool. Giving up one third of his profits to the
Warren's, (more than his fair share) just because of his love for
the stupid beast. And now since his sister Eliana, had gone and
joined with one, his father was talking about doing more for the
Warren's. That would stop when  he took over. Let the little brat
fend for herself if she chose to stay there with strangers, and
turn her back on her own family.

He almost refused the cup of warm coffee, the servant's began
passing around the fire, preferring a cup of spirits, but one look
from his father, and he excepted it without a word of thanks. An
other thing his father would pay for, threatening to cut him off
and disown him if he didn't change his ways.

His eyes started to grow heavy as they looked around at the other
men sitting there. The last thing he remember before slipping into
oblivion, was that these fools would be surprise..if they only
knew....
*******
(Later that night:)

Like the shadow he was named for, a lone figure moved silently
among the snoring bodies laying around the main fire. The sleeping
drug had worked quickly on the seven delegates, Lord Etain and his
son.

Shadow had started to grow concerned when it looked like the nine
men were planing to stay up all night talking. He knew, he had to
do something or everything could fall apart. Some of the men were
all for just taking them out, splitting the supplies and
disappearing into the woods. Something Shadow had to avoid from
happening. That's when he pulled one of the men posing as a servant
aside and had him take one of the pots of 'special prepared' coffee
over to the fire and offer it around. Just in case they might have
wanted something stronger, a bottle of a 'special' brandy had also
been prepared.

Shadow bent down doing a quick check on the nine, before giving a
signal to the men waiting in the darkness a few feet away.

"Be careful when you move them to their beds," Shadow whispered a
warning to all. "We don't want them waking up to soon."

"I don't know why we're even moving them," he heard a man complain,
and rounded on him, his cold icy green eyes bore into the man even
as his hand shot out to grip his arm.

"You move them because I told you too.." Shadow's anger was like a
whip hitting the guy. His words were meant to sting, like the bite
of his figures as they pressed into the mans flesh. "You ask no
questions and keep your mouth shut. Now get back to it, we have a
lot of work to do tonight.

He watched as the nine men were placed in the beds allotted to them
for the night. When they woke up in the morning, none would
hopefully be the wiser as to how they get there. If any of them
thought to ask questions, the night cook had a story ready.

By the time Shadow made his way back over to the supply wagon's his
men had the transfer well under way. Wagons once full of bags of a
finely milled flour, now held bags of a finely granulated sand.
Sugars, spices, fruits, clothes, and other supplies, were replaced
with anything that could be found to fit the same feeling and
weight of what was suppost to be there.

Since the packing of the wagons, had taken several days, sometimes
weeks to fill, Shadows men were able to steal, borrow, or make
enough of the bags and wrappings and have them ready and waiting
in the caves ready to switch out the good with the bad. His plan
was so clever, that there was hardly any chance of being discovered
before the supply trains made it to the Warren.

With Seven caravans joining together to form one, Shadow knew that
he wouldn't be able to steal everything, but the things he did
"replace" would be hard felt where they were going. He only wished
he could be there to see Ophelia's face when the switch was
discovered. Shadow wouldn't be with the caravan when it final made
it to Telnor. Too many people there just might remember the young
blond man who had joined with the green those few years ago. Even
in his disguise he didn't want to take the chance.

As he helped the men replace bag after bag of the purloined
supplies, a thought came to him. With so many of his men knowing
the location of the storage caves, what was to stop one of them
from trying to come back later with others, and move it to another
location. Without these supplies to return to the Warren, Shadow
knew he was dead. Who would believe him anyway, after all Ophelia
had told him on more that one occasion, that he didn't have to stay.
He could come back to the Warren at anytime. The choice to stay had
been his. How many of them would think he had willingly turned to
the raiders?

<<Diemis,>> he called out mentally to his friend, << I need you to
get in contact with Dinnan, and have his rider meet us at the
meeting place as soon as possible.>>

<You want me to wake them up if I have to?> The green asked.

<<YES!!! Do anything you have too,>> Shadow instructed, <<Just make
sure you get them there. If they don't come, we may never be able
to go home, my friend. And if we don't go home you'll never be able
to try your luck in a mating flight.>>

<You always know just what to say,> the green chucked,
< Dinnan said his rider will meet us.>

Shadow sighed, knowing how his friend and former patrol partner
would react to the news when he heard it.

<<Please tell them that I might not be able to get there before
dawn, and to wait for me. Tell him it's very important.>>

<Dinnan's rider said for you to go directly to the meeting place.>
Diemis relayed to him. <He said to tell you not to go back to the
village. He said that that slimeball herder you sometimes talk to,
has told H'nry you could be found living there, so it's not safe
for you to go back.>

Slimeball was right! Shadow thought as he turned to watch the men
start on the last of the wagons. When he got back to the Warren, he
might just be tempted to tell H'nry a few things about the man.
Starting with how he had helped to cheat the Warren out of their
just tithes over the years.

"Shadow sir," a man called out softly as he moved to stand next to
the raider leader. "The men report that with the exception of that
wagon over there, everything has been switched, and the rest of the
men not needed will be returning to their beds."

Shadow turned to thank the man for his report. "Remember to tell
them to start waking the sleeping guards up. It might look
suspicious if too many of them are found asleep. I'll be leaving
soon, Tell Klause I'll meet him back in the village when this is
over."
****************
(Meeting place by the lake, just before dawn. )

"You did WHAT!!" Sandor shouted after Traplin told him about the
raid on the caravan. "Of all the stupid, lamebrain, ...ideas
you've come up with Trap, this one has got to take the cake."

To say the man was angry was only part of the problem. He was
feeling just a little betrayed by the man he called friend.

"So didn't you think you could trust me with this? " the black
haired man went on, "Or were you afraid I'd run home to Ophelia
and have her order you in? Do you know what's going to happen
Buddy if we are unable to retrieve those stolen goods?"

Trap had listened to Sandor berating him long enough, he had to
get his friend to listen to him long enough, for him to tell
Sandor about his plan to recover the supplies before anyone else
could find them.
"Damn it, Sandor listen to me," Trap had to shouted to be heard.
"I need to tell you where the supplies are. I need to have you and
anyone else you think can keep it quiet, go and move them somewhere
safe. What I don't need is for the news to get out that it was
dragon riders who recovered the stolen goods. I'm as good as dead
if the raiders find out." The last was said in a quiet voice.
"Will you do it?"

*********************
Nrpg: Well Shadow and his men have pulled it off. The switch
wouldn't be discovered until a bag of flour is needed in the
kitchen for making the morning sweetrolls.....

Will Sandor be able to find some of the other riders to help him
move the supplies to a safer location......

and what will Ophelia do when she finds out?