pace.
‘I hope my premonition is wrong,’ muttered the captain, not very reassured. ‘Everything will be fine, young master. Don't worry,’ he added, as if sensing Draco's concern.
‘Master said he would have his entire squad with him, so maybe there’s nothing to worry about,’ the dragon tried to convince himself, but he didn’t quite succeed.
The captain nodded, and as soon as the mounts disappeared from view, he returned inside. Draco, not knowing what to do with himself, decided to practise. It always helped him clear his mind.
Crossing the city did not take as long as Darius had expected. The empty streets and fast mounts meant that they reached the gate almost half as fast as Bleist had calculated. This was hardly surprising. Despite the brightly shining crystal, Atlantis was still mostly asleep, with only a few suppliers, porters and vendors moving around the city. They also passed several City Watch patrols, but these operated around the clock, so it was nothing unusual.
Most of the city gates were still closed, but the military ones remained open at all times. They led to permanent portals controlled by the army, which also had their own garrisons. Overzealousness in matters of security was better than a lack thereof.
The watchmen saluted as they passed by with Rex. They did not check who was leaving the capital, but they did not have to check the members of the Guard either. In addition, they had probably already been notified by the unit that was to wait for the colonel at the portal square.
A bridge four carts wide led from the city gate to the mighty barbican faced with white, smoothed stone. As the fortification was already outside the main shield of the island, it had its own barrier to keep water away from the structure. A double gate led inside - the inner gate closed off the central square with permanent portals, and the outer gate could be used as a sluice if the bridge leading to Atlantis was flooded. The entire barbican was built on a hexagonal plan with a
