Dragon Fire by Randal Sloan

Author:Randal Sloan [Sloan, Randal]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: NVision Books
Published: 2018-11-16T00:00:00+00:00

The little group eventually gathered themselves and continued their trek, blissfully unaware of what had taken place while they were in the little valley. That extra hour had done wonders for the group and had another unforeseen benefit. By the time they left, Lord Melthevis had given up on his scrying for the day.

As Kynin had warned them, the last part for the day was a rather difficult climb. At times the trail crossed into rocky areas, forcing them to move back and forth in time-consuming switchbacks that had been cut into the side of the mountain. Obviously manmade, Jailyn could appreciate what the Ancestors had to have done to build this. But it would have been the only way, especially with little children.

That meant that while difficult, the trail never got so bad that they couldn’t handle it despite their struggles. Sometimes Jailyn looked out to the side to see nearly sheer rock walls. If they’d had to climb those, it would have been impossible for a group of novices like them. She felt an even stronger appreciation of what the Ancestors had done.

As they drew near the top, the wind picked up, making travel more difficult and the limited conversations they’d attempted before then impossible. It didn’t help that everyone was tired by the time they had reached this point. It didn’t matter — they could only continue upward.

There was no place where the entire group could stop to rest, so when they would occasionally reach a more stable section, each would rest a few moments in turn until the next one caught up with them. They could only keep going and so they did, although gradually the magic from the valley wore off as they began to tire, the group growing slower and slower. Although Kynin would have tried to set a faster pace, he wasn’t really able to as he had to stop and let the others catch up.

Jailyn had grown so tired, she could only concentrate on the next steps in front of her. She was surprised when she topped a rise and everyone was stopped in front of her. Wide-eyed, she looked beyond them to realize where they were. They’d made it! They were at the top.

Kynin came over to speak, even though the wind was so loud it made hearing difficult. “The caves are just ahead. We need you to send your hounds in to check them out.”

Nodding, Jailyn called them and sent them in. She knew something was wrong when they came back out much too quickly.

Mistress, Big Boy sent. The caves are very bad. Something that hurts our ears. We cannot do this task; you may punish us as you will.

They all came to lie down in front of her, their ears laid back in shame. “There is no punishment,” she told them, speaking out loud so Kynin could hear. “You have never let me down and if it’s something you can’t do, you can’t do it.”

But Mistress, we cannot make it safe for you.

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