Chapter 17-3

Dragons heal quickly, and Almonihah seemed to have inherited much of his father's recuperative powers. At least, he thought so. Brynmor, on the other hand, insisted he take things slowly and carefully. The half-dragon grumbled and complained about the restrictions after the first few days, insisting that he felt strong enough to take care of himself even if he wasn't quite up to leaving, but Imlloen stood behind the Druid, so Almonihah reluctantly obeyed.

He didn't say anything, but what really bothered him was the wind. When it blew from the south, he could almost swear he could hear his name being called. It was during these times that he complained least about staying inside. He wondered sometimes if Brynmor knew, or at least suspected, something, but Almonihah never asked.

Finally, after what seemed like ages to Almonihah but was really more like a week and a half, Brynmor agreed that his patient was almost fully recovered.

“There is something I want to talk with you about first,” the Druid said.

Almonihah grunted in acknowledgement. After waiting for a moment for more of a response, Brynmor continued, “I mentioned that something resisted Naishia's power when I was first trying to heal you.” The Druid waited for Almonihah to nod before continuing, “As you may have guessed, I could... feel the taint of Jivenesh upon you. What I have not mentioned is that the taint has not entirely disappeared.”

Almonihah nodded again. He didn't find this much of a surprise, even though he wasn't particularly happy to get confirmation.

“So you've been keeping me here t' keep an eye on that?” he asked.

“Yes,” Brynmor replied with a sigh.

“'nd what d' you think?”

The Druid thought for a moment before replying. “The taint is still present... but it does seem to slowly be growing weaker. At the very least it does not seem to be getting any worse, nor does it appear to be actively harming you.”

Almonihah grunted in acknowledgement as he thought this over. After a few seconds of silence, Brynmor added, “If you feel well enough, I think you could leave.”

Slowly, the half-dragon nodded. “Need t' get away from that,” he said, jerking his head towards the south.

“I see,” Brynmor replied. “In that case, why don't we go speak with the Commander?”

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So, only a couple more posts until AZ meets Zakhin'Dakh! Who's excited?