Chapter 10-7

Almonihah bared his teeth and growled, but after a long moment he shook his head. “Wish we could help, but... 'f we don't get rid 'f this...”

“It may be that these purposes are not as separate as you might think,” the councilwoman interrupted.

“Yes,” one of the human councilors said, “You see, they keep their slaves not too far from their ships. And most of them are captured seafarers.”

“So 'f we freed 'em, we might be able t' get on a ship 'nd get out before they could catch us,” Almonihah surmised, nodding slightly.

“It's risky,” the dwarven councilor said, “But we've got some plans already. If you three are as good with those weapons as we'd guess, you'll be a great help, and we might be able to get you off our island with that thing.”

“If you aid us in this thing, we will likewise aid you,” the elven councilwoman added. “Will you do this?”

“Yes,” Garkhen replied, instantly. Almonihah nodded.

Zakhin'Dakh screeched an enthusiastic agreement from the doorway, bringing startled looks from the councilors... and a bit of a grin to Almonihah's face.

“He said yes,” the half-dragon explained, breaking the tense silence.

This brought some uneasy chuckles from the council, but they relaxed somewhat. “Good, we can use him,” said one of the elven men, who then turned and looked at Zakhin'Dakh. “We shall need all the help you can supply, good griffon.”

The big griffon nodded cheerily and screeched again.

The other elven councilor stood. “Come, there is much to do to prepare. We must wait until an opportune time, when most of the pirates are sailing. Those few of our number who hide among them will tell us when the time comes, but until then, we must plan and prepare. 

***********************

Zakhin'Dakh likes being included in conversations.