Chapter 1-5

Both half-dragons arose early, though for different reasons. After eating, Garkhen reverently took his copy of The Law of Bahamut out to study and meditate for the morning. Almonihah looked over at him and snorted.

“We're leaving 's soon 's I break camp,” the half-bronze dragon stated.

“I do not see the reason for such haste,” Garkhen replied, calmly, “But if we must, I shall be prepared.”

The Warder was almost as fast as the Ranger in packing his things. Almonihah looked as if he wanted to say something, but instead turned to Zakhin'Dakh and asked him to let Garkhen mount. Soon they were airborne again, and Garkhen decided he could use the relative silence to do his morning prayers and meditations. Certainly Almonihah was not going to distract him now.

They flew for a couple of hours before the Ranger spoke to Zakhin'Dakh, pointing out something down below. The griffon dove, and soon they landed in a clearing near the edge of a wooded valley. Almonihah made a surprisingly accurate bird-call that was unfamiliar to Garkhen, then stood expectantly. After a moment he glanced over at Garkhen.

“Get off. We'll be walking.”

Patiently the half-blue dragon dismounted. Zakhin'Dakh crouched down to make it easier, but it was still a bit of a drop. Almonihah growled a bit at the crash Garkhen's armor made when he hit the ground, but then turned as he heard the counter-call. Again he imitated a bird-call, though a different one this time. 

 

After a few more moments, a dwarf suddenly appeared from the underbrush. Surprised, Garkhen glanced over at his companion, and saw no sign of surprise on his face. Indeed, it seemed he had expected this.

The dwarf looked over the three for a moment. “Never seen you before,” he stated.

“'m from th' Northern Rangers,” Almonihah explained.

“And I don't suppose they're all griffon-riding dragon-men, are they?”

Almonihah snorted. “Just me.”

The dwarf grinned slightly. “Good, wouldn't want to think they'd gotten so far ahead of us in recruiting. Or so far behind. Now, then. If you're from the north you've got a good reason to be here. Let's hear it.”

Almonihah pointed at Garkhen with his thumb. “This one here's been attracting a lot 'f Madness-Touched. Thought bringing 'im here was th' best bet t' find out why.”

The dwarf's expression turned to a frown. “A lot of those things have been slipping through recently, and you say they've been coming to him?”

“For 'im. Trying t' kill him.”

The dwarf scowled. “I don't like having him here... but the Commander should see you. This way.”

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I've been playing around a bit with point-of-view here. This is mostly from Garkhen's viewpoint, with tiny bits of Almonihah's thrown in here and there. I'm debating on whether or not I should continue.