Chapter 5-3

Almonihah went over and checked Garkhen. He seemed unchanged—still sleeping soundly, for all the world like he was just enjoying a good night's rest. The bronze half-dragon snorted.

“Guess he's all right,” he commented to Zakhin'Dakh, who responded by simply cocking his head slightly to one side. “Should go, though. Let me get back on, 'nd then pick him up again.”

They took off, following the trail of the Javni'Tolkhrah that had left the camp. It wasn't hard to track them, in spite of the rocky terrain—one of the monsters apparently did something that killed all the plants around it, so it was simply a matter of finding the next patch of blasted, withered grass or suddenly dying tree. They made good time, despite the awkwardness of flying with Garkhen in Zakhin'Dakh's talons.

They still hadn't caught sight of their quarry by lunchtime, however. With all of the flying they'd been doing, Zakhin'Dakh was already hungry again, so they had to hunt again. It took longer this time, likely because the Javni'Tolkhrah had scared away most animals from the area. By the time they got back on the trail, the sun was starting to get low.

Almonihah growled in irritation at the delay, but then stopped. “Zakhin'Dakh. Look. By that mountain with th' rock jutting out that looks like a cat's head.”

The big griffon looked around for a bit before he saw what his friend was talking about. That a funny little cloud?

“It's smoke. There's a campfire.”

Just then Zakhin'Dakh looked down. Garkhen moved!

“Let's set him down! See 'f he's all right.”

By the time they landed, Garkhen was groggily opening his eyes. Almonihah stood looking down at him while Zakhin'Dakh backed up just a bit. The Warder looked up at the Ranger.

“I... apologize,” he said, weakly. “It seems I overtaxed myself.”

Almonihah snorted. “Sure did. Think you can move?”

Garkhen slowly sat up. “Yes, but I am not fit for combat. What have you discovered?”

The half-bronze dragon described what he'd seen. “Don't like that fire. May mean...” he trailed off, not quite willing to believe what it indicated.

Garkhen, however, could follow the thought. “Someone still has the amulet. Someone who is able to command the Javni'Tolkhrah, no doubt through means of the artifact.”

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Dun-dun-dun!