9
A Fiery Trail
“They’re virtually blind.” Rig stood at the edge of the village, in the shade of the crumbling tower of Brukt. Fiona was at his side, watching the villagers who milled about. “All of them— except that man who says Dhamon cut off his arm.”
A few of the people were preparing a meal at a central fire pit, their sightless faces turned to fruits and vegetables they were awkwardly peeling. Some of the elves who had been rescued from the lizard creatures were helping the villagers skin a boar they had caught in a trap. Most were gathered at the large building.
A handful of the elves recounted the tale of their capture and rescue and listened to the villagers tell about the dragon.
Nearby, Jasper hovered over a female dwarf who seemed to be the leader of the place. She was sitting with her back against the trunk of a young shaggybark.
Jasper’s eyes were closed, his brow furrowed in concentration, his hands held inches in front of her face. Please, he mouthed, as he reached inside himself, looking for that healing spark that Goldmoon once had nurtured in him. Not for me, he thought to himself, not to heal my lung and make me whole, but to help this woman. If I can cure one person of blindness, perhaps I can help the rest. And then, maybe, I can help myself.
For several long minutes he listened to her breathing. He felt his heart beating in his chest and tried to draw strength from it. He searched for the warmth, touching her eyelids. There was no warmth in his fingertips. No healing spark. He tried again.
“I’m sorry,” he said finally, tears spilling from his eyes. “I can’t help you.” This should have been easy, he added to himself. He’d done this many times before— before Goldmoon’s death.
Groller and Fury were watching him, the wolf leaning against the half-ogre’s leg. “Jaz-pear no longer good healer,” Groller said glumly “Jaz-pear has no faith in hiz-zelf.”
Feril stood apart from everyone. The Kagonesti had tended to the villagers’ injuries, and she had stopped the bleeding and bandaged the stump of the Solamnic spy. Her limited healing skills were enough for that, but she was not skilled enough to attempt to cure the blindness. She glanced to the east, where the swamp melted into the foothills of the mountains of Blöde Then she knelt and studied the ground, merging her senses with it.
“I wonder if the dragon blinded Dhamon too,” Rig mused, as he watched the Kagonesti.
“If he’s blind, we’ll find him easier,” said Fiona. “He’s only got a day on us, according to these people. That’s what the Master said too, when he contacted us last night.”
“Nothing’s easy, Fiona,” Rig chuckled. “At least where Dhamon’s concerned. Maybe when —”
“I’ve found his trail!” Feril exclaimed. Rig and Fiona reached her in several strides.
“I’ve been over every inch of ground where the villagers claimed Dhamon was,” the Kagonesti said. “Most of the tracks belong to the people who live here or the Knights of Takhisis who died. There’s even a couple of dragon prints. But I’ve found a few of Dhamon’s. I believe he went out the back of this building and came around to the side, right about here. Then he moved into the foothills. There’s a second set of footprints heading away in another direction: a woman’s.”
“The female commander the villagers mentioned,” Fiona said.
Feril nodded. “Probably. They said all the other knights were killed by the dragon.” The Kagonesti turned toward the foothills.
Rig shouted. “Jasper, we’re leaving!”
Jasper put his hand on the female dwarf’s shoulder. They exchanged words the mariner couldn’t hear. Then Jasper motioned to Groller and pointed at Rig. The half-ogre shook his head. He tugged on his hair, pointed to his ear, and waggled his fingers skyward.
“Gilthanas,” Rig muttered. “And the silver dragon. The Master told me they’d be coming to Brukt, to help us with Dhamon.” He turned to Fiona. “Don’t let Feril get too far ahead. We’ll catch up.” The mariner hurried toward Groller.
“Jasper,” Rig began, “Gilthanas and Silvara are on their way. They might be here sometime today. Or tomorrow. Who knows when, but it shouldn’t be too long. Someone should wait for them, but that someone’s not going to be me.”
“Nor me,” the dwarf returned.
Rig pointed to his ear, pantomimed brushing away long hair, like Gilthanas’s, pointed at Groller, then at the ground.
“No,” the half-ogre said. “Go wid you and Furl, wid Jaz-pear.”
Rig sighed. “Jasper, can you...” he gestured at the female dwarf, then whirled to catch up with Feril and Fiona.
Jasper turned back to the female dwarf. “Our companion will come here soon. Can you tell him where we’ve gone?”
She hesitated a moment, then nodded. “Yes, if you tell me what he sounds like.”
Jasper described Gilthanas in great detaiclass="underline" his voice, his height, his laugh. Then he added, “He’ll be accompanied by a dragon. She’s big. And silver. She won’t hurt anybody. Of course, she might not look like a dragon. She might look like an elf... Oh, never mind. It’s a long story, and we’ve got to hurry.” He smiled warmly at her. “I wish I could help you, but there just doesn’t seem to be anything I can do.”
“Jaz-pear!”
Groller and Fury were waiting for him. “Good luck to you,” the dwarf said, as he squeezed her hand. Then he joined his companions.
The sun was dropping toward the horizon by the time they stopped. They were only halfway up the side of a mountain. Still a good hour of light was left, maybe a little more.
Jasper’s chest felt as if it were on fire. The climb was tiring enough for people with two good lungs. Still, the dwarf refused to complain. He was just grateful they had finally decided to rest. “I thought we were going to take the pass through the mountains,” he said.
Feril knelt on the ground, her fingers sifting through the dry earth. “He went into the cave over there, but then he came out and continued up.”
“How long ago?” Rig glanced up the rocky incline.
“I’m not sure; at least several hours. I don’t think he’s blind. A blind man’s path wouldn’t be so confident. I’ll scout ahead and be back in a while.” Feril ignored Rig’s protests. Catlike, she scurried over the rocks, pausing at intervals to examine the ground.
“We should get a little rest.” Fiona peered into the cave. “I don’t think I can go much farther.”
“If you weren’t carrying all that armor, you wouldn’t be so tired.” Rig pointed to her sack.
“Well, I’m not carrying any armor, and I want to rest, too.” Jasper climbed into the cave, Fury and Groller following. Fiona smiled. “Join us?”
“In a minute.” Rig scowled, took another look up the mountain. Feril was kneeling next to a rock, her fingers dancing across its surface. “Talking to a rock,” he muttered. “All right. A little rest,” he said. “But just a little. When she comes back, we’ll set out again. Travel by starlight if we have to. Dhamon’s too close. He’s not going to get away from me this time.”
Beyond the narrow mouth of the cave was a large chamber that angled back and down into the side of the mountain. Its floor was covered with soil and leaves. Fiona sat against a wall near the entrance where light spilled in. Her canvas sack was between her legs, and from the bag she removed parts of her armor. She looked up and noticed Rig watching her. “Just checking it,” she said.
He sat next to her. The ground was comfortably soft. “They were going to have boar tonight in the village.”
“We could have stayed and waited for Gilthanas.”
“I’m not hungry anyway.” His growling stomach disagreed. He peered into the shadows. “Where’s Jasper and Groller?”
She nodded her head toward the back. “There’s a passage back there. “They decided to investigate. The wolf, too. Jasper said they’d only be gone a few minutes.”
“I thought Jasper was tired.”