Eternal Beasts

Ves Tinol

Jared frowned as they finally stepped free of the trees and looked out onto the rocky escarpment of the broken field of stone known as the Ves Tinol. A quick glance skyward yielded empty, clouded-over sky. Then he was looking at Gereth, who had gone a further handful of steps onto the rocky plain. At catching the muuler's eye, he gave a nod. Nodding in reply, Gereth dropped his pack and cloak before slipping out onto the relatively flat spot in front of them before disappearing behind a mass of stone that jutted aggressively into space some twenty paces beyond.

"And there he goes," Nikeera noted as she joined Jared in crouching at the edge of the stone field, Wren on her other side. "I hope he finds the path forward as empty as it was when he passed through here nearly a week ago!"

"You and me both, Nik," Jared said in a low voice, his eyes tracing possible avenues to travel over the field under relative cover. Because, while there weren't dragons in the sky now, that didn't mean they wouldn't be there shortly. Especially if the Legion had installed a flight along with their drolim garrison at Muul HesBaden. Even from a couple kilometers up, they would easily spot them scampering across the stone plain and drop on them with fire, talons, and teeth to take them out before they got to shelter.

He looked over at Nikeera who, like him, was now scanning the jumbled mass of gray and white in front of them. There was just too much at risk now to just go running out onto the plain unprepared. Especially since the covenant had failed to trigger in their remaining time in the Danath.

Now it was going to be out here, somewhere. Either on the Ves Tinol, or in the Nar Shava Pass. Maybe even when they finally enter the subterranean realm of the MuulHaden. Regardless of when it happened, it wouldn't be well-timed. In fact, he'd almost wager it would happen when it would be most inconvenient. Because that's how shit was playing out since getting here!

Again the big rider turned his eyes skyward. Since leaving the Danath behind he had relished in no longer having to worry about horny woodland sprites, their presence almost continuously haunting the edges of their camp. But now ... Now he felt something else. Something that just wasn't right. 'It's a trap!' he realized in silent dismay, his feelings quickly confirming it. 'A trap we have to walk into to make this whole damn thing work!'

"My lord," Wren unexpectedly spoke up. Looking over at the denai cleric, he found her pointing skyward. Both he and Nikeera followed the pointing finger and he grimaced as, looking across a relatively cloudy section of the sky, long hidden behind the expansive canopy of the Danath, he caught sight of the three dots moving lazily to the southwest.

"There!" Nikeera grimly noted, finding the three dots almost at the same time he did. "Dragons."

"Aye," Jared grimly confirmed, feeling the Eternal Beasts' increasingly familiar presence wash over him, their corruption making him grit his teeth as the cold filth raged against his senses for a long moment. "Unless the Harbingers have somehow convinced another one of the Eternal Beasts of the air to side with the Darkness."

"There are others?" Nikeera asked softly, not taking her eyes off the now circling dragons, approximately a kilometer or so above them.

"A few. Besides the dragons and the griffons, only the Rocs are large enough to carry people. But others could easily be scouts, passing what they saw back to a rider or some other Eternal Beast handler."

"They're circling," Wren grimly pointed out. Jared nodded, his eyes narrowing as he watched the dragons lazily turn in a wide circle.

"Aye, but I don't think they're on the hunt," he said, pushing aside the sensation of filth to lightly touch the dragons' minds. "No, they haven't spotted us, or Gereth. I think they're just thermal climbing."