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There was little river traffic It seerown emptier of boats The ones he did see pulled for the bank as fast as they could at his appearance, and even they were not cargo ships but s traffic fro at the top of the iron trail was even e under some trees near the wharf despite the dwarves’ attempt to conceal the bows He tipped his body and glided away out of range A single sweeping look at the landing told him all he needed to know: broken ships, a smashed dock, carts knocked off their iron rails all said that the dragons had been there

He flew over the first of the falls, a series of white steps bordered by sandy washes Sparkling mist threw a rainbow AuRon saw the shattered front of a river-ship resting alongside the bank The wood had not yet reached the sun-drained color of driftwood The shipcanyon, flying over fall after fall A crossbow bolt flen fro air currents above a roaring waterfall, but it fell well short The river turned in a sweeping curve west, slowing and widening before the last fall, and AuRon finally spotted the rocky peak of the Delvings frah the carven toas in ruins, the flag of the Dwarves of the Chartered Company fluttered on a s still lived

AuRon flew to the lower landing and circled on the confused air co water of the last falls A pair of dead wraxapods--giant bones still held together by a few strips of sinew and crawling with crows--lay in the razed upwind fro at the Delvings The balconies were blackened and blasted Fine ork had been reduced to char; s rattled on rods in the here curtains had once stood AuRon saw no bodies of dwarf or dragon, so sos AuRon dropped froht and left on the air currents and keeping out of crossbow range The sun shone into the openings on the alleries were as eth shaft shot up froed feathers cut the air AuRon twisted in the sky, and the oversize spear punched through his wing, still rising AuRon flapped upward and watched the e into the river The dwarves hty war-et nowhere with the dwarves in the Delvings; he could shout all he wanted, but from a safe distance he could not be heard over the roar of the falls He was reluctant to try the door he had entered with Djer years ago It was undoubtedly guarded by further war-machines He looked over at the field with the wraxapod calf The dwarves would not leave a valuable ani at a chain about the calf’s elephant-height neck AuRon turned and flapped over to the field The herders dropped their leads and ran for the trees

"I mean you no harm," AuRon called "I’m an old friend of the Diadem--I can prove it"

The dwarves did not stop for conversation until they ell under the trees "We’ll listen to no rowth It echoed oddly The das using so-trumpet that made the sound hard to place "This is not a war of our starting, but unless you’re here to beg for peace through ourto do with the others I seek Djer, a Partner in the Chartered Conet"

"Djer? He’s in no shape to talk, dragon The work of your kind"

AuRon felt a stab, a pain fiercer than the wound in his wing "May I alight in safety?"

"We’ll do nothing to hars"

AuRon landed, frightening the wraxapod calf so that it lu in fear AuRon sniffed, looked, and listened before approaching the trees where the voice had co to Djer with o to the other side of the field"

AuRon obeyed, his tail lashing in i on a stump in the field and strode away Djer was a brave dwarf; it would be like him to be at the forefront of a battle

The dwarf, a beardless youngster, crept out of the trees, face enclosed by thick layers of wrapped cloth exa and then ran back into the trees

Afternoon had turned to twilight before another dwarf returned, a dwarf in chain led in his aron," the dwarf muttered to the wraxapod herder The dwarf raised his hting

"Dragon, I’ve spent so otten your na the towers and in battle I was there when you stopped the charge of the Ironriders with your fire"

"AuRon is the na"

"Altran is old"