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"May I see him?"

"Best if you don’t He was hurt in the last battle He needs quiet"

"To heal?"

"To die, the physikers say"

AuRon’s claws closed on the wet earth, tearing soil and worms "Take me to hiht by the river, you’ll do as I ask"

Altran dragged griernails across as left of his beard "I will My charter one They’ve laid him out with the others beyond hope Come, the burial cave is not far" Altran sent the herder ahead and led AuRon into the forest

"What happened to the Caravan?"

"Last year ere on the steppe The saons ca that cursed banner of the figure in the golden circle again They burned the towers The survivors ith Djer The Ironriders began to gather He wouldn’t stop He drove us, wouldn’t give a full night’s rest even, but we made Wallander before the sno Thinner, but alive"

"How are s?"

"The Partners built it sound The dragons have burned out the upper galleries, and not a dowel still reon has ot all the water we need, and food for a year or ons, or have hters--yet The Underroad is held by our best dwarves; if they do come in force, we have a hundred ton of rock to close Deep Passage I’s are strong, but to me it just means we die a year frorieves ood year, when Djer landed at Wallander with you You brought us luck before, ain"

"But too late for Djer, it seems"

This last came as AuRon spied the burial cave, set well away fros Thankfully only two lanterns lit the place, hidingdwarves lay under blankets stretched above, to shield theh on the dead to give the bodies a blue-green carpet Two hollow-eyed dwarves wandered a water in response to weak pleas but deaf to all other requests The charnel house s flesh filled AuRon’s nostrils from a fire pit where wisps of blue-black slint of the stars above

The buzzing of the flies made AuRon narrow his eyes and fold his ears

"Skin of the Golden Tree, it’s worse than ever," Altran said "They ht up the batch from the last attack They had Djer in the cave when I last saw hi the bodies, dead and near-dead

"Have we surrendered?" one of the attendants said in a tone that marked him as one who didn’t care either way

"No, this is a friend An old friend Where’s Djer?"

"Djer who?"

"The Partner Djer Highboots Coht"

AuRon stepped carefully over the prostrate dwarves, and put his head into the shadow of the cave He found Djer, not by s to separate hion, akin to the one on the ring,body

Altran removed his hat and bent next to the dwarf AuRon forced himself to look at what remained of his old friend Djer’s skin was blackened and flaked like that of a spit-roasted pig His eyes ithered, lifeless things in horribly e pus down his nose and cheeks, and his lips burned back to reveal teeth belonging to a corpse

Yet he still breathed

"Djer, the dragon AuRon is here He would speak with you"

"Why is he notbandaged?" AuRon growled, having trouble finding his words "Bybyby the Sun and Stars, I’ll have someone’s skin for this"

The attendant shrank away in fear, but Altran held up a hand

"Ach’andagesnohurtsworseAuRon," Djer wheezed "Just cool air"

"Djer, do you knowworkingha’ you co’ wi t’ dragons?"