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Another of the dragonelles cocked her head at Ayafeeia Ayafeeia snapped her griff, not so ht as an expression of confidence in speaking as she chose "Now, let’s get back to our thralls and see about properly bracing that wing I’ve set three claw-score broken wings and I know: you’ll get air under you again It looks ament anytime"

Chapter 8

AuRon knew the way to the northern territories of Ghioz, as he’d crossed it once before He’d last seen his for warrior Naf, there soo, plus a season

He made a brief visit to the dwarves of the Chartered Coh halls, its opulence on-attack during the wizard’s wars The dwarves told stale stories and gruave hier-dragon Scarfang was a forhter for the Wizard of the Isle of Ice who’d coon-friend of his had fallen in the battle Finding the residents willing to let enon inquired if the dwarves had knowledge of his coood news--they’d finished the wounded dragon--but since all seemed amenable despite the effusion of blood on both sides, the dwarves hired hi, but he congratulated the dwarves on their new line of business Which just gave them an excuse to talk about the collapse of their trade routes east The Ghioz had formed some kind of alliance with the Ironriders and only Ghioz caravans now traded between the rich kingdoms of the Great East and Hypatia and the Dry South

"More wealth buys them more allies which buys theru and flew south

First he went to the pass where he’d last ed a little What had once been a precarious trail hugging the side of the ons to use the pass rather than the foot traffic it had seen before He wondered if the iron road of the dwarves had quit bringing cargo from one side of the Red Mountains to the other

The lonely tower at the top of the pass, with its ready signal pyre dry under stout canvas, looked much the same

He remembered some effort at a flower bed, probably a touch of Hieba’s A new stable covered the ground where the flowers had been, and much more besides--what looked like a storeroom set into the side of the mountain and a war machine ready to hurl missiles down the road toward Hypatia

The toas now flanked by a wall blocking the new road, and it looked as though lu a gate Sher on the slope and one lower, looked like stony shepherds’ huts in positions chosen more for the view than co the sa loops as he had over that little village with Wistala’s Inn, as he liked to characterize it

No sign of Naf, but much heraldry in the forns and many more horses than the stables could hold

They neither took alar their horses--or atteht order him out of Ghioz or try to put a poisoned arrow in his eye as they talked

Naf had spoken,his people froainst hope that he held his pass still, so he could at least look at his hon of hinaled if he’d been there

AuRon descended the eastern side of the mountains into Naf’s homeland, the province of Dairuss, and circled over the City of the Golden Doh altitude, and looked down on the seat of the Ghioz govern the population that had fled the wars on the other side of thefor the day when he caught a flash of scale off to the east

That dot against a cloud was a dragon, no doubt Tooelse

AuRon, thanks to his scaleless skin, could fly like an arrohen he chose, and he chose to intercept the unknown dragon, who see Dairuss north

The dragon moved slowly, either exhausted or burdened At first he turned a little toward AuRon as though interested in speeding the encounter

With the day ending, AuRon had the slight advantage over the stranger of having the sun at his back He could see that the unknown dragon was a red, with dark stripes descending his scales Odd color scheon dove As he turned, AuRon saw he bore some sort of harness, a smaller, simpler version of his own If he had a rider it was a fat, rapped one hugging saddle and scale with all four lier turned belly-up and his harness fell away, twisting as it dropped to the trees below It was no rider after all, but soo-saddle such as mules and packhorses wore For aobject--a natural instinct but one Red Stripe used to advantage Released of his burden, he fought for altitude, and AuRon found that Red Stripe had the sun painfully behind hiht," AuRon bellowed