Return
"BLLlleeeeaaaarrrrghhhh!"
Arokh swerved as an orc flew at him, followed shortly by a wartok. Disoriented from the passage through the rift, he almost ran into the side of a mountain.
"Look out!" Rynn yelled, barely keeping her grip on him with her legs. Runeblade slid back into its scabbard and she grabbed a more secure hold with her hands as Arokh rolled aside to dodge another orc.
It exploded on the rocky cliff behind them with a spectacular splat. Below, a primitive giant bellowed its unintelligible war cry and cast about for more things to throw. Discovering that the companions of his previous ammunition had wisely fled for their lives, it raised its brutish head and roared.
Arokh roared back, his voice distinctly louder.
"Stop showing off!" Rynn shouted, then gasped as something zipped past her ear. She flattened herself against the dragon's neck as Arokh roared in pain, looked up and engulfed the cliff in a cloud of fire.
"Goblins!"
More arrows zipped their way and Rynn felt two pass through Arokh's left wing. "Get out of here -" she started to say, then felt a powerful jolt as the giant hit Arokh square in the chest with half a tree trunk. She flew backwards, her grip lost, and couldn't help thinking, "So this is what it's like," as the ground rushed towards her.
Arokh snatched her out of the air with a foreclaw and swept his wings down with a fire-tinged snarl.
Sudden agony gripped Rynn's chest and her vision started to blur. She could barely see as Arokh rose above the edges of the mountains and glided down to safety on the other side. He landed on a grassy slope out of sight from the goblins and giant.
Rynn scrambled from his grasp, never feeling more happy to be standing on the ground. Even that feeling wasn't long lasting, as a second flash of pain went across her chest and forced her to sit down or fall over.
"I think I've got a broken rib," Arokh gasped.
Rynn reached for her pack only to discover it was gone. "Oh great," she managed, and fell silent. Talking hurt. She looked at Arokh, who returned her gaze with a kind of helplessness. To walk or fly would put both of them at risk without healing potions. A broken rib could saw through a lung in a matter of minutes.
"Are you -" Rynn winced, but pressed on, "- hurt anywhere else?"
Arokh spread his left wing to show where the two arrows had gone through the red membrane. "That's it," he said, then grunted in pain. "Rynn," he went on with obvious difficulty, "we can't stay here. I think I can walk without too much trouble."
"Are you sure?"
He nodded. "But I won't be able to breathe fire, or anything else. You won't be able to fight, either - not with Runeblade." He lowered his wing to help her climb up. "Which way?"
It would be a difficult walk, even downhill, Rynn realised with dismay. The downward slope of the mountain was grassy, but extremely rugged and steep in places. It was impossible to see far down because of the clouds; everything disappeared in a grey haze. "Just go down," Rynn said, and put one hand to her bruised chest.
Arokh started forward and Rynn thought, "Not the triumphant return I'd imagined."