Arlen was somewhat disappointed in the amount of heat their fire gave out. The night was cold; colder than any he'd felt since winter. There was also an air of uneasiness between Lynde and Rose, which added to the chill in the air. Fortunately, the dinner Rose had hunted was nice and hot, providing some warmth to the chilled travelers.

Herbst decided to break the silence that had been growing since they camped. "I hope it doesn't rain. That would be unfortunate."

"That it would," Arlen replied. "Of course, with this cold, we should hope it doesn't snow."

"That would be far worse, yes," Herbst said. "What do you ladies think?"

"I think," Lynde said, "that a strong rain would be terrible to travel through."

"Then it would be a good thing for us," Rose said. "You can't fly in that, so no Dragon Riders. No horses either because of possible flooding. It'd be an excellent time to make a break for Surda."

"It'd be difficult for us as well," Lynde countered.

"We can handle it," Rose said. "We have to."

I like the rain, Artsanna said. It does tend to be cold, but I still enjoy it.

"You only say that because you don't get soaked," Lynde said indignantly.

Exactly.

Before they could continue their discussion, Arlen heard a faint thudding sound that he had learned to associate with Dragons. He looked to the sky, as did Rose and Artsanna. Arlen focused a dark blot that moved to cover the stars, and towards them! It was a Dragon!

Two… Three… Four Dragons coming right at us, Artsanna noted. A loud one from the southeast, another loud one from the northeast, a very loud one from east, and an incredibly loud one from the north.

"Loud?" Lynde asked.

"Bigger ones are louder," Arlen said. "It's not that hard to understand."

Lynde frowned at Arlen, but turned to Artsanna. "I'm guessing the biggest one is Magnora."

Artsanna shook her head. Magnora is to the east. The northerly one is… bigger.

Rose had a determined look on her face. "Artsanna, how many can you carry?" she asked.

I don't know. I've only carried two, but I think I may be able to carry three or perhaps all of you.

Rose frowned. "Herbst, do you mind staying behind?"

"Not at all," Herbst said. "I'd be afraid of falling off anyway."

"Good. How long do we have?"

Not long but long enough, Artsanna answered.

"Good," Rose said. "Let's go."

Rose, I think that we have little to fear from the northerly one.

"Why? It's probably Fírnen."

He is too big to be Fírnen. And his pace is not like the others, so he is not after us.

"'He'?" Lynde questioned. "How do you know…?"

"No time for questions!" Arlen said. "We need to move now!"

When they were packed up with what little they had, the three of them climbed onto Artsanna, which was a tight fit, but Artsanna only complained a little. Before she took off, Herbst took Lynde's hand and said, "Be safe."

Lynde nodded. "I will be."

After a moment's silence and Herbst's hand lingering, Artsanna said, We must go now before Alaric catches us!

Herbst drew away, much to both his and Lynde's dismay. But she managed to contain her emotions, saying, "I'm ready now. Let's go."

Good. And Artsanna took off.

She flew into the Spine, and after a while, landed on a plateau a safe distance away from the outer edge. Even then, they took refuge in a cave system leading deep into the mountains, Rose guiding the way with a light formed with magic. When they finally felt safe, Rose held her magic light towards Arlen and Artsanna.

Rose had a look that frightened Arlen in the dim light. Her new face was intimidating when covered in shadows. She asked, "Tell me why you thought that larger Dragon was friendly, and what you were doing in the time between Lynde and I getting captured and when we escaped."

Arlen was nervous. Apparently, Artsanna hadn't shared the adventure with Lynde, so it would be painful to explain it now. He would try to omit the part about Murtagh and Thorn, but he could do nothing to explain Artsanna's familiarity with them. "We left the Urgal village for Gil'ead. There we met Herbst and a man in service to the Magicians who helped us. We eventually found our way to Dras-Blöthr, following a group of new prisoners to the place. You know the rest."

Rose shook her head. "I find it unlikely that you would know the way to Gil'ead. And there was a storm after us that you would not be able to fly through. How did you get to Gil'ead?"

Lynde looked to Artsanna, and the Dragon met her gaze. Lynde was shocked, Artsanna fearful. Lynde spoke with a halting tone. "You traveled with Murtagh?"

Rose look to Arlen and Artsanna each with a look of shock. "You…? That traitor?" she said in a manner that he'd never seen before in her. "So that's why you knew the Dragon; it was Thorn!"

Rose was angry, and she even hit the cave wall with her fist. There was almost no damage to the wall, but her hand was badly injured. She gasped in pain as she began to heal it. "Rose, are you alright?" Lynde asked.

Rose stopped in the middle of her spell, causing her hand to heal in a strange way. She growled and said, "Leave me alone, betrayers." She then stormed off, going deeper into the cave. Lynde went after her.

When they left, the light followed, and Arlen and Artsanna were left in the dark. "We're in trouble," Arlen said.

I agree. I should have told Lynde the moment we were reunited! Artsanna said. Perhaps then this would not have happened.

"Actually, I meant about the light," Arlen said in pitch blackness. "We need a fire or something." Artsanna snorted, causing two jets of silvery-white fire to come from her nostrils. The fire lasted only for a second, and when it was gone, they were once again in the dark. "Maybe something a little more permanent."

There was the sound of footsteps coming from another part of the cave opposite from the one that Rose and Lynde left through. It was also not the way they came. As a precautionary measure, Arlen drew his sword. No matter what was there, he would make his best effort survive it.