Chapter 5: Truthseer and Vision-Follower
Walkron leapt off Terron's back the moment they landed and sprinted over to the fallen Rider pair.
The urgal was simply unconscious after banging his head against Terron's side but the dragon was bleeding severely from his belly wound and his wings were shredded beyond flight.
Terron followed at a slower pace while the other pair landed off to the side. Walkron turned to watched them, noting that the urgal was female and probably mates with injured one, then ran his hands along the dragon's wound.
"Go fetch that dagger, it fell somewhere over the lake" he murmured after a moment, just loud enough for the female urgal to hear, and stepped closer to the dragon's head "I'm not the best healer but I should be able to stop the bleeding."
The dragon regarded him with one slitted eye, too exhausted to really care, while a blast of air announced that the other pair had taken off again.
"Come spread his wing out Terron so I can see the damage." The brown dragon did as asked and silence pervaded for several long minutes while Walkron healed the ragged holes left by the smaller blue. Once finished there they moved on to the other wing which proved harder to heal as the halfling's claws had ripped to the bone in most places.
They shouldn't have made her angry, this shouldn't have happened. Walkron murmured to himself while he healed the last gash that ran from the dragon's wing into his side.
Terron agreed, occasionally glancing towards the lake to keep an eye on the others.
Finished with the wings, Walkron moved back to the belly wound and began to draw the torn flesh back together but stopped after a moment.
Is something wrong? Terron asked, nosing at the unconscious urgal.
I'm not sure, the wound feels wrong… Walkron shook his head as the female urgal and her dragon landed on the edge of the lake then walked over to her and took the dagger.
It was a strange dagger he noted, with a steel hilt and black blade but the strangest part was the chip of diamond embedded in the tip of the blade. The diamond was so clear it was nearly invisible and yet seemed filled with purpose. Where did such a weapon come from?
"Will he be alright Truthseer?" the urgal's voice grated against his nerves but he nodded and turned back to the wounded dragon.
As he whispered words and began working again to heal the wound, the urgal watched him with unreadable eyes.
After a while she murmured in a low voice "We should have heeded your warning Truthseer, you have never been wrong before"
Walkron sighed, finishing with the wound before turning to look at her "It's not your fault, she might have attacked unprovoked and she might not have." He shook his head and padded over to Terron "All I could read from her was that she didn't want to hurt us, not that she wouldn't."
"She's the one they call Dema in the cities and mine clans refer to as Ala Umbra?"
Walkron nodded, his eyes distant as he gazed in the direction the halfling had fled "She of Many Names, hers is a sad fate."
The urgal grunted, unconvinced and moved over to her companion "Truthseer or not, you cannot justify her madness"
"Perhaps my ability is not what's needed against her but she doesn't lie."
"She is part elf, that clouds your judgment" she grunted again and finally sat against her dragon's side.
Walkron shrugged, tucked the strange dagger under his belt, and climbed onto Terron's back again. Let's go find some answers then.
Terron rumbled agreement and took to the sky again, leaving the urgals to take care of themselves.
I collapsed beside the small, abandoned hovel somewhere halfway between Furnost and Ilirea. My wing throbbed, I lost the black diamond dagger, and my whole body ached from the anger attack. I shouldn't have lost control yet the pain released it faster than anything else.
Azura landed beside me and nosed my injured wing, forcing me to turn to her.
I sighed and slowly sat up, pulling the wounded wing around to study it. The dragon's teeth had ripped off a large section of flesh and chipped the fragile bone underneath. I grunted and with Azura's help healed the wound before standing to examine our surroundings.
Ilirea gleamed in the distance and off to our right the Hadarac Desert stretched to the sky. The plain we stood in seemed lifeless and abandoned, no creatures stirred nearby and the hovel behind us was little more than a wooden shell.
We should go, this place reeks of death… Azura growled, scanning the area while her tail flicked back and forth like a snake.
I know, let's be gone. I responded but at that moment the ground opened up and swallowed us.