“Hang on!” Vomarian shouted.
“What does it look like I’m doing!” My‑re bellowed back. Her words were almost completely shredded in the wind.
Vomarian rode high behind his mere dragon, Kata’s, front leg joints. My‑re mimicked his riding stance and held onto Kuki by two tufts of long, coarse hair with dear life. She hated how they occasionally leaped to bridge the distance, with no warning, she might add. Their mounts continued to travel south, away from the city of Shadowspire and into the Rirorni plains. In the distance, they could see the mountain range, sometimes called ‘The Horse’s Shield,’ protecting the entire northern side of the Rirorni capital of Rithakhar.
The further they traveled away from Shadowspire, the more the ground seemed to transform. The plains started to turn to little more than dirt, rocks, and tired-looking grass. The mere dragons raced toward a hill, leaped around it, landed hard, and continued.
Rising and dropping, My‑re’s stomach lurched into her chest. She smacked into Kuki’s rough hide, cursing as her fleshy backside absorbed the blow.
Their mounts suddenly stopped.
The two Lord Protectors looked at each other.
“Did they lose the scent?” My‑re asked, adjusting herself while their steeds inhaled the air. “I still have the garment with me.”
“Give them a moment,” Vomarian replied, patting Kata.
The mere dragons began to ascend the hill, claws digging into the ground for stability, sniffing as they moved. Arriving at the top, My‑re saw a mound of stacked, fist-sized rocks in a large, rectangular shape. Kata and Kuki circled the pile once and sat down, and a grunt reverberated in their throats.
Vomarian dismounted, My‑re followed, and asked, “Do you think it’s a grave?”
Vomarian went to one end of the mound and nodded downward.
Joining the Shagornan Elf, My‑re saw a large, roughly round rock with the carving, ‘AG.’
“Araminth Goldeneye?” My‑re questioned, but more rhetorical.
Vomarian shrugged, “Possibly. The clothing from Westwind’s store brought the mere dragons here. So, it’s safe to say the owner is likely under these rocks.”
“That would mean Westwind lied about Araminth’s burial mound being in the middle of the river,” My‑re commented.
“It seems so. Maybe he had a reason,” Vomarian said, bending down closer and touching one of the rocks. “Do the Rirorni have superstitions about disturbing resting places?”
“The Rirorni have superstitions about everything,” My‑re said, “Especially when it comes to the dead and their graves.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t mess with them.”
Snorting in amusement, Vomarian moved one of the rocks and said, “Well, that might be counterproductive, considering the nature of our task.”
“You do what you want, but I’ve not come all this way just to be cursed for the rest of my life,” My‑re said, turning away and looking outward from the hilltop.
The Shagornan Elf moved an additional rock and then another. The two mere dragons approached and used their claws to shift large piles. Their efforts became more frenzied, and after a couple of hard bumps, Vomarian backed away from their actions.
She glanced back toward the mere dragons. They were making good progress, and then My‑re saw an object through the pile. Approaching, she set the article of clothing down. The mere dragons shifted their efforts toward another section.
“Did you find something?” Vomarian asked.
Ignoring him, she shifted a couple of rocks and found a bone. She reached out. It felt like a dried husk and brittle. At first, she thought it resembled a leg bone, but longer than she would expect. Shifting more rocks, more bones and a shape began to emerge. She also saw cloth.
“I thought you carried your superstitious Rirorni upbringing with you?” Vomarian probed.
“Dammit,” My‑re cursed quietly in frustration, putting a rock aside. “I’ll assume this isn’t a Rirorni grave, so I should be fine.”
After an hour, they exhumed the grave. A couple of large blankets had covered the bones. Other items were present, including trinkets and fine clothing, but they weren’t worn. The deceased wasn’t human-sized but much larger. It also didn’t have the same bone structure as humans, specifically the skull, which was reptilian shaped and enormous compared to a human. If My‑re had to guess, it almost looked like-
“A dragon?” Vomarian questioned, finishing her thought.
“It’s not human, that’s for sure,” My‑re replied. “It’s smaller than what I would expect for the size of a dragon.”
“Not an adult. Younger, but I don’t have any experience with dragons, so I don’t know,” Vomarian said.
The two mere dragons began sniffing the remains. Raising their heads, they issued an unearthly, ear-piercing shriek, cutting the air like a scimitar.
Gritting their teeth, My‑re and Vomarian covered their ears. The sound continued for several heartbeats.
Kata snatched the article of clothing My‑re had set on the ground in its teeth. Then, along with Kuki, the mere dragons leaped over the grave and sped westward down the hill.
“Stop!” My‑re called out. In a few moments, they were well away and continued to make the best possible speed toward the setting sun.
“The nine hells,” Vomarian cursed.
“Well, it looks like we’re walking.” My-re placed her hands on her hips and continued, “At least I didn’t lose these two.”
The Shagornan Elf side-eyed her.
My‑re asked, “Did something spook them?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Where in the nine hells are they going?” My‑re questioned. “All that‘s out there is the Rirorni plains. What’s even beyond them? The cliffs of the Edge of the World?”
“No, that’s too far south of where they are heading,” Vomarian replied.
“Where then? There has to be something out there.”
“No, nothing. Beyond the Rirorni plains is the Shagornan desert. There’s nothing out there. It doesn’t make sense,” Vomarian said.
“Do you think they are heading toward Lirith Kai?”
“Unlikely, they’d never make it through…” Vomarian paused.
“Through what?”
“The Twisted Lands.”
“That makes even less sense. What’s even in that mad realm?” My‑re asked.
“Dragons.”