Era had been traveling by air nearly all day, but night was coming fast and she could already feel the drag of sleep at the possessed elf's heels. Annoyed by the fact that it just seemed to be all forest below her, she dropped down to light in the top of a tree. This was probably not a good place to stop, but she really didn’t seem to have many other options. The young steel dragon was still with her, grown to about the size of a hunting dog already, when just a few days back he was small enough to carry in her arms. He landed in the same tree, causing it to sway and creak. Era took back to the wing as it snapped in half, taking the surprised dragon with it. A splash soon followed and Era landed easily on the edge of the broken and hallow tree. Looking down through the gap made by the fallen tree she saw a sour-looking and muddy steel dragon crawling out of the muck onto the slowly sinking log. She smiled at him and called down in draconic, “I should call you Clumsy.”

He glared at her, as if to say ‘Don’t you dare.’ “Help.” He said attempting to shake off the muck and nearly falling off the log and back into the mire.

“Just hold on.” Era sighed, switching from draconic to the common tongue. She didn’t know too many words in draconic yet, but she was getting the hang of it. Era didn’t really want to go down there, as she wasn’t sure how much room she would have. She wasn’t about to let the yet-to-pick-a-name dragon flounder around down there until who knew what showed up. So she slipped down through the gap under the shelter of the trees to hover just above the small dragon. She landed on the log and catching one of the dragon’s wings, pulled him atop the log.

It was only then that she looked around. It wasn’t as close and gloomy as she had been expecting, though she had not really been expecting water instead of dirt. A swamp instead of a forest… perhaps it wasn’t a bad thing. She needed somewhere dry to sleep though.

It'd been quite a while since Vernon had last had some unicorn to eat. They tasted quite delicious, especially when the flesh was rotted, but then again everything tasted better rotted. It was a pity though that it seemed to take a bit longer to rot. Vernon was glad to have found one of the rare creatures while wandering through norwood forest and couldn't help but hasten the innocent creature's demise. Most of the remains were carried off in his backpack, his stomach, or the stomaches of his pets, and what was left over was left to rot in the forest. It was nearly a week ago so so the meat had already made a nice nursery for maggots, tastey seasoning as Vernon liked to call them.

Vernon's pleasent meal in his marsh was interrupeted by aloud creak in the distance which was swiftly followed by an appropriate snap and a splash. It may have just been some old tree that ha it coming, or a sign that he had some unsual trespassers in his marsh the were warrant for a proper greeting by it's master and if that were the case he'd have to be careful as they probably weren't as helpless as many of the others that got lost in his marsh.

Vernon quickly stashed away the meat he was snacking on and made his way towards where the noise had come from as he jumped from tree to tree. The intruder or intruders weren't too far away, but stale winds failed to bring him their scent if indeed they had any. It wasn't till a few minutes later that he caught a good whiff of their scent. A winged elf and some sort infant wyrmling dragon. Probably not much to worry about except for the flying part.

As Vernon advanced his own putrid scent heralded is precense and gave the Era and her pet a fair warning of the beastly fiend that was headed their way. It wouldn't take much more than a mnute for have them in sight and likewise be visible to them.

((OOC: She is a high elf possessed by an air/fire elemental-ish being, not a flying elf :lol: ))

Era turned her gaze to what remained of the tree. Another tree not so fragile would serve her well. First and foremost was to find such a tree or enough dry land to rest on. Trees seemed to offer more safety though and Era was a bit frightened by the closeness the earth elements seemed to thrive on. There was a reason she had avoided the dwarven cities. Underground was much to confining…

She let her wings dissolve into the air they were born from, causing a stir in the still air at their passing. Era then directed Mladen’s possessed body to the wider end of the fallen tree where she saw only more swamp, becoming tangled with vines in some places while in others were swallowed in nearly still water. There appeared to be some solid ground just beyond the broken tree and perhaps another more sturdy tree could be ground from there. She hopped off the broken log and felt it tip up somewhere she left it, dipping the log down where the steel dragon was. He gave a startled yelp and dug his claws into the wood. The rotted wood gave way once more and as soon as he felt it start to crumble the dragon squeaked out a childish “Wait for me!” In draconic and half scrambled, half attempted to fly, over to where Era was now following the tree root, one foot before the other to solid ground.

Kneeling down and testing the ground she found it solid enough to stand on just as the steel dragon caught up. Breaking the root with a clumsy bound. She wondered if all creatures went through such a clumsy stage in their life. He would learn to be more careful. She only wished he wouldn’t be so loud. She looked down at the sad looking creature and like the first time she had seen him huddled in the jagged rocks with a starved look to him. With a gentle smile she took one step back from him and cast her gaze about for dry wood to start a fire. It was then that she noticed the smell as becoming more vile down here and she wondered what had died here. She stopped her search for ignitable wood when she saw something else moving about. Something bigger then her dragon companion. She locked her gaze on it as it approached.

(Was a little thrown off the hole part with her flying and no magical spells to provide flight, but um.... sorry it took forever and a half for moi to post.)

The intruders were close. He wondered what an elf could possibley hope to accomplish by...her, yes it was indeed a female scent, little trip into the marsh. The infant dragon was what made him the most curious. Sure it was a dragon, but few could see most wyrmlings as a threat least of all the Master of the marsh. He did not find a suitable answer before spotting them.

The infant looked no more of a threat than he had imagined. The elf was another matter. She did not seem like a warrior, yet there was a strange air about here. Prehaps she was a mage of some sort. A pity it was not so easy to judge the threat of a mage by looks alone. He noticed she lacked wings, prehaps he had merely imagined the scent of feathery wings. It was a rare of event, but occasionaly he made such mistakes with scents.

"Well, well, well. Do tell me who are these foolish wayward travelers who have dared to defile my glorious marsh with their unworthy prescence," Vernon commanded from his treetop perch after a breif look over of the elf and her pet. He wondered if she would be another pushover like the last cowardly woman that he had dealt with. But he doubted he would have such luck with her. A few threats to the baby ought be enough to cool her off if need be though.

Era paused where she was, looking up at the creature who had just spoken to her. He seemed to be, at least to the borrowed Elven eyes, to be a large rat. The felt Ornell bulk at the sight of the creature, and the smell of it. Era was the one in charge of the body though, so the elf's own reaction didn't come though. A slight smile touched the corner of her mouth, a slight twitch and a flash of emotion in her eyes.

Yes... they had called her foolish for going onto the material plane, away from the elemental planes she called home. Wayward was also appropriate. She had yet to discover what she sought here, as she was not sure what it would look like. Traveler... was her race. Defile was a bit strange, but there was no error in it that she could see. Not until she knew what he considered defilement. Walking on the ground perhaps? The tree falling? A creature like that would no doubt see this swamp as glorious, as she saw her own plane as such.

So then, she bowed to the very large rat.

"Your appraisal is quite correct sir. I am Era, the elf is Ornell and the young dragon has yet to choose a name. He didn't like my suggestion of Clumsy..." She stayed bowed, and would wait for him to either address her again or direct her to rise. She was the stranger here after all. "We are here for but a pause before we go on our way. If you don't wish for us to do so, simply let us know where you would rather we pause and we shall look into it."

Her response baffled him. She reffered to three beings, but there was certainly only two before him. He was sure of this, there was no other Elf for smelled no other elf, he saw no other elf and only heard his own heard his own breathing mixed with Era's and the dragon's. Was she crazy or Era some curious creature possessing Elf, he certainly hadn't heard of such creatures being so foward about it if possession were the case. That however wasn't the big thing that baffled him. He simply wasn't execting the respect that the Master of the Marsh deserved. Most people retorted with anger or cowarded with fear, but this elf had neither anger nor fear. Her response was a proper one, and it seemed she certainly wasn't the average adventurer. He wondered if she was a noble of some sort who for some reason had strayed into his domain. He would have to find out about that for sure.

It was nearly a minute before he had come to his sense and yet Era still was bowing before him. He had intended to toy with the intruders, but now he just couldn't seem to do it. He was cruel, evil, villanous, and vile yet her polite and proper words echoed in his mind and held him back. He had managed to bring his hand to his slingshot, yet stopped as he resolved to help at least two of the poor souls that had lost their way.

"Rise. I am Vernon, Master of the Marsh. I shall be escorting you out of my domain after your pause. Now tell me how you found your self in my marsh. I am curious as to how one so proper ended up in a place so removed from cities and people in general," Vernon said with a much nicer tone. While he spoke he dulled his foul stench, though he was curious as to how long he would have had to wait for either her or her baby to lose their composure or even their lunch. He decided that the elf had at least earned that comfort.

Era rose at his word, putting herself at ease as she continued to ignore Ornell’s own protests to the smell. Era didn’t have to smell it, so she didn’t. She did chance a glance at the steel dragon that had made his way behind her and sat down. She felt him leaning against her just slightly.

She turned her full attention back to the rat in the tree before her again before answering his question. “I’m not normally in cities. I’m not normally on this plane of existence. I’m here by choice though, for a study of sorts. So, I’m a visitor here, a Traveler. If you say this is your marsh, then it must be. Such a bold claim would not be without precedence. Therefore I am trespassing and must be polite in order to make up for my ignorance. Such mistakes should only be made once and offences should be rectified if possible or the visiting offender should leave the area and not return. That is how things are done among the Travelers, though they are not always announced as so.”

She moved over to the base of the tree she had been heading to before his appearance. Before sitting down though, and as the steel dragon scrambled after her, nearly tripping over his own feet as he did so, she spoke once more to Vernon. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

Vernon was quite surprised at her reply. Not only were her words diplomatic and her manners proper, but she held an air of nobility about her. But, then again he had plenty of room to be wrong, there was only so much a vile creature like himself could know or care about nobility. Vernon didn't care either, he was more concerned with the world's end than it's control.

Her reasoning was of course fully justified and sound. It would indeed be wise for common travelers to learn the way of Travelers, it might extend their lifespan paticularly for those who passed through his domain. She mentioned she was of another plane of existance which inspired the question of wether they had destroyed worlds of other planes. He might venture to ask Death that one day when he awakens, for it was only Death that had the full memory of the four horsemen. Either way it mattered not, yet it was an interesting question.

"There is fine. You are far enough from the tick breeding ground," Vernon mused after Lady Era presented the question. It was a pity that ticks didn't award the same response as leeches, maybe then it would be worth while to see that they were hard to not find in the marsh.

"So then...Was this Ornell was the medium between this world and yours? If so how did that come about and if not how exactly did you come into this world for your study of sorts?" Vernon asked. He wasn't exactly sure what it meant for one to be a 'Traveler', yet he figured it would be interesting bit of information or at least as interseting as something could be without involving plagues, disease, toxins, and pestilence.

Era sat down, not at all really worried about ticks. She knew from Ornell’s own memory that fire could drive them away and she had easy access to fire. She thought about his question for a moment as the young dragon made his way over to the side opposite of Vernon and hid his nose in her skirts. The smell was bothering him some, but he was not going to interrupt as he had yet to figure out what they were talking about exactly. Lady Era absently stroked the dragon’s wing.

“Ornell could be called a medium, but she is actually more like armor. I didn’t find her right away, but am glad I did. She takes a lot of maintenance, though most beings here seem to. She is the elf you see.”

Era smiled to herself and went on. “I was born in the Elemental Plane of Fire and it was through a portal in the mountains that I first came to the Material Plane. A handful of others came with me, or I with them, but we were almost immediately attacked by large creatures that I now know were dragons. That is why I have decided to keep this one with me when I found him. A dragon on my side should deter another dragon from attacking; at least once he is a bit bigger. We scattered, fleeing from the dragons. It wasn’t until later that I was able to find Ornell and her Keepers, parents I suppose is the term for it here. She was unable to function on her own, so in return for her form she gets to live until a cure is found. Though I never said I would be looking for a cure. I have my own task to complete first.”

She was annoyed to find herself drifting slowly toward sleep. If Ornell fell asleep then Era would be trapped in those nightmares, but if she left the body she risked unknown things. If it rained or such, she would have to retreat into Ornell’s body and suffer the nightmares anyway. This was also a swamp, or marsh, and that meant water, waterlogged earth, trees, and… logs. Was sleeping a good idea though? She blinked quickly twice in an attempt to keep herself awake.

An elemental possessing an elf, curious. He had't heard of that happening before, yet Era was also a Traveler so prehaps that stood for something, though the real answer behind the matter was unimportant. He had heard that elementals and their kind did not need to eat or sleep, so Era's perception of elves being high maintenance was understandable. If that were the case, that would mean that Famine would take much of a liking to this Era. Vernon wondered if Era would seek a cure after finishing her own studies, but Vernon knew he wouldn't bother afterall by the way Era described Ornell, she was not much more than a vegitable and those were meant to be eaten or left to decay, and then ultimately be eaten by something else. Vernon was however, curious as to what ailed the elf, though not entirely so as it was obviously not a degenerative illness, but then again he knew those nearly as well as the back of his hand.

Vernon raised a brow as seemed to show signs of sleepiness, signs that she was trying to repress. Probably more proof of a sleepless creature driving her new form to it's limits. Afterall for any to be able to think of sleep so near such a foul stench such as his own meant that they were indeed quite tired, devoid of the sense of smell, or accustomed to the smell and Vernon doubted the later was something the elf could do in such a small span of time.

"Quite interesting and I of course can't condemn you for hadling your own matters before hers, though it reminds me that I have heard little of these matters. What is this task and study of sorts that has brought you to this plane and ultimately lead you to my marsh? Is it simply exploration to state an inquisitive mind?" Vernon replied he made his way to a tree only a few feet away Era. The dragon certainly wouldn't agree with the move, yet it might be the difference in wether or not Ornell fell asleep.

“True, my apologies. I came here to do a study of sorts. I wouldn’t call it a true study as I have no hypothesis about what I will find out. There is a oddness to this Material Plane and I want to know why my own people, who can travel easily throughout the other Planes and reside so easy in the Elemental Planes should find it so difficult to survive here. Many of our most powerful leaders have come here never to return. I wondered if it was the specialization that came with that power that led to their death. So I came here when I was much weaker, only just reborn. I have found quite a few gateways to other planes though. So far, it is working well, though there are many difficulties, flying being one of them. I really can’t carry much more then Ornell herself, and after some time I must take a break. This is one of those times. Unfortunately, she is still tapping into my resources and I’m afraid she may drag me into the horridness of sleep.” She felt the heaviness of sleep still pulling hard on her and shook her head. Valen was grumpy or mad about something, but she really couldn’t risk dreaming again.

She chose to risk the dampness of the marsh to the horrors of Ornell’s nightmares. It was bad enough coming across them at random, but to become immersed in them… She shuttered involuntarily and murmured, “Excuse me one moment…”

Ornell’s body went limp, her eyes dropping heavily as she leaned against the tree. A slight shimmer not unlike a wil-o-wisp formed across her chest. She breathed slowly in and the light grew. As she breathed out, a lightly glowing mist came out and formed itself into a humanoid form. Passing out the elf’s back was so much easier then the front of her.

She moved from her more Air Elemental form to her more solid Hybrid form. She hovered above the ground then, more at eye level with Vernon in a tree. She glanced at him then back to Ornell. “I often wonder if it is really worth the trouble having her around though.”

Wasn't it obvious? The elemental planes were all of an elenment, just as the elemenals were. This world was most accurately a composite of all elements, and the only to truly be found in a lasting form was earth. In the end even the earth was breakable. Vernon was about to point this out among other bovious answers to her quest which she surely might have come across by now, but became far more curious to what exactly she was she was asking to be excused for. He quickly found out it was to get out of Ornell's body before it was too late, sure enough as soon as Era had left the elf completely, the elf feel into sleep. Vernon wondered how much Era had to overdirve the Elf's body for her to be so tired as to fall a sleep so simply in such ill conditions.

Seeing Era's true form Vernon wondered at the anatomy of Travellers. He knew of all natural diseases that could plague mortals of the material plane, yet he could not think of any that would effect elementals and probably Traveller's as well from all things Era found strange and high maintanance with Ornell. He was sure that any anatomy they had was just too simple to be used against them, quite bothersome indeed. Good thing there were magical remedies to that problem.

"I imagine Ornell is your only real advantage over those that have come before you. And if rain, adverse weather, and water can douse your fire and life I'm quite sure that the answer is yes," Vernon mused as he studied the curious traveller before him.

(gah! It's a might bit short >.<)

“Rain douse my Fire? Perhaps, though I’ve never been so foolish as to remain in my Fire form during a storm. I have an Air form in addition to my Fire one that is much more suited to the changes in weather.” She smiled at him. “Water is not as much of a threat to me as some may think it is.”

It was true, after all, that rain and mists didn’t bother her. Other things did though, like the fact that neither her nor Ornell really knew how to swim and her claustrophobia… Damn the Elemental Plane of Earth! Even dieing here was better then risking getting trapped in the Elemental Plane of Earth again…

Quickly she shoved that thought away. This was a swamp, or a marsh… but she wasn’t about to let herself be caught in the mud… Water and Earth together?… She shoved that thought away too and brought her attention to the rat once more. She had to change that topic and soon. Giving away her weaknesses to someone she didn’t even know was not a wise thing to do.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how is it that you became Master of the Marsh?”

((OOC: Gah! I hate short posts!!! <_< ))

An air form as well? Curious indeed. So Travellers were like elementals with two elements? Her true bane then had to be between Earth and water, but what exactly was that? Mud, Poison, Acid? If it happened to be any of those three he certainly had enough of any of those except maybe Acid. The fact that she floated so easily in the air discouraged him from finding out the hard way. He liked it more when he could keep his foes on the ground and away from himself.

Her question was indeed a good one. He could say it was not anything she needed to know, yet Vernon didn't mind bragging or telling a perverted lie as truth for that matter. Not to mention he was quite proud of evicting the troublsome Black dragon, Munwithurix, who used to claim the marsh as her own. He had been content to share, but she got irritated with his prescense and attacked him.

"Well, you are right, the Marshes were not always mine. Part of it was indeed mine by birth, but not all. Much of the rest was the territory of Munwithurix, a powerful black dragon who gathered who feasted upon wayward travelers. A offered her a partnership and more than she could possibley get from having all of this Marsh to herself, but she refused and began to get greedy. She expanded her territory, creating mini lairs to rest in within the murky waters. This, I could not stand for and I sought her ought. I taught her a good lesson in pain and convinced her to leave the marsh forever. This left the entire Marsh to become my rightful domain and it will remain as such," Vernon replied. While there was much truth too it, there were countless lies within the tale which made him seem better.

"But, enough of myself. What is the elemental Plane of fire like? Aside of course from firey. I heard that firey denizens hold great firey cities there," Vernon asked wondering what the elemental plane of fire was like and how close is could be described to the material one.

((OOC: Make me look up names and such! :P))

Bettered a Dragon? No doubt something to be proud of. No wonder he called himself Lord of the Marshes.

His question about the Plane of Fire made her smile though. “The Plane of Fire does have cities. I don’t know if you could ever visit though. The efreet have a fabulous city though, their capital, called the City of Brass. The Grand Sultan rules from there. It is a city raised above the molten landscape and the stunning oceans of lava. It’s like a great brass bowl that reaches high into the flaming sky even as lava flows down the volcanoes it is set upon. The walls are hot brass and the streets are cobbled with iron. There are many stairs rising up along the walls and many balconies with stunning views. The efreet, salamanders, and elementals are all welcome there. There are frequent visitors from other planes, including this one, though they never seem to stay long. The most common visitors are from the Nine Hells, so it’s no surprise to see Pit Fiends, Kytons, Imps or other demonic creatures there. They are always willing to strike up a bargain though and some just want an easy way to this plane.” She shrugged then, not too concerned with the fact that she was talking about demons so easily. The small steel dragon looked up from where he was by Ornell, then climbed his way onto her lap. The elf didn’t even move, lost in her nightmares…

“I haven’t been there in some time though. I doubt much has changed though.” Era smiled at him. “Any other questions?”

(Now to be really evil :mellow:, 's what you get for making Rith go out randomly somewhere in the forest. Xp)

The Brass City, a city of efreet, whatever those firey creatures were. She had explained some of the plane's terrain as she explained this curious city of Brass, but had only done well to describe the city itself and not much else of the plane. That however was easily enough remedied when she asked if he had any other questions.

"The City of Brass sounds quite interesting indeed, yet what of the plane in general? You said that there were molten islands and such within an ocean of lava, but what else is there in the plane? Are there fire plants that grow upon the molten terrain and sprout firey fruits for fiery creatures and elementals to eat? Is there a blazing Sun that ocassionally graces the flaming sky? Is there a great variety of Firey creatures there as there is here among all of Imythess' different climates? Essentially what comparisons have you already made between this plane and yours?" Vernon asked. As Vernon spoke one of his rat crawled out of his backpack and along his back to and shortly after was folowed by two other smaller rats. The rats had been curious as to whom Vernon was speaking to and after seeing the strange creature were quite captivated by the odd burning entiy that floated about in the air.

((Not evil, only having to look up the names sucks. I remember enough to post this withough looking anything up! ^_^ ))

Ornell shook her head, her fiery red hair moving as it was fire itself for a moment. What sort of question was that? Didn’t she answer that already? She had told him what it was like.

“It is Fire, fire that feed off fire, and where there should be earth is metal and lava, where there should be oceans and rivers are lava flows and liquid magma so hot that it is its own sun. The sky is smoke and burning flame, as if you were standing in a furnace as large as a world. There is no need for plants, the Fires feeds off of the Plane itself. Fuel is always welcome, as it makes the fires stronger then normal, but it isn’t need. Stronger Fire beings can consume lesser ones to grow stronger, but it is more like joining forces then being destroyed unless the larger fire is much more powerful and simply overwhelms the lesser beings. Firestorms do that sometimes, but they are simply huge elementals traveling through the Plane. Then those consumed simply loose sense of the Self and become one with the stronger power. The fragile beings that live here would never be able to go much farther then the City of Brass. That city is cool enough that breathing won’t cause them to burn their lungs by simply trying to breath. The Demons are fine though. I have never visited their Plane, but I have heard that Fire is an element they welcome while here it seems to be feared when it acts on its own. There are many types of fiery creatures though, running the gambit, though few are actually native. Most are hybrids like myself, beings from another plane and the one of fire. Many are hybrids from Fire and Hell, like Hellhounds, while some are darker versions of native creatures, like the Dark Phoenix and Phoenix.”

She paused for a moment then said, “You don’t know what the efreet are, do you? Do you know what they are called here, on this fragile plane? I’ll give you a hint, only those who have broken the Grand Sultan’s laws are sent here for punishment.” A smile lit her eyes, though her face remained gently neutral. Did he know?

(Aw... Dang.)

"Oh! Well then, your plane isn't quite as interesting as I had hoped," Vernon sighed after reply. It was rather simple, only able to mimic a few of the many features of the material plane. Then again it did make some sense, it wasn't called the elemental plane of fire for no reason at all, though he still had hoped for more connections between the planes and hopefully some insight on how to ail an elemental. He figured that the elementals didn't really eat or had a reall anatomy for that matter, and the same was possibly true of travellers.

"Though, I must say that fragile is not a good word for the creatures here or this plane. Fire of all elements is the easiest to oust. And there are many dangers for elementals as you've already said your people have had trouble survivng. Worst of All I do believe you claimed Ornell as your 'armor', and most people don't make armor out of the fragile. The plane itself is also stong enough to support more than just fire. A wide variety of life, in fact. And of course to top it all of the with so much earth I can only assume the this plane is more stable that the plane of fire with its churning oceans of magma and random molten islands floating about," Vernon explained as the rodents on his shoulders twitched their whiskers before vanishing back into the backpack.

Vernon turned his attention back to her question. He honestly had no idea and no thoughts of where to begin. Of course Istan also had Sultan, but Istan was not one of those places Vernon had ever opted to visted. The desert just wasn't lively enough for his tastes. Driness kept away the many molds and fungi that Vernon liked to season his food with. "I indeed do not know what Efreete are nor what they are called on this plane, despite your hint," Vernon shrugged.

Era shook her head at his comment. “No, the problem isn’t so much surviving, it’s dieing and not returning. Travelers don’t have children, when we die in the elemental planes we are simply reborn again. Death is not something we normally worry about. We try to avoid it, certainly. The longer we live, the more power we can gather, and the more powerful we are. Here, we have to worry about death and it is annoying. Things here are fragile because they can only die once. One chance at existence, just one.” She held up a finger to emphasize her point. Then she let her hand drop back to her side, “Unless they become undead that is. I’m tempted to see about making her undead, but then my ability to travel would be very limited with what I have found out so far. But that is only vampires and zombies. I’m sure there are other types of undead.” She shook her head, causing her red hair to float oddly for a moment.

“Anyways, the Efreete are know as Genies here. They are required to grant one wish if they are serving a short sentence, two for a middle sentence, and three if they really pissed the High Sultan off. Traveleers don’t follow the same laws as the Efreete though, so if we mess up there we don’t have to do anything like that.”

She looked down at Ornell. How long would this body have to rest before she could travel again? It had been two days so far. How long had it been last time?

Era didn't notice, at least not yet, that the silver dragon had moved between Ornell and Vernon. He was eyeing the smaller rats for a bit, but now his attention was on the backpack.