Book 3: Chapter 106 (1/2)

Alora shuddered and let out a whimper. She was lying on her stomach next to the fire, her front paws covering her eyes. Her wings were pressed against her sides, and her hind legs were tucked underneath her, her tail curved around herself in a protective manner. She sniffled and whimpered again, curling her tail even more as she struggled to turn herself into a ball.

“Um. Are you alright?”

Alora slid her paw down off her left eye, her trembling slit pupils searching for the source of the sound. There was a bald man lying on the ground next to her, looking at her with bright green eyes. Only a whimper came out in response when she cracked open her mouth.

“I, uh, saw what that black dragon did to you,” the bald man said. “It—”

As even louder whimper than before left Alora’s throat, interrupting the man. “All I did was bite his tail!” she wailed. “And he, he…, he’s evil!”

The man wet his lips with his tongue. “Do you … want to get back at him?”

“Are you crazy!?” Alora slammed both her front paws on the ground. Miniature earthquakes racked her eyes, and a violent shuddering shook the earth beneath her. “What if he punishes me again!?” She looked around, making sure no one was around. Her heart was thumping so loud that she could hear her blood rushing through her head. She swallowed and crept closer to the man before whispering, “Yes. I want to get back at him.”

“I can help you with that,” the bald man said. “You see, he and I have quite a bad history.”

“Wait a minute,” Alora said, furrowing her brow. “You’re the guy who tried to kidnap Vur. Why do you look so much better?”

“My bones are still broken, and all my tendons are torn,” the man said, still lying on the ground without moving. “I can only speak right now. I learned a recovery spell, so as long as I’m alive, I’ll eventually get better. But that dragon really did quite a number on me. I sincerely thought I was going to die.”

Alora swallowed. “And you can really help me get back at Un—at … him?”

“That’s right,” Zyocuh said. “What do you say?”

Alora looked around once again to make sure no one was watching. Then she swallowed again. “Alright. Let’s do it.”

***

Mary and Tafel stood next to each other. It was still nighttime, their surroundings lit up by the fireball in Tafel’s hand. In front of the two women, there was a creature that resembled a sheep mixed with a monkey. It had hands with opposable thumbs and legs that resembled a primate’s, but it was covered in a layer of red wool. It was also dead, Chi’Rururp thoroughly embedded in its chest. Its eyes were nearly bulging out of its head, its face long like a sheep’s. Mary stepped on the creature’s stomach and pulled Chi’Rururp out of its chest. She turned towards Tafel. “Can we eat it?”

“No!” Tafel said, almost shouting. “You can’t eat something that spoke!”

“But all it did was baaa at us before attacking,” Mary said. “It didn’t speak.”

“It spoke in sheep!” Tafel shook her head. “Okay, fine. Let me rephrase that. You can’t eat something that so closely resembles a human.” She pointed at the dead creature. “Besides, it’s dissolving now.”