Wess woke the rest of the companions just before the sun easterned. They decided that in order to increase their pace they all needed their own Kudaki steeds. Anyu's spirited tones shattered the silence and Wess smiled in amazement as a group of six lizards came running to the Ranger's beckoning song. In moments, the lounge of Kudaki rallied around Anyu who greeted them with laughter and the kindness of a loving mother.

"Choose one, Wess," said Anyu, "and you Otees. Place your head next to theirs to assure you will not harm them. Pet them gently and speak slowly."

Wess looked for the speediest of the bunch and saw her. She bore smooth yellow scales with spots of dark orange. No spikes, or fins were present, which indicated their gender. He approached her like he would a horse with a bit of edible cactus in his hand. "Here girl. That's for you. I'm your new friend, ya?" The lizard took the cactus greedily. "Yes. You and I will be great pals." He petted her along her surprisingly smooth neck and her black tail whipped to and fro. "Dawn will be a fitting name if that's fine with you." He slipped his bit of rope in his mount's mouth and lept upon her back. The lizard reared for a moment, then settled down. "There," said Wesley. "That a girl."

"Otees," Anyu called. "Your turn."

Otis moved to the remaining Kudaki, smoothed his long, black hair and beard. He knelt before them and outstretched his tough Dwarven hands. At first he was ignored. Finally, a white male with copper hash marks scattered about its scales nuzzled Otis' head and hand. Its head fin was tall and copper and shined in the sun. "Har! Well then. You're on a mighty quest now, aren't you? I will dub you Thûndar Bäba, which in the words of my folk means Child of the Storm. Thûndar will do for a call name." Otis placed his rope loop into the Kudaki's mouth and climbed her gingerly. "Yes, you will do nicely."

"Come then," Anyu beckoned. "The Outlanders will leave their camp at first light. We should be gone from here soon. We must leave false trails to throw them off, for they are good trackers."

They covered their tracks best they could and cleaned the camp so it looked like it was never there. They rode north single file with the sea in the distance on their left and the rising sun on their right. They bounded through the Red Wastes with ease on their Kudakis. They climbed steep cliffs and lept short chasms. The companions grew more and more used to their lizard mounts and they were ever thankful for not having to traverse the unforgivable landscape on foot.

After noon time, they came to the summit of a great mountain top that looked like the gods chopped it flat for a picnic. They dismounted and greedily emptied their water flasks. It was so hot that Wess thought he could crack a quails egg on the hard ground and fry it. The air smelled fresh and the breeze was rejuvenating compared to ground level.

From this height they could see all around. To the west was the Black ocean. South, the red rock wastes and deep blue sky looked like an artists' painting. To the east lay more red rock formations that transitioned to yellow dunes of sand off in the far distance. Anyu pointed to the north where rolling brown hills like waves of the sea lay before them. "There. The Dying Vale. Water runs in the creeks of these hills, but we cannot drink it without Kayla's magic cleaning."

"What happened here?" Kayla asked. Her eyes pitied the land before her.

"The Old Rangers say the Dying Vale was once a land of deep green and home of great hunting," Anyu explained. "The finest herds grazed here and the herders raised the cleanest of meats. Great ranches there were. Then the war broke out and it became a battlefield. Wizard Magic. Dragon's fire. Demon's rage. Nothing grows here. Nothing lives here." Rainseeker bucked to her hind feet, then settled back down. "Easy now." She urged the mount forward down the mountain and the others followed. "We must wait until nightfall to cross the vale, or the Giants will see us coming. They will not take our trespass lightly. It is not like old times. Their skirmishes here on the southern border with the Outlanders have made them suspicious of all. Now they even attack us Rangers out of the fear in their minds." Anyu narrowed her eyes and hardened her mouth. One hand raked strands of auburn hair not held back in braids. Then she spotted what she was looking for. She pointed to an opening in the forest to the north east. "There is the old trade route." She turned to the rest of the companions. "If we are not to go by sea..."

They all turned to Haygen and the large green Half-orc shook his head with a resounding 'No.'

"...then we seek shelter in the shade until the cover of night to cross the Dying Vale. We must cross into Dym Chagath unseen by the Giants. The Kudaki cannot see without the full moon, so we must walk them."

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A few hours passed as the companions rested in the shadows of the rocky peaks around them. It was here, though, that their fate took a turn.

Wess poked his head around the corner and scared the wits out of his four friends. "We have a problem." The Faeling was in one of his moods and had mixed some of his found root water with some crushed red rock to make a paste. He rubbed the paste from his pointed-ear head to toe, clothing and all, to better hide amongst the red rocks as he watched their southern trail for trouble. He looked to the Dwarf. "Otis..."

The blow of a massive horn punched through the silence of the wastes.

"...they've found us."

They were all on their feet in mere seconds.

"How many?" asked Otis.

"Eighty to one hundred armed and strong," answered the Assassin.

The Dwarf grasped his mighty warhammer. "Let's mount up, everyone. We make for Dym Chagath."

"Komilaya," Anyu cursed under her breath. "A spirited ride then." She smiled at Haygen and he replied with a silent wink. Anyu climbed atop her red alpha Kudaki and nocked an arrow to her bowstring. She dug her heels into Rainseeker and controlled him with the squeeze of her legs and the pressure of her heels. She began her ascent back up to the top of the flattened peak. "Go!" she called down to her four friends. "Head for the trade road! I will catch up with you!"

Haygen ground his teeth and shook his head, but did as suggested. The Ranger was far too crafty on the Kudaki for him to second guess her. He and Otis climbed onto their mounts. Slasher's attitude had not improved, but the Half-orc pulled hard on his reins and would not take any sass, bending the beast to his will. Otis had no problems with Thûndar as his mount was raring to run.

In the same moment, Kayla snapped shut her spellbook and darkened her hands with charcoal. She slid Malifax's black staff, which she started claiming as her own, back into Haygen's spear sheath on Slasher. "We will not be stopped this day, my friends." She mounted her green Kudaki and spun him in a circle. "Swift as the wind now, Scout."

Anyu reached the flattened mountain top and easily spotted the charging Wastelanders in the distance. Riding hard on Kudaki, their spears and swords hungered for new blood. She twisted north and watched as the four began their climb down the red mountain to the Dying Vale. They are far too slow, she thought shaking her head. We will not make it without a fight. The horn blew again. It was the mounted scouting party they had spotted before. Anyu sneered. She bent her bow and sent an arrow arcing into the blue sky. It dropped into the chest of the contorted Wastelander and the sound of the horn fell dead just as he did. The other three scouts easily made out the Ranger seated on the huge red Kudaki and rode to attack. Anyu fired again and struck another scout, sending him spinning down from his mount. The two remaining enemy skittered up the mountain after her, but were easy targets for her. Anyu reached back into her quiver and grasped the bundle of remaining arrows-she counted seven left. Arrows found the last two scouts, one in the chest and one in his raging mouth. She glanced back at the Wastelander war party closing in. They swarmed to the east around the mountain top. "They are cunning, Rainseeker," Anyu said to her mount. "They predict our plan. Time to catch up with the others."

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Anyu descended the mountain on the western side and the Wastelanders took the eastern pass around the mountain. All three groups converged into one as the experienced riders caught up with Kayla, Otis, Haygen, and Wess at the edge of the Dying Vale.

Wess peeked back and saw the dusty wave of Wastelanders right on their tail. He saw a spearman aiming for his Elf friend and would have nothing for it. "Kayla!" He drew a crossbow and fired. The shot went low, but still found the belly of his intended target. The grotesque Man tumbled off his steed and his spear shattered into pieces.

The Wizard acknowledged the save and her eyes widened at the incoming Wastelander attack wave. But she had plans for occasions such as this. Kayla and her companions were not fair riders on Kudaki, but had experience in combat on horseback. She was also taught by wizened old battlemages to seek the golden moment when many enemy were gathered and her friends were not in harm's way of her fire spells. The spells that her friends called "destructive," and she called "exciting" were special occasions for Wizards who bore the Order of Fire brand on their arms. Still holding her reigns, she weaved her blackened hands, pointed an open palm behind her, and called out her chosen incantation. "Arsonas Rundalla!"

A flaming globe flew forth from Kayla's hand and rocketed through several Wastelanders before it struck a hilly mound of the vale and exploded in a crack of thunder and fire. Men were tossed from their lizards like burning doll parts. Only a few Kudaki were injured because of their thick, dense scales, but many were taken out of the fight.

As if to answer, a streak of yellow lightning cut through the open gap between Otis and Haygen. The streak cut towards the Barbarian and Haygen noticed it out of the corner of his eye. He rolled the the right in his saddle and hung on to Slasher's side as the lightning struck over the lizard's head. The Kudaki let out an echoing wail of fear.

"They have a Wizard!" Shouted Haygen feeling the need to clarify their predicament. His agility to dodge the spell saved him, but slowed him down for oncoming attackers. An Archer drew down on him at close range, but so close he was within the long reach of the Half-orc and Icefang. Haygen drew his ax and with his swing, let the handle slide in his grip until the very end of the handle. It stopped firm on the handle's ponyard and cold death found its mark as he swung through the extended arm and bow of the mounted archer. The Wastelander screamed in shock and Haygen pulled himself back up into his saddle by the horn. "We're not out of this fight yet, Slasher! Now move!" He grabbed the reins in one hand and drove his heels into the black's scaley sides. With newfound speed, he caught up to Otis. A Spearman sidled next to them both and reared his jagged weapon back for a throw. A bloody longsword found its way through the attacker's chest and he fell limp to the ground. Anyu spun her sword in her grip, nodded to Haygen, and looked for more Wastelanders to slay.

Wesley's Kudaki was lost in the chaos of the battle. Even with Dawn's speed, it was difficult for him to just keep her going straight. Two Wastelanders rode up on his flanks and swung at him with barbed chains hoping to dismount him. The Faeling answered quickly with his second loaded crossbow on his left, followed up with a dagger flicked from his right. Both flankers went down in heaps. He then bore witness to a second streak of yellow lightning that struck Otis in the back. The Dwarf spasmed and nearly fell off his mount. Thûndar would not let his rider fall. He adjusted for the shift in weight as Otis recovered quickly from the hit. If not for his hammer's leather strap about his wrist, he would have lost the ancient weapon. The Assassin let out a frightening call and drew Ravenwing. No longer was this a fleeing escape for him. He was on the hunt. His Tenchi dagger flew over and over, drawing bloody lines across the brown landscape of the Dying Vale.

Kayla, now shielded in her clear bubble of magic, let loose a second and third ball of fire at their adversaries. They landed so closely that fire and debris rained down upon the companions as they sped.

Otis saw a rider splitting between himself and Kayla. A kind of Shaman decorated in pauldrons of human skulls beheld a wicked cudgel of a dark power. Yellow sparks pulsed from the crude weapon as he wound up to swing at Kayla for some last attempt coup de grâce . Otis pulled his reins hard and brought his hammer down on the right shoulder of the Shaman, smashing bone and ripping tendon. The Shaman's scream was cut short as Kayla unleashed a thin tentacle of flame that wrapped around his neck and seared his head from his body. His headless corpse bounced from his speeding mount and was trampled by those behind him.

"I'd had enough of him as well!" yelled the Wizard. Arrows whizzed past her head, giving her a start. "Blast it!" She looked back and there were still half their force behind them.

Anyu pulled up next to Haygen and the five companions rode in a staggered "V" formation. Up ahead lay the great trees of Dym Chaggath. Their bright green leaves were a stark contrast to the rolling brown hills. She shuttered at the fact that is was merely a guise of freedom. "We're nearly there!" shouted the Ranger. Gripping her bow now, she twisted her body and let loose an arrow that found the center of a Wastelander's chest.

"Watch it!" screamed Otis. "From above!" His first thought was that they were being assailed by siege engines. A large granite boulder fell from the sky and bounced on the earth in front of them. Their "V" formation split around the rolling boulder and crashed into two unknowing Wastelanders. "Blade off to the right!" ordered the Dwarf. "We will be a more difficult target to hit at an angle!" They did as they were told and shifted their mounts

"It's the Giants!" Anyu said, knowing all too well the ways of the Tall-Folk and their throwing of stones. She pointed to the eastern opening she mentioned earlier. "Otees! The trade road is there!"

Otis raised his hammer in agreement and pointed to the wide gap in the trees. "Let's go!"

Another boulder took flight from the forest and sailed behind them. Wastelander's scattered like flies. A horn blew and the gathered tribal warriors cursed that their hunt was over. But they would not pursue the five invaders any further. That did not stop a salvo of boulders from heading their way. Men and lizard alike screamed as a few more unlucky Wastelanders were crushed by the flying boulders as the survivors circled back home.

The companions raced with all their speed to an unknown fate in the forest of Dym Chagath.

A/N Hey!  Thanks for reading this latest chapter.  If you enjoyed it smash that star!  Special thanks to Tony and Riggs for Kudaki names. 

This chapter is dedicated to