It took almost a week to travel across the plains, and Ragin hated every moment of it. He knew where he was going of course, but the endless hours of the same nothingness made it feel as if he was getting nowhere. Wind constantly whipped across the landscape, picking up bits of dust and throwing it into both his and the horse's eyes. The only signs of vegetation were the occasional shrubs that jutted out from the ground no higher than his knees. Hunting was difficult, as most animals spotted him from a mile away and made haste to get away. It forced him to use magic to hunt, as much as he hated that, but to survive it was necessary, especially considering how much Akaysha ate.

The young dragoness seemed to take the trip in a far more joyful manner. Everything interested her, from the wind, to the grass, to the horse who seemed to find her very annoying. With the amount of food she ate it often caused Ragin to spend far longer than he wanted to hunting, and eventually he just made up his mind that whenever he saw a small rodent or critter he would kill it, and allow Akaysha to enjoy the spoils.

Her growth was massive as well. By the second day she was no longer able to comfortably fit inside his pack, and he was forced to build a small nest behind his saddle for her to sit in. By the end of the week she was the size of a sheep dog, and often ran by the horses legs or flew a couple of metres above them. He was rather thankful she had learnt to fly on her own, as he had been worried that she wouldn't be able to keep up with their pace.

The first time she had tried to fly had been quite eventful. They had been sitting by a campfire two days from Gil'ead, the wind blowing quite strongly. Akaysha had decided it would be a good time to test her wings, and opened them with an excited squawk. Almost instantly the wind ripped her into the sky, her cries of terror quickly screeching through the plain. Ragin had been forced to run for nearly a kilometre after the flailing dragon, before using a spell to pull her safely back to the ground, where she clung to him as if she never wanted to let go.

After that event it had been a couple of days before she was brave enough to try again, and this time, with Ragin watching closely, she lifted slowly into the air with a couple of flaps of her wings. She was a little wobbly at first, but quickly got that hang of it, and before long was doing twirls and spirals through the sky. Her joy at flying made Ragin smile. He couldn't wait until she was big enough to ride.

While they were mostly alone during their trip, they met the occasional traveller. Whenever that happened Ragin had Akaysha fly close above his head, where he cast a spell to make her seem invisible to any prying eyes. It had been a little awkward at first, as Akaysha didn't really like not being able to see herself, and she had let out a piecing shriek the first time it had happened. Ragin had managed to calm her down enough to stop her panic, but the traveller had seemed genuinely afraid. After some time searching to appease the man, Ragin had continued, relieved that Akaysha hadn't decided to scream again. She was more than glad when he released the spell.

So they continued. Eventually they reached the other end of the plains and went into a small forest that would get them into the massive mountain range known as the Spine. It reached from nearly the bottom west hand corner of the Empire to the top west hand corner. It was the longest mountain range in Alageasia, though not the biggest or the tallest. The Beor Mountains held those titles. That being said, it was one of the wildest places of the country, and had been for a very long time. No one had managed to conquer it, and it was covered in myths and legends and superstitions. Only the Urgals dared brave its terrain, and even they only sparingly.

All this went through Ragin's head as he ignored the safer route to the south and continued up into the reaches of the mountains. It wasn't the first time he had been through the mountains, nor, he doubted, would it be the last. But he was always wary of them. The mare flicked her ears as they began a steep upward climb, seeming not at all pleased to be in the mountains either.

Akaysha, on the other hand, seemed more exuberant than ever. Her wonder at the size of the formations flooded through their bond and she continued to flap her wings, going a bit higher each time, before gliding back down to her rider. The awe she felt was rather startling, and he thought he found a small bit of respectful fear inside her as well. That was good, it meant she wouldn't try to do something stupid.

For another two days they trekked through the Spine. On the second day it rained quite heavily, and Akaysha was forced to land, doing her best to keep herself dry while ducking through and under the trees. She didn't like the rain. Her failing efforts brightened Ragin's mood, much to her displeasure. The horse didn't like the rain either, but continued to plod along, seeming used to the weather.

On the third day in the Spine they finally arrived at their destination. It was a large wooden hut in a small clearing hidden amongst two of the bigger mountains in the Spine. With a warning of his mind, Ragin warned Akaysha to stay hidden until he told her otherwise. She understood. Over the past week she had understood that remaining hidden from other humans was a very important task.

Once he was confident she wouldn't be seen straight away, he continued on to the hut. It was two stories high, with a pyramidal roof and glass windows that caught the light. It was mostly made from wooden logs with the bark still attached. It had a veranda surrounding it and a wooden door at the front that was bigger than normal. Smoke wafted from a stone chimney at the top.

As Ragin and his horse walked up toward the door, it banged open causing Ragin's heart to nearly leap out of his chest and the horse to nicker in fright. An urgal walked through the door, a massive battle-axe in hand. Urgals were strange creatures. They resembled humans in a way, with two arms and two legs, two eyes, a nose and a mouth, but that was where the similarities stopped. The urgal's skin looked as though it were dry and tough. It had broad shoulders full of muscle. Instead of hair on its head there were two massive horns that curled back like a ram's. It was tall, over a head taller than Ragin himself.

The urgal stared at Ragin with narrowed eyes, both hands gripped tightly on the battle-axe. The human stared back impassively, not at all put off by the show off strength. The horse however nervously pranced a step to the side, eager to be away from the monster before it. In the back of his mind Ragin felt Akaysha watching silently from the trees, ready to pounce out at the strange and seemingly dangerous creature.

The urgal suddenly straightened up and relaxed his grip on his weapon, before letting out a heartful laugh, "Ragin! My old friend. It's about time you visited again!"

Ragin grinned and pulled himself off the horse, "Uthun, it's good to see you as well."

The two of them embraced, the human resisting a grunt as he felt Uthun's hand slam into his back.

Pulling back Uthun said, "So what brings the infamous Ragin into the unholy reaches of the Spine, hmm?"

"I need a place to lay low for a while... a couple of months actually, and my usual hidey holes won't be adequate," Ragin replied.

"Oh? You must have pissed off someone rather mightily important to have to flee all the way here."

"Two people actually. Well... a group of people and an important person."

"Enlighten me."

Ragin sighed, "The dragon riders... and Tharin Foeswarn."

Uthun swore loudly in his own language, "How'd you manage that?"

"I stole a dragon egg," the thief couldn't help but smile as the urgal's eyes widened in amazement.

"Okay... I understand why the dragon riders are after you, but how on earth did Tharin get involved in all this?"

"He hired me to do the deed, but before I could hand it to him... well... it would be better if I show you."

With a mental prod Ragin convinced Akaysha to reveal herself from the trees. The small dragon slowly slinked out, like a black cat, her eyes trained upon Uthun. He could feel her suspicion for the urgal, as well as her excitement at finding something new. There was also confusion amongst her thoughts, for she could tell Ragin knew the urgal very well.

Uthun was staring open mouthed at her. He looked at Ragin, then back at the dragon, then at Ragin again. Before he could ask the question Ragin revealed the Gedwey Ignasia on his hand. Once again the urgal let out a stream of curses shaking his head and blinking a couple of times.

"Hell... I don't know whether to congratulate you or curse your bad luck," admitted the Urgal, "Do the dragon riders know?"

"I don't think so," replied Ragin shaking his head, "But Tharin wasn't too pleased when she hatched."

Akaysha walked up and sat on her haunches, still studying Uthun with an intense gaze. Her tail lightly flicked back and forth and her wings were held loosely at her sides. Ragin could feel her questioning and evaluating the urgal, noticing the large battle-axe he held and recognising it as dangerous. She also was confused by his horns.

"Her name's Akaysha," said Ragin, "And I need your help... hiding her for a couple of months. At least until she's old enough to breathe fire, then we will be out of your hands."

Uthun watched her for a moment before turning to Ragin with a sigh, "Aargh... I don't know Ragin. To hide a dragon... here of all places..."

"I know it's asking a lot, but I can't let the dragon riders find out. If they did they would stop at nothing to find me and her, and bring us in. Besides, you still owe me a favour."

Uthun glared at him, before giving up a sigh, "Alright, I'll let you two stay, but only until she can breathe fire. I don't want her burning down my house."

"Fair enough," the thief chuckled.

"Aargh, where are my manners? Come in to my home. You can tie your horse up on the porch," Uthun said.

They walked inside, Akaysha wearily testing the unusually hard floor with her talons, before hopping upwards and quickly following them through the door. Inside the house it was rather simple. Most of the bottom floor was just a single room with a table and chairs at one side as well as another weapon wrack. The empty space was covered in an oval shaped rug with a black hand stitched into it, exactly the same as Ragin's tattoo.

While being rather simple, for the home of an urgal it was rather extravagant. Most of their kind lived in small huts that they shared with their family. It was unusual for an urgal to live alone, and even more unusual for them to have such a large establishment. Uthun however wasn't like others of his species, and while he was still aggressive with a lust for battle, it didn't rule his thoughts.

"This place hasn't changed one bit," said Ragin impressed.

Uthun grinned, "Of course. As one of the last remaining strongholds of the Black Hand, I thought I would do my best to keep it as pristine as possible."

"Ha, it's not like many people will be visiting anymore. There's only what... four of us left now?"

"Ay. Me, you and those dwarf sisters at Farthen Dur," Uthun seemed to grow mellow at the thought, "Aah, it was bound to happen eventually. No organisation such as us would last forever with the dragon riders around."

The two of them sat on the chairs near the table and Akaysha lay in front of them, seeming to be listening intently to the conversation. Ragin could almost see her mind working to understand each individual word in an effort to learn them herself. Her increasing intelligence surprised him to a great degree. He didn't think she would develop so quickly.

"There is another reason I came here," said Ragin, changing the topic of conversation.

Uthun set his elbows on the table and gestured for him to continue. In a few quick sentences the thief summed up what had happened the past two weeks, from stealing Akaysha's egg to the escape from Tharin's compound. When he mentioned the strange weapon Foeswarn had used, Uthun frowned thoughtfully.

"Do you have the... ball he shot you with?"

"Of course," Ragin pulled the small ball from his pocket and gently placed it on the table between them.

Uthun picked it up between his thumb and forefinger and held it up to his eye, studying the unlikely weapon, "It seems a little strange, that such a small thing could have broken so easily through your wards. That being said, it is a material of the likes I have not seen before. As far as I can tell, it has no enchantments cast upon it, but for a one time use I guess he wouldn't need them."

"Do you think it could be the new weapon people have been talking about?"

"It is very likely. I don't see what else it could be." The urgal put the ball back on the table, "I still have the library upstairs. There might be something in there that may give us a hint as to what it is."

"I'll have a look later," Ragin nodded his head before sitting back with a long sigh, suddenly glad to be off the road, "With everything that has been going on lately, I feel like the next couple of years are going to be rather interesting indeed."

Uthun laughed, "I am inclined to agree."

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Hey guys! New chapter! I hope you enjoyed, vote and comment if you did. The next chapter will be out soon! See ya!

Pennator^^