on some pointed sticks. While they sputtered and charred, the dragons crunched up the remainder of the elk.
Relkin had a chewy, meal of tough meat. By then it was dark and a cool air was coming off Mt. Ulmo. The dragons, far from sated, laid themselves out to sleep for a few hours. Relkin persuaded them to hack down some boughs with which he fashioned a more or less comfortable mound in which to sleep.
Thus they spent the night. In the morning they awoke, very hungry and set off toward Mt. Ulmo at once.
Before noon, Relkin was able to shoot a rock dove in a canyon above the Argo. He plucked the dove as he walked and roasted it on a little fire when they paused for a rest. He gave the dragons a nibble apiece and ate the breasts himself.
The dragons were starving.
That night they slept hungry, not having come across any game at all.
The next day they continued the slog toward Mt. Ulmo.
In the late afternoon, with hungry dragons fairly groaning from the discomfort in their bellies, they stumbled on a small herd of deer.
The deer spotted them and fled at once in a jumble of white tails, across a meadow and into the trees.
Now it was time to test the Purple Green's theories. The dragons went to the right of the deer and entered the woods while Relkin loaded his bow and hid himself. The dragons were going to work around behind the deer and drive them back to the meadow's edge.
Relkin waited a long time. The deer did not emerge. Eventually two tired and frustrated dragons appeared.
The deer had refused to be driven. They had raced northward each time the dragons tried to get around them and herd them back to the south and the meadow.
Eventually they had distanced the dragons completely and vanished into a thick pine forest that began on the higher slopes a few miles farther up.
Again they slept hungry and awoke hungrier still.
That morning they startled two more small herds of deer, and Relkin spent some time trying to stalk a solitary doe. He got to within a hundred feet of her but before he could shoot, she saw him and fled, bouncing jauntily across a short stretch of brush and disappearing into a patch of birch trees.
For lunch he shot three squirrels. His own he cleaned and roasted. The dragons ate theirs raw, furtively, without looking at each other.
Then, late in the afternoon they had a stroke of luck. A wild boar engaged in rooting for tubers in a clearing took violent exception to Relkin's trespass. The boar charged without pausing to sniff out the scent of dragon. Relkin avoided the brute's charge by swinging up into a little oak tree. The boar proceeded to cut up the tree with his tusks while making a great deal of noise. In his enjoyment of his fury, he failed to notice the dragon that suddenly exploded out of the screen of trees nearby and threw itself at him.
At the last moment the boar realized its peril and turned and fled, escaping the outstretched grasp of the Purple Green and barreling across the clearing and by great good fortune, ran itself right into Bazil's path.
Ecator swept up and down with a great whooshing sound and the boar was cut in twain in a flash, dead before it had any chance to comprehend its doom.
Relkin assembled material for a large fire and roasted the pig while the dragons sat there salivating and staring at the thing.
They ate with enormous grunts of pleasure while Relkin devoured his own along with some summer raspberries he'd found on the margins of a bog.
At length he banked the fire down, and they fell asleep, reasonably content for the first time in their life in the wild.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Evening's light fell from a clear sky on the white city of Marneri by the shores of the Bright Sea. The bell tolled steadily to bring the faithful for the Temple Service at dusk. Novices in dark blue ran down the marble steps to the entrance of the Novitiate, their bright girlish chatter ringing off the stone walls. On the battlements far above, the guard changed while sergeants
Relkin had a chewy, meal of tough meat. By then it was dark and a cool air was coming off Mt. Ulmo. The dragons, far from sated, laid themselves out to sleep for a few hours. Relkin persuaded them to hack down some boughs with which he fashioned a more or less comfortable mound in which to sleep.
Thus they spent the night. In the morning they awoke, very hungry and set off toward Mt. Ulmo at once.
Before noon, Relkin was able to shoot a rock dove in a canyon above the Argo. He plucked the dove as he walked and roasted it on a little fire when they paused for a rest. He gave the dragons a nibble apiece and ate the breasts himself.
The dragons were starving.
That night they slept hungry, not having come across any game at all.
The next day they continued the slog toward Mt. Ulmo.
In the late afternoon, with hungry dragons fairly groaning from the discomfort in their bellies, they stumbled on a small herd of deer.
The deer spotted them and fled at once in a jumble of white tails, across a meadow and into the trees.
Now it was time to test the Purple Green's theories. The dragons went to the right of the deer and entered the woods while Relkin loaded his bow and hid himself. The dragons were going to work around behind the deer and drive them back to the meadow's edge.
Relkin waited a long time. The deer did not emerge. Eventually two tired and frustrated dragons appeared.
The deer had refused to be driven. They had raced northward each time the dragons tried to get around them and herd them back to the south and the meadow.
Eventually they had distanced the dragons completely and vanished into a thick pine forest that began on the higher slopes a few miles farther up.
Again they slept hungry and awoke hungrier still.
That morning they startled two more small herds of deer, and Relkin spent some time trying to stalk a solitary doe. He got to within a hundred feet of her but before he could shoot, she saw him and fled, bouncing jauntily across a short stretch of brush and disappearing into a patch of birch trees.
For lunch he shot three squirrels. His own he cleaned and roasted. The dragons ate theirs raw, furtively, without looking at each other.
Then, late in the afternoon they had a stroke of luck. A wild boar engaged in rooting for tubers in a clearing took violent exception to Relkin's trespass. The boar charged without pausing to sniff out the scent of dragon. Relkin avoided the brute's charge by swinging up into a little oak tree. The boar proceeded to cut up the tree with his tusks while making a great deal of noise. In his enjoyment of his fury, he failed to notice the dragon that suddenly exploded out of the screen of trees nearby and threw itself at him.
At the last moment the boar realized its peril and turned and fled, escaping the outstretched grasp of the Purple Green and barreling across the clearing and by great good fortune, ran itself right into Bazil's path.
Ecator swept up and down with a great whooshing sound and the boar was cut in twain in a flash, dead before it had any chance to comprehend its doom.
Relkin assembled material for a large fire and roasted the pig while the dragons sat there salivating and staring at the thing.
They ate with enormous grunts of pleasure while Relkin devoured his own along with some summer raspberries he'd found on the margins of a bog.
At length he banked the fire down, and they fell asleep, reasonably content for the first time in their life in the wild.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Evening's light fell from a clear sky on the white city of Marneri by the shores of the Bright Sea. The bell tolled steadily to bring the faithful for the Temple Service at dusk. Novices in dark blue ran down the marble steps to the entrance of the Novitiate, their bright girlish chatter ringing off the stone walls. On the battlements far above, the guard changed while sergeants
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