Fellina’s eyes faded. “Perhaps one of you is not a fool after all.”
While pondering what to say next, Randall smothered the closest flames with his boot. The other fires were dying on their own. “Have your earlier wounds healed already?”
“Enough so that Arxad felt that he could leave. He planned to fly toward the Northlands to see how Jason and the others are doing.” Fellina wiped her wound with a foreclaw, smearing blood and revealing an oozing cut. “We must find him, and soon. The Benefile have come to the village, and they are gathering the slaves in front of the Zodiac. They intend to kill every human in order to arrest the spread of the disease. They want to allow the soldiers from Darksphere safe access to the village so they can, as one of the Benefile said, ‘bring justice by the hand of the oppressed race.’ “
“That makes no sense,” Randall said. “They’re going to kill humans to protect humans?”
“By their logic, the humans will die anyway, so putting them to death quickly is merciful and expeditious. By allowing the soldiers safe access, the Benefile hope to punish the dragons of the Southlands with a twist of irony. Xenith and I decided to sneak away to find Arxad. Since Xenith does not know the location of the refuge, she flew north while I flew south. I told her not to go far. There is no sense chasing him all the way to the Northlands.”
“When do the Benefile plan to kill the slaves?”
“Xenith overheard much of their conversation, and they debated the topic to the point of absurdity, but she believes they will wait until the army from Darksphere is visible on the horizon.”
Randall kicked the remaining embers. “And we don’t know how long that will take.”
“It will probably be a while. When Xenith left the Northlands after delivering Cassabrie’s finger, she said there was no sign of soldiers. She also looked for Koren,Jason, and Elyssa, but never saw them. It is possible that they ventured into the forest to travel under tree cover.”
“Jason would do that.” Randall nodded toward Tibalt. “We were hoping to find the refuge to warn the escaped slaves about the disease. Maybe you could point us in the right direction.”
Fellina’s head swayed as she looked Randall and Tibalt over. “You have the disease yourselves. How do you plan to warn them without risking exposure?”
Randall glanced at Tibalt again. He was brushing leaves and twigs from his hair. “We have a note we were going to post,” Randall said. “We hoped people would read it without us having to come close.”
“Show me the note.”
“I have it!” Tibalt shuffled through the brush, unrolling a parchment along the way. Gripping the top and bottom of the page, he held the parchment in front of Fellina’s snout.
While Fellina read silently, Randall read it as well, hoping the words didn’t appear foolish in her eyes.
“To all humans formerly enslaved by dragons, read this warning from fellow humans who have come to rescue you. A fatal disease is spreading among those still enslaved by the dragons, so you must not venture into the village or any work colony. We will send an uninfected rescuer to you who will lead you to a place where you will be examined for symptoms of the disease. We are working on a cure, and once it is found, all slaves will be taken to a world where they will be free. Frequently return to the place you found this note, and we will contact you again with further news.”
Fellina huffed a fiery stream that instantly ignited the parchment. Tibalt threw it to the ground and began stomping out the flames. “What did you do that for?”
“The paper itself is potentially infected.”
Randall scooped up the charred remains, a handful of scorched scraps. “How do you know?”
“I detected human skin cells on the surface. Arxad and I have much experience with this disease, and I assure you that even the most casual contact will spread it.”
“So do you have
While pondering what to say next, Randall smothered the closest flames with his boot. The other fires were dying on their own. “Have your earlier wounds healed already?”
“Enough so that Arxad felt that he could leave. He planned to fly toward the Northlands to see how Jason and the others are doing.” Fellina wiped her wound with a foreclaw, smearing blood and revealing an oozing cut. “We must find him, and soon. The Benefile have come to the village, and they are gathering the slaves in front of the Zodiac. They intend to kill every human in order to arrest the spread of the disease. They want to allow the soldiers from Darksphere safe access to the village so they can, as one of the Benefile said, ‘bring justice by the hand of the oppressed race.’ “
“That makes no sense,” Randall said. “They’re going to kill humans to protect humans?”
“By their logic, the humans will die anyway, so putting them to death quickly is merciful and expeditious. By allowing the soldiers safe access, the Benefile hope to punish the dragons of the Southlands with a twist of irony. Xenith and I decided to sneak away to find Arxad. Since Xenith does not know the location of the refuge, she flew north while I flew south. I told her not to go far. There is no sense chasing him all the way to the Northlands.”
“When do the Benefile plan to kill the slaves?”
“Xenith overheard much of their conversation, and they debated the topic to the point of absurdity, but she believes they will wait until the army from Darksphere is visible on the horizon.”
Randall kicked the remaining embers. “And we don’t know how long that will take.”
“It will probably be a while. When Xenith left the Northlands after delivering Cassabrie’s finger, she said there was no sign of soldiers. She also looked for Koren,Jason, and Elyssa, but never saw them. It is possible that they ventured into the forest to travel under tree cover.”
“Jason would do that.” Randall nodded toward Tibalt. “We were hoping to find the refuge to warn the escaped slaves about the disease. Maybe you could point us in the right direction.”
Fellina’s head swayed as she looked Randall and Tibalt over. “You have the disease yourselves. How do you plan to warn them without risking exposure?”
Randall glanced at Tibalt again. He was brushing leaves and twigs from his hair. “We have a note we were going to post,” Randall said. “We hoped people would read it without us having to come close.”
“Show me the note.”
“I have it!” Tibalt shuffled through the brush, unrolling a parchment along the way. Gripping the top and bottom of the page, he held the parchment in front of Fellina’s snout.
While Fellina read silently, Randall read it as well, hoping the words didn’t appear foolish in her eyes.
“To all humans formerly enslaved by dragons, read this warning from fellow humans who have come to rescue you. A fatal disease is spreading among those still enslaved by the dragons, so you must not venture into the village or any work colony. We will send an uninfected rescuer to you who will lead you to a place where you will be examined for symptoms of the disease. We are working on a cure, and once it is found, all slaves will be taken to a world where they will be free. Frequently return to the place you found this note, and we will contact you again with further news.”
Fellina huffed a fiery stream that instantly ignited the parchment. Tibalt threw it to the ground and began stomping out the flames. “What did you do that for?”
“The paper itself is potentially infected.”
Randall scooped up the charred remains, a handful of scorched scraps. “How do you know?”
“I detected human skin cells on the surface. Arxad and I have much experience with this disease, and I assure you that even the most casual contact will spread it.”
“So do you have
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