The Dragondain Read Online Free Page A

of the Fallen. Jasper, for his part, asked many questions, especially about Rengtiscura, the scaramann, and the dragonflies; he, like Lily, had heard nothing of these in the bedtime tales.
    Slowly, Nimlinn began to see that Jasper was not the complete dolt he had first appeared to be. He impressed her with his knowledge of Sea Denn’s defenses and of how important it was not to storm Fangdelve—and with his understanding that Greydor had acted in the only way he could. During this discussion, it became clear to Nimlinn that Jasper possessed a tactician’s mind and that his way of thinking was very different from Lily’s. After Nimlinn described the faster route through the mountains, Jasper surprised her by presenting a sound argument for returning that way. He pointed out that if the dragonflies were about, once they saw the spacing of Roan’s clutter, they would most likely post themselves in a position that would allow them to mount a surprise attack. If Nimlinn cut through the mountains, although they would be alone, they would be far from defenseless. This saddle was no mere riding saddle, but a war saddle bristling with armament. And the dirazakein, the razor-sharp hubcap-sized discs that Lily had, with Snerliff and Twizbang’s help, loaded into the saddle, would be more than a match for any dragonflies. The only time Jasper wavered was when he wondered if Aleron might miss them. Here Nimlinn found herself in the odd predicament of arguing for Jasper’s plan, and in that moment, she knew that he was right.
    They passed through the Northern neck of Rihnwood and out to the ocean road with its roaring waves. The moons were bright and the clouds few. To their left, one moon, which Nimlinn identified as Rel’ Kah, was so large that it took up a third of the sky, even with its lower quarter dipping below the horizon of the sea. The moonlight reflecting off Rel’ Kah was so bright, and coming in from such a low angle, that Jasper found he could at times see quite deeply into the periphery of the forest.
    They had not been on this road long before Jasper suggested that he attempt to will himself and the wyflings into a short sleep, one that would end before they reached the mountains. Nimlinn did not see the advantage of this at first, but Jasper pointed out that on all the long route back to Sea Denn, the easiest place to defend themselves would be along the forest’s edge, as they could veer into it at a moment’s notice. Nimlinn eyed the forest of her youth and could not disagree with Jasper’s logic.
    When they reached the foot of the mountains, and Nimlinn was having deep doubts about employing a plan made by a mere Dain cub, Jasper and the wyflings awoke as if by clockwork.
    The sun had been up for a full hour. As soon as it became apparent that they were not taking the road through the pass, Aleron descended from the skies and consulted with them briefly. During the night, he had met with several owls and bats who had news of the goings-on in the valley. Fangdelve was still under siege. The Clan of the Broadpaw had now joined Greydor’s forces in great numbers. Aleron went on to describe a black smoke that billowed freely from the higher reaches of Fangdelve. When Jasper inquired about what that meant, neither Nimlinn nor Aleron would say.
    Nimlinn attacked the ascent with spectacular skill, performing great feats as she unnervingly clawed her way up sheer cliffs, leapt wide gorges, and raced across narrow ridges on which a mountain goat would have stumbled. Jasper, for his part, could barely contain his excitement. During their descent, Nimlinn had to chide him more than once for screaming things like, “Yahoo!” and “Faster! Faster!”
    At the end of their descent, after leaping the river of Barradil, they happened on a large encampment of Rinn, waiting under Roan’s orders in case Nimlinn returned along the unique path she had used on her way to the Blight Marsh. Nimlinn was not at all happy to see