The path grew steeper as they climbed, the trees thinning until bare rock dominated the landscape. The moonlight was clearer here, unobstructed by canopy, casting everything in silver and shadow.
Noah walked near the back of the group, listening as the dragon knights talked amongst themselves.
"So what do we actually know about this red one?" Marcus asked, his earlier bravado tempered by the reality of what they were walking toward. "Besides the burned livestock and the terrified farmers?"
"Witnesses say it's massive," Gareth replied. "Bigger than the wyvern we killed last year. Wingspan maybe thirty feet, body the size of a house."
"House is generous," Roland countered. "More like a large wagon. But still big enough to be a problem."
"The fear though," Davos said, speaking up for the first time since being healed. "Every witness mentions the fear. Said just seeing it made them want to run. Instinctual terror that overrode everything else."
