Tarun sat at the shore of the lake, while next to him Shon sat shivering, coughing, and sputtering. Tarun couldn’t tell whether this was a reaction to nearly drowning in the cold lake behind them, or from the shock of seeing the two dragon hunters in front of them. Either way, Shon seemed to be going through a fair bit of shock, and was experiencing a rare and uncharacteristic loss of words.

Solimar and Piggy were still dripping wet standing in front of them, and neither one was saying a word. Tarun reasoned that if anyone was going to start a conversation to get some answers, it would have to be him. “How did you know we needed to be rescued?” Tarun asked.

Solimar glared at Tarun with one eye, water steadily dripping off the elf’s long blonde hair. “It wasn’t difficult,” said Solimar curtly. “You’re rather big and made a very loud splash when you went in.”

“But what are you doing here?” Tarun asked.

“Saving your life, apparently,” Solimar curtly replied.

Shon suddenly got to his feet. With teeth chattering and face red with emotion he shouted, “But what are you doing here?!”

“That’s none of your business,” Solimar said flatly. “Though I suspect Krall will answer you when he arrives. He has an annoying habit of answering impudent questions.”

“Krall is coming here?” Tarun interrupted. “Where is he? When will he arrive?”

“Probably not far,” said Solimar. “He said he would stay close enough to Piggy to hear his horn if he blew it. I’m going to meet up with him to show him where we are.” Solimar abruptly turned and left before Shon could protest.

“I don’t like this,” Shon whispered to Tarun after Solimar was out of sight. “Why are those dragon hunters here? This is my parents’ valley and they shouldn’t know about it.”

“Perhaps they shouldn’t,” Tarun replied, “but I’m glad they did. I’m not sure how else we would have gotten out of that lake.”

Shon sighed through chattering teeth. “I guess you’re right,” he said begrudgingly. “Come on, let’s get changed into some dry clothes before Krall arrives. I’d hate for him to think my teeth are chattering out of fear for the mighty dragon hunter.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Tarun said with a smirk. “I think Krall can smell fear. It probably smells different than the scent of wet wizard.”

While Tarun and Shon changed into dry clothes, Piggy stayed near the shore of the lake, shaking himself and slapping his arms and legs until he was dry. Tarun got the impression that Piggy didn’t like the water very much, and noticed that much of the water simply beaded up and rolled off the dwarf’s greasy skin and hair.

Just as they were all getting dry and the valley was starting to warm up, Tarun saw Piggy’s boar running towards him from out of the brush. Following behind the boar at a steady pace were Krall and Solimar. Tarun couldn’t explain why he was both relieved and excited to see Krall again, but he was glad that the wise orc had arrived.

Shon, on the other hand, did not look happy to see Krall at all. He had a sullen look on his face, and Tarun could hear him mutter something under his breath about “a nightmare come true.” Tarun decided that if this meeting was going to go well, he would have to be positive enough for the both of them.

“It’s good to see you again, Krall,” Tarun said loudly, walking towards the orc. “Did Solimar tell you? Piggy and Solimar just saved our lives!”

“Yes, I heard,” Krall said as he came to stand in front of Tarun and Shon. “What were you two doing in the water if you didn’t know how to swim?”

“We were just soaking our feet,” said Tarun. “But the lake was much deeper than we expected.”

“Yes, lakes will do that,” Krall said with a little chuckle. “In any case, I’m glad you boys are safe.” Krall then turned to look at Shon and his expression turned serious. “I suspect you’ve had enough of pleasantries, eh Shon? You want to know what we’re doing here, and whether we followed you. That is what you suspect, isn’t it?”

Shon was surprised at Krall’s directness, and some of the anger drained out of his face. “Well… yes,” Shon said. “Though I never suggested that you followed us here.”

“Well, why wouldn’t you?” asked Krall, putting his hands on his hips. “How else could you explain us showing up here in the same place as you?”

“I… I don’t know,” Shon stammered. “Did you follow us here?”

“Well, the truth is only Piggy was following you,” Krall said. “I suspected that you two might need some… discreet… looking after. From what I’d observed before, it seemed like you had a harder time sensing Piggy’s mind, so he became the obvious choice.”

“But then what are you and Solimar doing here if Piggy was the only one following us?” Tarun asked before Shon could become indignant.

Krall looked away briefly, and for just a moment Tarun thought he might have seen a hint of embarrassment on the orc’s face. Then Krall straightened his shoulders and continued speaking. “The truth is, I’ve been camped out with our wagon about a mile from here for a couple of days. When I drew on your map earlier, I saw the marking on this location and I figured you would end up here pretty soon. I hoped I could have one more chance to-“

“You what?!” Shon angrily interrupted. “I knew we shouldn’t have let you hold our map!”

“Calm down, Shon,” Tarun said, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “We don’t have all the answers yet.” Shon didn’t say anything else, but he began to pace back and forth, staring angrily at Krall. Tarun waited a moment before speaking and chose his next words carefully.

“What I still don’t understand,” Tarun said calmly, “is why Solimar was here to pull us out of the water if Piggy was the only one following us. Or were you both tracking us?”

“I wasn’t following you,” Solimar said with disgust. “I wouldn’t have stooped that low even if Krall had begged me. I had more important matters to attend to. I was tracking a dragon.”

“The dragon we saw yesterday!” Tarun interjected excitedly. “That’s the dragon you were tracking, wasn’t it? And I’ll bet the arrow I saw sticking out of its tail was one of yours!”

“Yes,” said Solimar, with just a flicker of a smile. “And now you owe me two arrows.”

“We owe you a lot more than that!” said Tarun. “We would have been dragon food if you hadn’t shot that thing to scare it off. Can you believe it, Shon? They saved our lives twice in two days.”

Shon stopped his pacing and dropped his arms to his sides, looking somewhat defeated and gazing down at his feet. “Yes, I suppose you’re right,” he said. “Thank you, Solimar. Truly. That dragon was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen.” Then, looking up at Solimar, he quickly added, “But wait. Why were you tracking that dragon in the first place? I thought the dragon you three were after was still several miles from here.”

“So did we,” said Krall. “By all accounts, she shouldn’t be anywhere near here. But there’s no mistake; that’s the dragon we’re after.”

“What is she doing here, then?” asked Tarun.

“I don’t know,” Krall said. “There’s something wrong. Very wrong in the worst way. The more Solimar tells me, the less I like it. Still, bad news is better than no news when it comes to dragons, and I hope you boys will tell me everything you can remember.”

Tarun and Shon recounted their encounter with the dragon, each taking turns telling the experience from their perspective. Tarun was surprised at how animated Shon became while talking about the dragon and the pain he sensed near her. Tarun was especially surprised to see Krall’s shocked and worried reactions as they went on, particularly when they described the wounded cougar with the spines and the purple foam around his mouth. They ended the account by explaining how the dragon had balked at Tarun’s pack and then flew off after Solimar shot her in the tail.

When they were finished with their account, it was Krall’s turn to pace back and forth. “This is all of my worst fears confirmed,” Krall said darkly. “You boys don’t realize just how lucky you are to be alive.”

“What do you mean?” asked Tarun. “Is this dragon more dangerous than most?”

“In many ways I suspect she is,” said Krall. “Shon, you said you thought the dragon was projecting pain into your mind as some kind of attack?”

“Yes,” replied Shon. “Have you ever heard of other dragons that can do that?”

“No,” Krall said, “and I don’t believe that’s what was happening to you either. I believe the dragon was actually experiencing that pain herself, and you just sensed it because of your magic.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense,” said Tarun. “Solimar didn’t shoot the dragon until the end of the encounter, and I didn’t see any injuries on her. Why would she have been in pain?”

“That,” Krall said with a heavy sigh, “would take a very long time to answer.” Krall’s shoulders slumped and he suddenly looked very tired. “Suffice to say for now that she has been poisoned by some very dark magic indeed. I will tell you more another time.”

“Another time?” said Shon. “How long are you planning to stay here?”

“Not very long at all,” Krall replied. “But I’m still hoping to convince the two of you to come with us. In fact, after hearing what you two have told me, I’m hoping more than ever that you’ll join us.” Krall then looked directly into Shon’s eyes and said, “I think it’s time you tell us what you’re doing here.”

“What?” Shon said, voice rising again. “Why should I…”

Solimar interrupted Shon by suddenly grabbing him by the shoulders. The elf whispered directly into Shon’s ear, but the stern words were loud enough that Tarun could still hear them. “I have saved your worthless life two times since yesterday,” whispered Solimar. “If you have any honor at all in that bald head of yours, you’ll stop wasting my time.”

Shon’s body was stiff and visibly uncomfortable as Solimar released his shoulders. He stood silent for a while, his face turning red.

Finally, Tarun broke the silence and said, “Shon, let’s just show them the trees. It can’t hurt anything, and we don’t know what else to do with them. Perhaps Krall and the others can give us some clues.”

Shon looked at Tarun and he could hear Shon’s voice in his head. Whose side are you on? Shon mentally asked. Mine or theirs?

Why can’t I be on both? Tarun thought back at his friend. I think we need their help, and it looks like they even need ours. Can’t we hear them out this time?

“Fine,” Shon said out loud with a serious expression, but less red in his face. “Krall, follow us and we’ll take you to my parents’ Soul Trees.”