Nahash and Sirajuddin sat coiled a mile from camp, their wings held over them to shield them from the howling wind and blinding rain. Thunder boomed in the dark clouds above.
I tire of this, whispered Nahash.
It’s been the same for three days, said Sirajuddin. It begins before dawn and ends after dusk, just as the general said. It is unnatural.
Have you ever heard of a mage powerful enough to summon a storm? asked Nahash.
No, said Sirajuddin. I can’t imagine how one could even compute such a thing. The equations would contain colossal amounts of chaos.
Right, said Nahash. So what in the world are we dealing with?
Something we’ve never seen, said Sirajuddin.
Nahash looked eastward, into the woods. So the general was accurate about this. What do you make of his glowing creatures?
That could be magery, said Sirajuddin. Projecting images is not difficult. The flaming skull would have taken some artistic talent.
Nahash opened his mouth in mild amusement. And the animals? Wasps and butterflies?
Unnatural, said Sirajuddin. Perhaps supernatural.
Nahash looked up at the lightning flashing across the clouds. The boom of thunder followed. If this follows the pattern, he said, then we go hunting after dusk. We’ll look for settlements, sources of water, cook-fires… anything.
Sirajuddin nodded.
At dusk, the storm began to fade. An hour later, when the rain turned to drizzle, Nahash and Sirajuddin took flight.
I can’t see anything, said Sirajuddin.
Just fly low and look for creeks and clearings, said Nahash. Maybe we’ll get lucky.
When they were a few miles in, they chose an arbitrary point and flew in an expanding spiral around it. After two hours, Sirajuddin whispered to Nahash: I see something.
Nahash followed as Sirajuddin spiraled down towards a clearing. They landed and found a fire pit surrounded by four logs.
I thought this looked too rectangular, said Sirajuddin.
Good eye, said Nahash. I’m amazed you spotted it. I saw nothing.
The half-moon helped, said Sirajuddin.
They searched the area below the hill and found the remains of numerous camps.
Look at the number of fire pits, said Sirajuddin. There were a few score people here, at least.
Can you track them? asked Nahash.
No, said Sirajuddin. If they left yesterday, the storm will have taken care of the tracks.
Well, then, said Nahash, maybe we’ll just wait here for a while… see if anyone comes back to camp now that the storm is over.