We slammed into the ground together, rattling my teeth, and I felt the snapping of my bow underneath me as my arrows scattered all across the ground. My breath was driven from me with the force of the impact, and Gertha smacked her head against the visor of my helmet. A dull clang told me that she’d hit her head hard, and we both groaned as we rolled away from each other. We’d fallen from the height of the third floor, but miraculously, my new armour seemed to have protected me from the brunt of the fall. The burning tower lit the clearing, and the shadows of the trees danced as the flames flickered.

  I raced to Gertha’s side as she lay in the grass. She had an ugly gash over her right eyebrow running to the top of her scalp that was bleeding steadily; her skin was red, like she’d been in the sun for too long, but otherwise she looked uninjured.

  “Gertha! Are you alright? Is anything broken?” I asked quickly, placing a hand on her upper arm and helping her steady herself. She spat blood to the ground and raised her hand to her head.

  “I bit my tongue and swallowed a coin, and Mummer’s Balls that helm of yours is hard.” She groaned and spat more blood on the ground before looking me in the eye.

  “Thank you for saving me, Tullen.” She said.

  I said nothing, I stared at the tower as it burned, my blade still in my hand as I looked for any sign of Eggs or the dead.

  “C’mon, Eggs, come on. Come back,” I whispered, searching the window we’d fallen from with my eyes, hoping I’d see that magnificent winged shape fly out with the squawks and chirrups I’d grown so used to. I saw nothing but the flames rapidly growing up the side of the tower as windows cracked and burst under the intensity of the heat. Fortunately, there was no sign of the undead Zellunders either. They must have all perished in the flames along with that thing.

  “Tullen, I’m so sorry.” Gertha placed a hand on my shoulder, giving me that smile that people give you when you’ve suffered a loss and they don’t know the words to say to take the pain away. Because no words can ever undo it, try as they might.

  “Eggs’ll be fine, they slept in the campfire, remember? They’ll be ok.” I said sternly, I wish I was sure as I sounded but I couldn’t see why that wouldn’t be the case. Eggs was a Wyvern after all, none of us knew their limits.

  “Tullen, with flames imbued by that magic, and against a being that powerful. Not even a Great Drake or Fell Dragon would have survived. I’m so sorry, my boy.” Gertha’s voice was soft, and her arm drew me toward her. My lip quivered, and I could feel the deluge building behind my eyes. I tried to hold it back, for letting it go would be admitting to myself that Eggs was…I couldn’t bear it.

  Tears fell from my face as I sobbed. I lifted my visor to wipe them away with my hands, and Gertha pulled me into her shoulder, where I wept until her robe was wet. She smelled of smoke, sweat and fear, just like me. Her hand patted dully against my back, the metal rebuffing the impact so it felt like the tenderest of touches.

  “Eggs…they’re just a baby Gertha…and they saved me.” I sobbed gently, my heart wrenching in half for a creature I’d only known for a handful of time, but I felt inexplicably connected to. The mark on my face was a reminder of shame; now whenever I would look upon it, I would think of the one lizard to have broken my heart, too selfless for its own good.

  “I know Tull. You were akin to its mother, and their instinct is to protect their own. You showed it a love that only its own kind could and gave them a chance to hatch when they couldn’t alone.” Gertha’s own voice was wavering, and she held me tighter, her hand reached into my helm, and her fingers gently stroked my hair as I continued sobbing. For the briefest of moments, I thought of my own mother. She used to stroke my hair too, before the blade fell.

  “I…should have been faster…I should have been better. I could have saved th-” Gertha cut me off by raising my face and looking me hard in the eye.

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  “Tullen Fal Barraz, you are just a man. Trust me when I tell you that the enemy we faced today was beyond all of us.” Her voice was firm, fair, and I knew she was right.

  “I lost Eggs,” I said quietly, shifting on my feet

  “You can fail without being a failure, Tullen. This foe was beyond us. We survived. That’s more than most could do.” Gertha said.

  I shook my head and looked back at the tower. The entire thing was immolated, and I could hear the sound of rock falling inside; the structure was beginning to collapse. I’d seen fire consume buildings before, but never this fast, and never this ferociously.

  “We'd better get clear, a fire this size will draw every curious fucker with tooth, claw or weapon for miles,” I said, gripping my blade's handle so hard my hand shook.

  “I’m right behind you, I’m not tussling with a bloody Dragon in this state,” Gertha said.

  I turned North West, remembering where it lay in relation to the now-immolated tower's entrance. I took one final look at the tower, suppressing another sob.

  “I’m sorry, Eggs. You were beautiful and brave. I will not forget you.” I whispered. Gertha patted me on the shoulder, and we slow-jogged to the treeline where we’d be less exposed.

  “We have around a week's hike to get to the Hold of the Arcuzane,” Gertha said as we reached the trees.

  “That’s a lot of hostile ground to cover; we’ll be hunted the whole way. I don’t even have a bow to get us food now.” I replied, throwing the ruined stave of my bow back into the clearing and dumping out my broken arrows. I paused for a moment and then handed the tips to Gertha, who set to work snapping the arrowheads from the shafts.

  “We don’t have a choice. If we’re careful and move at night, we can avoid the worst of the danger.” The click of metal on tooth accompanied Gertha’s words as she slipped an arrowhead in her mouth.

  “Provided we don’t get lost in the darkness.” I sighed.

  “You just leave that to me.” Gertha smiled, half of her face lit up by the distant glow of the tower. I shrugged and held my arm open toward the night’s blackness.

  “After you, Lady Fizzmouth.” I smiled, hoping she wouldn’t notice the tears still beading in my eyes.

  Whether she noticed or not, she gave no sign and merely nodded her head at me before delicately picking her way through the undergrowth, pausing occasionally to inhale deeply. I followed after her, my blade at the ready in case we ran into more wandering dead or a big bastard lizard. My mind kept drifting to Eggs and the moment they had disappeared from my sight. I tried to put it out of my mind, but there was a gnawing pain in my heart, and I wished more than anything that I could turn back time and change things.

  We continued like that in silence for the best part of an hour. The Tower was now far behind us, but the fire persisted, and every now and then I turned back and could see the glow of it seeping into the night sky. The moonslight illuminated our way well enough, but there were too many trees between us and the Tower for me to see it directly; but I was glad not to. Eggs' funeral pyre would be forever seared into my memory, and I didn’t need to look at it any longer.

  Gertha stopped for a moment, and I caught up with her, slowly checking our surroundings before leaning into her.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “I’ve lost the scent. We should make camp until it comes back.” She yawned, the arrowhead resting on the middle of her tongue.

  “Scent? You can smell the Arcuzane?” I asked, thinking there was no end to the oddities of my companion.

  “The magic, at least, has a…flavour to it.” She explained, before sitting on the ground underneath a large tree.

  “What does it taste like?” I said, curious.

  She merely laughed and closed her eyes, resting her head against the tree.

  “I’ll take first watch, Gertha, you rest. I’ll wake you when it’s your turn.” I said, but she was already asleep. I sat next to her, listening to the night sounds of the forest. The chirp of insects and the movement of small animals told me there were no predators nearby. Which meant the chances of a wandering Wyrm or Drake happening upon us were thankfully low. Still, for safety, it was best not to light a fire, even one of the Nomadic kind that Gertha had shown me. So I sat in the cold next to a sleeping Magi as I imagined a campfire and Eggs curled up on it.

  My heart ached, and I was fresh with grief, but there was a small part of me that refused to let go of Eggs. Gertha was sure that the magic of the flame would harm the strongest of beings, yet those beings were all of a natural order to the world. Eggs hadn’t been touched by the campfire flames, and by all accounts, shouldn’t exist.

  Yet they did.

  In that moment, I chose to believe because Fate brought us together, and I knew Fate was driven by purpose.

  I could not see a purpose for Eggs’ death; therefore, it could not be.

  But if Eggs truly were lost to me forever, then I would wage war against Fate itself.