rone | `ele and the gryph (part 7)

I sighed and tried not to roll my eyes. "Teraad, the mage whose keep that was, blew it up when he tried to use some magical jewel to kill me."

N'Jeet frowned. "How did you escape?"

"I ran. The keep exploded and my body fortunately landed in some bushes. Can i go now?" I got up. "Look, it's not that i don't want to help you out, but there's not anything else i can tell you. I need to get back to Kromalir so i can collect my pay before they assume total party kill and declare me officially dead." Trying to get work when you're officially dead is hell, mostly because places will immediately assume you're undead and start shooting as soon as you poke your head in.

"Ser Mwaele, i could not give half a spore about your official living status." The old codger's stare pierced me. "What matters to me right now is that there has been a Category One fire — a magical fire, even — raging for four days. If i show you a map, can you show me where the keep was located?"

I shrugged. "I think so." I walked behind the table and looked. "OK, this is the King's Road, and that's Xmmx Peak, so if we follow Wyrmstail River... here. That's where it should be."

N'Jeet made a noise like a strangled cough. "Feren! Stop your blubbering and come here. I need you to pass word to Cirin about the fire."

The kid hiccuped, wiped his nose on his sleeve and ambled over. The elder wrote out a note and gave it to Feren. "Now hurry and pass that along. We'll have to move quickly to contain the damage."

"Won't the place have burned itself out by now?" i asked.

N'Jeet shook his head. "Even if it were a normal fire, we'd have to take charge of the ruins; if it rained, the water would leach all sorts of poisons into the earth. But a magical fire will burn until there is truly nothing left to burn, and might even continue to burn out of sheer spite." He turned to Feren, who was still standing there. "Well? Chop chop, lad!"

"What about Mwaele's gryphon?" he blurted out. "It's hurt!"

"Yesyesyes." N'Jeet shooed him off. "Go. I'll see to the gryphon." Feren smiled again, waved at me, and ran off.

I sighed. "It's not my gryphon, you know."