Chaos Descending by Toby Neighbors

small curving horns had sprung up on Ferno's shoulders, allowing Zollin to attach modified reins to the massive dragon. Zollin couldn't control Ferno, but the thick leather straps gave Zollin a much better way to stay safely seated on his green companion.
    The oversized saddle bags Zollin had picked up in Brighton’s Gate were slung just behind the dragon's powerful wings, and Ferno had no trouble carrying his rider and their supplies. Zollin kept his thick, fur-lined cloak pulled tightly around his shoulders and his body angled down close to the dragon's back where the heat from Ferno’s body kept him warm. It wasn't necessarily a comfortable way to travel, but Zollin had a huge sense of gratitude as he watched the mountains speed by below them.  The dragons could fly in one day the same distance it would take Zollin a week to travel on horseback.
    They had set out a few hours after sunup, and it was mid afternoon when Zollin saw the huge expanse of green covering the far side of the Northern Highlands lower range of mountains. Peddingar Forest was a welcome sight. The Northern Highlands were barren and rocky, and its snow-capped peaks were beautiful but inhospitable. Zollin knew the mountains were full of hardy animals that had no qualms about making the steep mountains their home, but the green trees and rolling hills of the forest seemed much more welcoming to him.
    “Let’s land down there,” Zollin shouted to Ferno. Then he imagined the small clearing near the familiar trail that marked the central pass into the mountains.
    Ferno sent a mental image back to Zollin, this time the way Ferno could see the clearing with the dragon’s incredible vision.
    “That’s it!” Zollin shouted.
    Ferno roared and began a slow, circling descent. Above them Sorva followed. Zollin couldn’t help but notice the black dragon was cautious, but he actually found that fact comforting. Brianna had a tendency to rush headlong into danger, so Sorva’s cautiousness would give Brianna a little balance, or at least Zollin hoped it would.
    When they landed inside the clearing, Zollin slid down off Ferno’s wide back. He immediately pulled off the saddle bags and unhooked the thick leather reins.
    “We’ll camp here tonight,” Zollin said. “You’ve done enough for one day.”
    A mental image of a small herd of deer popped into Zollin’s mind, then another image of Ferno eating. There was a difference between the images the dragons saw and those they imagined. Ferno had seen the deer as they flew down to the clearing, but he only imagined eating the woodland deer as a way of communicating what the dragon wanted to do. Zollin laughed and patted the muscular neck of the green beast just as Sorva landed behind them.
    “Go on, and good hunting,” Zollin said.
    Ferno growled deep in its thick chest, then launched high into the air on its powerful hind legs. Sorva, having let Brianna dismount, sped after the green dragon. Zollin thought they were a magnificent sight to behold as they flew up into the brilliant blue of the autumn sky.
    “So, what now?” Brianna asked.
    “I thought we’d make camp for the night.”
    “It’s a little early in the day for that, isn’t it?
    “Yes, but I’ve been worried about the dwarves. We never heard from them after the Witch's War. I was hoping I might pop in on them and see how they’re doing.”
    “So you want me to set up camp and do all the work?” she asked, smirking a little so that Zollin couldn’t tell if she was teasing him or not.
    “No, I’ll help. Of course I want you to come with me.”
    “I don’t need to be with you every minute of the day, Zollin. I just want to be included in your plans.”
    “You’re right, of course. I’m sorry.”
    “No big deal, go see what you can find. If you need me I’ll be here.”
    Zollin felt a little guilty leaving Brianna to do all the work around camp, but there really wasn’t much to do. They had blankets to spread out, and some