[Child of the 7th Age]

Pumping her legs as fast as she could, Elanor bolted across the open field, too afraid to gaze up into the open sky. The young woman could see Elian sprinting just in front of her, intermittently glancing back to make certain that she was still alright.

Panting as much from fright as exertion, the two managed to find their way back to the outer ring of farmhouses on the far outskirts of Dale. The shortest way home was to cut straight through the fields and pens, ignoring private boundaries, clambering over the wooden fences. They were quite prepared to do this but some saving instinct inside Elanor's head warned her to stop for a moment and spy out the lay of the land.

As she and Elian crouched behind a hedge and peered cautiously outward, a horrifying spectacle caught her eye. They stared unbelieving as a commanding shadow swooped down from the sky spilling flame and ashes in its trail. Two of the smaller sheds on the nearest farm had already caught fire and the greedy tongues of red and orange were threatening to spread to the adjacent house. Worse yet, the beast had now alit on the ground and was tossing cattle out of the way with a shake of its head as if they were nothing more than little toys, like those made in Dale that were so popular among both human and dwarven children.

Struggling to stay calm, Elanor bellowed out above the racket, "Let's get out of here. It's too dangerous. There has to be another way home."

Elian nodded curtly, "Back there. Up, over the rocks." He pointed to a string of boulders that were grouped around the base of the nearby foothills. "We can get over those, and cut around to avoid this mess." With a wave of his hand, he gestured towards the dragon who as yet showed no signs of leaving.

The two swiftly backtracked towards the path Elian had recommended. As they started to clamber up the rocks, Elanor thought she heard the scream of a woman from behind her in the same direction as the burning house, a scream that lasted only a few seconds and was then cut ominously short. She shook her head and covered her ears to block out the sound. But the only thing she succeeded in doing was to conjure up a picture in her mind of her younger brother Eric, the one she usually dismissed as a great pest. When she had left her home that afternoon, she had not been able to find him. Surely, he was with their mother. He had to be with mother!

But for the first time that day, Elanor felt her confidence waiver. What if she was wrong.....?