>Ardomok looked at his fallen comrade, "A little much, but less
>appropriate."  He turned to walk away then stopped, "Oh yes, by the way.
>Since you recognized me so easily, I'm sure you'll have no trouble
>remembering my friend."  The behemoth figure of Illium's champion came
>within his sight.  Darrkon wondered how Ardomok know he had killed
>Illium.  Darrkon saw Ardomok whisper something into the giant's ear, who
>moved toward him, then all he saw was darkness.
>
Darrkon awoke and felt his arms and legs tied.  He made sure Not to move
so as not to bring attention to himself.  He kept his eyes closed and
focused on listening to what was happening around him.  He heard a
creek, which was good, so when he escaped he'd have a source for water.
He heard the wheels of different carts rolling, he heard the huffing and
grunting of the horses, and he heard the cheers and curses of the
bandits.  He also heard the small scared cries of Marina.  He had to
hurry and get out of this situation, for her sake.

Darrkon decided he would have to risk opening his eyes.  First he opened
them a slit, but everything was dark.  Then he opened them a bit more,
but all was still black. He realized Ardomok must have had the eyeholes
in his mask covered.  When he opened his eyes fully, and saw nothing, he
knew he was right.

"You didn't think I'd let you see where we were going did you?"
Darrkon instantly recognized the voice of the speaker, "I know you're
wondering how I knew you were awake.  That's why I always knock out
troublesome prisoners.  You can't help your breathing becoming normal
when you first come too.  You're too groggy.  It was a good attempt
though, the best I've seen actually.  If I had been away for a minute or
two I'd have missed it completely.  You're good I see how you could kill
my brother."

<Calindeth, where are you?>  The rider sent to his dragon.  In response
to Ardomok, Darrkon asked, "What do you have to fear, I'm bound well?
What could I do?"

"Come now Darrkon.  I know your dragon can see through your eyes.  I can
probably hear what I'm saying now.  I know all about the shared bond.
How you hear, feel, and taste everything the other does.  How every
experience is shared.  I wonder if its head hurts as much as yours
must?"  Darrkon was amused by Ardomok's ignorance on the bond between
dragon and rider.  Had it been another time he would have laughed in his
face.  "Anyway,"  Ardomok continued, "I can't risk you learning where
we're going.  Just in case you know."

<I am here Darrkon.  Where are you?  I tried to find you, but there were
too many paths to follow, and they went in all sorts of directions.>  It
was a classic trick, split your men up and meet at a designated point.
It made searching for a specific goal impossible, especially when time
wasn't on your side.

Darrkon concentrated on his surroundings.  Among the many different
sounds he recognized was the hoot of a night owl.  <The owls are active,
so it must be dark.  But I can still feel the sun, so it must be dusk or
dawn.>

<I could have told you that.> Came Calindeth surprisingly amused reply
<The sun is setting.>

<All right, that helps.  I can fell the sun's heat, but not on the top of
my head as much.  It's more at my feet.  So we must be heading
eastward!>  He focused more on the trail they were taking <It's a bumpy
ride.  Like it's rocky here.  We're not on any regular travel routes.
That's all I can tell you.>

"You don't have much to say." Ardomok interrupted, "Are you leading your
dragon here?"

"I can't see remember!"

"Well...just in case,"  Darrkon felt a thump against his head, and
nothingness engulfed him once again

When Darrkon came to, he opened his eyes immediately.  No use pretending
with Ardomok.  To his surprise they weren't covered.  He also found his
restraints had been removed.  When Darrkon felt the warmth coming from
the surface beneath him, he knew what had happened.

<How long have I been out?>  He asked.

< It is dawn ow.>  The dragon beneath him answered.

<How is Marina?>

<I do not know.>  Calindeth replied somewhat sheepishly <When I found
you, they had split the caravan up.  She must be with one of the other
two groups.>

<We've got to find her.  I'm not sure what they'll do to her.>  If
Ardomok was anything like his brother Illium, Darrkon knew he would have
to rescue Marina immediately <I'll come up with a plan, just give me
some time to think.>

<I know you will Darrkon.>  The dragon responded rather slyly this time
<But I've brought some help that could make things easier.>  Calindeth
moved his left claw to reveal one of the bandits buried up to his
shoulders in the cold ground.  If the man hadn't been looking at him
Darrkon would have hugged Calindeth.  But they had an image to keep up.

"H-h-help me!"  The thief pleaded, "I'm f-f-f-freezing here!"

"I'm sure my dragon could warm you up nicely."  Darrkon patted Calindeth
who exhaled over the criminal.  The rider never could understand why so
many people thought the warm breath meant the dragon was about to flame,
but it worked once again.

"No! NO! No, please.  Don't let him burn me!  Anything but that!"

"How's this for a deal?"  Darrkon asked  grinning below the mask, "You
tell us where to find Ardomok, and we go our separate ways?"

The bandit was more than happy to oblige.  Not only would he not be
flamed, but he escaped with his life.  It turns out the bandit expected
to die, but he had an intense fear of flame.  He told Darrkon how to
find the "fortress" he called it.  And even gave him a few weaknesses he
could use to his advantage.  When he was finished Darrkon had a few
ideas of how to rescue Marina.

The bandit looked up at him pleadingly, "So is that good enough?"

Darrkon looked down at the pitiful man, "Yep, you're free to go."  He
answered, and began walking off.

"Wait!" The man cried, "You said you'd free me!"

"I said we'd go our separate ways.  If you can get out of there you can
go any way you like."  The rider walked around the foolish thief and
climbed atop his dragon <Come on pal.  We've got some planning to do.>