Chapter Thirty-Eight
Baiting the Trap
Crossing the Riverlands took almost a week. Although most of the population was centered in the larger towns marked on the map Khamud had given them, there were also sprawling farming communities scattered across the countryside. Iarion and his companions avoided these settlements, which usually meant going out of their way for several miles before returning to their southwestern direction. Despite their continued vigilance, they encountered no drakhalu in the wild, although they did spot the occasional dragon flying overhead. Most of them seemed to be heading northeast, but a few flew toward Cinder. Iarion hoped their return meant Iadrawyn’s barrier was holding.
As Iarion and his companions got closer to their goal, a dark cloud became visible on t
