The wake of destruction left by the dragon was easy enough to follow, stacks upon stacks of smoke were easily spotted northwards, in a straight line. The problem was the beast seemed to have little need for rest and after an entire day and night of riding, the company ditched the idea of trying to catch up with it. They took camp in one of the burned down villages to both help the survivors and to allow their horses a much needed rest.
The first thing of note was that the dragon did not spew simple fire anymore, it was a deep crimson flame as the village folk described it, thick like blood and burning like brimstone. Some residue was left amongst the ruins but there was little the men of the group could associate it with. Thus, none the wiser, they attempted to help the peasants as best
