by Ian Morton

Created on: July 01, 2009   Last Updated: July 19, 2011

Chapter 1

Circling above, he spotted his targets, crawling around the loose rocks and the sharp crags on the mountainside. He quickly dove down to find some cover before they spotted him flying above. The ground approached quickly as he descended, and set down behind a few large boulders on the mountain above them. His large wings folded to his back in one smooth motion, just as they had thousands of times before. The dry brown leaves stirred to life as the mountain breeze gusted suddenly. The dust, stirred by his landing, hung in the air around his feet for a moment before disappearing in the rushing air. The gust tickled and teased his pinions, attempting to urge him to return to the sky. He quickly dismissed this temptation and focused his attention to the movements of the party of gnolls moving over the slope below him.

Solaryn had been watching them for hours. Ever since they first began their trek across the mountain. Most of his watch duties were uneventful, but these gnolls had climbed much higher than most creatures , and certainly they were too close to the eyrie to be ignored. Watching the furred, hyena-like humanoids was not very difficult, even in the dark of night. The beasts moved with a practiced stealth, but Solaryn knew his mountain better than most, if not all creatures. He knew every rabbit and snake hole. Every nest was known to him. And certainly the game trails that criss-crossed the mountain were as second-nature to him.

The gnolls, almost silent in their movements, were on a game trail that swept up, and then around the mountain, before plunging down into the thicker vegetation below. The trail was a treacherous one, with many hidden crags, and shale fields, and the gnolls would have had to have seen the signs of this early on in their ascent. Solaryn guessed that they were fleeing from some unknown menace, in order to choose this way. If so, they chose a wise course, for the trail was difficult to traverse, even for experienced climbers. The gnolls seemed well equipped for climbing, their large muscles taut and working hard to continue their way.

Certainly practised climbers, that was evident, yet Solaryn frowned at their stealth. He had to assume they were in a hurry. Again he believed that something followed these creatures. He easily followed the movements of their reddish fur in amongst the rocks and bushes. He could also hear their movements clearly, as claw scratched on rock, and heavy breathing and pants escaped their strained

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