Chapter 16: Daybreak

With the sunless dawn came the proverbial ray of hope. A gaggle of curious onlookers from the nearby villages had come and caught Aki and Temujin asleep in the open. Last night, they were sitting close to Griffin and Aki projected a giant dome of airflow around them (with a chimney on top). Then Temujin radiated heat to keep themselves and the whole length of Griffin warm. They must’ve been exhausted from the fight because they fell asleep that way.

They were woken up by a great deal of chatter and wide-eyed stares, just as Temujin’s fire disintegrated into its last sparks and Aki’s air dome fizzled away. Naturally, it was still dark in the north but at least the weather had cleared. Many of the villagers, blonde and blue-eyed, were carrying torches that threw a harsh light on the outlanders.

“Greetings, friends!” spoke a jovial, stout man who sported a lot of white, from his handlebar and long, squarish beard to his ermine-trimmed surcoat. “Welcome to our humble little fell, Pukk