Silbermine shook his great antlered head in distaste. If having this flaming Iriad as part of his retinue wasn’t such a resplendent prize, he’d have hewn it in two himself already. Alas, every potential King of Mythadia must know humility during the Running. 

“You jest, traveller, but the turmoil of recent years is not to be taken lightly. Real things fall from the sky, and rifts open in the earth. Demons crawl up from the deep to terrorise innocent townsfolk more with every passing moon. Before I found you, I was travelling to meet with the Mendicant Seers at Falag Núr. They believe these recent terrors actually came with the advent magics. What they don’t know is why it is only now they are becoming so…active?”

For a moment, Silbermine’s features were animated and curious. He wasn’t a grizzled veteran at that moment, but a curious young buck who spent time with scholars in the drafty halls of Kerak Núr while his father slowly went insane.

Silbermine looked to Mallory and laughed heartily, smacking the Human encouragingly on the back.

“We play to our strengths - if any running is involved in the games, I will supply fast, fresh beasts of burden. Like those that the Warden and other S’tor rode in on perhaps? I think you will fit inside or on its back. You seem light, with good grip, no? I’m interested to hear more about what sorts of attributes you might possess, so I can build a team around you.”

[hr]
As they ventured further into the wide, flat marshlands of Sudenúr, the drastically different fauna of Kanth-Amerek became apparent. Flying insects the size of sheep with deafeningly loud wings buzzed from pool to pool. Their long proboscis probed the water to suck up eggs stuck to the reeds. Things that looked halfway between a duck and a monitor lizard raced around on two legs after spiders the size of manhole covers. Far off in the distance towards the shoreline of Lake Núr some kind of long necked, long tailed dinosaur which looked several stories tall.

Some of the animals took an interest in the Glen and Humans, who must have looked strange to them in their armour and clothing. Silbermine’s Glen shooed them away with sticks by day and ringed their camps with flaming torches by night. The blackness was a cacophony of unfamiliar calls.

Progress was slow. Silbermine insisted on making large detours to recover and mark boxes of equipment that came up on the Humans’ scanners. He was interested to see what else had previously been inside the Humans’ ship. 

At dusk on the fourth day of travel they made it to the northern bridge between Sudenúr and Mythadia. At least, what was left of it. The weathered stone arch had collapsed into the river, leaving a thin ridge of uneven grey stones poking out of the water. The river itself had burst its banks in the floods just before the Jotunheim landed. While it had receded greatly in the past few days, it was still high and flowed quickly around the ruined bridge. The marsh crowded in on either side of the thin path the group walked on their approach to the bridge. Light rain pattered into the pools of brown water.

“Hmm. There should be work to repair this.” Silbermine growled, staring across to the far bank.

“Where is everyone…”

“My lord.” One of Silbermine’s knights spoke up.

“It is strange that the marshes are quiet for the first time since we arrived. Don’t you think? Listen.”

The annoying buzzing and rustle in the undergrowth was utterly absent. There were no flying beasts in the sky.

“Hmmm.” Silbermine grumbled, rain running down his face.

“Perhaps we should set up camp, and depart at first light, when visibility is better.” Another knight offered.

“We’ll be much safer on the other side…What say you?” He turned to look at his travelling companions.