The Haunted Traveler Vol. 1 Issue 1

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trol, and after an uncomfortable minute of silence, he raises
arms again for Tiri to fix his shirya. “I wasn’t calling you
weak, Tiri. I was calling you valuable. You have silver scales.
Nearly every warlord in the Brikongi tribe is probably looking
for you on the wastes. You would stand out too much,
and then we will both be captured.”
Finding his tone calm, Tiri wipes her tears away and
stands, continuing her work with bowed head so he would
never have to look upon her unsightly reddened eyes. Silence
only comes from her maw, however, so Pofiri continues with
his defense.
“I know you are not weak, nor stupid, Tiri. I couldn’t ask
for a stronger mate. That is why I need you to stay behind. If
something happens to me on the road, or even Balti, I know
you would be able to give me the proper warrior’s burial I
require.”
Tiri sniffs once as the end of Pofiri’s cloth is looped through
the belt, leaving it hanging between his legs to conceal the
nakedness underneath. The blade of his roomookt is impaled
in the side to keep the traditional tribal cloth secure around
him. “My Lord, I plead with you not to do this. The suns are
almost in alignment. We will be erupting soon.”
“Precisely, Tiri. Everybody will be inside. The search will
either have been abandoned, or they figured out that we
made it to Drak’Toor and therefore returned home. Either
way, if I go now, the wastes will be empty, and I can trek
faster there than we did coming here. What took seven days
for the two of us, it should only take me three alone,” Pofiri
explains as he checks everything.
“But, Pofiri… there are too many ‘if’s’ in this quest. Why
can’t you wait until after the eruptions?”
“If I wait, then Talri would be dead and probably fed to
the rookmacks by then. At that point, it would be useless
to search for him. He never will be given the proper burial
among the glassy peaks like he deserves.”
“Pofiri…”