Dragon Rider

Twigleg is nervous as he leaves the castle on the raven’s back. He rarely leaves the castle and only with Nettlebrand, who, as a flightless dragon weighed down by his heavy gold armor, travels through underground passages. The raven and Twigleg find Firedrake and see that Gravelbeard was telling the truth.

They land out of sight to listen as the dragon and his friends discuss their journey with the dwarves. Then, Twigleg finds a pool of water among the rocks. He spits into it, and the surface of the water ripples to reveal Nettlebrand’s face. Twigleg tells him what he learned, and Nettlebrand becomes excited. He once searched for the Rim of Heaven to hunt the dragons hiding there but never found it. He orders Twigleg to follow the group and report back.

The three friends leave the mountains at nightfall and fly south toward the Mediterranean. At one point, Ben noticed a raven with a tiny figure on its back. He points it out to Sorrel, who is unconcerned. She says that elves sometimes like to ride birds and fly in the