*Rakota's POV*

I cautiously glided down to the lakeshore and landed on the sand. My wings remained unfurled, ready to take me skyward at a moment's notice if I stumbled into a trap. Half of the tents were gone and the firepit only held ashes. My three companions circled above, waiting and ready to help if I was attacked.

I paced across the meadow as I checked the area and searched for any cloaking spells. Some spells required us to see them in order to spot them. No shimmers of magic were visible, although we hadn't expected the mages to linger.

My tail brushed across the ground as I swung it side to side, searching for any hidden traps. There hadn't been any before, and I doubted the mages would have wasted the time or energy after I left.

With an annoyed huff, I dropped the spell patterns I'd been holding in my mind to cast at a moment's notice. I folded my wings and looked up.

"I'm not finding anything," I told the others, using a touch of magic to carry my words to them.

Victorya landed nearby. "We might as well wait here until Andar and Serepha arrive. They shouldn't be much longer."

Grandel began flying higher. "I'll start checking the area in case they're nearby."

As the gray dragon flew past the spell barriers, Qwest scooped a handful of water out of the lake and sniffed it. "I wonder how long it'll take before the magebane loses its potency. I can't smell anything."

"I didn't smell anything either, but if you want to test it, you could always take a drink and let us know."

He sent me a sour look as I bared my teeth in a mock grin.

Victorya shook her head at us. "Once the mages are dealt with, you two can take turns testing the water. I'm sure the historians will appreciate your efforts."

Both of us glared at the orange dragoness, who was already walking along the tree line and peering through the greenery.

"Would it be possible for me to go into the trees for a, uh, bathroom break?" asked a quiet voice from behind my head.

I had forgotten about the human who seemed to possess a knack for fading into the background, even when sitting on my back. It had been several hours, so she probably needed a trip behind the bushes. With a gusty sigh, I lowered my chest to the ground and shifted my wing out of the way.

She undid the harness so quickly I almost wondered if she used magic. Her descent to the ground was just as fast and much more graceful than her last attempt.

"Thank you," she said as she began walking toward the trees.

The way her eyes kept flickering to the top of the valley made me tell her, "No sneaking away. I don't want to waste time searching for you."

"Yes, Sir," she said as her shoulders slumped slightly.

I was clearly going to have to keep an eye on her whenever we landed, although I had expected her to try wandering off at this particular spot. Shaking my head, I went over to where Victorya and Qwest were standing.

Qwest watched the human disappear into the bushes, and in an amused voice, asked me, "Do you think she's really going to return? Or are you going to have to track her down?"

"I think she'll come back, but I could very well be casting a proximity spell in fifteen minutes."

"I'm surprised she didn't scream when you dove like that. Half the nobles I flew around made some sort of racket with every takeoff or landing."

"She's remarkably quiet," I admitted. "If she did sneak off, I might not notice right away."

"You might have to pick sleeping spots far from the villages and roads," Qwest said in amusement.

"If she's from around here," Victorya said, "she might know where the good hiding places are. What was her name again?"

It took me a second to recall it. "Katerina."

She nodded and ambled toward the trees the human had gone into. Either by coincidence of timing or having seen the approaching dragoness, Katerina was already coming back into the meadow.

"Katerina, are you familiar with this area?"

The human stumbled to a stop at hearing her name and promptly bowed her head. "Sorry, yesterday was the first time I've traveled along the nearby road."

"Do you know of any places where the mages may have taken shelter?"

"Not that I'm aware of, although I saw a cave in the trees over there." She gestured to the forest behind her.

Victorya's gaze locked onto leaves as she paced forward, lowering her head to see below the treetops. "How big is the cave?"

"It didn't look very big, but I didn't go near it."

The dragoness stuck her head between the tree trunks for a better look. The human edged away from her, warily circling around the tail. Around other dragons, it would have been a wise precaution, although Victorya was far too experienced a fighter to forget about a nearby human or absentmindedly move her tail.

"The cave goes deep, but the branches and dirt near the entrance are undisturbed," Victorya said as she pulled her head out of the forest. She walked along the trees, going slower this time since she had missed the cave during her first check.

Once the dragoness had left, the human continued walking through the grass. I kept half an eye on her as we waited for the others to arrive.

Katerina eventually wandered over to where my claws had dug furrows in the dirt during my attempts to escape the net. She stopped and slowly turned in a circle as she scanned the ground. Her eyebrows furrowed as she scuffed the flattened grass with her shoe, clearly searching for something.

Curiosity got the better of me, and I went over. As I got closer, she started to look up at me, then immediately lowered her gaze to the grass.

"Uh, Rakota? I just noticed that the arrow I hadn't picked up is gone. Could the mages use that to cause trouble?"

The memory of the arrow landing near my hand flashed through my mind even as I scanned the grass for any hint of it. "You were the last one to shoot it, so it's very possible, especially with these mages. I think you said that bow was a gift? How long have you had it, and how many times have you touched that arrow?"

"About a day ago. That was the first time I used that arrow, although I handled it a few times."

"There's a good chance they can trace you since you were the last one to touch it. The longer you're in contact with something, the easier it is. A mere day might not be enough, regardless of how close they are."

Victorya commented, "If they took the arrow, they'll likely try doing something with it. The good news is that human spells have a very limited range, so if they manage to successfully cast a finding or tracing spell, it means they aren't far away. With such a short contact time, those spells probably won't work at all within a moonturn."

"I'll keep my senses open for such a spell," I said. "I might even be able to trace it if they didn't take precautions."

Victorya and I grinned at each other, pleased with the recent turn of events. The human hugged her arms around herself, less than thrilled that the mages might be using her to figure out where I was. She scuffed the grass with her shoes again, as if hoping the missing arrow would simply appear. When that didn't work, she walked closer to the trees and sat on a large rock, looking lost in thought.

A passing shadow made me look up. "About time Andar arrived."

"I heard that," the green dragon grumbled, using magic to be heard.

"If you come down right above the lake and use shielding, you can bypass the spells," I told him.

He dove straight down, unconcerned about his rider, who hung on with one hand while looking around in boredom as the harness straps pulled tight. Seconds later, he landed on the sand.

"Did Serepha arrive yet?" Andar asked.

"No, but she should be here shortly," I told him, noticing Katerina was staring at the rider in recognition. If she had been a servant at some point, there was a good chance she'd seen him in one castle or another.

He wasn't as observant and hadn't even noticed her as he freed himself from the harness and slid down Andar's shoulder, forcing the dragon to use magic to slow his rider's fall. Andar glared at him, although Randel remained oblivious.

I'd encountered dozens of riders, but this one was denser and more inconsiderate than most. One simply did not comment upon the actions of someone else's rider unless the matter was truly serious, so I kept my comments to myself. From the look Victorya bestowed on the rider, the same thoughts were going through her head. Regardless of our opinions, he was Andar's headache to deal with.