Both Quil and Menus shot into the air, barely avoiding being bitten by Sarre who had gone rogue. Quil screeched out to Menus, “He’s succumbing to the madness! Find a Monarch! Quickly!” Menus did not wait and immediately flew off sending out a low, pulsing thrum into the air.

Quil then turned to the King’s Guard and ordered them, “Sarre is turning feral but there is still time to save him and therefore many others. So you must not slay him but instead evacuate all of the nearest villages and ready yourselves if I should fail. I will aid your escape. Hurry!”

“I’m not arguing. Everyone move out!” Charles yelled as he began leading the men out of Sarre’s range, all except Jason.

“Jason, what are you doing?” Charles called out. He had jumped off his horse, sent it running after the others and was now charging at the feral Sarre with his shield up and broadsword instead of his daggers out.

“He just said there was a cure and if it works on humans, then I have to find out. Jason yelled back, dodging a burst of flame and a swing from Sarre’s tail with its decaying armor clanging against his shield, “Go! I will meet you at Densai!”

Charles hesitated, unsure whether to join Jason until he ordered him to go once more. He didn’t question Jason’s order a second time and silently prayed that he would meet his friend again in the nearby town of Densai and it would be soon.

From above Quil had heard the brief conversation between Jason and Charles and immediately shot off small bursts of blue colored flame to create a barrier between Jason and Sarre, who minute by minute turned further into a feral dragon.

“Thank you for your aid human. I will admit I was uncertain of being able to keep him on the ground without something to bait him,” Quil roared from above.

Sarre’s was briefly disorientated by the new wall of blue flames that had erupted in front of him allowing Jason to reply, “You could have used ‘distraction’ instead of ‘bait’.”

Quil struck Sarre with another blast of blue fire, knocking him back to the ground in an attempt to fly off, “This is no time to quarrel over words. I will keep Sarre pinned down and you will keep his attention until a Monarch arrives to either heal him or lay him to rest. Either way, I will share with you a way to protect your kind from this for your aid.”

Quil let out another dozen rapid-fire blasts of blue flame at Sarre who snapped wildly at them as they crisscrossed his back, sending large chunks flying into the air that Jason deftly dodged.

“Agreed and they had better get here quickly. For your friend’s sake,” Jason added, getting the sense that this was not the first dragon Quil had seen go feral before.

“As do I,” he replied before he battered Sarre back to the ground again with another volley of fire and Jason charged into what he hoped would not be his death.