The blunder Brann Bronzebeard had made just before leaving had everyone roaring with laughter.
After a hearty laugh, Kurdran Wildhammer went over to call Bryan back, then told him the truth.
"So that was it!" Bryan caught his breath and said, still shaken, "You scared me to death... For a moment there, I felt like I was back in the days of fighting the Horde. I really don't want to deal with those terrifying red dragons again..."
As he spoke, Bryan glanced at the enormous red dragon flying above the group and instinctively guided Gryphadin a little lower.
But it was only a minor farce, and once it was over, the journey became peaceful again.
The group flew swiftly, and a few hours later, they reached Loch Modan in Loch Modan... The Badlands lay just to the south.
To avoid being discovered by the Dark Iron Dwarves, however, Karin specifically had the group rest for a few hours after reaching the lakeshore, waiting until nightfall to set out again.
Some forty gryphons swept through the sky under cover of night.
There was also a raven and a red bird... At Karin's urging, Alexstrasza, the Red Dragon Queen, flew in this form to avoid attracting too much attention.
Scorching waves of heat stirred the hot air, bringing not a trace of coolness to the sweltering land.
The Badlands-the state of this land did not belie its name in the slightest. Scorching lava was visible everywhere, ravines crisscrossed the terrain, and few kinds of creatures lurked there.
Only the hardiest plants and animals could survive here-withering trees, cacti, scorpions, and mountain lions.
As dawn began to break, Bryan guided Gryphadin over to the raven at the center of the group:
"It's somewhere around here, Karin!" Bryan said quietly.
Looking at the