52

You shake your head. “No hat is worth dying in a hole full of darkspawn,” you say. You must have spoken a little louder than you meant to, because there’s a change in the sound from the pit. More and more of the darkspawn turn their glowing eyes toward you.

“Um, guys,” you say, “I think it’s time to start running.”

Your footsteps crunch on fragments of rock as you beat a hasty retreat back down the tunnel. It’s not long, though, before the sounds of your feet, your breathing, are joined by others—heavier footsteps, harsher breaths. The darkspawn are following you… and they’re gaining.

You were smart to run when you did. Unfortunately, you made that decision just a little too late and the darkspawn are just a little too fast.

It looks like you’ll never find out what happened to Neve. That’s too bad—for you, for her, and for the Shadow Dragons.

• THE END.