Chapter 71: Stronghold stopover

Demon bird flew with the grace of a Volkswagen Kombi with a clutch issue but just like the old car, he was effective. High above the Dokkalfar fort the bird banked to the north before circling back to the west.

Over the last days we pushed hard all the way to the Dokkalfar stronghold, and we paced ourselves the last few miles. It was late afternoon of the fourth day. 

Ailen ran with a steady gate. His heavy pack rested neatly on his back and beads of sweat nestled on his forehead. 

"Tired?" I asked.

He nodded but did not answer. I could see the determination in his weary eyes. 

"Good. You're almost ready for hell week."

His eyes narrowed. "This isn't hell? I've never worked this hard in my life."

I laughed. "Surprising yourself is what hell week is. Just when you think things couldn't get tougher you find out how wrong you were." I pointed. "We're almost there."