"Phil!" Sam thought, as hard as he could. He concentrated on the mental image of his teammate, hoping that somewhere out there Smith could hear him.
Sam was sitting in the midst of a cluster of trees, trusting to Danny's guess that closeness to nature would be a conduit to Phil's mind in this place.
"Phil!"
"...Sam?" Came the reply, somehow soft and distant. But still clear.
"You can hear me!"
"Sort of."
"Where are you?"
"It's hard to say."
"...what?"
"Oh, you mean my body. It's where we left it, at camp. About a half day's walk from where you are now, south of the fortress. Ghaleon is watching over it."
"And your mind is... where, exactly?"
There was a soft rippling of the leaves in the trees above Sam.
"I'm getting some help."
"...right. Danny needs you to help us get in touch with the others."
"I really can't think to you for long..."
"Can you tell me where Drake and Ed are?!"
"They... they have some dragons. Lots of them."
"Well, that's good."
"They may not be able to help you take the fortress. Gaovulte has summoned... something terrible. The villagers have heard tales of the rebels fighting Godbolt's forces, and are beginning to rise up. All over the continent. Something under Godbolt's command is keeping them in line."
"So Ed and Drake's dragons might be needed elsewhere?"
"Perhaps."
