These are the things, ay?” The ormyrr bent over and studied Evin’s face. Drool dripped from its terrifying teeth, plopping like oversized raindrops in the dirt next to Evin’s head. Evin held his breath, his heart thudding, certain that the creature was about to bite him in half. Instead, it moved to look at Jorick, then Betilivatis.

The ormyrr pulled back up to its full height and let out a booming sigh. “Boring. Nothing good with these things here. Gnollies took all good things.”

Muttering about “stupid gnollies,” the ormyrr then turned and headed back into the ruins, leaving the three unharmed.

Jorick leaped to his feet, his eyes on the retreating form of the beast. “Did you hear what it said?” he asked, his voice shrill. “About gnollies? It must mean the gnolls! It saw them!” Not waiting for Evin to recover—or even to ask him what to do—Jorick ran after the ormyrr, shouting, “Hey! You! Wait!”

“Your friend is ridiculously impulsive,” Betilivatis said to Evin as she collected the fallen Practical Guide and her satchel.

Evin jumped up, scowling. “He never used to be,” he said. He left Betilivatis behind and chased after the ormyrr as well.

Evin caught up to Jorick near the statue where Evin had first seen the ormyrr. The ormyrr had stopped and was now digging through what looked like a pile of pottery shards.

Jorick held his sword in both arms, his biceps bulging from the weapon’s weight. Though hunched over, the ormyrr still towered over Jorick.

“Ormyrr!” Jorick shouted. “You’ve seen the gnolls come through here! I demand you tell me where they went or … or I’ll run you through!” He brandished his sword menacingly.

Evin held his breath. The ormyrr stopped picking through the pottery shards and slowly rotated its head in Jorick’s direction. The beast’s red eyes looked the small human boy up and down.

Then, the ormyrr turned back to its menial task.

Jorick raised the sword high. “Hey, did you hear me?” he screamed. “I’m telling you to tell me where the gnolls went or I’ll hurt you!”

The ormyrr ignored him.

“Jorick,” Evin hissed. “The book said it’s not aggressive, but this thing can toss small buildings like they’re nothing. Don’t make it mad.”

“But it has to tell us where the gnolls took my dad!” Jorick said. He looked up at Evin, his eyes shimmering with tears. “It has to!”

The ormyrr’s two top arms ceased digging and instead reached up to stick two fingers into two small holes that must have been the creature’s ears. The ormyrr began to hum to itself.

Evin tried to pull Jorick back. “We need to talk to it nicer if we want its help,” he whispered. “Attacking everything isn’t always the way to go, you know.”