Tarin encounters the loving embrace of first one gooshurm, then three, which chase him (with WolfSinger and Winnowei giving chase) to a valley where they take shelter on a rock formation. There, they find a rat with a greyhound for a bodyguard who tells them tales of a dragon that forced them to hide there. They leave, and the rat follows rather than be abandoned, where they shelter in an oasis. The dragon, meanwhilst, being Vorgulremik, sneaks up and attempts to steal the pack… But Tarin sees the dragon, raises the alarm, and the dragon only gets the park with most of the not-so-valuables in it, while the rest escape, Achimed clutching his sword close. They reach Elamoore at last and Achimed and his guard part ways with the others…