As previously mentioned, the woman is wearing skins, and carrying a spear, with a sling around her waist. Her eyes are milky white. She is tall and sinewy, with tanned, leathery skin. She appears middle-aged, with long, unbrushed brown hair tied back with a small leather strip.
The woman is loosely known as Dancing Cat. She does not speak English of course, but can communicate to anyone infected mentally. However, use of mystic magic completely freaks her out (Fjell can feel mystic energies, since the Fearful are capable of feeding on them). Of course, only psions will be able to use mystic energies here.
Anyway, if they make friends with her, she explains that she speaks for Fjell, and leads them over a rise in the mountain. From this vantage point, they see a village (Nephilim), with buildings made of stones and straw roofs. More humanoids can be seen going about daily tasks like skinning animals and planting gardens.
Some other tribe members include: Growling Bear, Thirsty Sapling, Stepping Goat, and Angry Thorn.
Dragonstar’s next stop is in the same solar system as the Fearful’s current homeworld. If Rae uses any of her powers, Glaurung will sense it and be able to rescue them from the Fearful planet – but not before the Fearful also feel it and completely freak out.
Meanwhile, the nanites that Cohen lost when the bear thing attacked him have begun to spread… soon, they will have integrated themselves with the Fearful themselves, spawning a new breed of Fearful. Borg-like, they will quickly construct frightening technologies including some kind of hybrid biological/technological FTL travel.
Once that happens, they will be able to wage war on the Terrans to obliterate them. But that won’t be for a few sessions – not until after the Terrans have begun to war with each other for the first time in nearly 200 years.
In the meantime, Rae et al find themselves on Dragonstar, her home, where they are granted an audience with the Council of Wyrms in the city of Bitternail – the oldest, most powerful dragon of each type who govern the land, ruled over by the eternal Glaurung. (The dragons can easily use a tongues effect – in fact, all members of the council are 20th level psions.)
The Council is displeased with Rekari’s escape, and wary of the companions she has brought back with her. They debate her sentence, bringing in witnesses to testify, including Rae’s mentor, Morijin Illindra (brass), hailing from New Starshine. He argues to the chromatic dragon that Rekari is one of their kind, and to the metallics he argues that she has great potential beyond that of most chromatics.
Also present at the trial is Rekari’s "friend" who helped her get off the planet (in exchange for her life savings), Shael Tayrzon (red), as well as Golren Briarnas, the old brass dragon scholar who helped Rekari scry the humans on Percepi.
Depending on what her companions say, and how the trial goes, Rekari may be sentenced to death, or simply reprimanded. But no matter what, Glaurung will end up taking the rest of the foreigners home – it is deemed that the risk of having them stay on the planet is too great. Glaurung warns the Council that there is also risk in returning to a recently visited system, but he decides he will perform a wide orbit to avoid doubling back completely and encountering the Beast.
The Council of Wyrms is: Mushussu (male green), Fafnir (male blue), Smaug (male black), Tiamat (female red), Nidhung (male white), Jormunan (male brass), Jawzahr (male bronze), Ryu (male copper), Shen-Lung (male gold), and Tien-Lung (male silver). Glaurung leads the council, taking on the title of Io.
While Rekari is imprisoned, the others may wish to help her. (Maybe not, but whatever.) If so, they will probably need the help of others – Rekari’s "friend" Shael will sell them to the highest bidder, but Morijin doesn’t want to see Rekari harmed. Her "prison" is a place like the inside of a portable hole (but it doesn’t run out of air). At least, it is a pocket dimension with ambient light. Such places are only temporary, until a final decision has been rendered – dragon justice is brutal. There are no dragon prisons – if Rekari is found guilty, the only punishments are fines, indentured servitude, death and banishment.
The Council finds that Rekari’s crime is too serious for a fine – besides, Rekari is poor and it would only end up hurting Illindra, who is not at fault for Rekari’s "bestial nature" (according to the metallics). And the chromatics would rather see Rekari put to death for her crimes. The council has compromised and agreed that Rekari be banished for her transgression – it’s what she wanted anyway, says Shen-Lung, and thus what she deserves, says Tiamat. She will be sent away with her alien companions.
Glaurung, though is memory is not perfect and how he came to be lies far in his cloudy past, still instinctually refuses to enter the Sol system (part of him knows it would be a very bad idea). So he tries to drop them off near Lupus in the Wolf 359 system. Unfortunately, Lupus has been preparing for war for the past few months (figure this out)…
Once Dragonstar reaches Wolf 359, shit hits the fan. The U.N. Forces attempts to communicate with the "rogue planet" but Glaurung nullifies their transmissions…