Zeddar shifted in his saddle slightly and the leather creaked. He froze at the sound, waiting....listening. In the darkness ahead a rumble rose that resonated off the walls of the cavernous hall like a rolling avalanche. It built slowly until the old Mystic's bones were rattling with it. The dragon lifted her head and bellowed a short gout of flame that lit the darkness in a flare of orange and red. Her crimson scales shimmered as she shifted in the brief light, her green eyes falling on the Mystic. "You are either very brave," the dragoness growled in her ancient, guttural language, "or very foolish to disturb me. What is your name, mortal, so I may know who it is who feeds my belly and my young?" Zeddar bowed his head and whispered a quiet incantation of power as he crushed a piece of sulfurous ash and a whisp of spider's silk, "In Lor." The spell took effect and the darkness faded from Zeddar's eyes. With his vision cleared he could see the dragoness in all her glory. The best filled the corridor, blocking any view of the chamber he knew lay behind her. She was ready to destroy him, that much was certain, but she hadn't yet. And Zeddar was literally betting his life that her hesitation was a good sign that his patient and careful study had finally paid off. If he was wrong, the only consolation was that he wouldn't live long enough to regret it. Zeddar slipped out of the saddle and whispered a few words to his horse, Stepper. They had been together a long time, and forged a deep bond that allowed them each to feel part of what the other felt. And right now, Zeddar was getting nothing from the horse but pure, unadulterated terror. His muscles were twitching constantly, fighting the urge to turn and flee from the massive predator before them. Zeddar tied a loose knot in the reins and slipped it over a jagged stalagmite growing up from the floor. If the worst should happen, at lest Stepper might be able to free himself and find his way back to the town gates and the protection of the Guards of Wind. With a deep breath, Zeddar stepped forward slowly, his head bowed and his arms extended to the sides. "I come, great dragoness, with a humble offer," Zeddar said, following the ancient forms he'd read in a dusty tome more than a thousand years old. He hoped the man who'd written it hadn't been as mad as his contemporaries claimed. "The world is full of danger and peril, for your kind more than most. You are hunted. You are hated. And you are feared. Men who crave honor, glory, and riches make a name by your death. I offer myself and my life for the protection of your young. I will raise them, I will nurture them, and I will teach them. But most of all, I will keep them safe. I will die in their place if by my death I may purchase their life." The dragoness blinked and pulled her head back in surprise. She regarded Zeddar for a long time in silence, here green eyes shining like lanterns. After a long moment, she flicked out a three foot long forked tongue and tasted the air slowly before speaking. "You know the old ways, Wizard," she growled. "That is rare. You offer something for which I have not asked. What makes you think I cannot protect my own young?" "I mean no offense, dragoness," Zeddar answered, his mind racing. The dragon had gone off script, and he was now in uncharted waters. He had a feeling that whether he walked out of these caves alive or ended his days as a snack for a dragon mother depended on how well he answered. "But your home is far from safe. Your lair is warm and secure from all predators save one--the most dangerous predator that walks the land..... man. The halls and caverns of Wind are not as well traveled as they once were, but warriors and hunters still prowl the darkness here. Demons haunt these once hallowed halls and even the undead corruption of the liches has infested the city. How many young drakes have you already lost here? How many have lived long enough to fly from these caves and seek their own mate and their own lair? You are mighty and terrifying in your strength, but you have lost young before to these dangers, I see it in your eyes. I will take your young away from these dangers." "And you will expose them to new dangers!" The dragoness bellowed, flames spilling out of her mouth and rolling out of her nostrils. "You want my young to use them.... to torture them!" Zeddar bowed even lower, shaking his head. "No, dragoness," he answered firmly, "I want only their friendship. There is great strength and wisdom in your kind, and I feel I will need that in the days ahead. There is darkness rising in the land. I feel it on the winds. The undead are beginning to move, to mass an army. And when All Hallow's Eve falls upon us once more, I fear they will strike." The dragoness tossed her head in indignation. "A problem for the world of men," she growled, "Not of dragons." "With respect, dragoness, you are wrong," Zeddar said quietly. "If the undead sweep aside the armies of Man and take the land for themselves, do you really think they will be content to leave your kind in peace? Do you really think the Harrower has no desire to suck the life force from every last dragon, wyrm, and drake that breathes. I will stand against that darkness, and with the help of your young, I may prevail. Without them and their strength, I will be crushed. But either way, I will stand." The dragon's head whipped forward swiftly on her serpentine neck, stopping less than a foot from Zeddar's face. Slowly, she flicked her long tongue out and licked up the side of Zeddar's face. This was the moment of truth. If she tasted any dishonesty, any duplicity at all in him, she would devour him in one gulp. With great effort he kept from trembling like a leaf in a hurricane. "Very well, Wizard," The dragoness growled softly, pulling her head back. "But know this..... I have smelled your scent and tasted your flesh. If you break your word, I will know....and I will find you." Zeddar knelt on one knee, his right fist over his heart. "May Fate forsake me if I prove false, dragoness." "Indeed," the dragoness growled. “Lycos! Mellor!” The dragoness called, her voice loud enough to rattle the bones in Zeddar’s chest. “Come and meet your new master.” Zeddar raised his head and saw the two drakes, perfect copies of their mother only a quarter her size, shuffle forward. They were hesitant at first, using their forked tongues to taste the wind and learn his scent. Zeddar felt a growing sense of two distinct presences in the back of his mind. They were vague, and uncertain still, but they were there. The bond had been forged, now it was up to him to make certain it lasted. He reached into his pack and took out a stack of freshly cut ribs from several bulls. He tossed two of the cuts to each of the drakes and left the rest on a rock for their mother. “Honor and long life to you, dragoness,” Zeddar said as he bowed one last time. “Live long and prosper, Wizard,” The dragoness responded, devouring the seven cuts of ribs in one massive gulp. She turned and without another word stalked back into the deep darkness of the cavern, leaving Zeddar alone with his new charges. Stepper tossed his head and snorted loudly, rolling his eyes at the two drakes as Zeddar approached. The old warhorse stood his ground, though, and calmed down once Zeddar was back in the saddle. He led the two drakes through the streets of Wind to the teleporter that led out of the mountain stronghold. Once on the surface, the two young drakes lifted their heads, their tongues flicking in and out rapidly as they tasted the free wind for the first time….
