The sun blazed high above the city of Avashire as Gersius, Lilly, and Thayle stood revealed before the assembled mass of the people. They were in awe of Lilly in her dragon form, but as the minutes wore on, they relaxed. Gersius spoke to the crowd for a few minutes more and assured them Lilly was safe. Cautiously people began to approach and ask questions.
“What is your dragons name?” a woman called out to Gersius.
“My name is Lilly,” she responded for him drawing gasps and pointed fingers from the crowd.
Gersius smiled and stepped to the edge of the saddle. “If you wish to know anything about the dragon, you can ask her directly. She would love to speak to you.”
Lilly spoke to some of the brave townspeople who dared to get close while Thayle, Gersius, and Lengwin stepped down off her back to the platform along the walls where the aristocracy sat. Already many of them were standing, and although some of them looked faint, several of them went to great lengths to introduce themselves to Gersius and Thayle determined to get them to remember their names.
“Lady Thayle,” one man said in honey tones as he took her hand and gently kissed it. “Would you do me the honor of allowing me to seek you?” the man said with a bow. He smiled at her with a wicked little smile that reminded her of Tavis, and he rubbed at her hand, forcing her to pluck it away.
“Perhaps you should ask my husband first,” she said in a flat tone as Gersius turned around to scowl at him.
Lengwin laughed as the man practically fell off the stage, backing away from him.
“We should make it clear you two are husband and wife,” he said. “If they think she is available every petty noble in the city will be after her hand.”
“Men and power,” Thayle grumbled.
“Fortunately, not all men seek power,” Lengwin said as several more nobles approached. He introduced them, and Gersius greeted them all formally.
“Grand priestess Thayle,” came a woman’s voice that was proud and strong.
Thayle turned to see Priestess Rachel with a stern look on her face.
“You were chosen by Ulustrah to be a dragon knight?” the woman said in disbelief.
Thayle glared back at her and folded her arms. “Why would you even question that?”
“You have a mark on your face that says you are not worthy of her,” Rachel said with a head shake.
“This is a mark of honor and love,” Thayle said, pointing at her face. “I did something that would have gotten most cast out of the order. Instead, Ulustrah forgave me and put me on the path to be here. I don't need your permission to be the dragon knight.”
Rachel closed her eyes and took a breath. “I didn't mean to sound insulting. I am sorry for my sharp tongue. I am not prepared to lead a temple in a time of war, and I have so little to work with. Please forgive my careless words the other day.”
“You are already forgiven, Priestess Rachel. I do hope I have helped take some of the pressure off of you and your temple.”
Rachel nodded. “Some to be sure. Since you are staying at the estate, would it be possible for you to address the acolytes? It would do them some good to meet one of Ulustrah's champions.”
Thayle felt her heart race a bit to be called Ulustrah’s champion. She heard a voice in her mind and glanced over at Gersius as he whispered over the bind. “You should do it. They need to see Ulustrah's strength.”
“I would be honored to address the acolytes,” Thayle said with a slight bow.
“Thank you, Arch Priestess. The girls are practically alight with excitement just to have seen you ride in on your dragon.”
“I will try to arrange it today or early tomorrow,” Thayle said with a nod.
The woman excused herself and backed away.
Gersius was introduced to the mayor, the Captain of the watch, the Chief Castellan, and a host of prominent people of the city. He spoke with them at length about the war and his plans to go to Calathen. He kept any details vague and did not mention the army he was building. He tried to impress on people that he was going there with little more than Lilly and Thayle and maybe a few of Lengwin’s priests. He knew word of this event was going to spread, and any details he gave about his plan was going to spread with it. Thayle joined his side, and together they spoke about the plan to complete the prophecy.
Merchants eager to make coin pulled in wagons full of ales, beers, and mead. When Lilly saw the wagons full of casks, she addressed a woman in the crowd who had been talking to her.
“Go and fetch me that man with the barrels, I want to speak to him,” she told the woman.
The woman bowed and fell over herself to run off and drag the man back.
He dragged his feet as he got closer to Lilly, and his eyes were wide with panic.
“Bring your cart over here,” Lilly commanded him and pointed to a spot next to the stone platform.
“Of course my lady,” the man said in a trembling voice. He and several men that were with him lifted the arms of his cart and pulled it through the crowd to where Lilly had indicated.
“Now stand away from it a moment,” she told them, and the man went pale believing she was going to eat his cart and barrels. With a gentle breath, she blew over the barrels causing them to turn white with frost and ice formed over the edges.
Gersius and Thayle turned around at the sudden noise and gasps coming from the crowd to see what Lilly was doing.
“There, now the drinks are cold,” Lilly said with satisfaction.
“Bless you, My Lady,” the man said bowing again and returning to his cart to open the barrels and begin pouring the spirits.
“Well that was kind of you,” Gersius said, walking over to her.
She turned her head and lowered it to look at him. “I just wanted to show them I wasn’t a monster.”
“How did you tame the beast?” a man in layers of fine coats and shirts said. He strode up to the group as if he was the most important man present.
“Tame the beast?” Lilly repeated in shock.
“I believe sir you have misspoken,” Gersius said sternly.
“Nonsense, everybody knows dragons are savage beasts. How did you manage to tame such a creature and get it so firmly under control?” the pompous man added flicking a long white curl of his mustache.
Gersius turned to face the man and struggled to keep his composure. “If you call my Lilly a beast again, I will take it personally, and I am certain the Grand Priestess Thayle will as well.”
“I have already taken it personally!” Thayle growled.
“I will not stand for it either,” Lengwin added as he walked up to the man. “Duke Orinswald you tread on dangerous ground. This woman is a friend and ally of this city, and it's people. It isn't some beast to be broken and tamed.”
“Ridiculous; clearly, he has bested the monster. His control over it is amazing.”
Gersius nodded and looked at Thayle, “We should step aside and let this gentleman see just how much control we have over our monster.”
Lengwin chuckled and joined the two as they walked away from the man and left him facing the burning eyes of Lilly the dragon.
“A monster am I?” she said, fixing her eyes on him in a deadly glare. she suddenly moved, and a large clawed hand came to the stage, cutting deep gouges into the stone, and drawing gasps from the other assembled guests. “You want to see how tame I am?” she said growling in her dual voice.
The man stuttered and looked to Gersius and Thayle. “You are losing control of it!” the man called out.
“They never had control!” Lilly bellowed, “I do what I do because I want to. I am their friend, not their pet!” she said, taking another step closer to the man. “And I do not like being called a beast!”
He visibly paled and suddenly ran backward, nearly falling off the stage and ran off down the street to the strained laughter of several of the onlookers.
“Lilly looked at her two loves and smiled a fanged toothy smile. “The monster demands bread!” she said in a calm voice as she lowered herself back down to the street.
She resumed talking to the people of the city who asked her all sorts of questions. She was asked how old she was a dozen times. She was asked over and over what dragons ate, but every time Gersius and Thayle sent her a mental warning not to say, people. She was questioned about how large her treasure hoard was, and some particularly curious people tried to get her to tell them where it was. A few people asked if they could touch her, and she let them poke at her tail and touch her wings.
Several of the priests of Astikar came to see her and asked her questions about why she was helping them and was she really going to go to Calathen.
“We are going to Calathen,” she told them. “We would rather not have to fight our way into the city, but we believe the Father Abbot will refuse our right to enter.”
Several of the men pondered that thought, and one of them asked her. “Why do you help Gersius?”
“You priests of Astikar need to understand something. Gersius was the greatest of your order, he didn't tame, or capture, or subdue me, he befriended me. Your father abbot was so enraged that Gersius hadn't broken me and dragged me back as a prize that he tried to kill Gersius and have me captured by Dellain. He wanted Dellain to capture and subdue me properly.”
She saw the look of disgust on some of the men's faces at the mention of that name.
“Dellain used magic to drag me into that city, and then they tried to kill Gersius right before me. I managed to break free and rescue him, but I regret to say that many people were hurt in the process. I was not made to run through the narrow streets of your cities.”
“Why didn’t you fly away?” a man asked.
“My wings were injured. I couldn't fly, or we would never have gone to Whiteford in the first place. We never intended for me to enter the city, I was forced to.”
“So you were forced into the city against your will?” one particularly bold priest inquired.
“Gersius was afraid if I came into the city, it would cause a panic. He had me wait outside on a farm. Dellain and his men tricked me and attacked me while Gersius was away. They used magical chains to hold me and drag me into the city. It was Dellain who caused all the harm.”
Again the mention of his name drew looks of anger and disgust.
Lilly then explained how Gersius had been drugged, and the Father Abbot had him beaten and sentenced to death. She was careful not to mention the bind, but she got her point across, as several of the gathered men appeared to be ill.
“Telling the priests of Astikar of your horrible treatment at the hands of their brothers?’ Thayle asked as she walked over to join her holding a round object in one hand.
“I thought they should know,” Lilly said sadly.
“Yes,” Thayle agreed, looking from man to man as she arrived to put a hand on Lilly's head. “They should know.”
“What role did Ulustrah play in all this?” a priest said in an arrogant tone.
Lilly looked at Thayle and answered for her.
“Thayle saved Gersiu's life when we escaped, and she healed me of my serious injuries. Without her, we would both likely be dead. She and her order have always supported us. Never once did a priest of Ulustrah turn their back on us.”
The priests of Astikar all seemed to look embarrassed at Lilly’s words.
“None of this is your fault,” Thayle said to them. “This was the work of the Father Abbot and Dellain and his henchmen. The rest of the order is not to be blamed for what happened.”
“I do not hold these men responsible, but I worry that I may have to kill innocent priests who will try to defend the Father Abbot out of duty,” Lilly said.
“Perhaps if Astikar is merciful it will not come to that?” one of the men said.
“If only brother Dellain knew what mercy was,” Thayle remarked.
Several of the men nodded in agreement.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Thayle said, holding out a large round loaf of bread with a golden brown color. “This is for you.”
“Thank you, my love,” Lilly said, taking the bread from her hands with a powerful claw and taking most of the roll in a single bite.
“Your love?” one of the men asked.
Thayle smiled and rubbed Lilly's head while she chewed. “Lilly and I are very good friends. We love each other very much.”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“So a dragon can love?’ a younger priest asked.
“Oh, yes, they can love. They can cry. They can feel loss and pain. They can miss someone, and they can hope and dream,” Thayle replied.
“I told you, I am not a monster,” Lilly said as she swallowed the rest of the bread down.
The men nodded, and one of their number spoke. “I believe we have taken up enough of the ladies time. Thank you for telling us,” he added with a bow. They then stepped away, blending back into the crowds as more people came up to ask more questions.
“I had no idea people could be so friendly,” Lilly said across the link.
“You never had an opportunity to be presented to them as a friend and ally before,” Thayle replied silently.
“Miss dragon?” can a tiny voice. Thayle and Lilly looked down to see a girl of no more than seven with a head full of brown curls and trembling eyes standing ten feet away.
“My name is Lilly little rodent. What do you want?”
“Can I, can I pet you?”
“She wants to pet me?” Lilly asked Thayle silently.
“She is a little girl Lilly. she wants to touch you like I am doing now,” Thayle said as her hand rubbed the top of Lilly’s head.
“Yes, little one, you can pet me,” Lilly said, eyeing the child.
The girl walked slowly to where Thayle was standing and reached out a tiny hand to touch Lilly's neck right behind her head. Lilly lowered her head a little more to give the girl a better hold, and she gently rubbed at Lilly's scales.
The boldness of the child caused others to grow brave, and soon, children squeezed out from behind the legs of fathers and the dresses of mothers. The children gathered up and down Lilly's neck petting the dragon.
“This will do much to soothe fears about you Lilly,” Thayle said in her mind. “When word gets out of how you are so friendly that even the children of the cities come out to pet you, many people will change their minds.”
“I am rather happy to be here. I never thought I would enter a city as a dragon, but now I am glad I did.” Lilly responded. Lilly twisted her head to let Thayle rub just the right spot, and then her eyes went wide with shock. “Thayle look!”
Thayle nearly stumbled when she looked over.
There was Gersius in his shinning plate, looking like a giant among men. The whole of the house of Astikar was gathered before him. They all knelt in supplication like he was their king.
Gersius looked down at the men that he once called brothers. None of them even approached his previous rank, but he could tell by the way many of them stood and carried themselves that they had seen battle before.
“So you wish to go to Calathen with me then?” he asked them all.
“We have spoken with the dragon, and we agree that she has spoken the truth about Whiteford.” a man said looking at Gersius with strong, but sorrowful eyes. “It would dishonor us to stand by and do nothing while our wayward brothers cause so much harm in Astikars name.”
Gersius held a face of stone and nodded. “There may be much killing. The Father Abbot is determined to keep us from the city. He will not open the gate without a fight.”
Many of the men shook heads and grumbled words of concern.
“We see no way to heal our order unless we go to Calathen. There is no other choice,” the man replied.
“No,” Gersius said his voice dire. “There is not.”
“How will you take such fortified city though?” An astute nobleman asked.
Gersius nodded, the question was fair, the city of Calathen was a walled fortress with layers of defense.
“I cannot reveal my plan yet, there are eyes and ears that still report back to the Father Abbot, but remember who I am. I am Gersius. I am the man who pushed the Doan back from the southern border keeps. I am the man who recaptured the city of Rihilen, and who held the land with inferior forces for months.” He walked down their line, eyeing them now as he went.
“When I go back to Calathen I intend to take the city in one day, in one hour! I will take it in a move so daring and bold that men will speak about it long after my statues have crumbled away.”
He smiled at his own words. Let that get back to the Father Abbot. Let the man worry about how Gersius planned to take a fortress city in a single hour!
One of their number walked up. He had a clean-shaven face and hair cut so short it was no more than a faint red tint over the curve of his head.
“Brother Varnus,” Gersius said, addressing him as Varnus presented himself.
“I regret I did not know that you were the man I was leading to the High Priest when we first met.”
“It was necessary to speak to Lengwin in private and without drawing attention,” Gersius replied.
“I understand, Brother Gersius,” Varnus went on, and Gersius took note that he still called him brother. “I want you to know that if I had known, I would have pledged my loyalty then. I did not need this display of your power to accept you.”
Gersius nodded. “There is no way to be sure who will accept my authority and who will not. But I am glad to know you will be counted as my friend and brother.”
“I was there the day you broke the back of the Doan at the southern border keeps,” the man said his voice going strong. “I was assigned to the fifth light calvary. I was in the charge you ordered to split their flank and drive back their archers.”
“Then you more than any of the others understand what we are up against,” Gersius asked him his face hard as stone.
“I do, and I want my brothers to bear witness, I will stand against the Father Abbot with you, and I will help you take the city of Calathen. I will follow you to the western seas chasing the Doan until they drown in the waters of the Cycadian Ocean. You will take charge of our order.”
Gersius shook his head. “No, Brother Varnus. I was a knight captain. It was my duty to fight the orders battles, but only a holy priest can ascend to the ranks of leadership. It is the god of mercy's way. There must be no blood on the hands of the one who assumes the title of Father Abbot.” He paused for a moment to control his voice. “And my hands are drenched in it!” He shocked himself and everyone around him, causing the men he spoke with to back up. Lilly and Thayle both looked at him with wide eyes as the power of his voice echoed across the yard, speaking like two at once and radiating power.
“He used your voice?” Thayle whispered to Lilly in shock.
“I felt him pulling on me like he was drawing something from me,” Lilly whispered back.
“More gifts,” Thayle said as she wondered if she could do it too.
Gersius shook his head and carefully controlled his words. He was not sure how he had done it, but to speak that way would only frighten people.
“Forgive me,” he said, putting a hand up before the men. “I did not mean to sound so dire.”
“All is well, Brother Gersius,” Varnus said with a slight bow his eyes never leaving him. “Surely you have a commanding voice.”
Gersius nodded and tried to steer the conversation back on course.
“High Priest Lengwin will assume command of the order. He has no blood on his hands, and his heart is strong for Astikar. He is why I am here in your city. I was looking for a good man to take the Father Abbots place, I have chosen Lengwin.”
“And what will your title be then?’ Varnus asked.
“I will be the Emperor of the dragon empire, and head priest of the order of Balisha the queen of dragons,” he replied.
“Balisha is real?” Varnus asked even as some of the others whispered to each other.
“She is very real, and she has chosen Lilly and me to establish her religion on this world again.”
“So she has accepted a human into her order?” he asked his brow furrowed deeply over his eyes.
“She wishes humans and dragons to live in peace, and she wishes them to learn to respect and love one another. To do that she wants a human and a dragon to head her order, to show people the way she intends for it to be.”
“And what of this priestess Thayle?” Varnus asked. “What role does she play?”
“Grand Priestess Thayle is my second wife. She will be an empress of the dragon empire, and she will oversee the building of a grand temple to Ulustrah in the city of Calathen where she will then set about ensuring the love between humans and dragons grows.”
“So she does not worship Balisha?”
“No, she still follows Ulustrah, her heart belongs to her goddess, may it always be this way.”
Varnus looked sad, and his head fell. “Then we are shamed. The last dragon knight was a priest of Astikar. Now there are two, but neither of them are from our order.”
“Do not let your heart be heavy, Brother Varnus. I set out on this mission as a priest of Astikar, and for better or for worse I know I am here now because Astikar had a plan to get me here. The path we all walk now is a path he wanted. There is likely much glory to be gained in his name ahead.”
That seemed to perk the man up, and he nodded his approval of the words.
“So if I may be so bold as to ask, who is your first wife?” Varnus said.
Gersius smiled; he was waiting for this question. “Why the High Priestess of Balisha herself. The one who will oversee the spread of her faith across the empire and beyond.” He turned to face Thayle and Lilly to see they were both watching him intently.
“I give you my wives, Thayle of Ulustrah, and Lilly of Balisha.”
“The dragon?” Varnus said in shock, and his words were echoed in gasps and whispers that spread through the people listening around them.
“Varnus, there is something you do not yet know. When you do, you will laugh at yourself for how you feel right now,” Gersius said.
“This is unnatural though, you are a man, and that,” he paused to choose his words carefully. “The lady Lilly is clearly not a beast, she is intelligent and charming, but she is a dragon.”
“You did not seem so upset when you first met her that day a week ago.”
“I never met your dragon until today,” Varnus said.
“You did not?” Gersius asked with a smile.
“No there was just you, the lady Thayle, and the girl, with, the blue eyes?” his speech slowed word by word as he looked up at Lilly to see the same blue fire.
“That was her?” he asked Gersius in a hushed whisper.
“Did you not think she was beautiful?” Gersius asked.
“She is perhaps the most beautiful woman I have seen, but you are saying that was your dragon?”
“I am indeed saying that,” Gersius said with a smirk.
“How?” Varnus stammered.
“Brother Varnus, there is much about dragons you do not yet know, but in the coming days you will come to understand.”
“Come,” he said motioning to Varnus and the others. “Come and meet my wife properly.”
They all followed Gersius as he approached Lilly and Thayle.
“What have you done?” Came across the mental link from Lilly when he was close enough.
“I told them you were my wife.”
“You did what!” Both women yelled at the same time inside his head.
Thayle's mouth hung open as the gathered crowd reached them, and Lilly eyed him with doubt.
“Brother Varnus I would like you to meet my wives, Grand priestess Thayle of the temple of Ulustrah, head of the church to be built in Calathen, and Empress of the Dragon Empire. Thayle nervously returned a bow as Brother Varnus bowed low before her “It is an honor to meet you properly My Lady Thayle.”
Gersius then turned to Lilly whose head hovered just above his.
“And this is the Lady Lilly, ice dragon, high priestess of Balisha, also empress of the Dragon Empire because she too is my wife.”
Lilly looked down on the man with the nearly shaved head. He seemed to hesitate, and then he finally bowed low.
“It is an honor to meet you, my Lady Lilly.”
“It is good to see kindness from the priests of Astikar,” Lilly said as he stood back up.
Varnus smiled up at her. “I have been made aware that you and I had already met once before when you came to the temple to have your eyes healed.”
“You told him about that?” Thayle barked.
“Ladies, the time for such secrets is over, we need these people to trust us,” Gersius said. “We cannot keep hiding the truth from them. They need to know it.”
“I must admit I was shocked to learn you were his wife,” Varnus said in a smooth voice. “But when he told me who you were, and I noticed your eyes burned now like they did then. I knew if I had been given a choice to love you, I would have taken it too.”
“Oh, I like this one,” Lilly said across the bind.
“Easy Lilly, he is sweetening his words to curry favor,” Thayle replied silently.
“He is a good man, and his heart is in the right place. He is just trying to reassure us that knowing has not shaken his commitment to following us,” Gersius added to the silent conversation.
“Thank you for your kind words,” Lilly said, dipping her head a little. “Perhaps when this war is over, and more of my kind come to learn about you humans, you might have a chance to meet a dragon of your own.”
Varnus suddenly looked distant, a look that came all too often to Gersius. “Better to put such thoughts away, for now, the road ahead is long and potentially bloody.”
Gersius put his hand to the man shoulder in approval. “It is, but your God will protect you because your mission is true.”
Varnus parted with a salute as Lengwin arrived.
“Bloody nobles want assurances and guarantees. They can't see past their own self-interest,” he said.
“If the rulers of the kingdoms of the empire could see past their own self-interest, I would not have needed to find Lilly,” Gersius said.
“Very true words,” Thayle added in agreement.
Lengwin looked up to the gathered three, “I did not expect this to become a celebration, but I am glad it did. This will help gather support.”
“Yes, it will all help,” Gersius said.
“We should consider flying off to some of the neighboring tows that have temples to Astikar or Ulustrah,” Lengwin said. “With Grand Priestess Thayle and myself by your side, you should have no trouble winning town after town to your cause.”
“Oh, let's go to that lovely town we stopped in to eat just down the road next?” Lilly suggested.
Gersius smirked, and Thayle laughed to remember the tiny, dirty town where the three men had accosted them.
“Perhaps we will not go to that town,” Gersius said, shaking his head.
“Am I missing something?” Lengwin asked.
“I will tell you later,” Gersius replied.
“Is now a good time to go? So many people have come out to see Lilly?” Thayle asked.
“More are streaming in from the surrounding farms,” Lengwin said. “Word is traveling fast.”
Gersius looked around to see people crowded in close to see the dragon in the courtyard. Several children and even some adults petted Lilly’s tail and wings.
“Yes, maybe we should stay the day here, and let word travel to the neighboring towns. We can visit them tomorrow when they are better prepared to greet us.”
“Hopefully not with arrows,” Thayle said.
Lengwin suddenly looked concerned at the thought. “I hadn't considered what we would do if a town was hostile.”
“None of them will be hostile. Word will spread and make the way safe. We will head to the nearest towns tomorrow, and the further ones the next day. This will give the word a chance to spread to the farther ones,” Gersius said.
“A good plan,” Lengwin said. “And lucky the Priestess's order had an estate for you to stay in. Is it suitable for your needs?”
“Yes, it is a lovely complex just outside the city. They even have a whole building dedicated as guest lodging.”
“Good, good,” Lengwin said.
“There is something you could help us with though,” Gersius said as he smiled at Thayle.
“Certainly, whatever you need,” Lengwin said.
“The temple of Ulustrah is stretched thin here. They could use more security at the compound. They have a man named Kilgian, who is in charge of protection. He could use three or four good men to help him.”
“I will meet with the priestess of the temple and see to it at once,” Lengwin said.
“It will greatly help,” Gersius said.
“Of course, from this day forward, Ulustrah will be seen as a sister unto us. We will stand in her defense.”
Thayle felt like she was going to cry, and Gersius felt the sensation over the bind.
“Be at ease my wife,” he said.
“So much has changed in so short a time. This time yesterday, our temples were being attacked by Astikar, now they are being protected by him.” Thayle replied.
“Yes,” Gersius said out loud as he turned to face her. “So very much has changed.”
They spent many more long hours in the city square meeting anybody brave enough to approach them. Lilly chilled another round of casks much to the delight and amazement of the people. She even froze a patch of ground with ice for the children to play on.
The mayor proclaimed it Dragons day and announced that they would celebrate this day for years to come.
When the sun grew long in the sky, they grew tired of meeting people and repeating the same stories over and over again. They finally climbed on to Lilly who swept the gathered crowds with a great gust of air as she flapped her wings and took back to the sky.
When they flew over the garden complex of the priests of Ulustrah they could already see the changes. Six men now stood around the perimeter of the complex. Two men guarded each gate, and one man walked up and down each of the long sidewalls. They wore the shining silver plate with red tabards of Astikar. Each one had a short spear and a full towering shield and looked very imposing.
Lilly landed in the fields south of the rear gate and disappeared into her cloud of mist. Thayle helped her quickly dress before they approached the sentries who stood like statues to either side of the small metal door.
“Hail the dragon knights!” both men said in a firm tone as they approached. Then they looked at Lilly with her blazing eyes, and both men spoke again. “Hail to you, Lady Lilly the Dragon.”
Lilly smiled as they passed into the yard.
That night a priestess of Ulustrah stood guard in the servants quarters at the bottom of the guest house guarding the stairs up.
They all three spent some well deserved time relaxing and clearing their minds. Much had happened today, and much was yet to be done. Gersius just hoped he had the strength to see it through.