As the Mountains of Moon were somewhat close to Dreamford, Quora decided to take a detour to give the Visions excerpt she had recovered to Moonfang. The early morning was clear, and the wind was low. As a bird of prey, Quora quickly flew up to the cave mouth, which led to Moonfang's lair.

Through the long tunnel to Moonfang's cavern lair, Quora was shocked at the sight: Moonfang's eggs were neatly nestled together, but Moonfang herself was missing. Quora called out to Moonfang, her voice echoing through the cavern. There was no response. Quora grew worried and rushed to check Moonfang's library.

Quora entered the library to find Moonfang in her human form curled up on a chair, reading one of Fafnir's books. She glanced at Quora. Her eyes were glassy.

"Qorrametz..." Moonfang tried to smile. She sniffled, "I'm sorry...This was one of my favourite stories. It's about an old knight who loses his son to an enemy general. In his grief, he subconsciously babies the king to make sure he doesn't lose him, too. It's..." Moonfang struggled to hold back tears, "It's adorable. Humans are adorable. I loved how Fafnarok would read to me..."

Moonfang dropped the book and buried her face in her hands. Her voice was marred by sorrow, "I always forget that humans can cry. I'm sorry..."

Quora rushed to Moonfang's side and hugged her. Moonfang awkwardly returned the gesture.

"What is this? It...feels nice."

"Humans do it to comfort each other." Quora assured her, "I've learned that touch is essential to them."

"Ohh..." Moonfang relaxed. She rested her head on Quora's shoulder, "How did you learn that?"

Quora grimaced, "Because many humans want to touch me."

"...Ah, forget I asked."

Quora and Moonfang's embrace continued for what seemed like hours. She could feel Moonfang shuddering as she cried.

"I miss him, Qorrametz."

"I do too, Muunfareng."

"I wish he was here. It's so lonely in this mountain..." Moonfang lamented, "If only my eggs would hatch. I could be surrounded by our little ones. I'd read to them every day."

Quora found herself moved to tears, "Fafnarok's murderer will pay dearly for what he has done. I will be visiting his kingdom soon."

Moonfang pulled herself from Quora. Her eyes were red, and her face was wet, "Don't hurt him. We can't let ourselves be blinded by vengeance. It is not what Fafnarok would want."

"It is what I would want." Quora snapped. She sighed, "But I will respect your wishes. Here..."

Quora produced the Visions excerpt from Myrellia and offered it to Moonfang. Her eyes went wide, and she took the scroll with a trembling hand. The faintest shade of a smile was on Moonfang's face.

"Thank you...How can I ever repay this?"

Quora smiled, "Just keep your eggs safe. I'll be back when I have more of the Visions."

She waved Moonfang goodbye and took her leave of the library. On her way, she could hear Moonfang sniffing the scroll. Quora dared look back and saw Moonfang clutching the scroll to her face before breaking into a fit of despair.

Quora clenched her fists with tears in her eyes.

----------------------------------------

Quora soared through the cloudless skies as a bird of prey. It was midday, and it wasn't long before the city of Dreamford came into view. It was a sprawling city built upon an island in the center of a large lake. Upon the tallest point on the island lay Castle Dreamford, its enormous white spires with blue rooftops built to overlook the city below. The castle looked like it was pulled from a fairytale and into reality. Around the whole town was the mystical sheen of a protective barrier that gave Dreamford the appearance of a snow globe, with a vivid rainbow occasionally showing through. Around the city, boats busily plied the waters, delivering all manner of goods and people to and from the city.

Quora began her descent for the isle directly, taking comfort in knowing Dreamford was a place where she did not need to hide her sorcerous nature. However, the peculiar nature of the barrier meant she had to land outside of it. She landed before the city's main gates and shifted into her human form. A line of people and merchant caravans were all waiting for their turn to enter the city. Once the city guardsmen had cleared a visitor, they would be ushered through the barrier, which would give way for only one person at a time. The man currently being checked by the guardsmen was none other than Hadtrane, the mercenary who had unwittingly helped her in Myrellia by carrying her to the Cathedral of Myratel. He had his helmet off, chatting with a guardsman as his bags were checked. He was bald, his face heavy with scars, and he had several missing teeth. Quora decided she was not going to wait in line. She walked past the line to the jeering and protestations of those waiting and joined Hadtrane. The guardsman, who wore silver armour with a blue tabard and a helmet that covered his face but for two round holes for eyes, raised a mailed hand to Quora.

"Back of the line, lady."

Hadtrane looked perplexed, "The hell do you think you're doing? No butting!"

Quora smiled sweetly, "That's no way to talk to your wife, Haddie."

She pulled on his red scarf to bring his face close enough for her to plant a kiss on his cheek. Hadtrane's face felt like leather on her lips. Now, he looked perplexed and beet red.

The guardsman chuckled, "Here I thought Hadtrane was still single! We're done with your husband's bags. Do you have anything to add?"

"Oh, no bags," Quora answered nonchalantly.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Hadtrane sputtered, "Hold on a sec..."

"Welcome to Dreamford, you-" Quora shoved past the guardsman before he could finish and passed through the barrier.

The guardsman laughed, "Excited, isn't she? Hah, must be a honeymoon!"

Hadtrane could only watch as his bags were piled up at his feet, "...More like Honey-what just happened?"

----------------------------------------

Dreamford was alive with magic. The streets were full of people from all walks of life, and small mechanical creations fluttered busily above. Hedge wizards occupied street corners, using simple magicks to entertain children. There was an air of hope as the sun washed down upon the paved roads and wooden buildings. Guardsmen, like those at the gates, patrolled the city, hefting two-handed swords that glowed with the raw stuff of magic within. To the right of Quora were the roads leading down to the docks, the people heading there debating which boat they'd take or when the next ferry arrived.

It left Quora in awe.

The smells were another object - the less-pleasing ones from the humans were to be expected, but there were the tantalizing smells of all the different foods one could find in Dreamford, from spicy to sweet. One particularly lovely smell caught Quora's interest, and she followed the scent until she found its source: a particularly jovial-looking baker in a merchant's stand outside of a bakery. He happily waved people to him to give them samples of his newest creation.

"Hurry, everyone! These won't last long!" the baker shouted after giving samples to a family with children, "They're gonna take Dreamford by storm, see!"

Quora put on an innocent face and approached the baker's stand.

"Oh, welcome, fair lady!" the baker exclaimed, "Not often we get folks like yourself."

There was a loud dinging from the bakery.

"Oh, perfect timing! A fresh batch of my new pastry just finished cooking. Will you give me a moment?"

Quora nodded excitedly. She watched the baker head inside and could see his colleagues working feverishly to meet the demand he had created. The baker came back outside, and in his hands was a small pastry roll covered in cinnamon and topped with a pure white glaze of thick sugar. Quora's eyes dilated when she smelled it. He offered it to Quora, and she slowly took it from him. The thing was raw sugar; all she could do to resist shoving it in her face was to stare blankly at it.

"Well? Go on, take a bite!" the baker cajoled, "Not to worry, we've added just a little magic so it doesn't all go to your thighs!"

Quora slowly brought the roll to her lips and bit into it. Her heightened sense of taste caused a moment of freefall as the notes of cinnamon and sugar glided across her tongue. Her eyes pulled wide, and she felt like every bite was melting in her mouth. Before she knew it, she had eaten the whole thing in the span of a minute.

"You like that, eh? I've never seen someone eat it that fast before!"

Quora stared into the baker's eyes and made hers flash with the orange glow, "More."

"Whoa!" the baker held up his hands, "I get that's just a parlour trick, but there's something really convincing about yours!"

Quora let a slight draconic rumble into her voice, "It's no trick."

The baker nodded, "Say no more. One more roll, coming right up!"

Not a minute afterward, Quora walked away from the bakery with another cinnamon roll in hand, humming a soft tune. She wandered the streets of Dreamford, noting the signs that suggested all roads lead to the castle. She stared up while she walked, watching the little fluttering machines. She wondered what purpose they served. She went to take a bite of her roll when one of the machines came fluttering past her head. Thinking little of it, she went back to her roll when it came fluttering again. She waited and snatched it out of the air when it came again. She looked closer at the machine, which resembled a mechanical moth with great round lenses for eyes. Little metal legs struggled for freedom while its filigree wings flapped helplessly. Quora pinched the wings together and saw they bore the symbol of King Dreamford. The moth's eyes flickered blue and seemed to roll in place. Suddenly, the eyes flashed red, and the moth uttered a loud cry that startled Quora and made her drop the moth. She watched it take flight and fly past a pair of guardsmen who were approaching Quora.

"Hold it right there!" one of the guardsmen called, "The king has summoned you. You are to be taken to the castle and brought before him. Surrender any arms you may be carrying and come with us."

Quora glowered at the guardsmen, "I do not need weapons, fool. I will come quietly."

"I'm afraid you will have to surrender your pastry, as well. No food is to be brought into Castle Dreamford."

Quora smirked and twirled to one side with the roll in both hands, "Take it from me, then."

The guardsman stepped forward, but his comrade put an arm on his shoulder to restrain him, "Milord warned us about this one. Let her have the snack."

He grunted, "Alright. Come with us."

The guardsmen moved to Quora's flanks. One of them gently tapped her on the shoulder to spur her onward. She thought of munching on her cinnamon roll as she was escorted to the castle, but decided to save it for later when she could make a mess of crumbs in the king's court.

----------------------------------------

White hippocampus rampant on blue field.

Banners displaying this coat of arms hung from every pillar within Castle Dreamford. Throughout the grey halls, arched windows let sunlight in, even when the sun wasn't shining in their direction. Where the sun's light could not reach, lamps radiated with the blue light of magic, giving their surroundings a cold and sterile feel. Curiously, the smooth floors of the castle carried little noise from footsteps. Quora clicked her heels harder than usual to make their usual racket, irritating her escort and amusing her to no end.

"Stop that, please." one of the guards demanded, "You will damage the floor."

"No," Quora replied.

The guards shook their heads and dropped the subject. Eventually, they brought her before a grand gateway with gilded, dark wood doors upon which a pair of Dreamford's banners hung. The guards assumed their positions at the sides of the doors, and with a tremendous creak, they opened on their own. The guards gestured to Quora to enter the throne room.

Quora walked upon a long blue carpet leading to the throne. The windows and lamps provided plenty of light here, but the throne itself was set within an alcove built to obscure the occupant in shadow. Round pillars flanked the carpet. As she approached the throne, a giant of a man in a full suit of silver armour carrying a long spear and a tower shield interposed himself between Quora and the throne. He wore a blue tabard, and his tower shield was painted blue and decorated with the white hippocampus. His helmet resembled a horse's head, with a long visor where its eyes would be. On the top of the helmet was a blue brush, implying a high rank within Dreamford's military.

"There you are!" the man's loud, demanding voice said. He lowered his spear's head towards Quora, "I should skewer you for the trouble you've caused us!"

Quora looked at the man in the beady, stupid little eyes behind the visor of his helm and took a big bite of her cinnamon roll. She brushed the errant crumbs off her breasts and onto the blue carpet. She swallowed loudly and then mockingly asked, "Why are you dressed like a donkey? Lord Dreamford sends donkeys to vex me?"

The man shook angrily and brought his spear back for a thrust, "Why you-!"

A man's voice called from the throne, "That's enough, Jonns. Give us the room, please."

Jonns lowered his weapon and turned to the throne, bewildered, "What?!"

"Go."

Jonns huffed and stomped past Quora, leaving her alone with whoever was on the throne. Quora heard something from the throne when the great doors boomed shut a ways behind her. There was the sound of dress shoes clicking as the presence on the throne stood up and stepped into the light. He was a fair man who appeared to be of a similar age to Quora's human form. His hair was silver and combed forward beneath his gilded crown inlaid with sapphire jewels. Upon his sharp nose rested a pair of rectangular spectacles which flashed white when they caught the light. He wore a discreet dress suit beneath the heavy mantle of blue trimmed by white fur, denoting him as none other than King Dreamford himself. Quora clenched her fists at the sight of him, her eyes flaring orange.

"It's been too long, Qorrametz." greeted Dreamford as his eyes flared bright blue.