It took a little while for everyone to regain their composure.

When they managed it, Relma stood up unsteadily and looked to see that the others were safe. They were. Then she looked around. No mountains had been torn down, no steam indicated boiling oceans, and the sky was a normal color. Relma took these as signs that the world had not ended.

Thank you, Elranor.

There were a few immense footprints, however, and the sacrifices were gone.

Had there been something Relma could have done?

"So this Lord Evren, where is his lair?" asked Ajax, dusting himself off.

"Well, old chap, if I remember it, it'll be up on that cave just below the castle," said Wrynncurth. "Though the castle wasn't there before." And he led on toward the castle in question.

The castle proved a huge structure of tall spires with white stone, situated upon a hill. At the base of the hill was a cave from which smoke was flowing.

"These lands are prosperous and fertile," said Estela. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Well, of course," mused Brandus, walking with them. "The lifeforce of those who are devoured by the reds goes into the land and ensures it grows. Those who sacrifice their lives ensure those they leave behind are prosperous."

"Something is wrong here," said Jomas.

"What?" said Estela.

"No, old people," said Jomas. "No one over forty.

"Where-"

"Eaten by the dragons, remember?" said Brandus. "I told you as much. Once you get to a certain age, you're less useful, so you might as well be removed—that way, the next generation can take over.

"It's the same with anyone born malformed or stupid."

"That's..." Estela shifted. "That's not at all like Escor."

"Yes, you much prefer to kill eachother off instead," mused Ajax.

"Battle is a noble profession," said Estela.

"So is a willing sacrifice to ensure the prosperity of your realm and your place in the afterlife," noted Ajax. "It doesn't leave nearly as many fields razed, I'll bet."

"Well, all this is true, but I'm more interested in Bryag," said Relma, remembering that dragon's sheer scale. "Tell me, what does everyone think of Bryag?"

"He is the most powerful of all the Red Dragons and guards all lands equally," said Brandus. "Even those that cannot make sacrifices to him. And it is fortunate that he does, for that sacrifice you saw is the first we've had in a decade."

"Why?" asked Relma.

"Well, Queen Vanessa insisted we do as much," said Brandus. "The truth is, Evren has not provided sacrifices to Bryag in my life before now."

"You mean to say that Bryag gets nothing from doing all this?" asked Relma.

"Well, nothing from us," said Brandus. "Lord Evren prefers us to make sacrifices to him and Queen Vanessa instead. Sometimes villages will make sacrifices to Bryag. Of their own volition, of course, when things are really bad.

"But many of the Lords don't like them doing that."

"I wonder why," mused Estela.

"In any case, Bryag protects," said Brandus.

Relma wondered how she could use this and what she had to do to avoid treading on local traditions. Obviously, abolishing any of them was beyond her power and a bad idea. Anyway, this adventure was just to give Relma a major accomplishment—something that none of the Kings of Harlenor could compare to.

So long as she accomplished that major, she didn't care about the Dragon Empire. However, she would much rather leave the place prosperous and ruled well. Even so, she was not planning to slay any dragons.

"So, do tell me, how many sacrifices does Evren usually command?" asked Relma.

"Well, I've been doing this task my whole life, including my father before him," said Brandus. "It used to be that we'd only have to sacrifice two or three people a year; that was in my grandfather's day. But, as things got worse, Evren commanded we sacrifice more, five or six a month, and it was when I came of age.

"But as Durag's armies became greater, the Lords began to call for more and more sacrifices. We needed more dragons, you see, and the undead wounded the land."

"Right, the people sacrificed are reincarnated as Red Dragons, correct?" asked Estela.

"Not all of them," said Brandus. "Most are reincarnated as a higher caste, those who dwell within the castles. They are the personal attendants and warriors of the Red Dragon. When they are sacrificed, they may be found worthy to ascend. If not, they may be reborn within the inner circles, or, if they are sent back, will be returned to the outside."

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Relma had learned a certain amount of math in Gel Carn. And calculating things, she more or less concluded that it did not work. It couldn't work if the kind of sacrifices they'd seen were commonplace; it couldn't work. Castles only needed so many people living there. The dragons were likely even less numerous.

It didn't take long to realize that many people were not seeing any improvement in their next lives. But that didn't seem a wise thing to say to a priest.

"Can I ask something else?" asked Relma.

"What is it?" asked Brandus.

"Who are the Conquista of Anoa?" asked Relma.

"Oh yes, them," said Brandus. "They are men who came from your land long ago, through the Pass of Dragon Bones. They came seeking horses for Anoa's army and also to fight the High Elven remnants. We fought them for many years, but we've recently made common cause against the Sun Soul Empire and Durag.

"They wield strange weapons that make huge amounts of noise and can pierce armor. However, they cannot compete with the power of dragons."

Relma asked a lot more questions on their way to the cave. She managed to learn a great deal about things in the Dragon Empire. Much of it had already been told to them by Ajax and was only confirmed now. Other things directly contradicted his statement, while others provided a different context.

Estela asked mostly about the armies.

But, at last, they came to the cave and found it guarded by many armed men with pikes. Their armor was blood red, and masks covered their faces.

"Are these them, Brandus?" asked the leader.

"Yes, Bas," said Brandus. "They are the ones Queen Vanessa spoke of.

Bas nodded. "Good, Lord Evren will see them now."

And he led them down into the cave.

Within, it was lit by a dull, red light that gleamed off of vast quantities of gold. And upon that, gold was lying the first dragon. He was far more impressive in this enclosed space, which was saying something. Yet Relma realized Bryag could probably hold Evren's entire head in one claw.

"So, these are those sent by Queen Vanessa," said Evren. "I must thank you for destroying so many undead; it will make things far easier in the future. Bryag won't be necessary for some time yet."

"Well, I jolly well imagine Bryag might be glad of that," said Wrynncurth ruefully. "What sort of arrangement did you chaps come to that makes it so he continues to help you? From what I heard, he isn't achieving much."

"Arrangement?" asked Evren. "Bryag is a fool; that is the only arrangement the others and I need."

"I wonder if you'd say as much to his face, old chap," said Wrynncurth, and Relma suspected he was very angry indeed.

"Of course not, he's more than four times the next largest dragon, but I need not confront him," said Evren. "If he ever truly went after us, every other dragon would unite against him. We've prepared all sorts of precautions."

"I wonder why you need to, seeing as you ought to see him as a Prince," noted Wrynncurth.

"He had a formidable birthright once, even split with Vanessa," said Evren. "But that has long since all been spent. Now, he relies on us for whatever we give him."

"And tell me, how was it spent?" asked Wrynncurth.

"I believe he sought to imitate you, Wrynncurth," said Evren. "Loaning out parts of his hoard to help with building projects and development. He certainly made many loans to myself included."

"And tell me, have you paid them back? You seem quite rich enough," said Wrynncurth.

"Of course not," scoffed Evren. "I used it to build some roads and kept most of it for myself. There are records of the transaction, not that it matters."

"I wonder what Queen Vanessa thinks of all this. Worth considering," said Wrynncurth.

"Bryag is the only other possible ruler of the Dragon Empire," said Evren flatly. "If he's kept penniless and productive, so much the better for her."

"So you made a contract with Bryag, never intending to pay it back?" said Estela.

"If he was stupid enough to give his wealth away, he deserves what he gets," said Evren simply.

"You gave your word," said Estela.

"Did I?" asked Evren. "What are words but ink splattered over parchment. What is that to I, or any creature with power? None will cease to do business with me for my cheating of Bryag, for all the world is complicit. He cannot regain his wealth, for he'd face us all. I would be only too glad to see some of my neighbors killed by him; I could take their hoards as well.

"Nor can he scheme against me, for he is a dimwitted fool.

"I need not justify my actions, for the strong do as they like, and the weak can only accept it. Bryag is weak and so deserves what has happened to him."

"...You're a cheat," said Jomas flatly.

Relma wondered how far their chances of survival had dropped and what they had been, to begin with.

Estela stared at Jomas in horror. Evren glared at him as Jomas stepped forward. "What?"

"I said you're a cheat. A swindler," said Jomas. "A conman. A bandit with red scales and teeth. A petty usurper laying claim to that which he has no right. You don't deserve to be called a Lord; you don't deserve anything.

"You should be hung at the gallows like any other thief. You and the rest of your pack of outlaws."

This made Evren somewhat angry.

Relma could tell because he rose from his bed and roared. The sound echoed throughout the cave. Her ears rang with it, as Jomas stood in front of him, staring up.

"You dare!" roared Evren, opening his mouth and giving a view of the flames he could belch forward. "...Were you not under the direct protection of Queen Vanessa, I would kill you where you stand."

"If strength is all that matters, why are you angry?" asked Jomas.

Dead silence followed as Evren closed his mouth. He looked at Jomas for a long moment, and then his eyes widened for a moment. Evren recoiled visibly, just slightly, then went back to his bed.

Wryncurth made a concerned noise. "...Eloquently put old chap. Not wise and poorly timed, but eloquent."

"Enough of this," said Evren. "You and your ilk cease to amuse me, Wrynncurth. I have arranged for a ship to take you right to the Conquista of Anoa. For all the good it may do you."

"Lord Evren, may I ask a question?" asked Relma suddenly.

Estela put her face in her hands. Evren, however, glanced at her. "What is it, child?"

"What are your views on the Conquista of Anoa?" asked Relma.

Evren scoffed. "They are dangerous but of little use to us. They worship as King called Anoa and proclaim his Heir shall return to them. When I was young, I was part of an effort to seize back the island, but nothing came of it.

"Although my father did die, and I inherited a great deal of wealth from that. So, there was some silver lining.

"Take them to their ship, Bas. I have wealth to polish."

Well, they'd almost all died horribly. But you couldn't call the mission a failure. Yet. As soon as they were out of fire breath range, Relma took Jomas and Estela to one side.

"We need to talk," said Relma.

"About what?" asked Jomas morosely.

"We're not here to slay dragons," said Relma. "We are not here to start a war. We don't want to rewrite the map. All we want to do is learn and see if any opportunities are worth taking."

"What about those people who were burned alive?" asked Estela.

"This isn't our country, Estela," said Relma. "How long are we going to be around? If we start a fight now, don't we have an obligation to finish it?

"No one is to play the hero without consulting the others."

"I uh... rather agree with Relma in this matter," said Wrynncurth. "Very brave, but not the brightest move you ever made, Jomas old chap."

"It had to be said," said Jomas.

"Where is Ajax?" asked Estela suddenly.

It turned out he'd been waiting from the cave's mouth, where he could dodge the fire breath, which was probably the smartest move anyone had made today. Relma wished she'd thought of it.