They left the captain at the gazebo and made their way down a slope where a stream ran through the fortress. Here, Grumner, Lefty, and Calista huddled together beneath a tree as Feathers waddled along the shoreline in search of bugs.

Lefty was uncomfortable with the mood of the party. Grumner, who he did not know, seemed to agree with him about ditching the quests for somewhere safer. Calista, however, appeared to have another idea and as he remembered from their previous adventures in Severin’s dungeons, Calista’s ideas tended to be more dangerous than he liked. At least Feathers appears to be occupied, he thought as he watched the duck snatch a dragonfly out of the air.

Calista sighed as she addressed the group, “So, I’m not sure what we should do.”

“I am,” Lefty said. “I say we steal a boat and head for Yandmouth.”

Grumner got a thoughtful look, “I’m kinda with the wizard on this one …”

“Here’s the thing,” Calista said. “I have no intention of dying to this dragon, but a thousand gold in this game is enough to buy a small keep. If we did this, we could practically pool our money together to retire in luxury.”

Grumner raised an eyebrow, “You think we can kill a dragon at level one?”

“Look, it’s a long way to Rumadrane,” Calista answered. “We’ll probably level up at least once on the way there.”

Grumner chuckled, “So you think we can kill a dragon at level two?”

Calista threw up her hands, “Look, if we had to start over at level one, who’s to say the dragon didn’t have to start over as well?”

“That’s true,” Grumner cautiously agreed.

“Exactly,” Calista said.

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” Lefty cried. “You’re really thinking about trying to sneak into a castle full of goblins and then assassinating a dragon? That’s insane!”

“We’re trapped on a world that’s based on a video game, Lefty. Everything is insane,” Calista snapped.

“Just a second,” Grumner said. “How is it the two of you know each other again?”

Lefty explained, “On our homeworld, we were both playing Sable Unlimited when we both got trapped in a dungeon and where we couldn’t log out and so we got trapped in the game. So, we beat the dungeon but the game still wouldn’t let us out because we were dead and then we both ended up here.”

“Consequently, that also happens to be where we met this dragon Vevic,” Calista added.

“I see,” said Grumner. “And just what do you know about this Vevic?”

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Calista sighed, “Well, we killed her mother. That’s one thing.”

“Actually, you killed her mother. Which is something I plan on apologizing for if I get a chance,” Lefty said.

“Who was her mother?” Grumner asked.

“A medusa-lady who was trying to kill her boyfriend,” Lefty said.

“Oh, so you were trying to save your boyfriend?” Grumner asked.

“No, we ended up stabbing him in the back because he was the one who trapped us in the dungeon,” Calista said.

“Nooooo, you stabbed him in the back. I stood bravely and faced him on face to face in a wizard duel, thank you very much,” Lefty said proudly.

“Yes, you were a great distraction,” Calista agreed.

“The best, actually,” Lefty said.

Calista rolled her eyes, “Whatever. My point is that if Vevic came from our world, then whose to say she isn’t starting over just like we are?”

“Yeah, but what if she isn’t?” Lefty asked.

“But what if she is?” Calista countered.

“Even if she is, she’s still a dragon and we’re not,” Grumner said. “She took over an entire castle, probably killed that lich. And now she’s in charge of an entire horde of goblins.”

Just then, a thrumming sound came from the sky and they all looked up to see a massive insect hovering over the main yard. Calista and Grumner both reached for their weapons and Lefty saw Feathers flutter his wings in preparation for battle. Then the insect began to descend, dropping through the mist as its four wings beat so furiously against the rain that they seemed a blur. It’s a giant dragonfly. Is this a monster? Or something else. His question was answered as the dragonfly began to descend. As the mist parted, they could see a rider upon its back, clad in mail with a gleaming spear upon his back. When the dragonfly landed, the rider dismounted and pulled a pair of saddlebags off.

Feathers excitedly stamped his feet and with a happy quack, waddled off toward the rider.

“Wait, what are you …” Lefty started but then sighed. “Fine, I suppose we’ll go talk to the weird dragonfly man.”

Leaving the tree, they walked up the path toward the yard where dragonfly and rider were standing near the gazebo. As they approached, they could see he was a tall, dark-skinned man dressed in silver mail with gold gryphons emblazoned on his armor. When he saw them, he threw his saddlebags over his shoulder and faced them.

“What can I do for you?”

Feathers waddled to the front of the party and warbled happily.

“I’m sorry,” said the man, smiling, “I don’t speak duck.”

Lefty replied, “He’s asking if you know anything about the fortress of Rumadrane that can help us. You see, we’ve been given a quest to go there and we’re not sure if we should because, well, we’re still pretty new here and you’re obviously not, so I guess we’re asking you for some help.”

“Ah, I had heard Sommerdale had grown a goblin problem,” the man said.

“You would be correct, sir,” Grumner said.

“Well, if I were you, I’d take the quest. You don’t want to go north as there’s a warlord up there causing no end to trouble. West would take you into the Republic, but the problem there is that you’d be running smack dab into Travale, one of the high level areas of the game. It’s full of vampires and werewolves and if you’re still below level ten, you wouldn’t have much of a chance. As for the south, well, normally I’d advise you to go that way, but there just so happens to be a high level event happening down there now where nearly every major player on Wraath is searching for a high level story item. So the road to Yandmouth has, in all reality, become a high level PvP area and you’d risk being killed on sight.”

“What’s the story item?” Grumner asked.

The tall man laughed, “I can’t tell you as I’m looking for it myself and don’t need the competition.”

Grumner fixed the tall man with a thoughtful stare, “Who’s the warlord?”

“Voltinus. He was a powerful general for the Republic back when they were at war with the Empire. It’s a long story, but rumor was that he might have had a hand in starting the war that split the two nations. Now he’s up in the mountains somewhere near the free city of Xaan. I’m told he has a small army of bandits and mercenaries and is hell bent on fanning the flames of war again.”

“What’s the long story?” Grumner asked.

The tall man chuckled, “Another time, dwarf. I only stopped here to refill my provisions. I must travel south with all haste as my party is awaiting my arrival so we can pursue … well, you know. We have business to attend to.”

Grumner grumbled something under his breath as he narrowed his eyes. “Alright, then do you have any suggestions on how to defeat this dragon we’ve been tasked with?”

“Oh, that.” The tall man got a distant look as he thought. “Well, it’s been a long time since I ventured to Rumadrane, but if I remember it right, there’s a mountain nymph you’ll meet on the way who will ask you a riddle. If you can answer that, then she’ll give you a boon that should be of great help.” With that, the armored man turned to go.

As he walked away, Calista called, “What’s your name?”

“They call me Horace.”

And with that, the man disappeared into the rain.

“Should we tell him that this place is full of refugees and that they probably don’t have food for him?” Lefty asked.

“I don’t think he cares,” said Grumner. The dwarf then let out a huff. “I suppose that settles it. I don’t like it, but I think we have to go after that dragon.”