There was something dripping in the cell next to them. From the sound of it, the droplets were falling from the ceiling down into a puddle on the floor. The noise had been there when the guards had deposited them in the cell and the noise was still there now as they tried to fall asleep on the grime covered slabs that stood against the walls.

Cat’s Eye lay there, staring at the cieling as he listened to the drip-drip-drip. He had tried once to stand on his slab to see, but the window had been too high for either him or Grumner. So all they could do was sit there, trying to ignore the sound as they awaited their fate.

Neither he nor Grumner had done much talking since their arrival in the cell. Honestly, there wasn’t that much to talk about. They could have fought to the death in the courtyard, but that generally went against Cat’s Eye’s code of conduct which clearly stated that he needed to survive in order to continue turning a profit. If the dwarf was mad at him for that, then he’d had the sense to keep it to himself.

Now they were doing the only thing prisoners could do: lay around, try not to annoy each other, and wait for their friends to deal with this terrible situation. So Cat’s Eye was laying there in bed having himself a good long think.

Their friends. Cat’s Eye did not have a great deal of faith in Lefty or Calista. Since joining their party, he had come to the conclusion that Calista was far too obstinate for her own good and Lefty was an idiot. He did not think much of the duck either.

The gnolls had visited. The gnoll’s alpha female, Sheila, had visited them just to stand and laugh a bit. Cat’s Eye had seen Shiela before, when Vevic had first brought the gnolls in. The gnoll queen was a wicked, sadistic, terrible thing who enjoyed inflicting pain on others. She had a favored male that she kept as something of a thrall. Cat’s Eye suspected there were others as well, as most gnoll women were polyamorous beings who used their sexuality to keep the strongest males in their service. In all of Cat’s Eye’s travels, Shiela was perhaps the worst gnoll queen she had ever encountered. So Cat’s Eye and Grumner had just laid there and waited for the gnoll queen to finish laughing. Finally, after about half an hour, the wicked hyena woman left and Cat’s Eye finally breathed a little easier.

Cat’s Eye glanced over at Grumner. The dwarf was lying on his cot as his eyes flicked back and forth across the ceiling, deep in thought. In the courtyard, the dwarf had fought with a fury. He still had the bite and claw marks to prove it. Now he was lying here with no gear but for his hauberk as he chewed on his beard and stared at the ceiling.

Cat’s Eye too was having a good long think. He suspected that out of all the people in the party that he was the one in the most danger. Goblins, as a rule, were a stupid race and did not tolerate traitors lightly. Cat’s Eye had never fit in with their lot. No, he had suffered the unfortunate accident of being born with a brain and had thus left his tribe at the first chance he had. He’d had a nice life as a traveling businessman. He liked being a fence and smuggler and had made a nice life for himself on the roads of the Republic. But now, despite his best efforts, he was here, lying on a cot and surrounded by the very same people he had sought to escape.

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Could he escape again? When he had left his tribe, he had simply walked out. No fanfare. No mess. Just a pack and a walking stick as he had explained to his parents that he was headed out for an afternoon walk. That had been a dozen years ago. He had built a thriving business in that time. He had a lot of friends. Some of them even goblins.

Then the dragon had arrived. Cat’s Eye had been unaware of it at first. Moving about the valleys as he did, working his trade and selling his wares, Cat’s Eye had simply had the unfortunate timing of being right in Sommerdale the same time that Vevic had arrived. His good timing had been rewarded with him being beaten, robbed, and conscripted into the goblin horde against his will.

Cat’s Eye didn’t hate goblins, just the stupid ones. The stupid ones who teamed up in groups and let the biggest, fattest idiot run the show. Unfortunately for him now, there wasn’t a big fat idiot in charge, there was a dragon. And an evil dragon at that.

So Cat’s Eye laid there and thought about his position. He was stuck. He was captured. He was mad that he’d gotten pulled back in against his will. Now, the only thing he could think of was how to escape again before someone came in and slit his throat.

Then a door opened. Heels clicked against the stones and suddenly the dragon was there, standing on the other side of the door. She was in human form, as she was wont to do, but Cat’s Eye recognized her former master immediately. Dressed in a bright leather jerkin and riding pants, Vevic looked as though she were ready to go for a horse ride, or perhaps enter a duel.

Cat’s Eye sat up, but kept his mouth shut as he waited for the dragon to speak. Beside her, Grumner had only lifted his head. The dwarf looked annoyed, as though he were in for a long day.

Vevic took a moment to take in the three prisoners. “I want to know just why the lot of you decided you needed to infiltrate my fortress.”

Grumner answered in a droll voice, “And what if we don’t want to tell you?”

“Then I’m going to hang you on the morning,” Vevic answered.

Grumner chuckled, “That’s not very nice.”

“Well I’m not a nice person,” Vevic quipped. “Especially when people break into my home and kill my followers. It’s rude.”

“What can I say, we’re rude people,” Grumner said.

Vevic, clearly annoyed, frowned and put her hands to her hips. “I’m not sure the two of you understand what I’m saying. You’re either going to tell me what brought you to this fortress, or I’m going to have you both hanging from a noose at dawn.”

“Why don’t you ask the mage?” Grumner asked.

Vevic grinned, “He’s telling me stories and I don’t like stories, I like the truth. Now what’s going on?”

Cat’s Eye looked the dragon over. He had never seen anything so evil in his entire life. He pitied the goblins for falling in with this one. They would be dangerous under this thing’s command. This thing was wicked. He could see it. It had no conscience whatsoever. Cat’s Eye could see this now. This was an evil and intelligent being that had a plan. A very good plan. Although Cat’s Eye didn’t know all of the particulars, he knew what dragons did. He knew what all dragons did. It was trying to take over the world.

Cat’s Eye didn’t want that. Cat’s Eye liked Wraath. He had been doing business here a long time. He had a lot of customers. Cat’s Eye was angry about this. He didn’t want Wraath taken over by a dragon, especially not an evil one. In fact, he was so angry that he decided right in this moment that the best thing he was to let the dwarf talk.

“You want the truth?” Grumner asked.

“Yes please,” the dragon said nicely. “The whole truth, if you don’t mind.”

The dwarf grinned, “We’re trying to take over the world.”