Chapter 16: Treasure of the Aegis

Lyndis finished the rest of her tale with Arcturus leaning against Veledar's scales. The red had listened well enough, to the point where the dragon didn't even interrupt the story after Merlia scolded them.

“Wonder what's with all the decorations for this fancy cave of yours. You two could not possibly have gotten all of this in here by yourselves,” Lyndis raised an eyebrow as she put more food onto her plate.

“Maybe we did. Not like you were here to keep an eye on me.” Veledar snorted.

“Or learn the secrets of dragon magic,” Arcturus whispered.

“Or that!” the dragon brought his head down and nuzzled through the paladin’s hair. “Quick thinking there, partner.” He said in return before picking his head up, then flashing a toothy smile at Lyndis. “Oh, it must be inspiring to live with someone as talented as me. Right, half-elf?”

“I’ve seen better,” Lyndis bit onto a chicken leg and chewed a couple of times before the words sunk in deep enough to make her eyebrows furrow. “Wot did you call me? I’m a fockin’ adventurer, ya whelp! Been travelin’ the land while you practiced the art of sleeping like the lazy wyrm you are!”

“You caught me, Lyndis,” Veledar put a paw to his chest. “It burns to have the truth splattered all over my scales. In fact, we dragons don’t even need sleep. Laying down with our eyes closed is merely an enjoyable activity we use to trick the other mortals into believing we’re similar.” Veledar took a quick breath. “While I’m at it, we also don’t require such base necessities like food or drink, and our eggs sprout from the ground after we bathe it in flames!”

Lyndis placed her chicken back in the bowl. Eyes narrowed, with a scowl about her face, she pointed the goblet she grabbed at the dragon’s snout. “You takin’ the piss with me, dragon?”

“No, of course not. Why would I do that?” Veledar cocked his head to look not only confused, but also harmed by the half-elf’s words. “Eons ago, our mother Bahamut cursed us to speak only the truth. It’s very similar to the words he babbles when he trains,” Veledar nudged Arcturus again, who just shoved the snout back with both hands.

“That’s not something to make fun of, you little monk. What code do you live by, eh?” The human lunged to grab onto one of the dragon’s wings. “The code of eating? Or is it TICKLING?”

“Rawwraaahh!” Veledar swiped his paw around, trying to get the human away from his sensitive membranes…only that Arcturus dodged around and vaulted over his limbs with the agility of a fairy. “Stop. Cease that!” Veledar snarled. “Blasted tickling mink! Your dragon overlord orders you to-”

“I’m sorry. Can’t hear you over all the growling!” Arcturus’ maneuvers took him behind the dragon, where he straddled the dragon’s tail in order to tickle both of his wings at the same time.

Veledar found it infuriating, thrashing about like an untamed beast, while Lyndis and Merlia were laughing their hearts out, going as far as placing bets on who’d win. However, in spite of Arcturus’ nimbleness, Veledar had to get lucky only once to dislodge the paladin from his back and restrain him underfoot.

“Not so funny now, is it?” the dragon approached his snout to the human’s flushed face. In spite of his tiredness -and drunkiness- Arcturus still kept a serious face on. “Maybe I should get you out of these clothes and repay you in kind.”

“Oh noes! I denna think I’m drunk enough ta see dat kind ‘o ticklin,” Merlia drained her mug with a long swig to cover her eyes with it. “Dere. Ye can hug an’ kiss an’ do wateva’ long as ye keep me ears outta it.”

“Yeah, please keep your passions in check until you’re secluded in your little private chamber. Feasting isn’t all that glamorous when I have a dragon and his human smack their drooly lips together.” Lyndis added.

“Hey, nobody said we-“

“No way!” Arcturus cut through the dragon’s words, pushing him off. “Get this thing off me, you big, gnarly lizard?”

Veledar did, though he wrinkled his snout at the paladin’s compliment. “Arcturus saved my life, but I don’t like him THAT much. Especially when he besmirches my beauty with his ill-intentioned comments.”

“Aye, you insufferable scale-head,” Arcturus exchanged a quick eye contact with the dragon before he started to dust himself off. “We’re just friends. Not even best friends. Just good ones.”

“Who, through a series of unfortunate circumstances, ended up in this cave, alone.”

“With him bleeding all over the ground,” Arcturus pointed over at the dragon, who nodded his head and agreed with everything that came out of the human’s mouth. At the end of that awkward amount of explanation, they resumed their seats at the table, and, in Veledar’s case, his original string of thought.

“So you see, my dear master of evasive charms and shadows, we dragons have a secret compartment were we stash food and furniture, among other important items of course.” He said, holding his snout up. There was a pregnant pause as Arcturus and the others just sat in silence.

“Does that include presents for your lover?” Lyndis raised an eyebrow. “Cause even after that mile-long explanation, I still notice the way you look at him.”

“Hmph, I guess you don't get sarcastic humor, or the fact that I’m heavily in his debt after what he did to me after I passed out,” He closed his eyes. Everyone burst out chuckling and laughing.

“No. No. No! I didn’t mean- That wasn't the joke!” Veledar shoved the human forward. “Arcturus, explain to these two harpies that they are laughing at the wrong part of my joke for all the wrong reason!”

“Wha’ just came outta yer mouth?” Merlia shouted as Lyndis and Arcturus continued laughing. “C’mon, say it again. What did ya call me, ye scaly rug?”

Veledar moved behind Arcturus. “Well you see, I referred to you as a harpy. You know, one of those screechy ladies with feathery wings.” He stuck his tongue out at her playfully. Merlia waved a turkey leg at the dragon and gave him the stink eye.

“Someday, that mouth o’yers is gonna get ya in trouble!”

“Never did so far,” Veledar turned towards Lyndis. “As for you, dear Lyndis, I believe the cave has a spell cast upon it that creates whatever I want, as long as I visualize the particular object in my mind.” Veledar stepped around Arcturus. “Dragon magic is such a marvel, isn’t it?”

“That is a neat little trick to have. Wonder why it is you that can create things. I honestly wish the places we visited had the charm of this cave.” Lyndis smiled, then took a bite from her meal.

“Probably a leftover spell left behind by Mother to accommodate in case her son visited. Or maybe it applies to all dragons. No way to know for sure unless I make you all sprout scales, right?” Veledar cocked his head to the side like he did whenever he was feeling smart or guilty.

“Like that’s ever going to happen,” Lyndis said. “So, you know what happened to us, but what about your romantic story of blood, death, and revival? Last I heard, you were being chased by gryphons. Then there was all the blood splattered outside. I was afraid one of you was going to be stiff as the stone. Which reminds me,” The rogue stood up to walk over and placed a finger on Arcturus. With a quick flash of purple light, all the blood stains on his clothes were gone. “Little prestidigitation. Cleans up clothes faster than his tongue.” She made a quick funny gesture at Veledar.

“Gratitude,” Arcturus mumbled. He guessed he did not even notice the messy state of his clothes with everything that followed the discovery of this cave.

Arcturus looked over to the dragon, who was busy slurping more wine from a barrel. Lyndis' words made him think back to how his friend had laid so broken before him. Past all the jokes and food. there was real pain to talk about; so Arcturus told Lyndis and Merlia the story of Veledar's flight through the sky. Garroth's pursuit, and the dreaded crash that had almost claimed the dragon's life. He watched Lyndis' eyes light up with worry as he described the extent of the dragon's wounds. Luckily, her concerned gaze quickly shifted to one of curiosity.

“He doesn't look too worse for wear now. I wonder how his wounds healed so well. Did you kiss him on the snout like that prince charming you humans love to write about?”

“I am naturally a fast healer.” Veledar said, puffing out his chest, “And that’s just one of my many amazing abilities as a dragon.”

“Even so.” Lyndis said, voice full of skepticism.” It sounds like you should be dead, oh, amazing one.”

“Well that is a different story, I-” began Arcturus.

Veledar then extended a wing to block off Arcturus from Lyndis, “Pleaded for my life to the dragon goddess Bahamut, who was kind enough to heal my wounds.” Veledar interrupted.

“Really?” he heard Lyndis reply, “I don't picture you pleading for anything. Some little spark in me tells me that you might be lying, your greatness.”

Arcturus grabbed the dragon's wing and forcibly folded it to once again see the half elf.

“It was sort of like that, except Bahamut made me her paladin to save this one's life.”

Arcturus held up a hand and thought back to earlier, on how he had healed Veledar's wounds. His focus was rewarded with the white glow he became familiar with.

“And you doubted me like a bunch of silly harpies,” Veledar hissed.

“You did not tell the whole story!” she shot back.

Lyndis then leaped towards Arcturus, grabbed his hand, and held it close to her amber eyes. She bombarded him with questions like how this new power felt, if it made any changes to his body or carried any obvious side effects. He answered each one in turn, watching as each answer simply added to her curiosity.

“Okay, okay. This story sounds reasonable after you explained everything that happened.” She took another swig of wine. “So I figure Crimson Sky's plan is to simply get drunk and wait for his mother to return?”

Arcturus began to nod as Veledar let everyone know his thoughts on the matter. “Yes, dear Lyndis, that is indeed my master plan...won’t mother be surprised after she sees all these barrels?”

“I bet she will.” Lyndis chuckled. “Course, I think we all need such moments after the days we had. And since you are such a good host, can you think of some more delicious food and wine to dull the mind and raise the spirits? Try to picture up some better wine than what we had so far. Not that it isn’t good, but I’m sure a splendorous male like yourself can do better.”

Arcturus watched the dragon sit perfectly still as he was no doubt picturing what Lyndis had asked of him. On the table, instead of empty mugs, breadcrumbs and chewed bones, suddenly appeared another feast. The wine bottles were refilled, and of course Veledar's barrels soared along with them.

“Are you satisfied with my incredible abilities now?” He grinned, opening his eyes with a tap of his tail.

Lyndis grabbed a bottle, some more food, then replied with a cheerful, “I could kiss your scaly tail right now!”

Arcturus grabbed some more food for his plate, mashed potatoes, and some peas. “Tell me, Crimson Sky, what is in this book of yours? I know you explained why it was so important to you, but what’s really in it?”

“The book that was stolen from me? It has writings in it, of course.” The dragon turned away, obviously trying to avoid the subject.

“You didn't answer the question, O', scaly one.” He said, pushing the dragon a bit.

“Ah....well…” Veledar turned to each one of them before sighing and closing his eyes. “It is a hatchling book. Filled with stories of valiant dragons.”

“You mean ta tell me, yer willin ta go bring yerself ta near death ova a children story?” Merlia burst out.

“And let them get away with stealing it? No way that’s going to happen. Besides it being a strong memory of my mother and brother, I cannot let him, even if he is a king, to get away with that.” Veledar growled.

“Besides, with all of your help, once we get inside and have the king where we want him, I'm sure he will tell us where this precious item of mine is.”

“Why would he go about telling us such a silly piece of information?” Lyndis asked.

“Oh, dearest Lyndis, you know that I am a dragon. So, by extension, you know I can be quite persuasive when the need strikes.” Veledar snorted, letting a small plume of black smoke escape his nostrils.

“Now I’m curious about one thing. What accounts as children stories to a dragon.” Arcturus asked.

“Still nagging me? After I have spilled my heart out to you?”

Arcturus stared at the dragon without even blinking. He just took another sip of wine, then downed it in one single gulp.

“Curse you!” Veledar cried, throwing his head back in a hiss of laughter. “It is the story of an evil dragon that had enslaved the whole world in his claws. Then, a heroic dragon rises against him, and being beset upon by all sides by the evil dragon’s minions, he emerges victorious through cunning and courage. He takes the villain’s magic items and such, locking them away in a place where evil can never use them again,” Veledar waved his paw dismissively at the last part. “Are you satisfied?”

“I most am now, kind dragon. Thank you for sharing.” Arcturus replied.

“Why lock the magic items away instead of destroying them? Seems to me they would simply fall into the wrong hands later.” Lyndis reclined in her chair with a creaking of the wood.

“Lyndis…isn’t your throat starting to sting after all these questions you ask? It is because dragons don't destroy beautifully created items. Even if they were weapons.” Veledar turned to her, speaking as if to a child.

Lyndis seemed to catch onto this as she narrowed her eyes and shot daggers with them at the dragon. Merlia just let out a loud laugh, followed by a loud burp.

“Reminds me of home, da bickerin, da drinken, ah, tis good.”

“Really? A dragon, human, and half-elf remind you of home?” Veledar tilted his head to the side.

“Well… close is a betta word fer it. Bein da middle child of eighteen brothers an sisters, ya see a lot o dis.” She then held up a hand, “Before ye can say anytin, yes, me mum and dad got busy a lot. No dat is not usual for dwarves.” She took another swig of wine, letting out a satisfied gasp.

“See, Crimson Sky here reminds me of me brother, Ustis, always full of himself and quick to act. Lyndis dere is like me sister Rita, who always likes ta push buttons and see what she can git away wit.”

“And whom does Arcturus remind you of?” Veledar grinned, “An uptight uncle? Or a nervous runt of the family?”

Everyone let out a chuckle as Arcturus simply stared at the dragon.

“Oh, come now, Arcturus, it was just a jest.” Veledar said, strolling over and wrapping a wing around the human, then turned back to the others and said in a hushed voice, “He’s a bit sensitive on the ears.”

“I heard that,” He replied, trying to shove the dragon away, but the wing held tight.

“Oh, I know you did, my bipedal, skinny little hatchling,” Veledar leaned in with his snout, then suddenly stopped. He sniffed in deeply, then grinned. “Did you know you smell good?”

“Excuse me?” Arcturus asked, taken aback by the strange nature of the question. He was not sure how to respond to that as Veledar moved in, and despite his squirming, started sniffing his hair.

“You don't smell like you did before. You smell more like a dragon.” Veledar explained, each word accompanied with a sniff.

“Yea, because I have a dragon that won't stop grabbing at every part of me!” Arcturus said, still trying to shove the persistent dragon away from him. He turned to the girls, “Ladies, can you help me get this ornery bastard off?”

Lyndis stifled a laugh, and Merlia just burst out once again. “I tink you will do a fine job gittin da dragon off.”

With a final shove, he was finally able to get the dragon away from him.

“What was that about?” he asked. Veledar sat down on his haunches, still looking at him.

“You just smell different! Why is that so difficult to believe? By Bahamut’s light. You would think you'd take that as a well-meant compliment. Figures it's beyond a human to take a compliment from a dragon.” Veledar replied, but Arcturus noticed he was fidgeting. It looked, by the way his muscles tensed, that he was bracing himself for something. Was he trying to goad him into tackling games? He watched Veledar get up and start to stroll right past him, the dragon's eyes on him the entire time. Arcturus feigned a pounce at the dragon for Veledar to suddenly leap away.

“Aha! You were trying to start another grapple!” He shouted as Veledar started hissing in laughter.

“Well played, Arcturus. You have picked apart the veil of my expertly crafted plans.” Veledar said, giving a slight bow. The dragon returned to the table and started feasting once again, although he almost knocked Lyndis out of her chair.

“Watch where you’re fockin going!” the princess barely caught herself from falling.

The night continued with revelry as the group tried darts from Merlia's pack. The dwarf, of course, was the best at it, nearly getting bull’s eyes the entire time. Veledar on the other hand complained about the dart's size for ages. After another round of drinks and a round of giggling laughter, Veledar tried once again to sniff Arcturus, however, this time, the human thankfully remained out of the dragon’s grasp.

When they were all starting to tire from the revelry, Veledar summoned up some beds for them to sleep on, while the tables, food, and drink vanished into thin air. Arcturus climbed in the bed meant for him, which was very similar to the one he had at home. However, despite how much it looked like it, the bed hardly felt or smelled the same. He looked over to Veledar. The dragon had curled up on a bed of cushions and blankets. He looked peaceful as he clutched the small form of a stuffed purple dragon he had conjured up.

Although Arcturus sighed in relief that the dragon finally had a stuffed animal to use, he felt a hint of disappointment in the back of his mind. He missed the warmth of the dragon, along with the soothing sound of his heartbeat. Arcturus shook his head and settled his head into his pillow. There would be time to talk about that tomorrow, so he closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

*

The next morning, Arcturus awoke soundly, stifling a loud yawn as he stretched out within the sheets. He looked around the dimly lit cave. It looked like Lyndis was still asleep in a bed covered in blue and gold; Drenedar's colors. Arcturus sat up, noticing that Merlia could not be found within the cave. He scanned several times with his eyes to confirm this, then pushed the worry from his mind as he figured she was simply out hunting for breakfast or doing her usual dwarf things. Lastly, Arcturus looked over to the sleeping form of Veledar, who was still curled up on his cushions. With each breath, the dragon had bits of smoke escape from his nostrils. Arcturus figured the dragon would have a hangover. The amount of drink he had the night before was a tale in itself.

Arcturus rummaged through his pack to find a roll of toilet tissue along with a small shovel. He did not relish the idea of heading out into the snow to do this task, but nevertheless, it needed to be done. With a sigh, he left the cavern to be greeted by the sun just starting to rise over the mountains. Arcturus breathed in deep, his breath letting him know just how cold it was, almost making the moist air that rushed out look like a dragon’s smoke. If only he could warm up the air around him with a spell...With a sigh, Arcturus went as quickly as he could about his business, then returned to the toasty comfort of the cave.

He placed his things back into the pack, noting that Veledar had rolled over so that his belly was facing towards the ceiling. Arcturus grinned at such wondrous sight. He would have to remember this undignified way his friend was sleeping in. It would probably annoy the dragon that his regal attitude would be a tad tarnished, although this was one of the many things Arcturus cooked up on his list of mischief. He snickered, starting his morning stretches with a smile on his face.

With his eyes closed, the paladin focused on his movements, just like he had done every morning. This time, he also tried to focus on his new powers. Maybe he would gain some insight into the strange power that cured wounds no man ever heard of. He had gotten halfway through his routine when he felt a pair of eyes on him. He opened his own to find Veledar within arm’s reach, mimicking his movements. Arcturus did not know how the dragon had been so quiet as to avoid detection. Perhaps he had been too deep in thought to notice.

“How’s the head?” Arcturus gestured towards a mug of ale. “Must have been quite a night for your stomach to make sense of all that alcohol.”

“Not as bad as you might think. Dragons have a stomach for such things.” Veledar replied, puffing his chest out, making Arcturus roll his eyes.

“Will you ever admit your shortcomings? Just a little one, at least? Nobody’s perfect, you know.”

“Perhaps…” The dragon lowered his head so that the two of them stared into each other’s eyes, “but that doesn’t stop me from trying.”

Arcturus returned to his last set of movements, arms stertched, palms open. If you had told him months ago that he would be in a cave, doing his morning ritual with a dragon right beside him, shadowing every movement, he would not have believed one word of it.

“Did you see Merlia leave?” Veledar asked, copying Arcturus perfectly. “I noticed that she is not to be found within the cave.”

“I figured she is out hunting or something, although I can't imagine why, when we can simply summon all the food we need here.”

“Take it from a predator of no equal. Nothing beats the thrill of the hunt, or taking pride in your success after a difficult chase.” Veledar replied with a grin. The dragon's stomach gave a loud grumble, causing him to grab at it and look down. “Although I think this morning I will go with the conjured food. We don't need your old, crazy, sword-for-hire friend spot me in the sky a second time.” The last part must’ve been quite distasteful as Veledar wrinkled his snout.

“Garroth’s gone to explain his failures and honor new contracts. He won’t be bothering us unless we’re stupid. And we’re not stupid, right?”

The dragon gave a quick nod of his head. He closed his eyes once again and thought on the morning menu. The tables and chairs from last night reappeared in an instant, although now they had breakfast food upon them, with steaming hot coffee replacing the wine. Arcturus felt his mouth water from the smells of the eggs, toast, waffles, bacon, and other assortments of incredible foods.

“Well, I figure I can eat as well now that my concentration has been blown to pieces. You do know how to distract me, Veledar.”

“Oh, I can distract you?” The dragon replied, showing off his teeth with a coy grin.

“Aye.” Arcturus chuckled, taking a seat beside the dragon, who had settled onto his haunches at the table. Arcturus emulated his example by sitting on a chair. He picked up a fork and dug it into a stack of toast, pulling it over to his plate and taking a bite. He only stopped his eating to sip from his coffee. That's when Lyndis came over and sat into her chair without a word.

“Have a good night Lyn…” Veledar went to say, moving his snout lower towards her. She held up a hand and silenced the dragon by placing her hand on his snout.

“After my coffee, Crimson Sky.” She grumbled, not even turning her head towards him.

“Fine, fine.” Veledar pouted. “But mark my words. I will have my revenge.”

“Yea, whatever you say, wise lord.” She grabbed a cup of coffee with two hands and took the smell of it with a satisfied sigh.

They ate in silence after that. Arcturus kept eyeing Veledar, and the dragon kept looking to him and Lyndis as if planning his next move. He was about to ask what it was about when Merlia strolled in from the entrance.

“Well good ta see ya sleepy heads up! Thought ye were goin to sleep da day away!”

The dwarf strolled over to the table and clasped her hands together loudly.

“Looks like ya got quite da spread dere.” She said, “Don' mind if I do,” she continued, taking a bit of everything onto a plate of her own. “Ya know, you humans haf ta be given credit fer coffee. It's da best ting ta have in the mornin.”

“That's not true. The best thing in the morning is the morning hunt, closely followed by the first breath of fire.” Veledar announced loudly and proudly.

“Oh really? Well, some of us arn’t fire breathin’ scaly birds, are we?” she laughed, taking a bite of bacon.

“I am not a bird. Clearly, I am a dragon, and if you are dense like the stone beneath your…” Veledar said as he started to trail off. “But of course, you already know who I am, what I am. You’re trying to provoke me, Merlia, and that is not a wise decision when I speak from an empty stomach.” He squinted his eyes as everyone held back a laugh. “Fine, I guess I will go about finding the REAL entrance to my mother's cave while you eat.” Veledar stood up and strolled over to the far cavern wall, with his snout held high, and his tail swaying as he walked.

Arcturus turned to the others as they continued to eat as if nothing happened. “I best go see what that silly winged lizard is doing before he brings down the cave or something worse on our heads.”

The girls just nodded through mouths full of food as Arcturus stood up. He turned around and made his way swiftly to the dragon who had started pacing along the wall. Veledar had his left paw on it, touching and scraping in locations. The red dragon seemed to ignore him as he stood there, but he did see the dragon's eyes find him once or twice for a moment before he continued with his inspection of the wall.

At some point in his search, Veledar sat on his haunches and touched a claw to his snout, as if in deep thought.

“Your mother…she do this kind of stuff before?” Arcturus finally asked the silent dragon.

“Of course she did. She would move her entrance around on us when we were but a bunch of underdeveloped scales and tiny, flappy wings.”

“Wait. You mean to tell me that…” the human gave a shake of his head. “Gods, this sounds just as ridiculous as the infinite food spell, but did she move the entrance to her cave…in another place?” Arcturus asked. “Surely she did not hire people to move her treasure afterwards.”

“You’re thinking just like a human, Arcturus. Mundane. My mother connected her cave to another plane of existence, all for the purpose of hiding her treasure. Think of it like one of those magical bags of holding.” Veledar gestured to one of Arcturus' coin purses. “Just think of it like that, on a much, much larger scale.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Bag of holding?” Arcturus asked. He figured it was a magical item of sorts, obviously meant to hold things.

“Yes, they are much bigger on the inside. I had heard stories that adventurers simply love those spacious things. Mother’s treasure trove was sort of like that. Too big for any other place to hold it,” Veledar explained. Suddenly, he stopped as his claw touched the wall. “Aha!” he cried out.

Arcturus looked to the dragon’s sharp claw tip. It simply looked like a normal spot to him. Veledar then traced a line with the claw towards the cavern floor before walking over a few paces and tracing the same line up. Arcturus could see that, as the dragon worked. a large grin spread over his snout, his chest swollen with bursting pride. Veledar finished his work by letting out a harsh growl, but Arcturus figured he had just said something in draconic.

Veledar looked back for a moment as a red glowing light emerged from the place where the dragon had drawn the line with his claw. It looked like the outline of a door, fifteen feet roughly high, and twenty feet wide. Arcturus felt his jaw open and stay agape as the wall then parted into two sections that slowly gave way to a tunnel. The tunnel seemed to go off towards the left, and its floor was made of rough, uneven stone.

“May want to close your ugly human snout,” Veledar said with an amused snort. “Save your awe for when you see my mother’s enormous hoard.”

Arcturus looked back towards the girls, who were still eating. They seemed to be unfazed by the fact that a large door had just appeared and opened.

“Come. Let’s go see it for a moment. I am sure they won't mind in the slightest.”

Arcturus thought about the dragon’s offer for a moment, then his thoughts began to race at what they were going to see. Surely it could not be that much. He pictured a large room, perhaps filled to the ceiling with coins and gems...

“Arcturus?” Veledar snapped Arcturus out of his day dream.

Veledar had moved ahead twenty feet and was gesturing for Arcturus to follow.

“Going to scout ahead, lasses!” Arcturus cried out back to his companions.

“Don’t get yourself killed by falling rocks or smothered by that lizard’s snout!” Lyndis replied through a new mouthful of food.

Arcturus shrugged off that joke, took a deep breath, and followed his friend into the tunnel. On his way, he picked up a torch that was lining the walls. It was a relief, not to have to walk in the dark and rely on Veledar's eyes the entire time. He planned to ask how far they had to go when he accidentally bumped into Veledar when the dragon suddenly stopped still. Arcturus made his way to his friend’s side and gasped at what he saw. What lay before him was something no man could imagine. Not even in his wildest dreams could he picture a hoard like this. Mountains of gold coins as far as his eyes could see. Every so often, there was a small bowl of fire that would illuminate the metallic coins around them with a warm glow. Among the sea of gold, he spied specks of every color, no doubt gems stashed away within the hoard. He could not tear his eyes away from the shiny metals, for the longer he stared, the more and more he could see scattered within the treasure trove.

He saw bookcases with rows upon rows of books, weapons, art of all sorts, and even suits of armor on stands. Within the vast sea of treasure there was path, a division within the gold, obviously meant to be walked upon. It was roughly fifteen feet wide and seemed to be made of silver coins. From the edge of his vision he saw Veledar's snout get close to his face. So close that he could touch it by simply reaching out.

“I told you.” The dragon nuzzled his cheek. “Behold my mother’s hoard! No doubt the greatest treasure trove in the entire land, if not the entire world!”

Arcturus heard Veledar boast before, but this sounded a bit different. Was that jealousy that he heard in his voice? He grinned as he crossed his arms. “Gods above…you’re jealous!”

“I am not jealous of my mother, you silly human. That would be RIDICULOUS!” Veledar replied. However, Arcturus noticed that the dragon would not look at him when he said that.

“Yet here we are, dragon-jealous-of-his-own-mother’s-treasure-trove.”

Veledar only held up his head for a moment before letting out a large groan. “Fine. Yes, as a hatchling, and even when I was younger, I yearned to have all of this.” Veledar held out his paws and gestured to all of the treasure. “I mean, what dragon wouldn't dream of something so vast? However, I grew up, realigned my priorities, realized life’s not only a quest for treasure.”

Arcturus’ grin grew larger as Veledar still kept his head away as he spoke.

“That has to be the worst singular lie I’ve heard from you. I can practically see that jealousy as you look out at all that bounty of jewels and gold. Admit it, dearest Veledar.”

“No.” Veledar replied, sticking his tongue out.

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Fine!” Veledar hissed, then groaned loudly. “I am incredibly jealous of my mother’s ability to amass such riches. She almost never left us alone for more than a couple of days. How in the world did she get her paws on…on this glimmering mountain of pure beauty?!”

“So why not fly ahead and greet her? I'll get the others and follow the path to catch up.” Arcturus said, patting Veledar's side.

“I can't do that. Would be rude to abandon my guests.”

“Can't a grown dragon go about seeing his mother when he pleases?”

“It's a tad more complicated than that.” Veledar fidgeted, then turned his snout as if to look for his mother. “I brought you three to her lair, I need to lead you to her. To let you three wander would be rude and foolish,” Veledar grinned, showing off his teeth. “Besides, you get the benefit of my company!”

“Come on. We both know there’s more to that. You don't want to let her know something is wrong. Or that you might be desperate for help.” Arcturus added, to which Veledar simply answered with a silent growl, although the dragon did look to him out of the corner of his eye. Arcturus figured he had hit it right on the head.

“What ever gave you the idea that I was desperate?”

“The incident with the gryphons is pretty obvious. I figure you might take your time explaining the situation to her. Then ask her for help without actually asking for it.”

“Bahamut’s platinum scales…you might understand dragons better than I thought.” Veledar tapped the tip of a claw to a coin on the ground. Then the dragon turned around, his tail passing inches over Arcturus' head. He followed the dragon back through the tunnel. It did not take long to get back to the main cave. Lyndis had packed her things and was meditating on a small rug that she had laid out. The rug was of course blue and gold. Merlia had both hands cupping the little orb of light that was Ulga. She appeared to be whispering to it, if her closeness was any indication.

Arcturus made his way to his armor and started to strap the pieces one by one. He paused as he looked to the tabard that had been practically shredded to pieces, now back to a pristine condition. He shifted his gaze up to find Lyndis looking at him.

“Figured I'd fix it with another prestidigitation. Can’t have you running around with a ruined tabard.” The half-elf smiled.

Arcturus offered her a quick thanks and continued putting on his gambeson and armor. He would have to thank Matilda a thousand times every time the armor attached itself at the mere press of a rune. Not only did it save him plenty of time donning the entire suit of his armor, but it allowed him to do it himself. He stopped as it occurred to him he was being watched. He turned to find Veledar sitting on his haunches, staring at him intently.

“You know, if I had killed you, I would have taken your armor and hung it in my lair.” The dragon said.

“Touching, to think you would’ve held on to a piece of me long past my death.” He replied, giving Veledar a glare.

Realizing his error, Veledar soon continued further, “I mean to say that anything magical in nature should be treasured. I was trying to pay your fancy steel suit, and thus you, a compliment.”

If Arcturus knew better, he believed he just saw a look of embarrassment on the dragon's snout.

“Now, continuing about the armor, who made it for you?” Veledar inched closer and grabbed Arcturus' right arm, his grasp firm, but not to the point of hurting the man inside. Veledar held fast as Arcturus tried to pull his arm away. The dragon held out a claw and traced it over one of the small runes on the vambraces.

“All of these pieces have fine craftsmanship. It’s obvious you didn't make it.”

“How did you know that?” He replied, slightly offended that Veledar simply could not fathom a paladin making anything as grand as a suit of self-attaching plate.

“I have observed your talents, and trust me I, don't think you would spend your time donning the role of a blacksmith, unless you’re hiding that part of yourself from me.”

“Well I did mention I like to paint, so I do create when the possibility arises.”

“I remember that.” Veledar smirked, no doubt remembering the night before. “However, painting is not the same as creating magical armor.”

“Fine, you inquisitive beast. A gnome made it for me. One going by the name of Matilda. She was one of my remaining friends back in Entis. You should actually meet her, now that I think about it.”

“And just why should I grant this gnome my esteemed presence?” Veledar replied, letting go and starting to circle him closely. It was obvious he was still inspecting the armor.

“Why have you not done this before? We have been traveling for a quite some time now.” Arcturus tried to push Veledar away lightly, but the dragon did not yield and continued his inspection.

“I figured I was doing more important things. Now back to your gnome friend, and the clever way you avoided my question.”

“Thought it’s obvious by now. She loves magical things, items, armor, weapons, and even creatures. I think it is kind of a fancy of hers to meet a dragon in person. Well, one not like Dread Flame. You get my meaning.”

“I will have to think about it, granted, if she shows the interest you speak of.”

“So let me get this right. You only want to meet her if she fawns over you?” Arcturus smirked as he grabbed his vambraces and attached them. He clenched his gloved hand, testing the feel. Thankfully, he found everything snug. Next up, he swung his pack around his back, stowed his longsword, and picked up his shield. He looked up to see that Merlia and Lyndis had strolled on over. They had all their gear ready as well. Lyndis was the first to talk and asked the same question about Veledar going on ahead to meet his mother. Veledar just sighed and gave her the same answer that he had given him. Arcturus noted the slight hint of confusion on her face.

“Should we expect trouble then?” Lyndis asked, looking past the dragon, into the depths of the tunnel.

Veledar seemed slightly taken aback. “Of course not. My mother would never harm me or my guests. Now, if you were not invited, you might be in trouble because she might think you were thieves.” With that final word, Veledar turned his eyes to some other place.

“Well, how big is it?” Lyndis asked, her eyes seeming to grow in size.

“It is rather hard to do it justice with mere words, but it's probably the most amount of coin and treasure I have ever seen.” Arcturus blurted out, causing Veledar to turn his snout to him.

Lyndis dismissively waved at Arcturus. “I’ll be the judge of that. I have certainly seen a lot of coin in my time.”

“That so?” Merlia replied with a sly grin.

Arcturus was about to ask Merlia why Ulga had not reformed yet, yet instead, he had to rush after Lyndis, who started sprinting down the tunnel. He followed the half-elf down the route Veledar had brought him until he was once again standing before the great hoard of treasure. Lyndis stood unmoving and speechless, Merlia joined them and added, “By Thor’s beard...”

“This has to be a trick! No way this is real!” Shouted Lyndis, spinning around and pointing her finger at Veledar.

“There isn't even this much treasure in all of Drenedar's vaults. This has got to be an illusion. No dragon can ever gather this amount on its own. What, are you going to tell me your mother can will gold and jewels into existence? It certainly worked with our meal back there.”

Veledar held a paw up to his chest, “My dear Lyndis, I assure you, everything your eyes see is real.” His lips stretched into a toothy smile, “But I’m glad my mother’s hoard got that reaction out of you. It’s funny when an experienced adventurer makes that kind of face.”

“Alright then, red butt. Why are you so proud of it all of a sudden? It isn't your treasure yet. I figure that a proud dragon like you, who has to state how amazing he is every few minutes you, would be jealous before proud of something greater than his.”

Arcturus held back a laughter filled snort. Somehow, Lyndis had hit the nail right on the head.

“Not a word unless you want to replace my toy tonight,” Veledar growled quietly at him.

“I wouldn’t mind that.” Arcturus chuckled.

“Really?”

The dragon’s eyes widened a little. With hope or excitement, Arcturus did not know.

Veledar then started leading them along the silver coin-laden path.

“You see, Lyndis, all of this -as in every coin, sword, book, gear, shield, and scale polishing tool you can find- will be mine in due time.”

That surprised Arcturus. He always considered dragons hid everything from their families. Or was it simply possible that Veledar's family was something of an exception in that regard? He had assumed that even in death, a dragon would refuse to part ways with their hard-earned hoard.

“Why would she do that? Arcturus, is this normal for dragons?” Lyndis asked.

“Why would you ask the human about what is normal for a dragon?” Veledar snorted.

“I would not know,” Arcturus replied. “I have actually heard the opposite is common.” He then looked up to Veledar. “Although I find with each passing day that Veledar here is something of a conundrum in many ways. He’s...special.”

Veledar grinned at being called special and returned his gaze to Lyndis, “If you must know,” he started inspecting a grandfather clock that was half buried in coins, still ticking away. “My family left behind the tradition of being buried along with one’s treasure. We instead passed it to the next of kin. That way, the hoard would grow and grow, reaching the amazing size you can see right now, before your very eyes.”

“Speakin of which.” Merlia suddenly said, “I been meanin ta ask ya that, Crimson Sky.” The dwarf lifted an eyebrow and moved her hands to her hips. “How is it yer mum is silver and ya happen to be red? Do dragons just turn any color they want?”

“Merlia, you wee dwarven lass,” Veledar replied, continuing down the silver path, occasionally brushing coins back into their piles with his tail. “I was adopted by the owner of this fine cave. She said she found me in the wilderness, hunting for myself, tougher than most hatchlings she had seen.”

Arcturus saw the look of pride grow on the dragon’s crimson snout once again. It seemed that, even when talking about himself as a mere child, it was something the red male took pride in. They moved around something that looked like a royal stage coach. It had banners along its white frame, blue and gold, clearly from Drenadar. Arcturus only gave it a momentary glance before walking past it, only stopping when Lyndis shouted out the obvious.

“What is your mother doing with a royal carriage!?”

Arcturus turned around to see a look of confusion and rage on her cherry red face.

“Does she go about stealing my people's things?”

Before Arcturus could speak, Veledar sped right past him, his tail brushing against his side before the dragon was right next to Lyndis.

“Again, you jump to the wrong set of conclusions. I can assure you, from one friend to another, that everything in this hoard was either gift from a benevolent patron, or taken from people of ill repute. My mother was a paragon of goodness and an example to all dragon kind, not just me.” Veledar said in a soothing voice. “I saved you all numerous times. We ate together, drank together, adventured together. My mother’s better than I. Try to imagine how that looks.”

The comparison seemed to calm Lyndis down as she touched the wooden carriage with the palm of her left hand.

“Alright, I believe you, Crimson Sky. Sorry for the outburst back there. I’m just…adventuring always has you assume the worst, you know? That’s how you stay alive.”

“Thought ya might have some dwarf blood in ya!” Merlia laughed, clasping a hand on the half-elf’s shoulder.

“Think nothing of it,” Veledar replied, turning his attention back towards the path.

“If you think that is something, you should see the boat of erisaid. It used to belong to a noble or another in some kingdom to the west. Sadly, the name eludes even my great memory.”

“Do you mean Rothdell?” Arcturus asked.

“Of course, that's the one, yes indeed,” Veledar pointed to Arcturus, “Supposedly, my mother flew overhead, scaring off a group of pirates that had boarded the noble’s vessel. After everything was said and done, the man was so grateful to my mother’s timely act that he gave her the entire vessel, to which…it is slightly embarrassing to say this, but my mother took that literally.” Veledar chuckled, “I figured he meant that he was offering his services or something of that nature. After all, no sane human would part with something so valuable. Right, Arcturus?”

The paladin brushed off his armor teasingly in front of Veledar. “Not for sale.” He patted the grumpy dragon on his chin.

They passed through what appeared to be a forest of banners and tapestries hanging overhead by flagpoles. Each flag was either in pristine condition or a tattered mess, depending on their origin.

“Neva ast this, despite bein’ in me mind fer a while. How old is yer mother?” Merlia asked.

“That’s something you can ask her yourself. I won’t be coerced into revealing the secrets of another dragon to a mortal, even if she happens to be a friend of mine,” said Veledar, scratching his head with one of his wing talons.

Merlia just crossed her arms and gave a quick “Hmmph. Stella’ dragon thinkin’ dere. Mayhap I shouldna’ argue with ya.”

“That is a wise decision. There aren’t many times when I emerged victorious out of that one,” the paladin said. “Have you decided on what form is Ulga going to take once he is restored?” Arcturus then asked as he let Merlia catch up to him. Lyndis passed ahead to chit chat with Veledar about something.

“Hav’na figured it yet. I’m thinkin’ it best be somethin with wings on account of da dragon.” She then cupped her hands around her mouth, “If she evah decides to fly us dere!”

“And sully myself with you riffraff? I’d rather eat this hoard than let that happen!” Veledar responded by sticking his tongue out at them.

Arcturus was about to bring up the promise Veledar had made about flying him, when he felt his foot shift. The coins below started to slide all at once, sending the paladin on a ride down a large hill of rolling metal. He tried to grab onto something on his way down, but found nothing for purchase apart from tricky, slippery metal coins. His friends yelled out something as he tumbled down, barely avoiding a rack of armor. He tried his best to avoid all the valuables on the way down. No matter how nice Veledar claimed his mother was, Arcturus did not want to upset the dragoness. Luckily, he managed to grab hold of what looked like a purple looking bar. It was hard to make out in the low light, but with a firm grasp of his metal-clad hand and a tug, he managed to stop his decent down the hill of clattering coins.

What in Bahamut’s name happened? Arcturus looked around as the coins slowly started to settle. He looked back up to his friends that were now just small specks on the hill of coins.

“Arcturus! Are you alright there, partner? Must be that armor, dragging your weighty ass down like a boulder. Maybe you should consider borrowing me a few pieces to lighten yourself up.” Veledar roared out.

“Yea, I'm fine!” He shouted back, “Caught myself on some sort of purple bar! Don’t worry about my armor just yet!”

He tried to move his hand, grabbing the bar, but found it stuck to the surface of it. He gave one large tug and managed to free himself. The paladin then fell backward into the coins with a thump.

“Just was stuck is all! Managed to break free!” he shouted to keep his friends informed of what was happening.

He stood up, reminding himself to not grab the purple rod, just in case he got stuck again. His eyes strained to make out what it was even attached to. He then noticed that it seemed to be part of a larger network of things that resembled a huge spiderweb.

“Oh crap…” he muttered under his breath. Surely Veledar’s mother kept away any large spiders from her lair…

“Hey, just to be sure, your mother didn't have a spider problem, did she?” He shouted as his hand went for his sword out of instinct. He scanned the area for the smallest amount of movement.

“What are you even mumbling about? We’re on a different plane of existence! There is no way a spider could even get in here!” Veledar replied, Arcturus pictured that he had tilted his head to the side like he usually did in this sort of situation.

“It's kind of weird that I’m faced with something that looks exactly like a web! How do you explain that?”

There was a rustling of coin that caught his attention. Arcturus forgot all about the party upstairs and spun towards the noise, drawing his sword and shield to find...nothing. Another rustling of coins drew his attention. This time the hairs on his back stood on end as he whirled around. Once again, nothing.

Then, he heard it. A slight clicking sound; the same two mandibles might make. He had a second to react as a large bulk collided with him. Sharp mandibles met his shield. Despite the blow being successfully blocked by his shield, he was tossed back into the pile coins by the sheer momentum of the blow.

“Gah, what in the world-“ Arcturus looked up to see a spider that stood just as tall as he did. “Oh, figures. Spiders…why does it always have to be spiders?”

The creature had a bluish white carapace and eight blood red eyes that stared menacingly at the human. It went in for another attack as Arcturus lashed out with his sword, his attack managing to slice off two of the creature’s legs with a flash of white magic that seemed to burst when his sword met the spider's legs. The spider recoiled in pain, skittering away from him.

“That’s convenient,” The human smiled and prepared for another assault.

The spider soon recovered and curled its body on itself. For a moment, Arcturus was fazed by such bizarre behavior, then a flash of memories made him remember hearing about how some of the larger spiders could toss webbing at their enemies. His eyes widened in realization as he remembered the purple web from before. He ducked behind a multicolored rack of clothes as the spider loosened its webbing everywhere.

“Gah!” Arcturus gasped. Thankfully, he was protected quite effectively behind the bulwark of clothing, as no bits of webbing latched onto him. He breathed a sigh of relief right before he heard the sound of a large crack. He stood up, sword in hand, to see that the spider was nowhere to be found. His eyes looked in desperation at all the scattered treasure, the mounds certainly large enough to hide the spider. The grip on his sword tightened.

“Hey, we have some sort of giant spider down here!” He shouted out to his friends, “It’s big, weird, and white, with the creepiest bunch of eyes I’ve seen! Red! They’re red just like Crimson’s scales!”

Another loud crack graced his ears as the spider returned to attack him from the left. Arcturus still believed he had the advantage, yet somehow, the creature walked too straight. Too quickly.

It had regrown its legs, and now the vicious creature pressed on to finish what it started.

“Crap!” Arcturus raised his shield to block, but the wall of steel merely deflected the creature's attack so that the mandibles grasped around his armored leg. Thankfully, before the creature could slice his leg clean off, Arcturus stabbed downward with his sword into the creature's head. With another flash of white magic, the sword sunk right through the creature’s head, causing it to flail and screech, but Arcturus held firm. The spider then collapsed, a corpse adding to the ground made of coins. Arcturus sighed when he withdrew his sword from the spider's head with a schlurp noise, flicking the ichor off the blade.

“Ever heard about a teleporting spider?” He asked, kicking the dead body over to get a good look at its underside. He looked to the legs next, and saw that there was no sign of the sword slice that had taken the creature’s legs.

“Guess you creepy crawlies can regenerate quick enough to fly right back into the action, for all the help it’ll do now. So long, spider.” Arcturus said to himself as he started walking back towards his friends.

“Well, excitement’s over, my friends. I killed the thing like a real hero! You should’ve seen how-”

“Arcturus, behind you!” Veledar suddenly roared from the hilltop of coins. The dragon then spread his wings wide and dived down the mountain of coin. Lyndis and Merlia could be seen gracefully rushing down the hill towards the stranded paladin as well.

“Guys, guys it's all fine! I told you, I had it handled!” Arcturus turned around to see not one, but seven of the large spiders. These ones looked to have thicker carapaces, green oozing mandibles, and those same horrible red eyes. He only managed a “Bloody hell” before the swarm of spiders rushed him.

Arcturus managed to block one as he heard a sizzling noise from his shield. Whatever was oozing from their pincers was definitely doing some foul things to the metal. With haste, Arcturus parried another set of mandibles, deflecting the attack just enough so it did not hit any of his vital areas. Whatever was in their ooze had no apparent effect on the sword he held, so he uttered a mental thanks to Bahamut as he fought to fend off the many legged monsters. He heard several more cracking noises. The spiders appeared all around him and forced the paladin to back up, duck, block, and parry everything sent at him. The spiders were certainly relentless, coming at him like a pack of rabid beasts, forcing Arcturus to focus everything he had into remaining on his feet. If he got knocked down again, chances are he would meet his end like one of the ancient kings: amidst piles of priceless treasure.

Through the wall of pincers and legs he finally saw an opening. He lashed out with his sword, quickly slicing into a spider’s carapace. His sword exploded with magical energy upon contact. That particular spider let out a screech, jumping back, and with a crack, it disappeared back into thin air.

Arcturus mentally patted himself on the back for his achievement, but had little time to savor his small victory, as it seemed the beasts had tripled in number and now moved to surround him from all sides. He felt pincers latch onto his armored left shoulder from behind. One of the spiders got him. It tightened its pincers, ready to make the work for his friends easier. Luckily for Arcturus, the armor Matilda had made held strong even as he felt trickles of vile poison drip onto his exposed gambeson and start to melt the wool there.

Arcturus slashed out at the biting spider, but it let go and retreated, his sword only finding empty air. Another took advantage of his attack and caught his right arm. He felt the sharp pincer dig into his skin through the gambeson. Sharp pain took hold of his body…

Then he felt the fluid’s hot bite. The same thing that devoured through his gambeson was now coursing under his skin, making him yell out in agony. He smashed that spider over the head with his shield, and with a crack Arcturus managed to dislodge the beast off him.

“Nraaah!” Arcturus fell backwards into the coins as his shield fell apart in his hands. The spider that poisoned him predictably disappeared with a crack. However, it seemed to hardly matter as the others closed in and tried to latch onto him just like the previous two did.

“I know you want me, bastards…but I got a dragon to return to!” Arcturus rolled out of a spider’s reach and tried to use his strength to avoid getting skewered by their pinchers. He ignored the ever-growing pain in his right arm, and he was quite sure he would have to do his best to undo the damage right after he survived this horrific encounter. He moved around, jumped and rolled. On one such roll, a spider finally had him pinned to the ground.

“Naaaaah!” Arcturus screamed as he plunged his arm into the mouth of the beast. His sword met the spider’s mandibles and held it there, struggling to keep the creature away as it pressed its bulk downwards onto him. His arm started to shudder, and for one moment Arcturus feared for his life. Thankfully, the other spiders seemed to avoid stepping too close, probably to let their web brother have its meal. A grim thought to be sure.

Suddenly the spider that had him so thoroughly pinned was ripped off him by a pair of white claws. The spider was tossed into the others, knocking the ones it hit like a bowling ball.

“Veledar!”

The dragon landed over him and let out an ear-splitting roar of battle.

“About time you climbed your way down from that mountain! I was beginning to think you love treasure more than me!”

“That armor you wear will surely prove a worthy addition to my own hoard.”

“Not while I draw breath, you silly dragon.” Arcturus accepted Veledar’s paw, stood up, then resumed his battle stance beside the dragon.

Veledar whipped one aside with his tail while ripping into others with his claws. The one whipped by the tail found its end when Arcturus slashed at its underside with his sword. With the predictable white magic, he easily cleaved the little monstrosity in two. Veledar let out another roar before letting out a large breath of fire that swept over six of the spiders, setting them ablaze. They let out similar screeches of pain before disappearing with cracks.

“Show off!” Arcturus shouted out as he took advantage of another spider that was too focused on Veledar. His blade cleanly sliced the thing's head off, spraying him with its ichor.

“You best believe it!” Veledar replied with a grin as he continued ripping into the spiders. However, in spite of their progress, Arcturus could hear crack after crack of incoming reinforcements.

“I don’t think they like us very much.”

“You might be right about that. Quick now! Climb onto my back before I change my mind!” Veledar roared as he reared back to avoid the webbing being tossed at him by the literal army of spiders.

Arcturus could see Lyndis and Merlia were shouting at them to run as they climbed the hill.

“Hurry!” Hissed Veledar in anger. “I told you to get on!”

Quickly stowing his sword, Arcturus ran to Veledar and tried to get on him as if he was a horse. However, several spiders seemed to get what they were planning all along. Webbing seized Veledar on his two front paws, pinning him to the mountains of coin.

“Veledar!”

“I got this. Just gimme a…”

Several of the spiders soon found it much easier to fight the dragon as he struggled to pull himself free. “Grraaaaaawrrrr!” He roared in pain as several pinchers managed to latch onto unarmored spots of his body. “Insistent little buggers.”

“Enough about that stupid plan!”

Arcturus leaped off his friend to defend him from the spiders. He drew their attention and made them pay if they tried to attack Veledar. The dragon had opened his maw and simply melted the webbing with his fire now that he had the spiders off him. Once free, the dragon spun around, his tail knocking the ones advancing on Arcturus away with a smack. It would have been almost humorous to see all the spiders collapse to the ground, belly up, with their legs kicking at the air if they were not in danger at the moment.

“Now quick!” Veledar shouted, lowering himself as to ease the human's mounting. Arcturus dashed to his friend and leaped onto his back, and with a great flap of wings Veledar lifted them both into the air. Arcturus hugged the dragon's neck for dear life as Veledar carried them both back to the top of the hill, leaving the army of spiders behind.

“See? I told you we can do it. A few icky spiders are nothing compared to me!” Veledar said after he landed softly with a bump, his soft paws touching the path. Arcturus thankfully leaped onto the ground. It was certainly not as bad as that dreadful moment when dragon had lifted him suddenly into the air. Arcturus imagined that, with a saddle, the ride would be even better. Or at least he would not be grasping the dragon as tightly as he had been doing so far.

“Why does yer gods damn mother have giant spiders in ‘ere?!” Merlia shouted as she emerged onto the path from the hill. “It couldn’a be mimics, or rats, but gods damn spiders!” She continued, but Arcturus noticed she shivered at the thoughts of the spiders. He did not take Merlia to be one unnerved by this sort of creatures.

“I honestly don’t know. She used to have a spell that would remove vermin such as that with a mere request.” Veledar said calmly as the dragon moved his snout close to inspect Arcturus.

“See anything you like?” Arcturus said laughing, his heart still racing from the fight with the spiders.

“You’re not injured, so yes.” Veledar replied as he nuzzled along the human’s armored body. “You know…for all my praises regarding this armor, I wouldn’t imagine anyone else wearing it.”

“So you do like me, you scaly bastard!” Arcturus stroke over the dragon’s snout, who closed his eyes and hummed in delight.

“Just a bit. For saving my life.”

“Twice now.”

“Show-off.”

The dragon continued to nuzzle until he found the paladin’s right arm bleeding. “Is that-“

“Yeah.” Arcturus said with a groan. “They got me. Give me a moment. Need to focus without your breath rolling over me like a hurricane.”

“Sorry,” the dragon backed off.

Arcturus used the same method he had done with Veledar last night and touched his injured arm. With a flash of light, he felt the wound close and the pain subside.

“Aaaah, much better. I don’t know if you dragons pray…but make sure to thank Bahamut for her blessing every now and again.”

“If that puts your mind at is, sure.” The dragon said, then let out a short hiss.

“What’s the matter?” Arcturus moved along his side.

“They got me in some places, but one really latched onto my tail… would you mind using some of those glowy powers on my tail?” Veledar asked, gesturing to his left flank, and then to his wiggling tail.

Arcturus moved to the flank of Veledar and touched the red dragon. From this close distance, he could make out several puncture marks beneath the dragon's scales. He focused on the healing energy once more and let it pour forth into the dragon.

“You know, it's possible your mother's defenses couldn't weed out the phase spiders.” said Lyndis as she too now joined them on the path, “They make their home in the ethereal plane.”

Veledar shifted slightly as the healing magic sealed his wounds. “That's better,” The dragon hissed with relief. “Thank you, squire.”

“With pleasure, my lord,” Arcturus bowed with a smile on his face. “Anyone else in need of healing?” He asked, clasping his hands together.

“Please, I didna get anywhere near dose critters.” Merlia replied, pulling out a flask and taking a swig from it. “Hate de damn tings, wit dere beedy little eyes an’ hundreds o’legs!”

“Well at least you did not have to taste them.” Veledar hacked in the air. “Took two of my fire breaths just to get the taste out of my maw!”

“We should probably move along quickly. Phase spiders tend to be very territorial, and your recent actions down there haven’t earned you any favor with their brood.” Lyndis added, holding up a finger.

“THEY are territorial?” Veledar snarled, “This is my MOTHER's lair, you daft elf! Mark me, those VERMIN will be cast out as soon as we find her.” Veledar turned back along the path and snorted angrily. Arcturus could make out little puffs of black smoke escape the dragon's nostrils. He did notice that Veledar had started walking faster than he had been doing previously. Clearly the dragon was growing more nervous than he was letting on.

They continued for several minutes, with the only sound coming from the carpet of coins upon which they were walking. Merlia finally broke out into a dwarvish drinking song to break the silence. Her singing voice cut right to Arcturus’ core, like nails dragged slowly down a chalk board. He saw Veledar's wings twitch as if he wanted to fly away far as he could from the dwarf. Luckily, the vocal torture lasted only a minute as they came to a large clearing within the plains of unending coin.

One area was filled with blankets of every different color. Arcturus didn't doubt that they were most likely the finest from all the lands. Beside the dragon’s bed was a bookcase at least twenty feet long and fifteen feet high supported by wooden beams to keep it upright. Along its shelves rested thick tomes that looked ancient. There were armor stands, weapons, and a large chandelier bathing everything around them in a bright light. It must have been connected to a ceiling, but Arcturus could not see where it began.

“Mother!” Veledar shouted out in joy, “Your son is here, and he brought guests!”

They waited a minute in silence before Veledar resumed talking again.

“Probably just out hunting.” Veledar muttered to himself.

“For an entire day?” Arcturus raised an eyebrow. “We’ve been in her cave for quite a while.”

“On a quest then!” Veledar snorted. “My mother’s always busy with something. How else do you imagine she gathered all of this stuff? Not by sleeping on her hoard like the dragons from your childish human tales!”

From the ground suddenly rose the blue apparition of Auron.

“Oh look, it's Auron.” Lyndis said casually to the dragon.

Auron coiled in on itself like a spring as it looked to all of them in turn.

“Greetings, Veledar. This one welcomes you to your hoard.” Auron said in its monotone voice.

“Why did you not appear earlier?” Veledar snapped, “And did you know Mother had...” Veledar turned towards Lyndis. “What did you call those stupid things again?”

”Phase spiders,” The elf said with conviction.

“Those.” Veledar snorted with a flick of his tail.

Auron’s ghostly form brightened a bit. “This one knew of the spider incursion, but was waiting on instruction to eliminate them. Why this one failed to appear earlier? It’s because this one was instructed to meet you here, by your mother.”

“Good. Whatever, let’s just put the past behind us. Where is she anyway? We have come quite the distance to see her, and I bet she wouldn’t believe this tale even if it comes from my own glorious maw.” Veledar said, grinning with his teeth.

“Not here. This is what this protocol is about.” Auron replied.

“Hmph,” Veledar snorted in irritation as his tail twitched. “You’re about as helpful as all these coins. When my mother returns, I will instruct her to bestow some much-needed enhancements upon you, Auron, because you lack tact. And manners. You’re being rude to me right now.”

“This one does not understand what rude is,” Auron said blankly.

Arcturus thought back to the old woman's words back in Drakenburg, and an icy chill seemed to grip his heart.

“Ignore that. Let’s focus on the real matter here. Surely you can tell me where has gone to, right?

Auron went silent.

“Great. Auron, consider yourself promoted. You are now officially more annoying than all the nasty humans I met, put together. Honestly, this is why I despise this thing.” Veledar turned to Arcturus and rolled his eyes. “He speaks with the voice of a silent lake and thinks with whatever boulder of a head he has in his…his…”

“Inanimate head?” Arcturus waved something around.

“Precisely!” Veledar nuzzled into the human’s armored chest. “When my mother’s back I will ask her to shape Auron in your image. Maybe then he’ll learn to-“

“She is gone.” The ghostly dragon suddenly said.

“Yeah, we know that, boulder-brained mist-head, but when is she coming back?” Veledar snarled. “When when when? Time isn’t beyond your ability to understand, you blazing creation!”

“She is gone.” Auron repeated, its voice still unchanged. “Your mother is not here because she is nowhere. This is your hoard now, Veledar.”

Arcturus’ heart sunk when his fears were confirmed. He could see Veledar's snout just stare at the ghostly dragon in disbelief. His snout wrinkled, eyes squinting in anger.

“Oh, that’s rich. This is just exactly the amount of humor I need right now.” Veledar turned back to the group. “My mother must’ve enhanced his sense of humor or-or instructed him to lie to me in case she’s tackling an important mission. That’s it. She doesn’t want me or anyone to make themselves at home in her lair. I should know that better than anyone, for I would be annoyed too, were I in her place. Cleaning somebody else’s mess is just…distasteful. Way beyond the patience of a dragon of my mother’s ability. You all understand, right? A hoard such as this takes time, dedication, energy, ability, patience…” The dragon went over most of her mother’s virtues.

“Veledar…” Arcturus began, only to be cut off by the dragon’s fiery stare.

“Got a better explanation? Go on. Let’s hear it!”

“Enhancements,” Lyndis’ voice carried through the room, silent, unsure.

“What about them?” Veledar turned his eyes to her.

“The food we ate, the table, chairs…why would she order Auron to keep guests away when she can clean everything with just a single thought?”

Veledar narrowed his eyes.

“Lass’s righ,” Merlia joined in, her head bowed, unable to even look at Veledar. “Somethin’s feelin’ wrong here.”

“Shut up. Silence, all of you!” Veledar paced back to Auron. “Tell me again.”

Auron did, and that only added kindling upon Veledar’s blazing rage. “But that's preposterous, you stupid magical enchantment! My mother is the most amazing dragoness in all the land. Just look…look at all the treasure she’s gathered. The friendships she forged, the people she saved, the…the son she raised,” Veledar’s voice started to break. “She can’t be gone, because nothing can kill her, understand? She’s too cunning for any human, dwarf, elf or otherwise to play their dirty tricks on her!” Veledar snorted, black smoke coming from his nostrils.

Arcturus watched Veledar fidget as he stretched his wings, then start to pace around as realization slowly seeped its way through his resilient scales. “No. No, she can’t be gone. Can’t be trapped. Can’t be outsmarted, out geared, or anything of that sort.” The dragon's eyes were looking to all of them, then out to the mounds of treasure.

“Veledar…” Lyndis said quietly to the dragon, her voice but a whisper.

Veledar seemed to ignore the fact that she had just called him by name as he thrashed his tail into the coins, scattering them every which way.

“Perhaps you would want to see the gifts she has left you?” Auron asked, only for Veledar to whip his tail through the ghostly dragon.

“Leave me!” Veledar roared to Auron, causing the dragon to flicker.

“As you wish, master.” Auron vanished into thin air.

Arcturus could see the pain in his friend’s eyes as he stood there, breathing heavily. The dragon seemed as frozen and stuck like all the objects around him.

“Veledar.” He began to say, only for the dragon to cast him a look filled with anger.

“Leave me! All of you!” Veledar roared. “I am the master here now. Haven’t you heard? I want you out this instant!”

He heard Lyndis and Merlia start to leave, but Arcturus held his ground. He saw Veledar's eyes stare at him as he just lay there, unmoving. He was almost unsure what the dragon would do. In his grief and anger, would he lash at him with words? Or with fangs?

“Come on, let’s leave him alone if that's what he wants.” Lyndis grabbed Arcturus' arm.

“Not yet,” He whispered. Lyndis’ concern was more than noticeable, but Arcturus remained steadfast in his decision. With a shrug, he brushed her hand away while he stared the dragon square in his blue eyes. What he saw there made him unable to leave. He saw the pain, the anger, the sadness swirling in those draconic eyes. How could he leave his friend now, when he was hurting the most?

“You go, I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, like set fire to everything.”

“Are you sure?” Lyndis was visibly concerned. She looked over to Veledar, who stood there, breathing in ragged breaths.

“His mother might be gone, but her hoard, her gifts, her memory…they will live on, same as my family did…”

“Shout if you need anything. No need to have you maimed even with these new powers of yours.” Lyndis whispered as she patted Arcturus on the back. “Come on, Merlia, I think I saw a dwarven keg back a little ways. Let’s go see what year it’s from.” Lyndis turned, grabbed Merlia, and walked back the way they had come.

Arcturus waited for a few minutes to make sure the two had left. Veledar still hadn’t moved. He remained in the same place, his eyes locked on him with the same fury they had before. Arcturus started walking towards the furious dragon before him.

“I ordered you to leave twice already. Have your ears been affected by my roar? Or am I supposed to understand a paladin…no, a commander with years of experience, can’t follow simple orders?”

“Veledar, I-“

“LEAVE!” Veledar roared, starting to circle the human like a predator might stalk its prey before striking.

Arcturus felt his heart quicken. In the back of his mind, he might have actually started to regret his decision to stay here with the angry dragon. However, with Veledar's next step, he saw his friend twitch, his blue eyes bearing the same pain as before. He recognized those eyes, for he saw them every morning he woke up in the mirror during the two years since his family suffered the same tragic, untimely end.

“I am not leaving you in this state, Veledar.” He replied, gulping once as the dragon barred his teeth in a snarl. “Are you going to hurt me, Veledar? Your friend? The man who saved your life?” His eyes stayed locked on the dragon as he moved, never taking them off for a second.

“YOU SPEAK TO ME OF FRIENDSHIP? Veledar snapped his teeth, “WOULD A FRIEND BE SO DISRESPECTFUL AS TO STAY WHEN I DEMAND HIS INSTANT DEPARTURE?!” Veledar thrashed his tail and let smoke billow out of his nostrils, “I ENTRUSTED YOU MY NAME. I PROVIDED YOU WITH THE WARMTH AND PROTECTION OF MY BODY…and now you ignore the simplest request I’ve asked of you? HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN I AM A DRAGON, YOU TINY, FRAGILE HUMAN?” Veledar then roared and lashed out at Arcturus with his teeth.

Arcturus had to fight every nerve in his body that told him to run for his life. This sort of conviction surprised him even as he managed to thrust that feeling into the depths of his mind. For a crazy reason, he trusted the dragon more than he feared him.

Veledar stopped, his snout inches from Arcturus' nose.

“Even through this bravado and anger, you can't fool me, Veledar,” Arcturus said, his voice full of sorrow. He placed his hand up onto Veledar's snout and caressed it softly. To his surprise, the dragon did not recoil from the touch. Veledar's eyes were still on him, however, and they had started to well up with large tears.

“If you truly wanted to be alone…” He gestured to Veledar's wings, “You would have flown away from us.”

It was sudden, as Veledar moved in and grasped the human in a tight hug. Arcturus only let out a surprised yelp as the dragon's head wrapped around his back. He felt Veledar squeeze him tightly as he heard the dragon sob onto his shoulder. They remained like that for a while as Arcturus just hugged the dragon back and patted him reassuringly.

“Why did you not leave when I shouted at you?” Veledar asked, still not yielding his hug.

“When I looked at you, I did not see the large angry dragon that stood before me. I instead saw myself... I knew you wanted someone to stay here with you. Anyone to help you face the pain.”

“She was my hero…my mother, I mean. She deserves to have her tale told and sung in taverns, not me. I’m not worthy of her hoard. I’m not even-”

“Shhhh,” Arcturus caressed the dragon’s neck calmly. “You are the most valiant dragon I know. Remember how you saved me from the gryphons? How you fought the countless bandits in Drakensburg to protect your party? The same greatness that empowered your mother now shines in you, Veledar. And I am convinced that, in due time, you will create your own legend; a tale sung in taverns that would make your mother proud to call you her son.”

He finally was released from the dragon’s tight grip. Face to snout, they stared into each other’s eyes for another two minutes before Arcturus reached up and wiped away the dragon’s hot, crystalline tears.