The hours of their journey shouldn't take too long if Nolan and his chosen soldiers were warm and open to conversation. They were aware of Bartlett being a Manarithian and acted cold towards him. Bartlett had a feeling that they did not agree with Nolan's assertion that a celebrated Manarithian adventurer should be the one finishing their job, even though Bartlett made it clear that he only wanted the gold, not the recognition. Even Nolan, who was relatively friendly back in the guild, became a serious person whose primary concern was the dragon's death. Bartlett soon noticed that he never even mentioned the princess or even worry for her safety, which could be due to his bitterness over the princess's rebellious nature.

The travel to the forest was not a pleasant experience, either. The war between Manarithia and Wyrith had been going on for almost two years with only an uneasy truce stopping the two kingdoms from causing further damage. Even in Agledal, there were evidence of damage from the war, given Agledal's proximity to the border. If Bartlett cared enough, he would be greatly insulted by the Wyrithians mingling with the locals near the ruins as if mocking the Manarithians' efforts in the war.

But he learned to swallow his pride a long time ago. Not only was it for the best, but it was also to ensure that he got a good deal out of a job. Many people respected him for it. Some mocked him for apparently acting like a bootlicker. Bartlett only cared for his own life, because it was necessary for survival.

Hours later, they finally reached the edge of the forest where the dragon was reported to be. Bartlett started to worry that the dragon could have already moved, and their travel was in vain. But against all odds, it stayed, at least based on the testimony of one of the villagers living near the forest.

"No unusual movement," said Nolan. "And it's not spying on us, either."

"Spying on us?" asked Bartlett.

"It doesn't need to see soldiers," said one of the soldiers. "There was one time where one of ours made a mistake while the dragon was flying overhead. That mistake cost us three months of our search."

"That wasn't really a mistake, though," said Nolan. "The dragon's just perceptive, that's all."

"Oh, really? Wouldn't you be suspicious if I happened to be fumbling around your home, watching you so indiscreetly? I'd declare you a stalker there and then."

"That's...well, you got a point. But the point is, that dragon's flying overhead. She's nowhere near her lair."

"Look, why don't we just get this over with before you jinx it further?" said Bartlett. "We're here for a job, remember?"

"Yes. And you need your money," said Nolan. "Well, we don't have time to waste."

They walked through the thick forest until they found a river and a clearing. There was an open cave visible from where they were, complete with burning torch. If there were any indication at all, it was as if the dragon was inviting them in.

"Oh, she's a cheeky one," commented one of the soldiers. "Even without her flame, she's still goading us."

Nolan hushed him, then silently glanced at Bartlett, who heard his comment.

"She? You mean the princess?"

"Don't think too much about it, Evans," said Nolan, brandishing his sword. "Let's get this over with before the dragon wizened up."

As they approached cave opening, Bartlett asked, "So, what did you do? Accidentally broke her eggs so she took revenge?"

"You're taking the dragon's side now?" asked another soldier.

"I'm just trying to confirm something. I know some dragons can be motivated by greed, but they don't exactly migrate as much as this dragon do. Dragons don't act like this, even if it was for the princess."

"Yet, it happened," said Nolan. "You know dragons like a hoard of gold, don't you? This might be a way for it to ransom the king."

One of the soldiers chuckled. "I'd like to see her try."

While Bartlett was pondering about the best course of action, he did not see Nolan glaring at said soldier for some unspecified reason, with the soldier himself shrugging and downplaying the whole reason, silently pointing out that Bartlett did not notice. Nolan, however, wasn't so sure.

Reaching the lair, Bartlett soon realized that this dragon was not acting like any dragon he ever dealt with. In fact, from the look of it, the dragon was small, which presented another problem. The cave was not a vast room, but instead it was full of branching paths and openings that could easily lead to nowhere or even certain death. It reminded Bartlett of an ant farm.

As Bartlett admired the cave system, Edge the Wyrithian soldiers under his command started to pull out torches and handed it to each of them. Nolan then said, "Remember. We can't afford to get separated in a cave like this. We get lost together or we end up losing someone or everyone, got it? Now, I have a beacon planted on the entrance, linked to these pathfinders. They are powered by the same magic, so all you got to do is push the little red button on the side of this device."

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Nolan handed an oval-shaped locket-like object which looked unremarkable, but once Bartlett pushed the red button and walked away from the planted beacon, he saw a wispy, bright line that led the way back to the beacon. It was also a confirmation that the device was working.

"Good to know that you've used the device before," said Nolan with a smile.

"This is not my first labyrinthine cave system," boasted Bartlett.

One of the soldiers scoffed, apparently unappreciative of Bartlett's achievement.

"Now, the cave did not look like it would stretch on for miles, so I hope this would be a quick job. Come on. We better finish this when we still have light. I'd hate to camp near the dead dragon's body."

Bartlett was a little disconcerted upon hearing the dragon was going to be definitively killed, but he knew better than to make an argument that could lead to them failing the job. He better prepared himself for the death of the dragon, and to probably find some good words to convince the princess that she was not helping herself by siding with the dragon.

With the soldiers prepared, they entered the first of the three openings, hoping this would lead them to the dragon. They felt it wouldn't be too hard to traverse with the pathfinder item spread among them. They, however, forgot one very glaring mistake.

The dragon was clever. Too clever for their own good. It spied on them near one of the cave openings that they did not enter. Once they were gone, the dragon walked out of its hiding spot and spotted the pathfinder beacon, which it promptly crushes with its foreleg. It smirked, knowing that only it knew the cave system, and that it had many surprises hidden within as they traversed through the cave to their doom.

Not long after Bartlett, Nolan, and the rest of the soldiers entered the cave, they heard rumblings that could only be associated with falling rocks. Nolan and the soldiers were quickly separated from Bartlett when chunks of heavy rocks, held by rafters, were dropped between them. Bartlett was slightly further away from the and narrowly missed the rocks. One of the soldiers, however, was less fortunate. The rocks crushed him.

"By Vernius! Edge! Evans!" exclaimed Nolan.

"That dragon is expecting us," said one of the surviving soldiers. "We need to find another way around."

"Don't be a fool! This is what expects us to do! We need to outsmart her!"

"In her own home? Good luck with that."

Nolan groaned as he realized that this would not be a simple task. Evans, their expert, was taken out first, which meant that either the dragon knew what she was doing, or she was just lucky. Whatever the case, they must finish their mission. They couldn't afford to fail, not when the dragon was so close.

At least he could feel glad that Bartlett Evans would never know what their real mission was.

Meanwhile, Bartlett, on the other side, could not hear their call. He called for them, hoping that anyone could hear him, before he gave up. He did not see the tripwire or feel anything, which could only mean one thing.

"That dragon did it," he concluded. "Interesting."

He had heard dragons learning how to act like a human, especially when it came to traps, but he never thought he would be the one trapped by it. To think he would be outsmarted by a dragon.

"Well, at least I had the...huh?"

He pushed the red button on the locket several times, but no red, wispy trail appeared. It soon became clear that the dragon had clearly anticipated them and was trapping them in the cave. It could easily hide in one of the openings and spied on them and made sure that they would never escape once they entered its lair. With no other choice, Bartlett pressed on, hoping that it would not become a one-way trip for him.

Along the way, he started pondering about the dragon's intellect. While there was no doubt that dragons were intelligent, not all of them were elusive enough to set up an elaborate trap. It almost felt like it was expecting them and lay a trap. It almost acted like a human. Bartlett suspected the princess's involvement, and that there was something more than meets the eye. The soldiers seemed more concerned with slaying the dragon than rescuing the princess. Nolan only ever mentioned the princess in the tavern and never even mention anything about her to the soldiers under his command. It was as if the princess was not their priority.

At first, Bartlett thought it was a secret that was not privy to an outsider like him. The king could have disowned his daughter to prevent a scandal. Or there was more to it than what they divulged. It could probably turn out to be an unexpected twist. Now, Bartlett wasn't a stranger to twists. Many of the jobs he took, while straightforward, had something of a twist in how they ended, though it was rare enough that he could count them with his ten fingers. There was an incident where he thought the 'rat problem' posted in a guild's office was referring to the rats as vermin, while instead it was about a cat that had been eating the pet rat of the owner (and yes, Bartlett was aware that not all rats were as big as dogs). There was also another incident where a confusion with the description of the job caused Bartlett to hunt a beast race rather than a proper beast. The beast race in question, the hyena-like gnolls, were completely different from the beast he was trying to hunt, a monster that did not even resemble an animal and were responsible for the disappearances in the area, which were soon attributed to drownings due to the monster drowning them and turning them into ghoulish, bloated monsters like it was.

Bartlett tried to focus instead of remembering the gruesome details of that job. It showed that, in the big and varied world of Latterra , there was bound to be undiscovered facts and twists that could surely turn into a headache.

Soon, he found a source of light, which alerted him. It could be yet another trap for weary knights or soldiers who were already disheartened by the cave's layout and the trap that essentially closed off their only (obvious) means of exiting the cave. Hoping that Nolan and his soldiers found his way out or at least found the dragon, Bartlett steeled himself and walked towards the light source.

He was then surprised by the dragon's hoard, which...wasn't exactly very impressive, to say the least. It was only a small amount of gold compared to the other trinkets around it. This even made Bartlett wondered if the twist in this job happened to be that the dragon was not a dragon, but instead a giant raven. Ravens did have a penchant to take shiny objects and were not necessarily gold. Then again, not everything has to be as weird as it should be.

"Well, I guess even dragons need to satisfy their need to hoard, somehow," said Bartlett, scratching his head. "Now, where is the princess?"

He called the princess. There was no reply. He tried again, this time louder. He immediately got a reply.

But instead of a call from a human, it was a growl. A deep, rumbling growl that could send shivers down a man. It came from behind him, which startled him.

He slowly turned around, a little terrified of what he would face. He soon found himself facing the dragon. It was glaring at him, but nevertheless sat as if it was expecting him.

Bartlett found the dragon, though part of him felt that the dragon found him instead.