Everyone gathered around to watch the dragon nestle and squeal into Arsa’s shoulder. It wriggled around, pressing its face hard into every surface it happened past. The elf smiled in wonder as the creature playfully took in the world for the first time.

Acadian had gotten up and stood by the window in the kitchen, arms crossed and lips pursed. Every once in a while, when the dragon would make a particularly jerky movement with its head, his hand would dart to his hip. To his surprise, Morgana seemed completely unbothered.

“Where did you come across such a thing?” she asked, leaning forward on the couch across from Arsa.

Arsa was letting the dragon climb up his arm and around his shoulders, “It was in a stone box, buried beneath a statue of Bumera.”

“Is that so?” she asked, rising to her feet and moving toward the bookshelves. She traced her finger along the titles before pulling free a thin book with a faded felt cover. Thumbing through the pages, she stopped about a quarter way through and brought it to the group.

On the right page was a picture of a hefty-looking stone chest with a peculiar rocky knob at the front of it. She turned the book to face Arsa.

He tilted his head, “It was almost exactly that, but the knob on it was different. Only slightly, though. What is it?”

“A Regeum Box. Not many exist.”

Circe raised her eyebrows and looked innocently at the image in the book, “Each box has a twin. Both share a sub-realm, where any number of items might be stored. Powerful mages used them in the First War to send supplies quickly across the five lands of Namora without wasting their magic. It was a real tide-turner for the mortal armies when the Betrayer gods overtook Veloquor.”

Everyone stared at her in silence, Morgana’s heavy eyelids and tight lips bringing a smile to Circe’s face.

She grinned widely at the drow, “Or something like that.”

Flynn reached out to stroke the dragon’s nose, but it snapped at his fingers and hissed. He reared back and frowned.

Frank leaned his head back, “Does that mean you stole a dragon from a wizard?”

Arsa took the child in his hands and held it up under its arms. Its newborn head flopped around aimlessly, its soft belly poking outward. A high-pitched yawn slipped from its maw as it blinked up at him.

“His name is Zaun,” Arsa said through a smile.

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Frank looked around as if to ask if anyone else shared his concerns. Morgana shook her head.

“Time moves differently in sub-realms like the ones in Regeum Boxes,” she assured. “There’s no telling how long the poor beast could have been left in there.”

Zaun sniffed the air before waddling across the armrest of the couch and leaping onto Frank’s belly. He grunted, the air pushing out from his lungs. The dragon crawled curiously up his abdomen and onto his chest, staring at him while pressing his snout into Frank’s nose.

Frank didn’t move, only shifting his eyes to Arsa and whispering, “Help.”

Suddenly, Zaun’s forked blue tongue slithered from its mouth and licked Frank’s face. Immediately, the beast’s pupils dilated as it began to furiously lap at his jaw. Frank giggled and tried to push Zaun away, but the dragon would not be deterred. Arsa laughed and pulled the dragon away, its stubby arms reaching for its prey.

Morgana smiled at the scene, allowing herself a quiet chuckle. She glanced at the kitchen and made her way next to Acadian.

“Not a friend of dragons, I take it?” she asked.

He took a deep breath, “You can’t imagine the hell those things can bring upon folks.”

Her face fell and she began scrubbing at the cups that were placed in the wash basin. She wiped her hands on a small dish towel and stared blankly at a picture on the wall.

“You don’t know me like that.”

He glanced over his shoulder at her. He dropped his arms and pressed on the bridge of his nose.

“I’m sorry,” he began. “I understand yer people have been through a lot.”

She leaned against the counter beside him, watching the group as they played with Zaun and fed him their rations.

“What’s your take on the missing dragons?” she asked without looking at him.

He glanced at her suspiciously, “What?”

She left the counter and moved to face him, “Surely you’ve heard. Why, I’m a recluse and the whispers even reach my woods. No? Dragons all across Ayeron are going missing. The Cities, the Empires, everywhere. Nests are empty. Hoards are left unattended. And nary a beastly body to be found.”

Acadian’s breath caught in his chest as he thought, “It couldn’t be a migration. And dragon bodies are hard to hide. Even if they were being harvested on a massive scale, the markets would be a sign of that.”

“Then do you suggest they just vanished?” she said calmly.

He shook his head and laid his chin in his fingers. His mind was racing, years of hunting dragons trying rapidly to explain how so many could disappear - if what Morgana was saying was even true to begin with. Acadian certainly hadn’t heard tell of this.

He looked at her with a skeptical look, “Dragons aren’t animals. They’re smart. Really smart. If they wanted to hide from us, they could - easily. But why would they do that? Why would so many of them do that all at the same time?”

Morgana pressed her ear forward, awaiting the reveal of his answer.

“Either they know something’s comin’, or somethin’ has already come.”