As I bring up the possibility of a gateway to allow me to visit my parents any time I want, I’m met with resistance as the Shae talks about balance this, and balance that, and how such a gateway would ruin it. I’m not sure why that matters, but she does seem serious about it, and it has been mentioned as being important in the past.

It does point out how Lauren might have been right about this guy, since Shae-Shae’s focus seems to be on won’t rather than can’t.

Ooh, the possibility of visiting them has me quite excited, and I want to introduce Raya and Lauren! We just have to come to some sort of agreement since I can’t stay there. There’s no way I could abandon Tuiran at this point. It’s mine and I won’t let anyone else have it, especially those stupid adventurers who would surely show up and take it if I disappeared.

“Kira, think of something else, you’re getting angry.”

Am not, Lauren. Maybe my thoughts strayed a little toward blood lust, but that’s reasonable at the prospect of people trying to take my home. Well, that and the notion of visiting my parents and going ‘Hi! I’m not really dead, anyway, bye forever!’ Geez, would that be cruel? Should I just leave them to their grief?

I don’t know… I’m starting to be a lot less sure of what to do, and I’m gonna need to seek some input from my friends. Wiggling in Raya’s embrace, I bring up the topic of what to do, but as I do, her mood turns gloomy again.

“I know I should think about what you want, Kira, but I just don’t want you to leave… What if you can’t come back? You gave me everything I ever wanted, so please stay so I can repay you.”

I don’t want to dismiss her feelings, but she’s being a goofball. There isn’t anything to repay. But I don’t want to leave her. I’m sure I would be a terrible friend if I did.

Oh! I could bring my parents here! That’s a great idea! Bringing it up earns me a sigh from Lauren as she clears her throat.

"Kira, I mean this with as much respect and as little offense as possible, but if your parents are anything like you, they're gonna die."

Okay, so I know she said as little offense as possible, but it turns out that's still quite a lot of offense...

Glancing at Raya for assistance, she looks away, leaving me to fend for myself. Dang it, Raya! Why are you abandoning me in my hour of need here?! Geez. Well, since I don't think I've done that bad in terms of survival since I died, I'm gonna ask her to elaborate.

"I'm sorry, Kira. I didn't mean to be hurtful, it's just that a lot of your problems are solved by being a Dragon. Humans are not as likely to be adopted by a town of goblins, or survive multiple wolf attacks. Or survive the corruption. I know a lot of the problems you've experienced stem from being a Dragon, and I don't want to diminish that, but being something else doesn't cause fewer problems, it just causes different problems."

As Lauren explains herself, the Shae clears her throat and looks at Lauren with pointed eyes. There's some obvious animosity radiating from the scalefolk lady.

"If you would like to discuss the hardships brought on by birth and circumstance, perhaps my people should join the conversation, human."

As the Shae interjects, Lauren's face becomes flush with both anger and embarrassment, indicating that there's something worth exploring there. There's obvious history there, but I'm not sure I want to explore- Ah, crap... I hope it isn't the slavery thing... That's another thing added to our plate, abducting any scalefolk we see who might not have autonomy. Right now, we need to focus on the matter at hand: my apparent terrible sense of self-preservation.

"You sought out venomous beasts when I was dying, Kira. That was too risky! If they had bit you, you could have died! And taking on the guild in Plainshold was reckless. You keep doing these things, and if your parents have the same tendencies, then how could they possibly survive? You need basic things explained, you don't know about the local beasts, and you have barely any knowledge of magic! What you're thinking is reckless and ill-considered."

Geez, tell me how you really feel. The most frustrating part is that I feel like she has a point...

If I bring my parents here, I would be uprooting their entire lives and forcing them into a world that they aren't prepared for. I'm not sure I could do that. On top of that, I can't know whether they'll have magic or not, which would make this whole thing lean toward putting them through the dragonforging process, and I don't know whether they would be up for that.

I could try to protect them, but if something happened, it would definitely feel like it was entirely my fault for bringing them here in the first place.

Nudging Raya, I ask her to chip in with an opinion on the matter, but she seems very reluctant to do so, so I'm not gonna push it. She's uncomfortable and this isn't helping.

So essentially, a permanent gateway is out of the question, and so is bringing my parents here. And I don't want to leave my people behind, so a one-way trip is out of the question as well... Is a quick trip even an option? And if so, how can I guarantee Tuiran's protection while I'm gone? Who knows if time even moves the same? As far as I know, I could have been gone for a few days or years.

This is very quickly turning into a question of who I should abandon... I'm starting to realize what the Shae was talking about with the circumstance versus decision stuff. This was definitely a lot easier when it wasn't my decision to abandon someone.

"I'm sorry for being harsh, but-"

"Lauren, you're ruining the apology by saying 'but.' I know you mean well, but it was hurtful, and I feel like you're downplaying what I've experienced. You've seen the mural in my cave, and that thing isn't wrong. The first thing I experienced when I was introduced to a group of people was an attack trying to enslave me, and the second group I got introduced to, humans, attacked me outright. I know this world is hostile."

"You know of a mind mage, Great Kira? Does it remain alive, or did you dispose of it?"

The Shae seems interested in hearing about Charo, but I'm reluctant to tell her for some reason. It's like she's too interested. And that's not the topic right now, so we'll just leave that for some other time. At the very least, I get the impression that the Shae doesn't like mind mages, which is a sentiment I can agree with. I'm gonna settle for letting her know that the mage is dead and that seems to be sufficient.

Extra pressure builds up around me as Raya's hug begins trying to become crushing.

"Why does this have to be decided now?"

Dang it, that's a good question. I don't think it was mentioned at any point that I had to decide now. Though I think it would be detrimental not to come to a decision soon, since I don't want Raya thinking I might disappear at any time. I wouldn't want to be in that position, so I don't want to put her in it.

The more I think about this, the less choice I actually have...

To break it down, if I bring my parents here, I would have to protect and shelter them, I would be taking them away from a life of leisure and into this mess of mages and destruction. If they did end up hurt, I would definitely end up blaming myself, since it would be my doing.

'Hi mom, hi dad, I'm your daughter and I'm a dragon now, anyway, I'm gonna turn you into hybrids because I selfishly don't want to admit that we're not part of each other's lives now.'

Yeah... That's not great...

And leaving would mean abandoning everyone here. Starting with Raya, we would lose each other, and I don't think I could bear that. And if she ended up losing the dragonforging when she stops having access to my magic, she would be devastated twice. I can't do that to her.

And Lauren needs my help with this affront business, I feel like she's a bit of a bitch right now, but that's just now, it will be different tomorrow, and I would regret making a decision in anger. If she lost that cultist burning flame magic, she wouldn't have any magic left.

As I talk about what to do, Lauren decides to chip in again, and as I turn my gaze toward her, she flinches. There's a possibility that I'm a little upset at this whole thing...

"Kira, you have to make the decision you feel is best for you. You had a life in your old world, and you haven't been here that long."

"Shut up, Lauren! I don't want her to leave me! Stop encouraging her just because you dumb blessed people don't like people who aren't!"

Dang it... Wrapping myself around Raya as well as I can, I hug her close and reassure her that I won't be leaving her. I'm not about to abandon my greatest treasure, after all. I'm far too greedy for that.

Though that does mean we're leaning toward abandoning my parents...

What the hell is even the point of all this? We haven't been this divided before, even back when Raya very much disliked Lauren. Honestly, fuck this favor nonsense. I forget why we came here in the first place, but division wasn't it.

Nudging Raya, we untangle from each other and I start walking toward the balcony again. As I do, Raya and Lauren both begin following me and we head outside as a group. This is my makeshift family and I'm not gonna let some dusty old bone monster get between us.

As we step outside, my size returns to normal, and as I reach my natural mass, I indicate for Lauren and Raya to hop on as I lower my head for them. Raya climbs on without any hesitation, but Lauren appears less sure.

"Are we okay, Kira? I haven't seen you look at me like that since..."

"Shush, Lauren. We can have disagreements, and I'm not about to abandon you. Neither is Raya."

"I might stab her again, she was being mean."

"Raya might stab you, but she won't abandon you."

"I can accept that. Thank you."

Who needs a headache like this anyway? We're better off not thinking about other worlds, we have enough problems in this one. And now we know that Skelly is out there working toward the downfall of the undead jerk.

It doesn't do us any good as far as where we're going from here, but at least we aren't alone.

Rather than linger, I climb over the edge of the balcony and spread my wings as we take off, leaving stupid non-choices behind.

Flying through the wall of bone again, we follow the road south, heading home to the comfort and reliability of Tuiran and the support of my people. I definitely made the right choice in not abandoning them.

I still need to find out what a crimson lord is, so I might have to take out my frustrations on Joras.

Something doesn't feel right... As our trip takes us further south, an odd shadow blots out the light and then fades away, letting the light shine through again. The clouds today haven't behaved like this, and they aren't as thorough in blocking light. In fact, the cloud cover isn't that thick today.

Which means...

"Kira."

"I know, something is above us."

I can't see what it is, but I'm getting a feeling of discomfort, and my aggression is building, indicating that it is a threat.

"That's not what I was going to say, but yes, something is above us. You should remove the enchanted cloth."

Right, I forgot about that thing. Keeping our flight steady, I look down at my arm and see the scarf wrapped around my bicep. I don't feel like being cautious with it, so I'm just gonna burn it. Unleashing my flames onto my arm, the cloth succumbs to the onslaught of dragonflame as my senses return to their normal state.

The world around us becomes vibrant again, colors appear brighter, and I can see the grass and trees beneath us as clear as if they were right in front of me.

"Wasn't that a bit much, Kira? You could have held onto it in case you needed it again."

"I don't want to go back there, so screw the abomination and screw the Shae. They didn't have to put us in that position, but they did and I'm not sure we're better off for it."

Refocusing my attention toward the thing above us, it becomes clear that the shape is very familiar. It's a freakin' dragon! So from a reasonable standpoint, I feel like we should get out of here and not tangle with a random dragon, but my frustration and desire to hunt tell me to fight it.

Flying lower, Raya and Lauren keep an eye out for any swoops, since we don't want to be surprised, but the dragon keeps following us as we continue on our journey, and I don't like it.

I'm not about to lead it back to Tuiran, so we're changing course to the southeast. It's getting closer and I can see clear azure scales covering it with teal belly scales. So it's not Deannon'Tathir, which means I have no idea what its disposition might be.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

We aren't flying as fast as we can, but it appears to match our pace as it glides lower to approach. It doesn't appear hostile until it unleashes a roar, putting me on edge. I don't like where this is going. To the east of us, I spot some mountains, and if there's a cave there, I might be able to fight it on the ground if it attacks us.

Both Raya and Lauren smell afraid, which makes sense, dragons are dangerous.

Speeding up takes us to the mountains quicker, and it keeps steadily shortening the distance between us. I'm not well-versed in dragon social skills, so I don't know whether it's appearing hostile or not.

As far as I can tell, it isn't much bigger than I am, which is good. That isn't the only metric to go by, though.

As we approach the mountains, we search for any decent caves, and it doesn't take long for Raya to point one out. The cave she points out appears to be big enough for me to fit, but not much more than that, which poses a problem. If I get stuck in there, I'll be at this creep's whim.

The terrain here is all jagged rocks and crevices. It's quite hostile, all things considered. If I fought something in the air, I would just need to break its wings and let it fall. Granted, that would probably be the case anywhere, given sufficient height, but the jagged rocks aren't making it any better.

The cave does appear large enough to fit me, but... should we find a cave to hide Lauren and Raya in? They might be safe if we did, but then if I were the hunter, I would just fill the cave with flames and call it a day.

Looking behind us, the dragon appears to still keep some distance. To make it go away, I release a roar, but it isn't interpreted as I wanted. The jerk glides closer, shortening the distance even further.

Getting a good look at it, its neck is about half mine in length and it doesn't have a blade-tail like mine, but instead it has vicious spikes. At the top of its head, it has four horns, but they're curled for ramming instead of straight like mine. Mine are far superior. Aside from that, it appears to have a very similar appearance.

I am getting kinda curious how many phenotypes of dragons there are.

We land by the cave, and Raya and Lauren are quick to get inside, hiding by the entrance as I guard it. The dragon takes this as an invitation to land and start strutting around for some reason.

"Ulau nui bolfer er. [Let me breed you.]"

From the smell of it, I'm getting the impression that he's male, and he seems far too interested in me.

"E muto buzari er enui avaris. [I will offer you my hoard.]"

Since I can't understand him, I'm just gonna make it clear that I don't like him and want him to go away. Growling and snarling at him only elicits a laugh as he starts circling me. As I try to keep my distance, we end up in a stupid dance of him trying to get closer and me trying to get away.

To make it even clearer that I do not want anything to do with him, I lash out with my tail as well, creating a safe zone for me and a rather dangerous area for him. He seems to just find it all amusing, which kinda pisses me off.

With a chuckle, he whips around and sticks his head into the cave, and my mistake is obvious.

"Kira! Help!"

He caught Lauren with his tongue and moments later, swallows her. She belongs to me! I don't have time to wait, so charging him, I bite down on his throat, empowering as much of me as I can with magic. I'm not holding anything back as my teeth sink into the flesh of his neck and his scales crack under the assault.

His surprise at the development seems genuine as I thrash, pulling a chunk of flesh out of his neck and swallowing. I don't know where Lauren is, so as he struggles and begins striking back with his claws, I bury my claws in his chest as I take another bite of his neck.

"Lauren! Where are you?! Please be alive."

I continue my assault as my anxiety and aggression build. His claws dig deep into my chest, but they're stopped by my rib cage as magic flows freely.

The blood clogging his throat bubbles as he tries to speak, but it's too late for that. Continuing my work to find Lauren, I rip more chunks of flesh from his body, opening up his throat and continuing downward until I hit the collarbone.

His strength is waning as his blood coats the area. His arms fall to the side as he struggles to muster the remaining strength he has, leaving me to move to his belly. If she isn't in his neck, then I'll just have to rip her from his stomach.

The bony remains of his neck lay splayed across the rocky terrain as I begin ripping into his belly, tearing flesh away and revealing delicious organs. His stomach should be under his rib cage, which gives me a target.

Tearing into the bastard, I opt for ripping out parts instead of focusing on eating. I don't have time to be leisurely about this kill, as Lauren will be in serious danger in there.

With a pull on the intestines, I find the stomach and manage to drag it out. From what I can tell, I've done enough damage to his neck to detach it, and to pull it out, all I had to do was stop biting so hard. Opening the gastric sac reveals bones and partially digested chyme, but no humans. Alongside the stomach came his crop, which, as the scent reveals, is bulging with wealth.

He doesn't have any intestines left for Lauren to hide in, meaning I don't know where she went...

"Kira! Stop! It's dead."

Raya is shouting at me and she's right, he's very dead. I still haven't found Lauren, though.

"Kira, look at me. Look at my hand."

I do as she tells me, and she forms a ball of fire twice her size before throwing it into the distance, where the impact sounds as if a bomb had gone off.

"You're using too much magic, it hurts. Stop, focus, and think about what to do."

But... Lauren...

With my mind taken off the imminent danger of another dragon, I let my magic calm down as it withdraws back into my internal lake, the storm raging within becoming a gentle rain once more.

"Kira! Please! Kira!"

"Lauren! Where are you? I couldn't find you in the dragon!"

"I don't know. It's wet and it's dark."

She wasn't in his stomach, so she must be in his crop. Tearing it open, coins and jewels spill out and I can't help myself, I have to have a taste. As I chow down on the hoard of the dead dragon, it becomes obvious that Lauren isn't here either.

There's a sense of exasperation coming from Lauren as she decides to draw on my magic again to talk.

"Kira, are you perhaps eating coins again?"

Oh no...

"No."

"You fucking liar. Get me out of here!"

That's a fair demand. And flexing the muscles bound to my crop, the familiar sensation of the contents emerging into my throat becomes clear. It doesn't take long before a slime-covered cluster of coins and Lauren spill out onto the ground.

"By the fucking hells... What happened here?"

"Kira got upset at the Dragon."

"Yeah, I can tell..."

Leaving that aside, I throw a question Lauren's way to solve the mystery of how she ended up inside me instead of the other dragon. She starts talking about how she couldn't stand by without doing anything. Coming to check on me and maybe throwing some spells around, but before she could, the dragon had snagged her and sent her to her doom.

Before she could descend the throat, something clamped around her, keeping her still before the world shook and she found herself somewhere else. It all sounds like hearsay, and nobody would believe her. She is essentially saying I ate her with that first bite...

"Kira, can we call this even? Clean slate from earlier and neither of us is guilty of anything. So we can pretend I wasn't a bitch to you and you didn't literally eat me."

That sounds fair to me. It feels a little like brushing the issues under the carpet, but we'll deal with it if it occurs again. We're mature like that sometimes.

Looking around, we do have to deal with the remaining dragon though... We might have to resort to... delicious problem solving... Yeah, I've already begun. Snatching up the liver, the fantastic flavor hits my tongue, but it doesn't compare to the first chew. Geez, I might have to add dragons to the menu, this guy tastes so good.

"Kira, Dragons have to be infected by the corruption through wounds like the ones you suffered. A Dragon's body is too magically dense for the corruption to penetrate on its own. We can just leave it here for some lucky mountaineer to stumble upon."

Lauren starts talking nonsense as I snatch up a few other organs, and the explosion of flavor helps to ignore the hardships of the day.

Looking over at Raya, she seems unsure of how to handle this situation, but curiously, she's also drooling a little... Pushing my gluttony to the side, I turn to her and nudge her as I ask what she's thinking about. She jumps at my presence, appearing quite discombobulated.

"I wasn't thinking of anything!"

That's an obvious lie, prodding her some more, she starts talking.

"I wanted to have a taste. It smells so good, but eating a Dragon is like... I don't know, it doesn't feel like something a goblin should do. It's a Dragon like you, Kira."

Pfft, is that all? I'm just gonna go ahead and give her my consent to eat my species. If we didn't want to get eaten, we shouldn't be so delicious.

As we look back at the carcass, we see Lauren working on carving scales off the body.

"What? These are valuable, and they might have different properties than your scales."

That's a fair point, but she is showing her adventuring nature. I can't really talk, since I am showing my gluttonous nature. Leaving that aside, Raya takes a bite out of a kidney almost the same size as her as she beams with joy. I didn't know she ate raw meat, but it's good to share, so she can have it. She might not be able to finish it, so it's possible that I'll get the leftovers.

And more importantly, that's a considerable amount of delicious treats for my hoard. Darkness approaches as Lauren skins the intact parts of the dragon and Raya chomps on some more kidney while I'm feeding my greed.

Looking up from her veritable mountain of meat, Raya poses a good question.

"Kira, shouldn't you heal those wounds?"

I should, yeah. Looking down to inspect the damage done, it appears the bastard's claws dug into my ribs and from the looks of it... Geez, it just occurred to me that I might have been saved by my anti-magic venom. What if he could empower himself too, but my venom disrupted it and that's why I survived... I didn't have much of a choice, but I should definitely prioritize biting when fighting magical things in the future.

I don't feel like being smacked by a spike of pain, so for now, I'll focus my magic on a slow flow to gradually heal my wounds.

"Lauren, collect some samples of everything, and we should bring some materials back to Joras."

Raya sure is industrious. It hadn't even occurred to me that Joras might want some stuff. It might be especially tempting for him since he can get access to internal parts of a dragon, which I'm quite reluctant to supply.

Raya starts bossing Lauren around as they collect samples of all sorts of organs, and it doesn't take long for the little goblin to start ordering me to separate the dragon's skull from his spine. It turns out I'm not the only one who wants to bring back large chunks of creatures.

Approaching the head, thoughts of how I might deal with this clutter my mind. This is the first time I've dealt with dragon bone that isn't mine, and I'm not sure how to go about it.

Empowering my claws again and pushing them into the crevice between his vertebrae, I start carving at the connective tissue holding them together, but it turns out to be surprisingly sturdy.

It takes some work to get anywhere, and as I get further along, the difficulties increase as the vertebrae pinch my claw. I'm gonna have to do something about that.

Biting down on his snout, I twist his head, creating a bend in his spine, which allows my claw to dig deeper, and with the help of that, I manage to cut my way through it.

With the head severed, the spine falls to the ground with a thud. Lucky guy gets to create thuds instead of squishes. As soon as we leave this mountain, I'm gonna return to the world of muddy squish. As my mind ponders the unfair reality, Raya approaches, and judging by her facial expression, she isn't in the mood for fun.

"Kira, can we talk?"

"Sure, just leave me to collect the rest of these reagents. I'm only a Champion of Merciferus, I haven't got anything better to do."

As Raya shoots Lauren a glare, the healer apologizes and gets to work on the gory task. With a nudge, I let Raya know that all my focus is on her.

"Are you sure about the decision to not return to your old world? If you're staying because of me, you should consider going back home so you can be happy with your family."

"We are going back home, Raya. We'll be in Tuiran later today, and then we can hand off this skull to our dad and have mom cook us something delicious."

"I'm serious, Kira... I don't want to be the reason you miss the chance to be happy."

Yeah, I'm serious too, though. I want to go back home, but not to stay. I just want a chance to tell my parents that I've found somewhere I belong and they don't have to worry about me. I was content in my old world, but I'm finding happiness here, and Raya is a big part of that. I tell her as much, but that just leads to her being flustered and unsure of what to do.

I know what she should do, though. Lowering my head and telling her to get on with her settled on my head, her instincts take over as I feel a familiar bonk.

"Dummy."

"No, you're the dummy. Of course I wouldn't abandon you. Just like I know you wouldn't abandon me."

"I wish you were small again so I could hug you properly."

I understand the sentiment and I appreciate it, but I do not want to be small anymore. I don't want to be bigger than I am, but small is worse. That dragon would've been able to eat me if I had been tiny, and that would be terrible. Luckily for us, only Lauren and him got eaten.

Considering all Lauren has been through today, it isn't her day for sure, and we might have to think of something to cheer her up. To begin with...

"Lauren, get over here and join in the comforting. You deserve some comfort, too."

"You realize you're covered in the bloody remains of another Dragon, do you not?"

"And you're covered in regurgitated goop, so we're even again."

Thinking for a moment, she groans and approaches. With her arms out wide, she hugs my face as I prepare to nudge her. Now she's covered in goop and gore.

"Oh, you should know that the armor-"

"Kirarmor."

"-Right... It protected me from the pressure inside you as well. There was some discomfort, but it wasn't as dreadful an experience as I had expected."

Okay, so she's a weirdo. Who gets eaten and is just okay with it? That's weird... At least she's fine, so we should probably head home for now.

Oh, Lauren's nonsensical ramblings about being eaten do remind my affinity for distractions to get distracted again.

"Raya, we need to talk about you thinking you have to repay me. None of us needs to repay any of us. We have no debt to each other. Okay? Don't downplay what you're doing for me by focusing on what I've done for you. The same goes for you, Lauren."

The sensation of Raya spreading out on top of my head feels comfortable as she nuzzles her face against my scales. It does get interrupted as one of her horns gets caught under one of my scales, resulting in her needing the assistance of Lauren to get free.

As she does, the two of them return to the gathering of materials and as I look at Raya, it becomes apparent that her horns are longer than they used to be. She's becoming even more dragonforged. I wonder how far along Lauren is, but she always wears covering clothes, so I can't tell. Speaking of Lauren, she turns to face me with a furrowed brow.

"I've been meaning to ask, Kira. How come you didn't ask for a temporary trip back to your old world? The Abomination should have been able to do that and pull you back here."

It's a good question, but I fear the temptation to stay might have been too strong if I did that. I think it's for the best to just leave other worlds to themselves for now. It's possible that we can explore the possibility in the future when we don't have all sorts of undead jerks and whatnot to worry about.

"It didn't occur to me, Lauren. I was too caught up in everything else."

"Liar."

Yeah.

She leaves it at that as she approaches the remaining carcass of the dragon.

"Kira, could we split it up into more parts? The Corruption shouldn't be able to affect it like this, but I've thought about it and now I'm worried. It shouldn't be able to be affected by that cruel force now, but I would rather be sure."

Getting to work, we separate the rest of him into parts, giving me the opportunity to eat some more of him. Turning an eye toward Raya, she appears to still be somewhat gloomy. That's to be expected, things like what has happened today won't be fixed with a few words. The possibility of my departure is theoretically still there, even if I'm not inclined to take it.

It's also possible that I have lost the possibility by leaving without paying any respects to our host. I'm not sure what we're gonna do from here, though. At least we know Skelly is out there, working towards ending this threat. I'm not alone, though, so I ask Raya and Lauren what they think we should do.

Raya takes charge again as she talks about what she thinks the future may hold.

"I don't think relying on help from the big monsters is the way to go. Kanen has been teaching some of the kids around town to use magic, so they'll help defend the town. I think we should try to get help from more adventurers. Neithro and Banyai both think it's possible to have peace between us."

I hope they're right. While it would shorten my lunch menu, it would also be great to not have to worry about assaults and assassination attempts. Geez, it feels like all we got out of this trip is a headache and dinner. And Lauren didn't even have any of the dragon. She's missing out. Oh! We got his hoard too! That changes everything!

We all deserve a rest after this ordeal, though. And from now on, I'm gonna be extra careful not to leave Raya and Lauren vulnerable if we meet anything that might pose a threat like that again. I got a little caught up in my blood lust at the prospect of losing a friend, and I may have overreacted somewhat. But who knows, I still have no idea what the dragon was saying.

As my mind wanders, Raya and Lauren begin loading chunks of meat onto me, and it turns out we're bringing back a decent bit of him. Well, a decent bit of what's left. It doesn't take them long before they finish their laborious task and settle in, allowing me to rear up and hook my claws into his curved horns as we set off.

Maybe he could have been a friend if he had just introduced himself instead of trying to eat my friend.

"Lauren, do you think it was a mistake to just leave the Shae and Faran like that? I'm not sure it was smart of us."

"I intend to pray to Merciferus for guidance tonight. She might have a better idea."