Her days of not taking Fred seriously are coming to a ... middle

"WHAT-?"

"She's somewhere in my caves, 'Fred'," the other dragon responds, her Allarian sounding much more natural since Astra's surprise intervention. "So now you have a choice - try to slay the horrific dragon, or rush off to save the princess? Or maybe to capture the princess for your own nefarious purposes - no doubt your people would only see the monster you've become, after all."

Fred is furious, and can feel a crackling rage build up inside him at the other dragon's taunting. When he can't hold the pressure back any longer, he unleashes an involuntary tempest on his rival - but with the wave of a claw she puts up a magical shield that deflects Fred's unfocused attack without apparent effort.

"I'll even give you a head start while I take Skyrath home," the red dragon continues when Fred's tantrum dies down, her tone almost gloating. She makes a tight U-turn in the tunnel, doubling back with more ease than one would expect from a creature so large. "And no, she won't be anywhere close to where I'm going. That spell usually goes somewhere deeper in the caves, good for keeping all the dungeon pests in places where they'll be useful. Have fun being an underground sky dragon."

Fred stands on all fours with his mouth agape, temporarily paralyzed by a flood of emotions. Hot embarrassment that the other dragon didn't even seem to take him seriously. Futility for having profoundly failed each of his companions. Shame at failing his quest in every meaningful way while still living to wallow in it. What's left for a knight-turned-dragon to do now?

The goblins' fire eventually burns down, leaving only hot embers. Fred gradually becomes aware of a small sound coming from one of the dark recesses of the cavern. A few minutes pass before the sound finally impresses itself on Fred's consciousness enough that he moves towards it to take a look at what else is here.

There, hiding beneath a natural ridge about half a foot above the floor, is a tiny dog quivering in a puddle, eyes closed and paws over its ears. Velus! Maybe the dog will be able to help track down Astra again? Belboz's magic would surely be even more useful, but Fred is still completely empty-clawed when it comes to ways of healing the necromancer...

1. Unfortunately, Fred's attempt at diplomacy scares away the little dog. Again.
2. Fred wins Velus over, and together they seek Astra
3. Fred wins Velus over, and toegether they seek a remedy for Belboz
4. Fred wins Velus over, and together they quietly follow the other dragon
5. A small dog is too much of a liability, and Fred strikes out on his own
6. Fred abandons his current quest to focus on becoming the stronger dragon

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