"Puff"

The Never Ending Quest - Episode 20449

"Since you are such a faithful servant," the dragon told Belboz, "...I will spare your life and let you work for me for another 100 years."

"But... But that's not fair!" Belboz burst out. "You promised to let me go when I had guarded your lair for one hundred years! Have I not fulfilled my duties?"

"That is exactly what you have done," the dragon said. "I cannot just let such a fine guard walk away and leave my home unguarded."

"But-" Belboz began.

"Silent! I will have nothing of that now. I am tired. The old fire burning in me is dwindling. Ten thousand years of tormenting the people, burning their fields, taking their children and being an all around mean dragon is too much, even for me."
The old dragon sighed, and for a split second Belboz saw another Dragon than the one that had been such a gruesome plague upon the land all this time: he saw an old, worn-out beast, tired and alone, doomed to a life of hunting and being hunted, deep under the dark roots of the world.

"It must be nice to be a man, Belboz. It must be nice not being hated by all the world.
You know, I was destroying a small village a couple of years ago. Out from one of the houses I burned, a small girl came running. She took one look at me, hovering over her, smok pouring out from my nostrils and my sharp teeth shimmering in the sun... Do you know what she said, Belboz?"

"No, sir," Belboz answered, not sure what would happen.

"She said: 'bad dragon'. Then she asked me why I was destroying her home.
I did not know what to say, so I burned her to a crisp. But that did not erase her from my mind. Sometimes I wake up screaming, hearing her voice inside my head, over and over: 'bad dragon. Why are you burning my house?' I wish I could answer that question, Belboz. I really wish I could."

With that, the Dragon left, filling the corridor completely and scraping against the sides of the tunnel. Belboz could see several large, green scales falling like rain from the Dragon's body.

Belboz almost felt sorry for the old beast, but he had to worry about himself right now. Was he going to accept his faith and live under the Dragon's spell for another hundred years, or could he find another way to get out?

  1. He continued his guard-duty for another hundred years.
  2. He tried to bring Lord Fred's crispy corpse to life. He was after all a Necromancer, right?
  3. He tried to help the Dragon with his nightmares.

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2/20/2004 2:49:11 PM

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