To the Point

"Are we there yet, Commander?" groaned Ailsen, the perpetual complainer, as he finally got to a few feet of Velus. "Man, they didn't give us horses or nuthin! And for what you say is such an important mission..."

"Yes, Ailsen. We're taking a break here." Velus said. "We have to be ready for whatever awaits us."

"Oh, thank God." Ailsen said, collapsing in a twitching heap.

"Ey! We're here!" yelled Chang, a buck-toothed farmboy who seemed to have been dropped on his head too many times when he was little. "Is there anything to eat, Cap'n? I lost my food pouch somewheres..."

Velus grit his teeth but managed to restrain himself from yelling. "Here." he handed Chang some of his bread. "Now don't forget to chew this time."

"Right, sir!" Chang grinned, stuffing the bread down his throat. He immediately started choking, and Velus had to slap him on the back until the bread was expelled from Chang's airway.

The coughing farmboy sat down next to Ailsen, just as the last of the three soldiers Velus had been given walked up. Daggart was a slacker and a troublemaker, but he kept his wits about him, and in that sense was perhaps the most reliable.

"So we're here." Daggart said. "Hey, what's with all the cart tracks around the entrance?"

Velus looked where Daggart was pointing and indeed saw countless horsedrawn cart tracks leading to and from the cave. "Rest here for now." he told Daggart. "I'll go check it out."

Velus approached the familiar entrances. His life as a dog in the caves suddenly came rushing back in a flood of unpleasant memories. Velus pushed them aside and began searching the area. Something was glistening in one of the cart tracks. Velus picked it up - it was a shiny gold piece. So, people were already looting the dead Dragon's hoard. That was strange - Velus hadn't told anyone except the Heresy Examiner. It had to be the Witch! Velus grit his teeth. She had to be found. Lord Fred had to be avenged. He groaned, thinking of what would happen when his men saw the hoard. Would they stuff their pockets and then try to desert? Well, he would get through this somehow. He had to.

Really, why did I take my armor along? Fred thought. For protection, ostensibly, but so far it has only proved to be a burden. And now it could...

But before he could come up with something to say, Eritrea lowered her head and said angrily "Fine. All I wanted to do was save my people. Beaten, murdered, oppressed - a Dragon as a protector could've changed everything. But you lizards don't give a damn about any life that's not like your own, do you? Well, fine. You want your damn egg, here, you can have it!!"

"NO!!!" the Dragoness roared as Eritrea leaned back and threw her backpack high into the air. As the Dragoness lunged for the egg, Eritrea took off running in another direction, toward what looked like a small opening in a nearby cave wall. Fred knew he had a choice to make, and he had to make it fast. Right now, both an enraged Dragoness, and an angry amazon who could have taken his bluffing as betrayal could pose a threat to him.

1. Run after Eritrea.
2. Stay with the Dragoness.
3. Run in another direction entirely.

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