Rowena's Story

"Rowena, are you certain you're ready for that?" said Fred.

"Yes, I know perfectly well how to hunt and use the sword. You helped teach me, remember?"

"Yes, but there's little in the world more vicious than an angry boar. I was damn near killed by a boar at your age. It took years for the scars it gave me to heal. My right hand still--" He held up his hand but then gasped as he saw it. "By Crom! It's gone! All my scars are gone! I'm as smooth as a baby's bottom!"

"That healing water, at least, seems to be doing what Arkon-Vaal said it would," said Astra. "The scars those chains gave me are already fully healed."

"Well, I didn't have to worry about boars that time," said Rowena. "In fact there didn't seem to be a single other person or animal in the whole forest. I couldn't even hear a bird sing. When we set out, it was incredibly cold. It's been colder than usual this year, in fact. But after a few hours it was getting so hot you could swear it was in the middle of summer. Our horses collapsed and we had to stop moving. Then there was this sort of shimmering in the air, like a mirage. Only some kind of tentacle came out of the mirage and yanked me into it. Then I fell on the floor right here in this room and my clothes were gone, just like that. A lot of the other people here came here the same way, or else they were carried off by a hot wind. A few of the newer ones were actually snatched up by the Dragon in person. So how did you get here?"

Astra then told Rowena about her and Fred's experiences, what they'd learned about the dragons, and what little she knew about Glenda. Glenda, naturally, didn't add anything. "I'll bet the ones that were snatched up in person were brought here by Minestus," she said. "Arkon-Vaal seems to have some actual subtlety. Which makes me wonder. Maybe his letting me go and saving me from his son was some kind of charade. Maybe he's putting on an act to get us to trust him."

"It's not really working, is it?" said Glenda.

"Well, I don't think he needs us to trust him, because it's not like we can go anywhere," said Rowena. "Some people have been here for over a month and we've all been wracking our brains for a way to get out of here. No one can come up with anything, not even the mage."

Fred then realized his stomach was rumbling and remembered he hadn't eaten anything since he came to the caves, and all his provisions were gone. "Is there any food here?"

"The Dragon, or one of them I guess, magics up some food here three times a day, as regular as clockwork. The next meal should be coming up in about an hour. At least the Dragon seems to want to keep us healthy, though I don't want to think about why. He gave us large rooms where we can run around and exercise and play games. He even has a library of books for the ones who can read. And yet... Like I said, there's no way out, except that door only he can open. And he's watching us. The mage I mentioned, Carradene, he told us that the eyes on those mosaics are scrying-stones, and they're everywhere."

Astra stood up and walked out of the tub. "I've spent quite enough time in this thing," she said. "Rowena, you can have my tub. I think it's time I met some of these other people." She slowly rose out of the water, finding herself a little reluctant to leave, to her irritation. Fred and Glenda followed her. "Is there a way to open the door?" Fred asked.

"Yes," said Rowena. "This one we can open at will." She touched the glyph in the center and it lit up and faded away, just as it had before. Then Rowena sank into the bath.

"Well, let's see what we're up against," said Fred. "Perhaps with a few more heads we can think of a way out." They walked through the door and saw an enormous open room that was easily as large as a temple. There were more of those mosaics along its walls and a few other doors as well. There were chairs and couches throughout the room and a good number of beds on the other side, looking to be about fifty in all. For all the needs the dragons seemed to be concerned with filling, privacy was clearly not one of them. The room was full of people of all different ages, both male and female.

1. None of the three recognizes anyone.
2. Fred sees someone else he recognizes.
3. Astra sees someone she recognizes.

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