Fred's Preferred Title

"You still do not trust me?" said Fred.

Thomas replied, "Oh, it is not so much that. My gut says that you are what you say you are. But the princess is going to be occupied tomorrow."

"With what?"

Simon broke in, "I am not familiar with the customs of your land, Sir. In our land, if a sabrelady, which would be your equivalent of a knight, is about to face her first battle, or the first battle of a war, she purifies herself. Ideally, she will be alone all day tomorrow, without seeing another woman, man, or horse."

Thomas said, "It is not too surprising. In our land, the soldiers are gathered the night before a battle in a solemn ceremony. I might adapt parts of that ceremony once our desired date to fight the dragon is set."

Fred replied, "We all must prepare in our own way. In Allaria, the time when a knight is sent to his first battle is a time of celebration. Exactly one week ago I was enjoying a Battle Banquet. I have, as it were, gotten some of my reward in advance. So if I go back without taking part in slaying the dragon, I would lose face. So with that decided, Thomas, I have a question to ask. When we hacked the trail today, did we risk giving the dragon a clue as to what our intentions are?"

Fred noticed Simon smiling, and Thomas said, "That dragon might notice something from the air, but I am trusting the insight of our painter here to misdirect the dragon."

"I do not understand, Thomas."

The painter opened his eyes wider,and he appeared to Fred be asking Thomas permission to do something, but who was too shy to speak up. Thomas nodded his head slightly, and said, "Simon, if you would be so kind as to explain to the future Lord of Suffex what you have been doing. He may have a professional interest."

Simon then gazed at Fred, and explained, "My Lord ..."

"Just call me an unadorned Fred, for I have proven nothing in battle. I hope that in a few days you can add 'the Dragonslayer.'"

Thomas broke into a wide grin, and Simon continued, "Well, uh, Fred, there is a certain useful art that I have a talent for, related to my talents in painting. Thomas and I have planned so that we cut in such a way where the trail will not be obvious from the air, and where there are some alternate paths." Simon then went into some detail as to how his ground camouflage would work to confuse the dragon as to the exact location of the trail.

Fred nodded, and finally said, "I had not noticed what you were doing - I thought that you were just helping blazing the trail, Simon. You have done a good deal of planning. There is still a chance that the dragon will notice the changes in the forests, but it appears that you have cut the risks as much as possible." As he finished this statement, Thomas climbed up part of a rock wall by climbing up some flat slabs that jutted out of it face, and behind a scraggly tree that hid the mouth of another small cave system. Fred and Simon followed.

Thomas lit a dim lamp. This cavern system rose to a large chamber that could hold a dozen men comfortably. He said, "Anselm and the rest should be along later. The moon is waxing, and they should have enough light to make it back here. I would recommend getting as much sleep as you can. There is a lot to do over the next few days."

But nobody felt like sleeping.

1. Fred asked, "Simon, are you the one that is going to draw the dragon's attention when we are ready?"
2. After a time, Anselm's company came back. Anselm reported, "It is done."
3. Anselm hailed Thomas from outside the caves with news. "The dragon has been seen!"

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