Dragonmerde

*Dragons are too stupid to use a sand box*

"Now Hermione, dragons aren't stupid, they are just...different."

*Pfft...* The fluffy orange cat replied.

Wisewoman Nan sighed. Cats are so judgmental.

"Time to tend the animals." Kienan leapt to his feet, wagging furiously, eager to join her. Hermione stuck her tail in the air and padded to her cushion by the hearth. Kienan, a small rough coated sheepdog, ran circles around Nan on her way to the door. Nan nearly tripped over him. "Dog! Stop! You will be the death of me". He skinned his ears back and momentarily subdued, scurried to her side.

Allowing the sheep grazing time had become a problem as dragons have no concept of boundaries or property. One of her old ewes was picked off just last week. Poor Rose was just too slow when the dragons appeared. She missed the old girl. Sheep are good company. There is nothing more relaxing than a sheep or two chewing their cud nearby while she spun their wool, but they do not communicate well. All she could sense from them is *food* or *danger*. Chickens are even less communicative, not one coherent thought in their feathered little heads. Dogs and cats are much easier to understand.

Nan cautiously opened the door to the cottage...no shadows from overhead...Kienan burst from the door barking ferociously then stopped stiff legged and sniffed the air. He bounced and wagged his way back to her.

*No dragons, all clear*

"Thank you love, but I could already see that." Nan replied.

He dashed away to sniff a bush and pee, then alerted to the figure approaching her gate.

"Good morning to you Nan"

"Why good morning to you too Mathew."

The councilman drew up his suspenders and lowered his brows, "Something must be done about these pesky dragons! The townfolk are having a meeting this evening to discuss the matter, I'm hoping you'll join us?"

"Oh, well, yes, I suppose I could, though I'm afraid I have no notion what can be done with the..er..pesky things"

"Good, good, see you then; after dinner at the village hall, listen for the bell." And Councilman Mathew strutted away.

"Oh dear, what can he have in mind and what can it have to do with me? I've no experience with dragons and such like." Nan mused.

*You are the bestest, most smartest, most kindest...mrph* Nan closed her hand around Kienan's muzzle. "That will do dog."

Nan shuffled in through the village hall door, took a seat at the back and pulled out her knitting. The sock was taking on an eccentric shape and she couldn't quite figure where it had gone wrong. Tsk, Hermione had been into her knitting bag again, the wretched cat. She was so involved with untangling yarn that she missed the opening statements, but started when she heard her name called.

"Wisewoman Nan, I say, Wisewoman...Nan!"

"Oh! I beg your pardon Councilman. Yes, Mathew?"

The councilman rolled up onto his toes then rocked back onto his heels. "Wisewoman, it has been said that you communicate with other beings? This is true?"

"Oh! Well, no, I wouldn't say I exactly communicate. What I mean to say is....I catch only little bits and pieces you know and only if the beast is willing."

"Ah! But that is much more than any of us can say or do." Nan did not like where this was leading.

"Yes, but truly, dragons have no interest in communicating. They don't even recognize us as beings!"

"Nevertheless, something must be done, this situation cannot be allowed to continue!" This was Farmer John bellowing.

"Well, but, has anyone asked other boroughs how they have managed their dragon problem?" Nan was sure she did not want to be the one to approach a dragon.

"A delegation from the next valley over suggested offering a virgin to the dragons as a sacrifice." Alderman Nathan interjected.

"Sacrificing virgins! Sacrificing virgins? Of all the outrageous...nonsensical..." Nan spluttered. "and who pray tell, would be boneheaded enough to offer themselves up to a dragon? Why a virgin anyway? How could a dragon possibly know or care? AND how is that even a solution to the problem? Why give dragons a taste of human? Not a wise move in my opinion." Nan fumed; she was feeling just a bit dragonlike herself.

There was silence except for some shuffling of feet and a few sidewise glances.

"Ahem, yes, well, we can table this discussion for the moment. There is also the issue of waste management to be addressed. What are we going to do about the current deposits of..er..dragon dung?"

Hal, the county ragpicker, stood up. "What's it worth to you to have that stuff taken away?" There was immediately a hum and a clattering of voices. "There are no funds for dragon waste removal!" and "How are we going to pay for it!" then "NO more taxes!". The meeting degenerated from there with no further meaningful discussion.

The next morning Nan lingered over her tea. She leaned against the door jamb and watched the pixies and fairies squabble over blossoms in her garden, their high pitched nattering quite distinct from the whine or buzz of an insect. There were unicorns tra la laing through the meadow scattering rainbows of morning dew from their hooves. "Oh no." The dratted beasts must have knocked her pasture fence down again. Sure enough, the lambs were baaing and gamboling after the rainbow maned menaces.

"Kienan, the sheep are out!"

*Sheep? Where are the sheep? Let me get the sheep!*

"Go out"

*Sheep! sheep! sheep! Wait, what?....No, no, no! Pointy heads!*

"Kienan, away."

*But, pointy heads*

"Kienan, away!"

*But...*

The little dog hesitated, took two steps, stopped, looked over his shoulder then dropped his head and scurried to the other side of the sheep. The sheep turned back to Nan, but then so did the unicorns. Kienan yelped and raced the sheep back to Nan's skirts. Suddenly a great shadow passed over head and a dragon whooshed and swooped and snapped up one of the unicorns! There was a great deal of blatting, baaing and yelping. Nan may have yelped and blatted a bit herself. The unicorns were in a great fuss and galloped after the dragon who was well away from them with just two beats of it's gigantic wings.

"Goodness!"

The dragon had been no more than a few meters from her when it made it's pass. Way too close. It had an odd odor, a bit like burnt toast. Nan felt pity for the poor unicorn, they are nuisances, but to be eaten by a dragon! The dragon disappeared over a ridge. There was a loud belch and rainbow sparkles shot into the air then slowly drifted to the ground.

*...and then the dragon turned tail and flapped away, vanquished by the great and terrible Toonie Dog!*

*In your dreams. What really happened? Stupid dog*

*Well, well...you are a stoopid head cat! You would have run away screeching with your tail on fire if you ever saw a dragon!*

"Quiet little ones, no name calling."

*stoopid head*

"Kienan, enough."

Nan sighed. The fence was mended and the flock safely in the shed, but she was now resolved that something had to be done about those dreadful dragons and she was afraid that she would have to be the woman for the job.

Nan approached the village council that afternoon. Although she felt that something needed to be done she was not keen to be doing it on her own. She was not surprised to be met with a decided lack of enthusiasm.

There was hemming and hawing until finally Nan's niece, Lucy, piped up and said she would go. Lucy was restless and anxious to see what was outside the borders of their little village. Everything is an adventure to her way of thinking. This placed the young village men at a disadvantage. It was now necessary that they prove that they had courage and a spirit of adventure too. Lucy being comely lass as well as adventurous may have had something to do with this change of heart. Nan imagining the bother of several randy young lads sighing and vying after Lucy, decided that one volunteer was enough. She chose Liam who had the widest shoulders (good for lifting and carrying) and the least amount to say. One more volunteer was needed to balance out the troupe. None of the older men were foolhardy enough to offer. The one who was...well he had a wife who did not favor him becoming a dragon's dinner. In the end, Hal, the county rag picker, agreed to go in exchange for a tidy pile of silver. He would be an asset, the countryside and byways were well known to him.

It was agreed that the adventurers would gather in the morning to set off on their quest. Farmer John offered to look after Nan's garden, flock and hens whilst she was away, as long as "they didn't dilly dally until harvest time". He could not abide cats however which presented a problem. Hermione is not an adventuresome sort of cat, Nan could foresee difficulties ahead. Kienan would of course be joining them. He would never consent to stay home if Hermione was going. Such a jealous little fellow.

The practicalities of planning a trip were causing Nan concern. Tramping through the hills was outside her inclination or experience. She needed to pack food, water, utensils, clothing, bedding and some sort of protection for inclement weather. Spring showers were bound to pop up, at least the temperature was moderate this time of year. Let's see, oh yes, she would need her ointments, herbs and dressings. Someone was sure to fall ill or injured at the most inconvenient time and place.

The resulting mountain of absolute necessities was alarming. She had neither horse nor wagon and doubted she could fit it all into her wheel barrow. At this point Hal pulled up with his donkey and cart. He did not take kindly to Nan's really most reasonable request that he lighten his load. There was no need at all for all the bits and bobs he had crammed into his modest little wagon. The donkey stood hipshot with his head drooping. Nan tried a gentle query, but sensed only a sullen grumble from the beast.

Lucy then arrived with great verve and gusto and in trousers! Nan really didn't know what to think of the rusty old sword Lucy had slid through her belt either.

"Lucy dear, do you think carrying a weapon is wise?"

Lucy attempted to swish her sword out but caught it on her belt. The sword was quite dull however and her belt continued to hold up her trousers.

"And Lucy? Trousers?"

"Auntie Nan, you would not believe how comfortable trousers are and how easy it is to stride about!"

"Ah yes, well...." Nan reserved judgement.

Liam arrived at this point and though his eyes popped out when he saw Lucy (and her trousers), he made no comment about them or about anything else for that matter.

After reviewing everyone's provisions, Lucy was sent back home to retrieve a few of the basic necessities she had neglected to pack such as a warm coat, extra socks and a blanket, not to mention a few food items. Nan was not prepared to feed the entire lot of them all on her own. Thankfully, Liam came well provided for which was fortunate as there was a lot of him to feed.

Finally, it was agreed that everything that was needed was packed and they set out for the northern hills. Hermione began immediately to whine about having to walk, begging to be carried. Hal grumbled but allowed her onto the wagon. Kienan was beyond excited and covered more than twice the distance by dashing ahead then dashing back again.

Lucy began chattering to Hal, asking him how far they had to go before they could expect to see dragons. Hal was still a bit cross over leaving his bits of rusted wire and broken crockery behind, but no one can stay grumpy around Lucy for long and he soon warmed up to her and began to describe the path they would take.

"It's not the miles you see but the ups and downs of it. The dragons are amongst those hills ahead, but to reach them will take several days. There'll be a fair bit of climbing before we get anywhere close." He said. Nan suddenly bethought herself of a tool or two she should have packed and oh, a bit of rope.

Nan was growing weary after tramping the morning away, even Keinan had settled down to a steady trot by her side. They all stopped for a bite of lunch and sip of water. Nan was happy to rest her feet. Lucy had been limping a bit and now admitted she had a blister on her heel. Nan rummaged through her ointments to tend to Lucy's heel and added padding to her boot. There was suddenly a great rumpus and a squeal and Keinan burst out of the brush along the track with his suddenly very yellow tail between his legs. A flurry of fairies chased after him shooting little puffs of yellow pollen after him. Nan shooed the fairies away then was distracted by the delicious aroma wafting from the kettle. Liam had quietly taken over the cook pot and produced a tasty porridge with an intriguing mix of herbs and grains. Nan was beginning to think there was more to Liam than met the eye. She was curious to get to know him and his cooking skills better. Hal produced a keg of cider to help wash it all down.

The road had been fairly smooth and straight, but it began to twist and turn as it rose into the hills. It had more than a few rocks to be got over or around and Hal's little wagon began to run into difficulties. The donkey, whose name was Moses, plodded along until he met an obstacle then stood still and went to sleep until it was shifted out of his way. He kept his head down and let his lower lip droop. He seemed a sad little donkey.

The sun began to drop toward the hills. Hal decided they had gone far enough for a first day on the road and began searching for an appropriate campsite. The troupe was a little foot sore, not being accustomed to such exercise. They did not linger around the campfire after their evening meal. Hal draped a waxed sheet from the side of the cart to provide a bit of cover. Nan asked only that her bedroll not be placed on the rockiest patch of ground and that her head not be lower than her feet as it always seemed to be no matter how she placed her sleeping mat. Kienan was happy to snuggle up behind her knees. Hermione, refreshed from her long nap in the cart, was quite lively. She sauntered off into the bushes to hunt for a mouse or two. Moses was pegged out to graze. After some shuffling and snuffling the others settled down to sleep. Hal began to snore.

The sun peeping over the eastern horizon woke Nan, though she was sure she hadn't truly slept a wink. She staggered to her feet and groaned as she stretched her back. Kienan bounced to his feet grinning and wagging his tail. Nan stirred up the fire and set the kettle on to brew. Hermione sauntered into the clearing looking smug and replete. She settled on Nan's blanket to wash her paws and face. Kienan gave her a sniff.

*Good hunting?*

*But of course.*

Nan gave the blanket a toss, dislodging Hermione and folded it away into the wagon. Hermione offended, leapt into the wagon and kneaded Nan's blanket into a comfortable wad then settled in for a nap. Kienan having taken care of business, sat at Nan's feet and stared soulfully into her face.

*Hungry*

*Patience little one*

The kettle began to steam and Nan started a pot of porridge. She sorted through her herbs remembering Liam's porridge from the day before and on her mettle to produce something to rival it. A handful of currants and honey to sweeten it was the best she could do. Kienan eagerly cleaned his bowl and was nosing about for seconds when a particularly persistent pixie attempted to abscond with the honey dipper. Kienan snarled and snapped and was swarmed by a pack of pixies. Nan whipped off her kerchief and began flicking them away. Kienan yelped but stood his ground barking furiously as Nan snapped her kerchief. The other travelers were now truly awake and joined in the melee. The honey dipper was recovered, but a portion of honey flew away with the pixies taking advantage of the distraction.

"Wretched little pests!" Nan was incensed. Kienan cavorted in high good humor having vanquished his foes. Hermione opened an eye and sneered.

Breakfast was accomplished with no further interruption, and they broke camp. Moses trudged into position, was hitched to the cart and their tiny cavalcade started up the track. Lucy had dropped to the back to walk with Liam. Nan could hear her chattering away with an occasional grunt from Liam in reply. Before long he added a word or two and even accomplished a complete sentence before they met their first obstacle of the day.

There was a rather large deposit in the middle of the trail, too big to be got around. Hal declared it to be a pile of dragon dung. Nan had not seen an actual dragon stool up close before now and approached to take a closer look. She poked at it with a handy stick. It was really quite...firm. Nan gave it another poke and the tip of her stick broke off. Hal said, "Oh, you'll never break that apart with a stick, you'll need a pick axe. That stuff is hard as rocks."

"Do you have a pick axe with you Hal?"

He turned to his cart and began rummaging and muttering and soon produced a pick axe. Nan took it and gave the pile a whack. Sparks flew.

Nan was intrigued. The material actually sparkled. She gingerly picked up a small chunk, it felt rough to the touch. It was rather odiferous, as would be expected, but it smelled somewhat scorched as well. She shrugged and dropped it in her pocket. Liam stepped up, took the pick axe and quickly broke the pile apart. He heaved the pieces to the side so they could pass. Lucy was also intrigued and picked up several smaller pieces for herself. Hal snorted and advised her not to load herself down with extra weight. Lucy just laughed.

The road, trail really, began to narrow and switch back and forth up the hill. Moses kept plodding but there were more and more interruptions as Liam and Hal lifted and shoved at the cart to shift it around the turns. Hal finally decided the cart could go no further. He began to divide the load amongst the travelers and the donkey. Nan strongly urged Lucy to leave her sword behind. Lucy finally agreed after shouldering her pack and recognizing how much the sword weighed her down. Nan was relieved, she had been imagining all kinds of unintended injuries resulting from a sword in untrained hands.

Hermione wailed. Her soft berth was gone and she did not want to walk. Hermione was not a slender cat and Nan knew the wretched creature would begin to weigh heavy in no time at all. Hermione clawed her way up to the top of Moses' load and refused to come down. Kienan shouted at her, hurling insults, but she turned her back and refused to acknowledge him. Moses stood hipshot waiting for the command to move. He didn't seem bothered by the cat so Nan allowed her to remain where she was. Liam shouldered the pick axe as they were certain to need it along the way. Nan admired the flex of his muscles as he lifted the axe and noticed Lucy surreptitiously stealing a glance as well. Nan chuckled to herself, no harm in a look. They set off again.

All this walking and the mountains were no closer, Nan groused inwardly. She had stopped looking about her surroundings quite some time ago. She just kept taking one step then another. Nan bumped into Hal when he stopped to look at a possible camping site. She dropped her backpack and sat on it with a thump. Lucy and Liam were fresh as daisies she saw with some disgruntlement. Kienan gave her quick lick to the face before she could ward him off. She sighed, and heaved herself to her feet and began to collect small wood for the fire. Hal was setting up camp, clearing a space for the ground sheet and draping the waxed tarp from a handy tree limb for cover from inclement weather. Lucy and Liam were busy with their packs sorting out what was needed for supper. Well, Liam was sorting, Lucy was asking questions. Nan arranged a handful of dried grasses, added the small wood and brought out her flint. She struck a spark and was startled by the gigantic "snap" it created. A glow began to emanate from the grasses and quickly caught at the smaller twigs. She looked down at her flint and realized she had picked up the chunk of dragon dung instead. She struck it again and was rewarded with another "pop".

"Hal! Come look at this."

"It's a fire, what about it?"

"Look!" Nan struck the stone again.

Pop! More sparks flew about.

"Lemme see that."

Pop! Another shower of sparks.

Nan quickly patted them out. One fire was enough to manage.

"What do you think?"

"Dunno."

Liam and Lucy had drawn near and each had to give it a try. Lucy quickly emptied her pockets of dried dragon dung and inadvertently dropped one into the fire. The fire whooshed and sparkled.

"Well, huh and I'll be."

"Hal, has anyone tried to burn dragon dung before?"

"Couldn't say."

"Do you think all dragon waste burns this way?"

"Couldn't say."

"But don't you see? If it does, dragon poop does have a use! Well, it does if you don't mind the smell."

Hal looked thoughtful, then shifty.

"No need to noise this about." He said.

Nan eyed Hal, he shuffled his feet.

"Well!" Nan slapped her knees. "This is certainly something to think about, but supper isn't going to make itself." She pushed herself back up to her feet. Everyone scattered to their various duties. Nan was uneasy, she could not wrap her head around this turn of events. Kienan sat at her side looking up. He could sense her worry and was now worried as well.

*It is alright little one.*

He leaned in taking comfort from her presence as she took comfort from him. Hermione strolled up. She had leapt from Moses' pack, wandered into the bushes to take care of business and missed all the excitement. As she approached, she stopped and twitched her whiskers then slowly puffed up all over. She gave a low howl, spat and dashed up the nearest tree. She remained in the tree grumbling intermittently until supper was ready, then consented to come down.

*What was that all about little one?* Nan queried.

Hermione stared into her eyes, blinked and turned her head away.

The fire was still glowing when she woke the next morning and it took no effort to get a blaze going again. The flames danced and sparkled. Nan set the kettle on to steam and gazed thoughtfully at the fire. Lucy plopped down next to her.

"It's pretty."

"What is?"

"The fire."

"Yes it is that..."

"What is it Auntie Nan?"

"What child?"

"You're...concerned about something."

Nan was surprised at Lucy's perception.

"I don't exactly know child. The fact that dragon dung burns so well is a good thing, but...it bothers me."

"It burns, it's plentiful, what could be bad?"

"Oh don't mind me, I'm just a silly old woman Lucy."

"Well, that you're not. Silly, I mean."

"Oh, but I'm old eh?"

Lucy pealed with laughter, Nan chuckled too. Kienan danced about laughing with them. Hermione slid into Nan's lap and under her hand.

*Well puss, I'm honored.*

Hermione nudged her hand.

*Less talk, more petting*

They were breaking camp when Hal ran into difficulties putting out the fire. The bit of dragon dung that was left continued to smolder after the rest of the fire was ash. Nan dropped it in her pot and had to douse it with a dipper of water before it finally went out. She emptied one of her leather pouches of herbs and dropped it in.

They had gone a ways up the trail when they started hearing movement to the right of the path. There had been very little in the way of wildlife till now; birds, squirrels, hedgehogs, the odd pixie or twelve. Whatever this was sounded largish and many. Hal stopped and peered into the brush. Moses also stopped and for the first time looked about him with interest. Nan began to see flickers of movement through the branches. Moses let out an ear shattering bray. The creatures hidden from view swung about, crashed through the brush and onto the trail.

It was a gathering of unicorns. Nan let her pent breath out with a huge sigh of relief. Useless creatures. It might have been a bear or a wolf or something of that sort. A bear wolf or a wolf bear if there is such a thing. But no, just a frivolous folly of unicorns. Kienan yipped and hid in her skirts. Moses was delighted and began to dance a jig, upsetting Hermione clinging to his pack. Nan was surprised to see such animation from the little beast.

The unicorns were confounded. They had been brandishing their horns as they broke through the wood, but quickly settled and seemed to be conferring. The largest unicorn bowed his head towards the troupe and backed away. Moses snorted and pawed the ground. A dainty unicorn lass tossed her head and flicked a flirtatious tail as they turned back into the forest.

*They are searching*

Nan turned to Hermione. *Searching for what?*

*Their lost one*

*Well, it must be lost if they are searching for it* said Nan. Cats! Always making mysteries.

Kienan felt it was safe to leave her skirts and sent a volley of indignant barks after the departing beasts.

Nan stopped and slowly shook her head. This whole adventure had started because a dragon had swooped too close for Nan's personal comfort and absconded with a unicorn. That had been what, four days ago? Could this be the lost one the unicorns were searching for? If so, Nan was afraid the unicorns' quest would not have a happy resolution.

Nan was suddenly washed with feelings of doubt and hopelessness. Up until now she had not made a plan. Her goal had been to reach the dragons, but what would happen then? She had no idea. Why did she think she could do this? What if she couldn't *talk* to the dragons? What if they were all incinerated on sight? It would be her fault her friends were dead and yes, Hermione, Kienan and even sad little Moses were friends too. Not that she would be around to feel guilty as she would also be dead. Gloomy unhelpful thoughts. Time to face reality.

That evening as everyone was sitting around the campfire finishing off another of Liam's excellent stews Nan asked Hal when he thought they might reach the dragons.

"Could be tomorrow or the next day."

"Well, I've been thinking, really thinking about what we set out to do and...I have no idea how to approach the dragons when we do find them." Nan said. She looked each of her companions in the eye and said, "There is great danger ahead, I can't ask you to risk injury or death. There would be no shame in turning back."

There was a thoughtful silence.

"Will you turn back Auntie Nan?"

Nan let out a heavy sigh, "I want to child, but I can't. The dragon problem isn't going to go away and when I agreed to do this I made a promise and it's important to me to keep my promises. Lucy, you are young and have a lot of living left to do."

"Auntie Nan, you taught me to keep my promises too."

"Very well." Nan turned to Hal.

Hal snorted, "Aw heck, I don't get paid if I don't finish the job."

"Liam?"

The brawny young man stared into the fire, then glanced over at Lucy. "I'm not turning back."

"All right then, we need a plan. We can't be walking slap into a nest of dragons."

They talked long into the night, but came up with no solid plan at all.

Everyone was subdued the next morning as they broke camp, it didn't help that their luck with the weather dissolved with a morning mizzle. Hermione was loud in her complaints about the wet until Nan tossed a light shawl over her. Kienan and Moses weren't bothered by the wet and the human folk took out their waxed hoods to keep rain off their head and shoulders. Feet got soaked as they squelched through the wet and Nan was glad she had lined her boots with wool, at least her feet were still warm. They had been climbing steadily through the foothills with plenty of tree cover and water, but were now approaching steeper stonier patches. Hal had them stop by a stream to fill all their water bags. The added weight was not welcome, but necessary. They each had a water bag and Moses carried two large water containers.

Hal warned them that the path would get steeper and harder to navigate and that he was reaching the end of his familiarity with the trail. They all agreed to take a breather to rest and eat. Thankfully the rain had drifted away. Moses suddenly threw up his head and gazed across to the next ridge. He mumbled and shuffled then let out a bray. Everyone turned in the direction he was looking and there were the unicorns just scrambling to the top. Nan tried to get a head count, but they kept milling about. There were seven, eight? One of the daintier unicorns sent a saucy little bugle back. Moses stood tall, well as tall a donkey can stand, the light of love spilling from his liquid eyes. Kienan dashed forward and barked and bounced till the unicorns disappeared from sight. Moses snorted out his disappointment and sent a bad tempered kick in Kienan's direction. His heart wasn't in it though and Kienan dodged easily out of the way. Kienan unfortunately took this as an invitation to play until Moses pasted his ears back and presented his rump a second time.

"Kienan, that will do"

*Stoopid donkey*

"Enough Kienan"

Hermione having taken advantage of the fuss, had applied herself to cleaning out the unprotected bowls of porridge.

"Shoo cat!" Hermione shot Hal a disdainful look and leapt out of reach. She scrambled to the top of Moses' pack, turned her back to the rude human, shot up a leg and tidied her bottom. The insult was clear. Lucy choked on a laugh.

Nan's memories of the next leg of their journey were not good ones. Her soft middle-aged body was not well suited to scrambling up a sheer goat path. More than once Liam had to give her an assist. She was mortified at the necessity, but truly grateful to receive a boost from behind.

Nan was sweaty and gritty and panting when they achieved the final ledge. She collapsed onto a handy rock. The others fared rather better and arrived in good order. Hal had fashioned a little harness for Kienan to lift him over the trickier bits, but so far, the nimble little fellow had managed on his own. Moses was also proving to be surprisingly sure footed. Hermione did not care for the way Moses' pack swayed as he scrambled up the steeper stretches. She opted to go on foot though she did so with caustic complaint.

Nan's breathing leveled out, her heart no longer pounded out of her chest and she was able to think beyond her next breath.

"Hal, we must be getting close?"

"I dunno Nan, first time I've ever gone looking for a dragon purpose like. We're getting high enough I think, but I'd a thought we'd see one or two overhead by now."

The words no sooner left his mouth when a great shadow passed over them. They all ducked reflexively then quickly twisted to look up. It was a dragon!

Poor Moses let out a squeak, too terrified to bray properly which may have saved him from notice for the dragon swept past in a blink of an eye.

Nan had been rather too close to a dragon before, but the others had not. They were struck dumb. Well, Lucy was...for a moment.

"So...beautiful." She breathed.

"Beautiful, yes...but perilous." Nan retorted.

Hermione let out a low yowl.

*There is a nest nearby*

*A nest?*

*A nest of dragon young. Use your nose human.*

Nan frowned at the cat, then took a sniff. There was an odd not very pleasant odor.

"Hal, do you smell anything unusual?"

"Now that you mention it...something smells sick like."

Nan looked up to the scan the cliff.

Liam spoke, "There." and pointed to a pile of debris that had tumbled down the right-hand flank. Nan picked her way over and poked through the debris that had reached their ledge. It was composed of small bones and fouled twigs with a smattering of this and that. A flash of iridescence winked and she teased it out of the litter. It was a bit of shell. Nan craned her neck to see above, but a ledge blocked her view.

They had reached their destination and were still without a plan.

"Can we get there from here?" Nan queried. Liam offered to scout ahead, but Hal didn't think it safe to divide the troupe. He also strongly recommended that they make a camp somewhere under cover before exploring any further. He led them left, away from the debris pile.