Varcorak awoke in the deep of night. Dull, hot pain throbbed through his belly. His scarred stomach always ached when the swamp spoke to him in the tongue of storms, warning him of liars, thieves, and blades in the dark. Varcorak opened his eyes to bronze slits. Ailsa skulked in the shadows nearby, dressed and […]

Ailsa settled upon a thick blue blanket with silvery patches. Still damp from the bath, she hadn’t bothered to dress. She opened up her pack, glancing at the dragon. Varcorak sat on his haunches nearby, his finned tail curled around his paws. Pale blue light made the gray lines and blotches of old scars stand […]

Ailsa knelt beneath Varcorak’s outstretched wing, rubbing oil into the black and green canopy. The dragon’s wing membrane was sturdy as leather, but softer and quite warm. Tiny veins pulsed throughout it. A muscular joint behind Varcorak’s shoulder anchored his wing, with the membranes attached along his back from that joint to his haunch. Ailsa […]

The first thing Ailsa did when they released her from jail was to demand a hot bath, a hot meal, and a night in a comfortable inn. She used the bath to wash the cell’s stench from her body, the meal to meet with a contact who worked in the tavern, and the night alone […]

Ailsa followed the dragon to his sleeping area. Varcorak settled on his side upon a sprawl of blankets and cushions, his wings draped behind him. He plucked a silver goblet from his wine crate, uncorked a new bottle and poured some into the vessel. When he held the goblet out towards Ailsa, the webbing stood […]

Ailsa walked around the dragon’s home, making note of treasure both valuable and easily carried. A golden goblet crusted with jewels. An emerald-studded circlet. A silver dagger with inscriptions in a lost tongue. Pouches filled with old coins and rough cut stones. A bookshelf lined with rare tomes. A scraping, rattling sound drew Ailsa’s attention […]

Ailsa rinsed the mud from her dress, then wrung it out and pulled it on. The wet blue fabric clung to her skin. She stepped into her boots and snatched up her pack. Ailsa searched for her sword and knives before she remembered they were locked away in the town jail. Ailsa scowled, following the […]

Ailsa rose to her feet, shivering. Something in the dragon’s voice made Ailsa wonder if it already had. She gazed at him, then walked to the crystalline fountain and knelt down. She leaned forward and braced herself against one hand, her bare rump in the air. She scooped some fresh water and sipped at it. […]