I'm growing kinda tired of all the branches trying to slap me and as we reach the edge of the woods, a sense of relief washes over me. Our little excursion did its job and I'm feeling more at peace. So now, I shouldn’t end up lashing out at anyone, which could have been quite lethal.

  Our goal now is to return to Esfjord, and I want to visit Foreman first, to ask if he can tell how much damage I've suffered. But I know I can't keep postponing the meetup with Lauren. I have to face the music and just deal with whatever her plan was. Once that's dealt with, Foreman will be the next on the list. Karlon did mention my flames, but I'm reluctant to use them given how much magic it consumes. And if this is like an exercise injury, then I need to rest and take it slow for a while.

  As we take to the sky again, a sudden idea strikes that may not be the cleverest I've ever had, but I kinda want to collect a bunch of those ignis basilisks to breathe fire on me. The best way I can describe it is a nice, warm bath of magic. Flying this time feels less strenuous, and I'm generally not in as much pain as I was.

  Getting sidetracked on purpose was an excellent idea.

  "Have you thought on what you might do, Kira?"

  "Yeah, I can't postpone confronting Lauren. I need to do something about it instead of running away."

  "I pray your encounter ends amicably. I must admit, I had underestimated the depth of your character and for that, I apologize. Hearing tell of a Dragon burning towns and hunting the Guild did not paint a favorable picture, yet the merchants raved about new trade with that very same Dragon. Many of us were left flummoxed as tales conflicted to such an absurd degree."

  "I keep telling people that I just want to be friends, but I'm not gonna tolerate arrows shot at my face. It's getting better, but that's still the majority response I've received. Henry and Sarah are nice, so is Turgai and his friends. But the looming threat of the next attack won't go away."

  "Though it may not bring much comfort, the Branch Leader has begun drafting rules for our branch to provide you amnesty and sanctuary. Anyone foolish enough to attack once those changes take effect would find their membership forfeit as they become marked as outlaws. I cannot say what has transpired, but she is fearful of the future in a manner I have not witnessed in the years I have been a member."

  He's right that she's afraid of me, but I'm confident that I haven't done anything to her. At least not that I know of. Maybe Lauren was mean to her and that's why.

  With the walls of the trade city coming into view, I feel myself becoming anxious. For now, I'm gonna aim for the square and begin sorting things out. Karlon has fallen silent, and I'm not sure what to make of that, but that's his prerogative.

  The hustle and bustle of the city sounds welcoming and the added sound of birdsong makes the whole thing quite enjoyable. Especially with the lack of screams of terror. Looking at the crowds below, a lot of people seem to stop and stare. I get it, my scales are quite beautiful and captivating.

  The glimmer of magic coating the buildings has me curious, and I wonder if we can use magical reinforcement in Tuiran as well. I'll have to bring that up with Foreman as well, since he seems well-versed in carving runes.

  "Kira, though I am loathe to interrupt your musings, I must alert you to the fact that I am getting rather nauseous from your continued circular flight. Might I ask that we land?"

  Oh, right. With a quick pivot, we soar toward the square and land in a cleared spot. There's even a tiny fence made of posts and rope. It's very considerate of whoever did this to make a small cleared spot for me to land, since the place is quite crowded with tents, shops, and wagons. The fragrances of spices and herbs mix with the stink of manure and sweat, giving me somewhat mixed feelings about my sense of smell returning.

  Lowering my head to the ground, Sir Fumbles of Cloudlon falls off me with a thump. I don't think that's good for his hurt leg... Turning my attention to a guard, I ask him to bring us a healer. I sort of expected pushback of some sort, but the guard just runs off into the crowd after nodding. I'm gonna try that again.

  "You, guard. Fetch me Henry, the adventurer who was arrested for punching some noble jerk."

  Another nod as he runs off... Oooh... I can work with this. Pointing to yet another one, I ask him to bring Foreman here, and off he goes. We could use snacks, too. But as I gently ask a guard to bring us some, he refuses! The gall of this guy! I've grown accustomed to a certain lifestyle over the last few minutes and denying it to me is very rude. He gets a puff of smoke!

  Unfortunately, my disapproval is interrupted by a coughing fit. The sensation of my freakin' insides trying to become outsides takes hold as I struggle to stay standing. Okay, screw standing, I'm gonna fall over and relax. The coughing subsides and I now know for sure that I was right to not use my flames, geez. Could have just said so, body...

  "Cloudlon, I want you to hear my dying words... I want you to know that you need to wash your pants more often. You smell like pee..."

  "Guardsmen, call in the healers of the Guild immediately! Notify Tae'liri of my request to commission all available healers by word of Karlon of house Wolframite!"

  Now the guards are moving. First thing I've heard about Karlon's house, though. He seems to at least have sway enough to be heard among the people here. My coughing has settled down, but it doesn't stop me from feeling exhausted again as I'm having to breathe manually...

  "I'm not dying, Cloudlon. I was just teasing you."

  "Perhaps that was your intent, but you are bleeding."

  I'm just gonna lie here and gather myself for a moment... Steps approach, closing in on my head and Cloudlon enters my line of sight. Using my jaw to steady himself, he bends over to pick something up. As he gets back up, he shows me a bloodied hand and that's pretty good evidence for me bleeding. So admittedly, I may have been wrong about how hurt I am...

  It doesn't take long for a trickle of footsteps to approach, and as they get close, the tingle of magic makes itself known before a soothing wave of refreshment hits me. It doesn't feel like much, but Cloudlon begins ordering them to continue their work as he begins directing them around me. Spells, chants, and tingles bombard me with an uncomfortable frequency, and it does help, but not much.

  I want to tell Merciferus that she's a jerk if she approved of this happening to me, but if she did, it might be because I'm willing to call her a jerk... I think it's time to take her more seriously.

  "T'fuck'd'ya do ta t'Dragon?!"

  Finally, the familiar gibberish of someone who knows about dragons. Taking charge again, Cloudlon starts discussing matters with Foreman, and it soon devolves into...

  "Wait, are you a dwarf, Cloudlon?"

  "Indeed, I am. Does this surprise you?"

  "A little. I thought you were just a short human, not a tall dwarf."

  He has wandered away from my line of sight to talk to Foreman, leaving me to ponder the nature of this guy. The two dwarves argue up a storm, discussing everything that has happened, even letting slip some things I didn't know. According to Foreman, I've been infused with an amount of magic that should have caused me to explode, taking a large chunk of the city with me... He's quite furious about that part. I'm not all that happy about it either.

  Their arguing continues and it becomes clear that Lauren definitely is responsible and she did it on purpose... I'm not sure what to do with that information, but it hurts...

  "Where is Lauren?"

  Forcing myself to get up, it becomes clear that I'm right back where I started, feeling sore as heck. I still manage to get up, though, and looking at the two men, the similarities do make it pretty clear that Cloudlon is a dwarf.

  "I believe it would be in your best interest to not meet her at this time, Kira."

  My mood has been pretty mixed so far, but the pain of my magical wounds reopening is quick to sour it even more. And hearing Cloudlon refuse to tell me where Lauren is adds to my frustration...

  "Yer ain't in no condition t'go gallivantin' 'round the city, Kira. Raya's back at me shop, we can go meet 'er."

  "No. I want to know where Lauren is. I need to know why she did this to me…”

  The barrage of healing magic continues, but it isn’t doing much. Most of the magic in the spells is being absorbed by my natural ability to do just that. I want to reach out to her through our connection, but even thinking about it gives me the same feeling as when I want to use my flames. I’d rather not have my brain begin coughing…

  Neither of these two guys seem all that willing to actually help me, so I’m on my own. I’m gonna find Raya first, then. As I start moving toward the torn-up road leading to Foreman’s workshop, a familiar voice calls out to me.

  “Kira! I would say it is good to see you, but you appear to struggle staying awake. Where are we going? I shall follow!”

  The first thing I do is greet the small giant as I take a moment to rest again. His approach leads him to stand in front of me and he deserves a nudge. I blink for a moment and the ground is a lot closer than it was just now. It’s possible that I may have fallen again.

  Whatever his reasoning is, Punchy takes hold of one of my teeth and opens my mouth. The grunting makes it clear that he’s struggling, but not so much that he’s unable to throw something down my throat. A comforting feeling spreads through my body, and it becomes clear that he threw a healing potion as he lowers my upper jaw again.

  “Do you know where Lauren is, Punchy?”

  “I do. She and Sarah share similar sorrows. A fear of your retribution. My offers of reassurance did not reach them, yet I left a promise that you would do no harm. I trust that you feel the rage, yet you control yourself and neither will come to harm at your talons.”

  “I just want to know why…”

  With a stern expression, Punchy places a hand on the ridge of my muzzle and pats me a few times. It doesn’t take long for exhaustion to win out as I struggle to stay awake. Stupid sleep is attacking me again…

  —-------------

  By the time I wake up again, the sun joins me as we rise together. Shifting my body, the soreness comes back, but not as aggressively as it used to. Looking around me, there are people littered all over the place, resting on makeshift beds with tents.There’s a long chain in front of me, but as I move my arms, relief strikes as I haven’t been bound this time. I’m not sure I could handle that happening twice.

  “Hi Kira!”

  “Hiya Raya. Who are these people?”

  “Healers, Karlon brought them. They spent all night healing you, and Hralthar even helped explain how to heal your type of Dragon. Did you know there are two types? One type has magic armor, and the other eats magic through their scales. You’re the second type. Do you want something to eat? I bought some food.”

  Before I get a chance to answer, Raya has disappeared into an alley and comes back with a chubby man wheeling a wheelbarrow full of roasted meats. That does look delicious… Getting up, I take a bite, but even a wheelbarrow full is barely two mouthfuls.

  Getting a good look at Raya, she has a new outfit again. This time, it’s leather armor covering a gambeson and a sword by her side. She even has a satchel and a backpack, making her look like a tiny adventurer.

  “You look nice, Raya.”

  With a wide, toothy grin, she smiles up at me.

  “I did adventures! I got bored, so I asked Punchy what to do for fun, and he helped me find a group for adventures, and we went into the forest and gathered herbs and hunted for meat. It was so much fun, Kira! It makes sense why the dumb adventurers do it! Did you get bigger?”

  She deserves a nudge. Hearing that she’s been having fun is great, and I’ll have to make a point of thanking Punchy for helping her.

  “I did get bigger, but more importantly, I still need to find Lauren. And where did Foreman and Cloudlon go? Pretty sure Punchy was here, too.”

  “Foreman went ‘AH NEED A FOOKIN’ SHOWAH! FOOKIN’ DWAGON’S GON’ RUIN ME FOOKIN’ RUNEWORKS!’ And then he left. Cloudlon is meeting with the elf leader, and Punchy went back to Sarah to prepare to leave the city.”

  Watching Raya strut around with her shoulders and arms lifted in a mock imitation of Foreman is fun, and her impression of him is pretty spot-on. I'm not sure why I would ruin his runes, but he knows more about that than I do.

  "How come Foreman didn't teach you more engineering? Did you want to learn about that?"

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  "I did, but he's closing his shop. The rich people are kicking him out for helping you since they told people not to. So I told him to come home with us! He's bringing his friends, too!"

  Ooh, dwarves acquired! Good job, Raya! Now I just need to settle the final affairs, and we can finally go-

  "Try this, Kira."

  I don't get much of a choice as Raya thrusts her hand into my mouth, depositing some sweet treat on my tongue. It's chocolate! Raya found chocolate! We have to start importing that. I need to focus. I actually have something I need to do. And since I'm healthier now, I get the feeling that I'm safe to reach out to Lauren instead of finding her.

  "Lauren, we need to talk about what happened. I could have died, and I want to know why."

  I can't feel her and I don't get a response, so I guess we're gonna go find her. Since I haven't had time with Raya's enthusiasm dragging me along, I take a moment to stretch. It feels wonderful as the sounds of cracks and snaps settle everything into its proper place.

  "I'm not going to stop you, Kira, but she didn't do it on purpose. I had to stop her from leaving when you came back because she thinks you're gonna blame her and hurt her, but I don't think you will. You don't hurt friends on purpose either."

  Raya knows exactly what she just did, but I can't blame her. Lauren and she have become quite good friends, and I would do what I could to keep my friend safe as well. While I'm angry and upset at this whole thing, I'm also reluctant to rush to conclusions. I've seen enough problems arise from a refusal to listen...

  I'm not gonna keep standing around here, though, so taking my first step, I head toward a nearby street. Not one to be left behind, Raya rushes to my arm and climbs me. It definitely takes her longer to do than usual. As she reaches her perch at the tip of my muzzle, she starts guiding me, which prompts me to question her just to make sure.

  "Are you guiding me to her or around town to avoid her?"

  "I can do both... Merciferus has a temple in the eastern part of town, that's where she is."

  And I chose northwest... Well, too bad, road maintenance crew, you're getting job security. As we pass through the streets, the people present move out of the way, but they can't bring their wagons into their houses with them, which teaches me one thing: I'm now big enough to step over wagons.

  Our trek through the streets of Esfjord has my exhaustion fading away and in its absence, the urge to hunt returns. I never did get to satisfy that... I'm not gonna go on another detour, though. I can't keep postponing the important stuff.

  Raya keeps guiding me, but the occasional worried glance back at me doesn't escape my keen perception.

  "Raya, you don't have to worry so much. I'm not going to hurt anyone. I do have some self-control."

  "I know, it's just... your eyes are white and red. I can tell that you're angry and determined. Anger is how mistakes happen."

  She's not wrong. I'm feeling a simmering fury inside me, calling me to lash out, but I have to be able to keep that under control. Wait...

  "Didn't white mean focused, not determined?"

  "When have you ever been able to focus, Kira? That's not something overgrown lizards do."

  "You little rascal! I'm not a lizard, dang it!"

  Instead of defending her position, or arguing in any way, she turns to face me. With arms spread, she lets herself fall onto the ridge of my muzzle, ending it as firm a hug as she can manage.

  "I'm glad you're still you. I was so worried when you stopped feeling like you and couldn't recognize people... I'm sorry I didn't stop it."

  It's times like this where I don't like my size at all... I can't even hug Raya back to reassure her, so the best I can do is tell her that she isn't to blame. As I do, I get a firmer hug and the next directions, which turn out to be straight ahead until we hit a junction and then a right.

  With directions given, Raya settles in and rubs her face against mine as we walk. As the streets narrow, I begin doubting whether I can fit through here. The nearby buildings are only a bit taller than me, preventing me from looking over them when standing as I normally do.

  At least the city smell is being replaced by bakery smells, which is very welcome. It's somewhere around here, and if I can find it, we could pick up a few items. Giving my head a little shake to rattle Raya, I throw her a suggestion about having a little gathering with some food.

  Tapping my face a few times, she gets up and readies herself for a descent. Keeping my eye on her, I note the moment she bends her knees to jump, and as she does, I lower my head.

  "You ass!"

  As a result of my antics, Raya managed to fall on top of me.

  "Now we're even for anything you think you might be to blame for, so forget about it. So let us buy some things to go make the best of questioning Lauren about her motivations."

  As she gets up and readies herself for another jump, I get a suspicious side-eye before she fakes a jump, just in case. Her suspicions don't stop her from giving me a smile as she launches herself toward a building, grabbing onto a wooden post and climbing down. I could have let her down, but she seems quite fond of her acrobatics.

  It doesn't take long for Raya to sprint across the street a few times, visiting several places, and in her wake, people appear to gawk up at me. As she takes off under me, I turn my head upside down and look under me, and there are a bunch of people back there.

  "If you people are waiting for me to move, you can just walk under me, I don't mind."

  They aren't moving, so that's their problem. Just as I think about how Raya probably won't be much longer, I feel her climbing my arm again. I didn't even see her, meaning that she managed to approach from a blind angle. Sneaky little rascal.

  As she moves up my neck, she declares that she's ready, and we start walking again. Reaching the junction mentioned by Raya, we encounter a bit of a problem... The dang thing is narrow. I should be able to scooch by, but I'll have to be careful.

  With a quick request for Raya to tell me how close I am to the corners, she ties her backpack to my horn and descends my neck. Getting into position, she tells me she's ready, and I start moving.

  It's going well so far. I'm just reaching the point where I have to get my wings past the corner, and I'm beginning to think that I can do it!

  "Your wing hit a wall."

  Yeah, I can do this without any destruction. As long as I close my ears, I won't have to deal with any pesky disagreements about my involvement in the shoddy maintenance of their buildings.

  "Your tail hit a wall, too."

  We're through! Flawless! And there's a small square up ahead, which looks to have enough space for me to lie down properly. Maybe even coil a bit if I'm lucky. Quickening our pace, we make it there in no time, and the first thing to stand out is the beautiful stone pavement depicting what I assume is Merciferus.

  It's certainly a woman with silver armor and wings of white stone. Her face is turned sideways to look at a small building with similar statues. I'm guessing that's her temple. The temple almost looks like a shelter made of carved stone. The front is open for everyone, with a few steps leading up to the main platform, and the other three walls are closed off.

  A bunch of people are kneeling by the statues and offering prayers like Lauren does. A door at the back opens and as I look at it, I see Lauren for just a moment before the door slams shut again. Well, at least we know she's here.

  For now, Raya and I are going to prepare our little gathering. Heading into the square, I try my best not to ruin the stoneworks I'm walking on, and I'm mostly successful. Finding a decent spot, we settle down and I seem to have very much underestimated the size of this place. It's big enough to be comfortable, but not so big that I can spread my wings. I'll take it, though.

  Wrapping my tail around and settling in, Raya jumps down and pulls out a blanket before arranging a spread of items, ranging from bread to veggies and meats. She even has a few coals and rocks to make a small campfire. I have no idea whether that's allowed here or not, but she's lighting it anyway.

  Having made a small campfire, Raya pulls out a small wok and places it on top of the coals before adding a few drops of oil. I might have a personal chef on my hands. As the wok heats up, she begins slicing up veggies and carving meat, not caring at all about... Right, cross-contamination wouldn't be a thing in this world. Wait...

  "How did you light the fire, Raya? I didn't feel you draw any magic from me."

  "Used my own. I don't have a lot like you, but I can light fires just fine."

  Useful. With the oil in the wok sizzling, she adds some more and starts throwing in meat and veggies, giving it a good stir. And I'm learning that she's very generous with spices, throwing in all sorts of stuff. The delicious smell is starting to draw a crowd along with whispers about how fires aren't allowed at this holy site. I'm sure Merciferus will forgive us.

  Getting busy with the cooking, Raya soon finds herself a little overwhelmed with small tasks, but not one to give up, she scouts out a child in the crowd and calls for him to join her. With a helper put to work stirring, Raya is free to start cutting and preparing bread with dressings.

  "Lauren, get out here and have some food with us. You're being rude to Raya and her delicious cooking."

  This time, I do get a wave of regret and sorrow. So at the very least, I'm getting the impression that she feels remorse for the whole magic debacle.

  "How do you know my cooking is delicious? You haven't tried it yet, Kira."

  "That's true, but you're great, so I'm sure it is as well. Lauren! I'm gonna count to three, and if you're not out here by the time I finish, I'm coming in there to get you! One!... Two!... Thr-"

  "FINE! I'm coming out! Just don't break anything..."

  A little too late for that, but that's not the focus right now. True to her word, Lauren comes stomping out of the temple with quite an upset expression. She's wearing plain white clothes, a linen shirt and pants set. She probably left her Kirarmor back at the temple. She'll have to remember to fetch it before leaving the city.

  The crowd gathered has effectively filled the gap left between my tail and my arms, no doubt enticed by the exquisite scent of Raya's cooking. Instead of leaving her to fight her way through the crowd, I offer a lift, which she accepts. Lowering my head to her, she grabs hold of some of my scales, using them to climb up on my nose. With her reasonably secured, I lift her to Raya's cooking station where she's quick to sit down.

  "So, what now? I don't know what to say, Kira..."

  Before I have a chance to talk, Raya begins to speak.

  "Shut up. Right now, we're friends, so have some food. We can be not friends later, as long as we're friends again after. Everyone else leave! We don't want people looking at us!"

  Matching her talk, Raya thrusts a piece of bread, decorated with her own peculiar stir-fry, at Lauren before ordering her to eat. Scaring off the crowd also works wonderfully, but the little helper is stopped and offered some bread as well.

  Taking half a loaf of bread, Raya starts pulling out the insides and replacing them with her stir-fry. As I approach her with my head, she holds it out for me to grab. She really did add too many spices, I can barely taste the veggies. Judging by Lauren's slow chewing, she agrees, but both the kid and Raya love it.

  As everyone finishes up their meals and the wok empties out, silence falls over our group. I can't tell whether there's a lot to discuss or barely anything.

  "What now, Kira?"

  Lauren is the first to break the silence with a prudent question, but I don't know how to answer it...

  "I don't know. I'm angry at you, I feel like you betrayed me, and my body is pushing me to hurt you in return, but I don't want to. What about you? What do you want to do?"

  "I don't know... Merciferus told me to gather mages and empower you. She said it would save thousands upon thousands, and with her intervention, you'd be safe. I didn't feel like I had a choice..."

  Crap... A terrible memory just came to me, but for now, I want to learn more about this lack of choice. So, asking about it, she explains.

  "Merciferus told me I was supposed to be more powerful than I am. I'm supposed to have grown in power, but the vile steel ruined my own magic, so she hoped I would rely on you more. But I didn't, so this was the only way."

  "So why don't you?"

  "I'm afraid... Raya does so well with it, but what if I'm not strong enough to handle it? What if I become something evil? What if I become a monster? So I refused to embrace your power and the forest spirit gave me a different path, but there wasn't enough time..."

  Yeah, screw that. If she doesn't want to turn into an incredible and awesome dragon-person, then she doesn't have to. Besides... it was my freakin' idea... I'm gonna need Raya to stop looking at me with those suspicious eyes of hers...

  "What aren't you telling us, Kira?"

  "I'd rather not say. So how about we forget all this and head home? That sounds like an excellent idea, good job, Kira. That's some excellent thinking. Thank you, Kira. Yep. Let's just go home."

  I don't seem to have fooled anyone with my expertly crafted ruse, as Raya's eyes narrow, matching her growing suspicions of my deception.

  "Your eyes are teal, Kira. You're hiding something..."

  "I may have told Lauren to gather mages to empower me while she was drunk...-"

  "That was a terrible idea, Kira! Look what happened!"

  "-At your suggestion, Raya."

  In a flash, Raya's expression changes from suspicion to realization, and with a straightened back, she gets busy with other activities.

  "We should forget about all this and go back to the good old a few days ago."

  Wasting no time, Raya begins backing up and stomping out the campfire. Any leftover food is given to the kid and-

  "Wait! You two idiots aren't getting off the butcher's block that easily! I felt fucking terrible for days! And it was YOUR fault?! Are you fucking kidding me?!"

  Grabbing hold of Raya's collar, Lauren drags her backward, slamming her into the ground before sitting on her and pulling things from her satchel to throw at me. The things that survive the impact are collected by the ever-helpful random kid and returned to Lauren to be rethrown. It's a good thing I'm so big, otherwise, this might actually have hurt.

  "Sorry, Lauren. I didn't mean to make you worry. I really didn't remember, and I haven't been feeling all that well lately."

  Lauren's assault stops as she gets up and helps Raya stand up. With a sigh, she lets us know that we are the two biggest idiots she has ever had to deal with. The anger in her voice softens as she says it, so I think we might be getting forgiven. That's one thing settled, leaving us with me getting healthy enough to make Punchy's hammer!

  With her very reasonable emotional expression session out of the way, both Lauren and Raya begin gathering Raya's things. Raya lets out a few groans at finding some broken items, but a glare from Lauren is quick to put an end to that. It was mostly potions, and we don't know what they do anyway. I'm definitely not going to think about what they might have been worth.

  Instead, I'm gonna focus on finding out where Punchy and Foreman went. I need Foreman's expertise to figure out how to recover my fiery magic faster. With both Lauren and Raya with me, having ascended the wavy path of my neck, we're ready to-

  "Hold on, I need to gather my equipment. It's in my chambers at the temple."

  "You have chambers? Are you moving in?"

  With a sigh, she explains that all temples of the Pantheon have chambers reserved for champions, and since word has spread, she has been given one. Her tone makes it sound like a bother, rather than enjoyable free stuff. I'd like a free room to store my belongings. Ideally, one I could fit in as well.

  Moving a little closer, I lean down, allowing Lauren to climb down my face. With a light jog, she enters the place, and I start to wonder why Merciferus didn't reassure her. As she returns, backpack in hand and Kirarmor packed up in a different backpack, I ask her about it.

  "Hey Lauren, how come Merciferus didn't correct you when you thought you were to blame? That seems rude on her part."

  "She did... She told me you chose this and I shouldn't feel bad for going along with your wishes... I thought she was trying to comfort me."

  Ooh, that means everyone is to blame! That's excellent news, blame is best shared. Ever-helpful, Raya climbs down my face and joins Lauren on the ground before grabbing a backpack and climbing me again. The sensation of a backpack being tied to my horn returns, but this time, it's the other one. I think we're ready to leave now.

  I'm not sure which path to take back to the square. If we take the same route we came from, someone might blame me for the spontaneous property damage, but I don't know any other way. Asking about it, Raya responds with a shrug, but Lauren suggests scaling a wall. It's a bit unusual for her, but she's quick to explain that the nobles will pay for any damage to the walls, so who cares.

  Even as I ask about taxes increasing, she mentions some sort of law that requires nobles to present their case for raising taxes to the king himself. I have no idea how that works, but if the common folk aren't being harmed, I'm not gonna care about a little fortification damage.

  With some quick directions, we head further east. The path appears just wide enough to fit me, and we won't have long until I have to climb the wall.

  "Will you be okay, Lauren?"

  Settling in on the ridge between my eyes, Lauren pulls Raya to her and holds her tightly.

  "I'll be fine, thank you."

  "I promise you that no matter what happens, I will always hear you out, so you don't have to worry so much. And I really am sorry for making you feel so bad."

  Chipping in with some mumbling, Raya joins the conversation, but I have no idea what she said. I feel like the matter is reasonably settled and we've arrived at the wall! Ooh! It's climbing time. The dang thing appears to be... taller than me. If I knew my height, I'd have a frame of reference for how tall this dang wall is.

  Keeping my head steady, I rear up and dig my talons into the top of the walls, pulling myself up. The wall is holding up quite well, with barely any crumbling. Even as my rear talons dig in, the stones surviving my assault barely move and I'm heavy! Reaching the top, I manage to balance on the ramparts, earning me a few stares from the guards patrolling up here.

  Leaving them to stare, I spread my wings for us to fly away. Taking to the sky feels lovely, and having Lauren and Raya with me makes it better.

  "Lauren, do you know any good hunting spots? I'm starting to really itch for a kill."

  "That explains the fragments of red in your eyes. But I do. Some farmers in the northeast have lost cattle to beasts."

  That gives us something to do!