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The next morning I let her sleep in while I had breakfast with Paltrice and Chasta.
"She wants to complete the sacrifice." I say over the meal.
The other two nod, "We heard last night."
"She did not confide in you before that?"
"We are not longtime friends of her's. She kept it from us."
I look at her, sleeping quietly.
I sigh, "It will be a waste... such a waste."
Paltrice stroked my forearm lightly -- a gesture of concern, "Is there nothing you can do?"
"It is her choice. I have shown her an alternative. There's not much more that I can do."
"Can you kill the dragon?" she asks.
I think a bit. "The dragon is an old beast... well, beast is not quite the right term, for she is quite intelligent. She is also a formidable combatant in the physical and eldritch methods -- anyone who enters her lair should expect to find a wily and determined opponent.
But, the days of dragons are ending, and she knows it. What she doesn't know is why. I'm not sure myself, but I think it is because mankind has become more wily over the generations. The average knight-at-arms cannot face a mature dragon, but a whole village can quickly deal with a young dragon. I think that the vulnerability of dragons shortly after they leave their nest has been their undoing.
But to try and take on an old dragon in it's lair is unprecedented. Well... not quite unprecedented. I, myself, tried to take on this very dragon in my youth. A team of adventurers came to the valley, headed by a champion who's name I had heard many times before. These bold adventurers got an audience with my father, and he rejected out-of-hand their proposal to rid the valley of this ancient evil. "You are quite out of your league." he said, matter-of-factly and dismissed the adventurers with only a warning, "I and my family will be living in this valley long after you are gone. Don't do anything that I will have to spend years undoing."
I was there at the audience, and I couldn't understand how he treated these people! I knew he hated the dragon passionately. I knew he had tried to rid the valley of her. But he flatly turned these people down? I met with them later that evening at a pub in the village near the castle.
The Champion was as deft with his words as he was his sword, and by the end of the evening I had joined his group as we pledged to deal this dragon a mortal blow!
I recall that the plan was exceedingly clever. I also recall that I was the only survivor because the plan called for me to start the battle outside the lair summoning while the rest of the party snuck in to find the dragon. I did my summoning, and waited for the signal to rush in... it never came. Whatever happened in there, the dragon felt so unthreatened that she did not bother to come out seeking revenge, or to teach anyone a lesson. Nonetheless, I learned.
My plan for dealing with the dragon since then has been to make its surroundings hostile enough that it will decide to move on -- move on to some place even more distant and more wild than our humble valley. It has not been a quick or decisive battle, but for the last few years I have noted the dragon is out and about more. It was reported to me to have wandered far. I had hoped it was looking for a new home. But she has not moved. Instead, it may be that she is looking for a mate. If she lays eggs, those eggs, and the dragonlets that come from them, would keep her in the valley for decades.
I think all this, but I tell Paltrice simply, "Killing a dragon in it's lair is a difficult thing, Paltrice."
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