But how could that be done? The dragons were controlled by the scepter, and there was no chance that the Dragon King would let that artifact out of his sight for even a moment. If I could get close, I felt sure I could wrestle it away from him. He was just an old man after all. As soon as I started thinking of the Dragon King as a singular opponent, an idea took shape in my head. He was a man. Men have to sleep. They sleep all the more soundly, when they feel secure in their own territory. I always felt better when I had a plan, even a vague one. I tossed the stick aside and went back to the others, this new idea still stewing in my brain. Over the next few days, we found the people who had escaped the attack on the keep. I was pleased to see so many had made it out. As the only son of Lord Eldred, most of the survivors looked to Liam as their new leader. I could tell he wasn’t happy about this, but he hid it well. The question of what to do next was a tricky one to answer. Liam and Lord Eldred’s remaining councilors talked around in circles trying to decide what to do. We would be hunted anywhere we went, but the councilors were reluctant to attempt to attack the Dragon King directly in our current state. I put forth my idea. If the dragons were gone, we stood a chance. Liam finally won the council over. “I for one am going to fight. If we succeed, we will be free. If we fail, then at least we can die knowing we fought for the freedom we wanted.” A small group was sent back to the keep to salvage anything useful. They returned with a modest amount of weapons and other supplies. Everyone who was able-bodied and willing was armed with what had been found. Within days, our final march on the Dragon King’s castle began. *** When our forces were less than a day from the Dragon King’s castle and darkness was approaching, Thunder and I prepared to fly ahead. Liam and Scoots found us before we left. He looked like wanted to say a lot of things, but he only said two words. “Don’t die.” I grinned and gripped his forearm. “You either.” With a rush of wings, Thunder and I took off into the sky. I reasoned that the Dragon King’s quarters would be at the top of the tallest tower. I had fought power -hungry dictators like him before and they always liked to be as far above everyone else as they could. Thunder stayed high up in the air as we approached the castle, hoping to avoid detection for as long as possible. To my surprise, no alarms were raised even as we quietly descended to the peak of the tallest tower. The situation positively stank of a trap, but there was no other option but to keep going. Hanging on to Thunder’s claw, I dropped onto the roof as he flew past, then dropped down onto the Dragon King's balcony. I stepped up to the door and tried the handle. Unlocked. Definitely a trap. I drew my sword and entered.
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