The first rays of morning sunlight were just starting to hit the main road between Ardville and Boulder’s Point when two figures came walking down the snow-laden path at a hurried pace.

The baker and the archer trod through the thick white layer covering the road’s cobblestones with haste, their boots kicking up flurries of snow as they marched onward to the pond. The air was still gelid from the cold winter night that had just ended, and each of their ragged breaths sent out plumes of thin vapor, but they dared not slow their step.

They veered left into the narrower path leading into the bazaar, their steps lighter on the dirt path that had been cleared of any snow by a diligent goblin earlier.

After greeting the couple, Druma pointed the couple to the back, letting them know that was where they would find his boss.

“Balthazar!” Madeleine exclaimed as she walked down the two steps leading out of the gazebo. “We came as fast as we could. What happened? Some emergency?”

The crustacean in the blue winter hat by the shore turned around from his pond gazing, both pincers behind his back in a contemplative manner.

“Ah, there you two are,” Balthazar said, waving them hello. “No need to panic. Nothing urgent. I just wanted you guys to come down to share something that happened.”

Madeleine sat down on a nearby rock, and Rye stepped closer while tugging loose the scarf that was wrapped around his neck. The crab couldn’t help but notice that the baker and the archer were both wearing matching green scarfs made of warm wool. He wondered if the girl had made them too, like she had his hat.

“And what happened?” the adventurer asked. “We came running thinking the mountain might be erupting again, or that something nasty had come out of the dungeon. Oof, I am sweating now!”

The merchant placed both pincers behind his back again. “I received an unexpected visit last night, who told me something… concerning.”

“A visit from whom?” asked Rye as he moved a hand to lean on a large red rock nearby. “And is it just me, or does it feel really hot around heeee—Oh, dear lord!”

The young man’s eyes widened and rolled up as his hand touched the wall of red scales resting next to him. He stumbled back and nearly fell as his gaze finally met the dragon’s eyes above him.

“From her,” Balthazar said casually, waving a claw in the dragon’s general direction.

“Beatrix!” Madeleine exclaimed, springing up from the rock she was sitting on.

“Hello, dear girl,” the draconic creature said, her voice low and reverberating. “I am glad to see you again.”

“How…” Rye started, looking back and forth between the red creature and the crab with a baffled expression. “How did I not notice a huge dragon right next to your bazaar?!”

“I have a considerably high sneak skill,” Beatrix calmly stated.

Balthazar shrugged. “She got me the same way last night.”

The bewildered archer shook his head in disbelief.

“High sneak skill?! She’s the size of a house!”

“Rye!” Madeleine scolded. “Don’t be rude to Bea!”

“Seriously?” Rye muttered to himself. “Freaking sneaky dragons now?!”

As the baker approached the dragon and her eyes moved up, the girl’s gaze jumped when she noticed the huge slash scar running down the side of Beatrix’s neck.

“Oh my goodness!” Madeleine exclaimed with a gasp, bringing both hands up to cover her mouth. “What happened to you?”

“Ah, right,” Balthazar said. “That’s part of the story I called you guys down here for.” The crab looked up at the crimson giant towering above them. “Go on, tell them what you told me.”

Beatrix closed her eyes and took a deep breath that made the ground rumble. After a moment, she opened them again and started talking.

“An adventurer came to my dungeon,” the red dragon explained. “But he was unlike any other adventurer I had ever seen. He was far more powerful and skilled. And he had come to challenge me.”

Rye’s eyes narrowed with curiosity. “Who was this adventurer?”

“He said his name was Ren,” Beatrix replied. “And he said he was on a mission to become more powerful. Powerful enough to defeat his nemesis—Balthazar.”

Both the baker and the archer frowned in confusion and looked at the crab.

“What did you do, Balthazar?” asked Madeleine.

The merchant shrugged and threw his arms out.

“Nothing! I don’t even know who this adventurer is, let alone what he wants with me!”

“Maybe he sold him some dodgy item,” Rye said to the baker.

“Or charged him way too high for some cheap junk,” she suggested.

“Hey, hello?” the merchant exclaimed. “You guys realize I’m still here and can hear you, right?”

“This adventurer was no fool,” the massive red dragon above continued, ignoring the bickering taking place beneath her. “He was strong and knew how to use his skills. When he realized that I, too, knew Balthazar, it seemed to only make his rage burn brighter. He was determined to battle me. He saw me as a stepping stone on his path to soon confront you as well.”

“So you two argued about pastries for hours like you did with Balthazar?” Rye asked with one eyebrow cocked.

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“He gave me no time,” Beatrix said. “He activated a barrage of skills and charged at me violently with his sword. He aimed to slay me.”

Madeleine gasped in horror. “No!”

The dragon closed her eyes and nodded slowly.

“Usually, I would have no trouble showing puny humans what a mistake that is. But as much as it shames me to admit it, this adventurer was something else. He fought like a champion, with power beyond anything I’ve ever seen in one single being. That was how I got this scar you see on my neck. The wind from his blade’s cyclone attack cut into my scales as if they were nothing.”

“Wow,” said Rye. “An adventurer strong enough to do that to a level 75 dragon?! Who is this Ren guy?!”

“I managed to regain enough of my composure to fight him back after his first blow,” Beatrix continued. “But I could tell it would only be a matter of time until the adventurer would land a real blow with his sword, and I was certain that if he did, it would be a fatal one.”

Madeleine clutched her hands together against her sternum, her eyes filled with concern. “So what did you do?”

Beatrix LaFlamme lowered her head and closed her eyes in shame.

“I… fled,” she said in a low, muttered voice.

“I tried telling her that was the right move,” Balthazar said to the two humans. “It’s what I would have done.”

“You do not understand,” the wounded dragon said. “For my kind, to flee from battle is to give up my pride. It is an unimaginable blow to my honor. It is the coward’s way.”

The crab crossed his arms and scrunched up his face. “Well, no need to insult me.”

Madeleine approached the dragon and gently placed a hand on the creature’s red scales, her expression one of sympathy.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” the girl said. “I’m very glad you did it, but… why did you run away? I got to know you pretty well during those months I spent at your lair, Beatrix, and you did not strike me as the kind of dragon who would ever flee from battle, even when facing deadly defeat.”

The ancient creature’s eyes turned to the sky, her gaze distant and shimmering.

“That adventurer had already defeated me,” the dragon said. “And when I saw that all I had left to be taken was my life, I realized I did not want it to end yet. I realized I had something too grand that made me want to live, even if it meant giving up my pride and fleeing.”

“What… What was it?” the baker asked, her voice wavering.

Beatrix hesitated. “I… I realized that if I perished right there to that adventurer’s blade, I would never get to taste one of your pies again, my dear.”

“Now there’s a motivation I can finally agree with!” Balthazar exclaimed, clacking one of his pincers.

“Oh, you!” Madeleine said, shaking her head before hiding her face in a hug against the dragon’s massive body and letting out a quiet sob. “I’m just glad you’re alright.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” a croaking voice said from the back of the bazaar.

They turned and saw a toad on the wooden step leading down from the gazebo.

“I couldn’t help but overhear the…” Henrietta paused and gazed up at Beatrix. “The dragon miss talking about the adventurer who attacked her in her lair. I think I’ve met that adventurer before.”

“You have?!” said Balthazar.

“Yes,” the shop toad said. “His name was Warren, and he showed up here at the bazaar a while back when you guys were traveling. He was raging about wanting to know where to find his nemesis, Balthazar, and something about you having summoned him on some beach? And how he would make you pay for having taken his life away from him.”

“What the hell? That guy must be some nutjob! I have no idea what all that is about,” the crab said, turning to the two humans while shrugging his shell.

Madeleine looked as puzzled as him, while Rye stared emptily at the ground while rubbing his chin in thought.

“He was strong,” Henrietta added. “It took all of us, the orcs, the lizards, even Tom, to restrain him, but he still escaped after.”

“Great,” said Balthazar. “So now there’s a crazy adventurer out there, who is growing stupidly powerful super fast, seeking revenge on me for something I can’t even understand. Just what I needed.”

“I get that we should worry about this Ren guy,” Madeleine said, “but right now we can’t do much about him. Meanwhile, what about Bea? She can’t just stay here next to your bazaar like this.”

“Yeah,” said Rye. “High stealth or not, people will notice a scaly red barn with wings sitting next to the road sooner or later. And then it won’t be pretty. Locals and adventurers won’t take it well if the dragon that terrorized them a few months back shows up again.” He paused and frowned. “Why is it that you came here of all places, though?”

Beatrix looked away as if trying to avoid eye contact.

“I… did not really know anyone else. At least anyone who is still alive in this era. Dragons don’t tend to have many friends.”

“We’re friends now?” said the crab, cocking one eyestalk.

“Balthazar…” the baker said, tilting her head at him in a disapproving expression.

“Couldn’t you just return to your lair?” asked the archer. “It’s not as if that adventurer will sit there forever waiting for you to return. He surely moved on in his journey to grow more powerful.”

“Well, I…” the red giant said, hesitating about what to say next.

“She’s scared he might show up at her place again,” Balthazar said bluntly. “And asked to stay here, close to us.”

“That’s… not how I worded it!” the dragon exclaimed, her voice raised not in intimidation but flustered indignation. “And also because my lair felt… lonely once you were gone, Madeleine.”

Beatrix rolled her huge copper eyes up to the sky, avoiding the gazes below, and the crab suspected that if her face wasn’t already red before, it would have turned that color at that moment.

“Oh, Bea!” the baker girl exclaimed, spreading her arms into a hug against the dragon’s body again. “Of course you can stay. I’d love to have you close and come visit. We could chat over some pie and tea, like we used to!”

“Uhh, she can?” the eight-legged merchant said, one eyestalk raised higher than the other. “I don’t remember agreeing to that.”

Madeleine lifted her face from the dragon’s scales and looked at the crab with big, shiny eyes and the beginning of a tiny pout on her lips.

“Oh, don’t even start!” Balthazar exclaimed, looking away from her. “Fine, I don’t mind if she stays, but it’s not like I got a place to keep a dragon-sized guest!”

“That will not be a problem,” Beatrix said. “Before I landed here last night, I scanned the peak of your neighboring volcano, and I spotted a nice cave that formed from its eruption, near the top. I believe it could make for a suitable chamber I could rest in for now.”

“Are you sure?” the crab asked. “I sent Blue to check things up there after the eruption, but the air is so thin that she couldn’t stay there for long.”

“Worry not. Unlike the lesser draconic creatures, a dragon like me can easily withstand the harsh environment of such high altitudes.”

“Wouldn’t a bigger creature suffer from lack of oxygen even more?” Rye muttered with a deep frown of confusion on his face.

“Shush, Rye!” Madeleine said with a happy little hop. “Then it’s settled! Bea can stay up there on the mountain, and I’ll come visit to meet her down here every few days!”

“What about my visits?” Balthazar muttered under his breath.

As the baker embraced the huge red dragon into another hug, the archer walked toward the back of the bazaar.

“Hey, I’ll meet you back in town, alright, Maddie?” he said, hurrying up the steps. “I’ve got a suspicion I need to check on.”

They watched as the adventurer disappeared into the bazaar before the crab and the baker looked at one another with puzzled expressions.

“What’s gotten into him?”