Despite the season, the sun had been shining pleasantly through the white clouds in the sky. There had barely been a breeze that day. With hardly any people passing by that m and no birds in sight, everything had been quiet enough that the only sound one could hear in the air was the soothing flow of water dropping into the pond from the mountain cliffs behind it.

  That all quickly ged with the arrival of the dragon.

  The massive creature blotted out the sun as it flew overhead, its shadow casting over the pond like an eclipse.

  Each beat of its wings sent out a gust of wind strong enough to rival the a of storms.

  And the peaceful quiet in the air had been filled with r powerful enough to make the trees shake in their roots.

  Balthazar’s group stood oh between the road and his bazaar, staring up i the winged beast as it swiftly glided over the pins and pond, and then circled over the town on the hill and back.

  Its scales were a dark crimson red, each wing easily rge enough to span the distaween each side of the cobblestone road, and its cws so massive they’d easily be able to carry away a horse if it wished to.

  The dragon tinued cirg over the nd, as if searg for something, letting out angry roars as it went.

  “Is that really a dragon?!” said Rye, his eyes still fixed on the creature high above.

  “It… it ’t be,” Madelei out, her jaw still dropped in surprise at what her eyes were witnessing.

  “What the hell is it doing?” Balthazar said in an exasperated tone, meant to cover his apprehension at seeing the colossal creature flying over his home.

  The dragon circled above the town again, but just as it was ing back around, tiny figures began appearing in the distance, over the city walls. City guards, their bows drawn, emerged all around, aiming up.

  The winged beast let out another roar, and as if that was their and to fire, the archers let loose a volley of arrows towards the attacker. The dragon swerved, knog away many of the projectiles, many more missed, and the few that nded seemed like little more than pebbles thrown at a giant.

  Seemingly unharmed, but a the pestering arrows, the dragon glided some distance away from the city walls, out of reach of the guard’s bows, before preparing to desd over the pins.

  As it nded on the side of the road, some distance away from the pond and bazaar, its weight made the ground shake, making the legs of everyone around Balthazar shake, and nearly throwing Madeleine off bance, before she grabbed on to Rye’s arm for support.

  The dragon’s mouth opened, and for a moment the crab expected fmes to e p out, but much to his surprise, a deep and guttural voice came out instead.

  “I demand what is mine!” it shouted to the walled town on the hill. “Deliver the thief to me or face my wrath!”

  The creature sed its surroundings until its eyes stopped at the modest little gazebo o the pond, and the five small figures standing in awe by the entrance.

  Its lizard eyes narrowed. They were of an intense copper color, eae nearly as big as Balthazar’s whole shell.

  It was like staring at Blue. If she was a different color, and the size of a house.

  Or at least so did the crab think. He had never actually seen a proper house up close.

  Balthazar focused on the creature standing over the tall grass through his monocle, relut to find how big of a threat su imposing being could pose.

  [Level 75 Red Dragon]

  The crab nearly choked as he swallowed. He had never seen anyone or anything that high level. Especially hat were as big and threatening as that.

  The dragon’s nostrils fred, and it turs body to the bazaar before speaking again, raising its head so that everyone around it could hear what it had to say.

  “Do not try to lie or dey. I know the thief came this way. I still smell his st on the road. Bring him to me or I will find him myself in your ashes!”

  Bringing its head back down, the beast fred its nostrils again as it stretched its neck closer to the bazaar.

  Suddenly, a trumpet sounded from the hill above, and the city gates opened.

  Dozens of guards in their matg yellow and white armors rushed out in lines, some holding shields, others spears, and those further back carrying rge longbows and quivers on their backs.

  As the guards took formation on the road betweey and where the dragon had he creature turned away from the pond, fog its angry scowl on the me out to meet it.

  “You dare challenge my—”

  The dragon cut itself short as a distant human shout from behind the lines of guards ordered them to fire, and tless arrows and javelins were sent flying directly at the red creature.

  With surprising speed and agility for something its size, the dragon swatted away the javelins and most of the arrows with one wing, all while its tail followed through with one swift swipe, hitting the grouween it and the guards like a giant whip.

  The impact sent the front line shield-bearers flying bato the spear holders, knog most of them down and revealing a rear line of shocked bowmen quickly trying to nock their arrow.

  “Guys, we ’t just stand here gawking like idiots forever!” Rye excimed.

  Balthazar shook his shell, as if snapping out of a haze. The entire se had felt so surreal that he had nearly fottehing around him and the da all posed.

  Bouldy stood close behind him, his stance ready and defensive, while Druma stood to his left, uhe cover of the golem’s arm, written all over his brow and rge eyes.

  Madeleiuro them. “If that thing decides to start attag, there’s no pce that will be safe, but in here we will be easy prey. We o get up to town ahem defend it. It’s our safest bet.”

  Balthazar gulped quietly.

  She was irely wrong, but he knew he couldn’t leave. Even if he wao.

  “The dragon is standing right between us and the gates. There’s no way for us to make it there without it catg us if it wants to,” the crab said.

  “Balthazar’s right,” said Rye. “Either through or around the road, we would put ourselves directly in the line of fire. If we try to ruher way, we’d have to go into the forest, and it’s not like that would be much safer for cover. We o hunker down here as best as we and hope the guards take care of it.”

  “I don’t know, Rye,” Balthazar said, pointing a piowards the uphill road. “I’m not feeling too fident that they got this covered.”

  A cloud of dust was settling over the road, revealing a mass of guards thrown on the ground as their rades tried their best t the injured baohering to shoot the dragon anymore.

  The beast roared once more, as the men hurriedly retreated, stumbling over themselves back to the gates.

  “Well, so much for that!” said Madeleihrowing her hands up in exasperation.

  “And they wanted me to pay taxes fuards like that!” Balthazar added.

  On the pins, the dragon roared again.

  “Do not test my patience further, humans!” demahe angry dragon.

  “e on, guys,” said Rye. “Let’s take shelter inside before things get uglier.”

  The group made their way bato the bazaar, but outside, as if it had suddenly remembered what it was doing before the small distra caused by the city guards, the winged beast was turning back its attention to the small pond and its inhabitants.

  “Well, crap,” said Balthazar as he looked up. “Not the best pce to take shelter when we have a big gaping hole above our heads.”

  The light ing through the roof disappeared as the dragon stretched its neck over the bazaar and its big copper eye peered inside.

  “You,” the dragon’s voice echoed ihe gazebo. “The thief I seek was here. I still feel his faint smell from your shack.”

  “Did that big lizard just call my pce a shack?!” the ed crab said.

  “Balthazar,” Rye whispered without taking his sights off the huge eyeball them from above, “I don’t think that’s the detail you should focus ht now.”

  “Well, I don’t know what it wants,” the mert said. “None of us is a thief. The only thief I know is Rob, and I know there’s no way that coward would dare go anywhere near a dragon.”

  Seeing no other option but to use his main talent, Balthazar stepped uhe dragon’s gaze and started talking.

  “Er… hey, big guy,” the crab sheepishly called. “Hello there. Name’s Balthazar. Owner and proprietor of this bazaar, o meet you. Don’t mind the mess, we were doing some ing and repairs before you… you know… showed up and started r and whatnot. Impressive vocal cords, by the way.”

  The dragon frowned and snarled impatiently, letting out a cloud of smoke through its nose.

  “Anyway,” Balthazar hurriedly tinued. “If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly did this thief you seek look like?”

  Letting out another snarl, the creature moved its head further away from the roof.

  The dragon’s mouth opened, revealing a set of terribly sharp teeth, and the group reeled, unsure whether it was about to speak again or do something far more devastating.

  Whie was it, they would never know, for another loud sound broke through the air outside, pulling everyone’s attention away, including the dragon.

  Balthazar and pany all leaned over one of the side railings of the bazaar, trying to see the source of the shouting and yelling ing down from the town’s road.

  Dozens of figures were p out of the city gates and running down the hill. They were not soldiers in their matg uniforms this time, but a mob wearing a myriad of different armors and colors, brandishing all sorts of ons as they went.

  Balthazar khe type well. He had been seeing them daily for months.

  They were adventurers, all rushing out of the city with eagerness and ambition on their faces, cm and raring to fight.

  As the mob rolled down the hill, their stampede made the ground shake, and their shouting grew into deafening battle cries.

  “Sy the dragon!”