Tears For The Dragon Ch. 01

Emsari placed one hand on Petra's shoulder. The dragon's hand was so big by comparison that it looked like she was going to engulf the gnome with it. "Relaaax..." breathed the dragon. Tibor was getting attuned enough to Emsari to know that the dragon had thrown in a little bit of calming magic along with the word.

Petra blinked. "Anyway, somebody mentioned putting the kettle on?"

Emsari was a hoarder of many things, not just gold. Sometime in the past she'd acquired a full set of porcelain for proper gnomish High Tea. The only change was that one of the cups and saucers was much larger and sized for a dragon's hands.

To her credit, Petra's hands only trembled slightly while they all sat and had tea. It made the cup rattle a little against the saucer as she sipped. The three of them were seated at a table in the forward portion of Emsari's main hall.

"Thanks again for your hospitality, ma'am," said the gnome after she'd poured them all another cup.

Emsari laughed. "It is I who should be thanking you. Apparently you're the only reason my companion Tibor is still among the living."

Petra shrugged. "I did what I could. Good thing my beanpole of a friend is too damn stubborn to die." She set her saucer down. "Now, I thought that this was Tibor's, er, base of operations. But if this is your lair, then how may I repay you for staying here?"

The dragon smiled. "For now, you can teach me alchemy. Don't worry, I'm not a very stern landlord when it comes to rent. But first, would you like to clean up after your long journey?"

Petra nodded. "Oh, absolutely."

Emsari pointed behind her. "Head through the passageway and to the wall behind my bed. It's an illusion, you can just walk right on through. You'll see where to wash up. Let me know if you need any help." She gave Petra a wink that Tibor caught but the gnome apparently didn't. The little figure gave a cheerful smile and bustled off in the indicated direction.

The dragon turned to Tibor once Petra had left. Her eyes were huge. "Your friend is adorable!" she hissed.

Tibor smiled and took a sip of tea. "So you won't mind having her around?"

"Mind? I want to make a little harness so I can strap her to my body and never let her go. Oooh, I just want to hug her soooo bad!" The dragon made a little squeaking noise that would have sounded more appropriate coming from a little schoolgirl rather than a creature the size of a great bear.

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"This room is not being used right now," said Emsari. "I thought you could set up in here. What else will you need?"

This was the room that Vilmos had been held in, but Tibor knew it would not be a good idea to mention that now.

Petra stood in the middle with her hands on her hips. Any nervousness was long gone; she was now totally on the job. "Well. the size is good. I'm gonna need plenty of light, if we can get a couple 'o them glowy sconces in here that should do. Water...I can bring that in from the lake. Is it spring fed?"

The dragon nodded, and Petra continued. "Good. Should be clean enough, might have to filter out some mineral content. Ventilation is the big unknown. I'll have to test the air flow through here. I'll also need a big exhaust hood right about there," and she pointed at the far wall. "That's for some of the more noxious stuff." The gnome marched up to the wall and kicked it with one boot. "Good stone, though. Should take explosions pretty well."

"Um, explosions?" Emsari sounded uncertain for the first time that Tibor could remember.

Petra shrugged. "Depends on what we're working on, of course. Last year or so all I've been doin' is making blasting powder for the King."

"Ah," said Tibor. "That's actually something we wanted to find out. Do you have any idea what the King is up to? It sounds like he's building up an army."

The gnome snorted. "It's supposed to be a secret, but seems like everybody knows about it. Our lovely King Bognar fancies himself as Emperor Bognar the First. He's got 'is eye on Estressau, across the Straits."

"The ogre kingdoms?" Emsari sounded offended. "There hasn't been a human-ogre war in ten generations. Why now?"

"Because he wants their land," replied Petra. "That's about the shape of it. He's just waitin' for a diplomatic opportunity to present itself before he declares war."

The dragon growled. "Maybe I should just go smash that little upstart now. He thinks he has what it takes to be an Emperor? I'll show him true power!" Emsari's form seemed to swell in the little space. She seemed larger than mountains, larger than the world...

Tibor patted her muscled shoulder. "Now, sweetie, we have a plan. Let's stick to it."

Emsari blinked, and she was suddenly just a big dragon again. "Oh, yes. Thanks dear, I sometimes get a little...distracted."

Tibor saw Petra raise one eyebrow at his use of the word 'sweetie'. "You guys got a plan?" asked the gnome. "I hope it involves me. I owe those bastards somethin'."

The mage looked a little embarrassed. "Well, I didn't want to ask. You just got out of danger, after all."

Petra's face set like stone. "Natalia was my friend too, you know. But if we're not gonna just point our host at him and get out of her way, then how do we take out Bognar? His hold on the kingdom is pretty strong right now. You're not gonna be able to overthrow it."

Tibor gave an evil smile. "I know. We're not going to overthrow his kingdom." He leaned forward. "We're gonna steal it."