The land itself was in sympathy with Balrung and acknowledged his right to rule. Even asleep it made him aware of the least of creatures that dwelled within it.

The murder of the rabbit was an insult to the dragon's sovereignty. A challenge to his territorial claim. It was an existential threat to his rule. It could not, and would not, be ignored.

Balrung slowly raised his massive body from the pile of coins, gems, and art treasures he slept upon, gold and silver coins dropping from his body like rain. He stretched his powerful wings to almost their full span and roared.

Refolding his wings, Balrung walked to the mouth of the cave where he made his lair and glared down at the land below. He immediately sensed unusual activity in Three Hills, the village of his hobling serfs. If one of the hoblings wasn't responsible for this outrage then they would certainly know who was.

Balrung spread his mighty wings once more and took off into the sky.

* * *

The three boys stared up at the sky slack-jawed.

"I'm guessing..." began Ollie. "I'm guessing that's our dragon."

"Do you think we could hit it from here?" asked Victor.

"Not that high up," said Hak-Kun. "We'd only give away our position."

"Where do you think it's headed?" asked Ollie.

"If I had to guess, I'd say Three Hills," replied Hak-Kun.

"Well shit," said Victor.

"We need to get back there," said Ollie. "Aubrey could be in danger."

"Plus the hobbits," said Hak-Kun.

"Right. The hobbits," agreed Ollie.

"This is good though," said Victor, trying to convince himself as much as the others. "We found the dragon."

"Well let's not wait around," said Hak-Kun.

Keeping one eye on the sky they started to follow the flight of the dragon. It was travelling so quickly, however, they quickly lost sight of it.

"Where'd the dragon go?" asked Ollie.

"Oh no, did you lose sight of it too?" asked Hak-Kun.

"This is all that god damn fairy's fault!" exclaimed Victor. "If he was here I would wring his little neck."

"You're not exactly a quick study, are you?" asked Daffodil, sitting casually atop Victor's head. Victor made to grab him but Daffodil took to the air, dodging the attack.

"Daffodil!" exclaimed Ollie.

"Please, Daffodil, you have to remove the spell!" insisted Hak-Kun. "We need to get back to Three Hills. Our friend could be in danger."

"What spell?" asked Daffodil. He looked genuinely confused.

"The one you cast that is keeping us from finding our way..." said Hak-Kun, "remember after Victor insulted you?"

"Oh that," Daffodil laughed. "That wasn't a spell per se, just glamour."

"What?" asked Hak-Kun.

"I made myself seem majestic and terrible so you'd think I cast a spell."

"Why would you do that?" asked Ollie.

"I think my results speak for themselves, really."

"Can you help us get back to Three Hills?" asked Hak-Kun.

"Oh absolutely. Follow me!"

"No tricks though, right?" asked Ollie.

Daffodil laughed again. In spite of everything he had a very pleasant laugh.

"You're adorable," he said.

* * *

Once Aubrey mostly got over what she considered to be an apocalyptic hangover she joined the hoblings for first lunch. After they had eaten she got back to work as the resident tall person. This time she and some others went out to fix a fence.

A number of the hoblings were humming a song while they worked. It sounded very familiar. Aubrey wondered where she would have heard a hobling song. It sounded almost like...

Oh no.

They continued to work for some time, but suddenly the humming changed to nervous Hoblish. The hoblings all looked up at the sky, some of them pointing. Aubrey looked up to see what the commotion was about.

All the blood drained from her face. The silhouette was unmistakable. It was the dragon. Balrung.

They're dead. They're all dead.

Aubrey stumbled. She felt nauseous.

What am I going to do? Dear god...

A pair of hoblings came running towards her group by the fence, yelling as they ran.

"Lyftfloga cirne! Ancuman cyme heap! Myrtyl cwiss broga!"

Aubrey was getting better at Hoblish but she still couldn't follow much of what was being said. She understood just enough to know the hoblings wanted her to follow.

"I follow," she said in Hoblish, and did so.

The hoblings led Aubrey back to the hills. Hoblings were running into their holes, closing windows, scooping up children.

Myrtyl was waiting for her.

"We need to hide you," she said in Dwarvish.

"What?" asked Aubrey.

"Talking is for later. Now we hide you." said Myrtyl. "Come with me."

Myrtyl brought Aubrey to the door leading to her own hole and ushered her inside. The interior looked like a quaint rustic cottage owned by a tidy grandmother, only scaled down to about half size. She had to crouch to get inside.

"Wait here," Myrtyl told her. "Do not leave until I come for you."

Aubrey squatted down beside a table that was barely taller than her knees, sheer terror written all over her face.

Myrtyl closed the round door.

Balrung dropped from the sky and the very ground shook with the power of it. He stalked forward without folding his wings.

"Where is the headwoman?" he demanded in the Old Tongue.

"I am here, mighty Balrung," said Myrtyl, stepping forward. She was the only hobling left not cowering in their hole.

"An animal that belongs to me has been killed. I demand to know who is responsible for this insult!"

"An animal you say?" asked Myrtyl.

"A rabbit," said Balrung.

"I wouldn't know anything about that," said Myrtyl.

"I suspect that you do. And if you do not reveal to me the culprit so that I may bring them to justice then your whole village can share in their punishment. I will burn it down to dead ash!"

"Will you now?" asked Myrtyl. "If you do that who will feed you?"

Balrung leaned down and brought his face closer to Myrtyl. She could smell the sulfur of his breath.

"Take care not to be presumptuous, little hobling. I made meals of kings while your people were still half-formed furry burrowing creatures. I could destroy your village without a second thought and make the world tremble at my appetite. The lives of you serfs are little more than a convenience for me. One I can easily live without."

"All of this, I am sure, is true. Be that as it may I still don't know anything about your missing rabbit. Are you sure it wasn't a fox?"

"Do not play clever with me, little thing," sneered Balrung.

"I'm not playing," said Myrtyl.

Balrung narrowed his eyes at Myrtyl, as though sizing her up. At length he spoke:

"I have decided to show you undeserved mercy. You have until sundown to bring me the criminal who murdered my rabbit. If you are telling the truth that you do not know who it was you had best begin looking. Once the sun has set I will have my justice one way or the other."

Myrtyl said nothing in reply.

With several flaps of his great wings, the air pressure causing Myrtyl's dress to billow, he took off into the sky with a noise almost like a thunderclap.

* * *

Aubrey squatted in the hobling hole, trembling.

They're dead, she kept repeating to herself.

How could she have let this happen? She should have stopped them. She knew what was going to happen and she still let them go. This was all her fault. It was all her fault.

The doorknob turned, startling Aubrey. Without thinking she tried to stand and hit her head on the ceiling. The door opened. It was Myrtyl.

Aubrey let out a sigh of relief.

"Your friends were not clever to steal from a dragon," she said. "For your own safety you need to leave here at once."

"What happened?" asked Aubrey.

"Your friends killed a rabbit that belonged to Balrung," said Myrtyl. "Now he is looking for them."

Aubrey blinked. Tears began to well in her eyes.

"They're alive?" she croaked.

"For now. Likely not for long," said Myrtyl. "Nor will you be if you do not leave. I will bring you some food to take with you on the road but then you must go at once. Travel south until you come to a river. Follow it eastward until you find a stone bridge. This marks the border of Balrung's lands. Make sure to get beyond them before sundown."

"What happens at sundown?" asked Aubrey.

"If Balrung has found your friends by then he will have killed them. If not he will burn down the village and kill us all."