Orson watched as Myrtle tried to get her brother's attention.

She spoke calmly. "Jacob." When that didn't work, she tried again, louder. "Jacob!" And, when even that failed to bring him around, she lost her temper and screamed. "Baaaaaaaah!"

Orson cringed. It wasn't so much that she screamed but that the sound shot daggers of pain into his head. He'd never heard anything like it and, quite frankly, never wanted to again. However, it did have the desired effect.

Jacob whirled on his sister and demanded, "What do you want?"

"We should talk with our guests about safe passage," Myrtle suggested.

"Right." Jacob chuckled, a sound that threatened to send him off again. "To the dragon."

Orson looked from one goat to the other. "What will it cost us to get through?"

"How many apples do you have?" Myrtle asked immediately.

"How many goats are in your herd?" Orson countered.

"We've got twenty-three, plus four kids."

He thought for a moment. "We have three apples apiece for the adults and one each for the kids."

If Orson wasn't mistaken, he swore he got a smile from Myrtle. She at least bobbed her head, flapping her ears. "Excellent! Passage granted."

"Now, wait a minute," Jacob protested. "What about what I want?"

Myrtle rolled her eyes. "Oh, please! We both know you'd let them through for free just to see if the dragon drops them off the mountain."

"Drops?" Jane squeaked. "Off the mountain?"

Orson's eyes narrowed at Jacob. He's a mean ol' goat, he thought, not for the first time.

"Oh, yeah," Jacob told her, "that's usually what happens to dragon's gold thieves." He tilted his head and eyed her. "And since that's what you're after, this promises to be the best entertainment around for months!" He turned to his sister. "Yeah, you're right. Go ahead and get your apples. I'm going home."

Jacob bounded away, climbing back up the mountain on the finger-sized ledges, leaving a scowling Orson and nervous Jane behind. Orson huffed out a breath and tried to focus. "Where would you like us to pile the apples?" he asked Myrtle.

"Oh! Yes... umm... wait! We have an area that is right on the way for you." She eyed them. "But, don't you have to go and get them?"

Orson shook his head. "We've got them on us, trust me. It's just a bit of magic."

The goat nodded her head. Magic was, after all, an everyday occurrence. "Good. Now, I will lead you up the mountain. Walk where I walk, and you won't fall. I promise to keep in mind that you're not a goat."

Orson was satisfied with the results of her promise for the next dozen or so steps. After that, it seemed that she picked the narrowest ledges possible. After the third nearly impossible, very scary ledge, Jane echoed his thoughts out loud.

"I thought you were going to keep in mind that we're not goats!" his friend exclaimed when she saw the next ledge. It was as wide as his two feet side-by-side. Thank goodness the mountain sloped so that they could lean on it and slide along, but that didn't make the boulders below any less jagged.

"But I have!" insisted Myrtle, calling to them as they progressed behind her. "This takes an extra two hours to get where we're going. These are the widest ledges I can find, truly."

Jane was grumbling when her foot slipped on some pebbles on the ledge.

Orson immediately reached for her. "Jane!" He caught her by the arm and did his best to lean back. His heart pounded. "Grab on to me!" Shelly flittered free and fluttered around them, wringing her hands.

Jane's eyes were wide, and she was so scared that she didn't make a sound. Orson hadn't needed to tell her to grab on; she did so immediately, clutching at him. He felt her tremble through her grip, and when he finally hauled her back toward the wall, she whimpered.

He wanted to hug her and offer some comfort as she shook, but there wasn't room. He also couldn't pass her to help lead her. They were stuck on the ledge for as long as she didn't move.

His heart was still racing, and his stomach was in knots. They had to get off the ledge; there was no time to recover. "Jane," he said softly, "you need to keep going."

"I can't," she whispered. "I can't take another step!"

"You have to, Jane!" Shelly said. "We have to get off this ledge. Then we can rest for a while."

She nodded and began to inch forward again, concentrating on the narrow walkway. Two more areas had gravel, but Jane swept it away with her foot before passing over.

It seemed like an eternity until they were on the open ground again. Jane sank to the rocky earth and burst into tears. Orson sat beside her and put an arm around her.

"Shh. It's okay... you're okay," he crooned. "Don't cry."

Shelly glared at Orson before working her way into the satchel and pulling out a handkerchief for Jane. "Here. Don't listen to Orson, you cry as much as you need." She patted Jane's ear and settled in to wait.

Jane nodded and blew her nose. She sniffled for several moments more. "We're not going to make it, are we?"

Orson hugged her to him. "Of course we are."

"What's the point?" Jane whimpered. "That dragon will probably drop us off the side of the mountain, and all this will be for nothing!" She started to cry again in earnest.

Myrtle was standing off to the side, watching the three friends. "Now, hon, get yourself together," she encouraged. "There are only two ledges left, I promise. If you look up, you'll see the top of the cliff. That's where we're going!"

They all turned to look where the goat had indicated. The top wasn't far above them. Jane blew her nose again, stood, adjusted the satchel, and said in the most determined voice she could muster, "Okay then. Let's get to it."

"Let me go first," Orson insisted. He was relieved when Jane nodded.

The next ledge was, mercifully, wider than the last. Orson concentrated on clearing it off as he stepped along it. It was hard to do; looking at only the ledge and not all the way down set his teeth on edge. He was starting to get a headache and was breathing heavily by the end.

"Just one more," Jane said quietly as she placed a hand on his arm.

Orson attempted to smile at her, but it faltered. Even so, he tried to encourage her. "You ready for it?"

She drew herself up straight. "Yeah. You?"

He nodded with a confidence he didn't quite feel. "Let's do this."

It was a bit of a hike to the last ledge. Orson nearly cried when he saw it was almost as wide as the two of them walking side-by-side. They walked up with ease. Once at the top, they turned to look at how far they'd come. The field was far below them, and the view of the forest was magnificent. He took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders, working out some of the tension.

"Okay, tourists," Myrtle teased. "Come on. My home is this way," she said, trotting off.

Now that he didn't have to worry about falling to his death, Orson realized how much cooler the air felt. They still wore their hats against the glare, however. He was grateful they didn't have heavy packs to contend with.

"Just keep coming this way!" Myrtle called as she began to trot. "I'm going ahead to let them know!" They followed Myrtle as she went around a pile of ragged rocks and began to hear the screaming from up ahead.

"Gosh, I hope she will have them be a little quieter," Jane whispered. "I have such a headache!"

As soon as she said it, the screaming stopped. They all breathed a sigh of relief, and Shelly murmured, "Oh, thank goodness!"

When they rounded the rocks, they found two dozen sets of eyes on them. Orson encouraged Jane to keep going with a hand on her back, even though he felt a bit unnerved.

Five of the goats stepped forward toward them. Myrtle explained, "My brothers and sisters would like to try the apples. Would you give each of them one?"

"Of course!" Jane exclaimed as she began to fetch them out of the magic pouch. Each goat took their apple with ease, not showing anger at all. They munched on them, offering sounds of appreciation; they were delicious, after all. As they did, Orson and Jane dumped out apples from the satchel into a pile.

"How do you feel?" Myrtle asked the goat nearest her as the last bite of apple disappeared.

"M-m-marvelous!" The female goat laughed. "Simply marvelous!"

Myrtle bobbed a little before turning to Jane. "I'd like to introduce my sister, Gertrude."

"Hi Gertrude, it's nice to meet you," Jane answered immediately.

"Hello!" Gertrude shouted as she danced, agile and quick. "Oh! That was a bit loud," she adjusted.

Orson, Jane, and Shelly suddenly found themselves surrounded by goats, excited to say hello. Tails flicked, ears flapped, and hooves pranced around them. They tried to be sure to say hello to each.

"Now, deary," Gertrude projected over the others. "We understand you want to go to the dragon?"

Orson nodded. "Yes, though 'want to' isn't quite the phrase I'd choose. It's more that we 'have to.'"

Gertrude nodded. "Ah, yes, I quite understand. Well, we can help make it happen."

"Are the paths as narrow as they have been?" Jane asked in a quiet voice.

"Oh no, certainly not!" Gertrude assured her. "You don't have to worry about narrow ledges. No, we're going to be climbing. Straight up, deary, straight up we go!"

The three of them looked up at the face of the cliff wall. Right above them was, indeed, a cave. It was very high overhead. Orson swallowed. "The dragon lives up there?"

"Oh, no, deary. That's just the backdoor. We figured you'd want to sneak in," Gertrude whispered in a conspiritus tone.

"Yes. Um... thanks," Orson said before turning to Jane. "Are you ready?"

Jane looked up the cliff again. "As I'll ever be, I guess." She leveled her gaze at him and squared her shoulders. "Let's go get some gold."

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