The small path leading to the cave at the base of the mountain cut through the forest, sometimes disappearing in the grass and occasionally hopping over little streams. However, it didn't bother Ribi, who confidently made her way through the woods, unafraid of wild animals or a possible encounter with the dragon. True, she stumbled on the almost even ground a couple of times and even fell into a stream once, but her clumsiness made her even more endearing.
"Ribi, may I ask you something?"
"Sure, dragons swallow their victims whole after killing them, so you won't suffer much."
"No, I'm not talking about that."
"Really? I thought that's all you'd be interested in now," our guide said, showing surprise and a touch of sarcasm.
That characteristic of hers annoyed me greatly. It seemed she couldn't wait for the dragon to devour us.
"How dare you! You don't even know what we are capable of, and you're already thinking about our defeat," of course, these taunts hurt Katrina's pride.
"Well, I don't know anything about you, but I know what dragons are capable of, and I doubt a pair of underachieving mages can stand against them."
"It seems you don't really want us to kill the dragon?" Krito asked with feigned indifference.
"And why should I want that? Dragons are beautiful and noble creatures, and humans place all their troubles on them," Ribi's face was filled with bitterness with each sentence.
"And what about the missing people and the domestic animals?" the princess protested.
"I told you, people put all their problems on dragons. They saw it a couple of times in the night sky above the city and blamed it for all their misfortunes. Of course, the dragon may have eaten a couple of sheep, but I doubt it needed to steal a sheep every day, especially when there was a fair in the neighboring town. Did you know that there's a rule in this closed town that if you sell your goods in the neighboring city, you must pay a 15% tax to the village treasury for public needs? The law is extortionate, but many farmers spend years trying to find ways to bypass it."
"Do you mean to say that not all the missing livestock is the work of the dragon?" The girl is smarter than she seems.
"What are you talking about! How can I accuse my honest and kind fellow villagers!" Ribi exclaimed sarcastically.
"Hmph. You just don't know how to believe in people!" Katrina was indignant.
"Oh dear. Little princess, with your faith in people, you could carry water!" I can't understand how she can be so trusting.
"Just having faith in kindness won't get you far."
"And what do you say about the missing girls? Or does the dragon have nothing to do with that?"
"I don't know, I don't know. But think about it yourself, why would the dragon need people, especially young girls?"
"I'm afraid he simply ate them," Katrina's face expressed disgust.
"Hmm, one of the biggest human misconceptions. People think they're the tastiest creatures on the planet. Believe me, even a marsh hydra tastes better."
"How dare you say that!"
"The only advantage humans have compared to wild animals," Ribi paused theatrically and continued with a devilish grin, "is that they're easier to catch."
A shiver ran down my spine at that phrase; however, she was right. There's plenty of game here already, so why would the dragon need people?
"No respectable dragon would stoop to hunting humans, but if they started killing the game around its lair, then it would take that as a challenge."
"Well, yeah, but he only kidnaps girls. Ah, ah, ah, what if he kidnaps them for other purposes?" Katrina's face turned red, and steam seemed to come out of her ears.
"Oh my, such an innocent girl, and she's thinking such naughty things," Ribi's slyness reached its peak. "You think he's building a harem? Well, that's unlikely - dragons prefer females of their own kind. Alliances with humans are rare because the difference in lifespans is too significant. And to have three females at once, that would be some hyperactive dragon."
"That's not what I meant! I just read in books that dragons kidnap princesses and keep them in towers until a brave hero comes to rescue them."
Ribi burst into laughter, causing even the tree crowns to tremble. It was my turn to blush: coming here with a Guild Master who studied dragons from children's fairy tales was a shame for a lifetime.
"Ah, I sympathize with you, my boy!" the herbalist patted my shoulder compassionately. "If you ever find yourself in the same bed with her, you'll be discussing high matters all night long."
"Please, don't mock me like that," I mentally pleaded, fully aware that Katrina, though not far in development from an eight-year-old, had never been noticed by anyone else like this before.
"This insignificant commoner isn't even worthy of making my bed!" Katrina arrogantly lifted her nose.
"Still, you seem to know quite a lot about dragons," and that aroused my great suspicion.
"Huh? Well, yes, I've been interested in them for a long time, and I came here solely because I heard that there's a dragon living in the vicinity. Although the villagers blame it for everything, I believe a dragon would never stoop to such actions. By the way, we came here, and if you want to escape, this is your last chance."
Finally, the dense forest parted, and we arrived at a small clearing at the foot of the mountain. The rock looked monolithic, but at its base was an entrance to a cave, which was over ten meters in diameter, with deep gashes and charred marks on its walls. This could only be the dragon's lair.
It was too late to turn back now. Ignoring Ribi's words, Katrina bravely rushed inside. I had no choice but to follow her.
"Come out, dragon, I've come to defeat you!"
"Will you shut up? What if he hears you?"
"That's exactly what I'm counting on."
"Are you crazy? He hunts at night, which means he sleeps during the day. At least we would have had a chance to strike first while he was still asleep, but now our chances have dropped drastically."
"What did you say!? Only cowards attack from behind, true heroes face danger head-on!"
"In your case, it's facing death head-on! Or do you still want to fight him according to knightly rules, one strike for you, one strike for the dragon?" I futilely tried to reason with Katrina. "Then you definitely won't live to see the second round."
"Just stop talking, both of you!" Unexpectedly, Ribi's voice came from behind.
"Ribi, why did you follow us? It's dangerous here; you'd better wait outside or return to the village."
"Oh, come on. This is such a chance to get a closer look at the dragon and visit his lair! I've wanted to do this for a long time, but I couldn't find anyone I could use as bait while I run away," only girls know how to say mean things with such an innocent expression on their faces.
"That's encouraging," I smirked.
"And by the way, now you've definitely invaded the dragon's personal territory, and wherever you run, he'll find you and kill you."
"You seem to have a talent for giving inspiring speeches before battles."
"But you seem to be lucky; if he were here, you would have felt it by now. Maybe he's gone hunting in neighboring lands."
"We can't allow him to continue his mischief. We need to inspect the cave; maybe he simply didn't hear us."
"Well, he definitely didn't hear you."
"Let's split up and search for the dragon," Katrina said, ignoring my remarks.
"That's your most absurd idea of the day!"
"Why? It will be much faster that way, won't it?"
"Hmm, what if I or Ribi find the dragon? Do we throw slippers at him?"
"Your words do have some logic. It's better not to split up, or I may not be able to come to your rescue in time. I've decided - we're all going together."
"Of course, you've decided, what a useless GM," Krito muttered almost inaudibly but obediently followed Katrina.
The cave was of impressive size. Shortly after the entrance, the corridor widened, leading to a huge stone hall that was almost fifteen meters high and twenty meters in diameter. Dry crushed grass lay against one of the walls, likely serving as the creature's bed. But it wasn't the end; there were other passages in the walls, possibly forming a whole labyrinth inside the mountain.
"Coo-coo, coo-coo. Little dragon, little dragon, come out."
"He's not a pigeon, stop making fun of this noble creature!" Ribi's outrage knew no bounds.
"Well, I don't know how to call a dragon, but since he's a bird, maybe this will work on him."
"Dragons aren't birds, they're reptiles, you idiot!" It seemed our guide would burst from anger.
"Strange, I've never seen any flying lizards before," Princess Katrina said thoughtfully, pressing her index finger to her lips.
"I'll kill her, I'll definitely kill her! How dare she insult the great dragons?!" Flames of fury blazed in Ribi's eyes.
"Don't get so worked up. She just doesn't understand much about life," I shrugged, pretending not to notice.
"Alright, since he's not coming out, let's go look for him."
"Wait a minute, what if these passages go on for kilometers? What if we get lost?"
"I read something about how to navigate a labyrinth; it has a strange name. Mmm, the 'left wall rule,' I think."
"Exactly! Thanks for reminding us; with that rule, we won't get lost," Katrina confidently ignited her magical light and stepped into the first passage.
Oh, oh, are you sure you know what you're talking about? Reluctantly, I had to follow this crazy princess.
To our relief, the labyrinth wasn't as complicated as we feared: five passages starting from the main hall intersected with each other in several places but always returned to the center. Thank goodness, I thought to leave a big stone at the entrance; otherwise, inspired by her confidence, Katrina would lead us in circles indefinitely, never realizing that there was only one main hall.
All passages and rooms in the cave looked the same: round with slightly flattened ceilings and floors, all the passages were at least eight meters high. The traces on the walls indicated that they were dug by the dragon itself, and their height perfectly suited the dragon's passage. But deep within the cave, we found a beautiful spot that clearly had a natural origin. The entrance to this chamber was much narrower than the corridors, not more than four meters in diameter, and though sufficient for humans, it was hard to imagine how a dragon could squeeze in here. Inside, it was surprisingly damp, the ceiling was high, and in the center, there was a small hole through which sunlight penetrated. The ceiling was adorned with stalactites, from which small droplets of water fell, forming a small lake in the center of the room.
"A good spot, if we encounter the dragon, try to escape here. I doubt he'll be able to reach you," Katrina's words sounded almost like an insult.
"Oh, come on, I can't abandon you. Without a GM, I won't get paid for the contract, so I'd better fight alongside you."
"Don't be foolish; you can't even properly cast a single spell, and fighting a dragon with your little knives reeks of idiocy."
"Hey! I've been practicing magic, watch this." With these words, I drew a small blade from behind my back and infused it with mana. Creating a simple light spell was already an achievement for me.
"Fighting a dragon with a glowing little knife isn't any better."
"That's not all; I can also do this!"
"Nonsense! There's no person in the world worth giving your life for," Ribi's voice was filled with pain, tormenting her heart. "You can wait here until the end of time, but the dragon is unlikely to return."
Ribi was furious, and she already wanted to leave, but I couldn't allow that.
"Wait, Ribi! You don't have to wait that long. If it's not too much trouble, could you take off your cloak? There's no sun in here, after all."
Yes, this aroused the most suspicion. Ribi never took off her long dress and cloak, and it was quite warm in the cave, so there was no need to wrap up like that. But she didn't seem to care. Ribi was hiding something, that much was evident, and I think I knew exactly what it was.
"I was afraid you'd turn out to be smarter than this magician. But if you've figured it all out, you should have kept silent, then you would still have a chance," with these words, Ribi turned towards us, her face showing deep contempt, and her sharp gaze pierced me through.
"Krito, I don't understand what you're talking about," Princess turned to me with a puzzled look.
"I think you'll understand in a moment."
Rising from the stone, Ribi turned to us and said:
"I think I should introduce myself once again. The name Ribi was given to me by my mentor," with a slight smile, Ribi bowed and uttered, "I am Ragnalia, the daughter of Ignis."
"She said 'the daughter of flames'?"
"No, I think she literally meant Ignis."
After that, Ribi removed her cloak and dress with one hand. I froze with anticipation, but unfortunately, she had another layer of clothing under the dress, something one wouldn't expect on an ordinary person. My gaze slowly explored her slender figure.
On Ribi's feet, there were tall black boots with a small heel, adorned with a silver ornament resembling diverging bones from the front. The boots stopped just below her knees, revealing her slender, sun-kissed legs. It looked very alluring. Above the boots, there were short black velvet shorts with a buckle ornamented with precious stones. Her slim, flawless abdomen was exposed, stimulating the imagination. Above, she wore a short corset that provocatively lifted her ample bosom. Her arms were covered by long velvet gloves, reaching to her elbows, with cuffs made of a metal similar to silver. On her neck, there was a simple black piece of fabric with a red gem in the center. Her silky black hair now fell over her delicate shoulders, but that wasn't the only change in her appearance. Her eyes were no longer deeply black; they were yellow with narrow pupils, typical of every lizard. And most importantly, on her temples, they receded back and slightly curved towards shiny black horns.
Slightly squinting her eyes and breaking into a satisfied smile at the corner of her mouth, she said:
"You can call me Ragni."