//------------------------------//
// Sanctuary (Pt2|Ch2) 
// Story: My Little Argonian: Family is Sacred 
// by Warren Peace 
//------------------------------//


Chapter Two: Sanctuary


I sat as comfortably as I could with my cast amid the foliage of the Everfree forest.
Beams of morning light struck down through the treetops, choked by the gnarled branches above. The sun was an intruder into the otherwise forsaken forest. Silence rebounded around me, making the scene otherwise peaceful. It almost felt like home.
There was a soft rasp of wet leaves underfoot, off behind and to my left a ways.
Almost.
I kept up my facade of ignorance, letting the would-be assassin think they were still safe.
Silence fell again.
My stomach gurgled at me, so I settled it with a crunchy bite from one of the delectable apples Fluttershy had offered me. I savored the sour-sweetness of the fruit even as I listened for more hints of movement.
Which one is it, do you think? my mind inquired.
Whoever it is, they’re already dead, I gave a mental shrug, finishing the apple with a few more bites, Were this not an exercise, I’d have already put an arrow through their heart and escaped. If they’re to kill in the name of Sithis they must be better than this.
The next time it sounded as if my hunter had brushed too hard against a small bush, a whisper of leaves over flesh. It was a few steps closer this time.
At least they managed a few unheard steps.
Any fool can do that, I retorted.
You really ought to give credit where it’s due, Aram, my mind retorted, they may not be perfect, but your merry little band of talking undersized horses is far from worthless.
A squelch of mud, this time.
Standing suddenly, I turned and hurled the apple core towards where I heard the sound. My aim was true as it thunked off Moonbeam’s chest, making him hop back a step with a startled whinny.
“You’re dead,” I growled, crossing my arms with a disappointed scowl, Yet again, Moonbeam proves the fool.
“I know, I know!” Moonbeam replied, looking flustered and a little afraid as he failed to meet my eyes, “I’m sorry, I was just trying to focus on you and the ground, and…”
“Don’t apologize,” I retorted, rubbing my arm lightly. The throw had inflamed a touch of pain in my chest, but at least it had struck its mark, “You’re dead. Dead acolytes don’t get to apologize.”
Moonbeam shut his mouth, stance uncertain as he stared back at me, eyes darting to my own before dropping away.
“Send the next one,” I ordered, pausing for a moment before adding with a clipped tone, “Plan your steps ahead next time, then watch me as you move. Don’t try to do both at once, you’ll fail.”
“I...yes, okay...s-sorry!” he replied, turning and cantering back through the brush.
“The dead don’t apologize,” I growled as he fled, turning and sitting back down on my fallen log.
Silence descended again.


0 . o . 0
 

I was inspecting my clawed nails when I heard the next pony coming. As with before, I kept up my ignorant appearance as I listened, disappointed yet again.
The crunch of a twig had come from off to my right this time. At least that meant this one wasn’t so stupid as to approach from the same direction, but beyond that…
There was another snap of a twig, too soon after the first.
Ooh, bad mistake, my mind commented.
I agreed.
Annoyed, I turned and confirmed my suspicions as I met the large green eyes of Choc. The larger pony was built for strength, not agility, and while she’d do well as a brawler I had my doubts about an assassin. She froze midstep, a forehoof paused above the ground as her eyes narrowed. The hoof settled down after a moment.
“Will you to hit me with apple?” she growled at me in her oddly accented voice.
“Should I?” I countered, eyeing the distance between us. It was at least two times the distance at which I’d first heard Moonbeam, “Are you even trying to sneak up on me?”
She regarded me briefly with a glare before replying, “You could not stop me if I went to break you.”
Of that I have my doubts, my eyes narrowed at her, fingers flexing by their respective knives, “That’s not the point of this exercise. You were supposed to try to sneak up on me, you failed,” she merely glared back at me, “send Rain, try harder next time.”
“Da, zhopa,” she grumbled at me before turning. While the words were alien to my ears the tone implied something less than respectful.
I glared after her as she turned and trotted off, remaining otherwise silent.
She can’t sneak and has an authority problem, I noted with distaste.
She can be taught to be quieter, my mind replied, and if she’s got an authority problem, then she’s in good company...after all, you and the listener got along just fine.
I loosed a growl in reply, taking my seat again to wait.

And wait.

I should’ve heard something by now, I thought, earholes straining against the silence around me.
Maybe you’ve finally met your match, then, my mind replied cheekily, any second now you’ll feel her come up and tap your shoulder.
A low growl escaped me I doubt it.
So what, then? my mind put in, Did your less-than-respectful attitude finally scare them off? Have you somehow managed to fail Sithis again? Ooh, I’m sure he’ll be pleased with that!
Shut-up with your blasphemy, if she keeps me waiting much longer…
There was the soft creak of a branch above me, and in an instant my train of thought collapsed as my reflexes took over. My hands came up as I leapt to my feet and twisted around, latching onto the dark and fleshy mass that smashed into them. Even having countered her tackle, the force of it still sent me sprawling to the dirt. Pain blossomed in my chest as the pony smashed down atop me, crying out as I used our momentum to send her crashing to the dirt beside me, rolling atop her to keep her pinned.
She struggled briefly, eyes wide with surprise as I kept her pinned down. I almost reached for my knives as instinct told me to open her throat, but instead I let her loose and sat back.
“I got you!” she exclaimed, getting to her hooves and shaking herself off.
“Almost got me,” I corrected her as I struggled to my own feet, the cast making it that much harder, “I heard you at the last second.”
“What!? At the last second!?” Her eyes narrowed as she jabbed a hoof at me, “That’s horseapples! I still got you!”
“I had enough time to react,” I countered, disliking her tone, “you failed!”
“You’re full of it!” She spat back, “I got up behind you without you hearing a thing! I jumped you without you ever noticing!”
“I heard you at the last second,” I retorted, hammering back with that argument, “and I was able to react fast enough to counter your attack,” I gestured to the upset dirt that our brief struggle had made, then crossed my arms, “If this were real you’d be just as dead as the others. You failed.”
“Wh...b-but I…” Rain sputtered, glaring back at me, “That’s hardly fair, you’ve been doing this for-for however long…”
“And that’s why I’m training you now, because I do have the experience,” I cut in, jabbing a finger the way she’d come, “Now go get the others, bring them here and we’ll move on to something else.”
“Fine, but I still got you! Fair and square!” Rain snapped as she darted off, leaving me no room for reply.
She did come the closest, you’ve got to admit, my mind chastised me, at least give her that.
Close or far, she still would’ve been dead, I replied.
And what will you be if you fail Sithis on account of scaring them off with that absolutely lovable personality of yours?
Aside from a sour snarl, I had no reply.


0 . o . 0 . o . 0


A short time later...

“A good, sharp blade is a necessity for any good assassin,” I instructed my acolytes, tapping the pommel of one of my own weapons, “but sometimes a little more is needed to end a target’s life. 
“Perhaps they’re armored, or you can’t get a vital strike on them. To increase your chance of success, poison is always handy. It can make all the difference when it comes to succeeding or failing to accomplish a contract,” I spoke, watching the three as my words met their ears. Choc seemed utterly disinterested in the idea of poison, glaring at me with a hidden sullenness and Moonbeam seemed only a little more perturbed by the idea of murder. Only Rain seemed to have a vested interest in what I was saying, “Therefore, alchemy is among the greatest things an assassin should excel at.”
“Zmey ispol'zuyte yad,” Choc grumbled under her breath in her alien language.
“And that’s why nopony wants to get bitten by snakes,” Rain replied, getting a dismissive huff in reply. She turned to me with a small smile, “So what do you want us to do this time, then? Poison you?”
“I would advise you not to,” I growled back, not caring if she’d meant it as a joke. Gesturing to the ground, I turned their attention to a patch of fearcap mushrooms I’d led them to, “Fearcap mushrooms,” I reached down and plucked one from the ground, “Their caps have a powerful poison that will make enemies flee in terror.”
Rain gave me a confused look, “But it’ll kill them too, right? I mean, if it isn’t lethal then why bother?”
“Because an assassin doesn’t kill everyone they meet,” I replied, “Remember: we aren’t bandits or raiders running about slaying anyone we please. Sometimes a contract will require you not to kill certain individuals, guards for example. Should you need to combat them you would want a poison to incapacitate them, not kill them,” I turned about, gesturing for them to follow, “Follow me, I’ll show you other plants that may be useful…”


0 . o . 0
 

Being new to this land, the ponies probably knew more native flora than I did. None of my favorite flowers and fungi seemed to grow here, so I made do with what Zecora had shown me. The deeper in we traveled, the more I kept an eye on our surroundings, yet as with when I’d taken the three crusaders to Zecora’s hut nothing jumped out to attack us.
I’d have been ready if they did.


0 . o . 0
 

By the time the sun rested at its apex in the sky both my assassins and I had gathered a plethora of ingredients both familiar and odd. A few I’d tested myself and a few I’d had my assassins test, both helpful and harmful.
Moonbeam spat off to the side, pawing at his tongue again.
“I seriously can’t get that horrible taste out of my mouth!” he complained.
“Keep drinking water,” I replied, “eat something, it will pass eventually.”
“I’m out of water!” he snapped back testily, shaking his canteen for emphasis.
“Go get more, then,” I said, not stopping our trek.
“Where!?” Moonbeam countered, gesturing to the surrounding area with a flustered look, “Where the hay do you see water around here?”
“We passed a stream a while ago,” I replied, halting and gesturing back the way we’d come, “I thought horses were good at smelling out water. Go get more, we’ll wait.”
Most of Moonbeams anger fled at the prospect of going back alone. For whatever reason, the ponies seemed put on edge by the oppressive forest. Yet instead of shutting up and dropping the subject as I’d hoped, Choc spoke up.
“Moonbeam, come, I will follow,” she gestured, and the two disappeared.
At least it got him quiet, I mentally growled.
“Did you really have to make him eat that flower?” Rain asked in the ensuing silence, “The last time I checked, putting unknown things in your mouth wasn’t something you’re supposed to do.”
“It’s one of the best ways to figure out how a certain ingredient can be used,” I countered, turning to face her, “And unless you’re eating a whole Jarrin root you should be mostly fine.”
“Yeah, or you could go read a book, maybe?” Rain replied, a sour look rising to her features, “Hay, I could probably find exactly what a dumb Jarrin root even is from a book!” she gestured about with a hoof, “And I wouldn’t even have to go walking around in a cursed forest to do so, either!”
“No, you’d just need to sail out to Stros M’Kai to do so, as that’s the only place that it grows,” I countered, not backing down from the angry pegasus, “Even then, it’s always better to trust your own senses rather than another’s.”
“I still think there’s a better way,” she growled under her breath, turning with a snap of her tail and sitting with a mutter I didn’t quite catch. Removing her throwing knives from the folds of her feathers, she began to preen her wings.
Limping to a fallen log, I took a seat as well to make the best of the spare time. Pulling out my satchel, I checked over all that I’d collected. The bag was nearly full of all manner of ingredients, and I found a ghost of a smile crossing my lips at the prospect of replenishing my supply of poisons. Closing the drawstrings, I made a mental note to get a second bag, it wasn’t good to let helpful and harmful ingredients mix for too long and…
There was a soft tap on my shoulder, startling me into action with a sharp shout. In as swift a movement as I could accomplish, I leapt to my feet, dropping the satchel in favor of my knives. Yet as I beheld my attacker, my stance relaxed.
“Zecora,” I stated evenly as I spied the cloaked zebra staring back at me.
And then Rain’s swift form darted past me with a snarl of her own. The zebra looked startled as the pegasus tackled her to the ground; yet instead of Rain pinning my ‘assailant’ down, Zecora rolled with the attack. 
Faster than I could call out her name, Rain was slammed into the dirt. She drew her dagger with her maw, wild eyes glaring death, but lost the weapon with an “Oof” as Zecora rammed a hoof into her gut. Zecora snathed the weapon up and suddenly it was Rain’s turn to go under the knife, quite literally. Rain froze up, the glare dying from her features as the steel kissed her neck.
“Zecora,” I said again, this time with a hint of warning to my voice, knives held half at the ready. One of her eyes darted back briefly before she spat the knife to the dirt and stepped off my acolyte. My knives went back in their sheaths.
“Dead you would be, were I an enemy,” she said to Rain, straightening her cloak and turning to me with a veiled expression, “Friends you have made, it is good to see. Yet I question why one of them attacks me?”
“She’s just jumpy,” I replied, giving Rain a quick glance as she retrieved her dagger, Though now I know you really are a force to be reckoned with...a pity the creature of stone didn’t send me Zecora instead. At least she managed to sneak up on me.
“Again you come to the Everfree and collect many things, yet this time you bring ponies with horns, hooves, and wings,” Zecora spoke in her rhyming voice.
So she’s been watching from afar again, my mind commented, quite a spooky type, I’m sure you two would make excellent companions.
Or enemies… I replied.
“What the hay are you?” Rain asked. There was venom in her tone, yet her dagger remained sheathed, “You’re not like any pony I’ve ever seen.”
“A zebra I am, you can tell by my stripes. Of equines, you’ll find, there are many types,” she replied to Rain before turning back to me, “Much and more I know of the great Everfree. Your returning to here I did foresee. Unlike most folks around, you do not fear its domain, in spite of the fact that it is quite arcane.”
“There’s nothing to fear from crooked trees and wooden wolves, I’ve faced worse back home,” I replied, Though a lack of a cast around my leg probably helped my experience…
That was apparently not what Zecora had wanted to hear as she pursed her lips, “Do not dismiss this forest as something so tame, it hides far greater things far harder to maim. With Hydras, Cragadiles, and other great beasts you had best stay clear. Should you come across such creatures, you will have much to fear.”
The mention of Hydras and Cragadiles left me frowning in confusion, yet it did remind me of the similar warning I’d gotten the other day about a particular castle. And that sparked a sudden idea in the depths of my mind.
“Then perhaps you might be able to show us the way to the castle?” I asked, “You had said it was taken by timber wolves? My...friends,” I chose the word carefully, “and I wish to clear it out.”
Zecora gave me a curious look, squinting slightly as if gauging my truthfulness. Rain, as well took on a puzzled look, glancing from Zecora to me. Yet she kept her mouth shut, proving herself smart enough to just go with the sudden change.
“Perhaps, I do think, you should leave well enough alone,” Zecora replied, gesturing to my injured leg with a hoof, “Especially when you have such a broken bone.”
“I handled the timber wolves before, and that was just me and Twilight,” I countered, “We’re going there regardless, it would simply be easier if you helped us get there.”
Zecora gave me another gauging look, turning to Rain to look her up and down.
“Yeah, we’re like, hunters and exterminators,” Rain put in, looking to me for support, “We heard this castle was infested, so we came to clear it out.”
Still suspicious, Zecora turned to me. Yet after a moment, she appeared to give in, “Your intentions, true or false, I will not pretend to know,” she finally admitted, “However, if you wish, the way to the castle I will show.”
A ghost of a smile crossed my lips.


0 . o . 0 . o . 0


A short time later...

We had resumed our trek after Moonbeam and Choc returned from getting water. The zebra seemed to unnerve Moonbeam almost as much as I did, while Choc only spared her a glance. As we continued, Zecora explained the castle’s history, how it had once been the ruling seat of the land until one of the Princesses turned on the other.
The tale nearly seemed mythical, at the mention of an eternal night, and banishment to the moon. I may have dismissed it all as a work of fiction, if not for the pony’s familiarity with the story and how eternal night had nearly come again a little over a year ago now.
These creatures certainly do have some fascinating history, my mind commented.
It took a while of navigating the dense undergrowth and winding game trails, but eventually Zecora guided us through a final set of brush, and we had arrived.
Seated across a gorge sat the ruins of an old castle. Even from here, I could tell it was not in as good a shape as I’d hoped. Mossy growth covered much of the exterior and aside from two pointed towers, a good amount of the remaining structure appeared collapsed. 
It’s hardly a castle, I considered as a small scowl crossed my features, more of a ruin!
Well, it’s situated well, my mind commented, perhaps it could be rebuilt.
Perhaps, I replied, wondering at what sort of funds we’d need for such a project.
“There stands the castle of mortar and stone, where once royal sisters did sit on a throne,” Zecora said, gesturing forth, “Though long, it has been abandoned to weather and wear, and since royal sisters have taken thrones elsewhere.”
“Thank you,” I said, “We’ll be able to handle the rest ourselves.”
With a simple nod, Zecora threw her cloak back over her head and disappeared back into the brush.
“Okay, so what exactly are we doing here now?” Moonbeam complained once Zecora was gone.
“We need a sanctuary. Throughout our history, the Dark Brotherhood has always had a sanctuary,” I explained, limping forwards and glancing over the edge of the gorge. It was quite a long way down, with a thin stream, slithering like a timid snake at the bottom. It was certainly a step up from a measly moat, “it needs to be readily defensible, yet hard to find and even harder to access. Back in Skyrim, they were often sealed behind a magical door that only opened for a password,” I scanned over the castle across the gorge, noting with distaste its state of decay. The rope bridge going across had certainly seen better days as well, “Though we may not have one of those…”
“Cool,” Rain said, flexing her wings and giving me a brief glance at the steel knives hidden within them, “So what’s the plan? That zebra, or whatever, said there were timber wolves in there?”
I nodded, turning to face my acolytes and drawing my bow, “This will be your next test, clearing out this castle so we may take it as our own.”
“Wait, what!?” Moonbeam exclaimed, glancing rapidly between Rain and I, “there’s timber wolves in there?”
“Ne bespokoysya, Moonbeam,” Choc spoke up, moving to calm Moonbeam’s sudden anxiety, “my mozhem spravit'sya s nekotorymi derevyannykh volkov.”
Even if I couldn’t understand a word that Choc was saying, Moonbeam seemed to take some solace in them. Glancing to her, he muttered, “Khorosho,” back to her.
“They are not the easiest creatures to defeat,” I said, remembering how they’d simply reformed each time I’d destroyed them, “But they’ll run with tails tucked if you give them enough of a fight,” I looked pointedly at Moonbeam, “if any of you want to back down, now is the time to do so.”
Neither Rain nor Choc turned away, and Moonbeam even procured a short blackjack from...somewhere despite his obvious fright.
“Very well,” I said, turning towards the castle, towards our sanctuary.


0 . o . 0 . o . 0


Within the castle...

The rope bridge creaked and complained as Choc, Moonbeam, and I made our way across, but it held as Rain reconnoitered the castle from the sky. She landed as we reached the courtyard, keeping heads on a swivel and weapons at the ready.
“Didn’t see anything,” Rain reported as she touched down, “but there’s plenty of areas where the roof is still intact.”
“Are there other entrances?” I asked, scanning the towers for hidden enemies.
Rain nodded, “A couple on the North and East sides, none to the South, probably because of the gorge,” she shrugged, “though some of them looked collapsed, didn’t really get the best of looks.”
“Fly up and do so again, then,” I replied, cutting back on my chastening tone, “If things go to Oblivion, knowing entrances and exits may be the only thing that saves you.”
Rain looked like she wanted to argue for a moment, but instead held her tongue and took to the air again. Carefully, the rest of us pushed inside the main entrance.
Dust and cobwebs covered much of the room, tattered tapestries of times long past still clinging to the walls. Spots of light pierced through holes in the shattered roof, highlighting specks of dust that flew through them. Frowning, I scanned over the floor, yet found no prints.
Perhaps they used a different entrance, I considered.
“Do you hear anything?” I asked in a hushed tone.
“No,” Choc whispered.
“No,” Moonbeam mumbled.
With a grunt, I led onwards.


0 . o . 0
 

The further and further in we moved, the greater and greater my confusion grew. We’d still yet to come across any sign of the timber wolves, be it scat, tracks, or anything that might lead me to believe this castle was inhabited. 
Perhaps they are out on a hunt? my mind suggested.
Not all would leave, provided they are anything like the wolves back home, I countered, and it’s still midday, wolves hunt when their prey is out, at dusk and dawn.
If they are the same as the wolves back home, that is.
Peeking around another dark corner, I wondered if Zecora had lied about having heard timber wolves. Yet if she had, then why? Perhaps she’d feared for the crusader’s safety and lied to keep them away, but then why keep up the lie and lead us here? She didn’t strike me as someone who’d lie, even if I hadn’t been completely truthful back to her.
As we passed by a large set of doors, I pulled at the handle and found it to be locked. I made to continue, but Moonbeam hesitated, glancing from door to me and back.
“Wait a sec,” he whispered.
“What?” I asked, if he makes some sort of complaint…
“Why’s a door in a thousand-year-old castle locked?” he inquired, jerking his head towards it, “I mean, you’d think it’d been cleared out long ago, the ponies then wouldn’t have locked it for no reason, right?”
“What are you getting at?” I asked, turning towards him and crossing my arms, “Maybe it’s just rusted shut.”
“Maybe...maybe there’s something in there,” Moonbeam stated, “I mean, c’mon, if there were timber wolves in here, we’d have seen a sign of them already. Maybe that...that zebra or whatever she was…”
“Da, zebra,” Choc grumbled, muttering, “How zebra is so unknown to ponies?”
“Okay, ‘zebra’! Maybe she was lying or something, I dunno, but there’s no timber wolves in here,” his horn’s glow increased as he turned to the door, the handle taking on the same glow, “and it is locked, not rusted.”
“So unlock it, then,” I gestured to the door.
“With pleasure!” Moonbeam replied, sounding quite pleased for a change. As he turned to the door I noticed the heavy padlock emblazoned on his flank.
He did say he was good with locks, my mind put in.
He basically said that he was a thief, I countered.
There was a sudden clopping of hooves over stone, and immediately Choc and I turned. My bow came halfway up before I spotted Rain trotting down the hallway.
“Geez, jumpy much?” she asked.
“You could’ve announced yourself,” I snapped back, rubbing my injured arm.
“Yeah, well you could’ve waited for me back at the entrance after sending me off again,” she shot back, “But, no! You go run off, forcing me to come find you in this heap of stones!”
“If you’d taken due note of all the escape routes, I wouldn’t have sent you back,” I replied, crossing my arms, “Hopefully you’ll do so next time.”
Rain opened her mouth, snout wrinkled in anger to spit something back, but a soft click from the door drew all of our attention to Moonbeam.
“Still got it!” he said to himself, tucking a lockpicking kit away somewhere on his person. I frowned again at the odd action, but ignored it for now in favor of more important things.
“Open it,” I said, grasping my bowstring and taking a ready stance. Choc dropped low, looking ready to charge and Rain, taking the hint, drew her dagger and cocked her wings back. His frightful look returning, Moonbeam cantered back from the door, magical aurora grasping the door handle and twisting.
The door didn’t budge.
“Open it,” I said again.
“I can’t, it’s barred from the other side!” Moonbeam replied, magic retracting from the door.
“Your magic couldn’t detect that?” I grumbled.
“I didn’t really...w-well, no…” Moonbeam trailed off.
“Chërt voz'mí!” Choc growled, trotting up to the door, “I will open door.”
I frowned, uncertain as to what she planned to do until she wheeled about and lashed out violently with her hooves. There was a loud crash, made even louder as it echoed through the halls, and the doors bulged inwards, yet did not give. Something shifted on the other side.
For Sithis’ sake, and our own, I hope there really are no timber wolves in here, I thought to myself, eyeing either hallway. That crash would bring them running.
Muttering something that was probably a curse, Choc braced and gave the doors a powerful kick again. The old wood began to crack, the doors remaining open a sliver. Peeking through from where I stood, I could swear something sparkled within the confines of the room. Odd.
With one final buck and a grunt, the doors smashed open past the few old tree trunks that had been jamming them closed. Yet that was not what beheld our attentions.
It was the pile of treasure within.
“What?” Choc asked, looking at our expressions, before turning around, “Ni figa sebe!” she exclaimed.
“By Celestia’s flank!” Moonbeam cried out, “No wonder it was locked!”
“What is this!?” Rain inquired, eyes aglitter at the sight.
Startled at the sight of shining gold and glittering gems, I couldn’t help but give the halls another weary glance, fingers dancing across the pommels of my knives. Something was setting off all my alarms about this. As magical as this land seemed to be, something like this couldn’t possibly be without some grave consequence. 
Something, whether it be Zecora or another entity, was clearly hiding this here.
It couldn’t have been Zecora, my mind considered, She wouldn’t have led us here…
Unless she thought the place well guarded enough, I countered, though mysterious as she was, I doubted the zebra was at the root of this. A sudden, loud clash brought me back to my senses in a snap, hands reaching for daggers.
“Dubiina!” Choc snapped at Moonbeam, a large golden platter clattering at his hooves, “Careful!”
“Heh, sorry, got carried away!” he dropped his hoof to the platter, bringing it to a stop, “But, just...I mean…look at all this! We’re rich!” he thrust his hooves in the air, drawing my eyes upwards, “No more sneaking around picking locks and pockets! No more sloshing through dungeon sewers! No more...no more anything! We’re rich!”
“Be honest,” Rain said, pawing at her mane  with a golden chain around her neck, “how do I look, Moonbeam?”
“Uhhh…” all of a sudden, Moonbeam sounded as if he were walking on thin ice.
“No, put it back, all of it!” I snarled, drawing my eyes away from the opened roof, fear now deeply settled in my heart, “We’re leaving now!”
“What!?” Rain exclaimed.
“Yeah, what?” Moonbeam agreed, “Hay, no! We’ve got enough gold here to do whatever the hay we want for the rest of our lives!” he retorted, looking cocky all of a sudden as he donned a silver crown embedded with gems, “Why the hell would we give all this up?”
“Because,” I countered, pointing to the sky through the massive hole in the roof, and the massive claw marks circumferencing it, “This is a dragon’s hoard!”