Chapter 1: The Story Begins

Dayton raised his head and listened. The birds safely caged on the roof had just begun raising a ruckus. This meant one of two things. A cat was prowling nearby, or they had sighted another kind of predator. He grabbed his field glass and raced to the roof. He glanced at the birds which continued to squawk and flutter about the cage. He scanned the horizon, turning in a semi-circle, but saw nothing. Raising his field glass, he made another scan. He had to scan slower with the field glasses. They didn't cover as much territory as a general scan, and items moved too quickly past the small viewing area. But there. From the east. He could just make out a figure. No, two figures. One larger than the other.

His excitement grew. He struggled to hold the field glass still and focus in. Yes. There they were. A large black and a smaller saphire dragon. He looked long and hard, trying to pick out the figures upon their backs. There they were.

Quickly, he grabbed a nearby rope and yanked upon it. He gave it two good tugs, sending a pealing ringing sound throughout the area. He turned and raced downstairs, taking the steps two and three at a time, grabbing the railing and leaping for six and seven steps when possible. Even at this, as quick as he was, he still barely made it to the courtyard before the two majestic dragons settled gently to the ground, their wings stirring up the dust which forever plagued the staff responsible for keeping the courtyard clean.