Finally, Belmardina realized she had changed size as a dragon. Now that she was five feet long, the change was unmistakable. Moreover, now that she was much bigger, she was able to keep enough fire in her lungs to fly, which she began to do with gusto—much to the celebration of her aching feet.

One morning, the kraat soldiers came to the borders of the Land of Yab, south of the great Sea of Dru. The borders were surrounded by a great and ancient stone wall, taller than any tree she had ever witnessed. Normally, outsiders were not allowed to pass through without the consent of the princess of Yab, but the kraat, of course, were allowed to continue on their border patrol as was centuries-old custom. This made Belmardina feel quite special to be Queen Kraat.

Soon after passing through the wall, the kraat received word from King Dru himself that there was a villain plundering seaside villages with an army of strange soldiers. It was their duty to find this individual and bring him to justice.

This was the first official quest Belmardina had ever been a part of and she wondered if she could help the soldiers in any way. So, as they marched through the plains of Yab, she asked her husband how she could help the patrol.

Blutgang scratched at his orange beak thoughtfully, “You’re too slight of figure to wear armor and fight...”

“Oh, I know I can’t fight. But if I can do anything… even polish pauldrons, darn capes, or learn to sharpen blades…” she fairly begged him, “...I don’t want to be useless to you.” Even though she had been forced into the marriage, she found herself wanting to please Blutgang more and more.

“Most of us prefer to clean our own armor and fix our own tunics and capes.” He said in his usual matter-of-fact way. When he saw her crestfallen face, however, he quickly added, “but I just thought of something you can do that none of us can.”

“What?”

“You can fly. I’d be immensely grateful if you would go out ahead of us and look for signs of this outlaw. Don’t engage of course, and don’t let him see you. Just report back.”

Belmardina beamed with pride. Without much ado, she turned into a dragon and backed gently out of her travel tunic, careful not to rip the fabric with her back spikes. She puffed fire into her lungs and was soon soaring through the air, just under the clouds.

It did not take long to find signs of fighting. An entire village had been decimated—strangely large holes were present in every building. Entire walls had been knocked in, leaving large gaps. Some homes had simply collapsed. She alighted briefly to ask what had happened.

The resident goblins, dwarfs and humans told her a strange story: apparently an army of undead sea creatures had invaded in the early hours of morning. No one had been hurt, but their gold and silver drachmas had been taken.

The trail from there was easy to follow: tracks had been left in the fertile plains soil, leading toward the sea. She had never seen undead before, and the thought of seeing one gave her pause. But she wanted to be useful—wanted to be a true member of the kraat patrol, so she took to the air once more.

Within an hour she reached the beach of the northern shore of Yab. The sea was alive with high waves while the sky was dotted by tall clouds, and there, sitting cross-legged on the pebbly sand, was a man wearing purple, cocoon-like robes. Surrounding him, offering him heavy chests of drachmas were giant undead crabs.

She had only ever seen tiny crabs of eatable proportions in the past. These beasts ranged from the size of large dogs to the height of a horse. Within their empty shells she could just make out the glow of green magic: the magic of a necromancer.

And just what is he planning to do with that money? She wondered to herself. Perhaps if she could glean who this individual was… she swooped lower.

She felt the fire in her lungs erupt with rage when she recognized him. It was Derek Stylez, the very male witch who had spoiled her courtship ball—the man who had scoffed at her power to change into a two-inch dragon. Well look at me now! She thought and spread her wings out far from her five-foot body. Maybe I should roast you myself!

As she circled overhead, she saw Derek look up at her. There was no doubt in her mind that he knew she had tracked him. Alone on this barren shore, there could be no other reason for her to be there. But she felt no worry—after all, she was up very high. There was no way he or his crab soldiers could reach her.

Just when she thought she was safe, she saw him hold out his gloved hands as if he were cupping water in them. Green, wispy tendrils of magic began to bubble from his fingers and pour onto the rocky beach. The magic then began to twist between the rocks, searching, grabbing up material which she could not quite make out.

Three boulder-sized crab soldiers came before Derek as if reporting for duty. The magic began to gather on their backs, creating something made from whatever had been gathered between the cracks of stone.

Finally, she saw it. Wings! The magic had gathered seagull feathers and stitched it to the shells. Belmardina barely had a moment to whirl about and head toward the kraat before the winged beasts took flight. They were quick—too quick!