“So? Where is it?” Prika asked, looking around. Portions of a shattered building made of clay and mud were littered about. They were the remains of Alice and Mr. Skelly’s temporary home. “Where’s the dragon corpses? Where there’s dragon bones, there’s dragons!”

“Really?” Mary asked. “Why is that? I thought there’d be dead dragons where dragon bones are. Why would dragons want to live where other dragons died? Wouldn’t they be worried about being hunted too?”

Prika rolled her eyes up to look at Mary. She raised her front claw and plucked the blood knight off, dropping her onto the ground. “Look here,” Prika said and snorted, blowing out two jets of air from her nostrils. “Humans build graveyards all the time. And then what do they do? They visit the graves. Why do you think dragons would be any different?”

Before Mary could say anything, Tafel asked, “There’s dragon graveyards? Why haven’t I heard about or seen any before?”

Prika plucked Tafel off of her head as well. “Well, if you saw a dragon graveyard, what would you do? Plunder the bones. Humans really have a thing for dragon bones, and I can’t blame them. Our bones are so much better than theirs, but that doesn’t mean we want them to have them.”

“That makes sense,” Vur said.

Prika nodded and looked around some more, swiveling her head all the way behind herself by extending her neck. “Well? Where are they?”

“How come you didn’t take Vur off your head?” Mary asked.

“Hmm?” Prika blinked. “Well, you see, Vur’s a very handsome dragon. If he manages to attract a cute dragon, maybe she’ll have a brother who’s single. That’s why, I treat Vur nicely so he can set me up with someone when the time comes.” Prika pointed at Mary and Tafel. “You two can’t do that. Besides, you have legs, no? Use those to walk.”

Mary furrowed her brow and leaned towards Tafel. “She’s single because of her personality, isn’t she?”

“I never really wondered about it,” Tafel whispered back, “but the more I get to know her, the more it seems like that’s the case. Then again, dragons are pretty strange. What’s attractive to a dragon might not be attractive to someone like us. I remember Grimmy, err, the evil dragon encourages pride and greed, saying they’re traits all dragons should have, and he has a holy dragon for a wife.”

Mary’s brow furrowed even harder. Then, she shook her head. It was easier not to think about it. All dragons were like Vur—mean bullies. She gestured with her head towards the direction that Prika had gone with Mr. Skelly and Alice. “Let’s go.”

As the group walked down an incline, Mr. Skelly cleared his throat. “So, I was raising the dead while walking along like I usually do, and I discovered a few massive bones. The thing is, they have absolutely no soul inside of them, and it’s impossible to bring them back to life. Even if the mistress was here in person, I don’t think she’d be able to get them to respond.” The incline gradually leveled into a flat dusty plane. “There’s usually a few explanations for that, and I’m not too clear on them, but the most likely one is it’s been too since they’ve died. Of course, another explanation is someone took away their soul after they died.”

Prika’s eyes lit up as a mound appeared in the distance. “Ooh,” she said and trampled forward, knocking Mr. Skelly and Alice out of the way. There was a fossilized skull on top of the mound, but it was small compared to her own head. “Hmm, it seems like a baby? Well, at least it’s proof that dragons did exist!” She dug around the mound for a bit before frowning. She turned around to face Mr. Skelly. “Where’s the rest of it?”

“That’s all,” Mr. Skelly said. Before Prika could get angry, he winked at her, contorting his skull. “For this one. There are a few larger ones that are in near perfect condition. At least, I think they are. The only thing is … they’re missing their wings.”

Prika blinked and reared her head back. “Earth dragons?” she asked. “I’m not interested in earth dragons!”

“What’s wrong with earth dragons?” Mary asked, tilting her head. She blinked after realizing she couldn’t keep herself from learning more about Prika’s likes and dislikes. Perhaps it was her combative spirit making her keep track. Any extra information could help her slay a dragon, even if it was something odd like romantic interests.

“Excuse me? What’s wrong with earth dragons?” Prika asked, raising an eyebrow. “Earth dragons are just giant lizards! They aren’t real dragons, and they’re as dumb as bricks.” She snorted. “They’re like wyverns. You humans always associate wyverns, earth dragons, and dragons together even though we’re not the same at all. It’d be like someone telling you to marry a monkey.”

“Oh.”

“That’s right,” Prika said and sighed. She shook her head. “Forget it; I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up. Let’s go home. I want to have a good talk with my little sister.”

Tafel glanced around. “Are we all ready?”

Mr. Skelly and Alice glanced at each other. A white cat ran up and jumped onto Alice’s shoulder. “We’re ready,” Alice said. “I’m bringing Burc with me.”

“Alright, that shouldn’t be a problem,” Tafel said and looked at Mary. “Is there anything you’d like to bring with you? Or did you forget anything?”

“I have my sword,” Mary said and grasped the hilt jutting out of her waist. “And my armor is always on me. I don’t need anything else.”

“Vur?” Tafel asked. “Are you ready to go?”

Vur yawned. “Let’s see,” he said and looked around. “I don’t think I brought anything with me.” He looked down at his bare torso. “Is everyone here?”

“Present!” Sheryl said.

“I’m here,” Zilphy said.

Mistle sighed. “I’m ready as well.”

“Eh? We’re taking attendance?” Stella asked. There were a few squeaking sounds accompanying her voice. “Squeak this, squeak that, I’ll teach you to squeak at me!”

There was a short pause. Vur tilted his head. “Deedee? Are you ready?”

There was no response.

“Deedee?”