“So, what’s there?” Shaynen pointed to the spot where all the blood was pooling in the map.

“Well, see there was a dragon a long time ago in these parts. Some adventurer’s killed it and there’s rumors that the horde is still somewhere in the forest.” Edwin said. Checking his notes and books. “That is where it should be.”

“A dragon horde,” Shaynen breathed in awe. He and Edwin looked up to where the rest of the party were packing up.

“I don’t believe we introduced ourselves,” Shaynen said. “I’m Shaynen, the woman is Odelia, the tall man is Cleatus and the short man is Haagut.”

“Wonderful. I’ll just make note of that.” Edwin nodded enthusiastically. “Would you alert them that I’d like to hurry up with this?”

“Sure!” Shaynen chirped. He looked up as Cleatus moved up and clapped Shaynen on the shoulder.

“We heard.” Cleatus said. Behind him Odelia and Haagut both looked at Edwin.

“Lead the way,” Haagut offered. Edwin nodded and started off through the trees off the path.

The party made their way through the dense forest floor until they reached a clearing in the trees populated by dense plantlife.

“Hold it.” Cleatus stopped everyone. “All of these are poisonous. Some could drop a man in less than a minute after touching them.”

“Means that it must be here.” Edwin muttered. “Proceed with caution.” He pulled out a thick pair of gloves he dug in. Carefully Cleatus and Edwin pulled the more dangerous plants while directly which plants were safe enough for the rest of the party to move. Edwin quickly pulled a trowel and started digging as soon as the plants were cleared. Cleatus brought out his shovel and together the party worked together to excavate the area.

As a hard bone was uncovered Shaynen stepped back. Edwin uncovered more until the entire bone was revealed. Realization set in. He shifted to Cleatus and tapped his shoulder.

“Does it seem wrong that we’re digging up a grave?” He whispered. Cleatus looked over at the bone uncovered and paused.

“Uh, yeah.” He nodded. “Yeah it does.” He stuck the shovel into the dirt and stepped back.

“What’s wrong?” Edwin asked.

“Cultural differences.” Cleatus said. He leaned against a tree and Shaynen followed. Edwin shrugged and continued. Odelia slowed to a stop and Haagut followed soon after her.

“What do we do?” Haagut whispered to her. Odelia brushed the dirt off of her armor.

“Cleatus seems to have pretty solid morals. I trust that if he’s stepped away then that’s good enough for me,” She said as she walked over to where Cleatus and Shaynen were standing idly. Haagut shrugged and followed, watching Edwin digging.

Then Edwin vanished.

A loud thud and a small cloud of dust burst up from between the bones. Haagut was the first to the scene. Vaulting over the uncovered bones to a massive sinkhole between the ribs. Behind him came the rest of the party. At the bottom of the massive cavern was Edwin.

“Are you okay?” Shaynen yelled down.

“I think I’ve broken my leg,” Edwin yelled back. Cleatus pulled a second coil of rope from his bag. He tied it to one of the bones and threw the other end in the sink hole.

“Mind the edges.” He said as he slid down the rope to the ground. One by one the rest of the party climbed down the rope into the cavernous underground torso of the dragon. The ground beneath their feet slid around slightly with a clinking sound. Haagut bent down beside Edwin and used magic to fix his leg. As he did Odelia and Cleatus picked up one of the strange stones on the ground.

“ Are these-” Odelia started.

“Dragon scales?” Cleatus finished. Shaynen kept spinning around slowly. Marvelling at the sheer size of the dragon. He looked over at the emerald green iridescent scales that Odelia and Cleatus were holding. He bent down and scooped up one of his own. Haagut and Odelia dropped their packs and began loading as many of the scales into them. Shaynen held the scale to his wrist and bent to grab two more.

Cleatus bent to scoop up more but paused as a glimmer caught his eye. He wandered over toward the head of the dragon. Crawling down as low as he could to reach into the head and pull out a small uncut but pure palm sized emerald. He quickly shoved it into his pack and began gathering scales as well.

“So, where's the horde?” Odelia asked. Edwin, studying the ribs of the dragons, turned to her incredulously.

“What, you wanted more?” He asked. Odelia shrugged.

“Are you gonna be fine if we take off?” He asked.

“Yeah uh!” Edwin looked around frantically. “Wait, did any of you see the dragon’s heart?” The party looked around.

“I think, muscle tissue like that would have… uhm. Long since deteriorated.” Haagut said slowly.

“No, it’s a gemstone. About the size of a fist.” He said. There was a brief silence as the party looked around the green glittering ground. “Oh, never mind then, uhm. If at all possible could I get the name of the guild you are associated with? In case the university I work for has more work of this sort?”

“Guild?” Odelia scoffed. “We’re freelance.”

“Here, I’ll get you a permanent address.” Cleatus wrote down the address to his home in Loudwater. “That place holds our mail for us.”

“Wonderful, that’s wonderful. I’ll send word if I come across anything.” Edwin smiled. The party climbed up the rope and continued along in the forest.