Red Dragons Are Not to Be Provoked

Alexstrasza froze, thinking she had misheard. Then she steadied herself and confirmed that there really was a voice stirring about inside her mind.

She looked at Chromie in confusion. The Bronze Dragon also wore a baffled expression, apparently equally puzzled.

"Who are you?" the Red Dragon Queen finally recovered and asked the voice.

"I am the Black Dragon Ragnaros, the great Aspect of Earth," the voice declared in an absurdly melodramatic tone.

"You're just an egg!" The Red Dragon was even more confused. She had never known a dragon egg could be so full of itself. "What kind of monster are you?"

While the dragon and egg chatted, Chromie was in no hurry. She was waiting for someone to come up and block the door. She did not believe the master of the castle would fail to notice a corrosion trap that had just been triggered. Deren had told her that everyone here was a master assassin, and setting traps was basic practice for them.

Sure enough, before long, she sensed the air faintly trembling. Although the room still appeared to contain two dragons and an egg, she could clearly feel that something extra was there.

Remembering Deren's warning that assassins excelled at saps and kidney strikes, Chromie wisely took two steps back and leaned against the wall. At the same time, she lightly raised her staff and cast a protective barrier around herself.

Apparently, after realizing Chromie had noticed its movements, that patch of wavering air slowly moved away from her and shifted toward Alexstrasza.

The Bronze Dragon did not warn her and pretended she had seen nothing. After all, no matter how much she said, it could not compare to experiencing firsthand what kind of people inhabited this castle.

Soon, while Alexstrasza was speaking with the creature inside