A Lawful Good Dragon?

Because of Chen Jinyang's arrival in the city, Mirabar had fallen into near chaos. When Sunderland Starglim entered the filthy, disorderly settlement where the outlying villagers were temporarily housed, the people there were stunned by the sudden appearance of such an important figure. Under the elegant, noble magistrate's scrutiny, old Sailu was at a complete loss.

"Is there a boy in Gnome Village named William?" Sunderland asked coldly, her face like ice from the shock.

"Yes, yes, there is! But the three siblings stayed in the village as Winter Keepers. William's just a fool. May I ask why such a noble lady is asking about him?" Old Sailu was astonished that a major figure in Mirabar would inquire after someone as insignificant as William.

If only he really were a fool! Sunderland's mouth twisted with anger at old Sailu's words. Setting aside her dignity, she cursed inwardly, but kept her feelings off her face and said coldly, "Come outside with me! I have questions for you!" With that, she turned and walked out. Uneasy and flustered, Sailu glanced at the villagers beside him, none of whom dared make a sound, then helplessly followed her.

On the way to the Temple of Tyr, Sunderland listened as Sailu described the three William siblings. She paid particular attention to the strange behavior Chen Jinyang had shown after crossing over and returning to Gnome Village, and scoffed at the villagers' claim that it was caused by his Sorcerer bloodline awakening. I knew something was wrong! The real William must be dead! The William here is definitely an impostor! The clever magistrate had guessed correctly, though not in the way she imagined. He was not some dragon in disguise, but the soul of a descendant of dragons who had crossed over and taken over William's body. A vague thought surfaced in Sunderland Starglim's mind, so faint that she did not even notice it herself.

When Sunderland reached the Temple of Tyr, the Companions of the Mithral Hall were still arguing with the temple's guard knights. The magistrate's arrival stopped both sides. The city's chief official still commanded considerable respect. She frowned at the silent Drow and the chattering Dwarves, then said to the guard knights, "Let them all in! I want to see Bishop Vistark Orey! He's gone too far lately!"

The knight hesitated. "But, esteemed Lady Sunderland, allowing evil Drow to set foot in the righteous Temple of Tyr is unforgivable!"

In an extremely foul mood, Sunderland roared, "Now! I want to see Orey this instant!" Her chest heaved as she glared at the knight, who shrank back in fear.

Following behind her, old Sailu muttered, "If this really were a place of justice, then vampires would be pure angels! And we wouldn't have so many commoners dying of disease where we live." The lady had clearly heard him complain. She turned and glared at him before leading everyone into the temple.

The bishop, who had been keeping an eye on the commotion outside, had spotted the arriving magistrate long before she entered. He made an exaggerated approach and greeted her in a booming, theatrical voice. "Ah! Esteemed Lady Sunderland! Welcome! May you bask in the radiance of Tyr, the Supreme God!" As he spoke, the tall, impeccably dressed man tried to take Sunderland's delicate hand and kiss it, but the displeased lady dodged him.

After Vistark Orey was rebuffed, he straightened up as if nothing had happened and rubbed his thinning crown. His eyes, deep brown and sharp, shone beneath a tall, straight nose.

"Bishop Orey! You've gone too far lately! Put an end to your outrageous behavior at once!" Sunderland rebuked him without mincing words.

The bishop replied without a change in expression, "All of this is for the glory of Tyr!"

"Enough! You're sullying Tyr's light! Never in all Faerun has a priest of Tyr been as greedy as you!" The magistrate mocked him coldly.

"Greedy? Hahaha! In this city, where the clink of coins fills the air, mortals are so obsessed with wealth that they'd rather buy overpriced, shoddy healing potions at the Temple of Waukeen—potions of such poor quality that they can only heal wounds to the outer muscles—than come to the Temple of Tyr for nearly free divine healing! What does it matter to those foolish, arrogant, vain people whether I raise the price of divine healing? Here in the perilous North, the great God of Justice is less popular than the feeble Goddess of Commerce! Hahaha!" The seemingly capable bishop burst into bitter laughter, as if he had suffered a terrible blow in the past.

Lady Sunderland shook her head, looking somewhat disappointed. Then, in a gentler tone, she said, "All right, Bishop Orey. Let's leave the past behind. Lower the cost of healing by your priests! I'll allow you to send a representative to sit in on the Glimmerstone Council!"

"No!" The bishop stared into Sunderland's eyes, his gaze sharp as a sword. "That won't accomplish anything! I demand that the holy knights of Tyr be allowed to join the city guard!"

Sunderland met his gaze without yielding. "Absolutely not! Marquis Larim and the council will never agree! I'll assign another holy knight to serve as the marquis's guard. That's the most I can offer!"

"Two!"

"Two? Bishop Orey, you're far too greedy! Fine, fine! I'll agree! But you must have your priests treat all the wounded here as quickly as possible!"

Sunderland's expression changed from helplessness to a smile in an instant. With a little maneuvering, she had easily dealt with the bishop, who thought himself clever.

Now that his wish had been granted, Bishop Vistark Orey eagerly called out to the priests. "Jama! Thalis! Thalis! Gather all the priests! We have work to do!" The priests hurried out of the temple in response, completely unaccustomed to having anything to do after so long at ease.

Sunderland brought old Sailu over to Gosa and the others, and continued asking about Chen Jinyang.

"You caught a Fish-Eating Crocodile with your bare hands? Are you sure it was the Fish-Eating Crocodile, the so-called 'demon of the water'?"

"I'm sure it was a Fish-Eating Crocodile! Later, Mr. Elrago traded a magic bag for it from Mr. William! Mr. Elrago couldn't possibly have mistaken it!"

As she listened to them, the magistrate pinched her delicate chin and began to think. To catch the 'demon of the water' bare-handed, he must be a dragon! But trading with Elrago for a magic bag isn't something an ordinary dragon would do.

Elrago should still be alive. William had protected the giantess and the two children, put up with the Elf's pranks, agreed to guard the caravan, and sparred with the Drow to practice his fighting skills. Heh heh heh! I finally understand! He's a lawful good, high-ranking dragon! That's why he let me live after I teased him! Hahaha! So what if he's a dragon? He still fell for the charms of the beautiful and enchanting Sunderland Starglim! Little dragon, come on now! Bow before the skirts of the irresistibly charming Lady Stagrim!

After the magistrate's inner queen had indulged in a string of unspeakable fantasies, she suddenly came to her senses. She hurriedly wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and glanced around guiltily. Fortunately, no one had noticed her lapse.

Sunderland touched her forehead and coughed a few times to draw everyone's attention. "Let's imagine where this fake William came from. A lawful good, high-ranking dragon disguises himself as a human and sets out to travel the North. New to the world and unfamiliar with its ways, he happens upon the dying fool William and gains William's memories through some mysterious magic. The kind-hearted dragon decides to use William's identity to blend into human society and look after the two poor children. And that's how everything that followed came to pass! Good heavens! If not for my brilliant investigation, this 'Mr. Dragon' might have kept his identity hidden forever! Heh heh heh!" Everyone looked at the lovestruck woman as if she were a fool.

Bishop Vistark Orey, whose heart was set on spreading the glory of Tyr, also began to daydream. A high-ranking dragon who had embraced the faith of Tyr and basked in the radiance of the great God—what an honor it would be to guide such a dragon of justice! The Supreme God would surely bestow boundless blessings! Whoo-hoo-hoo!

The young pixie girl, who had heard the magistrate's theory, could no longer sit still. "A good dragon? Hee-hee-hee! This is wonderful! The first female dragon rider in Elf history! Ya-hoo-hoo! A dragon's hoard! Wahahaha!" The little daydreamer sneaked away while no one was paying attention.

By then, the Dwarves of the Axe of Mirabar had gathered a guard of nearly a hundred and were eagerly preparing to set out and "drive off the invading dragon." Their commander, Torg Danzo Hammer-Striker, turned anxiously to Agranth Heavy-Hammer and quietly asked, "Agranth, are we really going to go after that damned dragon?"

Agranth Heavy-Hammer, who looked like an honest, solid sort, scoffed. "Hmph! Do you really think Dwarves have rocks for brains? Go after a dragon? A low-ranking black dragon once destroyed Mithral Hall, killing nearly ten thousand people. Now we're facing a high-ranking dragon! With just this many of us? Do you take me for an idiot?"

"Then what are we doing?" Torg, commander of the Axe of Mirabar, was thoroughly confused.

"Putting on a show! We'll march around the city so everyone can see that Dwarves are Mirabar's bravest and most loyal guards!" The Dwarf leader, who was gradually becoming a competent politician, chuckled.

Shelter Street was the opposite of Windy Street. The latter was a shabby district meant for poor merchants from elsewhere who were unwelcome in the city, and the outlying villagers' temporary settlement was there too. The former, by contrast, was a den of indulgence reserved for the wealthiest and most distinguished guests. The Iron-Forge Inn stood right in the middle of Shelter Street. The broad dining table was a mess, and Chen Jinyang and the others sat on a bench padded with thick, soft animal hides. The two little ones, having eaten too much, rubbed their swollen bellies and groaned.

Chen Jinyang looked at the two miserable children and laughed helplessly. "You two little rascals! What a pair of gluttons! If you can't finish it, don't eat so much! Just look at Phinia! Phinia, you— Oh, for heaven's sake!" Chen Jinyang covered his face and couldn't go on. At his words, the giantess lifted her face, smeared with sauce. Before she did, she made sure to stuff the bread she'd been using to wipe the scraps from her plate into her mouth.

It wasn't that the food here was especially delicious. The four poor souls simply hadn't eaten a proper salty meal in more than half a month.