The Northern Young Heroes Draw a Crowd

Once Hill finished the maze, he went straight to the tavern.

Telly was always diligent. He usually opened at eight in the morning.

And even that early, someone would come in to order one of his Gold Dragon specials.

Telly did offer an ordinary cocktail for ten gold, but hardly anyone dared order it. The tiny print tucked into the corner of the menu made it clear that the drink was just there for show.

The centerpiece of his menu was, of course, Sunrise at a hundred gold a glass. Lynn had devised it using the distinctive-tasting Caulfor as a base, then adding green orange juice, cranberries, and red fruit sauce.

When properly mixed, Sunrise looked like a streak of crimson cloud across the sky. It was wonderfully romantic.

Caulfor was a popular wine along the Sword Coast. It had some unusual hues, its body a vivid, clear blue. Despite its tropical appearance, it tasted nothing like fruit; its flavor leaned more toward flowers.

Few people used it as a cocktail base, though. A single bottle cost fifty gold.

But as an ingredient in a Gold Dragon's creation, it somehow seemed worth even more! The merchants knew the prices of the ingredients Telly used and could tell they were all good stuff.

And they got to be served by a Gold Dragon. What a bargain!

Pioneers had long since proved that the Gold Dragon only cared how much people paid for their drinks, not whether they enjoyed being served by him.

Every day, one or several merchants would stand tall before the watching crowd and loudly order a Sunrise. They would bask in the smiling Gold Dragon's gentle attention, then take a hearty swig of their expensive cocktail, flavored by everyone else's envy.

Yet even reckoning the cost honestly, the