by Allen Drees, Jr.
from Dragon Challenge
***
From the moment she set foot ashore, Giorgiana Galeazzo knew that something wasn’t right. The villagers were quiet, withdrawn, and wary of strangers. The wizard had sailed to Thasos hoping to find answers. According to her research, this island was likely home to a fearsome red dragon that had been attacking ships sailing the Aegean for centuries.
Leaving her ship behind, Giorgiana first saw the warehouses by the docks loaded with slabs of rare and expensive marble. The port of Potamia wasn’t a mining settlement and the maps she had studied did not indicate any inland communities. The interior of Thasos did have several low mountains, however–likely the source of the precious stone. Walking to the edge of town furthest from the docks, she discovered a wide road, paved in the exquisite marble, leading away from Potamia and toward the slopes of the island’s highest peak, Mount Ypsario. Under the cautious scrutiny of the nervous town watch, Giorgiana wandered back through the darkening streets to the dock yard and her vessel.
The following morning, Giorgiana rose early. She was determined to make a thorough exploration of the interior of the island. From her quarters aboard her docked vessel, she could see a group of militia standing near the docks, eyes fixed suspiciously on her ship. These people had something to hide and she was intent on discovering their secret. A few arcane words later, Giorgiana flew, invisible, up from the docks into the air above the village. Far below, the thugs near her ship did not notice as she flew toward the marble road and the mountains beyond.
The marble-paved road ended at a structure Giorgiana recognized—a gatehouse of dwarven design. Long ago the doors had been violently torn off and the hinges were now little more than rusted steel protruding from the stone frame. The mage was surprised to find a pair of fire giant soldiers guarding the open entrance. They obviously expected no visitors and did not notice her invisible flight into the structure.
Giorgiana cautiously made her way down a wide tunnel, pausing once for a group of six passing fire giants. Along the way, she saw several defensive choke points where the dwarven stonework had been smashed by powerful blows.
At long last, deep within the mountainside, the tunnel ended abruptly, opening into a truly magnificent chamber. A massive mound of treasure filled the far end of the hall—this could only be the lair of a very formidable dragon! Just as Giorgiana noticed the shape of a large harp protruding from the treasure pile, her attention was captured by another form rising up in the distance. A majestic red dragon slowly rose into the air, flying lazily toward the wizard. As a frantic voice in the back of her mind screamed in terror, Giorgiana froze helplessly in mid-air, completely in awe of the legendary creature before her.
“I don’t know who you are, human, but you smell like the sea,” the dragon rumbled in supreme confidence. “Hmm… I sense only one of you. Do you really think you can challenge me on your own or do you seek to parley?” The obviously mocking tone allowed Giorgiana to temporarily gather her wits. She immediately knew that she was in grave danger.
“Rome has fallen!” As Giorgiana whispered those words, she was instantly teleported back to her bedchamber in Rome—the result of a contingency spell cast a couple of weeks prior. Trembling, she fell onto her bed and wept. Although she had survived many harrowing encounters throughout her life, being face to face with an ancient red dragon was by far the most intimidating situation she had ever been in— but now she finally knew the location of the harp of legend lore!