As the adventurers stood before the King, his 'pet' dragon Kzzintch swished her tail lazily, the sun shimmering against the midnight scales.

The child prodigy Kazuna with his sword and shield, looking like playthings in his tiny hands; the demon-touched Sally (short for Salacious Undertakings in the Deep of the Trees) spread her goblin-colored wings, her aviator-style glasses worn under a gold-starred hat and robe, spellbound in hand; the elderly rogue vampire Eldris IV, casually performing sleight-of-hand tricks with his twin daggers, Love and Hate; and the whipcord-and-bone structure of the Priestess of Alexander Emilia, her form hidden under coarse plate, wielding a club and holy shield.

Kazuna was the leader, in spite of his youthful appearance. "Your Majesty, I have come to report that the Lich King Angarat has been slain, and his phylactery destroyed. However, we have an interesting problem, due to the fact that he completed a partial casting of the Soulthief spell. As a result, a good portion of the city of Sheat is now varying forms of undead."

He stepped back, and let Sally approach to continue the report. "Having spent some time researching the spell itself, the undead in Sheat are acting as though they are still alive, and those forcibly resurrected have formed a co-operative in order to support the remaining living in the city. The long-term implications aren't clear at this stage, but I have some suggestions as to how to handle that, after consulting with Lord Von Zarovich of the Zarov Nights. I'll prepare a scroll for you this evening, so that you can discuss these with the council."

The King nodded absently, before gesturing for the next person to speak. However, the page, who had up until now been completely unobtrusive, said into the room hesitantly, "Sire, the Heroes decided on a boon before entering. They would like to ask a question of the dragon."

The King emailed silent for a moment, and then spoke. "Proceed." The page left the room at the flicker of fury that emblazoned the King's face, and the dragon turned its attention to the Heroes.

Emilia spoke, a clarion call of Divinity echoed within the voice, and scars lining her face despite her 25-year-old appearance. "We know from our Dragon masters that drgaons have a compulsion to hoard - whether it is gold, jewellery, property or knowledge; however, you don't appear to have a hoard at all. Our understanding is that this would drive a dragon to madness and destruction.

"So, given that you clearly exhibit no signs of madness, I would ask of you, lord - what is it that you hoard?"

Kzzintch blinked his left eye lazily at the Heroes. He swung his tail in mockery, as though trying to play the coquette. "Allow me to ask you a question in return - how many were injured in your assault?" The dragon's tail shifted and lazily swiped along the floor.

The Heroes looked to one another, perplexed. Emilia returned the gaze of the dragon, before saying, "Ae believ it to be, outside of those converted to Undeath, in the low double figures - all but two of those of the Lich's forces."

Magnificent, Kzzintch thought. Barely a scratch on them, and they kept casualties to a minimum. Something that our first encounter did not.

The King stood and patted the dragon's foreclaw, smiling at his oldest friend and counsel.

Emilia pressed on with her question. "Lord, I must press you for an answer - what is it that you hoard?"

Kzzintch smiled a toothy grin. "The last time I fought a Lich King, I was more interested in saving the world and dominating it for glory." He picked up Emilia, who squealed as she nearly lost her footing, before sliding into the palm of the paw. "So I began to collect people of quiet competence, something I appear to have an aptitude for.

"We here in this kingdom no longer need to summon Heroes from other lands and worlds, like Magistrix, Calloria and Sweinsghast. Because the kings and queens allow me to recruit for them."

The dragon appeared to glare at Emilia, who flinched; however, the mouth was filled with mirth as he returned her to the floor of the throne room.

"Does that answer your question?"