It was morning, and the sun began to rise over the horizon. The light of dawn fell on a small, sleeping shadow dragon. He was sleeping contentedly at the base of a tree. He yawned, and slowly lifted his head, not entirely awake. He climbed onto all fours, and stretched, his tiny wings extended. Yawning once more, the little dragon began to walk, leaving a clear trail of trampled grass. His gait was somewhat wobbly, and his green eyes gleamed with curiosity. He saw a small farm on the outskirts, ad decided to see what kind of fun that he could find there. He skipped over to the house, where there was a cat sitting outside. Giggling in a guttural, dragon-ish sort of way, Níðhöggr ran up to the cat, who recoiled slightly. Sitting on his haunches, his front legs in front of him, he swatted at the cat playfully, giggling all the while, as he did. The cat pawed back to a moment, but the moment that little Níðhöggr’s claw connected (though, of course, his claws were not extended), the cat hissed and ran away. Poor Níðhöggr, not realizing his own strength, thought that his new friend wanted to play “chase”, one of his favorites. Wagging his black tail, he ran after the cat for some time, before the cat ran inside of the house.

Wanting to find out what had perturbed his cat so much, the farmer stepped outside, to see the small, baby shadow dragon. With a yell, he grabbed the closest tool he had (which happened to be a shovel), and began to swing it at poor Níðhöggr. With a squeal, Níðhöggr ran away, into the main entrance of the city. Everyone just stared at him, afraid to move, as Níðhöggr just stood there, his forked tongue hanging out of his mouth, wagging his tail. Was this some sort of game? Or would they be mean to him too? Níðhöggr looked around, waiting to see what would happen.

The pit-stop at Estolad had thus far been mind-blowingly underwhelming as far as Wurzag was concerned. He sat on a bail of hay outside the small tavern and puffed out his cheeks in mild boredom. The sleepy little village was certainly full of rural charm and populated by the sort of pleasant country-folk that city-dwellers would regard as 'bumpkins'. The half-orc had absolutely no idea what a bumpkin was but to his ears it sounded remarkably edible. Several of the villagers had already hurried away from his hungry gaze, and though he had no intention of devouring anybody unwanted images of roast pork continued to surface with alarming clarity.

The whole business with the Lich had turned out to be an awesome adventure and Taryn certainly seemed much happier to have put it behind him. The subsequent return journey to Lomedor however felt like something of an anticlimax; there were no bandits to defeat, no undead to lay to rest, not even a vagabond that required ruffing up. Estolad was simply a place to stop for the night that had a comfortable bed and hot food. Wurzag would have happily traded them for a few mugs of ale and a good fight.

Sadly, Estolad lacked both in abundance.

He had just about exhausted his patience when something of a commotion broke out near the town gate. Wurzag knew it was a commotion because some of the old timers had moved enough to dislodge some of their moss and a farmer had even managed to raise an eyebrow. The half-orc got slowly to his feet, mildly intrigued by something that could disturb the sleepy inhabitants to such an extent.

"Ah black lizard!" One of the bumpkins was explaining to his neighbour, "a black lizard with wings, an teeth like daggers!".

As he shambled along Wurzag wondered why it was that no matter where he traveled in the world the peasants had the same accent. The nobility had their own regional accents, as did the working classes and even the gutter-scum, but somehow the bumpkins always sounded the same. Perhaps, he pondered, they were all related; part of some huge, inbred, extended family with a penchant for chewing straw and saying 'yarp'. He found the idea vaguely repugnant.

His train of thought had carried him to the clustered group of folk and he barged his way through them like a plough to see the source of the ruckus. "Wot da fuggin' 'ell is goin' on 'ere?" He grumbled at the closest man. The red-nosed farmer sniffed and gestured to where a small, black reptile sat wagging its tail.

"Tried to eat my cat!" One of the gathering drawled. Wurzag looked at the man who had a shovel clutched in one hand and a cat cradled in the other. "We should chase it out now, before it starts on the livestock!"

Wurzag blinked. "I fink," he said carefully, "dat fing is more likely to suck yer toes by da look of it." He shambled up to the creature and squatted down, several of the crowd gasped and stepped back. "Hiyaz little fella," the half-orc grinned, "wot da fuggin 'ell are yooz ... and wot yooz for?"

It was the most interesting thing that had happened all day!

The people seemed to have recovered their courage, and had begun to yell and speak loudly to one another. Something seemed to have made them upset, or excited. Little Níðhöggr began to get excited, and he turned from person to person, each one returning his curious gaze with fear or hatred. Little Níðhöggr did not understand what was going on, but all at once, the ruckus grew in intensity. A tall, strange-looking creature, with hair like thick snakes, and deep, black eyes, seemed to be talking about him in their strange language. Why were they getting so angry? He only wanted to play. He saw his former playmate, the cat, and he gave a little cheer, that sounded like a guttural cross between growling and purring. He began to go to the cat, when he saw the shovel the man had, and he shrank back. He was beginning to be frightened, when the strange dark man from before squatted down next to him. It spoke in the same strange tongue as all the others, and said, “Hiyaz little fella, wot da fuggin 'ell are yooz ... and wot yooz for?”

“Hi… Hiyuh...” Little Níðhöggr tried to repeat what the stranger was saying. He stumbled over his own tongue, and his eyes were crossed in a humorous fashion as he tried to mimic the sounds. “Heyi… Hiyeh… Hiya… At last having gotten close to the sound, his green eyes uncrossed, and he looked at the dark stranger, apparently pleased with himself. He thought for a moment, and though that he might try to introduce himself. “Níðhöggr” he said in the draconic tongue, though in the tongue of the strange creatures, it probably sounded more like “nihogger”. With a fang-filled smile, Níðhöggr looked at the face of this nice creature. Little Níðhöggr thought he smelled a little funny, though.

Following the dark creature down to the house I tried to move as quietly as possible. I knew how these giants reacted to me when I encountered them. It was never a fun experience. Just as I expected, the giant started yelling and swinging a huge object around like they always do. Watching him run into the area where all the giants spend most of their time I was curious to see what was going to happen next.

Trying to stay out of sight as much as possible I snuck in and hid behind some boxes and crates waiting. I didn't want the little guy to get hurt but there wasn't much that I could do about it.

Tracyn jogged back into the village, his sword clanging in its sheath. "Whats the-" He looked around, expecting something big and nasty. When his eyes fell on the dragon he almost laughed, "You are afraid of the 'lil guy?" He gave a sharp glare at the loudest. He walked over towards it, nodding to Wurzag. He squatted down next to it, taking out a biscuit. "Hungry?" He smiled, never having seen a dragon in the flesh. They were interesting, and he had read much about them in books. "You just wanna play don't you?"

Wurzag chuckled as the little creature struggled to speak around its forked tongue. "Dunt try too 'ard!" He chuckled, "yez might strain sumfing!" The villagers seemed to have entered some sort of hypnotic trance at the revelation that the creature could speak and watched with a mixture of awe and revulsion as Wurzag sat himself down opposite the little reptile and started fumbling in his pack. "I fink ... I might 'av sumfing in 'ere dat yooz might ... " He paused in his investigation and grinned at the little lizard again.

"A Nogger," he said, "I likes dat, ain't never seen a Nogger before." He made a mental note to ask Taryn about Noggers next time he saw him; the mage was sure to know what they were, what they did and, more interestingly, how big they got.

"Let me tell yooz sumfing though," he said, resuming his excavation of the backpack, "cat dunt taste dat great, dey tends to be a bit stringy too and scratch yer face on da way down." He spoke from experience, "dogs on da uver 'and, now der is a meal. Bigga, an wiv more meat!"

An onion fell from the pack and rolled across the floor. It was shriveled and blackened and looked as though it could be on the verge of fossilisation. "Fuggin 'ell," he growled, "I were lookin' fer dat fer ages! Dunt eat dat ... it ain't da best!"

Something small and red caught his eye but almost immediately vanished behind a pile of crates just beyond the gate. He wasn't quite sure what it was but it had been small, fast moving and possessed a tail. Wurzag looked down at the Nogger and then back at the vegetable boxes. The red thing could easily have been the same size as the little creature in front of him. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by the arrival of a russet-haired young man sporting a scabbarded long-sword. The youth gave him a nod of greeting before producing a biscuit which he offered to the little creature.

"I woz gonna try a shoe," the half-orc said with shrug, "but I reckon a biscuit is loads betta." He glanced at the crates again hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever it was that had concealed itself there and then returned his attention to the newcomer. "So 'ave you seen many dese Nogger fings around 'ere?" He asked, "only da way dese folks is actin' yed fink dat da king ov da demons 'ad come to call!" He glared around at the assembled villagers.

Then he leaned in close to the young man and whispered, "an do dey come in more den one colour? Only I fink der might be anuvva one 'idin out der near dem veggie carriers. Dunno if des folks could 'andle two, dey might fink it woz da 'pockalips or sumfing!"

"Go on," he said, returning to full volume, "fugg off da lot ov yez! Ain't ya got 'omes to go too an .. straw to chew!" A few of the straw-chewing farmers looked at each other in indignation, "der ain't gonna be no Nogger killin' today! Take yer kitteh an get back to ya ... diggin' or woteva it woz dat yooz were doin!" A few of the people wandered away shaking their heads and muttering archly about the civility of green-skins but Wurzag ignored them; something small and red had once again peeked out from behind the boxes and was quickly withdrawn as if it didn't want to be seen.

"Look!" He hissed to the swordsman, "over der!"

"Yeah, I see him," He smiled towards it, "Its alright, we won't hurt you," He tossed a biscuit over to to the red one, just showing his good will. He looked back at the black one, "wonder why he came by, never seen any dragons around here...ever." His brows furrowed in concentration, "Nope, never. Obviously nobody whose been around longer than me either,"

I knew what happened when one of these giants caught me and there was one among them that was bigger than most. Knowing I had been seen I panicked. Letting out a high pitched cry I ran in the opposite direction from where I was facing. I realized my my mistake when I smacked into the crates I was using to hide in. Vegetable tumbled and fruit went flying. Shrieking and crying, I tried to no avail to untangle myself in the crates and other various objects piled up. It seemed my wings and legs were being held by traps. The world was closing in upon me.

"Poor guy," Tracyn sighed in sympathy. He tried to make his voice sound as calm and nonthreatening as possible. He knelt down and began to untangle the little dragon, "got yourself pretty stuck didn't you?" He kept the voice quite well. He didn't mind if the little guy nipped, he was used to nips and scratches, its what happens when you spend your time around animals and creatures.

I could see him coming for me but there was nothing I could do. Not only was I completely stuck but I was utterly exhausted. He didn't sound like the others but you never knew with them. All I could do was expect the worst and hope for the best.

Breathing heavily I layed there as he started to remove the various objects that I had lodged myself in. Perhaps this one was different, besides, if he was going to hit me he probably would have already done so.

Tracyn got everything off the little hatchling. He helped it up. He smiled, "Now that wasn't so bad was it?" He stood back making sure not to seem too threatening to the young dragon. He pulled out something small to eat and handed it over. He sat down, getting on level with the dragon.

Wurzag frowned in confusion, "dragon?" He said, peering again at the little black creature that was hungrily munching on the biscuit. "Dat ain't no dragon, dragons is massive, hooj fings wot breaves fire, sleeps on guld and as a fancy fer skinny maidens." Unless the tales he had heard were badly wrong there was no way in Arda that this little ebony creature was a dragon. Unless the humans used to be much, much smaller than they were today. And not very good at fighting. The thought made him chuckle, "can't see know tin-suit oomie ridin' in to town to slay dis vicious beast!"

He watched as the young man wandered over to the crates where the other creature had been hiding and quirked an eyebrow when the ungainly little thing brought the stack crashing down on to it. "Is it anuva Nogger?" He yelled and returned to fumbling in his pack. He was sure that at some point in his travels he had picked up some dried beef, though exactly how long ago that might have been he could not have guessed. The Nogger probably wouldn't mind, it was a lizard after all and lizards were just a sort of scaly ferret and ferrets ate anything.

The young man seemed to have had some success in extracting the other Nogger from its predicament and had fed it a biscuit. The half-orc was impressed, "does you carry around a stash ov biscuits just in case yez run into freakish wild-life or wot?"

His hand closed around something tough and leathery and he wrenched it from the pack and held it triumphantly aloft. A moment later he realised it was a prehistoric sock and hastily stuffed it back in. "Er, yez really dunt wanna eat dat," he said, shaking his head at the little black reptile, "I fink dat it might be fatal, an bad fer ye too."

"Oi, farmer boy," he addressed the biscuit wielder again, "'ow duz you get to be da only clever wun in da village anyways? Or ain't yooz from around 'ere?" The fact that the man had a sword put him a cut above the average country bumpkin and added to the fact that he hadn't stared in slack-jawed awe at the arrival of the Nogger, it escalated him to near divinity by villager standards.

"Just wonderin' cos we, dat is Taryn an me, is 'eadin' back to da city soon an unless yooz enjoy da company of folks wot marry der sisters yez can come along." It wasn't the best recruitment line Wurzag had come up with for his new caravan guarding service but he intended to work on it based upon his success, or lack thereof.

Tryacn laughed, "These are actually treats for the horses in the stables. I guess they like it too," He finished moving the material out of the way of the dragon, "The reason why these two are so tiny is because they are just hatchlings, give them a few years and they will fit your description pretty well. Though I'm not sure of the maiden part." He stood up again, walking over to Wurzag. He glanced down at his sword, "Its my dad's, I figured it would be smart to learn how to use one. Keep away cattle thieves and the like, you know?" He looked down into his pouch, one biscuit left. "Unlike most people here, I'm not ignorant of the outside world. I find out what I can, listen to travelers, watch mercenaries." He looked back at the two dragons, "I'd love to go but I've got to stay here, I'm still hooked to the job till the winter."

Steadying myself on my wobbly legs I devoured what the giant had given me. It had been a while since I had eaten last. I quickly followed him as he walked away hoping for another bite to eat. I had no idea what the two giants were talking about but this one had been nice enough thus far.

Looking at the other one similar to me I tried to say something but all that came out was a high pitched screech.

Wurzag watched as the little red Nogger emerged from its hiding place behind the demolished crates and stood waiting expectantly behind the young man. "Reckon yooz as made a friend there," he said, getting to his feet, "little fella still looks 'ungry though, might wanna get a stash ov dem biscuit fings out 'ere." The scarlet reptile let out a piercing screech that sounded like a cross between nails being dragged across a chalk-board and somebody strangling a musk-rat. Wurzag was eminently familiar with the latter of the two sounds from his time spent in the wild, though it was not one of which he was particularly fond. He winced and stuck a finger in one of his ears.

"'Ow can sumfing so small make so much bloody noise?!" He grumbled, "give it a crunchie, maybe dat'll shut it up!" He looked down at the black Nogger which had been keeping quiet since its twin had arrived and grinned, "see?" He scolded the more vocal creature, "yez shud be more like yer little mate 'ere, 'e knows 'ow to keep it civil." The irony of a half-orc describing something as civil was entirely wasted on Wurzag.

He shouldered the disintegrating backpack and glanced around at the dispersing villagers with a dispassionate shrug. "If yooz want dem Nogger fings to grow into dragons I fink you is gonna 'ave to go shoppin' for a whole pile ov dem biscuits," he said thoughtfully, "or get 'em a maiden to chew on, I've 'eard dey like da taste ov dem maidens, probbly wot brought 'em to da village." He focused on a freckled young blond who was shamelessly flirting with Taryn in the doorway of the tavern. The young man was doing his best to resist her advances but in the language of human courtship, or so Wurzag had been told, that was a sign that he was doing well.

"Course," the half-orc sniffed, returning his attention to the Nogger-feeder, "I fink yer maidens might be in short supply after Taryn 'as finished 'ere." He looked at the expectant little lizards, "sorry about dat fellas."

"Anyways, shame yez dunt wanna come to Lomedor, it cud 'ave been a laff, but yooz 'ave fun wiv yer 'orses an Noggers an fings an I'll seez ye around. Next time I come back 'ere I spect to see a pair ov hooj dragons breavin' fire an burnin' up da countryside like dat wun in da song."

He put on his sternest, most fatherly face and turned his attention to the frolicking critters. "An yooz two do as yer told an eat yer greens ... or biscuits ... or maidens ... or woteva it is yooz 'as to eat to stop bein' Noggers an turn into dragons." He punctuated the sentence with a curt nod and stomped off toward Taryn who had managed to temporarily repel the raging tide of hormones. A group of giggling girls nearby threw periodic glances at the mage and threatened at any minute to descend en masse. Wurzag fully intended to get them out of the village before that could happen; the last thing he wanted was to spend yet another night in the tavern listening to the endless prattle of farmers discussing the cost of turnips.

"Come on ye git," he bawled, "if weez gonna get to Lomedor dis side ov winter we better 'it da road!" Then he turned and shambled off down the trail, pack bouncing and shedding random articles as he went.

Watching the large behemoth point and talk in my general direction, he must have been telling me something important. Since he had chased away all the other smaller giants with their metal weapons he must be telling me he wanted me to go with him. Thinking to myself it seemed like the best possible decision I could make at that moment I followed him as he walked away.

He made some noise and odd gestures at a group of other giants, some of which seemed to be female, so I felt it was best to do the same.

Raising up on my hind legs, I took the deepest breath I could. Mustering up every bit of energy I still had until I released it in what surely sounded like the most ferocious sounding beast to ever walk this planet. What actually came out sounded more like a cat that had been set on fire and thrown through a cactus patch.

Not waiting to see the reaction my blood curdling 'roar' had made I quickly followed behind my new protector. I knew for certain he wanted me to follow since he kept leaving me all sorts of interesting gifts and treats in his wake. The first one I had seen him pull out before. Tough and leathery, I thought it must be a treat. It smelled similar to what the giants wore on their feet but with a much stronger odor. There was a hole on one end and I thought for sure that is where he had hidden my treat. Realizing too late it was a trap it was lodged on my head quite securely. I tried to pull it off to no avail. I went running in the direction I had last seen him go but my feet quickly found the other end sending me rolling head over tail in a ball. I didn't stop until I rolled into his feet where I ended up on my back and the sock half pulled off my face.

I tried to make the nicest face possible, a nice toothy grin.

Wurzag winced as the little creature let out another piercing screech and muttered something under his breath about using socks as earplugs. He had come to the conclusion that Noggers must live in some far away land, hundreds of miles from any human or indeed orcish habitation. Any that decided to set up residence within earshot of a village were likely to be hunted down and used as warning sirens by sleep deprived citizens. Quite how two had managed to sneak up on Estolad was quite beyond him, though perhaps they had some sort of natural hunting muffler that allowed them to keep quiet while they were foraging for food.

His musing about Nogger physiology was interrupted by something heavy colliding with his ankles from behind. He turned around and stared down at the ground to find the reptilian face of the scarlet critter staring back up at him. It appeared to be wearing one of his socks. "Wot da fuggin 'ell are yooz doin' down der?!" He asked, "akshully, dunt answer dat, I dunt really wanna 'ear da answer, it might 'urt." Then he noticed the trail of objects he had left strewn in the road behind him.

"Taryn!" The half-orc roared back toward the village at the mage who was hurrying to catch up, "me pack fing dun broke again." He ambled back up the path and retrieved his possessions which included a chicken bone, a spoon, something that might once have been a sandwich and three marbles. When he had checked everything was intact he returned to the prone reptile and grinned. "Dun trapped yerself now," he said with a chuckle, "I'll 'ave to remember dat wun; sock is gud Nogger traps," then he frowned, "not dat der is dat many of yooz around."

He considered the creature for awhile which he felt sure was grinning at him and then reached down to reclaim his sock. "So da village genius dunt wanna come to Lomedor wiv uz, but yooz do huh?" Visions of sleepless nights swam around his head making raucous screeching noises and grinning impishly. "Well, uh," Wurzag mumbled, "da city is a big place an yooz is a little fing, yooz might get lost, or eaten or sumfing an I ain't got no biscuits." The half-orc had only owned a pet once before, a ferret that had sort of adopted him after he had attempted to eat it one night. It had died in an incident with a dwarf and Wurzag had never looked at the bearded folk the same way again.

"Der is even dwarfs der," Wurzag said with a grimace of disdain, "an yooz dunt wanna go anywhere near any ov dem 'airy stunties, dey kills ferrets, skins 'em an wears 'em as 'ats!" That really had added insult to injury and the half-orc had taken no small amount of pleasure from kicking the diminutive gladiator around the pit the next day. The apothecary had actually needed to use a crowbar to extract the fellow from his armour. "I dunt fink yooz want to end up on a dwarfses 'ead eh?" Wurzag gave the little creature a solemn nod, stood and started off down the road once more.

This time he crammed his possessions into his threadbare pockets and though the ancient fabric contained the majority of his goods a single marble still managed to make its way through a hole, down his trouser-leg and out on to the road. It sat there glistening in the morning sunlight like a fallen star, beautiful and enticing.

Looking down upon me after colliding with his feet I herd a familiar word again.

"Wot da fuggin 'ell are yooz doin' down der?!" He asked, "akshully, dunt answer dat, I dunt really wanna 'ear da answer, it might 'urt."

Fuggin 'ell, hmm, he had used that word before. Perhaps that was my name or what I was called. I would have to remember that for future reference. Then I herd yet another one, this time he was saying to the same giant he had before. "Taryn!" Well, that must be his friends name.

I was feeling very proud of myself having figured out his friends name and my own. Fuggin 'ell and Taryn, two words to keep in mind from now on. I would have to prove myself, of that I was certain. After he pulled the sock off my head I stood, assumed a proud stance and puffed out my chest.

Once again he nodded to me and started walking down the road. I knew for certain what him nodding at me meant, follow me. He had done it previously and left a trail of the most wonderful things and he didn't fail to repeat himself. Although this time is was something far better than anything I had previously found on the ground.

It was the most magnificent jewel I had ever seen. Granted I hadn't seen all too many jewels in my life, this still must have been the most valuable object this great being had. It was larger than any other I had ever seen and shone with the purity of the most pristine lake. Sunlight glinting off of it made it sparkle like a star alone in the night sky. Noting it's majesty, I knew I was to follow him for he had left it for me alone to find and protect for him. It was much too large for me to continuously carry around in my hand so my next objective, while still attempting to keep up, was to find a better way to carry this magnificent object without hampering my ability to stay with them.