The Snowman's Shadow: An Epic Fantasy Christmas Parody by Robert Ryan

Author:Robert Ryan [Ryan, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Trotting Fox Press
Published: 2024-10-06T00:00:00+00:00

8. The Bag of Plenty

I produced a little red purse from a pocket and dangled it in front of him.

“Did you really think I would come unprepared?”

He frowned at me. “My pockets are bigger than that. Are you sure you didn’t look into the dragon’s eye and get bewitched?”

By way of answer I shook the cloth, and the fabric of it expanded with a red shimmer.

“This is the Bag of Plenty,” I told him. “It would contain all the treasures of all the dragons in all the world just in one crease.”

He shook his head. “Did a rock crack your skull?”

I laughed. “It’s bigger on the inside than the outside. You’ll see.”

With a jaunty stride I led him into the dragon’s lair. He followed, if slowly, and I knew he was thinking things through.

“It’s a magic sack then?”

“Indeed it is.”

“Where did you get it?”

“It was far from here. I met a wandering healer on the road, and shared a good meal with him by my campfire. Next morning, he gave the sack to me as a gift, and explained what it could do.”

“Who was the healer?”

“Who? You know as well as I that it’s impolite to ask strangers on the road their name. He was a clever boy though, and I have the feeling he was more than he seemed.”

It grew dark in the tunnel swiftly, but light came in from fissures and cracks. To see better though, I muttered a little spell and a ruddy glow emanated from the walls.

There were traps, of course. Dragons are cunning creatures, and Faphard had set two types. The first were of a deadly kind. Boulders were in place that would topple and crush when triggered by a footfall, and the second merely gave warning of someone’s approach so that he would not be caught napping. These were as simple as loose rocks on the floor that made noise when stepped on.

What? I don’t care that you have never heard that dragons do this before. Of course they do. They’re very clever, are they not? And their forefeet, even clawed and covered in horny scales, are dexterous. For that matter, so are their tails. And it stands to reason too. If you’re a dragon, you know that sooner or later someone is going to try to kill you, probably by stealth. A dragon hoard attracts those bent on revenge and those who seek wealth like moths to a light in the dark.

Ancon led the way, and I knew that I had chosen my tomb robber, or burglar if you prefer, well. He avoided all the snares with disdain.

All around us were the shattered remains of what once had been lodgings as fair as the elven king’s. It was all laid to ruin. Pillars carved like trees were blacked by light touches of fire, except where Faphard had wanted the roof to partially collapse. Floors that were once polished and gleaming mosaics were covered in his slime and pitted and scratched by his mighty claws.

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