It can be a dangerous business going out of your door...

-AN UNEXPECTED ADVENTURE-

"Eli, tell me the story again about your friend and his magic ring!" Loci loved stories, almost as much as the insane gnome, Molt, did, and he especially enjoyed the ones that Elisha would often share. As a retired soldier, the halfling always had an exciting tale in his back pocket for when times were a bit dull.

"Not now, kid. I'm busy." Eli continued to stuff his mouth with more taters.

Though he had to admit that his timing wasn't great, it had been so slow and quiet in the guild hall with nothing to do for almost two tendays that Loci thought he might be bored out of his skull. Wisely summoning all of his patience, he decided at least to wait until dessert before asking again. After-dinner stories were sometimes the best kind to enjoy, sitting back in a comfy chair with a warm, full belly while being entertained with a thrilling adventure.

At last, Eli pushed himself away from the table with a satisfied grunt, patting his rounded stomach contentedly.

"Now will you tell the story?"

"No." Loci's face fell. "But I will tell you a new one." The minotaur's countenance brightened instantly, and he snapped his mouth shut, prepared to listen to the tale without interruption.

"So, my partner and I had eyes on an enemy agent in a room across the street from ours, when our door suddenly burst open-" Eli was interrupted by the door to the Shattered Sword slamming inward with a crash, and both heads turned toward the noise. "Huh. Just like that."

Zulynn rushed into the tavern, breathless and distraught. "I need your help! I've been robbed, and I have to find the thief!"

Eli rolled his eyes as if he couldn't care less about the wizard's stash, but Loci was never one to turn down a friend in need. "Come on, Eli. It shouldn't be too hard to apprehend a simple thief."

"I don't see why Zulynn couldn't handle it herself then," Eli grumbled under his breath as he heaved himself out of his chair.

Zulynn led the pair to a forest just outside town. A snap of a twig as they reached the trees caused the trio to freeze in their tracks. They each stared intently in the direction where the sound originated and searched for any other signs of movement. Eli took a silent step forward, and a rabbit zoomed out from a bush and away from the group. Loci thought he felt his heart leap out through his throat.

Zulynn continued on through the trees. "I'm pretty sure he went this way."

"Did you see the thief, Zulynn?"

"No, but I was able to follow his trail for a bit until I needed some more help." Stopping in front of a small cave, she pointed inside of it. "I tracked him in there earlier. Will you help me look for him in the dark?"

Loci suddenly found his altruism wavering in the face of real danger. "Uh. In there? But there are bats in there."

Eli craned his neck to look up at Loci with narrowed eyes. "I thought you and Bosnun were going to take care of them a while back?"

"Oh. Uh, I was sick. With the flu. Had to cancel unfortunately."

Eli raised a dubious eyebrow then headed into the cave anyway. Loci reluctantly followed the other two inside, ducking low so that his horns wouldn't brush against any sleeping bats. Eli had already lit a torch, which, Loci noted with some relief, should help deter any rabid bloodsuckers from attacking them.

As they walked down the tunnel, Eli addressed Zulynn. "So, what's so hard about finding a petty thief for a capable wizard like yourself?"

"Ah, well, I thought you two might be helpful, especially you, Eli, being an ex-cop and all. I'm always impressed by how you brilliantly save the day in all your old adventures."

Eli seemed to consider the praise thoughtfully, then pushed on ahead. Loci followed Eli deeper into the cave until they came across a fork in the tunnels. "Loci, you can see in the dark. You take the left path, and Zulynn and I will go down this way."

"By myself?" Loci asked, suddenly alarmed.

"Yeah. You'll be fine, buddy." The pair headed down the passage on the right, leaving Loci standing there alone.

Taking a deep breath, Loci shakily made his way down the dark tunnel, praying the others might find the thief quickly and then come get him. He tried to think cheery, comforting thoughts as he scanned the walls and ceiling of the passageway. Luck must have been on his side tonight because a great wall of rocks blocked his path before he got very far. The cave-in did not seem very recent as the rocks were firmly settled together and Loci could hardly budge any of them.

He said a silent prayer of thanks and hurried back to join Zulynn and Eli, the former fawning over the latter for his roguish exploits during their adventures. The halfling was basking in the compliments until he came to an abrupt halt in his steps and said, "What is that?"

That appeared to be a tiny, sleeping baby dragon wrapped around one of Zulynn's enormous (relative to the little reptile) gems, the red scales around its belly expanding up and down and wisps of smoke puffing out from its nostrils with every breath. Behind it lay a small pile of assortment of shiny treasure.

"Aww, it's so cute!"

"Yeah. Cute until you wake up one morning to find that it's eaten you for breakfast."

"Can I keep it?"

"Loci, it's not a pet! That thing will grow up to burn down villages and gobble up entire adventuring parties."

"But it's so tiny."

"For now. Actually, we should probably kill it while it's so small and helpless."

"No, Eli!"

"You. Can't. Keep. The dragon."

"We could relocate it? Someplace far away from people."

"Well I hope you have the time to take care of it cuz I ain't doin' it."

"Zulynn, could you help-" Loci looked around to find that the wizard apparently had no interest in hanging around a baby dragon and had disappeared as she so often did during their adventures. With a sigh, he turned back to the sleeping dragon and gingerly scooped it, and its gem, into a sack. Eli filled a second bag with the small hoard, presumably to return it to Zulynn. Hopefully the wizard had learned to lock up her loot right away instead of leaving it lying around the guild hall.

As Loci started his trek to the middle of nowhere, sack slung along his back, he thought to himself that this wasn't such a bad way to break up the monotony of the last couple tendays. And if he decided to visit the little dragon once in a while, well, no one else had to know about it.