A/N: And here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Dungeons and Dragons. I only own my original ideas.

Chapter 3: Kindness

We made our way through the forest, headed towards wherever Quoros was leading us. I felt a bit better now, though still a bit worried what he might do with me. After some time, we arrived at a small village: Riverpoint, I heard Quoros call it. Around me, I saw the few villagers up at this hour looking at me with caution. We made our way through town, coming to a rough shack surrounded by strange sigils. Quoros knocked on the door, and was soon answered by a Lizardfolk dressed in hides.

"Baeshra my friend!" said Quoros, "I have one here that requires from your talents!"

"Oh?" said Baeshra, "Ah, I see. Come closer, Hatchling. Let me examine you".

I cautiously approached, and allowed the Lizardfolk to examine me, but ready to run if this was a trap. I watched as Baeshra took a closer look at my leg before nodding.

"I see," said Baeshra, "It looks like you may have you lucked out. This looks like a clean break. It should be easy enough to fix… though still painful".

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I'll have to realign the bone first," said Baeshra, "after that, I can heal you. It will be some time before your leg is back at full strength".

"Please, do what you need to," I said.

"Well then, come around back," said Baeshra.

We made our way to a small clearing behind the shack, and I could feel there was a force in this place. The air felt slightly different, charged with nature's power. Baeshra had me lie down, and undid the splint. He then tossed a thick roll of leather in front of me.

"Bite down on that," said Baeshra, "trust me, it will help".

I did as he commanded, and felt him firmly grasp my leg. A moment later, my jaws clenched tight around the roll of leather as Baeshra pulled on my leg… hard. Just after, a warm, pleasant feeling flowed through me. As it faded, I noticed my leg felt better. I slowly got to my feet, testing my newly healed limb. It seemed to be repaired… but I could tell he was right: it would take time to reach full strength once more.

"There, your leg should be able to heal its own," said Baeshra, "You've likely got quite the story, hatchling. Let's get you set up with a place to rest. Perhaps tomorrow you can tell your tale".

Baeshra led me back to his home, and gathered some straw and laid it out behind his home. He also brought of some cuts of meat and set it out for me. I swiftly ate my fill, feeling better than ever. I then curled up upon the bedding and soon drifted off the sleep.

In my dreams, I saw a mighty dragon, red like myself, flying high above a city of black, wicked-looking spires. The dragon's maw lit up with flames, and it unleashed the blast, tearing into the city and utterly destroying the several of the spires. The mighty dragon turned to look my way, and I saw three scars running across its snout, looking like they'd been there its whole life. The dragon then turned back to the task to destroying the city of the might of its breath alone.

I awoke with a start. As I stretched and looked around, I could see the sun slowly rising above the horizon. A short time later Baeshra came out to meet me.

"Come, young dragon," said Baeshra, "Quoros will wish to speak with you".

The Lizardfolk led me across town to a pleasant house with another building attached. As we approached, I felt a small form land on my head. A moment later, a grinning, scaly face peaked down at me.

"Well, hello again!" said Jundre, "You're looking quite a bit better!"

"I suppose I am," I said, "So, what's your story. What brought you here?"

"Me?" said Jundre, "well, I've been with Quoros since I was a wyrmling myself. My ancestors and Quoros' family have had good relations for some time. As I'm his familiar, and he loves to explore mysteries and lore, I'm content with my life here… He always let me have my fun".

We continued inside, and I was led to a spacious library. Sitting behind a desk piled high with tomes was Quoros. He looked up and smiled as we approached.

"Ah, welcome young one," said Quoros, "thank you for coming".

"You wished to speak with me?" I asked.

"Yes, I'd love to hear the story how a dragon such as yourself ended up in such a situation as I found you… especially one as young as yourself," said Quoros, "Jundre tells me you're only about a year old".

"He's that young?" said Baeshra.

"Oh yes," said Jundre, "If he were much younger, he'd still have bits of eggshell clinging to him".

"In any case," said Quoros, "let's hear your tale".

I set about recalling the events I'd experienced since I hatched. The hateful glares of my father, the cruelties of my siblings; my desperate flight to freedom, my capture by the hunter… and his plans to sell me to the highest bidder.

"Who was he selling you to?" asked Quoros.

"I believe the… buyer said something about Jukeo's Magical Menagerie," I said, "something about the man's words troubled me. Do you know anything about it?"

"Jukeo… possibly," said Quoros, "the only one I know of in this area with that name is Jukeo Ciam, a Wizard of considerable skill. From what I've heard he specializes in transmutation. What exactly did he say that specifically troubled you?"

"His entire demeanor seemed off to me," I said, "but I do remember something about making me a 'small part' of his menagerie".

"Ah, I think I know what he was planning," said Quoros, "there are spell to do many things: control the elements, disguise yourself behind illusions, and many, many other things. Most likely, he was going to use some personalized variant of a diminution spell to shrink you to and keep you at a small size. I've heard his menagerie contains miniature specimens of various magical creatures… It seems you were to join his collection".

My face wrinkled in disgust at the idea. What kind of monster would do that?

"I can see you are not pleased by the idea," said Quoros, "don't worry, I concur. I would not return to you prison; you deserve to fly free".

"Thank you," I said, "what happens now?"

"That is up to you, young dragon," Quoros said, "If you to remain living here for a time, I'm sure you'd have better chances than out in the wider world… at least until you grow out your wyrmling phase".

"Are you sure Quoros?" whispered Baeshra to Quoros, "I've dealt with dragons plenty of times in the past. Healing his wounds is one thing, but to cater to him as such?"

"Don't let your past experiences stain your judgment, Baeshra," Quoros said, "you've spoken of plenty of your foes which were turned to your side… Like that Langdedrosa fellow".

"Hmm… true enough," said Baeshra, "I must meditate on this".

"So, what do you say?" asked Quoros, "would you stay with us for a few years?"

"I… I think I'd like that," I said.

"Excellent!" said Quoros, "well in that case, let's get you settled!"

With that, Quoros guided me out into the village of Riverpoint… my home for now.

A/N: And there we go! I should note that the Chacter of Baeshra, the Lizardfolk Druid, is a character I'm currently playing as with my local D&D group(Tyranny of Dragons Campaign). Next time, our main character begins to form the ideas which will define his life, as he settles into his temporary home. see you then!