"Let's get a move on," said Gerald as he left the inn with Mina in tow. "The mine is about a four hour hike, we might make it by nightfall if we leave now."

"Oh, is that all? Let me help with that then," said Mina. She then waved her hands and two horses appeared, complete with brit and saddle.

Villagers gasped as they crowded around the horses in awe. A few of the small children even attempted to touch them but withdrew their hands quickly and giggled at their failed attempts.

Mina looked surprised. "Why are they all looking at these conjured horses as if I had summoned a demon? It's but a low level spell. "

Gerald was shocked too, he suspected there was more to Mina than a foolish noblewoman but never guessed she was sorceress. "These bumpkins really don't see much magic here, ever since he made that last deal with Zerd the mad," he said, suppressing his urge to fawn over the horses as well.

"Zerd the mad?" asked Mina as she gracefully placed her foot on the stirrup and glided into the saddle with a quick hop. Gerald noted that she did not ride side saddle and rode her summoned mount more like a knight would.

"Well, I normally charge a silver for the story, but since you're paying me so handsomely I guess I can recount the tale," said Gerald as he attempted to duplicate Mina's easy mounting. He fumbled a few times, and almost fell into the mud except he landed on one of the children gathered near the magical horse. After a few more failed attempts, the children gathered together and help boost him up unceremoniously by the butt into the saddle. Gerald smiled at the kids, and was just glad they placed him facing the right direction.

Mina gave him an amused snort as well as a soft smile at his awkward riding skills, but Gerald simply patted the children on the head and pretended that it was all his plan to engage with them.

"About twenty years ago, Westholding was beset by a terrible toad demon," explained Gerald as he slowly guided his horse towards the forest.

"Hmm…sounds like Slaad or perhaps one of the Abyssal Hezrous, depending on the size of the creature of course," said Mina. "Both are quite formidable."

Gerald nodded. "Yes it was. The beast slew many of the Westholding's finest knights and men at arms. King Gustav was almost tempted to hire adventures to deal with this threat, but the mad wizard Zerd offered to drive the creature away."

"Why would anyone want to hire someone known to be mad?"

Gerald shrugged."I guess Gustav was desperate, and I might add that later on Gustav was also attributed with the suffix 'the mad'. Anyways Zerd was willing to drive off the beast but he demanded the King's first born daughter as his payment. Something about always wanted a Princess to marry or something of that like."

Mina cringed. "Ick, this Zerd sounds disgusting."

"Aye, though I never met him, by most accounts he was very …how should I say…unhygienic, deranged, as well as a person with questionable moral character. The King being out of knights and options agreed to this crazy deal, and Zerd promptly blasted this toad demon out of sight. Although Zerd was quite insane, he was also a master evoker. That's a specialist in shooting fireballs and lightning by the way."

"I know what a evoker is. That's a term for a specialist mage. In exchange for increased proficiency in one school of magic, they give up or are greatly hampered in two other schools, typically divination and another of the less direct schools."

"Well of course, everyone knows that," lied Gerald as he filed that piece of information away for later. "Anyways with the toad demons vanquished Zerd waited greedily for the King's part of the bargain to be …well born. Fortunately for everyone, Prince Aaron was born two years later, and Prince Robert was born three years after that. Sadly the queen died at childbirth….driving the King mad with grief, hence his nick name. "

"That's horrible. Weren't there any clerics to save the queen?"

"Well, this isn't Grom, or any of the dwarven Kingdoms. This is Westholding. We don't have that many magic users of arcane or divine predilection here. I mean look at those children, they were completely dazzled by your …ummm…horse bringing spell."

"I see….and I am assuming that is the reason that the King or the Prince if he's in charge did not contact Zerd to deal with this new dragon threat? The old wizard is still bitter about his last deal."

Gerald nodded as he led Mina into the forest. While he had trouble at first, the magical horse was incredibly well tamed and almost rode itself as Gerald guided him towards the mines.

As they rode, Gerald glanced back at Mina and saw how nervous the girl was. While she seemed confident in her magic she demonstrated earlier, he could see the anxiety in her wide saucer eyes as they rode further into the woods.

While she was a mage, she didn't seem to be on the level of Zerd the mad. Did she really think her magic had a chance against the dragon? Or was she here for another purpose? She couldn't be here to offer her services to the Prince, if so she would have done so in town. And why go to the mine? She could have just followed him if that was her purpose. What business did a young, attractive girl have, looking for the supposed lair of a dragon?

As Gerald considered this, he realized what her end game was. It was so obvious!

"So, you're not here to kill the dragon are you?"

"Eh?" asked Mina in surprise, her wide saucer eyes growing even wider.

"You're here for a more…romantic purpose are you not?"

Mina opened her mouth and then shut it, and then opened it again, but seemed unable to speak. "How…how did you know?"

"Because I'm a bard, that's how. I may not be the best fighter, and my magic is illusory at best, but I know the ways of the heart better than anyone," another lie.

Gerald had only been with two women in his life, Ilsa the milkmaid that eventually ran off with Rolf the bold, and he woke up naked in a haystack once with a large fishmonger woman after a very drunken Magnus day celebration. Despite his limited experience, he assumed that Mina had even less. From his deductive skills, he guessed from her attire, age, and destination, that Mina wanted to get her claws on Prince Aaron. She would sneak into the Dragon's lair, use her magic to keep out of sight, and then play the rescued damsel when the Prince vanquished the beast. She wasn't the best looking girl he ever saw but she was far from ugly. She was quite easy on the eyes actually. In fact, he guessed after a hard bout of dragon slaying, the Prince's adrenaline might be pumping enough to make Mina look more desirable than she really was. It wouldn't be hard to imagine that the Prince and Mina might be engaged in some love making after the Dragon was slain, and who knows where that would lead. However there was one big problem that Mina missed, one that Lady Tessa was all too familiar with.

"He's quite discerning you know. He'll probably question your bloodline," said Gerald, trying to let Mina down easy. "I don't want to sound crude, but he won't just bed anyone."

Mina bowed her head. "I know. I'm an orphan you know, taken in by a kindly knight. That in itself might make him reject me. Also, he appears much larger than me. He might see me as a threat and fight me."

Gerald was shocked. He's never heard of any tales of Prince Aaron beating up women, but he guessed there might be a chance he see Mina as a rival treasure seeker and not a damsel in distress. Still, it seemed unlikely that they would come to blows. "I don't think you have to worry about violence. Err…just act natural and don't ask any questions about treasure or any such thing. I'm sure you'll dazzle him with your youthful charm and exuberance. I mean, who couldn't say no to a girl who comes up with such a daring plan to snag a mate."

"You..you really think so? " asked Mina in surprise." To tell you the truth, I had my doubts, and actually questioned my only sanity when I heard the stories and decided to some here, but…but….I'm lonely…so very lonely…"

Gerald rolled his eyes. Typical pubescent infatuation. Normally he would encourage such feelings, because lovesick teenage girls were often his best paying customers, but Mina didn't really fit that bill. His heartstrings pulled when Mina said she was lonely. It seemed hauntingly tragic.

"Look Mina, I hope it works out for you, but if it doesn't know this, you don't need this guy. You're young and pretty. I've only known you for a short time, but you seem smart and capable as well. There's plenty more eligible bachelors out there, they might seem hard to find, but you just have to preserver. If he rejects you for something as stupid as you being an orphan, than that's his loss," said Gerald. "Anything worthwhile in life, never comes he easy," he added because he heard it once before and it sounded really sagey.

"I…I…thank you. That's a very kind thing to say," said Mina as her eyes well up.

Gerald smiled but kept heading towards the mines. He might have made Mina feel better, but he wasn't going to give up on his hundred gold. They could head back after he got paid.

"Gerald, how did you see through my illusion?" asked Mina after a few minutes of silence.

Illusion? Gerald didn't expect that, but the more he thought about it the more it made sense. If she was a sorceress it wouldn't surprise him that she used an alter self or disguise spell to pretty herself up. Especially considering she's a young girl wanting to snag herself a prince. Hide a blemish here, lose a few pounds there, even make your eyes look so alluringly saucer like. You might as well give yourself every advantage you can get.

"I'm a bard. I know these things," grinned Gerald. "I mean, why wouldn't you have an illusion, it just makes sense."

Mina seemed confused but accepted his statement, and seemed much cheerier for the rest of the trip.

As the pair neared the mines, Mina began to get nervous again, but Gerald could practically taste the money and forged ahead.

"You know Gerald, I'm not even sure if ..if he's a..umm male," said Mina unexpectedly. "I'm just taking a chance. It's going to be very awkward if 'he' turns out to be a 'she'. "

Gerald looked at Mina in confusion but then a moment of clarity struck him.

Of course! How could he not see it. Prince Aaron isn't Prince Aaron, she's Princess Aaron. That explains everything. It was a massive cover up to cheat Zerd. The small amount of public exposure the 'Prince' had when he was a boy. The almost total lack of any romantic relationships the 'Prince' was connected too, including the lovely Lady Tessa. It all made sense now, how could a stranger see this while he couldn't.

"Gerald, is something the matter? Why did we stop?"

Gerald's mine wandered as he considered the exact composition of his greatest ballad yet. Three verses or five? Should he make it a slow reveal, or shock the audience right away? Should Gustav be portrayed as a conniving villain, or a hero that saved his daughter? So many options so many glorious possibilities.

"Gerald, are we near the mine? Or do you detect something?"

Gerald was about to tell her that they were close, and she might as well give him his gold now, when suddenly the dusky forest was filled with echoes of howls and high pitched screams.

"BREE YARK!"

"That sounded like goblins," said Mina. "Stay here, I'm going to check."

Gerald had never heard of goblins this far south. The nearest tribe was a hundred miles north close to the lands of Dool. Still he wasn't going to complain if someone else was going to stick their necks out to check for danger. He gripped his fists as if in anger, to show that he wanted to go to, but frowned and relented to Mina. Mina then drew out a small brass lantern from her satchel and a small glowing ball of flame hissed and crackled out of it. The flame floated next to Mina's head and followed her as she rode forward, following the old mine trail.

Gerald watched her ride out of sight as the sun continued to set. He bolstered his waning courage with thoughts of gold. He felt the urge to run, but somehow he stayed against his better judgement. Was it truly the allure of coins? Or was it something else?

As he considered this he heard a rustling in the nearby bushes.

"Mina? Is that you?"

His question was quickly answered as a dozen goblins riding on wolves burst through the forest towards him. Snarling and barking their battlecrys.