Travis arrived shortly after. He’d also heard the dragoness’ scream. Already briefed on the situation by the villagers he’d met, he lurked into the cave.

“Nisseos! It’s me,” he said into the cave’s dark abyss.

“Travis. Come in,” she invited the human.

Travis navigated through the dark cave. The flickering light of his torch didn’t help much with visibility. He didn’t trip though, as he knew the place well. After all, he visited Nisseos quite often.

The sight he was met with was somewhat depressing. The dragoness lied on the ground, her massive head resting on her stretched out talons, not unlike a cat. She was still quietly sobbing, her eyes closed, her breaths ragged.

Travis sat next to her, not quite wrapping his hand over her huge neck, instead leaning on her in an awkward attempt at a consoling hug.

“It’s all gone, Travis. Gifts from my parents, siblings, from people. All the gold we earned adventuring. All that’s left is a couple of coins that the thief didn’t bother to pick up,” she despaired.

“It’s going to be alright,” he replied. “We’re going to… We’re going to get it all back.”

Frankly? Travis was shocked too. He contributed to Nisseos’ hoard, even after they had stopped travelling the globe. He never was the one for riches. And he knew, that were he in need, the dragoness would not hesitate to help.

“Really?”

“Yes, really! Now stop crying your eyes out, I hate seeing you like this.”

Nisseos weeping died down. She turned towards the human.

“I’d be dead without you.”

“As would I, at least fourteen times,” Travis retorted. “It’s dusk. Before we do anything, we need to sleep on it. Can I stay there?”

“As if you had to ask.”

“Thanks, Nisseos. But I’ll go calm the worried mob that’s camping in front of the cave first. From what I’ve seen, they’re one step away from bringing out the pitchforks and killing a cow for you.”

“That’s terrible! Please, tell them not to. It’d be wasted if they gave it to me, they need it more. Especially with all the newborns they have. Tell them to think of the children!”

“I swear to Gods, the next thing we’re working on once we find your money, will be your self-esteem,” Travis stated, getting up and heading towards the exit.

There was a quite sizeable crowd of people waiting near the cave, all hoping for good news. As Travis left the dark cavern, they all went silent. There was a fog of anticipation in the air, thick and heavy.

“She’s alright,” he announced. “Just give her some time, she needs to recover.”

If it didn’t sound fake and stupid, there would’ve been a big, collective sigh. But it did, so it didn’t happen. The villagers started leaving. Travis left too, although in a different direction – back towards the grotto.

“They had been dealt with,” he said, snuggling up next to the giant mass of scales and muscle that lied next to the cavern’s wall. She gave out a lot of heat, so the draught of air coming from the entrance wasn’t a problem.

“Should we rest early?” the dragoness asked.

“Why not? We’re going to need as much sunlight as we can get tomorrow.”

“Fair enough. Good night!”

“Night.”

The next day started early. The sun wasn’t quite up yet, but Nisseos and Travis were. They spent the morning on preparations, and left the cave just before noon.

“See these footprints? I didn’t see any of the villagers going this way. And I don’t remember any of them having a trolley. If I’m not mistaken, the nearest settlement in this direction is Malton...”

“Oh, Malton. These folks don’t like me. I... might have accidentally roasted one of their rooftops the other day?” the dragoness stated, her tone suggesting it wasn’t a big deal. Travis stared at her. “Look, I had a cough that day, okay? Besides, I offered to help rebuild, but they were quite adamant on me leaving. Not my fault that they keep building them straw roofs.”

“So what you’re saying, is that Malton, the biggest town in… quite a big of an area, doesn’t like you. The same Malton that has the knights stationing in it. And we have no other choice but to head right there.”

“Uh… yes?” Nisseos said. “Rather unfortunate, isn’t it?”

To that, Travis couldn’t find a response. He focused his attention on the ground, the footprints and the tracks left by the cart. After a mile or so, he’d found a coin.

“Hey, Nisseos. Look at that. I don’t think a lot of people walk on this path. This has to be yours!”

“Yet another proof that we’re going the correct way,” she said, looking at Travis. “You don’t like this at all, do you?”

“Of course I don’t like it! Some petty thief went to your cave and stole all your money! How did that even happen?”

“Well, I was gone for a few days. Family matters. When I came back, my hoard just… wasn’t there!”

Travis was surprised he didn’t know about that. They always told each other about things like that.

“It was really sudden, so I didn’t have time to let you know,” Nisseos added.

Well, that cleared a couple things out.

“Oh,” was the only thing that escaped Travis’ mouth.

The pair continued to move towards Malton. The sun was getting lower with every minute. The surroundings were getting darker and darker.

“I’m tired. Should we call it quits for the day?”

“It’s a bit surprising that you are the one that claims that first, but sure. I think we’re getting old,” Travis retorted. “We used to be able to walk twice as long back in the day...”

“You’re getting old, I’m just out of practice with walking!” Nisseos said playfully, stretching her neck ahead in faux hurt.

“Right. Remind me that you’re going to live twice as long as I, will you?”

“Oh, quit whining, forty isn’t THAT much, even for a human!”

“That’s still too much for adventuring.”

“Quit whining! These are bad thoughts! Think of something positive! Like...” she trailed off. “Like I don’t know what. But something positive!”

That got a chuckle out of Travis, who started setting up a campfire.

“I still don’t understand how these folks from Malton can not like you. You are a constant ray of happiness. Fire and brimstone are very rare and never quite intended!” he said. “Do you need to hunt something or can it wait?”

“I’ll just catch some food in the morning. Way too tired for that,” Nisseos said, trying to curl up into a comfortable position.

“That sounds like a great plan. I’ll join. I brought some bread, but eating just bread is just plain boring.”

“At least you can eat bread!”

“Oh, now you are the whining one.”

“No, I’m not!”

The evening went on.