On our way back to Celembril, in search for the other craters and--hopefully--the other shards of the crystal that was used to drive back Naresh, we came upon a young woman who was being pursued by a dragon whelp. Naturally, we rushed to her aid, but were nearly vanquished ourselves.
We agreed to help her (by which I mean, do for her) find her brother, who had been felled by the dragon whelp's brother, and taken prisoner. It turns out that he is a wizard, and was planning to set up a small magic shop in the local village. We set off to find him, which we eventually did, after once again nearly succumbing to the fierce power and crafty skill of the dragonling.
However, the account of our journey is not what concerns me at this moment. I am concerned with the human, Jacques. His actions bespoke themselves more clearly than I had ever seen, for he no less than saved my very life. Not only that, but my own skills in a melee were quite shown up. I am humbled and shamed by this, and by the admission that he may well be my better. He is brutish and uncouth, yet still I find myself thinking on his bravery and selflessness.
Perhaps he is but an exception among humankind. I suspect that this is the case, but the nagging doubt remains: what if he is more the rule than the exception? |
