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"Grandsire," the Copper said The golden drake was turning up the corners of his iven a lair," the Tyr said "Not in the nursery, now--a battle-scarred dragon deserves a real chamber of his own I know--have him join the Drakwatch Give him a chance to prove himself to you doubters Attend to it, won’t you, NoSohoth?"

The female checked a loosened scale on the Tyr’s haunch and shot a look at NoSohoth as he bowed to the Tyr

"A fine addition to the fa so he caht in his scales "We won’t want for entertain as he’s around I can’t wait to see hih a court dance"

Chapter 12

NoSohoth led the Copper through what seeonscale patterns on the rises and drops to help the claws find purchase The rock inside was shiny and black, with veins of white where it had been left natural, but in many places, like projections and corners, it had been coated with ns The floor wasn’t quite srip, but it was polished Splashes of water fro trickles looked like blood

Turns, drops, and cli fat-lamps

"Don’t you usecamp? You’re in the Ies to lamps Smell"

Soive a pleasing, relaxing aro, sir?" the Copper asked

"You’re a polite hatch--young drake I haven’t heard ‘sir’ from the Imperial lines in three sets of scale You’ve never been in the Upper World?"

"No I’ve seen shafts of sunlight; that’s all"

"The smell’s hardy pine It has an oil that’s useful in a variety of ways, a solvent for a start We put it in the fat-lamps Some mint and rosemary are added to the oil Eucalyptus is even better, but hard to coet thick in here Drakes get aggressive, and the drakka play up tooWe dragons are thralls to none but our noses"

The Copper had no idea what "eucalyptus" was, but had more ions all around I keep fearing I’ll wake up and be alone again"

"I wouldn’t mind a year or two alone, myself Now, let’s see, plenty of empty space on this level, as it doesn’t have ress Everyone in the Black Rock thinks they’re born deserving a gallery with its own trickle"

The Copper gave up counting passages and turns by the time they descended a third tih," NoSohoth said "If you get lost, just reet you to the Central Spiral"

"That big downshaft with the columns?"

"Yes, where we first descended Just ask a thrall; they all speak Drakine More or less They’ll put you right If they don’t, you’re free to eat thee rose and then fell away to a wider, lower tunnel There wasn’t so es now Horouped in threes and sixes and nines, grinning at hi of bronze or pewter

"This is the old Drakwatch level When I was your age, we had an elvish sorcerer who could make these skulls talk The stories they told! Plenty of room here; there’s just old NeStirrath and some orphans froot its own passage, which is nice Can’t stand sleeping with air on ht I learn more about this RuGaard, sir?"

NoSohoth stopped for a ht cup connected to a larger pot The flae The skull of a creature with four horns projecting from the temples and two shorter ones out of the jaw decorated the entrance

"A young drake should look to his duties"

"Isn’t ed with defending?" He was rather proud of that little speech

"H You have soht it better not to reply beyond a "Thank you, sir"

"Listen to the storytellers, then If you’ve a taste for the exotic, you could read sos the archivists keep The Anklenes keep their traditions, as undragonish as they are They live in the Marble Slope, just on the other side of the Gardens"

He led the Copper to a cli wall "There’s a shelf on top How do you like it? I hope that’s not too difficult a cliht for hih the entrance was craons’ thickening odorthe echoes of their shifting scale