[Child of the 7th Age]

With the dragon's harsh words ringing in his ear, Perin rose slowly to his feet, then stomped straight towards the door of the cave. The wyrm's final admonition had been curt and direct. If Perin made one false move or attempted to escape, one of the captives would meet their death. His task was to go out and gather firewood, making several trips back and forth between the cave and the few remaining trees and shrubs, all scrubby and stunted, that grew along the base of the rocky ledge.

Usually the beast flew out to gather the logs that were needed to keep the huge blazes going in the interior of the cave. But tonight the beast had found some poor victim in a distant coastal village. He had carried the body back to devour. The stench and blood in the cave was truly hideous and Perin was glad to be free to walk away from the mess, even though he was only employed as a beast of burden for lugging wood back at the dragon's bidding.

Plus, without the firewood, they would not be able to do the tasks the wyrm had set for them; the beast would have no reason whatsoever to keep them alive. Best go out and try and gather as much wood as he could. With that in mind, Perin trudged wearily out the entrance, glad to grip a small hatchet for chopping wood in his hand if only for a moment and be able to glimpse the distant stars.

[ July 06, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]