It’s a wet night, and the rain beats a steady rhythm on the ground and trees. You search for cover, not caring whether it’s completely dry or just slightly damp. You finally come to an opening in the rock large enough for you to stand. Once you enter, you notice a dim glow on the cave walls. You call out quietly, not wanting to disturb whoever is inside. A faint rustling, as if an animal was in the ferns, echoes around you, as does a quiet rumble. You travel farther down the tunnel, and wind up in a large cavern. There are many torches in different colored holders on the walls, emitting colored hues. As you look around, you notice that there are many openings in the rocks, which you suspect lead to many large rooms similar to this one. Someone calls to you, and you turn. Against the left wall is a being, dwarfed by a larger being.

“Welcome,” the girl says, and you walk towards them hesitantly. You sit down in a chair opposite the girl, and she smiles.

“My name is Jaimey. And this is Obsidiana,” the girl introduces herself and the large lizard-like animal. Jaimey then goes into a trance-like state, her eyes turning completely red, her pupils dilating, and she starts speaking, her voice dropping into a low rumble as you stare at the oversized lizard.

“I’m not going to bite. I know, I know. You may be wondering how dragons came to be here. But you’re probably also wondering what we can do. Reading, writing, all these other things can help with making a working community. Living with humans, elves, and others quite different from my own kind can do this to a dragon. Oh, don’t be alarmed. It’s quite a long story. But enough about me and more about how this place, Dragon’s Keep, came about.” Obsidiana shifts so that her other side is towards the fire. “A long time ago, we dragons used to inhabit this world. When the two-legs came, we didn’t know what to do. They killed us for sport, and drove us into the mountains. Once the short two-legs came, which was after the first two-legs, they drove us out of the mountains and almost into extinction. Only two of my kind were left, a male and female. Some say that these two are the founding dragons, but history goes back to the first inhabitance. As these two died out, they had already had a large brood of children. Before the two died, they found a large cavern, and their children extended it so that they could live here. This is a room that stems from the original room.”

“As the original pair decided to make their home here, so did many two-legs. As the population grew, so did the boundaries of this place. There were many species of human and animal, and we all finally lived in harmony. Until that fateful year in 1056, when the Morintians attacked. You see, the Morintians were a feared species. They were a mix of the dark skinned, point-eared two-legs and other beings that were born by magic and weren’t normal. They were a colony who wanted land and only cared about themselves. As they took over, our forces were badly separated. The war lasted ten years, when our troops surrendered. We went into hiding in these caves, and never came out except for a few unsuccessful raids. A few years ago, we waged war against the Morintians, and they were defeated badly. We reclaimed the lands we had lost and took part in rebuilding the cities and towns. As we rebuilt our respective places, we thought of a better and more appropriate name for it. And that’s how Dragon’s Keep came along. The name Dragon’s Keep explains mostly how we dragons stood up for our home, but we never forget the people and animals that helped us. There are only a few of those two-legs who are still alive, the majority being the point-eared ones and the DragonRiders.”

Jaimey’s eyes return to their normal color, and her pupils to their normal size. She closes her eyes and shakes her head, smiling.

“So now we are gathering a little more of the original population each and every day. If you would like to join us and stay for a while, we would love to have you.”