>>5304202You recall the hatchling, which even now the Novice dissects, in a home allocated for her use, away from the judgemental eyes of others. She insisted on making use of this space before you all depart for ‘what dinginess passes for kobold couture’. Your own accommodations at the forward base were nary so gratuitously-luxurious as hers, but you suppose you can understand the appeal—these humans really do live cushy lives. You’re rather enjoying this chair. For her part, her concerns seem more alchemical—something about working on the dragon-corpse with surface lighting and a clean, uncontaminated workspace.
“Were there other bodies?” you ask. “More hatchlings?”
Hapo nods, then shakes his head.
“No, just the one hatchling. Not sure if egg broken in collapse of cave… Or dragon hatched in airless, collapsed place, died starving in cold-dark, long-long ago. But eggs… There were eggs.”
Hapo’s eyes fill once more with something like wonder, like reverence.
“How did you come to abuse this creche so, for your own false glory?” you ask.
Hapo’s expression returns from the wonder of the past to the bitter resentment of the present… And, perhaps, to the possibility of a longer future, a future where he lives.
“It was demon!” he screeches, accusatorily pointing at his stump, where the possessed arm once was. “Put on ring, demon took over body! Took over mind! Demon in ring! It spoke through me, spoke to Hako, told him to wear other rings., wear cloak and necklace… And how together, we can be big… How with dragon, be big-big. Later, added basilisk chick, same idea… Make us STRONG! Make us DRAGONWROUGHT!”
He pauses in his telling, realizing his enthusiasm somewhat belies his claim to helpless victimhood.
“Hapo… Not WANT to. HAVE to.”
“Right,” you say, neutrally.
