We made our way to the edges of the mountains, where there were several deep pools of water giving off small amounts of steam. I started slipping off my boots, and heard a cough from Tiberius.

“In Heracleum, we tend to separate our bathing by gender,” he said.

I looked around at everyone else, all of whom were staring at me, Patience with a wry smile, Tristus with a sultry one, and Millicent with open curiosity. Nica was looking at the treeline, keeping watch, and Zevrack was already fully undressed. I coughed. “I uh, wasn’t really thinking. Bit too much walking and fighting to be concerned about that.”

Nica moved to join the group. “There’s another pool just past those mushroom trees there. “ She pointed, and started walking. The ladies all walked that way, but Patience shot me a faux mournful look complete with a pouting lip that made me smile. Once they were out of view, I finished taking off my boots and took a moment to feel the multicolored grass between my toes. In spite of its alien look, it felt pretty much the same as the grass I’d been used to back on Earth. It was nice, I enjoyed the blend of familiar and strange as I cast my gaze across the rest of the alien landscape. I liked this world. I wondered if it was odd that I hadn’t really missed all that much about home since I’d arrived. Maybe it was my altered Elf mind, or maybe I just preferred a world of magic and wonder to one of struggle and fatigue. I did still miss music, the internet, and coffee though.

Zevrack dove smoothly into the warm water, slicing through it and stopping with the top of his head and nostrils sitting just above the water. He reminded me of a crocodile. Tib lowered himself into the water with a grunt and began carefully and diligently cleaning himself. Tristus simply floated on top of the water and luxuriated with his eyes closed. His lurid looks at me before were clearly more of an attempt at messing with me more than anything else. I finished getting the rest of my clothes off and dipped down into the water too. It was much warmer than I expected, and I could feel myself unclenching my muscles as I lowered myself down into it. I took a deep breath and dunked myself under the water. I let all of the air out of my lungs so I could sink to the shallow bottom and sit.

After around thirty blissful seconds, I brought myself back to the surface, sliding my hair back, and wiping the water from my eyes. For a few seconds I saw only steam. I hadn’t thought that the water was that hot, but the steam was so thick that I could no longer see any of my companions. I opened my mouth to yell, but before I could, suddenly the steam cleared and I found myself alone in the pool, except for a woman standing chest deep in the water across from me.

I stared at her for a few moments. At first, in my disorientation, I wondered if I’d somehow drifted into the women’s side of the pool, but quickly dismissed that thought. I hadn’t felt myself move, and more importantly the woman in front of me wasn’t Patience, Millicent, or Nica. She was tall, unnaturally so I realized as I adjusted my perspective.She was also at least twice as wide as I was, though her proportions seemed to be scaled with her increased size in such a way that she looked normal. Speaking of proportions, I could say they were impressive, at least from what I could tell through the steam and water, though I chastised myself for letting my mind wander in that direction when I was in what could be a very dangerous situation. The woman’s face was striking, with a strong nose in the center of a noble face. Her hair was white on one end, but where I could see it behind her head facing me, it was a rainbow of colors. Her eyes were blue and yellow, but when she blinked they changed to red and brown, then blue and orange, then gold and gray, and she regarded me through these myriad colors with a passive, but interested expression.

In spite of my exhaustion and surprise, I was able to put the clues together fairly quickly. The woman in the pool with me was the dragon I’d been searching for.

I watched her expression shift a little, as if she was thinking about something, then she very suddenly put her arms in front of herself and turned away with an embarrassed expression that seemed to come from nowhere. “What are you doing in my bath!?” she asked.

I thought about what Zevrack had told me about dragons being creatures of whim, I thought about what we had learned about this particular dragon as we’d made our trek here, and I thought about my various encounters with a similarly rainbow eyed god. I then covered my eyes, and averted my gaze.

“Excuse me my lady, I was not aware that you were in this pool. I’m not sure of how I got here.”

She looked thoughtful for a moment. “I was moving some of the water from the hotter pools into this one, perhaps you got transported as well.”

“Oh, you must be a sorceress of great power to do such a thing,” I said, peeking through a gap I made between my fingers.

She smirked. “You could say that.”

“I apologize for entering your baths without permission. My companions and I are seeking an audience with a grand and powerful dragon, with scales of a thousand colors, and power beyond anything before seen in this land. We did not want to meet her unwashed, and covered in the viscera and grime of battle and travel.” I was laying it on very thick, but I figured flattery never hurt.

“Hmmm, I know of the one you speak. You braved the mountains and my- her maze in order to get here?”

“We did. We avoided the traps and fought off the monsters she placed there.”

She shook her head. “The monsters weren’t placed by her. She simply built the maze and the monsters moved in. Mazes have a way of attracting beasts and adventurers. The longer the maze is up, the stronger the monsters within it will be, and the harder it will be to traverse.”

I nodded, my hand still partially covering my eyes.

“Why do you think she would accept an audience with you?”

“Well, I have a few reasons to believe she’ll at least hear us out. First, she has been kind, and merciful in her dealings, even with those who sought to destroy her. Secondly, I am Cormac champion of the god of… something, and it is partially due to me that dragons arrived in this world. Third, well, I imagine she has noticed us by now, and if she’s been benevolent enough to leave us be so far, I can only imagine that she’s a magnanimous and merciful being.”

The woman chuckled, which had a warm growling quality to it.

“Is something funny my lady?” I asked, knowing the joke, but pretending otherwise.

“Many things are funny I’d say.”

“You said that you know the dragon? Might I request that you take us to her? If it would not be an imposition that is.”

She nodded. “I think I can make that happen.”

“Wonderful.” I said, as I began to move, then I hesitated. “Will you just teleport me back as you did here, or…?”

She shook her head. “I think I shall walk.”

“Oh. Would you avert your gaze while I exit the pool?”

“No.”

“Well…okay then.” I climbed out of the water in what I hoped was the most dignified way possible and realized suddenly that I was fully clothed. The outfit was a simple blue silky garment with pants, a shirt, and a belt. I still felt naked without my weapons, but this was certainly an improvement. I looked back and saw that the woman was also clothed similarly and walking toward me from the edge of the water. I was slightly disappointed, then disappointed with myself for that disappointment.

“What may I call you my lady?”

She brought a finger up to her chin as she finished approaching me, and I realized she was at least two heads taller than I was. “You may call me Ran. Ran Bow.”

I narrowly resisted a facial twitch. The dragon either thought I was an idiot, which was perfect, knew I was pretending and was messing with me, which was also possibly perfect, or she herself was just bad at improv, which could go either way.

I offered my arm in what I hoped she would consider a gentlemanly gesture. “Lady Ran.”

She slipped her arm through mine, surprisingly gracefully given our height difference, and then began leading me through the valley. I could tell that even in the form she’d chosen she was enormously strong, though I made no comment on it. Beyond that, while it was oddly subtle, I could feel the hum of magic emanating from her. When I focused on it, I realized it was flowing out from her to everything around us, the plants, the water, even into the sky. We walked only a short distance before I could hear the voices of my companions cutting through the quiet of the valley.