Nero Palmer was sitting beneath the bridge that went over the river, taking a rest from his pursuers. They had chased him hard since he’d fled the cart that had been carrying him to the dungeon of King Lorif’s castle. A place he would’ve remained at for the rest of his days.

The hooves of horses rang out as they came on to the bridge above him. He held his breath. He suddenly realized that he was near the place called “Dragon’s Breath.” A place that was forbidden to all people since the Dragon Pact was written twenty years ago.

The hooves stopped, and Nero heard a voice that brought fear to his heart. The voice of Joba Cracken, an old friend of his.

“He couldn’t have crossed the bridge. Doing so would have broken the pact.”

“And what makes you think he would follow that rule,” inquired another voice. “He has broken every other rule, why wouldn’t he break this sacred pact?”

“If he had crossed,” Joba continued, “We’d be fighting dragons right now as we speak. There are dragons over there who’ve been looking for a reason to attack our lands for years. If Nero had crossed here, they’d be here attacking us, and Nero would be dead.”

“Why do you call him by his name,” the other voice asked. “He lost right to that name when he tried to steal the king’s daughter.”

Joba grabbed the other man and threw him to the ground. “Nero was an old friend of mine, Colach. I will not sink as low as the rest of the guard and deny him his name.” He extended his hand to Colach. “Get up, brother. He is not here.”

Colach stood up, calmer now. “He probably took the south road, but he won’t escape. Not very many have escaped the Cracken Brothers.”

“Right you are, my brother,” Joba said nodding. “Friend or no friend, I have no choice but to pursue Nero and take him back.” He turned his horse around. “Let’s go.”

They took off back down the road from which they had came, and turned towards the south following another road.

As they disappeared around the hills, Nero climbed from his hiding spot and set his sights to the north. There was no road on this side of the city, but he wasn’t going to go back around. So he set off into the brush, moving quickly towards the north and hopeful refuge.