The Treasure Keeper

Chapter Ten

The Order of the Noble Sanf Inimicus has created a Practical Guide for the Detection and Observation of Drakon.

I've seen it myself. It's a little bound book, scarcely more than a brochure, stitched at the spine and stamped in black letters over lurid red leather. The print is very tiny, because it is compiled and divided into no fewer than seven different languages.

Seven. There are so many of them, I must suppose. Or perhaps that's only what they want us to believe.

French, Hungarian, German, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, and the King's good English.

(Honestly, are there even any dragons in Spain? We are creatures of the alps and the ice-crystaled sky, not the salty, sultry earth.)

So that you should know their primary list, the manner in which they have dissected us and rendered us small enough for their minds to comprehend, I shall reproduce it here for you. Memorize their words, their canny ideas. You know they already have.

1. A Bodily Aspect of either Great Charisma or Marvelous Beauty.

2. Skin without Blemish, and Pale as Whey.

3. Speed of Movement, such as the Eye hardly may Follow.

4. A Voice that may Command you; you know not why.

5. Sleekness of Frame: Upon the Males, a hardness of Cheekbones. Upon the Females, an impression of Fragility.

6. An Unnatural Brightness of the Eyes, betimes a Glow.

7. Straight Teeth, strong ivory, none missing.

8. An Unnatural Physical Vigor, such as may Bend a Rod of thick Steel without Effort.

9. The Ability to Frighten all other Animals in any Form, no matter how Stout.

10. An Immense Fondness of Metals and Stones. They will nearly always wear Jewels.

11. The Ability to Transform into Smoke.

12. The Ability to Transform into a Dragon.

13. A Terrible fear of Blindness. The Monsters are near helpless without Sight.

Have you noticed yet the singular peculiarity in this catalog of our attributes? Certainly there are a few traits missing, but it may take you a brief moment to realize that every single item that is listed . is true.

That doesn't seem very likely, does it? Legends of earlier times slap us with all manner of gross exaggerations: green blood, poisoned claws, hellfire shooting from our throats. Yet this little list from our most deadly enemies contains no exaggerations whatsoever. Only facts.

One might wonder how that came about. One might indeed be excused for suspecting the unthinkable. That perhaps the Sanf Inimicus had assistance in creating it.

From a drakon.