"In a symbolic gesture of Kjeldor's greatness, on the morrow I shall venture alone into the heart of the forest to slay the vile scaled wurm Rhindle. Its head will grace the town square for all to see, an icon of Kjeldoran pride."

The throng went wild.

"Is there no limit to his greatness?" they murmured. "Kjeldor is truly the mightiest nation Terisiare has ever seen."

After the speech, my apprehension grew. So far, Lord Rothchild didn't seem to have a very good track record of correspondence between word and deed-and I was the one who had to live up to his promises.

My spirits were somewhat assuaged when I accompanied him to practice his fighting skills later in the day.

"How will you kill the creature, Your Majesty?" I asked as we rode to the training grounds.

"Through cunning and guile," he answered. "It will take a minimum of well-placed blows to fell the beast."

Perhaps you can pacify him with cackleberry gin, I wanted to say.

"You worry too much, Finroy. I think it's because you don't drink enough. Or perhaps I should send a girl to your quarters to ease your mind."

"I was only trying to be practical, Sire."

After securing our horses, we assembled on the grounds with some of the finest warriors in the land. Each demonstrated his or her technique to Lord Rothchild while I held the weapons.

The first lesson was in swordsmanship. Straw targets were placed at intervals around the course, and Lord Rothchild was required to demonstrate the abilities he'd learned on each one. He stepped like a dancer across the practice field and with a graceful pirouette plunged the sword into the straw effigies. His maneuvers were bold reinterpretations that bore little resemblance to the originals. Although he rarely missed the stationary targets, I wasn't sure how this would help him kill the creature. I was confident only that Lord Rothchild could expertly slay straw mannequins.

The next phase of his training was archery. The archery master suggested felling the beast with a poison arrow. Lord Rothchild seemed to like the idea but was unable to master the intricacies of archery. Arrows flew hither and thither, but none found their mark. One came dangerously close to hitting the master, and Lord Rothchild called a hasty end to the lesson.

I spent the rest of the day watching him wrestle with pikes and halberds, axes and slings. In the end I'm not sure that any real progress was made, but Lord Rothchild seemed very proud of himself, so of course we all congratulated him.

"I shall cleave the beast's skull with one blow from this mighty axe!" shouted Lord Rothchild, as he raised the weapon above his head and wohbled, slightly off balance.

"Oh, woe to the foes of Kjeldor," I responded nervously.

We packed our belongings into the saddlebags and left the training field. Lord Rothchild told me he was eager to square off against the creature and asked me to bring a bottle of wine and meet him the next morning by the fountain in Rothchild Park. My appetite was gone, and I got no sleep that night.

When morning came, I dressed smartly and headed to the park to see Lord Rothchild off on the glorious hunt. I stopped to buy the wine from Jorgensen, the stuttering priest, and was well on my way by the time the sun had risen. I arrived a half hour early and waited impatiently.

I could not help but think of the glory this deed would bring to Kjeldor and how the Balduvians would tremble when they heard. Then again, there was an outcome I hadn't considered. Lord Rothchild might be eaten by the scaled wurm, and the Balduvians might descend on the weakened kingdom, reducing all of Kjeldor to a smoking ruin. I tried not to dwell on that possibility.

The sun crept higher and higher into the sky, and still Lord Rothchild did not appear. I thought he probably wanted to be off and had taken an early start. I wanted to be sure, though, so after two hours I headed back to the palace to find him.

Wandering the palace grounds, I asked those I met if they'd seen Lord Rothchild. The gardener hadn't seen him. Neither had the maid. I could hear Lady Rothchild conducting her own search for him in a shrill voice.

I searched the archery range, the kitchen, the sitting room, and even the brothel, all to no avail. I made a quick check of the stables to see if Lord Rothchild had taken his horse. I opened the door and stepped inside, where I was greeted with a most disturbing sight.

Blood rushed to my head, and my knees weakened. The only thing I could hear was my heartbeat-loud in my ears. My worst fears were confirmed: Lord Rothchild lay on the floor, snoring loudly, empty bottles strewn about him. There were pieces of straw in his ruffled hair, his shoes were missing, and his pants were on backward. The place reeked of alcohol, and I started to feel light-headed.

I realized that if Rhindle's head failed to appear in the town square by the next morning, Devareaux might put my head on display instead.

Without thinking I ran to the armory, where Lord Rothchild's sword and armor sat sparkling in the dim torchlight. I snatched the sword and bolted outside, my senses blind to the world as I made my way through the narrow streets toward Fyndhorn Forest.

I plunged into the forest, recklessly zigzagging through the trees. The sky was overcast, and the green needles of the conifers and the deep brown leaves of the deciduous trees glowed in muted light. On any other day it would have been a beautiful sight, but today my world was dark, and the only sounds were the leaves crunching under my feet and the pounding of blood in my temples.

For hours I roamed the woods, alternately running and walking. I was prepared to throw myself at the beast, if only it would show itself.

After a while, I stopped to assess my situation. Alternate plans leaped into my head. I would kill the wurm and sever its head. I'd sneak back after dark and smuggle the head into town while everyone was asleep.

I was not trained as a warrior; my one chance was to catch Rhindle sleeping. First I had to locate its lair. Something as big as a scaled wurm would have a hard time finding a place to hide.

But I soon discovered Fyndhorn Forest was a big place.

I searched for places I thought the creature might hide. It would have to be a big pile of leaves or a cave. I came upon no caves. There were dead trees and rocks, but no scaled wurms lurked behind them. I walked around in a daze, fueled only by hope. Hope for what, I wasn't sure. Did I really want to find this creature?

Reality began to overtake me. I could not find the creature, much less slay it. My vision blurred, and hot tears streamed down my face. Frustrated, I dropped the sword and collapsed amongst the leaves. The cold numbed my hands, but I didn't care anymore. I wished the icy chill would overcome me and rid me of my troubles. I lay there not moving, as the wind whipped about me. I wondered how I had managed to get myself into such a hopeless situation. I bemoaned my fate, cursing the gods and my foolishness.

I don't know how long I lay among the leaves, but it soon became apparent to me that the cold was not going to kill me, and I was going to have to face my plight. I arose and picked up the sword, barely able to hold it in my frozen fingers.

Dark shadows had begun to engulf the forest, and a light snow started to fall. Strange sounds echoed about me, like a call to dinner for all the creatures of the woods. I realized that I too had a ferocious hunger-I had not eaten since the previous day.

Without light my chances of killing Rhindle were nil, and my chances of getting killed were almost certain. I hurried back in the direction of town.