A Wheel to Rule Them All

A paladin delivers a writ of eviction to the Great Wyrm, Balmonon, a cheese connoisseur who refuses to vacate his lair.

Thaddeus Howze
9 min readJun 8, 2023

“You’ll never know how far you can go, if you mind your manners, when storm winds blow.”

— a popular dragon aphorism

The paladin strode into the cavern, his back ached only slightly less than his feet. He had walked through the cave complex for over three days. The dragon scent led him to the central chamber and a blessed burst of fresher air, its origin unknown but welcome.

The great hall was visible glowing with patches of lichen shedding a steady light which became more visible the longer he stood still. It was only then did he realize how large the Dragon was.

And perhaps how long it had been here, for it glowed with the same light as the lichen in the hall. It was covered from crown to the tip of its tail.

The villagers had given him good directions. He sat for a second to gather himself up for their inevitable confrontation. He sat still taking out a huge hunk of cheese and bread from his pack. Stomach rumbling he proceeded to decimate both in equal measure, one, then the other in hungry bites.

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