Excerpt From The Phoenix's Flare. (PPC)

     The deeper into the forest I traverse, the darker it becomes. Unlike popular belief, Phoenix cannae see in the dark, not like the Dragons, even the snow cannae fall here! I slip on damp moss, trip on roots, and curse the branches for snaring my hair. My ears twitch as a new sound echoes through the forest before something large and heavy lands in the canopy above me.

     I freeze, for the sound was a Dragon's roar. Looking up I see the red eyes of the giant beast as it watches me. Its large tail beats at the trunk of the tree sending a shower of leaves down to the floor of the forest.

     Slowly I re-sheath my sword; I can slay a Troll or Goblin, but I cannae slay a bloody Dragon! As fast as a jackrabbit I take flight through the forest. A roar is let loose from the beast as it crashes through the trees giving chase, flattening the smaller trees below its feet, and tearing larger ones from the ground and tossing them above the canopy.

     I scream as a large tree barrels over my head before blocking the path before me. Turning, I run to the East. This will take me longer to reach my father, but until I lose the Dragon on my tail I cannae go to his cave anyway!

     I spy a small hole, a sliver of a crack in the rock before me, I dodge a log and slide into the hole; it is tight and dark as the Dragon’s red glowing eyes peer at me from the forest. Edging back, I follow the tunnel until I find myself in a large cave.

“Bugger!” I grumble taking in the shining piles of gold.