Lance stepped quietly up the stone steps. He had to be silent. This was life or death.
He peeked through the familiar hole and saw what he had dreaded; the lifeless body of the girl that he had been so determined to rescue.
The dragon stared intently at the corpse, brushing her hair with the tip of his jagged nose. It seemed as though he was waiting for something. But what?
The dragon sighed and from his eye a single liquid drop formed. The tear was a thousand colors sparkling like a diamond. It ran down the dragon's face forming a gold scar over its path. It dangled and dropped onto the cold corpse and suddenly the room was ablaze with an intensely burning light.
As the light slowly faded Lance looked through the hole to see that the body had turned into a pile of shimmering gold. The dragon tucked its prize gently away and gave a satisfying sigh as the coins and jewels clicked in their wake.
Lance couldn't believe what had just happened. It all made sense now. Lance exhaled and suddenly the dragon's eye fixed on the small hole.
The dragon jumped up, screaming the awful roar and igniting the already fume filled room. Lance grabbed his sword and shield, protecting himself from the flames. He would kill this thing once and for all.