One fine day, the hero of our story, Biggley, was walking through the
treacherous lands of Scidve. He passed one of the local Cultists and
tipped his hat. "G'day," he chirped happily. The Cultist smiled with a
twinkle in her eye. "And to you, sir! Fine day, isn't it?" Biggley
nodded and continued to stroll along, whistling a happy tune to himself.

He approached the hidden temple, and ducked his head as he walked
through the crumbling archway. A few of the cultists (or former
cultists?) were busily working looms and spinning wheels. A chorus of
giggles and appreciative cooing echoed in the run-down room. "G'day,
ladies, is the High Priest in?" Biggley asked with a charming smile. One
of the younger girls with a blush on her cheeks nodded quietly and
pointed to the antechamber door.

The High Priest (priest?) was a gigantic, hulk of a man. He wore antique
black robes, torn and moth-eaten, with extremely old blood stains quite
visible on the somewhat faded and threadbare fabric. The High Priest
stood and turned toward Biggley as he entered. His dark, calculating
eyes fell upon our adventuring hero. His hand reached under his cloak.
"Biggley!" his deep, rumbling voice boomed throughout the antechamber.
"Biggley, what are -you- doing here?"

Biggley began to shake visibly. He reached to his side. This was just
the greeting he had expected. Eventually, Biggley let out the hearty
laugh he tried to hold back. "I know it's been a long time, hasn't it?"
he chimed.

The Priest's dark gaze didn't lighten, but his mouth twisted into a grin
that was missing a few teeth. "Can you become a dragon yet, Biggley?" he
asked. Biggley nodded with a delighted smile. "Well, come now. Let's
have a look!"

Biggley morphed into the most glorious dragon you could ever behold. His
scales were of the shiniest silver, and teeth as long as a man's
forearm. His tail knocked over the chess table as he grew, shattering
many of the pieces. If a dragon so large could look sheepish,
Dragon-Biggley would be the picture of it. He quickly reverted to his
human form and righted the fallen table.

"Sorry about that, I know those pieces are centuries old, I..." Biggley
stammered out apology after apology while the Priest stared in disbelief
at his prized posession, the only thing of value left in this 'New
World'. The priest returned his gaze to Biggley. "Impressive, Biggley!
And don't worry about the chess set, it's not like I can't buy another!"

Biggley nodded, and flashed another charming smile. From his sidepouch,
he produced handfulls of chess pieces. Chess was his favorite passtime,
he never went anywhere without them. "Up for a game of chess?" he
quipped. The priest laughed and took a seat at the table opposite
Biggley and began placing the cheap stone pieces where his broken pieces
once sat.

"What a damn fine day, Biggley," murmured the priest. "I'm so glad there
is never any conflict between various peoples anymore. We would have
time for all our chess games if you were off on one damned crusade after
another." Biggley agreed, and made his first move.

The end.


------------------------------------------------------------------------

Exciting, enthralling, all the elements of a great story.... women! a
dragon! A hero! And a priest in black robes! I bet your hearts are
racing!

Next time, on "Biggley's Fantastic Adventures": Biggley has a spot of
tea with the bog hag! Don't miss it!

Penned by my hand on the 17th of Lanosian, in the year 88 MA.