-----With that he quickly rummages in his pack and looks for the dragon statue he swiped. Out loud he thinks, "Hopefully this is a statue of dragon control or summoning or something." He feverishly begins examining his statue in detail, something he has not had time to do previously.
-----The Dread Pirate looks concernedly on as Seth fiddles with the pilfered dragon statue. Just in case the dragon is somehow related to the liberated statue, the Dread Pirate edges slightly away from Seth, obviously intending to make a break for it if an angry dragon should suddenly return looking for the figurine. He then confidently says, "Given the proper time, equipment, and planning, I'm fairly certain we could kill a dragon. It's just that I'd rather not have to try it. Ever. But can you imagine the loot that it must have," the Dread Pirate's eyes glint as he envisions piles of gold as tall as an ogre.
-----Dread then sighs and says, "But maybe we'd best not even think about it. Though on the other hand, if it came down to it, the dragon would probably be more interested in eating all of you first. After all, I'd barely make an appetizer. Of course, I'd miss you all terribly. Too bad we can't figure out a way to set that dragon on Sol and Raven. That'd keep 'em occupied fer awhile."
-----Seth looks up from his examination of the statue at the mention of the word loot and asks dreamily, "Do you think a dragon would appreciate fine art, paintings, pottery.....?"
-----The Dread Pirate shrugs and says, "I couldn't even begin to hazard a guess as to the preferences of dragons. All I hope is that they have a strong aversion to cheese-dipped halflings."
-----Dread continues on, "Do ye think we could track it down to its lair? Sneak in with Kazel's ring and liberate some of its booty? Dragons are supposed to be infamous for their gigantic treasure hordes. And this one apparently likes to go roaming about. How difficult could it be? Between my boots and Kazel's ring, we could probably rob it blind and get away scot-free. Everybody else could take the horses and wait at Redmarsh. It's not that far away. Sneak in, loot the lair, and race off loaded down with riches. It'd be beautiful." By now the Dread Pirate is nearly salivating at the thought of looting a dragon's lair.
-----Kazel stares at the dragon until it passes, and then scratches her head as she thinks. "Hmm, I heard that they're edible and just a few bites can last you for weeks. But another bum told me that their meat is lethal poison."
-----She then shrugs and says, "Looks like we're all headed towards Redmarsh anyway, so there's only one way to find out. Maybe it's razing the town right now?"
-----Brandel tenses at Kazel's words. He then looks anxiously down the road in front of them.
-----"I be hearin' draggin' blood be nothin' but bad!" Runik adds in.
-----Suddenly Marast urgently begins eyeing the sky above the trees. Furiously, he glances about at everyone and hisses, "It comes!" The elf, with an almost fearful look on his face, carefully moves his horse closer to the trunk of a nearby tree ensuing himself more cover.
-----As some in the party take similar actions, a great sweeping sound is heard echoing among the tops of the trees. As the heavy beating of the air approaches, the leaves in the trees begin to rustle sounding much like the clapping of hands in an assembled audience.
-----As everyone braces some of the horses begins to nervously stamp. Luckily none of the beasts of burden cry out in fear.
-----Then the great dark beast roars over the trees somewhere up ahead moving in a straight southern direction. Though again no one catches sight of the huge flying creature, its path can be traced by the motion of the highest tree branches and falling leaves. As quickly as it approached, the sound of its passing begins to retreat.
-----In the next few moments, everyone strains to keep control of the horses lest their nervousness reveals to the monster their whereabouts. Fortunately, the steeds calm down and the next few minutes are spent in silence with the rogues and mercenaries straining their ears to listen for any further rumors of huge flying creatures.
-----Finally after more silent moments have passed, Brandel looks over at Marast and says, "I do not think it is returning."
-----The young mercenary then looks at his employers with an almost pleading look and asks, "Shall we head on to Redmarsh?"
-----After the Dragon has gone, Seth quietly repacks his items back into his pack. He looks for a flask of wine and takes a long pull on it. He looks at the others and offers it around. "Well!" he exclaims, "So much for dragons, maybe he has destroyed Redmarsh, or maybe he protects Redmarsh, either way, I don't really want to go up against a dragon. Even if he has an excellent art collection." He turns to Brandel and asks, "I take it this addition to the wildlife of Redmarsh is new?"