Read Gamers' Quest for Free Online

unrolled the parchment and studied it. ‘And in it he bequeaths, and I quote: “all my worldly possessions to my beloved wife”.’ Vera stopped reading momentarily and looked up. ‘That'd be me.’ Then she continued. ‘“Furthermore I bequeath to her my body, which she may partition, sell and do with what she will”.’ She rolled up the parchment and replaced it in her pocket.
    ‘Do you all realise just how valuable a dragon's body is? Highly sort after are certain internal organs by alchemists and apothecaries … and collectors. You all could say I married old Edgar for his body.’ She chuckled to herself momentarily. Then her features hardened. ‘Edgar was elderly. He would have kicked it naturally in the next year or two. I even had a buyer lined up. But no, you all had to go and burn him up with your sword thingy. All you left me was a few charred scales.’ She glared at Tark. ‘Not real happy about that.’ She took a step forward. ‘And then you all go and steal his gold. My gold.’ She took another step forward. ‘Not real happy about that either. So hand over my inheritance.’
    As Vera took another threatening step forward, Zyra threw one of her knives. It embedded in Vera's left shoulder.
    ‘Ouch!’ exclaimed Vera. ‘Why did you have to go and do that?’ She looked at the knife in her shoulder, a patch of red forming on the floral pattern around it. ‘That wasn't very nice. Now I'll have to kill you as well as take back my gold.’
    Zyra launched herself at Vera, her second knife slashing for Vera's throat. But Vera swatted her aside like a fly. As Zyra thudded to the floor, Vera pulled the knife out of her shoulder, briefly studied the blood dripping from it and then threw it at Zyra. Luckily, her aim was not as developed as her strength. The knife clattered to the ground beside Zyra.
    Vera turned back to Tark. Still clutching his bag o’ gold, and hoping against hope, Tark drew the sword o’ light.
    ‘Oh, I don't think that'll be working no more,’ said Vera, still advancing. ‘Not after dispatching a dragon. Takes a lot of energy to do that. So unless you all knows how to recharge it, and I'm guessing here that you don't, it's not going to do you all that much good.’
    Tark considered using the unlighted sword o’ light simply as an ordinary sword, but then he thought better of it. Instead, he started backing away. Vera lunged. Tark sidestepped. She lunged again. He sidestepped again. She might be huge, but fast she was not.
    Suddenly Zyra was on the hideous woman's back, arm wrapped around Vera's throat. But Vera merely tossed her aside again, sending her crashing into the hole in the floor where the chest had been. As Tark dodged Vera yet again, he got an idea. He sheathed the useless sword and edged his way around to the collapsed section of wall. Vera charged him yet again. He stepped aside. She went crashing into what remained of the wall. Tark ran to the other side of the basement as the support beam and brickwork collapsed around Vera. Seconds later an enormous mound of rubble came crashing down from the remains of the building above.
    Dust filled the air as fragments of stone and brick and mortar scattered through the basement. Tark watched as bits of rubble continued to fall, adding to the huge pile that had crushed and buried Vera. He sighed with relief, then coughed up a lungful of dust.
    ‘Good thinkin’,’ said Zyra, as she pulled herself out of the hole, waving dust from in front of her face.
    ‘Nots a problem!’ said Tark with a smirk.
    ‘She aints no normal woman,’ said Zyra, retrieving her knives.
    ‘Normal people don't marry dragons,’ said Tark.
    ‘I meants ’er strength,’ said Zyra.
    ‘Maybe she's a ogress in disguise?’
    ‘Maybe,’ agreed Zyra. ‘Anyways, we's betta gets out of ’ere.’
    Tark went over to the open chest, dropped the bag o’ gold into it and closed the lid. He started to lift it awkwardly.
    ‘Hangs on,’ said Zyra, standing