King Edward , Book VII Summary . This book is part of a twelve - part series on King Edward , as follows : Content . " Chapter 7 : Dragon " " So you saw a demon ? And killed a rat with its tooth ? That ' s a fine ebony dagger , Tooth is . They ' re rare so you want to take real good care of it , " Mith said . " I can ' t tell you about the blade except it came from Moraelyn ' s father . It ' s the one his brother sent him to repair just before we ran away . Would you like to hear about how they got the dragon ' s tooth that Mats carved the hilt from ? " Edward nodded , caressing the curved hilt with its lightly carved intertwined roses , thorns and leaves . It was well after supper and everyone but him and Mith had left the fire for one reason or another . Aliera and Moraelyn had gone for a walk hand in hand , Aliera holding Moraelyn ' s newly healed left hand in both of hers . They ' d laughed and shaken their heads when he ' d offered to come along , " Not tonight , " Aliera had said . " Go to sleep soon . We ' ll be leaving before dawn . " Willow had gone to visit a High Elf friend . Beech , Ssa ' ass , Mats and the Khajiit woman , Silk , had also gone off together , laughing . They ' d invited Mith to come along , but Mith had declined . " Khajiits ! They ' re all turning into a bunch of shameless Khajiits , " Mith said . The short Dark Elf sat close to the glowing embers , knees to chest . His hair and eyes glowed in the dim light . " If you ' re going to pair , you should pair , not turn it into an tourney . They ' ll be selling tickets next . But each to his own . Khajiits think we ' re weird because we like eating as a group . Silk says it put her right off her food at first , listening to everybody chew . Well , having a bunch of watchers puts me off . I s ' pose you ' re too young for this kind of talk . " Edward shrugged . It was a beautiful night , crisply cool , no moon , but the stars were very large and bright . " Anyway , it was just a few months after Mats had joined up with us . We were up in Skyrim , travelling from town to town . Just three kids seeing the country a bit , picking up odd jobs where we could . Moraelyn entered tournaments if we heard about them , but he wasn ' t winning that much . . . just about enough to cover healing him up afterwards . You can get beat up pretty bad fighting Skyrim style - that ' s without shielding spells , or any other spells for that matter , no magic allowed - even if it isn ' t to the death . And he drew a few types that didn ' t mind seeing a little dark elf blood spilled in the sand . Or a lot . And the crowds were against him at first . It can get pretty lonely in the arena , especially if you ' re beating the home town favorite . And it ' s even worse if he ' s beating you . " Mats and me ' ud be the only ones for him , and sometimes we didn ' t dare cheer too loud . They ' d look real funny at a Nord boy cheering a Dunmer back then . ' Course Mats was so big , not many wanted to start anything with him . That was a long time ago . Moraelyn ' s the favorite now if things get tough . ' Course the crowds will cheer for a good match , but hardly anyone really wants to see him lose now . They like seeing the best , even if it comes wrapped in a dark elf hide . And when he walks into an arena you know you ' re seeing the best . Not but what they ' d like seeing a Nord that ' s better . And Mats may get there soon . He doesn ' t fight his best against Moraelyn , though . Maybe he doesn ' t want to , or maybe Moraelyn just knows him too well . Oh , well , you want to hear about the dragon . . . " " So Moraelyn was gambling with this Nord in a tavern one night , trying to pick up a little easy gold . The pot ' s pretty big , and the man can ' t match his bet , so he says he ' ll put this map on the pile and tap Moraelyn . Says it ' s a map to the hiding place of the best blade ever made . Says there ' s a spell on it so that if you hit your opponent , you get as much heal as he gets hurt . That some Mage hid it just before he died so ' s only someone worthy of it can get to it . " " ' And you think I look worthy ? ' Moraelyn says , grinning . We were young and dumb , but not all that dumb . " " The Nord grins back and says ' I saw you fight in Falcreath , kid . You look like you ' d take a chance . ' " " ' Why not ? The story alone is worth the gold . You ought to be a Bard . ' So anyway Moraelyn wins the pot and tosses the man enough back to keep his throat wet all evening . Just for laughs we look at the map . It showed the Dragon ' s Teeth Mountains down in Hammerfell . Real wild country . And there ' s an ' X ' and some writing saying ' Fang Lair ' . Mats gets excited and says he ' s heard of the place , but he ' d never known just where it was . " " ' And you still don ' t , ' I say . ' Any fool can draw a map , just as any fool can look at one . I could do as much myself . ' " " Mats says Fang Lair is an old dwarf mine , but there ' s supposed to be a dragon there now , and the dwarves are gone . Moraelyn looks real interested at the mention of a mine , and asks what they mined there . Mats says mithril and gold . " " Moraelyn says , ' Hmmmmm . ' " " The mithril had him interested . We couldn ' t afford really good weapons . And mithril ' s scarce , but it ' s light to carry for its worth , and easy to mine and work if you know how ; and he did . He didn ' t believe in the magic blade or the dragon , but he thought the mine might be real . Mining ' s in his blood , as it is in all the R ' Aathim , the royal Kin of Ebonheart . " " It took us a couple of months to get there . We couldn ' t afford horses . We never would have found it without the map . It ' s tricky country , full of canyons and hidden valleys . We sure never expected what we saw when we did get there . You could see the towers from the canyon mouth , way back in there . Dark elves live right in caverns if they mine , but the dwarves had built a hall over the top of their mines . It ' s a pretty thing on the outside . Narrow towers , and arched bridges between them . Delicate looking ; you wouldn ' t expect work like that from Dwarves . Merged right into the rocks too . And there was a big stone dragon mounted above the gate . " " ' There ' s your dragon , Mats , ' I said . The inside wasn ' t much to look at , just rock wall . The doorway was enormous , but the doors were gone . There was a balcony running right around a big open pit , probably the start of the mine , turned into a hall . And right in the middle was more treasure than you can imagine piled up almost like a haystack that ' d been flattened out . And what had flattened it was a golden dragon curled right over it ; we didn ' t even see him at first , ' cause he blended with the rest of the gold . Well , we just froze in place . We hadn ' t seen a sign of live dragon outside . The place smelled of brimstone , but most mines do . And there that dragon was , just lying there . And it ' s gotta be two miles to any kind of shelter . " " ' I told you there was a dragon , ' Mats whispers . " " ' Shhhhh , ' Moraelyn says . ' Look what ' s in front of his nose . ' " " I ' d been busy looking at his nose , believe you me . But there was a sword lying right there naked , sure enough . . . and the blade was dark metal that looked just like his dagger . " " ' You two start back , ' Moraelyn says , ' I ' m going to try for that blade , anyway . If that ' s not ebony , I ' m a wood elf . Maybe the dragon ' s dead , or asleep for the winter , or maybe it ' s not alive at all . Just something the dwarves made to guard their treasure . Like the scarecrows the Nord farmers put in their grain fields . At worst , I ' ll distract him long enough for you to get clear . ' " " I ' d a mind to take him up on it , but Mats just shook his head , and I was kinda ashamed to go back alone . " " ' Let ' s all just clear out , ' I said . That thing looked real enough to scare me away . But Moraelyn casts Invisibility and heads on down the stair , not making a sound that even I could hear . I could see Mats hated letting him go down alone , but Mats couldn ' t sneak past a blind , deaf beggar in a fish market . So we strung our bows and figured we could try to get off a couple of shots and maybe get lucky and take out the eyes if the dragon woke up and went for Moraelyn . Mats and I move around to where we can get onto a tower stair fast if we have to , figuring the dragon can ' t get in there . Then we scrunch down and peer between the railings . Not that there was anything to see except the dragon lying there . Which really is a lot to see , at that . " " Then those dragon eyes popped open and my heart gave one big jump and then seemed to quit entirely . " " ' Ahhhhh ! Dinner comes to me today , ' the dragon says . ' Take a good look at my hoard , dark elf . You will not steal it nor even view it long , but your bones will keep it company . . . forever . ' " " ' I don ' t want your hoard , dragon , just the sword you guard . I ' ll trade you mine for it ; mine ' s bigger . ' I couldn ' t see Moraelyn , but his voice was coming from right near where the sword was . Which was practically in the dragon ' s mouth ! " " ' I get a meal and both swords . Why should I settle for just your poor sword ? ' " " ' Let me pass and I ' ll get you more gold from below . ' " " ' I have gold enough . ' The dragon yawned and I thought he was going to swallow Moraelyn right then , but he turned his head away , away from us , too . Mats was looking to get a shot , but it was really dark in there for Nord eyes and he was scared of hitting Moraelyn , since he couldn ' t locate him that well by sound . ' Course Moraelyn ' s too smart to get between us and the dragon , but Mats wasn ' t smart enough then to think that far along . Slavery dulls the wits in some ways , Mats says , and he hadn ' t been free very long . I could see well enough , and I could tell by sound exactly where Moraelyn was , but the shot was clean out of my range . " " The dragon goes on , ' But there is something you can do for me , elf , and prolong your life a few more minutes . ' " " ' A few more minutes sound pretty good just now , dragon . What would you ask of me ? ' Moraelyn ' s voice sounded as calm and easy as if he was asking if there would be rain tomorrow . He can keep his head in a tight spot , I ' ll give him that . " " ' I have a toothache . It ' s too far back for me to reach it with my claws . Canst see it , elf ? ' The dragon gapes his jaws to bare his teeth . " " Moraelyn ' s invisiblity spell wore off about then , and I could see him standing there staring up into that cavern of a mouth . ' Lower your head a bit so I can get a good look . ' He puts out his hand and pulls the upper lip aside , cool as you please , and examines the inner gum carefully . Damndest thing I ever saw . " " ' It ' s abcessed . Thy gum wants lancing , and the tooth should come out . I can lance it if you trust me in there with a sword . ' " " ' And why should I trust you , dark elf ? I hear no good of your kind . ' " " ' You must be spending too much time with Nords , then . I wouldn ' t be able to kill you before you killed me . Why should I even try ? Listen , I have some friends up above . Suppose they hunt you up a nice fat deer . I ' ll lance your gum and you can let me go and eat the deer . Else you can just eat me now , toothache and all . ' " " ' Hssssssss . What makes you think your friends will return once they ' re away ? ' " " ' They ' re not very smart . I think for them . They ' d be lost without me . Good hunting , guys ! Uh , if they can ' t find a deer , is there anything else you ' d like ? Pig , maybe ? A few rabbits ? Nuts ? Berries ? Hurry up , will you ? ' But we had hand signals and his hands said to get out of there and stay out ! I ' d a been glad to ; I mean I ' m fond of Moraelyn but I didn ' t see my dying alongside would bring him any comfort . I ' d a been glad to see him clear if it was me that was on the menu , and I figured he felt the same way . But that thick - skulled Nord wouldn ' t listen to me ! Said if dying beside him was all we could do , then that ' s what we ' d do . Nord nonsense . Sounds good in a song , though . " " So we took a couple hours getting a deer and headed back with it . I figured Moraelyn was filling the dragon ' s belly by now , and the dragon would be happy to add a deer , another Dark Elf and a Nord to round out his day ' s rations . But Moraelyn was still sitting there , chatting with the dragon . He didn ' t look that pleased to see us , either . Told us to leave the deer and go and he ' d lance the abcess once we ' re away . But Mats says he ' s been thinking . Oh , brother , I thought . Mats doesn ' t think too often , and that ' s a good thing , really . He ' s decided he can get a chain round that bad tooth , fasten down the end to the floor , and then the dragon can give it a good yank himself . " " The dragon likes the idea , so Moraelyn lances that abcess to take the swelling down to where the dragon can gulp the deer with some comfort . And then they rig up a chain and get that tooth out . Made a hell of a mess , that . Blood and pus everywhere . And Moraelyn ' s got us casting Heal spells on this dragon to stop the bleeding and close up the wound . " " ' Ah , hum , good , very good . All right , Moraelyn , you ' ve proven yourself . Take the sword and go . ' " " Moraelyn looks at him . ' You mean this was some kind of test ? ' he says . ' How long have you had that toothache ? ' " " ' Long indeed , as you measure time , mortal , yet not very long at all for dragonkind . Hear my story then : a scraggly young mage came along , hoping to steal my gold . I caught him at it ; we had increasingly harsh words , and he attempted a spell aimed at me . His pitiful spell affected me little , and I killed him . But ummmm . . . ' The dragon looked away briefly , then resumed his tale . ' The little runt had apparently cast a home - made Curse spell upon himself , and when I crunched him . . . ' The dragon scowled fiercely , remembering , then continued , ' Anyway , the ache only came on bad when someone came along to try for the sword . The sharpest pain went away if I ate the intruder . . . but I usually didn ' t , though I ' ve singed a few in self - defense ; heh , waft a bit of fire and most of them fled . Deer are plentiful ; there is something er , ah , unpleasant about eating someone you ' ve talked to . That greasy mage gave me indigestion for days . Cramps and runny bowels and too much gas , even for a dragon . So that toothache never did completely go away . And the people who ' ve come along haven ' t been very pleasant either . . . all in all one of the most unpleasant stretches in my life . I couldn ' t stay away from the vicinity of the sword for very long of course . Part of the curse . ' " " ' We could stay on for awhile , if you like . We ' re good company . I ' m Moraelyn ; my red - headed friend is Mith , and the big guy is Mats . I ' d still like to look for mithril below and I ' ve never had a dragon friend before . ' " " ' I might like that . You have good friends , and even though you have said that you must do the thinking for them . I think that they can do some thinking on their own , and it would appear that they have decided that you are a worthwhile fellow , ' The dragon hesitated for a second and actually managed to look shy ! ' You can call me Akatosh . ' " " So we stayed for a couple of weeks . Hunted with the dragon ; now that ' s an experience ! Searched the mines . . . didn ' t find much down there . But the dragon gave us the jewels from his hoard . Said he only needed the metal ; they absorb it into their scales while they lie on it . So we did pretty well out of it after all . Moraelyn tried to give Mats the sword . Claimed that he ' d have sure tried to kill that dragon if we hadn ' t come back , and would have been toasted . But Mats wouldn ' t take it . Said the dragon gave it to Moraelyn so that was clearly who was supposed to get it . Mats took the tooth , but he made the hilt you ' ve got now and gave Moraelyn that , too . Told me he ' d never had anything worth giving before , and it made him feel good . He ' s real pleased Moraelyn chose to give it to you . " " I think Mats should have got the sword , " Edward said . " He didn ' t try to steal anything . It was really brave of him to come back , even when he didn ' t think it ' d do any good . Moraelyn tried to steal , got caught and then just tried to talk his way out of it . You could all have been killed because of him . " " That ' s just what Moraelyn said . Ah , well , Mats likes that big axe of his better than a blade anyway . " Edward sighed . " I wish I was brave like Mats . I guess I ' m more like you . " " Aye , " Moraelyn ' s voice sounded behind him , startling the boy . " Tart tongued , like Mith . No matter . I ' ll be well pleased if you ' re as brave as Mith . And if once I ' m gone they say no more of me than ' he did what he had to do ' , my spirit will be at peace . "