Bern grabbed the front of his tunic then. Trying to weasel a second coin? Tell me, and then Ill decide if its worth it.

She has the scale-mark! the boy blurted.

That was enough to make Bern pause. If true, it could cause a lot of trouble for the royals. It could also earn him a lot of coin. There were those who paid even better than him for the right information.

And Im to believe that? he said.

I saw it, the boy replied. All over her arm. I promise.

You know what Ill do if youre lying? Bern said.

Im not! He could see the fear there. More than enough to say that this was true.

All right, Bern said. Whats the second thing?

Its… what she found out there, the boy said. You… you wont believe me.

Ill believe whats true, Bern said.

She found… she found a dragons egg!

For a moment, Bern considered hitting the boy for saying something so stupid. Then he saw the fear in the lads face. He was serious, and even if it wasnt something Bern had heard about in his lifetime, he believed him.

A dragons egg? one of the men around him said. Do you think were…

Bern hit him without looking, and the man went sprawling to the floor. Shut up. Im listening. What makes you think it was a dragons egg?

It was bigger than any egg Ive seen, the boy said, holding out his arms to indicate the size. It had all golden veins over it too, just like in the stories.

Bern hesitated. Hed heard the same stories. Hed even had people offer him petrified eggs before, when they couldnt fence them elsewhere. It sounded right, even though it couldnt be.

Wheres this egg?

Something like that… well, it might not be real, but if it was, then how much would someone pay for it? How much would some rich man give to have the only fresh dragons egg in living memory?

Its in the forest, the boy said. Theres a clearing. I can show you.

You will, Bern said. He snapped his fingers at another of those there. Run to the castle. Bring the news of the princesss… condition to one of the ones who pays for these things. I expect gold for it, not silver.

Yes, Bern, the man said.

You cheat me and Ill know. Bern turned his attention back to the boy. Now, show me where I can find this egg, and well see if youve found an impossible thing. And if youve lied to me...

***

Its not here! Bern shouted, his roar echoing out over the silence of the forest. He struck out at a nearby tree, and his strength was enough to splinter the trunk. Where is it? Wheres that boy?