-- Gandalf; The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Pretty awesome advice, I'd say. Relevant to the fourth part of my famously awesome short story? Not really. But awesome nonetheless.
The Short Story Consisting of Words in Which a Dragon Who Cannot Tell a Single Lie Gets Hit in the Head With a Boulder Part Four
It had been days since Marius had had a dream where he was flying instead of falling. When the dream came again, he found that he was once again surrounded by the same dragons as before. The one flying right beside him, a red one, looked at Marius and said, "War is coming."
"What do you mean?" Marius asked.
"The dragons are moving against Emperor Vaidd Marius Verinicus VII. If he does not release you in one week, that is when we will strike. All shall perish who remain in the castle, and we shall free you."
"He came to me a few days ago," Marius replied. "He said that he sent out a man named Thezin to find some way to keep me from remaining silent, and that when he was sent out, Thezin swore to return within a fortnight. If you give Vaidd a week, Thezin may return before then and force me to give them a massive advantage."
The red dragon growled. "We will do our best to arrive before Vaidd can use anything against you."
Thinking quickly, Marius said, "The boy. The emperor's son. He's not a bad sort. Will you still kill him?"
A golden dragon swooped down beside Marius and grunted. "We had mercy on Vaidd when he was a child and this is how he turned out. We leave none alive this time. No mistakes."
"But Vaidd didn't know that his father and captured a dragon," Marius pleaded. "Give me a chance to talk to him."
The golden dragon looked confused. "And what do you hope to accomplish?"
"My freedom," Marius replied.
"You have a week," the golden dragon said. "We will arrive at the castle then. If you have not been freed, we will assume that the emperor won't free you by means of peaceful negotiations and we will attack."
"But will you leave his son alive?" Marius pressed.
"So that he can grow old and follow in his father's footsteps?" the red dragon asked. "If we spare him, he will likely view that as ridicule rather than mercy. He will view us as monsters who killed his father and he will react like his father did."
"But if we slaughter everyone needlessly," Marius said, "maybe we really are monsters. I would guess that many who reside in the castle have no idea that I am captured. Many are oblivious to what's going on in the emperor's mind. Will you kill the innocent?"
"We do not kill wantonly," the golden dragon conceded. "In a week, if the emperor does not release you, we will appear in the castle grounds so that none can not know of our presence, and we will issue an ultimatum."
"What ultimatum?" Marius asked.
"If you are not released in three days, we will destroy the castle and those inside," the golden dragon replied. "In those three days, we will allow those who had no idea of your incarceration to leave. But those who are left in the castle after three days, if you have not been released, we will destroy."
"Do that," Marius agreed. "But be wary of when Thezin returns."
"I will send scouts to waylay him," the red dragon said, "and I will personally lead them."
"Very well," the golden dragon said. "Marius, you will be released soon. By one way or another, your imprisonment will not last long. I swear it."
Marius nodded, then awoke.
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