Adventurers Wanted 1) Slathbog's Gold Read Online Free PDF Page A

treasure.”
    “Much more than that,” Thrang added quickly. “We’re on a quest and that makes all the difference.”
    “A quest?”
    “We’re not going after the dragon merely to get the treasure,” Arconn explained. “Our quest is to kill Slathbog the Red. He is evil, which is reason enough to try to destroy him, but there is even more to it than that. In time, Slathbog will decide that he doesn’t have enough treasure. He will start to think that he hasn’t destroyed enough cities or eaten enough people. Eventually he will leave his lair, looking for a new one—a new one where he can hoard more treasure and kill more people. That’s the way it is with evil dragons I’m afraid, and the only way to stop them is to kill them.”
    “So this Slathbog,” Alex said slowly. “He’s destroyed several cities and killed lots of people?”
    “At least five cities that I can name,” answered Arconn in a serious tone. “There may be more as Slathbog may have been called something else long ago. So to stop his evil forever, we must try to destroy him.”
    “I see,” said Alex thoughtfully.
    “If you agree to this quest and accept the bargain, you need to sign the contract,” said Thrang, pointing at the paper in his hand.
    “May I ask a few more questions first?”
    “Yes, of course,” said Arconn.
    “How many of us will be on this adventure?” Alex thought twenty would be a small number to attack a dragon, especially one like Slathbog the Red.
    “Eight, as I said before,” answered Arconn without saying anything more.
    “Do we know how to kill a dragon?” Alex asked hopefully. “I mean, is there a special way that dragons are killed?”
    “There’s lots,” Thrang answered enthusiastically. “But none of them are one hundred percent effective. There’s always some risk when goin’ against a dragon—that’s why so few adventurers ever do. Powerful creatures, dragons, and magical as well.”
    Alex thought about Thrang’s answer for a minute before asking his next question. The fact that he didn’t believe in dragons was lost in the flood of questions that the little voice in the back of his head was asking.
    “If only eight of us are going, why are there twenty shares in the hoard?”
    “Said he had a good head for this.” Thrang laughed.
    “Shares are given to each adventurer based on experience and special skills,” answered Arconn. “First-time adventurers get one share, experienced adventurers get two, the leader gets three. A wizard would also get three.”
    “Do we have a wizard?” Alex asked hopefully.
    “No,” said Thrang, stroking his beard. “Couldn’t find one available. Mind you, there aren’t many wizards around these days, and very few of them ever go on adventures.”
    “That’s only sixteen shares,” said Alex, quickly thinking the numbers through.
    “Well, one share goes to Clutter for setting up the adventure,” Thrang said. “And one goes to the Widows and Orphans fund, which is normal for most decent adventurers. Then there’s a share set aside to pay expenses the group might have while on the adventure.”
    “That’s nineteen,” said Alex, not sure why he was so interested in how the treasure was divided. He felt certain that the dragon would be keeping all of the treasure, and he and his new companions would be coming home empty-handed, if they came home at all.
    “There’s an extra share for whoever kills the dragon,” said Thrang with a grunting laugh. “If more than one adventurer is in on the kill, they split it up.”
    “Oh,” Alex managed to say as thoughts of dragons raced through his head.
    “’Course there’s other places to get treasure along the way,” Thrang added happily. “Always the chance of runnin’ into goblins or bandits, maybe even a troll, isn’t there? That’s where the bit about secondary treasure comes into play.”
    Alex didn’t like the sound of goblins, bandits, or trolls.
    “Before you decide, there are a