Debrah Strait

Long ago, in the time of dragons, there lived a knight in rusty armor, a dragon with a bad cough, and a damsel in distress who didn’t want to be rescued... Sir Gilford of the Sitwell clan was lonely and bullied as a foster child. Now he’s a young knight seeking to earn the clan’s respect. When Lady Brianna is kidnapped by the terrible Neales and the Sitwells can’t pay the ransom, Gilford volunteers to win treasure from a ferocious dragon that lives in the mountains. Gilford polishes his rusty armor and rides off to Dragon’s Land on his trusty steed, Adalard, whose name means “nobly brave.” When they reach the dragon’s cave, Adalard runs off. He’s often frightened by butterflies, and the fire-breathing creature is too much like a HUGE butterfly. So Gilford has no choice but to confront the dragon on foot. On his belly, actually, as he trips on his loosened armor and falls flat in the dirt. The dragon, coughing on smoke and flames, agrees to help Gilford, but won’t give him gold just for the asking. Gilford must win it. First, he must rescue Brianna. Only she doesn’t want to be rescued; she wants to be ransomed like any other respectable captive. Then the dragon asks Gilford to bring city goods to the countryside and food into the city. He arranges a trade between farmers who need shoes and a cobbler with many children to feed. But the Sitwells take over and somehow lose all the food and all the shoes. Nobody gets what they want, and everybody blames Gilford. The Neales and Tisbees, the other two noble clans in the kingdom, hear of Gilford’s quest for gold. Wanting dragon’s treasure for themselves, the Tisbees try to capture Gilford several times, and the Neales do kidnap Sir Elbert Sitwell. Then all three clans build bridges, believing that the first one finished will win the gold. These projects fail, too. Gilford is blamed, and now half of the kingdom is angry with him. He comes up with yet another plan to help the kingdom, but can’t handle it all by himself. Unfortunately, only two people in his clan, plus the dragon, are willing to help. The other clans, farmers, and townspeople laugh at him. Lord Garth, chieftain of the Sitwells, warns him not even to try organizing the project, and hints that he will make Gilford a full member of the clan if he gives up on the idea. So Gilford must make a difficult choice: Should he do what others want him to do? Or do what he believes is right and risk never achieving his greatest dream?