“Who? Gleep?” Tananda sez, reaching over to pet the dragon. “There’s nothing to be nervous about with him. He’s just a big sweetie and a snugglebug . . . aren’t you, fellow?”
“Gleep!” the dragon sez again innocently while leanin’ against Tananda.
“Good. Then you won’t mind havin’ him with you,” Nunzio smiles. “That’s settled.”
“I suppose,” Chumley sez absently, studyin’ the dragon as he talks. “Well, I guess we might as well get started. Big Julie, do you mind if we relay messages to each other through you? Otherwise we’re going to have trouble keeping track of things.”
“No problem,” the retired general shrugged. “To tell the truth, I figure you’re all going to have enough on your hands, so you shouldn’t be worrying about communications. I’ll be here.”
After sayin’ our goodbyes to the others, Nunzio and I head off to try to find a recruiter for the army.
For a long time, neither of us sez anything. Finally, Nunzio clears his throat.
“Well, what do you think?”
“I think we got big trouble comin’ our way,” I sez, tight-lipped, “and I don’t mean with communications or even with Queen Hemlock.”
“I know what you mean,” Nunzio sighs, not lookin’ around as he trudges along. “You want to talk about it?”
“Not just yet. I want a little more time to think things through. In the meantime …” I aims a playful punch at him which, bein’ Nunzio, he takes without so much as blinkin’. “. . . let’s occupy ourselves with somethin’ easy . . . like disruptin’ an army.”
Chapter Two:
“We want to make you feel at home!”