"Bwire!" Fola looked around, but the shaman was gone--escaped in the fight. But the man she had freed from the Amber Prison still stood before them, gazing around in confusion, straightening his clothing--no threat, compared to the now-tiny dragon in her palm. The man bowed deeply and spoke, but Fola's mind was elsewhere; she smiled vaguely at him and turned to Jojo again. The goatherd looked tired and disheveled.

"We succeeded! Your goat is free, and my town is saved."

"Yes," Jojo said, and added in that hesitant way of his: "Now that you have your dragon in your Yellow Rock, will you please take it far away from the Ntatsu Plain? I don't mean insult, but I have seen more than enough of the Yellow Rock."

What a day this simple man had been through! His herd nearly gone, his life almost taken, and yet still he had stayed with his animals. Despite the rags and the goats, there was a great dignity, a great courage in this man.

"Yes, I will take the Prison far away." Fola stared at the glowing stone, then back at Jojo. "But you! Oh, Jojo, I feel such sorrow for the loss of your herd. And there's so little I can do."

Fola's sight fell on the Marble Diamond pendant around her neck. "Wait! I know that I can never make up for the lost goats, and that jewels mean little to you, but this has been in my family for generations. Please take it as a symbol of my respect and sorrow."

"Is it dangerous?"

Fola laid the stone in Jojo's hands. "No: it has a little magic, but nothing hidden within it. Perhaps you could trade it for more goats! Sometimes goats are more important than magic."

"Then, many gratitudes from my family to yours." Jojo smiled, and placed the pendant carefully over his head. The pale stone glimmered with the faintest acknowledgment of power.

Pausing to pet the poor goat who had inadvertently caused so much trouble by swallowing the Prison, Fola turned towards Kenlo, eager to make her way back home by dawn. She must tell the townspeople that they were safe, and then she must find a place, far distant, to take the dragon. Perhaps M'bari would accompany her on the trip? Fola felt a smile steal across her face; yes, she was sure he would.

And of course, Fola would tell her tale to everyone. And, as with the best stories, the tale and the teller were one and the same.