After the explanation, I set off with the entire group for the first time. It was funny to watch the young dragons turn over almost every stone on our way to the lake, trying to find something. But they were all unsuccessful, and then they were even scared of the little beetles that lived under the stones. Finally arriving at the lake, the dragons lay down in the shade and started to grumble, especially the small group with the three dragonesses. "Why did we have to run here in this heat?! We haven't even found anything yet. That's so stupid," I heard the 'leader' of the group complain. Her two subordinates just nodded in agreement. They also received annoyed looks from the other dragons. I tried to ignore them and explained to the dragons that they should split up into small groups of at least three and stay near the lake. After that, they went hunting for herbs, except for the girls, who hadn't listened to me yet again. I really didn't feel like it, but I locked myself in to talk to them anyway. "Don't you want to go looking?" Startled, they turned to me and gave me contemptuous looks. "Why? We won't find anything anyway, where would we? I don't see anything here that even remotely resembles herbs." I sat down. These dragons weren't well-behaved at all. "Of course you don't see anything here. If herbs grew right under our noses, Mineva wouldn't send out such rude and disrespectful dragons like you. Herbs grow where they like it best, just like you lie down in the moss nest you like best. Now stop being so arrogant and make yourselves useful." Growing, I stood in front of them, and I was a good bit taller than all three of them. With a leap and without another word, they disappeared into the bushes. So I set out to check on the other groups and help them. First, I spotted the group Skyler was in. He was traveling with three other dragons, and a female dragon with rose-colored scales was walking close beside him. The two seemed to be getting along very well, and I could see the blush on Skyler's face from up in the air. They seemed to be doing well, because the other two dragons were each already carrying a bundle of herbs. I flew on, and not far from them was the next group. It consisted of five dragons, all of whom had green scales that blended perfectly with the forest, so I quickly lost sight of them. Once I was sure that all the dragons were doing what they were supposed to and were partially successful, I went looking for the herbs myself. Time passed quite quickly.And I went back to the lake. Skyler's group was already waiting there. I carefully examined their catch. They had collected a total of two large and two slightly smaller bundles. A group of three and the large group of five had soon joined us. Only the group with the three arrogant dragonesses didn't show up, and as soon as the sun began to set, I became worried. "Listen, you will return to the Moon Lake Cave immediately and tell them that three dragons are missing. I'll start looking for them." They all flew off toward the Moon Lake Cave, except for Skyler. "Skyler, you should fly back with them too." He approached me. "I'll help you find them. One of them is a good childhood friend of mine." I looked at him incredulously, but said nothing more because time was running out. With a violent flap of our wings, we took to the air and first searched around the lake for the missing dragons. But we couldn't find them. It shouldn't have been that difficult, because even the color of their scales was striking, not to mention their annoying voices that could be heard from miles away. I carefully tried to listen, and indeed, I heard voices, but they didn't belong to our missing dragons. They were deeper and more threatening. My instincts told me to hide as quickly as possible and flee from these dragons. But I did the exact opposite. I flew as close as possible to the voices until I understood what they were saying. "How could you let a few small dragons eavesdrop on you? Do you have to repeat your training?" growled a deep and threatening voice. I slowly landed on the forest floor and was lucky to be able to hide behind some bushes. In front of me, more trees rose up, and behind them I could see three huge dragons that made my blood run cold. All three wore metal armor, beneath were dozens of scars protruded; one of them was even blind in one eye. Behind them lay the three missing dragons, unconscious and bound together. I realized that these must also be Vitis's warriors spying on the Moon Lake Cave. But I had no chance against three giant dragons, not even with Skyler. There was a rustling sound behind us, and I whirled around. Shu's green scales blended perfectly into the bushes. Relief welled up within me; hopefully, he hadn't come alone. Several pairs of eyes appeared next to him. Shu began to growl. "Drago, that bastard. I really should have killed him!" His gaze fell directly on the dragon, who was still giving the other two a leeching wink. Slowly, he moved forward without making a sound. The others, including Skyler and I, followed him cautiously. He gave us directions with the tip of his tail, and we fell into formation. Then we prepared to attack, all jumping out of the bushes at once.
