The Tea Party - Part 3

"You look determined, my Lord," Verdant noted with reverence. "Is there something you wish to achieve?"

"Only the bare minimum," Oliver said, falling into the role of the leader, someone distant from himself. He found that it helped to have Jorah just as nervous as he. If the others needed him, then he could be strong for them. Summoning strength for his own purposes was harder to do.

Merely lifting his boot up to take the first step was harder than confronting his first Hobgoblin. Each step that followed was as painful as the days spent recovering from that deep wound he'd had to his leg. When he finally reached out to pound the knocker of a dragon, it brought with it as much trepidation as it would have to have confronted a real golden dragon itself.