This sampler is taken from one of the stories in the Tunnel Vision collection:
Synopsis: Frido, a descendent of the Ringbearer and mayor of the Shore, needs a magical artifact to protect the Shore from deprivation by a yuk construction crew. He plans to steal the artifact from an elderly dragon named Wygga with the help of his three companions. Mamzer is a wizard, Dementia is an elf-maiden bard and Gimlet is a dwarf warrior.
Frido lurked in the shadows of a narrow tunnel and observed Wygga, a red and gold dragon. Very little armor scale remained on her thin, gaunt body. She slept on her treasure pile: several gold coins, trinkets, brass flagons gone green with age, broken plates and well-chewed bones. A coal fire blazed in a hearth carved into the rock wall and a pile of coal lumps sat alongside the fireplace. Coal smoke permeated the cave, tickling his nose. Frido struggled to suppress a fatal sneeze.
On the wall opposite, four rings dangled from five pegs arranged in two rows. The top row had three pegs with an empty middle one. Frido was surprised the dragon didn’t hear his pounding heart. Mamzer’s plan called for the other three to enter the main tunnel and distract Wygga so Frido could filch the rings. The plan sounded good when he was outside the cave but now he had serious doubts about it, and the longer he waited, the more flawed the plan seemed.
“Whazzat?” Wygga’s head came up, cocked to one side.
Frido heard distant, muffled voices.
“Thieves!” Wygga stood up. “I’ll teach them a lesson.” She limped to the coal pile, grabbed a mouthful and swallowed. “Ugh!” Wygga shuddered as she slithered into the main tunnel.
As soon as her head disappeared, Frido slipped out of the tunnel and crossed to the ring wall. He gathered himself into a crouch and sprang up. He missed the lower rings by a good margin. Frantic, he glanced around the cave.
“I thought we were supposed to meet a dragon,” Frido heard Gimlet say. “This one is just an overgrown lizard.”
Wygga roared. Frido wondered if it was from indignation or indigestion. Only the tip of her tail now remained visible.
“Hey!” Dementia said. “You told us the dragon didn’t have any fire left. So why is smoke coming out of her mouth?”
“Uh-oh,” Mamzer said.
Frido found a broken spear shaft.
Dementia sang:
“I don’t mind sticks and stones,
Or even broken bones,
But I don’t like toast,
And I won’t be a roast.”
“That ain’t funny, girl,” Gimlet said.
“Let me know how this turns out,” Dementia yelled. “I’m leaving.”
“Flee!” Mamzer screamed. “Flee for your lives.”
Frido retrieved the lower rings using the spear shaft. His elation at his partial success deflated when he peeked at Wygga and saw her tail moving backward. He jumped and the shaft touched an upper ring. It rocked back and forth.
Frido jumped again and missed.
Wygga’s rump backed out of the tunnel.
“Where’d the lizard get to?” Gimlet yelled. “There she is. Here’s a rock for your treasure pile, frog-face.”
After an angry yelp, Wygga completely disappeared into the tunnel.
“Come now,” Mamzer said. “A dragon this old can’t still be flammable. Move forward you two. I’ll be right behind you.”
“Hey!” Gimlet said. “What’s she doin’ now?”
“Out of my way!” Dementia screeched.
“Flee!” Mamzer screamed. “Flee for your lives.”
Frido tried again. He knocked a ring off its peg and snatched it out of mid-air. Wygga’s hind legs reappeared in the cave. He took a gulp of smoky air and leaped. He hit the ring harder than he wanted to and it soared off the peg. Frido reached for it, but it was too far away and it landed with a metallic clank.
“Who’s there?” Wygga roared. “Another thief?”
Frido, with three rings looped over his forearm, chased the fourth. He snatched the rolling ring and ran towards the escape tunnel. From the corner of his eye, he saw Wygga’s head turn in his direction. He dove behind a boulder just as Wygga belched a ball of fire. The flames passed over his head to blacken the wall behind him. Frido scrambled to his feet and ran. He reached the tunnel entrance a moment before another blast of flame engulfed it.