Thunder Dome the way in

Normally her question would have sprung a thousand possibilities to his mind, and with those possibilities a thousand images. Soaring mountains, glimmering ice lakes, echoing caverns, rolling wetlands — and of course the lights. The northern lights, that deep aurora that first instilled in him a romanticism so against his nature.

But his thoughts were still mostly on his past life at the moment, unable to switch the subject from his coarse early-realities to the magical places that lived on in his heart. So first he addressed Asterr's latter point, which was a gentle one. For a dragon's young champion the girl was beautifully peaceful. So contrary to his own instinct.

I feel entirely the same, he replied softly, thinking not of his own injuries but those of any poor wretch that got caught up in any stupidly violent motion that might suddenly overcome him.

But very swiftly he was able to come back to her question — the one about favourite places. For no sooner had he finished speaking than he caught sight of a great gap in the stone up ahead. It was draped with dead moss, but that was easy to brush past. A way in at last — a way down into the top of the cavern within. As to my favourite places, he considered. I think this is one.