The great bronze dragon came charging at him.
"Stop, Daylith!" shouted Ed. "I must talk with you!"
In surprise, Daylith skidded his heels in the dirt to stop, and his wings beat thunder until he recovered his balance. "You know my name," he said, startled.
"And your appearance certainly lives up to that name, bright as day itself with the sun shining against your wings and back!"
"You don't say," said Daylith, who now seemed amused.
"How do you get your scales so bright? Do you polish them?"
"I think you are only saying such things to try to get around me," said Daylith.
"Think what you like," said Ed, "but please do me a favor."
"If you think you're going to get around me with all that smooth talk—"
"Oh, no, nothing like that," said Ed, "but if you'll move just a little up that hillside there and face that way, with the sun just right behind you, I'd like to try to paint your picture. It should only be just a few minutes."
"Just a few minutes, eh — oh, all right, let's see what you can do with making my portrait." Daylith moved a little up the hillside and turned just so. Ed hauled his brushes and paints out of his pack, the ones he had brought along to improve the map he was following, in case he ever got back to his village.
"I haven't done this in quite awhile," said Ed. "But how often does one get such an extraordinary subject to paint?" and he bent to his task, trying to sketch and then paint a picture of the great bronze dragon.
"There," Ed said at last, turning the picture around for Daylith to see. "It's not so good a representation as I'd like it to be. You really look taller than that, and I haven't been able to really capture that wonderful shimmer on your wings — I hope you don't mind —"
"That's okay," said Daylith. "May I keep this painting?"
"Of course, it's yours," said Ed, "That's whom I painted it for. Just let me look at it this one last time, and then let me look at you one last time."
"You're not so bad, for a human," said Daylith."I just don't feel very much like smashing you into little bits right now — I think I'll go set this painting up in my cave and let my cousin, Eiroth, finish the job of keeping you from the Stone."
"Why, thank you!" said Ed to the great bronze dragon, and went on down the road. The day had turned cooler and the air smelled sweet, and for the first time since Asaph, Ed began to think that he had a chance of reaching the Philosopher's Stone.
As he went along the road that afternoon, he heard thunder overhead and there, with wings widespread, was the great green dragon Eiroth.