Suddenly, the sky went dark, although the flowers around the prince were still lit as though it was midday. The dragon breathed a jet of flame into the darkness, but it flew far above the prince’s head. The prince watched the fire bemusedly as it formed a long, winding ribbon above him. The flames writhed and crackled in the air for a few seconds, and then began to form into words. The prince, who had expected an attack, was rather surprised.

The prince stared at the words above him. He would have read them had they been in any language he recognized. Dro Qbyh kbo sxmsdsxq exbocd sx Kvkxnbsk. Zvokco qy drobo swwonskdovi kxn sxfocdsqkdo drsc wkddob. Bodebx zbywzdvi gidr iyeb psxnsxqc.

The prince looked at the dragon, confused. “What does this mean?”

The dragon said, “That is for you to discover.” He breathed another jet of flame that formed into the number 17, and vanished. The sky regained its early-morning light, as the prince looked next to him to the elven girl. She looked as confused as he felt.