Dragon Hunters

Being trapped on an island at the mercy of a chameleon dragon that blends perfectly with the vegetation is never great fun, especially when it coincides with a sudden attack of the blues. And while Gwizdo is asking himself deep, searching questions about his future, Lian Chu and Hector have to take care of everything, not just the hunt (they're used to that) but also contract negotiation (and that's another kettle of fish).

Hector hears a howl for help reverberating through the skies. Our heroes are needed in Amazoomia, a land run by women who are frightened of nothing – except dragons. They are being terrorised by a monstrous beast that is stealing their children. Gwizdo, Lian Chu, and Hector are joined on the hunt by the gigantic Victoria, a champion pig thrower. The dragon turns out to be a monster – a Frankenstein’s monster – a mechanical contraption, cobbled together from bits of several dead dragons. It was constructed by rebels who want a society where women and men are equal. The children are all safe. Not surprisingly, the dragon hunters fail to convince anyone that they have killed a dragon and are chased from Amazoomia with pigs being hurled at them.

Lian Chu is seriously wounded by a dragon. He is contaminated by a deadly poison for which the only antidote is the gland of a Mimikar, a species of dragon of which there is only one last surviving specimen on the island of Unimak. There's no two ways about it. Gwizdo is going to have to go hunting himself if he's to save his lifelong buddy. To say that Gwizdo is delighted by such a prospect is perhaps exaggerating a little.

Gwizdo and Lian Chu are hired by an order of monks to do away with a dangerous dragon. The animal is preventing the monks from reaching the Isle of Mist, an island, they say, accommodates their rutabaga plantations. Our heroes savor the delights of living rough, the interesting fragrances of the monk's homemade cheese, and the unorthodoxy of their theories about the differences between circular and round entities. Once the dragon is out of the way, our friends discover that the island really conceals a magic river where the monks bathe to regain their former youth. When our friends become aware of this startling secret, it seems the monks have no intention of letting them leave lest they divulge the knowledge.

For weeks, a mysterious rival has been stealing contracts from under our heroes' noses, pipping them to the post at the scene of the hunt. Gwizdo is furious and is determined to get his hands on the mystery mustachioed colossus who is making their lives miserable Their surprise couldn't be greater when they discover that the stranger is none other than Zoria, Jeanneline's eldest dragon-hunter daughter, who has disguised herself to get by in the big mean world.

After a successful hunt, Gwizdo tries to claim his dues from the client, brandishing the contract they had previously signed. The client, a pernickety provost, disputes the agreement, arguing that the service providers, namely Gwizdo and Lian Chu, are not registered at the Chamber of Commerce as legal dragon hunters. Gwizdo is indignant but the feudal agent replies that the world is full of rogues and rogue-ettes each as dumb as the other, but this does not mean there aren't rules to be respected. To hunt dragons, you have to be registered at the Chamber of Commerce, as stipulated in article n° 55 J 812 of the treaty governing inter-county trade. Gwizdo rails against the administration but consents to sign up. But to do so, they have to reach a certain quota of dragons killed in the last six months. Eight in all. However, Gwizdo and Lian Chu only have one item marked in their hunting ledger. There are seven more to kill before the end of the current period, that is to say, the next day at sundown. Seven dragons in one day! And all for free!