'Hang on a minute,' said a small man, slowly. 'As far as we know, the dragon's only good at one thing. It flies around the city setting fire to people. I'm not actually certain what is being proposed that would stop it doing this.'
'Yes, but if we all protest…' said the first speaker, his voice modulated with uncertainty.
'It can't burn everybody, ' said Colon. He decided to play his new ace again and added, proudly, 'The people united can never be ignited!' There was rather less of a cheer this time. People were reserving their energy for worrying.
'I'm not exactly sure I understand why not. Why can't it burn everyone and fly off to another city?'
'Because ...'
'The hoard,' said Colon. 'It needs people to bring it treasure.'
'Yeah.'
'Well, maybe, but how many, exactly?'
'What?'
'How many people? Out of the whole city, I mean. Perhaps it won't need to burn the whole city down, just some bits. Do we know what bits?'
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