Questing For Dragons

The richest man in Pen's village wants her for his wife, an evil baron wants her in his bed, his witch wife wants her dead, the emperor offers a huge ransom capture the reborn Roxanne, and, further complicate matters, she's disguised herself as a boy to squire a formidable yet wooden headed knight who's seeking the Dragon Lord.

Somehow Pen has to avoid the gallows. or worse, being locked away in the Emperor's harem forever while helping the knight in his quest. It doesn't help matters that the Dragon Lord usually feasts on those who seek him, or that, Sir George, won't tell her why he seeks someone who will surely consume him and all he knows.

Not quite eighteen and unfamiliar about the world beyond her village, Pen does her best to guide George through a series of hazards: an oasis habited by the ghost child Roxanne now dead 600 yeas, a monastery of mysterious monks, a hidden vale of gorgeous women lead by a demented witch, across a treacherous bridge to an ancient dragon who may know the lair of the dragon lord, and to the deserted 600 year old castle of the long dead Roxanne. And then there is the certainty of the gallows or of the Emperor harem if she's caught.
As the adventure progresses, Pen and George are joined by an untrustworthy sorcerer and a callow 1400 lb. Minotaur youth who hasn't yet earned his name. All of this makes Pen yearn for the old days when she was the village hog herder lathered in the slime of the stye.