Rosa the Rat rushes through the valley of the silver dragons to the cave of Firedrake. The small brownie girl, Sorrel, stops her. Brownies are small, fur-covered fantastical creatures with short tempers that often live with or near dragons. Sorrel is Firedrake’s closest companion and tries to stop Rosa from waking him because dragons sleep during the day. However, Rosa insists there is an emergency.

Rosa warns that humans are coming to the valley. Sorrel is skeptical at first, but eventually, she and Firedrake agree this is serious news and wake the other dragons.

The dragons congregate. The oldest dragon, Slatebeard, invites Rosa to share her news. Again, she explains that humans are coming: They are taking a path through the mountains. She says humans never feel that they have enough, and they are always expanding their reach. These humans plan to flood the valley.

One dragon suggests that they simply chase the humans off, but Sorrel says human beings are “[m]ore dangerous than anything else in the world” (11). She explains that humans have machines now, and the dragons would not survive against them. Another dragon suggests trying to live in peace with the humans.