Deception | 5-Minute Freewrite | Prompt: Dragon Egg

This freewrite was prompted by @mariannewest, and it is already one of my favorite prompts!

Someone knocked roughly on the door. BANG BANG BANG. Whatever they needed, it must have been urgent.
Taking a stained cloth and draping it over something, the man inside the small cottage scurried around. Finding a hole in the wall, he pushed it through, where it landed on the soft ground between the cottage and the animal pen. Then, wiping beads of sweat of his brow, the farmer opened the door.
About two dozen soldiers were outside the door, with the General at the forefront. Trying to cover his shakiness, the farmer kneeled on one knee, as customary to nobility. Horses neighed and a moment passed before anyone spoke.
"I have received news that a mere farmer, such as yourself, has found something... valuable. Might you know of the farmer whom I speak?" Glad that his head was bowed so the general couldn't see his face, the farmer panicked. Trying to find a way to answer without being beheaded for treason, he waited for a rude amount of time to respond.
"Uh... there are m-many farmers in this region, your Nobility. Could you perhaps meant someone e-else?"
The general spoke in a deceptively calm voice. "It is a possibility. But my sources say that this farm is the one. Search for it." He commanded the soldiers behind him, and they began to upturn everything on the small farm. More sweat, either from the hot sun or nervousness, ran down his neck. After about ten minutes of agony, the farmer heard the men report that there was "nothing in this filthy hovel."
The general gestured for the farmer to rise with a wave of his sword. "Where does you allegiance lie?"
"T-to the state, and to the King."
"Good." And with that, they rode off back to the gates into the city. Waiting until the soldiers where a good distance away, the farmer hurried to the small gap between the house and the pen. There he found the cloth bundle, which he managed to pull out. He went back into the cottage and set the thing on the small table. Undoing the wrappings, he revealed a glittering, foot-and-a-half long, hatching dragon egg.

Thank you for reading, I enjoyed writing this!