Dragon Hero

by C. L. Woodward

  I raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?” Jerak swallowed his food and smiled.

  “Just doing normal errands isn’t much to be proud of. Sure doing good honest work is all good and well for some, but for a hero like me who is born to travel and do so much more!” Jerak said proudly. He stood up and grinned, “It is my destiny to change the world!” I just stared at him and, after a while, I just shrugged, “So how about finding a job that will take us somewhere else?” Jerak lowered his posture and sighed, “Yeah, that will be fine.”

  After our meal, we walked toward the mage place. Sadly, Bolam had already left to Vunash but the same middle aged woman was there and happy to offer me another job. She took out several applications which Jerak quickly checked through. He walked away muttering to himself, “Too boring, too boring, too complicated, too boring, sounds stupid, oh, here is one!” He walked back, slapped the applications down and handed her the one he picked. I had a bad feeling it is the most reckless thing on that list.

  “Oh? This one is mostly given to us by the bounty office. So you want to help get rid of some choguls?” she asked.

  Jerak nodded, “Of course! We are able fighters. Choguls are no match for us!” I sighed but was at least thankful it wasn’t like taking on some ogre or a band of thieves.

  The old woman wrote something on the application and handed it to us, “Please take this to the bounty office and they should fill you in on what is needed.” Jerak grabbed the piece of paper and walked out. I slowly followed him.

  It was already dark out, but the street lanterns were lit. Night life was a bit different, not as noisy as at home. There were still people out closing shops or going out for a good time. I was surprised when I saw Jerak walk past a few women. At least one of them was good-looking but Jerak seemed too preoccupied with reaching the bounty office to notice. I took a second look but found that Jerak was well ahead of me. It sucks trying to catch up with a wounded leg.

  The office was still open but, as far as I knew, it could have been one of those places that never closes. Jerak walked in and I finally caught up and followed inside. There were a few other people inside so we waited until it was our turn in line. “We are here to help with this problem” Jerak said cheerfully as he set down the paper on the desk. The officer grabbed it and took his time reading through it. He looked back at us, “Yes, the lumber company up north is having trouble with choguls. Are you fellows able to travel?”

  Jerak grins, “Of course!” I held my crutch tightly and just sighed.

  “Good, then I will fill in the directions of the lumber company in Golashe for you,” the officer explained while scribbling something on the form. He got out of his seat to look for something.

  I used this time to whisper to Jerak, “Um, where is Golashe?”

  Jerak whispered back, “Don’t worry- it isn’t that far.” The officer took out a stamp and presses it on the form and handed it back to us. Jerak thanked the man and we walked back out.

  “I guess the mages keep interesting jobs as well” Jerak said cheerfully.

  I scratched the back of my head, “I think they carry normal jobs, too.”

  Jerak shrugged, “Doesn’t matter, it should be a good job!”

  I sighed, “I don’t know if I am fit for fighting choguls or travel.”

  Jerak laughed, “Aw, come on! I saw you take on those ghouls, and Bolam told me you handled the Shadens pretty well! You might not be at my level yet, but you have potential!” Not sure that really helped boost my ego.

  Jerak and I looked for a cheap inn to stay for the night. The main room served as a tavern where a bunch of guys sat around and drank. I handed the innkeeper some money and got a key and was told my room was down the hall. Jerak wandered off to get himself something to drink, but I wasn’t interested. I wandered down the hall. What room was it? I looked at the key and saw a tiny piece of wood tied to it with the engraving of some numbers. I knew I should have asked Bolam to teach me about the numbers.

  Thankfully, I was able to match the engraving on the key to those on the door. The key was large and simplified. It would be easy to figure how to pick the lock. The room itself was modest, but we did pay for a cheap room. There were two simple wooden beds and a low table in the middle with a lantern on it. The walls were of simple wood with no frills or decorations. All I cared about was getting a full night’s sleep.

  It felt pretty good to let my legs rest. I checked the bandage to see if walking around so much had caused more bleeding, but barely anything noticeable. My armpits were sore from using the crutch all day. I had switched back and forth not quite sure which side I should use the crutch on. We were heading towards Golashe in the morning. I wondered what that place was like. Jerak didn’t say anything about it, but I hoped it would be a nice, easy trip over there. I knew we were going to fight some choguls but, for some reason, they didn’t scare me so much compared to the other things I’d seen.

  I nearly fell asleep before Jerak stumbled into the room. He was obviously drunk and staggered around. “Hey, you missed some fun!” he said loudly. I opened an eye, “Ah- okay.” I was too tired to even care. Jerak sat on his bed and removed olne boot before giving up and falling over to a deep slumber. I waited to see if he would get back up, but when he started to snore I figured he was out for the night.

  Morning dawned and I felt refreshed. That bed was actually more comfortable than the cot I had slept on before. My leg felt considerably better. There was a little pain but I thought I could get away from using the crutch. I sat up and stretched and saw Jerak sound asleep in the same position as last night. I really did’t want to wake him up in case he got angry. After a while, he got up and seemed more tired than last night. I figured he would be suffering from a hangover and just gave him a wave and portrayed the role of a mute. He waved back and grumbled as he put his boot on. He looked around and appeared frustrated. I pointed to his other leg, “Um, that one is already on.” He looked over at his other boot a bit puzzled, “Wha? How did that get there?” I refrained from laughing.

  The inn offered free tea for their customers. I’d never really been a tea drinker. It smelled really good but didn’t taste as good as I thought it would. Jerak added some honey to his and drank it like it was going to revive him. Honey made it taste better. Jerak sat at table in the main room, trying to get his brain working again. I was just happy that I walked all the way in without needing the crutch. I kept it with me just to be safe.

  After our tea, we walked out of the inn and were almost blinded by the brightness of the day. I let out a big yawn and let my eyes adjust to the morning light. Jerak stuck his pinky in his ear and let out a big sigh. He pulled his finger out and wiped it on his pants, “Do we have what we need?”

  I sat down my pack and looked inside, “I have a few days’ worth of food. Will that be enough?” Jerak smiled, “Plenty! Golashe is just a few days north and it won’t be a problem to find something to snack on along the way.”

  We walked toward the north gate of Halatross. The traffic of wagons and wandering people really kept the town busy. The gate house was wide open and the guards stood there without any concern. Being a guard might be a bit boring, but it would be a stable job. I didn’t think Jerak would want a job like that, and I wasn’t sure standing around watching people walk by would be a a job for me either.

  I stopped after passing the north gate. I saw a large mountain range toward the west but the road up north looked flat with only a few sparse hills and trees. Jerak pointed his mace northward and proudly spoke, “To Golashe! Land of the dwarves!”

  I turned and looked at him, “Land of the dwarves?”

  Jerak smiled, “Yes, let’s hope it will be filled with adventure!”

  I didn’t know if I should be more concerned about visiting a dwarven town or the fact that my traveling companion seemed really eccentric.

  Chapter 5

  “So, tell me about the dwarves,” I requested while we walked. I really didn’t ne
ed the crutch at all but held it like a staff just to be safe. My leg still hurt, but I really feltfine.

  Jerak looked at me. “You never saw a dwarf?”

  I laughed, “Oh, I saw a few in Halatross and even met Wotmire, but don’t know what to expect from a dwarven town.”

  Jerak looked a little impressed, “You met King Wotmire?”

  I nodded, “I also met some guy in white armor… forgot his name, but I met Falstrid and that blue chick in Halatross, too.”

  Jerak shook his head, “That is just crazy! “The dwarven town of Golashe is an interesting place. The dwarves are very proud of what they do. You will likely see lizard men there, since it is close to the northern desert,”Jerak explained.

  I perked up at the idea. “Lizard men?! I haven’t seen those yet!”

  Jerak nodded, “They mostly keep to themselves, but they do trade with the dwarves. They are a bit weird like that.”

  I was starting to get excited . . . I mean going to see a dwarven town with lizard men.

  We walked on for a couple of hours with little excitement. The mountains looked pretty and it was a nice day, but after traveling awhile my mind began to wander. Our shadows cowered under us as the noon sun shone directly above. I was told that it would take three days to walk to Golashe. If we had horses or wagons we could have cut that down by a day. We paused to rest, and I laid back on a wooden bench that sat by the side of the road. The road was well maintained. The grooves in the road indicated that many wagons had traveled this way. Little rest stops were set up every so often to make the journey more pleasant.

  “Blake, how is your leg?” Jerak asked.

  I closed my eyes and tried to make the most of our break.

  “It’s feeling fine. Why do you ask?” I didn’t get a reply but instead got a stick thrown at me. “Dude!” I exclaimed.

  Jerak stood several feet away holding a new stick. I got up slowly and popped my neck.

  “I am not in the mood to spar,” I complained.

  Jerak laughed, “Aw, come on! I am going to make you a better fighter! You might need it later on.”

  I sighed and grabbed the stick.

  After a few rounds, Jerak was still beating me every time. He moved around a lot and didn’t seem to ever get tired. Jerak loved smacking my stick away with his buckler just to get a hit in. The fights were lasting a little longer but I still got tired as heck.

  “You’re getting better! We will spar every day until we reach Golashe,” Jerak decreed. He kept the stick in his hand.

  “We should get going!” I sighed and followed.

  That night we made a modest camp fire and ate some of our dry goods. I was not looking forward to sleeping on the ground again, but at least I had a bed roll. Jerak sat by the fire and threw in tiny bits of twigs and other junk to burn.

  “So tell me how you are with the women?” he asked cheerfully.

  I shrugged, “Very poor.”

  Jerak laughed, “Next time we are in town I might give you some tips. Well, not in Golashe but some other town.”

  I rolled my eyes. I knew I was bad with the ladies, but I also knew I would do better than Jerak with them.

  I had second watch and just sat against a tree half asleep. I caught myself nodding off but waking up a second later. There were a few small clouds and the two moons were barely visible. I was still amazed at the two moons and even enjoyed the novelty of a sky covered in stars. It isn’t often that I can see that many stars back at home. Here, it was very easy to see them all. I let out a huge yawn and waited for morning to arrive.

  “Morning!” Jerak greeted. I was still very sleepy. I had been spoiled by several nights without watch duty. Jerak kicked some dirt into the glowing embers and walked behind a bush. I just sat there, staring blankly at the extinguished fire. Jerak started to whistle which woke me up from my trance. He walked back and started to pack things up, “Ready to go?”

  We walked back onto the road and I felt like a total zombie. There were times I even closed my eyes while I walked. The fear of tripping over something prevented me for trying that for long. To keep my brain awake, I took out my piece of paper and started to read it as we traveled. Jerak was swinging away with his stick, “What are you reading there?” I handed it to him. He glanced through it, “What is this stuff?”

  I smiled, “That’s my language from my world. I am trying to learn yours.” Jerak looks at it, “It’s neat! Hey what does that mean?” I pointed to the character next to it which was in his language. Jerak had this dumb look on his face, “Oh… right.”

  Jerak handed me the piece of paper and started to shuffle through his things. I watched him and wondered what he was looking for. He pulled out a small leather bound notebook. He opened it up and thumbed through the pages, “I really don’t have much written, just a few doodles… oh, there is this old story I wrote years ago.” He handed it to me, “It is some silly children story to scare kids or something. I don’t know why I kept it in there, just too lazy to tear it out. You can read it if it will help you.” I looked at the page, next to it was a drawing of a man standing on a cliff with a flowing cape. I guessed he had drawn this when he was little but I couldn’t be sure.

  At lunch time we sparred again. I really didn’t see any improvement on my performance yesterday but I been half asleep all day. My own personal victory was breaking Jerak’s stick which caused him to go hunt for another one. After losing to Jerak several times we just took it easy for a while. For some reason I felt inclined to read his little story. I kept my little piece of paper right next to it and used it as a cheat sheet. Jerak looked over at me, “You can understand right?”

  I chuckled, “I’m getting there-not going fast mind you.”

  When we got back on the road, I kept that little notebook out with my guide next to it. The road was very boring and there was nothing else to do. Jerak was content with kicking a rock along the road as long as he could. I read the words out loud and wondered if I was really learning or just memorizing what each word was. I figured, one way or another, I’d understand this thing.

  Evening came and Jerak and I found a spot off the side of the road with a small well. We filled our wineskins and decided to camp a short distance away. Jerak insisted on sparring once more. I still lost every round. I hoped it was just too early to tell if I was making progress against him or not. Bruised and utterly defeated, I settled in for a dinner of dry goods, again. I had hoped we would find something tastier along the way. No such luck.

  Jerak got carried away and brought in a large dried up bush and hauled it over to the fire. The bush went up in flames right away and I worried it might get out of control. It seemed to amuse and he kicked dirt on the bits that fell out of the circle. “So Blake, figured out that story yet?” he asked.

  I looked at him and then looked at the notebook, “I’m still working on it.” He sat down on a rock across from me, “Why don’t you try to read it out loud?” I shrugged, “Alright…”

  I cleared my throat and began. Jerak corrected me several times as I read. “Long ago, deep into the Silmuth swamps stood a dark castle. The castle had a moat filled with the bones of those who were foolish enough to enter. Guarding the dark castle waited men of iron and stone. Inside the castle lived a mean and vile witch named Talestria. Talestria was very cruel and was feared by everyone.”

  Jerak got up to kick dirt on another bit of flaming wood that had fallen out of the fire. He looked back at me, “Keep going.”

  I took a deep breath and continued to read, “No one would dare to venture near the dark castle, except for three brave men. One was an elf, quick and agile. One was a dwarf, strong and stout. And one was a human, brave and clever. There was a rumor of great treasure in the dark castle and so they ignored the warnings and traveled. First entered the dwarf, claiming he was strong enough to conquer the witch. The witch defeated the dwarf and used his stout bones to make a chair.”

  “Then the elf thought he was quick enough to snea
k in and get the treasure before she noticed. The witch caught him and used his bones to make a wind chime. The human figured he was clever enough to trick the witch. The witch outsmarted the human and used his bones to make a stand to hold her coat. It doesn’t matter how brave, strong, quick, or clever you are. No one meets The Witch Talestria and lives, for she will take your bones!” I finished. The story did sound like one to scare little kids into obedience.

  Jerak laughed, “Dumb story, huh?”

  I closed the notebook, “Yeah, it does seem weird… um, there isn’t really such a person, right?”

  Jerak scoffed, “No way! Talestria is just some monster to scare the kiddies!”

  I sighed but recalled hearing her name from Falstrid once. Still, I was sure she was fictional. To be safe, I would be sure not venture in the dark elf area if I could help it.

  I took the first watch this time and Jerak laid back on his bed roll, “Watch that fire and make sure no scary witch comes to take our bones!” He chuckled and went to sleep. As I stood watch, I was startled when I felt a sudden gust of wind. I sighed and told myself, “It’s just a stupid kid’s story.” I didn’t make me feel much better… what if such a witch were real? I mean, that lich named Xum’gol was real enough. I really hoped I wouldn’t meet up with that guy again.

  Jerak took over the watch. When I woke up the next morning I found twigs jammed into the ground around me. Jerak seemed disappointed when I had no problem getting up. “Very funny, sticks in the ground,” I mumbled.

  He laughed, “I was bored.” I was surprised I hadn’t heard him setting up his little practical joke. I am normally a light sleeper; I must have been dead tired.

  Another day of travel. I was certain we should reach Golashe before night fall, unless Jerak insisted on another training session. He already held a stick in his hands-a surefire sign that he wanted to spar again. “So Jerak, can you give me any pointers before you beat me again?” I asked.