by Billy Miner
The deer was running for its life. It knew that if it would even slow down the slightest bit, it would be captured and eaten by the raging pack. The wolves made hungry sounds and sprinted after the poor prey.
But then, I arrived.
Baffff!
I landed on the ground in front of the deer and grabbed it with my claws, snatching it away before the wolves could get to it. I was ten times bigger, so the deer easily fit in my hand. I wasn’t choking it… just holding it.
The wolves stopped. They were startled. Just imagine what they were thinking. I mean, suddenly, a giant black dragon stood in front of them and took their meal away.
They were all standing around me in a circle, when one of them stepped forward and stood firmly in the deep snow, demanding that I would give the deer back.
“And why would I?” I asked. “I am looking for something too. Give me what I need, and I will give you your dinner back.”
“What is it that you need?” the wolf asked.
“I want my eggs. There are three eggs, and I know somebody took them. You didn’t happen to see them, did you?”
“We know nothing about those. Now give us our prey back! We saw it first.”
“Hold on a minute. Are you sure you haven’t seen the eggs? Do you have any clue where they might be? Do you know of anyone who would steal eggs like that?”
“You are getting on my nerves,” the wolf said. “Look at us, dragon. There are at least 50 of us. We are hungry and you’re stalling. Give us the deer back or we will be forced to attack you and kill you.”
I laughed for a second. Then I stopped laughing and looked at them with squinted eyes.
“Go ahead and try,” I said.
One of the wolves leaped forward and landed on my back. The fight had begun: One dragon against 50 wolves. Not fair if you ask me…
… to them.
I flew up and shook the wolf off from on high. The wolf fell down and hit a tree. One down, 49 more to go.
Some wolves were climbing a few trees and tried to jump on me as I flew away, but they missed. I flew around my enemies in circles and picked up a couple of wolves, after which I threw them down a nearby cliff. The wolves yelped in fear.
How many more? I lost count. I was surprised that they even kept trying to get me. I could fly and they couldn’t, no matter how many there were of them.
I descended and landed on the ground.
“Does this look fairer to you?” I asked. “Bring it on, puppies.”
One by one they attacked me. I defended myself and grabbed a few of them, throwing them against tree trunks or bashing them on the snow. One of them got scratched heavily by my sharp claws, something that they did in return.
I have to admit I was a little damaged by the ones that jumped on me and scratch my perfect black skin with their nails. Others were biting me in the process, while I was making an attempt to get them off me. I wasn’t really losing, but I still felt like I could do better.
This wasn’t going too well. Now there were about 20 wolves on my shoulders and on my back. One wolf was biting my wings. Ouch! Another wolf was chewing on my leg. I had had it. I switched to secret superpowers.
“That’s it!” I yelled.
My eyes started glowing with a purple flame and my mouth radiated purple and white light. I breathed in, pulled back my shoulders and spat.
Psssssshhhh!
Purple acid came out of my mouth and touched some of the wolves’ skins, sizzling in their flesh.
“Aw! Aw! Aw!” the wolves yelped.
“Do you want more?!” I asked.
They didn’t seem to listen. Another spitball made out of purple acid left my mouth, burning their skin after hitting it. Ten more wolves had left the scene, being wounded and afraid of my supernatural strength and mysterious might.
There were only a few left. I breathed in and pretended to form another spitball. They looked at me, knowing what would happen if they kept attacking me. They flinched and then ran away.
Meanwhile, I still had the deer in my hand. It had big eyes; it was terrified.
“Don’t worry,” I said as I put it down. “I don’t eat deer. And as you could tell, I don’t eat wolves either. But one thing I want to know: Do you have any ideas for finding my eggs?”
“I don’t,” the deer admitted. “But I am sure you can check with the humans.”
“The humans?”
“Yes. They are very well educated. They know about a lot of things. They have maps, books, different professions, and so on. They are always eager to learn, and I am certain that they already studied all kinds of facts about ender eggs.”
“Thanks for the tip,” I said.
“Hold on,” the deer said. “Could you do me a favor and drop me off on the other side of the mountain? If you leave me here, the wolves may come back and devour me anyway.”
“No problem,” I said as I picked the deer up and flew off towards the mountain.
Entry 3: Humans
So that’s what happened, and this is why I am now flying towards a human village in the mountains. After some time of looking for it, I see the village. I recognize it immediately. These humans are one of a kind. Their species builds houses with roofs in the shape of some sort of triangle. They have windows made of glass, strange objects, and they put clothes on their bodies… weird…
I see one with long hair. It is a woman. I know that much. I notice she is gathering wood from a big pile next to one of their homes. Then I see another one. I am guessing it’s a man, since that one has short hair.
Since one of them comes out of their houses every 5 minutes or so, I am just deciding I am going to stop circling around the village and land on a rooftop. Hey, what’s that? There is a human who looks like he is sneaking out of the village.
What is he up to?
I have to find out.
So I follow him and hold off until I see what he is doing. He keeps walking and walking, and he looks around as if he is searching for something.
Does he know where my eggs are? It seems too good to be true. I can’t wait any longer, so I fly down and land right in front of him.
“Whoa!” he says with a terrified look on his face. “St-stay away or I will have to hurt you.”
“Please,” I say. “I know you can’t do anything to me. I am 10 times bigger. What are you going to do? Tickle me to death?”
“I-I am very dangerous too,” he says. “But if you mean no harm, then I will just get out of your way and leave you alone.”
“Actually,” I say, “I have a question for you. What are you looking for?”
He doesn’t want to say it. I can see it in his eyes. He turns away from me and looks at the floor, not saying a word.
“Well?” I insist. “Don’t tell me you aren’t looking for something. I could tell by the way you wandered through the woods.”
“I am looking for a dead body,” he says.
“Why?”
“The villagers want me to prove my courage by defeating an evil creature. They say I am a coward. And since I am not brave enough to actually defeat such a creature, I am just trying to find a monster or something in the woods that has already died. This way, I can take it home and show them.”
“But that’s lying,” I say. “Don’t you want to do some real act of bravery?”
“That’s easy for you to say,” he says. “You are big and scary. You can kill anything. Tell me something, dragon, do you have any problems whatsoever?”
“As a matter a fact, I do,” I say. “I just lost my three eggs and I have been looking all over the place for them. I just killed a pack of wolves that wouldn’t tell me where to find them and I have flying for hours. So yes, my life isn’t always easy either, human.”
“My name is Terry,” he says. “What is your name?”
“Nerith,” I say. “But anyway, do you know anything about dragon eggs?”
“Not much,” Terry says. “But if you think somebody stole them, I
think I know where to look.”
“Where?” I ask impatiently.
“Well, how about this,” he says, “If you help me fool the villagers, I will help you find those eggs.”
“Oh, you little…” I say in anger. “I should pick you up right now and throw you off the cliff. Just tell me where I can find those eggs!”
“If you kill me, you will never find out. Now, do we have a deal or not?”
“Fine,” I say. “But I don’t have to like it.”
“You don’t. But that’s okay, because it’s a great bargain. We both get what we want, right?”
I hate him, for now, but maybe I will dislike him a little less when he gets me my eggs back.
Entry 4: A Bond
“So what do you want me to do?” I ask.
“It’s simple,” Terry says. “All we have to do, is make the villagers believe that I killed you. You don’t really have to die, but just pretend.”
“Sounds easy enough,” I say. “Let’s do it. And after that, you better help me get to those eggs.”
“Don’t worry. After studying all the creatures in this world, I have learned quite a bit about which ones have a tendency to steal eggs, and where to find them. Everything will be okay.”
Together we devise a plan and wait until the evening falls. It has to be dark, or people in the village will be able to see through our scam. After discussing what we will do, Terry runs back to the village and awaits my arrival.
It’s dark. It’s my turn to perform, to put up a show. I fly towards the village and land in front of a small barn that they have for food storage. The village looks deserted, but it just seems that way because all the inhabitants are inside. They are warming themselves by the fire, protecting themselves against the chilling winds and the cold snowy winter season.
“Okay, here I go,” I say.
As soon as I say it, I start hitting the tiny barn with my claws, scratching the surface and breaking a few boards on the side. The noise alerts the villagers in their homes. I really lay it on thick, making sure that half of the barn is broken and some of the food falls into the snow.
“Dragon! Dragon! Watch out! There is a dragon!” the villagers shout.
Terry comes out of his home. He knew I would be there.
“Just let me handle this,” he says, shoving a few villagers aside.
He grabs his bow and arrow and starts shooting arrows at me while I ascend, flying in circles above the village. He makes sure not to hit me, or I will come after him. He knows that.
After a few misses, I pretend to get hit.
“Aaaaarhg!” I growl as if I got hurt by an arrow.
Then I fall to the ground, somewhere in the woods, so that the villagers won’t see me.
The other villagers are happy. They cheer for their hero, Terry, and carry him on their shoulders. Never again will they call him a coward.
But something goes wrong. I thought that nobody noticed me, but that isn’t all the way true. Here I am, sitting in the forest on a patch of snow, when a teenage boy from the village sneaks out of town and observes me thoroughly. He looks at me with big eyes. I didn’t see him at first, but when I do, it’s too late. He puts his hand in front of his open mouth, completely surprised by what he is seeing.
“The dragon is still alive!” he yells as he runs back to the village.
Little brat. Why did he have to sneak up on me like that? Now our whole plan failed. Thanks a lot.
“It is still alive! Terry didn’t kill it!” he tells the villagers when he gets to them.
“What? What’s going on here?”
“I just saw the dragon in the forest. He isn’t even hurt. The arrow missed him. I am sure of it.”
Everybody looks at Terry.
“Seriously?” he asks. “Are you accusing me of conspiring with a dragon to deceive you? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“We aren’t accusing you of anything,” a woman says. “But then again, we can’t be certain whether you’re honest or not.”
“You still haven’t proven anything,” one of the men says. “And until you do, you will still be considered a coward.”
“But I shot the dragon!” Terry insists. “You saw it. It dropped like a brick from the sky. Just because we haven’t found its corpse, doesn’t mean that I am lying. How do you know for certain that this kid is telling the truth?”
“Listen, Terry,” the man says. “Bring us the dead body of a creature… a real one. Then we will know that you did it. And only then will we trust you and stop calling you a coward.”
“Fine,” Terry says. “I will leave, but you better feel guilty if you find my dead, frozen body somewhere in the wilderness. Then you’ll know that you sent me out there to be devoured by wolves and black dragons.”
With that, he leaves the village.
Entry 5: Enemies
Terry arrives at the spot I am hiding. We look at each other with disappointed faces.
“Come on,” I say. “It’s not safe for you to be seen with me. Climb on my back and I will fly you out of here. We’ll go that place where you said my eggs could be.”
“Okay,” he sighs.
He hops on and I tell him to hold on tightly. Together we fly away.
“It’s freezing up here,” he says.
“Of course it is, silly. It’s winter, and up here, the air is even colder. So where are we going anyway?”
“To the Nether,” he says.
“The what?”
“It’s called the Nether. It’s an underworld beneath the soil with hellish fires and toxic lava streams.”
“Sounds lovely,” I say sarcastically. “So what makes you think my eggs are there?”
“I’ve read books about it,” Terry answers. “There are zombies, pigmen, skeletons, and other monsters there. Something mentioned the pigmen’s utmost interest in ender eggs. So if anyone stole your eggs, it should be them.”
“Makes sense,” I say. “Point me where to go and we’ll get there soon.”
“I think the entrance is beyond those hills in the far distance. I’ve never been there, but that’s what the book mentioned: Beyond the rock that looks like a claw.”
“Oh, I know where that is,” I say. “I have flown past that rock already. I just didn’t know what was out there.”
After some time, we reach the rock.
“Now where to?” I say.
“Over there,” he answers. “That must be the entrance.”
The entrance looks spooky, with spiky rocks and eerie shapes decorating the outsides. Inside, there is a glimmering light, probably from the lava. It looks like one of those places I would rather avoid, but it doesn’t look like I have a choice this time.
“After you,” I say.
“What? No, thanks. You go first,” he says.
“Oh come on. You still have your bow and arrows, don’t you? Then just go first. I will be right behind you. Show me you can be a real hero.”
It took a while, but I convinced him. He is going first, pointing his bow and arrow in front of him, jumping up every time he hears the slightest noise echoing through the hot caves.
The lava doesn’t make me feel comfortable. It’s like it is a constant flow of evil, an abominable fuel for the living dead and other abhorrent monstrosities. A repulsive odor emanates from the lava fumes, causing us to nearly choke each time we breathe too deeply. Despite the fact that I am a scary, dark dragon, I hate this place, and I will be happy when we can get out of here.
Whoosh!
I feel something speeding through the air above my head.
I look back.
It’s a fireball.
I look in front of me. Some kind of yellow fire creature is standing there, laughing and getting ready to shoot another fireball at me.
“What is that?” I ask.
“Oh, that’s a blaze,” Terry says. “You better watch out. They shoot tons of fireballs. If you get hit, it can severely wound you. Get down!”
Right after he says it, another fireball comes at us with raging speed.
I duck just in time.
It misses us.
“Annoying piece of garbage,” I complain.
I breathe in, gather the slime in my throat, aim, and…. SPLASH!
I spit some ender acid on the blaze’s face. With a creepy screech, the blaze disappears, back into the lava.
“That was that,” I said.
“Really cool,” Terry admits. “I wish I could do that.”
“I wish I could shoot an arrow, but each has his own talents, right?” I answered.
We travel for another hour through the depths of the gloomy Nether. Each time we hear a flame emerge from the lava, we turn our heads and the adrenaline flows through our blood, causing us to be more alert and aware of our surroundings. Terry tells me pigmen like to steal ender eggs as trophies, to show that they defeated them. They don’t do anything with them, but they just collect them and put them away. Well, I am going to find out where the filthy pigman is that stole my eggs. This has to end… now.
Then I see it.
“Is that one of them?” I ask.
“I can’t tell, but why don’t we go closer?”
And so we do.
Yes, it’s a zombie pigman. It walks awkwardly and snarls at me and Terry. If that is the little bugger who took my eggs…
“Hey you!” I yell.
The zombie pigman turns around and looks straight at us.
“O-oh,” it says.
I am sure that must have meant something. Why is it afraid of us? It must be hiding something. As I am contemplating these questions, I watch the pigman run away in the other direction.
“It recognizes you!” Terry says. “Let’s go after it! I am sure that this is the pigman that stole your eggs. Why else would he run?”
“You’re right,” I say. “Hop on.”
Terry jumps on my back and we fly towards the pigman, which just disappeared in a hole in the ground. We stop next to the hole and Terry gets off.
“That’s too narrow for me,” I say. “Looks like you’re on your own, buddy.”