by Logan Jacobs
“Die, you bastard!” I yelled as I charged forward on my white steed. It wasn’t the most knightly of battle cries, but it would do in a pinch.
Smiguel’s head whipped up with the remains of the cow’s head dangling from his teeth, and his one good eye swiveled as he tried to find the source of the noise.
I was a hundred feet away when he spotted me, and I threw out walls of ice just in time for his fire breath to meet them. The flames ate through my wintry barriers, but the two elements negated each other perfectly.
I had a clear, flame-free path to the dragon’s face, and I knew he needed to gather his steam before he could breath the fiery death upon me again, so I urged Goliath on even faster as I held the king’s lance tightly in my fist.
You again! Smiguel’s amber eye locked onto me, and recognition transformed into utter rage. You are a thorn in my side!
Then he flapped his wings and rose into the air an instant before my lance would have crashed into his chest. The tip of the long shaft grazed the beast’s underbelly, and a long gash appeared in its wake.
Black blood poured out from the wound and dripped onto the gravel below, but Smiguel rose high above me and circled the canyon.
I followed his path and prayed for him to land again, and I suddenly spotted a dark dot moving along the slope. Then I cursed under my breath when I noticed the jagged blonde hair.
“Evangeline,” I groaned. “What is she doing?”
The duke’s daughter wasn’t coming toward me, though, and it looked like she was headed toward the dragon’s nest.
I didn’t know how territorial the winged-beast would be, but I didn’t think he would like it if someone was messing with his nest, so I pulled on Goliath’s reins to change his direction.
Smiguel spotted Evangeline in the same instant I did, and I saw him flying through the air above me with the same trajectory.
“Shit,” I cursed again.
This was bad.
“Smiguel!” I yelled up into the sky in the hopes the dragon would change course. “Come get me! I’m over here!”
It was no use, though, and I watched helplessly while fire rained down from the sky above the newest addition to my heart. I didn’t want to watch her die, so I reset back to my save point.
Chime.
I went through numerous attempts at charging straight toward Smiguel with the lance, but Evangeline got in the way every single time. I was starting to lose my patience with the stubborn spontaneous woman, but I had to admire her daring.
Finally, I’d had enough of it, and I confronted her head on.
“Why do you keep going to the nest?” I questioned the duke’s daughter after I’d reset back to my save point.
“What do you mean, Great One?” Evangeline shook her head in confusion. “I haven’t moved from this spot.”
“Listen, there’s something in the nest, and you have died many times trying to get to it, so I need to know what it is.”
“You’re starting to worry me, Great One,” Eva said. “What do you mean I have died many times?”
“You’re not making any sense,” Mahini interjected. “Start at the beginning.”
“Never mind, I’ll figure it out,” I muttered, and I took a deep breath before I reset back to my save point.
Chime.
“Everyone stay here, I’m doing some recon,” I said, and I gave them all a look that allowed for no argument.
Then I crept over the edge of the slope alone and angled toward the dragon’s nest. I went slowly so as not to wake him up, but I held my breath every time a rock tumbled down the hill. One even crashed against the edge of the rock-hewn circle where the dragon slept, but the beast never woke up.
I was a hundred feet away when the nostrils lifted and sniffed the air. I froze in place and waited, but the next thing I knew I was staring into the huge amber eye of Smiguel.
Why do you disturb my slumber, human? The rich baritone echoed through my mind like the beast had yelled into my ear. Do you wish to die today?
I weighed my options. I could use my griffon feather boots to out run the fiery blaze sure to come, or I could reset back to my save point and try again. The dragon was awake now, and I didn’t think running away would help me against a flying creature, so I chose the second option.
Chime.
I tried to sneak up on the nest multiple times, but Smiguel always woke up when I was within sniffing range. Without the cow smell to distract him, he was super sensitive to my odor, so I decided to use my original plan, but tweak it to where I’d investigate the nest instead of attacking.
I placed the cow, smacked its ass, and then activated the fleetness ability of my griffon feather boots to zoom toward the nest and hide. Once Smiguel was chomping away at the herbivore, I inched toward the rock-hewn circle.
It was like he had an alarm system or something, though, and anytime I touched the rocks to begin the climb, Smiguel swiveled around and blasted me with fire.
Chime.
Chime.
Chime.
There was definitely something inside the nest that the dragon was protecting, and it seemed like I’d have to kill him before I could figure it out. Each time, I’d alerted the dragon to my presence somehow, and I didn’t have anything on hand I could use to mask my scent.
I’d just have to keep trying until the dragon died.
So, I took Goliath and the cow, commanded the women to stay put, and headed down the slope again. With enough ice, I could protect myself from the fire breath, and then I could get close enough to do some real damage.
I put the cow into position, smacked its ass, and galloped away. Once Smiguel was happily munching on his evening snack, I unleashed a torrent of arrows toward his remaining amber eye.
Smiguel roared in pain as three arrows dug into his optic nerve, and he clawed at his face. The shafts broke off, but the tips remained, and the dragon writhed around trying to dig the projectiles out of his eye.
I took the opportunity to charge forward, but I opted out of a battle cry to obtain the element of surprise. I gripped the lance tightly in my fist as I galloped, and Goliath’s muscles bunched with the effort it took to keep up the pace.
Smiguel stopped clawing at his eye a moment before I reached him, and he flopped back onto all fours to face me with a snarl.
“Die, you fucking asshole,” I shouted as I drove my lance into his chest.
The dragon screamed in pain, and the high-pitched sound pierced my ears like daggers as the beast reared back and clawed at the lance jutting out from his torso. Then Smiguel smashed down, and the movement dislodged the long spear, so it bounced off the ground.
An instant later, the lance shot across the distance between us, and it returned to my hand just like it was supposed to. I swiveled Goliath’s head to the side, and we galloped away from the reach of the snarling dragon.
Then I pivoted and charged again.
Smiguel met my attack with a gust of his fire breath, but I blasted ice into his maw until he closed his jaw with a frustrated snarl. Sweat dappled across my forehead, and my head rang with a high-pitched sound.
Using this much magic was beginning to take its toll on me. It was time to end this. Now.
I leaned over Goliath’s withers and gripped the lance tightly, and when I was less than fifty feet away from the dragon, I chucked the weapon toward his gaping jaw right before he could unleash his fire breath.
The lance drove through the beast’s head and protruded out from the back of his skull.
Smiguel twitched and growled for a moment, and then his lizard-like body fell limply to the ground and buried his legs beneath the weight of him.
He was dead.
I was Sir Sebastian the Dragon Slayer and God of Time.
And that hadn’t actually taken that many attempts.
Victory tasted sweeter than any dessert I’d ever had, and I couldn’t wait to reap the rewards of my kill.
Chapter Sixteen
T
he girls all tumbled down the slope at a quick pace, and a moment later my arms were full of women. Eva, Mahini, and Elissa all hugged me at once while Sarosh watched with an impressed expression on her face.
“You did it!” Eva gasped as she threw her arms around my neck and kissed my cheek. “I knew you would!”
“I had total faith in you, husband,” Elissa purred.
“Your power is beyond my imagination,” Mahini breathed in a voice full of awe.
“Yes, well done, Sir Sebastian,” Sarosh interjected with a thin-lipped smile. “You have proven yourself to be a man of your word.”
“Thank you.” I inclined my head, but I couldn’t wipe the shit-eating grin off my face.
“I wonder what it was guarding in that nest…” Eva mused as her gray gaze turned toward the rock-hewn circle on the far edge of the hollow.
“Your curiosity could get you killed,” I laughed, and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “But there’s no danger in taking a look now.”
“It could be gold,” Elissa guessed.
“Or skeletons of past meals,” Mahini pointed out.
“Or nothing,” Sarosh added.
“Who knows.” I shrugged. “We’ll find out soon enough.”
So, we began the climb into the dragon’s nest, and the rocks radiated heat that was almost too strong to touch. My gauntlets protected me, but I worried about how the delicate hands of the women would fare.
We all managed to reach the top, though, and then we began the climb down the other side. The rock-hewn perimeter of the nest was probably ten feet high, but it sloped more gently on the inside to create a bowl-like enclosure. Inside were indeed some scattered bones, but my gaze swept over the interior in search of something more valuable.
Then I spotted it.
Nestled between some rocks and debris was a bright, iridescent-purple egg.
My mouth fell open as we all crossed the distance to the center of the nest, and we blinked at each other in surprise before we squatted down to get a closer look.
“It’s beautiful,” Elissa breathed as she studied the gemstone quality of the exterior of the egg.
“And deadly,” Mahini added.
“I can tell it holds great power,” Sarosh observed with narrowed gray eyes.
“Should we destroy it?” Eva asked as she worked her thick bottom lip between her teeth.
“No,” I said with a firm shake of my head. “We’re taking it with us.”
I didn’t know what exactly led me to make that decision, but it felt right in my gut, so I went with it. Who knew when I’d need a dragon’s egg at my disposal? There couldn’t be very many of them in this world since Smiguel was the first dragon seen in ages, so I wasn’t about to let the opportunity go to waste, but I had so many questions now.
How was this egg even possible with only one dragon? Where was the little baby’s mother? Did dragons need to have a girl and a boy, or had Smiguel laid this egg all on his own? Would this egg even be capable of hatching?
My thoughts spun around the new discovery, but I didn’t have any of the answers yet, so I’d just have to wait and see.
“Is that wise?” Sarosh frowned.
“I don’t care if it is or not.” I shrugged. “I can handle whatever happens. I’ve proven that today, and you know it.”
“Very well,” she huffed. “Do as you wish.”
I reached out toward the egg, but then a thought occurred to me, and I pressed my finger against its shell to see if any stats popped up. Nothing happened, though, so I picked up the egg carefully, and I cradled it against my breastplate as I got a closer look at it. It was about the size of a watermelon, maybe a little bigger, and the scales looked purple from a distance, but up close they were an even mixture of crimson and sapphire. They sparkled in the fading light of day, and it almost seemed like the egg was glowing from inside.
Elissa was right, it was beautiful.
Maybe there was a baby dragon inside that I could train to be my minion of mass destruction. No one would stand against me if I had a fire-breathing dragon at my beck and call. I would be more than godly. I’d be unbeatable. I wouldn’t even need to chime through a bunch of attempts in order to conquer a tough enemy. There wouldn’t be any more tough enemies.
I got lost in my daydreams for a moment until I heard Sarosh clear her throat, and I reluctantly came back to reality. I had to deal with the current situation and not live in the future where I rode on a dragon’s back and commanded a vast army.
It would happen, but not today.
“What now, Great One?” Eva asked. “I never even thought about what we would do after the dragon died, but here we are.”
“We have to take the head back to the king,” I reminded her. “After that, we are free to do whatever we want.”
“I’m sure my father will be pleased to learn of the dragon’s demise as well,” the duke’s daughter said in a hesitant voice. “Are you… going to tell him about us?”
“I will,” I confirmed. “You’re mine now, and nothing he says will undo that.”
Mahini and Elissa exchanged a knowing glance, but they didn’t say anything.
“I will arrange a meeting with my master,” Sarosh said with obvious reluctance. “He will want to know about someone as powerful as you.”
“Tell him he can find me in Bastianville,” I said. “You’re still more than welcome to travel with us to Vallenwood, though. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you or your followers.”
“You are gracious,” she replied. “Thank you.”
“So, we have to cut off the dragon’s head?” Elissa wrinkled her nose in disgust. “How are we supposed to get it out of here and down the side of the mountain?”
“I’ve seen people use two poles strapped to a horse’s side,” I said as I thought about the Native Americans and their travois. “We will strap everything between the poles, and we should be able to drag it back to Bronzeberg like that. Maybe they will have a wagon we can buy.”
“Good idea.” Mahini nodded, and she moved to leave the nest. “Let’s get started.”
“Can you guys cut down the poles we need and bring the horses down here? I left Goliath by the dragon’s body, and he seemed fine with it, but the others might get spooked, so be careful.” I looked over the women as I repositioned the warm dragon egg in my arms. “I’ll get started on field-dressing the dragon.”
“Yes, Great One,” Mahini replied. “I will see it is done.”
Then we all climbed out of the nest, and the women began the arduous ascent to the rim of the hollow while I made my way over to Smiguel’s corpse. I laid my hand against the dragon’s motionless side, and the heat radiating from him caused me to pull my palm back in alarm.
It would be more difficult than dressing a deer, that was for sure.
I pulled Lucian’s sword out, and I worked on sawing through the beast’s massive head. First, though, I had to remove the lance jutting out from its skull, and it took a lot of muscle power to rip it free.
I pressed my pointer finger to the lance to see how much damage it had sustained, and my mouth nearly hit the ground when I saw the durability.
Durability - 10%
Weight - 15lbs
Quality - Epic
Magical Aspect - None
Magical Ability - Return to hand.
The dragon’s skull was so thick and tough that it had nearly broken my lance, so I’d have to find a way to repair it before I tried to use it again, but I’d worry about that later.
Then I used the hole the spear-like weapon had carved as an opening to start severing the dragon’s head from its body.
I had to climb up onto its back to reach the top of its neck, and I dug Lucian’s sword into the opening and began to saw my way around to the bottom. There was one tough part where I cut through the vertebrae in the neck, but the beast’s head finally toppled off and rolled to the side. Then I went about cutting off some of its talons from the giant claws, wit
hdrew some blood, and lastly I sawed off some large chunks of the dragon’s hide. I couldn’t wait to experiment with the pieces, and I wondered what gear I could make from the remains of the mythical creature. If it was anywhere as potent as the griffon feather, then even a small amount would be priceless.
By the time I had a giant pile of dragon pieces, the girls arrived with the horses and some poles. We used our daggers to peel off the bark from the long, slender trees they’d cut down, and then I lashed them to the horses’ saddles.
“I see,” Mahini said as her eyes widened with understanding. “We can strap the pieces of dragon to the poles, and the horses will drag most of the weight behind them.”
“Yep.” I grinned. “I saw it in an old black-and-white movie, and it seemed simple enough. Looks like it’s going to work.”
“What is a movie?” Mahini tilted her head to the side with an adorable look of confusion.
“Never mind,” I laughed. “Just trust me.”
“Always, Great One,” the desert goddess replied.
Then we began the task of dividing the dragon pieces between the five travois, but I made sure to put the dragon’s head on the pull-behind Goliath dragged. It would be difficult to get out of the canyon again, but I hoped the design held up under the pressure of the climb.
We walked while we pulled the horses by the reins, but Mahini’s mule, Warrior, fared better than the rest. The steady beast of burden seemed unharried by the load he pulled behind him, and he plodded faithfully up the side of the slope.
Goliath wasn’t one to be outdone, though, and he quickened his pace once Warrior pulled ahead of him. The white stallion had served me well during my battle with the dragon, and I was anxious to give him lots of rub downs and carrot treats as a reward.
Once we made it up the slope and over the other side, we began the difficult task of maneuvering down the mountainside. It was tough going down in the dark, but we lit some torches to light our way. It was peaceful on the hillside as the stars began to illuminate the sky, and the forest was quiet.
I was sure the humans wouldn’t be the only ones relieved by the dragon’s recent death. The local cow population was sure to be grateful, as well as the larger animals of the forest.