Zombies On Fire & Other Short Stories

Kaito's Quest: All Good Things Come To An End

Kaito sighed in silent frustration and slid down. He couldn't wait till he was back in the city. A famous dragon egg hunter who had won the princess' hand in marriage. Heir to the throne. And then he could own and ride normal horses that couldn't argue with him nor talk back.

"Stay here then, but be ready to run if that dragon returns," he growled.

The man tip-toed quietly forward to the portal, still scanning the skies for any sign of the giant, winged creatures return. He had been watching it for several weeks now.

The giant, black dragon typically stayed out for several hours before returning from its hunts. So, he wasn't too worried yet. He should have another couple of hours to search for the eggs and make his escape. Kaito hoped to be long gone before it returned.

The glowing blue portal hummed softly as he walked toward it, but it began to pulse softly at a higher frequency when he passed through the entrance. The sound made him nervous, but he wasn't about to turn back now.

Kaito found himself in a large, dark cave. The glow from the portal behind him reflected eerily on the walls surrounding him. As his eyes adjusted to the low light, he could see where a cave tunnel led upward out of this main hall.

He was worried about getting lost in here before finding any dragon eggs. Kaito knew he needed to hurry because he definitely didn't want to have to come back here a second time.

A glitter of light caught his eye. He looked closer and caught his breath. Piles of gold and silver that the dragon had stolen from his people. Even he didn't find any eggs, he could still fill his backpack with treasure and live like a king for the rest of his life.

Kaito had had enough adventure and traveling for a lifetime. And besides, it had been years since he had seen the princess. She had probably grown old and fat and ugly by now. He wouldn't need to be heir to the throne if he had his own wealth.

He slid his backpack down and emptied the contents on the cave floor. Then began to stuff it full of gold and silver treasure. When it was full, he closed the bag carefully and tried to lift it. But it was too heavy. He could barely get it off the ground, and part of the seam started to pull away. It was an old bag that he had been using for years.

The man emptied about half of it and tried again. But it was still too heavy. So, he angrily pulled out more of the golden goodies. He would definitely be coming back with a better bag for carrying more of these riches out of here.

Kaito stood back up and struggled to get the backpack over his shoulders. He considered pulling out a bit more, just in case he had to make a run for it. But greed spoke louder than prudence and convinced him to keep what he had.

As he turned to leave, he caught sight of something else in a far corner of the cave. His eyes had adjusted better to the darkness, and even though he wasn't a hundred percent sure, the forms he saw looked like eggs.

Kaito stepped forward and almost tripped over a pile of large bones. He had to pick his way through larger and higher piles until he made it back to the corner. He sucked in his breath with delight.

Four large dragon eggs lay before him on a soft pile of grass and leaves. He stepped forward and took just one.

It's all I need to be rich and happy, he thought to himself. No need to be greedy. Leave the rest for the mother. Maybe the dumb, flying lizard won't even notice one is missing. He bounced around in a gleeful dance. Then stepped on a bone and tripped.

Kaito almost dropped the egg but managed to keep his hold on it. He breathed a sigh of relief and quickly made his way to the portal door. When he stepped outside, Kaito had to blink several times for his eyes to adjust again to the light.