The Guardian

Meet Mr. Twelve horns

The streets seemed empty right now, but considering the many farms, mills, and buildings used to help keep the village running, it couldn't have been completely abandoned. The wide compass in my hand pointed towards the outpost in the center vigorously. By now, it was basically pounding on the glass, making it hard to keep a grip.

Then, it slipped from my hands, and the glass shattered against a rock. Rosslyn punched me in the side of the head, which felt more like a fly running into me, then a punch from a dragon.
"Great job, you broke a gift from an eyeball giant."

Before I could defend myself, the compass began rattling again. I slowly reached for to flip it back right side up. When I did, the red metal needle shot out. It frantically moved around in the air, pointing at the outpost in a panic.
Was the needle sentient? And it could float?

Before I could even question it, the needle darted off towards the outpost.
Yellow quickly grabbed me and flew off after it. If a sentient compass needle tells you to do something, do it.

The village was sad. It felt like a ghost town more than a thriving village. The streets were paved with dustone, or stone of dust, and hardened swamp minerals and rocks. Their seemed to be streetlights, but the fire inside them had all been blown away. In a dark village like this, you'd need all the light you could get, so it seemed weird that they'd be out.

We caught up with the needle, which was waiting outside of a large wooden gate that bordered the village from the outpost. It seemed crusted shut, like it hadn't been used in years, and the entire outpost had been covered or surrounded in dust and cobwebs.

An old gnarly voice spoke, nearly making me jump out of my shoes. The voice echoed throughout the village as if speaking to everyone, and not just us.

"The dragon of 12 horns is but a fallacy. The true threats hide and must be lit aflame to be level with defeat."

A shiver went up my spine as if a ghost walked right through me. Right after the voice finished speaking, a huge cloud of dust popped off from the giant doors. Browning vines slithered off of the hinges as it slowly creaked open, revealing the insides of the walled in outpost.

Behind the door was a large area filled with training equipment, attack dummies, and weapons scattered across the floor. In the very center was a small mansion house that seemed to have a light on in the main room.

Me, Yellow, and Rosslyn slowly walked inside, careful of where we stepped. There must have been a reason that the entire village was empty like it had been abandoned. It made me think back to the Lanta Grove, the Geodian village, and even Eagle Tree village. Ever since Zyloff's rule, and sometimes even before, there's been problems with the people and their village.

Tymir's lava, the rat's taking over, and the Hawks rebelling against the Eagles.
Maybe the same thing was happening here in this mud village. Maybe the Dodecahydra scared them all off. Maybe they were the one attacking the Klumpfs.

We walked closer and closer to the mansion, wading through the fog to get to the eerie light in the mansion. I don't know if it was just me, but I felt my hands get colder and colder the closer I got. We were at the dust covered steps when we heard what sounded like a monster roaring from the inside.

I guess the adrenaline encouraged my bravery because I dashed to the door and opened it without a second thought.

I expected to be met with a huge dragon ready to fry me to a crisp, but instead, I saw something much different.
"Visitors?! You said the land was undiscoverable!"

Standing before me were three people.
One was a blue, scaly, tall man with purple eyes, and what looked to be a crown of 12 horns sticking outward from the top of his head. He had a huge white beard with streaks of green around the edges. He must have been the man who roared... and the Dodecahydra.