The Last of the Dragons-Set 1

178

Later That Night

   The sun had gone down, replaced by the shinning moon with an army of stars dotting the sky. Up ahead, through the trees, I could see small flames, accompanied with the chatter of dozens of people, men and women, boys and girls, young and old. We broke through the tree line into a massive clearing, and were greeted by a massive wall of logs, held together by ropes, thick strings of plants and small pieces of metal, seemingly forged from pieces of armour. Atop the wall, which was about 10 feet high, were men posted with bows, watching over the forest, and up at the sky for any sign of death from above. Wade pulled open a small gate, holding it open for the four of us to pass through. I glanced around at the dozens of people sitting around several small fires outside the multiple tents that had been set up to provide protection from the elements. 

"What happened to the rest?" One man said as he approached us.

"Eaten by dragons. Big female attacked us and killed off several, not long after we encountered a young, foolish buck who took out one more. He followed us for a short while but was put down by the female when the two met. These folks here confirmed that another young female has died to starvation, leaving only thirty-four left. We lost most of our group however, and had to come back to call on more men. I'll have the purple dragons head if it's the last thing I do." Wade replied.

"And who are they?" The man said while gesturing to us.

"Found them alone in the forest. They seemed a bit crazy, talking about the king being killed and the dragons being the hero's that defeated him. I imagine that they just haven't eaten since they got separated from whatever group they came from. Find them a place to sleep and get them some food." Wade ordered.

As Wade walked away, the man motioned for us to follow him, which we did. Before we knew it, we had been given fresh clothing that had been newly washed, as well as food that hadn't tried to kill us before we managed to kill it. 

"Are we just going to stay here?" Bailey asked in a whisper.

"No. We'll sneak away during the night if we can. We just have to come up with something to say to the guards as we leave." I replied.

"Hey! Come join us ladies! We've had a rather long day and could use your company! Preferably Naked!" 

The four of us turned towards one of the fires, to see a group of two or three dozen people, mostly men sat around the fire with little or no clothing on.

"We're going to regret this." Tahli muttered as she started over to the group.

Amy, Bailey and I joined her, and were quickly greeted with the sound and sight of men making sexual comments towards us, along with two women who were laying beside one another in the grass with no clothing on. 

"Hey little one, how 'bout you come on over here and let me have a look at those gorgeous tits of yours!" One man shouted as he reached out to grab Bailey's shoulder.

Tahli stepped forward and pulled her blade on the man before pinning him to the ground and pressing the blade up against his throat.

"She's a kid. Have some respect, or I'll be turning the grass red." She said before standing up and putting her blade away.

Everyone fell silent for a moment, before I noticed Wade off to the side, sitting up against the wall looking up at the sky.

"I'll be back in a moment."

I walked over to Wade and sat down beside him without saying a word, just looking up at the stars.

"I'm sorry about your grandson." I said.

He sighed at my response.

"It's not your fault. All I can do now is kill that dragon. If I can only kill one more, it must be the one that took him from me." Wade replied.

"And what has become of your son since then?" I asked cautiously.

He paused for a moment. He seemed to choke a bit before speaking again.

"He took his own life shortly after. Forced a blade through his chest just outside the gate."

My heart sank slowly. I felt terrible for what the man was going through, but I knew that I couldn't allow them to go after Magar, or any of the few dragons left alive if the species was to survive. I felt a sense of dread come over me as I realized that I had to either kill the man sitting next to me, along with many of his people... or.... I would have to kill a dragon.