Dragons Are Demanding (Book 1)Complete

1.) Living in the valley

O'lan and his wife Thistle found themselves living in a tent in one of the many valleys on the Green mountain ridge. The young couple had had a truly bad run of luck for many years.

They had been married for over five years but had not been able to conceive a child and recently lost the farm land that had been in O'lans family for decades. This was due to their inability to pay the taxes required to the lord.

The land itself was fertile and the crops healthy but it was not enough to pay taxes, keep themselves fed, and pay off the bandits that came calling asking for protection services.

Their land had been confiscated and O'lan and Thistle counted themselves blessed that the entire tax had been covered by the repossesion because had it not they could have been imprisoned and forced to work off the difference.

A few friends lived near by but they agreed that times were already difficult enough. O'lan and Thistle didnt want to impose on families who were nearly on the streets themselves.

With that in mind, the two gathered what they could and headed off to the
Mountains, convinced that they still had plenty of time this summer and fall to prepare for the oncomming winter and inevitable floods that would come in the spring.

O'lan had turned twenty- two in the spring, his hands were considerably rough around his thumbs and the joints in his fingers. His brown hair was chopped of at the shoulders but usually tied back with a string.

Thistle was younger by two years, and although she shared the same brown eyes as her husband her skin was brown from birth not from the sun. Her black hair was loosely braided down her back and the top of her head just barely reached her husband's shoulders, a man of average height.

Thankfully the first two weeks in the valley had been dry, giving the couple time to hunt and gather food. Thistle was especially prepared for life in the valley.

Gathering and trapping small animals was something she had done since childhood since her family had been a tribe of nomads. O'lan who was a fine carpenter and farmer did his best to adapt, finding a new appreciation for his wife.

O'lan could hear the thunder rolling in and worried about their tent holding up against the rain. Thistle, seeing her husband's apprehension began to pack their few items just in case they needed to move to higher ground.

O'lans brow was so often nitted that wrinkles had began to form prematurely. They could either stay and wait out the rain, that might be nothing or make their way up the side of the valley towards to the caves he had seen before. But those caves might have bears in them.

It was a difficult decision, if they waited they could end up losing the rest of their possessions and possibly their lives if the storm caused the valleys river to flood.
but if they moved they could face exhaustion, sickness, and possibly a mauling from a bear while they were defenseless.

Although the Green mountain bears generally grow to a size of a big dog, but they are often vicious and would kill humans.

In the end O'lan decided to stay put. He intended to keep an eye out, if things got bad he would make a decision when the time came. O'lan sat outside the tent beside a fire. Tapping his foot anxiously. The fire fizzled with every rain drop and the evening became dark quickly since the clouds covered the moon.

Because of the dark
and the rain
and the wind,
O'lan did not see the man approaching his dwelling nor did he hear him.