Glarif slammed his empty mug down on the table. ‘Aye, that’s me done for tonight,’ he said, hiccupping. ‘Time ta away!’ He stood and promptly fell backwards onto the tavern floor.
His companions roared with laughter. Glarif rolled onto his stomach and pried himself up off the floor. Once he had regained his footing, he took several moments to ensure he could walk.
‘I think I got it this time!’ he shouted, raising a fist in celebration. ‘Same time tomorra then boys?’
Shouts of agreement were given, so Glarif turned his back and stumbled towards the doors. It took him several attempts to open them, until he realised there was no handle.
‘I see! All you hafta do is push!’ He leant on the swinging doors and fell through them and, after a tumble and roll, found himself on the ground outside.
‘Seems we got some fancy teleportin’ doors here, eh?’ he said, guffawing. ‘Teleports ya into the ground!’
Once again he dusted himself off and climbed to his feet. As Glarif looked up at the night sky, a gap in the clouds passed over the moon. The sudden light illuminated the village, revealing the silhouette of a creature approaching.
Glarif didn’t notice it at first, but then he began to hear the beating of wings.
‘Ere, a lot of bats out tonight,’ he said, scanning the sky for a sign of them. His eyes fell on the silhouette fast approaching the village. ‘That there is one big bat…’
There was a deafening screech, loud enough to drown out the noise from the tavern behind Glarif. He pivoted on his heels and dove back through the swinging doors. The tavern goers erupted into laughter again.
‘Shut it!’ Glarif roared. ‘Dragon! Dragon! There’s a fuckin’ dragon coming!’
‘You’ve had too much to drink, old fella,’ the barkeep said. ‘You need to go home and sleep it off.’
‘No really! It’s coming towards us now. I thought to meself that the beatin’ was just lots a bats, but there’s a fuckin’ dragon out there!’
‘Now listen here, Glarif, you’re disrupting me customers,’ the barkeep said, his voice taking a stern edge. ‘I’ll believe there’s a dragon coming when I…’
There was a large cracking sound as the roof of the tavern was ripped off, splinters spraying down onto the occupants.
‘…see one.’
The villagers in the tavern scattered. Most of them fled to their homes, either to retrieve weapons or to hide with their families. Several men fled the town altogether, hoping to put as much distance between them and inevitable destruction as possible.
Glarif made his way home, the alcohol wearing off quickly and adrenaline taking hold. He burst through his front doors and ran straight for his bedroom, where he kept his weapons.
‘What’s wrong?’ his wife asked, startled.
He just answered with one word. ‘Dragon.’
She leapt out of bed and hurried to fetch their son.
‘Stay here, hidden, low, unless there’s fire or the dragon is here,’ Glarif warned her before returning his attention to his weaponry.
He picked up his long bow and tested the string. ‘No good,’ he said, tossing it on the bed. ‘Can’t shoot straight with this many beers under me belt.’
He strapped his sword to his side and began to leave. He hesitated, before returning and grabbing his bow and quiver.
‘Maybe someone else could use this.’
When he returned outside, the battle was already raging. The dragon was using hit-and-run tactics to take out a number of its assailants and to avoid arrow fire. Glarif sprinted over towards two archers taking cover behind the wrecked tavern.
‘We got any strategy here?’ Glarif asked.
‘Shoot in its general direction is about all we’ve got so far,’ the short, balding man said. ‘Nobody has even come close to annoying it, let alone hurting it.’
Glarif stroked his auburn beard. ‘Let me think a moment,’ he said. ‘What if we…’
The dragon swooped down again, latching onto a man and lifting him up into the air. The dragon roared and pulled the man’s arms off. He plummeted, screaming all the while, and crashed through a roof, dying on impact.
‘Shit shit shit shit, we need to do somethin’ bout that dragon soon, or we’re dragon chow.’
A traveller ducked around the corner and pressed himself tight up against the wall for cover. ‘So this is where you’re hiding,’ he said. ‘Any of you have a decent shot?’
They gave him a blank stare.
‘Am I speaking a foreign language or something?’ He gestured towards the bow in Glarif’s hand. ‘You got a bow, so do these other clowns. How about you use them?’
‘And how are we supposed to do anything to that damn thing?’ one of the men asked. ‘We’ve been firin’ at it and it hasn’t done shit.’
‘That’s because you didn’t have me directing you,’ the traveller said. ‘Now, gimme that.’
He took Glarif’s bow and a single arrow. ‘Now what we have to do is annoy the fucker. We keep grazing him with arrows and then popping out of sight,’ he explained. ‘Once he gets pissed off, he’ll land and try and sniff us out. That or burn us out, either way.’
‘And we want him to try and kill us because…?’ Glarif asked.
‘Because if he’s on the ground, he’s close enough to stab.’
The traveller popped out from behind his cover and launched the arrow in the direction of the dragon. It struck the creature in the wing and punctured the soft membrane.
‘Well that was a nice accident,’ the traveller laughed. He turned back to the other men. ‘A few more of those and we can ground the beast!’
Now significantly enraged, the dragon began to attack more frequently, giving the men more opportunities to launch a volley of arrows. After several successful attempts, and as many unsuccessful, the creature descended upon them. Its sudden appearance on ground level caused the assailants to freeze in fear, fortunately hidden behind cover.
The dragon, now illuminated by the lights of the village, had an even more imposing figure. It was lean, but the dragon’s strength was obvious. The scales shimmered ruby red on top, slowly melting into obsidian. Its tail flicked from side to side in an almost enchanting fashion. Razor sharp claws tore at the earth with each step.
‘Okay, I’ve got a plan,’ the traveller whispered. ‘But I’m gonna need some rope. Anywhere we can get some, post haste?’
‘There’s some in the tavern,’ Glarif said. ‘I can crawl in and grab it.’
‘Perfect. Stay out of sight.’
Glarif grunted in acknowledgement. As he crawled away, pressed tight to the ground, the traveller turned to his remaining companions. ‘Here’s what we need to do.’
‘You there,’ he whispered. ‘What’s your name?’
‘Bryant.’
‘Right, right. Bryant, I’m Jorgen. You look quick.’
‘Fastest in the village,’ he boasted.
‘And quickest to run away from a fight,’ the other man added.
‘I’ll tear you in half, Arda,’ Bryant growled.
‘Enough, enough,’ Jorgen said. ‘Running away from a fight will come in handy here anyway. I need you to act as a distraction, momentarily. Meanwhile, the rest of you will be holding the rope.’
‘What’s the rope for?’ Bryant asked.
‘Ah, that’s where my dazzling intellect shows itself,’ Jorgen said. ‘I’m going to run out there while the dragon is distracted, slide under its legs and stab it in the underbelly. Then you guys will pull me back as quick as can be.’
‘Is that really the best plan you could come up with?’ Arda asked.
‘Don’t sound too bright,’ Glarif added as he returned.
‘It’s not like we have time to sit down and consider every option, is it?’
‘I guess not,’ Arda admitted.
‘Right. Well, that beast is going to start thrashing wildly once I attack it. If I die, I’m going to haunt you bastards,’ Jorgen said. ‘But by all means, if you have a better idea, do share.’
The others grumbled amongst themselves. Nobody else had a plan, so there was no other alternative. Jorgen began tying the rope around his waist.
Glarif sniffed the air. ‘Do you smell that?’
‘Smell what Glarif, did you wet yourself?’ Arda chuckled.
‘Smells like sulphur…’
The dragon roared as it appeared around the corner. Bryant bolted, heading towards his home. The others ducked around the side of the tavern and fled to a nearby store, hiding behind the walls. Bryant had, fortunately, drawn the complete attention of the dragon; he obviously looked like a tasty snack.
‘Ready?’ Jorgen asked.
Glarif nodded. ‘Aye.’
‘Don’t let me down boys,’ Jorgen said, before sprinting after the dragon.
The dragon heard him coming, and swiped back and forth with its tail. Jorgen ducked the attacks and slid. The rocky ground tore at his clothes and flesh, but Jorgen was completely focused on the task at hand. He gripped the handle of his blade and thrust it upwards, piercing the flesh of the dragon.
Immediately, Jorgen felt himself being pulled. The dragon tried to slash at him with claws and tail, but Jorgen was moving too quickly and the beast was weakening. Dust billowed about as the dragon took flight, screeching in agony. Now safe, Jorgen felt the immense pain catching up to him and screamed. Arda ran over to attend to him, leaving Glarif collapsed on the ground with fatigue.
‘Well that’s that then,’ Glarif said. ‘Time for a beer.’
Hugh woke to the sound of hustle and bustle in the village. He immediately catapulted himself out of bed and ran outside to see what the commotion was. Life in the village was boring for a youngster such as himself, so this morning’s strangely high level of activity had perked his curiosity.
The town was a mess. Wreckage from the tavern roof had been scattered, and there were burn marks on the sides of several buildings and on the ground.
Hugh scratched his head. ‘When did this all happen then?’
He strolled through the village, trying to find out what had happened. He saw the mayor standing atop a wooden box in front of the ruined tavern.
‘Gather round folks, gather round,’ he shouted. ‘That’s it, come in close, yes, yes that includes you too, Kern.’
Hugh ran over to join the assembled crowd of men and women. ‘This should be exciting,’ he whispered to himself.
‘Excellent, excellent. Now everybody listen up,’ the mayor said. ‘I’ve been informed that the dragon has retreated to the cave in the east.’
There were murmurs throughout the crowd, and several sharp cries of surprise and fear.
‘We all know how close that is, so we now need to decide what to do about the situation.’
‘Let’s burn it out!’
‘We should go up there right now and stab it some more!’
‘Call in help from Lusoa and storm the cave!’
‘Just leave it there,’ one man shouted. ‘After all, it didn’t do us no harm.’
He was promptly floored by the man standing next to him, who happened to be in the tavern owner.
‘He wrecked me tavern you dolt,’ the man said. ‘No more beer until that thing is outta here!’
There were loud cries of disappointment from the crowd, but not even the threat of no alcohol was enough to convince them to walk into such peril.
Hugh clapped his hands. ‘Sounds like a job for a hero!’ he said. ‘I’ll go get my shield and my sword and beat the dragon and save the day!’
He ran back to his house and fished through his treasure chest. He found his hero equipment and set them down on his bed.
‘I’d better change into my adventuring clothes too,’ Hugh said to himself.
He quickly dressed, then strapped his wooden sword to his waist.
‘Awesome,’ he said, picking up his shield. ‘Time to go kill a dragon!’
As soon as he stepped outside, Hugh heard a voice call out to him. He turned to find its owner, and saw a young girl run towards him.
‘Huey, where are you going?’ she asked. ‘Tell me pleeeeeease.’
‘Oh, Mimi, you are just in time!’ Hugh said. ‘We hafta go kill a dragon!’
‘Another one already?’ Mimi gasped. ‘Did it take away the princess again?’
‘It sure did,’ Hugh said, beaming. ‘Quickly, get your sword and we can go and battle it!’
They ran over to Mimi’s house to fetch her sword and then headed for the village exit. They were able to slip out unnoticed, as the adults were all busy with the cleanup efforts.
‘Where are we going today, brave Sir Huey?’ Mimi asked.
‘The evil dragon is in the cave,’ Hugh said. ‘Where all the pretty flowers are, Lady Mimi!’
‘Oh no, not my favourite flowers!’
‘Yah-huh, your favourite flowers!’
‘Well,’ Mimi pouted, ‘we’re just gonna hafta teach that nasty dragon a lesson.’
They wandered through the light forestation next to the village, pretending it was evil and haunted. Their destination was less than a mile away, a distance easily travelled when it seemed like an adventure. The two children duelled with each other, taking great care not to injure their companion before the final battle.
After half an hour, they spied the cavern mouth. There was no light emanating from within, creating the perfect hiding spot for their prey.
‘That’s the dragon’s secret lair!’ Hugh said.
‘Shhh, we have to sneak up on it,’ Mimi whispered. ‘Otherwise it might gobble us up!’
‘Yah-huh, that’s right. Quick and quiet we are.’
As they approached, the ground started to shake. The children continued on until the dragon’s scaly head appeared from the dark cave.
Mimi screamed and fled, abandoning her wooden sword. The dragon swept its tail out and captured her, its scales scratching against her clothes and skin.
‘Help me Huey!’ she cried. ‘It hurts, it hurts!’
The dragon glared at Hugh, and began growling. It obviously didn’t see him as a large enough meal, but the wooden sword held fast in Hugh’s hand made it feel threatened.
‘Put her down you ugly dragon!’ Hugh yelled, brandishing his weapon as menacingly as he could. ‘Put her down or I’ll stab you!’
There was a roar as the dragon loosed its fiery breath, incinerating the trees around Hugh. It returned its gaze to the small boy, waiting for him to make a move. The creature was still wounded; every movement caused it great pain.
‘Right, this is it,’ Hugh said under his breath. ‘I’ll charge at it and take it down in one attack.’
He began to count in his head.
One.
Two.
Three!
He began to run straight for the dragon, but a force threw him backwards onto the ground. Hugh rolled over and looked up to see a strange man with a sword.
‘Stay back kid,’ he said. ‘And hold this.’
The stranger tossed his backpack beside Hugh, freeing up some movement. The dragon screeched, feeling significantly more threatened by this new arrival. The stranger widened his footing and fell into a battle stance.
‘Go.’
He dashed left and right, moving faster than Hugh had ever seen someone move before. The stranger attacked the dragon on its left, before launching himself over its back and slashing at the dragon’s tail.
The dragon cried out in pain, releasing Mimi from its grasp. The stranger caught her as she fell and quickly told her to run to where Hugh was sitting. His brief lapse in concentration allowed the dragon to attack. It swiped at the man, who could only attempt to parry the attack. He was thrown backwards from the force, but quickly regained his footing.
‘Not bad,’ he said. ‘Movement’s a bit laboured. Are you hurt, filthy wyrm?’
The creature screamed, as if responding to him. It unfurled its wings, preparing to take flight.
‘You’re too hurt to escape,’ the stranger said, noting the small pool of blood collecting beneath the dragon. ‘I guess your plan is to get some height and try to scorch me then, is that it?’
The dragon screamed once more, rearing back onto its hind legs. The stranger dashed forwards, trying to catch it in this moment of vulnerability. Before the dragon could take off, the stranger had thrust his sword into its underbelly, piercing its heart in the process.
There was one last roar of pain, before the dragon collapsed in a heap. The stranger watched it for a moment, making sure it was dead, before returning to the kids.
‘Come on then,’ he said. ‘Let’s get you two home.’
The man returned to the village to the sound of applause, Mimi and Hugh sitting atop his shoulders. He set them down, and they ran over to their families.
‘How can we ever thank you?’ the mayor asked. ‘You not only defeated the dragon, but you rescued these two young children as well!’
The man shrugged. ‘I’ve fought tougher.’
‘Oh, well, uh, that is marvellous, mister…’
‘Georg. Call me Georg.’
‘Well Georg, is there anything we, the humble villagers of Ridgewood, can offer you?’
Georg paused for a moment. ‘I could use a beer.’
The crowd erupted with cheering.
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