Brothers at Arms. Three mercenaries, two men and a woman, hunt a particular terrifying creature. A tale of bravery and camaraderie.
Dragon Hunt
J.P. Sclafani
Willa held her silver charm in hand and whispered the prayer for deliverance. When she finished, she kissed the charm and tucked it, on it's ancient silver chain, back under her mail and tunic. This had been her nightly bedtime ritual over the last three months of this journey. It brought the warrior solace, believing that this ritual is what kept her safe. It was handed down through generations of dragon hunters.
The mighty dragon, Krull, had been slain, and it's partner, the she-bitch, wounded, driven away. It was the victory they had hoped for, but at what cost? Three friends had been killed, two men and a woman.
(May the Gods have mercy on their warrior souls.)
Sparks from the blazing campfire shot into the cloudy, starless night. Buri sat close-by, sharpening the blades of his weighty, steel battle axe. The scraping of stone on steel was the only sound other than that of the crackling campfire. Buri turned to Dorn the Elder, the leader of the group of seasoned mercenaries.
"Think we'll make the pass by tomorrow night?"
"Ay, with the wind and that threatening snowstorm at our backs," answered Dorn gravely, eyeing the rolling gray clouds above. "And maybe with a wee bit of help from the Gods."
"Hope your right. We'll find out soon enough." Buri said, unraveling his bedroll by the fire. "It will be a blessing to finally get home and paid. If we we're smart, we'd double our fee for all the trouble this hunt has caused us."
"I just want to go home," stated Willa, stretching herself out on her blankets. "No matter what the pay, it won't make up for Jorda, Udor, and Kelee."
"Ay, they were all fine warriors," said Dorn. "Dragon hunting isn't getting any easier. But, true to the day, we all know the risks when we sign on."
" ...And the rewards," added Buri, "a decent hunt like this is equal to years pay working patrol or guard detail. I guess that's why we do it."
Willa thought back to her first hunt. She was not yet twenty, when she had the good fortune to fall in with a excellent company of ex-guardsmen needing a Bowman. They were fierce fighters, especially Balden, their leader, whom she had taken to her bed. Tall and dark, he had a handsome cragginess to him, along with the solid sculptured body of a warrior. Yet he was gentle. It was only fitting that he be her first.
However, their quarry, the dragon named Smite, who terrorized the outlying border towns, proved to be a formidable foe. Towns were scorched, and the very townsfolk that hired them had suffered in the pursuit of that demon. In the final battle, Balden had been killed. Luckily, Willa was finally able to get the killing shot with an arrow to the eye of the beast. It fell from the sky in a downward flaming spiral. She could still feel the stinking heat from the dragons fiery breath on her face as she drifted off to a fitful, uneasy sleep.
"To arms! To arms!" Dorn the Elder's shouts roused their camp. "The she-bitch has returned!"
"Only to taste my steel again!" Cried Buri, instantly on his feet, tossing off his cloak. Axe in hand.
Suddenly, from above, the giant green-scaled dragon with the terrible, glistening red gash on it's side, swooped down from the early, blue morning sky, belching crimson torrids of flame. Willa immediately let a sizable crossbow dart fly. It bounced harmlessly off an armored plate on the beasts chest. The dragon roared in anger, showing rows of sharp, bloodthirsty teeth. Eyeing the warriors with large, glowing red eyes, she poised for attack.
"Killers of Krull! The dragon screeched horribly. "You must die! I shall cook your flesh and gnaw your bones!" Another blast of flames followed, scorching the small, hilly arid ground, which trembled before the three warriors, as the giant creature landed. She reared up on her trunk-size, hind legs, with long savage claws, sharp as daggers, menacingly slicing the smoky, blackened air, inches from Dorn. He reeled back, crashing to one knee, while slashing upward with his jewel encrusted, mighty warriors sword.
"Circle her!" Dorn shouted. Buri raced to the dragon's side, battle axe expertly twirling in his hands. Willa ran to the other side, a new bolt in chamber at the ready. The dragon spewed fire and howled in defiance, violently flapping her enormous wings and swinging her long spiked tail at her attackers.
Buri hurled himself at her flank, but was caught midair by the tip of her spiked armored tail that sent him sprawling. Willa shot the dart that found it's mark in the dragon's already injured side. It howled wretchedly in pain and quickly turned on Willa. As it did, Dorn summoned up all his strength, hopping up and plunging his sword into her monstrous, leathery tail, nailing it to the ground. She reared up again, this time in terrible agony, thrashing about, beating the ground repeatedly with her horrid bat-like wings. Dorn was knocked off his feet in a hailstorm of dirt and stones.
"Dorn!" Willa cried, as the merciless, snarling, beast turned on him. Her red-hot glaring eyes fixed on her attacker, cavernous nostrils flaring. The dragon bared her savage, needle-like teeth, ready to pounce on their ill-fated leader.
Suddenly Buri appeared on a small grassy hilltop a dozen paces away. "You will die- Bitch," he screamed as he hurled himself through the air with such force as to land on the dragons back. Startled, and before it could react, Buri dug his heels in, raised his weighty battle axe high into the smoldering air. Then, in one mighty sweep, he brought it down with such fury that it lopped the huge dragon's head right off. It rolled and landed at Dorn the Elder's feet. It's stunned, malicious, glaring eyes dimming. The giant body shuddered uncontrollably for a moment, then slumped dead to the ground in a heap.
The three warriors stood there in silence. It was over.
Buri scooped up a large leather bag from among his possessions strewn on the ground, and opened it. Eyeing the dozen or so dragon teeth it contained. He reached for his knife. "More souvenirs," he mumbled. "Keep the teeth- burn the head."
Willa smiled. Somehow they had stared death in the face once again, and triumphed. Will they be as lucky the next time? She fumbled the silver charm from beneath her tunic, held it up to the dazzling morning sun and kissed it. Then slung the crossbow over her shoulder, turned and walked slowly away.
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