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The Treasure
It was cold, it was dark. The rain hit my helmet as if it were made of stones as my feet were in anguish from the torturous climb, but I couldn’t stop. Not now that I was so close. –CRACK! – BOOM! – The lightning storm just kept coming, but the lair was just ahead. “Why dragons must nest so high?” I mumbled to myself flicking a piece of my red long red hair from my exposed face. Though the answer crystal clear; its horde of treasures, centuries old to the newest gold, all of it collected by these beasts. Why must they do it? Obvious; the same reason why we humans do it ourselves; greed, the thought, the compulsion to have more. And this dragon’s greed would be the death of it and through it give to me a new life! My family, a new life.
I was within a hundred feet of the cave’s mouth, another flash, CRACK! BOOM! In its light I see what the fates of the others were before me. Only bones and a scrap metal of once gleaming but now rusted and burnt armor remain. “I must be careful,” I thought to myself.
Quietly I crouched around the cave’s opening; I could hear the beast slumbering inside as each breath hot with its fire blew its way out the cave, slowly I turned my head to look inside. It was vast and dark other than the glow of the dragon’s fire, boiling in its chest, down the distance. In its light, the treasures, the closest and most precious gleamed next to its chest. How much more there was, I couldn’t imagine.
But what was even more valuable was the precious liquid that created its fire. It wouldn’t be enough to just sneak in and take any amount of treasure. The real reason so many people have risked their life was for that fiery liquid. Said to cure disease, give one powers and even become immortal if drunken before it turned to stone. The price of it was invaluable; you could buy a country from its own king with it.
-CLINK!-
I whipped my head around to see the dragon shuffling in its sleep and to settle back down. It would wake soon, there wasn’t much time. Quietly as hiding prey I snuck up the long entrance to its lair, the treasures increasing in amount and value as I came closer. The heat was stifling; the closer I got, the more intense it was. My blood felt like was about boil in my own veins by the time I was within ten feet of the monster.
In the light of its fire I could see its features. I could not tell its true color but the scales were black, shiny and gold in the warm light. It’s head, body and wings were streamline and muscular making the perfect stealth predator. Its claws rounded and sharp like a hawks backed by thick muscular fingers; perfect for ripping and tearing. It had amber colored, crystal like spikes that covered its nose and flowed down it’s spine that seemed to glow with their own light. And its eyes, red and orange and alive like lava- ITS EYES!!!!
The glow in its chest increased as it mightily raised its serpentine neck from off the ground, stood to its full height and outstretched its wings as its size engulfed the cave. It steadily growled till a roar like thunder erupted through the cave; so loud that it shook the ground and I had to cover my ears.
I was dead for sure if I ran; the entrance was large but long and narrow. Its fire would engulf me before I could even get close. I looked for a place to hide to carry out my mission. I had my sword, crafted for the very purpose of slaying these beasts and had many times before. Though a dragon of this stature, it wasn’t a guarantee. But it was my only choice.
It struck the first blow as it let forth its golden death where I was only a moment before. I rolled underneath it, having the advantage in this tight space and slid behind a stone as it unleashed its fury once again. The stone would only hold for one blast before it would be melted into liquid. I moved on quickly as it took in another breath. I dashed underneath it, hiding and staying beneath its belly. Unable to reach me and further enraged it let out another roar as it moved and stomped about. I nimbly maneuvered beneath its belly in this dance of death.
There was only one way to kill a dragon, a fatal blow to the heart. I was where I wanted to be, needed to be but it was rapidly moving and if I missed it would only enrage it further on top of releasing it’s truly boiling blood. I could not stay underneath forever either, as my strength was wearing thin. The dragon started to slow, its moments were less determined and even sluggish. Now was my chance, if not now then I would be sure to die. I charged forward and thrust my sword into the space between the ribs where the heart was. A screech more horrible than anything I had ever heard before would be its last words as it’s heart was pierced. I leapt from underneath, it hitting the ground as it did with a deafening thud that echoed into complete silence.
I laid there breathing heavy, staring at my prize, the glow of its fire still bright. Slowly I stood up, almost in disbelief that this beast, the terror and treasure of the whole country for generations, was now dead at my hands, my sword still in its heart. Slowly I started to laugh and laugh and laugh. I was rich! My family would be saved from slavery finally! We would hold more power than any king or queen with all the wealth and the dragon’s infamous fire; we could bend anyone to our will! We-
-Chirp-
On a pin drop I pulled out my dagger and turned toward the sound to see something; most unexpected. Coming toward me was the last thing I had expected and the reason why the dragon had become so slow. Out of the dark, two large sapphire blue eyes stared out at me and with them a little green scaly body with two blue skinned wings and a spine covered in blue, diamond like spikes. The baby dragon was only hours old at the most and was the size of a large pet cat. It walked up to me, looked up at me from my feet and let out another “Chirp!”
I looked to the now slain mother and back to the baby. Did this baby even know what I’ve done? Does it not know that the now dead dragon was its mother? It looked at me with a look of hungriness and chirped again. It wanted to be fed; fed by me? The thought that this creature could mistake me, who killed its mother out of greed of all this, for its mother, what am I to do?
I’m suppose to kill it of course, it’s my job, what my family hid me away for, that I ran away for. To take on this trade, be the best, destroy the beast, save them...save me. But the innocence in its trust and its acceptance of me as its mother, how could I kill it? It chirped again, clearly growing weak, rapidly at that! What does a new born eat?
I quieted it with a few reassuring words, whether it knew their meaning or not it curled up and waited to be fed, mouth opening like a bird’s. Quickly I looked around to see if the mother had a stash of food or for any pests that could be considered food. But there was nothing. I looked at the mother, using her meat to feed its own young would be, wrong, far too wrong to be an option. But she might have food stored in the neck, like many birds and previous dragons had. I ran over and yanked my sword out of her heart whose blood was beginning to turn into amber, but wealth was no longer my priority now.
I went over and slit the neck in the areas most likely to have a food pouch but nothing. I looked over at the baby who looked worse than just ten minutes before! This couldn’t be a lack of food, not at all. What was it then?! I looked down to the one area I hadn’t dared to cut, the chest where the fiery liquid was kept; still glowing and alive though dimmed. An idea ran through my mind but that would mean giving up the one thing no human had ever gotten before. I could literally have my own country if I wished. But the baby, the baby was more important than anything amount of wealth to me now. The gold here alone would free my family and let them live in luxury for all their life and that was more than I needed.
I walked over to its chest, pulling out an empty water sack lined with dragon scales for this purpose. I kneeled down, brought the dagger to its skin and carefully worked a hole into the slowly fading light. No one had ever taken down a dragon had been able to also take its fiery liquid without the liquid burning them to death as it came out and then hardening right afterwards. I worked quickly and almost had it open with the water sack in place when the fire sack ruptured, the liquid bursting its self all over me!
I closed my eyes and waited for the anguishing pain as it would burn me to death before I would have even moved a muscle. But instead it was cool, cool and warm. I lifted my hand and stared at the shimmering liquid, thicker and stickier than I had thought as it flowed down my hand slowly. But I should be burnt to a crisp by now! I looked at the face of the mother dragon, looking sad now instead of menacing. There have been tales told of dragons not always having been the enemy of man; that they resided in peace and even help each other survive. But somewhere along the line things had changed, the most commonly said theory was that the heart of man changed, becoming corrupted and those dragons still among men became corrupted as well; and so the war began.
The only conclusion I could come to is that the mother and I’s hearts had the same desire, to keep the little baby alive, which would be the only reason why it’s fire had not consumed me. Quickly I gathered the mother’s fire and brought it to the baby, too weak to even lift its head now. I tilted its head back and brought the water sack to its mouth and carefully poured the fire down its throat. After the contents were empty, I laid its head in my lap and let it rest. Slowly as the baby fell asleep its own chest began to glow only with a blue light instead of fiery gold, I feel asleep soon after too weary to even move. We both woke a few hours later, the baby curled up against me with its blue having died down. I sat up as it looked to me with those two big eyes, cute as can be and then leaped up to my face and licked me as a dog would.
“Gah!” I fell back down with the baby on my chest, clearly wanting to play, like a pet dog as well.
I chuckled and said to the baby, “I think you need a name,” and like it understood me it chirped happily in reply. I could tell the baby was a girl but as far as naming a dragon, other than the usual names given by people, I really didn’t know what to call her. The way she acted and played for the next few minutes reminded me more and more of an old pet dog I once had, who we had named Sammy. Sammy, I always liked that name and this little dragon looked quite a bit like she was a Sammy.
“So what do you think of your name being Sammy?” I asked the not quite yet named dragon. She had a look on her face as though she had to think about it, jumped up and gave me a quite happy chirp which I took to be a yes since her blue fire started glowing in her chest.
“Alright then, Sammy is your name.”
I took out a bag and picked through the treasures taking only the most valuable ones that would be easy to carry and would pay for at least 2 years for my family and I to live modestly. Keeping this cave a secret wouldn’t be a problem; it was so high up and I was the first in a hundred years to make the journey to it, so my supply would not run short. I fashioned my backpack into a carrying pack for Sammy that would keep her hidden and comfortable during the long trek home. As I turned to walk out the cave I took one last look at the mother whose body was turning to stone with the golden liquid, still unfrozen. It would be easy to take, tempting too but in doing so I know I would betray the mother’s last hope for her daughter that entrusted to me.
So with the treasures in hand and Sammy on my back; I made my way down the mountain and stopped by a river to wash off the sweat and crusted blood from my armor, clothes and skin. Sammy played in the water, a natural born swimmer while I washed myself up. The dragon’s blood and fire liquid was now hardened into stone and a pain to scrub off. I got off all but a few of the larger drops on my arms and legs which would need either a long soak or time to peel off. At least they would be easy to cover and were a beautiful mix of gold, red and orange rather than the color of a scab.
So after washing up we headed out and made the long trip home, Sammy secret and safe the whole way. I paid the price for my family’s freedom, home and told them I would make sure they would stay safe. At the castle I made the highest ranks after bringing back the prized horn of the dragon and was made the first royal dragon slayer that was the youngest so far and the first to be a woman. Sammy was still safe but ever growing and I would need to make sure I had a place for her when she was too large to keep with me. That and just how to raise a dragon, well, I’m sure I’ll figure it out. But still the real treasure from that day was my now ever present companion, Sammy.