A Rose Amongst the Dragons, page 13
part #1 of A Rose Amongst the Dragons Series
Two of the men built a fire and started preparing food. The king had supplied them with beans and breads. As the men rested, Flance approached the cook. He said in a voice loud enough for the men to hear, “I brought a wild boar on my cart. I would like to donate it to tonight’s meal.”
The men cheered for Flance. Thelton didn’t look up. He had already seen that the men were planning on camping there for the night. Beddings were being prepared and a few rough tents were being constructed.
“The fools,” Thelton grumbled to himself, “they haven’t even made it to the forest yet.” He laid back on his pack and closed his eyes. He badly wanted to ditch the men, but they had something that he did not. They have the location of the dragon nest. Until he knew where it was, he was stuck with them.
Flance stared at Thelton and smiled. Things were working out well. Thelton was alienating himself. It wouldn’t be long until the men quit following him. Meanwhile, with his food offering, Flance was winning over the men’s approval. When the time was right, he would take the lead.
When the men’s bellies were full and the camp was set, the music began. One man brought a flute and another brought a banjo. The men joined in song and made the night merry. Everyone seemed to be having a good time except Thelton. He kept his eyes closed and stewed in his anger.
Before the first light of morning appeared, Thelton was on his feet. “Men, as your leader, I give you an hour to be ready to go.”
The men grumbled and moaned. Many had stayed up most of the night singing and telling stories. They were tired and not ready to move. No one argued, in a way they were glad to finally see Thelton lead. They groggily packed their things and most were readied themselves for the journey. When Thelton felt that an hour had passed, he began toward the Vegus Forest. Those who weren’t ready were forced to grab their things and catch up.
By mid morning, they reached the forests edge.
“The carts stay here.” Thelton said.
The men started complaining. No one was ready to leave their supplies behind. They couldn’t understand why Thelton wasn’t letting them use wagons.
In response to their complaining, Thelton said. “You don’t have to leave your supplies. Everyone will carry in what they need. Look at me; I have all that I need on me.”
Flance stood in front of Thelton.
“Men, it seems that our leader has some hard orders to follow. I have slain many of dragons, and I always bring my wagon. You must trust me, I am as good as Thelton, and I know the way. It is ok to bring your supplies with you. Does Thelton expect us to freeze and starve in the forest? We are still four days away from the queen’s nest. We will need all of our supplies.”
Flance turned to Thelton, “Don’t worry Thelton, I know what you think. I will not let our things scare away the dragon. When we are two kilometers away, we will leave the carts. It will work out.”
The men liked Flance’s leadership and decided to follow his words. Thelton picked a twig off the ground and put it between his teeth. He chewed on it in anger as he turned his back to the men. In the end, it wouldn’t matter. Thelton would rid himself of them.
“Is it really four days away from the queen?” Freelone asked.
Flance jumped at the chance to share information. “It depends how hard we push ourselves. We have four to five days. Young man, I am not in a hurry. The queen is not going anywhere. If the men need to take it in five, then we will.”
Freelone shivered, as brave as he tried to be, the Vegus Forest scared him. In fact, it terrified most of the men. Five days seemed like a long time to spend in it. And then, they would have to do it all again on their way out.
“How far do you plan to get today?” Freelone questioned.
Flance replied, and immediately regretted the information he shared. “We will make it to Firelake tonight.”
That was all that Thelton needed, he had the direction for the day’s travels. He might not know the rest of the trip, but at least he controlled the day.
“Come men, stop stalling,” Thelton said as he entered the Forest.
The men filed behind Thelton, Flance bit his tongue, he was still angry that he had lost his momentary lead. He had given Thelton control. He would make sure that he never did that again.
That day, Thelton pushed the men hard. Going fast meant nothing to him, for his body was healthy and strong. He carried very light supplies, while the men tried to pull their wagons through some hard terrain and thick trees. Thelton was in excellent condition where many of them were sluggish and slow, their bodies not used to so much walking. He had no sympathy for their limitation. They shouldn’t have volunteered for the hunt if they couldn’t handle a little exertion.
By afternoon, the men were starving. Once again Freelone reached out for Thelton. This time, he decided to tap his shoulder instead of grabbing it.
“Thelton, the men are hungry.” Although Thelton wanted to fight, he resolved against it. He stopped and looked over the men, they looked exhausted. He decided to hold to his lead for the time, “Eat,” he commanded. The men joyfully dropped their things because their backs ached and their legs felt like rubber. It would feel nice to take a break.
The cook brought out the food from the night before. The men ravenously dove in. Thelton refused the offer of food. He ate his bread. While the men ate and rested, they heard some noise in the distance, there was a rustling of leaves. The men grew quiet while their flesh prickled. They were in the Vegus Forest; the noise could belong to any devilish creature. A few men stood on their feet and drew out their swords. Thelton was the only one that didn’t seem to notice. He kept eating his bread. The men were dead silent, as the sound came closer and louder.
All hearts seemed to stop as the noise was about to emerge, the men gripped the swords, ready for anything. Out of the bush the mysterious figures appeared. Four farmers from Andleburg stepped out from behind the bush, and they were startled to see such a large group before them. The farmers grabbed at their swords, fearing for the worst.
The two groups stood in silence for a few minutes sizing each other up.
“Parcin!” One of the king’s men called out to the four. He jumped to his feet and ran to the tallest of the men.
“Edward,” Parcin replied. They slapped each other on the back. The tension began to dissipate.
“What an impressive group of men you travel with, dear Edward. Have you found the queen?” The farmers had not heard about the discovery of the queen. After a disappointing pursuit, they were returning to their homes.
Edward’s face erupted in a huge smile. He was proud of his mission. “Indeed she has been found. We are on the king’s errand to slay her and her entire nest.”
“You,” Parcin replied, “the king picked you?” Parcin began to laugh, the idea of Edward being picked by the king as a hunter seemed so unorthodox.
“He picked all of us.” Edward waved to the men. Since they were no longer a threat, the king’s men had stopped paying attention to the farmers and had returned to eating.
“Wow, your food smells good,” one of Parcin’s men said.
“This is Twine, and the other two are Gerrold, and Timothy. We have been searching for the queen’s nest. It is grand to hear that it has been found. Won’t it be something when there are no longer dragon’s in the land?”
“I delight in the day,” Edward replied. He looked at Twine who was licking his lips to the aroma of their meal.
“Come men, we are all in service of the king. Come get a bite to eat.” Edward offered.
Parcin’s men joined the ranks and filled their bellies. They shared their tales of the time they had spent looking for the queen’s nest. It had been a dangerous journey for them. On the previous day they had lost two of their companions to the Razor Spider.
“Are you for real?” Edward questioned Parcin with amazement and fear. “The Razor Spider took two of your men? I thought that the spider was a tale mother’s spun to get their kids asleep at night.”
All four men’s eyes widened with fear. “The spider is real,” Timothy said as he shook. “Everything about it is real. The spider digs a huge hole and covers it with branches and leaves. Jack was ahead of us and fell straight through the covering. The hole was about two meters deep and full of sticky web. As Jack screamed, the spider appeared from below. Its legs were covered in razors that shot out at Jack and pierced his skin. Jack didn’t die, but he became flaccid and whimpered in pain.” Timothy bowed his head to gain his emotions, remembering the experience was hard to relate without getting choked up. When he had steadied his voice, he proceeded with their tale.
“He was paralyzed; unable to move a muscle, yet he could still feel the pain as the venom burned in his body. Staton was the other man with us. He wasn’t about to let the spider take Jack. He jumped into the hole with his sword drawn. He flew toward the spider, but it was of no use. The spider had filled him with razors before he reached it.
“Then the spider crawled on top of Jack and began eating him alive. I can still hear his screaming. We yelled at the spider, but that didn’t do anything. The spider looked up at us and began launching more razors our way. We were far enough from him to avoid getting hit. We knew that there was nothing that we could do. Our friends were lost to us.”
The other farmers tried to listen without letting their emotions betray them. Their hearts hurt for their comrades, but they still wanted to appear brave.
Edward put his hand on Parcin’s shoulder. “I am sorry.”
“Hey, Parcin, I know that you are a fine warrior, better than me. Why don’t you join us and help us take out the queen?”
Parcin looked to his men, they all quickly agreed. They would love to be part of something so big. In some way, taking out the queen would help avenge the death of their two dead friends.
Thelton listened to Edward with his friends. Again he was angered, four more men to join the circus. Thelton let the men rest for two hours then he could take it no more. His anxiety rose and he jumped to his feet.
“Men, you are wasting my time. Just look at you. We are supposed to be clearing the land of dragons and you sit here and wallow in your fat bellies and gluttonous ways. There will be no more stops until we get to Firelake. You have one minute to get your gear in order.”
The men began getting ready to leave. Most of them prepared their things and tied them down to the wagon. While their minds were focused on their tasks, a loud roaring penetrated the perimeter, with it came a horrible pressure, the pressure intensified as it manifested behind everyone’s eardrums, making their drums feel like they were going to explode. Everyone stopped what they were doing as their hands shot to their ears and they tried to find protection from the internal squeezing.
With the pressure came intense winds, articles that hadn’t been tied down were lifted into the air. Dirt, pebbles, and loose leaves were caught in the blast as it darted into men’s eyes and slapped against their skin. The loud rumbling continued and so did the pressure, and then everything instantly ceased. Silence hung over the area.
A loud zip broke the silence as it echoed off the trees. In the middle of the bivouac, a whirlwind had formed as it spun in one place. Bringing great shock to the men, the whirlwind shot out at Twine and sucked him into its belly. Parcin screamed, not ready to lose another man. He charged at the whirlwind and was also sucked into its powerful force.
The rest of the men stood staring at the wind, stunned they watched Twine and Parcin being spun around unmercifully. Zip, zip, zip, again the zipping nose appeared this time bringing three new whirlwinds. The winds charged at Freelone, Calvin, and Royster and gobbled them up where they spun them violently around.
Trevor turned to Thelton, “What is going on? You know this forest better than any man, what is happening?”
Thelton’s coloring had drained. He was showing signs of fear. While looking up into the canopy, he replied, “I have an idea as to what it might be.”
Zip, another whirlwind appeared, sucking up a new victim. Thelton kept looking up in the trees. Meanwhile, Sterling was incredibly afraid, he had always scared really easy, and he was terrified of the winds. They didn’t seem to be letting up, in fact, new ones kept appearing. Sterling ran behind the men and ducked under the wagon, hoping that its sturdy frame was enough to keep him from being sucked up in one of the whirlwinds.
Trevor waited for Thelton to respond, but he didn’t, that angered Trevor. If their leader had an idea as to what was going on, then he should be sharing it with the rest of the men. He looked over to Thelton who still had his sights up in the trees.
He put his face straight into Thelton’s and yelled, “What is going on?”
Thelton’s voice responded in annoyance, “Don’t you talk to me like that, boy. I am not causing this. Harness in your anger.”
Trevor tensed his voice, “I am the First Advisor to the king. You will not call me boy, and you will show me honor and respect!”
Still without looking at Trevor, Thelton answered. “It is a gyroid. They control wind and love causing destruction. The best way to catch them is to…” Zip, Thelton was sucked up into a wind.
Trevor gaped around, noticing that most of the men had been sucked up into whirlwinds. He glanced up to the top of the trees where Thelton had been looking. After adjusting his eyes, he saw it, the cause of the winds, it was the gyroid.
At the top of the tree sat a small little man about 0.6 meters tall who was laughing and laughing. The gyroid was dressed in very elegant clothes with thick velvet edged in purple sequins, tuffs of material dangled up and down the sides of his chest, his trousers were hunter green, and he wore black gloves and a black top hat. His face was squished pushing his features close together. He had wild red hair that billowed around his head and down to his shoulders. On his feet were giant black boots. The little man was in hysterics as he watched the chaos of his actions.
“There he is, charge,” Trevor commanded the men. The rest of the men quickly responded as they made their way to the tree that the gyroid sat in. Zip, zip, zip, the last of the men became consumed in new whirlwinds, even Trevor. Sterling laid safely under the wagon, his presence unknown to the gyroid.
Tears poured down Sterling’s face, out of his blue eyes as he watched his father black out in one of the winds. Sterling noticed most of the men had passed out.
“If the gyroid doesn’t stop, all the men will die,” he thought to himself.
A sickening thought hit Sterling, “I am it; I am all that is left to save the men. Do I really have the bravery to do it? I have an advantage, for as far as I know, the thing doesn’t know I am here.” He ran his fingers through his very short hair. The wagon was at the gyroid’s back, because of that, Sterling could sneak out from under the wagon, climb the tree, and kill the gyroid. He could, except that he wasn’t brave enough. Each time he would build up courage to move, he would talk himself out of it. He just couldn’t find his valor.
Sterling closed his blue eyes for a minute, when he opened them he looked at his dad. His dad looked green as he whirled around and around.
“If I don’t act now, father will die. I will never live with myself if I cower while father dies.” He slowly crawled out from behind the wagon. It was the hardest thing he ever did. He had to force himself to move because he was so scared. Quietly, he tried to make his way to the tree that the gyroid was in. Just as he came beneath it, he tripped and crashed into a pile of trees which created a loud noise.
Sterling froze. The gyroid sat at the top of the tree and continued to laugh, for he had not heard the noises Sterling made above his own laughter and the rushing of the whirlwinds. When Sterling was sure that he was still hidden to the gyroid, he began to climb the tree.
He arrived at the top, where the gyroid sat, and he quietly crawled out to the strange creature. Reaching forward, Sterling grabbed a handful of the little man’s hair. With all his might, he pulled the gyroid off his branch, flinging him down and causing him to dangle above the forest floor with the only thing stopping him from falling was Sterling’s grip on his hair. The gyroid tried to look behind him to see who was holding him, as he swung his head around his face was met with a fist. Sterling slammed another and then another fist into the gyroid’s face. Blood began dripping down the newly created lacerations. The gyroid finally got his face close enough to Sterling’s arm, and he took a bite before his face was met with yet another blow. The gyroid could feel himself began to black out. Before Sterling threw another punch, the gyroid raised up a mighty wind which knocked the two out of the tree. Just centimeters before the gyroid hit the ground, the wind picked him up and carried him away. Sterling’s back and head met the hard forest’s floor first, causing Sterling to momentarily lose consciousness.
All the whirlwinds stopped and every man dropped to the ground.
When Sterling awoke, he quickly sat up and looked around for his father, he found him next to a pile of boulders, still unconscious. Sterling ran to his side and shook him back and forth, trying to revise him. Flance moaned. His son ran over to the wagon and grabbed a water canteen off the back then brought it back to his father where he dumped it on his face. Flance began coughing and coughing. His body rolled into a ball. He opened his eyes, and then closed them. His boy poured a little more water. Flance opened and closed his eyes again.
“Wake up Father, wake up, are you all right?”
Flance finally opened his eyes. Everything was blurry. He coughed again and again. Sitting up, he reached forward and held tight to Sterling, he wasn’t much of an affectionate father, but he felt that he needed to grasp something.
It took the rest of the day for all of the men to wake up and regain consciousness. They all had splitting headaches along with several broken legs, arms, and ribs: every man was very sore. Luckily, the king had sent with them a doctor who mended their wounds, including his own.
