It was a strange place, he thought to himself. The sun high in the sky, scorching everything its rays touched. He had already been walking, what seemed to be forever. But, who really knew in this desert? He could've been going around in circles and he wouldn't even know it. He didn't come prepared for this. He was still dressed in his armor and chain mail. The metal absorbed all the heat of the mid-day sun. Under the armor he was very slowly dehydrating, especially since he hadn't thought of bringing water to the fight. Why would he? He didn't know he was going to end up in a desert.
It didn't occur to him that once he slayed the sharp-toothed dragon that it would some how transport him to this place. The dragon had been threatening his home town for years. Taking people away to devour them later, possibly as a midnight snack. The thing was huge but beautiful. That was its danger. It was the color of the rainbow, beautiful in appearance. Its fire lite the sky as it would approach the town. All the other knights refused to go and kill such a beast. Goodrich was the only one who had the courage to save the town.
Looking back, Goodrich didn't really know what persuaded him to be the one. He was starting to have second thoughts as his squires helped put his armor on. He was a big guy, standing at just under six foot and weighed at least a good 14 stone. The armor would add another four stone to that. He was to go out with no horse, which meant that walking was going to be a pain. “Sir! Its time to go,” the squires shouted as the day slowed drifted into night.
As he was about to leave, the squires brought him the special arrows need for killing the beast. They weren't just made out of the toughest metal known to man, they had the venom of the scorpion saturating them. His people were a very inventive people. They had survived many years trying to kill these beasts. He latched the quiver and bow securely to his armor as he strode out of the keep.
Everything seemed to slow as he approached the dragons home, a cave that extended to the shore (a 3 miles away from Goodrich's location). No one had ever made it out alive from this cave. Would he be the first? He stepped into the cave, forgetting to arm himself with a torch. But, he could tell where to go by the stench in the air. The smell of rotting flesh of all kinds assaulted Goodrich's nose. He had known what the beast ate but wasn't ready himself for the fact that he might end up being the next meal.
He turned a bend in the cave. The beast must have heard him coming. Goodrich could see its eyes, a very vibrant green with gold where it should have been white. He reached for an arrow and his bow. . . .
The mid-day sun was a surprise to him. Wasn't it just dark? And what is this crunching under my feet? He was sweltering underneath his armor. He took his helmet off, hopefully so he could see better. He looked around him. He was in a desert and the crunching beneath his feet were what remained of someones or somethings meals. Human skulls – white and gleaming in the sun smiled up at him in a mocking gaze.
This brought another question to his mind, where was the beast? He knew for sure that he had not gotten his shot off or did he? He walked farther, slowly dehydrating in the mid-day sun. He had no water, he wasn't expecting this.
He heard a noise behind me but he kept walking. “What are you doing, human? You came to kill me but are you man enough to do it? I am but the only one of my kind left...,” a strong voice said behind him.
“What am I to do, Master Dragon?” he said not even turning toward his foe.
“Look at me, human,” was the dragons response.
Goodrich turned towards what he was expecting, a huge beast – but in its place was a creature the size of a miniature scorpion. It was brightly colored, with the big vibrant green eyes with gold around them.
“Human, this is what I look like in the sun. Your species is my only threat. I change to what things around me picture me as. A shape shifter of sorts. I am virtually harmless, unless provoked. The skeletons surrounding you are the remains of those who were going to kill me, and I transported them here, and here they died looking for me. You seem smarter then the rest, Human. I will transport you back to your world if you promise never to come after me again. And, I will promise you that I will never go back to your village.”
Goodrich looked at the tiny being, still trying to comprehend what he was told. He bent down on one leg, reached out to the dragon. “Master dragon, I will promise you. We shall be friends, we shall.”
The dragon looked up into Goodrich's eyes, blinked, and vanished. Before he knew what was happening, Goodrich was lying in his bed, inside the keep. Was it just a dream?
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