Chapter Text
The village in front of me is burned down to a pile of ashes.
"The dragon went too far this time. It burned down the entire village. Will you help us?" The village elder begs me, down on his knees.
"Don't worry, as a dragon knight it's my job to hunt and kill dragons that harm humans. We were already paid by the king in advance. You have nothing to worry about." I smile at him to reassure him.
"Thank goodness. We can't thank you enough." He bows once again.
"Please tell me in what direction the dragon flew after it did this?" I try to be patient, but one can never be sure if the dragon might attack again.
"Of course, it went towards the mountains. We aren't sure exactly where it went. Probably Mount Doom." The old man points towards the peaks behind the village.
Of course the dragon had to hide in the mountains.
"Thank you very much. I will be off now. Please stay hidden until the dragon is slain." I give him a warning that he will likely ignore and make my way to the mountain.
Luckily enough I had plenty of training so even my heavy armor isn't much of a hindrance for me. I was also coming prepared for this hike.
I tighten my sword on my back and walk up over steep paths and reach Rocky territory before nightfall.
I camp and look for any signs of a dragon in the area.
Signs like burned bushes, claw marks, carcuccues with marks maybe some excrements.
A few trees have some old claw marks but nothing fresh.
I rest the night and continue my track upwards.
I find relatively fresh marks on the side of a cliff. The dragon certainly is big.
The path up that particular mountain is steep and in bad shape. It's proof that the locals avoid this mountain.
The weather up here is rather unsteady. It will be hard to fight the dragon in this area.
Well, any area is bad, due to their size, strength and durability. They are not easy to defeat.
I should try to find it's nest if I can, if it has one.
The difficult path ends on a small platform.
I scout the area and there is a cave entrance on the other side.
The entrance is too small for a dragon, but I can see a few bite marks on surrounding stones. This is proof that the dragon comes here regularly.
Maybe this will make a good spot for an ambush.
I need to check the cave. I might be able to hide there until it comes back. Or at least make a base for me.
If the dragon is living even higher up this mountain, Imountain, Imountain, I will need to climb.
My thoughts get interrupted by a sudden gust of wind. The weather is changing. I guess I have no other option than to use the cave tonight. It's not that bad.
I hurry and enter the cave. It's bigger than I initially thought.
Outside, the storm starts to rage. At least it's safe now.
I go a bit farther into the cave and noticed that someone smoothed the walls.
Before I can ponder over that I hear steps approaching me.
I turn around and see a rather impressive looking man. He wears strange armor that I have never seen before.
I get into a defensive stance, just in case.
He lifts his hands next to his head. "Hey there, no worries I won't attack you. I was just wondering who my visitor might be." He seems friendly enough.
"So you live here?" It seems rather strange to me.
"I suppose I'm what you'd call a hermit." He seems so nonchalant, despite my full armor.
"A hermit? What's with that armor then?" I eye him with suspicion.
"The mountains can get dangerous. I don't know if you are aware, but this is dragon territory." He explains with a smile.
His explanation makes sense to me.
"In that case have you seen a fire dragon around here?" I continue to question him.
"That's the most common type isn't it?" He surely knows his dragons.
"That's right. I'm looking for one that burned a village down the mountain." I come straight to the point.
"There are no fire dragons in here at least, but mind telling me if you are going to kill them once you find them?" He asks me a question in return.
"I'm a dragon knight so that's my job." I think that's pretty obvious with my armor.
"I thought so. How about some dinner then?" He just nods and moves on.
"I should move on when the dragon isn't here." I can't believe he just invited me to dinner.
"You are free to do so, but it seems the storm will rave until morning at least." He points out the obvious. "So feel free to stay in my humble home." He is generous I suppose.
"Thank you for your hospitality. May I ask for your name?" It would be pretty impolite not to ask at this point.
"Of course. My name is Diavolo, and it's a pleasure to meet you." He offers me a smile and his hand to shake.
I feel a bit reluctant, but I shake his hand anyway. "It's a pleasure."
"Let's go into my kitchen." Diavolo seems friendly, but I can't bring myself to fully trust him.
I still follow him, while being on my guard.
He leads me deeper into the cave, it looks like multiple rooms have been carved out alongside the long corridor. It looks old and it's so much bigger than expected.
One of the rooms is indeed a place for cooking. It has a small hole in the wall, so we don't have to worry about suffocation.
Diavolo has prepared a soup. It smells surprisingly good.
He gives me a bowl and scoops one for himself. He also grabs a bottle and two cups.
"There you go, I got no chairs, but you can sit on the stones over there." Diavolo points to a group of stones that indeed resemble chairs and a table.
"Thank you." I go and sit down. Then I remember the bread I have and decide to share it with Diavolo.
I take it out of my bag and break it in half. "Please take this as thanks for the food."
"Ohh, that is very kind of you." Diavolo takes the bread with a big smile.
The soup is warm and fills my stomach very nicely. "That was very delicious."
"You flatter me. I enjoyed today's meal more than ever. So I should thank you." He seems genuine.
Maybe my distrust is misplaced.
"So now that we are friends, let's drink." Diavolo fills a cup for himself.
"I wouldn't say that, but I'll take a cup." A bit of drink can't harm.
Diavolo fills my cup with a honey colored liquid. "What is this stuff anyway?"
"It's Mead, I made it myself." He seems rather proud of it.
I carefully take a sip. "It's good." Better than expected to be sure.
"That's good." Diavolo takes a big sip.
Slowly I start to relax.