Chapter Text
The town's practically a ghost town by the time Marsha arrives.
She checks her map, then the sign at the front. Riverse. Yeah, this is the place. She quietly rolls up the map, and makes her way across the bridge over the river, for which the town had presumably been named.
Riverse was the most northern town in the Foundation Empire, just shy of the arctic–and one that Marsha had never been to before. From what she had heard, it was a bustling town, with many festivals and a welcoming population.
…well, that had been until the dragon had shown up.
Four years ago, it had moved into the abandoned temple at the top of the mountains that cradled the town's northside, and since then, the misfortune it had brought had been plaguing the town ever since.
A massive beast that looked as if it had been carved out of the very stone it had seemed to materialize from. Marsha had heard, from whispered reports at the taverns, that it stood so still that sometimes you never even knew it was there, until it was upon you.
‘The Sentinel of the Mountains’, they called it.
It had gotten to the point that Empress Constantine herself had ordered Marsha to take care of it.
Marsha glances up, surveying the sky. She isn't afraid of the dragon, as much as her fellow knights would probably want to argue. No. If the Empress had sent just her… well, it couldn’t be that big of an issue. Granted, she had never slain a dragon before, but…
She thumbs the sword at her grip as her gaze travels to the peak of the mountain, where the dragon allegedly resides.
Well, she had a job to do. She swore the knight's oath that she would slay this dragon…and she will.
Or she'd die trying.
For now, though, she needed to get directions to where exactly this temple was. She couldn't exactly slay a dragon if she didn't know where it was!
She chuckled to herself, and then walked to the nearest house and knocked on the door.
It was quiet for a minute. Marsha almost debates walking to the next house–until an old woman opens the door, peaking out hesitantly.
Marsha smiles, and straightens up her shoulders, letting the light catch on the Foundation Empire's symbol on her breastplate. “Hello, ma'am–” she starts, and the woman gasps with relief, throwing the door open.
“A knight!” she exclaims, and there's a few excited voices in the background. Marsha's smile slips into something more genuine.
She loves this part of the job–not the adoration or recognition, but the ability to help people. To bring them hope. Clearly, this woman needed to see her here.
“Oh, thank goodness you're here! The Sentinel's been plaguing us for years, somebody needs to take care of that dastardly thing.” She opens the door wider, gesturing for Marsha to enter. “Come in! Come in! I'll make a pot of tea.”
Marsha nods, and steps through the doorway. The house is humble, but lived in, and two kids poke their heads in from a room off to the side. She waves at them, and the girl's mouth drops open while the boy stares at her sword with awe.
…the recognition is pretty great, too. She won't lie.
“The tea isn't needed, ma'am.” Marsha says, focusing her attention back on the job at hand. The woman doesn't pay her any mind, and sets the kettle right on the stove.
“No, no. You are here to take care of our dragon problem.” She turns her head, and looks Marsha in the eyes. “Tea is the least I can do.”
…well, Marsha's been traveling for about a month now. Tea does sound nice.
“Is there a stable in town where I can put my horse?” Marsha asks, sitting at the table when the woman motions for it. Poor Freya had been tied to a tree just out of town…and the sooner Marsha retrieved her, the less of a chance the dragon made off with a tasty horse snack.
The woman nods. “Oh, yes. Jack runs the inn and the stables in town--he'll have room, and he'll give it to you for free.”
Marsha shakes her head. “That won't be necessary. I'm just doing my job, same as everyone else.” She doesn't want any special treatment, and it looks like the woman is about to argue… so she quickly changes the subject.
She can debate this with this ‘Jack’ fellow later.
“The dragon–have you seen it?” The more of a description Marsha can get, and the better she separates the real dragon from tavern talk, the better she can be prepared to kill it. “Oh, and…if you could provide a route up the temple, that would be lovely.” She pulls the map out, alongside a stick of charcoal for the woman to use.
The woman shudders as she takes the charcoal, and examines the map. “I've seen it once. And once was enough!” She shakes her head, drawing a careful route along the mountain's pass. “It was big–larger than a house, and looked as if it was a statue come to life, with how it's scaled looked like stone. Its teeth were as large as your sword, there.”
She motions to Marsha's blade with a jerk of her head, and Marsha glances down at it in reflex.
So the dragon was large… but certainly not as big as the stories said. Marsha bites her lip. She's gonna need a plan, though, even if it's smaller than what tavern gossip had decreed. She's going to take it on with nothing but her sword and shield, after all…
“Did it attack you?” Marsha surveys the woman in front of her, looking for any obvious burn marks, and the woman shakes her head. “No, it just…flew right off.” She shivers again as she finishes up the route to the temple. “It doesn't really attack the town…but the misfortune it brings is enough to want it gone.”
She passes the map back to Marsha, who traces the trail with her eyes. The woman taps the parchment. “It'll take a full day to get up there and back.” she says, frowning. “Be careful. If the Sentinel doesn't kill you…the cold will.”
Marsha smiles, nods, and the kettle for the tea goes off.
***
Jack turns out to be a pleasant old man who, like the woman said, immediately tries to make Marsha's room and Freya's stable free of charge.
“You're a knight, coming to slay the Sentinel.” he says, pushing back the pile of sharpdonties. “I can't take this from you.”
“You've had bad harvests, and no one travels up here,” Marsha replies, and pushes the coins back towards him, then takes a step back. She gives her best smile. “You need this more than me.”
Marsha's stubborn as a mule, so after even more back and forth…well, the money was firmly in Jack's hands.
And right as she steps outside, to fetch her horse…
The beating of wings.
She cranes her head up immediately, searching the sky. It's the only thing she can hear…beyond the blood in her ears.
“The Sentinel!” somebody shrieks, and that kicks her into gear. She unsheathes her sword, and rushes out into the street.
The woman's description was right–it is massive, larger than the houses along the street. Its wings black out the sun, a fast-approaching shadow.
It's predominantly grey, with armoured, dark blue-grey scales covering its belly. It has spikes running down its black, an inky black-purple that stands out.
Well. Found the dragon, she thinks, right as it swoops down. It doesn't land, though–just tilts its head…and seems to look right at Marsha with an oddly intelligent, pale silver eye.
And then…as quick as it showed up…
With a powerful downstroke of its wings, it disappears back into the cloud layer.
Marsha shields her eyes from the oncoming gust of dirt-filled wind with her shield, and turns around to scan the horizon.
It's gone.
There's no sign of it coming back.
She drops the shield, sheathes the sword, then turns back to the innkeeper, smiling.
“Well, you certainly do have a dragon problem!”
***
A dragon that shows up out of nowhere, doesn't attack the town, and…
It's the following morning after that whole…incident, and Marsha just can't seem to get rid of the memory of the way the dragon had stared at her, with that silver eye.
Like it was assessing her.
She sighs, setting Freya's water bucket down. The mare eagerly shoves her head in, and Marsha idly pats her neck as she drinks.
She…isn't quite sure how she feels about this, honestly. But she has a job to do.
She steps out of Freya’s stall, and slips her gauntlets back on.
She will slay this dragon.