by Pam Lynne
Maydon Fare and Dragon Gold
By Pam Lynne
Copyright 2011 Pam Lynne
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
******
MAYDON FARE AND DRAGON GOLD
By Pam Lynne
A fairy tale for all ages
*********
Table of Contents
An Introduction
Once Upon a Time
Maydon Fare
Dragon
Dray
Happily Ever After
*********
An Introduction
This tale is best begun with an introduction to the characters starting with an old couple named Laydon and Mary Fare who, when all hope of ever having a child faded for them, their daughter Maydon came along. She was the delight of their lives and as fair as a young maiden should be with auburn hair and hazel eyes. Her parents were poor but what they lacked in finance they made up for with their hearts. They surrounded her with love and kindness so she herself became loving and kind. She was trusting for they had never deceived her. She was ever helpful to everyone for she was taught that each needed to take care of the other and this was not restricted just to family but extended to the entire village.
Their part in this story is minor but it is very important for they taught May, as she was most commonly known, her values which compelled her in all her actions throughout her so far uneventful life.
As for May her only fault, if it could be called such, was being naive but that was circumstantial as she was still young and lived in a small village that was growing smaller every year. The Kings Highway lay far away and only a few times a year would anyone take the long journey from home to the nearest city; May was not one of them. What news came to the village from the outside world never really concerned them but they loved to hear tales, May being no exception. The stories she loved best always had adventure and romance; villages that needed saving and maidens that needed rescuing. The heroes were handsome and brave, noble and true, or magical and wise. You knew who the evil ones were because they were ugly and deceitful and were never to be trusted while the monsters were gruesome and frightening and wanted to eat everyone. And May believed that was how the world was. No one lied except the bad people and poor peasants became rich, and fair maidens were always saved – no matter what. I will not go overly much with this introduction as you will find out more about her as the tale unfolds and there is certainly more to her than even she herself realized.
The next character in this tale is Dray, a young farm boy the same age as May but unlike her, was not fair to look upon being tall and gangly. He was not yet considered manly because he had yet to do anything manly (which would soon change). His father was a farmer and he would be a farmer and being a practical fellow was content with that. He had known May all his life and he had loved her his whole life too and if he could have but one wish, it would be for her to love him the same. But he believed she deserved a real man; a brave and handsome man, not a simple farmer. Her friendship was the best he could hope for and he was content. His introduction is simple for that is what he is, a simple farm boy in love with a fair maiden.
The next characters in this tale are a wizard, a prince, and a knight that though presented themselves to be magical, noble, and brave, really weren’t. I tell you this right away as there should be no misconception about their being or intent, both of which are unscrupulous and fraudulent.
The first of this trio and for all intents and purposes the leader of the group, is the wizard Machvell who was really only a leader because the other two were willing to follow. His intelligence comprised of a mind that was devious and quick and his character was absolutely self-serving. His magical abilities were naught but sleight of hand and phony predictions. He was a shrewd swindler who possessed just enough wits to get away with his deceptions – at least long enough to make his escape. His abysmal reputation was known far wide but not far enough to reach the village in this tale.
The next companion is Sir Abscon, a brave knight who was the sole survivor of a brutal battle and who single handed, fought and killed a great Troll. Those who knew him knew better. The only reason he survived the one and only battle he was actually ever in was because being hurt by a mere flesh wound, he hid among some rocks and came out only when the enemy left in victory thinking all were dead. And the great Troll he slew had in actuality tripped over the huddled body of the cowering Knight and fell upon his own sword. No one witnessed what he did (or did not do) but those who knew him well knew the stories of praise were far short of the reality. They let him have a moment of glory and then persuaded him to leave lest they expose him for the coward he was. Of course Abscon himself quickly realized that his new found heroism came with the expectation to perform these feats again so therefore took the most prudent route and left eventually meeting up with the wizard.
The last to join this party was Prince Timor, a true prince, and the most handsome of the group but as you will see not the brightest. He came from a kingdom that remained independent only because no other kingdom wanted the burden of caring for it. Its subjects were of such backgrounds that they either fled or were forced from their original homes and the kingdom itself funded solely by the ill gotten gains of its people. As Prince Timor was the sixth in line for the throne and three of his brothers already assassinated, he dediced he would try his fortune elsewhere rather than compete for that inheritance. It was probably one of the few intelligent decisions he ever made. Of course tying his lot in with the wizard and knight soon offset that but being a follower by nature, it was a good fit for him.
So now we have three unscrupulous fellows and a small out of the way village complete with a fair maiden and young love-struck farm boy and of course, a dragon.
Not too many people believed in dragons for they had never actually seen a dragon and most people are prone to believe only what they see. But there are dragons and in fact there was one less than a day’s ride from the village in this tale, though most of its residents never knew it. To introduce you to this character, it's helpful to know some things about dragons. First and foremost dragons don’t hoard gold, they store it. Think about it, what would a dragon do with gold? Contrary to popular belief dragons don’t care one bit about wealth. They eat gold as well as various other metals. How else could they grow a skin thick as armour? And what better gold to eat than that which has been refined by people with all the rock and dirt removed? They did eat other things such as wild animals and even small trees but rarely ate humans as they were difficult to catch and had a way of ganging up on the predator. I said rarely, for of course everyone has heard that dragons have a special partiality for young maidens and that villages have sacrificed such believing it would stop them from ravaging the rest of them. That part sadly is true but the part of the tale that has not been passed down is that the maidens given up for sacrifice were covered in gold and other precious metals; therefore it was the metal, not the maiden that appealed to the dragon. In reality, for all a dragon cared, the precious metals could be on a couple of sticks. Of course the dragon always took the poor maiden along with the gold not being one to discriminate between the two.
Dragons are also very, very smart. Unlike other animals, they can converse with people and enjoy a good mental challenge as much as a good hunt. The dragon in this story was no exception to these facts but being old, he was not much inclined to adventure and tended to keep a very low profile. He had enough metals to keep him content and the lands wer
e still wild enough to support sufficient game to satisfy his hunger and if he avoided humans, no one bothered him. He couldn’t hide completely though; after all he was as big as a house and could fly! So occasionally hunters or other travelers might spot him but when they told others they were usually laughed at and called delusional thus leaving the spotter to say nothing thereby providing the dragon with much desired privacy.
Now that the introductions are done, we can begin the story.
Once Upon a Time
Once upon a time there was a small village surrounded by wilderness that was growing smaller every year. Not many people came to Woodedge for there was no place to go from there. Travel consisted mostly of villagers going to the larger town of Bluewater, on the other
