by Logan Jacobs
“How do you know this?” Eva questioned with wide gray eyes.
“I know all things, remember?” I grinned. “We have to hurry, we don’t have a lot of time, but don’t worry, time is on our side.”
“Such an odd thing to say,” Mahini chuckled, and some of the tension eased from her shoulders.
The fear in the eyes of my followers burned away into courage, so I clicked my tongue to Goliath to urge him into a brisk pace, but I pulled him into the underbrush before the curve where the horde of people flooded the road.
We had to go a little slower due to the trees and the forest growth, but I knew we would still save a shitload of time by going this route. We emerged from the tree line a short while later, and a field stretched between us and the city walls. The gate laid to the right of us, and only a few people were scattered throughout the grass before us.
“Let’s go,” I said before I urged Goliath into a gallop, and I easily dodged the stragglers emerging from Vallenwood’s entrance. The rest of my crew followed behind me, and they managed to keep up with my fast pace across the landscape. We bypassed the horde of bodies pressing down the road, and the alternative route cut a good deal of time off, so I was pleased.
We had to pull up to a halt closer to the entrance, though, since the crowd rushed out from the gates in a thick impassable mass. I urged Goliath forward slowly, and eventually the people began to part before me just enough to let me through.
“Hey, you there!” a voice called at my back, and I recognized it as the guard I’d spoken with during my previous attempt. “Don’t go in there! There’s a dragon on the loose!”
I ignored him and pressed on. I’d gotten all the information from him that I was going to get, and he was right, there was a dragon on the loose.
Directly inside the gate, the street curved around into a wagon wheel pattern, but I knew from my time spent studying the map of Vallenwood that the palace laid to the right, and the military headquarters was situated to the left of the entrance.
I made a new savepoint right then and there since I knew it would be easy to get lost or lose my life during a clash with the dragon inside the maze-like streets of Vallenwood.
“What do we do now, Bash?” Elissa asked in a worried tone.
“Head to the palace,” I directed, and I reached into my pack for the map of the city. “Make sure the king is safe. Take this so you don’t get lost. The streets are winding and circular, so it will be easy to take a wrong turn.”
“How will you navigate?” Mahini asked as her brow furrowed in concern.
“I memorized the map already,” I informed her in a reassuring tone. “Get any civilians you see off the street, and if you can, direct them up to the palace. Hopefully, they will be safe there.”
“Be safe, Great One,” Eva said, and her steely-gray eyes betrayed her worry.
“We will see you soon,” my wife added with a nod. Then she lifted her chin and put on a brave face, and my heart swelled with pride at the woman she’d become in such a short period of time. “Kick his ass for me.”
“I will protect these two,” Mahini vowed as a smirk tugged on her lips. “And keep them out of trouble.”
“What about us?” Riondale asked, and the other guardsmen pulled their horses closer and gave me anxious looks.
“I want you guys to touch base with the city’s defenders,” I commanded. “See what tools we have at our disposal, and then work with them to battle the fires.”
“Yes, sir,” the men all said simultaneously, and then my party split up into three groups.
The women rode toward the right in the direction of the palace while the guards headed to the left toward the military headquarters. I went straight, and I made a beeline for the dragon’s location.
I was able to track the beast’s movements through the sky by watching his tail swerve in and out of the clouds. The reptilian appendage twisted in the opposite direction the creature moved in, so it was a simple enough matter to figure out its trajectory. I had the urge to dismount and use my griffon feather boots to get me through the city swiftly, but I reminded myself this was my first attempt, and I had limitless restarts I could use, so I decided to take my time and gather information.
The dragon would always fly in the same direction, but I wondered if I could get him to land. It had been easier to damage him when he’d landed on Kane’s tower back in Bullard, and flashbacks of that day went through my mind’s eye.
The spear had remained lodged in the beast’s eye when he’d flown off, so I no longer had access to the True Aim weapon, but I could find other spears and throw them just as hard. It was a shame the spear had been lost during my last encounter with the dragon, though, and I wondered if it was still stuck in the creature’s amber eye.
At least I had my obsidian bow now, so my chances were higher than they would have been without it, but I would miss the magical spear I’d used before.
I was directly below the dragon at this point, and I slowed my horse down to see what the great Smiguel would do next. His crimson scales were illuminated in the light of the flames, and he roared out in defiance before he poured a river of molten hot fire onto the city below.
The thatched roofs of the buildings were quickly engulfed by the blaze, and I could feel the heat radiating from the fire from two blocks away. Then a scream of pain pierced the air, and a woman ran out of a burning building with her clothes smoldering and smoking.
She ran wildly into the street, so I urged Goliath forward with a touch of my heels to his flanks, and then I held out the palms of my hands while I said the word of power for ice.
“Chs!” I cried out with all my might, and jets of ice shot from my hands toward the burning woman. She collapsed to the cobblestone street, and she rolled around to aid in diminishing the flames.
I bathed her in icicles until the flames were doused, and the ice began to melt into liquid. Then the woman let out a sigh of relief and rolled onto her back. Her brunette hair was stuck to her sweaty face, and she had red welts on her exposed arms where part of her now charred dress had burned away, but her wounds did not look life threatening.
“Thank you so much,” she rasped in an earnest voice, “whoever you are…”
“My name is Sebastian,” I informed her in a comforting tone, “and I am the God of Time. Can you get to the palace, or do you need help?”
“I-I think so,” she said, and she gingerly tested her scorched limbs. “I seem to just be tender. You saved my life, how can I ever repay you?”
“By getting to safety in the palace,” I answered with a soft smile. “I can get a guard to help you if you want?”
“No, no, I can walk.” The woman pushed herself to her feet and brushed the ashes from her soot-stained dress. “I’m fine, thanks to you.”
“Very well.” I nodded once I could see for myself that she would be okay. “I’m going to see what I can do about that stinky sky rat.”
“Y-Y-You’re going to f-fight the d-dragon?” the woman gasped, and her hands shot to her mouth.
“What else would a god do in this situation?” I shrugged my shoulders, and I shot her a wink. “Don’t worry, I’ve battled this dragon before.”
“How do you know it’s the same one?” she asked in a shrewd tone.
“Same color, same power.” I wiggled my eyebrows playfully. “I just have a sense for these things, I suppose.”
“Hmph.” The woman pushed her hair away from her face and eyed me closely. “Must just be a god thing.”
“Must be,” I laughed, and then I inclined my head to her. “Get to the palace as soon as you can. This could get messy.”
“Yes, your greatness,” she murmured, and then she limped a little as she walked down the street.
If she hadn’t insisted she was capable, I would have gotten her a ride to the palace, but she seemed stubborn, and I didn’t have time to waste on one person when I had an entire city to save.
I made a new savepoint so
I wouldn’t have to save her life again, but I couldn’t help but wonder how many people had succumbed to the fires already. I couldn’t think about that, though, not when I needed to keep my game face on.
The dragon was wreaking havoc on the city, and it was up to me to stop it.
I managed to locate the beast once more up in the sky, and I galloped through the winding streets to catch up to it. Goliath followed my lead like we were one creature, and I barely had to touch the reins. Instead, I directed him with the pressure of my legs against his side, and my mental intention guided us through the maze-like pathways. We were one entity, and we moved at speeds I didn’t think the horse was capable of in this landscape, but it was exhilarating to experience.
“Over here, you scaly monster!” I yelled up to the sky to get the dragon’s attention.
Who dares address me? a voice said in my mind, but I knew it belonged to the scaled beast flying through the sky above me.
“Remember me?” I asked as I shook my fist into the air. “Last time we met, I took out your eye!”
The dragon swooped into view and did a spiral in the air above me, but it didn’t move to land. Its flight path was sporadic, and it faltered as it bobbed in the air.
That’s when it got close enough for me to see it had one giant amber eye snapped shut. It was indeed the same dragon I’d fought before in Bullard, and the spear was nowhere to be seen. I still held onto the hope of recovering the awesome weapon, but it wouldn’t happen today.
You were the one who hurt me! The dragon roared with rage, and fire poured out from its maw like a waterfall of lava.
Goliath scurried backward away from the blaze, but he skidded across the cobblestones, and it slowed him down. His hooves caught in the fire, and he neighed frantically as he tried to stomp out the flames.
I pulled on the reins and tried to regain control of my steed, but he was out of his mind with pain and terror.
It was a mistake to ride the horse into battle since I cared so much about his well-being. In my eyes, he was another member of my crew, and he was worthy of my protection, so I reset to my savepoint to try a different tactic.
Chime.
This time, I dismounted and grabbed my weapons from my saddlebags before I trotted to catch up to the woman I’d just saved. Then I handed her Goliath’s reins and asked her to ride him to the palace.
“You’ll get there faster,” I urged, “plus, I’ll know my horse is safe.”
“Of course, he will be safe with me. Thank you for the ride.” She gave me a grateful smile and willingly took the stallion away with her.
It was slower going to maneuver the streets without my horse, but I was still hesitant to use my boots’ speed ability. I only had two griffon feathers left, and I wanted them to last, so I didn’t want to wear down the durability any more than I needed to.
By the time I reached the spot where I’d taunted the dragon before, the beast was flying even further out of sight behind the palace toward the mountain, but it was still raining fire down upon the city every so often. I had to keep the asshole creature away from the civilians, though, so I yelled up into the sky in my loudest voice.
“Come here and fight me, asshole!” I called with both hands around my mouth like a megaphone.
The dragon swerved, and its head whipped around. It was trying to find the source of the voice, but it was having a hard time seeing with only one eye. Still, the beast drew steadily closer, and I waited patiently for him to come within range of my bow.
Suddenly, Eva shot by me in a blur on her horse’s back, and she raced down the street and straight toward the approaching dragon.
“Eva, stop!” I yelled as panic sank into the pit of my stomach.
I didn’t have time to react, though, and a blaze of fire rained down upon her head in the next instant. I didn’t even know why she was charging toward the dragon in the first place, but I had a feeling it had something to do with being brave and having an adventure. The dragon must have heard my words and spotted Evangeline right after, so the dumb lizard probably thought she was the one who’d taunted him.
Her scream of pain cut through my very soul, and I couldn’t reset fast enough. I wasn’t going to endure another instant of that horrifying sound, not when I could make it stop with a thought.
Chime.
I dismounted Goliath, and I grabbed my pack, bow, and quiver before I once again handed him off to the woman I’d saved. Then I stomped my foot to activate the fleetness of my boots, and I searched the streets for the duke’s daughter. I found her near the palace, and I skidded to a halt right in front of her, which caused her horse to rear up.
Evangeline kept her seat, but she had to scramble to stay atop her steed.
“Great One!” she greeted. “What are you doing here? Is the dragon coming this way?”
Her eyes lit up with battle lust, and I knew she was just too eager to prove herself to me.
“No, and you’re not headed toward the dragon, either.” I fixed her with a hard look. “I don’t want you to die today.”
“W-What do you mean?” she stammered in a confused voice. Her eyes were wide with sudden fear, and her lips parted slightly as she struggled to find words. “I…”
“I know exactly what you were going to do,” I informed her in a stern voice. “You were going to get yourself killed, and I don’t need that kind of heartache.”
“Your heart would ache if I died?” Eva’s eyelashes fluttered as a blush rose to her cheeks.
“Abso-fucking-lutely,” I said. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, Eva. You’re already very important to me. Now, get your sexy butt back to the palace where you’re safe.”
“Yes, Great One,” Eva sighed. “I will return at once.”
“Give my love to Mahini and Elissa,” I requested with a wink. “And tell them to keep up the good work. I’m sure the citizens of Vallenwood are comforted by their presence.”
“They were indeed being very nice to the people stuck inside the palace, and of course I will take your message back to them,” she replied with a small bow of her head, and then she turned her horse back toward the palace. She shot me an apologetic look over her shoulder before she clucked her tongue and trotted away. “I’ll see you soon, Great One!”
I knew she didn’t want to disappoint me, but the call of battle had been too strong for her to ignore. I only hoped that this time, she stayed away and stayed safe. I didn’t like the image of her death being in my memories, and I was determined to prevent it from ever happening again. I already had a strong sense of affection for the duke’s daughter, and I felt protective over her, but that was to be expected with how beautiful and capable she was.
I made a new save point once I knew she wouldn’t be interfering anymore, and then I turned and raced through the city in the opposite direction, and while Eva headed to the palace, I went toward the dragon.
It didn’t take me long to track its position and cut across the distance between us, and then I was staring up into the sky as the lizard asshole swooped through the air in a taunting manner.
“Hey, you bastard!” I called up to the beast. “Come down here and face me!”
As the dragon lowered itself from the air and hovered above the city, its wings flapped haphazardly, like its damaged eye affected its ability to fly. That was good news for me, though, so I let out a small cheer of relief.
Who dares call so rudely? the dragon’s voice echoed inside my head.
“Remember me?” I asked. “The one who took out your eye?”
Ah, yes, I remember you, the dragon said with the equivalent of a snort. You will regret coming before me again.
“Then you need to leave the people of this world alone!” I yelled as I gestured at the burning city around me. “Why are you asking for an ass kicking?”
The dragon roared, and it bathed me in a fiery blaze from head to toe. My skin sizzled, and the stench of burning flesh invaded my nostrils. Searing pain shot through
my entire body, and I screamed in agony as the flames devoured me. I was being burned alive by dragon’s breath, and I had to rank it around the top of my list of least favorite ways to die.
Fuck this.
Chime.
I reset back to my savepoint, and as the chime dinged in my ear, my breath came out in ragged pants. Sweat was dappled across my forehead, and my entire body ached. It had been a while since I’d died during combat, and it was harder than normal to shake off the unsettling feeling.
I dashed down the streets away from Evangeline and toward the dragon at breakneck speeds.
I hadn’t even gotten a chance to get a single shot off, and I swore I’d do better during this attempt. I was confident that with enough tries, I could do anything, so I sucked in my breath and continued down the streets of Vallenwood.
I had only jogged down two blocks, though, when I heard someone call my name.
“Bash!” Riondale’s voice cut through the sounds of chaos around me. “We need your help!”
I swiveled to see the young lieutenant running toward me. Soot was smeared across his face, and his armor was streaked with ashes. Bags beneath his eyes showed how exhausted he already was, and that didn’t bode well for the rest of the men who followed his command.
“What’s going on?” I asked in a hurried tone.
“There’s a family trapped inside a burning house,” he explained, and he turned back the way he came and gestured for me to follow him. “None of us can get close enough to them.”
I frowned as I tried to think about how I could be of much help, but then I remembered the guards didn’t have the magical abilities I did. So, I quickened my pace, and I followed Riondale to the burning house. A handful of guards and soldiers formed a line down the street in front of the building, and they dumped bucket after bucket of water onto the blaze.
I shot a quick glance at the king’s soldiers who stood shoulder to shoulder with the guards who’d traveled with me from Bullard. The king’s men wore green tunics with gold trim, and their uniforms were covered in form fitting silver armor. They wore silver helmets engraved with a crest on each side, and upon closer inspection it looked like a big, fancy V surrounded by golden circles. It had to be the symbol of the royal family.
