Soul of a Dragon

1

Dark chocolate eyes reflected the flickering light of the campfire, watching as it cast strange shadows against the darkness. Kim Taehyung was lost in his own thoughts as he stood the first watch of the night. Seated at the foot of a large water oak, he was somewhat comfortable leaning back against the rough bark, ready for the several sleepless hours to come. Dressed for what seemed like months in the same, dirty outfit, he wore dark colors, perfect for camouflage. A cloak with a hood hid the sheath of the sword slung on his back, the hilt normally coming up over his left shoulder like an obedient snake ready to strike when need be, and at the moment laid across his knees for easier access should the need arise.

Across the rising heat of the fire, his eyes alighted upon the sleeping figures of his companions on this journey. Min Yoongi, master of the double sword style, his friend and constant companion, and Park Jimin, a second class mage who'd been ordered into his current position by a 'higher authority'.

That evening, the two had fallen asleep quickly, despite the fact that Yoongi was a light sleeper. This journey was beginning to take its toll on the three of them, and the evidence was showing more clearly each day.

This in mind, Taehyung's thoughts wandered back to little over two weeks ago, when himself and Yoongi had first arrived in the city of Drexel. There hadn't even been a real reason for them to be there. Their last job was done, and they had come to the port city for a bit of relaxation.

They strolled into the large town with weapons on their shoulders, their war horses and themselves alike dusty from the far traveling and dry weather, a fresh pouch of money available for use at the nearest inn that could afford hot water baths. It wasn't long, however, not even a full two days, before a messenger was sent from the High Lord of Drexel saying that their services were desperately needed and would be heavily paid for. Even having not been in the city for some time, Taehyung was not too surprised that word of their arrival had reached so far so fast.

He sighed slightly.

Though thinking himself a warrior for hire was not the most glamorous, or as Yoongi put it, most honorable position, still, it enabled them to live and live decently well at that. Specializing in the removal of certain wild beasts and magical in nature, they handled everything from Ogres to an overpopulation of redcaps. Horrid little things those were. They killed people, animals, pretty much anything with red blood so that they could dip their little pointed hats in the still warm fluid to renew the crimson color, hence their given name. The two of them had even taken out an over-large were-beast living too close to a village whose population was all too quickly decreasing because of it.

However, they'd never handled anything quite as big as the High Lord of Drexel put before the two of them. Just north of the main trade routes to the Eastern continent, a dragon was killing nearly everything that passed through its newly appropriated territory.

They were having a hard time keeping trade between the cities up, and it was beginning to damage Drexel's revenue, not to mention the delicate balance of peace that had been achieved between the countries not too much earlier. Surprised that news of this had not spread throughout the entire kingdom, they learned that Drexel's lord, and the other nobles were trying to keep it under wraps, and take care of it as soon as possible. If not, it was feared that the antics of the beast might be blamed on one side or another, and a war would be brought about unwillingly against both sides.

They, however, had not sent any men to try and kill the beast. Instead, they wished for someone with no connection to their city to act, and hiring such a person was now readily possible.

This is where Taehyung and Yoongi came in. Their abilities, such as they were, had been spread far just by word of mouth alone. Yoongi was said to be able to down a troll in ten seconds flat, while Taehyung's abilities were less widely known, though just as talked about. He was the one who had finalized their kill on the Megalania, a fourteen foot long creature of flame and anger. If you've ever had a volcano attempt to roast you alive, then you were close to experiencing a Magalania's ability to burn and burn well. Though how it was done was not known, the fact that the beast was found lifeless after Taehyung's work was a major point in any way the story was told.