Adventures of Paku the Dragon: The Shroud of Shadows

Chapter 13

"Stay close to me!" Paku says, who keeps close to Ziva and Patch. They are surrounded by a group of ten goblins, who surround them and begin to attack. "What do we do?"

"I'm thinking!" Paku says, spitting flame at a goblin who gets too close, sending it to the ground as another one strikes towards the trio with an axe. "Fire!" He fires flames at the approaching goblin, causing it to burn. "Not so fast!" He turns and sees another goblin sneaking up on Ziva. "Watch out!"

"Right!"

Ziva spins around, as she breathes out a bolt of electricity, shocking the sneaky goblin. One of them shoots an arrow at her in response. It flies straight into the air, missing Ziva completely as the goblin drops his bow and flees.

"How did you know?" Ziva asks, surprised by how well Paku knew the situation.

"Dragon intuition!" Paku says as another goblin rushes at him. Remembering what Naria had told him, he closes his wings around himself, blocking the goblin's blow before striking the enemy with his spiked tail, killing the attacking goblin.

"Way to go!" Patch compliments. "You've got some moves!"

"Thank you." Paku says. "But this isn't over yet."

Patch jumps into action, pouncing on a goblin that tried to sneak attack the group, biting his feline teeth into the goblin's green head, taking down the foe. "Whoa!" He says. "That's so cool!"

Another goblin lunges at Ziva, trying to stab her with a dagger. She dodges the blow, as the goblin tries again, only to be met with a paw to the face, dropping the creature to the ground.

All that remains is the boss goblin, the large nasty one from the start of the fight. He stands bigger than the dragons, as he draws out a curved sword made of obsidian.

"We're going to have to all attack at once for this guy!" Ziva tells Paku and Patch. "Or else he'll slice us apart like butter."

"Right!" Paku says. "Let's go!"

They all charge at the boss goblin, as he raises his sword high above his head. He swings at the group, as Paku and Ziva go around the sides of the goblin, and Patch runs underneath him. Annoyed by this, the goblin turns around, to be met with a bolt of lightning and burst of flame. The group then circles around, to find themselves facing off against the big goblin.

"Die!" The goblin yells, swinging his sword at the group. "Die!"

Paku dodges the blow easily, as Ziva steps forward and lands a kick to the goblin's stomach. The large enemy stumbles back, allowing Patch to jump and pounce on the goblin boss. His feline teeth sink into the creature's green skin, as he bites down hard, killing the beast.

"Nice work, Patch!" Paku says, landing next to his friends.

The three look at the group of goblins, deciding it would be best to leave now before more show up. They all return to the dragon's keep in the trees, and to their shock, the other dragons are there, waiting on them.

"Where have you three been? We were worried sick!" the green dragon says.

"Sorry, but we had to take care of some goblins," Paku says.

"Goblins?!" the dragon exclaims. "Are you kidding me? They aren't to be trifled with!"

"It's okay, we beat them." Ziva says. "We fight well together."

"You three could have been killed! In case you have forgotten, you are the future of our race!"

"What? What do you mean?" Paku asks.

"They're too young to be thinking of that right now. Let's not burden them with that information." the white dragon objects.

"But now you've made me curious... what are you talking about?" Ziva asks, causing the elder dragons to sigh.

"You two are our last hope, that we know of. If either of you perish, then the dragons may very well go extinct."

"What?" Paku says. "Why? I thought we were supposed to be strong enough to defeat any enemies!"

"We were, young Paku. But as less and less dragons are born and more are killed, we simply are dying out. Which is why it is important for you and Ziva to remain here where it is safe, until you're fully grown."

"And if we die?" Ziva asks.

"Then that will be our fate. The dragon race will be gone, forever."