Adventures of Paku the Dragon: The Shroud of Shadows

Chapter 44

Paku opens his eyes, slowly looking around the dark room. He sees Patch, who is sleeping, along with Ziva. "Guys..." he calls out to his friends. "Are you awake yet?"

Ziva stirs slightly, her voice sounding groggy. "Yes, we are...where are we?" She asks.

"In the longhouse" Patch replies sleepily, sitting up quickly. "I thought you guys were never going to wake up!"

"How long were we out for?" Paku asks.

"A few days. Bithor and the Jarl have stopped by to check on you, but you've been out since the battle with Cithior." Patch explains. "And I got us here safely. I don't think the orcs or goblins will attack anymore. At least, not anytime soon."

"That's good news." Paku states.

After a moment, Paku and Ziva get out of the beds, walking around the long house. It was dark outside, and it was mostly quiet in the town of Peatsville, as the trio began to look around. There weren't many people around at night, and most shops were closed, but there seemed to be no fear of being attacked. Most likely because of how powerful Paku and Ziva looked. After all, the only ones who knew what happened during this whole ordeal were themselves and Bithor.

They look around the longhouse, noticing one of the guards carrying a torch around. "Well, the heroes have awoken. At midnight, but well, at least you did wake."

"What? Who are you?" Ziva asked, surprised by the guard. "Where's Bithor?"

"Bithor is keeping guard over the prisoner Cithior. Nasty feller that Cithior is, two mean heads that spout nonsense and evil constantly." the guard says with a disgusted look. "Anyways, I'm going to keep patrolling about. Take care."

After the guard goes past, Paku looks at Ziva and Patch. "We should go see Bithor, see what he's up to."

"You sure?" Patch asks.

"Yeah. Let's find him before we meet with anyone else."

As the three begin walking through the streets, heading towards their destination of the temple. It is a quiet night, and the trio are left alone, as many had already been asleep long ago. They walk silently, until reaching the front gate of the temple, where they notice a few guards clad in metal stand.

"Halt! Who goes there?" the guard asks. When he recognizes Paku, he lowers his hand. "My apologies, it is the hero Paku. Good to see you alive and well."

"Likewise." Paku answers politely.

"May I ask why you come so late at night?"

"Oh, just wanted to stop by and say hello," Paku answered. "Make sure Bithor is doing well."

"As you wish. Right this way." the guard says, opening the temple gate and leading the trio inside. Once they reach the door, the guard knocks twice. "Enter!" A familiar voice sounds from within the building, and after the sound of footsteps approaching, the doors open and reveal Bithor. The mighty blue dragon smiles upon seeing Paku, Ziva, and Patch. "It is so nice to see you three again."

"Good evening, Bithor." Paku greets. "Can I help you with something?"

"No need for concern. I am simply glad to see your faces." Bithor replied happily, smiling warmly at the group. "I am glad to see you have healed and are walking again."

"Thanks to you and our new friends here." Ziva said, patting Patch on the back. "Without them, we wouldn't even be standing right now."

"Indeed," Bithor agreed. "You all three did heroic things in the battle. Without you, we would have failed."

"Failed you should have." the voice of Cithior calls from the darkness, as he is still chained in a cage. "I'll bite your heads off once I get out of here!"

"Cithior..." Paku growls angrily. "Why do you always have to ruin everything?" He turns to Bithor. "Is there anything we can do about this guy?"

"We will take his powers from him so he can no longer hurt anyone." Bithor says. "Unlike him, we won't steal the life force too."

"Cowards. Too afraid to get your hands dirty?" Cithior growls as he rattles his chains. "How dare you think you're better than me?!"

"...we've heard enough," Paku states. "Let us continue our journey. We shall leave you in peace, since we know that you aren't worth our time."

"What now?" Ziva asks Paku.

"We need to find other dragons. Our species has to heal, and if we can find any others, it will help the process." Paku tells Ziva, as he takes her paw with his own. "Besides, who knows how many more might have survived the attack. If only we knew where to start looking...and then, maybe we could save those survivors."

"Good luck. The north dragons will remain here in Peatsville in the meanwhile." Bithor tells Paku. "If you ever need us, don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you Bithor." Paku says, bowing. With that, he leaves with Ziva and Patch, to begin their next adventure. To see if they could find other dragons, and restore the endangered race back to its former glory.