Dungeons & Disappointment

Chapter 25: Dragon

CLONK!!!! I smashed my head against the top of the bunk, pain rocketing through my head and forcing me to wake up extremely fast. I groaned lightly, trying to keep my voice down as the pain coursed through me in waves. I winced yet again, then looked over to the side at the other bunks, and I saw that both Finana and BahnBarr were still knocked out cold, with BahnBarr splayed out and snoring so loudly I thought she would shake the entire airship. I got up from the bunk, then made my way to the deck of the airship, and I slipped off the side, just looking around at the nighttime forest around me. It was still gorgeous, with fireflies, glowing fruits, and glowing vines casting lights all around the forest.

"Oh wow," I muttered, staring at the gorgeous trees.

Various animal calls were sounding out throughout the enormous forest, the sounds bouncing off the trees as if playing pinball. I sat down on the ground, rubbing my eyes and trying to figure out the weird dream that I'd had. The woman was genuinely gorgeous, probably the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life, but even though she looked rather exotically familiar, I still had no clue who she was.

I rubbed my eyes again, but suddenly, there was a snap of a stick, and my head shot up, and there, near the bow of our ship, there was BahnBarr, and she was coming straight for me.

"Hey."

"Hey, what's up?" She said, then stopped ten feet in front of me. "Can't sleep?"

"No, just weird dreams."

She nodded.

"I hate dreaming." She said. "I'd rather just sleep."

"Yeah, I wish," I replied, using my Halberd as a staff. "Wish I could just get some sleep."

She nodded, and we fell silent as we looked up at the treetops and tops of the forest, but right before BahnBarr could say anything, suddenly, there was the sound of beating wings, and her eyes widened.

"No....." She said.

She suddenly lunged forward, grabbed me, and shoved both of us down in the brush, my head nearly impacting a nearby stump. She laid nearly on top of me, and I looked right into her elven eyes with a funny look.

"I thought you didn't want-"

"Shut up!" She hissed, looking up at the sky through the bushes. "I hope that's not what I think it is."

"What the hell do you think it is?"

She looked back at me as the beating of wings got louder and louder.

"Dragon."

I immediately tensed up, thinking of all the encounters with dragons that our DnD party had gotten into, both won and nearly lost. And sure, dragons were a lot of fun when you were sitting around a table with your friends, but now, with only BahnBarr and Finana and I to defend ourselves, it was a completely different story. My heart was pounding, and I was starting to hyperventilate, breathing so heavily that I was shaking the branches around us, and BahnBarr slapped her hand over my mouth.

"Shut up! The dragons gonna hear us!!" She hissed.

I pointed at the airship, and BahnBarr's eyes widened.

"Shit." She whispered as the beating wings got louder and louder. "Use the Stone of Far Speech. Now!"

She released my mouth, and we both got into a new position, laying down on our stomachs, and I put the Stone of Far Speech up to my mouth, still keeping my eyes out for the dragon.

"Finana," I whispered the beating so loud that I thought it was nearly on top of us. "Finana get up. Stay calm and quiet."

"What? Trevon what's going on?"