Floresta's Chronicle of Tales

1. The Hunter & the Earth Dragon

Among the mountain peaks of Aidugeon lives a dwarf tribe, which keeps itself very remote.This tribe is called the Minjelli, pronounced Minezerelli.They always move through the mountain peaks, just like the nomads of Triagran do: They stay in one fixed place until there is not enough food to be found.They then leave behind the seeds of the plants they eat so that they can grow again over time.They build their houses on the sloping rocks and stay in this fixed spot for a short time.When they regain their supplies, they travel on to the next place.During the summer months, they are in the mountains while in the autumn months they are in one of the big cities to get supplies of warm clothes and hard-to-get food.The big towns are Bogdur and Kegedurr.Just before the first snowfall, the Minjelli head back into the mountains to hunt for food again and find a good place to sleep.

Dusk is beginning to fall as she walks through the city walls of Kelison, towards the market square.The dark lanterns give off a mysterious blue glow over the cobbles.Tinejar Nemasn walks briskly on, looking for an inn to get something to eat and drink, maybe a place to sleep left.An oppressive feeling creeps through her bones as she walks along the pavement, as if she is being watched from behind every window.She walks more quietly before looking over her shoulder, the hood of her cape pulled straight over her head as she walked through the city streets.She cannot shake off the feeling that she is being observed.Once she arrives at the market square, she has no trouble finding the inn: Sounds of a heated discussion can be clearly heard from where Tinejar is standing.At the end of the road, she sees a round square surrounded by shops and houses.Her attention is drawn to a large building that has the feel of an inn.When she gets closer to the building, there is no doubt.The opening hours and a few dishes with the price behind them are written on a piece of leather hung on the wall next to the door.Another piece of leather says that there are no more rooms available at the inn, unless she would like to share a room with a group of travellers.The shouting in the inn gets even louder until a loud voice shouts over the crowd, "Silence!"Even with the door closed, the man sounds very much like an executive who can barely control the crowd.Tinejar walks into the inn the moment the crowd quiets down and focuses on a man, he is standing on a small shabby stage.The stage consists of a few water barrels with a large plank on top.Tinejar carefully tries to walk through the crowd to get to the bar.Most of her weapons are hidden in small openings of her tunic, her bow and a small pouch for supplies of food over her shoulder, her quiver of arrows and sword hanging along her hips.It dawns on her how much space she takes up in the crowd and apologises every time she offers against someone or steps on someone's foot.Once at the bar, she manages to find an empty seat when the barman approaches Tinejar to ask what she wants to drink.The man on the barrels starts talking again when he sees everyone focusing on him."The Earth Dragon plagues our city now as days, weeks, months even," he begins. "We the hardworking people of Kelison have had enough. Tonight we will put an end to these ravages, This Earth Dragon will not see the morning light again."From the crowd comes both cheers and protests: apparently not everyone agrees with what the man has to say."Do you want to send more of our people to their deaths," cries a woman from the middle of the crowd. "There are already enough families sitting around mourning their dead fathers and sons. You said it would end a week ago, Mayor. How do we know you are telling the truth this time? Have you been given soldiers by the government to take on this Dragon?"Other voices join her as the Mayor searches the crowd, desperate for the right words and a solution.His eyes fall on the bar, where Tinejar is sitting with a plate of hot food and a glass of beer, both just brought to her.With a hand gesture, he manages to quiet the crowd before he starts talking again."We need not worry," he shouts over the last voices. "Our prayers have been answered by Will Mellijn, Nelkori Sjowllimijn and their Supreme God. The Gods have sent us a Hunter. Dear Hunter, can you help us kill the Earth Dragon?"Tinejar has just put a bite in her mouth when it is asked of her, and confused, she looks up from her plate.She removes the fork from her mouth and swallows the bite of food loudly as she looks around her confused.The people around her are already starting to make room for her as she slips off her chair.Several people sitting at the front of the stage look over their shoulders at her as she puts a hand on the bar for support.Her mouth goes dry and sweat begins to run down her back.Why did he have to bring up my presence like this to these people, she thinks to herself."We pay you very well for this difficult task," says the Mayor as he steps off the stage and makes his way through the crowd."Usually I only hunt small creatures, sir," Tinejar says as she looks at the ground for a moment before looking at the Mayor. "My experience lies with forest creatures, not dragons."The Mayor stops a few metres away from her.
From one of his pockets he takes out a notebook, in which he turns the pages in a swift, deft manner."From the people who went into battle with the Earth Dragon and survived, we got smarter," he says as he still searches for the right page.Tinejar begins to feel more at her discomfort as the Mayor continues to browse."How many groups of soldiers tried to kill the dragon," she asks as she looks at him."A total of five groups went to the dragon in an attempt to kill it," says the Mayor as he begins to browse more slowly. "The first three groups consisted of vigilante guards. Now there are barely enough guards to keep the city safe. Then we sent men out of the city. To be honest, I wouldn't normally send women on such a dangerous quest. Unfortunately, there is no other solution: People are too scared to take on the dragon anymore. Our government has not answered our call."The Mayor finally found the page through which he hands the notebook to her.On the page, she soon finds too little information about the Earth Dragon to get a good idea of its weaknesses."What happened to those who survived the fight," she asks as she re-reads the lines."They died of internal bleeding," the Mayor replies with a slight tone of sadness.
"I guess it will be a big challenge," she murmurs to herself before handing the booklet back to him."It is a challenge I would like to take up. I don't need the money, just enough food and drink for my upcoming trip."The people who have gathered around her and the Mayor applaud her answer.The Mayor does not take the notebook from her, he looks at her with admiring eyes."You are a brave woman," he says before pointing to the notebook in her hands. "Keep that one with you. Maybe you will have a little more use for it than I do."

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