I smoothed down my leather skirt and slipped my dagger into its holster. Pushing the old wooden door open I stepped out of my small house into the fresh air. I walked down the cobblestone street heading for the woods.
"Good morning Teresa!" Clenver shouted from his shop and waved. I waved back and started towards him.
"Anything new today Clenver?" I asked leaning on the rough wood counter and looking at the array of weapons. Clenver was the village armorer and I go to him for shards of metal to make weapons with. I have no money to buy pre-made weapons so I make my own.
"One sec," he said walking off into the shop. Clenver was short but muscular. He had a long red beard and always wore his armorer smock. While I waited I played with my dagger and tested out some of the weapons.
"Where are you going today 'resa?" he asked coming back and laying a pile of metal in front of me.
"Out to the forest again" I answered, digging in my bag and then pulling out two large shiny rocks. I placed them on the counter.
"Don't lie to me 'resa, I know you're going to the mountain" he said picking up the rocks and examining them. I go up to the mountain to get the rocks that he melts to make metal. That is how I pay for most things on this island, I get one thing for another. I smile. Clenver knows me so well. He has been like a father to me ever since I lost mine to another Viking clan that attacked my village. I was three at the time. They attacked and my father fought them off to protect me but disappeared from my sight and I never saw him again. Clenver picked me up and ran me up to the mountain and hid until it was safe.
Our village was left in ruins with all our materials gone. It was a hard winter that year, we had no food and I would have died if Clenver hadn't taken me in and raised me like a daughter. My mother had died at childbirth so I had no one to go to. I lived with him until I was fourteen, then I got my own home and began to take care of myself. I am 18 now and still kicking.
"All right," I said putting the metal in my pack. I hoisted it back onto my shoulder and turned."Have a nice day Clenver!" Then I continued my walk down the path.
"Teresa!" He shouted. I turned. "Ya?" I yelled back.
"Watch out for dragons!" He yelled as a final warning then returned to his work.
I traded a few more things with the other shops in my village then disappeared into the forest. I walked down the well-worn path that I had made from all the years going to the mountain. After walking for a few minutes I sat down on a stump and pulled some bread from my pack, freshly baked from the baker, and dug in. As I ate I looked around me. It was the same view I saw every day, thick green foliage, not many plants or flowers except the Nightgale. A purple flower used for healing. It was also used for poison. You see, the petals were for healing, but the stem and center were deadly. Even if you get a little bit of the juice from the stem on you, you're a goner.
I finished my piece of bread and stood up. I turned north and kept on going. It takes about twenty minutes to get to the mountain, and ten to go up it to the caves. The caves in the mountains were made by dragons once and possessed the stones that I traded with Clenver. The dragons were extinct now, my people hunted them for food and materials. They eventually left or were killed by us, and now there are none left. But, some say that they see a shadow in the mist above the mountains sometimes, a dragon shadow.
