Dragonsbane

Vulnaire

Chapter 11

Vulnaire

Jaydon trotted down the road, searching his memories for the direction of Vulnaire. He knew Ralem had taken the trip a couple times, and that it was in the east. It was such a big city that Jaydon wasn’t worried about missing it. He was a little miffed, though, about not being able to fly there. He thought Ralem was too cautious. How could mere knights kill him while he was in his territory; the sky? In his view he thought he was most vulnerable in this human form. Humans were so small, defenseless, flightless, and smelly.

The clouds seem to call to him as they floated in the sky. The birds twittered above his head, fluttering in the air. In Jaydon’s mind they were gloating that they could fly and he could not. He shook his head. He had to listen to his Rider even if it seemed crazy. I guess this is how a human feels, he though dejectedly.

He raced on tirelessly, the miles flying by unnoticed. But the one big problem with running so fast was the bugs. They committed suicide on his face, and he didn’t dare open his mouth, in case he would swallow something. Finally he got so frustrated at the constant barrage of bugs he created a wind around his face that would direct the unwary insects around his head. I hate bugs, he thought, I wish I could just burn them all.

Suddenly he stopped, sniffing the air. Horses and men. Probably more than ten each. All of them haven’t bathed in at least a month. They were walking in full armor in the sun, so it wasn’t hard to pick up their scent. Jaydon slowed to a walk, so as to not cause suspicion because of his speed. Sure enough, when he turned a corner he saw a group of twelve men on horseback in the distance. Jaydon knew they had seen him, so he continued unhurriedly on. When the horses neared; the commander, who was accented with a plume on his helmet, asked, “Who are you and what is your business?”

 “My name is Jaydon and I am on my way to Vulnaire.”

“On this route? Surely you know that there is a road leading to the very place? This is not safe. Haven’t you heard of the great dragon that has been prowling hereabouts?”

“Yes, but I like the scenic view,” Jaydon said, truthful, yet not the whole truth. He couldn’t help having a tinge of pride about the way he said ‘great dragon’.

The commander gave an exasperated sigh at the recklessness of youth and tried to spur his horse onward but at that moment the horse caught the scent of Jaydon. It backed up, screaming and rearing. The panic traveled to the other horses like a disease. The other troops fought to keep control of their beasts. One toppled off and his horse bolted in the other direction.

“The dragon must be near!” the commander exclaimed, his mustache quivering in excitement as he fought to stay on his horse.

“It could just be a bear,” another soldier suggested, who was trying to lead his horse, but it was splay-legged. It wasn’t going anywhere.

All the knights took their lances out as they peered into the forest. The horses, wild with fear were about to bolt. They shivered in terror, the whites of their eyes showing as they pulled desperately away from their riders.

While they were busy, Jaydon took the opportunity to make a huge half circle around the company. He continued on his way, laughing that they would be searching for a dragon that they had just let pass right under their nose.

He knew he was almost there when he saw the red fields that Redfield was named after begin to dwindle into the usual green grass. The huge, laughing, singing trees that had been his sole companions on the trip also began to dwindle as he neared the city.

 A sudden movement caught his eye.

A deer was munching in the grass across the field. Jaydon’s eyes narrowed as he focused on his target. His teeth involuntarily grew, curling over his lip, and claws started to form. He started judging the distance between himself and his meal before he stopped himself. Ralem told me not to turn into a dragon, he reminded himself, trying to restrain from becoming his true form.