Quest For A Beloved

Part 2: Der Vormund Appears

The restless knight made his way up the winding stairs and on to the second floor. He couldn’t locate the Drachenblut on the first half of the floor. As he was crossing the bridge to the other half, he heard a booming and commanding voice.
“You, wretched knight of this land, have defiled Castle Ostenburg with dreadful foreign stench.” Siegfried stared to the sky, amazed as he witnessed the source of this voice. Midnight black wings carried the monster to the other side of the bridge. Siegfried felt its burning red eyes locked on him. Black scales seemed to bristle across a muscular, reptilian body. “It seems I must cleanse this place of your awful presence," it said once more. This was a true dragon, and in it’s veins flowed dragon’s blood.
“Well, it appears that you’ve finally come to me!” Siegfried excitedly shouted to the impressive dragon. “Now tell me, does the dragon before me have a name?”
The beast nodded its head. “I am known as Der Vormund.”
This made Siegfried wonder. “Your name means Guardian, does it not?” Vormund once again nodded it’s head. “I’m curious, Dragon. What are you guarding?”
Vormund answered the knight’s question. “My duty is to protect Castle Ostenburg from anyone who may enter. That includes you, dreadful human. You have asked me a question, and now I will ask one of you. Why are you here?”

Siegfried answered with steel determination, "A loved one is nearing Death's cold embrace, and there's only one cure." He once again unsheathed the sword from his back.
“Very well," said the dragon, "I admire your valor. Your challenge is accepted, and you shall meet the same fate as the others that have come before you!” Vormund stomped his foot, which caused the old bridge to crumble and fall beneath Siegfried’s feet. He fell into a large courtyard below. The dragon flew to the other side, awaiting Siegfried’s next move. The knight charged towards the great beast with his sword. Siegfried had demonstrated his speed and power to the kobolds earlier, but it seemed Der Vormund was quicker and much stronger. It simply swatted Siegfried away like a bug. He hit the courtyard wall with such a force that after he fell to the ground, he couldn’t even move. The knight felt like his spine had snapped in two. All he heard was the dragon’s slow footsteps towards him. Siegfried gripped his sword tightly.
“Just as I had suspected.” said Vormund. “Like all the others you have a strong will, yet you do not possess the power to defeat this grand beast.” The dragon lifted the helpless knight against the wall and pierced his chest with its sharp dragon claw, pinning him to the wall. “You will bleed out in moments, then your pathetic life will be no more.” The dying Siegfried felt his life slipping away. He stared once again into Vormund’s burning red eyes, and that was the last he saw as it all slowly faded to black.