10 Minute Tales

Jan 30 - Dragon at the Fair, Pt. 4 (Untimed)

Leo grimaced softly, but opened the book and flicked through its ancient pages. It was filled with tales of dragons, details on their habits and raising. Leo turned through page after page, curiosity turning to interest turning to fascination. "What do you think?" the keeper asked, staring at Leo intently.

"It's... thorough." he admitted, holding it out.

"Indeed, said to be written by the dragons themselves. Scholars take years to decipher dragon runes, and even then we are uncertain on whether or not we have the correct definitions of the language."

"Really?" he raised his eyebrow quizically. "It's here in plain Common..."

"Excuse me?" the keeper asked, holding a hand out for the book. Leo handed it over and the keeper read through it. "No, this is in the dragon's language..."

"But... it's not..." Leo frowned, confused. Was this a trick? No, it didn't make sense, not after doing the keeper a favour like that...

"Come, I feel as though there is more here than either of us know." he turned to another tent, his voice quiet, more sombre. Confused yet intrigued, he followed. As he walked, the dragons stared at him, silent, thoughtful.

The tent was made of a thick material, so very little light penetrated in. To compensate for this, a few smoky candles were lit, their flickering light casting gloomy shadows through the confines. The keeper put the book down on an aged table. "If you can read this text so easily, then you may be far more interesting than either of us knew, than anybody knew. Once every few generations, it is said the dragons bless a single human with the blood of their kin, granting them a more thorough understanding of not only dragons but nature as a whole. We had been due one for a decade or so..."

"The blood of their kin?" Leo asked, frowning. "I'm not a hero..."

"Who else would stand up to a dragon as you did?" the keeper pointed out. "Let alone survive as easily as you did."

"Well, didn't you say dragons were intelligent?" Leo replied. "He probably figured out-"

"They only become intelligent with age. The drake is little more than a wise beast, and you were still able to lure him away from a larger source of food. There is definitely something about you..." the keeper frowned as he stared at Leo, deep in thought. He flicked through the pages of the book, trying to find a particular image.

"Look, I'm not some hero of lore, nothing like that, okay? I'm just a lucky idiot is all..."

"Neither luck nor wit could have saved you from such a foolish move, and yet you felt it was the right thing to be done. Dragon blood or no, you are definitely special, especially considering you can read dragon runes so effortlessly."