The Shattered Dragonslayer

Chapter 3: Being Watched

The next morning, Demetri decided to do something different from his ritual hill-sitting and took a walk with Noble up behind the village, into the deep forest that had watched over the townsfolk for as long as they had lived there. Only Demetri would wander through such a place for pleasure; that dark forest may not have been the fabled Hollows, but the thought of daring its depths still spooked whomever lived near. He himself did not buy into the rumors of strange folk dwelling within the boughs or the stories of surreal monsters hunting magical beasts. The baker's wife once claimed she saw a unicorn fleeing into the woods one night as she was closing up shop, and insisted another time she heard the jingling of a fairy's wing as she was scavenging for berries in the outer rim of the wood.

Even the old blacksmith used to tell Demetri of dryads that lived in the hidden places of the wood. In fact, in his childhood days Demetri scavenged the forest as deeply as he was allowed in search of those point-eared Nymph people who held the skills to fashion almost any tool or potion, especially that which related to medicine, and who possessed the voices of angels. He didn't want to believe his caretaker to be a lunatic for believing in the highly discrete race, but he didn't know what to think when he could find no evidence of their existence. No magical creatures wandered through Duhra's land, and the very notion of something born with unearthly powers resembled a reality only possible in bedtime stories. After several failed expeditions, Demetri finally inquired of Joseph about the alleged race, to which the blacksmith would reply matter-of-factly: "they fear humans, my boy. They go to great measures to keep themselves hidden from us." Following this exchange, he elected to believe Joseph's words as much as his quizzical mind allowed him. In any case, he never argued with him.

Inhabited by enchanted beasts or not, Demetri liked taking occasional strolls through the woods, and now he had an enthused comrade to accompany him. The young man and his dog hiked uphill a ways and ventured a very good distance into the serene shade of the trees. The birds' songs were soft and the squirrels' footling about amongst the leaves below and above were few and far between. An ever so gentle breeze wafted across his face, carrying the scent of both fresh and dry leaves. He breathed slow and deep, savoring the aroma of the sweet forest air. Solitude never felt so peaceful. He never did mingle much with the other village folk; he wasn't overly fond of eye contact, nor did he see the purpose of having more than just a few friends -two or three people was as many as he could handle investing in. Most were just faces he sought after if he needed to buy something, or they sought after him for the same reason. When he was small he socialized more, though even then he spent most of his time watching Joseph craft things in his shop and building things alongside him. But after the old blacksmith died and Demetri took his place, he became more and more secluded.

He had to admit, as much as he liked the smell of oil, the touch of metal, and the sight of an artfully crafted weapon between his own two hands, the atmosphere of the woods had just as much a grip on him. For a half hour the two companions walked wordlessly between the welcoming boughs and stalks, Noble sniffing and stirring himself about in circles, trying to follow every scent that taunted him. He halted. The fur on his back rose 'till it looked like he had a mane, and his lips curled with a low growl.

"What is it, boy?"

Noble stepped back, his growling becoming louder as he switched his head about in the air like he wasn't sure what he was disapproving of.

"Noble, what is it?" Demetri rested his hand on the dog's head only for him to shake it off again. Slowly then, he reached down into his belt and pulled out a heavy pistol, one of his own designs. Warily, he cocked and raised it with one hand, aiming it wherever Noble directed his nose. The forest fell silent in his presence. He gazed daringly into the depths of the queer wild, despite an eerie feeling coming over him the longer he looked.