A RANGER IS BORN

CHAPTER 8 - "I'm Screwed"

I've got to get the hell out of here! No way I can take a dragon. No way thirty guards are ever going to kill a beast like that. Crentar quickly stood up and headed for the door only to be confronted by the captain of the guards. "Crentar Bronn, come with me. We set off on the mighty quest immediately," he said with great enthusiasm. This guy looks like a fool. I bet he believed the Lord when he told him he could kill the dragon, Crentar thought as he followed the captain. Crentar's impression was not wrong. Within the hour, they left the city on their way to the Razorback mountains.

"...I'm telling you. I've seen the dragon. This group doesn't stand a chance," Crentar said to the captain yet again.

"And I'm telling you. It is an honor to be chosen for so great a quest, and you WILL complete it as ordered," the captain replied while pulling out a parchment. "there, to slay the dragon with the able help of my men, or die in the attempt. It says here. So you had best lead on to the lair before the 'die in the attempt' part comes early," he said with a hard look in his eye.

The guy is definitely a waste of breath. Maybe I can stir up a general revolt to the idea, he thought. He let his horse fall back so he could speak to several of the men.

"What do you think men? Can this pitiful group take a dragon the size of the keep?" Crentar asked.

"Don't see why not," replied one of the men.

Another answered, "Sure, we got crossbows. They can get through steel plate armor. There aint nothin' alive 'at can survive thirty shots." To Crentars great dismay, all of the others nodded their agreement to this ludicrous notion.

"Let me explain something to you," Crentar said. "When I said as big as the keep, I wasn't kidding or exaggerating. It really IS... THAT... BIG. It breaths fire. It eats whole horses like they were sweetmeats. Don't you get it? We don't have a chance!"

"Awwe, you can't scare us. The captain said the lord told 'im 'at the dragon is an old one. You know, all weak an feeble like. Only dangerous to thems that don't know what they're doin'."

"Yeah,not like us," said another guard with good cheer. I'mscrewed. These guys have each beenchosen for their total lack of brains. If the captain ordered them to jump off a cliff, not a one would refuse! They'll go all the way into the lair beforethey realize the hopelessness of it. Andby then, it'll be too late, too late by far, Crentar thought in despair.

Thus, it was, three days later, Crentar pointed at the fissure in the escarpment at the foot of the dragons mountain. He motioned for silence as he dismounted and whispered, "Up there. At the end of the fissure. Dragon. Go get 'im. I'll wait here."

"No you don't hero," the captain said in his best parade ground voice. "You'll be in the lead all the way. Right then. On to glory men!" the captain barked while drawing his sword. He motioned Crentar into the lead with it's tip. Crentar silently began to pray to Myrik, lord of death, for a quick and painless end as he started toward the fissure.

"Shhh... Quiet. Stop making all that damn noise," he whispered down the line at the guards. "If the dragon hears us, we're all dead. Our one and only chance is to catch it sleeping." He led the troop into the darkened fissure, wincing at each and every sound that emanated from behind him. He moved up the steep incline even more slowly than the first time.

"Don't make any noise. None at all. If it takes us a year to get up without making a sound, so be it," he ordered quietly.

"Listen to the expert men. He's been here before. Quiet," said the captain.

As they neared the top of the fissure, unreasoning fear began to crawl over the group. It's just the presence of the dragon. It happens every time. It doesn't mean it knows we're here. It's some kind of magic or something, Crentar thought, pausing at the end of the fissure. He looked over the bowl shaped area before the lairs entrance. Everything was as it had been before. I can't believe I'm doing this, he thought as he quietly moved along the same path he had taken before. Next to the entrance, he paused and motioned the group to follow. The captain, nervousness finally showing on his face, sent the men across two at a time. He followed the last two.

"We don't want to do this. We're all going to die if we go in there," Crentar whispered in the captains ear. Crentar watched the captains face intently as though by hoping hard enough, he could change his mind. A look of indecision briefly crossed the captains face but was replaced by resolve.

"In you go hero," he whispered, pushing Crentar to the front. "You lead, we'll follow." These idiots are dead and so am I, Crentar thought miserably while carefully entering the lair. Please Tym, let it be asleep again. Please.

-...To Be Continued in Chapter 9...-