The impact dislocated his right shoulder. The wind rushed out of him completely. Several fair sized rocks banged down around him and a wave of dust enveloped the area as he skidded to a halt. He lay there gasping for air and choking on dust. Agony pounded in his head and he heard voices.
Turning his head, Crentar saw a cave through the swirling dust. Inside, were several orcs staring at him and arguing back and forth. Ahhg... Orcs. Won't... be... long... 'til... one... comes... over... and... gets.. me. Willing his lungs to take in air, Crentar curled into a ball. Got.. to.. breathe. Come.. on. Got to get up. With a final effort, he managed to gain his feet. His breathing became slightly more regular and the orcs advanced out of the cave. Glancing up, Crentar saw the dragon making a wide turn to come down upon him. I need a distraction and I need it now. What's this? Glancing down at his left hand, he noticed he still clutched the handful of jewels in a rigid fist. He held them aloft so they could be easily seen by all.
"I have here treasures! You filthy creatures can have them!" he called out loudly, mostly for the benefit of the advancing dragon, as he flung the jewels into the advancing crowd of orcs. He turned immediately and bolted for the woods using his last reserves of energy in a mad attempt to put distance between himself and the dragon. Behind him, the orcs began to squabble over the treasures until one noticed the dragon.
"Belark! Dranag! Arrablek hilm kilas!" screamed the orc while dashing for the cave with his loot. The others raced him to the entrance and dashed inside, disappearing into the darkness of the cave.
-The damn human. First he enters my lair. Then he steals sixteen pieces of jewelry worth, in total 8,783 pieces of gold. Now he throws it to orcs. They're getting away with my treasures! The man is getting away in the forest! I should have wiped out these pests earlier then I wouldn't have these problems. Orcs. Man. Treasures. Man. Treasures. Man. Treasures. With a horrible roar, Oralifane changed course to crash down to earth in front of the cave of orcs. Quickly, he began gouging out great chunks ofrock in an attempt to widen the opening. These damn orcs are taking away my treasures! Got to get them. Every one of them. He thrust his head into the opening and let loose a light jet of flame. This is going to take hours... thought the dragon as he wedged his way into the warren, the human forgotten for the moment.-
Crentar continued to run. He would stop for nothing. He did not know or care where he was going, only that it was away from the dragons mountain. Branches slapped at his face. Thorns caught in and tore his skin. His breath wheezed through his throat and time became a blur of branches, leaves, sky and ditches. Some time after dark, he collapsed into the bed of a small stream. Instantly, he was soaked in the icy cold water. His arm and ribs were dull fires. His shoulder felt like someone was poking him with needles. The stream bed became smeared with vivid shades of yellow, purple,orange, and white as he looked upon the scene down a long tunnel. Great,escape from a dragon and die in the woods...
*Continued in the next chapter, which will be the final chapter*
YOU ARE READING
A RANGER IS BORN
FantasiFirst off, this story was not written by me. I am posting it for a friend of mine, with permission of course. This took place in a Dungeons & Dragons game over 30 years ago. It is a about how one of the player characters got his start; Crentar Bronn...
