The Dragon's Greatest Treasure

Chapter 2

Three days. I've been sleeping in this damp cave, in this awful weather, for three days. Nothing I'm not used to though; I haven't gone mad... yet.

"Hey, Vestia, why don't you just kill a random flying beast and return home, marry Don, and live happily ever after questing your life away with your hubby by your side?" You may ask, but no, that is what a fool may ask. No, I can't just kill a beast, that good for nothing chief would know, I would've been back too soon.

The fire crackled before me, it's warmth slowly dying, letting the cold creep back into my bones more and more, minute by minute. I sighed, but the sigh turned into a shiver and I pulled myself closer. "My next quest will be to overthrow the chief," I muttered angrily. Sure, I liked questing but going on a forced quest ruined the fun.

A flying beast of death and rune. A fated meeting of flesh and flame. Those two lines wouldn't get out of my head; they had to hold the secrets of what beast it was. "That's it, I'm going to bring this wretched beast to me."

I pulled out my harp, it's small size felt odd in my hands. I was stroking the strings, thinking of a special tune, when I heard rocks fall away from outside the cave entrance. I braced myself for battle, drawing my sword. I heard scales against rock and grinned. At least I know it's a reptile.

A large fat lizard, the size of my arm, ran into the cave in the wiggly way lizards run and plopped itself down by my fire. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "So much for the beast of rune." I looked at the lizard, its brown scales blended with the cave floor, but the speckled blue scales on its body reflecting the firelight made small light spots dance across the cave. Hunger dug at my stomach; it seemed like a shame to eat a creature trying to survive just like me, but I hadn't eaten in two days and if I didn't eat now, things would only get worse.

"Sorry, bud." I took out my sword and sliced at the lizard, but it had moved too fast. It scampered back out of the cave. I was going to give up, but my hunger was too fierce. I chased after the lizard, pushing through bushes, winding around trees, leaping over rocks, never letting the lizard out of my sight. The snow on the ground made my feet wet, the sun glancing off of it made it difficult to see, my hunger was making me weak, and I was losing my prey; life couldn't be better!

The lizard dove into a hole, leaving me in the dirt, reaching down the hole. "Nixvil!" I cursed, panting. I instantly surveyed my surroundings, an important tactic to stay one step ahead of your enemies. I was in a clearing full of tall grass with holes the size of hares dug every few feet. About twenty feet in from of me, the ground fell away into treacherous rocky ravines. Behind me was the forest from which I came, though there was no hope of me finding my cave again.

"Curse it..." I spat. I looked around, realizing I left my sword behind, as it was only extra weight. I could kill small prey with my hands if I needed to, but now I was weaponless, in unfamiliar territory, and my near-empty backpack wasn't doing me any favors. "What do I do now?" I spoke to myself.

 A bird's song broke through the whispers of the wind. It was soft and delicate, high and mystical, and simply enchanting. I took out my harp, and played along to the bird's song, creating a peaceful and deep duet. I felt attuned to my surroundings, and for a moment, I felt relaxed.

I finished my song with a long and high note and sighed with relief. It felt good to have a moment's peace, especially while playing the harp. I closed my eyes.

The song played again inside my head, but this time lower, and more of a hum and continued to get louder and louder. I opened my eyes to see large crimson neck scales, so close they were nearly touching my face. Before I could react, strong talons wrapped around me, pulling me close and immobilizing me. Soon my kidnapper, with me wrapped in their arms, ran towards the cliff and jumped off.

We began to freefall, and I nearly threw up. I didn't really like heights and falling just so happened to be one of my fears. Fear clutched my heart as I twisted and pulled, attempting to escape, though there was nowhere to go. They noticed my struggle and stopped falling, instead, hovering. As soon as they had stopped, they jolted upwards, making my stomach lurch, along with everything in it, which was nothing.

They proceeded to perform the most intricate tricks and aerobatics, making sure to generate as many Gs as possible. I dry heaved many times, and black spots danced in my sight. Them going into a nosedive was the straw that broke the camel's back, and my will to not black out broke.