Gringsnaket the Sorcerer

3 Two Choppers and A Dragon

Panko and Gringsnaket set off into the night on their choppers, seeking the dragon who had killed Ralph the village leader. Granted, they didn't really know him that well, so I don't want to paint the picture that this was like vengeance or anything. I feel like it probably has to do more with an assumed monetary reward for the capture of his slayer. But I don't really know.

And can we just take a second to stop and ask why the heck he's called a "leader"? Does that not scream 'cult' to anyone else? And apparently there were a lot of women, I'm JUST saying, it sounds like a sex cult to me. But whatever.

There they went through the night, like gladiators in... the night. Riding choppers of royal blue like... jeez, I don't know, knights that ride motorcycles.

They were about to give up on their search when Panko spotted in the distance a great and large animal perched on top of a tree.

They approached the animal ready to strike, Gringy had remembered his fireball spell from earlier, and he was just about to recite the spell when he heard whimpering from the animal. He looked over at Panko, who must've heard something similar, as he had the same expression as his. Gringy looked up to the animal.

"Are you the beast who slayed Ralph, the fierce village leader of... " He looked over at Panko and whispered,'' What was the name of that village? Panko shrugged. "Fierce village leader of that village o'er yonder!"

The dragon turned its head to face Gringsnaket and Panko. "Y-y-yes, I am. B-but I d-did not mean it!" it squealed between sobs.

Panko and Gringy were awfully confused. The dragon did attack the village, did it not?

"But you attacked that innocent village, with all those good people!" Said Panko.

"B-but I did not mean it! Y-you do not underst-tand! I was on a d-dare, to dest-troy that village from m-my older brother!"

"So why did you do the dare?" Asked Gringy

"It was a double-dog dare!" Immediately, the tension in the area intensified. Gringy and Panko now understood what the problem was. When given a double-dog dare, one's own honor and pride is at risk.

"So you didn't mean to kill Ralph?" Asked Panko.

"R-right," Answered the dragon. At this point, Gringsnaket felt a little bad. He knew what it was like to have a terrible family, as his own had forced him into attending sorcery school.

"What is your name, icy dragon?" Gringy called up to the dragon.

"My name is Mando. Mando Lin, of the Lin clan of Lin's Mountain."

Gringy took a step back. "You're from Lin's Mountain! That big ass volcano!"

"Yes, us Lin dragons have lived there for centuries, but I never much liked it there."

"Well you can come with us, I suppose. This is Panko of Dalesbrad, an Araani from Sunforge, And I am Gringsnaket, half Troll, half Earthen, Sorcerer of Nurnzstale."

"That is very kind of you, but I am afraid I cannot leave Lin's Mountain, or I will lose all of my honor."

Gringsnaket looked down. "That's true, there is that to think about." He thought for a moment, then came up with an idea.

"Mando I have an idea. Terrorizing petty towns and villages will maintain your honor, but what if you could steal a scale of your brothers skin! That would bring you more honor than you'd ever be able to do anything with. And if we could take one of your brother's horns back to the village, it would make them feel better knowing their leader was avenged."

Mando considered the idea for a minute, and then he smiled. "I like it. But how are we to get into Lin's Mountain? The defenses are nearly impenetrable!"

"Leave that to us," said Gringy, looking at Panko. "Nearly impenetrable is manageable. Completely impenetrable, that is a different story, but nearly impenetrable..."

Also, I feel like I should explain something right quick. A common misconception is that it is in all dragons nature to breathe fire, when this is not necessarily true. Some dragons do breathe fire. Other dragons breathe other things like ice (in the case of Mando Lin) or sand or perhaps water. I've even heard of dragons that breathe of death. Moving on!