The dragon perked up at the sound of footsteps entering his cave. He could not remember the last time someone had been to visit him. He padded toward the entrance, remaining hidden behind the various boulders, just barely peeking over them to see who had managed to survive the dangerous climb.
A woman stood there, her body covered in the warmest furs to shield herself against the frigid cold of his home. Every inch of her was covered, all except her eyes. The heavily eyelined green eyes peered through the darkness of the cave as she held her torch higher. "Hello?" she called, and the dragon noticed there was the lilt of an accent in it. In the small slit of skin visible to him, the dragon could see the woman's face was tan. She was clearly not Creasan.
The dragon remained carefully hidden from view.
She stepped further into the cave. "I bring news of your brother."
The dragon's scales stood straight up on the back of his neck. His brother was the last creature he'd had contact with before he'd retired to isolation. If there was news of him...
The dragon stepped out from behind the rock.
The woman stumbled back in surprise. The dragon was enormous and intimidating, and he did nothing to lessen his frightening stature. He stood tall and proud, his gaze flaming as it met her eyes.
She bowed her head and dropped into a curtsey. "Hello, Holy Beast."
Air seared out of the dragon's nostrils as he studied her. He did not bother speaking; he knew she would not understand him.
"I have traveled far—all the way from Tamilem—so that I may be of use as your humble servant."
Tamilem? He had not been to Tamilem since The Fire War, and he knew no one who had crossed the ocean between Creasan and Tamilem in about as long.
"Your brother has been seen flying over Tamilem and Hamasan."
The dragon cocked his head to the side in question, which he hoped she'd be able to answer: What is he doing there?
She glanced up at him as she rose from her curtsey. "We do not know what his plans are," she answered. "But the people of Qamizeh do not want him there."
The dragon's brows drew close together as he awaited her proposition because of course there would be one. The dragon had learned long ago that nothing ever came without a cost. He reminded himself of that even as his heart began to race.
"Since The Fire War," she explained, "much has changed in Qamizeh. The descendants of those which fought with your brother then no longer support him, the war he waged, nor any other possible plans he might have."
Steam leaked out of the dragon's nostrils. If he were a dog, he'd be salivating. Finally knowing where his brother is, finally having the opportunity to finish what he had started centuries ago...
"Qamizeh is a peaceful country. One devoid of creatures who seek violence. Those are relegated to Creasan. We ask that you rid Qamizeh of your brother. In return, you shall receive the revenge and security you have sought since The Fire War began. Plus any physical payment you shall require."
The dragon wanted to jump at the offer. He knew his brother was evil, a hazard to human and dragon kind alike. And after The Fire War, there was not a doubt in his mind that his brother was evil.
But a dragon flying to Qamizeh after none had done so in hundreds of years was bound to raise word before he ever got close enough to do anything at all.
Yet to have his brother finally smote...
"Please, Holy Beast." She kneeled before him, bowing her head. "I am the only surviving of the group that came with me to seek your help. Please, please, do not have let it be in vain."
The dragon could see tears welling up in the woman's eyes as she lifted her head again. Whatever she had been through, it had cost her much. The dragon would be doing this for her as much as for himself and all those that had been lost in The Fire War. Never mind how he was going to find his brother undetected. He would figure it out somehow.
He lowered his head in a nod. He would do it.
Though her mouth was covered, the corners of her eyes crinkled with a smile. "Thank you!"
The woman stayed for food and rest before the dragon showed her a way back down the mountain through the cave. It was nowhere near as perilous nor was it as cold. If she had managed to survive this long, the dragon would not allow her to perish now.
He wasn't certain how long he paced his lair as he brainstormed ways of going about his mission. He was unfamiliar with the territory, and his brother certainly knew it by heart now. He would undoubtedly have an advantage over him. He would know he would be coming for him within days before he actually arrived.
Then the dragon's thoughts turned to something much more sinister; if that woman had been able to find him, did that not mean that, at the very least, people of the city of Tamilem knew where he was? She had said she'd come with a group. How many people knew his location? And if she had known his location, perhaps his brother already did, too. Perhaps his brother would not wait for him to come to Qamizeh. Perhaps he was already on his way to end him.
Noises filtered to the dragon's ears. Loud and angry voices. The mercenaries sent by his brother? Absolutely not. The dragon would not allow anyone to sneak up on him, least of all the swords hired by his brother. No, if they wanted to kill him, they'd have to beat him.
The dragon burst through the rocks of the cave near the entrance, letting loose a roar that made the ground tremble. His scales stood straight up around him, making him look even more terrifying and ferocious.
The puny humans covered their ears and fell backward to the ground. The dragon looked at each of them in turn. They looked more hardened by the wilderness than any hunters he would expect from his brother; his brother would have flown them in himself and the trek would have been a short one to maximize potential success. But these humans had come a long way.
One of the young women turned her gaze to the dragon's and looked him dead in the eye. He saw sweat bead above her lip and on her forehead as she gulped hard in fear. She murmured, "Aestus."
