Dragon Hunter

I'll stop them from reaching you

Hoves swirled up dust as knights left the camp in all directions.

"What's happening?" Cabera called to Iona as soon as they got close enough.

"You're back! Good! Riders have started an attack on Janhills and there are more headed to other towns!" Iona's usually perfect bun was slightly messy.

"Roman, I need you to get a troop to the village in the east as we quickly as possible! Are there any shortcuts?" He nodded and she continued. "Cabera, join the others in Janhill, that's the town in the south from here!"

She continued shouting orders as Roman already pulled himself back up into the saddle.

A group of others followed him out of the camp.

He could tell that Maximus was already starting to get exhausted.
Maybe the riders' plan was already working better than they could allow.

On the normal road they would have needed about twenty minutes to the village Iona had meant because it curved around the hills and trees. If you knew the area well there were plenty of faster ways that also avoided having to climb hills.
They only took ten minutes.

Three dragons were soaring over the rooftops of the village.

In a distance Roman could see people fleeing towards the mountains.
They must've seen the dragons coming and left without the riders noticing.

Good, that way they wouldn't have to worry about getting them out.

Still they couldn't be sure that that was everyone.

"Look if you can find any villagers! Protect eachother, if we work together we have a better chance to get out of here in one piece!" he called over his shoulder. "You two, with me! The rest split up in groups of three!"

The only had three teams like this but it was the safest way.

If someone got injured, one person could stay by their side while the third person could go get help.

The knights followed his command and split up to cover more ground.

They were also three one one this way, as long as the riders didn't team up to attack one group after the other.

In that case they were in trouble.

A dragon touched down in front of them just a few metres into the village and Roman slid out of the saddle.

A Hornbreaker. Big and tough but slow and with a vulnerable stomach.

Its rider was tall and jumped in front of the creature drawing a sword.
They gave the dragon a sign and it lowered itself onto its stomach, completely covering the vulnerable spot.

"I've got the rider, you find a way to kill the dragon," Roman drew his own sword. This was a battle. He couldn't allow himself to wonder whether the dragon deserved it.

He was taller than his opponent and his metal armour harder than the leather parts of the rider's but the metal was also heavier and would slow him down, especially if the fight lasted too long.

The rider moved first, charging at him with the blade held tightly.

Roman doged the strike and tried to take advantage of it leaving the rider's body open.

He only managed to hit them in the side with the sword pommel.

They stumbled back and Roman moved to strike again.

The rider screamed as the blade hit his shoulder and tore through the leather.
Thick drops of blood hit the dusty ground.

They pressed their hand over the wound and held the injured arm out, still holding their sword if a lot more shaky.
They stumbled backwards towards the houses and pressed themselves against the wall.

Roman frowned. Like this they had no where to doge and they couldn't block with their injury.

"Watch out!" someone yelled to his left and Roman spun around just in time to see the Hornbreaker jumping at him.

He tried to move back but his foot caught on something and he fell flat on his back, the impact vibrating through his entire body and making his teeth clatter.

The Hornbreaker landed over him, it's leg barely missing him.

He felt the warmth radiating from it's stomach, just centimetres over him.

It growled and the ground seemed to shake under him.

All he had to do was raise his sword and it'd be dead. It would be so easy.

But he couldn't move. His muscles were tense and his breathing fast and shallow and he couldn't move.

If it died now it would drop down on him and crush him.

If he killed it, he would also kill himself.

The Hornbreaker tensed and suddenly it jumped up.

Roman closed his eyes at the gust of wind before squinting up again.

He could see the dragon flying away, the rider on their back. Retreating.

"Holy hell, he's alive!" someone called out.

A knight fell to their knees next to Roman.

"Are you alright? Can you move?" they asked.

Slowly Roman stemmed himself up. He was still shaking.

"Y-yes. I'm fine," they helped him stand up. "Are you two okay?"

Both of his companions nodded.

Roman took a deep breath.

"Okay," he said more to himself than to them. "We need to go on. Let's go."

He pushed through the shock. He could let himself break down over this later, now he had to safe lives, he reminded himself and sat up onto Maximus again.

The other two followed his lead and they rid deeper into the town.

"What are your names?" the one who had helped Roman up suddenly asked. "I'm Karan of Tebahl. If we die today, I'd like to know by whose side I died."

"You can't think like that," the other one said. "But if you must know, my name is Umbra."

"And you're Roman, correct?" Karan asked. "I've heard of you."

"I hope only good things," Roman tried to smile.

Karan shrugged. "Depends. Mostly that you're good at your job but also a few other things. Is your wife really a former rider?"

Roman actually smiled at that.

"Is that what people say these days?" he asked. "No. I don't even have a wife. So I don't think she used to be a rider."

Umbra scoffed. "People also think I have a husband. At this point I could probably tell them that I have a wife and they would keep talking about my husband."

"I have boyfriends," Roman admitted. "We live in one of the smaller villages close by."

Karan shot him a concerned look and went to speak but before they could one of the other groups met them.

"The riders are moving on," their leader informed them. "We didn't find anybody else here and neither did the others."

Roman looked up in the sky.

"Where are they going?"

"Southwest."

Roman's heart dropped.

From here there was only one settlement southwest.

Well, at least they rendered one rider unable to fight.
Better than nothing.

Please tell me your thoughts in the comments!

Don't let any dragons eat you! (Or, like, crush you)