Hours passed as we meticulously searched the wilderness for any sign of the dragon.
Tahar utilised the full extent of her hunting abilities. We found ample evidence of its presence in the area. Destroyed trees, more excrement, and plenty of wild animals who had been gored by its teeth and consumed almost whole. My patience was being tested. I didn't mind spending a few days scoping out a job, but the cold had made it more intolerable than usual. We could never stop in one place for long and rest. Fires were merely temporary bastions that left arm's length all too soon. But just as I was about to snap and propose we head home…
We heard it before we saw it.
It happened suddenly. The ground quaked and the snow tumbled from tree branches on all sides. Again, and again. Booming footfalls of something that was clearly huge in size. With eager eyes we hurried through the forest and towards the area where the noise was coming from. We all ducked down onto a small embankment and looked out into one of the forest's many clearings.
"There it is," Tahar whispered.
I could feel the snow I was lying on seeping through the cracks in my clothed defence, but the icy bite of the melting snow wasn't what my attention was focused on. The drake that we had spent the past two days searching for was right in front of us. It was truly a sight to behold. It was majestic and terrifying in equal measure. It was even longer than the burrowing terror that had nearly killed me months before.
The dragon was classical, in a word. It had a long, lashing tail that smashed the trunks of the surrounding trees. It had arms that were much skinnier than its body, each ending in claws that covered as much surface area as possible. A natural snarl adorned its face, revealing a set of wicked teeth. Tough leathery skin covered the exposed areas of its body, while hard slate scales covered key areas. It was a brown and tan colouration with big yellow eyes.
It was difficult to comprehend the real scale of the monster from the distance we watched it from. It skulked around the clearing, snarling and chuffing like a wild animal. It had little regard for disturbing the peace of the forest. Dozens of trees had been bowled over, leaving a path of destruction that led up to the foot of the nearest mountain. "It must have made nest there," Tahar said, pointing in that direction.
I couldn't take my eyes off of it. I had seen some extremely strange things during my time in this world, but a classic high fantasy dragon had captured my imagination in a way that none of those other things had ever approached. In a sense it was finally starting to settle in for me that I was living in a fantasy world. It was hard to appreciate when everything was tinged with real consequences and cynicism. Seeing a dragon out in the wild though, that was a sight I could enjoy without attaching any baggage to.
"What do you think, Stigma?" I whispered.
"It appears to be an adult female. She should provide enough energy to last us for at least eight years."
"Eight? Shit."
"Assuming we have no need of my magic, of course."
"Eight years is eight years. I'm not complaining."
"That is a minimum. Hopefully the bounty is even greater."
For the time being – the beast had not noticed us. Tahar continued to study it from afar until it finally became bored of its present surroundings and took off back into the woods, quickly disappearing from our sight. The tops of the trees wobbled and tipped as it ploughed its way through to greener pastures.
Tahar nodded, "It appears to be hungry. This area does not provide enough food for it."
"So what, we can wait until it starves and jump on top of the body?"
Tahar shook her head, "I am afraid that will take a very long time. It is faster to slay it ourselves. I believe we should follow the trail to where it came from before it returns."
Tahar was in charge of the tracking, so me and Cali fell in line and followed her down the steep gradient that we had been hiding behind. The clearing was a challenge to navigate thanks to the claw-chewed ground and felled trees. The drake had tipped them clean from the soil, root and all. Getting in the way of an attack from it was liable to kill me instantly. Tahar would need to strike first with an arrow to make headway.
As the foot of the mountain approached, a sense of anxiety started to gnaw at me – something I hadn't felt for a very long time. I had long since abandoned any hopes of making something of myself in this world. Only then was I starting to think that I finally had some reasons to stick around. I knew it was corny, but Cali was the first good thing that had happened to me in years. She got me into all kinds of trouble, but at the same time she was a companion for the type of man who worked as a petty criminal.
She didn't quarrel with me about the ethics of what we were doing; Cali didn't know the meaning of the word. She understood the cynicism of the world we lived in but didn't make a big deal out of it. If she smoothed out those rough edges and took more of my advice when it came to dealing with people, she'd be the best company I ever had.
With all of that swimming around in my head, was it any wonder that I felt nervous? Life had been a rollercoaster going on nearly a year by that point. I was finally getting on top of things again. I had the money and if I could kill this dragon, I'd have a few years to get everything in order for real. I could take my time and choose where to go next and how I wanted to proceed with the Absolver's little plan.
Tahar pulled me back to earth, "There it is. That must be where it is living."
Before us stood the gaping mouth of a large mountain cave. It was presumably one of the few openings in the range that was large enough to contain its full body. There were tell-tale signs of a recent disturbance, the long stalactites that once poked down from the ceiling had been snapped away and scattered across the cave floor. The main problem was that it was very, very dark. I could already see Cali and Tahar squinting to try and peer further inside.
It just so happened that the last cursed item I had consumed had granted me the ability to see in the dark, and it didn't require anything more than my natural magic generation to use. I sighed and stepped forth, "You two stay here and shout me if that thing comes back. I'll go have a quick look inside here."
"Very well," Cali affirmed, "Try not to injure yourself."
"I thought you liked a challenge? Carrying me while a dragon chases us sounds right up your alley."
"Your implication is both boorish and inaccurate."
Again, I really didn't get what kind of dangerous situations Cali liked. I waved her off and activated my ability. The darkest reaches of the cavern were immediately illuminated to me. It was still dark, and I could tell the difference clearly, but the outlines of the various obstacles in my way were visible. An outsider would have seen my eyes glowing a dull yellow rather than their usual blue.
As novel as the ability to see in the dark was, there was also the looming threat of the drake returning at any moment and eating me. So, I hurried my pace and delved as deep as I dared to go. I soon came to discover that the cave was not as deep as I had initially expected. After only a few minutes of navigating the uneven floor, I came face to face with the nest that Tahar had speculated on.
The drake has recovered branches and leaves, piling them in a circular shrine at the back wall. This composted area provided comfort from the stone floor. Taking my chances, I decided to scale the side of it and peer inside. It was a difficult and odour filled climb. The rotting material under my feet was eager to give way and send me sliding back to the bottom to do it all over again. Eventually I settled on a patch that was strong enough to support my weight and reached the top. I hooked my arm across the rim of the nest and felt it hit something solid on the other side.
It was an egg.
A big fucking egg. Enough egg to make hundreds of omelettes. It was brown and speckled with lighter patches. I had come down on it with some serious force but it wasn't even dented by the impact of my gauntleted hand. I pondered how much of a blow you would need to land to crack it open; not that I enjoyed dabbling in abusing innocent animals and all.
"This must be what's causing them so much trouble," I murmured to Stigma, "It's been protecting an egg the whole time."
"It will become problematic in the future. If we successfully slay its mother, it may hatch and begin rampaging through the valley all over again Master."
"What do we do?"
"I would advise against breaking it. Drakes are animals, but they're also innately protective. If it believes that the child has been killed – it will attack whatever it sees in an attempt to extract revenge. To make the battle easier, you should leave it here for later, or…"
"Or?"
"Place your bare hand against the shell, and I will do the honours."
Describing infanticide as 'the honours' left a sour taste in my mouth. But it was likely more humane to prevent the egg from hatching without a mother. I never felt bad when I cracked open a chicken's egg back home, why would I start caring now? I unlatched the gauntlet and unfurled my glove, exposing a small patch of my skin which I placed against the outside of the egg. It was warm to the touch.
"This will require a small amount of your energy." I held my arm steady as a purple glow emanated from my body. There was no visual change to the egg immediately afterwards. It took only a few seconds. "That's it," Stigma said, "That should ensure no more unfortunate accidents come our time to leave."
"Just like that?"
"It will be no impediment to us," she repeated.
The egg wasn't my primary concern anyway. Whether Stigma's magic touch has actually frazzled the insides and killed it ultimately didn't affect me. It was just another thing to check off of the list. I took one last look at the egg, which was taller than me, and decided now was the time to leave. The walk back to the entrance was even worse than the walking inside. I was waiting for Tahar to call out to me and tell me to run.
It never happened. I breathed a sigh of relief as the flood of overcast daylight caused my eyes to go haywire. I turned off the spell and allowed them to readjust to the new lighting conditions. Tahar and Cali were where I had left them.
"Anything?" Cali inquired as we peeled away from the cave and headed to a safer location.
"It laid an egg down there. Might explain why the thing isn't heading back up north."
Tahar smiled, "That will make task easier. The beast will be weakened by the burden. There will be a stockpile of food near here for the child, and everything will be done for its sake. Now is the time for us to find advantageous terrain and tomorrow we will deliver a decisive blow."
But what kind of place would be perfect to slay a dragon?