The dog's eyes said that the creature agreed. A hint of terror was waiting in there. As with all things, even a monster feared death.
Pash leapt up the side of the animal, backpack strapped tight against his back and he climbed his way on top, knowing that it was time to leave even without his master telling him.
"How was it?" Pash asked breathlessly when he made his way to the top, his curiosity outweighing his fear of the height.
"He was pretty strong," Ermos admitted, "I think I like his sword."
"He's pretty famous," Pash told him, "and there's more like him, master. Titled chevalar. They're meant to be the very strongest. Most big towns have one. They act as guardians to the citizens, fending against any threats that common soldiers would struggle with. Maybe they're who you need to challenge, since normal chevalar don't pose a threat anymore."
"Nah," Ermos shook his head, not feeling there was much hope there. "I said he was strong, but that��s only compared to the others. It would be a waste of time trying to seek out worthy opponents. We should just focus on coin."
There was movement towards the gates of the castle, as soldiers began to gather around the unconscious Mane, and even citizens ventured out. Ermos saw Mane's arm twitch slightly and it seemed that he might wake up at any moment now.
"We better get going," Ermos said, "before there's any more trouble. Take us back into the forest, boy, we'll have to lay low in the trees a while."
The dog responded to Ermos' command even quicker than it had before, now that it had borne witness to his fighting skill.
They raced over the plains of grass, splashing back through the same river that Ermos and Pash had crossed earlier, and, in a matter of minutes, they were once again approaching the tree line, returning to the same forest that they had just escaped from, undoing all the progress that they thought they had made.
In the trees, they still went for a while. The hound's trail was not a difficult one to follow, what with all the carnage that it left in its wake, but after a while, Ermos cheerfully announced: "this should be far enough."
"Are you sure you're okay with all this?" Pash asked him again, always the one to worry.
"I don't think we have much choice," Ermos said back, patting the dog twice with his hand to try and get it to lie down. Somehow, the dog understood what such a signal meant and was lying on his belly but a moment later. "Besides, I think I have a plan for how we might make our fortune."
"What is it?" Pash asked, wide eyed with curiosity.
"We do as we did at the Stone Tree – we explore old ruins that no one would ever dare to visit. We kill a few monsters and we get our gold," Ermos said.
"I don't know of any other old ruins," Pash said tentatively, with less enthusiasm than Ermos would have liked. "In this day and age, everything old is pretty much explored, master. Nothing's hidden anymore."
"But what about the monsters?" Ermos asked, unwilling to be put off. "That Mane guy was talking about killing a baby dragon, wasn't he? Where there's a baby dragon, there must be a big dragon and where there's a big dragon, there must be gold."
"I don't know of anything like that," Pash said. Ermos had always relied on him for his knowledge, but now, it seemed, Pash's encyclopaedic memory had finally run out.
"…Well, I suppose we'll come across something, if we just look hard enough. There are all sorts of weird things that go on. Everyone is obsessed with living a normal life, but there's stuff we won't believe going on under the surface," Ermos said, jumping down from the back of the hound.
"Like what?" Pash asked.
"I dunno," Ermos said, "that's why we wouldn't believe it. You can bet everyone in Redrun will have thought boulder hounds were just a legend until our boy here showed his face. What kind of other stuff is there kicking around that hasn't shown its face yet? No matter how much people say they think they've uncovered, no matter how impossible they think things are, if you look hard enough, you're sure to find what no one else ever would."
"That makes sense, I suppose," Pash said. "…Since no one will buy the dog, what are we going to do with him?"
"I hadn't really thought of that," Ermos admitted. "I suppose we just let him do as he wants."
Pash clambered down off the back of the dog and it turned its massive head to look at them, its big red eyes filled with intelligence. It sniffed the air for a few moments, before settling back down again, observing them curiously.
"You're free now," Ermos tried, "go wherever you want. Do whatever you want to do. Go now, shoo."
But the dog merely sat there, staring at him dumbly, not moving a single inch.
"I know it sounds scary, since you're so big and all, but I'm sure you'd find your way fine. You're a clever thing as well, you're sure to establish yourself as king round here. If you were smaller, like the size of a regular dog, I might have even kept you, so you better count yourself lucky and take the opportunity to be free while you can," Ermos threatened.
Still, the dog did not move. In fact, his eyes looked weepy and his tail drooped as though he was being told off.
"I don't think he wants to go, master," Pash pointed out.
"I don't particularly want him to go either, but it's not like we have a choice. He stands out too much. We'd never be able to go into town again. There's probably a bounty on our heads already, and as soon as they see two guys with a big dog following them around, we'll have the whole city guard falling down on us," Ermos said, "but before you go, big man, know that you're the best mount I've ever had. If there ever comes a day when you manage to make yourself the size of a regular dog and you fancy coming back, we'll be here to welcome you."
The dog lifted its head as though realizing something, and then its tail began to wag, swiping down all the trees behind it. It barked as if to say, "look at me!" But neither Pash nor Ermos could look away even if they wanted to, for around the mass of the furry black dog, there was a shroud of white light.
"Magic?" Ermos asked quietly. Magic seemed to be following them wherever they went lately. It shouldn't have been so surprising that the hound was also capable of it.
The white light grew in intensity until it was as bright and as blinding as the sun. The two of them had to squint and use their hands to shield them from its bright glow. Even doing that, they could feel an intense heat against their faces, as though it really was the sun they were standing beside.
They endured that sensation without melting into vapour and soon they felt the air around them return to a temperature that might be described as more normal.
They dared to open their eyes, and the light was gone. So too was the hound. The only thing left was the huge imprint in the earth from where it had been lying, that, and a small black dog with floppy ears wagging its tail eagerly. Well, it only seemed small when compared to the boulder hound. In truth, it was as big as a wolf.
"…Did this little dog defeat our boulder hound?" Ermos asked in disbelief. "I see… So size doesn't matter at all, does it?"
"No, no, that's not it at all, master!" Pash exclaimed. "Don't you see? He is the boulder hound! He just used magic to make himself smaller."
"Oh," Ermos looked at the dog again. It had those same intelligent red eyes and its jaws were parted in something that might have been a smile. It ruffled the leaves as its tail wagged with an energetic enthusiasm. "Show off… But I suppose you can stay a while longer."