Noah woke up the next morning, the weight of his mission looming over him as he sat up. He took in a deep breath, steeling his resolve and getting out of bed. As he was getting ready for the day his father opened the door and said, "Good, you're awake. Get down in the living room soon, the messenger just got sent out." Noah nodded in response and continued getting ready.
Noah met his father downstairs with a bag over his shoulder that contained all of his supplies, and was promptly handed another bag and was told, "Breakfast, you don't want to start this on an empty stomach. Eat as we head to the west gate." Noah nodded and as they headed out, opened the bag and began to eat his last meal in the town.
As they were walking, Noah looked around and realized just how silent the town can be and just how small it is. If a town this small and peaceful can be the target of a dragon then nowhere is safe from their evil desires. Noah thought, feeling his rage build up and imagining killing the cause of his town's pain and grief for the past four years. What did we or our ancestors do to deserve this? The thought suddenly came and went, but changed his rage to sadness. He pushed his emotions away. Now wasn't the time for them, he needed to focus on his mission. He needed to fight for his town's, no, this region's freedom and peace. As he came to this realization, the weight on his shoulders felt infinitely heavier. He looked to his father and saw him looking back at him, shocking Noah into stopping.
"You can do this, I know you can do this. Everyone that knows about this mission knows you can do it. You wouldn't have been chosen to do this if people thought you couldn't." Sean said, comforting Noah, "Let's get going, the sun is going to be up soon."
"Alright, thank you for that. I needed that more than I thought I did" Noah responded and Sean nodded in response.
There was a feeling of hidden energy in the area as they arrived at the gate. Not only were there the usual duties of the guards but with the mayor and his advisor on top of it, it felt like there was something special about to happen. However Noah and his father knew what was about to happen and Noah mentally prepared himself once again.
"Hello Sean and Noah, I wish we were meeting in a better time but this is not that." The mayor said signaling the guards to move out of earshot and for them to come up.
"Hello Owen." Sean said coming up the stairs, "I also wish this meeting was in a better time, however a new era of this region's history will be starting now. Whether it is one of peace or despair depends on Noah here." Patting Noah on the back once they reached the top.
"Yes it does," Philip said, looking at Noah concerned, "Even though I wish it wasn't someone so young and had more experience. However since you gave him your blessing Sean I am in no position to stop this and can only trust in your judgement." He turned to look at Sean.
"I think we all wish someone so young wasn't the one to do this." Sean said, looking at Noah who looked very small with all this talk about him, "But he is the best one to do this, after all, who are we going to find with experience killing dragons. It would take weeks to get to the Dragonslayer's guild headquarters and to get back. That's even if they would come here. No, this has to be done now, any delay and we could all be wiped off every map." He finished, shaking his head.
"That is a good point. Any minute we, no, this region could be killed off." Owen added.
"Well I can't argue with both the mayor and head guard. You do bring a good point." Philip surrendered with a shrug.
"Now for the reason we are here." Owen said, looking at Noah, "We have come here to do more planning about your mission."
"I'm all ears. The better and safer a plan is, the more successful it will be." Noah responded, his confidence coming back.
"That is true." Owen said nodding, "Now tell me more about that book of yours. After all, that is the biggest reason we're even doing this right now. If it is a book of lies, this will be our doom."
"Well first of all this is not a book of lies." Noah said, putting his bag down and pulling his book out. "It was made by the Dragonslayer's guild itself and contains all sorts of knowledge about dragons. Whether it be the different types of dragons and how they act, to how to interact with dragons."
"Alright." Owen said, nodding, "That is very good. Even though I'm pretty sure knowing how to interact with dragons isn't very important for this mission." He finished causing chuckles among the group. He then added, "Well Noah since you're the expert, what do you think is the best way to do this mission?"
"Well, based on what I have read, I think that Nightmare is a fire dragon." Noah started saying.
"Fire dragon, what is that?" Philip chimed in.
"A fire dragon is the most common type of dragon." Noah said, looking at Philip, "It would also explain Nightmare's behaviour as fire dragons tend to be your standard aggressive and gold loving dragon. However, that doesn't mean they're weak."
"Yeah that's reasonable." Sean said, "Nightmare is all but weak. We've all seen that firsthand. How do we kill them though?"
"Yeah, yeah." Noah said, getting a bit annoyed at being interrupted all the time, "Well you kill them the way all dragons have been killed by humans. By sticking a weapon deep into their eye, you'll pierce their brain."
"Okay seems simple enough." Owen said, crossing his arms, "There's probably a catch however being that only a few people have become dragonslayers."
"You're right. As in their name fire dragon's elemental attribute is fire, their main attack is a fire breath that can reach up to one hundred meters. If you get on them or get close to their treasure they'll stop using their fire breath in favor of either trying to shake you off or going for melee attacks."
"So the best course of action is for you to get to Nightmare's treasure and then climb on him." Sean said.
"About that," Owen said, "We don't know where the exact location of Nightmare's treasure is. He has always met the messenger at the foot of the mountain."
"Well that's a bit of a setback, but we can't expect everything to be given to us on a silver platter." Sean said, sighing.
"That's true." Noah said, nodding, "Even with this book it's going to be really hard to pull this off."
"You said that you think that Nightmare is a fire dragon, correct?" Asked Philip.
"Yes I did say that, why do you ask?" Responded Noah, giving Philip a confused look.
"In the case that he is not a fire dragon, then what type of dragon would he be?" Philip asked.
"The only other type of dragon that comes to mind would be a tyrant dragon." Noah responded, scratching his chin.
"A tyrant dragon? What is that?" Owen asked.
"Aren't they only in legends though?" Sean asked
"Tyrant dragons are one out of two types of dragons that are extinct with the other one being ancient dragons, that's why they are only in legends. The only reason that they're not myths is because recently evidence was found of their existence, however none have been discovered to date." Noah said, answering all their questions.
"Alright so we don't have to worry about Nightmare being anything else but a fire dragon right?" Owen asked, to which Noah nodded yes.
"Well Noah it's almost time for you to go." Sean said looking at his son.
"Yes it is." Owen said, "I have one more thing to say to you before you leave. I'm sure you're aware of the legends of the dragonslayer weapons, right?"
"Yes I am. They're weapons so powerful that they can break a dragon's scales, pierce their skin, and burn their flesh." Noah said, confused.
"Correct, and what I'm about to tell you is something you can't tell anyone else." Owen said, "Those weapons are real, that's why this region is called the region of the spear and no kingdom has conquered it. However, if word of their existence goes out and even one of them gets into the wrong hands, the effect will be disastrous."
"Alright I understand." Noah said thinking," So the dragonslayer spear resides in the Spearhead, right?"
"Yes it does." Owen answered, beaming and then turning to Sean, "You raised yourself a smart boy there Sean."
"Yes I have, and I couldn't be any prouder of him." Sean answered.
"Well how are you going to get to the mountain, the straight path would be too obvious?" Philip asked.
"I never thought of that, I suppose I'll follow the trail until I'm in the forest and then go on from there." Noah answered.
"Which one, the Spear Forest or the one to the west?" Owen asked.
"The west one I guess. I don't really see the difference between the two." Noah responded.
"Well the Spear Forest is the only one to reach the foot of the Spearhead." Owen answered.
"The Spear Forest is also on the other side of the Spearhead, are you sure you want to do that? It will take a lot longer to reach than just using the west forest." Sean asked.
"Yes I am, it will be the easiest way to hide my approach. Full cover will decrease the chances of being found by Nightmare and having the mission go into jeopardy." Noah said.
"Alright then you'll do that. It'll be best for you to act as a messenger and follow the trail town to town until you reach the forest. Anyways, it's about time for you to leave Noah. May luck be on your side and attacks as strong as you are intelligent." Owen said, sticking his hand out which Noah shook. Noah then packed his things and headed down to the gate. Noah looked up and nodded at his father who promptly pulled the lever to let the gate down, and once the gate was down, Noah took the first few steps towards his mission.