The line of people stopped trudging in the snow, and the group in the front conferred over something they could see through the sudden storm. A snowstorm that appeared to be progressing to a full blown blizzard was an odd occurrence in mid April even in the remains of the state of Maine. One of the men in the front looks toward the back of the group and calls out, "Gwen can you come here please?" I stifle a sigh and walk up to our headman , "yes Jake; did you need something from me?"

Jake waves towards a large building that was lit up visibly thought the blowing snow, "we need shelter from the storm. Being that is a pre-disaster building can you go in and look it over, it is strange to see one still running power." He wasn't kidding, most places were back to being more like the period of the original settlers of the Americas verses modern electric buildings. "Mommy why is there a bright light coming from that long house?" One of the smaller children in the group said out loud, I decided that was my cue to go on in and look it over. No doubt no matter how bad it was the Headman would still bring the people inside just because of the younger children needing to be out of the weather. Thankfully no one was pregnant though.

As I head toward the building a man looks in my direction and I shake my head, the man goes back to scanning the surroundings through the snow. I approach the building noting that there was indeed human footprints going to and from the building. However from my estimation the tracks leading away were newest, I couldn't hear any noise from inside other than the machine hum that I had almost forgotten.

I open the plywood reinforced door and blink as I step into the very warm building. Whom ever was using it had turned the heating system on, yet no one was inside. Odd, from the amount of footprints that I had viewed; it was a sizable population. Big enough there should be someone left behind. I look about a bit and notice there is a lot of pipes that appear to be transporting water. The door opened behind me as my group started coming into the building. I point to a what appeared to be a sizable room just inside the building that no one was inside of, Jake nods a thank you and starts ushering people inside the room.

I ponder a moment and decide to remove a few of my outer layers so I wouldn't roast in the warm building. I handed it off to the man I had communicated with as he came through the door, I doubled checked where my weapons were and he gave me another look and I shake my head again. He then walks into the room and starts playing with the children, to keep them occupied.

I head down the hallway looking into rooms as I find them, there was a rather large storage room that looked to house food stuffs. If the residents don't return before the storm ends we'll leave some trade goods for what we might need. I then find a room that I could hear dripping water in, when I poke my head into the room I discover what looks like a stair to a basement that is filled with water. The pipes that were running along the ceiling the whole way ended in this room with a faucet, that I guessed was what the intent was. I had an idea as to why the water was there, but I needed to check.

I headed back to the first room where everyone was trying to get dry, I had stopped in the store room and found some supplies to make a good stew on one of our remaining gas camp stoves. We hoped it would last till we found a good home location, but we were not sure of that. I looked over to the man I had been having silent communication with,he had looked up the moment I had walked into the room. He was only called Shadow, a 'gift' from the militaries of the world to make sure I stayed alive. He was my personal body guard, however as I really didn't need one.  I had him guarding our children, however I needed him to help me check out the pool of water. I wave him to follow me and he does as if he really was a shadow.

When we get out of listening distance he looks at me questioningly,"there's a pool of water in the back room. We need to make sure of why it's there, I hope it's not what I think it is. I'm going in,while you watch; it would be our luck that the residents here would come back while I was looking at what ever was in there." He nods his head and follows me to the room in the back of the building. Once there I strip down totally Shadow not even blinking or even looking at me, I strap on my belt knife with my extremely sharp machete sized knife on it. Then I walk down the steps into the water, how nice these people left so many lights on for me to see by. Once I get deep enough into the water I start swimming and looking everywhere, it didn't take me long to find what I had hoped wasn't there. I surface and tell Shadow, "yep there's a nest. Frost Drake by color, only one though; I am going back to end it. If we are lucky these people will not be back. If they are while we are here, they will have much to answer for." I dive back under and head to the corner that I saw built up with cinder blocks to keep a clutch of Dragon eggs still while they incubated.  I sigh deeply not liking the chore ahead of me, but knowing it needed doing. Thankfully there was only one as yet, frost drakes are an oddity amongst the Dragons while they prefer the cold, their eggs must be kept hot. They normally find a hot spring, Japan is full of them due to the amount of hot springs. Odd to find one in Maine though, maybe that's why only one egg, because it's a younger one maybe.

I break the hard shell with the handle of my knife and cut up the half developed dragon to make sure it couldn't survive. One time I had to destroy a nest and I hadn't cut up the unhatched dragons and they were able to survive outside the egg. As we don't know when they are viable it's safer to just take the extra step.

I get out of the the pool and dry off on the towel the Shadow hands me, and then redress myself strapping my knife back on hearing the front door opening. "Looks like we, or they aren't lucky today." The two of us hurry to the front room where I could hear Jake talking to who I guess is the local Headman. "We left trade goods where we borrowed supplies as is custom these days." Local Headman responds, "that is just fine please be welcome we always enjoy guests. We so rarely hear from people these days."

As I inch closer I notice that Jake had the children hustled behind his warriors, considering I had left with Shadow he probably didn't trust the locals. He did have good reason based on what I found. I did a count before I came into view of the locals, the amount of footprints matched. Though I did notice something I didn't like. "Greetings from a weary traveler looking for a bed for the night," I spoke hoping maybe the local Headman learned the customary welcome greeting. The Headman turned to me surprised to see someone behind him and responded, "we welcome you weary traveler to our hearth and home and be welcome among it."

After giving the response though the Headman noticed I had damp hair but wasn't shivering, "where have you been?" The Headman took a step toward me and Shadow stepped between us and I calmly lecture the Headman. "Where have I been? More like what have you been doing here? Let me guess you worship a Frost Drake, and think she is a God; who is allowing you to live as long as you give her sacrifices. I don't see very many young people in your group and from my math this group of fifteen people is your whole enclave. That isn't a survivable number especially when you have so few young people. Leading through fear are you?"

The Headman turned red faced and looked closely at me, noting my knife and again the wet hair. "You didn't hurt the Lady's?" I toss my head and pull out my knife, "oh I killed that dragonling. That dragon is NOT a God if you want to call them anything call them demons or a plague, I expect your 'Lady' will probably show up soon since I killed her young." The Headman tries to tell the men in his group to attack me and one speaks up, "no way that is a dragon claw knife she has. This is the Hunter, we aren't dumb enough to tangle with her." I smile and wave my knife again, "yes since killing the Great Solar Dragon I have acquired a few rare weapons. Want to see my Dragon tooth sword? How many people have you fed to that Dragon since it arrived here?"

A older female answers that, "to many I tell ya. He fed my Johnny to it the other day because he wanted to marry his daughter." The old woman waves her hand around, "the crazy man wants to save her for a good marriage. How many men her age exist here? None now that my Johnny is dead." A young woman my guess is the Headman's daughter,came over to the older woman and hugged her. The Headman looked angry at that, "I will lead my people the way I see fit. You can't just tell me what to, I am in charge here." I smile at the Headman, "oh; but you also can't do any harm to us when you responded to our greeting. It's nice how oaths now work since the return of the Dragons, and you gave my group safe passage. If you aren't aware Headman how that works, your people are not permitted to harm us; we can't harm you. That does not translate to the Dragon and her offspring, that oath was set up for human to human." I look to Jake, "tell the men to tie up the Headman and ask the lady over there which are his cronies so they can be as well. I am sure that Drake will be here soon."

I wish sometimes that I wasn't so good at predicting draconic behavior, but right after the members of the locals who were dangerous were tied up I heard a roar from an angry Dragoness. I pull on just enough layers to keep warm while running and fighting, which isn't a whole lot. I then step outside to greet my foe, I look up to see the towering Dragon. She was indeed young for one of her kind probably hatched out just before they had all gone to sleep, so no real contact with humans before this. I could see her blink after getting a good smell of me. Based on her scale pattern I knew her lineage,as I had met her father, who was dead by my hand; by his choice. She might get to find that out to, "greetings daughter of Granite. I am Gwen Dragon Hunter, slayer of the Great Solar Dragon. I take offense at your enslavement of these humans."

The members of my group uttered a few surprised cries, as they didn't know the Dragons were intelligent. I imagine aside from the Headman the locals didn't know either. A booming voice answered, "I don't care what you take offense at Hunter, you slayed my egg. You will die." It was a pity really, as she was a pretty specimen of Dragon. Bright blue scales with a slight undertone of grey that you sometimes find in Granite veins. That's why her father was named that, as an earth dragon it amused him to be named after a rock. Dragons type come from the mother's, while you will see an undercurrent of their father's coloring's in their scales. It was a good way for a race who lived so long to avoid marrying within family lines.

I took in a deep breath and reached into my mind to the place that told me how to hunt dragons to determine the way this one had to be killed and I swore once I discovered it. "Shadow, get some of the men at the windows with the crossbows. She has to bleed to death, why can't it be simple like the Solar; one shot through the eye was all that took." Shadow nods his head and disappears inside the building tossing my sword out to me and I grasp it in my right hand while holding my knife in my left. This was going to be a very long night, at least her presence explains the snow storm. However, the snowstorm will heal her almost as fast as I can hurt her.

I charge the drake and slash at her forelegs with both weapons causing multiple cuts that run deep. The good part of using dragon made weapons is they cut through anything like it's paper, even dragon hide itself. I spend the next hour slashing at her while dodging her claws and her frost breath, not to mention the couple times she tried to swallow me. After the third time I slashed across her snout and she stopped doing that. Not long after the crossbow bolts started flying Shadow joined me, while he didn't have dragon weapons he did have a well made Katana that could cut through steel. After that hour I noticed the wounds had stopped healing and the snows was now a deep red and she was slowing down. I waved Shadow off and while dodging the half heart-ed attempts at clawing me, and walked away from her body far enough she could see me.

Her scales where they weren't bloody now looked dull in color as she lost strength and she looked at me smelling me again. "Hunter, why. Why do you smell like my father?" I sat on the step to the building as the dieing dragon slowly sank down, "because daughter of Granite. Your father came to me to ask for his death, and I spent a week conversing with him before agreeing to it. I know your people, I know why you live as you do. Though I do not know why all of you slept, as he did not. I do not go out to wipe out your kind, it was bad enough I wiped out the Solar's. I promised though I would not refuse to help, intelligent species should not prey on one another. Your father believed we could find a way to if not coexist at least not end each other. By birth I Hunt thee, but by heart I am not bound to thee. I will only harm those who harm humans directly. I bid you good journey daughter of Granite." I then stand and walk into the building as the dragon breathes in her last breath.

Jake stops me as I walk in, "they are thinking beasts? Why did you not tell us this Gwen?" I let out a sigh, "let me go bathe this blood off me and I will tell everyone all I know. I suggest someone go out and retrieve the teeth and claws, we may need them in the future; they weigh almost nothing. I walk down the hall to the hot pool with my Shadow in tow.