I woke groggily as I attempted to pull myself up from the comfortable thing I was sleeping on. I moved the thing covering me up as it finally clicked. I was sleeping on a dragon, and she was using her wing to cover me up and used her body as a bed for me to lay on. I rubbed my back feeling the pain of what happened yesterday and then I realized that there was no hole in my back! I swiftly took off my hauberk ignoring the holes in the chainmail and lifted my shirt to see… nothing, there was nothing wrong with my stomach whatsoever.
Not even a trace of scarring was left behind on my stomach or my back, I brushed my hands across my face to check, and yep, my cheek was also perfectly fine. As if nothing ever happened, to check I slunk out of the cavern to look at myself in the river. The morning sun glared down on me once again as I left the safety of the cave and saw my reflection, and oh boy I have looked better.
My once dirty blonde hair looked almost brown with how dirty it was, and my once lively blue eyes were now sunken in and made me look older than I was. At least I didn’t have my face scarred up though, and Beau must have removed the spines by herself because I highly doubt I did it in my sleep.
I washed my face and arms then went back inside to check on Beau. I approached her and saw the creature's spines laying by the cooking pot. I approached her slowly as I saw her peacefully sleeping with her three heads resting on the sleeping bag that she decided to appropriate for herself.
I knelt down and stroked her heads gently, she looked so majestic and yet so peaceful right now. Even from what I've been through in the last couple of days it is almost unbelievable how she exists; a creature from a fantasy world was laying before my very eyes like it was some sort of storybook. I stop petting her and decide I am going to need to get some food but there is no way I am going to go out there alone again.
So I did what any other sane person would do and poked the dragon to wake her up. All three sets of eyes opened in a flash as she rose from her slumber; the left and right heads looked around in her surroundings as the middle head looked at me.
Alright now that she is up I can finally go out, “ Beau I need you to come with me okay?” I say while pointing at the cave mouth. The middle head nodded and prepared to follow me as I grabbed my armor and weapons and prepared to venture out once more.
The river flowed beside us as we trailed along the side of it, and now that the creature was gone it made the forest seem much brighter and less sinister. I can never be too careful though the last thing I want is for another one of those things to show up again so that is why I am taking Beau. It almost killed me and it could have killed Beau with its spines had I not blocked it with my body.
I let out a sigh as I came across the first trap as it was destroyed like the one from yesterday, and I am running out of materials to replace them. I guess I have to make do with six traps instead of seven.
Beau’s right head turned toward me and started rubbing against my shoulder as I walked, and my hand unconsciously started to rub the top of her head. The middle head glared at the right head in what I could only presume to be snark and let out a small authoritative shriek, which startled me a bit as the right head reluctantly drifted away from me.
Then I saw another deer, it was a doe this time standing no more than ten yards away from us completely ignorant to what was standing nearby. I crouched down and Beau followed suit, “Okay, Beau go around and drive the deer this way okay?” I whispered. She lowered her head in response and darted around the treeline without making a sound. I whistled at the deer to get its attention. It turned around looking for what was making that noise only to have Beau jump out of the treeline and unleash a hellish battle cry.
In panic it sprinted in my direction, not noticing I was hiding by the trees only for me to stab forward nailing the creature in its head. The deer collapsed to the ground, slightly spasming on the ground. I yanked the spear from the deer and picked it up to bring it back to the cave. Beau and I quickly made it back to the cave and I prepared the deer to make some venison stew.
I scooped out the rabbit meat from yesterday to see it was a sludge that melted in the pot. After dressing the deer and getting the water ready I placed the meat into the pot, now all I have to do is wait. Beau sat down beside me coiling her tail around my lower body. I looked over at her to see her left head looking at me this time as I could see her deep blue eyes.
I smiled and petted her as I watched the stew boil on the fire, then I heard something coming from outside the cave. “ Stay here okay Beau.” The dragon nodded in silent agreement but stood alert as she watched me leave the cavern spear in hand. I stuck to the wall to possibly get the jump on anything hostile as I crept halfway toward the entrance and I heard something. Voices, human voices! I almost ran forward in glee knowing I might have found some help, but then remembered that these people might be bandits or maybe something worse. I receded towards the cavern slowly.
Only to hear the twang of a bowstring and to have an arrow land a quarter of an inch from my face. Then the drawing of swords and what sounded like shields being pulled off backs, “What happened, did you see something, Johnathan?” I heard a feminine voice say it in perfect English.
“I think I saw something up there.” Says a young man presumably Johnathan.
“You think this might be the Manticore’s lair?” Another man says
“Ha! I wouldn’t put it past that bastard to make its lair in Tyrant’s Cave!” An older-sounding man says.
“Alright men, standard formation!” Jonathan says.
I hear them shifting around down there, I need to come out to them in a way where I don’t get shot because I highly doubt I can hide from that archer guy. Hopefully, I can make it out of this alive.
I slowly drop my spear and yell out, “Don’t fire! I am unarmed!” Though I am currently stuffing the dagger underneath my shirt just in case. I hear arrows being knocked and shields being shifted into a defensive line. “Name yourself sir, and don’t try lying. I have something that tells me if you are, and if you do I won’t be hesitant to cut you down.”
I can’t take the chance that he might be bluffing and I don’t want to involve Beau in another fight. Some adventurers fighting some random dude in a cave probably won’t cause much attention, but having a dragon getting involved would probably be another matter in its entirety.
“My name is James Wilson, I woke up lost in these woods and I don't know where I am. Who are you?”
“It appears you aren’t lying, everyone withdraws your weapons. I sense no malicious intent coming for Mr. Wilson. As to answer your question, Mr. Wilson, my name is Sir Johnathan Fairheart, the sixth of his name.” I hear the defense line put their weapons away as they part to see a figure walking towards me.
He was slightly above average in height and was wearing some very embroidered platemail that covered him head to toe. The gaps the armor didn’t cover were covered with silvery-colored chainmail. His helmet mirrored mine except he had a fine leather chin strap holding him in place with light red hair peeking out. The sword on his hip also seemed pretty expensive given its high-quality scabbard and the short bow on his shoulder as well.
I could hardly see most things in this cave with the crystals' poor lighting but he shone like a lightbulb, and oh boy did it make me feel poor. Three other figures appeared behind him. A brunette woman about as tall as him decked out in some sort of half-plate had a pike in her hand and another similarly expensive-looking sword on her hip. She is probably his girlfriend or mistress given how close she was to him and two identical-looking men in their late twenties standing taller than I were equipped with similar armor as Johnathan and held spears and kite shields in their hands.
Johnathan approached me with a smile, “How are you still alive?” he asked. I have no idea where that came from, but I don’t want to make the fully decked-out monster hunter squad pissed off. “I guess I’m just good at surviving?”
“No, what I meant is how has the Manticore not killed you yet?”
“The hells a Manticore?”
The entire group of adventurers bursts out laughing, but then it got awkward once they realized I had a confused expression on my face. “ Wait, are you saying that you don’t know?” says Johnathan, I shook my head.
“Well, it is an abomination of the truest kind, a bastardization of life created by a dark alchemist and his apprentice. We have been chasing him for a while. After all, he escaped from the small hovel with his creation after we managed to execute his apprentice.” says one of the armored men.
“The creature has an elderly man's face and lion's body, with a tail covered in large venomous spines and we are sure that its blood is acidic. We are afraid that the alchemist might have left his creation behind to stall our hunt for him.” says the other armor man.
My heart started to palpate, so that is what that thing was, “How would one kill it?”
“Well fire would probably be the most effective but mages prefer to be stuck in their colleges and towers, studying the arcane.” says the brunette woman.
“But why would you want to know? Do you have something to hide?” she questions while glaring at me.
“Sophia! Why are you interrogating him, he has done nothing wrong.” Jonathan says.
“John, he’s in the middle of Tyrant’s Cave, and he can’t be a local because he didn’t even know what the Manticore was, meaning he is an outsider.”
“Now that I think about it, doesn't he look like Alan Smith the rumored bandit king.” says one of the armored men.
Jonathan took a second glance at me and backed off laying his hand on his sword. "Mr. Wilson, we are going to need you to come with us for questioning.” This is bad, Alan Smith must be pretty important for them to halt in their hunt for the Manticore, and there is no way in hell I’m going to go with them. I know that once I’m brought in they’ll most likely torture me.
“Look if you give me a chance to give you all an explanation it will show this is all a misunderstanding.” I start backing away, not making any sudden movements, I lead them to the cavern and show them inside. Shit! I forgot about Beau. If they see a dragon they think I am leading them to their deaths. Johnathan pushed past me as I tried to halt them, and as soon I entered I saw… nothing Beau was gone.
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