Talk To Dragons

Neither of them knew where they were going, but the little witch had an idea that would help them learn the way. She could remember that there should have been a human village not too far from the forest. If they could find the road, they would be able to find the village and ask for directions. Humans were not too fond of witches or dragons, but Violet hoped for the best.

"I don't think I should go anywhere near the village," Engel said as they walked along. "Humans tend to view dragons as destructive beasts."

"That's true," Violet agreed. "But you're as small as a cat. They may just view you as something of an attack pet."

"Is that what you're hoping for?" Engel questioned. "You want to use me to intimidate people?"

"We may have to if we want information," Violet answered. "If we run into the wrong opinion or belief, we may be in life-threatening danger. Humans aren't rational, open-minded people."

The dragon was worried about his choice of companion.

"I'm not interested in making enemies," Engel explained.

"Neither am I," Violet agreed. "But we have to defend ourselves, right?"

Engel couldn't argue that point. Perhaps he had been too naive of the world. It would be the first human village he had ever attempted to get anywhere near.

"I've never met a witch before," Engel said. "What is it that you do? I've heard lots of different things but I'm not so sure any of it is true. Dragon tribes seem to enjoy using your people as villains in fairy tales."

"That make sense," Violet said. "Witches have a long history of bad characters. The older we get, the less control we have over the power we've acquired. The ones you hear about that cause calamity and act out great evils are witches that learned a great deal of magic and then simply grew too old."

"What magic can you do?" Engel asked. "Can you do any yet, being so young?"

"I have my own birth-magic," Violet answered. "The temperature manipulation I used to tear apart your metal cage is what I can do. And apparently understand the magical thought language of dragons. Witches lost the capability for learned magic a long time ago. Evil witch villains are ancient things. Are there really giant fire-breathing dragons that hoard gold and hate all others?"

"Yes, but fire dragons are very few," Engel explained. "They have the smallest numbers of any species of dragon. I don't know more than two, but I'm told there is at least ten scattered throughout the world. They are well-known for their hatred of all creatures, even their own kind. But if they get a hold of great treasure they essentially disappear, usually asleep atop a mountain of stolen bounty."

During the little dragon's explanation they came to a point where the forest dipped down and through the low point was a dirt road. Violet stepped onto it and looked up and down the path but but didn't know where they should go.

"You can fly, right?" she asked Engel.

"Not for a great deal of time, but yes I can," he replied.

"If you can fly straight up from here you might be able to see the town and tell us which way we need to go," Violet explained.

Having understood the idea, Engel stepped onto the road where the tree cover above was gone and took flight with strong flaps of his leathery wings. The little dragon was high above the forest in short order and he looked all about for a human village. After a good minute or so of hovering in place, Engel came back down to the road with his gathered information.

"I didn't see a village, but in this direction I saw smoke trails coming up from behind the trees a good distance away," Engel reported, gesturing down the road with his head. "The fires of human cooking I would guess."

"You really can't fly very long, can you?" Violet questioned.

"It's a result of my smaller size," Engel explained. "I can only fly at great lengths as my larger self."

Following the road for as long as they did wasn't very pleasant and gave them a powerful hunger. When they came to the village, they found it surrounded by a tall wooden wall and the carriage-sized gate of rusting iron did not invoke feelings of kindness. As they stood gawking at the barrier, a sliding panel of the gate opened and a man's head could be seen staring at them.

"Well, now," the man said, his voice hoarse and low. "That's an interesting sight. Never seen a witch and dragon at the same time. Or separate. What business do you have in West Lane?"