Talk To Dragons

With bellies full and spirits high, the trio journeyed to the cave where Jack gathered his metals. It was quite the walk outside of the town wall, but nothing more than an hour or so. A bit of a path could be seen as they walked, no doubt from the many trips Jack had taken, but it was easy enough to miss if you weren't paying attention.

Still feeling energetic and ready, they came to the bottom of a cliff that sharply rose above them into the treetops. The rock was mostly a mess of moss and vine but an entrance into darkness could be seen under the fauna. They held back a good distance outside of the small clearing ahead so that Jack could explain his plan.

"What I've been doing is I'll light a torch so that any of the rats that come to me will get a hot beating," Jack said. "Once I get to the entrance, I light a small fire just inside so that they're not interested in coming after me. Anything that's already in the cave, I'll smash."

"I can see a few hollowed stumps and a couple trees with burrows under them," Violet said. "Is this a small army we're facing?"

"No, just one pack of a dozen or so," Jack explained. "They're as big as dogs and plenty angry at the sight of a human. They don't want anyone coming at that cave because it provides them with water. I'd be more than happy to leave them be but they're always trying to bite me to no end when I come."

"If we burn their burrows will they just leave then?" Violet asked.

"I'm hoping so," Jack replied. "They lose a lot of their backbone when fire is introduced."

"All right then. Do what you do and we'll take care of the rats."

With his pack of tools and empty sacks over his shoulder, Jack set fire to a torch and walked carefully up to the cave entrance. When he was in the middle of the grassy clearing, the quick and numerous growling of little beasts could be heard. From one of the hollowed stumps a rat came at Jack with its teeth bared. It tried to go for his leg but a quick smack of the torch sent it running deep into the forest.

After such a blow and many waves in the air, the rats weren't too interested in attacking and simply growled in their hidden places. With his small fire placed at the entrance of the cave, Jack went to work and left the little ones to do their job.

"Those rats are bigger than I am," Engel said. "I don't know how much help I'm going to be."

"But are you faster than them?" Violet asked. "Judging by the one that attacked?"

"I believe so," Engel replied. "Am I the bait?"

"Well, when you say it like that it makes me feel bad."

Engel let out a heavy sigh.

"All right," he said. "I'll draw them out of the burrows and then you light the fires."

With a burst of speed, the little dragon ran into the clearing and began to fidget in the grass. The growls of the rats could be heard again but none of them came out of the burrows.

"It's not working!" Violet called to Engel. "Try looking more timid!"

Accidentally calling attention, a rat burst from a tree burrow and ran for the little witch. Violet gasped at her coming threat and froze in place, completely unprepared. Before the rat could reach her, Engel tackled the creature and they tumbled in a short struggle before he led it away in a chase.

"Set the burrows on fire!" he called out to Violet.

The little dragon ran around the burrows with his pursuer and the other rats joined. Now that he had proved to rather run than fight, the big rodents were interested. Weaving in and out of the trees, Engel quickly gathered eight of the rats and led them on a confusing and frustrating chase.

Running over to the rotten stumps first, Violet placed her hands on the old wood and used her magic. The stump quickly dried up and was ablaze in seconds. With the rats distracted, Violet went to each burrow she could see and set it on fire, but when she came to the final hole she was ambushed.

A waiting rat had jumped on Violet, flailing its claws and biting at the air as it tried to catch her face. The little witch struggled a bit to grab hold of the rat before managing to use her magic to burn its insides. The rodent screeched at the sudden heat and died from cooked organs.

Hands bloodied, Violet set fire to the last burrow and sat down to catch her breath. Engel walked up to her, no longer being chased by the rats.

"Are you all right?" he asked her. "I ran the rats back towards the fires and that scared them off."

"I'm fine," Violet answered. "My hands just hurt. A lot."

"Your hands are a bloody mess."

The burrows burned away quickly with Violet's help. Despite her injuries she made sure the wooden shelters were eaten away completely before reaching in and stealing the heat away. The lush nature around the burrows also made it difficult for the fire to catch and run wild.

The burrows under standing trees proved to be both tricky and exciting. Once the fire spread far enough, the large timber fell to the ground with a loud crash, pulling at branches in the way. One of the trees fell towards Engel and Violet accidentally.

"Well, I didn't expect you to bring down the entire forest," Jack said. "But it looks like you've gotten rid of the rats."

"Of course we did it," Violet replied, very proud of their work. "Do you have any bandages on you?"