The Hero’s Right Hand

Three uneventful months of travel was not what any of us expected after leaving Mount Ikrali. After one year of adventuring we’d grown accustomed to encountering something on our path with relative frequency. One month of peace was welcome. Two was a nice surprise. But now we were anxious and looking for anything that confirmed we were making headway. The routine of traveling, hunting, and sleeping needed change. For the first time ever I missed Foxhill and the haunting claws that chased us. I hadn’t been anything but a furnace last winter and soon that duty would start again.

Sariel sat atop the wagon and watched our surroundings with a sharp eye. Though she couldn’t transform, knowledge of her ancestry helped strengthen her natural draconic abilities. The distance she could perceive was much farther than when our journey began. A small opening in the forest allowed her to see through miles of vegetation. Unfortunately, something always blocked her view before we could triangulate our exact location. Our map of Teprav had become worn and faded from repeated unfurlings. Scribbled notes marked sites we’d camped in but our exact location was unclear. There was no easy to follow road from Mount Ikrali to Spirefell.

The village looked so clear from atop the mountain but we had the luxury to see over the landscape. Focus on the destination made us fail to notice all the hindrances blocking the desert. Edthecridaldyrth’s help would’ve trivialized the trek but I believed he knew that.

“I swear everyone wants this to be harder than it needs to be. All because I’m the chosen one,” Aisha complained.

“Ed would not have left us to our devices if he did not believe us capable,” Sariel said. “Though a little assistance was warranted in this case. Vofric, have you not visited this region before?”

Vofric grunted from his seat. “The world changes vastly in two hundred years. I have not monitored anything outside of Wolden. Though minor changes in landscape would not be reported.”

“Not unless it indicated something big was happening.” I added.

Normally when the group talked Avant chirped up or let his thoughts be heard. Aisha said he took after me in that way. As he’d continued to grow I found he was more outgoing with his reactions. It was a double edged sword with his current size. Even on all fours Avant was up to Vofric’s shoulder. One more year and he’d be a fully grown beast. Regardless of size he still acted like the cub I’d hatched in the southern forests. I often laid my hand on him as we traveled so I was the first to notice he stirred.

Avant quickly got on all fours and looked out the front opening. The sudden motion shook the carriage slightly. He rarely got close to the driver’s seat but this time he stepped outside next to it. Vofric slowed the cart only slightly when the owlbear leapt off and ran towards the forest. Sariel immediately followed in the trees but for once the carriage wasn’t left behind. Though it wasn’t a mapped road, the forest had a wide path we could follow. It seemed Avant realized it too since he stuck to it.

I’d never seen him track so long without stopping. Clearly whatever got his attention wasn’t the average prey. The path we followed wasn’t natural. Something had walked through a dense forest and left shattered remnants in its wake. Large trees laid messily between the remaining upright ones. Crushed foliage and animals littered the ground. Blood and viscera seeped into the dirt and painted a layer of crimson on the ground. Avant hesitated to continue on foot and returned to us. Even so, he stayed at the front of the carriage with my hand on his head. I vocalized his movements in order to guide Vofric.

We drove for a couple hours before finding ourselves deep in the forest with no sight of any roads or landmarks. It was unheard of for any piece of land to be completely untouched by humanoids. Not even orcs or goblins had taken refuge in the forest. It seemed like the perfect area to create a long term settlement. 

The sound of shifting stones brought us into an area slightly off the wide path. Remnants of a stone watchtower crumbled as we approached. It looked like something powerful had hit the building which should not have fallen under the harshest conditions. People often mentioned that but it only referred to what they could perceive. Few considered the effects a dragon could have on a structure.

Aisha was the first to notice something flickering in the sunlight. A chipped red dragon scale, only a little smaller than Edthecridaldyrth’s. The stones must have broken it off when the beast collided with the building. We got off the carriage for a closer look. Immediately, the ground squelched as viscous red liquid arose from within. Destroyed bodies of monsters were infused with the ground. Pointed ears and crushed teeth peppered the remains. It didn’t take long to realize they were goblins. It was no wonder the rest fled the forest. Beginner adventurers had little trouble with the monsters; for a dragon they were no more than insects. Broken weapons were scattered within the tower with melted pieces stuck to the floor. Most of the wooden parts were eviscerated except for charred remnants on the ends of small beams.

“They couldn’t put up a fight,” Aisha said.

“That’s assuming the dragon even looked at them as a threat. It’s like it passed through here and they happened to die,” I responded.

Sariel shook her head sadly. “It was aware of their presence and chose to ignore them. Whoever this dragon is, they believe themselves mightier and more prestigious than any other being.”

“Elmud has lost their mind to believe they can challenge such a creature,” Vofric said.

Avant growled affirmatively while ransacking the remaining food reserves of the goblins.

“We’re equally foolish,” Aisha replied. “I mean, either we have to fight Elmud after they beat a dragon or we have to face a dragon to protect Spirefell. Maybe having some unearned confidence would be good here.”

Sariel grunted in agreement. “We must convince ourselves of victory. It is the only option if we wish to succeed.”

We stepped back onto the carriage and continued following a new path away from the debris. It was hidden behind the rubble but quickly became as wide as the first. Bloody gigantic footprints continued through the forest. Charred corpses of overconfident beasts blended into the environment. A smoky layer of ash settled onto the forest, hiding the greenery from view. We kept our mouths covered and I focused on not igniting at all. A single loose spark would set the path ablaze.

The further we traveled, the more distorted the surroundings became. Trees bent at odd angles where the dragon had rushed through. Random areas nearby were dead after taking on stray fireballs. Wild tail swipes created massive clearings that led nowhere. As the beast barreled through the forest it caught every animal. Their horridly contorted bodies were sprayed across the floor. Avant shuddered at the sight and curled into my arm. Though he’d never been in the wild he felt a kinship with the forest’s denizens. Their deaths weighed on him in a way I couldn’t understand.

However, Vofric seemed to relate to the beast.

“It matters not if they are our own. We share a spirit and their loss weighs on us,” he said soberly.

Avant trilled sadly and moved slightly to be between myself and the dwarf. Even at his most fearful, the cub wanted to comfort us. It was short-lived as he perked up again. The temperature in the area was rising steadily. Sariel wasn’t the only one who could see why. Past the broken trees and devastated foliage was a sea of yellow minerals.

Now that Vofric handled driving, Sariel could modify our vehicle without stopping. The dying trees used their last bit of life to widen our tires to handle better in the desert. A thin sheet of bark draped over the front and back of the wagon. It would catch the sand but allowed us to keep a visual of the area.

The sun beat down harder as we grew closer to the desert. Its light bounced off the smooth platform. Vofric’s natural squint provided the perfect measure against it. Though I couldn’t help but find it odd. I’d never been in a desert but knew it shouldn’t be reflective. Light might seem brighter but not so much so that it blinded us.

As the forest turned to desert we paused. The cause of the reflections had been in front of us all along yet hidden. What we thought could be a mirage was a layer of glass spread across a portion of the sand. Rolling hills and stones were all over the desert yet the entrance we used was completely flat. Our wheels didn’t so much as dip into the soft platform. In fact, the ground felt sturdier than the blood soaked soil.

“It’s melted,” I muttered.

Aisha gasped. “No way. You can’t mean—”

“The dragon, or something, melted the sand. I can’t even reach those temperatures.”

“It was most definitely the dragon,” Sariel said. “Not only for obvious reasons but our race has capabilities that are out of reach for humanoids.”

Vofric shook his head. “It really is like facing a deity. To change a landscape with a single attack is no simple feat.”

Avant let out a shaky breath and slumped onto his stomach. It wasn’t a sound he often made. Though I understood the intention, it wasn’t the same as his exact words.

“What’s up, little guy?” I asked.

Sariel knew to answer. “He says, ‘so much for convincing ourselves of victory.’”