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MEINE gracefully soared through the skies in the very back of the formation. Last night, Jill and her dragon had spoken about how they could become stronger as they gazed up at the moon, and this conversation seemed to have increased Meine’s trust in the Dragon Consort.
They were already off course as they were initially scheduled to travel down a route alongside the city street, and they entered the skies over the old highway. At the front flew Rolf, who was against this mission until the very end. He claimed that he had wanted to at least decide where they would land and stole the spot at the helm. Jill was worried that the lazy old man might miss any curious cues, but this mission wasn’t according to plan anyway. She couldn’t complain too much.
She couldn’t help but imagine the scene. Millay, who’d expertly controlled her squad and gallantly soared through the skies, would produce excellent results, and Hadis would…
“Arghhh!” Jill cried.
“Y-Your Highness? Is anything the matter?” a soldier asked.
“N-Nothing at all… Huh?”
Jill blinked when she saw smoke billowing out of the corner of her eye. She thought it came from a city, but it was much smaller—a village, perhaps. In the depths of the former city street, she crossed a weathered bridge and saw a few roofs peeking out from between the trees. It seemed like smoke had risen from that area. When she cast a sidelong glance, the dragons flying in the front suddenly changed directions. They dropped their altitude and headed for the village.
Jill hastily turned to Finn. “Are we descending here? The area that dragons don’t wish to fly in is a little farther up ahead, isn’t it?”
“You’re right, but it’s the perfect timing to get some rest,” Finn said. His tone was gentle, but his expression was stern, and the nerves got to Jill, who gripped her reins tightly.
“Meine, we need to protect Raw and everyone else,” Jill murmured to her dragon. “Let’s act carefully.”
The red dragon pulled its chin back as though to nod, and it obediently followed the others as they slowly descended near a river, a short distance away from the village. As Jill dismounted, Zeke approached. Camila and Rolf were nowhere to be seen.
“They went to the village,” Zeke explained. “They’re gonna go with ‘Old Man Rolf threw out his back and needs some help.’”
“Got it,” Jill replied. “But why is Rolf so wary of this place?”
At a glance, it just looked like any old tiny village.
“He said that this village isn’t on the map,” Zeke said as he adjusted his greatsword on his back.
It wasn’t odd for a map to be inaccurate at times. There may be spots on the map that had disappeared, and vice versa. Natural disasters could destroy mountains, and floods from rivers could wash away an entire village. These inaccuracies were even more frequent when it came to places people rarely visited. Over time, the land would change, and the map would fail to catch that.
Rolf, who exaggerated his pain, was greeted by kind villagers. They were shocked to hear that the Dragon Consort had come all this way, but they were friendly and even shared some ointment to soothe inflammation. The villagers also helped Jill set up a tent to rest in the village. Raw received plenty of fruit to eat and took a nap in the tent. Sauté, who was tasked with watching over the dragon, relaxed as it preened its feathers. Zeke stood on guard outside.
“They’re apparently a troupe of travelers,” Camila explained. She unfurled a map to file her report as she was with Jill in the largest tent. “This place used to be a large dragon lodge, and they reused some of the large buildings left behind to stay here for a few days.”
“There’s a town a short distance away, along the highway,” Jill said, purposefully voicing her concerns. “Why did they land here instead of visiting that town?”
“Apparently, one of their kids has a fever. They’re worried it might be some sort of plague, and the kid is isolated in one of the buildings in the back. Their friends have gone to the town to get some medicine. I guess it takes time since they don’t have any dragons.”
“Is it normal for these troupes to have no dragons?” Jill asked.
“If they have animals, they’ll cower in the presence of dragons and become fussy. It’s not particularly suspicious.”
“So, for now, their story lines up.”
“Our guards suspect we might’ve stumbled upon a hidden village where the people evade taxes. There’re signs of a field, but it doesn’t seem tilled. They’ve got three large carriages, including one for cargo, and at the very least, I believe they do plan on moving.”
“What’s Rolf up to?”
“He’s so rowdy, screeching that he wants to sleep in a bed. He’s totally a troublesome grandpa who only causes trouble.”
Rolf indeed was a man who made selfish remarks, but he never was one to aggressively act on his own. Clearly, he was trying to stay because something bothered him. The issue was that he only acted when he was personally interested in something.
“He shouted to call for the Dragon Consort if the villagers had any sort of complaint,” Camila said. “What a fussy old man…” She gave a meaningful wink, and Jill immediately picked up on what she needed to do with a nod.
“Then I suppose we should go to him as a token of our apology,” Jill said.
She did her utmost best to act as normally as possible, in hopes of not raising any red flags. Jill took Camila and Zeke and left the tent. The village wasn’t large, and the troupe only contained around twenty people. It was rather quiet. The troupe members were likely told about Jill’s identity, and they all bowed their heads respectfully when she passed by. There’s nothing totally odd… Jill thought.
She walked toward the tent where Rolf was receiving treatment. Just then, a large carriage of four horses passed by Jill, along the wide, straight path that stretched out from the village entrance. As the carriage left her behind, Jill stopped where she stood.
“Jill? What’s wrong?” Camila asked.
“That carriage…” Jill murmured. “It’s the same one that tried to carry His Majesty back to the imperial capital a while ago.”
“Huh? His Majesty doesn’t travel by ca—” Camila stopped herself and snapped her mouth shut.
Zeke also furrowed his brows. The two knights recalled the past. Hadis was a Dragon Emperor, and he generally traveled via dragon, but there was one time when he was almost dragged back to the imperial capital in a carriage. During the Riot of the False Emperor, he was carried back to the capital to be executed.
The carriage was headed for a half-crumbled bell tower, and its steeple peeked through the trees. Since this area used to be a dragon lodge, perhaps a church nearby prayed for safe travels. Is the sick child kept there?
Jill changed directions and headed toward the carriage. Camila and Zeke quietly followed. But a few paces later, a couple of people suddenly appeared and barred her path.
“You must be Her Highness, the Dragon Consort,” a man said. He had a friendly, slender face. “The tent where your friend is located is over there.” He pointed with his chin toward a tent in a different direction. He was likely a leader of sorts in this troupe. “There’s a sick child beyond here, and I wouldn’t want you to catch the disease.”
“I appreciate your kindness, but I was just a bit curious about that carriage,” Jill replied.
The man carried no weapons, and he held no magical energy. Everyone else remained calm as they maintained a smile plastered on their faces.
“That’s the carriage that must’ve brought back medicine,” the man said. “We can finally depart from this area.”
“Oh? You use a carriage with an iron box, meant to carry criminals who’ve committed serious offenses?” Jill asked.
The man kept his smile and didn’t answer. He raised one arm and snapped his fingers loudly. Several explosive noises rang out from behind him, and smoke and fire rose in the air. As Jill tried to whirl around, the ground crackled and glued her into place as a magic circle appeared. The magic circle wasn’t nearly strong enough to be called a restraining device, and could barely buy a small amount of time. Jill channeled her magic into her feet and shattered the circle.
But every second she lost was a second gained for her enemies. The sound of a flute echoed throughout the area, and the dragons began to roar. The dragons belonging to Jill’s entourage writhed as they rampaged, knocking over trees and tents. The horses tried to flee, and the carriages were swept away by the dragons’ tails, causing them to catch fire as well. In a flash, a sea of scarlet flames rose up to greedily swallow the village whole.
“What are you—” Jill roared.
“The airship was shot down by the Dragon God,” the man said in a low voice. The smile vanished from his face. “The blessings of the earth were defiled by the Goddess.”