The night of orc raids came to a close. I yawned, only to grimace at the pain that brought, which only made it worse. The doctor priest who’d tended to me had said the bullet graze to my cheek might leave a scar. My left arm ached as well from having lashed out with it blindly only to connect with the Black Dog’s knife. At least I’d inadvertently saved my own life by doing so.
After changing into fresh clothes and smearing my face with the sticky ointment the doctor priest had given me, I left my room to face a new day. A bit groggy from sleep, I looked into the sky just as Veralgon passed overhead, his white wings spread wide. Having been let loose without a rider, he now descended toward the dragon house. Even from a distance, I saw the red stains around his mouth, and I knew he’d gone on quite a rampage. Having been awakened last night by gunfire, he’d made a mess of the dragon house, and by morning, when his thrashing grew dangerously out of control, he’d finally been set free. The smell of orc blood had been too much for him to contain himself.
I stifled another yawn and headed to find Herbert. I needed to check the information I had on hand. He’d let me rest until the sun was high in the sky, so there apparently weren’t any new issues to concern me.
The being that had sent me here had finally gone quiet. Its presence hadn’t disappeared entirely, however. Perhaps it wanted to see what I intended to do. It needed to have faith in me, I thought. I was, after all, the hero who had already saved twelve worlds.
I found Herbert in front of the gate tower, receiving various reports.
“Oh, Hero! You came at just the right time. The scouts we sent into the valley have returned.”
“Have you pieced these events together?”
“Yes, and it seems we fell for their plot hook, line, and sinker.”
As it turned out, the torches in the valley had indeed only been a bluff, continuing to burn even after the beak-dog riders had retreated. Scouts sent out at daybreak had found nothing but a large number of torches atop stakes driven into the ground. It would only have taken a few members of the enemy team to light them all.
“It was wise of you to see through their true intentions, Hero.”
“It was because you permitted me to act freely. Also, I didn’t see through it completely. I just thought that if I had nothing better to do, I might as well prepare for the worst.”
“And that ultimately saved us. We know now the underground chamber was their objective, but how did they learn about it?”
“We still need to confirm that. Did you send a messenger to the village?”
“Yes, they should be here soon.”
Just then a ruckus broke out in the direction of the dragon house. I heard a dragon’s roar, a human scream, then a number of shouted orders.
This was not good. Suspecting what had happened, I raced that way at top speed.
The dragon house of Dragonjaw Gate was near the plaza beyond the gate tower, on the path to the village. In front of it, a single white dragon spread his wings wide and let out an intimidating growl. The surrounding dragon keepers were attempting to lasso Veralgon, but his snapping jaws severed each rope. Nearby, a group of ten garrison soldiers nervously held their spears at the ready. Behind them, George stood protectively in front of Lily.
Veralgon roared, demanding the soldiers get out of the way. Elites that they were, they held their ground. They must’ve been exceedingly well trained. But this was no time to be impressed; I needed to help them. Fortunately, Veralgon’s fire sack seemed to be empty, or else everyone might have already been burned alive.
“Oi! Veralgon! Stop!” I called out as I approached.
I needed to calm him, and fast. As agitated as he was, I figured I would need to mount him to take control and get him back into the dragon house. As I approached with this in mind, a tail came flying straight at me. I ducked beneath it and it passed over my head with a whoosh. I hadn’t experienced anything like this since the first time I’d ridden him.
His rage likely stemmed from Lily. Despite all his tail flailing to keep me away, he never took his eyes off the orc. Veralgon was a clever dragon who’d never forgotten how his former rider had been killed by orcs, and thus he harbored a deep hatred for them.
I narrowly evaded several more lashes of his tail until I could cling to his back, presently without a saddle. His emotions flooded into me the moment I touched him, and I had to use all my mental fortitude to subdue them. Veralgon resisted this effort, stubbornly refusing to budge from the spot.
I called to George, “Get Lily to safety while I can still hold him back!”
George nodded and took Lily by the arm. Together with the ten guards, they timidly passed by me and the dragon I fought to restrain.
When Lily was out of sight, Veralgon finally regained his composure. He reluctantly lowered his resistance and handed control over to me. I heaved a relieved sigh. Still, I could tell his abhorrence of all things orc continued to eddy within him. He must have been considerably irritated to try to get rid of me too.
His eyes took in our surroundings. They overpowered even my own sense of vision. Still keeping a safe distance, the dragon keepers looked reluctant to make another attempt at handling him.