《Dragon Amongst Wolves》


 The Lies of the Dragon

    Looking at my soon to be face, I snorted. He stood six feet two inches with black hair and brown eyes. His face was relatively handsome among humans, however, after a long life, I have seen handsomer. On him were fire retardant chainmail and armor that gleamed with magic infused light. His sword was of ancient elven origin and hand an extremely cold finish to it that could cut through stone. Around him were 57 companions. Twelve wore similar armor and were armed with pike and shield, his knight retainers. Five were mages of varying elements and each wearing robes of their corresponding element; two blue for water, brown for earth, and green for wind. 15 wore like leather armor and had bows, probably hunters who guided him to my home. Aside from them there were various peasants carrying iron spears and an exhausted look about them. All were panting after climbing the steep mountain to my home. Although his manner of speaking is annoying, he will due. Speaking of which, he is still talking¡­


    ¡°Your days of pillaging the countryside are at an end dragon. Justice will be done and you shall taste our cold metal blades! Then I will have you stuffed and mounted in my home!¡± Humph, he¡¯s probably trying to buy time for his companions to regain composure after the climb while boosting morale for the peasantry. Despite this, I still find his whole ¡®ravishing the countryside sermon¡¯ to be both hypocritical coming from a human noble and insulting considering that the so called ¡®countryside¡¯ were forests and lakes within my territory. These humans expand, slashing and burning countless acres of forest, destroying homes for numerous magical creatures, and outright slaughtering any demi-humans they find and finally have the audacity to say I am the evil villain. I am going to enjoy toying with him.


    ¡°Let me ask human, do not find this cavern to be odd? There are no boulders or crevices to hide behind. The whole thing is made of stone, no dirt for earth mages to manipulate. No water except that which you carry on your own. Finally, the whole cavern is like a funnel with only one small exit right behind you.¡± His companions are all shocked to see me, a proud dark violet dragon that towers 25 feet, talk. The already depressed sight of the two earth mages grows worse. The water mages simply look exhausted carrying those heavy jugs behind them.


    Joseph Searmire then shouted. ¡°So what dragon, today will still be your last!¡± I calmly look at him and laughed. His retinue, hearing my laugh his retinue formed a shield wall. The two water mages pulled water from their jugs and formed a shield inform of them. The earth mages managed to conjure a 1 foot wall as well. The earth mage created a light breeze blowing towards me at only 65 mph. I decided to indulge their preparations and took in a large breath. Out of my mouth came a piercing hot blue flame. The fire shot out and overwhelmed the wind, evaporated the water, and melted stone. Their shield wall stood through it because of the fire retardant enchantments. When I stopped spouting fire a look of elation came over the knights¡¯ sweaty faces. ¡°See foul dragon, your fire has no power here!¡± bellowed Joseph.


    To which I mockingly responded, ¡°look behind you.¡± No trace or remnant of their former companions could be seen. There were no burn marks only emptiness were the peasantry and hunters were standing. From a total of 58, my fire or at least the intense gale force winds created by it and the funnel like tunnel blew that number down to 19. Their shocked expressions soon gave way to fear. Even they know a dragon¡¯s physical strength can handle 20 expert opponents. They begin to hesitate and panting heavily.


    With a smirk I asked Joseph ¡°have you ever heard of Cave Fairies?¡± Joseph gave me a befuddled look and demanded ¡°What are you on about now demon!¡± So I¡¯m a demon now? I wonder if self-righteousness is a kind of spice, perhaps he will have added flavor later. ¡°Old adventurers used to tell stories of how people who sleep in caves should never light fires because the fire attracts fairies to suck out their souls.¡± His gaze is tired. Clearly he wants to buy more time for his companions to recover, thinking that the exhaustion is from the climb. ¡°I do not care for whatever demon spawn you muster.¡± The wind mage, however, has a sudden flash of insight and screams, ¡°my lord, the air is poisoned!¡± He then begins to cast a spell to clear out the air. Joseph commands for his retinue to protect the mage. They begin to line up once again in front of him and the mage the earth and water mages ready their spells. As the wind mage nears completion of his incantation I channel my mana through my cave. Suddenly a large stone slab falls crushing the wind mage along with the earth mage besides him and three retinues in front.


    Panic strikes their hearts, before Joseph even has the chance to call out retreat the once loyal and proud knights run with all their might towards the exit. As they approach it, their eyes are full of a desperate hope for survival and with a smile I rose a stone wall 15 feet tall blocking the exit. They look back in terror. However, all I can think about is whether or not self-righteousness will taste good with fear.


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    Jumping up and down I find the feel of a human body to be rather limiting. With all my strength I can only jump so high and run so fast. My usual speed and flight which gives me the enthralling pleasure of freedom is respectively restricted and non-existent. I would even have trouble keeping up with a cheetah. Sighing, I then lazily walk over to what used to be Joseph, who was not as tasty as I would have hoped. I take the clothes and armor off of his remains, incinerated the rest, and after placing them on myself walked to the end of my cave. There stood a mountain of treasures reaching up to the 100 foot roof from both ancient and modern decent; Gold, diamonds, and jewels spread everywhere; Swords, spears, and axes enchanted with earth shattering spells; armors, clothes, and ornaments of the finest strength and make; Books and tombs filled with apocalyptic knowledge and spells.


    With an even longer sigh, I pick up one of the better swords with a holy attribute and close the treasury with a thick stone wall. I then walk over to a small hill of gold and curse Joseph for only bringing three wagons. One wagon is obviously needed for food so I can only take a paltry two wagon loads of gold with me. Of course two wagon loads is still enough gold to buy a kingdom or at least enough mercenaries to conquer one. However, for my future plans it is barely enough.


    Walking to a boulder next to a seemingly innocuous wall, I pushed the boulder aside


    revealing a handle, which I pull to a large room.  Then an angry shout came from inside ¡°Dragon!¡± A blonde woman stood 6 feet tall wearing pony tail and an enchanted green sun dress that is always warm. The room was full of paintings of lakes and mountains. In the background I heard the soothing music of an enchanted harp being played next to a vista of the Crestfall mountain range. Although it was only a short year I will miss having the princess as a pet.


    At first she was very resistant and angry at being kidnapped, which is of course understandable. However, like all creatures the best way into her hearts, or heart since she is human, is her stomach. I hunted for her the finest of glerubs in my territory. This was especially useful since glerubs were overpopulating and would soon have experienced a die-off from over harvesting their resources. Suffice it to say after a month of fine eating she finally grew calm and bored. Then it occurred to me as I was flying around my mountain range one day that she always looks at me with envious eyes from her room. So I took some silksteel rope, tied it around her, and attached her to my back. At first she resisted but as we took flight she held on very tightly and eventually grew used to it finding its enamoring freedom.


    I, however, was busy making preparations for my humble human domination plan so couldn¡¯t always attend to her enjoyment. Thusly, spotting a few merchant bands in my territory, or the so called ¡®countryside,¡¯ I ¡®tithed¡¯ them of artistic and musical instruments. She took quite a fancy to them and even began to paint in our flights. She also made a portrait of little old me, which I keep in the treasury. I think what finally won her over though are the clothes I got for her. In the midst of winter a few months back I noticed she shivered quite a bit and got her some enchanted clothing and blankets. Since then she has been more content as my pet and has even taken to playing music for me while I sleep on my gold. Of course, time moves forward and with it the beginning of my plan. This morning began by trapping her in the safety of her room. There¡¯s really no telling what these humans would do, to them pillaging goes hand and hand with raping after all. Thusly, her anger at her dear master dragon is predictable.


    She then looks at me and shock fills her gaze and for the briefest moment I even saw a tinge of sadness and pain. She soon recollected herself and gave a stalwart and noble look. Whereupon I answered, ¡°Dear princess Isskona, I am Joseph Searmire son of Duke Searmire and have come at the behest of your father king of Kroan to return you to his side. Thusly I slayed the evil firebreathing demon and come to your rescue.¡± Having said this my mouth tastes like the rectum of a poisonous Brightwood Beetle. I took 30 years preparing for this moment. Most of the preparation came in the form of learning to lie and deceive, a skill inherit within human beings. I spent a full 20 years learning to fake facial expressions, tone of voice, and words to the same level as a moderately capable human child. From princess Isskona¡¯s gaze I can tell I am not the only one disgusted by my words. Seeming to swallow it down Isskona responded, ¡°thank you dear knight, might I ask what befell the dragon?¡±


    Withholding the longest sigh yet at the caring words of my ever so cute pet. ¡°There is no need to feel worried, my lady. I found this holy sword in his treasury and stabbed him through the heart quickly extinguishing his life. You are safe now.¡± She grew calmer though not for her safety. She was always safe after all. ¡°After you change your clothes let us depart quickly, my lady. The outside world will do you good from the vile memories of this prison.¡±


    Hesitant, she replied ¡°agreed my knight, let¡¯s depart from these¡­ memories.¡± Humans, such grand liars who can¡¯t even accept that they care for other species or be branded by their society and reviled.


    I extended my hand towards her in knightly fashion and a flash of anger came and was quickly suppressed on her face as she said ¡°no, sir knight, I¡¯d prefer to walk on my own power for now.¡± In a slightly pleased mood I responded ¡°as you wish.¡± Walking in silence towards the cave exit I grab the silksteel rope from the walls and tie around myself. Then looking towards the princess say ¡°the climb down is perilous, so I¡¯m afraid to ensure your safety you will need to ride my back.¡± A mixture of emotions fill her face and eventually she manages to mutter out ¡°fine.¡± Tying her to myself, I quickly began to descend the stony mountain to the valley below. On the way I sew a few crimson flowers of what used to be hunters and peasants.


    The princess then asked in a slightly horrified tone, ¡°did the dragon do this?¡± So very pure hearted. It makes teasing her ever so delightful. I remember this one time I flew her to a nearby frozen lake. There, I left her on the shore and began to step on the lake. Unbeknownst to her, I am also an Archmage tier expert at ice magic. So believing the ice solid she stepped upon it and fell into the water. I began to laugh at her plight and when she got out she began to cast fire magic at me, a dragon. It was rather cute, like a pixie trying to punch a brown bear.


    Old memories, even longer sigh withheld. It will be more than a century before I can retake my dragon form. I answered her ¡°many brave knights died to put down the fowl beast.¡± She grew solemn. Nearing the bottom I saw my levy. A thousand spear wielding peasants and the last five knights of my retinue. Those peasants lucked out. I choose my home because it would take a human in good physical shape to barely enter the cave. Unbeknownst to the half-starved, four foot nine inch tall, disease ridden common folk their plight is their salvation. Of course the peasants can¡¯t be left without any condescending ¡®leadership¡¯ so five knights remain.


    Seeing Joseph¡¯s return along with the princess the whole levy and retinue began to cheer and chant ¡°Dragon Slayer.¡± Removing the silksteel rope I stood atop a boulder and looking across their faces I made an impassioned speech. ¡°For countless years our land has been besieged by the dragon. Burning our fields, destroying our caravans, and eating our livestock. Even worse, the blight called dragon had the arrogance to steal the princess of our very own Kroan Kingdom! The king was so bereft of the loss of his daughter that he even promised her hand for her safety.¡± At these words the princess flinched. ¡°However, we knights and warriors feared not this malevolent being. We marched from our home in Freyard, crossed rivers, hiked across magic infested forests, and arrived at these desolate mountains. Here we faced the great evil and here we proved victorious!¡± The peasants began to cheer even louder.


    ¡°As we all know with victory comes spoils. Inside that cave lies enough treasure to buy food for all our families for the entirety of our lives!¡± Greed began to enter their eyes. ¡°Thusly, we will stay here for the next few days and we will extract the treasure. Upon our return each man will receive a fistful of gold!¡± Upon these words thee peasantry howled as if possessed by sheer excitement, a fistful of gold is enough for three generations of their families to eat well. ¡°However, now more than ever is the time for secrecy. If word goes out bandits and marauders will come to take from us our treasure and to make our wives widows. Thusly, any and all deserters will be punished swiftly and decisively. Those suspected of stealing or attempting to steal our treasure will likewise be punished. Lastly, any man that reports the crime of those with black hearts will be rewarded with their share. But for today we celebrate, breakout the fine wine!¡±


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Although still cheering from the earlier excitement, I seeded the fear of their fellow man into their souls. Thus serving two purposes. Those men, having heard the speech now know that there is a significant reward to cooperation. However, they likewise know that attempting to steal may very well result in their execution. They are not even able to trust their comrades as they may be turned in for their share. Thusly, ensuring minimal information leakage, minimal loss of treasure, and the cooperation of the peasantry. Stepping down from the boulder I approach my retinue.


    ¡°My lord, what of the others?¡± A reasonable tall red headed well-muscled knight named Lemric Strockhoss asked. His brother was amongst the vict¡­ casualties in the cave. Looking towards him, while doing my best to restrain myself from smirking, I answered, ¡°Sorry Lemric, your brother died an honorable death fighting that creature. So have all the others. I only survived because of the dragon¡¯s arrogance and this sword on my belt. I promise, tonight I will share with all of you everything of the battle. Tomorrow we will bury the dead but today,¡± looking towards the Quarter Master, ¡°Breakout the fine wine and food, we only need one wagon full to return.¡± Lemric and the others looked mournful but as knights of our Kroan kingdom they understand to die with honor is to die a good death.


    Before they leave I also give another command, ¡°Xavier, summon the squires, I would like to alert them of their master¡¯s death and promote a few into my service. Also, Jurggen Vulturin (Quarter Master), you have my permission to recruit 20 or more trusted spearmen to serve as additional guards for our wagons.¡± Xavier Pescal, A bronze-skin, black haired, lanky chap nods and departs for the tents. Jurggen, a rat faced stout man that dresses in the most gaudy of noble wear responds, ¡°yes, master. Also concerning the recruitment can I give them some an additional reward for their service?¡± No doubt he will embezzle some of their reward into his pockets.


    ¡°You are authorized to offer them an additional fistful of gold.¡± ¡°About that my lord, are you sure you want to offer the peasantry so much? Even a few gold coins can buy their loyalty.¡± One of the shorter retainers named Tredurin Mertic, standing 5¡± 4¡¯ with brown hair, olive skin, and hazel blue eyes asks. ¡°To quote the old hymn of Freduchin and the Seven Giants, ¡®gold is a plague of the heart. For it men would kill even their fathers to lift the disease of greed.¡¯ Yes, I am sure. Once we begin moving all the gold from the cavern it will become imperative to ¡®lift their disease¡¯ with enough measure. Also Janice, please show the princess to one of our tents, she has had a long day.¡± Janice Oakstaff, the last female knight left, stood 5¡± 8¡¯ with black and wide hair intermixed, which is an odd combination with her youthfulness and emerald eyes.


    Acknowledging the command she departs with the princess while saying ¡°come with me princess, I¡¯ll show you to your quarters.¡± Helix Lionspaw, an almost sickly pail black haired youth and the last of my original retinue asks ¡°Should I dress your wound my lord?¡± I then look towards my right shoulder and saw Joseph¡¯s blood stains across the torn armor and chain mail. Hmm, completely forgot that was there. ¡°No, I dressed it before I exited the cavern.¡± Xavier then returns with a dozen squires behind him. These sons of lower nobility were given to knights to be educated in their ways and thusly become knights themselves. However, most of their masters have died and we are consequently left with a massive shortage of upper management for the peasantry. Thusly, I decided to promote 7 of the more outstanding youths to my service while the others are distributed to the previous five knights.


    Asking the seven to kneel I couldn¡¯t help but look at their youthful human faces, sons of nobility. These children will grow up to own fiefs where they will leach off of their serfs driving them close to starvation. Then they will have children of their own who will have peasants cut down more of my forest to grow more food perpetuating the cycle until there is no more land and the humans begin to starve. Of course this will only affect the peasantry and starvation is already such a common occurrence. It truly is no wonder that most peasants don¡¯t even reach five feet and it further enables nobles to lord over them. The world is cold and cares little for their plight but dragons are searing and I will rule them.


    ¡°Do you swear to serve me to the best of your ability, to uphold the honor of your house and to at all times behave in a way proper to knights and nobility? Do you swear to answer your countries call to battle and before all the gods fight honorably to your last breath? Do you swear to fight with me through perils of untold horror even if it should take your life? Do you give me, Joseph Searmire, this oath of knighthood?¡± ¡°We do so swear and grant our lives for honor, glory, and our rightful lord!¡± answered the newly minted knights. I then took my sword into my left hand and placed it on each of their shoulders. ¡°Rise as knights.¡± Rising they had a look of elation and happiness at this achievement. The other five where despondent but such can¡¯t be helped. If they only knew that I truly meant it when I said ¡®untold horror.¡¯ I then placed 100 levies under the command of each of my retinue except Janice who is now the princess¡¯ personal guard and Xavier who is mine.


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    Soon night fell and the sound of celebration could be heard across the camp. I was seated in front of a large bonfire surrounded by my retinue and curious peasants. Under the moonlight, I knew they would write songs, children would dream, and men envy of what was to occur. The greatest power humanity has; the power to lie, that¡¯s right, its story time.


    ¡°As we were entered the cave we had to be careful not to be blown into the mountain by the odd winds coming from inside. The odd wins, however, came rhythmically and properly timed, it could be traversed safely. To our astonishment, they were not winds but breath! As we approached the purple dragon heard our footsteps and arose 150 feet tall! Then with hatred and hunger in his eyes he spoke, ¡®how nice for my meal to deliver itself. I¡¯ll be sure to reward you by devouring you slowly.¡¯ The men were shocked by his size and even more by his despicable nature.


    However, the dragon gave no time to even blink as he breathed in with a force that could blow down a hundred tenement homes. I knew what the fowl beast was about to do. Giving the command, my brave knights formed a shield wall in front of it, the quick mages cast tens of protective barrier spells, and the spearmen and hunters hid behind our walls. Like a tsunami it came. The blue fire burned through the mage barriers like paper. Before us stood a wall of fire 50 feet high but the bravery of our knights stood firm! The shield wall took the blast, our feet forced backwards, and the heat could only be described as an inferno.


    The dragon, after what seemed like hours, finally lost his breath. He looked at us with arrogant anger for our survival of his most fiendish attack. Then he bellowed out a roar to that shook mountains and charged. The knights did not panic, we stood our ground and readied the pikes, the hunters and mages took distance and loosed arrows and bolts of magic, and even the spearmen tightened their grips and readied themselves. Life or death would be determined in the following moments. Raising up his claw higher than a castle it came down like a sledgehammer upon our shields. We held, despite the force, we held, despite his vicious anger, we held! Then we began our offense, we stabbed with our magic, pikes, and spears.


    The dragon took great enmity from our resistance and even suffered wounds at our hands. Enraged he fled back into the cavern smacked the walls with his tail. The whole cave shook and the ceiling collapsed. A large stone slab fell and I was fated to be crushed. Raywind Strockhoss pushed me out of the way. I will always owe him and his family a life debt for this most honorable deed. Our wind mage and three brave knights died this way and our shield wall broke. The dragon, however, to spite their bravery laughed. He unfurled his wings and as if a century storm came the winds blew with force enough to tear castle walls. Our knights and mages defended themselves with shield and magic. The hunters and spearmen were left without protection, however, and were tossed out of the cave.


    With hideous reptile eyes the dragon look at us and laughed causing the whole cavern to quake. Our moral was low, panic began to creep into our hearts, but we still stood strong. We reformed the shield wall the mages cast ice spike and stone shard spells pelting the dragon. We advanced quickly towards the dragon and then he opened his mouth. From it, the dragon spewed black mist slimy to the touch. Like sludge it clung to our clothes and armor and soon we were paralyzed and fell unconscious.


    I woke to the scream of the last of my knights being devoured. No doubt he saved me for last but in this hopeless moment a light shined through. I heard it¡¯s calling from the end of the cavern. Telling me to get up, encouraging me to live and find justice. I got up and began to run to the end of the cavern. The dragoon saw this and smirked, no doubt he preferred fresh pray. Slowly walking behind me like an ominous shadow. I ran as fast as I could till a saw a mountain of treasure. Two whole wagon full of gold. No doubt this was the greedy dragons stash.


    Besides a wall I saw it, an iron sword as purely normal as can be. Throwing away despair at its natural appearance, I rushed for it. The dragon, upon seeing the objective of my mad dash, grew furious. He finally took me with seriousness, catching up in the blink of an eye. I was but 10 feet from the sword when the dragons claw came crashing down. I did my utmost to dodge, years of training and martial cultivation put to work but the dragon was too fast. His claw tore through my armor nearly severing my right arm.


    Despite his best effort I still reached the sword and the dragon felt something new. His blood ran cold, his eyes disbelieving, and his smile gone. Fear. The dragon tried to rise his anger once more to no avail, his fear overtook him. I approached the dragon wielding the sword and he backed away. The dragon began to cower and tried to bride me to spare his life. He offered mountains of gold, to burn the castles of my enemies, and even to be my lifelong pet. Truly a coward. Not hearing any of it, I dashed towards him with the sword raised. Finally growing angry the dragon swiped with his tail. I swung the sword down and cut straight through the tail with a holy brilliance. While the dragon screamed in agony I sprinted to him and before he could swipe me with his claws, I stabbed his heart were then he burst into holy flame leaving nothing behind.¡±


    Their eyes lusted for more. The story finished and the thirst came. I¡¯ve done my job. Even Lemric had a mixture of pride, veneration, and sadness upon his face. Cheering came, boasts were made, and all drank wine. All but my lovely pet who seamlessly exited the light of the fire and faded into the night. I swear if I knew how much humiliation I would suffer, I would have devoured Joseph even slower. Janice began to get up but I asked her to sit.


    I exited the clamorous fire and walked towards the woods. There upon a hill sat my pet looking towards the stars. ¡°Princess Isskona, might I asked why you left the festivities.¡± The answer obvious, only served to enrage her. Her emerald eyes looked at me with clear anger and sadness in them. ¡°You have your price, you now obtained gold, glory, and honor for your house. At the cost of all your ¡®precious¡¯ companions.¡± Her attempts to incite fury are pointless and in truth they make me want to laugh.


    Approaching her I placed my arm around her shoulders. She resisted and was about to shout when I said, ¡°look there!¡± I pointed towards the starry sky. ¡°The teachings of Vledrin show that most of those stars have worlds and most of those worlds life. ¡®There is where our ancestors and loved ones go to reincarnate.¡¯ In that sky somewhere my companions and perhaps even your dragon look up. Just as the blue sky unites all on Petros, the night sky unites all souls together.¡± I then turn towards her and I see a single tear fall. She looked into my eyes and then quickly downwards with a slight bashfulness. Joseph you damn smooth talker, I should have flayed you alive. Angrily she broke my grip and stormed back to camp. Her hands clutched tightly with a hint of crimson. You never fail to please me, my dear pet.


    Proudly I returned to my tent. The sounds of celebration still audible even to this late hour. No doubt the peasantry enjoying the best wine of their lives. Calmly I rested in a meditative posture. Throughout today I felt as though I walked on a knife¡¯s edge and upon relaxing I felt clearly how much my power screamed to get out. Suppressing a sigh I knew would last for days, I began to seal even more of my power. I cannot allow this human vessel to rupture. I poured Qi out of my meridians into the night sky. I have, yet again, become weaker. I can¡¯t even use magic as my spiritual force is fully occupied maintaining the spell. I do not know how much weaker I will become before equilibrium is reached and this vessel is capable of holding my energy.  Falling asleep, my first day as a human was at an end and only a century left to go.


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    Authors'' Note: Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this piece of fiction or wish to give a critique please do not hesitate to comment, Its all welcomed.

 Bandits Life

    Bandit¡¯s Life


    Ruthenia, April 17, 253 years since the calamity. Surrounded. Death is courting me and she looks damn ferocious. My steel sword screeches as I pull it from its scabbard. The knights around the camp are standing straight as if they have a javelin stuck up their nether while staring down at us, probably waiting for instructions. It makes no difference to me, every bandit should know that at some point our existence will annoy the pig nosed nobles enough to come after us. In fact, I screamed, ¡°this is what we waited for! Farmers, laborers, orphans today is the day we get revenge on the greatest thieves of all, the ones who robbed us of our children, lands, and fathers! Let these noble bastards taste our cold steel!¡± Today is the day they suffer retribution.


    Ruthenia, September 1, 241 years since the calamity. It¡¯s Sunday morning and we are all preparing to go to town for the harvest festival. I was outside holding my baby sister Constanta while making face at her, cute little thing with blond hair and blue eyes. She squeals in laughter as I rearrange my face to the weirdest shapes I could think of, even going so far as to stretch my tongue to the tip of my nose. All my brothers and sisters are either blonde or have very light brown hair. All but I, I always had black hair, my dad says it must have been inherited from his dad Rufus. Of course, dad has brown hair, my older brother, Philip, teases me saying ¡®I¡¯m adopted¡¯ but everyone always says I look exactly like dad when he was a kid.


    Dad comes out of the store room, he warned us not to tell anybody about the store room saying some old proverb about ¡®eyes that can¡¯t see, heart that can¡¯t feel¡¯. He¡¯s wearing his ragged clothes and looks at Constanta in my arms, she¡¯s one and a half but she¡¯s gotten so big I can barely hold her anymore. He playfully says and repeats ¡°I¡¯m gonna get ya!¡± and then rushes over to Constanta who starts screeching as she gets tickled. Taking her from my arms he then looks at me and gives me a pouch the size of an egg. My heart shook. I¡¯ve never held so much money. He looks at me with a grin ¡°You worked really hard this year J¨¹rgen. Don¡¯t spend it all at once.¡±


    Cooling my head a bit I said ¡°I won¡¯t. I¡¯m going to save most of it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my boy! You save long enough and you can even afford a discipleship.¡± He then pats me with his free hand. If there¡¯s one thing I learned from my father it¡¯s to save. For years he¡¯s been saving money only buying bare essentials and making mom and my older sister, Isabel, fix and patch up all of our worn clothing as well as adjusting them for our age. First I thought the old miser was trying to embarrass us in front of our friends at the village. However, the same old miser bought the plot of land next to ours from the lord three years ago. He got it for a good price too.


    The land was unfertile and rocky, but he still got it. Some of the boys at the village were saying ¡®our family was so poor we were going to eat rocks and tree bark.¡¯ Every year he would make us till the soil, remove rocks, and feed the weeds to our ox, honestly I thought he was just punishing us with it when we did stupid things. This year though, we planted it and now we got a large harvest. Dad even had to make an addition to the store house to keep all the grain.


    Mom walks outside carrying the newest addition to our family, Adrian. ¡°Stop being a miser. He can spend the money however he wants, Flavius.¡± Before I get bombarded by the same old argument I immediately walk towards my older brothers and sister, Kristopher and Philip, and Isabela. Although I hate to say it, I should save the money for a discipleship. My dad worked hard saving all his money for that second plot of land so that my brothers can divide up the farm rather equally as inheritance. As the third son, well usually thirds sons are on their own and work as laborers if they can¡¯t afford to get a discipleship under some tradesman. That is if their lucky enough to even survive to this point, most, after all, starve. Luckily our miserly dad values family over a nice brew or even a cake. Oh cake!


    I¡¯m so excited! Mom promised us cake since the harvest was good. It will be one of the few times I can remember having cake. ¡°What kind of cake do you guys think it will be, I hope its pound cake!¡± ¡°No way it¡¯s going to be fruit cake!¡± said my annoying older brother, Philip. He thinks he¡¯s so smart just because he knows how to read better but he¡¯s a full three years older so it¡¯s not that big of a deal. He always brags to the boys in town about how awesome he is just because he can read. I can read a few words too though, it¡¯s only the other village kids that can¡¯t.


    ¡°Since I¡¯m helping to make the cake it¡¯s going to be cheese cake!¡± said my sister, Isabela. ¡°You better not make cheese, I heard it makes you bloated and fat.¡± Teased my oldest brother Kristopher. ¡°Will not!¡± Screamed Isabela. Mom, picking up on the shout walked towards saying ¡°that¡¯s enough! We¡¯re leaving now so get to walking.¡±  I started walking and looked back at the wooden house our grandpa and dad built. It autumn so the few trees around our house are orange and the sky is reddish because of the sunrise. I¡¯m going to miss this place when I¡¯m doing my discipleship but maybe when dad gets the dowry for older sister together she¡¯ll marry a nice townsperson and we can visit each other often. Turning back I see my family are leaving me behind so I run to catch up.


    In the town of Balti the smell of food is abundant. Grilled pork on my left, marinated steak on my right, candied apples everywhere. None know who struck first but soon everyone¡¯s stomachs were rumbling. Stalls and peddlers were everywhere, the town only looks this busy once a year. Although, the beggars were no-shows probably scared off by the guardsmen. ¡°Were missing out on a lot of money¡± my dad grumbled. ¡°Hush, that extension to the storehouse needed to be built so there was no time to make a stall. Now I¡¯m going to go buy the ingredients so go take the kids around.¡± Mom said, departing with little Adrian. ¡°I¡¯ll come with!¡± said Isabela as she ran to mom. She probably wants to visit Klaus, the butcher¡¯s kid. Looking at us dad said ¡°alright, were do you little monsters want to go to fir-?¡±


    ¡°I want to try the candied apples!¡± I screamed before anyone else. In times like this the initiative must be taken. ¡°No way, let¡¯s get some shish kebabs!¡± said Filip. ¡°I want to try the wheel¡± spoke the exited Kristopher. He¡¯s been looking forward to the gambling wheel all year. Don¡¯t know why though, last year he lost all his money to it. Dad gave a funny look at him. ¡°We¡¯ll get to the wheel last. For now let¡¯s get some food and visit the bazaar.¡±


    Nearing the temple we can hear the laughter of the crowd watching the theater performance of the comedy Locked Arrow, were the god Astrild is trying to win the favors of Zysa over her husband Tyr. Looking at the stage I see the fellow playing Astrild wearing women¡¯s clothing and holding his breath with a red face as he is hit in the groin by a suspicious Tyr. I wanted to keep watching but hunger won this battle.


    Finally reaching the food stalls, dad made us buy something ¡®substantial¡¯ before we go to the sweets stalls and we separated. I quickly bought and ate a shish kebab with my brothers while dad and my sister came back from the sausage vendor.  I quickly rushed everyone to the candied apples and bought one. It tasted so good! I haven¡¯t had anything so sweet all year. I kept eating at it when Isabella returned without mom and asked ¡°is it good?¡± I looked at her and knew she wanted to try. First I hesitated but I remember how she sneaked some snacks for me from the kitchen so I let take a few bites.


    Walking to the peddlers my dad got called off to the side, ¡°What¡¯s the old miser doing with a precious little cutie like that?¡± Snorting my dad responded ¡°I thought I heard someone passing wind, Reuben, lose some weight otherwise with those fat cheeks everything you say sounds just like a fart!¡± ¡°Ha! Always with the fat jokes, you keep talking like that and the heftier gods might curse you to live your life as a pig. Anyways, I didn¡¯t see your stall this year, it¡¯s too bad too I had a hankering for that cider of yours. Plus, I never knew you to let go of even a lead coin.¡±


    ¡°Enough, enough! How¡¯s the wife, Reuben? Is she and the baby doing well?¡± Reuben gave my dad a delighted look saying ¡°Things couldn¡¯t be better! Just the other day Francesca even said ¡®dada.¡¯ Cutest thing you ever did see. Only bad part is that ¡®aunt Flo¡¯ is back.¡± My dad put his hand on his shoulder giving him a solemn look while nodding his head. All I can think about is who is aunt Flo? From how the grownups talk to each other she comes by every month but I¡¯ve never seen her. Also, I tried asking mom but she just asked me who told me about her. Of course I said dad and the others and mom quickly disappeared to the shed were dad was working and started arguing. I find it really silly, if aunt Flo is so unpleasant just stop inviting her over every month. Letting the old folks engage to their squabbling I started looking at the different peddlers when it caught my eye.


    One of the vendors was putting away a shiny dagger into a violet scabbard shaped like a roaring dragon. The peddler was wearing a hood and you couldn¡¯t see much of his face except he had the creepiest smile. I wonder why he is smiling like that. He had a bunch of other jewelry in his display but for some reason he didn¡¯t have many costumers or any for that matter. People were giving a wide berth. That dagger on display looks really sharp though. My dad has a dagger too but its old a rusty. I bet I could hunt boar or something with a dagger like that; meat every day! Walking up to the peddler I ask, ¡°Hey mister why are you smiling like that?¡±


    The guy looked at me and I could see under his hood he had pointy ears, an elf! How rare, I¡¯ve heard tales of elves that my mom said were thousands of year¡¯s old and wielding magic like grand magi. The elf¡¯s smile quickly changed from creepy to sinister as he asked ¡°Is there something wrong with it?¡± ¡°Well it¡¯s really creepy¡­¡± I responded in kind. He looked over at the other merchants and murmured ¡°maybe in a few more decades I¡¯ll be able to fake it like the best of them.¡± Frowning, he looked at me and said ¡°Well, what do you want?¡± I looked back down at the dagger and asked ¡°How much for the dagger?¡± The elf then replied ¡°Depends, 2 gold coin to just buy it but if you¡¯re willing to listen to a story¡­¡± His eyes settled on my purse before swiftly looking back up ¡°three copper, 57 iron, and 23 lead coins.¡±


    I looked at the mystical elf, how did he know? ¡°That¡¯s my entire life savings!¡± The elf looked at me with a disgruntled face and said ¡°Considering its worth two gold coins at the very least, as well as its historical heritage you should be honored as well as delighted by this deal.¡± Humph, I may be a kid but I¡¯m no fool something is fishy about this deal of his. ¡°Can I inspect the dagger¡± I ask with a proud look on my face, can¡¯t trick me you old elf. The elf looked at me and for the briefest moment I felt spine tingling cold, all my hair stood on end, and goose bumps spread throughout my body. I nearly vomited before I came back to reality. The elf was handing me the dagger. I almost ran away but the dagger just looks so awesome yet mysterious, I couldn¡¯t get it out of my mind.


    Taking the dagger and unsheathing it, a silver glint was revealed. ¡°This is even better than my dad¡¯s!¡± I shouted. This time the elf had a proud expression on his face and said ¡°Now do you want to hear the story?¡± There has to be some catch, thinking about it aren¡¯t elves really old? So won¡¯t his story last for ages? ¡°It¡¯s not going to be too long is it?¡± I questioned. The elf¡¯s face contorted in a mixture of rage and annoyance. ¡°No it won¡¯t.¡± ¡°You promise?¡± The elf nearly exploded, he¡¯s no were near as elegant and graceful as the stories made him out to be. ¡°I promise.¡± He gritted through his teeth. ¡°Okay¡± I smirked, that¡¯s what you get for scaring me.


    ¡°Eons ago, before the calamity and the transmigration of species the elves occupied all of Petros. However, the elves did not rule Petros. All elves feared the true rulers, the Rakshasa, an apex predator. Much like your nobles of today the Rakshasa used the elves as beast of burden as well as cattle¡­¡± ¡°Were not cattle¡± I interrupted. The elf, containing his obvious annoyance responded, ¡°Yes, well our perspective differ a bit but in time you will see. Anyways, back to the story. In one of the Rakshasa¡¯s many farms a family was condemned to slaughter. The family was running away with all its might but the only child of the family fell. The mother stopped and tried to pick her up while the father attempted to fend of the rakshasa. The little girl then saw a violet dragon flying in the sky and cried for help. The dragon came to the girl¡¯s aid and devoured the rakshasa. However, he came too late as her family was killed.


    The girl still being held by her dead mother began to cry and the dragon looked at her and said ¡®nothing can bring them back but if you follow me I can allow you to obtain retribution.¡¯ The girl dried her tears¡­¡± The elf then murmured ¡°after several long tedious hours¡± and continued ¡°and got on the dragons back. The dragon took her to his home where he raised her and taught her magic. After many years the dragon felt she was ready and bestowed this very dagger to the girl and said ¡®I can only give you the tools but retribution must be exacted by your own hands. The fate of your people is yours to decide.¡¯ The girl then set out on a journey and freed her people from the Rakshasa almost forcing them to extinction¡­¡± ¡°Do Rakshasas still exist?¡± I asked. The elf looked at me with tired eyes and said ¡°yes but they¡¯re very well hidden and mostly vegetarian now a days.  Continuing on, the woman was thankful to the dragon and enshrined him as a minor god, the god of retribution.¡± ¡°So is he like Vidarr, the wide ruler?¡± I questioned. ¡°No, that would be a god of justice. Retribution is not about giving commands and laws from on high. Retribution is about empowering the weak to overcome the strong. Retribution is the victim giving back all the harm received to the victimizer.¡±


    Thinking about the story, this dagger is pretty cool but this money is for my discipleship. Holding the dagger in my hands I decide to try my luck and barter it down some. ¡°It¡¯s a good story but I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s worth three copper, maybe two?¡± The elf¡¯s eye brow twitched with sheer annoyance while his eyes grew bloodshot with rage. He then shouted while pointing behind me ¡°What¡¯s that!?!?¡± ¡°I look behind me while asking ¡°Where?¡± Turning back, the elf was gone and so was my purse! That damn thieving elf! At least I got his dagger.


    I looked around but couldn¡¯t find the elf. I then went back to find dad so I can get his help in getting my money back. ¡°Dad an elf just stole my money and disappeared leaving this dagger!¡± Dad broke off from his conversation with Reuben and made a gesture while looking at the dagger. I handed it to him and he unsheathed it. ¡°If this is thievery, I hope I get robbed too. This dagger is worth at least a couple of gold.¡± He said. ¡°Yeah, but he still took my purse.¡± I responded. ¡°This kid¡­ gold falls from the sky and he complains about a few copper. Does being a miser run in the family?¡± Reuben laughed. I was about to retort when the town¡¯s bell was being rung.


    We left towards the town¡¯s center were the town¡¯s crier was turning red singing praises to our ¡®benevolent duke¡¯ while also commenting about the horrible deeds of the treacherous count Ludwig and his detestable ancestor. ¡°It is with a sad heart¡­¡± he continued ¡°that our majestic and kind hearted Duke Siarmire must now pursue his rightful claim on the county of Rivne. In these trying times I know that the brave citizenry of Balti will put forth their best effort to aid their lord in this righteous cause. Therefore, to raise the funds needed for this campaign the lord and his servant Baronet Krewpalic have decreed an appropriate contribution from our fair citizenry and furthermore has awarded the contract for tax collector to Rudolph Goldsmith.¡± At the last part the whole town seemed shocked and dad¡¯s expression fell saying ¡°let¡¯s go get your mother and go home.¡±  ¡°But we still haven¡¯t stopped at the games!¡± exclaimed Kristopher. ¡°Enough, we don¡¯t have a lot of time and I¡¯ll explain on the way home.¡±


    Finding my mother in the crowd he then led us out of town. Quite a few other people were also leaving the festival early. On the way back home a melancholy Kristopher asked ¡°what¡¯s going on?¡± To which our dad responded ¡°Bullshit that¡¯s what¡­¡± ¡°Flavius!¡± reprimanded my mother. ¡°He¡¯s old enough, Alina.¡± ¡°And the babies?¡± ¡°Alright, fine, sorry. Okay Kris, you know who our usual tax collector is right?¡± ¡°Yeah, old mister Vermeer.¡± ¡°Right, well the reason for that is that the nobility often sells the contract for tax collecting to whoever offers the most coin. To that, people bid on the contract because they can keep anything collected over the amount required by the lord. This saves the lord money because he offers the contract for sale rather than sending knights to every home to collect, saving manpower and still collecting tax revenue with sales revenue to boot.


    So years back your granddaddy and some of the other townsfolk put money together to award the contract to someone we could trust, Vermeer senior. Vermeer senior then collected only the amount required by the lord. Of course the lord is aware of this and usually he doesn¡¯t care as it is akin to a golden goose that delivers its own eggs for him while we keep it going to prevent some outsider from driving us into poverty. However, this time he really means to pluck us of any and everything in our possession. This Goldsmith bast¡­¡± He quickly looked at mom before recanting. ¡°Fellow. He is well known in other villages for being a sadisti¡­¡± ¡°J¨¹rgen.¡± My mom warned. Dad sighed and continued ¡°extremely greedy. More than likely the lord hired him so they could split whatever extra he manages to extract from us this year using the war as an excuse. When we get home were going to hide some of the food and you¡¯re going to have to stay in the woods and guard it for a while.¡± ¡°What? No way! Why?¡± shouted an unwilling Kristopher.


    ¡°You¡¯re almost 15 and big for your age. Making you practically an adult in the eyes of the others. Meaning that when they come to collect tax this time they might just try and draft you for the levies too and I¡¯ll tell you now levies are the human shields of the nobles, almost no one makes it back and fewer still with all their limbs. The only good thing is since Goldsmith is from out of town he doesn¡¯t know much about us or our town so we might be able to get away with hiding you. Unfortunately, they will try to fleece us as soon as possible especially since we probably have more land than most right now. Also, Isabella, just in case certain rumors are true, I need you to stay in your room when he arrives.¡±


    When we arrived home we started moving grain from our store house to the woods about half a mile from our house. Grandpa put a shed out here for just these kinds of situations. We were on our fifth trip and everyone was carrying something. Mom was carrying the two babies, dad a giant sack full of seeds for winter, my brothers and I grain, and my sister some blankets and pillows. We just arrived in the shack when dad said ¡°that should be enough.¡± Mom then asked, ¡°are you sure?¡± ¡°Putting everything together we got a good three months¡¯ worth of food here. If we stretch it and only eat a pound a day each then five months. Even if he takes everything we can subsist off of this plus Betsy till the winter crop can be harvested.¡±


    Isabella then said, ¡°We can¡¯t eat Betsy! She¡¯s part of the family and she can plow and eat weeds and¡­ stuff!¡± Dad then smiled and said ¡°do the rest of you not want to eat Betsy?¡± My brothers and I responded ¡°Yea.¡± ¡°Okay, then from now on dig for worms, were having that for dinner.¡± ¡°Eww, no that¡¯s disgusting.¡± Complained Filip. ¡°Too late now, you made your decision.¡± ¡°Come on dad, we don¡¯t have to eat that stuff, right mom?¡± I asked. ¡°Alright honey, stop teasing the kids.¡± ¡°Teasing I¡¯m not teasing! I need my pound of flesh and if I can¡¯t have Betsy then I¡¯ll have Isabella!¡± He then grabbed Isabella, lifting her up while tickling her. ¡°Ahahaha, stop it dad!¡± Isabella laughed and cried. ¡°Come on we got to get home, the sun is setting and I don¡¯t feel comfortable walking in the dark.¡± said mom. ¡°Before we go, J¨¹rgen, lend your brother your knife.¡±


    ¡°Wait I thought you were kidding about that!¡± Kristopher exclaimed. ¡°Sorry but it¡¯s either spending the time here and staying hidden for a week or being cannon fodder for some noble¡¯s son.¡± explained dad.  I gave my knife to Kris and he looked really solemn and sad until mom promised him cake when he got back. She managed to buy all the ingredients before we got out of town. This whole situation just seems crappy. Why does the lord have to take all of our food? Isn¡¯t he rich enough already? Getting back home I went to bed with my brother Filip. Since my brothers and I share a bed it¡¯s a lot emptier without Kristopher here. At least it¡¯s not very warm today, in fact it¡¯s pretty cool for this time of year. I bundled up with the sheets before drifting off to sleep.


    Soon as the sun rose I heard a knock on the door. ¡°Shit, I thought I could sneak a little more this morning to Kris.¡± Dad whispered to mom. He Looked at Isabella who quickly went into her room then walked to the door and opened it saying ¡°you must be the honorable Mr. Goldsmith the town crier mentioned. I¡¯m Flavius Ottonian. Please come in, what can we humble folk do for you?¡± My dad had an inscrutable smile on his face. Mr. Goldsmith, a Lanky tall bald man with two gold teeth, walked in with a smirk of derision and two armed guards, wearing leather armor and daggers on their belts, saying ¡°Why thank you. How very hospitable but I am afraid I am here to conduct the town¡¯s unfortunate business of tax collecting. I hope you understand.¡±


    Maintaining his smile my dad said ¡°of course, how much is the tax this year?¡± Mr. Goldsmith smiled while responding ¡°I¡¯m afraid tax will be a little different this year. You see some people¡¯s land are more fertile than others and as such in the interest of fairness I will need to inspect your storage shed to come to an adequate amount.¡± My father¡¯s eyebrows furrowed, ¡°usually the lord taxes on a per acre basis, would it be at all possible for you to tell us what the lord expects?¡± ¡°Afraid not Mr. Ottonian but don¡¯t worry I am a very fair and equitable man. So why don¡¯t you lead me to your storage.¡± Mr. Goldsmith responded with thinly veiled disdain.


    My dad, whose smile was long replaced by a frown, said ¡°Follow me.¡± Leading them to the storage shed he opened it up and showed him our year of work. ¡°Here it is.¡± ¡°Good, good, I think this will do for your tax; take all of it.¡± Said Mr. Goldsmith with a vicious grin. Dad almost angrily shouted ¡°I¡¯m Sorry?!?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be apologetic. Even though it¡¯s not much to support our troops, every bit helps but seeing how bad you feel, we¡¯ll also take that ox of yours too.¡± Mocked Mr. Goldsmith, almost laughing maliciously. ¡°You can¡¯t take her! She¡¯s a beast of burden, without her there¡¯s no way to plow the fields!¡± Dad desperately shouted. The two guards put their hands on their weapons.


    ¡°Calm down Mr. Ottonian, surely you can¡¯t be questioning the decision of a duly appointed representative of the lord, can you?¡± My dad, swallowing down his words, responded ¡°of course not.¡± ¡°Good, now help me put all this on the wagon and maybe I¡¯ll leave you some.¡± My dad, nearly bursting said ¡°Thank you, kids go help him pack up our food.¡± We then started to move all the grain to their wagon and when we finished Mr. Goldsmith mounted the wagon and threw a bag of grain at us. ¡°For your efforts.¡± He cackled while departing with our food and Betsy.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    When they got out of sight my dad got on his knees and started punching the ground while screaming ¡°I can¡¯t fucking believe those ditch-born bastards took everything! I knew he was a sadistic piece of shit but to this fucking extent? Gods damn him! May his penis explode while he gets hot tar poured up his ass, that lecherous pedophiliac rat bastard!¡± By the time dad finished his hands were bloody and there were two large fist shaped indentations on the dirt. Sighing he then said ¡°Let¡¯s go get Kristopher; that guy shouldn¡¯t want anything more from us.¡±


    After we got Kristopher back mom started to make fruit cake and asked us to help her. Kristopher was really excited but no one else could get into it after what happen. Still it was delicious and mom was trying her best to cheer us and dad up. Dad decided to go to the shed and begin to move all the food back here. After he finished he said that he was going to take Filip and the wagon to the town tomorrow and see if they can buy some more food. He didn¡¯t want to take Kristopher because it wasn¡¯t safe in town yet. That night, if it wasn¡¯t for Kristopher¡¯s loud snoring, I think everyone would have just stared at the ceiling till morning. Thankfully and oddly that loud rhythmic wheezing sent us to sleep.


    Morning came and it was oddly peaceful. It felt awkward being around dad though. I know I shouldn¡¯t think this but when he left to go to town I felt relief. Yesterday was just weird. Dad has fought with mom before and he¡¯s gotten into arguments in town before but he¡¯s never been angry like that. Enough thinking though. Festivals over and farm life never stops. Kris and I are going to start seeding the fields today. We¡¯re planting beans and winter wheat. If it weren¡¯t for that seed dad took with him we¡¯d might have had a day off today. Betsy is gone but thankfully we managed to plow and till some fields before the festival. Overhead I see a Flock of Green Thrush flying south.


    Our neighbor, Eustice, hates Thrushes because they eat his apples. I find them to be a little adorable and they also like eating mosquitoes so their always welcome. Right now it seems their resting on the trees near our house and on the wind vane. Strangely the wind vane was pointing Southeast today, guess we will be getting a storm soon. ¡°Crap!¡± I shout as I hit a rock with my foot. Guess that¡¯s what happens when you day dream. Arriving at the field I grab a handful of seeds and begin to spread them. Sowing the field is pretty relaxed work but it also requires focus to get an even distribution. With that said I have no idea what we¡¯re going to do without Betsy. The other fields still need to be plowed and tilled. Especially since we let them lie fallow during the year.


    Although seeding is simply work, it takes a while considering how large the fields are. By the time I finished sowing a few cleared fields the sky was already orange and red with a tired sun. Heading back Kris and I decided to have a race. I say decided but it was like he goaded me into it. He wanted to put some stakes on it but while he was talking about that I already started running. ¡°That¡¯s Cheating!¡± he shouted as he tried to catch up. I¡¯ll never admit it but he¡¯s faster than me. So I¡¯m not going to give up a biscuit like last time and let him talk stakes. I caught sight of the house and Kris was still behind me. The cool air was brushing besides me, my heart was pumping, and I was winning! I saw dad and Filip coming back and could smell lentil soup all the way from here.


    We arrived at the finish line, the road to our house. I crashed down with the seed sack and begin to laugh maniacally. Kris caught up and was huffing ¡°N- no fair. M- My bag is heavier!¡± ¡°You owe me a biscuit!¡± I laughed. ¡°No, you wouldn¡¯t let me finish plus you cheated.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t care, next time mom makes biscuits, its mine!¡± ¡°You little rascal!¡± Kristopher then started to try and grab me for an arm lock but I was too slippery. I got a hold on his arm though and pivoted on my heels to pull him downward. He fell but managed to grab me too and so we ended up in a full blown wrestling match.


    When dad saw us he almost screamed ¡°knock it off!¡± He then charged into the house to find mom. I couldn¡¯t help but to ask Filip what happen. ¡°Goldsmith that¡¯s what. We went all around the village and visited Aunt and Uncle Gorski in their farm but we couldn¡¯t buy a scrap of spare grain. Not even the merchants had any. Apparently goldsmith taxed everyone for everything.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense usually the lord sells half the grain back to us. Even with the war he took more grain than ever before. What¡¯s he going to do with all of it?¡± Kristopher inquired. ¡°Old merchant Woyak says he sent it all to Sliven Duchy to hire some mercenaries.¡± ¡°Crap! It¡¯s going to be months before we see and ounce of that grain from the merchants.¡±


    Mom started to ring her bell. ¡°Kids, time for dinner.¡± Getting into the dining room I could feel the oppressive air. It was like a stranglehold on the conversation. After mom served everyone and we sat down dad said he¡¯s got some bad news. ¡°For now we are going to have to eat less for each of us. As it stands we lost Betsy and we don¡¯t have that many months¡¯ worth of food. So after we finish sowing the already plowed fields were going to go into the woods to look for some herbs to add to our diet. Also-¡°he looked guiltily at Isabella. ¡°I am going to use all our saving next year to buy a new ox.¡± Isabella looked down. She won¡¯t say anything but she had looked forward to getting engaged next year. Dad has been saving up and mom found out that she likes Klaus and has been in negotiations with the butcher. So when she turns 13 next year they were planning on betrothing her with a nice dowry.


    That night was so chilly mom opened up the chest with our winter wear and we dragged out the nice heavy blankets. Dad got some of the firewood from the storage room and lit the hearth. We gathered around it and mom started to tell ghost stories, ¡°Years ago your grandpa was travelling with a merchant caravan and they stopped in an abandoned village near the Black Wolf River. During the night a terrifying howl shook the caravan awake and they grabbed their weapons to ready themselves to face the dreaded Wilkrods! A band of Wilkrods all standing one yard tall and two yards long came charging out of the woods straight at your grandpa¡¯s band. The Wilkrods are like wolves except for their front paws with an extra finger and their vicious barbaric language. They¡¯re malicious fighters who tear at others with their teeth and claw at them. Cunning too, as they craft armor and exotic weapons with various poisons. Those very same savages charged towards your grandfather with vicious grins!¡± Mom stopped and Filip exclaimed, ¡°Then what happen?¡± ¡°Yeah, what happen to grandpa?¡± asked Isabella.


    Mom smiled and continued, ¡°Nothing. The Wilkrods weren¡¯t running to your grandpa, they were running from something. At first everyone was confused as to why the Wilkrods ran around the camp but soon everyone felt a creepy chill come up their spine and decided to travel through the night. As they gathered their belongings your grandpa was standing next to a fire pit when he heard a thud. The man next to him was pale white and naked. But before your grandpa could ask what was going on another man besides him screamed and pointed to the man¡¯s feet. At his feet was that very man¡¯s body and his ghost was the one standing! The ghost had an expression as if he were screaming in despair when five marks appeared around his body and he disappeared as if seized by something.


    Soon everyone was hurrying and some left their baggage and just ran. However, no one ran far and the first to go fell first. Your grandpa realized he was trapped. All the men around him were falling one by one as their ghost vanished and the five marks appeared. Soon it was only your grandpa and three other men left. Realizing it¡¯s the end he got down on his knees and started to pray to the gods for deliverance. However, he felt a chill come from his back and as he turned around he got up and could hear a wet and heavy breathing. He then saw it just for a moment he saw it a creature 5 yards tall, transparent like the night, with ash colored skin, and red eyes surrounding its black pupils. It was an Ahazu and It reached its grotesque huge hand at your grandpa, as if to grab him! When purple lighting struck it and it vanished. Your grandpa doesn¡¯t know if it¡¯s true but till the day he died he believed an elf merchant traveling with the caravan holding a perpetual scowl saved his life. However, before he could thank him he mysteriously disappeared.¡±


    If the wasn¡¯t for the fact I slept in the middle I¡¯ might not have slept well, Filip, however, teased me and Isabella who was a little frightened. I never noticed how much the wind makes the house creak till that night. In the morning there was snow! It never snowed this early, usually it¡¯s in January not September. Kris, Filip, and I quickly put on our winter wear and started to have a snowball fight as soon as we got up when dad stepped outside with a pale face. He was mumbling to himself and I can swear he said ¡°It can¡¯t be, not this year. Every other year I was ready but this year¡­ It¡¯s not fair. It¡¯s not fair¡­¡± I don¡¯t know what happened but he then went inside and talked to mom in hushed whispers. Since then he has been rationing our food and making us gather more firewood than we even used in all the previous winters. Filip says he¡¯s punishing us for having too much fun and Kris thinks we are going to sell the firewood in town. The whole week we¡¯ve been looking for wood and it hasn¡¯t stopped snowing although sporadically. There was a full one foot of snow out the door before dad stopped making us search for wood.


    Next morning mom and dad disappeared to the store room. Kris thinks their probably having ¡®adult time¡¯, whatever that is, despite that I could hear muffled shouting and Isabella¡¯s name. When they got back I could see mom cried but was currently holding back tears and dad had a red mark on his face. Mom asked Isabella if there was anything she wanted to eat. We made Isabella¡¯s favorite, an exotic dish called ¡®spaghetti¡¯. It took a while to make since they had to make ¡®pasta¡¯ first and tomato sauce. Neither Filip nor I have ever particularly liked ¡®spaghetti¡¯ so Filip and I both grumbled about how much we worked getting wood while Isabella staid home taking care of Constanta. Mom hit both us on the head with her wooden spoon though and told us to hush.


    Daybreak came fast and father was going to town with Isabella. It seemed like a miserable trip as it would have to be in a foot of snow. Uncharacteristically he looked guiltily at Isabella and asked for a family hug. I was about to make a comment about how mushy father was getting with old age but mom gave me a very stern look. Did they switch personalities? When they left mom temporarily disappeared to the store room while we took take of Constanta and Adrian. When she came back her eyes were puffy the top part of her dress was wet but she just dismissed it as the cold and snow. The whole day mom seemed out of it even cutting herself while chopping the carrots for the stew later.


    They came back at dusk, sis seemed a bit freaked out and father had an ashen look to his face. They were both exhausted from the trip but father dragged mom to the store house. I asked Isabella what happen and she said ¡°dad took me to a weird inn in town and started talking to a hostess and asking for the owners. It was full of girls with really sad looks on their faces and these really creepy old men kept staring at them and sometimes leading them to rooms. I could hear him and the proprietors arguing something about too many girls. Then father grabbed my arm we started walking back.¡± For the next few days father and mom did nothing but argue. Mom became increasing upset especially as she took care of Adrian and Constanta.


    Even I knew what was coming. They tried their best but we could pretty much hear everything. The store room blocks out a lot but when your shouting plenty gets through. We¡¯re all going to die. This storm is something that happens every generation. It snows for five whole months. However, everyone knows about it and so everyone always prepares but this year Goldsmith took everything from everybody. There¡¯s no food and even the baronet barely has enough food for himself and his men. Everything is falling apart and my siblings and I are avoiding father as much as we can. This house has never felt so small. Father keeps insisting that one of us should die so ¡®the rest can live¡¯. What is that? That¡¯s pure horse dung! None of us should have to die. I even kept my dagger with me inside my pocket. Soon enough mom broke and father held a family meeting next to the hearth.


    It was nighttime but no one felt sleepy and the air was filled with a desperate kind of energy. I felt terrified for the first time in my life. Previously, when hearing those ghost stories or that one time I got lost, I thought I knew what fear was but now¡­ Now I know. Father stood next to the hearth, the dancing shadows of devils were in the background. The wind blew and the house creaked but I swear it was absolutely silent. His face was a combination of sorrow and resolution. Time stood still and even the wind stopped as father began to talk, ¡°I¡¯ve done the arithmetic. There¡¯s no way we can all survive till the snow lets up and even less till the merchants can come in even if we ration even more while eating the seeds we have in store. So I¡¯m going to take Adrian and Constanta tomorrow to the woods and let them fend for themselves.¡±


    In that moment I didn¡¯t feel anger over the pretense of ¡®fending for one¡¯s self¡¯. I didn¡¯t feel sorrow over how my little brother and sister were going to die. No. I felt relief. Happy even. I was going to live. It¡¯s not me who was chosen. In that moment I don¡¯t know if he understood us or not but Adrian began to cry. Like a wave realization of my own feelings hit me. I never felt more disgusted. No, not disgust but loathing. I couldn¡¯t even look at Adrian. All I could do was look at the ground and stutter, ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡±


    Father interrupted, ¡°It has to be done, its either them or you.¡± In that moment I held the dagger in my hands and anger swept me. Anger against everything. Anger at father, anger at the duke, anger at that piece of shit Goldsmith, and most of all myself. It was then that I felt a confidence I never knew I had, I can fend for myself I whispered. Father then said ¡°what?¡± ¡°I can fend for myself!¡± I shouted. I grabbed my winter coat plus shoes and stepped outside.


    The snow was tall but I started to trudge along. Father shouted ¡°You¡¯ll die you know!¡± I turned back, mom looked terrified and my siblings had a complicated blend of admiration, guilt, and shock. Father had an even more complicated look of anger, frustration, remorse, and melancholy. I lifted my dagger and said ¡°I can make it. Plus, someone¡¯s got to go.¡± Father looked down and with a change in expression said ¡°goodbye¡­ son.¡± I felt as if my heart was pressed down by a dragon. It was a shitty situation and he was just trudging along as best he could yet still trying his best for us. I then spoke in what could have been a whisper ¡°Goodbye¡­ dad.¡± Turning around I continued to the woods beyond.


    Ruthenia, November 17, 241 in the year of our lord. Death¡¯s scythe is around my neck. Hope teases me a few feet in front of me. Standing in the cold snow surrounded by dead trees, I am alone but for the deer in front of me. I feel numbed warmth, truly it is a relief from feeling cold and hungry. The deer is digging at the snow, trying to get the grass beneath. The wind blows onto my face and I squint reactively. The wind passes but I find it hard to fully open my eyes. It¡¯s so bright out and looking at the snow hurts. I motivate myself with the thought of food and try to move my fatigued legs as silently as possible over the snow. As my foot came in contact with the snow I could hear the crunching sound as if it were the town yeller screaming into my ear. Fear and fatigue inhabit me.


    Thankfully the deer doesn¡¯t seem to notice. I keep walking forward when unbeknownst to me, a ditch presented itself underneath my foot. I fall forward into the cold snow, scraping some of the shrubbery on my way down. The deer runs startled by the noise. I would curse my fate but it¡¯s the fate I chose, the fate of a ¡®fool¡¯ who has heard too many stories about heroes. As I am about to fall asleep I dream of flying upon purple wings.


    The wings took me to back to town. My sister Isabella was being dragged into an inn called Night Lady¡¯s Rest by Goldsmith. She was screaming for help. The people on the street were shadows who never looked. I ran towards them when I saw Goldsmith¡¯s guards hold Adrian and Constanta. I caught up with Goldsmith. His teeth were golden, when he moved he jingled as if weighted down by coin, and he laughed like I was the funniest thing in the world. The guards put their hands around Adrian and Constanta¡¯s necks and Goldsmith laughed harder. Like it was the funniest thing in the world he laughed. Isabella screamed, Constanta squealed, and Adrian couldn¡¯t even mouth out a shout. Yet he laughed. ¡°Stop it.¡± I said. He laughed more. ¡°STOP IT!¡± I screamed as he laughed harder.


    I then took the dagger in my hand and stabbed him. The laughing stopped. The ghosts disappeared and Isabella looked at me and said ¡°thank you¡±. I know it¡¯s a dream. She would never thank me for that but I still felt happy. It felt right. It felt like the world was better because of it. It¡¯s probably a self-delusion but I felt important because I did it. Then I awoke outside the village. I felt driven to go inside were I found the inn from my dream. I sat outside it. There were holes in my winter wear from the wilderness. It was midday when I heard an irritating voice boast out loud, ¡°¡­ and she was crying the entire time. I tell you, you guys have not lived until you do that to a fresh virgin.¡± Hearing his voice I stood up and faced the exiting Goldsmith.


    My getting up startled them and the guards put their hands on their weapons. Goldsmith looked at me and stepping forward he said ¡°what a beggar? Wait, your Ottonian¡¯s kid. Oho, I see things haven¡¯t been too good for you lately. You know? When I returned to town I heard some rumors about a sister of yours around twelve. She¡¯s just my type. How about I give you a copper for her? No? How about a bag of grain? Interested now aren¡¯t you. Go back and tell your daddy before I change my mind, ha ha ha.¡± There he was, laughing again. However, I knew what to do this time.


    I approached him slowly like I was going to beg him or kiss his shoes as if he were a saint. Then I took out my dagger before any of them could react and stabbed him right in his gilded heart. As he fell forward I grabbed his money pouch and ran for my life. The guards were right behind me but I felt faster than I ever been before. The wind was blowing and I ran out of the town. I ran into the woods and I kept running till the sun set. I didn¡¯t know when I lost the guards but I ran a good seven miles. I was out of breath but I felt good. Breathing hard I opened the pouch and found seven gold coins. It seems Goldsmith lived up to his name. I also found a bronze key probably to his estate. The guards were probably still looking for me or reporting me to the baronet or possibly even the constable. So as long as I hurry Goldsmith¡¯s estate I can grab some food. On my way there I couldn¡¯t help thinking about what I did and feeling satisfied. This is how it should be.


    Within his mansion I looked for his storeroom when I crossed his bed room. Although time was short I looked through all his belongings on a hunt for treasure. He didn¡¯t have much in his dressers and cabinets but underneath his pillow was a book. It was the most precious thing I¡¯ve ever held. A book on cultivation. In this world the only real difference between nobles and everyone else is cultivation. Nobles will like everyone to believe that its lineage or talent but the only difference between us and them is knowledge. This book is that knowledge. Although, Goldsmith sold his soul at least it wasn¡¯t for cheap. Soon after I found the store house and grabbed a few bags of grain. Dragging them out with me, I hurried away from the estate and into the woods. I could see a pair of torches on their way back.


    I successfully escaped. With the food I managed to barely survive through the winter. My family also made it through as well but as it turns out dad was secretly stashing part of his own rations back into the store house by the time the merchants arrived he couldn¡¯t even walk. He survived though and after getting food into him for a couple of months he recuperated most of his former strength. As for the guards, they reported me to the constable and a man hunt ensued. However their story was strange. Apparently a pale bony beggar wearing ragged clothes killed Goldsmith and when they chased he sprouted purple wings that blew the snow into them preventing the chase. The local priest declared it the gods¡¯ retribution on his disgusting actions. The baronet wasn¡¯t too happy since his actions were implicitly approved by him but even he couldn¡¯t mess with the temple.


    After all, how many sons and daughters died or were sold off into slavery because of his greed? If he even touches the temple I¡¯m sure the town would revolt and try to lynch him. The war ended too. Only three in ten of the people that went off to war made it back. They didn¡¯t die in battle though. ¡®Improper provisions¡¯ the officers say. More like the duke had them camp out in the cold without even giving them a damn blanket.


    Twelve years later and a lot has changed. Dad and mom are still around and taking care of Constanta and Adrian. Kris and Filip already split the land though and Kris got married to the baker¡¯s daughter. She is a nice enough lass but she gives him a good smack whenever he feels like gambling. Fillips engaged too but we don¡¯t know much about her since she came with a trade caravan, I hear she plays an instrument called a ¡®zither¡¯. Sounds like foreign drivel too me but to each his own. Of course Isabella finally married the butcher¡¯s son and even have two beautiful kids. It¡¯s getting harder and harder to see them now days on account of my picking up the random rift raft here and there and training them to be noble hating bandits.


    This appears to be the end of my road. I did a lot although I wish I could do more. I never did have any of that ¡®adult time¡¯ every man yearns for but in my situation I can¡¯t protect my own life let alone a woman¡¯s plus the whole Night Lady¡¯s Rest fiasco turned me off that particular line of ¡®entertainment¡¯. After continuously raiding merchants doing business with the nobles and their officials it was a matter of time before they hunted us down. Anyways were 400 strong and more than capable of killed at least fifty of these sniveling dogs. I started to scream ¡°Charg-¡°


    ¡°SILENCE!¡±


    A young man with brown hair and silver armor riding upon a fine stallion came up with a haughty expression on his face. He then said with a qi infused voice and disdain ¡°Juurgen Snowfey or should I say Ottovian! You won¡¯t die this day alone, no your family will join you. Unless you cooperate with a certain request.¡± They got me. It¡¯s really surprising they tied all the knots from a 12 year old fable but they did. ¡°What do you want?¡± The young man looked at me and scuffed while he derisively spoke, ¡°simple, I need you to kill a certain noble.¡±

 Dragon鈥檚 Propaganda

    Dragon¡¯s Propaganda


    To be human is to be annoyed endlessly. Humans have such a thin skin that the smallest rock in a covering called a shoe causes unimaginable discomfort. The clothes they wear commonly consists out of wool and when that is combined with their thin skin it¡¯s practically self-inflicted torture. Humans are also constantly predated upon by a tiny insect called a ¡®mosquito.¡¯ These ¡®mosquitoes¡¯ suck the blood of humans using their proboscis and leave a poison that itches for what could be described as eternity. I swear when I return to my dragon body I will burn every last one of those flying brainless pieces of s-.


    ¡°Bzzzzz.¡±


    Calm down. That¡¯s it. Come closer, I have some fresh blood for you. That¡¯s right, make yourself comfortable on my arm.


    *Slap*


    I let loose a satisfied grin as I stared at the crippled body of my would-be tormentor.


    ¡°Bzzzzz.¡±


    Reinforcements? Needless to say, all of you will leave your bodies here today. I began to rapidly crush the invading army of mosquitoes when I heard my guards conversing just beyond my tent.


    ¡°Why is Master Searmire waving his arms about?¡± asked a confused Helix in a hushed whisper. ¡°He¡¯s been acting strange all morning. Jumping up and down on one leg. Glaring at the mosquitoes that come into the tent and having a generally pissed off attitude. At one point I think he even forgot how to wear clothes since he was having quite a few problems placing his own shirt on.¡± Replied my soon to be former personal guard, Xavier. ¡°It must be stress from yesterday. It couldn¡¯t have been an easy thing to watch so many of your people die right in front of you.¡± Spoke the very intelligent Helix.


    I believe it¡¯s about time for breakfast. Before, I continue I should greet my guards and partake of the very redundant human ritual known as ¡°small talk.¡± ¡°Helix, Xavier.¡± They immediately gave a small bow and said ¡°Lord Searmire.¡± There¡¯s a bit of overcast today but soon cumulonimbus clouds will move in which makes it a nice day to catch some lightning. ¡°Good weather today.¡± ¡°Uh, I mean¡­ yes sir, better than rain.¡± Helix answered while Xavier frowned a little bit. Good, I think that¡¯s enough for the pleasantries.


    ¡°Right, Xavier, call a knight¡¯s meeting in the strategy tent. There are things to discuss. Also, Helix, do me a favor and tell Mister Vulturin to meet with me after the meeting.¡± ¡°Right away, sir.¡± Said the dutiful Helix. Xavier gave me a funny look and asked, ¡°Should we hold the meeting after breakfast, sir?¡± Ugh, Humans have to eat on a daily basis. ¡°No this matter is too urgent.¡± With a grunt, they both departed. That Xavier is too sharp for his own good. I¡¯ll tolerate him for now but if his attitude doesn¡¯t improve then he will make a nice snack.


    I begin to walk towards the strategy tent while I hear conversations of yesterday¡¯s events from several loud humans. Overall, the humans rightfully admire me or Searmire while expressing their highly underrated terror of Dragons. Indeed we are quite powerf-. ¡°That dragon was damn greedy! Keeping a mountain of gold all to himself. He even had that poor lass tied up in that tower, the lustful wretch.¡± I take a quick look at the poor sod who decided to volunteer to accompany death to the ball later. He and six other peasants were sitting around a campfire while heating up some wheat gruel for breakfast. As I looked at them they sensed my presence and sweat began to pour down their faces. They immediately stood up and awkwardly bowed while speaking, ¡°Go- good morning. M- Master Searmire.¡±


    Humans. They sell their lives for gold, they kill one another for it, their women sell their bodies for it, and they even sell their children for it. Yet they have the audacity to accuse a dragon, who naturally enjoys sleeping on gold, of greed? Hypocrites! Every last one. They even accuse me, a mighty dragon, of being lustful? We do not even mate but once every seven thousand years! Furthermore, except for that flood dragon, we mate for life! I¡¯d like to see you have the same conviction next time you visit your village brothel. I yearn to tell him off and then make toothpicks of his bones.


    Although I want to, I can¡¯t. Pretending is truly tiresome. ¡°Morning, my¡­ fellow countrymen. No need to stand on ceremony, sit and enjoy your meal.¡± ¡°Thank you, Master Searmire!¡± I turned away and they sat down. In hushed whispers they spoke ¡°What was that about?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know but it was scary.¡± ¡°Did you see that grin? It was so malicious.¡± ¡°Hey be careful. He might be able to hear you.¡± The grin! We practiced this. I immediate contorted my facial muscles into a ¡°straight face.¡± Humph, a decade of training almost thrown out the window.


    I was the first to arrive at the strategy tent and as I looked around I couldn¡¯t help but feel that the humans are rather impoverished. The floor was a cheap carpet, probably of Osmanli make. A worn wooden table was at the center were an incomplete and inaccurate map of the region rested. As well as some figurines placed on the map and more maps and scrolls in the corner. It is clear, while looking at the map, that they did not even consider the curvature of Petros in their rendition. These inept two legged creatures can¡¯t even fathom something as simple as the curvature of the worl-.


    ¡°So as I was saying princess, the best way to groom a finely bred warhorse is by using three different sets of brushes.  A curry comb, a body brush with stiff bristles, and a mane comb. Also, be careful! If you find it¡¯s ¡®sweet spot¡¯ it¡¯s going to try and groom you too with its tongue. It may sound nice but it will definitely hurt you since we have much more sensitive skin by comparison.¡± A sad looking princess and a talkative knight walked in. Iskona may hate it but getting exposed to human conversation is for the best right now. With that said, Janice is clearly taking it too far. I may not have been around to see the start of the conversation but I can already guess that Iskona must have complemented a horse at some point where upon Janice ¡®took it and ran with it.¡¯ Janice is clearly overly worried about her mental state. Now she may have a bit of Stockholm syndrome and also there¡¯s the suspension bridge effect I perhaps took advantage of last night but those things are to my advantage. I don¡¯t need her to be completely normal, you know?


    ¡°Master Searmire¡± said Janice as she entered. ¡°Lord Searmire¡± chirped Iskona as she curtsied. ¡°Iskona, it¡¯s a pleasure to see you this morning.¡± ¡°Thank you lord Searmire, mind if I asked what the matter to be discussed today is?¡± Curt and to the point, why can¡¯t all humans be like this? ¡°I¡¯ll give you two options. There is a lake about two miles from here it the southwest direction. There, you¡¯ll be able to enjoy yourself with Janice¡¯s company while your future is decided upon. The other is to listen to the dirty underbelly of the Searmire Family and become my accomplice as we attempt to navigate through the oncoming storm. Of course I prefer it if you stayed with me. As I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware of by now the king has offered your hand to whoever can best the dragon but the decision remains yours.¡±


    For the past year, you¡¯ve had little say in anything. Like a child everything was dictated to you by I your parent. However, now I give you a chance. A single chance for I am not charitable. Either stand with me or become an irrelevant puppet. Rise a dragon or die a dreamer. Her face is red. The decision is heavy after all. Acknowledge me as your fianc¨¦ and remain to give voice to your opinion or go dream of another life for the rest of your life. Her face is a portrait of emotions. Anger at being forced into this situation. Sadness at my beloved death. A hint of curiosity and dare I say attraction for my persona. However, I could tell from the start she also had a fire brimming deep within. A fire to decide her own fate. A determination to create her own future. A will to soar the skies and roar indomitable.


    ¡°I will stay.¡± I could feel my facial muscles moving but I suppress it and continue to hold on to a straight face. ¡°Stand by my side.¡± She then glared at me. Hmm? Is it not natural to stand at your fianc¨¦¡¯s side? We stood there staring at each other when Janice coughed while mumbling ¡°Please.¡± Social convention? Ah, I made a demand of her. Adding please changes it to a request bequeathing a more equivalent status. If I had known earlier I would have changed my wording however it is too late now. One does not simply say plea-. I hear footsteps outside the tent. The others are approaching and I need to move her quickly. Looking at her stubborn tenacity I am forced to remember that I am playing the part of Searmire. A dragon wouldn¡¯t give in but Searmire would. ¡°Please.¡± I gave you face now hurry over.


    With a satisfied expression she then walked over to my side speaking ¡°As you wish, Lord Searmire.¡± Annoyed I decided to toy with her a bit and grabbed her hand. She looked a bit agitated but she allowed her hands to remain despite the red in her cheeks. Janice was covering her mouth with her hands hiding a smirk underneath.


    Helix followed by the others walked into the tent and gave a bow while saying ¡°Master Searmire.¡± They stood back up while eying our hands. Various emotions ranged through their faces but most showed signs of approval. ¡°As soon as possible you are to return to your companies and make a headcount for people who disappeared overnight.¡± Tredurin then responded ¡°what is this about?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about spies. Either bandi-.¡± ¡°Ugh, Master Searmire. Are you sure you should be¡­¡± Interrupted an awkward Lemric as he eyed Iskona. Allowing women, apart from knights, such as Janice, a seat at the table is highly unorthodox for these humans. ¡°I am sure, Lemric. Spies. Whether they belong to bandits or my brother, news will travel to them quickly and they will most definitely set an ambush on our way back. However, we must learn the number of people who disappeared to grasp an idea of how many threats we could be facing.¡±


    ¡°We should chase them down now!¡± retorted a na?ve Tredurin. ¡°I fear it¡¯s far too late for that. Horses won¡¯t give any advantage in these thick woods. We can¡¯t mobilize the infantry as they are just farm peasants and such action will only create a useless mob. The only viable option is to mobilize the few cultivators we have but aside from our few squires all of us are busy managing the peasants. Furthermore, we have little to no experience in tracking and the spies are probably working as teams. Making it highly like that anyone that follows them will either fall into one of their traps or be ambushed.¡±


    Tredurin became red in the face after the rebuke. The others became very anxious, a plan is needed to let them believe everything will be alright. ¡°We will return alive however. My brother can¡¯t directly act against me, at least not yet. So we only need to watch out for bandits. If we can shape up these peasants into decent soldiers we will be able to return.¡± The very traditional Lemric then questioned, ¡°Teach peasants how to fight? I know your father wanted to pretend these conscripts are actual troops but the reality is very different. Just look at how scrawny they are, it¡¯s a miracle they can even hold a spear.¡±


    To that I answered, ¡°I have a twostep plan for this. First, we will give them training, both physical and psychological.¡± ¡°Psycowhat now?¡± asked a very confused Janice. Looking around the room it¡¯s apparent she is not alone. ¡°Psy-cho-lo-gi-cal. Psychological. It is a person¡¯s mind and spirit. So when we train their psychology we are molding their minds to become fiercer and stronger.¡± ¡°Oh, so we are training their battle spirit and killing intent? Why not just say so.¡± Replied Tredurin. Sigh, I did. It¡¯s simply your ignorance that didn¡¯t let you perceive it. Lemric then added, ¡°It takes months to properly train battle spirit and years for killing intent. How are we to do that with our little time and few supplies?¡±


    At this point I feel like flipping this table over and just eating these two. However, I keep my straight face on. ¡°As I was saying we will train them physically and psychologically. Psychological training is actually not very difficult to do. For example, the most commonly used is the ¡®carrot and stick¡¯ method that I¡¯m sure we are all aware of. However, there is another method called hypnosis.¡± Before Janice could cut in I continued. ¡°Hypnosis is a wide variety of approaches to imbed a suggestions in a person¡¯s subconc-, ahem, mind. By imbedding the suggestion that they are soldiers the peasants will eventually believe themselves to be soldiers and act as such. It won¡¯t make their mentalities much stronger but it will at the very at least allow them to hold a simple formation.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all fine and good but how are we going to go about this? Also, when the fighting starts to happen those peasants will still break and run with their tails between their legs.¡± The skeptical Lemric chimed in. Is this a form of revenge for your brother? ¡°To go about this, every morning and every night we will gather them and give them a chant. This chant will be said out loud before they go about their duties. I will give you this chant latter but it basically says ¡®we are strong and fierce soldiers.¡¯¡±


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Doubt filled their eyes, especially in the eyes of the newly minted knights, who haven¡¯t spoken yet. ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s like magic?¡± asked Janice. Only humans are willing to make magic even more complicated by adding gibberish to it. ¡°It is not that kind of chant. However, let¡¯s take a step back and discuss physical training. We prepared roughly three months of supplies for this venture. Currently, we possess two and a half. However, I want to increase the ration size by roughly 50% so as to bulk up the peasants.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a percent?¡± Asked a perpetually confused Janice. ¡°It¡¯s a term used by scribes, scholars, and some merchants. Think of 50% as being half. So increasing by 50% is the same as one and a half.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get it. How is feeding them more physical training? Shouldn¡¯t we make them run and practice fighting with spears?¡± Tredurin questioned. ¡°As Lemric mentioned earlier peasants are scrawny. Their stamina is weak and their strength is none existent. The only way to make them capable fighters is by first putting muscles on them. To do that we need to feed them. After all, have you ever seen a starving man with muscle? This will also give a boost to morale, which will aid us in keeping order especially under pressure. Furthermore, Tredurin, we will be training them to fight throughout this as well.¡±


    ¡°If we increase ration¡¯s we will barely have a little more than a month and half. Even if feeding them makes them stronger there¡¯s no way to train them properly in that amount of time.¡± Stated Lemric. ¡°That¡¯s were stage two comes in. We will train them to hold a simple formation. There¡¯s almost one thousand peasants out there. No bandit gang is nearly that large. As long as the peasants can withstand the bandit¡¯s intimidation tactics we won¡¯t face battle. The normal bandits won¡¯t risk getting anywhere near us with so many. Additionally, there¡¯s the threat of reprisal for attacking knights and lords making it so only the boldest bandits will even consider attacking. We are in fact creating a ¡®paper tiger¡¯ to scare off our enemies.¡±


    A kind of melancholy ensued as they became painfully aware the best plan available is based on a huge gamble. ¡°It¡¯s not a perfect plan but it¡¯s the best plan available to us. This meeting is at an end. Go make back to your troops and begin the head count. Then, after reporting in, you can begin giving your companies training. Dismis-.¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± Everyone turned to look at the origin of that word, Princess Iskona. Suddenly in the limelight, a fair bit of embarrassment colored her cheeks. Nevertheless she continued, ¡°You need to tell the peasants.¡± ¡°What?¡± Almost simultaneously, the knight¡¯s present gasped in confusion. Even the new knights who have been rather reserved let out their astonishment. ¡°Princess, we can¡¯t tell them or morale will drop precipitously. We will be faced with hundreds of deserters before we even engage in combat. Although, I understand the notion that people should be aware of their fates but at this point such an action is na?ve and, pardon my insolence, foolish.¡± Lemric, after having spoken, had a proud gaze as if saying ¡®I told you so.¡¯ Although Lemric is ¡®traditional¡¯ to the point of suffocation. He¡¯s is still one of the smarter knight¡¯s at hand. ¡°You misunderstood, sir Lemric.¡± She continued. ¡°The loss of morale is inevitable. Either we lose morale now or later in the midst of combat. One weakens us while the other disastrous. Additionally, we have a powerful motivator for them to remain.¡± ¡°What is this motivator?¡± interjected Lemric. ¡°Money, Sir Lemric. Money. Lord Searmire has already offered a fistful of gold upon our return. With that kind of money only the most cowardly of peasants would be willing to forego it and run.¡± I quickly look towards Iskona before returning my gaze upon the knights, specifically Lemric with a far too familiar look. I then spoke, ¡°Very good. Follow my orders. In addition, later tonight gather your troops together as I will both disperse the chant and alert them as to the situation. Dismissed. Janice wait outside for Princess Iskona.¡±


    With that the meeting came to an end. After they left I could hear one of the new knights cursing his luck for being born a third son. It¡¯s precisely because of that kind of attitude that he will not greatly benefit later on. Oddly, princess Iskona was still holding on to my hand. She then noticed my observation and quickly attempted to rid herself of my hand as we exchanged a brief gaze. ¡°Uh... um sorry.¡± She spoke in an awkward tone, however, I refused to let her liberate her hand. Instead I stepped forward closing the already small gap between us. Surprised, she nearly took a step back only to find my other hand pressing upon her lower back pushing her closer to me.


    ¡°If I were a poet I¡¯d imaginably sing of your hair like flaxen, your skin as white as milk, or possibly of your aura that¡¯s fresher than a spring breeze. However, the part of you that is most attractive to me is your spirit.¡± Indeed I care little of your human ¡®beauty¡¯ rather it¡¯s your soul I covet. A blush grew on her face. ¡°My spirit?¡± She questioned while stemming her embarrassment. ¡°Indeed, how do you like being amongst humans again?¡± Better, to leave her curious as to what I see in her. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I guess.¡± She replied with a hint of dissatisfaction. ¡°Come now, you guess? Are human really so bad compared to a dragon? Or is it Janice? Don¡¯t worry, after a little more time your ears will fall off and you won¡¯t have to listen anymore.¡±


    She laughed a little and said, ¡°Janice is wordy but its fine, that simply how she shows she cares. Rather than humans the dragon was...¡± With a forlorn look she slipped her hand out of mine. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lord Searmire, but I feel fatigued and must retire.¡± Before I could say anything she curtsied and exited the tent. I stared at the front of the tent with a confused look as she left. Laughter ensued just outside the tent as Xavier and Vulturin entered. ¡°It seems you are having a few problems with the lady.¡± Started Vulturin. ¡°Not to worry, though, I have several ¡®medicines¡¯ that will help you ripen the mood.¡± I do not need any of your aphrodisiacs and more than likely anesthetics as well. ¡°No but thank you, Mister Vulturin. Rather let¡¯s talk on a more serious topic. Rationing. Increase the peasant¡¯s rations by half.¡±


    Vulturin looked at me as one would a crazy person. ¡°But why? Their peasants. The food they¡¯re getting now is more than enough for them. Anymore and it¡¯s just throwing money away. Also, we will run out of food in a little more than a month. Not to mention we need at least two weeks of supplies to make it back to the nearest frontier village in order to restock.¡± It seems that a greedy quartermaster is a good quartermaster. ¡°The increase rationing is a necessary military decision but you are correct on the dwindling rations. That is why Xavier will depart today on horse and purchase a wagon along with as many supplies as possible.¡± I replied. ¡°The village is small, at best they will have three weeks¡¯ worth of supplies considering the size of our troop.¡± Continued Vulturin. ¡°Then that is just enough.¡± I then hand Xavier a pouch with some gold coins. ¡°Master Searmire, may I speak with you in privy?¡± Said an agitated Xavier. ¡°Sure, Sir Xavier. Mister Vulturin I would also like for you to set a stage near the wagon with the gold coins for later today.¡± Vulturin gave me a confused look but said ¡°I will do as you command Lord Searmire.¡± ¡°Thank you, you¡¯re dismissed.¡± He then walked out of the tent with a perplexed air.


    Xavier then looked at me right in the eyes without speaking. ¡°Spit it out, I don¡¯t have all day.¡± To the now deceased Searmire, Xavier could count as one of his few friends. They grew up together and, from my observation, when in privy lose all sense of propriety. A needlessly worried Xavier said, ¡°Alright Mama¡¯s boy. You¡¯re acting weird. I mean weirder than usual. Look I don¡¯t know what happened in that cave but considering how you¡¯re behaving now, it is not the time to leave you alone. Hell, I haven¡¯t seen you eat anything since yesterday and the servant boy hasn¡¯t had to change your chamber pot either.¡± Right, humans do that on a daily basis. How very inefficient.


    ¡°I am doing what I have to for our survival. As to what happened in the cave I won¡¯t say it hasn¡¯t impacted me but I promise I can keep it together. Right now, we need supplies to strengthen ourselves enough to survive. You think my father is going to let us keep this gold? No. Soon as we get back he¡¯s going to take it as if he risked his own neck for it. If we not only want to get back in one piece but keep our just reward we need an army.¡± I did all I could to suppress my inner grin and maintain a straight face while hawking out that garbage.


    Xavier then looked at me with a concerned expression that quickly changed to a grin. ¡°So princess Iskona? I honestly though a mama¡¯s boy like you would wait until your mommy handpicked a girl for you. I would congratulate you, only you are messing up big time.¡± I¡¯m willing to tolerate some aspects of your former relationship but to give me ¡®love advice?¡¯ Xavier has no desire to live a long life but I must continue with the charade and despondently say, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°First, thank your lucky stars I overheard the request you made to Iskona. Second, you seem too have forgotten all your stately training because your ¡®request¡¯ was a demand at best and a threat at worst. There¡¯s a right way and a wrong way to as questions. For example, I could ask my squire to polish my equipment or I can say ¡®polish my equipment or you will remain a squire for all eternity.¡¯ The latter is obviously a threat. Recently, you¡¯ve become quite domineering, which is fine as a lord but you can¡¯t speak to royalty in such a manner. The princess is not a peasant to be bossed around and even less threatened.


    Lastly, you need to stop jumping into the trap. I don¡¯t know why but princess Iskona seems to miss the giant lizard, no doubt some kind of charm magic. Thusly, you, the lizard slayer, if you hope to have any sort of relationship with her must stop asking about it. Haven¡¯t you noticed she runs out every time you try and bring the lizard up? Don¡¯t look at me like that, you know it¡¯s true. Anyways, she seems to like you so if you play your cards right she will be yours. I¡¯ll head off to the village now and remember avoid talking about the lizard.¡± With that he turned and walked out of the tent. I, a mighty dragon, have been humiliated to the point of being called ¡®lizard¡¯ by a human. I can feel anger and bloodlust corrode my will. If he had stayed any longer I would have turned him into charcoal.


    I went back to my tent and begin to meditate. It¡¯s only the second day but I am already in major peril of breaking form and wasting centuries of effort. Worst part is if I fail other dragons will likely learn of it and my attempt and thus create endless humiliation. I continued to meditate until my subordinates have gathered the peasants before the completed stage. The time was around dusk and the setting sun created a purple light that extended through the sky and reflected off of the gathering clouds. I walked up the stage as the humans let out hushed whispers with various speculations as to the purpose.


    Looking at the hairless monkeys I couldn¡¯t help but feel their due reverence. I use a human technique to infused my voice with Qi allowing it to travel farther and sound ¡®mighty.¡¯ Then I speak, ¡°Gold. Gold, what does it represent? To you it means a new life. It means your children won¡¯t starve. It means you will own your land, you will have oxen to plow and hands to collect. It means that you will be able to live in a village if you so which. Acquire education for your families and yourselves. Gold represents a grand hopeful future.


    However, traitors and thieves have appeared. 23 people have gone missing, no doubt spies for bandits. These bandits aim to take our gold. They aim to deprive your family of food. To destitute your land and impoverish you. Their aim is to ensure that you will remain poor forever, not knowing whether you will survive or not. Their aim is ultimately to deprive you of your future! So I ask you, are willing to sit back and be robbed?!?¡±


    To this question a few of the more brazen peasants shouted, ¡°No!¡± I continued, ¡°Will you sit back and wait for them to take food from the mouths of your family?!¡± This time more peasants chanted, ¡°No!¡± Are you willing to have your futures stolen from you?!¡± Most of the peasants now chanted, ¡°No!¡± ¡°Then are you willing to fight?!¡± They all shouted, ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Are you willing to follow me against them?!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Are you willing to seize your futures from the jaws of death?!¡± ¡°YES!¡± The crowd was primed and ready.


    ¡°Then swear an oath! Every morning and every night swear this same oath upon your families, your ancestors, and yourselves with the gods as your witnesses! Repeat after me. ¡®I swear to follow my rightful lord to fight and seize my future!¡¯¡± ¡°I swear to follow my rightful lord to fight and seize my future!¡± ¡°Good, then from now own we will train. Every day you will train as if your life depends on it because it does! Follow my orders and that of my knights and we will seize your golden future!¡± With that the crowd went wild with cheering. Humans. So very easy to manipulate.