Revenge of a Myth

Treasure

Treasure

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Erbrow stared down at the crumbled mass of blue-grey scales laying in the ditch of a valley before him, its head crushed by a stone some human had pushed down on it after trapping it in this tiny ravine where it could not escape. Most of the skin and every nail and talon and crest had been removed. His lips curled into a dark snarl. The vial creatures! Not content with his dim-witted cousins and their willingness to serve humanity, they had to murder the innocent to get what they wanted? And they called dragons the beasts!



He reached out and touched the dead, mutilated corpse in front of him. "I will avenge you!" he snarled in the tongue of the dragons. To a human, it would sound little more than deep, rumbling snarls. "I will flay the human alive! Every human who had anything to do with this! I will not kill them, but I will make them beg for death!" He let his last words echo across the moonlight-bathed rocks around him.



The only problem was, Erbrow was not entirely certain who was to blame for this. He must find them! Perhaps a trader of dragon scales would know. Perhaps he could capture a human and make them talk. Somehow. Find something they loved and hold it hostage until they found this person for him! Growling, he turned away from the body of his friend and took to the sky. He would find those responsible and punish them!
 
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Saffron giggled as a host of miniature dragons swarmed around her, their tiny snouts searching for food. She gave them each an entire chicken egg, and they galloped off happily to suck on them. She began picking up the thumb-sized scales they left all over their pen. The mini-dragons shed a lot. It was a little disgusting, but fantastic for her father's dragon scale business.

As she stood up, her basket nearly full with dragon scales of various colors, she realized she was being watched. Fellen Skynner, another trader in dragon goods, was leaning on the fence of the dragon pen. His right leg was swathed in bandages. Probably a wound from a dragon he had slain. Fellen was not content with minature dragons, like Saffron and her father were.

Saffron cautiously approached him.

"May I help ye, sir?" she asked.

"No, no, I was just watching your dragons. You have a wonderful collection," Fellen said.

"Thank ye, sir, they are quite beauty-ful. Pa treasures them so."

"Indeed. Speaking of your father, how is he doing? I understand he is unwell."

Something about Fellen's voice put Saffron on her guard.

"He's doin' well, considerin'. Don't see why ye want to know."

"Is it a crime to care about a fellow dragon trader? I am only asking after a comrade."

"Sure he 'preciates it. Did ye need anything more?"

Fellen didn't answer immediately. He reached out a hand and twined a strand of Saffron's pale blond hair around a finger.

"You are quite beautiful, Saffron."

"Ah... thank ye, sir..."

"What would you say to marrying to me?"

Saffron was getting uncomfortable.

"Well... meanin' no insult, sir, but I reckon I wouldn't like that much."

"That's a shame. Are you quite sure?"

"Aye, I reckon."

"As I said before, a shame. If you married me, we could raise a lovely family. And I could make your little dragon farm even more successful. We'd watch the profits come rolling in. Money by the pound, I could give you anything you desire."

So there was the real reason. Fellen wanted the dragon farm. And Saffron would make a nice addition as his own personal sex-slave.

"Sound's lovely, but I ain't interested. Do forgive me, sir."

"You're going to regret that, witch," Fellen smiled darkly.

"What? I ain't a witch, sir. Mighty insultin' of ye to say so."

"Of course you aren't a witch. There haven't been witches in over a hundred years. But the people in the village will swear you're the vilest witch they ever saw, once I provide them with a little evidence," Fellen leaned in quite close to Saffron. His breath smelled like old meat, and Saffron fought the urge to gag.

"Unless, of course, you choose to marry me instead. It's really quite an easy choice, Saffron. Marry me and have all the money you could ask for, or die as a witch."

"I ain't a witch and anyone who thinks it is loony. I ain't gonna marry ye, Fellen Skynner, and I ain't gonna die as a witch. Now if you please, you ain't welcome here no more, and I'd greatly 'preciate it if ye'd leave me 'lone."

"Of course, Saffron, of course," Fellen pushed off the fence and walked away, favoring his bandaged leg slightly.

Saffron had put on a brave face, but Fellen greatly unnerved her. She hoped he had only threatened to name her a witch to scare her, but she wasn't sure. She turned back to the mini-dragons, praying she would be safe in the days to come.
 
It had been two days since he'd found his dead companion. He'd managed to track the humans back to their area, but tracking was not really a dragon's forte, especially not things so small as humans. Dragons hunted by gliding above and scanning the world below like eagles, not traipsing along the ground like hunting dogs. Even so, he'd found the village. At least he thought he had. Human tracks were so small! It helped that they'd needed a wagon to cart away their ill-gotten gain, but now there were tracks and scents and prints everywhere!

He waited until morning then took to the skies. The rocky mountains surrounding the small valley made it easy to get airborne, and he rode the air currents higher than human eyes could track. Up here, the cold wind stung and snatched at his wings, but he shifted elegantly, gliding along and watching the world below keenly. To those below, he was nothing but a bird of prey. To him, he could see every human clearly, though the details of their faces were difficult to tell appart. Maybe he should just burn the whole village and be done with it!

Wait, there seemed to be some commotion down below. The humans were knotting together, separating, knotting again, then separating. Were they conspiring about something? Had they spotted him> No, there was no running and screaming in panic. Something did seem to be agitating the tiny beings. His innate curiosity restrained him from breathing down fiery vengence just yet.

Squeaks and chuffs caught his ear. They were barely audible to him, but their familiarity drew his attention. Ah, there, at the edge of the village but not fully separated. A small farm set up, but instead of the usual idiot bovine and equine inhabitants, miniature dragons galloped about their roomy pens. They seemed quite content in their confinement. Strange. Why would a viliage with an already apparent thriving business in mini scales want to risk angering the larger dragons by killing them? Perhaps humans had grown even more stupid and forgot that his fine species wee far superior in intellect. Maybe he should watch a little longer to be certain he had the right place. While he carried no love for humans and did not particularly care if an innocent or two died in his quest, wonton destruction took a lot out of a fellow. He might as well try to get it right the first time, especially so there was no chance of the real culprit escaping.
 
What an idiot Saffron had been! She should have known that Fellen did not make idle threats. That snake had the audacity to burn Widow Matilde's house down and blame it on her, and he pretended to be possessed in the village market! That was why Saffron found herself in the meeting hall on trial for witchcraft.

Various witnesses came forward and testified that they had seen her doing witchcraft of various sorts- summoning demons and whatnot. They seemed quite convinced of their truth, so Fellen must have either given them a large bribe, or they automatically attributed anything they couldn't immediately explain to her because of the accusations. Saffron's protests of "Twasn't me!" and "I ain't a witch!" fell on deaf ears.

Her father had managed to gather his strength and burst into the meeting hall in the middle of her trial.

"Saffron ain't a witch, she don't be witchin' anybody!" he cried. "Me daughter's in'cent as a fly!"

And with that, he fell to the floor. Some villagers ran over to him for a moment, and then with pained looks pronounced him dead. Saffron burst into tears. Her father had come to plead her innocence and wound up dead. How could this be happening?

She gave up completely and sobbed through the rest of the trial, not even attempting to defend herself when Fellen accused her of killing her own father with witchcraft. It was no use. Everyone believed her guilty, and her father was dead. There was no reason to plead for her life.

And so, the judge pronounced her guilty and sentenced her to death by wild creatures. She was tied to a stake in the forest to await her death. Her sobs subsided to quiet sniffles as she realized that dying would really be a good thing. She would join her father. She just hoped that whatever beast came to eat her up did it quickly. While some people look forward to death, no one wants to suffer, and Saffron was not an exception.
 
Darkness fell around the forest, deep and impenetrable. It was not quiet or comforting. Creatures lurked in the darkness, rustling the grass and the branches as they hurried to and fro in their business. None seemed to be paying the human any attention just yet. They had their own troubles and their own lives to worry about without venturing into the small clearing amongst the trees.

Then the wolves started snuffling about. First, it was nothing more than a distant howl. Then a closer howl in answer. Growling in the distance, but not distant enough for someone tied to a stake. The wolves were hungry and hunting. Tense silence fell. Then the bushes directly across from the human rustled and shook as something big started making its way through the underbrush toward her.

The sudden clang of a cowbell cut through the silence as a milk cow stumbled its way into the clearing. It lowed mournfully as it tried to figure out where home was. It had seemed like a good idea to wander away as it chased the sweet grasses, but now it wanted its sweet corn and its soft bed and a good milking! Its udder hurt it was so full! But here it was stuck in the dark woods. It spotted the human and paused, giant ears swinging toward her.
 
Saffron wasn't stupid. She knew what a cowbell sounded like. She was certain that the large animal approaching her with a clanging bell was nothing more than a cow, lost and confused. What worried her most was what the cow might attract. A few villagers had had their cattle mauled and devoured by wolves and bears, both of which certainly prowled the forest. The loud clanging of the cowbell would bring the predators of the forest running. And they were hungry.

It had been easy to welcome death when the sun still hung in the sky, but as the cold moonlight pierced through the trees and the wolves began to howl and hunt, fear slowly settled in. That horrible cowbell would doubtlessly bring the wolves., which would gobble up the cow and Saffron as well. The reality of her sentence had not fully set in until now. She began trembling uncontrollably.

The cow, having recognized a human, bumbled over to her and nudged her, asking to be milked. Saffron muttered curses at the animal. The cow couldn't understand a word, but its ears drooped at the unfriendly tone. What did an animal have to do to get milked these days?

Saffron wished the animal would go away, but it incessantly lowed and nudged her with its warm, moist snout. A sudden gust of air from above reminded her of yet another predator of cows. Hunters that prowled not only the forest, but also the skies. Hunters that would certainly devour a human in a few snaps of their jaws.

Dragons.
 
The sound of the cowbell did, indeed, attract Erbrow's attention, and he turned slowly and gracefully as he scanned the world below. Ah! There was a cow. Unusual for a cow to be all the way out here at night, but why not take advantage of it? Then he spotted more movement. Wait a moment... was that a human tied to a pole? Now that was an unusual pastime for a human. What on earth could it be doing? Humans were so dumb. Yet, their unpredictable predictiveness led for many an hour of happy observation. So he decided to watch, gliding overhead silently, his shadow gliding a few feet behind him far, far down below.

The wolves arrived before the dragon. Growling and snarling, the pack emerged from the shadow, easily surrounding the small clearing. The cow bellowed in fright and spun, fleeing only to skid to a stop as wolves snapped at her hooves, harrying her relentlessly as they chased her for a brief moment. A moment that ended in the screams of the bovine and the excited yips of the wolves only a few feet behind the human.
 
(OCC:
Treasure said:
Now that was an unusual pastime for a human.
Click to expand...
XD XD Fantastic)

Saffron started to hyperventilate as the cow was ripped to pieces by the wolves. She was safe for the moment, as the wolves feasted on the animal, but when they were done, she didn't think they'd pass up another meal. She squeezed her eyes shut so as to avoid seeing the dismembered cow and tried not to imagine herself in that same state.

There was a steady and strong draft of air blowing down on her. She knew it was a dragon. What else could it be? Tears squeezed out between her shut eyelids. She would have chosen to marry Fellen if she had the choice again. But now she was tied to a pole in the middle of the woods and could only wait to see whether the dragon or the wolves would get to her first.
 
The wolves that were being denied their feat of Cow were starting to circle the human. Hmm... It would be nice to see at least one human get what they deserved, but... he was hungry, too, and if he waited too long, there would not be any cow left to eat, and humans were exceptionally bony in comparison to how much meat they offered. Unless you managed to find a really fat one, but those were rare in places like this, and they certainly wouldn't be wandering around alone in the woods.

That decided... Erbrow folded his wings and dove. His roar shattered the night, freezing the wolves where they stood for a few seconds. Then they turned tail and fled like mice before the cat. Erbrow landed behind the human and slammed down directly on a wolf that was too slow. He flicked it off his foot disdainfully. Too hairy! The cow, on the other hand, had been so thoughtfully dismembered by the wolves. He grinned and leaned down, chomping off a massive bite. It took him mere minutes to eat the cow, leaving only the head and backbone along with a few ribs. The birds could eat those. He cleaned himself off daintily. No self-respecting dragon wandered around with blood dripping from his maw like those silly stories humans told. It was rude, gross, sticky, and stank to high heaven!

His attention now turned to the human. After a moment of thought, he centered himself and closed his eyes, allowing himself to Change.

A tall, muscular, completely naked man walked around and stood in front of the human before plopping down to sit with one leg turned just so to block the sight of what humans referred to as "unmentionables." He didn't know why. Didn't naming them "unmentionables" mean you were mentioning them? He didn't say anything, just waited for her to open her eyes.
 
Saffron had closed her eyes to the world, but her ears still took in everything they could. A whoosh of air and yelps of the wolves told her that the dragon had descended and scared away the wolves, and a horrific crunching sound told her that it was eating either the rest of the cow or a few unlucky wolves. Surely she would be next. But after the chomping stopped and nothing happened, Saffron started to become curious. Had she already been devoured? If so, it was incredibly quick and painless. She chanced opening her eyes, wondering if she would end up in heaven or hell.

A stark naked man with wild red hair sat in front of her with a curious expression on his face, watching her. This was not heaven, and Saffron screamed.

"HOLY ASS O' A SWINE!!"

Saffron made a series of gasping crying noises. Was this man trying to be provocative or something? A little weird, as she was tied up, but still. She tried to speak and ended up sounding calmer than expected, though she was indecisive about what she actually wanted to say.

"What are... who are... where are yer clothes?"
 
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Erbrow cocked his head, his tangled red hair falling about his shoulders. Now that was an interesting way to start a conversation, but he had heard worse. Most just settled for "Argh" or random insults. He rested one arm on his knee as he watched her, revealing the faint scars patterning his skin in several places. For a moment, he did not answer. Then he spoke, his voice a soft rumble, his voice touched by a strange, indefinable accent. "I forgot to bring them with me," he replied dismissively. "Why are you tied to a branchless tree?"
 
The man didn't seem to be making any unwanted advances, and he had asked a valid question. Though she had never heard anyone refer to a stake as a "branchless tree". She decided that as long as no more animals came along, she was relatively safe. Nevertheless, she must proceed with caution.

"Well, I reckon that'd take a bit to 'splain. Short version is Fellen Skynner is a greedy snake who decided 'e wanted my Pa's dragon farm. As if 'e didn't kill 'nough dragons already. Anyhows, I told 'im I wouldna marry 'im, an 'e told everyone I's a witch. Which I ain't. So this my sentence. They 'opin I'll get eaten by wild animals."
 
Humans talked so very strangely. Perhaps it was because their lives were so short - usually shortened by pestilence, animal attacks, starvation, and their own stupidity - that they felt they must save every second they could, even if that meant sacrificing a few syllables along the way. He could not really tell the difference, but perhaps it made them feel better.

Now, however, he had even more questions. He thought for a moment with a quiet frown. So. She had a dragon farm. "Had" being the operative word here, but it was a position she'd held at some point in time, and she'd been crossed by someone who killed dragons. His heart pounded with the thrill, but his expression didn't change. This was his chance! But he had to be careful. So he organized his questions in his head from least to most important.

"Why would you marry a snake, and what would a snake do with a dragon farm?" he asked blandly, legitimately confused by the snake part. Did she mean literal or merely figurative?
 
Saffron laughed bitterly. When they had tied her to a stake, she hadn't expected she'd end up explaining insults to a naked man. Where had this man been living? He seemed intelligent, yet he didn't understand some of the most simple terms.

"'e's not really a snake. Just a way of sayin' 'e's sneaky. 'e's really a man. 'an I dunno why 'e wanted the farm. Guess he wanted to sell mini-dragon parts well as big dragon parts. Pa and me only selled mini-dragon scales since they shed all the time, but I doubt Fellen would do that. 'e'd prolly chop 'em up and lop 'em up like 'e does with the big dragons."

She debated whether to ask the man to untie her, as he seemed intent on carrying on a conversation and it was quite uncomfortable to talk while tied to a pole. It's be horribly awkward to have him that close to her without any clothes, but maybe it was worth it. It was now or never, she figured. If worst came to worst, she could always knee him in the balls.

"And... if ye wouldn't mind, could ye untie me? Not very comfy, this is, and if we gonna be talkin'... no more than that, though, ye hear? Until ye puts on some clothes, I'm not gonna be closer to ye than I abs'lutely have to"
 
He listened quietly, absorbing the facts. So, this snake fellow, this "Fellen" was the one killing the dragons for profit, and now it appeared he would be slaughtering his senseless cousins for profit, as well. While the little mini dragons were incredibly similar to their larger ccousins, such as himself, but were vastly different in other ways. A bit like how monkies were similar to humans. Not that that mattered right now. What mattered was using this moment to his advantage.

Now that a long moment of silence had passed, he tipped his head the other way. "Why?" he asked innocently. "What do I have to gain by releasing you? I do not know you. I know nothing about you other than you butcher your own language, and I do not know if you are innocent of whatever crime landed you here or if you are deserving of this and more. So. Why should I release you?"
 
Saffron sighed. This man wouldn't help her. He was just like everyone else in the world, only helping others if they could help him. Saffron didn't know what to do. She swallowed a few times to dislodge the despair growing and blocking her throat.

"A good question, really. I can tell ye I never hurt anyone and never did any witchery," she made an effort to speak more like the man, trying to lean away from the casual speech she was used to. She had a feeling it wasn't working well. "As for what ye gain? Well, everyone wants something. What do ye want? I proll- probably can't do anything, but if ye leave me here, satisfy my curiosity before I die."
 
Hmm, what he wanted... He doubted she'd want to help him murder this Fellen man. Then again, if she was innocent - which he did not care entirely if she was or not - and Fellen was the reason why she was tied to a pole, then maybe she would help him. Still, he did not want to reveal everything at once. He needed to hold back a little... just in case. It was highly improbable that this was some kind of trap, but one should always be on their guard, especially when in the territory of the one who hunted them.

"I seek vengeance on someone who has wrong me and a friend of mine," he said. Now... satisfy my curiosity. Let's say I do free you from this rope and tree. What would you do then?"
 
This man was annoying. Why did he insist on asking her all these questions? Why was he against letting her go? Saffron was getting agitated, but she tried not to show it. He had turned her own question against her, which really wasn't offensive in any way, but when one is tied to stake, everything tends to make you upset.

"What I wants and what I's able to do are two diff'rent things," she blew out an annoyed breath. "I want to revenge on Fellen Skynner for makin' me appear a witch. Ye an' me both want revenge, got that in common. But 'e's good at fightin', I wouldna stand a chance. Mebbe get back at him in secrecy. Burn 'is house down or somethin'. I wonder how one actually becomes a witch. That'd be cruel ir'ny."

She chuckled at the thought of getting back at Fellen with the very thing he'd accused her of. Of course, that'd never happen. She didn't know how to become a witch, and if the naked man continued being difficult, she'd never get a chance to try.

She realized she had subconsciously shifted back into her rough, comfortable speech. So much for that. Well, it was no right of the man to critizize her way of talking. If he disliked it, that was his problem.

"But like I said, what I wants and what I's able to do are two diff'rent things," she repeated.
 
"Hmm.... Revenge is certainly a heartwarming thing... as long as you do not get caught," Erbrow said with a smirk. "Most people who go out for revenge either end up filling the grave they dug for their enemy." He ran his finger under his chin lightly as he considered. "Then again... some people really do deserve to get what is coming to them. Even if it does mean you bury yourself right alongside them."

He raised a brow at her. "How far are you willing to go?" he purred. "How badly do you want this man to pay for everything he has done to you? Are you willing to risk ending up right back here or worse?"
 
Saffron risked a small, tight smile. They might be getting somewhere.

"'e deserves the fires o' hell. I don' know how far I'd go, but I'm more than willin' to find out. And I'd risk... everthin'. My Pa's dead, an' I 'ave nothin' on this earth left to lose. No un wants to die, but I'd rather die knowin' I tried."
 
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