\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I: Rumors of a Dragon<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On the outskirts of an ancient kingdom, a spine of mountains housed many crevices and caves. Within one of these such places, a Dragon made his home and hoard. The people that lived near this Dragon often spoke of him with hushed tones for fear of incurring his wrath by merely speaking his name. In the small village of Inistad, accounts of violent encounters from burnt cities to the destruction of entire armies bounced from person to person, with no one knowing from whom they originated. One of these villagers, a boy by the name of Osley, would constantly overhear such talk on his frequent trips from the well to his home. He heard a pair of travelers talking about the Dragon’s hoard and what might be in it on one such occasion.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I met a ranger who said he went into Dragon’s lair, and he saw so much gold he could bathe in it.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”So why didn’t he take any?” The first traveler looked confused.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I don’t know. Maybe he was too afraid.”\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Convenient, don’t you think?”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Hey, I’m just telling you what I heard.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Well, I heard a wizard\u2026.”\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”A wizard?” The first traveler interrupted the second with doubt.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Yes, he said that the Dragon counted an Elixir of Eternal Life amongst its possessions,” this captured the boy’s ear more than any other talk about the Dragon ever did. “He told me to spread the word that he would pay any adventurer a very hefty amount of money for it.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Why wouldn’t any adventure with sense just keep it for themselves?”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I’m not sure he thought about that.” Osley couldn’t stand to spend any more time waiting, so he rushed home, almost spilling the pail of water he had just collected.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Mother!” he called as he entered the small one-room hovel that had dried mud for walls and a thatched roof.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Yes dear,” the voice was worn with sickness. Osley drew closer to her ghostlike face.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I know what to do.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”What do you mean?” her voice got progressively worse the longer she spoke.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I don’t want to worry you, mother,” her eyes suddenly took on the shape of understanding.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”No!” she barely mustered the strength to yell as she sat up in bed. “I will not have you\u2026” she lapsed into a fit of coughing that forced her back into a prone position. Osley brought her water.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I’ll ask Tavern Keeper Tom to look after you while I’m gone. He told me that he owes father for the war.” She regained the ability to speak.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I will not have you chasing rumors, Osley. I don’t care how tempting they are.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”But\u2026”\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I don’t care. You have to look to yourself now. I am a sea anchor to you now, and you have to let me go.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”No!” he began to cry. “I already do without father; how am I to do without you?”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Like you said, Tom owes your father, he’ll help you!” Osley left the hovel halfway through what she said, so she had to yell the rest. He sat beside the door to think by himself while listening to if his mom needed any help. As he did this, he looked up at the clear blue sky with the occasional wisp of white cloud. Eventually, he moved from thoughts about his mother to thoughts about how unfair it was that he couldn\u2019t reach and touch that sky. Maybe if he could do that, he could ask whoever was up there for help.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Dragon!” he heard a woman scream. Then he saw it appear from one of the clouds. It was the most beautiful bright crimson he had ever seen, and it cut through the sky with such grace that he admired it more than he feared it. The beast was high above the village and didn’t seem interested in the panicked rabble below it. Amidst this, Osley was the only one actually studying the creature; everyone else averted their eyes from the terror and cowered in fear. He followed it with his eyes and thus his feet. Because of this, the only one that noticed it leave was him. As he walked home, he thought about what actually seeing this Dragon meant. It was real, and it was beautiful. He felt that if something like that existed and could touch the sky, then he could save his mother, or at least try.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The night passed with restlessness and thoughts of flying serpents and wizards. All of these things were far out of reach for a young boy, but this did not phase him. He was determined to go on this quest. The morning he left, he made his mother comfortable before taking a shovel. He took five careful steps away from the middle of the hovel and began digging. Soon after he started digging, it began to rain, and lightning struck nearby. The boom did not impede his progress. He soon stopped digging and retrieved an oblong parcel wrapped in cloth. He brought it inside and placed it on the floor.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”What are you doing?” his mother asked with concern.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I’m saving you.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”No, you are not!” She renewed her passion. Osley removed the cloth and revealed a longsword in a decorated leather scabbard. The blade was well made, but it was clear that it hadn’t been sharpened in quite some time. “Listen to me, Osley!” He turned his attention from the sword and to her. “You can’t throw away your life for me,” she calmed her voice now that she had his attention.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Yes, I can.” She was surprised that he seemed to thoroughly understand the danger he was willingly walking into.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Osley, I am dying, and there is nothing you can do about it. It is tragic, but you have to be prepared for living on your own.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”That might be true, but it might not.”\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I don’t understand.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”What the travelers were speaking about may be true; it may not be. I may be able to save you; I may not. Regardless, I have to find out because if there is the slightest chance I can save you, then I have to try.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Your father taught you all of the wrong things.” Osley was profoundly angered by the idea that his dad was anything but perfect.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Don’t insult him!” he yelled at her. “Everything only started going wrong after he died!” He started to cry. “If he was still here, he would do it.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Don’t do this just because your dad would.” She was losing the strength to speak again, so she couldn’t yell back if she wanted to.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I’m not. This is my judgment and mine alone.” She looked into his eyes and saw the unparalleled passion there. It was clear to her that she wouldn’t be able to change his mind and that she was in no position to physically force him. So, she acquiesced.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Drag the trunk from under my bed.” A moderate amount of excitement took over Osley’s movement as he fulfilled his mother’s request. He always wondered what was in that trunk, but he looked at her before continuing. “Open it,” she was surprised she needed to give him permission. The latch on the front snapped open and gave way to the silver, dusted opulence of a complete set of plate mail.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Are you giving this to me?” Osley’s voice betrayed his excitement.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Yes, but not all of it. You are almost your father’s size, but you haven’t been trained to wear such heavy armor. However, the chain mail that goes underneath should do fine.” Osley took the helmet and looked into the empty space where one would typically find a pair of eyes. For a moment, the visage of his father appeared, and in that precise moment, for the first time, there were second thoughts. The hope, desperation, and enthusiasm drained from him as he realized he was not akin to his father. He had been trained to use a sword, but he had never fought; he had imagined slaying the Dragon, but he had never done anything tantamount. His gaze shifted back to his mother, and the trepidation instantly evaporated, but the seed of doubt had been planted.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Thank you,” those words were more sincere than any he had ever spoken before.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”If I can’t change your mind, then I’ll do my best to help. I’m afraid I can’t do much outside of the trunk.” She imagined her son accomplishing his goal and locked it in her mind as prophecy. “Just go make sure Tom is able and willing to look after me.” Osley nodded and left to see Tom. The cold morning dew juxtaposed the warmth that he had just felt, and that cold persisted when he entered the vacant tavern. The fireplace was empty, and each table was covered with a thick layer of dirt and dust.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Good morning, Osley!” Tom spoke from behind the counter as he wiped it clean. It was the only thing he kept clean.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Good morning, sir.”\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Please just call me Tom,” the smile he gave did not reach his eyes. In fact, you could barely tell he was smiling through his thick beard.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Okay,” Osley sat at one of the bar stools. Tom looked at him incredulously.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”You want a drink?” he asked.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”No, I’m here to ask you for help.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I see,” he paused and stared at the counter for a moment as his shoulders slumped a little more than they already were. “What can I help you with?”\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I need you to take care of my mother.” Tom looked confused.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Going somewhere?”\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Yes, I may have a way to save her.” He widened his eyes in realization.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”You’re not talking about the Dragon, are you?”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I am.”\u00a0 Tom rubbed his beard and grunted.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Well, I have no right to tell you can’t do that. I’m sure Helen has already tried to stop you.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Will you?”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I should.” A distant thought passed through his mind. “But I won’t. I owe your father thus I owe you.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Thank you.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Don’t thank me, I am repaying a debt.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I am still grateful.” He gave a smile with the corner of his mouth.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Are you leaving today?”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Yes.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Well, do you know where you are going?” Osley hadn’t thought about that before now.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”No, I don’t.” Tom chuckled.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Well, from what I can tell,” he spoke as he stepped into the back with a limp behind the bar counter. A map drawn on cowhide was placed down upon his return. Some of the charcoal was rubbing off, but it was accurate. “Most of the rumors seem to come from around here.” He put his finger on a spot where there were several notches. Osley remembered some of the things his father taught him.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”That’s almost straight west from here,” a glance back at the map. “A little south, but I can always use this stream as a landmark,” he pointed out a stream on the map near the notches.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Your dad taught you that, didn’t he?” He gave Osley the map.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Yes, he wanted to make sure I was ready to live without him before he last went to war.” Tom looked down at his leg.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I would’ve joined him if not for this,” his mind carried off to fantasy. “Maybe I could’ve saved him in return then, but here we are.” They shook hands.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Osley secured the sack to his back and the bedroll on top resting nearly on his neck. The sword he carried over his shoulder in its scabbard like a knight without a horse. The chain mail shirt and coif weighed heavy on him, but his endurance was well-tempered.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I promise I will save you,” he said earnestly to his mother.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I don’t care about that. Promise me you will come back,” she began to cry, and in her mind, she desperately wished she could force him to stay. Osley looked into her eyes, and she saw a glimpse of previously buried doubt that was quickly hidden again.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I promise. I will come back.” They did not say farewell. Instead, he hugged her for long enough to say all that needed to be said and entered the cold. The weight of the mail seemed heavier, and despite the layer of fur he donned, he felt naked traveling alone, and as the edge of the forest came within grasp of hand, he looked back at his home. Chimneys oozed smoke, and people wandered back and forth in dead silence. He turned away and entered the darkness.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n II: Brothers at a Bridge<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The creaking of trees and bushes in the wind surrounded him. Birds chirped and sang above, leaves rustled and twigs broke, and the air was still as if the wind only brushed along the edges of the autumn-capped forest and was forbidden from entering. A thick dew lay over everything, and the ground was soft with water and moss. The bounteous nature did not lend itself to a clear path, but he knew moss grew to the north due to his father, so the way was never obscured to him.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Osley traveled with determined haste. Even as exhaustion set in and the weight he was carrying began to weigh a little more, he did not slow. Only the night gave him pause. When the sunlight receded, it grew especially frigid as the nights tend to when winter draws close, so he retrieved flint and steel from his pack and sparked a fire. As he sat on a log and ate some of the dried meat he packed, he felt the warmth relax him as if he was home. Osley began to hum a song he heard when he was younger. The tune was slow and melancholic; he couldn’t remember the words or its meaning, but the melody stuck in his head. The song hid the recession of nature as the bugs ceased their creaking and the wind ceased pushing on the edges of the bushes and trees. The world seemed to be at rest with him.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The following morning his adventure continued through the forest. With his ears and eyes, he avoided most signs of trouble, whether it be a wolf howl or a bear track; his astute observation kept him from encountering the sources of these indications of danger. However, there was one particular manifestation of trouble he couldn’t avoid. It was a bridge across the river that he had pointed out on the map. He needed to cross it to get to the cave, but there was a sizeable hole roughly in the middle, and the water seemed tumultuous and cold.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Ho there, stranger!” Osley heard a grimy voice come from the other side of the bridge. The trees obscured the source, but he could detect a distinct scraping sound like something was being dragged.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Hello there, may I ask you to identify yourself?” The voice didn’t seem to have intended malice, but he wanted to be sure.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Yes, if you could spare me a parcel of time, this is particularly onerous.” The dragging continued, and Osley waited patiently with his hand over the hilt of his sword. After some time, a massive creature that stood at least ten times taller than a fully grown man emerged from the trees with an equally enormous stone in tow. “Greetings, sir,” he grunted as he dragged the stone closer to the bridge. Its head was disproportionately large compared to the rest of its body, and the skin appeared as if it was made of stone. The thing looked like a brute, but it carried a certain intelligence in its eyes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”Umm,” Osley was frightened by the creature’s size and appearance, but as it made no notion of threat, he was not immediately alarmed. “I am Osley. Who would you be?” The creature turned from his work and rested on the ground, using the rock for a backrest.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ”I am Archibald, the bridge artificer at your service.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n