Little Dreamer looked up, “Yes it’s me, nephew.”
He snapped his fingers, causing the room to light up.
“Uncle, what is this?” Sun Walker questioned, looking around the cavern.
“You see, a few years back, I told the chief of my dream. My dream to expand our reach past these damned mountains. And you know what he did?” Little Dreamer began.
“What?” Sun Walker asked like a child asking their parent for the answer.
Little Dreamer pinched the bridge of his nose, “I’m getting to it. He laughed. He laughed right in my face like I was crazy! And told me that’s how I earned my name. By dreaming? I’m not crazy! He is crazy wanting to keep his people holed up!” He began to crack, showing his delusion.
Sun Walker sighed, “That’s not what happened and you kno-“
“No! It was! But that’s when I came here and found him! Just a small, cold egg!” He interjected, pointing to the dragon. “You were always my favorite, Sun Walker. Sorry it has to be this way. Take care of them, my baby!”
He pushed away from the dragon, taking cover in the corner. Its eyes glowed a bright red as it stared down the party. The dragon roared, shaking the room. Everyone prepared for a battle, except Talon, who ducked back into the dark hallway unnoticed.
“What do we do?” Wilhelm asked, refusing to look away from their foe.
Aden clenched his sword tighter, “We can fight or we can run.”
“I know what I want to do!” Barb shouted, charging towards the dragon.
“Fuck me.” Aden muttered. “I guess we’re doing this.”
The dragon swiped at Barb with its claw. She ducked down, narrowly avoiding the slash. Without breaking stride she smashed into its face with her club, knocking it slightly back.
As the dragon turned back Barb cheered, “I did it!“
Her moment was in vain as its tail whipped her, sending her to crack the stone wall.
The dragon turned back to the party, completely unfazed by the club’s damage. Aden and Sun Walker looked at one another and nodded, charging the dragon at the same time.
Slashing at, blocking, and dodging at one another. Aden and Sun Walker managed to distract the dragon for Wilhelm.
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Wilhelm casted a lightning bolt into the dragon, causing it to drop flat.
“Ha! We did it!” Sun Walker boasted.
Aden sheathed his sword, “Come with us. We are here to bring you back.”
Little Dreamer ignored them, keeping his eyes closed and hands folded. That’s when Wilhelm realized the dragon was just a puppet for him.
Before they knew it, the dragon was back up and deeply inhaling.
“Watch out!” Aden shouted, “It’s about to breathe fire!”
The flames poured out of its jaw, coming directly towards Aden. For a moment he thought his life was over, there was no coming back from disintegration. When he opened his eyes, Sun Walker was shielding him from the flames. He seemed to resist the blast.
Meanwhile, Wilhelm ran back into the dark path where Talon hid. He desperately flung his arms around searching for the rogue.
“What are you doing? You’re gonna give me away?” Talon scolded.
Wilhelm connected with Talon and casted guidance on him. “All you need to do is take out that crazy bastard! He’s controlling the dragon!”
Once the fire breath stopped, Sun Walker dropped to his knees. “End this.” He told his new friend.
With a newfound admiration for him, Aden unsheathed his blade and charged the dragon. The beast blocked his strike with its claws. Aden swung again, the dragon matched his strike and locked them in a stalemate.
Aden began to lose leverage and felt his sword slowly being forced back towards him.
In an instant, the pressure stopped and the dragon stared at Aden. Not with the same devilish red eyes, but the normal yellow eyes of freedom.
He looked to the corner where Little Dreamer took cover. Talon was standing proud with the old man cowering below him. The dragon stared at Talon, its eyes glistened with admiration right before it burst through the ceiling. Flying into the dusk, disappearing into the setting sun.
“You fool!” Little Dreamer hissed. “I was going to free my people! Free them from this place! And you ruined it all! None of you will survive, especially you! You can’t save them, you can’t save yourse-”
Aden’s boot interrupted the old man’s ranting. One quick kick to the jaw was enough to knock him unconscious. Within a few minutes the group had collected themselves and brought Little Dreamer back to the village.
“You did it!” Chief Star Gaze chuckled with joy. “You brought my brother back!”
“We held up our end. Now how do we leave?” Aden poked at the chief.
“You will want to head to the west of the village. There you will find a passage. At the very end of the passage there will be a dead end.” He gripped Wilhelm’s hand, “Place your hand upon the wall and it will reveal the way. But for now, please stay here tonight and celebrate your achievement!”
The party looked to one another. Exchanging unsure glances of accepting the hospitality.
“Let’s party!” Talon broke the silence.
“Yay!” Barb cheered
Wilhelm smiled, “I think we all could use a night off.”
Aden shrugged.
Would you have fought or ran?
