Dragon in Disguise

Thunder crashed as Viren flew through the dark sky. The wind buffeted him, and it was only through twists, turns, and dives that he was able to continue flying and avoid its grasp. An aura of dread and stress permeated the air, and his wings were starting to tire, growing weaker by the minute. He banked to the right to avoid a huge wave. The huge wall of murky darkness rose up higher and higher, paused at its crest for a split second, then crashed back down with a roar that nearly drowned out the continues thunder.

Waves similar to the one Viren just dodged were rising and falling all around him like mountains that would fall on top of you at any moment, forcing him to add dodging the waves to his already hazardous task of flying with the wind. It was getting harder and harder to remain in the air. Suddenly, lightning arced not ten feet away from him. He let out a surprised roar and jerked backwards, throwing himself off balance. This of course allowed the winds to take hold of him like invisible chains and batter him around. ‘Alright, that’s it.’

With a growl he somersaulted in the air and dived straight down. As he pierced the water he swam downwards as fast as he could, using his water magic to propel him further. The water hugged him, smooth and soothing. As Viren dived deeper the shadows rose to meet him, deeper and fuller than on land. When he was far deeper than the storm could reach he let out a small breath of relief, and watched as the bubbles swirled up and beyond his sight. With both the shadows and the water calming him Viren felt at peace. He closed his eyes.

Sunlight streaming through the window woke Viren up. He stretched contently and rolled out of the bed. ‘It’s been awhile since I had that dream. Which I suppose is partially a good thing, but I still wish I had it more often.’ That particular dream tended to show up whenever Viren was having a particularly hard time. He first had it about a month after his mother died, and it had been showing up every few months ever since.

“I still don’t know if it has something to do with my magic, or if it’s just my subconscious comforting me. I guess I’ll have the opportunity to find out sooner or later.” Now that he wasn’t subject to being Kastra’s heir anymore he could do so many of the things he had always wanted to. Viren stopped getting ready for the day ahead for a second and savored that thought. Then he pulled out his money.

“Alright, so I have 42 coins left, a room here is 2 coins per night, and meals are one coin each. I could buy two weeks’ worth of emergency rations for 7 coins, and I want to buy a good dagger if I have any money to spare.” He would be good on clothes for a little while, since the ones from the Fortress were good quality.

‘I guess I should go down and buy some breakfast.’

As Viren walked quietly down the stairs, he noticed the man from last night, the one that looked like he wanted to talk to him. ‘Oh, I forgot about him.’ Viren silently walked over to the bar and ordered his food, then sat in the same place he did last night. The nervous man put on a brave face, got up, and walked toward him. Viren pretended not to notice.

When the guy got to Viren, he sat down right next to him and didn’t say anything. Gathering his courage maybe? After a moment of silence, he finally cleared his throat and stuck out his hand awkwardly.

“Hi, my name’s Nevron Thendall, I’m a merchant of the Thendall Caravan, nice to meet you.” Viren shook Nevron’s hand and smiled. He was a younger man, around 19 by the looks of it, and had narrower features. his thin brown hair was cut just above his eyes, which were a dull honey color.

“Nice to meet you too. How can I help you?”

“Well, as I have already said, I am a merchant in a caravan. We are in need of a guard to protect us from the wilderness and the danger it brings.” Now that was interesting. Guarding a caravan would be the perfect opportunity to leave Edgedale while making some coin at the same time. He thought over it for a few seconds.

“An intriguing opportunity. How much would it be paying?” The merchant smiled.

“We can offer ten coins per night, plus meals.” ‘Well, my last attempt at negotiating didn’t go so well… but it wouldn’t hurt to try and get a little bit more for my efforts.’

“How about 20 per night. Plus meals.” Nevron narrowed his eyes, no longer nervous at all. He was now in his element, while Viren was most definitely not.

“I suppose I could offer… 13 coin per night, only two meals provided.”

“Done,” Viren said urgently. ‘It may not be the work of a master negotiator, but I’ll take whatever I can get!’ Nevron seemed surprised, then a little disappointed.

“Well, ok then,” he said, sounding almost downcast. He quickly shook it off, however, and got back to business. “We leave in a week, I’ll come back here when we are ready to go. Any other questions?”

“Nope!” This was great. A week gave Viren enough time to buy supplies and take a few other day jobs. He was definitely happy with the way things turned out. He ate the now cold porridge with a smile and headed into the city in search of work.

…

Before Viren hit the job boards he quickly bought some rations, enough to last two weeks. The stall where he bought them was busy, so the sellers were working fast, allowing Viren to get away quickly and with no haggling. ‘I wonder what the merchants and sellers are like in other cities.’ They would probably haggle a lot more. Hopefully he would be better at it by then. Much better.

The center was lively today. There was even a musician playing a joyful melody on a lute. The job boards were busy as well, and Viren had to find one of the less crowded ones to even see what jobs there were.

Guardsmen wanted – Bayworth Merchant Company

Scribe desperately needed – Urgent!

Farmhand needed – inquire at Merry Times Tavern

All of those were longer term, not what Viren was looking for. ‘And, I probably don’t have the skills for those either,’ he thought, and moved on to more likely opportunities. ‘Lets see here… oh, what’s this?’

Mercenary needed – Ask at High Time Tavern for Dark Song Mercenary Company –

Mercenary company? Now that was interesting. It didn’t occur to Viren that there would be groups of mercenaries, but it made since, and he knew they existed. ‘I suppose I don’t fully see myself as one of them yet. Which makes since – I’ve only completed one job!’ Anyway, it sounded interesting, but as of right now, he couldn’t afford to tie himself down, especially to people who might turn him into his enemies for some coin.

“Speaking of coin, I need to stop getting distracted!” He scanned the papers, not allowing himself to stop until he found something he could actually make use of. ‘Here, how about this one!’

Help – For the love of all that is good, get rid of these pests!

I don’t care how you do it, just get it done!!!

15 coin – meet me at Merry Times Tavern

‘Well, this looks interesting enough!’

…

Merry Times Tavern was a cozy place on the outskirts of the city, though it was at the opposite end of where Viren first entered. Right outside of this end of the city were plains of empty land, with a few farms speckled here and there. Unlike the southern entrance – the one he was familiar with – the northern entrance had a nicer feel to it. Most of the stalls were farmers or merchants who catered to farmers. The streets were still busy, but it was not as urgent as the rest of the city.

The inside of Merry Times was warmed by a crackling fire in the corner, and the laughter of its patrons. The air smelt faintly of barley and horse. A smiling waitress with rosy cheeks and laugh lines around her eyes came up to Viren.

“Howdy. How can Merry Times help you today?”

“Hi there, I’m looking for the one who put out this ad?” He showed her the ad from the job board. She leaned forward and squinted her eyes a little as she scanned the plea for aid. Then she chuckled.

“Yeah, that’ll be Bob.” She shook her head and laughed. “Follow me, I’ll take you to him.”

The waitress led Viren around the wooden tables and to a cozy backroom. There were two large tables, and a booth. It was emptier then the main room, but still with a decent number of people. Then she led him to a man sitting at the booth.

“How’s tonight’s chef’s special, Bob?” Bob sniffed.

“Well, I can’t tell you, now can I, seeing as the chef’s your husband,” he said gruffly. He looked to be in his early forties and was decked out in overalls and a straw hat. He had a little bit of stubble, and his face was weather beaten and tanned nearly brown. The waitress smiled.

“Aw, you know I wouldn’t tell. Anyway, I’ve got a kid here asking about some ad you put up.” Bob brightened considerably at that and seemed to notice Viren for the first time.

“Oi, you think you can take care ‘o my pest problem?”

“Ah, I’d need more information first, but yes, I could probably do something about it.” Bob beamed.

“Well, I’ll be, that’s just magnificent. Sit, sit, I’ll buy you some milk or something and tell you about them naughty little things.” Viren slipped into the seat across from the man, and the waitress sped away, presumably to get his milk. “So,” the farmer said, “The pests. I don’t know what they are exactly, except they ain’t no normal animals.”

“Not normal animals? Do you think you could describe them?” He shook his head.

“No, I’ve never gotten a good look at them. But they’re dang smart, distracting me ‘n causing mischief ‘round my farm. Wouldn’t mind it enough to spend 15 coin, except they keep stealing my crops an’ leaving a huge mess behind em!” The waitress showed up with Viren’s milk, and he took a large sip.

‘And here I was thinking I would be catching some foxes or rabbits!’

“After I finish this, we can head out to your farm, and I’ll see what I can do for you.”

…

Bob’s farm was pretty average. An acre or two of wheat, and a small farmhouse with a garden out back. He had given Viren a ride in his wagon, and by the time they got there it was a little after midday, and the sun was shining brightly overhead. There was not a cloud to be seen in the clear blue sky. Bob and Viren hopped out of the wagon right in front of his house. Bob clapped his hands together.

“Alright, here’s my farm, the pests are in there somewhere. Have fun!” With that he turned around and walked into his house. Viren stared for a few seconds, then looked back over the field. ‘Alright then, time to catch some mystery pests.’ He took a deep breath and started into the field.

…

The wind rustled around Viren, and the wheat stalks swayed softly in the breeze. The wheat smell was very thick where he was crouched in the fields. He closed his eyes and tried to hear the mystery pests, but the only sounds he heard was the whistling breeze and the rustling crops. He opened his eyes again and sighed. Viren had been sitting in this position for over an hour and had still not caught sight or sound of whatever was plaguing Farmer Bob.

Then, to his left, Viren heard a barely perceptible rustling. He slowly turned his head. The tops of the wheat were moving slightly, almost as if something was moving through them. ‘Finally,’ he thought. Slowly, without making a sound, he started moving towards the sound. He even drew on his shadow powers to make himself blend in slightly to the shadows cast by the tall plants. He creeped further and further towards whatever the thing was. Viren carefully parted two stalks of wheat, and gasped.

‘Skyotes?’

The creatures standing before him were coyotes with fur ranging from dull gold to sandy tan. The only thing to make them stand out from normal coyotes were their brilliant multicolored wings. The feathers making them up were wispy and smooth, and each was a different color. The colors ranged from bright yellow to reddish pink to light teal. Their wingspans were a bit larger than an eagle’s.

Viren had never seen one in real life, only read about them, and seeing them for the first time took his breath away. Even though they were mischievous scavengers and thieves, they were still beautiful. According to the books he read, Skyotes were incredibly rare creatures, with very weak wind or fire abilities. Although they had higher intelligence than other beasts, it was low enough that they were still animals. ‘They don’t really live up to their name though,’ he thought. ‘They can’t fly, only flap a few feet like chickens!’

This pack didn’t seem to be doing much. Five were napping, one was munching on some wheat, and one was snacking on a field mouse. Viren looked around the small clearing they had claimed and saw one that was on lookout. ‘Definitely smart creatures. But how do I get rid of them?’