Chapter 8

The old man thanked Mia but refused to allow her to join him for his nap. He asked her to wake him before lunch as he had to meet someone. Mia sat outside the door to ensure the old man was not disturbed and woke him as he requested. She showed him to the main door and watched him walk away. Lord Kronk was quite upset when she told him the old man had left.

It was three days before the old man returned. Lord Kronk was slightly upset but realized the old man was not his to command. That is what Lord Kronk wanted to change; he offered the old man a job of story teller for his court at a salary of one silver coin a day along with room and board.

The old man countered asking for room and board along with Mia being assigned as his assistant.

Lord Kronk laughed and said it would have to be room and board plus one silver coin a week and Mia would be given to him for as long as he wished to have her.

The old man was silent for a while then agreed.

That evening the old man was called after the nobles finished eating dinner. The old man joined them sitting at the far end of the table just as Mia placed his goblet on the table for him. She knelt by the side of his chair and smiled as he began his tale.

Word of the Hydra's defeat along with all the tales of battles fought and won led to many job requests.

They were very selective only accepting jobs that were good in deed and cause. They never over charged and in most cases only took what was needed to complete the mission.

It was on one of these missions for a small village plagued by a dragon that fate finally caught up to them. The red dragon was only 10 feet high and 30 feet long nose to tail. A young adult with 24 foot wings allowing it short flights and small bursts of dragon fire breathe 6 feet wide and 12 feet long.

The group found the dragon's cave and began their search. The dragon was young but very smart. He had dug a maze between the entrance and his lair. There were two entrances from the maze into his lair and this allowed him to move into the maze if attacked from one entrance. With most of the maze intersecting with itself it was easy to get confused add to that the fact that the dragon had put stone blocks large enough to block the maze tunnels and he could change the maze at will.

This is just what the dragon did as the group moved forward. The stone block split the group in two. The four in front were caught by dragon breathe and forced to split again two to the right and two backward. Gada Malak Deke and Kay Lor were caught in the blast. Kay Lor was seriously injured due to his size but managed to backup with Malak. Deke and Gada suffered minor burns as they ducked to the side tunnel.

Keal Tia Bo-Jo and Raiffe were caught on the other side of the stone. They moved as fast as they could to get back to the others. Keal had a thought and told the others to wait while he moved back to the stone. Quickly returning they moved into the Dragon's lair and out the other tunnel.

The dragon attacked Kay Lor and Malak killing both of them but not before Kay Lor inflicted some minor damage leaving his sword stuck in the left shoulder joint effectively preventing the use of the limb and causing the dragon to slow down and limp. Malak was able to strike the dragon in the same place several times before he died leaving a small area of the dragon's scales exposed near the base of the neck.

The dragon circled through the tunnel and moved another stone along the way this time cutting off any retreat for the group this time.

Keal Tia Bo-Jo and Raiffe found Deke and Gada. They moved back to the lair where they had more room to move and waited for the dragon.

The dragon used it's breathe attack as it entered the lair. Sweeping its tail as it moved along the wall it succeeded it hitting Keal and Gada knocking them up and over the tail. Everyone suffered minor burns but were able to scramble out of direct line of the breathe attack. Raiffe put three arrows into the dragon's right eye. Gada landing next to the dragon attacked the injured left leg and totally crippled it. But the dragon successfully bit Gada lifting and crushing him with his massive jaws. Keal saw the exposed area Malak made and fired both blades into the exposed area and was struck by the tail again as the dragon used Gada to block the blades. Bo-Jo used this distraction to strike hitting the dragon in his left eye with his sword effectively blinding it. In its blind rage the dragon spit out Gada and attacked with both breathe and tail. Everyone managed to avoid the fire breathe suffering minor burns but Deke was struck through the back and out his chest by the sharp spear-like end of the dragon's tail.