The Dragon's Consortium

31 - Into The Dragon's Nest

Soterios - POV;

I sat quietly behind the half standing statue, holding my breath for fear that it would compromise our ambush. I gently peered around the broken structure and gave Csilla the signal. We shot out from our hiding places and quickly took down the two lindwurms wallowing in the small mud pool before they could even make a squeak to warn any others.

I turned to Csilla and she shook her head in approval. We continued to sneak our way in. We were already in Draedian and it was obvious from the outside that the Kingdom was abandoned. The Draconic Races had made a small base in Draedian and as a result the slightest misstep could bring an entire army down upon us.

Knowing this we treaded carefully to avoid detection and picked off lone beasts like the lindwurms from earlier. The atmosphere in Draedian was very different from the other Kingdoms in Uradora. The air was thick with the scent of blood making it difficult to breathe. The skies mirrored a crimson hue which blotted out the sun. The land was dry and barren with little plant life and aquatic habitat. Dirt and mud stained in red stretched across the vast lands.

We circled around the run down villages and towns keeping our eyes peeled for the Draconic Beasts roaming every nook and cranny.

"How are we supposed to know where the sword is?" Csilla asked.

"The usual strategy I guess," I replied, "we'll start here and move towards the capital checking every town along the way."

Csilla shook her head with determination as she flashed me a 'thumbs up' sign. We happened upon a small town which remained fairly intact but we would have ignored it had we not heard the sound of voices talking within.

We entered through a small hole in the wall and crept along the floor quietly. Csilla suddenly began tapping my shoulder frantically. I watched back to see her eyes opened wide. Following her gaze I noticed a barely visible humanoid silhouette through one of the windows of a house opposite to us. I began to move towards the building with Csilla right at my back.

"Are you sure you saw people come in here?" a small red Dragon, barely 7 ft. tall, entered the town and was speaking to a young wyvern beside him. I grabbed Csilla and pulled her behind a nearby barrel.

"I'm positive I did," the wyvern crackled.

"But for them to sneak into Draedian is prepos-" the red dragon stopped speaking suddenly.

"What's up?" The wyvern inquired.

"I smell something," the dragon announced, squinting his eyes in our direction. Shit, I forgot that the dragons had a heightened sense of smell.

"What do we do?" Csilla whispered softly. I sat thinking for a second before it hit me. Of course! I took my blade and gashed my forearm, spilling out blood. Csilla looked in horror as I began to rub it all over myself.

"What are you doing?" she whispered worriedly. "The air smells like blood. Rubbing yourself in it will cover your scent," I explained.

She reluctantly began to bathe in the red shower her self but acted quickly to bandage my wound. She shot me a look which screamed out 'Don't act so rashly and stupidly again'.

"That's odd, I could have sworn that I smelt a per- gah!"

The dragon had suddenly went silent. We poked our faces around the wall to be confronted with a puzzling sight. The dragon and wyvern now lay dead in a bloody pool and there were no signs of any assailant. In seconds the creatures had been killed without a trace left behind.

Unknown - POV;

"Should I kill the humans master?" I looked at him questionably.

"No, leave them be. This will be interesting," he answered as we leapt from the roof leaving the humans and the dead beasts in the town.