Inferno Legacy: Valor of the Dragon (Book One)

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Cody worriedly watched as the heavily armored men, likely 200 of them, continued to surround him and Inferno. At least five dozen of them were archers, and every single one had an arrow aimed straight at either him or the dragon beneath him. Many more had swords, axes, maces, and weapons Cody had never even seen or heard of before, held tightly in their hands. Throwing spears and other terrifying throwing weapons all had their aim on him and his dragon alone.

“Remain calm, or they will feel more threatened,” Inferno warned as he maintained a nonchalant appearance with ease.

Heading the words, Cody sucked in a deep breath and cleared his face of all fear that had once been there. He closed his eyes and attempted to erase the images of all of the potential enemies around them. He succeeded, and where terror had once been, eagerness, excitement, and thrill thrived. When he felt thoroughly calmed down, he opened his eyes to the world again and gazed, surprisingly calmly, at all of the warriors. They were human beings, every single one, with emotions, thoughts, and feelings, which made him feel even better.

The rider continued to let his eyes wander over the armed crowd, until he saw them part a little ways to his right. Inferno’s head turned ever so slightly to look more closely at the break in the crowd. Through the gap came a man clad in a dark green robe, that seemed somewhat elegant to Cody since he grew up in a town where fancy and elegant was all but unknown to the native people. But still, he assumed that it wouldn’t seem like such fine clothing to many of the richer people in Morgran alone, and this man was only wearing “shabby” clothing into such a dirty place as a farm.

He must have been a noble of sorts. Cody wanted to believe that he was a very brave man who was born into a very rich family, but it was difficult to decide anything about the man when there were so many warriors around to be brave for him. The rider’s thoughts were whirling around his head faster than he could even think them, and he just decided to forget his observations until he was able to later on, with slightly fewer things to deal with. That is, if there would be fewer things to deal with.

The man continued to approach Cody and Inferno until he was about eight feet from the armed men behind him, and still a little over 20 feet from the dragon and rider. Behind him the crowd closed the gap that had once been there. Surprisingly, the man seemed both terrified and eager for whatever was going to happen next. While they were almost the exact same feelings Cody and Inferno had, seeing it on his face worried them.

Suddenly the man cleared his throat, and said, “Rider, dismount your dragon.”

The man’s voice was quavering very slightly with worry, though he seemed to be doing his best to disguise it. Cody hesitated, remaining perfectly still in his saddle as he, too, worried. With an encouraging thought from Inferno, he sighed too quietly for anyone else to hear and slid from Inferno’s back, even though he was still standing. The rider straightened himself and placed his left hand on the pommel of his sword cautiously, before he silently faced the man that had asked for him to dismount. At least, he hoped the command was meant lightly enough to be considered asking.

“Who are you, and what is your business here in Morgran?” the man asked Cody with a growingly worried tone of voice.

Cody cleared his throat and said, unusually formally, “I would also like to know who you are, and I wonder what significance you are in this city. However, if you must know, I am Cody Ashheart, and this is my dragon, Inferno. I wish to keep my business a secret until I know exactly who you are.”

The nobleman shot him a glare, but quickly withdrew it again to respond, “I am Indivar, the mayor of this city. I rule over all of Morgran with my brother, Daren, and my sister, Laurel. There is no higher authority in the city than myself.”