I smelt it before I saw it, the stench of blood and iron hit my nostrils as the wind blew towards me. I figured it was some wounded animal that had strayed to close to my den of jewels and gold. On any other day I might have wandered out of my cave to inspect the foul smell, but I had just fed and I was still quite full, besides, I was trying to enjoy my afternoon nap. The foul thing was coming closer, ruining my nap with the smell. It was unbearable, like rotten meat and cow dung. I had just stood up to go further into my cave so I could evade the stench when I saw him. For it was a him. A human male had entered my cave of riches, many men had entered, none had returned. This human was the awful thing causing the horrific smell, and now that I had the cause of the stench within my eyesight it made sense why he smelled.
He had mud caked hair, his face and armor were also covered in it, dirt encompassed his whole body. I also noticed that he was covered in blood, the blood was freshly flowing out of several small cuts and scraps. There was one stream of blood that flowed more steadily than the rest, it was located on his abdomen, a fatal wound if I had my human anatomy correct. It seemed as if this human had barely survived a great battle. This was all very curious to me, most of the humans that tried to come and conquer me wore great gleaming armor and had the sharpest of swords. This man however had dull dirty armor and seemed to have no weapon but a small dagger on his thigh. But what was most curious of all, was what this human man held in his arms. He carried a small white bundle of cloth, the only somewhat clean thing he had. Inside this cloth was a human young-ling, a baby, I believe is what the humans call their young. The male stumbled into my cave, and I did not roast him alive purely for one reason. I had never seen a human child up close before, I have only seen them as I was flying over their villages. "Please" the human rasped. It startled me out of my thoughts. "Please, you have to help me. The Coblis have demolished the entire city!" Ah, the Coblis were to blame for the war noises had heard all day. The Coblis were ruthless beings, raiding and pillaging anything they wanted. With their green skin, pointed ears, and sharp protruding teeth they would be intimidating to anyone but a dragon. My species had scales too tough for their spears to penetrate. Their bodies were unaturally strong and lean, they made the best warriors and killers. They almost never gather in groups of more than a hundred, and while their tribes are small, they almost always win a fight. They are notoriously known for hating humans, raiding any human village they come across. To demolish an entire fortified human city, they must have had several different tribes gathered to fight together. I could think of no reason why the Coblis would gather together such forces. "Why then human, do you come to me? With a babe no less. Should you not be attending to what's left of your people?" My voice thundered and echoed through the cave. Yet, the child did not even stir. "I know of no one else that's left of us. All the peasants were slaughtered or they fled. The knights were all killed in battle, and the royals have been captured and enslaved along with anyone else that wasn't lucky enough to die." His voice was frail and his every breath rattled in his chest. "I....I have come to ask a favor of you. I was sent by the king himself. He told me to remind you of summer solstice, I'm not sure what that means. But he said you would know."
Ah, around a hundred years ago, when I was just a young-ling myself, a hunter had cornered me. He had his an arrow notched and ready, the smell of which hazel radiated off of him. Witch hazel is one of a the few weaknesses that a dragon has. The smell of it dulls our senses, therefore enabling us to be captured more easily. And just when the Hunter was about to shoot for the killing shot while I was tangled in one of his nets, he was tackled to the ground by a young man. He tied up the hunter up and crouched by me and said, "I hear it's good luck to see a dragon on the solstice, especially if it's in the summer. They say that if you see a dragon on the longest day of the year that your life will be longer than a Castle is wide."
"Now I'm not sure about this fellow, since he was caught trying to kill you if the luck will work. But I sure hope it works for me. And I hope you remember that it was the Crown Prince of Marvlo that saved you. And you owe my family a life debt. If any members of my family happen to come across your path and they need help. You are obligated to help them, because of what I have done for you today. Do you understand?" I looked at him in pure shock. He was going to let me go. I nodded my head, and he cut me free of the net that I was entangled in.
