Chapter 9: To Fight a Dragon…

To find a dragon, we’d need to venture into the Beastarian Kingdom—our first time setting foot there as a party.

The bridge to their territory was located on the far edge of the Human Kingdom, in Pebblestone City — opposite Apple City. The four kingdoms formed a wide circle, each separated by water but linked by bridges. On either side of the Human Kingdom were the Elf and Beastarian Kingdoms, with the Orc Kingdom positioned directly across the circle.

With our new horses, the journey to Beastarian territory took just a few hours.

The whole ride, my mind was elsewhere, cycling through spells and worst-case scenarios for when something inevitably went wrong.

The bridge into Beastarian territory was called Lion’s Bridge, named in tribute to the citizens’ ancestors. It was substantially longer than Loris Bridge, wild and overgrown rather than elegant or ornate. If the Elf Kingdom had felt like another country, this one felt like another world.

At the center of the massive, woodland city stood a colossal tree, with buildings wrapped around its trunk. I assumed that’s where the king lived. The citizens here had furred skin in various patterns, upright ears, and tails. They were the most in tune with nature and animals than any of the other kingdoms.

It was crazy how much bigger the world felt once you had horses.

Uri, knowing the kingdom best, took charge of guiding Alva as he led the way.

Dragons are apex predators, with the adults hunting in the Wilderness — a vast, uninhabited region of the Beastarian Kingdom teeming with dangerous creatures, including trolls. Venturing there is considered a death wish, though it's also known as a prime hunting ground for elite adventuring parties — assuming any such parties still existed in Runeveil.

Adolescent dragons, on the other hand, are more nuisance than threat. They rarely attack citizens — unless, of course, you get between them and something shiny they want to hoard in their lairs.

Dragon lairs are carved into volcanoes deep in the Wilderness. Most people who once lived nearby fled long ago — after entire cities were flattened or reduced to ash, simply for being too close.

Their danger made nearly every part of a dragon’s body priceless.

The only silver lining.

So what better idea was there than to head to the flattened lands of the abandoned towns ourselves and bait an adolescent dragon?

Oh—and just to be clear, adolescent dragons are between 20 and 35 years old. So no, they’re not children.

“We’re here.” Uri said as we approached an abandoned village.

Just the sight gave me second thoughts. After stowing the horses at a safe distance—far enough from the danger zone, but close enough for a quick getaway—we made sure we were ready and went over our plan of action.

Dragons had thick scales and, obviously, breathed fire—so while we were confident, we still had to move tactically.

Confidence alone wasn’t going to cut it.

One advantage we had: their sense of smell is poor. They rely almost entirely on eyesight, which is why they’re so easily drawn to shiny objects.

“I’ll lay the bait,” I said. “Scattering some random junk enchanted with a glowing spell should be enough to catch its attention.”

“And once it flies down, we need to provoke it. I’ll come out swinging, see if I can get a few clean hits in. Alva, you know the drill—aim for the weak spots between the scales and under the belly,” Talos said.

Alva gave a quick nod, already readying his bow.

“I’ll wait in a tree,” Uri said. “I’ll whistle when I see one coming.”

I had a feeling I’d be in more of a support role this time—shocking, I know. But this was different. No quest, no regulations. Just raw combat. Us versus a dragon.

This time, I had to trust them to deal the damage. All I could do was keep them alive.

“One more thing,” Uri said. “A few seconds before it breathes fire, there's this high-pitched sound that most people can’t hear. I’ll whistle when I hear it. That’ll be your warning.

I don’t think my daggers will do much, and when it's in the air I’m useless. This is the most I can do.”

“That’s more than enough,” I said.

“So, when he whistles, get behind me. I’ll shield us,” Talos said, gripping his shield.

“No,” I cut in. “Your shield might melt. I’ll use a bubble spell—it’s a water barrier. Just run to me, and I’ll cover us in it.”

“You sure it’ll hold up?” Alva asked.

“Positive.”

“We can do this, guys just stick to the plan,” Talos said.

With that, we all took our positions.

We found a clearing, and I conjured a handful of random objects, scattering them across the grass. I gave each one a glowing enchantment before I rejoined Alva and Talos. We crouched together in the brush, eyes on the sky, waiting for Uri’s whistle.

Uri was already in position, perched on a branch across the clearing.

“This reminds me of the frog quest,” Alva whispered. “Remember the honey?”

“Like it was yesterday,” Talos muttered.

Time really does fly when you’re constantly, recklessly throwing your life into danger.

We waited in tense silence for a few more minutes—then, finally, Uri whistled.

After a few seconds, the sky darkened as the shadow of a dragon stretched over us. Then it came into view—its massive black, scaly body circling above, wings beating the air as it prepared to claim the glowing bait.

Adolescents were much bigger than I thought. If this was the size of a “young one,” I definitely didn’t want to stumble across an adult.

“SKRAAAA!” it screeched, swooping down before landing with a heavy thud near the scattered items, lowering its head as if browsing through a market stall to pick which prize to claim.

Beside me, Talos exhaled sharply, then suddenly shouted, “Now!”

Alva hesitated for just a second, then forced himself to move, rushing in behind Talos.

Before the dragon could react, Talos swung hard, his halberd crashing against its head. The impact made it stagger, so distracted that it hadn't even realized we were there.

A jagged mark split across its scales.

Could we actually do this?

Alva loosed a pair of arrows. Both bounced harmlessly off its scales—no opening found, but at least he was keeping the pressure on.

The dragon, now enraged, let out a furious screech and launched itself back into the sky, wings churning the air as it prepared its revenge.

There was no turning back now.

I stayed close to the others, making sure they could reach me quickly.

The dragon wheeled around in the sky, and Uri’s sharp whistle cut through the air.

Alva and Talos sprinted toward me without hesitation.

I raised my hands and cast the water barrier just in time, the blue dome forming around us as they entered.

They slipped inside just as the dragon soared overhead, unleashing a torrent of flame in its wake. Fire crashed against the barrier, searing the ground and lighting the clearing ablaze—yet inside, we stood untouched, the roar of the inferno muffled by the water’s surface.

When the flames finally subsided, I dropped the spell. Steam and smoke hissed around us as the dragon landed, then leapt skyward again, wings beating furiously to hover in front of us.

“Let’s go!” Talos roared, charging straight at it with his halberd raised.

Alva fired several arrows. This time, the dragon’s underbelly was exposed, and the shafts connected—yet it hardly seemed to notice. The arrows stuck for a moment, then worked loose, falling away as the beast moved.

Talos leapt forward, swinging for its head. He nearly missed, the blow glancing as he stumbled on the landing. Before he could recover, the dragon twisted back toward the treeline, its massive body coiling. In a blur, its tail whipped around and slammed into Talos, sending him crashing to the ground near us.

“Talos!” Alva and I shouted, sprinting to him.

“SKRAAAA!” the dragon screeched in triumph as it ascended into the sky.

I dropped to my knees beside Talos, healing magic already flowing into him. He groaned, still reaching for his halberd as it lay beside him sprawled on the dirt.

“Ahhh…” he exhaled, dazed.

“Your armor—” Alva pointed. A jagged piece of chest plate had snapped clean off.

“Let’s get out of here before it comes back!” I urged, still pouring magic into his wound.

“No… I can fight,” Talos muttered, forcing himself upright, stubborn as ever.

“She’s right, let’s g—”

Uri’s sharp whistle cut Alva off.

“Ahh!” I cried, throwing up the barrier just in time.

A torrent of fire crashed against us once more, steam and smoke boiling up in a suffocating cloud.

“Uri, get the horses!” I shouted as I retracted the barrier.

He dropped from the tree and sprinted behind us where the horses were tied.

Above, the dragon circled in the air, as if it had already claimed us.

We all ran together, Talos casting one last look at the dragon before pushing himself to keep pace with us.

As we reached the horses, I looked back. The dragon’s gaze locked on us again, wings folding in as it readied another dive.

“Hurry!” I yelled.

“I’ll ride Gabriel!” Uri called, already grabbing the reins. Talos hauled himself up behind him, still clutching his wound. I swung onto Celestia with Alva.

Smoke and ash lingered in the air around us.

I had an idea.

As the dragon swooped closer, I swept the smoke together with my magic, forming it into a dense fog that swallowed us whole.

“Into the trees!” I ordered.

The thunder of wings grew louder, closer.

Uri whistled.

“Velara?!” Alva shouted, panic in his voice.

“The barriers aren’t portable—we’re fine!” I barked.

Talos and I risked one last glance back just in time to see the dragon’s fire tear through the fog where we had just been.

We rode on in silence, each of us still reeling from what had just happened.

Then I broke it.

“Talos, are you alright?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he muttered, but his voice was defeated. His eyes were still fixed behind us.

“I just can’t believe it’s my fault we lost. Ever since we started taking quests, I was so eager to fight. Then I lost my sword, got a better weapon—and still, I got dropped in one hit.”

“It was unexpected,” I said. “None of us knew dragons could do that. But now we know.”

Alva spoke up. “Hey, if it makes you feel better—I didn’t even get hit, and my attacks were useless. The arrows just bounced off or fell right out. At least you landed a clean hit.”

“I should have helped. More, I mean.” Uri said. “Maybe if I could’ve found some way to attack it… maybe we would have won.”

I patted Celestia, speaking softly. “Sorry you guys had to go through all that too.”

“Thank you. But no need to apologize,” Alva said.

“I was talking to the horses,” I snapped.

“Oh. And I know it wasn't really targeting me, but hey at least I didn’t freeze up this time, right?” Alva blurted. “Anyway, that’s two for the list now. No fairies, no dragons.”

“But, I left a mark on it. I hurt it. We’re coming back. We have to,” Talos declared.

Do we?

“And next time,” Talos continued, “we’ll take one down.”