Sold To The Dragon Kingdom

SIX

There was an ear piercing scream from a very far distance which surely belonged to a man. Perhaps a bulky man. The scream was terrifying, it carried the agony and pain of the person being attacked. I suspected it could be one of the rogues that had been attacked by a wild creature or something very powerful and cruel.

The thought of that alone, sent shivers down my spine and I began to feel conscious, wary of every snapping branches and little noises and movements around me.

I squeezed my balled frame and silently stayed hidden in the branches for the meantime. I thought whatever was happening would soon be over, and then I would sneak out and find something to use as a weapon and then go back and save Milan. I had never imagined a day would come when I’d be faced with such a tough challenge. A test of my loyalty towards the man I liked. He was more than a friend to me.

Still yet, if I were to be honest, I’d say that a bigger part of me wanted to doubt Milan’s innocence and use it as an excuse to not go back to the riverside. But then again, Milan would do everything to save me if he were the one in my position, right?

I was sure he would. He demonstrated his loyalty quite a number of times actually. Sometimes even without a second thought, he’d jump right in to save me. Sometime back when I was around ten, Milan had saved me from getting bitten by a snake, but in the process of killing the snake, he’d lost his balance and fell face-flat in the mud filled with baby caterpillars. The fall later caused him a severe eye infection. He didn’t even complained about it or blamed me for being the cause of his distress.

Now that I remembered, I reassured myself that Milan deserved better treatment. I hadn’t done anything little to repay him for what he’d done for me until now. Even if I ended up dying in the hands of some wild creatures or the brutes, I’d have no regret. That would be better than being a coward and not trying at all. Besides, saving a person should always be a priority; the appropriate thing to do.

Talking about the rogues, I noticed that the forest was silent once again. Not silent in the sense of a complete absence of noise. But it was rather more calmer that how it was a while ago. Like the calm before the storm. The creature or whatever it was the pounced on the pathetic man must have filled its belly by now.

Carefully, I pulled my frame away from the branches and got out crawling on fours. I grabbed the first stick I found in the dry leaves. The stick was thick but looked severely dehydrated. It could break in one snap. And something dark brown covered its tip, which for some reason made me suspicious as to whether it might be liquid poop. Obviously, people use all sorts of things to clean their behinds in places like this. I knew better for a girl who’d grown on the mountains.

I threw away the stick instantly as my eyes began to frantically search for anything else I could manage as a weapon. I didn’t want to waste too much time.

*

The sun gradually shifted and the sky changed from one color to another while I walked through the forest, trying to keep my eyes open. All evidences of exhaustion had manifested on my body, yet my legs wouldn’t give up on finding Milan.

I had just left the river where we were attacked earlier, but Milan wasn’t there or anywhere I had searched. And none of the rogues were there as if nothing had happened. They’d gotten rid of all the dead bodies and eradicated the traces. Except for some remnants of a burnt something which I saw close to a tree. They probably grilled a rabbit or a squirrel there.

To survive, Milan said a rogue can feed on anything. Sometimes even on the flesh of their dead fellows.

I thought about the possibility of them taking Milan along, and something in my mind told me that might be very possible judging from the way they picked interest in him. Either because he looked like the arrogant man in the cave, or because he performed magic and they mistook him for something different. They’d be mistaken if they really thought of him as a dragon. It took my entire life to know him better than anyone ever would.

So many thoughts were on my mind as I kept wandering. Soon, I realized I had only been navigating around the same area over and over again. The tracks and trees were confusing. My head was becoming heavy and my eyelids were beginning to feel unnaturally heavy.

“Oye!” A voice yelled, making me to stagger as I almost fell back. My dress tore from the inside. But I pretend as though nothing had happened as I boldly turned around and saw the person who had yelled. Actually, it wasn’t just one person. I could see about five to seven large men shielding their bulky frames in the trees. They looked like forest giants. There were more I couldn’t count. What I instantly noticed was that some of them had some green color on their faces which could probably be the juice of some squashed healthy green leaves. Because the colors didn’t looked as thick as a real paint.

The one that yelled at me was not as tall as the rest. Yet the way he stood boldly told me he was the one in command. He was the leader in charge.

Definitely, I was sure that those people weren’t a part of the rogues I had met earlier. They were another different set of rogues. Or maybe disguised warriors. Or even some group of wild tribalist. I hoped they weren’t cannibals. The cannibals that caused that agonizing scream of the man I heard earlier.

My stomach twisted at the thought. It was a possibility yet It felt as though I had guessed everything right. I let go of the sharp piece of wood I was holding and surrendered my hands in the air. There was no way I could fight the men alone. In fact, not even one of them would I be able to defeat at my current state. Hunger had weakened my muscles. Exhaustion had physically and mentally drained my energy.

“I’m just a deserter. Your fellows were here before you, and they’ve taken away everything I have including my horse.” I said, assuming they were rogues and hoping they’d believe me. “Unless you want my dirty dress and shoes, there is nothing else for me to give.”

The leader who was small but mighty suddenly did something with his finger and the men quickly surrounded me and before I could think of doing anything, two men came and held me with their big hands almost crushing my arms. They lifted me up effortlessly until my legs stopped touching the ground.

**********

What happened to the mutilated dead body was evident to Helios. He could tell that Geoffrey had met with a fate that befitted a man of his cruelty. A man who wasted his youth repeatedly snatching people’s possessions and gambling away his fortune. Now his dead body laid outside the cave in a skin that had been fried beyond recognition, making it seemed like the dragon intended to torment him by using such a cruel method.

Helios knew the rogues were of dubious character. Yet he was sure that they wouldn’t make up a false story just so they would cover the death of their leader and share the gold amongst themselves. They were telling him nothing but the truth as he had already seen the horrifying expressions on their faces when they came to the cave to see him.

Obviously, some of the men had never witnessed a dragon shifting into his dragon form so their little human brains wouldn’t accept it.

What particularly became puzzling to Helios was the thing the rogues mentioned when he questioned them about how the incident happened. They said the dragon man did not naturally shifted into his dragon form. He used sorcery to shift and after he trapped Geoffrey in some ball of flames, he flew away to the South. They said he was the shaman’s associate.

“S-Sir, I’m afraid there’s s-something else we all have failed to mention.” Said a young looking brute, averting his eyes. He seemed nervous and hesitant to discuss his mind.

“So tell me the part you left out.” Helios ordered from where he stood with arms crossed, frequently observing the faces of the brutes. Most seemed so devastated and saddened by the sudden death. They couldn’t even hide their bitter emotion.

“The beast looked l-like you... Erm. H-his human form I mean Sir. W-we we thought you two might be related in some way.” The young one said, as Helios scrunched his face in confusion. He thought the boy was stuttering like an i***t, but he didn’t looked like he could easily lie. Especially not about this.

“How accurate is he?” Helios asked, roughly glancing at the other rogues one after another. “One among you may speak.”

A more matured man stepped forward and nodded his head before he began to speak. “Geoffrey had a plan to bargain for a handsome price in exchange for the dragon man. At first I didn’t understand why he’d planned to sell out a man, but now I can understand why. He must have thought of you as a twin to the other one, due to the striking resemblance.”

“Where are the possessions you took away from them?” Helios threw another question.

“Gary, give him the bag.” Said the rogue, addressing another young fellow with a rough blonde hair who quickly took off the bag he had crossed around his chest. He stepped forward and handed it to Helios before stepping aside again.

“Geoffrey was not a humble man, but he was one of yours. He had no principles yet he was able to earn your loyalties. His death will be felt by you all, however, the death of a man shall not make another man to waver from the path he chose for himself. You must bury this dead man quickly and move on to appoint his successor. Our deal is done here, i’m taking one of the horses and this bag. Settled with thirty four gold coins and ten silver coins packed here.” Helios tossed a small leather bag of coins into the hand of a fellow before he turned away and mounted onto his horse.

Some of the rogues nodded their heads at Helios, while others simply ignored and went back to their businesses.

Without wasting another minute, the elderly rogue handed the reins of the second horse over to Helios. He nodded his head to show respect as Helios took the reins and held them tight in one hand.

“Lead your fellows well and stick to your principles. Be better than Geoffrey the one eyed. I may return to do business with you next time.”

“I’m honored.” The man replied, his voice hinting his satisfaction.

With that, Helios finally kicked his beast and began to trot. The second horse was smaller and he obediently followed by. They headed towards the South where the dragon was said to have followed.