Dragon's Landing

Chap 3

Ash landed with a solid thud and groaned as she felt immense pain flood through her leg. “Find her! She couldn’t have left our compound!” People were looking for her. It was time to leave. She braced herself for the pain as she stood up. Her leg screeched in pain, but Ash stumbled forward into a run into the trees. She had to get far away from here. Ash ran until the pain in her leg finally overwhelmed her. A small rock outcrop was her home for the rest of the night. She decided to sleep with what time she had before having to run again. She knew that they would try coming for her. They had gone mad with their hunger for humans. Ash let herself sleep and dreamt of her time with Jorn. He was like a father to her and she felt safe at that small hut. She woke to the sound of metal hitting metal. Crawling forward she saw a man with a deep gash propped up against the outcrop. The man collapsed and Ash couldn’t leave him to die. She pulled him into her hiding spot. She started to check him over. He had a deep cut wrapping around his shoulder. 

Footsteps came around the bend near her hiding spot. “Find him! We can’t let him get away.” The heavy steps soon faded as they continued past. Ash jerked off the man’s armor so she could examine his wound more thoroughly. He had pale skin with streams of blood flowing around it. Ash grabbed some extra cloth and wrapped it around his wound to stop the bleeding. I should light a fire. It’s too damp in here.There was a small hole in the rock wall that led outside. It would make for a perfect vent. The hiding spot was just tall enough where one had to hunch over to stand and the entrance you had to crawl out of. He is going to need a poultice too. Time to go get supplies. Ash dragged the man to a small corner of the cavity before crawling out through the entrance. She looked around to make sure the coast was clear before proceeding into the forest. She collected some kindling and medicinal plants. Her swollen leg protested the movement, but Ash knew she had to push through it. She could treat it later. Making her way back to the outcrop she began to hear voices in the woods. They were eerily similar voices. A shrill voice hit her ears and she finally recognized it as the woman from the inn. Did they follow me this far? Ash didn’t want to take any chances and sprinted back to the outcrop. She shoved in her supplies before crawling inside. Just to be on the safe side, Ash set up the kindling in the middle of the cavity, but didn’t light it. Instead she went back over to the injured man. He hadn’t moved, but he was still breathing. The bleeding seemed to have stopped as what was there before had begun to dry. 

After what seemed like a very long time Ash decided to start the fire. She struck two stones together until sparks came alight. The small fire fllickered in the damp cavity, threatening to go out. Ash placed more wood around it then went back to the man. She carefully undid the wraps and poured water on him to clean off the blood. After adding the poultice she grabbed fresh cloth to wrap around the gash. Ash got up and went by the fire to examine her leg. She lifted up her trouser to see that her leg was swollen and purple. Probably fractured it. She was about to cut her leg to relieve some of the swelling when she heard a faint rustling behind her. Ash turned to the man struggling to sit up. “Who are you?” His words came out like a knife to pierce her. His eyes looked like rubies as he glared at her. “Tough talk for an injured person. I just saved your life and this is how I get treated. Oh well. My name is Ash.” She gave a short reply then turned back to the fire. The ruby eyes continued to bore a hole into her back. “If you are going to leave I’d wait a day for your wound  to start closing.” Ash mumbled then grabbed some bread from her bag and put it next to the man. “It may not be much, but it is better than nothing.” The man hesitantly stared at it then took a few small bites. Ash ate her own share before laying down next to the fire.”I’m going to get some sleep you should too.” It only took a few minutes before Ash was dreaming. She dreamt of her time with Jorn in her younger days. Ash sat on the floor listening to Jorn’s tales. This nightly routine became something she looked forward too. “Beware little Ash. Beware of the humans with eyes like gemstones for they may be dragons in disguise. They can see your secrets and steal you away. Though they can be hurt, once they transform they become unstoppable. Becoming bigger than the highest tree is regular for them and they are more dangerous than the hottest flame. So beware of those gemstone eyes.” Gemstone eyes much like that man, she thought. Jorn looked past her in horror and a pair of ruby eyes appeared in the shadows. Fire exploded from the shadows and engulfed Ash. Ash woke with a start. She saw that the man had fallen asleep in the corner. “It is time to go.” She laid out fresh cloth and the last of the bread. Giving a brief nod toward the man Ash crawled out of the entrance. It was still early morning. Studying the map she decided to head west towards the mountains. Ash followed a small game trail until the pain in her leg caused her to faint.