Sir Thomas and the Golden Dragon

Chapter Three: Was it a Warning?

The next day it was dark and raining the men awoke around noon with there heads pounding like a war drum “oh my head” said Gerum “mine as well” said Thomas. Both men got up and noticed something different with Thomas’s home. “It’s gone” says Thomas “my home is gone!” “Calm down brother we must have drunk too much and passed out let’s find the road and from there we can get home.” “Ok you’re right” as they began to move through the forest Gerum shouts “hey I have an idea lets eat.” “Eat? but how? we have no weapons” Thomas explains with a puzzled look on his face “I have my dagger.” Greum pulls out the dagger he threw at Thomas and Thomas said, “oh yea I forgot about that.” “Breakfast will be fast” Thomas exclaims as the two men began to walk again.

Suddenly in the clearing a large deer was spotted by Gerum “look brother over there” he says to Thomas in a whisper and points to the deer in the clearing. Thomas’ eyes sharpen at the sight his stomach aches as he takes the dagger and says, “breakfast is served.” Thomas moves fast and quietly to the clearing not arousing the deer with a woosh he throws the dagger as it pierces the heart of the deer faster than an arrow. The deer falls and Thomas quickly finishes the deer. Thomas’s hunting prowess was on par with the kings’ royal knights so by the time he returned with the deer in hand Gerum already had a fire waiting. Thomas cleaned the deer so precisely that blood almost never existed it seemed.

Gerum cooked the deer like a master chef and they both ate in silence. After their bellies were full their wits had also returned, and Thomas knew exactly where they were “why brother” he says to gerum “we’re only a mile or so south of my home we can be there by the time the sun is above us.” “Sounds good to me!” Gerum shouted in excitement they quickly made for a sprint Gerum following Thomas. As they ran it looked like two shadows flying in the woods Thomas got his speed from chasing down animals while Gerum got his speed from moving red hot metal. They both moved like pure lightning.

After what seemed like mere seconds the two arrived at Thomas’s home and took a good rest. Thomas made some boar stew and vegetables as Gerum laid out the plans for Thomas’s armor. “This will take a year” Gerum explains, “brother again it’s not necessary” Thomas tries to say except Gerum laughs. “Ok fine, you win” Thomas says. After a while, the stew was ready they both ate and laughed and expressed merriment for what seemed like hours.

By this time, the sun had set and Gerum says “brother I must be getting home as much as staying here is always a pleasure I must get back to work as should you.” Thomas agreed and hugged his brother. “Be careful going home and I will see you next year at the market.” “You do the same and I will have your armor by the next market.” They hugged again as Gerum walked off. After Gerum was out of sight Thomas went to bed and hoped he did not dream of the now evil witch known as Narvaria.

Thomas spent the night with uneventful dreams. Waking the next morning happy, he decides to work on his crops getting the final harvests ready and then his house. He has much to do to get ready for the coming months. No doubts winter will be harsh as it usually is for most. He gathers the supplies he needs and gets to work not expecting company for the only person who knows where he lives is Gerum.

A month later as night settles and Thomas's work is complete with the crops, he lays down to a restless sleep filled with uncomfortable dreams of that dragon Narvaria. This time however, she looks deathly sick her eyes look as though they are devoid of life her, lips are dry and cracked, her body is so frail as if she has been starved for an extended period of time. In this dream she does not speak she just stands there staring ahead of her as if she sees something that Thomas cannot comprehend. Why do you look this way" he asks hoping for a response. Nothing. "I think I liked it better when you talked" he murmurs. Suddenly a piercing scream leaves her lips and everything goes dark. Thomas awakens in the middle of the night covered in sweat not knowing what to make of that dream. Knowing he won't be sleeping for awhile he stays up for the rest of the night trying desperately not to think about that horrifiying dream.

To Thomas's comfort or maybe a false sense of security he was hoping that was the last dream he would have of her for a long time possibly ever again. He couldn't help but wonder ‘was it a warning of some kind or just a bad dream?’ He had no way to know. Time carried on from that night without another dream of her. Thomas carried on with his hunting and getting everything ready for the Winter in the next few months.

As time goes on he continues to work on his home and begins hunting only taking what he needs for food as it is not time yet to worry about items for the market next year. While he is in the woods he hears a twig snap somewhere in front of him in the distance while also feeling eyes on him from somewhere behind. However, when he turns around there's nothing there. He doesn't have time to ponder on the feeling because another twig snaps from somewhere beside him. Turning to look he sees a 12-point buck 'that will make a fine feast' he thinks as he gets himself into position forgetting about the unsettling feeling. Luckily he hasn't been seen by the animal so he can take it by surprise.

After the hunt he cleans out the animal so that he won't have to do that at home or attract other bigger animals to the smell. Once done he simply picks it up to take it home. on his way back out the feeling of being watched overcomes him again but as he looks around he sees nothing. Thinking about that dream again he starts to wonder if something is actually wrong. How he came to that conclusion or why the thought popped up he doesn't know. After exiting the forest the feeling is completely gone, deciding not to dwell on that he chalks it up to probably being another animal that was prowelling for some food.

He spends the rest of the evening skinning, cleaning and cooking the meat for himself happy that he will have enough meat to not need to go hunting for a few days unless he gets bored or decides he wants something other than deer. Settling down for the night he once again thinks about the dream and the feeling he got in the woods it was first time something like that had ever happened to him. He is still unsure what to make of it. Was he really being watched or is he just still a little paranoid because of that stupid dream? He decides not to think about it a moment longer after all he didn't see anyone other than the normal wildlife in the woods.