When Wizards Dream - 4

A mini story by S.E.Estes
Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Final

Burning Hands

"I have met your kind before." All the study, the days without sleep as he pored over long-forgotten knowledge had paid off. He found a clue in one of the ancient tomes, a possible way to survive a dragon. With lives that can span centuries, dragons are highly susceptible to boredom and, on rare occasions, have been known to spare an intruder if they sufficiently amused the jaded beast. Of course, the trick is getting close enough to a dragon to entertain them, Relg used a spell of invisibility. Being a magical creature, the dragon wasn't fooled by the spell but she, like most of her kind, was near-sighted and Relg was able to get close enough for her to hear him. "Honors, Red Defender, I entreat passage." It had been many years since she'd heard a voice and before she burned it away she thought it might amuse her to speak to it. "I've met your kind before." she told the halfer, "You have an unfamiliar smell of magic about you as did the other, but different, not as rich." "Perhaps you met a wizard, I am a half-wizard." Relg told him and realized he had an opening. A dragon's favorite entertainment is story-telling, hearing and telling them lulls them to sleep and gives them something to dream about. Most dragons are insomniacs, centuries of life have robbed them of dreams and in time the death of sleep holds no more appeal to them. Relg smiled a little to himself when he said, "A wizard who spoke to a dragon, it sounds like an interesting tale."

She was in a good mood, something about the half-wizard's smell intrigued her and when he mentioned a story she was taken. "Ahh... wizard... yes...", already the hint of dreams filled her eyes as she began her tale. "It had been ages since I last slept and I was in a foul mood, I was also hungry. Not too many come to my isle, the only food besides fish comes from the castle and very little of that. I would eat the foul-smelling ones who come with strange meat but I am constrained by a magic more powerful than mine. One night I heard a sound on the water that did not belong and soon, as I hoped, I smelled food. Delicious food, breathing food with coursing blood was drawing near and I sat back to wait. When it got closer I smelled something curious, familiar, like the foul ones from the castle but sweet. Anticipation was making me impatient and I stretched my wings, ready to fly down and snatch the tasty meal from the water when curiosity made me hesitate. I began to wonder why it smelled some much like the foul ones and what made them so rancid so I let it approach."

The ancient dragon stretched a little, "When it stepped onto shore I smelled below the unusualness of it a smell I knew well from times of old, the strange one was human. I was even more intrigued, I had eaten many humans in the days before they became so adept at killing us but I never smelled any like the one that just stepped onto my island. Humans come to a dragon island for one of two reasons, to kill or to seek a favor. I sensed no killing in this one so I let it come near enough to see. He looked very old, feeble, stringy, but there was power in him, like those from the castle. 'Why do you come here, human?' I asked the puny creature but in a voice of great strength he replied, 'I seek the power of fire.' 'There is a price.' I told it, 'What will it cost?' it asked and my hunger for knowledge made me say, 'A story.' I felt its surprise, it had expected to fight, was prepared to if necessary, and was taken off guard by my answer. Maybe it was too surprised to ask, they always did ask, or maybe it knew asking would bring no answer, all it said when I told it, 'With the gift comes a curse.', was, 'What will you hear?'"