Dragon's Avarice Teaser

“More blood, still warm,” Saskia muttered to herself as she followed the trail of devastation. She didn’t need the copper-colored blood to know the beast she stalked was a dragon. Nothing else could have caused such damage to the forest floor. Trees felled, brush splintered, massive crags carved into otherwise smooth rock faces as the dragon passed in a hurry. Saskia quickened her pace.

She rubbed that spot between her breasts that had been throbbing all afternoon. The ache seemed to intensify as she followed her quarry.

“Headed for the bear’s den? That’s a risky choice. Then again, there is a lot of blood.”

She shifted her left index finger around the shaft of her arrow. As she approached the den, she could smell fresh blood and bowel carried on the breath pushed out of the cave by the dragon’s pained exhales.

Well, a dragon’s kill would have been quick at least. The bear didn’t suffer.

She entered the mouth of the cave, letting her eyes adjust before she stalked in deeper. A deep growl emanated from the darkness. Saskia took a deep breath to calm her terrified nerves, flinching at the unwanted scents.

You choose this life. You choose this.

Still, her very real future of facing a dragon left her weak-kneed. She stowed her arrow before releasing her quiver from her hip and setting it alongside her bow against the wall. She rolled her shoulders and steeled her nerves before stepping out in plain view of the dragon. His eyes found her quickly. Thick black slits dividing piercing golden orbs as they pinched closed a fraction more.

“Hey there, big boy,” Saskia said, surprised at how calm her voice was. She should be a gibbering fool before such a powerful beast. She held her hands to her sides, palms out and empty. “My name is Saskia.” She took the slowest, most painful step of her life. One wrong move and she would be ash. His growl rumbled louder, sending a shower of cave water from the ceiling. “I’d like to help you, if you’ll let me.”

A blast of foul breath, hotter than a furnace, blew into her face, stinging her eyes. The ground beneath her trembled with his growl. Saskia’s heart quickened, but she wouldn’t relent.

“You are poisoned. I can help you.”

The dragon’s snout lifted, his jaw opening to reveal a cool glow in the back of his throat. The faint light cast ominous silhouettes of his teeth, some as long as her hand.

Here it comes.

Tension mounted between her shoulders and into her legs. The dragon breathed in, preparing to release an elemental attack. She wasn’t sure which element the dragon would use, but it didn’t much matter. Any could kill her in an instant.

She lunged, rolling on her shoulders before launching herself up and to her feet. The dragon’s snout surged forward with terrifying speed, but Saskia was prepared. She spun, letting his head brush past her side as she caught his neck with her arms. She had read in a book once that dragons could share memories through bare touch. She had no idea if it was true, but she had to try. She laid her bare palms flat on his warm scales, forming her message in her mind.

“I can help you. I have an antidote for your poison. Your pain will ease.” She shared her experience with the poison, letting him sample the pain from her past to know she told the truth. She had no idea if it was working, so she spoke as well.

“Please,” she pleaded, her voice shaky. “Please let me help you.” Tears clung to her eyelashes as she waited for his decision. He could still kill her in a thousand different ways, and they both knew it. He settled down, his golden orbs locking on her small frame. She released a the breath she had been holding.

“Alright. Thank you. I’ll be right back with my supplies.”

Saskia hurried to the mouth of the cave to retrieve a fallen branch. She wrapped the tip in moss and rolled it in a thick bead of tree sap. She checked her medicinal satchel to ensure she had her antidotes at hand.

One more breath before returning to the dragon. A dragon. I’m treating a dragon. Ouff. Ok. Let’s do this.

“Easy there, my friend. Easy.” She kept her voice soothing. Each step was slow as she held out her belongings for him to examine. “I only want to help you, big fella. I’ve got a torch, which I could use your help with, and my medicinal satchel. I have a few daggers, but I don’t think any could do you any harm.”

Saskia waited for him to acknowledge her and was surprised when he bowed.

“Wonderful. Would you mind lighting this torch for me?” She held it to the side and waited. She knew dragons were quite intelligent but didn’t know the exact limit. Finally, he opened his snout, caging the tip of her torch with his teeth. The air crackled. The tiny hairs on her body stood on end as sparks arced between his teeth. The dry moss sparked; bright orange flames spread like wildfire.

“Thank you,” she said, casting the light to the ground and following the large puddle of blood until she found his wound. A large arrow shaft pierced his rump. Even before examining it, she knew it would be barbed.

“Damned poachers,” Saskia hissed as she raised her torch a little higher.

I feel like I’m forgetting something, missing some vital piece of information. What am I missing?

Her patient groaned as the poison tore through his body. “Right. Sorry, my friend. I don’t suppose you’ll let me on your back so I can see better.” To her immense surprise, he lowered his shoulder. “Oh, thank you,” she said politely. “You are indeed my most accommodating patient.”

She carefully climbed onto his back, sitting cross-legged above the arrow. She clasped the torch between her ankles and tucked her hair over her shoulder, away from the flame.

“It’s a barbed arrow. I’ll need to use my dagger to ease the barbs out of your muscle. It will hurt, but I’ll do my best to be quick.” She pulled out a tiny blade from a sheath in her boot and held it out to him. “Would you like to inspect?” He lifted his snout to breathe in sharply before snorting and resting his head on his front paw.

Paw? Claw? What is the front limb of a dragon called? Focus, Saskia!

“Ok, here we go,” she said, more for her benefit than his. She leaned around the torch, hoping to avoid setting her hair on fire in the process and slipped the blade into the wound flush with the arrowhead. She found the first barb, rotating her blade slightly to open the wound a little more before pushing the arrow down to release the muscle. Her patient snarled.

“I know, sweet thing, I know. I’m sorry,” she said in her softest voice. “One side finished. Now for the second one.” She adjusted the blade and repeated the process on the other side. “And now for the release…” She carefully extracted the arrowhead but didn’t remove her blade. She sniffed the barb briefly to confirm her suspicion before casting it aside.

“I first encountered this poison a few weeks ago. Poachers are hunting animals and leaving their carcasses to rot. It took me several tries to find an effective antidote, and I don’t even know what lead me to try it. It’s not an antidote, per se, but an antivenom. It works on snake bites, but it worked. Saved my life, actually.”

As she spoke, she slipped her potion pouch from her medicinal satchel and pulled out the correct vial. She bit down on the stopper, renching it from the vial just before the damned thing crumbled between her teeth.

Eck! Dried wood and nasty antivenom. I really should have refilled my waterskin before galavanting into the woods.

“This is going to sting terribly. It will leave a metallic taste on your tongue, but the pain will ease quickly.” She poured the entire contents of the vial down the side of her blade, moving it along the wound to distribute the antidote. Her patient howled in pain.

“I know, darling! I know. It’s almost over. Almost. I know.”

Saskia tucked the empty vial back into her pouch. She wiped her blade on a rag around her waist before shealthing it, all while massaging the surrounding tissue and tortured skin.

“I’m easing the surrounding muscles. I’ve found it helps work the antivenom into the tissue and speeds up recovery.” Her patient writhed and squirmed. She tossed the torch aside and shifted to straddle his spine, riding his pain as she kneaded his tender, scaled flesh.

His scales are unlike anything I’ve ever felt. They’re nothing like a snake’s scales, but they aren’t quiet like a lizard either. The ones on his back are coarse and sharp, but seem flexible enough to ripple with his muscles. Large scales the size of my palm interlock with smaller, softer scales around his joints. Fascinating.

The dragon bucked; Saskia threw her left hand out to brace herself. In that moment, he joined his mind to hers as searing pain tore through her consciousness.

“I know, darling, I know,” Saskia said through clenched teeth. She didn’t try to shut out his pain. “It’s alright, darling. I know I’m hurting you, but this will save your life. I won’t hide from your pain. I’m right here with you, my friend.”

Assuming you haven’t lost too much blood.

Eventually, the dragon stilled. Saskia slowed her massage, her own body trembling from the agony he imparted. Finally, she slipped from his back on unsteady legs. She tried to hold her weight, but her knees refused. She crumbled, losing consciousness from the assault.

This is how I die. Beside a dragon in a cave. I can accept that.