There was consternation in the town when smoke started rising from the Mountain. At night, the glow of fire could be seen, but there was nothing up there to burn. The matter was discussed, in private and in public.
Finally a consensus was reached. It was the gods speaking. That put the responsibility on the shoulders of the Chief Priest. What was he going to do about this?
The Chief Priest considered and made a decision.
"I will retire to the temple and pray, and see if the gods will reveal their intentions."
So the Chief Priest and his acolyte retired to the temple and discussed this turn of events. They were worried men. If they couldn't resolve the issue the townspeople were quite capable of sending them to meet the gods personally to discuss it, and neither was really ready to meet the gods.
A decision was reached and a plan was made. They would be resolute to face this challenge, even though it might cost the town dearly. Better the town face the cost than the priests.
The Chief Priest faced the town council to tell them the bad news and what they would have to do to resolve the issue.
"The gods are angry with the town. They say we have fallen from the path of righteousness, so they intend to punish us. They have sent a dragon, and it currently dwells on the Mountain, waiting for the right time to descend and destroy our town, ravaging the area and leaving none alive."
The Chief Priest paused, watching the dread that was overtaking the council. Now to throw them the thread of hope.
"However, the gods are just and merciful. As long as we sincerely repent and return to the ways of righteousness they will spare our town. To show our honest repentance there must be a sacrifice. It is with heavy heart I tell you what they demand.
They say a beautiful young woman, chaste and honourable, must be dressed in the finest silks that we can find. Her robes must then be adorned with chains of gold. On the day preceding the full moon she is to be taken up the mountain and fastened to a post and left there for the night.
If the sacrifice is acceptable the dragon will devour it and leave, troubling us no more."
This demand led to a lot of discussion around the council, but the Chief Priest had gauged his audience well. It was finally ruled that the sacrifice would be made.
Obtaining the gold was simple. Everyone hated the money-lender. Now they could legitimately help themselves to his gold.
Silk robes were also easy. The mercantile had been overcharging for years. He could afford to lose some stock for the good of the town.
The beautiful young woman, chaste and honourable, was the sticking point. The obvious candidate was Violetta, beautiful, intelligent, a virgin, and reluctant to marry any of the locals. She was talking of going to the city where she might find a better class of companion. It was finally decided that if she was leaving anyway, did it really matter if it was to the city or to be eaten by a dragon? Leaving was leaving. So to Violetta went the honour.
On the day that the sacrifice was to be prepared and posted, a hero and his friend rode into the town. Redfire and Blackash, they called themselves. Observing the preparations being made, Redfire made enquiries as to what had befallen the town that such a sacrifice was required, and became very thoughtful on hearing the story. He and Blackash then had a discussion of the best ways to proceed.
I feel I should point out at this stage that Violetta had shown a very selfish streak when informed of her coming part in the ceremony. She had strongly indicated that it was not part of her long term plans to be eaten by a stray dragon, and suggest that some other victim should be found. Perhaps a nice fat priest.
The suggestion was refused and Violetta was placed under close guard. No one wanted her to accidently get lost, leaving them to find another volunteer.
Now Violetta was prepared. She had been dressed in the finest silks. Not just a simple dress, but wrapped with layer after layer of silk. Every time the Mercer had protested, another bolt of silk was wrapped around her.
Heavy chains of gold were draped over her. (The money-lender hadn't taken heed of the mercer's lesson and had tried protesting, resulting in so many gold chains that Violetta could barely walk. When she pointed out this fact she was advised she didn't have to. All she had to do was stand still and be eaten, so she should stop whining.)
With the coming of dusk the sacrificial offering was taken up the Mountain where, about half way up, a solid oak pole and been set firmly into the ground. Violetta was chained to the pole and the Chief Priest called down blessings upon her for her sacrifice to the town.
By unanimous decision the procession returned to town, leaving Violetta alone in solitary splendour. It had been suggested that a few witnesses might be a good idea, but when it was thoughtfully pointed out that the dragon might decide to eat the witnesses as well....
Violetta stood, waiting and cursing. She cursed the town, the town council, the chief priest, the dragon and the gods, and then started going through the town's people, one by one, cursing them heartily.
