Dame Sara Illou, Knight of the Land, sucked an annoyed breath through her teeth as she gazed ahead of her. Her path was completely blocked by a rockslide. She would need to find another way around and the sun was already beginning to lower in the sky. She had already lost time earlier in the day trying to cross a river (and then drying off when it didn't go to plan) and now she was running out of daylight.
A tall cliff face loomed ahead and it was this that had partially collapsed. To her right the mountain fell away sharply, back towards the broad river she had been troubled by earlier. Behind her was thick woodland and buried somewhere in that was Geryn's cabin though she could no longer see it.
That meant her only option was to go left, down into a deep bowl-shaped depression of bare rock and hope that she enough daylight left to climb the other side. If she were stuck down in the hollow when darkness fell she would struggle, as there was little shelter to raise a tent and no water for Snowglide. There was not even wood to make a fire.
She considered stopping where she was for the day and trying again in the morning, but then she would lose valuable hours on her quest and that did not seem fair to the people of the villages to whom an hour could mean everything. With that thought in mind she resolved to try it.
Snowglide had a hard time going down the side of the stony ridge so Sara took it slowly. It took almost an hour to reach the bottom by which time the sun had almost set. As it was the hollow was in shadowy darkness. Sara has misjudged how difficult the descent would prove to her horse and now it seemed like she would be stranded down there for the night.
She led Snowglide across the small rocky plain to the other side. If anything this was slightly steeper and the mare tentatively started to climb. Progress was even slower and in the failing light Sara realised that she could not go on. It would not be fair to her steed to expect her to navigate such difficult terrain in the pitch dark.
Cursing again at her stupidity for misjudging the descent, Sara turned her horse around. Soon they were in the hollow once more and she dismounted. There was nothing here and she shook her head with anger at herself as she took off her pack and started to dig around for her tent. She felt even worse for her horse, who would have nothing to drink and nowhere comfortable to rest.
"You look like you are lost, dame knight," said a loud, deep and extremely imposing voice above her that rumbled around the entire stony basin.
Sara instinctively crouched away from that voice, her hand going for the Axe of the Mists. Behind her Snowglide whinnied and took off running to the far side of the hollow.
Sara glanced upwards and her blood ran cold as she made out a gigantic shape sitting at the top of the cliff-face that marked one side of the hollow, cast in shadow by the setting sun. Suddenly that shape spread huge, leathery wings and swooped down. Sara whirled to face it as it landed in the middle of the hollow, almost filling the rocky basin.
"You're kidding me," Sara hissed as she took it in.
A fucking dragon!
Golden scales shimmered on its hide even in the day's dying light. It was huge, impressive, and more than a little terrifying. It was immensely imposing and her knuckles were white from clutching her axe, though she suspected it would do little against such an ancient and powerful beast.
"Are you lost?" it asked, its voice a deep draconic rumble.
Sara nodded. "I am," she said quietly, admittedly quite scared. "But I will still fight, if I have to."
The dragon laughed, a deep, booming, reassuring sound. "There is no need for that. Behind you there is shelter. I will share it with you."
Sara turned her head slightly then, wary of turning her back on the dragon but intrigued by what he meant. She knew that behind her was nothing but exposed cliff.
Or at least that had been the case.
Now a small cave opened out, winding deeper into what looked to be a cosy space. Light glowed from within and she could see tapestries, carpets and rugs spread out from the small part of the cave that she could see at the end of the long descending tunnel.
"What is that place?" Sara said, shocked to see it.
"My home," the dragon responded. "Or one of them, anyway."
Sara cocked her head, realising this dragon did not seem to be a threat. "Your home? No offence, but there's no way you'll fit in there."
The dragon laughed again. "It is good to see you making jokes. But you are right, I cannot fit in there in my true form. Thankfully, I like my human form almost as much. Perhaps even more."
"You have a human form?" she asked.
"All dragons have a human form, Sara," the dragon responded. "It is how we mix with your kind. Some of us like it so much we rarely turn back. I am not one of them, but that does not mean I don't like to indulge in it frequently."
Sara narrowed her eyes as he used her name. "How do you know my name?" she said suspiciously.
"Because we have met before," the golden dragon said. "Don't you recognise me?"
Suddenly the dragon shimmered, a faint mist seeming to surround it. Its body retreated into that mist, shrinking in size, until it disappeared within the cloud. When the mist dissipated seconds later there was no longer a dragon standing there. Instead there stood a handsome man, his hair long and blonde, his eyes a shimmering gold.
Kal!
"Perhaps now I am familiar," he grinned.
Sara almost doubled over. "Kal?" she said, shocked. "You're a dragon!?"
He spread his hands placatingly. "I am. My full name is Kalexcgis. Does that bother you?"
