Ch 5
They arrived at the king's chambers, and knocked at the large wooden doors.
The king answered "Come in.".
They went in, and found places already prepared for them. A servant guided them to their seats, they sat down, and began their conversation. The king praised Henrich for his good work in bringing Agrippa, and getting all their supplies. The king welcomed Agrippa and shook his hand.
"M'lord," Henrich began, "I have told Agrippa that you would be able to tell us the rest of the Prophecy. I only knew the beginning of it."
"Ah, I had suspected that that would be something you would ask me for that. Sadly, I know only a bit more than Henrich. I believe Henrich knows from here:
A long time ago,
in a land close to home,
to:
.....and in the morning prepared
to leave the farm.
I can only tell you this after there:
He left, and on the way
met a messenger sent by the king.
The messenger told the hero
that he was expected to slay the dragon
and that the messenger was to help him.
They went on their way,
went into town
and got all their supplies.
They planned their course of action,
then went to the king,
who gave them some tips,
then told how his father was once
one of the knights of the round table.
And I suppose that I should give you the tips and tell you the story."
"Yes, please." Henrich and Agrippa resounded.
Well, one thing to keep in mind is that while battling someone, the dragon focuses on that one person, and nothing else. This can be used as an advantage, but it is dangerous for the one person that the dragon is fighting at the time. The dragon used to be a noble race, and some still act in that manner. If you wish to beat him, you must focus all your energy into the battle. Otherwise," the king chuckled, "he will toast you. The shield should be used for defense, blocking the dragon's fire. The sword will be used for hitting the dragon's armor. It cannot do much otherwise. The dragons, while they were nobles, crafted much magic. One result of that is that regular daggers cannot be used against them."
"Yes," Henrich added, the blacksmith told Agrippa the story of the hero who tried to slay a dragon with a regular dagger."
"Yes, that was a curious thing. He told us of how he saw the dragon-dagger in the lair, but how it got there, we still do not know. Anyway, the combination of the engravings and crystals is powerful enough to break through that magic. The last "tip" I give you is a riddle. No one alive knows the answer, but it may help you in some way.
The key to the dragon is not for those who do not live life. Those who will give anything up so that life stays the same.
It will come to the one who risks his life, to save a friend, the one who gives up everything for nothing, the one who risks all for that which may never be.
The question then, of course, is what is the key, and how do you get it?" The king ended.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, then the king began again.
Ch 6
The king intently began again, this time telling a story of his father's experience with a dragon.
"My father was one of the famous Knights of old, who went around righting wrongs, and going on adventures. He discovered this land, and pronounced that it would be my kingdom. He heard that there was a certain crypt in a far-away land that had been long forgotten. One of the villagers in that land had recently re-discovered it, and with it, a curse. An ancient curse that was so powerful that nothing but the once-noble dragons could have created it. On the side of the crypt was, written in powerful runes,
'Theei kaeurastaei kaaina óóhnalanyua beénei beénraóóhkakeina beényua Theei óóhnaei.'
This translates to 'The curse can only be broken by The One.'. My father decided to risk it all and go inside. He never came out. The town was haunted that night by bloodcurdling screams coming from that general area. When the morning came, the townspeople went down to the crypt, only to find that it was gone without a trace. My father was never found again. The Mages at the time read the skies, and noticed that there was a new star, a red star. The curious thing about this star, however, was that it was only visible on the 17th of each month." the king ended.
"Thank you, my lord." said both Agrippa and Henrich.
"You are welcome, adventurers. But before you leave, I have one last thing to tell you. It is rumored that there are more weapons that can harm the dragons, other than the dragon-dagger. One was made, once, but was destroyed afterward because it was too powerful. Also, you may help yourself to whatever food you desire, both to eat here, and to bring on your journey."
"Thank you again, sire."
They left his antechamber, and went to the kitchen's pantry. They took a partridge pie (which they ate before they left), bread, water, and a bottle of wine.
They mounted their horses and set out. The ride back to Agrippa's farm took 5 days, in which they decided how to go about the battle. The time seemed to fly by to Agrippa, who thought back on what a eventful 2 weeks this had been. First his father died, then he set off from the farm, he met Henrich, he had learned of what he had been called to do, they together went into town and got supplies, they met with the king, and now they were on their way back to the farm to battle the dragon. He would never have believed this all if someone had told him 2 weeks ago. They slept their nights by the wayside of the road, and took breaks at certain times around the day. They finally arrived at the farmyard, only to find it even more decimated then before Agrippa left. The house was still intact, just slightly burnt on the outside. They went inside and set up camp. The day was the 16th of the month. They went to sleep.
Ch 7
They were woken the next morning by the sound of a shed collapsing. They got dressed, Agrippa in the dragon skin armor. When they were all prepared, they went outside expecting the worst. They could not have imagined what they were about to see, for it went beyond nightmares. They saw before them a massive, black, winged dragon. It had smoke pouring out of its nostrils, and they could see a fire in its eyes. Its left-front leg had crushed the shed, which had caused the sound they heard earlier. Agrippa went forward, with his hardened steel sword, shield, wearing his armor, with his dragon-dagger at his belt. The dragon started the fight by lunging forward with a billow of flame. Agrippa leapt to the side, and whipped his sword out and hit the dragon's scales. The sword just glanced off. Agrippa jumped forward, with the fury of a boy enraged. The sword, even though aimed correctly, again glanced off the scales of the dragon. The dragon leapt forward again, with another plume of fire. Agrippa knelt down, with his shield in front of him. At precisely the right moment, Agrippa jumped up and clung to the dragon's neck, pulling out his dagger in the process. He held the knife to the dragon's only unprotected place, right under the neck, and prepared to stab it. He felt a tremor run through the dragon's body. He started to jab the dagger into the dragon, but stopped, surprised, when he heard the dragon speak. It was a raspy voice that sounded as though it had not been used in several years.
"I am sure you are wondering what the rest of the Prophecy is."
"What? Yes, but how do you know about that?"
"I knew that if you had known the full thing, you would not kill me yet."
"And why is that?"
"The rest of the prophecy goes as so:
He told how they were the ones who discovered dragons
how they could tell the mythology from the truth
till his father went into a crypt rumored to be
where the spirits of the dragons lived.
He went in, and never came out,
and all throughout that part of the country,
there were heard bloodcurdling cries,
there was a new star spotted,
A red star, that came out only on the 17th of each month.
The knight was never seen again.
After hearing the tale,
they went down to the old farm,
where they waited for the dragon.
The dragon came, and the battle ensued,
and as soon as the hero had the dagger to the dragon's throat,
The dragon spoke
it was a raspy voice,
and it told the rest of the king's tale
it told how the knight had not died that night
how the spirits of the dragons engulfed him
gave him their memories
and transformed him.
and how the only way to go back to being a human
was to die
to have a hero,
like he was
kill him with the dragon dagger
they tormented him by placing the dagger in his lair
but knowing that only a hero could take his life
had to stare at it for ages.
He then pleaded with the hero to kill him
so that he would return to being a human.
the dragon's body would rot
but a black crystal would be found inside.
the hero must destroy that crystal
and with it release the spirits.
The hero's choice is undecided......
You see, I knew that it would be impossible for you to kill me before I told you the rest of the knight's tale. As the prophecy tells, I am the missing knight. I went into that crypt that day, only to find there thousands of dragon spirits. They all came at me like wolves at a carcass, and went inside me. My body deformed and conformed into that of a dragon. This process was exceedingly painful, which accounted for the screams heard by the town that night. A hero, like I once was, only had to slay me as a dragon, then I would return to my human form. But also, as the prophecy says, the dragon's body would rot away to nothing. The dragon's heart, however, would rot away, though the core of it would turn into a black crystal. The hero was then tasked to destroy it, in whatever mode necessary. It would then disperse all the dragon spirits into the world. If they were kept contained in such a small space, they would be powerful. Apart, separated, they are weak. So, it is your choice. Will you kill me, and free me from my prison, then destroy the crystal, or let me go free?"
"I will set you free!" Agrippa yelled, and simultaneously plunged the dagger deep into the dragon. The dragon swayed side to side, and fell over. Agrippa jumped off at just the right time so that he was not crushed. The dragon's body rapidly decomposed, rotted, and was gone in a few minutes. All that was left was a black crystal, about the size of Agrippa's palm. Agrippa knelt down to pick it up. It was surprisingly heavy, and had a dark aurora around it. Agrippa laid it down on the ground, placed the 2 swords beside it, then struck it with the dagger. The crystal evaporated into a black smoke. In a few seconds there was nothing left. Suddenly the ground started to rumble, and some dirt came up to the surface. Then all of a sudden, a body came out of the earth. It was the king's father, the knight of old. He lay there for a minute, then his eyes opened. He got up and looked around.
"Thank you much, Agrippa. You do not know how good it feels to be freed from that prison. By the way, my name is Traukna Erivce. In return," here he pulled out a twig from his pants pocket, "I will give you back everything that was destroyed." He then stuck the twig into the ground, and muttered "Theei kaeurastaei hahaista beénéína beénraóóhkakeina". A shudder went through the ground, then the ground started getting greener. The corn grew again, the sheds rebuilt themselves, and Agrippa heard a sigh from out in the field. Agrippa ran over, then saw his father laying on the ground. His father sat up and looked around.
"You did it, Agrippa! You really did it! The damage done has been reversed!"
"Yes, father." Agrippa wept for joy.
Henrich and the knight had ran over by this time, and they all went to the house and had a feast.
Epilogue
After all these adventures and experiences, Henrich returned to the king, where he presented the remainder of the money to the king. The king told him to split it between himself and Agrippa. Traukna returned to the king's chambers, where he lived happily with his son (who, by this time, was actually older than Traukna himself). Agrippa and his father lived at the farm, where the crops grew better than ever. They had plenty money, both from the crops, and from the money that Henrich had given to them.
A dragon flapped over the Trankasva landscape.
Theei Einadak.
They arrived at the king's chambers, and knocked at the large wooden doors.
The king answered "Come in.".
They went in, and found places already prepared for them. A servant guided them to their seats, they sat down, and began their conversation. The king praised Henrich for his good work in bringing Agrippa, and getting all their supplies. The king welcomed Agrippa and shook his hand.
"M'lord," Henrich began, "I have told Agrippa that you would be able to tell us the rest of the Prophecy. I only knew the beginning of it."
"Ah, I had suspected that that would be something you would ask me for that. Sadly, I know only a bit more than Henrich. I believe Henrich knows from here:
A long time ago,
in a land close to home,
to:
.....and in the morning prepared
to leave the farm.
I can only tell you this after there:
He left, and on the way
met a messenger sent by the king.
The messenger told the hero
that he was expected to slay the dragon
and that the messenger was to help him.
They went on their way,
went into town
and got all their supplies.
They planned their course of action,
then went to the king,
who gave them some tips,
then told how his father was once
one of the knights of the round table.
And I suppose that I should give you the tips and tell you the story."
"Yes, please." Henrich and Agrippa resounded.
Well, one thing to keep in mind is that while battling someone, the dragon focuses on that one person, and nothing else. This can be used as an advantage, but it is dangerous for the one person that the dragon is fighting at the time. The dragon used to be a noble race, and some still act in that manner. If you wish to beat him, you must focus all your energy into the battle. Otherwise," the king chuckled, "he will toast you. The shield should be used for defense, blocking the dragon's fire. The sword will be used for hitting the dragon's armor. It cannot do much otherwise. The dragons, while they were nobles, crafted much magic. One result of that is that regular daggers cannot be used against them."
"Yes," Henrich added, the blacksmith told Agrippa the story of the hero who tried to slay a dragon with a regular dagger."
"Yes, that was a curious thing. He told us of how he saw the dragon-dagger in the lair, but how it got there, we still do not know. Anyway, the combination of the engravings and crystals is powerful enough to break through that magic. The last "tip" I give you is a riddle. No one alive knows the answer, but it may help you in some way.
The key to the dragon is not for those who do not live life. Those who will give anything up so that life stays the same.
It will come to the one who risks his life, to save a friend, the one who gives up everything for nothing, the one who risks all for that which may never be.
The question then, of course, is what is the key, and how do you get it?" The king ended.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, then the king began again.
Ch 6
The king intently began again, this time telling a story of his father's experience with a dragon.
"My father was one of the famous Knights of old, who went around righting wrongs, and going on adventures. He discovered this land, and pronounced that it would be my kingdom. He heard that there was a certain crypt in a far-away land that had been long forgotten. One of the villagers in that land had recently re-discovered it, and with it, a curse. An ancient curse that was so powerful that nothing but the once-noble dragons could have created it. On the side of the crypt was, written in powerful runes,
'Theei kaeurastaei kaaina óóhnalanyua beénei beénraóóhkakeina beényua Theei óóhnaei.'
This translates to 'The curse can only be broken by The One.'. My father decided to risk it all and go inside. He never came out. The town was haunted that night by bloodcurdling screams coming from that general area. When the morning came, the townspeople went down to the crypt, only to find that it was gone without a trace. My father was never found again. The Mages at the time read the skies, and noticed that there was a new star, a red star. The curious thing about this star, however, was that it was only visible on the 17th of each month." the king ended.
"Thank you, my lord." said both Agrippa and Henrich.
"You are welcome, adventurers. But before you leave, I have one last thing to tell you. It is rumored that there are more weapons that can harm the dragons, other than the dragon-dagger. One was made, once, but was destroyed afterward because it was too powerful. Also, you may help yourself to whatever food you desire, both to eat here, and to bring on your journey."
"Thank you again, sire."
They left his antechamber, and went to the kitchen's pantry. They took a partridge pie (which they ate before they left), bread, water, and a bottle of wine.
They mounted their horses and set out. The ride back to Agrippa's farm took 5 days, in which they decided how to go about the battle. The time seemed to fly by to Agrippa, who thought back on what a eventful 2 weeks this had been. First his father died, then he set off from the farm, he met Henrich, he had learned of what he had been called to do, they together went into town and got supplies, they met with the king, and now they were on their way back to the farm to battle the dragon. He would never have believed this all if someone had told him 2 weeks ago. They slept their nights by the wayside of the road, and took breaks at certain times around the day. They finally arrived at the farmyard, only to find it even more decimated then before Agrippa left. The house was still intact, just slightly burnt on the outside. They went inside and set up camp. The day was the 16th of the month. They went to sleep.
Ch 7
They were woken the next morning by the sound of a shed collapsing. They got dressed, Agrippa in the dragon skin armor. When they were all prepared, they went outside expecting the worst. They could not have imagined what they were about to see, for it went beyond nightmares. They saw before them a massive, black, winged dragon. It had smoke pouring out of its nostrils, and they could see a fire in its eyes. Its left-front leg had crushed the shed, which had caused the sound they heard earlier. Agrippa went forward, with his hardened steel sword, shield, wearing his armor, with his dragon-dagger at his belt. The dragon started the fight by lunging forward with a billow of flame. Agrippa leapt to the side, and whipped his sword out and hit the dragon's scales. The sword just glanced off. Agrippa jumped forward, with the fury of a boy enraged. The sword, even though aimed correctly, again glanced off the scales of the dragon. The dragon leapt forward again, with another plume of fire. Agrippa knelt down, with his shield in front of him. At precisely the right moment, Agrippa jumped up and clung to the dragon's neck, pulling out his dagger in the process. He held the knife to the dragon's only unprotected place, right under the neck, and prepared to stab it. He felt a tremor run through the dragon's body. He started to jab the dagger into the dragon, but stopped, surprised, when he heard the dragon speak. It was a raspy voice that sounded as though it had not been used in several years.
"I am sure you are wondering what the rest of the Prophecy is."
"What? Yes, but how do you know about that?"
"I knew that if you had known the full thing, you would not kill me yet."
"And why is that?"
"The rest of the prophecy goes as so:
He told how they were the ones who discovered dragons
how they could tell the mythology from the truth
till his father went into a crypt rumored to be
where the spirits of the dragons lived.
He went in, and never came out,
and all throughout that part of the country,
there were heard bloodcurdling cries,
there was a new star spotted,
A red star, that came out only on the 17th of each month.
The knight was never seen again.
After hearing the tale,
they went down to the old farm,
where they waited for the dragon.
The dragon came, and the battle ensued,
and as soon as the hero had the dagger to the dragon's throat,
The dragon spoke
it was a raspy voice,
and it told the rest of the king's tale
it told how the knight had not died that night
how the spirits of the dragons engulfed him
gave him their memories
and transformed him.
and how the only way to go back to being a human
was to die
to have a hero,
like he was
kill him with the dragon dagger
they tormented him by placing the dagger in his lair
but knowing that only a hero could take his life
had to stare at it for ages.
He then pleaded with the hero to kill him
so that he would return to being a human.
the dragon's body would rot
but a black crystal would be found inside.
the hero must destroy that crystal
and with it release the spirits.
The hero's choice is undecided......
You see, I knew that it would be impossible for you to kill me before I told you the rest of the knight's tale. As the prophecy tells, I am the missing knight. I went into that crypt that day, only to find there thousands of dragon spirits. They all came at me like wolves at a carcass, and went inside me. My body deformed and conformed into that of a dragon. This process was exceedingly painful, which accounted for the screams heard by the town that night. A hero, like I once was, only had to slay me as a dragon, then I would return to my human form. But also, as the prophecy says, the dragon's body would rot away to nothing. The dragon's heart, however, would rot away, though the core of it would turn into a black crystal. The hero was then tasked to destroy it, in whatever mode necessary. It would then disperse all the dragon spirits into the world. If they were kept contained in such a small space, they would be powerful. Apart, separated, they are weak. So, it is your choice. Will you kill me, and free me from my prison, then destroy the crystal, or let me go free?"
"I will set you free!" Agrippa yelled, and simultaneously plunged the dagger deep into the dragon. The dragon swayed side to side, and fell over. Agrippa jumped off at just the right time so that he was not crushed. The dragon's body rapidly decomposed, rotted, and was gone in a few minutes. All that was left was a black crystal, about the size of Agrippa's palm. Agrippa knelt down to pick it up. It was surprisingly heavy, and had a dark aurora around it. Agrippa laid it down on the ground, placed the 2 swords beside it, then struck it with the dagger. The crystal evaporated into a black smoke. In a few seconds there was nothing left. Suddenly the ground started to rumble, and some dirt came up to the surface. Then all of a sudden, a body came out of the earth. It was the king's father, the knight of old. He lay there for a minute, then his eyes opened. He got up and looked around.
"Thank you much, Agrippa. You do not know how good it feels to be freed from that prison. By the way, my name is Traukna Erivce. In return," here he pulled out a twig from his pants pocket, "I will give you back everything that was destroyed." He then stuck the twig into the ground, and muttered "Theei kaeurastaei hahaista beénéína beénraóóhkakeina". A shudder went through the ground, then the ground started getting greener. The corn grew again, the sheds rebuilt themselves, and Agrippa heard a sigh from out in the field. Agrippa ran over, then saw his father laying on the ground. His father sat up and looked around.
"You did it, Agrippa! You really did it! The damage done has been reversed!"
"Yes, father." Agrippa wept for joy.
Henrich and the knight had ran over by this time, and they all went to the house and had a feast.
Epilogue
After all these adventures and experiences, Henrich returned to the king, where he presented the remainder of the money to the king. The king told him to split it between himself and Agrippa. Traukna returned to the king's chambers, where he lived happily with his son (who, by this time, was actually older than Traukna himself). Agrippa and his father lived at the farm, where the crops grew better than ever. They had plenty money, both from the crops, and from the money that Henrich had given to them.
A dragon flapped over the Trankasva landscape.
Theei Einadak.
