The Red Dragon

 They were making good time seeing they all had horses and were well rested. Again they saw dust rising in the air ahead of them and Alexa thought this could not be the same men coming back for more. They all prepared for another battle but Alexa noticed that the dust was approaching them much faster than any horse would be running. The dust got very wide making it impossible for them to get out of the way. Soon they could see it was not men on horse back but wild buffalos that were in a very big hurry. They were headed west straight at them and there was nowhere to go. They all thought they would be crushed to death in a minute or two but then Alexa noticed that as they got closer they seemed to be fanning out and in moments they were on them but completely by passed them barelt touching the horses plus Taiyo and Oaklyn. There was so much dust that they all started to choke some but in a few moments all of the buffalo had past them, leaving everyone unharmed, just a bit rattled. My god that was close and weird, said Tempressa and wiped the sweat off her forehead. Right away they saw not far away, a wing creature heading their way that seemed to chasing the buffalo so they quickly took cover under some trees. As the big flying creature got closer they could see it as a big red dragon that was looking for a good meal. The dragon was moving fast and flew right past them. If that dragon decides to give up the case and turn back, it was a good thing that Alexa and I were dragon slayers back in the day, said Titus. Ya but just green dragons we killed said Alexa. Red dragons are bigger and have stronger Dragon Breath. We will figure it out, plus we have Tempressa to help us, said Titus. They stayed under the trees until the dragon headed back but this time it had a buffalo in each back foot tightly grabbed by it's talons. Once the dragon was far enough out of range they started back on their journey and high tailed it to Archie's friend's place and made it there soon. They dismounted and Alexa knocked on the door of this humble but chard house and was greeted by a very pretty girl that invited them all in. She sat them all down around the table and introduced her self as Cinthia then served them a very tasty beef stew that had a ton veggies in it. This is the best beef stew I have ever had, said Alexa. Thankyou but that it was not beef meat but instead it was buffalo meat that I get from one of the hunters that lived near by, said Cinthia. Regardless of what type of meat it was, it tastes great! said Titus. Cinthia told them they should rest and relax after they finish eating and in the morning she would fill them in on what she wanted them to do for her. Alexa already had a good idea of what she need them to do for her.

In the morning Cinthia had prepared a nice breakfast for them and when done Cinthia cleared the table sat back down and got to the business at hand. I have been tormented by a nasty red dragon that keeps burning all my crops just before it was harvest time, said Cinthia. I can't understand why it is bothering me and burning all my crops. It comes out to feed every few days especially just before the winter season and I have been told it attacks other farmers crops too. Dragons need no reason to destroy anything with their fire, said Alexa. They are evil creatures that love to torment destroy things that people have made. Red dragons are the worst of all and will hunt and eat anything alive including people. Why in heavens name were they ever created anyways? asked Cinthia. They are not created by God, said Alexa. Those are Demon creations. We saw one chasing a herd of buffalo on our way here but we couldn't see where it came from. The stories say that the dragon attacked and killed all the dwarves that lived in the Red Mountain due south from here and sleeps inside at the base of the mountain. People have gone there to kill the dragon but they never returned. That is why I will understand why you all may not choose to go and try to kill this beast but Archie told me you were heros from Fae Land so I am hoping you are able to stop these attacks, once and for all. Do you think you can handle this quest? Alexa and Titus looked at each other and figured they could defeat it. It might be harder than what they were used to because they only slayed green dragons in the past, said Titus. Then they asked the others if they want to join them. Oaklyn said that they were a team and will stick together. Thankyou, now once you arrived there, there is supposed to be an entrance at the bottom that the dwarves made years ago full of armor and weapons that they made plus gold and gems they mined from the mountain. If you are quite, a couple of you should sneak in and steal a couple of large shields that will help you defend yourselves. How big is this dragon? Alexa asked. We only saw it flying up high in the sky. I am not sure because I hid in the basement when it came by, said Cynthia. But years ago people said that there was a green dragon that would fly by and burn everything in it's path. My guess is that the red dragon arrived and killed then ate the green dragon. Yes red dragons have been know to do that when they are hungry enough, said Alexa. So where exactly is this red mountain? Just travel south of here for almost ten hours and you will see it towering over everything, said Cynithia. With that said Cinthia gave them some food and water supplies to cover them for the journey. Then the six of them said their goodbyes and headed out south to find the mountain.

As they headed out and rode due south like Cinthia told them, there was no sight of the dragon and in about half a day they could see the mountain. Out of nowhere a big female tiger jumped out and started to roar at them. Tempressa was about to draw her sword when Alexa told her to stop. She pointed over to a patch of grass under a tree and saw two little baby tigers playing together. That this tiger had babies and was just protecting them, said Alexa. Alexa instructed everyone to slowly back up showing the tiger that they were no threat then took a wide path around the the tiger. The mother tiger then just turned and went back to her cubs. Protecting her cubs was all she wanted to do so you can not blame her for jumping out, trying to scare us away, said Alexa.

They soon made it to the base of the mountain and circled around it until they found the entrance as Cinthia described. All of a sudden they heard a big bang and guessed the Dragon was not satisfied yet and was going out hunting again. They all hid inside the tunnel until the dragon was gone then went into the cave and found a mountain of gems and gold along with various forms of fae and dwarf armor and weapons. They all grabbed a shield each then waited in the tunnel until the dragon returned that was not too long. The red dragon returned without any prey so no luck for second helpings, said Titus. When the dragon began to enter the moutain from the top they got out of the tunnel. Now we need him out here again, said Alexa. You four stay in the tunnel for now and Titus will be the bait. Thanks a lot said Titus. Why am I always the bait when it comes to killing a dragon? asked Titus. Because you are so big and strong and makes for a bigger meal to a dragon, said Alexa. Your right as usual but that doesn't make me feel much better, said Titus. Titus started to yell at the dragon to get it's attention and in no time the dragon crawled out of the top of the mountain and was air born again. The dragon saw Titus and was getting ready to attack. The dragon began to scooped down at Titus but Alexa crouched down off to the side some with her sword ready. The dragon was coming straight for Titus and began to blow out fire at him but he was able to block it with the shield as it made it's first pass but Alexa had jumped out and took a swing at the dragon but missed. The shield worked great and must of had some fae magic added to them, said Titus. Okay here it comes again, said Alexa. Let me try stabbing it again as it does its second pass. This time Alexa took a swing at the dragon as it passed but just took off two scales that fell to the ground. Alexa picked one up noticed that red dye rubbed off onto her fingers. A closer look at the scale she noticed something unusual with it. She rubbed the scale and saw that it was really green underneath. Look Titus, this is no red dragon, it is green, said Alexa. This must be the original green dragon that took over the mountain.

The red mountain's dust and dirt must of worn off on the dragon, said Alexa. Now we know exactly how to kill this creature. Titus got Taiyo ready to swing him up when the dragon passes to attack Alexa again. Tempressa, try and freeze one of the dragons wings when it passes you, said Alexa. I will be the bait this time. As the dragon came swooping down for another attack Tempressa was able to freeze some of the dragon's wing as it passed her that made it loose control. Taiyo swung Titus as hard as he could and he landed right on the dragons back. He moved up near its neck and shoved his sword all the way into it's neck. The dragon let out a load yelp and as it passed just above Alexa as she shoved her sword deep into it's lower chest. The dragon crash landed and Titus jumped off as Alexa stabbed the creature again to make sure it was dead. The dragon's eyes closed and stopped breathing. Tempressa walked up to the dragons head and froze it solid then Oaklyn stomped on it, smashing it into pieces. They all cheered as Alexa said,"Now that is what I call a great team effort". Alexa grab a small bag from her pack and went back into the tunnel and filled it with gems but put two big diamonds in her pockets then came back out' This is for Cinthia so she can rebuild her home and get her gardens going again, said Alexa. They quickly returned to Cinthia's place making sure they did not disturb the tigers this time and when they arrived they told her the good news. She was over joyed and kissed them all on the cheek. Here take these gems to get your place back to normal. Wow, This will make my place better than it was before, said Cinthia. Would you all like to have something to eat? No just some water for the trip will be good enough, said Alexa. We want to get back to Fae Land and tell Alieta our stories. After Cinthia filled up all their water containers the team headed back home.