You can see the first Dragon Valley Installment here, the most recent previous installment here, and the next one here.
We had just left the House of the Gods. I looked at the sun. It was late in the morning; I’d hoped to be on the way out of town soon, but hadn’t talked to the people I’d mainly come to see. I looked over to Hana. She was watching me, expectantly.
“Well? Are we going to go get your friends you were coming here for? Or do you want to stop by the tinker first?”
I thought for a moment. “I don’t think the tinker will have anything useful I can buy, but he might have something for the others. We’ll recruit them first.”
“I hope they're worth their salt. And don't think we're done with the silver.”
“Actually, we are. The silver is irrelevant and distracting. Furthermore, until the dragon or myself are dead, I am the captain and you are a soldier. I welcome input but not insult, and the decisions are mine to make. And I don’t need you undermining me in front of the others. Understand?”
She put a hand on her hip and with annoyance said, “Oh, look who's all - ”
“I said do you understand?”
She tightened her lips. I crossed my arms and stared her down. She opened her mouth. I lifted my finger to silence her, and spoke first.
“We’ll have to work together, everyone focused on one goal, for any chance of success. In battle, there isn’t time to mouth off and trade snappy comments. If you can’t handle that, go back to your bakery.”
Her hand went down to the mace that now hung from her hip. She looked at it, then back at me. The expression she wore wasn’t one I’d often seen on her, and I couldn’t place it. Respect? Thoughtfulness? Anticipation?
She nodded. “Yes, Zed.”
“Good enough. And Hana? We'll talk about the silver we get back.”
“You bet your sugar we will.”
We smiled at each other, and headed for our next member: a seven foot tall man named Sal.
---
It was rumored that Sal had troll blood somewhere in his family. He was huge, ugly, and could take incredible amounts of damage. He favorite weapon was an enormous hammer which could break the bones of three men, with a good swing.
We found him at the Crazy Troll. He owned it, which explained the name. He also spent most of his time there, which explained the smell of stale sweat. We were sitting across a table from him, waiting for his answer. After hearing our decision to kill the dragon, he was busy draining a beer. He set it on the table - though, if anyone else set it down that hard, I’d accuse them of slamming it. The few other people didn’t even glance at the sound.
Sal had a deep, strong voice. “So, let me get this straight. Kill the dragon, save the valley, rescue the treasure.”
I nodded, “You got it big man. Are you in?”
“No.”
I stared at him a moment, and looked to my sister. She shrugged. I turned back to Sal.
“But - I’ve never seen you turn down a fight.”
“People. Bears. A tiger, once. Give me something to wrestle, if I lose my weapon. Bones I can break, necks I can snap. Bloody entrails, send me after a whole army. But dragon’s not a fight, not big ones. Dragon’s suicide.”
“And the treasure - “
“Can’t spend treasure if you’re dead.”
Hana reached forward and touched his arm. “It would be nice if there were someone as strong as you to protect me. I bet you’re braver than you’re letting on.”
I stared at Hana. I'd seen her make flip comments some thought were flirting. But I'd never seen her bat her eyes like that, not to talk someone into something. Maybe I was drifting further from my family than I thought.
Sal smiled. He was trying to be nice, but it was a frightening grin. He touched her hand. “Dragons, the only protection is staying away. I’ll keep you safe here, though. Protect you from anything that comes into town.”
I could almost swear Hana blushed. She took her hand back and shook her head. “Sorry, this boy over here needs - oi!”
She gave me a dirty look for kicking her under the table, and coughed. “This brother of mine needs soldiers. He needs people he can count on.”
He shook his head, a little slowly. “This fight isn’t worth the dragon’s horde. Have a drink, or go. I’d rather you stay here all day, drinking. My treat. I’d hate to lose a friend.”
I stood and shook my head. “Sorry, big guy. But I have something bigger even than you that I need to take care of.”
---
Stepping back into the sun made me realize how dark the Crazy Troll was. I blinked the darkness away, and took a deep breath to clear my nose.
“The smell comes on almost as strong as his presence,” Hana said.
I sighed and examined the clouds. I had to think.
“Can you do this without him?” she asked.
“It was pretty doubtful with him.”
“Didn’t you say you’d fight the dragon with a pitchfork?”
I nodded. “Yes. But I thought he’d be holding one, too. Brightness, but fighting a dragon on a whim takes a lot of preparation.”
She shrugged. “I don’t think you’re preparing enough. Gotta give the dough time to rise.”
I coughed, drew up my shoulders and puffed out my chest just a little. I spoke with more confidence than I felt. “We’ve got a dragon to slay. And one more stop to make, plus the tinker, before we head that way. Let's not delay this any longer."
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