The sun was setting as Enzo made his way through the fields and hills that surrounded Starstone. His trek through the forest had been slow, and he’d had to stop and find a stick to lean on, but he’d finally made it all the way back to civilization. He didn’t recognize the guard on the wall, but the man didn’t stop him.

Guess I don’t look too threatening, limping along holding on to this staff.

He made for Tobias’s shop first. The old man was sure to still be there, and would want to know what happened. There’s no way they didn’t hear the fight. Enzo pushed open the door to the workshop, and looked around but didn’t see Tobias.

“Tobias, you here?” Enzo called out into the dark building. Eventually, he heard shuffling from the back room of the workshop and moved to stand in the light of the doorway.

“Enzo, my boy!” Tobias called out joyously as he entered the room. “I was worried about you, it’s been a few days now since you last came to town. You look rough, come sit and eat with me.”

The old man led Enzo back into his living quarters and invited him to sit at the table. Enzo sat, dropping his pack on the floor and propping the walking stick against the wall near the table. As he settled in, Tobias returned from the small kitchen with a second bowl of stew and a bread roll.

Tobias set the food down and took a seat opposite Enzo. Initially, the old man stared into the stew and the pair ate in an uncomfortable silence. When they finished, Tobias looked up and focused a serious look at Enzo.

“We all know the dragon fought something off in those caves,” he began. “So tell me boy, what happened?”

Enzo sighed and looked at the insignia on his hand. The skin had strangely already healed, and the blisters on his arms were shrinking by the hour.

“I went back to talk with Talwen about what you’d said the last time I was here,” Enzo started. “But of course, she wasn’t there. She’s been distant since she returned from her hunt of the wolves, but this was the first time she didn’t say anything to me at all.”

Tobias nodded. He understood the dragon’s shifting attention the moment something stopped being interesting. He remembered how it felt when the same happened to him.

“So I settled in for the night, and started practicing some sword forms,” continued Enzo. “Sword’s gone by the way. No chance of saving it.” Tobias grunted in response.

“I sat down to take a break, when one of the mercenaries fired a crossbow bolt at me,” said Enzo. “Everything after that happened so fast. The men attacked, and I used a modified fireball to alert Talwen. I held them off as best I could, and then she appeared. Talwen burned everything in the cave. Including me.” He pulled back the sleeves of his shirt and displayed the red, blistered skin that covered his arms. The wounds already looked better than they did this morning.

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“Instinct was the only thing that saved me,” Enzo continued. “I breathed fire. True dragon fire. It was enough to hold back her onslaught until I lost focus. Our combined fire must have been potent, because her egg hatched during the fight.”

“You never told me about an egg,” responded Tobias.

“Really? Well that’s why she wanted me to keep coming back to the cave. I was on babysitting duty while she slept or hunted,” Enzo explained ruefully. “I have the shards with me if you want proof. Her previous home was attacked by a rival dragon clan and in the chaos, some humans stole or smashed her other eggs. This one was the only one left, and she fled the fighting with it and came here.”

He reached into the bag and took out one of the larger shards of the egg. It shone in the light from the fire, not unlike those nights spent in the cave.

“And you have the whole thing?” Tobias questioned as he took the shard and held it up, inspecting it closely. Could do a lot with all that dragonstone.

“I do, didn’t seem right to just leave it in the cave,” Enzo responded. He watched Tobias turn the shard over. “There’s probably some good iron there too, Talwen’s fire melted down the armor and weapons the mercenaries had. Not much is left but puddles of metal.”

“Good to know, we’ll deal with the iron and the shards tomorrow,” Tobias said, setting the shard back in Enzo’s bag. “How did you make it out of the cave?”

“Well, after the egg cracked open, Talwen’s focus shifted completely to the newborn dragon,” Enzo explained. “She extinguished her flames instantly, scooped up the baby and left. After that isn’t very clear. I was pretty out of it. I remember a kid cleaning my wounds shortly after the fight, but I didn’t see him anywhere near the cave when I finally woke back up.”

“I’m not surprised, the fight happened three nights ago,” said Tobias. “We heard the roars, then saw the dragon fly off to the northeast. Had round the clock watches for her since, but haven’t seen anything from that direction. Most suspect she’s gone for good at this point.”

I was out for three days?

“I guess that’s a good thing. I was worried she’d see humans attacking her home again and come burn the village,” replied Enzo.

“That would’ve been bad,” Tobias said, looking away from Enzo. After a moment, he turned back and continued. “Let’s get you a room at the inn tonight, and we can sort out more permanent arrangements tomorrow. I’d let you stay here but there’s not much room for it unless you want to sleep in the workshop.”

Enzo smirked in response. “I’ve been living in a cave, Tobias,” he panned. “I’m sure the workshop isn’t any worse. A bed and some breakfast tomorrow sounds good. I don’t know how long it’ll take for these burns to heal though. It might be a while before I can help at the forge.”

“I’m sure we can find a way to speed things up,” replied Tobias as he rose from the table and led Enzo out of the room. “Have you met Cornelia? She’s our herbalist, I’m sure she can put together a salve to help things along.”

Enzo nodded along and followed Tobias out of the building. A quick conversation with Olena, and he was set up with a bed upstairs and breakfast in the morning.

As Enzo settled into the room, he pulled out another piece of the egg and looked at it. On a whim, he pulled the mana in the room to his hand. Curious, he then grabbed the shard and willed some of the mana into it. A soft red glow filled the room briefly before being extinguished.

I wonder if Tobias can work with this. A ring, an amulet, or something like that would be a nice reminder of my roots here and could come in handy if I can store mana in it.

He laid the shard back down in his pack and settled in for the night. Exhaustion quickly took him, and he passed out the moment he hit the bed.