Hundreds of jeering, frustrated men and women had gathered from within the campsite. Their anger was centered around a small group of men who stood together against the ever growing fervor of the crowd.
“Let us back!”
“We want to go home!?”
“You can’t keep us here!”
Captain Millner shouted into the air as loud as he could.
“Get back, the lot of you! Calm down!”
Behind him, Charlie stood with Ma Mileena at his side.
“I thought you said you’d try to calm them down!?”
“I did!” she snapped. “But there is little I can do. These nights have been terribly cold and without fire—”
“It’s been three stinking days of this!”
“I ain’t seen no dragon!”
“Stop lying to us!”
Charlie tensed his brow. This crowd was one mistake away from turning into a violent mob.
“Please!” he cried out. “Everyone settle down!”
“You taking his side!?”
“Traitor!”
A lump of dirt flew through the air and just missed Charlie’s head. Ma put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head at him.
“Enough!”
Captain Millner stepped up onto a crate and drew his sword to the crowd. A hush fell over the mob and the forest grew silent.
“Oh no…” Ma whispered.
Millner stood tall and faced the crowd; staring back at him were hundreds of unyielding faces.
“No one is going anywhere.”
“Millner!” Charlie cried out, “What are you doing!?”
“No one is going anywhere!” Millner shouted again. “By order of the Magistrate and the Office of Military Affairs, you are to remain here!”
A rock flew through the air and impacted Millner’s skull. He staggered back and nearly lost his footing— a streak of blood ran down his cheek. Millner and his men searched the crowd for a sign of who had thrown the stone, but it was impossible to tell.
Charlie felt Ma grab his arm and pull him away from Millner.
“We need to go,” she told him. “Now.”
Just then, a man burst through the crowd brandishing a wood-cutters ax and swung wildly at one of Millner’s men. The soldier brought up his forearm and the ax cut through his leather amour. The man cried out in pain and tried to shove the assaulter off.
“You— can’t keep us here— like prisoners!”
An adjacent guard drew his sword and ran it into the ax wielding man. He grunted horribly and fell to the ground, bleeding. A wave of tension spread over the wood, as several hundred townsfolk witnessed the drawing of first blood.
Millner stole several weary glances between his men. Before they could act, a roar erupted from the mob as they rushed forward, stampeding through the grouping of soldiers. Charlie grabbed Ma Mileena and ran away from the chaos, narrowly avoiding the throng. Several of Millner’s soldiers were trampled by the onslaught, while others swung madly with their swords into the people as they passed.
“Get back! HALT!”
Millner’s screams were overtaken completely by the howling of the crowd. He was powerless to stop them. He could only watch as a wave of towns-folk charged through the tree-line and back towards Viemen.
***
Perry stood in the middle of the town square, flanked on either side by Millner’s soldiers and his own men. There were none who dared to speak; they could only stare with creeping fear into the distance. Miles away, from some unknown place within the Dags, several bolts of lightning had risen suddenly into the air. A deep booming rolled over the fields and into the town.
“I-Is it a storm, Sir Perry?”
“No, Eadig. Those are not natural forces.”
An anxious stirring spread throughout the square. Several more bolts of lightning had since shot from the mountains and there was a swirling of dark clouds now gathering above the Dags, its dark cloak stretching ever closer toward Viemen.
Then there was silence.
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Whatever tumultuous rumbling had taken place atop the mountain had ended. But Sir Perry was not put at ease.
“Sir?” Eadig asked. “What should we do?”
“I…”
Before Perry could think of an answer, he heard the pounding of footsteps behind him.
“Sir Perry!” the man panted.
“What is it?”
“The townsfolk! They’ve burst through Millner’s ranks!”
“What!?”
“They’re coming this way!”
Perry pushed the man aside and moved to the start of the eastern road that led to the forest. In the distance, a sea of angry people were charging down the road toward the town square.
“Men! At arms!”
Perry’s Starspawn gathered and formed rank beside him. The others formed a line but hesitated to draw their weapons. A wave of citizens poured into the town square; groups of several dozen split off immediately and ran down the street toward their homes, while a sizable portion ran headlong toward Perry and his men.
“What is the meaning of this!?” Perry shouted into the crowd.
“We ain’t havin’ it no more!” a man in the front yelled. “Being held in those woods like we was criminals!”
“I understand it is not ideal but—”
“It’s downright torture!” the man interjected.
An applause of cheering erupted from the crowd.
“No more. We’re going home.”
Perry gripped the handle of his sword but couldn’t bring himself to draw it. Even if they tried to fight off the men and women that stood against them, lives would needlessly be lost.
“You can’t stop us,” the man said as he glared at Perry.
“Sir Perry, what do we do?”
Perry looked to his men; their faces were touched with fear, but he knew they would obey his orders to the last. Perry drew his blade and aimed it at the man; the crowd backed away slowly. Unlike Millner, the town knew of Sir Perry’s strength. But even still, this fame alone was not enough to make them back down.
“What are you gonna do, then!? Cut us all down!?”
“Trust me when I tell you that I want nothing more than your safety. This town is not safe! Return to the forest! NOW!”
“Not safe!?” the man laughed as he sauntered around the town square, “I don’t see nothin’! Least of all, some slimy, fire breathin’—!”
A bloodcurdling wail shook the air and penetrated deep into the bones of every living thing gathered before Sir Perry. One by one, a harrowing realization dawned on each person who stood in the town square now gazing up at the sky. In the distance, descending from the clouds like a phantom, was the black silhouette of a massive creature with demoniac wings and a wicked tail. Perry looked into the distance, and for a second, he could feel it eying him — staring into his soul— even from so far away. He was frozen but for a moment; then his blood began to rush and he turned toward the crowd.
“BACK TO THE FOREST! NOW!”
Hundreds stood stock-still in petrified horror, others staggered back and tripped over themselves to flee, yet still more could only gawk and cry out in terror as the dragon drew closer.
“GO! ALL OF YOU!” Perry turned to his men; many of them stood equally paralyzed. “Guide them to the forest!”
They could not respond.
Perry marched forward and shook them by their armor.
“Wake up you lot! Or you’re as good as dead!”
Slowly they snapped back to awareness.
“A-Aye!”
Several ran off behind Perry and tried to push the crowd back towards the forest, but it was a futile effort. People were running back and forth, bumping into one another and toppling over. There was no order to speak of; and try as they might, Perry soon realized there was no hope of an organized retreat.
“Men! Load the ballistae! Quickly! Archers! Prepare to fire!”
The archers ran to their posts and loaded their war bows, while several groups of men ran to the three ballistae positioned around the town square and fumbled with the mechanism.
“Ready!”
Perry could hear the beating of great wings against the frigid air.
“Ready!”
It was almost fully into view now; gargantuan and more terrifying than Perry could ever have imagined.
“FIRE!”
The massive strings snapped against the wooden frame and the ballistae shook from the recoil. Three large bolts sailed through the air accompanied by a volley of arrows. The dragon pulled its wings against its torso and spun violently. The arrows fell away against it’s scaly armor and were easily pushed aside; two of the large bolts scraped off the dragon’s scales whilst the third was dodged entirely.
“Reload! Quickly, all of you!”
Perry ran between the groups of men as he shouted, but none had the will to move. They had seen, just as well as he had, how ineffective their offensive had been.
“What are you doing!? Reload! Reload, or you’ll…”
Even Perry was soon awakened to the destitution of his men. They simply stood there; they had given up.
Perry sheathed his sword and ran up to Eadig and the others, grabbing them by the armor and shoving them back.
“Run, you fools! If you will not fight, then flee!”
A gust of wind washed over the town square as the dragon soared ever closer. Men and women continued to cry out and flee in terror, but many more remained paralyzed. Millner’s men were uncertain of what to do; some took to trying to corral the citizens, while others ran toward the horses tied to the posts in an attempt to flee.
Then, something happened.
Perry could see in the distance an orange glow appear among the liquid black that rippled in the air, and a fearsome realization dawned on him.
“FLEE!” he shouted at full volume. “FLEE NOW! FIRE!”
A blast of hot air set off like a shock wave in the sky. Those closest to the blast were knocked onto the ground. A fierce wind ripped banners and shudders from the houses. Perry braced himself for the impact and barely managed to remain standing. But it was only the beginning of what was to come. He turned around and dove into the fountain in the center of the town square just as a jet of flame over ten feet wide passed over head. Perry then rose from the water and looked around him in horror.
Those who had failed to flee far enough were incinerated— left charred black and frozen in their final moments of agony. Those who had manged to avoid the flame directly now ran frantically about, gagging on the smoke. Another rush of air pressed against Perry so hard he nearly collapsed as the beast fell from the sky and landed among the flames. With another earth shaking roar, the creature whipped its body around and summoned a whirlwind that spun the flames into a frenzy. A tornado of fire rose high into the air; at its center rippled the hellish form of a mighty dragon.
Those caught in the tornado of flame were obliterated. Those just beyond fell to the ground in agony as their leather armor boiled against their skin. The dragon ran its jaw along the ground and swallowed greedily. The homes of the once peaceful Viemen citizens burns brightly; billows of black smoke spewed into the sky and darkened the world.