Evan stared at the beast’s head which had its teeth clamped onto his shield. The pupils of the creature had turned a dark black color and Evan had a feeling that it was truly dead. He was not sensing that the creature was still alive. He glanced over at the severed body of the beast and saw that there was a pool of blood under the headless body. The blood was so very black and was constantly pouring out from the open wound.
“Oh my gods!” A woman shouted as she looked at the body of the creature. Her eyes were so big and her mouth was open in shock. Her hands were shaking so much from fear.
“Did the beast pretend to be dead?” A man asked in confusion as he took several hesitant steps toward the beast. “What happened?”
“It moved so fast! I thought it was going to attack me!” Another man said. He looked at the headless dead beast as if expecting it to jump to its feet and wreak even more havoc.
Avlara had her bow in her hand with an arrow in it and it had been pointing at the dead beast. She lowered her bow and looked at Evan with a smile. She had never doubted that he would stop it from attacking the villagers.
All of the villagers' eyes were looking at the dead beast and then they slowly looked at Evan. He knew that he had to say something. They were expecting him to confirm that the beast was indeed dead and that it was not lying in wait to attack even without a head.
Evan took his sword and cut the head from his shield. The beast’s head fell with a thud to the ground and then rolled several times before coming to a complete stop in the black blood. Evan put his sword in his scabbard and with a loud voice he spoke. “I am sorry, everyone. I thought that the beast was dead but it was not. It appeared that the only way to truly kill it was to cut off its head. I discovered that way too late. But it is now completely dead. There is nothing to fear.”
A wave of cheers and clapping met Evan’s words. He watched as the villagers relaxed and became overcome by happiness and relief. Several people ran up to him and ignored the dead beast. They shook his hand and thanked him. Several people even bowed before him which made Evan uncomfortable. He looked at Avlara who was watching this with a smile. She put her arrow in her quiver and then slung her bow over her shoulder.
“The great dragonslayer has slain the beast twice! It was no match for him!” Avlara said. “Thank you, dragonslayer!”
“Thank you, dragonslayer!” Everyone said after Avlara. It was a loud joining of voices that seemed to echo in the village.
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Evan smiled as best as he could and nodded. “You are welcome.” He then looked at the beast and even though he knew that it was truly dead, he wanted it gone. “I think we should burn the remains of the beast.”
“Yes!” Ryor shouted. She was standing at the back and suddenly came forward. The chef was dressed in a long blue gown which Evan figured was her sleeping attire. “Fyten and I could throw it in the fire pit, great dragonslayer!”
Evan nodded. “Thank you, Ryor!”
The chef beamed with pride and then turned to her brother who was standing close to the inn. He had dashed away as soon as the beast had lept from Evan’s shoulder. Fyten was still looking at the beast with a fearful expression on his face.
“Fyten! Let’s grab this beast and throw it in the fire pit!” Ryor shouted at her brother.
“Eh?” Fyten said. His eyes left the beast and he looked at his sister. He could see that a lot of the villagers were looking at him. He hastily cleared his throat. “Oh, yes. Let’s do that.” He walked slowly toward the beast as his sister moved quickly toward it.
Ryor walked toward the head and picked it up. She looked at the black bulging eyes for a second. “What kind of creature is this?! I wonder what it is called!”
Fyten was still walking slowly toward the dead beast as he was in no rush to do this job. He finally got to it and he carefully lifted it up. He made a disgusted sound as more blood poured from the severed neck.
“Gods, this thing is heavy!” Fyten shouted. He was struggling to lift the beast as his legs were buckling. Evan was surprised because the beast had been so light when he lifted it and he had hardly felt it on his shoulder when he had it slung over it.
“Come on, let’s get rid of it!” Ryors said then moved quickly to the inn. Fyten stumbled behind her with the weight of the beast causing him to move slowly. Blood trickled from the wound onto the ground.
Lord Brenwa walked up to Evan with Gretwin guiding him. There was a joyous smile on the chief’s face. “Great dragonslayer, you have done us all a great fortune by slaying the beast! Not only once but twice as my granddaughter said! We thank you and are forever in your debt! How can we repay you?”
“Yes, what can we do for you, dragonslayer?!” A man said as he looked at Evan with happiness.
“You can have one of my horses!” A woman shouted near him. She looked at him with pride as she said this. “My horses are the fastest breed and will help you along your journey, great dragonslayer!”
“You can have my house!” Another woman said. “If you wished to stay!”
There was some laughter from this and Evan even joined in on this. He did not know what to say as he was overcome by emotion but he did know that a horse would be great to help him with his travels through this strange world.
“I would only like a horse, please. Two to be exact,” He said and glanced at Avlara who beamed with happiness. He then thought about what else he may want. “And some food for my travels ahead.”
“You will have all of that, great dragonslayer!” Lord Brenwa said. He seemed to sense that his granddaughter was near and with a knowing smile he cast it in her direction.