This darn beast?! Evan thought with frustration. There was no getting out of this. These people believed he was this mighty dragonslayer and he was going to have to prove it! He looked at Ryor and Fyten who were both still pleased that he had enjoyed their food. His hand brushed against his scabbard and he felt invigorated by it.

“Tell me more about this beast,” Evan said.

“We are unsure of what it is, dragonslayer,” Avlara spoke up. Her green eyes showed a little fear as well as annoyance. “We do know that it is brown in color and is covered in spike-like fur. It is about the size of a horse with bulging black eyes and a mouth that expands. We saw it eat one of our cows with its mouth expanding to fit it all in!”

Evan nodded as he listened. A serious look came to his face as he tried to let this information sink in. “Has any human or…elf been attacked by this creature?”

“No, dragonslayer,” Avlara said. “It runs at the sight of humans and elves. It may see our livestock as easy prey.”

“Have you heard of such a creature before, dragonslayer?” Lord Brenwa asked him. “Among your travels have you encountered a beast like this?”

Evan had no idea what beasts he had encountered in this life! He had surely encountered a dragon named Howanjan! “It does not sound familiar,” Evan said. “You say that it only comes out at night?”

“Yes, dragonslayer” Avlara nodded. “We have tried to set traps for it but they have not worked to ensnare the beast. Several men have set up watch in shifts to see if we could stop it but it somehow always slips through and grabs one of our animals.”

“We know that this is a silly matter to you, dragonslayer. You have slayed the terrible Howanjan!,” Lord Brenwa said.

There were scared and solemn looks that returned to the faces of everyone in the inn including those that were still above on the balcony. Evan wondered what this dragon looked like and how terrible it was that could strike fear into everyone’s hearts.

Evan felt a strong urge to help these people and even though he had never swung a sword in his life, he wanted to at least try and face the beast. “I will help to remove this beast from your village.”

“Yay!!!” Ryor shouted with happiness. “Thank you so much, dragonslayer!”

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“Thank the gods! The great dragonslayer is going to help us!” Fyten said and clapped his hands together. He was grinning with exhilaration.

There were shouts of joy from the balcony as the people heard what Evan had said. Many of them were looking at him with pure hope in their eyes. Evan looked at Avlara who was smiling at him. Her green eyes were filled with admiration as she looked at him. Evan felt unworthy of this admiration but he was going to at least try.

“Thank you, great dragonslayer,” Avlara said. “We are so humbled by your wanting to help us.”

“Yes, thank you, dragonslayer,” Lord Brenwa said. “The night has not yet fallen has it?” He asked his granddaughter.

“No, not for another two hours or so, my lord,” Avlara said.

“Okay. Is there anything that you will need in order to slay the beast, great dragonslayer?” Lord Brenwa asked him.

A miracle! Evan thought but did not say this. His fingers wrapped around his scabbard and it made him feel a surge of bravery within his body. “No, my lord. I would caution everyone to stay indoors when night falls. I, alone, will hunt down this beast.” Evan said this with a conviction that he was surprised came to his voice. He knew that a part of what he said was to be alone if the beast slayed him! He did not want the people to see this great dragonslayer that they thought he was fumbling about and perish from this beast!

“Yes, that is a great idea, dragonslayer!” Lord Brenwa said. He turned to his granddaughter. “Avlara, please alert the entire village of the great dragonslayer’s plan. No one is to be outside after the sun sets! We can’t afford to have anyone get in the way or to make the dragonslayer’s job harder due to their presence. He must not worry about saving a carless life while attempting to subdue the beast.”

“Yes, grandfather,” Avlar said. “I will notify everyone at once.”

“Would you like to retire to a room for a while, dragonslayer? Rest before the night falls,” Lord Brenwa asked him.

“Yes that would be great,” Evan said. He wanted time to himself to make sense of this world that he was suddenly in and to try and come up with some sort of game plan for fighting a beast! This was no video game that he was playing. It was as real as it gets!

“Gretwin, please show the dragonslayer to a room. Gretwin is my wife, great dragonslayer. She runs this inn,” Lord Brenwa said. A happy smile came to his lips as he touched his wife’s arm. “She has been a true blessing as she came into my life after the loss of Avlara’s parents. My son and his wife.”

Evan glanced at Avlara and saw a look of sadness as well as anger on her face. He wondered what was the story of the loss of her parents.

“Please, come with me, dragonslayer,” Gretwin said. She stood up and placed a hand on Lord Brenwa’s shoulder. “I will be right back, my love.”

Lord Brenwa touched her hand and nodded. “Okay, my dear.”

Evan got up and followed behind Gretwin. They walked up the stairs and Evan passed by the people who had come out from their rooms to see him. He nodded and smiled awkwardly at them. He glanced down at the tables below and saw Lord Brenwa touch Avlara’s arm and then whisper in her ear. She nodded with a serious expression on her face as she listened.