I'd gotten most everything on my list, what I didn’t have was commissioned, and should be ready in a few days. I finally returned to the Dragon's Lair as the sun was dipping below the horizon. The group eating more of that stew, which was quite good. I get odd looks as I carry the armfuls of gear up the stairs. Most of the time I spent at the Smith's describing what some of this was. Once he understood what I was asking for it was easy to get. I added a bunch of stilletos, for Rogue to throw, a bastard sword and a shield for Fighter, Cleric I got a spiked mace. I commissioned a poleaxe for myself. One part spear, one part hammer, and one part axe. All three damage types in one weapon with a 15 foot reach, what more could you ask for.

Now I was my confident in my ability to hold it, but I decided that my continued survival was as good a time as any to start working out. I would take it up with the constable. I would keep the items as a surprise for the group.

I asked for a bucket from Lily who happily obliged. The excitement from the day had churned my stomach. The flashing of the arrows causing me to wince everytime i reflected on it. I vomited into the bucket this time and not all over the floor. I wrote bucket on the list something I'd have to get tomorrow with the Constable. I rinse my mouth with a water skin, and chew on this weird stick. Its It's meant to clean your teeth. It's like a pine branch, except the needles are more sinewy. It feels like im rubbing hair inside my mouth which is frankly disgusting. But it leaves a pleasant minty aftertaste. You get two uses out of them once in the evening, and again when you wake up. Bought a few bags of them for a couple of silver.

I lay back on the bed letting sleep over take me. I wake up, or am still conscious in my sleep at least. This ground is a black plane stretching infinitely in all directions. The sky a dark gray that is pleasant on the eyes.

A creature sits 50 feet from me hunched over. It’s fat swollen body jiggle with movement. It’s greenish yellow, and two pointed ears poke from its head. It’s comically small head turns to look at me. It has no eyes or nose just a largemouth filled with sharp, jagged, and yellowing teeth. Its mouth glistens crimson with blood. It ignores me, and bites into whatever it is eating with a crunch.

Come eat…

A voice comes out barely audible over the sound of snapping bones. I take a tentative step forward and find that the distance between us has closed in an instant.

The mutilated corpse of some animal, a d5eer by the looks of it lays on the ground.

Sit…

The voice says. The creature slurps an intestine into its mouth, the long organ dribbling blood as it disappears into its maw. I sit down beside the creature.

So much food…

So much blood…

The creature finished off the corpse eating even the fur, then licks the blood off the ground with a long tongue, small holes along its surface drawing the blood in. The creatures body swells in size. A pile of raw squid drops in front of us.

The creature hesitates.

You first…

I pick up one of the squids, and take a small bite. I realize how hungry I am. I shove the rest of the squid into my mouth, and grab another handful. The squids juices burst in my mouth and dribble down my chin. The creature begins to eat too. I ignore it, opting to shove more of the squids into my mouth. I lose myself in the hunger. The squids eventually turn into chickens, the feathers provide some difficulty, but their warm blood washes it all down. I close my eyes to enjoy it. The bones cracking in my mouth.

After a long time of chewing, swallowing, and eating I open my eyes. The heart I'd bitten into still in my mouth dribbling its warm savory blood. I stare into the dull lifeless eyes of a young girl. Her blonde hair matted with blood.

It’s all meat…

The creature says a familiar line. I hear sobbing. Tears stream down the girls face.

“Why me, I thought I was your friend?”

I drop the heart. I gag my stomach turned.

“I didn’t know I was young, I didn’t know.”

She sobs again.

“Why did he choose me?”

The creature pulls off her leg, crunching into it. It’s long tongue digging the marrow from her bones.

“I'm sorry.”

I choke out. Her head lulls to the side.

“IT WAS YOU, YOU DID THIS. I’M DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU, YOU KILLED ME.”

She screams blood pouring from her eyes.

“No. N-no.”

The creature bites through her pelvis slurping up her liver.

“YOU KNEW, YOU KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING, AND YOU DIDN'T STOP HIM.”

I choke on my vomit. A large bulge in my throat stopping me from losing my stomach. With a pained tearing a skull rolls out of my mouth. My stomach wrenches again. Another skull rolling out. And another. And another.

“YOU FAULT. YOUR FAULT.”

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They scream over, and over.

It’s all meat…

The creature repeats.

“YOUR FAULT. YOUR FAULT.”

The skulls scream. The girls eyes turn to look at me, as the creature rips her ribs out of her chest cavity.

“YOU WERE HIS, THE WHOLE TIME YOU WERE HIS.”

Her voice stops just before the creature pulls her lungs from her body. A hand placed itself on my shoulder.

“I'm disappointed in you son. I had high hopes for you, high hopes.”

He clicks his tongue.

“It’s your fault you know? You did this to them.”

He says. I shut my eyes tight, and take a swing at him.

“YOU’RE A MONSTER IT WAS YOU!”

I shout back. I open my eyes. The creature looks at me its red tinged mouth slurping down the last of her blonde hair.

A soldier doesn’t look at his food, or wonder where it comes from. He trusts the cook, and eats knowing it'll get him to the next day…

You weren't a soldier but you trusted, and ate…

It reaches up a long thin arm it’s many joints unfolding. It pokes me in the chest, but the hand keeps going piercing my skin and heart.

The meat is here now…

Eat and be at peace…

I grab the creatures arm.

“DON’T TOUCH ME, I WON’T.”

Eat…

Eat…

I am just so hungry.

Eat…

I lift the creatures arm to my mouth.

The flesh shall become one…

Eat…

I sink my teeth into its it's tough arm, my jaw clenched and its arm bone snaps. I shamble forward my hands on the arm. I pull myself towards the creatures body.

Eat…

Eat…

The voice calls to me.

I drink the blood from its wounds, and suck the marrow from the bones. I slowly devour the creature which has grown to a monumental size after our feast.

Eat…

It repeats over, and over again. Its voice growing in strength. I forget the voices of the skulls screaming, and the young bloodied girl. Only my hunger and the creatures voice.

The creature bathes in my gluttony, its body swelling twice over for every mouthful of flesh I take. It’s face pulling out into a snout, and crunchy scales crawling over its body. It’s ears pull back into horns, and eyes pop out of its blank face.

The greenish yellow colour slowly turns into an emerald green. I nibble on its it's long finger barely able to wrap my mouth around its gargantuan claw. It let's put a deep throaty laugh.

“You have quite the hunger human. Enough even to threaten me. Perhaps the staff was not such a good idea, I could feel its power when you connected to it. I hardly expected a human to have eaten the varied amount of foods you have.”

It raises a claw to its face, and rubs its chin.

“Well I suppose I have an obligation to help you. And you have a spark of dragon kind in you however faint.”

He waves a hand, and a little blob of fat forms in his hand. Mucus green scales, and with needle like teeth. It immediately begins to try, and devour the hand its on.

I lose my gluttonous mood, and fall backwards.

“You had more dragon in you than I thought.”

He rubs under its chin, the creature sinks its teeth through the scale.

“Make sure to take care of the little fellow.”

Behind the Dragon a number of shadows loom. Not just behind the dragon, but all around us they fight to get in. Kept at bay by some aura.

“THIS YOUNGLING IS UNDER MY PROTECTION, YOU HOARDING JEALOUS SCALE LICKERS WILL NOT TOUCH HIM.”

The dragon shouts deafening me. He drops the fat little ball of scales into my hands, and flares his wings. The dragon opens its mouth, and instead of breathing out a gout of flame or cold, he breathes inward. The shadows scatter, as a vortex of wind forms in front of his maw. An unlucky shadow is hit head on, and pieces of it RIP off, and get sucked into the mouth.

The baby dragon in my hands decides my hands look delicious and bites me. Drawing blood, and scraping my bone with his teeth.

I sit upright in bed. The light filters through the window. Catching dust particles in the air. I lift my hand up no sign of a wound. I stand up, and feel a little woozy. Why had I even thought my hand was injured.

I'm still tired after sleeping must not have been a good sleep. I sit up and sickness immediately over takes me. I loudly dry heave into the bucket besides the bed.

“Lord Magus?”

I hear Lily’s voice call. Soft jingling from the other side of the door, and then the lock clicking. She swings the door open, and sees me perched over the bucket.

A something begins to crawl up my throat, closing off my airway, I begin to choke. Lily starts to panic,

“S-someone help the Magus!”

She calls. I hear footsteps, and Cleric looks around the corner.

Whatever is in my throat is now in my mouth. I heave again, and a green blob falls into the bucket. Blood runs out of my mouth, and my throat feels like I've actually deepthroated sandpaper.

The bucket shakes, and tips over. Spilling the sick all over. The blob of green rolls up into a ball, green scales poke through the outside, and then form around it. The little blob slowly collects itself, and transforms into the small scaled blob from my dream.

It blinks, and yawns. The little ball, sits in the puddle of vomit. Its tail wags, and puts a clawed hand into its mouth.

“If I didn’t know where it came from I would say it’s cute.”

Cleric says. Lily opens her mouth to speak, closes it, then opens it again.

“No this isn’t normal.”

I say. She nods her head, takes a step back, and then gets sick.

I take the old shirt from earth torn and dirty and scoop up the baby dragon. I bundle it up, then hold it out away from me. I hear a small cooing like a giggle. The commotion has drawn more people upstairs.

“What's in the bundle?”

Fighter asks through a mouthful of bread.

“Baby dragon.”

I reply, the crowd parts as I swiftly walk towards the washroom.

“Where did it come from?”

Asks Wizard.

“His stomach.”

Cleric says,

“I just threw up in my mouth a little thinking about it.”

Fighter drops his hand holding the bread.

“I’ve lost my appetite.”

I open the washroom door, untie the bundle, and slide the welp into the bronze bowl. The dragon gurgles then bites a whole through the bowl. The water drains out, and the dragon giggles with glee.

“Excellent,”

I let out a sigh. Just one more fucking problem to deal with. The dragon bites another whole in the bowl, chews the bronze then swallows.