It has been days since Akai's report back to the ancient dragons. Akai hasn't heard anything about his punishment, as of yet. All the while, he was thinking of ways to persuade the ancient dragons. They were the oldest, wisest, and strongest of them all. If they were convinced, then they could at least gather the other dragons to find some kind of cure. But Akai had to think of something quickly. It was not a matter of if it would happen, but when.
He was walking on a dirt road. Grasslands surrounded him. A peaceful setting. There was a nearby forest filled with life. Butterflies flew by him and he smiled at the beauty. In front of him were the towering walls surrounding King's City. A massive city housing hundreds of people. Many gather there to find work. Akai was familiar with the place. He has been there before looking for jobs related to hunting monsters. The pay was good, as well. He loved the food that he could get from taverns at King's City. The renowned king of Shieldrake resided in the very city named King's City. Coincidence? Akai didn't care one bit about politics. The kings change a lot in the 200 years that he was alive. Akai was only interested in mingling with the average humans.
Akai approached the gates. They were guarded by knights. Wagons were stopped outside of the entrance being searched. Akai walked towards the gate entrance and was stopped by a soldier.
"What business do you have here?" The soldier asked.
Akai smiled and said "I'm here to - ". He paused. Akai thought that he would make a joke, but he didn't want to make any scene. On any other day, if he was asked a question like that, he would make a joke out of it. Akai stopped smiling, coughed, and continued. "I'm here looking for some monster hunting jobs." Akai said seriously. The soldier looked him up and down. After a second, the soldier nodded and let Akai through.
Akai walked into the bustling streets of King's City. Everybody hurried along with their daily lives. Every one of them younger than Akai in age, but all the same working hard to stay alive. Akai didn't need to worry about that. He didn't need to work hard to make ends meet.
Akai first checked his pouch for any coins. He had a couple, but not a lot. He remembered that their was supposed to be some reward waiting for him at King's City. Captain Halido promised Akai some money for killing Jezeboyah. Although, he didn't approve of it, he still needed some money for food and supplies.
He was aware of a base where dragonslayers would meet. Their main base of operations. They were like a guild in a sense.
---------------------------------------
Akai walked around the city. Children played along the streets. Wagons passed by. Drunk men getting themselves more drunk by the taverns. Shady men and women along the dark alleyways. It was only noon. As he walked along, he found the base where the dragonslayers meet.
The "Den of Dragonslayers" as the sign said. Akai looked at it and walked right in. He didn't have any affections towards a guild dedicated to hunting his own kind. However, like people, there were dragons that were considered bad and good. But to dragonslayers, they were all the same. Akai would usually not even bother to step foot inside their guild. But he was craving a bit of chicken, which he couldn't afford unless he got paid. And he hoped that there was somebody there that would recognize and pay him. It was a long shot, but it couldn't hurt to try.
He noticed plenty of tables with dragonslayers talking amongst themselves. A loud bunch of people. If Akai didn't know any better, he would have thought he had entered a tavern. The walls and floor made up of old wood. There were some dragon skulls displayed as trophies. They were pretty big dragons skulls. None of them as big as Jezeboyah's head. He noticed a board full of jobs posted. Most if not all were concerned about dragons that were seen or spotted near towns and villages. He walked up to a counter where there was a woman looking at a book. As soon as she saw him coming up, she straightened herself out and greeted him.
"Good Afternoon, sir. Is there anything that you need?" She politely asked.
"Uh. No. I'm actually here because of a reward that was promised to me. Captain Halido, I think his name was." Akai told the woman.
"Well, Captain Halido is a busy right now. Perhaps you would like to wait a few days before workload is free? I can set up a meeting, if you'd like." As she said that, Captain Halido walked out of an office room holding papers and scratching his head.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
As Akai noticed him, he ignored the woman and walked straight towards the captain. The woman tried to stop him, but to no avail.
"Captain Halido!" Akai yelled in the already loud building.
Captain Halido didn't notice the yelling, but as soon as he turned his head towards Akai walking straight towards him, he remembered the face.
Akai continued, "Captain Halido. I don't know if you remember me, but you promised me payment for that dragon that I killed." Akai said.
Halido replied "I remember, but I am a bit busy. There has just been another -" As he said this, a young boy ran out of the room holding a bunch of paper. The boy crashed into Akai's legs falling back with the stacks of paper falling out of his hand.
"I'm sorry, sir." the boy said rubbing his head. Akai gave his hand to help the boy up. When the boy saw the hand and looked up, the boy immediately recognized who he was.
The boy had some scar tissue and burn marks, but seemed to be alright. There was a brief pause. "It's you!" the boy shouted. Akai was confused. He didn't know at first, but then remembered the boy that he saved from the burning town.
"Ahh. Yes. I remember, now. I'm glad you're doing okay," Akai smiled happily knowing that the boy he saved was safe and healthy. The boy grabbed Akai's hand and got himself up.
"Leo, you made a mess, again. Pick up those papers and start posting them around the city." Captain Halido yelled. The boy quickly replied,"Yes, sir" and saluted before picking up the papers. Akai looked at the paper and noticed that it was a recruitment poster. Recruitment for more dragonslayers, Akai thought. As if there weren't plenty.
Captain Halido then looked at me and said "I remember who you are. Akai, right? I did promise a reward for that dragon, but something has come up. A dragon has been spotted near Taple Town and I am just about to head out with some of my guys to slay it."
The captain paused and looked at Akai. "Actually, maybe you could come with us. You seem to be experienced in hunting monsters and you did kill that big dragon."
Akai asked "What makes you so sure that there is a dragon, and if there was, did it hurt anybody?"
Captain Halido and Akai began to walk away. The boy, Leo, waved his hand good-bye to Akai with a big smile. Akai smiled and waved back.
As they left the building, some dragonslayers followed them. Fifteen dragonslayers in armor. All of them carried swords and crossbows. A pretty big hunting party, but not a lot for hunting a dragon, Akai thought. One of them was different than the others. She was chained up from head to toe. And she was forced to wear a magically enchanted mask. It prevented her voice from making any sound. One of the dragonslayers pushed her forward. Akai sensed something off about her. He knew it wasn't the sensation of a dragon. Maybe, some other magical being he was unaware of. There were runes on the chains preventing any magic being used to break them. Akai thought it was some dark mage that the dragonslayers may be using.
"This dragon was spotted near the town and landed in the forests nearby. It didn't hurt anybody, but that's why we're going. So, that it doesn't," Captain Halido said.
Akai thought for a moment. He wasn't sure whether the dragon was dangerous or not, but then he recalled the town burning in front of his eyes. The smell of burnt flesh. He didn't want that to happen again.
"Then, I'll come along, but I want to get paid for it," Akai told Halido. He didn't care about the money this time. He just wanted to make sure that nobody would get hurt again. If the dragon did nothing wrong, he would even help him escape.
Captain Halido nodded and they went towards some wagons. He understood that many were hunters just for the pay. One of the wagons carried a giant crossbow. There were horses, there, too. Akai never rode a horse before. Not ever in his 200 years did he need to. He was already faster than a horse as a dragon. And he preferred to walk slowly to take in the sights, anyways.
"I don't know how to ride a horse, Captain." Akai said to Halido.
Halido looked at him strangely and replied, "What kind of man doesn't know how to ride a horse?"
Akai looked around. He saw the chained woman being handcuffed to the wagon carrying the giant crossbow, with one dragonslayer driving the wagon. The remainder got on their horses.
"Well, I can't teach you right now." Captain Halido hopped onto a black horse with white braids. "Hop on. You can ride with me."
Akai tried to get onto the horse, but failed at every attempt.
"Just give me you hand" the captain ordered as he reached his hand out. Akai grabbed onto it and got on top of the saddle, sitting behind the Captain.
The other dragonslayers laughed. One of them commented. "Captain, looks like you finally got yourself a princess."
"Shut it. We're off. " Captain Halido said as he lashed the reins of his horse. Akai quickly grabbed onto the Captain fearing that he may fall off.
Halido started regretting taking Akai with him as the other dragonslayers chuckled behind them.
The horses weren't even moving very fast as they were on busy streets. The dragonslayers on their horses surrounded the wagon.
As they left King's City, the horses moved faster and ran across the dirt roads. The speed was nothing compared to the speed of a dragon, but for a human, it was faster than any speed that they could achieve. Akai was just holding onto Captain Halido waist as he was afraid of falling off.
He could see the other dragonslayers riding their horses, as well. They all had a steady pace that wouldn't be too tiring for the horses, and just enough so that they didn't go slower than their own wagon.
And so they went forward to Taple Town.