Cody let out a deep sigh, counting his chunks of flint again and eyeing the enchantment he had scratched down on paper. Being storyless had left him lax on ensuring his stockpiles were kept full, and although dragons were winged creatures, they didn't fall out of the sky every other day. Hord'anne had grown big enough to take some attacks, but certainly wasn't the size to be dealing with a full-grown dragon head-on.

This was a problem.

But all problems had a solution.

He growled in frustration as the dragon's howls rattled the air, the curtained window lighting up as it unleashed another pool of flames on the town square. It could move as it pleased. There was nothing stopping it from crushing the house they were sitting in, and Cody wasn't versed well enough in shields to protect an entire building.

"Cody!"

His frustrations stilled at Sariel's voice, her steps coming up the stairwell to chase her echo. He turned to greet her with a smile, his heart skipping when he saw the fully loaded crossbow in her hands aimed directly at him. He threw up a shield without even thinking, waiting for Sariel to point the weapon off into the living room as she made little noises under her breath to mimic shooting it, the oversized helmet she had put on bouncing with every step. Once he had collected his racing heart, he stopped the spell, looking at the various items Tarson had brought over. Cody tried to hide his disappointment when the man placed a giant sheathed sword on the table, nudging the gift forward with a smirk.

The spell on his mind was not as pronounced as the other villagers, but ever since they had entered the house it had moved about erratically, spiking at his mind to try and take it.

Tarson smiled obliviously. "That's my best blade, use it as a finisher when that skat licker is begging for death. You can keep it after."

Cody scrunched his face in confusion. "Who?"

"Maynard," he replied flatly, sliding a black bow off his shoulder and placing it atop the sword. "Just in case he starts running, shoot him in the arse." he rounded the table, moving back towards the stairs. "I see you like cloth, I-"

Cody snapped his fingers, a phantom force slamming the basement door in Tarson's face and seeming to temporarily break him from his thoughts as he swiveled around to stare at Cody. The spell in his mind momentarily stilled, giving Cody hope that he had what was left of the man's sanity.

"There's a dragon outside." Cody boomed, a distant roar perfectly trailing from his point as Tarson looked to the window with a quivering lip. "You've been bewitched, but the spell hasn't taken full control. I need you to focus and give me what I asked for."

"Right... something more explosive." Tarson's face lit up as he reached into his pocket, holding out a vial of amber liquid to Cody. "Boom Tree Sap."

Cody accepted the gift, paying the blacksmith a courteous smile. "That's more like it." His eyes drifted to the sword Tarson had placed on the table, its cheap and soft metal was apparent at a single glance. It would serve a warrior poorly in battle, and likely chip on plate and chainmail alike. But for Cody, the decorative piece was to his advantage. "Do you have anything I can engrave that with?"

After a few minutes of topping up Corian's ingredients and providing tools, Cody put his head down to work. He had to prepare as many enchantments as he could for the fight ahead. The dragon was a problem, but the bigger problem had conjured a barrier he hadn't the foggiest clue in breaking. Every piece of preparation he could pull off would go a long way in the fight ahead.

As he pooled over his tasks, Sariels conversations with Tarson withered away, until the silence around him forced him to check on the two. They were both in the living room brimming with pelts, and Tarson had relaxed into a comfortable chair as Sariel carefully spread a cloth over his face. The idea of taking a nap while a dragon leveled the town was absurd, but Tarson had already provided all the value he could with his scattered ingredients and weaponry. Still, it was a curious sight for Cody, who could still see the magic of the spell in his mind. The wet cloth had somehow stilled the spell as he relaxed on the couch, reducing it to a weak and waning pin-prick of a glow. Cody was worried that the fluctuations he had seen were spurring him to attack them, but now the curse was nearly invisible.

In the lighter air, Cody was able to focus on scratching out the last of the runes on the steel blade and having Sariel help him with the crossbow. He kept an ear out on the proximity of the roaring dragon while they finished up his projects, but strangely enough, even as a good half hour passed, it still seemed to be wreaking havoc in the town square. Perhaps it was bound to the square, protecting something? Or fate had been exceptionally kind.

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It held no worth to wonder. They were as ready as they could be. It had to die. Then, if whoever was keeping him, Hord'anne and Sariel inside didn't surrender after that, they were dying too.

The two packed up the various pieces they had prepared, Cody carrying the bulk of the strange tools that ranged from fist-sized metal capsules, to a sword now strapped to his back that he had diligently carved away at for most of their time. Tarson acknowledged their departure with a halfhearted wave, still relaxed in his chair with the cloth covering his eyes as the enchantment in his mind remained a withered ghost of its prior form.

Cody forcefully loaded the crossbow, the runes Sariel had carved into the wood with him glowing a ruby red across the nose of the weapon and down the shaft of the arrow. He grinned from ear to ear as Sariel cooed with awe. “No one outshines me in fire magic. Especially not a half-dead lizard.” He moved to the door, trying to kick it open, but it was a pull.

Sariel came to the rescue, gently opening the door for Cody to run out. She gave Tarson a final wave. “Pleasure meeting you Mr. Grey, your house is a bit of a muck with all the pelts and that, but I’d be happy to clean her spotless for some-” Sariel let out a little gurgle as Cody pulled her by the back of her clothes, the two of them stumbling out the door.

All at once, the thin trails of smoke that had made it to Tarson's front door assaulted Cody's nose, Sariel blocking the nose holes of her helmet with similar sentiments. The smell of burning flesh was unmistakably foul, and ten times worse when the flames still lived. He didn't want to imagine what the air would be like in the billowing black clouds that crested the homes and shops before them, but it was ultimately something they would have to face. Alongside the beast that dwelled within.

Cody let out a loud cattle whistle, Hord'anne's thundering steps rounding the cover of Tarson's house to rush to his side. The beast wore a pout at being left separated for so long, but an excited hug from Sariel lightened his mood as he let out incoherent grunts of enthusiasm at her new clunky accessory she wore on her head. Cody gave him his few minutes of fun, knowing full well he would be facing the brunt of a bloodthirsty dragon soon. Hord'anne had seen the sword strapped to Cody's back - he knew what was going to happen.

They walked slower than usual. Cody had set the pace but found each step heavier as the howls of the beast drew closer. In reality, he had never killed a dragon before. It was such a heroic cliche, he never found the stories Alina wove for him involving such beasts. They were messy too. Cody had always preferred a clean role, a simple story with a single target. Where he had full control over the morals he willfully abandoned.

As they reached the wide road to the town square, the cloud finally struck them at full force. The foul air burned at the eyes, everything hazed with a sickly brown shade in the dead air. Although they could not see it yet, each cry of the dragon rattled Cody's ribs. It had not lost even an ounce of its fury, vibrant orange flames jetting out to bring a haunting light to what was left of the town center.

Perhaps, the most surreal of it all was, with every jet of flames that guided their sight, Cody could clearly see that the statue still stood. The clearing at her feet had been scorched black, a twinkling sea of embers sitting where the perfect grass once grew. She was blackened from where the dragon's fire had touched her, but otherwise, as perfect and mysterious since last he had seen the effigy. A looming black specter now standing tall in the death that had consumed her surroundings.

Cody felt something squeeze his wrist, eyeing Sariel's hand in surprise as she nudged closer to him. She hadn't focused on the eerie statue, instead eyeing a few blackened lumps that sat close by, where the dragon's fire had withered to starving flames. Although twisted beyond recognition, the few parts that bent outwards in a limb-like fashion made it obvious as to what they were. With the way Sariel's shoulders had squeezed, Cody guessed that she had clued in on the distressing sight.

It was all a mess. Cody's gaze drifted across the town square, finally catching a glimpse of dull scales where the dragon had made a nest out of a crushed stable. More lumps peppered the ground before the crumbled structure. He wasn't going to count the lives that had been spent for the dramatic entrance, it was a steep cost for the cheap fear it would stir in the last remaining survivors. Senseless murder was a common tactic for villain wannabes. It was disgusting, sloppy, and unprofessional.

He sighed, gently peeling Sariel's hand loose and pressing the crossbow into it with a reassuring squeeze. He tried to find Sariel's eyes through the slot in her helmet, his voice as soft as he could manage through the noxious air. "That dragon is making us look bad. Ready to kill it?"

Sariel pulled the weapon close, paying Cody a sharp nod. "Shot a chicken by accident with one of these, won't be an accident for that one."

Cody unsheathed the blade from his back, allowing his magic to drizzle down the markings he had scratched into it and bathe the area around them in a red glow. He paid Hord'anne a smirk, the beast's yellow eyes bright with hunger. "I bet fresh dragon tastes pretty good."