Chapter 2

I was screwed.

No two ways about it. The creature, the honest to God dragon, painted a picture one would only see in a nightmare. Let alone the fact that it was huge enough to block out the sun, but the way its eyes beamed with unnatural golden light made me think that razor-sharp claws and ripped muscles were not its only options.

Not only was it a dragon. It had to be a magical one too.

What kind of late-game, last boss situation is this?!

I would have preferred fighting an entire horde of bears instead of getting wrecked by red Deathwing over here.

Oh, make no mistake, I’m not running away. Because let’s be honest, how the hell would I manage that? Would some puny trees actually serve as protection against this thing? Would I even manage to turn around before it swallows me whole? Do I want to risk triggering this thing’s predator instinct?

It took me only a moment to come to a single conclusion. If I’m going to die here I might as well not embarrass myself.

I took control of my shaking legs and entered something resembling a solid stance. I grabbed my sword with both hands and held it in front of me.

“Alright, you overgrown lizard, bring it on!”

The dragon just looked at me for a moment, analyzing me. Finally, it seemed to reach whatever conclusion it had. It gave out a snort, the air leaving its nostrils actually carrying a few licks of flames.

The dragon’s face was not very expressive, but even I could easily tell the absolute disregard it had for me.

Some monkey part of my brain actually made me feel insulted.

Thankfully, I wisely kept my mouth shut and didn’t make any movement. The dragon, regardless of my presence, adjusted its body and brought its head to the ground.

At first, I didn’t know what was happening until I saw a pair of people sliding off its scaly neck and onto the ground. The taller one of the two, clad in a pure white robe with crimson embroidery here and there spoke up, their backs turned to me.

“Thank you for bringing us all the way here. We would have gotten closer, but we don’t want you to start a panic again do we?”

The dragon just kinda looked at, judging by the voice, the woman. Apparently, this constituted for communication among its kind as she seemed to have understood something.

“Oh no, not after what happened last time! The insurance company will never let me hear the end of it!”

What?

“Yes, I know you are a good boy. No, it was not your fault the mage panicked and started throwing fire tornadoes everywhere.”

Fire tornadoes!?

“Look, I will be fine, the keep is just an hour away and I have Lily here to keep me safe.”

“Yeah, you can count on me priestess!”

The dragon actually looked sad for a moment before it gave something resembling a scoff and stood up. With a beat of its massive wings, it flew off into the distance leaving me sprawled on the ground from the surge of wind its takeoff generated.

This is the second time today that I end up in a position that would make a contortionist cringe. A very weird start to a very strange day. Thankfully, in my surprise, the grip I had on the sword slipped and it fell out of my hands just before I was blown away.

I wasn’t cut up like a shishkebab so I got that going for me, which is nice.

Also, I was not eaten, smashed, crushed, or incinerated by a giant magical dragon.

That’s always a plus in my book.

“Priestess, priestess, there’s a weird dead body over here!”

“What do you mean weird, Lily? Oh my!”

Let it be known that Reginald Bridge knows how to make the most excellent first impressions.

God, my back hurts…

“Young man are you alright? Oh, silly me, you must be suffering with your arms bent that way.”

I couldn’t see her face, but the concern in her voice was palpable. I was already struggling to unbind myself when I felt the two of them get close. Surprisingly, nothing was broken, or at least I think so. I felt pain in some really strange places, but I don’t think there’s any permanent damage

“Lily, do you have the first aid kit with you?”

“I think it’s too late for any bandages priestess. Should I just slit his throat to save him the pain?”

That scared me more than I was willing to admit. The fact that the speaker had the voice and, from what I saw, the height of a child scared me even more. What kind of horror flick did she come out of?

“Hush, the young man is not dying anytime soon. Here, let me help you.”

With more than a few painful wheezes and the help of the kind woman, I managed to disentangle myself. Apparently, there were a few branches added to the mix when I flew around the clearing. Thankfully, they didn’t do much damage.

Finally, getting myself on my knees I lifted my head up to take in the form of my, uh, saviors?

The sadistic girl I heard earlier did indeed look like a normal child. Her eyes were a soft brown, almost the color of her freckles. The short, bright red hair was a bit off-putting, but not as much as her ears. They were elongated and had a sharp tip, what you would expect from a fantasy elf, with the exception of the small amount of red fur clinging to them.

As interesting a picture as she painted, the far more interesting one was the woman who helped me get my elbows out of my spleen.

Her robe caught a lot of attention with the way its white and crimson colors contrasted with the greenery around us. Her hood sat gently upon a cascade of purple hair. Her eyes were of the same color, only a shade darker and with a curious light shining in them.

I am not ashamed to say I stared at her for far more than it was necessary.

Fortunately, I was a man of strong will and character. I can compose myself in front of a dragon, let alone a woman.

“Marry me.”

“…”

“…”

The silence that followed my words was a great occasion for contemplation. I made use of it to think.

Think about killing myself that is.

“Oh my!” The woman gently covered her mouth with one of her hands and gave out a small laugh.

“I knew I should’ve stabbed him when we had the chance.” The girl on the other hand was less than enthused about my outburst if the way her hand slid towards her dagger was any indication.

“I, I mean..*cough* *cough*... thank you for your assistance.”

“Oh, I bet you’re reeealy thankful bud.” Oh? Oh! She was actually going for her dagger! Where the hell is my sword? Wait, am I actually going to fight a little girl?

“Come now Lily, I’m sure mister adventurer here is just confused from the sudden events.”

Lady, you have no God damn idea how right you are.

“Yes, I… really did not expect my day to go like this. I’m sorry if I caused you any discomfort, my lady.”

I managed to stop my cringe from showing. Who the hell says stuff like “my lady” anyway?

Well, I mean, who wakes up in a forest and comes face to face with a hulking monstrosity, not even two hours after?

This guy apparently.

Besides, the knightly attitude seems to have been the correct choice here.

“Hmph, at least you have some manners. Who are ya anyway?”

“Now, now there is no need to be rude to the good man. Hello there, my name is Asteria and this is my companion, Lily.”

Thankfully it seems like I had passed the awkward moment and no stabbing will be involved. Judging from the leather armor Lily wore, I would have been at quite the disadvantage.

Woah, look at me thinking about stabbing little girls.

“Greetings. My name is Reginald. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance lady Asteria, miss Lily.

I was apparently quite good at acting since I can’t imagine anyone taking my noble knight attitude seriously. But, hell, since I just saw a dragon a few minutes ago, there’s a good chance something like knights exists here too.

Besides, Asteria looks like a bona fide princess to me.

“A pleasure as well. I am terribly sorry our arrival left you in such unpleasant circumstances.”

“It’s alright. Honestly, I think I’m getting used to it.”

“You... are?”

Ops, I slipped a bit there. “Let’s just say that I had a rather interesting morning.”

“Care to share, bendy boy?” Why do I feel like this little girl doesn’t like me?

“I would...rather not.”

“Oh my, a man of mystery.” Lady, I swear that’s not intentional. I’d rather have no mystery at all thank you very much.

“In any case, I, unfortunately, happen to have lost my way while traveling through the forest. Would you two lovely ladies be so kind as to point me towards the nearest settlement?”

“The nearest settlement, if you wish to call it that, is Pinereach Keep. I would say less than an hour away from here. We were actually heading there ourselves. You are welcomed to accompany us if you wish.”