“What the hell?”

At Trey’s angry yell, Spence slowly opened his eyes. As usual, it took a moment for him to recall where he had fallen asleep. He pushed up onto his elbows and saw the woods were lightening with the predawn glow. He caught a glimpse of movement outside the shelter. Then he remembered Trey, all tied up. He was finally stirring from his unconsciousness.

“Why am I tied up?

Spence slowly stood, followed by Caleb and then Morgan. The three walked to where Trey lay on the ground, trying to pull his hands free of the ropes.

“What happened? Damn, my head hurts!”

“You got drunk and then tried to assault Spence. He and Morgan beat the crap out of you and knocked you out. I tied you up so you wouldn’t try to cause any more trouble,” Caleb said.

Trey’s eyes moved from Caleb’s face to Spence’s and then Morgan’s. “Really? Oh, I’m sorry, Spence. It was just the wine. Can someone untie me?”

Spence stared at Trey and tried to determine his degree of sincerity. He did seem like he meant it, but Spence still wasn’t sure. Either way, he could never trust him. Caleb bent over and untied Trey’s hands and feet. Trey sat up and laid his head on his arms, which he had folded over his knees.

“Who hit me in the back of the head? And with what?”

“Oh, that was me,” Morgan chirped. “And it was a big ole tree branch. Broke it in half on that melon.”

“Gee, thanks,” Trey said, giving her a sideways glance. “And I thought the only head injuries I had to worry about were in football.” Trey slowly stood, rubbing his head. He then lifted his shirt and revealed a red circle surrounded by a deep purple bruise. He looked up at Spence. “Your work?”

“My microphone,” Spence said with a slight smile.

“Damn. I guess I must have deserved it, though. I’ll have to watch the drinking. I should know better after having my father beat the shit out of me once a week for most of my life.”

The four ate a quick breakfast, packed, and donned armor and weapons. Soon they headed west again. The day was gloomier since the forest didn’t have the same glow as the day before, and the air was also cooler.

“What is the deal with the sun here? I mean, we haven’t even seen it yet,” Spence said, longing for a warm ray of sunlight to touch his skin.

“Maybe it’s winter in this world,” Morgan replied.

“We should reach the Desolate Peaks before dark. That means we probably get to fight something again. Back to the new, real-world,” Caleb said.

Spence noticed everyone was more subdued today. He didn’t know if it was dread over having to fight some unknown monster again, the incident with Trey, or something else. He guessed a little of each. He tried envisioning what the next adversary might be. They had faced a huge wolfosaurus, a giant robotic Cyclops, and enormous spider mantises. Then he remembered the type of monsters typically inhabiting mountains in books and games. Surely they didn’t have to face a dragon! But he wasn’t so sure. They hadn’t encountered anything flying yet, so why not a dragon? Great.

They walked for several hours without speaking. The woods had begun thinning around them, and the trees weren’t as mature. They also noticed more large boulders and slabs of rock. They no longer heard any rustling in the trees. Caleb said he didn’t think they had escorts or watchers today.

“Guys, what if we have to fight a dragon next?” Spence finally asked.

The others were silent for a moment. “A week ago, that would have sounded crazy. Now, it kind of makes sense,” Caleb said.

“Our weapons aren’t going to help us much. I’m not sure if my lightning bolt or fireball would do much against it, even if I could hit a fast-moving target,” Spence said.

“What about my arrows? I probably could hit it if it were close enough,” Morgan said.

“Unless it’s like Smaug from The Hobbit and has a weak spot in the scales over its heart, they will be useless too.”

“It’s hard to plan a strategy if we don’t know what we’re facing and the terrain,” Caleb said.

“Well, we know it will be mountainous. Judging by these boulders, I’m picturing rocky. So, it will probably be fairly open, hopefully with some cover and hiding places,” Spence said.

“But if it’s fire-breathing, we’ll be screwed regardless,” Caleb said.

“Do you think the gods could create a fire-breathing dragon?” Morgan asked.

“In this messed-up world, who knows? Spence, how do we kill a dragon?”

“Well, in most games, it takes magic. All our weapons seem to be magical or at least special. But you and Trey can’t do much damage from the ground. We need to figure out a way to get it to land.”

They spent the next two hours strategizing as they walked. They discussed different scenarios for different terrains and whether the dragon could breathe fire or had any other special attacks. Spence thought it might all be for naught if they didn’t even face a dragon. But it was a good sign that they were at least trying to plan. And some of the strategies could work for any foe. Caleb had a quick mind and thought like a general in the military. Spence knew it was from the training with his father. Caleb also said they watched a lot of the History Channel, and he loved military history. That was good for the quest, but Spence also thought Caleb might be more of a threat than he had first believed in accepting a god’s proposal to lead a race into battle. Caleb could probably do it better than any of them if he wanted to. Spence’s mind was almost as sharp at high-level strategy but not as good with the minute details.

The land became hillier and rockier as the day wore on, and the trees thinned further. The air also continued to chill as they gradually left the confines of the forest and its protective canopy. The day was indeed more overcast, with the clouds appearing to threaten rain, or snow if it cooled enough.

The hills soon transitioned into one huge slope, with the high side to the west. They had emerged from the Forbidden Forest halfway up the incline. The boulders transitioned to larger rock formations, and stones littered most of the ground, from pebbles up to the size of basketballs. Ahead they saw the land stretched into tall, rocky peaks, and the trees all but disappeared save for a few stunted pines. The range of mountains resembled sharp, jagged teeth.

“Guys, we’d better be looking for a place to camp. There might not be many good areas once we get further into the mountains. Maybe we can find a cave or at least a good alcove and have time to gather some wood before dark,” Caleb said.

The four fanned out and began searching for shelter. The light was rapidly fading, although Spence couldn’t tell whether the sun had set yet or if the clouds were just thickening.

“There might be some shelter at the base of that rock formation,” Caleb said, nodding to their left.

Spence followed his gaze to a vast collection of boulders, some thirty feet tall. The face of the largest slab of rock sloped outward from the ground, leaving a natural shelter at its base. They could completely enclose themselves if they could somehow fasten the tarp to the rock face and then to the ground. They were also still close enough to the trees to gather firewood quickly.

They all began heading that way…until they froze in their tracks. A high-pitched shriek rang out from somewhere up above. It sounded like an eagle, only much louder.

“Gee, wouldn’t you know I’d be right for a change,” Spence said.

The four turned until they located the source of the screech. The monster approached swiftly from directly behind. It looked more like a pterodactyl than a dragon. Its wings resembled a bat's and were at least twenty feet long. Its body was skinny, almost bony, and was around thirty feet long, with a tail stretching another twenty. It had large, muscular hind legs and short, stubby front ones, all tipped with long, curved claws. A long thin neck led to a narrow head with big nostrils and wide-set almond-shaped eyes. Ridges of bone ran up both sides of its nose and over the top of its head, appearing like horns. A pair of sharp, bony ridges, resembling curved teeth, ran down the neck, back, and tail. Overlapping, roughly octagonal scales covered the entire body.

“Get down!” Caleb yelled.