In one moment, Adrienne, Merlin, and Arthur were standing in the Temple of Magic at Camelot, and in the next they were standing in the quaint farming village of Brittany, brought there by a teleportation tablet. The villagers took notice of their presence. Some quickly acknowledging them before continuing about their business. Others staring, likely because they had never seen actual mages or spellknights before. There was also the case of Adrienne. Brittany, an all-human village, had little experience with other humans from outside the borders of their township. Now, suddenly a dark elf, something that many villagers probably questioned the existence of, stood in their town square…

"They're staring at me…", she said, uncomfortably.

"They're staring at all of us", Arthur said in response.

"Let's just find out where this cave is so we can take care of the problem", Merlin suggested.

Arthur and Adrienne quickly agreed, and they looked for someone who could point them in the right direction. They approached many of the villagers, but they all swiftly made it apparent that they wanted nothing to do with the trio. Whether due to their status as outsiders, the fact that they were mages with a spellknight, or that a dark elf was with them, none of the residents would give them the time of day.

"Well, this sucks…", Arthur said, frustrated.

"We're not going to be able to complete this mission if no one will even give us the time of day…" Adrienne muttered, defeated.

"C'mon guys. I mean, we're here to help these people! Surely someone here will talk to us!", Merlin argued.

Just as they were about to get moving to attempt to find someone else to assist them, a voice called out.

"I think I may be able to help y'all", the voice said.

They turned to see a middle-aged woman approach.

"You said you can help us?!", Merlin asked, enthused.

"Sure can, hon! I work with the Village Elder and I'm the one who asked for that mission request to be put in!", she replied.

Adrienne, Merlin, and Arthur all looked at each other, relieved that they may just be able to complete this mission after all.

"So where is it we're headed?", Adrienne asked.

The woman replied, "the cave y'all are lookin' for is just over the crest of that hill yonder". She pointed to a small hill situated outside of the village. A number of trees obscuring what was likely the cave's entrance.

"Excellent! Thank you so much!", Adrienne replied.

They started to walk towards the hill but stopped when the woman spoke again.

"Y'all sure that y'all can handle this?", she asked. "Y'all just look a little young is all I mean".

They turned back to face the woman. Arthur almost looked insulted that someone would question his ability to handle a simple pest control mission. Adrienne took a different approach. Choosing a reassuring smile, to try and ease the woman's concerns. Merlin decided to speak up.

"Hey, we three are pretty experienced! We've got this under control!", he said.

"Alright then…", the woman replied, seemingly unconvinced.

With that, the trio exited the village and started up the hill towards the cave, where whatever creature was plaguing this town would be hiding.

"Hey guys", Arthur said, "is it just me or does it seem like there's something we don't know?"

Adrienne answered, "Well, we don't actually know what's hiding in this cave, but the way Ms. Crystal described it to us made it seem like it wouldn't be a big deal. But then that villager was acting very strange…".

Merlin chimed in, "Yeah…I think there's definitely something weird going on here. But the only thing we can do is see what the problem is and try and handle it".

Arthur and Adrienne agreed with Merlin, and they continued on toward the cave… The entrance was larger than expected but this was not a cause for concern. Adrienne stepped into the cave first, simultaneously raised both of her hands and snapping her fingers. Flames ignited above her hands, illuminating the darkness of the cave and enabling them to see further in.

She looked back towards Arthur and Merlin and smirked, "Alright boys, follow me!"

Adrienne led them through the cave, the flames above her hands their only source of light as they moved deeper inside, away from the sunlight outside. It became eerily quiet. The only sound was the faint clunk of their boots striking the rocky floor as they walked.

"Man, how far back does this cave go?", Arthur asked, his voice echoing.

"Yeah…you'd think that whatever's lurking in here would've heard us coming by now", Merlin said.

Suddenly there was a faint noise from deeper ahead in the cave. It sounded as if something was stirring, and it set the group on alert. Adrienne dimmed the flames, not wanting to draw whatever beast was lurking in the shadows towards them, but also making sure to keep them lit so as to not extinguish their only light source.

"What was that?", Arthur asked in a hushed tone.

"Probably the thing we're here to deal with", Adrienne answered, equally as hushed.

They continued forward, slowly, quietly. Adrienne's flames only lighting up the area just in front of them. Their anxiety was building. What creature would be waiting at the end of this dark tunnel? Would this really be as easy a job as Crystal made it sound? Why did that villager seem so concerned? All of these questions raced through their minds as they crept toward the back of the cave…

Suddenly, Adrienne stopped, nearly causing Merlin and Arthur to run into her.

"Why'd we stop??", Merlin whispered.

"There's something here…", she replied.

Adrienne slowly moved the flames, trying to make out some of the details of what was in front of her. Whatever it was, it was dark in color, nearly black. A rock perhaps? Had they run nearly into the wall? She quickly dismissed this explanation. The object in front of her didn't quite appear to be the same type of stone that made up the cave's interior. No, this seemed to be…scaly, almost like small plates of armor running all along whatever this object was…

"Any idea what it is?", Merlin asked, impatiently.

She didn't answer. Instead, she moved the flames closer to the ground, trying to get a better idea of where this object stopped and started. What she saw horrified her… Resting on the floor, she could see claws…talons…long and jagged. It all suddenly made sense. The burning of crops, the villager's concerns, the appearance of this creature… This was something that she and the boys wouldn't be able to handle…

"We have to get out of here now!", she commanded, while being sure to keep her voice down.

"What is it?", Arthur asked, confused.

"Just go!", she commanded once again.

Arthur and Merlin tried to move backward and turn towards the way they had come, but their close proximity to each other coupled with the darkness caused Arthur to trip and fall. His armor clanking noisily on the stone ground as he made contact.

"Aw crap!", he exclaimed.

Merlin quickly tried to help him up, which only caused further noise to echo throughout the cave. Adrienne, who had turned her back to the creature, could now hear stirring behind her. The boys were making too much noise to notice, but she was nearly certain that the beast they had nearly run right into was now awake… She turned around fearfully, hoping maybe her ears were playing tricks on her…they were not…

Just a few feet away, Adrienne could see yellow eyes glowing in the darkness beyond the area illuminated by her flames. She didn't dare to brighten them, afraid of what she would see staring at her… In this moment, she could think of only one solution…

"RUN!!!", she shrieked.

"Huh?!", Merlin uttered, unsure of what was happening.

"GO!!", she yelled again, this time running into them, pushing them into motion. Just as they began moving, the creature let loose a thundering roar. The acoustics of the cave nearly paralyzed the trio with how deafening it was…

"Holy shit!!", Arthur cried.

"What the hell is that!?", Merlin shouted, starting to turn his head back toward the creature.

"Don't look back! Just run!", Adrienne ordered.

They sprinted back towards the entrance as the creature gave chase, evidenced by the sound of its claws striking the rock. Then, all of a sudden, Adrienne could hear the beast begin to loudly inhale. If she had any doubts remaining of what this creature was, they were now gone…

"Once we get to the exit, run to the side!!", she yelled.

They kept running, nearly at the exit. Adrienne turned her head back just enough to see a faint bit of light just underneath where the glowing yellow eyes were. The beast was about to unleash its attack…

The beast roared again, this time unleashing a stream of fire from its mouth. The blast surged forth, smashing through bits of rock with sheer force. The trio reached the exit and dove to either side just as the torrent of flames erupted from the mouth of the cave.

Not taking a moment to rest, they ran back toward the crest of the hill, unsure of how best to proceed…

"Holy shit guys!! Is that what I think it is?!", Arthur asked, panicking.

"There's only one thing I know of that can breathe fire!", Merlin stated, equally as scared.

Adrienne just stared ahead at the cave's entrance, breathing heavily. For a few seconds nothing happened. She thought for just a moment that maybe the creature thought it had got them. She thought maybe it wouldn't give chase. Those thoughts were obliterated when it burst forth from the opening to the cave, revealing what they had feared. Black scales reflecting the sun's light. Two large hind legs with talons nearly half the size of a person's arm. Two wings for its front legs with smaller claws that could nonetheless cause catastrophic damage. Finally, a head upon which sat two yellow eyes, with an elongated snout bearing dozens of serrated teeth. They were staring at a wyvern…

The beast let loose another deafening roar, causing the three to duck in fear.

"Oh gods…", Arthur said, barely getting the words out.

"We have to get the hell out of here", Merlin yelled.

"No…", Adrienne said, steadfastly.

"Are you crazy!?", Merlin asked, dumfounded. "We can't fight that thing! It'll kill us!!"

"We don't have a choice, Merlin!", she fired back. "We've already gone and pissed it off! If we don't stop it here, then those villagers are going to have bigger problems then some destroyed crops!"

Before anyone could retort, the wyvern charged at them, tired of waiting. Adrienne and Merlin both threw their arms out, channeling magical energy that created a glowing, blue wall of magical light. The beast rammed into it headfirst, stopping it in its tracks. It roared out in frustration and began aggressively clawing at the wall they had created. Merlin and Adrienne, both knew it wouldn't hold up for long…

To be Continued…