The rain was still falling when Manuel woke up a couple hours later, but the noise downstairs told him it had died down enough for people to make their way to the inn. He stretched and straightened his shirt, then stood and walked in front of the dresser. It had a small mirror and a basin of clean water, and he used both to wash his face. Bit of stubble, and I could use a hair cut but presentable enough. He made the bed and headed downstairs.

As he descended the stairs, he looked out the windows. The sun was still high in the sky, and the rain looked to have decreased to just a drizzle. With some luck, it’ll die down soon and I can take the cows back out to pasture. He yawned, and was thankful for his easy job. So glad the herd this year is in good shape. They stay together and look after each other, makes my job easy. Even when one goes lame…

The memories of the morning came rushing back. Manuel froze on the last step, gripping the banister, his nails digging into the wood. The blood drained from his face. He could feel the rain on his skin. The brilliant flash of red, like the heart of a fire. The jaws big enough to clamp down on the neck of the cow easily. Big enough to eat him in a bite or two. Enough strength to effortlessly launch back into the clouds.

“Sleep okay?” Olena called to him from behind the bar. She had a couple patrons, hunters by the looks of them sitting by the fire and a merchant at the bar with a bottle of mead.

Manuel shook his head and tried to clear the image of the dragon attacking the cow from his mind. It was too vivid to be a dream. He shuddered and finished climbing down the stairs.

“Yeah… I’m good. Seen Oskar?” he eventually responded.

“He stopped by earlier, said he’d come find you to go see the Elders if the rain let up,” she replied while carrying two bowls of stew over to the hunters. “Care for anything? You still look a bit pale.”

“I’ll pass, you’ve already been too kind today,” he said, distracted. “Think I’ll just tend to the herd, let them wander a bit before night falls. See you.”

He headed out the door and straight to the barn. As he opened the door, Betsy called to him, annoyed to have been stuck inside all day. They all looked at him with pleading eyes, desperate to get some more time in the fields before the day was done.

“Alright, alright, we can go for another quick walk,” Manuel said as he brushed Betsy. I’ll be damned if we head back to the north though. No chance in hell. He grabbed the long spear resting against the wall near the entrance of the barn, as well as his thick, leather coat. Won’t do much, but if I see that thing, I’d rather go down fighting. He led the herd through the gate, this time moving to the south of the town.

At first, Manuel was on high alert. Every movement, from the waving of the grass in the wind, to the birds fluttering through trees caught his eye. He jumped at nothing more than he’d be willing to admit. After an hour though, he began to relax again. The rain finally stopped, and the cloud cover began to clear just in time for sunset. As the shadows grew, he led the herd back into the village.

Nothing happened. Maybe things will be okay. I’ll talk to the Elders tomorrow. They’ll get a search party together, get reinforcements from the port. It's got to be full right now, it won’t attack again so soon. We can kill it before it looks to hunt again. They won’t just let that thing stay here.

The sun fell behind the trees and darkness overtook the land again as Manuel led the herd back to their barn for the night. He waved to the guards and the townspeople headed to Olena’s inn. He locked the barn door, then headed straight to his house. He locked the door and dug around the chest he kept in the back corner of the room. Buried beneath his spare clothes, he pulled out a faded brown bottle half full of a dark liquid. He took two full swigs of the foul smelling liquor the sailors seemed to love, and lay down for the night.

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Manuel slept poorly. He tossed and turned all night, dreaming of half imagined figures in the clouds. They always appeared before him in the fields, dropping from the sky like stones from a cliff. Sometimes they attacked the village. Other times they attacked the port. No one believed a word he said, and he watched them all die in gouts of fire and blood.

He was grateful for the morning sun. He rose and followed his normal routine. He tossed yesterday’s clothes into a basket at the end of his bed. He pulled on a fresh green shirt, his favorite, and a clean pair of brown pants. He looked into his own mirror and saw a lanky, ragged man staring back at him.

I’ve got to lay off the drink, it's going to drive me to an early grave. He took a straight edged knife to his cheeks, and shaved off the stubble that had accumulated in the last couple of days. He washed up, and tried to smile, but the man in the mirror looked miserable. The smile never quite reached his eyes. He rubbed his face and left for the barn.

This early in the morning, few of the villagers were awake. He could smell the forge of the town blacksmith, Tobias, and could hear the steady pounding of hammer on iron. Must be a large order for him to be at it this early, Manuel thought as he led the herd back to the main gate. Oskar met him at the gate, and nodded to him.

“Don’t stay out too long, I’m off duty in an hour or so and we can head to the Elders afterward,” Oskar said, while he pulled open the gate. “Couple of hunters came back yesterday and wanted to report what they found as well, so they asked to join us when we go meet with the Elders.”

“Did you tell them about what I saw?” asked Manuel. He had to force himself to stay calm. He couldn’t stand to think about it too hard. I can’t freeze up in front of the Elders. I’ve got to get a hold of myself.

“No, but they said they were struggling to find any prey out in the forests north of the town. Might help add some credibility to your story, not too big a leap to explain things if there’s a dragon out there,” Oskar replied.

Manuel nodded wordlessly and headed out to the fields. He doesn’t believe me. He’s a good friend, and he’s going to help support me but he doesn’t believe me. Gods, what am I going to do?