The herd was happily secured back in the barn, and Manuel had done the best he could to steady himself over the course of the morning. He’d thought through everything he could remember, but it was painfully little. The attack had happened so fast, he had only seen the dragon for a moment.

I just have to hope the hunter’s story can help fill in the gaps. Maybe they saw something out in the woods. It’s got to sleep somewhere, maybe they saw it in a cave. Or some tracks, yeah, hard to disprove tracks. They’ve got to believe me.

Manuel wandered around town, mindlessly making small talk with Tobias as he worked on some new horseshoes for the hunters. Apparently, they’d returned with just a few ratkel and were planning on leaving the village after meeting with the Elders. Eventually, Oskar met up with him and they left the blacksmith’s shop for Olena’s inn. Inside, the two hunters were finishing up breakfast and chatting with Olena.

“So you boys really have nothing to sell me this time around?” asked Olena, the most adorable pout etched into her face. “I was really looking forward to some new furs. One of the other hunters even said he’d seen signs of a bear in the area, I was so sure you two would be the ones to catch it and bring it back for me.”

She scooped up their bowls and mugs, as the young hunters blushed and fumbled with a response.

“I’d love to say I’ll hunt just for you, Olena,” started Yannick, the elder of the two brothers. “But there’s just nothin’ out there this year. We poked all round the forests here but all we could find were ratkel.

“Yeah, if there’s a bear, it’ll be some other fool that goes off and finds ‘im,” Janis pitched in. “Don’t know ‘bout you, but I’m not tryin to wake a bear in his cave, that’s a death trap. All the sweet mead and sultry women in the world don’t matter if you’re dead.”

Olena sighed dramatically. “I suppose you’re right, wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. There’s Oskar and Manuel now, you boys best gather your things and head off to meet with the Elders,” she said. “Make sure you come back, I’m always looking for some more berries and I know you two wouldn’t mind the extra coin.”

The brothers left two coins on the table, stood and gathered their belongings. Oskar and Manuel waited for them by the bar, and when everyone was ready, the group left the inn.

Starstone wasn’t old enough to have true Elders, or big enough to have a governor, but they made do just the same. The Elders were really just the last remaining founders of the village, and while they didn’t have true authority per se, they settled arguments and established the law of the village. They still answered to the Governor in Baybreach, the port to the east, but they were generally left to do as they saw fit. The village charter called for an election every five years to elect new Elders, but few saw any need to actually count the votes.

The group of men headed to the largest building in the village, the town hall. Positioned a few buildings down from the inn, it stood two stories tall and served as the main meeting place for the town. A small courtyard with flowering bushes led to a wide porch. Large carved columns depicting bears and sea serpents supported a balcony that overlooked the town square. The building was the same plank wood as the rest of the village, but the carvings in the columns had been stained with purple dye made from the berries that were common throughout the forest. Benches and tables lined the porch, and large oak doors opened to the main entrance hall.

Oskar led the group through the doors and moved off to the right as the rest of the group found seats at a long table that dominated the main room of the building. Offices of the Elders lined the right side of the room, while a large kitchen lined the left. At the rear, an enormous fireplace of gray slate spanned the wall, and a fire crackled merrily, heating the whole room.

After a moment, Oskar returned from the offices with the Elders. Each took a seat at the table across from the men, as Oskar returned to the group.

“So, Oskar tells me you boys have news from the woods. How was the hunt this year?” began Phillipp. He was a warm man, average in stature and graying in his beard and at the temples. Now in his fifties, Phillipp was the energy and organizer of the events and festivals of the village. During the rest of the year, he spent most of his time helping raise and teach the children of the village.

“Well, we were just wantin’ to let you know the state of things,” said Yannick. “My brother and I searched high and low, but there just wasn’t anything worth catchin’ out there this year. Not sure what happened, but you're gonna want to stock up before things get too cold, can’t be relying on the hunt this winter.” His brother nodded in agreement.

“Bout the only thing out there is ratkel, and you know well as we do how many of them it takes to feed a family,” Janis added.

Phillipp turned to Niklas, the treasurer of the village. “How are the stores looking this year? Will we have enough saved up to make it?” he asked.

Niklas, nearly 70 and by far the oldest member of the village, pulled a pair of wire framed glasses from his pocket and a notebook from under his arm. “It’ll be tight, but we just might make it. Wouldn’t hurt to see about importing some fish in from Baybreach though, just to be sure.”

Phillipp nodded and looked back at the two young hunters. “Anything else we need to know about?” he asked. The hunters shook their heads, and Manuel took the pause in conversation as his cue to speak up.

“Actually, there is something else I’d like to add,” Manuel said. All eyes turned to him, and he recounted what he’d seen out in the northern fields during yesterday’s storm.

“A dragon? Are you sure about that?” Asked Gunnar, the town’s military leader. A soldier who’d come originally as a guard when the town was founded, Gunnar rose to captain of the guard and earned his place among the Elders. He was the youngest of the group, in his late thirties, but still fit and trained daily with the guards.

“I’m positive, there’s nothing else it could be,” responded Manuel emphatically. “It’s haunted my thoughts since I saw it snatch up that cow. We have to investigate the mountains and force it out before it attacks again.”

Phillipp stroked his beard as he thought. “Did you boys see any evidence of that while you were hunting?” he asked the hunters.

“Not a thing sir, but I can’t say we were lookin’ for one either,” Yannick said. “Might be hiding up in a cave or somethin’, but there’s not been a dragon this far south ever. Can’t imagine what it’s eatin’, there’s barely anything out there for us.”

“It's eating my cows!” Manuel shouted. “I told you, it stole one from me yesterday!”

“Calm down, it's alright, we believe you,” said Oskar, trying to calm his friend. He looked to the Elders. “When we send someone off to pick up the supplies for the winter, we can ask the governor to send a hunting party to go have a look, can’t we?”

“I don’t see any harm in asking,” said Phillipp. “But they’re going to want evidence. The governor isn’t going to just send a bunch of hunters out here for no reason, especially with the returns from the forest looking so paltry this year. Find us some proof, and I’m sure we can figure something out. Now, was there anything else?”

Manuel started to speak up, but Oskar held out an arm and gave him a glance. “No sir, think that’s everything,” Oskar replied. “We will let you know if we find anything about the dragon.”

“Alright then, good seeing you boys. Take care,” said Phillipp, dismissing the group. The two hunters left ahead of Oskar and Manuel, and the Elders returned to their offices. Oskar stood to leave as well, but Manuel stayed rooted to the spot.

It's just like my dreams. They won’t listen to me. They’re going to burn. We’re all going to die. I have to make them listen! He felt himself shaking, as Oskar pulled him out of the seat and led him from the room.