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

many villagers probably questioned the ex

at me...", she sa

t all of us", Arth

cave is so we can take care of

villagers, but they all swiftly made it apparent that they wanted nothing to do with the trio. Whether due to their status as outsiders,

ks...", Arthur

s mission if no one will even give us the t

help these people! Surely someone h

ng to attempt to find someone else

able to help y'all

ee a middle-aged

help us?!", Merl

lder and I'm the one who asked for that m

each other, relieved that they may just b

we're headed?"

of that hill yonder". She pointed to a small hill situated outside of th

k you so much!",

rds the hill but stopped

this?", she asked. "Y'all just l

n his ability to handle a simple pest control mission. Adrienne took a different approach. C

experienced! We've got thi

he woman replied, se

ed up the hill towards the cave, where whatever

just me or does it seem like t

ave, but the way Ms. Crystal described it to us made it seem like it wou

omething weird going on here. But the only thing we ca

this was not a cause for concern. Adrienne stepped into the cave first, simultaneously raised both of her hands and snapp

hur and Merlin and smirked,

t as they moved deeper inside, away from the sunlight outside. It became eerily quiet. T

this cave go?", Arthur a

r's lurking in here would've hea

it set the group on alert. Adrienne dimmed the flames, not wanting to draw whatever beast was lurking in th

, Arthur asked i

ere to deal with", Adrienne

ing. 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? Wh

d, nearly causing Merlin

op??", Merli

thing here...

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 ty

t is?", Merlin a

What she saw horrified her... Resting on the floor, she could see claws...talons...long and jagged. It all suddenly made sense. The burning

w!", she commanded, while bein

", Arthur as

she commande

but their close proximity to each other coupled with the darkness caused Arthur t

!", he e

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

he area illuminated by her flames. She didn't dare to brighten them, afraid of what s

, she sh

tered, unsure of w

ion. Just as they began moving, the creature let loose a thundering roar. Th

t!!", Art

in shouted, starting to turn hi

k! Just run!",

its claws striking the rock. Then, all of a sudden, Adrienne could hear the beast begin to l

exit, run to the s

just enough to see a faint bit of light just underneath where the g

surged forth, smashing through bits of rock with sheer force. The trio reached the exit

an back toward the crest of the hil

t what I think it is?!",

of that can breathe fire!", M

se 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 wi

r deafening roar, causing

ur said, barely ge

he hell out of he

ienne said,

ed, dumfounded. "We can't fig

gone and pissed it off! If we don't stop it here, then those villa

l energy that created a glowing, blue wall of magical light. The beast rammed into it headfirst, stopping it in its tracks. It roared out

Contin