The Herd

Haganto was walking down the path when he heard a rustle from a nearby bush. He stopped and looked to the incriminating plant as the breeze picked his hair slightly off his shoulders. A second later, a small rabbit jumped out from the bush and looked at Haganto before quickly bouncing across the path and out of sight. He figured as much, especially since he didn’t smell anything or saw the plant life wither away. But Sarville was not that far away from the border to Pruoca, a humid country known for its high cockatrice population.

In other words, it was good to be wary, even if it was not common for the small rooster-dragon hybrids to venture away from their preferred tropical climate to a hilly and mountainous country like Vatus. Especially since it was apparently normal now for creatures to travel outside of their natural habitats.

Haganto continued on his way, noting to himself that he should be coming upon Sarville soon. This caused both his relief and dread to fluctuate. On one hand, he was glad that he was almost at the place where he could find some answers. On the other hand, Haganto wasn’t looking forward to knowing what creature had weakened Erzu to make her flee from the villagers.

Then suddenly, he heard laughter. From at least two people. Haganto was able to distinguish that one of the voices belonged to a young child, but the other…

Didn’t sound human.

He sniffed and detected something distinctly reptilian in the air.

His brow furrowed, Haganto instantly headed off in the direction of the laughter. When the voices grew louder, Haganto made his strides smaller and did his best to keep to the shadow of the trees, all of which were thinner than he was.

But the laughter continued to sound unforced and joyful when he hid sideways behind a tree, so Haganto just sighed and peered around the tree. And what he saw in the small clearing made his eyes grow wide.

The voices belonged to a boy and a baby dragon. The boy was running around the field while the dragon was flying around while trying to tackle him. But judging by the wide smile on the boy’s face as he nimbly dodged the dragon and how the latter didn’t seem frustrated at all...the boy wasn’t prey at all. In fact, Haganto’s sharp eyes could see that each time the dragon dove toward the boy, his claws were stretched out. This way, even if the dragon did succeed in catching the boy, he wouldn’t hurt him.

They were playing tag.

Haganto had never seen or heard of anything like this. Sure, many dragons were known to be tolerant toward the human race despite many of their kin only seeing humans as a useful food source. But even the more benevolent of these dragons had never interacted with humans like this.

Like truly good friends.

Haganto couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

Then a breath of wind came up from behind him and a second later, the dragon suddenly stopped in midair.

“Cemroeneg?” the boy called out as he too came to a stop and looked up at his friend. Instead of answering, Cemroeneg turned his head and his golden eyes locked straight onto Haganto.

“Martyn, it’s an ogre!” Cemroeneg growled in warning as he dove down and landed in between his friend and Haganto. “Stay away! I may have not gotten my real title yet, but I will make you regret it for the rest of your life if you come any closer!”

“Wait, the bunny killer isn’t your real title?!” Martyn asked as he looked back and forth between his friend and Haganto.

“Dragons often give their young preparatory titles, or nicknames, before they earn their real epithet as a full-grown dragon,” Haganto explained as he stepped out from behind the tree with his hands raised.

“Ugh, my nose cannot make you out!” Cemroeneg groaned with a flinch. “You smell like an ogre and you got the fang, but you also smell like a giant and...and a human?”

“My father was an ogre and my mother was a child of a giant and a human. It is no wonder why I smell like those three races,” Haganto admitted without offense. “But don’t worry, I did not come here to hurt you, or the village.”

“Then...why are you here? Who are you?” Martyn asked as he peered around his friend, only for the dragon to flare out his wing so that Haganto couldn’t see him.

“My name is Haganto and I heard that Erzu attacked Sarville about two weeks ago. I am here to find her and stop her from attacking Sarville or another village again.”

“Oh, really?! I can help with that!” Martyn cried as he moved forward while ducking underneath Cemroeneg’s wing. His dragon seemed displeased but he didn’t try to put himself in between Martyn and Haganto either. “I mean, I don’t know where she went off to, but I was there when she attacked! She almost killed my little sister!”

“Really?” Haganto replied as he finally lowered his hands, recalling that Tolden told him how the only victim was a girl who managed to survive thanks to her brother.

“Yes!” Martyn nodded. “I was helping Maighread find her doll when Erzu suddenly came and charged at me. I managed to dodge, but then Maighread threw rocks at her, which made Erzu angry and slice her leg. She only survived thanks to Cemroeneg.”

“What are you talking about? Those dwarves would have sold me to the black market if it wasn’t for you sneaking in and saving me!” Cemroeneg added in, his defenses much lower than before. Ah, so that was how the girl, Maighread, managed to get the cure in time. Though Martyn probably didn’t know that he also saved the foolish dwarves that night.

Adult dragons did not take kindly to someone hurting or endangering their young. Even if the baby dragon wasn’t biologically theirs.

“What about Erzu herself?” Haganto asked. “Did she seem injured at all?”

“Um...no, she didn’t,” Martyn answered with a shake of his head. “At least, not until the arrows struck her.”

This revelation caused Haganto to frown. That...didn’t make any sense...

“Tell him which way she fled,” Cemroeneg nudged Martyn with his head. “Do you remember?”

“Yeah, let’s see,” Martyn mused as closed his eyes and turned around. Then he pointed to the right, the same direction that Haganto walked from. “She went off that way!”

As soon as he said those words, the wind picked up again. Suddenly, Cemoreneg growled as he went back on the offensive. Haganto himself took out his club as his whole body tensed.

He smelled it too.

No, them.

“I smell-”

“Cockatrices,” Haganto growled. “You kids stay here.”

And with that, he ran back towards the path, wondering if the smell of cockatrices coming from the same direction that Erzu fled off to was just a coincidence.

He hoped so, but deep down Haganto knew it wasn’t.

Haganto reached the path within a minute and continued on past it till he came across a small hill ridge, the sound of running feet growing louder as he did so. He quickly climbed up the slope and when he got to the top, Haganto turned around and took out his mirror. Angling it so that he can look down behind him, he saw a small and narrow valley full of lush, green grass and beautiful flowers.

At least, it used to be.

A shiver crawled up his spine as he clutched his club tightly. He then lowered his mirror and turned back around.

He had never seen so many cockatrices in one place before. The small creatures, with their rooster heads and elongated necks that were attached to scaly torsos, were running down the valley. Their tails hovered inches above the ground as they ran, and their wings were kept tucked by their sides. The grass beneath their talons grew brown and brittle as the flowers shriveled up and bowed their heads to the ground.

Haganto stood there, utterly speechless as he stared at the horde of cockatrices running down the valley. The cockatrices, known for finding any excuse to kill with their eyes alone, were looking straight ahead without even attempting to find a new victim. The cockatrices, known for being solitary creatures, were packed together like they had been a friendly herd all their lives.

Just...just what was going here? First the harpy, Erzu, now this? These three incidents had to be connected, but how? What could cause the harpy to be willing to leave the cliffs by the ocean, Erzu’s defenses to be weakened, and the cockatrices to be able to flee together as a huge herd?

Then, a name emerged in his mind.

Haganto’s eyes widened and he gasped as a result. No...no, it couldn’t be. It had been locked away centuries ago, with a powerful seal that was renewed every ten years. Sure, that...that thing was the main reason why he had been born but…but...

He had to find Erzu.

Then he heard something land behind him, causing him to turn around. To his surprise, he saw Martyn sitting on Cemreoneg’s back.

“I know you told us to stay there, Haganto, but Cem-”

“There are too many cockatrices! You can’t fight them all by yourself! I can’t breathe fire yet but-”

“I’m not going to fight them,” Haganto interrupted them, deciding to just be grateful that the children had the wisdom to land behind him.

“What?!” Cemreoneg exclaimed.

“But-”

“There’s no honor in fighting creatures that just want to flee,” Haganto answered, causing a mixture of confusion and a vague sense of fear to enter the children’s faces. He then focused his attention on the young dragon. “Do you know how to mark territory yet?”

“Uh…don’t I just have to pee around a certain area?” Cemreoneg asked.

“Yes, do that around Sarville,” Haganto ordered him. “If you aren’t able to complete the whole circle, then just mark a few spots surrounding the village. That should keep Sarville safe from it at least. Once you’re done with that, both of you go home, tell your families about the cockatrices, and stay home! Now go!”

“But what about you?! What’s going on?! Who are the cockatrices running away from?” Martyn cried as Cemroeneg flared out his wings once again. Haganto looked in the direction the cockatrices were running from and sighed.

“Tell your parents that I told you to ask about the Malnora war. They will know what I mean by that.”

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