Life of Ambrose

There weren't always dragons in the valley. There weren’t always people in the valley. In fact, I can recall many hundreds of years ago when I climbed out of the craggy foothills to the north and gazed upon a land so lovely and pure I just sat, dumbfounded by the unsullied beauty splayed out for miles before my eyes.

I kept the vision to myself for many years. Then one confounded night found me inebriated after a rather rough week and I blabbed to the wrong person about the most wonderful bit of heaven on earth I had found in the far south. That was all it took, within months there were cottages of all sizes dotting the land.

At first it irked me to the point I refused to set eyes upon the now named Ambrose Valley again and for decades I was doing quite well in my conviction until the evening I happened upon a rumor that a clutch of dragons had found it's way into Ambrose valley. That was something I had to see for myself! So, well over a year had passed before I made that long journey again. When I came down from those craggy hills my eyes set upon a sight that would have me never wanting to leave ever again.

Dragons had indeed come to reside along side humans. A rarity, a blessing and had it been the other way around, had the dragons been here first, it would have been a whole different story and the demise of the land would have come a lot swifter.

As wondrous as the start of Ambrose’s story is, the current condition is dire. There have been numerous councils held to figure out what can be done. At the last it was decided the answer must lie somewhere distant and I am the one they have sent out to find the fix to all the years of destruction. Destruction not made by the dragons or people of the valley as they have always gotten along. Well…it would be best to describe their relationship as tetchy, fortuitous, but tetchy. Never have they been enemies. They have, in fact, helped each other on many occasions when the Thrags came up from the large southern island to hunt the dragons for food and any other offerings they can pilfer from them. Their raids have left ugly scars upon the land which the villagers try their best to heal but once a Thrag sullies the earth beneath them it turns sickly and it’s a hard won battle make it thrive again. Luckily they aren't Interested in eating humans. Perhaps we aren't all that tasty to them.

What are Thrags? Well, they are... creatures, hideous to look upon even with the lovely stolen dragon scales they somehow manage to haphazardly adhere to their thick, mucky hides. Also, they smell, one can smell a Thrag long before they see it if the wind is blowing from the south. Which helps in the preparation of this raids. As far as intelligence, I would declare that almost non-existent but for the fact they can communicate well with each other. At least that is what we guess that horrible hissing gurgling noise is. The main reason they have been so successful in their raiding and pillaging though is sheer size.

One Thrag is as tall as five good sized men. Which makes them larger than most dragons, but not all. The elder dragons are almost the only true defense of Ambrose valley. The humans, to their credit do put up an excellent defence when given enough warning. So do the dragons of course, but Thrags are singularly minded to collect as many dragons as they can during their short but destructive raids. Our only guess is they can not be away from their home, or whatever that island is to them, very long. They seem to weaken a little, their glowing violet eyes dim and they seem to shrink some.

One of the brilliant tactics on a recent raid was to corner a weakened Thrag and try to keep him cornered long enough to see if we could wheedle it down to a more manageable size. Once it seemed like we were gaining the upper hand though, the beast gave out a horrific, indescribable shriek that had it's fellow Thrags back tracking to the rescue. Many dragons were saved that day when their captors dropped them to answer the call but too many villagers from the eastern arm were killed in the melee. The dragons appreciated the attempt, but asked them to not do that again.

"So why can't the wizard help us with his magic?" was asked at the last council. Fools, it doesn't work that way. Magic is not a tool or a weapon and honestly, they think I didn't try? In all my thousands of years, all the creatures of this world I have come across, I can hold sway, it may take a few throws of trial and error, (sometimes terrible errors that get one banished from a realm for centuries. Luckily, Trolls don't live longer than a few hundred years and one's trespasses are eventually forgotten and can pass through instead of going leagues around) but Thrags are a mystery to even I.

Where did Thrags come from? That is what I have been sent out for; to find every little bit of information I can about these creatures.

My first stop, the southern island.