The Dragon Hunter

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. In fact, there aren't any dragons in the valley now either. All of them went extinct about 200 years ago, but no one knows that they're gone. Some of the people that live in the Valley, still try to make a living as dragon hunters. It hasn’t gone well for most of them. Not a single hunter has claimed to have killed a dragon since they went extinct. That is except for Thomas Lester. Tom has claimed to have killed over 15 dragons since he started hunting at the age of 12. His most recent job is in a small village near the edge of the Valley, called Goldcrest. While walking through the forest on the way to the village he comes across a group of small boys.

“Hey there boys” Tom says to the group, “I was wondering if I was heading in the right direction for Goldcrest?”

One of the older looking ones responds “You won’t find anything there.” There’s a grim look on his face.

Another boy chimes in, “Yeah, the dragon destroyed the whole village.”

Tom states rather giddily, “Well that’s why I’m going there, you see, I am the best dragon hunter in all the Valley!”

“No you’re not, the best dragon hunter in the valley is Tom Lester, and I thought he was tall and strong.” one of the younger boys adds.

“Shut up James,” says the older boy. He turned back to Tom. “Yeah you're headed the right way. Try not to get killed like all the other hunters that have come through here.”

The boys run off, and Tom, startled, continues on his way. Unlike the young boy’s description, Tom was not a tall man, he was rather stout and burly. In fact, there was nothing super extraordinary about him, he looked like any other hiker going through this area. That is except for the 5 foot long rifle strung on his back. His father gave him the rifle when he first started hunting and he has used it on every job since. Upon arriving in Goldcrest, Tom is greeted by the mayor of the town. A man named Jeremy Oliver. Jeremey beamed at Tom through bright green eyes. As Tom looked around, he could see that the young boy was not lying. The town did have a decrepit look to it. There were still plenty of people walking about, but it seemed run down and felt somewhat gray. The air, as Tom walked through it, smelled faintly of burnt matches.

“Welcome to Goldcrest! I am Jeremey Oliver, the mayor here. You are Thomas Lester, are you not?” Jeremey had an excessive smile that made Tom nervous.

Tom replied rather uncomfortably, obviously flustered by his erratic tone,“Call me Tom, please.”

“Sure thing Tom. Would you like to grab something to eat while we discuss?”

“That sounds wonderful, I’m famished.”

Jeremey brought them into a small pub on what looked to be a main street, and they sat at an empty booth. A waiter walked up to them.

“What can I do for you boys today?”

She was a pleasant looking young woman, with a rather sad expression on her face. Jeremey answered first.

“I will have your biscuits and gravy please and thank you!” He said, the large grin never leaving his face. Tom replied after a short while, looking at the menu.

“Just a regular cheeseburger for me. Medium rare. And a beer.”

The waiter just nodded and walked back to the kitchen. Tom looked up to see Jeremey still smiling.

“So what am I looking for out here?” Tom asked, even though he knew exactly what Jeremey was going to say.

“Why dragons of course!” He says this so loud, the handful of other people in the pub turn to look at him. “Well, just one dragon to be clear. Don't want to get you overwhelmed.”

“Yes, I ran into one of the local boys on the way here, and he told me multiple other dragon hunters have made their way through here and failed.” Tom says somewhat grimly.

“Sadly, they were not up to the challenge, which is why I hired you! The best dragon hunter in the Valley!”

“What does this dragon look like?”

Jeremey’s unwavering smile fades for a second. “No one has seen it.”

“No one has seen it? What do you mean, how is that possible?”

“It only attacks at night.”

“And no one wakes up to see it?”

“No. I think it puts us under some sort of spell.”

Tom sits in silence for a few minutes to think about what he’s just been told.

“Okay, I’ll do it. But I need a place to stay.”

“ Wonderful!” Jeremey’s bizarre smile returns “There’s a beautiful inn down the road.”

The inn was not beautiful. There was a sign hanging outside that read Three Rivers Inn, to which Tom slightly chuckled at, considering there weren't any rivers nearby. The outside looked like it had recently gotten a fresh coat of paint, but it was already starting to peel.

The inside wasn’t much better, considering that with Tom’s first step, he tripped on the uneven floor boards.

“Hello, and welcome to the Three Rivers Inn. How can I help you today Mr. Oliver?” The attendant, whose name tag read Brooke, had the same smile as Jeremy, which didn’t falter once.

“Hello there Brooke, a room for Mr. Lester, here.”

“Wonderful, here is your key.”

Tom looked down at the key, now in his hand, and saw the large number 1 printed on the tag, and he wondered if anyone else was actually staying here. Tom walked to his room, and opened the door. First thing he noticed was the smell. It wasn’t a terribly bad smell, it was just unnatural. A bit like drywall, and a hint of chlorine. The bed looked comfortable enough, and after a long day of walking, and whatever this town was, he was ready for a good night's sleep. He was awoken suddenly, by loud screams coming from outside. Through the window it looked as if the sun had fallen into the center of the town. Tom ran out of the inn, rifle in hand, to see a building across the street had caught fire and was ablaze with raging ferocity. He asked one of the others standing around and made sure that no one was still inside, then asked what he really wanted to know.

“Was it the dragon?”

“Of course it was, what else could have done something like this?”

Tom took a quick look around the rest of the town before heading back to his room. As he sat down on the bed, he pulled a notebook out from under his pillow and started writing.

The townspeople seem to actually think that there is a dragon here tormenting them. As I took a closer look around at some of the buildings near me, I saw a few had some severe fire damage, but all of the buildings that did, seemed to have been burned at different points in time. So whatever, or whoever, is doing this doesn't have enough fire power or time, to hit more than one building at a time before someone would catch them. I may actually have a difficult job on my hands here.