The Dragons of the Valley

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. About a thousand years after the apocalypse, groups of people who remained on Earth, started slowly claiming the land. Among them, the Kanarian people chose to make the Great Mountains, known as Himalayas to the pre-apocalyptic population, their refuge. While trying to survive through the wilderness and the forces of nature, one Shaman among them had a vision that led them to a cave deep within these mountains where they found the first egg. And hence, begun the Age of Dragons.

The Dragons made the Mountains their home and inside them, provided protection to Kanarians to create their own society, detached from the outside world. The civilization revived outside and created a new political order in the world. Earth came to be governed by five Empires whose leaders sit on the Earth Council. The region around the mountains fell under the purview of Rion Empire. The Rionnese leaders respected the Kanarian traditions and let the Mountains remain a protected region within their land.

The Mountains, dragons and the legends of Kanarian people were still a source of fascination for the entire world, so the industry around Dragon Tourism within Rion grew popular. But often some brave visitors, despite the advice of the local guides, would venture deep into the mountain range to see the dragons and would mostly meet with deathly outcomes. For the safety of everyone and to let the Kanarian people live in peace, agreements were made to let outsiders visit certain regions but stay away from the Kanarian villages and regions deep in the range as these were venerated grounds to them; moreover, going there would be extremely dangerous.

Having these factors in mind, Jay couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy when he conceded to the demands of the two tourists he was guiding through the Valley, to go up to a clearing at a high point on a peak towards the North East side of the Valley. They had showed up late last evening, just as he was about to pull down the shutters of his compact one room office that he runs on the ground floor of his house in a town on the foot-hills of the mountain range. He had been hesitant to accept the job even yesterday because it was right at the beginning of the Dragon nesting season during which no expedition guide would take someone through the Dragon Valley. The valley had been ascribed that name precisely because of this reason - beginning of every winter, many dragons come down to this Valley, from the higher mountains to lay their eggs. Before he could say something or even make a quote, they offered a handsome price which was twice what he usually charged his patrons, so he hid his hesitation. He thought to himself, “The season is just beginning… it shouldn’t be big threat yet. Also, the extra cash won’t hurt before the off-season”. Business had been slow for him this year; so he took the job.

He got up at dawn today to prepare his gear for the hike, following his usual routine, but he didn’t bother calling his assistant since it was a small group. He loaded extra water for the two tourists in his mountain jeep and checked the charge – enough to go the gate for the reserved forest area, from where they will have to continue on foot, and back. As he was doing this in his garage, he heard footsteps approaching his front yard. It was the tourists.

Surprised, he commented, “You’re a bit early.”

“We just wanted to save time and get back early”, replied one of them brusquely in such a way that his reply sounded less like an explanation and more like an instruction.

“Sure, we’ll be ready to leave in five minutes”, said Jay.

His partner seemed not to pay any attention to this exchange and proceeded to approach the jeep and throw her bag in the back seat, then stood surveying the garage. The man was tall and lean but with broad shoulders and long dark hair that he tied in a neat tail behind his head. He had smooth skin which made him look young although there was something about his demeanor that made him seem much older and mature. The woman was nearly as tall as her partner and had short hair which ended an inch above her shoulder. She too, had unblemished skin which belied her age. Their comfort with which they entered his garage and their commanding attitude made Jay a little uneasy, so he rushed with the preparations and they left quickly.

In the forest, Jay led them through the usual route with well-trodden paths where the grass and shrubs were beaten by the feet of several travelers – slowly ascending the mountains and going around the Kanarian villages. No traveler who knew these forests well would dare go off these paths because going astray in this region could cost one’s life in so many ways – being torched and eaten by a small dragon able to hunt between the trees is only the last of them. He walked through the terrain effortlessly, having grown around these forests and having received plenty of intense survival training during his stint in the Eastern guard of the Rionnese army, this was a walk in the park for him. He paused every now and then to make sure the tourists are doing fine, but surprisingly, they had no trouble keeping up with him and showed no signs of fatigue. Every now and then he would share facts, history and legends about the Valley and the villages. Although, the two tourists didn’t seem too interested in whatever he was saying, but he didn’t care and carried on, he wanted to get this job done soon too.

The ground slowly became rockier and the tree cover less dense as they reached higher. The dense fog that was almost a perpetual phenomenon in this valley cleared up a little at this hour as the sun got brighter. A small cloud drifted in front of the peak opposite them on the east side and the sun shone through the tall Deodar trees. They could now make out the bottom of the valley towards their right where the crumbling levee lay from an ancient time. The forest around them was very so quiet that apart from Jay’s voice sharing some fact bout the old dam project there was nothing but the sound of the wind rustling the leaves, the echo of a stream flowing somewhere and the occasional chirp of a bird. Then suddenly, a shrill roar pierced through this silence and they stopped in their tracks.

“Look there!”, said Jay, pointing towards the sky through a gap between the trees in front of them. It was a dragon with its wings partially coiled diving nose first towards the bottom of the Valley. It was a few hundred feet higher than them when they spotted it but probably half a kilometer away. The scales on his brown body glistened against the Sun as it descended rapidly, making it look like it was made of copper. It descended much below the group’s altitude before it threw its enormous wings open, casting a huge shadow on the forest canopy under it, and it glided through the Valley with ease. They all kept watching it fly away till it was almost out of sight.

Jay turned to the others with a broad smile, “amazing, aren’t they?”. But the two seemed more shaken than impressed.

It was when they had taken a break to hydrate near the ridge of the mountain they were climbing, the woman, zooming at the adjacent mountain to the North through her binoculars, said, “There is a small plateau above that cliff on the mountain in front. Take us there.”

“Umm, that is way off our route, we’ll get late getting back to the jeep”, said Jay.

Cutting him off, she replied, “We can make it we keep up the pace, we should go.”

“Look, it’s not just that. That region is too deep into the forest. Only Kanarian folk can cross that region and it is the Empire’s law to respect Kanarian rules. Moreover, we don’t want to be close to a Dragon nest accidentally.”

“Your advertisement in your office said that you are an expert in these forests. Are you telling me that you can’t navigate outside the tourist trails? That’s not why we hired you.” she said raising her voice. Jay was taken aback by the caustic tone of her reply and this attack on his ego, left him lost for words for moment.

The woman’s partner interjected to settle the negotiation, “We will pay you 1000 Creds by the hour for the extra time. Now come on, we should move.” Hesitantly, Jay agreed. The need for money again clouded his judgement, not that he was a greedy, but times had been rough since his mother’s health started deteriorating two years ago and he took the burden of taking care of her. The job of an independent tour guide made barely enough for himself, but still he had to be the one to take care of his mother, because they have no one else to depend on. Hence, suppressing his apprehensions, bolstering his confidence in his skills, he led them towards their new destination.

The climb on this part of the mountain was much harder. Jay had to lead the group through the forest without a clear trail, and this was no mindless task. He took them through a route that first went down towards a narrow stream from where they began the ascent again. He walked in front of them, making marks on the trees at regular intervals with his knife – a safe check to avoid being lost. The wind became much fiercer as they climbed higher towards the clearing. This part of the mountain was more slippery and steeper. As they climbed on, he realized his heartbeat now growing heavier, though he wasn’t sure if it was the exertion or the fear. He had his eyes peeled for signs of movement the entire time and this time he wasn’t sharing facts with them, he walked quietly to be able to hear anything unusual.

At last, they reached the edge of the tree line where they clearing started. It was a patch of undulating ground covered with just wild grass and some rocks, sloping downwards, till it ended in an abrupt cliff. He took a deep breath and exhaled, “Here we are. I think we have made it in good time.” He looked at his watch. “Alright, we’ll rest for 15 minutes and then we need to head back to…”

The two tourists walked past him into the clearing. As he did so, the man said in flat tone, “Thank you, you have been helpful, now you should stay back.”

“Hey! Stop! We have to stay under the tree cover to avoid being spotted by a dragon. Hey, are you two listening.” He yelled as they paid no attention to him and marched forward. Then he noticed something strange in the direction they were heading. A few of yards before the cliff, there was a large pit surrounded by grass that seemed to be scorched by a flame. And in the pit, an orb of shiny orange, the size of a large watermelon – a dragon egg. This was the first time he had seen one, but he knew what he was seeing, and it looked amazing like a giant precious stone. He knew how a nest and an egg are supposed to look from the stories he had heard through his interactions with his Kanarian acquaintances. He felt a lump in his throat, not knowing what to say or do. He had no idea who these mysterious strangers were and what was their mission. All he felt was deceived and used.

The woman approached the nest and pulled a thick circular tile from her backpack with two handles on of its face. She pulled on the handles and the tile extended to a big silver cylinder, and she unlidded it. The man lifted the egg out of the nest and placed it inside the cylinder.

Jay snapped back from his confused and emotional state and realized what he was witnessing. He ran towards them and stopping behind the woman, he kept his hand on her shoulder and said in a calm but resolute voice, “I can’t let you do that. That is against the law and it is disrespectful. Put the egg down.”

The woman gently handed the cylinder to the man, and then she moved so quickly that everything happened in a second before Jay could react – she held his hand on her shoulder with her opposite hand and pulling him ahead with that hand she jammed her other elbow in his chest, blowing the wind out of him, then she released his hand and turning around landed a hook on his nose. He took two steps back with a bleeding nose to the edge of the nest. By this time the man had attached the cylinder to his backpack.

Jay wiped some blood with the back of his hand and stood up straight. “If you had ever read a couple of books on Dragonology, you’d know that dragons can sense their eggs for thousands of miles and the mother dragon would find you when it realizes its egg is gone.”

The man grinned and replied, “That’s something we’re not worried about.” He then pulled out a gun and pointed towards Jay. Jay knew he needed to react quick, so he lunged forward pushing the gun out of his way and kicked the man in his knees. The man went off balance and fired a charge of plasma from his gun into the sky. Jay pushed him down to the ground and then blocked an incoming punch from the woman, delivering a jab on her face, then threw an upper cut which was blocked by her. The woman was quicker than Jay and kicked him in the abdomen with her knee, followed by another kick that pushed him away. The man had found his dropped gun again and while Jay was regaining his balance, he shot at him. This time the shot hit him and he fell back outside the pit, rolling towards the cliff. He tried to grab some grass with one hand, putting all the energy that was left in him into it, but the grass was too slippery and he rolled off the edge.