The Last Valley

“There weren’t always dragons in the Valley.” Gerit said interrupting Malia’s story.

Grabbing a nearby stick he began stoking the small fire bringing new embers to life. Slightly lifting his head, Gerit looked across the smouldering pit with his one good eye and caught the young red headed girl tilting her head to the side and glaring disapprovingly.

“Do you want to tell the story?” Malia emphasised, dropping her hands to her side and prolonging each syllable. “Because I asked you before and you said no.”

At nine years old Malia was a beautiful, sweet child with ringlets in her hair and a skip in her step. She was too young to know a time without dragons, a time when the Valley flourished and held an abundance of life and as such was still able to see the world with wonder and awe. The boy who sat beside her, Tremian, was her brother and a year younger. He was not her biological brother, not that Malia knew any different. When Tremian was an infant his parents were killed by a rampaging dragon. Feeling ill for the boy, Malia’s parents adopted him.

“Just eat your food. I am putting the fire out soon and then you will be put to bed.” Gerit said.

“But it’s still light.”

“Don’t argue with Gerit.” Serana, Malia’s mother said taking a seat beside her daughter. She was a tall woman with a slender figure. She bore straight black hair and like her daughter’s it too curled to ringlets about two thirds of the way down and reached the middle of her back. “We need to be far more careful now. We don’t have the protection of the mountains anymore. We cannot afford to be lax. If a dragon sees the fire in the night they may be drawn to it.”

“Really?” Malia cried excitedly. “Do you think one will come tonight? Do you think it will be a big one or just one of the smaller ones?”

“We don’t want a dragon to come.” Gerit said gruffly.

“But what if it just flew over us? If it didn’t land? If it just flew over us that would be okay. I just want to see another dragon.”

“No. Now hurry up and get to bed.” Gerit said.

“But father and Nay are not back yet. Can’t I stay up until they get back?”

“Just finish your food and get into bed. You don’t have to sleep but you do have to be quiet. If you fall asleep before your father gets home I will have him wake you.” Serana said.

“It’s not fair.” Malia complained.

“It is what it is. Now say goodnight.”

With a great sigh emphasising her dismay Malia rose and then forcefully helped her brother up. Walking around the fire Malia affectionately wrapped her arms around Gerit who in turn hugged the small child. Kissing the grizzled old man Malia walked back to her mother and repeated the nighttime ceremony.

Tremian however stood where he was, on the opposite side of the fire pit and waved. He did not like to go near Gerit. He did not like the look or feel of Gerit’s burnt and scarred skin that ran the length of his left side. He especially did not like Gerit’s yellowed and dead eye staring upon him. It made him uneasy and gave him nightmares when he slept and ill thoughts throughout the day.

Dropping his hand Tremian turned to his mother and silently hugged her goodnight.

When the children were under the covers of their sleeping sacks Serana came to sit by Gerit.

“He will come to you one day.” Serana said grabbing Gerit’s stick and jostling the flames.

“Don’t push him. I know what I look like. I know it’s not pleasant. A reward for surviving the dragon’s breath. But the alternative is not something I would want to trade for.”

“Nobody would.”

“I will have to make another patch. He seemed a little more responsive when that was on.”

Glancing up Serana peered through the canopy to the sky searching for any signs of danger.

“Do you ever think that maybe we are not doing the right thing? That maybe we shouldn’t leave the Valley? I mean nobody knows what lies beyond the mountains.” Serana contemplated softly.

“I do!” Malia piped up.

“Go to sleep.” Serana ordered.

“But I know what’s there.” Malia replied indignantly. “I spoke to a lot of people before we left the village and they told me.”

“And how do they know?” Serana asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe they have been.” Malia replied optimistically.

“They haven’t been. They are just telling stories. Now go to sleep.”

“But don’t you want me to tell you what’s there?”

“No. I want you to do as you’re told and to lie down. Just watch the sky and tell me if you see any dragons.” Serana replied.

“Fine.” Malia said, not happy that she had to go to bed so early and that she could not tell her tales. Rolling so she was flat on her back Malia stared through the canopy to look at the evening sky.

“Every night I ask that question then I look around and see what has become of the Valley.” Gerit said before interrupting himself with a coughing fit. Covering his mouth Gerit hunched over and clenched his chest.

“They will be back with water soon enough. Then you should drink and rest yourself. You are not well.” Serana said placing her hand upon Gerit’s back.

“I am fine. I will be fine…”

“Dragon!” Malia gasped cutting Gerit off. Sitting erect in her makeshift bed Malia gazed intently and pointed gleefully. Immediately Gerit and Serana followed to where Malia’s eyes were drawn.

The dragon appeared suddenly and silently. Gliding in a wide loop it circled the forest and the small encampment, gradually descending. The canopy obscured much of the sky and offered a poor view to monitor the dragon. When the dragon was out of sight they cast their eyes to the ground where the shadows told of the dragons movements.

Bringing a finger to his lips Gerit brought everyone to silence. When he was sure that Serana and the two children were watching him he signalled for them to move southwards. Leaving their items behind the three crept as quiet as they could.

Keeping his eye keen Gerit cautiously walked to the nearest tree where he had placed his shield and sword. Attaching his sword belt to his waist Gerit picked up his steel shield and filled it with loose dirt. Quietly stepping back to the fire he upturned the shield smothering the fire with the dirt at once. Strapping his shield to his arm Gerit hastily joined the others behind a thick, dead tree.

Holding his hand straight with his palm bared Gerit motioned for everyone to remain steady and to wait for his sign.

The dragon was close; close enough to see its black, palm sized scales glistening in the waning sun light. It was not the largest dragon they had known, it looked only two horses high and maybe three or four horses to its tail. It was still large enough by far that that they would offer no resistance should the dragon find them and chose to fight.

The dragon made another pass over, this time closer, which rattled the trees and shook the canopy. The beast’s belly scraped the tallest braches, snapping them and sending them to the forest floor.

The dragon was too low now to attempt another loop and descended abruptly, crashing through the tops of the canopy, caring little for what lay below. Loud cracks reverberated through the forest as thick arms of trees gave way, fracturing under the beast’s weight. Calculating that the dragon’s vision would be at its most impaired, Gerit dropped his hand and pointed to a moss covered log signalling that that is where they needed to go.

Picking up Tremian, Serana held him close to her chest and as fast as she dared ran to the opposite side of the log. Holding onto her mother’s simple gown Malia followed.

Making themselves as small as possible the three crawled under the log ensuring nothing was left straggling in view. Squeezing herself to the front Malia peered out from the small gap the log offered.

Keeping himself close to the dead tree Gerit turned his eye to where the dragon had landed. He was far more vulnerable behind the tree than he would have been if he had of joined the others under the log, but the tree offered a far better view. He could still hide if he was careful, more crucially he could direct Serana and the children if the dragon turned and approached them. If the worst should happen he was in a better position to cause a distraction to draw the dragon’s attention which may give the others a much needed moment to flee.

Clutching his chest Gerit took several deep breaths. He could feel his throat becoming dry and irritated. His lungs felt heavy, as though they were filling with a substance other than the air he inhaled. He needed to clear his airway but he dare not cough.

The dragon emerged from the trees and was at most one hundred feet away. It had found their camp and did not seem at all pleased that it had visitors.

Letting out a roar that shook the forest the dragon craned its long neck and searched its immediate vicinity for any obvious signs of where the intruders had fled. Locking its eyes forward the dragon slowly thundered towards Gerit, its hefty weight vibrating the earth with every step.

When the dragon reached the tree Gerit was hiding behind it stopped and suspiciously eyed its surroundings. Holding his breath Gerit slowly inched his way around the tree trunk making him level with the dragon’s hind leg.

Sniffing the air the dragon followed Gerit’s scent wrapping its neck around the trunk until its bared teeth were a fraction of an inch away from Gerit’s leg. Frozen like stone Gerit could feel the dragon’s warm breath through his leathers. Fighting the desire to breathe Gerit slowly raised his hand cupping his mouth and pinching his nose closed. If he breathed it was over. The dragon would hear his exhale or his cough and its daggered teeth would make short work of him. If he ran out of air though he would fair no better and he could feel his air was very short.

A crack of a branch resonated through the forest and was soon followed by a wet thud. Immediately the dragon drew its head back and without hesitating bound towards the sound, felling small trees and flattening the forest’s foliage as it went.

Once the dragon had fled Gerit fell to his knees taking long deep breaths through coughed splutters.

Emerging from beneath the log Serana ran to Gerit’s aid. Malia followed holding Tremian’s hand making sure he did not get lost or fall behind.

Using the tree for support Gerit rose to his feet dismissing Serana. “I am fine. We have to go.” Gerit coughed.

“What about my father and Nay?” Malia asked.

“They will find us, do not worry about that but we need to move while we can, while the beast is distracted.”

With haste the four darted eastwards away from the dragon’s path and towards where Nay and Malia’s father had ventured to fetch water.

Reaching a shallow creek they paused and scanned the area for any sign of Nay and Serana’s husband, Phillip.

“They are not here.” Serana stated clearly panicked.

“They are not but we have to move on. They will follow when they can. They will be fine.” Gerit said.

“They cannot be far from here. They would have come here to get water.”

“It does not matter now. If we do not get somewhere safe, away from that dragon, it won’t matter if we find your husband or not. We will get somewhere safe and then we will assess what we can do. They are most likely already hiding and are safe. Waiting here will not help us.” Gerit said.

“Then where do we go from here?”

“East. To the edge of the forest if we can get there. Then when it is safe we will come back to find them.”

A small twig snapped followed by the rustling of undergrowth drawing their attention southwards. It was not the sound of a dragon trampling the woods, it sounded more like a small creature fleeing the dragon’s wrath. Not willing to gamble their lives on an assumption the four quickly darted behind the nearest tree.

From the forest a boy, not quite a man, dressed in a tunic and trousers of greens and browns, jumped over a small bush then ducked under a low lying branch to emerge at the creek bed. Short on breath he looked around to see if he was alone. He was a fit young man with short, dark hair and dark eyes and was yet too sprout any hairs on his chin. The tips of his left ear and cheek had been lightly burned and above his right eye a deep gash had healed to a scar.

“Nay!” Malia cried dropping Tremian’s hand and running to her friend before either Serana or Gerit could grab her. Wrapping her hands around Nay’s waist Malia looked up at the older boy eyes, glad he was alright.

“Where is everyone?” Nay asked wrapping one arm around Malia whilst continuing to scan the grounds.

“They are here.” Malia replied. “They are just hiding. Where is my father?”

Before Nay could answer Gerit had stepped from behind a tree along with Serana who held Tremian’s hand.

“Where is Phillip?”

“He is coming. We saw the dragon land near camp so we ran further afield to try draw it away. When it came for us we split. We were to meet back here. He should not be long. I hope he is not long.” Nay said.

Releasing one of his two waterskins he passed it to Gerit.

A moment later another twig snapped. No one moved. They were all expecting it to be Phillip and when he emerged Malia broke from Nay and ran to her father. Phillip was a thickset man with large arms and legs and a belly that was not quite taut. He wore leathers like Gerit but carried no weapons to aid him. He was bald and housed a black and bushy beard. On his sides he carried another two waterskins.

“Where did that dragon come from? It seemed to appear from nowhere?” Phillip said making his way to the creek where his wife and son, Gerit, and Nay waited.

“I don’t know.” Gerit replied.”

“It was right next to us. I could almost touch its foot!” Malia blurted excitedly.

“Did it see the camp’s fire?” Phillip asked ignoring his daughter’s outburst.

“Doubtful. The fire was not large and the day still light. The trees should have shielded us from sight. But we do not have time to dwell on this now we need to move.” Gerit said.

Stepping beside Nay, Malia placed her hand in his and smiled up at him.

When everyone had caught their breath they set off at a quickened but more sustainable pace.

For nearly two miles they trudged in silence with their ears perked and their eyes peeled to the sky searching for any signs the dragon was following.

Spotting something out of the corner of her eye Malia stopped and pulled Nay back with her.

“What is it?” Nay asked.

“I don’t know.” Malia said adjusting her position to try to see around the trees. “I think it’s a person. They might be in trouble.”

Releasing her grip on Nay’s hand Malia bound into the forest with Nay following right behind.

Seeing the two disappear Gerit halted and cursed the two children. “What are you doing? We don’t have time for this.”

“I found a person… But they’re dead.” Malia announced.

Stepping up behind Malia, Gerit placed his hand on her shoulder and gazed at what the little girl had found. Against a tree a corpse lay; what was left of it was hunched and collapsed to one side. The clothes were in tatters and much of the flesh and muscle had been stripped by hungry and desperate animals. The little that remained of the body still looked fresh and raw. The kill was recent and the predators were likely not far, they would have been scared away by the dragon’s roar but they would be back.

“Let us go. We don’t want to be here when the wolves or whatever did this returns.” Gerit said pulling on Malia’s shoulder to get her away from the unsightly corpse.

“They have a satchel.” Nay said spotting a wide red bag that had been tossed and lay not far from the body.”

“That’s my satchel.” Malia said indignantly. “I found it.”

“You found the corpse, you can have that.” Nay jested and dashed towards the bag.

With all her speed Malia chased after.

Reaching the satchel first Nay lifted it off the ground but before he could raise it out of Malia’s reach she had gripped her hands around the bottom of the pouch and yanked it from his grip. Underestimating how heavy the satchel was Malia’s arms fell with the satchel and went straight to the ground. Raising her brows and widening her eyes Malia stuck her tongue out celebrating her victory over the far taller Nay.

“You two, quit messing around.” Phillip ordered.

“Hurry up and lets go. We have a little light left and we will use it. Now take your satchel and let’s go.” Gerit said continuing on from Phillip’s words.

Placing the strap of the satchel over her shoulder so it sat across her body Malia made her way back to her mother and brother. When Gerit had returned to the front they continued eastward.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to carry it?” Nay asked seeing Malia struggle with the weight of the satchel.

“I am fine!” Malia asserted.

“What is even in there?”

Curious, Malia opened the satchel’s flap and placed her hand inside. Cupping her hand around something hard she pulled out a large and colourfully painted stone. The stone had been crudely shaped and now resembled somewhat of an egg.

“Rocks!” Malia said happy with her find.

Glancing over his shoulder Gerit took a look at what Malia proudly presented.

“They were an egg thief.” Gerit advised.

“Doesn’t look much like an egg. Looks like a rock. It has paint on it and it’s not even.” Malia said derisively. Turning the coloured rock in her hand Malia tried to spot something she missed on her first glance.

“That is because it is a rock. They shape them and paint them so they look like an egg then sneak into the dragon’s nest and replace the real eggs with the fake. If they survive they can sell the eggs and make a great profit.” Gerit explained.

“Does that really work? Because these are terrible eggs. If it was me I would not fall for this trick.” Malia confirmed.

“It works sometimes. The dragons don’t pay particularly good attention to their eggs, only that they are there. If the work is good the dragon may try to hatch the stone for a while. If the work is bad the dragon will be quicker to recognise the fake. That one looks like its crafter did not put much effort into its creation. I doubt it would fool the dragon for very long if it did at all.”

“Does that mean there was a dragon’s nest near us?” Malia grinned excitedly.

“I don’t know and I don’t want to know. You do not want to get in the way of a mother and her child, that goes tenfold more for a dragon and her egg. You are best to get rid of the stones, they are worthless and will just weigh you down.”

“But I like them. And I don’t have a real egg.”

“Then at least check the bag to make sure that is all that is in there.”

Keeping pace Malia opened the satchel further and moved several of the rocks around checking what lay beneath them.

“Just rocks.” Malia affirmed.

When they reached the edge of the forest Gerit, Serana, and Phillip decided to travel through the night and across the plains. The mountain garrison of Murul was not far and they could reach it by morning. There they would be able to rest and trade for the few items they had lost.

Once the sun had faded in full it did not take long for Tremian to fall tired where upon his mother picked him up and carried him in her arms. A few hours after Malia was picked up by her father and then she too was asleep.

Awoken by dawn’s first light Malia gazed around feeling a little hazy and disorientated. Tremian still slept but everyone else looked worn and tired.

Seeing his daughter awake Phillip kissed her good morning and pointed to the mesa that stood amidst the flat, green plain. “We’re almost there sweetheart.” They were close enough to see several sentries scattered throughout the mesa’s high stone walls keeping watch of the grasslands below and the forest to the west. “We are going to stay there for a night or two, if they will let us in. Then we will continue southwards.”

“Why can’t we just stay there? It looks safe.” Malia said.

“Whilst the dragons roam the Valley there is nowhere that is safe.” Phillip replied.

“Look.” Serana said gesturing with her head towards the mesa and the Sentries. “What are they doing?”

The sentries that moments before had stood like statues had now drawn a red flag in each hand. Stretching their arms out as far as they could reach the sentries brought the flags above their heads so they touched then stretched them to the sides of their body, repeating in unison.

“Dragon!” Gerit yelled. “The dragon is coming! Run! Get to the mountain base!”

Clutching tightly to her father’s chest Malia watched the dragon’s black mass appear in the sky behind them. The dragon was far but was approaching with incredible speed and its size was becoming great.

“Hurry!” Gerit yelled checking no one had fallen behind. “Get to the rocks! Hide amongst them! Forget the path we will never make it!”

Seeing the dragon closing the distance the sentinels stopped their signals and retreated to the safety of the many nooks and alcoves the mesa provided.

Reaching the base of the mesa Phillip found a small cavity and placed Malia inside making sure she could not be seen.

“Stay here.” Phillip ordered.

“Where are you going?” Malia cried in panic. “Stay with me there is room.” she pleaded squashing herself as far to one side as she could.”

Shaking his head Phillip kissed his daughter’s forehead. As small as Malia was there simply was no room for him.

“Stay here. I will not be far. There is another cove just over there.” Phillip pointed making sure his daughter could see where he planned to go. “We will be fine. Just stay in here and we will be fine. Do not leave for any reason.” Phillip instructed as quickly and as calmly as he could, trying not to alarm his daughter any more than she already was.

When Malia was as safe as he could make her Phillip rose and went to aid his wife and son.

The dragon landed quaking the earth. Giving off a tremendous roar the beast announced its arrival then began sniffing the air to locate its prey. Stepping onto the larger of the rocks the dragon followed its nose. When its prey did not eventuate it eyed the land around the mesa. It knew they were here, somewhere, it just could not see them.

Clutching her satchel to her chest Malia shook uncontrollably and stared upwards. She could see the fine dust of the rock being ground down by the dragon’s weight and fall against her lap and forehead. It was right above her, close enough that she could hear and feel its warm breath.

After a few minutes with nothing moving the dragon swung its tail in frustration, crumbling pillars of stone and sending the debris far and wide.

Appreciating how easy it was to crush the soft rocks the dragon turned its attention to the next pile of stones and destroyed them. Finding nothing of interest the dragon wasted no time in continuing its rampage.

Stepping to the side of a large stone Gerit watched the dragon tear the terrain apart. Many of the stones near Serana and Tremian had been destroyed in the dragon’s anger leaving their shelter almost isolated. If the dragon swiped their tail towards them again they would have nowhere to hide assuming they survived the impact.

Stepping a little further from his stone Gerit waved his hand gaining Serana’s attention. Ceasing his hand’s movement Gerit signalled for Serana to wait.

When the dragon swung its tail its head jerked in the opposite direction giving Serana a brief moment where she would be outside the dragon’s vision.

Gesturing furiously Gerit signalled for Serana to run.

Scooping up her son, Serana bolted across the rocky field.

Keeping his eye on the dragon Gerit dropped his hand when he saw the beast’s head turn back their way, signalling to Serana to do the same

Falling prone Serana inched herself as close to one of the fallen stones as she could.

She was not quick enough.

The dragon saw her fall and charged, not caring for the uneven ground.

Drawing his sword Gerit dashed from the high ground. Meeting the dragon midway Gerit raised his shield and swung his sword. The sword connected with the dragon’s scales but did nothing except anger the beast further. Jumping to the side Gerit evaded the dragon’s maws.

“Run!” Gerit roared expecting Serana to flee whilst the dragon was distracted. Swinging his sword to keep the dragon’s attention Gerit dove behind a pillar. The pillar lasted no time and was immediately destroyed by a swipe from the dragon’s claw. Rolling to his knee Gerit raised his shield just in time for the dragon’s teeth to clench hold. Slipping his hand free from the straps Gerit abandoned his shield and fled to find another pillar to hide behind.

Shaking its head viciously the dragon let go of the shield, sending it afar.

“Are you sure there is no egg in the satchel!” Phillip called to his daughter, the terror in his voice clear and thick.

Opening her satchel Malia began to toss the coloured stones aside making sure each was in fact a poor replica.

“Stones! They are all stones.” Malia cried in panic. “That’s all I have. They are just…”

Pulling the last stone out Malia’s voice froze as did her heart. The last stone was not like the others. It was smooth and symmetrical and coloured far more beautifully than anything she had seen. It was the darkest of blacks with a tint of gold that shone when the sun hit it just right and showed tiny scaled markings throughout the shell.

“Malia! What is it Malia? Do you have the egg?”

“If I give the egg back will the dragon stop?”

“Give me the egg Malia. She is here for her egg. Give me the egg and I will give it to her. Just stay there I am coming to get it.”

Squeezing out of the tight fissure where he had hid, Phillip rounded the side of the mesa and made his way around a tall stone obelisk. Reaching where he had left Malia, Phillip knelt down but he did not find his daughter, only her six stone eggs.

Climbing upon the largest stone that was left Malia held the dragon’s egg with both hands and placed it as high as she could above her head.

“Mrs Dragon.” Malia called trying to get the beasts attention but the dragon was far too engrossed with trying to devour Gerit to hear the young girl’s small voice. “Mrs Dragon!” Malia repeated with urgency. Rotating the egg Malia managed to catch the sun’s rays causing the egg to glint brightly.

Seeing the light the dragon broke from its onslaught and turned to face Malia.

Smiling Malia took a step closer. Bringing the egg to chest height she pressed it forward and presented it to the dragon. “I am sorry. I did not mean to take your egg. I did not know it was in the satchel. You can have it back but please don’t hurt us anymore.”

Curiously the dragon approached and sniffed the egg then sniffed Malia. Stepping back the dragon lowered its head, bared its teeth and let loose a furious roar. When the dragon had finished asserting its anger it followed with a torrent of flames large enough to fully engulf the young girl.

“Malia!” Phillip cried and in disbelief collapsed to his knees. He was helpless. He could do nothing but watch his daughter burn.

From the pillars Gerit and Serana ran, their mouths agape with what they had just witnessed.

When the torrent of fire ceased the rocks were melted, the air was burnt, Malia’s clothes were disintegrated, but she stood, unharmed, unblemished and still holding the dragon’s egg.

Bewildered the dragon stared; it had not expected Malia to be standing and it did not know what to make of the phenomenon.

After a moment the dragon awoke from its queried daze and bound forward. Before anyone knew what was happening the dragon had grabbed Malia in its claw and had leaped into the sky.