The Valley of Dragons

There weren't always dragons in the Valley.

It used to be a safe place where people raised their sheep, plowed their fields, and lived long and happy lives with their families without a care in the world. There was no fear of winged monstrosities blocking out the sun and scorching the fields. People didn't think about sending their sons to fight creatures that embodied the Devil himself—or surrendering their hard-earned wealth to the sky tyrants.

Entire cities were torched to ruin during dragon attacks. Hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children killed under dragon fire- torn asunder with claws and teeth. Their bodies broken as massive tails crashed down on their homes. The world had been a simpler place before the dragons entered the Valley. Peace was but a far distant memory for the good people now. Now everyone lived in fear of when the next attack would come. Fear that their children would be the next ones snatched up by a passing devil. Resources once used to feed and care for the folk too hard up to care for themselves were now used to fund armies, build barricades, and create weapons to protect the wealthier cities. Farms and small fishing villages be damned to fire and ash.

The garrisons and forts that lined the outer parameters of the Valley had been set up to fend off dragon attacks. At first, the people saw them as beacons of hope- an attempt to bring about change and turn the tide in favor of the citizens. Only a few saw them for what they truly were: A waste of time and money. Dragons flew above the clouds, riding lighting storms and channeling their destructive energy. They tunneled underground, erupting in an explosion of dirt and rubble in the center of towns or fields. Dragons could not be stopped by stone walls like human invaders. It wasn't long before more people understood this and lost hope in the armies. Unrest bubbled among the common folk. Protests and strikes brought the strong hand of the king down upon them. The Valley was no longer a safe place for the likes of mankind- so they made the decision to leave.

Most people have their limits on how much pain they can tolerate. After decades of one attack after another, the people of the Valley finally had enough. Whole towns were emptied within weeks. By five years after the commoners started to leave, the folk of the larger cities were tired of starving themselves with their pride and followed. Tax for living and importing food had gotten so high that even the wealthy couldn't take another year. It wasn't long after the rich began to leave that the Valley was emptied.

And so it remained for decades. Homes that had belonged to families for generations were left to rot and fall apart. Fields became overgrown and unharvested; Fruit-bearing trees were left unpicked with their crop dropping to their base only to molder and decay mostly uneaten. The Valley fell to ruin and memory. It became a left untouched and forgotten place where even the bravest souls would not dare to venture. Many tried to reclaim the Valley- for king, glory, the honor of their families, and vengeance for the blood spilled on their ancestors' soil. All to no avail. Their blood fed the earth just as their ancestors and their bodies nourished the unholy offspring of the dragon tyrants.

So it was then decided that no one was permitted to enter the Valley. As it was taken by the dragons, so may the dragons keep it. And let the Valley die in fire and smoke, never to be reclaimed by human hands ever again. It was not worth any more future loss and the former denizens of the Valley were forced to move on.

"And what exactly is it you are asking us to do?" One of the men of the party inquired. He was an older fellow dressed in an assortment of worn robes that identified him as a member of the Arcane College of Giledern.

The nobleman folded his arms across his chest. "It's simple: I need a group to travel into the Valley and retrieve an important family heirloom. No one from the damn military is willing to do it, so I'm willing to pay you for your services."

"Where is this heirloom?" Asked a woman as she twirled an arrow between her fingers. Her calm expression gave no hint to the excitement she felt at this request. Venturing into the Valley had been a dream of Hallie's ever since she was a child. Being a student from the same school as the wizard, Aldred, Hallie's studies focused on everything to do with dragons. Getting the chance to enter their territory and see them up close was the opportunity of a lifetime.

"Well," the gentleman rubbed his chin as he thought. "It should be here, where the family home used to be." His finger pointed to a section on the aged map on the table. He circled an area of land as he spoke, "Somewhere in here- we owned a lot of land at the time. The house itself was large and then we had the family tombs. It's possible the heirloom could be sealed away inside one of the tombs. Let me see your map and I'll mark the location for you."

***

"What the bloody fuck were you thinking?!"

Aldred let out a deep sigh over his bowl of elk stew. "I was thinking we could use the money."

"We don't need money this badly!" Cried Moss. The young elf slammed their palms on the table with such force it caused their blue-colored curls to bounce. A few other tavern patrons glanced over to the party's table. Their curious gazes causing Moss to pull up their hood. Returning to their seat, Moss whispered, "We can't be so desperate for money that we're willing to go into dragon country!"

"It's also a wonderful opportunity to study the beasts up close," Hallie commented. A whole world of possibilities would open up before them if she had a chance to set foot in the lands that even her masters hadn't been. She stared absently out the window, swirling her tankard as she thought.

"It's suicide," Moss hissed. They elbowed the woman beside them. "Tell them, Brey. Tell them this is ridiculous and we can find money elsewhere!"

Brey looked to Moss, then to the others in the group, and shrugged. She signed that it was a risky endeavor. They weren't prepared to face off against dragons. Not to mention if they were caught in the Valley there was a chance they could be arrested for defying the king's orders. None of them had the influence to get out of that kind of trouble.

Moss sat back with a satisfied smirk.

"I understand your hesitation, friend Moss," said Aldred. "But this would pay off all of our debts, and then some. I don't know about you, but I am not exactly thrilled with remaining under the thumb of Vandric and that pack of feral beasts he calls a guild. The longer we remain in his debt, the more likely we are to have one of his men find us and present us with a far more dangerous job. Or worse. Or have you forgotten about what happened to Sten?"

Moss and Brey both bristled at the mention of their former party member. It wasn't fair to bring him up. Especially not after the way he had died trying to protect them from Vandric's wrath.

Hallie held up a hand to ease the tension. "All we're saying is, we need money and we need it now. Vandric won't let us off the hook for long, and killing basement rats doesn't exactly bring in the money we need. We have to take this job."

Brey and Moss looked at each other. Then Brey signed, and the elf rolled their eyes. "I suppose dying to dragon fire would be a better alternative to whatever horrible torture that snake would put us through. Fuck it then." Moss threw up their hands. "Let's go risk our necks skulking through some ruins."

Brey added that perhaps there would be other valuable trinkets left in the area that everyone could keep for themselves.

"I love the way you think, my friend." Moss clapped the warrior on the shoulder before picking up their mug. "To a shitty job that will probably get us all killed before we get paid!"

Brey raised her glass. Followed by Hallie, who couldn't help but chuckle at the elf's cynicism. Aldred hesitated a moment, his eyes peering off into some distant space. Hallie watched the old wizard; concern prickled in the back of her mind like the hackles of a nervous dog. She hated when he divined like this- right at the moment when their two most magically skittish companions finally agreed to join them. Then, Aldred shook his head. He lifted his bowl of stew, and the party toasted to their new job.