A month and a half after the dragon appeared.
*rattle* *rattle*
The sound of the wooden wheels rattling as it hit rocks and stones on the uneven and unpaved road woke up Wolfred from his afternoon nap.
“Ueghhhhh…..”
A man was vomiting at the rear end of the wagon. The constant shaking,rattling and wobbling of the carriage induced nausea on the young man.
“First time on a mountain path?”
“No. First time on a wagon.”
Wolfred raised his right eyebrow as as sign of curiosity. He looked at the young man slumped on the back of the wagon. The man seemed unblemished by the rough world.
“Do you never go outside of the town?”
“Never. This is my first time.”
The young man with the ashen hair replied while staring at the road with empty eyes.
“Well, I has some medicine. You want some?”
“Yes!”
The man eyes lit up like a lantern upon hearing Wolfred offer. Even though Wolfred has been a mercenary more than half of his life, he still brought some nausea medicine like a beginner. He thought it was a good measure if he somehow drink too much alcohol on any trip.
After the man drunk the medicine he slowly lean back on the wagon as he exhaled.
“Better?”
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“Better. Thank you- umm Sir…”
“Wolfred. Call me Wolfred.”
The middle aged man reach out his hand for a handshake.
“I’m Evan.”
They both shook hand for the first time. After a brief chat, Evan eyes began drooping as the medicine side effect set in. He entered the dreamland as the sun still high up. Seeing Evan finally asleep, Wolfred lean his body back on the wagon as he hug his sword tighter.
He looked around in the wagon and saw several more people. They were either reading a book, doing maintenance on their equipment or sleeping. There were also some supplies further into the wagon.
“Sigh…. one year.”
The amount of time estimated to reach the dragon’s lair without any unforeseen disturbances. From the south of the empire to the very north. One end to another.
“One year… maybe more.”
Wolfred clenched and released his hand a couple times before exhaling. He closed his eyes as he heighten his senses to detect any danger. It has only been a few hours from when they left the town but Wolfred knew from experiences that danger did not wait for anyone.
*Knock* *knock*
Jonathan opened the window of his carriage.
“What?”
“Young master, going at this pace we will be entering monster’s territory in a few minutes. I am asking you to be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances.”
“Don’t worry I’m prepared. I’m not weak enough to die from just one hit, right? The one you should pay attention to are the porters we hired. They are weak and incompetent unlike me.”
Jonathan said that in a condescending tone as he fix his hair. The expedition commander took a peek inside of the carriage and saw two women with disheveled hair and cloth sleeping soundly.
“Go away now. I need to catch up on some sleep.”
The young nobleman closed back the window and curtains.
‘Tch fucking noble.’
The commander clicked his tongue inwardly as he rode his horse away from the carriage. Then, he went to each wagon and warned them to be careful and ready. As he reached at the most end of the wagon train at the back, he called out to his closest friend.
“Wolfred.”
Wolfred opened his left eye slightly.
“What?”
“Sense anything?”
“Not yet.”
Farouk breathed out as a sign of relief but then he hardened his face back.
“What do you mean by ‘yet’?”
“Usually I sense a few monsters even before we enter their territory but… right now there are none of them.”
Farouk rubbed his unkempt beard. He could tell that something was not right. His gut kept telling him he missed something.
“Ah!”
A few seconds of thinking made him remember an important piece of information.
“Wolfred get ready.”
Farouk dashed towards the front of the march while yelling.
“Coachman! Stop the wagon! Stop!”
In his memory, he remembered reading something about what happen during the appearance of a dragon. A dragon is a being that can shape natural phenomena as it please especially movement of monsters.
‘Strong monsters leave their habitat and live around the dragon’s nest’
That was one of the sentence he came across while reading journal and records of the dragon slayer.
“Kikikikikiki…… Kiakkk!!!!”
A horde of goblins suddenly appeared from behind tall bushes and trees.
*Crack*
A group of orcs emerged from between the wooden trees breaking and cutting their branches. Some of the trees were destroyed because the pig nosed monster forced its fat and big body through the gap of trees.
‘Weak monsters start to multiply quickly as their natural predators are no more to curb them.’
Mercenaries, adventurers and a few knights brought out their weapons as they prepare themselves to go into battle. Swords, spears, daggers, axe, maces, bow and arrow, and wands.
“Mage unit prepare earth wall and wind wall spell! Defense unit protect the mages! Archer unit draw your bow! Shoot on my command! Vanguard unit follow me! We are going to chop up that fucking fat pig!”
