Once upon a time, there was a young knight. The king told the knight that if he were to slay a fearsome dragon and return with the shiniest piece from its hoard, he would allow him to marry one of his beautiful daughters. Little did the knight know… that this quest would lead him down a path he never expected to tread.
Tino nervously stared at the reflection in the mirror, watching as his servant strapped the bulky armor to his body.
How was he going to do it? He had heard many legends of the cruel beast. It lived in a cave beyond the palace, collecting riches and stealing young maidens to be eaten. For many years, it plundered small villages in the area and attained most of its enormous wealth from travelers. The dragon was said to be large and fierce, never hesitating to kill or destroy. Tino was young, and though he was talented, he wasn't sure he could face something like that.
"Sir Tino…?"
Tino snapped back to reality and realized his servant had long since finished. He took a deep breath, adjusting the heavy armor. "Thank you Emil." He smiled weakly at the boy. "You may go now." Without any hesitation, Emil started for the door and Tino was left alone.
His journey began at that moment. It began with another deep breath and the incredible heaviness in the knight's feet as he moved to where his sword rested. He took the blade into his hand, examined it, and then gently sheathed it. The knight turned and exited his room, barely making a sound as he swept down the hall and to the stairwell. His limbs felt like they were made of lead, but he continued. It was his duty, and he couldn't betray his king just because he was a bit frightened. He pushed open the doors leading to the courtyard and made his way to where Emil stood with his horse.
"I spent all morning getting her ready." Emil handed over the reins and stepped back. For a moment Tino could only stand and try to process what the boy had said. Then he nodded, smiled at him, and climbed onto his horse's back. "Good luck." And those were the last words the knight heard before he set off.
Tino knew he was getting close when he could smell the stench of decay permeating the air around the dragon's lair. It made him sick, and his horse refused to go farther. He slid off of her back with a soft grunt. "You don't have to come with me." He patted her side and smiled softly. The horse was uncomfortable, he could tell. But that didn't matter at the moment. With one hand on his sword, he crept deeper into the suffocating stench and searched for the entrance.
It wasn't long until he found it. Though mostly hidden by vines and shrubs, the mouth of the cave was relatively easy to find. It was carved into the side of a small hill and looking inside, Tino could see that the passage curved down and continued farther beneath the surface. It wouldn't be hard to get down, and it would be even easier to get back out. Hesitantly, Tino stepped inside and made the descent. As he reached the bottom, he noticed that the path split. Examining both paths carefully, he noticed one smelled of rot, and a few gold coins littered the second. He decided to take the path with the coins and quietly crept on. But the farther he went, the darker it got. Sunlight didn't reach that far underground.
"Damn… I'll need a torch." Tino cussed quietly to himself. As he was about to turn back, he heard scraping and the sound of tumbling rocks from the entrance. Something was definitely inside and Tino doubted it was his horse. Consumed with fear, he raced down the dark corridor and farther away from the entrance. But as he was running, he felt the ground give way beneath his feet and he stumbled forward. Another slope. He quickly caught himself and continued running. There was the flickering of light in the distance. Just around a corner, he could see it. He stopped for a few moments to catch his breath then turned the corner. In one corner there was a huge fire created by what looked like tree branches and in the other… a huge mountain of gold, silver, bronze, copper, gems and minerals, along with intricate little pieces like vases and jeweled boxes. Tino gasped quietly, forgetting all about his close encounter with the dragon and stepping out into the light. He had never seen so much gold in one place before. It was amazing. The hard part would be finding a piece to take back to the king! They were all so lovely he would have trouble picking just one.
In a few steps, he was already treading on stray coins, and in a few more steps he was standing completely on gold. He leaned down to pick up a small box. When he opened the lid, he could instantly tell that the box was not from his kingdom. There were small words on the inside that he couldn't read. Whatever it was, it was in a completely different language.
Behind him, Tino heard scrabbling and scratching coming from the exit. The only exit. He dropped the box, his instincts pushing him to hide. He fled around one side of the gold, dropping down onto his hands and knees and hoping that it wouldn't see him until he could prepare himself. There was a moment of silence, then a soft pit pat that Tino guessed was the dragon's claws against the stone floor. The sound went in the direction of the flames, stopped, and then there was a loud crack that Tino couldn't identify. The knight took a deep breathe, and then unsheathed his sword. He wanted to at least get a good look at the dragon before recklessly jumping out. Tino crawled slowly around one edge of the hoard. At first all he could see was a long blue tail, then the translucent wings folded neatly at its sides, then its head. He breathed in sharply. The dragon's muzzle was stained with blood, and the carcass of his horse was at its feet. He cussed quietly. His quick escape was gone. Plus, he had been fond of that horse.
As he was about to start in the dragon's direction, a wave of panic crashed over him. He realized the gravity of the situation and he was having trouble moving any farther. His heart was beating so fast, it almost hurt. Gathering all of his courage, he got to his feet. He gripped the handle of his sword tightly and took a few steps toward the monster that stood before him.