Dragon Sense

     Lucas spotted a wooded area that gradually sloped upward to a rocky clearing and to what looked like a cave in the hillside.  Deciding to check it out, Lucas strung the deer up on a sturdy branch of an old oak. "That ought to hold her," he said, wiping his hands on some wet grass and shaking them off in the cool air.  He felt that the deer would be safe enough from any hungry predators.  Rain drops slowly and sporadically splattered the ground, but quickly grew heavier and pelted his head.  Lucas hurriedly ran through the forest towards the cave.

     After running about a quarter of a mile, Lucas stopped dead in his tracks.  A growling roar like nothing he had ever heard before filled the air.  He froze and quickly thought what it could be.  Silence filled the forest and soon was shattered by another deep thunderous roar.  He looked out towards the rocky slope and saw a flash of flame.

     "What the hell?"

    He proceeded quiet as a mouse, just as he was taught, slowly ducking and peering from behind large boulders and brush.  Trees were not as thick now and he felt vulnerable out in the open. He crouched low behind a rotten log and watched, hoping to see the creature or whatever it was that had made his blood curdle.  Lucas ignored the heaviness of his leather shirt, now soaked through with the sudden down pour. He also ignored the rational reasoning to run away.  His curiosity was too strong.  Suddenly, a large spark filled the entrance of the cave and it was too much for Lucas to resist.  He crept up closer.

     Climbing the slope and stumbling only once on the slippery rocks, he finally reached the top.  He froze again, only this time, absolutely terrified.  Right before his eyes stood a dragon.  A dragon that glistened with emerald green scales and bright orange wings.  Massive in size and length, Lucas estimated the creature to be 35 feet long from his sharp pointed snout to the end of his twitching tail.  Razor sharp talons could be heard clicking against the stony ground.

     In a moments notice, the dragon stood front and center, towering above the trembling young man.  His mouth opened wide, revealing yellow, gnawed down teeth and long sharp fangs . . .  12 inches long!  A growling ball of fire erupted from the opened jaw, falling only inches short of setting Lucas aflame, singeing the hair on his head.  Smoke curled from the slits in the beast's long snout.  His deep, amber eyes seemed to be grinning at Lucas as if he were only teasing. 

     Standing firm to his spot and wet to the bone, Lucas dug deep to find his voice and a hint of courage.  Could this be real? He wondered if he had hit his head.  Lucas was suddenly angry at Lanigo for not telling him that dragons really, truly existed and were not found in fairy tales, but right here in Cinphoreum.  Not sure why, Lucas slowly lowered his head and bowed down until he was on his knees, splattering mud all over his leggings.  He looked up with wet curls hanging limply across his face and from somewhere inside him, he found his voice. . . .