Spike is wandering around his room finding every piece of anything that is worth something: clothing, coinage, gems and weaponry, moving it to the center of the room. Dragons and piles of wealth are like cats and boxes. When he finishes he sits atop the wealth with a look of satisfaction on his dumb lizard face.
As he sits he looks back and forth to look for any other pieces of wealth to move to the middle but all of it is already in the middle of the room. He is now at a loss for what to do now that his wealth is secure in a gargantuan pile.
He looks around the castle and sees some hallways. He tries to enter one but realizes he’s too large. He wonders when he got that large.
-Spike-
I remember something about transformation powers I was told I would get some once I evolved.
“Of course!” says a voice.
“Intruder” I roar before sliding off my pile of wealth and onto the charred carpet. I hold my wings up in the hopes of being scary to whatever being just intruded in my lair. But I saw no one. I simply look back and forth.
“Calm, calm, I''m simply here to talk about your powers.” says the voice.
“Silence disembodied voice.” I roar “you’ve come to steal my hoard have you not.”
“Have not will not. I’m that video game voice that tells you about your powers and evolution.” they say.
“Really?”
“Really!”
“You seem less robotic than before.” I say
“You''re not the only one who evolves.” they say.
“Well then, prove it, tell me how to transform.”
“Simply say the name of the transformation outloud.”
“Skeleton godzilla… nothing happened.” I look back and forth with disappointment.
“No, no, there are set transformations.” they say.
“What are they?”
“Listing currently unlocked transformations: adolescent night dragon, fairy night dragon, baby night dragon, long distance flying night dragon.”
“Baby night dragon.”
a black light fills the room darkening the air around him and lighting up the night I shrink into my previous size
“I can travel around the castle now,” I say. “Thanks disembodied voice.”
“Anytime” they respond.
So I travel around the castle in my small form. I am about the size of a human being perfect for navigating the castle halls. I saw many sites along the way including a dungeon that is covered ceiling to floor in blood. How strange. A prison with blood trailing down the halls into the empty cells. I need to hire a janitor. And the final site I saw is a church. That is also covered in blood. Oh, really how unholy!
I walk around the castle and enter a large bedroom that likely belonged to the previous owner of this castle. The bed sheets were faded and the mattress is covered in bugs. The fact that the owner of this castle is long dead fills me with joy.
The castle is clearly bigger than my apartment, god even this room is. But it is smaller than that castle I visited as a child. That castle was more of a fortress; while this one is homely, other than the blood. A perfect place for me and my dragon-ness
But I am stopped in my place by a sound in the entrance. My senses are keen as a dragon and I notice the sound of a dozen or so men walking in. and judging by the clanging of metal and as I close in the smell of iron they are well armored. The question is what do I do about them? Who am I kidding, attack!This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
-voice-
The village guards look back and forth nervously looking for the monster they were told about. A dragon the most feared of all monsters. It is natural to be nervous; they were town guards not soldiers. But the dragon has to go. They have a simple plan, drive the dragon away or kill it and if they fail both, run. They might all die but living by a dragon can be dangerous so for their families the dragon must go.
Suddenly the dragon appears over the hoard of gold.
“There it is.” says Jess, a woman with yellow dreadlocks “ready yourselves.”
“Aw it’s just a baby.” says Frank, a man with a blue bowl cut “I don’t want to kill a baby.”
“That ‘baby’ is massive.” responds Blake an ambiguous person with long silver hair
“We have an assignment” says jeff a man with spiky red hair
“Maybe we can go with just luring it away.” says frank
“adolescent night dragon.” says the dragon
“It’s massive” says a good many guards.
“Ready your spears men” says Jeff “and get into formation.”
One guard yells. “Jeff, can we really kill that thing?”
“We just need to lure it away.” jeff responds
They enter a phalanx position. But with the shields over their heads as well as in front protecting them from above as well as below.
The dragon realizes that they did this formation to prepare for his night breath attack.
So he decides to claw at them. Like a cat. He scrunches his body defensively while whacking at them with a claw, his tail wagging behind him.
The weight of his claw pushes the guards in the middle back but doesn’t break the formation. So the phalanx advances slowly. Those spears could definitely kill him.
The dragon in response moves backwards quickly and gets an idea. He circles the phalanx. And breaths fire on them. They try to regather their phalanx immediately by reforming on the other side but they are not quick enough.
The formation breaks and they scatter; they try to leave but the dragon is now blocking the door. They all raise their shields to defend themselves, not in any formation.
-Spike-
I learn a great many words once I attack them from behind. Words like “monster,” “run,” “hide,” “defend.” This is enjoyable! fighting a whole army of inferiors is thrilling. Though these don’t appear to be evil doers so I shouldn’t hurt them too much. Plus they are as afraid of me as they should be. They seem to have their heads on right.
So I breathe fire nonlethally all over them pushing them backwards before running forward to let them pass me and leave because I’m so merciful.
I need to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Should I make peace with them? Keeping us out of conflict. Should I show I am not dangerous to humans? So that they do not attack me again. Should I threaten them? Putting us in permanent conflict? That''s a great idea. I should threaten them.
I look to see the sun coming up. I should do it tomorrow though. The sun is high and I’m tired.
-Spike-
Night falls over the village and a predator flies over, that''s me. I fly down in my massive form and hit the ground with a massive thud that reverberates through the air. I then look around to see the villagers I have rudely awakened. The villagers I see either shuffle away or cower in fear. They know what is good for them. All except for one.
I roar. “How dare you send someone to attack me! Come and meet my face!”
The silver haired person who attacked before walks up to me And meets my face. Is he the mayor?
“Hello, sir dragon.” the inferior bows, knowing what to do before a superior.
“Someone!” I roar before coughing and then speak in a normal voice. “Someone attacked my castle.”
“That is horrible for you sir.” says the silver haired mayor.
“Don’t act like, you don’t know anything about this”
“I know nothing.”
“You were there.” I squeal.
“I know nothing.” he says, hiding a smile.
I growl at him and he grows silent. Rage falls into my eyes and I begin to fume.
He holds his hands up in front of him not out of fear but to calm me. “Calm.”
“You want me to be ‘calm’” I say
“Please calm yourself sir dragon.” he responds
“I want an apology.”
“I’m sorry.”
Thank you.”
…
“Will that be all sir dragon.” he says with an unreadable face.
Anything else? Many images enter my mind with that question. But above all of them is me sitting atop a pile of gold smiling smugly.
“I want many things.”
“Things?”
“You know things.” I say, having no idea what is valuable in this world. What do I ask for? “Valuable things… and also food”
“You can’t possibly mean?” he looks down sorrowfully. “We can do that.”
What, did I say something? “You have… two days make it good.”