-1Desert Dragon

Chapter 1: Death in the Desert

The struggle did not last long. There was a definite difference in strength between the two men, and as was usually the case, the stronger won. He left his victim unconscious on the floor as he scurried away out the shining stone gates and into the cold desert beyond.

The full moon illuminated the man’s path as he ran across the thick sand dunes that covered most of the continent. There was no cover out here, making him a perfect target if some stray guard happened to notice his lithe form on the landscape, but that was something that the man was willing to risk. He could not, no, would not be captured again.

The sound of heavy breathing carried across the sand, making the man stop in his tracks to listen. Someone or something was on the dunes with him.

Slowly the man turned, scanning the surrounding area with a keen eye. There was no air-born sand to block his vision at night, that was part of the reason he had chosen this time for his escape. The only thing one could hide behind out here was a dune, and that of course, was the biggest challenge, as most of the area was nothing but dunes.

The breathing came again, loud, ragged, careless. It sounded as if the person or thing the breath belonged to had been running for miles, which of course would have been foolish. No one came out into the desert without a transport unless they had a death wish or plan, and by the sound of the breathing, whoever it was probably had the former.

The man hunkered low against the sand, using the shadow the dune cast to hide his dark clothing. If he wanted to stay alive he needed to find out who the careless person was, and, if necessary, dispose of him. Nothing would get in the way of his plan.

A moment turned into a minute, and then into five. The breathing did not come again. Slowly, carefully, the escaped man crept out of the shadow of his dune, taking care to make as little noise as possible. He made it almost completely around the monstrous pile of sand when, once again, he heard the breathing. But this time, he could make out mumbled words as well.

“Cold…so cold…food…yes, I need food…blood? Maybe blood. Need food, and warmth. I need food….blood…”

A shot of fear coursed through the man’s veins. Whatever was on the other side of the dune wasn’t human, or at least, no longer thought like one. It barely fit into a category of intelligence at all. He had often heard tales of mad-men that lived in the desert off of lizards and small mammals, but he had never thought of them as true. Maybe this was one such person. Though what a mad-man was doing so close to a city he could only speculate.

A shuffling noise soon accompanied the heavy breathing and mumbling. The thing, whatever it may have been, was moving. And if one could judge by the sound, it was coming toward the man.

The man backed up, suddenly wishing for the cover of the dune-shadow again. With the pale moonlight shining down on him and his black cloak he stood out like a sore thumb. If the thing came over there would be no way to stop it from attacking or screeching out about it’s discovery. With his escape route blocked, the man pulled out a long dull knife, his only defense.

The shuffling started up again, and by this time the man could see a shadow of the moving thing. It would move forward jerkily, awkwardly, as if it were unsure of it’s movements. Drunkenly it swayed toward the city, then back over toward the man. Whatever it was, it wasn’t very good at walking.

The man tightened his grip on the knife and flexed his muscles, ready to jump out and attack the thing before it could make anymore noise. His plans would not be impeded.

Two yellow eyes peered over the edge of the dune at the man standing there. The man thought about attacking, but when the eyes did nothing more then stare, he decided to wait. He wanted to avoid killing if possible.

The eyes searched him over, as if sizing him up. They were front-facing, meaning that they belonged to a predator of some kind, but they held intelligence, so it wasn’t some mad beast. Those bright neon orbs showed none of the insanity that was apparent in the voice or movements, they held a solemn clarity, almost a wisdom. And better yet, they showed no sign of attacking.

“What’s this I spy? It’s blood….yes….blood…and meat and warmth….and all sorts of good things….yes….but I can’t eats it can I? No….bad Karn. Karn can’t eat it because it thinks.”

“Who are you?” the man asked the eyes. They shifted from him to the sand to the sky above, where the moon was just starting it’s decent. It didn’t answer at first, as if the man had given it a difficult question. Finally, those bright yellow eyes focused themselves on the man again.

“I am many thing….many…You are run-away no? You hide from other thinks…..you have meat? You have blood? Thinks always have meet, always have blood….Always spill blood…yes, Karn wants to escape with the thinker. Karn wants to follow. To help. In exchange for meat…..thinker give meat to Karn?”

The man hesitated. He did have meat, but only a little. This thing was not part of his plan. He didn’t want to feed it, but then again, it said it would help, and who knew how violent it would get if it wanted food? What exactly was this Karn creature?

“Who and what are you?” The man asked again, hoping that he would get a straight answer out of the thing.

The eyes jerked up and down, and a loud half-growling half-whooshing noise escaped form the vicinity of the creature. It took a moment for the man to realize the creature was laughing at him.

“Silly thinker. Karn told you, I’s many things. I’s not dangerous, no….won’t hurt fellow think. Violence for dumb beasts, though thinks violate other thinks with think-like violence. Thinker have meat?” The snuffling noise came again as the eyes lit up with excitement. “Thinker has meat….yes….thinker share? Karn can help, help for meat….”

Adrenaline made the man’s heart miss a few beats as he reached into his side pack. “Alright ….Karn….I have some meat…but in return, you must promise to help me, and not to hurt me.”

The laughter came again, only louder this time. The man glanced around nervously, hoping that they were far enough away from the city for the sound not to carry. “Thinker worries too much, thinker give meat, thinker is safe. Karn doesn’t hurt thinks unless thinks hurt Karn. Now, thinker give meat?”

The man hesitated a moment, then slowly pulled out a strip of salted meat the size of his hand. At the sight of the meat, the eyes grew, until they were larger than the dinner plates the royalty used. They drank in the moonlight and produced almost a spotlight on the sand and the man.

“Meat….” the voice hissed. The man noticed the sudden change in the voice, and threw the meat at the creature in fear. Almost before the food left his hand the creature, Karn as it seemed to call itself, lashed out, snapping up the hunk of meat as if it were nothing more than a sweet. With it’s long neck in the light and out of the shadows now, the man could finally see what this creature was.

The neck alone was larger than himself. It held some reptilian features in both design and structure. It’s face was like that of a snake’s, diamond shaped and scaled, while its neck was plated with heavy, thick, artificial, grey scales. It’s eyes were located on the front of the face, unusual for reptilian species, and long glistening fangs curved down over the lower jaw, much like that of the saber-cats of legend. Fine silvery hair hung in a mane at the base of it’s skull, spilling down over the neck-plates. Long, deadly spikes jutted out from points along the jaw line and along the top part of the neck. Just from what the man could see, he knew that the creature before him was built for death.

The man nearly screamed, and stumbled to try and get away from Karn. But the dragon-like creature moved forward, stepping out more into the light, chasing him. It followed him several steps before reaching out a large clawed paw and stepping on him lightly, pinning him in place. While the man was squirming and praying, Karn sniffed along his body, before stopping on his bag, picking it up and snapping the material with it’s teeth. The contents spilled out onto the ground, more meat, a waterskin, an old parchment, and a bag of coins.

Karn ignored all the items except the meat. Carefully it snapped up each piece, until all the food was gone. It licked it’s chops, running it’s long barbed tongue down it’s fangs, and backed up off of the man to sit contentedly in the sand at the man’s feet.

“Karn is happy. Thinker shared. Karn will help thinker now. Help thinker escape. What is thinker called?”

The man stared at Karn incredulously. “Y-you ate all my food! You ate all of it! Now what am I supposed to do? I’m ruined! I’m going to die out here in this damn sand! Because of you!” Foolishly the man pulled out his knife again, and rushed the dragon. Karn simply watched sadly as the man tried to stab it’s paw, the thick sheet of metal located there protecting it. The knife made a loud ring as it struck the metal time and again.

Finally Karn grew tired of the man attacking it’s paw, so it pushed the man over and pinned him down yet again.

“Thinker ignored Karn, became violent. Karn agreed to not hurt thinker, yet thinker hurt Karn. Is thinker a mad beast?”

The man found he could not move anything except his head. Even breathing was a chore with the dragon’s monstrous paw on top of his chest. “I’m no beast.”

“Then why thinker attack? Thinker isn’t thinking. Thinker became like a mad beast. Mad beasts good only for meat. Is thinker meat?”

“No…I’m not meat.” For some reason, the man felt as if he were getting a lecture from his mother, if he had known his mother.

Karn snorted. “Good, then thinker will listen and think like a thinker. Not like mad beast. I say I will help thinker so I will help! But first thinker must prove he a thinker. Thinker needs to think. Now thinker, what is you called?”

“Kieran.” The man announced. “My name is Kieran.”

“Kieran…Kieran the thinker now has Karn the Death. Karn swears to protect Kieran, and to help Kieran. But only if Kieran gives Karn meat and helps Karn and thinks like a thinker and not like a mad beast. Otherwise Kieran may end up being meat like a mad beast.”

Kieran sighed and closed his eyes. Things were definitely not going as he planned. “Alright…Karn. I’ll accept your help. If I live long enough. See this desert? It stretches in miles in every direction. I need to cross it without dying of hunger or thirst. I need to get to a place called Valcor. Know where it is?”