I Raised A Black Dragon

Kyle stood in the paint-covered alley, pressing his temples in an attempt to stop the oncoming headache. His intuition was never mistaken. After leaving the hotel, they were supposed to stay together. And now Noah had vanished, leaving behind a trail of chaos.

As he let out a weary sigh, Muell appeared out of thin air. He scurried over and quickly informed Kyle on Noah’s whereabouts, and what had transpired in the alleyway. Kyle listened, curious as to what Noad had planned. 

“And the assassins… They should be here any minute!” Muell handed Kyle the Eye of Largo. “She lured them here. Said you could deal with them.” 

“Did she now? Tell me, why did she send you to tell me this news, rather than tell me herself? You can teleport her, so why didn’t you?” Kyle rolled the Eye between his fingers. “Why would you leave her alone in such a dangerous place.” 

“Please, I wanted to bring her with me, I swear! She made me come here alone. Something about how she wanted to investigate the area.” Muell clung to Kyle’s leg. “I’m sorry I didn’t try harder!” 

“Noah is infuriatingly stubborn. I’m sure she has her reasons, but she still could have come back and reported what was happening to me. That way we could have gone and solved the mystery together. And as for these assassins…” Kyle lightly juggled with the Eye, tossing it from one hand to the next. “When did you say they would be here?”

Paint cans rattled further down the alleyway, alerting Kyle to the presence of the assassins. He tucked the Eye back into his pocket and scooped up Muell to rest him on his shoulder. Pulling his retriever from its holster, he loaded up the barrel and cocked it so it was ready to fire. 

“Who’s coming, your master? Or…” He called out into the empty alleyway. “Are you too just a clump of metal?” 

He vividly remembered the time he had chased several assassins, cloaked in robes, in The Angelic. One of them had taken into possession one of Largo’s Eye, but before he could retrieve it, he was suffocated by a strong lavender scent, paralyzing his senses. Afterwards, he could only remember the Eye, unable to recall the appearance of his enemy.

However, what he thought was human had shattered into chunks of metal by the dragon’s sharp fangs. Kyle thought it was impossible to salvage the other Eye, but seeing his situation now, the missing Eye was indeed intact.

His thoughts conjured a speculation: the replica’s ‘real form’ had been aboard on The Angelic that time. But who was it? How true was it that Adrian Rossinell had left for Central Edman to restore the damaged railway?

Kyle tightened his grip on the revolver; surely, he would acquire information from the assassins. His thoughts quickly leaned toward other more important things. Noah has to eat lunch.

“They’re here,” Muell poked Kyle’s shoulder excitedly. 

From the corner of the alley were five shadows. The first of the assassins leapt into the air, their weapon at the ready. He chuckled as he aimed his revolver and aimed it at them. His mind only thought of one thing: take care of this mess and get back to Noah.

“Nice of you to join me. Perhaps your little friends would like to join me, as well.” He said as he pulled the trigger, the first shot firing out. 

***

Harrell was a much quieter village than Noah had thought. But just because it was quiet, didn’t mean it was safe.

Every face she passed was covered in grime and filth, their eyes filled with exhaustion. Their clothing was shabbier than those who lived in the cities, mostly consisting of patches sewn onto torn trousers and shirts. 

The buildings on either side of the road were in a similar state of disrepair. Worn out curtains, broken and poorly repaired windows, squeaky doors, black rotten fences… It was clear something was happening within the village. 

Some young boys were kicking around  a ball in the road. None of them seemed to have the energy to kick the ball, let alone play a game.

“The Empire really doesn’t care about those outside the cities…” Noah said to herself as she weaved between the civilians who aimlessly wandered around. They were all staring at her, as well as her clean and intact clothes.

Noah pulled up the hood of her cloak and hurried out of the area, trying to find a place to hide for a little while. A three-pronged fork appeared in the road, making her wonder how long she’d been walking. An old sign was sticking up from the middle.

It was hard to read everything on it since weathering had taken its toll on it. She could barely interpret the letters.

“East, Harrell School. North, district office and security forces. West, hotel. So there are security forces. That might be the best place to start in order to figure out what is going on here.”

Worryingly, the road leading to the north was more deserted than those leading east and west. Nonetheless, she set off along it, constantly keeping an eye out for any signs of danger. The buildings at the entrance still appeared to be livable, but the more she walked, the more the buildings were run down and abandoned. Not a single person was around.