Realization jolted down his spine.There had long been rumors that a blue dragon lurked in the Forbidden Forest.
A blue dragon.The rarest color of dragons.No one knew why they were blue, a color glaringly out of place in creatures of that size.They were so rare that anyone who could single-handedly kill one could ask for quite literally anything in reward, so long as it was in the king's power to give.
Like a full pardon.
The last time anyone had even seen a blue dragon was roughly fifty years ago, and that was just a sighting, and who even knew if they'd been telling the truth.Tales of anyone successfully killing one were dubious historic accounts at best.
What else did he have to do, though?What was the worst that would happen?He died?In six months he didn't find one?He'd be in no different a position than he was now.
But if he found one… if he found one before his home and everything in it were taken away, he could get it all back.Pack it up and say farewell onhisterms, instead of being thrown out like trash.
He had a goal.A plan.
Despite everything, he was starting to feel like himself again.
Pulling up his blanket, Dipak closed his eyes, and for the first time in too long, slept easily and dreamlessly.
Chapter Two
When Dipak woke in the morning, half his berries were gone.In their place, lying neatly on the empty stretch of shirt, was a single fat hare, its neck deftly broken.
His heart dropped into his stomach and his blood turned ice-cold.Trembling, he threw himself out of bed and checked his wards.Finding them completely intact did nothing to soothe the terror flooding his body.There was nothing in the forest that should have been able to just wander in and out of his wards like they weren't even there, especially not at night when it was literally fatal to wander around.
He prowled the rest of the tiny space, but there really wasn't anythingtoprowl.Just his fire, his bed, his supplies.Barely enough to be called a campsite.
Sitting down, he got the fire going again as his racing heart slowly calmed.
Someone had traipsed into his camp, stolen half his berries, and left a hare in their place.Someone had traded him berries they could have easily picked themselves for meat that would have taken far more work to obtain.
At least now he was confused rather than panicked.
After he had the fire going and had enjoyed a good cup of strong tea—mourning the lack of cream and sugar to go with it—he turned his attention to the hare.They were the first thing he'd ever learned to butcher when his mother had brought home three of them after a good day of hunting.She'd also taken down a buck, but had traded that to a larger family in return for milk, eggs, and a few other staples.
That had been a good night, with smiles and his father singing, and full bellies when they'd gone to bed.
A few weeks later, after he'd gotten the hang of butchering small animals, she'd started taking him out to learn tracking and field dressing.By the end of that year, he'd started trapping and hunting small animals.
By the end of the next year, when she'd broken her leg and Dipak had been forced to take up the hunting, he'd been able to hunt all but the largest animals, because at twelve he just didn't have the strength to carry them back.
That had changed once he'd grown into himself, and by sixteen he was the best hunter in the village.
Not long after turning seventeen, he'd become an orphan and, unable to deal with the trauma of his parents' deaths, of the many deaths that had occurred that awful day, he'd left the village and joined the military.
Sighing softly at howstupidlife could be sometimes, Dipak drew his hunting knife and deftly set to work skinning and butchering.He'd planned to spend his day seeking out better, long-term shelter, but he couldn't afford to waste the meat or the fur.So he dealt with the meat first, setting it to cook slowly over a long period so that it would be ready to eat that evening.After that, he turned his attention to preserving the fur, rigging a frame so it could dry out in the sun after he'd gotten it scraped and clean.
By that point it was well into the afternoon, and he still had a lot of work to do, including dealing with the remaining berries.
First he gathered more firewood, because he wouldn't be able to do that in the dark.Thankfully, it only took about an hour or so to gather enough to get him through the rest of the day and into the next morning.Ignoring his grumbling stomach, he set to work on the berries.He'd found the perfect stone for the job while collecting firewood.It was wide, almost round, and near perfectly flat.
Unfortunately, the cooking he was doing now couldn't be done with the smuggler fire, so he filled the pit in, created a more traditional firepit, and built up a proper campfire.It would draw more attention, and clearly his wards weren't as effective as he'd thought, but he had no choice if he wanted to eat and, more importantly, start preserving food for the cold months.
He had, at best, two months before serious cold set in, and while he planned to be gone no later than the six month mark, that was still four to five months in miserable cold.He needed better shelter and plenty of food.Hunting and foraging could be all day tasks, and combining those with trying to find a legendary dragon…
Well, he certainly wouldn't be bored.
Once the fire was going strong, he set the stone close enough the berries could heat and dry out without cooking and burning, though they'd need regular attention to do so evenly.What he wouldn't give for a proper stove and canning equipment.Ah, well.
Tasks completed for the moment, Dipak sat down to enjoy some more tea while he took stock.He was sweaty and grimy, so a washing up wouldn't hurt.Then he could muck some more with his wards, see what he could add to strengthen them.