Ed, Drake and three fishermen arrived at the little village at dusk, welcomed by a dozen of people, very old men, women and children. There were just three houses, little stone cabins built over a rocky, step hill. The two Vanguardians were invited to enter in the biggest of the houses, and, much to their dismay, the horses were brought in, too.
There were no tables or chairs, and there were no rooms, for that matter. Just a single space, with a fire place in the middle. Heaps of hay were clearly the only kind of beds those people knew.
The older fisherman, translated by Nip the raven, presented himself as Romar, the chief of the village.
"When the sun set, it's not the moment to stay out, strangers. This is when the Beast men and Vile tribe make war" he explained. A little later, around a single, big wooden plate full of rice and roasted fishes, Romar told the story of that place.
"Once upon a time, this land was blessed by the gods, and nurtured a growing population of humans. There were dozen of big cities, and thousands of children. Then, it came the dragon... from the north, when the winters, year after year, became colder and longer lasting. It claimed this valley and the mountains as its kingdom, and destroyed the cities, robbing all the treasures, that it cumulated in the tower of the Blue spire..."
Drake impulsively pulled the sleeve to cover the dragonmaster mark. Euro's mind wandered to ancient memories of infinite battles with dragons... when the Eternal Champion walked on Earth with names like Herakles, Perseus, Beowulf, Saint George, Sigfried... and many others...
"The land was depleted of its richness, the humans were killed or had to leave... just a few resisted... our direct ancestors... and as the lands become less and less populated, new races came... the Beast Men from the mountains, and the Lizard Men from the southern shores. They have occupied our land... the Beast men are nocturnal, and roams the country at night, preying on all that is alive... respecting us only if we stay hidden in our home, and leaving food offers out of doors for them... and the Vile Tribe, intelligent, bipedal lizards that lives by day, coming out of their deep burrows to feed over the crops we have to cultivate for them... but when it is dusk, their respective living time cross... and they fights for supremacy, all over the land."
"Interesting..." whispered Edulcore, instantly translated by Nip. "And the dragon?"
"The dragon is sleeping its century long sleep, inside the Blue Spire tower"
"And what is that?" asked Drake, with a nonchalance worthy of a great actor.
"The Blue spire is a tall tower made of blue sandstone, built over an island surrounded by a great lake inside a cave mountain. It is known that the lake is the portal to the mittelmarks, the lands between reality and dream... a crossroads between the universes, The tower contains the treasures of the dragon... and the sleeping dragon itself..."
Drake nodded, silently, and all the presents returned to the food, when the door shut open, and a very old woman, with blind transparent eyes ran into, shouting: "I see it, I see it. Our savior has arrived! The dragonslayer is here!", her slim, bony index finger pointing at a totally dismayed Raptor.
