The jungle was damp and sticky, too hot during the day and too cold at night. It was much worse than the war in the North, and there weren’t many things worse than that. They genuinely hated every bit of it. And they hated the elf.

One does not simply walk into a dragon’s domain... until handsomely paid. The pay was more than five years of a mercenary’s wage. Of course, they had heard legends about Thalon, about the beast being made of pure terror. But for this kind of money, they’d walk straight into hell. There was only one downside.

The elf was part of the deal. The client insisted. "The elf knows the jungle," he said. "Without him, you won’t track Thalon’s lair." But the truth was that he got on their nerves from the very beginning. Yes, they were a bunch of cutthroats, but they were a merry bunch. They trusted each other, knew when to joke and when to shut up. The elf never spoke a word. He’d just look at them with those cold eyes. A savage, walking barefoot through the jungle. He didn’t even wear armor, just a bundle of rope tied around his chest.

The air was thick with tension, but perhaps it was all Thalon’s doing. They knew the dragon was near every time the green gas spread through the jungle. At all costs, they avoided contact with the clouds. Inhaling the green gas meant terror. It meant cruel, cruel visions and no sleep at night. But the elf just walked into every cloud as if he embraced the terror.

With each day of their journey up the river, they spiraled further into madness. Ominous whispers, sudden movements among the trees, and the constant feeling of being watched—the dragon’s presence was almost palpable, yet it remained elusive. On the third night, the first one of them disappeared.

***

Thalon watched the cub crawl out of the nest, so feeble and clumsy. It was a grand moment: the night when the young one was about to kill its first prey. It wasn’t a perfect lesson, though, as the human just lay on the ground, trembling, paralyzed with fear. Perhaps it’s for the better, Thalon thought. The cub didn’t yet know how to use its wings. But soon, it would learn how to fly, how to spit clouds of pure terror. Together, they would chase all humans away, and the jungle would reclaim the land they took for their fields.

***

The next one to vanish was the elf. So much for his help. But they were in no mood for celebration. They felt as if a noose was tightening around their necks. No one wanted to stand watch anymore, as each night claimed a victim. Years of war had taught them one thing: to win the battle, they had to take the initiative. But how do you hunt a beast in its own habitat? You set a trap.

Dressed in armor, the straw mannequin looked just like a mercenary guard—a fat one at that, but they had to fit inside a barrel of gunpowder somehow. During the night, one of them only pretended to sleep, hand clutched around a loaded pistol. One shot, and the beast would go up in flames.

This just had to work.

***

This was a joke. Thalon couldn’t believe humans could be so stupid. Enough playing with his prey. If it was a battle they wanted, then a battle they would get.

Watching the camp from up close, Thalon breathed out the first cloud of green, a thin one, almost imperceptible at night. He watched the sleeping figures begin to move uneasily, turning from one side to another. Their sweat smelled of fear. Soon the nightmares would become unbearable. They would open their eyes—and then the real hell would begin.

***

The elf felt safe. He had become one with the jungle, moving like an animal, smelling of Thalon's green gas. For the past few nights, since he left the mercenaries, the dragon had paid no attention to him. But the elf paid close attention to Thalon. Night after night, he had more than enough time to see where the beast took his companions.

A sudden explosion lit the sky, followed by human screams. The elf did not look back. The mercenaries had served their purpose. One does not simply walk into a dragon’s domain... without bait.

A green dragon cub observed him from a pile of half-eaten bones as he unbundled the rope.

The client will be happy.

coming soon...