10 October 2012
[I know I missed this #description challenge but meh, here's my #procrastination anyway! It kind of escalated...]
I knew there were dragons in these mountains; every traveller I passed on the road or met at an inn made sure to remind me of the shadow, fire and threat could swoop down on silent wings at any moment. But I would have settled down and left the adventurer's life behind a long time ago if such stories scared me. I had seen worse things lurking in long-forgotten tombs and hiding in the deepest, darkest caves, daemon and walking dead, amongst other abominations. But I trusted in my strong arm and the tempered steel of my sword to bring to ruin any monster that dared to come between me and my prize. Thus far I had met neither man nor beast who could best me; I would not skitter away, terrified, at the mere mention of a dragon. Not when such a great treasure was at stake.
I'm not sure what it is with dragons and hoarding gold. It's not like they can simply stroll to the market and spend their spoils. Perhaps they relish in stealing away what man craves most and keeping it from his grasp; maybe it brings them a sick pleasure to look at the glimmering gold as it lies between the scorched bones of their prey. Who knows? Dragons are unlikely to ever divulge their secrets to a mere mortal woman.
I pressed on, the wind whipping snow into a blinding veil, so I could barely see a few feet ahead. The cold ate into my flesh and bones, numbing extremities and setting snow in frozen clumps on the steel of my armour. I pulled my travelling cloak closer around my body as the wind threatened to rip it away from me. Through the white-gloom I spotted it; the cave entrance I had been searching for. It was tiny, barely wide enough for me to pass though. Crouching, I peered into the deep black. There was a pinprick of light in the distance, a promise of another opening or an exit. I swallowed hard, temped to turn back; I had no love of cramped and narrow spaces. I took a sharp inhale of the bitter air and crawled inside.
Here There Be Dragons - Part One • Opuss № I