It was night when Henry regained consciousness. Fortunately, the darkness became his friend ever since he became a Dragon. He looked around immediately after waking up, to grasp his bearings. Nothing was amiss. It didn’t seem like any animals or creatures approached him while he was unconscious. While he was glad about that, he was also slightly worried. Either the predators were too afraid of him or there was another reason. If it was the latter, he should really be worried. 

The events prior to his sudden loss of consciousness were still fresh in his mind. He looked at the ground. A small splash of red dyed the grass he was laying his head on. It was the blood he had spat out. The work of the insect’s venom, he gathered. But he no longer felt any pain or numbness. His limbs had healed, save for a few scars and missing scales. He flexed his limbs, no pain creaked from the joints. He had recovered from his injuries through a single sleep. Even the all-powerful feeling from consuming the magic crystals was gone.

How long have I been asleep?

No one was there to answer that question of his. Seeing as how the dry blood on the grass was still sort of red, he reckoned he didn’t sleep long. But that was only applicable if Dragon blood worked the same way as human blood. No matter how he convinced himself, he found it hard to believe that he could recover from being poisoned and from such heavy injuries with just a short amount of sleep. Unless some kind of magic or spell automatically triggers when he went to sleep or a Dragon’s constitution was simply far superior to a human’s. Either one, it sounded too absurd, more absurd than the fact that Dragon could breathe fire. In the end, he just shrugged and cast that question out of his mind. No use brooding over something that would only lead him to a headache.

As he tried to move, his world shook gently. He was still dizzy from the ordeal he just braved through or it could just be because he had slept for a long time. Whichever the reason, he just hoped it wouldn’t happen again. 

Now… which way to go?

Henry looked around again to figure out his whereabouts. He had not been idle for the past few days. He had drawn out a map in his head as best as he could when he was patrolling the perimeter. He considered the lands surrounding his cave to be his territory and he made it his duty to keep any foreign creatures out, be it hostile or not. If it weren’t hostile, it would be prey and prey would surely attract its predators.

Henry looked around once more but only question marks popped above his head. He was not familiar with the trees and paths. He turned around in a snap, gazing at the forest over the chasm on the other land. Those trees and paths there were the ones he recognized.

I climbed up to the wrong side…

That realization dawned on him. His first thought was to leap over the chasm to the other side but the gap was vast and he didn’t even know if he could make that jump. He reckoned he could if he was in the overcharged state after he consumed those magic crystals but he wasn’t in that state right now. Once again, he was separated from his home. He thought he had gotten used to living here but that wasn’t truly the case. He had merely gotten used to that part of the forests, not the world. Even if he kept telling himself that he was not as weak as he was during the first few days, he couldn’t but feel frightened and intimidated by the various possibilities this unchartered territory would bring him.

In terms of flora, everything looked the same on this side. In terms of fauna, he had yet to catch a single glimpse of any creature or animal, though he could hear their cries and sounds. Since he had only just woken up, he didn’t have the urge to go back to sleep. If anything, he was feeling wide awake and full of trepidation coursing through his nerves. As the cries and noises became louder, so did his premonition. It became a clamour within the depths of the woods. He could hear monkeys screeching, birds gawking, insects creaking, beasts howling, monsters growling; he could hear nearly every kind of cry.

I will not be underestimated. 

Henry threw his head up to the sky and unleashed a roar from the top of his lungs. In an instant, the trees turned silent with the sole exception of the leaves and grasses dancing to the gentle breeze of the night. In the next moment, the clamour resumed, louder than before. Henry clicked his tongue and howled once more. This time, he unleashed the blaze from within too. No silence followed, only louder cries but after the peak, the cries became lower and Henry heard the creatures in the dark scurrying away from him. No way they didn’t see or at least notice the blazing glory happening in the chasm. They would at least feel it and Henry just gave them the proof that he was the one responsible for that.

The forest resumed to the usual mood he was accustomed to. Low growls and cries here and there. Crickets singing terribly to the night. Small animals scuttling about. This was how it was in his territory during the night.

After that problem was settled, he started to move, tracing the cliffs of the chasm. He hoped he would find a bridge or something that could help him cross to the other side. The trip along the edge of the chasm was pleasant. So far, nothing too threatening appeared in Henry’s path. There were a few daring creatures that ambushed him but none of them managed to inflict a single scratch on him. As he didn’t want to disturb the balance of the food chain in a foreign territory, he let most of his assailants go, save for the ones that were too stubborn to admit defeat and kept coming back for him. He charred those ones into cinders.

Fate then bestowed Henry a twist. It was a wolf with steel-like claws and fangs. In addition to its peculiarity, its claws comprised four talons. Aside from the centipede, it was the only monster who was capable of piercing through his scaly hide. But after getting a shallow scratch from the wolf that ambushed him from a tree, Henry did not let the wolf inflict another wound on him. He smacked the wolf to the ground with its tail when it lunged at him. He stomped on all of its limbs to disarm it, quite literally. He ended the wolf’s suffering and yelps with a bite on its throat. The wolf’s flesh was as tough as its teeth and claws. It even tasted bitter. Henry spat out all the blood and flesh bits that got into his mouth.

Henry looked at the scratch he received on his right forelimb. It was light and nothing to be fretful about but it stung a little whenever he moved. He wished the wound would just heal up on demand but no matter how he tried to will it to, nothing happened. Henry sighed and simply gave the wound a lick as consolation. Henry winced the moment his tongue touched the wound. It hurt more than he thought. It almost felt like the wound was sizzling. As he looked at the wound, to his surprise, it was healed. 

Whoa… what the hell? Does my saliva have healing properties all along?

He immediately thought about the girl, and what he could have done for her. As he rued his ignorance and wallowed in self-pity, he jumped with a small shriek when he saw the wolf’s carcass. The veins had blackened and the flesh had gone rotten. The rapid decay appeared to have spread from the throat, the spot where he bit the wolf. Strange, he thought. There were no such effects for the other monsters he killed with his fangs. He came to a conclusion then. He now possessed venom. Most probably a mutation from getting inflicted with venom. He surmised the magic crystals he consumed helped him survive through the venom and in the process, he had attained the venom for himself. 

Now, he had another weapon in his arsenal but the means of the weapon brought a complicated feeling. Seeing what the wolf carcass was reduced to, he shuddered at the sight and at himself. He vowed to himself then that he would only use the venom as a last resort, not because he had a good heart or anything but simply because it was too disgusting to look at and it would spoil the meat. 

An idea struck him while he was shuddering at the sight of the rotting carcass. He spat some of his salivae onto the bite wound where the decay spread from. As he suspected, the decay stopped and the veins immediately looked a shade lighter though not entirely nor was it every vein. His saliva was the cure in addition to its healing properties. He had gained the venom and the cure in a single package. This meant that it wouldn’t matter if the meat was tainted by his venom or not, it would still be safe for consumption. However, he still wouldn’t eat it if it was tainted. It was just too gross to be put into his mouth.

After that, a moment of peace returned. The surroundings were quiet again. Henry had displayed enough of his prowess to discourage all the daring monsters. Henry took this moment to gaze at the night sky. It was the first time he had the opportunity to do so. His territory was overgrown with densely packed trees, leaving him no privilege to enjoy the night sky with all the branches and leaves in the way. The moon was full and bright yet pale. The stars adorned the pitch-black sky. It brought Henry a tinge of unexplainable joy. He was just happy to be alive, that was the best way he could explain the joy. All those close calls and perilous situations had taught him to be grateful that he was still living at the end of the day. He hadn’t exactly sat down and contemplated about that but it did sink in slowly and gradually.

As his gratitude for his health bloomed, the scenery changed. The trees were gone, reduced to mere stumps. The grasses were cut short and a road was paved. Torches were planted and aligned neatly alongside the paved roads on both sides. Aside from that, what was important was the bridge that dangled between the two sides of the chasm. The bridge was made of wooden planks and ropes but it looked sturdy. Henry beamed at the sight of the bridge but he didn’t just run towards it without reserve. The bridge and the paved roads indicated the presence of people, not necessarily humans. As he trod closer, he saw a person standing by the bridge’s entrance. Judging by the way the person was standing with a spear held close and straight and donning armour, Henry could only guess the person was a guard. 

And like his speculation, the person was no human. The person looked like a human male for the most part but he had a hooked nose, pointed ears, a pair of small tusks protruding upwards, and his skin was of a pale green. An Orc, that thought immediately came to Henry’s mind when he saw the person’s appearance.

Is there an Orc village nearby? Why is an Orc guarding a bridge?

All sorts of questions invaded his mind but he cast them all aside. He focused on the main objective, which was to cross the bridge. Before he could arrive at any ideas, the situation developed. A group of riders were galloping towards the bridge on horses. Judging from the way the Orc wasn’t in a panic or anything, Henry could tell the Orc was familiar with the riders, or at least they were affiliated. 

There were a total of three riders. They stopped just before the bridge and got down from their horses. Two were dressed in heavy armour that covered them from head to toes but their faces and ears were exposed. Their ears were long and furry, like a canine or a feline, Henry couldn’t discern. Their faces were close to a human’s except for their eyes which were those of a beast. Henry realised they were the infamous trope of demi-humans in fantasy stories. They were often called; beast-kin, beast-men, or beast folks.

Lastly, the third person was in white robes with a hood pulled down over their face. But not for long, as they lifted their head and pulled off the hood, revealing a beast-kin like the two beside her. It was a female beast-kin and she was a great beauty as far as Henry could see. Her hair was silver, a shade darker than her robes, and her eyes were violet, a terrifying combination that accentuated the word, beauty. Henry hated to admit it but the beast woman was even more beautiful than the girl he found in the pit. The woman’s countenance and the fact that she had two escorts were enough to indicate her high status.

“Lady Iluna,” the Orc standing guard went to one knee and lowered his head towards the woman. 

They spoke a different language but Henry understood the words.

“Rise,” the woman, known as Iluna, said.

“What brings you out here at this time of the night, m’lady?” the Orc asked as he got to his feet.

“There was a great disturbance in the forest, do you know?” said the beast-kin to the right of Iluna.

Oops, Henry muttered in his heart.

“The forest was a little bit restless tonight but I didn’t give it much thought. Am I ignorant of something, m’lady?” Though the question came from the escort, the Orc replied to the woman.

“One of the small villages on the outskirts had suffered a stampede. The reports say the animals and monsters were running scared. Coupled with what happened this morning in the chasm, we can only suspect there is a new monster lurking about in the forest. Lady Iluna had rushed around asking each of the sentries to check if they had noticed anything unusual. Have you?”

“Forgive my ignorance but I haven’t.”

“No one had attempted to cross the bridge?”

“No one, sir. Not even the Augru Tribe on the other side. No monsters or animals even approached it.”

So they are called the Augru Tribe.

The beast-kin nodded and turned to the woman. “Nothing here too, Lady Iluna. This is the last sentry post. Maybe we should return for now. There’s nothing more we can do.”

“No,” the woman said, firmly. “I will not sleep until this matter is resolved. Who knows how many more villages will be trampled by the animals running scared while I sleep? The source of the disturbance must be found or more will suffer, our people and the forest alike.”

Damn… This woman is magnanimous. Should I just step forward and apologise?

“M’lady, with the issue of the Demon Hand’s presence at large and the disappearance of the Kivu’s princess and now this? M’lady, you have barely slept for the past few days. You need to get some proper rest.”

“Do not make me repeat my words. I will not rest until the problems are dealt with. I am the moon’s chosen. This is my duty. We shall not speak of my need for rest again until this is all over.”

I really should just apologise.

As that thought crossed Henry’s mind, a series of disturbing sounds crossed his hearing. Shivers ran down his skin. He was familiar with these noises. 

“Did you hear that?” asked the guard on the left of the woman, who had remained silent all this while. Henry was surprised to hear a woman’s voice coming from the guard. 

“It’s coming from the chasm,” said the Orc who quickly rushed to the edge of the cliff and peered into the chasm. Suddenly, a large pincer appeared and grabbed the Orc just as he was peering over. The Orc screamed as he was lifted into the air but his scream was cut short when the pincer tightened. 

The lady in white gasped with a horrified expression. Her two guards positioned themselves in front of her with their swords trained on the pincer. The horses neighed in terror and ran off down the road. Henry heard someone click their tongue but he couldn’t see who.

“Iluna, get out of here!” the female guard shouted.

“Iora, I can help.”

“No, you can’t!” the female guard baulked. “Rex, get my sister out of here.”

“Right away,” the male guard nodded. He scooped Iluna into his arms, despite her insistence to stay, and broke into a sprint.

Henry watched the whole thing unfold from where he hid. The pincers were revealed to be the limbs of some large bug monster as it climbed up the cliff. A portion of its body was charred. A survivor of the devastation brought by yours truly, Henry muttered in his mind. He felt guilt stabbing his heart deep. It didn’t stop with the bug. More creepy crawlers emerged from the chasm. All of their bodies were charred. All of them were survivors of the devastation. 

It was all his fault. Henry couldn’t deny that. These creepy crawlers lingered close to the top probably because they feared they would face the same ruin again if they lingered at the bottom. They were now forced to hunt whatever they could at this elevation. The beast-kin and the Orc just happened to be there when it was supper time for the creepy crawlers and they were making quite a bit of sound in their exchange, thus probably attracting the creepy crawlers in the process.

The female guard, Iora, wielded her sword with extreme precision and proficiency. She sliced and diced through the bugs and insects like she was cutting through butter. The scene shocked Henry to his bones. This was his first real sight of a fantasy battle playing out. As much as he loved to enjoy it, he had to take part too as he was the reason for the creepy crawlers attacking them. But when? He asked himself. If he just suddenly rushed right in now, the female guard would just treat him as hostile and cut him along with other insects and bugs. 

Fortunately, an opportunity presented itself. A giant pill bug emerged from the chasm and charged toward Iora as it curled itself into a ball. She tried slashing at the pill bug but her sword bounced right off. The pill bug slammed right into her and she went sprawling across the ground. Her sword had flown out of her hand when she was rammed. The pill bug rolled in a circle and came around for another charge. Iora scrambled to her feet quickly but her sword was far away from her.

Now’s my chance.

Henry was about to leap out of the trees and save Iora from her plight. However, she ran right at the Pill Bug, contrary to Henry’s expectation.

W-what the fuck?

Henry frowned in confusion at the female guard’s decision. He thought she was suicidal but what transpired proved him wrong. Instead of her, it was the pill bug that went flying away this time. She rammed the bug with her shoulder so hard that it flew off the cliff and plunged right back down to the depth of the chasm.

Holy shit…

Henry underestimated the female guard by a mile. Around two dozen creepy crawlers had emerged from the cliff and all were felled by her alone and she suffered a mild injury that couldn’t even be called an injury. She was rubbing her shoulder like she merely had a slight sore. She went to pick up her sword she dropped and sheathed it with a sigh of relief. She then turned her gaze in Henry’s direction. 

Oh shit…