Despite the season, the sun had been shining pleasantly through the white clouds in the sky. There had barely been a breeze that day. With hardly any people passing by that morning and no birds in sight, everything had been quiet enough that the only sound one could hear in the air was the soothing flow of water dropping into the pond from the mountain cliffs behind it.

That all quickly changed with the arrival of the dragon.

The massive creature blotted out the sun as it flew overhead, its shadow casting over the pond like an eclipse.

Each beat of its wings sent out a gust of wind strong enough to rival the angriest of storms.

And the peaceful quiet in the air had been filled with roaring powerful enough to make the trees shake in their roots.

Balthazar’s group stood on the path between the road and his bazaar, staring up in awe at the winged beast as it swiftly glided over the plains and pond, and then circled over the town on the hill and back.

Its scales were a dark crimson red, each wing easily large enough to span the distance between each side of the cobblestone road, and its claws so massive they’d easily be able to carry away a horse if it wished to.

The dragon continued circling over the land, as if searching for something, letting out angry roars as it went.

“Is that really a dragon?!” said Rye, his eyes still fixed on the creature high above.

“It… it can’t be,” Madeleine let out, her jaw still dropped in surprise at what her eyes were witnessing.

“What the hell is it doing?” Balthazar said in an exasperated tone, meant to cover his apprehension at seeing the colossal creature flying over his home.

The dragon circled above the town again, but just as it was coming back around, tiny figures began appearing in the distance, over the city walls. City guards, their bows drawn, emerged all around, aiming up.

The winged beast let out another roar, and as if that was their command to fire, the archers let loose a volley of arrows towards the attacker. The dragon swerved, knocking away many of the projectiles, many more missed, and the few that landed seemed like little more than pebbles thrown at a giant.

Seemingly unharmed, but annoyed at the pestering arrows, the dragon glided some distance away from the city walls, out of reach of the guard’s bows, before preparing to descend over the plains.

As it landed on the side of the road, some distance away from the pond and bazaar, its weight made the ground shake, making the legs of everyone around Balthazar shake, and nearly throwing Madeleine off balance, before she grabbed on to Rye’s arm for support.

The dragon’s mouth opened, and for a moment the crab expected flames to come pouring out, but much to his surprise, a deep and guttural voice came out instead.

“I demand what is mine!” it shouted to the walled town on the hill. “Deliver the thief to me or face my wrath!”

The creature scanned its surroundings until its eyes stopped at the modest little gazebo next to the pond, and the five small figures standing in awe by the entrance.

Its lizard eyes narrowed. They were of an intense copper color, each one nearly as big as Balthazar’s whole shell.

It was like staring at Blue. If she was a different color, and the size of a house.

Or at least so did the crab think. He had never actually seen a proper house up close.

Balthazar focused on the creature standing over the tall grass through his monocle, reluctant to find how big of a threat such an imposing being could pose.

[Level 75 Red Dragon]

The crab nearly choked as he swallowed. He had never seen anyone or anything that high level. Especially none that were as big and threatening as that.

The dragon’s nostrils flared, and it turned its body to the bazaar before speaking again, raising its head so that everyone around it could hear what it had to say.

“Do not try to lie or delay. I know the thief came this way. I can still smell his scent on the road. Bring him to me or I will find him myself in your ashes!”

Bringing its head back down, the beast flared its nostrils again as it stretched its neck closer to the bazaar.

Suddenly, a trumpet sounded from the hill above, and the city gates opened.

Dozens of guards in their matching yellow and white armors rushed out in lines, some holding shields, others spears, and those further back carrying large longbows and quivers on their backs.

As the guards took formation on the road between the city and where the dragon had landed, the creature turned away from the pond, focusing its angry scowl on the men sent out to meet it.

“You dare challenge my—”

The dragon cut itself short as a distant human shout from behind the lines of guards ordered them to fire, and countless arrows and javelins were sent flying directly at the red creature.

With surprising speed and agility for something its size, the dragon swatted away the javelins and most of the arrows with one wing, all while its tail followed through with one swift swipe, hitting the ground between it and the guards like a giant whip.

The impact sent the front line shield-bearers flying back into the spear holders, knocking most of them down and revealing a rear line of shocked bowmen quickly trying to nock their next arrow.

“Guys, we can’t just stand here gawking like idiots forever!” Rye exclaimed.

Balthazar shook his shell, as if snapping out of a haze. The entire scene had felt so surreal that he had nearly forgotten everything around him and the danger it all posed.

Bouldy stood close behind him, his stance ready and defensive, while Druma stood to his left, under the cover of the golem’s arm, concern written all over his brow and large eyes.

Madeleine turned to them. “If that thing decides to start attacking, there’s no place that will be safe, but in here we will be easy prey. We need to get up to town and help them defend it. It’s our safest bet.”

Balthazar gulped quietly.

She was not entirely wrong, but he knew he couldn’t leave. Even if he wanted to.

“The dragon is standing right between us and the gates. There’s no way for us to make it there without it catching us if it wants to,” the crab said.

“Balthazar’s right,” said Rye. “Either through or around the road, we would put ourselves directly in the line of fire. If we try to run the other way, we’d have to go into the forest, and it’s not like that would be much safer for cover. We need to hunker down here as best as we can and hope the guards can take care of it.”

“I don’t know, Rye,” Balthazar said, pointing a pincer towards the uphill road. “I’m not feeling too confident that they got this covered.”

A cloud of dust was settling over the road, revealing a mass of guards thrown on the ground as their comrades tried their best to drag the injured back, none bothering to shoot the dragon anymore.

The beast roared once more, as the men hurriedly retreated, stumbling over themselves back to the gates.

“Well, so much for that!” said Madeleine, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

“And they wanted me to pay taxes for guards like that!” Balthazar added.

On the plains, the dragon roared again.

“Do not test my patience further, humans!” demanded the angry dragon.

“Come on, guys,” said Rye. “Let’s take shelter inside before things get uglier.”

The group made their way back into the bazaar, but outside, as if it had suddenly remembered what it was doing before the small distraction caused by the city guards, the winged beast was turning back its attention to the small pond and its inhabitants.

“Well, crap,” said Balthazar as he looked up. “Not the best place to take shelter when we have a big gaping hole above our heads.”

The light coming through the roof disappeared as the dragon stretched its neck over the bazaar and its big copper eye peered inside.

“You,” the dragon’s voice echoed inside the gazebo. “The thief I seek was here. I can still feel his faint smell from your shack.”

“Did that big lizard just call my place a shack?!” the outraged crab said.

“Balthazar,” Rye whispered without taking his sights off the huge eyeball observing them from above, “I don’t think that’s the detail you should focus on right now.”

“Well, I don’t know what it wants,” the merchant said. “None of us is a thief. The only thief I know is Rob, and I know there’s no way that coward would dare go anywhere near a dragon.”

Seeing no other option but to use his main talent, Balthazar stepped under the dragon’s gaze and started talking.

“Er… hey, big guy,” the crab sheepishly called. “Hello there. Name’s Balthazar. Owner and proprietor of this bazaar, nice to meet you. Don’t mind the mess, we were doing some cleaning and repairs before you… you know… showed up and started roaring and whatnot. Impressive vocal cords, by the way.”

The dragon frowned and snarled impatiently, letting out a cloud of smoke through its nose.

“Anyway,” Balthazar hurriedly continued. “If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly did this thief you seek look like?”

Letting out another snarl, the creature moved its head further away from the roof.

The dragon’s mouth opened, revealing a set of terribly sharp teeth, and the group reeled, unsure whether it was about to speak again or do something far more devastating.

Which one was it, they would never know, for another loud sound broke through the air outside, pulling everyone’s attention away, including the dragon.

Balthazar and company all leaned over one of the side railings of the bazaar, trying to see the source of the shouting and yelling coming down from the town’s road.

Dozens of figures were pouring out of the city gates and running down the hill. They were not soldiers in their matching uniforms this time, but a mob wearing a myriad of different armors and colors, brandishing all sorts of weapons as they went.

Balthazar knew the type well. He had been seeing them daily for months.

They were adventurers, all rushing out of the city with eagerness and ambition on their faces, clamoring and raring to fight.

As the mob rolled down the hill, their stampede made the ground shake, and their shouting grew into deafening battle cries.

“Slay the dragon!”