The trio stood on the banks of Drowner’s pond and consulted their map for their next move. When the waiter said it was a straight shot from Drowner’s pond to the dragon’s lair, he wasn’t kidding. According to their map, if they crossed directly through the pond, they would arrive at the lair in half a day. The pond was wider than it was long and, if the annotations on the map were to be believed, only about four feet deep, due to all the bodies buried in the lake bed. Convenient to walk across, if not for the undead that floated on the surface ready to turn all travelers into a member of their ranks.

  Should they go around the edges of the pond, the trip would be extended by two days. Not only would they have to fend off undead hordes, coming from the ponds, but the plains on either side of the pond were home to a number of rabid beasts, they would attack anyone that encroached on their territory. Damian turned to his two companions, put away the map, and held out his arm for Bronze to alight on.

  “What do you guys think? Through the pond or around it?” Damian asked.

  “Through vould be faster, and I do not fear zombies. They are veak creatures, only fit as cannon fodder.” Viktor said.

  Arushi just shrugged, “It would be better to face only one type of enemy than multiple; however, it means we will be beset on all sides.”

  Damian thought of something and looked through his inventory. Sitting there were two bars of righteous platinum, he summoned one of them to his hand. It was a bar of silvery, white metal that seemed to glow with a holy intensity. Wanting to test a theory, he started to approach the turbid water of the pond. As he reached the edge the water started to his steam and part before him. The floating corpses, that had moved closer to the shore as the trio discussed their options, started to smoke and rose from the water with a roar of pain. The corpses closest to Damian burst into flames, while those farther back turned and fled from his presence.

  Satisfied with the results, he summoned the other and passed it to Viktor, “Hold this and lead the way Viktor. Arushi, you follow behind and stab at anything that still comes near us, I’ll follow behind you to increase our coverage as much as possible.”

  The two exchanged a look, before they shrugged, and followed Damian’s plan. The trek through the pond was boring, and uneventful, just the way Damian liked it. A vast majority of the undead fled from the aura radiated by the bars of metal. those that could endure it were so weakened by the effort; Arushi was able to easily end them with a thrust of her spear to the brain. If that was all it would have been a rather refreshing change of pace, but like everything else they had dealt with, there was an unnerving undertone. With the parting of the water, the trio could see the bodies that littered the ponds bottom, and the bodies could see them in return. Each corpse stared at them with a venomous hatred and resentment, furious at being denied new companions. Reaching the other side of the pond after five hours, the team breathed a sigh of relief.

  “You know, I expected sudden quest or setback to interrupt us.” Viktor said.

  “Don’t jinx us.” Damian deadpanned.

  Shaking his head, Damian sent Bronze to scout the dragon’s lair ahead of them. The more they could learn ahead of time the easier setting up a trap would be. While he only needed to land a single shot with Nocturne Buck, he needed the dragon to be in an open space to get a clear line of sight. They traveled halfway to the lair when Bronze began to send images back.

  The lair was located in a cave at the base of a cliff, dotted with shrubbery and a few trees. A small spring of water provided any water the dragon would need. Sitting outside the cave was cage of stone, holding a girl in her early twenties, presumably the princess. The woman looked to be wiggling something in the lock, occasionally turning fearful glances at the cave opening. While the dragon couldn’t be seen at the moment, given the way the girl was acting, it was currently sleeping in the cave. Damian relayed the information to his companions, who sped up their pace and began to discuss strategy.

  “I know plan A is to use the ability of Damian’s crossbow, but we should prepare a contingency just in case.” Arushi suggested.

  “It’s not a bad idea, what did you have in mind?” Damian asked. Who knew what could happen, when they reached the cave? Maybe a setback that prevented the use of ranged weaponry would pop up, or Damian could miss. While both scenarios were unlikely to happen, it was better to prepare.

  “What are weaknesses of western dragons? I’m not very familiar with them.”

  “Vell, they tend to be arrogant, and greedy, so they are easy to trick into disadvantageous situations, as their pride vill not allow them to believe they could be harmed. Also, their undersides tend to have weaker scales, usually with one in particular being a weak point.” Viktor chimed in.

  “Don’t forget ice and cold elements, they are lizards after all. I’ll equip the item I got from Baba Yaga; it imbues the element of ice to my attacks. It will cause me harm as well so I’ll need to be circumspect with it.” Damian said.

  Arushi nodded, pondered for a second, then asked. “Do you think we could trick it into walking over a pre-dug pit?”

  “Probably.” Damian answered.

  “Then I can hide inside the pit and stab it with my spear as it passes over. The talisman I was given, will suck the vitality out of my surroundings, and increase my strength, but I will be out of commission once it wears off.” Arushi explained.

  “Not bad idea. Ve vill dig pit just outside valley entrance. I see mountain in distance, ve are getting close.”

  It took the group another three hours to reach the edge of the valley. They selected a bit of land surrounded by trees and shrubbery, and started digging. With their enhanced physique, and all three of them working on it, they quickly created a six-foot hole. Arushi hopped in and made a few practice stabs, before she was satisfied. Viktor covered the opening with a layer of twigs and branches, from nearby trees, and a small layer of dirt. They confirmed that Arushi could still see through the barrier and were about to start getting into position, when a furious roar echoed from further into the valley, followed by a system pop up, and the world greyed out.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  She don’t need no knight, right? The princess has somehow managed to escape her cell. How? Who knows? Me, I know! The Thrillbark Empire has used the inconvenient npc action setback. This setback causes a npc to take the course of action most inconvenient for the party. As compensation, all essence rewards for the encounter are doubled, and the dragon’s horde has been given a few more items from the Thrillbark Empire’s treasury. Seriously guys, stop interfering in my game so much, let others have a turn, last warning.

  The monks voice echoed from all around, his tone urgent and cautioning.

  ‘Amitabha patrons, I will keep this brief as you will need to take action quickly. The princess picked the lock to her cage and was rather loud with her escape. The dragon is awake, furious, and no longer cares that she is a hostage. It will be aiming to kill her, and should she die, your mission will be deemed a failure. Do not let that happen, good luck.’

  “FUCK! Viktor take cover by those trees and be ready to charge the lizard, Arushi we may need your plan after all! I’ll get the stupid girl!” Damian raced off towards the valley, pushing himself as fast as he could go, his companions calling out affirmations, and wishes of luck after him.

  Damian summoned his crossbow and the bracelet from his storage. He slipped the bracelet onto his right wrist and primed the Phantom Herd’s Call, ability. He rocketed into the valley to see the princess, blonde hair flying behind her and dress hiked up to her hips, racing up the side of the valley towards him. The dragon was barreling down on her, and if he didn’t do anything it would catch the princess before he could reach her. Damian started sprinting down the slope and took aim, he depressed the trigger, and felt his left arm start to numb from the elbow down. The bolt struck the dragons shoulder joint and managed to penetrate the limb. Damian smiled, looks like he was worried for nothing.

  Before he could slow, the dragon roared in outrage, he looked over and near tripped over from the shock. The dragon swatted one of the phantom deer away causing it to disperse, the other two struck but it only seemed to enrage the dragon even further. The great beast slowed down, and continued to battle the intangible herd. Damian raced towards the princess and reached her in seconds. Skidding to a stop he grabbed the woman and threw her over his shoulder, like a sack of potatoes.

  “Damn it girl! You couldn’t have waited another fucking hour for us to come get you?” Damian shouted at his princess burden as he sprinted uphill.

  His only response was a terrified scream, pounding steps that shook the earth, and a desperate warning from Bronze. His faithful tlanuwa sent him an image of the dragon, shrunken and shriveled but very much still alive, lunging at him. Feeling the dragon’s fetid breath on his back, Damian made a desperate dive to his right. Just as he thought he cleared the beast’s open maw, he felt a tearing sensation. He landed and rolled, doing his best to shield the princess, but she was not his biggest concern at the moment. No, his biggest concern was the bleeding stump, where his left arm used to be. The pain hit the next second and he let out an agonized scream of pain.

  Bronze gave a furious screech and dived at the dragon that had turned around and started to move towards Damian. Its approach was slow and mocking, which was a mistake, its lack of haste allowed Bronze to accurately target the creature’s right eye. Her talons sunk deep into the eye socket and with a sickening squelch and pop, the eye was torn free as Bronze fled the beast’s reach. The dragon, roaring in agony as well as fury now, breathed flame after the bird that dared to harm it.

  All the while Damian was trying to gather himself. He kept staring at his missing limb in shocked denial, the word ‘fuck’ running through his mind on endless repeat. It was difficult through the haze of pain and denial, but he knew he had limited time before the dragon came after him again. He staggered to his feet in time for Viktor to skid to a stop at his side.

  “Shit! That is bad, ve need to get you out of here.” Viktor reached for him but Damian waved him off.

  “Get the girl, if she dies, we all do! I’ll manage, somehow. Go quickly, I’ll be right behind you.” Damian barely managed to growl out. He stooped, nearly falling over and grabbed the butt of his crossbow, drawing attention to the bracelet on his wrist. His mind flashed back to what Baba Yaga told him. She knew! She knew he would lose his left arm, and said nothing! Just a cryptic mention of still being able to use her gift. Fine, if she wanted him to use the fucking thing that badly, then he’ll use it. He fired a barrage of shots at the flailing dragon, most bounced off its scaled hide, but a few managed to penetrate the beast. Ice started to cover the edges of a few scales, and the dragon roared once more, turning its glare on Damian.

  Damian turned and sprinted after Viktor, occasionally turning to fire on the dragon. Each barrage that hit slowed the beast slightly, ensuring it couldn’t catch them quickly. However, permafrost was creeping up what remained of Damian’s left arm, with each bolt that slammed home. On, the plus side he likely wouldn’t bleed out, he would probably lose more of the arm once this was over though. As his magazine ran dry, Damian spotted the opening of the pit trap and angled towards it. It was lucky he ran out then as he was shivering intensly with how much permafrost already covered him, any more and he would go into shock from the rapid temperature change. The dragon, blinded by fury, didn’t even take in its surroundings, and chased after the vermin responsible for harming it. Damian leapt over the pit and yelled out, “Arushi! Now!”

  The plant mater wilted and withered to nothing in seconds, leaving only ash behind. As the dragon passed over the pit, Arushi burst up from the ground and, with her increased strength, lifted the dragon off its feet, and onto its back. Her spear was firmly planted in the middle of the beast’s chest, Arushi pulled it out and plunged the weapon back in over, and over again. Viktor, having tossed the unconscious princess behind a tree, charged into the fray and brought his twin axes down on the dragons exposed neck. Damian could only stagger off to the side while his companions finished off the beast. Adrenaline fading from his system, Damian fell to his knees and started to hyperventilate.

  He wasn’t sure of how much time passed as he tried to get his breathing under control, but Damian was startled by the touch of a hand on his shoulder. He flinched and whirled about, his remaining fist lashing out at the potential threat. Thankfully before he could connect, Arushi deflected his fist, and knelt down in front of him. She pressed her forehead against his and started taking exaggeratedly deep breaths, something Damian eventually began to unconsciously follow. She held the sides of his face and locked her eyes with his, grounding him in the moment.

  They stayed like that for a few minutes before Damian could croak out, “Sorry about that. Didn’t realize it was you.”

  “It’s okay. Let me bandage up the wound, while the permafrost may have stopped the blood loss it is a temporary solution. The permafrost is already fading from your neck.” Arushi said in a soothing voice.

  She helped him out of his coat and shirt, and began inspecting the wound. Her face, while still pinched with concern, eased slightly at taking in the wound. “Good news, it was a clean cut, so there shouldn’t be any complications with the healing process. I have a few slaves that I will apply to your bandages that should keep the wound disinfected and stop the bleeding.”

  Damian nodded but refused to look at the arm, he doubted he would be able to keep what little composure he regained if he did. Luckily Viktor, this time accompanied by an unconscious princess, walked over.

  “I am glad you are alive Damian. I svear I vill find some vay to help you. One of zhe books I vas given vas on bio-mechanical engineering, I should be able to design blueprint for prosthetic arm.” Viktor promised.