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The BloodVaine EpicChapter 3: In The Neverwood
“Hold still.”
Gib had finally cornered his prey. It had taken him the better half of the evening but he had done it. The trail had been easy to follow but the knight had been moving at a surprisingly quick pace. Gib was sure he must have been at the end of his strength when he fell into the trap.
“Hold still.” Gib said again. “If you struggle the vines will get tighter and suffocate you.”
The knight was a mess. His face had numerous cuts from Griffin’s talons and he was covered in dirt from his stay in the pit-fall.
“You!” the knight shouted, “Come out where I can see you, you old wives’ tale. Yeah, that's right. I'm not afraid of you! Some forest Guardian you are. just an old hermit with a little bird. Come on out baldy! Bargon and me almost had your smelly head, you know that?”
Suddenly there was a sword at the knight’s neck.
“Is this yours?” Gib asked “You know, if I were the one entangled in a bramble trap I’d be more courteous to my host. Especially since he’s never been too fond of knights, let alone Dragon Masters.”
Gib paused but the knight didn’t say anything. Smart.
“Now,” said Gib, withdrawing the sword, “you are going to answer some questions. For starters--”
Gib stopped. The knight was laughing at him.
“Curse you for a fiend and a falsehood. Do you think I will even hear your questions? You speak very boldly of courtesy and such. Easy to do with a sword held against my neck, but lose me from this vile bush and give me a sword. Then shall we talk.”
Gib remained immovable. He knew that he would stand no chance against the knight were the grounds even, but he didn’t care. Keeping his cool, he knelt down to the knights eye level and said, “Heed me now knight and heed me well. If you do not cooperate I will personally walk you back to Dragon Master land and deliver you to sergeant Targon myself.”
The knight was about to make another snide remark but before he could he realized, by the look in Gib’s eye that he meant business. A slow realization spread over Marus. He was trapped and they both knew it.
“Now,” said Gib “your name’s Marus right?”
“Right.” said Marus rather unhappily.
“Ok Marus, you want to tell me what you and your comrade were doing, transporting a slave dragon though my lands.”
“What! We weren’t transporting nothing. We were escaping.”
“Really. So what was that about getting a reward in crusader land?”
“Oh. You heard that did you? Well that was...all right fine, I’ll tell you. It was Bargon’s idea. He said that he knew someone who would pay a kings ransom for the dragon.”
“Who?”
“I don't know. Some outsider. Bargon said that he’d been in contact with him for weeks.”
“But why would someone pay so much for a slave dragon?”
“I asked the same question myself but...to tell you the truth I don’t know. Bargon wouldn’t say and the strange thing about it was that it had to be that, very dragon. None else would do. I was against bring the dragon. I don’t like dragons and I figured that he would slow us down but...well, the reward convinced me.”
Then as if he was afraid that he had given away too much information he added, “Why? What’s so special about that dragon?”
“He’s an old friend of mine.” said Gib. He paused for a moment and then turned to Marus.
“All right Marus, here’s the deal. I’m going to cut you free and give you your sword back. Then you can either try to find your way out of the Neverwood alone, in which case you’ll most likely die in another trap. Or you can attack me, in which case you’ll either kill me or I’ll escape. Either way you’ll still be stuck footing it out of this forest alone. Or... you can follow me.”
Marus considered this. On the one hand he didn’t trust the man. But on the other hand he really didn't have a choice.
“All right,” said Marus “cut me loose.”
Marus was free of the bramble trap now, but he was not free of the forest. And his only hope of ever getting free was in Gib. They had been walking for a while now, with only one stop for Gib to blow his horn. He hadn’t really blown it of course, it wasn’t made for that. Instead Gib had yelled, or bellowed into it and it had carried his voice over the whole Neverwood. Gib, of course, knew that he was calling Griffin but it must have looked strange to Marus.
They were walking in silence now, each thinking his own thoughts. Gib was beginning to wonder why he had bothered to rescue the knight. Marus was a knight and a Dragon Master. Both things that Gib despised. And he had tried to kill Gib that very day, not to mention bringing that dragon back.
Still, Gib knew that he needed Marus’ help if he was going to take down the dragon. And what about that dragon? There was some mystery about him that Gib hadn’t figured out yet.
“And where is Griffin?”
No sooner had Gib thought this then the hawk came flying through the trees and onto Gib’s arm. Marus recognized the bird and at once flew to fury. He would get revenge for their last encounter. Quickly Gib turned about and stopped Marus’ advance.
“Stop right there knight. You come one step nearer and I’ll leave you to the will of the forest.”
Marus hesitated but he eventually backed down, allowing Gib to continue with Griffin.
“Where’s the dragon?” asked Gib. The hawk proceeded in his usual manner, completely baffling Marus.
“Good work Griffin.” Gib said. “Now, I have one more job for you today. Go tell Grizzle and Jackal that I don’t need them after all and that I’ll meet you all back at the castle.”
The hawk nodded and darted off through the trees. The two men were alone again and without a word from Gib they continued.
Marus was uneasy. It was getting dark and the woods seemed to be closing in on him. He still walked with his sword out, a sign that he didn’t trust his guide.
What if he’s leading me into a trap? No, if he wanted to kill me he could have done it before. So what dose he want with me? He must want something. I don't think he would just let me go. What ever he wants the best thing will be to comply.
Marus hated Gib a lot but he hated the forest more and would do anything to get free. Still, he was curious.
“So wood-man,” Marus said aloud. “What of your friend?”
Gib stopped short.
“You and the deceiver were allied were you not?” continued Marus.
“What are you talking about?” said Gib. “I know nothing of this deceiver.”
“What! You mean to say that you know nothing of the man who stole the great dragon Coal-Blood?”
Gib still wore a blank expression.
“You don’t get out much do you?”
“Perhaps if you told me the story…”
Marus hesitated, still afraid of giving away too much information.
“Well, I suppose it won’t hurt if you know. Before I was born there was a great dragon. Coal-Blood the Great they called him. Personally I never saw what was so great about him. He can rot with the rest for all I care. Why, you can imagine how it was for me, having to grow up listening to stories of how great Coal-Blood was. A dragon black as coal with a face as red as blood. Swifter, stronger, and more fierce then any dragon before. None were there who could tame him, though many died trying. Disgusting, that's what it was. Glorifying a filthy beast.”
“And this dragon...he was your deceiver?”
“Oh no! No no no no no. The deceiver was a man. According to the stories he was an outsider, brought in by someone called BloodVaine. The reason I mention the dragon is because the very first thing that the deceiver did was tame him. That got him a lot respect of course but the moment everyone turned their backs he stole Coal-Blood and half the rest of the dragons.”
“How did he manage that?”
“Well, apparently some dragons can command others, like generals almost. Coal-Blood was one of those. And because the man stole Coal-Blood, he came to be known as the deceiver.”
“I see. So why should I know him?”
“You should know him because it was in this very forest that BloodVaine found him.”
Gib sighed, “I think I might know your deceiver after all.”
Gib was silent for a while. He was mulling over all the information he had just received.
“I think it’s time you and I had a talk.” he said at last. “Take a seat.”
Gib motioned to a fallen tree as he himself took a seat on a large rock.
“It seems,” he began “that we find ourselves in a rather strange situation. You, an escaping Dragon Master are stuck in a forest that you loathe. Don’t try to deny it, I can tell. You can’t go back even if you wanted to and the only way out is straight through the forest, following a man you detest. I, on the other hand have been left with a dragon and a Dragon Master on my hands and in my forest. There are few things I hate more then those and the fact that you tried to kill me doesn’t endear you to me at all. Ironic, is it not, that we should both have to put up with our least favorite things.”
Marus grunted, unimpressed.
“I do however, have a plan that could get us both out of our current situations. You owe me debt for trying to kill me and I need a favor. So here’s the deal. You help me track down and kill that dragon you brought with you and I’ll leave you on the Classic LEGO border with a sack of gold as heavy as your helmet.”
“Are you mad?” Marus responded. “I wouldn’t go near that dragon for all the gold in Dametreos. Why do you think I left Dragon Master Land?”
“Now see here. You brought that dragon in here and you’re going to help me get rid of it.”
“Yeah, and then it had a fire muzzle and two choke collars. Listen, these slave dragons are beaten day after day. I know you don’t know a lot about dragons but trust me, the last thing you want to do is face a slave dragon that’s just escaped. What do you have against that dragon anyway?”
Gib looked away, avoiding the question.
“Oh come on, I told you about the deceiver. Come to think of it you never really said anything about that either.” said Marus.
Gib thought about this. What harm could telling the man do? He already knows most of my secrets.
Then suddenly Gib had an idea.
“I will give you an answer Marus but only if you swear to help me destroy the dragon. It’s really a terrific secret you see, one that few on earth except for me know. You see, there are many things that I detest. I detest knights. I detest Dragon Masters. I hate dragons and most of all I hate dragon blood.
These things I detest for a reason, and in this secret you will hear exactly why I detest them. But first you must swear.”
Marus’ interest was peaked now. He himself was a man driven by hatred. A hatred for dragons that came from the time that a dragon had given him his scar.
“I swear.” he said, “By the crest of the dragon.”
But whether he meant it or whether he said it in treachery Gib could not tell.
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