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Chapter 11

Jerry looked from the large imposing woman with a crossbow slung around her back to the approaching angry mob that she had just summoned. He wrinkled his brow as he did not expect them to bring so many so quickly to his farm. He watched her eyes look to him as she gave him a smug look. Like she had already won the day with a simple whistle.

Don't go countin your chickens before they hatch missy.

The woman narrowed her eyes, almost as if she expected him to run. " I think they would love to have a chat about the dragon's on your farm." she chuckled, gesturing to the group of people with a wave of her hand. "Figure it will be a rather short conversation though." She crossed her arms and shot him a smug smile once again.

"Good. I like conversations." he replied, giving her a big tooth filled smile and delighting at the apparent pain it caused her. You just thought I'd back down because you brought a lot of folks? Think again little miss.

"Listen here old man." She scowled, irritation apparent in her eyes. "You're outnumbered here. We will find that dragon, it's only a matter of time." She padded the crossbow slung around her. "Just make things easier on everyone, and hand them over."

Jerry said not a word as he watched the rowdy mob get ever closer with each passing moment. His thoughts went to the quiver of arrows on his back. How each one was a special type of arrow that he had stashed in his collection over the years. Things I thought would never see the light of day again....and here I am...doing it all over.

"Now where did that other fella go? The one that was with you when you came round the house?" The woman's eyebrow raised as her eyes went to where James had been. "Do you think he's up to something crafty?"

Jerry's eyes widened as the woman appeared to ready her horse to follow his son. I need to buy him a little bit of time. "I don't think he is...but I must admit...you got a lot of folks here...and I think I don't want your kind of trouble." Jerry lied with a sweet and innocent smile.

The woman just gave him a grin as the rest of the others finally came to a stop. "So what are you trying to say old man?"

"What I am trying to say, is that I surrender." Jerry held up his hands. "I was healin the dragons in me barn. Figure I let them rest up here after the scuffle that they got themselves inta. Had to remove the poison from one of them, never saw a beast heal so fast." Jerry smiled when he heard a collective gasp sound through the crowd from all the gathered hunters. "I reckon by the time we get over there, she will be light as rain. You think she might be mad?" he tilted his head to the side.

"You said she was going to be hurt." came a shout from the crowd.

"Did you catch what those pair did to the others?" another voice shouted out.

"Now quiet the rest of ya." the woman snapped back, pointing a finger to the torch weiling mortals. "She can't be light as rain, you don't take that much wyvern venom and be walking around soon after." She narrowed her eyes to Jerry, shooting daggers at him. "I think at best shes passed out in that there barn. Nothing for us to worry about."

Damn..it looks like this one at least has a head on her shoulders. "Well just be followin me now." he waved to the woman as he started towards a different path towards the barn. "That way my son went. He was going ta be laying traps for ya..before I knew there was so many of ya."

"You crafty old man you." the woman laughed out, throwing her head back. "Good thing you're being so honest then. Heck. I might be in such a good mood to share with you some of the profits!"

"Who said you was in charge of handing out profits?" came a gruff voice from the crowd.

"I says I am." She shouted back in a snarl as she thumbed at her chest. "I been in this here group the longest. So since the leader went up and died a shocking death." she paused when several people laughed at her joke. "I get ta be the leader next."

"She gets my vote!" cried a feminine voice from the crowd.

"Mine too!"

"See?" the woman nodded, pointing out three other hunters. They were all roughly the same size of her, with matching muscles and scowls on their rugged faces. "Now the rest of you stay here and socialize. And....um.." the woman gestured to Jerry by waving her hand.

"Jerry." he said flatly.

"Jerry here shows us where the dragons are. Then we can get about tying the bitch up and get her to the boss!" The woman held up her hands as the others cheered for her.

_ Won't you be surprised_

"Now come on." Jerry gave a big fake defeated sigh as he made his way around the house with the small group behind him. _Right into my traps. _

"Your makin the right choice Jerry, that black dragon is a horrible thing." the woman puffed up her chest. "We're doin the world a favor by collectin that monster."

"That so?" Jerry's eyes went to a bear trap that he knew was placed in the grass. He casually stepped over it without a word. "I hear otherwise about her."

"Whatever lie escaped her maw was just that." the woman snarled. "I saw her tonight rip apart scores of our friends and allies. Luckily the wyverns that we obtained brought her and her green friend down.

"AHHHHH!" screamed one of the hunters, immediately after the clang of the trap.

Not skipping a beat Jerry drew his bow, a tad slower then he used to, but still quicker than the hunters. He drew an arrow from his quiver with a sun drawn on the shaft, knocking it and quickly letting it fly. He averted his gaze as the arrow struck the ground, and sent off a bright blinding light.

"Son of a bitch!" came the cry of one of the hunters as he clutched at his eyes with his hands.

"You'll pay for that!" the woman snarled, frantically trying to wipe her eyes from the stars she was no doubt seeing right now.

"My focken leg!" screamed the man in the bear trap. Gasping out further as he fell to the ground clutching his mangled looking leg.

Jerry did not give them further chance to get ready as he quickly loosed another arrow that connected with a blind man's kneecap. When the head pierced the flesh the thing suddenly exploded in a plume of smoke. Instead of fire, instead arrows flew in every direction. Those arrows found their targets in the flesh of the blinded hunters.. It brought a small smile to his face as they collapsed in pain to the grass. However the woman had managed somehow to avoid the arrows, blinking away her blindness and rushing to draw her weapon.

"TO ARMS MEN, THE BASTARD WAS LYING!"

Jerry was away from the angry woman before she could get a shot off at him with her energy crossbow. He rounded the corner of his house in a hastened walk, knocking another arrow as he did so. Just have to keep them distracted for a little bit. Hell might be able to scare off the townsfolk as well. He strode over another bear trap, wondering if he could make someone else fall for the same thing. He turned round to see the woman charging around the corner, her weapon held within her hands. To his disappointment she eyed the trap and bound over it, letting loose some wile shots of blue magical energy.

"You won't get away you bastard!" One of her shots almost collided with his leg, but it was enough to make him stumble, and almost lose his footing.

"Ugh.." Jerry groaned, letting fly the arrow towards the woman. Either it was his age, or his near miss, the arrow struck the ground uselessly behind her. "Damnt." He cursed through gritted teeth as his eyes fell to the barn. He knew he could not outrun the woman heading towards him. She was a prime age warrior, and he was an aging man well past his. But I still got at least a few tricks. He knocked another arrow, this one labeled with a snake on it. He let it fly when she got within ten feet of him. The arrow flew out, exploding in mid air and wrapping like a bola around the woman's legs. He smiled when her eyes widened and she collapsed face first with a thump.

Great! He looked around for cover. Now I just gotta find a spot to hold of the oth-

The mob came bounding around the corner of his house, their shouts and hollering once again making his ears hut.

Damnt. Jerry nearly bit his lip as he tried to make it closer to the barn, but it was no use. The collection of riled up people managed to quickly close the gap between them. He was forced to pull back another arrow, and face them with a wrinkled up face.

"Now stop right there! The whole lot of ya!" he shouted out. "Or I swear to the gods I will loose this here arrow...and my aim may not be the best anymore." he laughed. "But with this here explodin arrow, I don't really need ta be."

"Your jokin." came the voice of someone from the crowd as they silenced down.

"You want to bet on that?" Jerry grinned. "Now I don't want to hurt any of ya." His eyes fell to some people that he recognized in the crowd. "You folks just scared is all. Riled up by these hunters who want ta see some innocent dragons dragged away and bound up like some sort of animal."

"But they said she killed folks!" came the voice of the bartender from the inn.

"She did it in self defense! An I'm not gonna let ya hurt innocent folks cause ya scared." Jerry's eyes drifted to the hunters in the crowd, whose hand's had gone to their weapons stowed at their waist, or slung around their backs. "Now..don't touch those weapons!" Jerry snarled, snapping the arrow head towards the nearest half-orc, who had gone for his weapon. "Or I swear I will."

"You won't do it!" yelled one of the hunters. "Your not a murderer."

"That is true! But when push comes to shove, I will put down folks trying to murder other folks out of fear. Just cause ya scared doesn't mean ya get to do what ya wanna do. The rest of ya know me. I have lived here for years!" he shouted out, his voice starting to grow hoarse. "You know I have good judgement in people. So trust me when I say, that there dragon is innocent, and lettin these people do away with them is an injustice.

"S-s-s-shut up old man." came a hissing voice, seconds before a scaly fist collided with Jerries face seemingly out of nowhere, sending him spinning to the ground with a pained crash that rattled his bones. His bow flew from his grasp as he tumbled and came to a stop, face almost first in the grass.

"What in the-" Jerry went to gasp, only to find a green scaled Siigonis on top of him, pinning his hands to the ground and white teeth snapping at his face.

"I s-s-suggest you don't s-s-struggle any more." the lizard smiled a toothy grin. "I tend to get bitey in combat."

Damn't did he have some sort of invisibility? Or a spell? Jerry struggled in the iron like grip, but it was no use. He did not have the strength to toss the larger lizard off of him.

"I s-s-said s-s-stop!" the lizard tightened his grip, his dark grey claws starting to draw blood from Jerry's wrist.

"Fine ya scaled bastard ya got me!" Jerry slumped within the man's grasp, shooting daggers at him with his eyes.

"Fine work there." The stronger looking woman from return said, patting the siigonis on his shoulder. "He never saw you coming." she smiled, planting a quick kiss on the lizard's snout.

"That he didn't boss."

"Get him up." she snarled, her gaze falling to the barn as she strode towards it in a hurry.

"There's going to be nothing in there." Jerry shrugged as the lizard roughly stood him up.

"We'll see about that." the woman laughed, throwing open the barn doors with her crossbow drawn. There was a moment of silence as her mouth fell open, and she let out a shout of anger. "The dragons have gone!" she shouted out, spinning quickly around and stomping over towards Jerry. Her face had completely turned a bright shade of red, as her eyes shot him looks of hatred.

"See what did I tell you? Jerry chuckled. "Nothing in there." He peeked behind the woman, to see that the doors on the opposite side of the barn had been left open, like the dragons had escaped that way.

"Where...did...that man take them?" she stammered, words failing her as she shook with pure anger.

"That I don't know." laughed Jerry, as his eyes went to the crowd and then back to her. "Obviously my son is more crafty than I thoug---uuugh.." he felt the air from his lungs leave him as the woman's fist collided into his chest and made him see stars.

"Now the lot of you check the place for any sign of the dragon!" she shouted out, ordering the gathered hunters again when they did not move. She then lowered her head towards Jerry with a grin. "It you don't want to tell us where the dragons went...fine." She chuckled in the back of her throat when he offered no reaction. "I know someone in a tower that will love to hear about where his dragoness went to."

"T-than..." Jerry wheezed, spitting onto the ground. He smiled up at her as he gasped for breath. "Would love to meet him."

"Bastard." the woman snarled, punching Jerry once again in the gut as hard as she could, causing him to drop to the ground in pained groans. "NOW SEARCH THE PLACE! I WANT THOSE DRAGONS FOUND!"

Jerry clutched at his side as pain coursed through his body. He delighted in the sounds of their frustration with each moment they did not find the dragons. He would have to remember to praise his son for the quick thinking, and hastily hiding of the dragons. The woman grabbed him by the throat when it became clear the dragons were hiding anywhere her men could find on the farm. He was carried to her horse, and placed onto it's back after he was bound tightly with rough rope that made his skin itch, and a cloth gag placed into his mouth. He glanced back once at this farm as it started to shrink with each hoof beat on the ground. He closed his eyes contently, knowing he had saved those two dragons tonight

_ And that's all that matters in the end._