Wanderer (Sec. 1)
#1 of Wanderer
A story I'm writing for publication in my school's newspaper
Art by Achikah (Used by permission)
The massive amethyst colored dragon looked down at the comparatively small mouse. The female wore only a black cloak, a pouched belt, and a crystal bauble about her neck, and as she walked toward him, he could see that woven into her white fur were black stripes, like those a tiger are covered in. Not being a mind reader, the dragon wondered what this mouse could possibly want with him, but he had decided before agreeing to the meeting that he would not assume his hybrid form. She didn't seem to be afraid, as though she had faced worse, and her eyes were a wild blue that he had never before witnessed. At her left hip was a scabbard attached to the belt and a hilt poking out of it, and in her left hand was a battle axe that looked as though it were a size too large for her not-inconsiderable frame.
The anthropomorphic mouse stood at six-foot-two, and looked as though she had once been lithe, but had added much muscle. This look betrayed her true speed and her dark secret. "I am told that you have something I am looking for, or you have knowledge of it," began the mouse warrior. She had heard of the dragon's reputation for being a splendid creature, both fair and kind to most he encountered. Even still, she was not one to be trifled with in her own right, and if this dragon decided to make her an enemy, he would not live to regret it.
"What is it you seek that I might have knowledge of?" he inquired, having knowledge of many things throughout his various travels in his accrued centuries.
She looked up at him finally with arched brow, as she knew what she was questing would raise many other eyebrows. "The crown of undead splendor," was her reply.
"But why would you wish to search for such an appalling item?"
"It is simply . . . a trade. Do you know of its location, or do you not?"
"I do, but if I divulge this information, you will be indebted to me, should I ever need you." He looked down to the warrior, who simply nodded in response, and the dragon continued. "The last I heard of the artifact, it was being held and guarded in a vault. This vault was supposedly deep underground, guarded by a white dragon far to the north, in the hoar fields of Kamcha. I hope you know what you are doing, little one." The mouse had already begun to walk away from the dragon, so he called out to her. "What is your name?"
Without turning to look at him, she replied. "Ankh," was the only word she said, knowing the dragon would hear her with his powerful ears.