Another One Bites the Dust... I Think

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. It was almost always underwater, frozen or uninhabitable for any living species with its toxic fumes—much less dragons. The Valley has always been a wasteland. Actually, it still is, only now there are dragons and, uh, fish. Nobody is sure if that's a good thing or not. Think about it: two living things exist now, which is good. But one of those things is a giant lizard who can wipe you and your whole family out in seconds; that's bad... But they stay in the Valley, which means no one is dinner as long we stay away from the Valley. It works for me; nobody even goes to the Valley unless they have a death wish; I certainly don't, with a bonus of not being dragon food? Sign me up; I volunteer to stay FAR, far away from the Valley. No amount of fish is enough to tempt me.

Everybody in my village agreed with me. Don't bother the dragons, and the dragons won't bother us. They have enough fish to not attack us; we're cool with that. However, it turns out that other villages do not share the same sentiment, which is not great for us. Every single time our village is visited by a party of well-meaning but overflowing with dragon-hunting-intent Adventurers, we all groan inwardly. Seriously, can't people just stop shaking the boat? The dragons aren't even the problem anymore; it's the uninvited guests.

"It must be hard, living in a village so close to danger."

A young woman probably in her 30s fiddled with a gleaming golden coin.

I eyed the coin with interest; that amount of money would keep the inn running for an entire month, even without any customers.

"Uh, no, not really," I replied flatly. It had been a long day of work. Having to entertain people who only asked questions about dragons was exhausting; seriously, can't we have a regular guest for once? But that coin sure is nice.

"Really? But with all the dragons running around, surely it has been hard? I mean, everyone here looks so poor."

I looked up and sighed inwardly; I don't have anything against adventurers, but they really get on my nerves. But running this inn has given me experience on what to do... just don't talk at all.

"Rude."

With that, the disgruntled-looking adventurer went back to her seat. I sighed inwardly again; she took the coin with her. Oh well. But just as I slipped back into my thoughts, I was interrupted by a very cheerful greeting. I look over and see a kid. The boy was small, short, and very dusty looking with a small, crude sword that looked like it would snap in half if you grabbed it wrong strapped to his back. He had a laurel symbol on his shirt, the sign that he belonged to a nearby village.

"Do you know where I can find the dragons?"

The idiot looks like he's twelve, and he wants to go hunt a dragon?

"Kid, where are your parents...?"

"Back home!"

I sighed, "Let me guess, nobody understood your dream, so you ran away."

"Yeah!"

...Not another one.

"How did you know?" The boy chirped brightly.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, "Look, let me give you a piece of advice, kid. Don't bother the dragons, and the dragons don't bother you."

"Huh?"

"I know killing a dragon and returning as a hero sounds amazing, and I don't know how to put this, but you will probably most likely die."

"I'm not here to kill a dragon." the boy told me sternly.

"Oh... wait, I thought you were part of the hunting group."

The kid squealed, "No way, they want to kill the dragons. I want to become their friend! I'm going to convince them to not be evil anymore!"

Say what now? I shook my head in disbelief, is this kid for real? I roll my eyes before grimacing; I'm not going to be responsible for a kid's untimely end.

"Kid, let me ask you something. Do you think puppies are evil?"

"No??"

"But if your puppy steps on an anthill and ruins the homes of thousands of ants and licks up a few out of curiosity, is it evil?"

"No! Ants are bad! They bite!"

"Now imagine the puppy is a scary dragon, and the ants are you."

"What?"

"Listen, kid, dragons are smart; they are smarter than humans. They are very powerful and extremely mysterious beings. They are also animals. They will likely not use their wisdom and listen to your offer of friendship. Instead, they will be inclined to incinerate you to bits, as per their instincts. Because like you said, ants bite." I snapped.

The boy looked at me; his mouth was agape. I felt terrible for crushing his dreams as a dragon whisperer or whatever. Still, I'm not interested in burying another kid.

Then the boy's face shifted into something bright again; confused, I looked back at him.

"It's okay! I can do it."

"Did you hear anything I said?!"

"Yeah, but I decided not to listen!" The boy's mouth curved upwards, "Please give me the directions, pleeease!"'

"Sorry kid, no can do."

The boy protested, "But I can do it! I know I can!"

"The answer is no."

"I have money!" The kid held up two dusty gold coins. Did he steal those?

Immediately I scowled, "Don't do that! Do you want to get robbed? And my answer is still no." As tempted as I am, I'm no executioner. I am not getting paid to send a child to their death.

"Fine! I'll just ask someone else!" the kid huffed.

I opened my mouth to retort, but then an idea struck me.

"Fine."

I told the kid to keep the coins and gave him instructions to the Valley. Or so he thought. I actually gave him directions to a winery in a nearby town. It is run by a friend of mine who was from Laurel Village. He'd know exactly who this kid's parents were and return him. That way, some other money-hungry idiot who wouldn't think twice about accepting the money wouldn't kill the kid. Problem solved. Or so I thought…

"HELLO, MISS. INNKEEPER!!!!"

My jaw hit the ground. Right in front of my inn was that kid from a few months ago, and... he was riding on the back of the biggest dragon I had ever seen. It was a smooth green color with bright blue luminescent eyes.

The kid laughed, "This is my new friend! His name is Everst!"

The bright blue eyes narrowed at me, and I gulped.

"Everst! This is my friend, the Innkeeper!"