(Dragonkin) Dragon Rider Read Free

and much different than the flatter land in which it was located. It was much taller than the hills around it, and the sides were steep, and barren of any foliage. The top was flat on one side, and a castle stood in the center of that plateau with towers gleaming in the sunlight. The other side of the mountaintop had a conical shaped peak, which rose high above the castle, and was doted with the entrances to many caves. When Menimeth awoke the next morning, the dream was fresh in his mind. It seemed so real it was hard to believe it was a dream at all, and the voice in his mind grew louder.
       That day as he rode, he came across the tracks in the road. They crossed from north to south, coming out of the forest, and returning to it on the other side. They were only a few days old, and made by shod horses, at least three of them as far as he could tell. Two hours later, another set of hoof prints appeared on the road going the same way as the first, but this time there were only two riders, and the tracks vanished once again in the forest on the other side. It was late in the afternoon when he noticed them again, and this time, all five riders appeared at the same time. They followed the road now, in the same direction as Menimeth, and looked to be only two days old, if that.
       The rain fell slowly at first, as the light faded from the sky, growing stronger as the evening progressed. The cave, when he found it, was large enough for Donner and himself, and they fit comfortably inside. He stumbled on it by chance when he left the road to search for a suitable campsite, far enough from the road to be concealed. The entrance to the cave was in a wall of stone at the base of a short cliff, that was the height of three men.
       Inside, there was a natural chimney to one side, and the remains of a fire below it. There was wood enough for several days stacked in the back, and a stall for his horse beside the entrance. The remains of the fire, as well as everything else were very old, and had been here a long time. Someone used this place often in the past by the looks of it, but not recently.
       "It would be wise to remember this place," he thought. "If only for the return trip."
       It was two days before the rain let up enough to travel, and the sky was gray with clouds, as Donner once again walked the road, east. There was nothing left of the tracks that were here just days ago, but he had seen them clearly, and thought about them as he rode.
       As the day wore on, the rain returned intermittently. Not as heavy as in the days before, but enough to decrease his visibility by half, and slow down his progress. The feeling when it came, made the hair stand up on the back of his neck, and Donner stopped abruptly, turning his head to the side.
       "Time to get off the road, I think." He said to Donner in a quiet voice. "Trouble is waiting for us, up ahead."
       The light faded slowly as he made his way through the trees. He could hear the sound of horses on stone now, but it was coming from the wrong direction. Urging Donner forward, the crossroads became visible within moments, and they halted just inside the tree line. Three riders were approaching from the south, and were talking quietly to one another as they drew nearer. They dressed like simple farmers, and they had no armor, and even the weapons they carried were old and worn. Before the riders could reach the crossroads, four men appeared from the trees on the other side of the road from Menimeth, and formed a line across it.
       "Where do you think you're going?" The apparent leader said, as he stepped forward from the others. "This is our road, and if you want to use it, you will have to pay a toll."
       Menimeth scanned the trees for the fifth man, and spotted him behind the three riders. He held a bow, and had an arrow notched, ready to fire at the unsuspecting travelers.
       "Thieves and murders were what these men were, and deserved what