A rough group in scaled armor

The group on horseback was a dozen strong, covered in various armor plates of scales with leather in between. They were armed with a number of long spears and heavy crossbows. Clearly, they were armed to fight a beast and well-equipped to do so.

One in the fanciest armor, with red sashes accenting his golden scaled armor, rode forward, “Allow me to introduce myself and my companions. I am Aerlan the Scaleseeker and these are my companions, the Wingstrippers. We are dragon hunters and have been hunting a particularly elusive beast who has fled north.”

As his words, a metaphorical sweat drop beaded down my head. What were the chances that my lie about being here would be validated in all the wrong ways?

At the same time, Harlan would shift, drawing Aerlan’s attention, “Something about that strike you boy?”

“N-Not at all, just thinking of how terrifying a dragon would be.”

“Hm…yes the beasts can be pretty terrifying if one is unprepared, but if you catch them young enough and have some preparation, it’s just like any other beast.”

“Good to know.”

“Now, see we have a dilemma here. Because just up the road a caravan was attacked. Bandits, nasty business. However, our interest peaked because the bandits were dead, slain by some form of poison while others were torn apart.”

“And here we come across the first farm and there lay a wagon, exactly like the others in the caravan. And furthermore, Delia here,” and he gestured towards a Neko with a halberd, “See she’s a Neko from Mizuchi, saved her from some slavers and now owes me a life debt.”

“Anyway, she’s got a nose for dragons and knows that one came here and that the three of you,” gestures at Wyn, Harlan, and Astrid, “Have come in close contact with it.”

At this Esgard would tense, causing his eyes to flick back, “Now now, there’s no call for that. The way I see it, being the victim of a dragon attack isn’t a crime. However, being that close means you’ve been marked as part of its hoard. That means it’ll come to you.”

“So what we’re going to do is venture away from these open fields and flammable buildings, set a trap, lure it out, and kill it. After that, you’re free to go back to your lives with an interesting story and maybe a few souvenirs.”

Esgard would step forward, “If you think that I’m going to let yo-”

“Alternatively, we could overwhelm you, tie you all up, and use you all as bait.” he smiled serenely.

“So kiddos, it may sound like an offer but it really isn’t. Now mount up, we have some planning to do.” and some of them rode forward, picking the three up and riding off.

As soon as they were gone, I came out of the field. Esgard turned towards me, “This is your fault. You need to fix this.”

I was offended, “I’ve never met them before. If they are hunting a dragon, it isn’t me. However, I will get your children back as repayment for the hospitality. You have my word.”

Privately I thought, ‘Plus I’ve only gotten one of the three.’