their fights with two other enemies, getting in a good few hits, but not doing much damage against their tough scales.
Finally, they both pull back into the woods and vanish as if they’d never been there.
All eight of us form a circle around Dolly and our cargo, ready for another onslaught.
But the jungle is as empty as it’s ever been.
I help Dolly to her feet. “There was only three, and now they’re gone.”
She brushes various debris off her. “Anyone hurt?”
“Warriors Ern’tax and Ytir’ox have small injuries from claws and teeth, but will be able to continue.”
She nods. “I’m glad you all sensed something wrong. If not, they could have done some real damage. What do you think they wanted?”
I look her up and down, just making sure everything is the way it should be. “I can only think of one thing.”
“Me, right?” She adjusts the backpack, not too concerned.
“There would be no other reason for them to attack a band of slayers like us. We carry nothing of value to them. And they were coming straight for you. If we weren’t ready, they could have grabbed you and just kept running.”
“But you were ready. They failed.”
“This time, yes. Shall we go back to the village?”
She raises her eyebrows. “Why? Did you forget something?”
“Well, no. But the attack… the dragons are now cooperating, it seems.”
She tilts her head to the side. “Nothing new has happened, Brank’ox. We knew there were dragons in the jungle. We knew three or four of them can work together for a short time if they must. If anything, we’re safer now than before. Their attack failed badly. You kept me safe.”
I scan the jungle again. “I don’t like it. It’s not common for them to attack like this.”
“They’re growing desperate, probably. I’m not sure why they wanted me, but I’d guess it was for the sheer entertainment of abducting and probably killing. It’s part of their nature. Shall we continue?”
“We’re just guessing,” I growl. “Yes, we should continue. If they attack again, do the same thing and stay down.”
We walk on, just like before. There’s no new attack and no sign of any dragons until we’re at the strange alien place where Bune used to be, what Dolly calls Old Bune.
“Sun’s not even down yet,” Dolly says when we see the even, artificial hill in front of us. “We’ve been walking fast. Let’s eat something.”
We take a quick dinner, and then we light many torches and spend several hours chopping down trees and building a simple dwelling inside the alien structure. All the while at least one of us is watching Dolly, and I worry a great deal about what I’ll do when I’m here alone with her. I’ll have to both watch her and do the work that’s needed.
“It’ll be fine,” she says as if she knows what I’m thinking. “The dragons hate Bune and everything about it. I doubt they’ll want to come close to this place.”
It must be midnight when we decide to rest until daybreak.
Dolly and I now have a whole hut to ourselves, built from wood deep in the alien maze of beams and such. It’s roomy and has a dense, thatched roof and special defensive features I’ve designed myself. Not that I worry we’ll be attacked while inside the hut – the structure around us is an impossible mess it would be impossible for anyone to invade without giving us all the prior warning we’d need to get ready to face them. They might actually have serious trouble making their way down here, too. But if Dolly has to do a lot of work outside in the woods, then I have to spend all my time watching her.
Which might not be a bad thing. But inefficient. After the dragon attack, I want us to finish our mission here as soon as we can so I can get Dolly back to the safety of the village.
The men will sleep higher up in the structure, practicing wartime routines with regular, four-hour watches. They’re all young and almost giddy with excitement – none of them had seen a dragon before, much less fought three of them. And won.
The Swordmaster part of me is gratified about that. But another part of me really wants the dragons dead. They came for my Dolly!
She dumps a heap of furs on the floor of our new, temporary home. “It smells so good in here! Fresh wood and smoke from the torches. I think we’ll be really comfortable.