This story is by Zoey Sawa Sawa and was part of our 2023 Fall Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here.
“Wait, we still need a story!” The entire cub scout troop erupted in support of Billy’s suggestion.
The troop leaders all looked at one another, Michael paused for a moment to consider his options, he didn’t know many stories but there was one story he could remember though, “Ok, kids, gather around the fire and I’ll tell you about the legend of Draco the Dragon…
King Thomas was a greedy man who loved nothing more than the treasures of gold and silver. He worked the people hard and took up many stores. As their wealth grew it caught the attention of many who were also greedy and wanted to hoard it for themselves. While other kingdoms came to battle against them, none were successful.
Then one day the ground shook and the air turned hot; a mighty thunderclap was heard throughout the kingdom. The king and his guards looked around from the tower of the castle to see what was coming their way. A mighty dragon scaled in the colours of fire and a wicked grin.
Tale had gone through the land about this dragon, that he was cunning and one of the few who could speak. He lived in the mountains and hid many treasures inside the caves that could be found. He had large claws and teeth that could tear boulders and his scales were like hard steel. His body was snake-like and whiskers like a cat that came out of his face.
The king tried to reason with the beast to spare his people and his kingdom. The dragon said his name was Draco, and that if the king would give him half of the gold and silver and other precious ores his people found, he would stop his attack on them. But, Draco would come back every year when the leaves changed colour to get more treasure. If the kingdom could not produce enough wealth by then, the dragon would eat them all and leave the land desolate.
The king agreed to these terms, and for three years worked his people hard to help ensure their safety. Now during this time King Thomas wrote several proclamations that went throughout all the land asking for brave souls to go and fight Draco. During the summer of the third year, four warriors of great skill and power approached the king’s door.
The first was a tall elf, with dark hair. Unlike most elves, his hair was kept short around the sides but tall on the top, he wore heavy armour and carried with him a large axe.
The second was a stout dwarf with long blond hair, she wore the latest fashion and carried a ukulele on her back.
The third was an average size human with dark skin and curly hair. He was very fit and had travelled far to help the people. He had made an oath to help those who could not defend themselves.
The last warrior was a half-elf with auburn hair and hazel eyes, she carried a spell book with her.
Together they agreed to help the king. The king explained that they may not have enough gold and silver for Draco this year and was worried about what damage would be done to the kingdom. He told the four warriors that they could find Draco in the nearby mountains; there was a cave midway up the side where Draco currently lived and kept the treasure.
The small group of warriors set off towards the mountains, it took two days for them to find the cave. One to get to the foot of the mountain and another to reach the cave spoken of by the king. The warriors decided on a plan where the dwarf would sing songs to distract the beast; the elf and human would be able to use their weapons to flank the dragon on both sides and the half-elf would be able to use some of her spells to turn the dragon to stone.
They began their plan, the dwarf entering deep within the cave alongside her companions. The dwarf began to sing as the others spread out to find cover, when suddenly a loud clanking noise was heard from the left side of the cave. Silence fell over the four warriors as a low rumble came and a voice spoke.
“Who dares enter my treasure trove? Who is foolish enough to think they can steal from me?”
A burst of fire came almost hitting the dwarf, but she ducked down in time to miss the hot flames; the cave lit up and the group saw a large mound of treasure.
The elf jumped into action! Seeing an opening and trying to plunge his axes in between Draco’s scales, they were able to peel back a few leaving an opening on the dragon’s right side.
The human also jumped onto the dragon but missed scraping the belly of the beast instead of hitting it on the side. The dragon turned his mighty head and tried to snatch the human who rolled out of the way and picked up a golden shield, to protect himself from the fire Draco spewed his way.
The dwarf ran to help her companions’ shouting insults to the dragon that seemed to distract him for a time. The half-elf tried to cast a spell to hold the dragon in place, but they only lasted a short time.
The battle continued and the elf and human were making progress on getting through Draco’s scales, but Draco was also getting closer to wearing them all down and eating them for supper. Suddenly an idea popped into the half-elf’s head, she called out to the dwarf to help her cast a special spell that required two people.
The dwarf gave the human two healing potions and then ran over to the half-elf. The spell was to send as much treasure out of the cave and into the sky. The dwarf and half-elf both held hands and started saying the spell, slowly the treasure began to fly over their heads and out of the cave.
Draco’s eyes went wide as he realised what was happening. He started to try and hold on to the treasure with his legs, but with the elf and human still attacking him, Draco was unable to hold his treasure. It was not long until he decided to follow the treasure, seeing this, the half-elf told the dwarf to continue with the spell as she ran to the mouth of the cave.
She could see the treasure going up to join the milky-way, and Draco following that treasure. Thinking fast she added to the spell to trap Draco in the sky also, Draco’s body began to sparkle as he flew higher and higher until he passed between the two bears and the spell took its hold.
The half-elf looked up to see that Draco was inches away from his treasure. Exhausted, she yelled back in the cave to stop the spell and that the danger had passed. The treasure ceased flying and fell back to the ground. Slowly she walked back and joined the other warriors, and they all rested for the night until late into the next day.
They came down the mountain and met with the king, and told them how they were able to trap Draco in the night sky so that he would never be a threat again. They also cautioned the king about obtaining so much wealth and not sharing it, for there were other dragons in the land who would come to take such wealth.
And so, let Draco be a warning for those who want to become greedy. According to the legend, the half-elf who performed the spell on Draco left a counter spell that would free the dragon. Should any one place become so wealthy, and not share it among the people and poorer places; Draco would be freed from the night sky to destroy and hoard that wealth for himself. That is the legend of Draco and how he came into the night sky.”
Michael finished the story and looked around the campfire to see sleepy faces. “Well, it’s time you all went to bed. There is a big day tomorrow, we will hike up the mountain to see a cave.”
“Is it the same cave that Draco lived in?” One of the boys yawned as he asked.
“Maybe, I guess you can tell me when we get there. It’s about halfway up the mountain.” Michael replied.
“Sure sounds like it’s the same cave.” Another boy said, rubbing his eyes.
“Well, I guess we will find out together, now off to your tents. It will be no fun if you can’t stay awake to see the sights.” Michael said to the boys. The boys obeyed and went off to their tents. Michael and the other leaders went to their tents and all fell into a deep wonderland dream state of sleep.
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