Jebidiah

Dark and Stormy Night

It was a dark and stormy night, when the knock came at the door.  Jebidiah carefully carried the oil lamp towards the door, being careful not to spill any oil.  "Who's there and what do you want?" he cried out.  A weak voice replied "I wish to be a warrior's apprentice.".

Fighting the first urge to send the wayward soul away, Jebidiah, instead, took pity on anyone foolish enough to be out in such a storm.  Setting the lamp on a table next to the door, he proceeded to draw the latch on the door open with his left hand, while keeping his right hand on the hilt of his sword.  After all, it wasn't uncommon for thieves to trick someone into opening their house so that they could be robbed.  But, any thief who would try to rob Jebidiah would be quite insane, for he no longer had any great wealth.  His only possessions were a sword and the cottage.  A thief obviously couldn't easily steal the cottage, although not many people would want such a small cottage anyway.  It was only six cubits wide by ten cubits long.  And, any thief who tried to steal the sword would find that it still maintained enough of an edge to dissuade them from such a foolish task.

As the door was cautiously opened, Jebidiah could make out, in the flickering, dim, yellow light of the oil lamp, a single, rather short person standing in the doorway, covered in a brown oilskin cloak, with rivulets of wafer running off of it.  Realizing that the person was not an immediate threat, and taking pity on the visitor, Jebidiah stepped back and invited the visitor in.

"Thank you, kind sir." squeaked a soft voice.  "I have been traveling for many weeks to reach this place."

"Take that cloak off." Jebidiah commanded.  "You're dripping all over my floor."

The visitor dropped a large bag, and proceeded to remove the cloak, hanging it on a peg beside the door, while Jebidiah closed the door and ensured that the latch was in place.

"Now, what is it that you want?" Jebidiah queried.

The soft voice began to speak "I wish to become a warrior.  I am young, and I need to learn the ways of the warrior.  The best way for me to do that is to become the apprentice to the greatest warrior in this land.  Would you do me the honour of letting me become your apprentice?  I have coins.  I can pay you.". And, with that, the visitor removed a small, dirty sack from a pocket, and dumped it out on the table near the oil lamp.  A quantity of shiny Copper coins rolled out.

Jebidiah picked one of the strange coins up and examined it.  It was well formed, and obviously of Copper.  The front contained a bearded man's image, along with some words and a number.  The back contained the image of grain, along with some strange words.  Jebidiah did recognize the words "E Pluribus Unum", which had been used by the Romans when they occupied this country.  It meant "One of Many", although he found it somewhat strange to be on a coin.  The other words, "ONE CENT", and something about a united state made no sense to him.

"I..I...I hope that's enough." stammered the visitor.

Jebidiah's first urge was to simply shoo the visitor away.  However, times had not been good for Jebidiah.  Aged warriors were not in a lot of demand, despite the plague of dragons that had been invading the kingdom.  The king had been training his own warriors to face the dragon menace.  Jebidiah supposed his reasoning was that the younger warriors worked far more cheaply than more experienced warriors, although they didn't last nearly as long, and the equipment lost with them was surely quite expensive.  Still, that meant that Jebidiah had went without steady work for quite a few years, and his finances were becoming difficult.  That made that pile of Copper coins quite appealing.

Looking the visitor over, though, brought doubts as to what kind of a warrior they would make.  Still, with enough training and enough time, there might be a chance.

"I'm not sure you're the right material to make a warrior with." Jebidiah stated, more as a test of the visitor's determination than of his own thoughts.

"I believe I can be a great warrior, with your teaching, sir." came the reply.  "I have my own sword.  Would you like to see it?"

"Slowly, if you please." Jebidiah answered, while slipping his hand onto the hilt of his sword.

The visitor slowly pulled the sword from its sheath, and offered it to Jebidiah.  Jebidiah took the instrument and gazed at it most incredulously.  Most swords were quite crude, and composed of rusted, pitted steel.  The better swords, such as Jebidiah's own, were made from Damascus steel, and contained ornate patterns in the metal of the blade.  Some of the better warriors would even name their swords, and some would even have the name carved into the hilt (for one never defaced the blade with a name).  But, this sword was like nothing Jebidiah had ever seen before.  This sword was of the brightest steel Jebidiah had ever seen.  There were no rust marks, no pitting, not even the elegant swirls of Damascus steel.  But, what drew Jebidiah's attention was that this sword had been named, and the name was carved into the blade.  Its name was "Stainless Steel".  Awestruck by both the beauty of the blade, and the insanity of the carving, Jebidiah returned the sword to the visitor.

"That's a rather unique sword." Jebidiah stated.  "Have you had it long?".

"Oh, it's much older than I am.  I inherited it years ago, from a relative." came the shaky voice.

"Well, it is quite a blade.  Do you know how to use it?" Jebidiah queried.

"Maybe." came the response as the visitor bent over and grabbed the sack, upending it, and spilling the contents out onto the floor.

"ACK!" Jebidiah screamed.  "That's the head of a red dragon!"

"He was giving me a little trouble yesterday on the road into the kingdom.  He shouldn't have done that." answered the visitor, with a note of pride.

"Well, maybe you do have the makings of a warrior after all.  The red dragons are the very worst.  Only a few of them have ever been killed before.  So, if you're that good, I'll be glad to train you." Jebidiah stated.  "Oh, perhaps some introductions are in order.  I'm Jebidiah." he continued, as he rolled the head of the dragon out the door.

"Yes, I know." claimed the visitor.  "Your reputation is known far and wide as the best warrior alive today.  Please allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Samantha, but you can call me Sam."

Suddenly, it dawned on Jebidiah why the visitor had such gentle features, features which he had mistaken for youth.  The visitor was a girl.  "But, you're a girl!" he yelled, momentarily losing control.

"So?" came the guarded response.  "I killed a red dragon, didn't I?  How many men have done that?"

"Well, so you did." Jebidiah responded, as he regained control of his senses.  "Maybe you will make a warrior.  But, where will you live?  Where will you sleep?  My cottage only has one room."

"That chair there by the fireplace looks to be a perfect place." Samantha responded, as she yawned.  "We can work out the rest of the details in the morning." she continued as she pulled off her shirt, removing any doubt as to her gender.

"What will the villagers think?  What will the priest think?" Jebidiah exclaimed, as Samantha pulled off her boots.  "This simply won't work.  There's no way that they'll permit a 54 year old guy to have a, umm, err, how old are you anyway?  Never mind.  They simply won't permit a 54 year old guy to have a girl living with him!".

"I happen to be 18." she stated with clarity.  She continued "They don't have to know.  As far as they know, your new apprentice is Sam.  And, that's all they need to know.". Samantha quickly removed her belt, and laid her sword by the chair as she eased herself into it, pulling Jebidiah's tattered blanket on top of her.  Before Jebidiah could even make his way back to the bed, the sounds of snoring reached his ears.

Next Morning

Jebidiah woke to a smell he was unaccustomed to.  As he lay in his lumpy bed, he suddenly realized the smell was that of meat cooking.  Fearing that some animal had slid down the chimney and landed in the fireplace, he lept out of bed, only to come face to face with Samantha.

"Who are you?" exclaimed a surprised Jebidiah.

"I'm your new apprentice.  Don't you remember last night?" Samantha calmly replied.

Slowly, the memory of the previous night worked its way into Jebidiah's groggy mind.  He remembered the late night knock at the door, and the visitor who had asked to become his apprentice.  He remembered the pile of Copper coins that was deposited on the table by the door.  And, he blushed as he remembered the visitor revealing herself to be female.

"What's that smell?" Jebidiah asked, after he regained his composure.

"Oh, that?  That's breakfast." Samantha replied.  "I hope you don't mind.  I was up early, and decided to make breakfast.  It's not much, but it's all I could find."

"But, that smells like meat." stated Jebidiah, as he remembered that he hadn't had any meat in the cottage in many months.  "Where did it come from?"

"Oh, I went out and gathered some eggs this morning.  While I was out there, I spotted a wolf that was stalking some of the chickens." Samantha explained.  "So, I shot him.  It's not the greatest meat, but it'll keep us alive.  I hope you like your eggs fried."

"Oh, I don't eat eggs.  They make me far...err, they cause me intestinal discomfort." Jebidiah stammered, as he realized that he was going to have to watch his language, what with being around a young lady.  "I gather them up and sell them to some of the children from the village that come around each day.  They're not worth much, but every coin helps."

"Well, what do you normally eat?" asked Samantha, as she wrinkled her brow.

"Usually just a bit of porridge.  There's a bit of it in that amphora that's over in the corner." answered Jebidiah, as he motioned to a dusty gray ceramic container, wedged between the dirty wooden table and the corner of the stone wall.

"Well, today, we're having meat and eggs." stated Samantha.  "A warrior needs good food so that they can fight dragons.  Now, pull up that chair to the table and let's eat.  I'm starving.".

Jebidiah took a seat at the table, as Samantha sat a wooden plate, with strips of a dark, greasy meat on it, before him.

"Thanks." grinned Jebidiah, and he picked up a piece of the meat with his fingers and started eating.  "What's that thing?" asked Jebidiah, as he pointed towards the instrument Samantha was using to lift a piece of meat to her mouth.

"Oh, this?" she inquired, waving the metal instrument in front of her.  "It's called a fork.  I use it to keep from getting my fingers greasy."

"Did you invent that?" queried Jebidiah.

"No, this was something that my Uncle Dave used." she replied.  "He taught me to use it while I was young.  He had a lot of useful tools and ideas.  You see, he was a wizard."

"A wizard?" asked an incredulous Jebidiah.  "Most of them I've seen have been charlatans."

"Well, he was a real wizard.  He taught me a lot of things.  Of course, he's been gone for quite a few years." Samantha stated, as she wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Where did he go?" inquired Jebidiah.

"I...I...I don't know." stammered a tearful Samantha.  "He just disappeared one day."

"Disappeared?  You mean he left?" asked Jebidiah.

"No, he literally disappeared." she explained.  "He called us all together, and told us that it was time for him to go.  I begged and pleaded with him not to go, but he said that he didn't have any control.  He said that his time here was limited, and that he had to go back to when he came from, even though he didn't want to.  He said that, one day, if things worked correctly, that he'd come back.  But, he said that it would be many years before he could.  And, then, he walked out of our cottage, and into the field, and he just disappeared.  There was a popping sound, and a swirl of dust, and he was gone.  I've never seen anything like it before, or since."

"So he just disappeared?"

"Yeah, just went poof.  I can't say that it was completely unexpected, though." continued Samantha.  "He'd always warned me that, one day, he would have to go back.  I suppose I knew that was true.  After all, he appeared in a somewhat similar manner, although my dad had something to do with it."

"Oh?" interjected Jebidiah.

"My dad was always working at being a wizard.  Most of the things he tried didn't work.  Some of them even stunk up the cottage.  It got so bad that mom made him do most of his wizarding things out in the shed.  She said the smells weren't good for the children." Samantha explained.  "His big ambition was to find a way to convert Lead into Gold."

"Ah, yes, the quest for the Philosopher's Stone." added Jebidiah.

"Well, dad had heard of a wizard in the holy lands who had found a way of doing it, although I thought that the vagabond who told the story had probably made it up, just to entice dad out of a free meal and a place to sleep for the night.  But, dad believed it.  The story involved six Silver rings, bound together so that they formed a cube.  Then, a quantity of base metal, usually Lead, was to be suspended in the middle of the six rings.  If the conditions were right, the base metal would be turned into Gold.  But, the problem was that we were so poor that we couldn't afford six Silver rings.  Dad did finally purchase enough Copper to make six tiny Copper rings, which he bound together.  But, the piece of Lead shot that he suspended inside the rings didn't change into anything.  After he removed the tiny bit of Lead shot from the center of the rings, though, there was a tiny popping sound, and a small sheet of paper, folded many times, was in the center of the rings."

"Interesting." interjected Jebidiah.

"Well, dad thought that I'd put it there, but I was over on the other side of the shed.  You see, I always watched dad as he conducted his experiments, but always from a safe distance.  Sometimes, he even had me help.  I wasn't very old then.  I think I was about five years old, or maybe six.  Anyway, dad pulled the paper out of the rings, and unfolded it.  It was written with very tiny, but very precise, lettering.  I don't think I've ever seen anything written with such small letters.  It was much smaller, yet much more precise, than what the monks over in the monastery produced when they copied the religious scrolls.  Of course, I couldn't read it.  But, it showed pictures of a device similar to what dad had made, with the six rings.  Only, this one was much larger, since it showed a man standing inside of it."

"That's strange." continued Jebidiah.

"Well, dad had been able to read the paper, and he said that it was from a wizard from another time.  And, that that wizard wanted to visit us.  But, in order for that wizard to be able to visit, dad would have to make another set of rings, only much larger.  And, that the rings should be made out of Silver.  The paper cautioned that the rings should not be made from Gold, but, that if Silver was too expensive, then the rings should be made from Copper." added Samantha, as she ate the last of the food from her plate.

"So, what happened?" asked Jebidiah.

Samantha continued "Well, dad had to save up for many months to buy that much Copper.  He worked the farm fields for the neighbours, during the summer, and chopped trees for firewood for the villagers in the winter.  We didn't see much of him for the next year, since he was always out working.  Sometimes, I'd accompany him.  But, the days were long, and the work was hard, and he was afraid that I would get hurt, so I didn't go with him often.  My mom would sometimes make a lunch for him, which I'd take to him."

"Finally, after a year of working, he had accumulated enough money to buy the Copper to make the rings with.  But, after buying the Copper, he had to build a furnace to melt the Copper with, and he had to make molds out of clay to cast the Copper rings.  It took him many months to melt the Copper, and to cast it in the rings of the correct size.  But, finally he had six huge Copper rings, which he bound together in the shape of a cube."

"But, he was quite disappointed when nothing happened.  He kept the rings in the shed, and would watch them every day, just waiting for something to happen.  But, after six months, he was beginning to despair that nothing was ever going to happen.  He was seriously considering taking the rings apart and selling the Copper.  Then, one day, as dad and I were watching the rings, there was a popping sound, and a man appeared in the middle of the rings.  He was dressed quite strangely, in a blue coloured material, and he had this sword strapped on."

Jebidiah stated "Strange.  Very strange.", as he chewed on a piece of the leathery meat.

"The man said that he was a wizard from the future, who had arrived to help us kill the dragons." Samantha continued.

"This would have been about 10 years ago?" asked Jebidiah, after having performed a bit of mental arithmetic.

"Umm, yeah, I think I was about eight years old then." replied Samantha.

"Ok, that would have been a while after the dragons arrived." responded Jebidiah.  "I remember that there were no dragons when I was young.  It was only when I was about your age that the first dragons appeared.  At first, no one believed that such strange creatures could exist.  But, as the attacks became more frequent, and as the dragons became more numerous, people had to accept that they were real.  But, it caused a great panic in the land.  How can you fight a creature that large that can fly?  How do you fight one that can breathe fire?  Or, one that can blast you into oblivion without you even knowing that they're present?  How do you kill a beast that has scales that are like armor?  There was a great cry for warriors to battle the dragons.  Many of us answered the call.  Many of us warriors were killed or maimed.  But, some of us became master warriors, and slew numerous dragons."

"But, you didn't kill all of them." added Samantha.  "Else that red dragon that I killed yesterday wouldn't have been here."

"No, I'm afraid we didn't kill them all." added Jebidiah with a note of regret in his voice.  "We did mostly succeed in driving them away from our kingdom.  But, every year, there are a few that return.  What did your wizard do?"

"He taught us many things." answered Samantha.  "Dad was concerned about the appearance of a stranger, so he told all of us to tell anyone who asked that the stranger was dad's brother.  We were instructed to call him Uncle Dave, and to never mention how he had appeared."

"At first, I was afraid of him.  He wore strange clothes, and he talked with a strange accent.  Some of his mannerisms were different, too.  But, he always explained to us what he was doing, and, more importantly, why he was doing something.  He was always very patient with us children, even though he told us he could only stay for a few years, and had important work to do to help defeat the dragons.  But, he still thought it important that we all learn as much as we could from him while he was here.  I think I was his favourite.  He seemed to spend a lot more time teaching me things than the other children.  Of course, I was the oldest, but he said that he saw something in me that he liked.  He said I had a very intelligent mind.  I suppose that's why he taught me to read and do arithmetic."

"You can read?  And, do the numbers, too?" asked an incredulous Jebidiah.  "Girls can't read.  And, they can't add.  Their minds just don't work that way."

"Well, maybe most girls can't.  Maybe that's why he thought I was so special.  But, he did teach me to read.  And, he not only taught me how to add and subtract, but also how to do multiplication and division.  And, he taught me something called algebra, although I don't know if I can explain it to you.  He also taught me things called physics and chemistry, as well as a little bit about something called biology." explained Samantha.

"Very interesting.  But, do these things help you kill dragons?" asked Jebidiah as he took a drink of his once warm tea.

"Well, not directly." replied Samantha.  "But, they do help me design new weapons with which to fight the dragons.  And, they do tell me how to evade the dragons."

"Oh?" queried Jebidiah.

"Well, dragons have a very advanced sense of smell.  They can fly over at a great height and detect the scent from a human.  Even if they can't see the human, they can smell them well enough to locate them.  Plus, their eyes are different from ours.  They see something called infrared light.  Even in total darkness, people glow very lightly with this infrared light.  And, the dragons can see that.  Thus, if you want to sneak up on a dragon, there are a couple of things you have to do.  You have to make sure that you don't have a scent.  And, you have to cool your skin and clothes down, by pouring cold water over you.  That keeps the dragons from smelling you or seeing you in the dark.  Then, you can walk right up next to one and kill it." explained Samantha.

"Wow, I'm not sure who is the master warrior and who is the warrior's apprentice here." exclaimed Jebidiah.  "I'm learning things about dragons that I didn't know."

"Well, I'm sure that there's a lot that you can teach me." continued Samantha.  "Uncle Dave couldn't tell me about all of the different types of dragons.  He did tell me that, from the time he came from, there was a great war, with all of the peoples of the Earth allied into two different sides.  One side was trying to conquer the entire Earth, and enslave the rest of the people.  The other side was trying to make everyone free.  In the midst of this great war, the wizards were developing new weapons and new ways of attacking each other.  They were building machines which could fly..."

"Impossible!" yelled Jebidiah.

"No, Uncle Dave even built some very small flying machines, and we put a mouse on it, and flew him across a river." answered Samantha.  "He said it was only a matter of building larger ones so that they could carry people.  And, he told us of how those flying machines were used to fly over the enemy locations and drop bombs to blow the people up."

"Sort of like the black dragons do." added Jebidiah.

"Black dragons?  I don't think I've seen those." responded Samantha.

Jebidiah took another sip of his now cold tea, before continuing.  "Yeah, black dragons are nasty.  They fly over a village or town, and they lay an egg while in the air.  The egg then falls into the village, where it busts open when it hits the ground.  And, when it busts open, it explodes quite violently, ripping buildings, animals, and people apart.  The black dragon then swoops down and gobbles up the stunned and killed victims.  Fortunately, we haven't seen many black dragons recently."

"Oh, yeah!" exclaimed Samantha.  "I called them thunder lizards when I was little.  You could see them off in the distance, flying over the town.  And, there would be rumbles like thunder, and you could see people fleeing the town.  But, what I've never understood is how do the male thunder lizards, I mean, black dragons eat?"

"There's no such thing as a male dragon." responded Jebidiah.  "All dragons are female, well, at least as far as a dragon can be called female with there being only one gender.  They don't have to breed to produce eggs.  Their body just naturally produces eggs.  That's why it's so important to kill every dragon.  If even one remains, it can produce lots more."

"Oh!" exclaimed Samantha.  "I remember that Uncle Dave said something about parthenogenesis, but I didn't understand it then."

"But, what do thunder lizards, I mean black dragons, have to do with flying machines?" asked Jebidiah?

"Well, they don't have anything to do with them directly." answered Samantha.  "But, some of the wizards invented new kinds of animals.  Uncle Dave explained it as taking the eggs from different animals, and mixing the insides together to produce new types of animals.  For example, they took the eggs from the great crocodiles, the great snakes, and birds, and mixed them together to produce dragons."

"Sort of like making an omelet?" asked Jebidiah, who was using a splinter of wood to extract some pieces of meat from his yellowed teeth.

Samantha answered "Well, Uncle Dave said that it was a bit more complex than that, and that it involved some fancy machines.  But, he said that's where the dragons came from.  It was the side led by a group who called themselves the Not-sees.  There was another group of wizards who had discovered time travel.  So, those Not-sees used the time travel machine to send back a bunch of dragon eggs to our time.  Uncle Dave said that they hoped the dragons would wipe out the weaker people, leaving just them to be in charge of the world."

"Well, that would explain why the dragons only appeared about 30 years ago." mumbled Jebidiah, who then added, with a bit of clarity "Why didn't the other side just send someone back to the same time to destroy the dragon eggs?"

"I asked Uncle Dave that, too." responded Samantha.  "He said there were limitations on time travel, and that you couldn't simply send someone to any time that you wanted.  You had to send them back to a time when the six rings existed.  That was some kind of a time portal.  And, you couldn't send someone back to the same time portal at the same time that something else had been sent back, well, not from the same sending time, or for about 25 years of the same sending time.  Oh, I'm afraid I'm not explaining this very well.".

"So, how we we destroy them?" inquired Jebidiah.

"Well, we can use the tricks I've already described using the soap and the cold water.  We can use these to sneak up on the nests of the dragons and kill them, and destroy their eggs." quipped Samantha.

Jebidiah responded "Soap?  What's that?".

Samantha answered "That's something that Uncle Dave showed me how to make.  It's actually pretty simple.  You take wood ashes and wash them, collecting the water from that, and letting it evaporate.  That produces a white solid.  You take this and mix it with bacon grease..."

"Bacon grease?" exploded Jebidiah.  "I thought you were trying to get rid of odors.  How can using bacon grease get rid of odor?"

"Let me finish." requested Samantha.  "When you mix the bacon grease and the stuff from the wood ashes, you get this stuff that doesn't smell.  And, it will wash the dirt and grease off of a person's body, making them not stink."

"Hmm, I'll have to try that before I'll believe it.  But, if you say it'll work, and if that's what you used to kill that red dragon, well, I'll give it a try.  We can sure use any advantage that we can get when it comes to dragons." commented Jebidiah.

"It works!" exclaimed Samantha.  "That's why I was able to kill that red dragon.  Plus, I was with Uncle Dave when he killed several dragons using those tricks.  He said he needed something called de-en-aih to take back with him so that he could find a way to kill all of the dragons.  That's why he promised that he'd come back some day.  But, he told me that it would be at least 25 years before he could return, and that I'd have to survive for that length of time so that I could build a new time portal for him to return to.  But, until that time, I had to make sure that I could stay alive, and the best way for me to do that would be to learn what he had taught me, and to train as a warrior so that I could fight any dragon that tried to eat me.  And, that's why I'm here.  I need your training to help me."

Jebidiah considered her statements for a moment before replying "I see.  Well, you've certainly supplied me with a few new tricks.  And, for those, I'll be more than willing to train you.  But, I'll warn you that it consists of long and grueling days of seemingly endless practice.  We may encounter a dragon, eventually, but most of the time, we'll be practicing our skills, improving our equipment, and scouting the countryside.  In order to pay for the equipment we need, we may have to take the occasional odd job, or do unpleasant tasks.  Can you do that?".

"Sure!" answered Samantha, with youthful exuberance.

Jebidiah swirled the remains of his tea in his cup, noticing how there were way too many grounds to make it drinkable, before inquiring "So, if I'm doing my arithmetic correctly, your uncle disappeared about five years ago.  Is that correct?  Why did you wait so long before seeking me out?".

"Well, right after Uncle Dave returned to the future, my mom died in childbirth." explained Samantha, as another tear rolled down her cheek.  That left me, and dad, and my four younger sisters.  I was the oldest, so I was tasked with taking care of them, while my dad sought out work during the day.  Then, one day, dad didn't come home.  I found out later that he was chopping down a tree, when it fell the wrong way, crushing him beneath it.  That left just me to take care of my four younger sisters."

Jebidiah sighed and responded "Ah, yes, childbirth is a very dangerous time for a woman.  I lost my first three wives to that very same problem.".

"You were married?" gasped Samantha.  "I had no idea.  No one ever mentioned that you were married."

Jebidiah blinked away one of his own tears before continuing "Yes, I was married three different times, to three lovely young ladies.  And, each of them died in childbirth, along with the children.  But that was a long time ago."

"I'm sorry." muttered Samantha.  "Would you ever consider getting married again?"

"Why, are you asking?" joked Jebidiah, before continuing more seriously "No, I'm much too old for that now.  And, speaking of which, why aren't you married off by now?  You're 18 and never been married?  What's with that?  Most girls are married by the time they're 14, or some even younger."

"Well, I had my sisters to raise, so there wasn't time to chase the boys." sighed Samantha.  "Besides, most boys are terribly immature.  And, plus, I have a mission that I have to complete.  Uncle Dave told me, before he disappeared, that humanity was locked in a life or death struggle, and that if we didn't win this battle with the dragons, that all of humanity very well may become extinct.  With a responsibility like that, I can't afford to be distracted from my quest."

"What of your sisters?" inquired Jebidiah.  "Are they to be helping you with this quest?"

"No.  Uncle Dave didn't think they were suited to the task." Samantha stated.  "Plus, without the responsibilities I had, they were free to chase, and to even catch, boys.  All four of my sisters are happily married.  There's Jane, who's 16 now, and has three kids of her own, and is working on a fourth.  There's Amy, who is 15, and has two kids and working on a third.  Then, there's Beth, who just turned 13 and just had her first child.  And, there's the youngest, Alice, who is now 12, and is married, but doesn't have any children, yet.  So, with all four of my sisters married, and with their own families, I figured that I could resume my quest.  Besides, with all of those kids all living in the cottage I grew up in, it was getting kind of crowded."

Jebidiah smiled as he replied "I can see your point.  With a cottage like that, dragons may seem quite tame."

Samantha got up from the table, and gathered up the dishes.  "I'll take these out and wash them, while you can get dressed.  I'll also bush my teeth."

"I'm sorry.  I'm afraid these old ears of mine are playing tricks on me.  I thought I heard you say something about brushing your hair, but there was something about teeth in there, too." queried Jebidiah.

"Oh, yeah, that's something else that Uncle Dave taught us.  He made us brush our teeth after every meal.  He said that kept our mouth clean, and kept little animals from eating into our teeth and making holes in them." answered Samantha, as she flipped her short red hair.  "Besides, as short as my hair is, I don't really need to brush it very much."

"This uncle of yours did have some strange habits.  But maybe the ways of the future are wise." replied Jebidiah, as he poured another cup of tea.  "How much do you know about dragons?"

"Not much." answered Samantha.  "I know that they eat people, and that they breathe fire."

"Well, only some of them breathe fire." corrected Jebidiah.  "The red dragons are the fire breathers, only they don't actually breathe the fire.  They have an organ in their body that injects this liquid into their stomach, and they actually vomit the liquid.  When it hits the air, it ignites and burns.  But, it's only the red dragons that can do that.  The black dragons lay the explosive eggs.  And, the green dragons have poisonous fangs.  All of them can fly."

"Oh, I didn't know that." interjected Samantha.

"The red dragons prefer to live in forests." continued Jebidiah.  "The green dragons prefer to live in swamps, while the black dragons live in the high mountains.  Thus, if we're going to kill dragons, we need to go to where they live."

"That makes sense." chimed Samantha.

"We also need to get some equipment." explained Jebidiah.  "And, we need to get some pigs."

"Pigs?  Did you suddenly get a craving for bacon?" joked Samantha.

"No, pigs are the natural enemies of dragons.  Plus, dragons are afraid of pigs, and with good reason." added Jebidiah.  "When a pig smells a dragon, it goes crazy.  It will charge a dragon.  They go for the legs.  The legs are a dragon's most vulnerable point.  If a dragon's leg is injured, then it can't fly.  It has to have two good legs in order to be able to propel itself into the air.  Without two good legs, all a dragon can do is smash its wings into the ground."

"So, to kill a dragon, we should attack it's legs?" asked Samantha.

"No, that's a good way to get yourself killed." replied Jebidiah.  "A dragon, even with its leg injured, is still a very formidable opponent.  It can, and will, still kill you, if it has the chance.  That's where the pigs come in.  When you get close to a dragon, you release the pigs.  They'll charge the dragon, attacking its legs.  The dragon, preoccupied with the pigs, won't notice a warrior approaching.  You can usually get close enough to fire a crossbow bolt into the dragon's head.  If you hit it right between the eyes, it will kill the dragon.  Plus, that's a weak point in a dragon's armor."

"So, if we combine our knowledge, we shouldn't have any trouble killing dragons?" inquired Samantha.

"That's the idea." answered Jebidiah.  "Now, get out of here so that I can take this nightshirt off and put my clothes on.  You can find water to wash the dishes with in the well out front.  Then, we'll see about making a trip to town to get a shield for you, some other supplies, and to see if we can get some pigs."

Thirty minutes later, Jebidiah left the cottage, and called to Samantha "Are you ready?".

Samantha replied "Yes, just let me put the dishes back inside and get my sword.".

"Don't forget to get the bow and arrows.  We may get a shot at a rabbit." stated Jebidiah.

As Samantha left the cottage, wearing her sword on her belt, and with a bow over one shoulder and a quiver full of arrows over the other shoulder, Jebidiah pulled the door closed behind him, and used a short peg to throw the latch, to keep the door from being blown open by the wind.

Trip To The Village

Jebidiah walked down to the lane, which was actually more of a trail through the weeds.  He wore his sword on his belt, and his shield was strapped to his back.  Samantha dropped in behind him, following at a respectful distance, close enough to be able to assist Jebidiah with her sword, should the need arise, yet far enough away to give her a clean arc through which she could swing her sword.  As the two warriors made their way down the path, they both stayed alert for signs of any animals.  But, the only thing visible was a wide valley full of waist high golden coloured grain, blowing in waves with the wind.

After several hours of walking on the road as it wound its way northward through the valley, with the warm autumn sun on their backs, Samantha dared to break the silence.  "How far is it to town?"

"We're about half way there." answered Jebidiah curtly.

Samantha kept walking, following Jebidiah, as she performed some quick mental calculations which indicated that they would not be able to make it to town and back before night.  She involuntarily shuddered a bit as she recalled the dangers of being outside at night.

Jebidiah seemed to sense Samantha's concerns.  "We won't make it back before night.  And, it's too dangerous to travel at night.  There's not much chance of a dragon attack here, but I don't want to risk it.  We'd be more at risk of wandering off the path, and getting lost.  So, I've planned that we'll spend the night at the inn in the village.  We can also get something to eat there."

Samantha's only response was a growl from her stomach.

"Be quiet up ahead." cautioned Jebidiah, in a hushed voice.  "I've had some problems before near the bridge that we're approaching.  We have to cross the river, but, sometimes, thieves use the bridge as a convenient place to rob travelers."

"Oh!" exclaimed Samantha.  "What should we do?  Should we swim across the river to miss the bridge?"

"No, I don't want to get wet." answered Jebidiah.  "There's a chance that no one will be around the bridge.  But, here's what we're going to do.  You're going to stay 15 yards behind, and I'll approach the bridge first.  If anyone tries to rob me, you can come to my aid.  Stay ready with the bow.  Can you hit a man from that distance?"

"Sure." replied Samantha.  "Not only can I hit a man from that distance, you can even pick where you want me to hit him."

"Well, I hope we don't need to do that." sighed Jebidiah.  "But, if anyone does attack us, shoot to kill.  We can't afford to take chances with an injured bandit."

Samantha frowned, as she withdrew an arrow from her quiver and prepared her bow.

As the pair approached the bridge, Samantha stepped to the side of the road, and kneeled down to partially concealed herself in the grass.  Jebidiah cautiously approached the ancient covered bridge, noticing the weathered wood of the structure.  As Jebidiah approached closer, he noticed the worn wooden deck of the bridge, and the uneven rocks that were paving the approach to the bridge.  More worryingly, he noticed that the weeds were knocked down on the slope to either side of the bridge, as if someone had been going under the bridge.  As Jebidiah stepped onto the deck of the bridge, two figures dressed in brown clothing ran up the path through the weeds to the side of the road.  The figure in the lead wielded a large, somewhat rusty knife, which he thrust towards Jebidiah's back.  The figure in the rear carried a large sword, which he also pointed towards Jebidiah's back.

Samantha screamed "LOOK OUT", as she released an arrow towards the figure in the rear, which was followed shortly by a resounding thump, as the arrow hit the man in his chest.  This distraction allowed Jebidiah time to turn and draw his sword, which he used to impale the man in the front.

"It looks like the thieves are getting more brazen." stated Jebidiah, as Samantha came running up to him.

"Oh, I was worried." gasped a breathless Samantha.  "I thought the guy in front was going to stab you, and I didn't have a clear shot at him."

"Oh, I heard him approaching." chuckled Jebidiah.  "He made more noise than a herd of cattle.  But, I was waiting until he was close enough for me to block his blow and strike.  Thanks for taking care of the second one."

"Umm, no problem." sniffled Samantha.  "That's the first time I've ever had to shoot a person."

"Don't cry about it.  They obviously deserved it.  It looks like they've been rather active." explained Jebidiah as he pointed toward the dark red stains on the deck of the bridge.  "There's no telling how many travelers that they've killed."

"What should we do with the bodies?" inquired Samantha.  "Should we bury them?"

Jebidiah glanced at the sky and answered "No, we don't have time.  Nor, do we have a shovel.  We can tell the sheriff when we get to the village.  He may want to send someone out tomorrow.  But, I'm guessing that there won't be anything left by then.  But, before we go, we need to make sure that they're dead.  And, we should search them for valuables.  There's no sense in leaving any coins out here for the dragons to eat."

Samantha involuntarily shivered at the mention of dragons.

Jebidiah explained "Do you remember how you said that dragons had an enhanced sense of smell?  Well, once they smell that blood, they'll be coming in from miles around.  Dragons are not picky when it comes to a free meal.  But, we'd better be well away from here before they show up.". Jebidiah stated.

Samantha reached a toe out and gently kicked the robber that she'd shot, as Jebidiah gave the other robber a solid kick in the ribs.  "No, like this." explained Jebidiah as he walked over the robber close to Samantha and gave him a resounding kick.  "Ok, so he's dead.  Good.  Now, do they have any valuables?"

Samantha stepped back slightly, as Jebidiah reached down with one hand to search the robber, while he kept his other hand on his sword.  Jebidiah pulled a small bag of coins from the deceased robber, and then grabbed the dead robber's sword.  "No sense leaving this thing laying around for some other robber to use." stated Jebidiah as he threw the sword, and watched as it spun and splashed into the middle of the river.  "Now, let's be on our way."

"Please!" replied Samantha.  "I want to be out of this place as soon as we can get away from here.".

Jebidiah proceeded across the bridge, with his sword still drawn, with Samantha following him.