Dragon Bait

Hi all.

For those first time readers I hope your enjoying this.

For my loyal fans: Sorry got distracted with writing other stories that the yaoi faeries want me to write and reading other authors great work. But mainly it just that I’m lazy and need more discipline. Well I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 3

Skif snuggled into the warm, smooth surface in front of him, trying to enjoy the heat before he was forced to wake up. It was rare for him to enjoy sleeping comfortable in such soft tepid surroundings.

Usually, Skif didn’t get much sleep on the cool, rocky earth and a measly, foul-smelling blanket soiled with semen and blood never offered much warmth. He couldn't recall the last time he had been allowed one of the coveted places near a hearth. Sleepy, Skif didn’t even care if it was a little too hot; it was comfortable and that was all that mattered at the moment. ‘Let the Knight come and beat me later for being lazy. I just want to stay in my little piece of heaven forever.'

Slowly Skif’s body betrayed him, his need for sleep being drowned out by other more important needs--like hunger pains and perhaps some major herbs to relieve the growing pain coursing through his entire body. It began as a dull throb, but the pain increased with his awareness. His head ached as if he (or someone else) had hit him hard with something. His back and ass felt like he had been ridden hard and long against his will, like always. His arms, shoulders and wrists felt like some giants had tried to rip them off.

Trying to get into a more comfortable position, Skif accidently smacked himself in the face with the metal cuffs binding his wrist and he yelped. “What in the names of hell…” He complained softly as he struggled to sit up. “The Knights must be up to something; this must be some new twisted game for their amusement. Blindfolding me and chaining me up…” Skif moved his wrist, trying to so see how far his leash extended. He could hear the chain rattling, but it didn’t seem to be attached to anything. This time more carefully, Skif moved his bound hand to his face expecting to find some type of cloth or leather wrapped around his eyes, blinding him, but his fingers met bare flesh.

‘Ok, don’t panic! It’s no big deal. They just locked you in a cellar or something. You just got to get up and find the door.’ Skif stumbled a bit as he stood up, but managed to catch himself by leaning against the hot, soft stone he was huddling against earlier. The smooth stone beneath him seemed to move up and down almost as if it was breathing. Curious about this strange stone, Skif shifted his fingers over it; it felt soft yet hard, not quite solid, almost like it was flesh. The surface seemed to be shaped like octagons lying on top of each other. To Skif it felt like the scales of a lizard, only each “scale” was the size of his palm. Skif knew this design--he knew it was something bad--he just could not place it.

Suddenly it hit him. ‘The Dragon!' Skif threw himself backward. He tripped over something and landed hard on his shoulder against a solid wall of stone. Shooting pain radiated through his shoulder; it took all his effort not to scream. ‘Oh Goddess… How did I end up here? Why didn’t it just eat me? What does it want with me? I need to get out of here. Just DON’T PANIC.’ He began frantically looking around but it was almost pitch black. The only light was a faint glow.

Skif began to slowly creep along the wall, trying not to trip on loose rocks, while silently making his way toward the light. He prayed that this lead to the exit. No such luck--the light was coming from a vein of Posrothaina sitting right in front of the sleeping Dragon's nose. ‘Crap. Now what do I do...?’

Needing to look for a way out, all Skif could see with the little light provided was the large, sleeping body and the smooth, uncut rock of what must have been a cave. Skif knew in order to find his way out of here without waking the Dragon, he would need some light. Slowly, Skif crept along with his back pressed against the wall, cringing every time he stepped on some dry leaves or straw that covered the ground and hoping that the noise wouldn’t wake the slumbering fire beast. He nearly fell over four times by the time Skif reached the Posrothaina.
Unfortunately, the few loose stones on the ground around the vein were nothing more than pebbles. They would not provide enough light to see anything but his hand. Skif ran his hand along the vein of glowing stone, searching for any piece that might be loose, and hoping that should he find a piece it would be large enough and bright enough to light his way. The area of the Posrothaina was rough compared to the rest of the cave wall, as if something had clawed at it, but still nothing came loose. Skif stretched his arms up as high as he could and tried to pry anything loose. He managed to find a piece the size of a small watermelon hanging right above him, but it was just a little too high to get a good grip on to pull it frees. ‘Oh, come on. Why does this have to be so hard? Gods, what have I done to cause you to turn against me so?’

Skif looked around for something to stand on, anything that would give him the few needed inches to get the stone. Luckily, not too far off there was a small boulder, which despite the agonizing pain in his shoulders, arms and back, Skif was able to move it into place. The boulder wobbled when Skif stepped on it, but he managed to balance himself by holding on to the wall.

Feeling pride at his own ingenuity, Skif reached for the stone. Much to Skif’s dismay, the stone was still stuck fast to the wall. It refused to come loose till Skif grabbed it with both hand and began to put all his weight on it. When it finally gave, the boulder wobbled, sending the startled Skif tumbling backwards right into the hot nose of a sleeping dragon.

The Dragon instantly roused from sleep and stared down at Skiff as he tried to scramble away, only to be stopped by the wall of the cave. “AHHHHH!” Skif screamed as the wall dug into his sunburned back, as he clutched his precious stone to his chest with his bound hands.

The Dragon just stared intently at him as Skif quivered against the wall. ‘Great job, Skif. You not only manage to wake up the Dragon but you had to piss him off by hitting his nose, too. You are breakfast for sure, all because you wanted a little bit of light. Well, at least you will be able to use it to see the inside of his stomach as HE EATS YOU,' Skif mentally berated himself.

Skif looked up when he heard the Dragon hissing above him. It shook its head as it reached toward him. ‘Here it comes. First the talons will squeeze me, then the sharp teeth tearing me apart and finally a slow painful death in its belly.’ Skif closed his eyes and held his breath as he waited. And waited.

Nothing happened.

Finally Skif was no longer able to hold his breath and he gasped for air as he looked up to the Dragon. The Dragon just stared down at him with his scaly lips pulled back showing off his gigantic jagged teeth; it almost looked like the blue dragon was trying to smirk at him. Ski noticed the stone he had worked so hard to get pinched between two claws; he hadn’t even felt the Dragon take it from him.

The silence of the cave around him was filled only with the sound of the Dragon’s hissing breath and his own heartbeat thundering in his ears. It seemed like eternity before either of them moved. The Dragon moved first, glancing from Skif to the stone a couple of times before settling his full attention on the stone. Studying the stone for a minute, the Dragon squeezed it between his powerful claws, causing it to crack into three pieces.

Skif’s bound hand flew up to protect his face from flying shards. When Skif peeked around his hands, he noticed that the Dragon had picked up a piece about the size of an apple and brought it to his mouth. The smaller stone’s light increased as the Dragon blew upon it.

Skif watched in awe as the Dragon then presented it to him. He reached for it only to drop it a second later as the heat of the stone burned his hands. The Dragon just looked at him, then hissed again (it sounded like a sigh to Skif), and turned around in a circle a couple of times on the pile of leaves and straw, like a dog, before plopping down facing away from the bewildered Skif.

Skif’s mind refused to work; he could not understand this game the Dragon was playing. He knew that the Dragon was going to eat him. The Dragon had likely eaten the knights the day before and just saved him for breakfast. But when Skif crudely woke him in his clear attempt to escape, the Dragon didn’t eat him; he didn’t even harm him. Instead, he actually helped Skif by giving him the light he needed to find the exit. The Dragon even took the time to make it more manageable and brighter. And then he just went back to sleep. ‘Well, I’m not sticking around till he changes his mind again.’

As soon as the glowing stone cooled enough to hold, Skif picked it up and started making his way around the sleeping beast again. Once he found the chamber entrance, Skif made his way down the dark tunnel, relying on the little stone to show him what was before him. The tunnel was tall and wide, easily big enough for the Dragon to move about, but it was long too, providing no daylight at all. Or any other hint to direct him out. With a silent prayer to the God of Travelers that his father taught him when he was little, Skif followed the tunnel onward. ‘I hope there are not any more Dragons down here.’

Eventually, Skif caught the sound of water falling, reminding him once again of his unquenched thirst and hunger. Skif sped up as much as his tired, abused body would let him. Slowly, as the sound of water increased, the darkness of the surrounding cave lessened a bit. The tunnel led him to another chamber, this one larger than the one he woke up in with the Dragon.

Skif was filled with joy when he spotted daylight spilling in from another tunnel across the chamber, offering more illumination and allowing Skif to see the entire space. To the right of the chamber was a large bolder next to a pile of armor and assorted gear, but Skif was drawn to the small pool on the left of the room. Ripples from the small waterfall twinkled back from the light of the stone in his hands.

Newfound energy drove Skif over to the pool. Dropping the stone by the shore, he bent down and cupped his hand in the water. The water stung as it washed over the cuts on his wrist, but Skif ignored the slight pain; as he was too busy trying to drink. The cold water felt so good on his sore, dry throat.

After a few more handfuls, Skif sighed as he sat back. It wasn’t enough to completely quench his thirst, but years of going without had taught him if he drank too much too fast he would make himself sick. Skif then turned his attention to the pile of stuff on the other side of the chamber. ‘I need to get these manacles off me. Maybe I could find something I can use. Maybe even something to carry water and a weapon.’

It took longer to get back up with no walls to lean on for support. Skif picked up his precious little stone and made his way over to the pile of stuff. The pile was mostly made up of old armor, weapons, torn clothes, a couple of bedrolls, pots, pans, and other basic camping gear; Skif even found some saddles. Skif set his light to rest on a shield on the pile as he grabbed a small, pointy knife, and placed the handle in his mouth while aligning the tip into one of the manacle’s locks. After many false starts and a nick or two, Skif managed to get a lock open. His hand slipped free from its rusty metal confinement.

As the blood rushed back to his hand, it felt like he was being stabbed by thousands of needles, but after a little bit the pain subsided. Switching the blade to his free hand, Skif was able to free his other hand a lot sooner. Rummaging through the pile, he managed to find an aid bag with some bandages and ointment for his wounds. Skif took his light, some torn but relatively clean cloths and the bag over to the pool again. For the past three years the Knights had inflicted many injuries during the course of taking their pleasures, but weren’t going to waste their time dealing with his injures, nor give him any slack in his duties. This forced Skif to learn to take care of his own wounds very quickly. It stung like the seven hells rolled into one as he cleaned the cuts with the cloth. Skif bit down on his bottom lip to cut off his scream. Once the wounds were clean, he placed some wormwood ointment on the cuts; luckily it didn’t sting as bad and it would keep the inflammation down. He wrapped his wrist and his ankles in bandages, which were a little chaffed from being tied up during the party.

The medicine bag also contained some small packs of powders; Skif was able to identify a couple of them as containing the ground herbs for pain. They were supposed to be mixed in tea or wine to lessen the foul taste, but Skif didn’t have any of that so he just took a pinch or two on his tongue and tried to drown the taste with more water from pool. He really wanted to take a full does of the herbs in order to stop the throbbing in his head and body, but that might put him to sleep.

‘Okay, Cuffs are gone and the wounds cleaned and bandaged. Next thing I need is some clothes and maybe a weapon. Then I get my ass out of here before Mr. Fire Breathing Lizard changes his mind.’

Skif pushed aside all the unusable items—like armor and weapons. He did his best not to touch any of the jewels and coins that peppered the pile. The Knights had often talked about how Dragons where known to be very territorial and collected vast treasures. They had hoped to gain the treasure as well when they slew the Beast. ‘I think I’m in enough trouble as it is. I will not be foolish enough to try to steal its treasures.’

As Skif began sorting through the piles again, he recognized some of the armor and chain mail belonging to Sir Erik and his fellow knights. Their armor was torn and dirtied with freshly dried blood. Skif pushed the familiar pieces away, trying not to look too closely at them as he fought off the waves of nausea, but lost the battle when his traitorous mind reminded him of when he watched the Dragon eat the sheep.

Skif felt somewhat lucky that he only had water in his stomach, but it did take a while for the dry heaving to stop. When it stopped, he returned once again to the cool cave pool for several more cupfuls of water to chase away the bile in his mouth before retuning once again to the pile to continue his search.

In a pack amongst the pile of stuff, Skif found a pair of worn brown leather pants and a faded gray cotton tunic. The clothes were pretty much in the same condition as his own, except for being much cleaner. Skif would have liked to take a bath, removing the layers of caked-on dirt and dried cum, but that would take far too long. The pants were just a little too big on him. Using a little bit of rope he found, Skif was able to fashion a belt to hold them up. He didn’t bother putting on the shirt yet; he couldn’t bare even the soft fabric on his sunburned back. Maybe before he left he would soak it in water, hopefully cooling the sun kissed heat.

There were no extra shoes in the pack that might belong to a squire like himself. The squire most likely only had one pair. Skif really didn’t want to spend too long thinking about what might have happened to the poor squire after his own recent adventures.

It took him a while to find matching boots, and even longer to find a pair that fit. Finally, Skif managed to find a pair of soft deerskin leather boots that appeared more for a courtly life rather than walking across the country. Skif put them on anyway; it was better to have something on his feet than nothing at all.

He felt a wave of relief as his body was now covered, for the most part. Skif wasn’t aware how unnerving it felt being so exposed till the feeling was gone. He now felt able to turn his attention back to his other needs.
‘Okay, I need water and food, maybe a weapon. But I need to get out of here fast. Who knows when the Dragon will wake up and change his…?’ Skif was distracted by some mumbled voices, three or four voices arguing about something that he could not make out.

“Hello…? Is anyone there…? Hello?” he called out in a low whisper.

The mumbling was suddenly quiet for a bit before getting louder, allowing Skif to follow it to its source. Between the pile and the boulder, there was a small crack where the boulder didn’t completely cover what appeared to be another passage to the cave. The crack was large enough for Skif to put his finger in, but not his entire hand. It stretched passed his fingers, and when he peeked inside, it was pitch black.

“Hello? Is anyone in there?” He called a little louder into the little crack.

“Skif, is that you?” The voices floated back through the hole in the wall.

Skif recognized the voice as his master. The voice filled him with comfort and at the same time dread. ‘I’m not alone, there are other survivors.’ That thought comforted him and filled him with relief and joy, but a second, darker thought answered back. ‘You are trapped again. Sir Erik will use you again. You should just run now while you have a chance. Leave them to their fate, as they tried to leave you to yours.’‘No,’ called a crystal white voice in his mind.‘You must save them. It’s your obligation as a knight in training…’ The Dark voice shouted back, ‘You are not a knight in training; you’re their slave. You owe them nothing for what they tried to do to you.’ The voice answered back, ‘A true knight would help others no matter what.’

Skif pushed these confusing thoughts aside as best he could as he focused once more on the crack. He needed to assess the situation, and the inner battle in his mind wasn’t helping at all. “Sir Erik?”

“Yes, it’s me, Skif.”

“How did you get in there? Are the other Lord Knights with you? What happened?”

Four voices of Knights came back all at once too fast and mixed to make out what anyone had said. Finally, Sir Erik managed to take the lead, quieting the others. “The dragon brought us here, myself, Sir Thomas, Sir Fredrick and Sir Marcus. We don’t know what has happened to Sir Godfrey or Sir William. They were badly injured in the fight. We fear what might have befallen them. … But tell us how did you get here? Have you escaped? Why hasn’t the dragon eaten you? … You must get us out of here, boy, at once.” The last demand was repeated again by the other three.

“Milord, I do not know how I got here. The last thing I remember was Sir Fredrick and Sir Thomas attacking the dragon as I lay beneath it. When I woke not long ago, sir, I found myself lying next to the sleeping beast. I only heard your voices as I made my way towards the cave entrance. I have not seen any signs of the other Lord Knights. I will-”

Skif was cut off by the Knights’ angry voices. “Shut up, you stupid boy,” called Sir Marcus. “We don’t have time for any of your useless whining. Stop wasting our time and get us out of here.”

“Yes, Sir. At once, Milord,” Skif instinctually stammered. Skif backed away a bit from the crack to take in the entire boulder—it was as big as a house. ‘Just great, Skif. You were free, you were finally free. All you had to do was ignoring the voices and get your sore ass out of here…’ The angry dark inner voice berated. ‘You cannot just leave them here. Heavens only know what would happen to them.’ The light angelic voice replied. Neither of his inner voices was really helping Skif so he tuned them out. He need to see if there was any way to get them out before the dragon woke up, then he could listen to inter voice battle it out.

Skif used his little light to exam the boulder as much of it as he could reach, besides the little hold he found small crack. It was solid and hard, there was no way he could move the boulder without two or three teams of sixteen of the strongest draft horses. Skif sorted through the pile of stuff looking for anything that might be of help, maybe us as a lever. But the swords, spears and pickaxes he found there where far too feeble to work or he did not have enough strength. Trying to enlarge the crack didn’t seem to be a wise move, the noise might wake the dragon and it would take far too long.

Reluctantly Skif approached the crack again, sending a silent prayer that there was no way that Sir Erik and the other Knights could get their hand on him and beat him for the bad news he was about to present to them. “ Mi… Milords?!?!”

“Quiet you idiots. I can’t hear the brat…. Skif!?!? What is taking you so long? Quit being such a lazy brat and get us out of here. Are you trying to get us eaten, that infernal dragon will come soon.” Sir Erik growled.

Skif gulped. “NO…. NO Milord. It is just… It is just the boulder is too large for a small boy such as I. I would need…”

“I DO NOT WISH TO HEAR YOUR EXCUSES WRECH. Just do what need to be done and get us out of here, or so help me, I shall bring the wrath of the almighty gods down upon you that you will beg to be feed to the dragon.” Sir Erik as usual was not interested in details or impossibilities. All he wanted was his order meet and heaven help Skif if he did not complete it in a timely manner.

“Yes, sir.” Skif spoke weakly. He moved away from the crack to think, any time he was around the Sir Erik his mind froze and as impossible his lords’ threats might be, in the moment all Skif could think was his lord would make them come true.

Skif shakes his head, he had two options; he could grab some armor and a weapon and march back into the certain death to try (and fail) to slay the dragon, a beast so furious and powerful that six brave strong knights could not take him down. Or he could pray to all the benevolent gods and goddesses that the dragon might sleep the next day (or two) away as he races back to the nearest town (which he doesn’t know where it is cause he was too busy struggling to get free from the donkey he was tied upside down to last night as they left to pay attention to pesky details like which direction the tow was and how far away.) Then he would have to somehow convince the terrorized populace to come back here and help him. Both options didn’t sound too likely.

The Dragon had already demonstrated that he was a very light sleeper. You did just drop a rock on his head… Skif mentally braided himself. And when he was sneaking past the dragon he didn’t know notice any wounds which could either mean that the dragon scales where impenetrable or the Lord Knights where taken down before they could land a blow. Skif was leaning to the lather do to the lack of scars on the Dragon sparkling blue scales or any blood on the weaponry in the pile, in must be impossible for every noble knight who had came before and owned this weapon no to land a single strike.

Skif might be handy with his short sword (more like a long dagger) but that didn’t mean he felt capable of taking on this dragon even if it wasn’t stuffed in his pack, wherever that might be. He was in no shape to wield even a short light stick above his waist with the shape his arms were in.

The idea of walking for many unknown furlongs didn’t really seem all that better but the gods might be merciful and help him come across the Knights’ war steeds, maybe even his little donkey, (if the dragon had not already eaten them) or perhaps he might find another band of Knights making the way to slay the dragon and thus saving his lords. Ah a boy can pray at least…. I really should have paid more attention to mother when she tried to teach me how to get on the Gods’ good sides.

With his choice made Skif quickly went back to the pile he would need water if he was to make the journey, but he didn’t want to alert the Lords that he was there. They probably would agree with his choice and the longer he took trying to persuade them the more likely the Dragon would hear them and wake up. Quietly, Skif rooted out two good looking water-skin that still held unknown liquid, the pack that contained his clothes, the medical bag, a small knife and a staff to help him walk. Emptying the water skins contents all over the cave floor, Skif then pressed the skins under the water to fill water. Fresh water was better than the sweetest but stagnate wines. Skif stuffed the water skins in to the pack along with the other stuff. Holding His precious glowing stone in one hand and the sturdy wooden staff in the other Skif made his way out of the cave as fast as his poor abused body would allow him too.

Skif silently beseeched all the gods and goddess that he was making the right choice and he would make it in time.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Now it time for review replies.

lakuniko – Thanks I’m so glad you like this story. I’m glad you feel for poor Skif. And as for Kieran… lol he is a naughty dragon but he will get better. Thanks for your time and you review. =D

Reike – PHEW!!! I’m so glad you found my little bit of dark humor. It is hard to slip them in there while trying to move the story along. Kieran really need to work on his gentleness some more thought. Thanks for reading and boosting my confidence.

smint45 - SO SO SO glad you love my story. =D Well I’m sorry to disappoint you but it won’t be that easy for these two so soon. The mind link only goes one way till the properly bond ie: SEX cause then Skif’s natural carrier abilities will awaken like mind speech. And yes Kieran can talk but not in his dragon form. My poor boys will have to suffer for another month or so before Kieran can transform. Evil Athena I know. Thanks for your inquires.

crazykitty lol What can I say, beside dragon tend to be self centered. And Kieran is young and still likes to play with his food. Thanks

cobraqueen - NOOOO I need my treats. Shinies Shinies *cry* lol Well yes I wanted him naky. But come on who doesn’t love a cute little naked Uke bathed in soft glowing light. *evil grin* and see I put clothes on him again (for the moment * cheeky smile*) I have truly evil plans for the so called honorable Knights. They get their just deserts thanks

Itchan - So sorry this chapter took so long. I hope your still hanging in there. Still working towards babies. Just taking my time to convince mommy-to-be that daddy isn’t going to eat him. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I will try not to make you wait so long. Thank you =D.

JtheChosen1 – Some of them were desert. LOL. Glad you’re enjoying this. Thanks

Wynja - Beta truly make the world go round or at least make mine more livable. =) I’m sorry that I’m torturing you with the fact that these two won’t be getting hot and heavy any time soon. ;) but I will make sure your patience is reward with delicious yaoi sex you want. Thanks for sticking in there for it.

Vex – Too true too true. Strange things are done in the throes of passion and sometimes the urge to eat out ways the urge to procreate ( poor ukes) I’m glad you like Kieran , he kind of childlike but he will get better. =D Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Phantom - END? I’m just getting started. Sorry for your wait. I will try not to be son long for the next chapter. Thanks

Demonic Darkness – Thanks I’m glad you think it original. I’m so happy you liked it. =D

bowsie22 - I’m glad you enjoyed what I got so far. I hope I didn’t disappoint with this chapter. Thanks. =D

drake – Mercedes lackey is a true genus I hope this story is at least a tenth as good as her work. Thanks for reading.