The guardians came to the edge of the Echoing Woods and stared into the creepy dead forest. The arid landscape stretched out endlessly, fine dust swirled in the air like a shimmering veil. The gnarled, hollow trees stood as silent sentinels, their branches hollowing in the wind.
Each step the guardians took seemed to echo throughout the flat landscape as if they were in a canyon. The hollow trees amplified even the quietest sounds.
“I hate this place; the echoing trees make it creepy,” Azier said.
Ivis sneezed, and it echoed loudly through the sparse, arid forest, reverberating through the dry landscape.
“Oh, wow,” he said, wiping his nose. “You weren’t kidding about the echoing part.”
They continued through the woods, their eyes scanning the ground for deadly snakes in their path.
“So you say there’s another Ancient that lives out here?” Sören inquired.
“Yeah, the necrodrake,” responded Airigold. “I never understood why she moved to this place. There’s not even any caves around here.”
Then, a necrodrake jumped out from behind a rock in a flash of commotion. Its grotesque off-white scales and skin glistened unsettlingly in the afternoon light. The drake snapped at the guardians with its large mandibles, designed to break bones in half. The guardians screamed out and jumped backward, and the drake laughed.
Ivis collected himself and said, “You know, I’m starting to get real tired of these Ancients. No offense, Golden Claw.”
Airigold nodded his head in agreement, “Yeah, even I’m getting annoyed at this point.”
“You’re guys’ entrance every time is just dropping in out of nowhere,” Ivis stated.
“Ah, I miss doing that. It never gets old.” The necrodrake spoke.
“Hey, Lleah,” Airigold said with an underwhelming tone.
“Hi, Goldie! Brought me some food, eh? They’re a little too fresh for me, though,” Lleah said, her voice more disturbing than any other Ancient the guardians have heard. Airigold just shook his head slightly, dismissing her joking tone.
“Awesome, an Ancient necrodrake!” Ivis exclaimed as he approached Lleah, studying her scales.
“This one has questionable decisions,” Lleah said, pointing to the guardian with her claw. “I’ll eat that one first.”
Lleah and Ivis chuckled.
“Oh, and for your information, there are caves here. Not many, but there are,” She jokingly snapped at Airigold.
“So, why do you live here?” Asked Azier with a tremble in her voice.
The drake noticed her frightened expression and slowly stepped towards her. “You’re not scared of me, are you? I’m an Ancient! Don’t worry; I’m on your side.”
She then drew near Azier’s face and said, “I won’t eat you… Yet.”
Azier took a step back, unsure if Lleah was joking or not.
“Look, all I want is your bones, that’s all,” Lleah said, jokingly licking her lips and mimicking a hungry stare at Azier.
“I like this one; she's fun,” Ivis commented with a smile.
Lleah snorted, “Someone who likes a necrodrake like me? Don’t lie to me like that.”
“No, necrodrakes are badass!” Ivis said.
Lleah perked up slightly, “How flattering.”
She paused momentarily, then lowered her head, similar to a defensive pose, “You’re damn right I am!”
“Anyway,” Lleah resumed, “look at this place! It’s secluded, no humans. An excellent area for things to die of thirst and rot in the sun, exposing the bones for easy removal. I like the crispy ones; they’ve got a little extra flavor.”
“You can’t be serious,” Azier said with disgust.
“Hey, I’m a necrodrake,” Lleah responded. “You know our diet is just bones and sometimes a little rotting flesh. That’s why I’d wait until you’ve started to rot before eating your bones. ‘Corse, if I was really hungry, I could just rip ‘em out with my large canine teeth and sharp claws.”
“Lleah, stop terrorizing the humans,” Airigold said. The drake let out a frightening chuckle.
