Sat Jan 11, 2003 10:29 am
Damien looked at the beast. The dragon was huge; immense by any means, even when compared to other dragons. He wouldn't even begin to try to comprehend the weight or height of the beast. He simply knew that it was huge. He also knew that the beast could be killed. Somehow.
The dragon was standing on the river's edge. Pink scales covered the entire mass of the creature, gleaming brightly in the sunlight. It was for this reason that Damien sought after the beast. That many scales would produce profits so vast that he wouldn't have to think of so much as breathing on his own if he didn't want to. Four massive legs the size of tree trunks gripped into the soft ground with lethal claws, each one more than half the length of Damien himself - and they outnumbered him sixteen to one. The beast's entire structure was held up only with the most complex system of muscles nature could produce; and they showed, quite noticeably, with every motion.
The dragon's eyes were what Damien was currently taking a gander at. Each one was about the size of his own head, but worse than that they marked an intelligence that was probably greater than Damien's own. In fact, they most certainly did, yet Damien wasn't the type to notice. Beasts were beasts, until proven otherwise. Even proven otherwise, they might as well still be beasts.
As for Damien - he was relatively short. If one took exact measurements, they'd find him to be about five foot four. The weapon he held at his side was quite a bit taller than he was. The ranseur was more than half a foot longer, and while the three-pronged head was deadly enough, it wasn't any match for the talons of the dragon. This did not seem to phase the man. Greedy brown eyes locked onto the potential target, and Damien charged towards the dragon.
There was some distance to cross before the two would clash. If you could call it that. The dragon could have been on top of Damien in a flash if it wanted to, but Damien had a good tenth of a minute to go before he could reach it.
The dragon slowly raised its head back, chest pushing outward. Damien stopped momentarily to squint at the action, quickly going wide eyed after the realization hit. He scrambled off to the left, diving once his proper footing at the sharp turn had been acquired. Hitting the ground, he simply rolled off into the lake. Not a moment too soon.
The dragon let loose the exhale, various chemicals and miracles of nature combining together in quite the flammable manner. A jet stream of fire issued forth, blasting the immediate area where Damien was with a temperature that would have simply vaporized the man. The creature simply adjusted its aim with Damien's movement, but he fell off into the water before the dragon could quite get him.
Damien hadn't had enough, though. Nor did he learn fast. He clambered on out of the water only several yards from where he entered. His brown hair was soaked against his scalp and was removed from his eyesight. The ranseur was tossed onto the rocky bank from which he was submerging, followed by him shortly after. Regaining his stance, he charged again.
The dragon displayed its wings, which were, by all accounts, magnificent. And huge. One must not forget the incredible size of Damien's opponent. And the utter hopelessness of Damien's victory.
This didn't cause the man to pause as did the last dragon's trick, but instead made him run all the more faster. The dragon gave one forceful thrust of its wings and was off, simple as that. It was just a simple hop to the dragon, but it was a hop at Damien. The relatively short man dived once again, this time towards the dragon - try to be at the highest point in the jump's arc. The creature caught the ranseur in pinching action with a pair of claws in the jump, promptly tearing the weapon away from the man who was still in the process of falling onto his stomach. He swore once he noticed his weapon was gone, and that his wrist had been twisted somewhat painfully. Damien rolled himself onto his back, scrambling up to a standing position. The dragon was barely twenty yards away, ranseur trampled underfoot. It stared at the man who, despite being completely unmatched and weaponless, decided to try and chase the beast anyway.
"C'mere ya damned dragon! Quit your runnin'! Daddy needs a new pair of boots!...and breeches! And a better vest! And some jewelry'd be nice...and a nice plot of land!"
The tail, which Damien had failed to take into account before, now forced his attention. Particularly the speed at which it swung out from behind the dragon, and slammed into him. It was a sideways sweeping motion, nothing much to the dragon. To Damien, it was like being hit by a tree that was used as a baseball bat.
He was tossed off into the lake much like an orc would toss a rag doll. The dragon simply watched, as he didn't seem to plan on returning again. The dragon was surprised. Damien still persisted; once again, he pulled himself out of the lake. One could tell he wasn't doing so good anymore, though; he swayed precariously as he stumbled about after the dragon. The arm that had caught the tail was evidentially crushed, as probably were most of his ribs on that side of the body. Yet he continued his fool quest.
Damien swung a fist at the dragon. It was a sad display, as the man was far from melee range. His balance was almost lost in the failed attempt, but realizing his distance he trekked forward anyway.
"Why do you persist in your foolish pursuit?" The dragon boomed at him.
Damien weakly shook a fist at the creature. "You'll...be...a lot o'...er...ack...money."
"So you would kill another simply to live in luxury?"
"Ga-...err...aaahh...well...*cough*...yeah."
"What you seek is far from your grasp, little one. But your perseverance may prove useful to you in the future, perhaps with a more noble task. I leave you now, as I am tired of your idiotic assault. Prove to me that letting you keep your life was not a mistake."
And the dragon left. Muscles flexed and pulled, like steel cables that won't exist for another many centuries, and the tremendous wings beat the air into a lifting submission. The brief, yet hearty whirlwind the dragon's wake created tugged and pulled at Damien, but seemed otherwise unable to move him. It didn't need to, apparently, as shortly after the dragon's vacation of the area, the man collapsed on the shore.
The only movements he made for the longest time were short, raspy breaths.