Byron
stepped outside and took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air. This would be
a perfect day with clear blue skies if it hadn’t been for the overpowering
smell of greed and power.
Trying and
failing to avoid thinking about King Preston, he looked down into the valley
that was dominated by an industrious city surrounding an enormous castle. A few
hundred years before, that valley had been completely devoid of human life.
When Richard came with his small group of followers, Byron hadn’t done anything
to drive him out. The humans were so helpless, and they had a healthy respect
for the dragon on the mountain. He should have just roasted them back then, but
he allowed them to settle. They left him alone, and he let them be.
Time
passed, and Richard’s descendants grew and slowly turned the valley into a
bustling hub of commerce. Byron could smell the treasure that poured in. Metal
forged into something valuable has a distinct odor. In no time at all, the
small settlement expanded into its current sprawling splendor.
Catching
another whiff of the overpowering scent of the valuable metals, he decided that
enough was enough. He’d been patient for far too long. These humans had
destroyed the quiet peace of the valley, and it was time to evict them.
Stretching
out his magnificent wings, Byron hurled himself from his mountaintop perch and
let out his fiercest roar. The mountains reverberated from the sound and the
city shook. Gathering the fire in his belly, he flew straight to the castle.
The offending smell was strongest here. He noted the tiny figures running
around below him as they shouted their pitiful cries.
He couldn’t
help smiling at their attempts to defend themselves. He allowed their useless
arrows to hit his impenetrable hide before he loosed his liquid flames on them.
The air became black with smoke as anything flammable caught on fire. The city
buildings acted like a giant tinder box as the flames spread.
The
flapping of Byron’s great wings fanned the flames that grew to encompass the
entire city. Soon, the little humans were running for their lives, disappearing
down their many roads and into the countryside. Satisfied, he returned to his
cave as his fire raged down below.
It took
several days of terrorizing and burning before the valley was emptied of the
humans. The absence of the smell of greed lightened Byron considerably, but
that metallic smell remained, and he had to go and investigate. Picking through
the city’s ruins, he followed his nose to all the shiny metal objects. He
carefully transferred them to a place inside the castle that hadn’t been razed
to the ground and was large enough for him to fit through.
It took
weeks before he was satisfied that he had gathered everything together. He
covered the entrance with a mound of rubble and returned to his cave. He
enjoyed the months of peace in the valley before the humans started to return.
Fresh new growth was just starting to creep in among the ruins of the
once-grand city. It was during one of his morning flights when he caught the
humans’ unmistakable scent of greed.
Curling his
lips in disgust, he roared and chased them away again with more fire. Thinking
he’d completely scared them from the valley, he went back home to rest.
The next
morning was worse. Those humans had snuck back into the city after dark and
were now camped amidst the ruins. They had discovered the treasure hoard that
Byron had sealed up and had carried some of it outside before he chased them
away again.
These
humans were relentless. After five of their attempts to recover what they’d
lost, Byron grew tired of chasing them off. It was time to stop this thievery
right at its roots. He tore open the entrance to the treasure chamber and
started sleeping inside. This proved to stop the burglary attempts. Humans were
pretty sneaky, but they couldn’t sneak right under a dragon’s nose.
At first,
Byron was very uncomfortable. He missed his cozy cave with the cool mountain
air. The treasure room was hot and stuffy, so he lay down on top of the
treasure to help cool his body. He grew accustomed to his new bed quickly and
spent hours looking at the pieces of glittering treasure. It was rather
beautiful. No wonder the humans wanted it back so much. But he was doing them a
favor by keeping it from them.
He never
noticed the smell of greed return to the valley. Centuries passed as it grew
stronger and stronger while Byron believed he was saving his valley from it,
instead of magnifying it.
