A Treasure Hoard

 

            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.