Bumps... Bumps... bumping of the head... Over and over in some rhythmic motion... the back of the head... not hard, but hard to keep the head straight...

Guldivine opened the slits of his eyes, feeling terrible from the night before. Bright light immediately flooded in and he closed them once more. He realized that he was not in any sort of bed... he was outside.

Tied to the back cart to be more precise, once he opened his eyes and grasped the situation. His hands were bound tightly, pulled apart in either direction. His torso was also roped down. His legs dangled off the back of the cart, and he tried to kick them, but there was no hope in freeing himself that way.

A rider on horseback approached, and Guldivine recognized him as Ong from the night before, now dressed as a knight in armor.

"Agh, what the hell!?" Guldivine asked, still dealing with nausia and a peircing headache.

"Guldivine! You are awake!" Ong replied, trotting alongside the cart. "It isnt mid-day yet."

"What the hell is going on!? Why am I tied to the back of a cart!?" Guldivine asked.

"It's part of that job I was talking about." Ong said with a mischevious grin. "You are going to help Mardoc with something very important. In fact, we are taking you to meet him now."

"You are taking me, to the dragon?" Guldivine repeated in question.

"Yes. You are to be sacrificed to appease him." Ong said matter of factly.

"What!?" Guldivine freaked out, struggling against his binds, trying to loosen himself again, but to no avail. "What kind of religion is this!? You sacrifice people to the dragon!? You are insane!"

Ong laughed. "Well, from your perspective I reckon we do seem so. But this is an honor. You will see it that way soon."

"I seriously doubt that!" Guldivine seethed.

Ong rode away from the cart and Guldivine spent the rest of the morning staring directly up at the sun, and sweating, tied to the back of a cart. During this time he tried to determine how large this traveling party was. He gathered no more than twelve men, even though he couldnt see them. They were all on horseback.

Eventually they passed under a small area of trees and they stopped underneath them for lunch. The shade was very welcoming to Guldivine. When the Cart Halted, Three men undid Guldivine's straps and Took him over to a tree and tied him up. He could now see the entire scene from the right perspective. He didnt try to fight it this time... He needed to save his strength and observe his captors. So that is what he did.

There were Ten captors in all, Guldivine managed to count, as he watched them set up a picnic in the small wooded area off the path. If he turned his head left, he saw the north area of the island. It looked like mostly farmlands past the trees. To the south and Guldivine's right was the mountain. Mount Mardoc, he had heard his captors reference it so. It sat in a bowl of the island, lower than their current position on the outer island. It was an active volcano. The orange and red cymbers could be seen spewing forth from its top. Surrounding it was a ring of ominous black clouds, ever unsteady.

After a while, Ong approached while still eating a sandwich that was crafted for lunch. "Enjoying the view?" He asked Guldivine between bites.

"I am starting to realize why Ive never seen this Island on a Map." Guldivine growled. "Such a welcoming party. Come to the island, get fed to a dragon."

"I see you havnt accepted your fate just yet." Ong continued to eat his sandwich, unbothered.

Out of nowhere a single arrow whizzed and struck the tree Guldivine was tied to right above his head. The arrow came an inch from Ong's face. He panicked and dropped the rest of his sandwich. Then he turned in the directon the arrow came from.

"Men! Alert!" He shouted. and everyone scrambled to pick up their weapons. "We're under attack!"

"Where?" Another man called out just as an arrow whizzed once again, striking the tree next to him with deadly force. Guldivine figured whoever was lobbing arrows was missing on purpose. The force was enough to tell they were skilled with a bow. These were not casual shots. With Guldivine's history in Darkwood, he knew the difference.

All of the men started off in the direction the arrows were coming from. They rounded ab embankment and out of sight. Guldivine was left alone in the camp, still tied to a tree. There was shouting in the distance among the men.. 'This Way!' He heard one of them yell. Then for a while there was nothing.

Out from the direction of where the men had ran off to, there came a lone figure into the camp. He had a tattered green robe on with the hood up and carried a bow. He snuck in crouching his way through the encampment until he got to Guldivine.

"Stay quiet and do as I say." Said the man in a low voice as he undid the rope around Guldivine. The stranger continued to talk as he worked. "I led them away but Im not sure for how long. They will come back here soon. You need to escape."

"Who are you?" Guldivine asked, thinking of a million questions to ask.

"I am Sacalious." He said. "And I am no Zealot like the folk you are traveling with. Not everyone on this island prays to a dragon."

As Guldivine's hands were freed, he pulled up the sleeves of his shirt to reveal a small tattoo on his wrist. It was that of a crescent moon and a circle beside it. The tattoo represented one thing... That this person was a 'Hunter'. An order of fighters and survivalists that extended beyond the basic order of the world. Their mission statement was to protect the people from the monsters and beasts of the world. A highly regarded profession that was even recognized by all the major kingdoms of the realm. Guldivine was the royal Hunter of Darkwood... until his downfall. . . But one never stops being a hunter.

As Guldivine suspected, the man named Sacalious revieled his wrist to show the same Tattoo. Sacalious grinned. "Welcome to the island brother. But now is not the time to discuss all of its problems. Can you ride a horse?"

"Yes." Guldivine said.

"Good. That's your ticket out of this trap. Leave the men to me. Ride north." Sacalious pointed in the direction.

"Why north?" Guldivine asked, hesitantly.

"Past all the fields and farms there is a town, Skorn. They have little love for the dragon too. Find the tavern, ask for Barbadd. He can help you out." Sacalious explained.

"What about you!?" Guldivine asked.

"Dont worry about me, I can handle this lot. After things calm down, I will come find you. Things here are complicated." Sacalious said. "For now lay low in Skorn."

"Understood." Guldivine said. He was freed and they found a suitable horse. Quickly guldivine was mounted.

Sacalious handed him a short sword. "Here. You might need it."

Just then, the men returned, bursting over the hill and shouting in Guldivine's direction. They had their swords drawn.

"Damn!" Sacalious cursed, Shooting an arrow at the men. It struck one of them in the side, bringing him down with crying pain.

"Go! Now!" Sacalious ordered.

Guldivine listened and shook the reigns and they were off, the horse galloping at a sprint. They crashed through a line of trees out into golden open fields of wheat and corn and other crops. There was a roadway leading through it all, miles and miles of it.

Behind him three more riders came out of the woods, giving chase. They were shouting at Guldivine but he couldnt make out their words. He dared not to look back too much. Instead he dug in and pushed his horse to ride faster. But the other riders were upon him before too long and Guldivine knew he would be forced to deal with them.

He reared his horse to a halt and quickly jumped off, short sword at the ready. One of the men turned on horseback to try swinging down at Guldivine, but it was a sloppy attack and Guldivine cut him down off the horse, lacerating his ankle to the bone. The other two riders jumped off their horses and took up stances against Guldivine.

"We'll gut you now!" One of the men spat. "Dragon or not, you die here!"

"Try it." Guldivine goaded.

One of the men lunged quickly forward and Guldivine sidestepped out of the way as the blade pointed toward where his chest had been. Guldivine kicked the man off balance and then used his sword to block a hack from the second man. They clashed their blades back and forth for a moment and then Guldivine had him backing up. Just as he had the man surrenduring, he felt an immense sharp pain in his side, that crippled his stance. He looked down to see a dagger sticking out of his side. The first man on the ground grinning a few feet away.

Now in a fit of immense rage Guldivine acted out of pure drive of anger. He ripped the dagger out of his side and flung it quickly at the man on the ground. It struck him in the forhead, killing him instantly. Then he turned to the first man and charged him like a bull with a sword. The man took a defensive stance and kept backing away but it was no use. Guldivine overpowered him and drove his sword into the man's belly. He cried out and dropped to the ground, clutching at his midsection.

Guldivine collected himself for a moment and wiped off his blade and shiethed it. Two of the men were surely dead. The third with the leg injury was helplessly trying to crawl away. Guldivine decided to leave that one be. He found his horse, still wondering around weirly nearby. He calmed the horse and mounted it once more.

Just as Guldivine did so, there came the unmistakable roar to the south. A roar that everyone on the island would hear. A roar that Guldivine came to associate with Dragons. Mardoc it seemed was awake.

Guldivine rode fast once more. His side was in splitting pain and he held one hand pressed against his bloody wound. There came another roar, much closer now.

A shadow passed above them. The large dark shadow in the shape of a dragon. Then the dragon was ahead of Guldivine and he could see it now clear as day in the sunlight. The same nightmare creature who had attacked Captain Brack's ship. It had blood red and golden scales, a massive horned nose, and a long whipping tail. Its black wings stretched further than Guldivine had imagined in the dark storm. It was magnificent, powerful, and terrifying all at the same time. Such a creature was thought to have been gone from the realm for thousands and thousands of years. It was said that even the ancient Titans themselves feared their raw strength and intellect.

The dragon turned and flew back towards Guldivine, this time releasing a stream of fire, torching a large patch of crops off to Guldivine's left. Then the dragon came back over them, doing the same. Guldivine figured the dragon was missing on purpose. It was toying with him.

"You Coward!" Guldivine cried up to the dragon.

The dragon roared in response and swooped down, barreling its head right into Guldivine, knocking him from the horse and tumbling into a nearby field. The dragon also crashed on the ground, sending up a plume of dirt in his wake. Then before Guldivine could recover, The dragon whipped around and started breathing fire all around them, sending up walls of fire in every direction, turning the sky black with smoke. It was a true caged inferno now. Just Guldivine and the dragon.

The dragon then bent his head in downward, close to Guldivine and cocked his head to one side and studied him with his orange slitted eye. The dragon then spoke. To Guldivine's surprise, the dragon spoke in mortal tounge. "You run from me, mortal and I am the coward!? You are not from here. I can smell it. You are from Darkwood, mortal."

"You are a coward that you hide behind these people!" Guldivine shouted.

The dragon roared in rage and put its foot down on Guldivine, pinning him to the ground. Guldivine felt a new wave of pain wash over him.

"Let me show you how wrong you are, mortal!" The dragon said. Then he opened his mouth abd breathed his flames and rolled Guldivine across the ground in them.

Guldivine's limp body hit the ditch of the road with a lifeless thud. He was trampled, burnt, and bleeding everywhere. The last thing he could remember was a stranger... and older man, picking him up... putting him onto a cart...

"Its alright. You're still alive."