A Knight's Steed

 

There comes a point when one must ask themselves, Is it worth continuing on this course?

Of course, it is probably best to ask yourself this before you are being chased by an angry dragon in the company of a mad elf and pyromanic human. 

Unfortunately, you don't get a lot of opportunities to reflect on your life choices when you happen to be said human's horse.

"Onward, Aodh!" My human urges, and I offer a snort as we angle for the narrow pass that leads out of the mountains towards the forest. If we can reach it, we'll be safe, as the dragon is too large to fit in such a tight area.

Hopefully, the mad elf my human insisted on bringing was able to use her magic to prevent the dragon from using its fire. If not, well, I've been around more than my share of fire since acquiring my human.

We make it to the pass, but barely, the rancid breath of the dragon hot on my croup as its teeth snap shut mere moments too late to catch me. The dragon's roar of fury is painfully loud, and spurs me to greater speeds even as the mad elf gives a piercing laugh.

My human joins in the laughter, and I wonder why I didn't listen to my dam when she suggested I find myself nice bard to travel with. No, I just had to go for the gallantry of becoming a knight's steed, I thought bitter to myself. If I ever sired any foals, I'd make sure they knew to always listen to their dam.

When we finally made it out of the pass and into the forest, I was exhausted. But on the bright side, the dragon seemed to have given up once we were outside of its territory.

My human cared for my needs before seeing to his own, and I reminded myself that a little danger came with the job. I'd wanted adventure, and I was getting exactly what I'd asked for. I was young yet, and I couldn't trust any other horse to keep my human from setting fire to the camp. Again.

Speaking of setting fires, I thought with a resigned huff as I recognized that gleam in my human's eyes. Flicking an ear in irritation, I went to stop with from trying to burn the fancy scroll he'd stolen from the dragon's hoard. We needed to get that back to the court magician, who really should know better by now than to send my human to fetch something so easy to burn.