Today’s Prompt: “You come across a fork in the road: one path is clearly worn, and the other overgrown. Which one do you take?”
Today’s music: Azure Dragon by Lofi Fruits Music. Listen on SoundCloud.
A Fork in the Path
There’s a lot to be said for being out by yourself. Yesterday’s encounter with the girl and the memory of poor Socks was still with me, and I was hoping for a bit of forest magic to help me move on from the memory.
I hadn’t walked this way before; the forest was filled with many paths, one of which I’d found a ghost on, and I was keen to see what other magical things lived here. The odds of me finding a unicorn, especially considering my lifestyle and history, were pretty low. But maybe I’d see that joyjay again.
It was midmorning, the light dappling through the trees, making the outskirts of Hearthlight feel warm without being overly hot. A gentle breeze joined me for my walk, and before long we were old friends. I hadn’t brought food with me because I wanted to leave today to chance. Perhaps I’d get hungry—for sure, my stomach could use a break. Or perhaps I’d find my way back to the hamlet for a late lunch.
What I did not expect to find were footprints. There was a small patch of mud, through which trailed small paw prints. I crouched to get a better look. Unlike in the movies, there weren’t a thousand of them—only three—and I wasn’t Aragorn, so I didn’t really know what I was looking at. Too small for a dog. Cat, most likely, but why was a cat stupid enough to get its feet wet? Most cats I’d met had an antibody response to more water than their tongue could provide.
I stood and continued on. The path eventually arrived at a fork. The left path looked well trod, with a signpost proclaiming it to be a loopback trail, and only a half hour’s walk back to Hearthlight. The right fork had no signs, or any action at all. If you were unkind, you might call it overgrown, but it was definitely still providing a way through the woods. Which way to go? A half hour would bring lunch that much sooner, but I reminded my stomach that it wouldn’t hurt to wait.
Something caught my eye down the right fork. It was another mud patch. I pushed my way through the light scrub and crouched by the pool. This did not have little cat prints through it. The entire pool was made by a single, huge print. It reminded me a lot of a velociraptor’s print from Jurassic Park, except a raptor that had found the protein. This footprint was huge!
I should definitely turn back, but… there was a cat out here. Maybe I could help the cat? Or, more likely, the cat could help me not get eaten.
I voyaged further on. I could hear the sound of rushing water, but something about it sounded off. I found out why after I rounded a bend and emerged into a glade:
It wasn’t water.
It was a huge dragon, breathing slowly.
I pursed my lips. No cat, so that was one less thing to worry about. This dragon was the size of a house. It was black, with white feet, which felt unusual colouring for a dragon, but I guess if I was being totally honest with myself, I was no dragon expert.
The dragon appeared to have been sleeping, but as I entered it opened an eye. That eye was the size of a car tyre. It stared at me, and I thought about pissing myself but figured I should start a conversation first. “Hi.”
The dragon lifted its long neck and stared at me. “You are not pissing yourself.”
“I gave it some thought,” I admitted. “Am I high? Having a stroke?”
“You are fine,” the dragon said. “For now.”
“Because you’re a dragon and are going to eat me?”
“Because you’ll leave this glade and try and rationalise this away. You’ll figure me for a figment of your imagination, and bring yourself one step closer to a psychotic break. Once broken, it’s hard to repair the mind. So, you’re fine now, but you’re at risk.”
I considered that. Was this dragon channeling my therapist? “Know a lot about psychotic breaks?”
“More than you know.” The dragon sniffed the air. “I’ve been here a long time.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “This glade?”
“Hearthlight. Normally I don’t get to come play in the field. Hollis thinks I terrify people.”
“Hollis knows about you?”
“I certainly hope so. Hollis has spent a long time looking after me. It’s much nicer here than the bookstore, though.”
I blinked. Looked at the dragon’s feet, then the dragon, and said, “You’re the cat.”
“I’m a dragon,” the dragon said. “I’m only sometimes a cat.”
“You sat on my lap.”
“I did.”
“This is why I have trust issues,” I said. “I like cats.”
“And you don’t like dragons?”
“Dragons seem fine so far.” I frowned. “So, how come you’re here?”
“Someone let the cat out.”
I laughed. “Is Hollis going to be upset?”
The dragon winked. “Only if he finds out.”
Roll result? One overgrown path, one suspiciously large footprint, and a house-sized secret in the woods.
XP gained: 1 dragon revelation, 1 upgraded pet theory, and a +2 bonus to future trust issues.
Day 20 is ready for you:
If you’ve been following along and still trust the narrator after the cat turned out to be a dragon…
Dragons don’t hoard gold in Hearthlight. They hoard snacks and good stories. If you’d like to leave a tip to keep the adventure going (and help fund my continued therapy from surprise lap dragons), I’d be grateful:
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