Hima kneels on two thick branches high in the trees. She peers back on the road, watching, eyes transfixed for something or someone she is sure is either following her or just happens to be moving in the same direction. She hasn't seen anything, but she's sure she's heard something and from her vantage point up high she will be able to see them before they see her.
"The Gods be cursed!" she hisses, trying to focus on two things at once: keeping her balance and keeping watch. "I know I heard something." The run from when she first heard the noise tired her a bit. She's quick and agile, an entertaining and apt wielder with a blade in an inn, a badly burned building, and other places where she can use the debris around her to her advantage. Up in the trees, the only way she can be caught is if she falls down and that would necessitate shaking the tree causing her to fall which would difficult with the large trunk this tree has or shooting her down with an arrow, but it would take an excellent bowman or a man with a long bow to bring her down at this height, with so many branches between her and the ground. Besides, if she finds herself under assault, there are a large number of trees with thick, bushy branches to provide her cover. This is an excellent location for her to be stationed; high enough to see and not be easily seen.

Fifteen minutes pass and still nothing. She has succeeded in staying virtually motionless, the only movement being her steady breathing and her head, as she repositions it to get newer views of the area. Finally, she is sure she hears something and it's not her imagination. The only problem is, it's coming from the other direction. "I am cursed!" she spits. She shifts her head around trying to make out what it could be, but to no avail. She's going to have to wait until it passes underneath to get a look. If she moves her feet it could cause the branches to shake and alert the passer-by or passers.

She waits, her breathing slows. She is sure she hears more than one set of hooves. Finally, the sound is underneath and she can make it out. There are several white horses traveling in pairs along the road. Riding atop each horse is a man in armor. She thinks it's chain, but from the height, she can't be totally sure. "One, two, three.." she counts the pairs as they pass under her. "...seven." she stops momentarily as she absorbs the thought, "Seven? What lord could be..." She stops her whispering as she watches two coaches pass by underneath, a large one first containing two men on the front, one holding the reigns the other a crossbow, she can't be sure, not at this height. Then man on the back she is sure of the sword he has resting on the top of the coach.
The second coach is being pulled by a team of six horses. It is much grander than the previous coach and has three people on the front, two sitting on the coach and two in the back. Then another procession of horses, black horses this time, follows: four pairs of horses.

She watches and waits for them to exit the woods and then she rises slowly, her legs aching as she does. "Crimey!" she curses. "Where could they be going?" she looks out at the procession as it moves out of sight the view obscured by the trees. "That's practically an entire army. I have to see where they came from." she says softly to herself.

Hima slides down out of the tree and lands on the ground. As she makes contact with the ground she leans into the tree, bends down and studies the road, both the ruts and tracks and both directions. Satisfied it's safe, she slowly and carefully zigs through the trees like she's traveling through a wooded maze. Upon exiting the woods she studies the tracks intently before deciding to move on.

It's nearly dusk when she notices smoke billowing in the distance. "A town." she crows excitedly. Normally, she'd have no interest in some little shanty town on the road, but she's tired, hungry and she may be able to glean some information from the locals about who or what the procession was about.
Padding along the road quickly, constantly alert for thieves, bandits and other ne'er-do-wells, she reaches the top of the hill and peers down on the town below. A look of horror washes across her face; the smoke is not from a chimney or some outdoor cooking stove. Rather, the town has been leveled and set a blaze, judging from the look and smell, within the last half-day.
Hima lowers herself to the ground, blending with the hill as the sun sets and the quarter moon rises. She watches the remains of the town for any movement, any sign of life, anything.
Satisfied that there is nothing, she rises up and creeps toward the burned out village, constantly on guard for anything that moves or seems unsightly. She plans on offering aid to anyone if she finds anyone living, but at the same time, if everyone is dead, then she'll also help herself to anything of value this town possesses.
She searches for the better part of an hour; she finds no one living, but she is able to find some pieces of copper, a gold ingot, same beads of glass, some herbs and a few pieces of meat and vegetables. She places everything on the ground and helps herself to the meat, while sorting through her bag, shifting items around to make room for her newly acquired finds. As she's about finished, she hears movement. Someone or something crawling on the ground to her left, behind the charred remains of a building.

Hima grabs her dagger and quickly moves toward the sound. On the ground she finds a woman, badly burned and beaten. In her hand she carries a piece of folded paper. "Are you... you okay." she says knowing that the woman is not okay. As she bends down over her in the dark, she can see where the woman has been badly beaten and tortured. "Can... can.. can i help?" she asks, sure that there isn't anything she can do but comfort her.
The woman places the paper in her hand. "Take this." she wheezes, "It's part of a map. It will help you find the scroll." she says pushing the paper hard into her hand.
"Scroll?" Hima says puzzled. "What scroll?"
"The Scroll of Creation. It's what they were looking for. Don't let them get this piece of the map. They'll... they'll do unspeakable evil. Now go." the woman commands before dying.
Hima takes the paper and unfolds it, "Scroll of Creation." she says her face scrunching as she does. She turns back and looks at the body of the woman, "What is the..?" she almost throws the paper away, but stops looking at the ruins that a mere day ago was most likely a vibrant village, that is now just a burned shell of it's original self. "There has to be a reason why they did this." she reasons. "Maybe this map is it." Satisfied with her logic she carefully places the paper in her belt pouch and seals it shut. "It might make me a lot of money." She grabs some of the food she found and sits in an area with no dead bodies around, the thought of a scroll fills her with visions of wealth.

Hima feels badly for the residents of the town. She would never wish death upon anyone, especially death like this. But, short of saying a small prayer for them and tossing some dirt over their bodies, there is nothing she can do for them now. She might as well see if she can find this scroll before anyone else does.

Nyxmel crept along through the scrubby underbrush of the forest cautiously. He was painfully aware of the crackling of twigs, the clanking of his sword agains provisions, and all the other sounds he inevitably made while "sneaking" along. It was no use, everything was just too crowded. A dragon was used to more open-ness, less weaving. At least he was. Mum had always said the forest was her favorite place to go... Mum...

The black dragon cast his emerald eyes to the sky in a silent prayer that he may please her spirit. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't be in this wretched area. This terrifying area. The fear hit him in the stomach again, cold and slithery like a chilled snake. He was in human territory now. The smell of the legendary beasts swam in his active nostrils, the scent of leather and sweat, among other less pleasant things. He glanced around fearfully, but forced a poker face back on. He was a dragon, one of the mightiest of races... But could he stand up to these beings? Only lore spoke of them, tiny, pale, but banded together in huge clans. They wielded enchanted weapons designed for the slaughter of dragonkind, just for their bodies and nothing else. For survival was one thing, but they did this for wealth and sport. Nyxmel growled deep in his chest despite his best efforts to be silent at the indignity. The Great Race forced to the edge of extinction...

A noise far off caught his attention and yanked him from his thoughts. Crackling, breaking. Smoke tinged the air from wherever the source was. Fire, something wooden burning. His heart soared. Finally, a lead! He had been travelling for days upon weeks trying to find some sign. This was it. Mum had said, "The fire come not from dragons," and this smoke had nowhere near the scent of dragon fire. His slitted pupils narrowed in caution as he approached the source slowly through the trees. Who knew what was there... Humans, perhaps, looking to ambush him...

'Quit acting like a hatchling, Nyx!!' he scolded in his own mind. 'You're a bloody dragon, for stars' sake!! The Great Race!! Your mission is to save them. Only you. For... For Mum.'

Courage filled the gap of fear. He walked more confidently, chest puffed and every sense on alert. The trees began to taper off until he could see where the fire and smoke had originated from. There it was, piles of timber and flaming ash. Just like Mum had said. He approached cautiously while sniffing the air discretely for any signs of humans... The area reeked of it. They lived here, there would be no way for him to distinguish live from dead, old from recent.

However, motion was always a sign of life. There, before him and a bit to the left, was what he assumed to be a human. It had long brown... stringy scales that issued from its head and odd proportions. It looked frail, but he knew better than to mistake it as anything but what it was: a killer. It was the only living thing in this area. Fury began to rise in him, unbearable rage for what this race had done to his, and what this individual had done to a town. The anger took control, and without any will of his own he roared a challenge to the human in the road. The sound was deafening and terrifying. How'd it like to see a creature of their own legend standing and fighting on its own?

Hima

Hima sits finishing off the last piece of meat she found in the village and ponders what sort of people could do this to a whole village. If the slaughter of every man, woman and child in the village was really over the map she placed in her pouch then it is a map well worth protecting; not just for it's potential value in finding and selling the scroll to some wizard or noble, but also in keeping it out of the hands of whoever did this. If they're willing to torture and murder a village to get this map then they're not good people and definitely shouldn't have this map under any circumstances.

Her concentration is disrupted by something going on around her. She hasn't heard anything specific, but she is sure that someone or something is nearby. She sits listening for several seconds, but nothing, "Must be the night and the village." she reasons. Then from behind her a sudden loud and threatening sound bellows as if an explosion or a herd of angry elephants were nearby.

Hima rolls over from sitting position onto her hands and knees. Her eyes widen, her mouth hangs agape, the color drains from her face as her heart begins pounding in fear, "A...a...a dragon?!" Hima has heard tales of dragons, but always considered them to be fantasy stories used to scare little children into behaving. She has never for one second considered the stories true. But there one stands, at least she it matches the descriptions she's seen in paintings and what people have said they look like; the giant black creature with the purple spine and green eyes is testimony to the stories truth. Now it all makes perfect sense, the realization of what has happened to the village and its inhabitants now makes perfect sense. This black creature with a purple spine roaring and making threatening gestures killed all these people and then burned the village.
Hima reaches around grasping her bag in one hand and her rapier in the other. Her sword will never be a match for this giant creature and she has no intention of trying to prove herself wrong. She will only use the sword if forced to, which she is hoping is never. She slides her body backward, resting on her heels, raising her hand to signal to the dragon not to attack her, "S...suh...suh...steady..." she stammers trying to give the dragon no fear, no cause to attack her. She has heard that dragons, many dragons, understand human tongue and some even can use it and she's hoping those stories are true and this dragon is one of them. "Steady there. Look...uh..look. I'm... I'm not even... even from the village." she says slowly rising and moving backward, again trying to avoid making any unnecessary movements. "I... I don't know what they did to make... you know... make you angry." she slowly steps backward, "But, look. I'm not one of them and I'm sure whatever they did... you know... you... you were justified in being angry."

She glances left and right out of the corners of her eyes. There is no woodlands, no high grass, no fields that she can dash into for protection. Her options are limited to two things; 1. She could dart behind one of the burned out buildings and hope that he doesn't torch the place and her with it; or 2. Try and reason with it in hopes that it doesn't slaughter her for fun. She has decided one thing, she's not giving him the map he's looking for, these people died protecting it and she owes the old woman that.

Hima slowly lowers her sword and drops her bag. If he attacks, she will run and try to get a stag to the gut or throat, if she can get that close or that high. "Look... whatever happened here... whatever they did to you... I'm... I'm not part of. I'm ju... just... you know, uh... passing through. And I uh... you know... Don't kill me, please. I won't tell anyone about you. I promise."

The fury bubbled deep in Nyxmel's chest as he stared at the pitiful being. When he roared, the human rolled to all fours, but the awkwardness of the position meant that they were obviously bipedal. The creature's brown eyes widened in fear, well as they should. Pride began to push out the fury, but he was determined to deal with this murderer. Even if humans were the bane of the dragons' existance, mass homicide was never an option. His mother had taught him to respect all life, and only to take it when necessary.

The thing put up a "hand" then. Instinctively, Nyxmel tensed to take a step backwards. What was it doing? Was it going to use magic? Shoot out hidden blades? Instead, it spoke in a soft voice laden with fear, "S...suh...suh...steady... Steady there. Look...uh..look. I'm... I'm not even... even from the village," said the pale creature as it slowly began to back away from him. The anger drained from his chest as he stared at the fragile-looking thing moving away. He could understand it! Nyxmel had always figured that the centuries old texts from back home would never have held up the language, but he had learned it anyway, seeing as how the history of the Life War was so intriguing. It was... scared. But why did she reiterate what he already knew? Obviously she wasn't from the village, or she wouldn't have reason to burn it down.

"I... I don't know what they did to make... you know... make you angry. But, look. I'm not one of them and I'm sure whatever they did... you know... you... you were justified in being angry."

He understood then. His tail drooped and his mouth hung slightly agape. All anger left him. How could this one human have burned down an entire village without a band? Didn't they travel in clans, or packs, or flocks or something? Guilt gnawed at his heart for leaping to a conclusion too quickly. It thought that he was the one who had done this. Nyxmel cast a glance about at the heaps of smoldering rubble. His mind fought back to his lessons, the awkward tongue rolls and nasal usage. Human speech was cool to learn, but Draconic was much easier. "Y... You think I did this?" The words came in a baritone with a thick accent, something of a mixture between Russian and British. Every k had an h at the end, and the vowels were very odd, along with other differences from regular speech. "Why would I do this? I came here to look for something of my mother's, not to kill... I thought..." he paused as he hid his eyes under the ivory faceplate's shadows, "I thought it had been you..."

He looked back up at her and approached slowly. "I mean you no harm." Slowly, he reached onto his back, snagged the leather bag rolled over his shoulders, and dropped it to the ground.

Hima

Hima continues backing away, while still hopeful of an escape from this situation she is accepting of what her fate most likely is; that thing that destroyed this village is about to do the same thing to her and there's little she can do to prevent it. Smalls tears well up in her eyes at the thought she will be dead at such a young age. "At least," she reasons, "At least, it's been an exciting life. I haven't died as some stupid farmer living a life of toil or some one whose whole life has been one of subservience. I have seen and done a lot. And, there are worse things than being killed by the breath of a dragon."

She shakes that thought out of her head. She's not dead yet and she's not ready to commit to defeat without a struggle, even a futile one. She looks left and right and then behind one last time trying to chart out an escape. Seeing none she turns back toward the dragon, but rather than facing the fearsome, angered, god-like creature that she saw merely seconds ago, the dragon has dropped its tail and is staring at her with an oddly confused expression.

"Y... You think I did this?" the creature asks in a deep, rich tone that matches it's size. "Why would I do this? I came here to look for something of my mother's, not to kill... I thought... I thought it had been you..." the dragon says, not in an accusatory manner, but rather in an 'I was thinking the same thing as you.' one.
Hima stares the creature up and down, not sure what to make of this turn of events. She resists the reflex to say, "Because you're a dragon." when he asks why he would kill all these people and torch the village. The tension in her body eases a little, but she isn't dropping her guard. "Dragons are wily and smart." she is sure of that, "He could be trying to get me to drop my guard and then take me." That thought seems almost stupid as she thinks about it. "He's much bigger and stronger than me and he flies. Lulling me, a 15 year old human girl as a distraction would be unnecessary."

She jumps a step back as he grabs his bag and drops it on the ground. Hima relaxes herself a bit more. She bends down and reaches for her bag, never taking her eyes off the fearsome dragon. She decides to avoid her rapier, "No sense in upsetting him at this moment. He isn't acting menacing. Why give him cause?"
She holds her bag tightly against her chest with two hands, "S...S...So." she stutters. "Why are you... I mean what do you... you want?" She has heard many stories about dragons, but they were always from someone who knew someone, whose friend had a cousin... story, never from someone who has actually seen a dragon. As unreliable as all the stories may be, every story has a small kernel of truth to it.
"Are... are you... you looking for something?" she thinks she already knows the answer, he most likely wants the scroll, but she's hopeful it's something else. She doesn't know what magical powers he possesses and if he can detect lie she's gonna get caught. "I mean, if you... if I can help you... you know. I'll help if I can." she says swallowing as hard as she can, her mouth practically bone dry.

Her discomfort saddened him, yet he was satisfied that she was frightened. The conflicting emotions warred within him as he decided how much to tell the girl. Her backwards odyssey didn't go unnoticed. He moved forwards slowly, slowly. Each movement was exaggerated to show he meant no harm, each claw turned palm up to show he was unarmed. "I'm searching for something my Mo-- ... I'm searching for something on a hunch." He winced at his near blunder. He still didn't know how dangerous this thing was even without its horde. It could be bluffing for all he knew.

However, it seemed sincere, either through honor or terror, when it asked if it could help him. Skepticism was a skill taught to him through a hard hatchlinghood no matter how rude. He knew it would prove invaluable in this quest, though...

He had no other leads. The fire was told to lead him to truth.

He sighed and shut his emerald eyes, tail drooped with grief. "I'm here looking for something my Mother sent me to find," he confided softly, "She came all the way from the Spirit World in a dream. The "Scroll of Creation." I won't tell you what for, or why, because I do not yet know myself. However, this was the first and last thing she told me. 'Find the fire to seek the truth.'" Grief-ridden tears sparkled behind the ivory faceplate before he quickly swiped at them in fury. He was weak before the creature, it would be able to tell and strike him down. Nyxmel replaced his stern countenance and waited for the human's move.

HIMA

Hima backs away slightly with every step he takes. She can tell there is something bothering him, but she isn't sure exactly what in happening in his mind. If he's feeling hungry, she is sure she will surely be his dinner; after-all, he is a dragon and she is human - dragons eat humans, that's what she's always been told. It's the reason why people were forced to chase them from their mountain dwellings; not because people wanted to, but because dragons gave them no choice.
It's the bag she is intrigued by, "Why did he drop it? What secrets does it possess?"
"I'm searching for something my Mo-- ... I'm searching for something on a hunch." the creature said, gearing its paws as a sign of something, "Maybe it's a sign to show he means no harm? Maybe he's preparing to cast special dragon magic?" she isn't sure. She's curious as to what he's looking for and whatever it is, it has something to do with whatever he stopped saying mid-sentence.

Finally the giant creature dropped all show of menace and power, dropping his head and tail, "I'm here looking for something my Mother sent me to find. She came all the way from the Spirit World in a dream. The "Scroll of Creation." I won't tell you what for, or why, because I do not yet know myself. However, this was the first and last thing she told me. 'Find the fire to seek the truth.'"

"The Scroll of Creation?! she cringes both in her mind and body, but saying nothing verbally about it. "Why does it have to be the scroll." she ponders the scroll for several seconds, "Maybe he does have something to do with the village. But why is he playing this infernal game if he did? He could easily take me apart to get the information he seeks." Hima's internal debate jumps between belief that he is telling the truth and her naturally suspicious nature.

His tears seems genuine and he does seem desperate. Finally, after what seems an eternity, her internal debate, the uncertainty she feels has been decided. "If you want my help, I'll be happy to give it. You look like you could use a companion on your journey and maybe I can be of service to you." She has decided not to show him her piece of the map yet, at least not before morning. Hima lives for the adventure and what could be more adventurous than traveling with a dragon looking for something that she has a piece of the map of.
As she looked at the map while sitting on the ground eating, it had become crystal clear to her, that she lacked the whole map, rather she had been given part of it; which would make sense as a map this valuable would be dangerous in the hands of one person. She felt slightly guilty not sharing her knowledge with the desperate creature, but safety comes first.

"I believe you didn't do this. The damage is too... too... well, too amateur to have been done by someone like you. Besides, when I was in the forest, hiding in the trees, I saw a large duo-coach procession heading through away from this town. Maybe they had something to do with what happened. Maybe they know about your map."
She ponders the ramifications of what she had just told him; First, she is withholding information from him, something that, if he figures it out could create trouble for her down the line; Second, if he decides that group knows something, he may choose to ruthlessly wipe them out. But if they did this, they deserve it, she reasons; and Third, she's tying her fortunes to a dragon, who in the end may kill her anyway.
But since he might kill her if she says 'No,' she's better off being his friend for now.
"If you want, I'll go with you. But I'm tired," she yawns and stretches. "I need some sleep."

(Confound it all, I lost five paragraphs of good stuff)
Her discomfort filled him with guilt. Nyxmel hated to hurt anyone or thing... even his race's mortal enemy. Her deliberation lasted a few seconds before she surprised him with an offer of comeradierie. Skepticism narrowed his slitted pupils as he angled his head to see her better with one eye while keeping the other trained on his bag. Her interest in it was apparent and dissettling.

She then made a huge blunder. "I believe you didn't do this. The damage is too... too... well, too amateur to have been done by someone like you."

Fury bubbled in the dragon's chest involuntarily. Instinctive rage led him to an aggressive crouch on his front claws, teeth bared and a snarl hissing through his maw. He cursed in a language that resembled a rich, animalistic German, beautiful and feral, before switching to English. "Someone like me?! What in the bowels of the mountains could you possibly even begin to think you know about me? I was raised to respect all life and to give respect to every living being unless directly threatened! You puny, pale rats were the ones who mindlessly slaughtered my race for our teeth and tongues, hatchlings, elders, eggs, all dead and brutalized for market!! We were forced to flee for our lives, the mighty dragons of lore degraded to migrants!!"

He then realized what he was doing. Smoke drifted from his nostrils as flame burned ready in his chest. The human stood before him, small and terrified. 'All life is important, even those who have reason to be punished. Respect all, love all, and remeber who you are.' His mother's last words before he was taken from her in the forest. A hurt hatchling, confused and hungry...

Nyxmel blinked a few times and stood to return to his bag. A glance to the sky showed him the time. "Sleep now. We shall move in the morning." He sat near his bundle and watched her with gleaming emerald eyes to await her slumber.

Hima

His fury catches Hima totally by surprise, "I didn't uh..." is all she can get out. His anger has him speaking in a tongue that she isn't familiar with before he returning to one that she does understand.

"Someone like me?!..." his anger causes her to fall backwards landing on her rear trying desperately to scoot away. As he rages in anger.
Hima's faces twinges in panic, her breath hiccuping from her mouth, her head flailing left-and-right then back to center, all she can muster is a series of broken words and phrases, "I'm so... I didn...uh...I'm... No..." She continues scooting back into an obelisk that she climbs against wobbling to her feet. This is the second misunderstanding they've had and she's sure this could easily be the last time.

Finally, the creature ceases his angered fury at her. She watches, frightened and awed by the creature as a few final puffs of smoke flare from his nostrils. "Sleep now. We shall move in the morning."

Hima hesitantly leans toward her bag, crying as she picks it up. She never meant it as an insult, nor did she think he was some sort of mindless, sociopathic assassin. She opens her mouth for a brief second to explain herself, but decides against it. She decides it best not to take a chance on infuriating him again. Taking her bag, still crying, she drops her daggers on the road and slogs away to the other side of the obelisk, sits on the ground and cries.
It's been a long time since she has cried, she's found it unnecessary and counterproductive to cry. But, in this case the fear she just felt combined with the guilt she feels for having unintentionally insulted him has left her little alternative. As she cries, she thinks about what he said; how there were people who had slaughtered dragons for their teeth and tongues. How so many had been wiped out. Those were not the stories she had heard from the tellers in her younger years. The stories she heard were of gallant warriors riding off to save villages from marauding evil dragons.
She takes a few sobby breaths, turns over on her knees and out from the protection of the obelisk. Opening her pouch, she pulls out her part of the map, "Here," she says through her tears and throws the paper in his direction. "I'm sau... sau... sorry for what ha...hap...happened. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." she slides back behind the obelisk. "A woman in the village who was dying told me its part of the map to the scroll." she yells out from her position. "I know you hate me because I'm human. I do wanna help you. I really do. But...I understand why you hate me. And if you're gone come dawn... welll... good luck. I'm not even sure it really leads to the scroll. But, if it does... I was fine before I had it and I'll be fine if you take it."

Hima returns to crying and clutching her bag tightly against her body. She decides that the map probably means more to him than it does to her. She knows he didn't kill all these people and whoever did is a greater threat to her than him. If it was that group that passed by earlier that slaughtered the village, they'd have a much easier time snatching it from her than they would from him.

HIMA

Hima spends the next few hours sitting, crying, and thinking about everything that has happened. She has heard nothing from the dragon at all. Not a movement, not a word, nothing. Finally, after what seems like 11 years, she decides she has to move on. She can't stay here for decades. She takes a peek around the obelisk. Nothing. Though her daggers and the map are still there, the dragon is not.
"How could he just vanish without a sound?" she speaks in her head. "He'd have to make some sound. Shouldn't he?"
Hima finally decides to stand and look around. Nothing. No dragon anywhere. "Maybe he's invisible?" she wonders. "No." she says shaking her head. "If he were invisible, he'd still make some noise. He's gone."
Satisfied that he is really gone, she slowly and carefully walks toward the paper, quickly snatches it up, retrieves her dagger and begins walking back in the direction she came. The soldiers were on horseback, they've had a half-days ride, so they're likely quite far ahead. And she's fairly certain they're not going to be expecting a girl to be coming up behind them.
Hima checks the piece of paper one more time. Nods, satisfied it is the same piece of paper and the dragon didn't switch it before leaving, "A dragon would do that." she says to herself. And confidently she walks on to what she hopes will be a most profitable adventure.