Pre-Read: Travels of Anne: Eccentric Dragon. - Chapter 3.

It only took a few minutes of dragging her stone chest underneath the thick green canopy of the forest before her first encounter with a stranger came. It was her first encounter with anyone other than her kin in well over three hundred years. Luckily, she had heard them before they had spotted her. 

Weighty thudding thwacks echoed from up ahead, soon followed by the creaking of wood and the deep base boom of a fallen tree. Slowing her pace, Anne sauntered up to a nearby tree and peeked around to view the recipient of her glorious introduction.

It was a human, she was sure. She had read thousands of books over the ages, and each description given to a human was unique, different, and colorful, giving them a life of their own in only a few mere words, but they all had the same generalities. It also helped that she could reference her new form for confirmation. 

This was an older human, a male if her form was much to go by, with a curious brown patch of hair running down the sides of his face and across his chin—a beard! He has on clothes very different from her own. A simple-looking, non-magical white shirt with a few buttons on the upper chest that were currently unbuttoned, exposing even more hair that coated his chest. 

He had a pair of dark brown trousers and a belt, which was also non-magical, and connected to the belt were two bands that trailed up his torso and looped over his shoulders before connecting to the belt again near the back. 

He had raised a hand to block out the sunlight, and Anne could see the man's muscles ripple during the simple motion. As he gazed up into the treetops, Anne took the chase to inspect his weapon. He held a simple iron axe, which was well-worn but still very functional. 

Anne retreated behind her chosen tree and patted down her robe once more. She mentally prepared herself for her first fateful meeting, taking a few quick breaths, and before her nerves could convince her otherwise, she stormed out into the open. 

She awkwardly waited a few seconds for the man to notice her, but once his blue eyes locked with hers, she began her introduction. 

“Hello, fellow human! I am—” 

“Good lord, woman! Have you no decency?!” The man shouted, instantly interrupting and ruining her first encounter. 

While reeling back in shock, confusion, and a mix of anger from the disaster of her first meeting unfolding in front of her, she barely noticed the brown jacket being tossed over her as her mouth opened and closed like that of a simple fish. 

“Please, put that on.” 

She could hear his pleading tone, but she didn’t do anything wrong! Her items were magical. Far superior to the simple leather jacket thrust upon her. She tore the brown leather jacket off her face, huffed out some air from her flared nostrils, and glared. 

“Why must I? All of my items are magical and vasty superior to this drab artifice of clothing.” Anne hissed. 

“Why!? You’re in a bathrobe, woman!” The man roared as he strode forward with sure steps. He wore a complicated expression, and as he grew closer, Anne could see that he left his weapon behind—a foolish move. She was about to retort but finally registered what was spoken. 

A bathrobe? Like in my… educational books?

Anne looked down in horror and began matching the description she had read about a bathrobe to her current attire. 

Fluffy… open on the front…stopping mid-thigh… Oh no…

Thankfully, Anne’s breasts were still covered thanks to the belt which tied off the robe. This day, she solemnly vowed to cherish this belt as an object truly worthy of a dragon's hoard. She would name it later, something fitting for its service.

Anne fle—tactically retreated behind the nearby tree and thrust open her stone chest. Desperately, she opened her bags and tried to find the one that held her enchanted items. Once she did, she grabbed an assortment of robes and hastily dumped them onto the forest floor. 

“Stay back! I’m… unknowably indecent!” 

The thick plodding of footsteps slowed, then halted just beyond the tree trunk. Anne grabbed a robe from the forest floor and held it aloft just around the trunk, hopefully in view of the man. 

“Tell me, fellow human. Does this robe qualify as acceptable?” She asked, unsure. 

“Where the fu—” 

“Tell me, human!” She roared. The forest suddenly stilled. The ambient noise of any and all wildlife instantly ceased. She heaved ragged breaths in the aftermath and clicked her tongue—a pleasing gesture—at her mistake. 

After a few seconds of debating whether or not to kill this human and try again with the next, she heard him speak from beyond the tree. 

“That robe is fine…” He sounded unsure, so she asked again. 

“Are you sure? Is this robe acceptable? I have others…” Anne took turns holding out several other robes around the tree. 

“Any of those are fine.” The man said, more sure of himself in his tone. 

Anne picked one out at random, a red one similar in color to her hair, and quickly redressed. Once finished, she stored the others back into the bag of holding and tossed the bag back into her stone chest. 

The whole process took thirty seconds at most, and she never heard any footsteps during that time, so she assumed the man was still rooted in place due to her Draconic Shout. 

As a dragon, Anne has many innate abilities granted to her. The one always listed in her books was Dragonfire, but that was only one of the many talents given to those of such supreme form. Her Draconic Shout feared any and all who heard her call. It was helpful for stunning prey when hunting, but it was also used as a form of competition between her kin. Using it on this human was… accidental. 

She strode out from behind the tree and met with the man in question. There was only one way to salvage this disastrous meeting, and she was determined to make her first meeting memorable and successful. So, she chose the only option that would achieve her goals.

She would completely ignore everything that had previously happened. 

“Hello, fellow human! My name is Anne, a mighty adventurer on a grand quest. I require a moment of your time for aid and information.” Anne said and tried to smile at the man. 

The man had been unmoving at the start of her introduction, but when he heard that she was an adventurer, his face regained some color, and he squared his shoulders with a smidgen of confidence. But still, his tone didn’t match his posture.

“Uhh… I’m Jack.” 

Anne waited for the rest of his introduction, but it seemed the human she had stumbled upon was dimwitted. It was a shame, but she was familiar with dimwitted creatures. She had goblins around her all the time back home. 

“Well met, Jack. Tell me, where am I?” Anne asked as she lifted her chin in superiority. 

“You’re… in the forest?” Jack questioned. 

Anne gave him a pitying look. “Yes. I know that. What is the name of the settlement up ahead? The name of this forest? Are we in a kingdom? Perhaps Rhidonthrall?” 

Hopefully, even someone as simple as Jack had heard of the famous kingdom of Rhidonthrall. It was a prominent kingdom listed as one of the greatest adventurer kingdoms in ‘Tales of Edgar Allenthar.’

“You don’t know where you are? Like, at all?” Jack asked slowly as he looked on, confused.  

“That is correct. I came from over yonder, by way of flight from Zannathar Peak.” Anne gestured to the direction from whence she came. 

The man followed her outstretched hand and gave her a nod. “Not much out there…” 

He inspected her up and down, seemingly thinking or admiring her form; she wasn’t sure. He seemed to come to some sort of conclusion on his own, giving his furtive gaze. “You’re in Calinth—The Kingdom of Calinth. Up ahead is Outreach, a border town.” He sighed, then continued. “I’m sorry for my previous outburst, but it’s not every day a woman in a bathrobe appears out of the middle of the forest. Usually, you folk appear in town.” He chuckled and flashed her a smile. 

Anne returned the gesture, but he flinched away from her briefly. Anne narrowed her eyes as she thought.

Hmm… Maybe not dimwitted. He at least listens to his instincts, if that flitch was any indication. He knows he is outmatched… Is that why he left his weapon?

Anne cleared her throat and patted down her robe again, triple-checking to ensure she wasn’t exposing herself, and continued gathering information. “Are there many adventurers here in Outreach? Any quests or tasks to do for coin?” 

Jack turned and walked away to grab his axe, gesturing for Anne to follow along. With his axe in hand, he trailed down the fallen tree and started chopping off the branches connected to the trunk. “We have a guild hall. There’s a handful of other… adventurers in town, but they’re new. Real greenhorns, if you ask me. I’m not too knowledgeable about what the task board has to offer as I’m not an adventurer myself, but there’s always something to be done if you need some work.”

Anne nodded along as she watched him prune the tree. Something was nagging her about his actions, but she couldn’t put her talon or… finger on the cause. “Do you know of any famous adventurers? I’m looking for a few of them. Edgar Allenthar, for example?” 

Jack dropped his axe and wandered toward a nearby tree, where a leather pack leaned against it. He grabbed a long, bow-looking metallic object and then used it to start peeling the bark from the tree he was working on. “Can’t say I’ve heard of them. Sorry.” 

He stole a glance in her direction. “Look, most people like you arrive alone. But, that shout you did nearly made me soil myself. So, you must have been out there in the forest for quite some time.” He chuckled again, and a deep, hearty laugh followed. 

Anne smiled and looked wistfully into the forest. “Yes, I’ve been in that forest for far too long. Soon, I will be an adventurer for all to remember If I have my way.” 

Jack paused in his work, watching her as she peered into the forest. “A good dream to have. Just be careful. Too many of you young ones get carried away, then never come back.” 

Anne snorted. He was calling her young when she was almost next to ten times his age, if she had to guess. While this wasn’t how she imagined her first meeting with a human to go, Jack was… friendly. This was acceptable. 

Anne looked at the fallen tree and made a decision. “You need some help with the tree? Are you gathering firewood?” 

Jack continued to clear off the bark as he responded. “Nah, this will be used to expand the wall surrounding Outreach. Not much you can do to help I’m afraid. Thanks for asking, though.” 

The tree in question was around forty feet long and three feet wide. She assumed it easily weighed a couple thousand pounds, maybe even ten thousand. She wasn’t an expert.

“How are you planning on bringing it to Outreach? If I’m correct, it’s still several minutes away with no burdens.” She asked. 

Jack tossed a thumb over toward his pack. “There’s some hooks in there. I’ll anchor them into the trunk, and we’ll grab some bulls later and have them drag it back. It’ll take a few days, but it’ll get done.” 

Anne frowned at the timeframe. Then, she had a thought. “Is there an entrance fee in and out of Outreach? Any inn’s?” 

“No fee, and there’s a few inns. I assume you’re lacking any coin? We don’t get too many visitors, but we get a few every now and then. So, don’t worry about them being full.” 

Anne hummed aloud, finger tapping her chin. She peered at Jack, then back to the tree. “Pay for my room for a few days, and I’ll get this tree back before the end of the day.” 

Jack paused, then looked over his shoulder with a brow raised. Slowly, he stood and ran a hand through his salt and peppered beard. He flicked his eyes over her, then smiled, showcasing his pearly white teeth. “Sure. It’ll get a few days off if that’s the case.” 

He walked back a few steps and gestured toward the tree. “Let’s see what you can do.” 

Quest get! Anne thought as she went to the tree's base with an enormous smile. She thrust her hand into the tree, easily piercing the fragile wood. She breached the tree up to her forearm, and then, with her grip secured, she began to drag the tree toward Outreach. 

Anne heard the clattering of metal and quickly turned her head to watch as Jack stared slackjawed at the scene. The contents of his pack were strewn across the forest floor from where he dropped it.

“Is there a problem?” She asked. 

“Yo–You’re sure you’re not a famous adventurer?” He stammered in shock and awe as he ran a hand through his hair. 

“I’m sure. This is my first quest afterall!” Anne announced. It wasn’t shameful for this to be her first quest. Everyone had to start somewhere. While she would have liked her first to be something like hunting a manticore or conquering a breaking dungeon, she had a realistic view of the world. Everyone started from humble beginnings. 

Jack took a second to gather himself, then shrugged. He grabbed his belongings from the forest floor and plodded after her as she dragged the tree away. 

“Oh! One second…” 

Anne dropped the tree, creating a loud thump. Quickly, she went back to her decency tree and grabbed her stone check. She grabbed the hand in her left hand and dragged it next to the tree. Then, she reached back into the trunk with her right hand and began dragging them both simultaneously. This solved her problem of leaving a trail! 

Jack eyed the stone chest with curiosity. “I know women like their clothes, but I didn’t know they dragged a stone chest around carrying their wardrobe.”

Wanting to accustom herself to proper conversation some more, she replied. “It’s my hoa—Treasure. It’s all I’ve gathered so far.” 

After attempting to help drag the tree awkwardly, Jack decided he was useless and just walked by her side as she pulled the tree for the next few minutes. When they came to a break in the treeline, Lee saw from up close the wall that surrounded Outreach. It was well maintained. Most of the damage seen across its surface was from the environment, if anything. It looked like attacks from monsters were few and far between. 

Jack directed her to place the tree along the outskirts of the wall, so she plopped it down where he wanted it. Anne rubbed her hands together in glee as she looked toward the entryway leading into the town proper. Jack noticed her excitement and gave her a slight smile. “A deal is a deal. Let go and find you an Inn.” 

He started to walk off toward the entrance, and Anne wasn’t going to be left behind. She grabbed her stone chest and followed along, excited to see so many new places, people to meet, and quests to be taken.