Chapter 34
Upon returning to the cavern, Draco carefully dropped one half of the precious dragon scale with Michalis.
Without delay, he set out again, clutching the other half tightly on his back, in a makeshift backpack.
His focus now turned to finding a suitable vehicle and draft animals to transport them.
As Draco scanned the farm, his heart sank when he found only scattered wood scraps where the family's carts once stood.
Undeterred, he decided to venture into the town in search of a replacement.
He had somewhat expected such an outcome.
Viewing the town in the daylight, Draco was unprepared to see the full extent of the devastation.
The once vibrant town now lay in ruin, with charred buildings and the haunting remnants of the dragon's attack.
The acrid smell of smoke mingled with the sickening stench of charred flesh, assaulting his senses.
'Are there even any survivors?' Draco wondered, his stomach churning at the thought.
The scale of the destruction was overwhelming, something he had failed to notice when he came in the night.
He had been in a very sour mood then.
Pushing down his growing unease, Draco steeled his resolve and continued his search.
His primary objective was to first find a cart, but once the thought of potential survivors crossed his mind, he couldn't ignore it.
'If there are others in need, can I truly turn a blind eye?' he pondered.
Navigating the rubble-strewn streets, Draco made his way towards the village chief's house.
It was a place where he was likely to find all the things he needed.
While observing, Draco noticed that the eastern, northern, and western quarters of the town were completely decimated, leaving only the central and southern areas in a semi-intact state.
As he searched the less damaged sections, Draco's heart sank further. There was barely anything usable.
The silence was deafening, and he encountered no living souls, only the occasional scurrying of displaced monsters and wildlife.
Most of what he found in the basements and cellars were the charred corpses of villagers .
His mind couldn't help but imagine the scene that took place, villagers trapped in their cellars or basements, crying for help, while slowly burning and choking on the heat and smoke, the thought sent a shiver down his spine.
'Even if they hid, the conditions would have been too harsh for them to survive,' he reasoned with a heavy heart.
Draco pressed on, and to his relief, he soon stumbled upon a very large undamaged carriage on the street.
Pulling it along, he continued his trek towards the village chief's residence while looting what he could, his senses also on high alert for any signs of life.
As he approached the central area, Draco noticed that every monster in the vicinity seemed to flee at his approach, likely deterred by the dragon scales he carried.
This provided him with a small measure of comfort, knowing that the scales were extremely effective.
Looking up at the sky, Draco noticed the time, his siblings would be growing increasingly worried about his prolonged absence.
It had been hours since he had left the cavern, and the sun was beginning to dip towards the horizon.
He had departed between 8 and 9 am and now, It looked to be around 2 or 3pm.
It was too late for them to travel as they would end up meeting the night without going far.
At least he wanted to get a map, a horse or cows and loot the houses he could before the night came.
Draco's mind raced as he considered his options.
On one hand, he wanted to prioritize searching for any survivors, driven by some form of moral obligation and compassion.
On the other, he knew he had to prioritize his family‘s well being.
There was still a portion of the southern block he hadn’t searched but that could take hours, if not days to thoroughly search.
‘Sigh, I should do what I came for first then search the other areas after. I am already at the village chiefs house anyway’ Draco decided.
With renewed focus, Draco made his way into the village chief's house, his eyes scanning the surrounding area for any movement.
The building itself was remarkably well-preserved, although the damage to the town was evident all around.
Cautiously, Draco approached the door and, finding it unlocked, he stepped inside.
The interior was surprisingly intact, with the chief's personal effects still in place.
Upon entering what seemed to be an office, Draco's gaze immediately fell upon a large parchment of paper on the wall.
Upon inspecting it, he recognized it as a map of the region.
'A map!' he exclaimed silently, a surge of relief washing over him.
Carefully, he placed the precious paper in his backpack, then began to search the other rooms for any additional resources that could prove useful to his family.
As he moved from room to room, Draco's hope of finding survivors there dwindled.
The house, like the rest of the town, seemed eerily abandoned.
The only sounds were the creaking of the floorboards and the distant howls of the monsters that had been displaced by the dragon's attack.
'Perhaps they have already fled the town,' he thought, 'or worse, they are all...'
Draco shook his head, unwilling to entertain the idea that everyone in town met a grim fate.
With a heavy sigh, Draco gathered what supplies he could find – a large cache of Valis, all the dried provisions, and a few other useful items.
As he made his last trip back to the carriage, he scanned the area one last time, hoping against hope to catch a glimpse of a survivor.
‘Wait, the house is intact. What about the cellar’ Draco thought.
Quickly be made his way around the outside of the house toward the cellar.
Upon reaching the front of it, he could see stacks of half eaten corpses blocking the entrance.
‘Ugh, I have to move this’ Draco thought, lifting the dead bodies blocking the entrance to the cellar.
After removing the bodies, Draco could see that the doors to the cellar was forcefully broken into.
The smell that came from within wasn’t pleasant, it was the familiar smell of death.
Using his mind, Draco created a small fire to light his way as he stepped down into the cellar while clutching his nose.
Upon reaching midway to the bottom, Draco could feel something coming up from his stomach up his guts, so he stopped.
“Anyone here” Draco called out. He had a nagging feeling that no one was alive and he didn’t want to see what horrors awaited beneath.
“Grrr" he heard an eerie growl in reply.
‘Alright that doesn't sound like a person. That’s my queue to leave' he thought, immediately leaving and sealing the entrance.
‘Sigh, there seems to be no one alive in the central area, that just leaves the south’ Draco concluded.
Draco's shoulders slumped at realization that thousands of people were likely dead.
He quickly shook off the gloom then turned his attention back to the carriage, ready to depart.
'I've done all I can for now,' he told himself, 'and my family needs me.'
With, that, Draco turned away from the town, pulling the cart along with him back to his family.
Taking one last look, the setting sun cast an ominous glow over the ruins, and Draco couldn't shake the feeling that there was still someone out there.
As the cart rumbled along the uneven path, Draco's mind raced with a million questions.
‘Were there still any survivors hiding in the southern part, too afraid to call out? Had they already fled to safety, or had the monster stampede claimed them all?’ he questioned.
The uncertainty weighed heavily on his heart, but soon he decided to discard such a thought.
‘Family first’ he repeated in his mind. If there was anyone left, they were going to have to wait till he returned the next day or later in the night.