Jared watched wearily as the blood slowly seeped away from his body. He had strength enough to maintain his grip on the object he held to his chest, but just barely. Karath’s blow to his open wound had given Jared the opportunity to hide the object under his cloak, but it was only a matter of time before the dragon noticed. He and Sycker had to find a way out of this mess, quick. 

As Jared struggled to hold on to consciousness, a small, silent part of his mind whispered amid the chaos…

_Did I cross the line…?_

***

A younger, bolder Jared stood before the announcement board in the middle of town, scrutinizing each paper pinned on the cork. This was the day he would get the chance to be something more than a useless lump, a blot on the perfect lives of his neighbors. Today he would hunt his first bounty.

Jared usually chased small prizes: a wayward goat or sheep, the jeweled letter opener that a desperate servant had swiped off of her master’s desk. With each bounty he claimed, Jared felt more sure, more appreciated than he ever had before.

His wards didn’t understand. The surrogate parents assigned to him by village officials denounced bounty hunting as a job fit only for scavengers and rats. If they didn’t know better by now, they never would. Jared had run away from their home as soon as he thought he was able. He hoped they wouldn’t get it in their heads to “raise” another abandoned child. Any kid would be better off on the streets. 

About three years into his adventures, Jared had done fairly well for himself. He never stayed in one place for long, and could have written a tour guide on the entire continent if he had thought to make notes. 

Ashford was an intruiguing place. Jared didn’t know why he kept coming back between jobs. The town was nothing special. It had maybe a hundred citizens at best, and featured nothing more than a simple inn. In all fairness, it was kept clean, and the food was better than the mush served at most other places. For some reason, Ashford felt… safe.

That is, until Karath.

***

Karath grinned at his speechless brother. Sycker’s talons clutched at his throat as he fought for breath. His red scales were nearly purple, and the light in his eyes flickered faintly, about to go out…

Karath released his hold on Sycker. There would be time enough for games tomorrow. But today, other business demanded his attention. 

Karath issued brief orders to his guards. As they rushed to bind Sycker’s talons and disinfect the rug, Jared began to move.

At a first glance, it appeared as if Jared was trying to crawl out of the guards’ way. But Karath was quick to dismiss that theory. As he looked closer, he noticed Jared was not making use of his arms…

***

Jared sat in his usual seat at the bar. He stared into his drink, not thinking about much. It was late and the day had been long, but Jared wasn’t quite ready to turn in yet.

He lazily lifted his head and scanned the room for anything of interest. On the opposite side of the bar sat a man in a dark cloak. The man lifted his face just enough for Jared to see his eyes…

_And winked._

***

Karath cautiously walked closer the the mortal. Jared rolled onto his back, grinning. He pointed the mouth of the bag at Karath.

He pulled on the drawstring. “_Eat this, lizard.”_

***

Karath called it the Raze. As Jared had soon come to learn, the Raze was a creature rather than an object. It had taken Jared nearly a year to find it, despite Karath breathing down his neck. 

Jared warily eyed the cave in front of him. After months of chasing and tracking the creature, he was exhausted. This was his moment, and he couldn’t screw it up. He readied his equipment, and sat down to wait. 

After maybe an hour, he heard faint snuffling and tiny footsteps. Jared tensed. He looked down at his crossbow to ensure it was loaded. _One shot and this nightmare is over. Don’t. Screw. Up._

The Raze crawled out of the shadows. It resembled a lizard in general shape and size, but it’s features were more mammalian. It blinked and stared straight at Jared. He froze. After a long moment, it looked away and skittered towards the bait. Jared breathed out and took aim…

***

Sycker dashed across the room and propped Jared up with his arm. Jared coughed lightly and looked around. The smoke was beginning to clear.

The room was scorched. Parts of wall had crumbled and caved, trapping some of Karath’s men underneath. 

The other guards weren’t as lucky.

Sycker stared at the charred lumps of flesh and shuddered. “I know you said the Raze was bad, but…”

“_What were you expecting, then_?” Jared laughed, but soon fell into a coughing fit, blood spraying from his mouth and mixing with the carnage around the room. 

The Raze was curled up in the middle of the room asleep, as if its appetite for destruction had been satisfied and it was sleeping off the hearty meal.

Jared finally managed to catch his breath. “_Sycker… the bag…”_

Sycker jumped. _Right._ He picked up the bag and slowly approached the Raze. A movement in the corner of his eye made him pause.

One of the mounds, covered in cloth and armor, heaved with labored breaths. Sycker watched, horrified, as Karath pushed himself to his feet and growled.

“_Enough.”_