"What do you mean someone was rummaging through our stuff!?" Lake yelled at Granite.

  Granite looked down at the ground in shame.

  "Hey, stop yelling, we don't want to attract any dragons." Alpine interjected. "Just because we managed to make it to forested mountains doesn't mean we're safe."

  "Yeah! Especially if someone's stealing our stuff while we sleep!" Lake pressed. "What if they tried to kill us instead? What would you have done?"

  "Well, we're still alive, so I think we're fine." Alpine retorted.

  "You would risk our lives on a baseless theory?" Lake challenged.

  "Of course not! But if whoever rummaged through our stuff wanted to harm us, wouldn't they have done it? It was the perfect opportunity after all." Granite looked down as she spoke.

  "Check the bags - what did they take?" Lake demanded. A boy, barely a man, walked over to the bag and opened it. He took each item out until the back was empty. He tilted it upside down and shook it for good measure.

  "Well?" Lake asked impatiently.

  "Barely anything, looks like they only took one of our flint and steels. We still have two." The boy responded.

  "Dammit. Maple, repack the bag." Lake ordered. Maple started putting the items back in a particular order. "Granite, you're lucky we packed extras."

  "Look, I'm sorry, alright? I thought I said that." Granite responded.

  "'Sorry' doesn't bring it back or change it." Lake crossed his arms.

  "Hey, we still have two more. Pack it up and let's move. We do not want to disappoint the Invincible Lord." interdicted the fifth person.

  "Yes sir." came from Alpine and Granite. They moved to break down the rest of their meager camp.

  Who comes just to steal a flint and steel? Do they have nothing to make fire? Lake wondered. No point in worrying about it. Copperhead is right - we need to continue moving forward.

  Lake moved to help Maple with packing the research equipment. The group broke down camp within the next few minutes and began their journey deeper into the mountain range. They kept an eye on the sky at all times and both ears wide open. Stories of mountain dragons suddenly swooping down and plucking travellers from the ground were the most common amongst the Indestructible City residents - the second most common were swamp dragons emerging from the swamplands to the east and clamping down with their jaws. Lake shuddered.

  I hope that doesn't happen to us. But if this expedition is successful - if we can figure out how to effectively kill dragons - we'll never have to worry about dragons again.

  As they walked away to continue their route, Granite glanced back where their camp held a few moments ago. He swallowed, afraid to admit that he wasn't sure if the one scavenging in their bags was actually 'someone'.

  *****

  The group had been hiking for a few hours by now. Maple and Alpine were filling up everyone's water skins while the other three watched the skies.

  "So how long have you been with Lake?" Alpine asked.

  "It depends how you see it. As an apprentice, it's my second year, but he's been my teacher for eight rotations."

  "Ah, so you must know him well."

  "Well enough to know that he cares more about his projects than people." Maple quickly looked back, hoping Lake didn't overhear him say that. He was holding small talk of his own with the Lord's subordinate as they kept watch on the sky.

  "Really?" Alpine inquired. "I would think he cares about others a lot by trying to build a dragon-killer."

  "Well, anyone would try to do that. He's more likely to do it for the thrill of discovery than for humanity." Maple replied, switching to the next waterskin. "He's alright though, once you get used to him."

  Alpine also glanced back at Lake. He was now arguing with Copperhead over something. About what, neither at the stream had any idea. Alpine looked back at Maple.

  "What about you?" she asked.

  Maple looked up. "What do you mean?"

  "Why are you doing this?" Alpine clarified. "Are you doing it for humanity or for discovery?"

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Maple paused and thought about that.

  "Well..." he began, but he was sharply cut off by Granite.

  "Dragon!" he hissed in a loud whisper everyone could hear.

  Every human in the party looked up and locked their eyes on the shiny white scales of the winged beast in the air.

  "Get to the tree line!"

  Maple glanced back. Lake and Copperhead made it to the trees - Granite dashed in close behind them. He and Alpine were too far - they couldn't make the hundred-fifty or so feet before they were spotted and the dragon came to eat them.

  Alpine suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him along. "This way!" she urged. They ran to two large boulders by the stream with a crevice between them - just large enough for two people to hide in.

  The duo squeezed in and held their breaths. If the dragon flew over and looked down, there was no way they'd survive. They held their breath and kept silent. They could hear the wingbeats getting quieter. They didn't move, didn't speak, they didn't even breathe.

  They stayed still until the wingbeats were no longer heard. They kept still for some time after, and didn't move longer. Every human knew - caution above all when it came to dealing with dragons.

  Finally, Maple took a chance and peaked from behind the boulder.

  The white dragon wasn't in sight.

  "I think we're in the clear." he whispered to Alpine. She also took a peek from behind the boulder, glanced around, and nodded. They stepped out from their hiding place and worriedly searched the sky.

  Maple looked towards where the other three had run to. He saw Lake gesturing to join them behind the cover of the trees. After checking the sky once more, he and Alpine quickly got on their feet and rushed to the group. They flattened on the ground next to the others, their green and brown clothing better camouflaging them into the environment. His sight followed his mentor's, seemingly watching the direction in which the dragon had flown.

  After a while, Lake extended an arm forward.

  "There." He said. "It's hunting."

  All of them looked at the direction he was pointing to. A few miles away, lower in the mountain range, the dragon rose above the canopy with something stuck within its talons. The creature and its helpless prey quickly disappeared behind one mountain.

  The apprentice couldn't help but to shudder, afraid to even think of what would have happened if it was one of them in the dragon's talons.

  "We need to move now. Finish filling up the water, and move quickly. We can distance ourselves while it's eating." Lake order. The group went back to the stream, filled up the main and reserve waterskins, and were on the move before. They stuck much closer to the tree line now as they hoofed it at a brisk pace. They left no trace of their existence at the stream - aside from their scent. A scent that would be picked up by a white dragon a little while later.

  *****

  The small, smokeless fire was providing some very-welcome warmth to the group. They had stopped in another grove of trees, this time with thicker brush around them. Fear had spiked after the close call with the dragon, though no one visibly showed it. Granite was tending to the fire while Lake, Maple, and the lord's subordinate were enjoying the result.

  Maple was deep in thought about the event's today. That was the closest he's even seen a dragon - it was scary, sure, but also interesting. And something was nagging at him.

  "I know that look." Lake said, startling Maple out of his thoughts. "That's a thinker's look. What's on your mind, Maple?"

  "It's just...the dragon today. White scales mean it was an ice dragon, right?" Lake nodded. "What's an ice dragon doing down here? Their habitat is somewhere much further in the North."

  Lake pondered that for a moment. Then he smiled. "That's why you're my apprentice." He said to Maple. "But that is a good question. What do you think, Copperhead?"

  The lord's subordinate, Copperhead, glanced up with narrowed eyes. "Why should we care? It's a dragon. It doesn't have any motivations or reason." he stated matter-of-factly.

  "What about the one by the city?" Granite added.

  "What?" Lake said sharply.

  "Our wall guards noticed an ice dragon frequenting the outskirts of the Indestructible City relatively recently." Copperhead clarified. "This could be the same one."

  "Has it eaten anyone?" Lake asked.

  "Not that we know of," Granite responded. "At least, not yet."

  "So this is the first time you've seen it leave the Indestructible City?" Maple asked. Alpine nodded. "Hmmm..." Maple pondered. Then his eyes widened. "That's a terrifying thought."

  "What?"

  "What if it's following us?"

  "Don't be ridiculous." Copperhead countered. "The beast would've killed us by now."

  There was a near imperceptible tremble in his voice as he finished.

  "That's true." Lake affirmed. "If we were being hunted, we wouldn't have made it through last night."

  "Are you sure?" Alpine asked.

  "Absolutely. A dragon wouldn't extend the hunt this long. It's only bad luck that we crossed paths with it." Lake explained.

  "And how do you know? They are monsters, they take pleasure in playing with their prey." Granite countered, crossing his arms. "They made sure to write those words in our minds by countlessly repeating it. And we've had many testimonies in favor of that point for the past decades."

  "What do you mean?" Alpine ducked her head on the side.

  "Don't you ever listen to the captain? He said that twenty years ago, there were much fewer dragon attacks on towns and caravans." Granite sighed. "He thinks it's related to the Dragonslayer, that the dragons are searching for him to get revenge."

  "This again?" Alpine rolled her eyes to the sky. "This old rag can do nothing but yell at us and tell nonsensical stories."

  "Hey! He's not that old!"

  "Ah! Go on and tell me forty-seven isn't old! I can even see gray hairs on his head, honestly it's a miracle he isn't retired yet."

  "The captain is forty-seven?" Lake wondered. "That's not what he told me."

  "He lies half of the time, always tries to embellish his life," Alpine explained.

  "Oh." Lake lowered his shoulders, a subtle wave of disappointment shadowed his face. "I take that I should be more careful when questioning him for my information then."

  "You know him?" Maple wondered.

  "Well, he's the one who informed me about the plant. The one we're supposed to study in this expedition."

  Maple heard a slap behind him, he turned only to see Alpine facepalm with her hand over her face. She sighed.

  "I hope for us all that this wasn't one of his made up tales then."

  "We'll worry about it when we get there. Just get some sleep for now. The mountains only get harder to traverse from here. And Granite, try not to fall asleep this time on watch."

  Each member of the group found their own spot to tuck in for the night. One by one, they drifted off to sleep except for Granite, who was on first watch. He was more vigilant this night after the dragon sighting. However, none of them noticed the piercing blue eyes observing them from a distance.