3 Chapter 3

The sun slowly descended, abandoning the world of its warm rays. The dark of night slowly embraced the world, reminding everyone that another day was over. Leon sat on his throne of black polished stone, and looked down evenly at the men standing below him. They all had worried looks etched onto their faces, as they stared back at Leon unflinchingly.

The men that stood in a half circle below the throne platform, were the elders of the True Dragon Tribe. They were in the highest postion in the tribe, making most of the major decisions of the tribe. Although the tribe chief was considered to be in a higher postion than them, he also could be considered below them. The council of the elders made most of the decisions of the tribe by voting between themselves on what they would do. The tribe chief couldn't make any major decisions without consulting the five elders first.

"What's so important that the elders of our tribe have come to speak to me?" Leon asked.

"Well sir, some of our hunters brought news of something they saw in the forest while they were out hunting." one of the elderly men said, his high pitched voice traveling through the room.

"What's the news, it better be important." Leon said in his deep booming voice.

"Chief, they saw groups of Black Snake Tribesmen gathering in the forest. They seem to be planning an attack on Ironguard." one of the elders said, in a tone of worry and fear.

"Black Snake Tribe, you should have said so eariler. We will just defeat them once again, and when we do so, they will never dare to come back and threaten us," Leon stated casually as if discussing the weather.

"That is why we are here, it is because the hunters say their is a far bigger number than the number that attacked us the previous time, enough to easily defeat us." the oldest elder stated.

Leon stood up from his throne, and started pacing back and forth along the platform, a slight hint of worry showing on face for the first time since the elders arrived in the throne hall. Wringing his hands, he turned back to face the elders before asking,

"Are you sure that what they ae saying is true?"

"Completely sir, I had my guards check personally." the elder with the high pitched voice replied assuredly.

"My guards also said that they have some kind of secrect weapon. They couldn't see what the weapon was, but they said the Black Snake men look quite confident, unlike the last time they attemped an attack." high-pitched voice elder stated.

Leon rubbed his chin with his fingers, and he looked to be in deep thought. The silence in the room, took over for a few moments before chief Leon returned to his throne. The worry on his face vanished, and was replaced by a calm expression.

"Alright, I will go personally to talk to the Black Snake People, and see if we can make an agreement. Meanwhile, you guys will have to take over here temporarily. But if something unexpected happens, then take everyone and escape to the mountains." Leon commanded.

"No sir, we can't allow this, one of us wil take your place, you are more important than just one of us." a younger elder replied.

"Nope, I have to do this myself, besides if one of you went down there instead of me, they would think we were insulting them. So I have to be the one to talk to them." Leon said.

Leon stood from his throne with a fluent motion, his long robe fluttering behind him majestically. He waved his hand, and two young men with swords strapped to their sides, rushed in through the door, bowing to him before moving to both his sides in a protective manner. He pulled a bright red ring from his finger, that glittered with flashes of light from the torches and candles spread throughout the room.

Looks of surprise flashed across the elders faces, as they watched the chief wrap the ring in a piece of cloth and hand it to one of the men at his side. The surprise on the elders faces soon turned to looks of greed before their faces turned back to one of mock grief for the chiefs sacrifice.

The ring was a key to the True Dragon Vault. The True Dragon vault was where the tribe kept all their gold and treasures. Only the person who wore the ring could enter the vault, which meant many people coveted the ring. If someone who had evil motives got their hands on the ring, it would mean disater for the tribe.

"If I don't come back, give the ring to my son, as he is next in line for becoming chief." Leon ordered before walking down the hall and out the two massive doors at the end of the throne hall.

All the elders looked uneasy, but they also left the room, after giving second glances towards the guard that still held the ring in his hands, looking at it like it was the most precious thing in his life. But from the looks of hatred thrown at him from some of the elders, he gulped subconsciously and carefully placed the ring into his pocket.

*****

Tree branches moved and swayed along with the wind, and every so often a leaf would float slowly downward, until it would hit the ground softly. The patches of wildflowers gave the air a slightly intoxicating smell, that would make most people stop to look at them in wonder. Birds of many different varities flew around in the treetops, chirping and gathering twigs for nests or other things.

Logan lay on the ground breathing deeply, trying to catch his breath. He had been running non-stop for the last few hours, which surprised even himself. He had nearly ran into bunches of men wearing balck cloaks and armor, but he avoided them as best he could.

He was covered in sweat from head to toe, and he felt extremly hot from the constant movement. Pushing back to his feet, he kept moving at a brisk pace towards his village.