"Whoa... little one," whispered the silky smooth voice of the dragon in front of her.
Momentarily she was frozen by shock, something which in itself surprised her, as though it were her first time. Nothing had ever even phased her before, let alone induced paralysing terror. Her friends were the same, but for them it was understandable. The only dragons they'd ever seen were either in books, on the television or in video games. To see a real one standing only a few feet away, living and breathing, was a reality altering experience, that's for sure. Looking over her shoulder, she could see her friends' wits just about starting to regain control over their petrified bodies. Two, Hook and Taibul, were both starting to raise their weapons, clearly intent on attacking. Knowing their situation was hopeless she immediately raised her closed fist, drawing things to an end. Both friends reacted instantly, standing where they were, grateful not to have to go up against the giant, prehistoric beast.
Something inside her stirred. Questions filtered to the surface. Why hadn't the dragon attacked? It could surely have taken them down in just a handful of seconds. As well, it looked kind of odd. Not like any she'd pictured in the vision she'd had. Those that looked in control of the situation there, the ones who had clearly chosen to side with Casey and were torturing her friends all had very peculiar markings/tattoos on their bodies. She couldn't recall exactly what they were, but knew that each dragon had exactly the same thing. Briefly, she wondered if she might not bargain with the beast; perhaps it could be bought or persuaded just to let them go, but the very thought seemed as futile as the strike she'd made with her borrowed knife.
Shuffling back slightly, the dragon leaned down, bringing its head level with Richie's face. A resonance of familiarity rang through her mind. Sifting through her newly gained memories, trying to match them with what she knew was a very unusual looking dragon, her heart pounded with the seriousness of the situation. For a start, the strange beast carried an enormous dragon sized rucksack on its back, the dimensions of a small car. As well, it looked... old. In all her dragon memories she recalled, every dragon looked... well, young. Not even middle aged. And then, there were the... GLASSES! Square plastic framed glasses...
'How odd,' she thought, 'a dragon wearing glasses.' Something about those set alarm bells ringing (in a good way) throughout her subconscious. Before she could hit the nail on the head, a flimsy looking wing that had seen better days, enveloped her tightly.
"Oh it's so good to see you, little one," stuttered the old dragon. "I thought for a moment that I'd been mistaken, or gone to the wrong place."
As the two of them stood nose to nose, it just started to dawn on the old dragon that the human shape in front of him was having a hard time remembering who he was.
"Ahhhh... you don't remember."
Summoning up all of the courage she possessed, Richie managed to stammer,
"I know I have nothing to fear... you're, you're a... friend."
"Good, little one, good," rumbled the dragon, smiling.
And then it came to her.
"Gee Tee."
"Exactly," roared the old shopkeeper, his scaly belly wobbling like Santa's belly when his sleigh hits turbulence.
"I'm so sorry. My head, it's still kind of... fuzzy."
"That's alright my dear. It's the ring. It'll do that to you, for a while at least."
Shuffling forward, she hugged as much of the old dragon as she could reach, as the group of friends behind her looked on, astonished.
"Much as this is very nice my dear," ventured the master mantra maker, looking at the group over Richie's shoulder, I don't think we really have time for all this. Perhaps now would be a good time for introductions, before one or all of your comrades pass out."
"Uhhh... sure," sighed the young lacrosse player, finally able to gather her wits. "Everyone, this, this is... Gee Tee. He's, he's my... friend."
The group's expressions were priceless.
"And this, Gee Tee, is..." Richie moved over to each one, pointing them out with their respective names.
Plodding over, the old dragon reached over to each of them, offering out his hand as Richie introduced them in what must have been one of the most bizarre encounters in the history of the planet. Each human grasped the outstretched hand and shook it gently. With the introductions done, the subject moved on to more pressing matters.
"How did you know where to find us?" asked Richie.
Gee Tee pondered the question thoughtfully.
"Odd things have been going on for some time now. Weeks in fact. Tank thought my comments were just the continued ramblings of an old dragon, but anyway, things started to come to a head when a group of very serious beings tried to break into the Emporium two nights ago. Of course they didn't succeed, but they were very well equipped and they only failed by the skin of their teeth. I'd already instigated every mantra that I'd acquired over the past five hundred years or so to protect the premises, but it very nearly wasn't enough. I knew I had to take matters further. And there seemed like only one thing to do. The Japanese dragons of old developed a mantra that could... see into the future. As it happens, it wasn't very reliable and, as we both know, the future itself is always in flux, very much on the move. But this mantra was different to the ones we're always hearing about. So with a copy of it tucked away in my personal vault for safekeeping... I tried it out. I was sceptical at first, as the dark images started to consume my mind. But on seeing my app... friend, Tank, strung up from some kind of metal gallows, I knew that I was on the right track.
"In the bazaar, here," added Richie.
"Precisely," nodded the old dragon. "Anyhow, I continued with the mantra, trying to piece together exactly what was happening. And that's how I stumbled across you and your merry little gang. I saw you sneaking down here and knew that if I left straight away, that I could intercept you before you reached the bazaar."
"To what end?"
"I'm not exactly sure. But I'm way too old to take on a band of mass murdering dragons all by myself. And while you and a group of humans wouldn't be my first choice as help, you are all that I have."
"Thanks for the ringing endorsement," pitched in Richie, her voice laden with sarcasm.
"Don't be like that, little one."
Richie could hear one of her friends stifle a bit of laughter at her being called 'little one'. She thought it was Hook, and made a note of it for... later!