Defenders of Kron - The Black Dragon by Ritu Ghosh

following us?” Aaron was scared now. “I didn’t see anybody following us!”
    “Just because your eyes cannot see them doesn’t mean that they are not there!” Dan sped up “Let’s hope nobody has followed us. We have to make it to the hunter village before the sunset”
    The evening was setting in and it was getting darker. They finally reached the Hunter village before nightfall. This village was very different from Brinsar. There were no farms or green fields, no sheep or even cows. The land looked dry and a few trees were seen here and there. The houses were mostly made of mud with thatched roofs. They had small windows and doors. The village looked empty. Nobody was outside their houses.
    After riding around for a while, they spotted a few men. They were carrying a huge animal they had hunted on their shoulders and coming out of a big hut.
    Dan signaled Aaron and Ony to slow down and follow him. A big man came out of the hut. He, like most others was not wearing any shirt. He had a covering on his waist made of animal skin which stretched up to his knees. Aaron noticed some strange markings on his chest and forehead made with some kind of white powder.
    The man looked at them in a strange way as if he was shocked to see them there.
    “These men do not look friendly…” Aaron said to Ony.
     
    The big man came towards them. Aaron was scared, he wished that they did not get into any kind of trouble. Dan got down from his horse as he saw the man approaching.
    To Aaron’s surprise, the big man hugged Dan and looked extremely happy. Dan started to speak in a strange language and the man seemed to be overjoyed. After speaking for some time, Dan pointed towards Flynn and said something. Aaron panicked; he didn’t want to leave Flynn with these people.
    The big man instructed a few men in his language. They got Flynn off the horse and walked towards one of the huts. Dan asked the man to take the horses away too.
    “Where are they talking Flynn?” Aaron asked Dan as soon as the men were out of sight.
    “They will take good care of him, don’t worry!” Dan said with a slight hint of smile. “Follow me, we will meet the chief of the village now.”
    Aaron and Ony did as Dan said. Dan stopped at the porch of a big hut and took his boots off. Then he asked the others to do the same. He then took a small pot filled with water kept nearby and washed his feet and hands. Then he passed the water to Ony. Ony looked at Aaron with his eyebrows raised. Neither of them knew what was going on. But they silently followed Dan inside the house after washing their feet and hands.
    “Have you ever been here before?” Aaron whispered to Ony.
    “No! This is a strange place, I’ve never seen anything like this ever before.” Ony said looking around in astonishment. There were strange paintings of animals and trees on the mud walls of the hut. “These look very similar to the paintings I’ve seen in some of the abandoned caves in Arktor, but these are much more complex” said Ony.
    Aaron walked into the hut. But the insides were not as what Aaron had expected. The decoration of the hall was extravagant. The furniture was like that of a king’s palace. There were carpets and rugs everywhere with intricate details on them. Aaron stepped in and saw a portrait of a man with a big mustache hanging on the wall. He was standing with a live tiger and he had a spear in his hand.
    “Good evening friends!” came a thin voice and everybody turned around. The man from the portrait stood there. But he was much shorter and leaner than he was in his portrait. He hugged Dan like he had found a long lost friend. They again spoke in that same strange language. The man looked very happy. Dan introduced him to both of them as Chief Barda.  The chief greeted them with great enthusiasm. He spoke some more to Dan and then with a big smile he said, “Enjoy your stay my friends!” and then he left the hall.
    “What was he telling you?” asked