Fire Breath
The Dragon Oath

Sabina and Aiden observed the item given by Ladon. The iron box looked very heavy and locked with a round padlock similar to a safe. Even so Ladon can open it easily because he himself set the password of the storage box.

It was inside the box that Sabina saw hundreds of still-new and unused bullet casings. The bullets were silver in color and glittered in the light. They lined up neatly forming a row that was layered thick. In one corner of the box, two firearms in the form of black and white flintlock pistols still glistened with gold and silver tendrils. The gun was clearly a suitable weapon for hundreds of those bullets.

"Is this … ?" asked Sabina who was still watching closely.

"True, this is what you're looking for. I got it when Zomace, the maker, left this dangerous thing to me before he died. It says it can be used against a teartentu race" Ladon said.

"You know the maker of silver bullet?" asked Sabina in disbelief.

"I've got more friends than you think" Ladon protested with annoyance.

Sabina snorted softly as her comment sounded like mocking the dragon. But of course he doesn't blame her. During this time the dragon in his shadow is a cruel creature that usually prefers to be alone. Sabina could not imagine that Ladon might have friends.

"By the way, have you ever been human before?" sabina asked who was suddenly curious.

Ladon cleared his throat slowly. "Akheron the nosy creature several times pranking me whenever there is an opportunity or if he is bored. I had to go around looking for him and return my form," Ladon said visibly annoyed.

The answer confirmed Sabina's assumption that the two of them did know each other. But that answer raises a new question for him.

"Isn't the achheron spring in the mountains with a waterfall behind it?" sabina asked trying to be sure.

"He can move at will once every few decades. If you last found him there, just pray he hasn't gone anywhere" Ladon said.

Sabina took a long breath. "Why do mythological beings like you always act so miraculously?" the girl said, imagining how troublesome it would be to find Akheron in an unknown place.

"That's because we've lived so long. Life is boring and alone. The only way to make it interesting is to do such miraculous things" Ladon chuckled.

"It seems you are quite enjoying this situation," Sabina commented cynically.

Ladon laughed even harder. "It's not bad. I have been asleep for so long that my lair is filled with dust and stuffy like this. It seems like a short walk is fine" he said with narrowed eyes.

Sabina glanced at Ladon in annoyance. He regretted a little because he did not immediately finish off the dragon yesterday. Now it just adds to the burden of their journey. Even so Aiden seemed satisfied. He was happy to have a new friend on his way.

Finally, after getting what was needed, they prepared to leave. After discussion, it was decided to bring the silver bullet to the Rickle family residence first. The Sabina and Aiden issue seems more urgent and should come first. Ladon therefore agreed to follow the group to Sabina's residence.

"By the way you guys have that sword? Are you trying to kill me?" ladon asked when he saw Aiden packing their things, including the dragon slaying sword Miangase had given him.

"Eh .. that's .. not so. At first we didn't know how to use this sword. An acquaintance gave it to us. But we decided not to use it" Aiden replied misbehaving.

Ladon's friendly attitude suddenly turned wary. Aiden didn't blame him. Seeing a new known person carrying a weapon that is famous as the killer of his race is indeed very suspicious.

"I promise I won't hurt you, Ladon," Aiden added quickly.

"If we had intended to kill you, we would have done so when you were unconscious yesterday" Sabina later said.

Ladon also softened. Although he was still a little uncomfortable with the sword, but the dragon did not comment anymore. They finally prepared to return. Unfortunately, due to Nora's unfinished condition, they seem to have to go home in the old-fashioned slow way: walking at a normal pace.

Sabina had long complained of imagining their journey which would probably take days. At that time, Ladon again showed his function in the team.

"I may have a simpler way to get us to our destination in no time. But you have to promise to guarantee my safety and not kill me" Ladon said.

"I told you that we didn't intend to kill you" angered Sabina who was already getting upset.

"promise. Promises with dragons have mystical powers that will keep our souls bound. You can't break that promise without losing your life" Ladon said confidently.

Sabina and Aiden must have just heard of it by now. He never knew that binding a promise with a dragon meant binding the souls of both of them. Once again Sabina regretted her rash decision to accept Ladon's offer before this.

"That's right. The agreement with the dragon was an extremely powerful ancient magic. The dragon has the ability to bind the souls of those who swear before him," Nora's comment confirmed Ladon's remark.

"Well, how? Would you like to walk that far or use something that can take you back briefly?" ask Ladon again.

"Alright, we will .. ." said Aiden, who was suddenly silenced by Sabina.

"The oath is unfair to us. I will only promise not to kill you if your existence does not threaten us. If you attack us once, we will fight you, too" Sabina said.

Ladon smiled happily. "of course. No need to worry. I have no intention of hurting you. Then a promise has been made" he said, winking his eyes.

After that Ladon again scanned his piles of treasure for a while. He then walked to one of the piles high enough and began to dig. Aiden and Sabina just watched him silently, waiting for Ladon to bring another magical object.

Finally after how many minutes of digging, Ladon emerged from behind a glittering pile of gold. He carries a large book covered in gold with sheets of paper that are also sparkling golden. After seeing all these things for themselves, Sabina now believes that dragons naturally love shiny objects.

"We can use this" Ladon said as he opened the page of the book at random.

The golden sheet of paper seemed to have been half filled. A silver inked fur pen appeared in the middle of the courtyard.

"Write where you want to be here" Ladon continued, proffering the silver quill pen.

Sabina accepted it in confusion. "What should I write? Her address?"

"anything. May be the address, or just the name of the house if there is," replied Ladon lightly.

Sabina again observed some of the writings that had been engraved before. Some just mention the name of the road, or the name of the mountain. There are also those who write the name of the city even the name of the person (looks like that). Sabina finally decided to try to write down the name of their residence. The Rickle family home.