The Forge SHORT STORIES
Spring 2021
THE HOARD By: Eli Vandegrift
He holds a dark cloth to his nose, staunching the blood flow, as the caravan approaches the village. The rising altitude bites at his sinuses and another rush of blood dampens the cloth against his face. Outside the wagon, a mountain rises. Its slopes stand out against the monotonous pale desert hills, blooms of green cascading down the ridges. The back of his neck is slick with sweat and he wipes it away with the bloodied cloth. “Nahim, Kol. Use something clean,” his sister hisses. With one hand, Kol grabs a new cloth and with the other, he raises a pair of Nocs to his eyes. The base of the mountain’s peak focuses, and he searches for what he is both desperate to see and fears to know exists. Near the top, he can make out a circular formation, surrounded by dense shrubbery and cacti-like trees. Dreiter Mountain’s very own dragon cave. “It’s said that the Dreiter Mountain dragon’s hoard is one of the most soughtafter treasure mines on the continent,” Kol’s older sister said to him a few days before they started their journey. Well, ‘journey,’ is a strong word. More like a weekend trip to an overpriced farmer’s market. Dreiter had the largest monthly gathering of bakers, traders, fishermen, farmers, crafters, and blacksmiths for over 100 miles. Kol was finally old enough to make the trek for his family to purchase and trade wares for the month. “What kind of treasure?” Kol asked.
His sister shook her head. “No one has gotten close enough and survived to say what’s actually in the cave. It’s thought to have over a million kah worth of gold or jewels.” As Kol watches the cave through the Nocs, something glimmers inside. He jumps and puts the Nocs down just as the wagon shudders to a stop. Dozens of voices clamor together outside. Kol and the others climb out and the noise erupts into a cacophony, a mix of traders and sellers yelling out prices, crying babies, laughter, and various animal bleats and complaints. His sister grins at him. “Welcome to Dreiter.” *** She’s getting tired of the smell of bread. While everyone in Dreiter and the surrounding villages come to their bakery for their planetrenowned bagels and rolls, May would have been content to never eat bread again. The past few weeks, she’d been looking for any excuse not to work the market, as she dreamed every night of venturing far away from Dreiter in search of something greater than bagels. For now, though, she sits on the counter at their booth, bored. The rolls in front of her sell quickly but the bakers keep bringing them out, hot and fresh each hour. Her mother’s bakers include May herself, her brother, and May’s girlfriend, Shelly. As Shelly brings up yet another tray
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