Roomie?

It was a normal walk home from work until I tripped and fell down. But I never hit the ground.

Instead, I fell back upward, in a field of grass. Looking around, there were mountains in the distance. And was that a... castle?

"What the?"

The air smelled pleasant, like trips to the country I took as a kid. The wind blew gently. Then strongly, with a whooshing sound. Then the ground shook. I turned around.

"AHHH!"

A real, live dragon, staring back at me. It was an ochre-red color, with white horns, a scaled lizard-like face with slit pupils, and a scaled body with massive wings. It lowered its head close, and stuck out a forked tongue at me. I had recently changed soaps, and hoped this wasn't offensive.

It was not, for soon enough I was grabbed by a clawed paw and the creature's huge wings unfolded, and began flapping. So much wind, it was reminiscent of a storm, and soon we were in the air. My lungs ran out of air, for I had been screaming the whole time.

But the view, oh the view... It was beautiful. My laptop's background was some mountain range in northern Europe, this was similar but ten times better, in person. After what felt like half an hour, we landed at the base of the mountain range, at the edge of a forest. It had a mix of deciduous hardwoods and some fir trees, with a stream babbling nearby. This must be a northern land, but not egregiously cold in the winter... I thought.

I tripped again, on a tree root.

"Ow."

There was something stuck to my shoe. A coin, ancient-looking. Holding it up to a column of light shining through the trees, the coin was extremely worn. On one side was a dragon's face; on the other was what looked like a human... no, a king. Examining the shoe, the coin became stuck because of some gum. Yuck.

Movement caught my eye. The dragon. It emerged from a vine-covered opening in the base of the mountain. Its home, possibly? It made a 'come here' head movement, pointing to the cave. I followed.

The cave entrance was littered with ancient rusty armor, and remains of swords. The dragon sauntered deeper into the cave. Suppressing an upwelling of fear, so did I move deeper inward. Then, light.

"Oh my... fuck."

Gold, gold everywhere. It was just like in the portrayal of dragons, with was a literal horde of gold. Various coins, jewelry, vases, even bars of gold, just strewn about. It was good gold didn't rust, because the cave was damp. The stream from outside must originate here my thoughts wandered.

My heart jumped at the sounds that followed. The dragon spoke.

"Time... I do not know how long it has been since the last traveler. A considerable length; your species has advanced the art of fabric-craft muchly."

The dragon's voice was deep, each word was extended, nearly a drawl. The voice of a wise grandfather unfettered, whom has experienced everything; I could sense eons of wisdom.

"The coin in your hand... let me examine it closely."

The dragon leaned in, long neck a swivel. Its eyes dilated to roundness.

"Yesss... That is a rare coin indeed. Perhaps the last one. Hopefully not the last, for what has happened and what will happen to you, is not an enjoyable experience for your kind..."

I summoned the courage to speak.

"Hello. My name is Derek. I work in finance, uhhh... money management. What might your name be?"

"Pardon my manners! Yessss, call me Foehn. One of your kind gave it to me, my real name is more of a roar than anything else, which would not be appropriate!"

The dragon laughed, no, boomed with delight.

"It is good to finally have company! So much time has passed..."

"Foehn, why am I here? How did I get here? How do I got home? Is this a dream?"

"Answersss... Yes. In order: One, I will explain. Two, that coin. Three, another coin. Four, no."

"Okay..." My heart was still pounding, but maybe this wasn't so bad.

The dragon spoke again. My heart dropped at the news.

"You are here, because you have the appropriate soul... for what must happen next. Not anyone can activate a Coin of King Lirun; it takes something special. Tell me, did you suffer greatly, yet forge a path?"

This took some thought to answer. Dredged memories, quickly put away.

"I suppose, no more than the average person."

"I see... Or, should I say the coin sees..."

The dragon looked away and downward. Sadness perhaps?

"The field in which you appeared, did you see a castle in the distance?"

"Yes I did."

"That castle belonged to a powerful king long ago, King Lirun. He ruled with benevolence and grace, something this land has not seen before or since. This made him powerful, and powerful enemies as well, whom only knew threats, violence, and forced servitude..."

The dragon looked away again.

"The king's grace made many friends as well. Such as the most powerful wizard in the land. During a siege of the castle, he instructed the wizard to fortify objects with the power to summon reinforcements. This took a great effort, and the power was adhered to five coins. As the king's enemies stormed the castle, the wizard cast the coins away, but did not have enough time to incant a destination. Some coins were found by peoples here, others from your world. Your coin is the fourth, or possibly the fifth, the true count is unknown."

Foehn seemed to drift into memory, and in moments came back.

"The coins can only be used once, the cost of the summoning using all magic associated with it. Therefore, to get you home, we must find the fifth coin, should it exist. Upon my examination of your coin, I also looked into its magical firmament, the remains of the original incantation. I know now what to sense, in locating the remaining coin."

"Okay?" I squeaked.

"I cannot let you leave the cave. Not yet, as you are unprepared for these lands, this world. However, I will prepare you for the journey ahead. However, first we must eat."

In the corner of the cave, there was a deer, on a spit over a fire. It was rotating, the contraption powered by a small water wheel, gears, and the stream flowing through the cave.

"This smells delicious! I hope you like it." Foehn opened it's mouth, revealing pointy teeth, but also flatter teeth in the back. A dentist would find this fascinating.

"Oh, my apologies, that must scare you. Here, have some roast."

I shared a meal with a dragon, in a foreign land, with an uncertain future. There are worse ways to spend time. But few better.

*****

THE END