With most discussion regarding the dragon having already been expended, there was little to talk about. This was showing more obvious as all that could be heard was the sound of clattering armour and footsteps on the rock path, with no signs of any discussion.
"Ok troops, we will be having a break here, so rest up" the voice is hard to hear amongst the footsteps, but the numerous people at the front stopping made it somewhat obvious.
A wizard sat with a group of crusaders, with an idea in mind of how to keep morale up, and conversations prevalent. A this solution was a game, of sorts. A word game, that he had gotten inspiration of from the scribes.
"Are you nervous?" The wizard starts. The answer was obvious, but it was a way to start the conversation.
"Of course," one of them replies. The others nod in agreement, looking away from the wizard. Embarrassed of their nerves.
"You know that the best way to relieve nerves is to distract yourself. And while we don't have much here, that doesn't mean there's nothing to do!" the wizard, trying to lighten their moods, was feigning optimism. He too, was naturally nervous. But it was long too late to turn back now. The trek back home was dangerous, too much so for one individual, and those who had already opted out had turned back after the first few days.
"So what do you propose we do then?" a second crusader queried.
"A game, my dear comrade!"
"A game?"
"Yes! A game!" The other crusaders in the group were now starting to give the wizard more glances, curious of what his 'game' would be.
"And what is this game you speak of?" A third one spoke up. The wizard was glad to see the crusaders were showing more interest now.
"We take turns, picking an object we see…"
"Like… that flower over there?" the first crusader, speaking up again, pointed to a flower poking out of a bush near towards them.
"Yes, exactly like that. And then we make up a story on how this can be used to help slay the dragon!"
"So… we can say that the flower flew into the dragon's mouth, and poisoned it?"
"No no no!" another crusader interrupted, providing an idea of his own. "What if the flower had thorns, and flew into the dragon's eye? Then we slayed the distracted dragon!" Chuckles started to come from a few of the crusaders.
"Wait... what if the flower somehow dislodged a stalactite which hit the dragon in the head and knocked it out?" These chuckles soon turned to boisterous laughter, as more crusaders started to join in. These people obviously weren't scribes, but at least they were starting to be happier.
"No, you've got it all wrong, my friend! The flower caught fire from the dragon's breath, and the smoke suffocated the dragon!" the laughter grew intensely, as more people were starting to be drawn to the conversation.
The laughter started to die down. People drawn now became a crowd. All of them were smiling. The wizard recognised a few scribes amongst them as well, which somewhat surprised him.
"Ok, enough about the flower. What about that fencepost there?" a deep-voiced blacksmith said, one of the people drawn from the uproar earlier.
"Surely it was lodged in the dragon's mouth, preventing it from closing!"
"That wouldn't work! The dragon would burn it to a crisp!"
"What if someone hit a rock with the post? The rock would then hit the dragon, causing it to stagger and fall, allowing our armies to take it down!"
The uproar started again.
The wizard was able to escape the chaos, and was sitting by the rocks drinking from a canteen. The captain of one of the legions sat beside the wizard.
"This is the happiest I've seen them since we began the trek." he said. The wizard nodded to himself, smiling from what he achieved.
"Here's hoping it will last"
"We shall see" the captain looked towards the road ahead. "This journey will take weeks. And the closer we get to Aurdinas, the more nervous the men will become..."
The two sat in silence, waiting for the roar of laughter to die down before they got back on their journey.
