�Chief Thomas you�ll never guess who�s in my back yard�� I announced over the cell phone.
�Ah I see he�s chosen� I�ll be right over Mr. Lexington.�
�Chosen? Chosen wh�� But by that time the phone had already been hung up.
Once the Chief arrived I led him down the driveway into my back yard. As we walked I made some passing remark about the speed bump mistaking my grass for a highway but the Chief didn�t seem to notice.
�Stampy�� The Chief called out softly. �Stampy it�s time to get up.�
As if on command the Dragon�s massive head lifted off the ground and its owner yawned. The big nuisance had on his usual innocent smile.
�Stampy are you sure?� The Chief asked sincerely.
The big roadblock smiled and shook his head in acknowledgement. That little gesture confirmed something I had suspected since our last encounter, Stampy understood English.
The Chief then walked over to me, placed his arm over my shoulder, and said; �Alright Mr. Lexington I think we should go inside and talk. There are some things we need to discuss.�
With that we went into the kitchen and I got the jolly firefighter a cup of coffee. He looked rather nervous and after the story he had to tell me I soon understood why.
�Ok Chief, what is the deal with this animal?�
�Mr. Lexington Stampy is a Land Dragon, the last of his kind. Do you know the legend of the Land Dragons?� The Chief asked.
�No Chief I can�t say I do.�
�I�m not surprised. Not many people have ever heard the legend before.� The Chief announced and took a sip of his coffee.
�Back in medieval times dragons were very common and roamed most parts of England freely. However unbeknown to many people, even today, there were many types of dragons. Some were good. Some were evil. Some could fly while others could not��
�That�s real nice Chief but what does it have to do with that dragon?� I asked impatiently while pointing to Stampy.
�Please Mr. Lexington it�s important that you know everything. Let me finish.�
�Alright Chief.� I replied reluctantly.
�Stampy is a Land Dragon. He can�t fly or breath fire but does have a special intuition.�
�Ok, so what exactly does a Land Dragon do anyway Chief?�
�Back in medieval days travel by road was very hazardous. The old dirt paths that separated towns, cities, and farms often passed through uninhabited areas. If your horse died or carriage broke a wheel you could get stranded. For some being lost in the wilderness could even be fatal.� The Chief took another sip of his coffee before continuing.
�Besides the possibility of being lost or stranded, bandits and thieves were another problem altogether. In most cases travelers were left on their own to defend against these criminals. Unfortunately most travelers were not able to fend off these attackers and only ended up getting killed.�
�So what are you saying Chief, that these Land Dragons were like the Highway Patrol?�
�In a way Yes. Land Dragons were kind and gentle creatures. Most of the time they would sleep on the road as guardians of the peace. When needed they would help those in trouble, protect the innocent from criminals, and in some cases even act as judges.�
�Act as Judges? Chief I don�t think they make black robes in Stampy�s size.� I replied sarcastically.
�Not in that way Mr. Lexington. The legend has it that if a criminal was caught doing something really bad to the innocent punishment was quick and severe.�
�What exactly does that mean?� I asked.
�Let�s just say that their flattened bodies would be found in a dragon�s footprint.�
I jumped out of my seat horrified by what the chief just told me, �You mean that thing out there is a killer!�
�No of course not! Please let me finish.� The chief replied and handed me my coffee.
Reluctantly I sat back down and had a few sips. Although I was somewhat disturbed by what the Chief just told me, somehow I knew Stampy wasn�t like the Dragons in this legend. I could see the innocence in his eyes�
�Please understand Mr. Lexington that those were far more dangerous times. The dragons back then had to take drastic steps� a� I mean measures to ensure the peace. Besides they only killed the worst of the bunch, the ones that really deserved it.�
�Ok. So what happened to this race of Land Dragons? You said Stampy was the last.�
�He is. Unfortunately not all Land Dragons were good. Some used their abilities to attack those that traveled the roads. Others were far more vicious�� Then the Chief took a moment to compose himself and sipped his coffee again.
�One day the people of England rose up against the Land Dragons taking revenge on all of them for the actions of a few. Those that survived this revolt fled England never to be seen again.�
�Ok, so if they left how did you meet Stampy?�
�Ah, well it all started about 15 years ago. While on a hiking trip I found a hidden cave near the base of mountains. Inside was a large red egg resting in a straw bed. I never saw anything like it before and thought it may be valuable so I hauled it home in the bed of my truck. The next morning I showed it to the professors at the city college. That�s when they told me the legend of the Land Dragons. Apparently legend has it that Land Dragon eggs are red. They believed that this one was left behind when the other Dragons fled the country. At that time I dismissed their stories as tall tales and took the egg home.�
The Chief took another sip of his coffee and took a small silver ring off of his finger. �After getting it home I stuck it under a flood lamp. Honestly I didn�t think a dragon was going to hatch out of the thing but curiosity got the best of me.�
The Chief leaned back and let out one of his famous belly laughs. �You should have seen my face when Stampy crawled out of it, boy was I surprised. And after I cleared away the shell I found this ring. Something compelled me to put it on and after I did though my whole life changed. You see, the ring bonded Stampy and I together...�
�Bonded you two together? How?�
�It�s hard to explain. However the part of the legend that was never told, the part about the ring, came to me in a vision. You see every Land Dragon had a human partner. A human could often go places and find out things a dragon couldn�t. Once bonded you share... I mean you can see things��
After a moment of trying to find the right words the Chief gave up and continued, �Well like I said it is very hard to explain. The bond is something you have to experience for yourself.� The Chief explained and smiled.
�What do you mean experience it for myself?� I asked.
�Mr. Lexington I�m getting old and can�t really keep up with sleepy anymore. Stampy knows that and started looking for someone else to bond with. Looks like he made his choice today.�
My heart sank at what the Chief just said. A medieval dragon just chose me to be some sort of partner!
The jolly firefighter put the ring in my hand and smiled, �It�s your choice Mr. Lexington. This is your chance to do something only a few people have done. If you choose to take this challenge then put on the ring. Then it�s up to Stampy.� The Chief explained, thanked me for the coffee, and left.
I looked back down at the shiny piece of silver in my palm. Although the whole idea of being some dragon�s assistant didn�t appeal to me something inside urged me to put it on. Perhaps it was curiosity or perhaps I was taken away by this mystical tale. So I put on the ring�
RING, RING, RING, RING
As I lifted my weary head off of the kitchen table and picked up the phone the sound of my bedroom alarm became noticeable. As I looked up at the kitchen clock it read 7:15 a.m. For a moment I thought I dreamt the whole thing, until I noticed the ring on my finger.
�John Lexington here��
�Good morning Mr. Lexington it�s Mary from work. I�m just calling to see if everything is alright.� My secretary replied.
�Everything�s fine Mary.�
�Good we were starting to worry here. I mean you didn�t show up yesterday and when you didn�t show up toda...�
�I�ll be in today Mary, just slept in that�s all. And yesterday� Ah� Had a little personal emergency.�
�Alright see you at work sir. Goodbye.� Mary replied and hung up.
Within a half an hour I was ready to go and out the door. Although I hadn�t given Stampy or the ring on my finger any thought all morning, the quiet ride to work got me thinking about them.
As I tried to recall the events of the previous day in my head I realized something was wrong. The road didn�t look right. I must have made a wrong turn somewhere. It was really odd since I never missed a turn before. That damn dragon and his ring must has distracted me, great! Well since there was nowhere to turn around I continued on the road and waited for a turn. Then�
�DAMN IT!� I shouted out loud and slammed on the breaks hard.
Once my car had come to a screeching halt I got out. However as I was about to start yelling at the familiar red speed bump something caught my ear.
�Help� Someone hel��
Turning away from Stampy I used my ears as a guide. Quickly I ran through the wooded tree line until I came upon a man and women. The man looked like he was in his early teens and was on top of the women. She was screaming for him to get off but he wasn�t stopping.�
�GET OFF OF HER!� I hollered aggressively.
The young man turned, looked at me, and scattered into the woods. Still screaming, the young woman looked up in terror. Her blouse was torn off and she was bleeding from several small cuts.
�Are you alrig�� I started to ask but suddenly was overtaken by an image.
It was blurry at first but then came through quite clear. The young man that was attacking this lady got caught. He was pinned down on the ground by what looked like a giant pa�
�Oh shit!� I yelled and started to head back to the street.
The image was very vivid now. It was like I was seeing this man through Stampy�s eyes. And somehow I knew that Stampy was contemplating dishing out some justice of his own. But I felt almost like Stampy was asking me�
Just then I broke through the tree line, onto the highway, and yelled out, �Stampy NO!�
The dragon immediately swung his head over my way. His usual innocent expression was now filled with anger. Somehow he knew what this man was doing in the woods, probably the same way I knew what was happening out here. However I now had the roadblock�s undivided attention.
�If you do this you�ll regret it for the rest of your life! Let the authorities take care of him.�
Much to my surprise, Stampy�s angry expression was soon replaced with a smile. He nodded in acknowledgement and went to sleep. It was amazing, the dragon was actually listening to me.
The horrified rapist struggled under the gigantic paw but couldn�t get free. However I knew when the police got here Stampy would move it.
A half an hour later the authorities showed up and Fire Chief Thomas walked over to Stampy. He scratched him behind one of his horns and told him to lift his paw up. The gentle dragon did as told.
After the rapist was taken into custody the Chief walked over to me; �You passed the test, good.�
�What test?� I asked rather confused.
�You see Mr. Lexington Land Dragons are by nature good creatures. However a Land Dragon�s human partner also acts as a moral guide and has a lot of influence over what the dragon does. From time to time these magnificent creatures would choose their partners unwisely. When the human�s thirst for power corrupted the Dragon that�s when they became evil.� The Chief explained sincerely.
�So this whole thing was a test to see if I would abuse this new power?�
�Well this was quite real and you could have allowed Stampy to kill that man. However you didn�t and that�s all that matters now.� The Chief replied and walked me back to the car.
As I drove to the police station the events of that morning ran through my mind. Although I didn�t know what to expect from the future somehow I knew my life was about to become a whole lot more interesting. All thanks to a Land Dragon named Stampy.