Yiler's Story: Chapter 7

By Yiler Huang

“Maverick, you better show up now…” Damon mumbled to himself as he wandered cluelessly on the streets. After searching for more than 2 hours with no progress, he found a bench on the side of the street and decided to take a break. 

He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, a sketch of Roderick’s dog Maverick. Surprisingly, the musician was also a skilled drawer. Damon studied the drawing of Maverick closely. The dog was about as big as a bike. He had fluffy furs and a collar with his name on it around his neck. Though there was no color on the paper, Roderick told Damon that the dog had golden furs like the color of honey. 

As Damon stuffed the paper back into his pocket, a young boy and a dog walked past him. The boy was riding the tired-looking dog as if it were a horse. The golden dog did not seem very happy about it. When they walked past Damon, he caught sight of a brown collar around the dog's neck with Maverick’s name written on it. Damon rubbed his eyes and stared at the dog. He looked identical to the dog on the sketch Roderick gave him. 

“Hey, kid!” Damon stood up and spoke to the boy. Surprised by Damon, the kid almost jumped off from the dog. “I was looking for that dog, where did you find him?” Damon added.

The kid hopped off from the dog and looked at Damon. It seemed like he was avoiding looking at Damon’s face directly. “What… What are you talking about? Maverick is my dog” The kid spoke with a stutter. 

Damon narrowed his eyes and eyed the dog, who was shaking it's tail impatiently. 

“See M-Maverick listens to my command, that means he’s my dog.” The boy waved his hand at Maverick. “Stand up! Maverick!”

Maverick seemed unwilling to follow the boy’s order, the boy frowned and took something out from his pocket. The boy handed the dog a small piece of jerky, and the dog stood up grudgingly. 

Damon shook his head. “That doesn’t mean he’s your dog, just because-”

“No!” The boy interrupted Damon. “He’s my dog, that’s why he followed my command.”

“That doesn’t explain anything…” Damon said.

“You see, he followed my order, which proves that he’s my dog. And because he’s my dog, he followed my order.”

“Maverick’s owner is looking for him, and he really wants Maverick back,” Damon explained.

“Well, if you want Maverick so badly, you have to prove that you deserve to own Maverick. I offer you a chance. If you, um, prove that you’re a stronger man than me, I’ll give the dog to you. To do so, you’ll have to cut down that tree!” The boy pointed at a tree on a distant hill. “I’ve cut down thousands of trees like that one! If you can’t even cut one down, that must mean you’re a weaker man!”

“How does cutting down a tree prove anything?” Damon asked skeptically.

“Uh… don’t you want to take Maverick? I’m offering you a chance.” 

“What if you change your mind after I cut the tree?” Damon questioned.

“I’m the most honest person in Silvereach! Of course, I won’t lie to you! Everyone here trusts me because I’m the most honest person here!” The boy was getting a little impatient.

Damon let out a sigh. “Fine then, I’ll cut down the tree, and you will give Maverick back to Roderick after that.”

“Deal!”