More than a thousand years before the box is picked up from the shop it was being used for its original purpose.
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The town shook as wind buffeted it and screaming could be heard coming from all over as townsfolk pointed to the sky in horror. The town would shake again as a shadow followed another burst wind swept across the town but in the opposite direction. With a powerful thud that could be felt across the town the wind died down but some of the screaming remained. The rest of the screaming would end shortly after as a deep voice manifested in all of the townsfolk’s minds commanding silence. With the town now eerily silent the voice sounded again commanding all to gather in the town’s square. While the command had no magical compulsion all who heard it were far to fearful to disobey it. Soon the population of the town was in its square standing before the source of the wind, the thud and the voice, a massive red dragon.
“Peasants of this town if you wish me not to reduce your homes and your lives to a pile of ash I require a tribute of a fair maiden” spoke the dragon out loud no longer sending their voice into the townsfolk’s minds.
“Now listen here you. I am no peasant, I am the mayor of this town and a cousin to the Duke. You must show me the respect I’m owed” said the rotund mayor in an angry voice as he cowered behind his own wife. Without answering the mayor the dragon leaned over the gathered crowd and released a torrent of fire from its mouth that engulfed the mayor and his wife. Screaming came from all who were close to the flames but no one else was touched. When the flames ceased all were surprised to find the mayor and his wife not dead but fully nude as the flames had incinerated their clothes and jewelry but had left them unharmed.
“I will show you just how much respect I owe you” said the dragon still looming over the terrified crowd. With startling speed the dragon’s head lunged forward and its mouth closed around the mayor lifting him in the air. Muffled yelling from the mayor could be heard and flailing legs still protruded from the dragons mouth but soon a large dexterous tongue forced them in and the mayor was swallowed whole. The crowd watched in horrified silence as the bulge of the mayor’s body traveled down the dragon’s neck. When the bulge disappeared from the dragon’s neck they refocused looking down at the still naked wife of the mayor and said “don’t think I forgot about you”. With similar speed the mayor’s wife was grabbed by the dragon and hoisted into the air. Unlike her husband the mayor’s wife was going feet fist down the dragon’s throat and her head and upper torso remained outside of the dragon’s mouth. While the tongue had been fast to push the mayor down it was no taking its time to lick and taste the wife. All the townsfolk watched as the wife yelled for help and struggled but was forced down the same as her husband. When the mouth finally closed over her head and her crying was muted all of the townsfolk knew that they must listen or suffer the same fate.
“Delicious. Now back to what I was saying. I will be taking a tribute of a maiden. In three days time I will return and I expect her to be prepared and ready for me to depart with her. Now before I go I will be returning these” said the dragon to the on looking crowd. With a rumbling from the dragon’s belly two bulges started to travel up the dragon’s neck and to the dismay of the onlookers the living bodies of the mayor and his wife were deposited on the ground in front of the dragon. The townsfolk would have thought the experience for the mayor and his wife had been harmless except for the fact that the returned bodies had no arms or legs leaving them to writhe on the ground. The dragon then leaped into the air and disappeared into the sky.
That night the mayor now bound to a wheelchair chose a girl named Katrina to be the tribute of the dragon, but someone close to Katrina wishes to save her from her fate. The only way to do that now is to take her place and to do that they know they must use the Infinity Beads.
Who wishes to take the place of Katrina.