Serial Story

This is a work in progress that I think will keep people's interest. I'll keep writing it, and posting as I go. Just let me know what you think.

  A draft of burning air filtered into the antechamber as Arnold Reime and his crew took a deep breath and plunged into the main chamber of the cave complex. Reime barely managed to choke out "helmets closed" as the atmosphere of the chamber overtook the adventurers.
    The silver of their helmets blazed in the glow of the chamber as the ground began to tremor. Hendricks bellowed out, "Here it comes. My, this is a big one!" Reime grinned at the sight of Hendricks' double hander sweeping from its sheath. The grin only widened when the other four swordsmen did the same.
    The adventurers looked down at the floor of the large chamber they were in. A  circle etched itself into the stone just inside the walls, as the cavern on the other side of the room emitted a rumble. It took a moment for Reime to resolve that rumble into a roar. It was almost too fast to see.
    The long, sleek, black shape of the monster careened out of the far cave and nearly slammed into Reime's crew. Without a second thought, Reime clapped his hands to the ground and a light blue circle of air rose to the ceiling. The dragon stopped mere inches from his face.
    The swordsmen charged forward as Reime nodded; the circle sent the dragon stumbling back several feet in pain. "I need room to work, keep it busy, and keep it away from me." Reime looked to either side of him, noting that the archers of the group had separated into a semi circle distanced from him. "Good, just remember what we're doing here."
    Reime held one arm behind his back and bent down, pushing his other hand firmly to the ground. The circle flared and each archer drew an arrow and fired. The arrows left their strings, and vanished, zipping off to the other side of the room to bounce violently off the wall. The dragon roared, blood dripping down its side. Reime ignored all of that, focusing on the circle, bending it to his will.
    The swordsmen ran around the dragon, dipping in to slash at its legs and stomach where the scales were weakest. The dragon swiped with one foor, eight inch claws catching one swordsman off guard and scratching along his armor. He flew through the air like a discarded aluminum can and landed soundlessly above the floor as Reime caught him with the circle.
    The arrow storm quieted as Reime set the man back upright, before resuming with added ferocity. The dragon snarled, lunged, and almost caught another swordsman off guard. The man jumped back and smacked the dragon's head away with the flat of his sword. The dragon shook its head in dizziness as Reime glued its feet to the floor with the power of the circle.
    By now the dragon was bleeding everywhere from the swords and arrows. Blood drops were falling to the floor and flying onto the adventurers with every attack. Every droplet that hit the walls and men slid off of them, gathered on the floor, and seemed to disappear into it.
    The dragon soon tired, stopped fighting, and fell to the ground, waiting for the final blow that would never come. The adventure crew stopped attacking, backed away, and looked at Reime, the only unarmed man in the room. Reime clapped his second hand to the floor, and holes opened up, revealing casks that rose as the floor closed.
                                *                   *                   *
                               
    The viewing screen turned off, and the lights rose. Thoe casks that were seen only a moment ago were sitting in the corner of the room. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we get Dragon's Blood! You can see why it's so rare. And why we charge so much."

:O What was that all about? What is this Dragon's Blood used for? Who was that person talking at the end? For the answers to these, and all the other questions bobbing around your heads, stay tuned for more of this story.