After docking at Khava in the land of the giant wyrms, Kajar headed straight to the souk to confront the merchant Wipnozz. He found the shop and, stepping over a pile of stones in the doorway, entered. Wipnozz, about to greet the customer, scowled on recognising him.
“These boots,” Kajar said, throwing a pile of leather on the floor. “You said they were the magical Boots of Borgis – seven league boots. I wore them but wasn’t transported seven leagues. In fact, after walking about 21 miles they fell apart.”
“Yes, I said they were seven league boots,” sneered Wipnozz. “I made no claim about magical properties. I described them perfectly – they lasted the advertised seven leagues. There are the real boots.” Wipnozz gestured at the back wall shelves.
“Well I demand a refund or,” growled Kajar, “perhaps I’ll take the real ones.”
“Oh, you’ll take them will you?” Wipnozz gave an almost imperceptible nod. The sound of grating made Kajar spin around to see the pile of stones slowly uncoiling into – a deadly stone-wyrm!
Ashen faced, Kajar turned back to Wipnozz. “Perhaps I was a little hasty with my threat.”
“Then perhaps I’ll take something from you.” Another nod and the wyrm slithered towards Kajar.
With the only exit blocked by the wyrm, Kajar could see no escape, so, drawing his sword, he retreated to the shop’s rear and stood, back to the wall. The wyrm continued advancing, raising itself up until towering over Kajar. Another nod from Wipnozz and the wyrm struck, but, anticipating this, Kajar threw himself to one side. The wyrm crashed through the mudbrick wall, leaving a huge gap. Kajar took this chance, grabbed the real Boots of Borgis, pulled them on, jumped through the hole and with one stride escaped to continue his adventures
My entry in the January 2023 300 Word Story Challenge at SFFChronicles
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, or other Speculative Fiction
M. Robert Gibson 