Zephyria scented the soil, tracing the tracks of the final fleeing bandit. Asher was on her back, resting from the fight. Worse, upon her back was a second exhausted mortal desperately clinging to Asher as she kept a rapid pace through the forest. I never thought I'd stoop so low as to carry a mortal upon my back. The little one is one matter, the bond complicates things. But this wolf-kin? If my mother could see me now she would kill me for bringing shame to her clan, not that her clan ever cared for either of us anyways. Why should I care what they think a dragon should do?
Conall whined softly from her back like a dog and said, "I'm incredibly impressed at how easy you make this look, Asher! Her scales look so smooth from afar, but as she shifts and moves under you they pinch together snagging my fur. She's has hard as a stone, with each bounce my-" Zephyria growled at him. He shut up. "Do not speak as though I'm not here, mortal. My hearing isn't muffled by your fur upon my back. To be ridden by a mortal is a great shame that I am only tolerating because I wish to see this task complete."
Asher broke into the quickly growing argument with a redirection, "Zephyria, I meant to ask. I've never seen you crackle with lightning like that. Not your horns and certainly not your whole body, I mean. It was terrifying and inspiring to behold." Zephyria thought about it as she tracked. I barely understand it myself. That dream, it was too vivid, too real. I can recall it in almost perfect clarity as though it just happened. And the draconic mortal upon my back, it was no enemy. Zephyria resolved to talk about it later with Asher, there was too much to say with a foreign mortal upon her back. "The storm was particularly invigorating, little one. I have not experienced anything like it before."
Conall broke back in apologizing, "I'm sorry Zephyria, I did not mean to speak ill of you. I'm truly impressed at Asher's grace and poise despite the challenges he faces." Conall winced, "That's not to say your a challenge, I mean-" Zephyria growled softly "Quiet." Conall tried to speak again but Asher put a hand on his muzzle forcing him silent, he whispered to the wolf, "We're close to the bandit, hush."
Conall and Asher dropped off Zephyria's back with a pair of thumps on the grass. Zephyria silently and slowly stalked forward as the pair did their best to not rattle and clank as they followed. A few minutes later they looked from the edge of a large freshly cut clearing and found something too large for the trio to handle alone. Zephyria looked around at the cut clearing with a small army's worth of people of various races within it. Wooden walls were under construction with guards posted constantly keeping a vigilant watch. Zephyria recognized the bandit they were chasing animatedly talking to a powerful looking cat beast-kin with a dramatic fur cloak in the middle of the clearing.
Conall whispered to Zephyria, "I your eyesight is probably better than mine, can you tell me what you see, Zephyria?" Zephyria nodded and spoke softly back. "At least thirty people moving about, likely more behind the walled sections. Only a small portion seem to be dedicated to building this place the rest are armed and armored. I see a larger more durable building in the back within the cave, likely belonging to the leader. The leader itself appears to be that cat-kin with the heavy fur cloak. I also see several cages though I can't tell if they have any prisoners. Lastly I see a stable featuring what appears to be at least six northern war horses." Asher gave her a bewildered expression, and asked in an incredulous whisper, "What makes you say they're northern war horses, Zeph?" Zephyria looked smug, "They are dark gray with white dappled spots. They are also smaller with less defined muscles than a draft horse for speed rather than pure strength. The typical southern war horse is brown with a larger frame. I read it in a book, once." Asher looked at her with a somehow more perplexed expression. "How in the Old Gods' names did you learn all that but not what alcohol was?" Zephyria looked at him smugly but didn't elaborate.
Conall spoke in a whisper, interrupting the pair's bickering. "Zephyria, Asher, we need to leave immediately and report this to the Cardinal Guard. She needs to prepare as soon as possible because this isn't some group of people who got desperate and turned to banditry, but an organized force preparing for war. Especially if those horses really are what Zephyria says they are." Asher and Zephyria nodded and they snuck away from the rapidly growing fortress. Asher spoke softly, "Damn, your right. I was so surprised about the knowledge itself I didn't think about the implications. Someone from up north is funding these people. Its possibly they stole the horses, but I've seen the war stables. They're kept under iron guard and the horses never leave without the soldiers that they carry."
As they got far enough away to talk freely again, it was early afternoon with the hot sun bearing down on them. Conall spoke, "We need to abandon the goblin bounty, it will take another day to get back and we can't delay with Rannoch under threat like this." Asher nodded in agreement. "It's unfortunate, but the lives of civilians come first, we need to warn them and its a long march back." Zephyria disagreed, "I do not understand your mortal politics very well, but the goblins are a threat as well. Ignoring them now will only lead to a larger swarm of them later, and I've learned they can grow in numbers quite quickly and are attracted to large amounts of meat. A battlefield seems like the kind of place a large swarm goblins could wreak havoc in." Asher and Conall shared a hesitant look, then Conall said "They're building fast, they could attack within days if we aren't ready. Likely not a full offensive but skirmishes could start quickly, especially if they use those horses. The goblins will have to wait. We need to start the march back now, travel through the night if we can manage it."
Zephyria disagreed again with a shake of her head. "Would you be able to navigate to the goblins from above the forest if you had the view?" Conall hesitantly nodded and with furrowed eyebrows said, "Probably, what are you thinking Zephyria?" Zephyria stretched and said, "I have disregarded draconic honor every day since my mother died." Conall looked confused and mouthed the word 'mother?' questioningly to Asher. "I have let not one mortal ride me like a beast of burden, but two. I have consistently and repeatedly done everything a dragon should never do. I see no reason to continue to bother with what is honorable according to a bunch of dragons that wouldn't even look at me as a hatchling." Asher looked confused and concerned at that statement, not knowing what she was referring to. Zephyria stretched her wings and gave them a little flap. "I will not pretend I care about the affairs of mortals. But, If the defense of this town is important to you, my little one, and it is under as much threat as you two say then we mustn't hold anything back. We will eradicate these goblins and then warn Rannoch before sunset." She stoked her heart-flame and infused her body for flight.
Asher ran over and swung up onto her back, and then held a hand out for Conall to grab. He looked between Zephyria's head and Asher's outstretched hand. For just a moment Zephyria started to think he might actually refuse, and then he ran over and with Asher's help got upon her back. The moment she felt he was settled and holding onto Asher she took several bounding leaps forward and then jumped into the air flapping hard, her heart-flame crackling with power to put enough wind beneath her wings to carry the weight of two extra mortals and all of their travel gear. Conall screamed in terror as the ground vanished beneath the trio while Asher whooped with joy.
As Zephyria reached a good height above the forest she called back to Conall over the wind. "Focus, wolf! Direct me to the goblins." Conall panted heavily, terrified of the height until Asher gripped his arm and said something softly that Zephyria couldn't catch. He spoke with a tremor in his voice, "We're going the wrong way, turn around." Zephyria banked and went the opposite direction. As the trio flew Conall gained a little bit of bravery with each direction he issued to Zephyria until he was as calm as one reasonably can be upon a dragon's back.
Within an hour they were circling above the goblin swarm's den. Zephyria could see a half dozen of the furry little monsters wandering outside of a particularly massive cave entrance. Asher called out "Report said the cave system was previously mapped, its not very deep and should be plenty wide enough for you Zephyria. Report also said there should be roughly 40, but with how fast goblins breed that could easily be double by now if they got a good kill or two. The tunnel will work to our advantage due to your lightning Zephyria. That's the only reason we took the job, otherwise the sheer numbers here would require a small army to root out." Asher hugged Zephyria's neck and said more softly, "And thank you, Zephyria. I'm honored you would do this for me, I can tell how uncomfortable it made you to say all that earlier." Zephyria gave him a small purr of appreciation and then started to swoop downward towards the cave full of goblins.
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Flaring her wings to come to a hard stop she thumped into the ground and immediately lashed out and killed the nearest goblin. Asher smoothly dropped off her back and in a single elegant motion drew his sword and chopped into the throat of a goblin to her left. Conall fell off her back with a yelp and a loud thump, landing on his chest and getting the wind knocked out of him. Asher stood over him while he caught his breath. Zephyria lashed out with her claws, killing one, and then another. She saw one rush for Asher but he deftly cut it down before it could get even close to the prone wolf-kin. A final one rushed from behind her so she whipped it with her tail, eliciting a sickening crunch from its chest.
Asher flicked the blood from his blade and sheathed it, then helped the still panting wolf man up to his feet. Conall felt at his chest and winced, he gasped out, "Nothing broken, but that's going to be an awful bruise. Give me a minute before we go in." Zephyria stood guard near the cave entrance, she took a minute to study it. Asher was right, this is utterly massive. Plenty large enough for even a red like my mother to crawl through, though maybe not comfortably. She sniffed at the air. Smells like rot and wet fur. Disgusting.
Asher spoke to aloud behind her. "Say, Conall. I was raised on stories of goblins but they were always green skinned little humanoids, not these twisted wolf like things. The behavior is exactly the same as the stories though, its odd. Do you know why?" Zephyria looked over her shoulder to see Conall had taken off his breastplate and was rubbing some kind of goop into his chest. The beast-kin said, "I've never heard of little green humans. The old stories say goblins were once wolf-kin cursed by the void and turned into mindless ravenous beasts, but that was so long ago its impossible to prove one way or another. Perhaps some humans were similarly twisted at some point, but were successfully exterminated?" Asher shrugged and said, "It's as good a theory as any." Conall put his breastplate back on and stood, stretching with a wince but drawing his sword and nodding to Zephyria at the mouth of the cave.
The two mortals flanked Zephyria as they entered the cave as one. Asher pulled a torch from his bag and held it for Zephyria to spark it into flame. The rapidly encroaching darkness was cast away by the flickering orange glow. Zephyria couldn't help but be reminded of the flickering flames within her mother's cave. Those supposed heroes will still pay. Eventually.
Before long screeches rang out as a mass of goblins rushed the trio. Zephyria charged a bolt and before she let it go both Asher and Conall shielded their eyes. A flash that illuminated the entire cave perfectly elicited a chorus of screams of pain as the goblins eyes had adapted to the perfect darkness, several died immediately from the attack. Zephyria charged her body with lighting and rushed the hoard with a snarl and tore into the swarm with reckless abandon, her claws flashing like lightning as they cleaved through the monsters. Some made it to her flank where Asher and Conall cut them down like wheat before the scythe. Asher let out a laugh, "By the void, I expected this to be relatively simple but look at them! They're just rushing at Zephyria and dying! Zephyria can you even feel them clawing at you?" Zephyria growled at him, "Focus, little dragon. Gloat after the prey is dead." Asher looked embarrassed for a moment, nodded, and kept cutting into the goblins with focus.
Several minutes later a mass of the short creatures lay dead in-front of the trio. Conall looked at Asher and said with a little astonishment. "Where did you learn to fight, Asher? You move with the grace of a plains cat and strike with the savagery of a- I don't even know. It reminds me a lot of how Zephyria fights, did she train you?" Asher looked at his blade with a frown. "I was taught by noble retainers, some of the best. But I wasn't taught to fight like I do now." He looked at Zephyria who proudly bared her fangs at him and said, "You fight with the grace and savagery of one of us. It is only right for you to do so, little dragon. Now come, I can hear more of them deeper in." As Zephyria stepped away, she missed Conall giving Asher a concerned look that he brushed off.
As the trio stalked through the dimly lit cave tunnels they came across piles of refuse and not much else. I despise this cave already. Its one thing to have a soothing cave to nest in, but its another to slink through cramped tunnels full of rot and excrement. How these creatures persist is beyond me. She heard the distinctive ruffling of paper as Asher drew a map from his bag and said, "This cave system is less of a system and more of a tunnel with a few side chambers. I thought it was strange we haven't seen one yet and I think some of them have been collapsed since it was last mapped. We should be coming up to the most central and largest chamber soon. Be prepared for a hoard"
Zephyria prowled silently through the winding tunnel until she came upon the open cavern Asher mentioned. In the dim torchlight Zephyria made out dozens more of the little monsters guarding what must have been the heart of their nest. Piles of old meat and excrement were everywhere. The moment they were spotted a chorus of screams rang out just like before. Zephyria growled, "Do these creatures ever stop the incessant screaming? It is painfully loud." Asher laughed and just readied his blade for the coming slaughter.
Zephyria stoked her heart-flame until it was crackling with power and then put everything she could into a tremendous bolt with the aim of taking out as many as she could with a single strike. She braced herself, snarled, and as she felt the lightning crackle in her throat and begin to flicker in her maw she finally let the strike loose. The world came to a deafening stop as the bolt of lightning flew from her maw in an instant, her third eyelid automatically closed against the incredible brightness and she watched as the bolt hit one target and then snapped into a dozen more of the closely packed monsters. The first few the bolt hit spontaneously combusted, their greasy rotten fur proving no match for the raw storm that had been unleashed upon them. Without hesitation Asher sprinted ahead with a roar that was too raw to come from a human mouth that resonated with Zephyria until she joined him in his battle-cry with a deafening roar. Conall clamped his hands over his sensitive beast-kin ears until she was done and then rushed forward to join Asher. Zephyria looked upon her two mortals fighting and couldn't be more proud as they savagely cut down rotten creature after rotten creature. She joined the melee with claw and fang, ripping into the survivors with a savagery only a dragon can achieve.
As the fight drew to a close the trio surveyed the carnage, several of the goblins still burning, their disgustingly greasy fur acting like a candle. Asher and Conall stepped to the sides of the cavern, inspecting it for any exits while Zephyria just stared at the fire in contemplation. Asher rejoined her saying, "Looks like there's no exits from here, we got all of them. But what's on your mind Zephyria? You seem distracted." Conall approached as Zephyria said, "I am wondering how I could possibly honor this many dead. Or if I even wish to try. Their bodies are disgusting, it reeks of excrement and rot in here, and I simply wish to fly away and leave these disgusting creatures behind." Asher patted her side and said, "For what its worth, I'm all for just leaving this place behind. Even a dragon has to have her limits, and this is a more than fair one as far as things go. I'd hate to leave the power of their heart-flames behind, but these pathetic things are so weak I doubt they are even worth it." Zephyria bonked her bloody muzzle into Asher's side and said, "Thank you, little dragon. Unless you have any objections, wolf, I believe we should take our leave and report our story to Petra so that she may defend the town." Conall shook his head and spoke with a hint of nausea in his voice, "The sooner we leave this wretched place the better. By all means Great Patron let us leave."
The trio flew through the air towards Rannoch. Asher had managed to fall asleep on her back within minutes of them taking off. All while Conall looked impossibly stressed at the completely untied and limp human barely clinging onto a dragon several hundred feet off the ground. Zephyria called back gently "Relax, wolf. He slept for far longer on much more dangerous trips than this one upon my back, he is safe with me." Conall only looked a little comforted as he gripped Zephyria's scales and Asher's torso for balance and support.
As the sun got low in the sky and the world began to turn orange, Zephyria landed on the outskirts of Rannoch and Asher woke with a yawn. Conall slid off Zephyria's back and stretched his tired and sore body. He looked back up at Zephyria and Asher and said, "Thank you, both of you." He gestured for Zephyria to come close and she obliged, swinging her long neck closer to his level. He spoke softly, with emotion in his voice. "Thank you, Great Patron Zephyria. I did not understand what you said before our first flight very well, but I understood enough to know that you are going through something difficult and that you sacrificed your honor to ensure the safety of Rannoch." Zephyria began to object, "It wasn't-" Conall cut her off with a small smile, "I know. It wasn't for us but for Asher. But I'm the kind of man who believes actions count for far more than intent, and you still acted in a way that protected Rannoch at your own expense. I will never forget that, Great Patron Zephyria, thank you." He stepped back from the dragon and spoke more loudly to include Asher. "I will report everything we did today to Cardinal Guard Petra, you two go ahead and rest and if she needs anything from you I'll have her wait until tomorrow. You both deserve some time to relax."
Zephyria grumbled appreciatively to the wolf and said, "Thank you, little wolf. We will be at the stables if you need us." Conall gave her a deep bow and then turned and walked off into the orange cast town with a slight limp and determination on his face. Zephyria carried the tired human on her back to the stable and Inn they were residing at. Asher walked inside saying something about dinner, while Zephyria's tired wings and dim heart-flame lulled her into an exhausted sleep.
