The following days were packed with labor, but the peaceful atmosphere and mild weather made it feel like a vacation compared to the months that had passed. The kobolds were second to none as foragers and hunters. The sleds were restocked with salted meat, acorn meal, and sun dried berries within seven days.

Training persisted as well. Coralia sparred against the demon knights, ebon dwarves, and even some of the more cavalier kobolds. On the final day, Coralia finished a spirited match with Hurstag, praising his continual explosive progress in manifesting his mana. As she walked in the direction of the tent, ready to break down camp and travel on, Dalazog hailed her in his human form.

“I’m feeling quite spry today.” The dragon announced. “Perhaps I will indulge in some of your play fighting. It looks quite lively.”

“Do you have a weapon?” Coralia asked, somewhat reserved at the idea of sparring with the prideful Dalazog.

“Only every cell in my body.” The dragon boasted.

“Very well, let’s play together.” Coralia drew her old pitted bastard sword which had served as her training sword since acquiring her new weapon.

“We should go somewhere further away.” The great dragon suggested.

“I see your point.” Coralia said, imagining the mere shock from their blows scattering the nearby tents and causing general havoc.

Dalazog assumed his dragon form. It never ceased to strike awe into Coralia. Viewing a dragon didn’t have the same feeling as viewing any other creature. It was more like watching a volcano erupt or tornado suck a building into the sky.

He extended a wing, inviting Coralia onto his back.

“Climb on, we’ll find a good spot.” The dragon bade her, thoroughly enjoying her awestruck expression.

Coralia didn’t answer, but was giddy internally. She was actually going to ride a dragon! One of her oldest wishes rooted in her childhood was coming true. She didn’t need the wing to climb on. She leaped and twisted into a backwards somersault landing between two of the great spines along the base of Dalazog’s massive neck.

“Your style never disappoints!” Dalazog said as he began building power in his legs and wings.

Coralia felt the building energy and the butterflies in her belly began to go berserk. Suddenly they were rocketing away from the earth, the weight of her body multiplied as she was thrust against the thick spine behind her. She wanted to howl with delight but the wind was rushing by too quickly. She instead wore a smile so wide it made it her cheeks sore for their entire wild climb into the sky.

The world below them became smaller and smaller. From this height she could see beyond the range they had crossed under to the north, and the landscape all around looked like a perfectly drawn map. She felt everything so keenly. The warm drafts, the chill wind, the thrumming pulse of the great dragon’s blood rushing beneath her.

“I see the perfect place.” The great booming voice jolted her from her trance.

Dalazog spread his wings and guided his swift descent to a flat topped mountain that appeared as though some godly blade had simply sheared the top clean off.

They alighted with surprising grace, and Coralia reluctantly dismounted. The view in all directions was wonderful from this plateau but no view would ever compare to the one she had just witnessed from the sky on the back of a dragon.

“Do you prefer a mock battle in this form or my human form?” Dalazog asked.

“Hmm.” Coralia pondered. “Stay in that form. I could use the practice against something of your size.” She decided. “Also I imagine it’s more fun for you to battle as a dragon than a man.”

“A consideration I appreciate!” Dalazog replied, tipping his snout.

“Let’s cut loose but not kill each other.” Coralia said, hefting her trusted old blade. “I’ll enact my enhancements, so feel free to go all out.” Coralia said. She planted her blade into the stone, and quickly traced through the runes that would enact the high tier spells independently with each hand.

“No matter how many times I see that, it is a marvel.” Dalazog complimented, referring to the dual and independent casting method.

“Alrighty, let’s get to it.” Coralia said, yanking her sword from the stone floor.

She vanished from mortal sight, but Dalazog was no mortal. A great talon blocked the strike with a shockwave that blew all the dust from the mountain top. The two mighty combatants locked eyes in that pose, each grateful to finally have a worthy opponent.

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With speed defying his size, Dalazog swung his other clawed hand. Coralia dropped flat to her back and felt the air tearing as the deadly talons flashed inches above her. Aegis Aurora or not, that blow would have sent her a mile off the mountain top.

She exploded into motion, chasing in the wake of the sweeping attack. As Dalazog’s hand slowed to a stop, Coralia leaped and planted her feet onto it. She then used it as a springboard, leaping explosively toward Dalazog’s surprised face. He barely moved his head enough to avoid what would have been a devastating blow. The blade nicked his scaly pointed ear. It was just a tiny sting but Dalazog was utterly unfamiliar with the sensation all the same.

A flurry of devastating blows and parries ensued. The dragon roared with fury as he swung his tail in a complete circuit and Coralia was forced into a seemingly desperate leap high into the air which the dragon had anticipated. His head snapped forth with jaws wide like a striking snake. The dragon could not know that the woman he faced had already won the duel. As his jaws closed about her, he felt something peculiar on the large diamond shaped scale at the center of his chest. His teeth snapped over empty air. and he tilted his head to look down.

Coralia stood there, the point of her sword resting in the tiny crease in his scales and aligned to pierce his heart.

“Distort light has many uses.” She explained to his shocked stare.

“Masterful!” The dragon roared with delight. “Granted if I used my breath and attack magics you would have no chance!” The dragon added predictably sparing his own pride.

“Of course.” Coralia agreed, happy to play along. “I haven’t had such fun sparring in so long. We’ll need to do that again. For now, I suppose our journey must continue.” She said.

The flight back to camp was no less thrilling than the first, and Coralia kept a bounce in her step for a long time after.

They returned to find the entire camp already broken down and packed onto the enchanted sleds, ready for departure.

They made south, out of the rolling foothills of oak and into the lush green grasslands beyond. This was minotaur territory. The tribal nomadic beasts followed the massive herds of shaggy bison that dominated the grasslands. It was unlikely to encounter minotaur, and was not necessarily a bad thing if one did. Despite their fearsome appearance and warlike nature, they were surprisingly accomodating if a guest in their land was peaceful.

The caravan moved easily, savoring the flat terrain after the near constant elevation changes of the journey to that point. At the point of the caravan, Coralia and Nib marched to set the pace. Belithel rode on Nib’s back, her most favored mode of transport. Just behind them were the two demon knights, wrapped head to toe in sheltering garments against the intense sunlight. The ebon dwarves formed the rear guard, and the kobolds plodded along easily in the center.

They viewed a pair of Minotaur once from a distance, mounted on shaggy bison but they did not approach. The grasslands rolled by and they finally came to the edge of the forested land that marked the beginning of the human held territory. The border wall of Vinia would be just on the other side. Coralia knew this forest well. It was the training ground of every first year hunter. It had a healthy population of goblins, orcs, wolves, and even a few ogres and giants.

After a brief rest, the journey continued. The huge, mossy trunks of the coniferous trees soared high and thick here. The kobolds had never seen such vegetation and looked up in awe. Nib, Laz, and the other elite forces fanned out in a wide perimeter as they navigated the dense woods.

Coralia let her aura shine at full strength, not feeling like dealing with any inconvenient attacks.

“We’ll establish a new base in the southern forest.” Coralia informed her subordinates that afternoon as they stopped for a rest. “I will enter the kingdom to gather my allies and from there we can begin planning Maiphon’s defeat.”

“This forest is quite bountiful.” Laz looked about with approval. “We can live well here.”

“You don’t know the half of it.” Coralia smiled widely. “Once I make my connections, we’ll have food and resources beyond your imagination. The best steel, clothing, potions, ingredients, and food in the kingdom will come flowing to us.

“Oh shit...” Nib whispered with sparkling eyes. Luxury was a thing no kobold dared ever dream of, yet if it came from the woman who’s word was law then it must be so.

“Can I rely on you to do some of the heavy lifting in my absence?” Coralia asked Dalazog. “We’ll need to clear an area which means cutting and hauling trees.”

“A trifle.” The dragon in human form responded. “I could render the entire forest a clearing with one breath.” He added.

“I don’t want a forest fire.” Coralia said seriously. “The wood will be used for buildings.”

“Very well.” Conceded Dalazog.

Two days later they reached the southern edge of the forest, and everyone set to work as ordered. The demons and dwarves layed out the basic design for the new village with all the knowledge they had gained in building the first village by the lake in the monster territory.

Coralia lingered to ‘help’. In reality she was avoiding her duty of going to the border wall and announcing her return. She was terrified of the reunion that she had so longed for these past ten years. She would go in the morning she decided, slashing her old pitted sword through the trunk of yet another thick tree before shoving it with her bare palm to fell it in the direction of her choosing.

“I never took you for a coward.” Came a clear and beautiful voice from behind her.

“And yet here I hide.” Coralia admitted as she turned to face the perceptive First Knight Elisif.

“What is it you fear?” Elisif asked with no hint of judgment in her tone.

“I fear to find my beloved with another, or worse. I fear my children will not even remember me. I fear the celebration of my return.” Coralia’s eyes welled with tears as she sat on the stump she had just created.

“Torturing yourself with what might be is always more painful than facing what really is. Every second you agonize here is a second that could be spent rebuilding the bonds with your children and friends.” Elisif walked over and sat next to Coralia, leaning close. “It’s time to go, my lady Coralia.”

On an impulse, Coralia turned to Elisif and threw her arms around the demon in a tight hug. Elisif returned the embrace and Coralia stood resolved. It was indeed time to go. Excitement began to overtake the trepidation. Her heart still hammered at even the thought of viewing the border wall, much less the familiar faces of her past.

She hiked the final quarter mile and exited the forest to the wide field between the forest and the wall and a wave of nostalgia washed over her.

There it stood, thirty feet high and several feet thick. The great border wall was formed of granite blocks reinforced with steel and magic. Three ranks of archers could line the top, and ballistae towers were spaced every hundred feet.

She made her way to the northern gate, a mile or so to the west. Ten minutes later she spotted the first actual humans she had seen in ten years and the fear came rushing back. She almost couldn’t even face those simple guards.

The two plate mailed guards at the north gate were bored and sleepy, very few hunters or caravans were coming in or out lately and the afternoon sun was pleasant enough to make one want a nap.

They jolted to attention as a strange figure approached. She had human proportions but it was hard to tell with the many mixed and matched fur pelts she wore. On her back was a bastard sword with a blade so black it caused discomfort to even look at. Her face was dirty and wild, and her green eyes shone like emeralds. There was something incredibly unsettling about her as she finally reached them.

“Ahem. Name and business?” One guard finally mustered the nerve to ask. The woman lifted her head and seemed to ponder a moment.

“Coralia Balfonse. I’ve come to see my family, grab snacks for my friends, oh and save the world.”

If a bolt of lightning had struck the two guards, they could not have been more dumbstruck. The hero of all heroes, that had died upon ending the war and brought ten years of peace was here now?

“The statue in the school! And the museum, and the courtyard of the castle!” The other soldier blurted. She was certainly disheveled but there could be no doubt. “It’s really her!”

The two guards dropped to a knee in reverence and slowly the portcullis opened. Beyond the portal, The Bleating Meadows rolled before her and beyond that the distant Vinia City. Coralia could scarcely breathe as she took a tiny step forward.

“I made it.” She whispered, a lone tear streaking down her cheek.