Leah and her family are lifelessly dragged by a crew of exhausted humans. She could tell that they were getting closer to the dragon roost despite her unmoving state. She was unsure what was going to happen, but their chance of a rescue rose the closer they were to the dragon roost.

Upon reaching the hills before the dragon roost Leah could see a fortification of stone walls and bunkers that covered the entire base of the dragon roost. It was no longer the gentle hills that she played on.

Overhead she could see a translucent blue barrier that covered the entire tree and parts of the base. Rocks of black flames soured from above and crashed into the barrier while from below, trolls and ogres threw balls of steel at the barrier.

She, Hiram, and Danjela were dragged up a hill controlled by the human invaders. The prince holds his hand, signaling them to stop.

The prince signals the human fodder to bring up the great cannon to the hill and they quickly set it up. Several other cannons can also be seen entering and setting up all over the entrances to the dragon roost. Black knights scatter around, supplying the great cannon with multiple balls of steel and large amounts of black powder.

Several flags went up from each army that were stationed by their respective cannon. Witnessing identical flags all being lifted up, a black knight informs the prince.

“It seems that they are all ready, my lord.”

He says,

“I can see that. Raise ours too you fool!”

The black knight races to lift the flag with some of his peers. He then looks to the prince for affirmation. The prince looks to the dragon roost and the fortifications inside. He could see the village defenders hiding inside, too scared to fight them. Lifting his hand straight up, he shouts,

“READY!”

With a swing downward with his hand, he commands,

“FIRE!”

The flag held by the black knight immediately drops. Sounds of other great cannons could be heard all over the dragon roost. The great cannon shot out several balls of steel in a scattershot direction. Such force could easily take down the walls of a castle, but the dragon roost, the living being that it is, summoned an extra thick blue shield that protected the fortifications. With sounds that were absorbed, the cannon balls were easily repelled.

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“As expected.”

The old elf rubs his goatee.

“Damn overgrown shrub!”

The prince yells out in anger.

“It won’t simply let you kill it. We shall continue the bombardment, however we should also continue with our other plan.”

Looking to the old man, he says,

“Are you ready to use them as bait?”

“Indeed.”

The old elf bends down and looks at the wide eyed, but silent Leah.

“You’re curious aren’t you? Why have we brought you here? Well you’re going to be the bait for the lord of course. Surely he will come running to his children, or at the very least torturing his son in broad daylight will unnerve him and the defenders if he is so callous as to leave them here.”

Leah understood. She and the other two were liabilities and now they were caught. She wished to do anything at all, but she still could not move. She could only be dragged up onto a cross, tied up, and laid to bare in her naked form along with her other family members.

The prince looks sadistically happy as he walks up to them with a whip and scroll. Unrolling the scroll he activates the spell inside. With a quick formation of undisappating ether, a large magical screen shows up, displaying the humiliating forms of Leah and the others.

The prince cackles before shouting through the visual receptor that records the children.

“Lord Sinclair! I have your children. They were caught. You should discipline them to be more careful, though in this case it wouldn’t matter anymore.”

Using his whip, the prince swings it and smacks all three of them. Leah, still unable to move at all, only felt the pain. Tears silently fell down her face. Hiram reawakens to the whippings, though the pain he felt was subpar as he was beaten beforehand. Danjela, on the other hand, screamed. She was only struck from behind, knocking her unconscious. This new sensation awoke her in surprised and terrified pain.

“What a beautiful scream. Lord Sinclair. Come rescue your children if you can.”

He laughs as he continues to whip a crying Danjela.

In the bunkers, Lord Sinclair watched in stunning horror as his children were displayed on the magic screen. He was in a strategy meeting discussing what to do after the initial cannon bombardment. Around him was his wife, Queen Suncrest and several of her princess daughters with Kyrie included, another hive queen who was orange, and several leaders of the village of the various races, of which were the dwarven, oni, elven, birdmen, cat-kin, canine-kin, and other less known races.

Screams of Danjela echoed all throughout the dragon roost and the villagers could see, hear, and feel her suffering. Morale instantly plummeted as the lord’s daughter was whipped over and over. Burning in rage, Lord Sinclair immediately made his decision on what to do next.

“Unforgivable! Queen Suncrest, take command of the aerial battle. We will overrun those wyvern riders with your numbers. Proceed to bomb the cannons. They are the only major threat to the dragon roost. I will set out to rescue my children.”

Looking to his wife and taking her hand, he says,

“Yafa, I will bring back our children. You shall stay here and lead the defense. Worry not for I shall return quickly.”