Ylra had already set to work on skinning the fallen white dragon, with Jay on watch. Adam spied a few new arrows sticking out the dragon’s chest, but he couldn’t really blame Ylra for wanting to confirm the dragon was surely dead. Dragons were just that scary, and assuming it could come back from death was good practise.

Andal departed, though surprised Adam by placing out his cooking kit. “Imma,” Andal called, “would you be so kind as to light the flames?” Imma did as Andal asked, using her magic to light the flames.

Lady Elowen was currently resting, for she had taken quite the beating from the dragon. Her armour was punctured by the powerful jaws and teeth of Vandra, and the front of her was dented and marred by the powerful dragon’s talons. Rojer was with her, though he was far more dishevelled. His robes had been torn apart and his wounds, though healed by Adam’s magic, were deep red. Redboulder fussed over them like a mother, making sure the pair were resting properly. Adam didn’t spot Kay for a short while, though found her sitting on a nearby rock, looking out towards the plains and hills.

The atmosphere within the camp was not that of victory after a dragon slaying, but the kind of atmosphere where one needing to lick their wounds. Adam sat down on a rock, placing down his helmet. He found himself to be caked in sweat, not the kind from effort, but from the kind of fear.

The Dragon Fright had caused his entire muscles to seize in place. The fear was unnatural, something that clung to his very soul. He recalled his thoughts, thoughts he’d never want anyone else to know. He wondered if perhaps the fear had taken to him deeply because of his half-fey ancestry, but also recalled that Jay had been equally as frightened.

‘Wait a second…’ Adam thought for a moment, feeling as though he had forgotten something.

Haste hadn’t caused his muscles to seize in place.

‘Did the Dragon Fright escalate the spell’s effect?’ he thought. The Dragon Fright was an otherworldly effect, since dragons were creatures not native to the world. It was an ability all the powerful dragons were able to manifest.

Bandlor landed on Adam’s head. ‘Well done, boy!’ He flapped his wings twice and then rested on top of the half-fey. ‘I didn’t expect you to face a dragon so soon, but what a wonderful sight!’

‘It was a lot easier than I expected, but there were quite the number of us.’ Adam wondered what would have happened if there had been only half of them. They probably would have died.

‘Exactly! I can’t wait until you face a dragon alone.’

‘I’m not sure I want to…’ Adam was not that strong. Yet.

‘Who said you had a choice?’

Adam frowned. ‘I do.’

‘Well, not if a god demands it of you.’

‘There’s currently no god around me to demand such a thing.’

Bandlor pecked the top of Adam’s head. ‘I will remember that.’

Adam smiled. ‘Well, you wouldn’t have me face a dragon alone right now. What’ll happen when I die? I’m not sure Mistress Fate would be happy…’

‘That’s beside the point!’ Bandlor pecked the top of Adam’s head again. ‘Anyway! Why did you choose to fight for Arya’s glory and not mine? Isn’t it rude to shirk me so?’

‘Well, that was the deal I made with her.’

‘You made a deal with Arya?’

‘Yes, I did.’

‘What was the deal?’ Bandlor leapt up and then landed opposite Adam, looking up at the half-fey with wary eyes.

‘I would give my glory to her and she would give me a power.’

‘What power?’

‘The ability to summon my blade whenever I wish.’

‘Such a cheap price! I’d have given you so much more!’

‘Well, you didn’t.’

Bandlor flapped his wings angrily at Adam, who laughed. Then he spotted the queer look Kay was giving to him, and he quickly averted his gaze.

‘Well, she hasn’t given me the power yet, so if you can offer me something better, maybe I’ll swit-’

Blade Bond acquired.

‘Nevermind.’

‘What?’ Bandlor flapped his wings to get Adam’s attention.

‘It seems she’s graced me with her power,’ Adam replied.

‘Damn it! Just she wait until we meet!’ Bandlor flew away in a maddened flight.

“You’re a weird one,” Jay said, walking over to Adam.

“I get that a lot.”

“I’m sure you do.” Jay threw a glance around the area. It looked as though he had something he wanted to say. He walked over to Adam so they were alone. “Are you a god, by any chance?” Jay whispered.

“What?” Adam looked up at Jay, raising his brow in confusion. First Andal and now Jay?

“Come on, you can tell me. I can keep a secret.”

“I’m sure you can, but no.” Adam shook his head. “I am not a god.”

“Are you a dragon?”

“No.” Adam stared deep into Jay’s eyes, which were still filled with suspicion. How was it that Jay was asking Adam the same questions as Andal?

“What about another sort of divine being?”

“No.”

“So you’re just… a half-elf?”

“Just a half-elf. Half a man, half an elf.”

“Half a elf,” Jay said. “Half an elf is grammatically incorrect.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s half an elf,” Adam replied back.

Jay looked over to Imma. “Imma! Is it half a elf, or half an elf?”

“What?” Imma said, looking out towards Jay.

“Is it half a elf, or is it half an elf?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Which is correct?”

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Imma stared at Jay. “Shut up and get back to your watch.”

Jay looked to Adam. “Women,” he shrugged. “Guess we’ll never know.”

Adam looked up at Jay, wondering what was wrong with him. “Are you alright?” Adam asked.

“Yeah…” Jay continued to look out into the distance. His skin was paler, and his face looked haggard, as though he hadn’t slept in days.

“Dragon Fright got you good, huh?” Adam whispered.

Jay nodded. “My pants are really wet.”

“The tower is still up if you want to go and change. I’ll keep an eye out.”

Jay looked to Adam, his eyes filled with gratitude. He nodded and then made his way towards the tower. Adam stood and then paced around the area, keeping an eye out.

Perception

D20 + 5 = 12 (7)

His eyes were casually glancing around the area, finding nothing of note. He would often times find himself staring at Ylra and the white dragon. She cut into the dragon expertly, her blade moving through the skin of the dragon as though it was made of paper. The blade glowed faintly, and Adam wondered what kind of enchantment it held.

His eyes fell to the white dragon. This was the first dragon he had seen properly up close. Of course, he had met Entalia, but their meeting in her dragon form was short lived due to the eldritch monster they had been fighting. The only other dragon he had met had been of the undead variety, nothing quite as noble as Entalia or Vandra. He thought about how Ylra was skinning it, handing the meat over to Andal before going back to work on skinning the creature.

Wearing the skin of a dragon seemed so weird to him. Dragons were intelligent creatures, save for perhaps the white dragons who usually gave into their base instincts. Wearing the skin of a dragon would be like someone wearing the skin of himself, and it gave him the heebie-jeebies.

Eventually Jay returned, refreshed from his bath, and wearing his second set of clothes. He was about to walk to Imma, but then stopped. He went over to find a rock and then placed his clothes over it to dry, keeping them pinned down by placing a stone on the centre of each garment.

“Thanks,” Jay said. The colour had returned to him, and he was no longer quite so melancholy.

Adam went to sit down near Kay and Imma, checking through his gear to see if everything was still with him. He then noticed his tinkering tools, the same tinkering tools he had tried to remember to use long ago. He shook his head.

“What’s the matter?” Imma asked.

“I remembered I had something I needed to do, but I haven’t had the chance to.”

“What is it?”

“Just some tinkering.”

Imma’s brows furrowed. “Tinkering? Why do you need to tinker? You have magic.” Her voice was filled with disappointment.

“It’s just nice to have a back up plan in case I run out of magic, or if I am unable to use magic at the time.”

Imma nodded her head. “Well, that does make sense…”

“Speaking of magic, you’re a Wizard, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Any chance you’d be willing to swap spells?”

Imma pulled back, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at him. Adam wasn’t entirely surprised by the reaction, but he had thought he had a decent enough rapport with her now, after all they’ve been through. He hoped she’d be willing to at least give the idea some thought.

“I’m not sure...” Imma replied, her lips pursed together in thought.

“Well, if you’re willing to swap some spells, let me know,” Adam said, leaving the offer on the table for her. He had quite a few spells he needed to put into his spellbook, although he had left his scrolls back in Red Oak. He was wishing he had brought them with him now, because he would have enough gold once he sold off his cores, and with his share of the dragon loot, he’d be loaded.

Soon the smell of the dragon meat filled the air. The smell of spice, fatty meat, and herbs wafted through the air. Adam couldn’t help but drool as he sat around the fire. Andal had roasted the meat, handing over some to Elowen first,and then Redboulder, then Ylra, and then Adam. Adam wasn’t sure why he was so far up on the list, but he accepted the meat graciously.

He waited for the dragon meat to cool for a few moments before he bit into the meat. It filled his mouth with bursting flavour, and whatever weird thoughts he had about dragons being intelligent creatures not fit for consumption were instantly batted away to the back of his mind. The meat was tender, chewy, and melted into his mouth moments later. The juices overflowed against his gums as he bit into the meat, flooding his mouth with deliciousness.

“First time trying dragon meat?” Andal asked, taking a bit of his own dragon meat.

“Yeah,” Adam said, nodding his head. He tried to chew his food quickly so he wouldn’t be talking with his mouth full. “Have you ever had dragon meat before?” he asked, swallowing down the food.

“Aye, once before.”Andal bit into the meat again, and then looked beyond, into another time. “Almost half a century ago, I was tasked to find a particular plant, just like now.” He smiled to himself. “I had hired a small party to escort me through the land, and there we came across a bronze dragon facing a blue dragon in combat. Typically we’d have left them alone, but we noticed that a small group of pilgrims had been caught in the fray. We leapt into the action, driving the blue dragon away temporarily. Unfortunately for us, the bronze dragon had yet to be finished with the fight, and she attacked the retreating blue dragon. The pair succumbed to their wounds quickly after.”

“Whoa,” Adam whispered.

“It was fortunate for us at the end of it, for we created good will with the pilgrims, and many of us were able to scavenge the parts of the blue dragon. The pilgrims offered us the blue dragon, for there was bad luck in scavenging the bronze dragon, though they didn’t seem to mind taking it.” Andal took a bite of the dragon meat again. “Blue dragon tastes much better,” he said.

“They do?” Adam wondered how any meat could taste better than this, the white dragon meat was already so delicious.

“Blue dragons are fattier,” he said, nodding his head. “Bronze dragons are fattier still, though I hear that gold dragons taste the best.”

“Gold dragons? Aren’t they… good? Really good?”

“They are.”

“I wonder what kind of people eat gold dragons.”

“The kind of people I can’t judge,” Andal said, taking another bite of the dragon.

Adam left it at that, eating his food. He wondered if he was ever going to fight another dragon. Fighting a dragon had been terrifying, but there was the feeling of satisfaction after. He wasn’t sure why he wanted to fight another dragon. No, it wasn’t that he wanted to fight a dragon, he wanted to meet them, to speak with them, to live amongst them.

‘I want to ride a dragon.’

“May I sit beside you?” Elowen asked, snapping Adam out of his thoughts. Adam nodded and Elowen took her place beside him. “I’d like to thank you for your assistance in the fight,” she said. “Without you I am uncertain of what would have become of the situation.”

“It’s no bother,” Adam replied. “My role was to protect Andal, and he’s not the kind to run away and abandon someone.” Andal, who had been sitting nearby whilst eating, stopped eating for a moment, before then continuing. Adam could see a small smile appear on the dwarf’s moustache.

“You are the same,” Elowen said. “You could have run away if you wanted to.”

“I didn’t want to,” Adam replied, shrugging.

“You are tasked with escorting Sir Andal for the moment.” Elowen turned to look at the dwarf. “When is Adam’s task over?”

“When we return to Ironhall, he can choose whether he wishes to leave my employ, or continue back to Red Oak,” Andal said.

Adam hadn’t expected the task to be done like that. The dwarf had yet to finish unearthing the frostamber, but he could do so over the day. It made sense for them to be done once they returned back to Ironhill, yet…Adam looked to Elowen, who was staring at him expectantly.

“Will you return with him back to Red Oak?” Lady Elowen asked. There was something within her words that Adam could note, something in her tone of voice.

“I’m not entirely certain,” Adam replied. “I’ll have to decide when we return.”

“Then, if you are willing to listen, I’d love to discuss with you another matter.”

“Sure,” Adam replied, waiting for her to expand further.

“Perhaps we should do so another time,” Redboulder interjected. “When we are in the safety of walls, and with some rum in our bellies.”

Lady Elowen turned to look at Redboulder, her face flashing with a sourness for a moment, but she nodded. “You speak well,” she said. “Another time then. Once we’re at Ironhall?” She looked to Adam, expecting an answer.

“Sure,” Adam said, nodding his head. “We’ll speak then.”

The group continued to rest for the day, though Andal had spent most of it plucking the required frostamber, and Ylra continued to skin the dragon. The remaining bodies took turns looking after the pair. Once Andal was done with his task, he went to assist Ylra with hers.

“How is your luck today?” Andal asked Adam.

Omen

3, 5

“You don’t want me anywhere near you today,” Adam replied.

By the end of the day, the pair were mostly done with their task, though they’d need to finish skinning Vandra in the morning.

Everyone rested for the night and then made to pack in the morning, whilst Ylra and Andal finished up with skinning the dragon.

“I’ll carry our half of the carcass,” Andal informed the group.

Adam had recalled that Elowen had offered them the entirety of the carcass, but he didn’t make to argue. No one did, for Andal was their leader, and the others had fought the dragon too.

They had spent quite some time out in the wild, and now that they were done with their task, they were ready to make their way back to Ironhall. Lady Elowen and her group were far more open with the group now, though they still kept their task secret. Redboulder and Ylra often fought with one another during the days about the most benign things, and Adam figured they were good friends with one another.

Sometimes they’d need to stop to make sure the baby wasn’t overburdened, though the babe spent most of her time sleeping. They were within sight of the tunnel back to Ironhall when they saw something in the distance.

Perception

D20 + 5 = 8 (3)

Adam couldn’t spy much with his fey-eyes, though he could see a great number of tiny figures, and some larger figures dispersed through the group.

“Golems!” Ylra gasped aloud.