Chapter 17: The Incinerator
DM’s army of kobolds trailed a small train of carriages proceeding southeast along a trail in the Empire. Of course, DM couldn’t fit in a carriage in his current form so he was forced to walk alongside as well. Despite his large size and lack of legs, his stats allowed him to easily keep up with marching kobolds. The carriages were also progressing at a reduced speed to keep the pace manageable.
DM couldn’t monitor the conversation in the carriage which was a bit frustrating. Most likely, Karen and her brother were just arguing about some bullshit, but there was a possibility they were sharing juicy secrets that would be quite beneficial for DM or his allies to learn. As DM thought about loopholes or perhaps other ways to take advantage of his current situation, the carriages unexpectedly came to a halt. Karen hopped out of one with Jonathan and a few others in tow.
“Hey you,” she called out as she stepped closer. “It just occurred to me, but we never did learn what really happened with that dungeon in the Union—the one with the dragon.”
“Karen, you’ve prevented him from speaking. How do you expect him to answer you?” As always, her brother the realist was butting in.
“You’re such a nag. Watch. Creature, I will ask you simple yes or no questions. If the answer is yes, I command you to wave vertically. If the answer is no, I command you to wave horizontally. If neither yes nor no is a valid answer, then I command you to move your arm, or whatever that is, in a circle.”
“Well I’ll be…” Jonathan was actually impressed by his sister’s practical solution.
“It’s nothing to be impressed by. Now, first question, is my name Karen?”
Keeping up the façade, DM shook his appendage vertically.
“Good. Is there a dragon in the dungeon in the Upper Gordu Forest?”
DM shook vertically again.
“Is that dungeon still yours?”
DM hesitated for only the slightest moment before waving vertically. He could lie and claim it was not, but spinning a web of lies was going to get too difficult to keep track of, he thought. Plus, he could think of another benefit of admitting the dungeon was his.
“Strange. Well, if that’s true, then are you able to summon an army of monsters from that dungeon as well?”
DM shook his appendage vertically.
“Wait, Sister. He hasn’t answered no to anything yet.”
“Oh, good point,” Karen admitted, surprising both Jonathan and DM with her uncharacteristic humble admission. “Let’s try that. Next question, could one of those kobolds defeat you in a fair sparring match?”
This time, DM shook horizontally, indicating no.
“There, good. Just to make you completely happy, Brother, my next question is, what color is my hair?”
DM swung his appendage in a circle.
“All right. Getting back to the heart of the matter, it sounds like you can summon a third army by using that dungeon. If you do so, will the dragon become hostile towards you?”
DM shook horizontally.
“Sister, I think that’s a bad idea. We should just leave—“
“Jonathan, the better we perform the better it will be for us. Well, for me. I’m not sure what you’re getting out of this.”
“Even so… Dragons are…”
“Relax. We just confirmed that the dragon will not be a factor. It would be different if we tried to interfere directly with the dragon, but so long as we can extract another army for free, we should do it. It will help for what is to come.”
“Well, if your mind’s made up…”
“It is. Creature, summon an army of kobolds in the Union and send them to the wyvern dungeon just as you did for the monsters from the Holy State.”
DM wasn’t able to directly comply so he just stood silently. After about a minute, Karen became impatient.
“Did you summon the army?”
DM shook horizontally. It was a bit of a gamble, but he thought it would likely pay off.
“Why not?”
DM shook his appendage in a circle.
“Karen, you went from not being willing to let him speak to practically having conversations with him. Are you not falling victim to the very—“
“Quiet, Jonathan! Creature, do you need me to give you a different order in order to enable you to summon the army I requested?”
DM shook vertically.
“A hah! See, Jonathan? But wait, what order does it need…” Karen trailed off while trying to think of what the holdup was. Suddenly, her eyes widened. “Creature, did you summon the army I requested from the Holy State!?”
DM shook vertically.
Karen and Jonathan both released an audible sigh of relief.
“Good. Could it be… that you need to communicate with the dragon to summon the army…?”
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DM shook vertically.
“Sister, you should give up.”
“I will not.” She hesitated before giving the next order, though. “You shall tell the dragon what you need summoned and absolutely nothing else. Do it now.”
DM was hoping for a less strict order, but that was the best he was going to get. He briefly opened up a telepathic connection to Grummanonth.
“Grummanonth, I need an army of LVL 5 kobolds.” The telepathic connection immediately closed.
“Creature, did you convey the message?”
DM shook vertically.
“Good. You shall instruct the kobolds from the Upper Gordu Dungeon to navigate them to the wyvern dungeon, same as you are doing for the army from the Holy State.”
Karen waited another minute. “Have you provided the necessary, uh, instructions to the kobolds?”
DM shook vertically. It was an utter lie.
“Then let’s resume our journey.” The humans returned to their carriage and the trip resumed.
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“What is it, Grummanonth?” Grace was hanging out in the boss chamber of the Upper Gordu Dungeon, mostly just being annoying. In time, Grummanonth would need to slumber, but since he was so freshly spawned, he still had plenty of energy. As a result, he put up with Grace’s visits and her multitude of questions.
“Hm, strange indeed.” First Grummanonth noticed he was no longer afflicted by DM’s infect, then he noticed he couldn’t communicate with DM, and then he received a terse request to summon LVL 5 kobolds. After that, the telepathic link immediately closed again.
“What’s strange?”
“Nothing to concern yourself with. Everything here in this dungeon is fine.”
“So things outside the dungeon are not fine?”
“Perhaps.” Grummanonth did not summon the requested kobolds. If DM really wanted them, he would have elaborated. The circumstances were way too suspicious. It was as though DM’s very actions were being restricted. No, that was the most likely situation. When Grummanonth considered the timing, DM had most likely fallen into trouble in the Empire.
“Anything I can do to help?”
“I have a mission for you, Grace the Fearless.”
“A mission!?”
“I will provide you with an escort of monsters. You are to guide them to the Lower Gordu Dungeon. Can you do that?”
“Of course! What happens after we get there?”
“They will reinforce the Lower Gordu Dungeon. You and your party will immediately return to this dungeon and monitor it until I tell you otherwise.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. Wait, why do we need to monitor this dungeon?”
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Kat’s party finally arrived back in the Twin Cities. They immediately proceeded to the Guild so they could announce their return. After that, each girl would proceed to their various mentors or employers, report in, and then join back up for dinner.
“Strange that DM wasn’t at the Lower Gordu Dungeon…” Kat whispered to the others, making sure that nobody outside her party could hear them. That was what they were told when they stopped by the Lower Gordu Dungeon to, supposedly, check in on Olivia, although that was a few hours ago now. Other than DM’s absence, nothing out of the ordinary was going on. They didn’t inquire into exactly where DM went because that would be too suspicious. They still didn’t want to alert the Guild or anyone else to their close relationship with DM.
While they were wandering around the Guild, checking the posted information for anything interesting after having been gone for so long, they heard a commotion outside.
“What the hell is going on?” The Guild Master stomped down the stairs, demanding a status report from nearby staff members.
“I’m not sure…”
That moment, an adventurer ran into the Guild. “A dragon!”
“What?” The Guild Master tilted his head while most others went into a panic. He pushed against the flow of people trying to get away from the Guild entrance and forced his way outside.
Kat’s party also moved against the current and leaned out an open window for a view of whatever was going on outside. They each saw a dark-scaled dragon sitting on its haunches right in the middle of the courtyard, facing the Guild. The area was already mostly clear of people who had scattered in every direction upon its arrival. Amazingly, the Guild Master walked over to it.
“Oh, another fearless human.” The dragon’s voice was deep and intimidating, but so far, not hostile.
“You’re not the first dragon I’ve met.”
The girls looked back and forth at one another, shocked to hear that the Guild Master had actually met a dragon.
“And yet you survived?”
“Yes. May I ask your business?” His tone was cordial, at least by the Guild Master’s standards. A rarity.
“You may, but it will have to wait. It seems you will be meeting a second dragon momentarily.”
“What?”
“It must have sensed my ambulation.”
As if on cue, a red dragon descended from the skies to the south and landed in the courtyard as well. The area was quickly running out of room for dragons.
“My name is… hm?” The new dragon paused his introduction to a fellow dragon and turned his head to look at the Guild Master. “You?”
The Guild Master’s face darkened but he didn’t respond.
“GAHAHAHA!” The red dragon released puffs of fire as he laughed, his face turned up towards the sky to avoid cooking the man he spoke to. “You’re still alive?”
The Guild Master remained quiet, as did Grummanonth.
“Well, I said I’d let you live, so I’ll abide by it. More importantly…” The red dragon turned to face Grummanonth. “I am Dracokonovich the Incinerator.”
“Grummanonth the Moonwalker.”
“The what?” Dracokonovich scrunched up his face in confusion. “Moonwalker? How?”
“I am what I am.”
“Grummanonth the Moonwalker, have you visited the moon?”
“I have no recollection of that.”
“Then why!?” Dracokonovich stamped his foot down in anger. “You would dishonor the dragons?”
“I wouldn’t.”
“Then why Moonwalker!?”
“I had absolutely no say in the matter.” Grummanonth knew this wasn’t true, but he took a little liberty. Of course, DM would have chosen a different name or title if Grummanonth expressed displeasure.
“No say? You mean…”
Grummanonth stood tall while Dracokonovich pieced it all together.
“Madness. Shall I assist?”
“No need, Dracokonovich the Incinerator. Thank you for your kind offer.”
“Hm.” The red dragon lifted off without another word, kicking up wind and dust as he climbed to the south again.
Grummanonth returned his attention to the Guild Master, who had stood by quietly during the previous conversation. “You two were acquainted?”
“Yes.”
“How did you survive such an encounter?”
“As you saw, he decided to let me live.”
“What happened?” The line of questioning wasn’t at all germane to Grummanonth’s purposes for coming here, but he was fascinated by this coincidence.
“He slaughtered the rest of my party at the time, including my wife. Do you have any other questions or will you state your business?”
“Hm, I think I’ve learned something about Dracokonovich’s personality. My belated condolences for your loss, human.”
The Guild Master just nodded slightly.
“Strange as it may seem, I intended to hire a party of adventurers. I care not what skills they possess so long as they are capable of moving through the surrounding forests safely. Payment will be addressed upon completion of the mission.”
“We have a number of parties that meet that criteria. Will you be placing my adventurers in undue danger?”
“Certainly not. Oh, and one other things. I don’t enjoy toying with humans like Dracokonvich apparently does, but that doesn’t mean I like humans either. Choose a party without any humans.”
“That’s a tall order.”
“Will you decline my request?”
The Guild Master was clearly reluctant, but he eventually gave in. “I will not.”
“Good. Send them to the Upper Gordu Dungeon as soon as they are ready.” Grummanonth glanced around and noticed groups of guards and knights watching from afar in every direction, peeking around various corners. “I will take my leave.” He lifted off and climbed to the north.
The Guild Master watched as the dragon’s form grew smaller with each passing second. Once the dragon was out of view, the Guild Master collapsed to the ground, taking a seat on the cobblestone and leaning back on his hands. “Oh boy…”
Several staff members ran out of the Guild to assist the Guild Master now that the dragons were gone. “Sir, are you all right!?”
“Yes, I think so.” Two men helped the Guild Master back to his feet as he issued his next instruction. “Go get those girls.”