Once the treacherous… Slebin?( No Slerin! Yeah that’s right! ) Slerin had been vanquished, the dwarves began to party. And boy, was it a party. The dwarves pulled out barrels upon barrels of beer and mead. Dozens of boars were hunted, spiced, and roasted in the time of an evening. Massive long tables were set out in all of the city’s plazas and the common dwarves were invited out to feast as well. Bards sung bawdy songs, dwarves drank until they were roaring drunk, and a dragon tried to dance.

In my defense, I had already had 20 full barrels of booze before the ...ehm entertainment was started. One particularly grizzled dwarf had challenged me to a little competition. We had just adjourned after 20 barrels to use the restroom when a large group of dwarves lined up and began a bouncy jig. Seeming to think that it was a good idea for me to join them, of course my drunk self did. Stomping downward, I left cracks in the main street and caused many dwarves to flee, or fly, away from me. The rest of the night was a blur, but I do remember drinking around 14 more barrels with the old dwarf after that, getting so drunk that I actually fell off the Island into the pool of magma.

And that’s where I woke up this morning, peacefully asleep at the bottom of a lake of magma. On the plus side, I wasn’t having any trouble breathing and It felt very nice. On a more negative note, a familiar goddess was mocking me.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAA!!! You were SOOOO drunk! Good thing you dragons can’t get hangovers, or you’ld be out for a week!

Shaking myself awake, I mutter back to her, “Ugh, I didn’t embarrass myself too badly did I?”

Uhmm, let’s see. You described all you great conquests, danced fiercely, and utterly terrified the dwarves with how much drink you could hold. Besides that? You flirted shamelessly with a statue of the goddess of Chastity and left a dragon shaped hole in the city wall.

Relieved, I stretch out and reply,” Hmm, I expected worse! At least my image can be salvaged from that.”

After I’d gotten myself together, I checked all the notifications I had received last night.

Congratulations! You have used your champion powers and cowed three adult drakes with your roar! You have gained the ability, Champion’s Roar! Now, your roar is chock full of your aura and power. Announce your presence at the start of each fight, and strike fear into the hearts of your foes!

Congratulations! Your new ability, Champion’s Roar, reacted with your old ability, Aura of the guardian. They have fused to form Presence of the Champion! When entering battle with you, your allies all gain 15% of your stats to all of their stats. Also, your foes lose 5% of their stats If they are lower in level than you. If your foes are weak enough, they may be rooted in fear.

Congratulations! You have earned the Title Dragon Commander! (Unlike the Dragon Lord secondary race, this title does not cause evolutionary changes.) This title was earned by accepting a voluntary life pledge from a draconic being! Your blood has been strengthened, boosting your stats by 10% and raising your growth rate by one order. You now have an SSSS growth rate.

Congratulations! By impressing him in a drinking competition, you have gained the blessings of the dwarven God of Alcohol and Smithing! You have gained a massive boost to your Dexterity and Dexterity growth rate! (+250, and +6 respectively) Comment: BWAHHAAA! Ya Bloody lizard! Ya almost beat me at me own competition! Since yer already so bloomin’ spectacular at one of me specialties, I thought I’d give ya this teeny gift to try me other.

Note: The good of Alcohol is a Chaotic god. Accepting this gift will cause you to gain a chaotic secondary affinity. Accept his gift?

Uhh, Themis? You’re from the Pantheon of Order. Are you okay with this?

Hmm, yes actually. I don’t particularly care about that stuff and Chaos would be a very good affinity to balance out your creation. It’ll also make you perhaps the finest arcane smith in existence! You will have to give up the 20% benefit against chaos though. Instead you would gain a 10% boost against lawbreakers of any affinity. Sound good?

Glad that she approved, I accepted the power and felt my aura grow far more structured with my growth in Dexterity. All the brute power at my disposal began to flow in chaotic currents around me. Mesmerized, I watched my aura flow until I noticed I have one last notification left.

You have been cursed by the goddess of chastity for the massive embarrassment you caused her! Any female being you “Sleep” with will be impregnated 100% of the time! Comment: Hmph, now you will either give up on your lust for carnal pleasure or become a very, VERY busy father!

… …. ….. ……

Terrus? Uh, Terrus are you okay?

IT’S NOT FAIR!!!! UUGGGHHHHH! CURSE YOU!!!!!  …. Looks like these are gonna be some very dry years indeed, Richard. Sorry big buddy but I’m just not ready for fatherhood yet!

After most definitely not crying pitifully for my ruined plans of life in a dragon hold, I pull myself together. Looks like I’ll just have to get myself a mate who wants a brood of children…

Actually, you’d struggle to find a mate who doesn’t want exactly that. Any Dragon Queen would be beside herself to be constantly with child. They, by the way, are the female version of Dragon Lords. While Lords like you are Powerful Guardians and Conquerors, they birth all the dragons that live in your hold and pretty much rule it too.

But wait, wasn’t I supposed to rule the hold and Victoriously massive armies of dragons? Also, aren’t they kinda inconvenienced by that constant flow of hatchlings?

Hahaha! You’re adorable when you think like that! Nope, she rules the hold. What you do Is just play with your toys and look suitably menacing when she needs you to. Maybe if you get a really nice mate, she might let you pretend like you’re in charge and she’s not actually dictating your every move. Also, no they’re not inconvenienced by it in the slightest. Unlike hominids, she only has to form a magic core and egg for whichever species you want. To do that, she has a pocket dimension in which all her eggs grow. When they’re ready, she merely gives birth to them.

Hmph! I’m sure she’s exaggerating here. How could I, an all-powerful Dragon Lord ever be wrapped around some mere female’s claw like that? It would be absurd!

P.O.V. Years in the future:

Two Dragons lie together In a specially prepared chamber. Bonding together, the female, A beautiful, sinuous Queen playfully nibbles on the massive male’s crest.

In a melodious voice, she teases him,” Oh My! The mighty all powerful Dragon Lord! Proud, and uncontrolled by any mere female!” Her bright eyes gaze into his, full of warmth and love.

In response, the male mumbles out a few unintelligible words, blushing furiously the entire time.

“Hmmm,” she sighs gently and joyfully and leans back into him to continue the bonding.

P.O.V. Present:

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Swimming up to the surface, of the magma, I notice my growth in level. As I had expected, overnight I had gained a level hitting 127. Surprisingly enough, my night in the magma had brought me past 60% of the way to the next level, a nice little bonus. Breaching the surface, I quickly fly up to asses the damage I had caused. Fortunately, I had only made a hole my size and not fully collapsed the wall, towers and all. Landing in a courtyard near the wall, I very gingerly step around the snoring dwarves. While I observe the chaotic aftermath of the party, a small dwarf in livery runs up to me. Bashfully tapping on my scales, he delivers a message from the city council.

“Ehm, Ser dragon? The city council said that they be coming to speak to ya about the deal?”

Hmm, his accent was a bit thick, but I’d made out most of that. Thanking him for his help, I send him on his way and sit down to await the city council. Fortunately, last night’s party had not been a complete waste of time. I had gained a mass of information on the dwarf race, and a little insight into their minds as well. They were a generally peaceful people, building and trading for most of their long lives. Throughout the party, many dwarves had asked me to breathe breath on their handywork. Much to Themis’s amusement, I’d accepted each and every request. It cost me nothing, and they left positively beaming. Besides their natural jovial personality, they also had a very intriguing government. The dwarves of each city were ruled by a council of the most accomplished members of each discipline. All-in-all there were 6 Council leaders, for the 6 major trades, and gods know how many smaller members. I hope only those elders are coming to visit me. We’d probably need a bigger courtyard to fit all the others in!

Luckily, only the Elders and Arton had come. Walking primly across the cobblestones, they formed an Island of order among a sea of dwarves who were either unconscious, or truly wishing they were. After learning and promptly forgetting their ridiculously long and complicated names, we got to business.

“Great Dragon, We thank you for Saving our city from those drakes. However, in light of the recent… events regarding our city wall, we feel it might be fair to renegotiate slightly,” The chief elder that I’d affectionately dubbed “Beardy Elder #1” began.

“Hmm, I’m wonder why you would ever think that. Perhaps I should merely enforce the transaction as it was agreed to by your own general here.” I reply and grin menacingly. Small flames began to flicker around the group of us.

“Why surely a great and honorable dragon like yourself wouldn’t lower himself to robbery?”Beardy Elder #2 replies innocently. Drat, they must have recognized me as a good dragon. Hmph, and I even worked so hard to be menacing…

You really have a soft spot for these dwarves don’t you?

Thinking back over the past week, I bemusedly agree,” Yeah… There are some annoying ones, but they’ve certainly made a better impression on me than the other two hominid races I’d met so far. And they certainly make a good brew!”

I don’t even.. I can’t… (Sigh) Oh who am I kidding, of course that’s what you’d care about. I swear you males are all the same…

Grinning inwardly at her flustered response, I turn a steely gaze to the dwarves,” Hmm, how about I merely repair the wall, and for 150,000 lava rubies and the Rune of course, I’ll join that great caravan of your’s. I’d protect your interests there and even help the blacksmiths out once in awhile.”

After conversing amongst themselves for a few moments, they reply.

“Well Great Dragon, we had Enchantments running through the entire wall. With the broken Piece, You would have to rebuild the entire wall. How about this deal, You would rebuild the entire city wall and join the caravan, and we ,in exchange, will give you 150,000 lava rubies, a storage rune, and name you DwarfFriend. Your name would be carved into our Halls of Memory and all dwarves would recognize you as one of our race on sight.” Long-Beard Elder replies.

After mulling it over, I make one last condition.

“Very well, but I will only stay with the caravan for Half a year. After that, I will leave with directions towards the nearest hold that has a volcano.”

“Spectacular! Now we must merely seal the deal!” Portly elder says

“Seal the deal? How exactly would that occur?” I question.

“Oh, it’s a dwarven tradition. Any official deals must occur in a Dwarven fashion. Simply speaking, we drink to it!” Beardy Elder #3 replies joyfully.

My eyes narrowing predatorily, I say ,” Well then. Why didn’t you say that earlier….”

After a few rounds of mead, the clocks strike noon. Assuming that most of the city would be awake by now, I exit the tavern and make my way to the city center. Sitting there, I stretch out my soul force to feel the Earth and Rock that were the bones of the city. These dwarves, were honorable and fair. They deserved to be protected by my best work.

Having no experience with construction, I spent fifteen minutes analyzing the old walls. They were heavily built, with blocks of many different stones forming layers that made the wall hard, but slightly flexible. As for Enchantments, There was a shield that could be lifted to protect the city itself from magic and siege weaponry, a few enhancements to protect the walls from extreme temperatures, and finally a hardness enchantment to make them difficult to break through.

After planning out my Creation, I demolish the old walls with a burst of power and launch into the air, to have an aerial view. First I Build two massive stone gatehouses. From the ground up they are one block of hardened stone, nearly dragonproof in strength. At the four corners of the gatehouses, I built crenellated round towers. With multiple stories, they could hold siege weapons on top and crossbowmen in the middle. From there, I rose up 4 thick stone towers, equidistantly spaced around the edge of the Island. They had a two tiered top, with an upper level that could hold two siege platforms, and a much broader level one story below that for archers and mages. Running out of material from the previous wall, I pull magma from the pool below and from a fifty foot wall. Made from the same material as the tower, It is incredibly hard and dense. However it is still not enough. I smooth its outer edge perfectly  and make it bulge outwards to make it more difficult to climb. Then, I raise the top of the outer edge and curve it back, forming a concave shield over the top of the wall. All this takes about half an hour to build, and It leaves me at only about half Strength.

Pushing myself, I gather my energy for the most difficult part: the enchantments. Pouring 90% of my remaining spirit power into the spell, I rebuild the same enhancements, only much stronger. And then, with my last vestiges of energy, I glide down to the noticeably shallower pool of lava and fall asleep.

P.O.V. Dwarven Hall of Memories (Records of The First Meeting With Terrus)

“The Dragon? Ha! ‘e woulda’ made a fine dwarf! Honorable, and ‘e drank properly: Just like there was no tomorrow! I missed the lightshow the next day, but the night I spent with ‘im was a memorable one. ‘E was drinking with an elder, One I hadn’t seen before, but ‘e still found time to talk to all of us and bless the works of all the smiths and carpenters who came to ‘im. ‘E fought for us, drank with us, and fixed our wall too! I’d call ‘im a brother any day!”

* Kathos Ironhand Blacksmith 97

“ The Dragon was awe-inspiring. A true force of Nature. Defeating three drakes by himself, keeping up with the God of Alcohol in a drinking contest, and accidently breaking our walls were all grand acts of his. Ultimately; however, his most magnificent action was to fix our wall. Rising gloriously into the skies, his power spilled over us. That day, I understood. I saw why dragons are respected and honored. I watched, frozen, as towers of Densium, the rarest form of stone, rose from the rubble of our walls. The lake of fire itself rose to his call, climbing to become a massive wall. Impenetrable, Indomitable, Invincible. “

* Durtan Flamebrewer Scribe 205

“He’ll do.”

-Unknown Dwarf. Grizzled countenance and constantly drinking

Whew, Here’s chapter 9! Next chapter is the beginning of the trade trip! Expect it Sunday.