Meera watched the last light of the sun fade through the clouds. Even Mirithia wasn't shining so brightly this night. The cloud cover was good for them, as they made a run for the city walls, even if it would make them stumble around in the dark. Something told Meera that the dragons would not have this problem.

Lainor was chatting with Kalrina about the troubles of surviving out here alone for so long. Only some were so lucky to have made it to the underground city. He had holed up with a group of people in the eastern part of the city, closer to the warehouses. They had enough food to last a while, but a dragon got a whiff of them, and they burned the whole place down and killed almost everyone.

Lainor was one of the few who made it. He decided it was better to leave this place and went looking for a Gateway Mirror. When he couldn't find one in all this rubble, he decided to make for the walls and ended up spotting them, taking shelter in this house.

It was a tragic story. It seemed tragedy had befallen this town in the form of dragons. All this made her think of Verna. She hoped the little girl was okay.

"I think we should head out," Meera declared.

The sorceress and the Frostweaver stopped mid-conversation and looked over at her. They looked out the window, realizing it had grown dark.

Lainor nodded. "Yes, the night and the clouds should provide enough cover."

Kalrina unwillingly got to her feet with a loud sigh. "Let's put this city and, most of all, these infernal dragons behind us."

"Aye," Lainor confirmed. "My uncle has a cabin in a village not far from here. It lies on the border of the Wiryar forest. I know that's not exactly safe, but seeing all these dragons gives me hope that there's none left in the forest. If they've leveled the village too, there's a Gateway Mirror we can use to put some distance between us and these flying lizards."

Meera shared a glance with Kalrina, and they both decided to keep their real destination a secret.

Kalrina clapped her hands lightly. "Well then, what are we waiting for? Lainor, since you were a resident of this fair city. Do you want to take the lead?"

Something didn't feel right, as they knew practically nothing about the man, but the logic was sound. This city was, after all, his home, so he was better off guiding them out of this place.

"Stick to the shadows," Lainor said. "We might not be able to see them, but I assure you, the dragons are up there."

"It's okay, love. Remember, I survived out here almost as much as you did," Kalrina purred.

They slunk out of the house quietly, and despite the cloud cover, they stuck to the shadows, as Lainor suggested. The clouds weren't as thick to block all of Mirithia's light. The journey was slow, but it was better to go slow than not get there.

They went through ruined buildings and burned houses. They lit up torches whenever they were inside a building and moved silently. Even Kalrina kept her trap shut and didn't flirt with Lainor. They must've traveled like this for hours, and still, the city walls were nowhere in sight.

"They weren't kidding when they said this city is huge," Meera commented. They were moving through a building, so they didn't have to peer at the sky to see if shadowy creatures flew through the clouds.

Lainor snorted lightly. "We must move through so much rubble, or we would've been moving much faster."

Meera had a ghostly horse waiting at her beck and call, but she couldn't risk calling him because of the flying lizards. They moved on, and it took them another hour before they reached the city wall. Immediately, Meera wanted to turn back.

Dragons lay curled up all along the length of the wall. There were five in total. One was huge, but the rest seemed smaller, only slightly bigger than the one she had killed. Their scales were shades of the sun. Shiny and yellow as the dawn to the red of dusk, one was gray like Sootscale Dragons, and one was black as midnight.

Lainor's eyes widened. He motioned to the black one. "That is Tigris Grandbreath. Ignis's brother and the second strongest dragon present in Drurith. You can call him Ignis's second in command."

Meera used Identify on the black dragon.

[Charred Scale Dragon – Level ????]

"What's his level?" Meera asked. "I can't Identify creatures that high-leveled."

Both her companions shook their heads. Meera stared at the black dragon. Just how strong is this thing…

"Pardon me, but I have to ask. Is anyone else wondering why he is called Tigris when his brother has scales nearly identical to a tiger?" Kalrina asked.

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Meera gave her a blank stare. "Really? That's what you are thinking right now?"

"Maybe they both had coats like a tiger at one point," Lainor said, rubbing his chin. "Then maybe he lost a fight to his brother and ended up like that. I mean, even his tag is Charred Scale Dragon."

Meera threw up her hands. "Wow, you too. Is this really the time to discuss this? Shouldn't we be trying to figure out a way to get past the super scary dragons?"

"I'm sorry, but there is no getting past him," Lainor said. "Especially not at night."

"We can't just sit on our hands and hope he flies off along with the rest of his troops. Can we go under it?" Meera asked.

"I doubt Leonel made tunnels this far out," Kalrina replied.

"Should we take a shot at trying to kill it?" Meera asked the group.

Lainor gave the witch an incredulous look. "She's joking, right?"

Kalrina rubbed her temples while shaking her head. "Why is it that every time there is a strong creature in front of us, your first thought is to kill it?"

"It's worked for me so far."

"I'm sorry to say this, miss," Lainor said politely, then practically shouted the next words. "But you've lost your fucking mind? There is no killing it? I have my Identify skill leveled up to where I can gauge levels of beings up to 900, and it still shows question marks for that dragon."

"It's over 900!" Meera exclaimed a little too loud and immediately cringed.

"Shh!" They both cried.

"Why don't you just announce our arrival," Kalrina cried in a whisper.

They stared at the dragons, and they hadn't stirred, but Tigris cracked open an eye and scanned the perimeter with its red eye. Meera and her companions ducked when his eyes washed over them. Her heart beat so loudly in her chest that she feared the dragon would hear it.

Several minutes passed, and they heard no flapping of wings or the whoosh of the wind signaling that the dragon had flown off. Finally, Meera poked her head out and sighed in relief. The dragon had shut its eyes.

"I think I have a plan," Lainor said. "We'll have to split up. One person will have to distract while the others sneak out the gates. The person who is the distraction must have teleportation skills to get out of there quickly. Do either of you have such a skill?"

"I do," Meera stated and waited for the witch to pipe up, but she played oblivious. Meera shook her head. "You do too, you goddamned cowardly witch. But you go save your hide, and I'll make my way to you. I bet you would run the moment a dragon bared its fangs at you."

"It's the skirts, dearie. They're not meant for running. Frankly, I don't know how these peasants walk around in them all day."

"Bullshit excuses from a bullshit person."

"Ladies, focus, please. I'll shoot a spear into the air to signal we're out," Lainor said.

"That would give your location away." Meera looked to Kalrina. "Can you at least raise a mirror above the wall or in the gate? You don't need to make it very big. I can see very far."

"Anything for you, lass. After all, you're quite literally going into dragon fire for us."

"Oh, fuck off. You know what? I changed my mind. She can be the distraction and teleport out or not. Fucking die for all I care."

"One of us has to distract the dragons," Lainor said. "Or none of us can escape this city."

Meera nodded, even though something about this plan didn't sit right with her. For one, she had to risk her neck for the witch, but even more than that, something about Lainor felt odd. He had done nothing to come across as untrustworthy, but the nagging feeling would not go away.

Maybe it was the nerves of what she was about to do. She hoped she was fast enough to evade the dragons and not get charred to a crisp.

Lainor pointed out the way they would take to the gate and which direction Meera would have to take to distract the dragons.

Meera nodded and looked at the witch. "You better raise that mirror, witch, or I'm bringing the dragons straight to you."

It wasn't like she couldn't create tiny mirrors to teleport out herself, but this would be one big jump versus many small ones, and this was a test of the witch's trustworthiness.

Meera took to the air and shot a Mirror Shard Barrage at the sleeping dragons. "Wake up! It's time for me to kill you." She quietly added. "And steal a skill or two."

Her mirrors fell short of the charred dragon, and he was up in a blink. Given the size of that monster, that speed was uncanny. Meera blasted off in their planned direction. Tigris roared, making the world shake. The other dragons took the air after her. Tigris wingspan alone dwarfed the other dragons. The dragon must've been a hundred feet from tip to tip while he stood over half as tall as that.

I take it back. There is no killing that.

Dust and wind assaulted Meera as Tigris took to the air and came for Meera. She picked up the speed and flew faster than she ever had. She prayed the others didn't stop to gawk at the dragon because Meera was reaching the base of the hill. That was where she was supposed to pretend that the dragons had her cornered.

Less than a minute later, she arrived at the base of the hill. She pretended to crash land atop a building, but no mirror appeared on the wall.

"Okay, seriously, where are you?" Meera muttered.

The five dragons arrived and encircled Meera. They landed with a thud, blowing up dust. Tigris must've flattened a few buildings underneath his massive bulk.

The dust stuck to her sweat-soaked temples. She had half a mind to abort, but she figured she still had time since the dragons hadn't started attacking. Tiny mirrors blasted out of her armor and littered the rooftop and the street below—her own escape plan.

Tigris growled as he lowered his massive head. If Meera hadn't faced all those monsters before, she would've passed out on the spot. As of right now, only her hands shook.

"So, it is you…tiny human," Tigris spoke, and Meera would swear the building beneath her shook. "You…who thinks they can hunt my kind."

"Not really, to be honest."

"She is, O Great One," Lainor said as he rose on a pedestal of ice, and he was not alone. He had Kalrina frozen from the chest down.

"L-Looks like we-we were betrayed," Kalrina shivered.

"Shut up!" Lainor smacked her across the face. He bowed to Tigris. "The Cult of Aetheron has delivered on its promise, my lord." He flourished a hand towards Meera. "I present to you the one who has been hunting your brethren."

The Cult of Aetheron? Meera was sure she had heard about them before but couldn't remember where. Moreover, her intuition was correct. He was not to be trusted.

"Hunting?" She exclaimed. "What the hell are you talking about? I only killed the one."

"The culprit admits," Lainor cried.

Tigris growled, and his throat glowed red.