Hafth stared down the valley at a wall of blue flags and blue robes in armor.
“MEN!” he roared, unsheathing his sword and holding it high. “Ulferling sends his dragon to your home. He sends his army to us, while he hides in his castle walls like the spineless old man he is. But his men bow to that spineless old coward. He has taken my younger brother hostage, slain my wife and child, and they would gladly have your life ended in Ulferling’s broken honor. Fight for your honor, your fallen queen and prince, your city and your families there. Fight for everything you hold dear, as we outnumber them in both heart and soldiers. Fear nothing, as victory is inevitable and any man in red robes who falls today will be rewarded in heaven for their bravery!” he shouted, riding past his front line slowly, as a line of swords and spears rose in a wave of gold and red. The white flags of the desert lifted, the red rose center and proud. “RIDE!” he roared, circling and making a line for the wall of blue shields, the red army slowly pouring down the shallow hillside behind him.
His helmet echoed with the rumble of death as his blade pointed onward at the oncoming riders. He felt the clash of steel on chain-maile, slashing again at the next rider, trading sword strikes and passing through the line. He rode around to make another pass, seeing the red wave splitting between the blue wall of Ulferling, not an old king in sight. Trumpets sounded as his heartbeat echoed like war drums in the deep, the music of war played him onward, back into the wall of death as sword and shield met and blood misted the air.
His shield shuttered harshly with the force of a lance as he thrust his sword into the rider passing him by. He paused only to hack the lance tip from the protruding gap in his shield, barely noticing the gouge in his arm from the point. He tucked the shield in tight to keep it up, riding again back around into the death line, suddenly a wave of purple flame rolled across the line, narrowly missing him as the men on both sides consumed in the blast were rotted to bones and rust, as if aged a thousand years in a second. His ballistae fired at Ahndra, diverting it as Hafth stared at it, noticing no rider and no chains on its mouth.
“Brother, who controls your beast? What cursed magic has Ulferling on you. Hang on Brother, we will find you, even if we must take the life of your beast.” He growled as the massive iron bolts sailed past Ahndra’s rolling dodge. “But by gods she is fast.” He added.
Gizzy yawned as Dee hugged her, on horseback.
“Almost there. Just past this last winding hill. And prepare yourself for the Dwarven city of…Forgeton.” Gizzy dramatically sighed.
“They will never be Forget-ton. We always remember.” Dee said solemnly, “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”
“I thought it was a sick line.” Vinn nodded, “Gonna be honest though, not what I expected to see.”
“It’s dwarves, it’s probably half underground.” Gizzy shrugged.
“Oh that would make sense. Got it.” Vinn nodded as the not small, but actually very average sized town came into view. It’s not the size that matter anyway, but how it’s used, and Forgeton was well-built. Nestled between the two rows of mountains in a narrow valley of green and a single small river, the stone walls stood proudly, 20 feet high with battlements twice as proud. Houses of varying roof color and size, again, very functional sized houses especially for a dwarf, dotted the hillside as the spiral of elevation ended in a singular flat top where the castle stood. 4 tall pointed towers, each taller than the last in increments of two floors, rising higher than the walls were wide. Like it’s own bustling mountain of dwarven-made glory, the humble town stood sheathed partly in the fog of the mountains nearby and the smoke of chimneys and industry below. They stopped at the large wooden doors in the shape of a shield with blue edges and heavy iron hinges.
“Boy they take this magical shield thing seriously.” Vinn said, checking the bronze lettering, “Forgeton: Shield of the iron mountains.” He huffed.
“They look sturdy, not exactly inviting to ride right into. Do we need an invite here, or do we just knock?” Gizzy asked, knocking loudly.
“Fuck off!” yelled a voice from above.
“Yea that worked well.” Dee sighed. You do have a plan to get in, right?” she asked Gizzy.
“We just got here. I didn’t even know there was a wall. Hey, sir! We have traveled far to see the town, we come here with no faction and no army. May we enter?” she asked.
“…No.” replied the voice.
“Son of a bitch. He didn’t even ask for a bribe or a reason.”
“Can we get through the walls?” Dee asked.
“Yea, sure, I’ll just ram it, or leap over it like frigging superman. They will shutter at my power of flight.” Gizzy sarcastically huffed. "I'll just leap the arched stone roof."
The walls of Ulferling castle, shuttered as Azure landed on the top of the arched stone roof. Nicole looking up and smiling like a kid on Christmas.
“Now you will feel what true power is, you will feel it forcefully.” King Ulferling growled.
“Ew…why did you have to say it like that?” Nicole asked, cringing and bonking him in the head with the staff. “Don’t be a pervy old man, I’m married.” She scoffed as the dragon entered the archway and stomped in her direction. She clapped with no fear and much excite as it breathed a puff of frosty flame, engulfing her and barely making her blink.
“Yeaaaa, so about that. I’m like, really good with animals, and I may have drank its blood already…oopsie?” she shrugged. “But I’m already a cold little lizard homie deep down, so…that wasn’t gonna bother me. And with the robes, I’m kinda fireproof too so that’s very cool.” She said as the dragon lunched forward, chomping down and slamming its teeth on a sphere of purple light as she admired her nails, and it clawed the bubble before stepping down and looking perplexed.
“What magic is this?” Ulferling hissed.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
“I tried to tell you, I had cool shit going on, you just didn’t listen, and you got weird and bonked. So…how do I free her?”
“You cannot.”
“Mkay, so I think you’re lying, and I don’t like being lied to, so every time you lie, I’m gonna chop off a finger…starting with your penis.” she said picking up a knife from the table.
“My death would release the dragon, in death as well. My mage is currently hiding in her safe room, there is a key behind my chair for it. If there is any way to free a dragon bound by blood magic, she would know. That is the truth.” he blurted.
“See? You could have started with that.” She said, turning to grab the keys as he grabbed the knife and backed to the wall, holding it to his own throat.
“I would rather die and deprive you of your prize, than free her to enslave my people, and let you kill me anyway.” He said, slitting his own throat as she jumped and scrambled for the blade, but too late. He slid down the wall in a streak of blood with a cocky smile, and his eyes went cold. The dragon flopped to the ground and Nicole ran to it, with pain in her heart and her staff ready, she turned to the healing shots and gave the dragon 3 light pokes, hugging it as it dimmed and breathed slowly.
“It’s okay, shhhhh, It’s gonna heal you up, just hang on a little longer. Fight it buddy. You got this, get tough GET MEAN, GET BETTER!!” she yelled, jabbing it again and waiting for something to happen as it went silent. She ran to Ulferling and kicked him in the ribs. “YOU BASTARD! SHE’S A BEAUTIFUL ANIMAL!!” Nicole yelled. “She was your dragon, and you’d rather kill her than let her be free, you selfish elf dick.” She yelled, breaking out into tears mid-sentence and returning to the dying dragon so it wouldn’t be alone. She could feel the beast’s heartbeat staying steady. “Just hang in there. I’ll be your adopted mommy now. You’re free, just survive. You’re pretty and majestic, and I adore you and if you survive, I’m renaming you blueberry.” She whispered softly.
King Hafth stood covered in blood and sweat, his sword battered and dulled, glimmering in the light as the sun set, and a blue dot appeared in the reflection. He recognized the wings and the buffeting sound approaching. He stood exhausted and ready to die. He envisioned his wife and son welcoming him home as the dragon approached to either bite him in half or engulf him in icy flames of death. It swooped over his head and looped back, a sudden thump in front of him as something fell with a wet landing and crumpled on impact. It was a body, wrapped in blue robes, dropped from the dragon's clutches. The dragon slammed to its feet on the other side, Nicole riding on its back.
“You ride the Wave?…only a king can ride a dragon.” Hafth marveled.
“No dickwad, only a king can do magic shit to control and FORCE a dragon to do what they want. She let me ride. Only a god can free a dragon." she growled with a frosty exhale.
“Ulferling's royal robes…my brother.” He said uncovering the corpse. “You killed Ulferling and claimed his dragon, yet the dragon lives?”
“Yea, cuz I’m a god. Your brother was a shithead and this is what happens to shitheads who piss me off.”
“He killed my wife and daughter to send me a message…that Spirecrest was HIS and not mine to claim, even after their dragon attacked Thalebrook.”
“Oh…so you’re probably kinda thrilled that I did that. And I killed Spirecove’s dragon…well me and my friends, also gods, you’ll probably meet them later, they’re bringing me some items. But hey…I did you a favor by killing your asshole brother then, but also notice how I am not to be trifled with, because of the dead brother. So you’re welcome but also, I'm scary. I can take dragons from kings…” she started as an arrow bounced off her shielding “And I’m unkillable, whoever did that needs to BE RUNNING NOW!” she barked, “Ugh, annoying. Can you believe that guy? Oh he’s a blue robe, no wonder. That makes sense, and he’s dead now too. One of your guys got him. Wow you guys really wrecked shop on their blue robed asses. Good for you.”
“We lost 2, maybe 3 thousand men in the process. They died for honor, and will soon be with my loved ones in the afterlife.”
“Oh bummer. So fun fact, as a god, the most powerful god currently mind you… Uh there is no afterlife, BUT…good news: Reincarnation is a thing, and I can ensure they all get reincarnated as something good, and you’ll find your wife again, but only if your army bows to me. It’s a super good deal, and I’ll even make you something cool like a…I guess you can still be a king, you just answer to a god now.” she said, making it up as she went.
“And my brother Faeryn, was he alive at Ulferling when you arrived.
“Yyyyeya, about that. No. He’s pretty dead, but if it makes you feel better, he was selling you out. Both of your brothers were lying to you and trying to trick you into getting your army killed. Sorry. They’re both dicks. Both dead dicks.”
“Ahndra files the sky, he must be alive.”
“Um…Blueberry is fine and Ulferling is dead, so obviously there are ways to sever a dragon from a king. I renamed her Blueberry, by the way.”
“So you freed Ahndra as well?” he asked.
“No, actually, I’m not sure what happened there. That’s a mystery to me. I’m all powerful, not all knowing. I’m not some know-it-all kinda god. That thing is fucking evil though, I’m probably gonna have to kill it. I still don’t wanna but…yea no idea. Not my doing. So. You gonna allegiance to me and stuff, or do I just Ulferling your ass too and clam your dragon? Rename her something nice. What’s her name?”
“The Rose of the Desert.”
“Okay, I might keep that name regardless. That’s hella sick, but also kinda pretty.”
“I have no wife or son, I came to kill my brother and if Faeryn was alive, save him. The army is defeated, Ulferling’s corpse is at my feet, and if Faeryn is dead then his kingdom is to fall as well. All I have in the world is a hollow conquest now, Spirecrest.”
“Actually, that works well for me. So if you bow to me, I’ll let you take Spirecrest. BUT, there’s a catch. You gotta TRY and not kill everyone.”
“This is war.”
“You have 2 dragons and most of an army! For shit’s sake you have a god on your side now, can you reduce the murder a little, I kinda want people alive in Spirecrest. There’s a lot of innocent people just doing their thing, that will die in the crossfire.”
“You are merciful. My dragon guards my home. As long as Ahndra flies, the city will be guarded. Then I shall only kill the noble family that attacked my land and started a war?” he asked.
“Yea, fine. Keep it minimal. Prisoners would be nice. If you can just lock em up, I’d appreciate it a lot. I got plans for them.”
“May I have the King? I owe King Uldor a slow death.”
“Kay fine, I’ll give you that one. You lost a lot of shit lately. Rest up, give the men a day off to celebrate or whatever, and then, on your way to Spirecrest.”
“Yes, your highness.” He bowed. She grinned rolling her eyes as if to humbly accept the flattery.
“Finally someone who listens to a god. Good for you, pog-champ. Here, lemme health that arm, that looks kinda gross.”
“LISTEN TO US!!” yelled Gizzy, “WE’RE GODS, DAMNIT!” she said as Dee and Vinn returned from either direction.
“Wall goes all the way around.” He sighed. “Kinda like how you’d expect a wall to do. No gaps or entrances.” he added as Dee made it around.
“I didn’t see anything. I don’t really know what I was looking for. It’s a big walled city, there’s a river, some grass.”
“Does the river connect to the city?” Gizzy asked.
“No, just kinda followed the zig-zaggy mountain.” Dee shrugged.
“A city this size needs water. If the river doesn’t connect to it here, it has to flow underground to something under the city.
“Boy, it’s a good thing we left my wife in goatville…the one of us that can swim well, and breathe underwater, and fit into small water lines and stuff. Good thing we let her stay behind. She’s so tiny she could almost pass for a dwarf.”
“I wonder if I could pass for a really big dwarf.” Dee pondered.
“Dee, a giant dwarf is just a regular-sized person. That gets us nowhere. There’s gotta be caves around here that lead down into the city.
“Caves…like the kind with spiders.” She winced.
“No. They better not all have giant spiders. I swear, we should have just cheated and brought guns. Shotguns would make this easier.”
“Wouldn’t they just use the magic shield?” Dee asked.
“On the spiders, not the dwarves!” Gizzy grumbled.
“You said there weren’t gonna be more spiders! Make up your mind!” Dee barked.