A few minutes after the big bird took flight, a large building could be seen floating towards us.
“FROM THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHAD, CHIEF OF STATE PAVELI DAS, ARRIVES TO PAARJO, CAPITAL OF LUMIN KINGDOM, ACCOMPANIED BY MINISTERS OF STATE RADAL TOMAK, GORTI GAHEJIL, JAHAL SILOS, AND YERA ARMTUK.”
The floating edifice grew closer and the shape of a fortress could be clearly seen descending on the landing strip.
The front gate opened and a group of Humans walked out of it and into the paved path.
“PLEASE WELCOME CHIEF OF STATE PAVELI DAS!”
Cheers resounded from the opposite side of the gardens.
The Humans waved and nodded, then walked to the plaza where the Dwarves were standing. They stopped, greeted each other, then turned around.
The large building slowly rose and moved to the back of the gardens, where it stopped and remained still.
That was an insipid introduction, I thought, looking at the Humans.
Right then, a loud roar boomed from the north.
I produced my spear and looked in the direction of the sound, but found nothing.
“FROM THE KOLUUM KINGDOM, HIGH GENERAL ODNIK AFRAS KOLUUM I, ARRIVES TO PAARJO, CAPITAL OF LUMIN KINGDOM, ACCOMPANIED BY STATE GOVERNORS LADNI AFRAS KOLUUM III, BERNOL UGUK KOLUUM IV, AND HAN UGUK KOLUUM XVII.”
The introduction was met with silence, however.
“PLEASE WELCOME HIGH GENERAL ODNIK AFRAS KOLUUM I!”
Another roar boomed in the palace gardens, and a large, white dragon-looking monster came to view. It flew right over the city walls and took a sharp turn mid-air, did a barrel roll, and violently landed on the landing strip.
My eyes widened to the limit at seeing a creature that looked like a dragon for the first time.
It had four legs, a pair of massive wings, a tail, a short neck, and a large head. It was more like a massive Bearded Dragon than a traditional dragon. Even Sonya looked more like a proper dragon in my opinion.
Still impressive, though, despite looking a bit silly.
Around ten individuals stood up from the animal's back and jumped down to the ground.
They walked through the paved path and met with the other groups. They towered over the rest by at least an entire meter, but greeted others with polite smiles and nods.
I realized at that moment what species they were. Goliaths.
“So Goliaths ride dragons?” I wondered out loud. “Cool.”
Alyssa scoffed. “That's not a dragon, Natasha,” she corrected me, a little offended. “That's a Rodolian. Dragons are much, much, much bigger and they can talk.”
“Much bigger?” I repeated, a little incredulous. “How much?”
The Luzo huffed. “About the size of Paarjo, if not a bit bigger,” she informed me, then grumbled, “Calling a Rodolian 'dragon'... psh!”
My eyebrows furrowed in concern. “Isn't that a bit too big?”
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“That's why Wild Dragons are a threat,” Lapia supplied. “If they were the size of a Rodolian then even a group of Wizards would be able to deal with them.”
“Okay,” I chuckled.
Almost as if the spectators had woken up, they suddenly erupted in cheers and ovations.
Maybe such a sight was not that common, or these beasts were tamed by the Elite only. Whichever the case, it was obvious the creature had an impact on the crowd.
Bonte closed in from behind me and whispered. “Do you think you can take it on?”
I focused on the beast. Its eyes were big so that'd mean easy access to the brain. Reaching it while it flew was the only obstacle I could recognize. “Yeah,” I replied. “As long as it doesn't fly too high.”
“Naturally,” Hanna interjected. “Koluum Kingdom's Rodolians are in the 1100 level range tops,” she informed us, then smugly added. “That'd be nothing for Her Excellency.”
Pokora turned to her with an approving smile. “You know your stuff.”
The Ork nodded. “I need to.”
Who did I invite to the party? I wondered with a sigh, then eyed everyone around me.
Alyssa was a high-grade doctor and part of the clergy. Lapia was a noble-born scholar and a highly educated Wizard. Bonte was a Scout with plenty of wildlife knowledge and an underworld savvy man. Bromisnar was a man of culture and music. Pokora was a former military member and a reincarnated person from Earth. Yolin was a woman with almost two centuries of knowledge in adventuring and delving into dungeons, plus having traveled to two continents. Elena was... a well of knowledge locked behind amnesia. Hanna was clearly involved in politics and information gathering. Thelea was the most normal of the group, though I hadn't talked with her that much to properly know her.
And then there was little old me, a killing machine forged in Hell with the authority to overrule Monarchs.
Quite the gathering of people, I'd say. It almost seemed odd...
The Rodolian took a few steps while beating its wings and took flight, following the big eagle in the sky.
Alyssa clicked her tongue. “Crap,” she hissed and turned her back to the landing spot.
I looked around. “What's up?”
“Nymphs are next,” the Luzo explained in annoyance.
I was confused. “And?”
“They use butterflies to fly around,” Lapia informed me.
“Oh,” I uttered, then wrapped my arms around Alyssa. “Is it that bad?”
“You fear heights, I fear butterflies,” she muttered and nuzzled her head on my neck.
“Fair enough,” I replied in understanding.
It wasn't my place to point out how ridiculous phobias are. They are irrational, after all.
Yolin tapped my shoulder and pointed to the east. There, a dark cloud was approaching the city.
Damn, how many are there? I wondered.
“FROM THE UNIFIED NYMPH COLLECTIVE, OVERSEER PLESANI DALLI, ARRIVES TO PAARJO, CAPITAL OF LUMIN KINGDOM, ACCOMPANIED BY PARTY SISTERS ROSALINA LUVA, TRILLY PUNA, AND MELAMI LESPEZ.”
The crowd clapped.
The cloud of flying insects approached in silence. The many colors, sizes, and shapes of the butterflies were a different symphony, however. The entire rainbow flashed in reflections, patterns, and hairy bodies. Each were the size of a car, holding a person in their spindly legs.
A shiver went up my spine. Butterflies are pretty, but I'm not a fan of bugs or insects of any kind. I deeply thanked the fates for the fact Nymphs didn't choose flying spiders... if those even existed... and they better not.
When the butterflies landed, they released the people and flew into the gardens, where they gathered around a big brush.
“PLEASE WELCOME THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNIFIED NYMPH COLLECTIVE!”
More clapping came from the audience, and a few cheers could be heard.
It seemed like the insects failed to find fans in the crowd.
The Nymphs waved and nodded while walking through the paved path. The fourteen individuals were androgynous and almost indistinguishable from one another except for the clothes they wore. None of them had a crown or any symbol on their person that would indicate who was the Overseer. One of them walked at the front of the group, however.
I pinched Alyssa's cheeks. “They're gone,” I informed her.
The woman slowly turned her head and took a peek. “Thanks,” she shyly muttered and fully turned around.
“You're cute,” I whispered into her ear and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“Nn,” she complained and blushed.