Arthur's Point of View

Lestranian Border Settlement

"What the fuck did you do to the Dragon!?" I asked in a loud and annoyed tone.

"I didn't do anything!" Aydan replied to match my tone.

Gesturing to the Dragon, trying more earnestly to break free from the cage, I looked at him. "Really!? Cause this Dragon is more upset seeing you than it was seeing some Ghouls!"

Huffing and crossing his arms, Aydan just shook his head. "I'm an Elf, remember! Dragons and Elves don't exactly get along!"

Copying him, I crossed my arms as well. "Oh yeah? Then why did she only start to freak out when she saw you!" Pointing towards the center of the village got him to frown. "She didn't care about the other Elves! No, she knows you somehow, and I want to know what warrants such a reaction!"

Some fire erupted from her maw as she tried to roar. "Look, we were at war! My reputation with the Dragons isn't exactly the best." He explained.

It was unfortunate he couldn't see the deadpanned stare I was giving him. "You think?" Pinching the bridge of my nose, I continued even more annoyed. "Just go see to the Lestranian's caged in the village. I'll release the Dragon and her children."

"You plan to let them go!?" He asked, alarmed.

"Yes, Aydan. Leaving them here wouldn't sit well with me, and they've been just as poorly treated as our people." I explained. "From what you've said, you're no longer at war, so what does it matter?"

"I don't think that's a very good idea. Dragons are always temperamental and often only look after their own, and each is extremely powerful at the best of times." Aydan explained.

Knocking on the cage got the Dragon's attention for a moment, but I kept my gaze on The Sage. "Perhaps. Although she is still wounded. Not terribly, but enough where I think she would be happy to get her kids and go about their day."

Moving over to me, Aydan looked at the Dragon nervously. "You need to rethink this."

Crossing my arms, I questioned him back. "Say we leave her, mmh? What then? Do we leave her in her cage, or should we kill her?" My inquiries made my companion frown. "If we kill her, then we need to kill her kids. I don't have a problem killing children. I don't like doing it, but I will. Is that what you're suggesting?"

"…" He didn't reply.

"If that's the case, feel free to go kill the kids, and I'll stand watch. Make sure this one doesn't go anywhere." My dull tone and relaxed stance as I leaned against the cage was mocking him, and he knew it. "No? Then go do what I told you to."

Aydan walked off, and I shook my head. Looking back at the Dragon that had gone silent, I saw her large eye looking down at me. Putting my hands on my hips as I looked up at her, got her eye to twitch ever so slightly. Shaking my head and eventually moving inside the cage really got her to tense.

Slowly putting my hand on her claw, she seemed to relax but was still on edge. "I am going to get you out of here. You and the children. Okay. However," Moving in front of her to where her muzzle was, I continued. "I need your word you won't attack us. Aydan won't do anything either." The Dragon seemed to huff at that, and I chuckled. "Trust me, he listens to me."

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A hissing of steam escaped her nostrils, and she nodded ever so slightly in her restraints. Not needing much more, I moved to her muzzle, which was a large metal chain. Putting my hands on it, the Dragon seemed confused, but her eye quickly widened when I merely strained two of the links to the breaking point.

The chain snapped with a loud metal clanking sound as it hit the cage floor. "There you go. Should be able to move more freely. Well, talk at least." I told her, and her head lifted as the chain slowly unwound from her snout.

Her jaw opened and closed, which revealed some very large teeth. All of which were bigger than me. After a moment, she turned her head to look down at me. Her eyes seemed to focus on me, and I thought for a moment, she was going to do something stupid and try to eat me. Not that it would end well for her.

"You are an odd little creature." The Dragon spoke in a magical tone that carried through the air as her mouth opened but did not move. "Why have you freed me despite the warnings of your companion?" However, it was definitely a female.

"Why not?" I asked back as I moved to her claw and did the same. "Seems to me you're in a bit of a bind, and we're here anyway." Moving under her mouth seemed to stun her as I moved to her other frontal arm and claw. "That, and I despise slavery. Not like you were imprisoned for a crime."

As I moved about, the Dragon spoke. "Have you no fear of me? Most would be hesitant to get near me in any fashion."

I chuckled at that. "No. I have no fear of Dragons." My reply surprised her as I moved to the front of the cage and turned my back to her as I opened the cage for her to leave. "I'm sure most would be hesitant to get near you just from your sheer size alone! Just look at you!" My hearty reply got her to pause as she exited the cage. "You're almost the size of half this village!"

"What if I wanted to eat you, or kill you for associating with the dreadful Elf?" The Dragon inquired.

Moving forward, I smacked the Dragon's frontal claw with the back of my hand lightly as I started to head toward her children's cages. "You're more than welcome to try. It won't end well for you. If that 'Elf' has given you so much trouble that you're wary of him, you certainly don't want to get on my bad side." Looking up at the Dragon, who stepped after me slowly because of her size, I continued. "He tried to challenge me as well, and it didn't go too well for him either, so make of that what you will."

"Very well. Do you have a name?" The Dragon asked me.

Before I could respond, a screeching in the distance caught my attention. Both the Dragon and I turned to see a Demonic Wyvern in the sky from earlier. It clearly saw that the Dragon was free and quickly flew off to likely inform the two Ghouls who had left previously. That was a sizable force, and the flying Demons themselves would be a nuisance.

"Well, that's not good." I mumbled.

"Where are my kin that you said were on their way!?" The Dragon asked in an urgent tone as she leaned down to address me more menacingly. "Should they not be here already!?"

"About that…" I began as I gestured for her to follow me. "I might've lied about your Dragonkin coming to your rescue to get the Demons to leave."

Needing no further prompting, mommy Dragon stepped over me and rushed to the other cages containing her children. Ripping them apart in a matter of seconds, she threw all caution out the window that she had when speaking with me. No longer did I matter or Aydan. The Demons were returning, and we all knew it.

Aydan teleported next to me once more in concern. "Are the Demons coming back!?" He asked in concern.

I nodded. "Probably."

He turned to the Dragon, who held her much smaller children, both of which were still bigger than me. Probably around twice my size. Aydan wasn't impressed if the disapproving look on his face was anything to go by.

"You freed the Dragons, I see." He commented.

"Not really. I freed the big one, and she freed the smaller ones. So, technically I only freed one Dragon." Aydan shook his head, but I ignored him as I looked to the horizon and saw red energy signals approaching. "They're definitely returning, though."

"What do we do?" The Great Sage inquired. "You and I could fight, but without anyone guarding the village, the people here will be butchered!"

The mother Dragon's head snaked back towards us and snarled at Aydan for a moment, which put him on guard before she turned her gaze towards me. "Leaving this village will be the death of my children. I cannot defend them while on the run, nor against so many." Her eyes flickered to Aydan for a moment with disdain. "While I loathe the idea of working with that Elf who stands beside you, I will lend you my aid if it means saving my children."

Turning to Aydan, I patted his back. "Looks like you're going to be working side by side with a Dragon." He opened his mouth to reply in what was probably disbelief, but I quickly turned to the Dragon. "Thank you for your help. It's greatly appreciated." Both Aydan and the Dragon seemed surprised at my thanks.

Eventually, Aydan just sighed and then gestured out to where the Demons would be coming from. "So, what's the plan?"

"When I first met Arceana and your student, Kodnar, both were generating some manner of shield or barrier of sorts. It was a magic spell that I can only assume they learned from you." I explained as I gestured to him, and he nodded. "Is there any way you could replicate that spell, but over the village or a big enough section of it to keep the people safe?"

"I could, but not for very long. Not against that many Demons." Aydan informed me.

A smirk came to my lips as I gestured to myself and the Dragon. "You won't need to worry about that. With me and her out there on a rampage, I think things will work out just fine. The Demons will be far too focused on us, and the Ghouls will likely come to me directly since I was the one who deceived them."

"That could work." The Dragon said with a nod towards me and then sharply turned towards Aydan. "If the Elf can keep up his spell…"

"I'm sure you'd relish the thought of me exhausting myself to make me an easier target." The Great Sage commented almost mockingly.

Both began to snarl at each other, so I quickly intervened and stepped between the two. "Enough! Quit your scabbling! We have more important things to address!" Then I pointed at the first sight of the Demonic Wyverns on the horizon. "The Skelds will be upon us in a matter of minutes."

"You speak the truth." The Dragon nuzzled her children, and they scampered inside the village. "Stick with the Elf." Almost begrudgingly, she looked to Aydan. "Keep them safe…" Her tone was threatening.

"I'm not in the habit of murdering children." Aydan replied and went inside the village as well to gather everyone.

That left me alone with tall, blue, and scaly. "They'll be fine!" Was my overly positive response at her look, but she didn't seem too convinced.