Interlude

Errrkkkk walked around the town of Pescatin after their battle with the gremlins. He could have never imagined a simple contract would turn into such a mess. Errrkkkk was not happy with the way things had gone for them. If they had planned better they might have anticipated the gremlins would attack on two sides. Roden had just seemed so sure they would attack from the North he hadn’t really questioned it.

The behaviors of creatures and the study of such things were not things Errrkkkk was interested in. He actually preferred to not know such things as it was the not knowing that made the fight all the more challenging. This was definitely a challenge, but because the enemies were strong. They fought dirty, and without any regard for themselves.

So many times they had tried to ground him by grabbing at his wings or piling on him to weigh him down. After what had happened during the tournament fight, he would never let himself be grounded again.

Except, walking was all he had the strength to do at the moment. His chi was spent and his muscles were sore in a way he had never experienced in all his three years. He wanted to go curl up in that beautiful nest he had crafted on top of the foundation Roden’s treehouse provided, but he couldn’t go rest while those guys were still working. Thus he walked around the town, nearly dragging his feet at times looking for any last gremlin or townsfolk.

He didn’t imagine there would be any of either. The town was small enough that everybody knew each other and no one said anything about anyone being missing. As for the gremlins, they all ran like cowards after the chain reaction of explosions set off by Roden’s fire magic.

Errrkkkk made a mental note to start working on a similar ability of his own. Sure he couldn’t produce fire, but a purely chi powered ball of energy that did some damage in an area would be a great addition to his skill set.

After he made one pass around the perimeter of the town, he worked his way toward the inner streets. He figured searching the area in a spiral made the most sense, at least that’s what he would have done from the air so he figured it’d work on the ground as well.

He grew more and more weary with each building he passed. It wouldn’t be so bad if he had least had the sun’s rays to warm him. The light of the sun always made him feel like his Lady Era was with him and he felt that when she was with him he could do anything.

Unfortunately, it was dark and the moon was no substitute for his lady’s light. Of course their fight with the gremlins had to take place at night when he couldn’t use his Soul Sphere to its fullest. He really appreciated Bo teaching him that technique when they had spent that month with him training. But he had some complaints with the ability. It wasn’t terribly strong on its own, and it took, in his opinion, too much time to set up.

It also didn’t work well with the transformation he had managed to gain through some strange kind of breakthrough. The advancement for that ability had been strange and unlike anything else Errrkkkk had gone through for the abilities he had up to that point.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

When he had fallen in that fight and his vision faded to black, he found himself in a strange space. It was a place of endless sky. The power welled up from deep within his core and had washed over him in a torrent through every fiber of his being.

While not totally different from his practiced martial arts abilities in the feeling of the advancement itself. His transformation was instinctual. Once he knew how to draw on that power it was as easy as flapping his wings like it was a part of him.

Errrkkkk’s had wandered to the far side of the town that was shaded in nearly complete darkness. Errrkkkk didn’t necessarily hate the dark, but if it was up to him it would be light all the time. Well at least twilight, just enough of the sun peaking through to be a comforting light in the night…Hmmmmmm, night light, Errrkkkk made a mental note of that idea to discuss with G’Vaddle the next time he saw him.

While walking through the shadows of the building, the feathers on the back of his neck stood up. It wasn’t exactly out of fear. He had a feeling that something strong was nearby, but he couldn’t quite place the feeling. He wished he had that necklace to create an area of noiselessness, but he had to settle for his naturally light feet.

He hugged up against a wall and peered around the building. He didn’t see anything down the road on either side. Quietly, he slipped from one shadow to the next, still uncertain if there was even something to be hiding from. Still he saw nothing. He cursed his lack of ability to see in the dark.

He nearly gave up hiding when he saw movement on the roof of one building near the market. It looked like it was a small shop of some kind with the various knickknacks in the window. Errrkkkk could just barely make out a shadowy figure perched on the roof. He couldn’t imagine why someone would be on the roof this late after an attack on their home. Last he knew, he was the only one out roaming the town.

Roden and Riakon were supposed to be in the market. The figure was crouched low and he might have mistaken it for a gremlin, but the figure stood and he saw it more clearly in the moonlight. It looked like Roden, which made Errrkkkk let out a sigh of relief. He really didn’t want to fight more gremlins…for once.

He could tell Roden was watching something intently. Just as Roden was about to move, another figure appeared out of thin air behind him. Errrkkkk couldn’t tell exactly what happened, but Roden stopped in his tracks. He could see the figure behind him appeared to be a woman by the long hair and dress.

Before Errrkkkk could make a decision about what to do, Roden turned back and set to watching whatever it was that appeared to be happening. Errrkkkk followed his gaze and determined he must be looking into the market. Errrkkkk wasn’t far so he walked around the few half buildings that made up some of the more permanent market stalls.

It was there he saw a tall figure bathed in moonlight. It was Riakon, and he was standing over what looked like bundles of something. It was when he saw Riakon raise his hands and the pools of liquid started to crawl toward his feet that Errrkkkk knew something wasn’t right.

He wanted to rush over and stop him, but this wasn’t his choice. Riakon was making a decision and Errrkkkk had to trust his brother knew what he was doing…even if it looked like he was summoning a big ass demon like that guy during the tournament.

Errrkkkk watched as the liquid crawled up Riakon’s legs and clung to his scales. It wasn’t until it was half way up his body that Errrkkkk could see the red color glint in the moonlight.

‘Was that blood, cacaw?’

As whatever the liquid was, reached Riakon’s neck there was an explosion without sound. Riakon was thrown back as if hit by an invisible wall of force. The liquid and the bundles on the ground were vaporized leaving no trace they were ever there to begin with.

Errrkkkk remembered Roden had been on the roof and set to searching for him. It didn’t take long for Errrkkkk to spot him. It was the other figure who caught his attention far more. From what Errrkkkk could see, which unfortunately wasn’t as clear as he would like. It appeared to be Miriana in the flesh on the roof standing next to Roden.

If he had more time Errrkkkk would have gone over to investigate further, but he saw Riakon was still on the ground from the explosion with no sound. He started his walk over as worry over Riakon’s safety crept into his mind.

He saw Riakon sit up, look around and hang his head. He approached the big Dragonkin as he sat, head down. Errrkkkk could tell his brother was not well. He didn’t know exactly what happened, but it couldn’t have been good.