image [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/f5b1d7ad-50a0-42ad-b58b-160a92eea989/dh0csfr-3d59969e-0436-4b0e-a533-85338bec33c4.png/v1/fill/w_1280,h_359/chapter_one_by_lizzielance_dh0csfr-fullview.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MzU5IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvZjViMWQ3YWQtNTBhMC00MmFkLWI1OGItMTYwYTkyZWVhOTg5XC9kaDBjc2ZyLTNkNTk5NjllLTA0MzYtNGIwZS1hNTMzLTg1MzM4YmVjMzNjNC5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.VhaKdoy8vENizOL0F8tU7ai6cGcljfNocShvq01vHC4]
"Fighters, Halt!"
A thousand stomps stopped in their walk to the gaping cavern at the command of the man atop a white horse. The Chosen Guardian of their troop turned his horse about, and all the gathered fighters watched on as he gazed over them with intense scrutiny.
"We have spent countless days," Guardian Azezel's voice echoed from the cavern to reach their ears with ease, "Training and readying ourselves for this great battle!"
"Rah!"
"We are here in service to the Chosen Celestial, the Chosen Right Hand of the Goddess!"
"RAH!"
"And we will return to Her with the Dragoon of Night that will be captured BY US!!"
"RAAH!"
"NOW MARCH, FIGHTERS, TO THE BELLY OF MOUNT FAT DUCK TO GET. THAT. DRAGOON!!"
The squadron roared their way into the cavern entrance with everyone at ready with all their weapons. Azezel dismounted and trailed at the back with the vision of earning his rank amongst the Chosen Valors of the Order when he forces the soon-to-be-defeated Dragoon to bond with him, the same way the others have done to three of the Seven Great Dragoons of Ov'rea. Then he could be a key part of controlling the world when all Dragoons are captured. After nearly a couple of decades of serving in the Chosen Order, he will have his reward!
"Aaaaahhh!!"
The roaring of the squadron suddenly turned into surprised yells followed by shocked silence, cutting into Azezel's moment of relish.
“Sir! We’ve lost ten Fighters to a pit trap!”
Azezel raised a brow then waved his hand in a dismissal motion, “Keep moving, we need to get to the center where Bahamut resides before he can breathe his darkness on us!”
Azezel noted the men and few women that fell into the pit remained alive but didn’t have a chance to order some Squires to assist in their freedom as there were yet more surprised yells and shocked screams.
“Sir! Fighters are getting coated in some kind of dark substance!”
“Sir! Fighters were caught in bubbles that are floating around and sucking more Fighters within!”
“Sir! The Fighters are turning into Stone the moment they touch any treasure!”
The odd reports of triggered traps continued to flow in and Azezel continuously ordered them to march forward and march forward until they reached the hearth of the Dragoon’s nest with only a quarter of the squadron remaining. Inside the hearth were riches and treasures everywhere the eyes could see with the Dragoon named Bahamut resting on a platform in the center in full dragon form.
Bahamut raised his massive head to stare bemusedly at them, sparking anger in Azezel for all the parlor tricks they undertook to get to this beast.
“CHARGE!!”
What was left of their squadron reacted immediately, sending a flurry of arrows at the giant dragon with spears joining the closer they came to the platform. The arrows and spears seemed to miss or bounce off the armor of the Dragoon’s monstrous form, only causing Bahamut to smirk with a chuckle rumbling from his maw.
The moment Azezel’s sword and the swordsman’s weapons came to land on the awaiting dragon was the moment Bahamut suddenly disappeared, causing everyone to topple over and land in awkward piles on the platform.
“What?! WHERE ARE YOU, YOU COWARD!!”
“Free of this blasted place. I do hope you’ve enjoyed the gifts I’ve laid down for you all.”
Low laughter echoed in the chamber and turned Azezel’s spark of anger into a fury of flames.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“BAHAMUT YOU COWARRRRRRRRRD!”
“What are you laughing about, Bahamut?”
“Hm?” Bahamut stopped laughing, having been manipulating an illusion of his Dragon form while remaining in his elven form in McGizzard Tavern in the foothills of Mount Fat Duck. Turning his deep purple gaze towards the curiously cute human sitting across from him. “Oh, a joke I heard that just struck my mind. Have you figured out where we are to go, Celine?”
“Um, well…”
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A few days earlier…
Clang-clash!
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Celine yelped in surprise to the blade that flew in from seemingly nowhere and forced her blade into a different direction than her intended dummy target. Losing her balance, she spun into tangling her feet up in her skirt and would have wound up in a heap of embarrassment were it not for the honed strong arms catching her. On instinct to not want to harm, she let go of the broadsword to let it clang to the floor in a direction that feet did not occupy.
"Celine." A disgruntled growl sounded in her ear. "You are not a PC; you are an NPC. You should not even be here holding any kind of weapon."
Cheeks turned a new shade of red as anger joined her embarrassment. "I know I am a non-protected civilian, Devnar, but I don’t trust you or any other protected citizen. Let me go." She had to squirm and shove herself out of Devnar's arms to gain distance between them. "I thought you and the others were asleep."
"We heard reports of an unauthorized individual using our training grounds late at night. It seems you're our culprit. Illegal use of our grounds usually results in jailing of the guilty party."
Celine deftly picked up Devnar's hint as the other three PCs gathered around her, effectively cutting off any possible chance of a quick escape. Not that she had anywhere else to go that they wouldn't find her, it is a small town. "Usually?" She knew that they knew she was panicking, and running on adrenaline, and it took a deep breath of gathering her mind to channel the mixture of emotions burning in her blood.
"We've found ourselves in a bit of a tricky situation here, Celine. You see, we enjoy our meals and drinks at the McGizzard Tavern. You work at the only tavern in our small town. We don't want to risk being made sick because we followed the laws but upset you or the owner in the process."
"O..kaay?"
"Then there is this added layer of a visitation from the Laird's manor to inspect us before we get visited by a squadron of the Chosen Order on a mission to kill that Dragoon in our mountain."
"What… are you getting at, Devnar?"
"You prove to us that you are worthy of legally using our training grounds henceforth."
"How do I prove this?"
"With Michael, Karen and Dick as our witnesses, I offer you this simple quest."
Suddenly an opaque rectangle appeared in front of Celine with words appearing as Devnar spoke.
image [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/f5b1d7ad-50a0-42ad-b58b-160a92eea989/dh0csfj-8878ba5b-affd-460d-9cbf-13b4ef5d041e.png/v1/fill/w_1014,h_788/chapter_one_quest_by_lizzielance_dh0csfj-pre.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9OTk0IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvZjViMWQ3YWQtNTBhMC00MmFkLWI1OGItMTYwYTkyZWVhOTg5XC9kaDBjc2ZqLTg4NzhiYTViLWFmZmQtNDYwZC05Y2JmLTEzYjRlZjVkMDQxZS5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.w3dpdldNony_t0xguFugPullFz3WsFqNvjMf64niyfk]
Celine's heart raced for a new reason as she wasn't looking to become a PC, she just wanted to be able to protect herself when she left their small town. This very offer of a quest can certainly help her in more ways than just being able to protect herself, it could help her in all the ways she has seen for all the PC's that she witnessed in her twenty-four seasons of life.
Gray eyes cautiously raised to stare at Devnar. "12 hours in the cavern of the very Dragoon we provide a tenth of our crops and earnings every Fall?"
"Outside of our Harvest Rituals, the Dragoon is known to be aggressive at best, murderous at worst, especially to those that dare to overstay their 'welcome'." Karen pitched in the answer.
That did cause her to further consider the quest. On the one hand, achieving her dream as an NPC is nearly unattainable with all the obstacles she would need to face but at least she would be alive, and in jail. On the other hand, to have that PC status would open far more doors and make her dream that much more attainable,.
Is her dream worth risking her life?
"I accept."
All four stared at her in disbelief before busting into unanimous laughter.
"What? What's so funny??"
"Celine, Celine, Celine." Dick stepped close enough to plop his hand on her shoulder. "You didn't notice the time limit, did you?"
"I did and there's plenty of time for me to-"
"One day from the second you accepted this quest. If you take any longer than that, then you'll remain exactly where you are right now. Unable to leave our town for that silly dream of yours."
Phwish-pow!
"HOW DARE YOU INSULT MY DREAM!!" Celine lowered down the fist that punched Dick to the ground. She had to take a deep breath to keep from stomping on the smaller bald man. "I will complete this quest and when I do, none of you can stop me from reaching my chosen life's goal."
Without giving any of them a chance to retaliate, she spun on her heels and stomped off to start prepping for her time in the belly of Mount Fat Duck.
“What if she does complete the quest?” Karen waited until Celine left the grounds before posing the question as she helped Dick back up to his feet.
“Heh. Don’t worry, I have a plan ready if she survives the Bahamut.”