The odd band of fighters now journeyed toward what their new Elven friends had pointed out to be Coda village. They had exited the forest and were now in the open with grass and hills as far as the eyes could see.

The Cthonians rode in the Chimera while the father and daughter pair of Elves, having expressed their discomfort in riding in such a claustrophobic space, had elected to ride on top of the vehicle. The Night Lords, with their superhuman speed and size had taken to literally jogging beside the transport, one on each side, constantly keeping their senses alert for threats.

The Elves were amazed at how so heavily armored warriors could run at such speed. However, they decided to simply observe for now instead of asking any questions, knowing that they were on an urgent mission.

Coda village was not far, and they soon reached their destination, the Space Marines and the speeding troop transport kicking up a cloud of dust behind them. This gave the villagers advanced notice of their arrival and by the time the force had reached the settlement, they found not a single soul in sight. The inhabitants, having mistaken them for bandits, had hid in their homes.

Sergeant Juno Felix: Uh, Lieutenant, where are all the people?

Minerva Antioch: Hmm, let's try this...

Minerva walked up to one the small houses and knocked on the door. The entrance swung open, and Minerva found herself struck over the head with a broomstick.

???: Get out of here you dastardly bandits.

Screeched the young woman who had just beaten a trained Imperial Army officer in a one-on-one fight with a cleaning instrument, foolhardy bravery and the element of surprise. Luckily Minerva was wearing her helmet or else she would have gotten a pretty bad concussion, although she still saw a bunch of light for a few second.

When her vision cleared, Minerva saw her squad pointing their weapons at the lady with Sergeant Felix's shotgun aimed straight at the attacker's head. Fortunately, the Night Lords had stayed behind with the Chimera and the Elves, or this woman would have already collapsed from transhuman dread, although the Marines probably wouldn't have killed her to maintain peaceful contact with the locals, maybe.

Still, the situation was devolving fast, and she needed to stop from getting any worse. Quickly, she shouted.

Minerva Antioch: Don't shoot, don't shoot, everyone stop, we're not bandits!

At her panicked, hurried explanation the crazy woman seemed to realize her mistake and lowered her broom while the Imperial Auxiliaries lowered their arms.

???: Oh dear, I'm so sorry I thought you were the bandits that have been recently popping up like weeds.

Sighing, Minerva replied.

Minerva Antioch: It's alright, are bandits really that common here though, shouldn't there be anyone to handle them?

The woman answered Minerva's question.

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???: Oh, there were, but all the local garrisons and guards in the area were sent to the Gates and never came back, since then crimes been on the rise.

Minerva blushed slightly as she realized they were partially responsible for the trouble these villagers had been going through. Maintaining her professionalism as best she could she responded.

Minerva Antioch: Ahem, I see, well I can explain that later, but right now I need to see your mayor, there's a dragon going around burning everything.

The lady's eyes widened, and she screamed.

???: WHAT!!!

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A little while later, all the villagers had gathered in the village square, and Minerva talked to the Mayor.

Mayor: A Flame Dragon!!??

The Mayor spoke with shock evident in his voice after Minerva finished her story about what happened at the Elf village. A ripple of fear could be felt going through the crowd of civilians and soon, as if a bomb had gone off, every single one of them began calling out to friends and family members as they ran to evacuate their homes.

Minerva Antioch: You're all leaving?

The Mayor confirmed saying.

Mayor: Yes, we must, once a Flame Dragon has awakened it will not stop hunting until it sleeps once more.

Minerva pondered what to do now that their mission had been accomplished and the village had been warned. According to military law, she should leave these people to their fate and return to base for further assignments, but something in Minerva told her that wasn't right. These people would be forced to run a gauntlet of bandits and all kinds of unknown dangers to reach safety.

She felt responsible for them and couldn't bring herself to leave them to die, maybe it was because the bandits were partially their fault or maybe it was the ideals of her brother rubbing on her. Nonetheless, she decided to help these people.

Minerva: Where to then?

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Lelei POV

Lelei: Master, why aren't we moving?

Lelei and her Master Cato El Altestan had heard of the Flame Dragon awakening from a messenger sent from the village and had rushed to pack all their valuables in their wagon. Most of the items consisted of magical tomes and the cart had been overloaded. Using their magic, they compensated for the weight of the books and prepared to leave. However, they now found themselves stuck in the caravan as it had stopped moving before they had even left the village.

Master Cato: There seems to be some kind of commotion up ahead.

Looking forward, Lelei saw what appeared to be soldiers wearing strange clothing and armor. Hearing them shouting, some of the soldiers were clearly female, something very unusual with the Empire's sexist policies.

Lelei: Master, I'm going to see what's going on.

Master Cato: Huh, Lelei wait!

Ignoring her Master's plea, Lelei rushed forward. She quickly saw what the commotion was about, a cart had flipped onto its side and a young girl had been injured. Kneeling next to the girl she assessed her injuries.

Lelei: Not good, possibly life-threatening injuries.

Then one of those soldiers kneeled next to the girl in front of Lelei.

Private Emily Grace: The victim has suffered a concussion and possibly bruised ribs, administering treatment.

Looking at the soldier in surprise, Lelei asked.

Lelei: Are you a healer?

As the soldier was about to answer, the horse attached to the flipped wagon broke free and whined, in a frenzy it reared onto its hind legs, about to crush Lelei beneath its front hooves. Just as it seemed Lelei's life would flash before her eyes, there was a tremendous bang and the entire head of the animal exploded, its brain, blood and flesh flying in all directions.

Lelei heard all the villagers behind her gasp and looking behind her she did so as well. There stood a giant at least eight feet tall, in the largest suit of armor Lelei had ever laid eyes on, decorated in skull iconography and bat wings. The giant had long black hair, pale, almost translucent skin and eyes that seemed to be the color of night itself. In one of its hands, it held a smoking blocky contraption.

Still stunned by what had happened, Lelei whispered.

Lelei: You, you saved my life.

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