Giving Cranky a look, I ask where Raya is, and he points me in the direction of Joras’ shop. I hope she’s still around because this news of an imminent attack on us has me quite on edge. The whole thing is making me almost giddy with excitement and I want to attack them first, which does not seem like something I should want.
As I turn to leave, Wreyn speaks up about this and that and I’m not paying too much attention to it. I know I should, but I need some time to think about whether I’ll stay on the defensive or go on the offense. I’m sure I’ve been too defensive and that’s part of why we’re in this predicament.
“Kira, we need to prepare! The Guild cannot be allowed to regain what little ground they’ve lost! If they do, they will not stop until they've conquered the continent!”
I don’t intend on letting them stomp all over my things, so I believe a first strike is appropriate in this situation. I guess I can’t call it a first strike since they’ve attacked twice, once in Oakhold and then Lauren’s assault, but I’ll think of something to do to even the score.
In fact, I might have something plan-adjacent, I just need my pack and some preparation. And I need someone to help me.
“Wreyn, have the people here help you with fortifications, I have something I need to do. And I want your rider sent to Plainshold to tell the townsfolk to leave town tonight.”
He grumbles for a bit before agreeing, Cranky looking on with a raised eyebrow. He seems confused at my demand, but that’s fine, I don’t need him right now. With a beat of my wings, I’m airborne and headed to Joras’ shop. It is a little much to fly that short distance, but why shouldn’t I do what I want?
Hovering over the street by his shop, people move out of the way, and I drop down, creating a bit of an impact on the street.
“You might as well knock, Kira, your landing already shook up most of my goods.”
Knocking on the door, Joras is quick to open up and I look into his store, most things are still on the shelves, so I’m not sure why he sounds so exasperated. Nevertheless, I’m not here for his quirky attitude, I’m here for Raya. Asking for her, he shouts for Raya and she’s quick to leap down the stairs with Lily in tow.
“Hey Kira! Are we leaving to gather things?”
“We are, but I need help with my new pack, I don’t know how to put it on. And we need some saddlebags too.”
She seems to wonder why for a moment, but explaining is for later. For now, we’re gonna get this bag and then find some more bags. I’m gonna need a bunch of storage for my counterattack.
Asking her to join me, she’s quick to agree, and as we turn to leave, Joras hands her a few potions and a vial of the leather adhesive he used to make my makeshift saddle. That might come in handy, but looking at him, he seems worried.
“Kira, be sure the path you’re taking is the one you want and not one that others are pushing you to take.”
As if they’re giving me a choice. As I see it, I can either lie down and die or make sure I’m not worth the trouble. And I have no intention of making this easy for these jerks. If Oakhold is any indication, then I just need to make sure the locals blame this guild of theirs.
Leaving joras behind, I lower my head for Raya as we walk and she’s quick to grab hold of my horn and use it to swing onto my head. She’s becoming quite the little acrobat.
“Raya, you need warm clothes tonight, we’ll be flying into the clouds.”
She doesn’t respond, and I can’t see her, so I don’t know what she thinks of it. Instead, I focus on heading for my den and fetching my pack. It’s a shame to be using it for warfare for its first time being used, but sometimes things just turn out like that.
With my quick pace, it doesn’t take us long to reach my den, and it’s clear that Wreyn has wrangled up a bunch of goblins since I left. He’s barking orders for this and that, sending some to reinforce the palisades with clay and others to gather more wood.
I’ll deal with that later, for now, we head into my den, and Raya jumps down and starts toward my pack. Laying it out on the ground, she starts instructing me on how I should step into the shoulder loops and pull on some straps and other loops.
It seems the leathersmith is a very clever person because he has made loops to go onto my spines to hold the pack in place so I can hook two straps into place to fasten the pack. It’s definitely preferable to have some help, but I should be able to do it on my own.
Raya is very helpful in making sure I learn how to do it properly, and she even helps me a bit when I struggle, but in the end, I manage to put it on and take it off on my own a few times. Now we just need those saddlebags.
Leaving my den, it becomes clear that I need some time to get used to having something attached to my chest. The dang thing keeps getting bumped by my arms when I walk. At least the size will be beneficial for added storage space.
Wreyn is still barking orders, but he seems to have a different group of goblins now. From what I hear, these are being told to carve arrow shafts and make all sorts of crafts. He seems quite good at leading people in a crisis. I’m not seeing Cranky anywhere, so I assume he’s off somewhere to oversee the various projects they’ve got going.
He seems to have noticed me and calls for me.
“Kira, a moment, please. I have noticed that a significant amount of goblins carry one or two tools made of Dragon’s Gold, how is that possible?”
“I have no idea what Dragon’s Gold is, Wreyn…”
“It is a golden metal as strong as steel, but it is affected by magic to a much higher degree. It does not decay as iron does, and it is easier to maintain tools and weapons made of Dragon’s Gold. And most of all, it is exceedingly rare.”
That doesn’t tell me what it is, though. Looking over one of the goblins he indicated toward, all I see is a small knife made of bronze and none of this Dragon’s Gold stuff.
I have things to do, so I tell him to just go ask the blacksmith who makes stuff like that, I’m sure he’ll know what Dragon’s Gold is and where they’re getting it. I find myself curious about the topic of metals, but I’ve got things to do, so I need to focus.
Nudging Raya, we head toward the crafting district to find more leathersmiths for those saddlebags. Given how much larger I am than the beasts of burden here, I should be able to carry two or three sets.
She’s quick to rush between the stores and find what we need. A trio of leathersmiths arrives to look at what we’re doing and make adjustments to their saddlebags to make them dragon-compatible. They seem quite eager to sell their stock and Raya hands out the small wooden tokens.
Something important I need to know is how much these bags can carry before breaking, but none of the leathersmiths have an answer as they just shrug and say they’ve never had one break. That’ll work.
Looking up, I see the sun nearing the horizon, so we’re running out of time. “Raya, we need to get going, we have to fill all these bags and see how difficult it is to fly with all of them full.”
“Fill them with what? I don’t think we can find enough plants to fill that many bags.”
“Large rocks. I want the saddlebags filled with rocks as big as you can throw, and my own bag will have rocks for me. I want to show Plainshold that I don’t approve of its attacks.”
She seems worried, but we need to do something and I did tell Wreyn to send his rider, and I do intend to give them a chance to leave town first, since I’m not doing this to kill people. But I do want them to fear me enough to not launch any more attacks.
Their safety is not my concern, and I’m showing them more consideration than they’ve shown us. With all my bags in place, I now need to fill them, so I nudge Raya and let her know we’re going to the river to the east. Lowering my head again, Raya hops on and we’re off toward the nearest gate.
Rushing through the streets, the people clear a path immediately, and I can smell a hint of fear. I want to say it’s because of the adventurers, but I’m not confident enough to say it isn’t because of me.
I’ll deal with that later, for now, we need to find some rocks. Taking off and heading east, I focus on flying as I feel somewhat numb about this entire situation. Raya isn’t saying anything, and I can’t tell what she’s thinking.
“Raya, if you don’t want to join me for this, then I can return you to Tuiran. You don’t have to do this.”
“Neither do you, Kira…”
“I’ve given them more of a chance than they ever gave you! I had Wreyn send someone to warn them, that’s more than Tuiran ever got. They attacked us in Oakhold when we were guests, they killed Melty and many others because of a few coins, and now they’re coming to kill us because we exist!”
“How many of them are like Lauren or Aron?”
Probably a few, but I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect me to identify the maybe-good ones among a group of attackers ready to assault our home.
“Raya, just tell me you don’t want to do this and I’ll take you back. I’ll figure this out on my own and make sure they reconsider their plans.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“Please don’t do this, Kira… I don’t want you to become a bad thing because of these dumb adventurers…”
I don’t have time for this, the sun is setting and I have bags to fill. We’re almost at the river, and I ask Raya a final time if she wants to go home instead, but she declines.
“I don’t want you to be alone when you realize what you’re doing.”
Landing on the riverbank, I start digging up rocks and taking those that would make good ammunition. Raya helps out and gathers a bunch for my saddlebags. As we’re filling the bag, I take flight a few times to make sure I’m not overburdened. So far, so good. We’re about halfway, and I find that I need to use magic to maintain my flight, but that’s fine, I've got plenty of magic.
We’ve spent a considerable amount of time collecting these large rocks, and the sun has set. Raya never did pick up those warm clothes, but if she’s too cold, I’ll just fly lower or heat up the air with some flames. Now it’s time to head to Plainshold.
Using more magic than necessary, we speed up, and off in the distance, I see Plainshold with a very large cluster of people standing outside the gates. As we get closer, I can tell that they aren’t wearing armor, so I assume they’re the townsfolk.
It would be so easy to scorch them all, and make the town match Lord Sadist's manor, but they aren’t my target. Flying quite some distance above the group, I let out my flames to reveal my presence and I’m rewarded with an arrow swishing by me. The arrow seems to have been fired from the crowd, and judging by how well it flew, I need to go many times higher, but that’s okay, I can do that and it gives my rocks more time to gain speed.
But before I do so, I’m going to let people know why this is happening.
“Hear me, Plainshold! I wanted to be left alone, but your lord attacked what belongs to me, and now your adventurers plan to attack me and mine again! I will not stand for it! Beg for mercy in the morning because tonight, you won’t find any!”
Ascending higher with assistance from my magic, I hit a mild cloud layer, not enough to obscure my sight, but I doubt the adventurers can see me. It’s time to release my first rock. Picking out a decently sized one, I let go and wait. It takes a while, but I see a tiny indication of the impact. I managed to hit a building, so that’s something. It didn’t quite hit where I expected, but I guess that’s how it goes with air resistance.
Changing position a bit, I release another, repeating the process until my bag is empty. Raya hasn’t thrown a single one, but that’s okay, I’ll just drop them all on my own. Flying some distance away from Plainshold, I turn around and speed up back toward the town. Making sure to tell Raya to hold on tight, I perform a barrel roll, launching the bags from my back. No doubt they’ll do some damage.
Flying toward the gathering, I make sure to go lower so they can hear me. “This time I gave you a warning and used simple stones, but if your adventurers give me reason to return, expect your town to burn!”
The scent of fear reaches me even up here, and this time, no arrows fly. It’s time to leave and let them consider their options. Raya hasn’t said anything in a while, but that’s not something I can deal with as long as this whole situation is ongoing.
If these bastard adventurers are left to their own devices, they’ll no doubt attack us again. It’s time to hear Wreyn out and see what he expects of me. I’m not sure he considered this in his plans, though, so I should let him know.
I’m feeling a little exhausted on the way back, but with some effort, we manage to return in a reasonable time. Flying to the square, I hear Wreyn still barking orders. He’s a diligent fellow, it seems.
“Kira, where have you been? I need your flames to harden the clay your people have added to the walls. And once that has been done, we will need to plan for what to do when the Guild shows up.”
Letting Raya down, she trudges off without a goodnight. I think I might have to make it up to her tomorrow, but for now, I have things to do. To begin with, I make sure to tell Wreyn what I’ve been up to, and he doesn’t seem too annoyed by it.
“Hooh… Another reason why I would not want a Dragon as an enemy. I have no doubt a sufficient number of people in the crowd understood you to spread the word. Though of one thing I’m sure, your actions will without a doubt have the cleverer adventurers reconsider their participation in this mission. Which will leave the reckless and the feeble-minded. It is unlikely to change anything for us, but it is something worth knowing."
I don’t know what the impact of that is, but if they’re reckless, they’re probably dangerous. It’ll just be another thing to deal with. I should look into this clay heating stuff Wreyn mentioned.
“For what we need to do to excise the blight that is the Guild, you must steel your heart and embrace your fury, Kira. A Dragon’s Rage is one of its most potent weapons, remember that.”
He seems to know what he’s talking about, so maybe I should listen, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea to give in to my anger. I’d ask Raya about it, but I already know what she thinks. It’s pretty clear that she doesn’t approve of what I’m doing, so I’ll just need to do it on my own.
I’ll just focus on these preparations first, so asking where to start, I get ready to take off.
“You will find the dark elf in the southeast, she is carving enhancements into the walls to strengthen them, and with your help, the enhancements may even become empowered.”
That’s fine and all, but I’m not in the mood for a scholarly lecture. I just want to do this and go to sleep.
"Before you go, Kira, how much damage have you done to the town?"
"I don't know. I didn't pay attention beyond making sure the rocks hit the buildings."
He grabs his beard and starts stroking it as he thinks, so I'll just leave him to that and find Lily. With a beat of my wings, I'm in the air and heading toward the palisade. Moments later, I find her and land. Watching her be startled by my sudden appearance is amusing, but I'm here to do a job, not to startle people.
She's using a small carving tool for the clay and, with impressive skill, is carving sigils and symbols into the clay wall. Watching her almost makes me wish I had fingers like that, but if it meant giving up my claws, I don't think I could do it.
"This section is ready for your flames, Kira. You can follow it around south until it ends."
She's indicating a series of repeating symbols that tie together to become a larger icon. There's a mix of sharp and soft shapes, creating a weird-feeling larger sigil. Making sure to point away from her, I burn the wall and watch as the clay hardens. I'm not sure why this works, but I can't do the enhancements to daggers and such. I'm sure there's a reason, but either I wasn't told what it is, or I don't know.
That's not my problem anyway, I'm just here for the flames. It's slow going, but I'm making progress. Somehow the clay isn't cracking, and all the sigils are intact as I move further down the wall. I have no idea how long they expect this to take, but it's fortunate that I'm doing so well with magic.
On that note, I push my senses inward and feel for my magic, and it looks like I've spent a fair bit on flying a bunch of rocks around, and now this. This isn't the most comfortable way to spend my time as I'm having a lot of time alone with my thoughts, and I don't need that right now.
I can't tell whether Raya is right to worry about me or if she's just being needlessly worrisome, but I can't get it out of my head... And Wreyn bringing up that my rage is a weapon lends credence to her worry being valid. I don't like that, but I'm not sure I have much of a choice in the matter right now.
I can't exactly turn down potent weapons if a bunch of jerks are attacking me. If anything, the opposite is true, I have to accept whatever I can to win and protect everyone here. I've accepted that duty, so I need to do what I can, even if it means I'll be a little uncomfortable.
The sudden smell of burning wood brings my thoughts back to reality, and as I look around for the source, I see that I've run out of clay wall. I'm just scorching the palisade right now.
Turning around, I go back to Lily to see how far she has gotten, but as far as I can see from the sky, the answer is 'not far.' Given her current pace, she's been here all day, which kinda impresses me. Well, I'll leave her to it and return after some sleep.
Off in the distance, I can see light appearing, so the sun will rise soon. Since I'm a hundred percent sure that I deserve a snooze, I leave the walls in Lily's care and head to my den. As I land, Wreyn speaks up again and I'm getting a little tired of his constant interjections.
"Kira, I do hope you're ready for the siege. I have no doubt we will win, but be prepared for some casualties among the goblins. Neithro is the most skilled defensive caster I know, but he isn't capable of defending everyone."
"What about you? What do you do?"
"Why, I specialize in Destruction! The potency of my spells has earned me the title of Grand Mage! Between Neithro's defensive capabilities and my own offense, we are a team with whom few would pick a fight!"
"So why are we fortifying the town if you can just throw spells from the sky?"
"Hooh... Now that is a delightful plan. We will have to look into that once the scouts return with word of the adventurers approaching. Should you be able to carry Neithro as well, our might will be unrivaled!"
Yeah, he's way too excited about that and I'm regretting bringing it up. Instead of dealing with it, I'm just gonna go into my little home and leave today behind in favor of tomorrow. Or whatever it ends up being when you go to bed as the sun rises.
From the looks of the footprints all over the place, my people have been digging out more clay. It makes sense now that I think about it, but I wasn't planning on expanding my den so soon. On the plus side, I have less work to do when I do want to expand.
Plopping down on my growing hoard, I get comfortable and the coins feel great rubbing against my scales. I don't see Lauren anywhere, so I guess she found somewhere else to sleep. It's fair, I got home late, but I do miss her a little bit.
————————
Waking up the following morning turns out to be a bad move. I’m more exhausted than I’ve ever been, which is very annoying. On top of that ordeal, I can smell and hear people in my den and I’m pretty sure I didn’t suggest a breakfast meeting. Raising my head, I give the gathering a look and see Raya leading the rest, but I’m too tired to pay much attention.
“Kira? Are you okay? You’ve been so aggressive lately, and I’m worried about you.”
She’s not wrong about that. Even now, as I’ve barely woken up, I want to hunt something. There’s something in me pushing me to kill, and I don’t know what to make of it. For the most part, I just want to give in and hunt. It’s a need for destruction and mayhem, and it makes me want to return to Plainshold and find every adventurer so I can kill them and then burn the rest of that place to the ground.
It would be so easy to just scorch their world and watch it burn to the ground, and then I could return to the ashes and take everything they’ve had. And on top of that, it would make it clear what happens when one of those pathetic things offends me.
Geez… That seems a little harsh now that I think about it… Why do I want to hurt them that much? I’ve already dealt with everyone who has done anything so far. On the other claw, I could do it to amuse myself. Watching them all scream and scatter as their world is left in ruins would be fun…
Raya is looking at me with sadness in her eyes, and it’s pretty clear to me what my answer to her question is…
“I don’t think I’m fine, Raya…”
“Lean down, please.”
I do as she requests, and she immediately leaps onto my face and holds on tight. “We’ll figure this out, Kira. You’ve got all of us to help you.”
I have no idea how I’m supposed to fight this growing need. It’s like a pulsating comfort that keeps drawing my attention away from whatever I’m doing. I have no idea what to do with myself, so I just lie down again and enjoy Raya’s hug. It isn’t helping to make this preoccupation with havoc dissipate. Tears rolling down my cheeks make me want to leave and freeze my heart to stop the discomfort, but a gentle hand wipes them away and as I look up, Lauren stands by me with a sad expression.
For a moment, the impulse to kill her returns, but I manage to limit it to a soft growl. She doesn’t even flinch at it, but I’m left with a sense of frustration at the failure of keeping that desire in check. I was doing so well not thinking about killing and eating my friends…
As I push down that unwanted instinct, a tiny hand touches my nose so softly that I barely notice it. Looking past Raya, I see Jeannie standing by me as well.
Even if I turn into a monster, at least I’ll have something to protect…
Lauren’s hand moves from my cheek to my chin as she starts scratching me. She seems deep in thought and very worried. “If you will allow it, I would like to pray for you, Kira. I don’t know what to do to undo the pain we’ve caused you, but it’s possible that my Goddess, Merciferus, does.”
I still don’t know what a goddess is, but this one seems important to Lauren. I doubt she’d do anything to hurt me, so I guess I’ll just allow it. As I shrug and tell her to go ahead, Lauren nods and clasps her hands, softly speaking some words I don’t quite hear.
For whatever reason, I’m getting tired, and everything around me fades away.
"Greetings, Traveler, Dragon. I have been looking for the two of you.“