As the night continues, the gathering evolves into outright partying, and folks are getting quite rambunctious. It turns out some of the traders play instruments, and as soon as they bring those out, the party is taken to the next level.

Unfortunately for me, any time someone offers me booze, a small battalion of goblins show up to stop them, preventing me from drinking... For a respected Guardian Dragon, I don’t get enough respect, I’m a responsible drinker, I’ve only had a drink once!

As people grow increasingly bold, more and more traders try to sneak me booze, and it soon becomes a game of trying to dodge the small army of goblins corralling them away from me. I’m gonna encourage this nonsense. With a claw, I draw a line on the ground and declare that anyone who manages to cross it and dodge the goblins will be permitted to share a drink with me.

My people look on with some trepidation as the traders cheer and start making plans. Of course, I make sure to emphasize that no violence is allowed. Tara Nenka is quick to act as my translator as she brings people up to date, allowing everyone to participate.

The goblins and traders are quick to split into teams and get ready. In an unexpected turn of events, a few goblins have joined the trade teams. Those little rascals!

“A question, if I may. Well, two, now that I think about it. The first is regarding how I should refer to you. If Great Dragon displeases you, I would need an alternative. And the second, why are the locals so averse to your sharing drink with guests?”

“My name is Kira, calling me Kira is fine. And I may have gotten drunk once before, resulting in some property damage and an eaten table.”

Now she’s looking at me with a raised eyebrow scale bump, I suspect she wants more details, so I just give her the cliff notes in a somewhat truncated way.

“Hah! You ripped the doorFRAME out of my bar, reducing my façade to rubble! All it took was one barrel of ale! Let me tell you, lady, you do not want to own anything near our Guardian Dragon when she dips into the booze. My heart aches when I think of what might happen now that she’s bigger! I tell you, it could be the downfall of our town!”

Geez, it wasn’t that bad. Tara giggles as the passionate and somewhat drunken man yells his grievances. It only gets worse as he continues to list all the things I’ve broken throughout my time here in town, and… it’s a bit of a list... Adding to the unfortunate situation is that the crowd gathering to booze me up has now stopped to listen as the barkeep rants at Tara. A few members of the crowd act as translators, ensuring that everyone hears what he says.

I’m not sure I approve of this. I guess the silver lining is that he also includes my heroics, like beating a mire panther, reducing the predator population in the forest, and fighting off attackers. The barkeep has been taking a swig of his mug after every other sentence, and with the length of his ranting, he’s becoming quite sloshed.

“And now… now she got you bunch of bunches coming, buy our junk and make us rich, y’hear? How’s a Dragon make trade deals anyway? Alls theys got is fire and scales and fire…”

Punctuating his sentence by falling over and passing out, his rant draws to a close and I’m feeling somewhat self-conscious as the crowd focuses on me. I’m really not that bad, guys… I have no idea how to handle this situation, and thoughts of leaving for the night enter my mind.

“Quite the endorsement, Lady Kira. One could almost be envious of those living in a place like this with a lord who does not punish such… honest… speech. Is his story about the mire panther true? Those can be quite fearsome.”

Mentioning how it’s true and that I was much smaller back then, I launch into a rant of my own about the whole event. Making sure to emphasize how heroic I was and how well I fought. Seeing Tara listen to my every word is quite enjoyable, and I might have to become the Mighty Dragon of Storytelling. I’m quite proud of how well I handled that situation given how inexperienced I was.

Granted, it also lends credence to Barkeep’s rant about me breaking things, but it was breaking things in the line of duty, not my fault!

During the distraction, someone snuck through the crowd and as he shouted a cheer past the line I drew, all attention turned to him. My first drink! Moving my head closer to him and opening my mouth, he realizes just what his prize is. He reeks of fear as the crowd cheers him on. With a cautious and shaking hand, he holds out the mug and pours it into my mouth. The taste is amazing.

As he retracts his hand, the crowd bursts into loud cheering and he regains his courage, joining in on the cheering. Feeling generous, I think he deserves a reward for the cocky behavior. Nudging Tara, I ask her to tell him to hop on as I lower my head. As she relays my message, the guy’s mood is quick to change from jovial cheering to anxious nervousness.

Doing as I tell him, he climbs up and holds on tight as I back out of my spot between the caravans. Spreading my wings, I take off and he screams in a mix of fear and excitement. It’s just a quick few flights in a wide circle around town before we return to the caravan, but he can’t stop laughing and screaming. As I settle into my spot again, he almost falls off me, barely able to keep himself upright.

With his feet on the ground again, his friends come to help him on his way as he talks about his new experience.

“Do you intend to offer flights to everyone who manages to cross the line?”

There’s a tinge of excitement in Tara’s voice as she asks, and I’m almost inclined to believe that she is envious, but I let her know that no, I won’t be flying everyone around. It was a one-time thing because I found his antics amusing. Though it’s possible treats may grease the wings in the future.

Tara relays the message to the contestants of the Drunken Dragon Games, and the mood sours for a moment before someone uses the opportunity to attempt what the earlier cheater did, sparking renewed vigor in the two opposing groups.

It doesn’t take long for the defenders to realize they’ll gain an advantage by knocking the mugs out of the hands of the attackers, causing quite a mess as the boozy smell in the area intensifies.

“I wanna play too!”

A familiar voice shouts over the crowd and I spot Raya running to the cleared area with Joras in tow. The duo seems quite curious about the current goings-on and I’m not sure it’s wise to explain it to them. I don’t get much of a vote in the matter as the raised eyebrow of Joras makes it clear that someone is explaining it to them.

With a wry smile, he encourages Raya to join. I suspect I know what his play is here, the sneaky bastard. All of a sudden, the goblins on the attacking team are quick to find other things to do as Raya moves to join the defenders.

Fortunately for Raya, the traders are excited to have a tiny opponent on the defending team, not knowing what kind of beast she is. As the teams get ready and the start of the round is called, it occurs to me that nobody explained the rules to Raya. As evidenced by how she just floored some guy who is now groaning on the ground.

It only took a moment for her to sweep his legs and hammer him in the chest with a palm, incapacitating him. Much to Raya’s chagrin, she receives a penalty call from someone. I didn’t even know that was a thing yet, but both teams seem to agree.

Raya starts bickering about how what she did was fair game as Tara, the scalefolk lady, catches my attention.

“What is she? I am unfamiliar with any goblin subspecies that has that kind of power.”

I’m not about to share any of Raya’s secrets, so I deny knowing anything about what’s going on with her. Tara looks at me with skepticism in her eyes, it’s clear she has her doubts about my claim, but she isn’t pushing the matter, which I appreciate.

Focusing on Raya again, she’s being approached by some kinda large people looking for a fight. As they get a little loud about it, I let out a low growl, marking my disapproval of their antics. Watching them back down, Raya interjects with a demand for combat, challenging the battle-hungry adventurers.

All of a sudden, this has gone from friendly sports to martial arts… Someone is quick to step up and challenge Raya. He’s wearing chain mail and carrying a sword alongside a sturdy wooden shield rimmed with a delicious-smelling metal band. I’m not sure what to think about this, that seems dangerous…

Pointing out how dangerous it is, I make sure to suggest training weapons to reduce personal injury, but to my surprise, Raya is the one to blow me off.

“Don’t worry, Kira! I can take him.”

The way she smiles as she says it makes the challenger nervous. She seems very sure of herself, but all she’s wearing is her usual leather vest and cloth shirt and pants with a pair of leather boots. Not much in terms of defense against a sword.

Tapping his sword against his shield a few times, he lets loose a roar as he charges at Raya. In turn, she throws a fire bolt his way, which he barely blocks, but it’s enough to stop his charge. The crowd cheers at the unexpected counterattack.

Composing himself, he lunges at her, swinging his sword low, he aims for Raya’s midsection, but she jumps over the blade and kicks at his face. Barely dodging the foot flying his way, he brings up his shield just in time to block another fire bolt.

The force of the attack manages to knock him off balance as it launches Raya in the opposite direction, creating space between the two combatants. Landing on her feet, Raya is quick to launch yet another magical attack, forcing the shield guy to take a defensive stance.

Fire bolts batter his shield as he struggles to keep up with the continuous attack, leaving Raya to do whatever she wants as long as she can keep the fire bolts flying, which does not appear to be much of a problem. How the heck does that little rascal have that much power?!

This whole situation seems dangerous! All it takes is one stray fire bolt and we’ll have a wounded spectator.

With the continuous assault of fire bolts, the guy’s shield falters as splinters start flying around. Abandoning his defensive position, he once again charges at Raya, prepared to strike her down. With remarkable agility, he dodges the incoming fire bolts, as the crowd behind him ducks for cover. As far as I can tell, nobody has gotten hit by the strays.

Closing the distance in a mere moment, he swings his sword at her and as she dodges, a knife appears in his shield hand, aimed directly at her chest. Twisting her body, the knife scrapes along something hard and slides away, leaving her opponent confused and off-balance. Kicking his legs out from under him, she forces him to the ground and grips his wrist, her sharp nails digging into his flesh, drawing blood as she pulls his arm into a hammerlock.

“E siresse! [I surrender!]”

The crowd is annoyingly quiet at her victory, so I’ll cheer her on in its place!

“Well done, Raya! Congratulations on your victory, that was impressive!”

Letting the guy go, Raya stands victorious, oozing with pride as the contender slinks away, mourning his lost shield. Raya calls for the next combatant as murmurs erupt from the crowd, but nobody comes forward. I think she might have overdone it.

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“Lady Kira, how is that possible? Although Morgan may not be the best, he certainly is strong.”

Well, I’m sensing some doubt about Raya’s awesomeness here, and I don’t think that’s fair, she fought very well and deserves some praise.

This Morgan guy is the first to approach her as he rubs his bleeding arm. Knowing that adventurer types are unpredictable, I stand up, getting ready to interfere if he tries anything. A smile spreads across his face as he grabs her arm and holds it up.

“Berci essosawa! Yufili, er dornos! [She won! Cheer, you idiots!]”

Moments after his shouting, the crowd catches on to Raya’s awesomeness and starts cheering. It’s about time, too. Showing off her sharp teeth in the widest grin I’ve ever seen on her, she jumps up and down, soaking in the praise.

It doesn’t look like there will be any more bouts of combat coming as people start focusing on talking and drinking again, seemingly having forgotten the earlier games. An unfortunate consequence of that is the decreased likelihood of me getting more ale, but seeing my friend so happy more than makes up for it.

Off in the distance, the morning sun brightens the sky. The trading party has been going on for the entire night, and looking around, I see some folks who have fallen asleep in the street and other places with thinning crowds. This looks like an excellent opportunity to check in on Lauren.

Firing off a quick mental message asking how she is, the responding emotions feel frustrated and exhausted. I wish I could tell whether that’s because she just woke up, or that she has reached Plainshold and nobody listens to her.

Keeping a part of my mind focused on feeling Lauren, I take my leave from the gathering and head for my den. I deserve a snooze, I’ve done a bunch of networking today, and while it has been quite fun, it has also been quite draining in ways I wasn’t prepared for.

Reaching my den, I head down and spot Jeannie and the forest lady staring at me. I’m certain they were chatting before I arrived, so I’ll assume that she’s settling in. Lying down on my hoard, I settle in as well as Jeannie starts talking again. The sounds of their conversation becoming gentle noise for me to fall asleep to.

The giggling draws my attention, though, and as I open an eye to look at them, they’re quick to look away with a very guilty appearance… That’s suspicious... Focusing my attention on Jeannie, I make a gentle demand to know what they’re laughing at and how it connects to me.

“Uhm… We were talking about first impressions and… how you’re not very good at them…”

The last words are barely more than a whisper, but she’s not wrong…

“I’ll have you know that I’ve made a great first impression on these traders, and they feel quite welcome, so there, Jeannie! Consider yourself proven wrong!”

“And before that?”

Okay, now she’s getting bold. I’m gonna go ahead and just huff and ignore her.

“E wara nura snakk pi berci soka nuia? [You can just talk to her like that?]”

“Berci ufzis henzi, odei berci ti sarari, Tiffy. [She looks scary, but she is kind, Tiffy.]”

Have these two been here all day? They need to remember to get outside and find some food. Changing my focus back to this whole sleep thing, I leave the gabbing duo to their business and let sleep take me.

————————

Some uncountable time later, the wafting scents of cooking spices wake me. Looking around my den, I don’t see Jeannie or the forest lady at all, so they must have left. I think I’ll follow suit and figure out where this delicious smell is coming from.

Leaving my den, the first thing that comes to my attention is that I really need to widen that entrance, because having my wings scrape the top of the tunnel is getting annoying. The second thing to catch my attention is the large bonfire in the middle of the square. For some reason, it has been built like a thin oval with grill spits lined all along the side as some sort of sideways barbecue.

For some reason, my arrival elicits a bunch of laughs and groans as money starts changing… hands… They freakin’ bet on whether the smell would attract me or not! I’m not that predictable, dang it! I deserve a treat to soothe my delicate emotions. Chomping down on the nearest roasting animal, I chew a few times and swallow the delicious meal.

Judging by the sun’s position, I’d say it’s just past midday, and I haven’t felt from Lauren for some time, making me a little nervous for her. Throwing a ping her way, I wait for a response. After a few moments of not getting a response, thoughts of what might be going on with her flood my mind, giving me a general sense of unease. It’s possible that she just isn’t in range of whatever our mind thing is, but I want to make sure.

Moving away from the crowd, I reconsider taking flight. The gust of wind might affect the bonfire, and I wouldn’t want people to get hurt because of that. Moving further away from the area, I find a nice spot I think is safe as I take off, setting course for Plainshold. Flying over the gathering, I think it’s safe to assume that I haven’t lit anyone on fire by spreading the flames of the bonfire.

As I get closer, nervous thoughts manage to wind me up. Sending more pings for Lauren doesn’t yield any results, leaving me to wonder what might be stopping her from responding. Speeding up as I push magic into my wings, I find myself hoping that it’s just Lauren being difficult or a range limitation or something, but I can tell that my body is preparing for combat as my muscles tighten and my magic starts flowing without me needing to command it.

In the distance, Plainshold comes into view, the charred remains of the Lord's manor sitting as a reminder of what I can do. As my flight continues, my blood takes on a fiery sensation. Thoughts of what I’ll do to those who might have harmed my Lauren fill my mind and the word ‘Glass’ is central to them.

“Lauren! Answer me! I need to know you’re safe!”

A mental scream of pain slams into my mind, causing my body to react by strengthening itself. Watching the walls of Plainshold, I see a line of soldiers standing ready as another mental scream hits me.

Fury builds to an almost uncontrollable degree as an urge to let loose fills me. In my mind, I can tell that both aspects of who I am agree that the lives of these pathetic fleas need to be snuffed out.

As I approach, a volley of spells and arrows flies my way. Performing a roll, I manage to evade most of the projectiles, but not enough. Arrows pelt my scales, a few manage to penetrate, lodging themselves in my flesh.

Spells of fire, ice, and rock hurl toward me in the wake of the volley of arrows. Their slower speed makes them easier to dodge. The icy spells, in particular, appear dangerous to me, as they take the shape of large spikes, spinning through the air like bullets.

I really wouldn’t mind having Cranky here to block these damnable things.

Changing course and giving these asshats some space, the volleys cease and I get a moment to consider how to approach this situation. I consider going for a rocky assault again, but another mental scream from Lauren pushes me toward quicker action rather than taking my time to collect ammunition.

I need to get to her. Steeling my mind for a wave of pain, I push magic into my wounds to force myself to recover from the damage I’ve suffered so far. Arrows fall away from my body as I soar out of the range of the assailants.

It’s pretty clear to me which path Plainshold has taken in the wake of my last visit. I think this might be a good time to let loose the dragon side of me…

Flying in a large circle around the town, I see some weak spots with significantly fewer people guarding them, but I can’t shake the feeling that something will be waiting for me if I take the easier-looking path.

I need to stop them from shooting me, but I don’t have anything to hide behind. The sun is too bright, and the land is too open. I hate it! Just let me save Lauren!

As my focus returns to my friend in need, another scream hits me, and my thoughts wander back to how much she has yelled at me, the pain she let loose back then, and I think it might be time to become the hellspawned horror she claimed I could be.

Changing course, I fly back toward the main gate, but this time, I spew flames as I do, lighting everything around me on fire. The crops and vegetation unleash clouds of black and white smoke, creating a cover for me to get closer to the wall as my enemies fail to locate me. The fires burn brightly as I continue fanning them.

As the hellscape of flame-soaked lands closes in on the town, I fly away to prepare for my next attack. With some distance between the town and me, I turn around and take a look at what I’ve created. The wind is mild today, allowing the smoke to settle over the town, no doubt creating some problems on its own, but that isn’t the point here.

With a beat of my wings, I aim straight for the ramparts and accelerate. Pushing for speeds they won’t be able to retaliate against, I unleash my flames toward them as I hit the smokescreen, bathing a large section of the ramparts in Dragonflame before they have a chance to realize what's going on.

To prevent a counterattack, I change course to fly straight up out of their range and, in a large vertical circle, I return to my starting line, readying myself for another attack. I don’t know how many I managed to harm, but the screams indicated that the folly of their little scheme became clear in an instant.

On my flight upwards, I could see that the town inside the walls have now caught fire as well. What the hell did these people expect would happen against a dragon?

Repeating my attack on another section of the wall, more of the town catches fire, but this time, there are no screams. I don’t know what actions they’ve taken, but from what I can tell, they’ve abandoned the walls. Soaring over the town, I unleash a roar and make my demands clear.

“Release my Lauren, or all you will know is ash as my vengeance burns your world away!”

In response to my very reasonable request, I feel another mental scream from Lauren, inflaming my fury. As far as I’m concerned, this entire town has volunteered to become a testament to why I should not be antagonized.

Flying over the town, I spot a few faces from the wall, and when I do, I greet them with my warm embrace as I soak the streets in Dragonflame. As far as I can tell, they’ve abandoned all offense in favor of running. I don’t particularly care if some manage to get away, but I do need to restrain myself and catch some prey so I can get them to show me where Lauren is.

I can tell that Lauren is drawing on my power to heal herself, but I can’t tell from which direction she’s doing it.

With most of the town on fire, I spot a group of six people at the town square. Based on their stance, they’re looking for me to drop down and challenge them. And, well, they’re about to be half-right. With some speed, I take aim and fly low toward them, readying myself for my classic tail whip.

Reaching the appropriate distance and accounting for my new size, I pivot and dig my claws into the cobbled street, stones and rocks flying up around us. The group has to shield themselves from the debris as my tail swings around. The sound of a loud impact shakes the area as my tail connects with a barrier. I manage to shatter it, leaving the caster clutching his head as he falls to the ground.

I hadn’t expected a barrier strong enough to stop all my momentum, and now my tail hurts. Turning to face the group, I ready myself for their incoming attack, and as they take up fighting stances, I unleash more flames.

They’re quick to jump aside, leaving the barrier guy to fend for himself as his world suddenly brightens. Looking at the last five, I’ve got two people with melee weapons, a woman with a two-handed maul, and a guy carrying a couple of axes. To the other side, there’s a caster of some sort that I’ll need to pay extra attention to, and finally a guy carrying a shield large enough to cover his entire body. That’s… not five. There were six and I’ve ended one, where’s the last person?!

Great, now I have to keep an eye out for some stupid, sneaky person…

The caster mutters some words and a flash of light soaks the maul lady, healing her wounds. Someone just made themselves the top priority. Tower Shield makes a move to stand in front of me, blocking my view of the Healer. Axes and Maul are quick to use the opportunity to move to either side of me.

I’m feeling somewhat surrounded here…

Unleashing a plume of fire at Healer, Tower Shield rushes to stand in the way, splitting my flame. Using this opportunity, Axes lunges at my arm, managing to lodge one axe in my shoulder. As I pull away from him, I feel a blow to my thigh as Maul strikes, the hit making my leg go numb. Looks like I can’t go straight for the Healer…

Well, there are other ways to prevent healing. Whipping my head around, I bite at Maul, feeling Axes trying to pull his weapon from my shoulder, but it’s lodged in good. The tightening of my muscles keeps it from coming loose, leaving the guy one weapon down.

Maul runs away as I chase after her, Axes running behind us, clearly forgetting one of the rules of fighting dragons. Don’t stand in front or behind. Whipping my tail at him, a scream indicates that I’ve connected, leaving him a bloody mess on the ground. The Healer is quick to get to work, leaving Tower Shield and Maul to fend for themselves.

If she hadn’t hit me as well as she did, I’d have caught her by now…

Pivoting, I leave Maul to run as I turn to face Axes, the Healer is working their magic, but I’m too close for them to have time to finish up. Launching myself at the duo, I disregard Maul and Tower Shield as I reach Axes and Healer. The Healer screams and scurries away, and I get to work. Biting down on the wounded man, I start eating him. The flesh of an enemy is addictive, and before I know it, he’s all gone.

I hear the sound of someone throwing up behind me as the smell of bile fills the air. This is what you signed up for, morons!

It turns out the person who threw up was Tower Shield and now he’s barking orders at the other two, but I’m curious... Just how strong is he, and can he withstand a direct assault from me?

I’m getting tired of limping, so I push magic into my thigh and recover the damage done to my muscles. Pain floods my mind, fueling my fury as I lunge at Tower Shield, forcing him to the ground as he continues to protect his body with the massive plate of metal.

“Qorum! Unma ereffis! [Run! Save yourselves!]”

Whatever he shouted, it caused Maul to lunge at me again. I’ll deal with her in a moment, for now, I place a claw in the middle of his shield and focus my weight on it. The tip of my claw digs into the shield, and as I push magic into my natural weapons, I penetrate his defenses, my claw entering his guts.

“Qorum!”

He manages to gurgle out another command as I rip away his shield, taking a chunk of his intestines with it.

The clang of metal sounds behind me, and as I turn around, I spot Maul having dropped her weapon as she falls to her knees, crawling toward Tower Shield with tears and snot covering her face.

She doesn’t seem to care about my presence as she pulls the barely alive Tower Shield into her embrace.

“E Saric er... [I love you...]”

I don’t particularly care about their little reunion, so I push Maul aside and demand to know where Lauren is. Placing my hand on her, covering her chest, I focus a little weight on her as I feel the snap of her ribs.

“Where is Lauren?!”

The fear in her eyes is enough to tell me that she doesn’t know. I’m confident that this fight is over, but I still need to find my Lauren. And I don’t particularly feel like risking retaliation from this group... Bringing my jaws to one of Maul’s legs, I bite it off, leaving a stump for the screaming woman to deal with in the future, but she might survive and tell others not to fuck with me.

The smell of piss and fear behind me lets me know that Healer is still around, so feeling generous, I leave the trio with a chance to survive as I go search for Lauren in the fiery remains of this shitty town.