by Simon Archer
“Do not think us bested because you outnumber us,” the club-wielder said as he pulled his club away from my neck.
The tension was palpable as silence fell over the Mexican, er, Etrian stand-off, and that’s when I intervened.
“Hold up, hold up!” I said before this escalated to a fight right at the edge of a cliff. As much as I felt we could handle two draconians in normal conditions, facing two flying opponents next to a cliff was a recipe for disaster. Plus, we needed to get on their good side. “We surrender.”
I could feel the eyes of the whole group upon me, including the draconians, in absolute disbelief at what I just said.
“You would forgo a glorious death?” the green one asked.
“Pitiful outlander,” the blue one added. “No honor amongst the fuzzy.”
“My dear boy, this is a no-brainer,” Reggie said. “I could kill both of these cretins in a tea’s sip, and we could search for the tribe unfettered.”
“As great as that sounds,” I said, conveying the idea of ‘use your head!’ with my eyes to Reggie, “we should check on your friend, first, the one thrown by the yeti. Then you can take us to your leader so we can discuss business.”
“We will discuss nothing,” the green one decreed. “You will relinquish your weapons. When you have done so, we will take you to our leader so he may decide your fate.”
“Expect no mercy,” the blue one added. “You have desecrated sacred ground, interrupted a sacred rite, and have threatened fellow scale-brothers. Your punishment will be a painful exacting of every debt of blood you have accrued.”
“You can take everything but the Brand,” I said as I gave my ultimatum.
“You are in no position to barg--” the blue one started before I reversed the pin that they had on me. Even with the added pressure of Amalthea and Reggie, I easily slipped out from underneath everyone. It was all a matter of leverage and the draconians’ lack of attention. As I threw the blue one to the ground, I placed a boot on one wing, my knee pinning his sword arm and the other wing. The wrist of his free hand wouldn’t leave mine as I pressed the Brand of Freedom’s rod against his throat and heated it up.
“Everything but the Brand,” I repeated. “Are we clear?”
The green draconian probably would have protested, had Amalthea not doubled down on laying her weight on him, his wings flapping hopelessly against the ground as he struggled to move.
“Yes,” the blue one managed to squeeze out of his crushed windpipe.
I released him from my hold as he rubbed his neck, a black mark left from the heated metal against his scaly flesh. Even a draconian’s scales aren’t immune to a Brand’s searing burn. Amalthea took her paw off of the green one as he took a breath, peeling himself from the ground.
“Go find your friend,” I told the draconians. “And maybe a few more. We’ll be setting up a pile of our things for when you get back. Except for the Brand, of course.”
The green draconian stared at us with a look of disdain before soaring into the air towards where the black one was thrown. The blue one stayed to watch as Reggie and Petra started taking bags off of Amalthea to put into a pile. I unstrapped the sword from my back and handed it to the blue one who awkwardly took it from me, unsure of how to react to the situation.
Shikun finally stepped out from the cave and brandished the silver flames of her wings. She quietly walked over to my side as the blue draconian’s jaw dropped in amazement.
“Her wings gleam with ethereal fire,” he said as the flames burned in his eyes. He snorted at them like he was purposefully shooting his snot at it. “How can this be?”
“We’ll be getting to that,” I said to him. “Your leaders and I have much to discuss and not a lot of time to do so.”
25
A year ago, if you had told me I was going to be taking a dryad, a dragon lady, and a literal sphinx across a mountain range to find some more dragon people to help us fight some anthropomorphic bees and save a parallel mythical world from arcane evil, I’d have jokingly asked for a hit of what you were smoking. But, here I was, about to get myself embroiled in draconian tribal politics for an edge against the anthophilans.
The two draconians grumbled to each other, whispering about Shikun’s wings. The Wingless thing maybe is a bit more serious than we thought. Once they stopped their secret conversation, the green draconian made his way to look for the black one. He had fortunately caught himself midair and found a safe place to rest, so it didn’t take long for them to come back to us. Black, Blue, and Green, my own personal names for the draconian trio, took our weapons as agreed, but left me my Brand as Blue went to find more reinforcements. Apparently, just our word that we weren’t going to run off, and that we were literally looking for them wasn’t enough assurance.
We stood out in the cold, all of us with our hands up like we were being arrested. In a sense, we were. That didn’t make the silent moment we found ourselves in any less awkward.
“So,” I said, trying to break the tension, “What do we call the two of you?”
“Our names are a privilege for friends and family, of which you are neither,” Blue said, refusing to be friendly or familial.
“Know your place, outlander,” Black said, waving his weapon as he talked. “Disrespect is not taken kindly. You’re not welcome here.”
I guess we were sticking with the color names, then.
“May we at least stay in the cave?” I asked our captors, “It’s freezing out here. No point in all of us suffering while we wait.”
“It also means we won’t be leaving so easily with only one egress,” Reginald pointed out. “Tactically more secure for our containment.”
The black and blue draconians grunted as they looked at each other. After a moment, they waved their weapons, directing us inside the cave. Our fire was still going, so we all decided to sit around it as our draconian guards stood by the entrance, standing tall with their chests puffed out. You know, really pushing for the whole ‘intimidating and brooding’ thing. It was cute.
“And before you get any ideas…” Black walked over to the fire, stomping directly on it with his clawed foot to stifle the flames. He let his foot sit there as it simmered a bit before pulling it off, leaving only some smoldering embers. “You’re not leaving here unless we tell you to.”
“That was dramatically rude, sir.” Reginald bent down with cupped hands to try to reignite the flames with his breath, but with no real success. The black draconian only chuckled to himself as he walked back to the entrance of the cave with Blue.
“Look, we’re not trying to cause trouble, alright?” I said, standing back up. “We really just want to talk to whoever’s in charge and get some help. Honestly, This’ll be quicker for everyone if you just show us the way.”
“You will do as we say, and nothing more, outlander,” Black said, pointing a claw at me. “We will decide if you are trouble or not.”
“Besides, the information would not serve you,” Blue said, arms crossed. “There are no grounded paths to our home, and without the knowledge of the wind paths through these mountains, you will be stuck upon the mountainside by the storm.”
“That is good to know, thank you.” I knew it had been a good idea to hoof it. Even the draconians needed help flying through those storms, and they lived here. The big problem was that these draconians were proving tough to negotiate with. I decided to see if I could find any chains on them I could exploit.
As I focused on them, I saw all of the beautiful links coming off of them. A silver link tied the two draconians together, but the rest rose through the cave ceiling. If I followed them, I could probably find their campsite in the mountains myself. But, for the sake of keeping on the best side of them I could, I would have to follow their lead for now.
One set of chains stood out from the others. While I saw the standard gold, silver, and a few iron, these were bronze. Not only that, they were wrapped around the chests of the draconians in an ‘X’ p
attern. The links only formed around itself on their chests and didn’t connect to any place or thing around them, not even the other draconians.
“Those are the chains of conviction,” Libritas explained before I had to ask. “They represent the morals and principles of the person, the code by which they guide their lives and restrict their selfish ambitions.”
“We’ve seen other honorable people before. Why haven’t the bronze chains shown up on them?”
“Your powers are growing the longer you are wielding me,” she answered, “and these chains are not upon everyone. A person with strong beliefs that they do not sway from often has these chains upon them. They bind their identity to themselves. I would not suggest we try to break them. Such people can prove to be dangerous when suddenly uninhibited.”
“So honor’s a big thing with these guys, I see,” I sent back to the Brand. “That can work in our favor. I have a feeling about how we’re going to win these guys over.”
“What are you looking at, outlander?” Black stepped forward, neck stretched out towards me. Another intimidation tactic. “Do you wish to fight?”
Maybe I didn’t, but he definitely wanted to.
“I’m just getting a read on you guys,” I said, crouching back down. “Trying to figure out if you’re worth the trouble.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?” Blue stepped into the conversation. “It is not we who need evaluation.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know, we’re outlanders, we’re trespassing.” I shrugged. “Once we get to your home, we’ll get that sorted out.”
“I would not be so sure about that, outlander,” Black said, looking back at Shikun. “I question what curse has been put upon your fellow draconian to give her wings of fire. What has happened to her? It can’t be anything but dark magics.”
“Nothing that concerns you,” I said, standing back up and setting Libritas down. Just as I got comfortable, they had to go and start badmouthing one of my girls. “Our business is between me and your leader. She can stay out of it.”
“Then why did you bring her?” Black kept pushing the point. “If she is what I think she is, I’m surprised that you made it here in the first place, having to drag her along.” He took a few steps towards Shikun. “It’s blatantly obvious that these wings are not natural to her. Why would she need them?”
Shikun retreated by Amalthea’s side as Black continued walking towards her.
“I’m only going to say this once,” I said, stepping in front of the black dragon man. “Back off, or I break a bone. I am trying my damnedest to keep things peaceful, so let’s not do anything stupid.”
Black let out a laugh. “You think you could even make the attempt?” he said, bringing his face close to mine. “Do not make such ridiculous threats lightly.” I could smell raw flesh on his sour breath.
“I don’t threaten,” I said, keeping my eyes locked to his. “This is simple cause and effect. You have a problem with my people, you take it up with me. You try to go around me, I get angry. You harass one of mine, I respond.”
I hated getting into pissing contests like this, but like I’ve said before, you don’t get to mess with my girls.
“I don’t take orders from outlanders,” he said, trying to push past me and snarling at Shikun. “And I especially don’t listen to those who associate with--”
I didn’t give him any more time to talk. Before he could get out another word, I had his wrist in my hand. With my other hand, I twisted him around his own arm until it was stretched behind and above him. His wing was a bit strange to work around, but I ducked underneath it without too much trouble. I pushed my hand through his elbow, bending his arm in the opposite direction until it snapped. My point made, I pushed him away.
I thought that’d be harder. Draconian bones were supposed to be tough, like Shikun’s. Was Shikun more powerful than the rest of these guys? I was beginning to think so. It would explain why she was picked by the Weaver at such a young age instead of a battle-hardened warrior.
The black draconian let out a pained scream as he writhed, holding his useless forearm. Blue rushed to his side as I took a step back.
“Damn you, you dirty outlander!” Black tried to keep his arm in a normal place. “You will die for that!”
“I warned you,” I said, keeping my hands up. I had escalated the situation more than I’d wanted to, but I couldn’t just let that asshole walk over Shikun for the sake of diplomacy.
“Enough!” Blue shouted at both of us. “You will answer to our leader, outlander. That I promise you.” Black continued to shout pained screams as he held his arm, falling back to the mouth of the cave. Blue retreated there as well, as they both stood watch yet again.
“I can heal that for you, draconian,” Amalthea said from behind the smoldering remains of the fire Reggie tried to resuscitate. “It would take but a moment.”
“She does good work if I do say so myself.” Reggie stopped his futile attempts at rebuilding the fire to show off his previously healed hand. “You can’t even tell that I shattered it in five different places!”
“You outlanders have done enough,” Blue said, unmoving, to which Black added, “Keep your dirty magic away from me.”
“Suit yourself.” Amalthea lay back down by the ash pit and pretended to fall asleep. As the draconians rested on the side of the cave’s mouth and let their guards down a little, one of Amalthea’s eyes opened. The Khalati Record runes shined in her iris as she slowly brought a paw forward. Upon the tip of her outstretched claw, a small ball of light shone upon it. The sphinx let out a quick breath, and the ball flew over to the black draconian, absorbed by his broken joint. The pained look on the draconian’s face melted away as he bent his fingers, moving his hand in circles. He grumbled as soon as he realized what had happened.
“What did I tell you, witch?” He stomped toward her, “You keep your curses away from me or I’ll --”
“You’ll what, now?” I said, stepping in front of him once again. “Are we doing this dance again?”
As the dark dragon-man roared, he raised his fist to slug me. Ironically, it was the same arm I just broke. Before he could connect, Blue grabbed him by the wrist.
“They will be punished in due time, brother,” Blue told him. “While I share your sentiment, to do this here and now would be dishonorable.”
The black one snarled again, then wrested his hand from the blue one’s grasp. He took a few steps back and leaned against the cave wall again. As he looked away, I could hear him pouting in deliberate breaths.
“Do not grow foolish, outlander.” Blue looked at me. “I doubt you could handle two of us so easily.” He went to lean back against the opposing cave wall.
Not the best first impression that I wanted, but it was unavoidable. With tough guys like these, negotiations had to be made from a place of strength. You can’t look like a pushover, or they’ll walk all over you. Plus, that guy was insulting Shikun. Suggesting that she’s weak because she had different wings than the others. That won’t slide with me, not with the pain and torture she had endured under the Weaver. I nodded to myself as I went to sit down with the others.
“I didn’t know you could heal from a range, Amalthea,” I whispered over to her. “That’s great.”
“I’ve been working on the necessary formula during our travels.” She purred in satisfaction. “I wish to be more helpful to our clan in any way possible.”
“If you’re any more helpful, then I’ll become redundant,” Reggie said, finally giving up on rekindling the fire. “They already took my gun. Now I’m dreadfully outmatched by these dragon warriors.”
“With any luck, we won’t have to fight any more of them than we have to,” I said to them. “We didn’t come here to challenge them. We came to ask for their help.”
“They really seem like the helpful type,” Petra said sarcastically. “Look at their trustworthy attitudes and willingness to see reason.”
That’s when I noticed t
hat Shikun had burrowed herself into a corner of the cave, wrapping her wings around her. She was being quiet, even for her. I could easily guess why, and that black draconian was not helping, but for the sake of diplomacy, I wasn’t going to bash his head in. Still, I wasn’t going to let her suffer if I could ease her pain any.
She was fully capable of taking on any of these guys by herself. I just proved that when I snapped a regular draconian’s arm like a twig when I would need a jackhammer to break hers. But she still wasn’t standing up for herself. Until she put her foot down, I’d have to keep coming in to save her when she didn’t really need it. She only needed some confidence in herself.
With that in mind, I pushed myself back to my feet.
“Don’t let that guy get to you, Shikun,” I said, walking over to her. “He’s an asshole. Like all assholes, they’re prone to saying stupid things from time to time.”
“I shouldn’t have come,” Shikun whispered. “They don’t want me here. Why did you bring me?” She couldn’t stop the tears running down her cheeks.
“Because you’re a part of this family,” I said, sitting next to her. “You don’t have to be ashamed of who you are or what’s happened. Once you’ve knocked some reason into these guys, they’ll see that, too.” I hugged her by the side as she rested upon my neck.
She raised a fair point, though. These draconians had a lot of prejudices that we may not have had the time to iron out before the next drone attack. We’d have to win their loyalty over in a rush landslide if we had any chance of everyone surviving.
I just hoped we could make it in time.
26
Finally, the reinforcements Green went off to get had arrived, and we were ready to head off to the draconian camp. Draconians came in all flavors of colors, it seemed, from the most intense of neons to the lightest of pinks. Each of us got our own personal draconian escort to carry us as well as our own irons, while Amalthea had four escorts and two sets of irons for all her paws. While I suspected one draconian was enough to lift her, the others were there to help get her off the ground.
