by M Arienach
He started to reply, then suddenly his face paled and he took a step back.
“So… would you rather talk or be breakfast?” I continued.
Shryke looked over the top of the ship and licked his lips. Suddenly, they were not so defiant. Taking the opportunity, I ported the ship back out to sea and sent a full magma blast to it. The harbor stopped the worst of the tidal wave, but it washed all of them off their feet and sent them into the side of the cliff behind us. A cloud of steam and spray mushroomed up from the doomed ship. A few of them were damaged, one was killed, but there was no defiance left. Then we talked.
The villa used to belong to the old town mayor. King Ralph (you’re kidding, right?) worked for the mayor when he wasn’t out stealing everything in sight. He made some less than reputable contacts and gathered a like minded group (thieves) together and then killed the old mayor in his sleep. By the time the town figured out that happened, they had control.
The army was only a local militia and they went along to keep the peace until the slaves started showing up. Good old Ralph also got in contact with a band of pirates. Which was where his fleet had come from. Ralph let them use the port and built on that. At first, the black sails were kept hidden from the merchants till enough was raided to start serious ship building.
Once they started talking, they didn’t shut up. No they didn’t know about the fate of the other fleet. No they didn’t know what else Ralph had planned. But they did know about the slaves and who was minding them. Mostly pirate crew. So when we went in against the slave pens, we wouldn’t have to pull punches.
Alistor returned with a contingent of guards and the pirates were marched off to see their new lodgings. He brought with him a elf maiden named Rainia.
“Welcome Alistor, are you ready to fly?” I asked as the pirates were led away.
“Greetings Michael. I would introduce you to Rainia, my adviser. Rainia, this is Michael Arienach.”
“Tis a pleasure, milady.” I said with a half bow.
Rainia furrowed her brows for a moment. “Arienach as in the dragon Arienach?”
“Yes milady.”
She fainted.
After she recovered, Darhla knelt down and let her climb up on her neck and slide back so she was just in front of her wings. It seemed that once she was actually on Darhla, she calmed down. With what I knew of our reputation, it must have been terrifying walking up to an adult dragon. She pulled a set of goggles out of her bag and a long scarf. Alistor followed suit.
“Twould seem you came prepared, is this the standard dragon riding outfit?” I jested.
Alistor laughed a bit. “No, but if you are in with a group riding horseback, you learn to protect your eyes.”
“Tis a wise precaution. I think I am going to port to Calalistos then fly up to Dragonhaven so you can see the sights, if you wish.”
“As you wish lord dragon.”
“Michael.”
The elf chuckled. I was starting to wonder if it ran in the race. With us all set, I shifted. I heard a gasp from Rainia, followed by “magnificent”. We took to the sky and I circled to make sure our guest were doing alright, then opened a portal to Calalistos, out over the water.
We flew in over the port and then across the city. Alistor and Rainia were actually waving back at the people who came running out to greet us. I kept a fairly slow pace so that Darhla and Shryke could keep up. Then followed the river up to Dragonhaven. It took just over an hour. I let Darhla and Shryke land first and they let their passengers dismount and then they shifted and moved off the pad. I came next. By the time I landed, Haladoria, Cornal, Dorvus and much to my surprise, Graniel were waiting on us.
“Graniel! Well met. Greetings all.” I smiled in greetings. Graniel grinned but said nothing.
Haladoria came running up and gave me a hug, much to my shock. “Michael, all went well?”
“It went quite well. Let me introduce Lord Alistor of the Estaria clan and his adviser Rainia.”
The dwarves and elves bowed. I noticed the look of shock on Rainia’s face, with Alistor just looking perplexed.
“Lord Alistor, Lady Rainia, this is Haladoria of the Horiel, Graniel her ranger, Dorvus, chief of the Rockheld clan and his second, Cornal.”
“We be greeting you, welcome to the dragon empire.” Dorvus said.
Plans
Alistor turned to me in shock. “I think you might have left something out, Michael.”
“I never finished the story, remember?” I said with a smile. Turning to Haladoria. “By chance is your bard handy? I would rather they hear this from your point of view.”
Haladoria laughed. “You are too practical to describe it as it deserves, Lord Dragon.”
I shook my head. “Michael, milady.”
She leaned over and stage whispered to lady Rainia. “It is so fun to tease him.”
Rainia looked shocked. “You tease him?”
“All the time, it shows we care.” She laughed. “Besides, he is only level 8764.”
Rainia fainted again. She seemed an impressionable young elf.
I had turned off all of my notifications, but at Haladoria’s comment, I opened the status to check. I was up to eleven percent of my next level. Apparently, becoming emperor and being on good relations with the various races added to the experience pool. Who would have thought?
What followed was a tour of the city, followed by a trip to the Dragon Head. Brandy was served, then the bard sang her song… It had been embellished a bit more, but it did a fine job of telling the story from their point of view. She had added in valiant defender after she learned of the black sail fleet and afterward, I saw Rainia going over to talk. Something tells me the ballad will be longer next time.
We made our way back to the building I held court in, but stopped outside to watch the late afternoon sun hit the almost completed dragon carvings on the mountain. It also showcased my lair in the distance, framed by the valley. After the song, it shown in a whole new light.
The next stop was our destination. No one spoke as we made our way back to the audience chamber. I looked at the pretentious throne with a long sigh, then turned to Dorvus.
“I thought you were going to get rid of that thing.” I said, pointing at the chair in question.
“Lad, even if’n ya don’t be liken it, some of the other nobles be expectin it. Give em time ta change. Now be a good dragon, and take yer throne.” He said with a grin.
I rolled my eyes. “Yes Lord Dwarf.”
As we spoke, Darhla and Shryke made an appearance. They walked to the circle and looked at me questioningly.
“Have a seat, you are welcome here.”
Dorvus walked to the center of the room as I took my seat. He had figured out how to activate the projector and the island of Torgos appeared. Our two guests seemed to be entranced. Darhla and Shryke even seemed surprised.
“I were not able to add much ta what ya knew, Michael. Mayhaps you have another ally to the moonward side. They have turned away several that had come from the seaport and the town to the north.”
“The seaport is called Haversten, the town was called Harroina, now Ralphburg.” Alistor supplied. “The moonward side town is call Veirania.”
Glancing up, I asked. “What of the sunward side?”
“Oh, that is another town of scavengers, but these want nothing to do with Ralph. Strange lot, they keep to themselves. Their town is called Dallase.”
I bit back any reaction to the name. “So… five widely spaced cities that have little to do with each other? Seems a strange arraignment.”
“Veirania is another town of our people. They are fishermen and feel more at home on the water, probably an old outpost of the grand fleet who originally explored Haven. We trade with them, but they want little to do with anyone not of their group. Harroina used to be the neutral ground where all met. Now all trade is accomplished by boat and it is mostly smuggling, since the black fleet charges “taxes” on all trades.”
I let
out a deep breath. “So, as long as we are careful, no one would be hurt by removing the current ruler.” I glanced up at Alistor. “Do you have the resources to run Harroina till the people of your land recover?”
He gave me a puzzled look. “I thought you would take it over.”
I smiled. “This is not a conquest, Alistor. Those lands belong to the people who live on them. I am simply trying to remove a sore before it becomes infected.” I paused for a moment. “The only thing I wish from you is good will and free trade.”
He grew quiet as he reviewed what I had said. I looked up and the two dragons were trying to get my attention.
I laughed. “This is not a school, you two. If you have something to say, please say it.”
Shryke looked embarrassed but spoke. “There are three more dragons who wish to visit.”
I must have look puzzled so he continued. “They do not want to approach as they are unsure of their welcome. I encountered them when I was flying one of the nobles back to their keep, moonward.”
“If you wish, bring them here and show them around. Just let them know that they must not cause trouble for the people of the land.”
“Um… I am not sure I should do that, Michael.”
“Why not?”
“One of them is Viennarinia.”
I sighed. “I see. I haven’t felt her visit since I took the title here. Mayhaps I should visit her. Where does she wish to meet?”
“She is off to the moonward side. She questioned us about why we stayed and we told them all of what has happened here. The two with her were dubious, but she seemed… to accept it? We have talked with her several times since we moved here, but I cannot know what she thinks.”
“I suppose hope for the best and plan for the worst.” I looked to Dorvus. “Do you have lairs ready in case they do wish to stay?”
“Aye, we have been steadily expanding out around the ring. There are five more lair groups ready in the inner ring.” He paused then continued. “About that, what do ye intend to do with the land around your lair?”
“I didn’t think it was time yet, but I would like a meeting place, open air, for the dragons and the people of the land. Mayhaps a small city as well, but I cannot think of what should go there. The rest of the land I was thinking of protected farmland in case something were to occur where the outside lands were destroyed.”
Dorvus nodded his head and looked at Haladoria. “What do you think?”
Haladoria smiled, then looked to me with a strange expression. “I think a certain dragon emperor worries about his peoples safety. We should meet with the other nobles to see what could be done.”
I let that pass. “Now as to the problem on Torgos, What are your thoughts?”
Dorvus smiled grimly and walked onto the map, causing it to zoom in on the area around the slave camps. “We do as you suggested. We take Haladoria’s idea of docking the ships we would need to transport the slaves away, till it be safe for them to return. Our two dragon friends can guard them. It will take about a half dozen ships from the count we have, I would say a few over just in case.” He paused then continued. “After they are safely away, I would suggest using the base to our advantage, staging out of it. Other than the remains of the black sails, we have no hard targets, so it will be a matter of holding the area until you take care of the hold up at Harroina.”
“So we are looking at a manhunt once the head is removed.”
“I would say as such, yea. The soldiers will be easy targets and ye may wish to hold off on the villa and let them attack the base, it will give them an objective and keep them from scattering. We thin them down then hit the villa. Once the slaves be out, I would suggest you disappear.”
I raised an eyebrow at that. “Why?”
“If you be there, they will not attack. It will make it look like ye were only after the slaves. Once they are outside the walls, then ye can take em out.”
“I like this. I would get the slaves safe, take out the soldiers that I can, then take the rest of the ships down. That would save the harbor and the shipyards.”
“Ye got the gist of it. Now, I have ready to go, about thirty of my people, a good fifty of the elven rangers, ten fairy scouts and about ten centaur calvary. The centaurs have selected ten elven rangers to act as bowmen from their back, so each would count as two.”
I was impressed by what they had put together, but they would be outnumbered greatly. “So you would stay with the base?”
“Aye. Tis a small force, but the base would give us walls. Knowin you, we won’t be fighten long if at all.” He smiled. “After, we can work our way into the town and start hunting.”
“So we have three teams. Can you get the fairy leader here?”
“Aye, give me a moment.” He walked out of the room.
“What is your thoughts on this, Alistor?”
“I would ask you to give us some time to go down to Harroina and surround it. We can keep the bugs from scattering when you kick over their nest.”
I got up and walked to the map, studying it. “If I were to get your people to say… this point.” Pointing at a shallow valley that was just north of the town. “How long would it take to be in position?”
He came over and smiled. “You have an excellent eye, dragon. I say a matter of hours. If you can get me to Veirania first, we may have a way to keep them contained as well.”
“Transportation is no problem.” I smiled.
“Then, since the mountains are to the sunward side, and the base is against the cliff, we would need but to have them in a line across this area.”
“That leaves the way north open. I think I see…”
“Yes, when you hit the ships, and their quarters there off the dock, they should run. Most of the ones who don’t will be citizens. The ones who scatter will be the ones you be looking for. They should be guided up towards Harroina. Take the villa and you should have the worst of them exposed. Since the people there are not exactly in agreement with the good king, it should be little problem finding the rest of them if they go into hiding.”
I thought about it for a while. “Go ahead and prepare for that plan. I am going to go see the other dragons. Who knows, maybe they will help.”
Dorvus returned a few moments later with a little sparkling flying woman.
“I would like to introduce Tori of the fay.”
“I am honored to meet you Tori of the fay. I am called Michael.”
She giggled. “I know who you are Michael Arienach. Tis a pleasure to meet you as well.”
I smiled. “I have something for you for when we go scavenger hunting.”
“Oooh, presents, I like presents. What’s it do?”
I laughed as I conjured a tiny calling stone. “It will call me if you have any trouble.”
I had made the stone a citrine to go with the color of her hair. I held it out in the palm of my hand and she flew over and landed on my hand, then bent over and picked it up. She smiled and did a little happy dance, which did really impressive things with her anatomy. She was rather well endowed for such a small female.
“Oh, I like it! I will have one of the smiths make a necklace for it! Pretty pretty!”
“That isn’t a bad idea” I said as I conjured a green stone for Haladoria and a brown stone for Dorvus. For Alistor, I conjured a blue and a diamond for Shryke.
I passed out the stones to their respective owners. “I will make a few more for key people.” As I made a few more that were black. “I think the centaurs should have one as well.”
Dorvus looked at his. “I can have these set as rings if’n you folks would follow me.”
I gave him the rest and asked if he could set them as necklaces.
“They will be ready in a few hours. Now go see to the other dragons and let us prepare.”
I bowed slightly. “Yes Lord Dwarf.”
He gave me a look, then busted out laughing. “Ah, ye got me ya big lizard.”
“I am learning.”
More Relatives?
I decided to fly to the meeting with the dragons. I gave me time to think. While we were coming along nicely as a group, things like patrolling the borders and being able to contact each other in case of an emergency… or in case of a curious dragon showing up… about the same thing, actually, would be next on the to do list. I thought back to earth and wondered if the crystals I had been conjuring would be able to be enchanted to work like cell phones. Without the mindless games and such. I let my mind wander those channels until I saw that I was nearing the keep where Shryke said he had ran into them.
Opening my “radar”, I was going to have to figure out another name for it, I spotted them moonward and to the south. It would seem they were nervous about entering any of our claimed lands. I wondered about that. I met them at the border, no fire was exchanged this time.
“Greetings, what may I do for you this day.” I said with a smile.
“Hello Arienach.” Viennarinia said flatly.
I chuckled. “Tis good to see you too, Viennarinia.”
“We wish to come see what you are up to.”
“Up to? I told you before what I was doing.”
“It doesn’t ring true, Arienach. I think you are trying to take over this world.”
“One question,” I said as my smile faded. “If I wanted to take over this world, just what could stop me? I mean seriously.”
The two other dragons looked at each other nervously.
“I would stop you!” Viennarinia exclaimed.
I merely smiled at her. “How?” I waited a few moments, then added. “What level are you?”
She looked pissed. “I am level 3286.”
I chuckled. “Less than I thought. I would work on that a bit if I were you.”
She scoffed, so I added. “Something like maybe five thousand or so, you might be able to put up a fight.”
One of the other dragons asked. “What level?”
I looked at them all. “I am level 8764”
Viennarinia’s wings stopped for a moment before she caught herself. “No way.”
“Yes way.” I paused then continued. “Why do you think I started this project? I am bored out of my mind.”
