Alexander mounted the cat next, sitting on his back behind his shoulders. Jules gave Tigger a scratch behind the ears and stared into his eyes for a moment. Laughing, she stepped back and leapt aboard behind Alexander. “Tigger says we should go slow so as not to disturb the little smelly one’s nap.”
Following his own suggestion, Tigger turned and headed out the southern gate. He immediately turned right and began to trot at a sedate pace to the west. Fibble, snoring softly while nestled in the tiger’s thick fur, unconsciously gripped a handful and pushed his face deeper between Tigger’s shoulders.
It wasn’t far to the western tower and the big cat’s loping pace got them there in half an hour. As they approached, a shadowy blur flew at them from a nearby cluster of shrubs. All three passengers were knocked off of Tigger’s back as Jules called out, “Nooo, wait!”
Fibble screamed as he was rudely awakened after hitting the ground and having a giant cat grab him gently in its jaws and toss him in the air. Arms and legs flailing, he shouted for help. “Help! ’Zander! Jules!”
Jules scolded the kitten as it caught the little goblin between its paws. It set him on the ground, then lowered itself onto its belly, butt wiggling as if about to pounce. Fibble spluttered and scrambled to his feet. His wand was out and pointing toward the kitten when Alexander called out, “Fibble! It’s one of the kittens. He is just playing with you.”
Fibble fired his wand at the kitten. “Pew!” He then stomped toward it, his underbite jutting out more than usual. “Kitty sneak attack? Fibble sneak attack!” He leapt toward the kitten’s head, grabbing hold of its face with both arms and legs as it sprang into the air in alarm. When it shook the little goblin loose, the two of them rolled around on the forest floor for a minute or two before Jules called them to her.
“Come here, both of you!” she mock scolded the combatants. Fibble got to his feet and watched the kitten over his shoulder as he walked toward Jules. The kitten lay on its back for a while, paws waving in the air as if still fighting the goblin. Then it abruptly rolled over and joined Jules in a single leap. She scratched under its chin and whispered in its ear for a bit and it calmed down. A rumbling purr erupted from its chest.
She pulled a rabbit carcass from her bag and handed it over to the kitten, who made it disappear in two large bites. “We came to visit your family. Are they at the tower?” she asked the kitten, gazing into its eyes. It gave a sort of half-growl and moved behind her. It jammed its head between her knees, then lifted, causing her to fall backward onto its shoulders. A quick adjustment and she was riding it just as she would Tigger. It bounded off into the woods. Alexander grabbed Fibble just as Tigger jumped into the brush in pursuit. He let out a mighty roar to announce their approach as he followed the kitten towards its home.
The matriarch greeted them near the door of the tower. Jules hopped down off the kitten’s back and ran to hug the giant black cat. Two seconds later, she let go of the matriarch’s neck and gasped, “You’re pregnant again!”
The mother rubbed her head against Jules’ belly and stared into her eyes. Jules blushed, then laughed. “No, I won’t be having my own litter soon.” Alexander chuckled at her embarrassment.
He called out, “I keep trying, Your Highness. But Jules just won’t have me. I’m not a good enough mate, it seems.” Then he ducked as a dagger flew past his head.
The matriarch seemed to be laughing, her mouth open and teeth bared as she made a coughing sound. Jules pouted for a moment, then caved and hugged the big cat again. The kitten approached, nudging Jules from behind. It let out an inquisitive, “mrowr?” and headbutted her gently. She turned and froze as she met his eyes.
A moment later, she looked at Alexander. “He… just bonded with me!” she called out as she absently scratched his face. Tigger moved closer and chuffed at the three of them, giving the young one a slight swat on the head. Jules laughed. “Tigger just told my kitten that I will always have tasty bacon in the mornings.”
“He’s right about that. But I wish him good luck getting any of it away from you.”
They stayed and visited for a few more minutes. Jules inquired about the other kittens and was told they were off hunting with their father. When it came time to leave, the matriarch growled at her offspring and gently bumped his head with her own. Then she pushed him toward Jules and turned to walk back into the tower.
Jules hopped aboard the kitten and Tigger led the way with Alexander and Fibble on his own back. When they reached the garrison tower, they checked in with Bodine and Regina. They agreed to hold off a day to gather some meat and get together a group to go see the eastern wolf pack. Regina wanted to head down to the keep in hopes of spending time with the dragonlings. When Fibble heard that, he leapt off of Tigger’s back and straight into the surprised woman’s arms.
Pollock and his guys wanted to try to bond with wolves, and they were off hunting and leveling. So, Alexander told them to bring back extra meat to give the wolves the following day. With that accomplished, Alexander teleported himself, Jules, and their two cats to the orc village.
Upon arrival, the two cats caused quite a stir as orcs nervously reached for weapons. Alexander raised his hands to show he meant no harm and they walked with the cats into the center of the village. A brief chat with the elders to make sure things were going smoothly and that the warriors who wished to serve as soldiers were already on their way to the tower. A few quick goodbyes, and they moved on to the minotaur village.
They spent a little time there, the cats exploring the nearby buildings and forest as Alexander and Jules spent time with Molgo and Dawn. The third longhouse was completed and new single homes were beginning to sprout up. The minotaurs were well fed and happy, and had already started clearing ground for crops. Their carpenters were using the lumber to make sturdy furniture for the homes. Molgo confirmed that a contingent of his warriors had headed south before dawn to join the Elysian military as well.
Alexander sent a message to Lola. “The troops from the orc and minotaur villages are on their way to the garrison tower. Have the captains meet us there, please.”
“Already there, Alexander. Ye can join us if ye like, but it no’ be necessary. Yer captains be knowin’ what ta do with new recruits.”
“Thank you, Lola. We’ll stop by on our way back, just to observe.”
Reassured that his new troops were taken care of, he grinned at Molgo. “If you have a supply of that special goat’s milk I can take back with me, I think I can have quite a few dwarven customers for you by morning.”
Molgo chuckled and handed him two large skins that each contained a couple gallons of the drink. “Dawn mentioned your interest. Do you truly think we can make money from this?”
Alexander took the skins, depositing them in his bag. “We’ll need to get you some kegs to store it in. Maybe figure out some refrigeration to keep it fresher longer. But yes. I think a small keg of this could make you several gold.”
After some more small talk with the minotaurs, Alexander teleported his group back to the garrison tower. He found the captains and sergeants yelling at groups of new recruits. They’d mixed the orcs and minotaurs together, for the most part. Though there were a few small groups of minotaur-only shock units that had been cut out of the larger force. All the soldiers were being handed weapons and directed to areas where they could practice formation drills.
Alexander checked with Taylor and the others, who were all quite busy. Once he was reassured that things were going smoothly, he returned to the keep.
There he found several people grouped in the courtyard, staring up at the dragon roost. Regina and Fibble were there, along with Thea, Lorian, Brick, and a few others. Alexander smiled at the look on Regina’s face. Almost as if she were willing Lia to summon them. When Jules moved to join the crowd, Alexander decided to take pity on them. He teleported himself up to the ledge outside the roost. The waterfall ran past his shoulder as he stood quietly, waiting for Kai to acknowledge him. A
n intrusion near a dragon’s roost would immediately be sensed by its occupant. A moment later, Kai’s enormous dragon head snaked out and lowered itself to Alexander’s height. “Good day, Alexander,” Kai’s voice rumbled.
“Good day, Kai. I was wondering if the little ones are up for some company. There’s a whole crowd down in the keep standing on their tippy-toes and trying to will themselves to fly up here.”
Kai stuck his head through the waterfall and looked down at the keep. A moment later, he chuckled. “It seems my little troublemakers have no shortage of volunteers to babysit. Bring them up, please.”
Alexander popped back down to the keep and gathered everyone up. “Kai says you can play with the babies. Remember, they are still young and might be a bit bitey.” He teleported them up to the main chamber, as there were too many to fit on the ledge.
The baby dragons hooted and dashed for the adoring spectators. They were still a bit unsteady on their feet, so their wobbling gaits caused some giggles. Fibble stepped forward and greeted his white dragon buddy with open arms. The little hatchling seemed pleased to see him and ran straight to him, bowling him over. As soon as he hit the ground, the dragonling started nosing at his bag, looking for cookies. Fibble snatched the bag away and growled at his new little buddy and pushed at its snout. “No! Ask nice. Lady Lia say dragon baby only gets one cookie!”
The push was enough to put the little white dragon off balance, causing it to fall on its rump with a squeal of indignation. Fibble immediately felt bad and produced a cookie from his bag. As he held it out with an apologetic look, the other dragonlings charged. The white hatchling quickly snatched the cookie in its jaws as Fibble was mobbed by cookie-seeking baby dragons.
Concerned for his safety, Lia moved her head over and gently captured the little goblin in her jaws and lifted him to safety. Fibble, understandably assuming that he was being eaten for pushing the dragonling, squealed in terror and passed out cold. Lia deposited him next to Alexander before turning back to reprimand her younglings.
“What is this?” she growled at them. The hatchlings instantly lowered their bellies to the ground, along with their snouts. “You would attack a small one who gifted you with treats?!”
The dragonlings mewled apologetically, their tails thumping slowly against the floor. Kai let out a remonstrative grumble of his own. “How would you feel now if you had damaged Fibble? Or killed him? Just for a cookie?”
The white dragon rose and hopped over to where Fibble lay still unconscious. On the way, it scooped up the bag full of cookies that Fibble had dropped in the excitement. When it reached Fibble, it dropped the bag on his belly, then gently licked his face. Sitting back to watch for a moment, it trumpeted a little cry of distress, then nudged Fibble’s head with its snout.
Fibble coughed and opened his eyes. Looking around and remembering what had happened, he sprang to his feet and was about to flee the roost when Sasha grabbed him. “It’s okay, Fibble. You’re not hurt. The little ones wanted cookies and got carried away. Lia protected you.”
The little dragon next to him whimpered and poked at his chest with its snout. Fibble, still shaking, reached out to pat its head awkwardly. The sad whimper turned into a purring sound as the dragonling scooted closer to the goblin protector and sat at his feet.
Lia laughed. “It seems Fibble has been adopted. I’ve never seen a youngling bind so quickly.”
“Bind?” Regina asked, hope in her voice. “As in a permanent bond?”
Lia nodded her great head at the beastmaster. “Yes. It is rare, as dragons don’t spend much time around non-dragons anymore. Especially not our hatchlings. Since adventurers began seizing our eggs to hatch for dragon mounts, we have withdrawn and hidden our clutches from them. But a hatchling may choose to bind with a humanoid that they feel a special affection for. Snabb here has chosen to bind her life to Fibble’s.”
“Smart lass!” Brick interjected. “She’ll never be short o’ cookies that way.” His smile faded as Lia stared at him, unamused.
“We will have to teach Fibble the proper way to care for Snabb until she is strong enough to fend for herself. He’ll need to stay here at the roost for now. She won’t tolerate being separated from him.”
As Lia spoke, Fibble’s eyes had grown wide and his mouth dropped open. “Dragon baby choose Fibble?” he asked, his voice trembling. “Forevers?”
Kai nodded his head at the tiny goblin, who wasn’t much larger than the dragon at his feet. “Yes, Fibble. Forever. You are part of our family now.”
The goblin’s eyes began to water. “Fibble not have real family. Ever. Have clan. Goblin clan. And Greystone clan. Nice clan.” He hugged Sasha’s leg. “But Fibble can be family with dragon babies?”
Both dragons nodded their heads and smiled at him. The wide array of sharp teeth caused him to step back, tripping over Snabb and causing her to squeal. He immediately got back up and patted her neck. “S’okay Snabby. I protect you.”
Tears were streaming down Sasha’s cheeks and more than a few of the others looked choked up. Brick sniffed and pretended to have something in his eye. Even Lia looked touched, in a dragonish sort of way.
Fibble lifted his bag and started withdrawing cookies. He handed them one at a time to Sasha and the others. “You give cookies to babies. Fibble too small to wrassle them.”
Sasha sob-laughed as she accepted her cookie. She stepped forward and offered it to the nearest hatchling, the red one. It looked up at Lia to ask permission, still cowering from her reprimand. She nodded her head and the dragonling gingerly reached out and took the treat from Sasha’s hand. Brick, Alexander, Regina, Jules, and the others all stepped forward with cookies in hand. A few of them tentatively patted the heads or necks of their chosen hatchling. When the cookies were gone, they stepped back to join the group.
The black dragonling honked in excitement, then danced in a little circle while flapping its wings. When it came back around to face them, it tilted its head and snorted. Kai snorted back. “He believes, as he is my heir, he should receive an extra cookie.” Kai paused. “He wished you to view him in all his majesty.” The deadpan tone of Kai’s voice wasn’t lost on the dragonling. He settled back onto his belly and eyed his father. “Needless to say, we will teach him the meaning of humility.”
Lia looked at Alexander. “We will take good care of Fibble. He will need to remain here at least a week until the little ones are grown enough to leave the roost.”
Alexander nodded in understanding. Turning to the group he said, “Off we go. The little ones have had enough excitement for one day, I think.” He bowed his head to Kai, then Lia. Then with a grin, he bowed deeply to the imperious little black dragonling. “Your Majesty,” earning him a snort from Lia.
When the others had said goodbye, he gathered them together and teleported all but Fibble back to the keep. As they dispersed, Alexander noticed Regina was just standing still in the middle of the courtyard, looking thoughtful. “Regina?”
“Alexander. I’m sorry. Were you saying something? I was thinking about trying to bond with a dragon.”
“I could see that. Your brain was practically humming. But I think it’s mostly up to the dragon, from what Lia said.”
“What? Oh, yes. Yes. But one might try to persuade a hatchling to choose them. Bring gifts, talk to them, scratch their bellies. Oh, I can think of a hundred things that might help.”
Alexander, not seeing anything wrong with giving the baby dragons bribes or bellyscratchings, decided not to argue the point. “Well, good luck to you,” he said, as he patted her shoulder and left her to her thoughts.
Just then, he remembered he was supposed to return to Damerion to retrieve Silverbeard and the livestock. He sat where he was and quickly fashioned two more light cannons. When they were done, he jogged over to the smithy and had Brick form the triggers. Adding the trigger word as he walked, he returned to the courtyard and opened the portal. As usual, Taylor and his men showed up out of nowhere to e
scort him.
Sure enough, Silverbeard stood there with Elrid and Apollos. As Alexander stepped through, Silverbeard chastised him. “I thought ye fergot ‘bout us.”
Alexander apologized. “I’m very sorry, Master Silverbeard, Elrid, Apollos. We had another little episode with the dragonlings. It seems the white one has decided to bond with Fibble.”
The eyes of all three widened, and Apollos said, “No apology necessary. I wouldn’t miss that for anything. I wish I had been there.”
In short order, Alexander was led from the portal courtyard out of the palace and into a larger courtyard, where his guards spread out and formed a perimeter. Gathered there were more than a hundred goats, a few dozen pigs, sixteen cows, and crates and crates of chickens. There was also a small herd of sheep packed so tightly together Alexander couldn’t count them accurately. He guessed twenty. Several farmers stood nearby in different areas of the courtyard, keeping the animals calm and under control.
“I gived them a fair price, plus a bit extra fer bringing them up here ta the portal. There be more outside, but I weren’t sure if ye wanted to spend so much o’ the kingdom’s gold.”
Alexander asked, “How many more?”
Apollos laughed. “About twice this number. Master Silverbeard is being modest. His prices are more than fair, and every farmer in the area is looking to sell excess stock.”
“Can they be brought through today?”
“Aye,” Silverbeard answered. “They be gathered just outside that there wall. I tried ta tell em’ they be wastin’ their time. And fillin’ the streets with dung fer no reason.”
“How much more gold would it take to purchase all the livestock being offered?”
“I dunno, exactly. The crowd out there be growin’. But methinks maybe three thousand gold.” Silverbeard looked to Elrid and Apollos, who nodded.
Alexander pulled three thousand gold from his bag and handed it to Silverbeard in a bulging pouch. “Let’s do this. We’ll purchase them all now. We have the space to keep them safe, you don’t.” He looked at the two princes. “If your city has a need, we will sell them back to you at the same price.”
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