218 - The Poetry of Heathrax Dragonfriend

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Many seeds are planted in my garden
Flowers, fruits, and herbs all grow, tangled
They’ve gathered from many lands.
Some have drifted to me with the winds.
They are all now my friends

    - Heathrax Dragonfriend

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214 - “Last Questions” - Thissraelle - A Tale of Heroes

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“I have more questions.” Thissraelle interjected, as she reached for an apple on the blanket before her.

Heathrax nodded his huge head toward her. “And I have a few for you.”

“Ah. Okay.” She hesitated and sat back. “Go ahead.”

“You told me how you were instructed to find me, but not how you came to actually find me.”

“Oh. Yeah. Well, that’s a long story, too.”

The dragon, with just a bit of sarcasm in his smile, raised his head and flexed the tendrils on his face. He tried to speak with a mocking high female lilt to his voice, “Well, I don’t think we’re going anywhere anytime soon, and time doesn’t seem to matter here, anyway, so...”

Thissraelle rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She began her story with when she met Granthurg and Karendle, telling how they had all battled the slavers in the manor near Dirae. Eddiwarth and Karendle interrupted with their own embellishments and points of view. They talked about their time in the monastery, and the visitation of St Ivarr. They talked about meeting Parith and Korr in the battle at the Cathedral, and spending time in The Vast with the Seekers.

“They said they knew you, that you had helped to found their order.” Thissraelle said to Heathrax.

“Yes, I did.” Heathrax affirmed. “Many years later, I tried to get Jaxil to join, but he was too concerned with the Guild and their machinations in the City.” Jaxil sighed and nodded.

Thissraelle continued, “They told us they thought you were in the Emberfire mountains, so we all began the journey.”

Eddiwarth interjected with a wink at Thissraelle, “We really like your poetry, by the way.”
“My poetry?” The dragon looked surprised.

“Yes, they gave me a book of your poems,” Thissraelle said, “but they never mentioned that you were a dragon. That might have helped us.”

Heathrax laughed again.

“Hey!” Karendle exclaimed to Thissraelle, “Couldn’t they have just portaled us here? If they knew him and all. That would have saved us a lot of trouble.”

Heathrax shook his head. “I have been isolated for many, many years. I don’t believe any of them know where to find me. I’ve been quite content to be alone.”

The story continued. Korr told of the party traveling through the forest, of being attacked, and ending up in TreeHaven. Thissraelle told him about the shrine, and their efforts to find out more about him there.

“That is a remarkable journey.” Heathrax confirmed.

Korr nodded. “My master teaches that all things are connected, and the world is one, a whole, a complete round. Any road that you walk will eventually lead you to where you need to be.”

Heathrax chuckled. “Your master is wise, but he always makes me laugh.”

Thissraelle smiled. Yes, the long road got us here. Who could have foreseen all of this? We had no idea where we were going. She looked at her friends with gratitude. She reached out and took Eddiwarth’s hand, then Karendle’s. Each of them took Korr’s and Parith’s as well. “Thank you all. You each risked so much for me, and I have learned so much from each of you. Thank you.”

Karendle embraced her. “I’m with you, sis. I’m with you!”

Heathrax nodded to them. “This could be why Ivarr came to you.”

Thissraelle sat back. “I don’t understand.” I’ve been saying that a lot in the last few months.

“You said you had been troubled not knowing why you had been given this task. Look around you. Look how you have all become so close, how much you have obviously all grown. You might have thought that the task was to bring me a vitally important message of the dangers in the world, but The Creator is often very involved in helping small changes in the lives of seemingly small people. Sometimes that’s how big things happen.”

Thissraelle looked around at the others and breathed deep.

A thought jumped up in her mind. “I still want to know how you and my father knew to come save us at the shrine. We were all set to die. How did you know to help us in the fight?”

Her father answered, “Well, I was contacted by Heathrax. He told me you were about to be in trouble and told me where. Years and years and years of nothing, not a ‘how do you do’, and suddenly, he’s telling me that my daughter’s about to get killed. I have no idea how he knew.” He looked over at the dragon.

Heathrax exclaimed, “Why, you told me!”

Jaxil frowned. “No, I didn’t.”

“Not you, Jaxil. You didn’t.” Heathrax gestured at Thissraelle. “However, you did.”

“What?” Thissraelle face was twisted in confusion.

“I received a message to my mind that you would be there, and that you urgently need my help. I reached out to your father immediately, then hurried to my portal.”

“But I didn’t know you.. I had no idea how to communicate with you! And how would you know who I was and that I would need your help?”

“Time is funny. It marches along very strangely here in The Vast. You obviously didn’t know me then. But now you do. And someday I imagine you will know how to send me that message.”

Thissraelle took a deep breath, her mind reeling a bit, then slowly bit from the apple she had held in her lap. There was no logical response to that statement. She looked at the blank and surprised faces of the others and had no answer for them, either. “So,” she munched, “what do we do now?”

Her father slowly stood. “You four,” he gestured to all of Thissraelle’s friends, “should rest. You should all come with me to Emberfire City and be honored guests in my home there. Stay for the Winterfest. It is amazing here in the mountains.”

“And what about me?” Thissraelle pressed.

Jaxil sighed deeply. “I can no longer command you as your father. You need not obey me. I hope, however, that you will also come home, at least for a time. Please. If not for me, come to comfort your mother.”

Oh. 

Yes. My Mother. 

That’s going to be an... interesting visit.  

She looked at Karendle with pleading in her eyes. “Maybe we can go on another quest...?”

The End of Part 15, and Story Arc 4

The End of A Tale of Heroes, Book 2: Of Wizards and Dragons

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208 - “Ending the Fight” - Thissraelle - A Tale of Heroes

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Thissraelle collapsed, exhausted, leaning against the fallen pillar. Noise and chaos swarmed around her. She leaned forward and sobbed into her hands.

I’ve killed us all.

What was I thinking? The acrid smoke of the burning around her made her cough. The bridge shook again.

Oh, let’s all take a stroll through the forest. Then we can have a nice picnic in the mountains! I’ve brought them all here to die!

Killed by my own father! Maybe. I don’t know!

It doesn’t matter. Let him take me. Let him kill me. It doesn’t matter, now.

She stood and began walking back along the bridge toward her father. Her companions still fought the green dragon, and it roared and cursed. The flames around her weren’t burning as hot, now, but thin smoke still flowed upward. She coughed. Through the heated air and curling smoke, she could see the wavy image of her father. The great red dragon lay sprawled beside him, broken and distorted.

“Thissraelle, stop!” He called out to her. “Get down!”

Thissraelle kept walking.

“Thissraelle! Get away!”

No. Come take me. Nothing here matters any more. Take me away and let my friends go.

She felt the heat from the ever nearer flames begin to burn on her legs. It was painful, but she kept walking. I am in control. I can choose where I go.

“Thissraelle! STOP!”

A cold whistling wind rushed down from the upper reaches of the canyon, blowing her hair into her face. The chill air also chased away the smoke stinging her tear-stained cheeks. The flames in front of her crackled and sputtered from the rushing. She stopped and looked above her.

A gigantic dragon head followed the wind, flying past her, above the snarling green dragon. Its body followed, snaking and slithering through the canyon air. It was larger than anything she had ever seen, even the eel whales. Its curving body was mostly gray flecked in white, with long white tendrils hanging off its chin, ears and arms, streaming out beside it like banners in a parade. It had tall white spikes along its spine, and though it had wings, even large ones, they remained folded across its back. It circled and flowed through the wind as if held up by deep magic.

The green dragon growled out a threatening roar and launched up into the air before the end of the gray dragon’s tail had even fully passed. The green dragon arched over the bridge and flew straight toward the larger dragon’s head, shouting words that Thissraelle couldn’t understand. They echoed through the canyon, and she dropped to her knees. Eddiwarth crawled over to her.

The gray dragon doubled back toward the bridge, coming up on the other side of the canyon. Its body continued on as if the neck had looped around a giant tree trunk. The green dragon looked much smaller by comparison, like the big drakes at the cathedral would have sized up next to it. Still, the smaller dragon didn’t look at all afraid. It rushed at the larger creature with its claws bared and blowing toxic green gas in a column from its throat.

The gray dragon raised up its head and neck into an S-shaped curve, and unfolded its wings. It threw them forward, three times, and the waves summoned up a cyclone of wind like Thissraelle had never felt before. She huddled down below a fallen pillar with Eddiwarth and Parith to keep from being blown off the bridge. The green dragon didn’t fare so well, losing its stability. It tumbled up the canyon and slammed into the pools on the far side. Steaming water gushed out of the broken pool around the dragon’s legs and tail.

The gray beast pointed its talons toward the green dragon and launched forth bolts of light which exploded in brightness on the green dragon’s tumbling form. It scrambled to try and get a footing on the rock wall, but the stones and pools just crumbled beneath him, washing him further downward. Its wings flailed at the air, but could not get enough force to help it up.

Thissraelle looked back at the gray dragon, her jaw slack, but unable to scream. It looked majestic and calm. Its tail now curled and flowed beneath it as it floated in the air, the wind making its many tendrils flap. It closed its eyes. The heated waters of the springs spouted up from the pools and the streams in the mountainside and flowed over the green dragon. The gray dragon slowly snaked forward, over the heads of the awestruck party, toward its opponent. The gray dragon opened its giant mouth and breathed frosted icy fog onto the green dragon. It shivered as the water froze instantly on its scaly skin, layering on thicker and thicker. Finally, its green eyes glossed over, and its stiff form tumbled down into the misty chasm below.

Satisfied, the great gray dragon turned its head upward, then snaked back down to the bridge. It crossed the bridge, and paused over Thissraelle and her friends. Thissraelle gazed up, her heart pounding in a strange mix of total terror and awestruck worship. Eddiwarth scooted back on his elbows, trying to get between her and the looming beast.

Something moved in the space beside her, and she jolted to look. It was her father. He was calm and unafraid as he approached the dragon.

The dragon’s face shifted, almost as if it were somehow smiling, and it dipped its head briefly. It spoke in a raspy voice, “Hello, Jaxil, old friend.”

Her father smiled and returned the bow. “Blessings to you, Heathrax. It’s nice to see you again.”

<<<>>>

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207 - “The Brave Little Drake” - Parith - A Tale of Heroes

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When Parith opened his eyes, the pain that wracked his entire body made him close them tight again. He tried to move but that hurt even more.

My arm. I can’t move my arm. He reached up with the other hand, but found nothing in the air above him. He felt a strange disorientation mixed with the hurting. I’m upside down. Something is scratching my face. When he heard the little drake’s familiar trilling, he turned his head and opened his eyes. The drakeling squawked and began licking his face. From somewhere farther away, he could hear explosions.

The cold stone of the bridge beneath him shook as the big green dragon took another step toward him. Aw, stones, this isn’t over yet?

He shifted his head a little and pain shot down through his back and legs. He saw Thissraelle’s worried face appear over him. He smiled. “Hey. Miss Healer. You gonna patch me up?”

She didn’t smile back. She covered her face in her hands. “I don’t know what I’m doing, or what’s going on. My father-- the dragons--“ She looked at him again. “You’re really hurt.”

“Am I that bad?”

“I’m going to have to try and get you down off this debris. Can you move?”

He tried to rise up, but could only move his head and arm. Pain overwhelmed him and he dropped back down. The drake nuzzled him, cooing timidly.

She sighed, “I’ll take that as a ‘no’.”

He could hear more growling, shouting and exploding and it all seemed so distant, like it was happening in a room down the hall. The bridge shook again. Thissraelle moved back and raised her hands. A faint blue light formed around him, and she lifted him up and eased him flat on the ground. He shouted and winced.

“Sorry! Sorry! I think you’ve got some broken bones. I’ve never tried to heal anything like this. It’s going to take a lot of will.”

“Where’s Korr? And Eddiwarth?” Where am I? Oh, yeah. The shrine... He reached out with his good hand and touched her arm. “Thank you. You’re so good.”

“What?” She was distracted.

 He could only whisper, now. “Whenever things go bad, you’re the first one there to try and fix it. I need to be more like you.”

The dragon’s back leg landed only a few feet from him with a heavy thud and a shake, and Thissraelle screamed. The drakeling shrieked and jumped up onto Parith’s chest, launching itself into the air. Parith coughed with pain.

What’s he doing? Come back here!

They both watched the drake fly up and circle the huge dragon’s neck and head, drawing its attention. The dragon snaked its smoking head back and forth, snapping at the little pest, swinging its large forelegs, and trying to smack it down. Hot drips of flaming drool splattered down around them all.

“Drakie!” Parith wheezed, trying to shout, “Get back here!”

The side of the dragon’s sweeping head struck the drake as it tried to dive under it. The impact dazed it and knocked it upward in the air for only a moment. It flailed about, shrieking, while it tried to twist and regain control of its flight, but one of its wings didn’t respond and the little beast tumbled down. As it fell, the dragon grabbed it in its flaming mouth and bit down hard.

Parith reached out, trying to get up. “Drake!”

Thissraelle screamed again. The dragon shook its head back and forth, crushing the little drake.  It spit out the tiny body onto the bridge floor with a burning splat.

“Drake!” Horror filled Parith’s mind. He barely saw Eddiwarth and Karendle rushing to engage the big dragon, trying to draw it away from Parith and Thissraelle. “No! Save the drake!”

Thissraelle put her hands on Parith. He could feel her summoning her will. “No!” He gasped, “Don’t heal me! Heal Drakie! Save him!” He grabbed her wrist and tried to move her hand away, but he was too weak.

Thissraelle’s shoulders shook. Her tears fell on Parith’s arm. He felt the light swell in her and flow into his broken body. Then, his vision clouded in brightness.

<<<>>>

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206 - “Breaking Reality?” - Eddiwarth - A Tale of Heroes

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Eddiwarth flew out over the canyon floor, circling away from the bridge, held aloft by blasts of fire pulsing downward from his fists. From that vantage point, he could see the entire battle’s overwhelming chaos. Flames and smoke billowed from his left, sweeping across the bridge. Pillars had fallen, and huge chunks of the bridge edge had broken off from the impact of the dragon’s feet.

He saw the green dragon on the bridge striking at Parith. It smashed its front foot down on the stone bridge as Parith shot his bow and jumped away. Parith scrambled along the edge of the bridge, jumping over the rubble. Eddiwarth could see two or three arrows sticking out of the dragon’s long neck, like needles in a pincushion. It was bleeding, but not much. How are we going to kill this thing?

Beyond the green dragon, Korr was fighting the man in the black cloak. Farther away, clinging precariously to the crumbled edge of one of the water pools on the opposite wall of the canyon, the red dragon sat and growled. It snaked its head from side to side, looking back toward Thissraelle’s father. “Go-o!” it growled. “Go and brrinng him to uss!”

Thissraelle flew up from below on the far side of the bridge. She brought Karendle flying alongside her,  a little lower. Thissraelle pointed, and floated Karendle over to the bridge. As soon as Karendle set foot down, she drew her sword and rushed toward the fight.

The red dragon’s head followed Thissraelle as she flew, and began coughing and churning up its fiery guts. A foul-smelling goo drooled from deep inside his mouth, bursting into flame as soon as it came to air and dribbled off the dragon’s jaw. Its stomach churned, it’s neck flexed, and it’s jaw opened wide.

It’s gonna flame! “Thissraelle!” Eddiwarth leaned and rushed toward her.

Thissraelle saw him and spun in the air. The dragon’s neck pushed its head forward toward her, smoking jaw open. “Get away!” Eddiwarth shouted.

Before she could move, A point of gray energy flew past her, toward the dragon. As it cut the air, it left waves of distorted reality in its wake like the reflections in a pond following a skipped stone. It struck the dragon and exploded, in a way. The dragon looked for an instant like it had been painted on layers of glass, and each layer had been shattered and badly reassembled. Then, in another instant, the panes were put together a different way, but still wrong. The dragon screamed a horrific noise, retching broken streams of fire all around him.

Then just as suddenly, the shards of reality reformed. The dragon shook its head. Eddiwarth saw that its movements were strained, like its bones weren’t quite lined up the same as it had been before. Its neck wasn’t as smooth and fluid, and its wings not as straight. One of its forelegs now protruded from the front of its chest.

It roared again, but it was a strange sound, like its voice came from somewhere else. Its angry eyes fixed on the lone wizard at the far end of the bridge.

A loud voice called out from that terrace. “That’s right! Come and get me! You leave her be!” Eddiwarth startled. That’s Thissraelle’s father? He and Thissraelle both looked in surprise. Her father stood steady and firm where he had before but the world around him seemed to be quaking. He began striding toward the dragon, stepping out onto nothing as if he were walking on solid ground.

The dragon leapt from the pool on the canyon wall and flew at him an awkward jagged path. It spewed its pent-up flames before it at the old man. The wizard waved his hands and the burning retch flew through him as if he weren’t there. The dragon landed on the bridge with a solid crunch.

“What is my father doing?” Thissraelle’s voice beside Eddiwarth startled him.

“I don’t know. I thought you were going to be fried alive!”

Eddiwarth’s eyes were drawn to the bridge just as the green dragon there growled and stomped the stone. It swung its arm before it, catching Parith in the sweep and sending him tumbling and sprawling across the bridge. When he stopped, draped over a broken pillar, he didn’t move.

“No!” Eddiwarth shouted.

“I’ll help him! You draw the dragon!” Thissraelle shot down toward Parith.

Eddiwarth swallowed his fear, and let anger and rage welled up in its place. He flew at the dragon, throwing blasts of fire from his hands, one after the other. The blasts hit the beast, exploding on his neck and chest. Using the flame of his hands as weapons turned his focus away from the flight, however, and he tumbled down, twisting to try and brace for the fall. He crashed hard onto the dragon’s side. Dazed, he landed on the stone of the walkway.

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205 - “Visions in Smoke” - Tonklyn - A Tale of Heroes

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“You are defeated! End this fight!” The odd warrior’s voice echoed through the dim of Kirraxal’s throne room. The great black dragon lounged on the rich plush padding on his stone dais. As always, Tonklyn stood beside him, along with the everpresent watch of the dragonbonded guard.

Before them swirled a foggy mist of blackness that moved and shifted into shapes. Like ghostly actors on a haunted stage, the mist played out the vision of the distant dragonbonded soldier, the one that Kirraxal had tasked with finding the dragon friend, Giatrice.

At the moment, the soldier was lying on his back and his view was staring up the threatening shaft of his own spear, now held at his throat.

This man fights strangely, attacking with only his bare hands and feet. And yet he’s defeated our armed soldier! The downed figure squirmed, then his hand shot forward. A dark dagger flashed in the sunlight, sticking deep into the abdomen of the opponent. The man reacted in pain, then leaned into the spear, thrusting it forward. The vision before them lurched and went dark, then dissipated into smoke.

The room fell silent.

Tonklyn hesitated, unsure how Kirraxal would react.

The dragon only harrumphed out some smoke, then raised his head up. Finally, he spoke. “Well, I had hoped that one of those dragons would have been able to draw out the dragonfriend. No matter.”

Tonklyn nodded. No raging fury today. Good. “Maybe Giatrice was one of the party there at the shrine. Maybehe’s the old man standing there behind them.”

Kirraxal nodded. He stretched his neck out, wrapping it around his body and settling his head. “He will yet be found. Leave me, now.”

As Tonklyn bowed, Kirraxal added. “These two dragons have served me well. Soon, when you go to speak with them, we’ll offer them high places in my kingdom. Especially Gerixain.”

Tonklyn raised up. “Is he the large greenish one?”

“No,” Kirraxal corrected, “she is.”

Tonklyn smirked, nodded, and stepped away.

<<<>>>

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204 - “Who to Fight?” - Korr - A Tale of Heroes

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Korr rushed forward at the dragon in front of him. He launched himself up high and landed on the back of its hip. The dark green hide was thick and, though it folded into bumps and scales, it was also slick and shiny, making it difficult to grip. The more the dragon moved and shifted, the harder this was. He lashed out at the dragon with a fury of punches, but they only made the dragon flinch. Korr felt the impacts in a line of pain running through his arm.

This hide is so thick. I’ve shattered stones with my fists in practice, but this is not working.  The dragon lashed to one side and knocked Korr momentarily off his balance. There’s no time to waste! No, I will use the Ocean!

He braced his feet against the hip and reached up to the dragon’s side. He tried to set his focus. He drew back with his right hand, shifted his hips, then his shoulders. He imagined his entire body as a rushing wave of the ocean’s energy. He twisted and crashed that energy deep into the rocks of the dragon’s body.

The beast roared with pain and rolled away, making Korr slide down its side. The dragon drew its hind leg claws up and kicked Korr away like a dog scratching off a flea. Korr hit the ground hard and rolled to a kneeling stop, breathing hard from his effort. At least I got his attention. 

His eyes widened with surprise as the dragon’s thick tail swung toward him. With only a moment to react, Korr jumped high, landed his hands on the swinging tail, and vaulted over it, landing on his feet on the other side of the beast.

As he spun around and reset his stance, he saw the guard in black at the far end of the bridge. The man was steady and stoic, watching the fight, but not moving to engage. I wonder if he’s controlling the dragons.

Korr only took a moment to decide. He ran toward the guard just as the tail lashed back, smashing into the bridge railing. A tall column cracked, fell, and shattered to the stones, forcing Korr to jump aside before renewing his charge.

As Korr approached, the man turned slightly and lowered his spear in a defensive stance. Korr shouted, “Call off the attack!” but the man gave no response. He kept his cloak hood up and drawn low over his face. He began to trace small circles in the air with the tip of his spear, keeping it focused on Korr.

The man thrust his spear at Korr, who easily deflected it aside with his forearm. Korr stepped into the fight and thrust a strike at his opponent’s chest. The man blocked upward with the shaft of the spear, and spun around, swapping their positions on the bridge. Korr turned to face him and set a firm square stance.

“Once again, I must demand that you end the attack!” Korr looked in surprise to see the man’s hood had fallen away from one side of his face. His skin was dark and leathery, and covered in folds of scales. His eye had no whites, and only slits for pupils, like a snake’s. Or a dragon’s!

Those eyes narrowed, and the man hissed through his teeth. He snapped his foot forward and lunged with the spear. This time, Korr swept it aside, then brought his hand around to grip the shaft. He pulled hard, yanking the man forward, off his balance, and into an oncoming punch. The man grunted, and Korr took the spear in both hands, dropped it low, and swept the end of it under the man’s legs. He toppled over and landed hard on the stone bridge.

Korr gritted his teeth as he spun the spear around his back and stopped the point just shy of the man’s throat. “You are defeated! End this fight!”

The man responded by flicking his wrist. Instantly, Korr felt pain in his gut. He glanced down and saw a thin dagger sticking out of his reddening shirt. The man squirmed on the ground and Korr quickly plunged the spear into his throat. The man clutched it, gurgling and gasping, then went still.

Korr dropped the spear and staggered back, gripping the dagger’s hilt. He felt an odd burning sensation inside his guts, around the blade. Poison? His head felt light.

The bridge twisted beneath him and he fell.

<<<>>>

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203 - “Stones and Rocks” - Karendle - A Tale of Heroes

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Oh, Creator! Save me! We’re all gonna die! Karendle huddled low behind a stone broken off of one of the pillars lining the bridge. Her breathing was shallow, and her hands and forearms covered her head. Heat and smoke from the flames down the walkway blended with the steam drifting from the pools and the cold winter wind flowing down the canyon. It all made her sweaty face shiver. Her legs shook, curled up to her chest, unable to stand and run. Another growl from the dragon’s throat chilled her spine and made her cower tighter against the stone. It didn’t really provide much cover, but it was all she had.

The dragon took a step forward, and the bridge shook underneath her. It’s a dragon! We are all gonna die! I can’t look. When it had landed on the bridge, it had knocked over several of the pillars on the side like they were candles on a tabletop. Its wings had swept over her and sent her sprawling. As panic gripped her, she had crawled toward the fallen column to hide as best she could.

Now, she just lay on the cold stone of the bridge and felt waves of fear rush over her. Her heart was racing. Or is it stopped? She couldn’t tell. She kept her eyes closed tight and tried to suck in a breath. Her chest muscles were too tense, and she only gasped and coughed. Her hands were clenched so tight that her fingers ached. They each gripped something, but she wasn’t aware of what. It was hard and cold, like stone.

She brought her hands forward, before her face and opened them slightly, looking in her palms. My oculi! She held her two stones, one blue, the other a mix of green and brown.

She could hear shouting, now--  Thissraelle’s and Eddiwarth’s voices. Thissraelle’s father was calling out again as well. The bridge stone below her shook again. Karendle raised her head over the fallen pillar to look. Way up above her was the scaly chest and neck of the beast. Where’s Thissraelle? I can’t see her!

Off to her left was a conflagration making a thick, dark smoke blow her way. Across the bridge, through the smoke, she saw Parith standing with his bow drawn. His aim was fluid, in motion, trying to track the movements of the dragon’s head. He shot, and Karendle saw it bounce off the scales of its face. Parith quickly drew another and loosed it, making the dragon blink. It turned its head and snarled at him, lifting a foot to try and sweep him off the bridge.

Karendle rolled onto her back and focused her will on the boulder she’d been hiding behind. She thrust her arms out and the stone flew up under her power and caught the dragon on the underside of its jaw. Its head jerked back, then snaked toward her, it’s angry eyes flaring and its fanged mouth wide open. She quickly launched a second stone at it, which it easily dodged. A dark greenish-gray fog began to form in its mouth, burping and bubbling out from around its tongue.

Oh, that’s not good. She scrambled to her feet, then reached out with her will to one of the pillars that still remained standing. With a grunt she tried to move it with the mental oculus, but was surprised when it held firm in place.

The dragon sucked in a breath. I can’t break it off!

In a sudden flash of inspiration, she swept the nature oculus forward, cleanly slicing the pillar off near its base. With blue mental oculus in her other hand, she swung it like a giant club at the dragon. It hit the neck, just below the head, knocking it sideways and making it stumble.

It coughed and sputtered. Karendle was gasping for air as well, and the smoke from the fire was burning her lungs. She stepped away to find cleaner air.

The dragon lifted its foreleg and snapped it forward, trying to grab her in its sword-claws. Karendle jumped back to avoid the blow, but slipped on a loose stone and lost her balance. She fell, and her thigh hit the railing of the bridge. She felt herself tumble off the bridge and twisted, trying desperately to grab for the railing. She was already too far off, and her oculi flew from her hands. She fell spinning, screaming into the canyon and the steamy cloud below.

<<<>>>

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202 - “A Rival” - Thissraelle - A Tale of Heroes

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“Thissraelle! Hurry!” her father called out to her. “Come to me!”

Thissraelle’s eyes narrowed and her fists clenched. Why is he here? He’s come for me, of course. She looked around at the fear in the eyes of her companions. He set us up. Heathrax, St. Ivarr, it was all to get me here, wasn’t it? And Eddiwarth? 

“You!” She pointed at Eddiwarth. “Did you tell him we were coming here?” He gasped and tried to speak, but the deep horrified frown on his lips told her what she needed to know.

“I... I didn’t...”

She cut him off. “Save it! He probably played you like he played me! Now we’re trapped. We can’t fight dragons. What can we do?” She spun back around to face her father. Without his Guildmaster robes, he didn’t look as commanding. He reminded her more of the fun-loving Dad she’d played with as a child. But I’m not playing games anymore! 

Thissraelle saw Karendle getting out her oculi. Parith readied his bow and jumped up on one of the railings by a column on the side of the bridge. Eddiwarth stood, confused, beside her, looking for some sort of hope in her words.

“No! You can't fight.” Thissraelle hissed at them. “It’s me he wants. I’ll distract him. All of you rush past him and get down the mountain as fast as you can. Wait—I’ll make you a portal!” She started to summon her will and held her hands forward.

Karendle grabbed her hand. “You’ll come with us, right?”

“Thissraelle!” Her father called, even more urgently. “Hurry! Come now!”

Thissraelle looked at her father, then back at Karendle. “No. I’m done with running. I’ve got to face him. Let go of me.”

“I’m not going through any portal unless you go first.” Karendle tossed Thissraelle’s hand aside. She stepped back and took her oculi, one in each hand. “We might not win but we can keep the dragons busy. You deal with your father.” Eddiwarth stepped back as well and ignited each of his hands with raging flames.

“Better hurry, they’re coming back!” Parith shouted out, drawing his bow.

Thissraelle turned back to the terrace. Well, if he wants to capture me, then he won’t actually kill me, right? Let’s see how he plays this.

“You want me?” She shouted at her father, “Then come and get me!”  Vivid shafts of dazzling light appeared in her hands as she strode toward him. Her long white hair flowed out behind her as she picked up speed. She swung her arms, throwing the bolts of light hard at him. He waved his hands and deflected them easily. She pulled her hands back as she ran, summoning more light and more will.

“Don’t fight me, m’little girl, it’s not safe!”

“If you’re so worried about me, where were you at the cathedral? Oh! Yes, you were the one that burned it down around me!”

A thunderous roar shook the canyon and an enormous dragon dove toward the bridge from the narrow slice of sky above, its open maw snarling and growling. Its expansive green wings flexed wide to break its dive and turn its massive scaly body over the bridge. Its claws, each as long as Thissraelle’s arm, crunched into the rock of the bridge as the dragon’s forelegs slammed down. The bridge shook as its muscular back legs landed. The body was big enough to block the entire walkway of the bridge. The long tail, jagged with sharp scales, swung behind and wrapped around a pillar. The hard, scaly green skin reflected the daylight. It raised its horned and spiked head up high above them and screamed a horrifying roaring shout.

Instantly, Thissraelle’s heart stopped and fell deep into her gut. Her wide eyes were bound to the face of the horror snarling some 20 feet above her. A scream sliced its way out of her chest, by way of her throat. Her feet turned her body around and she ran. I’m dead. I’m already dead. She suddenly became aware of her heartbeat pounding in her head as her feet pounded the stones.

“Thissraelle! Stop!” It was her father’s voice she heard, through the noise. Her first instinct was to stop, to obey her father, like she had done many times as a small child. This time, however, stopping was difficult and she stumbled and fell to the bridge, tumbling and rolling. As she raised her eyes to look at her father again, a second dragon, a deep red, swept over the bridge, coughing, hacking, and spitting. The walkway before her erupted in an explosion of flame, spraying burning and smoking retch all around her. The heat was unbearable. She rolled over and began scrambling on scraped hands and bruised knees back toward where she came from.

Eddiwarth knelt beside her and helped her up. She looked into his eyes. He was bleeding from a cut on his left forehead.

The dragon on the bridge roared again, this time dripping flaming drool from his tongue and teeth. He growled, forming garbled words with his mouth. “Wherrre isss...” he snarled, as he spat out smoking drops. “Where iss Heathhhraxx? Tell me now, before you die!”

<<<>>>

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114 - “Dragon’s Servant” - Tonklyn - A Tale of Heroes

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“Stuupid Humaan!” the dragon shouted with a deep and growling voice. It shook the chamber and cut in Tonklyn’s ears. He rolled away and scrambled across the floor, frantically looking for any cover he could find. He heard a deep growl and a rasping and retching sound come from behind him then a maelstrom of heat swept him over onto his side. His wide eyes looked at the space where he had just been and saw it engulfed in writhing flames. They spread out from the dragon’s mouth and rushed over the floor in an ever-widening circle of destruction.

Tonklyn struggled to his feet and ran. The light of the inferno illuminated the vast room, and he saw some barely discernible objects against a far wall. They might hide him. He ran toward them, his heartbeats pounding with his footsteps. The dragon behind him roared in rage.

As Tonklyn ran, he glanced back.  The dragon’s head swept across the room, looking for him. One of objects Tonklyn was approaching was a large, low table. He threw himself to the ground in front of it, sliding underneath. Quickly he shuffled his body to be fully under its cover. Only then did he dare to look.

The dragon was snorting and sniffing through the flames still burning on the floor and rugs where he had been. Can’t he see me? Didn’t he see me run? Tonklyn scooted himself further under the table, but not so far that he couldn’t see the beast.

The dragon swung his head back and forth across the floor, ignoring the fire, and sniffing as he went. “Whhere did youu go?” it rumbled. Finally it raised its head and roared in a fury, “I WILLL killl you!”  It reared back on its back legs and flexed its wings, while snaking its neck high into the upper reaches of the chamber. The motion of its wings fanned the flames below. Tonklyn felt a hot wave of pure terror rush over him. It tensed his back and shook his legs. He clenched his teeth to force himself not to release the scream he felt deep in his gut. He lay flat and hid himself in his arms, trying to become as small as possible in the dark under the table.

So this is how I die. 

He looked again, and dragon fell to his forelegs, smacking the ground with a shaking impact. It stretched its neck forward and Tonklyn saw its chest and belly shake, as if it was churning up something noxious deep inside. It closed its eyes, then retched and hacked more flames from its maw, sweeping back and forth across the room. Cushions, rugs, and tapestries in the room became covered in fiery spit. Smothering, painful heat washed over Tonklyn, making it difficult to see or breathe. The dragon raised its head, hot flaming drool running down its lower jaw and dripping onto the already burning floor.

“WHERRE ARE YOUU?”

Tonklyn didn’t dare move, and tried not to breathe. Was all that sweat from fear or the heat?

“I willl smmell you sooon ennough, and thenn I will find youu.”

Tonklyn found himself strangely fascinated by the dragon’s speech. He wondered how the humongous monster had learned common tongue. His heart was still pounding, but his mind was clearing. It shapes the words strangely. It must have learned it by study, not by interaction with humans.

Tonklyn crept forward a few inches. The fires still burned, but not as fiercely. The glow from the floor and walls lit the dragon from below and behind, giving him an awesome and even regal look. Tonklyn found himself transfixed. After all the years of reading about them, I finally actually get to see one! He studied the lines and shapes of its neck, wings, back and legs, vowing to sketch it accurately for the record. If I live, that is.

Well, if it can talk, then I can negotiate with it. He thought back on all of those years he had spent stroking the inflated egos of the sages in the library. That should help for something, shouldn’t it? 

But it’s right when it says it will find me eventually, anyway. It’s going to kill me. It will eat me alive. My wits are my only hope.

Tonklyn took a deep breath, for courage, then coughed out the smoky air. He slowly crept out from under the table and stood up. The heat from the fires all around him was painful, almost unbearable. Sweat ran down his neck in streams. Hands at his side, unthreatening, he raised his head to look at the gigantic dragon’s face. It drew back slightly, narrowing its eyes. If it could have shown a smirk of surprise, that would have been it.

Tonklyn took another breath. “Lies.”

“Whatt?” the dragon hissed.

“Everything I’ve read are lies. Or frail imaginings.” Tonklyn’s awestruck countenance was only partly forced. He tried to shape his voice into a breathy tone of wonder, while trying to control the shaky fear he still had knotted deep in his gut. He continued, himself surprised that the dragon hadn’t swept him dead already. “Dragons are clearly far more magnificent here, face to face, than the tomes of history had led me to believe.”

The dragon lowered his head and neck to within a few scant feet of Tonklyns chest, where his heart was palpitating with terror. The head was easily big enough bite him in half and swallow each part whole. Its breath intensified the heat around him. Tonklyn fought the instinct to break, to step back, or even to run, screaming, into the dark. Instead, he bowed his head, briefly, put on his most diplomatic face, then looked the dragon steadily and directly in the eyes.

“Whoo arre youu?” the dragon finally said.

“I am Tonklyn. A scholar. An apprentice to the sages of the great library of King Twynnham of Twynne Rivers.” That much is true, anyway. 

The dragon looked him over from several angles, sniffing and shifting. “And whhy havve youu come heere? Sspeak truuth or you diee wherre you staand.”

Now he’s intrigued. I’m on my way in. “I have been studying the reign and fall of the Great Dragon Kings, particularly Maxinn III. I found the records of this place, his palace, and I resolved to seek it out. What better way to learn of the King, than in the palace itself?” Still, all true. Mostly.  He tried to hide his nerves by walking back and hiking himself up to sit on the table, his legs casually crossed before him.

Tonklyn continued, “I had not expected to meet the new King. We had assumed the palace to be abandoned.” He bowed again. “It is indeed an honor. Am I fortunate to address Maxinn the IV?”

The dragon squinted at him, uncertain. He huffed out a puff of sulferous smoke, shifted his gaze again, then said, “I amm Kirraxal. The First.”

Tonklyn had smiled, then had jumped to his feet on the floor. “Then let me be the first,” he had said, sweeping to one knee, “to bow before the King.”

Tonklyn breathed in, coming out of his memories. He rested his head on the pillow of the bed in the Inn. After they had arrived at Twynne Rivers, they had easily found fine accommodations. With enough gold, things happen quickly. The room was warm and dark, the bed was soft, and the sheets were smooth.

Twynne Rivers may look like nothing here has changed, but everything has changed for me.

<<<>>>

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113 - “Dragon Memories” - Tonklyn - A Tale of Heroes

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As afternoon became twilight, the meadow trail that Tonklyn and his men had been following had merged onto the main road leading eastward into Twynne Rivers. Soon after, they rode by the shanties and shacks of the OuterWall quarter of the city. There were lantern lights shining out of windows onto the streets, but nothing outside to brighten the road itself, like the oculus lamps on the finer, cleaner streets of CenterTowne.

Tonklyn disliked that someone had to drive through these filthy and dangerous neighborhoods to get into the city proper. While it was true that there were City Guardsmen stationed at various points along the main road, trying to protect caravans going in and out, they didn’t pay much attention to smaller groups like his. And, though he had taken care to not dress in finery or his ministerial robes, they certainly didn’t look poor. At least his supports were well armed, and well trained.

What do I have to be afraid of, here? He laughed inside as they passed a few men standing outside of a small pub. I sleep near a dragon! One that frequently reminds me that he prefers the taste of human over cattle. Still, his eyes followed the men with caution as their horses clip-clopped down the dusty roadway.

So much had changed for him in those two years since he’d last been in the city. When he’d left, he had been a lowly apprentice to the sages, given his first journeyman’s task. Honestly, they had initially laughed at his request. Find the fabled Dragon Palace? Where? And what for? In the end, they had acquiesced.

But I knew what I was looking for. I had seen the histories. I had seen what everyone else had ignored. 

In the human histories, there was little mention of the plunder of the palace. Not much was found there after the fall of the Dragon King. Tonklyn had known there had to be more there. The Dragon King’s gold had been legendary. If it had been found, the histories would have mentioned it. It would have changed the course of the nations that followed. He had known that it had to be there, still, waiting for someone to find it.

Getting to the mountains had been hard enough. Then, he had hired a dwarven guide to take him to the palace. It had taken most of his remaining grant money, because no-one had been willing to go there. Even the one he’d hired would only take him half-way up the mountainside. The last miles had been rocky and treacherous. Sometimes hiking the slope, sometimes climbing over slippery rock, cold autumn winds in the higher altitude had made it even more bitter. But he  had finally climbed out onto the ledge that he had seen from so far below.

He rested a while in the mid-day sun, leaning against the rock wall at the back of the ledge, regaining his strength after scaling so far. Next to him was a large opening. It was not natural, like a cave, but carved like a huge doorway. The stones around the opening had been carefully shaped and placed, arched to support the upper reaches. They were chipped and weathered, then, and they had been intricate and beautiful hundreds of years ago.

Tonklyn lit a torch from his pouch and began exploring. The interior was vast and expansive, carved into the mountain with high ceilings and intricate archways. At times, his torchlight wouldn’t even reach the heights. Time and the weather hadn’t ruined things as much inside. It was dusty, and empty, but he could see its past splendor.

He remembered entering a large central chamber, deep in the mountain. His dim torch lit only a few feet into the interior. As he stepped in, he saw some glimmers of reflected light, and a large black mass of boulders. He wondered if the ceiling might have partially collapsed in the room.

Could the glimmer be the the treasure? His heart skipped at the thought. As he stepped forward, he heard a loud sniff, then a deeper snort. The blackened boulders shifted and rolled, scraping loudly across the stone floor. Tonklyn thought to run, but his feet were frozen in fear.

He could see the stones shifting, and saw that they weren’t stone, but muscles, covered in black, scaly skin. Legs stretched out, and stamped onto the floor. A long, snaking neck swept around, and suddenly Tonklyn was staring into the eyes and jaws of an enormous black dragon. Its nose was was only a few feet from Tonklyn’s chest and it sniffed at him, growling. The fear of imminent death swept like a chilled wind over Tonklyn’s skin. The dragon drew its horned head back, away from Tonklyn, opened its hot and spiked-toothed mouth wide, and breathed in, deeply.

A scream ripped from Tonklyn’s chest, and he dropped to his knees, with his face to the floor, covering his head with his hands, and prayed that his death would be quick.

<<<>>>

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94 - “A Bad Report” - Tonklyn - A Tale of Heroes

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<<<>>>

By the time they finished their search of the grounds, stables, larder, and the winery, the sun was set and darkness was closing in. They began to set up a small encampment in the grass between the buildings.

Tonklyn returned to the manor house, and stood again in the great hall, trying to assess what had happened. The oculus hanging from the end of his staff lit the room very dimly, allowing him to only barely make out the shapes of things in the space.  He will not be pleased.

As he thought this, the warm summer air was suddenly blown through with a chilling wind. This was a wind that Tonklyn knew well, and feared. The wind picked up dust and clutter in a swirling vortex at one end of the hall. Darkness gathered around it, as if the wind was sucking the shadows themselves off of the walls and the floor, and blending it with the ash, dirt, and sticks being blown through the air. Slowly, the dark took form and the winds eased. The shifting mists coalesced into a large body with huge black shoulders, out of which grew a long, shifting neck, ending with a large dragon’s head.

Tonklyn immediately dropped to one knee. “Lord Kirraxal, My Master!”

The misty, shadowy, swirly dragon head focused directly on Tonklyn and spoke with a voice that hissed and reverberated through the shadows, “And what is it that won’t be pleasing to me?”

“There is much to report,” Tonklyn began, uncertain how to explain.

“Yes. Well. Go on, and report it.”

Tonklyn sighed, and bowed lower.

“SPEAK! It has taken much of my will to reach out to you, and my patience is low as well!”

“The Dragon’s Flame Chapter here is gone! The manor is a burned out hulk of a building.” Tonklyn took a deep breath. “And we only found five bodies.”

“Five!” The dragon roared, “Five? That chapter had over a dozen men!”

“Yes, my liege. There are signs of a struggle. There are no prisoners. No children, only empty shackles.”

The smoky dragon head looked from side to side. “Did you find the blade?”

Tonklyn shook his head, and mumbled, “No, sire.”

“SPEAK UP!”

“No, My Liege!” Tonklyn held his breath, then, “Nor the books. The treasury was empty as well!”

“And the stables?”

“Also empty.” The wind began to blow through the ruins again, whipping Tonklyn’s cloak and hair into his face.

“So.” The voice rasped with barely controlled rage, “There was a fight, and the prisoners escaped. Whoever was left decided that there was no point in staying, and made off with what they thought was valuable.”

“So it would seem, Sire.”

“And they didn’t think it wise to SEND ME NOTICE!”

Tonklyn struggled to maintain his position on the floor as the wind spiraled around him. “Apparently not, Sire.” He shouted, above the noise.

The winds blew and the mists darkened, and Tonklyn felt his heart racing with fear. Oh, this is it. It’s all over. I’m done for. He held his hands in front of his face as dust and debris flew past him. The rushing in his ears was deafening and he sank low to keep stable.

Then, as quickly as they had risen, the winds calmed and the shadows fell, back into the walls and the corners of the room. The dragon began to lose its shape, dissipating into the breeze. As it faded, it hissed, “We will deal with them as we find them. They have failed me for the last time. This is but one insignificant chapter of The Dragon’s Flame, and there are many more. Those in Twynne Rivers are preparing. You will leave to go to them with all haste in the morning. You, alone, have served me well, at the very least.”

The dust settled, the tumultuous winds calmed, and silence returned. Only the calls of the forest birds could be heard. Tonklyn raised his face, then his shoulders. He stood and dusted off his cloak. He picked up his staff and steadied the shining oculus hanging from the tip. He slowly walked out of the hall and into the yard. There he saw the incredulous and horrified faces of his guard.

“Well, then. I guess you heard. We’ll leave in the morning.” He swallowed hard, then stepped past them, toward his tent. “Sleep well.”

<<<>>>

This continues the story of the heroes in Wynne, in Twynne Rivers, in the world of The Hero's Tale, Family Friendly RPGs. Here's more info on The Hero's Tale, and family friendly RPGing. If you like this story, support us at our Patreon!
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“Placing a Dinner Order” - A Tale of Heroes - Scene 43

Tonklyn stood on a large balcony, jutting out from halfway up the side of a mountain. Really, to say the balcony was large was really an understatement. It was easily thirty to forty feet wide, and it jutted out over the mountainside at least twenty feet in a sweeping half circle. The light glowing from the oculus at the end of his staff barely chased the dark from the balcony’s edge, enhanced a bit by the moonlight. There was no ledge or railing, just a stonework masonry floor, and then a steep and fast drop down the side of the mountain. Below the balcony were crags still full of unmelted snow, spotted with trees.

Tonklyn stood a safe distance from the edge, but not against the mountainside opposite the drop off, or particularly close to the gaping open mouth of a corridor carved into that mountain. The night breeze was cold. It was the late spring, of course, but at this altitude, the air was still winter. His heavy dark brown robes and hood kept him relatively warm as he waited.

It was a clear night, with lots of stars, and an almost full moon. The view of the forest at the valley floor below him was stunning. His eyes, however, were up in the air, scanning, looking, watching.

The balcony was built just at the timber line. There were trees below, but above him only rocks and mountain, except for two other constructions, watchtowers jutting upward out of the mountain on either side of the balcony.

The wind blew stronger for a moment, and he drew his hood and cloak tighter, though his breath still formed a mist in the chill before him.

He caught sight of a motion in the air far off to his right, and his eyes focused on it immediately. It swept across the sky, silhouetted before the moon. He stepped forward and stood a little taller. As the shadow turned in the air, he raised his staff and waved it from side to side. It grew larger as it drew closer, and it came quickly. It dropped down, and for a moment was out of sight.

Tonklyn could hear the heavy flapping of huge wings and felt the wind sweeping up from the trees below. Suddenly the balcony was enveloped in shadow as a massive dragon swooped up over the edge, waving its wings to both stop and steady itself. Its neck arched over and its head looked across the balcony, finally focusing on Tonklyn, whose cloak was waving fiercely in the torrent created by the wings. As the wings drew back and up for another stroke, its back legs, easily as long as Tonklyn was high, reached down and settled onto the edge of the balcony. The muscular body was covered in skin of deep black scales with a slight tint of red reflecting on the underside. The wingstroke came, though not as hard as others, and the forelegs reached out and landed on the stone floor. The dragon leaned back on its back legs and lifted up its head. It stretched out its wings and shook them before folding them neatly across its back. It swayed its head from side to side as if to work its muscles, and finally looked at the human.

Tonklyn stepped forward and dropped to one knee, bowing deeply. “My Liege.”

The dragon snorted, enveloping Tonklyn in smoke and fumes. It turned and lowered its head to slide his body into the corridor entryway. The pounding of his feet on the floor echoed through the chambers. Tonklyn scurried after him, trying to catch up to the head. He spoke hurriedly. “There is a scroll for you, a message from the High Priests of the Church of Three Lights in Twynne Rivers. Shall I get it for you?”

“Yes. But I am hungry. Bring me a meal, and read it to me as I feed.”

“Certainly.” They stepped from the corridor into a large open chamber with a high ceiling supported by pillars all around, each with a dimly glowing oculus. In the center of this space was a vast round carpet of soft furs and blankets. The dragon strode in and circled himself onto it and settled down, with his head up and alert.

“But I grow tired of cattle and venison. Bring me something more delicate.”

“Yes, my Liege.”

“Bring me children.”

Yes, my Liege. Right away.”

<<<>>>

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