Fantasy Mountain Magic Mayhem (Luc/Sazz)

[Anshelical]

"I-I can't hold it," Iso tittered. "Y-You have f-fun with that."

Lier glanced back at Vine, who was searching through his satchel. "The Huujar Sentry Order. But we're not like our noble ancestors with formal walk and talk. Most of us are poor commoners trying to make a living."

Iso knew that he was not poor, staring ahead. He was more tired of being dependent as all.

"I'm more like the knight under this assembly," Lier skimmed the iced mountain peaks at the horizon. Only the light of Milianor's spell allowed enough sight through the thickening fog. "But I have a second duty as a traveler. I don't really serve as knight often since I'm in a lower rank, and they call me only when they need me. So here I am."

Erro investigated the material of the gun once more, but a faint noise had him pause. He looked up.

Swoosh... Swoosh...! The east echoed. Erro turned his attention to the rest of the group, curling his hand about his ear.

"Traveling's fun," Lier continued. "Just don't get to do a lot o--"

"Hey, hey," Erro snapped. "You don't hear that? Listen."

"What is it?"

"Listen." He slowed, quietening with the rest of them to give the sound the floor. Swoosh...! Swoosh...! The flapping whirls responded a little louder than before. Swoosh!

Lier rested his hand on his thigh in case he had to draw the longblade, watching around him. Vine smirked, preparing his spell. Erro held his hand on the gun's cock, also turning about himself to search for the source. Iso was petrified, paralyzed as he stiffened in his stance.

 

[St. Clover]

Already feeling dread welling in the back of her mind like a lead weight, Milianor swallowed hard and glanced upwards. She closed and opened her hands several times, trying to work up her courage again. She wasn't used to meeting dragons, they unnerved her. Something about the full sized, colossal specimens of her family tree freaked her out in some primitive way. It took her longer than she was comfortable with to open her mouth, and make her voice speak up.

"Keep quiet," she warned in a raspy voice. "We don't want to piss it off just yet... If we haven't already."

She chanced a look around the group. They were in her care now, and she couldn't protect them with her head filled with the notions of fear. She took a quick swig of her canteen.

"Lier, how far are we from where you last saw your friend?" she asked, working on a potential plan as best she could.

 

[Anshelical]

"Not too far off," Lier almost whispered. "These bushes here were there when we were running from 'em." He succumbed to a glint of fear in his pressured eyes, searching about them. The swooping of wind resonated northeast now. The humid fog worsened Iso's fearful sweating. Vine sensed his magic spell taxing on his untrained body due to the battle from earlier, grimacing.

"Sounds close," Erro stated the obvious.

"Shh," Lier signaled pressing his lips. Then, with a glance to the trail ahead, he beckoned them forward, starting with a steady tread. Iso was slow to move, trying to contain his whimpers and fury with shaky yet deep breaths. Erro kept the gun in position but pointed down -- were the Dragon to appear through one of its troublesome portals. Vine couldn't quite read Milianor's fear with his quick glance to her, slowing to her side as he followed Lier.

A lizard crawled deeper into the snug rock fracture, its tapping claws startling Erro to aim his gun at it. The others turned to Erro.

"Nothing," he stared into the crevice. "Keep going."

 

[St. Clover]

Milianor, who by this point was getting a grip on her emotions, twitched at the sound of the lizard's claws. She snapped her head over to stare at it. When she saw it wasn't a threat, she moved on before Erro could speak. Stay alert, stay alive. She repeated this to herself as she settled into the familiar motions of being on the job. Everything was going fine so far, well within acceptable norms. Except she was now mostly disarmed, and had to help protect her group from a flying dragon. She groaned inwardly.

"Alright, let's find him if we can," she started. "And get the hell out of here!"

 

[Anshelical]

The flapping loudened as some of the lightening fog swayed off the ground. The evaporating droplets laid upon the faces of the searchers walking ahead, leading a thin path of visibility toward the familiar cliff -- the one smeared with dried blood about its edge.

"Nck!" Iso turned from the sight, staying close to Milianor. He couldn't take his mind off of Diger's death, that moment he had to walk away from his demise.

"Yeah, we're here," Lier's voice rasped.

SWOOSH!!! A blur of a swift, black wing carried over them from the rock wall. Lier and Erro up closer to it had to catch themselves from the blowing burst. "Tchn!"

With a gradual focus on the swift-moving creature, Lier beheld the back of the creature diving down just above the thick-thorned vegetation, gliding just above the small body of water after. It sure was that rigid, jade-like embroidered back from before, shedding a few of its shimmery minerals as it passed.

"Shit..." Vine bit his lip.

 

[St. Clover]

Milianor grunted and stamped her foot into the ground, shielding her eyes when the gust of wind battered at them. She cursed in her native tongue and squinted, trying to make out the shape of what was causing the disturbance. It didn't take long, much to her horror, to spot it. Seeing the dragon sent a chill down Milianor's spine, a sensation she was quite familiar with. It was the same sensation she got when coming face to face with a situation she wasn't sure she would make it out of. Not in one piece, anyway. She felt a strong urge to turn tail and run, but squashed that thought in an instant.

She had a job to do.

She took a step forward and rolled her shoulders, trying to muster up as much courage as dragonly possible. "So that's the bastard, huh?" she asked, forcing a false sense of confidence into her voice. "Doesn't look so tough in person. Nice scales." She sucked in a breath, made a half choking sound, then spat a wad of flaming saliva out onto the ground. "Nothing I can't handle, though. You guys stay back, huh? Going to try and have a talk with mister mineral."

She made to take a step, but paused. The scroll, she remembered. She fished into her coat and produced the parchment, thrusting it into Vine's hand. "Keep a hold of it," she told him. "In case shit goes sideways, we don't need this in harm's way."

 

[Anshelical]

"Er, okay!" Vine clenched it tight.

The dark figure coasted just above the thorns, curling in curved form as it steered even. Concave scales reflected a blackened mirror of the sunset with each shift, brightened in parallel with the creature's wings turning about with a row of air. Crystalline spikes curved and protruded upward and lapsed into the spine and the side horns of its head, the horns painted with fresh blood unseen past the shade. Its wings curled above its head with a stretch length twice the body width, displaying a concentric tessellation of trilateral arches.

The wings tilted after going so far toward the horizon, and then the chest, neck, and its muscular legs covered in clear silver veins did, revealing its face -- a deceptive diamond. Its soft contour about its striped neck and forehead covered the ravishing luster of its death-ridden teeth below its sunken mandible. Inky eyes blended with its murky face, twinkling at the sight of the five in the way of its roundabout.

"S-S-S--!" Iso trembled, stooping as his legs weakened on him. "G-G-G--!"

Erro kept his gun low but made sure that if the Dragon were to attack any moment, he was ready to cock, aim, and fire. Lier had his hand still on the handle of the longblade but prepared a fire spell to conduct into it. "Do what you can," he said.

 

[St. Clover]

Nodding, Milianor drew a deep breath and started out towards the edge of the cliff. Stay calm, one foot in front of the other, left, right, left, right. She locked her eyes on the admittedly gorgeous creature in the distance, briefly awed by its pristine looks. She had been expecting something straight out of the abyss, a thing of shadow and scales as dark as night. What she saw before her was nothing less than a flying work of art. It was a gem dragon if ever one existed.

And she was about to face it down, potentially to the death.

Exhaling deeply, Milianor took a moment to compose herself. She felt the magic within her stir, rumbling in her gut and growing hot in her chest. It was an exhilarating feeling, probably the only good thing about this situation, she figured. She kept the power idling in the back of her mind for now, ready to use in an instant if needed. She opened her eyes.

Be a freaking dragon, she told herself.

Inhaling, the dragonborn loosed her breath as a roar to the other draconoid. As loud as she could muster, she declared her presence and intent in the most basic way she knew how, a time tested tradition between clans and even species of wyrm in her world. If this functioned anything like it, she'd have its attention and time. If not, well, at least she'd have its attention.

 

[Anshelical]

The shaking young man could not believe his eyes and ears. That dragoness we were just walking with just made a primal call! Erro and Vine stuck close to each other, watching between Milianor and the nearing monster. Liernoine reinforced his grip on the weapon before any more of his sweaty hand could slip, pondering the creature's crafty splendor. A beautiful creature as this can cause a lot of damage.

He minded the dull ache about his neck and shoulder, returning to right before he fell. But, not only he readmitted Iso pushing him, but he also realized Vine may had tried to rescue him -- hearing his leader call after him -- a rather unexpected surprise. Vine strayed from his selfish nature for a brief moment. But, what was he thinking now of this creature? If one scale could earn him a few hundred Gale...

Vine's fascination in Milianor's unfazed, assertive call delivered a spirit of confidence in himself being with her, sending his foot forward toward her, but Erro's cold hand upon his wrist pulled him out of the mystical moment. He glared back at the historian shaking his head, wrung his hand free, staying in position with his attention back to the Shadow Dragon.

"Haawura!" The Beast returned a piercing shrill, its head hung low. It carried itself higher, focusing on the potential contenders.

 

[St. Clover]

Resisting the urge to flinch at the dragon's shrill, Milianor clenched her jaw and sucked in another breath. She needed to stay strong, not show any weakness. That's how a dragon carried itself! She issued another call to the mineral beast, putting as much spirit into it as possible. Her throat was getting sore from the sound, but she endured. "Tras'la Ikc thu'mah! Lith'tu To'me Chur!" she screamed, doing her best to simplify her dragonic tongue as much as she could.

If it came across at all, the meaning would be clear. I want to talk, spare a moment of time and I shall do you a good deal in return.

 

[Anshelical]

Erro jerked his head with a frown. "The hell?" He checked to confirm his astonished opinon, finding Iso still shaking, Vine enchanted, Liernoine in steady watch. "Okay," he said. "I guess people can do that after all. History doesn't lie."

Liernoine interpreted the dialect as best he could, noting the Dragon's slower movements and its tilting head. Milianor sure did have it down though; it was about time he grasped any sapient communication to beasts as this. He drew the blade.

The draconic form of fogging shadows hovered up and up, its head still tilted to the direction of the declaration. "Gsu theik."

Vine was on the verge of greed madness, fantasizing the various momentos he could gather -- including Milianor's scales. Iso froze in place on the Dragon's words. Erro stared. Liernoine could hear something familiar... but denied it.

 

[St. Clover]

Ear fin twitching at the response, Milianor leaned forward into brief bow. Respect, she knew, was the currency of the cutthroat world of politics. And dragons were political by nature. If she could get her winged cousin to talk a bit more, she was confident she would get at least some progress made. Slowly she reached into her satchel to produce a small cloth pouch. She tugged it open and emptied the contents into her hands. Gems of all sort spilled out and glittered in the light, which she extended out as an olive branch.

"Peace!" she yelled, this time in Common. "I offer you these in hopes we may conduct business unharmed!"

 

[Anshelical]

The clinging gems triggered the crystalline feelers to twitch about the sides of the Dragon's head. The wings pulled up the body with a heavy swoop, enabling an angle to descend to a glide toward the rock wall.

"K-K-K--!" The gust from the charging Dragon's force pushed down on Iso, who was standing out to the side where it headed. When the force released, he ran behind Liernoine. "Gaaack!"

Wind ceased with the wing's slowing carry for landing, allowing enough for the Shadow to crunch its cracked, yet silk-finished claws onto stable ground. Its moves captured the breeze about it, heaving more heat into the thinning fog.

The glittery face turned to them.

 

[St. Clover]

Jacket billowing in the whipping wind, Milianor stood her ground as the dragon descended. Show no fear, she reminded herself. It was becoming easier now, she thought as she dared to approach the jewel covered creature. Easier both to grasp her fear and to turn it into motivation. She had people to protect, so she would lead by example. Boot crunching against the stone beneath it, the dragonborn came to a standstill not ten feet from the dragon. She met its eyes without a trace of fear in her own. She would master this, one way or another.

"You accept my parlay?"

She sunk to one knee in a sign of respect, offering up the gems to emphasize her point. Flawless in both quality and cut, the rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds were from her own hoard. She often took payment from jobs in the form of precious metal, jewels, or similar trinkets. A flaw inherited from her mother, she always suspected.

 

[Anshelical]

The four travelers stood clumped together in silence, beholding the anticipating reveal.

Those eyes were static, dark, even still with the hot puffs flaring from the nostrils. They weren't on the gems, nor on Milianor. But, they lied on the one reverencing it most: Iso.

Liernoine gave a slight, downward wave of the sword at his side, glimpsing between Milianor and the bloody kneecaps close by. So it can talk. Rumors like this can be confirmed now. He glanced to Vine's malicious grin, his lips itching to say something to him but too cautious to.

The Dragon returned its gaze to Milianor, its nose wings tensing with more evaporating breaths.

 

[St. Clover]

Seeing that the submissive approach had failed, Milianor grunted and rose to her feet. Keeping her arm extended, she waved the gems around. "Well, we going to do this or not?" she slowly drawled. "I've got some questions and I'm willing to pay if that's what it takes. If this doesn't work I've got some other shit stashed away, but I need to know you're willing to hold your end of the conversation."

The fact she had the dragon's attention was a good sign. Its lack of aggression so far was more than she could've hoped for.

"My name is Milianor. I've come to speak with you regarding an important matter. I wouldn't waste your time if it wasn't," she explained, keeping eye contact as best she could. "Especially knowing you could incinerate me at your convenience."

 

[Anshelical]

"Gusinth," the crystalline teeth hissed. The Dragon pulled its head back and shrilled to the skies, declaring its territory with a ringing pound of gust, opening up some of the fog.

"Tchn!" Vine kept his smile, covering his ears with the rest of the band. He was in full esctasy he could be close to the wyrm without hostility and behold its form. His dreaming instinct would have him lunge forward to ride its back, but of course his external fear and cautiousness withheld him, remembering that, yes, this Dragon did kill many. The scent of raw, drying blood was clearly there.

"Miveianor," its tongue clicked about, "Uf whaut bvood you come?"

Liernoine rested his fingers on his lips, trying to make out its speech.

 

[St. Clover]

Swallowing hard, Milianor spoke, "I've come here to ask for safe passage through these lands." She gestured back to the others. "And, with your grace, to recover the worldy remains of their friend, if they remain," she explained. "They wish to return home in peace. They informed me of the... Confrontation with you earlier. Warned me of your power. I wished to see for myself how mighty the lord of this land is, and find a," She paused, swallowing again. "agreeable solution, if one can be found."

 

[Anshelical]

Iso was utterly shocked at this straight conversation, his mouth hanging open with his internally shaking body. Never in his life had he seen a dragon -- or any feral creature at that -- talk. And to imagine that all they had to do was talk to it sent him through purges of guilt, knowing he could had saved his love.

Liernoine glanced to Milianor's steady speech, nodding. It was quite interesting indeed he could not sense the sapience of the creature or its motive on the first encounter. Yet, he had this hunch that with all the gems about it, especially when asking Milianor about her blood, this Dragon was affiliated with the Dragon Stone Crisis.

"Noa ackreeavle sovution," it suspired with a turn of its head. "My decvaration of vis laund es set un stone amaung thei Aphautic Chaumber uf theise rouks."

Erro kept his eye on the dragon, getting out a brush and tried to draw the image and calligraph the words he could understand.

 

[St. Clover]

"Which is all fine and good," the dragonborn nodded. "All I ask is you grant them safe passage through your lands. They are interlopers, true, yet I ask you show them mercy. You asked me my breed a moment ago. I'm a Brass Dragonborn. Our kind are distant kin to you, and my particular type is much more diplomatic than most. We believe solutions can be found with words more often than violence. But we're not dense, either. Words alone can only go so far, I've learned this personally. So I ask, what will it cost to make amends for the transgressions they have brought upon you? Monetary value is no issue, if that's the case. And if it's mystical trinkets you desire, I have a share of them as well."

Aphautic Chaumber? The name certainly didn't ring a bell, but in case they survived this, she made a mental note to ask about it later.

 

[Anshelical]

The crystal spikes upon the monster's tail darkened with the spikes upon its back and below its mandible. With a steady gaze on the offer, the breaths came to a stop. Its eye twinkled.

Liernoine's gut warned him, he stepping forth. "Milia--!"

The feelers shined bright with a dark aura bound to it, displaying an image of glass pastures and tarry vegetation spread about it. "Vis es de Aphautic Chaumber," it said. It was a rollover vision passing through the Chamber where a huge mural of a dragon family lied on the embedded walkways, manifested in a circle of charry symbols. And with its stop, the generations of other dragon breeds, their descendants, their manifestations of uncountable kind, rested onto an ellipse-shaped stone of a thousand faces, hues similar to its own form -- the mixture of silver, glass, and ink -- glistened back.

Lier, mistaken on its initial intent, took a step back again, watching it closer.

 

[St. Clover]

Half expecting the dragon to try and incinerate her, Milianor had prepped her Spell Slapper with a clenching of the fist. When the visions appeared, she thanked herself for staying her hand. She watched the mural pass by, and then the separation of true dragons into their countless descendants. In many ways it reminded her of her own world, except she doubted all the breeds would ever be as well documented as they were here. When the stone came into view, she couldn't suppress the gasp that escaped her lips.

"That's..." she began. She wasn't entirely away of what she was seeing, but some part of her felt its importance. "What is that? An Artifact?"

 

[Anshelical]

The rotating jewel faded away with the rest of its surrounding vision, revealing the present Dragon behind. "Tus a reseumbvance uf de Aphautic Chaumber, maunifusted en intentun."

"What the hell is it saying?" Erro shook his head when he noted Vine's mezmerization. With no response from his comrades, he resumed his artistry.

Aphautic Chaumber... Lier thought. Auphautic Chaumber. Out of all Erro's research on this small mountain range, there was nothing mentioned about this regarding the Dragon Stone Crisis. Yet, this display of a family of dragons was close enough to the profile. Was it of the Seconds, perhaps? Or, this Dragon could be straight from the Limbo.

 

[St. Clover]

Milianor frowned, trying to understand what the intent behind this was. "Why are you showing me this? What are you trying to teach me?" she asked almost instantly, desire to learn overriding any lingering fear. Something important was being laid out here, and she had to know what it was. Ignorance wasn't something she greatly appreciated, especially when it came to magic. "What is the Aphautic Chaumber?" She tried mimicking the dragon's tone as best she could, trying to see if there was any hidden meaning in the words. "What does it mean?"

Asking for intent would always be better than function, she knew. Magic was all about intent. Function came from intent, a desire to bend the unfathomable powers of the world to a specific function. But none of it was possible without intent. And intent was nothing without meaning, a clearly defined set of guidelines for that intent to be fulfilled.

 

[Anshelical]

The winged beast flared its nose with another smoky huff. Its eyes were still upon them, especially from Milianor's face to the offerings scattered below. "Aur auncestahs bid dis vand protchection," it hissed. "Aund de compleition uf de Auphautic Chaumber." Erroded sand rolled under the brushing tail. More fog emitted from its nose. The feelers floated about the sides of the gem monster's rocky face. It plotted.

Iso was still as fearful, but the more assurance he felt from the dragoness's communication with the creature, the more his reverence wallowed into regret. All we had to do was talk to it? Diger had to die because we didn't talk to it? After all, they were trying to escape the Dragon's clutches at first sight anyhow -- no resistance. So, why was it willing now? Milianor surely gained its attention with that call of hers.

Lier could sense Iso's stale position of stacking fury in his peripheral eye, trying to keep his own peace at what he thought could had been the true case: was the Dragon mistaken on their origins?