V M Through the Fire and the Flames

[Eszter]

The Skewered Serpent was a popular tavern for no small number of reasons. The foremost was, probably, because it was the only tavern in Nessa, a humble town in the Hinterlands that was far enough from any other settlements that if you wanted a drink, your only choice was to go local. Another major reason was that Moe, the tavernkeeper, had some connections to local law enforcement and hunters, which he had leveraged to secure the only bounty board in the region.

“Let’s see…” Macarius tutted to himself as he scanned the board, looking for a job which promised a nice balance of high pay and low effort whilst trying to ignore the ruckus in the tavern. The elf rogue and his companions were regulars at the Serpent, and were often the cause of said ruckus, as they were today.

“Come on, Moe, let’s have another round!” Davok, their dwarven sorcerer, crowed, raising his empty mug (as well as Macarius’ empty mug, despite the rogue having not taken a single sip) and letting out a raucous laugh. He was joined in an enthusiastic chorus of cheers from their other two companions: Lina, an elf mage who specialized in healing magic, and Sieg, a human swordsman. “You’re looking at the heroes who took down three dire bears!”

“I hear ya, I hear ya.” The tavernkeeper laughed, waving the dwarf down as he poured another four drinks. “Saving the town is thirsty work, I’m sure. Will the fourth one be for Macarius or ‘for Macarius?”

The sorcerer chuckled as the rogue returned to the table empty-handed. The other two were far too drunk to take any notice, but Davok gave him a raised eyebrow at the lack of a bounty. The elf man simply shrugged at his friend.

“Nothing on there is offering good coin. Plus, it’s all work for someone who can barely swing a sword. Killing boars and shit.”

“Heh, I had a feeling you guys wouldn’t be satisfied with the normal jobs any more.” Moe said as he arrived at their table, offloading the four mugs as well as a piece of parchment. “Get a load o’ that.”

The more sober pair of the adventurers leaned over the bounty, reading it before simultaneously glancing at one another.

“Rock drakes, eh?” Davok mumbled, scratching his beard. “They’re no pushover but… damn, the pay is good.”

“Pay?” Siegfried asked, perking up all of a sudden, only staying upright because of the arm he had around Lina.

“Yeah, pay.” The sorcerer nodded, sliding the bounty over to the other two. As soon as they managed to focus their eyes long enough, their eyes lit up. Davok could practically see their pupils turn to coin symbols.

“Fo- hic- four million!” Lina slurred, punching her human companion in the ribs. “That’s… wow, a lot.”

“Four thousand.” Macarius corrected, wincing a little as he imagined how much the two had had to drink.

“That’s still wow.”

“We need to clear out a rock drake nest to claim it though.” The rogue sighed, visibly worried at the prospect.

“Eh, it’s only two. It should be manageable as long as we get in there before any more hatch.” Davok said, swirling his drink as he mulled over his thoughts.

“It’ll be easy!” Sieg declared. “We’re invisible!”

“Invincible.” Luna corrected. “We’re imvimcible.”

“We’ll accept the job, thanks Moe.” Macarius said, nodding to the tavern keeper before turning to his two wasted companions. “Now, we need to get you two to bed. I want to leave for this job as soon as possible.”

“Noooo.” His friends moaned, but their complaints fell on deaf ears. The rogue didn’t envy the hangover that those two would be feeling tomorrow.

~~~~~

The adventuring party raised their torches as they entered the antechamber, glancing around for their prey. The drake nest had been far less populated than they had been led to believe. In fact, they were already in the heart of the cave system and they had yet to run into a single drake.

“Are we sure there’s even anything here?” Sieg asked, shielding his eyes against the blinding light of their small torches. The hangover was just as bad as Macarius had expected. Lina, on the other hand, was bright and cheery after casting a restoration spell on herself.

“Yeah, I found scales around the entrance. Fresh ones. There’s definitely at least one drake in here.” Macarius confirmed, coating his dual knives in a specialized concoction, courtesy of an alchemist who always seemed to have something just right for the rogue’s next job. It was harmless to humanoids, but exceptionally deadly to dragons.

Sieg turned to the elven man and opened his mouth to respond, but was cut short by a low rumbling sound which quickly rose into a sharp hiss. Across the antechamber, barely illuminated by the adventurer’s torches and a bed of lightly glowing coals beneath it, was a rock drake, crouched low in a small pit as it hissed at the adventurers.

“Jackpot.” The swordsman whispered as he drew his sword, taking a combat stance with the rest of his party. The adventurers stood in a tense stand-off with the drake for what seemed like an eternity, neither side looking to make the first move. Finally, the silence was broken as Sieg gave a small series of gestures to his party, signaling the battle plan, before bursting forward, sword at the ready.

At the sudden movement, the rock drake surged forward to meet him, unleashing a gout of flame at the charging adventurer. Anticipating the attack, the young man hurled himself to the side, landing in a quick roll and quickly returning to his feet, unphased in his approach. Growling furiously, the drake moved to bite down on its foe, only for its jaws to snap shut on open air as a blast of frost from Davok swallowed up its front legs, holding it in place.

The lesser dragon tripped forwards as it fell off-balance, groaning pathetically as Sieg charged towards it. Its groans were joined a moment later by a second furious hiss, and the group whipped around to find the source: a second rock drake clinging to the wall above the entrance that they had come in through moments before. The bound drake took advantage of the distraction, and opened its jaws wide towards the charging Sied, even as its companion aimed its maw towards the other adventurers, sparks flickering in the throats of both dragons.

“Macarius! Lina!” Sieg cried.

“Already on it.” The healer announced as she rose her staff bacon her head, silver light blanketing the adventurers.

“Got it.” The rogue replied, his daggers at the ready as he made a break for a nearby rocky outcropping.

In an instant, the entire party was enveloped in the twin jets of flame spewed by the dragons, hiding them from few for a long moment. Soon, though, the fire cleared, revealing an unharmed group of adventurers, courtesy of their healer’s last-second protective spell. The bound drake had no other option but to sit and watch its incoming demise as Sieg closed the final distance and plunged his sword into its skull. The wall-crawling drake let out a long, solemn cry as it watched its fellow drake die, launching itself from the wall and toward the adventurers in a fit of mindless fury.

“I don’t think so!” Macarius cried as he hurled himself at the outcropping and twisted around in midair, landing feet-first against it before launching off of it. With a whirl, he slashed both daggers into the dragon’s underbelly as it passed right over him, the rogue barely avoiding a mid-air collision with the beast. The slashes were minor, but the poison did its job almost instantly. The drake seized up, its muscles locking as blood began to leak from its maw. Any chance it had of surviving the toxin was rendered useless as Davok raised his hand, uttered a rapid-fire incantation, and blasted a bolt of lightning at the beast, finishing it off and stopping its corpse from crushing the party in one spell.

The party stood there in silence for a long moment, panting and glancing around to make sure that there wouldn’t be another dragon about to ambush them. After a minute of nothing, they felt safe enough to let out a collective sigh of relief.

“Anyone hurt?” Lina asked before receiving a series of ‘no’. “Great. You’re welcome!”

The adventurers let out some half-hearted chuckles as they began to explore the antechamber in earnest. There was little of note, barely any hoard to speak of, until Sieg decided to check the small pit that the first drake had been sitting in. He only needed one look before he gave a whistle to his companions. “Hey, guys, you’re gonna want to check this out.”

The group gathered around the pit, wondering what he had seen, and immediately knew what the dragon had been guarding. They were looking at a nest of rock drake eggs. Half a dozen dark brown eggs sat in the hot coals, now free for the taking without their mother to protect them.

“So… you think these count as dragons that we have to slay?” Davok asked, cringing a little. The group glanced at one another, shrugging and giving uncertain looks. The first to move was Macarius, who stooped down and grabbed one.

“I think I’ll be taking one. Might be worth something to the right bidder.” He explained as he scooped up the egg and dropped it into his satchel.

“Oh, good idea.” Sieg, kneeling down and grabbing an egg of his own. “I’ve always wanted a pet dragon.”

“I don’t think they’ll be happy if they find out that we’re stealing dragon eggs, and don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re a whole lot less subtle then I am.” Macarius said, cringing a little.

“I know, they’ll be real upset if they find out that we’re taking dragon eggs. That’s why I’ll just take one. Dragon egg, not eggs.” The swordsman said, grinning proudly at his logic.

“Whatever. Just don’t drag me into it. I’m not paying your fine again.” The rogue sighed, rising to his feet and dusting himself off. “I’m going to go scout out the other tunnels, just to make sure there aren’t any more drakes.”

“Stay safe. It’ll be hard without me.” Lina said, chuckling a little to herself before raising a foot, poising it above the eggs with a grimace on her face. “So, are we doing this?”

“Better finish the job.” Davok sighed. The sound of cracking and squishing filled the face as Macarius picked a random side tunnel and began to head down it. With a single arcane word, the rogue’s magic cloak activated and he was wreathed in shadows, vanishing from sight. He had to admit that he felt a lot more secure while scouting alone. He loved his party but by the gods, they couldn’t be subtle to save their lives.

The elf walked for a minute, then two, then five. The tunnel was far longer than he expected, and worry started to settle in. Not for himself, he felt safe in his shroud of darkness, but for his party. They could be attacked by a rogue drake and he doubted he would be able to hear a thing. Resolving that there was nothing to see down this tunnel, he went to turn around when he heard something strange. Footsteps. Humanoid footsteps.

Confused, he paused, gazing down the tunnel in the direction of the footsteps, hearing them grow louder, closer. Soon enough, visible only by his elven eyes adjusted to the dark, a strange woman emerged from the darkness, clad in a red dress and boots. Even at a glance, he could tell she wasn’t just some random person lost in the tunnels, with her blood-red hair, curling horns, and softly-glowing reptilian eyes. Macarius briefly wondered if she was some kind of tiefling as he watched her pass him, walk a few more steps, and stop.

‘Alright, time to go.’ He thought to himself as he quietly slipped by the woman, careful not to brush against her or even make a sound as he watched her… tilt her head back? The stranger closed her eyes and began to sniff the air. ‘What a weirdo...’

As he began to head back down the tunnel, he heard a low growl roll from the woman’s throat, oddly familiar to the rogue for a reason that took him a few seconds to place.

‘Hmm… Hey, that kind of sounds like the growls that the rock dra-‘

His thoughts were cut short as he heard the ruffling of fabric behind him, the sound giving him enough warning to duck as a fist came slamming into the air where his head had been but seconds before. ‘What the fuck!’

“Show yourself…” The woman growled, her already reptilian pupils focusing to paper-thin vertical slits, the glow of her eyes igniting like lanterns as the low growl rose into a furious roar, the stranger’s face contorted in rage unlike anything Macarius had ever seen before. “DRAGONSLAYER!”

 

[Eszter]

A horrible, nauseous feeling was churning in Eszter’s stomach. Without any home to go back to, she had taken up residence in the hinterlands, feeling quite at home living among the drakes in the mountains and caves. She had known that she wouldn’t have peace for long, though. Where there were dragons, there were dragonslayers. The vermin just couldn’t help themselves, and the reincarnated dragon could smell a rat trying to sneak by her.

“Face me, coward.” She snarled, pulling her fist from the cracked cave wall. Eszter couldn’t see her foe, but she could smell the stench of dragon blood on their hands, the noxious scent sending her heart racing, fury mounting. “Face your crimes, murderer!”

Darker than the shadows of the tunnel, wisps of smoke gathered before blowing away in a phantom wind, revealing the elven rogue that Eszter could smell. Despite the frazzled look in his eye, Macarius’ posture was relaxed, looking awfully casual for someone who had just narrowly avoided having their skull crushed.

“That was a close one. You’ve got a mean right hook.” He said, his tone calm and even, one hand raised in an attempt at reassurance while his other went lazily to his hip. “Settle down, we’re both adults here, let’s talk this out.”

“I’m not going to negotiate with a murderer.” The dragonkin snapped back, striding towards the rogue. “Save your breath.”

“Murderer? That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?” The elf replied coolly, his hand at his hip fiddling with something. “It was just a couple of drakes.”

“Just a-“ Eszter gasped, her voice catching in her throat. Registering what the rogue had just told, she couldn’t help but grit her teeth and clench her fists. How DARE he?! Who did this vermin think he was to dismiss the lives of his victims like that?!

“I’m going to make this hurt.”

“Y’know, not the first time I’ve heard that.” Macarius responded. Then, in a burst of movement, the standoff ended. The rogue took the initiative, bringing his arm from his hip, bringing his dagger with it. He took a quick swing at the dragonkin’s throat, only for her to parry the blow, knocking his arm away with surprising force for her slender build. As his blade came to an abrupt stop, a fleck of the liquid that was coating it sailed off of the dagger and splashed against Eszter’s cheek.

The reincarnated dragon let out a shriek of pain as the toxin touched on her skin, swinging her fists wildly at her foe. The rogue nimbly ducked out of the way of the first punch before taking a quick step backwards, getting out of the way of the second and third. The elf calmly observed his opponent as she clawed at her face, scraping the drop of poison away.

“Well, look at that. You’ve really got dragon blood in you. Seems to be pretty strong too with a reaction that violent.” He noted as he watched the skin of her cheek knit itself back together, tiny flames licking at the wound as it returned to unmarked, smooth skin. Macarius briefly regretted not taking the chance to finish her off, but the risk of being hit with a punch that could crack rock wasn’t one that he was willing to take.

“Of course I do.” Eszter snapped back. “I am Yucatan reborn, a new queen of the dragons.”

“Pffft, that old fairy tale?” The rogue snickered. “Well, it's good to have aspirations, I guess.”

“I have no need to prove myself to vermin.” She sneered, snapping her fingers and conjuring a small ball of flame at her fingertip. “Doubters and believers all burn the same.”

Despite the wimpy looking orb, Macarius was immediately on guard, knowing better than to underestimate any form of magic, particularly something as potentially destructive as fire. With a flick of her wrist, the dragonkin sent the spark careening towards the rogue. Moments before it would have hit him, the elf instinctively threw himself backward, just in time to avoid the brunt of the resulting explosion.

The dark corridor was suddenly illuminated as the tiny ball erupted into dragonfire, blinding the rogue from the intensity of it all and scorching his cloak, though his quick dodge backwards protected him from the majority of the damage. The adventurer tumbled over backwards, intending to catch himself and land on his feet, ready to answer her follow-up attack. Instead, Eszter exploded from the fading fireball, flames steaming harmless from her form as she raced after him and threw a brutal kick into his side.

The rogue felt as if he had been hit with a sledgehammer as her momentum added to his, sending him bouncing across the cold, hard floor of the cavern. Gasping for breath, the winded elf came to a stop as he slammed against the cave wall, his mind racing. He had to get back to his friends, he was toast if he tried to fight this battle alone. As Macarius got to his feet and attempted to dart away, however, he felt a vice grip close around the back of his neck.

Eszter let out a furious roar as she grabbed the rogue and dashed him against the wall, hurling him with enough force that his feet left the ground before he struck the stone with a sickening crack. The dazed adventurer tried and failed to get to his feet as he glanced around, struggling to comprehend what he was seeing as two pinpricks of light appeared in his swimming vision. Unfortunately for him, or perhaps fortunately, he never realized what he was seeing as the fireball detonated, consuming the tunnel in dragonfire once more.

As the fire abated, Eszter was left standing next to the charred remains of the dragon slayer. The dragonkin crouched down and began to dispassionately rifle through his belongings, searching for anything useful on him. His daggers had survived the explosion, though she had no use for them and simply tossed them aside. The toxin he had used to burn her had also remained intact, though this was quickly amended by a quick smashing of the bottle followed by another burst of flame to burn the substance away. Finally, the dragon queen felt something large and round in the remains of his satchel and her heart leapt into her throat. The vermin had been trying to steal an egg!

Heart racing, Eszter quickly put her ear to the egg, desperately hoping that the chick within was still alive despite being snatched from the warmth of its nest. To her relief, she felt the quiet beat of the infant drake’s heart, though for how much longer it would endure, she could not be certain. Thinking quickly, she nestled it back into the remains of her foe, hoping the heat would sustain it while she took care of the other dragonslayers.

“Don’t worry, little one.” She said softly to the egg. “You’re safe now. Your queen has returned.”

 

[Eszter]

“Come on, elf!” Darvok huffed as he shuffled down the tunnel, looking for his lost party member. “We don’t have all day, the youngsters are getting antsy.”

The dwarven mage scratched his beard and squinted his eyes as he peered down the corridor, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him. There was a little spark of light, just at the end of his vision. As he watched the warm orange light, it seemed to be growing slightly with each passing moment.

No…

Not growing, getting closer. Darvok’s eyes widened in horror and recognition as his heart skipped a beat, moments before he was enveloped in a flash of dragonfire, the dull roar of flame muffling his cries.

“It’s never just one.” Eszter muttered to herself as she approached her latest victim, hand still outstretched in a finger gun. “Figures. It’s not like vermin can kill a dragon on their own.”

In response to her comment, a similar orb of light came careening out of the dying fireball, striking the dragonkin in the chest before swallowing her in another roaring sphere of flame.

“Your power isn’t bad, but the technique could use some work.” Darvok said appraisingly, appearing from the fading blaze unharmed, taking the stance of a practiced warmage as his magical ward faded. “How’s that for a real fireball?”

The dwarf’s bravado didn’t fade in the slightest as a furious Eszter stepped from the blaze, flames dancing harmlessly across her form as she strode towards him, her reptilian eyes glowing dangerously.

“You’re a stubborn cockroach, aren’t you?” She growled while conjuring another pinpoint of draconic magic.

“Guilty.” Darvok chuckled before steeling his gaze. “So… I’m gonna guess you’re the reason that Macarius hasn’t reported back yet.”

In spite of her fury, the reincarnated dragon couldn’t help but give her foe a toothy grin. She loved when the fear began to set in. “Guilty.”

The magus swore under his breath as his suspicions were confirmed, his heart sinking. “You… fuck...”

“Yes, yes, it’s all very sad. Is the gravity of the situation dawning on you yet?” Eszter sneered. “You’re far outmatched here. I don’t suppose you have the decency to just lie down and die?”

“Fuck no I don’t.” The dwarf shouted back, arcane energy crackling in the air around him. “Your murder spree ends here!”

“Murder?” The dragonkin snapped back, unsure whether to laugh or break something. “This isn’t murder, fool. This is an execution.”

With that, she launched her fireball, a miniature shooting star streaking through the dark of the tunnel. Before it could detonate, however, Darvok uttered an arcane syllable, his fingers twitching in just the right way to reduce Eszter’s spell to nothing before retaliating with his own, shouting a quick incantation before projecting a fierce bolt of lightning from his fingers.

The dragon queen’s eyes widened in horror, moments before she was sent rolling down the tunnel, her form convulsing as electricity coursed through it. Despite her best efforts, she wasn’t able to dodge out of the way altogether, though she had managed to move her arm into the way rather than let it strike her in the chest. As control came back to her body, she clutched her wounded arm. Her draconic blood was already taking effect, feeling coming back into her numb extremities with each passing second, but it wasn’t quick enough for comfort.

“Not immune to lightning then, dragon?” The dwarf sneered as he approached, fingertips lightly singed by his own magic.

“You’ve earned yourself a painful death, worm.” Eszter snarled. The two stared each other down for a moment before flying into action. The dragonkin held a slight advantage over her foe due to her affinity for her innate magic, able to forgo the use of incantations and arcane gestures. It only bought her a moment, but that was enough to let her unleash her fireball first. Darvok was prepared for this, ready to unleash his lightning bolt and follow up with a quick counterspell, but to his surprise, his foe’s spell detonated moments after leaving her fingers, enveloping her in a smokescreen of flame.

Confused, he wanted to halt his chanting, but the incantation was too far gone. With no other choice, he unleashed the blast of arcane lightning into the fireball, hoping to land a blind hit on his foe. Moments later, disappointment settled in as he saw that he had only struck the cavern wall, blasting some stone loose. Acting fast, Eszter smashed the elbow of her good arm into the damaged bedrock a couple of times, doing her best to knock as much rubble free as possible as before ripping a chunk out. It was hardly a boulder, but it would do.

The dragon queen conjured up yet another spark of dragonfire with her injured arm as she rushed towards Darvok, just a tad slower on the draw this time, certainly not helped by the damage she had sustained. In anticipation of the incoming spell, she darted back and forth in a serpentine pattern, hoping to throw off his aim. Both casters unleashed their spells at the same time, Eszter’s fireball spiralling around the magus’ lightning bolt.

As it happened, neither managed to strike home, the dwarf’s lightning grazing his foe’s hip and the reincarnated dragon’s fireball overshooting its target. Despite missing its direct hit, however, an eruption of dragonfire was no less deadly from a few feet away, something that Darvok knew well. Before he could have his back roasted, the mage quickly counterspelled the spark, snuffing it out in an instant.

He felt a moment of satisfaction which was quickly wiped away as he felt something solid smash into his diaphragm, knocking the wind from him. Across the tunnel, Eszter stood, posed like a baseball player after the pitch. The technique could use some work, but the power was plenty. The dragonkin took a few steps towards him, a final fireball dancing across her fingertip as she raised her hand towards her foe.

“You vermin spellcasters are pathetic. You lose your breath and you‘re helpless as a hatchling.” She snarled before flicking her fingers forward, sending her miniature star out towards the magus. “Now… what was that about a real fireball?”

The dwarf desperately tried to sputter out the word for a counterspell, but he could only let out a pained wheeze as he watched the spark lazily float towards his face. Moments later, an inferno erupted around him, swallowing the magus in dragonfire.

It only hurt for a moment.

 

[Eszter]

“Ah… this sucks.” Siegfried mumbled, stifling a yawn. The young warrior had found an outcropping of rock that vaguely resembled a one-armed armchair and claimed it as his seat. “I thought dragon slaying would be exciting, but this is suuuper boring.”

“Just need to wait for the others to get back.” Lina sighed, tapping her staff on the ground impatiently. “I hope one of them didn’t get injured. Leave it to you morons to get hurt without me around.”

“You really think they might have gotten hurt?” Sieg asked, straightening up in his seat a little. “We’re screwed if we get stuck here on our own! What if we never find our way out?! What if-“

With a scowl, the elf healer bonked the human fighter on the head with her staff, hurting and immediately healing him.

“Settle down. They’re experienced adventurers, they’ll be fine.”

“But what if they aren’t?” The swordsman asked, rubbing his head reflexively despite the lack of pain.

“Well… then that would be an emergency.” She acknowledged. The two sat in silence for a moment, the quiet hanging in the air just long enough for the sound of footsteps to become audible further down the cavern. “Ah, that might be Darvok no-“

Before the healer could finish her sentence, there was a loud thud from down the tunnel. Moments later, a charred, blackened mass came hurtling from the darkness, bouncing and tumbling across the ground until sliding to a stop at the feet of the adventurers. The figure was almost unrecognizable, but after a moment, the size of the body and the few remaining scraps of cloth was enough for them to put two and two together.

Lina’s hand shot to her mouth, muffling a scream, while Sieg did the same to hold down the vomit that threatened to surge from his throat. As they recoiled from the horror of the situation, a furiously grinning dragonkin strode into the room, gently shaking the remnants of ash from the toes of her boot. “Your emergency has arrived.”

The adventurers leapt into action in spite of their shock, fueled by pure adrenaline, though this proved to be a detriment as much as a boon. Sieg moved first, bringing his sword around in a wide arc, but his movements proved too clumsy, allowing Eszter to simply backstop, dodging the blow. The dragon queen clicked her fingers, throwing up a tiny cloud of sparks which coalesced into a focused ball of flame before she sent it flying forward with a flick of her wrist.

The warrior’s eyes widened in shock as the fireball erupted around him, obscuring him from view. As he disappeared into the flames, the dragonkin turned to Lina, giving her a cold look.

“So, dragonslayer. Any more of you around here, or are you the last of your party?” She asked her enemy as the fighter dropped lifelessly to the ground.

“There’s one more of us.” Lina said, her voice trembling for a moment before a slight giggle slipped from her lips. “Him.”

Confused, Eszter turned back right in time to see Sieg back on his feet, thrusting his sword towards her gut. This time, it was her time to run on pure adrenaline, doing her best to dodge out of the way of the blade. Her efforts weren’t completely effective, but they weren’t in vain either. As steel bit into her flank, she felt some relief despite the agony and gritting of teeth. It was a non-lethal wound, her magic could heal it back with some time, but time was something she was quickly running out of.

“A flame ward, then?” The dragonkin gasped, taking a wobbling step back from the pair.

“Damn right.” Lina sneered back, her staff raised as she stepped behind her companion.

“We’re not just your run of the mill adventurers.” Sieg roared triumphantly. “We came prepared to kill dragons!”

A low, reptilian hiss rose in the back of Eszter’s throat as her draconic pupils tightened to paper-thin slits.

“So it would seem.” She snarled. “But don’t think any amount of preparation will save you… DRAGONSLAYERS!”

Evoking the draconic magic in her blood, the dragon queen issued forth another fireball, this time aimed at Lina. The healer conjured up another protective ward around herself, shielding her from the fireball that exploded around her. She then leapt forward towards Sieg, reeling her fist back for a sucker punch as he was distracted by the spell. To her shock, however, he didn’t even flinch as his companion was engulfed in fire. Instead, he was ready for her, quickly bringing his sword towards her thigh in a wide sweeping blow as she closed in.

“Shit!” Eszter grunted, doing her best to stop her momentum before realizing that there was little that she could do to stop the strike. In a desperate bid for survival, she changed the trajectory of her punch, bringing it down onto the flat of his blade. Even as the sword sliced into her flesh, her unnatural strength proved enough to smash the weapon, leaving the top half embedded in her leg. The swordsman stumbled back, shocked, as he looked at the remaining bottom half of his blade.

“What the…” He mumbled to himself.

“Sieg! Quickly!” Lina shouted, pointing her staff at Eszter. The dragonkin clutched the tip of the sword in bloodsoaked hands, tearing it free with a muffled cry. The wound bled dangerously for a moment before her innate healing kicked in, stemming the worst of it.

“Alright, vermin.” The Queen snarled as she brandished her half of the sword. “Let’s go.”

Despite her bravado, Eszter was shaky on her bad leg. The cut was deep and her assertion that she could keep fighting was mostly that- bravado. Coupled with the slash to her side, which was partially healed but still far from fixed, she was in bad shape.

Fortunately, she did have one advantage on her side. She was gods-damned terrifying. Even with their numbers and their lack of injuries, the pair were obviously shaken by both what she had displayed to them and what they could only imagine that she had done to their friends.

Fight or flight decidedly choosing fight, Sieg lunged forward, letting out something between a scream and a battle cry. Just what the injured dragonkin had been waiting for. Right before he reached her, Eszter unleashed another fireball, consuming the pair of them.

Within the roaring flames, both fighters, each protected by magic, faced off with one another. The human swung first, aiming to slash his foe’s neck. Unfortunately, he was used to fighting with a full sword rather than the half-a-blade that he had now. To compensate, Sieg had overextended, lunging in too far with a clumsy, panicked swing which Eszter attempted, and failed, to duck.

Against anyone else, this strike would have still been enough to end the fight, cleaving into the side of their head. Against the dragon queen, however, it glanced awkwardly off her horn, taking a shallow gash out of her cheek and doing little more. Horrified, the warrior realized that he had left himself wide open.

As the flames died out, Lina watched as the dragonkin continued her duck, dodging under the human man’s defenses before plunging the stolen tip of the sword into his gut.

“Sieg!” The elf cried out, raising her staff and invoking a powerful healing spell. The warrior stumbled to his knees as the spell took effect, forcing the blade from his gut as his flesh regenerated. However, that wasn’t the half of the sword he needed to watch out for. In his shock, his grip had loosened on the hilt of the sword, a fact that Eszter hadn’t neglected.

Hoping that the healer couldn’t repair a lethal wound, the dragonkin snatched up the blade and brought it above her head before cleaving down towards Sieg’s exposed neck like he was on the executioner’s block. With a sickening sound, Eszter hewed the murderer’s head from his shoulders, allowing it to thud to the ground and roll towards his now helpless healer.

Lina let out a scream as her legs gave way beneath her, trying and mostly failing to scramble backwards. Casually tossing the bloody hilt of the sword aside, the dragon queen stomped towards the elf.

“Why are you doing this?!” She shouted, her voice tinged with fear and fury. “You’re a murderer! You’re a monster!”

Eszter paused as she stared down at her foe, fists clenched with barely constrained fury as her gaze continued to lower.

“You’ve got yolk on your boots.” She snarled, eyes glowing so brightly that Lina half-expected them to catch alight. Thinking quickly, the elf crawled onto her hands and knees, looking as if she were about to grovel for her life before using her low position to take off like a sprinter. As she didn’t know any offensive magic, her target was the tip of Sieg’s blade that had been left with his body.

Realizing where the healer was going, Eszter took off after her, but her injured leg slowed her down no small amount. Both women lunged toward the fallen fighter’s body, hands outstretched. With her able body, Lina reached it first, snatching up the remains of the sword and feeling triumphant soar in her chest. Clutching the blade fragment, she turned towards her foe, prepared to plunge it into her chest while she was still unarmed. As she turned, however, she immediately recoiled as she was blinded by the infant star that Eszter had conjured in her face, about to go supernova.

‘Oh.’ Lina realized in her last moment. ‘She wasn’t going for the sword.’

~~~~~~~~~

A bittersweet sensation hung in Eszter’s chest as she gently laid the two eggs she had saved into another rock drake’s nest. It was a small clutch, she was sure that the mother could handle two more eggs, so she could at least ensure these two were saved. But even still, she was heartbroken that she could only save these two.

Giving a little sigh, the dragonkin slowly rose to her feet so as to not alarm the two parents who watched her curiously, allowing her so close to their nest due to some vague recognition of the old draconic magic inside her. Satisfied that the orphan eggs were safe with their surrogate parents, Eszter turned to leave.

‘Safe for now.’ She corrected herself. As long as there were dragonslayers around, no dragon would be truly safe. Furious, the dragonkin felt herself grinding her teeth, a bad habit of hers. The dragon queen would not let any more of her subjects die, not one more.

And if that meant burning Arcadia to the ground, along with all the vermin that called it home, so be it.