The head knight's eyes opened in a flash, the moon's face smiled down at him. A soldier he didn't recognize popped into his vision. "Sir Boran, are you okay?" He nodded slowly and pushed himself up. He was in the training courtyard, many of the knights he had trained were worriedly staring at the massive man. It was hard to count how many there were, each figure seemed to be two or three that danced over each other.
"How long was I out?" He blinked a few times and slowly shook his head.
"A few hours, I think. When you were brought to the city gate I immediately took you here. Are you okay to fight? Some of the soldiers wanted you to help them with the attack on where the princess is."
"I am okay to fight," He took a breath and attempted to grab his blade. On the second try he got a grip of it. The knight's stomach twisted in on itself and he bit his tongue to focus, "But we can't do that yet, there's a bigger problem happening in the lower city."
"A bigger problem than the princess being kidnapped?"
"It could put the entire kingdom in grave danger! The people are being⦠corrupted by some sort of addicting substance. They all seem to be addicted. And I know who's behind it, we spoke!"
"I-" The guardsman looked back at the group of knights who all shrugged softly. None of them knew, Boran was the only one. And it didn't even look like many of them believed him. Except the twins, who were listening intently, each had their hands resting on their blades. "You may just be delirious from whatever happened down there. That all sounds⦠fantastical,"
"We must take care of the city's people!" Boran got up and unsheathed his blade, looking to the knights that he trained. "We can get the princess afterwards,"
"Boran," The king walked into the courtyard, with Phillip following closely behind. His leg had been replaced with a prosthetic, it seemed he had gotten impatient with the healing process, "It is lovely to see you are well. And if your story is true, we will send a battalion of soldiers to take care of it, but we need everyone we can get to re-capture my daughter right now." Boran stared at the king, his two blurred clones slowly merging into the real one.
"I am sorry, Sire, but the people are my priority." He looked at the knights and guards that began to stream into the courtyard, all watching the head knight talk.
"Do you not care about my future wife?" Phillip spoke up, putting weight on his slightly flexing prosthetic leg, "Will you just leave her to die? To be in the care of an uncaring monster?"
"I care for Khora," Boran turned towards Phillip, "But the people are my first priority. Whoever wants to go with me can, but I am raiding their base of operations."
"Boran," The king stared at the massive man, "If you go after these⦠dealers before my daughter I can not have you as the head knight any more. You will no longer be allowed in the walls of the kingdom." Boran paused and stared down at the king, he tightened his grip on the blade.
"And what of those that come with me?"
"They can stay," He looked at the knights that held their own blades, "I am not heartless, some of them have family out in the outer city."
"Then whoever wants to come with me can come with me. Everyone else can save Khora." Boran pushed his way past the king and left the courtyard, he was followed by the twins and a few other knights. Some of the city guards followed him as well, giving him a sizable force of 12 soldiers. The group made it to the gate after the massive force dedicated to saving Khora, and they snuck out of the city gates with them, regrouping as a small sliver of orange was being painted on the sky. "Men!" Boran shouted at the group of soldiers that followed him, "Follow me to the headquarters of the dealers. They are well armed, and the area leading to the base of their leader is a labyrinth. Stay alert, stay smart."
The 12 people walked through the nearly silent streets of the city, the only noises coming from groaning of distant citizens. "It is really bad down here isn't itâ¦" One of the soldiers whispered to another, who grunted in response. They all crept through the maze of old wooden buildings, the new morning sky disappearing before their eyes as they delved deeper. The muddy road was covered in footsteps and wagon tracks, neither of which were there when Boran was here earlier. Something had happened.
"Stay alert, it seems like they've moved a lot of product." The knight's followers nodded, all of them readying their crossbows or blades. The scaleless knight reached the door that Malachi had entered and placed his free hand on the handle. He gestured with his head at his knights, all of them getting against the wall or aiming a crossbow directly at the door. They were well trained, Boran felt a smile creep along his face as he opened the door.
Nothing. Behind the door was a staircase, half burnt, but there were no guards. The knight flicked his hand at the guards, asking them to follow. Two knights silently stayed at the door, guarding the group's escape route. Boran crept into the room and climbed the stairs slowly. The twins followed him and looked at the burn marks, all of them in the same spots that his blood dropped. His eyes flicked to his newly bandaged wound and he internally winced. The old wood creaked as they approached the door at the top of the stairs, and Boran opened it.
All that was there were the burnt remains of the room Boran had left earlier. The golden inlays had all but been scraped off. "No." The massive man dropped his backup blade and rushed towards the table that his grandmother- no, that the dealer had been sitting at. It was all burnt, and nothing lay in any of the drawers. "No!" The knights and guards looked around the room, dumbfounded.
"What happened here?" Jane rubbed a hand against the burnt walls, ash falling onto the floor.
"I did what I had to do to get away." Boran burst through the door behind the desk, a note was pinned to the wall with a dagger.
Hello, Boran. We figured that you would come looking for us, and likely with a sizable force. And I could not let that happen, not so soon. However, it was lovely to make your acquaintance again. I would very much not like to be your next victim, so I will not tell you where I am. If you continue to look, know I will not give you any undue love because you are blood.
â Love, Your Grandmother
The knight ripped the piece of paper off of the wall and crumpled it in his hands. "That bitch."
"What's wrong, Sir?" George put a hand on the massive knight's arm.
"They got away. You all should get back to the castle, I am sorry for wasting your time, and for drawing the king's ire towards you.
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Khora walked out of Vogaix's hill with her hand wrapped around the half-dragon's claws. The rising sun painted the sky with a beautiful orange red that reflected itself off of her knight's scales. The pair smiled at each other, the bandage from Vogaix's weekly injection still tied tight around her arm. The half-dragon knight walked over to Morgan, who appeared to be telling the children a story. Khora had to pick up some of her new clothes from Pali, the half-harpy. They sat on a chair with a shirt draped over their wing, one foot had a needle in it, and the other was helping it through the shirt. For someone without hands, they were remarkably skilled at sewing. "Pali!" Khora waved at the harpy as she sat next to them, "You've got my shirt, right?" The harpy nodded with a smile, gesturing with their head to the windowsill on their hill. They wiped a bit of their hair out of their face with their other wing and helped the princess up. She said thank you to the half-harpy in sign language and walked over to get their handiwork.
Pali hadn't been able to speak for as long as Morgan had known them, apparently. And when asked about why, they always clammed up and often ran away. Morgan had found them wandering through the forest alone when they were about twelve. Despite not talking, Khora and them were pretty close friends, Khora had learned how to make clothes from them and she had taught them how to bake. Khora put on the shirt, it fit perfectly of course. She smiled and walked over to Pali. Giving them a little spin, she bowed playfully, "Wonderful job as always, Pali," The half-harpy smiled and gave Khora a clapping motion. They gestured to their legs and tapped their chin twice with the stump at the end of their wings, "My pants are almost done, too? I really appreciate it, Pali." The princess smiled at the half-harpy, she hoped they would be able to have a place in her kingdom, once she got rid of the king. They put their wing against their chest with a soft smile, indicating that it was no problem.
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The arrow came with almost no warning. A silent whistle through the air cut short by a gurgled breath coming from in front of Khora. She blinked, and there it was. An arrow, lodged in Pali's neck, blood quickly fell from their neck and mouth. She felt herself cry the half-harpy's name, but didn't hear it. The light dissipated from Pali's eyes before they began to fall to the ground. She looked towards where the arrow came from, seeing a small legion of armed soldiers reloading crossbows, led by none other than Phillip, who sported a new prosthetic leg. What were they doing here? How did they find them? Khora flicked her head around, seeing Kurma with a chink in his shell, protecting Lucy in his arms. Vogaix, where was her knight? The princess ran across the clearing as another volley of arrows was shot into the village. She felt one rip the back of her shirt, and she heard Phillip yell something to the knights. "Not the princess, idiots!"
"Vogaix!" The princess yelled into the clearing as she approached Kurma and Lucy, the other children had run to the inside of the nearest hill.
"Vogaix is at the edge of the forest, with Morgan," Kurma ran over to the hill's door and placed Lucy inside, his scratched turtle shell appeared to have a chunk of the arrow that had hit him inside of it.
"Stay safe, Kurma," The half-dragon nodded as he picked up a staff nearby and turned to face the approaching knights.
"I'll be fine, go to your girlfriend, princess," Khora nodded and stumbled towards Vogaix, who had an arrow lodged in her shoulder. She stood in front of Morgan, her oily blood dripping to the floor, and her other hand wielding the head of her halberd.
"Khora!" Vogaix looked her princess up and down, pulling her into the arm that didn't have her blood pouring down it, "You're okay, good." The princess cupped Vogaix's face in her hand and kissed her.
"I'm okay," She turned towards the group of soldiers, some of whom were taking up fights with some of the able-bodied half-breeds.
"You two should go," Morgan looked at the pair worriedly and gestured behind her, deeper into the forest.
"But what aboutâ"
"No, you're the most important one here. If you can replace your father, you can save every other half-breed. Please, Khora. Go." The princess looked up at her knight, and over to Phillip, who had a lit torch in his hand and was approaching one of the hills. Approaching Slepna's hill.
"Oh princess," He set the torch on the dry grass. It immediately lit ablaze, quickly spreading beside the Merlean prince, "Just come with us. Leave these⦠beasts behind." She gripped onto her knight tighter and felt her body shake, slightly.
"Khora is that the one whoâ¦" Vogaix trailed off as Khora nodded, "That bastard will pay. I'm sorry Morgan, but I can't let them kill my family." She walked towards the prince as he walked towards the pair of the princess and her knight. An explosive boom came from Slepna's hill as the white-centaur-dragon tumbled out. Wood and dirt fell from the sky as the prince and Vogaix faced off.
"You must be that half-breed pet I've heard so much aboutâ¦" Phillip unsheathed his blade, and Slepna began fighting back against a pair of knights behind them, "It's a shame I have to kill you," An empty smirk stretched across the prince's face, "You do seem to be such a loyal cur."
"Shut the fuck up." Vogaix charged at the prince, her halberd head raised to meet the man's heart. Their metal clashed together, and Khora closed her eyes before turning towards Morgan.
"Let's get you somewhere safe," The old woman nodded and began to hobble on her cane as they walked away from the fire and attempted to get to some level of cover.
"Princess Khora," A masked knight approached them with a spear in both hands, "Leave the town, come with us. Prevent any more death. Please."
"Why should I? You're all just going to come in, you've already began to burn their homes!" She gestured to the fire, now growing to encompass over four of their hills, the dark smoke began to blot out the sky above them. The knight looked back towards the fire, and Khora saw their grip slightly falter before they turned their attention back to the pair and pointed the spear at the princess.
"Please, my princess," The knight tightened their grip and steadied their stance, "You can stop this." Khora looked at Morgan, who flexed her index finger twice. She wanted her to run. She closed her eyes tightly and turned around, sprinting into the forest. As she ran, she looked back, her hair flowed in the wind, obscuring her view, but she could almost see a spear going through Morgan's stomach. Before she could even scream, she felt the air be knocked out of her lungs as a city guard grabbed her.
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Vogaix's eyes snapped open to the smell of burning. He was at the top of a cliff, overlooking the lake he often fished at. Nothing around him was on fire, but he saw smoke beginning to rise on the horizon. In the direction of the half-breed village. Before he could even think, the dragon had jumped off the cliff, wings open and flapping. He had to save his daughter. The dragon tried to churn up his breath-sac, but all that came out was a small burst of smoke, empty. He growled and reached his neck around to his back, ripping off a few of the loose scales. He winced as the large amount of scales made it past his throat and slipped into his breath-sac, at least some of them would be melted by the time he got to the village. A warmth grew in his chest as he let the sac slowly melt the scales.
As the dragon approached the half-breed village, his keen eyes focused on the ground. Flames were quickly spreading throughout the clearing, with bodies of half-breeds, and even a few knights, littering the ground. Vogaix was fighting a one-legged human that Fenrir recognized as the one that was in Khora's room that day. He saw a group of soldiers harassing Slepna, whose blood was dripping down onto the ground and causing the grass underneath her to wilt away from the cold. Fenrir swooped down at one of the humans, who had a crossbow pointed directly at Slepna. A short scream came from it as he crushed its tiny body in his hind claws. Shouts of fear came from the crowd of soldiers below, and from the half-breeds still fighting came shouts of joy. The dragon pulled the now-dead soldier to his jaw and ripped off the top half of its body, dropping the rest beside Slepna. Fenrir felt crossbow bolts hit his scales, only a few lodged themselves in between his scales and his skin. Many of the soldiers around the half-centaur fled, letting her take them out as they ran. The human fighting Vogaix kicked her away, giving it a chance to look up at Fenrir, and the dragon could almost see a smile on its face. The fool.
Fenrir let his breath-sac churn, his throat glowed a deep orange as he looked at the battlefield of ants beneath him. The human that had been attacking his daughter now had a crossbow aimed at him, and Vogaix was groggily getting up behind it. The human aimed the crossbow at Vogaix, who responded by throwing a gob of molten scales at it. It jumped out of the way and fired the crossbow as its body was lit by the orange glow of Fenrir's scales. The dragon watched as the bolt flew through the air and went through the membrane of his wings. He felt the flesh tear as his throat released a roar of pain. That bastard hit him. That bastard tore his wings! He would deal with this personally. The dragon let himself fall to the earth, landing with a slam, the wind from his force putting out some of the fires. Blood dripped from his wing as he growled at the human in front of him as it twirled its blade in the air. It leaned on its metal leg, and Fenrir saw the metal bend underneath its weight slightly. "I hope you enjoy this fight, beast," It spoke with a complete lack of emotions, like Fenrir's old sibling used to.
"You're fighting me, Phillip!" Vogaix shouted at the human, pointing her halberd head at it, "So face me."
"What a pain," Phillip turned around to face Vogaix and flicked her halberd out of her hand, causing it to land in the burning grass next to them. The human then stabbed at her leg, causing her to cry out in pain as her blood flowed to the ground. It kicked her away again before turning back to Fenrir. "Back to you. Now you're quite a big beast. So what do you say we even this fight up?" It pointed its blade at Fenrir as he charged towards it. The human smirked as the dragon approached it, but before he was able to bite it, he felt a massive chunk of metal hit his skull. Blood began to fill Fenrir's vision as the stinging sensation increased. He fell to the ground, shaking his head slightly. "Does that hurt? Did you really think we would go after a princess that a dragon stole without bringing a ballista?" The human approached him, Fenrir's vision of it covered in his oily, black, blood. He felt the metal leg push against his head, "We sadly only have one bolt, though," It chuckled softly, "I suppose that means I will have to finish you off myself."
A cold, sharp blade pushed down against Fenrir's skull. The dragon attempted to rear Phillip off of his head, but was barely able to move. The pain from the bolt lodged in the dragon's eye kept him from fighting back. "Get off my dad!" The human turned around and was tackled through the air by Fenrir's daughter. The dragon looked through his blood addled eyes at the fight before him, flames flicked the sky as human and half-human blood was shed across the ground. A knight came out of the forest, holding Khora over its shoulder. The princess seemed to be tied up and knocked out, as it was barely moving. The knight shouted to Phillip, causing the prince to turn its head around. As the human and Vogaix floated in the air, Fenrir's daughter took the opportunity to slash at Phillip's chest with her claws. The human screamed in pain and stabbed through Vogaix's stomach with a dagger. The two tumbled out of the sky, crashing into the ground. Phillip got up slowly, hand to its head. That human stabbed Fenrir's daughter! He wouldn't get away with this. The massive dragon dragged itself along the ground and lunged at the prince. The human's arm fell into his mouth as his vision darkened. The last thing the dragon heard was the attacking humans fleeing the area.