It would have been easier to deal with if any of them were swift enough to deal with. But for all of the strength Sorcha's knights had, none of them were swift enough to deal with a threat like this. They couldn't save the retreating knights because the dragon was able to move faster than they were. But something any good hunter knows is that catching a beast isn't a matter of being faster or stronger than it, it's about predicting its movements. Conversing with the newly arrived could wait, they had a dragon to snare.
Luana reached into her bag and chucked a handful of acorns between the dragon and the next group of knights it was going to attack. Nothing would happen when the dragon approached them. But once it was over them, the acorns would erupt into sprawling oaks, coiling around its legs and tail. Even if it was only snared for a moment, Luana could hurl her spear at its back, and the handle would grow into more swirling branches. This time working in reverse to anchor the dragon to the ground. She ran towards the dragon while lobbing more and more acorns at it. She couldn't defeat it, but if she could hold it down long enough someone would be able to deal a killing blow to it. Even as her seed supply dwindled she had to believe in the other knights.
That vile wyvern was going after the other, ordinary soldiers for no reason than to kill as many humans as possible, while evading the warriors who could actually potentially withstand or harm it. The cruelty made Ethelred's blood run cold as he beheld that thing murder people for the sake of murdering them.
Lonan ordered the rest of the people to get in the fort. If they denied it more victims, its only choices would be to flee like a coward or fight foes who weren't such easy prey.
Sorcha ordered Ethelred and Luana to slow the thing down to cover the remaining Harzel knights' retreat. It wouldn't be easy to hinder such a fast moving monster, but they had to try something. Ethelred had just such an idea for this occasion, but he would need some help.
"Lonan," he shouted, running up to the veteran Harzel knight, pointing his lance at the wyvern, "Let's bring our powers together to freeze that thing in its tracks!" The immediate area around him suddenly dropped considerably, as he called upon his power to freeze.
"Gallivanting as knights? Perhaps. Still, Queen Sorcha is quite the powerful woman. Still, I'm the only one doing so of my family so the graves should be in quite the safe state." Luna mentioned looking between the master and apprentice. "Now, perhaps we could track that heirloom down for you? I'm assuming that you're talking of the bandits and heirloom that you mentioned earlier, Miss Gunnrun?" Luna asked looking between them. "We could track it down and perhaps we could talk again after you don't need to worry about it. A Lightsword is good for their word." Lunalel mentioned, smiling as she looked toward the master smith.
“That’s my business, human. Not yours.” Grettir replied gruffly, his booming voice being felt in all of their bones. “And apparently, my apprentice can’t keep her mouth shut.”
“W-well, maybe they can help!”
“No. And I’m not making anything for them, either!” The giant, Grettir would pass the humans a glare before turning around, walking right back in the giant door he had come out of and slamming it shut behind him.
“...Well that could’ve gone better.” Gunnrun replied with a small pout. “Sorry about that, he’s just a mean old dummy. Still…he’s the only one really qualified unless you want to take the chance of maybe finding some old hermits out in the mountains, and I don’t think that’d be a good idea…or maybe take a chance with a dwarf but that would take awhile…hm…”
“...Mhm, Fio, Luna? If I may,” Elnith interrupted. “I do not believe Grettir will take kindly to us just retrieving the Heirloom without his consent with his temperament. Is there a reason why he doesn’t like humans? Most Giants I’ve met are far too kind to humans most of the time.”
“I dunno.” Gunnrun shrugged. “Not really. Apparently back in the day they did somethin’ to him, but I don’t know the details.”
“Hm, I see…” Elnith frowned. “Well, Fio, What do you think we should do? Gunnrun isn’t wrong. The dwarfs might be able to help us as well but that would take quite some time to complete and Grettir is…”
“...psst, hey! Give me honey bread and I can help!” A tiny little pixie voice called out from a glass jar. Her help, was likely to be something shady all things considered.
The drake’s claws struck forth, its fell curse intent on killing, slaughter, destroying that which it touched -
“Hmph.”
The ground beneath its feet erupted. Tendrils of vines reaching up from the ground, ensnaring its legs, slowing it mid swipe just enough for the rank and file knights to flee further. Soon however, the vines rotted, withering in decay before it’d break free entirely just as the temperature around it began to noticeably fall.
“You’re not going anywhere else!” Lonan shouted towards the beast. Water coated his blade as he drew it from his sheathe, now managing to put himself between the soldiers and the creature. “Now, stay put!” A swing of the blade, the water coating it surging outwards in a line, a thick layer of ice starting to form on the creatures front claws.
“Weak. You can not slow that which comes for Albion.”
But it would only last a few moments before it was free again.
Pinning the dragon's rear legs had been a tactic to slow it down so that one of other knights could finish it off. But the queen was taking her time to approach, and Lonan and Ethelred had frozen it in place. It was time to deliver a decisive blow.
Luana gripped her spear with both arms and charged towards the dragon. She didn't belt out a war cry, because hunters were quiet. She didn't hesitate, because she was trained well. She didn't grin, because she wasn't sure if this was going to work.
She came at the dragon from the side and thrust her spear at its head. The wooden shaft grew longer while she thrust, guiding Endless Eclipse's tip towards the creature's eye. To assist with her aim, the shaft sprouted branches to hold onto the dragon's head. An unnecessary precaution, but it did ensure that her spear would hit its mark regardless of how much her prey thrashed about. Which, given the state it was in, hopefully wouldn't be much.
If the dragon survived that, Luana wasn't done.
As long as Luana held onto the shaft of her spear, it would keep growing. Endless Eclipse would get pushed deeper and deeper inside the dragon's flesh. If it penetrated the eye, she was going to go straight into its brain. Luana had never fought a dragon before, but she had never faced prey that could survive having its skull penetrated.
The wyvern was temporarily stopped, but it wouldn't last long. The vines had already withered away as Lonan, fueled by Ethelred's powers, was able to cover it in a layer of ice. This should buy the soldiers enough time to seek shelter, and this might also present an opportunity to wound or kill it.
The Frozen Knight charged the wyvern just as Luana did, aiming for the beast's chest. Like the druid, he made no war cry- his weapons and powers would speak for him. His goal was to push his lance into its torso and damage its vital organs through either physical trauma or freezing. The more grievous its wounds, the slower it'd become.
He was unsure how well his lance would hold up against his foe's power of decay and death, though. He knew from experience that it could repair itself of being being chipped or nicked not unlike his armor, but he did not know its limitations. Even with this uncertainty, however, he couldn't hestitate- this thing needed to be stopped.
Fio let out a heavy sigh. Of course their best option was a grouchy, unreasonable old man.
If you ask me, there's no worth in learning magic. That's the reason you-
There was no need to think about those words any longer.
The Sword Witch considered their options. Dwarves were their next best bet, but that could take quite some time as Elnith pointed out. While she found the unseelie's capabilities fascinating, trusting her with this matter seemed dubious at best. No, indeed, the irritable old man was likely still their most promising option.
That was the reason Fio took a step forward, adjusting her hat and clearing her throat.
"I apologize for intruding upon your time so abruptly, Master Blacksmith," she began. It pained her to approach this delicately when the old man rubbed her the wrong way so thoroughly, but she managed to restrain her tongue for the moment, "But we are here entirely due to respect for your craft."
That much was true. They wouldn't have come here without knowing the kinds of wonders a Giant Blacksmith could create. Without that appreciation for the craft, there was no way they would have bothered reaching out like this.
"I know our kind may have wronged you in the past, and that there is nothing we can do to make up for that," she continued, "However, we are not the same people who did you wrong. I understand that may not mean much, but perhaps..."
She paused for a moment, considering her words.
"Perhaps there is a way we can demonstrate our trustworthiness? I understand you may not so readily be willing to trust us with anything important to you, but what if we were to prove ourselves first?"
“Tch. No fun!” Wisp grumbled from within the jar, just as Fio began speaking to the giant. The door, just barely inches from closing fully where he likely wouldn’t have been able to hear her words any more. Elnith frowned, seeming a little on edge as the door opened again as Grettir pushed open the door rather violently, stomping over to the witch with a snarl.
“Trustworthiness? That has nothing to do with it, human runt.” The giant snarled. “But fine. If you’re offering that much, then there’s something maybe you can help with.” A pause. “We giants don’t give a scaly dragon arse about some human queen. But if you manage to kill one of those dragon kin up in the mountains, fine. I’ll agree to forge some dragon scale for ye.”
“M-Master Grettir you don’t mean-!”
“Aye, I do. There be a rather ornery, nasty beast. Same one that took that klutz’ hand.” Gunnrun flinched a bit at this, rubbing the spot between her prosthetic and her wrist. “Kill it, bring back proof and maybe I’ll be willing to admit that you lot aren’t some pathetic whelps.” And with that, the giant once more, turned, and slammed the door shut behind him, the large mountainside that it was built into trembling from the strength of it.
An assault from all sides, the creature’s legs frozen in place, preventing it from moving yet it was already melting, decaying quickly from the moment it was frozen. Luana was the closest, and swiftest to react. Her spear thrusting forth, sharp, tree branch like growths growing from all angles. Even so, the creature’s physiology allowed it to twist and bend, its neck managing to avoid -
“Grrr-hisss!”
Reinhardt slammed into the beast from the side, climbing on top of the things back and latching his arms around the beasts neck. One hand grabbed it by the horns, the other drawing the blade Sorcha had given him, its pristine, clear steel blade shining in the sun as he drew it and plunged it right into the thing's neck, holding it still right for Luana’s spear to impale the creatures eye.
As it thrashed and wriggled free as the ice fully melted on its claws, it managed to dislodge Reinhardt, wriggling free of his grasp, the branches and growths from Endless’ Eclipse spearhead breaking as it’d wrench its head free of the growths, just in time for Ethelred’s lance to drive a deep, grievous injury to the beast his weapon impaling itself right into the things chest.
“Gkkkk-”
A choking, gurgling noise as the beast’s tail lashed out towards Luana, slamming into her torso in the same moment it charged [i]forward[i/] towards Ethelred, seeming entirely uncaring that the lance was driving itself in much, much deeper as it would grab the knight by his shoulders with its claws, and ram its horns into the frozen knight, the force sending him to the ground while the beast would doubly so pull back, freeing itself from the lance.
“Gah…hrk…ahahah…
Its legs struggled to support its weight.
“Hahaha…This too, is…heralded by us…” It chuckled. “But…too soon. Too soon.” Roaring, the beast then turned tail to flee, quitting the field.
“Damn its getting away-!”
“That is enough, Lonan.” Sorcha interjected. She had been watching the fight, though had elected not to interject or interfere. “There is no way we can catch it, even with it so injured it seems. Luana. Ethelred. I task you with aiding Lonan in finding the beast and killing it in whatever way you see fit.” A small look towards Reinhardt. “I realize this is a bit sudden, Reinhardt,” A small smirk slowly formed on the Queen's lips. “But if you don’t mind, I’d like a private date with you.”
“Y-you’re majesty?” A bemused Lonan sheathed his blade. “I am grateful for your assistance but now is not quite the time for leisurely activity.”
“Oh shush Lonan, this is quite important, trust me.” A small nod. "Ah, and if it wasn't clear Reinhardt, that was an order, not a request. This of course means you won't get to hunt that beast, but tending to your Queen is much more important, isn't it?"
This would not be the first time Luana was smacked around by a large creature. It wasn't the first time she rolled across the ground, end over end, untill she came to a stop. It also wasn't the first time she cracked a rib. The important part was that it wasn't the last time.
"This is getting to be a regular occurrence, eh?"
She grunted before standing upright. By that time there was little to be done. The dragon monologued again before scurrying off.
"Too soon?" Luana ran up beside Ethelred. She held out her hand to help him up, but then remembered his curse and retracted her hand. "Did you hear that? Too soon? Wasn't that tree monster saying something like that?" She eyed his armor. "That thing put its claws on you and tried to gore you. I guess your armor is impervious to it then?" He was still on his back. "Can I help you up? Do you like, have control over what gets frozen?"
And then Sorcha showed up. Or at least she was always here, but chose to do nothing until just now. She couldn't even pretend to be surprised with her at this point. She was eccentric and picked unusual ways to phrases things. Which was par the course for royalty. They could call Luana a knight if they so chose, but she was always going to be a peasant. At any rate, there was no need to concern herself with Reinhardt and Sorcha. They were both kind of annoying, and tracking down a lizard was something she could do herself. But if it attacked her, she was sure Ethelred could do something about it. He might not have a title like "invincible" but he seemed pretty reliable.
She scooped up her spear and pushed an acorn into its neck. Not long afterwards a new handle sprouted out of the bottom of it. "Ready when you are, Ethelred."
"Yes, and I fear we'll be fighting a lot more wyverns in the near future," Ethelred replied to Luana as he sat up.
Ethelred didn't pay Luana's withdrawal of her aid any mind- it was normal to be hesitant to touch someone encased in frozen crystalline armor, especially if they were able to maim or kill by touch. He was much more focused on examining his shoulders for any sign of damage or envenomation from that wyvern's death-inflicting claws. Fortunately, his armor appeared to be unmarred, and more importantly, he didn't feel like falling over dead. His lance also seemed to be intact.
"I don't feel like I'm dying, and my armor doesn't appear to be damaged," he answered her question, looking over his pauldrons. For a few moments, though, he really had been worried that he was going to die when the wyvern placed its claws on him. Evidently, his crystalline armor had protected him. "I'd rather not test the limits of what I can survive, though."
"I'd appreciate your assistance. Don't worry, I can control my freezing, and I'm quite safe to touch right now," he said, extending his hand to her."
Once the Frozen Knight was back on his feet, he immediately turned his focus on carrying out Sorcha's orders. If she wanted this wyvern pursued and killed, he'd do everything in his power to take care of it. He mounted his icy horse and rode over to Lonan.
"I'm ready, Sir Lonan. What is your plan?" With Lonan able to summon a spectral steed and Luana's powers of shapeshifting, they should be able to set off in immediate pursuit, if Lonan wished it.
Ethelred was curious as to why Sorcha wanted Elias with her. With his ability to come back from even being burned to ash, and his superhuman strength, he seemed to be the perfect person for fighting the wyvern. Sorcha, however, evidently believed that Ethelred, Lonan, and Luana would be able to handle it, and Ethelred trusted in her wisdom.
"Slay Dragonkin up in the mountains?" Luna asked after, poking at her temple. "This was not how I imagined this trip going." The knightess mentioned to those around her. "Doesn't sound to me like we have much a choice, however. Lest there be another who can work with the material in question." She frowned a small bit. "I suppose this is your call Fio." The knightess said to the smaller mage before looking at Gunnrun, specifically her prosthetic for a second before quickly diverting her eyes back to the giant's own. She wanted to ask the giant about the encounter, but considered whether or not she should ask her what she knew. "Umm. That said..." She hesitated for a few seconds, not wanting to bring up any harsh memories. "Would you be comfortable enough to tell us what you know about this dragon-kin?" The knightess asked, seeming unsure.
“A dragon kin…hm. This might prove slightly difficult.” Elnith frowned. “I have no doubt we can kill one, but this one sounds like it is more dangerous than your standard lizard if it was able to take your hand, Gunnrun.”
“You could…say that.” The giant responded, a despondent expression crossing her features. “It was this big black thing. More giant serpent then some overgrown lizard. It wasn’t something we see often. I think some of the elders called it a Lindwurm or something.”
“A Lindwurm?”
"I didn’t really get a good look at it and I was focused on y’know, not getting the rest of myself eaten. It more just looks like probably a serpent of unusually big size?” She sounded like she was trying to convince herself of that more than anything. “Uhm, that said to get to it we’ll probably have to head through some territory those funny humans are in so maybe we should figure out how to deal with that first?”
Wisp was lounging around in the jar, pouting and muttering something about being bored and how funny it'd be to watch the 'short one' get eaten.
“Your highness?” Reinhardt responded with an understandably bemused frown.
“Oh don’t worry. Just fetch us a pair of horses. We will likely be gone for at least a day.”
“...Alright.”
“Lonan, I’ll leave these two in your care then.”
“Understood. Though I am quite curious as to what you’ll be doing with Sir Reinhardt, I doubt you’d feel like answering.”
“I have a hunch after seeing that beast myself. Nothing more, nothing less.” Sorcha frowned. “I hope, however, that I am wrong but we’ll find out shortly.” Reinhardt would soon return with the pair of horses that the two had rode in on. Without much left to be said, the two saddled up and would soon be galloping off, quickly vanishing in the hilly plains towards the mountains….
“I think we have a few options.” Lonan responded to Ethelred’s question. “That thing is fast and agile. Inhumanly so. Intelligent, too. There’s a non-zero chance us following it is nothing more than an ambush so it can pick us off.”
“Too fast for me to help with.” Lif piped up, lugging that heavy cannon looking thing behind her effortlessly. “Unless someone could tie it down and then I blast it, ahaha. Close quarters fighting isn’t my strong suit.”
“Being a pain in the ass is your strong suit, yeah.” Grainne wasn’t far behind. “Damn it…all I could do was hide in the fort…” She grumbled.
“You helped guide all the soldiers into it, Grainne. Not everyone was aware of the situation either. You did your part and succeeded.”
“...Hmph.”
“Anyways, the way I see it Sir Ethelred, Dame Luana. We could follow it, or we can attempt luring it back here and setting a trap ourselves. It really depends on what you would like to do. I would urge the latter myself but if you have other ideas nows the time. We don’t have long to decide but I am open to any suggestions either of you have.”
It had been about a day of uneventful travel that the duo would find themselves on the western slopes of the mountains. Sorcha kept a brisk pace, stopping just long enough to get four hours of sleep between the both of them before the pair once more took off. Aside from dealing with a small fomorian raiding party, the pair made swift time.
“We’ll have to foot it from here.” Sorcha dismounted her steed. “The path will likely be too narrow for the horses in some places.”
“You still haven’t told me where we’re going, your highness.” Reinhardt would follow suit.\
“And I told you to just call me Sorcha when we’re out here by ourselves.”
“Still working on that, you’re highness.”
“Tsk.” Sorcha pouted just slightly, giving Reinhardt a mildly disapproving glare before a quiet chuckle could be heard as she’d start walking. “Maybe you’d prefer if I called you ‘comrade?’ Across the seas it's a term of camaraderie between some funny rat-eared folk.”
“Rat-eared folk? Like the Tuatha?”
“Not quite, though there are definite similarities in physical appearance. Pleasant people, if a bit uppity. They worship an Elder Beast that has a lot more bark then he has bite. He’s quite the incorrigible fellow, really. If I ever see him again I’ll make a rug out of him…”
“You’ve traveled across the oceans, then?”
“Oh…yes, I have. I actually spent quite a lot of time over there before I returned here.” Sorcha immediately fell quiet with a clearing of her throat as the pair came to a ledge overlooking a small ravine. Deep below them, winding through the mountains a path was cut through the mountains. “See that mountain over there? The one with the jagged peak? That’s our destination.”
“Looks like it’d be close to the northern edge of Albion. How far away is it?”
“Depends on how many undesirables we’ll have to deal with…and speaking of…Dragon kin.”
“Well, compared to an actual dragon, these should be easy.”
“Well said. Then after you, Reinhardt. Lets see who can kill the most, aye?”
This was exactly why she hated dealing with them. It didn't matter what his reason was. It didn't matter what he really thought deep down. This attitude. This self-assurance in his own position regardless of how difficult they were being. This irritable manner of looking down on anyone who even remotely suggested differently.
This was what infuriated her.
"Fine! So we're killing this lindwurm, then! We'll tear through those peoples' territory to do it, fine!"
On the other hand, his dismissive attitude made Fio even more determined to prove him wrong.
"Come on!" she said, grabbing the jar with both hands, "We've got a strategy to plan, and this little idiot seems to be intent on forfeiting her honey bread privileges!"
Even in the midst of her frustration, she had most certainly picked up on what the unseelie said.
"Maybe we can douse her in honey instead and use her as bait! Does the lindwurm like sweet things, Gunnrun?! Does it?!"
It was clear the frustration had boiled over, certainly.
As soon as the queen and her "date" had left, Luana grinned and let a small sigh escape her lips. Though she was quick to adress the impromptu strategy meeting. "Can't say I like the idea of leaving it alone." Luana leaned on her spear. "I haven't tracked many dragons, but that thing seemed a lot smarter than the common beasts I fight. If it's crafty enough to lure us into a trap, it's probably also crafty enough to know that leaving us alone will give us time to prepare. The way I see it is that this isn't the first dragon to show up here. There could very well be more like it hiding in the woods." She chuckled. "Maybe not just like it, but we can't assume anything. Ultimately, it's decided to fall back to give itself an advantage. If it thought its victory over us was a sure thing, it wouldn't have retreated."
The hermit looked over everyone present. "We could set a trap for it. But the more time we spend preparing a trap, the more time it has to get reinforcements, flee, heal up, you get the idea. We need to keep pressure on it, or at least observe its movements. But I think we have enough people here that we can probably set a trap and monitor the giant lizard." Luana, tentatively, patted Ethelred on the back. "My cool friend here has encountered more of these big lizards than I have. So I'm willing to go with his call. But just putting it out there, while I'm pretty sure I could track the thing, I don't think I'd feel comfortable tailing it by myself."
The druid had a point- this could be a trap. The wyvern had already proven itself to be equal parts cruel and pragmatic, so an ambush was definitely a possibility. At the same time, however, the wyvern was wounded. Ethelred wasn't sure how serious its wounds were or how quickly it could heal, but if it got away and didn't drop from its wounds, it would recover, then come back and murder more people for its twisted purpose.
"I agree with Luana," Ethelred spoke "It's injured, and if it has any fight left in it, that beast will want to battle us on its own terms. But we also don't want to give it a chance to attend to that chest wound I gave it."
Ordinarily, wounds made by Ethelred's lance didn't initially bleed because the freezing stopped the blood. However, with the way that wyvern's body decayed whatever it touched, its wound was probably already thawed out. With the way that thing rolled, it might cause it to bleed even more vigorously. However, Ethelred wasn't willing to leave it to chance- they had to put it down and make sure it was dead.
"Fortunately, unlike the previous wyverns we've faced, this one travels on the ground and should leave tracks unmistakable for anything else. And even if it doesn't...Luana," he turned to the druid, "Do you think you could track it by scent in one of your animal forms?"
"I think you might just need to eat the honey instead of dousing her in it." Lunalel mentioned, shaking her head a small bit. "As for those bandits, well, I think they should be easy enough to take care of. So long as they have no giant beast to help them. "Luna mentioned, remembering back to the bandit attack on her new home. "The lindwurm does strike some concern into me, however. It would help if we had a tried dragonslayer with us, perhaps." Luna giggled, thinking of why they even came this way in the first place.
"It might be good to find a place to rest up for now though. We'll need our rest if we wish to challenge something so dangerous." Luna said, turning to Gunnrun. "Would you be able to point us in the direction of some place to rest? An inn or anything of the sort?" She asked, curious for an answer. She looked out to her companions. "A good rest somewhere safe sounds go to me right now, doesn't it, Sucaria?" She asked her maid, though the question was most obviously aimed at the whole party.
“I dunno, it seemed to like how my hand tasted…” Gunnrun responded, not wanting to vocalize her thoughts about how Fio now seemed like to her, a cute puppy that was trying too hard to be angry but was just managing to be cute instead. “Um…well I’d let you stay at my place but erm, ahaha its a mess and I dont think its a good idea for me to be around you cute humans-er, cuz I might accidentally squish you or something yeah!”
“Your hospitality is welcome, Gunnrun and we wouldn’t want to impose anyways.” Sucaria nodded quietly at Luna’s question.
“But if its a strategy meeting I know a place! It even caters to humans, though we don’t get many.” Supposing they were all okay with it, the Giant would lead the pair towards the other side of the city, down one of the large roads. Some other giants gave the humans a friendly wave and questioned why they were here in curiosity but none really bothered them.
They’d soon find themselves in front of a building with a wooden sign hanging over it depicting a warrior holding what seemed to be a horned creature's head up in victory. ‘Kings Hunt’ was the name written above it. Gunnrun opened the door, leading the party inside.
The interior was…busy, to put simply. The building seemed to have been divided to serve both humans and giants. The left side of the tavern seemed to be catered to serve the latter, with a few giants sitting at tables sized for them while the rest of the place seemed to be sized better for humans. A few hunting trophies lined the wall but otherwise the place seemed fairly quiet with not too many patrons both human or giant.
Surprisingly most of all though, was perhaps that the person working the bar seemed to be a human. A gruff old looking fellow, a long gray beard and a few tattoos upon his arms. He acknowledged the group with a nod as Gunnrun gave him a wave.
“This place is run by that old guy. Dunno how long he’s been here but he was here when I was born which is…pretty long time for a human.”
“If you’re gonna be fighting something I can actually help ya know!” Wisp shouted from inside the jar, trying to seemingly make herself useful though it was likely just some sort of bargaining ploy.
"We got human food here and stuff so we can talk!"
They however, were also not the only people here it seemed. A woman dressed in green and wearing a similarly colored cap with short blond hair and a slight dark coloring to her skin was sitting at the bar. A bow was fastened to her side. Fio could sense powerful magic coming from that bow.
“Hm…alright. We shall hunt it then.” Lonan reluctantly agreed. “Lif, you and Grainne stay here and watch the fort just in case it sends some Wyverns after us.”
“But I want to-”
“Grainne, no.”
“...Tch, yeah…you’re right. I’d be useless.”
“That’s not what I meant Grainne-” The redhead already sulked off, earning a small frown from Lif.
“You can be surprisingly tactless when it comes to stuff like this.” She’d snort. “Don’t worry I’ll drag her off to something fun.” Lonan nodded, turning to the other two.
“Then lets be off you two. No time to waste.” A whistle and Lonan’s spectral steed appeared in front of him with a shimmer, the ground under its hooves rippling like water. “Need a ride, Dame Luana?”
Regardless of her answer, the trio would soon be off. Indeed, as the dragon had left it left a sizable ditch where it rolled away, leaving an easily to follow trail even as it disappeared over the rolling hills of the central plains of Albion and it wouldn’t be long to find where the dragon had set up its home.
A small, hilly wooded area not too terribly far from the fort. The ditch continued into the forest, and would soon enough lead the trio right to what seemed to be the creature's front door. A small hill that had a cave dug out of it. All the plantlife and the trees in the area had withered, becoming little more than dried husks.
“...no doubt it led us here on purpose. Its likely waiting somewhere nearby. Stay alert.” Lonan dismounted, Steblas vanishing from sight moments later. “Luana, can you sense or see anything? And forgive me if I seem a bit off the mark with your druidism, is it possible for you to combat that things decaying abilities?"
“Your left!” Reinhardt acted swiftly. The blade in his hand meeting the claws of a diminutive lizard that had dared to lunge at him from the side, completely bisecting the arm as the fist of his other hand slammed into the things face, a solid crunch as its lifeless body was knocked backwards.
“Your highness!”
“I see it!”
Sorcha reacted just as swiftly, if not more so than Reinhardt did. A swift sidestep, her blade being dragged alongside the things torso, nearly cutting it in half as a second soon lunged at her from the side, only to be met with sinking its fangs into Reinhardt’s armor were it was swiftly knocked to the ground, its head soon crushed under the knights heel.
Sorcha in turn, spun, lightning arcing across her blade as a bolt of lightning slammed into a beast a few feet away in the same instance as she swung her blade, knocking aside another one of the creature's claws and swiftly bringing the blade back around and impaling the thing in its heart.
The lizard creatures were numerous, but that was all they had.
“...seems to be the last of them.”
“Mmngh, that was a good warmup.” Sorcha replied lazily, flicking some blood from her blade. “Good job! I think that was our first time fighting together, hm? We make a surprisingly good team.” Sorcha cheerily replied. “Drinks on me once we get back to Airedale.”
“Dragon kin, hm…they’re common in these mountains I’ve heard but they’re nothing like that black beast we slayed.” Reinhardt replied.
“Well, they’re not actually dragons. More like…distant relatives? Descendants of wyverns and other similar dragons after the true dragons vanished. They’re likely feeling a little aggressive.”
The pair continued down the ravine. A few more briefly crossed their paths, but most avoided the pair. The road continued for miles into the mountain, the sun going from overhead to late afternoon. Reinhardt couldn’t help but to feel some manner of apprehension. A weight upon the air as they drew closer to the mountain that Sorcha had pointed out.
Not only that, though…
“The further we travel the less natural some of this ravine seems.” “Oh? Noticed, Have you?”
“Hard to miss the stones that were clearly once a road or the large pillars that have fallen over. Your majesty I think it's time you tell me-” “By the way, by my count I killed five more than you.”
“That’s just provably false!”
“Bwahaha, is that so Reinhardt? Are you calling your Queen a liar?”
“Hah, no, I think our queen just might have trouble counting.”
“Rude! I’ll have you know I can count very well.”
“Says the woman that borrowed money from me to buy drinks from those Tuatha we met on the way here because she thought she had enough on her.”
“Look. Okay, look. I was thirsty and I already spent all my money already-” She turned to face Reinhardt with an innocent expression.
“On what? How do you spend all the money in your pockets?”
“On food, of course-” Sorcha was interrupted by smacking face-first into a rock wall.
“I’m somewhat surprised the rock didn’t crack.”
“Shut up-don’t sass me I’m your queen. Hmph, what even - oh. That’s…a big rock.”
“How did that thing even get here?” The pair paused. The ravine had abruptly cut off in an almost unnatural way. As though it continued, but in front of them was a large impossibly massive boulder that over the ages seems to have settled into its place.
“Rolled down the mountain?” Sorcha replied, a small frown. “Well, I was hoping this would be easier but we’ll need to get around and over it. Hope you don’t mind some climbing.”
Ethelred looked around the area where they had come to a stop. Judging by the dead plant life, the wyvern had definitely been here. That cave was probably its lair, which meant it could spring out of it at any moment. Best not to get too close...
"This is the monster's home territory, he's got the advantage here. So I say we reshape this place to favor us instead," he quietly suggested as he awaited Luana's reply.
It'd be convenient if they could trick it into hurling itself right into an ice spike or cluster of frozen stakes, but he was sure it wouldn't be that easy. However, if they were to freeze the ground so it couldn't get a grip, raise up plants to hinder where it can maneuver, that could put the flightless wyvern at a disadvantage.
"I would love a horse!" While Luana could turn into a steed and keep up with everyone, she couldn't risk wearing herself out before reaching their target. She didn't say anything during the trip over, and didn't speak up until Lonan spoke up again.
"Hmmm?" Luana turned to look at him. "My druid abilities? There's no harm in clarifying. We haven't worked together or anything, so I wouldn't expect you to know! Like your purple hair, I have no idea if it's natural or not. It wouldn't be wise to just assume you're going gray early." But she understood why he was asking in an overly polite manner. Sorcha had told Luana to do something before and she reacted, mmmm, a bit unfavorably. But she was sworn to work under Sorcha, who should have familiarized herself with what all of her knights were capable of. Lonan didn't even know Luana existed before today, so it would be silly to get upset with him. "Honestly, I've only used druid craft to change shape and grow plants, and I do very well with both of those. But as my queen has shown me, there may be other utilities for my magic as well. It would be my first time using druid craft to directly contest dark magic like that. So I'd say it would be reckless to expect much out of it, but I could attempt it in a pinch."
Ethelred made a good point. But would it be that simple? "Most burrowing animals that I've faced have many passages into their den. I doubt he would back himself into a corner, so I'd be ready to face a labyrinth of tunnels or other such traps. But!" She reached into her pouch. "It wouldn't hurt to be a little prepared if the fight came out this way, would it?"
Luana chucked a few acorns at the path leading into the cave, and some trees sprouted. They wouldn't be difficult for a human to walk past, but a drake would have to claw (or roll) their way through the trees to leave. The ground was also covered in thick vines that might trip up a large, rolling lizard. "Please please please wash your boots before handling them if you're walking inside. If you touch the vines with your hands, wear gloves or gauntlets, and do not touch your face!" Luana had dismounted her horse and was walking towards the mouth of the cave. "Ethelred, if you would stand in front of me, I'm going to see if I can get a clue as to what that thing is doing." Endless eclipse couldn't pinpoint the drake's exact location, but she should at least know what it was doing and if it was above or below ground.
This place was quite interesting. Luna did not expect there to be what seemed to be a human run place of business in the middle of the giant's town. She was rather impressed that there was a fine split between what was easy for a giant to relax in and what was easy for human-sized creatures to relax. "Yes, let us discuss our plans then. Perhaps we can talk of things unrelated as well. Even as a Lightsword it's not too often that I've had much of the pleasure of talking with giants in an extended period."
It was then that Luna looked over and noticed someone else in there. A human wearing quite the interesting outfit. "I didn't think there would be any other humans here." Luna mentioned to their giant benefactor. "Perhaps we should go say hello. Doesn't hurt to know who else is around, at the least." With that, Luna made her way over to the other human she saw.
"Greetings! I didn't expect to see another person of below giant size while here." The knight said, "Lunalel Lightsword. Pleasure to meet you." The Lightsword said with a smile.
