Dragon Wars Ii

[Jeremy Davis]

Rimuldar Gloomfaust

::The Dragon in human form though sloppy with his sword did fight with heart. As a warrior Rimuldar respected that, but this just didn't fit well within his plans. In truth he didn't need both Chong Po and Tultimar, so having one of them die during this battle ment nothing to him.

The warrior fell Tultimar with a brilliant strike, and then turned to fight Chong Po, but before his sword could strike Chong Po's weapon of choice -A polearm-, Rimuldar's blade parried the blow.::

You have fought well Dragon, but you are fighting for the wrong cause...I would reveal more to you, but this is nae the right time as there are other humans approaching. If you value your life at all I suggest you make yourself scarse...

::Rimuldar sheathed his sword as a good will measure, then drew a dagger and killed the first human to reach the clearing caused by the fallen dragon. Chong Po watched the warrior set for anything, as Rimuldar walked over to the human he just killed. A few words in dragon passed his lips and the human suddenly took the form of Tultimar.

Where the real Tultimar fell now rested a dragon, large and blochy as the magic within his scales started to fade and his almost bleached skin was visible where a normal trans would not.::

 

[poohlive]

Kort dropped his sword, looking around in confusion, unsure just what he had witnessed. The dragonslayers were dragons themselves? Rage ran through him, but it stopped too, as he didn't know why they would fight this war, or help the humans.
Kort had wanted nothing more than to kill them all, and leave the questions to be answered by some other, but now... now he had so many questions that needed to be understood.
Humans were coming.
The slayer hadn't been wrong about that. Even in his altered form, Kort couldn't take them all, not with those engines in the clearing.
"This isn't over," He said, running for the clearing. His two feet carried him fast, but as he grew, his hands went down to the ground, scaly and sharp clawed.
Wings emerged from nothing on his back, clothes molded to the thick armor hide. His long neck came out.
Once on the clearing, where the humans now gathered to claim their victory over the dead dragons, Kort emerged, in all his form, looking down at them.
"You want a war?"
Cold acid met over a dozen of them, straight, as Kort flew off... unsure where to go, but knowing it was better to be there, than here.
"YOU'VE GOT A WAR!!!!"

 

[chewbacca71]

Selwen

Selwen almost fell on the ground in shock. He could not believe what he had just witnessed. The dragon slayers were dragons? This was way to much for him to figure out. This information was vital to get to Canth. It would make huge differences in the future. As Selwen was about to turn back towards the city, the large human that had started the attack also tranformed into a dragon. Sheesh, thought Selwen, is everyone around here a dragon? Shaking his head, Selwen moved swiftly towards the city.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Rheamus Barren

I'd managed to get outside the city gates, where a large crowd had gathered, creating a wall of human bodies that seemed impossible to get around. i managed to push my way through, and realized once I reached the other side of it that few of those gathered in the gates had any intention of going further. They wanted to know bad enough to gather there, but let the risks be to those soldiers trained to deal with it, not their own lives.
It worked for me and the few others who wanted past. The rest stayed there, craning necks that would never be long enough to see above the trees that blocked their view.
While we moved, I managed to get ahead of the others, moving quickly, without much thought, my head-ache currently subsiding some, enough for me to forget the pain and move on toward what may need to be done.
I turned a corner, my hand on the handle of my sword, not hearing the elf's light footsteps, if they were audible at all, until I was smack dap in front of him. i tried to stop, then shifted my direction some, seeing his defensive posture, just as my balance left me and I found the ground. I looked up at my recently made friend, seeing an expression on his face that told me something serious was afoot. I didn't know him well enough to know what that might be just yet.
"Sel..." I cleared my throat, remembering the others who'd come behind me. "Trope!," I said overloudly, "It's me, Axen. What is it? Is everything okay?"
I hoped my elevated voice wasn't too obvious a sell to those passing by. I also hoped that, had Selwen needed a reminder of our false identities, my words had been that.
I waited impatiently for his answer, brushing off my clothes as I stood.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Dust

We'd moved slowly, far too slowly to get anywhere fast enough. i hadn't trained in years, though the night before had been quite a refresher, and the women and children that followed me moved wearily, afraid of what might lie ahead. The woods that had seemed so safe to them the day before now seemed filled with unseen dangers. I understood their thoughts as I found myself looking around constantly, sometimes hearing the footsteps of giants in my head and feeling certain the invisible spectres that had attacked with the orcs last night were still following us.
I tried not to let on my fear, but it seemed the children could smell it. We moved through the woods until late morning, when the children began to cry a third time, then we stopped to rest by small pond, all huddled around the water except me and Thandie, who sat a short distance off, still holding are few weapons from that morning (i'd gathered my pick and a daggar from some fallen dwarf as well), and watched for any passersby.
"Bad feelings?" Thandie asked me.
I nodded. "After last night... It'll be a while before I feel anything good."
She nodded. "I'll miss him, the damned drunken fool."
I smiled. "so will I."
She nodded, but didn't cry yet (It was coming, but not yet). We'd moved less than five miles, and keeping the group of twelve (Doode had died before we'd had a chance to try moving him) moving had been more of a trial than one could have imagined. And the human city was still wel over a hundred miles away, a few days at least on foot, nonetheless with this slow pace.
"Hopefully, we'll be there in a few days..."
She nodded. "We should..."
SHe trailed off, seeing my head shaking. "Give them a few minutes more."

 

[chewbacca71]

Selwen

Selwen nodded his head towards Rheamus before signalling him to follow. Selwen led the way out of the city back to a large stand of trees. When he was sure that they were alone, Selwen spoke to Rheamus.

"Welcome back to the world of the living my friend. I have some news for you. I was just out in the forest and saw some disturbing things. Another dragon was killed by some dragon slayers, but they were attacked by a lone man before they could finish harvesting the dragon. After a few minutes of combat, the dragon slayer turned into a dragon himself. The lone human moved away and then he turned into a dragon. I had to feel myself to make sure I was not turning into a dragon. "

"I am not sure what this portends, but something is not right here. Why would a dragon want to kill his fellow dragons? I am very confused right now. I think we should forgo trying to destroy some of these siege engines and get back to Canth right away. Are you well enough now to change so we can get out of here? "

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Rheamus Barren

"Well enough to change?" I nodded, no hesitation. I'd flown injured before, injured badly enough that I'd been lucky to survive the inident, but now that things were panning out differently than we'd expected...
My head spun, not from the hangover this time, but from the thoughts that whirled inside it.
I shook my head. "What if going back to the Council and Canth isn't the wisest choice, Sel..." I glanced around, making sure no one had heard the name I'd almost muttered. When I found no one, I decided it might be best to avoid using names for the time being.
"What if..." I thought for a moment, wanting to word it correctly. At that moment, I felt Selwen and Iwere allies, and I'd come to the realization that we might be one another's only allies. The only certain ones at least.
But then, how certain was I? I'd only just met this Selwen, and what if he'd seen what I'd done? Seen me kill the other elf? It was self-defense, but...
I looked the elf over, not sure what to think or say just then. But then, I had to trust him, didn't I? Afterall, he was an elf, and if push really came to shove...
Then you'll kill again, won't you, Rheamus? I ignored it as best I could, but the words still stung, dug deeper than I wanted them too.
I looked the elf in the eye, not wanting to think thoughts of death or killing just then, not toward Selwen, who'd given me no real reason to mistrust him.
"Has it occurred to you, friend," I said softly, "That perhaps Canth is already aware of what is going on? It seems odd to me that someone sitting on the dragon council may know so little of what's been going on among the dragon. Perhaps he is not so venerable as we at first believed..."

 

[chewbacca71]

Selwen

Selwen stared off into space for a moment. Then he turned back to Rheamus. "You may well be right. But I do not want to take the chance that he does not know. Also the information that we gathered about the humans plans will be valuable. I think it is best if we go back. But ultimately it is your decision. I am not the one flying. "

 

[chewbacca71]

Kuthelis

Kuthelis had never felt the sensation of flying like this. He had always been the one flying. It was totally different when you were trapped in a human body and tied to another dragon. Kuthelis yelled up to the dragons that they were almost there. He remembered the waterfall that dominated the.......ah there it was. He told them to land close to the waterfall.

A small hint of smoke swirled on the air currents around the flying dragons. A pile of blackened corpses could be seen with a lick of flame still working into the stubborn flesh. A few Orcs could be seen waving at the dragons as they approached. Off to one side , a few live dwarves were being fitted into chains by a bevy of Orcs. Only a few dead orc bodies were visible strewn on the bloodstained ground. A small patch of flat land over the waterfall that was at the end of the settlement would give a good place to land.

 

[poohlive]

Kort had been flying around for hours, not in any general direction, but just to do something. Keep his wings occupied, let the blood boil for a while, try to calm down, stop the thoughts from spinning over and over again in his mind.
The dragon slayers, mortal enemies to all of dragonkind, were dragons. There was something wrong about that, something so wrong. It wasn't the situation that pissed him off, or even that all this time, their own kind was the ones doing all the killing.
It was the fact that some vital piece of information had been left from Kort. Kort himself had been placed out of the loop, pieces of the puzzles were purposely taken away from him, so he couldn't figure it out.
It wasn't until he realized that underneath him were mountains, and he was close to the dragon's council that he made up his mind.
An hour later, flying as fast as he could, he landed inside the cavern of the council, roaring with all his might.
"CANTH!!!!" The surrounding walls echoed his frustration, "We're at war. We don't have much time...."

 

[Jeremy Davis]

Rimuldar Gloomfaust

::Rimuldar watched as the dragon flew around and struck the surge of people running towards the clearing. That allone would seal the dragon's fate not that they were not already doomed, and served to allow him a few moments to reorganise his thoughts as the next set of humans entered the clearing.

Chong Po soon joined his side and Rimuldar raised his hand for calm.::

We have defeated a ambush laid by the dragons this day. Not only were there two dragons in the sky but here in this clearing two others hid. We've struck down three of the dragons, however one escaped. Such a victory was not without loss. Tultimar, my devoted friend was struck down as he valiantly fought the dragon menaces.

::The crowd started to talk amongst themselves the roar growing as one tried to talk over another. Rimuldar again raised his hand calling for silence::

Tultimar died in battle, there is no finer, nobler way to die...

::As the crowd again came to life, Rmuldar turned to Chong Po::

Strip the hides of scales and have the blacksmiths fordge some dragon scale armour and shields. I want the trans scales for myself. I will magically make armour for myself from it.

::Rimuldar looked to the sky once more and smirked. No doubt Canth would soon find out about the dragon slayers who were really dragons themselves. He would have no clue who they were he would assume that they were just trans turned human. Rimuldar would most likely have to make one more visit to the council before this war would start. He would first have to see the kings before he left.::

 

[chewbacca71]

Canth

Canth could hear his name echoing off the high ceilings of the council chamber. He left his room and practically ran all the way to the chamber. When he arrived, he could see some other dragons trying to calm another dragon down. Canth recognized this agitated dragon . It was one of the dark dragons that he had asked to find some of the trans. What was his name.......oh yes it was Kort.

Canth was happy to see that they had arrived back. Then he realized that only one of the them was here. He looked around the chamber but did not see either of the other dragons that had gone. He turned back to Kort .

"Kort, what happened? Where are the others? What happened? " A rush of questions escaped Canth as he tried to get his bearings.

 

[poohlive]

"I thought the others would have been here by now," Kort looked around, almost as if he were going to spot them in the corner, "After we caught an invisible dragon, I told them to bring it back here, alive."
He didn't mince words, "The humans are planning war against the dragons. They have hired Dragon Slayers, who are building weaponry and teaching the humans how to fight, and how to kill us. They have already killed some of us, I don't know how many, but more than just a few."
Kort already felt the blood rising inside him. He stopped short of his incident with the slayers himself. Something didn't feel right about spilling that secret just yet. It was his, something he shared with the dragon out there, and he wouldn't give it up just yet.
Besides, that changed nothing.
"We need to start planning now. We need to destroy the humans, attack them before they can get their forces ready. Everyone must help, the humans are too numerous for just a few of us, and too educated in our deaths. If we are going to kill them, we need everyone: man, woman, child.... The dragons are at war."

 

[chewbacca71]

Canth

Canth nodded at what Kort had said. It was about what he had expected. He had the suspicion that the humans were about to attack when many of the dragons never made it back.

"You are correct Kort. While you were all gone, I have seen to the fortification of some of the deeper caves as secure areas for the youngest dragons and what few eggs we still have. I have sent a few of my own personal retinue to defend them to the death. Other than that, almost all of the others dragons have returned to my summons. We have around 100 dragons that can actually fight against the humans.

I am not the best at organizing for things like this. In my youth , over 3000 years ago, I would have been able to do this without consious thought. We were much more warlike back then. But over the years, the peace over most of our land has made us soft. I can not believe I am doing this, but I have to face reality. I can not doom the dragon race to my own incompetent work. I officially name you, Kort , our battle leader. "

Canth waited to see what his reaction would be.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Rheamus Barren

Perhaps Selwen was right. So long as we didn't let on that trusting the dragon might be unwise, it did little to us to report the information, so long as our suspicions were not voices, he would most likely just send us on another errand, or relieve us altogether. Why not keep us around, even if his intentions were bad, so long as we never let on that we may suspect something? But then, what if Selwen told?
I dismissed the thought, pushing it away. Too many "what-if"s and no reason to question. The voice was getting to me again, afterall.
"I apologize, Sel... Trope. I shouldn't have doubted Canth. But I think perhaps we should consider the fact that we don't know everything about what is going on, especially now that we know there are dragons behind at least some of this..."
I thought for a moment. "We should go to Canth. I don't see what esle we might do here..."

 

[Jeremy Davis]

Rimuldar Gloomfaust

::A rather large crowd gathered along the dirt covered streets of the town, and a even bigger roar rose from their voices as the Dragon Slayers returned from their fresh kills.

Chong Po separated from Rimuldar as he and a few other men took the scales of the dragons to the smith's workshop to be forged into armour. Rimuldar walked through the heart of the town and strode towards the castle where the Kings waited.

He was allowed instant access into the King's Throneroom and there he inclinded his head slightly in recognition of the Kings before he spoke.::

I believe you have recieved a report on the happening in the fields today....What say you now about our abilities? Both the siege weapons and the skill of my men and I were tested today and dispite losing Tultimar, we were victorious.

 

[chewbacca71]

Selwen

Selwen nodded at what Rheamus had to say. He agreed that they needed to get back to Canth. He grabbed his weapons and secured them. "Lets get out of here, Rheamus." Selwen waited for Rheamus to change before climbing up onto his back. He gave one last look towards the city as they flew into the air.

 

[chewbacca71]

The two kings

King MacKenzie looked at the dragon slayer before him. "Yes, we have heard of your exploits. I believe that the gods have sent you to us in our time of need. No longer are only my personal bodyguards yours to command . I am giving you charge of the combined armies of the two kingdoms. I want the dragons destroyed utterly. I never want to look up in the sky and see their bodies flying over my kingdom. How soon can you be ready to depart? "

MacKenzie looked over at Midas. They had already agreed on this course of action. This would allow the kings to stay away from the battle themselves. Plus, these slayers seemed to be very confident and capable. Hopefully killing those foul beasts could lead to some treasure for the kings to share. He so loved adding more coins and gold to his coffer. As MacKenzie waited for the slayers response he called over a messenger.

 

[Jeremy Davis]

Rimuldar Gloomfaust

::He listened to the kings and couldn't help but smirk hearing the one before him speak of the destruction of the dragons. You fool, if you only knew the truth of your situation. Humans are so easily blinded by truiths as long as you make sure that they get tunnel vision.::

I can be mobile in a weeks time. It will take that long to finish production of the armour and the rest of the siege engins. One cannot be unprepared in this war or you end up scorched or worse.

::He started towards the door , then stopped and turned around.::

I request a feast and funeral pyre in honor of my fellow Dragon SLayer. He fought well protecting this kingdom.

 

[chewbacca71]

The two kings

King MacKenzie was suprised that it would be that fast. Luckily they had been getting supplies prepared for a few weeks, so on their end it would just be organizing the men into groups. He agreed with the funeral pyre, "That boon is granted. Get with my man Yvegenni to make the arrangements. You may leave now. " MacKenzie watched as he left the room. He turned to Midas.

"I think we should at least leave a small force of men here at the city in case the dragons pull a counterattack or an ambush. I want to leave at least 500 men here at the castle, fair enough? " MacKenzie was pleased when Midas nodded his assent.

 

[poohlive]

Kort had expected a lot of things coming in here to tell the news, to force the truth down Canth's throat. He thought perhaps he'd have to fight the man, maybe even go out on his own, show them the truth he was speaking, watchi his brethren fall at the hands of a man refusing to do action.
There was shock in his eyes though, utter disbelief.
"Commander?
Kort looked out among the mountains, at the dragon caves, and the hundreds of soldiers now at his disposal. He would have to lead them? Lead them all.
"We need to destroy the humans. This isn't a battle to just weaken them. I've seen that pathetic attempt used and then backfired. If we do this.... if we do this my way, I will irraticate the entire human population, and anyone who decides to help them."
But something still lingered, something even he was scared of. Dragons were helping the humans. Whatever sort of advantage they might have had was gone. The dragons would know where the council is, how many numbers, and how to fight back very well.
"What do you know of the dragon slayers? Where do they come from?"

 

[chewbacca71]

Canth

Canth spoke to Kort in a quiet tone. "I have very little information about dragon slayers. There has only been a few in the annals of time that we know of. But all have long since passed. Once the peace and prosperity of our peace treaties was in place, there was no reason for humans to hunt us. I am highly suprised that they have been so successful. The ones in our records were mostly just a handful of lucky humans dealing with very old or very young dragons. I am sorry that I have no more information about them for you. "

 

[chewbacca71]

Selwen

His elven eyes sharp, Selwen could see the landing near the council chamber. He directed Rheamus to land there. He hoped that Canth would have some answers for some of the questions that they had.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Rheamus

When my feet struck the landing pad, I lowered my weight and allowed Selwen to get to the ground easier. I debated for a moment, decidin to remain in human form just then. If my suspicions were correct, a sudden take-off might be necessity. I fnot, then what would ithurt to address the dragon in my more natural form?
We were met quickly by one of Canth's attendants.
"We are Rheamus and Selwen," I announced, "Here to speak with Canth."
He nodded. "Canth's been getting a lot of visitors today," he replied. "This way..."

 

[chewbacca71]

Canth

Canth looked up as one of his attendants came into the room. He was glad to see it was the two that had been sent to the human city. He strained to remember their names. They came to him as he addressed them.

"Rheamus and Selwen, welcome back. As you can see Kort has also returned. We have just been discussing the human problem. What do you have to report? "