Chapter 27

hey look a chapter, it is released. thanks again to rouge for his proofreading.

 

without further ado  Chapter 27 – Home coming

——————————————Fafnir————

 

“What do you mean by demoness?” I quickly asked, “I thought the child was a boy.”

The demon stopped for a second and looked at the child, “Nope, she’s female.”

“Dang you Atheros, why couldn’t you do your job correctly!” I cursed.

“Is that a problem…?” he asked as his voice trembled a bit.

“No, it’s not a problem” I sighed, “It just makes my life harder.”

“If you wish , O dragon, we can look over this child for you.” he offered

“No.” I replied glaring at the demon, “She is my responsibility; I just need you to feed her so we can return to my lair.”

“Sure. we’ll feed her…” He replied, fear still covering his face, “do-do you wish to come in?”

“Thank you for offering,” I replied with a grin, “I will join you in a second” I watched his face pale at my reply. Seizing the moment I cast my shrinking spell and, once more small, I walked around the socked demon.

I looked around the three roomed shank. It was nicer than expected; there were a couple of recliners around a small fireplace, a decent looking kitchen and two bedrooms. I could see the adolescent demon lying on the bed in the next room and i heard another in the kitchen. Our eyes met and he started screaming.

a demoness walked over to the boy to console him, trying not to be noticed as she stole glances of me. Ignoring them I walked over to a chair and laid myself on top of it.

“Dear, do we have any more of the dried dragon left?” He asked the demoness after he finally recovered from shock, “The talking dragon here wants us to feed this young one here.” he froze once more realizing what he just said.

“You can eat lesser wyverns all you like, I don’t care.” I stated easing the man’s fears, “just feed her.”

I watched the demoness shoot a deathly glare at her husband, “Dear, you should feed a two year old something better than just dried meat”, she scolded. “I will feed the girl, while you entertain the nice dragon.”

“That’s a great idea, Honey”, he replied before he sat on a chair as far from me as possible.

“I am guessing that whatever you did was successful.” he said in a somewhat more relaxed tone.

I stared at him for a bit with my large draconic eye before I replied,  “Yes I was able to deal with a future problem in a somewhat civil manner, that I might have had to deal with in a less than civil way.”

“I am glad then everything went well.” he shuddered.

“So where did you get the lovely girl?” He asked his voice a bit steadier than before.

“Are you sure you want to know?” I questioned.

“Y-y-yes?” he stuttered a look of worry on his face.

I thought for a minute while watching the demoness feed the little demon lord. “I will tell you the answer after she has eaten.” I declared.

“Ok.”

After about fifteen minutes of uncomfortable silence, the demoness said her eyes glaring at me, “There, the girl has been fed and changed.”

“Thank you and as promised I will remove the curse.” I said chuckling a bit at their belief in my little lie. I walked over to the boy, fear plastering his face and part of the bed. I released a bit of my breath and melted the edge of his hair. “It is done, the curse has been removed.”

We walked out of the house and after releasing the shrinking spell I take the little demon lord from the demoness and place her back into the pouch.

“I will be off,” I said, as I started to grin,  “as to where I got this little girl, you will probably hear soon that the demon lord was taken by a beast. I will let you determine if the two are related.” I laughed as I leaped into the sky leaving the stunned demons behind.

“Should I keep her or should I just eat her, as my stomach has been telling me to?” I asked myself as we flew over the green sea of trees near the elven city. “If I am going to keep, how I would take care of her, I mean I am not exactly in a form to take care of a two year old.” i mused,”Whatever, I will cross that bridge when I come to it.”

As dusk started to settle I could make out the city in the distance.  I grabbed onto the pouch with the sleeping girl as I descended through the treetops. I could make out cries of alarm from the guards as I landed in front of Therin’s house. I knocked and after about a minute a familiar elf opened the door.

“You’re back sooner than expected.” He flatly stated as his eyes were drawn to my pouch, “What do you have?”

“Nice to see you too, I will answer your question after I come in.” I replied, “Also get Atheros; I think he will like the answer to that question.”

“Fine,” he sighed, “Atheros is upstairs attempting to discern that list of your.”

I placed the sack on the floor, the demoness started to squirm inside and controlling my magic I shrink myself enough to fit through the hallways, I pick up the sack once again, much to the protest of the now awake child, and walked into the den. I pulled her out of the sack and I placed her on the ground, she started to explore the unfamiliar surrounds as I settled down.

“Why is there a demon child crawling around on the floor Fafnir?” Atheros asked as he walked into the den.

“Atheros, I found your demon lord and savior.” I replied before I burst out laughing.

“What?” was all Atheros could say.

“I solved your demon problem.” I stated.

“What does a small chi…” he said before froze. “ is that who I think that is?”

“No, as that would mean you think”, I jabbed. “Though if you are trying to ask if this is the demon lord, I would reply; ‘she used to be’, as from now on, she will be my daughter.”

“Who has a daughter?” Therin asked as he walked into the den, freezing as he noticed the child.

 

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as always me and rouge are mostly human so tell us if we missed. also let me know what you think in the comments.

Chapter 26 – Lift Off

Early release, this week and if I keep this up there might be an extra one before the end of the week. As always I want to thank rouge for his lovely proofreading support, he makes the chapters flow so much better.

 

so without further ado – Chapter 26 – Lift Off

———————-Fafnir——————-

“So, the curse will dissipate in a few weeks, if I do what you say, right?” the demon asked while picking up his unconscious son.

“Yes, but if you defy me your son will turn to dust.” I lied through my scales, while fighting off sleep from my now full stomach.

“You’re sure that the curse will dissipate and he will be alright?” He said looking at his pale son.

“Yes. He will look better after a day but if you tell anyone before the two weeks end he will be destroyed like the plants around us.” I replied in my most menacing tone of voice I could muster.

“Fine, I will not tell anyone you are in the area, though I cannot say that I won’t after my son’s curse fades.” he said, “The capital is to the west and a bit towards the south. It takes about a day on a draxx, to get there.”    

“I just want to warn you our capital is designed to fight off creatures like you.” the demon venomously replied.

“You couldn’t even identify me, so what makes you think that they will be able to defend against me?” I snapped.

“I am just a hunter, the generals of the demon lord live in the capital. They are the strongest among us, more importantly they are worlds above me.” he arrogantly replied

“And just like you the hunters will become the hunted.” I declared as the two walked off into the forest.

I waited about 15 minutes to finish stretching and then jumped back into the sky. I oriented myself towards the capital and glided away. After about an hour I could see the beginnings of a massive city in the evening twilight. I decided to land and rest until the cover of night, before sneaking peeks at my supposed enemy capital. Hours passed as I watched the two moons chase each other across the night sky. When the moons had reached their zenith I stood up and launched myself into the night sky. I flew over the mostly sleeping city, I watched people bustle about at this late hour with my draconic eyes, when I smelled something delicious floating on the wind. It was the sweet smell of mana. I descend a bit to try and identify who was giving off such a delicious smell. I scanned the area for what seemed like days when I caught another whiff from a large ornate building near the center of the city. I tossed caution to the wind as I descended upon the unsuspecting city.

I tried to land but the roof of the building collapsed under me. I could smell the sweet aroma of mana permeating the building. Driven by mad desire I crashed through the building walls, I could hear a loud ringing in the distance mixed with panicked voices. As I crashed through another wall, I discovered the source of the sweet aroma; it was a small child with blood red eyes and small horns sticking from his temples, the child looked no older than two. It burst into tears at the sight of my draconic vestige.

“Well crap!” I cursed, as I realized what I had just done. I could hear the clanking of people dressed in metal armor approaching. Making a quick decision I picked up the screaming child by its shirt and lifted it out of its crib.         

“It’s in the lord chambers, quickly!” a voice commanded.

“Oh, crap!” I swore through my teeth; the child screaming as it dangled from my mouth. I quickly made my way out of the building, knocking through another wall.

“A beast has our lord!” a demon shouted.

I knock down the last wall standing between me and the open sky; I jumped through the makeshift exit and quickly ascend into the night sky. I could feel arrows patter against my scales as I moved. After a few seconds of flying I heard a ripping sound, followed by a louder scream that seemed to be moving away from me. “Dang, I dropped it,” I thought to myself as I quickly dived down. I quickly matched the kid’s speed as I grabbed the little demon lord with my front claws, and pulled out of my dive.

I flew for a few hours heading back toward home. The child eventually quieted down, and is now just squirming around in my fore claw.  I descended near the same lake I stopped earlier, the sun starting to crest on the horizon. I gingerly landed on three of my claws, being careful not to crush the child under my claw. I set it down and start to look at the little demon lord. The little thing managed to sit up and just stared at me, I watched as its lower lip began to quiver. Thinking quickly, I cast my shrinking spell and shrank down to eye level. The little demon lord started to laugh.

“Huh, I was supposed to kill you?” I muttered, while looking the child in the eye.  The wide eyed child reached out his hand trying to grab one of my glowing horns. I started to pull back but decided to allow it to touch me, which was a mistake. With unnatural strength the little demon lord yanked me off my claws and shoved my horn right into its mouth. I flicked my head breaking its grasp on me and growled, causing the child to once again burst into tears. In a fit of rage I released a spell and the entire area fell into absolute silence, not even the chirps of crickets could be heard. Confusion covered the face of the small child, as he tried to cry but no sound came out. After a minute I canceled the magic and all the sounds around us returned.

I canceled the translation spell and using my deep rumbling voice I say, “Behave.”

His lower lip began to quiver once more but stopped when I growled.

“Good little demon,” I praised the little thing, giving it a wide smile. “Now you are probably hungry, but what can I feed you?” I said to the little demon. I released my shrinking spell and returned to my large draconic form. I squatted on my hind legs and placed the little demon in my little leather pouch that was tied around my neck, despite its loud protest. Remembering where I was, I launched myself into the sky and scanned the area for the village where I expected the two demons to live. As I flew around I caught the scent of the demon I encountered earlier. I spotted the demon as he was entering a house at the edge of the clearing. I descended and blew up dust and dirt as landed right by his front door.

Activating the brooch on my head I sang, “Little demon, little demon, let me come in.” I heard screaming coming from inside the house.

“Ah, come on, don’t be like that.” I chided, “I need your help with something, and if you comply I will even remove the curse on your boy.”

After a few seconds the door creaked open revealing the demon I met in the forest. “Wh-what d-d-do you w-w-want?” he stuttered terror plain on his face.

I sneezed as the strong smell of freshly soiled clothes filled my nose.

“I need you to feed this young demon I have.” I said while I took the child from my pouch.

“Awahh, what a cute child you have there…” he said before terror covered his face again, “Wait, if I may ask, O mighty dragon, where did you get this lovely demoness?”

 

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as always me and rouge are mostly human so let us know if we missed anything. also let me know what you think in the comments below

Chapter 25

I can’t believe i am realising chapter 25… it seems like it was  a couple of months ago when i first started writing this. so as a treat it is longer than normal and released earlier in the week. i also want to thank mejinzs and rouge for their proofreading support. mejinzs gets a double thanks for his awesome cover art.

 

Without futher ado; Chapter 25 – chaos

 

——————————Fafnir——————-

“I am not sure I understand why you need some of these things…” Atheros stated looking over the freshly penned list.

“They are all important.” I assured him.

He skeptically scanned over the list one more time, “Why do you need ‘a metric crap-ton,’ as you put it, of iron ingots; Also how much is a ‘crap-ton’?”

“Ok then get me at least 1000 kg,” I sarcastically replied, “the iron is for reinforcing the lair walls and a few other projects that I plan on undertaking.”

“My question still stands, how much is 1000kg?”

“You ask me as if I know your system of measurements…” I replied slightly irritated, “which was the reason I didn’t put a real number to begin with, I just need a lot of iron.”

“OK. Good point.” He replied a bit surprised, “Well then, what is cy…an…ide?”

“Forget it,” I huffed. “Get what you can from the list; I can try to produce the other stuff.”

“Ok, Fafnir”, Atheros sighed.

“Also we need some way to transport this to my new lair”, I remarked.

“I figured as much, I was planning to get a cart and something to pull it”, Atheros replied.

“Thank you”, I said. “Well, I will leave in the morning.”

“How long will you be gone?” he asked, somewhat concerned.

“I will give myself about a week. I figure I give myself a day or two to get there, a few days to look around, and a day or two to head back.” I said looking over the map that Atheros brought out.

“You know you will be regarded as a… oh what did you call it. Ah, a wyvern, wherever you go, right?” he asked.

“I know. I will try to not kill all who insult me.” I replied.

“That is not the issue.” He replied, “If anyone sees you they will report it and a subjugation party will be formed.”

“Yes and they will try to hunt the wrong thing. Like trying to hunt a wolf as if it was a rabbit. It won’t end well for them…” I replied imaging the chaos.

“I will see about getting everything ready.” He said before writing a few more things down.

“I really need to learn to read,” I thought to myself as I stood up from my perch on top of the chair. I hopped off and glided to the door.

“By the way, Fafnir, if you see the demon lord are you going to take care of it?” he asked.

“I don’t think there will be an opportunity.” I replied as I headed towards my lair, disturbed by the uncharacteristic remark.

I entered my lair and released the spell changing my size; I stretched as I expanded back to my normal size. “Why can’t they make a house more dragons accessible?” I thought as I looked at the door. I gathered a few things to take with me, and placed them in a small sack. I placed the sack in the corner of the room and curl up on the pile of copper coins and fall asleep.

I woke up to the smell of cooking meat, the slightly greasy smell of pork-ish meat, drifting through the air. I stood up and stretched my serpentine form, before shrinking myself.  I deftly affixed the sack around my neck, and made my way toward the kitchen.

“Ah, look who decided to wake up.” Therin said as he threw another log into stoves’ the firebox.

“I get up exactly when I intend to,” I huffed.

“Let me guess; you intend to get up when there is food ready?” the elf surmised, looking at me with one eyebrow raised.

“Something like that,” I replied, “I am just a baby dragon… I need my rest, right?”

“Right…” he replied drawing out the word. “Are you heading out after eating, O great dragon?”

“Yes, and Its master O great dragon.” I countered while heading through the kitchen towards the dining room.

“Ha! You said not to call you master or anything like it.” He remarked, bringing a plate of bacon-like meat.

“Yes, but that was before I had to break you out of prison.” I said to Therin as I devoured the meal in front of me.

“That only happened once.” He shot back, “And I was only captured because Atheros lacks enough of a spine to kill the guards.”

“Excuses, Excuses.” I jabbed.

After I finished eating I hopped off the chair and glided to the floor.

“You heading out?” Therin asked.

“Yes” I answered.

“I can’t believe I am saying this but be careful,” Therin said, “the demons are good with magic, and they are stronger than they appear.”

“Thanks, Dad.” I sarcastically replied, opening the door with my fore claw.

“I am more of a crazy uncle figure,” Therin joked, “it’s Atheros who has the dad spot.”

“Good to know.” I replied before shaking off the shrinking spell. I tensed my mighty legs and leap into the sky, pumping my blue wings to gain altitude. I quickly burst through the trees, scaring several woodland creatures in the process.

I flew in a lazy circle as I orientated myself over the green sea, and with a flick of my tail, I turned towards the south-west and soared across the sky.

“Finally,” I said to myself as a large lake came into view, breaking the monotony of green which I have been staring at for the past seven hours. As I veered towards the water and started to descend, I could make out a few boats floating on the calm blue surface.  I flared out my wings as I dropped to the ground, landing on the sandy shore. I dug a small hole and let it fill with water. I blocked the stream, then I released my draconic breath hopefully sterilizing the water. I take a few large mouthfuls slaking my thirst. I gazed over the lake admiring its beauty. As I laid down resting my wings for a bit, I heard a rustling sound, followed by a spear bouncing off my scales.

I quickly stood up trying to catch a glimpse of the foolish being that attempted to attack me. out of the corner of my eye I saw something move, I inhaled deeply before releasing my draconic breath, partially melting everything within a wide swath. Trees started to topple as the trunks turned into mush. I heard a loud scream pierced the air accompanied with the boom of a felled tree.  I made my way towards the screaming, where a lone humanoid lay, trapped under a log. A set of small horns protruded from his skull curving back towards his ear, and a splotched green and brown pattern adorning his skin.

“Why did you attack me?” I growled, keeping my anger in check.

“I-I saw a dr-dragon, and I had to k-kill it before it it harmed anyone.” He quivered, “It’s, it’s just my job.”

“Well in your job, does it tell you what to do when you bite off more than you can chew?” I interrogated, staring at him with my draconic eyes.

“Try to get away and gather a party to deal with the threat.” He quickly replied.

“Well then, it’s better for me to let you die, right? No warning, no problem.” I said out loud, before I flicked out my tongue. I could smell that there was more than one person stalking around.

“Where are your friends?” I ask menacingly, “I can smell more than one of you around.”

“I always travel alone” he replied in a louder voice.

I quickly start scanning around me when I hear a faint rustling noise in the distance. I quickly dashed towards the sound and I catch a glimpse of color moving away from me. I caught up and barely avoided hitting a smaller version of the man trapped under the trees.  The kid, seeing my draconic visage, promptly passed out.

“Well crap,” I said looking at the sleeping kid. I gently grabbed him but the shirt collar and carried him to where the other guy is still trapped. I then returned to the devastated area, and dropped the boy on the man whom I assumed is his father.

“You can kill me,” he pleads, as he realized what just fell on him, “but please don’t harm my son!”

“You have put me in a difficult position.” I said, looking over the two demons, “I don’t really want to kill you, but if you raise the alarm it will make my life harder.”

“We won’t tell anyone.” He quickly offered, “We swear.”

“What? Do I look like, a fool!?” I snapped, “People ask questions, and there is no grantee that you will keep your word.”

I watched the color fade from the face of the demon as the meaning of my words sunk in.

“What do I need to do to make sure my son survives?” He asked with a determined look in his eye.  

It was at that time I had an idea.

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as always me, rouge and mejinzs are mostly human so tell us if we missed anything and tell me what you think of not only the chapter but the cool now front cover in the comments below.

chapter 24

well the Q&A is a bust as no one asked questions… so i will figure something else out.

I want to thank Rouge for his good proofread. also I would like to mention, all chapters have a purpose and you never know what is important to the story…

without further ado chapter 24

 

—————————-Therin’s POV ———————————–

“Why should I help that son of an orc?” I shouted at the dragon, annoyed at the whole situation.

“Because wealth and power.” The dragon replied bluntly. “You will command wealth and some power; also depending on how you conduct yourself, you can rub it in your family’s face that they needed you and you helped despite them being less than civil.”

“Ah, ‘the kind works out his problems dragon’ is suggesting that I forgive those who have wronged me,” I replied with a bit of venom.

I heard the dragons give a heavy sigh before he said, “That is different.”

I glared at the dragon as he sat on the chair across from a few minutes passed my anger still simmering when the dragon spoke, “Fine, you can screw over your family all you like, give up wealth and power and be like everyone else.” He then hopped off the chair and walked out of the den, leaving me to my thoughts.

After I cooled my anger I stood up and walked into the kitchen to start cooking dinner.

“So how was the conversation with Fafnir?” Atheros asked as he walked into the kitchen.

“He gave me reign to do as I wish.” I replied as I started to peel a potato.

“Fafnir, giving in that easily… I wonder what he might have to resort to in order to achieve his goals.” He said as he grabbed a potato and started to peel it.

“Fafnir, having a plan?” I asked skeptically, “I have a sneaking suspicion that he makes it up as he goes along.”

“You might be right… but I wouldn’t let hear you say that.” Atheros quipped.

“Yes, I think a healthy sense of caution is appropriate near our scaly friend, though sometimes I don’t think I need to worry.” I replied as I tossed the diced meat into the pot.

“I know what you mean; he doesn’t seem very different from us, until you provoke him that is, then he over reacts causing chaos and death.” Atheros replied as he finished chopping the vegetables.

Quite pervaded the room as we silently cooked the stew, moving through practiced motions.

“By the way, Fafnir asked for paper and ink yesterday, saying something about a supply list.” Atheros stated while cleaning the counter.

“When did you teach him how to write?” I asked while stirring the pot.

“I didn’t, I thought you did.” He replied a bit surprised.

“I wonder what our scaly friend is going to ‘write’,” I chuckled.

———————————-Fafnir———————————————-

“Why don’t they make ink bottles claw accessible.” I sighed looking at the small opening. After a few seconds I had an idea. I shrank myself and left my temporary lair and walked to the back of the house, with my front claws I dug a small hole until revealed a large rock. “Perfect !” I exclaimed, I promptly grabbed the rock in my jaw and took it inside. I dropped the large stone on the floor of my lair with a dull thud. I reached for that place in my chest and cast a spell. I watched as the once solid rock started to bubble and change its shape into a rough bowl. I took the bottle of ink poured half of the bottle into the stone bowl.

“There now I can write this list.” I said to myself admiring my handy work. I place gently retrieved the paper from the far side of the room and placed it next to my bowl.

Dipping my claw into the ink I started to write the list of materials that I would require. After about two hours I had finished writing down the materials I needed. Looking at the list I was pleased that my claw writing was almost perfect. I used my breath to clean off my claw, before I got up and flicked my tongue out; I could smell a rich aroma meaning that diner is almost ready. Shrinking down, I left the room and headed towards the kitchen.

“Hay Atheros,” I called out, “I made a list with everything I should need to create my lair, could you please get it from my room?”

Atheros stood for a moment contemplating before he nodded and left the kitchen. I watched the elf as he tasted the stew, “It is ready” he declared taking it off of the stove.

“Good,” I replied smelling the rich aroma of the stew, “I was getting hungry.” I moved into the dining room and took a seat in the middle of the table.

Soon after Atheros appeared with my list and a bowl of stew, and after a few moments Therin appeared with two more bowls and on his way to sit down placed one before me.

“Your list looks very… nice” Atheros commented with a strange look.

“What” I growled, “can’t you read Eng…” I realized that I did write the entire thing in English.

“Can you read this?” Atheros asked while handing the paper to the elf sitting across from me.

He carefully scanned the letter, surprise blossomed on his face. “I have seen this writing before in Thantos’ room,” he declared, “ unfortunately I cannot read it either.”

“Darn, all that wasted effort.” I sighed.

“How about I write it for you,” Atheros offered.

“Sure, we can do that after dinner.” I replied, “But there is something we need to discuss first.”

“What, have you decided to finish what you started yesterday?” he said somewhat hopeful with a mouthful of the delicious stew.

“I plan to fly to the demon country to reconnoiter.” I stated.

“You told me that you know what was going on.” Atheros stated.

“Well, I might have bent the truth…” I replied.

“Isn’t it dangerous to go alone?” Atheros said glossing over the fact that I lied to him.

“I can handle it.” I replied a bit miffed, “I am a dragon.”

“What are we going to be doing?” Therin asked.

“I want both of you to gather the items on the soon to be rewritten list and have them ready to transport.” I replied, “When I return I will be creating my more permanent lair.”

“Whatever,” Therin replied as he stood up, “I will get the stuff together, I still have some investments.”

I watched Therin leave the room with both his and Atheros’ bowl. I quickly devoured the remaining contents of my own before hopping from the chair and following Atheros to his room.

 

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as always both me and rouge are mostly human and therefore miss things, let us know if we missed anything. also let me know what you think

chapter 23

I want to Thank rouge and mejinzs for the proofreading. I will post the chapter on royalroad tomorrow. I am planing to do a q&A post to answer some of your questions if you want to send me them, I will answer the ones that don’t spoil too much…

as always without further ado, Chapter 23 – After Effects

————————–Fafnir-POV——————

“Dang, my head hurts,” I thought to myself as I woke up. I looked around trying to remember what happened. I was in a stone room with no windows. I stood up, my legs wobbling a bit with the effort of trying to stop the world from spinning around me. I stumbled over to the door and tried to open it. I shook the handle with fore claw only to find it was locked.

“They wouldn’t dare, would they?” I thought to myself before tying the door again. It was still locked. Taking a deep breath I tried to focus the magic to undo the lock, and I was shocked as the door burst into flames. Calming myself I concentrated and again I released the magic. As quick as the flames started, they vanished, leaving only a charred door. I took a few steps back trying to remember what happened before I passed out. “I remember having a drink…” I murmured, trying to remember everything, “then another, then everything gets hazy…”

I laid down and waited for the splitting headache to subside. After about half an hour the pain subsided to a dull throb. I stood up and studied the charred door and noticed that there was no lock.  Feeling a bit embarrassed, I pulled open the door and I poked my head out into the empty hallway. I walked out into the hallway and made my way toward the end.  I cautiously peered around the corner and saw two guards standing in front of a large door, wondering  whether I should push my luck. This could all be a misunderstanding or something more sinister.

After about a minute I decided it is better to find out now rather than later. I stepped around the corner and started down the hall. After less than a minute I was spotted by one of the guards. They quickly turned around and knocked on the door, and shouted, “I’ sgiathatch naa kuile.”

I stopped for a second as I realized that I could not understand them. I reached up to where the brooch of tongues had been and found nothing. A little annoyed, I contained walking down the hall wondering who stole my brooch, as I got closer they urgently shouted, “mani lye umaya?”

I heard someone shout from the other side of the door, “lava ho waan- imya I’ anon.”

Relief was evident on the faces of the guards as they opened the door and stepped out of the way.

I eyed the guards as I walked through the door and noticed lord Ataryo sitting behind a desk surrounded by stacks of papers. “naa lle tyava eithel,” he said.

I replied in what broken human tongue I learned from Atheros, “Lost speaking gem, where did it go?”

Lord Ataryo stared at me for a few seconds before replying in broken human tongue, “Don’t know… talking… about.”

I pointed to where the gem used to rest on my horn and pointed to my tongue. Hoping he understood what I was saying. I could see a flash of recognition in his eyes as he understood what I needed. He got up and motioned me to follow him. We left the small study and headed down the hall we turned right into a mostly destroyed hallway. “That wasn’t like that yesterday…” I thought to myself when it clicked, “Did I do that?” I asked in broken human.

He nodded and replied in human not much better then mine, “All left… you… destroyed… thing.”

“Well, dang,” I murmured. “ I don’t remember doing any of that.”

“Thing… there,” he said in his hobbled human.

I started to look about hoping to catch a glimpse of the broach with my draconic eyes. I saw several things glimmer in the light under the trees. I hopped from the destroyed hallway and glided towards one of the shimmering objects, but all that was there was some newly tarnished silverware. I spent the next half hour scouring the place for the broach, promising myself if I found it I would be more serious about learning the language. After rummaging through one of the walls I saw something glisten out in the courtyard, past where the wall used to be. I weaved through the rubble and in one of the bushes I found the small brooch. I affixed the now slightly warped broach to one of my horns and activated the magic within. I flew back into the manor and made my way through the hallways back to the study. the guards quickly waved me in. .

“I found it,” I said to the elf.

“I am glad you were able to pick through the rubble to find a small bauble,” he said sarcastically. “Now please remind me to never serve you any more elven spirits. It was very hard to get you to stop trying to show off your magic.”

“I will,” I sheepishly replied. “See you later.”

I hastily made my way through the halls once more before jumping out one of the broken walls. I flew over the city spotting Therin’s manor. I dived toward the house landing in front of the door, and tried to open it. Finding it locked, I knocked on the door and after a minute Atheros opened it.

“There you are, we were wondering when you would return.” He said barely containing his laughter.

“What is so funny?” I asked with my voice flat.

“Oh nothing,” he replied innocently, “though I heard something about a noble’s house exploding yesterday afternoon.”

“I have no clue what you are talking about,” I huffed.

“Of course not,” he replied, failing to keep a straight face, “from the letter we received yesterday afternoon you made an impression on your host with your skill in magic.”

“I unfortunately I do not recall doing any of that,” I replied while entering the house

“Ok, Fafnir, if you say so…” he replied.

I made my way back to my room where I returned to my normal size. I stretched before plopping down onto the hard floor. I gently grabbed one of the sheets of paper that I asked Atheros for yesterday. I dipped one of my claws in the ink well and started to write a list of supplies that I needed to procure if I was going to make a more permanent lair.

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as always me and rouge are mostly human, with mejinzs now becoming mostly human…, let us know if we missed anything, and comment below.