Written for trope_bingo 2013: au: fantasy. Olivia Dunham, dragon slayer. Or, "the Fringe cast as characters in a D&D game."
Liviya pulled her sword out of the dragon's heart and turned to check on the rest of her party. Astraea had fallen to the ground, holding her side where the dragon's tail had swatted her, but Stanton was already crouched over her chanting a healing prayer.
The fire mage Sahli was leaning over to inspect what looked like some kind of figurine or poppet with an acquisitive eye. It wasn't her fault that the first dragon they found turned out to be an old red and immune to many of her spells; the woman stood her ground regardless, adapting her magic on the fly. Despite their personal friction, Liviya had to give her credit for that.
Her former mentor Charlis nodded at her from the other side of the dragon's smoldering corpse. Liviya noted that he was leaning heavily on his greataxe and wondered if he'd strained one of his old wounds during the battle. She'd have a quiet word with Stanton later, and if Charlis refused his aid, Liviya could depend on Charlis' wife Sonja to make sure her old friend didn't let his injuries go untreated.
The "twins" Lyncon and Lycoln were already squabbling over some choice bit of treasure. The quarrel sounded like all of their arguments, so Liviya felt secure in ignoring it unless they came to blows. Years ago there'd been an incident with a magic mirror and one ranger became two, identical in most things but oddly in opposition on specific topics. Both of them claimed to be the "real" one and all the wizards they'd consulted were unable to make a determination between them. They'd proved stalwart companions over the years since, despite warnings that surely one of them would eventually show his true mirrored-evil nature. Liviya knew better; her sword's ability to warn her of evil present had never once glowed when either of them was nearby.
Camaeron had found a seat, catching his breath after the battle. Though new to the guild and untested, he came though like a wizard thrice his age, casting spells that diminished the dragon's defenses. His powers combined with Astraea's bardic song-spells allowed the enchanted weaponry of the warriors to find their marks.
Liviya glanced around for the ninth member of the party and wasn't surprised to see him appear seemingly out of thin air. She'd spotted Petr on and off during the battle, emerging from the shadows to make a precise strike against the dragon and fading away again.
The rogue grinned at her, "walking" a gold piece over his fingers and making it vanish. "We killed a dragon and no one died. I call that a good day's work."
Liviya shook her head, amused. "A good day's profit, you mean."
"That too. You were right," he said abruptly. "I thought bringing this many guild members was overkill, but we needed 'em."
She eyed him, about to make a comment about his reluctance being based on splitting the loot, but Charlis limped over and yes, she was definitely going to have to follow up about his wounds. It was past time that he took over as battlemaster at the guildhall and she knew Sonja agreed.
The warning look on Charlis' face forbade her from mentioning it now, though. "Gonna draw scavengers before long," he said, and Liviya knew he meant more than the monstrous kind. Competing guilds would learn of the dragon's demise and the last thing she wanted was a pointless battle against rival adventurers.
Liviya put two fingers to her mouth and blew a sharp whistle. All the others looked up, startled. "Time to pick out your share later. Right now, we need to get moving. Lyncon-"
The man she spoke to pointed at his twin, smirking. She was pretty sure she'd identified him correctly, but sometimes they swapped names just to mess with her."-whichever one you are. One of you on guard, the other start working on retrieving some of the undamaged scales. Astra, are you well?"
The bard nodded, smoothly stretching her arm above her head. "Thanks to our good cleric. And his god," she added, before Stanton could protest. "What do you need me to do?"
"If you can identify any especially rare or unique magical items in this mess, that'd be a help. Petr, same for the coins and other objects." Liviya turned to the mages. Camaeron had already drawn himself up, awaiting her word. Sahli hung back but Liviya knew her acquisitive nature would overrule her disinclination to take orders. "You two, work out the best way to transport as much as we can. The rest of us..." she went over to where she'd thrown her pack against the cave wall. "Valther enchanted a couple of magic bags for just this occasion. Let's fill 'em up."
It was a long day and another night before the nine of them stripped the cave of as much treasure they could possibly carry. A considerable pile remained, but Liviya was confident that they'd identified the best of the lot.
Lycoln had the horses saddled and ready to travel. It'd be a long journey back to the guild town, but the mages had worked out a clever arrangement of overlapping spells to lighten the loads and illusions to make it seem as if they were traveling unburdened.
They were a half-day's travel from the cave before Liviya finally let herself relax. Astra was already beginning to compose a song about the battle and her voice made the journey go easier. Everyone was in good spirits, cheerful in the wake of their victory. She glanced over at Petr, a wry smile on her lips. "What's next?"
Petr laughed. "Now we spend the loot."
Notes:
Olivia Dunham [Liviya]: paladin (although really, more like a 4E warlord)
Astrid Farnsworth [Astraea]: bard
Frank Stanton [Stanton]: cleric
Sally Clark [Sahli]: fire mage
Charlie Francis [Charlis]: fighter
Lincoln Lee [Lyncon]: ranger
Lincoln Lee [Lycoln]: ranger
Cameron James [Camaeron]: lightning mage
Peter Bishop [Petr]: rogue
[off screen]
Sonia Francis [Sonja]: Charlis' wife
Walter [Valther]: crazy (good) old wizard back in town
William [Villem]: crazy (evil) old warlock (see: Halaster)
...and I needed to stop there before I cast the rest of the 'verse.