Renegades

by B1ackbird

The dragon realms are full of a myriad of stories, some more tragic than others. Not every dragon can be afforded the luxury and power of being born with purple scales after all. But if this thief and alchemist held by one of the last remaining ape clans are going to survive to see the new dawn, they'll need every trick in the book. Discontinued, do not bother reading

1. Eye of the Storm

Renegades

by B1ackbird

Chapter 1 – Eye of the Storm

With the fury of a thousand suns, the sky split open and unleashed a bolt of lightning. The brilliant bolt snaked down from the above, vaporizing countless raindrop as it honed in on its target. Striking true, the lightning fused with the top of a towering redwood, electricity racing down the trunk. Bark blasted off in every direction, the giant tree letting out a groan from the sudden influx of energy. A cacophonous boom celebrated the successful strike, all while the downpour continued unabated. As the flash receded, a series of soft thuds echoed through the forest, remnants of whichever birds made an unfortunate choice of shelter from the stormy night.

A low whistle sounded out from nearby as the night quieted, the observer nervously casting a glance toward the wounded tree not a hundred meters from where he stood. Thin armor plates clinked together as the figure turned to the rest of his companions, reaching a fur covered paw up to scratch the back of his neck. "That was close one, wazn't it?" The ape chuckled nervously as the rest of his simian companions turned to glower at him from the muddy ground. With a soft rustle of steel and leather, the other four apes slowly got back to their feet, many of them casting wary eyes skyward at the nearly invisible black ocean of clouds broiling above.

Another lightning flash briefly illuminated the scene. The five apes stood around in a rough circle, each one outfitted with a variety of steel and leather armor. They each bore a weapon of their choice, which ranged from a simple short sword to a rusted flail. Neatly holstered on every hip was small hand crossbow, with a modest quiver of bolts securely tied to the opposite thigh. Standing a little over five and a half feet tall, the apes were a far cry from the capable warriors they usually were, their dark gray fur drenched with rain and their armor coated in layers of mud. A thin fabric hood covered each of their heads, offering little cover from the torrential rains currently assailing them.

On the brow of each hood sat a crudely stitched white symbol. It depicted a jagged row of teeth, two of which jutted down to form a pair of razor sharp fangs, or as close an approximation to razor sharp fangs that the crude emblem could convey. A pale white orb was stitched to the tip of the rightmost fang, the shape constantly threatening to leap free of the hood and flutter away into the storm. It was a logo the apes bore proudly, even if the fear and respect it once commanded among the apes was all but lost to the past.

Not noticing the glares from his companions, the first ape spoke up again. "I mean, just a little bit more 'ver here, and it would have just jumped right down to us. You know, Zap!" The ape accentuated, flashing his empty hands for added emphasis. Again managing an anxious little grin, the ape glanced toward the leader of the expedition.

Standing over six feet tall, the brute was considerably more formidable than the others, covered as he was in full plate armor as opposed to the lighter arrangement worn by his subordinates. But the bright red and blue of his elongated nose bore little amusement at his subordinate's ramblings. "What an apt observation of how lighting works, Snag Tooth." The ape captain rumbled out, the other three apes taking the opportunity to take an extra step back away from the pair.

Snag Tooth, with the namesake single lower incisor that stuck out in front of his upper lip regardless of how he closed his mouth, just shrugged. "Well, I already know's that Captain Maim Wind, I was just thinking we ought to take shelter. Why, I haven't seen a storm this bad since..." The ape trailed off, his eyes almost rolling back into his head as his primate brain struggled to connect the dots. A full ten seconds of silence passed before Snag Tooth finally shook himself back to attention. "Ever." He finished, acting as if no interruption had occurred.

Maim Wind took a single step toward the opinionated ape, his voice low as his yellow eyes bored holes into the ape before him. "It's incredible that no one else here thought of that ourselves. Where exactly are you suggesting we take shelter Snag Tooth? "

Blissfully unaware of the captain's foul mood, Snag Tooth reach up to run a dirty claw along his exposed fang. "Why, 'ver there of course." He proclaimed, half turning as he pointed to the still smoldering tree a few hundred feet away. "I mean, it's already been hit once, what're the chances it'll get hit a second time, eh?" The ape grinned at his flawless logic, even as another roll of thunder rocked the sky.

A frustrated sigh slipped out of the Captain as he reached up to unhook one of the twin axes he had strapped across his back. Splashing through the mud, he was upon Snag Tooth in just a few strides. Finally realizing the danger he was in, the ape stumbled backwards, an apology already on the tip of tongue, but it was all for naught. With a practiced one handed swing, Maim Wind swung the weapon downward, the wooden shaft bumping the other ape's leg as he snagged the recess of the blade behind the ankle. With a furious tug, the Captain yanked the other ape's legs out from under him, Snag Tooth letting out a pained cry as he slammed into the muddy ground.

While Snag Tooth groaned, the Captain turned to address the rest of his detachment. "I won't lie to any of you, this storm is bad. Came out of nowhere too, so it wasn't like we could have planned for it. At any moment, one or all of us could be struck dead where we stand, and there's nothing we could do about it."

"But make no mistake," Maim Wind growled, pointing the tip of the single bladed ax down in the face of the prone Snag Tooth. "There isn't any shelter here. Not under any tree, not under any rock, and sure as hell not where lightning struck less than a minute ago!"

Stepping back to resume his place at the head of the squad, the Captain swung his ax off into the forest. "The only shelter around here is the Hollow. We got lighting rods there, they'll keep us safe enough. So if you want to get out of this rain and into something resembling a warm bed, I suggest you quite gawking and redouble your efforts to get this crate back to the War Chief."

The other apes nodded silently, their gazes drifting down to the forgotten wooden crate that sat in the middle of the soaked group. Along the two longer sides of the crate were a set of lengthy poles that stretched beyond the crates boundaries, the ends of each scratched from the apes' labors transporting the sizable cargo. The four footsoldiers, included the recently humiliated Snag Tooth, slowly trudged back to their posts. Grasping the poles in their shivering hand, the apes lifted as one and hoisted the crate back up into the air.

Just as they were about to head out, Snag Tooth slipped and fell a second time, splattering the rest of his armor with mud as the other apes cursed and tried to compensate. Maim Wind spun around, another reprimand forming on his lips when Snag Tooth began to point at the crate, shock and fear dancing across his features. "It's awake! Hey, it's awake already!"

Snag Tooth's proclamation was confirmed a moment later when the crate rocked violently to the other side, throwing two more apes down in the mud. "What gives?" One of them shouted as a series of thuds emanated from the now agitated crate. "I thought it was supposed to be out for another few hours!"

"Voxus must have gotten the dosage wrong." Maim Wind shot back, reaching up to unsheathe the second ax across his back, the two blades glinting menacingly as he gave the weapons a practiced spin. "What are you all waiting around for? If that thing gets loose, we'll never track it down in this storm!"

Even as the Captain spoke, the crate gave a sharp crack, one of the top corners jutting up as the nails holding the wood together buckled under the continuous assault. From within, the barrage came to a halt as a pair of pale talons peaked out of the gap, the hand within assessing the extent of the breach. The talons withdrew just as quickly as they had appeared and the thrashing resumed, this time wholly directed at the weakened corner.

Snag Tooth, perhaps attempting to make amends for his previous transgression, leaped forward as fast as his mud soaked armor allowed, throwing his body down on the lid. He was quickly joined by two more companions and together they succeeded in driving the lid flush with the walls once more even as the creature contained within renewed its bid for freedom. With his axes blazing in the light of another lightning flash, Maim Wind stood at the ready should the prisoner succeed.

Meanwhile, the final ape in the contingent wasn't bothering to assist with resealing the container. Instead, he had promptly drawn the small crossbow dangling from his hip, his other hand darting down to the small quiver to snag a blue-feathered bolt. Fingers scrabbling across the wet stock, the ape slammed the bolt in and pulled the arming mechanism back, the latch setting into place with a satisfying mechanical click. Pushing the other apes aside, the archer jammed the crossbow into the gap and pulled the trigger.

Thunk!

A piercing scream radiated out of the crate, the struggling reduced to flurry of random bangs across the interior of the crate. The apes stood back and watched silently as the ruckus began to ebb, and finally come to a stop, the crate once more silently sitting in a puddle on the forest floor. Nodding in satisfaction, Maim Wind gestured to the archer who still stood with the crossbow lightly held in one hand. "Not bad, but you'd better hope that you didn't cause too much damage to the cargo." The ape in question only gulped in response, slowly hooking the crossbow back on his belt.

Turning back away, the Captain jerked his head deeper into the forest. "No point in trying to repair the crate, we're nearly there. Let's just keep moving for now." With nary a complaint among the group, the procession got back underway, slipping in between the towering arches of the trees as their path gradually increased in elevation. Craggy rock outcrops interspersed the forestry, the ape's footsteps now growing lighter by the sight of familiar landmarks. Just a little further, and they could forget all about this nightmare of an assignment.

The weary contingent nearly let out a whoop of joy when the flickering orange of torchlight greeted them. A small ramshackle hut materialized out of the rain, the single guard on duty quickly rising to attention at their approach. Brushing past the saluting soldier, Maim Wind pushed onwards onto a narrow wooden bridge. The ground dropped off beneath them, a jagged rift suddenly slicing through the forest with steep cliffs dropping down over a hundred feet to the bottom. Not that the sudden drop in elevation did much to hamper the growth of the towering redwoods, which both surrounded the valley and rocketed up from the fertile soil within. To the casual observer, it was a small enclave hidden away from the rest of the world. But to the apes, it was home sweet home.

It was between these towering giants that the capture party currently found themselves, the soldiers deftly maneuvering the damaged crate along the narrow wood and metal pathways hammered into the trucks of the trees. The entire settlement was a technical marvel, supported among tree trunks a dozen meters in diameter as well as the retaining walls of the bordering cliffs. A mesmerizing network of bridges, ladders, elevators and ramps all interlaced the structures situated anywhere that would support them. The vertical maze continued to populate all the way down to the distant ground, where the distant roar of a raging stream could be heard echoing around the canyon.

Blood Hollow, the native home of the Viper's Fang clan for the better part of a century. And if rumors were to be believed, possibly one of the last ape strongholds in existence.

The ape troop slowly made their way towards the center of the settlement, where the largest trees were situated. Stumbling into the modest dwelling at one of these grand trees, the apes all but collapsed into a shivering heap, the crate dropping heavily into the metal flooring of the dwelling. Remaining on his weary feet, Maim Wind waved a gloved paw at a trio of lightly dressed apes seated around a table hewn out of the trunk of the very tree they were occupying.

The three apes darted to their feet, snapping to attention as one of them addressed the new arrivals. "Ah, Captain Maim. I was wondering if you lot would manage to brave the storm to get back here." To the uninitiated, they might have been surprised to hear such a feminine voice come out of such a burly looking creature, but none of the apes present even batted an eye. The female ape still closely resembled her male counterparts, although slightly smaller and more lithe in structure. The most noticeable difference was in the nose, which was shorter and blunter than the males with more subdued shade of reds and blues.

The Captain only grunted in response, allowing himself to lean against the hollowed out tree trunk as a puddle slowly gathered beneath him. The newcomer's attention quickly switched to the battered crate, still flanked by the four exhausted haulers. "So you actually got it then?" The female inquired, taking a cautious step closer to the crate. "Out raiding our southern storehouses like the Chief said?"

"Aye." Maim Wind replied. "The booby trap worked fine, once it was sedated we managed to pin it down without too much trouble. But when this almighty storm swept up is where things got bad. Didn't help that it somehow woke up during transit, hence the damage. We had to dart it again, but it should be sleeping peacefully now." The Captain finished, giving a lazy wave to the corner of the lid that still poked up at an odd angle.

"The little thief is probably be the only one getting some sleep tonight if this downpour keeps up," the female sniffed. Moving around the other boxes that dotted the room, she reached out and grasped the handle of a short shovel. "But at least this shouldn't take too long. Captain, I'd like you and your men to stay until we're all set, in case this thing is much more active than you claim." The female stalked over to the crate, shovel in hand, the tired males parting in her wake.

Maim Wind shook his head, pushing himself back off the wall. "Don't go opening that just yet, these boys are just barely standing as is. At least let me get some fresh troops first."

The female only smirked in response. Jamming the tip of the shovel into the gap between the lid and box, she began to emphatically pump the handle up and down. More nails began to pop as the lid slowly lifted up, the first flickers of torchlight filtering into the interior. "Oh, what's the matter? You big, strong gentleapes all worn out by a little rain and-"

Whatever else she was about to say was lost as the lid suddenly ripped free of the box, sending stray splinters of wood all over the floor. The female ape gave a cry of surprise as she stumbled back, the shovel flying out of her hands to clatter loudly on the floor at the opposite end of the room. As the rest of the apes watched in astonishment, the crate tipped sideways, spilling its single occupant out onto the floor.

The dragoness drew in a ragged breath as she took in the sight before her. In the dimly lit room, it was difficult to ascertain exactly which end of her was which, the sheer blackness of her scales absorbing every beam of light that struck them. The same bleak shade continued across her chest and wing membranes, all the way up to the four tips of her jet black horns, the more central pair slightly taller than the exterior ones. Indeed, the only speck of color on the dragoness' body were the whites of her eyes, where twin crimson iris rapidly darted to and fro. On one cheek of her elegantly curved face, a slight trickle of blood ran down her scales, the imperfection on what would otherwise be a lovely teenage dragon.

Time seemed to slow as the dragoness analyzed the room. She appeared to be in some kind of hut, with a storm raging just a thin wall away, completely surrounded by filthy apes. The ape opening her prision had been suitably surprised by the dragoness' well-timed strike and was currently lying prone after hitting their head on another nearby crate. The rest of the room's occupants seemed equally surprised by her sudden revival, mouths open in shock. Out of the corner of her eye, the dragoness noted four dripping apes standing in a loose line across the door frame, blocking her most immediate method of escape. Just four apes between her and freedom...Or was it eight?

Mentally berating herself, the dragoness forced herself to blink, willing her vision to realign into a single point of reference. She had been lucky, having driven herself to the far side of her miniscule container upon hearing the crossbow cock back. The bolt had only grazed her cheek, but the poison laced into the tip was still wreaking havoc on her system. Her head felt like it weighted a million tons and drowsiness still threatened to consume her whole. But she couldn't think about any of that now, she had to move, she had to escape!

"Get the dragon!" A voice thundered off to her right and the dragoness whipped her head around to see the ape captain barreling toward her, hands outstretched as he dove to tackle her. Thankfully, this hadn't been the first time the dragoness had found herself in a similar situation, and she let instinct take over. Her scales seemed to shimmer and flex as power coursed over them, her entire being humming with the energy. As the ape loomed above her, she closed her eyes and felt herself sink into nothingness.

The captain crashed to the ground with a noise akin to thunder from the storm outside. Pushing himself up, the ape blinked in shock to see his paws empty, no trace remaining of the dragon he had been about to pin. The only thing out of the ordinary was the black pool that hung below the ape, the shadow writhing and twisting as though it was alive...

As the bewildered captain watched, the shadow formed into a single blob and shot away from him, easily weaving around the ruins of the crate and right under the feet of his tired men. The shadow paused at the threshold of the hut, a black foreleg poking out of the darkness as the dragoness reformed herself. The dragoness briefly locked eyes with the captain's own razor sharp gaze before she turned away and bounded out the door.

"Over there, it went over there!" A shout issued from behind her, the captain attempting to rouse the stunned apes to action. "Don't just stand there, raise an alarm! Don't let that dragon escape!"

Outside, the dragoness slid to a halt, her claws scraping up the wooden platform as she nearly ran straight off the edge. Squinting around the dark forest, the dragoness quickly scanned the ape settlement, noting the patches of flickering light from each occupied hut. The storm ragged on above, but the cluster of tree branches overhead provided slight shelter from the slanting rain. It did little to abate the whistling wind though, as gust after gust continually tore through the ravine she now found herself in. Still, since she was so high up, it ought to be a simple matter to just open her wings and glide away to the forest floor...

"Gotcha!" The dragoness let out a startled gasp as clammy hands wrapped around her midriff, dragging her down to the floor. One of the apes, the insufferable one with the jutting tooth, had successfully waylaid her plans. Illuminated in the flash of another lighting bolt, she saw the ape grinning at her, his simian features leering closer to her own as she watched. The wet musk of damp fur washed over her, and the dragoness was almost immediately overcome with an intense desire to throw up.

The stench only got worse as the ape opened his mouth to speak again. "Don't you struggle no more, I gotcha now and I ain't-" She didn't let him finish the sentence. Snaking her tail out under the ape's guard, she lashed out at the simian's exposed face, the fish-hook tail blade easily finding purchase in the soft skin around the ape's nose. The ape gave out a strangled cry and the dragoness felt his grip momentarily loosen. Without a moment of hesitation, she bent her hind legs and kicked back, delivering a solid blow to the ape's chest.

Blinded by the cut and sent off balance by the kick, the ape stumbled away. For the briefest of moments, he teetered on the edge of the platform before plummeting from sight. A moment later, a loud crash and a flurry of confused shouting confirmed that he had dropped down a few levels and through the roof of another one of the huts.

Thunk! The dragoness flinched as a crossbow bolt buried itself in the floor beside her, having just barely missed her body by a few inches. Looking back, she saw the remaining soldiers outlined in the door of the hut, their captain a dark silhouette behind them. One ape had an empty crossbow pointed at her, or at least where he thought she had been, while the other two were quickly loading their own bolts for a follow up volley. Deciding that it was now or never, the dragoness sucked in a deep breath and dove off the platform, the whizzing of bolts pelting through the air after her.

From the very second she flared her wings, she knew she had made a grave mistake. The wind immediately pulled the membranes taught, dragging the dragoness through the air in an uncontrolled tumble. Rain pelted at her eyes, practically blinding her as she flailed helplessly. Swinging her tail back and forth, she managed to right herself just in time to crash through a row of oncoming branches. Pine needles raked her scales as jagged bits of wood poked and threatened to impale her. And then she was falling again, even more out of control than before.

The lightheadedness only intensified as she pumped her wings in a rhythm, attempting to locate a wind current she could glide on. Blinking more rain out of her eyes, the dragoness just made out the next obstacle in her path. It was another inhabited tree, the walkways looming dead ahead. Thankfully, this tree appeared to be mercifully lacking of hairy brutes. Flaring her wings, she tried to angle herself a little to the right... no, the left... or was it right again? If only she could see straight and not have this damned poison coursing through her veins...

As it turned out, she needn't have worried whether it was the right or left, as the storm decided for her. As she approached the tree, a sudden downdraft caught her by surprise, forcing her wings to crumple up against her back. Bracing herself for an impact, the dragoness slammed down into one of the circular walkways around the middle of the tree. Bouncing up from the impact, the dragoness managed to have enough presence of mind to reach out and dig her claws into the wood, ignoring the pain rising up from her joints. Another bounce and a few rolls later, the dragoness came to a halt, her rear legs dangling off the far end of the walkway.

Tucking her wings back against her body, the dragoness slowly pulled herself back up onto the platform. Between the poison and the wind doing everything it could to tear her to pieces, flying was out for the moment. Besides, there was no guarantee the ground would be any safer from the ape menace than the tree houses. After checking to ensure that she was alone, the dragoness opted to take a quick breather and consider her options.

She was in the middle of nowhere, being hunted down by apes in their home territory, with each of them carrying a slew of poisoned crossbow bolts that they clearly had a lot of practice using. Not too bad, she had been through worse, she must have at some point. Her options were pretty limited though, with fleeing being ruled out by the storm and any attempt to fight back being a suicide mission. But maybe if she could just wait things out for a bit...

Yeah, that could work. Find some ape hovel that they weren't likely to check and sit the storm out. Maybe even help herself to some more of their food if she found another storehouse. By the time the weather cleared, the sedative would hopefully have worn off and she would be free to make a proper break for it. Sure, the crossbows would still be a problem, but their compact nature probably meant they didn't have too much in the way of range. If she could just fly high enough, she would be home free. Figuratively speaking of course, it's not like she actually had a home to head back to.

The dragoness was shaken from her revery by the pounding of footsteps and flickering of torches above her. The platforms that she had come from were well and truly swarming with apes now, little patches of torch light shimmering amid the rain and tree branches as the colony came to life. Straining her ears, she could just barely make out the captain from before belting out orders to any who would listen. "Spread out and find them! They can't have left the Hollow, not in weather like this. Comb the ground, but also check the lower platforms. Get me the rest of the captains, I need all apes to..."

As a few squads were rapidly converging on her location, the dragoness gave up listening and took off at a light jog, remembering to keep her footsteps softer than the ambient noise of the storm. Balancing along a dubiously constructed rope bridge, the dragoness pressed onwards, moving as fast as she dared away from the main hive of ape activity. Her scales offered her an unparalleled camouflage in this environment, and the apes were limited to whatever they could see in the torch light. As long as she stayed ahead of the main search parties, she would be fine.

Unfortunately, her luck took another turn for the worse. Ahead, she could see additional spots of orange light blooming into life as more and more apes were woken up by the ruckus. A noisy bang echoed out of the hut she was slinking past, startling the dragoness and causing her to hug the wall as orange light poured out of the windows. Moving as stealthy as she could, the dragoness made her way across to the next bridge, another darkened tree looming before her.

As she circumvented the trunk, the dragoness came to a halt. From here, there was only two additional bridges to traverse, and one of them was already occupied by a small squad of apes standing in the wan light of a lantern. To her surprise, it almost looked as though one of the apes was struck with some form of dwarfism, until she realized with a start that it was just a child. An unarmed family they may be, but they would still alert the others to her presence. And the others would come packing crossbows.

"Over here! Claw marks on the tree!" The shout came from where she had her crash landing, the entire area now ablaze with torches and lanterns. The apes had her scent and time was running out. Encouraged by the yelling, the ape family began to carefully move across the bridge towards her, the young child clinging tightly to what she presumed was the mother. More apes filtered out of the huts from the tree she had just come from, removing any possibility of doubling back. With no other option left, the dragoness took the only unoccupied bridge, her scales prickling as she felt how exposed she was. All it would take was one poorly timed lightning flash...

She wasn't more than halfway across the bridge when she felt her stomach drop. The tree she was currently running to was much thinner than most of the others, and as a result had only one shabby hut and two bridges connecting to it. On the opposite bridge, she could already see a small collection of apes making their way toward her. Since the tree ahead only consisted of one level, the only way off was another tangle with the fickle tempest of the wind. She was trapped. Cornered.

The dragoness quickly scanned the platform ahead of her, looking for something, anything, that could save her. No alcoves or nooks to slip into presented themselves, her only remaining option was the hut. But if the lack of activity within was anything to go by, this might just be the empty storeroom she had been searching for. But if she guessed wrong, she could be landing in the lap of a recently awoken and very cranky ape with nowhere left to run. She always could try her chances on the wind again...

The apes ahead of her reached the platform, splitting into two groups to cover both sides of the trunk. Making up her mind, the dragoness dashed forward along the bridge. With the door already in sight of the apes, her only remaining option was the single window facing her bridge. As the apes trundled closer she leaped forward, claws latching onto the thin wooden cross work covering the window, which easily gave way as she flew into the room.

Landing as softly as she could manage, the dragoness winced as the wooden grate clanked noisily on the floor. Digging her claws into the wood, the dragoness suppressed a gasp as she almost collided head first with a crude stool and table along the room's interior wall. Weaving around the legs of the furniture, the dragoness tucked herself down under the table, hoping beyond hope that her ploy had worked. Weak light filtered through the door of the hut, which she was separated from by what looked to be a set of iron bars. She could see the apes in the doorway, remembering only at the last second to close her eyes to fully blend into the darkness. Squeezing them shut, the dragoness recited a prayer to the ancestors in her head, promising the most outlandish claims in return for the apes not checking inside the hut, vowing never to steal again for as long as she lived. It was a promise she had no intention of keeping, but the ancestors didn't need to know that, right?

That's when she heard it. A slight cough and a rustling coming from beneath the window. With her heart hammering in her throat, the dragoness slowly turned and opened her eyes.

The room wasn't unoccupied, there was already someone in here. And they were staring right at her.