Hello dear readers! Here comes a Dragon Age/DnD based Transformers: Prime fantasy AU! Myself and my dear friend spineys-artly-blog over at tumblr have been working on this together for some time, so I hope you like it!
"What did you say?" A young woman asked through the empty book shelves of the ancient library of the Vadena kingdom at the older man in front of her. Unorganized books and scrolls of spells, histories, and fictional children's tales were scattered amongst the two beings, and the man who was with her was visibly annoyed at the disarray of the place.
"There's a chance we've found Megatron's latest headquarters," Optimus Prime explained, his eyes picking at an old religious text he held in his battle-worn hands. Arcee found it charming, the way he treated books; he was a massive, dark-skinned man, his hair peppered with age and his face dented with slight wrinkles. He had watched empires fall and faced the worst in hand-to-hand battle, yet he treated the ancient texts as if they were precious treasures. To him, Arcee was sure they were. "Or, at least where the Decepticons are currently holed up."
The Prime delicately placed the text back on the shelf, in the place closest to its alphabetical placement. Looking around for any other humans present near them—to which there were none, considering how vacant the library was these days—he suddenly left the rows of scrolls and books, motioning for the smaller woman to follow. "So…why not hold a formal meeting instead of taking me all the way out here to tell me?" Arcee asked, pulling the hood over her face, self-concious of the pink scales that glittered on her cheeks and jaw.
They passed the librarian, who was piss-drunk and passed out as per usual. He only jolted awake as they opened the door to the cold fall air, causing him to mumble some sort of slur in their direction. "There have been high readings of dark energon all over the general area, not exclusive to the dark forest. I wanted to see if any of the humans have noticed activity, or if the stories of the infamous Gray Eagle have driven fear into everyone once again."
"That's what they call him now?" Arcee shivered as the cold slipped through her long robes as they turned a road and were exposed to the open marketplace. Even in the pre-winter air, kites and flags waved their colors beneath the darkening sky. Children ran from their parents to chase one another, ogling at the candy and toy venders. Wares and trade offers were called out across the town square as villagers worked to make money and feed their families. It was a peaceful and safe sight, but being around so many humans still put Arcee in an anxious state; her scales itched as a loud group of drunken teenage boys nearly stumbled into Optimus' path.
"Apparently so," Optimus shrugged as he covered the horns behind his ears with a navy-blue winter cap. "Either way, if Starscream is showing himself publically once again, it may be a sign that he and Megatron are planning something once more."
"If they are, what are we doing nearly twenty miles outside of our own land?" There were few who dared to question the authority of a Prime, but Arcee had known her leader long enough that they had formed a bond of mutual respect.
"Well, so far, myself and Ratchet were the first ones to see the signs," He explained, playing at the coin purse strapped to his belt. "I will be holding a formal meeting later, but you have some of the sharpest eyes for anything suspicious, next to Ratchet. And of course, with winter coming soon, we may as well start stocking up for any possible storms coming our way."
As soon as he mentioned it, Arcee caught the flash of a dark shape outside of her vision. It suddenly shrank to the size of a rat, daring to dart right in front of Optimus. "You see what I mean?"
"Was that a shade?!" Arcee whispered, her eyes following the rat as it continued to slip through the crowd. "Do you think that's one of Megatron's soldiers?!"
"Could be," Optimus replied. They continued to move with the croud, walking with more urgency. Arcee could hardly believe her eyes as the rat shifted into a fly, landing on a table where a witch was claiming that her herbs and crystal could curl all ailments. The shade seemed to believe her, for it took its rat form once more, snatched a pale, rose-colored quarts in its paws, and scampered away as fast as possible.
Optimus and Arcee didn't need to tell one another to split up and find where it was going.
The smaller woman was able to slide through the gaps in the crowd, while Optimus' taller head was able to give them a view of where the shade was headed. After several minutes, the central marketplace gave way to the wealthier townhouses, and the world opened up fully when they reached the more rural farming areas.
In the clouded sky above, a massive, purple-black raven soared in and out of the clouds, obviously waiting as the crystal-stealing rat was directly in the center of the crop field before them. Optimus and Arcee ducked behind a handful of crates and barrels, watching as the larger raven swooped down, taking the crystal in his own talons. The rat they had followed took its own raven shape, but turned sharply in the other direction.
"Which one do we follow?" Arcee asked, turning her head as the other shade eventually vanished into the tangle of city buildings. She shifted low to the ground, prepared to shift into her own alternate form if needed.
"At this point, our only worry is what the crystal is being used for," The Prime explained, crouching next to the young warrior. "I recognize its pale color as one used for fertility-assistance. I see no logical reason as to why Soundwave would need one, but there are multiple others who he could be delivering it to."
Immediately, Optimus shifted into his own alternate form; a powerful, mottled-gray draft horse. He turned his long head to see Arcee become a dark blue stag, rearing the silver and pink antlers atop her head. He pawed at the ground, signaling her to follow. Soon, the draft horse and the stag were pounding their way around the edge of the crop field, following the raven into what the humans had deemed the forbidden forest.