Nothing Left to Lose
After several exceedingly lengthy hours of staring into nothing, Roland had finally managed a few winks of sleep. The sound of heavy paws pacing was untimely, however. A guard covered in thick regal armour, one of the royal guards themselves, yelled out.
"Time to get up!" he boomed.
Roland groaned in annoyance, his body full of exhaustion that showed in his weary eyes. He let out a low, shaky breath as he peered tiredly at the ice dragoness. Ashlyn appeared to be as ready as she'd ever be.
"The trial starts in an hour. I want you two prepared."
Ashlyn nodded slowly, rubbing her eyes with the tip of a sharp claw. The armoured dragon left without another word. The clanking and jingling of steel plate could be heard passing down the corridor. There was silence for a long time.
"I guess this is it." Ashlyn sighed. "Not like we'll get a fair trial."
"Why is that?" Roland asked in-between a yawn.
"The jurors are lying scumbags," she explained, "they'll do anything in their power to protect the council."
"And what makes you say that?" he questioned her, unbeknownst to her strange logic. The jury was supposed to be fair and reasonable.
"I've seen people killed for crimes they didn't commit," Ashlyn said, "that's as far as I'll go."
Roland abhorred being blocked out, even by this new acquaintance. He chose not to ask about her concerns; he'd already learned about how absurdly hot-headed the dragoness could be.
A brief moment of tranquillity came and went. Moments turned to minutes and those minutes to the hour of judgement. The very same dragon that'd woken them from their slumber earlier came with three more, all suited in armour and all carrying bland expressions. They were probably trained to not show emotion, even if someone had the chance of dying... A chance Roland simply wasn't willing to believe.
"Up we get," the leftmost guard ordered, they followed without another word.
The barred door was unlocked with the click of a key and swung open. Two large dragons, several times Roland's size invaded their cell and led them out the door.
The two lawbreakers were shown through a series of hallways and eventually the outside city. The red dragon had every opportunity to try and escape but he would only end up being caught once more. A delay wasn't what he wanted either, instead desiring to know his punishment.
"I can't wait..." Roland muttered under his breath, sarcasm thick within his tone.
There was a dense crowd of dragons, big and small, lined up to see the two lawbreakers pass by. He expected a deafening ruckus but was met with unexpected quietness. It was unnerving and almost depressing. It was also a little weird how they'd prepared a crowd on such short notice, but he didn't bother questioning it.
"It was nice knowing you," Ashlyn whispered. Roland couldn't tell if she was being serious or not; he thought it was the harsh latter.
"You... too..."
Ashlyn sighed inaudibly. "This is your fault, you know?"
"What?" he exclaimed. "Mine?"
"If you didn't just stand there then we wouldn't have been captured like this... I'd still be out there, you'd still be doing... whatever it is you do."
Strangely enough, he really did find it hard to exchange words with her. He really wanted to say that she'd killed the high priest but didn't think starting an outrage in the middle of a crowd was necessary. They were filed carefully across the street and eventually came to the courthouse, a large building on the southern side of Avalar.
The problem with the building was that it looked nothing like a courthouse; spires jutted out the top like a grand castle, fortifications were built along it's high walls as if it was preparing for a war. Roland had no time to think about the building for he was pushed into a large room filled with rows upon rows of adult dragons. On the leftmost side lay the jurors Ashlyn had spoken briefly about and the opposite wall housed a door leading to another room. There was a stage like a drama theatre on the end furthest from them; a dragon of the fire element was standing formally atop it.
The loud socialising of dragons was slowly replaced with low murmuring as the dragon cleared his parched throat.
"I call Roland and Ashlyn to the stand." he yelled in a harsh tone. How he'd gotten a hold of his name was beyond him. In fact, never before had he seen a trial where two people were being judged in tandem.
Roland didn't enjoy the idea of being judged...
Gulping down his fears, he followed orders and stepped amongst the dragons, followed by guards who took their position at the doors on either sides of the room. He paced slowly up five steps and on to the wooden hall, Ashlyn right behind him.
The stage was more frightening than he'd once thought, especially with hundreds of his own kin staring him down. Trying to stay composed, Roland gazed down at the dull faces of the entirety of the crowd. No-one showed emotion or empathy for him at all. He realised just how much the world cared about him.
"How do you plead?" the judge asked both of them. Ashlyn looked like she was about to speak up but Roland cut her off. She appeared to be shocked with what he said.
"Guilty." He truly did feel sorry for what he'd tried to do now that he knew the city's true feelings for him. At least he'd go out without a delay. The icy dragoness jabbed a claw into his side.
"What is wrong with you?" she hissed quietly at him.
"No point in wasting time..." He replied quietly.
She didn't argue with him, only looking down in disappointment. The judge paced up behind a wooden stand, a mallet of the same material lay on it's surface.
"Then we shall let the jury decide your fate."
He was shocked. Didn't the courts generally hear all the evidence first? Did they already know? Maybe Ashlyn was right...
The silent whispers had now been replaced with total silence. A strange ringing sounded on a loop in his head.
Every member seated in the jury had seemed to come to a decision rather quickly as if they'd spoken about the subject before the trial. Ashlyn's words were coming true. What was even more peculiar was the fact that they weren't dragons but weird figures in green, hooded cloaks. He frowned at them.
He swallowed a ball of fear, maybe his death would come quickly. There was always that hope. However, that feeling was hastily being replaced with a landslide of dread.
"Are there any objections?" the judge called out. Roland gazed up from his position, a hopeful look in his eyes. He remembered how much everyone cared for him. "Then we have a verdict..."
The dense formation of reptiles eyed the judge, curious as to his response. At the same moment, another red dragon treaded up towards him, a hushed whisper came forth. Roland watched him gag violently before quickly regaining his formal composure. Once he'd cleared his throat for the last time, he spoke the one word Roland feared to hear but the word he was certainly expecting.
"Guilty."
There was no outrage, no murmurs of agreement. Absolute quietness...
"We have come to a decision," the judge spoke to the two dragons slightly more personally this time. There was no response from the hushed crowd.
"These two dragons are to be banished!"
This managed to get the crowd riled up, Roland was shocked when he heard the word banished. From the stories he'd heard, exile was a punishment seemingly worse than anything. Cruel bandits wandered the landscape, weather conditions were some of the most horrible you might ever experience. But even if he did believe them, there was no way to tell if the fables and books were true. After all they were just stories and legends designed to scare children in to not going outside the walls...
Ashlyn's jaw dropped almost immediately. As she'd told him, she thought she was going to be slain in the most horrific way possible. But never did that moment come.
Roland was almost grateful to receive the punishment he did. He could start a new life, head towards a different city, obtain another sewer... His plans sounded fantastic in his mind; the world would be his to explore.
The judgement, as Roland had witnessed, had gotten the crowd screaming in rage. Not once did the judge speak up to them. In fact, he looked almost depressed to send them off in such a fashion. He desired to know why his expression was so saddening but he didn't bother to question him.
A few moments later dragons started to shuffle outside, speaking harshly amongst themselves. Snide remarks and foul comments went this way and that; growling was evident in-between the reptiles. Roland didn't mind, however, for he'd be outside doing whatever he so desired very soon. He had no idea where to start thinking. What he was receiving for his act of high treason was more of a reward than a punishment.
But even if he found the circumstances incredible, Ashlyn didn't appear to feel the same way. She seemed almost furious to hear the word banishment. Going into exile didn't seem that awful so he had absolutely no clue why she was feeling the way she did. Instead of voicing his strangely deep concern for her, he smiled joyfully to himself.
"I'm sorry it has to be this way but I have no choice," the judge apologised.
"That's okay." He replied as joyfully as he might ever be. No longer constricted to the walls of the city, the red dragon had an uncountable amount of things he wanted to do.
"I guess we should be packing..." Ashlyn sighed.
"I guess so," Roland replied.
There was no-one to see them off, no-one to say any kind of goodbye to. Stood outside the gargantuan gate to the city, the red dragon sighed inaudibly. It wasn't like Roland blamed the city, he'd never really gotten to know anybody outside of enemies. In fact, he'd never felt happier in his life; free to do anything to his heart's content.
"I guess this is where we say goodbye." Roland glanced at her.
Ashlyn breathed in violently. He was about to ask her how she felt when she yelled, slashing at him with her claws. He barely dodged the sudden outburst; her paw almost caught him on his scales.
"This is your fault..." She treaded towards him, her voice full of venom. "All your fault..."
"W-What? I didn't do-" He tried to reassure her but there was no way he was getting her to calm down.
"If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be here!" she screamed out in terrifying rage.
Roland only watched her dread filled eyes in fright. "But..." He tried to get out a sentence but Ashlyn wasn't going to let him.
"If you just moved..." she sneered, "If you just moved when they came running!"
"I..."
"I wold rather have just died than be sent out here... You're horrible..."
"I-I'm sorry, okay?" Roland watched on. Something wet filled his eyes. Tears? That was peculiar, considering how he hardly knew this dragoness.
"You're just... I hate you..."
Those last three words caught the red dragon off guard. Roland wanted to say something, anything to snap her outrage, but nothing came to mind.
"I wish for you all the best..." she scoffed, turning away from his form. "Have fun, Roland."
And with that, she was gone. He observed her, anger taking over his ragged breathing. It was the last thing he'd expected Ashlyn to do, to just soar into the distance without any form of farewell.
"Well... Fine!" His fury flared.
Roland realised a tear was streaming down his face. He wiped a scaly paw across his eyes, sadness starting to settle in. Soon enough, the dragoness had become a dull speck on the horizon. He stared as much as his eyes could possibly muster, the closest thing he'd had to a friend now gone. With no moment to spare, he kicked off from the ground and soared into the sky.
Tears filling his vision once more, Roland decided to fly over the city one last time. It was dreary and grey compared to a certain previous night, ruining his already saddened mood. Strangely enough, there were no dragons present in the city, no-one wandering the market square, nobody doing the general business.
He eventually gilded over the entirety of the dull city, feeling even worse for wear. Peering into the far distance, he discerned a running river and rocky mountains that rose up above the pale green plains. The cold winds caught underneath his wings, he shot up in ascension. Closing his eyelids, the red dragon thought of the frightening outburst from earlier. There was no answer to the many questions that crossed his clouded mind. What had happened to her? Why was she doing this? Wasn't she happy to not be slaughtered by the executioner?
There was nothing for it. Deciding he didn't like the thought of Ashlyn, he made his way across the large stream he'd inspected earlier. It's water ran quickly towards a dark speck in the distance, it's water gurgled noisily below him. He jerked violently backwards and hovered in the air, his wings beating furiously. A refreshing drink sounded fantastic to him.
Roland veered hastily leftward and settled himself on the dirty bank so he faced the rapids. Dipping his scaled muzzle in, he casually licked up as much water as he can. It was cool in his mouth, refreshing for his cracked maw. He realised he hadn't bothered to eat or drink anything at all.
Now that he was on the subject of food, he eyed the plains hungrily in a search for a meal. Unfortunately for him, there weren't any animals he could spot looming on the pale pastures. With a sigh he kicked back up into the drab sky.
Seconds turned to minutes. Minutes turned to hours. Roland felt like he'd been flying for an eternity, his wings felt like they'd snap under the sheer pressure he was putting on them, his breath came in ragged heaps. He eventually decided to stop his constant flying, descending in a sluggish glide towards the ground.
Roland came to find a lush grove after a few minutes of gliding. He barrelled into the treed area rapidly at a complete loss of control, the harsh wind pushing him without anything to stop him. The red dragon slammed into the top of a tree with a resounding crack, the branches snapping under his force. Tumbling through timber over and over was agonising.
With a hurtful groan, Roland lifted himself to his feet, pain filling his insides. His scales were covered in loose twigs and shredded leaves, his red and golden body amuck with dirt and debris from the crash. He treaded sluggishly towards another long trunk that he rested his bruised head on.
From what his blurred vision was capable of seeing, trees grew densely around him, faint amounts of sunlight played between the miniature holes in the thick canopy. There didn't seem to be any wildlife except for the occasional insect or arachnid. His scales crawled at the sight of large spiders clambering across the forest's rough bark. A freezing wind blew past, sending a chilly shiver up the dragon's spinal cord.
Roland thought the journey ahead would be enjoyable, perhaps even amazing. But, so far, his expectations had been brutally shattered by pain and sorrow. He was sure things could only get better from this point onwards. This was only a terrible start to his trek...
The red dragon positioned himself on his haunches and stared into the dense canopy. He listened in on the sounds; the trees gently collided with one another in the soft winds, the loud calling of a bird reverberated in the high tree tops. There was a sudden movement, like that of a shadow, in the branches.
Roland tried to fix his eyes on the unanticipated leaping motion but after looking for two lengthy minutes, it was nowhere to be found. He ended up accepting that it was his mind imagining strange things. The crash landing had dazed him somewhat heavily.
Feeling lightheaded, Roland paced around the area as he tried to regain any consciousness he might still have. He went past large trees, through the thick shrubbery and around a murky pond that didn't look very appetizing. A small clearing appeared before him after several moments of wandering aimlessly.
"Neat..." he whispered to himself. It was spacious enough to relax in in and – he was going a little too far – maybe he could set a campfire if he was able to gather a few twigs and rocks. Roland knew that he could start a forest fire with the smallest piece of flint. The space was even covered from the sun, trees still lined the sky.
The red scaled dragon grinned at his ideas. Perhaps things were starting to look up? He didn't take his notions lightly, he went around the surrounding grove collecting tiny branches and little stones. There was even a nice striking stone in the dirt...
Maybe he was doing fine...
Roland prepared a ring of rocks and pebbles in the middle of the clearing and threw the twigs he'd found into a heaping pile inside of it. Nodding happily at his handiwork, the dragon laid on the soft grassy floor and closed his eyes. The pain in his cranium had all but disappeared, the bleeding cuts had sealed up on his body. His mood only increased when he saw a deer leap out into the clearing, his eyes widening in surprise. Roland's stomach groaned for a decent meal seemingly on queue.
They were seemingly unbeknownst to his red appearance, he lowered himself almost instantly. He'd tried a slice of juicy venison before and was surprised at its wonderful stringy texture. That was a long time ago... Back when he was with family...
Roland was bewildered to find something out about his childhood. He specifically remembered being seated with a delicious cut of tender deer. Shaking his head from his thoughts, he gently worked his way towards the hunk of meat before him careful to not make any noises on the ground. It was made difficult by the dry leaves that would crunch under any amount of force.
The deer pointed it's head at the grass and took to it like it hadn't had a meal in an eternity. Roland certainly hadn't had a meal in a long period of time, his stomach growled silently as he sluggishly got closer to his tantalising target.
It's vision shifted when he accidentally stepped on a crunchy leaf. His heart pounded in his mind over and over, he couldn't possibly tell how stiff his body went. Fortunately for Roland, his meal gazed in the opposite direction. He felt like he could see a frown on it's features but decided to ignore it.
As it slowly went back to eating it's disgusting meal of plants, he continued his gentle pacing and was eventually at a distance where he could pounce. Timing his jump, he leaped at his helpless victim with his jaw open.
His teeth sank into the deer's flank, it's masculine voice cried out.
"AAAHHH! Get off me, you fiendish reptile!"
Roland gazed into the target's furious eyes, shock sprawled across his face. Deer's didn't generally speak... Was he going insane? Was his hunger making him cross the border of sanity?
"I said off!" he yelled angrily. Roland immediately let go of his previous target, deep crimson mixing with the red of his scaly maw.
"W-What-" Roland tried to reply but he was cut off.
"Who do you think you are, you scaly monstrosity?" The deer turned to face him. "You could've slaughtered me!"
The dragon wanted to say 'That was the intention', but thought better of the remark. "I... S-Sorry..."
"You better be, you insolent thing..." he replied in a snarky tone, staring right into his golden eyes, "I was only having a quick bite and then you come along to take me as dinner! How despicable..."
"I said I was sorry, okay?" Roland shrugged. "I didn't think deer's were... sentient..."
He sighed, a low growl replacing his furious tone. "No, generally not. Doesn't mean you should be going around murdering us all..."
"I was hungry..." Roland peered disdainfully at his feet. The deer only glared at him "You looked tasty..."
"Tasty? Tasty?" He stood straight, baring a few of his teeth. They didn't look very threatening. "You disgust me, whoever you are."
"What did you expect me to do?" Roland replied in frustration. "You were standing out in the open..."
"You could've survived a little longer, surely," he said and winced, obviously moving something in his now injured rear, "how am I going to get around the world now...?"
"I could fix it..." Roland exclaimed untruthfully. He'd had no past experience fixing wounds. It was too late now, however.
"You do owe me an apology, reptile..." The deer tried to decide whether his statement was a fantastic idea.
"I, um... I-I'll get right to it. Stay there." Roland sprinted off into the woods, leaving the deer alone. Considering leaving forever, he ran as powerfully as his legs could muster. But he stopped in his tracks a moment later, guilt swelling inside his empty stomach. He couldn't just leave him there. He wouldn't...
The dragon searched the trees for the freshest leaf he could find. It came from a humongous oak, a size just perfect for the deer's damaged behind. There was no real medical supplies on hand so a leaf would have to do.
The dragon made his way back to the small clearing he'd called a temporary home to find the deer laying on his stomach. He was munching on grass; Roland guessed it was his favourite activity.
"A leaf? How in the blazes did that take so long?" The deer gazed over in his direction, frowning.
"That doesn't matter," Roland replied sheepishly. He heard the deer sigh before he positioned himself behind him.
The dragon felt a little embarrassed standing behind the deer like this. Closing his eyes, he strapped the makeshift bandage on as tightly as he possibly could, wincing as he did so.
"Better?" Roland spoke sheepishly.
"I guess," the deer said, not feeling at all strange by Roland's peculiar behaviour. He added something under his breath, "Wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you..."
Roland glared at him. "I said sorry..."
"Yes and I appreciate that..." He replied. "I should be off."
"Yeah... Better go before I get too hungry." Roland grinned.
"How humorous." He groaned before bouncing off into the shrubbery ahead of him. The red dragon eyed him one last time before he was truly gone. For the second time in a day, he'd been left all on his lonesome. It was a shame; Roland found the deer to be quite an interesting individual. It wasn't every day you saw an intelligent deer.
Now with nobody to chat with, Roland stared down at the unlit fire pit he'd constructed quickly. The chilly air of the night was starting to settle in, a dim moonlight was splayed across the lush blades on the forest floor. Without a second thought, he grabbed the black flint in a paw and struck it against another stone.
There was nothing to see for a few moments but a sparking came when he got the angle just right. With one last powerful crack, the pit of twigs burst into a fiery inferno. He grinned joyfully at his work.
"Perfect," he muttered to himself as the stench of firewood filled his nostrils. The fire swam before him; he could've sworn he'd seen something inside the blaze besides burning timber. An image of some kind. The visage of someone else, screaming in terror and petrified of something Roland was unbeknownst too. Just as quickly as he'd blinked, it was nowhere to be seen but the portrayal continued to haunt his frightened mind. Startled, Roland lay on the forest floor with nothing to do.
He was reminded of his hungriness; his stomach was sent groaning in response. There had to be another meal that wasn't a snarky deer. Unfortunately, there was nothing to find in the dense forestry. There were spiders - oh, so many spiders - but they weren't the most appetizing source of nourishment. Plus, he'd probably seriously injure himself trying to grab one; he could almost imagine the razor sharp fangs of an arachnid piercing his armoured scales, venom sluggishly coursing his veins.
Roland shivered nervously and stopped the train of thoughts right where it had started. He wasn't sure what would happen over the course of the encroaching night. Would he even survive the darkness? Would he ever wake up again?
Stopping again, the dragon closed his eyes. He knew he'd make it... Nothing would happen to him.
Right?
The rupturing of a withered leaf woke Roland from his deep slumber. He gazed around wearily, the warm firelight of his campfire was cast around the surrounding grove. Roland hadn't made the noise and there was nobody around to own up to it. He raised a brow before trying to continue his rest.
There it went again, the dragon quickly glanced in the direction of the noise. Again, there was nobody to be seen, only the neighbouring trees and bushland. Despite the fact that nothing was there, Roland felt anxious and picked himself up off the ground. With a low groan and the cracking of his tired bones after stretching, he moved towards the sound's direction in an attempt to discern who was making it.
He found absolutely nothing, his small walk proved fruitless at best. He heard the movement again and paced in it's direction. Again, he heard it and retraced his steps. Again. Again. Again...
Roland felt like he was on the brink of downright insanity. He wasn't even sure if he was hearing the noises, they constantly replayed on a horrifically hasty loop. Louder and louder, over and over. They would never end; Roland put his paws to his head in agony.
There was a voice.
"Look what we have here, folks! A dragon!" a cruel, malicious tone called out.
"And it's all ours to keep!" another, this one raspy, spoke. "Look at those horns!"
"You'd fetch a decent price..." a third spoke with deep vigour.
Roland started to back off a little, even if he wasn't absolutely certain which way was back. The dragon could hear the voices audibly but they appeared to belong to nobody at all. He wondered if they were all in his head.
Scared out of his wits, Roland continued pacing backwards. That was until he ran his scaly flank into something soft. He turned and found a hooded face eyeing him, a grin apparent on his expression
"Hello."
The dragon wanted to sprint but he didn't find the time. Something rigid forcefully smashed into the top of his skull without any warning. He was put on the forest floor almost immediately.
Roland's vision swam before him. Instinctively, he rolled across the ground and found a heavy-handed axe cut swiftly into the grass beside him. There was a low growl as he found his clumsy footing.
He tried to sprint but found another adversary standing in his path. A huge, jewelled claymore was carried in its gloved hands.
"Hey, little dragon," they spoke hoarsely as they as they swung the blade hastily in his direction. Without a moment to spare, Roland ducked quickly under the ferocious power of the steel. He tried to run once more but was easily stopped by another robed figure.
This one didn't even stop to lay a snarky remark; it drew back a massive glaive in an attempt to skewer him through. Roland dived at just the right time, his heart pounding rapidly. He wouldn't be able keep up the constant dodging forever. He couldn't.
Lengthy moments turned to sluggish minutes. He couldn't soar into the sky, the trees above him were too dense and the thick entrance required him to be grounded. One of the figure's had a longbow slung tightly on their shoulder, he didn't want to test how deadly accurate they were. The gargantuan sword he'd seen came careening at his cranium, his agile paws moved him on instinct.
Roland didn't know what his options were. The opportunities he had to dodge the weapons were decreasing rapidly, the space became dreadfully small. There was nobody to assist him, no-one to get him out of the horrible situation he was in. He could either die or suffer a fate worse than death.
His movements started to slow, his breathing was riddled with exhaustion. There was no window to try and attack; he'd never trained in the art of combat either. Roland started to lose focus on the horrific battle he was taking place in.
That was the worst mistake he could have ever made. He was unbeknownst to the axe that careened violently overhead and directly into his spine. Roland screamed out in agony as it shredded through his armoured scales like paper. Tears filled his hindered vision; a sick round of laughter burst out from one of the robed figures.
The axe was torturously pulled out of Roland's damaged back, immense pain reverberated throughout his body. There was nothing he could do. He slumped onto the ground in defeat, letting out small pained cries. He was going to die... This was where his life would end; at the hands of a bunch of strangers. Why did it have to end like this? Why?
Roland's tears came drizzling out his eyes but he tried not to make a sound. He didn't want to seem absolutely fragile, the small amount of pride he still had was there. But it was undeniably difficult; a certain vast slash in his backside sent dreadful aches rocketing trough his form.
Roland almost wanted to be killed. He wanted someone to put him out of his misery, but the moment never came. Instead, he felt something grab on to his hind legs and drag him unhurriedly across the grassy floor. He didn't even try to retaliate as he wasn't going to get very far.
He started to tire as soon as he had been moved. The loss of blood he'd suffered from the wound was too much; he felt his eyelids closing in on themselves. But the little determination he had left kept them open. He needed to know what was happening.
There was a strange feeling of hope for a few moments. He could almost feel a pair of eyes trying to discern the situation. They didn't belong to the robed entities either.
The craziest thing unfolded before Roland's eyes. The enemy with the axe stopped in their tracks, something crystalline and bloody protruding from their chest. With a low groan, they fell to the grassy floor with a noisy thump, crimson pooling around their broken body.
The two remaining were utterly shocked to see their ally go down without a word. They instantly let go of the dragon and he landed on his stomach, winding his already beaten figure. They gazed warily at their immediate surroundings, weapons drawn in their mitted hands. Roland would've ran at that point but didn't have the physique required to get away. He lay there, watching the certain chaos that was to ensue.
Out of the corner of his vision, another deadly shard of what appeared to be ice soared towards its next would-be victim. With a hasty swing of their blade, they cut it clean out of mid-air. Roland was estimating whether another would careen out of nowhere but the expectations he had were incorrect. The thing that emerged, however, was absolutely unexpected.
They were scaled blue and, most of all, they were familiar. She was familiar...
Ashlyn was the last thing, the last dragon, he'd been expecting to see at this moment, especially to have followed him all the way to this grove...
Roland found his footing with a new found amount of determination and hope. He was shaky, unbalanced and his back ached with a flaring pain but he managed to stand. He gazed over at Ashlyn who appeared to be utterly furious.
"Let him go," she spoke, her voice a snarl.
"And what do you want with him?" the raspy one retorted, "We found him. Do you have a death wish?"
"It appears so..." she said, standing tall and trying to in the least bit threatening. If it was Roland standing there, he would dart at the first sign of peril. These robed opponents, however, didn't budge whatsoever.
"Your funeral..." the deeper voice lowered his glaive and charged at blindingly fast speeds. Ashlyn stood her ground and prepared for the nastiness of his strike.
Roland was anticipating her to at least dive out of the way but she took the full brunt of the glaive head on. He wanted to scream out but found no such noise.
Ashlyn took the heavy spear to the gut with a low grunt. It was lodged horrifically in her lower left; Roland had no clue how she took the full force of that devastatingly powerful weapon. Then she did something completely unforeseen.
Ashlyn drew her face back and out of her maw came an explosive amount of ice that blasted away her hooded attacker and the dreadful weapon embedded in her stomach. Blood started to drizzle out of her stab wound but she wasn't concerned. The figure hit the dirt close to the still burning campfire.
Roland observed her wide-eyed at the catastrophic amount of elemental power she'd just exhibited. Next, she walked up to the next target who stood his ground, blade in hand.
"Stay back!" the raspy voice called out, shaking out of his wits, "I-I'll kill-"
"Shut up already," Ashlyn cut him off with a loud snarl as she leaped at him. She toppled the robed figure over forcefully and smacked him swiftly in the head with her paw. He fell into an unconscious state immediately.
Roland could only watch and stare in utter shock. It had all happened so quickly; he was about to be hauled off somewhere and now Ashlyn was with him once more. She didn't look very joyful.
"What were you thinking?" She growled lividly.
"A-Ashlyn..." Roland was at an awful loss for words.
"Roland!"
"I, um..." he peered down in embarrassment, "I was just looking for a place to stay..."
"A place to stay? Really?" She yelled angrily. "You could've went anywhere! The next town or city..."
Ashlyn was getting on Roland's nerves. She was furious at him and he had absolutely no idea why.
"If I could've went anywhere, then why did you follow me?" Roland glared, irritated by her constant shouting. This question, however, appeared to vex her on an immense scale.
"I followed you because I knew you had absolutely no idea what you were getting into!" She started storm swiftly towards him. "If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead!"
"Why are you so angry at me?" Roland asked quietly over the dreadful noise she was creating.
This managed to stump her for a few seconds. Roland was about to think he had won the tense argument before she spoke. "Because I'd rather any other punishment than this. And we're here because of you."
Ashlyn's icy glare was like a pair of sharp daggers lodging themselves into his body. He was frightened, sure, but he continued anyway.
"Sorry I'm not perfect, Ashlyn..." He scowled at her. This caused her to shout suddenly in sheer fury.
Roland was about to say something to try and lighten her mood but she didn't give him a chance. With a powerful barge, he was sent barrelling through the air at what felt like light speed. He couldn't stop himself for he was too unstable careening through the air. With a loud and incredibly painful slam, Roland smashed into the ground, his damaged spine being the landing point.
With an ear piercing yell, Roland was pulled along the ground at frightening speeds in the most agonising position. He left a trail of deep crimson blood behind him, staining the grass a harsh red. He eventually came to a halt, devastated.
His spine flared painfully like it'd been cut even deeper than it had previously. He felt even more tears welling up in his eyes but he stopped them quickly. With an aching burn, he turned his head sluggishly to find Ashlyn staring at him, clearly shocked. It was written all over her wide-eyed, gaping expression.
She sprinted, almost flew, to his position and leaned over his battered body. Ashlyn said something he never expected to come out of her scaled maw.
"I'm sorry!" her voice came on repeat over and over again. "I d-didn't know!"
Roland bit back a choked cry and replaced it with words. "I-It's o-okay... I'm... fine..."
"I can't... I just..." Ashlyn tried to speak, her voice trembling fearfully for what she might've afflicted on his form. Was she worried about him dying? Wasn't she supposed to be an assassin of some kind? Roland didn't know what to think as he tried to ignore the agony deep inside his figure.
The red dragon tried to stand but couldn't get on his shaking paws. He was much too broken to even think about getting off the forest floor. He was going to be stuck here forever. Left to die because of a stupid remark. He'd just rot away right in this very grove.
Then he heard something that he didn't foresee. Another round of that dreadfully wicked laughter rang out from something in the distance. It wasn't him and it certainly wasn't Ashlyn. She didn't sound anything like that sick tone.
He realised it was coming from the robed figure with the glaive. He was still on the ground and close to the clearing's lush entrance. The thing that was different about his weapon was that it was blazing with the embers from his campfire.
And he was holding it to the leaves of the trees...
Ashlyn tried to stop him and she succeed by firing a keen glacier at his hooded head but not before he'd set the entire grove alight. The small fire rapidly started to turn into a gargantuan inferno.
"Oh... Ancestors..." Ashlyn spoke to herself, her voice still shaky from fright. There was no way she'd be able to take care of such an immense fire with only her ice breath.
She looked like she might just sprint out through the entrance but she hesitated. Roland watched as she leant down and handed him a paw, something he would never predict happening. But it was of no use, he was terribly injured and wasn't able to stand whatsoever.
"J-Just leave me, Ashlyn..." He grinned weakly at her. It was probably the bravest thing he might ever do. The ice dragoness had other ideas, however.
"I'm not leaving you here." Her shouting came directly towards him, urging him to take her paw. She didn't seem to be angry, however. In fact, she sounded frightened.
Roland took a few drawn out moments to peer around with his somewhat hindered vision. Just as he had feared, everything was ablaze. The denseness of the grove was burning before his very eyes, the pungent stench of wood smouldering filled his nostrils. The timber from desecrated trees was falling rapidly to the ground in huge, ashy piles. After a few excruciating seconds of hesitation, he reluctantly took the blue paw.
It stung like the wound had just been freshly cut, crimson from the horrible slice soaked in with the murky red of his scales and dirt splayed all over his figure. With a groan, he was miraculously on his paws despite the pain he'd just felt. Ashlyn started to run quickly and he followed suit.
He sprinted through the destructive inferno as fast as his legs would carry him. His back flared like hell itself had been unleashed upon him, yet he kept running. Nothing was going to stop him now. Not the pained choking he was giving into, not the devastation ensuing in front of his eyes. He dodged clumsily between falling, fiery branches and leaped over debris scattered everywhere.
Roland's breathing became laden with fatigue, his vision started to be obscured with an overwhelming amount of darkness. His injury wasn't going to heal before he succumbed to the persistent amount of crimson his body was being drained of. The paws which had carried him rapidly were slowing quickly.
But he wouldn't stop, not now and not ever. There was just that small, tingling feeling of hope that wriggled its way into his mind that that kept him going.
He was still pleasantly surprised to see Ashlyn running beside him. Roland would've thought she would just leave him like she had not long ago.
He also noticed that she was tiring quickly and appeared to be in some form of pain. The glaive she'd taken earlier must've been more fatal than she could conceive...
The exit was in sight; the once luxuriant leaves were blazing ferociously. Without a second thought, Roland tried to lift himself into the sky. His injury flared all the same but it didn't halt him whatsoever. Up he went until he shot out of the top with only a minor burn.
He wanted to start laughing from sheer joy but his throat was choked up and his mouth dry. Now that he was using all of his might for the strenuous task of flying, he was exhausting his last supplies of blood hastily. His vision was blacking around him once more, fiercer than last time.
After several minutes of excruciating flight, he had to come to a stop. He wasn't even able to tell if Ashlyn was still with him. Groggily, he landed with a loud thump that resounded inside his mind.
His limbs refused to move. Roland wanted to call out for help but couldn't find the sound inside his throat. The world started to spin violently around him, his vision fading rapidly.
Was he going to die?
That was the last question that crossed his mind before he passed out from the lack of blood circulating within him.