Lord Arcard's castle was a twisting maze of corridors, each lined with palace guards – arches, mages, and melee infantry. Even that wasn't so bad. Nothing they hadn't dealt with before. But none of them could be prepared for what awaited them in Lord Arcard's throne room.
A dragon. A real flesh and blood and scales dragon, and it wasn't the first they had seen. General Narcian had ridden one too, but this one was larger even than his, with blood red scales and lethal talons ripping holes in the plush green rug.
The entire army took a step back when they saw it. Not only the size, or the wildness, but the heat in the room was intense. It rolled over them in a stifling, oppressive wave that forced the humans back, always back.
It was too his credit that Roy did not hesitate for long. He pulled Durandal from its scabbard in a single fluid motion and advanced towards the dragon. Where Roy went, so too did Marcus, so too did Allen. Unwilling to be left behind, Lilina gathered her courage and stepped into the throne room.
In some ways it was easier for her. Her ties to the elements made the heat seem less intense, and her light kirtle breathed more easily than did gambeson and armor. The difficulties did not stop those members of their army with the courage to fight such a beast.
The stalwarts who joined them were few. Bors and Sue, ever at Lilina's side, and Shin following Sue. Echidna stepped up, seemingly not at all phased, followed by Lalum clutching a tiny dagger, as if it would make a difference. A golden-haired archer Lilina hadn't yet met, and the young swordswoman Fir, the mage Lugh. All of these joined them to fight the dragon.
When no more came through the door, the dragon lowered its head like a belligerent wolf, and roared.
It was not unduly fast, the dragon. It did not have to be. It was made of weapons and armor, with a reach that outdistanced theirs, and firey breath that set the draperies aflame.
Though there had been no talk of strategy before coming in, though none of them had known whether to expect a dragon or not, they worked together on instinct, with archers and mages providing distance cover and the melee users pressing the advantage. They herded it back little by little, into a corner, where the tail and back legs could not come into play.
Durandal did the most damage, cutting through the scales as if they were not there. Where blood flowed the carpet singed and smoked.
The others were not without their effect. Scales chipped and flew when they were hit, and if they did not have instantaneous results, neither were they ineffective.
Finally Roy saw an opportunity. Distracted by Fir, the dragon raised its head and Roy lunged.
A single, rapid step forward. The gleaming blade slid into the dragon's chest up to its hilt.
It screamed once, then died. As it fell, it reverted to its human shape. A red gem clattered from the man's hand, rolling across the patched and burning carpet until Roy picked it up.
"So that's the power of a dragon," he said.
"A small one," said Marcus. Roy was winded from the fight but Marcus, as usual, was hardly fazed. He cleaned his spear tip on a tapestry that had not been destroyed. "Different from the one your parents fought, at any rate."
"A small one is more than enough!" Roy said. "We barely managed to-"
"Master Roy, please calm yourself!" It was Elphin, arriving from the mass outside the door. "A difficult battle to be sure, but if you panic then the rest of the army shall surely follow suit."
Lilina too studied the dragon, the unassuming man that had hidden the monster within. "It proves one thing. If Bern's dragons are here…"
Roy finished the sentence. "Then at least some Etrurians are working with Bern."
"The two most powerful countries on the planet, and Lycia crushed between them."
She and Roy shared a look. No matter their differences, they were internal differences. What the Lycian states did amongst themselves was business as usual, but for an outsider to interfere? That was worrying indeed. There may be no recovery from such a war.
"We have to get back to the mainland." Roy cleaned Durandal and slid it back into the scabbard. "We have to get back to Lycia."
"Hey!" Lalum said, indignant. "We have to chase after Lord Arcard! If you don't finish him off he'll just come back and root again. Like a weed."
"Now, now," Elphin put a hand on the excitable dancer's shoulders. "If Lord Arcard fled it was assuredly to the protection of Bern. We shall see him again. But there is one thing more to be done before you can leave the Western Isles, General Roy."
"You don't mean there's more enemies still?"
"Nothing like that," said Elphin. "A divine weapon, though, I believe would be of interest to you."
"Oh!" Roy said.
Lilina had forgotten about the search for the divine weapons, the idea that there must be one here. He apparently had forgotten as well. Elphin moved on as if he hadn't noticed the lapse, though she was sure he noticed most things.
"It is hidden in a cave near here, and should be easy for us to obtain."
Roy nodded. "Then we'll go there. But not tonight. It will still be there in the morning, and our army needs a rest."
Elphin bowed. "Very well."
Marcus stepped in. "I'll go see to the making of camp," he said. "There must be an area near-by that we can take over."
Echidna leaned on her axe. "Lalum and I can see what the villagers can provide, in terms of victuals like. Now that they're free to act as they will and all."
Roy looked at Lilina. "Once you've setup an Ostian camp, I'd like to speak to you," he said. "We'll need to write another notice to General Cecilia and plan our next move."
"Of course."