Ember Legacy, Volume 3
Chapter 25:The Bigger They Are

Western Reaches of Vale

"So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings."

~ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

"C'mon, Jeannie, make your choice," Nora stated eagerly.

The blonde armored woman sighed in resignation. "Why is it I have to play this game again?"

"Because we all are, silly! Now come on!"

"Oh, very well… I choose… Dare."

Ren sighed and shook his head in amusement. Poor girl, she will learn soon enough, you do not ever make such a choice with Nora.

Indeed, the manic cackling coming from the orange-haired warrior was enough to make even the normally stoic Coco to lean back away from her. They were all assembled around the campfire for the evening, deciding to risk one since they were well-ensconced within a shrouded grove. The flames would not be visible unless the observer was almost upon the campsite itself.

"Oh, Jeannie, Jeannie, Jeannie..." the pinkette giggled, rifling around in her knapsack.

"Oum, I think I've made a terrible mistake," Jeanne moaned, her eyes wide with apprehension.

Pyrrha patted her reassuringly on the shoulder. "I am sure it will not be all that bad…"

With a triumphant shout, Nora withdrew her hand, a small metallic flash gripped firmly. "I dare you to drink this!" she chortled.

The redhead sighed. "I withdraw my earlier statement."

"What… is it, exactly?" Jeanne asked, eyeing the flask warily as Nora waved it about her face.

"Nuh-uh, sorry, you gotta drink before I tell ya," the orange-haired woman snickered.

The blonde Knight-in-training sighed but straightened her shoulders resolutely. With, to her credit, only slightly trembling hands, she accepted the flask, unstoppered it, and took a healthy swig.

She immediately turned red from coughing and wheezing, pounding on her chestplate as she doubled over in apparent agony.

"Er, Ren?" Pyrrha asked as she leaned over her squire in concern. "Should you help out here?"

"There is no helping Jeanne at this point," he declared solemnly. The redhead regarded him with growing horror until he completed his statement. "What she just drank was Dwarven ale."

"Oh, well, that doesn't sound so…"

"And not the kind that folk brew up here and slap a silly label on," Nora added gleefully as she took a dainty sip of the recovered flask. "This is the good stuff, made in the depths of Mount Uldaman by actual Dwarven brewmasters." She took another swig, coughing lightly. "Puts hair on your chest," she choked out.

"I…" Jeanne wheezed in between her own coughing fits, "...have… regrets…"

"Story of my life, Jeannie," Nora giggled merrily.

"Speaking… of which…" the blonde managed to squeak out. Her face was less flushed now as her breathing returned to normal, though her voice sounded as if it came from rusty pipes. "My turn."

"Take your time, Jeanne," her redheaded Knight advised gently. The blonde just nodded, taking a long drink from her water bag before continuing.

"Okay," she sighed finally. "So, Ren."

"Yes," he replied calmly. "I shall choose Truth."

"Wise man," Coco snickered.

"I have been accused of such in the past, true," he replied with only a hint of snark, head inclined.

"Right, then." Jeanne eyed the raven-haired Cleric thoughtfully. "I've known a few Clerics, of Oum and Torm and a few others. None of them were as… Well, worldly as you, and certainly none had lovers that I could tell. How are you able to, y'know… be a Cleric of Oum as you are?"

"Wow," Nora murmured. "That was kind of a deep question."

"Well, yes," Jeanne blushed. "I do think of these things at times… Um, though, if it offends you, please don't feel the need to answer…"

"I do not mind," Ren smiled softly. "Were it part of the game or no, I can certainly shed some light on my own situation."

He stared into the fire, gathering his thoughts before beginning. "There have been some within the clergy who have frowned upon my relationship with Nora. They claim it is a detriment to my duty to Oum, a distraction."

Ren leaned against the log behind him, smiling as his lover cuddled up against his side. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her in closer. "What they fail to see is that my love for Nora is the very basis of my religion. By… devoting myself to her, by worshipping her in the way I do, I, in turn, worship the love and blessings bestowed upon me by Oum Himself. Oum is the light-bringer, the life-giver. He is love personified, and I cannot bring myself to believe that my love, our love, would be frowned upon by Him."

"They're just a buncha jealous old men," Nora snickered softly, rubbing the side of her cheek against his shoulder. "Got nobody to comfort 'em at night but their own hands."

"Nora!"

The pinkette in question would have fallen over in laughter at the simultaneous denouncements from Jeanne and Pyrrha were she not safely held up by Ren's arm. The brunette on the other side of the fire, though, had no such qualms, and rolled over on the ground, laughing heartedly and wiping at her eyes as she tried to sit back up again.

"Although," Nora continued thoughtfully once her merriment had subsided. "There was that one female Cleric, what was her name…"

"Faye?"

"Yep, that's the one, thanks, Renny. Anyways, she wasn't all that opposed to us, but I think that's 'cause she had a crush on you anyway."

"She… Wait, what?" Ren blinked his eyes in confusion. "She did not."

"Yup, she did, saw it every time she looked at ya."

"Such a charmer, there, Ren," Coco laughed lightly.

"I do not…" Ren rubbed his forehead with his free hand in consternation. "She has been a good friend for some time, and helped me transition from the Order to become a Cleric of Oum…"

"Yep," Nora giggled. "And totally had the hots for you."

"Yes, Nora," Ren sighed affectionately, willing, as usual, to let her have the last word on the matter.

"Alright," Pyrrha stated, her own emerald eyes twinkling with humor. "We should likely turn in soon. I believe it is my turn to take the first watch, yes?"

"Before we do," Coco stated abruptly, "I need to talk about something."

The redheaded Knight had begun to rise but settled back down and gave the brunette an accepting nod. The others turned as well to listen to what the now-solemn Bronze had to say.

"I've been thinking about our opposition," Coco began softly, the firelight reflecting off of the oddly darkened glasses she habitually wore, day or night. "We know there's at least one Orc warband on our heels, though they're moving too slow to really catch us unless we stop for more than a day. But there are other groups moving around us, and I'm worried that they are all actually trying to pin us down."

"It is certainly far busier in this wilderness that I would find normal," Pyrrha agreed. "What do you suggest we do?"

Ren eyed their companion in concern. The Bronze still had not fully recovered from her earlier ordeals, and the Cleric could pick up on her weakened state merely by observation. He was sure the others could tell as well, though it was not remarked upon.

Coco dug a glowing ember out of the fire, ignoring the searing heat as she began to sketch out a rough map in the dirt before her. Black marks outlined the forest they were passing through and the mountain range they were skirting to reach Vale.

"There's a pair of mountains, here," she stated softly, marking the spot. "The both of them have the tops sheared off. Once upon a time there were stone watchtowers atop them, beacons burning brightly to light the way."

"Is it a pass through the mountains?" Ren asked curiously. "I do not ever recall hearing of such."

"Not… exactly." Coco dropped the cooling ember back into the fire and blew out a huff of air. "There's an ancient network of caverns and tunnels there, would take us straight through the mountains and to the other side and bypass what I fear to be a waiting ambush at Khaz Modan."

Ren nodded slowly. The small Dwarven stronghold was the main pass through the mountain range, connecting the overland route between the kingdoms of temperate Vale and arid Vacuo. They had gone through it on their way towards Mountain Glen, where they had retrieved the Orb, and would certainly need to cross there once more on the return trip.

"You sound rather uncertain," Pyrrha interjected hesitantly. "I am sure it is not as simple as all that."

"No, no it's not," Coco laughed wryly. "This is the site of the ancient Dwarven kingdom of Rockhome."

Ren sat up straighter at that. Old legends told of one of the many subterranean homes of the rock-delving race, once thriving and rich but quickly reduced to ruins at some unnatural calamity. Some of the legends spoke of an even older horror that rose from the depths, some of more mundane conquest by other underground races such as the Dark Elves or Duergar.

The Bronze sighed as she dusted her hands off. "The gates could be breached, but what lies within… Well. There's a reason nobody uses it anymore. But, it's likely safer than what we know is waiting for us."

"Is it a shortcut?" Jeanne asked, her sapphire eyes shining.

"No, actually, it would add maybe another day or so to the journey." Coco shook her head. "It's a risk, I realize, as I don't know exactly what will be waiting for us down there. But I do know Dwarven construction, and even thousands of years old, these tunnels will be intact."

The group sat in silence for a time, Ren pondering upon their options and offering a small prayer to Oum for guidance. His answer came from an unexpected source.

"You know," Nora mused. "Seems to me, out in the open like we keep getting, it's in their favor. I mean, there's only five of us, easy to get surrounded and cut off, right?"

"Right you are, Nora," the redheaded Mistrallian Knight replied warmly. "A small group such as ours would have a greater advantage in a more enclosed space."

"Like the tunnels," Jeanne murmured. "We've already shown we can take just about anything thrown at us… it's just the numbers that wear us down…"

"And it would certainly be unexpected," Ren added. "Our pursuers would be thrown off and wander on this side of the mountain range looking for us, while we slip past. In addition, we might have a better chance of meeting up with the Valesian Knights of Artemis on the other side where we parted ways."

"With the size of this operation so far," Coco warned, "I'm sure we'll still have opposition once we get closer to Vale. But this would leave most of it behind."

"Right." Pyrrha looked around at the group earnestly. "All in favor of passing through the gates of Rockhome?"

Five hands were raised unhesitatingly into the air.

"Then it's settled," the Bronze nodded. "I'll get us pointed in the right direction, it'll be easy enough to spot once we draw closer.

o o o

They set out once more as dawn broke through the tops of the trees. The group had been moving steadily enough for the past few hours, quiet save for a few murmured conversations. Their mood was somewhat sobered by their purpose, the weight of what they were doing becoming evident to all. Nora was uncharacteristically reserved as she trailed behind, having relieved Jeanne of the rear guard duty. Her hammer was slung over her shoulder as always, a constant companion and balm to her oftentimes manic thoughts.

The warrior's turquoise eyes drifted about, between the dense forest looming on either side of them and across her companions. She was feeling a bit worried about their future, which in and of itself was a perplexing feeling. The orange-haired woman was nothing if not confident, fearless in battle and admittedly brash and sometimes overbearing with her friends. And such introspection was unusual to her as well.

She had her Ren, following him out of love and devotion. She'd never, ever leave his side, protecting him until the light faded from her eyes.

But this quest she was involved in now, for the first time in her life it was bigger than her, bigger than just the two of them. Ruby was depending on them to get the Orb back to Vale, and the fragment of their fellowship that she now trailed behind depended on her to help.

Not just Ren, but Pyrrha and Jeanne. And even Coco, her newfound kin who had suddenly become the most awesome best friend that she never knew she might have outside of her lover.

Nora wasn't used to that sort of responsibility. But she was damned if she'd fail in her task. The pink-armored warrior would help her companions get that Orb to Vale, or she'd die trying.

Resolutely, Nora tightened her grip on Magnhild. "Listen to me, gettin' all serious," she laughed quietly to herself. "This is the greatest adventure of my life, and I'm bein' a downer about it."

The lanky half-Elf in front of her turned slightly to regard his girlfriend quizzically. "Did you say something, Nora?" he asked gently.

She offered him a brilliant smile. "Nope, just admiring that cute butt of yours, Renny," she snickered.

He sighed and shook his head affectionately, while Jeanne on the right flank let out a soft groan. "Really, Nora?"

"I can admire his cute butt if I want to," she replied loftily. "If you didn't want me to, shouldn't've put me on rear guard!"

"I do believe you volunteered for that position when last we switched," Pyrrha interjected from the opposite side with a wry grin.

"Details, details," Nora stated, waving her free hand airily. "Doesn't detract from the fact that my boyfriend has a cute butt."

"Nobody's denying that, imp," Coco laughed from the head of the group.

"I might," Jeanne grumbled.

"Well, we all know whose butt you think is cute," the orange-haired woman giggled.

Her armored friend blushed brightly and turned her face away, refusing to dignify that with an answer.

Pyrrha opened her mouth to likely offer her gentle admonition but snapped it shut when Coco held up a hand. The five of them pulled to a halt, weapons out and at the ready.

"What is it?" the redheaded Knight finally whispered.

Coco shook her head slowly. She turned towards them, pulling her darkly tinted glasses off of her face. The brunette's normal brown eyes were a molten gold, swirling with caged energy. "Trouble," she stated softly.

"Trouble… of the Dragon kind?" Jeanne squeaked.

"Yes," the Bronze replied, her voice eerily calm. "I need you all to get ready to run. Keep heading due east from here, alright?"

"What?" Nora barked, outraged at the very idea. "No way! We're not-"

"Nora." The brunette turned and regarded her, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "This isn't a fight you can win."

"Then it isn't one you can, either," Ren argued mildly. "Allow us to help."

"You can't…" Coco trailed off at a movement just past the next bend in the trail. "Ahhh, Orc-shit. Here we go."

Nora planted her feet and hefted her hammer in both hands after giving the Bronze Dragon a worried glance. She knew, as much as Coco tried to deny it, that the brunette wasn't back to full health yet. It'd been only two days since their encounter with the Dracolich and the other necrotic undead. Her friend was not going to face whoever was up ahead by herself.

And then a pair of rather unassuming girls strolled around the bend of the trail, looking as if they were just out for a stroll on the town. They wore matching gowns of elegant design, falling to the knee and pinned at the shoulders. The one on the left with longer raven hair wore a white version of the dress, while the other, brushing shorter locks of black hair over her shoulder as they came to a halt, wore red.

"Are those... Dragons?" Jeanne murmured apprehensively.

"Yes, yes they are," Coco murmured in return.

The one in red spoke up first. "Well, well, who do we have here, Melannourouressa?"

"I think, Miltiannourouressa, that we found our quarry," the one in white replied with a smirk. "So what will it be, hotheaded Bronze? Do we do this the easy way or the hard way?"

With a sigh, Coco turned towards the others, a regretful look on her face.

"My name," she stated softly, "is Cocoazhythansyllia. Bear witness and remember me."

With that, the brunette exploded into action.

She shot forward, her form shimmering mid-step into that of a Dragon the size of a manor, bronze scales shining in the dim light. Trees crashed to the side as she bellowed out her challenge and charged forward, wings lending speed to her dash.

Her opponents were caught off-guard, the one in white taking a few cautious steps back before changing while the other darted to the side. Both of their forms morphed into Dragons with scales as black as the night, growling out in their own guttural language.

Coco body-slammed into the first Onyx Dragon on the right, sending her tumbling backwards, but she didn't stop to follow-up on her attack. Instead, she surged forward, slamming into the slightly-smaller Onyx in the rear just as she had finished transforming.

The other Dragon let out a thunderous shriek of pain as Coco latched onto her with deadly talons, but it cut off once her massive maw clamped around the Onyx's throat. With a vicious turn of her entire body, Coco broke the neck of her opponent, leaving the corpse behind as she turned with surprising agility for such a large creature.

She didn't manage to get around in time, however, as the second Onyx latched onto her back with a frenzied scream. Coco let out a bellow of agony, both of her wings cruelly shredded by the sharp talons of her opponent, but she managed to get her rear legs under her to push off, twisting around to reach the Dragon attacking her. Unfortunately, her previously-injured left forearm couldn't summon up the strength to grasp at the Onyx, and she was instead hurled back to the ground, the other Dragon pressing her into the earth as the inky-black head shot forward.

Jaws clamped around the Bronze's neck and twisted. A sharp crack resounded throughout the forest, the sound like a massive tree snapping in half.

The molten gold eyes of the Bronze dulled and faded, her enormous body stilling as her last breath left her with an almost mournful sigh.

Only the span of a handful of seconds, at best, had passed.

Miltiannourouressa took a minuscule moment to savor her victory before the pain of losing her clutchmate hit her, making her growl in anger. Orders be damned, she was going to fry every last one of those puny little humanoids.

The Onyx turned, neck still low to the ground, before she froze as she beheld a most shocking sight.

A small, pink-armored humanoid was in the process of sailing through the air at the Onyx, a massive warhammer held aloft over her orange hair. Tears streamed from turquoise eyes and her face was screwed up into a furious scowl as she fell, too fast for the Dragon to even react.

And then the hammer descended to explosively land atop the crown on the Onyx, right between the eye sockets. The Dragon's skull cracked as her chin was buried into the ground, and the rest of the body flopped inelegantly in death.

Nora leapt off of the dead Dragon, breathing heavily from her sprint and leap. She flung her hammer out to the side to remove the blood and gore of her successful attack before she dropped it at her side, walking forward on numb legs. The huge Bronze-scaled head before her looked almost peaceful, eyes now closed as if the noble creature were only sleeping.

She dropped to her knees by her friend's maw, one hand extended to rest on a warm, scaly cheek.

"It's not fair," she whispered, choking back a sob.

"No, it's not," a gentle voice came from behind her. Warm arms encircled her from behind as Ren dropped to his knees as well. "She died well, though."

"But… But I was j- just…" Nora closed her eyes, allowing the tears to stream down her cheeks. "I just got to m- meet her, and… And it felt like I had always known her… But I didn't have enough t- time..."

"You were kin," Ren agreed. "And more. I know, love, I know."

Sobbing inconsolably, Nora turned slightly and buried her head in Ren's shoulder. She hadn't cried like this since the last time she'd visited their village.

Dimly she felt another pair of hands upon her shoulders and looked up with a watery smile at both Pyrrha and Jeanne. The armored women regarded her sadly yet reassuringly, their own mournful tears joining her own.

"Nora," the half-Elven Cleric murmured. "Would you like to say the prayer with me? Her soul may not be destined to rest at Oum's side, but I'm sure He would help her journey, wherever it may lie."

"Yeah, thanks, Renny," she sniffled. The prayer was familiar enough to her as they recited it together every year on the anniversary of the tragedy at their village.

The pair shuffled around until they faced the fallen Dragon, their friend and companion, side-by-side. Pyrrha and Jeanne dropped to their knees as well in respect as the Cleric began. Nora spoke the words alongside her lover, muted and wavering.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release your soul, and by my shoulder, convey thee into the hands of Oum."

A/N: Sooo that was a thing. Been building up for awhile now, poor Coco just couldn't take much more abuse. Is this the only death I have planned? No, sorry, things will get much darker before the light can be seen...

Props to my fabulous Beta, KellyConnely, and hugs all around for my lovely readers and reviewers! RatedRSuperStar87, carpenter656, AntonSlavik020, Reaper Whisper, Boombox94, OverDude12 (sorry!), Commando2341, Ninjapandas0010, DeamonHunter, Crescent Sunrise, TacoKing23, FoxyFoxation, love you all!

Stay shiny!