THE NIGHT OF THE BLUE DRAGON
By Andamogirl
WWW
ACT TWO
Later
Escorted by the knight and the three soldiers, Jim and Artemus were heading toward a medieval castle built on the top of a rocky hill – when a young woman with long blonde hair, wearing leather riding clothes, a sword at her side, mounted on a white horse, approached them.
Immediately the knight raised his hand, said, "Halt!" and everyone halted in the middle of the road paved with cobblestones.
He bowed his head and said, "You shouldn't ride without your escort Helaan and you should head back to the castle, the King might get worried," and the blond woman chuckled.
She moved her horse alongside the knight's and replied, "You usually escort me, Sir Mereen, and I missed you, brother." She looked down at the prisoners and asked, "Who are they?"
Sir Mereen responded, "I don't know, I captured them on the bank of the river. I saw them jump from the cliff near the dragon's lair."
Lady Helaan was very surprised. "And they're still alive?" She dismounted and moved toward Jim. "No one has ever survived the dragon's attack. Did you slay the dragon?"
Bowing his head slightly, Jim replied, "No, we didn't, but we fought the dragon." Then he looked at the young woman, offering her his most charming smile, as he felt her very attractive. He ignored Artie rolling his eyes and added, "My best friend and I hurt the dragon. It's blind now."
Everyone but Jim and Artemus was astounded.
Sir Mereen said, "It's incredible… no one has ever hurt the dragon. In fact no one has ever approached the dragon close enough to hit the creature, not even our best knights."
Helaan mounted her solid horse and said, "I'm going to tell this to my father!" and she led the mare in the direction of the castle.
Sir Mereen waved his hand, "Let's move ahead!"
Glancing sideways at Jim Artie said, "You have a fiancée and two children, don't forget that. You can look but not touch."
Smirking to his best friend, Jim replied, "Yes dad."
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Later, in the thrones room
Sir Mereen, Jim, Artie and the soldiers entered the castle half an hour later using a long footbridge passing over a large and deep moat and under two barbicans. Then the six men took the drawbridge, passed the portcullis, the guardhouse and then they entered the bailey where dozens of soldiers were training – archery, sword fighting and spear throwing.
On the right side, between two square towers, Jim and Artie could see stables and soldiers enter and leave a large adjoining building which had to be the barracks.
On the left side between two other high towers there was a building housing the kitchen and sniffing the air; Artie said, "They roast pigs ..." and his stomach growled. "I'm hungry."
The knight dismounted and pointed at the wall tower built on the front of the dungeon flanked with four round towers. "Move!"
Following the knight, framed between two guards Jim and Artie entered the main room of the keep looking like a mini cathedral but at the bottom of which was placed two thrones. A man was sitting on the right throne, dressed in red clothes and wearing a crown.
Lady Helaan was standing at his side, to his right. "That's the two men I told you about, father! They hurt the dragon! It's blind now."
Moving closer, Sir Mereen put a knee to the floor covered with large stone slabs, and said, "My Lord, I captured these two men in the area where the dragon's lair is. I saw them jump from the cliff near the dragon's lair." Then he stood and looked at his prisoners. "Tell King Kelaar your names!" he commanded.
Bowing his head to the King, Jim said, "My name is James West and my partner's name is Artemus Gordon, we are not from this worl… kingdom. We are travelers… My friend needs medical attention. The dragon's fire burnt his back badly and he's suffering a lot! And he hurt himself with a piece of metal."
King Kelaar nodded. "Mintee, my personal Mage is going to take care of him, Sir James. And I will need your help. Our mighty gods sent you to me."
Furrowing his brow, intrigued, Artemus asked, "How can we help you, Sire?" Then he bowed his head in respect too, hissing with pain.
The King sighed. "My wife, Queen Mirael is very sick, Sir Artemus. She's dying, and there's only one way to heal her, to save her. We need one of the black dragon's scales, for a healing potion. As you know a dragon's scale has magic properties and only a magical remedy created from it can save my wife."
Lady Helaan nodded. "You fought the black dragon once, hurt him and survived. All the knights we sent to bring us that scale died, or almost. A few of them survived the dragon's fire but they are heavily burnt and are forced to remain in bed for the rest of their lives."
King Kelaar added, "If you bring a scale of the black dragon to me, I will grant you anything you want. But I need to tell you that a powerful sorceress is the master of this dragon and protecting it. She will heal the beast with her powers, if it is not done yet. Her name is Daviina. My wife the Queen exiled her two cycles of the moon ago far from here, to the North, to the area of Eternal Winter, after she tried to kill her the first time. She came back recently, accompanied by her pet dragon, deciding to take revenge and usurp the throne."
Helaan added, "Daviina is my aunt. She wants the throne, so she poisoned my mother in order to take it. I'm wondering where she was when you fought against the dragon, because she loves watching her dragon kill people and… eat them. You are our only hope."
Kelaar said, "I know that I can't force you to do this, but I have no other knights left, they all died. And I can't send any of my soldiers because I need them to protect the castle. Daviina has gathered a large group of mercenaries on the other side of the great forest. She plans to attack us when Mirael is dead, to claim the throne. And she will kill Helaan, Mireen and me. I can't send Mireen take one of the dragon's scales – despite his wish to fight the dragon to help his mother."
Both Jim and Artie realized two things, first, that Queen Mirael was the ruler of the kingdom second that Mireen was the King's son.
Mireen removed her close helmet with bellows visor – revealing his face and said, "But let me accompany those men, Sire," she pleaded.
Kelaar shook his head. "No," and it was a firm no. Then he said, turning to Jim and Artie, "But, as only knights can fight dragons, I'm going to knight you."
Jim and Artemus looked at each other, very surprised.
Looking at the king, Artemus said, "I need to talk to my partner first, Sire," and then he grabbed Jim's arm bringing him a little closer.
Moving aside they stopped beside a big column. Artie spoke first, "I'm not very enthusiastic about facing the dragon again, but we have to help the Queen."
Jim nodded. "Don't forget the sorceress Daviina. She could transform us into toads and the dragon would eat us as appetizers."
Grimacing in pain, Artemus said, "I know. But we can't let the Queen die, the whole family die – and this castle being taken by a hostile army. Besides, if we bring the dragon's scale the King will give us anything we want – and I'm thinking about something that we could use against Vautrain, to stay alive and eventually capture him and Loveless."
Jim nodded, "Good idea. Do you have something in mind… Sir Artemus?"
Shaking his head, Artie replied, "No, not yet…" He smiled broadly. "You know, I wanted to be a knight when I was a boy… I loved Walter Scott's historical novels. And I'm going to be knighted! Sir Artemus and Sir James… I like the sound of it. So are you ready for a new mission, noble knight?" And Jim smiled. He turned around, looking at the Royal family and said, "We accept." Having said that, Artie, feeling dizzy and weak and hurting deeply, lost consciousness and crumpled to the floor.
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Much later
In Mintee's laboratory
Mintee, an old man with white hair and a long beard, looked down at Artie's back swollen from the burns, his raw skin bubbling in places and charred in others.
He winced in sympathy. "Your friend is lucky to be here Sir James, because such burns are impossible to heal if you don't know healing magic, and I do," he said. Then he looked at his patient's bandaged right arm, noticing that the cloth was saturated with blood.
Jim sat anxiously on a simple wooden stool placed next to the bed where Artie was laid on a nest of furs, on his front and unconscious.
His partner was writhing and whimpering in pain in his sleep.
Curious, he asked, "Healing magic? Why?"
Mintee replied. "Those burns are not 'simple' burns, Sir James, they were caused by the dragon's fire and only healing magic can make them vanish."
He moved toward one of the tables covered with glass jars and containers, others made of ceramic and metal, wooden boxes of various shapes all labeled, and picked up a small golden box.
He came back next to Artie who was now twitching as he was slowly regaining consciousness, and opened it and a bright orange flame appeared.
The Mage explained, "It's a sample of dragon's fire. Thanks to magic, I keep it alive inside this box and I can command it. I use it to heal such burns. Only the dragon's fire can cure burns made by the dragon's fire. It's not the first time I've done this. Many knights came back seriously burnt. I managed to heal a few of them, but sadly, the others died in horrible suffering before I could help them." He cast a spell and then lifted his right hand and the flame left the box, levitating in the air.
The flame then wrapped itself around Mintee's fingers like a glove.
Then the old Mage chanted a spell as he touched Artie's back where the inflamed skin was blistering, and the burns vanished one after the other.
Once Artemus's back was intact again, Mintee placed the dragon's flame in its box and closed it. "There, no marks left," he said happily, sliding it into the pocket of his long purple tunic hanging loosely over his black undershirt.
Opening his eyes wide in awe, Jim breathed, "That's incredible!"
Mintee smiled. "Don't the physicians use magical healing where you come from, Sir James? By the way you didn't tell me where you come from."
It was a good question and Jim didn't know what to respond – and as the old man seemed interested in Artie's Comanche tattoo, he said, "It's a tattoo, a marking made by the insertion of indelible ink into the skin. It represents an eagle. It's a large bird of prey. It's a symbol for great strength."
The old man nodded. "It's the first time I've seen this form of body modification, and I don't know what a bird of prey is, and what an eagle is. This eagle has wings and it looks like it is a flying creature… The only creatures which are flying on this world are dragons. There are no eagles." He gave Jim a pointed look. "You're not from this world, are you?"
Embarrassed Jim responded, "No we're not." And then he explained – not giving details - to the old mage how Artie and he had ended up in his world.
Mintee was absolutely fascinated. "That Colonel Vautrain has fantastic power! He can travel in time and space just as he wants and send people wherever and whenever he wants!"
Jim nodded and added, "And he'll bring us back to our world in two days – well in less than two days now to see if we're dead, and if we're not, he'll kill us."
Suddenly Artemus started to stir and opened his eyes, he closed them straight after. Jim immediately took his best friend's hand in his. "Come on, wake up, Artie."
But Mintee shook his head. "Not yet, he's still injured and bleeding," and he removed the blood-soaked cloth from his patient's arm.
He stood, took a jar from the table, came back and opened it. "It's a healing powder," he explained and he sprinkled a little green powder on the wound. There was a flash of green light and then as it touched the skin and when it disappeared the deep gash had vanished.
Impressed Jim couldn't help but say, "It's magic!"
Mintee nodded, "Yes, exactly!" Then he frowned when he saw Artie's tattoo. Looking worried he asked, "It's a blue dragon! Why does he have a coiled blue snake-like dragon inked in his skin?"
Jim smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, he's not going to turn into a dragon, it's a body decoration, the same as the black eagle."
Not convinced, the old mage asked, "Are you sure your friend is not a dragon which took the appearance of a man to avoid being hunted and killed? It happened at least twice to my knowledge. They had a dragon-shaped mark on their body. People found out, hunted them and killed them."
Shaking his head, Jim replied, "No, he's not a dragon, Mintee. In our world dragons don't exist. He's just a man like me, that's all."
Mintee nodded. "I believe you. Are you knights in your world?"
Smiling Jim said, "No, we are special agents of the Treasury Department and we work for the President of the United States…" He paused seeing that the Mage was lost and realizing that it would be too long to explain who the President and the US were, he simply said, "Yes, we're both knights, serving our King, King Hayes of Washington."
Mintee asked, "Your kingdom is called Washington?"
Opening his eyes, Artie moaned and saw strings stretched between wooden pillars where various dried plants were hanging and blinked in confusion. "Were am I?" he asked hoarsely. He even saw spider webs and their cup-sized inhabitants.
He noticed then that someone was holding his hand and he looked up to his right, vision blurry at first until he could focus on Jim, smiling at him. "Hi, Jim. I'm not dead, right?"
Shaking his head, Jim said, "No you're not dead and your wounds have healed with the help of magic, and of Mintee here."
Looking up to his left Artie saw the old mage there, standing beside his bed. "Thank you, you saved my life, Mintee."
He propped himself on his elbows before moving to a sitting position, his whole body sore, then he glanced around him, loving the mage's den, all the tables were covered with glass jars and containers, with others made of ceramic and metal, wooden boxes of various shapes all labeled. The walls were hidden behind bookcases almost reaching the vaulted ceiling, which were full of books and scrolls. "I love it!" He said.
He stood, Jim helping him and he glanced at his right bicep where the arrow head had injured him. There was no trace left of it. Then he ran the back of his hand on his back, finding the skin smooth again. "Thank you again, Mintee."
Curious Jim asked, "Was Queen Mirael injured by the dragon?" And he saw the old man shake his head. "What happened to her?"
Mintee sighed. "The Queen was hunting when she was hit by an arrow loosed by a knight working for princess Daviina. The arrow head was poisoned with the black dragon's blood, and only a potion made with one of the black dragon's scales can heal her, save her." He turned around, picked up a pile of clothes, plus a pair of boots sitting on a chair and offered them to Artemus. "These are for you."
Jim smiled. "The two piece long underwear with long legs and long sleeves made in a flannel-like fabric is fantastic, you'll see."
Grabbing the pile of clothes, Artie Looked up and down at Jim dressed in a red waist-length shirt with an upright collar edged with gold, with black pants and black boots. He'd be dressed like him. "Thank you, Mintee," he said and pulled off his ripped and partially burnt short underwear.
Mintee observed Artemus's naked with a scientific curiosity and Artie, who didn't mind being naked among people noticed it. He pulled on the lower part of the warm and soft underwear and asked, "Why are you interested by my anatomy?"
Mintee smiled and replied, "I know that you are not from this world, so I wanted to know if your anatomy is the same as ours, and it is the same."
Sitting on the bed, Artemus took one of the grayish wooly socks and said, "You didn't see Jim when he took off his underwear?"
It was Jim who responded, "Mintee wasn't arrived in his lab yet… but Lady Helaan surprised me when I was naked."
Rolling his eyes, Artie shook his head then he said, "Why am I not surprised? And he mouthed, so that Mintee could hear it, 'You always have the girl,' and he put on his sock.
All of a sudden, the door opened as four soldiers stepped in, holding two complete set of knights' gear entered the room struggling under their weight.
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Looking at his reflection in the big mirror, Jim said, "This thing weighs a ton! How am I going to move with that thing?"
On top of his long underwear he was wearing different pieces made in chainmail, one covering his head like a hood, one covering his upper body from his shoulders to his knees, one protecting his legs and ending mid-calf and he had chainmail-mittens 'armoring' his hands. On top of his 'shirt' he had put on a padded garment ending at the waist worn for additional defense.
Dressed like a middle-age knight too, Artie said, "Chainmail is heavy, yes, but it has many advantages, Jim. It's flexible, easy to fit men of all sizes, and it allows ease of movement and it provides protection against being cut by the opponents' blade – or dragon's claws.
Not convinced, Jim pulled on his knee-length shirt made of chainmail and said, "It didn't protect the knights sent by the King very well. They all died or almost all."
Looking at his reflection in the big mirror too, Artie nodded and replied, "They wore plate armor, and plate armor is heavy and it restrains the movements."
Mintee who was standing beside the two men said, "Sir Artemus is right, that's why I asked the King to give you this flexible armor. It will be easier for you to fight the dragon dressed in chainmail." He moved over to Jim and reached out, giving him his helmet, which was provided with a chainmail collar which hung from the bottom of it, and was designed to protect the neck.
He gave Artie his helmet too and he added, "The King wants to talk to you before you go." Then he gave them their scabbards and swords. "He wants to show you the Queen."
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Much later
Jim dismounted his horse, and then he looked around him. There was a path through the dense forest so thick that the sunlight couldn't pierce through, leading to the dragon's lair, which looked intact. There was no trace or burn trees. "I don't like this," he said.
Dismounting his own 'destrier', Artie replied, "Me neither. The whole forest was burning when we escaped, burnt by the dragon."
Grabbing his shield hanging from his saddle, the younger man said, "I know what happened, the sorceress used her magic to give it back its original appearance, and she healed the dragon's eyes too. It's going to be mad at us."
Protecting his left side with his own shield, Artie smiled. "It was mad at us before. It's going to be even more furious than before." He grabbed the spear he had attached to the trappings of his white stallion. "Let's find that dragon!"
Less enthusiastic than his partner, Jim pulled out his sword from his scabbard and gripped it tight in his hand. He said, "Daviina could be there waiting for us like the King suggested, Artie, for revenge, we hurt her pet dragon! She could be more dangerous than the beast!"
Heading toward the edge of the forest Artemus said, "I know, but we can't refuse this mission, the survival of the queen depends on our success."
Nodding Jim said, "Yes, I know, but I have a bad feeling about this…" And then he joined his best friend in the forest.
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Later
Piles of steaming poo filled with bloodied bones and pieces of burned flesh and a multitude of clawed fresh footprints, welcomed the two 'knights in shining armor' in the clearing located in front of the gaping mouth of a cave, big enough for the dragon to enter, set in the side of a cliff.
Moving closer to Artie, every sense on alert for danger, Jim whispered, "And now? Do you have a plan?" Then he glanced around him, ready to use his sword.
Nodding his head, Artie said, "Yes, find the dragon, take one of its scale and go back to the castle with it – without getting ripped apart."
Looking around him warily Jim said, "I should have asked Mintee to protect us with a spell…" and almost face-palmed himself. "I'm an idiot." He added, before closing the visor of his helmet.
He had just said that, when they heard the loud but distant woosh of large wings coming from above them and saw the dragon flying above them high in the sky.
Focused on the beast making circles amidst the big clouds, they didn't notice a middle-aged woman exiting the dragon's cave.
Daviina smiled and using her left hand, she traced intricate patterns through the air in front of her before casting a powerful spell.
Once it was over – the helmets, chainmail, etc. plus the clothes and weapons vanished and Jim and Artie found themselves naked and defenseless.
Both men gasped in total surprise and heard a soft, mocking laugh. They turned around to see a woman dressed in black clothes, with long grayish hair and holding a long stick surmounted by an orange gemstone which moved in their direction.
Spotting a broken spear on the ground, Jim grabbed it in a flash and then he moved into an attack position, making Daviina's smile widen.
Chuckling, the sorceress cast a new spell and Jim was instantly frozen. He tried to move but couldn't as his whole body was paralyzed.
Moving one hand to hide his private parts, Artemus tightened his other hand into a solid fist, in a futile – and he knew it - attempt to protect himself. He did it nevertheless.
Daviina moved closer, her black eyes roaming over Jim's naked body before perusing Artemus from head to toe. "Interesting!" she said as she noticed Artie's dragon tattoo.
She cast a new spell… and Artie was forced to move onto his knees by an invisible force, and then had to open his arms. He couldn't speak either.
The older man couldn't do anything as the sorceress fingered the beautiful coiled blue snake-like dragon inked into his skin, following its blue-scaled body, up and down, almost caressing it. "It's the first time I have seen such a body decoration… and it's a beautiful dragon of a species I don't recognize. Strange. I know all kinds of dragons of this world. What's the purpose of this? Is it some kind of magical protection against dragons? Did it protect you when you attacked my dragon? Hmm. That could explain how you managed to flee and survive…" She raised her prisoner's chin and saw no fear in the knight's eyes, only defiance. "You're different from the other knights who came here in order to kill my dragon…" She licked Artie's stubbled cheeks and then added, "And you taste different too… It's intriguing."
Hearing a roar, Daviina lifted her eyes to the sky and saw the dragon approaching, swooping low, ready to land in the clearing and she said, "Drakstil is a female dragon. She's lonely since she killed and ate her last companion after laying her eggs. He was I knight, like you… before I used magic to transform him into a male dragon. Male dragons are very rare. So I did this for her, as she wanted to have offsprings."
Drakstil landed with a massive thud and the ground quaked and then she moved toward the two helpless knights, growling angrily, recognizing them, issuing smoke from her nostrils, unfolding her massive black bat-like wings and waving her tail.
Raising her long stick, Daviina said, "Calm down, Drakstil." She pointed at Jim with a sinister grin. "You will kill and then eat this one, soon," and looking at Artie she added, "And him too, but later. I think he's going to make a good companion for you."
The black female dragon took a couple of steps toward a terrified Artemus and lowered her head and sniffed at the human's body – and huffed.
Daviina lifted her stick again. "I'm not surprised you're not loving him, he's still a human. But soon he'll be a dragon, just like you." She smiled when she saw complete and utter terror in Artemus's eyes and addressing the older man she added, "You will of course be under my total control once a dragon – the dragon you have inked in your arm. I find it so beautiful."
She cast a new spell – very powerful magic - and the gem topping her stick lit up and a vivid orange glow suddenly enveloped Artemus's naked body.
Daviina glanced at her pet dragon and then watched Artie's transformation start. "I'm sure you're going to like him," and she chuckled when Artie yanked his head back with a scream of pain… as a reptilian tongue flickered between his elongating teeth.
Every muscle, joint, and bone in his body morphed into something else… His bones broke and reformed into dragon feet, his body grew bigger, larger, it changed shape too. Blue scales appeared on his pale skin, small wings burst through the bone-spiked skin of his back.
Artemus howled in atrocious pain.
Drakstil curled her tail and cocked her head to the side, studying Artie as he became a dark-blue dragon with two spiraled horns on top of his massive head and his scales brightening to light blue like the softer hide of his neck and belly.
Daviina broke the spell immobilizing Artemus before moving back.
In was a matter of a few minutes before Artemus was completely morphed into the giant living replica of the tattoo he had on his arm.
Curious, Drakstil reached out her left foot, claw extended and 'touched' the blue dragon's head, black bone pikes in all shapes and sizes covering it and trailing down his spine to the end of his long tail.
But the 130 foot long blue dragon with a 30 foot girth, larger than Drakstil snarled, baring his massive and sharp teeth and clawed the black dragon's foot… and Drakstil briefly grunted and… then she purred, finding the male beautiful.
Daviina smiled. "Transformation complete… Now I'm going to cast a new spell and then you will obey me, the same as Drakstil does."
The two dragons observed each other. Drakstil was smaller than dragon-Artie, but much stockier. She moved closer and sniffed the male dragon.
Daviina smiled. "You find him beautiful, don't you?"
Drakstil growled in agreement.
Not interested – and very angry to say the least - dragon-Artemus reared up on his hind legs and then flexed his giant wings, black smoke rising from his nostrils, his eyes flashing red. He snapped his teeth twice threateningly at the sorceress while he slammed his spiked tail down onto the ground.
Then he roared and shot a bolt of flames at Daviina who, in a split-second threw out a hand, casting a protection spell.
Flames were absorbed by the green light force-field enveloping the sorceress.
Hissing, dragon-Artemus let out another roar, flames following, then he wrapped his foot around Jim's immobile body in a vice-tight grip, but careful not to hurt him, and then he bent his legs, and shot upwards into the air, flying off, his large wings flapping loudly, carrying the human higher and higher, farther and farther away from Drakstil and Daviina.
Drakstil groaned angrily watching the blue dragon disappearing into the darkening clouds and Daviina calmed her down placing her hand on the dragon's nose and rubbing it softly. "Shhhh… he didn't hurt me, and he'll come back. I don't need him to be in front of me to cast a spell… making of him my second pet dragon and your mate, Drakstil. I'm going to let them stay together for a while before finally separating them… The blue dragon will kill and eat his former friend, and then he'll head back here."
She cast another spell – and Jim 'unfroze' and a few seconds later he screamed in terror realizing that the blue dragon had his claws wrapped around his body.
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Clinging to the beast's hard scaled foot, Jim closed his eyes, feeling nauseous, his stomach moving to his throat as they were climbing higher and higher in the dark sky emitting threatening loud roars which were lost in the loud rumble of the thunderstorm.
But Drakstil wasn't following them. Once he was sure of that, the blue dragon headed westward, flying above the large, billowing clouds.
It rained a lot and thunder rolled in the distance as the fabulous creature began to circle over the top of a hill with sparse vegetation cropped up here and there – not far from the paved road leading to Queen Mirael's castle and then it landed gracefully, on one leg, dropping Jim to the rain soaked grass.
Moving on all fours, his whole body shaking, Jim gagged and emptied his stomach on the ground, between his hands until there was nothing left but stomach bile.
Feeling as weak as a newborn kitten, shaking madly, Jim finally looked up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and found dragon-Artie staring down at him.
A low rumble came from the human-turned-dragon's throat, making Jim whimper. He begged, "Please don't eat me!" while looking straight into the beast's glowing, crimson red eyes which were slit like a cats. "Please, please," he whispered. "I don't taste good! if you eat me, you'll be sick, have an upset stomach," he added. And he did a quick survey of his body to see if he was bleeding, the smell of blood making him even more appetizing, but his flesh was intact.
Cocking his spike-covered head, dragon-Artie sort of laughed in amusement (it was a low rumbling sound) and he snorted, sending a hiss of smoke up into the air, enveloping Jim in it, making the human cough, and then the blue dragon lowered his head, so that the two were at eye level. Then he gently rubbed his pointed snout against his best friend's upper body.
Still coughing, Jim calmed down as he finally realized that the fantastic beast was in fact dragon-Artemus and that the winged and scaled creature wouldn't harm a single hair of his head. "Good dragon!" he said, smiling and then he patted the dragon's muzzle. "Can you talk? Dragons talk in tales." In response dragon-Artie shook his head and Jim asked, "Can you understand me?"
The blue dragon sat on its haunches and wound his long tail around his hind legs. Then he nodded and let out a soft growl.
His brow burrowed in deep concern, Jim then asked, "That means yes. Are you okay, Artie? Because being a dragon must not be easy to cope with…"
Dragon-Artie didn't know how to say that he was coping – it wasn't the first time he had been turned into something non-human, like a cat and a merman for example - and he opened his jaws, his breath smelling of fire, smoke and sulfur – before using the tip of his long serpentine tongue to lick Jim's head as his tail twitched like a cat's.
Disgusted, Jim grimaced and used his hands to remove the smelly gooey saliva covering his hair and dripping on his face. "Yuck! It's disgusting!" And he gagged on the stench. He swallowed bile and said to the massive, hulking beast, "Never do that again! Ever!" Then he grinned in relief. "I'm glad you're okay, buddy. Praise be for your great sense of adaptation."
Dragon-Artie growled in response.
Jim stood, his legs still trembling then gave the creature an affectionate pat on his warm muzzle. Then he took a couple of steps back and he began to circle Dragon-Artie slowly, scrutinizing him intensely, absolutely fascinated by the creature that was not supposed to exist.
In our world, not in this one, he added in his mind.
Once his survey of the blue dragon was over, he stopped in front of the beast's large spiky head with a maw that could swallow him whole, he realized, flinching unintentionally.
He grinned and then said, "Artie, buddy, you're a beautiful dragon!" He chuckled when he saw the creature wave his tail in pleasure. He sighed, changing mood abruptly and he frowned in concern. "What are we going to do now?" he asked.
Suddenly Jim saw a big black scale belonging to Drakstil embedded in one of the large beast's claws sharp as knives. "Good job, Artie! Now lift your foot!" And dragon-Artie lifted his great foot from the ground, claw extended. Once he was holding the scale of the black dragon in one hand, he petted one large blue scale between the creature's nostrils and then he added, "Stay here! Wait for me. I'm sure Mintee knows a way to de-dragon you. Don't go back there to try to capture Daviina! She'll put a spell on you and you would become her second pet dragon."
The blue-scaled dragon snorted in agreement.
Jim chuckled and then said, "I preferred when you were a cat! It was a lot more easy to pet you," and stark naked, he ran down the hill.
But dragon-Artie didn't want to stay on top of the hill waiting for Jim to come back. He unfolded his massive wings, flapped them tossing the bushes to and fro and flew away.
Soon after he let out a long roar yelling in joy at the thrill of flying spiraling higher and higher in the sky, flying above the thunderstorm, and looked up to the stars.
He headed then toward the other side of the forest where Daviina's mercenaries waited for her signal to march to the castle.
Destroying their camp should be enough to disband them, Artemus-dragon thought, as his huge serpentine body silhouetted against the light of the thunderbolts.
WWW
Much later
Dragon-Artemus came back at sunset - although it was impossible to see the sun as the thunderstorm was still raging - taking the nose dive down and landing smoothly on top of the hill. Above him the thunder rumbled, and lightning flickered in the stormy sky.
He folded his wings to his body tightly, smoke billowing from his nostrils, satisfied with what he had done – all the mercenaries had fled utterly terrified, in all directions mounting their horses, after he had destroyed all the siege engines including scaling ladders; battering rams; siege towers and various types of weapons such as trebuchets, ballistas, bombards and battering rams.
They were all gone as well as the tents where they kept their individual weapons. He had chased them for a while across the fields, woods and rivers, spitting bolts of fire... and loving it!
He waited patiently under pouring rain, curled up nose to tail – sliding on his waterproof scales - before Jim came back holding a torch.
He was dressed in soaked knight clothes and mounted on a horse, and was followed by Mintee, equally soaked, riding a horse too.
The Mage was holding a long stick, like Daviina, but unlike the sorceress's stick, which was straight the wood spiraled and a big sapphire was at the end of it, a blue light emanating from it, he noticed.
Dismounting, the two men moved toward dragon-Artemus, Jim feeling more comfortable than the Mage even if he knew who the dragon was.
Dragon-Artie stood and lowered his massive head toward Jim. He huffed a small cloud of smoke and his best friend.
Holding his flickering torch, the younger man couldn't help but scratch under the mighty beast's neck like he would do to a cat and dragon-Artie purred like one, "Good dragon!" then he added, "We're lucky! Mintee is as powerful as Daviina, and he knows how to break the spell which turned you into a dragon, and he's going to do it."
But before the old man could do anything – an orange glow enveloped the winged creature and dragon-Artie roared, his vertical slit pupils, dilating.
It disappeared shortly after and the dragon opened his maw wide, revealing a series of long, sharp fangs dripping with saliva, his reptilian eyes riveted on his… prey.
Knowing what had just happened Jim felt his blood freeze in his veins and he moved back in a hurry, "Daviina just took control of dragon-Artie, and it's not good…" He looked at the Mage and said, "I'll get his attention, meanwhile cast the counter spell!"
Mintee's mouth went dry. He nodded and ran as quickly as he could in the opposite direction and took refuge behind a group of bushes.
Gripping the torch, Jim waved it in front of the now non-friendly creature and said, "You want to eat me? Then try to catch me!" And he ran in the opposite direction, hurtling down the gentle slope of the hill… dragon-Artie following him, his maw wide open, showing rows of long, razor-sharp teeth.
Mintee started casting a spell which would free Artemus from Daviina's mind control, then when the dragon was harmless again, not threatening Sir James anymore – and he too - he would cast a second spell transforming Sir Artemus into a man.
Running for his life as fast as his feet could carry him on the squishy wet ground, Jim accelerated but the creature was gaining speed and flying low, ready to snatch him up in his deadly claws.
The formidable beast growled like thunder as his huge claws slashing down through the air, missed the human by inches.
Jim spotted a group of big rocks forming a small and narrow passage, a few feet to his right, and dropping his torch to the ground, he rushed there, where he could be sheltered from the dragon, he thought.
He leaped inside as the dragon was closing-in on him, sliding on his belly on the soaked grass until he ended up in semi-darkness surrounded by boulders, hearing the dragon flapping his wings just above him and giving a bellowing roar in frustration.
Looking up through a narrow crack above him, his heart in his throat, he panicked when he saw that the dragon was ready to release a huge jet of fire. The dragon couldn't rip him apart with its claws here, but he could burn him alive! he realized.
He closed his eyes, thinking, "I'm going to be burned alive with dragon's fire!" and… nothing happened. He reopened his eyes and saw nothing but a blue glow. "Mintee!" He said.
Mintee had used magic!
He crawled out of the tight passage between the large rocks and looked around him cautiously. Maybe Mintee's spell had failed. Maybe the dragon still wanted to eat him, he thought.
But he couldn't see any dragon anywhere, so he stood and… froze, fear paralyzing him when he heard a low growl.
After a few seconds he slowly turned around, thinking 'It's gonna eat me!' and found himself face to face with the blue-scaled winged creature which was perched on the boulders.
The dragon opened his jaws, teeth exposed and… stuck his tongue out, to lick Jim's head with affection, his tail thumping happily.
Finding his head covered with gooey saliva again, Jim's heart leaped in huge relief. He grinned and then he exclaimed, "Artie! You're back!"
The dragon nodded and continued moving his tail happily.
Jim wrinkled his nose and gagged. The smell was unbearable. "Gaah! You should brush your teeth, buddy!" and removed the dragon's saliva from his face with both hands.
Mintee was finishing the spell which would morph Artemus back to his original form when Jim and dragon-Artie suddenly vanished in a bright white light.
Tbc.