Chapter 2
The group appeared in an empty room in Serenity's inn at the town of Falconreach. They were greeted by Serenity as they entered the common room. She reminded them that they were always welcome to stay there and eat as often as they liked totally free of charge. "I would gladly feed and house you in return for being kept safe by you brave warriors," she said smiling.
The group left the inn with high spirits. Speaking to Serenity was a good way to start a session of Dragonfable; she was perpetually cheerful and happy.
Aloth and his friends had been in the town square for less than two minutes when they saw Ash Dragonblade hurrying toward them. He started talking as fast as he could, so that all the words were a jumbled mess and they couldn't make a bit of sense out of what he was saying. "Whoa, dude, Ash," Joseph said, "Calm down man!" Ash seemed very excited about something.
"I heard that High Priestess Celestia is going to be passing through the forests near Oaklore Keep a little bit later today! There have been rumors that she's carrying something very valuable with her, something very secret! I wonder what it could be. I'd sure like to find out."
This news made Aloth and company feel uneasy. If it was so secret then how come so many people knew about it? And was the object she was carrying worth enough that other people with bad intentions might be willing to take it by force?
"When is she supposed to be passing near Oaklore?" Chris asked.
"I'm not sure, I think sometime in the early afternoon," Ash replied, thinking.
The group looked at each other. "Sounds like we're headed to Oaklore," Aloth said. "We'd better hurry. Who knows who wants to get their hands on whatever it is the Priestess has."
The group set out at once for Oaklore. It was only a few miles from Falconreach so it didn't take long to get there, but once they were there they weren't sure what they should do next. "Maybe we should go talk to Captain Rolith and see if he knows anything," Kara suggested. The rest of them agreed that this was probably the best idea so they headed inside.
They found Captain Rolith just inside the gates, talking to one of the oddly-named Oaklore knights of the Pactagonal Table, but when he saw them Rolith immediately dismissed the knight.
"How can I help you, my young friends?" he asked.
"We need to know where High Priestess Celestia is, because we heard she would be poassing through carrying something of great value, and we were afraid for her safety.
Rolith smiled and chuckled slightly. "You needn't worry; she's on her way here via dragon, along with Twilly the moglin. As soon as she gets here I am going to assign an escort to accompany her the rest of the way to her destination. If you would like you could go and meet her when she arrives. She should be here any moment."
The group were slightly disappointed that their fighting skills would not be needed, but they were excited to be able to meet the High Priestess. Captain Rolith told them that she would be disembarking on the cliffs located on the other side of the nearby forest, and they hurried away, eager to greet her.
The trail they followed looked like it had once been a busy thoroughfare, but had fallen into disuse. When they neared the end they could see why. The road ended at the cliff, where the end of what was once a mighty bridge still remained, along with two stone towers that were covered with moss and ivy. When they reached the edge of the cliff and looked down they drew a collective breath of surprise and wonder, for at the other end of the gap and slightly lower down was the ruins of a once-great city. The ruins covered the entire face of the great rock spire it was built on and dominated the entire surrounding landscape. At various points on the spire were constructed huge stone platforms with large warehouse-like buildings next to them.
As the group was standing in awe at the sight they saw a large shape appear on one of the platforms and launch into the air in their direction. It didn't take long to realize that it was a dragon. A few members of the group began to grow slightly nervous as the dragon approached, so they all decided to keep a safe distance from the edge. They retreated almost to the edge of the forest.
The dragon latched onto the cliff face with its claws then lowered its head to the end of the ruined bridge. Then, to everyone's surprise, a small figure dressed in white appeared on the dragon's neck. It walked over the head and stepped daintily over the head and stepped daintily onto the moss-covered stones, followed by a tiny red creature they knew was Twilly the moglin. The wite-robed figure was carrying something large in its hands, something that resembled a box.
The figure turned to the dragon for a moment and seemed to be speaking to it, then turned again and set off along the road while the dragon launched itself off the cliff into the air and soon disappeared.
The person who drew near was obviously a woman, and wore expensive-looking robes with gold trim. Her hood was pulled over her face but her golden hair spilled out and shone in the bright sun. she carried in her hands a large black box with a dragon's head on the front along with a large padlock. The group knew automatically that this was High Priestess Celestia. Even her bearing and the way she walked made it evident.
She walked by without seeming to notice the group, but Twilly greeted them with a cheerful "Hiyas!" before moving on.
The friends were just starting to recover from their awestruck state when a roar sounded in the forest nearby and a huge grey, hairy beast exploded from the brush. It was hunched over like a gorilla but was much larger and had two large tusks protruding from its mouth.
"Gorillaphant," Chris muttered.
Twilly leapt forward, brandishing his twig staff, to defend the Priestess but the enraged beast simply swept him aside with a huge fist.
That did it for Aloth and company. They yelled and charged forward, except for Joseph and Terra, the mages, who hurled balls of elemental energy from their hands and staffs to distract the monster. Chris whipped out a knife and hurled it with amazing accuracy so that it struck the gorillaphant in the shoulder. Then Aloth and Kara dove in, Aloth having switched to the basic longsword, and they soon had the beast on the ground, where Jordyn jumped up on its back and dispatched it with a dual thrust from her knives. Their bodies sparkled as the experience points were divided up between them.
The High Priestess stepped up to Aloth. "Thank you, brave ones," she said. "May I know the names of my rescuers?"
"But Priestess," Twilly interrupted. "You said that this was Aloth Stormrider and…" and he named each of them in turn with their titles. "And that they were possibly destined to become Dragonlords and would protect Lore from a great evil!"
Celestia sighed. "Twilly…" She turned back to Aloth. "My apologies, but I have a favor to ask. Would you please inform Captain Rolith in Oaklore that I must thankfully forgo his offer of an escort and continue through the woods with just Twilly?"
Aloth nodded hesitantly. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Priestess?" he asked, concerned.
"Yes, my friends, I must make haste. I really don't need the escort, Twilly can protect me."
Chris tried to stifle a laugh and it sounded like he was choking. Kara rolled her eyes and the rest of them looked skeptical to say the least, but no one said anything. They bid the Priestess farewell and she went on her way.
They hurried back to Oaklore to find Captain Rolith. When they told him, he looked like he was about to panic.
"What?!" he exclaimed. "She's going straight there without stopping? Argh!" He tugged his hair in frustration and worry. Then he turned to Aloth and company. "You guys have to go after her," he said. "Catch up to her and keep her safe. Please, the item that she is carrying is something of great value, and it would be very very bad if it fell into the wrong hands. Go! You must hurry if you are to catch up to her before it's too late."
They quickly agreed that this was the best course of action for them to take so they took off in the direction they believed would let them meet up with the High Priestess. They jogged for a short while without finding anything, but then suddenly they began to hear raised voices and raucous laughter. They hurried toward the sound. They came in sight of a clearing surrounded by men who appeared to be dressed like bandits. A couple of them shifted out of the way slightly and they saw Priestess Celestia in the center, clinging to the box. Twilly was not there, but then they noticed that he was being tossed around by the bandits like a ball.
They were still some distance away when several of the bandits stepped forward and grabbed the Priestess. One of them wrested the box away from her while the others pushed her around between them and tugged at her robes, trying to get them off. This infuriated Aloth more than anything and he and his friends yelled and charged into the middle of the bandits, completely catching them off guard. Six bandits lay dead or dying on the ground before the others knew what was going on. The group of six stood resolutely facing the group of fifteen or so remaining bandits. A few of the latter had fear and surprise in their eyes at the fearsome group that had appeared randomly, seemingly out of nowhere and easily taken out six of their men.
One man stepped to the front. He had a commanding air about him and was obviously the leader. He wore a bandana around his head to keep back his thick black hair. His armor consisted mostly of thick leather with metal parts in various places. He carried a long and expensive-looking sword that he rested on his shoulder. He was even a little handsome to the girls, in a rugged sort of way.
This man looked with obvious disdain at the six friends who had dared to strike his men, not that he cared all that much. He had plenty of others. It was all about image though, he knew. If his men got the image that any rabble could come and scare his army with some fancy-shmancy blades then he would start losing men fast. He would teach the young fools a lesson.
He was disappointed when no one wavered at his angry gaze, so he changed his tactic. He pointed to them with his sword and said "Who dares to so openly oppose me?" His gruff baritone voice was stern and commanding, but Aloth and his group would not be cowed. He continued. "Stand down, young fools, for I am Drakath! Leader of the Darkwolf Bandits and the rightful King of Lore! It should be mine by my birthright! I am the true King and you should all be bowing to me!" At this word, to Aloth's astonishment all of Drakath's bandits obediently went down on one knee around Drakath.
"You see?" Drakath continued, gesturing to the bowing men, "Already these men have learned that I am not one to be underestimated. I am a man who rewards his men when they serve me loyally, and issue justice and discipline when my orders are disobeyed. I am not a cruel or unjust man, I simply feel that I must teach the rest of the kingdom what it mean to deny Drakath his rightful inheritance. These men are loyal to me and will assist me in my venture. In return, I shall make them Lords and Barons and give them privileges as we add to my kingdom, and those who stay loyal to the end shall receive rewards untold, and together we shall keep peace and justice over my new empire." He looked like he was getting pretty worked up about this.
"Your new empire?" Aloth said incredulously. "You can't have an empire until you've at least become king, and that's not gonna happen as long as I've got anything to say about it. Same thing goes for my friends." They all nodded in agreement.
"So you decide to resist the rule of the rightful king of Lore?" He looked grave. "If you're not with me, then you're my enemy, and not safe to be left alive. Therefore it is my responsibility as true king to destroy the threat to my rule." He snapped his fingers and two especially buff-looking bandits stepped forward, spiked clubs in hand. "Choose two friends," he said, going into a ready stance. "And let's see how well you stand up to Drakath and the Darkwolf bandits!"
Aloth pointed to Chris and Terra. "One of each type," he said, then spun and twirled his pig-hammer around in circles a few times. Chris twirled his Doom daggers in his fingers and Terra conjured a ball of fire energy in her palm.
"Before we destroy you," said Drakath, "I would know your names.
They sounded off alphabetically. "Aloth."
"Chris."
"Jordyn."
"Joseph."
"Kara."
"Terra."
Drakath looked impressed. "Role call hmm?" he said. "Well too bad you'll all soon be dead or imprisoned, unless you decide right now to join my band and be completely loyal to me."
Aloth cleared his throat loudly and spat a huge lugie on the ground between them. This infuriated Drakath. "Now you'll all have to die," he growled through clenched teeth. "And believe me, we have no pause for killing girls. Then again, why kill you?" He grinned maliciously and stared pointedly at Terra's green-and-blue-robed body. She blushed furiously and cried in unison with Aloth and Chris as they charged forward.
(End of chapt. 2)