Chapter 17: A Gift
Svarturvog had followed a group of men to a stable house void of any horses to make room for him. There he found a large pile of meaty goodness. He approached the meat cautiously and gave it a sniff then dug in. Afterwards, his belly full, he turned to a bed of hay and began kneading while watching the large group of guards outside the opening. He laid down resting his head on his front legs keeping one red eye fixed on the guards. He fell asleep shortly thereafter.
Commotion outside rose him from his slumber and he shot up digging his claws into the hay. He noticed most of the guards rushing off leaving only two behind. Instinct told him to fly away and something made him feel as though his friends were in trouble. He needed to find where they were so he rushed out of the stable house, the two guards dove out of the way. He opened his wings and flew over to the keep as fast as he could.
Before he got to the door he saw them enter earlier he saw a group of men on horseback chasing someone down the main road leading to the gate. A trail of blood caught his attention and chased after. He thought the man may have been the one responsible for the trouble and dove down. He flew over the gate and tried to pick the man up from the ground but he vanished and reappeared a few yards away down the hill where he began swaying and tumbled down to the bottom. He slowly got up and tried to run towards the gate portal but tripped and vanished in and out of sight multiple times before he hit the ground ten yards ahead. Svarturvog landed heavily between the man and the gate with a deep radiating growl, snow flying in all directions. The man struggled to get up and was about to cast a spell to end his life but passed out. He was then picked up by the dragon and flown back to the fortress with protests from the mounted soldiers behind.
Once back at the keep entrance he dropped the man to the ground and landed. Then he began to roar wildly in hopes of seeing them emerge from the building. Within moments the door swung open and men rushed out weapons drawn. They noticed the mans mangled body on the ground and quickly tried to pick him up but Svarturvog stepped over top defending his find as it was for his friends as a trophy. They slowly managed to back the dragon away from the nearly dead assassin in which they hoped to be able to question. Once they had him they dragged the body back into the keep.
Svarturvog continued to roar and growl uncontrollably until he saw one of his friends rush to his side. Zyra pet Svarturvog's side and whispered slowly calming him down with her magic. He started to purr deeply.
"It's okay, you've done well ancient one. Rest." She whispered.