The two half orcs and gnome, smoothly slipped past the trees, brush, and rocks of the now dark forest. Their movements were fluid, like those of some hunting cat, as they blended with the shadows cast by the moon light to make their passing almost unnoticeable. While Tig was small and her footsteps were soft, Ceto and Armondo were also surprisingly quite adept at shifting their bulk making their strides as quiet as that of a squirrel or a lemming.
Gerald on the other hand, smashed into every log, and low hanging branch in his path. Twice he stubbed his toe on a rock and yelped in pain, and once he ran full force into a tree, spinning him about before landing on his ass. Each time he stumbled, the trio ahead of him paused and glared at him, expecting him to stop being such a fool, but it was no help. The further Gerald went into the forest, the more bumbling and ,more importantly, the more noise he made.
"Acht, we have to rethink this," said Tig as the last of her patience wore out. "We either have to go ahead by ourselves, or send him on his way. This won't do."
"I'm sorry. This is hard for me, " apologized Gerald. "I can't see in the dark like you three."
Armondo shook his head. "Actually, Ceto and I can see in the dark. Captain Tig here only has a heighten ability to see lower levels of light. In pitch blackness, she's as blind as you are."
"Torch?" suggested Ceto.
Gerald nodded vigorously at the suggestion. A torch would not only solve his vision problem, but also warm him up a bit. The northern nights were already cold enough, but it just seemed that much colder in the middle of forest, surrounded by goblins and a dragon.
"Nein," said Tig as she shook her head." At least the forest breaks up the noise he makes, a torch will point everyone towards us."
"Errr….tie a rope to me and one of the big guys?" suggested Gerald.
Tig shook her head again. "That won't stop you from tripping, as well as making you a liability in combat."
At the suggestion of combat, Gerald blanched slightly and shrunk a little. Rescuing Mina was one thing, fighting goblins and dragons was something else. He already had his share of being chased by goblins and wargs, though he still thought of them as red eyed wolves.
"Hmmm…we could use an extract on him," suggested Armondo."I know your ability to create them are limited, but it's either that or leave him behind. Frankly I rather have a bard at our side, even one that trips on his face, at the cost of one of your potions."
Tig pursed her lips, unhappy with the half orc's suggestion, but finally relented and sighed. She took a glass bottle from one of her satchels, and began rapidly throwing twigs, dirt, powder, and more dirt it before adding some water to the mix.
"What's an extract? Is this going to hurt?"
Armondo shrugged. " Tig is an alchemist, a damn good one I might add. That's kind a cross between a wizard and an artificer that concentrates on liquid and material magics. As you can guess, she can synthesis potions rapidly with her alchemy skills, but it is a draining process. She can only make a limited number of extracts before having to recharge herself. "
"Oh," said Gerald as he nodded sagely. He had no idea what the half orc said but he didn't want him to think him an idiot.
After a few seconds, the strange brew that Tig had combined turned into a slightly glowing blue potion. She handed it to Gerald with a frown. "Drink it quick, we don't have all night."
Gerald hesitated, there was no way he was going to drink this, but the impatient glares of the trio and the unspoken threat of being left behind spurred him to quaff the potion. It tasted oddly like cinnamon with little after taste. It tingled briefly, before giving his whole system a slight shock. Gerald jumped at the current flowing through his body, but when it was over he was shocked to find he could now see clearly in the darkness as Armondo had suggested. It was as the darkness and shadows were chased away, and everything was under a soft ever present light. It was amazing but also a bit disconcerting, since nothing seemed to cast a shadow, but Gerald quickly managed to adjust.
"Go? Now?" asked Ceto.
"Ja, " said Tig. Armondo signaled for them to wait a few seconds before he raced through ahead through the darkness to scout.
Though his vision was greatly improved, Gerald still managed to trip and bump his way through the forest as he attempted to match the trio's pace. He didn't want to fall behind again, especially after they wasted one of Tig's extracts on him, so he pushed himself to keep up, and suffered the scratches and bruises.
After what seemed like an hour to Gerald, or more likely ten minutes, Armondo signaled the group to stop. The stout half orc sniffed the air, and paced back and forth. Finally he motioned the group to stay as he went out by himself to scout. As they waited, Ceto found a defensive enough clearing for them to rest. Though Tig kept pace better than Gerald, the bard could see that the gnome was tired as well, mainly due to her short legs attempting to keep pace. A mile to Gerald was like four to her. She simply stretched her legs before sitting down, leaning on Ceto's muscular leg as a rest.
"So….why are you guys in this forest anyways? I've never seen you in town, and I find it disconcerting that I happen to just bump into you guys in the middle of nowhere," asked Gerald, sensing this was as good a time as any to make some talk. While he was just happy for the trio's aid in finding Mina, the bard in him wanted to know their story.
Ceto shrugged at the question. Tig however, seemed happy to indulge his curiosity. "The three of us, well you may call us Dragonslayers. We heard there was a bounty here, and came to collect it. This is normally out of our way, but we heard rumors it was a Red. That bumped this particular destination higher on our to do list. They're rare, and quite valuable you know."
Gerald was surprised. That explained a bit, as why they were here, but he always imagined Dragonslayers to be like knights in shining armor, like Prince Aaron and the Silver Guard, not two tribal vagabonds and a leather trenchcoat midget.
"So…is there good money in dragonslaying," asked Gerald in morbid fascination.
"It depends. The bounties are laughable at best, they only make up a small fraction of our income. We typically ask for salvage rights since collection of their horde is much more lucrative. Also, depending on the type and more importantly the size of the dragon, their scales, horns, teeth and claws are worth quite a bit to a specialized black smith, weaponsmith, or armourer. Dragon weapons and armour is hard to match. Also the medicinal value of their organs and blood can be quite lucrative. As an Alchemist I typically keep it for myself, but I'm willing to share and trade our bounty for reagents I need from other mages."
Gerald was impressed with the gnome's business model, but still wondered about how successful they were at their craft.
"So…err how many dragons have you killed."
Tig fell silent as she appeared to be in deep thought. Gerald could see she was counting to herself.
"Roughly a dozen true dragons," replied the gnome eventually. "Five whites, three blacks, a brass, blue, silver, and a green. No reds yet which is why we are here. Most of the ones we've slain were twenty footers or less, but we once bagged a fifty footer, a big blue near Ylarrum that was preying on caravans."
"Err…I don't know much about dragons but aren't Brass and Silver dragons…umm good guys?" gulped Gerald. While the trio had aided him, he had no idea of their moral disposition. They could be as villainous as the goblins for all he knew.
"Ja, the metallic coloured dragons are typically known as the 'good' dragons, while the chromatic ones are known as the 'evil' dragons, but Dragons are more like people than you think. We've encountered supposedly evil dragons that have been pretty good chaps, and good dragons that are a danger to all," explained Tig.
"Oh, I didn't know that" said Gerald as he considered this new information. He wondered if there were good goblins and bad elves and angels as well.
" As for lesser dragons," continued Tigg. " Acht, we've killed at least three score. That includes dragonne, dragon horses, wyverns, dragon turtles, drakes, and a few chimera. The pay is less, and the salvage considerably less lucrative, but at least there's plenty more work . You'll be surprised what these beasts can and will rut with and their host of half dragon spawn litters they strew about the countryside. "
Gerald attempted to imagine a thirty foot dragon attempting to mate with a lion, horse, turtle, or some other ridiculous thing and shook his head in an attempt to wipe the brain scarring image from his mind. It was like that traumatizing time he walked in on his aunt Edna and Otis the blacksmith during the Moon harvest festival. "That must be ….err physically stressful for the objects of their affection."
Ceto grinned widely and stared down at the gnome but Tig simply elbowed his leg and rolled her eyes. "Nein, nein, nein, it's not as dirty as you think. Almost all dragons have an alternate form or depending on the age and species multiple alternate forms. Basically they can shapechange into a fixed creature, most of the time into the form of a small animal to move unseen, or more often than not a humanoid to blend into the local civilization. Most of the weaker dragons like whites and blacks, lack that ability until they grow bigger and older, but the more dangerous ones, like blues, reds, silvers and golds, can not only shapechange into their alternate forms at an early age but can maintain that form indefinitely. "
"Wait….so a dragon can appear as a human? One could be living in my village without me knowing."
"Ja, they can, but they rarely do. A dragon would most likely get bored, but the point you made is valid. Some dragons have been known to live in a city all their lives, keeping their humanoid guise for decades without anyone finding out, but that is the exception. Most however, seem to relish wallowing in their true form, the draconic pride thing and all, and only use their alternate forms for trade and other commercial ventures. While we make a fortune on dragon body parts, some of them make quite a good living selling the arms and weapons of those that tried to kill them."
Gerald imagined a dragon riding into town with the burned out armors of Prince Aaron and his Silver Guard, and he blanched at the thought of the grisly image.
"Err, so what was that glowing rock you had earlier," asked Gerald, attempting to change the subject.
Tig seemed puzzled at first, but then nodded knowingly. "Oh, that's our dragonstone. Most of the time its inert, but it glows when a dragon is near. I don't know roughly…"
"A league," replied Ceto.
"Aye a league. The brighter it is the more powerful the dragon. We actually thought we missed the beast or the authorities were mistaken when we first reached this forest, because our dragonstone did not glow, but its glowing now and it indicates a moderately powerful dragon nearby. "
"Moderately?" asked Gerald nervously. "Is that an easy bounty moderate and everyone gets some easy loot, or a suicide mission moderate and I should be thinking of bolting back to town."
Tig laughed. "Your concern is noted but fear not, this is what we do for a living. We've trained and prepared simply to fight dragons and we have a few tricks to turn the tide in our favour. That's not to say we are guaranteed to win, we've lost a few companions in the past, but I'll warrant the odds are in our favor."
Gerald faked a smile at her comment. While big burly half orcs, and an Alchemist or whatever Tig was probably had a good chance to survive, he believed that his near imminent death would keep the averages balanced.
As Tig and Gerald continued to talk, Armondo sneaked back into their cluster of trees and motioned for the group to follow.
"Did you find the dragon? Did the knights kill it? "asked Tig in excitement. Her anticipation rising.
Armondo shook his head. "I don't think so, but I've found some strange …things," with that the trio of Dragonslayers and the bard crept into the night, and into the clearing that half orc scout had seen earlier.
"Look, there's some burn marks everywhere, but something is wrong," he said indicating burned patches in the clearing and the surrounding woods.
Ceto approached the indicated areas and sniffed them. "Small, clean burn."
Gerald scratched his head. "Eh?"
Tig examined them as well, but instead of sniffing she took several samples and placed them in a vial and held them to the moonlight. "Red and Gold dragons breath their flames in a the shape of a great cone, while these burn marks are more in line of a Brass dragon, a creature that roams in the desert. Also, dragon fire is hot. Hotter than most forges. It also burns clean. It would have completely incinerated this grass and those trees, and depending on its size might even turn the underlying rocks into glass. These fires, are hotter than campfires, but not dragon fire hot. While some dragons are known to be able to regulate the area of effect of their breath weapons and even control the amount they breath, I doubt a thirty footer would have mastered it. That's small for a red dragon."
"Small?" choked Gerald. A thirty foot long dragon was plenty big for him. Hells, even a ten foot dragon was too large for him to handle. "Hey, how do you know so much about dragons anyways? Especially if you've only killed like twelve of them. "
Tig smiled. "Well, believe it or not, we learn from other dragons. Remember, not all dragons are all that bad, and even the bad ones have limits. We mainly hunt the deviants, the mad dogs of the pack if you may. The kind that would empty a mine and a raze a mining camp for no reason. We kind of do their dirty work to …how should we say…maintain their reputations. But that's a story for another time."
"If you're done showing off to the boy and taking on airs, come see this," said Armondo as he pointed to some bushes roughly hundred feet off the clearing to the side.
Tig brushed off the slight and walked and examined the area indicated and then shook her head. Gerald followed and saw a dead knight, his silver armor crushed by several heavy blows. Surrounding the knight was about five dead goblins similar to the ones that chased him earlier, and another goblin covered in fur that was the size of Ceto. They looked to have been slained by the knight.
"I think that's Sir Fredrick, one of Prince Aaron's Silver Guard. His face is mashed up, but I can tell from his long mustache," shivered Gerald. While he has seen dead people before, this was the first time he's seen a dead knight. He considered taking some of the knight's armor and weapons but they were too heavy or broken for him to use. Besides, if all their training and heavy armor couldn't save them, what chance did he have, regardless of gear?
Armondo seemed to slowly follow a path that was all but unseen except for him. He widened his step like a child playing a game as he went back and forth over some unseen trail. "Something here had a long stride. I'm guessing an ogre or a giant."
Armondo then went back to the clearing and looked around the edges again. "There was a battle here. Fire was rained down on them, but it doesn't appeared that the dragon landed. It didn't need to though as it looks like goblins, bug bears, and unless I'm mistaken at least one ogre or giant rushed them from the flanks. I'm guessing it was a trap and fifty of them surrounded the knights. Several horses fell while the others attempted to break out."
Armondo then went back to the path where the dead knight was. "Some of the goblins pursued and this Frederick guy made a stand here, while his fellows escaped. The main group of goblins took their dead and any of the horses and possibly prisoners as well from the clearing. It was a quick operation. They headed to the northwest while the runners and their pursuers went west."
"Northwest is the old mine. That's where I lost Mina," interrupted Gerald. Thoughts of poor Mina being tortured or worse again haunted his thoughts.
"Acht…this is disconcerting," considered Tig. "I thought we might be able to help the Prince and share in the loot, or at least pick over the dragon's corpse if they happened to have slain it, but I didn't consider the goblins working with the dragon. While dragons are known to take minions, typically only as guards or pets. I didn't think this dragon had a lair nearby, unless it had decided to move into this area. Which is again odd, since there doesn't seem to be anything valuable here. Treasure is a large motivating factor for these fellows."
"Ruins?" asked Ceto.
"Ja," agreed Tig who turned to Gerald. "Are there any ruins of note nearby, old towers, or even rumors of dungeons?"
Gerald shook his head.
"Well boss, we have three choices. We chase the main group, goblins, dragons and all. We track down the group they were pursuing and hopefully catch them hammer and anvil with the remaining knights. That is if any are still alive. Or we do the sensible thing and go home. Alert the kingdom that their dragon infestation is much worse than they think it is. It's more like a dragon invasion," said Armondo.
Gerald like the third option best. Going home to an ale and some gromberry crepes seemed like a good idead to him. He wanted to say option one, be the hero and save Mina, but if these Dragonslayers think it's a bad idea, he was apt to agree with them.
"Something is fishy about this whole thing," said Tig. "I think it best if we find ourselves a knight if any are still surviving, and find out what's going on. We'll take the western path."
Gerald somehow knew she was going to say that. He forced himself to smile, as he followed the trio west.