A Wizard's Love For Dragons
The first thing Zog did before saying anything to anyone was head to the war room and angrily threw his scepters out of the window. The word about Koga's departure from the castle spread quickly into town. The details of the story itself, however, had been significantly exaggerated. Others said he tried assassinating Zog; others said he fought him. However, the one that everyone went with as a fact was Zog catching Koga with Bean, and he attacked Zog out of rage and fled the castle with Elfo at hand after taking Queen Oona as a hostage. Now, Zog had gone on a rampage throughout the castle. He was tossing tables, tearing down paintings, and breaking priceless vases until he went to the war room and started tossing out his many scepters. This is where Bean would enter the room with Luci with a furious expression on her face.
"What the hell is the matter with you?! After everything Koga has done for you!" She screamed at her father.
"Not now, sweetie. Daddy is very angry right now!" Zog picks up another scepter and flings it out of the window. "Now I gotta plan a whole crusade to go and get my elf back on top of taking care of Koga!"
"WHAT?" Bean glared at Zog. "What do you mean, YOUR Elf? Elfo is my friend, and he's done everything for you! All the blood and pain that you put him through so that you can get your stupid immortality! He's not your goddamn property!"
"Of course, he's my property! I'm the one who let him stay here! I'm the one who allowed him to eat my food and sleep in the beds I provided for him! That Elf belongs to me, and so does his blood!"
Bean bit her bottom lip and clenched her fist. "You know what…I'm starting to understand why I have an alcohol problem! It's because of YOU!" She pointed at her father aggressively.
"Of course, I'm the reason you drink! I'm your father!" Zog replied, a matter of factuality.
"Screw you!" Bean spat. "Screw you, this castle, and your stupid immortality! No matter how long you live, nobody in this messed-up world would want to spend it with you…" She stared into her father's eyes as she spat out her words.
Zog scowled at his daughter. His face twists angrily. "Take her away! Lock her up before she starts pointing out more stuff!"
"Her chamber sire?" Pendergast asked.
"No, she's too good at escaping there. Take her to someplace more secure, along with her smart-mouth cat!"
Luci glared. "Typical reaction, Mr. Predictable." The demon hopped onto Bean's lap as they were dragged out of the room.
Tavish had returned to the castle and watched Bean from a few feet away get dragged off by Pendergast and Turbish. "What in the world?" He scratched his head.
"You missed all the action," said Miri, beside Tavish.
Tavish jumped a bit, startled. "What happened?"
"Koga took Elfo, a wizard and some guy obsessed with Dragons, away and kicked everyone who tried to stop him. Oh, and he held Oona hostage for a bit,"
Oona walks by. "It was the most excitement I had here in a while,"
"Oh dear lord," Tavish rubs his head.
"I wouldn't go talk to King Zog if I were you. His face looked as though it was going to explode with anger," said Miri. She picks up her mop bucket and walks off.
Tavish sighed. "Can't this place just stay peaceful for once…just once?"
Back at the dungeons, Akane sat with her back against the wall and stared at the stone ceiling above her. Stan sat next to her with a pile of books behind him. He had been reading nothing but dad jokes to her for the past few hours. In all honesty, he was reading it for himself.
"Man, reading all of this has been a blast!" said Stan, getting to his feet and he pops his back. "Oh dear, what time is it? I should've been out of here an hour ago!" He yawns. "Welp, I think tomorrow we'll just have to go ahead and cut your head off. Till then, enjoy the rest of your life while you can!" He waved at her as he stepped out of the cell and closed it. The executioner walks off, twirling the keys on his index finger.
"About damn time…" said Akane. "My head is killing me! How can there be that many dad jokes in existence?!" She cursed in her native language.
She looks over at her chained-up wrist. She takes a deep breath and blows a stream of fire at the chains on the wall, melting it completely. Akane does the same with the other hand, completely freeing herself. She walks over to the door and expects the area. No guard in sight. Akane takes a few steps back, holds out her arms, and sends a flurry of wind slashes at the caged door, cutting it into pieces.
Akane hurried out of her cell and went to check the cells. None of her soldiers were held in any of these cells. If that was the case…they were probably already dead. Akane would quietly make her way out of the dungeons and into the stone hallways. She stops dead in her tracks once she hears footsteps coming her way. Akane looks to the right and hops out of the window.
"I can't believe Captain Koga just deserted us like that," said one of the knights.
"I never liked the guy anyway," said another knight. "He always thought he was better than us. If I ever get a chance to catch him, I'll show him who's the better knight!"
"He probably took the elf and that wizard with him to get all the power for himself!"
"It wouldn't surprise me,"
The knights walked off. Akane peeked her head up to see if they were gone. She hung on the castle's side with her sai stuck into the wall. "So…they're gone…" She whispered. Akane holds up her wrist where her communicator was placed. A small green flame arose from it, showing the location of not only Oscar but also Koga and Elfo. "Perfect. They are not too far." The flame disappears. "I must contact Lucius. My time is done here."
Akane leaps off the building, and a wind current slows her down. Once she was on the ground, she entered the forest.
Koga, Elfo, and Oscar found themselves far off from Dreamland. The three of them took a small break from traveling and sat beside a river where the clear water was rushing through. The sky above was grey, and the wind was blowing slightly. Oscar stretched his legs, and Elfo sat beside him with his knees to his chest, staring at the rushing stream of water. Koga kneeled to water and splashed it in his face. The green Elf let out a depressing sigh as he thought about Bean and Luci. Elfo thought about Bean mostly, picturing her bright smile and beautiful blue eyes. He even pictured her two buck teeth in his head as he released another saddened sigh.
"I can't believe this happened…" said Elfo. "We just left them behind. I can't imagine what she's feeling right now."
"I didn't have much of a choice, Elfo. I had to think quickly," said Koga. He took out a cloth and dried the water off his face. "Not to mention I didn't want to hurt any of the knights…"
Elfo let out another depressing sigh. "I know…I know. I'm going to miss everyone back home: Bunty and her kind smile and random unhinged statements, Stan and his execution puns, Oona and her drugged-out sessions, and most of all, the four of us going on adventures. You know, the kind of adventures where Bean, Luci, and I get into trouble, and you have to save and nearly die, but then not die, and save us."
Koga gave Elfo an annoyed blank stare. "Yeah, I'm not going to miss that," he said, looking over at Oscar. So, what are you going to do, old man?"
Oscar lets out a yawn. "Well, before I start planning, I must grab a few things from my studies. I have a lot of important belongings there that I cannot leave behind!"
"You mean the one where we found the dragon key?" asked Elfo.
"Precisely!" Oscar nods.
"Speaking of which," Koga reaches into the satchel and takes out the key. "We need to ditch this right now."
"What?" Oscar's eyes widened.
"What do you mean 'what?' this is what everyone is after. We can't let anyone get their hands on it. So let's find somewhere to dump this thing."
"I heard rumors about this spot called The Edge of The World. It's where everyone dumps stuff they don't want anymore," said Elfo.
"NO!" Oscar yelled. "WE CAN'T GET RID OF IT! I NEED IT!"
Koga and Elfo look at each other and then back at Oscar. "What the hell do you need it?" The wanderer asked suspiciously.
"Yeah, in that letter, we found it. It said you tried destroying it!" said Elfo.
"Well…you see…spending all that time locked up, tortured, and barely eating made me realize I have a dream! A dream that all great dragon philosophers have that I want to achieve. And that is…to become a dragon!"
Koga and Elfo stared at Oscar.
Elfo blinked a few times. "Wait…what?"
"You want to become a dragon?" said Koga.
"YES!" said Oscar enthusiastically. "To become a scaley creature of mighty power with beautiful wings and eyes! And not to mention…the dragon sex!"
"You have lost your damn mind," said Koga, bluntly.
"Maybe so. But this dream isn't just mine. One of my best friends wanted to become a dragon. He was a philosopher like myself. Unfortunately, his obsession went too far. My old buddy stripped himself of all his clothes, except his enormous hat, and jumped out of the window thinking he had wings. Poor, poor Big Hat Larry. I WILL INHERIT YOUR DREAM, MY FRIEND!" The grand wizard screamed into the sky.
Elfo looked at Oscar worriedly. "So…umm…do wizards normally go crazy like this?"
"A majority us yes," Oscar replied. "You can't call yourself a wizard if you aren't a little crazy."
"That explains Sorcerio…" said Koga. "Ok, you crazy ass wizard. Do you even know where to take this dragon key so you can go bone or get boned by dragons?"
"Ooooh…be on the receiving of a dragon…that's not a bad idea," Oscar rubbed his chin and smirked.
Elfo shivered. "Koga…whhhhy did you say that?!"
"Anyways, the books and notes in my studies can give us a clue where we need to go. So, shall we, gentleman?"
"Yeah, let's get this over with so I don't have to hear you gushing over lizards," said Koga, walking back to his horse.
"Lizards are very adorable creatures! Who wouldn't gush over them!" said Oscar, following Koga.
"Yeah, just don't try to put them in your pants," said Elfo.
The three mounted the horse, and they rode off. Unbeknownst to them, Akane was watching their every move.
"East," said Akane. "The swordsmen, Elf, and wizard are heading east."
"Good work Akane," said Lucius. "I'll have our troops in the area there waiting for them. Make sure to meet up with them as soon as possible."
"Yes, Captain!" said Akane as they cut communications.
Lucius smirked.
"The world of Dragons…and all of that will belong to me…"