Spread your wings.
- Thread starter Hiver
- Start date
Red Sectoid
Bored~
Red Sectoid
Bored~
Archer it's a TV show on FX. It's awesome.
The clip was on youtube.
I burst through the portal, quickly spreading my wings again as I started to fall.
That was tricky. The closest portal stone capable of producing a portal I could fit through was in Stranglethorn Vale, to the west of the Blasted Lands.
Sure, there were several able to accommodate human sized people, but the only one I was able to fit through was this one.
Only reason I was able to get through this one was because I could walk through one side of it with my wings closed.
But to avoid being spotted, the exit point had to be high in the air.
This unable to take mortal form yet was annoying as hell, even ignoring the... dietary requirements.
Too slow. I half-folded my wings, letting myself fall as I half-spread them again, picking up speed before I leveled out, spreading my wings fully and starting to beat them through the air, starting to rise again now when I had a bit more speed.
The ground was a mat of green far below. It looked like a rainforest from this attitude. A quick look around at the sun caused me to turn forty degrees to the right, heading directly east.
The map had been pretty clear. Fly East until you reach the coast, then follow it to the North to the Blasted Lands.
And stay high, out of sight.
Quite frankly, I had enough problems without getting a bunch of trolls on bats on my tail. Especially carrying my current load.
I really didn't like waiting for another three days. But Targos really came through. Enchanted armor, enchanted to make it easier to channel magic.
It was pretty amazing. Yeah, sure, it didn't let me fling fireballs at will, but with a bit of additional practice, it might actually let me do full-blown Mirror Image illusions. Maybe. Illusions may be my best school, but Mirror Image is not easy stuff.
It also provided some nice protection, covering the bridge of my head with a nice solid layer of metal as well as plates along my spine. It also covered the lower half of my legs but left the paws and claws mostly free to move. It was made from a bronze-like material but I doubted it was actual bronze.
Sadly, that was about as much protection as I could get without getting too heavy to fly and restrict my movements too much. The rest of it consisted of leather straps keeping it in place and a pair of satchels full of books and scrolls.
Seriously, it was somewhat tricky putting it on with those straps, even with telekinesis, but it was worth it just for the enchantment, even if it didn't offer much protection.
Half-closing my eyes in focus I called on my magic, weaving a simple illusion around myself. Nothing complex actually even for me. It just made me blurry at a distance. At this altitude, especially against the blue skies, I would be invisible from anyone on the ground.
Finishing the spell I opened my eyes fully again, checking my general course before speeding up.
Venir's group had a week and a half of a headstart.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Following the coast was a hell of a lot better than flying over that damn jungle. There were steep hot, cliffs. Cliffs meant updrafts.
Which meant not having to do a hummingbird impersonation.
Damn, I needed to practice long distance flying.
Spreading my wings wider to catch the thermals I let the wind lift me, flying north along the coast.
The landscape had started to change, from lush jungle to sunbaked earth and dust.
In the distance I could see a constant dark cloud over a speck of black.
The Dark Portal. Yeah, I could see why they called it that. That thing looked like something Sauron would design, even at this distance.
As I got closer and the sun started to set, I found a problem.
The portal had some construction around it. Solid rock battlements with torches along them. Battlements meant people.
People willing to fight to protect the portal.
From what I could see, there were two layers of battlements. One aimed out to keep the portal protected... and one aimed inwards, keeping anything from coming through the portal from running wildly through the world.
Even with the rising tensions between The Alliance and The Horde, I guess this was something they could both agree on.
But that caused a problem. Outright invisibility was way out of my league, it was only distance that kept me invisible from the ground with my current 'Blur' spell. Technically it was a training spell for invisibility, but nowhere close to the level needed.
Which meant... waiting.
I kept circling in the thermals by the beach, staying high, relaxing as much as I could as I waited for the sun to dip beneath the horizon. As darkness started to fall I stopped circling, renewing the blur spell as I went into a shallow dive towards the portal.
This needed to be fast.
As I got close, I increased the angle, going into a full dive before pulling up about ten meters up, turning my vertical speed into horizontal, jetting across the landscape and suddenly the walls were in front of me.
As the guards yelled in surprise I pulled up just enough to rise above them, flashing across the battlements before anyone could react.
The portal came up quick as I hugged the landscape.
It must have worked. Nobody shot arrows at me as I entered the event horizon.
AN// Many thanks to NullVoid for betaing this section.
That was tricky. The closest portal stone capable of producing a portal I could fit through was in Stranglethorn Vale, to the west of the Blasted Lands.
Sure, there were several able to accommodate human sized people, but the only one I was able to fit through was this one.
Only reason I was able to get through this one was because I could walk through one side of it with my wings closed.
But to avoid being spotted, the exit point had to be high in the air.
This unable to take mortal form yet was annoying as hell, even ignoring the... dietary requirements.
Too slow. I half-folded my wings, letting myself fall as I half-spread them again, picking up speed before I leveled out, spreading my wings fully and starting to beat them through the air, starting to rise again now when I had a bit more speed.
The ground was a mat of green far below. It looked like a rainforest from this attitude. A quick look around at the sun caused me to turn forty degrees to the right, heading directly east.
The map had been pretty clear. Fly East until you reach the coast, then follow it to the North to the Blasted Lands.
And stay high, out of sight.
Quite frankly, I had enough problems without getting a bunch of trolls on bats on my tail. Especially carrying my current load.
I really didn't like waiting for another three days. But Targos really came through. Enchanted armor, enchanted to make it easier to channel magic.
It was pretty amazing. Yeah, sure, it didn't let me fling fireballs at will, but with a bit of additional practice, it might actually let me do full-blown Mirror Image illusions. Maybe. Illusions may be my best school, but Mirror Image is not easy stuff.
It also provided some nice protection, covering the bridge of my head with a nice solid layer of metal as well as plates along my spine. It also covered the lower half of my legs but left the paws and claws mostly free to move. It was made from a bronze-like material but I doubted it was actual bronze.
Sadly, that was about as much protection as I could get without getting too heavy to fly and restrict my movements too much. The rest of it consisted of leather straps keeping it in place and a pair of satchels full of books and scrolls.
Seriously, it was somewhat tricky putting it on with those straps, even with telekinesis, but it was worth it just for the enchantment, even if it didn't offer much protection.
Half-closing my eyes in focus I called on my magic, weaving a simple illusion around myself. Nothing complex actually even for me. It just made me blurry at a distance. At this altitude, especially against the blue skies, I would be invisible from anyone on the ground.
Finishing the spell I opened my eyes fully again, checking my general course before speeding up.
Venir's group had a week and a half of a headstart.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Following the coast was a hell of a lot better than flying over that damn jungle. There were steep hot, cliffs. Cliffs meant updrafts.
Which meant not having to do a hummingbird impersonation.
Damn, I needed to practice long distance flying.
Spreading my wings wider to catch the thermals I let the wind lift me, flying north along the coast.
The landscape had started to change, from lush jungle to sunbaked earth and dust.
In the distance I could see a constant dark cloud over a speck of black.
The Dark Portal. Yeah, I could see why they called it that. That thing looked like something Sauron would design, even at this distance.
As I got closer and the sun started to set, I found a problem.
The portal had some construction around it. Solid rock battlements with torches along them. Battlements meant people.
People willing to fight to protect the portal.
From what I could see, there were two layers of battlements. One aimed out to keep the portal protected... and one aimed inwards, keeping anything from coming through the portal from running wildly through the world.
Even with the rising tensions between The Alliance and The Horde, I guess this was something they could both agree on.
But that caused a problem. Outright invisibility was way out of my league, it was only distance that kept me invisible from the ground with my current 'Blur' spell. Technically it was a training spell for invisibility, but nowhere close to the level needed.
Which meant... waiting.
I kept circling in the thermals by the beach, staying high, relaxing as much as I could as I waited for the sun to dip beneath the horizon. As darkness started to fall I stopped circling, renewing the blur spell as I went into a shallow dive towards the portal.
This needed to be fast.
As I got close, I increased the angle, going into a full dive before pulling up about ten meters up, turning my vertical speed into horizontal, jetting across the landscape and suddenly the walls were in front of me.
As the guards yelled in surprise I pulled up just enough to rise above them, flashing across the battlements before anyone could react.
The portal came up quick as I hugged the landscape.
It must have worked. Nobody shot arrows at me as I entered the event horizon.
AN// Many thanks to NullVoid for betaing this section.
Given I just caught up with this, I'm tempted to joke about a bard managing to hop on Atregos' back shortly after he passed the guard and then playing 'Highway to the Danger Zone' for the rest of the flight into the portal.
There was a split second where everything was very familiar and there was a feeling of tearing winds and then I burst out of the portal.
Wow.
Now that was a sight.
There was a second armed camp on this side, almost identical to the one on the other side, but they were no more ready for me than the camp in Azeroth.
I beat my wings, flying faster as I flew over the walls to the sound of shouts of warning. Ignoring them, I banked to the right, following the landscape to get into cover behind a ridge to keep me arrow and spell proof.
Who knew you could learn this stuff by flying arcade flight sims on the internet.
Hugging the landscape for another ten minutes I climbed again, flying up to a tall cliff to land on the narrow tip before pulling up and flapping my wings twice before I landed, digging my claws into the red rock of the cliff as I folded my wings.
I looked back at the portal and armed camp in the distance before I looked around, taking in the view.
Wow.
There were planets in the skies, streams of yellow-green energy crossing the purple skies. Uh. Wow.
Was this a moon or something?
Then I looked to the other side and found that there was no more planet. Now, I did read that Ourland was heavily damaged, but there is one way to know it and another to see it.
The ground just stopped and then there was a drop.
Okay, so not a planet or moon or there would be no atmosphere. Screw it, I'll figure that out later. Right now it didn't matter.
Now I needed to find my friend. Well, I was at the right planet. Moon. Rock floating in space, whatever.
Problem... I could hardly ask somebody for directions.
Well, I could, but it would be difficult hearing the answer over all the screaming.
Which meant looking for myself.
Luckily... not completely from scratch.
Floating a bowl from my satchel I put it on the rocky ground. A quick spell... well, quick and quick, it took almost ten minutes to condense enough water... and it was about half full.
Good enough.
Nodding I turned to peek into the right satchel. Now where did I put... there.
Floating a needle capped with a pair of pieces of cork.
I taking it in my claws I closed my eyes, channeling magic into it. Scrying... not my best school of magic. That's saying something as well. But it was hardly my worst either.
But it was important enough for me to put special time into learning how to do it. It worked best with blood, belongings... that kind of thing. Memories could be good enough if you knew the person well.
I knew Venir. I spend over two months with her in close company. I knew her.
Targos said that somebody who was good at it could make pictures show up. Hell, he showed me a real time feed of his shop while he wasteaching me how to do this.
I couldn't do that. Sure, give me half an hour of preparation and a bunch of props and I can look into the next room, but that's about my limit when it come to the advanced stuff.
At any distance, I was screwed. I simply was not good enough to manage it. Getting an image got exponentially harder with range.
However... this was not the advanced stuff.
Opening my eyes I dropped the needle into the bowl. It swung around a couple of times before pointing to the... actually, I have no idea what direction it was. It was towards a mountain far into the distance.
I looked in that direction before looking back down to the needle again, giving it a poke and turning it to the right with my claw tip before letting go.
It spun back to point towards the mountain in the distance.
I can not get a picture. Not at a distance, not with just memories as guide. But I could get a direction.
The best part of the three days waiting for Targos to get the gear together was spent practicing this.
Venir was in that direction.
Nodding, I scooped the needle up with my claws, gave it a small shake to remove most of the water before I dropped it back into my satchel before I lowered my muzzle and took a long drink from the bowl of water.
Waste not and all that. A small drink and then I put the bowl back into the satchel.
I looked over at the mountain again and then I spread my wings.
Halfway towards the mountain and then I'll take another reading. Not the fastest way, but it will lead me towards her.
Sooner or later.
Hopefully I will get there before she need my help.
I took to the strangely colored skies again.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Two days later I was floating on the thermals high in the air, scanning the horizon and ground beneath me.
The search was slower than I would like. I had done several more scryings, continuing to update the direction.
Sadly, I also needed to search for food and water. Food was not too bad, there were these hordes of... strange animals.
The porcupine-pig thing didn't taste as good as deer or mammoth, but it was edible. Burning it actually made it taste better for once.
The biggest problem was water. It was warm and I needed a decent amount. There were no streams so I had to spend a couple of hours a day condensing water from the air so I had something to drink.
At the very least, the sunbaked red earth below gave the most amazing thermals, making it easy to keep afloat with a minimum of effort.
In the distance there was a massive dark-brown wall stretching between the cliffs, a massive fortress. The wall was broken in several locations. Luckily the scrying trace did not point directly towards it, instead heading off to the left.
I frowned into the wind as the sun started to set in the distance. I would need to find somewhere to land to sleep soon. Yes, I could fly through the night but I could very easily completely miss her group then.
That's when a flash of light in the distance caught my attention.
That was a fireball.
Beating my wings I sped up, banking slightly to change my course slightly. In the distance I could see some tents around a burned out firepit.
That's not where the light of the fireball was through, that was about a kilometer further away.
I kept flying as I wove the Blur spell around me again to keep me from being spotted.
It was them!
They were running towards the camp. Five of them. Marcus, the warrior in his shiny armor was easy to locate, as was Sheila, the mage in her white robe. From time to time she turned to fling a green fireball at the chasing group of red skinned Orcs.
The Gnome was riding on the back of a large purple cat and...
Venir. She was running, Tiral fluttering along as she stopped, from time to time taking a potshot at the chasing Orcs with her crossbow.
I growled and banked around as I flew above them under my Blur spell, going into a dive that would bring me up behind the Orcs.
One of them stopped running and pulled an arrow from his quiver, taking aim with his bow.
No you don't.
Skimming the earth I hit him from behind, my claws digging into his back as I pulled up hard, pulling into a rolling immelmann turn, letting go at the peak, causing him to fly through the air, screaming.
Banking around I channeled my magic, taking a deep breath and as I passed above the main Orc group I let lose my breath weapon.
At least this was something I could do! It would take a especially pathetic dragon not to manage that!
Icebreath might not have the same 'punch' as acid or fire, but there is something to say for instant frostbite.
My wings dug into the air as I banked again, coming in for landing between the orcs and the group of adventurers, letting out a loud roar at the orcs.
The orcs seemed to be brighter than they looked. They turned and ran for the hills.
I snorted, growling as I looked after them before turning to find that the adventurers had stopped running, instead aiming their weapons in my direction.
I sighed, sitting down on the sun baked earth, folding my wings up as I titled my head, eyeing them.
Nobody said anything for a long moment as I turned my head to look at Venir. She looked good. Brand new black leather armor. It was much more coveringthan her old stuff. She was even wearing a helmet.
Her crossbow was also new. It looked heavier, sturdier.
Venir slowly lowered her crossbow and took a couple of steps closer. "...Atreus?"
"It's me." I said, lowering my head in a nod. "It is good to see you again."
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
Wow.
Now that was a sight.
There was a second armed camp on this side, almost identical to the one on the other side, but they were no more ready for me than the camp in Azeroth.
I beat my wings, flying faster as I flew over the walls to the sound of shouts of warning. Ignoring them, I banked to the right, following the landscape to get into cover behind a ridge to keep me arrow and spell proof.
Who knew you could learn this stuff by flying arcade flight sims on the internet.
Hugging the landscape for another ten minutes I climbed again, flying up to a tall cliff to land on the narrow tip before pulling up and flapping my wings twice before I landed, digging my claws into the red rock of the cliff as I folded my wings.
I looked back at the portal and armed camp in the distance before I looked around, taking in the view.
Wow.
There were planets in the skies, streams of yellow-green energy crossing the purple skies. Uh. Wow.
Was this a moon or something?
Then I looked to the other side and found that there was no more planet. Now, I did read that Ourland was heavily damaged, but there is one way to know it and another to see it.
The ground just stopped and then there was a drop.
Okay, so not a planet or moon or there would be no atmosphere. Screw it, I'll figure that out later. Right now it didn't matter.
Now I needed to find my friend. Well, I was at the right planet. Moon. Rock floating in space, whatever.
Problem... I could hardly ask somebody for directions.
Well, I could, but it would be difficult hearing the answer over all the screaming.
Which meant looking for myself.
Luckily... not completely from scratch.
Floating a bowl from my satchel I put it on the rocky ground. A quick spell... well, quick and quick, it took almost ten minutes to condense enough water... and it was about half full.
Good enough.
Nodding I turned to peek into the right satchel. Now where did I put... there.
Floating a needle capped with a pair of pieces of cork.
I taking it in my claws I closed my eyes, channeling magic into it. Scrying... not my best school of magic. That's saying something as well. But it was hardly my worst either.
But it was important enough for me to put special time into learning how to do it. It worked best with blood, belongings... that kind of thing. Memories could be good enough if you knew the person well.
I knew Venir. I spend over two months with her in close company. I knew her.
Targos said that somebody who was good at it could make pictures show up. Hell, he showed me a real time feed of his shop while he wasteaching me how to do this.
I couldn't do that. Sure, give me half an hour of preparation and a bunch of props and I can look into the next room, but that's about my limit when it come to the advanced stuff.
At any distance, I was screwed. I simply was not good enough to manage it. Getting an image got exponentially harder with range.
However... this was not the advanced stuff.
Opening my eyes I dropped the needle into the bowl. It swung around a couple of times before pointing to the... actually, I have no idea what direction it was. It was towards a mountain far into the distance.
I looked in that direction before looking back down to the needle again, giving it a poke and turning it to the right with my claw tip before letting go.
It spun back to point towards the mountain in the distance.
I can not get a picture. Not at a distance, not with just memories as guide. But I could get a direction.
The best part of the three days waiting for Targos to get the gear together was spent practicing this.
Venir was in that direction.
Nodding, I scooped the needle up with my claws, gave it a small shake to remove most of the water before I dropped it back into my satchel before I lowered my muzzle and took a long drink from the bowl of water.
Waste not and all that. A small drink and then I put the bowl back into the satchel.
I looked over at the mountain again and then I spread my wings.
Halfway towards the mountain and then I'll take another reading. Not the fastest way, but it will lead me towards her.
Sooner or later.
Hopefully I will get there before she need my help.
I took to the strangely colored skies again.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Two days later I was floating on the thermals high in the air, scanning the horizon and ground beneath me.
The search was slower than I would like. I had done several more scryings, continuing to update the direction.
Sadly, I also needed to search for food and water. Food was not too bad, there were these hordes of... strange animals.
The porcupine-pig thing didn't taste as good as deer or mammoth, but it was edible. Burning it actually made it taste better for once.
The biggest problem was water. It was warm and I needed a decent amount. There were no streams so I had to spend a couple of hours a day condensing water from the air so I had something to drink.
At the very least, the sunbaked red earth below gave the most amazing thermals, making it easy to keep afloat with a minimum of effort.
In the distance there was a massive dark-brown wall stretching between the cliffs, a massive fortress. The wall was broken in several locations. Luckily the scrying trace did not point directly towards it, instead heading off to the left.
I frowned into the wind as the sun started to set in the distance. I would need to find somewhere to land to sleep soon. Yes, I could fly through the night but I could very easily completely miss her group then.
That's when a flash of light in the distance caught my attention.
That was a fireball.
Beating my wings I sped up, banking slightly to change my course slightly. In the distance I could see some tents around a burned out firepit.
That's not where the light of the fireball was through, that was about a kilometer further away.
I kept flying as I wove the Blur spell around me again to keep me from being spotted.
It was them!
They were running towards the camp. Five of them. Marcus, the warrior in his shiny armor was easy to locate, as was Sheila, the mage in her white robe. From time to time she turned to fling a green fireball at the chasing group of red skinned Orcs.
The Gnome was riding on the back of a large purple cat and...
Venir. She was running, Tiral fluttering along as she stopped, from time to time taking a potshot at the chasing Orcs with her crossbow.
I growled and banked around as I flew above them under my Blur spell, going into a dive that would bring me up behind the Orcs.
One of them stopped running and pulled an arrow from his quiver, taking aim with his bow.
No you don't.
Skimming the earth I hit him from behind, my claws digging into his back as I pulled up hard, pulling into a rolling immelmann turn, letting go at the peak, causing him to fly through the air, screaming.
Banking around I channeled my magic, taking a deep breath and as I passed above the main Orc group I let lose my breath weapon.
At least this was something I could do! It would take a especially pathetic dragon not to manage that!
Icebreath might not have the same 'punch' as acid or fire, but there is something to say for instant frostbite.
My wings dug into the air as I banked again, coming in for landing between the orcs and the group of adventurers, letting out a loud roar at the orcs.
The orcs seemed to be brighter than they looked. They turned and ran for the hills.
I snorted, growling as I looked after them before turning to find that the adventurers had stopped running, instead aiming their weapons in my direction.
I sighed, sitting down on the sun baked earth, folding my wings up as I titled my head, eyeing them.
Nobody said anything for a long moment as I turned my head to look at Venir. She looked good. Brand new black leather armor. It was much more coveringthan her old stuff. She was even wearing a helmet.
Her crossbow was also new. It looked heavier, sturdier.
Venir slowly lowered her crossbow and took a couple of steps closer. "...Atreus?"
"It's me." I said, lowering my head in a nod. "It is good to see you again."
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
Last edited:
"It's me." I said, lowering my head in a nod. "It is good to see you again."
Really? That's the best you've got... *grin*
"You find the most interesting places to visit...."
"Miss me?"
"Looking Good...* with a practices eye ridge waggle...
"Well, I was in the neighborhood, thought I'd drop in..."
"I just flew in from Azeroth, and BOY are my arms tired... Yeah, that would have been funnier if I, you know, wasn't a dragon now... damn...."
Really? That's the best you've got... *grin*
"You find the most interesting places to visit...."
"Miss me?"
"Looking Good...* with a practices eye ridge waggle...
"Well, I was in the neighborhood, thought I'd drop in..."
"I just flew in from Azeroth, and BOY are my arms tired... Yeah, that would have been funnier if I, you know, wasn't a dragon now... damn...."
Want to know the sound made when a dragon introduces itself after landing on an orc?
"Uruk-" "Hai!"
(Why the torches and pitchforks, guys?)
Good chapter, nice to see Atregos/Atreus meeting back up with Venir. I see a missing space, though...
"Uruk-" "Hai!"
(Why the torches and pitchforks, guys?)
Good chapter, nice to see Atregos/Atreus meeting back up with Venir. I see a missing space, though...
Vaalintine
Wild Wondorous Wolfalope
And then Atregos and Venir wad to pick up assorted jaws from the ground.
Zap Rowsdower
Ex-cultist vagrant
- Location
- Bright lights, big city
- Pronouns
- He/Him
"I wassss oncccce a mann..."
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. Always wanted to say that, long story."
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. Always wanted to say that, long story."
"Venir... What is going on..." Marcus, the warrior, slowly asked, his sword in hand, his shield not quite lifted in my direction.
"It's Atreus... my friend. You met him before...It's okay. It's safe." she said and lowered her crossbow slowly, seeming a bit shocked at my appearance.
Trying to be as non-threatening as I could, I lay down, crossing my frontlegs and resting my head on them, "I told you what would happen.", I said.
"This is the scholarly looking guy we saved from Deadmines!?" the gnome asked, his eyes wide, "He was a dragon!?"
"I am a dragon." I answered for her. She seemed to have stayed quiet about what happened. It was a secret of The Flight after all.
Venir let her crossbow hang in it's strap and slowly removed her helmet as she started to approach. "You... did say what would happen. But seeing it is..." she started to say as she stopped a couple of meters away from me, "It's... different."
She seemed nervous.
Damn it. It hurt to have her look at me like that.
"I'm still me." I said softly.
Nodding she moved up to me, kneeling next to my frontpaws to look into my amber right eye. "I believe you." She said as she reached out, putting her hand on my neck, her hand shaking slightly.
I didn't move.
"Did it work?" She asked softly and I glanced at the rest of her group. They kept their distance and had not put their weapons away, but at least they were not aiming them in my direction.
I nodded, "It did. My magic works like it should now." I said softly back.
She smiled faintly. "Worth it?"
I tilted my head in thought. "Not sure. I have learned a lot, though... I think it might have been. In time, I will learn to retake mortal form. Might take a while though."
Venir nodded, running her hand along my neck. "Why did you come here?"
Snorting, I shook my head slightly. "I got your letter. I was not about to let you face this place alone."
She sighed. "Well... I'm glad you did. The orc bandits we were hired to drive away turned out to be... a bit more numerous than we were told. Thank you."
"Your camp was the one I saw on the way?"
Venir nodded again, pulling back. "It is. We were on our way there. The mounts are there, we could have used them to escape. Come on, we should get going to camp. It's going to be dark soon."
I nodded and got to my paws, stretching my wings for a moment. Damn, I really need to practice long distance flying more. I was sore all over.
"Venir! Can we talk to you for a moment?" the the human in the armor called out to her as the cat changed back into that purple skinned elf with the long ears.
"Give me a second?" she asked before walking over to join the group.
I simply sat down and waited as they had a whispered conversation that involved a lot of gesturing in my direction.
Looks like her companions were significantly less comfortable with my presence. Not that I could blame them.
I did look somewhat scary and I was a dragon. Even after the defeat of Deathwing when the flights worked together with the mortals, I doubt that they would forget all the damage he caused. Never mind the trouble Malygos created for the flight in his madness.
It took a couple of moments before she walked back to me.
I frowned. "Your group did not seem happy about it."
"Tell me something only Atreus would know." She said with a smile.
I tilted my head in thought and snorted in amusement, "First thing I did after waking up was to try to take apart your fathers magical lamp."
Venir grinned at that, turning back towards her group, "It's him. Now can we get going!?"
The trek back to camp was pretty quiet, the rest kept shooting looks at me. I ignored them.
"How have you been, Venir?" I asked on the way, padding along with her behind the rest of the group.
"I have been... good. It's different from what you and I did. Less... sitting around being bored. It's not all danger either. A lot of it is simpler jobs like clearing spiders off a farm." she said as she walked along. Tiral, her moth, was keeping his distance from me. A lot of distance. "And you?"
How the hell did I answer that.
"It's been... interesting. Everything has been very different. Honestly, the worst thing has been eating raw meat. Cooked actually tastes worse." I answered with a small sigh.
She snorted at that. "Well... maybe it's best for everyone that you don't need to cook any more."
I chuckled and shook my head.
Well, she had a point there.
AN// Several thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
"It's Atreus... my friend. You met him before...It's okay. It's safe." she said and lowered her crossbow slowly, seeming a bit shocked at my appearance.
Trying to be as non-threatening as I could, I lay down, crossing my frontlegs and resting my head on them, "I told you what would happen.", I said.
"This is the scholarly looking guy we saved from Deadmines!?" the gnome asked, his eyes wide, "He was a dragon!?"
"I am a dragon." I answered for her. She seemed to have stayed quiet about what happened. It was a secret of The Flight after all.
Venir let her crossbow hang in it's strap and slowly removed her helmet as she started to approach. "You... did say what would happen. But seeing it is..." she started to say as she stopped a couple of meters away from me, "It's... different."
She seemed nervous.
Damn it. It hurt to have her look at me like that.
"I'm still me." I said softly.
Nodding she moved up to me, kneeling next to my frontpaws to look into my amber right eye. "I believe you." She said as she reached out, putting her hand on my neck, her hand shaking slightly.
I didn't move.
"Did it work?" She asked softly and I glanced at the rest of her group. They kept their distance and had not put their weapons away, but at least they were not aiming them in my direction.
I nodded, "It did. My magic works like it should now." I said softly back.
She smiled faintly. "Worth it?"
I tilted my head in thought. "Not sure. I have learned a lot, though... I think it might have been. In time, I will learn to retake mortal form. Might take a while though."
Venir nodded, running her hand along my neck. "Why did you come here?"
Snorting, I shook my head slightly. "I got your letter. I was not about to let you face this place alone."
She sighed. "Well... I'm glad you did. The orc bandits we were hired to drive away turned out to be... a bit more numerous than we were told. Thank you."
"Your camp was the one I saw on the way?"
Venir nodded again, pulling back. "It is. We were on our way there. The mounts are there, we could have used them to escape. Come on, we should get going to camp. It's going to be dark soon."
I nodded and got to my paws, stretching my wings for a moment. Damn, I really need to practice long distance flying more. I was sore all over.
"Venir! Can we talk to you for a moment?" the the human in the armor called out to her as the cat changed back into that purple skinned elf with the long ears.
"Give me a second?" she asked before walking over to join the group.
I simply sat down and waited as they had a whispered conversation that involved a lot of gesturing in my direction.
Looks like her companions were significantly less comfortable with my presence. Not that I could blame them.
I did look somewhat scary and I was a dragon. Even after the defeat of Deathwing when the flights worked together with the mortals, I doubt that they would forget all the damage he caused. Never mind the trouble Malygos created for the flight in his madness.
It took a couple of moments before she walked back to me.
I frowned. "Your group did not seem happy about it."
"Tell me something only Atreus would know." She said with a smile.
I tilted my head in thought and snorted in amusement, "First thing I did after waking up was to try to take apart your fathers magical lamp."
Venir grinned at that, turning back towards her group, "It's him. Now can we get going!?"
The trek back to camp was pretty quiet, the rest kept shooting looks at me. I ignored them.
"How have you been, Venir?" I asked on the way, padding along with her behind the rest of the group.
"I have been... good. It's different from what you and I did. Less... sitting around being bored. It's not all danger either. A lot of it is simpler jobs like clearing spiders off a farm." she said as she walked along. Tiral, her moth, was keeping his distance from me. A lot of distance. "And you?"
How the hell did I answer that.
"It's been... interesting. Everything has been very different. Honestly, the worst thing has been eating raw meat. Cooked actually tastes worse." I answered with a small sigh.
She snorted at that. "Well... maybe it's best for everyone that you don't need to cook any more."
I chuckled and shook my head.
Well, she had a point there.
AN// Several thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
Awww Venir was shaking.
Glad to see Areus I see.
Glad to see Areus I see.
Professor Vesca
Good News Everyone!
Bah! Shammy pride!
noahgab1133
Fluffy?
five bucks guard takes a shot at him without talking
Weero
Taijiquan Initiate
It'd have to be an exceedingly stupid guard that takes a shot at a calm, non-aggressive dragon, placidly walking alongside a group of people.
asdx
Superior Sword Fairy
- Location
- Texas.
You would be horrified at the kind of dumb shit people do.
Its an important position. They won't let the equivilent of a hick guard there.
The guards may be a bit on edge around a dragon. Don't think it'll happen.
10
I sighed softly, relaxing with my head against my paws as I floated the book in front of my snout. The light of a illusionary light above my head giving just enough light to read by.
The group had retreated to their tents.
Sheila and Venir shared a tent and Marcus and Sparklight did as well.
Shieldforest, the druid had turned into a big cat and curled up by the fire.
The camp was pretty small. A couple of tents and a firepit. Two other things also stood out. A white gryphon was laying at the other end of camp next to a gyrocopter.
A pair of flying mounts. Well, transports. But there were only two... The gyrocopter only had one small seat and the gryphon could no more than carry three people. I assumed Shieldforest flew on his own.
Everyone was tired though, there had not been much time to talk, not even with Venir. They just had a short meal and then headed for bed.
Understandable, they had been fighting and running for hours.
The druid kept quite a close eye on me though, you could see his half closed eyes glint in the light of the dying fire as he watched me from across the camp.
Well, I wouldn't have trusted me either.
It seemed like a good group. Like they had a handle on what they were doing.
Movement in the corner of my eye pulled my attention from my book on fire magic to see Venir exit her tent. She looked around and then headed in my direction.
"Hey." she said as she dropped down next to me.
"Hey." I answered quietly as I closed the book and floated it back into my satchel as I cancelled the light, "Thought you were sleeping."
She shrugged, "Couldn't sleep." she said as she looked at me, "...I can't believe it's you."
I snorted softly, "Yes you do. I don't think you would be this close to a random dragon."
Venir smiled slightly and poked my neck, "You know what I mean."
I nodded and sighed, closing my eyes in focus to undo the leather straps keeping my helmet on before floating it off me and putting it on the ground next to me, "I do. How do you think it feels from this side? I still find myself tripping over my own wings sometimes."
She snorted at that and ran her hand along my head before shifting to sit with her back against my shoulder, "Now I know it's you."
"Very funny."
As I turned my head to put it on the ground next to her so I could watch her, she rested her hand on it between my horns.
Venir sighed softly, "I'm glad you are here... You really saved our hides earlier. We might have made it back to the mounts, but we might have just as easily been caught before we made it. Thank you."
I shifted my wings slightly at that, "What happened?" I asked, shifting the subject slightly.
She shrugged, "Information we got was wrong. Orc bandits have been hitting caravans going through Hellfire Peninsula. We were told that there were eight of them and that they were holed up in a old fort a couple of hours of walk from here. Turn out that there was not eight. More like forty. They spotted us when we tried to abort. You know the rest."
Nodding I frowned, "So why Outland? Not enough work back on Azeroth?"
"Better pay for the same work. Danger is higher but... well..." she answered and sighed, "We thought we were ready to handle it."
"If the quest was as advertised, I'm sure you would be." I said before I raised my head and looked over at the Gryphon who was watching me in return, "Did the Orcs get the rest of the mounts or something? I only see two."
Venir grinned at that, "Sparklight has his machine, Marcus has his gryphon. Shiela has a flying carpet in the tent and Shieldforest can fly on his own. I'm saving up for my own gryphon, but they are expensive. I have been riding with Marcus."
I blinked and looked at the white gryphon before turning my head to look at Venir, "Not any more. I can carry you."
"You would do that?" she asked with a small frown, "Really?"
I nodded, "After everything you done for me? Of course. There is no way I'd abandon you here anyway. If I'm already here, I might as well be of some use."
Venir leaned down and hugged me around the neck, "Thank you."
Not being able to hug back kind of sucked.
"So what is the plan now?" I asked as she let go, returning to leaning her back against my shoulder.
She shrugged, resting her hand between my horns, "I'm not sure. Marcus is the leader, I'm sure he will have a plan tomorrow. We might need to abandon the quest though, there is simply to many of them."
"Even with a dragon on your side?" I asked, glancing up at her.
She slowly started to grin and hugged me around the neck again, "Missed you, Atreus."
I leaned into her touch, "Missed you too."
AN// All the thanks to tkioz for betaing this section.
Also, I'm cutting down to posting on just weekdays now, no weekends. Give me time to tinker with other hidden fun stuff on the weekends.
The group had retreated to their tents.
Sheila and Venir shared a tent and Marcus and Sparklight did as well.
Shieldforest, the druid had turned into a big cat and curled up by the fire.
The camp was pretty small. A couple of tents and a firepit. Two other things also stood out. A white gryphon was laying at the other end of camp next to a gyrocopter.
A pair of flying mounts. Well, transports. But there were only two... The gyrocopter only had one small seat and the gryphon could no more than carry three people. I assumed Shieldforest flew on his own.
Everyone was tired though, there had not been much time to talk, not even with Venir. They just had a short meal and then headed for bed.
Understandable, they had been fighting and running for hours.
The druid kept quite a close eye on me though, you could see his half closed eyes glint in the light of the dying fire as he watched me from across the camp.
Well, I wouldn't have trusted me either.
It seemed like a good group. Like they had a handle on what they were doing.
Movement in the corner of my eye pulled my attention from my book on fire magic to see Venir exit her tent. She looked around and then headed in my direction.
"Hey." she said as she dropped down next to me.
"Hey." I answered quietly as I closed the book and floated it back into my satchel as I cancelled the light, "Thought you were sleeping."
She shrugged, "Couldn't sleep." she said as she looked at me, "...I can't believe it's you."
I snorted softly, "Yes you do. I don't think you would be this close to a random dragon."
Venir smiled slightly and poked my neck, "You know what I mean."
I nodded and sighed, closing my eyes in focus to undo the leather straps keeping my helmet on before floating it off me and putting it on the ground next to me, "I do. How do you think it feels from this side? I still find myself tripping over my own wings sometimes."
She snorted at that and ran her hand along my head before shifting to sit with her back against my shoulder, "Now I know it's you."
"Very funny."
As I turned my head to put it on the ground next to her so I could watch her, she rested her hand on it between my horns.
Venir sighed softly, "I'm glad you are here... You really saved our hides earlier. We might have made it back to the mounts, but we might have just as easily been caught before we made it. Thank you."
I shifted my wings slightly at that, "What happened?" I asked, shifting the subject slightly.
She shrugged, "Information we got was wrong. Orc bandits have been hitting caravans going through Hellfire Peninsula. We were told that there were eight of them and that they were holed up in a old fort a couple of hours of walk from here. Turn out that there was not eight. More like forty. They spotted us when we tried to abort. You know the rest."
Nodding I frowned, "So why Outland? Not enough work back on Azeroth?"
"Better pay for the same work. Danger is higher but... well..." she answered and sighed, "We thought we were ready to handle it."
"If the quest was as advertised, I'm sure you would be." I said before I raised my head and looked over at the Gryphon who was watching me in return, "Did the Orcs get the rest of the mounts or something? I only see two."
Venir grinned at that, "Sparklight has his machine, Marcus has his gryphon. Shiela has a flying carpet in the tent and Shieldforest can fly on his own. I'm saving up for my own gryphon, but they are expensive. I have been riding with Marcus."
I blinked and looked at the white gryphon before turning my head to look at Venir, "Not any more. I can carry you."
"You would do that?" she asked with a small frown, "Really?"
I nodded, "After everything you done for me? Of course. There is no way I'd abandon you here anyway. If I'm already here, I might as well be of some use."
Venir leaned down and hugged me around the neck, "Thank you."
Not being able to hug back kind of sucked.
"So what is the plan now?" I asked as she let go, returning to leaning her back against my shoulder.
She shrugged, resting her hand between my horns, "I'm not sure. Marcus is the leader, I'm sure he will have a plan tomorrow. We might need to abandon the quest though, there is simply to many of them."
"Even with a dragon on your side?" I asked, glancing up at her.
She slowly started to grin and hugged me around the neck again, "Missed you, Atreus."
I leaned into her touch, "Missed you too."
AN// All the thanks to tkioz for betaing this section.
Also, I'm cutting down to posting on just weekdays now, no weekends. Give me time to tinker with other hidden fun stuff on the weekends.
- Location
- Fabulously Rainbow Ireland
NO YOU FOOL! DON'T PULL OUT THE ADAMANTIUM! How will we read the rest of the Story when you've gotten yourself and your
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pheonix89
Wants to be Seven Of Nine
- Location
- North American Plaguelands
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Come on, Arteus, introduce the orcs to joys of aerial bombardment, now in thermodynamics-breaking ice-beam format.