Chapter 28: Dragon Riders

“We need to get out of here,” said Big Mindar. The halfling was now gripping the hilt of his dagger, and looked like he was ready to run at any moment. “We should report back to Xarok before someone in this army sees us.”

“No,” said Ricky softly. “I have a better plan.”

Meanwhile the adoring crowds from Roker Bridge was thinning as the huge vehicle moved onwards. Perhaps they had run out of flowers to throw, or become hoarse. Or maybe they just didn’t want to stray too far from home. Either way, the large majority of civilians were starting to make their way back to the sprawling town.

Ricky could now see that there were guards marching alongside the convoy of dragon riders – around two dozen, all in green armor and gleaming silver helmets that concealed their face entirely. These warriors appeared to now be pushing the stragglers away – and not always gently.

Ahead, the area around the road narrowed as it neared the coast to the right, while the forest loomed closer on its left.

“I’m leaving,” murmured Big Mindar.

“No, Mindar,” said Ricky urgently, looking around at his companions. “We need you, man. We can’t go back now. This is our chance. I am ninety percent certain that those two dragon riders are people that I know from... well, from another phase of my life. When they were simple agricultural workers.”

“That must have been a long time ago,” said Channia, fingering her bow as she gazed in the direction of the huge vehicle.

“It feels like it.”

“Ricky,” said Mindar, his voice high and anxious, “those dragon riders are both deadly warriors. The sorceress is a high-ranking member of the Green Hand Guild, I am sure of it. The male warrior, well – I don’t know. But he is a dragon rider, and a hero of Roker Bridge. That makes him both rich and dangerous. Tackling them would be madness. This is not our fight, not our priority. We must make for Imperialis.”

“I think I can find a way to make a difference,” snapped Ricky, glaring at the halfling. He was disappointed not to see more of the heroism that he had expected from Mindar, as a core guild member.

“Only powerful magic can stop these foes,” said Big Mindar darkly.

“I was hoping to try persuasion,” Ricky replied. “Or failing that, sabotage.”

*Achievement: Very impressive! Your rhetorical skills have briefly wowed your companions. +10XP.

Huh, thought Ricky, noting the word ‘briefly’.

They had now started to move along in the same direction as the huge convoy, although Big Mindar was soon lagging behind. And a couple of minutes later, the halfling had clearly had enough of the pursuit. “I am returning to find Xarok!” he called out. “I’m sorry. Stay safe out there, and do not risk losing that orb! We need it!” With that, he turned and ran for the trees.

Channia looked around, frowning after at the fleeing halfling. “I could shoot the coward down, if you like. Or follow and track.”

“No. Let him go,” said Ricky, turning and continuing to walk after the dragon riders. “There is a job to do here. Though I do believe he had all of the cooking utensils. Have you got any food with you?” Although it could not have been more than an hour since they ate the steaks, his hunger had now returned with a vengeance. He noticed that Channia’s neck and shoulders were bare and delicious-looking, and tried to dismiss this thought from his mind.

“No,” she replied, “but my waterskin is full. Take a drink to fill your stomach.” She handed it over, and Ricky drank deeply, then handed it back. Whether coincidentally or not, this was followed by another healing notification:

*Healing report: You have gained 2 hit points (40 remain).

His stomach was still complaining, however. It occurred to him that despite the frequent hunger pangs, he hadn’t seen a system notification to warn of any potential disadvantage from this trait, the way he had seen in the past from hunger and fatigue.

It was just the cost of being a lycanthrope, he supposed.

On the subject of lycanthropy...

Guide – I was still in beast-form this morning, right? When the others found me.

“Indeed,” replied the Guide’s voice.

But I didn’t actually change. I did it yesterday. So can I change today?

“Yes, of course, Ricky. You can only transform from human form once every 24 hours, and you haven’t done so yet today.”

Great.

As they had walked on, the pair had moved into the trees, walking along parallel within the road. Leaves crunched underfoot. Ahead, the huge vehicle with the dragons on board was no more than a hundred yards ahead, off to their right. The green-cloaked warriors had now moved to the front, ahead of the draft elephants, and with the gathered civilians almost all gone now, Ricky saw that there were servants and supply carts walking immediately behind the great transport. He also realized that even from this distance he could smell the sweat of the elephants themselves, and felt that on some level he could sense the heat of their hulking bodies.

What a feast one of those would be...

The dragons themselves, however, were sluggish, barely moving. Ricky sensed that the great beasts were resting, and perhaps still cold at this early hour, if his past knowledge of reptiles served any use in the Framework. Surprisingly – at least to Ricky – the two riders had stayed in the saddle of the beasts, swaying slightly as the huge wagon moved further along the road.

Behind, further military movements could be seen, again each apparently taking its own time. The next gathering consisted of a trio of what appeared to be supply wagons, each drawn by a pair of donkeys, the carts piled high and covered with sheeting. Many more servants trailed behind. Further back still, a quartet of heavily-armored knights could be seen on horseback.

“We’re getting close to where my people live,” said Channia suddenly, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the trees.

Ricky looked around at her. “This close to the edge of the forest?”

She shook her head angrily. “No. We don’t dwell by the side of the road like beggars. Don’t believe any lies that you hear about my tribe. Besides – can you see any of the mighty trees that I told you about growing here?”

Ricky shook his head, looking around. “I’m sorry. No – these all look like normal trees to me. So how deep into the forest do they live?”

“We are already within the domain that is claimed by my tribe,” she replied, “but not at our heartlands.”

“It is a vast forest, I suppose.”

She nodded. “It stretches up past the Moondew Mountains and into a peninsula known as the Land of Ribex in the north, and right across to the north west of the continent of Portalis from there. Here we are almost at its southmost tip, sadly.”

He glanced around at his companion again. “You say ‘sadly’ because of the tree felling?”

She nodded. “Yes. It is a source of abiding woe to us that we cannot sit in the boughs of our homes and look out to sea – as our ancestors did. And we do not forget the crimes that were committed in that long ago time.”

“Perhaps we need to remind the Rokerians about that.”

The dragon riders were stopping.

Ricky and Channia had followed along for a further hour on the road, and had not long left the last fringes of the forest behind. As they did so, they had come closer to the road itself, though were still more than a hundred yards back from the great wagon, and somewhat less distant from the supply carts and servants.

The spires of Imperialis were just visible in the distance ahead of them now, so when the convoy had come to a stop, Ricky presumed that this was just a rest stop, or perhaps an early lunch. This initial inkling seemed to be correct, for the gathered forces were starting to settle down to eat and rest.

The dragons had now clambered right out of the wagons and were stretching their long scaled limbs. Something about the beasts’ movements reminded Ricky more of frogs than of lizards; the legs were powerful, and he imagined that they could run or jump rapidly. Servants had moved forward to tether the monstrous steeds to long chains, the other end of each chain being attached to the wagon itself. With this done, the riders had at last dismounted, with further servants preparing food and setting up a makeshift canopy alongside the road.

The green-cloaked guards, meanwhile, had moved up the road in both directions. Apparently nobody would be allowed to approach the dragon riders and their great mounts. Ricky could understand their caution; these must – surely – be rare and valuable beasts, and a crown jewel in the attacking army as a whole.

All the same, he really needed to speak to the riders, and establish whether they really were Julie and another companion from the camp, as he suspected, but could not yet be certain.

*Quest 043 (level 1): Speak to the dragon riders.

*Quest 044 (level 1): Establish the identity of the dragon riders.

Channia looked behind her and then glanced around at Ricky. “It doesn’t look like they are going to welcome visitors.”

“No. But we are going to need to find a way.”

As he spoke, Ricky recalled his initial arrival in the refugee camp. It hadn’t just been a matter of will or good fortune that had seen him enter the camp before the gates closed for the day. No. Simple bribery, using the money he had fortuitously found upon the road, had made all the difference. And Xarok, too, had greased the palm of the guards on their way into Imperialis.

“What do you say – a few silvers might persuade them to let us pass?”

Channia narrowed her eyes. “Perhaps. But I am guessing that these are elite guards, very loyal to the Green Hand Guild and to the Rokerian King. They might be harder to sway than ordinary town guards or village officials.”

“True.” He glanced all around them, and then looked at Channia’s bow. “There’s also the tactic we tried back at the waterfall...”

Her eyes widened. “I hope you are not serious? Firing on goblins was one thing, but shooting at dragon riders and experienced warriors on their way to a battle?”

“I know, I know. Just a passing thought. I was thinking that if something could cause a distraction for the guards, I could sneak in and speak to the dragon riders.”

“Your beast-form might be quite distracting.” Her green eyes sparkled as she spoke.

“Yes.” He sighed. “The thing is, if I turn into a wolf and lead them off, then I can’t get in and speak to the riders myself. If Xarok was here to do it, that would be different.”

Channia stepped back from the road, gazing back towards the forest. The closest edge was now around a mile back. “I mean, I guess if I shot from a little way back, and then ran for the trees...”

Ricky peered at her, feeling some concern for the safety of his loyal hireling. “No. You are right – that can’t be the distraction we use. It’s not a really a viable option.” He then looked back towards the cloaked warriors, who were still maintaining their orderly line across the road, though one of them was now swigging from a bottle of ale, and two others were smoking pipes.

“Look, come on,” said Rick, nodding his head in their direction and beginning to walk. “Let’s try to be direct.”

He strode on towards the green-cloaked warriors on the road, raising his hand in greeting as he got closer. Channia hurried to keep up, and soon they were only around twenty yards away.

“Stop there,” called out a guard from amid the company on the road. “None may approach General Amora-Khush.”

And in doing so, he further supported Ricky’s belief about the riders.

*Quest 034 complete: Find the demonkind sorceress Amora-Khush, or the warrior Zurx. +50XP

*Quest 044 update: Establish the identity of the second dragon rider.

“None at all?” Ricky called out, stopping and placing his hands on his chest and doing his best to put on a shocked face. “Not even her own close friend? I have travelled for many miles to offer my coin to support the war effort. A dozen gold for every soldier, that’s what I promised my beloved companion and oldest friend, Amora-Khush. We were raised together, and although she is demonkind and I am human, we are as close as siblings.”

Channia looked around at Ricky, raising an eyebrow. But the soldier stroked his short beard, thinking.

*Achievement: Puncture their disbelief! You have caused an NPC to reconsider their position. +10XP

That notification sounded good, thought Ricky, but perhaps not quite enough. He grunted, and then pulled the pouch of bale leaf from inside his tunic. “Never mind, then, good soldiers,” he said. “I am sure I can pass my coin on another time, to the profit of a different group of troops. Thank you for your service! And may I trouble you for a light from your pipe?” As he spoke, Ricky had rolled up the leaf; it was tough and flexible, like thick paper. The guard grunted, then held out his pipe. Ricky pressed the rolled leaf close, puffing and sucking on it until it began to glow red and let off a misty and pungent blue smoke.

There was an immediate response from the Framework:

*Buff: likeable. You gain a benefit to all social skills for 1 hour.

“Thanks, man,” said Ricky, exhaling the rich smoke as he spoke. “And as I say, I won’t trouble you any further. And my old friend’s anger when she hears about this treatment for her childhood sweetheart is not really my problem.”

*Achievement: You’ve got a point! You have caused an NPC to change their mind. +20XP

“Actually,” said the lead guard, passing his pipe to a comrade and putting one hand on Ricky’s shoulder, “I can take you over to speak to her marshal-at-arms. I am sure it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Right?”

“My thoughts exactly, brave soldier.”

Accumulated XP: 1810 (unspent: 310)