The Dragonslayer village underwent a transformation while Blood River and Five were out ranging, with much of the surrounding tall grassland leveled and a tent city raised in the vicinity. The pair had been apprised of the situation remotely and were not surprised at the changes on their arrival.

They slowed down as they came close enough to discern the people moving around the tents. The occupants were a mix of displaced refugees and dispatched warriors from the clan villages.

"Remember, River," Five told her lover, "once we enter you are a free agent here to assist. If the clan chiefs object, we can't apply much pressure ourselves to change the situation."

River shrugged. "Then you won't have to worry about my lack of restraint reflecting on you either, then. If they're anything like I expect, then they're stupid and short-sighted enough to forget that they can't face Brave Dragon themselves." He smiled. "But they fear that kind of power nonetheless. I'm a ruthless devil, a legendary bloodsucker that even the Den fears. I can play the part."

Five sighed. "It sucks that you have to."

"That's how it goes. I don't care," he replied, cracking his knuckles, "I just need them to clear the way so I can face Brave Dragon one-on-one."

"You're really confident about that?" Five expressed her skepticism at the bold claim.

River nodded. "We've been on the move a lot this past month, but neither of us has been idle. I've never had time to stabilize my cultivation before this, so it has done me a world of good. The primary advantage he has is flight; if we can face him inside his palace, that pretty much vanishes."

"It still sounds awfully risky; I don't want you--"

"I'll be fine," River interrupted. "It's going to come down to this ragtag bunch doing their jobs, in the end."

Five nodded, having nothing further to refute him with.

The two distanced themselves by a few meters as they neared the central pavilion where the leaders of the Dragonslayers and the clans were in conference. The guards stood back as they approached, being Dragonslayer members themselves and thus recognizing the new arrivals.

Inside the pavilion, several tables were arranged in an almost full circle. The Dragonslayer leaders were seated in the center of the arc, with the various clans -- no doubt arranged to minimize the potential for regional rivalries to flare up -- sitting to either side of them.

Mindful to not disrupt the ongoing discussion -- something regarding camp logistics -- Five and River made their way around the back of the tables to the Dragonslayer section, where Five slid into an empty chair and River stepped behind her and stood, surveying the proceedings. One took a glance over at the pair and nodded at each in turn before returning his attention to the current speaker.

Eventually, the dry discussion of herdbeasts and supply trains ended, and One was about to launch a new topic when a querulous old man butted in.

"Are we now letting youngsters sit in on leadership conferences?" he whined, gesticulating at River.

"Ah, yes," One replied to the old man, "before I forget, allow me to introduce our young friend River."

"We're just letting all our 'young friends' stand around and watch then?" the man barked.

"Well, if you would let me finish making the introduction," One said pointedly, "you would be aware that River is also known to the Den and the region at large by another title: the Devil of Flowing Water."

That got far more of a reaction in the chamber than the beginning of the introduction. Some were intrigued, others nodded, while a handful openly recoiled.

The whiny old man, already invested, opened his mouth again. "So then this little turd's the whole reason for this war? Why don't we bundle him up and send him to the Den and go home, then?"

"Would you like to be the one to try, old windbag?" River interjected.

The old man stood. "Are you threatening me, boy?"

River sighed and shook his head. "No. Now if I told you that everybody who has ever thought to try and take advantage of me for the Den's benefit is dead, that might be more threatening."

The old man sputtered and pointed at him, but couldn't manage to form a coherent sentence.

"If you're going to try, you'll have to do better than spitting at me, you rotten invalid," River goaded the man further. "I'm not here to offer myself up to the Den because this war isn't my fault. It's the fault of everybody like you."

"Like me? LIKE ME?"

"Yes, like you." River stepped forward and vaulted over the table effortlessly, landing in the center of the semicircle. "Gentlemen, your complacency with and accommodation of the Dragon's Den are what encouraged them to believe they could trample you like this. I had nothing to do with that."

"Rubbish!" Another elderly man from the other side of the arc from the first spat out.

"Yes, your attitude in not accepting responsibility for your own culpability is rubbish," River again sighed. "The bottom line here, gentlemen, is that you need me far more than I need you right now."

"Need you? Who says we even want you, devil?" that second man responded.

"So you're going to face Brave Dragon, a Foundation Building expert, without any aid from powerful allies?" River scoffed. "There's not a single one of you who has advanced past the middle Meridian Circulation stage. All put together he'll still chop through you like vegetables."

"And you can do better?" A third man, a burly fellow in a brown animal hide much like River's own garment asked. Unlike most of the others at the conference, the man was clearly a warrior.

"Yes." River affirmed. "If you go without me you'll have to handle his army, his experts, and Brave Dragon himself; with me, at the absolute least I can keep him occupied until you've dealt with the first two problems."

"That's a lot of confidence in your own abilities you have there," the warrior responded.

"As everybody here is aware," One cut in, "my ability to discern talent is unparalleled in the region." He looked around with a gaze challenging anyone to doubt that assertion. "The young man means exactly what he says, and we have verified his level of ability ourselves."

"Well, since you have your affairs in hand," the first complainer huffed, "I believe my clan's business is finished here."

One shrugged. "When this all began we promised you safe passage and the ability to return to your homes. But don't think that the Dragon's Den is going to go easy on you if we fail."

"And if the expedition does fail due to self-serving whiners like you fleeing from the battle," River interjected, "be certain that if the Den's reprisal doesn't wipe you out and I survive, I will. And if we succeed... I'll remember who was and wasn't there."

"I'm not going to take this any--" the whiner began.

"Oh shut up and sit down." Surprisingly, it was the warrior who interrupted. "You've spent this entire time haggling for benefits without risk. Even if the kid doesn't make it out, I also vow to remember everyone who stood with us. The time for begging for scraps is over."

A murmur ran through the chamber, and then, amazingly, other clan chiefs stood and made the same vow.

Sensing the mood in the chamber and realizing that he had little to contribute otherwise, River made a decision. "Gentlemen, I thank you for your support. As you no doubt wish to discuss your military plans -- something I am not adept at -- I am going to take my leave now and await your call." He bowed and walked out of the circle of tables and the pavilion itself.

"Well that was ballsy of you, my friend," Mister Black quipped as River returned alone to the cabin in the village.

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Mister Black," River replied. They hadn't spoken much in the past month as he had been with Five day and night, leaving little opportunity for their usual banter. The old ghost had complained a few times, but he could tell that that was for show.

"Is it wise to let them plan the battle without you, though?"

River gave a small, barely discernable shrug. "As long as they do their part, I don't care how they do it. I don't have time to care for their strategy and tactics, and I've made it clear to them what my purpose in the operation is. That's all I can do, I think."

"And if they fail on their end?"

River frowned. "They'd better hope they don't."

Another three days later, the preparations were finalized as even more manpower and supplies arrived. River and Five, having little to do with that side of things, spent the time together in their cabin, cherishing every moment.

The next day, the army set out. River and Five were responsible for their own transport, and so by day, they scouted ahead, while at night they remained in the camp. A week passed this way until finally the coalition reached their target: the fortress named for its bandit rulers, the Dragon's Den.

The Dragon's Den was an immense construct of stone, some carved from a natural outcropping while the rest had been imported as blocks. The primary entrance was ridged with stone spikes that made it look like the maw of some toothy creature, while the gate itself was a solid construction of steel.

They had finally arrived, hopeful for a decisive victory that would end the tyranny of the Dragon's Den once and for all, freeing the common people from fear and extortion.

Except for an old ghost, none of them had an inkling of the sheer horror about to ensue.