Waking up to the smell of sizzling meat, I am pleasantly surprised to find that the dwarves prepared a hydra leg for me to eat as well! While I munch down, I notice something about the dwarves. They’ve both grown a few inches taller and I can now sense their magic more clearly. Curiosity overwhelming politeness, I ask them about their change.

Eitri beams at me and replies,” Well it’s thanks to you Terrus! You gave us a dragon’s meat!”

I snort.” That thing? I’d hardly call it a true dragon! More of an appetizer really!” Unfortunately, at this point I notice that I actually despise the taste of hydra. Watching bemusedly as I try to burn the taste from my tongue, Eitri continues.

“Well of course It’s not a real dragon like yourself, but it’s still a member of the dragon family. Because of that, it’s meat is highly prized for the energy contained within. It helps us humanoids break through to our next evolution.” When I give him a quizzical look he sighs and launches into an explanation.

“You see, unlike you dragons and other beast races, humanoids gain power slowly and evolve with painstaking difficulty. This is because there are far more of us. We use our numbers and ingenuity instead of pure strength, understand?” After I nod in affirmation he continues.

“So that hydra meet you gave us last night? It gave us enough energy to break through our evolution! Brokk and I are now….” he pauses dramatically” Giant Dwarves!” he seems very enthusiastic about it. I however merely look down at him and then at a point several feet above his head and reply.

“Well I can understand the dwarf half, but I do believe the giant bit is a misnomer…”

Brokk enters the conversation replying mellowly,” Well Terrus when we’re only 4 feet tall, a few inches does make a GIANT difference.” The two share a laugh over this. I wonder why. It really wasn’t that funny of a jest. Oh well, I’ll just chalk it up to hominids being strange I suppose.

“Anyways, come on Terrus! If we hurry, We’ll reach Handelssted by midday!”Eitri exclaims. A look of longing flits across his face as he looks towards the mountains. Hmm, I really don’t know these two all that well do I? I wonder what he’s longing for.

After a few hours of small talk as we walk, I breach the topic,” So what are your families like? Should I expect the pitter-patter of tiny bearded feet?”

Eitri snorts out loud and looks at me with a glint in his eye,” Terrus you wound me!” He says as he feigns taking a fatal blow. Brokk on the other hand, merely rolls his eyes at his brother's theatrics.

Eitri continues as he stands with one leg on the driver’s bench,” I am a hunter! Fierce and untamed! While my prey may sometimes run, it knows in its heart that I will inevitably catch it if I try.”

Nodding sagely, I ask Brokk,” So, how many times has he been rejected?”

Chuckling, Brokk replies,” None of Course! He’d have to be noticed first!” the two of us burst into roaring laughter while Eitri turns red and mutters meek defenses.

When Brokk and I finally pull ourselves together, I notice how the ground has become far firmer. Looking ahead, I can see plants beginning to rise from the ground. From the sparse forest comes a surprising sight: Dwarven cavalry. Mounted on Level 40 Big-Horned Mountain Rams, the dwarves wore heavy polished armor, covered in runes and held two long lances. I’m sure they looked rather intimidating to a humanoid.

Trotting forward, they halt five-hundred feet from us. Yelling into a horn, their leader speaks to us. “Halt!” His voice is rather nasal, in just the pitch I find particularly annoying. Continuing he speaks,” In the name of Grand General of the Dwarven Armies, Protector of the Dwarven people, Champion of the Flame, Lover of the Earth, Chosen of Justice, and Singer of Earth Arton Bloodhammer I command you to surrender the drake’s collar to me, Captain Slerin Bloodhammer!” looking expectantly at Eitri and Brokk.

Having ignored his first two insults, I am immediately infuriated by the third and fourth. Now friends confusing me with a lesser dragon is excusable. They’re both traders and were well-intentioned but now this dwarf was calling me a drake and suggesting I was what, a pet?

Turning to Eitri I say,’ I counted six insults there Eitri. Did I miss any?” My voice is cold and my body is beginning to emit heat.

“ I only counted five Terrus. What was the sixth?” Eitri replied quietly, trying not to arouse my ire any further.

“His voice.” I reply as I leap forward landing before the Dwarf. Releasing the fire and fury I had held In, I use my spirit power to blanket the area, applying pressure to all the dwarves.Looking him straight in his indignant eyes, I cut him off before he can speak.

“You have insulted me five times this day, dwarf. You barred my passage, you dared command me, you irritated me with your petulant voice, you wasted my time with your relatives titles, you dared to insinuate that I was enslaved or even bonded, and finally,” I pause here and focus my power on the now-trembling Captain,” you did not address me correctly. You see,” I continue with a dark grin,” the correct way to begin a conversation with a true dragon is flattery. Actually, I believe I could add two insults to that. You also made me waste even more of my time educating you, and you still haven’t kneeled and begged for forgiveness.” I practically snarl the last part as i watch his eyes widen with realization of his blunder.

A drake was a weaker form of dragon. Strong and intelligent, but manageable and ultimately, controllable. A true dragon however was far more powerful than that. A prideful race we often held onto grudges for life. Which is rather dangerous when one considers that we do not age. Hmm, it really is a good thing I had the brothers educate me on my race in every spare moment of our trip.

Every member of the fifty dwarf patrol practically jumped off of their steed to grovel before me, the captain being the first one to do so. With his head between his hands he pleads.

“Oh great and benevolent dragon! How foolish was I to not see your greatness! Please forgive us my lord, logically one could not expect us too..”

Interrupting him, I say,” That’s eight insults. How could you possibly know of my expectations? You are very presumptuous, are you sure you are not trying to bring about a grudge?”

Immediately, his lieutenant, a female dwarf covers the captain's mouth. Speaking clearly and concisely, she tries to de-escalate the situation.

“Great one, the captain is foolish and has received his position because of his family, not his merit or wisdom. Please, lord our lives are yours to do with as you please, but we beg of you to leave our families out of this.”

Hmm, rather eloquent, quick-thinking, and not at all a suck-up, I think I’ll get along with her just fine. Disdainfully I reply,” Hmph, very well. Although your lives have been mine since the moment I set eyes on you, I shall accept this deal. In addition, as a gesture of goodwill, I will let you all live, on the condition that I never see any of you again. That is, except the Lieutenant. She will stay here. I find myself in need of a higher ranked guide than the ones I had picked up.” Applying more pressure I remind them,” Do not forget this. My memory is far greater than that of you dwarves, and trust me, you will not get a third chance.” Ending with a hint of disinterest, I wave them off with a claw,” Now go, I give you a minute to make yourselves unseen.”

Watching the dwarves scamper off gave me great pleasure. Kicking up a cloud of dust with their departure, soon I was left only with the lieutenant and the brothers. As soon as I look at Eitri and Brokk however, the three of us break down laughing, leaving one very confused dwarf standing beside us.

“HAHAHA Terrus you terrified those pompous buggers! If I didn’t know you I woulda ran too!” Eitri is nearly crying with laughter.

Somehow, I manage to say through my chuckles,” Now come on gentlemen, you’re spoiling my impression on the Lieutenant!”

“Um… Yes actually. Great one are you … alright?” She asks, confusion dotting her features.

“Please, call me Terrus. All thatnonsense only happened because he truly pissed me off.” pausing for a moment, I add,” And because I was rather bored. Usually I’m very lax on propriety. Especially so with my friends.” I reply with a slight wink. The gesture is unfamiliar, but I’d seen Brokk do it many times when making a joke.

The lieutenant stands there, mouth open, gaping at me. What? Why is it so surprising that I’m not actually a doombringer or megalomaniac? Hominids are so strange sometimes…

P.O.V. Ruby

This has to be a dream. I had too much to drink last night and this is all just a dream. I met a dragon and didn’t get eaten. Said Dragon then decided to take me on as a guide, and now he’s winked at me.

A dragon, a member of the stuffiest, most vain, most powerful race under the heavens just winked at me. One of the two traders comes up to me and gently pats me on the back.

“There, there miss. It’s okay. He is perhaps the strangest dragon you will ever meet and perhaps the only one any of us will have the privilege to befriend.” He gives me a gentle smile, as if that would help me reconcile the dragon in front of me with literally everything I was taught. Meanwhile, the drag…. Terrus tilts his head, as if he remembered something.

“Oh right, I should probably shield you as well shouldn’t I?” Suddenly, I feel my stats rise massively. Looking at my listing I nearly faint.

Stats: Dwarven Lieutenant Ruby lvl 58

Str: 104 Agi: 87

Con: 101 (+366) Res: 90 (+366)

Dex: 88 Int: 92

Congratulations! You have gained the Title: DragonFriend (Champion)! A Champion Dragon has counted you as a friend! All dragons will see this. Most Dragons will be far friendlier to you now. You now can ask for audience at any of the dragon holds! [/window]

At this point I just shut down. My stats have more than quadrupled in defense and Resistance and I now hold an advanced version of one of the most coveted titles in the world. And Gods above this dragon is a champion.

“Ahh, there we go! Now you should be able to keep standing in a stiff breeze! I swear, you hominids are so fragile.” The dragon complains out loud while beginning to walk forward. Numbly, I mount my ram and follow him. Looking over to the traders, I ask them:

“Why is he here in Handelssted?”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too. My name’s Eitri and that’s my older brother Brokk!” the younger of the two trader’s replies. I feel a flash of irritation, but calm myself. I am intruding on them after all.

“I am Ruby. Now if you please…?”

Chuckling slightly, he replies,” Well young lass, You see we offered him a job with the Great Caravan. He’s come here to negotiate payment for his services.”

That stunned me. These two traders managed to convince a dragon to work for them? No, he would probably be working with them wouldn’t he? Terrus may be weird for a dragon, but no being that powerful would lower himself to a worker’s position. As I begin to ask them more, the dragon himself interrupts me.

“ Oh right! Is it customary for me to bring anything?” He asks

“Hmm, not necessarily. You could however go grab a boar or a pike for the feast they’re going to inevitably throw in your honor.” Eitri replies casually.

“Hmm, that sounds like a great idea! I am feeling a bit hungry! You three go ahead, I’ll scrounge something up!” Terrus replies enthusiastically as he blasts off the ground.

P.O.V. Terrus:

Landing a few feet away from the dwarves, I drop the Dragonscaled Boar. While not too difficult to hunt, the thing had been so heavy! I suppose I hadn’t ever tried to carry something a quarter of my size in flight with me. Fortunately, the boar’s core had gotten me very near to my next level. Judging by the amount left, I should level up this night.

While the dwarves goggled at the size of my kill, I look at the blank stone wall in front of us. Looking closely, I could see flows of magic flowing through what, on second inspection, turned out to be a massive gate.

“Well that’s convenient,” I say aloud as I force magic into the spots where the flows aligned, forming a lock. Unlocking it with my power, I force the doors open.

Walking through the gap, I gasp seeing paradise. MAGMA EVERYWHERE! The dwarven city is in a massive cavern, spanning nearly the entire mountain. Flows of magma poured into the cavern from adjacent mountains and pooled at the bottom of the cave about five hundred feet below. The city itself was on an Island held aloft by 4 pillars, shaped in the form of massive dwarves. Connecting the city to the gate I entered through, A massive bridge made from Grey stone stands. Every hundred feet there is a statue of a dwarven King. They progressively grow taller until the last pair, which reaches fifty feet tall and stands equal in height to the walls surrounding the city. Impressively enough, most of the city can still be seen, even above those massive walls. At the foot of each bridge’s support, a stone statue of a drake seems to be climbing up. Hmm, these dwarves are, really, good craftsmen! If those statues weren’t standing perfectly still, I’d have thought they were living! Strangely enough, one of the suppports is missing a drake. After taking all this is, I look down around me. Then I notice the trembling guards formed up in front of me. Holding long pikes, they really seem to be having a bad day.

Taking pity on them, I boom,” Do not fear dwarves, for you will not die by my claw or breath today. I have been offered a deal, and I have come to negotiate terms.” Looking down at them, I continue,” So? What are you waiting for? Take me to your leader!” Hmm, I wonder why that phrase seemed so funny...

A tall dwarf walks up. Unlike the rest of his race, he stands nearly 6 feet tall. Wearing golden armor, and two massive longswords on his hips, he is actually slightly impressive. He bows slightly to me, and introduces hismself.

“Greetings great Dragon! I am Arton Bloodhammer, Grand General of the Dwarven Armies…”

“Protector of the Dwarven people, Champion of the Flame, Lover and Singer of the Earth, and Chosen of Justice I presume?” I bemusedly finish his introduction for him. After meeting his relation, I had been dreading to meet the dwarf, but he actually seems rather acceptable.

Eyes nearly gleaming, he manages to whisper,” My name has spread to the dragon lands?”

Almost sorry to burst his bubble, I reply,” No actually, I heard it for the first time but an hour ago, when I was insulted nine times by one of your relatives. Sledrin or Slebber, if I remember correctly. The foll actually thought I was a collared drake! Hah! The nerve of him!”

A hint of confusion crosses his features, quickly replaced by burning anger. “It wouldn’t have happened to be Slerin great one?”

“Yes actually, that sounds about right. He had a few hundred mounted dwarves with him. I did tell him that if I saw any member of his company again, that we would have rather… fatal meeting.” Subtly, I ready myself to fight the guards. I don’t know just how strong the relationship between these two is, and I would rather not risk being caught unawares.

“Damn the fool and his greed. I should have known that one day he’d be the death of us all.” Furiously, he mashes his fist into his gauntlet. Seeming to remember my presence, he hastily explains,” Slerin is a cousin of mine. Not close enough to be Family, but close enough to be kin if you understand. When I see him… I’ll rip his head off this time!” He unconsciously grips his blade’s pommels.

“Wait, did he not pass by here already?” I ask confused. He’d had hours for a head start. Surely he’d have gotten here by now.

“No, I did not see him pass. Why do you ask?” Arton inquires, stirring up dread within me.

At barely a whisper, I answer his question with one of my own. “Since when have there been drake statues curled around the bridge’s supports?”

Realization dawns on him as the vibrations begin to run through the bridge. To his credit, he reacts quickly , drawing both longswords and instantly commanding his troops to form up around him.

I merely push my dwarves outside keeping myself between and the climbing drakes while asking Themis a very important question.

Themis? How much can I ask the dwarves for in exchange for slaughtering these drakes?

Seriously? There’s an entire city of innocents at risk and that’s what you think of?

Not really the time for an argument Themis! I’m going to help them anyways, but a reward would really speed my growth up.

Hmm, okay then. A fair deal would have you ask for 100,000 lava rubies. That’s enough to get you to your next evolution in about half a year. However, since you’re a dragon, they’ll probably expect a request around 500,000 lava rubies. I’d suggest you compromise and ask for 100,000 and a storage tatoo to keep them in

A storage tatoo?

[It’s a runic mark made by only the most skilled of runemages. It’ll cost about 100,000 rubies so you can say you’re being very generous to them. Anyways, shouldn’t you be saving Arton? He does hold my favor. [/window]

Yes, Yes I’ll get right to it.

While I was conversing with Themis, the three drakes had surrounded the band of dwarves. Cackling gleefully on the back of the tallest drake sat the dwarf... Slebin? Sedrin? Serib? Seriously couldn’t his name have been something more memorable?

Almost offhandedly, I ask Arton,” You know Arton… Since that Slebirn has already irritateted me and I’m feeling VEERY generous. I could be persuaded to help you out for say 100,000 lava rubies and perhaps a nice rune to keep them in. What do you say?”

“Yes! Please! That’s a very generous deal great one, and we would gladly accept!” he replies, relief evident in his voice. Had he seriously thought I would sit a battle like this out?

Leaping forward, I activate my avatar and roar furiously. Standing over the dwarven Guards, I stare down to the drakes from my now towering height. Spreading my wings, I ignore a notification and push massive waves of pressure down onto the drakes.

Snarling mindlessly, the nearest drake claws at me. Ignoring the blow, I let it glance off my avatar’s skin while I use my forelegg to pound it’s head into the ground. Using my reinforced jaws, I snap down on its neck, killing it near instantly. There really is quite a difference between the two of us.

Now staring fearfully at me, the remaining two drakes lash out with spirit force. Leaning into their combined power, I prepare my own breath attack. I had lacked many distractions In the four days I spent alone in the desert. Being the hardworking, very bored, dragon that I am, I had used that time to experiment with my powers, and discovered quite a few interesting things. For example, Did you know, that If I agitate the earth element in my breath long enough, I can spew magma?

Doing so now, I coat the drakes in my sticky flames! Only to realize that A: they are Lava drakes and B: that naturally Lava drakes are immune to magma, leaving me standing there awkwardly as two confused drakes, a group of guards, and an entire Dwarven city stared at my embarrassment.

Think think think! There has to be some way to make this look… AHA!

Smiling brilliantly, I harden the magma back into rock and reinforce it with thick metal bands. Then casually walking over to them, I rip off the collars that had bound them.

Instantly I hear two voices in my head. Both yelling thanks to me at the same time, I yell back at them to calm down and speak one at a time.

“We’re sorry Great Lord! We did not wish to battle you, a champion, but that damned Dwarf forced us into it. If you would free us, we would gladly serve you with our lives for your mercy.

Two drakes have placed themselves, at you command! What would you do with their lives?

MWAHAHA MY DRAGON ARMY HAS ITS FIRST RECRUITS! Well, it would if I could take care of them. Hmm, I wonder…

“ I accept you into my service. Infernum and Tectonis shall be your names. Now as your first task, I order you to go forth and grow stronger. I overwhelmed you far too easily and when I need you I will call for your return. Stay together, for there is strength in numbers and Above all stay away from hominids and other dragons.”

Releasing them from the rock, I watch them fly away together. I hope they survive at least. They seemed like a decent sort.

Turning back to the dwarves, I welcome their astonished gazes and ask innocently,” Now I do believe we talked about some form of compensation?