Hero

6. Warriors

"Obik, what exactly is our plan of action moving forward here?" Ekim asked walking along with the rest of the party.
"We need to spark the revolution against the army." Obik said.
"Great. We, the outcasts of the world get to not only lead, but start a revolution against the most powerful and influential army in the history of the material plane. Sounds like we have a real treat ahead of us!" Veil chimed.
"Yes but we still have a chance. There are plenty of those who hate the army more than anything. Maybe even more than you Veil." Dez replied.
"The fact remains. Three of us can't enter villages or towns for a while until we are looked upon more positively." Ekim added.
Small nods of hesitant agreement appeared amongst the group. They only knew they were heading west away from their former city of death.
"If we keep heading this way we will reach the town of yrev-hesjing. I have a couple friends there as far as I know. They might hold us for a night or two." Tal said cheerfully.
"Yrev-hesjing? Yellow water? Strange name. Since the name is in draconic is the city owned by a dragon?" Veil asked.
"I didn't know you spoke draconic and yes it is. Nobody has seen the dragon in a few years though so some question if it is still there." Tal replied. A wry smile crossed Veils face as Obik turned back and saw the young human.
"Don' you dare boy. Don' you dare get any ideas!" The Goliath yelled.

      Two hours later Dez and Tal walked through the gates of Yellow Water. The city wasn't large. It was small enough to be cozy but had plenty of business of its own. The city sat at the base of a mountain range, a large cave opening looked over the city high up the closest mountain. The party assumed that was the dragons lair if it was still here.
     Veil Obik and Ekim were forced to stay outside the city due to their infamy. Obik decided to stay outside the main gate keeping watch for Dez and Tal, while Ekim and Veil scouted for any sign of the dragon. Against his better judgement he couldn't argue when Veil suggested that killing a dragon would gain their group fame. But he also knew that dragons were the fiercest of creatures and one alone was a challenge, especially if the dragon was older. He watched as the human and dragonborn circled around the city and eventually made it to the base of the mountain and started climbing. They weren't hard to spot if you knew where to look, but one could loose sight of them easily if they looked away from the rocky mountainside.

     Tal and Dez entered the towns tavern called the Dizzy Crow. Dez decided to stay closer to Tal. She had only known her for a little over a day but she trusted her most of all out of the party. She didn't want her to be alone in case of trouble.
"Well I haven't seen you in a almost a year! How ya been Tal, ya crazy half elf?" A taller dwarf said from behind a shorter than normal bar. Dez couldn't tell if the dwarf was taller or the bar was just that short. She figured it was both.
"Nikam! You've made it this long? I'm impressed!" Tal replied leaning against the bar. Dez took a seat and kept a cautious eye out for any shady characters or army soldiers.
" 'ach missie. You're gonna hurt my feelings ya keep talkin' like that. But honestly, I heard you were captured by the army and 'sposed to be put to death. The brand on your arm agrees and yet, here ya are! What are you doin' out here? You weren't followed by any army scum were ya? And who's this tiefling here with a brand herself?" Nikam asked quietly looking around frightened.
"There won't be any trouble. Her name is Dez. She's here with me as are three others. They're outside. I can't tell you too much about them other than they are trustworthy as well. You have to trust me Nikam." Tal said. Dez could feel the magic that laced her words. Nikam shook his head and let out a groaning sigh.
"Fine. But at the first sign of trouble, they leave. Got it?" He said.
"Thank you so much!" Tal said excitedly.
"I'll go get the idiots. You gonna be ok if I go?"Dez asked.
"Yeah I'll be fine. You go ahead." Her friend replied. Dez nodded to Tal and Nikam and left quietly.
"So I couldn't help but notice the towns name was in draconic. Does that mean there is a dragon somewhere close? Does it own the town?" Tal said.
"Well nobody has seen the dragon for a while now but at one point there wa-" a loud roar erupted from outside the tavern cutting off Nikam. Dez sprinted inside and barred the door with her body. She panted heavily and had a horrible look on her face.
"I'm gonna kill him!" She said.

     The scales shone brightly blue in the sun as the roaring young dragon chased it's human and dragonborn prey.
     "Veil I'm going to kill you!" Ekim yelled almost tripping on the steep mountainside. "You just had to see if the dragon was alive!"
     "I wanted to be certain!" Veil yelled back. The pair continued their pursued descent until Veil rolled his ankle and fell. He rolled for a while until Ekim jumped and landed in front of him. Ekim unsheathed his own sword and brought it down hard into the mountainside as he braced Veil. He was able to stop the rolling boy but the sword couldn't take the damage being done to it any longer. It snapped under the weight and pressure. As the dragon closed in, it leaped in the air, spread its 20 foot wings and took flight. Screams of terror could be heard from the town below. The dragon flew directly over the pair. As it passed, a pair of claws slashed down at the friends. Veil unsheathed his sword and blocked the claws on the right with it. He rose his hand and used his swordmage warding to block the left.
"You think you can hold him off while I search for another weapon?" Veil yelled back to Ekim. The dragonborn gave a nod. Veil shrugged the claws away, handed Ekim the sword, and sprinted back up the mountain as fast as he could. The dragon turned watching one of its soon to be meals running away. A small stone found its home in the dragons scales as Ekim yelled out in draconic, "Have me you great winged bastard" if you want more I'm right here!" The dragon reared back to its attacker and dove straight for Ekim with lightning dancing between its teeth.

     Back in the tavern Dez and Tal dived behind the bar as the denizens of the bar and town started to panic at the thought of a dragon attack. "I thought you said there wouldn't be any trouble Tal!" Nikam yelled in the half-elf's face.

"I don't know why this is happening either!" Tal yelled back.

"Oh come off it we both know what happened. The Jack-ass kid got us all killed!" Dez said as she pulled two bottles from the bar and broke them into makeshift weapons. "We don't have many options at this point. Veil has either already died to that damn dragon or has led it straight to the town. I'd suggest getting out as fast as possible and that will almost certainly involve some fighting."

     Veil stepped into the mouth of the cave made by the dragon and it didn't take long to find the hoard. The glittering blue gems and gold pieces littered the cave. Veil had never seen so many valuables in a single sitting. But he was looking for any weaponry amongst the hoard. After about five minutes of searching and loading his pockets the human finally spotted an object sticking out of a pile of coins.
     "That'll work."

     "Well h'I see the plan went about as bad as it could 'ave." Obik said as he watched from the bottom of the mountain. He was given the equipment when the others left in hopes to keep it safe. He started walking toward his dragonborn companion who was running down the mountain followed closely by a young blue dragon spewing lightning from its mouth destroying some of the mountainside in the process.

      Ekim slashed the sword blocking the dragons claws. With each swing his muscles grew more and more tired as he was still running down the hill.
     "You better have a damn great weapon. and plan when you get back Veil." He said as the dragon fired another bolt of lightning only missing him by 5 feet to his left. "I hate dragons." He grumbled as he kept the process of defending and retreating.

Veil leaped down the mountain and used the height to his advantage landing on the back of the dragon.
"Sorry I needed to borrow this. Have it back!" He yelled as he plunged a longsword into the dragons back. Flames burst from the blade and inside the dragon.
"About damn time!" Ekim yelled driving his sword into the reared dragons midsection. The angered and injured dragon flew into the air and shook Veil off his back. The dragon was dripping blood and his wound was cauterized from the outside but internal bleeding was taking its toll. The dragon let out a massive roar and flew into the clouds disappearing. As the storm brewed through the clouds, Veil and Ekim were met by Obik who was eyeing the new sword glittering with flames.

"First rule of adventuring. You find it, you keep it." The human said with a sly smile.
"I think we should get to the village. That dragon isn't done with us yet." Obik said staring at the clouds.