Dracopical Isles: Rise of the Underground

Chapter 1

The moon takes its seat in the night sky a couple hours later, hidden behind a thick blanket of storm clouds. Rain pours on the land below showering the sleeping woods with its pitter-patter. Everyone is now sound asleep, safe and dry at home, but little do they know of the sneaky prowling of the Alchemy dragons. The elder leads his group through the cool shower to a small clearing. Upon their arrival, he turns to look at them.
"We're here," He growls quietly. "Now all we need is the bait."
One of his troops comes forth with a cloth pouch and lays it in front of him. "This was all I could snitch in the human village." He says. "Stupid humans and their guards; they chased me out before I could get far."
The elder snorts and opens the pouch. Kept inside is a handful of spice - red powder with a strong, yet slightly bitter smell. Curling his lip in disappointment, the elder lifts his head. "Bloodroot? You only got bloodroot?"
The troop lowers his head. "My apologies, Sir Cigoura,"
Cigoura the elder tosses away the useless pouch with a frustrated growl. "Cacovern dung! Now we got no bait!"
"I could go back to the village," The troop offers, but Cigoura denies it with a snarl.
"No, we got no time to wait for another scavenger hunt there, we must find something here now!"
Without a second thought, the Alchemies spread out to search the area.
The slinky male pauses. Something about this seems a bit confusing, but what it is he can't quite put a finger on. He turns back to Cigoura.
"Excuse me, Sir," The male says raising his hand to the elder. "But what sort of bait?"
The bigger male turns his head. "Why do you ask me, Slim?" He growls. "Or were you not listening again?"
Slim lifts his head. "Of course I was listening. I just.. don't understand."
Cigoura grumbles, lowering his brow. "Whatever a Sorcerant would go after. You know your breeds, right?"
Slim opens his mouth to answer but is interrupted by Cigoura's sarcastic laugh.
"Oh but of course you would, you're a part of a ring."
Trying to lighten the tone of this conversation, Slim forces a rather uncomfortable laugh in return. "Of course man, I know the Sorcerants like nobody,"
At the disappearance of Cigoura's smile, Slim immediately corrects himself. "I mean Sir! Of course, Sir!" His heart sinks seeing the frown be accompanied with impatient eyes.
Cigoura shakes his head in disapproval. "And you've been told again and again not to call me 'man'. I'm not your buddy, I am your captain!"
Slim puts a hand to his face in a slightly agitated sigh. "I know, I know. My apologies," He gives a brief, nervous laugh. "Hehe, cause of habit, ya know?"
Cigoura's scowl makes Slim flinch, backing up a few paces.
Despite being a member of a ring, Slim doesn't seem to be keeping up with everyone. No one really knows why he got accepted. His head was backwards even in the egg. While his siblings sat neatly vertical in their shells, Slim was always on his side. They hatched like newborn chicks popping one by one, but Slim rolled around and out of the nest before he could hatch. Some even say his fall was to blame for his scrambled brains, but which one is the truth - the world may never know. Always forgetting things, that Slim. His peers would call him Slimy - slime for brains, born from a slimy, eggy mess, he easily slips through announcements without catching a thing, and the list goes on. It has led many to wonder if there's anything at all he's good at, besides that.
Returning from their search, the other Alchemies report empty-handed - unable to have found anything of use. Cigoura growls disappointedly looking away from his troops.
Seeing if he could be of help, Slim begins to think. "Well the..." he begins. "... The Sorcerants have a thing for us, yes? Perhaps we.. could be bait somehow?"
One of the other Alchemies shakes his head. "Not me," To which another replies with, "Me neither. I'm not gonna be Sorcerant feed."
Cigoura listens to their bickering before a smile stretches across his face. An idea has come to mind. Turning his head to his troops, he smirks, "Actually, he has a point,"
The other Alchemies all startle at their leader's expression. One stutters out, "Sir..?"
"I got it. Here's the plan, fellas," Cigoura begins, turning to face the group. "We'll carry it out as said prior. You five will be in charge of the human gear," Cigoura points to five Alchemies in the group. "You three are with me," Pointing to three more. "And the remaining will be bait."
Slim looks at all the Alchemies that have been chosen, soon realizing his position. "Wait a second," He was the only one not to be picked. "I'm the bait?"
Cigoura's grin widens. "Well let's just say, you'd make an easy target."