Soon Lord d’Shxlash arrived, with a dozen lightly armed yet heavily armored guards. They were in full plate armor and carried large shields. They clanged their way over between Drik’s spot and where the host would be. The next to arrive was Lord d’Sycx’s party, which was quite similar to Driks’ own, three lightly armored fighters and two who were likely spellcasters or another support role.
When Lord d'Zelb's entrance was announced Cyder subtly concealed herself behind Dover and warily watched him from hiding. Though momentarily puzzled by the unusual behavior Dover didn't pay it much heed and allowed himself to be used as a shield. It was a fairly intimidating group, Lord d'Zelb himself stood at the fore and looked to be a formidable combat mage. He was flanked by a pair of chainmail armored guards and closely followed by a formal looking butler. Cynder didn't relax until his party finished crossing the room and settled into their section.
Once everyone had arrived a messenger quietly left the room to inform the meeting's host, Lord d'Teryx. Shortly after he was escorted in by a sizable contingent of city guards. Two of them remained by his side while the rest took up positions around the hall.
Not wasting any time, Lord d'Teryx headed directly to the conference tables in the middle of the room instead of his privacy area. There were five luxurious tables placed in a pentagon at the hall’s center surrounding a floating orb. Each table had a small banner indicating which of the High Lords it belonged to and three seats. Circling those were seven smaller, two person tables for the upper lords. These tables were placed relatively near the High Lord they swore fealty to, so the space behind Drik's table was empty while d'Teryx had three tables strategically placed behind his own. The other High Lord each had one or two. The final circle of tables consisted of three chair-desks behind each of the upper lord’s tables. Unlike the High Lords, all the other seats were unlabeled allowing the remaining Lords to seat themselves however was appropriate for the current hierarchy.
Lord d'Teryx settled into his chair at the head table and called the meeting to order, the magical orb amplifying his voice so that it carried clearly throughout the hall. “Thank you everyone for coming. Please take your seats so we can discuss the current threat to our land.”
The other Lord's quickly complied with his request, with the High Lords taking their seats first and the remaining Lords following whatever pattern they had previously decided on to take their seats. Driks flopped down into his chair, clearly displaying his disdain for formality. Dover and Cynder remained standing on his left and Sophia stood on the right. Fawn primly sat next to Driks and carefully placed her note taking supplies. His remaining guards stayed in earshot just outside of his privacy room. The companions of the other nobles largely stayed in or around their resting areas.
As Dover watched the movement his attention was drawn to the behavior of the other High Lords’ guards. Not only were the visible better equipped, but they also appeared to put more thought in their positioning. Lord d’Shxlash’s guards spread out at the back of the room, as if they were protecting the high lords. When they approached Drik’s part of the room though, the glare Dover gave quickly drove them away. Lord d’Sycx's sorcerers were the ones to stand behind him. His other guards didn’t even bother leaving the privacy room. Lord d’Zelb’s guards also remained in their room.
As the activity died down Lord d'Teryx declared "I call this conference to order," and waited for the room to fall silent before continuing. “As you are all aware, recently trading has become quite perilous. Not only that, but monster sightings have dramatically increased near our remote villages. Please, report what you have each heard in your districts.” He then proceeded to ask each individual Lord for an update.
He first called upon Lord Ambroise who was responsible for a small region at the outskirts of the Empire. “The villages in my domain have reported large swarms of lesser monsters attacking. Few are willing to travel without a fully armed escort.”
Lord d’Teryx turned his attention to the next ranking noble, who quickly added his piece. "Our own experiences are similar, though in addition to a general increase in monster activity our villages have suffered from multiple monster attacks."
The reports continued in a similar vein, with each Lord adding their own knowledge. While the attacks were understandably more frequent towards the edge of each noble’s territory, even the safest regions were impacted. Depending on how heavily populated their realm was, their attacks were either focused on travelers or small settlements. Though the beasts and monsters were attacking, they were organized and not acting at random. It was as if someone were playing a game of chess. Some of the attacks reportedly had a monster commander, though the descriptions tended to vary drastically. The general consensus was that a large winged creature was coordinating the attacks.
There were also reports of spies and espionage with some survivors telling stories of betrayal from within. For instance, one individual had actively sabotaged their caravan as they rested overnight, starting fires, killing guards, and causing substantial destruction.
Once everyone finished reporting, the lesser nobles began to chaotically share their ideas until Lord d’Teryx was forced to call the meeting back to order. "Enough!" He shouted, his powerful voice instantly cutting through the room and silencing the chatter. "I understand everyone is concerned, but we must control our emotions if we hope to solve this issue. Would one of you please share your theory?"
Though numerous hands were initially raised, their numbers quickly dropped as people deferred to those of higher status. Eventually there was just a single volunteer for Lord d'Teryx to call on, one of the lower nobles under Lord d'Teryx's domain. Though he tried to project confidence, it was clear he was nervous about his words. “As far-fetched as it sounds," he began, "I believe these attacks to be the work of a dragon. The tactics employed fit well with the legends and lore about the creatures. It is the most likely explanation.”
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His explanation spurred laughter and jeers scattered around the room. Numerous shouts of “Hogwash!” or “You’ve spent too long in the tavern my friend!” welcomed his explanation.
He tried to explain his reasoning, and several of the nobles, d’Teryx included, nodded in agreement at his logic. Unfortunately the stress from dealing with an unknown assailant had finally bubbled over. Due to their fear many of the Lower Lords began to talk over the speaker and shout out their own theories.
It was then that Dover tensed up and singalled for Driks’ entourage to do the same. Ignoring the arguing nobles, Dover had been watching the High Lords and their retinues instead. He had seen d’Teryx’s men tense, as if they were expecting this, or had received a secret command. Their attention was focused on one particular Lord who had started ranting about dragons.
“Dragons are mindless beasts! They are too stupid to do anything like this! All they care about is gold! The filthy animals...”
The man's rant was interrupted by a flash Dover found very familiar, one that originated from Lord d'Sycx’s direction. Immediately after the light faded a powerful gust of wind flung a table across the room, smashing it against a wall. Loud, heavy footsteps filled the air, followed by the sounds of wood cracking and man crying out in pain. When Dover's vision had recovered from the flare, he was greeted to the sight of a large silver dragon towering over the quivering form of the previously ranting noble. Its sleek, leathery wings easily stretch 20 cubits. Wind swirled around the dragon and throughout the room, sending papers flying and shaking the tapestries on the wall as the dragon stretched its long neck towards the ceiling. It unleashed a roar which froze everyone in the room before bending its neck down towards the terrified man.
Face to face it spoke in a whisper which, as if carried by the wind, could clearly be heard by all present. “Enough of your foolishness Mortal, Men are far more beastly than dragons. We can take whatever we want, we wouldn’t waste time on mere mischief.”
“Agreed,” Lord d’Zelb stated before a similar light wrapped around him. As the light cleared, an equally large red dragon could be seen standing there, the air around it hazy with heat. He continued speaking, each word accompanied by a small burst of steam. “To violate our laws in such a way would imply a truly insidious goal.” He paused and directed his burning red gaze towards Driks, “Or be the foolish actions of a childish whelp.”
“Hey! I’m not the one who transformed in front of everyone!” Driks protested. This caused the other four high nobles to burst into laughter, even the normally stoic d’Teryx. Unfortunately the roaring, wing flapping, and stamping of two dragons broke those present in the room out of their stunned silence.
There were screams and shouts and panic. Many people rushed for the door only to be repulsed by two of d’Teryx’s heavily armored guards. They unceremoniously clubbed them with their shields to drive them back. Some of those present tried launching desperate attacks against the dragons, only to be repulsed when they came too close to Dover or one of the other high noble’s guards.
The croaking voice of a bard could be heard over the crowd as he tried to cast a song of peace, but even though he was employed by one of the dragons himself, he was filled with terror, and his words only served to increase the panic.
With a sigh and a nod from Driks, Dover called to the guards at their room. “Quivver!” One of them quickly approached with a quiver containing numerous types of special bolts. On being told the event would be memorable, Dover had taken the opportunity to prepare numerous types of ammunition to try and prepare for any situation. He quickly sorted through the color coded bolts before drawing multiple dull yellow ones. Rather than having a metal tip like most, they had a cylindrical head about two thumb lengths long.
Lightly shaking each individual bolt he carefully loaded them into his repeater crossbow and aimed towards the ceiling. Pulling the trigger the first shot launched into the air, the wind pressure peeling away the outer casing as it flew and spewing a large cloud of dust. The dust seemed to sparkle in the light as it gently rained towards the floor. He quickly fired his remaining bolts ensuring that the powder was falling throughout most of the hall. As the dust settled, its magic took effect, calming those it touched. Having most of the participants soothed allowed d'Teryx's guards to quickly deal with the remainder. Soon an eerie silence returned to the room.
Looking at Driks with a mixture of surprise and respect, d’Teryx said “Perhaps you have finally grown a bit, the others and I were wagering on whether you or d'Sycx would lose your patience first.”
After a pause to look around the room once more, d’Teryx continued. “I now call the Dragon Summit to order.” Confident that no further chaos would break out, he continued “Reveal yourselves to our mortal guests so we can share the truth of their world.”
His voice carried power, as if it were forcing the other dragons to act. When he finished speaking, he was surrounded by a flash and soon stood in his natural form, a large wingless dark green dragon. Lord d’Shxlash shifted next, turning into a pale greenish blue dragon with a long, flat tail and flipper-like feet. Then the four dragons turned and faced Driks, waiting.
“Do I really have to?” whined Driks. Cynder meanwhile huddled behind the unphased Dover, clutching his armor tightly and burying her face in his back, her faintly glowing red eyes tightly shut.
His attention focused on Driks, Lord d’Teryx’s powerful voice pounded into them. “Change now, and reveal your true form.” The energy of the command was felt by all those who were near.
As the other dragon’s waited patiently for Driks to shift, d’Zelb softly spoke up. He looked knowingly at Drik’s entourage and said “I believe that is enough, you have gotten your point across, and there may be some who are not yet ready to reveal themselves.
Eyes widening slightly, d'Teryx realized the reason for d'Zelb's request, something that he, and the others, had overlooked. Though his glare remained focused on Driks, he slowly exhaled and released the magical pressure behind his command.
Driks simply gave an exaggerated sigh before grumbling a reply. "Blah, blah. Fine, fine. You don't need the death stare, I've always been happy to spread my wings. Might as well let it all out now." With a flash and a happy roar, Driks revealed his true form, stretching out his large black wings and shaking out his spikes.
Underneath the roar d'Zelb could just barely make out Cynder's quiet whisper as she struggled to maintain control. "Thank you father..."
Zelbling, and yes, if it wasn't obvious already she is in fact a Fire Dragon.
I hope to further expand on her youth in a future side story.
Lastly, I seriously regret my naming convention for the Dragon Lords!
Spellchecker hates the lowercase D for their names and most of them aren't pronounceable... Which may actually have been the point.
Dragon Lords
- d'Teryx (Dee TER Icks): The Leader of the Dragon Council. A green, wingless earth element dragon.
- d'Oxzen (Dee Ox Zen): Driks is a black dragon specializing in Life and Summoning magic. In Magic: TG terms he'd be a Green/Black Deck.
- d’Shxlash (Dee Sheck Slash): A greenish blue water element dragon .
- d'Zelb (Dee Zel): A stereotypical red fire breathing dragon. The B is silent and yes, he is named after Diesel Fuel.
- d'Sycx (Dee Six): A winged silver element dragon. Yes, I am a tabletop RPG player and yes, he is named D6.
As always, thanks for reading!