“Alaric! The dragon which lay in the mountains to the east. You must defeat it!”
The man clad in armour shuffled, the metal sheets groaning under his movements. He shifted the sword which hung, sheathed, at his hip. The blade bounced off the floor as he fiddled with the weapon.
“Alaric! You must be mad in the head for feigning ignorance.”
The man named Alaric bowed his head, his face furrowing with a deep, barely well-kept, façade of sadness.
“My liege, forgive me.” The king sighed from his throne, turning to his advisor who could offer no words. “Such an arduous journey is not befit one such as myself. Riddled with the plague, I am in no condition for travel, much less to face such a mighty beast!”
The King rolled his eyes, slinking back into his throne and waving towards the guards at the entrance. The large, heavy slabs of wood were pulled open with much resistance.
“Boy. Many before you have failed to defeat a creature as such. There will be many after you that will meet a similar faith. The one truth is that you are of the very few truly capable of slaying such a beast. As such,” The king motioned behind Alaric, to the clattering footsteps which approached the warrior before kneeling alongside him on either side. “I have put together some of the finest soldiers to assist you. Please, mage. Heal him of that which plagues him.”
“Yes, my lord.” A wiry man, wielding a staff muttered meekly.
Alaric’s eyes darted to the figure as his staff glowed a sickly green colour. “My king, surely you shouldn’t waste such talent and mana on me…” His words were lost in the chanting of the mage and the flooding of light which bathed him.
“Consider yourself cured, mighty warrior!”
“Consider yourself cured, mighty warrior!” Alaric muttered mockingly under his breath before contorting his face into one of elation.
“I truly am blessed to be so well cared for by you, my lord. I am eager to fulfil my duty to the kingdom, knowing now that good health is sure to follow me!” The king nodded at his words, sitting upright and readying himself to dismiss Alaric and his newfound companions.
“I shall take my cari… my carriage. How could I forget? In my last campaign against the neighbouring city, my carriage sustained such terrible damage! There is-”
“We have organized your transportation. Your carriage had been confiscated for repairs as you were summoned. I understand how important its enchantments are so we found an apprentice of the mage who blessed it to repair it. Once you leave the castle, it will be fully stocked and ready for your journey. Now leave, mighty warrior and return only with my daughter in good health!”
Alaric sighed, pulling his helm from his side and holding his blade to rise comfortably to his feet.
“Of course, my liege. There is nothing that I would fail to do for the sake of this kingdom. Even face the mightiest creature which has existed!”
“Did I fail in my understanding of your profession, Alaric? If you truly wish to be a jester, it can be arranged upon your return!”
The room grew tense as the helmed warrior cast his eyes on the King’s advisor. “Surely you think of yourself as lesser than the dragon I am touted to defeat, oh noble advisor.”
The King grabbed his advisor by the shoulder, pulling him back to stand beside him. “That is enough. End this dispute now or settle it upon your return. So long as my daughter returns to me unharmed, you will be granted freedom to act in whatever way you desire within my kingdom.”
The advisor turned to the king, fear etched onto his face, “But my lord.” The king ignored the pleas of the man, instead facing Alaric.
“Go now, boy. My daughter is in your need!”
The warrior nodded, his expression hidden behind his helmet. “Of course, my lord. I am on my way to face this mighty creature of the gods!”
Alaric left the hall, offering no time for his companions to keep up with him unless they ran.
“Witch! Water Wall!”
The earth trembled as water flung itself free, bonding together into a massive wall between Alaric and his party and the impending plume of flames.
“My name is not Witch! It’s Bonnabella!”
Alaric shot her a look, his helmet long since discarded after being scorched from the heat of the dragon’s flames. “Bonnabella takes too long when I need you to protect us!”
“Have you considered that, maybe, you don’t need to tell me to protect us?!”
Alaric took a step toward her, ready to offer a rebuttal when another voice cut him off. “Hey guys, can we focus on fighting the dragon instead of each other?”
“The mage is right.”
“His name is Ketill!”
Alaric paused, looking at the mage with a newfound respect. “That’s a strong name for such a frail man. Your magic must truly be excellent.”
“Stop flirting with him and kill the beast, already! Malcolm can’t hold him off much longer!”
Alaric stopped in his tracks, staring at Bonnabella in confusion.
“Malcolm is the guy with the shield who was defending you this whole fight! I could’ve sworn you made a pact with each other on the way here!”
“Oh right! Malcy! I thought he was dead!”
“He will be if you-”
A blade slid easily across Bonnabella’s throat before impaling Ketill in the heart.
“All right, Dad. You can stop toying with him now!”
“Dad?”
The dragon's claws tore through the shield and flesh.
“Son, you need to stop dealing so much damage to me when we fight!”
Alaric rolled his eyes as he sheathed his sword and waded rushing tide from the collapsed water wall. “I need to make it believable!”
“They’re dead! Who exactly is left to believe that you were on their side?”
Alaric hummed as he reached the dragon’s feet. The creature lowered its head, its massive eye peering challengingly into the warrior’s eyes.
“Anyway, let’s move past the minor details.” The dragon snorted a puff of heated smoke at the man, who didn’t even flinch.
“Minor details… You take too much after your mother.”
Alaric waved a hand dismissively. “If I took anymore after you, I’d be hunted just as you. This is why I didn’t want to take this mission. You always have to lecture me on my methods and my ‘tone.’”
“Your tone is truly unforgivable, I have no idea why any of the mortal kings you torment haven’t sentenced you to death as yet!”
“A few have, none have succeeded.”
The dragon laughed, nudging the man before him before raising its head.
“Good to see your strength have yet to fail you.”
“The day it does, I will be under your wing, father.”
The dragon huffed. “You halflings always choose to get the best of both worlds. Human until that shell cracks and dragon when eternity beckons.”
“Yes yes yes. You always say the same thing.”
“The truth rarely changes.”
Alaric rolled his eyes once again. “Is it true that you have the king’s daughter?”
The dragon hummed before shifting its tail which hid a 6-foot-tall crevice. “The girl is in there. Though you cannot take her to the mortal king for some time.”
“You don’t mean…”
“Yes, son. She is your half-sister!”
Alaric groaned. “I guess dragons aren’t so different from humans after all!”
“I sired her with her mother for the same reason I sired you with yours. The humans have grown too fond of seeking the destruction of my kind. She will be put in a position to protect our kind from being hunted.”
“I suppose I will be put in the position of protecting her from the mortals then?”
The dragon nodded. “Which is precisely why you’ve been afforded the strength and abilities that you have been. It is also why you’ve been allowed to traverse the human world so freely. You’ve built quite the reputation, and I’m sure that bringing your half-sister home safely will offer you many freedoms.”
“Do you ever take some time to not think and plan about things?”
“Once, when I was your age. My father was far less tolerant of my behaviours than I am to yours.”
“I guess I’m not only like my mother then.”
“I never said you were not like me, my son.”
Alaric smiled, “When can I take her back to the kingdom.”
“In three months.”
“Three months! They’ll send new warriors in that time!”
“Well, I would’ve needed only a week if you hadn’t decided to make our battle so believable!”
“Oh don’t be petty with me, Dad!”
“Petty?! Your sword shattered a rib when you barely missed my heart!”
“You see, this is what mom always said. You never could let the little things go.”
The dragon huffed, shifting its head away from Alaric.
“Oh really? Now I’m getting the silent treatment! How mature!”
Alaric smirked to himself as he walked past his quiet dragon father and into the crevice where true home was hid