Dragon Core

ZOE


Zoe hearing what Mercer said made doe eyes, obviously sad that Mercer would hate her; she knew he didn’t mean it, but she couldn’t help but to play along. Suogen Growled at Lotiar, he had half a mind to transform, “You’re not worth my time to transform. And for your information, Lycan have superior Speed and Strength to Elves!” Zoe finally had enough of Suogen and punched him in the head and told him to zip it.


“Hey Mercer, it’s getting dark… we haven’t even gotten a place to stay, and Rhea is probably already at the Tavern. “ Zoe observed.


RHEA:


She finally found the Tavern, it was in her opinion, scary. She occasionally got a hoot or a holler her way, and occasionally guys game to up to hit on her… making her extremely uncomfortable. Her face began to turn red. What do normal people do in situations like this? It’s not like these hooligans are Dusk, she can’t just outright stab them. Though, the idea made her a giggle under her breath. And then the uncomfortable came back… Someone save me, She thought pitifully.
 
Lotair just glared at Suogen, "Or maybe you're so ugly you don't want to transform" she said with daggers in her voice.


Mercer slapped her upside the head, she let out a small yelp of surprise, "Everyone, haul ass to the tavern! Not another peep!" Mercer shouted sternly,turning to Zoe, "Except you Zoe, you're fine." he said sweetly. Lotair rubbed the back of her head, kicking mercer in the back of the calf as she lead them to the tavern.


In the corner of the Tavern was a large orc, ignoring most of the ruckus in the room. Without looking up he knew that there was a woman in the room, the cold wolf calls and sleazy lines from the patrons made it obvious. If need came, he would help her. Until then, he sat idly by.
 
Rhea was starting to get nervous, guys were beginning to get closer to her, sprits were fresh on their breaths. “Please… please step away from me..” She shuddered under her breath. She can’t hurt these people… they are civilians, not Dusk.


“Hey, don’t be that way, you just seem really lonely sitting here by herself.” A Elf said to her, with one hand slung over his Human friend next to him. “Yeaaah, you look new in town anyyyway.” They are obviously to drunk to notice her uniform. That and no one else in the town seemed to have cared that she was from the Core, unlike the College.


Finally one of them men reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. Rhea then instinctively lifted her hand out and punched the man in the face. “Whoa! You, you bloody just picked a fight you can’t win you wench.” Rhea recoiled her arms to her sides, fear shot through her. She had no problem with hand in hand combat but she was not trained to deal with civilian!
 
The frighteningly tall Orc rose from his seat, his book closed in his hand, he walked over to where Rhea was, lifting a tall double sided battleaxe from the sheath on his back. Holding it in one hand, he put it over his shoulder, "Gentlemen. I believe she has just told you to leave her alone." He slammed down the battleaxe not more than a few inches away from one of the men, "And I'd listen to her if I were you." he glared down at them, his amber eyes dagger like in quality.
 
The men eyed the Orc, and then looked at Rhea. “Hey man, we aren’t starting any trouble. But you should really mind your own business. She obviously needs someone to show her around.”


Rhea tried to squeak out “Oh no.. I uh… don’t uh.. oh…” when the human graved her hand she began to tear up a little. She was never prepared for a situation like this. She rather be fighting a horde of Dusk right now. “Please… let go…”


Are you Ok Rhea? Rhea heard Roen. I am fine, don’t be alarmed… She answered back. Roen must be feeling of building up panic. Why can’t she sound as confident to these guys are she is to her dragon?
 
The orc sheathed his weapon, and grabbed the human by the collar of his shirt, and the seat of his pants, hoisted the poor man up into the air and threw him towards a wall, "I don't believe you've been listening to her very well, then." he looked around towards the other men in the room, "If I were all of you, I'd leave the tavern now. Least you all want to see how the wall tastes." His voice was a low soft rumble that permeated the room, filling every crevice of it with the sound. He looked at the girl and gently took her hand, "My lady, let me know if anyone gives you more trouble tonight. I am Immor."
 
Rhea was surprised when the Orc had taken her hand, her face paled a little and she stumbled over her words, “Tha.. Thank you Immor… I am Rhea. I am sorry you had to put yourself in that kind of situation… I am not from the city… this is the first time I’ve been to such a place… I am afraid I was not prepared for this at all.” He words seem to fade into an embarrassed grumble. She studied Immor and noticed he was not the same color as a normal Orc. She didn't want to be rude so she quietly followed Immor back to his corner in the Tavern.


Moving next to Immor where he had sat previously she noticed the book he had left to come to her. “Do you enjoy reading? I like to read as well, of course it’s hard to find time… although I just came back from doing quite a bit of reading.” Rhea said quietly.
 
Immor lead the smaller girl to a chair, "It is alright young one, even the field mouse is overwhelmed by the forest." he stated as he took a seat, opening his book once again. He lifted a messy eyebrow to her questions, "I do enjoy reading. I have since I was quite young. My father taught me as soon as I could hold a book, in fact." he glanced over the pages, "You've been to the library then? It is quite impressive, I admit. Not as impressive as the ones my father has told me about, but substantial, certainly." The orc had such a calmness about him, even in a threat he kept this same feeling.
 
Rhea smiled at him impressed, he defiantly made her feel safe in this place. No one else approached her since she had sat down with Immor. She obviously was beginning to relax. She didn’t want to ask him any more questions because he seemed content with what he was reading. She kind of wanted to ask him what other libraries his father had talked about, and a few other things but found herself at a loss for words. She needed information, but first she will go see these Dark and Wood elf elders the old women had told her about. but would leaving in the morning be too soon? Perhaps they should stay here another day. For two days in a row they had moved, besides she had not seen the messenger Drake since they left the Valley.


Rhea sighed and then leaned on the table. She hasn’t eaten since she got here either… and Mercer has all the money. Her tummy rumbled a little and she patted it gently. “Immor, do you by any chance know much about Dragon Lore?” She said to distract herself from her angry tummy.
 
Immor lifted his head from his book, "Dragon Lore?" he gave a thoughtful sigh, "I do believe I have read some things about it when I was quite young." The tall man leaned back in his chair, which creaked slightly from many years of abuse, "All I can truthfully recall is that every human has a dragon destined for them, and that there is a Queen Dragon which births all dragons in the known world. I'm afraid past that I cannot recall. I do recall the categorizations for dragons, but I'm afraid that is all I can help you with. Why do you ask?"
 
Rhea smiled, that was no more then I already know, she thought. “I came here looking to see if this Queen Dragon is real. I know it sounds silly, but I think she can help us win against the Dusk. I know I don’t look it but I am actually part of the Dragon Core. I need to go to find the Elder Dark elf in Loutt.” She didn’t actually think the Dragon existed, but for the sake of information it was easier to explain it that way. Her tummy rumbled again, her face began to turn red.
 
"I know the Elder Dark Elf in Loutt. I visited there very often with my father. I could help you with your search for this Queen Dragon if you'd like. After all, Dark Elves are like bees protecting their honey. They would never give it up easily. Not even to Dragon Core." he looked at her, "But, you can't be doing this alone, can you? You must have companions, or a partner, yes?" as if on cue, Mercer walked through the door. Exhausted, he looked around, finding Rhea and waving.


Lotair gave a small shrug, leaning closer to Zoe, "Keep your wits about you, men here really just want a grab at your pants."
 
Zoe nodded at Lotair and walked more closely behind her, alert of her surroundings. Lotair was right; guys were looking at them like a piece of meat.


Rhea glanced back behind here where Immor was gazing just as he finished his question to see Mercer walking promptly into the bar. Behind him in tow was Zoe and a young elven women. When Mercer approached the table Rhea glanced up at him, “before you or I even begin to explain anything… Mercer... you have all the money and I am so hungry… can we please get some food?” Rhea begged


Suogen grunted, “Looks like a rag tag team for a rag tag job.” Zoe started to pet Suogen as she sat down to quite him. “No, the Queen Dragon is real, so this mission is not bogus. Its just about where she’s at that we need to think about.” Rhea mumbled with her head on the table holding her tummy. “That’s only half the mission…”


After the group sat down and got something to eat Rhea began to tell her side of the story, the old women, the elders and Immor rescuing her. Although the last part of the story was a bit embarrassing, she promptly defended herself afterwards, “I know how to fight... I was the best fencer and dueler with a sword in my class. It’s just I was trained to kill Dusk… not citizens.” Rhea mumbled.


Suogen grunted, “it’s not your fault, men like that need an ass kicking anyway.” Zoe nodded. Rhea sighed and then looked to Mercer to hear his side of the story about his find into the group.
 
Mercer leaned on the table, "yeah, we can eat... and who's your orc friend?" he said looked at Immor.


Immor shut his book, clearly he would not be reading today, "I am Immor. I know the Elder Dark Elf in Loutt, I could convince him to give you the information you need." He looked at Lotair, "And you're bringing the elf thief? I am not sure if that is wise. However I will not make a judgement."


"Please, I'm a bit curious about this mission. I'll stick around until it is a lost cause. Besides, if you guys need anything stolen I'm the person for it." Lotair cocked her hip to the side, "I won't cause trouble."


Mercer shook his head, "I'm just going to go get some food for... all of us." he was beginning to realize just how expensive this was going to be. He wandered off and brought back bowls of soup for everyone. He glared at his bowl as he sat down.


Lotair nudged him in the side, "Don't worry about money, guy. You have a thief on your side now. I can keep a steady supply of income for the journey."


"I'd be worried about that if I were you, human." Immor said sternly, "she's a wanted criminal."
 
Rhea gratefully ate her soup, “Money won’t be a problem. The Core will pay for everything, ill send a money request once our drake has returned. Mercer and I will talk in private in a bit about are certainly growing group. Beside, if you steal in front of me it is our civil duty as Dragon Core members to turn you in.“ Rhea was so hungry she almost didn’t care if she sounded rude or authoritative. Besides if the core didn't provide them with money, she would just send the Drake to her own home, her parents would certainly send her plenty of money. What this thief would probably jump in joy if she knew Rhea came from an extremely wealthy family. She didn't like to talk about her wealthy family because most others would see her as soft. though that kind of did hold true, she just remained quite about such things. She almost told Mercer about it one time during their training, but thought better agenst it.


Zoe on the other hand was feeling rather strange; she had a bizarre feeling of Deja vu, as if this was going to happen, as if this was meant to be. She smiled at the extremely comforting feeling; she missed Hiro now and wished he was here to share this moment with. Sometimes she wish she didn’t give the guy such a hard time, she loved him, but he was so bossy. Regardless something good was going to happen, she knew it. She should probably ask Lotair or Rhea how to fight.


After the semi mixed gang had finished their supper, Rhea decide it would probably be better to camp out of town with their dragon instead of trying to find an inn with a wanted criminal in their party.
 
Mercer lead the group back out of the town, Lotair stretched, "ah, it's nice to be out of that stuffy city and onto greener pastures."


Immor scanned the horizon, "We should be careful. It is often that bandits roam these areas. No one should wander too far away from the camp." he suggested to Mercer and Rhea.


Mercer gave a nod, "I agree, I think we need to camp fairly close together."


Immor took a look at the two dragons, it was the first time he had seen one in all his years. He was a tall man, towering over all the members of the group, but still he had to look up to see the dragons in full. He was enamored with how sleek and streamline Tanis was, the way his scales shimmered under the late sun. He stood watching it for quite some time before moving on to start camp.


Lotair sat against a stray rock, kicking her feet up. Mercer glared at her, "You going to help, or are you just going to sit there like a lump?"


"Sitting like a lump is what elves do best." she yawned. Immor was obviously peeved by this statement.
 
Gently Rhea pulled on Mercer’s shirt and asked him to step to the side with her, Roen followed them Rhea lead Mercer a little ways from the camp so they could get some privacy. “Mercer, what do you think about Lotair? We are probably risking out hides by having her with us, and you know if she steals we will have to turn her in. On top of that we have no idea if we can even trust her. “ Rhea sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, Roen lifted his head and beathed the air through his jaws. “The Drake is back, Rhea.”


Rhea looked up as the Drank landed gracefully next to Mercer. Leaning down Rhea picked off the pack around the drakes neck. Opening the letter inside Rhea noted that nothing in the letter was remotely important. “Ill write back to them later and request some money… if they don’t grant us money don’t worry about it, I will cover our expenses. “ Rhea said with a sigh. Roen sat down on his hindquarters and glanced at the new comers. “I will be honest, none of them seem like much of a threat to us. I sense no alter motives other than for sheer pleasure and the will to help. Although I still don’t like the idea of two random stranger waltzing into this mission.”


Roen let out a small growl of distrust. “My senses have been wrong before… and if they are I won’t hesitate…” Rhea placed her hand on Roen’s muzzle and looked at Mercer. “If you think they will be useful I don’t see why they can’t stay… Roen can carry heavier people... So I suppose I can take Immor and Lotair, and Zoe and Suogen can go with you.” She paused and thought, “Also, should we leave tomorrow? it will be a three day journey to Loutt by Dragon back. It would take a day and a half if it was just us... but we are carrying around extra weight now. But either way.. should we go tomorrow or wait a day?"
 
"I don't know how well we can trust Lotair. However I do get the feeling that she'll be useful at some point. It's a gut feeling, but I'm having to trust it right now." Mercer cast his gaze elsewhere, "Besides, if I'm wrong you can always hit me for it." He watched Roen carefully, "I don't think they'll be much of an issue. Especially the Orc, he'll be a bigger help than you'd expect. Lotair... I'll admit, still pretty worried, trusting my instincts though."


He looked at Tanis, sitting calmly and staring at Immor, who was staring back at him. Mercer seemed lost for a moment in thought, "Hm? I think tomorrow will work just fine. Better to just get things over with, y'know?" He turned back to see Immor and Tanis speaking softly to one another, "That must be a very dull conversation..." he joked to himself.
 
Rhea turned to look at the two talking and stared at them as Mercer made the joke. She did want to get this mission over with… on another matter, personally she thought Immor had good conversation, but Tanis never talked much to Rhea. She was sure Tanis and Roen get along; at least she thinks they do. They occasionally talk to each other. Shrugging, Rhea walked with Mercer back to camp. Rhea then sent off the Drake and laied with Roen and fell fast asleep with Zoe and Suogen close by.


-----The Next morning ------


The Crew was packed up and arranged for takeoff. Flying at a slower pace than Rhea was use too, it was about half a day when Roen said he could no longer fly with all the weight and needed a break. Finding a stream close by, Roen landed and everyone got off and began to stretch. While Roen and Tanis drank from the stream and rested, everyone sat around for a quick lunch break. Small strips of meat were past around to everyone. Rhea broke the silence first. “We should make it out of Aria and on the border of the Forest for the Wood elves just before nightfall. We will rest there for the night and then in the morning continue with the flight.”
 
Lotair shifted where she stood "The Ayr Forest?" she gave a shuttering sigh, "I will help you find suitable territory to rest for the night, other wise we will all surely perish."


Mercer rolled his eyes, placing his items back in his pack, "Did you hail from the forest?" he asks, lifting his back onto his shoulders, his bow was strung across his chest for later.


"Yes, if you must know." Lotair grumbled, "It is not a place I particularly enjoy, as it is full of peril and for the most part all my wood elf friends wanted to frolic through the trees and sing merry tunes. T'was quite annoying."


Mercer chuckled, "Shall we get a move on then, Rhea?"
 
Rhea giggled at Lotair’s comment about frolicking, and laughed a little out loud. Zoe joined Rhea’s laughter after a while. Suogen snorted, “Funny, you just seemed like that type of girl! When we get to the forest, please don’t struggle to control yourself, just surrender to your natural calling. “


When Mercer asked if they should go, Rhea glanced and Roen and Tanis and they nodded. So everyone packed up and graced the dragons with their weight. Flying further to the end of the day they finally landed at the edge of Ayr Forest. Rhea slid off Roen and looked around the Forest, it was getting dark and fast. “I suppose you can lead the way from here Lotair.” Rhea said quietly. Zoe put her hands behind her back and rocked on her feet. She was nervous, Suogen too, but for reasons so much different for Zoe.
 
"Right now my natural calling is telling me skin you and turn you into a nice bag, cat." Lotair grumbled before flight.


When they landed on the edge, Lotair merely glared at the forest, "It has been a very long time since I have had to enter this forest. Let us hope it has not changed much," she called everyone to follow her, "I know most of you couldn't trust me as far as you could throw me, however I also must depend on you for the time being. Now that that's out of the way, I shall deliver two warnings. One, do not touch any large flowers, secondly, be very wary of where you step, as there are rather large spiders." She turned her back to them all, "Now. As they say, allonsy!"


Mercer was a bit nervous as they entered the forest, something just felt off to him, and it made him uncomfortable, "Are you sure you know what you're doing, Lotair?"


"I grew up here. So yes. I know the dangers of this forest far better than I'd like to." she said stepping carefully over roots as she walked.


A small fluttering being began to took great interest in them, and landed on Mercer's shoulder, "oh, look at that, it likes me!" he laughed. It giggled with delight and hummed happy little tunes. Lotair turned around, grabbing the small figure on Mercer's shoulder, crushed it in her hands before wiping the mess away from her hands.


"Pixies. Though charming and sweet, it's a clever facade. Their true intentions are to eat your flesh. The bites are worse, I was once bitten by two of them, I was hallucinating for a week," the elven girl said as she pushed forward, she came across a small slightly open part of the woods, "This will suffice for a camp site. It's deep enough in where no one would wander close, but not so deep to see the real danger of the forest."
 
Rhea didn’t say anything when they had landed, everything felt to wrong. Something was off about the forest. When everyone was settled and a small fire was lit, Roen curled up near Rhea and Zoe sat while Suogen sat close to Zoe, every hair on his pelt standing on end. Rhea conversed quietly with Immor about books over supper.


Soon enough a few pixies flew in around the fire and began to dance and make a show around the flames. Rhea looked horrified and pulled out her sword. Soon enough a small horde of Pixies appeared around them. Everyone began to swing and flail their weapons about. Soon Roen opened his jaws and sprayed a large flame over head of everyone, the Pixies scattered, frightened.


Zoe looked around, she uncovered her head and panted hard, craning her head every direction to locate the pixies. Rhea held her sword in a well possioned battle stance. “Was anyone bit?” Rhea asked quickly. Everyone looked around. Didn’t seem like it. Rhea sighed and then pulled her Rapture into the sheath and sat back down again. “Thanks for the quick thinking Roen.” Roen only nodded in acknowledgment.
 
Mercer was starting to hate this forest more and more, "I wasn't bit."


"Nor I." Immor grumbled, sheathing his axe which he had used like a fly swatter.


"I as well am just fine." Lotair got up, hunting around a bush and picking out a few leaves and sticks, tossing them in the fire, "That should help ward them off. It is a natural pixie repellant. I was not aware so many would swarm us, and I apologize for the inconvenience."


"So long as no one was hurt, no harm done." Mercer sighed, leaning against a tree.
 
“I am fine.” Zoe said finally, moving closer to the dragons, speaking to them in a low tone. Rhea nodded and glanced around. Than she noticed it, a tall man with black hair was standing there with them, his features were hands, but kind of rouged like his beast form. Rhea nearly screamed, where did the man come from? Zoe raised her hand in his defense, “No don’t be scared, that’s Suogen, that’s his human form!” Rhea understood then and nodded, watching him. She seemed wired.


Suogen just stared at the ground. Why was it moving? “Stop moving…” He said loudly. “Your making me dizzy… I’m not kidding you bloody idiots, stop moving!! Looking up word Suogen glared at Lotair, “Youuu, you are a pixie. I very pretty pixie.” Suogen swung his head around, it was almost hard for him to hold up because his world was spinning so hard. “You guys would make good pixies too… cept your not pretty… like her. ******* pixie.”


Rhea and Zoe both looked around the party. “Suogen… where you bit?”


“RIGHT ON THE NECK, LIKE A FREAKING FLEA! A vampire of sorts. Why does magic even exist?? Everything would be so much better without it!” Suogen was now flinging his hands around talking to someone next to Lotair. “You don’t want to date her, she like a monster! Besides, you already are getting married, don’t talk to me like that. Just do what your told! No, I’m not coming home right now, I am busy. YOU GO HOME! You are the one wasting your time talking to me!!” Rhea felt herself shifting further away from Suogen. He was starting to get very loud, and kind of angry sounding.
 
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