The dark side of magic

[Lady Jenn]

"This city is defended by an army few could stand against," Tea said. "Each adult dragon is a magic user far stronger than even the greatest human mage. But it is not just dragons who guard this city." They flew closer to the out wall, where the strange figures who stood there were better revealed. Each had the upper body of a man but the lower body of a reptile and stood leaning against an immense spear. "Dragon Ogres, once they were numerous throughout the world but now they are found only in Dragonblight."

"Bloody hell," Muroe said as they flew past the ogres. "I wouldn't want to try fighting ONE of those things, nevermind a city full of them."

They flew over the inner courtyard of the city, where female dragons tended to young dragons and some were guarding their eggs.As they approached the tower they finally saw the formidable creature who sat on the spire. Even by dragon standards the creature was huge, a scar running across his right eye and claws that looked capable of ripping through metal.

"Stormrider," Tea said, indicating the dragon. "The king of the dragonkin. I couldn't even begin to guess how old he is, but even so his age hasn't dimmed his powers. It was his father who ordered the dragons to withdraw, but his father died, betrayed by a human wizard. It is said that the fae are the only race aside from his own Stormrider trusts. He would make a formidable ally in a war but...I fear we may have no way of persuading him to help us."

[albatross]

Aurora focused again once the images began to move and her little dragon got lost in the movement. She stared at the Dragon Ogres and then the largest dragon. "Maybe whatever is behind the door is something we could use to make him like you," she said and looked at Barkeley. "You are kinda in the center of this so if anyone needs Mufasa there it's you," she said and looked back to Stormrider.

"Is it possible for him to turn into a human? You said before that dragons can turn into humans right? But nobody knows. Is there a way we can, I dunno, get him to come out as a  human for a meeting?" She asked and looked up at Tea then to the dragon there.

"If she went and offered an invitation to meet with Barkeley, plead his case to him, would that work?" She asked, looking to Barkeley.

[Lady Jenn]

"There is a legend about the day the dragon king was betrayed," Tea said. "The wizard didn't simply kill him, he stole from him an ancient dragon artefact of immense power. If you could find the artefact and return it to Stormrider he may be willing to listen if nothing else."

"It would explain why she's guarding it," Muroe said. "You said yourself Tea that the Crystal Dragons stayed long after the dragons had retreated. If they'd found it after the wizard had died then she and her mate would almost certainly wish to guard it. It would explain who the dragonkin magic got there, I doubt the wizard would've known how to cast dragon hexes."

"Even if that is what the dragon is guarding we still face a big problem," Barkeley said with a sigh. "We don't have the first idea where Dragonblight is, we have no idea even where to start."

[albatross]

"No," she said and shook her head as she looked at Barkeley. "We do know something. It's on a mountain range with a tall tower," she said and looked at him. "We just need to figure out which mountain range. I could do that. Search through atlas' and maps," she suggested.

"Just try to find a range that looks like the one we saw and then Muroe could fly there, maybe," she said and looked at Muroe. "If there are dragons and if the artifact is behind that door then we'll just need to figure out a way to get you an audience with the king," she smiled. "Simple... enough," she added quietly.

"Or maybe once the artifact is out and we need to see Stormrider she could take us," she said, looking at the crystal dragon.

[Lady Jenn]

"I guess that's as good a plan as any," Muroe said with a laugh. "If we take it from the vault she'll have no reason to stay here so she may be more willing to take us."

"Well then," Barkeley said, "we'd better get started on reading this book so we can figure a way around those hexes." He opened the book and sat down almost instantly with a sigh. "There are hundreds of pages here, how on earth do we know where to start."

"We have a dragon here," Tea said. "Dragon runes are her language, let her read it. If she helped place the hexes there then she'll know their counterspells too. Plus she'll have to cast the counterspells, you COULD attempt to wield the magic of a dragon but non-dragonkin can easily control the amount of power it requires. There are stories of beings destroyed attempting to control the magical energies that a creature like Stormrider could wield in his sleep without batting an eyelid."

Barkeley walked over to the dragon, placing the book in front of her and watching as she studied the book intently.

[albatross]

Aurora looked at Barkeley as the dragon studied the book. "I don't want you to get destroyed. Just so you know," she mumbled and offered him a smile before she looked back at the dragon.

Everything was so confusing now. This morning she got up and the most important thing was depositing her check so she'd make rent and here she was. Trying to get an ancient artifact out of a cursed room so they could take it to the dragon king and hopefully have him as an ally in some war she didn't even know about. She still didn't really know any of the facts about the war they were apparently involved in.

All she knew was Shades and elementals were not nice, tigers and eagles and even humans could not be as they seemed. "Hey, do some people who change shape, would they just be a deer in the woods?" She asked and looked at Muroe.

[Lady Jenn]

"They could be," Muroe replied. "People who are still learning the skills of an animagus would be easy to tell apart from real animals. The more skilled you become the easier it is to disguise your human side. I leave my eyes the same colour out of choice, a girl once told me they were the most beautiful thing about me."

"You'd never guess he's still a teenager would you?" Barkeley asked with a laugh. "Even I'm quite young. I'm guessing you and the dragon are of a more considerable age though Tea?"

"Oi, remember the dragon could flatten you with one claw," Tea said cheekily. "But no, you're right. "I've lived for...more centuries than I care to mention and I wouldn't dare even TRY asking the dragon her age. Female dragons are as sensitive about their age as human women are, except if you annoy a dragon the consequences are potentially FAR worse."

[albatross]

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Aurora said and looked between the two men with a smile. "I'm surprised you even had the gall to ask a question like that."

She looked at Muroe a moment then looked at Barkeley. "So am I older than you two? Well I'm older than you but are you older than me?" She asked and looked from Muroe to Barkeley again. She wasn't that sensitive about her age since she was still young and looked young.

"That'd be funny though, if a male dragon asked a female dragon her age and the female went all vicious on him," she smiled. "That's the start of a bad joke," she said to herself and sat down on the floor while the dragon continued to read.

[Lady Jenn]

"I'm older than you, just" Barkeley said. "But not by a whole lot. I had to grow up very quickly so I can look a lot older than I actually am."

"Dragon couples are much different to your relationships," Tea said with a smile. "They mate for life, so if you're actually stupid enough to attempt to steal a dragon's egg then you have to deal with two parents who are most likely going to kill you as soon as see you."

"Note to self, its a dumb idea to annoy the dragons," Muroe said with a laugh."

"She's found the spell," Tea said suddenly. "Luckily for us there's one spell which will take out all the dragon hexes in one shot, otherwise we'd be here for a while."

[albatross]

Aurora nodded her head and looked to Tea as she spoke. "If humans had to mate for life the murder rate would skyrocket," she said with a roll of her eyes. "And divorce lawyers would be outta business," she said with a bit of a smile.

"Oh! Yay!" Aurora said and clapped her hands together when Tea said the dragon had found a spell that would get rid of all the dragon hexes in one shot.

"That's good news," she beamed and rocked on her heels as she waited to see what would happen next.

[Lady Jenn]

The dragon moved, revealing an immense trapdoor which she had been sat almost directly on top of., nodding to Barkeley and pointing to an opening in the centre of the doorway.

"Guess I don't need to ask where the sword goes," Barkeley said, walking over and slotting the sword into the opening. Suddenly the trapdoor lit up, revealing a myriad of strange letter written across across it.

"We can deal with all the hexes at once," Tea said to the dragon, who silently nodded in agreement. Tea uttered a short sentence under her breath and the letters seemed to melt away, the dragon showing no sign of casting a spell beyond a faint glow appearing in her eyes. "She will bring the object up," Tea said. "There's no way you could safely reach where it is, and I doubt I could carry it back up."

The dragon jumped up into the air, revealing a wingspan  which seemed to fill half the library before diving down into the opening, vanishing from sight.

"Considering what happened to Stormrider's father I'm amazed any dragon would choose to help us," Muroe said thoughtfully.

"She's watched you and Barkely," Tea said, "and Barkeley's grandfather before you. She has seen that there are humans who are capable of great acts of kindness. If we could convince Stormrider of the same who knows what we might achieve."

[albatross]

Aurora continued to sit on the floor and watched silently. She tilted her head as Barkeley slotted the sword and jumped back a bit when the trap door suddenly lit up.

Her gaze moved to Tea when the fairy spoke and watched at the dragon's eyes began to glow. "What is the object?" She asked and jumped back again when the dragon jumped up and dove into the hole.

"Holy!" She said and moved over to the hole to look down it then looked at Tea. "She'll be alright right?" She asked.

[Lady Jenn]

"Her skin is as tough as the toughest diamond," Tea said. "Diving down there might scratch her slightly but its not going to do much else."

After a few minutes there was a wooshing sound as the dragon returned, landing and revealing the object nestled between her formidable claws. It turned out to be a suit of armour made from an unrecognisable material and a sword almost as formidable as the one Barkeley carried.

"No wonder people wanted that," Tea said. "Those are the rarest materials alive. The armour is made from dragon scales and the sword is forged with pure dragonkin magic. Someone with that power would be impossible to get near, nevermind have a fair fight with."

[albatross]

Aurora peeked at the armour and sword when Tea explained what it was. "Maybe you can wear it," she suggested and looked towards Barkeley.

"I mean, if your grandfather had it hidden down here and the sword and all that then maybe you were meant to have it and use it against those evil people," she shrugged.

"Or would the dragons want it back?" She questioned after a moment and looked to Tea.

[Lady Jenn]

"Something tells me we should at least attempt to give it back to Stormrider first," Barkeley replied. "Using it without his permission may only succeed in making him attack us."

"I'm not sure even dragonscale armour would be much help against a fully grown dragon of his abilities," Tea said. "Shall we set off for Dragonblight?" she asked.

"I think we need food first," Barkeley replied. "Especially if we don't know how long this trip is going to take."

[albatross]

Aurora nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense," she said as she scratched behind her ear and blushed a bit.

"Well dragons can kill dragons so it kinda makes sense that a dragon could kill anyone wearing the armour," she commented and stood up, dusting herself off.

"Food would be good, we can pack some stuff in case we're gone a long time," she said and looked at Barkeley.

[Lady Jenn]

"We should at least eat something first," Muroe said, blushing slightly as his tummy rumbled.

"He's right," Tea said, smiling at his embarrassment. "Besides, Kara here hasn't flown in a very long time, she needs to go out and stretch her wings first to make sure they still work."

"But how will she..." he started saying as the dragon launched off into the darkness above them. "The magic that makes this room so big is dragonkin as well isn't it?" he said, Tea nodding in reply."Well, let's go get some food ready while we wait for her to get ready."

[albatross]

Aurora smiled when he blushed. "Aw, you don't have to blush cause you tummy is hungry," she smiled to Muroe.

"Kara? That's her name?" She asked Tea since she hadn't caught it before if it was mentioned and flinched when the dragon launched into the air.

When it seemed like Barkeley knew what was going she just shrugged it off. The way she saw it, if Barkeley, Muroe or Tea were okay with something then she didn't have to worry. And they made such a big deal about getting lost in this library she felt more comfortable of their abilities. "Okay, let's go to the stairs. That way?" She asked and pointed down the aisle of books.

[Lady Jenn]

"You're right," Tea said with a slight giggle. "No idea how we managed it but we went in pretty much a straight line so getting out again is easy."

The trip back to the stairs seemed to take less time than the journey to the dragon,, even with them carrying the armour and sword, before climbing up the stairs to reach the kitchen. When they reached the kitchen they noticed a strange green light emanating from outside, which seemed to catch everyone but Tea off guard, who smiled.

"Gimme a sec," Tea said. "We have some company. Don't worry, they aren't hostile," she said, noticing Barkeley reaching for his sword.

"I'm guessing they're other fae like her," Muroe said. "I've seen that light by the lake before but I could never quite figure out what they were till I read one of the books in the library."

[albatross]

"Ya know, walking back to the stairs was alright but I prefer going down stairs than going up them," she mumbled as they made the long walk up the stairs and she figured she should have gone on more walks or runs rather than just eating right to keep her figure.

Aurora hadn't noticed the light until there Tea spoke and looked up from the floor. She noticed the light and Barkeley reaching for his sword.

"More fairies?" She asked excitedly and ran to the window to look out at the fairies the way children ran to candy store display windows. She peeked outside and looked all around, completely forgetting about her growling stomach.

[Lady Jenn]

"I guess I'll be making the lunch then," Barkeley said with a smirk as Muroe walked over to a window to see what was happening as he set about making a snack of fruit and sandwiches.

Tea was stood on the grass outside but there were four other figures with her. One was a tall, regal looking male fairy dressed in golden armour which seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. The other three were soldiers, each with their backs to the house so their faces were hidden but each wiedling spears just visible even at distance.

"It must be something serious," Muroe said. "A member of the fae Royal Court rarely comes this close to human civilization without a reason. I'm guessing he's a prince, doesn't look quite fancy enough to be a king."

"Plus the way the fae royal succession goes its quite rare to see a fairy king anyway," Barkeley said with a laugh. "Its safe to say the women wear the trousers in fairy society."

[albatross]

A small smirk came to Aurora's lips at Barkeley's words. "Just the way human women wear the trousers in our society, though no male will admit it," she said quietly.

"So that's a fairy prince, he looks more manly than I thought a fairy male would look," she said quietly, her eyes glued to the fairy prince before she looked to Tea and finally back to the scene in front of them.

"Do you think she called them here to help?" She asked after a moment and looked over the soldiers. "It's kind of ironic they'd show up just as you found the amour and sword."

[Lady Jenn]

"Or they need her for something," Barkeley said. "Tea isn't a princess herself and there are plenty of other Chameleon Sprites they could've sent. If she's here they sent her for a reason, and they may need her help."

Tea signalled for them to come outside, Muroe and Barkeley helping Aurora outside. The prince turned to them, bowing deeply and revealing a small, if formidable, sword sheathed in his belt.

"This is Prince Imrik," Tea said, "the third son of Queen Elena of Shadowglade. You should feel proud, Imrik rarely leaves Shadowglade so if Elena sent him to see you you must be doing something right."

"A oleasure to meet you all," Imrik said, taking Aurora's hand and kissing it. "Word has reached the Royal Court that you seek an audience with Stormrider. I cannot guarantee you he will agree to help you but he is more likely to be willing to listen if he knows you have the blessing of Elena herself. Elena and Stormrider have a...unique bond."

"What he means," Tea said with a faint smile, "is that Stormrider is the only dragon to have perfected turning into a fairy, and in his fairy form he and Elena fell in love. Nothing came of it but their close bond remains to this day."

[albatross]

When Tea signaled for them to come outside Aurora planted herself on the floor. "That's a prince. We can't go out dressed like this," she said but didn't put up any resistance when Muroe and Barkeley helped her outside.

When the prince turned and bowed Aurora looked from Muroe to Barkeley to see if they did anything in turn such as bowing or anything. When they didn't she just stood stock still and barely wanted to breath.

Her eyes drifted to the side, looking for Kara since she hadn't seen the dragon since she took off out of the basement. She felt her hand being touched and turned her head to Imrik and flushed brightly when he kissed her hand. She couldn't keep the giggle down but quickly clammed up.

"Men where I'm from don't do that," she mumbled and lowered her eyes, thoroughly embarrassed now. She glanced at Tea when she spoke and smiled. "Oh that's cute," she said, then decided she'd keep her girly thoughts to herself from there on in.

"So, you're say that the Queen can get Barkeley in there safely?" She grinned and looked at Barkeley. "You've got more luck than anyone I know."

[Lady Jenn]

"Indeed," Imrik said. "Even with Kara on your side that would only guarantee you could land in Dragonblight before they attacked. With us by your side you can at least be sure he'll listen."

"Where is Kara?" Muroe asked, nearly jumping a second later when the dragon perched herself on top of the house and watching them intently. "How...where did..."

"Oh Muroe," Barkeley said with a laugh. "That's where Kara's been. Tea couldn't leave our side but she needed someone to get a message to Imrik. I could believe the soldiers were here by chance but a fae Prince doesn't go anywhere by 'accident'." He smiled as Imrik nodded. "Well we'd better get going soon, we don't want to waste too much time."