The North (Closed)

[KieranSoares]

As Gia and Andre rejoined her, Sadah and Ezra split off southeast to meet the vanguard. While neither were more than scratched, they'd need to pry out the arrows lodged into Sadah's scales to make sure they didn't work their way through and cause a problem later.

As Andre and Riley were making a last sweep, Andre suddenly yelled, "Marth!"

Marth veered into a roll sideways on instinct, as a large harpoon-like bolt flew out from the castle. It narrowly missed Marth's wing, while Gia broke away to begin tracking down the source. Another bolt flew out, and it became clear that there were ballistas inside the castle's towers, firing out of large arrow slits to keep them hidden and covered from direct attack.

 

[heartofcourage]

As Marth spun away from the spear, Riley caught sight of the large weapons that had been hidden from view. They might have been devoid of dragons among their ranks, but they had taken pains to be prepared for any that approached. When they were fired upon again, Riley took her whistle and blew her commands to Marth. It wasn’t the time for words. It was the time for action.

Pushing him lower towards the towers, once he touched down, she gave him the command to fire. She wouldn’t mess around with the lives of her dragons. She was going to burn out any enemy soldier that would fire upon dragons. She could feel Marth gather heat in his chest before fire spewed forth and rained down.

 

[KieranSoares]

Standing before one tower and able to aim carefully, Marth drew his head back a let loose a gout of blue flame through the windows and arrow slits of the ballista tower. Screams of soldiers inside grew in volume and panic as Marth side-stepped another ballista bolt and hurled flame at the opposite tower.

Before he could get a good hit on the other tower, Marth was forced to rocket into the air again to spare Riley from a hail of arrows. "They're got those things well-protected. I don't know if I can risk another drop-in like that. They'll shoot you out of the saddle," Marth called back to Riley, wincing slightly as a few small bolts found purchase in his belly and legs.

 

[heartofcourage]

"We've got them covered enough with foot soldiers. The castle will be taken soon." Riley called back as Marth winced at the volley of small arrows that pierced into his legs and belly.

She pulled hard on his reigns, jerking him back out into the open air and towards a clearing where she could get him away from the action long enough to check him out. He would need attention, even if it was for something as minor as a small arrow to the soft scales of his stomach. She didn't like the fact that the had hidden the harpoons so well inside the towers, but it wouldn't be much of a fight if everything went their way.

"Set yourself down when you're able. I need to look you over." She called over the wind as other dragons rushed past them to take their spots.

 

[KieranSoares]

Marth split off from Ashford proper and headed out over the swamps and forest. Finding an open dry area, he touched down and came to a halt. Gia wasn't far behind. She didn't land, instead slowing down just enough to deposit Andre. He hit the ground running and came jogging to help Riley. Gia kept watch from above, circling and monitoring for anyone who might've followed them.

"You okay, big guy?" Andre asked as he came up to pat Marth's arm.

"Fine, just being careful. Sadah got it a lot worse." Marth laid on his side, plucking bolts and arrows with his claws. Andre reached into his satchel for a pair of pliers and followed suit.

"The Baron's going to be livid at us," Andre chuckled as they worked. "All that preparation, and a trio of dragons tore his castle open and scared away half his soldiers."

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley was a step ahead of Andre, working to pull out some of the deeper barbs and trimming any jagged scales that might have been affected. "I hate that he had those damned harpoons hidden though. We could have taken out more if we could have gotten closer." She murmured as she spread a salve over anything that had the potential to turn angry. "We could rip down the towers. Maybe that would get the point across."

 

[KieranSoares]

"There's no need for that at this point. We've torn the castle grounds open and the ground forces are almost here," Andre reminded her as they worked. "Our efforts are better spent on supporting the assault and keeping a lookout. If anyone in the isles has dragons, they'll be on their way by now."

Off in the distance, a string of bugles alerted all of Ashford that the vanguard was starting to press into the outer edge of town. It wouldn't be long before they stormed the castle and took over completely. There was already a local noble supporting the Northerners that would replace the old Baron, seeing as the former governors of Ashford were long gone. Soma would have him installed by the end of the day if all went to plan.

 

[heartofcourage]

In Oxford, Fiona and Schaller were finishing up, passing out the last of their pamphlets to students that passed by in curiosity with the great white dragon had been seen passing overhead. It had been a rather boring day, she thought to herself as she spoke to anyone that posed her a question, willing to debate if they saw fit but not willing to back down in her position. It seemed that most everyone was welcoming to them and it had been a rather smooth day.

"Did we pick the boring assignment?" Fiona asked, repacking her saddle bag as Schaller sat patiently, waiting for her to get settled to make his way back towards Dover.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Your son saw fit to use your stubbornness and charisma to his advantage, but you can be sure he'll have you out slaying barons and taking on mercenaries soon. If Riley's done her job well, Ashford will fall and word will spread. I imagine the self-appointed kings of the isles and their lackeys will be bringing in some dangerous foes before long." Schaller stood once she was in the saddle. The small crowd still gawking at him began to back away, but Schaller was too graceful and aware of his surroundings to knock into people or step on things. Carefully weaving down the main street, Schaller made his way toward the city gate. He didn't want to take off in the midst of people and animals. The force of his wings would knock things over and the last thing he wanted was to cause damage or fear in the people they were trying to ally with.

 

[heartofcourage]

As Schaller moved his way gracefully through Oxford, something caught Fiona’s attention. It bagged at her, pulling at her mind and distracting her from the conversation. It was an overwhelming depression, a dragon somewhere near to them. She pulled his reigns to a stop before he could take off and she sat as still as a statue to get her bearings.

“To the East.” She said, pulling on the reign to direct him, not sure exactly where they were going but knowing that they had to go.

 

[KieranSoares]

Schaller instantly turned and leapt into the air at her request, knowing from twenty years of experience that it was better to listen now and ask later. The area to the east was mostly gradual hills, farm fields, and the occasional small copse of trees, so Schaller didn't have to go too high to see a long way. He slowed a bit once he left Oxford's outer village, scanning back and forth across the f

"What are we looking for?" He grunted, taking in the fields full of green shoots and the people tending them.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I don't know." She muttered as she looked down over the landscape, not sure exactly what she was feeling or what they were looking for.

She was sure that she would see it given how sparse everything was in this part of England. The hills were rolling green, only broken by fences that marked the different farms. She thought that perhaps she was going crazy until she realized exactly what was happening.

"Go down." She said as she demanded Schaller land on the farmland that surrounded a larger estate.

There were workers about, some looking their way as the great white dragon touched down. She slipped down from the saddle after she armed herself with a short sword and her new crossbow, stepping in front of Schaller as they both saw just what she had been feeling.

"Slaves." She said softly, her blood instantly boiling to know that there were enslaved werefolk on English soil. "You have got to be fucking kidding me."

She turned her eyes to the great stone estate in the distance, watching as the dragon that she had felt all the way back in Oxford slowly raised its head. The brown dragon, not much bigger than a large drake, was chained like those that worked the fields. A thick black iron band around the neck kept it grounded and it was clear that its job was to keep the workers in the fields honest and on task.

 

[KieranSoares]

Schaller rose to his full height once Fiona was on the ground, surveying the fields with a careful eye. "I see all sorts here... Lunar, Erygonian, Kalma... Even Tuari centaurs. Some of these may even be kin to Marri's old friend Dalton."

Some werefolk and centaurs had refused to leave their homes back during the evacuation of the isles. The rare centaurs in particular had been stubborn in Wales and England, holding the line til they were completely overtaken and enslaved or killed. Now, the centaurs were treated like expendable horses hauling plows and wagons while others picked rocks and weeds.

Almost everyone had stopped now. Some stared blankly, too miserable to be scared. Some had perked up in recognition, daring to hope that this Elder Dragon and well-outfitted Rider were really who they all thought they were. Some had run to hide, fearing the presence of another dragon. But in the midst of it all, a number of humans on horses came riding from different sides of the estate and fields to investigate the disturbance. A few went to the estate manor itself to give warning ahead.

The field bosses gathered, but only one dared to approach, having to dismount his skittish horse. "Hail, Rider," he called in a rough London accent. "You stand upon private land owned by Lord Edmund Dunstan. What's your business?"

 

[heartofcourage]

It took absolutely everything in Fiona’s power to remain calm as they were approached by a human. She stood at ease, her hand casually resting on the hilt of her sword as her bright gaze surveyed everything around them. Schaller could see much more and she knew by his tense stance that he was less than impressed by what he saw.

“I suppose I have business with Dunstan.” Fiona called back, her tone measured but strained. “Perhaps you might get him for me.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"I might, if I knew who I was speaking with," the field boss countered, glancing at Schaller as the dragon growled in warning.

"You may tell him that Lord Schaller of Trondheim requires his immediate attention," Schaller snarled, causing the entire group to back up and a few horses to spook. "Go before I lose my patience and burn this disgusting operation to the ground!"

The field bosses went scrambling in panic for their horses, some left on foot to flee as their mounts bolted. Several headed straight for the manor house while others began rounding up slaves to get them back to their meager lodgings and secured.

Schaller remained looming behind Fiona, intentionally framing her as a powerful woman in full control with a deadly force at her beckon call. Only minutes later, a new set of people came riding out on beautifully-colored drakes. Four were armored, clearly bodyguards. The fifth was a larger man in his fifties with a full beard and long curly hair going grey at the temples. His expression was grave but he tried to hide it with a hospitable smile.

"Lord Schaller!" the nobleman called, his tone wavering slightly. "And I presume Lady Fiona Blackstone. Welcome, welcome! Your reputation precedes you! To what do I owe this immense pleasure?"

He was laying it on thick as his group came to a halt a fair distance from Schaller. Swallowing hard, the nobleman added, "Pardon my rudeness, your graces, I am Edmund Dunstan, a knight of Oxford and governor of this estate."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You here that, Schaller? They do know who we are after all." Fiona said as she crossed her arms over her chest and watched as the man tried to bow and scape to them in order to figure out just what they were doing there on his estate. "Sir Dunstan."

The moment was incredibly tense as Schaller growled low in his chest, fighting mad that the first man had practically insulted her. However, Fiona tempered his own anger with a tense calm, regarding Edmund Dunstan with a small hint of distain in her bright eyes.

"Forgive me, sir, but I was not aware that slavery was allowed on English soil." She said bluntly.

 

[KieranSoares]

Dunstan cleared his throat nervously, glancing to his bodyguards before murmuring, "Well, it... it was made legal again by the current King, His Majesty Amadeus Hess. But, ah... well, I suppose if you Northerners are really taking over again and Hess falls..." At this point, he was visibly fidgeting and his bodyguards didn't look too keen on actually protecting him. They were even less willing as Schaller leaned in further and further, giving the appearance that Fiona was the only thing stopping him from incinerating them all.

Dunstan cleared his throat again, sweat beading on his forehead. "If Hess falls, I would of course be loyal to House Beauclerc when they're reinstated, including their laws."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Somehow, I don't believe that." Fiona said as Schaller gave a very dark growl. "Excuse me, sir."

She stepped past him without a work, making her way towards the slave quarters to speak to the directly as Schaller followed behind her with deep rumbling steps. It was deathly quiet as they approached the meager buildings, everything locked down as the approached the small dragon that had brought her there in the first place.

"If there is anyone here that wishes to speak, you can rest assured that you may do it freely." Fiona called out in Erygonian, wondering if anyone would dare to step forward.

 

[KieranSoares]

A few heads poked out of windows and doorways, all staring wide-eyed at the new arrival and her terrifying partner. The little brown dragon looked on hazily, registering the words but not responding.

Dunstan and his bodyguards watched from a distance, kept at bay by Schaller's occasional glare back at them. It took a long moment before any of the slaves dared to come out, seeing their keepers were too scared to come close. A thin ruddy red Wolf emerged from a central cabin. Her ears were ragged at the edges and one had a tag similar to a sheep, marking her as #19. Her clothes were little more than repurposed burlap sacks sewn into the vague shape of a tunic and skirt. She, like her fellows, looked as though they were worked hard and fed only just enough to stay fit.

The red Wolf stared at Fiona for a long moment, her golden eyes hard and suspicious. The grey streaks along her face and short mane told Fiona that she'd likely once lived free in the isles before the Imperial invasion. Her gaze almost seemed angry and betrayed, but it was overcome by relief as tears began to brim. In Erygonian, she simply whispered, "You came back..."

 

[heartofcourage]

"It took much longer than I wanted." Fiona said as the wolf seemed both angry and relieved that she were back in the isles. "Dry your tears, sister. They don't deserve them."

"Tell me everything I need to know about this place." Fiona said as she bade the wolf to follow her as she made her way over towards the obviously drugged dragon. "And everything I need to know about Dunstan."

 

[KieranSoares]

The Wolf followed with only a glance back at the others still watching. Trying her best to maintain a strong front, she came to Fiona's side before the dragon. "This estate supplies Oxford and the surrounding area. Dunstan is just a worm who watches over it all from the manor. How such a coward ever became a knight, I'll never know." There was venom in her words, but she still spoke quietly knowing she wasn't free yet. "I suppose it's better than being thrown into the mines in Spain, but Dunstan lets the field bosses do whatever they want to us as long as the work gets done."

She looked over the small dragon and her pointed ears flattened. "And this is Cyneric. Few people have dragons in England as far as I know. So Dunstan keeps him like a trophy. He's trying to train him to be some kind of guard dog for the estate, able to look after things and hunt down those who escape. But Cyneric's too aggressive, so they keep him chained and sedated. He's much older than he looks, though, and he can speak when he's lucid."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona stared at the dragon for the longest time not saying a word. Anger bristled along ever fiber of her being as she saw the beautiful, proud dragon drugged into oblivion simply because he would not bow to their whim. She took a deep breath to steady herself before she turned back to glare murder at the man who ran the estate.

"Dunstan." She called out, her voice harsh as she saw multiple men flinch at the tone. "While I would dearly love an explanation for this, I don't think that I could trust a single word that comes from your mouth."

"My dragon and I will return in two days time with more riders. In that time, I would expect your entire estate to be free of every slave that you have kept. This dragon will be free of every drug and lucid." She said, pointing back at the brown beast that drooped so depressed in front of them. "Or so help me God I will burn everything that you hold dear in this entire estate to the ground and take the greatest of glee in it. You have two days to make the last twenty years right."

 

[KieranSoares]

Dunstan, standing at a distance with his guardians, swallowed hard when Fiona leveled her ultimatum. He looked at his guardians as if trying to find help or support as he spoke, "M-my lady, that's quite an ask. My entire livelihood and that of my employees depends on this farm, not to mention Oxford will go hungry if there's no one to look after and harvest the crops. You can't expect me to let it all rot in the fields, can you?"

The Wolf stared at Dunstan with an intense sort of expression, a silent rage burning after years of chains and abuse. But she didn't speak, knowing she wasn't free yet. She knew even giving information to Fiona might get her killed.

 

[heartofcourage]

"It's called money, Dunstan. Paying an honest wage for an honest living, or has your lifestyle addled your brain that much?" Fiona asked. "Your fields look fat enough to survive if you started to pay for the services of these people instead of breaking their backs. Sure, you might go without a few finer things, but I think you can manage."

Her blue eyes were blazing as she stared at the man with her hands placed firmly on her hips. "Trust me when I say that we are winning this battle and you have done nothing in the past twenty years but bow and scrape to a usurper. Do you know who will soon sit on the throne? My family. Do you know whom you need to now please? Me. I think I am being more than generous."

"Do I think that a cowardly worm like you is going to run and tell what happened today? Absolutely. Which is why I'm returning with more riders and we will be taking your dragon. It will be up to him whether he rips your belly out or not."

 

[KieranSoares]

Dunstan glanced around again, as if someone might save him from Fiona's ruling, but no one seemed terribly willing to stand up to her. The bodyguards had even taken a couple steps back when Fiona mentioned letting the captive dragon go free. Trying to compose himself, Dunstan gave a slow nod. "I will... rearrange things, then. It wouldn't do to start off on a bad foot with the North." Trying to show a little bravery to save face, he added, "And I expect that, if I meet these demands, you and yours will be providing protection from Hess and Royer? That is, after all, the role of a leader- to take care of their subjects. I will be loyal and abide by your rules as long as I feel safe. That should be fair, yes?"