The Slave Girl Nephalie Daneira unbuckled the belt surrounding her waist, putting it and her sword down against the straw bed she would (hopefully) be sleeping on later. Her hands reached for the chest as she crouched down to open it, thankfully it was not locked. The half-cylinder lid opened with a just a fragile touch, and Daneira marvelled at the goods that had been entrusted to her. Inside the chest was an Iron Claw, a sort of rope with a metal three-pointed hook attached to it, a tool for climbing. There was also a bottle of Hilburn tonic, and a set of three maps. One of those maps was of the entire world of Asgarth, giving a brief overview of each of its three countries, the populated Wingard, the deserted wilderness of Naragard and the sparsely charted, monster filled land of Marrengard. The second map was of Wingard as a whole, and the third map of the surrounding area. Daneira was most grateful for those maps, so far she had been getting by only through word of mouth These maps would help her greatly, as Wingard was no easy land to travel across Wingard, the largest and most cherished country in Asgarth, was divided into six regions. One was Hilburn, the region that Daneira was presently in. The second was Branwen, the largest of all regions of Wingard. The third was Highdorn, an icy wasteland to the northeast. The forth was Maakenbrood, a vile swampy marshland to the far east. The fifth was Asmondell, which was south of Branwen and home to the largest city in the world, Mir Khan. The sixth and final region was Thanadoria, a tropical forest area, and home to the majority of Wingard’s human populous. As soon as business was taken care of in this village, she planned to move on to Branwen But as Daneira looked deeper into the chest, she saw that there was something there that just did not seem normal. Or, more accurately, two things. One was an oval shaped gemstone; something that Daneira guessed was ancient crystallized dragon blood. The second was an unusually shaped piece of metal. It was a rod, with two spikes protruding out from its tip. It was inscribed with some very strange writing on it as well These words were; “Hyke mir nador kami li lo’ther nol mor.” Daneira had no idea what those words meant, but the language sounded ancient. It this were an ancient artefact then it would fetch a great deal of money from a travelling merchant. Still, it did beg the question, why would someone leave a precious thing like this to her? And what’s more, Daneira couldn’t get the strange feeling of... familiarity out of her head when she saw this item. How would she know about something like this when she had never seen it before in her life? Nothing seemed to be answerable now. The young dragon huntress took the items from the chest and placed them on her bed. Then, just as Daneira was about to spread herself over the bed, she heard a most chilling sound. Her ears were alert and her eyes were wide as a screeching, piercing roar could be heard, ringing around the room like a bat’s echo in a cave. In that very instant, Daneira stood up, grabbing her sword and rushing for the door. She knew that scream quite well. It was the scream of a teenage flame dragon on the prowl. Daneira strapped on her sword belt and ran down the stairs as fast as she could, the once joyous and haughty sound of male laughter was now silenced for the more appropriate sound of gasps amid silence. Daneira noticed them not and ran out of the inn, through the double revolving doors. Her feet touched the cobblestone road, and her head revolved around to see a sight she had not seen in the last two months. In the middle of the large road, shrieking and bellowing, thrashing its titanic head was the preying flame dragon, the very same one that had been attacking Hillwick. Daneira studied the flame dragon bit by bit. Its massive head was elongated and drawn out into the shape of a snout, on occasion releasing a gust of smoky air from its cavernous nostrils. Its long set of jagged teeth looked sharp and tearing, as piercing as any sword created by the greatest blacksmith. Its rigid skin was stern and oily, a very blunt red, giving it away for what it indeed was, a flame dragon. Its wings, though retracted, were mighty, Daneira mused upon the idea that it could reach as far as Highdorn in only a day’s flight. Like most northern dragons, it had a powerful set of arms, three talon-like fingers, as polished as ivory, made up its rending claws, and its tail thrashed around the cobblestone ground, smashing into the abandoned hey carts and stalls of street. The townsmen had all disappeared into her homes, taking shelter from the beast. Though the odd scream from a frightened wife or infant could still be heard. The flame dragon roared once more, its anger sending chills of fear and thrill down Daneira’s spine. This was it. The time was right to finish off the dragon, making sure that it could never harm anyone again. The dragon huntress drew her sword, her eyes locked on the dragon. Its attention seemed to be focused on the corpse of a townsman it had just killed. With its long mouth, it snapped up its newly created meal and bellowed once more with satisfaction from tasting man-meat. “I have to get it out of the village!” Daneira yelled. The brunette ran around the side street of the inn, through the thin alley and toward the back of the building. She quickly observed something that could get her up to the roof of the building, a ladder, and then ran to retrieve it. Daneira sheathed her blade and held the long ladder with both hands, dragging it from its position on the floor to rest it against the back wall of the inn. Another of the dragon’s shrieks could be heard, alongside the pounding sound of footsteps. Daneira realized that it was on the move, so swiftly began climbing the rungs of the ladder, inching higher and higher up the wooden tool. Eventually she reached the top of the roof, and climbed off the ladder, giving her a better view of the situation. The dragon was moving slowly down the street, each step it took left behind the large sound of thumping. Daneira un-sheathed her sword once more, and ran across the roof of the inn, jumping over the gaps between each house and building. Soon she was side by side with the hulking flame dragon once more. “I have to wound it.” Daneira mumbled to herself. “I have to scare it away from the village. Then I am free to fight it in any way I choose.” A surge of adrenalin rushed through Daneira, as she stepped backwards, and readied herself The swordswoman than ran forward, screaming a terrifying war cry, and leapt off the edge of the roof. Daneira grabbed her sword by both hands and aimed it downwards, as she descended towards the head of the flame dragon. In one lethal swipe, Daneira slashed at the beast’s head, slicing right along the skull, through the thin black eye and along the jaw. The dragon shrieked with fury and pain, as steel cut through its dark right eye, blinding it from one side. Blood splattered across Daneira’s leather and metal armour, and she fell clumsily into a thrashed hey cart with a thump. The dragon clasped at the side of its sliced face and continued to scream, and in its outright anger, opened its wide jaws. Though Daneira’s senses had been rattled by the fall, she could easily smell that fiendish stink of sulphur. And she knew what that meant. Daneira gasped, and jumped out of the cart as best she could, diving into one of the streets that offshoot from the main one. A second later, a huge gust of searing hot fire blew out from the flame dragon’s mouth, straight down the street for at least thirty meters ahead. The fire set the neighbouring hey carts alight, and burned the butcher shop at the end of the road. A huge fire rose up from the remains, the surrounding shops then caught fire and in a short few seconds, the inferno began to spread. The consumers inside the shops ran out as fast as they could, screaming and shouting, their flesh singed by the raw heat of the dragon fire. The dragon itself opened its massive wings, the lizard-flesh extending with ease. It began flapping its wings, creating a huge gust, which blew embers and fire across the village, into other streets. Daneira’s ponytail blew back in the wind, the force of the dragon’s wings were so powerful that she could barely move forward. After giving another cry, the dragon flew upwards, launching itself into the now warm air. It screamed once more as it hovered over the town, then flew away to the northwest Daneira watched it escape with regretful eyes. The beast had gotten away. But there was something more urgent that needed to be taken care of and that was the fire that was rising in Hillwick. Daneira didn’t even think to sheath her sword, as she ran out of the alley and back into the main road, which was now littered with fire. The brunette dashed along the road; keeping her mouth closed to protect her throat from the smoke, staying as close to the buildings as she possibly could. She reached the inn, and stormed in, to see that most of the men had remained as they were, hiding inside. “Quick!” Daneira yelled. “The village is on fire! You have to get to the village well and put out the fire as quickly as you can!” The men nodded in agreement, and all erupted out the inn doors to get to the well. Daneira did not follow them, she instead ran up the stairs, towards her bedroom, and kicked open the door with authority. She scrambled to the bed, and grabbed the Iron Claw that had been given to her as a gift by the townsfolk. It would definitely be useful In her haste, Daneira did not notice that the town bells were ringing, probably as a sign of emergency. She just ran out the door and down the stairs again, sheathing her sword and tying the Iron Claw around her waist. Daneira left the inn, and circled around to the stable, to Harmony. The poor horse had been shocked by the events, and was now bucking and wailing inside the stable, probably from the heat. When it saw Daneira, Harmony calmed down, but was still restless. Daneira kicked open the ramshackle gate of the stable, and undid the knot that was tying Harmony’s reins to the wall. In seconds it was free, and Daneira quickly mounted her steed, riding out of the stable and back into the main street. While the townsfolk did their best to put out the fire, Daneira rode out of the village, toward the northeast. It was the direction that dragon had left in. She and the dragon had some unfinished business to attend to. ********** Nephalie sighed at that at monotonous sound of horse hooves clicking against the ground and cartwheels rolling along to the beat. The journey from the east seaport was longer than she had expected it to be. And at the current speed that the cart was moving, it seemed like she would never reach the town of Thyne. The state of Branwen was not far from their first stop, Hillwick village, but it was going to be very difficult to reach Branwen from their current position. Not that she was in any hurry to reach the destination. But she did not have any desire to travel in such rough conditions With such company. Nephalie looked over at the female guard who had been accompanying her inside this horse drawn cart. She was a typical guard, armed with a long spear and a short dagger at her waist, wearing Branwen style armour. Though she was not looking, Nephalie could feel the guard eying her up and down, observing her smooth long legs and innocent body, rationing her lust on simple glimpses of Nephalie’s oblivious seductiveness. Those lusty stares made Nephalie uncomfortable, but her demeanour did not show this. By now she had become accustomed to such stares, and furthermore, she was not ignorant of her own beauty. The mysterious Nephalie was defined as angelic at the least, long braided blonde hair framing her face so sweetly, a curvy and desirable body to match it, and innocence that children would have trouble emulating. But what made Nephalie so alluring was the peculiarity of her. There was a spiritual air of gentleness and latent power surrounding her. But the strangeness was not merely spiritual. Physically she was... different to other women. Her eyes were tinted with a very rare eye colour, gold, and her ears were pointed, in the same way that you expect to see an elf’s ears. But unlike an elf, she was clearly mortal There was something about Nephalie that made her special... different. The guard suddenly spoke. “I trust you feel comfortable.” “I... I feel fine.” Nephalie replied. “Good.” The guard grinned. “I would not want Celesbe to think that I’m not taking adequate care of you. You have to be one of the most sought after women under her influence. I cannot believe that she went to so much effort to seize you... but from the looks of you... I can understand her lust.” Nephalie said nothing. The guard didn’t take that in a negative way, and smiled as a new idea came to her mind. Without saying anything, the female guard placed her spear to one side, moving over to Nephalie, who was sitting in the corner of the indoor carriage. The guard moved up to the young girl, tossing her eyes over that wondrous body once more. “You are so beautiful...” She crooned. Nephalie looked out the window of the cart as the guard moved against her. In seconds she could feel the female guard’s lips gently kissing the tender flesh of her neck. But Nephalie said nothing against it, just looking out with blank, almost soulless eyes. After a moment, she spoke. “I am not your property.” “I know that...” The guard said, drawing back. “You belong to Celesbe You are just another puppet for the Slave Guild. But even slaves can keep secrets And even slaves need to enjoy the many pleasures of the flesh…” The guard was just about to lean into Nephalie’s neck once more, until she heard the distinct sound of a roar. Both Nephalie and the guard looked up in alertness, as the roar was repeated, this time much louder, as if something was closing in on the carriage. The carriage came to stop, the horse in front began screaming with frustration, and the guard realized that there might be a problem. The female guard grabbed her spear, and then opened the door to the outside. “Stay in here.” She said sternly to Nephalie. The young slave girl just nodded. The guard stepped out of the carriage to inspect the problem. It was not long before Nephalie heard a scream. It was not that of the guard, but rather that of the driver, but in seconds, the guard’s death cry could be heard along the winds. Nephalie stuck her head out of the carriage’s open window to see what might be happening, and gasped in alarm as she saw the killer, in all its glory. A huge flame dragon, loomed over the road, the driver’s corpse beneath its right foot, and the guard’s torso between it powerful lined jaws. It had been blinded on one side of its face, darkening blood seeped out of its closed eye, but that did nothing to quell its appetite. Nephalie looked on in horror as the flame dragon gobbled up the guard in one swift motion. It then looked downwards at the driver, who was murmuring and groaning to herself. In a second fast motion, the dragon tore the upper body of the driver in half, munching down on the much sought after delicacy of dragons, human meat. While the dragon devoured its meal, Nephalie scrambled out of the carriage and ran for her life. Though she was breaking orders by running away, it was apparent that she didn’t have much choice. The dragon looked up from what was left of the driver’s bloody remains, and watched Nephalie run in the opposite direction. It released one of those powerful roars once more, separating its wide jaws, and let loose a burning ball of dragon fire in her direction. Nephalie looked back as she ran, seeing that she was about to be burned alive by that ball of flames. But just when the end seemed at hand, a flash of an image dove into her, and that flash was a person. The two tumbled out of the line of fire, into the thick bushes in the forest surrounding the roadside. Nephalie’s body rolled into the dirt, a slightly larger body cradling her own. With the dragon’s roars in the background, Nephalie looked up at the person whom had saved her. It was woman, a taller woman, maybe a few years older than she was. The taller woman shook her head a bit, obviously to shake off the effects of the dive, then looked down at Nephalie with concerned eyes. “Are you unharmed?” The black-haired heroine asked. Nephalie nodded, unable to say anything. The brunette smiled, then looked back into the main road as the dragon bellowed another scream. She quickly dismounted her position on Nephalie, and then helped the slightly shorter girl up to her feet. “Listen.” Started the brunette. “If that dragon kills me, run through the forest toward the southeast. There’s a village nearby called Hillwick It is in a bit of a state but you’ll be safer there. Do you understand me?” Nephalie just nodded, still unable to speak. The brunette patted Nephalie on the shoulder, then drew her sword and ran out into the main road. Nephalie did not follow, but moved to the edge of the concealing bushes and trees to watch what would become of this courageous woman. She smiled arrogantly, as the flame dragon loomed across, a slight gap separating them from each other. “So!” The girl said to the dragon, her head looking up. “You thought you’d slaughter another innocent girl to enhance your already numerous tally, eh? I can guess that you did not assume you’d run in to me when you tried this!” Nephalie blinked. Was that woman insane? How could she just stand there like that when a huge dragon was about to feast upon her too? All she had to defend herself was a sword. What could that one girl do? Nephalie was about to get her answer. The dragon roared with fury, its scream echoing across the surrounding forestland. The black-haired woman charged at the beast, both hands wrapped around the hilt of her sword, dashing across the dirt path with no fear or uncertainty. The dragon opened its wide jaws once more and spewed a fresh batch of its burning hot breath. The brunette dove to the left with all her body, rolling out of the stream of the fire. She rolled back up onto her feet, and charged at the dragon once more. In retaliation, the dragon hurled another blast of flames in her direction. Like before, the swordswoman dove to the side, but this time the right, tumbling across the dusty road etched into the forest. The dragon screamed with frustration, and blew another stream of singeing fire at the woman She did not dive to any side this time, she rolled forward, her sword arm extended during the roll. Neither Nephalie nor the dragon had realized that she had been baiting it into a better position. Now the girl was directly below the dragon, to close to hit with fire and too far down to attack with it claws. The brunette yelled a fierce war cry, gripped her sword tightly, and then thrust the blade into the skin, muscle and bone of the dragon’s right leg. The mammoth creature cried out as sharp steel tore through the matter of its leg and ripped back out, slightly hindering its ability to walk. The dragon continued to howl like a dying banshee, while the brunette ran through the gap of its legs. But she did not count on the furious thrashing of the tail, and gasped as the long body part knocked her off her feet. The girl collapsed to the ground, dropping her sword from the sudden shock. The dragon ambled its body around, realizing that the girl had ran between its own legs, and then roared menacingly at the downed fighter. His mouth snapped open like before, a typhoon of flames shooting out of its mouth The girl seemed to act on nothing but instinct, as she tumbled out of the way, rolling as fast as she seemed to be able to do. The girl looked up and turned her gaze to the newly erected fire. It cut her off from her sword, which made her defenceless Nephalie began to worry that the girl who saved her was in trouble, and thought about running out there to help her. But she knew full well that she would do more harm than good. Nephalie remained as she was, poised on the ground in the bushes, watching this all happen before her frightened eyes. The girl battling the dragon darted her eyes back and forth between the sword, blocked by fire, and the dragon, who was slowly moving closer to her. She seemed to have no time to think, so simply acted, and ran back towards the carriage that Nephalie had been travelling in, just a bit further up the road. The dragon followed as best it could, its leg wounded from the woman’s previous assault. The girl stopped as she reached the carriage and the two dead bodies lying next to it. In her haste, she quickly grabbed the spear that the guard had been carrying, taking it up in one swoop. The girl looked back and saw the dragon towering over her, and then flipped forward to avoid the surge of fire that was about to come. The dragon acted in such a way, breathing more of its vile flame breath, razing the poor carriage with venomous fury. It went up in flames, destroying anything and everything that was inside it. But the girl still showed no fear, and drew back the arm holding the spear. With a might thrust, she flung the spear at the dragon, which pierced the somewhat fragile tissue of its right wing. Nephalie could tell that spears were not the girl’s strong point, as the throw was awkwardly aimed, but it did its job. The dragon screamed another fearsome scream as the spear was embedded in its wing, taking its focus off the girl it was pursuing The brunette took the opportunity, and ran hard back to her blade, now that the dragon was not in the way. She didn’t stop running, just swiftly ran by, leaned down, grabbed the sword and ran back around, without stopping. Her feet slid against the dusty ground, and for a small instant, she had to get her breath back. The distance between herself and the dragon began to decline again as it turned around to chase the girl, still relentless in its desire for her blood. The girl stood defiantly, gasping for breath, then threw caution to the wind and charged the fiend for a second time. The dragon screeched again, perhaps out of irritation from this girl’s obstinate attitude and breathed more burning fire. The brunette ran around the path of the flames, and then ran back into position, still charging at the dragon. She stopped as she reached that position between its legs again, and then attacked the leg she had previously stabbed. This blow was much fiercer than the last, and it cut through the thick leg with ruthless aggression The woman rolled to the right to escape the incoming fall, as the dragon found it could no longer balance its weight on the injured leg. It crashed into the ground, whipping up a gust of dirty dust and screaming a black howl of what some might call, realization of defeat. The girl ran around the downed body of the dragon and screamed once more, heaving her sword into the air. She aimed the tip of her blade downwards, toward the neck of the beast, and poised herself to strike. “Feel the agony of those you’ve destroyed!” The magnificent steel blade was thrust downwards, till it pieced the rough hide of the dragon’s neck, stabbing through its trachea. The dragon gurgled a bloody roar, choking on its own blood. The girl ripped her blade free of the dragon’s neck as its writhing body fell limp. She backed up, dropped the sword, and collapsed to the ground, her energy spent. Nephalie’s golden eyes looked at this in worry, and ran out of the bushes to help the tired warrior. She ran as fast as she could, and then crouched down to inspect the girl’s condition. Nephalie held a hand to her head, and slotted her arm under the brunette’s neck, pulling the other girl upwards from the waist. She was awake, but severely tired “Are you hurt?” Nephalie asked caringly. The brunette shook her head slowly. “...No, but you should not worry about me.” “But you just saved my life…” The brunette coughed. “I... couldn’t save the other two though... because of my carelessness... I should not have assumed that the dragon would retreat to its lair...” Truth be told, Nephalie didn’t really know what to make of that, so just avoided the issue by introducing herself. “My name is Nephalie M’dale” “...Daneira Midland.” Daneira replied tiredly. “Nice to make your acquaintance, miss M’dale.” And so, on that day, the dragon huntress, Daneira Midland, met the slave girl, Nephalie M’dale. Though it seemed like their meeting was by chance, it was fate that had brought them together.
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