A Dragon Out Of Time (CatachanDevil x Hernameisbanks)

[CatachanDevil]

Kal-ith had acquired many titles in his long and full life. None really fit his current state of being however. He was no king, nor conqueror, no great philosopher or some other claim to greatness. No, he need a new title. One that could truly explain such magnitudes, for he had truly transcended all of his old names and assignments.

Kal-ith, the bookwyrm. Yes, that described his situation completely.

The magnificent silver dragon shuffled on the spot, arranging himself once more into his bed of cushions as he flicked over the page of one of his many great tomes. There, he waited, and read. In fact, that was what he had been doing for two years. Each week, he would take a break. The dragon rising to arrange his pillows, have a meal, wash and buff his scales, then return to his library. Every week on the exact hour, like clockwork. In fact, the great dragon was unsure as to quite how long he had been reading.

It had made for a brilliant way to get out of bed, for Kal-ith had been asleep for about four hundred years. Once again, the dragon was forced into hibernation to regain his strength, sheltering in his lair while the world changed and warped around him. Many adventurers, thieves and slayers had sought to steal from him, or do him harm. None had made it out of his mountain alive. Kal-ith had prepared a labyrinth of traps and defences, an impenetrable gauntlet. Thus, he had slept, undisturbed for four hundred years.

Now however, the dragon had awoken. He appreciated company, and a deadly maze was hardly the best way to secure such things. He had demolished the labyrinth and reforged it into his new home using magic that he had spent centuries mastering. The great maw of a cave now led down, deep into the mountain, to a pair of small ornate double doors, both of which were unlocked. Of course, he had set up an alarm system to warn him in the event he did have company, and the door would shut soon after a small group had entered. Mortals had a tendency to run away from dragons after all, and Kal-ith hardly wanted that. The doors lead into his massive entrance hall, decorated like a palace with bright torches and ornate walls and floors, leading deeper inside the mountain. Kal-ith had crafted a lair befitting a mighty time dragon.

He had waited for two years, and none had come. Stories of the treasures within the mountain were common place, but so were the legends of mighty heroes who had vanished in its depths. Still, Kal-ith was starting to become somewhat lonely. He had a palace, wealth and power, and nobody to share that with. It was a rather lonely awaking. Still, someone was soon to come and visit. Right?

 

[hernameisbanks]

It wasn't particularly a visit that the group was coming to pay the dragon. Not necessarily a welcoming committee who knew what precise hour he would be awake so they could be there and carry forth gifts for the one who had been so out of it. No, the humans were dealing with their own pleasantries, to say the least, and only faint murmurs were heard when one asked about what lay in the cave. Riches. Such a simple word, but the thought of money could drive a grown man insane, thinking about all he could acquire and all he could do with bountiful wealth and riches. " So there's a dragon. They used to make sacrifices to it until he fell asleep, " The pause was an aim to keep the conversation mum, silent on ears that weren't needed for this particular conversation. " But it's sitting on a fucking goldmine. " That was all they needed to hear, the woman breathing out softly as she took another drink and sat back in her seat, knowing they'd make the journey before the sun rose the next day.

That was exactly what happened, the group leaving the inn with a few things looted and disappearing into the early morning dark. There were five of them, each of different backgrounds from different parts of the world, the warm tone of her skin proving hers to be somewhere lush, where the sun seemed naturally promising. Amber colored eyes shadowed by the bear fur she brought up and over her head, loose curls of brown fell outward only to be tucked back and away. The cool winter air cut across each of them, though all seemed unphased as they reached the opening of the cave. It was almost as though the cave greeted them with some kind of warmth, disregarding such a ridiculous idea as they began their journey inside. Unbeknownst to her, there had been plans whispered in the dark, warnings from townsfolk that the bartering system was best when a woman was involved. Once they got beyond the doors, it would be best to handle that situation. The woman's soft heels clicking among the other sounds of the dimly lit corridor, the air grew thinner the further they moved in, although none of them seemed as though it bothered them.

The woman stood behind two men as they reached the set of doors, pulling her hood back gently as her pretty eyes roamed the detailing, arms folding over her heavy bust lightly. " Not very frightening. " It had only been a few short minutes beyond the beautiful doors' closing before the female found herself in a bit of a struggle, having fought for herself as much as she could without being able to grip any of the weapons on her frame. A fist landing in one of their eyes while a shin landing in another's side, it wasn't long before she felt her body go limp and fall to the ground, the bright lights around her fading into darkness. The world around her had gone absolutely black, the brunette having been hoisted up onto a shoulder like some sort of rag doll, hair waving gently at the back of the young man who carried her. The group was easily an odd looking bunch, although they had their reasons for being around one another, reasons they were surviving based on each other though one could clearly say they weren't some merry band of friends.

No, this young woman in particular hadn't but recently found herself among them, using the leverage to get where she needed to go without having to prove too much of herself. Clearly, she wasn't unwilling to handle things when necessary. Nonna had spent the years on her own, carefully training herself and becoming crafty enough to get out of situations that couldn't merely be talked out of, and growing up around men who didn't necessarily come from royalty, well again, it explained how she was in her current predicament.

" Did you hear something? " One of the men murmured, slightly nursing his eye as he felt it begin to bruise and sore up, turning his good eye to the man in front. " Stay quiet. "

 

[CatachanDevil]

Well, it had certainly been an interesting book that the dragon was reading. An ancient and dusty tome about a by gone age. Most of which, Kal-ith had lived through. He'd been too busy with maintaining a small fiefdom to pay much attention to arcane research in that era, and while he wasn't exactly playing catch up, it was fascinating to read about the thoughts that went into the later works which he had studied. Works of sorcerers who had sworn he would never gaze on such tomes. But here he was, with a library full of the things and eternity to study them. Perhaps he should start to inscribe them elsewhere. The pages were getting rather worn and old and he felt the knowledge should last.

But wait, what was that?

The mighty dragon lifted his head, feeling the gnawing of his silent alarm that indicated the presence of someone... something else. He blinked, staying put for the moment. Could it be? Some daring soul had finally sought to pay him a visit? Come to think of it. How long had he been dozing and reading? Too long. Surely by now it was time to get up? Yes, certainly past time. He had sat on these cushions for far too long. Now he had guests to treat with, he had a reason to get up.

There was a creak as the silver dragon's scales shifted, his legs extending and stretching once more, his wings rising from their cases. Kal-ith extended his neck, shifting it from side to side and letting it click back into place. Yes, definitely time to get up.

After a few moments again, he began to make his way out of the library and into one of the many great tunnels under the mountain.

The small group would no doubt have crossed the entrance hall in a few short minutes and were now staring down a huge corridor. It was easily the size of a hangar in width, and went off into the far distance, lit sparsely with ever burning torches. Kal-ith knew the place as the main corridor, leading off to other sections of his lair with smaller, but still large by human comparison, corridors. The ornate hallway was decorated with stained glass and marble. The 'windows' let no light in, but instead depicted scenes from the past. A mighty white dragon was always present, presiding over what looked like kings, other dragons and great conflicts.

That was about the time Kal-ith reached the main corridor, his footsteps echoing off the walls, sounding like thunder as the mighty dragon approached. Half way there, he clicked his claws together, sending a spell to close and lock the double doors behind the group with a loud bang. Next, he cast another spell, extinguishing the light from his torches and sending the group into complete blackness, save for their own light sources, if they had any. What could he say? He was a dramatic, and toying with mortals was always quite fun.

Kal-ith would be coming in from their left, though in the pitch darkness one wouldn't see anything. Kal-ith however, could see just fine with his night sight as he rounded the corner to block the group's way, the thundering footsteps were still audible however. There, he waited, studying them intently. He felt something though, a tug at the threads of fate. It felt... strange, not something he had felt in a long time. A touch of destiny.

 

[hernameisbanks]

The sound one had assumed he had heard disappeared from his mind, decided that if there was some dragon, they'd certainly hear it. . Right? Right, yeah. Quite frankly if they realized these stories had been about some lonely, book reading dragon, this would have already played out differently from the start. Though that was the thing with hunting creatures of myths, the earlier portion of them not believing there was a dragon in the first place. Plenty of cities had been brought up with tales like these, to strike fear into young children or offer a town's more sick intentions with getting rid of insubordinate women at the hands of a 'dragon'. The day and age had left plenty of people coming up with clever tales to explain underlying intentions, to disregard the fact that in this part of the world, apparently dragons were not anything to be fearful of anymore.

The time he had spent in the cave had left the time for humans to start taking their stand against other creatures, fighting back so to speak and showing they were not some weak strain of race. Unfortunately, the impending war didn't necessarily do them any good, as it was a war between themselves. Ignorance. It was only nature, as it was something that could occur between all races, whether they were human or not. Creatures grew unfond and jealous of what another had, it was bound to happen. Thus there were many groups that had branched off on their own, no true calling and certainly not concerned for the war, only what they could get and survive from during the time prior.

The body of the limp woman occasionally being shifted, only once being moved to a different portion of her body, grip tightening just in time for the torches to give out. The gust of wind that had taken them out forcing out their own as well, an annoyed sigh emerged from the man leading the group, turning around as he murmured 'Stop'. " This better be worth it. " Between the doors shutting behind them, they better find enough treasure to get them as far away from this cave as possible without necessarily needing to have too many casualties. In this case, Nonna was the only casualty they were willing to part with. Again though, something in the air felt odd, stiff for a moment as they took quieter, cautious steps throughout the dwelling of this so called dragon until they came to a stop. There had been a shuffling sound, one of the group thankfully able to start a spark and light their torch, the rumble of heavy footsteps only heard after their moment of confusion.

However, with the flame lit and illuminating the vision of silver caused all of them to take a step back, Nonna's body almost being dropped. " Holy shit. "

 

[CatachanDevil]

Holy shit, indeed. Suddenly finding oneself in front of a dragon would be un-nerving for anyone. Especially when they were in his lair. Kal-ith had confronted many a brave soul in his time, though he doubted any were in front of him. Foolish? Perhaps. Though in truth, many times he had found bravery and foolishness were one in the same.

Still, there was something about one of the members of the group that he couldn't quite put a taloned finger on. He was a time dragon, and as such, had some degree of control over time itself. Time dragons could see, and even manipulate time to their will if they so chose to and often had a sixth sense for destiny. It was that sense that was triggering now as he observed the group quietly. Indeed, one of them had a touch of destiny about them, a thread of fate that ran parallel with his own. It had been a long time since he had seen such a thing, and he was intrigued.

The mighty dragon cast a spell to illuminate a few of the torches. Not all of them, but just enough to reveal himself properly and provide the group with some proper light to see by. He'd had his fun after all, Kal-ith supposed he should at least allow them to see. Still, their reaction had amused him and he chuckled at their expense, almost coughing slightly having not used his voice in a long time.

Yes, that was it. The girl. The woman they were carrying, unconscious. It was her. Wait... they were carrying an unconscious woman? He peered at the man who had almost dropped her as a result of his appearance. Indeed they were, that wasn't something one saw every day. Why they were doing that escaped him. Perhaps there was more to this group than he thought.

"Greetings," he began, leaning down slightly to talk to them and maintaining a polite and calm tone of voice. "I am afraid, I was not expecting guests." He gave the group a toothy grin, showing off his ranks of razor sharp teeth. "Who are you people, why are you in my lair?" he demanded, a little forcefully this time, dropping his polite demeanour for the moment.

 

[hernameisbanks]

While the dragon was busy feeling destiny the rest of this group definitely did not feel the same way. Each of them had a different expression of surprise on their face, oddly enough it wasn't fear as if this dragon had nasty intentions, it probably would have occurred already. They had heard stories, plenty of times, about dragons and how they weren't necessarily the friendly sort of creatures, and though their trust in this one didn't fluctuate just because he hadn't fried them to a crisp yet, there still seemed to be something docile about him. Or maybe he realized there was a woman present and he was trying to be polite. It was unfortunate really, because with his face being so close to her firm rear, the man carrying her was just about to ask if they should use this situation to their advantage, having eyed her up on more than one occasion only to now be confronted with a moment ruining dragon. Just their luck really. It had taken each of them a moment to become adjusted, adjusted out of their haze of actually seeing a dragon, it was a wonder and another moment of being thankful they hadn't been eaten before the man with the torch and the black eye faintly shook his head.

" Ah, right. . Negotiations, so to speak. "

They had all heard stories and fables of dragons, the majority of them from this particular region never actually having witnessed one for themselves. Between the creatures being hunted, going into hiding, or casting themselves off as some other creature to blend in with the world, dragons this close and personal were definitely not common. Thus the reaction from these men, slivers of fear for their lives snaking up rapidly when the creature showed its teeth, quietly regretting this decision though they pushed on with the conversation anyway. Or rather, pushed on with explaining themselves off the top of their heads. " We just so happened to come across the little town at the bottom of the mountain, and they told us what perhaps lived in the cave. But they said it had been years since there were any sightings of. . You, I'm assuming. So, like true adventurers, we came to see what this great cave had to offer. " And well, here they were, holding a girl. None of them were going to go as far as to why exactly they had her unconscious, finding it wasn't really anything out of the ordinary or a necessary conversation to have, right?

Right. No big deal.

 

[CatachanDevil]

So that was it. Adventurers, deciding to explore an ancient cave rumoured to contain a dragon. With an unconscious woman? He doubted they were there to simply explore. One would not want to explore a cave with a dragon inside it. Right? Well, he had to be fair, perhaps he had underestimated mortal curiosity once again. He had been gone from the world for a long time. Perhaps they had sought to seek him out once more, or perhaps, see if he was still alive.

Nonetheless, he suspected that a different explanation was the cause. As was common with the mortals, they coveted gold almost as much as dragons. While Kal-ith's hunger for trinkets has wound down to a slow simmer, he had found that each generation of mortals still possessed that horrible trait. Greed. Granted, Kal-ith had been victim to it in the past, and in many ways he still was. His huge treasure trove of artefacts and priceless items of exquisite beauty spoke more than words could. Still, he kept those as a curiosity more than anything else. Magic from a by gone age had it's uses. Indeed, much more than greedy keepsakes. Or so he told himself.

Nonetheless. The question of the girl crossed his mind. The one who's fate crossed with his. He wondered if these adventurers had noble or nefarious intentions towards her. Perhaps she merely slipped and banged her head after all. Further questions needed answering, and he needed to know the truth of it.

"I see. Adventurers, explorers," he said, looking at the man with the black eye. "Well, you have found what lies in this cave. Myself, and my home. Tell me though," he asked, pausing for a moment as he cast a small spell on the man. It was a difficult spell for a novice. Kal-ith though, was far from a beginner with magic and he cast it with ease, as he had many times. A simple truth spell, a zone of truth. The spell was fairly straightforward assuring that those within its zone of influence could not lie. They would not be forced to tell the truth and they could certainly deny answering, even skirt around the truth, but they could not physically lie.

Once the spell was done Kal-ith resumed, shuffling slightly where he stood, flexing his talons on the ground. "If you are explorers. Why is that woman unconscious?"

 

[hernameisbanks]

While the men had subconsciously shifted out of their once single file position and instead stood in what could be seen as a defensive line, each of them leaving Nonna unnoticed. And for now, she was fine with going under the so called radar, the scent of something familiar leaving her silent in her hanging as she stared at the lower portion of the man who held her. Her shift in movement had gone unnoticed, head lightly turning at the sound of heavy breathing, again confirming her thought from what they had found in the cave. Well they had found half of what they were looking for, not necessarily thrilled to find the larger evil of the things within the cave, but again that's what they'd brought a sacrifice for, right? Rolling her bright eyes faintly, the young woman kept her body still enough, carefully listening to the interaction between the men and the dragon they had hoped to avoid for the most part of this little excursion. Avoiding simply telling them that the girl was just a casualty of this situation, instead one faintly shrugged and spoke first, " Casualties. "

Of course such a thing could easily lead into one asking about the sort of casualties and why there had been any in the first place, but there wasn't much time for that to be a direct question. Casualties that had left one with a bruised eye and the other with a stinging red mark on the side of his face, simple things really. " Besides, your village seems fond of leaving you sacrifices, so since you are awake. . . " Itching to shift and wrap her thighs around the man's neck just to choke him out, she should have known what they were aiming at, instead the woman's dangling arms moving faintly, taking in their fear to her advantage. Her hands moved smoothly, particularly uncaring that while the men couldn't see her, the dragon with a quick glance down, could see her reaching into the open boot of the man, sliding his kukri blade out and into her own hand. If things did go sour, she definitely wasn't about to be dropped on the ground with no weapon, whether he was a civil dragon or not.

Which, in and of itself was odd, how calm and docile this one was in this situation of having humans invading his home with clear signs of looting and looking for more than just adventure, ones who were clearly up to something more. Perhaps it was that there was no direct threat to him, no sign in them that they were here to slaughter a dragon, as, well, the majority of them had never seen a dragon this close. Gripping the kukri carefully, she had mentally planned out getting away from this in her head, albeit risky, this female was a particularly different type of marauder, wild for her own safety so to speak. Traveling in groups didn't necessarily mean they were looking out for one another, clearly. She was not about to be left in here for dragon food just because they could potentially get gold. At least not without a fight. The swell in her head made her eyes close for a moment, again taking the time to listen, " So, maybe we can offer you a trade. " One of the 'conscious' four spoke, only for the ragged sound of a scream to shoot out from the man with the black eye, dropping down to one knee as the back of the other had been sliced, swiftly. The movements were quick, almost as though all it took was him yelling out, " Fucking shit, " before the actions were set in motion, Nonna dropping only to be up quickly, hair flipping back and out of her face before taking off running in the opposite direction, holding the bloodied kukri in her hand as she ran.

Whether she was running with the fear of being chased or with the intention of getting as far away from that scene as possible, neither could be determined as she bolted down a hallway, one of the men having followed after her. If he had been following out of fear of escaping himself, he had definitely taken the cue of the slightly battered Nonna, the dark haired woman inhaling sharply as she attempted to catch her breath against a wall, hand raising and feeling the smear of blood on her head. Moving a few more steps before feeling the shift of her consciousness falter again, the woman pressed a hand against another wall, closing her eyes as she felt herself carefully slide down, breathing out softly as the lightheaded feeling left her feeling airy.

 

[CatachanDevil]

How irritating. They clearly wanted to skirt around the truth and waste Kal-ith's time rather than simply admit they wanted to trade the girl for some coin. Such so they managed to skirt around Kal-ith's truth spell. Still, they managed to state their business a little after. Could Kal-ith be bothered to deal with some petty bandits and their love of gold? He had many treasures he could trade them for the girl. A simple purchase and all parties would be happy, except for the girl of course.

Kal-ith did wonder about her view on this. No doubt she would not take kindly to him buying her from the bandits, nor would she if he elected to save her from them. The dragon was dammed if he did and dammed if he didn't. After all, he could hardly leave her with them. No, he would have to take care of the intruders before he could acquire the girl. Not as a sacrifice though as the marauders had made out that he wanted. No, as a companion for a time.

After all, someone who would get into a deal with petty bandits. That was an interesting kind of person, and he was very lonely in his secluded palace. Indeed, he wanted her as company.

It seemed though the girl had other ideas as Kal-ith saw her snatch a curved knife from a man's boot and free herself. He chuckled as she jumped away, dashing down the corridor with one of the bandits in pursuit.

Well, if that was the way it was going to go then that was the way it was going to go. He saw his chance and acted, spreading his mighty wings and drawing himself up to his full height. In order for her to escape, he would have to deal with the group of bandits and trust that she could handle the one that had ran after her. At least, until Kal-ith could help her.

"I will not trade with the likes of you, cur. You would use that woman as your shield," he demanded, drawing in a breath and blowing out a stream of hot air from his lungs. "Now sleep," he commanded, clicking his claws together to cast a sleep spell on the group gathered. At the least, it would disorient and make them feel groggy, but ideally, it would make them fall into a deep sleep. The dragon put a fair amount of power behind it, hoping to deal with them all in one fell swoop.

He did at that, Kal-ith's spell forcing the brigands to sleep. In fact, they would be knocked out for a good while. That left the single bandit who had got away.

Stepping over the villains and heading a little ways down the corridor once more to find the last bandit. Once again, Kal-ith cast a sleep spell on him and he slumped to the ground before he could do any harm to the girl. Well, as adventures go it was hardly a successful one for the marauders. They were alive though, and that counted. With the girl knocked unconscious by her own escape attempt, Kal-ith was left to clean up the mess. He gathered up the sleeping bandits and carried them outside, except the girl. No, he would keep her. After all, he wouldn't want to leave her in the company of those that had tried to harm her.

He locked the door shortly after, attaching a sign on the door saying 'keep out'. Kal-ith however, neglected to put the sign in the common tongue. Instead, he had opted for the ancient tongue of dragons. Whoops, well, a scholar might be able to decipher it. The bandits certainly wouldn't. Still, he had made it quite clear they weren't welcome.

With them dealt with, he turned his attention to the female. He would make sure she was comfortable when she woke. Yes, she was to be his guest after all. Though, perhaps she might be something more. He thought about that. Well, the fates said they would be together for some time. Still, perhaps he was simply to protect her from those bandits. He didn't know. Of course, he had been known to take humans as concubines, but that was in the past. He had thought of starting that again. She was unlikely to be willing however. Still, some company would certainly be nice. Just, someone to talk to. Kal-ith was intrigued with her. The girl's entrance had been somewhat spectacular. At least, spectacular for what he had been doing recently. Reading.

The mighty dragon picked her up, carrying her carefully down one of the tunnels to the guest quarters. The guest quarter was a large assortment of rooms, many plush and luxurious rooms fit for humans. No doubt she had never seen such luxury. The soft wonderful bed, a chandelier and an ornate door leading to a living room, with a roaring fire, with plush sofas and chairs. Kal-ith shrank himself down to the size of a horse and started brewing a pot of soup, letting the woman rest on the comfortable bed. He had removed her weapons and her bags, putting them at the foot of the door for her. Otherwise, he was quite gentlemanly, or at least, as gentlemanly as he could be. So there he sat, making soup while his guest rested in the opposite room.