5-40 Aerysians

5-40 Aerysians

Erin and her companions decided to make camp on a hill overlooking the lands around them as dusk approached. As the carriage’s operation was fuelled by Erin and Lilian’s efforts, it was impossible for them to travel any further even if they wished to do so. Not to mention, Erin barely had any time to rest. It was one problem after another.

They had covered plenty of distance but the destruction of the soldiers’ encampment could still be seen clearly from far away. Ropes of smoke trailing into the clouds. Though the undead dragon was no longer in sight nor could its cries be heard, Erin wasn’t at ease.

And so, with such a worry in her heart, Erin sat a little bit away from the camp. She positioned herself by the edges of the overlook. Though everyone tried to convince to get some rest, she didn’t budge. She convinced them to let her be as she could rest and also stay vigilant at the same time.

She sat on her knees near the edges, assuming her meditative position. Her hands placed on her lap. Her back straightened. Her eyes closed. Her seven tails fluttered and swayed to the gentle breeze of the descending night.

As Erin was gradually plunging into her dormant state, the approaching sweet and lovely scent brought her consciousness back to the waking world.

“Lyra.”

“Erin.”

It was a brief exchange but no more words were needed. Lyra sat herself down right beside Erin and rested her head on the Fox-kin’s shoulder.

“You know, the dragon wouldn’t just appear out of nowhere. I’m sure you and Aedan would sense it coming if it’s even coming at all. So, just join us at the fire, Erin.”

“There’s no detriment in being too careful, Lyra.”

“I don’t think you’re being ‘too careful’ here. I say you’re being paranoid.”

“The undead dragon wouldn’t just appear out of nowhere but it had slipped my senses until it was upon us. I didn’t sense its presence back at the encampment until it was right above us. And it’s not just the undead dragon I’m worried about.”

“Aedan’s here, alright? The two of you are pretty much invincible together.”

Erin looked at Lyra, smiling wryly and warmly. “Since when did you start thinking of him so highly?”

“He was always the one pulling you out of predicaments. And… before I knew it, I was constantly looking towards him whenever we were in a bind. He’s… reliable.”

“Do you like him?” Erin asked.

Lyra was taken aback by the question but only for a second. “I… I don’t hate him.”

“If you wish to fuck him, you have my permission, Lyra.”

“That is not what I’m trying to say here!” Lyra responded in a panic.

Erin tittered. “I know. I know. I’m just messing with you, Lyra.”

“How mean,” Lyra scoffed, but in a frivolous manner.

“But I meant what I said, Lyra.”

“Huh?”

“I considered both of you to be mine,” Erin smirked. “So, I don’t mind if you wish to… have a taste of him.”

Lyra frowned lightly. “Do you perhaps have a penchant for—”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Erin stopped Lyra from completing her sentence with a glare. “Don’t misunderstand here. I will not tolerate it if either of you lay with someone outside of my… harem.”

“I know.” It was Lyra's turn to smirk. “I’m just teasing you.”

“Tasteless,” Erin grumbled.

Lyra tittered and then they shared a kiss. It was light at first but they then deepened the embrace of their lips and tongues.

“Wait.” Erin stopped the kiss and split their wet and passionate embrace.

“What?”

“Not here. Not now.”

“Then, when?”

“...After supper, mayhaps.”

“Supper’s already waiting for us at the fire.”

Erin raised an eyebrow. “And you’re telling me now?”

“Well…” Lyra chuckled awkwardly. “I kinda forgot about it when I saw you. I was supposed to tell you that but… I lost myself to my desires… Sorry.”

Erin sighed. “It is whatever now. Better late than never.” She rose to her feet. “Come on, let’s get going before any of them start to get any wrong ideas about what we may be doing.”

“Too late,” Lyra said, springing to her feet.

“Too late?”

“They were all making bets as to what you and I would do. The bet fell through since everyone bet on the same thing.”

“How rude,” Erin scoffed.

“They weren’t exactly wrong.”

Erin rolled her eyes and marched back to the fire along with Lyra.

“Oh, that was fast,” Amyra muttered as the two came back to the fire where everyone was sitting around it. A boar was being roasted on a spit and Siv was rolling the spit.

“How far did the two of you go?” Lilian inquired with a knowing grin.

“We didn’t do anything,” Erin retorted and took her seat by the fire.

Lyra promptly joined her by her side as if it was the most natural thing to do.

“So, are you going to start telling us about the undead dragon that we just encountered?” Erin asked. Her gaze was directed at Aedan.

“It’s not exactly a long story nor was it an interesting one.”

“Long or not, interesting or not, just spilled it.” Nivia was having none of it.

“The undead dragon’s name was Ulrikov. He was… an acquaintance. He was a follower of Aeryo. He's a dragon, so that’s a given. The only thing notable about him was that he managed to reach the age of… three thousand and more.”

Everyone had a stupefied reaction.

“It sounds impressive but… it really isn’t. He was… lazy. He was a loafer for most of his life which was why he was able to live for thousands of years.”

“Your Grace, the undead dragon was not even level ninety but he lived for three thousand years and more? Being brought back from the dead might have halved his strength and might but even then, I can’t imagine a beast of the zenith is only level one hundred and sixty or so at his prime.”

“As I said, he was a loafer. The only good thing that came out of his nature was that he was never once the source of any trouble.”

“How did he die?” Aera asked. “Y-you don’t have to answer if you don’t w-want to!” she quickly added.

“It’s alright, Aera.” Aedan smiled reassuringly at her. “Again, it isn’t anything special. He died of old age.”

“Dragons only lived up to three thousand years?” Lyra questioned.

“Minimum,” Aedan clarified. “Dragons get stronger the older they get. However, if they don’t do anything to hone their strength, they could only live for so long.”

“Regardless, none of us here are a match against this dead dragon,” Erin said. “Even if it’s a loafer while it was still living.”

“True,” Aedan concurred.

“How do we defeat it?” Siv asked with a solemn expression. “Or is it impossible?”

“Not impossible, fortunately. Far from it. It has plenty of vulnerabilities.”

“Such as?”

“The most obvious one would be a dragon’s innate defence. If it was still living and breathing, we might have a tough time penetrating its scaly hide. If it’s dead, its scales and skin might have degraded a good deal. But its innate impressive defence isn’t what we have to worry about. A dead dragon may not be as tenacious as it once was, but its destructive capabilities are still more than enough to raze a town.”

“And what is our strategy?”

“Don’t fight it if we don’t need to. Thankfully, and evidently, the Aerysians weren’t looking for Erin this time around. Let us hope they keep it that way. If they direct Ulrikov at us, we are done for. We may emerge victorious in a battle but I’m afraid Erin may likely be the only survivor of that fight.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, except for Erin herself.

“Stop with that grim thought,” she baulked. “But I agree. We should avoid confronting the undead dragon.”

“But why aren’t the Aerysians targeting Erin?” Nivia asked.

“You want them to target Erin?” Lyra shot back.

“Don’t twist my meaning. I’m just curious as to what could be so significant as to lead them to change their priority.”

“A vendetta?” Amyra muttered her guess.

“Aren’t the Aeryons the subject of the Aerysians’ vendetta?” Nivia questioned.

“Maybe it’s a more recent one with the soldiers.”

“Hmm, now that I think back to it, the dragon was only targeting the fancy-looking tents,” Lilian mused.

“Perhaps one of those seconds wronged the Aerysians greatly,” Amyra muttered another guess. “Not the first time those noble brats pissed off a particular group.”

“Whatever the real reason is, we can consider the change a blessing,” Erin said. “At the very least, we won’t have to be so vigilant of the Aerysians for the time being.”

“The closer we get to the capital, the less we need to worry about the zealots,” Aedan pointed out.

“It’s done,” said Siv as she stopped rolling the spit.

The boar was larger than a child but smaller than an adult. It was more than enough for the group. Plus, the three Fae needed only little sustenance and Nivia was against eating meat. The three Fae made do with fruits they plucked from nearby trees.

It was decided that Amyra would take half of the boar while the other half would be spread evenly between Aedan, Siv, Lyra, and Aera.

Amyra was the one who divided the boar into the appropriate portions. She flipped the boar off the firepit and sliced it up in the air. Then she caught all the pieces of meat with her large blade. It was a trivial but magnificent display of her dexterity. Everyone was in awe except for Nivia.

“You shouldn’t play with your food,” the Elf said disapprovingly.

“I didn’t think there would come a time when an Elf is envious of an Augur.”

Nivia glared. “I was not envious of you.”

“How much further before we reach the capital?” Erin cut in before the two’s petty squabble could escalate into a physical quarrel.

“Five days,” Siv answered. “If the winds are favourable. If we make haste, we can reach the capital in three days.”

“Considering our luck so far, I say it would take a week more,” Lyra said.

“Are there any towns or villages in between?” Erin continued her inquiry, ignoring Lyra’s gloomy mutterings.

“There’s a small town governed by a lowly lord and quite a few nameless villages along the path. We won’t be alone for the rest of the journey if that is your concern, Mistress.”

“What’s there to be concerned about?” Lyra asked.

“Collateral,” Erin answered.

“We will be mostly crossing paths with other adventurers as there’s a labyrinth near the capital. You have nothing to worry about, Mistress.”

Erin fell silent for a short while before bringing up another question. “What of the Covenant?”

“They are being indolent for now,” answered Aedan. “If there’s any news, Olivia will let us know.”

“And how long do you think they will be inactive?”

“A year at least. They have suffered a significant loss and a lot of their spies have been uprooted. If they wish to continue their operations, they would avoid catching attention for the time being.”

“Make sense,” Erin mused in agreement. As she was about to put a slice of fruit into her mouth, the area around her chest shook.

The amusing sight caught the attention of everyone around the fire.

Before Erin could figure out what was going on, a cube popped out of her breast pocket, the cube which housed the cat-like Kirin. It nearly fell into the fire but Erin caught the cube just in time.

“Whoa, easy there, little one.”

The Kirin ignored Erin’s words and continued ramming into the sides of the cube.

“It’s trying to get out,” Nivia observed.

“It’s hungry,” Siv said. “It wants to eat the fruit in your hand, Mistress.”

Erin looked towards Aedan. “How do you unlock this thing?”

Aedan frowned. “Are you sure?”

“We can’t exactly just starve this adorable creature now, could we?”

Aedan sighed. “I supposed not,” he said and snapped his fingers.

The moment the cube came undone, the Kirin shot towards the fruit in Erin’s hand. Though the fruit slice was as large as the Kirin itself, it swallowed the fruit whole in a single gulp.

Everyone stared at the Kirin in awe.

“Okay… this is new,” Aedan muttered amidst the silent and awed crowd.