The woman clutches the iron bars, freezing them solid before breaking them, as if she were snapping twigs. She departs from her former prison with a pompous gait, the iron shackles that bind her hands shattering, leaving frigid, jagged pieces in her wake. - A certain woman escaping her prison
Allister and Zero look at the figure, dumbfounded by what they see. To them, the figure is elegant and beautiful in every way, not unlike an elf. Even so, their ears are rounded, much like a human’s, though it is somewhat pointed upwards subtly. When most people think about what an elf looked like, most would say that their “ears are pointy and easy to see,” some even giving elves the nickname “long-ears,” though it is seen as a derogatory term. Some would even say that elves are naturally beautiful, though this is under the lens of human beauty standards. Still, elves pride themselves over their own beauty, which tends to give non-elves the impression that elves are vain and arrogant. The figure before them looks human, but their unnatural beauty leads them to believe otherwise. Of course, they may very well just be blessed with good genes, but their aura is mystical to Zero, who is more sensitive to the presence of the fey then most.
“Is something wrong?” the figure says. Of course, Zero believes the figure must be a mix of human and elf: a half-elf.
“Who are you?” begins Zero. “You mentioned Shamil, right?”
“I did. She sent me earlier to aid the village that now lays in ruins.” The figure says this with a sullen expression.
“How did you find this place? You couldn’t have possibly tracked us down this quickly without knowing Draconic to read the etchings, or survival skills to maneuver through the forest alone!” This time, it is Allister that is questioning the man.
“I am uncertain as to why that is relevant, but no, I cannot speak Draconic. As for how I found this place, I simply had the plants guide me.”
“The… plants?” Allister mutters to himself, questioning the man’s sanity, but as if to ease Allister’s suspicions, the man begins growing vines from his hands, letting them wrap around his body like clothing. The vines grow buds, which blossom into beautiful flowers of vibrant colors as the vines grow longer. Soon, the vines and flowers turn the man into an art piece as he poses in an elegant fashion. Allister is completely taken with the majestic sight before him, entranced by the beauty of the man’s magic at work.
“A druid, huh?” Zero seems awfully calm despite what is happening before him. “No wonder you found this place so quickly. You must have followed the absence of voices in the plants; the trampled ones, that is.”
“That’s right! How cruel indeed. Those overgrown lizards have no regard for nature.” The man crosses his arms and pouts.
Allister pinches the bridge of his nose in irritation. “So tell me, plant man, what’s your name again?”
The man looks at Allister with a cheery smile.
“Kelm,” he says. “You need only know my given name. I’m rather cautious about letting my family name go public.”
Allister and Zero look at each other before returning their gaze back to the overly cheerful druid that stands before them. If it wasn’t for the mangled corpse of the Kobold in front of him, Allister would have thought Kelm was a vegan pacifist who only speaks to trees and flowers like a madman.
After Allister and Zero introduce themselves to Kelm, the three of them overlook the opening into the large ravine. There is no way down from there, but the three of them can see what the main chamber looks like. The ravine is circular in shape, with a tall ceiling that could easily be nearly 100 feet. While the ground of the ravine has no visible stalagmites, the dark ceiling above has large stalactites, water dripping from them and landing on the rocky floor, forming a small creek that flows downwards towards the center. On the ground, the chamber has several Kobolds, each with a sling, but a few have robes, and one looks to have armor, presumably the Dragonshield Kobolds the three of them are looking for. To the left section of the chamber, there are several iron cells lodged into the ravine wall with people inside. To the opposite side of the iron cells on the right section of the chamber lay two doors with a sign above it. It is too far to read, but because this cave is supposed to be a mineshaft, Zero concludes that those doors must lead to the mine proper.
Perhaps the most obvious thing in the chamber is the massive dragon nest, where five dragon eggs sit inside, each easily seven feet tall. The eggs are all colored differently: red, blue, green, white, and black. The red egg looks like it was prematurely destroyed, while the black, blue, and green eggs hatched safely. The final egg, the white one, is still intact, though with the others already hatched, it's a matter of time before the white one hatches too. Above the nest sits a statue mounted on the wall, in the shape of five dragon heads. Each head contains a gemstone in each of its eyes, but the gemstones of each head are different from one another. There is a head with ruby gems, one with sapphire gems, one with emerald gems, one with clear diamonds, and one with obsidian, which is not a gemstone, but it fits the aesthetic.
“There’s our target,” Allister whispers, pointing at the only Kobold wearing armor.
“We could jump down, but we’d be too exposed and damaged from the fall,” explains Zero.
“There are two other openings to the left and right of us that look like they lead down.”
Kelm points to both openings as he speaks. Allister and Zero were so focused on Kelm earlier that they had missed these obvious openings which are both lit with torches.
“Both are definitely trapped, though,” Zero says, a nervous sweat beading down his brow.
“But we should at least pick one.”
The three of them look both ways before ultimately deciding to head down the right pathway. There was no particular reason they chose the right path, but staying in one place and doing nothing would get them nowhere. Thus, the three of them start heading down the opening, Zero leading the charge.
Walking for a few minutes, the three of them become increasingly aware of the silence in the air; they haven’t seen any Kobolds along the way, nor have they spotted or activated any traps. The tension rises as they cautiously make their way down the tunnel, still lit with torches.
The corridor itself is smoothened up, with wooden braces to support the stone on top. This must be a relic of when the mineshaft was still active. In several places are large alcoves of varying shapes and sizes. Some of them have remnants of coal veins still within the stone of the cave. Down the center of the corridor is a railway, presumably for minecarts to deliver resources to and from the mines and the surface.
“This is too weird,” Zero says, a very focused gaze on him as he scans the environment. “It’s too silent.”
For a cave infested with Kobolds, the lack of traps is disconcerting to the three of them. Allister points out that the Kobolds are most likely luring the three of them into a false sense of security, only to get the jump on them again, just like they did when Allister was pinned to the ground by boulders at the start of the cave. Zero agrees with this sentiment, believing that they should start throwing pebbles ahead of themselves to trigger any potential traps, but when he starts to mention this, he suddenly falls inside of the floor. Both Allister and Kelm look at each other in disbelief at what just happened, but Kelm quickly comes to his senses.
“Illusion magic!?”
As Kelm shouts this, a large chunk of the floor dissolves into a mist before disappearing completely, leaving behind a large pit with a black substance covering the floor and walls. Zero lays in the center, groaning over the sudden fall.
“Damn it,” Zero says, a scowl over his face mixed with a look of pain. He attempts to get up, but slips on the black substance almost immediately. “What the-!?”
Allister reaches into his pack to look for anything that might help get Zero out, but Kelm’s focus is further down the cave; a pack of three Kobolds make a mad dash for the pit, two of them with daggers and one of them holding a lit torch.
“Allister! A group of three Kobolds are headed this way!”
Allister breaks his focus on his pack to inspect the situation. Allister clicks his tongue in frustration at the sight, then continues to furiously search his pack for some rope to pull Zero out from the pit. Kelm, however, has his senses together.
“Even if you threw down a rope to help him up, he will still have trouble climbing it. We need to deal with these Kobolds, first!” commands Kelm.
His previously airheaded nature was quickly replaced with a serious and commanding tone. Allister feels oddly motivated to follow Kelm’s orders.
“Got it!”
As the Kobolds approach ever closer to the pit, Kelm is the first to make a move, grabbing his staff and quietly chanting a ritualistic phrase in some ancient language Allister doesn’t know. Kelm waves his staff in the direction of the Kobolds, and one of them suddenly freezes solid, collapsing on the ground and breaking apart into smaller pieces. The one that Kelm aimed for had the torch, which is now rolling on the ground, still lit, causing the shadows to dance around the cave like a creepy shadowplay. The Kobold that held the torch had no weapon out, so Kelm thought it would be better to attack that one first. One of the other two Kobolds grabs a hold of the torch and the two Kobolds continue their charge, despite their now obvious fear. Kelm thought this was a little odd. For what reason would the Kobolds want the torch so desperately? It is especially strange since Kobolds had the innate ability to see clearly in the dark. In fact, it was quite odd for them to cover the walls of the cavern with torches if they did not wish to be invaded.
While Allister is impressed by Kelm’s magic, he leaves his bag on the floor while drawing his sword, then charges the other two Kobolds, running swiftly past Kelm. The Kobolds see Allister coming and prepare to dodge. He takes a swing at a Kobold with his sword, but as it dodges his attack, Allister changes the direction of his sword and cuts into the Kobolds back. Blood spurts forth like a fountain, coating Allister and his sword in crimson red. The kobold’s body falls to the ground, lifeless and bleeding still from its gaping back wound. The final Kobold continues its charge.
Kelm prepares another spell, but before he can finish the spell chanting, the final Kobold zooms past him and throws the torch towards the pit. Why? What’s so important about the torch? Unless… Kelm ponders over the strange behavior of the kobolds before finally realizing the significance of the torch.
“It’s pitch! The pit is covered in pitch!” Kelm shouts. “The kobolds are trying to light the pit on fire!”
“!?”
Zero tries even more desperately to stand up after hearing this, but it’s no use; the pitch is too slippery for Zero to navigate.
Kelm points his staff towards the falling torch, focusing as much as he can.
“I haven’t done this in a while…”
Kelm mutters to himself, resolving to the spell failing upon casting it, but as Kelm chants the phrase to cast the spell, the flame on the torch goes out, as if it was never lit to begin with. The torch lands safely inside the pit, next to a still fumbling Zero.
Allister and Kelm sigh in collective relief.
“That was close,” Allister says, relieved that Zero isn’t burning to cinders right now.
“It’s not over yet, Allister. That Kobold is the last one left.”
Kelm voices his warning as he grabs his longbow from his back. The kobold, realizing that the trap failed, begins to flee as fast as it can. However, Kelm won’t let this one escape.
“Take this!”
Kelm releases an arrow from his longbow, which slams up against the kobold's back, piercing it with ease. The kobold flies forward, then lands with a loud thump as it fumbles onto the floor, writhing in pain. It eventually stops moving as it bleeds to death, blood staining the ground underneath it.
Allister watches in awe. Not only is Kelm good with magic, he’s an excellent shot too.
“Alright, looks like that’s the last of them. Let’s get Zero out of there,” Kelm says with an exasperated breath. Allister nods in agreement.
Allister and Kelm take their time getting Zero out of the slippery pit, failing many times until finally, they manage to bring him up. After a few minutes of resting, the three begin traversing down the tunnel once again while Zero works to clean his clothing.
The three of them progress through the cave, triggering and avoiding simple but potentially deadly traps, like poison-tipped arrows, fire, and even more pitfall traps. While Allister and Zero are cautious and observant, Kelm seems to be more carefree, as if the traps in the cave were non-existent to him. Allister and Zero have decided that Kelm should be in the back of the group, for the sake of their own sanity. As an example, the previous pitfall trap they encountered a few minutes ago was spotted almost instantly by both Allister and Zero, but the many tripwires that covered the space above the trap was like a spider's web, and Kelm carelessly walked into them like they were invisible, activating the trap and dropping him into a pit of hungry rats. Fortunately, Kelm was able to save himself by casting Thunderwave, a spell that targets an area rather than one specific target.
Allister was starting to feel hopeful that he had an ally he could rely on, but now he is thinking otherwise. He lets out an audible sigh in disappointment as the three of them continue down the long cave tunnel.
"Is something wrong, Allister? It looks like something is bothering you," says Kelm, a worried look plastered on his face. Allister gives Kelm a blank stare.
Yeah. You, he thinks to himself, not bothering to voice this opinion at all. Instead, Allister gives Kelm an "I'm fine" before sighing to himself again.
Eventually, the three of them come across an area of the corridor where the walls are unnaturally smooth and littered with weirdly shaped sharp edges and alcoves. Zero, who has been leading the charge, stops the party to address the situation.
"Stop. The walls here look strange. Be careful."
As Zero speaks, his echoes get louder and louder, until they're too loud to bear. The three of them try to block out the noise by covering their ears, but it seems futile. Eventually, the noise dies down, and the three of them collapse in sudden exhaustion.
"What in the nine hells was that?" exclaims Allister. Of course, the same thing happens, his voice echoing to a nearly unbearable breaking point before finally settling down.
Zero signal to the other two to stay silent. They nod in agreement, not wanting their ears to suffer like that again. Zero is especially concerned about Kelm, but he has proven himself capable when it really counts.
The three of them begin to make their way down the hallway quietly, every step being amplified and making it seem much louder than it actually is. Zero wonders to himself how the kobolds were even able to make such an elaborate trap as this one in the first place. It could be that they have a kobold sorcerer in their ranks, especially with the illusion trap earlier, but even this trap seems too clever for a sorcerer. Perhaps the Cult of the Dragon really is involved in this incident? Zero is still unsure. Despite what Shamil believed to be the case, Zero doubts that the Cult would ever be involved in a Dragonshield’s business, but this might be a special case. In fact, this very mine might hold some ancient secrets the guild didn’t know about, but with the help of Kobolds who make caves like this their natural habitat, it would make finding ruins easier for the Cult if it was of significance to them. In any case, as Zero’s thoughts wander, the three of them eventually make it to the end of the hallway, avoiding another mishap. Zero decides to put his thinking on the matter aside and focus on the mission.
As the party of three approach the opening, they peer in to find that they have made it to the bottom of the ravine. However, the ground floor is crawling with Kobolds, some who seem to be commanding large, lizard-like creatures, treating them not too dissimilar to mastiffs. At the far end of the chamber lies the large dragon nest, where the party can clearly see the hatched eggs. The white egg is still yet to hatch, which gives Zero a bad feeling. Next to the nest is what the party had presumed to be the Dragonshield earlier; a Kobold dressed in particularly protective armor and a bone shield sporting an engraving of a five-headed dragon, each head angled in such a way that forms a star shape, and each head is a different color: red, blue, green, black, and white. The Dragonshield has two other kobolds, each dressed in lavish robes and holding a crystal ball in one hand. Zero identifies these as Kobold Sorcerers, kobolds who are talented with the arcane. The last thing Zero notices is that the area feels colder than it did at the top of the ravine.
"We can probably defeat the Dragonshield if we ganged up on it together, but those kobolds in robes are spellcasters. They'll be particularly troublesome to deal with," whispers Zero to the other two.
"I also don't like the look of those giant lizard things either," Allister replies, a nervous sweat beading down his brow.
"We can't leave the dragon egg off the table, either."
"Yes. The Hunter's Guild typically leaves dragon-hunting quests to the veteran guild members. I'd rather avoid an altercation with a dragon if possible, even a wyrmling is a big threat,” Kelm responds, a twinge of reluctance in his words.
Zero ponders over their dilemma; if they act now and take down all the Kobolds, they might not have the stamina left to deal with the Dragonshield, much less a dragon. If they leave now and report back to the guild, they run the risk of letting a white dragon wyrmling loose on the city. Zero mulls over his options, but eventually comes up with a decent enough battle plan.
“Allister, me and you will deal with the Kobolds and the lizard-like creatures. Kelm, you take the sorcerers. I take it you know healing magic?” Zero says.
“In fact I do. I can heal with a touch, or at a distance, though it won’t be as potent,” responds Kelm in a serious tone.
“Perfect. On the count of three.” Zero holds up his hands, and Kelm and Allister prepare themselves to rush.
Zero counts down, then with a loud “NOW,” the three of them charge into the ravine. The Kobolds all react to their presence with surprise, giving Allister and Zero a chance to take the heads of two Kobolds, one each. Kelm does not hesitate to cast thunderwave, causing a loud, booming sound to erupt from his staff and obliterating several Kobolds within fifteen feet of himself. The Kobolds with the lizard-like creatures shake off their confusion and command their beasts to attack. One of them strides up to Zero with a speed he didn’t expect, biting his arm and drawing blood with its sharp, razor-edged teeth.
“Argh!” Zero shouts, trying not to think about the pain as he plunges his blade into the back of the creature’s neck. It shrieks an ugly sound before collapsing dead on the floor. Allister, meanwhile, blocks the other creature’s bite attack with his shield, tossing it up into the air, then slices his sword down, cutting the creature in half and killing it instantly. The Kobolds that commanded them all run and hide behind the Kobold sorcerers. Kelm walks up to the two of them with his staff and begins chanting.
One of the Kobold sorcerers holds up his crystal ball and casts a bolt of fire, hurling it towards Kelm. It strikes him directly at his chest, though he takes it and finishes his chanting. The Kobold reels back in surprise by Kelm’s toughness, but is cut short when vines burst forth from the stone underneath and wrap around the sorcerer. The thorns on the vines are big enough and sharp enough to be dagger-like, which rips and tears at the Kobold’s scaly body. It yelps in pain as the other sorcerer casts a spell to dispel the magical vines. The first sorcerer drops to its knees, but keeps its footing, eliciting a sound of acknowledgment from Kelm. Of course, Kelm isn’t done yet and casts a spell on his staff. Suddenly, Kelm prepares himself as if he were to fight the sorcerers in melee combat, confusing the two of them.
In fact, Kelm had casted the spell Shallaleigh, which allows him to use his staff as a weapon, using his magical ability rather than physical ability to fight with. However, Kelm also seems to have some fighting prowess as he shows-off his proficiency with a quarterstaff with an elegant dance of sorts. Feeling satisfied, Kelm swings down on the injured Kobold sorcerer’s head, knocking it down and killing it instantly with a hard blow to the skull. The other sorcerer tries to cast a spell, but Kelm’s elven nimbleness allows him to strike again, this time at the neck, breaking it and killing the other with ease. Kelm sighs in exhaustion and self-satisfaction at his work. Meanwhile, Allister and Zero have dealt with the remaining Kobolds, catching up to Kelm and facing the final threat: the Kobold Dragonshield. At this point, the ravine is becoming too cold to be normal, but the three of them have a more important matter to attend to.
“I commend you for making it this far, fleshwalkers,” the Dragonshield yips in Draconic. Kelm, naturally, cannot understand him, but pretends to anyway. “Although, you’re too late!”
The Dragonshield yips maniacally as the white dragon egg behind him begins to crack. Zero and Allister prepare their swords while Kelm nervously recites the spells he’s prepared. The egg shakes fiercely as the cracks advance across the circumference of the increasingly frail egg shell. Suddenly, several quiet seconds go by before the egg violently bursts open, loud roaring emanating from within and white, dragon wings beat upwards against the air, announcing its grand entrance. Ice shards and snowflakes shimmer with a beautiful radiance as they rain down, adding to the already chilling air in the cave. The dragon then emerges slowly from the broken shell of its former home and menacingly crawls on its four, powerful legs towards the four onlookers. It growls in a low, animalistic manner as its primal ferocity in its eyes pierces into the three heroes’ very souls.
The Dragonshield blanches in the presence of the winged beast, yet also reveling in its awesome power with manic joy; hysteria shines in its eyes as the Dragonshield remains on its knees in both fear and jubilation. The Dragonshield rouses its courage in the face of its new child and moves closer to the beast, all the while proclaiming itself to be the dragon's master. However, whether because of the Kobold's arrogant speech or by sheer animal instinct, the dragon opens wide its gaping maw and quickly snaps it shut around the Dragonshield, staining the wyrmlings white, scaly lips in a deep, crimson color. The only remains of the Dragonshield other than its spilled blood is its bone shield, indigestible by the dragon and spat out as if it were simply a bothersome bone left inside a fish filet.
As Zero takes a step back, he nearly slips on the ice beginning to form underneath him. In fact, a cold mist washes over their ankles, not from the dragon before them, but from the cells next to them. As Zero looks over to the cages, he can see people in chains, their hands have calluses, presumably from the menial labor they were forced to do. But, one person in particular catches his eye; the shadow of a woman with long hair tied back into a ponytail and a large, dragon claw seemingly made of silver adorns her neck as a necklace, which glows in draconic runes. The woman clutches the iron bars, freezing them solid before breaking them, as if she were snapping twigs. She departs from her former prison with a pompous gait, the iron shackles that bind her hands shattering, leaving frigid, jagged pieces in her wake. She does the same with her iron collar, all while freezing the ground beneath her bare feet. She stops before the three of them, a bright smile illuminates her beautiful face.
"The name's Luciella," the woman begins with a gentle but firm voice. "I'm here as your ally for now. We can talk later."
The woman who calls herself Luciella cooly awaits their response. Now that she's closer, the three of them can see that her hair is a platinum blonde color. Her eyes are baby blue like glaciers, and her face is rounded. She is shorter than the three of them, though they stand over six feet tall, so she would be considered average height. She wears dirty rags on her body, the same rags all the other slaves are wearing, and dirt seems to also stain her fair skin, though it doesn't seem to bother her all that much. She radiates a powerful presence not too dissimilar to the dragon that now looms before them.
The three of them gawk at her beautiful yet intimidating presence nonplussed, before the loud roaring of the dragon brings them back to reality.
"Okay… we'll work together for now, but are you sure you can even fight?" Zero asks, still a little doubtful of her combat prowess. Not too long ago, she was also one of the slaves in the prison cells, so how good could she actually be?
Luciella grins smugly as she pivots around on her heel, cracking her knuckles with a confidence the three have not seen often; it is clear that this woman is seriously ready to kill a dragon with her bare hands. She walks closer to the beast, picking up a metal rod, a piece of the cell that used to confine her, holding it in such a way that her intent to use it like a quarterstaff is palpable. The beast, perhaps by pure instinct alone, reels back, cognizant of some mysterious yet familiar power emanating from Luciella; a horrible miasma of latent draconic energy that surrounds her, perhaps manifested as the frigid mist that blankets the floor of the ravine in an icy dew. However, Allister can sense divinity in Luciella's presence, the kind of divinity familiar to him; it is as if Luciella herself carries with her a part of his patron deity, the King of Dragons, BAHAMUT. Of course, Allister is far more sensitive to the presence of good and evil than the other two, as evident by their lack of any physical reaction to Luciella's divine presence. As a paladin, Allister can almost "smell" evil, wherever it may hide.
"I had a plan to free the people of the village from these fiends, but you acted before me," Luciella responds. "Well, just watch."
Luciella takes up a stance unknown to the three adventurers, then jumps up high into the air. The wyrmling responds quickly with a Breath of Cold, wrapping her in a chilling hail of ice and snow. However, Luciella pushes through, unharmed by the ice as a thin sheet of platinum-colored scales covers her body. Luciella readies the metal rod and, using the momentum of gravity alone, she slams it down on the wyrmlings still-supple skull, cracking through the scales. A fountain of blood erupts from the dragon's head wound as it screeches in pain, thrashing about and throwing dust and snow up into the air and concealing itself in a veil of ice crystals.
The sound of thrashing dissipates from within the mist, no silhouette can be found. The four adventurers stand idly by, alert and waiting for the dragon to strike. Despite it being a lowly wyrmling, the dragon is still a major threat to villages and towns if not dealt with, yet it still came as a surprise when the winged beast's claw swept up Kelm with rapid speed. Kelm's blood mixes with the dragon's on the floor as three gaping slash wounds decorate his chest. He flies fast and far, slamming into the hard, stone wall of the ravine. Kelm drops from a height of nearly 60 feet in the air onto the rough, stone surface of the ravine, coughing up blood and with glazed eyes.
"Kelm!" yells Allister. He rushes over to Kelm's side, but the dragon once again emerges from the mist, aiming to hit Allister with its other claw. Allister, aware that this might happen, brings up his shield just in time to block it, but it shatters almost instantly at the sheer force of the dragon's overwhelming strength. Allister gasps in surprise before a surprise tail swipe smacks him dead on the weak spot of his chestplate, slamming into the wall, carving out another dent into the ravine. As Allister's unconscious body falls to the floor, his flimsy, chain armor breaks apart, throwing metal chain links all around him.
"Allister!" A wave of fear flows down Zero's spine, causing him to reel back and doubt his ability to fight this monster, but a voice shakes him out of it.
"Do not worry, friend." Luciella readies a new stance, still confident, still smiling. "Follow me." Luciella makes a dash for the dragon, gripping her weapon in her right hand while her left hand begins to glow.
Zero snaps out of his hesitancy and follows suit close behind Luciella. The mist that covered the wyrmling has dissipated, revealing its location, but it prepares a breath in response to the charge. In a split second, the dragon breathes cold, but Luciella blocks it with what looks like burning hands, a spell capable of spewing flames from your fingertips. Is she a wizard? But her martial skills are too refined… Luciella continues her charge towards the dragon, slamming the rod against the dragon's head again, but she drops it and begins punching it with a force equal to an Owlbear's furious swipe. Her glowing hands tear through the dragon's protective scales.
"Hey! I'm gonna give you an opening. Wait for it and strike true!" exclaims Luciella. She briefly ceases the onslaught of fists, jumping into the air and landing a roundhouse kick against the dragon's head, dazing it. The dragon reels back, but when it prepares another breath attack, Luciella lands and makes a swift kick upwards, revealing the soft neck of the beast. "Now!" Luciella shouts.
Zero charges forward and, without a moment of hesitation, deals a swift slash of his blade against the dragon's gullet, beheading it in the process. Blood sprays violently around the dying corpse, pooling below and staining the ground a dark red, almost black in color. The dragon's body finally collapses, now laying still like a lifeless doll. Zero falls to his knees in exhaustion, then cheers loudly.
"W-we did it!" Zero pumps his fists up into the air while Luciella runs up to Allister.
"Let's get you back up," says Luciella in a gentle, smooth voice before suddenly feeling embarrassed. "The claw hasn’t charged yet…" She trails off, her cheeks flushing as she moves in close to his lips.
Zero watches in confused astonishment as Luciella plants a kiss on Allister. A glow emanates from the point of contact, then she retracts, giving room to Allister who suddenly wakes in a cold sweat.
"What happened? Did we do it? Am I dead?" exclaims Allister. He frantically looks around, trying to analyze the situation, but when he finds the dead dragon, he sighs in relief. "It's dead. Thank BAHAMUT…"
"Glad you're doing okay," Luciella says, cheeks flushed as she looks away from Allister, still flustered by what she had just done.
"I feel great actually. What happened? Did you heal me?"
"Um, y-yeah. I did…"
"Hmm? Are you alright? Your cheeks are a little red…" Allister gives Luciella a curious look before looking over at Zero. "Did you see what happened?"
"... No."
"Of course you didn't…" Allister sighs again, but this time in defeat.
The awkward air between the three of them lingers on for a few more uncomfortable seconds, putting a bit of a damper on their astounding victory against the draconic threat they dealt with only a minute prior.
