Book 3: Chapter 53

Two men dressed in armor were sitting outside on wooden chairs, their helmets by their feet and mugs of alcohol in their hands. On their chests, there were engravings of a snake with spread wings and an open mouth, a bright green droplet hanging off of one of its fangs. There was a cabin behind the two knights and a small hut that seemed like an entrance to a mineshaft beside it. Shadows flickered through the screened windows of the cabin, and muffled, passionate cries leaked through, accompanied by deep grunts.

“They’re really going at it, huh?” one of the knights asked as he wiped his mouth with the back of his armored hand.

The other knight grunted, his mug pressed against his lips with his head tilted back. His eyes widened to the size of saucers as he coughed and spluttered, dribbling alcohol all over his beard and armor. He threw his mug down and shot to his feet. “Dragon!” he said through coughs as he ran up to the cabin. Knocking sounds echoed through the clearing as he pounded on the cabin door. “There’s a dragon!”

The first knight furrowed his brow as he lifted his chin. A blue speck in the sky was heading towards them, growing larger with every passing second. The knight’s eyes narrowed as he squinted. The approaching speck really did look like a dragon. “But do dragons come this far west?” he asked as he turned his head towards the first knight. “Maybe the alcohol’s playing tricks on us.”

“On both of us at the same time?” the second knight asked. “Are you daft?”

The first knight cleared his throat as he rubbed his pink nose. “Well, isn’t that more believable than a dragon coming this way?”

“Huh,” the second knight said as he lowered his hand which was about to knock on the cabin door again. “You have a good point.” He looked up at the sky and frowned. The ocean-blue dragon was getting closer, close enough to see four people standing on its head. One of them had horns, and another one didn’t even have a face on its skull. “Yeah, you’re right. We must be seeing things.”

“See? No problem,” the first knight said as he leaned over and picked up the mug that his partner had thrown away. He brought it to a barrel and twisted a spout, refilling the mug with a frothy drink. “Here, have another.”

“Thanks,” the second knight said as he grabbed the drink and sat back down. The dragon was right overhead, circling around and around as if deciding on where it wanted to land. It chose the spot right in front of the two knights, creating a massive blast of wind as it landed that nearly blew the two knights out of their chairs. “Phew. That was realistic as all heck.”

“That’s the first time someone hasn’t screamed,” Vur said and frowned. “Do I have to do it again?”

“Is this another one of Grimmy’s rules?” Alora asked.

“Of course,” Vur said, rolling his eyes up to look at the polymorphed dragon. For some reason, Alora hadn’t turned back into a dragon despite Vur polymorphing himself into one. Maybe it was the result of his training. “Dragons must make grand, intimidating entrances when meeting people for the first time.”

The door to the cabin flew open as a half-naked man wearing trousers dashed outside. He took one look at the dragon and let out a shriek as the region around his crotch darkened, the color running down the legs of his pants.

“Like that,” Vur said, nodding at the man.

“W-w-w-what’s going on!?” the half-naked man shouted as he fell backwards onto his butt, pointing at Vur with a trembling hand. “D-dragon!”

“No, no,” one of the knights said. “Boss, that’s just a figment of our imaginations. It’s the alcohol making us see things. Why would there be a dragon?”

“It spoke! It freaking spoke!”

“Alcohol can make people hear things too,” the other knight said. “It’s rare, but I heard if you’re really close to your companions, you’ll all see the same hallucinations when you drink.”

“Alcohol doesn’t cause hallucinations!”

The two armored knights exchanged glances with each other. One of them pointed at Vur. “Then what’s that if it’s not a hallucination?”

“This is why you should hold yourself back when you drink, Vur,” Tafel said as she hopped off of Vur’s head. “You’ll become stupid if you drink too much and too often.” She walked up to the two sitting knights and nodded. “We’re adventurers sent by Grand Duchess Apollonia to clear the dungeon.”

“W-w-w-what does Grand Duchess Apollonia have to do with us?” the first knight asked. “We’re knights of the Scathir household.”

Alora whispered to Vur, “Tafel’s a better dragon than you. Look, she said one sentence to that man, who didn’t even flinch in your presence, and he’s trembling already.”

“Alright, that was clearly suspicious,” Tafel said, her expression darkening. “You’re hiding something from Apollonia even though you work under her, aren’t you?”

“We’re knights of the Scathir household. W-who’s Apoll—”

An earth-shattering roar shook the ground, causing everyone—including Tafel—to fall over. Vur snapped his jaws shut with a slamming sound as he stomped up to the three men and stopped once his head was above Tafel, his chin almost resting on her head. He glared at the knights, but none of them were in any condition to respond. His eyes rolled up to look at Alora. “Did you say something?”

Alora clicked her tongue. “How petty.”

Alice rubbed her bleeding ears. “I think you broke my eardrums.”

“Mine too,” Mr. Skelly said. He dug into gap on the side of his head with his finger. A moment later, he pulled his finger back, revealing nothing. “Just kidding! Worms ate those when I died.”

Alice smacked his skull off.

Tafel glared up at Vur as she climbed to her feet, but she didn’t say anything. She walked up to the three fallen knights and placed her hands on her hips. “Well, are you three going to cooperate with me us or are you going to become this dragon’s next meal?”

Vur made a face as he wrinkled his nose. “I don’t eat humans, so you better cooperate.”

“We’ll cooperate!”