by M Arienach
“I promise to hold back in the future unless called. Would that be acceptable?”
Haladoria smiled. “We do not chide you over removing those problems. If left to themselves, they spread across the lands and cause greater problems.”
Dorvus agreed. “Yea, we had let those towns go because of the green skins at the port city. No harm done.”
“Still…”
Haladoria grinned. “Hush. I believe we will have more than enough to keep ourselves busy for a while. I suppose we should have asked, but do you mind having our peoples move here?”
I was pleasantly surprised by the offer and looked to Dorvus, who smiled.
“Some of our people as well. We would have representation here if ya will it.”
That took care of me asking, anyway. “I would be honored to have you. I have nowhere for them to stay, however.”
They both smiled at me and Dorvus spoke. “Let us take care of that. Now, would ya care to have mines and stonework?”
I laughed. “Of course… If you are willing, I would like a few lairs built in the outer ring.”
His eyes widened. “Lairs? Dragon Lairs?”
“Yes. I am considering on taking those willing in on this venture. There will be rules, of course, but in the long of it, I would like to make this an open community to all. A place to trade ideas as well as goods.”
They both stared at me, first in shock and then in speculation. Haladoria spoke first.
“How do you plan on keeping them from ignoring your rules.”
I sighed. “I am the eldest ancient. They will not cause trouble in my presence more than once.”
Haladoria and Dorvus just looked at each other. A little elf girl came running up. “They want to know where to pitch the tents.”
They looked at me and I shrugged. “Not like I need one. I do not know what you need to do what you wish, I leave this in your hands as I have no need of a building, let alone know how to build.”
Dorvus just stared, then chuckled. “I suppose ya have a good point. So anything outside the ring?”
“Yes. Do what you need to, to make it work. Shops, houses, farms or whatever. I may be able to travel between planes, but a plow is beyond me. If you wish, design the city how you like. I just ask that the ones staying are housed first.”
Haladoria stared at me for a moment. “You mean… you wish us to design a city… you trust us that far?”
“You have far more knowledge than I and my fore-claws would make short work of an axe or a pick. I will be less than useless for this task. The only suggestion I might make is to leave a wide clear path up to the valley to the inner ring.”
Dorvus grinned like the cat that ate the canary. “Would ya mind us taking residence in the peaks to either side of the valley?”
“As you will. Later on, after all is settled, then we can see what else we might need. Oh, before I forget. You do use gold for trade?”
“Gold, silver and copper.” Dorvus smiled.
“Ah, then a down payment on the coming work. I assume your people will be working with them on this, Haladoria?”
“Yes, of course. We may be taking another clan in and they will probably have people that wish to move here as well.”
I smiled and opened a portal back to the caldera where I had put some gold aside. I pulled through a couple of small rocks… and forgot that I was no longer a dragon and my size estimation still sucked. The rocks were a little over a foot in diameter. Trying to play it down, I asked. “Will this do for a down payment on the town and the docks?”
Dorvus fell to his ass staring at them. “Uh… um… yes.”
Haladoria wasn’t much better. “Milord… there is wealth there for six cities.”
I smiled. “Then make one that will make all of us proud. I suppose these will have to be minted, but it should keep your workers paid and give cushion to any unexpected problems. Is there anything else you might require?”
Dorvus just looked at me with a snort. “You mean like mithril and silver?”
I smiled slightly. “Just a moment.” Silver was easy, I had some laying around. I wasn’t sure what mithril was, but I had seen some of the elven hardware and had a clue what it looked like. It didn’t take long for me to locate a vein and pull up a few pieces through a portal.
“Will these do?”
Dorvus just stared. “Good goblin gods. The mithril alone would pay for this town you wish built.”
“Ah, then after things are done, I know where a vein of it is. It is down quite a ways however.”
Before we could go farther down that track, Haladoria started and moaned. “I had forgot… Michael, we have a couple of centaurs who wish to stay here as well.”
“They are welcome. I will not turn anyone away that wishes to abide in peace.”
Haladoria turned and waved the two over. One was black with white socks and a full head of black hair on his head, the other was a chestnut with matching hair. The black was male an the chestnut was female. They both looked uneasy as they approached. Haladoria had to encourage them. They huddled together as they stood slightly behind her, both towering over her. They stood a good eight feet tall.
“This is Micky.” Haladoria said, pointing to the black haired one. “And this Jessie. They are part of a small herd moonward of here. The whole herd is looking for a home and work.”
I smiled at them, but before I could speak, Micky softly spoke. “We don’t want to trouble you, we can go now.”
“Wait!” They had half turned and jumped when I called to them. “Be welcome. If you wish to bring your people here and help, then feel free. So long as you help and do not cause trouble, you are welcome here. I am sure Dorvus or Haladoria knows your requirements, so let them know where you would like to be and they can work it into the building plan.”
Their eyes wide, Jessie spoke. “We have no gold for housing.”
“I am sure that if you help out, money will come. Consider the housing down payment for your work.”
Micky looked shocked. “You would do that?”
Haladoria looked at him and laughed. “Told you he was a strange dragon.”
I grinned. “Let your herd know they are welcome. There is much to be done and the more hands the easier the work.”
Jessie gushed. “Thank you, thank you mister dragon. Thank you!”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I am called Michael.” then held up a hand. “Not lord or any other title, just Michael.”
Micky hesitated slightly, then almost formally said. “Thank you Michael, I will go fetch them. Jessie can stay here.”
Jessie looked a might uneasy, so I said. “Nothing will happen to her while you are away. These lands are mine and I will keep peace here.”
Micky nodded and Jessie looked relieved. “Thank you very much.” Micky said.
With that he trotted off. I wondered how he would clear the river that I had branched off of, but when he got there, he simple kept going. It only slowed him slightly. I shook my head. Apparently centaurs were strong. We kept chatting and suddenly I sensed another trailing Micky.
“Excuse me, I think someone is about to try to cause a problem.”
The other three looked puzzled, as I jogged far enough away as to not cause a problem myself and shifted to my native form. I then launched myself upwards and climbed high enough to prevent anyone from getting drawn into the backblast as I ported.
I came out just ahead of Viennarinia just as she started to drop into a dive at Micky. She hurriedly kited her wings and launched a fire ball at me. I caught it, looked at it, then at her and tossed it back. She scrambled to get out of the way.
“Now, is that any way to be?” I dead panned.
“I don’t know what you are trying Arienach. I saw those creatures coming to your lair.”
“I plan on trading with them.”
That set her back for a moment. “Trading? What do those vermin have to trade?”
“Knowledge. I seek peace
for the lands. I cannot build, but they can. I know the mysteries of the planes, but not the subtle skills of those who have weaker magic. I seek other than destruction and waste. We have all that the worlds can give us, yet we have nothing. Our legacy is nothing more than eating and killing. I would see that changed.”
She hovered in the air just staring at me. “You have finally lost it. I heard that elf witch went after you, she must have knocked a something loose upstairs.”
I didn’t think it politic to let her know that Arienach was only a guest in the house at this point. Instead, I told her. “I care not if you join with me. I do ask you not to interfere. The one below is pledged to me, therefore, I will watch over him and his people. Be warned Viennarinia.”
She blew a jet of fire at me, which I allowed to hit me in the chest. While I just stared at her. Then she turned and flew off. Arienach informed me that she was one of the next strongest dragons below me, at less than half my levels. In other words, she didn’t have a chance of a snowflake in a blast furnace. I looked down as Micky stared up in awe, so I dropped down away from him and walked up slowly.
“You are safe now.” I conjured another call stone, this time an emerald, and tossed it to him. “If her or any of her kind bother you on your way back, use that to contact me and I will come.”
“Thank you lord…”
I interrupted him with a fore-claw waving back and forth. “Not lord.”
He looked sheepishly. “Yes Michael.”
“Go to your people. Take care of them and I will watch over.”
“Yes sir.” He backed away then turned and ran.
I decided to fly back to give myself time to think. Arienach let me for a while then interjected.
“You realize that most of the dragons, including me at one time, have her mind set.”
“I figured as much. All I can do is try. This is going to take a while, I know. It may turn out that the greatest enemy will be our own people.”
“I cannot council you on this. What you do, I don’t understand, but I will not judge.”
“I thank you for that, Arienach. I thank you.”
Relatives Visit
I watched through the spring and into the summer as the port and the town grew. It seemed like every time a ship came in, it left with fewer passengers. We gained a group of fairies and a half fox that called herself a kitsune. I had no clue what that meant, but everyone was impressed, so I went along with it. Early on, I led the dwarves to a large vein of iron ore and another of copper. The docks and the shipyards were completed all in stone with carved wood piers. The main street was paved with granite blocks that were eight inches thick and polished to a sheen in the very middle of the street. The housing was up close to the outer walls of my lairs with the dwarves digging into the mountains on either side and making them their own.
I kept feeling Viennarinia come and go. She would come and watch for a while then leave. She made no move on any of the transports or the people as they worked on the mountains or in the forests. The farms were out on the river leading to the harbor and they were not disturbed either. Still I kept watch and waited.
About mid summer, the dwarves started carving into the face of the two entry mountains. I watched as the stone seemed to melt away. I asked Dorvus and Haladoria about it during one of my drinking trips into town. Both just smiled and ignored me. I had gotten into the habit of visiting them about once a week to go to the pub. It was one of the first buildings completed in the town. It took about a month before there was a new drink to try, and I found myself entranced. It was called Elven Brandy. I found love.
More buildings came into being and the tents were all but gone by this time. We gained a second herd of centaurs towards the end of summer along with a full clan of elves. About a month later a full clan of drow joined us to mine and Arienach’s surprise. Dorvus told us that he was in talks with other clans of dwarves as well. One night they asked me what they should name the town. I told them I really didn’t have a clue, dragons didn’t usually name things.
So, Dragonhaven came to be.
The speed of the cities growth increased with the size of the population. Around the harbor, the streets radiated out in a fan shape. From the air, it looked beautiful, the white stone making rays away from the center harbor. Warehouses and shops sprang up almost as fast as the people arrived. There were many places set aside, little round places in the junction and some larger places between the buildings that were spaced far enough apart. I figured I would find out what they were for in time.
I was fascinated by the industry as well as the way that race barriers disappeared. It was nothing to see the dwarves and the centaurs working along side elves and sometimes fairies, though what the fairies did was beyond me. The buildings grew as they got closer to the entrance to my lair ring. Both in size and in intricacy. They were functional works of art, some quite fanciful. Dragons seemed to be the underlying theme of the city. It seemed like overnight, statues sprang up like wildflowers. Pillars sported dragons spiraling around them and buildings had them carved in where ever there was a flat spot.
There seemed to be a never ending train of ships entering and leaving the harbor and carts were to be found on the roads at all times of the day and night. From somewhere a militia sprang up and they patrolled the entire city. I heard of no crime, but then again, I didn’t interfere in their affairs either. When I joined the town in my other form, it seemed to be happy and peaceful. I rarely heard a complaint and mostly it was about something trivial.
It was towards the end of summer, early fall that I felt two dragons heading towards my lair. I flew out to investigate. There were two of them, adults which were half my size, a red and a black.
“Greetings, I am called Michael here.”
“Greetings” said the black. “I am called Shryke and this is Darhla.”
Darhla? “I greet you both. What may I do for you this day?”
“We seek understanding of what you attempt with these…” The black continued.
“People?”
“Yes. They build by your lair and you allow it? What does this do for you?”
“Ah, I see. Well, they build a port that they can live in and trade ensues. They build and we all learn from each other.”
“Learn? I do not understand. They cannot equal our magic. What do we have to learn from them?”
“Subtle magic. I, for all my knowledge cannot make a tree grow. Or heal something. I know not how the dwarves work stone as if it is soft wood or make soft iron into steel.”
“Why should you seek to know that?”
“Why not? Tell me, what do we truly need?”
“Nothing! The world is ours.”
“Sadly, this is true.”
“Sadly?”
“What do you have to plan for? What do you need go fight for? Where can you find challenge?”
They both looked blankly at me.
“I wish to work with them as best I can. They have a drive that we cannot match for all our magic. We have everything, and it makes us less.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Have you seen their art? Heard their songs? Listened to their stories? They have nothing compared to us, but have rich lives. I would learn this.”
“May we come see your city?”
“So long as you mean them no harm. Follow me.”
Arienach was stunned. I wasn’t too far off. We made the flight back in silence. Each with their own thoughts. Landing on the pad that was reserved for me, I shifted as they followed. Shryke turned out to be tall with broad shoulders and black hair. Darhla was of tiny stature with flaming red hair. I let them look around the dock and the shipyard then took them up the main thoroughfare. We paused for an hour at the pub… which now had the name Dragons Head. I hadn’t noticed that before. Haladoria joined us for a time as we chatted. When we left, I could tell the other two dragons were amazed, especially with the elven brandy.
We continued
, sometimes stopping at shops and crafters, till we reached the valley and then I looked up. You couldn’t see them from the air that well and I generally landed on the docks, not coming this way. There were two large, albeit unfinished, statues of rampant dragons with their wings spread across the face of each mountain.
At the entrance to that valley, there stood three awe struck dragons. They turned to me.
“Did you tell them to do this?” Shryke asked quietly.
“No.” I replied just as quietly.
“They are beautiful.” Darhla whispered.
“Yes.”
“May we join you?” Shryke asked.
It took me a second to figure out what he was asking. In the meantime, Darhla asked. “Please?”
“I would be honored to have you. You understand now.”
“Yes.”
About that time, Cornal walked up and introductions were made.
“Have you had any time to work on the lairs?” I asked hopefully.
Cornal smiled. “We have about half a dozen done. They range from one, which is your size to three that are of the size of the dragons here. We also have two for the juvenile dragons as well. We connected them in the back with a tunnel and a very large cavern where they can meet and talk if they wish.”
I just shook my head. Then I turned to the other two. “Would this be to your liking?”
Shryke turned to Cornal. “Did Michael tell you how to build these lairs?”
“No, no… we pretty much were working off of hunch and guess. Each lair has a sleeping area, an area to study and a room to store things if you wish. It was the best we could come up with. It was to be a surprise, but this be a good time for it, if’n you ask me.”
I smiled. “It is a perfect time. Thank you and tell Dorvus I said thank you as well.”
I heard a voice behind me. “You be welcome dragon. We still owe ya, but each thank you we get pays it down that much.”
“You own me nothing.”
“So you say.” He laughed.
“A question, is the one our size suitable to sleep two?” Shryke took Darhla’s hand with a smile.