Hounds Rising

The next hour felt like a blur. Guards came from all directions and worked on healing those who weren’t killed. A younger guard, not even in his twenties, had managed to get lodged between the bodies and could not move during the fight. It might have saved him, but the trauma of being trapped between the deaths of those he knew was surely as awful.

The guards came over to the party to see if anyone needed help then to thank them. It wasn’t until twenty minutes later that he noticed that no one had even moved near the dragon. He looked over at one of the guards, who was standing nearby, not involved in any of the other tasks. He spoke in a grunted voice.

“Archmage Leaf. What would you command us to do with the beast?”

Leaf realized no one had touched it because he had not told them to. It took him aback, but he understood that this was something that Orin had to deal with constantly. Guards would not work unless he commanded them in times like this. He shook his head, then looked over at his new friends.

“If it’s all the same to you, dragons have a lot of useful parts.” Mr. Muffins pondered out loud.

“I agree,” Leaf started back. “We are going to retrieve some things from home, then return. I would like it if no one touches the dragon’s body until we have returned.”

“Yes, sir,” The guard replied.

An hour later, Rhokhishi, Mr. Muffins, and Leaf grabbed what things they had at the tower for harvesting, and Myla grabbed her notebook. They returned, with Ana still standing there. The squirrel had reappeared, moving back and forth between her feet.

“I think I’m going to just sit here and keep a record of what you are doing. Maybe draw a few things. I’ve never been this close to a dragon before,” Myla stated.

“I’m just going to lay here and try not to bruise,” Lyla laughed.

“Umm… We just killed a dragon! Do you do that often?” Ana asked.

Leaf shook his head. Honestly, it wasn’t common for people to see dragons at all. While they were all over the continent and even other realms and planes of existence, they typically stuck to themselves and kept to their lairs. It was rare to see a dragon, much less fight one and win.

“Who are you people? Do you have a party name? Maybe I’ve heard of you before,” Ana questioned them.

“We don’t really have a name,” Lyla replied. “We just fuck shit up when needed lately.”

Leaf let the conversation fade behind him. There was a lot of work to do, and he wasn’t sure how long it would take. He nodded to Rhokhishi and Mr. Muffins, then to Ana, who stood next to them with a knife in her hand. Leaf felt it made sense that Ana be involved. She helped as much as any of them did.

“Let’s do this.”