Chapter 3: Bleeding Effect

    Two days passed before Melee found himself kneeling in the royal chamber, in front of King Pliet's throne.  Two guards covered in heavy armor stood by the sides of the young human.
    Pliet, having inherited the throne from his father after he passed long before the dragon rebellions, is the youngest ruler in the history of the Silver Kingdom.  He has proven to be a fair king and has held sympathy for the dragons after seeing first-hand how his father treated them during his rule; a common criticism amongst his opponents during his first years in the position.  In fact, some peasants say that Pliet's childhood was permanently scarred with those memories, clouding his judgment.  He never shows anything to confirm or deny it though.
    The young man, only in his mid-twenties, motioned for Melee to stand from his kneeling state.  "I have heard about Ashleaf.  Do you know of how many are dead?"
    "Almost the entire town, your majesty.  There were some survivors that holed themselves up in the few buildings that were left standing.  Much of the town was ablaze.  The bodies that my men checked showed signs of the standard methods of killing during a raid.  A vast majority of the dead were burnt to a crisp without suffering any other wounds.  However, I don't believe that those deaths were caused by the fires of their homes."
    "Continue."
    "One of the surviving citizens informed me that they heard the sound of a feral dragon."
    "Those haven't been in this land for centuries.  No reason to believe that they would come now," Pliet quickly remarked.
    For some reason, this bothered Melee.  The tales of the feral dragons inspired fear into the strongest of men.  "Maybe, but nobody can control them, so it would be no surprise if they chose to come."
    "If such a creature is flying about in my kingdom, then how come I wasn't informed the moment it entered the region?  Also, what of the rogue dragons that have been reported to be responsible for this?"
    "I don't know your highness.  If I had the knowledge or got there in time, I would have a better understanding of what is going on.  Forgive me."
    Pliet's facial expression turned cold.  "I see."
    "Believe me; the dragon race is still in support of the alliance.  All I can assume is that these rogues still want to live in such dark times.  The feral dragon, if it exists, might be their god and ended up forming some sort of cult."
    "Such a crazy assumption, yet it isn't impossible.  Such cults have existed before, but they never did much of anything since past kings crushed them in an instant.  Explorers seem to come across one of their books every now and then, giving us some insight into their thought process."
    "Sire, we must stop these rogues before the alliance is damaged beyond repair,"
    "I agree.  Unfortunately, a few random dragons have been killed by human hand and blade because of what happened to Ashleaf.  My men have already executed the murderers the moment they were captured."
    "...It has only been a few days since it happened though.  How did word spread so quickly?"
    "Gossip probably.  Some people are terrible at keeping important events to themselves."
    Melee was silent.
    "I have gone ahead and heightened security in all major areas.  Scouts are routinely patrolling the region, hunting for the rouges as well.  If we learn something, you'll be the first to know, should you choose to stay in Silverburg until this crisis has ended."
    "The faster that my men may respond, the better.  We will stay in Silverburg until victory is assured.  I want my village protected though."
    "An army will be sent to Modley to watch over it, I can assure you."
    "Thank you."
    Melee moved up and kissed the man's hand.  He stepped back and waited for his next words.
    "I'll inform the staff at our inns to allow you and your men in for no charge.  If they have an issue with it, they can come to me.  Get some rest."
    Melee bowed before departing the chamber.  Pliet remained in his chair, fixing his eyes on the door that Melee left through.

-

    It only took three days before a messenger came to Pliet and informed him of another attack.  This time, it was the trading village of Otwen.  Melee and his men were immediately dispatched and within a day. they were at the village in the northern part of the kingdom.  Unlike Ashleaf, the village was still in decent condition, with some buildings having been destroyed.  There were no bodies either.  Melee instructed his men to stay alert.
    The small army inspected the area in hopes of learning about the attack.  Every building was ransacked, but signs of occupants still remained to be seen.
    "A supply raid."
    "At least it isn't as gruesome as Ashleaf," a soldier sighed in relief.
    "If there are no survivors, then it is even worse than Ashleaf," Melee sternly said.
    The group continued their inspection; it would last a couple hours.
    Suddenly, a soldier whispered to Melee, remarking that he could a see couple dragons leaving the village, holding bags over their backs.  Melee told his men to keep their distance and be silent.
    The army quietly followed the two dragons by separating and hiding in the trees around the road they traveled.  Melee had their movements coordinated with a person he appointed to lead the second group to minimize the risk of detection.  The two dragons never noticed them, often busy with their own chatter about nonsensical things.  Occasionally, they discussed the possibility of dragons ruling the world again, but those conversations only lasted a couple sentences before moving on to another topic.  Melee couldn't help but feel pity and disgust inside his heart and mind.
    The two dragons eventually left the main road and down a barely-seen pathway that broke off the path.  This allowed the army to regroup to one side of the path, but it did make Melee anxious to see how they could stay hidden so well.
    A few hours pass before the army found themselves at the edge of a cliff while the path the rouges took stayed low.  They were hidden in the trees below for a time before the forest broke up to show their encampment near a small lake at the base of the Greenthorn Mountains.  Small smoke trails could be seen, but barely.
    Their worst fears were confirmed; perched on the lowest cliffs was a steel gray-colored feral dragon.  It roared in the air as it could see the two rouges approach it with the latest supplies they pillaged from Otwen.  Melee and his men shook a little at the sound of it.  Their horses kicked back, forcing the riders to struggle to control them again.
    "It doesn't look like their army is very large, but that dragon!" a knight marveled in shock.
    "The ferals can be defeated, we all know that," Melee assured.  "We just need to get some reinforcements before attacking.  I doubt they'll attack again for a few days, so we can bide some time."
    Melee turned to his men and picked out his quickest soldier to relay his request to Pliet.  The soldier ran off while Melee instructed his men to head back inside the cover of the trees and find a suitable place to set up camp.
    "We will also work in shifts to make sure that they are staying where they are.  If they make a move...we will have no choice but to attack.
    His men, while worried, nodded in agreement.
    "I suggest you use this time to get used to listening to that thing.  We are going to have to face it, so you better be mentally ready for it too."

-

    Three days passed and there was no sign of the messenger or the requested reinforcements.  It was Melee's turn to watch the camp from above.  The dragon, since named Serent by Melee, never budged from its spot.  He could make out that sometimes the rouges would come to him and feed him with something pulled from their tents.  The idea that it was the people of Otwen being fed had struck Melee with a shiver every time he thought of such a terrible thing.
    Impatience and uncertainty settled in on the army's camp when the reinforcements still failed to arrive.  The men started pondering on what may have happened to the messenger.  The idea that there was another feral dragon that ate him crept in, but Melee often dismissed it to try and keep morale up.
    Finally, one of Melee's fellow knights informed him that the rouges were starting to move towards their direction, assuming that they were about to go wage another attack.  The dragon still hadn't moved through, but Melee wasn't going to wait for that to occur.
    "We can't wait any longer.  Arm yourselves and prepare to defend the land the alliance with honor!"
    His men didn't make any cheer and Melee understood.  They could all die within the next hour or so, but this had to be done.  He didn't come all this way to just see the world that he worked so hard to achieve collapse because of some misguided fools.  Their judgment and the judgment of the dragon race draws nigh.