Champion, Chapter 72: Dark Clouds Gather

AidanThe RealmsFourthday, 2nd week of the 11th month, Age of the Chosen 1Early NightCaellach Macht, Mistvale Highlands

"Alright," Aidan said once the three wolven were out of earshot, "maybe they're a little creepy. I'm not really comfortable being ruled by the dead, and I've never liked talking to people when I can't see their faces."

"See?" asked Brighid. "I told you so!"

"I dunno," Sunnild said. "They seemed fine to me. A little weird, but they were nice."

"They're diplomats," Aoife said. "It's their job to be nice. Or it is when it isn't their job to be politely insulting."

Ailis snorted. "That's a cynical view. I cannot say it is wrong, however."

"I find that the cynical view is often the correct one when it comes to matters such as these." Aidan stiffened at the voice intruding on their discussion. He turned to see Searlas, the Mist Stalkers' Chieftan, lounging against the tree. How had he gotten past—Mist Shroud, of course.

"How long have you been there?" Aidan asked.

Searlas brought his hand to his chest and affected an offended look. "I only just arrived as your other guests were leaving. Would I spy on a treasured friend?"

"Yes, you would," Aoife answered before Aidan could.

Searlas let out a sigh and shook his head. "I had hoped that time in Lord Aidan's tender care would have mellowed you some. But, please, I did not come to trade barbs with you, Aoife."

Aoife started to speak again but stopped when Aidan rested a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him. Anger burned in her gaze, but whatever Aoife saw in Aidan's face softened her expression. She gave him a nod and settled back against him.

"You brought the scouting reports?" Aidan guessed.

Searlas gave him a nod. "Indeed." He stepped forward, reaching into his vest. Aoife tensed. Aidan wrapped his left arm around her, both to comfort her and to keep her from lunging at Searlas. With his right arm, Aidan reached out to take the packet of papers the Mist Stalker Chieftan produced from an inside pocket.

"Thank you. I'll look it over in detail tomorrow morning. Care to share a summary?"

Searlas stretched, then sat cross-legged a short distance away. "Could be better, could be worse. You want the good news or the bad news first?"

"Bad first."

"It managed to find a nascent dungeon and took it over. The place is crawling with draconic minions now. Any team you take in will have to fight through them to get to the dragon. Not a lot of room to maneuver, either, so you will need to think carefully about who you bring."

Aidan sighed. He'd been worried about something like that. "Any chance of collapsing the dungeon on top of him?"

"Not unless you have a Master-level Earth mage in your pocket. The chamber it's using as a lair is pretty deep."

"Alright, tell me the silver lining on this stormcloud then."

Searlas's fangs gleamed in the dim light. "I was not done with the bad news. The wounds you dealt to the dragon are almost healed. It appears to have vision in both eyes and its wings have full range of movement. Only the scars on its chest leave evidence of the damage you dealt."

Aidan cursed under his breath. He'd been too slow, spent too much time preparing. "We have to move soon, then. If we don't, we risk Karsarrym attacking the city before we're ready." Or, worse, attacking while I'm going after him and the city is unguarded. Aidan didn't give voice to his fear.

"Ah," Searlas said, "about that. That is the good news."

Aidan waited a beat, then arched an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"It turns out that the dragon is brooding."

"Wait, what?" Sunnild sat up straight from where she'd been resting against Brighid's flank.

"You heard correctly. My best scout managed to sneak into the lair. Turns out Karsarrym is a mommy dragon. It has a pair of eggs in its nest, each the size of a shed."

Sunnild turned to Aidan, gnawing on her lip. "Aidan..."

He shook his head. "I know, songbird. But I can't let this change things. It buys us time, but I can't assume that motherhood is going to mellow out a dragon that ambushed a caravan of wounded and elderly."

Tears shimmered at the corners of Sunnild's eyes. She searched Aidan's face for a few more seconds, then her mouth set. "I understand. You're bringing them back, though. I'll raise them."

That got Ailis's attention. "Sunnild, dragons are not pets!"

"Of course not." If anything, Sunnild looks even more determined. "They're intelligent. I understand that Karsarrym hasta die, but dragons aren't innately evil. I won't tolerate killing innocent kids." Her eyes swung back to Aidan. "Even dragons."

Before the argument could devolve further, Aidan said, "Does anyone know anything about dragonlings?" He glanced at his Chancellor. "Ailis?"

Ailis's lips turned down in a worried frown. "There is very little known on the subject. Dragons are reclusive and territorial to start with. It is thought that the eggs grow inside the mother for more than a year before being laid. At that point, it's another year before they hatch."

"So we have time."

"Aidan, you cannot be considering this madness!"

"We have time," Aidan repeated. He reached out to Sunnild and pulled her toward him. She wrapped her wings around his shoulders and leaned her forehead against his. Aidan stared into Sunnild's grey eyes. "As you are now, I can't allow it," he said.

An angry red flush sprang to Sunnild's cheeks. She opened her mouth to protest, but Aidan cut her off. "As you are," he repeated with emphasis. "I'll retrieve the eggs if I can. You have a year, my lovely songbird, mother of my child. If you can reach your prestige class in that time, you can raise the dragonlings."

Aidan nuzzled Sunnild's nose. "I understand and appreciate your stance, Sunny, but even if they aren't evil, they're dangerous predators. I won't risk you. Not for anything. Your daughter won't grow up without a mother."

Sunnild's eyes widened, then she threw herself at Aidan, wrapping her arms and wings around him. Her lips crashed against his. Aidan felt a splash of hot tears against his cheeks. "I love you, I love you," Sunnild babbled in between kisses. Aidan stroked her back and held her until her tears subsided and she withdrew her wings.

"Well," Searlas said. He had the grace to look embarrassed. "I did not anticipate that announcement causing such distress. My apologies, Lord Aidan, Lady Sunnild, Chancellor Ailis."

Aidan waved the apology away. "No worries. I don't mean any offense, but if you don't have anything that can't wait for tomorrow morning..."

"Say no more." Searlas rose and gave them a bow. "Until the morrow, then." He turned, took a step, then vanished in a swirl of fog.

"I still have objections, Aidan," Ailis said.

"I understand your concerns. I share many of them. When it comes down to it, though, I agree with Sunnild. I won't be a party to the slaughter of innocents. I'll take as many precautions as I can, but children deserve a loving home and the chance to make their own choices."

Ailis leaned back, a sad look on her face. Brighid reached out to her. "He did not mean it that way, Mother. That was not a rebuke, only a statement of values."

Aidan winced. He needed to be more careful of his phrasing. "She's right. Sorry, Ailis, I didn't think about how that might sound to you. Neither Brighid nor I doubt that you love her. I wasn't even thinking about you."

Ailis gave him a wan smile. "A word of advice, my Lord? Do not tell a woman that you were not thinking of her while talking to her."

"Seconded," said Aoife, digging a finger into Aidan's side. Sunnild let out a giggle when Aidan squirmed away from Aoife's poke. That broke the tension, and soon Aidan was buried in laughing women. After a while spent relaxing under the tree's branches, Aidan broached the subject again.

"Ailis, I know you're worried about how this will turn out. So am I. If," Aidan stressed the word, "we recover either of the eggs, I'll talk with Cai and Llwyd about security measures. We'll need to protect the dragonlings as much as we'll need to protect ourselves from them." He shifted his attention to his other side, where Sunnild cuddled up under his arm. "Sunny, in addition to gaining your prestige class, I want you to submit a plan for how you're going to do this safely. I'd suggest talking with Anwn. If anyone has an idea how to do this without resulting in tragedy, it's her."

"Mm, okay."

"Beyond all that, let's not count our eggs before they're even in our basket, if I can be permitted to mix my metaphors. Assuming Searlas's intelligence is accurate, all this means right now is that we'll get the first strike against Karsarrym. I want us all focused on that for the moment."

"You'd better," Aoife said from her position on Aidan's lap. She leaned to the side and tilted her head back to look up at him. "I know you're the Phoenix King or whatever. If you die, you'll come back. That's your thing, fine. But if you get the rest of us killed because you piss off a mother dragon protecting its babies, I swear I'll haunt you for the rest of your lives."

Aidan shook his head. "This is kill or be killed. I know that, and I'll make sure everyone going along knows as well. By the way," he said and steeled himself for the response, "none of you are coming with me."

"What!" Sunnild, Brighid, and Ailis all stiffened and turned fiery gazes on Aidan.

"He's right." To Aidan's surprise, Aoife nodded against his chest. "Sunnild, you're pregnant. Everyone who goes into this fight is going to be hurt or worse. Do you really want to risk your daughter like that? And can you honestly say that you can survive a hit from the dragon when the first Labyrinth boss did so much damage to you?"

Sunnild ducked her head and pulled her wings in tight. "...No," she admitted.

Aoife looked over Aidan's shoulder at Brighid. "And you. You're tougher than Sunnild is, true, and a much more experienced fighter. I know you want to be there to protect Aidan just as much as Sunnild does. You might even be able to absorb a couple of hits. But consider this: what would happen to Aidan if you died in his place?"

Brighid's arms tightened around Aidan's waist. Aoife continued, gentle yet inexorable. "He comes back. You won't. Do you want Aidan to live for decades or even centuries grieving you, unable to get over it because he's missing a literal part of his soul?"

Brighid buried her face in the crook of Aidan's neck. He could feel dampness on her cheeks. Aoife waited a moment for a response, then turned to Ailis. "As for you, I'll couch it in more practical terms. The people going along on this expedition need to be expendable because aside from Aidan, we can't be sure that any of you will make it back. You," Aoife tapped Ailis on her sternum, "are not expendable. Leaving aside the emotional impact, you're the reason this city runs as well as it does. I love Aidan, but he doesn't have a head for either politics or management. Maybe in the future you'll change that, but you need to be alive for that to happen."

Aoife got up from Aidan's lap and turned to face them all. "I'm not going to win many hearts with this, but it needs to be said. Even if you win, Aidan, I don't expect more than maybe ten percent of those who go with you to come back." She took in a deep breath, then let it out. "Full-grown dragons can take on armies and come out on top. This wouldn't be a fair fight even if circumstances favored you. They don't. Thanks to its minions, Karsarrym will be aware of your invasion. It'll be ready for you. Prepared in its lair, where its children rest. Even if it didn't have a grudge against you, Aidan, any mother would fight tooth and nail to defend their unborn children."

Aoife's eyes sought out Aidan's. Even if he couldn't feel the fear seeping through their connection, he could see it in her gaze. "So, Lord Aidan, you had better focus on the job. Gather as many allies as possible and bring all their power to bear on the problem. Do whatever it takes." She clasped her hands together and fought back tears. "Whatever it takes. If you have to whore me out to Searlas, do it."

"That's enough." Aidan didn't raise his voice. In fact, he spoke just above a whisper. Aoife still rocked back on her heels at the steel in his tone. "That you think I would—could—do that to you hurts me, Aoife. I know life has not been kind to you. I'll try not to take it personally that you still don't trust me. Come here," he patted his lap. Aoife took a step, then paused. Her emotions were tangled up so tight that Aidan couldn't make out more than an occasional flash. Sorrow, self-loathing, a hint of hope buried under terror. "Please," Aidan added.

Aoife took another step, another, then she dropped down and curled up in Aidan's lap. He stroked her hair while she shivered against him. "I love you," Aidan told the trembling woman. "Even if I didn't, you aren't an object. I won't trade you away like some party favor. If Searlas—or anyone else—made that request in exchange for his assistance, I'd punch him in the dick then throw him out of the city." That drew a gasping, snorting giggle from Aoife.

"It's been a long, emotional night for all of us," Aidan said. "There'll be plenty of time to worry and plan in the next week or two. But, tonight we all have something to celebrate. So, why don't we head back home, and I'll show you all just how much I love you?" Without waiting for an answer, Aidan gathered Aoife up in his arms and stood. She shuddered again, but this time Aidan could feel arousal trickling through their bond.

"Why don't ya ever carry me like that?" Sunnild asked in a teasing tone.

"Find your own flirting ritual, bird-brain," Aoife fired back. She turned her head and stuck her tongue out at Sunnild. "This one's mine."

"I think I will leave you youngsters to your own devices," Ailis said as she rose to her hooves.

"Nope." Aidan wasn't about to let her separate herself tonight of all nights. "I insist on you joining us. You and Brighid don't have to interact, but I want all of you with me tonight."

"Come on, Mother," Brighid urged. "We are all promised to the same man. You might as well get used to it." Then she laughed, a bright, merry sound. "Besides, I want to see you break down in pleasure. You will be the last one, and you got to see me when you showed me how to handle my urges as a teenager."

"Yeah," added Sunnild, "don't be a spoilsport! I haven't had much time ta get ta know ya, and what better way ta start?" She flounced over to Ailis and gave the older woman a kiss on the lips. Ailis stepped back, startled, but Sunnild chased her. Then, a moment later, she relaxed. "See?" Sunnild asked, her mouth brushing against Ailis's as she spoke. "Not so bad, is it?"

"That is not..." Ailis shook her head. "Nevermind. I will come along. But I hope you do not plan this to be a one-way affair, Aidan. There is much love to go around, and you must accept your share of it."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Aidan said with a smile.