Dragon Hunter

Chapter 39: To Flame or Not to Flame!

The were-form slowly nodded.

"I believe so," Saddahk added. "It is a weapon used by mortals that can't cast magic or breathe fire. While we dragons didn't use such weapons during the unification wars, I saw them in use in the Forest."

Falling quiet at that point, Saddahk was visibly thoughtful for a long moment as he drew those images out of his memory. Then he was nodding and reaching for the dragonsteel ingot.

It took nearly a half hour of careful work by the dragon to forge the oddly intricate parts for the crossbow's mechanism, each piece painstakingly drawn from the ingot, multiplied then shaped by the glowing magic in Saddahk's hands. Then it was another half hour to just as carefully assemble together into a surprisingly sleek and light retro ranged weapon.

"She calls herself 'Talos the Storm Slayer'," Saddahk said as he handed the curiously light weapon to a suitably impressed Cooper.

"I've included a sighting device that uses the Farseer spell to target over distance. She fires summoned bolts made out of dragon's breath-infused volcanic glass that will pierce any dragon armor, single shot without charging, or in ten-shot bursts with time to recharge. And, as is the case with all dragon-forged weapons, she has a coalesced intelligence to help you in battle, as well as a number of secondary capabilities I'll let her explain to you herself!"

- Talos? - Cooper said into his mind as he focused his attention on the intricate weapon.

- Hello, Cooper, - a warm, feminine voice replied in a throaty alto. - It's my understanding we'll be working together to slay dragons. -

- Uh, yes. That's the general idea, - the bemused human replied, fighting the impulse to shake his head in amazement.

- Erabak and Trezm both have told me you are a skilled and accomplished warrior, - Talos then revealed. - I look forward to working with you on the battlefield! -

Before Cooper could reply to that, the ground underfoot abruptly shuddered as something heavy dropped onto it nearby.

"Well, isn't this a strange sight!" a rough voice said in perfect Norianic, the language of the Noriquien.

"Three flesh sticks and a were-form. All alone and on the edge of our target zone. So, what are you doing here?"

Snarling silently, Cooper snapped Talos up to take aim at the voice's owner. And found his targeting matrix activated as his eyes took in the massive red dragon that now stared at them from twenty meters away.

Seeing it was targeted, the red held up a talon to waggle a claw at him in an obvious signal before pointing up. Following the gesture, Cooper felt a surge of apprehension when he looked up and saw a dozen dragons hovering over them, all within easy dragon breath range.

"Well, shit!" he muttered.

Cooper let his eyes drop back to the red, his mind working furiously.

Somehow, in complete silence, these dragons managed to surround them and get the drop on them. Yet, they hadn't burned Cooper and his new comrades to ash, even though they were obviously poised to do so. Why?

Thankfully for the human's nerves, the answer came quickly.

"Consorting with flesh sticks, cousin?" the red then asked in draconic, focusing on a wary Saddahk.

"Assuming that I consort with them instead of the other way around," Saddahk quickly replied in the same language. "And arrogantly putting them beneath me. As expected from a descendant of the First Ring."