Forest Keep 19
#21 of Forest Keep
(edited 12/10/08 for font correction and version update )
Nokala quickly made his decision, as he could not hope to retain the level of mana that the human was pouring out in any form other than his natural one. He hoped that the human in charge would listen or there would be more trouble. Bringing his hands together, he cancelled the shape-shifting spell.
Duncan watched the exchange of lightning with awe, the dark man seeming to absorb the golden glow with ease at first then with greater difficulty.
He saw the mans face contort in concentration and then bring his hands together with James's in a brilliant and blinding flash that seared his vision forcing him to look away.
James slumped into Nokala's paws as the last of the wild mana drained away into the huge dragon that swiftly looked around at the partially blinded humans around him.
Joe was the only one who knew what to expect when they could focus once more and by then Nokala had curled his tail behind the lord of the keep, the seneschal and Joe himself, effectively cutting off any hope of escape.
Duncan let out a gasp as he saw what was looming over him, smoke angrily pouring from its nostrils as it gently cradled the unconscious novice. He fumbled for his sword at his side before realizing it would be like a toothpick to the dragon.
Joe walked up to the trembling lord and took him by the shoulder "Ah Sir, I'd like you to meet Nokala", he suddenly felt several inches taller and amused at the situation.
"He is the one that really caught th' bandits for us, not James or me" he admitted to the still stunned man "And it seems that James has been... adopted"
Duncan's jaw dropped "Adopted?" the man whispered "W-why would it do that?"
Joe smirked "It's a little complicated sir...but I'd say he wants to talk to ya " he explained to the lord who was slowly recovering now that it seemed he wasn't about to take a brief tour of a dragon's gullet.
Nokala looked down at the human next to Joe "You rule here?" he thundered into its head, deliberately making his anger felt. "You have committed a grave injustice against my son-in-law and risked your home and people"
Duncan struggled to maintain his dignity in the face of the dragon.
"We thought he was a demon and sought to cleanse him," he stammered, realizing how stupid this sounded now he came to think about it.
Nokala snorted, making the pair cough in the cloud of smoke.
"Foolish human, there are those living among us who remember the start of this religion and its calls for peace. It gave us hope that you would cease your warlike ways but it was quickly perverted by those who sought power in its name". He cupped his paw gently around James.
"When he recovers and is trained, this one will be the hope of the future. I shall return tomorrow. We shall talk and you shall listen. This place is under our protection now"
There was a sudden flash and the dragon disappeared from the keep leaving a familiar looking ring in its place..
Martin, who had remained silent and awestruck throughout the encounter walked up to Joe and laid a trembling hand on his shoulder "I think you need to tell us what is going on" he said "Now I know what you meant about James having powerful friends.."
They began walking back to the mess hall and Duncan's office when a novice ran up to the trio "L-lord Duncan...we can't get out Sir...we just bounce off something we can't see outside the keep walls. We're trapped inside here"
Nokala arrived back in his lair, the wall of forbidding around the keep would last only a day and a night before it faded and now things were moving too fast for his liking.
Cill squalled and ran up to him, gathering her unconscious mate to her breast and cradling him like a hatchling, crooning softly all the while.
"He needs to be kept warm and watered Cill", her father murmured to her as he lead her back to the central cavern. "He drained himself almost completely of mana and it will be a day or so before he awakens"
Cill nodded slowly and carefully took James off to a warm corner of the lair where she lay down and encircled him, her eyes smoky with anger.
Carlina had watched her daughters reaction with alarm and then with a sense of internal guilt. She had not realized the depth of feeling Cill had for the human and was a little ashamed that she had thought of killing him quickly to avoid her own personal embarrassment and to save face in front of the other dragons.
Nokala strode up to her and wrapping his arms around her gave her a long kiss "I had to reveal myself to the humans at the keep. He was about to go critical and had no control over his magic at all"
He sighed gustily, "He has a lot of power and it will help in certain ways, but I shall apprentice him to Marre so he can learn swiftly. It will also keep him out of trouble though I shall explain to the humans there just how the rules have to be from now on."
Carlina nodded, not understanding what was going on but getting the gist of the conversation though one thing kept nagging at her "Is he a threat to us?" she asked quietly as her paws stroked her mates neck "No, more of a threat to those humans now I believe. I placed a wall of forbidding around the keep so they have time to think before running off and organizing hunting parties and the like"
Carlina sighed and leaned her head alongside Nokala's "Some of the other dragonesses have begun talking to me again, mostly out of curiosity I believe, but they have influence over their mates on the council. I shall see what is the prevailing attitude to James is", she flushed as she used the human's proper name for the first time.
Smiling to himself Nokala stroked her flight muscles "Good, Marre has been working on his own little project for James but we don't know if he can learn to wield his magic properly yet. If he gets excited he might react instinctively and we all know how long it takes to learn." His eyes widened at the sudden thought of what else the mana may have done to the unsuspecting human.
Duncan sat at his desk in the Keep's solar with his face in his hands; Father Champlain had been recovered from the cell in a coma, and showed no signs of awakening, despite showing no physical injury.
People were still unable to leave the keep and were getting alarmed at the prospect of being trapped there for the rest of their lives.
"Joe, I think you should tell us what the hell is going on", the Lord looked at the Master-at-arms who was surprisingly unruffled by the going's on.
Martin stood quietly as usual near the door to prevent intrusions.
"Well Sir, It's like this..." Joe began "James swore me ta secrecy but I think there's no more need for that. Ya saw how those dragons can look like people?"
Duncan nodded "How the hell do they do that?"
"Magic, Sir. They can do many things. I-I filled my breeches when James called on Nokala to help with the bandits so I know how ya must be feeling"
Duncan nodded; he had distinctly felt his bowels loosen when the dark man had suddenly turned into a sixty-foot long honest-to-god dragon complete with firelighter.
"This is where it gets tricky Sir and don' jump to conclusions right away when I tell ya", Joe flushed at the thoughts he had of James and the dragoness.
"James is ...kinda married to his daughter"
Duncan goggled at the man "Are you mad?" he shouted, jumping up from his seat and slamming his fist on the table "How can a man marry a huge goddamned fire breathing beast like that?"
Joe winced, he knew he had to clear this up or else there would be even more trouble.
"She's a lot smaller an' a lot nicer than he is Sir, an' they can turn inta humans. James met her out by the lake an' well... things happened an' er..."
Duncan looked into Joe's face as it grew redder and beads of sweat popped out on his forehead "...well nature took its course an' well...he kinda joined their clan when he bedded her an' that's the truth o' it"
Duncan blinked "He bedded a dragoness... and how does this explain him glowing like a candle and almost killing our priest?"
Joe raised his eyebrows and gave a shrug "Nokala said somethin' about him absorbin' somethin' called mana which gave him power but he can't control it yet but they plan on teachin' him how to Sir."
Duncan stood up and paced around the room, his hands behind his back as he thought, "He said something about the keep being under his protection now. Do you know what he meant?"
Joe swallowed "Dragon's seem to take family ties very, very seriously Sir, they weren' happy about ya torturin' James, Not at all. I think Nokala has used his magic ta stop ya goin' and getting' more troops an' from tellin' everyone the dragons still exist" he twiddled his fingers in his lap.
"An' o' course there's his mate, Cill was very angry", he swallowed at the memory of her pinning him to the ground and the look in her eyes "As well as her mother..." his fingers threatening to tie themselves in a knot. "Apparently the priest did somethin' that triggered James's magic an' well... ya have at least three angry dragons wantin' an explanation and I don' think they'll bother sayin' 'please' "
Duncan groaned and sat back at his desk "So I have to wait until this Nokala comes back with his family and toasts me, you and the rest of the keep?"
Joe grinned nervously, "I didn' say that Sir, It is a misunderstandin'... ya callin' James a sorcerer like that didn't help though, they don' see that as a bad thin' ya see'
Leaning back in his chair Duncan thought hard, he had always been a good church-going Christian and thought that he was right in his actions regarding James, but it seemed there was more to learn and the statement the dragon had made to him about it being perverted had rung true although he was having a little difficulty with it.
"So what do we do? Try to kill them when they come back? I don't think we've got a big enough lance in the armory"
Joe sighed "Talk to them Sir, I get the feelin' they look on us rather like we look on rats. Keep 'em out if ya can and only kill 'em if they get too troublesome"
Duncan nodded "The worst they can do is fry me"
Joe grinned at him. "No Sir, the worst they can do is hold ya down an' eat ya alive"
Duncan sighed, "I'm not going to sleep well tonight"
James dreamed. His mind flitting wildly all over as the mana in him slowly rebuilt.
He saw as if from a great height how Nokala had removed the immediate danger of his power by absorbing and redirecting it into the wall surrounding the keep. His vision spun and tumbled through strange vistas as he saw himself battling dragons and humans alike, his hands aglow with gold.
Marre was there looking old and tired as chaos grew, yet there was a hope. He tumbled down future paths showing his daughter and her family as they fought and lost then won.
Before he could wonder at this, he found his view shifting until he saw himself facing the Council of Dragons and shouting at them though he could not make out the words. Through all this, there was the familiar rumbling purr of Cill in the background and he clung to it like a lifeline.
Marre sat patiently at his table, scribbling notes on a scroll, the foot-pedal under the table rolling it up as he worked his way down. He sketched James's face on the page and detailed what he knew and what he suspected for future reference. The human was turning into an interesting study he mused, his gaze flicking to the small scale hovering in its jar as it waited high on the shelf.
Zelafin growled and pushed the surprised Tekala onto his back as she straddled him. Her insistence at trying what she had been shown had alarmed the elder and he was startled to find himself enjoying it as she impaled herself on his shaft.
Zela's hips surged and she felt herself climax once more. Tekala had been vehement in his disapproval of her desires but he had eventually succumbed to the threats she had used.
Though he had initially complained he soon found himself enjoying himself more and more, though he would be sure to warn the other male dragons about this surprising new concept that had emerged.
Mella's actions had also caused consternation amongst a smaller group of dragons and she could not have foreseen the complications her decision would eventually cause.
Shalla, Gergid and Eriga were young, foolish and arrogant as are most teenage females whether they are human or dragon.
They had been present as Mella had revealed her mental images to the older dragonesses and of course, they had felt left out. Surely, they were old enough to understand what was going on but they had only caught the mere fringes of the images and what they had seen had made them lick their snouts in anticipation.
Shalla was the nominal leader of the group and she had pestered her mother into showing her the full set of images including what Cill had been doing with the human.
Though her mother had intended it more as a warning than an education it had actually had the opposite effect as such things usually do with rebellious teens.
Gergid and Eriga looked shocked as their friend shared those images with them but they all secretly felt jealous. Here they were, kept at home until their parents found them a suitable mate while Cill had actually gone out and caught one!
"Ewww..." said Gergid, her hips wiggling unconsciously "You mean she actually did it with him?"
Shalla nodded and fed the eager pair that view as well, both of the other dragonesses felt a thrilled rush at the thought "B-but why?" asked Eriga shyly
"Obviously she couldn't find a proper drake as she is so runty" exclaimed Shalla who was also feeling aroused yet did not want to admit it. "She just took the first animal that came along and used it for her own pleasure"
None of the dragonesses were about to admit to one another that this idea had a certain appeal to it.
"B-but she talks to it and it gave her gold and stuff for her lair..." stammered Gergid
"That's all instinctive," snorted Shalla as she had also wondered at this yet was not about to admit her ignorance to the others. "All animals provide for their mates"
Gergid nodded as it obviously made perfect sense "So do all human males do that?" she murmured, replaying the lusty images in her minds eye
Eriga giggled, "We should be able to find out, shouldn't we? After all there are so many of them"
The three young females looked at one another with a wicked glint in their eyes and grinned toothily.