(Five hours later...)

I was almost relieved to see the outskirts of Seris.

Almost.

Stanford had chased us out of Helios with a spear in his hand and plenty of curses to go around. I was planning on leaving tomorrow morning, but Stanford wasn't going to let me do that after I did exactly what he told me not to do. It's a bloody miracle I'm still alive...

Ben -A.K.A: Deadeye- found this mildly amusing while Victoria was still giggling about it.

"What exactly did you do to anger the commandant of the Knights Templar?" Ben asked me.

"I called him Stan," I replied with a grin.

"Why on earth would you do that?" He demanded.

"I don't know...Because I'm a dumbass?" I offered with a shrug.

"Well, it is said you are a brilliant tactician..." Ben continued.

I chuckled, "I'm a special case."

"You think?" Analise chimed in.

We were all riding horses: Luna was still getting used to riding in a saddle, but thankfully no one fell out of their mount and ate fresh topsoil.

Ben cracked a smile. He looked like your typical ranger: gray hair, rough beard, hard eye. (I did mention he lost one of his eyes, right? He wears an eyepatch, kind of like a pirate) He had a well-polished recurve bow and a quiver of arrows hanging on his back, and his dark green and gray garb made him blend in with our forested environment.

Victoria was in standard Templar gear, (steel armor. It really does its job well when it comes to absorbing strikes from an opponent) and she wore the cape of the second in command. Her black hair was cut short, and her dark purple eyes glimmered. On her back was a large-ass claymore that was easily larger than she was. Now me, I fancy a regular sword. I was taught from a young age how to fight with one and I'd like to think I'm good at dueling other people, but how can you even hold a weapon that's twice your size? Where's the logic in that?

Anyway, as I was saying before I went off on another tangent: I was almost glad to see the outskirts of Seris.

We were stopped by a group of guards that also happened to be riding on horses.

"What is your business here in Seris?" One of the guards asked.

"We're on official business, mind you" I replied. "We're here on Vairos' call."

The man who spoke first looked at his comrades grimly, "I pity you. Vairos is...A bit of a handful right now. Are you here to take care of the dragon?"

"We are."

"Follow us, then," The lead guard concluded.

We followed the small group of guards into the city. It was a short trek from the countryside we had been riding through to the gates of Seris, which appeared to glitter in the light of day. When we walked over the drawbridge, I was surprised at what I saw.

"Wow..." Luna began as she took in the sights.

"Wow indeed," I echoed.

The city was a labyrinth of stone brick buildings, and the streets we rode down were small, cramped, and more than a little claustrophobic. Every alley we passed by seemed to lead into obscurity, which gave me the impression that this city had more backdoors than a booming brothel. When we finally reached it, I noted with no small amount of amazement that the marketplace of Seris was a hub of activity.

Beyond the marketplace were the shipyards, and they were packed to the point of bursting by ships of varying sizes. Their multi-colored pennants fluttered in the breeze that blew around us. The water before us glimmered a brilliant sky blue, and it looked like wonderful water to take a dip in.

Luna made a face, "I prefer Helios over this city. Seris is too...Noisy." she sniffed at the air, and her frown deepened, "And smelly..."

"Huh?" I replied.

"Helios is more beautiful than this city. Sure, Seris is a port city, but its beauty is nothing compared to Helios."

"Don't say that Luna," I cautioned her.

Luna looked at me in confusion, "What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything wrong," I assured her, "Just don't say anything negative about Seris while we're inside its walls. We don't want word getting back to Vairos that the people who are here to help him are also talking shit about his port city."

"Oh," She began simply, "Point taken."

Ben chuckled. "I take it you've been in this situation before?"

"You know it," I grumbled, "The amount of corrupt nobles in this country is too damn high."

The older ranger snorted, "Too true...Too true..."

When we finally reached Vairos' keep, we dismounted from our horses and followed the guards into the castle. Unfortunately, we lost them the minute we entered.

Luna looked at me nervously, "H-How bad is Vairos again?"

One of his advisors saw us, and his face went pale. He hurriedly motioned for us to follow him.

"P-Please follow me," He stammered, "The baron is waiting for you."

Ana went to grab one of her knives.

"Don't do it," I cautioned, "We're on the turf of a pompous bastard, so we shouldn't take any chances-."

"I would much rather prefer the term 'wealthy aristocrat' over the slur you just used to describe me. Thank you very much."

Fuck.

Vairos sat in his throne and gave my group the smile of a hyena, "So, you're the help Fredrick sends me. Typical."

Hoo boy, this guy was something else: dark brown hair, green eyes, and really, really fancy clothing rounded this guy off as your typical asshole who loves to blow his money on pointless things while generally not giving two shits about his own people.

"We're here because a dragon is endangering a vital trading city," I rumbled, "Not because some of your toys were broken."

"Helix," Victoria cautioned, "You're playing with fire right now. Stop while you can."

"Yes, listen to her," Vairos cooed, "Probably the best course of action for you right now."

Gritting my teeth so I wouldn't sling any insults at this asshole, I tried to get to the point: "Is there anything you can tell us about this dragon? The one that's endangering this city."

"What about it?" He demanded, waving his hand around lazily, "Be more specific."

I growled, "The location of its den, its behaviors, when the attacks started, basically anything useful that'll make my team's job easier."

Well, Vairos wasn't a complete dickhead: he was able to tell us where the dragon was located. Apparently, the dragon's den was situated in a cave not too far from a local village Vairos had control over. (I pity those people) Thankfully, this village was only an hour's ride away, so we had something to work with. Oh, and the dragon is apparently a she.

I removed a book I had stowed in a knapsack.

"Have you always had that?" Luna asked.

"Yep. It's a book Virrius has been working on for a really long time. This is what I use to help explain the stranger aspects of the many mythic beings in this world," I told her.

"Wow. May I see it?" She asked eagerly, eyes shining with curiosity.

I flipped to the page on female dragons and handed it to her. She read it to herself until she read this part out for everyone else to hear: "Female dragons aggressively attack human settlements only if her egg has been forcefully taken away from her."

I nodded, "Seems legit-er, that makes perfect sense."

Vairos nodded to himself, "So you think someone stole this dragon's egg?" (Sneaky bastard...)

Luna nodded enthusiastically, "Female dragons aren't as aggressive as male dragons. Well, unless their egg is taken from them or their young is in danger. Put that into context, and female dragons are loads more aggressive than their male counterparts. My point is, female dragons would focus more on raising their young than torching local villages, which again, they'd only do if their egg was stolen from them."

Vairos nodded absent-mindedly, "Yes, yes. Just look around and fix the problem." As an afterthought, he added this: "And no snooping around my castle."

That struck me as odd, but I shrugged anyway.

"Oh, and Helix?" Vairos continued.

"Yeah?"

"Cover up that marking of yours. I don't want the church or my citizens asking me why a demon is walking through my brilliant city. I'm sure you understand."

I kept my face impassive, but underneath my guise, I was toying with the idea of chopping his manhood off...God damn it. And of course I've just gotten comfortable with walking around without wearing my helmet. I put it on now and turned sharply away from the heartless baron.

"Let's go. We have work to do," I began half-heartedly, and we left the keep after that.

Well. Vairos didn't provide my team with a place to crash, so I bought us rooms at an inn. We then discussed the day's events over a few bowls of beef stew.

And Luna wasn't happy one bit.

"Why did Vairos say that?" She vented. "We're here to help this asshole, and he calls you a demon. The man doesn't know compassion."

"Calm down," I began in a soft voice. I understood her outrage: I was pissed off myself, but this really wasn't the time or place to get angry. I told her this, and Ben nodded, in agreement.

"Fair point Helix. I saw the look in your eyes when Vairos said that to you, and I was almost certain you were going to snap his neck." he said before taking a sip from from his drink.

"Or shove a spear up his ass," Dorrian pointed out. (Pun intended. You're welcome.)

"Trust me, Stanford would beat me to it," I replied.

Ben looked at us in confusion, only to shrug. "Speaking of Stanford.Since he's placed a considerable amount of trust in you, I believe you should be the leader for the duration of this mission. If the commandant of the Knights Templar trusts you to make the right decision, then so do I."

Now I was the one to look at Ben in confusion, and I wasn't the only one either: Victoria and Analise were both giving him quizzical looks.

"Helix?" Ana began, "Leader?"

Ben nodded, "He's the best choice out of all of us."

"Uh, what about the second in command of the knights Templar?" Victoria retorted irritably.

Ben shrugged, "Titles hold no meaning to me." He looked my way, "Only experience on the battlefield truly matters. Stanford has told me about your various campaigns, and I'm impressed. He called you a brilliant tactician, and a pain in the ass."

"That much is true at least," Ana chimed in with a grin, "As much of a pain as he can be, I can't help but agree. Who else wants Helix to be the leader during this mission?"

Everyone but Victoria rose their hand. Dorrian had an arrow with a piece of beef skewered to it in his raised hand, and Ana had a knife.

Victoria sighed, "So the rookie is the leader?"

To my surprise, Ana stuck her knife into the table and glared at Victoria, "Helix has probably seen more action than your pampered little ass will ever see. Not that kind of action Dorrian, so stop laughing before I throw a knife at you. I've been with him on several of his missions-along with our comic relief, Dorrian- and I honest to god believe that he's leader material. So if you think he's a 'rookie', then run back to Helios-and go fuck yourself while you're at it."

Complete silence enveloped the table. I was stunned: Analise wasn't the passionate type, and she usually kept her opinions to herself.

Dorrian nodded and smiled, "Aye, I'd follow Helix to the ends of the world and beyond. No doubt about it."

"Aye," Luna agreed.

Victoria sighed and conceded, "Very well."

Ben smiled, "Now that that's been taken care of, what's our plan of action Helix?"

I gathered my thoughts together before speaking again. "Tomorrow, we'll go to the village near the dragon's den and ask around to see what we can learn. Then we'll go to the cave itself and attempt to make contact with her."

"Her?" Victoria asked.

"We'll be dealing with a female dragon. If someone's stolen her egg, we're going to steal it back."

"So we're going to go talk to a dragon? Sounds perfectly sane to me," Dorrian commented.

"Trust me, we've done crazier things," I replied.

"Yeah, that makes sense," He admitted with a sly grin.

"Do you think Vairos was the one that stole the dragoness' egg?" Luna asked me.

I shrugged, "That seems to be the most reasonable assumption at the moment, but we won't know until we talk to the dragon."

"You have a point," She replied, "We're in the dark until we get information."

"Or until the dragon turns us into candles."

"Way to be optimistic, Victoria," I grumbled.