Gnomes & Drakes

Jesse was finding it hard to believe that this lone kid was out on the road on his lonesome. He was still looking for a man or at minimum someone younger to come out of the woods from a bathroom break, suspicious of the boy as he gulped and looked at his plate as he tried to ascertain if it was poisoned. From what he could tell, the meal was Gnomish in nature and if he had to put his thumb on the dish he would say Pompet Gavor. A dish mainly consisting of scavenged food from surroundings, some potatoes, and whatever else was on hand like rock soup that the Dwarves prouded themselves on. The composition was nice, the berries seemed to be sauteed in the fat of whatever animal made up the meat, some wild herbs that added to the flavor, and a campfire potato that was backed once then diced to give the meal more color.

Cautiously he took a bite, feeling the blossom of flavor envelop his tongue as he was reminded of home and when his family was still with him. Tears began to well up in the stout Gnome's brown eyes as he tried his best to hide it by hanging his head and letting his sandy blonde hair hide his face as tears rolled off his face and onto the plate.

"I hope those bastards choke on a drake dick for what they did to me and my family... I hope that their torment doesn't end and they ceaselessly experience agony for the rest of time! I swear I'm gonna-"

Max coughed a little as he seemed to swallow a bit wrong as the man looked over to the boy to make sure he wasn't choking. Max simply held up a finger to signal to hive him a second before he cleared his throat and wiped the tears from his eyes after a second. As Max recovered he looked at the Gnome with a nonchalant face as he took in Jesse's features with observant eyes. He could see the man was boiling with anger and hate, his oily blonde hair hiding that tanned skin and weathered face. A healthy Gnome like Gilda could live to the age of five hundred but this guy looked younger, two hundred maybe?

"They're all dead. I made sure they didn't receive mercy for their actions, sir. If we were to go back about twenty miles all you would find is four cadavers being feasted on by animals and the charred remains of their leader, I saw to it myself. I won't tell you to not grieve but don't dwell on revenge, justice has already been served to them and penance paid. Hopefully, we should reach a decent-sized town tomorrow, there we can get you set up"

Max set his plate to the side and pulled out a carving he had been working on as his words were like heavy lead in the ocean as he felt his stomach bubble with discomfort. He set the plate to the side as he looked at the platinum-haired boy with eyes of gold as he began to pray within his head, barely capable of comprehending what the boy had just said, taking down five bandits on his lonesome and seeming to handle them with ease as he didn't have a scratch on him!

"GlitterToes, I beseech you to give me a sign that I won't die tonight, please for all that is golden shiny and every gemstone in the world don't let me die! There's no possible way this boy could just slaughter those men! Even me brothers struggled with them! Guide their souls unto your treasury and let their forms be transformed from the very stones that you made them from!"

As Jesse begged his god for guidance and plead with him for safety Max's gaze turned sour and from the carving as he set it to the side. Jesse noted the lack of wood being carved away and knew this was it as his chocolate brown eyes turned to Max who now had a glowing needle of mana between his middle fingernail and his thumb pad. This was it, this boy was some sorta mage and going to put that needle through his skull. Suddenly with great speed but little noise the needle was flicked towards him. Jesse ducked as he heard the gnashing of teeth suddenly over head, a hand on his nape as he was suddenly pulled out of the way.

Jesse looked at the creature that had just tried to pounce him, shaking in his boots and on the verge of wetting himself as his eyes laid upon an ambush drake. The creature was dimly lit by the campfire as Jesse saw the needle sticking from between its eyes as it growled and batted at the needle. Without warning two hooves kicked the drake in its side, the sickening crack of ribs from the iron shoed hooves pounding into its side as he watched Max pull a mess of stray hairs from his head as they began to glow before launching from his hand.

Max wasn't expecting Midnight to interject into the fight, she deserved a sugar cube as the needles took root in the beast he faced down as he got an idea. The drake was now looking like a pin cushion with Max's Astral Needles, unable to move as each flex or move of its muscles caused the needles to dig deeper into the beast. Gently Max placed his hand on the ground as the shadows from the flames moved like a fluid, rushing as it bound the drake like shackles. The beast began to snarl as Max smiled, approaching the beast with that glare as he hissed and roared at Max.

Jesse was in awe, barely able to believe what he was witnessing, a young boy was a mage and seemed to excel in the arcane as he cautiously reached over and plucked out the needle between his eyes. The beast flinched and growled as Max touched the spot and left a rune on its head as its roar became speech.

"Let me go foul mage! Release me from your shackles so I might feast on the small one's flesh! The meadows have been scarce and I crave the taste of flesh! Wait, you look at me as if you can understand me? A mage you are indeed but this magic, it's not normal! You're a force to be reckoned with, release me and I shall take my leave. Please, I am asking even. You should view this as if I was lowering my head in submission..."

{{Ambush Drake, a pack hunting animal that is rarely seen domesticated except through force. Most believe that these draconic originating creatures lack intelligence due to the face they rarely speak. Their typical environment is that of plains though there are plenty of subspecies that dwell within varying environments, to see one alone is an omen. Keep caution to their varying breaths, just like their draconic cousins. Normal magic is ineffective to these creatures, use spells that are something they would not typically encounter. If user encounters one, the chance of survival is ninety-eight percent, encountering anything over ten cuts the odds to fifty percent.}}

Max remembers reading about these creatures when pouring over the bestiary as he sighs and begins to remove the needles. The drake seemed to be looking apprehensive at this tone shift from onslaughts of attacks to now tending to his wounds as he growls. There was a reason this one was alone and Max wanted to know why as he circled the lupine-bodied creature, tending to the needles as he then sat in front of him.

"You say you're hungry? Where is your pack? Answer my questions and I'll feed you. My name is Max, I'm sorry to have bound you but you're in a bit of a frenzy. Take a breath and calm down, I'll have my acquaintance get the leftover meat."

Max waved Jesse to gather some of the carcass that he was leaning against earlier. Jesse gulped, unsure what the boy was planning as he dragged the body over to Max. Max hated having to carve creatures after the kill, it made his stomach churn and groan as Nathan had flashbacks to his previous life's last moments. The drake deeply inhaled at the smell of a fresh kill and seemed to shutter, laying down as a courtesy to Max's action as Max opened up the deer he had killed before making camp and digging out the still-warm heart.

"My pack, they are mostly captured or dead. Goblins have taken root within the meadows and plains, drawing in other creatures and Orcs. They took those I called family as I fleed. They have been hunting this Meadow clean. If you don't encounter human bandits you're sure to run into the filthy creatures, kidnapping women and stealing from caravans! They arent the civil kind found in cities and towns, these are the ones that are referred to as-"

As the drake goes to continue Jesse shakes his head, a bit pale and sick to his stomach. Every child knew about the feral Goblins. They were almost a warning to Gnome children about the dangerous creatures, they weren't natural-born but more like devils, just spawning from the dirt and ravaging the lands. If left to fester they'd become like an open wound and slowly spread like the gangrene they were.

"Feral Goblins, also known as devil kin Goblins. Ones not made by the gods, safe to assume that the Orcs are the same. They are merciless creatures like an infection within the world and capable of devastating an area and capable of causing a massive war. This causes several problems for the gods made Goblins like exile or genocide. These events have happened in the past and never been a good spell."

The drake growled and huffed, eying the Gome as he nodded in agreeance as Max offered the heart to the drake carefully, letting him take it as he chewed and swallowed. Max didn't like the sound of that as he began to run some numbers and looked at Jesse then the drake as he shook his head and cursed under his breath.

"Then it sounds like we need to solve this problem, in all of our best interests actually. Jesse, can you wield a sword or some sort of other weapons?"

Jesse couldn't believe what this boy proposed. Taking on a goblin camp?! That was a suicide mission if he ever heard one but... But possible if Max was capable of killing the mess of men his brothers had troubles with as he gulped and nodded.

"S-Spears and slings are my forte but you can't be serious! Attacking a camp, it's ludicrous and stupid! Even if you can kill five men and shackle an Ambush Drake with shadows you're talking about Goblins and Orcs! I've seen full-fledged wars break out over medium-sized armies and you're talking about storming a camp with an unknown amount of those creatures!"

"Twenty-five Goblins, ten Orcs, five Hobgoblins and the worst part, a goblin king as well. Three of the goblins are shaman as well that draw on black magic. To attack them is as the Gnome says boy, suicide"

The drake scoffed at the idea as Max's face simply curled into a smile and the system began to run numbers. Fifty-five percent chance of survival as he looked to the drake and handed him another cut of meat. That was a good number, not too high but enough for now as he looked at the drake and smirked.

"And how many of your pack did they capture drake? Also, you need a name... Menna, your name is Menna now"

A flash of light began to glow as all were momentarily blinded for a second as the shadow shackles seemed to seep into Manna's already black scales, turning a pine green as the new markings seeped into him as he gained a chain-like pattern on him as he hissed and growled, still bound.

"You! What did you do to me boy! My scales feel different, I feel... I feel stronger! They took four of my pack, they are under no magic but as I am now, bound in chains and fed scraps... You're not planning to do something that stupid now are you?"

Max was surprised as a screen popped up for him as a groan left him, feeling as if a portion of his mana had been unwillingly sucked from him and his head felt light but he could keep up the spell. His vision seemed to blur for a moment as he blinked and groaned head seeming to spina s he took a few breaths.

{{Ambush Drake has been given a True Name. Evolution into Assassin Drake has taken place. True Name; When a creature lacking a formal name is given one it becomes their true name, empowering them with the namer's mana. The prerequisite is to understand a creature and have it submit fully. Few are capable of giving creatures True Names and those who can have to be cautious of doing so, be warned that doing so can be harmful}}

Max smirked as he had never heard of an Assassin Drake before as he gently pets Menna on the head and pushed the body to him but not before lacing it with a healing pot. His numbers just jumped up as he looked at Menna.

"Work with me and we will free your pack, not to mention I will keep you fed. Just promise not to eat us, oh, and to carry my friend into battle. With our combined strengths we'll be able to stop another war and I can almost bet that we will get something that will tickle both of your fancies. Plenty of gold and treasures."

Menna didn't like this far-fetched plan but with this new envigorating strength, the tactical planning this boy had strategized, and his prowess with magic, they could pull it off as he lowered his head and nodded. Jesse was shocked, seeing this happen as a star from above glowed a golden color and he felt his skin crawl. This was it, the sign that GlitterToes was to send him as he gulped and hung his head, huffing. This was crazy, but crazy enough to work as he nodded.

"Then we have a plan of attack, at dawn, we will head that direction with Menna leading it. At dusk we strike, between then we will prepare. Now everyone sleep, tomorrow holds a war for us"

Max let Menna out of the binds as he huffs and sinks into the grass, almost appearing to go invisible as they all drift into sleep, a much-needed one as tomorrow's struggles would be great. As they all slept changes began to take place within and outside of Menna, a transformation happening as he became the world's first Assassin Drake.