A Band of Brothers

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. About seven years ago, they started emerging out of their caves and descending from their mountain peaks. At first they didn’t stray far from their homestead, keeping to the mountains or forests around them. That did not last long though. Only the stories of the dragons’ destruction spread faster than their fires and lightning storms. Civilization was all but driven underground. The dwarves and other subterranean races didn’t exactly welcome their new neighbors and tensions mounted, but subsided by the collective terror of the dragons. Soon enough, people of all kinds banded together forming parties to set out to slay as many dragons as they could. One such group called themselves the Band of Brothers and this is their story.

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Gasping for breath, Maw Maw swung his maul with all the strength his bloodied arms could muster. However, it bounced off the dragon’s chest like a toothpick. He looked back just in time to see it’s foot swing forward and in the time it took him to raise his arms, he was transported one hundred feet to the left. Exhaling what little air he had left, he said,

“Thanks Aldrich, I owe you one.” Besides the goliath barbarian stood a human with a green hooded cloak frantically weaving his hands in odd patterns and muttering something unintelligible under his breath until he said,

“No worries. I’m just trying to keep you and Xander alive. I swear that guy has a death wish.” An older elf leapt from a nearby tree towards the dragon and attempted to stab between the scales as he fell through the air.

“Yeehaw! Time to carve you up big fella.” The elf proclaimed as he managed to lodge one dagger in. Maw Maw took one deep breath and said,

“Time to jump back in.” He dropped the maul and pulled out a massive axe.

“Be careful” said Aldrich. Maw Maw charged the dragon who was right about to flick Xander off when a volley of crossbow bolts struck it from the opposite side. All of them snapped against the scales, but it was enough to draw it’s attention away from the dangling elf and towards the white robed goblin crouched behind a rock. He yelled out in a high pitched crackly voice,

“Anyone need healing?”

“I think we’re good Felix, but thanks.” Aldrich said firing an ice spear from his hand, “We just need to wrap this up before Xander gets himself, or one of us, killed.”

“Ok” Felix said, “I’ll be over here if anyone needs me.” Xander, who swung onto its back, and was now running up to his head said,

“You worry to much Aldrich, we’ll have this done in no…” But he got swatted off by the tail.

“My point exactly” Aldrich said as Felix started running in Xander’s direction as fast as his short legs would let him. The dragon let out of stream of fire in a semi-circle around him, knocking Aldrich off his feet but he was quick enough to throw up an arcane shield just in time. Maw Maw, who was once again under the dragon, began hacking away at the dragon’s chest in a vain attempt to distract it from attack the casters. The last member of their group, Ambrose the bard, fell prey to the fire as the lyre he was feverishly strumming incinerated. However, this did not stop the halfling as he drew a lute from his back and continued playing, singing

“History shall sing of the legends and fame of the great and mighty Band of Brothers!” That moment, Maw Maw finally cracked a scale exposing its flesh. The dragon let out a piercing cry and started flapping its wings. The gale swept Ambrose away and pressed Aldrich against a nearby tree but Maw Maw managed to maintain his footing.

“Ah, come back here, I’m not finished with you yet.” Maw Maw said as he fought the gale to run forward. “Little help here Aldrich.”

“Coming right up.” With the snap of his fingers, Aldrich made Maw Maw grow ten times his size. The giant giant leapt up and grabbed the dragon by the foot pulling him back down. After slamming it to the ground, Maw Maw unleashed a torrent of punches. He relented only upon seeing Xander sprinting up carrying a yelling Felix who was then yeeted into the air over the dragon. In mid-air, Felix pulled out his short sword and as he stabbed through the dragon said,

“Bonk!” Maw Maw watched as the dragon’s eyes rolled back and the eyelids closed for the last time as he shrunk down to his normal size. Xander, Aldrich, & Ambrose each walked closer and they helped Felix down as he slid off the side of the dragon.

“You couldn’t let me get the last blow?” Maw Maw said starring at Xander.

“Hey, I didn’t get the blow, that was Felix” Xander said shrugging his shoulders and looking away “Don’t be mad at me.”

“All I did was bonk him” Felix said with a smile, “I hope that pleased the Good Lord, but next time you can have the kill Maw Maw. I’m really not supposed to kill things, but sometimes it’s necessary.”

“I’m sure your god is happy with you Felix” Aldrich said, stepping forward and patting Felix on the shoulder, “You did great. Thankfully, this one seemed to be a little younger so our daredevil over here shouldn’t be too hurt by getting swatted.”

“I’m good as new” Xander pipes up “My boy Felix here fixed me up good.”

“That’s what I do” Felix said smiling and giving a thumbs up to the group.

“Man, now I gotta buy another lyre” Ambrose said.

“I’m sure we can find you one back in town, especially with the earnings from yesterday’s and today’s kills” Aldrich said, “Now, let’s go home. I’m exhausted.”

“I’m just going to carve out a couple teeth as proof of our victory, and definitely as a trophy.”

Xander said pulling out a dagger. Aldrich rubbed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair a couple times as he slumped his shoulders. They began sauntering back through the forest to their underground city. Thankfully, the cave entrance wasn’t too far away and soon enough they descended down into the dark depths. They plunged further and further into the darkness, Aldrich materialized a light orb. So they marched onward staying on the path to their city, Lotoxa. There was a labyrinth of tunnels down here and it was all too easy to get lost if you didn’t know the precise path. About every thirty feet there were splits in the road and most led down to dead ends.

Lotoxa was different from other neighboring cities as it had been one of the first to be settled after the dragons launched their attack. Plus, it had one major advantage over the other prime settlements that it was originally a dwarven city so much of the ground had already been excavated and the proper infrastructure was already in place when the elves, humans, halflings, goliaths, and yes, even some goblins sought refuge. The dwarves forbid any goblins from entering their section of the city and the penalty for violating this was death. So the dwarves gave them the least developed part of Lotoxa and insulated themselves with the goliaths and elves on either side then after them the humans and halflings. The goblins were allows in the city center, but they dared not go past the goliath and elvish living quarters.

Despite previous hostilities and grudges on the surface, most of the races got along in relative peace these days. Most of their energy was spent fighting the dragons or increasing the standard of living in Lotoxa. The goliaths in particular had a difficult time adjusting to subterranean life, but eventually worked out an agreement with the dwarves and elves that in exchange for an area of the city more suitable for their size, the goliaths would act as bodyguards and huntsmen for the dwarves when they needed to surface for whatever reason. Each different race mostly resided on the outskirts of the city, but a collection of mercenary halls resided in the middle of the town. This is where the common folk would post jobs and descriptions of recent dragon sightings. This area of town also held most all the taverns and shops of Lotoxa, plus City Hall.

As they went deeper down, Felix raised his large heavy hood over his head making sure to tuck in his ears. He donned a pair of white gloves, clasped his fingers, and bowed his head slightly so no one could glimpse his face. At the end of the tunnel, two guards emerged in front of a solid stone wall and upon seeing the five said,

“Stop! State your business or die.” Aldrich, who was leading the party, said,

“I am Aldrich Willowfang and these are my fellow members of the Band of Brothers.”

“State your address here.” Demanded the other guard

“We reside at 7349 Fork Street.”

“You may pass. Welcome home adventurers.” The guards said in unison as the stone behind them disappeared revealing a bustling city filled with people of the six different races traversing the road, hauling goods, and bouncing from shop to shop. As the five of them crossed the threshold, the stone rematerialized. Magical street lights spanned miles from the goblin district to the dwarven homestead. The cavern walls were a hard orange rock and the ceiling actually rose about fifty feet. Buildings mainly consisted of stone, but wooden shops sprouted up every couple blocks or so. They tended to be smaller than the rest given that wood was difficult to harvest and bring back due to the dragons’ onslaught.

“I can’t believe that after years of going through the same routine we still have to tell them our address. Like, shouldn’t they know us by now?” Ambrose said, straggling along.

“Yes, but someone could disguise themselves as us and try to walk in that way” said Aldrich.

“Ok, but it’s totally easier to know any address in the city than disguise yourself or your whole party well enough.” Xander said tossing some sunflower seeds into his mouth.

“Well, I never said it was a perfect system.” Aldrich said, looking back at the two of them with a shrug. “Once people are set in their ways, change isn’t likely.” Felix walked steadily in the middle of the party and chanted,

“Praise be to the Good Lord for another safe and successful mission, all glory be onto You” occasionally raising up his open palms. He watched as other goblins got tripped or shoved around, mainly by dwarves, but the goliaths and elves joined in too. It happened just enough to see all the goblins tense up and cringe whenever a dwarf walked by. Goblins were never publicly beaten or killed without having committed a major crime, but lived knowing they were tolerated rather than welcomed. “I’m glad I’m actually a human, if only I looked like one too.”

“Felix” Xander said, placing a hand on his shoulder, “Don’t worry, we’ll get enough together to venture north and get your wish granted.” Aldrich looked back to seem the gleaming joy in Felix’s eyes and the familial love in Xander’s. Ambrose was humming and strumming along when he got tossed up in the air by Maw Maw who said, “Let’s get our reward and then some grub” with the halfling over one shoulder, he rubbed his stomach with his free hand.

“Aldrich, priority one is fooo- ooo- oood” Ambrose strung out the last word as Maw Maw jumped in long strides towards City Hall.

“Race you there” the barbarian bellowed. Aldrich laughed and clapped, teleporting himself, Xander, and Felix to the front steps of City Hall.

“Beat ya here big guy” Aldrich said, and Maw Maw, just one stride short, said,

“But I’m getting faster on you.”

“You got that right” the sorcerer said as he led the five of them up the stone steps and inside. After opening the great stone doors, rows of tall columns lined the room tunneling to a bench standing about seven feet off the ground upon which were five large chairs. A stout elderly dwarf with a beard bigger than the rest of his head sat in the middle. An older elf with flowing silver hair sat to his right and to his left sat a bald goliath gnawing on a tree branch like a toothpick. Next to the elf sat a human with large glasses and curly brown hair who was engrossed in the books in front of him. He was undoubtedly the youngest of the five looking no older than thirty-two. A halfling sat on the other side of the goliath, tinkering with a crossbow. Various metal gizmos and gadgets, screws and spikes lay splayed on the table in front of him.

The Band of Brothers slowly walked further in and it was only Ambrose that looked at all the elves and humans sitting beyond the pillars running from table to table, shuffling papers, and sharing whispers. The dwarf behind the bench jumped on top and shouted,

“Well, will you look at what the cat dragged in now? These five survived another mission. Real shocker the dragons didn’t get ‘em this time.” He sat down and a pressed a button on his chair causing a sign to pop up out of the bench which read, “Dendroh Hikkens, Mayor of Lotoxa.”

“Now did you really think you’d get rid of us that easily?” Xander piped up still a ways out. He patted Felix on the back who promptly stopped chanting. Dendroh slapped his stomach and let out a hearty laugh.

“Welcome back me boys” said Dendroh, “I take it you’ve come to collect fer yer day’s werk?”

“That we have Mayor Hikkens” Aldrich said, stopping about twelve feet before the bench, “one young dragon today and one yesterday. Plus, Felix here saved the Nebulock’s barbarian yesterday.” The goliath next to Dendroh starting rubbing his temples as he starred down at the bench. Xander proudly raised up the freshly extracted dragon teeth earning an acknowledging nod from Dendroh. Felix stayed in his semi-bowing position and said,

“Yes, it was my pleasure to help a fellowing adventuring party.” The elf next to Dendroh leaned forward, placing his elbows on the bench and interlacing his fingers. His sign also popped up, reading, “Baramear Thoth, Chief Advisor.” His eyes locked onto Felix as he said,

“That’s kind of you to bestow such a title that’s clearly beyond the pay-grade of those pests. Honestly, I don’t know how any of the Nebulocks are still alive.” His eyes shifted to Maw Maw,

“You look like a far more seasoned fighter. Maw Maw is it?”

“Yes sir. I like to smash things.”

“Haha, spoken like a true barb” Dendroh said, “Ok, so for the double dragons we can give you about twenty gold a piece, and I’ll even throw in an extra five for saving another Lotoxan. That should bring it to forty-five gold, do I have that right Joseph?” Dendroh looking over at the human and pressed his button again. The man looked up from his books as a sign appeared in front of him which read, “Joseph Zeeth, Chief Accountant.”

“Oh yes, certainly sir. Twenty gold is the going rate for slaying a younger dragon.”

“Fer the last time, ye don’t have to keep calling me ‘sir’ you made it on the council now boy. Relax a bit.”

“Sorry, I’ll try to do that.” Joseph smiled and scratched the back of his head. His scrunched shoulders relaxed a bit exposing that the man did in fact have a neck.

“Hopefully this time it sinks in.” Dendroh said as he reached down, pulled up a cloth bag, and tossed it to Aldrich. “There ye go boys. Don’t spend it all in one place.”

“Yes, money for a new lyre” Ambrose said lurching up next to Aldrich and starring down at the bag with wide eyes.

“And while ye boys are here” Dendroh said, his voice dropped as he pressed the button again “Knuckles O’Death, Chief Warmaster” popped up in front of the goliath. “Knuckles here has something to tell you.” Felix whispered under his breath,

“Uh oh, this can’t be good.”

“Lotoxa has recently received urgent communications from several underground cities that are looking to assemble a united force to more strategically fight against the dragons rather than random skirmishes for self-preservation. This came about because they learned that two underground cities fell to a number of elder dragons working in conjunction with each other. Now, this is where you may come in.”

Maw Maw’s eyes were glued to Knuckles and his smile reached up into defined dimples, which was rather odd to see on a barbarian. Aldrich, Xander, & Ambrose all stood focused on Knuckles. Felix however, remained in his semi-bowed posture. “We need to send an envoy out to meet with the other representatives and discus any/all possible arrangements. The catch is, this group needs to be skilled enough in stealth to not continually provoke dragon attacks, efficient in combat for when they do, and diplomatic enough to handle foreign ambassadors. Lotoxa is blessed to have many excellent and battle tested fighters, but”

“Not that you lot belong to that group exactly.” Knuckles was cut short by the smirking halfing next to him.

“Now now Tymo” said Dendroh, “These five do great work for our city” He pressed the button once more and the sign in front of the halfling read, “Tymo Ytillbop, Chief Weapons Master.”

“Never said they didn’t. They just aren’t exactly the muscly type, but that’s why we thought of them for this mission.” Maw Maw’s expression dropped and his fist tightened, but relented when Knuckles continued,

“You speak too soon my friend. Maw Maw here was one of my finest students, top of his class. He especially excelled in smashing, hammering, and arm wrestling.” Jubilance radiated off of Maw Maw. “Anyways, but we tend to lack a lot of the softer skills. As we’ve pointed out, groups like the Nebulocks are too weak to survive the journey. And while the Knights of Lotoxa are our strongest group, they’re not exactly the best with negotiations or communications if you will. There are some other groups in the runnings so we wanted to give you the opportunity to explain why you would be the best for this job.” Aldrich spoke up,

“What an honor it is to be considered for such an important task. You Mr. O’Death just pointed out the strengths of your former pupil. I myself have studied the arcane arts for many years and am quite well adept at manipulating them for our advantage. However, my skills pertain mostly to battle, but Ambrose here” Aldrich used both hands to point down towards the bard, “is my equal for non-combat utility, and can be quite persuasive when he needs to be. Plus,” Xander pushed past Aldrich and said, “We’re clearly the right guys for the job. I’m right there with Maw Maw clunking heads and taking names. Plus, we got the best cleric around” Xander ran back to Felix and in one fell swoop picked up the goblin and hoisted him onto his shoulder. His white hood still obscuring much of his face.

“Woah, haha. Haven’t been up here in a while.”

“Let me tell you what” Xander said pointing at the council, “I got beat up real bad in that last fight, but this little guy healed me up better than I was before, and he’s quite devoted to his god.”

“The only God” Felix said.

“Yeah, and uh, we work really well together.” Ambrose said peeling his eyes away from the moneybag, “My songs, Maw Maw’s brute strength, Aldrich’s mystic magics, Felix’s healing, and Xander’s daring bravado.” He raised one hand up in the air and starring up at the ceiling said, “We were made for this job.” Dendroh slammed both hands on the bench and said,

“Let’s put it to a vote then. First, Knuckles, how do ye vote?” The goliath stood up and said,

“I vote yes, for them.”

“Tymo, ye next” For the first time since they entered, the halfling put down his crossbow looked up at the five of them, his eyes rolling all over each of them, and said,

“I don’t think they got the moxy for it. I vote no, against them.” Xander’s expression hardened.

“Baramear”

“Judging by my former knowledge of this group, I see how they’ve grown over the years, but I still think this is above their paygrade. I vote no, against them.”

“Joseph, it’s time to look away from them books and vote.” The young human looked up and raised his hands to straighten his glasses.

“I don’t know about their skill level, but they seem to be well rounded and have some adventuring under their belt, why not give them a try? I vote yes, for them.”

“My turn” Dendroh said smiling and leaning forward on one arm, as the five hearts of those standing before him beat faster and faster. Beads off sweat appeared on Maw Maw’s and Aldrich’s foreheads. Ambrose started to bite his nails but soon realized it didn’t look heroic so he proceeded to lightly strum his lute. Xander lowered Felix to the floor and did some flourishes with a dagger.

“We don’t get a two and two vote very often these days. Hmm, how about this, due to the nature of the quest, I officially” Dendroh reached down and pulled up a sizable warhammer. Bringing it down on the bench, he continued, “hire ye as Lotoxa’s envoy.”