"Tribe of the Aquene"

An original series by Darkness Tigerpaw
(c) Darkness Tigerpaw, all rights reserved
Not to be used without permission under penalty of law.

Chapter 6, Page 026

There was a moment where everything went dark. In the blink of an eye, the eclectic group of one dragon, one human and four drow were huddled together tightly in a white knuckled circle of fear.

As the group slowly opened their eyes, they found that they had appeared next to a circular fountain that spurted water from its top spire, three levels high. It was a magnificent piece of ancient stonework, finely ornate symbols of dragons decorated it, wrapped in interconnecting ribbons of different designs. Looking around, they found themselves standing in the middle of a public square in a very large city. Two and three story wooden and stone buildings and covered merchant carts surrounded them. Against the buildings, lit torches in sconces lined the square so the public could travel the evening in dimly lit comfort.

The admiration of the fountain was quickly interrupted as screams filled the night air. The public that walked around them, recognized the drow, and especially the bizarre blue furry dragon. In seconds, heavily armored guards arrived from all directions pointing spears at them.

"Does anyone have a plan?" Shi'n asked in both a sarcastic and desperate voice as he drew his sword. It was an unfortunate situation indeed. The members of the group drew their weapons and turned outward to form a protective circle around the unarmed human.

There were calls from the guards to identify themselves, but they were barely heard over the screams of the public. "Drow!" they called. The ones who didn't speak were fixated by the sight of the unique dragon.

With swords, daggers and claws drawn, the group realized that they would have to fight--and kill--their way through this unknown city.

Rareki, squeezed by the protective group shouted "South! The docks are to the south!" Everyone else looked wide to gather their bearings. Which way was south? they wondered.

The guards, unhappy with the lack of response from the drow and dragon, started to creep forward offensively. Beads of sweat rolled down the guard's faces as they surrounded enemies they knew could easily kill them. Drow were not unknown to the many different people of Glakta, but their reputation was one of fantasy. They were not god-like in their skills, but they were a formidable foe in the arts of armed combat that no human could match.

The town's square was finally empty of pedestrians. As the guards slowly closed in on the group, a great light blinded everyone. Ferelia covered her eyes with an arm to avoid being blinded as the light grew brighter for a moment and finally died down, revealing the form of a green-robed older woman leaning on a very large walking stick. Her skin was a leathery blue with black splotches similar to Lammina's fur. Her wise face could only smile softly as all the guards in the square dropped their weapons to their sides and bowed to her.

Confused, the group could only stare in awe at the ancient woman with coruscate emerald eyes standing beside them. She merely smiled in their direction and said "I am Glakta. Please, come with me, my friends."

* * * * *

A'arch held onto Lammina's arm tightly, relaying information. In his mind, he described every physical attribute of the magical woman who appeared in front of them and saved them. Her blue skin with black splotches was the most shocking detail. The drow hoped that Lammina was sensing all this, for the first time since meeting her, he wished she had good enough sight to see this. Luckily, she could read him as well as she could read her own thoughts and she silently agreed. She wished she could see.

Glakta's blue and black skin resembled Lammina's almost perfectly, noticeably without the addition to the dragon's fur. A'arch wondered if the two could be distantly related in some way. He wasn't sure how a human could be related, but he guessed that she had a bit of dragon in her. The high magic was a dead giveaway.

A'arch and Lammina were lead by Glakta through the center of town, followed by Ferelia and Tai, and finally, Shi'n and Rareki. Before them, they headed to a wide, three story red brick building that Glakta called home.

She spoke as they walked slowly through town. Guards and residents, all halting their activities and bowing reverently to her as she passed them with grace.

"This great city was named after me, as the town folk requested so long ago. While I am the founder of the city, I do not claim to rule the city. I do, however, take responsibility for the security of the town and its diverse people as I have for the last few hundred years. I don't care for the term ruler."

Looks of shock fell over the faces of the group. A'arch believed his assumption was correct, she had to be part dragon, or the greatest magic user who ever lived--until he noticed something strange. From the bottom of Glakta's robe, the triangular point of a dragon's tail poked through, long enough to touch the ground, but she held it up just a hair's width above it so it didn't drag.

"Forgive us," A'arch started. "We know nothing of your great city nor you. We mean no harm, I assure you."

Glakta could only smile slightly. "I know," she said. "I sensed you and your intentions long ago. Actually, I sensed your dragon friend's intentions long ago."

Shocked, A'arch begged for more. "Please, how so?"

"Yes," Lammina said her gruff voice. "Please. I beg you."

As the group followed Glakta, walking the cobblestone road toward the large iron gates that protected her spacious home, she seemed to be nothing more than an open book. She allowed the group to ask questions constantly and she would answered every one of them.

"I must ask, when I noticed your skin, the pattern is remarkably like Lammina's. With all due respect, are you part dragon by any chance?" A'arch asked.

With a nod and a wink, she replied "Why yes, I am. This is merely my human form. I am an ancient dragon, thousands of years old. I've seen the rise of every modern species and race that occupies this city. I've seen my fair share of drow too. But Lammina and I share something special: a bloodline. You see, my species and Lammina's come from the same family tree. Although our lines separated many thousands of years ago, the aquene was just one of many branches."

"An ancient white dragon told Lammina and I that her kind still exist on a volcanic island south of Glakta. Do you know if this is true?" A'arch begged.

Glakta could only lower her head in thought as they walked through the iron gates that guards opened for them. As they approached the ornate home, the road leading up to the home ended in a large circle with a small island in the center of it that contained a dark stone fountain and an overgrowth of foliage. Both sides of the path were lined with large trees and high grasses, just the way Glakta liked it: natural.

As they approached the house, two guards stood defending the front double door. Both open their respective sides simultaneously to allow them admittance; both bowed to the passing Glakta and her guests.

A'arch noticed that for the first time, a question was not immediately answered. The group couldn't help but throw glances at each other wondering what all the apparent mystery was.

Upon entering the foyer, Glakta stopped, turned slowly and addressed the guests. "My guards will show you to the guest rooms for the remainder of the evening."

Tai looked nervous. She was a vampire and she had special needs. Glakta noticed the drow's look of concern and immediately addressed it. "I know you are the nightwalker. I have special accommodations prepared for you, my dear."

Ferelia, Shi'n, Rareki and even Tai had all their needs tended to without hesitation. They were all given separate rooms and a clean bed. At their request, A'arch and Lammina spent the rest of the night sitting on an iron bench together in the rear courtyard. Heavy foliage covered every square inch of it with a small pond in the center, stocked with fish. Glakta had said earlier that she hand planted everything that grew here and the two simply admired it together until the sun rose in the east, leaning against each other for warmth and with love.

To be continued...