Adventures of Paku the Dragon: The Shroud of Shadows

Chapter 15

"Okay, so we need to find the others, and quickly. Do you think you can sense them?" Ziva asks.

"Well, I'm sure I can at least get a general direction." Paku says, trying to see if he can remember the locations of the strongholds from Naria's map.

"We've been flying a while. Let's stop for a minute to rest." Ziva suggests.

"Sounds good to me." Paku agrees.

They land on a grassy hillside and take a break. It was warm and sunny, the green rolling hills of the region being rather beautiful to bare witness to.

"Where are we?" Patch asks. "It's so pretty."

"These are the foothills of Gadiros. The largest grassland in the land." Ziva says, admiring the beauty as wild sheep and bison roam around the grassy plains.

"So we're in the middle of nowhere?" Patch asks.

"Pretty much." Ziva replies.

"Hey, I know! If we go over there, maybe we can spot something." Paku suggests, pointing at a large pillar nearby.

The trio slowly approach the pillar, walking up to the stone monolith. "It seems to be a marker for a location." Paku explains.

"What does it say?" Ziva asks.

"Looks like it says 'Tundra' or some kind of word. I can't read it though."

"Tundra? That looks like Nuris to me. Must be the men of the field." Ziva explains. "There is town nearby I believe."

"Guys, hide quick!" Patch says as he notices a group of orcs and goblins marching nearby.

"Don't worry, we're fine. Just a bunch of orcs and goblins." Ziva says. "They probably won't even notice us."

"I don't know. They seem a bit suspicious." Patch notes as the three hide behind the large pillar.

"The dragons must be near. We saw them flying above. Shouldn't be hard to kill, the little whelplings aren't fully grown yet." the leader orc says to his men.

"Keep marching. We will find them." the leader says, continuing down the path.

"Should we follow them?" Paku asks.

"Not a bad idea, but let's stay hidden for now." Ziva says. "Let's see where they go."

The group sneak behind the patrol, noticing them marching through the fields. However, the group of orcs move rather quickly, and before long they vanish from view.

"Where could they have gone?" Paku asks. Before they can figure it out, tight iron collars are forced around their throats, choking them a bit.

"Ow! Hey!" Paku says, struggling against the collar. "Stop that!"

"Two dragons and a talking puma? World must be going mad." a voice says.

"Let us go!" Ziva chokes, the collar hurting her neck.

"No, not until we know your intentions." the voice says.

The three are able to look at the people capturing them, seeing a band of humans clad in blue cloth and iron armor. Their leader stands in front of the three, looking down at them. "Why are you here, after being gone for so long?"

"Uh..." Paku stammers. "I... I just wanted to help."

"And who are you?" the man asks.

"Um, my name is Paku. This is Patch and Ziva."

The man looks at the three. "Well Paku, the dragons have failed to help us the last decade. The men of Gadiros have been alone in their fight against dark forces. Many of us have died in battle, and we lose ground each day. Now, the dragons show up, but with two young dragons and a puma? This is an insult to us."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Paku apologizes. "We didn't mean to offend anyone. We just wanted to do good."

"You should be." the leader says, anger rising in his tone. "Now, tell me what you intend to do."

"We are here to try and set things right. We might be small in size, but we have the power of a dragon still. Release us from these collars and I swear we can help." Paku reasons.

The leader crouches down and looks at Paku. "Actions speak louder than words young dragon. We shall take you to our town and let the Jarl decide your fate."

The group walks through the grasslands, heading towards the village. As they walk, the group notices a number of other villages and towns, all of which were destroyed by the orcs and goblins.

"These people were killed by the very thing you dragons swore to destroy. Each day that passes hope grows dim." the man says.

"Why are you blaming the dragons so much? You guys look more than capable of defending yourselves!" Ziva growls.

"This little bunch of us? Its all we got. We tried to defend ourselves, but there were too many." In anger the man yanks on the chain around Ziva's neck.

"Hey!" Ziva yells, trying to get away from the man.

"Silence!" the man roars, drawing his sword. "You are not fit to talk about this. We've been fighting the orcs and goblins for years. Where have you been? Gone! My wife, my kid, slain!"

The man pauses for a second. Ziva calms down, realizing where the anger has come from. "I'm sorry." she says.

"I bet you are." the man responds. "But sorry won't bring them back."

"We've lost people too, you know. Our race is near extinction. We're about to die out." Paku explains.

"Looks like we will all die together then." the man says grimly, before the group of rangers stop. "Something isn't right."

Patch looks around, and can feel something off, the same feeling he got when the goblins attacked them in the forest. "Guys..."

"What is it?" Ziva asks.

"We need to hurry." Paku says, trying to run faster but the collar holds him back.

"What is your problem?" the ranger asks, when they see it.

In the distance, they can see a large army of orcs and goblins approaching. At least a hundred, if not more, and moving fast.

"Men, prepare for battle!" the lead ranger says. "Tie them to that stump, we will come back for them after the battle!"

"No, let us help you!" Paku begs. "There's too many of them for you and your rangers to fight alone!"

"That is for me to decide, not you!" the leader says, pointing his sword at the three.

"Please just listen to us!" Ziva yells, holding up her paw.

The ranger ignores the group, instead pointing his sword at the army of orcs and goblins. "For the glory of Gadiros!"

With that, the group of human rangers charge into battle against the orc and goblin army.