The Dragon's Bounty

Chapter 17

Kai sat on the railing and looked on toward the horizon.
"Woah!" Aro shouted. Kai walked inside to see a freshly shaven Lance who had started working on his build again. "How did you get so big so quick?" Aro asked.
Lance cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "Exercise?" He asked.
Khan patted Aro's shoulder. "Pixies' bodies work differently than humans and elves and whatnot." He said. "Exercise is super effective for them, with quick results."
"Wish that worked for me." Aro said, looking at his small yet muscular arms.
Lance patted Aro's bicep. "Defined, not bulky, sorta like Kai." The two looked at Kai, who had a very defined body, but still wasn't very big.
Kai looked down at his chest. "What's wrong with my body?" He asked. Lance flexed his chest, bulging it through his grey tank top.
Andrew knocked on Lance's chest. "Solid. Still got a ways to go or ya done?" He asked.
Lance shrugged. "Another day should get me back to normal."
Andrew smiled. "So you'll be ready to fight proper again?"
Lance shook his head. His fists glowed red, but it seemed to flicker. "Gotta work on my glow. Right now, only way to get back to regular strength is pixies' magical ability, Belief. If someone actively tells me they believe in me, I get a boost of strength. But obviously it doesn't last too long, but it can stack."
Andrew scratched his chin before placing his hand on Lance's shoulder. "Lance, I believe in you." The red glow stopped flickering and traveled farther up his arm.
"See? Now I have more energy to distribute in different places around my body." He moved the red glow to his chest. "Punch." He said. Andrew punched Lance's chest, and then shook his hand.
"Wow. Solid." He said.
Kai grinned. "Let me try."
Lance moved his legs to stable himself and narrowed his eyes. "Hit me with your best shot." Kai pulled back his fist and started a flame on his wrist, sending it jetting forward. When he struck Lance, he slid back to the bar and almost tripped over it. Lance shook his head. "That's it?" He asked.
Kai shook his head. "No, don't wanna burn the place down."
Lance wiped off his forehead. "Phew. Thought you'd like lost some power or something."
"Actually, I did." He said. Lance looked over to him. "My flame-phase and some of my magic strength is gone. I'm hoping we can get it back before the fight."
Lance nodded. "Hope you do. We'll need all the strength we can find."
Khan perked up. "Speaking of, Elliot. Let's work on your light."
Elliot looked up at him. "What?" He asked.
Khan prepared to snap his fingers. "You should be able to expel your energy from your hands or somewhere else. But sometimes, you're like me, where you need a certain action to release it. First, try firing it out of your hand." Elliot pointed his palm at Lance, who's chest began glowing again. Elliot started straining to fire light, but nothing happened. This went on for a few minutes before he finally sat back down.
"Not happening." He said.
Khan showed him his fingers. "Try this. He snapped his fingers, firing a lightning bolt at Lance, who nearly fell backward. Elliot placed his middle finger and thumb together, aiming it at Lance. He snapped, a small explosion of illumination leaving his hand.
"Woah." He said.
Khan scratched his chin. He placed his middle fingernail on his thumb and pointed it away. "Try this." He said. Elliot nodded and copied Khan. He flicked his fingers. When he did, a roaring, scaly, translucent dragon shot forward and slammed into Lance's chest, moving him back a few inches before dissipating. Everyone looked at Elliot in shock.
Elliot was just as shocked. "I can do that?" He asked.
Khan patted him on the shoulder. "Now, lets do the sword thing again."
"Hold on, don't I need to practice my aim or something?"
Khan shook his head. "Before we hone your skills, we need to know what you can do." Elliot nodded slowly. "Aro, grab a staff off the wall. Aro nodded and complied. "Now, try to enhance it."
Aro held the stick out and smiled. "Enhance." He said with a smirk. The pole glowed a dim blue. "Woah, my arrow glowed so much more."
Khan shrugged. "Now, Elliot, try to make your sword do what it did before." Elliot nodded and pulled out his broken golden sword. He placed both hands on the hilt and closed his eyes, focusing hard. A short glowing tip appeared on the sword, adding an inch or two to the blade, and giving the solid parts an extra sheen. He smiled and looked at Khan, who held a thumbs up. "Now, Elliot, strike Aro." Elliot nodded and rushed at Aro, who blocked the sword with his staff, the blue glow dimming some.
Aro's eyes widened. "I see. The glow dissipates whenever it takes a blow."
Khan nodded. "See, we're learning." Elliot continued to lay into Aro's staff, stopping when the glow had completely subsided.
"Enhance!" Aro shouted, louder than before as he was itching to get a turn. The staff glowed twice as vibrant this time.
"May I interject?" Dagger asked. Khan nodded. "Aro, why did the staff glow more this time?" Aro shrugged. Dagger thought for a moment. "Elliot, dissipate his glow again." Elliot nodded and hit the staff until it was normal again. Dagger nodded. "Aro, shout as loud as you can when you enhance."
Aro nodded. "Enhance!" He shouted, the staff blazing blue. "Woah." He said. "That's a lot."
Dagger nodded. "It would appear that it relies on how loud you shout the activating word. You can use this to your advantage depending on the power level you need at the moment." Aro nodded.
"Knock Elliot's Sword out of his hand." Khan said. Elliot fell into a defensive stance and Aro spun the staff around. He launched a sloppy attack and was countered easily.
"No fair, he's combat trained."
Kai smacked him. "So are you. You're a professional hunter."
Aro frowned. "I'm not good at melee." He said.
Khan clapped his hands. "Back to it." After a few more tries, Aro had not gotten much closer to accomplishing his goal, but his staff still glowed a bright and vibrant blue.
"I will say that the blows are strong." Elliot said. "I've been nearly knocked off ny feet every time."
Aro raised an eyebrow. "You messing with me?" He asked.
Elliot raised his hand. "Knight's honor." He said.
Aro smiled. "You're saying that if I actually hit someone with his staff as hard as I can, it might actually do some good damage?"
Elliot nodded. "Definitely."
Aro smiled. "Let's keep at it." He said. Elliot nodded and held his sword in front of him.
Kai went back into the porch and looked on into the sunset. "It'll be night soon." He said.
Lance nodded. "I'm gonna go work out." He said. Kai nodded and continued to watch the sunset, dangling his legs off the front of the deck. About an hour later, Kai heard a triumphant shout. He looked inside to see Aro doing a little dance as he held Elliot's sword up.
"I did it!" He shouted. Elliot smiled and nodded.
"Congratulations." Khan said. "Now, split up and practice your ranged abilities." Both nodded and went to opposite sides of the tavern. Elliot fired light dragons out the window while Aro launched lightly enhanced arrows at the wall.
"You are a horrible teacher." Andrew said.
Khan smiled. "I do try."
Lance looked out the window and took out a slip of paper. He held it up and compared it to outside. "We're here." He said. Khan patted the tavern, causing it to halt. Everyone looked out the door and window to see a breathtaking forest view.
"Woah." Emma said. "Pretty." Aro nodded. Lance floated down to one of the trees and placed his hand against it, giving it a light push. The tree moved backward, revealing a small hole in it. Lance activated his glow and inserted his finger into the hole. Aro, Andrew, Emma and Elliot looked on in surprise.
"What are you doing?" Aro asked. Lance pulled his finger out of the hole with a small key around it. The tree closed back. Lance spun the key around on his finger before inserting it in another tree, opening a door.
He gestured for the group to go inside. "This would be Huey's secret hideout." Everyone looked inside to see a beautiful lake down in a cave with light shining in from above.
"So where is he?" Khan asked. Lance shrugged. Suddenly, a figure crashed down beside them. The man sat up, revealing a dark green skin tone and dark slick thin hair. Two fins sprouted from the sides of his face, gills on his neck.
"Oh, hey guys." Huey said with a smile.
"There's more of you?!" A raspy voice came from the sky. A dark head and torso floated above, a thick black mist surrounding it. "I guess that's my cue to leave." And with that, it vanished. Everyone looked down at Huey, who smiled and waved.
"I may have gotten into a little skirmish before you got here." He said scratching the back of his head.