Steel Wolf

Deena

The clouds obscured the sun as it began making its way on yet another journey across the heavens.

The road was lined shoulder to shoulder with undead soldiers, Mynletta taking her time on the mile-long horseback ride to the gates of Ouranos Village, where lay the High Dracoform, Keldryn Ironhand, his giant head resting on the ground. A major portion of the undead battalion, along with many thousands of demons were encamped around them, blocking the pass. The rest were spread along the ridgeline awaiting orders or signs of attack. She drew up before his massive winged form and dismounted, handing the reins to a waiting undead soldier. As she approached on foot, fiery-red hair swirling around her, the dragon raised its head slightly and in the blink of an eye gobbled horse and soldier alike. He tilted his head back and gulped. Mynletta heaved an exasperated sigh.

"Slag-dammit, Keldryn, that was the smartest horse I've ever had. Can't you control your hunger for one instant? Weren't the ones I sent last night good enough?" Her terse tone and mannerisms were gone, she was as close to being Keldryn's equal as anyone.

The enormous black dragon, easily forty times her size, tipped his head to stare at her with one eye, humor evident in his voice.

"Yes, indeed, witch," he replied smoothly. "They were quite satisfying. But, there weren't enough undead to accommodate them all. Horses and undead go so well together. The only thing better is the taste of a certain necromancer's nether regions. Give me a minute to dissolve this pair." He lowered his huge head and extended his forked tongue to lightly flicker over her, smelling/tasting her. "Which of those boys in the valley did you have? They both smelled quite delicious."

Mynletta's eyes lit up as she thought about the previous night's events.

"The older one...his name was...Vargas...Valtrus...something like that. Best orgasm I've had in a long time. I slept like the dead."

Keldryn reared back and roared at the sky, his huge forelegs leaving the ground. In this stance, he was nearly as tall as a mage tower. He spread his enormous wings, his immensely long tail pounding the ground behind him. The shock waves spread into the town on the other side of the gate a quarter league away, windows breaking and things falling from shelves in the buildings. Mynletta clamped her hands over her ears as the bellowing roar continued for several seconds.

Keldryn Ironhand, High Dracoform and Elder of the Hand of Five began to shrink. His black dragon scales turned to obsidian skin, his wings grew shorter to eventually disappear, his forelegs gradually changed into five-fingered hands with pointed needle-sharp nails, the enormous rear legs shortened into slender human-like legs, the crest of his head becoming a shoulder-length mop of pure white hair.

"Why don't you ever give me a warning before you do that?" Mynletta asked, fingering an ear. "Last time you did it, I was deaf for a week afterward. Why must it always be this particular form? A gladiator would be nice, once in a while...broad chest, shaggy brown hair, unshaven, bulging muscles..."

Before her stood a white-haired, obsidian elf clad in dragon scale armor. A dark elf. The dark elves lived in massive cavern complexes far below the ground, in complete control of the underworld.

He stepped forward and tipped her chin up to give her a peck on the lips.

"I made a blood-oath to an old friend as his dying wish." He turned to look at the closed gates behind him. "The people in there are scared shitless that we're going to raze the place. I've assured their mayor that they don't matter to us, but they keep sending gifts to us anyway. Just last night, before you arrived at your current location, they sent out a mule laden with every jewel in the place. Nice gesture and greatly appreciated."