Blackheart

The Return

Alexander looked over at the city. Most of the buildings were either destroyed from fire, siege weaponry, or merely dilapidated. As time eroded the buildings, they began to suffer from lack of upkeep and repair. The sight of the once proud city of Palethorn slowly becoming ruins...it filled Alexander with determination to restore it once more.

"Ah, the heroes approach! Are you ready? I will need you to direct me to your...'Citadel'."

Leianna smirked. "Heroes, eh? Heh, I could get used to that."

"Now, now." Lexius seemed uneasy to hear himself wrapped up in boasts. "Let's not get carried away now! Anyway, it's rather close, so don't worry."

The dragon smiled. "Excellent. When you are able, we shall be off."

The group began climbing onto the large dragon, one at a time. Senci went first, needing a boost from the others. Lexius second, Leianna third, and Alexander last. As the knight settled into place on the dragon's back, he nodded. "I believe we're all ready. Tourthun?" The dragon cracked a toothy grin.

"You had better hold on!"

In a moment, the dragon's wings unfurled as the beast launched itself off the cliff edge, and into the sky. Alexander had a tight grip on the dragon, so the sudden wind battering against him merely made him brace against it. Senci and Lexius appeared to be less fortunate, however.

The kobold yelped as he tumbled backwards, launching into the Lexius. The priest had to support Senci with one arm to keep the kobold from tumbling to the rocky land below, desperately clinging onto the dragon with his other hand.

"God above! Senci!" Senci merely yelled in response to the priest.

"I'm slipping, I'm slipping!"

"I've got you! Don't let go!"

Alexander bit his lip as the two continued struggling, torn. While he felt anxiety and fear from watching the two fumbling warriors try to prevent falling to their deaths, the great momentum, the wind hitting his face, the fact he was literally riding a dragon...Alexander was elated. Split between joy and terror, the knight began to feel adrenaline pump through him.

"Everything okay back there?" The dragon shot a quick look over his shoulder as he continued flying.

"We're fine!" Leianna yelled rather matter-of-factly to the dragon. "Come on you buffon, hold still and get a grip..." Leianna reached over and helped Lexius support Senci. "You're not slipping anymore, grab on and let this poor bastard worry about keeping himself safe." The cleric seemed completely oblivious to her own safety, completely sitting up and letting go of the dragon's back.

"Leianna, you're not holding on..."

The cleric scoffed at Alexander. "This sap ain't either, someone has to keep these two from becoming a mess on the city roads." Leianna let go of Senci as the kobold finally regained his balanced and leaned forward, bracing against the wind.

"S-sorry! I'm okay now!"

Lexius let out a sigh of relief as he settled back into position. "By the Lord, I thought we were both going for a dive..."

The group slowly settled down as their skyborn journey continued. Leianna pointed at the huge hole, the Citadel's source of light. "There! Land in there." From above, it was quite clear that the walls surrounding it were very high. It seemed likely that it was some kind of ventilation made to air out the sewers without exposing the villagers above to the foul air.

"That hole?" Tourthun seemed confused. "That is 'The Citadel'?"

"There's more below," Alexander assured.