I Guess I'm a Dragon Now (Part 1)

The Fate of Family

"Who is he?" One of the mercenaries asked as Ergen finally regrouped with them, or what was left of them anyway as only four were left. And as he noticed their numbers, Ergen severally hoped that there wasn't a third dungeon that they had to explore as he didn't think that the mercenaries would last through another adventure. Though judging by Sera's new sword and shield, the could have possibly succeeded already.

"I don't know, but he was some kind of mage." Rae replied softly as she floated over the figure to provide light for the others. "Do I have to do this for long? I'm really tired you know..."

"Just give us a few more moments, please." Sera asked before she bent down and attempted to remove the man's metal mask that he'd worn underneath of his hood. "Not many mages are capable of such high class magic as those explosions, and even fewer would be willing to be inside of a goblin village... Let's see just who he is-"

With her eyes widening in surprise as she finally unmasked the man, Sera took a step backwards and everyone looked at her reaction with curiosity.

"What is it? Do you recognize him?" Rae asked.

"The man himself, no. But the markings..." Sera replied softly.

"They're of Ligan's Magic Council." Another older mercenary replied after recognizing the tattoos on the mage's face. "This man must have been sent here by King Emric."

"But why?" Rae asked. "What could King Emric possibly want with a bunch of goblins?"

"Let's find out." Sera stated after recovering, and she soon was hovering over the mage's body while checking his pockets, pulling out several poisons and potions before she finally came across what looked like a journal. And after undoing the leather straps holding it together, all it took was for a few minutes before the journal dropped out of her hands and she started looking frantically at the buildings around the village.

"Check each of the structures, now!" Sera commanded in what almost seemed like a panic, and once again the mercenaries reacted instantly to her orders. And Ergen did as well, wondering just what had gotten her so worked up before he moved a ways away and ripped the top off of one the buildings with his claws. The structures themselves weren't that sturdy, being made from animal hide, bones and straw. And thankfully Ergen didn't need any light to be able to see what was inside as he seemed to have discovered a warehouse of some kind that was completely packed full of dried meats and water barrels. The next building contained a horribly messy barracks for the creatures and then Ergen regretfully found their restroom. And though all of his searching, Ergen didn't know what had gotten Sera so worked up before he heard one of the mercenaries shouting in the distance.

"What are elves doing all the way out here..." Ergen heard Rae ask as he walked up to the building that they were all surrounding. One of the mercenaries was kneeling down on the ground in an attempt to empty the contents of his stomach, and Sera had a grim look on her face as she gazed towards the buildings entrance.

"I don't know... but at least they didn't have to suffer for long." One of the other mercenaries responded.

"Rae, do you have access to fire magic?" Sera suddenly asked.

"Y-yeah... a little." Rae responded.

"Burn this building to the ground then. These people's spirits don't deserve to stay in this evil place any longer." Sera replied, and Rae nodded silently before she landed on the roof of the building to do her work. "Keep searching! Hopefully we'll find some survivors!"

After hearing that there would be more people in the village somewhere, Ergen started ripping the roofs off of the buildings rapidly, only pausing for a split second for each one to check it's contents before moving onto the next. He continued to do this until he eventually found a goblin nursery, and he couldn't believe what he found inside.

Among a swarm of tiny goblins no larger than small dogs, five human and elven women were currently being eaten by all of the monster's offspring. All of their throats had been slit relatively recently, and Ergen knew that the goblins must have killed them when they first realized that they were being attacked so that they couldn't be rescued. The women must have been imprisoned here to nurse the goblin youth at first, but now that they were dead, the monsters hadn't hesitated in beginning to consume their bodies entirely. And after looking at the sight for a few more seconds, even Ergen, who was used to gore from his carnivore diet, had to turn away as he felt sick to his stomach.

This world... while Ergen had once thought that it was so full of fantasy and adventure, it seemed as if it could be just as corrupt as any other place imaginable. And while Ergen had read before that goblins had done stuff like this, he'd secretly been hoping that it wouldn't be the case for this world, but now... Forgetting his own troubles for the time being, Ergen let out a loud and short call to alarm the others, and soon everyone had gathered beside the building that he was standing over. Sera and the mercenaries went inside first, though when Rae attempting to fly to follow them, Ergen quickly blocked her in his hand to stop her while shaking his head at her puzzled expression. She didn't need to see that... no one did. And soon, the mercenaries all retreated from the nursery while holding their mouths, with Sera appearing afterwards seeming to be just as pale as the moon above them.

"S-Sister Janet..." Sera almost seemed to whimper as her eyes started to water, and Ergen inhaled deeply as he realized that she must have known one of the women.

"King Emric... did he sell these people to the goblins?" One of the mercenaries asked. "Why would he do such a thing?! There aren't only elves, but his own subjects as well!"

"They weren't sold..." And older mercenary replied. "From what the journal said, they were 'gifts' to encourage the goblins to attack the Demon King."

"His own people... what kind of king sacrifices his own people for such a thing?!" The first mercenary asked with his mouth aghast.

"He's no king of mine..." Sera's trembling voice spoke before the proud commander herself finally collapsed on her knees as tears poured freely down her face.

"Sera-" Rae spoke softly.

"Sister Janet... Father Ray... Everyone.... Everyone from my village is here. They were all supposed to have just been executed, but they were fed to goblins?! And for what, just to try and persuade some creatures to become a nuisance to the Demon King's army?! Was that all their lives were worth?!" Sera desperately looked around as she asked a question that no one could possibly have an answer to. "I- I served him! I- What the hell does being a knight even mean when they serve a king like... like this?! I- I don't know... How could he-?!"

"Sera, calm down!" Rae suddenly flew over to Sera's shoulder and casted some kind of magic on the broken woman.

"I- I can't even remember all of the missions that I've ever fulfilled in Emric's name. Was I blind?! Just what have I willing done just because that man ordered me to do it?!" Sera asked with her voice cracking, and Ergen was worried that the woman may have been starting to go insane.

"Sera! Please calm down! You need to think things over rationally!" Rae yelled out, though the already exhausted fairy suddenly fell off of Sera's shoulder, seeming to faint from the overuse of her magic. Thankfully however, Sera seemed to be coherent enough to catch Rae before holding the fairy close to her for several minutes. Both Ergen and the mercenaries were silent as they attempted to give the commander time to process what had happened, and after half an hour, Sera warily stood up on her feet and handed Rae to the nearest mercenary.

"I know that I have no right to ask this of you..." Sera said in a quiet yet determined voice before turning and looking Ergen in the eyes. "I attacked both you and your mother when you were just a hatchling, and seeing as you're alone, I may have even succeeded in killing her..."

'You're partially right.' Ergen replied evenly in his mind. While the incident had mostly faded from his mind by now, he'd always held a soft hatred towards the woman in front of him. Though currently, he felt nothing but sympathy.

"I shouldn't ask you for anything, but I need help, and both you and the Demon King are the only one's that can help me." Sera said determinedly. "Please... I want you to help me end Ligan's corruption once and for all. I want you to help me kill Emric."