Moving Mountains

16

.^^ more Josef Sketches ^^

— Josef —

I watched the group of people down at the bottom of the cliff attempt to climb, several times over, laughing at their fumbling along with the small group of orphans that lived up here with me.

Totaling six, they were all around 8-12 years old, a mix of human and dwarf races, but no elves. (Apparently elf births were so rare that any orphans were instantly given homes.)

"Oh, hey, that one is climbing pretty good..." one of the Dwarves hummed, pointing at a person that was using rock-axes to climb properly up the sheer surface.

'How High can I drop from to scare them without breaking my legs?'

'Answer: about 200ft. Definitely not from this height. Also, you can fly. Don't be an idiot.' She sighed.

'I appreciate your faith in me.' I replied dryly, and looked at the tree. 'Kick him off before he gets too high.'

'Done.' A piece of the rock broke as he reached for his next handhold, and he plummeted to the ground.

One of the others caught him, and I nodded, looking at my wards. "Hold down the fort, eh? Make sure the air stays clear. The Wyverns will help."

They looked amongst their fellows, then back at me. "How are you gonna get down without the lift?" One of them asked.

I laughed heartily and slowly fell backwards, diving towards the ground and letting my Draconic form rip through me, then flapped once, breaking my momentum at about 200 ft, then dropping the final bit and crashing down with an echoing sound, (not unlike a boulder falling,) next to the group of people, with Intimidating Presence at full throttle.

"Well hello there... Might I enquire as to why you are attempting to gain unlawful entry into my territory?" I asked casually, looming over them and slowly surrounding the entire group with my wings, walling them in and shading the small area entirely.

Only two of the people didn't immediately show their sheer terror, (the one who'd climbed the wall and the one who caught him,) and they immediately reached for their weapons, but I snapped my fingers, and a gust of wind shoved the blades back into their sheathes.

"Answer the question, please. Further aggression will result in serious consequences." I growled, showing all of my teeth, then let my skin return, and my clothes cover me quickly, though the wings stayed out.

They seemed confused and surprised by my sudden transformation, but quickly recovered. The most opulently dressed of them all cleared his throat, straightening his silken clothes, and spoke in a snooty, overplayed accent, making me immediately despise him, even before I heard his name.

"Well! I will have you know-"

"You are on my land, little man, as I am Josef Von Eisenberg, Duke Elect of the Royal Court; ergo, you will 'have me know', nothing! Rather, you will speak to me in a manner which denotes your rank in comparison with mine, or I will decapitate you where you stand for both your rudeness and your attempt to scale my mountain without permission." I raised an eyebrow slowly, keeping my voice level.

The others relaxed their grips on their weapons, and knelt, instantly showing the proper respect, and he bowed his head a little. "My apologies, I assumed I was speaking to a servant, due to your brutish appearance and violent entrance." He smirked slightly.