Raffle prize for  Aeryl-Dragonlink, who requested a scene of my good self knocked flat while he protects me with his wind magic! Art was done by the talented  Lerion. Aeryl and I chatted back and forth to put a story together for it, and while he did the majority of the work on it, I rewrote what he had from my own point of view. See his original version from his POV here!

---

I've been contacted by beings from other worlds. Portals opened up in thin air to relay messages. Images from beyond time conveyed in a lake's reflection. Little animals enchanted to seek me out and speak with their master's voice. Ancient knowledge etched into the crumbling walls of long-forgotten ruins.

So I barely flinched when I heard an unfamiliar voice whisper directly into my mind.

"I need your help with a quest of the utmost importance," the voice said.

I groaned and rubbed my eyes as I rose. "Not even as much as a 'hello' first, eh?" I growled. "Straight to business? And you didn't have to catch me right after my nap..."

If the voice could hear me, it didn't bother replying. It only gave me an image in my mind, the image of a humble but well-to-do tavern, just a little off the road between forest and plain.
"And you expect me to know where this place is?"
The voice responded this time, with some set of numbers. Whatever they meant, whatever they related to, whatever I was supposed to do with them, it didn't bother to say.
Then, an exasperated sigh in my mind. "Go to the forest's edge," it said. "Travel south-west until you see the tallest peak of the Amethyst Mountain Range. Go west and you'll come to the road which will lead you here."
"You should've just led with that," I responded as I gathered together my gear. Armour fastened, sword and shield upon my back, and rations at the ready, I took off.

---

The tavern was small and sparse. A few patrons clinked glasses at the bar, while a group on the opposite wall threw darts with hushed laughter. As I entered, many eyes turned to me. I cringed a little at my sudden conspicuousness. The doorway was small enough that my wings scraped against the frame as I entered, and the clank of my armour echoed off every wall. Still, though a sight of interest, I tried to lower myself as I hurried in, making no threat.

Standing out in the crowd by being the only ones obviously not trying to stand out was a figure in a grey coat, hunched over his glass. He was accompanied by a much smaller dragon, a little blue fellow whose head would barely reach my chest. He didn't appear especially young, though the way his eyes darted between me and the door gave him an air of caution. The old man in the grey robe rose a hand and beckoned for me, and I approached and took my seat beside him.

"It was you who called me, wasn't it?" I said, seizing a mug. I looked to the little blue dragon. "I see I'm not the only one."
"My name is Herizal," the old man said. "A simple old druid seeking to help his fellow man as best he can..."

An old druid, of course. In my experience, druids came in two varieties. The peaceful, helpful, loving types who would always help soothe a traveller's aching muscles and tired limbs, and the secretive, mysterious types who would just as soon command a tangle of vines to tear you to shreds for daring set foot outside.
"...conjure the spirits and bring peace to the environment," the old man was saying. I shook my head slightly and tried to focus. "However, I need an escort. An experience explorer who can lead the way," he said, looking at the blue dragon. "And a brave and experience warrior who can protect me on the way," he went on, laying a friendly hand on my shoulder. "Are you ready to follow me? Of course, you will be rewarded accordingly."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. This was clearly the second type of druid. He had an air about him. He was too friendly, too direct. There were so many other ways to get his needed 'escort' than to steal someone directly from their dreams and speaking into their mind. No one who ever spoke directly into my mind without consent was ever good.

Or...maybe he was just awkward. I was often just awkward, after all. If there was any chance he really needed...
I offered my hand to the old man. "I certainly have nothing better to do this afternoon. You've got yourself a warrior."

The little blue dragon looked back toward the tavern door, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead. He was almost trembling, poor little guy. I quietly shuffled out of the way, giving him room to leave without argument.
"My name is Aeryl," he said. "I-I am not the greatest of warriors, but I will do my best to guide and protect you."

I set down my mug. I should have refused. The poor guy clearly wasn't ready for such a task. He'd only agreed because I already had.

Well, I decided, I'd be sure to have his back every step of the way.

---

I walked the plain beside the old druid, while Aeryl scouted from above. It was an easy enough journey, so far at least. Easy enough that I couldn't quite understand why even an old man needed two escorts.
"Why'd you do it?" I asked Herizal, as Aeryl's shadow swooped over us. "Call upon me like that, I mean. There are plenty of ways you can find an escort."
"I needed the best," he replied with a tired shrug. "Surely you know how your exploits are spoken of in these lands. You have statues, you have windows, you have travelling bards singing your name..."
"Yeah," I said with a chuckle. "Yeah, I'm pretty great. But it still seems a bit extreme. And what about Aeryl?" I looked up at the blue dragon. He gazed back at us and beckoned us onward, letting us know we were on the right path. I underestimated the little guy. He was timid, but he knew his way. "We--"

I was cut off by a sudden howl and moan, as shadowy forms rose from the broken plain. Immediately, I blocked Herizal with an arm, drawing my sword in the other.
"Who are you?" I growled. "What are you doing here? Are you serving someone?"
I was answered by silence from the shadowed figured. More wretched moanin from behind, from all sides. I turned and drew out my shield, staying close to the group. The creatures were all around us.

I bellowed out a battleroar and lunged forward, cutting a wide swathe with my sword. I couldn't hope to cut down all of them, but if I could clear an opening for my companions to escape through, that was all I needed. I barely even noticed what they were doing in response. The world fell away, as it always did when I was gripped in the throes of battle. Just me, my enemy, and my steel. Steel which whirled and slashed in a storm, slicing the creatures into a smoky black haze.

A haze which wavered in the air and coalesced back into the vague shapes of the creatures.

I growled and lunged forward again, shield raised to barge through them. But before I could take as much as two steps, the ground rumbled. A powerful tremour shook and lurched me off my feet. My sword slipped from my grasp as I collapsed heavily onto my back. I instinctively raised my arm defensive in fron of my face to halt any counterattack.
"Hrng...I can't...reach them...!"
More shadows rose from the ground. I reached for my fallen sword, but two of the creatures rose up to block me. More of them crowded in around me, coalescing, drawing ever closer...

Then a group of them vanished in a whorl of smoke, and I could see again. Aeryl stood there, his hands radiating with some faint magic.
"My magic works on them!" he called, the power radiating out from him. "Step forward, I-I'll cover you!"
I rolled aside, and a swarm of shadows dissipated upon the hard ground where I lay a heartbeat ago. I grasped my weapons and rose to my feet, keeping myself close to Herizal. The old druid pointed forward, through the shadowy mass.
"We shouldn't be too far not," he called. "And underground recess should be in that direction!"

Some dark spell lashed out of the mass of creatures, aiming at the old druid. I was there in an instant, crouching in front of him with my shield raised. A painful shock rattled through my shield arm as the magic dissipated against the slab of metal, and I seized the old ruid in one arm. Keeping my shield raised, I charged through the mass, dark energy crashing and dissipating before me as I crashed through.

Ï'm going to have...a hard time...holding on much longer...!" Aeryl called from above, as spell after spell evaporated the shadowy beasts.
"We're not far away now, hold on!" the druid answered. Luminous symbols begun to glow to life on the ground before us even as I charged. The ground trembled again, though this time I kept my footing.

A slab of earth arose from the ground, first mere knee-height, then to my chest. Soon it towered over me, a dark gateway yawning open before us.
"It's this way, come in!" Herizal growled.
I opened my wings and roared out as I leapt into the dark passageway, holding the druid protectively as I rolled to a stop.

A mass of shadows crowded in behind us, blocking our view of the outside.
"Aeryl!" I called as they swarmed together, into a single massive beast. Then, a burst of wind dispersed the whole mass, and I could see the wind mage there, on his knees. The glow had vanished from him, and he knelt with his hands on the ground, panting heavily as shadows closed around him.
"Hhh...go in...without me...!"
I raced out of the dark cavern, cutting an arc with my sword. The remaining beasts dispersed into the air, just long enough for me to scoop Aeryl up in my arm before they reformed.
"Not a chance, little guy!" I said as I dartd back in, more shadows writhing behind me. I leapt back through the earthen maw, and then we were alone in the darkness.

---

"...why aren't we being attacked here?" Aeryl said, breaking the silence that hung in the air as we wandered the corridors of the old temple. Deeper in, some magic light had spread throughout the place to illuminate our way forward.
"The shadows were probably trying to protect something present here," the druid said. "To attack us here would be to take the risk of causing their own destruction."

We finally came to a single chamber. The magical light only showed us a low ring around it; the walls rose up into thick darkness. I could only guess how far it extended. Arrayed along the far wall were three stone tombs, engraved in a language I could read and adorned with idols I didn't know.
"So," I said as I approached the tombs. "This was what the shadows were trying to protect, wasn't it? Who were they?"
"...no." Herizal approached the tombs, but stopped well short of them. He fell to his knees in the middle of the burial chamber and dug his claws into the soft, sodden dirt. I watched curiously as he pulled something out. He brushed the dust and dirt of ages from the object, bringing it to shine - a small golden ball, the size of my own fist, glittering with rubies and saphires. Crests of a bygone age adorned its surface.
"This...is the seal of my family. This is the object of my quest."

Aeryl moved in to get a closer look at the treasure. "But...what do you mean...?"
Magical runes lit up the walls of the cave. They drew in close to the orb, dancing around it like moths around a flame. Faster and faster they spun, dizzying to just look at.
The old man didn't take his eyes off the treasure. "I am the last heir of an ancient noble family, the Daryans. We were respected...and feared, perhaps belittled, but our country was among the most prosperous. Until the day when some peasants, tired of their treatment, joined forces with our servants and burned our home. I was the only one to escape alive, taking with me the bodies of my parents and my older sister, as well as the family emblem.
That day, I swore that I would take revenge and bring my family back to life. And so my... experiences began. Of which the Shadows are the result... I ordered them to guard this tomb at all costs."

I stood beside Aeryl, my hand resting on the hilt of my sword in anticipation.

The runes converged upon the golden orb in a dazzling display of light. I shielded my eyes with one hand as the treasure shone like the sun in the old man's hand. "But... in my old age... I came to regret my decisions. The peasants and servants were only rebelling against our treatment, the real culprits... were us. And I had more blood on my hands than any of the people I hated. That's why I decided to come back here, and reverse my curse, and for that... I needed help, because of my intentions the Shadows would have targeted me."

"But...wait," Aeryl said. "The disappearances started a while ago..."

The treasure dropped to the ground in a cloud of dust.
"Over three hundred years ago."
The runes vanished into darkness, absorbed by the golden orb. A soft green light enveloped the old man, who knelt upon the ground with a smile.
"Thank you for helping me so far," he said. "I could never have done what was necessary without you. I have not forgotten my promise...your reward is the seal of my family. It is now just a golden orb, but you should be able to get a good price for it." The man was fading away into nothingness as he spoke, like a nightmare banished by the light of morning. "Do not repeat my mistakes," he said. "Revenge is always futile."

I looked up from the little treasure to where the man was...or had been. Now there lay only a dusty grey cloak.