Kempfer on the Brea'ol River
Our first stop in our trip toward the capital city of Helios was the small farming town of Kempfer.
It was ruled over by the king's cousin: Prince James Orelious IV, Duke of Kempfer, and its main claim to fame were it's farms that specialized in medicinal plants.
Though, I was told that many farmers here also grew several different root vegetables.
I had to admit that it had been quite some time since my last salad, but, even as a dragon, the thought of having French fries again was rather tempting.
Mind you, I had no clue if a dragon could even digest vegetables, but I could not see a massive fire dinosaur being taken out by carrots and lettuce, so I was fairly sure that it would be fine. Probably give me gas though.
My first hint that we were coming upon Kempfer was when I started to hear water.
Captain Keith Loric had already told me that the city-or town really- had been built along the Brea'ol River, where the large snaking body of fast flowing water narrowed the most: just before it's bend.
So I was not surprised that, when we crested a hill, I saw my first ever house in this strange new world.
It appeared to be constructed with dark colored timber and some kind of plaster and it had blue tiles of some kind on its high, slopped roof.
It looked quaint, pretty and very much like something I would not fit in and also not break everything.
This pretty pink dragon was no longer fit for human habitations.
Not unless I took my other form, at any rate.
"Good." Loric sighed to my left. He had taken a brief rest in the supply wagon a couple hours ago, and had just recently resumed his post at my side.
Or, rather, at the royal carriages side, but I assumed I was currently occupying the spot he normally would be marching in so that I could converse with the carriages occupants.
He had not complained, so I didn't bother bring it up with the man.
"I was starting to think we would not make it here before night fall. "
"Er, will it really be alright for me to enter the town?" I asked, still unsure. "Won't the towns people be upset to have a dragon in their streets?"
"No, you should be just fine Allura. By no means are dragons common in Kempfer, but they are not unheard of either.
It is one of the more important bastions of the Orelious kingdom, and therefore, has Dragoons passing through a couple times a year.
It is not, however, designed around the comfort of dragon kind, I am afraid. "
I blinked my big green eyes at the man, confused. "Comfort?" I had just spent the last couple months of my life either in a tree, or under one. I hardly think comfort would be too much of an issue.
"He means that, unlike Helios, Kempfer was not constructed with dragons in mind.
" I heard Leon say from within his gilded, wooden cage on wheals.
Princess Serenity had fallen asleep some time ago in the lap of Hannah, who had followed her into the dream world not long after.
I assumed that the bandit attack had taken a lot out of the pair of them.
But Leon had stayed awake, and though we spoke, I could tell that being cooped up did not suit the prince well at all.
"The streets are not wide enough to accommodate a full grown dragon, nor are any of the main buildings equipped to cater to them either. "
"I won't fit?" I asked, suddenly feeling like I might have a weight problem. Which was stupid. I was a dang dragon, I was supposed to be big. Besides, I thought I looked rather stunning if I did say so myself!
Ah, dragon vanity at it's finest. As a human I had not cared overly much how I looked, not even bothering with makeup unless my sister had threatened me with an extra 'good time' if I didn't at least put in a little effort for our get togethers.
But, lately I had caught myself admiring the way the sun played on my scales, or how my horns looked oh so very clean and white in the reflection of the lake.
Loric chuckled, and flashed me a soft smile. I got the feeling it was not an expression he wore often, but really should, he was quite the handsome man, even if human males were no longer my cup of tea.
"You need not worry. Duke James' estate is well equipped to accommodate dragons.
Perhaps not as well as the capital, but enough to be getting by.
And we should only be here for two or three days before moving on.
As for the village itself, well, you are still young and should fit passably if the need arises.
It doesn't hurt that you appear to be of a line of slimmer dragon-kind too. "
Slimmer dragon-kind? Hmm, perhaps there were different variants of dragon body types, just as there were different types of humans.
I was looking forward to learning more about my kind once I arrived at Helios.
My siblings were my first priority, but I was sure that I would not be able to track them as easily as I had originally hoped, and would likely have to wait for a promising lead to come in first.
After passing that first homestead, it was not long before many others came into sight; not to mention the Brea'ol river itself. It was a strip of swift blue along the left side of the road, while to my right were varying wide open spaces or farmsteads.
Every now and again we would pass by wide eyed humans, often in cotton or linen work cloths, carrying the tools of their trade.
They would all stop what they were doing- clear off the road if they had been on it- and bow to the passing royal procession.
It made me both self conscious and a little annoyed when I saw that, most- if not all- of them then proceeded to watch me walk by.
Usually their mouths were open wide enough that it would not surprise me if a bird could fly into them.
I really couldn't blame them, however. I mean, if I had seen a rosy pink dragon strolling down the dirt road I would probably stop and stare too.
"There is Duke James' estate." Said Leon, now forgoing all pretense and fairly hanging out of the window of the carriage.
Loric did not seem impressed, but allowed it for now.
I assumed it was far less likely that we would be attacked now that we had reached Kempfer.
Though, that did not stop the man from being even more on guard, scanning every patch of shrubbery for assailants, and every passing face for deceit. At least the man was vigilant.
As for me, I had been using my Detection> skill as we traveled, though it did not give me much information.
I hadn't seen any more bandits on the road, and, as for the villagers, all it said above each head was Kempfer Resident>, which I could hardly call informative.
Why had I spent so many skill points on this thing again?
The estate was, I assumed, the large building I could just see above the roofs in the distance.
We were steadily making out way away from the farms and getting into the actual town, which appeared to be built on a bit of a hillock near the river's edge.
It looked way smaller than any town or city I had been to in my pervious life, but I would guess it had about two or three thousand people in it.
And that was bigger that I would guess a medieval town had before coming here.
Some how, in my mind, all primitive towns had, maybe, four hundred people, all of whom knew one another, and were in each other's business.
But, thinking logically, and not idyllically, this made more sense.
It wasn't too long before my claws were clacking on cobbled streets, and I was now having to deal with more eyes than a few passing farmers.
Loric had been correct in saying that I could fit on the streets between the closely packed, three story, wooden buildings.
But It was too snug for me to walk side by side with the carriage anymore.
If I tried I would have to trample the gawking villagers who were crowed close to the the shops and houses, making way for the procession.
I was now walking behind the cart, which was both blocking me from immediate view, while also causing my appearance to be a bit of a jump scare for the unsuspecting villagers when the finally did catch sight of me.
"Captain Loric!" I heard a friendly voice call out, accompanied by the clatter of hooves on cobbled roads.
"Ah, Gaius." I heard Loric say, sounding relieved. Behind the carriage, I could not see him at first, but after a second, I saw a man seated on a white horse reign in his steed alongside Loric, making the beast walk slowly next to the captain.
Gaius was a man seemingly about the same age as Loric, but with brown hair and wearing a uniform in a darker blue color. The style was the same, with a coat and long boots.
"We were starting to worry." Laughed Gaius, turning his head just enough that I could make out one green eyes and a rather dashing smile.
Loric reached out a hand an patted the side of Gaius' horse. "I have no doubt. We ran into some trouble on the road, but have made it out in one piece. Still, I would like to get the Prince and Princess to the estate as soon as possible."
I saw a look of seriousness pass over Gaius' face, and he nodded sternly, eyes flashing to the carriage briefly. "I will hurry back to the Duke and let him know. Everything is already set for their arrival."
"er, Gaius, before you leave...?"
"Yes?" The soldier asked, looking as if her were about to spur the horse ahead.
I watched as Loric looked back my way, appearing both amused and tired. "You may want to inform Duke James that he will have an additional guest."
"What?" Confused, the man craned around in his saddle, no doubt wondering who may be tagging along with a royal procession.
Not wanting to seem like I was intentionally hiding, I decided to snake my long neck around and peek out from behind the carriage.
"Hello." I said in my best, cheerful voice, waving a clawed paw for good measure.
That hadn't been the smartest idea, given I needed all four paws for walking and I just about tripped over my own feet in the attempt.
Luckily I avoided embarrassing myself by doing a somewhat awkward hop before setting my paw back on the ground where it belonged.
It was comical, seeing the mounted man's eyes widen and his face to grow a little pale. "A dragon!" He gasped. "You had a Dragoon with you?" He asked, head panning from side to side, likely looking for a rider.
"No, Allura is a wild dragon, and speaks only for herself." Loric stated in a somewhat stern voice. I guess he was just as irritated that the other man seemed to think that I needed a human with me. I was not a pet, after all.
"Er, right, sorry about that Miss Allura..." He said, eyes darting back to me, offering my an apologetic bow of the head. He looked back to Loric. "I will inform the Duke immediately." He said, then spurred his horse forward, the sound of its hooves soon lost tot he distance.
Loric sighed and looked over his shoulder at me. "Sorry about that, Allura. Most people who have not attended Dragoon training do not know too much about interacting with dragons. I beg that you forgive any unintentional rudeness."
I was about to brush it off when I heard Leon speak, his tone cold.
"That is no excuse Captain. Even children of Captain Gaius's station know at least the basics, like not adding honorifics to a dragon's name.
Had any other wild dragon been here, he may well have found flames licking the heels of that horse. "
"Er, honorifics?" I asked, not really sure what he was getting at. Did he mean when Gaius called me 'Miss'. True, I did feal a slight twitch of irritation over it, but had just dismissed it, as when I was a human it would have been simple politeness for someone to have called me 'miss'.
Craning my neck a little farther, I was able to make out Leon. He was no longer leaning out the widow, but he was looking out, his face half hidden by a curtain. I imagined that he may have had to wave at the crowd or something if they had caught sight of him.
"It is widely known that dragon's take great insult at having human titles and names given to them.
" The prince stated, sighing and loosing the frostily look he had had, instead offering a sad sort of smile.
"To be given a human name would be belittling, especially to wild dragons.
Our dragon partners learn to over look it as time goes on, at least from the ignorant.
But, as I said, Gaius is from a noble family, and there fore had the best of educations. He should have known better."
"Oh." I said. "truthfully, I did feel a twinge of irritation for a second. But I am not mad. I don't think he meant any ill will behind it, after all."
"That is vary gracious of you Allura." Said Loric, his eyes back on the road ahead.
"But I will be informing Duke James of it all the same.
You may be willing to over look it, but the next dragon to pass though may not.
I am sure the last thing the Duke needs is an irritated dragon burning down half their crops because he was insulted. "
I chuckled nervously, but said nothing more.
I guess that my fine, scaly people, were just as fearsome as one would expect.
I could not imagine torching a town just because a man dared to call me 'Miss'.
.. Then again, had he of called me 'Little Miss', I may have growled at him enough to spook his horse.
Maybe I did have a dragon's pettiness after all.