Zuuben

The two pirate dragons sat on either side of the campfire, passing a canteen of water back and forth. It had been a few months since their clan had collapsed following the death of the clan patriarch, and they had already managed to wander through the Tangled Woods and fly over the Sea of a Thousand Currents, only making short stopovers at convenient islands. They considered building a ship and sailing through the Sea itself, but the risk of being found and destroyed by a Water clan was simply too great.

So, they had resorted to petty theft. A few bits of treasure here and there, a few scraps of food. Not the sort of thing that any established clan would ever miss. If they asked, those clans would probably just give them to the pirates, but the chance of them saying “no” wasn’t a chance Orphaner was willing to take.

There were some clans that weren’t aware of them and had taken them in, but they only ever stayed a few days. It wasn’t safe to stick around when you’d spent the past few days filching whatever valuables you could and putting them in your pack. Especially after stealing several pounds of raw iron from a fiery blacksmith.

And now here they were, sitting around a campfire in the cold night of the outer Ashfall Wastes. They were reasonably far away from the Flamecaller’s Forge, which most dragons just called “that huge volcano,” so they were actually quite chilly. It amazed Orphaner that many deserts could change character that quickly, from overheated to quite cold.

“It’s cold.” Orphaner had a love for stating the obvious. He couldn’t help but complain about problems, even when he wasn’t the only one experiencing them. “Obviously it’s cold, cap’n. It’s nighttime in the outer Wastes.” Zuuben was usually – but not always – the voice of reason; she was the one who had raised a fuss about becoming a pirate in the first place.

The dark-colored Guardian heaved himself up to his feet. “If only I could turn water to rum. Then I’d be a bit warmer.” “You know that I’d smack it out of your claws before you could take a drink. You know what that stuff does to you.” Orphaner sighed; it was true, albeit annoying, that he was slightly allergic to all forms of alcohol.

“Well, come on then. I spent last night scoping out a clan just on the other side of the border to the Shifting Expanse.” Zuuben shook her head. “Not a Lightning clan, sir. It’s just not worth it. They’re organized to a fault, there’s no way they won’t notice something missing.”

Orphaner looked at her, a glint of excitement in his eye. “We won’t be there long enough for them to notice.” Zuuben rolled her eyes. “That’s what you said the last three times, but aye aye cap’n.” Orphaner nodded. Zuuben might be brash, loud, and a bit sarcastic, but she was loyal. And that was something he appreciated out of his “business partner.”

They started moving out, skirting the northern border of the Wastes heading towards the Shifting Expanse. Two days they walked and flew, resting at night when the ground wasn’t too hot to touch. Eventually, they reached the southeastern border of the Shifting Expanse, and beheld the sharp delineation between the two elemental regions.

Orphaner checked his weaponry. A wheellock pistol and a short, single-edged curved sword. Zuuben had no weapons; she preferred to fight tooth and claw, and she was quite good at it. She and Orphaner sparred often, to keep themselves in top form.

As they wandered towards where Orphaner thought this clan – the “two fish” clan, or something like that (a strange name for a Lightning clan, but then again what did he know, being from Light) – Zuuben started to look very, very nervous.

“Cap’n, something doesn’t feel right. It’s daytime, right? I didn’t lose track of time?” “It’s midday, Zuuben.” “Look up, cap’n. Why is the sky purple?” Orphaner tilted his head skyward, and was surprised to see that the sky was a darker shade of purple than he’d ever seen it. “Something to do with magic is going on. I’m not sure whether staying put or going further is the best way to handle it.”

“I vote we stay put, cap’n. We don’t know if it’ll get worse up ahead. I’m already shaking.” Orphaner nodded. Ever the voice of reason, Zuuben. They set up their campfire and settled down to rest until the next day. The agreed that if the weird magic hadn’t cleared up by tomorrow, they would keep going anyway.

They both woke at the same time to a harsh screech. Zuuben leapt to her feet, claws at the ready. Orphaner drew his sword, holding it in front of him as a defense against whatever was about to come at them. But neither of them were truly prepared.

A harpy flew out of the brush, barreling recklessly at them. It trailed a dark-colored mist behind it, somehow both purple and black at the same time without being a mix of those two colors. It flew directly towards Zuuben, again letting out that loud screech.

Zuuben wasted no time in throwing herself to the right side, away from Orphaner, as the harpy flew past her. It turned as it passed, and spat some dark liquid at her, which she had to roll over to avoid – possibly straining her wings, although she didn’t feel like that had happened.

Orphaner saw this and when the creature slowed down to expectorate, aimed and fired his wheellock.
The bullet caught the creature directly on the wing, and it tumbled to the ground. The gruff Guardian spared his companion a single glance to ensure she had escaped the disgusting projectile, then advanced on the creature, sword at the ready.

He was caught completely off guard by the creature’s reaction, however. Rather than retreating – as he expected a Beast to do – it lunged straight off the ground and stabbed him in the chest with its beak. He bellowed in pain, bringing his sword down directly on the thing’s skull.

Zuuben saw her captain get hit by the Harpy, but before she could even react it was lying dead on the ground. Out of every orifice of its body a dark sludge started to coalesce and move on its own. She jumped on it, tearing it to shreds and destroying every trace of it before turning back to her compatriot.

He was unconscious, bleeding from his wound. She wrapped him up as best as she could, and took him the only place she could think of: the very clan they had intended to rob. It was a long journey, and a hard one carrying him on her back.

He never regained consciousness through the entire journey, and she had to change his bandages every day. But they made it, and when she explained what had happened, they took them in without a second thought.

Over the month that it took Orphaner to regain consciousness, Zuuben formed many relationships within the clan, even giving gifts out of her own satchel of treasure. She had found a new home, finally, and when Orphaner awoke, she begged him to at least let her stay.

Orphaner simply sat up, looked at her and said “You’re me first mate. I’d never leave you behind, Zuuben. Where you stay, I stay.” It was a new chapter for them, an end to running. And they were happy.

[story by BlackBeltGI]