Dragon Wolf Hero
Chapter 11
The ground below the mountains was grassland stretching for miles from north to south and into the mid-lands.
Hordes of monsters from the dungeon rushed to the surface and gathered into an army at the northern mountain pass.
In the distance above a mountain valley, with a wingspan much longer than common birds, the first dragon was sighted patrolling the skies.
The caravan was pushed to continue south without looking back or stopping for any reason. The top advisors transformed into the wolf pack and followed at a distance to keep watch.
Eohnin discussed his knowledge of the situation with the leaders of the regional powers of the middle-lands. The conversations were similar and he often read from his notes. “Vor issued a request to leave the northern lands before the first snowfall and build settlements along the caravan road.”
The leaders would talk about the king and his use of magic for personal gain.
Eohnin would respond. “The transformation magic is well known among the top advisors from the northern kingdom and the wolf pack was highly praised for saving the caravan from the monster hordes. But there are many who still fear the dragon form of the king.”
The first sign of help arrived with an advanced scouting parties from the middle-lands, with the knights of local regions close behind.
The old caravan road was guarded by a series of small stone forts. The protection of the local knights led to the rise of villages in the grasslands, as predicted by the former king.
Cindaln was elected the regional leader, but not given a formal title.
The settlers were primarily refugees from the northern kingdom who were surprised to discover the fertile soil, perfect to start small farms and raise livestock. The monster hordes were becoming less of a threat.
The towns in the midlands recruited anyone willing to travel north and the plains were soon famous as a battleground to stop hordes of monster, attacks from unimagined creatures.
The last great mage was brought from the Island of Illam to the northern plains and housed in a fortress in the middle-lands, a tower on a small island in a glacial lake. He started a library to research the monsters and adventurers soon made the tower their first stop on the road north.
Eohnin remained the ambassador in the human world. The small group of elves assigned to guard the mage refused to speak with the humans in the area.
The legend of the great king of the northern lands descending into the dungeon to find the core became a myth with in a generation.
The return of Wilstra from the dungeons was cause for celebration. The dwarf kingdom began to send word to the elves and the humans from the small settlements they developed in conquered sections of the underground dungeon.
Wilstra refused to answer questions about Sennranor and the human king of the northern lands, but did send a message to Eohnin about the journey to the core.
The dwarves refused to speak the name ‘Vor’ in polite conversation, but would mutter the name as a curse. Over time, a tradition developed around his use of transformation magic to control the dragons. The elves researched the possibility, while the last great mage continued to manipulate the power of the core.
The adventurer guilds and small villages established along the road to the mountains from the central lands, to the midlands, to the northern lands quickly became small city states as the lure of treasure in the dungeon brought waves upon waves of settlers.
The monsters were categorized for the power of their attacks, the difficulty of the battles, and the value of the treasure in their hordes. The scholars among the humans questioned where all the treasure was stolen from, but the occasional passing dwarf would remind them all was stolen from their fallen kingdom in the caves under the mountains.
It was twenty years of chaos, the monsters were pushed back into the dungeon by adventurers, until the shadow of a dragon was spotted near the tower of the last great mage. The dungeon gates closed and the monsters retreated.
© J. Bateman
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