Ardaik 18th - Tulot, Serellia

"Ya caun't be serious!" balked Moyra as she chased after Liam. "I caun't believe you're even considerin' keepin' that brute under the castle!"

"You know what they say, Love," Liam replied solemnly, "Keep your enemies close."

Flann followed behind both of his parents but kept his distance. He understood his father's thinking; at least, he thought he did. Auganull had been a terror for them, but they had dragons to combat him, and the aid of a Citadel mage. While the responsibility of playing host to his imprisonment was a heavy one, who else had the ability or, more importantly, the desire to do so?

"Yer Majesty," Iain interjected from where he trailed behind Flann, "It's goin' to be a bear just keepin' folks away. I heard Spar's already had to place twelve of the guard under arrest, an a few have already been sent to the infirmary fer injuries, either from the beastie himself or from the damned townspeople!"

"I say he's the Citadel's problem!" Moyra said. "They want em' alive, then let them be responsible for 'em!"

"Aye, and I made sure ta make that abundantly clear ta the high cleric." Liam's tone strained in a way with Moyra that it did with no one else. "Lady Yuli's going to take full charge of Auganull while he's here and move him as soon as arrangements are made."

"An' how long'al that be? Hm?" Moyra pressed, as she crossed her arms. "Long enough for that necromancer ta come looking for his pet?"

"Yer counting on seeds that have yet ta sprout, Love. If the necromancer sets his sight on the north, he'll not have an easy fight, and his dragon could be a fair bargaining chip," Liam's confidence was infectious, but there was a hint of reservation even in the king's face as he looked into his queen's eyes before turning to Flann. "Besides, we have more than one giant dragon now... Kamuhr arrived, and with Rowan, no less. Their aid with detaining Auganull will surely ease everyone's nerves," Liam suggested.

"Row brought the white dragon? Hah! I knew he wasn't no traitor!" Flann laughed with relief.

"Is it wise ta be assumin' she'll even stay, though?" Iain questioned. "And De Saint-Pierre's boy... Sure, he arrived with 'er, but they weren't involved in bringin' her down, and Lorellian's aren't exactly known fer their grit. If she has bonded with the boy, we'd need his assurance that we'll have his cooperation."

"Then Flann will secure them to our cause! And while he does, assign some additional men to see that Auganull lives for as long as the high cleric has use for him. I won't be making an enemy of the Citadel, not with a necromancer out there somewhere."

"Wise," Iain hummed. "I'll see to it, Yer Majesty."

"Aye, Da, I'll go convince 'em!" Flann couldn't imagine that it would be a difficult task, after all that he and Rowan had been through together and sharing a common enemy in Auganull, he was sure that his friend would aid their cause.

***

Rowan wasn't hard to find, partly because the white dragon wasn't hard to find—perched on one of the rolling green hills overlooking the scorched fields just outside the city. As Flann trotted his horse out to join them, it was impossible not to notice the chaotic scene that had developed down in the fields.

Just as Lord McLiannen had said, Flann could see the army of soldiers that had been deployed to control the mob that had formed around the downed ancient dragon.

Common citizens had come with everything from the tools of their home and trade, to branches hefty enough to serve as clubs. Their cries of ridicule towards the men tasked with protecting him for now, clashed with the rhythmic, ringing smack of metal. Blacksmiths were working on-site to combine links, while a third seemed to be working at a mad pace to convert several bilge hoops into an iron muzzle.

Despite Auganull himself appearing as only a shadow of his former ferocity, the fear and outrage he elicited from the people of Tulot was palpable.

The giant monster himself was having trouble keeping his eyes open, which was a credit to the many apothecaries working to keep a steady supply of herbs and medicines in him. Yet, despite all these efforts, he still managed to shift and move. Flann and Iain witnessed him send a man flying when he'd caught them off guard.

It was indeed a sight to behold and one that Flann found hard to look away from even as he approached the titan of a white dragon. The last time he'd seen her, she was entangled in battle above the Lorellian fleet, but the scale of her size was hard to fully comprehend until he slowed his horse and dismounted only a few yards from her.

Rowan was already heading towards him, and the two locked arms and embraced each other like brothers before either uttered a word. Then, after a long moment, Rowan pulled back, but Flann spoke first.

"Where the feck have ya been?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Oh? It can't be any harder ta believe than what happened in Lorellia."

Flann held a mildly skeptical look on his face and Rowan realized that he should have known better than to try and deny the prince of Serellia an interesting story.

"Heh, right. Well, perhaps a story more suitable for later, as we still have Auganuall to handle presently," Rowan said, motioning back to the black menace.

If he thought he was going to just gloss over everything in front of Flann, he was wrong. "Aye, but at least tell me how ya came by the white one."

"I have a name," the ancient dragon reminded.

"Right. Flann, meet Kamuhr the White."

"So, it's true," Flann said gazing at the legend in awe before glancing back at Rowan. "...By the tallest branch."

"Apparently, she was never destroyed, just imprisoned in the relic," Rowan explained.

"Ah! And ya figured it out, and that's why ya stole the relic! I knew ya weren't up ta nothin' nefarious! But eh, ya could a'told Artus... We've been worried."

Rowan felt the guilt settling in on him again, but shrugged his conscience free. Whatever his intentions had been, they had shifted ten times over since the moment he acquired the relic. But Flann's unwavering trust in him still felt odd. "I've already spoken with Artus."

"Ya have?" Flann couldn't hide the surprise in his tone and though there was no cause for it, Rowan felt that the Serellian might have secrets of his own.

"Yes, before Auganull caught up to us in Homenil," Rowan clarified as he remembered the conversation he'd had with Artus. "I'll admit, I was surprised that he still hadn't returned to Lorellia... He seems intent on staying here, for some reason." As Rowan spoke, he studied Flann's eyes and features. Something still ebbed at him.

"Aye..." Flann replied, but it wasn't the answer that Rowan was expecting. In fact, it was oddly absent any of Flann's normal, carefree cheer, and that was troubling. Flann knew more than what he was telling. Rowan had never known Flann to be deceitful, so that presented him with only two options, either Flann was a better liar than he'd realized or he really didn't have an answer.

"Ahem, well I had arrangements made up fer ya at the castle, I hope you'll stay fer at least the night."

"We'll stay until Auganull is dealt with," Kamuhr replied.

"He's dealt with," Flann insisted, "and'll be under the custody of the Citadel."

It was clear by the snarl it elicited from the white dragon that his reassurance was not well received.

"He cannot be allowed to live!" Kamuhr snapped.

"The necromancer is likely to come looking for him," Rowan reminded, "and you know what he's capable of. Are you and the Citadel prepared for that?"

"More prepared than La'Trest was."

Flann's assertion made Rowan bristle slightly. Sure, La'Trest had been caught off guard, but even still, it wasn't just some little village in the heartlands. La'Trest was the Jewel of the East, the capital of their kingdom, a fortress, armed with the finest royal navy in existence. It shouldn't have fallen as easily as it had, and yet...it had fallen all the same, and he couldn't blame Flann for that.

"Hmm...Foolish," growled the white dragon as she got up and began to walk away.

"Kam, wait!" Rowan called as he took off after her. Her long legs carried her halfway down the hill towards the small camp built up around Auganull. "No, no, no! Kam, you can't!" Rowan grabbed on to her tail and dug in his heels with all his strength but, unsurprisingly, it had no effect on the dragon.

"I won't stand by to watch him get away again," the dragon grumbled.

Realizing that he'd have more luck lifting a Serellian Shire over his shoulder than holding back the white dragon, Rowan gave up and let go.

"There's no honor in killing him like this!" he shouted.

Suddenly, the white dragon paused and glanced back at Rowan before her gaze settled back on Auganull in the midst of the humans all working tirelessly in his shadow. Chained, with a massive wound on his chest, and barely clinging to consciousness, he was a far cry from his true strength.

She knew that Rowan was right. If she killed him now, then she was no better.