A timid knock awoke us. A staff woman informed us the council wanted us present with them when the riders arrived. We dressed and found the council at breakfast. Even though they spoke easily with us, there was an underlying tension among them. They kept looking to the sky in anticipation. The dishes were gone and we were walking about the building when I felt the presence of many dragons.I informed the council, who led us to an open area that was still inside the barrier. Once there, I directed the riders to us. Above us, a squadron of ten dragons of various colors descended, passing harmlessly through the barrier. They landed almost in unison before us. Maudrin and Emerald landed closest to us.
"Well met, good people," he called as Emerald settled onto the grass. He dismounted.
Behind him, the others dismounted and assembled around him. I could feel the council's surprise at seeing seven gnomes and three dwarfs standing before them with dragons. They walked up and saluted the council.
"Tell us the situation, Gengan, so we may know how to aid you," Maudrin requested as we all went back into the council chambers. Set stayed with the dragons.
Inside, the council laid out their troubles to the riders, much freer than they had with us. They went into more detail about the raids and the ogre mage. We told the riders what we had learned about Nurz and where he gained his new skills. This caused a murmur among the riders. Maudrin asked to speak to us seven privately.
"Ladies, this news troubles us greatly. What you saw was not merely the exchange of knowledge. Whomever was inside that orb is now inside the ogre mage Nurz. He has become possessed. It is possible that the soul of Nurz was pushed out and the soul in that body is not an ogre. Can you tell us any more?"
We relayed Sky Thunder's description of the un-ogre-like smell he caught when flying over their camp Maudrin called to one of the other riders to get a better report from Sky. That rider raced out the door. We seven and Maudrin returned to the others. The council and riders began hammering out plans for a rider outpost in Gowgornok, provided only gnomes and dwarfs populated it. We excused ourselves to let them discuss the specifics.
Outside, the nine remaining riding dragons and Set were a focus of much activity. Scholars, wizards, and other learned folk were studying them intently. Not as receptive as elves, the gnomes could not fully understand the dragons' mental speech. The dragons' verbal speech was passable, but it took listening carefully to understand it. Upon our arrival, we became translators.The gnome children were frightened at first. Set's presence helped them become more at ease around the "ginormous" beings. The gnomish scholars wanted to know absolutely everything about dragons.From hatching to dying, inside out, and everything in between. Just about every one of them had to experience kirlan for themselves, and argue about it down to the smallest detail. I became an object of interest when they found out I could go there on my own, without Set. I've never been so poked and prodded in my life.
Upon Set, I demonstrated the riding harness after someone commented on the "disappearance" of the others' tack and saddle. I must have saddled and unsaddled Set a dozen times before they were satisfied. The scholars received a boon when the rider returned from speaking with Sky. They got to watch them pass through the barrier, land, and remove the saddle. I could see that Sky's information was quite upsetting to the rider as he walked straight through the crowd that was shouting questions and straight inside. He was quickly forgotten when someone referred to a dragon as "she" and received very nasty looks. Our explanation of gender was interrupted by the riders and council pouring out of the building.
"Sisters, grave news. It seems we are up against old and ancient enemies. The ancient ones, the Duergar, have, indeed, taken possession of the ogre mage Nurz. However, it is not one of them who possesses him. That is where the old enemy comes in. They have found a surviving demon, still in its realm, but, like the rest, stripped of immortality. We learned of this from Sky Thunder. He took it upon himself to 'question' a higher ranking ogre, who confessed all he knew. This demon willingly became pure spirit to take over the ogre mage and make the rest of us 'pay' for his loss, unable to bear his 'worthless' state any longer. While they do not actively control the demon, he is still working with them to get the Miner's Rod and kill their 'sun-loving bastard brethren'. As far as this ogre knew, the Duergar do not have the other two parts, but he wasn't certain," Maudrin told us all.
We seven looked at each other in shock. The demons were still twisting the facts to make it seem as if they were the victims. The scholars and children were sent away as we seven, the riders, and the council went back inside for dinner, lunch having been forgotten in the midst of all this activity. The dragons and Set went to hunt their own dinner. Bo wanted to join them, but it was feared he might get hurt among ten grown dragons. Set promised to bring him back something and some for Dawn too. We went back to the council chambers where a nice dinner awaited. We seven were nearly ignored as the councilors and riders continued to discuss both the outpost and patrol area for the riders. Some of the riders had heard of my riding set but had not seen it.The council became silent when we mentioned who created it. Those who were also clerics demanded a "good" look. I had to stifle a laugh when the eye "winked" at them and they backed away, some of them shrieking. This caused me to be assaulted with questions. I tried to explain Brimagor's humor, but the council did not seem to understand that dragons, specifically the god of dragons, had a sense of humor. I felt my riding set vibrate and "heard" instructions rumble in my head. I laid my hand out flat on the table. The "eye" glowed and a ball of light rose from it.
"Silly mortals," rumbled Brimagor's voice as the ball shaped itself into his face, "Is it so difficult for you to see dragons as intelligent beings who can tell a joke? If you trace your language to its oldest form, you will find draconian words and phrases. As one of the oldest mortal races, most languages have some dragon in it. It is not riders' 'wild imaginations' that their dragons play tricks on them. Besides, your own deities have told jokes and played tricks as well. Or did you 'forget' that about your deities?"
The council looked at each other, puzzled. The members who were also clerics seemed to be searching their memories for references to any trick or jokes from their gods. This silence informed us that they could not recall a single one. Brimagor huffed.
"As I suspected. Does anyone in Gowgornok sing to the sun every morning?"
Heads shook all around. The gnome riders gasped. We informed Brimagor of the villages that still sang. Dawn added her own sunrise participation. This made Brimagor smile, a gesture that required explanation as the council was unaccustomed to seeing dragons smile. The council resolved to correct this error. Brimagor left with a promise to tell the gnomish gods about their "serious children".
The room was quiet for a long time afterwards, until Set returned, clutching some bundles of fur. The three of them went to a corner to feast upon these bundles. Set mind-spoke to me of their hunt. The rest asked what they had caught. Set answered by laying out a pair of large pointed teeth before Maudrin.
"Emerald said you collect tusks," Set stated aloud as an explanation.
"Yes, I do collect tusks," Maudrin replied aloud, "What a fine boar this must have been. Was it enough for all of you?"
"Almost, but we also found a deer that walked hurt. It had a leg that didn't work," Set replied.
"It was good to put that deer out of its misery. Walking around with a wounded leg, it could have caught a disease and spread it to other animals. You did well."
Set blew happy smoke puffs and thumped his thick tail on the floor, which echoed a bit. Set returned to the other two in order to tear the tough hide that Bo and Dawn had trouble getting through.
The talk turned to hunts of the past and some of the amazing creatures that were encountered.
We parted. The riders took off to bring the outpost proposal and ogre problem back to Demagram. The council went to their rooms and we to our suite. Our companions were very full and very sleepy. Set nearly fell onto the mat, his sides showing how much he had eaten. Bo coiled at the foot of Lisa's bed, looking a bit lumpy from his dinner. Dawn took her place on Alice's headboard and cleaned up before settling in to sleep. We were exhausted as well and fell asleep quickly.
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