The Endless Forest

The warm summer night slowly gave way to the pre-dawn morning. Mist rose from the previous days’ rain and enveloped the Endless Forest in a wet embrace. At its center stood the manor, the manor that had been the seat of power for the last remaining monarch…

It was the last bastion of resistance. The last remnant to a time nearly forgotten to all but a few.

It was the last of the dying embers of hope. New kindling had been added, even as the last of them cooled.

Would the manor serve as a monument to the gasping struggles of all those who failed? Would it stand the test of time, only to be forgotten?

Or would it become something more?

Would that bastion of resistance become the heart of a new civilization? Would the cooling embers have enough heat in them to ignite the new kindling?

The day of his resurrection, the Dragon Queen, Fea, had made her decision. She set in motion a string of events, long since planned, that would end her life.

It was just enough. It had to be enough.

Her last gasp as her ritual completed was in awe. She felt His soul, the first time in centuries. It was as comforting as the day She fell in love with Him.

They shared a warm embrace, as He and She became They.

I love you…

His soul settled, His body reformed, while She took up residence deep within. The damage was extensive, His memories would not and could not survive. Time had degraded His soul to a wisp, its essence having been mostly consumed in His last desperate act of saving them.

Of saving Her.

She would give it all back.

She would give more, in time.

Time.

That is what they were running against.

Time.

He needed time.

Their enemies needed time.

But time was running out.

The world held its breath, waiting for the hour glass to empty.

How much longer?

No one knew. Days? Weeks… Years? Perhaps centuries more? Whenever it was, the sands were pouring out and would eventually empty.

Hope lingered on. The Bastion stood. The kindling ignited.

Whenever time ran out, They would face it…

Watcher clapped his hands in prayer. At his side was a makeshift satchel. In it were several pieces of parchment with crudely scribbled writing. They were his current task, one he set upon with delight.

He opened his eyes and peered up at the shrine of the two hatched eggs, both painstakingly reassembled…

More Masters soon…

Watcher felt the rush of energy flow through him, aiding his old bones. He would complete this task so that his current Masters would not have to.

Masters return soon.

Invigorated, he stood up and gave one last bow to the shrines.

Niri stayed up the whole night, cleaning. She dusted, swept, mopped, and did it all over again. She was both excited and nervous…

Excited because her Masters would be returning. Nervous because they would be returning with guests… She could not have a single speck of dust or dirt anywhere within the manor. She was dedicated and she would not fail.

She would not bring shame to her Masters.

Chef was already hard at work preparing the day’s meals. His small team of cooks had grown considerably for this special occasion. Yet, his attitude was fiery and perfection was to be expected.

His tendency to curse increased tenfold. His instructions were exact. None dared to fail him…less they became the center of his ire.

The stoves burned bright that morning…

Gern breathed heavily as he sunk his sword into the ground, using it to stabilize himself. He had gone on a hunt, a hunt that had proved successful…

“Gern did good job. Gern no coward.” A feminine voice stated. There was hunger in her tone.

Howling and snarls filled the air as he looked up. A green kobold was staring at him, hunting him with her eyes. In her hands was a bow.

She scented the air. “Gern smell wild. Tracker love wild.”

He gulped.

Niri would not like this…

Ithea was laying in the roof of a Sky Tree, one that overlooked the clearing.

A snore sounded out from the tree, startling a few birds. She had not a care in the world…

Felix blinked and found the scenery had changed once again. A wave of nausea hit him then. Doubling over, he didn’t even try to hold it in…

Wiping his mouth, he glanced over to the others who were all having similar experiences. Well, except for two; Eri and Aluin. Though, to Felix, Aluin was looking…haggard.

The Sage had used up quite a bit of mana both during their time in the village, and now to bring them back to the manor. Not to mention Noria had brought her entire collection of potions and ‘experiments,’ as she called them…

It was a lot of exertion, even for the Sage.

Felix shook his head, feeling the effects of the Aluin’s teleport spell slowly fade away.

“Just let it out.” Solanna said off to the side, causing him to look back over to the group of volunteers.

Yedril heaved before nearly collapsing, his sister stopping him from falling down. She wasn’t looking any better herself… Meanwhile, Lorem seemed to be doing the best out of all of them. The tall elf looked unsteady on his feet but that was the extent of his symptoms.

Then, there was Noria.

She was on her hands and knees, hacking and spitting the remnants of bile and her breakfast. Her complexion was pale, paler than even Yedril’s sickly appearance, and as she finished she crawled away and collapsed fully.

Lorem made his way to her and kneeled down, whispering to her.

“The effects will wear off shortly, it's best to sit or lie down and close your eyes.” Eri stated before turning her attention to Aluin.

The ground shook for a moment as suddenly two dragons dropped to the ground. Both Kyrith and Zira looked sick, their heads swaying unsteadily.

Seeing the two dragons resting, the rest of the group followed suit. As they did, Eri approached the Sage and spoke up.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

Aluin turned his head towards her. “I… I will be fine–”

“Master, you should get some rest. I will take you to your room.” Eri placed herself under the Sage’s arm, even as he looked to protest.

She simply gave him a stern look before he sighed.

“Thank you, Eri.” Aluin said. It was obvious that he wasn’t going to win.

Felix let out a half-hearted chuckle and watched the two of them make their way up to the manor and disappear inside.

How are you doing? He asked Zira.

Her only response was an audible groan of pain.

Wincing, Felix came over to her and sat down, leaning against her bulk. He reached up and gently patted the side of her chest.

Content for the moment, he turned back to the four remaining elves and sighed. The manor was right in front of them, but all seemed perfectly fine to rest on the grass.

Fine with me, he thought to himself. Closing his eyes, he decided to rest and leaned heavily against his bonded partner…

***

Chains, heavily enchanted, bound him. A foot connected with his chest, sending him careening into something hard. Gasping, he realized he could not see.

“Oh, how the mighty Champion has fallen so low…” An eerily familiar voice said. It was icy, it had bite to it. It was feminine.

There was shuffling and suddenly the voice spoke again, this time whispering right into his ear.

“You hurt him, I will make you pay for that.”

He felt confused at that. Sure, he had hurt thousands– No, tens of thousands of people… Many more lay dead. But–

“W-who?” He managed to grunt out. The room grew suddenly cold, a shiver ran down his spine.

A new voice announced itself. “Enough! You were told to watch him, not torture him.”

The air warmed again. “Darling–” She sounded surprised, there was even a hint of warmth to her voice.

“The Queen is on her way, please try to be respectful of both her and her requests, Love.”

A growl escaped the woman but her voice warmed up ever so slightly more. “Understood, Darling…”

The sound of dragon whimpering caused Felix to open his eyes. It was Kyrith, and he had settled his snout onto Eri’s lap.

“How’s Aluin?” Felix asked.

“Huh? Oh, he will be alright. He’s used a lot of mana over the last few days and just needs to recuperate.” She said, startled from whatever thought she had. Her hand went over to rub Kyrith’s snout. “This one here is being a little needy, I suppose I will be busy for a while.”

“I’m not needy,” Kyrith half-grumbled, half-purred. “My head just hurts…real bad.”

“I’m sure it does,” Felix commented. “Zira is resting too, though I should probably get everyone else in the manor at least.” He gestured to the others who were all laying on their sides.

“I can keep an eye on her,” Eri offered.

He smiled, “Thanks.”

With a quick stretch, Felix stood up and made his way over to the group of volunteers. He lightly clapped his hands to get them stirring. “Alright, it’s time to get up. We have to get everything into the manor at some point.”

As one, they all began to come alive. Though, he noted that both Noria and Yedril still weren’t looking so good. Might need to keep an eye on them, and possibly check Yedril’s mana…

Lorem was the first to his feet, letting out a yawn. “How long was I out?” The large elf asked.

Felix looked up, doing his best to gauge the time. However, Eri beat him to it.

“About an hour,” she said.

“Wow, I know you warned us, but damn…”

Felix let out a chuckle. “I knew what to expect and I still retched. I honestly don’t know how they do it.” He gestured over to Eri.

“Experience,” she stated simply.

It was then that the others slowly got to their feet. Solanna blinked and wiped some dirt and grass from her face, while Yedril and Noria both held a hand to their heads.

“You two okay?” Felix asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Feeling better, but I still have a headache,” Yedril stated while Noria nodded in agreement.

“I see… Well, let’s hurry and get all this inside and I can show you to your room.” Felix gestured to the boxes, most of which belonged to Noria. “We’ll just set them up in the library for now. It’s just to the left as you enter.”

He received acknowledgements from the four and they set to work moving everything…

Despite the condition of Yedril and Noria, they made quick work on moving the boxes. They set them onto the table within the library and Noria decided to quickly go through them, making sure nothing had been disturbed.

“Everything looks good,” she confirmed. Her complexion was almost normal now, and she sounded more responsive.

“Good, now I can take y’all to your new room,” Felix said, and began to lead them out and up the stairs. They reached the old servants’ quarters and he opened the door revealing the room.

It had been slightly modified from its original purpose, being turned into more of a dorm. The main change was the furniture had been moved around so as to make better use of the space. However, there were curtains added in between the bunks to give a little more privacy.

“It’s not much, unfortunately…but with Aluin and Eri staying here as often as they do, there is only one other guest room. And I don’t think it would be fair to make everyone fight over it. Besides, this will hopefully be a temporary solution.”

“Temporary?” Yedril asked.

Felix shrugged. “I plan on bringing in more people and I’m going to need more space for everyone, including future dragons.” Felix turned to leave but stopped at the door for a moment.

“Go ahead and get settled in, I’m planning on cleaning up myself– Oh, I suppose you all might want to do the same.” He put his hand upon his chin in thought. The ‘dorm’ didn’t have its own bathroom.

“If you wish to take a bath you may use the bathroom in the open guest room.” He gestured over to it. “Admittedly, I didn’t think about that…”

“A…bathroom?” Noria asked, clearly confused.

He smiled and nodded. “Yep, think of it as an indoor outhouse and bathhouse combined. It was something that I believe Fe– The Dragon Queen built. It’s entirely enchanted, and the best part? It has hot water.”

The elves suddenly looked very interested.

“I will have to try it out!” Lorem said, sounding eager.

“Indeed, it's…heavenly.”

With that, Felix left and made his way to his own room…

***

Felix let out a contented sigh, as he dried off and put on some fresh clothes. He hadn’t truly felt clean in a while, and it was nice to just…relax for a little bit. Meanwhile, Zira was still slumbering away outside the manor.

He made no effort to wake her. It’s been a long and eventful three days, she could use the rest… With his mind made up, he left his room and went back to the dorm.

“You all get situated?” He asked, entering. They were busy chatting to one another, and by the sounds of it, they had some questions…

Solanna spoke, sounding a little unsure of herself. “I believe so…but I think we have a few questions.”

“Of course, I don’t mind answering them if I can.” He said.

Solanna worked her jaw a few times before finally asking one. “Is this really where the Dragon Queen stayed?” There was a hint of disbelief in her voice.

He gave her a curious look. “Yes, this was her home.”

She frowned. “I see…”

“Is that a problem?”

“Huh? Oh, no. I just…find it hard to believe this is where the Queen lived. I was expecting something more…grand?”

Felix chuckled at that, not at all offended. “From what I’ve been told by Aluin, she was always a little frugal.”

Yedril interrupted their conversation. “Did you ever get a chance to meet her?”

Felix sighed. “Yes, but…it’s complicated. I don’t remember meeting her.” He stared off into the distance as recent thoughts threatened to take a foothold within his mind.

The others watched him silently.

Shaking his head, he brought himself back to the present. “Well, I need to give you all a tour. There will be time for questions later…”

With that, he gestured for them to follow him and made his way out the door. As they followed him, he pointed to the staircase leading up to the third floor.

“Now, because I know it will come up, I don’t know what is exactly up there. I only know that it used to be where Fea worked on her enchantments. The door is locked, enchanted, and I don’t have the key.”

He then pointed to each of the other rooms as he continued. “That is Aluins room, and that is Eri’s. Aluin has his own home, but has been staying here quite a bit. Meanwhile, Eri has all but moved here. So you’ll see her most of the time, unless she is helping Aluin with Sage business.”

Finally, he motioned over to his room. “That is where I sleep. If I’m not out and around the manor, the hatchery, or the kobold’s village, I’m probably in my room. In other words, that is the last place I’m at.” He said jokingly.

There were a few chuckles from the group as he guided them back down the stairs and onto the first floor. That’s when they bumped into Niri, who was busily sweeping the floor near the entrance.

“Ah, everyone please meet Niri. She is about the only kobold who is allowed to be in this part of the manor unsupervised. She is a diligent worker and a gentle soul.”

The poor kobold looked embarrassed but bowed respectfully. “N-Niri serve Masters… It Niri’s duty.”

Felix rolled his eyes and shook his head before giving her a light pat on the shoulder.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Niri!” Lorem said with a wide smile and held out a hand.

She looked between Felix and Lorem before hesitantly shaking it.

The others quickly followed suit, but Noria looked a little conflicted as she did. Meanwhile, Niri only seemed to become more nervous.

“Niri greets M-Master's friends…” She stammered out and bowed again.

“Well, we won’t bother you any longer.” He turned towards the hallway. “I still have much to show you all.”

The tour continued on with Felix pointing out the various rooms and letting the four elves have a chance to see them. Afterwards, they finally came upon the kitchen.

There was a loud clatter followed by shouting.

“I suppose this is a good time to warn you all, but we’re fixing to enter the domain of Chef. Now, we will slip in and I will introduce you all to him. However, he can be a bit…rude. Don’t take it personally, it’s just the way he is. Besides, you’ll quickly learn to forgive him once you taste his food.”

There was more shouting, this time followed by something slamming into the door.

The elves just gave him a wary nod.

He ignored their obvious concerns and opened the door– Well, pushed the door as something was blocking it. It took some effort but eventually it opened.

What greeted them all was chaos, pure chaos. A red kobold, wearing a chef’s hat, was shouting orders to his workers. However, what Felix noticed was that there were a lot more than normal.

It was crowded, and laying on the floor, behind the door, was a kobold. He decided to ignore it for now.

Chef whipped his head to stare at him, brows furrowed. “LEAVE, CHEF BUSY!”

Felix stepped through and gestured for the others to follow. “We will, but I wanted to introduce you to our new–”

“YES, HI! NOW GO, BUSY MAKING FOOD– STOP THAT!” The kobold grabbed a rolling pin and threw it at a kobold kneading some dough. It didn’t have time to dodge and took it square on the snout.

It let out a yelp of pain and surprise.

“New cook…” Chef muttered while shaking his head… “Chef teach, move!” He darted over to the kobold and began working the dough himself.

Felix decided that was as good as an introduction they would get and quickly led them to the back door. Throwing it open, they filed out rather quickly.

“That was–” Noria started, but was cut off by Solanna.

“Interesting.”

Felix shrugged. “He’s not usually that bad. But I think he just wants to make a good impression.”

The elves all looked at each other, before Yedril spoke up. “That was a good impression?”

He laughed. “No, but dinner will be extra special tonight, that I can guarantee.” He pointed to the burgeoning village. “Anyways, that is the kobold’s village. I would recommend staying away from it until you get comfortable with them. Otherwise, it might be overwhelming for you.”

“What do you mean?” Asked Noria.

“I mean, it’s a village, full of kobolds.” He tried, but the confusing stare from her made him clarify. “Look, you saw how, uh, fired up Chef and his cooks were. Now imagine an entire village like that.”

She went nearly as pale as Yedril. “Oh,” She said with a gulp.

Fighting the urge to shake his head, he decided to bring everyone’s attention to the large structure on the property. “That, is the hatchery. It is where you will spend most of your time.”

He watched as the group of elves changed their expressions to curiosity and even awe.

“Come, I’m sure you want to check the place out, right?” Not waiting for a response, he began making his way over to the building. The sound of feet quickly shuffling told him that they were following.

As a group, they walked in silence until they came to stand before the two large doors. He paused, admiring the building himself.

Noria chose that moment to speak. “I can feel it. It’s heavily enchanted…”

Felix only nodded before slowly crossing the rest of the distance. Putting his hand on the door, he felt the rush of mana.

The doors began to open.

As they did, he remembered that he needed to give them permission to enter. Turning around to face the elves, he gave them a proper greeting.

“Welcome, to your new home.”