"What did you say to them?" Aria asked in English. Also in English, I replied, "I just talked to my grandfather." In response she got, "YOUR WHAT!?" Corvus chuckled, "The horns didn't give it away? I'm part dragon. I'll explain after this." Corvus then turns to her grandfather, The Dragon King and her newly called upon army of dragons. Her face was newly contorted with anger. "End them." She commands coldly in draconic. The land suddenly becomes dark, plants begin to wither, the bandits begin to feel weak like they can't go on both physically and mentally. They begin to feel a loss of hope as a gray likeness surrounds where the bandits stand. The cowardly bandits began to lose the will to do anything.
The dragons surround them, flying above. Acid suddenly flights through the air and causes the ground to deteriorate where it lands. Suddenly, a storm of the sandy desert whirls in and becomes a suffocating curtain, blinding the bandits as much as the predatory shadows circling overhead. The wind howled like a tormented beast, whipping the fine grains into a stinging frenzy that clawed at any exposed skin and grated in their teeth. The roar of the gale swallowed any warning cries, amplifying the terror of the unseen. Above, the leathery wings of the dragons became blurred shapes in the ochre maelstrom, their movements unpredictable and menacing.
Then came the acid, no longer a direct volley, but a sporadic, insidious drizzle that could appear from any direction within the swirling sand. Patches of the ground hissed and blackened mere feet away, a constant reminder of the lethal threat that permeated the storm. The sand itself became a weapon, obscuring treacherous dips and loose rocks underfoot, making every step a gamble. They stumbled blindly, the abrasive wind tearing at their clothes, the acrid smell of dissolving earth filling their nostrils. The dragons, masters of the aerial chaos, used the storm as their hunting ground, their acid breath now a phantom menace striking from the heart of the sandy tempest.
The acid they shot into the storm started to shoot back out into various directions as only some helped decay the skin of those inside it. Once dead, the storm dispersed as if nothing happened. Somehow, the loot was all intact. After looting the bodies of the fallen, Corvus turns to her grandfather. "What should we do with The Duke?" He inquired in draconic. Corvus ponders this a moment before answering. "Let's teach him a lesson." She replied in the same language. "But don't kill anyone!" The Dragon King nodded and then his voice bloomed. "Maledico tibi ego draco, rex Shadowfel, ut numquam amplius iacere possim. Si feceris, signum rubrum in brachio tuo ostendet quod celare non poteris. Experire et operire et perlucere faxo. Quinque marcas mereberis, et tu, Dux Westsington, morietur. Preterea tu, dux Westsingtonie, ex hac terra audieris extorres. Intra iterum et ego non tam lenis. Nolite errare. Tu ilico perieris!"
As he spoke, a red circle glowed above with runes inside it. It flew down towards The Duke and then suddenly it was under him, glowing. Suddenly, what looked like red lightning bolts shot up from the ground and covered him in vine-like bolts that started to infect his body, looking like branches forming off each other and infecting him. He flailed and screamed in agony. Aria and Blake kept insisting on interfering but Corvus kept assuring them that he was fine and that getting involved was also a really bad idea. The circle started to grow smaller until it was gone as the red bolts covered his body and then the red bolts themselves began to fade. When the bolts and rune circle were completely gone, The Duke stopped flailing, fell forward and started to gasp for air.
Corvus's body began to slightly glow, "You're going to return with us and say that we completed the job you hired us for. When they ask why it was so quick, you'll say that we led the bandits out of the crevice to avoid the dragons then quietly continued until I could teleport us there. Afterwards, we simply teleported back. You'll also not only hold up your part of the contract, you'll also apologize to my companions and the dragons." Quickly The Duke bowed with his head to the ground and his hands straight out in front of him, first over and over to Aria and Blake and then again to the dragons before Corvus bellowed, "The circle has marked you and now you are now bound. If you lie more than five times, you'll die. Each time you lie, a red mark will appear on you that you can't cover up. Keep in mind, hiding something is also being untruthful. Enter this land again and you'll be destroyed on sight. His Majesty won't be as lenient next time." Meekly, The Duke nodded and said he understood. While still glowing, Corvus took everything from The Duke's caravan for Aria, Blake and herself.
That's when Aria and Blake finally interrogated Corvus about her being part dragon and an apparent heir to the Shadowfell dragons. "Okay now can we focus on the fact that YOU'RE FREAKIN ROYALTY!?" Aria exclaimed. "Yeah, when were you going to tell us that you were a dragon and your grandfather was a king!?" Blake asked in agreement. "Where to start," Corvus pondered. "Well first let me tell you more about how this all started. Dragons are able to shift between human and full dragon form. They don't have to be a full dragon all the time if they don't want to but if they're in a more human form, they'll have something from their dragon form like my horns. My father's a black dragon named Malignus Nightclaw. My mother is an elf named Valeriana Sylvani. Long ago, they fell in love and I was a product of that love. However, they both agreed I'd be more beneficial for me to grow up with the elves so for years I hid my horns and grew up there. Shortly after they fell in love, my father was cursed and that curse was given to me when I was born."
"Wait wait wait," Aria interrupted. "So you're a dragon-" "Half dragon," Corvus corrected. "And an elf," Aria continued, "Half elf" Corvus corrected again. "And you're cursed?" She asked. "Yep" Corvus replied, "But don't worry, this bracelet seals my curse so I don't have to worry about it and you both are safe." "But you're also the granddaughter of a Dragon King…" Blake started to ask, "And you're supposed to take over the entire pack and become the next king…?" Corvus just nodded. "Yes and no. See, I'm supposed to take over and be the next king but I want to be an adventure so it hasn't been decided as to how that'll work." She explained but then her eyes lit up and she got visibly excited as she said, "That's why when I was given permission to do the call to arms I was overjoyed! It's practically unheard of for anyone that's not the King to roar the call and even some Kings still don't get to in the time that they reign, it's a very sacred tradition."
Blake was overwhelmed with emotions. "It's just a bit much to take in all at once." Corvus nodded, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "Yeah, I get it. Usually, I keep the horns under wraps and just go about my business, like I have for the last couple of centuries. But now that I'm becoming an adventurer, I'm trying to stop hiding and just be me." Aria and Blake nodded in understanding. "Let's get going back to The Guild," Aria said. Blake and Corvus agreed and so we headed back to the guild to report what happened.