Savior of Dragons: An Unexpected Encounter - Part II
Written by Klesk Vadrigaar

"Well on one hand, I'm glad you made so many good impressions on the locals." Angelique sighed as she landed back at the mouth of her cave. "On the other...well, I've said my piece about your showing off. Whether you decide to follow my advice is on you."

Iridium, now back to her normal size, dismounted the dragon and landed on the ground, giving her new attire a dust off. She now wore a tightly fastened travelling gown, threaded in dark blue with a simple vine and leaf design embroidered in silver around the hanging sleeves, as well as the hem. It also had a large padded collar that wrapped down from the wolf's neck around her breasts, framing her cleavage. 

"If half of what Bildud says is true, you may have more to worry about than just me getting huge." 

The wolf looked to Angelique, noting how the dragon brushed off her concerned tone and headed into her cave. 

"Seriously, you're not the least bit worried about the fact that the head honcho of that stronghold we were at has been absent for over a century? Bildud's talk of what he's doing with the humans, and what the humans might do in revolt, didn't give you any concern?"

Angelique's muscles noticeably tensed, even though she didn't break her stride and tried to act completely at ease. Iridium narrowed her eyes as she followed behind.

"It's not my position to comment on what a lord or ruler's presence, or lack thereof, might mean, nor what those in power get up to. I try to stay out of strife." She stated, adding with a touch of sterness. "Father would prefer it that way."

Iridium stared blankly at the dragon as the two came to the main part of the cave, welcomed in again by the eternal glittering of Angelique's treasure hoard. 

"Your father...the biggest, blackest, most powerful of all winged dragons, would want you to NOT get involved in any conflicts of the land?" She asked in disbelief. Angelique hung her head as she unslung the bags weighed down with her and Iridium's shopping from the stronghold's marketplace. 

"I'm not exactly a...prime example of his lineage. There's at least 40...maybe 50 of my siblings who are far bigger and more powerful than I am." She muttered. "Father said I'd probably not contribute much to any war effort."

Iridium's ears slowly lowered as she saw Angelique's muscles tense harder. There was evident pain in the dragon's voice, born as much of envy as despair that she didn't measure up to some standard set by her family. 

"I...I'm sorry, Angelique....even if I admittedly have trouble believing it." The wolf commented. Angelique shot her a scornful glare as she unpacked her shopping. 

"It's been 200 years since I hatched. 200 years I've had to grow, and I still fall short of even the 20 foot mark while many of my siblings are over 80 feet now! My wings can maybe stir up a light dust storm while my siblings can crush mountains with the force of their beats! My claws can maybe pierce through a grown man's armor. My siblings can tear entire battalions to shreds!" She roared, flames spewing from her glowing hot mouth. Iridium stood her ground even as she felt her fur curling in the heat of Angelique's breath.

"Yet you still have a body that I guarantee many folk from my world would give anything to possess. You've got your dad's fire breath clearly...and then there's that...." 

Iridium pointed to the giant mace, which Angelique had, in her anger, grabbed from the bags and was making to chuck into the corner. "I had to double my size and my strength to lift that thing. You not only flew here with both it and me on your back, but you don't look like you're even straining."

Angelique looked at the weapon. Her ire faltered somewhat as she hefted it and felt the weight was easily manageable for her thickly muscled arms. 

"Well...it's still pretty heavy. Just not as much as the share Father bequeathed to me of his hoard." She admitted. Iridium smiled and gestured to a spot among the gold.

"I'd advise treating that with a little more care. Someone important might need it soon."

Angelique sighed and placed the mace down on the dense mountain of coins and gold baubles.

"The way you keep speaking of stuff like you're a prophet or soothsayer is rather unnerving you know." The dragon commented as she resumed putting away her purchases. Iridium nodded with shame. 

"I guess it probably is, and I apologise." She sighed while folding her arms. "If it makes any difference, I do want to actually tell more of what we, on my world, know of the history of this place. I'm just not so sure if what we know will still come to pass given what I've seen of how inaccurate our records are."

Angelique sighed as she tossed the now empty bags into a corner and grabbed for a stack of logs.

"Well I hope I've proven I'm an open minded enough soul to hear you out, given how I've rolled with your antics thus far." The dragon commented as she arranged the logs in the firepit and ignited them with her breath. "Any chance I could loosen your tongue with some more cooking? That growing and show of strength had to have given you an appetite."

Iridium delicately bit her lip as she now became aware that, yes, her stomach would appreciate some food right about now.

"Also one other thing..."

Iridium perked her ears as Angelique began grabbing salted meats, vegetables and seasonings from a larder set into a deep crevice along the cave wall.

"You swear that others would deem my body to be worthy of envy?" The dragon asked, turning her head and smirking as Iridium awkwardly shuffled on the cave floor. 

***

"And that's...well that's where our records on your father and any dragon related to him end." Iridium concluded as she set down her plate. "There's another account of one of the lesser fire drakes who causes some issues for the dwarves...it doesn't end too well for him either." 

Angelique rolled her eyes as she stripped the remaining scraps of meat from a leg bone.

"I would be surprised if it turned out otherwise. Casting a member of my race in anything other than the worst possible light would basically be an admission by the humans that their lore, much like that of their allies, has been deliberately altered." The dragon scoffed, then snickered. "Though in fairness, fire drakes are rather hot-headed and anti-social at the best of times."

Iridium rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"Regardless, Bildud gave me pause to consider things are heading towards the same events that are going to make life very difficult for you, and everyone else who lives in this region. Granted I say that based solely off what I've read, and seen from spending only one day in this world so....well, I HOPE I'm wrong on that." Iridium dug her phone out of the pocket of her gown and checked her schedule for next week. "Maybe I should tell the lab boys to hold off on yanking me back so I can stay a bit longer. The office could survive without me for a day or so...well...until our next meeting with the grant committee on Wednesday. Ugh, that's gonna be fun." 

Angelique cocked her head as Iridium sighed and rolled her eyes. 

"You know you told Puddledum a great deal about what your 'company' is, and what it does, but you still haven't said much about what life is like in your world outside of work."

 Iridium looked up at the dragon.

"What do you do for fun? What music do you listen to? Is theatre as popular there as it is here?" Angelique queried.

Iridium's ears wilted as she smiled in awkward realisation.

"I...wow, you're right. I've been so hell bent on fact finding about your place I never thought..."

Iridium looked to the phone in her hand. Her ears rose again as she got an idea.

"Why don't you make yourself comfortable, Angelique, and I can answer those queries with some online videos?"

***

"So rather than having to travel from town to town, plying their trade and hoping to garner interest, those with a taste for art can just upload images of themselves doing what they love and this 'internet' of yours allows everyone to see their talents instantaneously?" Angelique queried as the video of two female bodybuilders, competing to see who could complete a 1,000 yard dash, in the shortest time possible, while each was carrying a full sized family sedan, came to an end. 

"Yep. Mind you many of them still go from town to town, or 'touring' as we call it, it's just this affords them a second, faster means of gaining public interest." 

Angelique leaned down to stare at the two amazons on Iridium's phone screen, steam wistfully rising from her nose as she contemplated their physiques.

"And, folk really like females...like this? You're not an anomaly for being so strong and muscular?"

Iridium hesitated on answering. She looked away as Angelique regarded her with intrigue.

"Yes and no. There's a healthy public interest in females who pack a lot of power...but I'm still a little different from the norm, as you saw." The wolf replied. "Not everyone has the magical ability to grow like I can." 

Angelique now looked away as her pondering intensified. 

"So you'd say that's an inner power you have?" She asked. 

"That'd be a pretty accurate way to describe it." Iridium replied, much to the dragon's apparent turmoil. Her wings shifted and her tail rhythmically thumped the floor beside Iridium as she wrestled with something. 

"I've always pondered if I might have the same...if the reason I'm so much smaller and weaker than my brethren is because I just can't, or have never learned how to harness it...or focus it...or...well you get what I mean." 

Iridium cocked her head in curiosity.

"There's no teachers or folk who might be able to help you with that?" The wolf asked. Angelique shook her head.

"They are few and far between. Seeking them out is dangerous, especially for a dragon. Might make a few rather important souls think we're trying to rise above our stations as their creations."

Iridium furrowed her brow. She looked to the gorgeous definition of Angelique's musculature, how it married the flow of her black scales so harmoniously. 

"Let me ask you a different question, Angelique: is there anyone around, anyone friendly I mean, who might know how two beings can communicate across different realms? Like...well...so we can keep in touch when I have to go back to my own world?" She finally asked. Angelique's eyes brightened at the thought, only to then dilute again. 

"Mmmm...there is...though I'm hesitant to ask of her services. She calls herself 'Elidyr' and she came here recently because...well...by her own account, it's not safe for her to be in her own homeland at present. Her work is infringing on what I told you about the elves and their research, and they really aren't loving that."

Iridium raised an eyebrow, then snorted as she realized what Angelique was getting at.

"Hmmm." The wolf pondered as she reclined against Angelique's flank. "Well be honest with me. If I asked you to take me to her, would you do it? Could you do it?"

Angelique looked torn. She squirmed on her bed in unease. 

"I can't promise she'll be open to the idea right now...but...well...." Angelique tightened her mouth as she kept thinking it over. "I suppose we can at least try. Her fortress is half a day's flight. We can be there and back before sundown tomorrow."

Iridium smiled. "Thank you. Just...I feel like if nothing else I'd like to at least be able to know how you're doing. Can't hurt to make a new friend." The wolf smiled as she nuzzled up against Angelique's warm, comfortable scales. The dragon sighed as she curled her tail protectively around the wolf. 

"And I might as well humor Bildud's constant commentary on revoking my solitary status..." The dragon sighed as she lay her muzzle down beside Iridium. Eventually sleep stole her away.

***

"So if you think you can whip up something that could work like this does...erm..." Iridium trailed off as the hooded female across from her continued to silently stare at the wolf's phone in her hands, tapping at the various icons on the screen and studying what popped up. Robed in fine spun patterns of evergreen and emerald, Elidyr bore herself as one of the finest class and taste. From the shadows of her hood flowed locks of brilliant gold, trailing all the way down to her waist. On her pearly white hands, Iridium noted, were two rings of radiant silver, one set with a fiery red ruby, the other with a sparkling blue sapphire. Were her face not hidden by the shadows of her hood, Iridium could guess the lady was graced with likewise immaculately beautiful features. 

Sadly it seemed the hooded maiden was burdened by some manner of great emotional weight, going by the way she sat hunched over, with her head bowed and her hands tensely gripped around Iridium's phone.

"I know it's a long shot but I figured it was worth a try so..." Iridium trailed off again as Elidyr raised her head to stare at her from the darkness within her robes. Her hands elevated the phone as one of them pushed the camera function on it.

"I assure you, Miss Iridium, if I did not think I could match the finesse of a device like this, you and your companion would never have been permitted past the front gate." Elidyr said softly as she studied the image of Iridium on the screen, turning the phone to see how the camera's viewpoint shifted. "I only ponder what you would do, were I to agree to such a curious and fascinating task."

Elidyr rose from her seat and bade Iridium to follow her into an adjoining room. In the center sat a small stone pool on a raised platform, surrounded on all sides by desks covered in documents and various brass scientific tools. As she stepped in and let the door close behind her, Iridium noticed both the walls of the room and the pool were of a very dark colored stone, which twinkled with some manner of bioluminescent mineral. The only light in the room came from an aperture directly over the pool, which permitted the sun's rays to filter downward into the water. 

"Well, right now I just want to keep in contact with Angelique. She's been a very welcoming soul, letting me stay with her and filling me in about this place." Iridium replied. 

"And that is your only desire?" Elidyr queried as she set the phone down beside the pool and leaned over to stare into the water. "I see you have partaken of the lore Puddledum was so kind to preserve in his archives...and you do not wear that gown as one who is native to our world."

Iridium looked down at her clothes, and felt her ears tint red as she realized something.

"Too much cleavage?" She asked. Elidyr nodded.

"The beastfolk of these lands are rarely so well endowed. They certainly do not show off what they have in the manner you do." The female replied, sounding somewhat despondent over the fact.

"Right, makes sense." Iridium blushed harder as she tried to adjust her clothing, even though it was plain her tits were too big for the gown to be closed any more than it already was. "In my world there's...well, there's quite the demand to depict women flaunting what they've got."

Elidyr chuckled morosely. 

"That also explains your impressively powerful form, which thus makes my ponderings all the more poignant." She said while turning to grab a fresh sheet of parchment off one of the desks, along with a stick of charcoal. "You come to these lands by chance, yet your timing could not be more impeccable."

Iridium stopped fussing with her clothes as she looked to the hooded maiden. 

"So I'm told, yes..." The wolf replied as Elidyr began sketching on the parchment. 

"Tell me, in your world do magic and science exist in harmony?" Elidyr asked. Iridium cocked her head in confusion.

"Uh...more or less. We've got the pockets of folk who swear strictly by one or the other, but most parts of my world use them together in their daily lives."

Elidyr nodded, and Iridium noted her shoulders eased up a little. "And you are one such soul who accommodates both?"

Iridium shrugged. "Well I know a few tricks. My expertise is more in business acumen really." 

Elidyr giggled. "Do you see yourself as one who could change lives?" She queried while holding her drawing up to the light, allowing Iridium to see it was some manner of design schematic. "You did mention you run a 'company', dedicated to using magic and technology to create means for folk to live their lives without taxing the wellness of your world."

Iridium furrowed her brow, even more confused with what Elidyr was getting at.

"That IS our goal, yes. There's a big emphasis now on measures that are more environmentally friendly. Kind of have to change lives to accomplish that." The wolf replied. Elidyr set the schematic back down and resumed drawing in more additions.

"Do you believe in fate or destiny?" She asked. Silence held as Iridium thought on how to answer that. 

"I...I like to think that things happen for a reason if that's what you mean?" She finally replied. Elidyr drew for a bit longer, then put down the charcoal and turned to grab a wooden lectern off the desk. 

"It is...which may mean your presence here isn't so random." Elidyr looked directly at the wolf. "How much have you read of Puddledum's history here? How often does Angelique get mentioned?"

Iridium looked even more weirded out. "How often? She isn't mentioned at all! I didn't think she would be." 

Elidyr nodded as she set the lectern down beside the pool and spread her schematic across it. 

"And why is that?" The hooded maiden charged. Iridium could sense the essence of a wry smile in the shadows of her hood.

"Well...because....because..." Iridium's fur began to bristle with realisation. Elidyr did not fail to notice.

"You have heard, maybe even felt the unrest upon the wind. Trouble is brewing in the West, and the North. Men and elves will soon make their stand against their common foe...and where shall souls like Angelique be then?"

Iridium opened, then closed her mouth. She wasn't sure how to answer. Wasn't sure if Elidyr expected her to answer. Certainly the hooded maiden took her silence to say all that was needed as she handed the wolf her phone.

"Give me until sundown to work. I will have my servants bring out food and refreshments to you in the courtyard." Elidyr replied as she held her hands out over the pool. The disturbance of the light filtering down into the water seem to bring unrest as the pool began to ripple and sparkle under the maiden's attention. "If you will do what I suspect you will...Angelique will be needing your company more than ever."

***

"So first Bildud, then her. Everyone seems bent on the notion that I'm spending too much time alone." Angelique grumbled as she watched the sun slowly set while writing in a ledger she'd brought with her. Beside her, Iridium let her head rest against the warm scales of the dragon's neck. 

"It sounds like they're worried for your well being." The wolf soothed, only to be pushed off by Angelique's swelling pecs. It wasn't entirely an unpleasant sensation, but Iridium's enjoyment was dampened by the dragon's aggravated growl.

"It's like I said yesterday. Everyone thinks I'm too small and weak to survive on my own. Even Mrs. Zallah didn't want to leave me by myself for too long when I told her to take some vacation time!" Angelique snarled, then hung her head in admission that the critique of her stature might have a grain of truth to it.

Iridium sighed and rose to stand before Angelique, cupping her long angular face in her hands.

"Well from what I've seen, I'd beg to differ. That's why I want to be there for you, if you ever need someone to give your self-esteem a boost." 

Angelique snorted in doubt. Iridium tried not to murr at the hot breath fanning her body. 

"The only thing that's going to boost my self-esteem is knowing if I do have some latent power I just can't harness properly, or if my current abilities are indeed all I've got." The dragon sighed while looking to the horizon. Iridium sighed as well as she tried to think of something else that might aid the dragon's mood. 

"Being able to lift several hundred pounds of weight without flinching is nothing to sneeze at. Nor is having the ability to fly, or breathe fire, or...um....well I'm sure that can't be all...can it?" Iridium asked. She looked at Angelique's hand, guiding the quill pen across the pages of her ledger in an elegant cursive script. "You're good with numbers I see."

Angelique shrugged. "I like to keep a record of every addition and deduction from my hoard. Even if it was something as small as the handful of coins I used to pay for our shopping trip, it still requires revising the overall worth of my possessions." 

Iridium's ears rose in intrigue as Angelique jotted down a quick calculation and then underlined the total. 

"So you've got a head for finance then?" She asked. 

"All dragons do, along with numismatism, assaying, and whatever else we need to ensure all the treasure we collect is genuinely valuable." Angelique said with just a hint of a smile. "We don't lust after gold and jewels just because they look pretty."

Iridium gave a bigger smile. 

"All the more reason we both need to keep in touch then." The wolf said as Elidyr emerged from the entrance to her stronghold. In her hands she held a pair of crystal vials, and sealed inside of each of them was a measure of sparkling liquid. "And it looks like we're about to get the means to do so."

Elidyr approached and held up the vials.

"These should do the job of conveying both your image and your voice across whatever expanse may separate you two. I only require one more thing from you both to activate them."

Iridium raised an eyebrow as one of the goblin servants approached and knelt beside Elidyr, presenting her with two knives on a pillow. One was of a glimmering silver construct. The other had a jet black blade, polished to a mirror like shine. 

"A blood sacrifice?" Iridium asked. Elydir turned her hood to the wolf, and Iridium again felt the pierce of a knowing smile from her hidden face. 

"You are familiar with this sort of magic as well?" The hooded maiden queried as she picked up the silver knife. 

"It's a popular point of moral debate. Some say anything involving blood or necromancy should be classified as criminal acts. Others say doing so is an infringement on people's free will." Iridium sighed as Elidyr grabbed her hand. The wolf kept her face neutral as she felt the sharp point of the blade pressing against the tip of her finger, with Elidyr slowly increasing the pressure as she stared Iridium down.

"I only ask this of you as payment...." Elidyr paused as she felt her knife finally penetrate Iridium's tough furry flesh. The wolf neither struggled nor howled in pain as her finger began to bleed from the tiny puncture wound. "Promise that when the time comes, you will do what you need to do, for Angelique."

Iridium sighed as Elidyr unsealed one of the vials and let a drop of the wolf's blood fall into the sparkling water. The vial took on an unearthly pink glow as Elidyr sealed it again and handed it to Iridium. 

"Trust me, I've got ideas for what I can do." Iridium looked over at the dragon. "Personally, I'm getting the sense Angelique's a girl perhaps born in the wrong time, or maybe the wrong world."

Elidyr chuckled as she placed the silver knife back on the pillow and picked up the black blade. 

"She certainly does not deserve the reputation her kind has been saddled with here." The hooded maiden mused as she stepped over to repeat the blood ceremony with Angelique. 

***

"So as soon as the final checks are run you can open a portal? Alright thanks, Trevor. I'm standing by." Iridium let out a heavy exhale as she stood outside Angelique's cave, staring at the dawn of a new day, yet feeling little comfort from the rising sun's warmth. She lowered the phone from her ears, holding it tightly to her breasts as Angelique emerged from behind, bearing a travelling pack containing a few goodies from her hoard, and the mace Iridium had been given. 

"You're not, um, doing anything later tonight are you?" Iridium asked the dragon as she set down her travelling provisions. "Mondays are usually a real drag at the office but once I'm home, if you're free to chat, I'd like to give these a test run."

Iridium held up the glowing vial. Angelique looked to its counterpart, now hanging from her neck on a gold chain. 

"Mrs. Zallah will no doubt be back from her vacation any day. I should probably make sure the cave is as immaculate as possible so she doesn't have to fuss." Angelique smirked. "So no need to worry about interrupting anything."

Iridium smiled as her fur rose in reaction to the build up of electricity in the air. It crackled, popped, and then suddenly the space before the wolf was torn asunder as a portal opened.

"Well here's hoping I can stop by again soon! Two days clearly wasn't enough to see all the splendor of this place, but what I have seen has given me a lot to think about." Iridium said.

"My cave is always open. You're welcome any time." Angelique promised as she helped the wolf strap on the pack and heft the mace onto her shoulders. "Just don't go causing any further trouble okay?"

Iridium looked up at the dragon, then let her offense be squashed by the tender nuzzle of Angelique's face against hers.

"Hey look who's talking! You get out there and try to cause some trouble so we can have something to talk about!" Iridium ordered before stepping through the portal. "Just keep yourself safe for now!"

Angelique nodded that she would as the portal began to close, once more separating the two souls by the endless reaches of time and space.

"And if you can't, I sure as hell will!" Iridium swore.

END OF BOOK 1