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A Whole New Party

Part 17

For Engy

By Draconicon

They didn't stay in the dungeon for long. Once the call was done and they had one more night of sleep, Audron collected the kobolds and his Claimed and made his way to the exit. They reached it in short order, as all the traps had been taken down overnight, and they were able to go through the shortest route to get to the surface once more. As the sun poured down on them, illuminating them and warming them with natural light for the first time in some time, his followers groaned in satisfaction and smiled happily.

Audron, on the other hand, was feeling that familiar sense of anxiety and worry as he looked towards the horizon. He knew that he needed to keep moving, but at the same time, he was well aware that he was leading a group now rather than just flying around on his lonesome. They were transformed, yes, and they were strong and quicker than they had been in the past, but they still lacked wings. Even Vincent, for all that his transformed form had the beginnings of them, didn't have the ability to fly just yet.

We're walking...walking from Orc-Land to Elf-Land...

And that meant that they were going to have a very, very, very long journey ahead of them, at least a few months, before they reached the range that he had his eyes on. The platinum dragon sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"I really should have thought that one through."

"Something up, Master?" Vincent asked.

"Just...realizing how long we're going to be on the road."

"Well, better get something to ride in style, then."

"I think that we'll be able to get something when we get back to the main road."

"How's the dragon bank?"

"...Reasonably well-stocked?"

At least, he was pretty sure it was. He knew that there would be a present from Uncle Raithir coming eventually, and he knew that his mother wasn't going to cut him off immediately, but he'd imagine that he was running to the end of having a proper allowance. He just hoped that it would last long enough.

Olfel looked up at the mention of money. The spiked lizard cocked his head to the side.

"Define 'reasonably', please."

"I'd say...about six-hundred platinum left?"

"Stop throwing money around, and we'll be fine."

"You're sure?"

"Trust me. I'm sure."

"And if he's sure, so am I," Vincent said. "He's always had a better head for money than the rest of us."

"That's because the rest of you can't be bothered to learn the value of a coin," the spiked lizard muttered.

Audron didn't say anything. They were confident that they would be okay, and that was enough for him. He glanced back at the horses that were still tied up outside. They had been given the space to roam around, but they were definitely wary of their former riders. He imagined that they didn't smell the same to the beasts, all things considered. They were probably going to be a few hours just getting mounted up.

We could let the horses go...

No, no, that would be stupid, wouldn't it? Even if his Claimed could keep up a good running pace, what was the point in getting rid of animals that were well-trained and able to keep up a good pace? He'd had to push himself to stay ahead of them before, so it would be better for the horses to stay around.

For now.

With Clover and Olfel working to get the horses under control again, Kyo'Thar seemed to take some time to go and meditate. The raptor seemed to be focused on his book of spells, reading through it while his eyes glowed with power. Vincent, of course, stayed near him, leaning against a tree and looking down on the dragon.

"So, you got a plan?"

"Yep. Get to the new mountain."

"...New mountain, like a new house?"

"Well, I have a good one in mind."

"...And it's where, exactly?"

"Elf-Land."

"And we're getting there..."

"However we can."

"And we're going to prevent people from killing us on sight by..."

"Why would they kill you on sight?"

"Hello? Monster people?"

Vincent's comment went right over his head for a moment, but then he took another look at his Claimed. There was a raptor that was attended by a smaller, chicken-sized reptile. There was a gecko that, while soft, was obviously not one of the 'civilized' races of the world. There was a giant lizard that stood head and shoulders over most people and could have been mistaken for a mini-ogre. And there was a spiked lizard that could impale multiple people with his porcupine-style tail.

Right. That is a little dangerous.

"Um...I think me and Kyo'Thar can manage that."

"..."

"Look, I was just going for it, okay?"

"You were just going for it?"

"I - okay, I'm still kind of new at this. I know. I know, not the smartest things to do, but we'll figure it out."

"Winging it isn't really a strategy."

"It's worked so far."

"So far isn't that much of a ringing recommendation."

"Well, if you're so worried, how about you start offering suggestions instead of just critiquing my ideas?"

"Sure. Buy the biggest carriage we can, you cast an illusion spell on yourself, and you drive us during the day while we protect you at night."

Audron blinked, slowly tilting his head to the side. That...was a solution that put all the work on him and nothing on the Claimed that were supposed to be doing most of the work for him. His mouth worked soundlessly, sputtering every so often as Vincent smiled down at him.

"You - but - that's not how it's supposed to work."

"I don't know how dragons worked, or how Claimed are supposed to work, that's true. But I'm going to bet that most dragons don't turn their Claimed into random animals that don't really fit in with the rest of the world."

"I - fair point," Audron admitted, gritting his teeth at having to give even that much ground.

"And I'm going to bet that most dragons claim a mountain first, and then get the Claimed to hold it, hmm?"

"...That can be the way to do it, yes."

"How many dragons do it the opposite way that you did?"

"..."

"Hmm?"

"Okay, maybe 5%."

"While 95% pick a home first, and then pick the guards."

"Look, the one I want is pretty valuable land. If I picked that first, then I'd have to fight all the time to keep it, and I'd never get the chance to get some Claimed. I had to get you guys first."

"And you got us all the way on the other side of the continent. Brilliant job, Master."

The sarcastic clapping that followed really was the icing on the cake. Audron blushed worse than ever, and he whipped around, crossing his arms. Was he being a bit of a petulant child now that he was reminded of how much harder this was turning out to be? Maybe a little bit, but gods dammit, he felt like he was entitled. This was still a brilliant coup in his mind, getting such powerful adventurers on his side. He felt like it was the best that he could have done, and it was still better than what most dragons would have managed.

Still, Vincent wasn't wrong. They were going to be going through quite a bit of civilized land to get to his mountain of choice, and that was also dealing with the fact that they needed to meet his uncle partway there for a party. There were plenty of quick-lived that would have the chance to see them on the way, and every chance of being seen was a chance of being exposed. If he'd been traveling with humans, elves, or even orcs, that wouldn't have been so bad.

If they were seen in these monster forms, though...

I might have jumped the gun just a bit...

Well, there was little point in trying to take it back now. He could probably hold the illusions over the five of them if he needed to, particularly if Kyo'Thar could help him with the casting and get the first two done. Three wasn't that hard, but going past that was an energy drain and a half. He rubbed the back of his head.

"Master?"

"What, Vincent?"

"If you want me to come up with more strategies, I can. But just saying; maybe next time, talk to someone about your ideas before just making it happen. Sometimes, it helps to have someone else to bounce the ideas off of."

"That come from experience, or regret?"

"Bit of both. Looks like Olfel and Clover are almost done with the horses, though."

Which was an unsubtle way of saying that they could pick this up later. He nodded his thanks at the tallest of his Claimed, letting Vincent return to the rest of the group.

The more that he thought about it, the more that he realized that this trip was going to be one of the most tiring journeys that he had ever been on, and considering that he had been made to do a flying ring around the rosy between the different peaks in the Dragon Plane, that was saying something. Focusing on his magic for hours at a time was going to be like enduring a three-day stretch of gliding all condensed into twenty-four hours, followed by a brief rest before doing it all again.

There's gotta be a better way through it than this...

But for all that he wanted to say that he was a brilliant dragon that could think his way through anything, no real alternative came to him. Their only other option was to keep off the roads and hope that they didn't run into anything bad going from town to town, and keep the illusions to when they were around other people. That wasn't a great idea, either, because going off-road would mean that travel would take anywhere from three to five times as long, and that would mean that other dragons would have more time to try and claim his mountain as their own.

Yes, it was his mountain in his mind. He wasn't giving it up without a fight.

However, until they got there, it wasn't necessarily his uncontested. He needed to get there quickly, while also not exhausting himself. It was definitely a conundrum.

"Master?"

Clover's voice called him out of his little mini-fugue, and he saw that his Claimed - other than Vincent, who was too big for it - had mounted up. They were looking at him for orders, and he rubbed the back of his head as he thought of some.

"Start riding for the next town up. If you see anyone on the road, get off it and stay hidden. I'll be waiting for you off the road near it, so we can cast an illusion before going into town."

"That's it?" Vincent asked.

"That's it."

"...See you there, Master."

And with that, the four adventurers turned, running for the road in the case of Vincent, riding after in the case of the others. They were soon well and truly out of sight, heading down the road towards the main highway. It would give them a good head start before he had to fly after them.

The kobolds, however, were still waiting for orders. They had filed out of the dungeon while his Claimed were getting their horses situated, and the current leader - some male that had blue stripes along his forehead - looked up at him.

"What now, Master?"

"I guess we keep going."

"We follow?"

"Yeah. I mean, if you still want to."

"Want, want!"

"Heh, alright. Just...don't hurt yourselves trying to keep up, okay?"

"No-hurt, just run."

"...Let's see how this works..."

Audron flew for some time, stopping only at noon and then shortly before sunset to make sure that the kobolds had time to catch up. He was a swift flyer, and considering that he didn't have to worry about the rise and fall of the land around him, he was able to make much better time than the land-bound.

That said, the kobolds didn't complain in the slightest as they followed him around. Sure, they were tired when they reached the end of their run the first time, when they collapsed and gasped for breath, but they were so happy to be with him again that it almost seemed like they weren't tired at all. It was rather strange, and hard for him to get used to.

However, it meant that when they arrived just outside of town, the kobolds were exhausted. They were ready to fall down and sleep the night away. Hell, half of them did just that, hitting the ground as soon as they reached him, snoring in some of the most awkward positions that he had ever seen. He shook his head at them, looking for the blue-marked leader and finding him leaning against his side.

"Found...found Master...again."

"You aren't going to be able to keep that up."

"Can-so, can-so."

"No, you're going to end up killing yourselves if you keep running like that."

"Can-so..."

He could see the fear in their eyes. They were worried about being left behind, or at the very least, of being replaced. He knew that some of them had been afraid of the adventurers for that reason, that once the dragon had gotten them, he would leave the kobolds behind. Audron had no intention of doing that, but he also had no intention of just leaving them here, either, or forcing them to run so hard and fast to keep up with him. That really would kill them, in the long run.

So, he needed a better idea, something that would keep them alive while they were running with him, while they were traveling. But how would he disguise that many kobolds from the civilized eyes? It was just inviting trouble to keep them out in the open, but he didn't have the power to make that many of them invisible. Not for longer than a very short period of time like he'd done in Lork-Lund.

What to do, what to do?

By the time the sun set and darkness fell, he still had no answer, but his Claimed had arrived to give him something else to focus on. They were hardly out of breath, and while they were dusty, they were definitely in better shape than the exhausted kobolds. Audron shifted from his four-legged form to his two-legged one, nodding in greeting.

"No problems on the road?" he asked.

"Nothing big," Vincent said. "Small procession of priests, but that was all."

"They didn't see you?"

"Not that I could tell. I think they were too busy chanting."

He nodded. That was something. Nobody had followed them, nobody knew that a party of monsters was wandering the roads. That was for the best.

"Alright. We'll stable your horses out here for the night. The kobolds will bring them around to the other side of town in the morning, and we'll saddle up there."

"And you, Master?" the muscular leader asked.

"I'll follow you into town. We'll get an inn for the night, and then figure out what to do in the morning."

"That's it?"

"Unless you have a better idea."

"Olfel came up with one, actually," Vincent said, tossing his head to the side in a gesture at the shorter reptile. "Olfel?"

"Merchants," the spiked lizard said.

"Come again?"

"Merchants. We pretend to be merchants."

"How's that going to help?"

"We get a lot of wagons, for one. And for another, it means we can travel in a group without being so conspicuous. Throw some of your money around for some mercenaries to keep it safe, and you look like just one more group that's traveling in the lands."

It was such an easy solution that he was almost suspicious that it had been planted, yet, at the same time, it felt right with what he knew of the former dwarf. Olfel had been tied into the accounts of the party, had been the eyes and ears of it, and had been the one with his ears to the ground regarding money moving around. If there was anyone that would have come up with that idea, it was him.

Wagons...that means goods, right? That would mean spending money...

He winced at the idea. He didn't want to spend so much after throwing so much of it away in buying up 'adventuring' services from the party, but that was just going to have to be swallowed. The various wagons would give the kobolds a place to hide, too, and that was all for the best.

Money for the wagons, money for some fake goods, money to get the mercenaries to guard it so that these four can stay in the wagons and hide, as well...

All in all, it was a surprisingly good plan, and one that he could see working quite well as they crisscrossed the land. They would be hidden from plain sight, and they would be able to get to the mountain, hopefully, without any sort of suspicion being raised. Overall, it was probably the best plan that they could have.

"That's brilliant, Olfel."

"I know," the spiked lizard said, chuckling. "That's why you wanted me."

"You are the clever one."

"Yes. Glad someone notices."

"So." Vincent clapped his hands together. "What are we going to look like when we go into town?"

"...Um..."

"I can't believe you're doing this to us..."

Audron wasn't sure that it was the best idea, either, but he had been struck with a need to reassert his dominance after the party had basically had to save his bacon with that merchant idea. As a result, he was being flanked, not by his monster party, but by four big-assed women.

Well, they appeared women, anyway. They were under an illusion that made them look like whores, or at least, high-class dancers. They were in soft silks that were so sheer that it almost made them look naked, and the beggars and guards of the town were quick to pay attention to them as they walked by.

They were mostly okay with it, though Kyo'Thar, of all people, seemed to miss his old, animal body. He seemed to have gotten rather attached to the thick-thighed, big-balled look that he had.

But that was going to have to wait until they got to their rooms. He had disguised himself as his usual rich-old-man form, and that meant that he was all but required to have entourage with him. The sexy ladies meant that he wasn't bothered by other women of the night in town, and it meant that all the other guards would look at him and just roll their eyes at a rich man that was taking his playthings to an inn for his fun.

It was a good disguise, but it was definitely self-indulgent, particularly as he rested his hands on Vincent's and Olfel's asses. They were both grumbling slightly to themselves, shaking their heads.

"Do you really need to do that, Master?" Vincent asked. "I mean, if you're going to do that much, you might as well take the clothes off and just jam your fingers in directly."

"Don't tempt him," Olfel muttered. "You get him horny enough, he'll do it. And I don't think the illusion's gonna hide the boners we get from that."

Audron was trying very hard not to think of his own libido at that moment, particularly as he rather wanted to do that very thing. There was something to the dragon in him that really wanted to show his dominance of those that he had claimed, even if it did risk them being discovered here in town. He wanted to show the world that he had power to claim this party, and then show them his power and sexual mastery over them, but -

Later, later, he told himself.

They arrived at one of the inns, stepping inside. The common room was busy as could be, but they still turned to look at him and his entourage. Some eyebrows went up, others just chuckled and looked away. He still walked through the room with as much dominance and confidence as he could muster, making his way right to the innkeeper.

"I need a room for the night," he said.

"We're just about full-up. You sure one room's gonna cut it?"

"I have enough for the best."

"Buying four whores, you better have something."

He started to reach for his illusory pockets, only to have Olfel dart up and stop him. The magical, dark-skinned woman reached into her own illusory pocket, pulling out two gold.

"This will be sufficient, I think."

"Mmm, that will do, indeed..."

Audron was rather shocked. He had been about to offer four platinum for the room, well over the cost of those meager golds. Were things...that cheap?

As the innkeeper offered him a key, Olfel took it up and guided him back to the rest of the group. They made their way to the second floor, and the second they were out of sight, the former dwarf poked him in the ribs.

"Hey, what was that for?" Audron hissed.

"For almost blowing it."

"I was just going to give him money."

"Too much money. You want to keep that bank in check? You make sure that you check with me before spending."

"Sometimes it's good to be generous."

"And sometimes it just leaves a trail."

"..."

"Trust me. The more money you spend, the more people notice. Bribes are the first thing that an experienced hunter looks for when chasing people like us."

"You think that someone's tracking us?"

"I'm thinking I want to make it hard for anyone in the future."

Audron slowly nodded. Considering the more evil nature of his Claimed, they probably had all kinds of enemies from the things that they had done. They were probably a little concerned about those enemies catching up to them, and what might happen when that finally occurred.

Their room was at the far end of the inn, somewhere nice and quiet. The room itself was large, with three beds inside, and a fireplace that was roaring with a nice, hot fire. He dropped the magic as soon as they entered the room, and all four of his subordinates groaned and groped their crotches as one.

"Finally," Vincent muttered. "Felt all wrong without that..."

"Tell me about it," Kyo'Thar said, slowly fondling his cock up and forward, rubbing it rather shamelessly. "It's so big now that I miss it when it's not swinging down there."

"Don't forget about the balls," Olfel muttered. "Feels so wrong without that pair down there."

The whole group laughed at that, and Audron smiled. They really were...comfortable, he realized, with what had happened to them. If there was any resentment for their new forms, they really didn't seem that inclined to show it. He walked over to the third bed, sitting down on it and flopping out. The feeling of the sheets against his wings was...nice. Soft, too, something that he didn't get in the dungeon or out in the wilds.

"So, Master," Clover said. "Will one of us be sleeping with you tonight?"

"Tempting, but I'm going to take a solo night."

"Awww."

"Doesn't seem fair to take one and exclude the rest."

"A fair point," Kyo'Thar said.

He closed his eyes. The town noise was fading now, and he was tired from maintaining the four-part illusion through town. Much fun as relations with his Claimed would have been, he had to admit that he was too tired to go through that right then. He was more inclined to just sleep, catch up on some of his rest, and hope that he felt better about the whole lack of a plan in the morning.

I'm going to need to get better at thinking things through...

Audron settled in and was soon fast asleep.

A morning orgy and a small round of blowjobs after, the group was on the move once again. Audron had Kyo'Thar put an illusion on Olfel, and the spiked lizard went to buy up as many wagons as he could, as well as suitable cargo. Vincent, with a series of contacts among the other adventurers around the land, was sent with one of Audron's illusions around him to start recruiting them as guards. That left him with Clover and Kyo'Thar, and it didn't take long for the three of them to get down with a little more fun. Instigated by the wizard, surprisingly; Clover just wanted to cuddle.

They finished shortly before Olfel returned, barely in time to get dressed and put their illusions on again. The 'dwarf' grumbled as he walked in.

"Four wagons. Fucking...four. In the whole village."

"It is a small place," Clover said. "It's not unexpected."

"Yes, well, they were wanting all kinds of money for them, too."

"And we have plenty of that," Kyo'Thar said.

"For now. That's not infinite, and I don't know how much work we'll get between here and Master's mountain. We need to stretch it as far as we can."

Audron had to reluctantly agree with Olfel. He didn't want to delay with much work on the way there, though he understood that there would be times when it wasn't going to be avoidable. They would need to keep as many contracts as possible flowing in the same direction; they couldn't go out and do something and then go backwards, particularly if they wanted to keep up their disguise.

"So, what are we transporting?" Audron asked.

"Hmm?"

"What's in the wagons?"

"Um...better not to know, Master."

"...Olfel, what are we transporting?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know."

"How illegal is it?"

"...It's legal in parts of the continent."

The platinum dragon slapped a hand over his forehead, huffing under his breath. Kyo'Thar arched an eyebrow.

"It's not slaves again, is it?" the wizard asked.

"Better not be," Audron muttered.

"Look, when I say 'you don't want to know', then that means that you really don't want to know. That means that I'm going to be doing something that takes care of our problem, and I'm going to address all the other problems I can at the same time. So, yes. Slaves."

"Gods dammit."

"It's legal in some parts of the continent - including the capital in the center, let me add - and they sell for insanely high money if they're trained right. I can make back all that we spent and then some."

He couldn't believe it. He'd let the greedy little dwarf out of his sight for two hours, and Olfel had managed to hook them into the slave trade. The only redeeming factor in the whole thing was that they at least had some cargo that they could take with them and treat better than they would have been treated at market, but at the same time, he seriously doubted that this was something actually good.

"How many slaves?" he muttered.

"Hmm? Oh, four."

"So the other wagons are going to be free?"

"Um...for now."

"...For now?"

"I arranged another pick-up between here and the capital."

"GODS DAMMIT!"

"Hey, it's good money, and better us than other traders, right?"

"How the hell did you even find slaves to buy?"

"You don't want to know."

"Kyo'Thar?" Audron turned to the raptor. "Please, do me a favor. Summon some kind of giant bat or SOMETHING to chase him around so I don't give in to the temptation to strangle him right now."

"Oh, Master, you couldn't have given me a better task."

As the raptor chased the dwarf out of the room, Audron flopped back onto his bed. Clover joined him, the gecko rubbing his arm gently as he stared at the ceiling. It was all he could do not to scream at that moment, just because of the sheer stupidity of the dwarf.

I thought I put him under an order to do no evil.

Well, that seemed to be out of the picture. That, or this sort of slave delivery service didn't actually count as evil as bound by that order. He was going to have to take a look at that later, just to make sure that it didn't go off the rails.

Mom's going to kill me if she finds out.

He rubbed his forehead. This journey had just gotten so much more interesting, in a very, very wrong way.

The End

Summary: Audron and the others leave the dungeon, and realize that they don't really have a plan for what to do next.

Tags: M/M, Off-Screen Sex, Dragon, Lizard, Reptile, Raptor, Comedy, Slaves, Kobold, Series, Epilogue, Arc End, Fantasy, Series, Cuddles, Gecko,