FSE

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Part 1

It was a cold night and the moon was waning in the clear, star filled sky. The air was still and the trees silent, the only sound was an out of breath dragon breathing heavily. Yogoloth was not admiring the sky as he sometimes did, instead he was laying face down with his mouth in a patch of pine needles and dirt. It had taken at least five minutes for the pain to die own, at least the worst of it was over.

The green dragon was not a true dragon, he was the incredibly rare offspring of a dragon and a gryphon. His feathery wings, long lion-like tail and furry brown ears were testament to his gryphon heritage. The half dragon, half gryphon hybrid would often argue that he was a dragon, who just happened to also be a gryphon. But he didn't feel particularly dragon-like nor gryphon-like tonight, as he tried unsteadily to balance on two legs while spitting out bits of plant.

Unlike most pure dragons, he was not blessed with much innate magic, what little he had was just enough to get him by. But the one inexplicable non-magical power he did have was the ability to change his shape between his natural dragon form and something closely matching the self proclaimed "civilised" races. So now he stood shakily on two legs, standing a little short of six feet tall, pulling his small now mostly useless wings close to his body.

He suddenly started coughing, then doubled over and retched. A few specks of blood landed on the forest floor, almost black in the moonlight.

"Why do I do this to myself...", Yogoloth muttered once the coughing fit was over. "The past is the past... leave it be...", but he had no intention of giving up on what he'd come here to do. Plus, it would be good to see Marrus again, it must have been at least a year since he'd left to cross the great southern ocean into the unknown.

He stood up again, stronger this time, the old memories starting to return. Walking on two legs hadn't come naturally when he had first assumed this shape, it had taken weeks for him to finally feel like he'd cracked it. But this was no time to reminisce about times long gone by, two arms and two legs does not a civilised person make.

He retrieved a worn leather back pack from the undergrowth nearby and emptied it out onto the ground. Wrapping his tail around one leg he took a length of rope and secured it in place. Having such dexterous hands was possibly the one thing he missed after spending a long time in this shape. Next was another length of rope to hold his wings closer to his body. Then the heavy woollen robe and dark leather cloak. The backpack and robes hid his wings and tail well enough, but his green hide, long horns and furry ears needed a far different approach.

He reached for the magic within himself, which thankfully always seemed unaffected by his non-magical transformation, and formed the required patterns in his find. His hide began to loose its colour and his ears shrunk back leaving more reptilian pits. Even his long horns lost much of their length, but Yogoloth was never quite able to conceal them completely, that was what the hooded cloak was for.

With the transformation complete, he could pass for one of the civilised lizard races, as long as no one saw his stumpy horns, wings or furry tail. One day he'd have a go at magically disguising his tail and making it more reptilian, but this will do for now. At least this way he still had some free for any... unforeseen matters.

Pulling his hood up he headed for the trail that would eventually lead him to the travellers inn where he and Marrus had often met before.

Part 2

Yogoloth opened the door to the inn but the sound of friendly talking and the smell of strange food had already reached his keen senses. That as not to say that the food itself was alien to him, but the disguised dragon had never really understood the whole burning your food before you eat it thing. If you wanted it warm then kill it and eat right away, it tasted better too. The night was still young and the patrons were still warming up their banter.

He lowered his hood slightly, making sure not to reveal his now stumpy horns, and made a show of not hiding his newly greyed reptilian snout. He attracted a few brief glances, but they soon turned back to their food, drinks and conversations. So far, his disguise hadn't failed him, but one day he'd meet someone who knew the various civilised reptilian races well enough to know that he wasn't one of them, disguise or not. Yogoloth couldn't see Marrus yet, but he had never been particularly punctual. He came and went as he chose, sometimes days late or early, perhaps that's part of the reason they got on so well.

Perhaps time for one drink before Marrus shows his face. Yogoloth walked to the counter and gave his best toothy smile, the civilised races love a good smile.

"Good to see you again... J'darden, isn't it?", the slightly brutish wolf asked. Although not heavily built, the owner of the Cracked Pot and Mill still somehow commanded a certain respect and did his best to remember every face.

"Now tell me, how many other patrons do you get from beyond the Shudan Mountains?", Yogoloth joked keeping to his ruse.

"None quite like you.", the old wolf replied with a hint of amusement. "So, what will it be? We have a fresh pot of chicken broth with broad beans and root vegetables?"

"You always have a chicken broth with assorted plants. I'll stick with just an ale for now."

The inn keeper grabbed a wooden mug from under the counter, turned to one of the wooden casks behind him began to pour. Yogoloth reached into a pocket in his robes and placed a metal coin he found there on the counter. Part of him winced inside as he willingly gave away the semi precious metal for a mere drink. He might be disguised as a civilised lizard but he was still a dragon inside and this act always seemed to aggravate his normally well suppressed hoarding instinct.

The exchange made, he distracted himself by picking up the drink with a clawed hand, leaned on the counter and surveyed the inn. Due to the inn's location on the trade route they generally enjoyed plenty of varied sorts arriving and departing at strange times. There were very few patrons that could call themselves "regulars", that was probably for the best, thought Yogoloth.

There were no more than half a dozen people here, a human couple by the hearth warming themselves. They looked cold and hungry both and ill equipped to pay for food. There was an older man eating some broth at a table with a tiger who, by the look on his face, seemed to be telling the most incredible story to his fellow patron. Yogoloth got the impression that the old man would have disagreed by how much more attention he was giving to his broth. Maybe he was just mortally hungry and only moments from death, the disguised dragon chuckled.

In a corner were two men in similar, but not identical, light leathers and chain armour, most of it in various states of disrepair. Probably some sort of mercenaries or bodyguards drinking away their latest pay. They were pretty drunk by now but not too loud or bawdy.

Yogoloth decided to grab a secluded table round the corner away from the hearth and the pot of broth, the carnivore decided he'd had enough of the smell of boiled plants. Careful not to trap his tail, he sat down and took a long gulp of his ale. He sighed in idle satisfaction, ale was possibly the one thing he missed after spending a long time in this shape.

Part 3

The hooded dragon sat quietly at the secluded table, his partly physical and partly magical disguise hadn't failed him yet and he looked close enough in general appearance to the reptilian races to pass for one. Maybe today's my lucky day and I'll bump into someone who knows those lizard people well enough to see through my crude disguise, he often joked to himself. Thankfully the evening was still young when Marrus arrived, although Yogoloth's first ale of the night was nearly dry.

Marrus was a tall, well built, middle aged man who obviously took good care of himself. His figure could only be described as sinewy as he walked purposefully towards the table where Yogoloth was sitting. His skin was well tanned and his hair was cut short and receding slightly. Although at least as old as he was, his scale mail jacket was well cared for and had seen many battles over the years as the skilled warrior had earned his reputation. Most of that reputation was well deserved fact, but not all of it was good. There were very few who believed one particular rumour that he consorted with monsters who had granted him their demonic boon.

Yogoloth felt a genuine smile sneak its way onto his grey snout, a toothy, predatory look that would have made most people apprehensive only encouraged a broad smile from Marrus.

"My old friend!", the aging warrior practically bellowed as he roughly embraced the smiling lizard. Yogoloth instinctively but briefly hesitated, then relaxed and reciprocated with some hearty back slaps. He still wasn't entirely used to the casual physicality and invasion of personal space that seemed to come hand in hand with his friendship with Marrus.

"How have you been keeping, old man?", Yogoloth taunted as they both took their seats at the table.

"From the looks of it, better than you.". Then Marrus added more quietly, "You're getting lazy with your disguise, you're looking a little green.".

Yogoloth released the nearly empty mug of ale and looked carefully at the back of his clawed hand. True enough, a little of his natural green hide colour was still visible in the right light. He'd have to watch out for that next time.

"It's barely noticeable.", the dragon said, dismissing his companion's concern.

"What next? You come flying in through the door and breathe fire over the patrons?". The warrior had a flair for the dramatic, but he had a good point, as usual. Little mistakes could give the game away, just as easily as big mistakes, to the right person. He had to admit that he'd gotten a little complacent over the years that he'd known Marrus.

"You know full well I cannot breathe fire."

Marrus shrugged but said nothing, he'd made his point and he knew it. Yogoloth had always been quietly impressed with how his human friend dealt with being friends with a monstrous dragon. Most people didn't even realise dragons could speak and their first meeting could have gone very differently either way. The memory made him smile, but the warrior suddenly looked very old to the dragon's eyes. In the 20 years he'd known Marrus the dragon had barely aged at all, while the young poacher had turned into an aging warrior, still skilled and capable, but passed his prime. Time was not kind to the civilised races, he would miss his friend when he was gone.

Marrus caught the attention of the innkeeper, "A pair of ales for myself and my good friend J'darden, please innkeep!". He gave Yogoloth an exaggerated wink as he spoke the fake name. The dragon simply rolled his eyes, another ale couldn't hurt, business can wait until later.

Part 4

The aging warrior finished the last of his broth while the smell aggravated his companion's senses. No table could ever be large enough to allow Yogoloth to keep enough distance, the disguised dragon couldn't stand the smell of boiled vegetables. Even the cooked chicken did nothing for the carnivore. But luckily his human friend was quite a fast eater. Yogoloth had tried "civilised" food once, it hadn't ended well.

"I'm sure they'd bring you a raw pork chop if you asked? I heard the reptilian races eat raw meat on occasion.", Marrus suggested as he picked up his third ale and used it to wash down the broth.

Yogoloth smiled from behind his own ale, "A kind offer, but I ate yesterday.". It amazed him that the civilised races had time for anything else when they had to eat twice, sometimes even three times a day, to survive. Two good kills a week was more than enough.

Marrus slammed the empty mug down and grabbed a forth ale. The disguised dragon had given up years ago to keep up with his friend and was still part way through his third even after a head start.

"I found something interesting for you in my travels.", Yogoloth decided to bring this up now before the thirsty man was incapable of focusing at all. Marrus raised an eyebrow and put the wooden mug down. Reaching into his thick woollen robes the dragon placed a red stone on the table between them. The translucent gem was cut into an unusual triangular shape and was no bigger than a duck egg.

"Does this mean we're engaged now?", Marrus said with a smirk.

Yogoloth rolled his eyes, "Since you think you're so smart, you tell me what it is."

Marrus picked up the oddly cut fire opal and turned it over in his hand then closed his eyes and concentrated. His reptilian companion raised his clawed hand and gave him a sturdy open-handed whack to the head.

"Don't close your eyes!", Yogoloth said in a sharp, exasperated tone. He'd been teaching Marrus to sense and shape magic on and off for the last ten years and it was a bad habit that the human still couldn't shake. Pretty much anyone could be taught to sense magic, and most could shape it to a certain degree. But the civilised races possessed no magic of their own and no one could learn unless their teacher had access to magic.

But even with no magic you could still sense the life energies in others and this gave the old warrior a bit of an edge. Marrus could feel others sneak up on him and even foil ambushes some of the time. He also enjoyed shaping magic while Yogoloth channeled some of his own fairly limited power to him.

The old warrior rubbed his head in protest and then suddenly his eyes widened, "This... this is a channel?"

The reptile nodded, "It's nothing like what I've been channeling to you over the years. But it's better than nothing. It's the first I've seen for the last thirty years or so."

Marrus smiled, gripped the stone tightly in his hand and nodded to his companion, "You're full of surprises, my friend. So what else did you find in your recent travels? Meet any nice ladies?"

Yogoloth stopped mid gulp and looked at him for a moment. Marrus smiled, "You must tell me about your latest conquest!"

"I'm quite certain that I was her conquest. She nearly killed me, twice!"

Marrus nearly choked on his ale, "Twice!? You lucky old dog!".

Yogoloth didn't understand the dog reference but let it slip, "Lucky? She mauled my wing, tried to drown me, set me on fire...".

The aging warrior smiled and muttered something about dragon foreplay under his breath and the two of them looked at each other for a moment. They both burst out laughing.

After the laughter died down Yogoloth asked, "Strange question, have you ever heard of Xiangqi?"

Part 5

Yogoloth's mouth felt like it had been filled with sand. He slowly moved is long tongue around his reptilian snout and his head began to gently throb. There was no sand but his mouth was terribly dry. Meeting with his human friend Marrus at an inn or tavern often ended this way, with them both falling asleep at the table after too many ales. He dare not open his eyes yet and instead reached out his minor magical senses to the surrounding area.

Marrus was nearby across the table from him, he could recognise him magically very easily. There were a couple of others nearby, a wolf and another human. He assumed that the wolf was the innkeep, and the human felt like someone new.

"Marrus?", Yogoloth said without opening his eyes, his voice even rougher than normal. He swallowed hard. After no response he reached out and prodded him with a clawed hand. "Marrus!"

The warrior stirred and even with his eyes closed and his snout on the table he could feel his old friend sit up. Yogoloth was quite comfortable where he was and decided to stay there for the rest of the day.

"Get up you old lizard.", Marrus said with a certain tone. Yogoloth's brows furrowed, his friend was using his very-important-but-don't-want-others-to-notice voice. Keeping his snout on the table, he opened his eyes and regarded his friend cautiously. The aging warrior subtly tapped himself on the head, well, it was subtle for Marrus.

Slowly picking himself up from the table, Yogoloth sat upright and casually rested his head in his hands. He suddenly realised that his hood had fallen down and the brown fur on his neck and his horns were showing. The disguised dragon's heart skipped a beat and he glanced around the inn. No one was paying them any attention, the human he sensed earlier was busy eating some sort of oaty gruel.

He pulled his hood back up and breathed a sigh of relief. His disguise as one of the reptilian races wasn't exactly perfect, he relied on not meeting anyone who knew the lizards of the north too well. But most people knew they didn't have brown fur and, even magically shortened as they were, his horns were a dead give away that he was something else. None of the civilised races had horns of any kind. The disguised dragon/gryphon hybrid might have gotten away with it this time.

Marrus yawned and rubbed his eyes, "Well, I assume you still want this?". Reaching into his pack he took out a leather bound tube about a foot long. Yogoloth hadn't forgotten, but seeing his old friend again had taken priority for the time being.

"Thank you Marrus, what do I owe you?", he said as he took the scroll tube in his clawed hands.

The aging warrior smiled patted a pocket, Yogoloth could sense the channel stone beneath, "I cannot imagine you owe me anything at all.".

"Did you read through them yourself?", the disguised dragon asked casually while unbinding the tube.

"I admit, I was curious, but I don't think there would be anything in there that I need to know. I think I know enough as it is."

Yogoloth pulled out a few pieces of parchment from the tube and glanced through them. His eyes widened and he laughed nervously.

"How would they even get this information? Without magic even?"

Marrus shrugged and smiled, "Now you've got me curious."

Part 6

As the morning sun climbed slowly above the horizon, a hooded figure watched on in silence. It wasn't the sun itself that the disguised dragon was watching, but rather the sky as a whole and all the fresh promise that every new day brings. Yogoloth yearned to spread his feathery brown wings and soar. No dragon nor even gryphon was his equal in the air, what he lacked in magical abilities he more than made up for on the wing. But he'd have to shed this two legged form before his wings would be of any use at all. That took time and was not at all pleasant.

A heavy gloved hand fell on his shoulder, he didn't flinch, he could sense it was Marrus through his minor magical abilities.

"Are you ready old friend?", the aging human asked.

Yogoloth nodded and smiled, the friendship that he shared with Marrus was a peculiar one. The day they had met, either one of them could have ended up dead had the timing been different or the words not been just so. But there was a jovial respect shared between them and they had gotten on well ever since.

They both traveled where fate took them, Yogoloth had joked that, even without wings, Marrus seemed to live as much on the wind as he did. They sometimes had plans to travel together or to meet at certain places. But failing more solid plans, they would each do their best to meet here at this inn every year on the same day.

Marrus climbed onto his patchy brown and white horse and they both took a slow walk along the packed dirt path that led away from the inn. The warrior's horse was used to Yogoloth's scent by now. It hadn't liked being so close to the dragon, disguise or not, the day his old friend bought the feisty mare. In his natural form there wouldn't be much of a size difference between him and the equine anyway, he certainly couldn't eat a whole one.

"I might not make next year's meet.", Yogoloth said without looking at his friend. "But I'll see what happens."

"I suppose you have quite a trail to follow? A lot of travelling ahead of you.", the warrior kept his eyes on the path they were following. The inn falling behind them as they picked up pace, Marrus's mare, annoyed at the slow progress, shook her ears as though annoyed by flies.

"How the Bestian Society collect so much information without any magic, I will never know. It seems impossible."

The horseman smiled, "You monstrous beasts may live much longer than we do, but we just make up for it by packing more into the time we have.".

Yogoloth chuckled, but his mind was still processing some of the information he had just read. Ultimately, he would have to revisit the cave system where he had hatched and fledged, the caverns that his mother had called home all those decades ago. Most of the memories were good. Not all.

They were far enough from the inn now and, with no one in sight ahead or behind, Yogoloth pulled down his hood and revealed his stumpy horns. Marrus glanced over and raised his brows.

"So, now I have a channel, when do you plan on teaching me some of these disguise magics?"

The dragon pulled at the magic that clung around his head and tore it gently with his mind. The magical part of his disguise unravelled and the dragon's hide began to turn back from grey to its natural green. His horns grew and brown fur sprouted from the top of his head. Finally his furry ears regrew and he shook them as if clearing them of dust. He gave his best toothy smile up to his friend as though nothing remarkable had happened at all.

"I'm sure we'll find the time one day.", he teased.