44 Nia and The White Robed Monster

Miranda held Nia's hand through the fog as they approached the tavern, the Twelve Flower Inn. The sign was cracked, but still visible. Other bandits gathered in the mist around the two. As Nia got near the front of the entrance, the fog around it had vanished creating a bubble of visible air encircled by mist. The other bandits hid in the mist, while Miranda wanted to introduce her leader to somebody who she thought could be a valuable warrior or perhaps even a friend.

The tavern's door opened by itself and the white robed man strolled out as if he owned the town. His feet were cut up and wrinkled. His hands wrinkled with nails that could cut open a carcass. Nia watched the old man suspiciously and braced herself for a fight. There was a menacing aura around him that not just Nia felt, but every single bandit. The chill in the air resonated within and around him. He breathed out bursts of fog revealing his shark-like teeth to the young dragon. The smell of alcohol was pungent in the air around him, as well.

She looked at the man's mask made of ice in which he had no way of seeing through. Nia knew that this was no man. Not like the other bandits. She felt a much more sinister presence from the white robed man.

They stood feet away from each other, yet his presence loomed above her.

She feared for the villagers, but she couldn't get emotional. Answers first, she thought. She held her sheathed sword's hilt ready to take it out in the moment she needed.

The white robed man stared at the young girl. He knew what she was. He would never forget the stench of the creatures above him for thousands of years.

"Boss, I would like to introduce you to -"

"Listen, bandit leader, you're going to give me answers to what happened to this town!" Nia angrily shouted. She couldn't delay herself any longer. She wanted those answers and after she would decide what to do with it.

Miranda facepalmed herself and shook her head at Nia's impatience. She hoped that she would be able to understand the mage's power, rather than provoking him. She wanted her to understand that this monster had powers stronger than any human and that if they followed him, they would be able to take the riches that he leaves behind. Miranda didn't think that Nia was a part of any military force, but a simple mercenary. The kind of person who fights just to make money rather than honor.

The white robed man sniffed the air and smelled the girl. He was absolutely certain of what he smelled. A dragon. But he could feel that the other lowlife bandits didn't know that, so he could assume that the dragon was masking herself with magic.

In an elegant tone, he asked, "You came all this way to ask about the whereabouts of a couple of townsfolk?"

Nia took out her blade and pointed it towards the white robed man.

"I won't repeat myself. Even I can tell that you stink of malice behind all of that mist," Nia said angrily. She had no time for games. Her mind rushed back to Nera and the rest of the villagers.

The man motioned Miranda to leave. She reluctantly walked back into the mist knowing that they were going to fight.

"After he shows you a taste of his power, I hope that you'll listen to what he has to say. You could make some big and easy money from this," she said quietly to Nia as she disappeared into the white haze.

Nia heard, but ave no reaction. She kept her eyes locked at their leader. His towering presence loomed over Nia as he looked down upon her.

He breathed in and said, "Very well. I'll answer your questions. The townsfolk are dead. I killed them."

Nia was shocked at the straight-forward answer. She expected that he would try to lie, but instead got an honest answer.

"Were you expecting a different answer? Perhaps a lie? If you came here for curiosity, then are you not satisfied with the simple right answer?" he asked not showing any sign of attacking.

She looked back at him in anger.

"What do you mean dead? If you killed them, then where are there bodies?" she asked still pointing her red blade at the man who was unafraid in the slightest.

He paused.

"They are dead. That's the fact. My mist swallowed their bodies. Now, that you know what happened to this little town, what do you plan to do... little dragon?" he said menacingly. A gust of wind blew past him freezing the air. As Nia braced herself, the white robed man made no sudden movements.

Miranda and the other bandits behind the mist were shocked at the revelation. She only looked like a regular girl. They thought that dragons in human form showed scales, wings, or had a tail.

How did this man, no, monster, know that she was a dragon, she thought. She still had her illusive ring which hid her scales. But she realized that the monster couldn't see. This monster was a mage. A mage who became a bandit leader. A mage who controls the fog that enveloped this entire town.

He took one step forward and Nia took one step back still pointing her blade.

"Do you plan to fight me, little dragon? Or maybe, you want to join me?" the man questioned.

Her eyes slightly turned green in her anger. She said while continuing to point her red blade, "You're just a monster. No. You're worse. Why the hell would I follow something like you?"

"I have heard that the humans caused your kind to... near extinction. Your whole race is finished, but that doesn't mean that you can accept it. You can follow me and you can have revenge against those who wronged you," he said.

As he said this, Nia made a sudden realization. Her eyes reverted to normal. It was true that her own kind was being hunted down by the dragonslayer. It was true that she wanted revenge against those who took her home from her twice. Her sword began to shake. She never thought that she was capable of getting revenge. But Nia knew that she was going to King's City to rescue Nera and the villagers. But what about after? She hadn't thought about what she would do afterwards. Would she continue living at Kyte village or do something more with her life? She didn't have the power to stop the dragonslayers by herself. She couldn't. Not alone. She thought that perhaps it would be better to take revenge. Make them suffer the same horrors that she felt 30 years ago. She looked at the white robed monster. She thought that if she could use this monster for her own purposes, she could easily enter King's City and rescue the ones she need all while destroying the dragonslayers.

She shook her head. That was only if she could control the creature in front of her. That seemed impossible. The instant they enter King's City with that white robed monster and his fog, the whole city would turn to the same and Jaeden town. A lifeless, quiet world. She had no chance of controlling him.

The white robed man sensed Nia's doubt and lack of conviction towards revenge. He knew himself to be powerful and felt that Nia knew that too. If he was to obtain a dragon under his army, he would need to reassure her that he could be controlled for her own purposes. He would need to act as a slave again, but only temporary, he believed.

He made a friendly smile and said, "I can feel your power. So much untapped potential. I sense that you can be so much more. Instead of you serving me, it would be the other way around. I will do anything that you ask me of."

The white robed man wanted to test if he could persuade the young dragon by tapping into her hubris. Just the thought of having a dragon made his bones shiver to the core. His heartbeat increased as blood rushed through his body, but he maintained an elegant composure.

He casually walked closer and as he did so, Nia took more steps back uncertain about what to do. Every sense in her body told her to either run or fight the monster, but there was a tiny voice in her head telling her that she could use this monster for herself. The path would be easy.

She stuttered and asked, "I-I-I don't know. If y-y-you are speaking true, then would you follow my orders to the letter?"

Fear still overcame her. The monster was clearly more powerful, but his words sounded genuine.

He smiled as if he was talking to a friend.

"Of course. The world only follows the strong, and you have the potential to become stronger than anybody else. I want to be a part of that. Whatever you wish me to do, I shall follow," he said with a bow hoping that his bait would work. He didn't lie. He would have done whatever the dragon wanted to continue to gain trust.

"D-d-did you see any dragonslayers pass by?" she asked.

He stopped bowing and replied, "Yes. There was a wagon transporting some dragonslayers and prisoners that passed by us. However, we didn't do anything to stop their advances. We only let them pass. They probably headed to King's City and they may have even arrived by now."

Nia began to lower her blade. She believed that the monster wanted to serve her, but had wasn't convinced that she could control him. She still believed that the white robed monster would go berserk the moment she lets her eyes off of him. She didn't want to kill any innocent people. She never even thought about killing the dragonslayers until today. She only wanted to protect Nera and the villagers, and to do that, she was going to have to kill. Kill more dragonslayers and knights that stood in the way. It would have been no different than the bandits that stopped them on the road.

She stopped and said, "If I let you... serve me, I need you to promise that you won't hurt anybody except the dragonslayers and knights that stand in the way. No innocents like the ones here in Jaeden town."

"I promise," he said with a friendly smile and a bow as if he was a butler. The white robed man hooked the dragon with his words. A fine addition to the army, he thought. His road towards regaining his title of emperor was clear to him. A road of dead bodies and a bridge made up of a dragon that led into a castle. His castle. So clear in his view.

She looked at the disgusting monster and couldn't believe herself that she would rely on a creature like this, but in her desperation to save Nera, she had to find a way to break through the rows of trained swordsmen and dragonslayers.

The other bandits were glued to watching in the mist as the white robed mage convinced this young dragon. Miranda was shocked that Nia was a dragon, but now she was happy that she might be able to make a strong friend among this group of ruffians.

Distracted by his success of his new dragon, the white robed mage was struck on the side of his head by a small rock. He didn't stagger.

Nia and the white robed mage looked in the direction of where the rock was thrown. The man sniffed realizing that he was too preoccupied in convincing a dragon to join him that he wasn't paying any attention to the scents within the mist.

He sniffed and smelled two new scents. One was a human child, but the other... he was unsure. It was the first time that he smelled something new, but he maintained his towering composure.

The other bandits looked and saw a patch of the mist that they couldn't see through. A snap was heard within the fog and the patch dissipated revealing the two hidden ones.

The bandits saw a young boy carrying rocks in one arm and one rock in his other hand being readied to be thrown. The other was somebody in silver armor.

Nia looked in surprise. It was Belze and the silver merchant.