The Throne of Bones.

14. The Expedition to Aauraton.

The entire tavern went deadly silent, everyone had their eyes minding their own business, but their ears belonged to the tense quarrel that was in its infancy.

Gorvak Dragonhand was in charge of a small regimen that had been placed in the town because of a constant presence of cruel violence and criminal activity, but upon relieving the town and being hailed as a hero, he became a corrupt bully who would often trouble passing merchants out of their expensive belongings.

"For free you say?" Wolfsword asked with an increasing frown. 

"Or you could simply loan me your human for the night as a gesture of capitulation to a fellow High Orc of higher nobility than yourself.

"Sir Orc surely you jest!" Astrá asked standing beside Wolfsword taking his hand and raising it off his sword's handle.

On this specific night she had been wearing one of her more revealing dresses made of fine and expensive fibers, she had the appearance of a Mistress. 

"Hush up servant this is a business transaction, not a petty squabble." Gorvak grinned at her. "I know your kind, just because the master favours you, you forget your place is only to spread your legs, just sit and wait your turn little woman." He chuckled as he began pulling out his sword.

Astrá released Wolfsword's hand and held her forehead while sighing to calm herself. "It is you who knows not their place, another word uttered at Milady's pride will result in yours being severely damaged." Dariél stood and slammed his hands on the table with a death glare.

"What an amusing little elf!" Gorvak erupted in laughter at Dariél's outburst. "Even your guards are thinking too highly of themselves!" He continued to laugh.

"Shut up and leave us alone, we have no business with scum like you." Wolfsword spat, causing the cavern to erupt in laughter. 

At a sudden loss of words and utterly embarrassed Gorvak drew his sword with the aim to split Wolfsword in two, but his blade never met the smaller Orc that had offended him, the laughter in the bar became silence once more while the gold-clad Orc stared at his hand blankly.

"Wow, this is a lot lighter than I imagined." Miriá mused from behind Gorvak with his sword swinging it recklessly over everyone's head. 

Gorvak gawked at the shockingly strong halfling then stared back at his hand completely dumbfounded.

"Hey you, sit down and talk with us a little, I have a few questions for you." Minto waved at Gorvak.

The shocked Orc turned to Miriá and grabbed at her but she merely stepped out of his range and continued to swing the sword playfully.

"Do not trifle with me, do you know who I am?!" He roared out in anger. "Have you any idea what the name Gorvak Dragonhand means!?" 

"Everyone clear out, we are about to have a private conversation." Astrá announced to the tavern, but nobody moved, so Miriá took Gorvak's sword and drove it halfway into the stone floor and lazily leaned on the flat body.

"I do believe she said get out just now." Miriá frowned at the customers. "Beat it losers."

She needn't say a word more, everyone had started moving toward the exit the moment she pierced the floor with a sword most of them couldn't lift at all.

"Sit." Minto ordered again and Gorvak turned to them with wrathful eyes.

"You dare!?" He snapped, reaching for Minto but was again shocked when Wolfsword grabbed his hand and kicked the back of his knee, displacing his balance and causing him to fall on both knees.

He was about to retaliate but Wolfsword's sword came and slowly rested against his exposed neck.

"Be silent." Wolfsword sighed.

"You there, get out and shut that door?" Astrá looked at the barkeep who was frozen behind her stall and gestured with a jab of her thumb. "Make haste."

The woman was quick to follow the order, making the last thing those who were outside witness was Wolfsword holding their corrupted hero hostage at sword point.

"What, did you want to know?" Gorvak asked timidly, now realizing that he had bitten a beast with bigger and far sharper fangs than his.

"We heard that a Dragon resides a day's journey from this town eastward, can you validate this claim?" Miriá asked from behind him, placing a hand on his armor.

"I cannot." He replied under the gaze of the four elves present. "I did not see the need to waste my time or that of my warriors on a mere rumour."

"This is only a half truth." Dariél stared in his eyes. "What was your reason for not actually going?" 

Gorvak looked depressed as the elf asked this, his pride was little more than an ant in the face of these ominous people before him, if he lied, chances are they'd kill him.

"Fear." He murmured. "If there truly rests a Dragon at the ruined town of Aauraton then why should I needlessly throw away my life by confronting it?" He debated. "I am only a coward who bullies those who are weaker than myself, there is no need for me to put on a front and act as a real hero in these times, the warriors I came here with are all low caste soldiers who are mostly at the age of retirement as well, I am the most capable." 

"And yet you needlessly make life harder for the townspeople with your presence." Minto sighed. "Astrá, what is our currency right now?" He turned to her, Gorvak seemed to recognise the name, because his already pale blue skin turned a sickly whitish colour as he broke into cold sweat.

"From all I had taken from my mansion, plus the payment we've received along the way for killing high class beasts, we have at least a dozen or so million gold Kyls in storage." She replied after taking a thoughtful pose.

"Gorvak was it?" Minto looked at the Orc, and he quickly nodded in response. "Judging from your reaction to my mentor's name just now you've probably figured out who we are, yes?"

Gorvak kept sweating buckets as he looked at each of them and called their names, it made sense when he thought of it. 

A group of people seeking a Dragon? Absurd.

"Astrá, the Crimson Witch, Bloody Wolfsword, the fire breather, You're Miriá, the succubus…" He paused and looked around back to Minto, who's hair now lightly floated around his head. "Th-that makes you the Blood-Demon, the Dragon summoner!"

Minto chuckled and placed his hand on Gorvak's forehead before grabbing his tusk and dragging him face to face. "We're having a bit of bad luck recently." He altered his voice with magic making it sound deeper and slightly distorted. "We can't seem to find any Dragons as of late, you wouldn't mind taking us to Aauraton, would you?" He asked with a sinister grin. "We'll be paying for your escort service." 

"Not a problem!" Gorvak blurted out trying to stand but realizing the grip on his tusk was final. "Do you wish to leave immediately?" He held up one shaking hand. "Forget about horses and wagons I will carry you on my back and make it there before sunrise!" Gorvak babbled.

"No need, we will leave at first sun, all you need to do is wait at the gates for us, don't be late and don't even think of running or revealing who we are, or I'll summon a Lesser-Dragon to personally kill you." Minto warned him before releasing his tusk so he could sit backward.

When Astrá opened the doors to the tavern the crowd had doubled in mass and there were several Orc warriors in silver armor with the stamp of the King, which looked like a folded fist with a crown around the wrist, supposedly to emphasize that he wielded power with the crown, it was simple but effective.

"Where is our commander?" The one at the front asked pointing a weathered sword at her, but Gorvak quickly came with a grin behind her.

"Come on in everyone, our honoured guests and I have come to a wondrous agreement, tonight every able body gets a belly full of fine drink, on me!" Gorvak laughed and walked back inside as the street began to pour back into the tavern." 

As the night passed, everyone drank and laughed and made merry memories, all except the Orc Gorvak Dragonhand, who sat by himself outside and drank until he passed out.

At first light Minto came to collect Gorvak and the nine of them set out on Wolfsword's large and accommodative wagon immediately, following behind Gorvak who rode a large horned Hell-Hog; a six footed muscular hog with a furry back and horns atop Its head.

The first half of the day passed by silently before Minto and Miriá jumped from the wagon and began running beside it.

"Miriá, I think we need to add stronger weight runes to the Kilokloth again." Minto looked at his hands and flailed them. 

"Are you serious?" Miriá huffed as she ran beside him. "I applied more just a week ago, this thing is heavy enough to break a behemoth's leg!" 

"It's ineffective now, I've gotten used to this weight as well!" He looked at her strangely. 

Miriá grunted and jumped back on the wagon. "Honestly, is he even mortal anymore, I haven't even used this one yet and he's already asking for another." She huffed and summoned a reel of blank unused Kilokloth. 

"You have spoilt him and given in to his every request, he is not a child you know, it is okay to refuse his demands." Astrá laughed at her.

"Aye, he might have become entitled thanks to our pampering, but he prioritizes strength above all else, and well, we aim to conquer an impossible mission and face Dragons, so i think it not strange at all to adhere to his demands for better training gear." Wolfsword laughed and made light a serious conversation.

Ahead of them, Gorvak was miserable in thought looking at every possible way he could escape from the crazy people behind him, but every time he found one he could use, he ridiculed the idea of escaping.

The last thing he wanted was a Lesser-Dragon chasing him.

As the suns stood high in the sky, they all rested beneath a large tree by a fresh water spring, this side of the land was abundantly full of them.

As per routine, Minto would eat while doing one handed push-ups while Miriá sat on his back and ate.

"How far off are we from Aauraton?" Wolfsword approached Gorvak as he ate alone. 

"Seven kilometers, it is just across the rise you see over there." He pointed to a distant rock formation. 

"Aye." Wolfsword nodded and turned to leave, but his instinct told him to turn and face the other again, when he did this, his eyes caught two reflective pools behind Gorvak.

"Aaaaaye!" Wolfsword aimed his sword at the source and shouted just as a loud hissing came from the forest. "What is that!?" He yelped.

Slowly the silhouette rose, going ten, twenty, thirty metres in the air before craning its neck and looking down on its would-be snacks.

In a split second it scooped up Gorvak's Hell-hog and swallowed down the poor creature whole.

Minto from his position jumped to his feet resulting in Miriá rolling to her feet as they both stared up.

"Cógona's great beard!" Wolfsword yelped as he scanned the massive body within the forest that had yet to be revealed.

"The creature completely suppressed itself even though it is so bloody huge, and my Hog, my Hog ya bastard!" Gorvak shrieked as well, drawing his sword and readying himself while he ground his teeth madly.

It was a Basilisk, an enormous snake with the head of a Dragon, but this one far exceeded anyone's expectations it was simply monstrous in size, with a hiss that whispered and tugged at the deepest depths of one's fear.