Lilastraza 10: Wurm Attack

The trees nearby shook, and Jolka appeared, being pushed back violently. She was holding her axe horizontally, keeping the creature's maw at bay. The giantess was really excited to fight it.

The dragon was a wurm, a long wingless, legless creature, a monstrous serpent. It was as thick as Jolka and nearly six times long as she was tall. Its maw split open in four sections, trying to get a good bite off the giantess. Its scales were black, dirty, with a glint of green. I could sense an acid, putrid smell from it. I could also sense its rage.

"Arglinndath!!" The leader yelled, and the elves all turned towards the wurm. The ones who still had their bows readied them. "Release!!"

A volley of arrows fell onto the wurm, but they all bounced on its scales. One of the arrows hit Jolka, but she didn't even react to it. She was entirely focused on the enemy dragon.

"HOLD YOUR ARROWS!" Even when I wasn't their leader, the elven archers all hesitated. I extended my claws, ready to slash at the wurm.

"My Lady!" Jolka raised her voice. "Let me deal with this beast! In your name!"

She pushed the wurm's head away and swung at it, but its tail pushed her away just in time. Taki dashed forward and hurled her chained blades at it. The wurm caught the chain with its maw, and the oni used that to pull its head down long enough for more roots to sprout from the ground at Whitethorn's command and wrap around it.

For a second, both pinned it on the ground. Ashiielwyn dashed forward, her silver elven spear in hand. She leapt onto its head, but the roots broke right before she could deal any strike. It shook her off its head and open its maw to eat her.

"RELEASE!" Another volley rained over it. This time, all the arrows hit the inside of its mouth, making the wurm hiss in pain.

The dragon opened its mouth towards the elven bandits, and briefly inflated its throat. It launched a torrent of green putrid slime that hissed when it touched the ground, dissolving anything that got in contact with it. However, a huge reddish barrier with hexagonal pattern had appeared in front of them.

"You're welcome!" Said Vemoura, smirking, as she had landed at their front and was raising her arms to hold the barrier and keep the bandits safe from the acid.

"Brother dragon!" I spoke. "What do you want?"

"You." It spoke with a gutural furious voice. "You reek of enemy. I need to kill you. I need to EAT YOU!!"

The wurm launched a bite towards me, but a giant blade slashed the side of its head: Tiana had jumped into action.

"What a kind, protective Saint!" I mocked.

"Shut up." She replied as she looked daggers at me.

The dragon reared its head, bleeding profusely, but refusing to die.

"Stop it, brother dragon." I insisted, but something was already telling me there was no other way to finish that situation. "And we'll let you live."

"How dare you!! I'll eat that cursed body of yours, then I'll feast on...!"

"Feast on this!!"

As the creature spoke, Jolka leapt to it and slashed the same spot Tiana had struck, and managed to behead it.

"YEAH!! I needed that, haha!!" Jolka celebrated by raising her axe repeatedly. The wurm's head rolled towards me, and its body fell on one side, limp.

"That was some good teamwork. Thank you, everyone." I said as I retracted my claws.

The elves got together and talked briefly in their language. The leader stepped forward and brought Amelia before me. She was safe, but crying.

"So you are the Great Dragonlady of this era." The leader said. Not as question, not as mocking, but as confirmation. "My name is Thallawen, and we are the Arglinndath. The Silver Arrows. We were displaced by Andean forces long ago. So even if you are who you are, Illithwey, history has made us enemies of Andea and its people." She threw the rope at me, and I caught it.

"Vemoura, would you kindly conjure some clothes for Amelia?" I asked the demoness, who smiled and gestured at the human, and a lovely green dressed appeared on her. Her magic even cleaned her, so she reeked of elven semen no more, which was unfortunate, as I was liking that.

"Th-thank you..."

"I understand your history is quite complex" I continued "And I don't expect to change your hearts in one day. I know this will be a slow, long journey, but I do intend to give elves a second chance and return them to their glory. I want my time to be of peace."

"We haven't known peace for long."

"It's time you learned it once more."

Thallawen looked at her women, then at my Companions, and finally at me.

"The signs are clear, then" She said. "Not only is the Illithwey and our Princess finally awake and on our side. Hope has been revived."

Then she knelt. They all did.