Colonising [Clever-fox] [Mature]

[Brisinger987]

Veraxitoc heard Shamgar before he saw the young gryphon. Had he seriously come up this far? Dragons often had trouble getting up here. He saw the gryphon lying on a peak near Veraxitoc's own.

He glided down, beating his wings to land gently, kicking up snow from the mountain top.

"What brings you up this high Shamgar? And did the screech burst your ears, or the altitude?" Veraxitoc enquired. Not many creatures received physical injury from his spinning screech, but some did. Creatures with ears like a gryphons. Bats died when he did it. He knew that much.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

He couldn't keep conscious very long. The high altitudes were getting to him. So, as quickly as he could, Shamgar explained the information he had to Veraxitoc, although he tried to put more emphasis on Seh'lvah's current state than the stone tower. Still trying to keep conscious, he tried taking off, but passed out as he barely got off the ground, plopping down in the snow.

[Brisinger987]

Veraxitoc, concerned for the two, picked up Shamgar and dove straight of the cliff, entering a plummeting dive. When he saw the oncoming peak, he opened his wings, and used the speed to fly straight to Seh'lvah, setting Shamgar down nearby to recover.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

Shamgar woke up to find Seh'lvah standing over him, looking at him like he'd just come back from the dead. After being out for a few hours, he felt like somebody had been kissing him; a very strange feeling indeed.
Slowly getting up, he stumbled, as the last time he was conscious, he was high above the clouds. Readjusting rather quickly, he stretched his legs and wings.

"What happened? The last thing I remember is being up on a mountaintop with Veraxitoc." He inquired, curious to see what had unfolded while he was out.

[Brisinger987]

Seh'lvah blushed, and let out a very involuntary giggle. But then she felt all her previous emotions creep back. She fought them, trying to focus on the fact she had just revived Shamgar with the kiss of life.

"Well... Hehe, I just gave you a kiss of life. Why the hell would you go that high? Some breeds of dragon can't go that high, let alone a gryphon. You were stupid to do it." She involuntarily leant on one side of her stance, on her bad leg, out of natural sarcastic habit, and felt her bad leg give way, and she fell over.

"I brought you down here to recover, and she said she knew a way to bring you back to full consciousness." Veraxitoc helped Seh'lvah to her feet. "She's right, you shouldn't be trying to fly that high. Now, you said you found a ruin?"

[Klezmer Gryphon]

"Yes, I did." he said, ruffling his feathers out of habit. He thought about flying there, but decided against it, he felt sapped of energy, and didn't want to fall into the lake.

"I hope you don't mind walking there. I know where it is, but Im too tired to fly at the moment" he said, taking a mental note to not fly that high unless absolutely necessary. And with that, started walking towards the stone tower he called home.

[Brisinger987]

Seh'lvah felt a pang of annoyance at the fact he had ignored her. She would take care to remember just how many times she possibly saved his life.

She followed Veraxitoc and Shamgar, but kept her distance as well. The two were obviously friends now.

"What sort of stone was it? Do you know? It may have been a dragonrider fortress. There were many round these mountains at one point. Usually made of stones such as granite or lead. Tough materials." Veraxitoc was curious to examine it. The fortresses generally had spacious rooms for dragons to live in, and, if he could find someone with summoning powers, could build the whole fortress to be dragon suitable.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

Shamgar could sense Seh'lvah was annoyed. It wasn't that he didn't love her, but that he couldn't find the right things to say after what had happened the previous day. Feeling he would soon find the right words, he kept walking.

"Well, I didn't look at it very closely, but it did look to be pretty sturdy." he said, recalling how most of the tower was still intact.

Arriving at the tower, he felt strong enough to show the two dragons how he got in, partly as demonstration, and partly because he left his things in there when he left this morning. Flying up, he found the hole he had used. After exploring the lower levels for the first time, he found a door, and signaled for the two dragons.

[Brisinger987]

The two dragons entered. Veraxitoc spent time looking at the actual architecture and structure, Seh'lvah on the other hand, trudged along like a dog that didn't want to be walked, having to be reminded not to stay in one room too long.

"It's of the same era as the dragon riders, but seems different, not built by them, too confined, even the riders preferred dragon sized rooms. I would never sleep in a dragon rider building. The conflict is too fresh in my mind. I would be frightened that the room I inhabited was the last place one of my lost friends had slept the day before they died. I find it disrespectful to sleep where other dragons have. I prefer the view of a mountain peak anyway." Veraxitoc scratched the rocks on the wall.

These rocks were coated in jet.

"A tyrant dragon must have lived here. Possibly still does. If we can find the outer perimeter, we can search for the ruins and evaluate if we have to move. Tyrant dragons tend to be bigger than even me. And a lot more aggressive."

[Klezmer Gryphon]

Shamgar was a bit disheartened by the prospect having to move a second time. Of course though, he didn't want to become a dragon's chew toy either. Searching the tower, he found something that caught his interest. It was a simple looking device, with five spheres lined up and suspended on strings. He pulled one back, and watched as the sphere hit the others, and sent the one on the opposite side flying, and it continued back and forth, back and forth.

Remembering why they were at this tower, he took out his journal, sketched a quick diagram, and left it there. Again walking around, he saw a large, wooden double door. It looked old, but extremely sturdy. He flew up, and investigated this door in a little more detail, calling to his companions in the other room.

"Hey, I think I found something!" He yelled.

[Brisinger987]

Seh'lvah didn't even bother paying attention to Shamgar's call. Her teenage mind was telling her to play the silent treatment game. Instead she sat and watched the metal spheres go backwards and forwards, mesmerised by the motion. She counted as she did, aiming to count to ten, vent her anger at Shamgar when she realised that the time between the first and second movement of the spheres was one second. It was a timing device! So simplistic for what it was, she decided to pick it up, and keep it.

Veraxitoc walked up to the wooden door and listened through it. No sounds came from inside, but he knew that shadow creatures, like Shade's could be deathly silent. Or any sound inside had stopped upon hearing Shamgar's calling. "And now we open the doors, hoping nothing is inside for me to roast." He spoke loudly, and growled at the end of the sentence. The growl was aimed at anything the other side of the door.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

Even Shamgar was a little afraid, despite being friends with Veraxitoc. Looking back, he saw Seh'lvah messing with the thingamabobber he found earlier. As easy as it was for his curious mind to get distracted, he tried to concentrate on the task at hand. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a can of oil (which he picked up from the table) and lubricated the hinges so the door would come open without as much effort.

Then, as the can was empty, he tossed it aside for the moment, and stepped back to allow Veraxitoc to open the huge door. While he wasn't a coward, he was certain that whatever was on the other side of the door, if anything, would run away at the sight of his friend.

[Brisinger987]

Seh'lvah saw the can of oil and almost made a comment, but stayed her tongue, just sniggering quietly at the pair, who were worried about a simple door. Instead of waiting for Veraxitoc to do open the door, she waltzed past, confident that nothing was there, and a can of oil was now wasted. She turned as she pushed the door open, sticking her tongue out at the two. "Wimps, there's nothing here. See?" Then she turned.

Veraxitoc was really angry at Seh'lvah now, but he paled when he saw the contents of the room. Sprawled in the centre of the room, was a skeleton, of a dragon, but with three heads. Veraxitoc could see that it was not alive, but the sight of a three headed dragon's skeleton was truly terrifying. "Still want to live in the tower Shamgar? There are always, uh, plenty of caves in the valley..." Veraxitoc backed up, not wanting to enter the room.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

Shamgar looked through the door. The sight of the three-headed dragon's skeleton was indeed terrifying, but he wasn't squeamish. The room that the skeleton occupied was a large library, and Shamgar was quite literally drooling. He loved books, and reading, and had possibly found a valuable find, but the thought that a three-headed dragon once occupied this fortress was a rather scary one.

He was caught between wanting to read these books, and wanting to leave because of the literal skeleton in the closet.

"While the skeleton is a bit.... Scary.... I'm sure we could give it a proper burial..." He said. As he did, the bones started shifting, coming together, coming to life.

"Besides, it's dead, it's not like it can hurt us"....

[Brisinger987]

"Look again..." Veraxitoc literally trembled. The thing was huge. It could have easily killed most things when it was alive, and three heads was not an easy thing to fight. But, instead of running, like he wanted, he stood his ground, and so did Seh'lvah. They would fight it. It was only a skeleton. Not the original.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

The multiheaded dragon roared, and before Shamgar, or his friends could react, the door slammed shut, locking poor Shamgar inside with the dragon. He turned around, and trembled against the door. He was truly terrified, his whole body quaking as the dragon turned and faced him. This is my final moment. Torn to shreds by a skeleton.

He cringed as the dragon moved towards him, preparing for the worst possible fate. To his surprise, the skeletal dragon picked him up, and set him in the middle of the room.

"Oi, what are ya doin' in ma castle, laddie?" One of the heads said, the left one.

"Oh, shut up, you twat. He's obviously here for the books," the middle one said, arguing with the left.

"Ah, why don't ya both just hold your gobs? You're scaring the poor lad shitless" said the third head.

All three heads then turned to Shamgar, who was still cowering behind his wings. He peeked up, and saw that he wasn't dead, at least not yet, anyway.

"Actually, um... Sirs, Im here by mistake." Shamgar said, referring to the now locked door.

"Oh, come now. I saw you eyeing those books. Oh, how rude, we didn't even introduce ourselves." The middle head said, "My name is Gregory, and I-"

"Ah, shut up, you puddle of pish. You know ya name is George. As for masel, I am Wallace.", the left head.

"Shut up, Wallace, you hooligan. I am Finnegan" said the third head.

"Well, I don't mean to interrupt, but may I leave?" Shamgar asked, hoping he wasn't offending George, who seemed to be rather proper.

Again, all three heads looked at him.

"Leave? Without first learning your name, dear gryphon. How rude of you."

"Jings, if he wants to leave, let him leave. As long as he stays oot o ma castle."

Shamgar was utterly confused. He didn't know if he was talking to one person, or three....

[Brisinger987]

The floor in the room in which Shamgar was now stuck was wood, so burning down the door was a no-no. Instead it would have to be broken down. Veraxitoc could hear the voices from the other side. Four voices for four heads.

Veraxitoc charged the door, and felt it budge. Then again, and again. On the fifth try the doors shattered from the impact.

He recognised the accents. Foreign. Like his. He had grown up to have a foreign accent imprinted in his memory.

"Oi, you stupid tossers, what do you fink you're doin'?" Veraxitoc's style of speaking in the accent was poor, and rough.

"Uhh, yeah, what do you think you are doing with that Gryphon?" Seh'lvah added, trying to seem intimidating.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

The three heads just stared at Shamgar, then the two dragons that had busted the door down.

"Well, look at the mess you've made. You could've just knocked." George said, surprised, and a bit annoyed.
"Shut up, George. We don't want to here your sorry ass lament over a fecking door," Finnegan yelled, ignoring the two dragons.

"Well, Lad, and lass, we were havin a nice chat with yer friend here. Now, wey wad ye bust doon our door?" This time, it was Wallace, addressing Veraxitoc, and Seh'lvah



Shamgar just looked at them in utter confusion

[Brisinger987]

The skeleton seemed alright. The heads were bickering amongst themselves, but it didn't concern them.

"We were making sure our friend was ok. We apologise." Veraxitoc said, bowing to the massive skeleton dragon.

"Friend? Yeah right..." Seh'lvah scorned. She wasn't ready to forgive Shamgar for ignoring her just cause he got spooked by a huge dragon.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

"Ah, yer fine," Wallace said, "Im just messin' with ya! Now, we never did learn your names." He was looking at Shamgar in particular, who, while not hiding behind his wings, was still a little nervous.

"Ah, yes, please do tell," George said, his curiosity peaking.

Shamgar thought for a moment. Did he really want to tell this dragon his name?

"Shamgar. M- My name is Shamgar" he said. Then, there was laughter.

"Y- you call that a name? What kind of a name is that?" It was Finnegan.

"Shut up, Finnegan. If that's the name his mum gave him, then that's his name," George said, scolding the head to his right. "I apologize, Shamgar, but Finnegan can be quite, um... Insensitive at times."