The dragon's harem

They were already in the dragon’s territory, and from what Alcott knows, they should’ve been attacked already if the dragon didn’t want them around. People usually misunderstand dragons a lot, and that is what causes most of the violence. If a child, or even an adult, wanders into a dragon’s territory, the dragon won’t even bother showing up. To the dragon, they are no different than any random animal wandering in.

Troubles start when the person who wandered in starts causing problems by either hunting animals, killing monsters, or chopping down trees. Most of the time, a dragon’s territory is their hunting ground, and with how massive they are, they usually need to take care of the ecosystem and make sure their food source never runs out.

This entire mountain and forest are the dragon’s house and backyard; the monsters and animals in it are the cattle he is raising, and the trees and vegetation are the feed for them. Harming those things is what usually triggers a dragon to swoop in and attack. Usually, hunting and foresting in a dragon’s land is only safe when the dragon is hibernating, or if you leave what you hunted there... like if you just need the antlers of a deer, then take only those and leave the carcass for the dragon.

Of course, there are very few adventurers around who could carry the entire carcass of a monster back home. Most hunters usually only take a few parts of the hunted beasts, so what triggers the dragon? Well, it was a safety measure that all humans take. To avoid monster corpses rising back as undead, people burn them, and it is also to prevent the spread of diseases. If you did that in the territory of a dragon, there is almost an 80% chance that the dragon would crash into your head in minutes. The remaining 20% is when the dragon cares enough to understand what the human is trying to do.

Alcott and his group had killed and destroyed the bodies of briders in the dragon’s territory, which should have caused the dragon to swoop down long ago. The fact that nothing happened only means the dragon will sit and watch and only attack if they go too far.

This was troubling for Alcott, since it would only make his job harder. If the dragon had attacked, he could’ve taken the chance to talk with it. Hunting inside a dragon’s territory is a far more permissible offence than walking into its lair.

He scratched his head. "Now, how am I going to tell him that we’re looking for orcs in his territory, and that they might be able to cause an explosion as powerful as the one that happened a few days ago..." He threw a glance toward Neil, and the old adventurer shivered. "Don’t ask me, I’m not the dragon whisperer."

Kali jumped into the driver’s seat and looked at Alcott. "Won’t it be faster to walk into its lair and give it a beating? I can tie its tail in a nice knot." But as she leaned in, Alcott shook his head. "Listen, I do kill dragons, and I do talk with them. But I’m not unreasonable. I only attack dragons who cause problems. At the end of the day, I’m not a dragon, and I have to respect their rules as much as I could, just out of respect."

"Peaceful negotiations always cause the least damage to both sides, and Alcott’s reputation plays a huge role in how dragons trust him to make a fair judgment." Kayden pointed at the mountain’s peak. "The fact he didn’t show up can mean one of two things. He doesn’t want to fight us, or knows we won’t harm its territory."

Alcott scratched the back of his head. "The problem is... we might destroy this place if the orcs fight back as hard as they did against Arad. We need to get this dragon on board." He waved his hand at the sky, and one of the pigeons landed on his hand. "Merlin, amplify my voice. Hopefully he will show up."

The pigeon nodded and flew into the sky. Alcott stood up, cleared his throat, and then screamed at the clouds. "RED DRAGON OF THE FLAME TEMPLE! I WANT TO TALK!" His voice almost shattered the entire carriage. The words that came out in the dragon’s tongue cracked the sky, almost split the clouds, and exploded in a shout that sounded louder than a volcano erupting.

After a few seconds of silence, the ground started shaking as the snow at the peak of the mountain tumbled down in a titanic avalanche. The draconic aura that engulfed the entire region in the blink of an eye was hot, violent, yet disturbingly calculated.

"Here he comes." Alcott jumped out of the carriage, and not a second later, the dragon showed up at the mountain’s peak. He was massive, bright red, burned with flames, and looked as big as a wyrm, not an ancient dragon.

Neil paled and reached toward his axes. This dragon was far more powerful than he had expected. To see such a healthy, massive, and potentially aggressive dragon in front of him... he would have already been running away if Alcott wasn’t here.

The red dragon flapped his titanic wings and took to the sky, burning with crimson flames as he swooped down, landing just a few hundred meters away from the carriage. "Very few humans dare call on dragons without an offering."

Alcott smiled, "No matter what I give you, you’ll think it’s too little. So, let’s get to the business immediately. I honestly didn’t expect you to come talk, just to blast us with your breath from afar." He approached the dragon, and the dragon lowered his massive head to look directly at Alcott.

"Let’s just say... someone warned me about you, Dragon Slayer Alcott." The dragon growled. "Hmm... I don’t smell much draconic blood on you. But to live with two curses, I’ll admit you’re abnormal."

Alcott looked at his sword. "I much rather talk than spill blood. Since you already know my name, mind if I ask about yours?"

"DelTaDa Shadowend, I guard the Flame Tomb where a slave of mine now rests." He glared right at Alcott’s eyes. "That means I’d rather die than move out."

"Shadowend?" Kali jumped onto Alcott’s shoulder. "Are you one of Zaleria’s descendants?" The dragon immediately shifted his gaze toward her. "You know of my Great, Great Grandmother? Demon of the Abyss."

Kali smiled. "This makes things much, much easier. I’m Kali, the Demon Goddess of Destruction and Orphans." She grew two extra pairs of arms. DelTaDa blinked several times and then looked back at Kayden, who was sitting inside the carriage. "A demon swordsman with six eyes... Do you know of Talos?"

"The bastard who killed my father... Yeah, I know him." She smiled.

DelTaDa sighed. "So, you’re her, this explains a lot. Fine, I’ll help."

Alcott looked at Kali. "Who is this Zaleria you’re talking about? If she is a dragon, then I never heard of her."

Kali looked at him with a surprised face. "Never heard of her? Well, I can’t blame you. She left for the Elemental Plane of Fire right after the war... Let’s just say she is the one who crippled Nyar’s true body. She is the daughter of the Goddess of flames."

"Crippled... that thing?"

"Well, he was already half crippled before, so it’s more accurate to say she turned him from a cripple to a vegetable." She jumped back into her seat. "DelTaDa, we’re counting on you."