An awkward silence filled the hall, the eyes of the attending human lords glued to the five dragons standing before them. While none present had outright passed out, several had collapsed to the ground or collapsed into their chairs in shock. Even some of the guards employed by the dragons themselves had been overwhelmed when all five revealed themselves. Dover, probably the only one completely unphased in the room, simply stood there smirking in amusement despite the seriousness of the situation.

  Before the silence stretched too long, Lord d’Teryx turned his attention to the human nobles and declared "Hear me Mortals and know the truth. Dragons have secretly lived beside you for longer than this great Empire has existed. The five of us standing before you and known as the Elemental Lords, and we are tasked with protecting you. We know you may fear or even hate us, but despite that we have sworn to protect you from the evils in the world."

  He paused to let his words sink in and survey the room once more. He nodded slightly in approval at seeing the room remain calm. "Not wanting to directly interfere, we discretely helped The Church, and your soldiers, seek the source. Unfortunately these attacks have continued to build over the years and the culprit hasn't gotten any clearer. Having no other options we knew it was time to reveal ourselves and take action."

  Gesturing towards the room with one enormous claw he wrapped up his speech, "Those of you present are our chosen witnesses. Spread the events of this meeting as you see fit. Make us out to be monsters or heroes, the choice is ultimately yours.”

  Pausing one final time, it was clear even to the human’s present that he was smiling as he pointed at Driks and his company. “Know that Lord d’Oxzen, and his allies will be the ones on the front line for this battle.”

  Driks staggered backwards at the declaration, causing several guards to scatter out of the way and crushing multiple tables. “What? Why us?”

  The air shook as d'Teryx chuckled at Drik's reaction before answering his question. "Despite being a troublesome whelp yourself, you have found good allies. Of those present today, they have shown more resilience than even my own closest guards. Just look at how your ranger calmed the entire room after Lord d'Sycx's unfortunate outburst."

  Looking directly at the green dragon Dover sighed and shook his head before grumbling, “well... I guess I could use a green set of armor...”

  With a toothy smile d’Teryx let the comment slide and made his next announcement. "Anyone who wishes to participate may stay. The rest of you are free to leave or retire to your privacy rooms should you need to further compose yourselves."

  With that his soldiers began organizing the attendees and clearing the room. Most of the guards and retinues left, not wanting to be reminded of their own failure. The nobles who were most vehement against Dragons also left. Surprisingly, perhaps due to the effectiveness of Dover’s calming powder, most of the nobles chose to stay and listen.

  “The fact that giant winged beasts are leading the attacks is most vexing,” d’Teryx said after everyone had either left or settled down. “While it is possible a den of dragons have gone rogue, I find it highly unlikely.”

  There was a general murmur of agreement from the other dragons.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Despite your earlier jokes about Lord d’Oxzen’s capabilities, considering his speciality and that winged creatures are involved, I presume you suspect demons?” Lord d’Shxlash asked.

  Nodding he answered, “Correct. Demons are certainly a possibility and of the five of us, he is the only one truly experienced in demonology.”

  A low laugh could be heard, and the dragons all turned their attention to its source. “Never thought Driks’ gremlin hobby would be useful.” Dover said while banging Driks on the flank, “guess yer good for something other than armor pal.”

  As the dragons stared in bafflement at Dover he simply smirked back, completely unphased. Cynder, on the other hand, did her best to melt into his shadow to escape their eyes. Driks merely sighed and nodded.

  Finally d'Zelb spoke. “Good Sir, though your matters are quite lacking, you have shown yourself to be immensely skilled. Please do us the liberty of sharing how you came to be in Lord d’Oxzen’s service.”

  “I beat his ass, and now he keeps hiring me for all sorts of random jobs.”

  Before anyone else could react, Cynder managed to squeak out a reply. “Believe it or not, my Lords, but from what I have seen while traveling with them, they are true friends.”

  Virtually in unison both Dover and Driks reacted to that. “Why would I be friends with this dumb lizard?” “This callus lad simply has skills I need!”

  Ignoring their protests Cynder continued, "My Guide told me how they first met, while searching for multiple missing women he tracked Lord d'Oxzen to his lair. They fought and Lord d'Oxzen was soundly defeated."

  Lord d'Sycx bristled at that revelation, eager to test out Dover’s capabilities, Lord d’Teryx took steps to calm him, but Cynder’s next words are what actually stopped him. “What I have seen while traveling with My Guide, is that he appears immune to most magical effects, particularly those of a Draconic nature.” She paused briefly before finishing, “and he seems to cause... unexpected behavior... in those around him. More so than his typical rudeness would explain.”

  With a surprising amount of softness in his voice, Dover replied, “That’s a nice way of saying I’m more of a beast than anyone in this room!” He laughed. “We have a monster to stop, so let’s stop this icebreaker trash, and get back on track.”

  That drew a chuckle from d’Teryx, a mortal telling five powerful dragons to get back on track. He was going to resume speaking but stopped abruptly when Dover went on.

  “You said this started years ago and the worthless Church did nothing. Any chance the name Anabathmis Village rings a bell?”

  Once again everyone’s attention was fully focused on Dover, including a very confused Cynder. d’Teryx carefully answered, “That is a name I have not heard from a Mortal’s lips in many years. What do you know of that village?”

  “You mean aside from everyone disappearing? It's a truly welcoming place.” Dover’s reply oozed sarcasm and his words dripped with vitriol. His reply was enough to force d’Teryx to take a step back. All the dragon’s present could sense the predatory aura he released, and if they didn’t before, they now understood how he was able to stand as equals to them.

  “I was not aware that they had vanished. Though they forsake outsiders, they were one place that was truly welcoming to Dragon kind. How long ago did they vanish?” d’Teryx’s concern was obvious and that went a long way towards cooling Dover’s temper.

  “At least five years, possibly more.”

  The dragons looked at each other for confirmation, and then with a slight laugh d’Teryx spoke “It seems this Mortal learned what none of us could, Anabathmis Village was probably the source.”

  “Then it's personal...” Dover declared. The rest of the meeting went quickly and the plan was set in motion.