An Unexpected Ally

"That is a servant of Kazur of the Crimson Embers! We must not let our guard down!"

Adrian instantly tightened his grip on the longsword in his hand. Sweat beaded across his brow, though he did not know whether it was from the heat radiating from the Red Dragon Descendant or from the anxiety and unease in his heart.

"Kill her!"

"Do not be afraid. She is alone, while we have more than a dozen people. Once the dwarf reinforcements arrive, she is as good as dead!" The female dwarf fighter raised her battleaxe and shouted at the others.

Rolf Fitzgerald, the mage traveling with them, looked utterly panicked. He leaned close to Adrian and whispered, "My lord, we must not rashly provoke a conflict with her."

"If this Dragonborn could appear here, she likely drove off—or even killed—that Adult Green Dragon. Even if we all attack together, we may not be able to defeat her."

Hearing Rolf's words, Adrian nodded heavily as well and waved for the men at his sides to retreat.

Seeing this, the female dwarf fighter snapped, "Cowards! She is a lackey of the evil dragons. Do you think she will spare you just because of this?"

With that, she brandished her battleaxe and led the dwarf fighters in a roaring charge.

Yet the Dragonborn woman merely waved a hand. Flames shot forth like enormous serpents, transforming into scalding magical chains that tightly bound the dwarves to the ground, leaving them unable to move.

"Lackey of the evil dragons! Even if you kill me, you cannot kill our will to resist! Seleucia will never belong to the vile followers of the Dragon Queen!" The female dwarf fighter cursed furiously, struggling with all her strength despite her injuries.

But the Dragonborn woman coldly asked, "Who told you...