The Fight for Salvus

Back at Salvus, things were going okay. But only okay. Or at least, that's the sentiment Basil was getting from the surrounding dragons and riders- and others, too. The Militia had breached the outside wall, and now the battle had moved to the outer parts of town. Basil, however? He was going to be optimistic, gosh darn it! So far he and his dragons had sustained only minor injuries, and the winged red panda thought they were fighting like the best team he'd ever seen.

Friend was a real firestarter, tossing flames at the enemy with the knowledge that the metal buildings around them couldn't burn down. Bougin was a brilliant distraction, and great at dodging. And Basil's newest dragon, Titanium? The sharp scaled fellow was able to deflect most dangerous things that came their way. It was great!

At present, the group of four was on top of one of the tallest buildings in the city. Basil had called a temporary retreat when Bougin had tripped and nearly gotten hit by a sword. Now, the group was pondering their next move, the battle raging down below. "Not the kind of adventure I was hoping for today, but it's still exciting, isn't it?" Basil said, pacing back and forth on top of the shiny metal. "Save a town, fight an awesome battle - this is gonna be such a cool story to tell when all these annoying soldier folks are gone, eh?"

Bougin and Friend were together at the edge of the roof, to get a better view of the area. Friend had chosen to stick next to Bougin, as the smaller fellow didn't have any wings. Basil thought it was really an adorable moment. Friend, spinning lazily in the air on the edge of the roof, shrugged. "Well, I suppose! Though I do wish that we could go on adventures that were a bit less scary."

"Danger is the spice of life!" Basil grinned. "Or something. Right, Titanium?" The red panda elbowed the sharp scaled dragon, and then winced as he felt the scales rub up against the fur of his paw. Well, not that he had actual fur. Hey, being a ghost had some benefits, at least!

"Hmm. Perhaps." Titanium was sitting perfectly poised, gaze tracking the skirmishes below. "But we're wasting time talking when we could be assisting our allies."

Basil sighed dramatically. "I suppose. But I want us to go about this creatively this time! Bougin might *actually* get hurt next time, and I would feel awful about that."

Bougin hopped to turn around. "I'm fine!" the cheerful dragon said. "If we're attacking them, can I try out some new magic? Since we've been learning it for so long and all."

Basil got to his feet and bounced up to join Bougin and Friend at the building's edge. "Sure! In fact..." he mentally nudged his three dragons, and all of them looked down towards the same spot. Four soldiers had snuck past the main section of the battle and were sneaking further into town. In fact, they were getting concerningly close to where Basil knew several folks were trying to work out the artifact, last minute. "I think our next targets are right there. Now, I'm always one for loud entrances... what do you all think about making some handmade fireworks?"

Basil and his dragons worked together quickly, and with the use of all their magic skills combined, they rigged up an impressive pile of stuck-together metal and rock, all ready to be set on fire and thrown at whomever was unlucky enough to be in the way. By the time they were all set, the group of soldiers had moved to right below them. Perfect.

"Anyone else want the honors of dropping this?" Basil said, holding the dangerous package aloft. When no one responded, he threw it towards the ground, Friend following it down. Right before it hit the ground, Friend blew a torrent of fire at it, and then hastily hurried away.

The four militia members saw the package falling towards them and hurried to dive out of the way. It exploded behind them in a fascinating display of colors and light and bits of rock. Two of the soldiers were knocked out by the explosion - though none of them looked too hurt.

Titanium swooped down and picked up one of the soldiers, while Bougin hopped around the other one to confuse him until Basil was able to jump down with a net and trap the fellow. The soldier who had been picked up thrashed around. "Let me go this instant!" she said.

"What, so you can go cause chaos in town? Pfft, no thanks," Basil replied. "And besides, there's a lot you could tell us! You know, your weaknesses, military secrets, your favorite color..."

"...Wait, what was that last one?" she asked, confusion present on her face.

"Your favorite color! You know, gotta get to know the folks you capture," Basil explained again, honest and eager.

The soldier trapped under the net sputtered in frustration. "I swear, Evelyn, if you tell these idiots all our secrets..."

"I won't!" she said in protest. "I'm just curious, is all."

"Brilliant!" Basil said. "I am too. Pretty perpetually, actually." Titanium lifted Evelyn higher off the ground, and Basil and crew followed, leaving the militia soldiers below behind. They landed back up top on the roof of the metal building they had chosen as a base of sorts.

Titanium set the soldier down with a warning - "We're your way back down from here, so be nice," and then Basil and his three dragons sat down in a curious half circle around her.

"So!" Basil began after an awkward pause. "Introductions? I'm Basil, I love feathers and fun, and these are my dragons! Friend, Bougin, and Titanium!" He motioned to each dragon in turn. "Titanium is called that cause he has the hardest scales I've ever seen. Fascinating. Bougin is a name that she picked for herself, so it worked out pretty well, and, well... Friend is called friend because they're a friend! How about you, then?"

The soldier hesitated for a moment, then sat down carefully on the warm metal with the others. "...I'm Evelyn, I suppose." She paused, pondering how much she really wanted to say. "I'm more of a scholar than a warrior, but the bosses needed some knowledgeable folks on dragons to come with. And I'll admit, I really just wanted a chance to see more of the world."

"Very fair," said Basil, "I like wandering about, too. It's just a pity that you're with the evil guys."

Evelyn frowned. "To be fair, I still think all of you are the bad guys. Did think, maybe." She glanced out to where the battle was still raging on. "An incredibly terrifying woman with a sword tried to kill me earlier. We really didn't agree." She looked down to her arm, where a long cut ran down it.

Basil laughed. "Who, Terra? She probably attacked cause she thought you were trying to kill us."

Evelyn sighed, deep in thought. "That is how battles work, yes." A pause. "I was told you all were thieves and dragon-stealers. You're saying you're not?"

"A what now?" Basil said. "No way! If you mean the fancy artifact thingy, I heard Aren and Hartwin went to steal it so we could move the whole town, get away from trouble. I would have been down to try and return it later, but..." he shrugged. "Probably wouldn't get a great reception."

"Hmm," Evelyn hummed.

Friend grew tired of sitting down, and got to doing flips in the air while Evelyn watched on. Eventually, she reached for the knife at her side - Titanium bristled - but instead of attacking, she drew it, and dropped it to the ground. "Well, I surrender. You said you have a militia artifact? If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to see. Perhaps I can assist, if your friends are as kind as you are."

Titanium put a hand forward to stop Basil from eagerly agreeing. "I expect no treachery," the stern warrior said.

"And you'll get none," Evelyn agreed, raising her hands. "Tie me up if you like, I just want to understand what's really going on here."

Basil patted Titanium on the shoulder. "Hey, if any trouble comes up, we've got this, Titanium. Here, I'm sure I've got some rope somewhere..." As everyone watched on, Basil rummaged around in the bag at his side. He pulled out several other things before finding - "Aha! Rope! Alright, hands out," he said.

Evelyn let her arms be tied behind her back, and after Basil checked that the rope was tight enough, Titanium lifted her up, while Bougin jumped on Basil's back and Friend led the way down to the building where Alfred, Hartwin, and Walker still were, trying to figure out how to teleport the city somewhere else before everything was burned down.

Basil sure hoped he wasn't making a bad choice by doing this. Would folks be mad with him? He supposed they might be. But he had always been an optimistic fellow, and there was something about this captured soldier that he really appreciated.

He wondered, briefly, if he could have more cool conversations with the enemy, or if this was a rare occurrence. Hmm. Only one way to find out - but that would have to come later.

As the group glided over the town and towards a spot of quiet, however, Basil heard the clanging of metal far below. He glanced down to see what was going on and gasped.

The Sword, that odd sentient piece of metal, and their dragon Cairo were dueling soldiers in the meadow - and unfortunately, they were very surrounded. "Change course, we've got a friend in trouble!" Basil cried, and Friend and Titanium changed course, heading for a landing in the garden, where Sword's battle was taking place.