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[b]Actium Garrison[/b][/center]

A girl wailed within the bustling city centre, drawing little concern from patrolling soldiers. Children screamed all the time in Iron Coast; some because they had been wronged by a sibling or a parent, some because their bellies had swollen with hunger, and some because they had nothing better to do. Actium was the Jewel of Iron Coast simply because it was the only town left in the region, not because it was a place of happiness and prosperity. 

However, a great explosion abruptly rocked the city's inner districts, causing shanties to collapse and cracking pavement. Mass panic broke out shortly after, and patrolling legionnaires took little time in fighting their way through a screaming crowd of horrified onlookers. Indeed, they took even less time in discovering the source of the commotion. 

A dragon had taken to the skies! By the Emperor, a dragon! 

The beast was small, larger than a work horse but smaller than a griffin; gleaming red scales betraying its obvious rage. Confusion hit the soldiers, followed shortly by fear. None present had seen a dragon in the flesh, and tales of the terrible damage they wrought suddenly exaggerated themselves within the minds of the legionaries. Some turned tail, and vanished into the fleeing crowds, but others stood their ground; the pride of the Empire thick in their guts. 

A score of soldiers, their tower shields held high and their swords drawn, broke through the crowd and formed a loose circle around the dragon, knocking any civilians aside with little regard for their well being. They looked up at the monster, determined to slay the evil, but lacking the means. A gladius could only reach so far. 

And then an arrow whizzed by, followed shortly by another, as a band of the garrison's auxiliary troops stormed down the roadway. In the distance, bells started to ring, echoing across the city. More would come, and soon.

There would be no diplomacy with the beast, nor would there be any mercy.