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The presence of Pepper was a miracle unto itself. Bursting out of nowhere, the faerie dragon’s sheer mass deflected the incoming goblins, giving the adventurers those much needed seconds to reorganize themselves. Prome’s flames charred, Holly’s arrows pierced, River’s lightning obliterated, and as more adventurers charged to suppress the threat, three definitive drum beats resounded, and the wedge formation of Brute and Warg began their retreat.

But this was not a loss for the goblins. No, for all the awe-inspiring terror that the full-grown faerie dragon struck in their hearts, what those beautiful feathers caused was more than fear. It was desire.

A dragon. A true dragon. Oh, how many stories would be told in their name if they were the ones to claim the life of a dragon. Those feathers would make a beautiful headdress. Imagine how gorgeous using those glistening eyeballs would be as an amulet. The talons, so razor-sharp, much greater than any dagger they could craft. And imagine how grand it would be, claiming a faerie dragon’s beak as your helmet.

They dreamed. They obsessed. They craved.

To fly over the battlefield was to expose oneself. And to do so in a world where magic could not be dodged? Doubly foolish. The greediest of all was a Shaman that raised his birdskull staff in a triumphant roar, sending out unholy lightning. One searing crack and Pepper was tumbling, shot out of the skies, her right wing heavily damaged. She spiralled, fell, and crashed behind enemy lines, leaving a trail of feathers and upturned dirt in her wake. A few goblins were crushed beneath her weight but more were worked up into a frenzy by this gift from the heavens. Before Pepper could rise up, the monsters descended upon her. A Brute wrapped his arms around her beak, sealing the noxious fumes before they could be spilled again. Wargs crashed against her muscular, but fragile wings, while lesser goblins, hungry for blood and glory, swarmed her body like ants, raising rudimentary farming tools with malicious intent.

River could see this, all in the backline, behind the raised shields of Paladins, Knights, and Warriors. Could see the physical representation of his pet’s health scatter into the winds as they ripped and tore.

Seconds remained before the faerie dragon expired. Prodigiously sized she may be, and yet that same size did not translate to significant strength.