'The tyrannical rule of a madman,' the man said as if repeating by rote.
'And your own rule is different?'
'Mine is benevolent,' Aniolon said. Then the man shook his head and quickly amended, 'We rule ourselves, we choose what we want. No one gives us orders.'
Gerinvioch smiled and gave a nod. These humans were quite bold. To lust after treasure would be offense enough, but power? What could slake the lust of these humans, he wondered.
'I see. Freedom is an admirable gift to provide your people,' he said, deciding to grant the man his gift. Thirsts must be quenched, after all.
The man's eyes grew wide. 'Yes. It is. I am pleased that you… Thank you,' the man offered with a bow.
'I will help you, Gruanthe.'
Aniolon almost stumbled backward with surprise. 'You will? That… that's wonderful! Thank you.' The man stared off into the gloom of the cavern, obviously lost in thought. 'That's wonderful,' he repeated softly as a smile danced across his lips.
'It is an exhilarating feeling to wield power over others, is it not?' the dragon said, no longer hiding his grin.
'Yes,' Aniolon said with a distant look in his eyes. 'Yes, it most definitely is.'
How wonderfully oblivious these creatures were, Gerinvioch thought as he shook his head and chuckled.
The little man seemed to awaken from a daydream. 'You will fight them?'
'That will not be necessary. I will come to your town and grant it a protective spell.'
Aniolon shrugged and nodded.
'The cost you pay for my assistance will be high. You will obtain an item for me that lies here in the desert. Also, you will leave these others for me,' the dragon said motioning toward the man's smoldering companions.
The wizard grimaced but agreed.
Gerinvioch told him where to find the item, the Evise Jhontil, which would seal their pact and instructed him to make contact again once it had been obtained. After Aniolon departed, Gerinvioch inspected the first of his payments.
The other man who obviously fancied himself a wizard was still alive, though immobile. Gerinvioch sniffed at the man, letting the aroma of scorched human skin overwhelm him.
'Ple-please,' the man stuttered.
'I have answered one man's pleas today. I think that quite generous of me,' Gerinvioch replied.
'You are going to he-help him?' the human asked, swallowing back an eruption of blood.
Gerinvioch cocked his head. 'You muster the strength to ask me one question and that one is your choice?'
The man assented.
'He wishes freedom from this Estagundian tyrant and his killers. I will grant him that,' Gerinvioch answered, leaning in closer to the man.
The wizard's face contorted in obvious confusion. 'Why?'
'Humans need to learn that desire is a dangerous pursuit. My desert has been invaded by your kind more times than I can count. I roam the skies beyond the desert and see that your disease has taken a firm hold in most of the lands I find. I tire of your endless quests and searches, your discoveries and advancements, your invasions and intrusions. It is in your nature to 'outdo' yourselves, so you say. What you are doing is outpacing yourselves, you are overstepping yourselves more and more each day. I tire of it,' the wyrm said, his cadence slowing. 'He wants freedom from this ruler when all humans do is imprison the world around them in their lustful, greedy pursuits? So be it.'
'But our town is sm-' the man started, cut short by a surge of pain-'is small. We are but a few humans.'
The wyrm conceded the point. 'True. However, everything starts somewhere.'
The man started to respond, but ceased abruptly as Ger-invioch's gargantuan maw creaked slowly open and lowered itself toward him. The wizard screamed so loudly as to cause his voice to crack and fade away.
'I have answered your question, human. Now you will answer my hunger,' Gerinvioch said before he sank his teeth in slowly, savoring the squirming delicacy.
Aniolon returned to his town and shared the news with his followers. The people had their trepidations and were sorrowful over the loss of those who had accompanied him. He, naturally, didn't give all of the details of the journey, but insisted that the dragon would protect their new home.
A party of twenty was dispatched from the town to the location of ruins described by the dragon. Among them had once been a temple to the evil god Set. Aniolon told them the artifact would be there.
Aniolon enjoyed the attention of his people while they waited for the party's return. This is one of the rewards for being a good leader, he thought.
Upon their return, almost a tenday later, the intrepid searchers described the ordeal of their quest. The wards and defensive measures surrounding the artifact, mysteriously still in place nearly half a millennium after the temple was abandoned, had claimed the lives of almost a dozen of their ranks. Another four were killed when they had encountered a roaming ef reeti on their return journey. The others had barely escaped. Aniolon listened to the tale, adding empathetic remarks at moments he deemed most effective, attempting to console them for the loss of their friends. He was, of course, certain to remember to congratulate them on a job well done. The wizard turned leader took the item to the dragon. Upon his return to town he once again assured his people that they would be safe.
The next morning the great beast arrived at the edge of the freshly formed town, keeping his distance from the nervous inhabitants.
'Thank you for coming. Your largesse honors us,' Aniolon greeted the Great Blue loudly as he approached, so everyone within earshot could hear his easy tone.
Aniolon led the beast to the center of the town, smiling at his followers and giving them reassuring nods. Gerinvioch ' produced the artifact the townspeople had retrieved for him as if from thin air. Aniolon looked carefully and still could not begin to guess where the dragon had hidden it on his person or how it had been hidden in the first place. The wyrm placed the object on the ground at his feet and nodded to Aniolon.
'You are using the Evise Jhontil in your spell?' the wizlrd asked.
'It is essential to your protection,' the dragon responded.
Aniolon regarded the dragon curiously and finally shrugged. The enormous creature reared onto his hind legs, exposing the gold-green scales of his belly. They were dull and void of life compared to the dazzling azure that adorned the rest of his body. Gerinvioch looked equally comfortable standing on two legs as he did on four, Aniolon noted.
The dragon began chanting in a language Aniolon did not recognize, occasionally gesturing with his large, three-fingered hands. Aniolon chuckled as he wondered if they were called fingers and hands when it came to dragons. The wizard turned to see his followers watching the great beast carefully. He smiled as he watched them, knowing soon they would be safe under the protection he had procured for them. They would be in his debt and provide him with a comfortable, free existence for the rest of his life.
The dragon ceased its incantation and turned to face the wizard. 'It is done.'
'What does it do?' Aniolon said doubtfully, looking at the still inert object on the ground.
'The barrier will make your home invisible and impenetrable. And if these men hunting you cannot see you…' the dragon began.
'They will pass by and continue their search elsewhere,' Aniolon said, a large grin spreading across his face.
'But surely they will detect the magic of the barrier itself,' said a man with graying hair named Umbeso, once one of Aniolon's rivals for positions of power in Estagund.
Like many of the arcanists in the town, Umbeso had desired a respite from the Estagundian worship of a class of warrior nobility. Most citizens held those warriors in high regard, but the hierarchy often led to political conflicts with the magic-using citizens of Estagund, who did much for the country but were not very highly regarded under the current regime.
Aniolon spun to face the man, red with anger, but before he could speak, Gerinvioch responded, 'I have
