Roar! The dragons roared as they approached the king's lair, signaling their arrival. The mountain shook as a massive rock moved to the side, revealing a hidden entrance.
"The king won't be pleased!" A voice roared from the inside, "Get back if you don't have a valid reason."
The dragons landed despite the warning. They had something worth their return.
Just after landing, all of them took their humanoid forms leaving only the one carrying Chad's cage in his draconic form. The inspection team approached them.
"There is still a chance to back down. Why did you return so early?" The man asked, growling like a dog.
"We got an important prisoner, the white mage's father." They explained as one of them pointed toward Chad's cage.
The inspection team looked above the massive blue dragon's back, feeling a hit of divine aura pulsing from the rusty old cage.
Ba-boom, Ba-bump. Ba-boom, Ba-bump. Ba-boom, Ba-bump. Ba-boom, Ba-bump. Ba-boom, Ba-bump. Ba-boom, Ba-bump. Ba-boom, Ba-bump. Ba-boom, Ba-bump.
The dragons could hear the divine magic beating like a drum. The being they have cage is of considerable power, to the point it seemed strange he was easily locked in a cage.
"How did you capture him?" The inspection team asked, as letting such a monster inside was dangerous.
"Poison of the wood elf patriarch Vars. He should be out for at least a month." They replied with confidence.
The inspection team stared at them, and then they discussed it, "We conclude that your reasoning is valid. Securing the white mage's father is more important than attacking the elvish capital."
The dragons celebrated, roaring in joy, "Yeah! We got it!" It was an actual advancement and a massive step forward.
"The king would like to experiment on him and maybe force the white mage to serve us. Go rest and resupply." The inspection team turned toward the dragon. Deliver the cage to the prisoner port under the great wyrm code."
The dragon nodded, walking toward the port where other dragons dismounted the cage from his back.
The dragon stared toward Chad's cage.
It was a massive-twenty-by-twenty foot square cage with tens of chains dangling inside. Chad was chained from every side as the dragons feared he might break free. The binding forced him into a cross-legged sitting position.
Chad stood in the middle cross-legged while seeming unconscious, a massive metal collar on his neck with tens of chains linked to the cafe, hand and ankle cuffs chaining his knees, arms, and feet together. The dragons even tied each finger separately, fearing he might wake up.
The dragon stared at the cage.
"Are you all right?" The prison team asked him.
"Yeah. It just feels weird to take the cage after a long trip. I can still feel it on my back." The dragon replied, gently flapping his wings and cracking his neck.
"Such a thing shouldn't hurt a dragon," One of the prison team replied.
"I know. I didn't mean it as a bad thing. I might like transport jobs like this," He sighed, "Can I change jobs into prisoner transport?"
"The places are filled. But most dragons hate it. They say it's just as humiliating as letting someone ride their back." They replied.
The dragon remembered the trip. Chad's divine magic pulsing on his back was more calming than humiliating.
The dragon then flew away, stealing glances at Chad's cage.
"He left," One of the prison team sighed, turning toward Chad's cage. "What a weirdo. Who would want to carry someone on their back?" He looked toward the chains and glared at Chad.
"Stop it. It's easier to work with willing workers. We need more people to like their jobs." Another replied to him, throwing a sheet of paper toward him. "Make sure to register him."
"I will," the dragon sighed, kicking Chad's cage, "This human is the father of our headache." At that moment, as he stared at Chad, he felt his legs shake, losing their strength.
"I must have had more drinks than I should," He mumbled, "Take him inside. I will register him."
Other dragons rushed in, lifting the cage from its sides and carrying it inside. The dragon followed them and headed to his office.
"Chad Lisworth, a paladin. A powerful close combat type and is the father of Cain Lisworth, a power mage specialized in ranged and area of effect magic." He made sure to include all the information brought by the army in his report before sending it to the king.
The dragon stood, heading outside to send the report. On his way, he passed by the living team, "The prisoner Chad Lisworth is a critical asset. Make sure he is well-fed. For a prisoner." He stared at them.
"We heard he is unconscious. Can't we leave him?" One of them replied.
"They have been traveling for a day, and he is a mere human." The dragon replied, "If Chad died from starvation, the king would kill us." The dragon explained, and the living team stared at him, surprised.
"You rarely call someone by their name who aren't dragons." They asked with a smile.
The dragon paused for a moment. Why did he call him by his name? "That shows how much we need him alive." He growled, turning around and leaving.
The living team looked at each other, "You go clean. We will go and cook something for the human." They separated, and two women headed toward the library.
ROAR! One of them transformed into her draconic form. She was an ancient green dragon, lifting her other partner toward the higher sections.
"Humans are low omnivores. They can eat anything considered edible by the majority of races," She said, reading from a book that became yellow from age.
"Do they eat metals or gems?" The green dragon asked.
"No, I said low omnivores." The woman replied, "We will roast some meat, and it should be enough."
"Should we take meat from the inner supply room?" The green dragon asked, lowering the woman down.
"That is high-quality meat for us," The woman replied, "We will just grab a stray cow from the canyon below." To them, cows and sheep were like rats and frogs to humans.
The two separated. The green dragon went outside to catch a cow, while the other went inside to prepare for the cooking.
The dragons transferred Chad into an isolated room capable of holding a raging dragon. To the ground, they chained him from head to toe, making sure he won't be able to move an inch.
"To think we dragons, AH!" One of the dragons tied the chains to the wall, "...are doing all of this to keep a mere human tied," He sighed, glaring back at Chad, "What could he do anyway?"
"Don't underestimate him," Another dragon replied, "And even if he was weak, his son is a problem."
They chatted while chaining Chad, then they left, locking the room behind them.
After a while, the door opened again, and the woman from earlier entered, carrying a roasted cow leg in her hand.
"Here is your food. Eat if you managed to wake up." She swung her arm, about to throw the meat. Her hand stopped, and she couldn't throw it.
Looking at Chad, her hand started to shake. Throwing the meat on the ground seemed like a grave mistake to her.
"What?" She looked closer at Chad, approached him, and attempted to put the meat ahead of him instead of throwing it. She couldn't do it, even if she wanted to. All of her instincts kept screaming it was a bad idea.
"Please wait a moment. I will bring a plate," The woman sighed, leaving the room.
"What was that divine aura around him?" She gasped, taking a deep breath. She walked toward the kitchen and brought a plate. Surprisingly, she picked a nice one.
She approached the prison, looking down at the plate in her hand, "This was the best one in the kitchen. Why I'm serving a prisoner in it?" She scratched her head, unable to believe what she was doing.
CRACK! She opened the cell door and found Chad sitting in his place. She looked around and slowly placed the meat on the plate in front of him with a jug of water. "Eat when you wake up," The woman turned to leave. But she suddenly stopped. The uneasy feeling never left her chest, 'He hasn't eaten in a day.' She thought, looking back at Chad.
"AGHHA!" She ruffled her head, "Damn it!"
Approaching Chad, she slowly pulled the meat apart, crushing it in her finger and pushing it into his mouth. With the water, she managed to make Chad swallow the food.
After feeding him, she went to the kitchen and brought a towel to wipe his face. "Why am I the one stuck doing this," She growled, standing up.
Chad still didn't move an inch, and she stared at him, feeling the divine aura seeping from his body.
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