Dahrzin was there when the guards opened the portcullis leading into that desolate chamber. The kobold stepped to the side, allowing the dragon to sluggishly walk inside. After the guards left, Dahrzin crouched towards the sleepy dragon, his nostrils sniffing quite intently.

"You smell more like a mare than a dragon. Akerion must have offered you quite the treat."

"He did," Vrelgor yawned. "I spilled so much seed even sleeping comes difficult. Grr, my slit feels as if your tail wriggles inside."

"Is that complaints I'm hearing? Because no male that I know would drop down on the stone and moan the way you do. What happened?"

"I'll tell you later."

"Or you can tell me now."

Out of all the possible times, Dahrzin decided to be a pest in the worst possible moment. "Get under my wing, or sleep on bare stone. I do not care which."

"Kareek Shukal. You dragons get weirder with every passing day."

Vrelgor rumbled with contentment as the kobold chose the sensible option. He pulled him close against his side, then placed his heavy head on a forepaw. The roars of the arena still rang inside his ears along with the hippogryph's incessant screeches. Vrelgor's slit twitched painfully as he went over her rapid contractions, the bursts of liquid heat oozing out of her whenever she reached her peak, the spurts of cum gushing out of her cock...In a way, Dahrzin was right. No male could ever resist such a treat. They all succumbed to it, and after such a hefty mating, Vrelgor had just enough energy to close his eyes and delve into the realm of dreams.

There were better ways to wake up than with a kobold's high pitched screech ringing in your ears. Vrelgor snapped his eyes open, snout curling with the faint semblance of a snarl. Dahrzin was not alone. Two guards sat on either side, both looking at Vrelgor like they wanted something.

"Tell him, you oafs. Tell him!"

One of the guards stumbled away from the kobold's flapping wings, but his partner had better balanced feet.

"The master expects you in the water chamber."

"Another fight?" Vrelgor tried not to yawn.

"He wishes to share a meal with you. Both of you," the guard said. "May we escort you to him, dragon?"

"Eeereeek! Of course, of course!" Dahrzin jumped around, tugging on the sleepy dragon's wings. "Get up, you big ugly beast! Dinner! We'll eat dinner!"

In rare occasions, kobolds were worse than humans. Vrelgor padded alongside his retinue, his claws clicking on the stone along with the soft steps of leather boots. The sound calmed him. It was tranquil. Nice, compared to the overly excited leaps of his kobold friend. Dahrzin was acting more like a hatchling than the kobold master he proclaimed himself to be, flapping his wings and annoying everybody around him.

Everybody aside from Akerion. That barrel of a man rested his sizable girth on a metal plated chair placed before an equally impressive table. This was not the plank of wood Vrelgor saw before. It was black, polished like onyx, with golden threads embedded upon its surface.

"Like it? I call it the table of fate. Every time I sit here, with a cup of wine in my hand or a bowl of spicy basted ribs, I see glimpses into the future. Come. Sit. Eat with me. Haven't broken the backs of my servants so you can drool on the ground."

Dahrzin flew across the room, kneeling before the smaller bowl. He tucked into the ribs like a ravenous beast, chewing through the bones and sucking the thick sauce from his clawed fingers.

"Good. Is good food! Dragon has to eat. Come, come!"

Vrelgor trudged towards his own sizable bowl. He sat on his haunches, the spicy scents irritating his sensitive nostrils.

"Eat. Didn't bring this bowl here so you can stare at it."

"I'm not hungry."

That pushed Akerion into a laughing fit. "Heard this?" he drew in the attention of his servants towards Vrelgor. "You heard him, right?"

Nods and grunts filled the silence.

"Grahaha," Akerion slammed his palm into the table. "Course you're not hungry when you squeezed my beast for every drop. It was a sight to behold, watching a dragon feast with such frenzy. Got me hard 'tween my legs, you did," the man chuckled briefly before his lips pressed together.

"Mrghm. Gave me a feast bigger than the stone you sit your arse upon. Bigger than my home. Bigger than the arena itself. Have you heard the way they roared? Spit fresh upon their lips, garments tenting under the throbs of their hungry cocks? The crowd loved you. Bet they're stroking themselves raw right now, wishing to fill a sloppy cunt the same way you did. They can't. Course not. We are but mere men standing before a titan!"

Vrelgor did not know what to think when Akerion raised his glass to him. The man sipped his wine, then pushed his pudgy fingers inside his bowl to grab onto a pair of dripping ribs.

"I want to give them more," he suckled on the juices, then munched on the ribs, grunting while he did so. "Mrrghhm. A beast is not so easily sated. I have to provide more. We have to become more than just jesters upon the sands. Are you with me, dragon? Will you bind your fate with mine the way you promised?"

"Ereek! Of course, of course! Vowed, we did!" Dahrzin barged in.

"The kobold speaks wisdom. What do you say, blue?" Akerion took another greedy sip, his eyes gleaming with hidden intent.

"I...I don't know yet. Depends."

"Maker's cock we depend on you!" Akerion said. "Traders, soldiers, furs, urchins. They pour into the city like seed pours from your cock. I'll have to build tents around my grounds to shelter this lot thanks to you. Don't you see, dragon? You elevated my success beyond my wildest dreams, and it took what, one juicy breeding? Imagine what we can do with five. Ten. Twenty! Stay with me. Follow my instructions. Do as I tell you, and our fortunes will rise like cock before parting cunt."

"We're yours, master. All yours!"

"Are you?" Akerion narrowed his gaze, not even glancing at the kobold.

"We...we are," Vrelgor bowed his head.

"Good," the man drank his entire goblet, then smashed it upon the table. "I know exactly what to feed to these beast loving mongrels. Fights. Real fights with real stakes. I had beasts spill upon the sands before, but never has the crowd roared as loud as they did when they tasted dragon for the first time. There's a wildness in your kin, blue. A flame that stirs the crotch of every male, man or beast. That is what we want to see. Vigor. Roars. Claws clashing against teeth, roars pouring out of parted maws, seed spilling from hardened cock. And the best way to feed this beast is to provide a close representation to the breeding habits of the beasts beyond our borders. Mating, aye, but also fighting. Spill seed, and also blood."

"Blood?" Vrelgor cocked his head. "I thought-"

"Thought so too before my arena filled like a hippogryph's cunt!" Akerion interrupted. "I'm not asking you to kill, dragon. I am a man of my word. What I said remains solid as the stone below your feet."

Akerion stroke his chin. "What I want...What I need is something that has never been seen before. The old ,mixing with the new. Herald's flawed ways breeding with my perfect ideas. Though the sight of blood disgusts me, I cannot speak for the millions of men who fed upon such savage practice. The empire is old. It is like a mountain standing before a storm. I am the storm, dragon, yet with all my crackling fury I can only chip at the stone until it acquires a new form. A better form."

"We'll fight! Both of us if needs be!" Dahrzin said excitedly.

Akerion turned his eyes to him. "I will need your healing talents more than your cock, kobold master. Your experience with the herbs shames the greatest of healers. Teach them. I shall provide you with apprentices. Turn you into a proper master. A mender of wounds whose name will spread throughout the entire empire."

"And me?" Vrelgor's wings twitched with apprehension. "What must I do, master?"

"You shall take upon the sands and slash your way to victory. Subdue your quarry with claws and fangs like dragons were forged to."

 "I...but what if-"

"Don't be scared. There is no beast in my possession that can pierce your hide."

"I am not afraid for myself, but for the others I could harm. Master, can we not keep to the same path we threaded upon so far? Is it necessary to adhere to the Herald's flawed ways? You told me when I first stepped upon the sands of your arena that you are a different man. A force of change that will wash away the years of conflict and strife that plagued your empire. How can we hope to convince others if we become like them?"

"We don't become like them, dragon. We adapt. To live is to change."

"Then I prefer to-"

"You, you, you," Akerion grumbled. "This is not just about you, but an entire empire. An empire that comes through my gates to see my beasts upon the sands. As I built these walls, so shall I build a new arena that will fill the city with a roar louder than a dragon's, Maker's fucking cock."

"Accept. Accept!" Dahrzin flapped his wings insistently.

"I don't want to harm others, be them men or beasts!" Vrelgor hissed.

Akerion was not happy about that. He chewed onto a rib, then threw it in Vrelgor's face.

"Why do you keep talking about hurting? You'll not fight or kill anyone, but subdue them, and if the beasts prove more resilient than you anticipated, then you shall take their cocks all the same. I am not asking to sacrifice your life for a selfish cause, dragon. I only wish to provide pleasure, and if you think I am unfair in my ways, then by all means, ask for a certain beast and I shall provide it for you."

For the first time Vrelgor sought refuge in his meal. The sauce stung his tongue, irritated his nostrils, and made his eyes water with its reckless flames. Vrelgor munched through the ribs, grabbing them with his tongue and crushing the bones between his teeth. The meat had a very savory taste that would have been so much better on its own.

Akerion talked to the kobold. Dahrzin agreed with everything he said. He seemed eager to blindly throw himself into the clutches of a man that once called him a slave. How? And most importantly, why was he so reckless?

After Vrelgor finished his meal, the servants provided him with a barrel of water to drink form.

"Drinks!" the kobold pointed insistently. "Is reason for celebration, is it not?"

"Want me to pour wine down your dragon's throat?"

"No, ereek, dragons hate wine! Give it to your men!"

"Maker's cock, aren't you a clever one? Bring more wine!" Akerion rubbed his palms together. "I will have these walls tremble with laughter and the sound of cock inside arse. What do you say, dragon? Want to breed before I set up your next fight? I can provide any beast you desire. Any cunt, any cock to satisfy your relentless lust."

"I'll do it, master. I'll please the beast. Know him better than anyone, yes. Been inside him more than any of your beasts!"

Akerion laughed. "Go then. Drink his seed, or take it in your arse. I don't care what you choose as long as that beast washes my stone with his seed."

Dahrzin jumped around like an erratic hatchling. "Come, dragon. Drink! Drink your seed I will! Drink drink drink!"

Vrelgor rushed back to his chamber if only to escape the kobold's maddening squawks. No men escorted him this time, and as soon as they were inside, Dahrzin slammed the portcullis shut and turned around, his eyes cold, his lips barely twitching. Within a moment, he became a totally different kobold.

"Care to tell me what that was about?" Vrelgor sat on his haunches, staring at his friend.

"It was a game of deceit, and thanks to your thick-headed skull we might have just fooled Akerion into providing the path to escape for us."

"Escape? What are you talking about?"

"Keep it low!" Dahrzin grabbed for the dragons' snout. He was not tall enough, so Vrelgor had to come to him.

As soon as he did, the kobold grabbed onto his snout, pressing his nostrils between the dragon's bigger ones.

"I care for you a lot more than that cock loving oaf does, and right now the best course we can take is to get away from his clutches. Fly as far as we can before he puts whatever plans he has in motion."

"I...I don't understand," Vrelgor growled.

The kobold's claws dug through his scales to keep him into place.

"He is a liar. Not the best one I stumbled upon, but probably good enough to get under your scales. What, do you think he had me fooled with that 'I am a changed man' speech? It was all for show. Deep underneath Akerion is still the same miserable filth that kept me under collar for five years. I was his slave once. Never again."

"So what are you proposing?"

Dahrzin let go, taking a few steps back. "Every slave he owns is written on a scroll. I need to steal ours. It's the only way we can survive if the empire's Skytalons catch us."

Vrelgor shook his head. "There is no way Akerion wouldn't notice our absence. He might not mind you given your size and what you bring for him, but me? Have you seen the way he talked about me?"

Dahrzin nodded. "Dragons are in short supply inside the empire. I knew that before you even hatched, scale-head. Yes, Akerion will alert his city, but it will take at least a day before the whole eastern part of the empire catches wind of our betrayal. By that time, we will be long gone."

The dragon scratched at the ground. "It's a good plan, but...what if the better option is to stay?"

"In all my travels, I have never met a dragon that changed the color of his scales. Akerion might be a blob of fat, but he has the mind of a dragon, and he will never. Ever. Change. We will escape, and we'll do it now. If we're lucky, his drunk guards will not even notice we left until morning."

Vrelgor tried to think. To plan for the consequences should this plan fail, yet his mind was a tree lost in a storm, its leaves and branches torn by the savage winds.

"What must I do?" he asked instead.

"Pretend," Dahrzin said. "Akerion wanted you to roar. Offer him the loudest you can offer."

"And you?"

"I'm definitely not going to stroke or suck your great cock, esteemed dragon," Dahrzin bowed, then walked towards the gate. "Start now. These halls will crawl with guards after Akerion finishes his meal."

As soon as the kobold left, Vrelgor settled comfortably on the ground, a wing draped over his coiled body to shadow everything that happened underneath. Though the smell of his slit enticed his nostrils, Vrelgor planned to keep a clear mind. He started with a few moans at first, then gradually climbed until the chamber trembled under the weight of his roars.

Dahrzin returned just in time. Throat raw, jaws aching, Vrelgor welcome the kobold under his wing.

"Here they are," he waved the neatly folded scrolls before the dragon's twitching nostrils.

"Anyone noticed you?"

"The advantage of being a kobold is that you are small in more than just size. The scroll keeper had his eyes glued to his precious parchments. Old fool did not even notice I entered his study."

"And the guards?"

"Already sipping on their master's wine. It will take a while until the drink works its way into their bellies. Rest. I will keep a vigilant eye until you wake up."

Vrelgor had a tumultuous sleep. He kept dreaming of getting caught and thrown upon the sands to fight other dragons. Krelgor was one of them. Once he gave the order, Krelgor leaped onto Vrelgor, pinning him against the cold sands, clawing his way through the scales until there was nothing but seething agony.

"Grarrr!"

"Shh. Quiet," the kobold's hands ran along the dragon's neck. "We're almost ready. We only have to wait for-"

The portcullis slid open to reveal the shape of a small, sandy kobold.

"Quick," she hissed.

Dahrzin rushed towards her, dashing a few licks around her snout. "We'll never forget this."

"I will. Now go!"

Dahrzin clambered upon the dragon's back. "If any guard is sharp enough to stop us, pretend you are drunk. We only have to get to the courtyard, then fly our way to freedom."

Vrelgor bowed his head. He too nuzzled the sandy female before he took through the serpentine corridors. The servants barely acknowledged him, too busy cleaning or carrying food and drink from here to there.

Fresh air entered his nostrils. Vrelgor pushed the doors with a paw, revealing the moonlit gardens.

"Walk," Dahrzin whispered. "Wobble around for a bit if you can. Anyone asks, we tell them we are here to breathe in the scents of the night.

The dragon did as he was instructed, though stumbling on four paws was decisively harder than doing it on two. The pathways were clear for the most part. One guard was relieving himself in the bushes. Vrelgor moved past him quickly. It took a hundred steps or so to come face to face with the imposing gate he came through.

Two guards stood there. One small and lean leaning against the wall, the other older and definitely more suspicious.

"Who goes there?"

"Draaagon rider. I aaam a dragon rider!" Dahrzin started chanting while his hands urged Vrelgor to keep walking.

"Ride elsewhere," the human said.

"But we can't!" The kobold shouted. "The grass tangles my dragons' feet, and the trees hurt his wings. Can't you open the gate for us so we can take a dip in the lake?"

"I'll open your belly with my sword, more likely. Turn your beast around."

"He's drunk. Can't you see?"

Vrelgor wobbled towards the guards, keeping his eyes half-lidded, growling as if he was in pain.

"He's going to take the biggest, meanest of dumps in your courtyard. Is that what you really want? To have dragon dung right next to your post?"

The guard grabbed his sword. "Had enough of you. Turn around now or-"

He never finished. With a flap of wings, Dahrzin crashed upon him, slamming his head into the ground. He was about to give his partner the same treatment, but the youth was sleeping deeper than a hatchling.

"Can you open the gate?"

Dahrzin looked up. The sky was ripe for the taking. "Why can't we fly?"

"A dragon flying through a human city at night is the very definition of suspicious. We will fly after we get to the outskirts, but until then you are the slave and I am the master, just like these scrolls attest."

Sharp. Vrelgor liked that. He opened the gates just enough to slink through, then closed them just to avoid suspicion. Dahrzin was right. The few people that walked the streets paid no mind to a dragon walking with his head bowed. In an empire where slavery was so common, beasts became more ordinary than the urchins sleeping in the corners. Even the guards were fooled by the scrolls. They let the two walk out of the city with barely any trouble.

"Fly now," Dahrzin said. "Fly as far away as you can and never look back. We are free now to do as we wish, and no human will ever tell us what to do."

"What about RuSturak?" Vrelgor asked.

Dahrzin kept silent about that. He was thinking. Both of them did. How much was their freedom truly worth? Were they ready to risk this for a dragon who worked with humans? Was RuSturak a friend worth fighting for?