"Charles and Karn"

Charles and Karn.

Emerald scales twinkled like precious gems over the heavily muscled, and rippling back of Karn. He was a swamp species, beautiful green with webbed hands and feet, a long graceful sinuous neck, and deadly poisonous breath. He was a god in his swamp. But he was no longer in his beautiful swamp; he was high above the arid plains.

The warm southern winds tickled his belly scales as he soared with dominion over the glassy desert. The few clouds, like fleeting shadows, provided sporadic relief from the torturous sun.

“Darn it lizard yer flying to high again, I can’t breath.” Came a voice from between his shoulders.

“Why must you insist on speaking that way Charles?” Replied Karn.

“Because I’m a dwarf that’s why.”

“Ah yes, you drink too much, sing too loud, and are full of quirky explicatives to describe me.”

“Exactly.”

“Charles, I have never seen you take a drink, you have an excellent tenor, plus you are far too educated to refer to any living creature as a “Darned lizard.” Replied Karn.

“How about overgrown Gecko?”

“How about a loop de loop?”

“Right you are Sir Karn, entirely my fault, very ill mannered of me.” Charles was quick to retort turning slightly green at the thought of Karn's acrobatics.

“It’s just. I’m not like those other dwarves” he whispered.

“You were raised by elves, in the trees. Completely unnatural for you, any other dwarf would have long died of embarrassment. But not you, you entered the academy, against the wishes of the elders I might add, and earned your way into the Winged Hzars. Then, against all odds you earned the title Dragon Knight. You are a hero to your people, the only dwarf in history to actually sit dragon back, let alone become a knight!”

“Easy for you to say.” Charles scoffed.

“You fit right in with other dragons, I saw you all cuddled up to that lanky blue vixen last night.”

“You uhm saw that did ya…I need to be more careful.” Karn thought out loud looking slightly embarrassed.

“You fit in with me my hairy little friend, out here with the open steppes beneath you and the wind your servant” Karn exclaimed triumphantly.

Karn fought a very undragonlike blush when Charles leaned over and hugged his neck. Both avoiding the moment returned to their patrol, their orders were to search for movement along the southernmost edges of the desert.

Charles leaned over the side of the saddle scanning the ground for movement. An eerie feeling overcame him, a tickling at the base of the neck. Scratching and cursing in dwarven, he glanced behind them.

“Karn.” Said Charles with an odd tone to his voice.

“What is it mate?” Karn sensing his riders change of tone, answered quickly.

“We have company”

“I don’t see anything.” Was Karn’s reply as he craned his neck back and forth across the desert floor.

“Not down there buddy aft and port.” Said Charles with a slight tremor to his voice.

Standard sea terms being adapted years ago for air born combat training by the Elvin nation, Karn knew they had company in the air behind them and to the left. Skeptical of seeing anything of note he indulged Charles.

“Ick, it’s a pair of Turls.” Said Karn snaking his head back and peering over Charles’ head.

“I hate when you do that!” muttered Charles pushing Karn’s head back around in the proper position.

“It’s creepy!”

“Too late to run Buddy, they are faster than us, and were not muffled. This may get nasty.”

Turls are giant bat like creatures, about half the size of a full grown dragon but twice as fast. They are born with razor sharp teeth and wicked claws. But their greatest weapon lays in their sight, or lack there of. Their piercing screech which helps them see, when focused can cause creatures to become disoriented and sometimes, if their minds are weak complete paralysis.

“Don’t think we have to worry about them screeching at us.” Said Charles with a groan. “They have riders.”

“They have WHAT!!!” Exploded from Karn’s snout, fluttering for a second to recover his rhythm.

“You know riders, like me. Only twice as tall and half as good looking.”

“Here we go with the quirky remarks again”

“I’m setting up my bolt gun!” said Charles with a strange gleam to his beady little eyes.

“Just mind my tail this time, and strap yourself in good. Don’t want you falling off again.”

“One time I fall and you never let me forget!”

Karn pumped his wings as he entered an updraft, monitoring the already labored breathing of Charles. The altitude having an effect on the mortal races, Karn remembering their falling lesson, was keeping it in mind with this new threat. Diving from above he thought he could get his dwarf rider into position to use his deadly little toy.

Charles’s pride and joy was his bolt gun, it was a first of its kind. The only artifact ever made of dwarfish engineering and elfin magic. It looked like a regular crossbow, with elvish scripting on the draw, and a strange magazine underneath. Dwarf runes glittered and winked across the two steel cross members, it was frighteningly accurate, and could spit out steel crossbow bolts at incredible velocities.

The riders, they could see from above, had wicked looking lances, barbed and shining in the sun. Karn knew they would try to get up close to use them, and he didn’t plan on letting himself get into that position. Soaring into a lonely cloud, Karn doubled back, and waited for the turls to get close enough to engage.
W
hen they were in position, Karn tucked his left wing in tight while shooting his tail out and to the right initiating a perfect barrel roll. He tucked his right wing in, after stabilizing his descent, and shot between the two confused and shouting turl riders. Thirty yards below his two enemies he extended both wings dragging him to a halt in mid air, his wings straining and creaking with the effort. Charles, not wasting the opportunity emptied his bolt gun into the belly of the beast on the left.

The right hand turl tucked in his wings and dropped straight down angling to get his riders lance into position. The other turl, his belly full of steel shanks dropped straight from the sky, his wings flapping uselessly in the wind.

Karn couldn’t resist a chuckle at the dumbfounded look of sheer disbelief on the turl rider as he shot by, plummeting to his imminent death.
Lance at the ready and coming fast, the last turl could not be forgotten. Charles releasing his bolt gun on its safety cord and drawing his axe, didn’t particular like the situation.

“Uh Karn, why in the name of certain death are we flying AT the lance wielding sons of a motherless troll?”

Not having the breath or time to reply Karn only beat his wings faster. Being neither young nor stupid he had no intention of meeting that lance. Just before the impact with the lance, Karn threw his head back over his shoulder and his tail forward under the turl. Tucking his wings he flipped completely over in mid air and caught his opponent’s abdomen with all four viscous claws.

Karns momentum carried him on past and behind the turl where he rolled and spread his magnificent wings once more, releasing the rent pieces of turl from his deadly talons. With a lazy twitch of his head he looked back to see the other turl and rider screaming towards their sandy deaths.
“
Well, that was anticlimactic.” Said Charles with a grin.

“What the hell do we do now?”

“We finish our patrol, and report this. Captain Veer will find it very useful to know we no longer have a monopoly on the skies.” Karn replied with a grim expression.