Merrick hated recruits. 

Maybe hate was a strong word, but he could already feel the headache forming as he walked down the hallway towards the planning room. If the cause of the incident was one of the new men, things were going to get messy. With the possible blood to clean up, and the paperwork that will have to be done, it was going to be a long day. It was too damn early for a headache.

It was to be expected, though. With their operation expanding, they needed more men. You cannot shake a tree and expect only the ripe fruit to fall. Merrick wiped a hand down his face. At least some good will come from this. A precedent will be set, and some of the less than ideal members will second guess their positions.

With that in mind, he opened the door to the planning room. The room was large enough to hold a score of men at least. At the center was a large rectangular table cluttered with maps and charts. Several men were gathered around the table. Some were talking amongst themselves, while others were paying attention to the man at the center that was pointing to something on the table.The man stood shorter than most of the men in the room, but he held a presence larger than anyone Merrick had ever met. He kept his hair and beard short. Despite the man's youth, gray flecks had started to color his hair.

“…and if we get men stationed here, here, and here, we will be able to decrease the time it takes to respond to any threats we may have."

The man looked up when the black feathered gryphon next to him nudged his shoulder and gestured in Merrick's direction. The man smiled broadly. “Merrick! Tired from gate watch duty already? Well you'll just have to tough it out and stay out there making sure no one gets in uninvited."

That got chuckles out of the men, and a few smirks sent Merrick's way from the recruits. He kept his eyes on the man talking to him as the headache pounded behind his eyes. Or was it anger? “Afraid that's not the case, Taren. We have someone at the gates. A mother. She says her child has been murdered." Merrick spoke coolly. The room grew quiet. 

“Isn't that a job for the town's guard? We're here to protect the roads and ensure that the people passing through are safe. Searching for murderers isn't our job." A voice called out from the crowd. Merrick approached the man who spoke. Very short brown hair. Grey eyes. No wrinkles or laugh lines. Something white peeked at Merrick from under the man's armor around his neck. Young. A recruit. 

The man looked away as Merrick scrutinized him. “While that may be true—searching for murderers is not our job—what would we be if we do not indulge this request to help this grieving mother? Would you say that it's 'not worth our time?'" Merrick glanced over at Taren, who was smiling at the choice of words. 

“Well…no…"

“Good!" Merrick placed a hand on the recruit's shoulder. “Besides, I don't think this is in the jurisdiction of the guards in the town. The mother's a dragon."

Whispers broke out amongst the people gathered in the hall. Someone killing a dragon was nearly unheard of since the treaty.

The recruit folded his arms and a smirk formed on his face. “Oh. Well is it that old senile dragon that comes along every few years bemoaning her son's murder?" 

Merrick shook his head curtly. “If it were, I wouldn't be here. No, this dragon's much younger. And her child was not even twelve years old. A terrible, terrible thing, and not something you should be making light of." He glared at the recruit. "Maybe I should take you out to the courtyard so you can see this distraught mother, wringing her claws and grieving over her 'poor Little Tempest.'"

A sudden gasp from the gryphon drew Merrick's attention away from the recruit. The gryphon bounded from his spot beside Taren and ran out the doors that Merrick entered through. He stared after the gryphon with a frown. Ripclaw was…an interesting gryphon to say the least. Prone to outbursts of rage and impulsive, he was a hard creature to deal with. Somehow, though, Taren had always been able to calm the gryphon down whenever the episodes occurred.

Merrick turned back to the recruit. "But they didn't just kill her child. The murderer took one of his teeth, probably as a trophy. Lucky for us."

The recruit frowned. "Lucky for us? How?" 

Merrick sighed. The young man must be quite new. "It's the dragon's blood. It's quite potent, you see. During the war, we had people trying to determine whether or not it was the source of their magic, and if it could be countered. Nothing came of it, though, since the dragons always tracked us down and destroyed any research. Turns out the smell of the blood lingered. It's undetermined, but it's said that it could last for at most a few decades."

“Thanks for that history lesson, but I don't understand why that makes us lucky."  

“He's saying that the dragon used her sense of smell to track the killer." Taren spoke up from the table. "So either she's coming to this fort to let us know, or…" he trailed off. “What's your name, recruit?" 

"Ah. I-it's Warren, sir." The recruit turned stiffly to face Taren.

"Warren hmmm? You're new here, yes?"

Warren nodded. "Y-yes. I just joined five days ago."

Taren nodded. "That is new indeed." He scratched at a stain on the table. "Well, have Merrick gather you up our notes on dragons and the laws regarding them. Like it or not, you need to understand who we are protecting. That's the meeting for today, I guess. I have to talk..." Taren paused as he looked over Merrick's shoulder. Merrick turned around to see Ripclaw standing in the doorway.

The gryphon was trembling. 

Everyone in the room except for the recruits and Taren took a step back. Ripclaw walked into the room with measured steps. His tail flicked back and forth. He turned his head to look at each face in the room with his one eye, his other eye a puckered scar from some injury years ago. He stopped when his gaze fell on Warren. He walked over to the recruit and stared the man down. Warren looked from Ripclaw to Taren in confusion. The gryphon stood there, silent. 

Then he smashed his head into Warren's nose. 

Warren screamed as he fell to the stone floor, his hands covering his face. When he removed his hands, they were soaked in blood. His nose had split and it was far more crooked than it had been moments before. Putting a hand up to cover his nose, he pulled himself to his feet and glared at the gryphon before whipping his head towards Taren. “What the hell? Control your damn bird!" 

Taren went white. He lifted his hand when Ripclaw went to speak. He set the maps back down on the table and approached the two. “Excuse me?" he asked, his voice cold. His eyes bore into the recruit. 

“Your damn bird just broke my nose," Warren hissed, his face twisted into a grimace. “Keep him in line!" The blood streaming down his face started to pool on the floor. Merrick sighed. He'd have to clean that up once everything was all done.

Taren inhaled sharply through his nose. “That's what I though you said. Let me see." Warren moved his hand to show Taren his broken nose. The man nodded and shot his hand out before Warren could react and set his nose. Warren staggered backwards with another scream, hands reaching to cover his face again. 

Taren followed, “Let get me get something straight for you. I do not own him. No one does. He is not a pet or some dumb beast." He turned his head towards the gryphon. “Now why did you attack one of my men, Ripclaw?" 

“Galendraneth." The gryphon said simply as he continued to glare at Warren.

Oh damn. Merrick looked around the room. The name sparked a wildfire of whispers. Nearly every man in room knew the name of the small dragon that resided near the village a day's travel away from the fort. Taren's shoulders slumped. Warren stood there, unaffected by the name.

“What does that have to do with breaking my nose?"

Ripclaw scored his talons along the stone floor as he glared at Warren. “That's the name of the youngling dragon that lived near the village to the east. He was known by all the residents there, and he was entrusted to the village whenever his mother had to travel."

The color started draining from Warren's face, and Merrick was starting to think that it wasn't from blood loss.

“He was found in the street with his throat slashed six days ago. One of his teeth had been ripped out. His mother returned from her travels last night. It's surprising this fort is still standing. If it were my kin, this place would be smoldering hole in the side of a hill."

Warren shook his head. “No," he muttered, “no, no. It attacked me! I was minding my own business when it pounced on me, snarling. I just reacted and…"

“AND YOU WHAT!?" Ripclaw screeched. “You killed a defenseless youngling and took his teeth!" He took a step towards Warren. Taren was at Ripclaw's side before he could take another step towards the recruit. He put a hand on his shoulder and the gryphon sagged against him. Taren looked around the room. “I'm pretty sure I ended the meeting." The silent crowd jerked into life and left through the doors. Soon, only Taren, Ripclaw, Merrick, and Warren stood in the room. Taren turned to look at Merrick. “Can you finish this up?"

Merrick nodded. “Of course." He grabbed a hold of Warren's arm and led him out the doors. The young man looked despondent. 

“W—" Warren's voice cracked. “What's going to happen?" 

Merrick shrugged. “Who knows? Killing a dragon is a very serious crime. It's either dealt with by the next of kin to the deceased, or, if there is no next of kin, you'll be put on trial and judged accordingly."

“Oh…I'm dead…" Warren slowed down until he stopped. They were at the doors to the courtyard.

“Maybe, maybe not, we'll see." Merrick tilted his head to the side and let go of Warren's arm. “I guess there is a third option. You could overpower me and run for it. Granted, you'd be branded a coward and a criminal, but it's still an option." 

Warren cast a glance down the hallway opposite the main doors before turning back to Merrick with a shake of his head. “No."

Merrick nodded. “All right." He nudged Warren's shoulder and opened the doors to the courtyard. “Let's get this over with, then."

The green dragoness was pacing in the courtyard, her tail lashing behind her. Her head snapped up as the doors opened. She looked between Merrick and Warren, a low growl emanating from her throat. “So this is him?"

Merrick looked at Warren. The man had gone ashen. His arms hung limply by his side and blood streamed from his nose.

The dragon's tail flicked back and forth as she sniffed at the air. She froze. Her talons tore into the earth below her and she made a noise that sounded like a mix between a whimper and a growl. She strode towards the two and lowered her head so she was eye level with Warren. He flinched as she reached hesitantly towards his neck. She slid a claw under the leather cord around his neck and pulled. 

A necklace with teeth and claws hanging from it pulled free from under his armor. There was a bear claw, a tooth from a wolf, and a small needle-like chipped tooth. The dragon sat on her haunches and pulled the small tooth from the necklace, tossing the rest away. She held the tooth close to her chest and spoke in the harsh guttural language of her species. She then set the tooth down on the ground and very carefully breathed flames onto it.

She watched the fire intently as the bone turned to ash and the fire went out. She took a deep shuddering breath and turned back to Warren. "Why?"

For a few moments, Warren's mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. Then he cleared his throat and tried again. "I thought he was attacking me. I...I just reacted." 

The dragon was silent for a few moments. "I told him that he shouldn't practice his stalking in town." She looked over at the pile of ash being blown away by the breeze. "But...but why take a trophy?" 

"I used to work protecting my home town from dangerous animals. It became habit to take a trophy from the animals that tried to kill me."

The dragon looked down at Warren with an unreadable expression on her face, her claws kneading at the ground. She turned to Merrick. "What are my options?"

"Completely up to you." Merrick said with a shrug. "Or you can choose to do nothing and let the kingdom decide after a trial." He glanced at Warren. "Of which the outcome would be prison or death." 

"The dragoness growled under her breath. "One death has been enough. I do not wish to see or know of any more from this."

"I do have a suggestion." Merrick said. "You could invoke a Krav'naal."

The dragon started and stared at Merrick. "Where did you hear of that?"

Merrick chuckled. "Being a part of this organization requires a bit of research. I may have overdone it, but the culture of dragons has always fascinated me. Anyway, a Krav'naal is an option."

"That it is..." The dragon rustled her wings and sat up straighter as she stared at Warren. "Very well. Because you have taken the life of my..." her voice cracked, "my child, I shall take yours as repayment. I lay claim on you and you shall serve me until your death or I, of sound mind, release you of your service." Her eyes started to glow with a fierce blue light as she continued. "As such you shall follow my every order obediently and without hesitation until you have proven yourself to be worthy of autonomy." As the dragon spoke, Warren became enveloped with the same blue glow. The dragon turned to Merrick. "You have witnessed this claim; will you agree to the terms and complete it?"

Merrick nodded. "Of course. Warren is yours." A rush of power swept through the courtyard and the glow both around Warren and in the dragon's eyes disappeared.

The dragon sniffed. "Good. Now, first thing's first." She reached over to Warren and tapped a claw to his nose. Warren flinched, then frowned as his split nose healed and stopped bleeding. "Clean yourself up. I'm not going to let you get near me smelling of blood."  She looked at Merrick as Warren set off towards the guards' barracks. "I can handle him from now on. You can go, and," she bowed her head, "thank you."

Merrick bowed back. "You're welcome. I am...sorry for your loss, but now I must thank you for not leveling this fort once you found him." He nodded towards Warren.

The dragon tossed her head with a bitter laugh. "I would not make for a good diplomat if I were unable to keep my emotions in check." 

"Fair enough." Merrick gave the dragon a wave before walking back into the fort. The whole incident had gone better than he had expected. No death was involved, but there was blood. He ignored the trail of blood leading to the planning room. He'd have to deal with that later. There was a report he had to write.

Merrick opened the door to his office and found Taren sitting in the chair across from his desk. The front of the man's shirt was puckered at the chest and there was a black feather stuck to his shoulder. Merrick walked over to his desk and sat down in his chair with a huff. "It is done," he said.

Taren rubbed his face. “That was a mess."

“You don't have to clean up the blood," Merrick said with a wry smile.

“Heh. But I do have to get in contact with the Kingdom though. The killing of a dragon is something serious, even if it was accidental." He sighed." And then they'll probably send a Slayer to come check it out. Damn it. Did I make the right choice starting the Guardian Front?" He leaned forward and held his head in his hands. 

"Right, wrong, those are not questions you should ask yourself." Merrick said. "The question you should be asking is: why did you do this? Can you tell me why you organized the Guardian Front?" 

Taren looked up at Merrick. "It was to ensure that our 'Guardians' are held responsible for their actions or inactions, and to take over if they are unfit to guard our roads and the people int their territories." 

"Okay," Merrick said, "and do you still believe in that? Do you believe that this will help our fellow man?"

Taren sat up. "Of course."

"Then you made the right choice. You can't let other people's views of right and wrong completely drive your actions." 

Taren frowned. "I...thank you. Let's change the topic to something less dark. What's the situation on the envoy from Kardesh?"

“So far, their journey through Terador has been uneventful, and the transfers between territories and their guardians have gone by smoothly. They've thanked us with a cask of ale."

Taren raised his eyebrows. “The good stuff?"

Merrick nodded with a smile. “The good stuff. It just arrived a few days ago." 

“Tempting, but I've got the Front to run, and after what happened today, I may overindulge, and that's never a good thing to risk. Maybe another time. How about Brighton? We sent some men to talk with The Midnight Flame. What's the progress on that?"

Merrick searched through the organized chaos of papers on his desk before finding the report. “It seems that he was not pleased. He asked the men to leave under the threat of some major unpleasantness." He smirked. “Apparently some dragons don't like suggestions on how to better protect their land." 

Taren nodded. “Hmm, well is he a good guardian, or should we…?"

Merrick grabbed another paper and scanned it. “If we were talking twenty years ago, we may have had to intervene. He seems to have figured out his place as guardian. He even gives some bandits a second chance after marking them in some way, and—hang on." A letter with the words “Urgent" scrawled across it caught his eye. He opened the letter, read through the contents and whistled. “It seems that we do need to send our men to the Midnight Flame's territory."

Taren frowned. “Why?"

“Because he's dead. A Slayer was seen hauling the body away on a cart." 

Taren's frown deepened. “They took the body? The Slayer should have burned it. They don't take bodies...unless they think something happened to them." Taren glanced at the map on the wall. “The Slayer was seen heading to Aldley, weren't they?"

“Well, heading west, yes."

“And the guardian of that region? What do we know?"

“Iridescent Whisper. We've sent some people to observe and report, but we know nothing yet." 

“Hmmm…" Taren went quiet for a few moments before nodding to himself. “Alright, then, I'm going to go find this Slayer. I have a report to give them anyway. Make sure this place doesn't burn down while I'm gone, okay?" 

“I can certainly try, but I make no promises," Merrick said sardonically. “Just try not to be gone for too long."

Taren grinned. “I can certainly try, but I make no promises." With that said, he left Merrick's office. Merrick stared at the closed door. 

“What is going through your mind, Taren?" 

The door remained silent and Merrick turned back to his desk to start his report. A headache started throbbing behind his eye.

Oh, how he hated recruits.