Upon entering The gate I was still feeling the rush of victory, a victory rightfully earned. It symbolized the path paved through force of will. In some ways Alioth was more amazing to me than he understood. I wonder if he understood that another man wouldn't have even talked to his enemies, taking pleasure in their annihilation. It's funny how fate worked. He had the opportunity to grow tremendously in power and yet he chose to limit himself. This is only of the few times where the descents have chosen correctly.

  “ We were victorious, “ I said in my usual manner.

  BOOF! I feel something small trying to attach itself to my side., using my claws I caught this little goblin trying to mount me. Why was it always her?

  “MY MY how big you’ve gotten Zhil” the green nuisance said obviously trying to grate my nerves

  Ignoring her I held her in place with my claws and let Alioth and Fabio discuss their business in peace.

  "Unhand me ,you fiend, unless" Gabla said while making one of the most obnoxious faces I've seen in forever.

  AH!! Something in me just wanted to throw her into oblivion , she was testing my self control.

  “Why don't you try being nice to her?” Alioth said to me through telepathy

  Truthfully the thought never crossed my mind. Looking at the squirming goblin within my midst I contemplated my options. Forever battle her or be nice to her? Naturally I leaned towards battle but how else could I hope to understand Alioth, a general and a king needed to be on the same page. Let us see if this method of my summoner would work.

  “Very well… how do I do that?” I asked Alioth

  “You don't know how to be nice? Bro just compliment the things you like about her, don't be too honest though. Sugar coat it.”

  Sugar? What was that, anyway I got the message .I think I understand based on his previous actions . So all she wanted to do was go on my back? She was a teammate, did not that warrant her privileges to ride my back? Very well

  Putting Gabla on my back I let her have her way. " Are you happy now Gabla? " I asked in anticipation of her response. She didn’t respond with words but with actions. She began moving sporadically, rolling on my back and grabbing my horns. At first I was unsettled but then I thought was this a sign of happiness? I suppose I would tolerate it.

  "Am I happy? Oh I will be" Gabla said while grasping the underside of my tail. Normally I would just ignore it but for some reason her hands felt like small cupids caressing my tail, in other words it felt pleasurable.

  My knees almost buckled in an unsightly manner, how she managed was beyond me.

  "Gabla! Release me this instant" I said while feeling an electricity course through my body. I felt primal urges take root in my and I needed to stop this immediately. Dragons needed to have self control or the results could be disastrous,

  Wrapping the goblin with my tail I seriously thought about sending her into outer space but I remembered that I was supposed to be nice… Laying her on my side I said "Happy now little goblin"

  Looking at her now it was like I never realized , she was a girl wasn't she… And… she was cute

  NO! I erased the thought from my head, I mean she wasn’t even a dragon how could I think such undignified things.

  Looking at her again I knew that even if I tried to deny it , I couldn't. Dammit…

  “That little goblin had no idea she just avoided a train through a tunnel scenario.” one of the elder dragons joked in my head.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  I wanted to quip back but I dare not disrespect those that came before me and besides he was right. I was much more hormonal in this Teenage phase then I let be known and if I had the power

  it would never be known.

  "Happy now little goblin" I asked the troublemaker

  “Yes” she said while continuing to rub my tail.

  I now understood why Alioth lost to Oolia; it was a natural weakness.

  Think of dragon grandpa, Think of dragon grandpa , Think of dragon grandpa I recited to myself trying to guide my focus elsewhere.

  “If I were you I wouldn't let modesty stop me! If only I were young again” another voice rang

  "Mhhh well Zhil if you want to stay with Gabla be my guest . I'm going to discuss kingdom things with Fabio. He said he was more of an engineer rather than a general." Alioth said to me halfway while talking to our newly deserted general.

  There was a part of me that wanted to join them, after all I was a general as well but I believe I had my hands full at the moment.

  "As expected very well , I will stay here with Gabla as for some reason my presence seems to ease her"

  Alioth looked at me dumbfounded, this may be the first time in my short existence where I may have felt some type of embarrassment. Shaking it off I chose to own my decisions and pretended it meant nothing to me.

  " Wow ok " he left leaving me and the pesky one alone

  Next to give her not needed opinion was the bird .Her head was tilted in such a way that displayed her curiosity. I knew exactly what was running through her bird brain but I would rather not entertain her. Though it looked like I didn't have the choice.

  " Zhil.. are you stupid or what" she asked wanting to point out the situation

  Old habits die hard and I couldn't stop myself from snorting, I almost got up to confront the annoying one when I remembered the other annoying one beside me. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, nothing that I couldn’t handle. Let’s try this “being nice” if only for today , and in this scenario being nice meant ignoring her before my temper flared.

  " This feels good, your rough scales make me feel like I'm protected " The goblin said while rubbing on my pitch black scales.

  Is that how it felt to a lesser creature? Ah wait that wasn’t in the spirit of kindness was it, uhm , is that how it felt to Gabla. Mhh lets see protection is a good thing isn’t it, so therefore this is a good thing.

  “Just tell her it feels good dumbass, i swear kids these days are getting more dense with each generation” A dragon elder spoke in my head

  “It's his first time in a situation like this give him a break” another one defended me

  Truly a blessing to have old ass dudes try to guide you, I may or may not be being sarcastic. Good thing no one else was riddled with this type of “guidance” , well perhaps Alioth felt the same way about Eldritch. Let's see where their advice would get me .

  "It does feel good , perhaps your soft body compliments me"

  Instantly she turned her head to look at me. Did I fuck up? Her intense gaze was starting to make me uncomfortable.

  “Finally you said something right, You learned it all from me” A dragon oldie said

  “What are you talking about girls always avoided you”

  “It’s not true Zhil I was called Draggy Chulo aka dragon papi chulo back in my day”

  They began to argue back and forth

  One day i'll find a way to shut off these thoughts

  She began softly rubbing my tail ,to me it felt like an intimate gesture , and I suppose one to be appreciated? It made me feel closer in a way I found indescribable. Understanding was it? That's what Alioth was always rattling about , could I understand the being next to me.

  Lets see Gabla was weak , but intelligent and cheerful. Were these attributes gained through experiences or was it a natural disposition? Why did I always rate strength through means of violence, ahh. It finally clicked to me what Alioth was talking about all this time. I was ignorant.

  I suppose a compliment was due

  “That feels nice. You know Gabla, it occurred to me that I have not given you the respect you deserved. “ I said this while trying to be sincere. I did not want to be misunderstood as weak but I didn’t fear it. No, I feared nothing.

  “It has?” she asked me stopping to listen

  “Yes, You may not be the mightiest but you have your strengths. Truly you are a great member of the team. Thank you for being here with us”

  In some ways I felt better after saying that, even though she didn’t say anything. I could tell the relationship between us had grown stronger purely through her body language.

  Time passed but I didn’t count it

  “Zhil I'm pretty sure we can get out of here if you transport people on your back and I use teleport. Fabio says he knows the way to the gate of the next floor .We need to leave ASAP or we’ll face food crisis” Alioth called to me through telepathy

  “Understood” I answered back

  I almost felt bad removing Gabla but i had to go, duty called

  “I believe I am required , I'm quite sure Alioth has found a way to move us to the next floor of the dungeon”

  Reluctantly my goblin friend got up , I could see some sadness but I had to go. With the flap of my wings I was already beside Alioth. The meeting was quick and snappy. It wasn’t very complicated denizens as he called them ,used me as a vessel and with me connecting them he teleported them.

  I was released back into the overworld with Alioth and Fabio on me as he guided me to this gate location. Not soon after we found it , we began transporting our newly acquired citizens. Due to Alioth's intense mana regeneration and restoration ,everyone was gathered in front of a relatively small gate. The gate boasted gold and blue in opposition to each other but in a mimicking fashion. I sparkled brightly due to the fact that it was clad in white.

  Looking around at the tethered wasteland once called a city , we all knew that there was no reason to stay. The group entered without hesitation