The dragon's harem

The underground beavers slowly walked out of their wooden houses, staring at the burning monster corpses in awe. Some of them approached the charred monsters and started poking them with a stick, they were all dead.

“How in the timber?” One of the beavers turned toward the city skirts and could spot Tempo’s burning flame illuminating the darkness with Arad standing beside him.

The people slowly walked toward them, both fearful and anticipating. Their chieftain has asked the surface beavers to call for help, are two strangers the help they awaited for days?

Flatail looked back and saw the beavers approaching them. He wiped the tears and snot out of his face and jumped down from Arad’s back. “My people, help has arrived. With me, Flatail here, no harm shall befall you.” He lifted his tiny arms and stood with his chest puffed forward. “I’m here!”

One of the beavers looked at him. “It was those two who took down the monsters, not you.”

“AHHH!” Flatail ran crying toward Arad, “My little heart! It’s cracked!”

Arad sighed and lifted him up, “Sit here.” He laid Flatail on his shoulder and walked toward the other beavers with Tempo. “We’d like an explanation if that’s possible.” Arad looked across the street, a lot of beavers died in the attack; it’s probably not the time for a calm decision.

“The city’s lord would explain the situation. I’ll guide you to her beaverness.” A guard approached them wearing red armor and a wooden hat.

“What did he say?” Tempo still couldn’t understand a word of what most of the common beavers say. He’s using the automatic translation built into his body, but that takes time to kick in and needs to be focused on one voice at a time.

“But, I’ve never seen such magic in my life. It flew like water out of a dam, but it’s red and hot.” The beaver guard looked at Tempo. “Human wizardry has improved a lot.”

“Those two aren’t humans.” Flatail said while sitting on Arad’s shoulder.

“Their ears aren’t long so they aren’t elf, and they aren’t short like dwarfs or Halfling.” The guard scratched his incisors.

“It’s shapeshifting magic, you’ll be surprised to know who they are.” Flatail smiled with a proud face, “This red-haired one is a titan, and the one I’m sitting on is a dragon.”

The guard laughed, “I see, I see. Now that’s fun…But we’re almost at the lord’s house, make sure to behave, she’s quite strict.”

“You don’t believe me you beavering bastard!” Flatail growled as he sensed the guard mocking him and was about to jump down, but Arad managed to catch him first. “Calm down. Let’s go in,”

“Let me go, I’ll rip his teeth out.” Flatail growled, but he couldn’t escape Arad’s grasp.

They walked into the lord’s mansion, barely crawling inside again. But something seemed different this time, the room was much bigger, yet the lord didn’t look that large.

A large, almost round beaver grandma wearing a large robe and a hood with two tiny glasses resting on her plump nose stared at them with a smile.

“I’m Bevalina…the oldest of the underground colony of beavers.” She said with a sweet and gentle voice, approaching them and leaning on her walking stick. She gently fixed her glasses and looked at Arad and Tempo.

“Oh, my… The holy timbers are blessed. What has that fat lord upstream sent us?” She smiled, “A dragon and a Titan, he isn’t messing around, is he?”

The guard in the back froze in place as Flatail stared at him with a smug face and ran his hand on his neck, “You’re dead.” He whispered with a grin.

Arad grabbed Flatail by the tail and threw him at the nearby couch. “Stop scaring him. He’s fine.”

“Bevalina, I’ve got several questions. What is the threat exactly, and why beavers, couldn’t such a dangerous job be handed to someone else?” Arad asked immediately.

“You’re one hasty boy, aren’t you?” She smiled and walked toward the back and pulled chairs for them. “Rest, I’ll explain everything.”

“The threat is an abomination, a monster beyond mortal comprehension. Even we beavers guarding the seal don’t know what he can exactly do, besides several things.” She looked at Tempo, “You’ve been staring at me for a while, are you okay?”

“He’s trying to get his translator to work. Give him a moment.” Arad replied.

“We’ll. Let’s wait for him.” They waited about a minute before Tempo was ready.

“As I said, the being we’re dealing with is a powerful abomination. We beavers don’t know the full extent of his power, but we are sure of certain things. He’s powerful against humanoids. That is the first reason it was us beavers chosen to be the seal guards. We aren’t as easily swayed by his words.” She lifted her cane and waved it in the air.

“He can fool the humanoid mind, but we beavers have hearts of love and timber, we shall not be misled.”

“Humanoids, yes. But what about dragons? Wouldn’t this be the job of a powerful metallic dragon or even a great titan?” Arad said with a smile and turned toward Tempo.

Tempo giggled, “The Titans are strong, but I believe the dragons are better for long tasks.”

“What about dragons.” Bevalina smiled, reaching her little arm to the table and flicking her fingers. A large tray of tea and snacks appeared out of nowhere. She lifted a cut of tea, put sugar in it, and started stirring it.

“Dragons… what about dragons, that’s the question everyone should be asking. Every conversation changes a lot when a dragon is involved.” Her eyes shifted toward Tempo, “You’re a volcanic Titan, The magic flowing out of you is astounding, like a great river of burning, hot magma.” She then shifted her attention toward Arad, “And what about the dragon?”

As Bevalina smiled, “I don’t seem to recognize your color, dragon. Are you a metallic or a chromatic one? What’s your name?” She took a sip of her tea.

“Arad Orion, I’m a …..” Bevalina spat her tea on his face as she cried mid-drinking, “HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

“…void dragon.” Arad wiped the tea off his face with a void rush, staring at her with a tired face. “Why the crazy reaction again?”

Bevalina pushed the table away and prostrated herself, bowing so fast her face smacked into the ground. “The great one! To think I’ll be alive the day you show up.” She was shaking, and so did the guards in the back.

“What is it the problem?” Arad glared at her. “Explain, or I’m blasting this whole place into ash.”

She lifted her head, “The chieftain outside didn’t?”

“He passed out from moving too much.” Flatail said while taking some of the snacks and hiding them.

“Hoi! Are you stealing?” One of the guards glared at him. “I’m not…” Flatail hides the biscuits behind him.

“The one who sealed the abomination here was the overgod; he did it almost five thousand years ago. He’s the one who made us the guardians of the seal as well.” She stood and walked toward her bookshelf and pulled out an old book.

She approached Arad and gave him the book with a shaking hand. “I can’t believe my old eyes, I’m really standing before you.”

The book told an ancient story of how the overgod, a young wizard with white hair and blue eyes sealed twelve powerful abominations across the world, this place was one of them. He assigned the beavers as guards and granted them intellect, magic, and peace in their land, swearing upon his name that this place would be their heaven until the end of time, or till they evolved into demi-humans.

The book also mentions how the overgod said that the abomination is to be sealed until a dragon in the form of a large muscular man called Arad Orion, the nuclear chaos shall arrive to kill and eat it.

Arad looked at Bevalina, “That’s my name? Five thousand years ago…” He started thinking for a second, “You’ve been deceived by a time dragon, that’s the only explanation.”

“I doubt that’s the case.” Tempo said in the back. “The overgod is particular about being impersonated. He would’ve cleared this long ago if it was a trick. You can be certain it’s the overgod himself whenever he’s mentioned.”

“Dragons live for a long time, but I’m not that old.” Arad sighed, “I bet something is wrong here. Names aren’t tied to one person so it’s probably one of my ancestors. Yeah, I’m certain Mother named me on someone.”

Arad did ask Mom but she didn’t know how his mother named him.

The door suddenly burst open and a beaver stared at them with a terrified face, panting his lungs out as his eyes were tearing up, “The seal about to break! The shamans are going to die!” He yelled, and Bevalina gasped.

“Let’s go!” Tempo rushed out and Arad followed him, Flatail managed to latch onto Arad’s back at the last moment, and he ended up going with them.

“Slow down! I can’t hold well!” Flatail cried, hanging for dear life on Arad’s back.

“Wait!” Bevalina shouted, but they had already left the city by that time, they were too fast. “What about the beaver hero? The knights had been training for generations waiting for this day.”