In My Blood

Chapter 9: Echo

Things between Astarion and Delphie simmer down by the end of the last two battles. Delphie, although still longing for him to open up to her, pushes her feelings aside for the sake of their friendship...or whatever it is between them. 'We fight better as one.' She tells him over the chaos of their battle with the drow. And she was right. The last two battles are fought with much more ease than their battle with the goblin priestess. Much to everyone's surprise, Delphie focuses more on using her spells than her bow. However, it is the combination of her spells and the mutual trust she shares with Astarion that helps the entire party tear through the goblin camp. Despite only knowing each other for about a month, they are a force to be reckoned with...and they know it too.

By the time they reach the sanctum's door, they're all exhausted. Out of breath. Out of spells. They are ready to go. One could only imagine the look on their faces when Astarion's 'Oh, for fuck's sake!' resonates through the empty building as he opens the door to a group of goblins charging at them.

Delphie takes a sharp breath, gripping the dragon scale around her neck as tightly as she can. "Echo," she whispers. "I need your help."

Within mere moments, the goblins stop charging as a low guttural growl echoes across the sky. Suddenly, the sun above them is obscured by a large shadow as the growling intensifies.

"Dragon!" one of the goblins yells right before he's picked up by talons half his size.

Delphie runs outside amongst the chaos, ignoring the pleas of her companions behind her to come back inside. She watches as the shimmering gold dragon rips the goblin in two, pelting the head at one goblin and the body at two others, knocking all three unconscious. The dragon lets out a loud echoing roar as it unleashes a long breath of fire toward the rest of the fleeing goblins, turning them all to nothing but ash and dust.

The rest of the party joins Delphie outside as the dragon lands in front of them. For any lucky adventurer, it's a beauty to behold. The dragon, its gold scales reflecting off the sun, is not full-sized. However, it's still almost as tall as the wooden doors behind them, and its wings span from one stone wall to the other. It cranes its long scaley neck down to reveal its elegant face, almost resembling a wolf, with two curved, ridged gold horns on either side of its head.

Everyone watches in awe as Delphie reaches out to it, guiding its head to rest against hers. A tear falls from her eye, trailing down her pale cheek. "It's been some time, Echo." A smile forms on her soft pink lips as the dragon gently pulls its head away.

"That it has, indeed." Despite the low, deep growl the group heard earlier, Echo's voice is reminiscent of a soft-spoken young woman. She tilts her head towards the rest of the group and studies them intensely. "These are your new companions?"

"Yeah. Echo, this is Astarion, Shadowheart, Karlach, Gale, Wyll, Lae'zel, and Halsin." Echo eyes each of them as she goes down the line.

"Hmm." The dragon leans her head into Astarion's personal space.

The pale elf loses his balance, trying to back away from her, and falls on his rear end with a quick inhale. "Delphie, please tell your pet not to eat me," he speaks in a stage whisper as he fearfully looks toward the other elf. The ranger gives him an amused smirk in return.

"I am not her pet just as she is not your meal, Bloodsucker." The dragon huffs in his direction, a cloud of smoke emerging from her snout.

"I like this one," Karlach leans into Shadowheart with a playful smile. "Can we keep her?" Shadowheart and Gale both chuckle in response.

Upon realizing she won't harm him, Astarion returns the dragon's glare as he stands up. "Oh, I had no idea," he responds in his usual sarcastic tone, placing his hands on his hips. "Thanks for letting me know, Lizard."