[Channel Teaser]
How To Tame Your Dragon - Expand The Dragon
Family (Step 2)
This is part 2 of your favorite DnD story,
How to Tame a Dragon by viewer Philip.
Be sure to check out part 1 before watching
this video.
The link is of course given in the description.
To backchannel a little bit, here is a recap
of what happened in part 1.
The narrator literally tames a dragon, as
you might guess from the title.
Onyxia the dragon is as of yet only tame when
it comes to his ‘father’, the narrator.
As such, she causes a lot of whatnot to everyone
else.
The narrator’s persistence for his ‘daughter’
shines through and is something to be seen,
especially of how he teaches the innocent
child basic morality.
Well everyone, it is time for part 2 of Onyxia’s
grand adventure.
For the sake of speeding this up a bit, I
have decided to jump ahead a little further
into the campaign, as most of what happened
in-between really was not that interesting.
To sum things up though, Onyxia and I basically
fell into a daily routine, with me doing my
best to teach her moral values, while she
did her best to keep her temper under control.
However, after 14 years of being together,
it felt like I had hit a brick wall with my
daughter, for no matter how hard I try, she
still was not willing to embrace a good and
virtuous life.
Sure, she was not killing anyone, and behaved
herself for the most part, but she still treated
everyone around her with an obvious disdain.
As for my farmlands, business continued to
grow at a slow and steady rate, and I even
managed to obtain a few dinosaurs and mammoths
to add to my ranch as well.
All in all, things were looking very good
as far as my finances were concerned, but
I was still spending a lot of money just to
keep the farm afloat.
By this point, aside from hunting down new
animals to add to my ranch, I had pretty much
delegated the daily upkeep to my staff.
I would still step in to train some of the
more difficult animals, who usually required
an enormous handle animal check in order to
be properly reared.
I even went out and bought a Ring of Sustenance
so that I only needed to sleep just two hours
a night.
This meant that I had more time to work on
the farm and raise my beautiful daughter.
Speaking of which, Onyxia had now grown to
the size of a large dog, and she was slowly
getting stronger and smarter with every passing
day.
Her scales still did not shimmer or shine
as I wanted them to, but neither did they
darken or dull any further.
I was relieved to see this of course, but
I was also at a loss, for I simply could not
figure out how to help my daughter advance
any further at least as far as her alignment
was concerned.
During this time, I even started taking Onyxia
out on minor quests, and she soon learned
that hunting down bandits and trolls was a
VERY fun pastime.
As you might imagine, trolls found Onyxia
especially terrifying since her acid breath
negated their precious regeneration, and as
such, my daughter happily enjoyed chasing
them down with impunity.
She savored every battle and revelled in every
kill, and although torturing her enemies no
longer held her interest, it was clear that
she still suffered from a blinding amount
of rage.
I suppose that if I had wanted to, I probably
could have convinced my daughter to adopt
the worship of Gorum who is basically the
God of weapons, battle, and war, but I simply
could not bring myself to lead her on that
path.
I wanted her to be good.
I needed her to be good.
And above all else, I knew that if I helped
her to embrace a life of violence, I would
eventually lose my daughter to the bloodlust
that possessed her.
No, she needed to have a purpose that was
greater than herself, but sadly I had no idea
what that purpose might possibly be.
And little did I know, with the news of a
traveling caravan showing up at my farm, everything
about my life was swiftly going to change.
Now, up until this point, my ranch had built
up one hell of a reputation due to the wide
variety of exotic animals that we sold on
the farm.
Because of this, many other interested parties
began to take notice, and several of them
greatly desired to sell me some of their creatures
as well.
As you might imagine, I was always open to
the idea of raising new animals, and I could
not wait to see what this traveling caravan
would offer.
When it finally arrived, a good portion of
my followers and I came out to greet the merchants
with smiles on our faces, for my farm was
also widely renowned for its generous hospitality
and trustworthy staff.
I knew it was important to be friendly towards
traders, and I always wanted them to feel
welcome on my ranch.
“Good day to you, sir.
It is a pleasure to finally meet you,” the
lead merchant called out, a man in his late
thirties with a stylish well-trimmed beard.
“I have been traveling for almost three
weeks to make it to your establishment, and
I am confident that my merchandise will be
well worth the effort.”
“I am sure that it will,” I said in response,
before politely reaching out to shake the
man’s hand.
“Let’s see what you have got.”
To my surprise, the merchant was not kidding
about the quality of his goods, as the man
proudly took me on a tour through the caravan,
showing off the numerous beasts that he had
at his disposal.
A dire bear and an elephant were the first
to catch my eye, but the thing that really
grabbed my attention were the large man-sized
eggs in the second to last wagon.
“Are those… roc eggs?”
I asked in genuine awe, as the merchant merely
smiled and nodded his head.
“You have a keen eye, my friend,” he said
in a flattering tone.
“Those were very hard to come by, but I
had heard that you have been wanting them.”
“Well, you heard right,” I said in response,
as I could barely contain my excitement about
finally raising some rocs.
However, it was around this time that Onyxia
had finally made her arrival, as she suddenly
flew in and landed near one of the wagons,
causing several of the caged creatures to
growl out in response.
Now, to be honest, I was not very worried
that my daughter would cause trouble, for
she usually behaved herself whenever I was
around.
Yet for some bizarre reason, while I was bargaining
with the merchant over the price of his goods,
I noticed that Onyxia was acting a bit strange.
She was constantly sniffing the air as if
searching for something, and after roaming
around the caravan for a couple of minutes,
her head suddenly shot up and she let out
a loud roar.
“Here!” she yelled in draconic.
It was still the only language that she understood.
“Father, come quick!
They have them trapped here!”
Without even thinking about it, I quickly
rushed over to see what was wrong, for I knew
that Onyxia would not call me ‘father’
unless the situation was incredibly serious.
When I finally found her though, my daughter
was clinging tightly to the wooden door of
a wagon, as she gazed through the barred window
and yelled out once again.
“Look.
You must look,” she urged me frantically,
and as I stepped up to the window and looked
inside the wagon, the only thing I noticed
were three small oval-shaped objects lying
in a bundle of hay.
After making the proper knowledge check, I
quickly discovered that those objects were
none other than a brass dragon’s eggs.
“Save them!
We must save them!”
Onyxia declared hotly, yet before I could
respond to my daughter’s demands, the sound
of the merchant’s voice quickly captured
my attention.
“Ah, I see you have found my most prized
possessions,” the bearded man stated happily.
“I had intended to sell those eggs to a
nobleman in Brevoy, but I would gladly let
you purchase them if you have got the coin
to do so.”
When I asked how much they cost, the merchant
calmly replied that they would be 60,000 gold
a piece which meant that even if I sold all
my magical items and used up all my savings,
I would only be able to afford two eggs at
the most.
With that in mind, I asked if he would be
willing to let me purchase them on a credit,
to which the merchant immediately laughed
and waved me off with a smile.
“I am afraid I can’t do that,” he said
rather bluntly, whereupon I quickly attempted
a diplomacy check to try and change his mind.
I rolled a 14, but it still was not enough.
“As much as I would like to, I am afraid
that’s out of the question.
These eggs are simply too valuable to be given
out on credit.
Now then, I seem to recall someone wanting
to purchase some of my roc eggs, and I would
certainly be more than happy to conclude that
transaction.”
I asked the merchant to give me a moment while
I considered the situation, as Onyxia continued
to stare at me with a desperate look in her
eyes.
“Father, we must help them!” she stated
once again.
“I am not sure if we can,” I tried to
explain.
“The eggs are too expensive.
I don’t think I can buy them.”
“But… but father…”
Onyxia said in a slightly wounded voice.
“Listen, my daughter, you cannot ask me
to steal from this man.
Those eggs are his property, and we have no
right to take them.”
“Yes, I know that but…” she paused for
a moment, as if silently searching for the
proper words to say.
“This… isn’t right.
I know that this is wrong.
We cannot let this happen.
We have to do something!”
“I am sorry Onyxia, but I am afraid--" I
stopped myself in mid-sentence as I suddenly
realized something.
In all these years that I have spent with
my daughter, this was the first time that
she had ever declared something to be ‘morally
wrong’.
Up until this point, she never seemed to give
a damn about doing the right thing, yet in
this very moment, that was exactly what she
was doing.
She knew that it was wrong for these eggs
to be sold into slavery, and it did not matter
that the merchant had every right to do so.
Now, I want you all to understand that under
normal circumstances, I never would have considered
stealing from someone with this character
and especially not from a merchant, for I
knew that if I did, it would only invite trouble.
My goal had always been to establish myself
as a respectable farmer with an honorable
reputation, yet as I felt my daughter’s
gaze upon me, I realized that what happened
next could very well change her life.
She was watching me, waiting to see what decision
I would make, and I knew that whatever I did
would have a major influence on how she viewed
the world.
Do I choose the righteous path, or do I simply
play it safe and let the merchant go?
With a reluctant sigh, I slowly drew my sword
and ordered my cohorts to do the same, and
within the span of a few seconds, the caravan
was quickly surrounded while the merchants
were held at knife-point.
“What is the meaning of this?!” the lead
merchant yelled out, as I slowly approached
the man with a firm and determined look.
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience, my friend,
but I fear I must insist on taking these dragon
eggs off your hands,” I said simply, before
ordering one of my cohorts to unlock the wagon
and retrieve the eggs.
“Y-you… you would dare steal from me?!”
the merchant asked incredulously, as his palms
began to shake with undisguised rage.
“You monster!
You fiend!
I will have your head for this!”
In response to the merchant’s ramblings
I rolled an intimidate check, and with a result
of 19, the man was quickly silenced.
However, as my cohort finally finished retrieving
all the eggs, I decided to try and make amends
by paying the merchant 10,000 gold pieces
and dropped them in his wagon.
“Consider this money my down payment for
now.
If you would be so kind as to visit me again,
I promise to pay you more in the next coming
weeks.”
The merchant merely glared at me with dark
hateful eyes, before turning on his heels
and slowly walking away.
“Oh, I can assure you that you have not
seen the last of me,” he called out over
his shoulder, before finally reaching the
lead wagon and urging his driver onward.
As the caravan pulled away, I quickly turned
my attention back to Onyxia who was currently
watching my cohorts with a mixture of awe
and surprise.
It was as if she was finally seeing them for
the very first time, for she simply could
not believe that they had helped me in my
efforts to save the dragon eggs.
However, as her gaze finally fell back upon
me, my little dragon quickly walked up and
spoke to me again.
“Father, let me kill him.
I know that he is dangerous,” she said,
referring to the merchant.
Apparently, even though Onyxia still could
not speak common, she understood that the
merchant now clearly intended us harm.
“No Onyxia.
You cannot kill him,” I said to my daughter.
“Why not?!” she demanded.
“Because it would not be right.”
Onyxia briefly considered my words and mulled
them over in her head, yet rather than continuing
to argue with me which I fully expected her
to do, she actually said something that caught
me off guard.
“I understand,” she stated in a completely
calm voice, before looking over at the eggs
and then back to me again.
“Can we put them in my lair, father?
I promise I will take care of them.”
Not seeing an issue with this, I nodded in
approval and we carried the eggs to her barn.
Later that night, I slumped down in the hay
and let out a stressful sigh, as my mind started
to process everything that had happened.
I lamented the loss of the roc eggs, for as
much as I wished to buy them from the merchant,
I simply could not afford to after ‘paying’
for the dragon eggs.
Speaking of which, after making another knowledge
check, I learned that the eggs were still
several weeks away from hatching.
I really did not know what else to do with
them, but I soon realized that my little family
was about to get a bit larger.
Looking across the room, I noticed that Onyxia
was guarding the eggs like a hawk, which was
actually rather impressive considering that
black dragons were not really known for having
a strong maternal instinct.
“Well, it looks like you are going to be
a big sister now,” I chuckled out softly,
as Onyxia merely regarded me with a calm,
unreadable stare.
The two of us sat in silence for several long
minutes, each of us clearly lost in our own
train of thought.
However, just as I considered saying something
else, Onyxia slowly stood up and walked over
to my side.
I did not know what to expect as she took
a seat next to me, but I decided to remain
silent and let her speak first.
Then, from out of nowhere, Onyxia said something
that I would never… ever forget.
“Father…
I just wanted you to know that…
I am so very proud that I am your daughter,”
she said, before suddenly moving closer and
embracing me in a hug.
“Thank you, father.
Thank you.
I love you so much.”
It was the first time my daughter ever hugged
me like this, and it was also the first time
that she had ever said ‘I love you’.
I did not know what to say as she continued
to hold me tight, for all I could do was sit
there in silence before returning her embrace
with one of my own.
And then, in that moment, I noticed that my
daughter’s scales had slowly started to
shine just a little bit brighter than they
ever had before.
Nearly two weeks had passed since stealing
the dragon eggs from the merchant.
With the hatching due to occur almost any
day now, I decided to devote most of my time
to learn as much as I could about brass dragons.
I will admit, after raising Onyxia, I felt
like I could handle almost anything at this
point, for surely no brass dragon could be
as difficult as she was.
Then again, this time around, I would be forced
to try and raise three dragons at once.
Thankfully though, after doing a bit of research
into their nature, I discovered that brass
dragons were actually very sociable, not to
mention, insanely smart.
Even when compared to other goodly dragons,
brass dragons were often regarded as the friendliest
of their kin.
They loved to read books and listen to stories,
and they were also very eager to offer aid
to others.
This was all comforting news of course, but
if experience had taught me anything, I knew
that my DM would not it make things this easy.
When the big day finally came, Onyxia and
I were waiting in the barn with eager anticipation,
and as the first baby dragon crawled out of
its egg, I could already feel myself smiling
with excitement.
“Hello little one, and welcome to the world,”
I whispered out softly.
The newborn dragon regarded me with a curious
expression, but before it could say anything,
it slowly turned its attention over to Onyxia.
Now, keep in mind that even at birth, a brass
dragon is basically as smart as a fully grown
human, and given the size and appearance of
Onyxia with her jet-black scales and glowing
red eyes, it did not surprise me that the
baby dragon flinched at the sight of her.
However, what did surprise was my daughter’s
response, as she slowly leaned down to appear
a bit smaller before speaking to the newborn
in a calm and welcoming voice.
“Do not be frightened,” she said in draconic.
“My name is Onyxia, and you are my little
brother.”
At that point, my DM informed me that I needed
to roll a diplomacy check for both myself
and Onxyia to convince the baby dragon that
we were in fact family.
I ended rolling slightly above average, but
as I soon learned, the brass dragon really
did not need very much convincing.
“Sissy!” it squealed, before running up
to Onxyia and tackling her with a hug.
I will admit, I did not expect that kind of
reaction and I am pretty sure Onxyia did not
either, but fortunately my daughter did not
seem to mind.
A few minutes later, the other two eggs also
hatched as well, and after making the appropriate
diplomacy checks to convince them that we
were family, I now had a brand-new daughter
along with two healthy sons.
In the end, I decided to stick with the Warcraft
theme for names, and promptly dubbed my children
Arthas, Valeera, and Nefarian to which they
immediately responded by tackling me with
hugs and showering me with questions.
“What’s your name?”
Arthas asked.
“How old is Onyxia?”
Valeera questioned.
“Tell us a story!”
Nefarian insisted.
Apparently, brass dragons really are chatty
little critters.
I spent the rest of the day with my children,
teaching them about the farm and answering
their questions which mostly just pertained
to myself and Onyxia.
I will admit, I was relieved to see that all
of them were getting along nicely, for I had
initially been afraid that the newborns would
not respond well to the presence of a black
dragon.
As it happens, the three of them simply loved
‘big sister Onyxia’, as they wasted no
time in asking her to play and wrestle with
them.
Onyxia seemed reluctant at first, but after
a few minutes of begging and pleading, my
daughter finally relented.
Soon enough, the three brass dragons began
taking turns riding on Onyxia’s back as
she flew them around her lair.
Their own wings were not strong enough to
let them fly on their own just yet.
As for me, I stepped back and watched the
scene with a smile on my face, for I knew
that this type of interaction would be very
good for Onxyia especially since, up until
this point, she had pretty much kept to herself
and did not have any friends.
Now, at long last, that would all finally
change.
Over the next few weeks, Onyxia took it upon
herself to escort her siblings around the
farm and introduce them to my staff which
was again another shocker since Onyxia typically
made it a priority to avoid other people as
much as possible.
As you might imagine, the newborns truly loved
their new home and immediately began asking
a thousand questions about the animals.
Fortunately, brass dragons were smart enough
to speak both common and draconic at birth,
so it did not take them long to make friends
among my staff.
In addition, as soon as they were able to
fly, Onyxia wasted no time in taking her siblings
out hunting with her.
While all this was happening, I decided to
focus my efforts on constructing three new
barns for my little brass dragons, for I knew
that they would each eventually need a lair
to call their own.
I figured that until they were ready, they
could stay in Onxyia’s lair for at least
a few more months, and I was certain that
Onyxia would not have a problem with this
either.
Now, at some point around this time, I decided
to pay a late visit to Onyxia’s lair during
the night, for I wanted to surprise the newborns
with a collection of rare tomes that I had
recently managed to acquire.
You see, while brass dragons did enjoy collecting
treasure for their hoard, the items that they
valued most were old books and magical scrolls.
Therefore, I figured that giving them each
a storybook would be the perfect way to start
off their collection.
However, as I started to make my way across
the field, I suddenly heard an inhuman roar
coming from the barn.
A few moments later, the door abruptly flung
open and a man dressed in a black cloak could
be seen running out of the barn at a swift
and frantic pace.
And in his left hand, he held a bloody dagger.
“No,” I whispered, as my heart froze in
fear, yet before I could even react, Onyxia
suddenly emerged from the barn and unfurled
her massive wings, taking to the air with
a loud and fearsome roar.
In the darkness of the night, with her jet-black
scales and glowing red eyes, she looked like
a mighty demon straight out of a nightmare,
as the man with the dagger promptly cried
out in terror before picking up his pace and
sprinting for his life.
He never had a chance.
In an instant, Onxyia pounced upon him and
tore out his throat before driving him into
the ground and spraying acid into his face.
By this point, I had already cast ‘Haste’
upon myself and started running over to her,
but by the time I finally arrived, the man
was already dead.
And by dead, I mean that Onyxia basically
shredded him into a wet sticky paste.
“What happened?”
I asked immediately, as Onxyia swiftly turned
to me with her furious crimson eyes.
“Intruders!” she snarled hotly, before
her expression immediately switched to one
of concern as she quickly shifted her gaze
back towards the barn.
“Nefarian.
He is hurt.”
My feet were already moving in the direction
of the barn, as Onyxia promptly followed close
at my heels.
When I stepped inside, I could already see
Arthas and Valeera huddled in a corner and
shivering in fear, and there… perhaps no
more than a few feet away from them, was the
body of Nefarian… my youngest son… lying
on the ground in a pool of his own blood.
“Papa… please,” Arthas called out, as
Valeera cuddled up next to him and continued
to shake in fear.
“Help him.”
I did not waste a second as I rushed over
to my fallen son and pulled out a flask of
holy water.
As a summoner, I did not really have access
to a lot of healing magic, but as luck would
have it, Celestial Healing was a spell that
I just so happened to know and as it turned
out, it was probably the only reason that
I was able to save Nefarian’s life.
As I watched the magic take effect, the wound
across Nefarian’s shoulder slowly began
to close, and after a few more seconds of
breathless waiting, my little boy opened his
eyes and let out a gentle groan.
“P-papa…” he said, to which I immediately
scooped him up and held him close to my chest.
“Ssshhh… it’s okay now.
I promise that you are safe,” I said, as
Arthas and Valeera quickly climbed into my
lap to cuddle with their brother.
With my children now safe, I turned my attention
back to Onyxia, who was currently sniffing
the air while glancing around the room.
“There might be more of them,” I suggested,
which instantly caused Onyxia to let out a
hiss of rage.
“Then they will die!”
Thankfully though, after alerting my staff
and organizing a search party, we were not
able to find anymore intruders.
However, over the next few weeks, a series
of tragic events began to befall my farm.
Animals would turn up missing or dead, while
others were mysteriously poisoned or infected
with a disease.
In response, I quickly hired a security team
to help patrol my ranch, but by the end of
the first month, I ended up losing over half
of the animals that I had on the farm.
To make matters worse, I soon discovered that
most of my regular clients were now refusing
to do business with me, and the merchants
were no longer coming out to visit me on the
ranch.
Needless to say, it did not take a genius
to realize who was behind all this mess, and
while I wish I could say that I got my revenge,
this sadly is not the case.
My ranch was never able to recover after that,
for while we still managed to bring in a slow
and steady profit, we would never be the booming
business that we had previously been in the
past.
In all fairness though, I really did not mind,
for I knew that this was the price that needed
to be paid in order to give my children the
life that they deserved.
And, as far as I was concerned, that was the
only thing that ever really mattered.
Would you have robbed the merchant of the
eggs?
The moral question of doing a bad thing for
a good reason.
I think it was justified.
Stay tuned for the conclusion and please let
us know what you think and comment below!
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