With a sweep of his tail, Storm broke up a squad of spearmen that was trying to bar his way.
Accidentally destroying the front porch of a house in the process.
Fighting in the confined spaces of the town had proven difficult for Storm.
On more than one occasion, he had accidentally destroyed a house with a careless swipe of his tail.
Or a stomp from a leg.
Just about every single building in town was on fire and the screams of the humans echoed in every direction.
"SOMEBODY HELP!!" A female voice cried out.
Storm twisted his head in that direction and saw a human female standing in front of a burning house.
Part of the house had collapsed and was currently blocking the only entrance.
The cries of a child and an infant could be heard inside.
"MY CHILDREN IS TRAPPED INSIDE!!" Called the mother.
Despite her desperate cries, none of the humans could assist.
Without hesitation, Storm rushed forward and shifted into his humanoid dragon form.
He leaped into the air and dove through the thatched roof and landed on a single knee.
The fire had already spread to most of the house and the smoke was everywhere.
He coughed as he breathed in the smoke filled air, the heat from the surrounding fires was intense on his scaled hide.
He would not be able to last long and needed to work fast!
The children would be having an even harder time than him.
His sense of smell was overwhelming by the smoke and even his draconic sight was having difficulty in the darkness.
Leaving him to rely on his hearing alone.
He followed the terrified cries of a child to one of the rooms.
He tried to open the door, but something heavy was blocking it from the other side.
He walked to one of the connecting walls, braced his shoulder, before breaking through the wall.
He stepped into what appeared to be a large bedroom with a bed big enough for 2 people.
A crib was standing at the one end of the bed.
A boy not even a year old was crying inside the crib.
He rushed to the crib and carefully retrieved the baby.
He was just about to leave, when a cough in the corner drew his attention.
His head twisted in that direction and he saw a girl no older than 5, huddled in the corner of the room.
A look of terror crossed her face as she realized that the draconic man had seen her.
He stepped forward and she crawled even deeper into the corner.
Stopping Storm in his tracks.
He transferred the baby to his left hand, then went down on his knee and held out his right arm to her.
"I mean you no harm, child of man!
Come to me and I will carry you from here!" Exclaimed Storm.
The child hesitated.
Unsure whether she could trust the strange dragon or not.
A beam falling from the roof was enough to sway here and she rushed into his awaiting embrace.
She embraced his neck with both arms and Storm lifted her up and carried her through the house back to the hole in the roof where he entered.
"Hold on tight!" Ordered Storm as he opened his wings.
He jumped straight up and handed on the roof, before jumping down to the street below.
The mother rushed forward, but hesitated when she realized what Storm was.
He placed the girl on the ground, who immediately rushed to her mother's side.
He walked slowly towards the mother, before carefully passing the baby over into her arms.
The mother was speechless at the act and stared at the children she thought she would never see again, then back at Storm again.
"Thank you!!" Said the mother.
Storm nodded his head, before turning around and shifting back into his true form and rejoining the fighting.
By that time, his forces had already succeeded in forcing the remaining defenders into the town center.
The paladin that Storm had spoken to earlier was already there and was trying his best to rally the last of his forces for a heroic last stand.
The soldiers and hunters had surrounded the civilians in the village and were attempting to shield them with their own bodies.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!!!!" Bellowed Storm.
Drawing everyone's gaze, both human and non human alike.
Storm eyed the paladin.
"It's all over!! Lay down your arms and you will be spared!!"
"We cannot do that, dragon!!" Replied the Paladin.
Storm shook his head in disapproval.
"Are all these lives worth sacrificing to satisfy your foolish pride!!
Surrender!! And no harm will come to you!!" Exclaimed Storm.
"I don't expect you to understand, dragon!!
But that is something that we cannot do!!" Answered the paladin.
Storm shook his head.
"If you want to die for your foolish pride, then fine!!
But spare your men and your people at least!!
Storm shifted into his humanoid dragon form, drawing gasps of suprise from the gathered humans.
Holding out his hands, he summoned Fulgur, which took the form of two curved scimitars, one for each hand.
Blue runes covered the curved blades and each pommel ended with a golden cobra"s head.
Lightning arced across the swords at regular intervals.
He pointed one of his swords at the paladin.
"Let us settle this!!
No magic!! No tricks!!
We settle this the warrior's way!!
Just you and me!!
If I win, your people will surrender!
If you win, your people will be allowed to leave!" Challenged Storm.
The paladin hesitated as he considered the options.
He looked at the assembled villagers, who all looked to him to defend them.
"Very well, dragon!
I agree to your terms!!" Answered the paladin.
"Give us room!! Ordered Storm.
Both human and non human alike stepped back until a large open space had been cleared in the center of the town.
Both combatants stepped onto the space.
The paladin went down on a single knee and said a small prayer to some unknown human diety Storm wasn't familiar with.
Begging the diety to bless his arm and to shield him from evil.
Storm meanwhile was pacing up and down impatiently.
His long tail twitched left and right in anticipation.
After a moment, the paladin rose to his feet and both combatants took a combat ready stance.
After a moment of anticipation, both combatants took of running towards each other.