The two dwarves inspected Orian, who was currently still in his humanoid dragon form but found no weapons.
That's because the sword Orian uses wasn't a physically made weapon.
It was actually just raw light magic that he twisted into that shape with his will, and which he made physical.
When it is unsummoned like now, it was completely untraceable. Which also meant that as long as he had access to his magic , he was always armed.
After a few minutes of searching, the Dwarves turned their backs to him and addressed their overseer.
"He's clear, sir!"
Orian clenched his fist and his greatsword suddenly appeared in his hand. Before they even had a chance to turn back to him, he beheaded both Dwarves with a quick stroke from his sword.
"Kill him!!" Called the overseer in panic.
Several bolts fired at once, but using his light speed reflexes, he slashed them all out of the air before they could pierce him.
The brightness of his scales suddenly intensified, and all the dwarves groaned as they were suddenly blinded by the bright light.
His brother took that opportunity and began to rapidly fire scales at the dwarves. He downed every dwarf in just a few seconds and was just about to fire at the overseer when Orian stopped him.
"Not him!!"
Chrome's wing twitched in response but fortunately didn't fire a scale.
The dwarf looked around at the his dead soldiers fearfully. He realized he was being spared for a reason, and depending on what the two dragons had in mind for him, it could be much worse than what happened to his men.
Orian stepped closer to the man.
"You wanted to talk, right? All right then! Why don't we start with who's pulling the strings of your little enterprise?" Asked Orian.
He had an suspicion who in Mythril Clan was responsible for all this, but suspicions wasn't enough. He needed a name, and he needed evidence if he could get it.
He doubted that the entire clan was in on this, and that the majority were unaware of their leadership's corruption. He needed to sway the people to his side in order to have the leadership legally removed.
If he didn't, then not only would many innocent dwarves be killed when the Phoenixes inevitably came for retribution, but his father might also get in trouble with other Dwarven clans for illegally deposing an elected Dwarven government and for occupying their settlement.
Unfortunately for him, the overseer was feeling uncooperative and spat on the ground by his feet.
"Do your worst, monster!! I'll never betray my clan!!" Exclaimed the overseer.
Orian inspected the dwarf and saw the large amount of gold jewelry on the man. It was clear that he was a rich individual. Whether he was already a rich nobleman before starting this operation, or whether it was this particular job that made him rich Orian couldn't tell.
He grinned as an idea came to his mind.
"You like wealth, right? How about my brother over there add to yours?" Asked Orian.
"Are you trying to bribe me?" Asked the overseer.
Orian grinned and sweat formed on the dwarf's brow.
"Chrome !! Can you help me out here?!"
Chrome stepped forward and took one of the dwarf's wrists. He breathed a stream of gold dust particles on the man's hand.
At first it just looked like his hand was covered in gold dust, but after a moment it solidified until his entire hand was solid gold.
The dwarf screamed when he saw what happened to his hand.
"My brother can still reverse this and save your hand!! But only if you tell us what we want to know! I'd hurry with making a decision, there is a time limit before it reaches a point of no return." Stated Orian.
The dwarf shook with fear but otherwise was still completely silent.
Orian sighed.
"As you wish!! Chrome!! Do the other hand!!"
"Nooooo!!!! I'll talk!! I'll talk!! Just don't turn me into that!!!" Stated the dwarf.
"Good dog!!" Stated Orian.
A few minutes later...
Orian and Chrome walked out of the caves with their Dwarven prisoner. His hand had been turned back into regular flesh again, but there was a slight gold tint to his skin from where Chrome's breath weapon had transmuted it.
Eternus and his guards had assaulted the guards outside the moment the Overseer's panicked screams alerted them.
They were currently tying up the survivors with the intention of bringing them back to their queen for judgment.
Eternus approached them once he saw them coming out.
"I take it he squawked?"
"They were taking their orders directly from the Seneschal Fafnir. " stated Orian.
Fafnir looked hatefully at the man.
"Is tha..." started Eternus.
"Brother!!" Called a female voice.
He forgot what he was going to say when the same small purple feathered phoenix rushed through the air towards him.
They embraced for a moment, before he spoke to her.
"What did they do to you?"
"They needed phoenix ash... so they ..." cried the Phoenix.
She needed to say no more.
Chrome immediately recognized what Eternus intended to do. He moved quickly and placed himself between the irate phoenix and the dwarf before he did something he would regret later.
"Move!" Said Eternus.
"This won't help your sister get back what she lost, Eternus!" Stated Chrome.
"Don't you get it!! Nothing will get it back!! This is only fair! A life for a life!" Stated Eternus.
"This isn't right, Eternus!! You're a protector! Not a executioner!!" Stated Chrome.
"Move!! I won't ask again!!" Stated Eternus.
Chrome gave no reaction and stood his ground.
Fortunately, before the quarrel could escalate into blows, Eternus's sister intervened.
"Please brother!! He's right!! This isn't who you are!!" Said the small phoenix.
He hesitated, before with an angry growl he stomped away to go calm down.
Now that the immediate danger had passed, Orian addressed the princess.
"I take it you weren't this small when they first captured you?"
The small bird shook her head.
" I was at adult size when they slew me and I was reborn from my ashes at this size. This happens to any phoenix that dies the first time.
Don't worry about my small stature however, my mind is unchanged and my body will grow rapidly.
In less than a year I should be back to my old self." Explained the Princess.
The reason that Eternus reacted in this way was because the Phoenix race in general tended to look down on their purple feathered kin.
It was a mark of shame... showing that the Phoenix had faced the ultimate test for survival, and had come short.
A terrible experience for the notoriously proud phoenixes.
On top of that, their purple feathered kin tended to age more rapidly than their brightly colored ones. Resulting in them undergoing the twilight far faster than them.
"I take it our quarry eluded us!?" Asked Emiir.
"He's currently reporting to the Council of Lords! We find them, and we'll find him." Stated Orian.