Twisty Dick
Further adventures, with even more Fire Breathing, a Forgotten Bacchanalia, another Warning concerning Blacksmithies, Hot Tail in the Dark, and yet another Member of Unusual Size. Also tuna.
Frank was Laying a little Waste when the message came.
Just to keep his hand in, really. After harvest time, he would fly over the fields around his castle home looking for the signs. Specifically, he looked for red handkerchiefs tacked up on sticks, which the local farmers used to mark the fields where they wanted the stubble burned off. Then, WHOOSH - more satisfyingly scorched earth.
The packet pigeon that found him had obviously flown from a long way off, but it would be uncool for a dragon to seem curious, so he flew over to a nearby ledge near the base of his mountain. Beside his perch, a spectacular waterfall plunged into a deep pool, before one last sixty-foot cascade. He fished into the icy water and pulled out a small barrel and a stoneware crock. After a long, cinder-quenching swallow of beer from the keg, he pulled the lid off the crock.
It was his favourite. "Tuna casserole?" he asked the pigeon, politely.
"Thanks, I'll pass," said the bird, who was perched on the tip of the monster's huge erect wang, so as to be able to converse without shouting.
"Ale?"
"Not while I'm on duty, thank you."
Frank scooped some tuna into his jaws. The snackage was provided (along with many other perks) by the valley residents, who had discovered that a contented dragon - that is to say, a well fed and well fucked dragon - left their livestock and their nubile young daughters alone. (He also tended to keep the area clear of thieves - both the regular brigands and King Al's taxmen.) So they kept the groceries coming, while Frank's wife Trixie (and a few of her friends) took care of the fuckage.
After sating himself, the appeased dragon said, "Well then. What's the message?"
"Ahem. 'From The Pyrotechnical Lord Richard Ribbontongue of the Enchanting Forest of Dryadia...'"
"Old Twisty Dick! How the devil is he?"
In spite of herself, the pigeon asked, "As in, 'the only fellow with a corkscrew prick'?"
"Eh, what? Ah yes, the bawdy poem. No, not our Dick - close enough, I suppose, but not corkscrewed exactly. Just has a few bends in it - the ladies quite enjoy it, or so I'm told."
Too much information,
thought the pigeon. "I see. Well then - I shall continue. 'To Flaming Lord Francis Brassballs of Erewon Valley in the Outreaches of Guilder. Sent at Ten-oh-five o'clock of the morning, on the Twenty-third of September in the Third Year of the Dingbat ...'"
"Yes, yes, go on!"
"Erm. Right. Text begins: 'Sorry Frankie, but we got Trouble with a capital T out here, exclamation mark, exclamation mark.'"
The gist of Dick's message was this: over the past few months, refugees from the neighbouring kingdom of Gridiron had begun to turn up at the menacing oaken gate of his walled forest stronghold, far to the west of Erewon (as Frank had permitted Queen Cindy to rename his valley home). Given its cultivated reputation for danger (hence the gargoyles hired to perch on the arch above), Dryadia was hardly anyone's first choice. Unfortunately for all concerned, Alaric - the Baleful Tyrant of Gridiron - had closed his other borders. Stragglers, whole families, and even a few of Alaric's troops had begged for passage through the dreaded faerie forest. For the sake of appearances, Dick had arranged for charred uniform fragments from the latter to be tossed back out the doorway.
Those admitted were immediately inspected by psychic werewolves, and any who stank of evil were also tossed - with a growled suggestion that they were being treated to a running start. The majority, having passed the sniff test, soon found themselves guests at one of a series of bacchanals in their honour.
As the feasting progressed, the newcomers consumed great quantities of ale ... along with Granny Gorn's Over-proof Forgetting Formula. By and by, they found themselves frolicking with both each other and their hosts. There was wild music and continuous dancing all around them, to the relentless, primal, hypnotic beat of drums: bumtittiebumtittiebumbumbum ... .
From there, these ceremonies always devolved into your traditional drunken orgy. Over the course of the night, each and every one of them coupled repeatedly, in ways they had never dreamt of, with every other guest present - including with a number of creatures they may never have even heard of, far less seen in the flesh (as it were). Satyrs and nymphs abounded, naturally; but there were, for example, also a number of frog-lasses who were quite arousing (if slippery) once enough ale had gone down. And it should be said that gargoyle gentlemen sport impressive (and permanent) stiffies. Faeries, gnomes and elves were also present, romping with much stranger beings. Flying Phalluses also fluttered in to join the fun - they were considered lucky, although they were terrible opportunists, and any orifice not otherwise engaged would soon be pounded by one of these madly fluttering beasties.