Summary: When Chuck left Jacob's tavern one morning, his staff in hand, he had thought his day would progress as usual: normally, with nothing of interest happening; he didn't know what a chance meeting with one of King Kane's knights would lead to. ·Raymanthia AU·

Written for RiniRhyme for yuletide

Thanks for Kaelin for the betaread and Dogmatix for the info-checking!

Luck

By Dark Ice Dragon

Mike had started to pace. Over the last couple of days, Chuck had noticed Mike was always wanting to do something, having this well of energy that didn't seem to end. He needed something to distract him, and it wasn't hard to figure out what it was. Not with the way he looked to Jacob as soon as he entered their sight, his shoulders sagging when Jacob didn't have any news.

"There hasn't been any more dragon attacks," Jacob said one day, and Chuck nodded, relieved at that. It looked like all of the dragon's aggression had come from Kane and they didn't have to worry about it rampaging through Southern Raymanthia.

"Maybe he could only summon the one dragon," Chuck said, hoping. And that once the collar was off, it had returned to its own world.

"Or maybe he's just biding his time, pulling his strength together before he summons the next one," Mike muttered darkly.

That…was entirely too likely. Biting his lip, Chuck tried to put his worry away; they couldn't do anything just yet. They had to wait.

xOx

"I've just heard-"

"Where?" Mike said, straightening, his entire focus snapping onto Jacob. The week had been long, Mike getting even more restless with every passing day. Chuck wasn't sure what would have happened if there hadn't been news for a few more days.

"To the east," Jacob told them, his arm lighting up as he waved it, a map of Southern Raymanthia sharpening into view. "About...here," he said, pointing. It was surprisingly not that far from where they were; how hadn't anyone else stumbled across it yet?

Mike blinked at the display of magic before he nodded, staring at the spot, his eyes tracking back to where they were. Chuck supposed he had forgotten Jacob was a powerful wizard; Jacob didn't announce the fact, never wearing a cloak or wielding anything that would reveal him as such - he didn't need a staff to focus his power, not that he used his magic that often either.

"I have a horse prepared for you," Jacob said, jerking his head towards the back. "Just...be careful, you hear?"

"We will," Mike promised, already heading for the door.

Jacob raised an eyebrow at Chuck, and he nodded, bringing up his own representation of a map, letting Jacob mark exactly where they should go. Chuck winced when he realised he would have to ride with Mike again. Hopefully, this time, he'd be holding onto the saddle pommel rather than hugging Mike the entire time.

Mike had already swung himself up onto the horse when Chuck got outside and held his hand out for Chuck to grab. This time, there was no instant charging off as soon as Chuck was on, and he sighed, relieved, his hands sliding around to rest on the pommel.

"Mm?" Mike shifted to glance at him over his shoulder.

Chuck blinked. "What?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Mike said, moving to look forward again. "I just thought you'd do the same as last time."

Chuck flushed at the memory; he'd hoped Mike wouldn't bring it up again. "I didn't have the chance to get a proper grip, and once we started moving..." He couldn't move to adjust himself, too terrified at the thought of doing that, and doing it wrong, in case he dragged them both off the horse.

"All right," Mike said. The horse started moving just then, at a trot this time, and Chuck let out a breath. It looked like this trip wasn't going to be as fast-paced as the last one.

xOx

"Are we still on the right track?" Mike asked as they cantered their way forward.

Chuck hummed, summoning the map again. They'd been making good time, and they didn't seem to be that far from their destination. They were currently passing the Dungeon of Anguish, which meant... "We should go a little more to the left," he said, eyeing the -

He yelped at the blast of 'warning' that exploded in his mind, and Chuck's view swirled like a horse had kicked him in the face, settling on the image of knights, riding towards them. Oh, dammit.

"Knights are coming!" he gasped, blinking, and he felt Mike tense.

"Where?" Mike demanded, the horse whinnying.

"North!" How did they know? Were they tracking them, or were they - oh, no. "They might know about the ruin!" If Kane got his hands on what was there-!

"Well, we're getting there first!" And Chuck squeezed his eyes shut when the horse picked up speed. Except after his first yelp when they dodged around a tree, Chuck opened his eyes again, remembering his lesson from last time.

They needed to know where the knights were though, so Chuck cast his senses out towards the wild senna that had initially warned him. The knights were hurrying, but they kept passing the spirits Chuck communicated with too quickly for him to be able to hear anything clearly.

A shadow passed overhead.

"Uh, Mike? They have a dragon!" He didn't care he was shouting in Mike's ear because he did not want to deal with Kane's knights, let alone a dragon at the same time!

"Then we're just going to have to hope we can find something there that can beat them! Hyah!"

What exactly could there be in a ruin that could fight that off? But there really was nothing else they could do but hope, so Chuck just clung on harder. They couldn't let Kane have more access to more Old Civilisation artefacts; what he had was already enough!

There was a roar to their left, and Chuck flinched, already imagining the heat licking at his skin.

"Chuck, still on the right track?"

Chuck let out a breath, trying to concentrate past the jostling. The map appeared and Chuck squinted, trying to see where they were. "Yes! Keep going!"

The knights were catching up to them, less encumbered than they were, but where was the -

"Right!" Chuck screeched, a basswood showing him exactly where the dragon was a heartbeat before the fireball shot out its mouth.

The warning came just in time. The fireball shot past them, the trees that had been in front of them exploding and the horse shrieked, rearing. Chuck hadn't been prepared for it, and he let out a yell as he tumbled off the back, the air punched out of his lungs when he landed.

"Chuck! Watch out!"

He jolted at the shout and what little air he had left in his lungs froze as he realised how dangerously close he was to being trampled. He rolled out the way, scrambling to his feet as quickly as he could, backing away.

The dragon roared overhead, and that was too much for the horse. The horse reared up again, dumping Mike, and as soon as he was off, it thundered off in the direction they had come from.

That was not good and Chuck didn't think they'd be able to fight and ride the dragon like last time, not if the dragon had alerted the knights to where they were. They couldn't steal a horse this time either.

"Come on!" Mike said, already running in the direction they were supposed to go.

They were too far, and it was going to take too long, and they were going to be too late, but Chuck followed him, only pausing to grab his staff, glad it hadn't been crushed under the horse's hooves or been caught in the fire.

Mike was waiting for him and they shared a nod before they started running again.

The dragon roared above them, and Chuck flinched, almost casting his senses upwards out of sheer instinct and self-preservation, but -

Mike grabbed his hand.

"I'll lead you," Mike said, his voice full of promise.

"I can't see," Chuck stressed, shaking his head. He'd trip over roots or run right into a tree and that would waste even more time, or keep them in the same spot so the dragon could find them and eat them.

"You could do it before?"

"I - well, yes," Chuck said, grimacing. There was too much going on; he couldn't think. "Can't immerse myself too much - I won't know exact distances but-"

"Chuck," Mike said, "if it wasn't for you, we'd be dead. Anything you do will help."

...Right. Chuck's eyes fluttered as he concentrated, casting his senses out, trusting Mike to guide him around trees. He could still see, but it was like he was dreaming, not quite connected with what he was seeing.

The dragon didn't seem to know where exactly they were, its long, serpentine neck swinging left and right as it scanned the trees; it was longer than the last dragon, a deep shade of blue this time, with a row of spikes that ran down its spine. Chuck was glad its own fire was billowing black smoke, obscuring everything. The knights... The knights were level with them and then passing them, not looking in their direction.

They didn't know they were there. Or didn't care, letting the dragon take care of them. And why should they? They were going to get to the ruin first.

"The knights are ahead now," Chuck breathed, squeezing his eyes briefly, stumbling as everything sharpened back into focus.

"Nothing we can do about that," Mike grunted, not letting go of his hand. "We can stop them once they dismount though."

They could. Because the knights would need to take time to actually look through the ruin to find something. Chuck didn't reply, saving his breath for running, throwing his senses skyward again, just in time to see the dragon making another pass over them.

It didn't see them again, but he and Mike weren't going to so lucky the next time, breaking free of the cover of the black smoke.

"Dragon's going to find us soon," Chuck warned Mike, and he saw Mike nod.

"It attacks in straight lines?"

"I'm supposed to know?" Chuck retorted incredulously. "It flies in straight lines," he allowed after taking another breath.

"Tell me when it's attacking."

Chuck grimaced, feeling like he knew what Mike was planning, his heartbeat picking an even faster pace at the thought. "Before," he stressed. They wouldn't be able to dodge the fireball after it had left the dragon's mouth!

"So long as-"

"Now! Now!" All Chuck could see from the oak's view was the dragon's jaw dropping open as if time had slowed down, its mouth starting to glow. His heart was in his mouth as he leaped to a maple, trying to work out the angle where the dragon was attacking from - it was coming from the southwest.

"Keep going!" he yelled, putting all his energy into running, dropping the connection he had with the maple tree. So long as the dragon didn't turn its head, they should -maybe, hopefully- be fine!

There was a sickening 'whoosh' behind them barely a few heartbeats later, and Chuck tumbled over at the explosion.

Chuck had not missed that.

He lurched to his feet, seeing Mike do the same, feeling the dragonfire's heat lick at him. He didn't turn around, seeing the firelight send his shadow scattering across the trees - he did not want to see how close they had been to dying.

"Good thing it hasn't decided to land yet," Mike said, his voice light but strained as they stumbled forward, Mike leading Chuck again.

"Don't say that," Chuck practically whimpered, already trying to find the dragon again. "That means it'll do that when it finds us again."

"Then we'll just have to make sure it doesn't find us."

Chuck wanted to ask if Mike knew what he was saying, but he was distracted when he realised just how close they were to the Old Civilisation ruin. "We're nearly there!"

And so were the knights.

Chuck halted, yanking at Mike's hand.

"Woah!" Mike exclaimed, stumbling. "Chuck?" he asked, turning around. "What is it?"

"We're about to run right into a group of knights!"

Mike grinned at that. "Thanks for the warning," he said, nodding as he pulled the skull out of his pouch. "How close?"

"Fairly close," Chuck said, pointing ahead of them. He shook his head, a buzzing in his head growing, his skin prickling. The dragon attack must have affected him more than he realised.

"Got it," Mike said, nodding. He glanced back at Chuck, concern written all over his face. "You going to be all right?"

Hah. Chuck nodded grimly, adjusting his grip on his staff. He hadn't used much of his magic yet, and he could still warn Mike when the dragon came. Which wouldn't be too long.

Mike started running then, throwing his skull up, the skull transforming in an instant, the weapon's growl filling Chuck's ears. They broke through the trees and Chuck was at least gratified by how the knights had their backs to them, standing in a cluster in the centre of a circular stone platform that stood a little higher than the forest floor. Chuck focused his magic, collecting it before he threw it at the group of knights, not trying to aim too much, but wanting to do some sort of damage before the knights could collect themselves.

Mike charged at them, a battle-roar in his throat, but as soon as he stepped onto the platform, Chuck gasped, the prickling feeling that fluttered across his skin exploding, the sheer weight of magic smothering the air. It felt like he had suddenly been submerged in water - everything was muffled and there was a constant pressure all around him, making it hard to breathe.

He wanted to shout out a warning, something, anything, but he barely had enough strength to stand, let alone do anything else; all Chuck could do was stare in horror as the platform lit up a sickly green from underneath Mike, lines streaking out between one blink and the next.

They couldn't see it. They couldn't see it. Mike continued moving with no hesitation, more and more of the platform lighting up with every step, coating everything in a green light. He took down one knight and started battling against a second, his weapon a blur, but Chuck's heart halted when the air shifted around him and the sunlight was blocked above him.

No. No!

Chuck wanted to scream but the oppressive weight didn't change, and the dragon landed heavily on the platform, making the ground shudder in a whirl of claws and wings as it bellowed its rage.

Against only the knights, Chuck had been a little worried, but still confident Mike would be all right after seeing how well he could fight. But fighting a dragon at the same time, and Chuck couldn't even move, couldn't help Mike?

He wasn't going to survive.

With a roar, the dragon slashed Mike, hitting him solidly and Chuck's heart lurched as he watched Mike being flung across the platform as if he weighed nothing.

Mike landed with a 'thud', and Chuck could see his blood smeared across the platform. The pressure suddenly broke, like a torrent that had broken free of a dam and Chuck gasped, falling to his knees, the ringing in his ears louder than before.

The green magic spiralled skywards, and now everyone else could see it, pointing and shouting, even the dragon spinning around in apparent confusion.

Chuck didn't know what was happening, but he shoved himself to his feet while the knights and dragon were distracted and stumbled to Mike's side, not sure if he wanted to see what had been done to him.

Mike was alive, still breathing, and Chuck tried to put on a smile as he crouched beside him, knowing it was weak, but he did it anyway.

"Chuck?" Mike said, wincing as he put a hand to his own chest.

"Yes, it's me," Chuck said as quickly as he could, his head bobbing up and down as he lifted Mike's tunic. A slash bisected Mike across his chest, but it wasn't as long as Chuck had feared, though it was still bleeding heavily. "Hold still; I'm going to try healing you." Which was a completely useless act to do when they were surrounded by Kane's knights and a dragon, but if they wanted to increase their chances of getting out alive, Mike being closer to his best was what they needed.

Biting his lip, Chuck concentrated, scrabbling to gather the magic he needed for the spell, hoping it would be enough to at least stem the bleeding. And that the knights and dragon were distracted enough to not attack while he was casting. When he felt he'd gathered enough of his magic, Chuck threw the spell at Mike; he let out a shaky breath when he saw the blood flow turn sluggish, the wound closing slightly. It wasn't a lot, but it was all he could do with the time they had.

He grabbed Mike's arm and helped him to his feet, tugging one of Mike's arm across his shoulders as he supported his weight. They couldn't fight the knights and dragon right then, but maybe they could steal one of their horses again –if they hadn't scattered when the dragon landed- and get some distance away before the dragon caught up with them.

…Right. That wasn't going to happen.

"Chuck, wait," Mike wheezed, pressing a hand to his own chest.

"Why?" he hissed, not wanting to waste any time, or draw unwanted attention so soon.

Mike swallowed, his eyes going distant. "There's… There's something here."

Of course there's something here, Chuck wanted to say, knights and dragons and impending death, but he held his tongue, an inkling telling him that wasn't what Mike was talking about. So he kept quiet, waiting, even though he wanted to run.

The pillar of magic coalesced and solidified, a form stepping out of it, the pillar wavering out of existence behind it.

What was that? It was shaped like a wolf –the ears were wrong though, flopping down, and its fur was longer- but bigger. So much bigger, being able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the dragon. And it was bright green, its fur flicking as if it was a living flame. The wolf howled, and Chuck felt it reverberating in his chest. It felt as if all of Chuck's internal organs dropped to somewhere in the ground, his mouth drying up. Why had they stayed? It was going to eat them now!

The wolf bounded over the knights towards him and Mike, and Chuck froze, seeing his death in those wickedly sharp fangs.

Except the wolf didn't try to attack or eat them; it span around so its head pointed towards the knights and dragon when it reached them, dropping to a crouch. Its focus was on them though, and then Mike laughed, his hand tightening on Chuck's shoulder, tugging him towards the wolf.

"Mike?" He couldn't – what was he thinking? Why was he-

"It's fine!" Mike said, already grabbing a handful of fur and starting to haul himself up. Chuck cringed, waiting for the wolf to snarl and shake Mike off for daring to attempt to climb it, but all it did was flick its tail. "C'mon!"

Chuck didn't want to see what the knights and dragon were doing, so he scrambled up the wolf, trying his hardest not to tug too hard on the wolf's fur.

Once he was sitting behind Mike, there was an obvious and familiar problem. "What do I hold on to?" All there was was Mike or fur!

"Anything!"

As if by signal (or maybe because of Mike; from what Chuck had seen, it was entirely too possible - it had been Mike's presence that had started the summoning, and it had been his blood that had finished it) the wolf leaped forward right then, eliciting a yelp from Chuck and with no other handholds again, he wrapped his arms around Mike.

Mike didn't seem to mind, letting out a whoop as the wolf roared a challenge, the dragon bellowing its response.

"Mike!" Chuck didn't need his magic to see the dragon opening its maw, the depths of it already glowing.

"Don't worry!" Mike called out over his shoulder.

Don't worry? Don't worry? They were about to be roasted by dragonfire – why shouldn't he be-

The wolf reared its head back, green fire licking at its snout before a beam of magic shot out at the same time as the dragon breathed fire. They clashed with a thunderous bang, and Chuck had no idea how he stayed on the wolf's back from the resulting shockwave.

"All right, Mutt!" Mike cheered while Chuck blinked the spots out of his eyes.

Chuck was still trying to parse what had just happened, but Mike's words eventually filtered through. He couldn't – He couldn't have heard that correctly. "'Mutt'?" he repeated incredulously. "Did you just call something you summoned from another world, 'Mutt'?" The wolf was obviously sentient and they were going to insult it straight away by naming it that?

"Yes! She likes it; don't you, girl?"

"She?" How did he – Chuck sucked in a breath when he felt the affirmation in his mind, hearing the happy sounding rumble from the wolf's throat. "She can…" Chuck said faintly. But that wasn't the only thing. "You can hear her?" But - Mike didn't have any magic. Was it through how he'd summoned her?

"Ye – woah!"

Chuck let out a scream as the w - Mutt lunged to the side, dodging the dragon's snapping fangs. She snarled again and another wave of green magic shot out of her snout, smashing into the dragon's neck.

Kane's collar disintegrated, along with a patch of the dragon's scales, blood gushing from the wound, and the dragon froze like the last one had done. Chuck sighed in relief, leaning against Mike as Mutt backed away from the dragon. It was over.

The dragon slowly turned to face them, arching its neck and hissing, snapping its wings out in an obvious threat display. Wait, what was going on…? Chuck could feel Mike stiffen, and Mutt raised her head, a growl rumbling deep in her chest. They circled each other slowly, and Chuck tightened his arms around Mike, feeling one of Mike's hands rest on his. This was bad. The last dragon hadn't attacked them afterwards – why wasn't this one doing the same?

His magic was useless against a dragon, he knew that, and what good was his sight and hearing now? Except – Chuck leaned back slightly, trying to see where the knights were.

As far as Chuck could tell, they were out of sight. Unless they'd been trampled underfoot by Mutt or the dragon.

"Chuck?" Mike murmured.

"The knights," Chuck said in Mike's ear when he moved forward again.

"Can you…?"

"Mm." Chuck rested his head on Mike's shoulder, half-closing his eyes as he tried to find them. The knights had passed a wild yam to the northwest a short while ago; Chuck wasn't exactly sure if it was all of them, but it appeared to be.

"Running," Chuck whispered, adjusting his grip on Mike. "Don't think there's any lying in wait for us." The spirits couldn't see or hear them, at least.

"Good to hear," Mike said. "Which only leaves…"

Chuck felt Mike tense again, and after all his previous experience, he tightened his hold on Mike, a scream blasting out his throat as soon as Mutt sprung forward.

"This is worse than a dragon!" Chuck shrieked at the top of his lungs. The dragon had been steadier!

"Aw, you'll hurt her feelings!" But Chuck could feel her amusement before she refocused on the dragon. Chuck didn't know how he and Mike didn't tumble right off her back (Maybe Mutt had some kind of magic that kept them on her? He couldn't feel it, but he'd never encountered a being like her before) when she charged at the dragon. They met in a flurry of motion, snarling as they flung themselves at each other.

Chuck made a muffled sound when Mike shoved back into him suddenly when the dragon tried to reach past Mutt's head to snap at him.

That was apparently the opening Mutt needed, her head hammering down at the exposed area in the dragon's neck.

The dragon roared and Chuck whimpered, feeling like it was shaking his entire body.

Mutt howled and the world flashed green again. When Chuck could see again, he had just enough time to see the dragon slide out of view, landing with a 'whump'.

Chuck slumped against Mike, even though he hadn't done anything, feeling his heart rampage in his chest. Mutt padded over to the side, easing into a laying-down position. She turned her head to them, and Chuck had the impression Mutt was asking something, though he wasn't exactly sure what.

"Heh. All right, girl," Mike said, patting Chuck's arms and Chuck stiffly let go, trying to move his locked muscles. He could feel where Mike's blood had seeped onto his tunic and he winced guiltily; he hadn't been pressing directly onto Mike's wound, but it wouldn't have been comfortable either way. Mike threw his leg over and then leaped off, landing soundly, even with his wound.

Oh. That was what she wanted them to do… Chuck looked away from both Mutt and Mike; if she wanted them both off (well, Mike was the more important one), then that meant she was going back to her own world, didn't it? Chuck gingerly slid down her back, seeing her tail sweeping the ground as he did so, stopping at her hind leg, and then sliding down from there.

Mutt stood up once he was off, and Chuck bit the inside of his cheek, not sure what to think. Mike had summoned Mutt, and it was obvious she was powerful, but if she was going back to her own world now… Mike was grinning at her though, looking fond, and Chuck sighed, ducking his head. She had saved their lives; it didn't matter she was going back now – maybe the next ruin they found, they could find something else that could stay on their world.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Mike asked, and Chuck could see him turn his head towards him from the corner of his eyes.

"Oh, it's nothing," Chuck said, not wanting to miss Mutt leaving; he was lucky that he'd even been able to see her in the first place.

Mutt walked over to the dragon and then started...

Uh...

Mike chuckled. "I wondered if she ate."

"She's not..." Chuck trailed off, dumbfounded, as he watched Mutt tear into the dragon, her tail wagging.

Mike tilted his head. "She's not what?"

"I - I thought she was leaving!"

Mike barked out a laugh before he slung an arm around Chuck's shoulders. "No, she's here to stay," he said, certainty in his voice as he grinned.

She was…? Mutt lifted her head just then, like she heard his thoughts, cocking her head to the side as she grinned a wolf's grin at him, and Chuck could feel her confirmation in her head. Relief flooded him and Chuck just sagged against Mike – Mike apparently hadn't been prepared for that and they tumbled over. When they were on the ground, unrestrained laughter spilled from Chuck's lips. After everything that had happened, they were still alive and now they had Mutt, who could help them fight back against Kane.

And…maybe there were other Old Civilisation ruins to find, other beings like Mutt that could help them – Chuck didn't expect him to be one of those people, and…he didn't want to be. Riding behind on Mutt was more than enough.

Aaaaand done! :D

This? This is what happens when you throw prompts out that include 'dragons', 'raymanthia au'/fantasy worldbuilding, and 'Chuck and Mike at Jacob's tavern'. XD