37.4 p͏a͏t͏r͏e͏o͏n͏.c͏o͏m͏/S͏t͏r͏a͏t͏o͏t͏h͏r͏a͏x͏A͏f͏t͏e͏r͏D͏a͏r͏k͏

She nearly panicked then and there, having to physically restrain herself from turning around and fleeing back the way she had come. As it was she barely made it up onto the stage, shaky hooves clattering on the wooden stairs as she ascended and looked back down on a sea of eyes.

She felt woozy and swayed slightly.

Fey decided she wasn't a huge crowd kind of person, so much attention on her was just too much. She tried to keep nearer the side and to the back of the group of adventures, Vivi and Lily taking the attention, especially Lily who had a small army of teddy bears lifting a small couch which she sat upon, and a pair of litters ahead of her cupping her breasts.

Lady Alexandria turned her wide dragonic smile on them.

"Adventurers! Such troublesome little things you are, like mice who've gotten into the sugar. Still, a mouse who faces down the kitchen cat should be praised for their bravery, especially when it is such rotted evil as a hive of Kobogons, and more, you rescued some of my villagers and saved me the inconvenience of glassing the entire area flat with dragon fire, commendable indeed!"

She turned to the crowd, "You hear that my city? These adventurers saved the lives of innocents from monsters most foul!"

The crowd roared their approval back at her, a deafening wall of sound that Fey couldn't hear herself think over, thousands of voices combined into one joyous cry.

"Yes, yes, it's all rather quite good isn't it? I suppose some civilian honours and medallions and whatnot are in order, not quite on the level of the military but as best a civvy can hope for I imagine."

She leaned down, her thick tail coiling around her legs, and picked up an enormous black iron chest which she thudded down on the stages podium, crushing its raised rim flat. The entire stage shook.

She grabbed hold of the huge black iron padlock in one set of claws and ripped it off in a spray of metal shrapnel that clattered against her scales. Then lifting the lid she darted her claws inside and grabbed a fist full of medals on silk lengths each decorated with a dragon's head.

She turned and looked between the adventurers, eyebrow raising as she looked at Vivi and Lily before alighting on Baddox the largest and most muscular and serious looking of the group.

"Ah, your body is wasted on adventuring," she said, taking a step forward. "You could do much much better in my army, instead of battling frivolous monsters you could go to WAR like a real Minotaur."

"Thank you for the invitation Lady Alexandria but I'm afraid I'll have to decline." said Braddox stiffly, looking straight ahead.

"Hmm... Pity."

She lifted her claw and shoved the dozens of medals into Braddox's hands, the minotaur reeling a bit under the force of her arm and struggling to keep all of the medals from falling, nearly dropping half of them.

"I hereby give you and your Band Bine's highest civilian awards. You are now honoured."

"Psst," whispered Lilly, "what about us?! Where's our medals?!"

"Uhm, I don't think the Lady realises we are two separate bands "whispered back Fey.

"Bu-but I want a medal!"

"It's okay Lily, I uhm think we can split them later, m-maybe not right now in front of everyone, there's j-just so many people, uhm…"

"Now,-" a heavy claw came down on Braddox's shoulder. He nearly buckled and collapsed under the force of it, and his face went a little pale under the strain, a few medals slipping between his arms and clattering to the stage. "-My little adventurer. How about you give a nice rousing speech for my people. They came to see the hero after all and what is a hero without a heroic speech hmm?"

Her tail whipped behind her and the massive black iron chest was smashed off the podium to go crashing and rolling across the stage, the black iron stoved in from the impact of her tail.

She smiled flashing him endless dragon fangs and forcibly guided the increasingly concerned minotaur to the damaged podium.

Then she patted him on the shoulder and stepped back.

Braddox stared out over the crowd.

The crowd stared back.

He coughed politely and adjusted his shorts. He spent rather a while adjusting them before he was ready. Then, he spoke.

"I realise that many of you have mixed feelings when it comes to adventurers. We are known to be a… brutish lot, who perhaps aren't as careful as we should be." Braddox took hold of the podium, fingers gripping the rim, starting to get into it, "But know this! We are people too! And when we see those in need when up against the ravening hordes of monsters that circle our walled cities and towns we step forth and we fight! We kill more monsters than any other force in this world, if we did not exist the oceans of monsters would breed and multiply until they spilled over the walls of this very city of yours and all would be lost! We fight like anyone of you, to defend you, like any soldier, like any noble or pauper. In the war to survive against monsters it is all to fight, to Fight! never to Despair! and to forever Rage! In this it matters not what you are! A coward, a traitor, a slave! Look past our reputation and find what we have in common, what matters. We are people, we are civilisation, like you we will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We are adventurers and WE! KILL! MONSTERS!"