The brother

"Join now friends! There's no reason to fight."

"W- w- w- who a- a- are y- y- you!?" Not only was that a terrible poker face, that was also a terrible question! Did all this go in one ear and out the other? This might be in my favor actually.

"Join now, didn't I say I was going to bid you questions?" Emphasizing my point, I add pressure to his scales to shed some blood. That seemed to silence them rather quickly. Seven is a big number isn't it? I'll just have to lower it. Hell with Spike here I don't need any of them.

"Let him go!" That statement was even stupider then the last. Looking at them, the purple one seems extremely idiotic under pressure which is not what I need. Then there's the rainbow one who obviously is more brawn than brain which is sad considering how much brawn there is. Whoever is cowering is obviously a big "no" since she was about to pass out before I showed up. That and I'm convinced she is in a coma.

That being said, those who haven't spoken yet are worse. Right now I can't afford to take any sort of risk.

"On second thought, I desire to change my earlier statement."

"Dead silence level one!"

I cast the spell and it barely works. Everyone went silent with looks of fear plastered on their faces. Their eyes rolled back into their skulls and tears ran down their faces. No mortal can survive the full strength of my dead silence curse so I learned to dial it back. There will be some damage. With any luck nothing too lethal.

This spell works by essentially killing all sound or killing some to increase others. The lower the level the less damage it causes. Level one temporarily cuts off the noises around them and uses that energy to amplify their heartbeat.

Taking another look I admire the blood coming from their ears. One after another their bodies collapse and fall ungracefully to the floor. Shielding the young slave's ears would have been pointless. Nothing can sheild the damage so he joins them in blissful unconsciousness. Their memories and cognizant thoughts were damaged so hopefully that will be enough for them to forget about this meeting.

Taking a knee I try to catch my breath. Even though that was a low level spell, I still haven't gotten my full power back. Not only will I have to wait for my natural strength to come back I'll have to reinstate all of my work. Putting the dragon over my shoulder I get back to business.

Looking around I remember the thing they originally came for. Taking what I deemed necessary I put the rest in a pile and squeeze the dragon tightly. With that he shoots fire and the books are slowly burnt to ash. Without these tombs their research will be halted. Worst case scenario I'm a little behind. But the best case scenario is that they've stagnated and loss some knowledge.

Working my way out of the castle I ponder on what has changed. This child may hold all the knowledge I need or none of it. This may be bad taking a youngling from their elders but I still have a little pity for any with great heartache. But I must stay cold and vigilant even against him. Show no weakness is rule number one in this dangerous game I play.

Stepping out of the castle I take a deep breath enjoying my regained freedom. Picking a random direction, I start my walk through the woods. When I was a couple feet away from the castle I heard a branch snap and over exaggerated gasping. Turning quickly I see three little fillies making a mad dash from the castle. They must have been out of range of my attack. But with my magic drained there's nothing I can do but let them escape.

"Join now little one. We hast places to be."

Changing directions I pick up some speed and start to make my way in the opposite direction. After what feels like hours, I stop to catch my breath. Sitting down on a fallen tree, I grab a vine off the forest floor and begin tying him up. Those fillies would jog their memories so it's only a matter of time before there's a bounty on my head.