Dragon Sorcerer 1- Chapter 28 (Patreon)

Chapter 28- Big City

They told us that the inn was rather upscale for the city we were staying in but the way they spoke about everything conveyed the disdain the adventurers felt for this city. Well, mostly that was Serius, Modessa, and Lisella. Galbrecht was quiet and spent a great deal of time watching me. Liam was his usual self which was to say that he didn’t speak much. I could definitely appreciate that about the man.

His arm was no longer completely gone but now was a nub which ended about halfway between his shoulder and his elbow. I could admit that was truly wonderous magic. When she saw me watching Lisella walked up to me. I was sitting alone in the common room that was shared between the four rooms we had rented. Apparently, this was so that rich merchants or nobles could rent a wing of the inn and have a place for their guards and servants to stay while having private quarters for themselves.

“The goddess’ blessings are amazing aren’t they.”

I was startled from my thoughts as I glance back at Lisella. She had found time to change out of her armor and was wearing a dress made of some flimsy material. It would provide little in the way of defensive value, unless… ah, yes. As I looked closer I could see fine thread work in the form of runes and when I opened my senses, I could tell that there was magic woven into the very fabric of the dress.

“You sure know how to make a woman feel invisible. I swear sometimes you look at me like you want to eat me whole and other times like you are seeing right through me.”

I was confused both by her turn of phrase and by how accurate it was in many ways. There were times I looked at her with the intent of calculating the best way to kill her and other times that I couldn’t care less about her presence. “Oh, it was neither. I was simply trying to trace the pattern of the enchantments in your dress. At first, I though it a silly choice. It probably still isn’t nearly as powerful as your armor or even your priestly robes, but it at least has some magic to it. I’m seeing what would appear to be enchantments for durability, one to absorb poisons, another to close up wounds, the other two I’m having trouble deciphering. One seems to be intended to project your presence, but I find better words to describe it.”

She stared at me as though I’d sprouted another head. “You can really see all that from over there? Just from glancing at it?”

I nodded.

“You know normal people can’t do that, right?”

All I could do was shrug.

She smiled. “Well you’re mostly correct. The one you say is projecting my presence… well… I suppose it sort of does that. It is what is called a charisma buff or a minor glamour. It doesn’t bewitch the mind but seeks to make it harder for people, well specifically men, to ignore me.”

I pursed my lips. Was this some sort of breeding gown? Hmm… humans were endlessly odd. I needed to learn these things though. This was going to be my life for several years and I didn’t want to ruin it by not understanding basic aspects.

She continued, “The other enchantment is for self-cleaning. The enchanter who made it was rather proud of it. It’s quite powerful. Even if I poured a glass of wine down my front within a minute the gown would be entirely clean, just like it had come from the tailor. It even prevents wrinkling if say, it gets thrown to the floor in a fit of passion.”

“But how will that protect you. At least with the durability it will make the material marginally harder to penetrate and the poison one is a good counter in case someone attacks in an underhanded manner. The same for the wound healing. I just don’t see the reason why you would wear this rather than your armor or at least your priestess robes.”

She giggled. “You’re so delightfully innocent. You know men all seem to think that a priestess is going to be naïve and innocent, but we know more about human nature than anyone. I’d like to think, I’m a very good person. I chose to serve Miseria because I care very much about helping the world become a safer, even a better place. I don’t even think my position as a princess entitles me to trample over the interest of the common folk. But you, Nico, you have an all new type of innocence which is very charming. It’s almost like you’re a child.”

Then she ran her hand over my upper arm and squeezed the muscle. I think it’s called a bicep. “Nope, definitely not a child. But don’t you know my dear, Nico that women sometimes choose their outfits for reasons other than defense. There is little reason to believe I’ll be attacked here inside the city.”

I pondered her words. This was like their nest but instead of the eggs from a single clutch it was as though thousands of clutches had all been gathered together. Then there was the fact that the old and young were often all together here. Even the weak and the strong all mingled together.

That was it. She was so strong compared to her fellow humans and was surrounded by her battle companions so that she didn’t need fear them. I had made an occasional use of Identify to check the level of various people we had run in to. I limited myself to only using it when my mana was full but even after Cami had been sent to her room to rest from the strain of healing, we were still within 100’ feet and so my mana regeneration was doubled.

The people I did Identify were all under level ten and most of them were under level three. They were essentially helpless against any adventurer. For example the servers in the inn were all level one. It went against my entire understanding of the world, but I was doing my best to keep an open mind.

As for Cami, she had seemed unhappy about obeying Lisella but was reminded that she was a student and Lisella a seasoned healer who knew what was best for her. She explained that healing took a unique toll upon the body. I was grateful that Cami went to rest as well. This new ability to communicate with our minds was going to be a great boon, but it was draining on me and seemed to drain Cami even more. There was no associated mana cost but the more we did it the more I felt my mind grow heavy. I had already decided that we would need to limit it to conversations for which secrecy was essential.

I was distracted by my thoughts and Lisella seemed to grow frustrated with me. I was undoubtedly missing out on something which would have been obvious to other humans. In response Lisella turned sharply and looked at Liam. “Would you like to learn more about the magic which is restoring his limb.”

“Someday. The ability to grow back a leg, tail, or wing is impressive, but I expect that magic is far beyond me at this time.”

Lisella began giggling. “Your turn of phrase is just so… well so you, Nico. It’s part of your appeal. I can also see that you’re pragmatic. Would you prefer to learn more magic which is at a level you can handle. You didn’t’ seem to have any trouble with a Tier 2 spell, although I was worried you wouldn’t be able to master it because it is unique to Miseria’s domain.”

“I think I can handle anything up to Tier 4 now, but I believe that it would be better to start with lower level magics first.”

She giggled again. “Oh Tier 4 now is it, I thought earlier it was only Tier 3.”

I shrugged. “I leveled up again.”

Her eyes widened. “So you really do have a class. I wasn’t sure if I believed Serius. But that still doesn’t explain how you are so easily copying spells. That isn’t an aspect of being a monk.”

“I guess there’s more to me than you see.”

“Well if you let me be your mentor then we’ll be able to share everything with each other.” As she said that she leaned toward me and placed her hand on my shoulder. “I can teach you magics that aren’t known to the public. Are you ready to take the plunge. I promise I won’t bite.”

I wasn’t sure why she chose those particular words but they brought me back to the last fight I’d had with one of my siblings. It was the closest I’d ever come to death. The memory was painful. She must have noticed that her words distressed me because she pulled her hand back.

“Well there are limits on how much I can teach you until you choose a mentor. But let me ask you what would you like to learn?”

“I need more time to think about the magic which will benefit me the most. Certainly, I need some more offensive magic, but undoubtedly need a split of defensive, buffing, and utility magic.”

She nodded. “And that is why you need a mentor who is able to share her experience with you.”

“Right but for now, I think what would benefit me the most would be some training in melee combat. The fight with those were-tigers was closer than I would have liked it to be.”

“You defeated to monsters above your level and are worried that the fight was close.” She shook her head. “But, as a favor, I could ask Galbrecht to spar with you. Would you like that?”

I immediately knew what she was asking. “Yes, I would. And no I won’t forget it.”

“Okay, go out back and wait. Galbrecht will be out there in a few minutes.”

I didn’t argue with her but walked out the door she pointed to which went from our common area. It led to a small room which had a pair of guards in it. When the door opened they both hand their hands on their blades. Identify told me that the one I cast it on was a level six warriors wearing the colors of the goddess, Miseria.

“Oh, pardon us. You’re one of the students,” the guard on the left said.

“Yes, Lisella told me to go outside and wait for Galbrecht. I’m supposed to spar with him but not sure how I’d be able to do that in this room.”

Both guards smiled and the one who spoke answered again, “Oh not in here. If Priestess Forlay sent you then she meant in the courtyard outside. This suite comes with a private entrance and exit. Here we’ll show you.”

One of them moved to open the door on the other side but I was still holding open the door from the common room. As I did, I heard Serius’ voice. He spoke to someone, “Did he really just claim to be able to see enchantments?”

A second later and a bit fainter I heard a voice which I thought belonged to Lisella answer, “That’s between me and my prospective apprentice.”