Dragon Sorcerer 1- Chapter 40 (Patreon)

Chapter 40- The Tease of a Goddess

My eyes cleared, and I saw the slimy creature was still alive but half it’s body was gone. It floated in the water near us, which was suddenly incredibly still. There was no way the ocean could exist without movement; it was just the nature of such things.

My senses scanning around me and inside something screamed of a danger which was beyond even that of the kraken. Then there was a sudden rushing all around me and for a couple hundred feet in every direction the water was simply pushed out. It was as though I was caught within a bubble beneath the water, although I doubted there had ever been such a massive bubble. The enemy was just outside of the bubble and floating away.

I had instinctively begun to flap my wings to stay aloft. Shockingly, there was plenty of air to breathe and my body naturally expelled the sea water as I transitioned from water breathing to air breathing without even having to think about it. Then I felt a presence. There wasn’t anything to see, but the presence was vast, somehow it filled up the entire ocean but was completely focused on me.

I’d felt this once before when, I’d experienced the boon of Miseria. The feel was different this time. It wasn’t the goddess of the healing. This was another being of the same nature. Rather than be stalled though I double checked to make sure that Modessa was okay. I held her in one claw and noticed the slow, steady rise and fall of her chest. She was clearly breathing even if she wasn’t awake.

Then I began to dive for that creature. I hated to drag Modessa outside the air again, but a dragon who leaves half finished foes alive is not a dragon who lives for very long. No sooner had I begun to move though than the air became thick around me. I could have pushed through it, but it was enough to delay me.

“Hold. I’d love nothing more than to see that creature destroyed, but there is a reason it is beyond the sphere of my spell. I am prohibited from directly affecting it by the pact. While some might not see you killing it now as a violation, I’m already pushing the limits enough today.”

I searched through my memories. The dream had showed me interactions with various gods, but mostly dragons avoided such things. No dragon liked to feel that they were the weaker being in an exchange. “Temulara, I presume.”

“Yes, still arrogant, I see. Or perhaps I should say already arrogant. I find it oddly comforting that as transitory as much of the mortal realm is, some things still remain the same.”

“That seems an odd thing for the mother of chaos to say,” I replied.

“Oh, you remembered that did you? I’ve never really cared for that name. Chaos is misunderstood. But our time is limited. We need to talk about a few things, and I have an offer to make you.”

“I won’t be your lackey anymore than I would for Miseria.”

The air around me trembled with laughter. Then a lance of ice ripped into my foreleg, slicing through my scales as though they weren’t even there. I roared in outrage. Goddess or no, I had no intention of allowing anyone to attack me without facing the consequences. Better to die free in my defiance than to bend the knee.”

“Oh hush. That was only a love tap. The Draconis… well, never mind that. The point is that not all goddesses are bleeding hearts. I won’t listen to your disrespect any more than you would if some human stumbled into your den.  So don’t you at least want to know what I have to offer.”

“I should probably hear what you want first?”

“Ah, ever the pragmatist. That is one of the best traits of your race. Very well. I can only give you hints, but you need to explore the dream as well as the waking world. There are some things you will discover soon which will shake you to your core. I need you to keep an open mind and find out the truth. Here, let me make it easier.

New Quest Received: How the proud have fallen?

Objective: Discover why the dragons are dying out and what that has to do with the deserts of Taleia.

Reward: A suitable layer and a mound of gold suitable for beginning a hoard with.

I’d never seen the system directly manipulated by a being, but if anyone was going to do it, I suppose it would be a goddess.

“So you want me to complete a quest?”

“Yes, but it will be more involved and more painful than you know. I also need you to stay the course your curiosity has set you on, but can’t give you a quest for that. I will however give you four spells, but at least one of them must be Airy Water, this spell that I’m using now. I like the idea of being able to talk to you like this in the future. Oh, and you’ll have to get the human to the surface. It was clever to heal her, but she can’t last for much longer.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t wake her and reveal my secret.”

The goddess laughed. “Nah, now Miseria will owe me one. But you really should cut her priestess some slack. Humans have such short lives, you can’t really expect rational decisions from them. They are always acting out of fear.”

I roared in rage. Even the bubble of air around us shook. “You expect me to forgive them for taking my sister as a slave rather than killing her?”

“I expect nothing. I was simply speaking about what was in your best interest. And I never said a word about forgiveness. Understanding why someone does something, even accepting it, does not require forgiveness. Either way, you’ll be a great deal of entertainment. Now, my time is up. I’ll give you seven spells to pick from. You can have any four. Just remember that one of them must be Airy Water. Some of the others might have been selected to satisfy your pride and others because you actually need them. Be wise young dragon. That is the only way you’ll grow to remember the meetings we have in the future.”

Then the presence was gone. I could tell that the sphere of air around us was holding steady, but the magic which empowered the spell was already starting to decay. It was inevitable. That was the nature of magic.

Path of Frost- Tier 1 spell. This spell causes a cone of frost to spread out from where you slam your foot down. It will shoot out till it fills the appropriate area as described below. It will climb walls and act accordingly. Any creature caught in the ice will take 1-6+1 point per every two levels damage. They must also possess Strength greater than 50 or be stuck in the ice. How long it takes them to free themselves will vary. The area covered will be extremely slick to everyone except for you. (Note your bonded companion is an extension of you for the purpose of spells like this.)

Mana: 10.

Cast Time: 1 second

Cool-Down: 30 seconds.

AoE: Cone- 3’ long per level which expands from 10 degrees to 120 degrees at the end.

Duration: 1 minutes per caster level.

Adoration of the Fearful- Tier 2 spell. This spell causes any creature which has the nervous, anxious, scared, fearful, or terrified status conditions to react to you in a positive manner. The stronger their status condition, the greater the level of their adoration. It is possible to resist this effect, but the greater the status condition the greater there penalties to resistance will be.

Mana: 25 + 5 mana per minute

Cast Time: 3 seconds.

Cool-Down: 3 minutes

Range: 50’+10’/level

Duration: 5 minutes per caster level.

Primal Senses- Tier 2 spell. This spell causes the target to possess the senses of a dragon no matter what form they are in. It will enhance but never weaken any sense which is already superior.

Mana: 10 + 1 mana per minute

Cast Time: 12 seconds.

Cool-Down: 30 seconds.

Range: touch.

Duration: 5 minutes per caster level.

Call the Charge- Tier 3 spell. This spell gathers electricity from the atmosphere. How quickly this happens depends upon many factors. That electricity will gather around the caster and will empower their attacks, provide them with a damage buffer, and damage those who seek to attack them. With sufficient practice, the caster may even be able to expel part or all of the gathered charge in short arcs. Damage absorbed: 5 per level. Maximum melee damage increase or maximum damage caused to attackers: 3-18+6 electrical.

Mana: 40.

Cast Time: 6 seconds.

Cool-Down: 3 minutes.

Range: self (or companion)

Duration: 1 minutes per caster level.

Soul’s Light- Tier 3 spell. This spell causes the power of the target’s soul to encase your body. This is a great boon when dealing with creatures of other realms, as attacks will cut through their defenses and cause permanent damage. The risk is that the soul can be damaged if the target  is overwhelmed or overuses this spell. You will have to test it to find your limits.

Mana: 35 + 2 mana per minute

Cast Time: 12 seconds.

Cool-Down: 5 minutes

Range: Touch

Duration: 3 minutes per caster level.

Ferocity of Draconic Precision- Tier 4 spell. This spell will greatly increase the damage of unarmed or natural weapons in battle. Each attack will also do an extra +1 dmg per caster level. Once every minute, the target may also attack with 200% increase to their offensive potential.

Mana: 60

Cast Time: 3 seconds.

Cool-Down: 1 hour

Range: touch.

Duration: 1 minute per caster level.

Wizard’s Eye-  Tier 4 spell. This spell conjures a small, transparent and nearly invisible oval which appears to be a disembodied eye. It may travel at a speed of up to 10 mph and can fit through any gap, which is even a quarter in wide. The caster will see everything that the eye sees but may only focus that vision in one direction at a time. The eye has 1 HP per caster level and is very difficult to hit.

Mana: 40 + 1 mana per minute

Cast Time: 12 seconds.

Cool-Down: 1 hour

Range: 10’

Duration: 5 minutes per caster level.

Airy Water- Tier 4 spell. This spell converts an area of water into an empty area with a breathable atmosphere similar to the surface of the planet. It will push the affected water out until the spell ends. The spell can be cast in one of two forms: static or mobile. The mobile spell has a shorter duration, smaller area of effect and a greater mana cost, but will follow the caster.  This spell comes from the domain of Temulara.

Mana: 45 + 2 mana per minute (static) or 3 mana per minute (mobile)

Cast Time: 1 second.

Cool-Down: 1 hour.

Range: Self

AoE: Static- 10’ radius per level around caster’s body. Mobile: 1’ radius per level around caster’s body.

Duration: 10 minutes per caster level or 5 minutes per level for mobile.

I wanted to choose the spells now, but there didn’t seem to be any time requirement and I knew the sooner I could get to the surface the better for my cover and for Modessa’s condition. I did accept the quest, though. I might not like to be manipulated by the goddess or anyone, but a lair and gold… that was too good to pass up.

With that thought, I began swimming to the surface. Once I was within fifty feet, I started changing back into human form. By the time I broke through the waves and could see the sun again, there was a small skiff headed for us with sailors as well as Sir Galbrecht and Cami.

I grinned. She must have really pressured them to let her come in the rescue boat. They saw us and started waving. I was dressed in my clothes again, but my arm was bleeding profusely. It looked like it had been ripped open. I looked back down in the water but had not seen any sign that the glowing green creature had followed us. I hated that it had escaped, but had gained too much to complain.

That was when Modessa woke up. She thrashed, tearing open the wound in my arm even further. I groaned. “Stay still, you’re heavier than looks.”

The last part was a total lie, but I had discovered that apparently human females were self-conscious about their weight? It really didn’t make sense to me since the larger a dragon female was the more powerful she would be and thus the better able to protect her offspring, but what did I know? Humans constantly defied logic. If my referring to her weight annoyed her, then I’d just enjoy the moment of satisfaction.

The way Modessa groaned did, in fact make up for much of this annoyance.

“Crap, moon’s pits. It had to be you. Please tell me you didn’t just save me.”

I simply grinned.