Dragon Sorcerer 2- Chapter 63 (Patreon)

I will aim for 1 more chapter in DS today. I already did some more outlining this morning. My wife and two daughters are returning tonight after being away for a week.

That means I won't have much time tonight and she will probably want my attention tomorrow. Somehow after almost 30 years of marriage we still like being around each other.

And then I do need to do some more chapters in Prism Academy. I know that more of you are here for DS but there are still plenty who want the PA chapters. And well, PA5 is publishing on May 1st, so at some point Dutch is going to get on my case about getting those chapters to him.

All that is to say, that I don't know if I will get any more DS done this weekend, but I'm pretty excited after outlining this morning, so we'll see.


Chapter 63- More Human

As I ran to the training area, I was struck by the oddest emotion. It was enough that it brought me to a screeching halt. I didn’t even know what to think. This had to be entirely unnatural. I shook my head. Perhaps I was getting sick.

Dragons didn’t generally get sick. That was something which afflicted lesser beings. We were too powerful for such things, too connected to the magic of the world. Oh sure, a powerful magical curse might affect us, but not something as simple as illness or disease.

Maybe it was because I’d spent too long in human form. I tried to examine myself, not caring how odd I must have looked to the other students who were making their way about the campus. One second I’d been running and the next I just came to a dead stop and started examining myself from head to toe as best I could. I checked my status sheet, but there were no debuffs showing and I hadn’t received any notifications.

It was just that this feeling was entirely unnatural and completely illogical.

“Are you okay, young man?”

I turned around and saw an elderly human, well she was older than the humans I had traveled with. It was a bit hard for me to distinguish once the humans got to their middle years. Maybe she was fifty, maybe she was seventy. She wasn’t decrepit yet, so likely not older than that.

Her silver hair cascaded down her back, shimmering with an ethereal quality. Hair really was such a poor substitute for the beauty of scales. Her face was a map of wrinkles and lines that hinted at wisdom, a testament to the years spent honing her craft. The scent that clung to her, a mix of old parchment and exotic herbs, was intriguing but so different from anything I'd encountered before.

She wore elaborate robes, adorned with intricate patterns and sigils that signified her status as a professor. The deep, rich hues of her garments seemed to hold a subtle magic of their own. Hanging from her belt, I noticed an assortment of pouches and vials, no doubt filled with the components she'd for crafting potions. Those items secured my perspective that she was likely some type of alchemist.

As she walked around me like she was taking stock of me, a wooden staff, etched with runes and topped with a mysterious crystal, tapped rhythmically against the cobblestone, marking her presence with every step.

I ignored her.

“You must be Lisella’s new pet project. I’ve heard that you’re rather rude, but maybe you’re just bashful.”

That got me. I spun around to face her. “I am no one’s pet. You’d do well to remember that.”

“Oh, so he does have some fire. I like’em like that. Too many sterile students here, noble’s children who are so predictable, or merchant’s children afraid of their own shadows and desperately trying to fit in with the nobles.”

“What do I care about any of that? For that matter, what do I care what you like or don’t like?”

She sighed. “There’s a fine line between spirit and rude. I pushed you a bit, so I suppose I had that coming, but why you care is because you might want something from me. I’ve heard things, and you may end up wanting to take some of my classes.”

Now I was disturbed. Were people talking about me? I shifted and realized I had adopted a modified fighting stance. Hmm… that was good I guess. It had been purely on instinct, so maybe this dragon disciple class really was going to be worth something. Interestingly, she hadn’t been intimidated by me at all. So I did something that I’d been told was rude, but I didn’t really care.

Identify

Cassandra Demos  Level: 20

Class: Master Alchemist

She simply smiled, so I channeled a bit more mana into the spell.

STR: 27

AGI: 49

DUR: 77

MIND: 301

I hadn’t realized that human stats could rise that high or that this frail-looking woman could be so powerful. It hit me then. This was the power of not only what was likely an epic class and high levels, but also of gear meant to enhance her stats. Who knew what other tricks she might have? I would need to remember to be careful around high ranking adventurers. I also needed to find a way to examine the stats of the five adventurers I was stuck dealing with.

She smiled at me and then the spell was forcibly cut off. “That’s enough peaking. Normally, I expect a guy to buy me dinner before he takes a look under the hood.”

I looked at the ground. “You simply made me curious. What have you heard about me? And why would I be interested in alchemy, it isn’t one of my listed pursuits?”

“Yes, all the professors and staff have been briefed about the two new prodigies. Both of you with four pursuits showing on testing. How exciting! You’ve even got a mystery pursuit, although I’d guess it has something to do with dragons. Best be careful, or they’ll have you atop the back of one of those poor creatures scurrying to the four corners of the empire.”

She was making my head spin then. On one hand, they’d all been told about how great I was, well me and Cami. But then she seemed to think very little of dragons.”

“You don’t like dragon riders?”

“No, it isn’t that at all. Like every little girl, I was once fascinated by the stories. The old legends say that dragons were wise and powerful beyond even the archmagus, but once I met real dragons, I could only feel sorry for them. They are intelligent enough to deserve better treatment but are nothing like the old stories. As for the riders, well, we haven’t had a true dragon rider in more than two hundred years. That strikes me as odd and I don’t like things I haven’t figured out.”

“Oh.”

She laughed. “Back to being the strong, silent type. As good looking as you are, I’m sure the ladies love that.”

Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, “I’m not looking for any human romantic relationships.”

She stared at me for a second as though my wording had been odd. Inwardly, I cursed myself. Humans likely didn’t call romantic relationships, ‘human romantic relationships.’

“I simply meant that I’m here to further my studies. Getting tangled up in a relationship would be a poor use of my time.”

“Ah, a bad boy. You wanna play the field. We’ll I can’t blame you. If I was forty years younger, I might have that mindset. But I still didn’t tell you why I thought you might be interested in studying with me. And yes, I know that alchemy wasn’t one of the pursuits shown on your test.”

“So what then?”

“Silly boy, those tests supposedly show your strongest potentials, but most people don’t even get one fully formed image, let alone four. You clearly have astounding, one or I guess considering the little girl who came with you twice, in a generation type potential. Someone like you should be able to apply themselves to any type of magic and succeed.”

“Then why alchemy? Isn’t it one of the weaker types of magic?”

For a moment, I thought she might get angry at my word, but then she broke into another smile before winking at me. “That’s just what we want them all to think. What other type of magic can heal, poison, enhance, explode, hide, debuff, and literally turn lead into gold?”

I think she was going to say more, but I interrupted her, “You can turn lead into gold?”

She chuckled. “Didn’t expect that would be the one to grab you, but yes, with the right preparations and materials. That is only one example of grand alchemy. With proper preparation, I can do what just about any other mage here can do. That and I can carry about a variety of potions with me to handle most any situation. I’m not saying that there aren’t uses for the other types of magic. But between enchanting and alchemy, we can make even a level 1 mage into a terrifying force to be reckoned with.”

I nodded as my mind raced forward, considering the potentials.

“There is one other reason that I thought you might be interested in training with me. This one might be a bit more delicate though, and I don’t wish to offend you.” She drug out the last few words as though testing my reaction.

“No, I want to know. I’m not easily offended.” The thought popped into my head that Cami might not agree with that assessment, but I pushed that aside.

“Good then, because alchemy is the magic of failure. You must fail many times before you can ever create a new potion. The reason I speak of is that for all of your potential, the rumor is that you can’t understand even simply magical theories in the few classes you have attended. That suggests to me that you may have great natural talent but not the mind for vague theory.”

I held back a growl in my throat. “So you’re saying I’m stupid?”

She laughed. “I thought you weren’t easily offended.” Then she waved her hand as though to push the issue aside. “No, alchemy is not for the stupid. Stupid alchemists usually do us all a favor and die quickly. Alchemy requires thought, but it isn’t about esoteric theories about how magic works, or at least how some old wizard thinks it works. It is very hands on and you strike me as a hands on kind of student.”

I shook my head. I was already off balance from my earlier confusion. Her praise and observations resonated with me. “I’ll think about it now. But I was on the way…”

“To meet with your young blonde friend?” She interjected.

“Uh, how did you know I was wondering if I should ask Cami to come?”

“I didn’t for sure, but you stopped mid-stride and started checking yourself out. I assumed you were worried about your appearance.”

“Not my appearance, I was just feeling confused. I’m going to go test a new skill, but then I thought…” My words trailed off as I was hesitant to put voice to them, even if it wasn’t for the reason that the old alchemist thought.

“Oh, so you were wondering if you should call your friend to join you? Maybe you could show off for her. Don’t feel bad. That is the way of young men. And there is nothing wrong with wanting to share your experiences with the people who matter to you. It is one of the most human traits of all. What good is a victory if you have no one to share it with and in the case of a failure it’s always good to have the comfort of a friend.”

I stared at her in horror. I had been wondering if I should invite Cami. Something was off about that and I hadn’t been able to put words to it. Was it possible that I’d been considering sharing? Sure, it wasn’t the same thing as sharing my gold, but I’d come to understand that a hoard was much more than just gold. Dragons simply didn’t share, and I certainly didn’t want to become any more human, maybe fake it but not really feel it.

Now, I was truly worried.

She nudged me with her elbow, “Just invite her. I’m sure she’ll appreciate that. Young women like to be paid attention to, well all women, no, all people like that. Or don’t but either way, I’ll leave it to you.” Then she walked away, leaving me even more confused.

No, I wasn’t sharing. I couldn’t think of it like that. But showing off, that was something different. Cami wouldn’t want to miss out on a chance to see just how awesome I was. If we were going to be friends, then I shouldn’t deprive her of that opportunity.

I reached out telepathically, “Cami, are you busy?”

I cursed myself. Where had that uncertainty come from? I should have just instructed her to meet me. This could be a problem. But then she replied, and I was all ears.