Dragon Sorcerer 2- Chapter 86 (Patreon)

Chapter 86- Back to the City

I slept under the stars in my own body for the first time in months. I might have preferred a warmer climate, but truthfully that was just a matter of being accustomed to the desert. My body could handle anything from the depths of the ocean to the rarified air miles above the ground or from the icy mountains to the northwest just as easily as the heat of my birthplace.

What made it glorious was being able to stretch out in my own body. My mind told me that I didn’t really feel cramped while in the small human body. Yet I couldn’t shake that feeling even after all that time. Maybe it was about perspective. Everything was so much smaller in my natural form and my recent growth only made that more apparent.

The next day, we officially left the town, although the mayor and many of the others made sure to let me know how happy they would be to have me back. I promised that we would clear the area of enemies and in turn they promised to not tell anyone about the great blue dragon who was their protector.

Modessa did a great job of being her usual intimidating self as she convinced the villagers it would be against their best interests to share anything with the university or even traveling merchants.

After we were out of sight of the village, deep in the forest, I transformed back to human form. It was more painful than I had expected, not physically, but more in an emotional sense. I wasn’t sure I could explain it to any of them, but Cami came up and rubbed my back without me saying a word. I supposed the bond let her feel my emotions the same at it let me feel hers.

I found my shoulders relaxing and my back arched slightly. Scale scratchers… that was definitely going to be a priority in the minions that I found. Maybe having a village or two like Easton would turn out to be a great idea. Then Modessa had to ruin the moment.

“Ha, he looks like a cat being scratched. Next thing you know he’s gonna be rubbing himself up against trees.”

Lisella got an odd look on her face but didn’t say anything. Liam thankfully was out scouting for more enemies. I glared at Modessa who shrugged. “What, I may trust that you aren’t going to suddenly turn into some kind of monster and kill us all, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop being me.”

I gave her a very intentional grin. “Feel free to stay your charming self. It will only make finding time with the alchemist all that much more important.”

Modessa suddenly looked far less sure of herself. Cami laughed, “Nico, did you just make a joke?”

“I don’t know. Did I?” I stared at Modessa as I responded to Cami.

The conversation broke up though because Liam came back then. “Urek and I have checked the area as well as we can. I’ve spoken to the animals, although squirrels are notoriously bad with focus and birds are horrible with the truth. It doesn’t appear there are any more gnolls, ogres, or other monsters within ten miles of the village.”

I frowned. So far today we had engaged enemies seven times, and I’d gained 19 DKP and 3,010 XP. Cami likewise had gained 9 DKP and 7,925 XP, which wasn’t enough for her to gain another level. I found that I was anxious to reach the Mature Adult age category as I hoped for another significant boost in power. Having seen how powerful Lisella was, made me only more anxious to grow my power.

The only saving grace for me was that the stat sheet was only one measurement of power. I knew that I didn’t have the raw stats to match any of them even in my dragon form, except for Strength. But there was more to it than that. My draconic body was far more durable than mere stats could capture.

I had also really began to understand that the damage listed on my sheet was only a very base damage and didn’t take into account the target, circumstances, momentum or many other elements. Still, the only way to count on being sure was to become as powerful as I could. The strong did as they wished and others simply had to deal with it. In that regard, I wondered if human culture really was that different from the nature of dragons.

“You still haven’t let us meet Urek. I am curious about an intelligent beast like that. It makes me wonder what might be possible with Rollie and Patch.”

Liam grinned. “Urek doesn’t want to meet you, so he keeps his distance. He is very sensitive to various things and I think you terrify him although he wouldn’t admit it even to me.”

“As is an appropriate response to the presence of a dragon.”

Cami interrupted whatever response Liam was going to make as she asked, “What did you mean about Rollie and Patch?”

“Oh, I was thinking about ways to enhance them. Perhaps make them more intelligent. I think it might be possible to make them into proper minions, but I know how fond you are of them. It would be perfect if they could be more than just pets for you. If they could be evolved they could also serve as protectors for you.”

“You can do that?”

“I don’t know, but I think it may be possible. I think that’s what the goo is for. Would you like it if the bears were more intelligent and maybe even able to speak?”

“You wouldn’t be making them like Matilda, would you?”

I stared at her for a moment. Was Cami actually comparing dragons and bears? A sharp answer came to my mouth, but I chose to trust that her intention was good. “No, I’m hoping to make them more than they are not take away something vital from them. And besides, minions have to have some level of freedom or they won’t be of any value. I’m not looking for slaves.”

That comment chilled the discussion, so we all became quiet. With the threat out of the way, we headed back to the city. A short time later, Liam said, “Serius thinks we need to head back soon, anyway. I know that you want to level up a bit more, Nico, but trust me you will always feel like that. You should have seen these two when they were racing to level twenty.” He pointed with his thumb to Lisella and Modessa.

“I wasn’t racing with her. I simply tried reach my full potential for the good of Forlay and my goddess.”

Modessa snorted. “It was hardly a fair race. I had to grind everything out myself while the princess here had resources that most of us could only dream of. It was the classic tale of resources versus talent.”

The two women glared at each other for a moment before Liam burst out laughing. “Tell yourselves whatever you need to. Remember, I’m older than both of you put together and I was there for much of your leveling. Or have you forgotten who was pulling monsters for you in the mountains?”

They both clearly wanted to argue more, but closed their mouths and nodded. Cami and exchanged a look. It was interesting to see other aspects of these women who had set themselves up as the guides of our development.

Modessa broke the silence a few minutes later as we were riding our horses in a fairly tight cluster. “So, have you decided how you want to celebrate?’

I was immediately lost. Was she asking how I wanted to celebrate being deemed the hero of Easton? I certainly didn’t think saving a few humans was enough to warrant any type of celebration. Actually, the idea of a party which I had heard a little bit about while living amongst humans was very foreign to a dragon. Dragons don’t need special days for such things. We take what we want and don’t have to wait for a supposedly mystical day to enjoy the good things of life.

Cami mumbled, “Not really.”

Oh. Hmm… something was going on that I’d missed. I looked at Cami. Her emotions were all over the place.

“What is she talking about, Cami?”

Lisella sighed. “You really are clueless, Nico. Even if you don’t care about these sorts of things you should try for Cami’s sake. If I understand your bond correctly, the two of you are going to spend many, many years together, so would it really kill you to pay attention to what’s important to her?”

The hair on the back of my neck stood up a bit. It was an odd sensation, and I recognized it as a combination of embarrassment and anger. How dare she speak to me like that? I cared about Cami like I had never cared about another being besides myself. Even my concern for Sheraleigh’s fate was more about the general honor of dragons than about her as an individual. Cami is the only being I ever thought about the needs of besides myself, as odd as even that was.

“I can’t be expected to understand all your inane human customs. But trust me, anyone who threatens Cami shall find themselves torn apart by my claws.”

Liam said, “I’m hardly one to say much about this, but from what I’ve observed over my life, women and people in general tend to appreciate the little things more than grand gestures. Remembering someone’s birthday is more important than their knowing you’d risk your life for them. It might seem counter-intuitive, but it’s the nature of humans and elves alike.”

“I am neither of those things.”

Modessa rolled her eyes. “Oh, trust us, we haven’t forgotten. You won’t let us.”

“So what is this reference, a birthing? I would have noticed if Cami was with child. The human females I have observed who were pregnant became almost deformed with the size of their distended abdomens and swelling in uh… other parts.”

Lisella put her head in her hands and Cami’s face turned bright red as she pushed her horse to move away from the rest of us. Modessa shook her head and then moved to join Cami, while Liam must have felt the need to scout ahead because he pushed his horse even harder and bolted forward.

After a few minutes of riding silently next to the priestess, she finally spoke up. “Sometimes I think there’s hope for you. When you were talking about the bears earlier, it was a bit clumsy, but it showed that you genuinely care about Cami. But then you go and say something which is both asinine and display how oblivious you are to what’s going on with her. Trust me, Cami isn’t pregnant. Her birthday is the anniversary of when she was born. It’s a custom to celebrate that day, and this one is an important one for her.”

I held back from ranting about foolish human customs and instead asked, “Why is this one important?”

“You have to understand that this is an important time in the life of any young human, but given her background that is even more true for Cami.”

I stared at Lisella, completely lost by what she was talking about. She sighed but continued. “Cami turns sixteen tomorrow. In the empire that makes her a legal adult tomorrow. Some places like Urgoi don’t really treat you as an adult until you turn eighteen and that is probably for the best, but where Cami was born, she would have been getting married within days of her sixteenth birthday.”

“So, is this more of the mating rituals? You humans have far too many of them.”

Lisella laughed. “No, it isn’t that. Although I suppose there is an element of that here. She will be able to make more decisions for herself. I don’t know what the bond between the two of you is exactly, but you need to keep in mind that a person needs more than security and food. We have emotional needs as well. In that regard, we may be more complex than even dragons.”

“Confusing is the word I would use.”

“Spoke like many a man I’ve known.”