Dragon Sorcerer 2- Interlude 15 (Patreon)

Sorry for being slow today- wife needed a lot of help setting up daughter's surprise sweet 16 birthday party.

And of course tomorrow is Mother's Day so I'll be making a priority of my wife.

Even if I'm a bit slow this weekend- at least I can share the names of the next 2 chapters.

91 was -  Enter the Dragon
92 will be - Game of Death
93 will be - Fists of Fury

please tell me people still get the reference...


Interlude 15- Everyone Plans

Liam walked into Serius’ apartment. It was a far cry from Lisella’s luxurious accommodations, but it was more than he had any need of. His human half was comfortable with the small student sized room he had while on campus here. His elven half would have preferred to sleep outside.

He wasn’t surprised when he saw Galbrecht and Modessa sitting on the couch as Serius read through a stack of papers. The two were so close that she was practically sitting in his lap. Liam smiled. Good for them. They were making up for lost time and if half of his concerns came true, they wouldn’t have many more peaceful years to enjoy.

“I assume we're meeting here because, Lisella is occupied with Nico.”

Serius nodded, but Modessa said, “Of course. Do you think the princess would really agree to slum here with us commoners?”

“Dessa? What did we talk about?”

Liam was fairly perceptive. Even then, he almost missed the faint flush of red that colored the rogue’s cheeks. That was still saying a lot. “I’m sorry. I’m trying. I really am.”

“That’s all the gods ask of us. Besides, I know you actually are quite fond of Lisella even if it is difficult for you to admit it.”

“Try impossible.”

Serius looked up. “Please sit down, Liam. You know how I hate talking to you while you pace and if we don’t start talking about why I asked for this meeting, then we’ll have to listen to these two continue on like that.”

Liam smiled but did as he was asked.

Then Serius looked around and made eye contact with each of them in turn. Liam recognized the expression on his face. Something must be worrying him. “I’ve read the reports from the three who were with Nico and Cami on your little expedition. I also went out to see if I could find any residue left over from the baloth, but there wasn’t anything. I did, however, find some references to them in the oldest of the library records. The thing is, they were mostly references to even older books.”

Modessa said, “So you don’t know much.”

“The only reference of significance was the statement, ‘baloths were meant to be earth as a counter to air, yet a four-dimensional mind may have been poorly suited to considering three-dimensional problems.’ Now what to make of that is still a mystery.”

Liam kept quiet and noted that the others did as well. Even Galbrecht didn’t want to give Serius the slightest excuse to start rambling about esoteric theories. “I can’t say anything about their origin, but I can say that it seemed to specifically want to kill Nico, and he responded almost like it was a hereditary enemy. Beyond that, I can say that it was fearsome. The three of us should have been able to take it out, but without Serius to restrain it or Galbrecht to tank it, I believe that one of us might have died.”

“Which only proves that, despite his relatively low stats, aside from his Strength, that Nico is more powerful than we would anticipate. We have made too many assumptions about what he is and each time he has proven that we were wrong. He has repeatedly shown us that he is more. I believe we will need to take a new strategy with him.”

Liam had been waiting for this. It had hit him on their trip. He knew his old friend was possessed of a sharp mind. It was also important though that Serius be guided to the right conclusion. This was too important for the man’s pride to get in the way. The wizard had a way of always being sure he was right and never understanding how others might take offense.

With Nico, that was a surefire way to fail. The dragon had already proven himself to be temperamental; although not without just cause. “So, what do you have in mind?”

“I think that we need to show him we are willing to make amends for what has gone before. You know that I’m not one for dwelling on past mistakes. They can’t be undone, but many people, or in this case dragons have trouble moving past. We have to assure him that he has nothing to fear from us and much to gain. We have to earn his trust. I admit that isn’t something I’m good at doing.”

Galbrecht said, “Perhaps we simply need to atone for our actions. Everything is not always as easy as saying sorry. Nor does that immediately remove a wound. It is still the right thing to do, but there may be consequences for our actions. I don’t know about this baloth or exactly why you believe Nico is important, but what I saw with the eggs was a miracle from the gods.”

Modessa was very silent. Liam knew her well enough to know that she was torn up inside. She had been the one who was most cruel to Nico. She had judged him based upon her own life, a common human trait. Yet, she was also an intelligent woman and had to know she had been mistaken.

“Cami.”

Serius said, “What about the girl? I thought you had her well in hand.”

“I do, although I’m not sure I’d characterize it like that. She is a strong-minded young woman and when I push her to do things my way, she pushes back. With a little more time, I believe she will truly break free from the shell of subservience her father imposed on her. Then she will have the chance to become a truly powerful adventurer. Honestly, she will likely become the fastest ever to level 20. But what I meant by Cami, is that she is the one who has to win Nico over. She doesn’t believe that he is fully comfortable with her. If that ever happens, then he will be more open to other humans.”

Liam just listened. Serius said, “So we need to work on winning her over?”

“No, she already sees the life of an adventurer as a way to help humanity. She dreams of doing that with Nico. We just have to give them time to grow in their bond. I think she may have finally realized that he isn’t a good romantic match for her and if that is put aside, then they will be able to develop a relationship of mutual respect.”

Liam smiled then. If only they knew some of what he knew about dragons and riders of old. Modessa might not have been so quick to dismiss that relationship. Not that it really mattered. She was right about one thing. Cami and Nico had to trust each other without reservation if they were going to grow into what the world would sadly need all too soon.

___________________________

Draconis shifted his weight. That was as much exercise as he did most times when he was awake. The mountains of treasure he had accumulated or his minions had gathered for him shifted under him as he moved. Interspersed with the loot were the cracked bones of many thousands of meals. Not only was he unique in that he was Draconis, but he was also unique amongst his kind in that he seemed to have been born without any desire for cleanliness.

Oh sure, his minions maintained his brilliant red scales, but even then, he wasn’t that picky. If a bit of food got left behind, then it would just be a snack for later, and admittedly the minions never wanted to clean him. Maybe he should keep from gobbling them down when they did.

He had evolved beasts, humans, elves, and orcs serving him. Even a few ogres and giants that served as guards. He didn’t let them inside his lair proper though because they reeked too badly.

Now, he just had to focus on why he had woken up. Judging by the absence of any of his minions, it must have been many decades, perhaps even a century or two, that he slumbered. He was feeling hungry again, but all in due time.

Oh, yes, he remembered. He had been woken by the dream. A previous Draconis had come to him. The snippy little one. How a black dragon ever became Draconis was a matter which confused. He could respect the blue he had replaced well enough. The brute had left him an era of peace, and he was mostly able to simply slumber.

This time he might have slept too long and it would be quite annoying to have to gather all new minions. He snorted. Oh, well, perhaps he could kill two birds with one stone. The screeching female had threatened not to leave his dream until he swore to pass on some knowledge to a new dragon. Supposedly a blue had been named a new Warden.

There wasn’t really a need for a Warden of Balance now, at least not to Draconis’ thinking. But, if the system truly named him that, then the runt would need to know a thing or two. In return, perhaps this newcomer could bring some minions for him. Yes, that would work nicely.

Then his pleasant thoughts were interrupted. A voice which had tried to break into his sleep many times spoke to him again. “Please, I wish to parlay. I am Emperor Ferdinand Castine of Ileria. I have sought you for many years now, but you never answer. Simply name your price and I’ll do my best to meet it, but there is much we need to discuss.”

Draconis focused, and this pushed the magical sending away.

Hmm… an emperor. That was something significant to humans… yes. That one might be able to help him get some new minions as well. Perhaps waking up wouldn’t be such a great burden after all. Now, though, he needed to see if there were any snacks left behind.

___________________________

King Forlay’s arm was tired. He had been fighting all day. The empire owed him for fighting off yet another incursion of strange monsters. They were similar to orcs but shaggy and beastial. No, these things could not be reasoned with. Orcs might love battle, but they at least could think and had a well-defined sense of honor. Not that he did this for the empire. He did it for the people of Forlay. That was very different in his mind.

The dalovar as the system named them simply killed and destroyed. Something was missing in them. It was almost like they had been driven feral to the point that they hated all life.

One of his royal knights stepped up. “Are you well my king?”

“Fine, Simon, just tired.”

“You don’t have to fight on the front line, your majesty. You have us to do that for you. And the nobles are all taking their turns. And the dragon riders are highly effective against the dalovar once they get into the open.”

King Forlay shook his head. “No, I have to do this. My people need to know that their king fights for them. We are not like the emperor sitting behind his walls and mages. Speaking of the dragon riders, make sure they get some rest. We will need them if there is another excursion.”

“They are also our fastest couriers though,” Sir Simon replied.

“Don’t you think I know that? They need to be respected for what they are, though. The dragons may not be the creatures of legend, but they are important. I don’t know how many more casualties would have taken if it weren’t for them.”

With that, he looked down at the dalovar which he had slain moments before. The creature was about seven feet tall. It had a broad chest which was hairless, although the skin was tough as old leather. Its shoulders, arms, back, and legs were almost to its feet were covered in a thick, dark fur.

Its face was peaceful now in death, but normally they were always raging, hooting, behaving like beasts, yet they were too well organized to be mere beasts. They moved along the ground on all fours, moving on the knuckles of their front paws and the flats of their feet. Although they could just as easily stand erect and often did in battle. Their arms were overly long but powerful enough to bash in a man’s head even through a helm.

No, he shook his head. “We need more mages. Send recruiters to the university and send someone with enough rank to remind my niece of her true duties.”

___________________________

Emperor Castine stared at the floating crystal sphere in front of him. It was an artifact which had enabled him to reach his legendary class. He still wondered exactly how it had come into his possession, but had some suspicions. It was clear that mortals were being played and emperors were apparently not exempt from whatever game the gods were playing.

Looking at the sphere made him realize that it was awfully pretentious. For the thousandth time, he pulled up its details. His class, System Seer, meant that he could cast any divination magic below 7thTier instantly, without using mana. It was a useful ability, but there were still times that he would have traded it for more raw power. The gods knew that was what the previous emperors had been searching for.

Eternity’s Tear Artifact

What God made; mortals have broken. Such is the curse of free will. When the shepherds slumber, all the pastures lay open and night has fallen.

Possessing this item permanently evolves your class to legendary.

Levels: +10 (if you already possessed a legendary class then the level gain increases to +15)

Primary Stat is Tripled after all other gear modifiers.

Secondary Stat is Doubled after all other gear modifiers.

Eternity’s Tear is soul bound.

Of course, when mortals overreached it often led to such great suffering. All of the research he had done, the tens of thousands of gold he had spent trying to find any reliable sources about the former dynasty all pointed to one thing. For several generations prior to the Castine family leading the rebellion, the prior emperors had been fixated on avoiding death.

Some had tried to bargain with the gods or rather those who had darker bents although there were no truly dark gods. A couple had tried their hand at necromancy, but they didn’t want to gain immortality at the cost of losing out on all the pleasures of life. That had one of their kind to ponder how to steal the life-force of other creatures to extend their own.

That had been the beginning of the fall, the time when it all started to fall apart, at least as far as he could tell. It had been nearly a thousand years ago, but it must have worked because the last four emperors of the Ragassi dynasty had each lived well over a hundred twenty-five years with the last emperor living over three hundred years. His endless reign was what had finally caused enough of the nobles to gather together under the Castine banner and overthrow the dark emperor.

That was the day that the City of Eternity became the City of the Dawn. The empire was reborn, but it was also fractures. The most powerful of families were given even more independence. Sure, each of the kingdoms was still beholden to the emperor, but not like before. Maybe that was for the best.

Ferdinand couldn’t help but think about what the type of unfettered power that the Ragassi’s had wielded could cause. Elves had been hunted for their greater lifespan. It turned out that they didn’t actually have more life force, but rather that they burned it more slowly than humans. There was still a secret there, but it was perhaps one best left to the gods.

Elves weren’t native to Ileria, but many had settled here. The former dynasty drove them away by experimenting on and killing them by the thousands. That prompted a war with the elves on the northern continent, but fortunately the distance was too great and teleportation magic didn’t work to cross the Chaos Sea, so it never reached the height that it could have. He supposed technically speaking the war had never been called off, but he had far bigger problems to worry about.

The Ragassi emperors might have given up then, but for one simple thing. It was ironically only the second worst thing that they did, but it was summed up by three letters: DKP. Dragons possessed more life force. It was wild and violent and flowed through their veins.

From what Ferdinand had been able to learn, dragons had been the saviors of the continent and maybe the world from an extra-dimensional threat which had challenged the very gods. He didn’t understand all of it, which brought him no end of frustration. Now, though, he was trying desperately to reach out to the eldest of the living dragons.

The beast continually rebuffed him, but now that he knew more about dragons through the information he had gained from Nico, he hoped have more to offer. He knew the great dragon, Draconis, lived on an uncharted island somewhere in the Chaos Sea, but his ships hadn’t been able to find it and all of his communication spells were turned away.

He reached out his senses to try to search for more dragons, but again found it difficult. He got faint hints. If his senses were correct, Sheraleigh, and he supposed Nico’s mother was still in the southern wastes. There were at least two other blue dragons who were her age category, but something about dragons seemed to diffuse his senses.

He could push through with most of them but would end up in bed if he tried it with too powerful of a dragon. There weren’t more than thirty free dragons in all of Ileria now, well three more had just been born. That alone was proof that letting Nico track his own path was the right choice.

Ferdinand could only hope that when Nico’s attention was finally turned on him, that he would survive the encounter. He believed he still had much to offer.