Dragon Sorcerer 3- Chapter 104 (Patreon)

Sorry that I still didn't get back to Law of Consequences. Vacation has been more fun but more tiring than I expected. My youngest could swim all day.


Chapter 104- Questions One Way or Another

That was it. They’d need me now. I knew it.

Lisella screamed, “Are you insane?”

Galbrecht seemed to be coming to from whatever had affected him, but I didn’t think we could count on him. The golden glow around him was still charging him up. It would be interesting to see the differences once he was done, that is if any of us were still alive.

Liam called out, “Cancel the spell, Tolston.”

“You can end this now. Surrender.”

Liam looked to Lisella who said, “I couldn’t even dispel his shield. I can only cast a sanctuary to protect five people.” Then she ran towards me.

Edgar was still fighting the golem, seemingly oblivious to the death descending from above. How he had even known about the battle was a mystery to me. Yet something about all of this just felt off.

I pulled up memories of comets and other celestial objects. They all moved much faster than this. The rocks above must either be impossibly large and much further away than I had thought before or they were falling too slowly. It didn’t make sense, until it did.

I grinned and then looked to the adventurers.

Liam had reached Galbrecht. I could almost see the wheels turning inside his head. Maybe I was getting to understand humans or in his case half-elves better. He realized Lisella was going to protect me and Cami with her spell or whatever a sanctuary was. That only left room for two others. Anyone beneath those incoming rocks was sure to be destroyed. Hit points or the Durability stat were a good measurement of toughness, but natural laws still applied. Tons of rock traveling thousands of miles per hour was going to kill just about anything.

That is if it had been real.

Liam laid his bow on the ground. He must have decided that surrender was better than letting someone die. He took one more look around the university grounds and then opened his mouth to speak.

I couldn’t let him say whatever he was going to say. I wouldn’t let this pompous human have the satisfaction. So I yelled out, “It’s just an illusion.”

Liam looked up at the sky again. Then to me. I didn’t want to argue with him or explain how the rocks were moving too slowly. So I simply added, “Not everything is what it seems like.”

That probably was the place where I should have said, “Trust me.” That would be a human thing to say. They all lived in this interwoven community. I now saw the value which Cami provided. I saw how allies could be a good thing. Humans did get some things right, but I couldn’t bring myself to care whether the adventurers trusted me. I knew I was telling the truth. I knew I was right. In the end, they probably shouldn’t trust me because I was still on the fence about killing them in the future.

I heard the banging of fists covered in dragon scales as they pounded against the mithril golem. Tolston shouted, “Not sure how you saw through that. I thought for sure that you’d all be busy enough to not look too closely, but I didn’t expect a mere student to pierce the illusion.” Then he waved his hand and the sky cleared.

Lisella and Liam both looked shocked. That was almost worth enduring this. I looked from human to human. I wasn’t quite sure how they’d handle this. If I had engaged another dragon this much, I didn’t know that I’d be able to fly away. Dragons don’t like to back down once a fight has started.

It was that feeling that was roiling around inside me now. Tolston’s plan might have been undone, but I was left feeling very unsatisfied. I needed to understand what had just happened. More than that though I needed to test myself against him. As angry as I had been with Modessa and the other adventurers, this felt more personal.

“You really all should have seen through it. Did you really believe that I’d use a legendary spell capable of leveling numerous buildings on the university I’ve worked so hard to build up? Just twenty years ago, I was tasked with expanding the number of mages in the empire as anyone with magical talent is now being trained. Instead of a hundred mages at a time we now have five times that many because of me. I wouldn’t put my life’s work at risk.

“None of you would understand this. You haven’t grown up past the adventuring stage. Live another few decades and maybe you will. Service to the empire is more than just slaying monsters and diving dungeons.”

“What does that have to do with capturing two students? And can you call that golem off if were going to talk now rather than fight?” Lisella asked.

Tolston hesitated just long enough to make me wonder if he was going to do it then called out, “Guardian…”

Whatever else he was going to say, was interrupted as the golden glow around Galbrecht suddenly popped almost like a bubble. The paladin was instantly in motion. He was faster than before; I could already see that.

His sword rose and then was dropped down on Tolson. I expected the silvery shield to spring to life at the last second, but before his sword even made contact, Galbrecht shouted, “Divine Strike.”

An angry red aura came into being around his sword and when it struck the shield, silver gave way to the red blaze. Tolston was knocked back two steps but his hands were already moving.

Stillness of the Heavens

A hush fell over everything. I could feel the power of the spell that Galbrecht pronounced. It was clearly laced with the divine presence of Miseria and was no simple spell. I couldn’t have possibly copied it.

Whatever spell that Tolston had been casting failed. I saw the magic ripped apart before it could ever properly form. The mage fell onto his backside. Another weaker shield spell sprang into being around him. Galbrecht thrust his blade forward. The tip hit that new shield and pushed forward but didn’t quite penetrate it.

Galbrecht said, “The arrogance of man is nothing before the might of the gods. You play games that risk the lives of those chosen by the gods. Amends must be made to those you have attacked or you will pay the price demanded by the great goddess, Miseria.”

His words were annoying, but I paid little attention to him. Whatever that last spell he had cast had been it had also ended the trap I was in. Cami immediately sprang to her feet as the debuff effect which had already been wearing off was completely erased.

I almost launched myself at Tolston, but that would have been being little more than a beast. It would have been the mistake of a young dragon who was more rage than wit. I might not have become a mature adult the normal way, but I needed to act the part. Edgar was handling the golem fairly well, but he had come to my aid and still held secrets which I needed. As fired off my lightning breath, since my epic class now gave me the perfect cover for using it, I considered offering Edgar the chance to become a minion.

The bolt hit the golem knocking it back. I didn’t know much about such constructs, but I could only suspect that it was highly resistant to magic. It was a good thing that the lightning bolt wasn’t magic so much as pure electrical energy by the point that it made contact.

Edgar made good use of the opening and managed to finally knock the golem flat with his tail. Then I was on it with him. We both held the construct down together.

“Glad to see you’re free,” he said with a smile.

“It was inevitable, but how did you know about this?”

“I’m keeping tabs on you. You’re important to my clan and important to me, especially if half my dreams about you are true.”

I wondered exactly how much he knew but then the golem disappeared. I looked back and Tolston was standing again. His staff was down and he showed no signs of hostility. Galbrecht’s sword was put away as was Liam’s bow.

Lisella was healing Modessa who was already sitting up. She must have at least partially recovered from her brush with death. Cami was kneeling next to her mentor.

It looked like the fighting time was over and now it was time for talking. I pushed the notification I got about gaining both some XP and DKP. There would be time for that later. Galbrecht walked over to Modessa and gave her his hand to help her up then took her in his arms.

Apparently, they were okay with everyone knowing about their relationship now. A dark thought crossed my mind. I hoped they weren’t going to mate right here in public. I didn’t think humans did that sort of thing, but I’d been wrong about them in the past.

Tolston said, “We still have to sort this out.”

Galbrecht hugged Modessa for a moment longer before turning back. “There isn’t anything to discuss. You accepted Miseria’s condition. The moment of my empowerment may be gone but you swore to make amends. So you better ask the three of them what they want from you. If you don’t, both the goddess and the system will exact their price from you.”

Modessa shook her head. “Wait a second what’s going on? And why do you feel different?”

“Seeing you struck down was the final impetus that I needed to reach a legendary version of my class. I’m not a Divine Paragon. The goddess infused some new class abilities and stat upgrades into me directly and for a moment, it was almost like I was her avatar, but that is only the empowerment which lasts temporarily after reaching legendary status.”

Edgar and I walked the short distance to the rest of the group. I could hear them just fine from here, but they might not be able to hear me. “What was that about amends?”

Galbrecht smiled. “I thought you might appreciate that part. In order to end Miseria’s judgment on him, Tolston, has agreed to pay whatever amends you, Cami, and Modessa feel is appropriate. Since you three were the most harmed by his actions that seemed only fair. There are limits though, so don’t go asking for a mountain of gold.”

I was practically rubbing my hands together in glee until his last words. Limits, no one wanted to hear about limits when they were discussing gold or treasures.

Tolston said, “He still has to answer for his violation of university policy.”

Lisella said, “Once you satisfy my goddess, I’ll come with him to discuss your concerns.”

“Yeah, yeah, but what I want to know is how much gold he’s gonna pay me.”

Cami groaned.

Tolston said, “I might have something better than gold, but will need to ask you some questions. How about you and your mentor come to my office and we can figure out what will work the best for you.”

“Better than gold you say. I’m all ears.”