Dragon 1 Chapter 22 (Patreon)

I watched Morgana turn the van into a parking lot, convinced we must have missed a turn and needed to turn around. But when the van flew into a parking spot and came to a stop, I realized we had hit our destination.

“An old person’s home?” I asked. I’d expected some sort of elven tree house, not something so… mundane.

But this was just an old, nondescript one story building with a simple sign out front designating it as Pleasant Hollows.

“Yeah. Paras get old too.” Morgana rolled her eyes. “Plus, he isn’t exactly welcome back home.”

I tilted my head, waiting for a better explanation, but one never came. Morgana hopped out of the car, her heels clicking on the pavement. “Morgana, someone is going to see you.”

She shrugged. “I think you overestimate people’s concern. They have a desire to explain away the unexplainable. It isn’t like they think vampires exist, much less a drow. So, what do you think they think when they see me?”

I paused, not quite sure how to answer.

“They think it’s makeup or a wig. Here, the workers might not even look up from their stations.” Morgana strode through the automatic doors. I noticed that the doors locked behind us with a keypad to exit, making it feel more like a prison than a nursing home.

Morgana put on a big smile as she approached the woman at the desk and picked up a pen to sign in.

The woman looked up, taking in Morgana. “Is there a convention in town or something?”

The drow vampire just rolled with it. “You like? I think I did a pretty good job this year.”

The nurse just shook her head. “Fantastic. I have a friend that likes to cosplay; she’d shit herself if she saw how good yours was.”

Morgana did a little bow and thanked the nurse before moving deeper into the place.

I was still baffled by the interaction. “What the hell.”

“I told you. They don’t believe it could be real. That is one of the best defenses we have. Since there is no way in hell it could be real to them, they make up their own excuses. If you ever get caught, just roll with whatever they say.”

Still baffled by the casualness of it all, I took in the sleepy nursing home. For a moment, I thought I had somehow gotten the ability to slow down time, but as I watched, I realized things just moved slowly there.

Most of the inhabitants didn’t even seem to notice the world around them. Their focus was either fully on moving what little they could or on the TV playing in the main room. I felt creepy watching them, knowing that they were once lively people with busy lives.

Morgana guided us through the bland halls that reeked of cleaning supplies until we got to room thirteen. She stopped and rapped on the door before she just opened it and went through. More like the knock was a notice rather than a request for entry.

She must have known its occupant well enough because a… something sat hunched over in robes in the corner of the room muttering to themselves. I couldn’t believe this was the wise elf we had come to see.

“Tee, good to see you.” Morgana practically yelled as she slammed the door behind her.

“Huh?” The robed form turned and stood. He was a tall, thin elf, like a needle pointing to the sky. He was wrapped in thick robes that probably had more volume than his body. His patchy hair was thin and gray, reminding me of cobwebs. I counted five bags under his eyes; his skin drooped so much I was worried it was going to sag and fall off all on its own while we stood here. “Ah. Morgy. Long time no see.”

I would have said his eyes filled with intelligence by the way they shot up, but they were opaque white with cataracts, so bad the guy must have been blind.

“Oh. What is this?” He turned to me. “You brought me a dragon? Fantastic, I could use his heart for so many things. Oh, and his teeth. I’ll reward you so well for this gift, Morgy.”

“Shut up, old coot. The dragon is my charge. Don’t you dare even think about harming him.” Morgana snapped.

The old man continued on as if Morgana hadn’t spoken. “Yes. I could brew a potion of immortality with his heart, even as young as it is.” Tee licked his dry wrinkled lips in a way that made my blood curdle.

What had Morgana brought me to?

But my alarm settled as Morgana moved right in front of Tee’s face, close enough that even with those cataracts, he could read her lips. “Do not touch him.”

“I don’t know what you want today, Morgana, but bringing that here has just raised the price of anything you ask for. You can’t expect me to let such a treasure trove walk away. At least let me carve out one of his eyes. I bet the sight of a dragon is magnificent.”

“Excuse me. Do I get to roast him?” I wasn’t about to stand there totally defenseless against this guy.

“Please, Zach. Tee is from a far older generation.”

“No argument here. He looks older than dirt.” I snorted. Didn’t make it okay to be an ass, though.

Tee turned to me, showing that maybe his hearing hadn’t gone with old age. His pointed ears dropped in a way that almost made him look sad. “Dirt is far older than me. I don’t yet have that respectable of a longevity. The younger generation these days, no respect.”

“Tee. I just need a simple cleansing potion.” Morgana stated.

“You could go get one from any root tree.” He waved his hands.

“No Tee, I can’t. They all stopped making them, and I need the best. You always were the best.” She circled the old elf, trying to stay in front of him as he meandered around the room.

“What part of the dragon do I get?”

“None. Damnit Tee, don’t make me do this.” Morgana’s scowl became less playful and more intense.

Tee sneered. “You must have pissed those fools off if I’m the one you came to for something so simple.”

“Tee. I’m here because we are friends. I’ve held the secret of your daughter from all of them; you must know they’ve pressed me.” With Morgana’s words, the old elf’s posture and countenance shifted. Gone was the old, feeble man. The ancient elf in front of us made it feel like we were standing in the room with a magical lighting rod in a storm.

“Don’t you dare bring her into this. If they were so set on finding her, they’d try to get it out of me.”

“No. They let you live in hopes that when you die, she’ll surface. Don’t think they don’t watch this place night and day.” Morgana glared at the ancient elf, who seemed to deflate at her words.

“If I make you these, will you get a letter to her and bring one back to me?” His voice was so full of both hope and loss that I forgot for a moment that he’d been just discussing taking pieces of my body. Tee and Morgana clearly had a complex history. No doubt, they’d been through a lot together.

Morgana shook her head. “Even if you don’t do this, I’ll do that for you. For two friends both slighted by those snoots.”

Tee huffed, and his hands came out of his robes. The skin over his hands was thin, clearly showing each of the veins in his hand.

Walking over, he grabbed a letter set on the top of a shelf on the bookcase. Everything else on the bookcase was covered in dust, but that letter was pristine. “Take this to her.”

“Of course.” Morgana took it and started to head out. I almost thought we were going to leave.

“Wait.” Tee grumbled. “Damn you, Morgana. Let’s get this done.”

Morgana was facing away from the old elf, but by the way she flashed a victorious smirk, I felt this wasn’t the first time that she had a similar exchange with Tee.

“Whelp. Got anything you can spare me?”

“I need to clip my nails. Want some of those?”

“YES!” He said excitedly.

Morgana shook her head at me, but I just shrugged. I wasn’t going to miss my nail clippings.

“This way.” He grabbed something else off the shelf and stuffed it in his pocket before he grabbed his cane and started out of the room. The elf was so tall his head almost brushed the ceiling.

I leaned to Morgana and whispered as low as I could. “What’s his deal?”

He cleared his throat, and Morgana threw me a narrow-eyed look, telling me that we could talk later.

The halls were mostly empty, and I was wondering where we were going until he ducked through a swaying door that led into a commercial kitchen.

“Mister, you aren’t supposed to be here.” Three employees looked up from boiling pots.

Tee pulled out a fist full of yellow dust from his pocket and blew it into their faces. Instantaneously, all three of them dropped like sacks of potatoes. “Make yourself useful and drag them out of the way. We have potions to make.”

I paused, re-evaluating the space. He was serious. He was really going to make magical potions in a nursing home kitchen.

Going straight to work, he opened a cabinet and stepped fully into it. I realized it was large enough inside that it was almost a walk-in closet. Inside were all sorts of oddities, floating in pickle jars.

“Help me, will you Zach? It helps if they don’t have such a crick in their neck when they wake up.” Morgana was already moving one of the kitchen staff.

“That cabinet... it’s like Bumps in the Night.” It wasn’t a question. The depth was far more than it should have been.

She nodded. “I made that cabinet for Tee. He keeps quite the collection there. Oh! Watch that one; it looks like they pissed themselves.”

I stepped around the yellow puddle and hauled the staff over into the corner. “He just does this?”

She shrugged. “None of the elven clans could get him to talk. You expect nursing staff to be able to control him? Tee’s too old to learn new habits.”

“I am still young enough to hear you just fine, Morgy.” Tee came out of the cabinet looking at what was already on the stove. “This’ll do.” He focused on one stove, so I went around and started turning everything else off so we didn’t have a fire on our hands.

Tee muttered in a language I didn’t understand as he pinched in ingredients and pulled items out of jars. “Who is using this? I know it isn’t the whelp.”

I spoke up. “Werewolves. There is a drug going around tainting their pack magic.”

Tee made a noise of disgust. “Of course their magic is dirty; they are filthy mutts.”

“Now Tee, this is serious. Someone is spreading a drug that is driving werewolves mad. It’s warping their magic.” Morgana went on to explain everything we had learned and what we hypothesized. Tee nodded as she went, going back into his cabinet for different ingredients based on what she was saying.

At times I offered details from what I’d seen until Tee came out on one trip with an empty jar and a pair of nail clippers. I shrugged and clipped a few nails, dropping them in the jar. When I’d finished, Tee moved faster than I could have expected and whisked away the jar like a new prized jewel.

“You really shouldn’t have given him so much.” Morgana shook her head.

“Is it really worth that much?”

“To most, it might even be worthless. But to Tee? He’s a freaking genius. Exiled because he knew too much. He dabbled too deep in things that elves don’t like to talk about.” Morgana’s face became serious, but there was a sadness to it I’d seen before on her face. A reminder of her own exile.

I realized why the two got along. They both shared a love for a place that hated them.

“Thank you, whelp. I’ll use those carefully.” Tee came out of his cabinet. “And while Morgana is sharing stories about me, why don’t I give you some delightful stories about her. You see, my granddaughter and her were as thick as thieves. Why, I remember when they played naked in the pools at the bottom of our root tree.”

Morgana’s blade happened to come loose and find its way close to Tee. “Are you sure you want to rehash dusty stories, old man?”

He looked at her like she was a petulant child. “I didn’t realize you were so sensitive, Morgana. Now that I know, I definitely won’t talk about the two elves who played tag naked in the pools, one of them falling into a trapper's noose and hanging naked for almost half a day refusing to utter a peep and admit they’d been so foolish.”

The way Morgana’s cheeks darkened and her blade hand twitched, it was clear who the two elves had been. “Of course you wouldn’t say such things. Some things are better forgotten.”

“Indeed.” Tee agreed as Morgana put away her blade. “Although it would be a shame. It would also mean not thinking about how when the same elf passed out from hanging upside down, I cut her down and gave her remedies for her ales. And then, out of sheer happenstance, the next moon a dressed deer showed up at my doorstep without a whisper of the elf who brought it. Those are fond memories.”

Morgana snorted and turned, her cheeks turning a darker blue. “I think your potion needs attention.”

“So it does.” Tee leaned over the pot and stirred it idly while an uncomfortable silence descended in the kitchen.

The two of them clearly had a serious history. I wondered what it would be like to be that old, have that much history. And then I realized I might one day.

The dragon Morgana had mentioned that the dragon leader in Dubai was over a thousand years old. Did that mean that I could grow that old? If my heart was part of a potion for immortality, did that make me immortal?

Before I could properly freak out over the new thoughts, a grating alarm sounded outside the kitchen. I looked through the window out to a serving area that was like the college dining halls and lounging area.

Warnings were going across the TV, and their standard show had cut out to a news anchor. Red banners scrolled across the bottom of the screen. “Everyone, please get somewhere safe and lock your doors. This is an emergency broadcast to warn the city. Several gangs have started an all out turf war over the drug trade in Philadelphia. We advise everyone who can to stay home and lock your doors. The city's police force will be out in force tonight. Governor Mair has even called in the national guard to help. The best thing you can do is stay home and out of the way.”

The council had worked quickly. There was no doubt in my mind that this broadcast was the start of the council’s cover up. But it made me wonder how deeply they’d woven themselves into the inner workings of the city.

“Seems you have an enormous problem on your hands.” Tee said, having heard the broadcast.

I nodded. “The pack affected by the drug is on the loose. I’m hoping this’ll help save some of them.”

“Noble.” He grunted as he went back to stirring. “But you’ll need them to drink this. And even then, I can’t guarantee it’ll work. This is something that young elves used to use to cleanse their magic and help them grow closer to nature. I modified it in hopes it’ll work on your werewolves, but I offer no promise beyond the best of my ability to help.”

“Tee is the best. If his potion doesn’t work, we don’t have any other options.” Morgana said it stiffly, clearly worried about the news broadcast. But as she turned to look at Tee, her confidence in him was clear.

Tee grunted and pulled out several small flasks. He ladled them full of a dark green liquid that reminded me of the time I thought a juice cleanse was a good idea. Spoiler, it was not.

“You’ll need to get them to drink this. It won’t take much, so start with just a mouthful.” I almost laughed, picturing myself spoon feeding the werewolves. Somehow, I had a feeling they weren’t going to sit still for me as I administered the dose. But I hoped I could keep my head from getting ripped off as I did it.

Tee turned to Morgana. “Will you need more than this?”

She looked hesitantly at me for a moment before turning back to Tee. “We don’t know, but more wouldn’t hurt.”

Tee shuffled around and started making another batch. At this point, we had four vials of the potion. I hoped it would be enough to save those currently affected.

“Thanks Tee.” I snatched them up and awkwardly filled my coat pockets, now bulging with glassware.

Morgana got the hint and waved the envelope at Tee, getting his attention. “I’ll get this to your daughter. Have no worries.”

“Thanks Morgy. Good luck to you and the whelp. If he dies of natural causes, you could always bring what’s left here. I’ll give you a good price.” I tried not to bristle at the man once again wishing for my body parts.

“Fat chance. He’s not going anywhere anytime soon if I have anything to say about it.” Morgana gave Tee a look to emphasize her statement before she turned and we headed out of the kitchen.