Dragon's Tale 109 (Patreon)

“Finally, the land,” Theodora murmured as we finally stepped onto the land, finally leaving the danger behind. 

“Come on, don’t be like this,” I said with a chuckle, though I was more interested in Xia’s gaze toward Theodora, still looking slightly afraid after ascertaining the truth of her position as the Princess and the next rightful ruler of the Eastern Empire. I didn’t ask her any questions about how that was magically possible, or why it scared her so. 

Middle of the sea, swimming as fast as I could manage, was hardly a reasonable way of doing so. 

Instead, I enjoyed the sudden sense of warmth as Theodora cast a spell to dry us, and left Xia to herself. She was not scared of Theodora — not panicking about drying spell confirmed that — but more overwhelmed with the idea of her position. 

The reason for it was hardly the most important thing. No, that honor went to something else. 

Or more accurately, three weapons that were obediently following me even underwater, staying in the range of my control obediently, following me like three overeager puppies. I opened my hand, and the Spear of Scipio flew into my hand, dancing like an enthusiastic bird in my grip, turning and swinging. 

“Beautiful weapon,” Theodora answered. “It’s enchanted, right…” she said, only to pause as her gaze tightened. “It’s not just enchanted, right?” she asked. 

“Good eyes, it’s not,” I said. 

“It’s a holy weapon,” she gasped. 

“Is this what you call Patrician Weapons in the Empire,” I asked, curious about the change. 

“Of course, it’s the arrogance of the Republic to act as they belong to Rome, instead of the treasures granted by the gods, seeds to rebuild the society after the desecration of Troy and the great collapse,” she answered, her tone passionate. Then, she froze. “How in the name of the underworld you can use a Patrician weapon?” she gasped in shock. 

“It came as a surprise to me as well,” I said with surprise as well. “I never expected that old codger to actually conduct the bestowment ritual to grant me access,” I said. 

“Old codger?” she asked. 

“My grandfather, who trained me despite being a bastard,” I explained. 

“And, how does it link to you somehow having the Spear of Scipio —“ she started, only to stop with a gasp. “You’re just not a minor noble, right?” it clicked her. 

I paused, thinking about our every interaction, only to realize I hadn’t actually talked about my family with her, not due to any intention of keeping secrets, but simply because it didn’t seem very important compared to my identity as a rogue sorcerer that needed to sneak into Patrician houses to avoid the danger of core implosion. 

“Well, technically we are, as it has been a long while since House Scipio lost its power in the capital, and we managed to escape. It’s just that most people assume us to be a branch family —“ I said before pausing, remembering where I found the spear. “Or, at least, that was what everyone was supposed to think, but clearly that was not the case. I found the spear in House Junia.” I smirked at her. “It seems that yours is not the only traitorous uncle we have to kill at one point.” 

“Your uncle —“ she started before shaking her head. “Not important. But Spear of Scipio, that’s a big deal, especially since it was a part of the lost holy weapons.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, we managed to find almost two dozen patrician weapons under House Junia,” I said. 

“There’s not that many lost holy weapons in the first place, even if we combine both the Empire and Republic,” she said. “Are you sure that they were holy weapons as well?” 

“Maybe, they felt as strong, but I’m not exactly an expert on the topic. Maybe you should check,” I said as I flared my magic, and the other two weapons also burst out of the water. The bow, and the sword. 

“How?” she gasped in shock as she looked at two others. “How do you have three holy weapons?” 

“Come on, honey, you should stop feeling surprised at my achievements,” I said, enjoying her stammering apology before cutting off. “But frankly, I have no idea. For some reason, these two also bonded with me, and I discovered them in the basement. Pity that I had to sacrifice the rest of the weapons?” 

“Sacrifice, how?” she asked in shock, scandalized. 

“Oh, don’t worry about it, I didn’t destroy them. I don’t know if that’s even possible in the first place. I just spread them around Rome to throw House Junia away from our scent. And it worked.” 

“You call that working,” Xia suddenly interrupted, the intensity of the offense she took from my words enough to suppress her earlier shock. “We almost died several times,” she explained. 

“Oh, come on,” I answered with a chuckle. “We got away fine,” I started, only for her to look at me angrily — a fit of anger that made her look beautiful enough to trigger a certain part of my anatomy, and the weird sense of wild power after my latest transformation making it hard to ignore. “Well, we might have one or two close calls—“ I said with a deliberately exaggerated smirk. 

“One or two close calls!” she gasped. “That’s what you call running through one of the biggest and best-defended cities, on top of a fucking monster that might just turn and eat us while trying to dodge multiple sorcerers duking out in the city.” 

“Well,” I said with a smirk, amused at her explosion, but I let her vent. The day had been rather difficult for her, both in terms of physical danger and the realization, and the opportunity to get angry helped her. 

Theodora listened to her, her mouth getting wider at every mention as Xia gave a detailed rendition of the events that started from her escape. She looked at me a few times, her question clear, asking me whether Xia was having a breakdown and seeing illusions. 

I nodded, confirming that the story was true, and Theodora continued listening with growing shock, even ignoring the other two ‘holy’ weapons in the process. 

As Xia shared her stories, I amused myself by caressing the two other weapons I had acquired from the House Junia, letting my finger dance along the edge of the sword and the line of the bow, trying to get a better sense of their usefulness. Theodora recognized the spear quickly, and I hoped that it would be true for the other two. 

However, before I could say that, Xia’s story reached its climax. “Not to mention, we almost got caught by an Archmagus!” 

“Archmagus, how!” Theodora cut in, the mention enough to break her shocked silence. “They can’t do anything unless something truly disastrous happens!” 

I looked at Theodora, about to question her how she knew about their existence, but I decided against it. She was the crown princess of the Empire before her father got deposed, and it was normal for her to know about such secrets. And, considering she expected them to be a non-factor, it also explained why she didn’t explain. 

“Not unless one just breaks through the barrier, and is angry at us for ruining his plans,” Xia explained. 

Theodora paused for a moment before guessing. “Patriarch of the Junia Family,” she gasped in shock as the realization hit. “I knew he was hiding his strength, but this much…” 

 “Exactly,” I said. “I had never seen him, but I knew from experience that being old has little impact on the strength of others. I have a feeling that he would have gotten along with my grandfather,” I said. 

“He must be an impressive man if you’re comparing him to someone who had just ascended to Archmagus, an event that barely happens once in a century,” Theodora said. 

I shuddered, remembering his attitude during training. “Oh, he certainly was,” I answered. “Now, to change the topic, the weapons,” I said as I directed the weapons toward Theodora. First, the sword. 

“I don’t know this one,” she said. 

“Really?” I asked. “That’s the one I expect you to recognize.” 

“I don’t know,” Theodora answered with a shake of her head. “There’s no doubt that it’s Roman. It’s an archaic model of Gladius, and it clearly conforms with the general design principles. But I had not seen any record of this weapon.” She paused a bit. “Maybe your family had two weapons, but lost one a long ago? It explains how you can use it.” 

“Maybe,” I answered, but I had a feeling that it wasn’t accurate. The sensation was different. “How about this,” I said as I floated the bow toward her. She stayed silent for a long time, before gasping in shock. “What?” I asked. 

“I must have been mistaken, that’s impossible,” she gasped in shock. She stayed silent for a long while. “No, I must have been mistaken, there’s no other explanation,” she said. 

“Sweetie, we’re long past the point of treating things as impossible. The dragon hearts I absorbed makes that so. Now, tell me what you suspect.” 

“Fine, but you won’t believe me,” she said as she dragged her finger along the side. “See these markings, those belong to Egypt, before the time Rome had ever touched it. Before the great disaster.” 

“And, what’s the unbelievable part?” 

“I have seen drawings of this weapon, and it’s supposed to be lost during the disaster, which was more than a thousand years ago,” she explained. 

“And,” I said. It was obvious that she was yet to spill the most important part. 

“And, before it got lost, it was the hereditary weapon of the Pharaohs. The first royalty that the world had ever known.” Xia gasped, confirming that it was, for some reason, significant. 

It seemed that we had a lot to talk about.