ã€ŠTribulations of a Dragonã€‹


 Prologue

    Yaysies! Won¡¯t be long until I¡¯m on my way home for the day. It¡¯s time for a long weekend of no studying and plenty of reading! Holidays on a Monday were the best.

    I¡¯ve spent far too much time studying lately, and while I wasn¡¯t a straight-A student, mostly because of those darn gym classes, I¡¯m certainly no slouch, either.

    Being on the shorter side, and not all that interested, I just didn¡¯t do well with sports, so I may have had a tendency to oversleep. Now studying! Studying, I did very well; it could even describe it as my specialty!

    Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t always about studying subjects I needed, much to my teachers¡¯ chagrin.

    Enough of that, who needs it when it¡¯s long weekend time! I¡¯m gonna get to hang out with my family and it¡¯ll be great!

    ¡°Kira, pay attention, school isn¡¯t over yet.¡± Ugh, he just had to remind me. Still a couple of hours left, one of which is gym, which I¡¯ll easily get through by skipping it. Hah, take that, gym!

    Unfortunately, gym wasn¡¯t the last class of the day, I had chemistry as the final class. I liked chemistry well enough. So many exciting things could happen in that subject, none of which happened today.

    I mostly just sit around waiting out the clock, twiddling my thumbs and doodling in my books. A few other students got too loud, so they got chewed out by the teacher, but other than that, it was a typical uneventful day.

    I make my way to the parking lot, dodging the obvious risks, like overly excited jocks or being recruited into a Dungeons and Dragons session. It wouldn¡¯t be awful to play some D&D, but it just takes so much time away from you. And EVERYONE is into it.

    I have heard that the nerds and geeks used to get made fun of for playing it, now they get made fun of because of their character builds not being meta. Stuff sure does change.

    Even so, I have successfully navigated through the treacherous plains of the parking lot and made it to the public street.

    Time for me to grab a smoothie and head to the train station. There¡¯s a particularly great store on my way to the train station, they always make fresh and delicious smoothies.

    I went with a delicious banana blueberry smoothie because potassium is important, even if it makes you more attractive to mosquitoes.

    ¡°Hey Kira, you bitch. Why didn¡¯t you wait for me?!¡± It suddenly became very clear that I underestimated the dangers of the sidewalk.

    ¡°Hi Clara, how¡¯s stuff?¡± Nailed it, a classic diversion to have her do most of the talking. Now we just wait for the annoyed look to pass aaaand¡­

    ¡°Ugh, everything sucks! Honestly, how do they expect us to learn anything in this place? It¡¯ll be so much better next year. Speaking of, which college will you be attending?¡± Oh no! The unthinkable happened! She took an interest in someone else!

    ¡°I think I might take a year off and kick back, just enjoy life a bit. We¡¯ve got so many years left, right?¡±

    ¡°Right¡­ That¡¯s not much of a plan, are you sure that¡¯s a good idea?¡± It probably wasn¡¯t, but I felt like it was necessary anyway. I¡¯ve been doing way too much studying lately, and I think it¡¯s getting to me.

    ¡°Who knows, but I think I¡¯ll stick to that plan and travel to the western lands.¡±

    She gives me a look. She¡¯s probably gonna say something like ¡®That¡¯s a bad idea, Kira, you know those lands aren¡¯t as civilized as Immarderen.¡¯ I can almost hear it.

    ¡°You¡¯re thinking I¡¯m gonna say something gross, aren¡¯t you, Kira?¡± Whaaat? I¡¯d never.

    ¡°Not at all, Clara!¡± Hah, a perfect defense.

    ¡°Right¡­¡±

    The rest of the walk is mostly just idle chit-chat. Clara is very reliable for idle chit-chat and making time pass faster.

    We¡¯ve made it to the train station, so it¡¯s time to get my train pass ready as Clara and I go our separate ways. I love train passes, a one-time fee, and you can ride the trains as much as you want; super convenient and a great deal.

    Not a lot of folks on the train today, so that¡¯s nice.

    I do prefer some peace and quiet on my way home. It isn¡¯t a problem most of the time, but some folks don¡¯t really get that the ¡°Speaker¡± button on their phones makes their conversations very public. And who needs to hear some old guy talking to his doctor about genital warts? That¡¯s just gross.

    Luckily, none of that happened today; in fact, not a lot of anything happened today. It has been a delightfully uneventful day.

    Most folks have gotten off the train, so I¡¯m practically alone now, that¡¯s unusual.

    I get up and walk around a bit. I don¡¯t really find anyone, that is very unusual. It¡¯s just a normal day, the train shouldn¡¯t be packed, but it also shouldn¡¯t be this deserted.

    It¡¯s starting to feel kinda odd, like a tingle saying ¡°Hey, Kira. Something¡¯s wrong here.¡±

    It¡¯s still a while until my stop, so I¡¯ll just wait it out.

    Huh, some folks at the next stop didn¡¯t get on, what¡¯s with that¡­

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    They just look at me as the train starts moving again, maybe I should¡¯ve gotten off and just walked. Oh well, I didn¡¯t, so creepy train day it is.

    As unnerved as I suddenly find myself, the train pulls into the stop without incident, but I can¡¯t shake that eerie feeling. The train has stopped at a medium-sized city, ish. My hometown. Not a thing is out of the ordinary as far as I can tell. We¡¯ve got tall buildings, not-so-tall buildings, shops, homes, all the things you¡¯d expect from a perfectly unremarkable city. I guess remarkable cities have that stuff too, but there¡¯s no reason to get into that.

    I get off at my stop and start walking at a brisk pace. Whatever this feeling means, I¡¯m just gonna get home and sleep it off. A good rest mends many things.

    I make it home without incident, so why do I still have this dang eerie feeling?

    ¡°Welcome home, Kira, how was your day?¡± Mom, reliable as always, is always interested in hearing about my day, and she¡¯s just great. I tell her as much as I think is interesting, of course leaving out ditching gym, she doesn¡¯t need to know that.

    Looking my direction, she asks me, ¡°Did you ditch gym again?¡±

    Witch! How did she know?!

    ¡°Yeah sorry, I just don¡¯t like it.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, sweetie, it¡¯s okay. Not everything is for everyone. I¡¯ll just talk to your teacher on Tuesday and we¡¯ll get you an exemption. I don¡¯t want you to feel bad about it.¡± Best mom ever, she always gets me.

    I¡¯m actually not that bad at sports, I just, I don¡¯t know, I feel like something is wrong with who I am. Like all the parts of who I am are working correctly, but they aren¡¯t the parts that are meant to fit together to be me, whatever that means.

    I decide to just spend the rest of the day at home and help mom out with the chores and dinner.

    As we¡¯re setting the table, dad gets home. He¡¯s great too, I feel quite lucky to have two incredible parents. I give him my best hug because he deserves it.

    ¡°Hey Ki, how was your day?¡± Even after a long day, he always has time to hear about mine. So I tell him, but of course I leave out the gym bit again. Unlike my mom, he doesn¡¯t mention it, he just ruffles my hair. Gonna have to teach him to not do that; I spend enough time already dealing with tangles and whatnot.

    We sit down and enjoy a pretty great dinner together. Dad talks about a new commission at work and mom talks about everything from events at the park to various sales. They both listen to each other with interest. As we finish up dinner, dad preps the leftovers while mom and I start doing the dishes. It¡¯s a system that just works and I like it.

    Once the dishes are sorted, mom and I go join dad in the living room. ¡°Hey Ki, wanna play a board game? I¡¯m feeling lucky today!¡± Most of my friends would be appalled at that, but honestly, it¡¯s so much fun, and I win a lot, which certainly adds to the fun.

    I decide on a simple game with dice tonight, not really in the mood for something complex.

    The three of us spend a few hours playing, and it seems dad was indeed lucky, because I am not winning tonight. What¡¯s weirder is that I can¡¯t seem to get any decent rolls; I usually do pretty well with dice.

    Having been beaten thoroughly in our game, we just sit and talk for a bit, enjoying each other''s company.

    It¡¯s getting late, so I decide to head to bed. I tell them both goodnight, and we finish the evening with hugs.

    I sleep well enough, but still end up pretty tired the next morning. I don''t know what that¡¯s about; normally I¡¯m quite well rested.

    I brace myself for the day and get the early morning chores done.

    I have plans to go meet up with a few friends, but that eerie feeling is back and I feel like canceling, but I¡¯ve been a bit cancelly lately, so I don¡¯t think I should this time.

    Mom and dad are both up, so hugs for days! I tell them about my plans for the day, and dad hands me a few credits. ¡°Don¡¯t go spending them in one place! Unless you want to, I¡¯m not your boss.¡± He says, ending with a shrug. He¡¯s a silly doofus, but I appreciate the attempt.

    More hugs for the parental units as I head out to meet up with my friends.

    We mostly just spend the day hanging out at our usual caf¨¦, not doing much of anything. The old shopkeeper, one of the scalefolk, tends to shoo away young folks like us, but for some reason we¡¯re allowed to stay and sometimes we even get free drinks. I ask my friends why they think that is, which apparently spurred Matthew into action, as he just goes and asks the shopkeeper. She immediately replies with ¡°because nice kids, good for business with nice kids, good atmosphere, more customers, more sales.¡± That¡¯ll do it. Trust a business owner to smell an opportunity.

    Scalefolk are interesting, they¡¯re basically big lizard people, but you¡¯re not supposed to call them that, because lizards are animals and scalefolk used to be slave labor in Immarderen. So there are some unfortunate implications with the comparison. Dick move, humans.

    Based on what we¡¯re taught in school, the scalefolk were liberated by a great evil who was also responsible for the death of some king. But who knows, hard to verify ancient history.

    Luckily, scalefolk like us a lot more now that we aren¡¯t dicks about their autonomy. They¡¯re still pretty rare though.

    As a species, they¡¯re just bipedal people with those knee ankle legs and beautiful scales all over.

    Their country is in the Western Lands, and it¡¯s called The Lands Beyond Death, which is remarkably ominous for such nice people. We don¡¯t know much about their region, but Immarderen, our country, does trade with them.

    Circling back to their scales, they¡¯re so beautiful and come in all sorts of colors. The shopkeeper has pale yellow scales mostly and lighter colored belly scales. Must be cool to just have a natural armor, like, look at me, my claws are weapons and your weapons are useless, rawr!

    It¡¯s getting late, so we call it a day and start packing up our stuff. We sort out our bill and prepare to leave.

    I tell the shopkeeper goodbye and wish for her to have a great week. She thanks us for our business and wave us off. We head out and say goodbye to each other as well. Most of the others live in the opposite direction, with the few who don¡¯t living in other directions anyway, so I¡¯ll be heading home alone. Not really a problem, since it¡¯s a safe city and well-lit.

    I walk at a brisk pace to get home, looking forward to dinner. I believe mom mentioned lasagna today, which is just great. You¡¯d be nuts to not like lasagna.

    Usually the walk home is uneventful, but this time it turns unusually eventful as I suddenly find myself dragged into an alley.

    Some guy is holding onto me and covering my mouth, I try to scream, but not much happens. My struggles are in vain too.

    ¡°Shut up, bitch. Just let me do this and we can both go our merry ways happier!¡±

    Fuck, I have to get out of this. How do I get out of this?! I continue to struggle as much as I can and manage to get a scream out, but I doubt anyone heard, or at least nobody is coming to help. I thought this was a safe city.

    ¡°I said shut up! Do you wanna get stabbed?!¡± We¡¯re stabbing people now?! What the hell?

    That certainly wasn¡¯t the way to make me struggle less, and I suddenly feel a pinch in my abdomen. Appears he was serious about the stabbing. I can feel my blood trickling down my body. That bastard pulled out the knife. Don¡¯t pull out the knife, guys, that¡¯s a real easy way to bleed out, which is what I am currently doing.

    Considering that this blood was just inside me, it¡¯s remarkably cold. That¡¯s sorta interesting.

    ¡°Now look what you made me do, bitch!¡± Me? This entire thing seems like it¡¯s definitely not me doing it! I keep struggling, but I can feel myself getting weaker, I think he might have hit something important.

    Oh, I think he let me go. My reason for suspecting as much would be the contact my face just made with the pavement. Hitting the pavement hurt a lot less than I feel like it should have, but I¡¯m not exactly an authority on pavement-face-relationships.

    I seem to be unable to get up. This sucks¡­ I wouldn¡¯t mind a rescue right about now, but I don¡¯t think anybody be here in time.

    What a shame, I was having a pretty good life.

 Chapter 1: Confined

    Apparently, I fell asleep, which seems obvious because I just woke up. That¡¯s usually how that works.

    I can¡¯t seem to remember where I am, but I feel kinda scrunched up for some reason.

    It doesn¡¯t feel uncomfortable right now, but I think it might become very uncomfortable if I don¡¯t stretch.

    Speaking of stretching, it would seem that I can¡¯t. I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going on, but I¡¯m apparently in some sort of container.

    I try to move some more, but I¡¯m not having much luck. Who just locks someone in a small container? That¡¯s so rude!

    Feeling around my little prison, I try to find a latch or something, just anything to make sense of it. But I can¡¯t find anything; it¡¯s all just a smooth curved surface.

    At least I¡¯m becoming increasingly convinced that I¡¯m in some sort of spherical container.

    And if I know my geometry, which I don¡¯t, I should have an advantage if I try to force my way out, so I start banging on the walls.

    That didn¡¯t do much, so I guess I need a plan. Wait, does this domey sphere even have air holes? I¡¯m gonna need air holes at some point. That¡¯s potentially bad.

    Obviously, I decide to hit the walls some more. Of course, I do so in a totally controlled and not slightly panicked way. I don¡¯t feel like I make any progress, though, which is frustrating.

    I just wanna get out, dang it! Just let me the hell out of this darn thing! I may have lost my cool. I thrashed around wildly. It worked! The container suddenly cracked. FREEEEEDOM!

    I find myself surprisingly angry at the ordeal. Who the hell just locks someone in a container!

    I turn around and take a look at the¡­ egg¡­ what¡­ why was I in an egg¡­? Okay, Kira, remember what happened last night.

    You woke up, you talked to mom and dad, then headed out to meet with the gang, and you left.

    What happened after I left, though? Why can¡¯t I remember that part?

    I pace back and forth as I try to remember what had happened. I can¡¯t seem to reach the memories no matter how hard I try.

    My attempts only serve to make me sad and make me miss mom and dad. I try to gather myself, but it¡¯s just a lot right now.

    I need to stand up and get a clear picture of where I am. Right, stand up, easy peasy, anyone can do it, so why am I still so close to the ground?

    I don¡¯t feel particularly odd, so I inspect myself aaand I¡¯m a lizard. What the heck happened? What kinda weirdo just wakes up as a lizard? This kinda weirdo, apparently.

    Well, I¡¯m just gonna go ahead and assume that this is a weird dream. A very realistic-feeling weird dream, but okay, let¡¯s just roll with it.

    To summarize, I seem to be a lizard on four legs with very cool and pretty claws, if I do say so myself.

    Or is it two arms and two legs? I''m not sure, but I do have very pretty wings and a long tail ending in a sort of spade tip; the blade things look kinda sharp.

    I¡¯m also covered in black scales. I¡¯m quite beautiful and I¡¯m kinda okay with that. I could really use a mirror to get a proper look at me, but mirrors don¡¯t work in dreams for most people, so whatever.

    With a basic inspection of myself done. And an appropriate amount of appreciation of my beauty, I give my surroundings a look.

    From the looks of it, I¡¯m in a cave. A very large and rocky cave, mostly deeper than it is wide. If how I feel is anything to go by, the cave is neither too hot nor too cold.

    Being in a cave sounds like it''s a pretty good start, but who knows, I¡¯m not a very outdoorsy person.

    But I do know that caves usually have inhabitants. So now I''m wondering what sort of monster might live here.

    I¡¯m inclined to just leave the cave, but I feel like it would be a bad idea to just leave, so instead, I¡¯m gonna scout out this cave!

    The first thing I note is that there is a decent amount of those pointy rock teeth, they¡¯re called¡­

    Uh¡­ Right! Stalagmites and stalactites! And stalagmites are the ground ones because they might grow up.

    While the cave is quite large, it doesn¡¯t actually take me long to check out the area. And to my luck, I didn¡¯t find any me-eating monsters.

    Speaking of me-eating monsters, I should definitely make sure no monster wanders in. So I sneak on over to the entrance of the cave, or is it an exit since I¡¯m coming from inside it?

    I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s definitely one of them, maybe both.

    The outside is just snow and down, and the down part is just rocks ending in green. Mountains.

    What the heck, dream?! Why¡¯d you make me black in an almost entirely white biome? I¡¯ll be spotted from miles away! I¡¯ll have to get sneaky with it.

    As I prepare for my sneaky exploration of the immediate area, I hear a grumbling sound.

    Now, as mentioned, I¡¯m not a very outdoorsy person, but even I can tell that a growly grumble of death is not good. I should probably skedaddle, so that¡¯s what I do, like, right now. Sneaky can wait.

    As luck would have it, the immediate area is quite flat and the snow is packed enough that I don¡¯t fall through.

    I don¡¯t even know how deep this snow is. But it is making running very easy for me, which is good because that growly grumble was too close for comfort.

    Looking back, I¡¯m immediately overcome by a sense of ¡®Oh shit!'' The giant bear is still following me and its shuffling turns into a lot of stomping; I¡¯m definitely being chased. This thing is huge!

    It¡¯s a giant ice-blue bear. As a rule, I don¡¯t mind giant bears, but that usually changes WHEN THEY¡¯RE FREAKIN¡¯ CHASING ME!

    I run as fast as I can, but I¡¯m not fast enough, and these darn wings are slowing me down. I hate you, wings!

    Stupid physics with its drag and whatnot. I may be panicking a little. In large part because this dang bear is gaining on me really fast.

    I¡¯m just doing my best trying to get away when I¡¯m suddenly knocked off my feet. Paws? Talons? Not now, Kira, we¡¯ve got surviving to do! I say that as if I can stop this tumble at all.

    The bear appears to have swiped me right off the mountain, and I¡¯m definitely falling.

    Unable to think of a plan, I just try to relax when I suddenly feel a strong and painful pull backward.

    That¡¯s odd, I¡¯m still in the air, but no longer in a plummeting-to-my-death kinda way. I look around and, yep, seems kinda obvious now that I¡¯m less panicky.

    Wings. For flying. I love you, wings, and don¡¯t let anyone tell you otherwise!

    Deciding that I¡¯m safe to just soar around here, I look up at the peak I just fell from.

    It sure is high up, which is lucky because that means I have had time to unpanic before hitting something harder than me. Such as the ground or the side of the mountain. I have no idea how far I fell before I managed to unfold my wings.

    But for now, I¡¯m still soaring, so that gives me time to really look around. The view is, honestly, gorgeous.

    Below me is a vast forest populated by firs and oak-like trees, it probably has animals too, but I can¡¯t see any right now.

    To my right, I can see an expansive flat area, which I assume is like grassland or something.

    Just at the edge of the forest, there¡¯s even a walled town. I¡¯m just gonna go ahead and leave that alone for now.

    Looking ahead, I can see a fairly large lake, so that seems like a good opportunity for fishing!

    And now I find myself surprisingly tempted by the idea of food. Which shouldn¡¯t be that surprising since I just hatched, I guess, but what do flying lizards eat?

    The obvious test would be checking my teeth, so I do just that by opening my mouth and prodding at my teeth with my tongue.

    That answers that. Back-facing, somewhat long, and very sharp teeth. Definitely a carnivore of the rip-and-tear variety.

    There¡¯s also the part where I¡¯m salivating at the thought of eating meat and fish.

    Focus up, Kira! Scouting the landscape comes first, since I have no idea where I am. Time to take notes! I fell from a snowy mountain, dodged the rocky outcroppings.

    And now I''m gliding peacefully through the sky above some foresty bits going on further down. That forest is probably the green area I spotted from the mountaintop.

    So that¡¯ll probably have some food options, which will probably be gross.

    And then there¡¯s the town, the plains, a lake, and beyond the lake, a very intimidating mountain range.

    That¡¯s a lot of natural features to look out for, well, I guess the town isn¡¯t a natural feature.

    But for now, I should do something more than just flying around, I think.

    I¡¯ve been getting closer and closer to the tree tops, and I find that I can see remarkably well, and the smells! So many smells.

    A bunch of them are gross, but that¡¯s nature when you apparently have super smell powers, I guess.

    Feels like all my senses are heightened, which is sorta weird to deal with, but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll learn to manage.

    I¡¯ve decided to face my second greatest challenge yet: landing. I sorta feel like I shouldn¡¯t waste this opportunity to swoop down on a critter or something.

    I¡¯ve definitely heard and seen some stuff shuffling around, so it should be easy peasy lemon squeezy.

    A few more minutes of flying, I spot another deer. It looks a lot like the deer I¡¯m familiar with, brown fur, black spots and some very pointy antlers. Gotta watch out for those.

    It¡¯s decided! That will be my target, so now I just need to aim. I¡¯ve got this, I can do this, it¡¯ll be scary, but I can do it.

    I start my descent and aim slightly ahead of the deer, it spots me, so now the game is on.

    I navigate through the trees with surprising ease, it practically feels natural to me. Folding and unfolding my wings in rapid succession to not strike trees as I speed through the woods.

    I¡¯m closing in on the deer and I¡¯ve almost got it! Just a bit moooore and¡­ It turned last minute.

    I missed the deer, but what I didn¡¯t miss was that tree stump.

    I crash into the stump hard, it feels like I¡¯ve been flung into a literal wall, which I guess might as well be the case.

    As it turns out, hunting deer isn¡¯t easy peasy lemon squeezy, it¡¯s difficult difficult lemon difficult.

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    Geez, I need a rest. That really hurt. I give myself a quick inspection and I don¡¯t think I broke anything, so that¡¯s good, very good in fact. But still, ouch.

    Oh right, the deer got away. Dang it. I look around to see if I can decipher where it went. If I can find its tracks, I should be able to find it.

    But the forest bed here appears to be springy moss, old leaves, and needles from the firs. Whenever I push it down, it just springs back up after a bit.

    I turn around to where I came from and find that I can quite easily smell where the deer ran.

    So I start retracing our steps when it occurs to me that I can quite easily smell the deer. I should follow it instead. That seems like a better plan.

    One thing I did learn in school was that humans used to hunt by stalking prey, and I used to be human, so that fits perfectly. Don¡¯t think too much about it.

    As I sneak through the forest, I find the deer, it¡¯s just grazing like the delicious, jumpy snack that it is.

    I get closer and closer, it seems alert. I can still smell it quite clearly, which is surprisingly exhilarating.

    It¡¯s right around the corner, I think I¡¯m gonna chase it down, and off I go!

    I spring into action and charge at the deer. It bolts. I chase after it, making small jumps and using my wings to glide small distances when the trees allow it.

    I''m gaining ground slowly. I¡¯m getting close, so now I just have to be ready for the pivot. Almost there and THERE!

    As the deer turns, I leap and my claws rip into flesh and my jaws clamp down on its neck. I¡¯ve got it. I actually managed to catch it!

    I check to make sure I¡¯ve killed it, and just to be sure, I rip out its throat.

    Before I realize what I¡¯m doing, I¡¯ve ripped into the meat. I bury my head in the chest cavity and eat its heart.

    It tastes heavenly! I¡¯m chomping down on organs left and right until I¡¯ve eaten the biggest bits. I pull my head out of it and get to work on eating the meat.

    The bones snap easily under the pressure of my jaws, giving me a rather enjoyable tingle. As I rip off a hind leg, I just start swallowing it whole. Apparently, that¡¯s a thing I can do now, just swallow legs.

    I make short work of the rest of the deer, feeling delightfully full.

    This was a great idea, my goodness, that was delicious. I think I need a teeny nap¡­

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    I wake up some time later, feeling as if something is wrong. When the heck did I become fine with eating raw meat, or ripping animals apart, not just fine, but enjoying it?

    That makes me very uncomfortable. I should NOT be fine with that.

    And then it occurs to me, when the HELL did I stop thinking about this as a dream?!

    Okay, calm down Kira, you¡¯re clearly not entirely fine with this, so you¡¯re still human. But that¡¯s not helpful, some humans are also fine with these things.

    Am I human or some sort of lizard?! Both? Neither? I don¡¯t know!

    Come on, Kira, you can figure this out. It has to be a dream, nobody just turns into lizard things. Did the scalefolk used to be human?

    Okay, for real this time, calm down, Kira. You can do this, just calm down. Okay, I¡¯m calm. Think positive thoughts. Flying was awesome, deer is delicious. Okay, I¡¯m calm.

    So what now? Maybe I should find someone who can help me, but where and how? Who¡¯d help some deer-munching lizard?

    Maybe I can munch on other things, dangerous things, and the locals might be like, ¡°Oh hey, that lizard is our friend! Let¡¯s help her!¡±

    That might be a bit in the wishful thinking department, but it¡¯s the best plan I have so far.

    Or I could try talking to them. Hold on, can I talk? Do lizards talk? I give my speech craft a proper try aaand I¡¯m just growling at the wind. I suspect growling might not be the best approach to diplomacy and friend making.

    Hopefully I¡¯ll think of something by the time it becomes relevant. I¡¯m a clever cookie, so let¡¯s hope for the best instead of worrying first.

    I set out on my journey towards¡­ somewhere¡­ I really have no idea where I am, so I just pick a direction and go.

    Whatever direction this is, it¡¯s gonna be east now, so I¡¯m heading east!

    After some expert walking on four legs with minimal tripping over branches and the like, I notice the smell of something sweaty. And sweaty usually means people. Flawless logic, Kira; good job.

    I go into my stealth mode again and sneak closer. I end up on a small ledge overlooking the source of the smell.

    I lie down on my belly and crawl closer to get a better look, and I spot it, but it isn¡¯t human, that¡¯s for probably.

    It¡¯s kinda short, well, very short, with a nice dark green skin color and very pretty black hair. I watch the small creature for a bit to see if there''s a chance it wants to be friends.

    But then it occurs to me that maybe I should act and do something. Specifically about the two large dogs, or are they wolves, dogwolves? currently growling and cornering the little one.

    They¡¯re as big as me! Which, as it turns out, is like twice as tall as the little one.

    Wait, do I compare to my shoulder height or my head? It feels like measuring to my head is cheating because of my long neck. But isn''t that how measuring usually works?

    Either way, I could stand shoulder to shoulder with these large dogwolves! They¡¯ve got some pretty large teeth that I should look out for.

    Add the claws to that list too, because they also look quite dangerous.

    I¡¯m not sure this is a good idea, but I also can¡¯t just leave this tiny green person to die.

    So I jump into action and go for a quick attack. I manage to land almost on top of the closest dogwolf, so I try grappling it with my claws.

    As it tries to disentangle itself from my claws, I bite down hard on its neck. I feel bones snap, and it feels amazing. I tear into it and rip out a big chunk of meat and swallow it with glee.

    I need to do this more often.

    The second dog turns its attention to me and readies itself for an attack, but I¡¯ve already seen that. I swipe my tail toward it.

    The hit lands. The dogwolf is sent flying into a tree with a loud crash. It immediately stops moving when it falls to the ground. I¡¯m just gonna call ¡®em wolves from now on. Calling them dogwolf is annoying.

    I grab a few extra quick bites and then look around, spotting the small green buddy. Yep, they¡¯re crying; must be overcome with happiness because I saved them. You¡¯re welcome, random citizen.

    I walk over and give them a few sniffs, this little one smells quite good, even with the sweat. I don¡¯t like that I sorta feel like eating them.

    Pretty sure eatin¡¯ folks is bad diplomacy. For now, I¡¯m gonna finish eating these wolves, I¡¯m sure the little green one will wait for me.

    There¡¯s something in their pocket I really like the smell of. So I move closer to sniff it out and see if I can identify it, which makes the little green one more uneasy it seems.

    Cautious around their savior, eh? Don¡¯t worry, Little One, I¡¯m not gonna hurt you. Of course I can¡¯t tell them that¡­

    But still, I¡¯m not doing much of anything, so there¡¯s not a thing to be afraid of. Except the big ol¡¯ lizard covered in blood from earlier and blood from now¡­

    I guess that would be a little scary. I might have to find a creek or something to clean myself off.

    Okay, focus Kira, that pocket stuff, what is it and why does it smell so good. I poke at the pocket with my nose and the smell is almost overwhelming.

    Suddenly the Little One moves their hand to their pocket and pulls out the nice smelling stuff. It¡¯s coins! I wants them!

    Before I realize what I¡¯m doing, I¡¯ve closed my mouth over the Little One¡¯s hand. I probably shouldn¡¯t bite down right now, so I use my tongue to yoink the coins. Haha, mine now.

    After yoinking- I mean, being compensated for a rescue operation, I feel a surge of power. Not much, but there¡¯s definitely something.

    And I¡¯m still licking their hand like a weirdo. Enough licking! I let go of their tasty hand and step back, swallowing the coins. That seems like a peculiar thing to do, but it felt natural.

    On the plus side, it seems Little One forgot about fear and is now more focused on being grossed out. Which I kinda get; that is a lot of saliva. Sorry.

    On the plus side, as far as diplomacy and friendship-making goes, grossed out is probably better than scared and terrified. Point to Kira! Yush!

    Now what. I can¡¯t exactly talk to them and they aren¡¯t talking to me, so what do I do now¡­

    The tiny one has begun talking! This is great! Except that I have no idea what they¡¯re saying, but aside from that, progress.

    Oh! We can draw! I draw a quick house and point to them, then to the house, which immediately makes me feel worse about my drawing.

    I thought it was pretty good, but they¡¯re literally scared of it¡­ Oh, of course. Silly me, the big blood-caked lizard just asked where you live.

    Of course, being scared is the natural reaction. I scratch out the house drawing and shake my head, which seems to calm them down a bit.

    So I try again. This time, I clear some dirt to create a canvas and use some sticks to represent trees, then dig a small hole.

    Maybe they can point me toward a lake. A bath would be really nice right about now. Mostly they just seem confused.

    Oh, I know! I¡¯ll add some saliva to make it look like a lake! I¡¯m so clever. Little One seems to give it some thought while looking between the expert display and me. Then they perk up and motion for me to follow.

    We¡¯re going on an adventure! Woo!

    I march dutifully behind Little One as we make our way somewhere. I really should¡¯ve focused more on learning landmarks while flying.

    And maybe not getting lost following deer, but eh, I¡¯ll use the excuse of this being my first day.

    The Little One sure spends a lot of time looking around for stuff. Sometimes, they even pluck flowers and leaves, adding them to their basket.

    Maybe I could use my excellent sense of smell to help with that. I move a bit closer and stick my nose into the basket, giving it a good whiff.

    These herbs smell really nice, and I can probably find some more.

    Time to learn herbalism! I can already smell several different herbs of the kinds Little One has already gathered. I quickly dash away to gather some; the one I happened to find is a beautiful pink flower.

    But then disaster strikes! I have no hands for herb-picking! I don¡¯t feel like it¡¯s smart to just dig the plant up, so I guess I¡¯ll see if I can cut it using my claws like scissors.

    While I¡¯m in deep concentration, I hear adorable snickering behind me. Apparently, Little One followed me.

    They have been watching my questionable attempts at herbalism. When I turn my head to them, it causes them to immediately freeze, and I can smell fear again.

    That¡¯s not what I want, so to make it clear that I really am friendly, I walk on over to Little One and give ¡®em a lick to the face. That usually works for dogs, so let¡¯s hope it works for me too.

    Huh, now they look shocked. To be fair, that is a decent amount of saliva.

    I return to my herbalism, and they walk closer to me, so I assume my plan worked. And after a few clumsy attempts, I have successfully cut the stem of this plant!

    Well, crushed it multiple times until it gave up, but still, successful herbalism!

    I pick up the plant with my mouth and put it in their basket, quite pleased with myself. Huh, now they¡¯re taking plants out of their basket, not only the one I picked but others too.

    They¡¯re separating the plants on the ground and poking small holes underneath. Maybe ranking the plants, I assume the holes indicate value.

    I just give the one with six holes a whiff, and it isn¡¯t a flower; it¡¯s some small green leaves. Shouldn¡¯t be too hard to find in a green and brown forest. Right?

    As luck would have it, I don¡¯t have to rely on sight for finding herbs, I can smell them out! As I sniff the air, I can immediately tell there are some nearby.

    So I, no, we set out to find the plants! Friendship acquired! Well, acquaintance, I guess, I shouldn¡¯t rush to assumptions.

    We quickly make our way towards several of these pretty plants, but I think I¡¯ll just let Little One do the herbing.

    Wouldn¡¯t want them to feel like they¡¯re mooching, so really, I¡¯m being kind and not at all just embarrassed about how much I crushed the previous one. That¡¯s my story, and I¡¯m sticking to it.

    We end up spending quite some time gathering herbs. I look around; night is falling, and the little basket is overflowing with possibly valuable plants.

    Little One lets out a yawn. I guess we have been running around for quite some time. I give them a few pushes with my nose and get behind them to indicate that they can lead now.

    Little One leads us for a fair distance, but as far as nature hikes go, this is one. We do pass a few more herbs, but Little One doesn¡¯t seem interested in gathering more.

    So we just continue onward until we hit the forest¡¯s edge. And I see walls, which is not what I expected. I was kinda expecting a lake, but I guess Little One forgot about that and just headed home.

    Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have followed, but the forest at night is a little scary, so I¡¯d rather not be alone there, so I take my chances.

    The walls appear to be of the palisade variety, which I¡¯d guess is doing a pretty good job of keeping things out.

    The centerpiece from this angle is a robust-looking gate with a guard on either side of the opening.

    As we get closer to the walls, Little One is leaning on me. They''re practically falling asleep. I guess it has been an exciting day, first with angry, mean dogs, then a beautiful scaly savior, followed by a bunch of herb gathering. And finally a long walk home.

    I hear shuffling, scrambling, and then shouting. I assume we¡¯ve been spotted and two guards are coming out to greet us.

    They¡¯re wearing orange helmets that leave their faces uncovered and chain mail to protect them. I guess it¡¯s safe to assume the larger guards are male, and so that would make Little One female.

    With a yawn, Little One looks at the guards with a smile, which quickly turns to worry as she realizes what¡¯s going on.

    Little One steps in front of me, holding out her hands and shouting at the guards, but they keep charging with their spears ready¡­

    Yush, the little one is definitely on the side of friendship! And the guards just knocked her aside, that is not okay! That is really not okay and they will die for this transgression!

    I launch my much larger form at one of the two guards, my claws sinking into his shoulder; he screams in pain. I follow it up by whipping my tail around to strike at the other guard.

    My tail is partially blocked, but partially isn¡¯t enough to keep the guard standing; I think he''ll survive that.

    I ready myself to bite at the arm of the guard I¡¯m on top of; this thing deserves death for attacking me and what belongs to me!

    Little One grabs me and she¡¯s crying; why is Little One stopping me? I¡¯m protecting us!

    Right, it¡¯s their home. I release the guard and get off him.

    More guards arrive at the scene, ready for battle. Well, so am I. Bring it! They stop a small distance before I¡¯m inside their range of attack, and Little One is shouting and screaming at them.

    But the guards aren¡¯t listening, so she walks up to me and pries my mouth open; what is she even doing¡­

    The guards are shouting at her; they do seem genuinely worried and fearful on her behalf, and then she sticks her entire head in my mouth.

    At least I¡¯m not the only weird one. Tasty as she is, I¡¯m not up for this, so I pull my head back, and in doing so, get her head out of my mouth. Maybe I¡¯ll have to take some licking time later.

    The guards didn¡¯t seem overly convinced by the display. I have no idea why they¡¯re so hostile when I¡¯m clearly friendly.

    Well, aside from just putting two guards out of commission. They started it. Oh, I guess we never got to the lake, so I¡¯m still very much covered in a bunch of old blood.

    Surely it¡¯s not that bad; some of it must¡¯ve dried and flaked off.

    Our standoff is going nowhere, and now some old person, female I think, is walking towards us. A paler green skin color than the rest of the people here and long white hair, but not looking overly hostile, so maybe that¡¯s good.

    Oldie starts talking to Little One, the conversation seems to be getting quite passionate. At least until Oldie raises one of her arms like she¡¯s about to backhand Little One.

    Before I know it, I¡¯m stepping forward while growling quite aggressively. I¡¯m almost startled by how angry I am at the idea that someone would hurt my Little One.

    Oldie lowers her hand with a smile, things are apparently going the way she had planned.

    I might have to be careful around this one.

    I calm myself down and boop Little One¡¯s shoulder with my cheek. She reaches a hand under my head and starts scratching me, and my GOODNESS that feels good!

    When did she learn this magic, and how can I make her do it all the time?

    The old one waves at the guards and they lower their weapons as she steps forward and reaches for me.

    Little One stopped scratching, watching what I¡¯ll do. Again I find myself growling, although softer this time. I should probably get a hold of these growly tendencies, but she deserves it for threatening Little One.

    She¡¯s holding her hand out as one might an unfamiliar dog. I¡¯m not a dog, so I ignore the hand and bump Little One for more attention, which she understands quite well.

    People like scritches too, that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m a dog, darn it!

    Little One uses this moment to be more assertive and takes hold of Old One¡¯s hand and moves it toward me. Obviously I can¡¯t abandon the scritches, so I guess I¡¯m out of options.

 Chapter 2: Talking without Speech

    The Bestiary of Legends. Written by Caspariel the Heretic.

    Dragons are remarkable creatures, inspiring equal measures awe and fear.

    Topic: Dragon Maturity.

    Most known sources on Dragons make the claim that their size is tied to their maturity. To my surprise, this appears to be very incorrect. While Dragons do indeed grow as they age, the scale of growth varies greatly from one individual to another. So much so that you may find one Dragon no larger than a draft horse, yet another may rival the size of mountains.

    With size being a poor indicator of maturity, the question then becomes how one gauges the maturity properly? The answer to this, I believe, lies in the coloration and heat of their flames.

    Below I will list the rough indicators as I have found them.

    First, we have the juvenile Dragon. You can recognize their bodies by their stout appearance and longer limbs. Their flames will carry an orange hue. While the flames are capable of melting the softer metals, such as the valuable tin, the juvenile Dragon cannot maintain such a flame for long. Certainly not long enough to outright melt the higher metals, such as copper or iron.

    Second in line comes the fledgling Dragon. With their second stage of maturity, Dragons become capable of quite a surprising amount of destruction. These Dragons tend to be unruly in nature and quite temperamental. The fledgling Dragon has often learned to maintain their flames for longer. Added to this is their flames increasing in temperature. At this stage, the Dragon is now capable of melting the higher metals, although it still requires extended exposure to the Dragon¡¯s flame. The color of the flame is often bright yellow at this stage of maturity.

    Third in line comes the adult Dragon. What most consider a Dragon. These ones are spoken of most often in our histories. The mature Dragon has achieved mastery over the tools and weaponry available to it. Which includes the very heat of the Dragon¡¯s flames. The intensity of the flame can now reach such ferocity that the world itself recognizes it and the flames appear bright white. For the common man, one can only hope to witness such heat in the flames of a master Blacksmith¡¯s forge.

    Fourth in line comes the final and greatest Dragon known to man, the Elder Dragon. These Dragons possess such destructive force that none can stand against them. The very fabric of the mind ceases to comprehend what these Dragons are capable of. I am one of very few to have witnessed an Elder¡¯s flame and lived to tell the tale. The Dragon¡¯s flame burns with a brutality I have not known before or since. Appearing bright blue as the very air we breathe flees from the relentless assault that the flame carries.

    Should you find yourself in the presence of an Elder Dragon, pray to whichever god you worship that it does not notice you. You will not survive the Dragon¡¯s wrath.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The Old One¡¯s hand touches my nose, and I¡¯m overcome with an unfamiliar sensation as if something is pushing into my mind. I can¡¯t make sense of what is going on, but I don¡¯t like it.

    The comforting feeling spreads through me as I lower my guard; this is what I want.

    I push back against the invading force, and I feel it shiver; I cannot allow this to continue!

    I¡¯m calming down as the force is permeating through my mind, promising kindness and protection. I want that. I want to embrace this feeling.

    I feel heat rush through my body as I resist this invasion! I will NOT allow this to continue!

    A sensation of worries floods me, I need to calm down, otherwise, I might hurt someone. I don¡¯t want to hurt anyone!

    Screw that! This is a violation! This old fuck is invading my mind, and I will not tolerate it! I¡¯ve had enough of this shit! I will not be enslaved!

    I feel my fury grow beyond what I can contain. I need to release it! A fire burns within me, craving to be unleashed, and I want to let it out. My eyes snap open as I twist away from the Old One.

    I don¡¯t have time to understand what¡¯s going on. My instincts take over and I let loose my flames.

    My body moves forward and I bite down on the Old One¡¯s arm, bones crunching under my assault, and I rip it off.

    The sweet blood of a foe fills my mouth and it tastes heavenly! I swallow the arm and watch as the guards ready their weapons to attack. Their reaction time is pathetic.

    As I get ready to attack, Little One moves to block my path. I can smell how terrified and angry she is, but her back is turned to me, so I can¡¯t see what she looks like.

    She¡¯s screaming at the Old One as the now-crippled thing crawls away. I feel an urge to finish what they started, but Little One is in my way and I don¡¯t want to hurt her.

    Instead, I force myself to turn around and rush into the woods.

    This whole thing has been a mistake. Of course, something like me wouldn¡¯t be welcome. Thinking I could simply join their community was a foolish thought.

    As time passes, I realize I haven¡¯t been paying attention to where I¡¯ve been going. As my rage fades, I find myself overwhelmed by sadness.

    I have no idea where I am, and looking around, I just see trees, moss, and fallen leaves.

    Moving further into the woods, I come across a fallen tree. I can use that for some shelter; at least the upturned roots will keep the wind at bay...

    I¡¯m not gonna do anything about the raindrops rolling down my cheeks, though. It¡¯s definitely rain. I really need it to be rain right now.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    How had everything become such a mess?¡­ Raya hadn¡¯t realized how tired she was as she led the Dragon.

    She knew she was supposed to lead it toward the lake as it had requested, but as her eyes grew heavy, her mind grew sluggish, and she forgot.

    Elder Charo greeted them, but instead of using her magic to befriend the Dragon, she had assaulted it. And in return, the Dragon had retaliated.

    Raya felt the pain and suffering Elder Charo now had to deal with was well-deserved. But the guards were only doing their job. And they got hurt because of what she and Elder Charo had done.

    It was clear the Dragon was intelligent and that it could be reasoned with. Raya had told them as much, proving it no less. Yet, the mistrust among her people led to this unnecessary cruelty.

    Raya found herself cursing the Elder¡¯s name. How arrogant and foolish must one be to think they could dominate the mind of a Dragon.

    Her thoughts occupied by the event, Raya couldn¡¯t help but think of herself as a fool, as well.

    The Dragon had trusted her, and she had trusted the Elder. Both choices were mistakes. The stupid Elders always thought too highly of themselves.

    They could solve all problems, they said. Trust them, and they¡¯ll find a solution, they promised.

    What a joke.

    What solution would Elder Charo find to regrow her arm or heal her burned face. Both were beyond the capabilities of healing potions.

    Raya looked to the woods, she wanted to go find her¡­ friend¡­ but she couldn¡¯t do it yet. The forests were simply too dangerous at night.

    Getting killed before finding the Dragon would do little to remedy this situation, and she needed rest.

    The dire wolves had been hunting her for some time, resulting in her going far deeper into the woods than she had ever intended.

    And trying to lead the Dragon to Undine Lake had only extended the stay in the woods.

    The only option available to her now was to rest. The town was the same as usual: tall buildings, often two or three stories, with markings showing where she was.

    Using the alleyways between the buildings allowed her to return home in very little time. If she had used the main streets, she would have had the benefit of the glowshrooms lanterns.

    But she had enough familiarity with the alleys to navigate without light.

    She arrived at her simple home, just one room with the bare necessities, but it was hers. Contained within was a simple bed, a small kitchen, a table, and a couple of chairs. Just enough for her needs.

    Raya felt the call of slumber, but she hadn¡¯t eaten anything this evening, and it was already well into the night.

    Struggling to stay awake, she rustled up some quick supper, throwing together a mix of whatever she could find.

    It didn¡¯t matter to her what it was, she just needed something to eat before passing out.

    As Raya finished her supper, she could barely stay awake, but fought just long enough to reach her bed. Dishes be damned.

    This night¡¯s sleep wasn¡¯t kind to the small woman. Tossing and turning, her dreams filled with the recent events, turning into nightmares as her guilt grew.

    As morning came, Raya woke up drenched in sweat. A horrible but well-deserved night, she thought.

    She needed to prepare for another trek into the woods. There was still hope that the Dragon could forgive her, whatever it might cost.

    She rushed through her home, gathering this and that. Proper preparation was necessary for what she had planned, but one thing was missing.

    Her basket was nowhere to be found. Cursing softly, she realized she hadn''t brought the basket with her last night. That added yet another task to her day, as she needed to track it down.

    A healing potion, some travel food, and a dagger lay prepared on the table, and as soon as she found her basket, she would be ready to set out.

    Letting out a curse at this delay, she opened the door, ready to head out to the western gate to ask if anyone had collected her basket and its contents. She almost tripped in her rush as the basket lay on her doorstep.

    The herbs were nowhere to be found, instead the basket contained a collection of coins.

    Bringing her basket inside, she counted out the coins: thirty-eight silver, three ten-silvers, and four two-silvers. The herbs had sold for a decent price.

    Gathering up her supplies, she pocketed her coins, tied her dagger to her belt, and put the food in the basket. She was ready to set out.

    Well, almost ready. With the coin, she considered whether she should visit the alchemist Joras. He usually bought what she gathered, often at a good price, too.

    No doubt whoever had sold what she had gathered yesterday had sold it to Joras. None of the other three alchemists in town would pay as much.

    Although Joras treated Raya fairly, he was known around town as a temperamental madman. Often only tolerated for his specialty potions, which no other alchemist would brew.

    The potions were often too costly for the townsfolk to buy, but Joras didn¡¯t seem to care. He simply reduced the price to match his customers.

    How he managed to stay in business was a mystery to Raya.

    With her things ready, Raya set out and rushed toward Joras¡¯ shop.

    While she lived in the western residential area, his shop could be found in the northern shopping district. Once again, she ran through the twisting maze of alleyways permeating the town.

    Arriving at the alchemical shop, Raya stared up at the much larger-than-typical door. This building was built specifically for Joras.

    As an elf, he was almost three times as tall as her, and as such, needed his shop to match his stature.

    Once she had gathered her courage, she burst through the door, giving Joras quite a fright.

    ¡°What the shit, little lady?! Who are you to burst in here at shit o¡¯clock while I¡¯m brewing?!¡±

    Behind a desk stocked with various flasks, baubles, and herbs stood Joras. His sickly thin arms manipulating the instruments he used for his craft.

    Unperturbed by the obviously frustrated elf, Raya spoke up. ¡°Sorry, but do you have any Mind Bridge Potions? I really need one, fast.¡±

    His gaze drifted away from her as he brought a hand to his chin. It looked as if he was giving it some thought as he let out a stream of hmm¡¯ing and huh¡¯ing, testing Raya¡¯s patience.

    Joras didn¡¯t seem to be in any particular rush, appearing to have forgotten that he was just thoroughly startled.

    ¡°Those can be expensive; can you afford one?¡± Raya¡¯s heart sank as she pondered the question. Her herbs had been sold, but when an alchemist, someone from the upper crust of wealth, described something as expensive, it could be expected to be far outside the reach of a mere gatherer like her.

    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°I only have thirty-eight silver; is that enough?¡± Raya asked in a quiet voice.

    ¡°Little lady, never tell a shopkeeper how much coin you have; otherwise you might find prices mysteriously increase to match it. But no, it¡¯s not enough. A Mind Bridge Potion easily costs a couple of gold, so you¡¯re short by a hundred and sixty-two silver. At least.¡±

    Hearing the price immediately soured her already dour mood. The Mind Bridge Potion hadn¡¯t been necessary, but it would have made things easier.

    Raya turned to leave. She could still find her new friend. Well, she hoped the Dragon would still be a friend. Even if they couldn¡¯t speak to each other, an apology was owed at the very least.

    ¡°Why are you leaving without the potion?¡±

    ¡°Because I can¡¯t afford it, I don¡¯t have any gold.¡±

    ¡°Ah, but sometimes things other than coin can be used for bargaining.¡± As Raya looked back, the elf was leaning on a cleared part of the desk.

    ¡°I heard that old hag Charo had a bit of a mishap. Tell me as much as you can about it, and the potion is yours.¡±

    Raya couldn¡¯t quite make sense of that, how could a story be worth several gold coins¡­

    Not seeing any harm in sharing the events, Raya told him about the night before.

    How the elder had lied to her, how it had resulted in her friend¡¯s trust being betrayed, and how Elder Charo¡¯s arm was eaten and her face burned.

    The alchemist¡¯s laughter grew as the story progressed.

    ¡°Greedy old hag deserves it. As we agreed, the potion is yours. Now, I have a different offer for you as well. If you should find yourself in a position to acquire some Dragon¡¯s Blood, bring it to me instead of those incompetent alchemists around town. I¡¯ll make it worth your while.¡±

    Raya accepted the potion, but she found the request for blood repulsive. She would have no part in such business.

    To her surprise, Joras simply shrugged and returned to brewing his potions.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you mad that I won¡¯t do it? Most people would get angry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty well known around town that I am mad, but at that? No. I didn¡¯t have Dragon¡¯s Blood yesterday, and I probably won¡¯t have it tomorrow, so things remain the same, except now I know there¡¯s a chance I might acquire some.¡±

    That train of thought didn¡¯t feel quite right to Raya, but as it was to her benefit, she didn¡¯t want to question the mad elf.

    ¡°And be careful around Charo. She¡¯s worse than you think, and you¡¯ve lost some protections now that you¡¯re an adult as well, little lady.¡±

    She thanked the alchemist with a bow for the potion, as well as the warning.

    Finally ready to set out, Raya checked her supplies one last time and ran toward the western gate. It wouldn¡¯t be long until she could explain herself to the Dragon.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Ugh¡­ I feel terrible¡­ I don¡¯t like sleeping on moist dirt. This whole situation hurts far too much to be a dream, and I don¡¯t like it. I just wanna go home, hug my mom, and tell her all about this weird dream.

    ¡°Themar!¡±

    Can¡¯t even grumble in peace without someone shouting in the distance. It¡¯s frustrating to not know what they¡¯re saying, but even if I did, I doubt I could talk to them without scaring them off.

    This whole thing sucks, and I want to be sadder about it, but my emotions feel dampened somehow. Like I¡¯m trying to interpret what someone else is feeling without understanding them.

    ¡°Themar!¡±

    At this point, I feel like leaving and never coming back here. This whole friend thing has been a terrible idea. Although I guess it was pretty fun until we went to her village, I¡¯m glad she got home safely.

    Those wolves were so big compared to that little one. It seems crazy to venture out into a forest with threats like that wandering around. And now I¡¯ve just reminded myself that I am a threat like that¡­

    As I contemplate the dangers Little One is likely to find out here, I feel my thoughts drift back to my old world. I should be in school right about now.

    Mom would be home taking care of the house and watching TV. I wonder what kind of shows she¡¯s into right now¡­

    Dad would be working. I really should¡¯ve spent more time getting to know them, but it just never occurred to me.

    I thought they¡¯d always be there for me. They were always there for me, but then I disappeared.

    Did I disappear, or did something happen? I still can¡¯t remember what happened after I left the caf¨¦.

    The memory of what happened just being gone scares me a little, but I get the feeling that it might be for the best.

    ¡°Themar!¡±

    There it is again. Seems very unwise to go around shouting in the woods. I don¡¯t even know what sort of animals are here, aside from deer and, were they dogs or wolves?

    Honestly, they were probably wolves, since dogs are domesticated wolves, and these beasts are kinda wild.

    Maybe I¡¯ll just go keep an eye on the shouty one, to make sure they¡¯re safe. From a distance, of course. At the very least, it beats wallowing in self-pity.

    I¡¯m still not quite convinced that this isn¡¯t a dream, but in case it isn¡¯t, treating it like a dream seems incredibly dangerous.

    It takes some effort, but I manage to pull myself together and move in the direction I last heard Shouty from.

    Or at least that¡¯s what I was planning, but I didn¡¯t really pay attention to where the shouting came from.

    I¡¯ll have to wait for another shout to know which direction I need to move toward. For now, I¡¯ll move in the general direction I think the shouts came from.

    ¡°Themar!¡±

    Finally. Now I have a target direction, and I can run directly towards the shouty one. I rush into the wilderness, dodging branches and debris.

    For how young my body is, I¡¯m surprised at how agile I am.

    I¡¯m sprinting towards the noise, and I feel like I should be there by now. Right, my hearing is a lot better than it used to be, so of course the noise I heard comes from further away.

    As I¡¯m running, exhaustion begins to set in and I realize that my body really isn¡¯t made for this kind of exercise.

    I mean, sure, I can do well enough and I¡¯m fast, but gosh dang it, I do not have the endurance for extended sprints. I¡¯m gonna have to slow down.

    I believe I can maintain a solid trotting pace or something like that. I¡¯m definitely gonna try. I have to get there before any of the wolves do, or worse. Assuming there are worse things than wolves.

    Now that I¡¯m managing my pace better, I feel a lot less exhausted, but I could still use a break. I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m making good progress towards wherever the shouting came from. But I¡¯m upwind, so I don¡¯t really get any help from my excellent nose.

    I just need Shouty to let me know where they are one more time, then I¡¯m sure I can find them. Once I do, I¡¯ll just stay at a safe distance and protect them.

    Instead of a shout, I hear a very loud scream. A familiar scream, no less. That was definitely Little One¡¯s scream, and now I have to hurry.

    I know I¡¯m close, but I need to rush, I have to be close enough to help. I have to.

    I feel exhaustion hit again, but I push on. I slam through some bushes and find her being chased by a bear. That is a BIG brown bear.

    The sweet smell of blood saturates the air, the scent of Little One¡¯s species¡¯ blood. I can¡¯t wait any longer; I need to act and intercept this mess.

    Once again, I¡¯m surprised by how fast bears are. I yell out to Little One, hoping she¡¯ll bring the bear towards me as I start running towards where they¡¯re gonna be.

    If I do this right, I can land the first strike on the bear.

    Well, that was the plan anyway. What I actually do is unleash a roar so ferocious that even the bear is shaken.

    To think I can cause such a reaction from something as scary as this bear! That definitely caught its attention. Now I¡¯ve gotta watch out for any swipes and bites coming from this beast.

    The bear slows down and watches me as I get closer. It roars at me, but I¡¯m less than impressed by it.

    The bear starts moving towards me, building up speed. By the time it¡¯s in a full charge, it¡¯s almost on me, but I leap to the side, dodging the charge.

    I follow up my dodge with a whip of my bladed tail, leaving a gash in the bear¡¯s haunch.

    It did not like that. To my surprise, the bear is very quick to turn around in the wake of my attack. I¡¯m not at all sure of what I¡¯m doing here.

    I¡¯ve never been much of a fighter, but I feel very sure I can¡¯t run away. Something inside me won¡¯t allow it.

    I stand my ground, but the bear chooses to advance again. This time, though, it isn¡¯t building up speed, so it won¡¯t be another charge. Damn it, then I can¡¯t use the same trick again¡­

    The bear is just lumbering toward me, which is, uh, kinda intimidating, and I find myself walking backwards slowly.

    It swipes at me, but I manage to maintain some distance as I dodge, but I¡¯m steadily being pushed back.

    Neither my claws nor jaws can reach it if I want to stay out of its reach. Which means I only have my tail left, but I can¡¯t shake the feeling that the bear is waiting for me to use my tail.

    As I¡¯m being pushed further back, I¡¯m startled as I bump into a tree. This appears to be the opportunity the bear was waiting for.

    It acts quickly and bites down on my neck just above my shoulders. I can feel my scales crack under the pressure. I need to do something.

    Using my long neck to my advantage, I bite down on the bear¡¯s arm and rip away with all my might. While doing so, I push my claws into the belly of the bear for both leverage and to rip and tear with my talons.

    The belly of the bear is gouged open as I continue to rip into it. This turn of events must have changed its mind about me because it lets me go and tries to retreat.

    The bear¡¯s intestines are dragging behind it as it struggles to keep itself moving.

    It hasn¡¯t earned the right to retreat, so I push myself to my feet again and rush towards it. As I approach, I jump onto its back and rip into it with my claws as I bite and tear at the muscled body.

    The wounds are deep and getting deeper as I tear flesh away. I will NOT let this offense go! I continue my assault until well after the bear has stopped moving.

    And then I start gorging myself on its flesh. A delicious reward for putting down this usurper! I don¡¯t stop eating until all that¡¯s left of the bear is a pool of blood soaking into the forest floor.

    ¡°Themar?¡±

    Caught up in my bloodlust, I barely hear the trembling voice behind me, another treat, perhaps.

    I look around to find the source, and I see a delicious little thing presenting itself to me. I let out a growl as I stalk closer.

    No. Stop, something is wrong here. Get a hold of yourself, Kira. That¡¯s the Little One; she¡¯s a friend. Focus.

    With some effort, I manage to bring my bloodlust under control, but I¡¯m not quite sure how this all happened.

    What the heck was that¡­? I¡¯ve never been a fighter, but from the looks of it, I can take on bears larger than I and win. That doesn¡¯t sound right at all.

    I bring my attention back to my surroundings and I spot Little One. She¡¯s just staring at me. I can smell the delicious scent of fear coming from her.

    I don¡¯t want to hurt her, so I turn around and begin to leave. I can keep her safe from a distance, so she won¡¯t need to be scared of me if she doesn¡¯t know I¡¯m there.

    ¡°Themar, Eb fhrah! Eb fhrah!¡±

    To my surprise, my departure is interrupted when she runs up to me and latches onto my leg. She keeps saying something, and she¡¯s crying.

    I find it increasingly frustrating that I can¡¯t understand her, but the scent of fear is dissipating, so she clearly isn¡¯t afraid of me. At least not afraid enough to stay away.

    I stopped moving when she grabbed onto my leg. I don¡¯t want to hurt her by accident. At least not now that my bloodlust has calmed.

    After some time, she lets go of my leg and starts looking around. She¡¯s clearly searching for something.

    I don¡¯t see her basket, so I guess she lost it while being chased by the bear. I guess there¡¯s no point in hiding, since she already knows I¡¯m here, so I¡¯ll just follow her lead for a while.

    Because it¡¯s the right thing to do, and not because I¡¯m lonely. Okay, maybe a little because I¡¯m lonely, but I¡¯m not gonna tell anyone that.

    She seems genuinely worried about her lost basket, but surely she can just buy a new one with all the money she got for those herbs we gathered.

    Oh well, I haven¡¯t got anything better to do, so I¡¯ll just follow her.

    Sniffing the air, I think it¡¯s safe to say that she¡¯s doing a terrible job of retracing her steps. The scents are still clear in the air and she¡¯s gone off course, and now she¡¯s nowhere near the path she ran to get here.

    I give a little huff and a grunt, which catches her attention. So I use my head to direct her toward the path she actually took to get here.

    She stares at me for a moment, but then walks in the direction I gestured.

    She still looks quite sad, but she¡¯ll be okay. I¡¯m here to keep her safe. I¡¯m just following her for now, though, at least I do until she stops and looks around, seemingly unsure of where to go from here.

    Her sense of smell must be awful because the scent trail is very clear. Well, I guess I¡¯ll just help out a little more. So instead of relying on her to show the way, I take over and walk the same path that she ran to get here.

    Now that I¡¯m leading with my excellent nose, finding her basket won¡¯t be a problem at all. A short walk later, and she¡¯s quick to spot it.

    She rushes over and rummages through the contents, finding a broken bottle. She looks absolutely heartbroken, but there¡¯s still a bit of glowing liquid left in it.

    Slowly, she gets up again and walks over to me, then hugs my leg again.

    Bring the broken bottle to her lips; she drinks the small bit of liquid, and I feel a tingling sensation.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, dragon! I didn¡¯t know Elder Charo would try to bind you. Please don¡¯t hurt the town, you can have me instead! It was my fault. I just needed to say fhrah [sorry]! Eb se fhrah! E nura soro er wara Fara je, themar! [I am so sorry! I just hope you can forgive us, dragon.]¡±

    Okay, I didn¡¯t expect that. I just sorta stare at her for a while. Clearly that was a very useful potion.

    And dragon? Now that she mentions it, it does make sense. But dragons are legendary and I¡¯m just¡­ me¡­

    After a moment, she lets go of me and just sits down in front of me. I''m not sure what to do here or what she expects of me, maybe that I would eat her, but I really don¡¯t want to¡­ Well, I kinda do. Turns out her people are even more delicious when chewed.

    Why does my mind immediately go to food? Stop it, Mind, I like her, so she is not on the menu.

    I¡¯m gonna have to keep this impulse to eat folks in check. That could definitely get me in trouble.

    Making myself think about something else, I remember that I¡¯m covered in blood, gore, and grime. I clear some dirt again and start making another little forest diorama.

    Perhaps I can get her to show me the lake or some sort of other watery forest feature.

    To my surprise, I¡¯m not actually that bothered by the blood and gore caked onto my body, but I do mind that I don¡¯t mind, so I want to do something about it.

    Annoyingly, she seems to get the idea before I even finish my little art project. She could at least have waited until I finished it. I was putting a lot of effort into it¡­

    Oh well. She picks up her somewhat tattered basket and empties it of her money. It looks like she doesn¡¯t trust the basket to hold her money, so she quickly pockets the collection of coins.

    She looks around for a bit and then starts leading the way towards somewhere. Hopefully the lake, but who knows where this little one will take me. It could be anywhere with a nose that weak.

    This time though, I¡¯m not gonna let my guard down if we get close to anything I might consider dangerous or suspicious. I¡¯m gonna be ready for anything this time.

    She may have apologized, but I¡¯ve realized that I don¡¯t actually know her. She did seem genuinely upset about how things had turned out though.

    Now that things have settled down and we¡¯re moving towards something specific, I find myself focusing less on specific smells, and I pick up that lovely pocket scent again.

    But this time, it¡¯s not coming from her pocket; it¡¯s from her basket!

    Focus, Kira, we¡¯re not robbing people today. A few lost coins between friends is one thing, but if I just take her money now, I¡¯d be robbing her.

    We¡¯ve been walking for some time, and I can suddenly smell new things, and I¡¯m fairly confident that I¡¯m hearing waves as well.

    If I had known what lakes smelled like, I would probably have been able to find this place easily enough.

    As we breach the forest¡¯s edge surrounding the lake, I rush ahead onto a rocky beach and leap into the water. The water feels so refreshing as the small waves crash against my body.

    Soon enough, I find myself thrashing around in the water and brushing against the rocky lake floor. The grime and dirt are falling off my scales in chunks.

    Guess I underestimated how dirty I was, well, still am. I¡¯ve got plenty of bathing left to do before I¡¯m clean. An excellent excuse to keep playing around!

    After an appropriate amount of playing around in the water, I look up at the bank and see Little One with a smile. Unfortunately, her smile quickly fades as she notices me watching her.

    I still feel a little betrayed by the whole ordeal, but I¡¯m confident that she really didn¡¯t mean for me to get attacked.

    So the best thing to do is get even. Dipping my head below the surface, I fill my mouth with water and walk out of the lake toward her. Time for some cruel and unusual punishment!

    She¡¯s looking up at me, clearly unsure of what my intentions are. So I just dump the water on top of her and give her a smile.

    She¡¯s completely drenched and clearly shocked. ¡°Er doru! [You ass!]¡± She takes off her vest, shirt and pants, spreading the items out on the rocky beach and stomps off toward the water.

    As soon as she enters the lake, she submerges herself. After a moment, she breaches the surface again with bulging cheeks.

    Oh no, now I¡¯ve done it! Nooo! She''s chasing me! I have to get away from this vicious monster! I try running in circles, but now she''s cutting corners and getting closer! She''s gonna get me!

    Eventually, she manages to get up close and lets loose a torrent of water as I fall over in a totally non-exaggerated fashion.

    I lie on my side, clearly wounded by such a ferocious attack, and then the Little One jumps onto me. She¡¯s laughing quite a bit, and I find myself purring. Turns out, I purr now. It feels good to have some fun.

    I get up and she slides off me. I move towards the water and she¡¯s quick to follow. We get into the water and she starts scrubbing my scales, which feels incredible.

    I thoroughly appreciate the help getting the last of the grime off.

    Night is closing in and Little One starts putting on her clothes again. She bends down and starts poking at the ground. I move over to her so I can see what she¡¯s doing.

    She appears to be drawing a house. I guess it¡¯s time for her to head home, but I don¡¯t really want her to.

    Come on, Kira, don¡¯t be selfish. She needs to go home to be safe, even though I¡¯m confident that I could keep her safe.

    I notice her frowning a little, so I guess she can tell that I¡¯m reluctant to return to her town. But I still want to make sure she¡¯s safe on her journey back, especially because it¡¯s getting quite late.

    It¡¯s unavoidable that she has to return home, so we start heading back towards the town. I¡¯m still a little reluctant to go, so I may be dragging my feet a little to make the journey slower.

    But whatever, I¡¯m a dragon apparently, so I can do what I want. Who¡¯s gonna say no to a dragon?

    Most of our trip back to the town is spent in quiet enjoyment of each other¡¯s company. I can¡¯t quite place why I¡¯m so comfortable with Little One¡¯s presence; I just am. I can question that later, because it doesn¡¯t feel wrong, forced, or intrusive.

    With those thoughts, I¡¯m reminded of Old One again, which elicits an unintended growl. Little One looks up at me with worry in her eyes, but I just nudge her with my cheek. That is enough to return a smile to her face. She gets it.

    We make our way to the edge of the woods, standing around for a bit, and I did not expect to see that.

 Chapter 3: The Alchemists Ordeal

    The Bestiary of Legends. Written by Caspariel the Heretic.

    Topic: Dragon scales.

    A Dragon¡¯s scales are not only protection against the blade, but they are also capable of resisting most magic. This makes any Dragon a formidable foe, as the Dragon can be considered to be wearing armor matching that of the Heroes of Old.

    The strength, protection, and durability of a Dragon¡¯s scales appear to be tied to the Dragon¡¯s own magical reserves as well as its age. None of which can be determined purely by visual inspection.

    Common knowledge claims that Dragons are similar to the basilisk, but this is incorrect. Basilisks shed their skin and molt large sections of skin, whereas the Dragon¡¯s scales are far more similar to ever-renewing feathers. Although instead of being feathers, the scales are far closer to being teeth in approximation, even that is inaccurate.

    Regardless of what the scales truly are, what they do is truly remarkable. Everyone knows that they function to protect the flesh of the Dragon, but few know that instead of being akin to the toughened skin of a basilisk, the scales of a Dragon overlap, creating a similar function as that of the scale mail, which is truly appropriately named, I might add.

    The overlapping nature of the scales serves to protect the Dragon from blade, blunt, and arrow.

    I have yet to understand exactly how the Dragon¡¯s scales achieve such excellent function. Even when the Dragon is struck directly, the strike appears to have less of an impact than it ought to. Whether this is by the nature of the beast¡¯s magic or an innate property is unknown.

    Much to my peers'' and my own surprise, when a Dragon prepares for combat, the scales knit tightly together, offering additional protection. Whether there are secondary functions tied to this trait is unknown, but it is speculated that this knitting of scales inhibits the Dragon¡¯s ability to draw in ambient magic.

    To circumvent a Dragon¡¯s defenses, one must strike from behind in order to force a blade beneath the scales before the knitting, or strike with such force as to shatter the scales.

    Once a scale has been broken, it must be replaced by a new growth, as a bird would a feather. This, I believe, is a result of the nature of the scales, which makes them tremendously tough, but this toughness also brings a certain fragility, much like pottery.

    If one considers the scaled parts of a Dragon to be unassailable, how does one then engage a Dragon with a hope to win? Most would again think of the basilisk and tell you to attack the belly, but this is merely a brave way to die. To reach the belly, you must get within reach of the talons, which will surely bring your demise.

    Should you choose to still attack the belly, you¡¯ll soon find that instead of proper scales, the belly is covered in ridged, hide-like belly scales, which are certainly easier to breach than the covering scales but will surely require a true strike.

    So, to defeat a Dragon, one must bring overwhelming force capable of subduing it for long enough for a true strike to be delivered.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Sitting around a large table in an ornate room were three Elders. The elected Leaders of the town, although at this time one chair remained empty.

    The Elders had called this council meeting in the wake of the events that had transpired outside the western gate.

    They needed solutions to solve this crisis, as the price to quell the rage of a Dragon was often far steeper than a town like theirs could manage.

    ¡°I say we offer up Elder Charo for this grievous error in judgment and hope to appease the Dragon!¡± proclaimed an older gentleman.

    Sitting around him in the meeting hall were two others. An older woman and another old man.

    The speaker, Elder Turo, had spoken in equal parts jest and twisted hope that the others would agree to his proposal, but he knew the others would not go for it.

    His co-Elders would not directly oppose his suggestion, but they were certain not to approve.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ We should really suggest other options before that, Turo.¡± The one to speak this time was the other man, Elder Brahan. ¡°But we certainly must do something. To have angered a Dragon is certainly a dire mistake, especially for an Elder. At the very least, she must be kicked off the council. If she survives her injuries.¡±

    Making her presence known, Elder Mako cleared her throat before voicing her opinion. ¡°But are we sure the creature was a Dragon? What I mean is that it was brought here by¡­ Raya was it? The gatherer child. I doubt any true Dragon would be lured in so easily and peacefully. It does not match the legends.¡±

    With a sigh, Elder Turo spoke again. ¡°If you wish to clear any doubt, I would suggest you go ask it yourself, Elder Mako.¡± It was clear from his expression that Elder Turo wanted this meeting over with.

    But much to his chagrin, the other two were infamous for their needless yammering and damn near endless ability to not come up with solutions until the very town they lived in burned around their ears.

    Chipping in with his usual fence-sitting, Elder Brahan began speaking. ¡°Assuming it is a Dragon, what options are available to us? Dragons are ruthless, vengeful, and brutal creatures. No doubt we¡¯re already doomed by the actions of Charo in such a case.¡±

    The man was clearly still undecided on whether they were dealing with a Dragon or not. But at least he was cautious enough to consider the possibility of the beast being a Dragon.

    His motto had always been to prepare for worse than you think will hit you. Though this had begun slipping with age.

    Each of the Elders had been selected for what their personalities brought to the table. The town had prospered under the leadership of the increased perspectives, although the Elders themselves rarely left a meeting without a headache.

    Elder Mako was known for her tendency to deliberate on any subject, slow to act without sufficient information. Her guidance had secured plans for surviving winters, greatly reducing the town¡¯s risk of starvation.

    Elder Brahan had a tendency to be overly cautious, to the point of being paranoid. This tendency had brought much-needed safety for the outriders and hunters.

    They were now better equipped thanks to his inexhaustible ideas and ruminations on how they would meet their demise.

    Elder Charo took many risks for the benefit of the town. Her affinity for impulsive action had brought riches and, until now, had carried only reasonable risk. She made sure the town wouldn¡¯t stagnate.

    Finally, Elder Turo, a man of action, brought the plans of the others into the world. Mako would spend too long thinking, and Turo would act to bring the ideas into reality.

    Brahan would be caught in panics, and Turo would pull him back to sanity. Finally, Charo would start projects and ideas but rarely finish them, which is when Turo would step in. In many ways, Elder Turo was both the lead and the shackle for the town.

    With a gruff face, Elder Mako expressed her displeasure at Turo¡¯s insistence that the beast was a Dragon. A costly assumption in the face of too little evidence.

    The beast had shown too few traits of the legendary Dragons. More than likely, she thought, it was merely a wayward flame basilisk that had wandered into the forest and somehow taken a liking to the gatherer girl.

    ¡°So what if it is a flame basilisk instead? They can easily be mistaken for Dragons in the right light, and it was quite late when the sleep-deprived girl brought it.¡±

    Elder Turo couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh as his peer continued to deny something so obvious. ¡°Did either of you speak to the woman or anyone she has had contact with today?¡± Neither Elder Mako nor Elder Brahan reacted, seemingly content to just stare at Elder Turo.

    ¡°I did. Well, to be precise, I didn¡¯t talk to her. As soon as she left her home, she sprinted towards the northern shopping district. To a certain elven alchemist¡¯s shop. What she told him was enough to convince him that it is indeed a Dragon we¡¯re dealing with. At the very least, he was convinced enough to part ways with a Mind Bridge Potion. Given to Raya practically for free.¡±

    Hearing this caused a stir in the other two, but it was Elder Brahan who finally spoke up. ¡°Why would he do that? Those potions aren¡¯t very useful, but they¡¯re expensive to brew. Certainly, the value lost won¡¯t be easily recovered.¡± Tapping his chin, Elder Brahan pondered the new information, unsure of what to make of it.

    It was common knowledge in the town that Joras was eccentric at the best of times, but to throw around wealth like that was beyond the scope of eccentricity.

    It was firmly in the territory of madness. But that bizarre man had a tendency to always turn a bad situation around; somehow, he never made an outright bad deal.

    The three Elders continued to bicker for hours on end without reaching an agreement. Even the simple facts of the situation couldn¡¯t be agreed upon.

    Frustration getting the better of him, Elder Turo slammed his fists on the table.

    ¡°We have the testimony of the guards present, we have the injuries of the wounded guards, we have Charo¡¯s injuries, and the conviction of an elf! What more could you want? That the damnable thing eats you?! This is no mere Basilisk! No Basilisk could do to Charo what this beast did, nor could it heat the helmet of the guard standing near her to the point of deformation!¡±

    Leaning forward with a sigh, Elder Mako spoke once again. ¡°Fine, if we move forward with the ASSUMPTION that this beast is indeed a Dragon, what can we do? Surely a Dragon wouldn¡¯t just let the town stand after having been assaulted by a binding ritual.¡±

    There was truth to Elder Mako¡¯s words. Dragons were infamously vindictive and vengeful towards anyone who attempted to subdue them, particularly with magical bindings.

    Stories of great wizards and mages attempting to bind Dragons with magic were plentiful and always ended in one of two ways: either the caster was burned to death or eaten. It was difficult to say which was worse.

    ¡°Can we teach the girl the Mind Bridge spell and have her request leniency on our behalf?¡± Finally, Brahan was chipping in with something useful, thought Turo.

    ¡°Does anyone know where she is?¡± Even while asking, Turo, of course, already knew she had left town right after her visit with Joras.

    So she was somewhere deep in the forests, most likely searching for her Dragon.

    ¡°Returning to my first suggestion of sacrificing Charo for the safety of the town, I add to it that, from a legal standpoint, we should treat the Dragon as Raya¡¯s pet. Furthermore, taking that into consideration, Charo¡¯s actions should be seen as a breach of law, the attempt to forcibly steal a companion from another. Unless either of you have a better suggestion, or any suggestion.¡±

    Turo was growing tired of this charade; they both knew what must be done for the town to have any hope of dealing with the Dragon peacefully.

    And this gesture would serve as both retribution for the hostile acts against it as well as submission to its will.

    ¡°Perhaps it is you we should remove from the council, Turo; those are extreme suggestions.¡± Mako didn¡¯t have much to add, there were too many unknowns for her, but this idea from Turo just didn¡¯t sit well with her.

    Undoubtedly, he was looking to get rid of Charo, who had been a thorn in his side for some time.

    As usual, Brahan was on the fence, unable to make up his mind either way, so this session was destined to continue for quite some time.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Joras was delighted at Raya¡¯s visit. This was a development he could not have predicted. The opportunity to meet an actual Dragon! What a magnificent turn of events!

    The moment Raya departed from his store, he rushed back to his brewing stand, hoping the potions hadn¡¯t spoiled. Oh, he could not let this opportunity slip by! And what frustration to need to finish his project!

    Raya¡¯s arrival had coincided with Joras brewing a new batch of Healing Potions, which the town frequently commissioned. A job that needed to be finished before he could head out.

    Healing Potions weren¡¯t particularly expensive to brew, but they were easy to mess up. And because of that, he needed to mind them as they progressed through the tubes of his alchemical equipment.

    Any moment he deemed safe, he rushed through his store to collect the necessary potions for a journey to the forest.

    Potions to make him quieter, to mask his presence, and whatever else he could think of for a trip into dangerous territory.

    With time having passed much faster than he would have liked, he slung his satchel over his shoulder and stomped towards the door, but as he reached for the knob, it swung inward. A frustrating interruption to his now busy schedule.

    Oh, the torment of having to maintain his mundane tasks as a shopkeeper, but be a shopkeeper he must.

    Much to his surprise, it wasn¡¯t just any customer entering his store. It was one of the council members. Elder Turo had shown up in person.

    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    If he had to assess the usefulness of the members, Elder Turo would be firmly planted in second place.

    For all the frustration Elder Charo brought, she knew how to get things rolling. Comparatively, the other two were practically useless in Joras¡¯ opinion.

    ¡°Yes, what do you want, Elder?¡± The question had been more of an obligation than interest. What Joras wanted was for this man to leave so he could finally leave to find Raya and the Dragon.

    But entertaining Elders when they showed themselves was a necessary dance if he wanted to stay in town.

    Without their protection, Joras would have been forced out long ago.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking for information about a certain young woman, a gatherer by the name Raya, do you know her or of her?¡±

    Oh, how frustrating for him to have added to his question. Not an easy question to dodge without lying. And outright lying was something Joras didn¡¯t do. Which was something Turo knew well.

    ¡°Of course I know of her. She¡¯s my primary supplier of mundane herbs. A dutiful little gatherer, that one. And she has a knack for finding excellent specimens.¡±

    ¡°That she certainly does. Though I suspect she found something a little better than a mere excellent specimen yesterday. And given that you¡¯re being evasive, I assume she came in here today. And since it¡¯s still early, she wouldn¡¯t have any herbs to sell, which means she wanted something.¡±

    Damn that Turo, he really knew how to get under Joras¡¯ skin. Every inquiry and statement drawn out to make Joras more impatient. The Elder hadn¡¯t asked a question this time, which meant that Joras didn¡¯t have to answer, but silence could easily be its own answer.

    Especially when the other party has more information than they¡¯re letting on. Feeling fed up with this ordeal and wanting to get moving, Joras decided to just get it over with.

    ¡°I¡¯ll assume you already know a considerable amount about this situation, so I¡¯ll just skip the foreplay. She was here; she wanted a Mind Bridge Potion, which she couldn¡¯t afford. So I offered an exchange: a potion for information. She agreed, so I offered to buy any Dragon¡¯s blood she might acquire. Which she declined. And then she left.¡±

    With a hmm, Turo mulled over the new things he had learned. ¡°You say she refused. Can I assume it was because she didn¡¯t want to, rather than that she couldn¡¯t?¡± Frustrating to the end for Joras.

    ¡°Indeed, otherwise she would have acted differently and explained why she couldn¡¯t. Now, you have your information, and I have things to do, so you should leave, Elder Turo.¡±

    Joras practically shoved the Elder out of his shop.

    Having finally extricated himself from the elder¡¯s frustrating questioning, Joras was headed toward the forest.

    He wouldn¡¯t have much of a chance tracking down Raya if not for the fact that he had applied a minor tracking spell to the potion he had given her.

    Entering the forest, he opened his satchel and prepared the first four potions brought for this trek.

    It was well known that consuming multiple potions in a short time would lead to magical depletion, an awful condition that feels as if your blood is simultaneously frozen and on fire, often leading to delirium for the unaccustomed, potentially even to unconsciousness.

    The effects of magic depletion would last the full duration of the potions consumed. In his case, this would be an entire day, though different potions, of course, had different durations.

    But Joras knew this well enough and kept his tolerance high. He fully intended to go through with his preparations, so he started out with the Potion of Scent Erasure.

    A simple potion which conceals the consumer¡¯s scent, making them undetectable to all but the most well-trained of tracking beasts.

    Exactly how it worked was a mystery. Even scents attached to clothing would become hidden with the effects of this potion.

    Next was the Potion of Silent Steps. This potion not only silenced the consumer¡¯s movements, but also enhanced intuition, allowing the user to avoid stepping on branches or creaky floorboards, whichever the case may be.

    The third was a Potion of Enhanced Hearing, a simple thing, but remarkably useful for many purposes, from simply keeping watch to outright torture.

    And finally, a Potion of Enhanced Endurance. This one wasn¡¯t strictly necessary, Joras just felt that he wasn¡¯t quite in shape to wander through a forest unaided.

    He had spent years in his shop, neglecting his body in favor of improving his chosen profession.

    Joras had already begun feeling the effects of magic depletion after the third potion, but he was determined to find this Dragon. Fighting against the effects, he set out on his trek into the woods.

    And so the journey began. Joras felt the tracking spell guiding him towards the potion he had given Raya, and, to his surprise, it was quite a distance into the woods.

    Sensing the trajectory of the tracking spell, he was headed southwest. This would take him close to Undine Lake.

    About half an hour into his trek, he cursed at the humidity of the forest and the unreliable terrain. Swearing that once he returned to town, he would not neglect his body any further.

    This ordeal was torture for the elven alchemist, further compounded by the toll magic depletion was taking on him.

    Looking around, he was surprised to see a significant amount of useful herbs growing. Had Raya been planting them? These plants should not be growing so close to town, at least not in this quantity.

    If that was the case, he had severely underestimated her competence. Not that he considered her incompetent, but this was beyond the scope of what was expected.

    Pushing those thoughts aside, he continued his journey into the forest. The tranquil sounds of his surroundings were interrupted by a reminder of why he had consumed the potions.

    A pack of dire wolves was approaching. He heard them long before he saw them, giving him ample opportunity to find shelter to keep him out of sight.

    Although Joras was confident he could win a battle against the wolves, he could not do so without sustaining injuries, which would be an unnecessary risk out here.

    He may still be close enough to town to be able to return, even injured, but such injuries would be costly to recover from. An unnecessary burden when caution easily prevented that outcome.

    Having decided against engaging the pack, he crouched down behind a fallen log and waited out the pack of wolves. They were in no rush to move, and because of that, neither was Joras.

    They passed by, but he continued to wait, making sure they wouldn¡¯t see him as he emerged from his shelter.

    Joras returned his focus to the tracking spell, which indicated that the potion¡¯s bottle hadn¡¯t moved for some time. Which Joras found quite worrying.

    By his estimate, Raya was by far the person most familiar with these woods out of all those in town who ventured outside the walls. She practically lived out here.

    Even experience was no guarantee of safety, though. None but the Gods could prevent any and all accidents that might befall someone wandering in the wilds.

    This notion was, of course, reinforced by Raya¡¯s own retelling of how she had met the Dragon.

    With his attention brought to Raya¡¯s story as told by the guards, Joras thought it quite peculiar. An almost divine stroke of luck to not only be saved from certain death at the jaws of the ferocious wolves, but to be saved by an even greater foe.

    One which turned out to be benevolent. It was unfathomable, and the Dragon matched none of the stories he knew of. To his knowledge, this was truly unheard of.

    No doubt the Dragon had taken her coin. Joras knew Raya always kept her coin pouch close by, having had it stolen in the past.

    But she had arrived at his shop with a very specific amount of coin. The exact amount Joras had given the guard in exchange for Raya¡¯s herbs.

    This had been his motivation to bring his own coin pouch. No doubt he could grease the wheels, as it were.

    Though he found himself hoping any payment the Dragon might request wouldn¡¯t be too steep. This venture was already proving quite costly.

    The total value for the potions was nearing fourteen gold. Easily worth it if his schemes succeeded, but a significant loss if he were to fail, in more ways than simply financial.

    He knew about his reputation in town for never striking a bad deal, but the source of that reputation was simply his willingness to accept a small loss in profits for a given potion.

    A potion crafted for one client could easily be sold to another at a slight discount, after all.

    It helped that he was the only alchemist in the region willing to take that risk, so people came to him for their odd requirements.

    Joras could feel himself getting close to the location of the tracking spell, it still hadn¡¯t moved, which wasn¡¯t likely to be good news.

    As he turned a final corner, he found the shards of glass that used to be the potion.

    Searching the area, Joras found clear evidence of something big coming through here, most likely a type of bear, and judging by the lack of general damage, an intelligent one at that.

    That was a problem, but he needed to look for other clues.

    Searching carefully, he found the tracks of a second large animal, reptilian, judging from the prints.

    It had entered the area from a second direction and left in the direction of the lake.

    This left him with a couple of options: either follow the bear tracks and see what had transpired, or go to the lake, assuming those tracks were from the Dragon.

    So now was the time to do what he always did in these cases. A secret weapon no one knew he frequently used.

    He flipped a coin.

    Fate had spoken, and off he went towards the lake.

    He wasn¡¯t too far from the lake, which was quite a blessing, as the magic depletion was really taking its toll, and he needed to rest.

    Pressing on, Joras finally made it to the clearing of the lake, drenched in sweat from the humid forest and exertion, but it was worth it as he saw something truly unique. A Dragon dumping a mouthful of water onto a young woman.

    ¡°You ass!¡±

    Raya started to undress down to her underwear and walked into the water, dipping her head under and, to Joras¡¯ surprise, she started chasing the Dragon.

    The scene unfolding before his eyes was unreal. No story had ever told of Dragons allowing others to treat them as prey or even playing as equals. Dragons were simply too prideful.

    Oh, this would be an interesting mystery to uncover. Ideas were swarming in Joras¡¯ head, so many opportunities with a compliant Dragon.

    But for now, he was content simply to watch the pair frolic in the water.

    As the day continued, the Dragon and Raya¡¯s intensity died down to a much calmer pace, eventually settling into simply enjoying each other¡¯s company.

    Still merely skulking in the shadows of the treeline, Joras kept watch even as evening approached.

    Not a single thing had happened for quite some time. Joras feared he might even fall asleep due to exhaustion caused by both exertion as well as the magic depletion.

    But then finally, movement. The pair got up and, as if contemplating what to do, stared at each other for a moment. Finally starting the trek back to town.

    Joras couldn¡¯t help but be curious about how the Dragon would handle that situation as well as seeing whatever madness the Elders had finally settled on.

    As the unlikely duo made their way through the forest, Joras followed suit, making sure to keep some distance to avoid being spotted.

    The path taken by the duo showed Raya¡¯s superiority when it came to navigating the woods. Where Joras had struggled with branches and bushes grabbing onto his clothes.

    Raya gracefully leaped from one root to another, seemingly making sure to use paths that the Dragon could fit.

    He wasn¡¯t sure why, but it seemed to him that the two were keeping a slower pace than they were capable of. Something for which he was grateful.

    His thoughts were brought back to their destination and what the town of Tuiran could do about this looming threat.

    He had no doubt any defensive or offensive measure the town could muster would at most wound the Dragon. He might be able to kill it, but the cost would be terrible.

    Caught up in his thoughts, Joras didn¡¯t realize Raya and her friend were slowing down, but he was brought back to the situation at hand as the two had stopped, and the Dragon let out a low growl. Showing clear displeasure at the presence of the town.

    He watched the two as Raya brought a hand up and placed it on the snout of the Dragon, seeming to bring the Dragon¡¯s head closer and giving it a hug.

    As he found himself hoping to overhear anything Raya might say, he was surprised to find himself in a rather unfavorable situation.

    He hadn¡¯t realized just how close to the two he had gotten. Where he stood, he would be visible even to a half-blind human.

    The Dragon had disengaged from Raya¡¯s hug and turned to face him, and as their eyes met, the Dragon¡¯s growl intensified. It seemed they had both been surprised.

    Unsure of how to handle the situation, Joras threw himself to the ground, hoping a show of submission would keep him safe.

    ¡°Uhm, what are you doing, Joras?¡± Evident from her tone, Raya had not expected to see him here.

    ¡°I¡¯m showing submission, so ideally I don¡¯t get eaten.¡± He said with surprising calm.

    ¡°No, I mean, how come you were following us?¡±

    Looking up, his gaze shifted between the Dragon and Raya. ¡°Do you think your Dragon friend would mind if I got up? The forest floor is remarkably uncomfortable.¡±

    Raya just shrugged, not giving much indication either way.

    The Dragon had stopped growling, which Joras took to mean approval of his intentions to get up.

    ¡°So, how come I am following you. Quite simple, really. I wanted to know for sure whether or not it was a Dragon you met. And as it turns out, that is most definitely a Dragon.¡±

    Raya¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change much at his declaration, but she did take on a more guarded stance as she didn¡¯t know what his intentions were.

    Joras found himself getting frustrated with the ongoing stalemate, so he began rummaging through his satchel.

    Feeling the markings of the potion he sought, he brought it out of his satchel and held it toward Raya.

    ¡°Drink this, little lady, then speak on my behalf.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not just gonna drink some random potion.¡± Frustrating as it was to Joras, that wasn¡¯t an unreasonable policy.

    Doubting he¡¯d get anywhere in his position, he decided to pivot and focus on the Dragon instead of Raya.

    So he pointed at the Dragon, opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue. Appearing somewhat confused as it cocked its head, the Dragon soon followed suit.

    As the Dragon stuck out its tongue, Joras sprang into action. He pulled out his thin, pointed dagger as he stepped forward.

    In a swift motion, Joras placed his unarmed hand on the Dragon¡¯s tongue and plunged the dagger through his hand, into the Dragon¡¯s tongue. The final act necessary was to cast the spell.

    The dagger¡¯s path had brought their blood together, which allowed Joras to use his specialized magic.

    The Dragon¡¯s response to his actions were as aggressive as they were expected. With a twist of its head, it had knocked Joras to the ground. It growled as it loomed over him, he found himself face to face with a very angry Dragon.

    In a rush, he spoke, hoping to quell the Dragon''s rage. ¡°Calm yourself, Dragon. I mean you no harm.¡±

    Raya had been left stunned by the whole interaction. It had been so sudden and she couldn¡¯t even react to it.

    To think that the Dragon had now been attacked twice for trusting her. This was truly awful and it was entirely her fault.

    As Raya was caught up in her own thoughts of what she had done, the Dragon seemed to calm down and withdraw.

    She had expected this to be the end of the elf, but instead he had received a deserved battering. Joras felt the bruises form from the rough treatment and opted to sit, rather than stand.

    Joras looked up at the Dragon with a sense of relief. ¡°I assume it worked then. Just to make sure, please lift your left front leg, Dragon.¡±

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t understand us.¡±

    But much to Raya¡¯s surprise, the Dragon did as requested. Not understanding what was going on, Raya flung herself at Joras, attacking him.

    ¡°You bound her?! She¡¯s supposed to be free, you monster! Let her go or I¡¯ll kill you! I¡¯ll fucking kill you!¡±

    Focusing on protecting his face and fending off the small woman¡¯s attacks, he hurried to explain the situation as best he could.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t bind her! It¡¯s a comprehension spell! All it does is allow for two parties to understand each other through blood! Calm down, you utter lunatic!¡±

    While those two were going at it, the Dragon seemed quite content to just watch the spectacle. The tiny woman was ferocious in her assault of the much larger man.

    His sitting position proved to be a significant weakness, as his height couldn¡¯t be leveraged to keep her from his face.

    As Joras explained what he had done, Raya calmed down and took a moment to digest what he had said.

    ¡°Why did you do that?! Why did you cast a spell on her? Why not just use a potion?!¡± Raya¡¯s anger was palpable as she shouted at the the elf, but to his credit, Joras took the sudden assault in stride.

    ¡°Remember just moments ago as we stood in this very spot and I offered you a potion? THAT was when I wanted to use a potion, but SOMEBODY declined, so I had to pivot and choose a different method!¡±

    The frustration in his voice earned him a growl from the Dragon.

    ¡°You were being suspicious! You¡¯ve clearly been following us for some time for you to end up behind us. And then you suddenly offer a random potion, how could I not be suspicious of that? What if it was poison?! Why didn¡¯t you just drink the potion yourself?¡±

    Pinching the bridge of his nose, he just sighed.

    ¡°I can¡¯t be anything but suspicious, I¡¯m an elf living in a goblin village. And I didn¡¯t drink the potion myself for two reasons. First is that I¡¯m already affected by magic depletion. And second, do you think I would be more trustworthy if I had consumed the potion? Enough of this. Dragon, how about you add something to the conversation, perhaps by introducing yourself?¡±

    The Dragon continued to stare at him, appearing unsure of what to do in this situation. The notion of a Dragon speaking seemed absurd to both the Dragon and Raya.

    ¡°Okay, seems you¡¯re not getting it, so I¡¯ll explain. You are clearly intelligent, at least more so than the beasts around here. You know at least one language, otherwise you wouldn¡¯t understand me. That language is advanced enough to have equivalent words to at least most of what I¡¯ve said so far, correct? So, in order for you to speak, simply try to speak in whichever language you¡¯re accustomed to and the spell should take care of the rest.¡±

    As the Dragon thought about his ramblings, it turned to stare at Raya and stuck out its tongue. Joras looked at the scene and let out a sigh of exasperation. ¡°Fine¡­¡±

    He took hold of Raya¡¯s hand and brought his dagger to her palm. Blood welled from the small cut he made.

    He then guided her hand towards the Dragon¡¯s tongue, but found himself caught in a moment of surprise.

    The previous cut had not only stopped bleeding, but from the looks of it, it had healed already. Another cut was necessary.

    With that done, he cast the comprehension spell once more.

    ¡°It is done. You can now understand each other. The spell will be active some time so do with that what you want.

    The Dragon appeared to perk up as it let out a mix of growls, snarls, and small roars while trying to speak. It didn¡¯t have much success until¡­

    ¡°My¡­ Name¡­ Is¡­ Kira¡­ Not¡­ Dragon¡­¡±

    ¡°Hello, Kira! I¡¯m Raya!¡± Raya exclaimed, a bright smile spreading across her face, appearing to have forgotten the rage she felt mere moments ago.

 Chapter 4: Leverage Given

    Stationed at the western gate of Tuiran stood two guards. As one looked to the other, he spoke in an anxious voice.

    ¡°I can hear people in the woods.¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°Are we going to do something about it?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°Why not? Isn¡¯t it our job to investigate things like that?¡±

    ¡°It is, but I¡¯m not gonna get my head eaten by whatever keeps growling. Can you tell whether it¡¯s a bear, a dire wolf, or that dragon folks keep mentioning? I can¡¯t. Guarding this gate is what I¡¯m paid to do, so guarding is what I do.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t argue with that¡­ Guarding the gate it is.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Raya¡¯s smile turned into a frown as she changed gears from her initial enthusiasm. Her head hung low as she prepared to bring up a subject she wasn¡¯t quite finished with.

    ¡°I¡¯m still sorry about what Elder Charo did to you, Kira. She told me she would use a Mind Bridge spell to talk to you. I shouldn¡¯t have believed her. Elder Charo isn¡¯t really reliable for things like that. Kira, are we friends?¡±

    As Raya waited for a response, her eyes were drawn upward as she made eye contact with the Dragon. In response, Kira moved her head closer to the goblin woman and nudged her, which almost knocked over the goblin woman.

    ¡°Of course we¡¯re still friends, little one. We both got out of it safely.¡± The response brought the wide smile back to Raya¡¯s face.

    ¡°Thanks for saving me from those Dire Wolves, Kira. I was in a lot of trouble back then. There¡¯s no way I could have beaten them.¡±

    Looking up at Kira, she noticed that drool began to drip from the Dragon¡¯s mouth at the mention of the Dire Wolves.

    It was clear by the hunger in Kira¡¯s eyes that she wanted more, and for just a moment, those hungry eyes were drawn to Raya.

    To Raya¡¯s relief, Kira was quick to shake that thought out of her head.

    That one moment had let Raya know that her becoming lunch was a very real possibility, so she found herself wanting to change the subject.

    So she was quick to bring up the topic of herbs. The two of them had gathered quite a few, and they could easily gather even more.

    ¡°It would be so easy for us to earn coin! Oh, that reminds me.¡± Raya rummaged through her pocket, attempting to find two specific coins.

    It took a moment, but she managed to find two silver coins of the correct size. She then held out her hand containing the two coins and spoke to Kira.

    ¡°These are yours. The herbs we gathered sold quite well.¡± A smile spread across her face yet again.

    The smell of coin had changed from a lingering scent in the back of Kira¡¯s mind to a pervasive smell drawing her attention.

    Kira found herself feeling compelled to accept the coins. As she lowered her head to the goblin¡¯s hand, Raya stood stock-still, knowing what the Dragon was about to do.

    Kira¡¯s mouth closed around the goblin¡¯s hand. Raya knew it would happen, but found herself yet again grossed out as the Dragon¡¯s tongue licked her hand far more thoroughly than she wanted.

    Raya could feel Kira swallow the coins. A tug at her arm reminded her of the potential danger, but in equal measure reminded her that she had a new friend she could trust.

    ¡°Sho good¡­¡±

    ¡°Uhm, Kira. I know this is how you do things, but I¡¯m not comfortable with my hand in your mouth more than necessary. Your teeth are very sharp.¡±

    Kira¡¯s eyes locked onto Raya, and she opened her mouth for the goblin to withdraw the now-drenched hand.

    ¡°Sorry¡­¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t cast my spell for fun or whimsical interactions. Could you please listen to why I sought you out, Kira?¡± Joras felt that interrupting the two would be detrimental to his cause, but as his patience dwindled, so did his manners.

    Kira¡¯s eyes locked onto him, which caused him to pause for a moment, but with courage gathered again, he was ready to plead his case.

    ¡°Kira, I would like to offer you a deal. I need an alchemical catalyst for a personal project, a potent one, and it just so happens that Dragon¡¯s Blood is one such catalyst.¡±

    As soon as he had mentioned Dragon¡¯s Blood, Kira let out a growl, showing clear displeasure at the notion.

    ¡°Now either listen or use your words, Kira. Growling doesn¡¯t convey as much meaning as you might think, but it does make Raya nervous.¡±

    Kira¡¯s eyes flocked to Raya, and the elf had been correct. Raya did indeed look unnerved.

    The growling stopped abruptly, and Kira turned to face the elf again. She appeared to have calmed down, which was all the invitation Joras needed to continue.

    ¡°So, as I mentioned, I need a catalyst, and I am willing to pay for it. I can pay you eight gold for a single vial of your blood.¡±

    Kira didn¡¯t know anything about the economy of this place, so she opted to defer to the only person available for her to rely on. As she looked to Raya, she found the goblin standing with her mouth agape.

    ¡°That¡¯s so much coin¡­¡± Raya had clearly been impressed by the offer, which just served to inform Kira of how valuable her blood would be.

    ¡°No.¡±

    The elf clicked his tongue as he glared at Kira. ¡°How about this: one vial of blood for ten gold, and I will help you learn more about yourself.¡±

    That gave Kira pause. She did need to learn more about herself, but she also suspected that this trade meant far more to the elf than he let on.

    As she struggled to speak, even with the spell¡¯s assistance, she managed to ask for what, exactly, he needed the blood for.

    The elf launched into a monologue about how his partner had been attacked while out adventuring and how this partner of his was currently dying.

    The blood was necessary for a curative potion. With a strong enough catalyst, the potion would be capable of overcoming the affliction affecting his partner.

    ¡°So my motives revolve around my own wants and the needs of those I care about. And I don¡¯t particularly care what you get up to once I have what I want.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    I don¡¯t know if I can trust this guy. He feels very questionable and shady. And giving blood to an admitted blood mage sounds like it could be very dangerous. Well, as "admitted" as saying he uses blood magic is.

    Who knows what sort of weird nonsense he could get up to with my blood. On the other hand, it was unexpectedly comforting to have someone outright state what they want from me.

    Given how late it¡¯s getting, I wonder if he¡¯d be up for talking tomorrow instead. So I whip out my best diplomatic voice and growl my way through asking him about just that.

    Judging by his scowl, he doesn''t seem overly enthused by the prospect of waiting slightly longer.

    Or perhaps the problem is returning to the forest, he looks quite damp and ragged. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s an outside person either.

    Maybe I¡¯m getting a bit paranoid here, but I¡¯m still not sure whether this partner of his is actually real. Which is definitely something that would impact my decision.

    ¡°Fine, where do you want to meet?¡± Oh, apparently he is up for it. I suggest the lake, but the grumbling tells me he isn¡¯t really up for the hike.

    ¡°I could go instead.¡± Ooh, great idea, Raya! Then we¡¯d have an excuse to hang out again.

    That apparently caused Mr. Elf to lift an eyebrow. ¡°So you might agree to the deal if Raya can go in my stead? Am I really that untrustworthy?¡±

    You kinda are, buddy. The sneaking and suddenly appearing behind us didn¡¯t help.

    I¡¯m still not entirely sure about this, so I decide to just outright ask him what kinds of risks I, well, risk if I choose to give blood to a blood mage.

    ¡°A surprisingly prudent question¡­ Your worries are valid. With Dragon¡¯s Blood, I would be able to cast some quite devastating spells. There are even some enslavement spells demanding blood. All I can do is promise that I won¡¯t do that. But judging by our brief history, my word means shit.¡±

    For some reason, he seems more sad than angry when he says that. So I consult an expert by asking Raya what she thinks.

    For the most part, she just goes into a rant about how he¡¯s always either happy or angry, sometimes both at the same time. Her rant earns her a glare from the guy, which I kinda get.

    That¡¯s fair when someone calls out your entire personality like that.

    ¡°People around town also talk about him as if he¡¯ll bring ruin or something, but who knows. So far, he has only brought me coin and good deals, so I don¡¯t mind him so much.

    But I don¡¯t have to go far before I find someone who would rather have him leave.¡±

    Geez, I feel kinda sorry for him now. Living in a town that apparently hates him speaks volumes about his options.

    Raya is still talking and mentions how he sells his wares cheaper than other alchemists in town.

    She also brings up how he had given her the Mind Bridge Potion, only asking her to tell him about what happened to Elder Charo.

    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    Using my keen dragon brain, I deduce that Elder Charo is the Old One I bit yesterday.

    I came to this conclusion by reading the obvious disdain and smugness radiating from the elf, and also Raya pretty much told me earlier today.

    At the very least, he and I agree that this Charo person sucks.

    I think for now, I¡¯ll double down on not trusting him. And then ask Raya to check out this story about a partner, since she didn¡¯t actually mention anything about that. Which just adds to the suspiciousity.

    The disappointment in his eyes is apparent as he looks at me, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s actually aimed at me.

    ¡°What can I do to make you trust me just a little? I feel like this is excessive, even for strangers¡­¡± A good question, so I point out that he could start by introducing himself, which he hasn¡¯t done so far.

    ¡°Fuck me¡­ That¡¯s a fair point, and I apologize. I am Joras, I¡¯m an elf from the forests of the midlands. I run an alchemist shop in the goblin town of Tuiran. I¡¯m here because certain herbs grow around these parts, which greatly reduces the costs involved in making the potions keeping my partner alive.¡±

    On the plus-side, he seems far more irritated with himself than me.

    ¡°I¡¯m clearly not thinking straight, considering an introduction should have been the first thing I did. Perhaps parting ways for today might just be the better choice before I make an ass of myself a third time... Would the day after tomorrow suit you for a meeting?¡±

    I¡¯m gonna agree to that, since I think we¡¯re getting close to midnight and even Raya is yawning quite a lot.

    I tell him that Raya will know how to find me, she just nods, or she¡¯s just nodding off, definitely one of the two.

    I give Raya a final boop for the day and take my leave. As soon as I think I¡¯m out of sight, I turn around and head back towards the two to see them off. Gotta make sure they¡¯re safe.

    To his credit, Joras just picks up Raya and walks off slowly. That¡¯s definitely a point for him. Now he just needs Raya to confirm his story.

    Instead of lingering by the edge of the forest like a creepy weirdo, I head back toward the lake. I wanna see if I can find some place to camp out overnight.

    The trees surrounding the lake are mostly firs and a few oaks or something like that. Just like all the other trees I¡¯ve seen around here.

    I don¡¯t really have much luck finding shelter at ground level, so I end up just climbing one of the oaky tree and claiming it as my own.

    My very own tree fort. I wasn¡¯t really much of a climber in my old life, in part because of city life, but now I¡¯m a climbing machine! These claws are great!

    Speaking of claws, I really should learn more about myself, such as how to use my wings or repeat my flamey shenanigans.

    I¡¯m not sure which to start with, so flip a coin it is! Oh right, I also need to figure out what the deal is with this coin munching. That¡¯s three things right there.

    Three things are enough to qualify for a battle plan!

    Good job being responsible, Kira! Sometimes you just need to encourage yourself.

    Giving it an appropriate amount of thought, and totally not overthinking it, I end up deciding to try out my wings.

    So I leave my comfy tree again and climb down onto the lakeshore. With a few tentative flaps of my wings, I can sorta feel something making sense.

    I can do this for sure! I¡¯m a dragon and flying is what we do!

    Okay, think of other flying animals, like birds. How do birds do it? Well, they just sorta flap and take off, I guess.

    So that¡¯s what I do, which doesn¡¯t prove all that successful. I sorta bang my wings against the ground, which tells me that I need to think about how much I flap my wings.

    Next up, jumping and flapping! This approach certainly earns a better result, and does not at all resulting in me momentarily turning into a scorpion.

    Now I can properly feel myself getting some lift, but not quite enough for flight. It feels like there¡¯s something I¡¯m missing, but without knowing what, I don''t think I can get anywhere.

    I¡¯m just stuck with trial and error. It¡¯s tremendously lucky that I¡¯m so sturdy because I have crashed a LOT. I¡¯m definitely missing something.

    Next up is realizing the sun is rising and I haven¡¯t slept. I¡¯m not feeling particularly tired, but I guess I really should get some rest since I have been up for quite some time.

    I actually do manage to get some rest without falling out of the tree, which is really nice. I also didn¡¯t get attacked by anything, which is also really nice.

    This is now my tree of comfyness. It¡¯s a surprisingly good view from up here, even though I¡¯m not all that far off the ground.

    It certainly would be more tranquil if someone hadn¡¯t caused a bunch of property damage to the beachfront. Wait¡­ It¡¯s not property damage if nobody owns it! That¡¯s a rule now, I said so.

    I¡¯ve decided to just camp out at the lake, which is fresh water, as it turns out. It provides easy access to food and water, and Raya knows where to find me. I am the fearsome lake dragon, hear me rawr!

    The lake itself is surprisingly large and quiet. I kinda expected a lot more lakey noises, but it¡¯s just some quiet squelching from the small waves and some whooshing of the wind in the trees.

    Not much in the way of animal noises, but I have no idea how obtrusive those are supposed to be, anyway.

    So, getting down to business for the day! I am spoiled for choice! I can go explore and learn more about this forest, get some food, or practice dragon stuff!

    Delving into what each topic involves. The first one is probably gonna get me lost since I''m not much of a wayfinder, but then practicing that might also be a good idea.

    The second thing sounds delicious, and I should probably do that, even though I¡¯m more peckish than outright hungry.

    And the third thing would be exploring how to use my dragony superpowers, like fire! Goodness, I can breathe fire, that is so neat! Well, I will be able to once I figure out how I did it, but then that¡¯ll be so neat!

    Exploration is certainly a good choice, since knowing more about what surrounds me is obviously smart, but it does seem likely to get me lost.

    So I guess I¡¯ll go ahead and try hunting a bit, at least then I can follow the trails back with my super sniffer! Off to the woods I go!

    I¡¯m gonna have to not get lost, but I believe in me, so I¡¯ll be fine.

    I head off into the woods, and as I stop focusing so much on overthinking, my dragon senses seem to kick in.

    I¡¯m suddenly bombarded by a myriad of scents, smells, and odors. I can immediately tell that some scents are familiar, and I know I can smell both deer and wolves.

    Luckily, no bears. Those guys are super scary. I should probably have Raya inspect my scales for damage after the fight with that bear. I definitely heard something crack.

    I sniff the air a few more times and pick up the fresh smell of deer, convincing me that one has passed by not long ago.

    It¡¯s sorta thrilling just thinking about hunting down prey, which is definitely a new thing. Add it to the list of things to investigate!

    It doesn¡¯t take me long to pinpoint where the deer went off to, so on my way I go! Well, its way, the deer was here first.

    I catch myself thinking about how much easier it would be if I could just swoop down and grab my prey. I really need to learn how to fly.

    Stop distracting me, me! Focus on stalking this delicious deer. To my surprise, I seem to actually be quite good at this tracking stuff.

    It¡¯s like I can feel the trail in front of me, leading me right to where I wanna go. It doesn¡¯t actually take me that long to find the deer in a large clearing.

    Well, herd of deer, there¡¯s a bunch of those guys. Kinda makes me wanna be greedy, but I should definitely resist that urge.

    It wouldn¡¯t be great to give in to it and hunt more than I can eat. That¡¯s just wasteful.

    Now I just need to pick one out and get ready to chase it down. Or so I think, but they¡¯re all, like, ALL running toward me now, what the heck?! I didn¡¯t do anything yet!

    I hear a wolfy howl and, yeah, that makes sense. A pack of wolves is hunting as well, so I quickly climb a tree and wait to snatch up one of the deer.

    I can definitely drag it up here, safe from the wolves. It doesn¡¯t take long at all for the deer to pass under me, so I quickly jump down on top of one and strike with my jaws.

    Got it! I got one! The feeling of my teeth sinking into its flesh is fantastic. I quickly pull it up into my tree. Evidently, I was a bit rough with it in my rush because it is definitely dead, and I think I broke its neck.

    I don¡¯t even bother waiting for the wolves to pass by; I just chow down on this delicious meat. Before I know it, I¡¯m breaking bones and just swallowing large chunks of meat. It¡¯s so damn delicious.

    In my definitely controlled and not at all distracted state, the wolves seem to have noticed me up here and are circling my tree.

    Luckily, wolves can¡¯t- ¡­ Unluckily, wolves CAN climb trees! What the heck!

    Suddenly these dang wolves are on me, four of ¡®em. They quickly surround me, which I find impressive, since we¡¯re in a tree, but I refuse to compliment them! They¡¯re out to get me, I tell ya!

    Using my tail to lash out at one of the wolves to the side of me, it jumps back to avoid the heavy weapon. I take the opportunity to quickly jump to the ground.

    During my descent, the wolves are quick to follow; looks like they¡¯re not gonna let me leave.

    I quickly make my way toward the clearing. I doubt it would be great to allow the wolves to use the trees for cover because I would definitely lose track of one or two of them among the shrubbery and whatnot.

    They¡¯re definitely invested in this whole ¡®hunting me¡¯ business, and I can¡¯t say that I approve.

    Almost as soon as I stop, they encircle me, ready for a fight.

    I lash out with my tail again, but I don¡¯t actually hit anything. One of the wolves takes that opportunity to strike, biting at my front left leg.

    They''re definitely going for my tendons, trying to hobble me.

    The wolf didn¡¯t manage to do much, but its teeth caught on my scales, and I think it managed to pull off a few scales. That is not good.

    I had hoped to rely on my scales, but if I end up losing them, I¡¯ll be screwed. I lash out a few times, alternating between biting, clawing, and sweeping, but the wolves are too agile for me, so I can¡¯t seem to connect.

    Every time I focus on one, the others take turns attacking me, but I can¡¯t see any particular pattern. I¡¯m growing increasingly anxious about this whole situation, and I¡¯m thoroughly regretting that I didn¡¯t learn to fly first.

    It doesn¡¯t take them long before I¡¯m actually bleeding. This freaking hurts! They just keep attacking my legs and I don¡¯t like how well it¡¯s working.

    Offense is not working out for me, I still haven¡¯t had a single attack connect. Think, Kira, think! What can you do?

    After some not-at-all panicky thoughts and definitely not frantic lashing out, I think I might have something.

    I focus on one of them and wait for another to attack. They keep surrounding me in a square formation, and I want one of the connected corners to the one I¡¯m focusing on to attack, so I wait¡­

    It doesn¡¯t take long before the attack happens, and when it does, I fling my wings down and cover it. It tries to rip the membrane, but it isn¡¯t working out for the wolf, so I quickly use the wolf¡¯s panic and strike.

    I bite and rip until it stops moving and refocus on the other wolves, but they seem to have taken the opportunity to skedaddle.

    At least the fighting is over now, so I look down at the wolf I did catch and¡­ I may have been a bit too eager with the retaliation...

    The wolf is a lot redder, flatter, and not in one piece. Okay, yeah, I¡¯d probably run too if one of my friends were suddenly turned into mince.

    Looking down at the gross remains of the wolf, I can¡¯t help but think that it¡¯s one more thing I need to think about.

    I mean, if I lose focus again, something, or someone, could easily end up as a tasty pile of food, and that would be tragic.

    Yeah¡­ I got distracted again and now I¡¯m eating it¡­ These dragon instincts keep sneaking up on me. Well, I got lunch, so that¡¯s nice.

    I think it¡¯s time to head back to the lake and lick my wounds. The wolves did a number on my leg scales and I¡¯m bleeding, not a lot, but enough that I should definitely wash the wound. Now which way did I come from¡­

    Yep, I¡¯m lost. All I can smell is blood, which would probably be helpful in some scenarios, but right now, it¡¯s just distracting.

    Oh, I can definitely smell the deer blood, so that gives me a direction to start with.

    So off I go, I¡¯m just gonna head in that direction and hope for the best. I didn¡¯t stray too far from a straight line when I tracked the deer in the first place, so this should eventually lead me in the proper direction.

    All things considered, I¡¯m enjoying my trek through the woods, even if I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m very lost. If I could find some water and wash my nose, I¡¯d be able to pick up smells better, but for now, everything is just muted compared to the smell of blood.

    I''m not much of a fearsome lake dragon if I can¡¯t find my lake¡­

    I¡¯m not giving up on my lake! My trek continues largely uninterrupted until I realize that I¡¯ve eaten several full-sized animals and I haven¡¯t pooped in two days.

    Is that normal for dragons? I have no idea! I don¡¯t feel bloated or anything like that. I¡¯m just fine, maybe a little peckish.

    I push that weirdness aside and focus on being lost. It¡¯s quickly becoming clear that I¡¯m very good at being lost because I¡¯m not even panicking or overthinking it. Point to Kira for being calm and collected! Mostly.

    Well, I wasn¡¯t panicking until I passed some more trees and saw some freaky shit. A gassy guy standing there and pointing in some direction.

    Not like that! He¡¯s like actual gas or smoke or something, with a white elk skull. I think it''s an elk anyway, antlers and all.

    He¡¯s just pointing with his bony fingers, which look human bony. While I¡¯d like to say he isn¡¯t scary at all, that is not the case; he is very scary, but it¡¯s also nice to not be attacked, so point to the pointing scary guy, I guess.

    Well, this isn¡¯t suspicious at all. Some weird shadow man just standing around, pointing off into the distance. On the other hand, I am quite lost, so maybe I¡¯ll just cautiously go in that direction.

    I make my way towards whatever is at the end of this direction. The trek ends up taking a decent bit of time. At the end of the journey, you''ll find your destination.

    Which turns out to be the lake for me, and I was very lost because that took quite a while, and night is approaching.

    I think I ended up just going way off course immediately when I left the deer clearing. Oh well, it happens. Time to wash all this grime off!

    I rush into the lake, going for a depth at around halfway up my body, and then it¡¯s time to dive a bit! I rub my body against the small rocks at the bottom to get this grime and whatnot off of me, but Raya was so much better at it than I am.

    Stupid fancy dexterity and such. Deciding that, while kinda enjoyable, I don¡¯t really wanna scratch up all my scales, I settle in for a soak until it¡¯s time for bed.

    Getting out of the lake, I head to my tree and climb up. Time for another snooze. Hopefully, Raya and Joras will return, so I can hear what she says. I''m leaning towards helping him with his problem. It seems like the right thing to do.

 Chapter 5: Trust

    The first day back had mostly been spent recovering. Raya was quite exhausted after staying out far too late, but it was so worth it.

    A new friend who was a Dragon! Not even in her wildest dreams could she think up such a thing. This whole thing had been such a bizarre situation for her, she still had trouble understanding it.

    To think it started out with her nearly dying, then getting saved, then getting screwed over by that damn Elder, then nearly dying again, and then a day of watery fun with a Dragon!

    Not to mention Joras being friendlier. Although whether that was because he thought she could get Kira to help or not remained to be seen.

    But why not stay optimistic and assume it was just new hope for this peculiar situation of his making him happier.

    For most of the day, Raya simply moved around town, restocking necessities, unsure of what to do. Mostly, she just wanted to go find Kira again and play around, but the town had rules about leaving too frequently.

    There were many cases of overly eager folks in the past who, in trying to become rich, overextended themselves and ended up never returning.

    Ever since that rule was implemented, the amount of disappearances has fallen drastically, resulting in a steady population growth of the township. Because of this, they were slowly building up a workforce to become self-reliant.

    All in all, the town was doing quite well for itself, to the point that it had even taken up stable trade with nearby villages.

    Many people in the world still saw her kind as mere beasts to be slain, but times were changing, and Joras was proof of this since he was one of the blessed races.

    It¡¯s common knowledge that the blessed races are better than others, especially races like goblins.

    The blessing is granted by their God, such as Korovar, God of Forge and Fire, having blessed the mountain people with strength and longevity.

    Or Terragaraem, God of Humanity and Prosperity, blessing humans with unity and ingenuity.

    Raya never did learn about all the Gods, why would she? They never cared about her or her people, so as far as she was concerned, they weren¡¯t important.

    Deciding not to bother with all that big thinking nonsense, Raya continued her day. She still needed to pick up a few items, and for once, she actually had a decent amount of coin to spend.

    The herbs Kira and she had gathered were quite valuable, and they had found so many! Well, Kira had found so many.

    It didn¡¯t take all that long for Raya to finish up, so it quickly became time to head back home.

    Shortly after entering her home and getting settled, a knock at the door elicited a groan from her. Nobody ever visited her, so who the heck was this interrupting noisemaker?!

    It turned out the interrupting noisemaker was Elder Turo.

    ¡°Hello Raya, my name is Turo. I hope I might be allowed to take up some of your time today, is that possible?¡±

    Raya was immediately suspicious of this polite tone, it was just too buttery and friendly, but then Elder Turo was typically the driving force behind initiatives helping out those often left behind.

    He was the reason she had a small home to call her own. It was he who forced through a new law that the town must have small houses available at all times, so that nobody would have to sleep on the streets.

    The housing did come with a small upkeep fee, but not being able to pay it wouldn¡¯t get you kicked out. It would simply be shouldered by the town until the resident could pay it back over time.

    ¡°Sure, come in, Elder Turo.¡±

    Raya quickly shuffled around, fetching a chair for her guest. ¡°Please calm down, Raya, I¡¯m just here to talk about what I assume is a common interest.¡± That made Raya freeze.

    It was common knowledge that Elder Turo had a fascination with herbs and flowers, but given recent events, Raya doubted that would be the topic today.

    ¡°Uhm, I¡¯m sorry, Elder Turo, I don¡¯t really have much to say about Ki- the dragon, she ran away after Elder Charo attacked her¡­¡±

    Feeling anxiety grip her as she realized she had slipped up, all she could do was hope that he hadn¡¯t noticed, but even she knew such hope wouldn¡¯t last.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Raya, I have no intention of hunting or otherwise hurting the dragon. Right now, we need damage control.¡±

    Judging by the tension in his words, Raya thought it almost seemed like he was furious, but trying his hardest to keep a friendly outward appearance.

    ¡°That idiot Elder Charo acted rashly, and, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d agree, we do not want to be the enemy of a dragon. I¡¯m not looking to hurt or bind¡­ Her¡­ in any way. I just want peace between us.¡±

    Yeah, he had definitely heard her slip up¡­ ¡°I¡¯m not sure how I¡¯m supposed to help, Elder Turo. I¡¯m not exactly someone important or powerful¡­¡±

    He just smiled with his usual forced smile. Raya felt sort of impressed by how clearly exhausted and angry he was about this whole thing, while managing to not make her feel like the target of said emotions.

    ¡°Your status isn¡¯t relevant to me, Raya. All I want is for you to stay friendly with the dragon, and if the opportunity presents itself, perhaps discourage any... retaliation she may be thinking of. But don¡¯t worry too much about such things; it would be quite unreasonable of me to make demands pertaining to such things. That being said, should you need anything, do bring it to my attention, and I¡¯ll do what I can to help."

    It was clear to Raya that he was garnering favor, but the whole thing seemed quite surreal.

    Though, if all she had to do was keep being friends with Kira, then that seemed entirely doable. She intended to stay friends with Kira anyway, but she would definitely have to bring it up with Kira.

    This definitely felt like one of those things that could easily give the wrong impression if left in the dark.

    Not much else was talked about, but Raya found herself getting increasingly anxious, which Turo seemed slow to pick up on, but he was not entirely blind to.

    ¡°I see I¡¯ve overstayed my welcome, so I¡¯ll take my leave. For my closing statement, I wouldn¡¯t mind offering you a retainer position, which would give you a steady income. Although it wouldn¡¯t be much, it would lessen your burden somewhat. And that is definitely a bribe.¡±

    He had said it was a bribe without a shred of shame. It left Raya conflicted, had he made his offer in order to buy her loyalties or just sweeten the pot?

    But that didn¡¯t feel like a thing she could actually ask.

    She didn¡¯t feel like she actually needed the extra coin, since Kira could easily help find valuable herbs, and if Kira helped, Raya wouldn¡¯t be beholden to Elder Turo.

    This was definitely something that would weigh on her going forward, hopefully Kira or Joras would know what to do.

    Between restocking on necessities and Elder Turo¡¯s visit, most of the day had passed, far more stressfully than anticipated, leaving Raya surprisingly exhausted. So she decided on an easy meal and to go to bed early.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The day had started just before dawn when Joras had knocked on Raya¡¯s door and asked her to follow him back to his shop.

    Their quick pace through the streets earned a few curious looks, but it was otherwise uneventful.

    As they arrived at his shop, he unlocked the door and headed inside. Joras motioned for her to follow as they headed into the back room.

    ¡°She¡¯s up here¡­¡± he said as he gestured toward some stairs.

    Raya thought about how Joras likely hadn¡¯t let anyone else into the back room since moving here, at least none that she had heard of.

    As the two got to the second floor, Raya immediately smelled a sickly sweet scent, sending chills down her spine.

    Joras moved quickly toward one of the rooms and opened the door. ¡°Hey, sweetheart, I¡¯m home. I¡¯m sorry for staying out so late, but I think I might be on to something to help you. Maybe even heal you.¡±

    Raya looked out from behind him and saw a pale grey elf.

    The sickly elf¡¯s hair was white as snow, and her skin was taut as a drum around her bones. If Raya didn¡¯t know any better, she would have assumed the elf was one of the undead.

    The sickly elf merely looked up at Joras and smiled, as he knelt down beside her and cupped her cheek in his hand, bending his head down and pressing it to her forehead.

    Considering what she was seeing, Raya became convinced about talking to Kira about the trade. She knew Joras was an ornery old jerk at times, but nobody deserved to be this sick.

    ¡°Mister Joras, uhm¡­ I think we should find Kira¡­¡±

    He didn¡¯t move for what felt like an hour. Then he got up and turned to face the small goblin, tears running down his cheeks.

    ¡°You can go down to the shop, Raya. I¡¯ll be there shortly, I just need a moment¡­¡±

    Which is exactly what Raya did. She had been to his shop many times, as he didn¡¯t haggle much for the prices of herbs, he tended to be very straightforward and stoic.

    That wasn¡¯t something she had expected to see at all. He was just so vulnerable that she felt compelled to help him.

    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    It didn¡¯t take long for him to come down, having composed himself and returned to his usual appearance.

    ¡°So, Raya, where are we meeting Kira?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why you expect me to just be able to find her, Mister Joras.¡± Raya was somewhat exasperated at this sudden responsibility.

    A lot of responsibility seemed to have fallen her way recently.

    ¡°Every time we¡¯ve met, she has found me. And even then, usually when I was about to die, which I¡¯d prefer not to repeat. Again.¡±

    To his credit, Joras merely let out a huff and let the matter go.

    Joras shuffled around the shop, collecting various potions and baubles and adding them to his satchel.

    ¡°Okay, I think I¡¯ve got what we need. Are you ready to head out, Raya?¡±

    Raya just stared at him for a moment, he was being unusually nice.

    Realizing she was caught up in staring, she shook her head, pushing aside her trepidation. She opened the front door, and the two set out to find Kira.

    They made it through town without incident, which was a relief, as Joras had assumed the elders would get up to some nonsense and drag Raya into it.

    Standing by the edge of the forest, Joras pulled out two potions and handed one to Raya.

    ¡°These will cloak our scent, that should be enough to keep most predators from finding us.¡±

    Raya looked at the potion for a moment, contemplating just how much gold the elf was throwing around for this mission of his.

    They settled in to begin their trek, having both started to move towards the lake.

    She caught him staring at her a few times until he suddenly asked, ¡°Raya, how come you gave Kira some of your coin?¡±

    It had been on his mind since it happened. He already knew dragons loved wealth, but Raya giving away her coin freely seemed quite odd, given that Raya had always struggled to earn anything beyond just keeping herself afloat.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s an easy question. She found almost all those herbs for me, so the least I could do is give her her share.¡± Cooperation instead of domination, this was certainly a peculiar dragon.

    Joras thought on this, as well as how the only aggression Kira had shown the town of Tuiran had been provoked by someone from the town. And even that had, frankly, been surprisingly restrained.

    There were a few ways to explain this, but for now, Joras concluded that pondering what-ifs and maybes wouldn¡¯t be helpful.

    The travel through the forest went without incident, and the pair made it to the lake. What they saw was, quite frankly, an utter mess.

    There were clear signs that something had happened, given all the scuff marks on the shore, but exactly what was unclear.

    Joras began inspecting the claw marks and thrown-around dirt, trying to figure out the events that had transpired.

    ¡°I¡¯m only seeing tracks from one creature, which I suspect is Kira, suggesting all this was her doing.¡± Raya had begun searching as well and came to the same conclusion.

    Not wanting to fixate on the messy beach, Raya began looking toward the trees and found something promising.

    Raya pointed out the trail leading toward a large tree, in which Joras quickly spotted a wagging black tail.

    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t expect to answer old philosophical questions today, but how does one wake a sleeping dragon without getting burned, Raya?¡±

    Raising an eyebrow, she just looked at him and shrugged.

    Not wanting to come up with an overly complicated plan, or get eaten by a drowsy dragon, Joras opted for a far simpler solution.

    He brought out his dagger and made a small incision in his hand, then picked up a rock and coated it in a thin layer of blood. One short incantation later, and he threw the rock into the tree, eliciting a furious-sounding growl.

    ¡°What was that, Mister Joras?! Why¡¯d you throw a rock at her?¡±

    ¡°It was a guidance spell and, as you already surmised, a rock. It seemed like the easiest way to wake her, while keeping enough distance for her to recognize us.¡±

    Raya suddenly found herself convinced that this elf was dangerous in ways other than his magic.

    The rock had obviously had some effect, as the duo was quickly greeted by a deep growl.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Who the heck interrupts my nap with deadly artillery?! Admittedly, I get somewhat grumpy when I¡¯m woken up, but to be fair, throwing rocks at me is very rude, I¡¯m a delicate young woman, after all.

    Disregard recent mayhem.

    I quickly climb down my tree, growling a little more than I intended, but then I realize that Raya is here, seeing her immediately improves my mood.

    So naturally I run over to her to engage in the mandatory booping of her cute nose. Me being somewhat larger than her results in the whole thing being closer to a gentle headbutt, and I may have knocked her over. I¡¯ll need to practice being even gentler.

    After an appropriate amount of nuzzling, I realize Joras is here too. At least he isn¡¯t scowling, in fact, he seems to be smiling slightly. Wonder why.

    ¡°Soka un Feli¡­[Like a cat¡­]¡± The big guy seems to have shrunk since we last met, he¡¯s practically my height now, so that¡¯s peculiar.

    But I don¡¯t know what elves do for fun, so who am I to judge? It doesn''t take long for him to pull out two potions and hand one off to Raya, who I may still be pinning to the ground. Her own fault for being adorable; I haven¡¯t done anything wrong.

    They both drink their potions and I feel a peculiar magicky feeling. ¡°I¡¯m happy to see you too, Kira, but could you let me up?¡± Now she¡¯s just asking for more nuzzling. What an unreasonable request.

    ¡°I will consider your request after I consider my options, Raya. So for now, we can''t rush these things!¡±

    ¡°Ahh! Help me, Joras, the mighty dragon is keeping me hostage! What do I do?!¡±

    For his part, Joras just reaches a hand out and touches me, which also gives a peculiar magicky feeling.

    ¡°I would help you, Raya, but alas, it is finite how many requests one can make of a dragon, and I already have my eyes on a different request.¡± Hah! Good job, Joras!

    ¡°Nooo! Doomed to be cuddled!¡± Raya is mine now!

    I may have gotten a bit caught up in playing around, but it''s necessary to have fun once in a while, so no regrets!

    But I shouldn''t be playing around all day, so with great effort and (totally in character) self-control, I lift myself up and release Raya.

    Joras bringing up requests and whatnot reminds me that he actually has a purpose for seeking me out. I¡¯m still not quite sure if I wanna go through with it, so I ask Raya what she thinks, and to my surprise, she looks quite serious as she answers.

    ¡°I think he can be trusted, you should have seen his partner. He definitely needs to do something, and if your blood can help, then it would be the right thing to do. But at the same time, it¡¯s a risk to you, so I don¡¯t know what to do.¡±

    I had assumed that he¡¯d get upset if he didn¡¯t get instant approval, but mostly he just looks somber. He¡¯s earning a lot of points here.

    Even more so, since apparently he noticed my indecision and offered to go straight to teaching me about dragons.

    ¡°So first, can you fly yet?¡± A good question, but alas, I cannot. I explain that I feel like I got somewhere with my whole training montage, but I couldn¡¯t actually fly because something was missing.

    ¡°How much magic did you use?¡± The heck? Is magic needed to fly?

    ¡°Judging by your reaction, we¡¯ll need to teach you to access your magic at will. Hopefully, your nature will make it easier¡­¡± He dares to sigh at me?! I am the mighty lake dragon, I can do everything! Rawr!

    Apparently not fussed by my clear indignation, he just launches into a rant about looking inward and finding your magic.

    I may have been somewhat distracted during the first part, but I¡¯m sure I can figure this out anyway.

    I give it a go, and to my surprise, I can actually feel something that definitely feels peculiar, but it isn¡¯t quite like Joras explained.

    He said it¡¯d be like a small ball of energy, but it¡¯s more liquidy and big, and for some reason it¡¯s raining inside me. What the heck does that mean?

    So naturally I ask him about that, which just makes his face scrunch up as he grabs his chin. Now he looks really contemplative.

    ¡°That is unusual. Having a lot of magic is expected of a dragon, since you are a creature of magic. But to be so young and have it expressed as a lake is not something I would consider usual. And the rain? We may need to conduct some experiments.¡±

    That definitely sounds questionable, and it doesn¡¯t sound like he¡¯s all that familiar with this whole thing, but I guess he still knows more than I do. Now he¡¯s talking again, real talkative now, this guy.

    ¡°Since we need to teach you the basics, we¡¯ll move away from flight being the objective and see if we can teach you to breathe fire. Look inward again and focus on your magic, then pull from it and shape it into heat. It should come naturally to you.¡±

    I face away from him and close my eyes, trying to do as he says. I sorta feel it and I can feel my magic rippling slightly when I¡¯m interrupted by a thump and heat hitting my shoulder, startling me.

    What the heck was that?! I quickly look around, but it¡¯s still only Joras and Raya here.

    Raya is looking awfully shocked and not eye-contacty. ¡°And that is why we aim away from each other, Raya¡­¡±

    Does Raya know magic?!

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I just tried to do the thing, and before I knew it, I lost control of the fire!¡± Naturally, I inform her that the crime of attacking me while adorable carries a hefty punishment of cuddles.

    Joras seems surprised that I don¡¯t appear harmed. ¡°It was quite a weak spell, but it was something¡­ It should have left some marks.¡±

    And now he¡¯s rubbing my shoulder like some weirdo. I guess he¡¯s trying to assess the damage.

    ¡°Do it again, Raya.¡± What?! I never consented to getting attacked! And why are you doing it again, Raya? Ooh, your punishment will be legendary!

    To my surprise, she actually pulls it off quite easily, and the fire bolt hits me in nearly the same spot. It doesn¡¯t actually hurt, but I can feel my magic rippling again.

    ¡°What did that feel like, Kira?¡± I don¡¯t know, it felt sorta like eating a piece of chocolate when you¡¯re low on energy, and now his face is scrunching up again.

    ¡°It¡¯s well known that dragons are heavily resistant to magic compared to other creatures, but I¡¯m not seeing the usual signs of resistance in you, I think what you¡¯re doing instead is consuming a portion of the magic, and not an insignificant portion. That might be why Charo had such a difficult time trying to bind you.¡±

    I don¡¯t really feel like thinking about Charo, so I just focus on Raya and ask how she managed to cast those spells. I didn¡¯t know she was a mage. ¡°Uhm¡­ I¡¯m not a mage, that was my first time using magic.¡±

    That¡¯s pretty amazing, and congratulations are in order! She¡¯s actually pretty amazing. And now I have extra motivation to learn magic properly, so I can keep up with her!

    Once I really get to trying, I find it surprisingly easy to access my magic, and with a few pointers from Raya, I manage to actually breathe fire! On purpose! Haha!

    My dragonitude is increasing! Raya and I end up spending a decent bit of time just throwing around flames when suddenly we''re interrupted.

    ¡°How long can you maintain your flames?¡± That¡¯s a good question, Joras. So I get to it and just burn the sand and rocks on the beach. Much to my disappointment, I¡¯m not actually turning the sand into glass.

    As it turns out, when you keep a pretty strong magic-fueled flame going on your own power, coming from your belly and going out your mouth, you can get dizzy. Well, I can anyway, because I forgot to breathe or something, so I may have fainted a bit.

    This is where I¡¯d wake up, find Raya bound or killed, and sketchy Joras standing over me with a blade, wielding his blood magic to bind me to his will, enslaving me for the rest of my life. And giving a monologue about how it was his plan all along to use my naivety and trusting nature against me.

    But none of that happened; instead, I find him slouched over me, clearly having decided on an unintended, decisive nap.

    My goodness, I really don¡¯t trust the guy, do I? Geez, so many things I have to work on.

    Raya seems to be having a mild panic attack while she¡¯s trying to rouse Joras. As I try to move, she notices me and lights up.

    ¡°Usi er mora? [Are you okay?]¡± Ah, I guess the potions wore off. That¡¯s inconvenient. A quick boop ought to reassure her and possibly calm her down a bit. It must be scary to see us suddenly go unconscious.

    Focusing my attention on Joras, after I may have accidentally bumped him off of me as I was getting up, I gently, very gently, move him onto his back to check if he¡¯s still breathing. which he is, so that¡¯s a great start.

    As I was doing that, apparently Raya ran off and collected a bunch of sticks, and now she¡¯s building a tiny stick triangle. Oh! A campfire, of course¡­ I totally didn¡¯t forget that most people need warmth.

    All these new priorities and instincts are starting to worry me; am I even me anymore?...

    As I¡¯ve done so far, I push that thought aside and focus on something else. It''s time to focus on Joras.

    Raya has built a lovely little campfire and even lit it with her badass fire magic.

    ¡°Cora to jeb to? [What do we do?]¡± It sucks to be back to being verbally challenged.

    For now, we¡¯ll just keep an eye on Joras, aside from being unconscious, he seems fine.

    I get that we¡¯re supposed to watch over him, but frankly, I get a bit bored with it, and decide to move away a bit to practice using my magic.

    For my first trial, I call up my fire breath again. It initially feels a bit odd, but I manage it reasonably well. It turns out that my body wants to do this, so I just need to stop overthinking it, and it comes to me. Which seems like very useful information.

    I make sure to check on Raya and Joras during my training session, but Raya just shrugs and shakes her head, so I assume his condition hasn¡¯t changed.

    I feel like I should check on him, but I never did take that first aid course. I guess I really should have.

    Nevertheless, inspect I do! As I¡¯m looking him over, Raya comes up to me and places a hand on my front leg, arm? Is it a leg or an arm? Whatever, it¡¯s an arm now. From now on, it''s two arms, two legs, and two wings.

    That''ll help me keep track of myself. So she¡¯s touching my left arm and I notice that swirly magic Joras mentioned, and it¡¯s small, but it feels healthy.

    Now what does Joras feel like, I wonder. I gently nudge him with a claw and I barely feel any magic from him. And the bits left feel scattered and dry.

    What the heck did he do.

    Or better yet, can I fix it? Naturally I decide to use all the tools available to me. Like unfounded confidence, overestimation of my capabilities, and a boatload of safety violations.

    So I feel for my own magic and nudge a tiny bit of it away from the rest and push it into Joras. Turns out that worked quite well, since he¡¯s now stirring awake. I can tell, because he is screaming very loudly.

    What the heck did I do?! Is he gonna die? Did I kill him? How do I fix this?!

 Chapter 6: Culmination

    How the heck do I fix this?! I need to do something, so I''ll hold him down and try reaching into him with my mind to pull the magic back out. It isn''t working, I¡¯m just bumping up against some barrier.

    I really didn¡¯t think this through. I¡¯m sorry, Joras! I need to stop this. How the hell do I stop this? He¡¯s only been nice and now I¡¯m killing him, what the fuck is wrong with me?!

    And fucking eating people?! That¡¯s insane! Why the hell am I looking at people as if they¡¯re just another snack, that¡¯s fucking serial killer shit!

    No, it¡¯s worse than that! It¡¯s cannibal serial killer shit! And ripping apart animals is horrible, so why the hell do I enjoy it so much?! I¡¯ve become a fucking monster!

    Did Charo see me for what I am and try to stop me? And when the hell did I develop pica?!

    This is too fucking much. I can¡¯t do this. I want to go home. I just want to go home.

    But what if I hurt people back home too? What if I killed my parents?! Holy fuck, that¡¯s an actual possibility! I can never go home, I have to stay away from people.

    I¡¯m too fucking dangerous, I can¡¯t trust myself to not harm people. What the fuck do I do

    Fuck, fuck, fuck. I can¡¯t be allowed to live, it¡¯s too dangerous. Why the fuck did I learn to use my fire breath! That just makes me even more dangerous!

    I need¡­ to¡­ I¡­ uh, what¡­ I can¡¯t¡­

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Kira quickly backed away from Joras, leaving Raya to wonder what the the hells is going on. Whatever is happening to Joras is advancing, as scorch marks appear on his skin.

    Something is clearly burning him from within. Not having many paths forward, Raya began rummaging through Joras¡¯ satchel, looking for healing potions.

    This whole thing had gone awry way too quickly.

    Managing to find one, she quickly uncorked it and lightly doused the elf, but the liquid just sizzled and evaporated, which is not how that type of potion is supposed to behave.

    Knowing that potions quickly lost their potency after being opened, Raya straddled Joras¡¯ chest and grabbed his face to force him to drink the rest of the potion.

    It didn¡¯t feel like a safe thing to do, but leaving someone twisting in pain also felt unsafe.

    Having done what she could for Joras, she moved away from him and focused on Kira. The Dragon looked terrified, walking in circles while whimpering softly.

    Cursing her lack of alchemical knowledge, Raya discarded the idea of finding a Mind Bridge potion, as most utility potions looked alike.

    Instead, she just called out to Kira, hoping to break the spiral the Dragon currently found herself in, but it wasn¡¯t working.

    Kira couldn¡¯t be reached, and the situation wasn¡¯t helped by this damn language barrier.

    This whole thing had gone awry so fast it made Raya¡¯s head spin. Joras seemed to have calmed down a bit, whether that was because of the healing potion, him currently dying, or whatever was happening slowly passing, she couldn¡¯t tell.

    But there wasn¡¯t anything else to do about him, so she focused her attention on Kira. She had to get Kira to snap out of whatever was happening to her.

    So, being a clever little goblin, Raya used a tried-and-true goblin technique for situations in which they can¡¯t figure out what to do.

    Rush into it and just hold on. So that¡¯s what she did. She ran towards Kira and jumped, landing on and grabbing hold of the Dragon¡¯s face.

    ¡°Kira! Listen to me! It¡¯s gonna be okay! Calm down!¡± But her efforts were having no effect.

    Joras woke to find a Dragon clawing at the ground with a goblin attached to its face. A most peculiar sight.

    The last thing he remembered was seeing Kira fall over unconscious. And he had jumped to the conclusion that she suffered from severe magic depletion.

    Intending to help her, he had connected their magic and attempted to pour some of his magical energy into her. Before he could react, her magic source had ripped most of his magic away, leaving him catatonic.

    Whatever had happened during that event burned through him, purifying the magic channels in his body, and he could feel his magic flowing more freely, having become far easier to reach.

    Looking at his hands, he could see the scorch marks corresponding to his magic channels, weaving a web across his skin.

    But now was not the time to wonder about such things, he had to help Kira and Raya with whatever was going on.

    ¡°Raya! What in the hells has happened to Kira?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, some sort of mind attack, I think, but I don¡¯t see anyone who could have cast it!¡± Not an unreasonable assumption, he thought, but this was no spell.

    ¡°Raya, I need you to take out your blade and make a cut underneath her scales to make her bleed. Then I¡¯ll be able to subdue her.¡±

    ¡°What?! I¡¯m not hurting Kira!¡± How tremendously frustrating, but he did not relent; continued requests and demands finally made Raya yield, and she took out her knife and jammed it underneath one of Kira¡¯s scales.

    ¡°It¡¯s stuck! Now what?! She''s not bleeding.¡± He had feared that might happen, but it had to be tried. He needed an open wound on his target for his spells to work properly. A breach in one¡¯s natural barrier.

    He was aware of the broken scales on Kira¡¯s neck, which he could most likely pierce with a spear of blood, but it would definitely be dangerous to attempt that. An option marked as a last resort, to be sure.

    Joras walked closer to Kira and inspected her, surely she¡¯d have some old wounds from fighting in this region.

    It wasn¡¯t even close to the most dangerous region on this continent, but the dangers were still very real.

    ¡°Do something, Joras! Don¡¯t just walk around having a look!¡± Glaring at the goblin for having reprimanded him, he continued walking around Kira at a calm pace, intent on not triggering a response from the obviously frightened Dragon.

    Needing to prepare, he pulled out his dagger and made a cut in his arm, along one of the scorch marks.

    Drawing out a not insignificant amount of blood, he formed it into a spear, finding the process far easier than it ought to be.

    Focusing on reach, he made the shaft longer than would typically be wise to make a blood spear and then he prepared to strike.

    Now he just needed somewhere to make a cut. For a moment, he thought he might be able to simply weave the blood between scales, but he decided against it after considering the risks of her magic absorption.

    Losing that much blood and having to create another spear would leave him quite vulnerable, so he needed somewhere specific to strike.

    There. He had found something. Near one of her ankles, some scales had been torn away, leaving flesh exposed.

    It wasn¡¯t ideal to draw blood from an extremity when using blood magic like he intended, especially when the target was something as powerful as a Dragon, but alas, he wasn¡¯t exactly spoiled for choice.

    He went for a quick jab, but missed. Martial arts were not something he had mastered. On the contrary, he was infamously bad at physical tasks among his peers.

    A flaw his partner very much enjoyed teasing him about. It took him more attempts than he cared to admit to land a strike with enough force to draw blood. He finally managed and began doing what he was far more proficient at: weaving blood magic.

    Focusing on the wound, he took hold of Kira¡¯s blood with his magic and used it to stop the blood supply to her head. A delicate task, requiring him to focus deeply on both the magic and how Kira responded, this could very much kill her, but he had no other option available.

    It took longer for the spell to truly affect Kira than he had expected, but it was affecting her.

    As his spell took hold, she started losing consciousness. He prepared for the next part, to correct the flow and prevent blockages, which would likely occur in the moments after the spell took effect.

    Blood magic was, by its nature, an offensive school of magic.

    ¡°Watch out, Raya, she¡¯s about to fall!¡± Raya looked up in confusion, just as Kira began falling over.

    Raya quickly jumped off Kira, her body exhausted and bruised from being part of Kira¡¯s thrashing. Elegantly landing on her face, Raya got up and looked at Kira, wondering what had happened to cause her such distress.

    ¡°Will she be okay when she wakes up?¡± A simple question directed at the elf, but he found himself unable to answer.

    ¡°I hope so.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Elder Turo found himself caught up in another day of petty squabbling politics. How endlessly frustrating it is to deal with these other elders.

    Charo¡¯s impulsiveness had long since turned to recklessness, which continued to result in damage to the town.

    Likewise, Brahan¡¯s caution had turned into an endless source of hesitation and anxiety, leaving him practically paralyzed any time he had to make a decision.

    To his relief, at least Mako hadn¡¯t changed much; granted, she was frustrating to deal with from the very beginning of her tenure.

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°So, Elder Turo, now you have spoken to both the mad elf and a dubious young woman, not the most reliable of sources, are you still convinced we are dealing with a Dragon?¡±

    It had been days of this bullshit. How in the Hells could these morons not accept something as obvious as the basic facts of the situation?!

    At this point, Turo found himself almost wanting the Dragon to attack. If for no other reason than to prove to these fools that it WAS a Dragon.

    But he suspected that even then, they¡¯d deny it, making excuses like ¡®maybe it was the faefolk playing tricks¡¯ or some other nonsense.

    Deciding this was getting nowhere, Turo excused himself, telling the remaining two to figure it out. It was time to face the bull and talk to Charo. If only because he wanted to find someone who¡¯d acknowledge that it was a Dragon they were facing.

    Arriving at the house of the town physician, Turo found himself appreciating that Charo managed to secure a larger building for the physician, and one near the alchemists, no less.

    It was a brilliant decision, he must admit. A lot of lives had been saved through the proximity to additional potions and herbs, and there was enough room in the building to house a number of patients long term.

    Illness wasn¡¯t much of an issue, but people were very good at getting hurt. With a deep breath, he went inside.

    ¡°Hah, didn¡¯t expect to see you here, asshole. Finally had enough of the others?¡± She knew exactly what he was up against dealing with the others, which made him wonder if he had been too hasty to suggest her demise.

    ¡°I just want to know what you think the beast was, Charo.¡± Turning the scorched remains of her face toward him, he could feel the fear and rage radiating from her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me Dim and Dumb are still arguing about that¡­ Do they think we can just wait out a fucking Dragon?! At the very least, a feast should be prepared: gold, jewels, anything a Dragon might want. By the hells, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if someone suggested executing me!¡±

    That last exclamation struck Turo¡¯s composure. ¡°I may have suggested that. I apologize.¡±

    ¡°Bah! You finally apologize for something, you arrogant prick, and then I can''t even see your stupid face...¡± Turo was caught off guard as he found his years of frustration and anger at the woman fading away.

    ¡°So, what would you suggest I do, you reckless old hag?¡± At his question, he noticed she tried to move the stump of her arm to her face, only to hesitate and switch to the other hand.

    It was a harsh punishment for her sins and greater than he felt was necessary.

    ¡°Naturally, I¡¯d suggest you find a suitably large cliff and jump off of it, but that isn¡¯t really productive right now. So do what I have no doubt Raya has done: seek out the Dragon and ask it for leniency and forgiveness. I¡¯d do it myself, but I can¡¯t really see a way for me to do that on my own. Hah!¡±

    He had considered that, but not knowing where to look, it seemed like a fool¡¯s errand.

    Giving Charo a look, Turo spoke. ¡°Care to join me? I could use a fool for this errand.¡± With another laugh, Charo agreed to join, the two of them working together to get Charo ready.

    It took a surprising amount of bickering before the duo had prepared for a trek into the forest, having settled on visiting Undine Lake first for the simple reason of it being a landmark.

    Both of them knew that this was a dangerous trek and could very well lead to their demise. They had considered bringing guards along, but opted not to, as approaching with an armed force could easily lead to an unnecessary confrontation.

    ¡°So, you¡¯ve had more contact with the Dragon than I have; what do you think our chances are?¡±

    Thinking about her question, he opted not to answer. Feeling the familiar anger from Charo, Turo couldn¡¯t help but grin.

    It was already past midday, and the two wouldn¡¯t have much time to linger, so they headed northwest, intending to use the trail leading to Undine Lake.

    Turo wondered if Raya even knew the trail existed, as he hadn¡¯t heard of her ever using it.

    The journey went without incident until they got closer to the lake. They could suddenly hear quite a ruckus and chose to hide in the nearby bushes.

    ¡°Stay down, Charo. Can you see what they¡¯re up to?¡±

    ¡°Oh, ha ha, make fun of the blind person, very good, Turo, very good.¡± Letting out a sigh, he went on to describe the scene; he could see Raya and Joras near the Dragon, but it was just lying on the ground, mostly motionless.

    ¡°You should go out there, Turo. Ask what they¡¯re doing. They like you better than me.¡± Turo just stared at her for a moment; this very much felt like a bad decision and the kind of recklessness Charo had become known for.

    But she was right, even if just because they disliked Charo very much.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Raya was still on edge as she had no idea what to do in this situation, she felt thoroughly powerless and anxious.

    It felt like every time she and Kira were together, something bad happened. And then she heard rustling from the bushes, startling her. Reacting quickly, she wove her fire bolt spell and launched it towards the noise.

    As soon as the fire bolt flew, she was filled with dread as she recognized the man standing there. She had just attacked an elder¡­

    Much to Turo¡¯s own surprise, he managed to dodge the fire bolt, only to hear a scream behind him. Turning around and rushing to Charo¡¯s location, he found the old woman with fresh burns to her chest.

    And she was currently on fire. Acting quickly, he worked to put out the flames and fished out a healing potion from his pack. Raya quickly ran over to see what had happened and found herself very surprised to see Charo.

    And horrified at having attacked two elders with one spell.

    ¡°Impressive shot, Raya. I¡¯m surprised you managed to hit someone hidden in the bushes like that.¡± Joras¡¯ support gave Raya quite mixed feelings.

    He was a skilled mage and compliments from him meant something, but the situation wasn¡¯t exactly conducive to celebration. She watched as Turo poured the healing potion onto Charo¡¯s wounds, stopping the bleeding.

    ¡°I did not see that coming. Hah! Fucking hells, I need to work on my relationship with fire, it has turned very abusive recently.¡± Raya quickly started apologizing profusely and bowing to the Elders.

    ¡°Stop it with the apologies, woman! Help me up instead.¡±

    ¡°Not that this hasn¡¯t been fun to watch, but what brings two Elders to Undine Lake?¡± Joras appreciated being on the questioning side for once, rather than being questioned.

    It was Turo who would speak up first.

    ¡°Our goal here, Joras, is to ascertain whether a peaceful resolution to this whole thing can be reached. On that topic, do you think it might be possible?¡±

    With his usual shopkeeper hmm¡¯ing and haah¡¯ing, Joras thought about how this situation might best be utilized. His first thought was that it was an excellent opportunity to squeeze the two Elders, benefiting Kira as well as himself.

    ¡°To start with, perhaps you, Charo, could assist in resolving the turmoil currently affecting the Dragon, she should have woken up by now. Although, if given that opportunity, I¡¯d advise against any of those tricks you¡¯re so fond of pulling, I¡¯m not sure you have enough arms left to risk it. And I would be remiss not to also inform you that Raya has quite the reaction to people attempting to harm the Dragon.¡±

    Charo immediately tensed up, she knew it was common knowledge that she had binding magic. She got the impression that Joras knew far more about her than she was comfortable with.

    Nevertheless, she could most likely help with matters of the mind. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t trust her, Joras. She has already lied to me about helping Kira, why wouldn¡¯t she just lie again?¡± Raya was clearly on edge about this whole thing.

    ¡°Quite simple, Raya. She will do as she is told, because otherwise you will stab her, and I will rip the blood from her body before she can give any commands. Don''t fight a blood mage when you have open wounds. And with her death, the binding will break anyway. We will, of course, have more things to discuss once this is done.¡±

    Raya just looked up at him, thinking she might¡¯ve underestimated how ruthless he could be.

    Raya found herself beginning to wonder how much of Joras¡¯ help was altruism and how much was simply manipulation to get what he wanted. But that wasn¡¯t something they could focus on now, Kira needed help, and for that, Joras was necessary.

    ¡°Are you all just gonna stand around or is someone gonna help me find this damn Dragon?! I¡¯m new to being blind, remember?¡±

    Turo quickly grabbed her remaining arm and brought her closer to Kira. Neither Joras nor Raya let them stray too far. The Elders felt very much like captives.

    ¡°To do this, I will have to use mind magic, so don¡¯t attack me.¡± Charo reached her hand forward, feeling for Kira.

    Touching the uneven surface of a scaly face, she reached into Kira¡¯s mind with her magic, finding it much harder than it should be.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The mindscape Charo found was vastly different from anything she had ever known. Buildings reaching for the clouds, carriages without draft animals, and so many lights.

    ¡°Run! Don¡¯t just stand there, we have to hide!¡± A young woman screamed out to her, and Charo quickly moved towards the alley where the young woman stood.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? What are we hiding from?" The young woman looked out from the alley, definitely looking for something specific.

    ¡°There¡¯s a freakin¡¯ dragon out there! It¡¯s been hunting me for weeks! Quick, this way!¡± The young woman pulled on Charo¡¯s arm.

    The two rushed into another building when a roar sounded in the distance. Pushing a finger to her lips, the woman shushed Charo.

    ¡°Be quiet, that thing has ridiculously good hearing. It keeps finding me, but so far, I¡¯ve gotten away every time.¡±

    Confused, Charo simply opted for following along, this wasn¡¯t like anything she had ever experienced before. Another roar. Closer this time.

    ¡°Oh darn it, I think it knows where we are. You need to hide, lady, I think it wants me for some reason.¡±

    The two ran through the building, checking doors, only to find them locked. They continued to run down the hallway until a window stopped them.

    ¡°Darn it, we¡¯ve checked all the floors, but there¡¯s nowhere to hide.¡±

    That just added to Charo¡¯s confusion, they hadn¡¯t ascended any stairs or ramps, so how in the hells had they reached the top of the building? Before she could come to a conclusion, another roar sounded and the dragon landed on the roof next to them.

    The woman grabbed her arm again, causing Charo to look down, she had both arms again, and she could see¡­

    ¡°This way, we have to get away!¡± She was yelling at Charo as they ran down the road.

    Wondering what in the hells to do, Charo snapped at the woman.

    ¡°Stop! We have to figure out what''s going on here. You need to face the problem instead of running from it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not gonna face that monster, it¡¯s too scary! We need to find some place to hide!¡± With a groan, Charo just followed the woman as she started running again.

    As they turned a corner, they nearly fell into a lake, Undine Lake. ¡°Can you swim, Old One?¡±

    What? ¡°My name is Charo, remember? We¡¯ve met.¡± The woman just shrugged and jumped into the lake without her.

    Another roar sounded. ¡°You will not survive this, Charo! I will not forgive what you tried to do to me!¡± That shook Charo to the core, the dragon was clearly not inclined to talk calmly, so she jumped into the lake as well.

    To her surprise, the two of them ended up in a small house, quite a beautiful one at that. ¡°What is this place?¡±

    The woman just looked at her for a moment and shrugged. ¡°This is home, silly.¡±

    Another roar sounded, and then a thump. ¡°Oh no! The dragon found us really fast this time!¡± For how scared her voice sounded, the woman didn¡¯t seem to be in much of a hurry to run this time.

    Then a gentle knock at the door brought Charo back from her momentary lapse in focus. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Asked the woman, and in return she got a roar. ¡°Sorry, no solicitors.¡±

    Now the dragon gently turned the doorknob. ¡°Hey! That¡¯s not allowed, my home is mine, not yours! Stay out, monster!¡±

    But the dragon didn¡¯t listen and just entered. The woman stepped forward and as the two approached each other, they swapped form, woman becoming dragon and dragon becoming woman.

    ¡°No! No! NOOO! I¡¯m not a monster! I¡¯m just me! Stop taking me away from me! Give me back!¡±

    For its part, the humanoid dragon just stood there, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Tears flowing down the woman¡¯s draconic cheeks.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know! You took my name too!"

    ¡°What¡¯s my name?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know! Monsters don¡¯t have names!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s our name?¡± The woman just glared at the being standing in front of her with burning draconic eyes.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, stop asking me, I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Watching the exchange, Charo found herself caught up in the pain emanating from the two.

    ¡°Kira.¡± They both now faced her, looking ready to kill. The two stepped forward as Charo stepped back. ¡°Your name is Kira.¡±

    This situation had gotten well out of hand for the Elder from the very start. Not even letting go of her magic allowed her escape, she was very much caught in the web of a much stronger being.

    ¡°Don¡¯t use that name.¡± They both said at the same time. It was clearly doing something.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t a monster, Kira.¡± Anger flared in their eyes. ¡°What you did to me was my fault, Kira, not yours.¡± Anger turned to fury.

    ¡°You¡¯ve only shown kindness to Raya, Kira. A monster wouldn''t do that.¡±

    As the two stepped forward, they should¡¯ve bumped into each other, but instead started merging. ¡°Me being here is proof that you are good, Kira.¡±

    The world around them started fading away as the merge completed, forming into a tall, draconic woman.

    ¡°If I¡¯m so good, why do I still want to rip your throat out, Charo?¡± With a smile, Charo looked straight into the amalgamation¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Everyone wants to lash out sometimes, Kira. Especially when they¡¯re treated unfairly.¡± The world shattered. The two finding themselves in a black void.

    ¡°Why should I let you live after what you did?¡±

    Feeling a crushing pressure in her chest, Charo found herself unable to answer, she couldn¡¯t come up with an honest answer. By the hells, she was sure she¡¯d do much worse if the situation was reversed.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t, I guess. I know I wouldn¡¯t in your situation.¡± ¡°So what should I do? I feel so lost¡­ I¡¯m not even from here¡­¡±

    Unable to stifle an awkward chuckle, Charo turned her gaze upward. ¡°If I were you, I¡¯d try to find a balance and build a new home. You don¡¯t have to be alone and you won¡¯t be lost if you build a new place to belong. I doubt we have much time left for our little chat here, you¡¯re about to wake up. I¡¯m sorry for what I did to you, Kira, please forgive me.¡±

    Tears in her eyes, Kira just nodded. Charo smiled and said ¡°Of course I forgive you too, so don''t you worry about me. I know you¡¯ll do your best, Kira. Don¡¯t let bad people like me corrupt you.¡±

 Chapter 7: Relief and Regrowth

    What the heck was that dream¡­ Oh shit! Joras! I have to check on Joras! I quickly get up and look around. There¡¯s a new face, and they¡¯re all standing around someone.

    I move closer and it¡¯s Charo. Oh no¡­ I nudge my head between Joras and new guy. She¡¯s dead. Then I feel a jab, Joras standing with his dagger and I feel a familiar tingle.

    ¡°She did this to herself, Kira. It isn¡¯t your fault.¡± Easy for you to say, but she literally died because she touched me. And she knew it was happening¡­

    Oh, I almost got swept up in those negative feelings again, but I feel strong enough to stand against the spiraling.

    I still feel bad that she died helping me, to be honest, but it¡¯s comforting to know that she wasn¡¯t angry with me. I don¡¯t even know why Charo and new guy came out here, or what happened to Joras.

    His new tattoos look snazzy though, like his veins got highlighted or something. I wonder whether I should focus on apologizing for that thing I did, ask about the veiny, burny things, or ask about new guy.

    It should be fine to postpone the apology, since Joras seems fine and we¡¯re getting closer I think, so a proper apology in private is in order.

    Now that I think about it, I guess the obvious thing to prioritize is finding out what the new guy and Charo are doing here.

    ¡°They came to offer appeasement to prevent you from burning down the town, killing everyone.¡± WHAT?! I¡¯d never do that! Geez, I just got over thinking of myself as a monster, and here¡¯s someone assuming I¡¯m a monster!

    Not nice, buddy. And why can I understand other people now? That¡¯s peculiar.

    ¡°Is she angry with us, Joras?¡± New Guy appeared quite perturbed as he inquired about my sudden growling. But nah, I¡¯m not actually angry. I was frightened and upset, but I never had any intention of hurting anyone.

    ¡°She is quite upset with you for the offense caused, Turo, but I believe in light of Charo¡¯s sacrifice, a minor gift of wealth may be sufficient to appease her.¡± That¡¯s not what I said! So, of course, I bump my head against him to make sure he actually says what I said.

    ¡°She is displeased with me for not conveying her intent properly, a significant gift of wealth will be required.¡± What?!

    That¡¯s REALLY not what I said! Alright, I¡¯m gonna lie on you for this, you rascally elf. With a quick swipe, he lands on his ass and I pin him. That¡¯ll teach him to behave.

    ¡°Ah. My apologies. I haven¡¯t been entirely truthful. I¡¯ve been hoping to gain a more favorable deal. The town is to be surrendered to her, and tribute paid, and in turn, she will do what she can to defend it.¡± Okay, that actually sounds like a pretty good deal. I feel like I could use some more wealth.

    Wait, that sounds like questionable behavior from me. Isn¡¯t that like taking the entire town hostage?

    ¡°I accept your terms, dragon.¡± What?! Why¡¯d you accept that, new guy?

    Does he even have the authority to just accept it? This feels like it might become a headache, but on the other hand, this tribute sounds pretty good. Better than pretty good, even. My interest in tribute feels like it¡¯s tied to my being a dragon.

    I suppose I should let Joras up, even if I feel like he deserves to get dirty for being so rascally. I glance at Charo¡¯s body again and ask what we should do about her.

    I don¡¯t know their funeral rites, so it¡¯s really up to them. I give the now-standing Joras a poke and ask him to ask New Guy.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have many corpses to deal with. Most of our people who die do so in these woods, so nature takes care of it. And the ones who die in town are dealt with by the families, but Charo was alone, she had no one.¡±

    I guess that sounds reasonable, but I kinda wanna do something more, especially now that I feel like she and I could¡¯ve been friends, so at the very end, she had me.

    We certainly didn¡¯t get the best first impression of each other, but I think I¡¯d have been in trouble if she hadn¡¯t helped me. How did she know my name, anyway? That¡¯s weird¡­

    I tell Joras that we should bring Charo back to town because I¡¯d like to hold a funeral for her, which, apparently, he isn¡¯t interested in letting Raya and New Guy in on.

    Nevertheless, who¡¯s gonna stop me? I¡¯m a dragon! I can give respectful sendoffs to whomever I want. For the first time, I feel like I actually meant it when I said I¡¯m a dragon.

    Joras picks up Charo and we start heading towards their town, and I notice that Turo is leading the way a bit further ahead than necessary.

    He definitely smells of fear, but he¡¯s doing an impressive job of keeping calm. He takes us down the same trail they used to get here, which was not made for dragons, it¡¯s narrow and overgrown.

    The trip is spent mostly in silence. Mostly because I can hear Raya snickering behind me, watching me dodge and bump into branches. Oh, she is building up a lot of punishment debt.

    It takes a while before we actually get to the town, and I notice that as we get closer, I don¡¯t feel the uneasy sensation from last time.

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    Instead, I¡¯m confident that I could not only defend myself, but also put up a rather destructive fight or even burn the town to the ground.

    Yeah, that¡¯s not super villain thinking at all, Kira. At least it¡¯s just an interesting thought, instead of something I want to do.

    It¡¯s approaching nightfall as we leave the forest, Turo leading the pack, he shouts out to the guards to alert them to our presence.

    They respond quickly and make their way towards us, seemingly unsure what to make of me. They seem conflicted about whether to ready themselves for a confrontation or not. It would be kinda fun having a tussle, so maybe I should goad them a bit.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do it, Kira.¡± How did he know?!

    ¡°If you want to fight the guards, you can do it tomorrow, but today we have business to attend to, remember?¡± Right, Charo. That certainly calmed me down, so I just lie down and relax a bit.

    I ask him if he could ask Turo to have the townsfolk prepare a funeral pyre to give her a proper send-off, which he conveys quickly, and one of the guards calls out for someone else, who quickly runs off.

    For now, we just sorta hang around outside the gates, inconspicuously. Well, sort of. There¡¯s a bit of a crowd gathering, seems word of a dragon waiting outside the gates is quick to spread. There¡¯s a surprisingly high amount of folks ready to just stand around this late.

    A few more folks trickle in, carrying logs and branches, which seem to spur others into joining, and suddenly there are quite a few folks working on this pyre. For some reason, the bustle of the work is quite relaxing.

    I give some thought to recent events and realize that it¡¯s only been like, what, four days, or is it midnight and this is the fifth day?

    Geez, I¡¯ve grown. Starting out as just a runt getting knocked off a mountain by a sparkly ice bear, and now I¡¯m towering over Raya. To be fair, I was pretty much towering over her the moment we met, she¡¯s quite short.

    I kinda wanna know how tall I am, so the obvious one to ask is Joras, but he just goes on a rant about something or other. I¡¯m not here for a math lesson, buddy, I just wanna know how tall I am.

    Fortunately for me, I managed to not listen to his ranting long enough for him to start drawing in the dirt as he talks about length.

    ¡°And this is one Murak, which is a hundred Cimurak.¡± Yeah, those are definitely meters and centimeters. Apparently he¡¯s two hundred and forty centimeters tall, which means I am about the same. I am a large dragon. Rawr.

    Wait, how long am I? Eh, I¡¯ll leave that mystery for some other time.

    I just let my thoughts wander back to all the events, I feel pretty good about how well I¡¯ve handled it all. With hindsight, I can definitely see things I could¡¯ve done better, but that¡¯s just how it is.

    The more I think about stuff, the more I feel what coma dragon felt. Abandonment, worry, fear, loneliness, and wanting to be accepted. Geez, I¡¯m gonna have to make an effort to make both of my sides feel accepted.

    I don¡¯t know why, but I also feel like I¡¯ve got a much better sense of who Charo actually was. My impression of her was just her being an evil bitch trying to mindfuck me, but that turned out to be¡­ Well, it was that, maybe not the evil.

    But now I at least know that she genuinely felt it was for the best for the town. And having such a potentially powerful protector wasn¡¯t something she could pass up. I get it, but I still don¡¯t approve. It is a bit odd how I seem to know more about her than I should.

    Bringing my focus back to what¡¯s happening around me, it looks like the townsfolk have been getting into a very nice lumber-carrying flow and the pyre is being built very quickly.

    Their wariness of me seems to be waning, as they focus on the task at hand. Even if Joras hadn¡¯t rascal¡¯d his way into this weird deal with Turo, I could find myself being inclined to stick around.

    I¡¯m impressed at how willing they are to just work on this random project in the middle of the night. And all Turo and Joras did to make it happen was ask for help.

    It hadn¡¯t occurred to me to keep an eye on Charo. Seems folks have brought out a table to lay her on, and felt it necessary to dress her in some quite fancy clothes.

    She looks quite nice, and I can feel regret for her death creep in. Maybe she did manage some mind trickery in the end because I kinda wanna protect this town on her behalf.

    From the looks of it, the pyre is ready, and Joras is instructing some folks to bring Charo onto it. Turo walks up in front of the crowd and clears his throat.

    ¡°Hello everyone. As you no doubt know by now, Charo has fallen, and now is the time for us to put her to rest. But first, I¡¯d like to share a few words I¡¯ve carried with me for some time. I¡¯m sure no one here is surprised to know that I did not particularly like Charo. But in her last moments, she showed me how foolish I have been to have judged her so harshly. I¡¯ve been prideful and attributed many of our town¡¯s benefits to myself. Reality is such that those benefits would not have been if not for Charo¡¯s incessant pestering.¡±

    The crowd seems to be listening to every word. A few chuckled at his comment about not liking Charo.

    ¡°No matter how much we Elders argued, Charo always fought for the good of our town. No matter how infuriating, she always walked away with a smile and a chuckle. And I have no doubt that even now, she¡¯s laughing in the realm of the dead. But know that her death was not meaningless. She died to save the very dragon she had harmed. No one could ask for a more noble death, and yet, she goes even further than merely undoing her greatest sin. Her sacrifice has resulted in the very thing she tried to do on the day she was burned. As you¡¯ve no doubt noticed, the dragon who burned Charo is right there; her name is Kira, and she has agreed to be a guardian for the town to help protect us!¡±

    Wait, guardian? I guess that¡¯s a pretty clever spin on the whole thing. I might have to keep an eye on this guy, seems like he might be another rascal.

    ¡°In her final moments, Charo not only saved Kira from a terrible affliction, but brokered an alliance between her and us! From this day forth, Charo shall be celebrated as a hero and Guardian of Tuiran! And so, through this funeral pyre, she will be blessed by the very Dragon Fire that caused her such pain. Through the flames, she will be reborn in the next life, ready to face far greater dangers, and she will be victorious!¡± The crowd cheered quite enthusiastically at that, but I get the sense that he¡¯s just making it up as he goes. Which is fairly impressive.

    ¡°And now, Kira, if you would be so kind as to send Charo into the next life.¡± Sure. I slowly walk up to the pyre and unleash the most intense flame I can muster.

    The wood quickly catches fire, and I step back. Judging by the quiet crying and murmuring, I get the impression that she was actually quite beloved by the people here, despite New Guy saying she had no one.

    All things considered, it was a pretty lovely makeshift funeral, and I¡¯d imagine Charo would approve.

    Morning is approaching quite quickly, and most folks have already left, so I think I should as well. Both Raya and Joras have kept close by, and I appreciate that they¡¯re looking out for me.

    I give Joras a nudge and point towards Raya with my tongue out so he can recast his spell. ¡°You know, you could just tell me, I¡¯m still maintaining our comprehension spell."

    Right¡­ Well, he understood what I wanted, so it¡¯s fine. A quick cut later and I tell Raya that I¡¯m gonna head off and get some sleep, prompting her to hug my face again, she¡¯s great.

    I tell them I¡¯ll be back later in the day, and we say our goodbyes as I get up. Trudging further away, I spread my wings and take off, I can definitely tell that I need to get some sleep.

    Luckily, it doesn¡¯t take long for me to arrive at the lake, and I find my tree. It''s time for a snooze.

 Chapter 8: Helping Out

    Best night of tree sleeping I¡¯ve had in ages! Wait, no, I haven¡¯t been here for ages. Never mind that. Climbing out of my tree, I do a stretch and it feels gooood. Looks like it might be about afternoon, so I should get some breakfast.

    Hmm¡­ Something¡¯s off¡­ I definitely flew here last night, now how did I manage that? I¡¯m pretty sure I couldn¡¯t fly. I give it a think and yeah, I definitely just did it. Did coma dragon teach me to fly?

    That¡¯s so rude, I wanted to learn that on my own! Which I guess I did, since I am coma dragon just as much as I¡¯m Kira, but I also learned it separately from Kira... I don¡¯t know how that works, but it¡¯s a little annoying that I didn¡¯t get to learn it on my own.

    Focus, Kira, breakfast. Where does one find breakfast in a forest? The only answer I arrive at is "in the forest,¡± which isn¡¯t helpful.

    Eh, I¡¯ll just see if I can see anything from above. Time to try flying again! With a short running start, I set off, and it goes mostly well, I don''t crash, but it is a bit on the wobbly side.

    Okay, so I still need practice. It takes a couple of jumps and then I¡¯m off!

    I spend some time orienting myself and looking out for landmarks, but I''ll need to go higher than just above the trees.

    So I do just that! And up I go, which takes a surprising amount of effort, but I can feel my wings empowered by my magic, and it feels pretty awesome, sort of tingly and strong.

    I can¡¯t quite tell how far above the ground I am, but I¡¯d say quite far. Looking around, I can see that Raya¡¯s town isn¡¯t that much of a distance away from my lake.

    We¡¯re practically neighbors! The other side of the town is pretty much just a large flat area. If there are delicious critters there, it might be a good hunting spot.

    Naturally, I spend my time being entirely productive and really getting to know the area from up here, sort of. Yeah, I¡¯m definitely just flying around having fun, and I may have spent most of the day up here.

    This is hecking amazing! I can do loop-de-loops and whatnot! My new favorite thing might be flying almost straight up and tucking in my wings, free fall feels so awesome.

    I completely understand why people would jump out of planes and stuff.

    Okay, there¡¯s gonna be plenty of time for sky fun, and I need to be learning landmarks. I make a note of the mountain I fell from in relation to the lake and Raya¡¯s town, I¡¯m fairly confident I can now reasonably find my way back. Even if I end up grounded for whatever reason, I¡¯ll figure it out.

    And now to focus on breakfast again! I¡¯ve been looking for something delicious, and I have spotted a¡­ What¡¯s a group of boars called?

    Probably something that sounds weird. Go away, distraction! Okay, scouting mode.

    I¡¯m surprised at just how good my eyesight is and how many details I can make out between the trees, like an eagle or something.

    Nevertheless I¡¯ve spotted a few boars in a small clearing, and I¡¯m gonna get one or two! Quickly swooping down on one, I latch on as best I can, it squeals quite loudly as my claws sink into its flesh, but a quick bite to the neck and it stops moving.

    I leave it on the ground and quickly take off again, I want to catch another one. In barely any time at all, I¡¯ve caught up to the others. As I¡¯m preparing for another swoop, I hear those dang wolves again. It¡¯s practically evening time, why are they hunting now? That¡¯s so rude.

    I hope they don¡¯t find my previous kill, but that¡¯s a concern for a bit later. For now, I feel compelled to deal with these wolves.

    Which would be much easier if they weren¡¯t so dang quiet right now. Who knew wolves wouldn¡¯t be howling during an active hunt? Well, I¡¯ll just have to keep an eye on their target, the boars.

    It doesn¡¯t take long for me to spot the first wolf. It seems to be pretty good at using the shrubbery to stay hidden.

    But I have the high ground advantage, so I see you, Wolfy! I¡¯m gonna have to be quick and precise about this. If Wolfy manages to alert its friends, they¡¯ll scatter for sure, or attack me. Definitely one of the two.

    With great guile and agility, I aim for the wolf and swoop down to take it out. My descent is near perfect, aside from the part where I focused a bit too much on the wolf and hit a large branch.

    The upside is that I successfully attacked the wolf, the downside is that the ¡®attack¡¯ was more ¡®landing on it like a very large klutz.¡¯

    Even if it didn¡¯t have time to let out a howl, the noise I made certainly would¡¯ve alerted its pack.

    For the sake of my bruised ego, I¡¯m gonna write that off as an intended body slam. I try to go for a quick bite to the neck, but this wolf is a lot more frisky than the boar was and it manages to evade me.

    I¡¯m tempted to use my fire breath, but I¡¯m not sure I want to start a forest fire. The wolf definitely looks worse for wear.

    If I don¡¯t hurry, I could be outnumbered by its pack arriving. I look around for a bit to get a read on the terrain, and I may have screwed up. Taking off from here is not gonna be easy, these trees are closer together than I¡¯m comfortable with.

    I lash out a few times, trying to get a hit in on Wolfy, but it clearly knows it is at a disadvantage in bulk and strength. The rascal is playing for time, stop being so smart!

    To my surprise, it doesn¡¯t take long for the others to join up, and I become increasingly convinced I screwed up here, I shouldn¡¯t have gotten greedy. Now there are five of them, although the one I landed on is still injured.

    Just like the other pack, these wolves encircle me, but that is a strategy I¡¯m familiar with. I considered trying to get to the clearing where I killed the boar. But it¡¯s too far away, and that would give these guys too many opportunities for sneaky strikes.

    I¡¯m just gonna have to try fighting between the trees here. It doesn¡¯t take long for the first wolf to strike, it goes for one of my legs, and for the sake of trying, I attempt to strike it with my tail, but it dodges easily. I really need some actual combat training.

    Unfortunately, my failed strike seems to have bolstered their confidence, and now they¡¯ve increased their rate of attack.

    They¡¯re attacking me in several places, trying to tear off scales, but it seems harder for them than it was for the last pack; however, it isn¡¯t impossible, which is a problem.

    I wait for one to attack one of my wrists, and then I try my wing trick again, but as I attempt to catch the wolf, the bastard manages to scurry around.

    Darn it! I can¡¯t even really tell them apart, and they just keep jumping around, making this whole debacle even harder.

    Screw the forest, it¡¯s time to light these wolves up. Digging in my claws, I brace against the ground as I swing both my head and tail to my left, and then I let loose my flames, creating an arch as I turn right in a solo pincer attack.

    The wolf in front of me scurries right as well to avoid the flames, but I catch it with my tail. Blade digging into the side of the wolf as it tries to dodge. One down.

    I need to make sure it¡¯s actually down, so I quickly jump onto the downed wolf and rip a chunk out of it. If it wasn¡¯t dead before, it is now. Time to deal with the rest of them. Clearly, this pack is significantly more foolish than the previous one, since they¡¯re still here.

    I see a wolf hiding behind a tree, so I let loose my flames again, aiming for the trunk. The flame splits to both sides and I hear the wolf yelp. Must be toasty back there.

    Unlike when I was testing my duration with Joras and Raya, I can now tell when I need to stop and, unfortunately, that time is now. I kept the flame going for longer than I felt necessary, so I¡¯m very curious how the wolf handled that.

    Unfortunately, it isn¡¯t coming out of its shelter, but I can¡¯t deal with that right now since the last three are still around. I refocus my attention and find the last three appearing a lot less motivated to continue fighting, but that¡¯s their problem, not mine.

    I quickly launch myself at one of them before they come to their senses. This time, I manage to latch onto it with my jaws, I rip and tear into it, a chunk of flesh separating from the wolf. Delicious victory. I can feel myself letting go of my self-imposed restraints.

    I look around and notice that I can¡¯t see the last two wolves anywhere. Darn it! I really wanted to get all of them, but I¡¯m not gonna go hunt down the last two wolves.

    It was my plan to return to town much sooner, just a couple of kills, but this whole thing sidetracked me, so I just chow down on the last wolf I downed. I should check on the toasty one as well.

    Wow, okay. I, uh¡­ I need to be very cautious about doing that again. That wolf most certainly did not survive. I can feel part of me being thrilled at how that turned out.

    Looking around at my handiwork, it occurs to me that my initial reservations about starting a forest fire were well-founded. I¡¯m gonna have to put out some fires quickly!

    There isn¡¯t a lot of fire, to my surprise, but I¡¯d feel bad if I burned the entire forest down. Time to stomp out some embers!

    As I start turning to the first wolf I killed, I find myself curious about what extra crispy wolf tastes like, and yeah, I definitely want to find out. It¡¯s delicious is what that is. It¡¯s so delicious that I give the last wolf a nice roast as well. Don¡¯t kill it if you won¡¯t eat it. It¡¯s the rules.

    It occurs to me that I just packed away three quite large wolves, and I feel like I could easily go for seconds. Fourths? I¡­ may be a bit of a glutton.

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    Their fault, if they weren¡¯t so tasty, they wouldn¡¯t be getting eaten. I should also look over my injuries, and what I see is not good. The protective scales on my ankles are basically gone, and I have bled a fair bit, but it seems to have stopped.

    They got further than I felt, I can definitely see some raw muscle. My body even feels quite bruised too, so their attacks, wait, no, the body slam, that''s why my body hurts. I might have to stay away from wolves until this heals up properly.

    I doubt I¡¯ll get much hunting done from down here, so it''s time to start my trek towards¡­ Right, getting my bearings.

    Turns out it¡¯s pretty tough to see where you are from the ground when you¡¯re surrounded by trees. One could make an argument for seeing that coming, especially given that I¡¯ve already gotten lost like this once. Yeah, that boar is definitely lost. Darn it.

    I guess I¡¯ll just pick a direction and go until I find somewhere I can fly from. To speed things up, I try to run, which is working out surprisingly well.

    I¡¯m not even tripping or anything. I even manage to stop before I crash into that small house, although not entirely quietly. Overall, I¡¯m doing quite well with coordination. A few setbacks here and there, but don¡¯t let a setback become a quit.

    The house itself is in fairly decent condition as far as I can tell, and there¡¯s a neat little fence surrounding a kitchen garden, not much in the way of windows. It¡¯s built with some pretty bulky logs in a general L shape, and it has a very neat grassy roof. All this is sitting in a lovely clearing.

    ¡°Ner du faro ti wiraei yerc un turui?! [Who the fuck is causing such a racket?!]¡± I hear some gibberish I can¡¯t understand coming from inside, I guess whoever it is speaks a different language.

    And then the door swings open with quite some force, and in the doorway is a regular old human woman. She¡¯s not actually old, but she does appear quite pale as she looks at me. I bet she knows where we are.

    ¡°Urlo.[Nope.]¡± Huh, she just went inside and slammed the door. I get the impression that some fences need mending here. This is a very delicate diplomatic situation, so I¡¯m gonna have to be very careful.

    I gently navigate my way towards the front door so I can knock, also gently. It¡¯s surprisingly difficult not to step on things.

    I¡¯m kinda proud of how well I¡¯m doing dodging stuff, barely crushed anything. I¡¯ve even made it all the way to the door. Don¡¯t mind that it was only four meters or so (13 ft), I did well.

    And my tail may still be outside of the garden, but it counts. Now for the next challenge: knocking on the door without breaking anything. Okay, Kira, you can do this. Don¡¯t think about this like a social event, it¡¯s just asking for directions.

    I¡¯m trying to think of ways I can actually knock on the door, but it appears my biology is ill-suited for door-knocking. My head and neck are getting in the way of my hands being able to reach the door.

    I just realized I¡¯m overthinking this. I¡¯m just gonna knock on the wall, which is next to me and far easier to reach.

    It doesn¡¯t take me long to become aware of one problem I¡¯ve overlooked; I¡¯m blocking the door. I¡¯m gonna have to walk backwards here, carefully.

    With great guile and agility, I actually managed to not squish any flowers. Huh, good job me. I¡¯m fairly proud of that, don¡¯t look at the pathway I walked on. It was torn up and full of claw marks when I got here.

    Okay, so while I wait for her to get to the door, I¡¯ll employ my artsy skills again and build a small diorama of my lake and Raya¡¯s town. Surely she¡¯ll know exactly what I mean. To my surprise, this has gotten a lot harder with my growth and twigs being so fragile.

    Aaand I¡¯m done, that didn¡¯t take too long at all, but it did get surprisingly dark. Hmm¡­ The human hasn¡¯t come out yet, I¡¯ll just knock again. Knocking on houses is a fairly delicate matter.

    Since I¡¯m fairly large, if I knock too hard, the entire wall shakes and stuff on the other side of the wall falls down.

    I know this because apparently something important broke, and the human is now outside throwing things. At me.

    ¡°Lero untarei Obletch! [Stop breaking things!]¡± She¡¯s yelling something, but once again, I have no idea what¡¯s being said. Admittedly, this hasn¡¯t been the best first impression, but I¡¯m sure we can recover.

    To my surprise, she¡¯s actually throwing quite hard, and I find myself having to use my wings as a shield. If she threw an actual weapon, she might do some damage.

    Luckily for me, she¡¯s running out of stuff to throw, so maybe there¡¯s a chance I can get directions now. I peek out from under my wings and she¡¯s just standing there at the edge of her garden, looking around.

    I¡¯m gonna have to do something before she finds more ammunition, so I pounce, knocking her to the ground, pinning her gently under my claws. ¡°Runei tona furu nui. [Please don¡¯t hurt me.]¡± Dang it, now she¡¯s crying, I didn¡¯t mean for that to happen.

    I slowly lift my claws off of her, ideally she won¡¯t attack me again. Gonna give her some room; hopefully, she interprets that as me not meaning her any harm.

    At this point, I¡¯m a little hurt at how poorly this has gone, I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯ve shown any hostility. Guess it can¡¯t be helped, I suppose I am a bit intimidating.

    At least now she¡¯s getting up, that took a bit longer than I had hoped, but we¡¯re getting somewhere, maybe.

    ¡°Cora to er orin? [What do you want?]¡± I take a few steps towards my diorama, which is thankfully still intact, and indicate towards it, hoping she¡¯s familiar with the location.

    Before I realize what she''s up to, I feel her touch my neck and- HECKING OUCH!

    She shocked me! This darn human shocked me! Here I am, on my best behavior, and she just uses some sort of electricity to shock me, that is incredibly rude.

    Unfortunately for her, I flinched a lot and the shock unfolded my wing, hitting her quite hard. I thought we were getting somewhere and now she¡¯s unconscious on the ground. Honestly, I feel like I keep getting attacked.

    Screw getting directions, I¡¯m just gonna look around and see if I can find enough room to take off, this has been entirely fruitless.

    Yep, there¡¯s a decently large area behind her house, because this is a clearing, so not only was this interaction fruitless, it was pointless too. Damn it¡­ I need to cheer up with some fun flying shenanigans.

    Night has fallen, but it¡¯s still pretty well lit out here. Spending some time doing glorious flying shenanigans, which did cheer me up a bit.

    I fly towards the familiar mountain, at least from there, I can find my way back to my lake. I can definitely feel my body having taken some hits... Oh dang it! I forgot the boar! Screw it, I¡¯m sure some wolves or a bear or something has gotten to it.

    I¡¯ll just head back and check in with Raya and Joras. Flying really is handy, and you get places so remarkably quickly. I could¡¯ve saved a bunch of time if I had just ignored the weird forest lady. At least I don¡¯t have to bother with her again.

    As I get closer to the mountain, I can see the light of Raya¡¯s town, it¡¯s fairly close, if you can fly anyway. A quick stop by my lake to get rid of some grime, and I''m ready for a town visit.

    I take off and make short work of the short distance between my lake and Raya''s town. I¡¯ll just set down outside and spook the guards.

    As soon as I land, one of them readies his weapon and starts charging, but the other guard seems to have different plans, because he just thrusts the less pointy end of his spear between Chargie¡¯s legs.

    That faceplant was fantastic. My keen dragon senses tell me there¡¯s gonna be bickering in their future.

    The calmer one of the two seems to have stopped a regular person and sent them into town, I¡¯m certain I heard Joras mentioned, but I wasn¡¯t paying too much attention.

    I¡¯m kinda curious whether he sent someone else so he could keep an eye on me or his partner.

    Either way, I¡¯m just gonna have a lie down while I wait patiently and don¡¯t get into trouble.

    Chargie keeps eyeing me suspiciously, and it¡¯s making me wanna mess with him, but I need to control myself and be responsible. Seriously, control yourself, Kira. Don¡¯t let the intrusive thoughts win.

    I¡¯m just gonna focus on a specific spot on the wall and not do anything. How can I not do anything when he turns around to check out what I¡¯m looking at?! I rear up on my hind legs and give him a blast of wind with my wings.

    Admittedly, I may have overdone it by infusing my wings with extra magic, but on the other hand, he did half a flip, and it both looked and sounded very funny.

    Okay, he may be a little upset. I might apologize when Joras gets here. For now, I¡¯m just gonna lie back down and relax; I''ve been doing a lot of exercise today, so I deserve a rest.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    I may have fallen asleep, which is something I suspect, because I¡¯m woken up quite rudely by Chargie whacking me over the nose with the blunt end of his spear. That was heckin¡¯ painful. He wins this time¡­ But no apology!

    Evidently, I slept for a decent bit, judging by the daylight at least. Joras is here, and he¡¯s still got those fancy markings. He¡¯s an efficient fellow, I know this because he immediately drew his dagger as he approached and jabbed himself and me.

    ¡°Impressive restraint, Kira. I would have thought a Dragon would rip someone apart for doing something like that.¡± Much to my amusement, Chargie went pale at that. I suspect he forgot to consider what kind of creature he had struck.

    I¡¯m not gonna hold him accountable though, gotta be able to get if you wanna give like that. Bringing my attention back to Joras again, I ask how he¡¯s doing and if he¡¯s learned more about those markings.

    ¡°I¡¯m quite fine, thank you. And regarding the markings, they appear to overlap exactly with my magic conduits, and they have been thoroughly purified. Most creatures capable of magic will clutter up their magic conduits by interacting with nature. And to remove that residue, continuous use of magic is required. Keep the magic flowing to keep the river fresh, so to speak. But I haven¡¯t had many opportunities for using my particular¡­ flavor of magic, resulting in an unfortunate buildup. And then I was essentially overloaded by untamed and chaotic magic. This magic burned away all the residue. As a result, I¡¯ve gained a decent amount of extra power, but I¡¯d request that you not repeat that event, at least for me.¡±

    Ah, well, that¡¯s a bunch of stuff I don¡¯t know about. Given that he seems quite fine, I suggest we head to his place, since standing around here outside town is all well and good, but I wanna see more stuff. He¡¯s pretty quick to agree, so off we go! I even fit through the gate!

    With everything that has happened this last almost week, I really appreciate that Joras hasn¡¯t been pressuring me for anything. He seems like a genuinely decent, albeit naturally suspicious-looking guy.

    My gut feeling keeps telling me that I can¡¯t trust him entirely, but what do I know? My gut feeling hasn¡¯t exactly been reliable so far.

    Disregarding that stuff, I ask if we can go visit Raya first, he eyes me for a moment, and I¡¯m pretty sure I sense a bit of frustration and resignation. Haha, submit to my demands, mortal.

    ¡°We can visit her if you stop being smug about it, Kira.¡± I really need to find out how he does that, it¡¯s getting eerie.

    It takes barely any time at all to get to her place, granted it helps that folks are fairly quick to move aside as I approach.

    I like that they¡¯re giving me room, since some of these streets are quite narrow, but I feel like it¡¯s because they¡¯re afraid and not because they''re being considerate.

    Standing outside Raya¡¯s place, I employ my newly acquired knocking-without-breaking skills, and it works quite well, I dare say. I only left some dents in the wall.

    Good job, me. I can tell that Joras is impressed by how gentle I can be. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t break anything.¡± What?! Of course I didn¡¯t.

    There¡¯s a large amount of things I haven¡¯t broken! Gonna have to wipe that smug look off his face at some point.

    Doesn¡¯t take long for Raya to get to the door, but for some reason, she isn¡¯t opening it. ¡°Who is it?¡± Compelled to answer, I answer with my various growls, which Joras apparently found funny.

    Why is that funny, Joras? Oh, right, she isn¡¯t affected by his comprehension spell¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t know anyone named Rawrawr.¡±

    Oh, I see what they¡¯re doing, those rascals! For a moment, I consider just opening the door and pulling her out, but I¡¯m not confident that I can do so without breaking stuff, so I need a different plan¡­

    I don¡¯t get time to devise a clever scheme because Raya just opens the door and asks Joras whether I looked funny or not, which apparently I did.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen anyone think that hard about opening a door.¡± Obviously, retaliation is in order, and Raya shall be the first to receive my judgment!

    A thorough mlem across her face, and she is drenched. Excellent.

    ¡°Why am I getting punished? I didn¡¯t do anything!¡± Ah, but you did, Raya, you pranked while delicious, a crime punishable by licks. For some reason, Joras is looking like he¡¯s focusing on Raya¡¯s face, but apparently not enough to say anything about it.

    ¡°How about we head to my lab and get down to business?¡± Right, the thing I might or might not have agreed to. The blood thing.

    Turns out Joras and Raya live quite far apart, with Raya living in what appeared to be a more destitute area, while Joras is clearly well-off. At least he isn¡¯t a snob about it.

    A while later we arrive at his shop, or house, or houseshop, definitely one of them. And there¡¯s no way I¡¯m getting in there, the door was not made for someone like me. I¡¯m gonna have to talk to Turo about making the town dragon-accessible. Guess I¡¯m waiting outside.

    Raya and Joras both go inside and all I hear is some rummaging and walking on stairs. It hasn¡¯t been long, but waiting out here has quickly gotten boring.

    Ooh, I hear someone small walking down stairs, I bet it¡¯s Raya, so now is the time to give her a startle! Moving my head to the door, I open my mouth as much as I can and wait for Raya to open the door.

    As the door opens, I hear a very loud scream, I got her good! Haha¡­ Oh, that is not Raya. I may have made a mistake.

    At least it doesn¡¯t take Raya long to appear now with Joras following after her. Clearly I¡¯m gonna deny any involvement.

    The two of them give the fallen woman a quick check, as far as I can tell, she¡¯s at least fine, but I may have to apologize.

 Chapter 9: Finding a Place

    Now that I have spooked some random citizen, I encourage Joras to get down to business, but Raya isn¡¯t having it. She¡¯s giving me the stink eye for being a meanie.

    I''m harshly informed that the random citizen¡¯s name is Jeannie and she takes care of Joras¡¯ partner while he¡¯s out. Dang it, it¡¯d be much easier to justify not apologizing if she hadn¡¯t been nice.

    Turns out such a simple task, apologizing, is not something my dragon half appreciates.

    ¡°Jeannie, how about you make a request as an apology for the scare? I¡¯m sure you can think of something a giant flying beast can do that very few have tried.¡± Beast?! I¡¯m no mere beast, Joras! Pretty good suggestion though. This guy is taking so many liberties, might have to nip that in the bud.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know what I would ask for¡­¡± Turns out she is quite timid, but it¡¯s fair, what kind of favor would you ask a stranger? I certainly don¡¯t know. He then places his hand on her head and suggests flying.

    Am I a beast of burden now?! This is- ¡°I wanna go too!¡± Dang it, Raya, I¡¯m trying not to be a taxi.

    Putting my foot down, I make it- ¡°Then it¡¯s settled, we¡¯ll fetch some straps and you can both ride Kira today.¡±

    This certainly got out of hand for me¡­

    Raya quickly pulls Jeannie along as they run off to somewhere. Probably to get some straps¡­ I ask him if he¡¯s aware that I can still refuse to give my blood for his experiments and the butt-head just shrugs. He shrugs!

    ¡°I doubt you¡¯ll do that, I¡¯m fairly certain I have your character figured out. You¡¯re very kind, but you¡¯re also easy to read, so I know well in advance when I''m about to go too far. I have no doubt you¡¯re curious how I¡¯m reading you, and I¡¯ll tell you. It¡¯s your eyes. They¡¯re stunningly blue when you¡¯re happy or otherwise content. They turn violet when you start being cautious or excited. And when you¡¯re itching for a fight or otherwise feeling aggressive, they turn a deep blood red.¡±

    I¡¯d say this guy needs to be less observant, but that seems like a super easy way to read someone¡¯s mood. Freakin¡¯ mood eyes, how am I supposed to hide that? Dang it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Kira, I won¡¯t tell anyone who might abuse it.¡± Dang it! He read my mood again¡­

    As I think about ways to hide my mood eyes from being read, Raya and Jeannie return. They''re hauling a surprising amount of leather goods.

    Joras moves closer and suggests that, if I¡¯m up for it, we can fill a vial with my blood and then go outside the gates to sort out this riding session. That would give him time to study while we¡¯re having fun, which sounds like a pretty good plan.

    Apparently the guy just happens to have blood siphoning equipment, that¡¯s not creepy at all. Four vials later, and I don¡¯t feel any different, so that''s good.

    My biggest fear with this whole deal is still that he plans some nefarious scheme, but I also feel that I¡¯m being unfair to him. Can''t do anything about that now, we¡¯re gonna go outside the gate and fly around because flying is so much fun!

    Raya groans loudly when she realizes that she has to carry everything outside the city limits. It isn¡¯t that far, she¡¯s just very small, which makes this excellent punishment!

    Again, folks just move aside as we trudge through the streets, very nice of them. As we make it to the gate, I notice that this gate is even larger than the west gate.

    Apparently, the northern and southern gates are just larger to allow easier access to the city center, while the eastern and western gates are reserved for foot traffic.

    Seems good to have a plan like that. It also turns out that my mountain is in the southeast, which means my original conclusion of flying east when I left it, willingly, was ever so slightly incorrect. It was west, I flew west after I fell, I mean, after I flew from the mountain.

    Focusing up, I notice that Joras has tied a bunch of those straps together and from the looks of it, it¡¯s looking distinctly harness-shaped. At least I¡¯ll be the best darn mount in town.

    I would have thought some sort of leatherworker would be necessary to actually assemble a harness, but Joras just uses some weird glue substance, which sizzles for a bit and then binds the leather straps together. He¡¯d better not make that stuff a permanent feature on me!

    It doesn¡¯t take long for him to finish up his crafting and fling the harness over me, fastening it. Apparently, his plan is for them to just lie on me on either side of my spinal spines.

    Seems weird, but I guess it can work if they¡¯re tied in properly. All this prep for flying is making me itch for a flight. I¡¯m itching for him to hurry up, but he¡¯s taking his time making sure everything is safe.

    The whole ordeal ends up taking about an hour and a half before we get the two women strapped in. But when we do, I¡¯m off!

    Only moments after taking off, Raya is howling and laughing, she gets it. Jeannie, on the other hand, is mostly just screaming, which means I at least know she¡¯s still attached to me.

    We end up just spending half a day flying around lazily without anything in particular happening, and that¡¯s really nice for once. I decide to turn back down, and we make quick work of the journey back.

    I land outside the western gates and, as usual, the guards momentarily ready themselves for a fight, but only momentarily this time.

    Then Raya yells for one of them to help the two women down, and one guard just strolls up to me like it¡¯s the most normal thing in the world.

    Some bickering and cussing later, and he¡¯s managed to cut them loose, but I doubt the harness is gonna be useful again. Didn¡¯t like it anyway, it was uncomfortable.

    Never mind that, it¡¯s time to see if Joras has made any progress! The guards don¡¯t even intervene as I start wandering through the gates. Raya and Jeannie are quick to follow and we make our way¡­ into the town¡­ ¡°You don¡¯t know where you¡¯re going, do you, Kira?¡±

    Shooting a glare at Raya, I just shake my head. Folks are a bit too smug with me, gotta do something to fix that. Now that Raya is leading the way, we actually make it to Joras¡¯ place quite fast, a quick knock later and someone I don¡¯t know opens the door.

    ¡°By the Gods, Joras, I didn¡¯t think it was real. How in the world did you manage to tame a dragon?¡± Oh now she¡¯s done it! It¡¯s slobberin¡¯ time!

    ¡°Lily, don¡¯t use any magic while covered in that substance, please.¡± I can¡¯t quite tell what sort of expression she has, it feels like a mix between curiosity, excitement, and outrage.

    How peculiar. Also, what does he mean by ''substance''? It¡¯s just saliva.

    Joras joins us as he throws a piece of cloth to Lily, he at least looks genuinely happy, that¡¯s easy to tell.

    ¡°It worked, Kira. I¡¯ll tell you what I did later. But don¡¯t tell anyone about the materials you¡¯ve supplied so far.¡± Huh, that¡¯s suspicious, but I¡¯m happy that it worked, good for him.

    ¡°Tell her to never do that again, Joras.¡± Lily¡¯s back, it seems. I might have to have more fun with her in the future.

    ¡°Okay. Don¡¯t talk about taming in front of a Dragon, they may take it personally. And all things considered, you got a rather mild punishment.¡± Oh, so he can be a butt with other people too, that¡¯s good to know.

    ¡°As usual, you just have to be a third party, huh?¡± Judging by the punch Joras received, I¡¯d wager the outrage is feigned.

    The two of them bicker back and forth and I¡¯m getting somewhat bored of just standing here, judging by Raya and Jeannie having left, they got bored too. Wandering the town it is!

    There¡¯s a surprising amount of folks down this street, and they also make way for me to just pass through. Though some are a bit wary, they¡¯re mostly just staring at the spectacle of a dragon wandering their streets.

    Turns out there are all sorts of shops and whatnot around here. Now if only I could fit in any of them¡­ Moving away from the unjustly sized shops, I make my way further into town and end up at a large square. A large square filled with stall shops! Street food! YUSH!

    This situation has me in a bit of a predicament. Things cost money, I have money to pay, but the money is inside of me. I could really use some hands and upright walking.

    Okay, different strategy, mooching. So I just walk up to the first stall and give the vendor my best adorable eyes, which has him looking at me for a moment, and then he grabs one of his skewers and holds it out to me.

    It¡¯s working! Opening my mouth slowly, I lean forward to grab it, but apparently he¡¯s not comfortable with that because he withdrew his hand.

    As I¡¯m trying to come up with a solution that won¡¯t risk bodily harm, he apparently comes up with one first and inserts the skewer between two of my teeth and pulls back. That feels quite weird.

    But it worked! The delicious flavor washes over my taste buds, and goodness, that is good. I suddenly find myself interrupted by more people with treats. This is gonna be a very good day.

    As I¡¯m enjoying some lovely non-verbal networking with the locals, I feel something crawl on me. It¡¯s a kid! It appears this little girl has more courage than most adults approaching me.

    I guess that¡¯s fair, kids aren¡¯t known for identifying danger all that well. With a very light shake, she grabs onto my spines allowing me to stand up without her falling. Now she¡¯s really high up, which, judging by the laughing, suits her just fine.

    To just about no one¡¯s surprise, the adults are not quite as cheerful about this development.

    Obviously I¡¯m gonna focus on the kid, because she seems like a very fun person. She walks back and forth on my back, so I stretch out a wing, which she¡¯s quick to notice and rushes over to balance on my wing arm.

    To my surprise, she¡¯s actually doing a remarkably good job of it. As she gets to the middle of my wing¡¯s membrane, I give it a jolt, causing her to lose her balance and fall onto the membrane. With a scream, she slides down onto a stall¡¯s canopy.

    Someone quickly helps her down, but she appears to want to go again, and she¡¯s no longer alone. I think I might not have given the ramifications of my actions enough thought. I¡¯m swarmed by kids. They¡¯re everywhere.

    I lie down again and rest my wings¡¯ elbows on top of a couple of stalls and let the kids sort it out. They¡¯re very quick to rush up and climb me, taking turns sliding down my wings. Yeah, I¡¯m definitely blocking this pathway.

    Maybe being a playground isn¡¯t so bad, especially since the vendors seem to have made a competition of feeding me. Today is a day of noms and friendships.

    As nightfall sets in, the vendors start packing up and parents collect their kids, and I find myself a little disappointed that the day is coming to an end.

    I¡¯ll just have to see if I can make tomorrow just as fun. I turn to leave and this time, I actually know where I need to go to get to Joras¡¯ place. I just have to follow the slightly damaged cobblestone road.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    They really should do a better job maintaining their roads. Also, it turns out I can¡¯t whistle.

    When I arrive at Joras¡¯ place, I prepare to utilize my glorious knocking skills again, but just as I¡¯m about to do it, I hear Joras shout from inside the building.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do it, Kira. I don¡¯t want damage to my door.¡± Rude! First of all, I was going to knock on his wall, not his door, and second, how did he know?!

    Apparently, Lily is the door-opener this time, with a smile, no less.

    ¡°Welcome back, Kira, I hope you¡¯ve had a good day.¡± I have! It¡¯s been very fun and tasty. I really need to learn some sort of speaky spell.

    Appears Joras is joining us in the doorway. ¡°Want to see a neat trick, Lily?¡± With crossed arms, she just nods.

    ¡°Watch Kira¡¯s eyes, notice how blue they are. Lovely, aren¡¯t they?¡± Well, some flattery is always appreciated.

    ¡°Now, Kira. I¡¯ve been reading up on dragons in the few books I have. And from what I gather, your kin are terrible at general magic, but astoundingly good at your specialties, one of which is self-enchantment.¡± That¡¯s interesting, shame that I won¡¯t be learning all sorts of weird stuff.

    ¡°And Lily is an enchanter.¡± Oh! She can teach me enchanting! Maybe I can enchant my vocal cords to work with speech!

    Lily is looking at me very intensely¡­ ¡°Ooh, I love that! Such a vibrant violet color.¡± Dang it! I forgot about my mood eyes again. I¡¯ll definitely need to punish Joras for that one.

    And he promised not to tell anyone!¡­ who might abuse it. Dang it! The fine print got me!

    ¡°And there¡¯s the indication that we shouldn¡¯t take this play much further.¡± So he says, but that smile could indicate his intentions to do otherwise¡­

    ¡°Now, the point of this little demonstration is, as you¡¯ve no doubt realized, for Lily to teach you some magic and make you more self-sufficient. And to do that, she has to have a way to read you, since facial expressions aren¡¯t likely to work all that well.¡±

    I¡¯m gonna learn more magic stuff! And it might help me talk to people! I am very excited for this development.

    ¡°Appears I don¡¯t have much of a choice here. I hope you know what you¡¯re doing, Joras.¡± She may sound apprehensive, but I can definitely tell that she¡¯s interested in teaching me. And I¡¯m an excellent student.

    ¡°But it¡¯ll have to wait until tomorrow. It¡¯s getting very late.¡± Dang it! Foiled again by Time, that rascal! It¡¯s probably preferable to have the entire day for training anyway. I¡¯m gonna be way too excited about learning enchantments to sleep. Why must you be so cruel, Time?!

    Well, maybe I¡¯ll just go for a flying session then. Have some fun instead of waiting around for tomorrow. I glance up at Joras and he¡¯s just smiling at me.

    ¡°Well done, Lily, you¡¯ve made a Dragon pout like a child.¡± I¡¯m not pouting! I¡¯m considering my unfavorable situation!

    Well, without much to do, I¡¯ll just wander the streets some more.

    ¡°Goodnight, Kira!¡± I give her a small grumble, she¡¯ll get it. Street wandering at night. Stuff is certainly gonna be closed. Nevertheless, I can walk around and get my bearings. So that¡¯s what I do, and apparently these folks have guards patrolling the streets at night.

    Obviously I¡¯m on my best behavior, and I definitely won¡¯t be hiding behind a corner waiting for a guard to startle.

    For how poorly this whole situation started, these people have been quite awesome. It occurs to me that, while I still miss my old home, I can definitely see this becoming my new home.

    My wandering takes me through quite a few streets as well as by a few streets I can¡¯t fit through. And it turns out only the main street is lit up. They''ve got some streetlights with tiny boxes on top. I can see some weird mushrooms inside the boxes giving off a surprising amount of light.

    I''m gonna have to remember to ask Joras about those. Maybe they''re tasty. Returning to my exploration, I notice that most of what I see appears to be residential housing. I wonder what they all do to pass the time.

    Distracting myself from that distraction, I continue my stroll. And to my surprise, I end up at a gate, which is not closed. I look around and don¡¯t see any guards. That¡¯s peculiar.

    Lowering my head to the ground, I sniff a few whiffs to see if I can pick up anything, and I do. Something has definitely snuck inside. Something not gobliny. At least I don¡¯t smell any blood.

    It¡¯s hunting time! I¡¯m gonna track this whatever down. Nose to the ground, I follow the trail, and it doesn¡¯t take long before I have to take a detour.

    Darn this lack of dragon accessibility! Moving swiftly, I make my way to the other side of the passage, I pick up the trail again. I find myself doing remarkably well with this tracking business, and there¡¯s even a guard following me for some reason.

    Curiously, I see no signs of me having passed this way before, not that I leave marks, certainly not minor property damage. Disregarding spontaneous destruction, I continue on my way.

    I get the feeling that I¡¯m moving quite fast, in part because the guard is jogging to keep up with me. I¡¯m definitely getting closer to whatever this smell belongs to.

    Slowing my pace, I attempt to sneak, but the sound of my claws hitting cobblestone makes my presence quite apparent. Hopefully that won¡¯t matter much. I¡¯m very close now, but I still don¡¯t see anything.

    Unfortunately for me, I do feel something. The dang thing jumped me! It latches onto my back and bites down hard. I can feel the scales at the base of my neck crunch. Admittedly, I may have provoked this, but still, what¡¯s with all the attacking me?!

    I thrash around trying to shake it off, but it¡¯s latched on good. Another crunch and I can feel a spike of pain. It¡¯s through my scales. Shit.

    I try to wrap my head around to bite it, but it just lets go long enough to dodge me, and I get a look at it. It¡¯s some sort of cat creature with deep purple fur. And it is big, not as big as me, but bigger than one of the wolves.

    I really need it to stop biting my neck because, judging by the blood flow, it¡¯s making excellent progress, which is a problem. So far, I¡¯ve been careful to avoid damaging the structures, but I don¡¯t think I can afford to anymore. I let out a roar and hope people start evacuating.

    ¡°People! Leave your homes! We¡¯ve got a Mire Panther on the loose!¡± Right, the guard. Good job, random guard!

    All this tussling is telling me that I¡¯m still not entirely recovered from my wolf tumble, can¡¯t do anything about that now. If I don¡¯t kill this thing, I won¡¯t have to care, that¡¯s for sure.

    I see people evacuating their houses in a steady stream, so it¡¯s time to try something. With a running start, I make my way toward a street junction and as soon as I can, I unfold my wings and give a powerful push.

    Using the resistance from my wings, I flip over backwards and land on my back. And that freakin¡¯ hurts. Like REALLY hurts. Don¡¯t land on your back when you have spines.

    Apparently the darn cat doubled down and stuck to me, so it is also not having a great time. I didn''t get it with my spines, but it still took quite a hit from my mass.

    But it¡¯s still able to get up, so as soon as I manage to get myself standing, the dang thing is back on my back! I really want to just burn the crap out of it, but then I''d likely also burn down most of the town.

    Now guards are swarming around me, which limits my movement if I don¡¯t want to crush the little guys. But their spears are also limiting the cat¡¯s movements. It''s hard to be agile in a field of spikes.

    To my surprise, I feel one of them crawl up my tail and onto my back, if I time this right, his distraction should allow me to get a bite in, and with my teeth, escape is impossible unless I want it to.

    The guard on my back swings at the cat, and I use that moment to strike, but this dang thing is quick. At least it¡¯s not biting me right now, which is also a problem because it will easily be able to kill these small guards.

    Oh, an idea. I unfold my wings straight up, creating a corridor for the cat. It does not like that, if the growling is any indication. Two guards with spears jab at the cat from the base of my wings¡¯ membranes, they¡¯re clearly trying to get it closer to my head. Good job, little guys.

    It¡¯s working, the cat is slowly backing up. Patience, Kira. It¡¯s on my shoulder, a precarious position, so I shift and it loses its balance. A perfect time to strike.

    I bite down on its haunch. Hard. I can feel the bones snapping, and it feels glorious. I pull the cat off of me and thrash it around. Property damage be damned, this thing is gonna feel some hard surfaces.

    Whipping it between buildings, I can tell that it is not having a great time, so it¡¯s time to end this. A final whip into the ground, and I grip it tightly with my claws while releasing my bite. It''s time to rip out a throat.

    I barely notice that the guards have climbed down, and I think the blood loss might be getting to me because I¡¯m getting a bit light-headed. Just gonna have a lie down and eat that thing later.

    Just as I¡¯m starting to relax, some jerk splashes water on my wounds. And now some other jerk is trying to get me to open my mouth, just leave me alone!

    ¡°Kira! Stop resisting, you need healing!¡± Is that Raya? When did she get here?

    ¡°Open your mouth so you can drink a healing potion, you overgrown lizard!¡± I¡¯m not a lizard¡­ I¡¯m a mighty dragon. But that is a good point, I need to remember that healing potions are a thing here, so I comply before I just close my eyes for a minute.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Apparently I fell asleep again, but this time, I¡¯m not dead, so that¡¯s very much an upgrade. From the looks of it, I¡¯m still on the same street. I guess I am pretty hard to move.

    As I look around, I can surmise that I might have some apologizing to do. Some folks definitely lost their homes. The buildings are still standing, but they¡¯ve definitely got a more open interior.

    I think I saw someone run off as soon as I started moving. That¡¯s their problem, I¡¯m gonna focus on feeling a bit miserable after that fight. So many things hurt.

    Don¡¯t do backflips with spine spines. Moving my head, I can tell that my neck is still very sore, because ouch. Yeah, I¡¯m just gonna lie here some more. I am officially no longer a cat person. Which reminds me, where¡¯s my snacky reward?! Someone absconded with it!

    ¡°Hello Kira, how are you doing?¡± I don¡¯t know, whoever you are, I¡¯m not a doctor, or I guess. I¡¯m not a veterinarian.

    ¡°Joras should be here momentarily to assist you.¡± Great, then I¡¯ll get to talk to people.

    ¡°Thank you, Kira. That panther would likely have killed more people if you hadn¡¯t stepped in.¡± Oh, so it did kill some, that sucks¡­

    ¡°Ah, Kira, I hear you¡¯ve already lived up to your end of the bargain. Exceptionally well done.¡± That¡¯s definitely Joras. I just growl at him a bit. I¡¯m expecting a jab as usual, but instead he just places a hand on me, and I feel the tingle.

    I can tell the magic is working, so I ask him what happens now, which seems to confuse him. ¡°What do you mean? You really have done exceptionally well. This beast was a significant threat that very few here would have been able to deal with. I assume you¡¯re worried about the damage caused and a couple of lives lost, but, and I apologize for being crass, that doesn¡¯t really matter compared to what you saved.¡±

    But it was a coincidence, I didn¡¯t mean to end up where I did¡­

    ¡°Stop being a petulant child. To do well is not dependent on planning it. You made a choice when the opportunity presented itself, and you made an excellent choice. Celebrate your victory, grieve the losses, but don¡¯t regret not doing more.¡±

    I know what he means, but I¡¯m tired and grumpy¡­ ¡°If you pay attention, Kira, you¡¯ll notice it¡¯s daytime, which means Lily is available.¡± Oh! That¡¯s right, enchantments! Dang it, he used Greater Distract.

    I have to ask him if he knows how many died, but I¡¯m a bit worried about the answer. I¡¯m gonna focus on something more enjoyable right now, breakfast.

    With some effort, I pull myself up and ask Joras to lead me to the food stalls again.

    ¡°They aren¡¯t open today.¡± Darn it! ¡°But we could go find something for you at the butcher.¡± Okay, that¡¯ll work.

    Walking down the streets with Joras is quite a different experience compared to yesterday. People seem almost happy to see me. Geez, word spreads fast. We pass a tavern, and I get curious as I hear folks talk about last night, so I stick my head inside.

    ¡°You should¡¯ve seen it. Fighting alongside a dragon against a Mire Panther, can you believe it? Hells, I barely can and I was there! Damn panther was bigger than a dire wolf, but the dragon wasn¡¯t one bit scared and just fought!¡± Most of the tavern has noticed me and quieted down.

    ¡°Now, you might think us guards wouldn¡¯t be much help, but we were! We kept the damn thing on its toes, so the dragon could finish it off! Proper teamwork. And the dragon is a clever one, immediately working with us.¡±

    He¡¯s a talkative one, it seems. It was a pretty good fight. And then he notices the rest of the tavern has gone quiet, and I half expect him to go pale, but instead he just smiles a wide grin. ¡°Barkeep! Fetch me a keg! I owe someone an ale!¡±

    To my surprise, Barkeep goes into the back room and returns with a small keg, handing it off to the guard. In barely any time at all, the guard has dismounted his chair and approached me, uncorking the keg.

    ¡°Open up, we¡¯re celebrating a disaster averted!¡± Sure, why not. Opening my mouth, he pours a generous amount of ale into it. I¡¯m surprised by how tasty it is as I swallow, I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d have some pretty good stuff available. Not that I was ever much of a drinker, but maybe I could be convinced to enjoy a brew once in a while.

    Opening my mouth again, he pours in even more while having himself a hearty laugh.

    "Fighting alongside a dragon and now drinking with a dragon! Who knows where I¡¯ll go from here!" I can feel the booze affecting me, so I should probably stop here... after the next swig.

    Having emptied out a keg, I¡¯m feeling quite peckish, which reminds me of this butcher that someone mentioned.

    Pulling my head back, I¡¯m immediately met with resistance, the heck¡­ Screw you, resistance, you can¡¯t hold me. I¡¯ll just need to apply more force, which I do. And that worked perfectly, I¡¯m no longer stuck, but someone ruined the door.

    I bet that was why I got stuck, shoddy craftsmanship. Barkeep should sue someone. Apparently, this is a sketchy neighborhood because the other side of the street has sustained damage too, luckily my tail isn¡¯t hurt, could¡¯ve been bad if it got caught in that debris.

    Where was I¡­ Right, food. Joras! Show me the butcher!

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that was wise, Kira.¡± Oh, Know-It-All McDodgy doesn¡¯t think it was wise to make friends with the locals. Well, I disagree, I¡¯m having a great time. Time to hurry him up with this butcher business. Meat! Meat! Meat! I want meat!

    Joras just shrugs and starts walking, seems like we¡¯re finally headed somewhere. This will be delicious, I¡¯m sure. After an amount of walking, we get closer to a delicious smell, which, using my keen dragon senses, I identify as the butcher over there.

    We finish our journey and arrive at the famous butcher I keep hearing about, and it looks so good. As I¡¯m about to go in there, Joras stops me. Apparently, he thinks he should bring the good stuff out to me, and who am I to deny service like that?

    So I find a table and sit down, ready to dig in. In barely any time at all, Joras brings out a large cut of some critter, and he hesitates a bit before placing it on my table.

    Now raw is pretty good, but I do like a nice roast, so I give it a few puffs of flame and now it¡¯s nice and crispy on the outside and raw on the inside, the best of both worlds. There are even undertones of wood. A curious spice choice, but tasty all the same.

    ¡°Kira, you¡¯re eating the table.¡± No, silly, I¡¯m eating what¡¯s on the table. Finishing up my first meal, I ask for another, but someone broke my table, how rude. I should look into all this wanton destruction happening, something¡¯s clearly going on.

    I end up eating a decent bit and then it¡¯s time for a nap. I deserve it, I did well.

    ¡°Kira. Kira! You can¡¯t sleep here, we have places to be!¡± Places will be there when I wake up again¡­

 Chapter 10: Self-improvement

    Who has two wings and feels miserable? This dragon. Ugh¡­ Don¡¯t drink while low on blood. At least I didn¡¯t sleep all day this time, so that¡¯s something. I can tell because apparently I just fell asleep in the street again. And the sun is being a total jerk right now.

    With great effort, I struggle to pull myself up, even just standing feels difficult. I¡¯ve taken quite the battering these last few days, and I need some recuperation.

    Now that I¡¯m actually standing, I make my way towards¡­ I don¡¯t know, I have no idea where I am. I don¡¯t think I can turn around here without breaking something, so I probably shouldn¡¯t do that.

    ¡°Hah, you¡¯re awake! Have some more meat, on the house!¡± Don¡¯t mind if I do. Not sure why this guy is giving me breakfast, but who am I to look a gift whatever this was in the mouth.

    ¡°I tell ya, dragon, eating half my store and passing out has been excellent advertisement for the quality of my products! They¡¯re so good they can put a dragon in a food coma. Hah!¡± I''m pretty sure that¡¯s not what happened, but if he wants to sponsor me, I¡¯m not gonna correct him.

    I make quick work of the chunk and it is pretty good, so he¡¯s got that part right. With snack time over, I try to remember that important thing happening today, but I''m not having much luck.

    Fortunately for me, my next distraction is approaching right now, it¡¯s Raya! ¡°Hey Kira, Joras sent me to fetch you, apparently you have an appointment with Lily.¡± Ah, that¡¯ll be the thing I forgot. Enchantments! That helped perk me right up.

    I motion towards the butcher and give Raya a questioning look. If I really did eat that much, I should pay for it. ¡°Joras paid for it,¡± oh, that¡¯s nice of him, ¡°using the coin he owed you for your blood.¡± Dang it!

    I know that that¡¯s fair and sure, I wanted to pay for it, but I wanted that money for myself¡­ Now I¡¯m worried how much this whole thing cost me.

    I give the butcher a few nods, we set out as I hear him laughing behind us. He seems like a happy guy. We slowly make our way down some streets, well, slow by my standards, Raya is walking fairly fast on her short legs.

    But I wanna take it slow, since I¡¯m still feeling fairly tenderized, and annoyingly, it¡¯s mostly my own fault. I wonder if a healing potion would help, but eh, I don¡¯t have any right now.

    Some trekking later, we arrive someplace I¡¯m familiar with, the square! Now I have some idea of where I am, excellent. Looking around, I try to spot the minor road damage someone caused, but I don¡¯t see it.

    Did they already fix it? These folks work fast, and I¡¯m surprised at how well the repairs are done, I can¡¯t even make out which way I slightly busted up. I look down at Raya, and she¡¯s staring at me with her goofy smile. ¡°Did you get distracted again?¡± Pfft, no! Of course not.

    Moving on, we walk towards Joras¡¯ place, today is the day on which I shall learn magic! On the way there, I find myself somewhat surprised by how bold folks are getting, because folks are actually reaching out and touching me after moving aside.

    Not sure how I feel about that. At least I get the impression that they''re just taking a chance at touching something dangerous.

    We finally arrive at Joras¡¯ place and I move to knock, but then Raya intercepts and knocks first. It¡¯s like these people don¡¯t trust me to be gentle. No matter. Turns out it''s Lily who opens the door, she''s quick to greet us with a smile.

    ¡°How are you feeling today, Kira? I heard you had quite the night.¡± Grumbling, I just flex my muscles a bit, still feeling tenderized.

    Feels like a lot of questions are coming my non-verbal way.

    ¡°Are you up for learning some basic enchanting today?¡± Another question, but yes, yes I am. Raya informs me that she¡¯ll join us later, which sounds pretty good, it¡¯s been a few days since we hung out.

    Joras approaches and hands Lily a bag, and I give him a well-deserved growl. ¡°Found out I spent your coin, did you?¡± Ooh, I¡¯m gonna need to get creative when I decide to punish his smug face. For now, I¡¯ve got learning to do, though.

    ¡°We¡¯ll need to leave town to practice because enchantments can be somewhat volatile.¡± Huh, that¡¯s ominous, but it¡¯ll be fine. We bid Raya and Joras goodbye, Lily by using her fancy-pants speech and me by growling vaguely.

    It doesn¡¯t take all that long to actually make our way outside town, and Lily starts unpacking her bag, starting by laying out a blanket. Apparently, she brought all sorts of tools and materials.

    I have no idea how I¡¯m supposed to use any of that. Big dragon hands and claws aren''t really great for tool use.

    I see four daggers, some padding, I think that¡¯s for armor, and some delicious-looking rings I think might be gold.

    Off to the side, Lily is also setting up those fancy enchanting tools, consisting of some types of ink, quills, a small hammer, a chisel, and a very small vise.

    She finishes up laying out her equipment and glances up at me. ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have to use any of these tools to cast enchantments, but I do. Your entire body is made of enchanting materials, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for you to enchant certain parts, if you learn how.¡±

    I can feel a hunger from her as she mentions my body¡¯s enchanting potential, which puts me a bit on edge. Something to keep in mind, it feels like.

    ¡°Now, to begin with, learning enchanting requires choosing a path of sorts. The first enchants you learn help align you to a certain path, making learning and casting from that path easier, but other paths become more difficult.¡± That seems weird, I want to learn all the things, but this seems like a potentially permanent choice.

    ¡°The paths are offense, defense, and recovery. Technically, there¡¯s also utility, but most utility fits on multiple paths, such as speech. With speech, you can heal through expressing yourself, offend your enemies, or defend your friends, and this is why we, the blessed species, believe this is how it isn¡¯t restricted to one path.¡±

    Okay, by that reasoning, couldn¡¯t most things be justified to fit at least two paths? Like water can be used to clean a wound or sate your thirst, but it could also drown someone.

    ¡°You¡¯re likely thinking that this is too vague, but these restrictions also seem to be affected by how active spellcasting utilizes the spells. So if a school of magic, say Fire, primarily has offensive spells, it will be considered an offensive path, and it''s easier to learn fire-based enchantments on the offensive path.¡±

    That seems a bit arbitrary¡­

    ¡°Remember, this is just how we interpret a natural phenomenon, we could very well be wrong, and the actual reasons for these restrictions might yet be discovered, but so far, it¡¯s the best we have.¡±

    ¡°Do keep in mind that enchanting and magecraft are two different disciplines and work in different ways. Magecraft is shaping the magic of the world into what you want, but enchanting takes much more finesse as you weave the magic into a material in order to create an effect.¡±

    That certainly sounds interesting, but how versatile is it, and can I create any effect I want? That seems like an important question. I don¡¯t even know whether Joras has been casting specific spells or just throwing magic together in the shapes he wants.

    ¡°Now, Joras has warned me that you¡¯re prone to letting your mind wander, we¡¯ll start with choosing which path you want. Personally, I chose to learn defensive enchantments, so I can create resistance runes for some of the elements of the world, or make equipment more durable, but you¡¯re pretty well covered defensively.¡±

    She goes on to explain that offense can increase sharpness, bathe a blade in fire and whatnot, or even bind a weapon to a specific user, causing pain to anyone else. Supposedly it could even work with my claws, teeth, and tail, that¡¯d be pretty nifty.

    Apparently, recovery also dips into some pretty neat utility. Obviously, it heals and stuff, but you can create enchanted pots that grow plants faster, how neat is that?!

    Recovery apparently won¡¯t let you regrow limbs, but it can prevent you from losing those limbs in the first place, which I suppose defense can as well. I guess offense can too, because a dead enemy probably isn¡¯t gonna be chopping you up.

    I really don¡¯t know which path to pick, but if it just makes it harder to learn stuff from other paths and such, I could probably still dip into them.

    ¡°Now, before choosing, we¡¯ll need to test your compatibility, and to do so, you¡¯ll need to try enchanting something attributed to each path.¡± Okay, sounds simple enough.

    Lily lays a dagger in front of me, and apparently I¡¯m supposed to just infuse it with magic like I did with Joras, but try to shape the magic into an edge as sharp as I can. That sounds remarkably easy.

    So that¡¯s what I do. Touch it and push a smidge of magic into it while having thoughts of sharpness. Luckily for me, I don¡¯t own the blanket because it caught fire when the dagger melted.

    Sometimes life presents you with important choices, like am I gonna blame the dagger or admit that I might not get this right immediately?

    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s new. I have never seen something get overloaded by magic like that. I think I may have misjudged the requirements for this training session.¡± Woo! I¡¯m off the hook!

    ¡°It¡¯s obvious that you can already use some enchantment magic, so we¡¯ll focus on calculating your current affinity instead. Try pushing a talon through this padding.¡± She lays out a small square in front of me, and I push through it well enough. It has some resistance, but not much.

    ¡°Good, now focus magic into your talons and push one through this section of padding.¡± I focus on my magic and repeat what I feel when I fly, but direct it towards my claws.

    I don¡¯t really feel anything, but when I push through the padding, there¡¯s much less resistance. Okay, that seems dangerous. I can shred things easily!

    ¡°Before you get too excited, Kira, you should know that this means you fundamentally use a different path to enchantment than the Blessed species do. I could see your magic move, and it was not shaped.¡± She¡¯s frowning a bit, and I¡¯m not sure what that means. Subconsciously, I tilt my head and give her a look.

    ¡°It means I can¡¯t teach you anything. Think of it like learning magecrafting from a fighter. They might have some idea, but the intricacies will be lost.¡± Okay, yeah, that might be a problem.

    Dang it, no tutor for me. I don¡¯t wanna say this entire thing was pointless, but I am a bit disappointed that I won¡¯t have a teacher. On the other hand, I think I can push magic into other parts of my body to gain superpowers, like my super sharp claws.

    So that¡¯s what I try! Starting with my arms, I wanna see if I can regenerate my scales, so I push magic towards my wounded wrists and think about how I want my scales to renew.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    At first, I don¡¯t think anything happens, but then I feel a sharp pain. Well, not so much a sharp pain as multiple sources of dang it to heck, make it stop!

    ¡°Kira! What¡¯s happening?!¡± Huh, Raya¡¯s arrived, just in time to see me do something questionable and writhe in pain. Looking down at my wrist, I can see the scales have recovered beautifully, or been replaced.

    I don¡¯t know how I feel about that, because that freakin¡¯ hurt, but it also seems like I should definitely renew my defenses.

    ¡°Magnificent. It appears you¡¯ve regrown some of your scales. Can you repeat that while I watch?¡± Okay, Lily is making it weird. Given how painful it was to regrow the scales on my wrist, I¡¯m not looking forward to those at the base of my neck.

    Yeah, I¡¯m gonna do that later. I don¡¯t wanna pass out from the pain while outside of town; that feels unnecessarily risky.

    Raya still looks worried, so I give her a reassuring lick, which quickly changes her expression. She now looks wet and mortified. She moves her hands toward her face and wipes some saliva away, but then she does the unthinkable¡­ She flings it back at me!

    I¡¯m hit! With extraordinary dramatic flair, I fall over, which she takes as an invitation to jump onto me, smearing me with my own saliva!

    My immediate thought is that I really need a bath, but it occurs to me that I already did so after sleeping in the street and brawling with large danger cats.

    Now some would say I¡¯m not one to talk, but Lily doesn¡¯t really have much respect for my personal space. She¡¯s poking and prodding at my new scales, and I¡¯m not sure why. She does seem very interested, though.

    ¡°If I pull one out, would regrowing it result in the same painful phenomenon, or would a cleaner extraction result in reduced or no pain?¡±

    I do find myself curious about that, since I don¡¯t know how many of the previous scales were snapped and how many were properly pulled out. Could be it¡¯s just painful in cases of pushing out the previous root.

    Wait, no. This is just gonna lead to more experimentation, and I¡¯m not up for that. And that look in Lily¡¯s eyes is far too hungry for me to agree, plus I just don¡¯t know her that well. Or at all now that I think about it.

    As I get up, I realize that Raya is still sitting on me. It turns out there¡¯s a spot just behind my head where she can sit and hold on to my horns. Guess I¡¯ve got a passenger today. I bet if I could see her, she¡¯d be grinning about having the upper hand.

    At least she¡¯s super light, I¡¯ll just have to be careful not to hurt her. Focusing back on my own magic trials, I try pushing a little magic through my body to see if I can heal some of my bruises, and what I get in return is like a map of the damage in my mind¡¯s eye.

    I don¡¯t like what I see. I have so many bruises all over. I felt the pain, but I hadn¡¯t realized how hurt I actually am. Several of my ribs are damaged, I¡¯m not even gonna deal with what my muscles look like, and several of my spikey spines are just snapped.

    It occurs to me that I¡¯m quite lucky to not have done more damage to myself. No more backflips! Well, maybe some backflips, but no more landing on my back.

    Looking inward again, I can feel a trickle of magic healing my wounds and bruises, but it will definitely take quite some time, unless I¡¯m up for a burst of pain again, which I am not. So it¡¯s not really viable for combat, but it could save me in a pinch.

    To Lily¡¯s credit, she¡¯s just packing up her equipment and not pushing for mutilating me in the name of science.

    ¡°So what are you gonna do now, Kira?¡± My neck massager is asking a fairly valid question, so I think I¡¯ll answer it! Reaching for my magic again, I push it toward my throat and try to speak.

    The result is mostly just growly noises, but I do manage to say ¡°fly.¡±

    ¡°Did you say fly?¡± I did, and then I take off. Ha ha! She is holding on very tightly with her legs, I feel somewhat confident she won¡¯t fall, so I fly a little higher and we soar through the air.

    Deciding it¡¯s time to explore the plains a bit, I focus on flying north. We¡¯re above a bunch of fields, and to my surprise, they¡¯re growing a lot of stuff.

    I find myself reminded of my old world and all the delicious things I used to enjoy. I shouldn''t focus on that now, it¡¯ll just bum me out. Instead, I think I''ll turn my attention towards Raya, who is laughing, screaming, and yelling. It feels fantastic to share this experience with someone.

    As we fly, I spot a few herds of some sort of deer critter, they¡¯re bulkier than the ones I saw in the forest. I¡¯m definitely gonna give them a taste test soon.

    Off in the distance, I see another fortification, but this one has stone walls, unlike Raya¡¯s town, which has wooden palisades. Curiosity getting the better of me, we fly closer for a quick look.

    Turns out ''off in the distance'' is actually a decent bit away, but we make it and we¡¯re soaring over the town. I¡¯m surprised to find all sorts of folks walking the streets. Well, I say walking, but they¡¯re definitely fleeing in a panic.

    There¡¯s even a scalefolk! Judging by the bright green scales, this one is probably male. I kinda wanna go say hello, but I probably shouldn¡¯t, given the whole panic thing.

    I ask Raya if she thinks they¡¯ll allow us to land outside of town and say hello, but she¡¯s a bit wary of the idea.

    ¡°They might just attack us immediately.¡± That does seem to be my theme. Maybe I¡¯ll see how they react tomorrow.

    The sun is setting and the sky changes color beautifully, so I decide that¡¯s enough exploring for today. Turning us around, we fly back towards Raya¡¯s town.

    Flying at a leisurely pace, we end up arriving at nightfall. Today has been another pretty good day, and I can finally talk to people, kinda. As long as they''re fluent in rumbly and growly words, I definitely need practice.

    Soaring over the town, I''ve come to the wise decision that I won''t land outside of town. I¡¯m gonna land in the square!

    With a gentle thump, I manage to land without doing much damage to the cobblestone. Leaning down, Raya climbs off me, stretching her legs.

    ¡°Mom! I want to try the dragon too!¡± I turn to look at the yelling child and it¡¯s the climbing girl! I¡¯m gonna give her a little show, so I release my flames into the air, lighting up the area.

    The little girl¡¯s mom shoots me a glare as the girl¡¯s excitement flies through the roof. Mommy dearest is very quick to drag her child somewhere else.

    ¡°You just can¡¯t help yourself, huh?¡± I didn''t do anything wrong. Raya tells me she has to go home, so I give her a nudge and we say goodnight to each other, and she hugs my face again, feels nice. And then she¡¯s off into the night.

    I think I¡¯ll return to my lake for tonight and take a bath, then heal some more scales. That¡¯s gonna suck, but I have to face the music and do it. Taking off again, I try my best to avoid causing more damage, which I mostly succeed in.

    Good job, me. I''m getting quite good at this dragon business. Aside from avoiding property damage, being gentle is also helping me get a better feel for my body.

    In barely any time at all, I¡¯m in my lake and the water feels amazing, so I submerge most of my body, hoping the coolness will help reduce the big ouch I¡¯m about to feel. Reaching for my magic, I channel it into the base of my neck and my hypothesis is correct; this is a big ouch. In an unfortunate stroke of luck, I don¡¯t pass out, so I get to experience all of the agony, but I also don¡¯t get attacked while unconscious. Mixed feelings about that one.

    Once the pain subsides, I pull myself out of the water, make my way towards my tree and climb up it, I¡¯m starting to want a cave or something to huddle up in. But for now, the tree is nice. At least I¡¯m kinda hidden up here. It takes barely any time at all for me to fall asleep.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The following morning makes it readily apparent that I could use an alarm clock, because it isn¡¯t morning, it¡¯s noon. Climbing down my tree, I go for a nice stretch and my body feels far better than it has for a few days. Definitely need to do more healing sessions in the future.

    ¡°Hey Kira.¡± What the heck! Give me a heart attack, why don¡¯t you. Where did she even come from. Obviously I just ask her how she snuck up on me, and it turns out to be some stupid sneaky potion.

    ¡°Joras gave it to me, so I could come here safely.¡± We¡¯ll call it even on the punishment front, I got quite the startle, but Raya was safer.

    ¡°Can we go flying again? Pleeaaaase?¡± I find myself wanting to decline because I¡¯m definitely not some mount to be ridden at her leisure, but it¡¯s Raya, and she¡¯s been my friend since my first day here.

    The first time was to correct a mistake, and the second time was for convenience, but this would be an active choice¡­

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to, we don¡¯t have to. We can do other stuff.¡± Gah! I wasn¡¯t prepared for her adorable smiling face respecting my boundaries!

    I have to restrain myself from giving her a lick, because yeah, we¡¯re going flying, and the moisture would get cold.

    I lean down so she can climb up, but then she stops after taking hold of a horn. I ask her what¡¯s going on, but she seems a little reluctant to say.

    ¡°I see your scales have healed. I¡¯m sorry it hurts so much to heal them. Thank you for defending Tuiran.¡± I don¡¯t really think I deserve credit for that, but there''s no point in arguing about it.

    Instead, I give a little shake and Raya climbs on. Same spot as yesterday, and once I can feel that she¡¯s ready, we take off.

    This time we fly north of my lake, towards a mountain range. I¡¯m curious what sort of things we¡¯ll see there or on the other side. I¡¯m really getting good at this flying stuff, it helps that I¡¯m not being attacked in the air, unlike on the ground, which has a remarkable amount of attackers.

    I¡¯ve been capable of flying for a few days now, and I¡¯m still surprised at how fast I can get to places. We¡¯re almost at the mountain range already, and we¡¯ve only been flying for like half an hour.

    I see a snowy mountain peak and consider going there, but we should probably prepare for that beforehand, so Raya has proper clothes for it.

    Instead we cross the mountain range and it¡¯s just ocean, lots and lots of ocean.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like that, look at all that water!¡± I¡¯ve never actually been by the ocean before either, so I¡¯m awestruck as well. It really is amazing. I¡¯m gonna have to try some fishing at some point, I bet the fish here are tasty.

    After a while, I feel my attention slip towards other things, and I fly towards the plains again. I¡¯m really curious about this town we saw yesterday, and I wanna see more of it.

    So that¡¯s where we¡¯re heading, and I inform Raya of my plan to see how the townsfolk react after yesterday¡¯s scare. Hopefully they¡¯re over it since I didn¡¯t do anything.

    They¡¯ve got plenty of fields outside the gates as well, and there are farmers tending them. To my surprise, the farmers just duck down instead of running away.

    I¡¯m not quite sure if they¡¯re afraid of me or just being cautious, so I¡¯m gonna try not being threatening as I fly over them.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about this, Kira, there are a lot of blessed people here.¡± I really need to find out what the heck these blessed people are.

    That¡¯s something for later, for now, we¡¯re closing in on the fortress town. A quick flyby and they¡¯ll know we¡¯re here.

    Just to make sure, and because I¡¯m famous for my great ideas, I fly over a southern gate and land on a road a good distance from the gate. And in no time at all, a group of armed people on horses is riding towards me. There are twelve of them, which seems like a rather small force, perhaps they aren¡¯t gonna immediately attack.

    For once, it turns out I was correct! They stopped a short distance from me, and now some old guy with an impressive grey beard is walking closer and I feel a small tingle of magic, but not one targeting me.

    ¡°Dragon rider, what is it you seek?¡± What? Who¡¯s a dra- Oh right, Raya¡¯s still sitting on me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, this wasn¡¯t my idea. Ask her.¡± Dang it, she used one of my strategies, throwing responsibility to someone else.

    Stroking his beard, he seems somewhat confused for a moment.

    ¡°Dragon, for what reason have you graced us with your presence?" Okay, that¡¯s definitely a tonal shift. Trying to keep it innocent, I tell him that we¡¯re just enjoying a day of flying, and I want to see their town.

    ¡°Will you promise to behave in a civilized manner?¡± That seems like a fair question, so I tell him I¡¯ll do my best. To which he just nods and tells me I¡¯m welcome to visit.

    ¡°Er warac to nuio, un themar warac lo ulawa topi jebui Saifwa! [You can¡¯t do this, a dragon can¡¯t be allowed into our town!]¡± Judging by that guy¡¯s tone, he¡¯s less keen on me sightseeing than the old guy.

    ¡°Are you sure about this, Kira?¡± Raya asks with a tinge of nervousness, but I respond with a few nods, which causes Raya to laugh as she suddenly has to hold on tighter.

    ¡°Settle down, Captain. We should always strive to make new friends in these hostile lands. And what better way to make a friend than to invite them in?¡± Huh, weird that I can understand the old guy, but not Captain Cranky.

    ¡°Now then, I believe proper introductions are in order. I am Grand Mage Wreyn. And as my word is my bond, I offer you and your friend protection as you visit our town of Oakhold, as long as you act in good faith.¡± I look over at Captain Cranky, and he is fuming.

    I introduce myself to Wreyn and promise to behave to the best of my ability, which plasters a smile across his face. And he leads us towards the gates, hopefully we get a proper tour.

    ¡°Pardon me for saying so, but I find myself thoroughly surprised by your conduct, Lady Kira.¡± Oh, I¡¯m super well-behaved.

    ¡°Hah, just you wait until she gets bored, she¡¯ll wander off and find trouble somehow.¡± Not now, Raya! We¡¯re making friends and you expose my weaknesses just like that?!

    ¡°Oh? I¡¯m afraid I didn¡¯t catch your name. I¡¯d like to hear more about this trouble she¡¯s so capable of finding.¡± This does not bode well¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m Raya! Just a few days ago, she wandered our town, Tuiran, and she found a Mire Panther. Those aren¡¯t even supposed to live around Tuiran.¡±

    Mr. Wizard just moves a hand to his chin and thinks for a moment. ¡°That is alarming, did she manage to kill it? Hopefully, your kin didn¡¯t experience much hardship from this ordeal.¡± Huh, he seems to be genuine.

    Raya launches into storyteller mode and talks all about how I defeated the large cat, and includes that I apparently destroyed five buildings and got hammered. I may have some memories of that¡­

    "Remarkable. How fortunate that she was near.¡± I¡¯m getting some very mixed feelings right now, feeling both prideful and self-conscious, maybe even a little embarrassed... We¡¯ve made it inside the walls of the town, and folks are very curious, murmuring away in a language I don¡¯t know.

    Since I¡¯m curious, I ask why Captain Cranky is so unwilling to entertain guests, which sends Wreyn into a laughing fit. Like he¡¯s actually rolling on the ground laughing now.

    Geez, he¡¯s barely breathing, how was that so funny to him? ¡°Oh by the Gods, Captain Cranky, oh my. I¡¯m definitely referring to him as Captain Cranky from now on.¡± Finally, he¡¯s regaining his composure.

    ¡°He¡¯s a man of great esteem, titles, and other such nonsense coming out of his ass, but he isn¡¯t particularly personable, which hasn¡¯t earned him any favors in the capital. So now he¡¯s here, serving as the Protector of my town and this region. He only goes by Captain because he prefers being head of the guard to all the nonsense of noble life.¡±

    Huh, that¡¯s a lot. Hopefully, that won¡¯t become a whole thing with the nickname stuff.

 Chapter 11: Inevitable

    We¡¯re moving through a surprisingly large street, clearly made for allowing carriages to pass each other. As I look around, it occurs to me that I have no idea where the knights went.

    They just left us in Wreyn¡¯s care, which is a little bit alarming, since I now suspect he¡¯s strong enough to subdue me. I¡¯m gonna bet on him being friendly though.

    Juuust to make sure, I ask him why he¡¯s willing to risk letting us in. ¡°Consider it professional curiosity. I¡¯ve spent my life studying magecraft, and now a creature of magic approaches my doorstep on friendly terms. I¡¯d be a fool to turn away this opportunity!¡±

    Ah, so it¡¯s not just him being friendly. At least he seems honest. Unless he isn¡¯t entirely honest¡­ I suddenly feel a shiver and ask what this opportunity is, as I fear it might be a ploy to bind me.

    ¡°Oh my, no. Oh, I apologize for that misunderstanding. No, no, no. I have no intentions of deceiving or harming you. What I meant by opportunity would be the chance of being on friendly terms before you grow too powerful, so that you may share some secrets with a friendly face as you grow, and perhaps a favorable glance, should someone else offend you.¡±

    To his credit, he looks shocked and uncomfortable at the implications of what he unwittingly alluded to, but yeah, that still sounds sketchy, politics... So I ask Raya what she thinks, and she¡¯s clearly busy looking around at all the buildings.

    The only reason I can tell is because she keeps leaning towards whatever she¡¯s currently looking at. It seems we¡¯re crossing through a shopping district. ¡°Sorry, I wasn¡¯t listening.¡± Good job, Raya¡­

    Having stopped, Old Man Wreyn strokes his beard again, ¡°perhaps a peace offering would be just the right thing.¡± And then he saunters over to some clothing boutique and slams the door open. Geez, some people are careless with other folks¡¯ property.

    ¡°Ladies! I have an important guest in need of new attire! My treat!¡± This guy might be nuts¡­

    ¡°Du themar?¡± ¡°No, not the dragon, the goblin!¡± They don¡¯t seem entirely sold on the idea of dressing up Raya, but I think it sounds like a tremendous idea, so I lower my head and she dismounts.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about this, Kira. They¡¯re blessed, what if they hurt me?¡± Nudging her, I reassure her that if they do anything, I¡¯ll burn this entire place to the ground. ¡°That seems a bit harsh, Kira.¡±

    As Raya walks into the shop, I glance over at Old Man Wreyn, and he looks worried. Good. "I hope it doesn¡¯t come to that.¡± Me too, buddy. Looking through the window, the seamstresses have gathered around Raya, who is now standing on a platform.

    She seemed apprehensive about this initially, but now that the seamstresses are having her select a dress, she¡¯s much more into it.

    I¡¯m impressed by how fast these women manage to work, I can barely keep track of them. Feeling somewhat suspicious, I decide to ask Old Man Wreyn if he had planned for us to visit this shop, since it seems awfully convenient that we just happened to stop here.

    ¡°Hmm, I appreciate you thinking I¡¯m that good at scheming, but I simply went with the first thing I could think of. Had we been outside a bakery, I¡¯d have bought stuff from there.¡± Darn it! I want snacks¡­

    As I¡¯m watching the magic of tailoring, I find myself surrounded by a bit of a crowd. I¡¯m not really comfortable being surrounded by a crowd of strangers. But luckily for me, Old Man Wreyn starts telling them to disperse, but in doing so, he also calls me a wild animal¡­

    At least it worked and folks are now wandering off. Looking back into the store, I see Raya wearing a very pretty dress with some lovely floral appliqu¨¦s. I bet she¡¯s loving those.

    Aside from watching her joy, this is tremendously boring, I¡¯m stuck sitting out here watching her for hours because these people also didn¡¯t make their town dragon-accessible¡­

    I catch the old man glancing at me several times, clearly wanting to say or ask something. Well, if he¡¯s not ready, I¡¯m not gonna prod.

    Instead, I focus on Raya, who is apparently done getting her dress fitted, as she comes waltzing out of the shop.

    ¡°Look Kira! It¡¯s beautiful!¡± With her wide grin, she twirled around in her new red dress, looking like quite the little lady.

    I¡¯m glad I haven¡¯t done anything to get dirty today, if she¡¯s planning to wear the dress when we fly home. Old Man Wreyn guides us further into the town, and it becomes increasingly difficult not to hear the passersby giggling as they look at Raya. It¡¯s putting me a bit on edge since I can¡¯t understand their language.

    Old Man Wreyn seems to have noticed my mood shifting, and starts looking around. ¡°Do not worry, Lady Kira, these fine folks merely find Raya adorable.¡± I appreciate the reassurance, so I let out a small puff of smoke. As long as things are okay and I¡¯m just a little protective, all is well, I suppose.

    To my surprise, Old Man Wreyn seems fixated on the smoke and waves his arm through it while letting out ¡°oohs¡± and ¡°aahs.¡± ¡°Remarkable! I can see the magic in the smoke. If you intend to set fire to anything, do let me know so I may witness it.¡±

    That seems like a weird request, but if he wants something to burn, then that should be easy enough. So I suggest we set something up, and then Raya and I can start heading back, because I don¡¯t want it to get too late before we leave.

    ¡°Ooh, witnessing Dragonflame is quite rare! Well, not so much rare, quite a few have experienced it, it¡¯s surviving it that tends to be the problematic part.¡± Geez, that turned grim fast¡­ Dragons really have a reputation, huh.

    And he¡¯s off¡­ Our escort just ran away. I offer Raya the opportunity to sit on me again, which she readily accepts, clearly not content with risking her new dress getting dirty. A little princess riding atop a dragon, what a sight that must be.

    Unsure where we were headed, I just opted for continuing down the street in the general direction Old Man Wreyn ran. He¡¯ll probably find us again. How hard can it be for him to spot us? I¡¯m larger than anyone here, by a lot.

    In barely any time at all, Raya and I get lost. So many of the buildings look the same, wooden frame, white walls in between the wood, some windows. It¡¯s just very ¡®the same.¡¯ A quick inquiry to Raya turns out to not be helpful.

    ¡°We probably should¡¯ve stayed put, so he could find us again.¡± Okay, yeah, that would have been a good idea, but I didn¡¯t do that, Raya.

    The obvious choice now is to double down and continue exploring. What could go wrong? Probably a lot, if I¡¯m being honest, but that¡¯s not our problem right now. Wandering further into the town, we see all sorts of people, and now that we haven¡¯t got an escort, they¡¯re a lot less keen on sticking around.

    ¡°You sure we should keep going, Kira?¡± I¡¯m a lot less sure now than I was half an hour ago, that¡¯s for sure. If we find a larger area, I can just take off, but once again everything is too narrow for my wings, my body can fit into these streets, but they¡¯re not great for taking flight.

    All of a sudden, three guys are blocking our way. They look quite well-equipped, and uh¡­ armed¡­ One guy is standing in front of the other two, wielding a large shield and a mace, behind him is an archer with a very large bow, it¡¯s as tall as he is.

    And lastly, some wizard-looking guy with a small stick tipped with a delicious-looking gem.

    They started shouting something and my bad feeling about this whole thing got worse, so I set Raya down and ready myself for an attack. This time, I refuse to be caught unprepared.

    The archer loosed an arrow, hitting my shoulder. To my surprise, the arrow penetrated my scales without much difficulty. I flinch and the shield guy charges.

    I feel the heat within me rise, his turn to be surprised as I unleash my flames with all the power I can muster. He doesn¡¯t make it to me before his shield is ruined and he takes the flames head-on.

    I don¡¯t stop until he stops screaming. The smell is tantalizing, and I feel a thrill growing within me. I want more.

    Unfortunately for the citizens, the nearby buildings caught fire. The wizard uses this opportunity to throw out magic, and I¡¯m struck by several globs of adhesive, limiting my movement by making me stick to the ground.

    Another arrow hits me in the back, and I can see the bastard nock another arrow. I need to break line of sight, so I pull myself out of the goop and move into a nearby alley. I feel another arrow hit my tail. How the hell aren¡¯t my scales protecting me?!

    Fortunately, Raya is smarter than me, because she¡¯s already in here. I don¡¯t have time to wait, so I scoop her up in my mouth, careful not to hurt her, and then I climb up the wall of one of these three-story buildings. It¡¯s not especially comfortable. The alley is barely wide enough to fit me, so my wings rub against the walls.

    Before I reach the roof, I feel another arrow striking me, lodging itself in my thigh. As I reach the roof, I spit out Raya on a neighboring building, and I can hear people running up stairs underneath me. I¡¯m gonna assume it¡¯s those bastards following me.

    I try unfolding my wings, but the adhesive goop is limiting how much I can spread my wings. I doubt I can fly with this nonsense sticking to me. What I can do is get a bit of lift¡­ I don''t want to be caught out here on the open roofs, I can''t allow them to keep attacking me from a distance. This fight needs to be brought to a smaller area, and I have an idea.

    Partially unfolding my wings is the best I can do because of this freakin¡¯ goop, so I use that to increase my jump height and try to slam down through the roof.

    It becomes immediately apparent that the roof wasn¡¯t built for this kind of abuse, but it won¡¯t be long until those two bastards are on me.

    After a few slams into the roof, it starts to crack. A couple more and I¡¯ll break through and hopefully crush my pursuers. The roof access latch opens, and it¡¯s the archer. I should have been prepared for that.

    I swing my tail around, but he manages to dodge. Another jump and the roof cracks. I fall through, landing on the third floor. The wizard appears very surprised by my sudden appearance, so to capitalize on that, I unleash my flames again. I want to see him burn. But my flames aren¡¯t reaching him.

    Another freakin¡¯ surprise¡­ He¡¯s using some sort of barrier to protect himself, but I can¡¯t stop now, that would only give him a chance to retaliate. Another arrow hits me, right in the mouth, pinning my tongue to the bottom of my jaw.

    It doesn¡¯t stop my flames, though, so I keep going. Even with the roof of the building missing, smoke is filling the increasingly hot room. I feel inclined to keep it going, but that archer is a problem. One lucky shot could be the end of me.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    I need to get out of here, so I rush toward a wall and body-slam it, breaking my way through. Instead of falling, my claws rip into the wall on the other side of the street, but that just leaves me as an easy target.

    I quickly move and jump onto the side of the building next to the one I broke out of, where the bastards are.

    This is going to be fun. I ready myself by the hole I created in the wall, still hanging onto the outside of the building. It doesn¡¯t take long for the archer to stick his head out, and I strike.

    Biting down on his torso, I rip him from the building and shake him with more power than I probably need to. His torso tears apart, and my thrashing sprays most of his intestines across the street, his legs landing with a thud at the base of the building.

    He may be a bastard, but he is a delicious bastard. I quickly swallow the chunk I ripped off. It tastes glorious. I climb up on the roof again. I¡¯ve still got one person to deal with.

    ¡°I surrender!¡± Too fucking bad, you picked this fight. He has moved into the center of the room I broke into, so I jump him and rip his belly open.

    Thrusting my face into the juicy bits first as I tear out and eat his organs. He¡¯s even juicier than the archer, and I can feel his power become mine.

    Once I finish up my meal, I leave through the gaping hole in the wall I charged through, climbing down onto the street. I¡¯ve still got a crispy treat waiting for me.

    My thoughts drifting back to the charred wolf, I can¡¯t help but salivate in anticipation. He¡¯s still there. I bite into one of his legs and rip it off.

    He¡¯s just as tasty as I expected. I¡¯m halfway through him when I hear someone shouting at me. Turning to look at the source of the obnoxious shouting, I find a very pale guard.

    Fantastic, more treats have presented themselves.

    ¡°Kira! Stop! Please¡­¡± Why should I stop when I¡¯m having so much fun and these witless treats keep presenting themselves?!

    ¡°I don¡¯t like seeing you like this, Kira.¡± Too bad! This is what they want me to become!

    ¡°Don¡¯t let them force you to become what they fear you are, Kira. You¡¯re my friend, remember that. You¡¯re our protector, not this monster. Please.¡±

    Before I can understand what¡¯s going on, I fall to the ground as a deep shattering sensation overwhelms me, as if my head is being split open. Like something inside me is screaming with all of its might. Screaming in abject horror and disgust.

    As I¡¯m pulled out of my bloodlust, the screaming quietens, and I regain my strength. I look over at Raya, and it¡¯s clear she¡¯s been crying. Because of me¡­ I need to control myself for my friends.

    I tell her it¡¯s time for us to go, we¡¯ve overstayed our welcome¡­ I try to shake off the goop and find myself surprised that it does come loose. My guess is that it lost its potency once the wizard couldn¡¯t maintain the spell anymore.

    Raya enters the building she used to get down to the street, and I scale the wall one last time. When I get to the top of the building, I wait for a moment and Raya shows up, so I lower my head, allowing Raya to climb on, and we fly back to Tuiran. At least that place is friendly¡­

    I fly over Tuiran and see the square empty, so that¡¯s where I land. I¡¯m just gonna lie down for a bit¡­ It doesn¡¯t take long for folks to start gathering, and recent events have left me somewhat weary of that.

    I let out a soft growl, but they just keep sticking around. Some of the guards gather, and suddenly I feel a stabbing pain, which makes me want to lash out.

    ¡°Please be calm, dragon, we have to get these arrows out.¡± Right, of course¡­ I can feel a few people climbing on me, and then a sharp pain in my thigh. Apparently, the arrow is stuck deep enough to need several people pulling to get it out.

    It fucking hurts¡­

    ¡°If I had known you¡¯d be bleeding all over the place, I wouldn¡¯t have paid so much for your blood.¡± Looking up, I see Joras. I don¡¯t really appreciate his smartassery right now, but I do appreciate that he immediately gets to work helping the guards.

    Evidently, I got hit more than I realized because they¡¯ve pulled out five arrows, and I¡¯ve still got one stuck in my lower jaw.

    Joras then asks if that was all of them, so I open my mouth to reveal the remains of the last arrow.

    ¡°I might have to volunteer someone else for that one, in case of chewing.¡± Without realizing it, I end up growling at him.

    ¡°The growling isn¡¯t really selling me on you not chewing, Kira.¡± He eventually relents and, with some help, manages to pull the arrow out, which is very relieving.

    I look over at Raya and¡­ her dress is torn¡­ even the one good thing we got out of this has been ruined¡­ ¡°Are you going to be okay, Kira?¡±

    I¡¯m about to give her a lick when I remember that I¡¯d cover her in blood if I did, so I stop myself. I confirm that I¡¯ll be okay and apologize for ruining her dress, but she just gives my face a hug. We¡¯ll have to find someone to repair it.

    ¡°So, what happened, Kira?¡± Joras looks at me with his remarkably indifferent eyes. Raya gives him the cliff notes, and he shrugs but goes on to explain that we likely encountered adventurers.

    Apparently they¡¯re an independent organization working to reduce the number of threats to settlements. It seems like good work, but screw those guys. I didn¡¯t do anything to deserve getting attacked.

    ¡°I must say, I¡¯m quite curious how this will turn out. Adventurers going against the wishes of a lord, and a Grand Mage at that. It is profoundly foolish behavior. While it is possible that the Grand Mage set you up, I doubt he¡¯d be so careless as to do it in his own domain.¡±

    I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen Joras¡¯ brow wiggle with such intensity before, he must be giving this quite a lot of thought.

    He ended up thinking of several scenarios in which this whole thing would make sense, but I don¡¯t really care right now, I¡¯m more inclined to just lie here.

    I wanna mope, but every time I think about those adventurers, my frown is quickly turned upside down as the memories of a thrilling battle fill me with exhilaration.

    Joras is still mumbling about schemes and stuff, but I don¡¯t think anyone is paying attention to him anymore. It¡¯s kinda fascinating watching him just ramble on by himself. Like a white noise machine.

    It¡¯s surprisingly soothing to just hear him rant in the background, and it doesn¡¯t take long before I end up dozing off.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Delicious smells in the air rouse me from my glorious slumber. Slowly opening my eyes, I see that the food stalls are back!

    ¡°Hah! It was my skewers that woke the dragon! Come try the best skewers in town!¡± It was kind of a combined effort, I think. And then I notice an underlying smell, sort of like decay and blood, and it feels close by¡­

    I look around to locate it and I realize it¡¯s me. I¡¯m still covered in adventurer. Yeah, I¡¯m gonna need a bath, but as I stand up, it occurs to me that these people are very unafraid of me.

    They¡¯ve been setting up their stalls very close to me, and I don¡¯t really have room to take off without risking damaging something.

    Luckily for me, I¡¯m much taller than these folks, so I can see a fairly open area that¡¯ll be excellent as a launch pad. I start making my way over there, ignoring the tasty treats for now.

    Once I reach the launch area, I unfold my wings and people are quick to step back. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever get tired of flying.

    I head straight toward my lake to get a good lake bottom scrub in. I manage to get most of the grime, but there¡¯s definitely still some stuff stuck, but that¡¯ll have to do. I need to figure out how to make some sort of car wash for dragons.

    Enough of that, I¡¯m gonna head toward the plains and pick up a few snacks. I bet I can trade them for cooked snacks. I am Kira, fearsome lake dragon and barterer of snacks! Rawr!

    Taking off again, I find myself flying at a leisurely pace. My thoughts are drawn to the events in the human town. I find myself mostly indifferent to having killed multiple people and caused what I assume is quite a bit of property damage. At the same time, something inside me feels like it wants to cry and mourn for my attackers.

    I¡¯m not sure what to make of that, but I¡¯m confident I¡¯ve crossed some sort of threshold. I¡¯m definitely starting to see humans as an enemy, and why wouldn¡¯t I? So far, they¡¯ve been quick to judge me an enemy.

    As I¡¯ve been flying over the plains, I have kept an eye out for those deer creatures, and they seem quite plentiful now that I¡¯m looking for them. I pick out one as my first target and go for a swoop.

    It works perfectly and I¡¯m feeling quite proud of how good I¡¯m becoming at hunting. Deciding I deserve a reward, I just eat the entire thing quickly. They¡¯re fairly small, I¡¯d say about one and a half meters tall (5 ft), which now occurs to me is actually pretty large, I¡¯m just larger.

    I fly away from the kill site and take aim at a few more of these critters. Bringing a few back to Tuiran is definitely gonna earn me some good food, maybe even some money.

    It barely takes any time at all to swoop in for the kill a few more times, my end result is three more critters to return with. I¡¯m surprised at how different it is to take off while carrying something.

    Instead of getting distracted and going off-course, I manage to fly directly towards Tuiran, but then I get distracted by some horse rider. I think it¡¯s Old Man Wreyn, and he¡¯s alone. Curious.

    Now we might find out which of Joras¡¯ endless ideas is the correct one, but just as a precaution, I should mentally prepare myself for him to attack.

    As I approach Tuiran, I aim for the square to drop my deer off. I quite easily spot the area in which I woke up, so that¡¯s where I¡¯ll drop the fresh meat. I¡¯m sure the vendors will figure out what to do with them.

    Now to focus on even more important things than food; potential danger. I don¡¯t know what Old Man Wreyn wants, so I fly on over to where I assume he¡¯ll arrive and let out a roar.

    The guards are quick to respond and start gathering from most of the town. They¡¯re a clever bunch, not leaving the other areas entirely defenseless.

    I land just outside the gate and the guards rush to gather around me. I¡¯m genuinely surprised by how willing they are to not only fight by my side, but also to gather at my command.

    By the time guards stop trickling out of the gates, the rider is in clear line of sight and still approaching without slowing down.

    For a moment, I think that¡¯s promising because surely someone who¡¯s here to attack would slow down after seeing us, but I realize I don¡¯t actually know how they would react.

    So for now, we wait and let the rider approach. Geez, it¡¯s boring to wait, I¡¯m just gonna have a sit down. I¡¯m very tempted to just fly out and torch this person, at least then I wouldn¡¯t have to wait anymore.

    Glancing around, the guards look quite disciplined, they¡¯ve arranged themselves into organized rows and are looking surprisingly intimidating.

    He¡¯s finally approaching, it¡¯s definitely Old Man Wreyn, and he¡¯s casting that spell of his again. Before he gets too close, he just stops and dismounts.

    ¡°Lady Kira! I seek an audience!¡± I have no idea why he¡¯d want an audience, so I just inform him that he can consider these guards his audience and get on with it.

    ¡°This is no time for jokes. Please, we must speak about what has transpired.¡± Oh¡­ Well, now I feel silly. Just gonna go with that being an inappropriate joke¡­

    I tell him to approach, and he quickly does so, followed by kneeling in front of me. I¡¯m getting very mixed emotional responses at this, it feels very awkward, but it also fills me with pride.

    Using my most commanding voice, I tell him that we can speak once my councilor arrives. I ask a nearby guard to fetch Joras, the guard quickly runs off without questioning me. I could get used to this.

    I turn my gaze towards Old Man Wreyn, he seems quite uncomfortable, but he¡¯s waiting patiently for Joras to arrive. My plan so far is just to throw this responsibility onto Joras and let his smartassery win this battle of wits.

    To my surprise, Joras arrives after only a while of staring down Wreyn, and I introduce the two to each other. Wreyn explains how he heard about the events with the adventurers, but he still believes that an alliance is possible. Though the people of Oakhold are split between blaming me and blaming the adventurers.

    Apparently, some folks believe it was only a matter of time before I caused a ruckus, and the adventurers just happened to be the catalyst this time, but anything could¡¯ve set me off.

    That¡¯s obviously nonsense, I haven¡¯t caused a ruckus all day. I considered bringing this up to defend myself, but I¡¯m sure Joras would do something silly, like point out that it¡¯s only barely past noon.

    Wreyn goes on to explain that the folks who believe I¡¯m the innocent party in all this are now very much against having adventurers around. Well, maybe not innocent, but at least not the aggressor.

    It turns out you look a lot less innocent when you spray half a person across several buildings. Something Wreyn pointed out he¡¯d prefer I didn¡¯t do again.

    According to Wreyn, adventurers tend to cause problems wherever they go, but they¡¯re necessary, so folks just deal with the aftermath. Which is exactly why he wanted to get in my good graces.

    How bad are adventurers if a giant man-eating danger lizard is preferable¡­

    Turns out very bad. He also considers this whole ordeal their fault because, according to him, I did behave very well until they stepped in, and that¡¯s when the fire started.

    Although he¡¯s not really comfortable with the man-eating part, if they didn¡¯t want to get eaten, they shouldn¡¯t have been hostile while being tasty.

    ¡°Miss Dragon, may we leave? It doesn¡¯t seem like there¡¯s much for us to do.¡± I completely forgot about the guards¡­ They¡¯ve just been standing here dutifully. I dismiss them and suggest they try some of the food stalls and see if the cooks have used any of the meat I brought.

    Watching these two go about their talk is tremendously boring, so I join the guards and leave.

    ¡°Wait, Lady Kira, where are you going?¡± I can¡¯t think of an excuse, so I just give him a look and continue leaving.

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to excuse her, she¡¯s very busy, unfortunately. Although I assure you, I can negotiate just fine on her behalf, with or without her presence.¡±

    I¡¯m just gonna disregard that chill I felt.

    I¡¯m gonna find Raya and see if she¡¯s up for something. Which turns out to be a remarkably easy task because she was waiting for me just inside the gates. She¡¯s curious about what¡¯s going on out there, so a quick somewhat accurate rundown later, we¡¯re walking down the street at a leisurely pace.

    Glancing at her as we walk, I note she¡¯s wearing her usual outfit, so I¡¯m reminded that I need to ask about repairing her dress.

    ¡°That¡¯s not important right now, Kira. We should talk about what happened in the human town.¡± I disagree¡­ We should probably focus on something else, like her dress.

    ¡°You really scared me, Kira. You¡¯ve been aggressive before, but this was different.¡± I don¡¯t want to talk about it¡­

    ¡°It was like you were a wild beast, reveling in the kill for fun, not because you had to. What happened?¡±

    The stupid rain is back¡­

 Chapter 12: Clarity and Support

    Raya keeps pushing me to talk, and I know I have to at some point, but I just don¡¯t want to right now. I¡¯ll have to explain that I have no problem with the killing, but I feel so bad for scaring her.

    Her friendship and Joras¡¯ support are huge parts of why I¡¯ve been able to stay sane throughout this whole thing. If I scare them away, I don¡¯t know what I would do.

    ¡°You have to talk to someone, Kira. You can¡¯t carry everything yourself. No one can. So please, just talk to me.¡± I feel trapped between my pride and my wanting to rely on her.

    I¡¯m struggling with myself to do something here, but instead of continuing to demand I talk, she just hugs my face again, a familiar comfort by now. At least I¡¯m not so scary that she feels like she has to stay away.

    ¡°I know the world is tough, Kira, and sometimes you have to do bad things, but you don¡¯t have to become a bad thing just because some dumb blessed people out there think you are.¡±

    Basking in her friendship, I ask if she really doesn¡¯t think I¡¯m scary, which for some reason makes her giggle.

    ¡°I mean, sort of. You¡¯re many times larger than me, and you kill things that could easily kill me, it¡¯s hard not to be intimidated, but we¡¯re friends. And besides, have you seen you? Your teeth could rip me apart before I realize what¡¯s going on, your talons are longer than my body¡¯s width. You have like a dozen ways to kill me accidentally. I¡¯d be dumb to not think you¡¯re a little scary.¡± Gee, thanks for summing that up¡­

    ¡°And your scales are so hard, I couldn¡¯t hope to fight back. And you might not know this, but in our culture, darkness is seen as bad because that¡¯s where stealthy humans and predators hide, and your body is very dark and you can cast quite the shadow.¡± I interject and point out that my scales are very pretty.

    ¡°They are, but they add to making you scary.¡±

    Can we go back to talking about emotions? Geez¡­

    ¡°And the fire? You can cook a guard in his armor before he reaches you, how is that not scary?¡± Enough, I get it, I¡¯m big and scary.

    ¡°On top of that, you can fly. We have no chance against that.¡± Yeah, I¡¯m just gonna push her down and lay my head on top of her. That¡¯ll shut her up¡­

    I squish her and begin my relentless assault of purrs, she has challenged the wrong foe!

    ¡°I give up, I give up! Please release me, mighty dragon!¡± Well, if she puts it like that, I kinda have to release her. Once she gets up, I lower my head so she climb up on her perch again.

    With that successfully pushed to the side, we continue on our journey through the streets.

    My thoughts start to wander back to me being scary, so thinking quickly, I divert my attention away from that by asking Raya how she¡¯s doing regarding her financial situation. I haven¡¯t seen her out gathering much recently.

    ¡°Turo set up a small job for me to do, but I don¡¯t really have to do anything. Mostly people just started calling me the Dragonbringer, and my job is to keep an eye on you.¡± Hah, you¡¯re doing a great job there, Raya. I¡¯ve only ruined a bunch of buildings.

    Speaking of Turo, I haven¡¯t heard from him for some time. He seemed like a decent enough guy, but Joras is currently busy, so I don¡¯t have a decoy for any political stuff he might bring up. Yeah, I¡¯m just gonna go ahead and not find out where Turo is.

    I wonder if we should get some more money for the heroic Dragonbringer, so I suggest we go hunting for herbs like we once did.

    ¡°It¡¯s more about looking for them than hunting, but yeah, I wouldn¡¯t mind doing that. We can even go look in the southeastern mountains.¡± She ends up listing off a bunch of herbs that grow around the mountain, but then she goes and suggests a very interesting idea.

    ¡°Since you can smell coin, can you also just smell the metal in the mountains?¡± Well, now I definitely want to find out. On the other hand, what if I can¡¯t resist munching on any precious metals we find? That''d be weird.

    Raya then suggests another idea; going to the blacksmith to see if I can sniff out other metals, but I don¡¯t think I can, otherwise the guards¡¯ armor should¡¯ve smelled more than they did.

    As we continue our journey through the streets, it occurs to me that I should ask Raya where the blacksmith is.

    ¡°You should be able to find it, it¡¯s located in the northwestern section of town, and it has a very distinct smell.¡± She has a point, and I am starting to figure out my way around, so I¡¯m willing to give it a go!

    Using my keen dragon senses, I ask a local where the Blacksmith is. Raya bonks me on the head and yells at me while giggling. ¡°Hey! That¡¯s cheating!¡± I disagree, using the resources available to you only makes sense in a survival situation. And now I¡¯ve got a lead!

    Turns out I would have found it pretty fast if I had put in more effort. I did try to smell it out, but all I could smell was smoke coming from the houses

    Once I stop focusing so much on my sense of smell, I realize that I can hear the clang of metal in the distance. It takes a few tries before I find a path I can actually use.

    After several detours due to the lack of dragon-accessible streets, we finally arrive at the blacksmith, who has apparently already heard we were coming. Somebody snitched on me!

    There''s no way I''ll find out who the snitch is, so it''s ore-smelling time. But I don¡¯t particularly feel like talking, so I let Raya down and she makes short work of requesting samples of whatever ores the blacksmith has available.

    A few quick glances my way, and he shuffles into his workshop and, judging by the sounds, rummages through a bunch of crates.

    I realize it¡¯s taking quite a while for the blacksmith to return when Raya stops me from wandering off. There¡¯s definitely something in the blacksmith''s workshop that smells nice.

    I wanna find out what that smell is, but before I can get to it, the blacksmith returns with a bunch of rocks in his arms.

    Since we need to figure out which ones I might be able to track, I give the most fragrant one a lick, to which the blacksmith reacts by carelessly dropping the rocks on the ground.

    Giving the rocks a quick look, I feel confident that I¡¯m gonna have to be more thorough than just licking them, so I pop the wet one in my mouth and it has a very nice taste.

    Now onto the next one, there¡¯s one more that smells quite good. ¡°Did the dragon just eat my ore?!¡± Oh, I guess I did. That¡¯s probably not something I should do. Ores tend to contain all sorts of weird stuff. So I try to regurgitate the ore and, weirdly enough, I find that it¡¯s very easy to do.

    ¡°Did the dragon just spit out a bunch of coins?!¡± Those are mine! He can have the ore back, but the coins are definitely mine.

    Raya seems to be content just watching us, so I ask the blacksmith what the ore I ate is, but he¡¯s not being overly useful. ¡°Did the dragon just fucking talk?!¡± Okay, my name really isn¡¯t ¡®the dragon,¡¯ buddy.

    A quick glare and a growl later, he finally pulls himself together, he finally starts talking about the ores. Turns out the one I ate is quite valuable, and according to him, it was tin. Sweet, delicious tin.

    I find myself curious as to what determines whether it¡¯s valuable and tasty, but I¡¯m not gonna linger on that, I need to memorize some scents. So we start with tin, then copper, the one I was going to eat next. And finally iron. Apparently I just really like metals.

    There are a few other rocks as well, but they smell weird, so I¡¯m not gonna taste them. We thank him for letting us see his rocks, and he grumbles something about them being metals while he¡¯s picking them up from the ground.

    As he walks through the doorway to his workshop, he lets out another loud noise. I''ll look into that after collecting my money again.

    ¡°My fucking forge is dead!¡±

    That¡¯s a shame, and I kinda wanna help him out, so I nudge my head inside and see what¡¯s going on. Yep, that¡¯s a dead forge, alright. Naturally, since I¡¯m very helpful, I suggest that I can help light it again, but he just turns and looks at me.

    He hasn¡¯t actually answered me yet, but he¡¯s filling up the forge with coal, so I assume he does want some help. Once there¡¯s a decent bit of coal in the forge, he steps back and I release a very controlled torrent of flame.

    I even managed to not burn the place down, so I¡¯m feeling very proud. For some reason, the blacksmith is just standing there in silence. ¡°A goblin like me, forging in dragonflame¡­¡± You¡¯re welcome, buddy.

    Since I didn¡¯t wanna get stuck, I made sure to not force my horns inside, so pulling my head back out is very easy. Would be even easier with bigger doors, though.

    I turn around to face Raya and for some reason, she¡¯s managed to find snacks. ¡°Wanna try one?¡± Yeah, I wanna try one, gimme.

    She throws a chunk of some sort of pink candy into the air and I snatch it up like an expert. It is delicious, I want more. ¡°No, these are mine, Kira. Buy your own.¡± Rude¡­ I don¡¯t even know where she got the candy.

    I suggest we postpone the metal scouting until tomorrow and instead go find Joras to see if he has concluded his diplomacy. We¡¯d have gone out for a trip today, but it¡¯s getting quite late, since this blacksmith business ended up taking longer than expected. Far too many detours for my liking.

    As we¡¯re making our way toward the western gate, I nudge Raya a few times, and she uses one of her treats to distract me. Just like I planned.

    As soon as we¡¯re outside the gates, Raya gets on me and we fly across town to the eastern gate, so we can see if Joras and Old Man Wreyn are still there, but they aren¡¯t.

    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    I¡¯m guessing the talks have concluded. We fly up to the northern gate and enter through there, since it¡¯s closer to Joras¡¯ place. Three gates passed today, and none of the guards attacked me, that feels really nice.

    A short knock from Raya, and Lily opens the door. We ask if Joras is available, but Lily informs us that he never returned. I don¡¯t like that one bit. I tell Raya to look for him around town, and I head back to the northern gate.

    I take to the air and start flying around to spot him, but I don¡¯t see him on the streets, at least. I¡¯m beginning to worry that Wreyn abducted him, so I fly out to check the roads, but I don¡¯t see either of them anywhere.

    Get a hold of yourself, Kira. You don¡¯t know that anything has happened.

    So instead of jumping to conclusions, I''m gonna fly back to Tuiran and search for Raya, maybe she has found either of them. But now I can¡¯t find her. That might just be because she¡¯s in a building somewhere. So I return to Lily to ask again.

    Finally, someone is where I expect them to be. She mentions that Raya did stop by and the three of them are down at the tavern. She also says something about me supposedly having damaged the building, so it would be easy to recognize, but that doesn¡¯t sound like something I would do.

    It¡¯s getting annoying to have to go outside the gates to take off, so I might have to see if they can reinforce some buildings for me to climb.

    Nevertheless, I make it to the tavern in a short time and do a hover-drop, simply flying above the buildings and tucking in my wings. A quick peek inside, and the barkeep immediately starts shouting.

    ¡°No booze for the Dragon! Anyone who breaks this rule will be buying me a new building!¡± I call discrimination¡­

    ¡°Ah, Kira, I hear you were worried about me.¡± Pfft, no... Maybe a little. ¡°I appreciate it. Wreyn and I just felt like a drink and a talk, is all. Don¡¯t you worry your jagged little head about it.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure I like drunk Joras, but they seem to be having a good time, though.

    ¡°You¡¯re a lucky one, Wreyn. If I had to guess, Kira here would¡¯ve burned down Oakhold looking for me. Best friend you could ever have. Just ask Raya.¡± Raya is looking mighty uncomfortable with the attention Joras is forcing on her.

    Joras is quick to swing his arm around Raya¡¯s shoulders, pulling her to him as he continues talking.

    ¡°Speaking of Raya, who just goes out to pick herbs and brings back a dragon? Nobody, except Raya, that¡¯s who. Saved my beloved Lily, too. Can you believe it? This little weirdo has been helping me with herbs for years. And then she just goes out and finds what I need to create a cure for my dear Lily¡¯s ailment.¡±

    Joras is leaning on Wreyn, who looks like he¡¯s having a great time, they both are.

    ¡°Joras, Joras, listen. Raya even brought the dragon to Oakhold, and we were doing fine, but I needed something to hold over those damn adventurers. They¡¯re always causing trouble and thinking they¡¯re better than everyone, but you and I, my friend, we know they¡¯re just assholes.¡±

    I can see why she¡¯s uncomfortable, she¡¯s getting all the credit. I think I¡¯ll just leave and let them enjoy an evening of bad decisions.

    ¡°Now speaking of dragons, Wreyn, my friend. This one is terrifying, but also not.¡± Okay, maybe I¡¯ll stay a bit more. ¡°She¡¯s got all this power, she could break this town in a couple of hours easy, but what does she do? Block roads and empty out food stalls while playing with the kids. It doesn¡¯t make sense, Wreyn! That¡¯s not a dragon!¡±

    I am a dragon! Wait, I¡¯m not scary! I glance at Raya and she¡¯s looking at me with pleading eyes. I think she wants to leave, so I pull my head back out of the doorway and she quickly untangles herself from Joras and joins me.

    ¡°No, no. Listen, Joras, the adventurers, right? Two of the meanest assholes you¡¯ve ever met were in my town. And they picked a fight with a fucking Dragon, can you believe it? Dumbfucks. From what I hear, the assholes even got themselves eaten.¡±

    I¡¯m not gonna dwell on him only mentioning two of them as assholes, I¡¯m just gonna leave with Raya.

    As we walk down the street, I ask Raya if she¡¯s okay, but she just shivers a bit. ¡°That was the most embarrassing thing I¡¯ve ever experienced, Kira.¡±

    Yeah, I get you. So I suggest we go fetch some warmer clothes for her and go for a night flight, which makes her perk right up.

    It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been by Raya¡¯s place, so she gives me directions as we go, and to my surprise, I haven¡¯t been here before. She has moved into a new house. When did that happen?!

    Obviously, I just ask her. ¡°Oh, uhm¡­ It turns out that Turo meant it when he said he wanted to help, so he¡¯s just guaranteeing that I have what I need. I didn¡¯t really need a bigger place, but he said it was necessary to show that the town valued me.¡±

    It¡¯s really nice that she¡¯s being helped, but I want free stuff too! I don¡¯t even get time to mope about that, because Raya is apparently very quick to fetch warmer clothes and her satchel. ¡°I¡¯m ready!¡± You¡¯re adorable is what you are.

    For a moment, I contemplate just climbing a building so I can fly from here, but I don¡¯t think that would leave the best impression of Raya among the neighbors.

    Off to the gate it is again¡­ Well, I at least wanna see where we are, so I get up and stand as straight as I can, which is not very.

    I¡¯m lucky this is a goblin town because all the buildings are quite small, allowing me to just barely look over them if I stretch my neck and use my tail for balance. "Whoa! I¡¯m so high up! This is amazing!¡±

    I can''t help but chuckle at her. Raya, we¡¯ve been flying, that¡¯s much higher. ¡°I know, but¡­ Shut up¡­¡± That earned me another bonk, it turns out. I ask her how tall the buildings are, and she informs me that they¡¯re about a meter and a half (5 ft) per floor.

    Geez, her house is three stories. Geez! I¡¯m huge! At least I haven¡¯t grown much lately, but if I do, it won¡¯t be long until I don¡¯t fit on the streets anymore.

    Well, now I''m curious, so I ask how tall she thinks I am. She looks to be thinking for a moment. "If I had to guess, I''d say about two murak (6.5 ft) at your shoulders, but you''re like nine long (29.5 ft)." Nine meters long?! That''s crazy! No wonder I bump into things; I''m not huge, I''m massive! Geez...

    That''s gonna take some getting used to and I definitely don''t want to get larger.

    And how tall is she? She''s so tiny. "I''ll have you know that I''m eighty cimurak (2.6 ft), and that''s a perfectly reasonable height for my species!" She is SO tiny! Not even a meter tall.

    Yeah, I¡¯m just gonna not focus on that and instead start moving towards the gate I saw. Once we¡¯re outside, I ask tiny Raya if she wants to go somewhere in particular, but she doesn¡¯t want to give any suggestions, so we¡¯re off on an ocean trip!

    As we¡¯re flying, I come to the conclusion that the ocean is freakin¡¯ big. You hear it¡¯s big, but being out on the ocean is an entirely different thing, it''s making me feel small, which makes Raya even tinier.

    We¡¯ve been flying southwest, and it doesn¡¯t take long before I spot some small islands. We¡¯re definitely visiting those.

    They¡¯re just big enough that something could be hiding on them, but I can also immediately see there aren¡¯t any settlements, which is a relief because that means people likely won''t attack me.

    As we land on the sandy beach, Raya immediately jumps down and starts picking through the debris. Leaving her to that, I walk toward the trees to see if there are any edible plants around. It could be fun to have Raya try something new.

    And something new she will try¡­ I ask her to come over here and point out a red, wrinkly fruit, I tell her it¡¯s edible and quite delicious. ¡°You sure? I¡¯ve never seen anything like that before.¡± Naturally, I reassure her and encourage her to give it a go.

    She hesitates a bit, but then takes a small bite. ¡°It is good! I could eat this for days!¡± Okay, I wanted to prank her, but letting her eat too much would be too much, so I stop her before she takes another bite, and then the heat kicks in.

    ¡°You ass! Why did you set me on fire?!¡± She quickly grabs her water skin and downs the contents. ¡°How can something so delicious be so evil...?"

    She¡¯s pretty quick to call them evil, but she still grabs a few and stuffs them in her satchel. I wonder whether that¡¯s because she sees the appeal or wants to sell them.

    We continue exploring the island, and we find some more herbs that catch Raya''s attention. I have no idea how she¡¯s picking them out, but she certainly seems to be looking for something.

    Unfortunately, we don¡¯t find any delicious creatures for me to snack on, so I suggest we just head back.

    ¡°Okay, but we''ve got to return here soon, I want to collect some more things.¡± I feel like I have had thoughts conflicting with parts of that, but who knows what the future holds.

    We¡¯re not in a rush to return, so we just enjoy the beautiful night sky while soaring. It really is beautiful without light pollution. I have no idea what sort of constellations they have here, but the stars look sort of familiar.

    As Raya begins to comment on it being cold, I speed up and we head home. I drop Raya off at her place and tonight, I think I¡¯ll sleep in the square. On purpose this time.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    As I wake up, I come to the conclusion that I really need to find a den or something. The sun in my eyes is starting to get very annoying. The obvious chore today is finding out what the heck Joras and Wreyn got up to with their scheming, so I head directly to Joras¡¯ shop again.

    My thoughts drift back to my size, and I hope I don¡¯t outgrow Tuiran¡¯s streets, I¡¯d miss wandering around town¡­

    As soon as I arrive at Joras¡¯ place, I knock. Nobody to stop me this time! It doesn''t take long before I hear some shuffling behind the door and then Joras opens it.

    ¡°You could just make some noise, you know¡­¡± I guess that¡¯s fair, there are other ways to get his attention.

    ¡°Actually, don¡¯t do that. I don¡¯t know what sort of racket you¡¯d think up¡­¡± What?! Where did that sass come from?

    Eh, I¡¯m gonna cut him some slack because he does not look well. He picks up a bottle from the floor and uncorks it, chugging the contents quickly. Almost immediately, he looks significantly better, which is definitely interesting.

    A quick question later and I learn that it¡¯s a general antidote, and it just lessens the impact of poisons. That¡¯s cool.

    ¡°Now then, we should probably talk about my meeting with Grand Mage Wreyn of Immarderen.¡± That sounds weirdly familiar, but I can¡¯t quite place it. I¡¯ll have to look into what Immarderen is at some point.

    Joras went on to explain how Wreyn agreed to send a couple of traders to Tuiran, and stop by himself to teach magic to a few people of the town. Which seems very generous to me.

    And I just have to keep hunting predators like I already do while also being open to requests if they have trouble with a particularly troublesome beast: Kira, the bounty-hunting Dragon!

    That seems remarkably easy, and I don¡¯t get how that¡¯s so great for the old man. He doesn¡¯t even want to penalize me for the killing and stuff. It turns out the general consensus was that they would have targeted something they couldn¡¯t handle at some point. It still feels like I¡¯m being let off a little too easily.

    I¡¯m still gonna stay away from Wreyn¡¯s town for a while, though.

    Since I¡¯m curious, I also ask Joras how they ended up drinking together, which makes the guy blush.

    ¡°Ahem, well¡­ We had a mutual befuddling situation and decided to share experiences over drinks. The drinking just happened to get a bit out of hand.¡±

    I want more information on this befuddling situation of his, it seems weird that they¡¯d both have something like that. Especially since, as far as I know, they weren¡¯t introduced until Wreyn showed up here.

    ¡­Dang it, I¡¯m the befuddlement! He¡¯s gonna have to explain more about how I¡¯m so confusing to them. I demand explanations!

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s quite simple. According to our lore, dragons will take whatever they want, and they want most things. While you clearly possess greedy tendencies, they appear muted. Dragons have also historically been known as Nation Breakers because of their destructive tendencies. You walk through Tuiran¡¯s streets with extraordinary caution to avoid causing damage. And most of all, dragons are tremendously prideful, but you allow people to tease you and Raya to ride you. You appear to be a dragon, but I¡¯d wager you¡¯re something else, either entirely or at least in part. Exactly what, I couldn¡¯t tell you.¡±

    Apparently Wreyn agrees with him about me being something else. That seems like a bunch of gibberish. Of course I¡¯m a dragon, I¡¯ve always been a dragon, I¡¯m just my own person. Can¡¯t fault someone for their individuality.

    For reasons I can¡¯t place, I don¡¯t want to talk about this anymore, so I¡¯m gonna have to think about another subject to change to. As it turns out, that''s kinda difficult sometimes¡­

    ¡°I can see that you¡¯re getting bored, Kira, so how about we change the subject to something that might interest you: coin.¡± That does interest me, and I appreciate him saying bored instead of upset.

    ¡°Turo stopped by yesterday and handed Lily your tribute. I¡¯ll go fetch it now.¡± I wonder how much it is. I hope it¡¯s a lot; I have no idea what they¡¯re paying me for this gig. And all of a sudden I¡¯m reminded that someone ran off with my cat! I didn¡¯t even get to eat it.

    Joras is back, carrying a pouch, a jingling pouch!

    ¡°Now, this is more than the tribute, so it won¡¯t necessarily be as much next time, but you¡¯ve also been compensated for what the panther was worth. Well, the parts that could be salvaged, you did quite a bit of damage to it.¡± Yeah, I¡¯d better have, the sneaky bastard did some damage to me too.

    He¡¯s still talking, but I find my attention drawn to the pouch instead. I really want it, and he¡¯s just holding it out whi- I ate it¡­

    ¡°I can see why Raya dislikes this part¡­ Remember not to chew; I quite like my hand.¡± Juuust gonna let him go and pretend that didn¡¯t happen.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna go ahead and forget about that happening. There¡¯s something else I¡¯ve been wondering about; have you decided where to build your hoard?¡± I have not, but now that he mentions it, it feels really important and makes me want a cave to live in.

    Totally unrelated, I subtly ask him how one would go about killing an icy bear.

 Chapter 13: Expected Surprise

    As it turns out, Joras dislikes the cold and doesn¡¯t know anything in particular about icy bears. Just that they¡¯re big, dangerous, and have an affinity for the cold, but I already knew that.

    I wonder how I should approach this. Considering it has an affinity for cold, I might be able to just fly above it and light it on fire. But then lighting things on fire isn¡¯t conducive to making money off of those things, so I should think of a way to take it down without fire.

    Ooh, all the money I could earn, I¡¯d be the richest dragon in town! I¡¯m gonna ask Joras what he thinks an icy bear might be worth. ¡°Probably not much, you tend to leave things in a rather messy state.¡± I didn¡¯t ask to be attacked!

    ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with the animal, so I don¡¯t know, but are you sure you should attack it? I¡¯d imagine you could easily find somewhere to build your hoard elsewhere.¡± That¡¯s a fair point, the bear is something I don¡¯t know enough about, so I¡¯d have to be cautious. But I really want that cave back and settle the score.

    I don¡¯t know why I feel so compelled to pick a fight with Frosty, but it feels like something I have to do.

    No time like the present, so I tell Joras that I¡¯ll be back soon, but I¡¯m gonna go test out the strength of Frosty. And with that, I¡¯m off! To the darn gate again¡­ At least it¡¯s a shorter trip since I don¡¯t have to keep pace with others.

    As soon as I¡¯m out of the gate, I take off and fly towards the mountain I hatched in. This is gonna be the first time I ascend to such an altitude.

    After some time flying, I notice that, to my surprise, it doesn¡¯t actually get that much harder physically as I go higher, I just funnel more magic into my wings. While my ascent is slow, it¡¯s also remarkably steady.

    Which brings up a new thing to worry about; how much magic can I safely use? I¡¯ll need to pay attention to my magic, and that turns this into a recon mission, rather than testing Frosty¡¯s strength. I¡¯ll figure it out when I get there.

    Instead of going straight up, I¡¯ve decided to circle the mountain to conserve my magic. Increasing my altitude gradually. I¡¯m quite curious to see if there are other critters around here. Bears gotta eat, after all, and I doubt they can rely on random dragons showing up. Especially not when they knock us off the mountain.

    Assuming this is my native habitat, I don¡¯t really know anything about animals living in snowy mountains, but it feels like there are too many here. I¡¯m seeing some that look like goats, bunnies, cats, wolves, and foxes, didn¡¯t see any ice bears, though. But there¡¯s quite a bit of life going on up here.

    I¡¯m definitely making a shopping list, in fact, perhaps I should have a taste test¡­ Yeah, I¡¯m definitely gonna do that.

    I look around to see if there are any isolated targets, and it doesn¡¯t take long at all for me to spot one of the goats digging in the snow. That goat is about to have a bad day.

    As I swoop down, I ready myself to bite at its neck to make it a quick kill.

    I manage to land on top of it before it realizes what¡¯s going on, and as I pin it to the ground, I finish the fight with a quick bite. It is very delicious, and I want more. But that will have to wait.

    I need to get flying again. Although¡­ Yeah, I¡¯m just gonna see what the goat was digging for. I use my tail to sweep across the snow a few times, clearing it in barely any time at all, and what the heck¡­ just under the layer of snow is a bunch of moss and grass.

    How do they even survive here?! I¡¯m gonna have to bring Raya here to see what she thinks of all of this.

    For now, back to the original plan; conquest of my cave. I try to take off, but that just ends as a repeat of my early days trying to fly around my lake¡­ Right, I need to funnel more magic into my wings. At least I didn¡¯t trip over myself this time¡­

    Second try, go! This time is a lot more successful, and I have barely any mishaps. I think I underestimated how much I flew on instinct earlier.

    The further I get up the mountain, the more I can feel my magic expenditure increasing, not just to keep me flying, but also to control my flight. That seems like it¡¯ll be an excellent security measure for my soon-to-be hoard cave, if other flying creatures experience the same.

    I haven¡¯t actually seen any other flying critters, I wonder if they¡¯re staying away from me. Okay, enough distracted thoughts, focus on reaching the peak.

    I¡¯m making good progress with my ascent, and as soon as I reach the top, I notice that I don¡¯t notice my cave. Dang it! What exactly was my plan here, just fly up and go ¡®there it is, in this exact spot on the mountain I happened to arrive at¡­¡¯ At least horizontal flight is so much easier than vertical, so I can just soar around until I spot either my cave or the bear.

    It doesn¡¯t actually take that long until I spot Frosty, but now I¡¯m wondering whether it¡¯s the same bear or a different one. It seems like a dick move to attack some other bear, so I¡¯ll just follow it from the skies.

    Turns out it was a good call to keep my distance, because this freakin¡¯ bear can launch icicles! How the hell is that fair?! Okay, maybe I¡¯m not one to talk about fairness, but still, that¡¯s some dangerous stuff. I wonder if they¡¯ll melt before hitting the ground at the base of the mountain.

    Freakin¡¯ heck! This bastard is far too good a shot, what gives?! As the next one comes flying towards me, I try melting it before it can hit me, but apparently that¡¯s not a thing I can do. I barely manage to dodge it by lowering my head, causing it to bounce off one of my horns. Geez, that hurt! Ice is way too durable.

    There¡¯s no way I can dodge these icicles if I get closer, so I¡¯ll have to think of something else. For now, I need to break line of sight for sure, so I make sure there¡¯s no ground immediately underneath me, and then tug in my wings and drop. Try to catch me now, sucker!

    Moments later, I unfold my wings and catch myself, and that¡¯s when I hear quite the ruckus. The freakin¡¯ bear is following me down! I had not expected that, but from the looks of it, neither did the bear, because it¡¯s just tumbling down the mountainside.

    Geez, I hope it doesn¡¯t land on someone¡­

    I guess I technically won, but that is a very hollow victory. I also doubt the bear will be worth much if I manage to find it. I¡¯m gonna fly back up and find out why it fell, surely no animal just jumps like that.

    Yeah, I¡¯m just gonna fly up again and see what went on, and it¡¯s pretty clear that it went to the edge to see where I went, and the edge gave way. What an unfortunate bear.

    That¡¯s enough pitying the bear¡¯s failed flight attempt, time to look for my cave again.

    It turns out that these ice bears are more common than I expected. I¡¯ve seen another three while flying around here. This time, though, I¡¯m not gonna just stalk one. I don¡¯t particularly feel like playing dodge the lethal ice projectiles again.

    To my surprise, not only do I not get attacked again, but I also manage to find my cave just after midday! Go me! So many things you can do when you get woken up very early by an inconsiderate sun.

    With no hesitation, I land and enter my cave, I wonder if I can find my old eggshells and see how much I¡¯ve grown. Pretty sure I used to be quite small.

    Looking around, the cave isn¡¯t quite as big as I remember, but it¡¯s quite deep. If I had to guess, it¡¯s three of me deep and wide enough for me to turn around comfortably. Yeah, this is a pretty good cave.

    I even spot my egg on the rocky ground, well, what remains of my egg. It¡¯s just a bunch of cracked pieces strewn across a small bit of the floor, but they smell wonderfully familiar, like a forgotten dream. What the heck does a forgotten dream smell like?

    Just gonna disregard that. I inspect the shell pieces and they¡¯re surprisingly tough. How¡¯d I ever manage to break out of that¡­ The pieces themselves show that the outer shell of my egg was covered in some deep blue scale-like structure. Quite pretty, if I do say so myself. I wonder if the pieces would be worth selling.

    That¡¯ll be for after I somehow get a dragon-accessible satchel. For now, I¡¯m gonna go to the back of this cave and ¡®deposit¡¯ my money. As soon as I do, the familiar rush washes over me and I¡¯m gonna lie on my little hoard.

    I wanna fill this entire cave with gold and trinkets! I¡¯ll need to get rid of a few of those stalactites and stalagmites, but that shouldn¡¯t be a problem. It¡¯s gonna be great! Even that ominous growling agrees!

    So I may have been a bit hasty here and left myself somewhat vulnerable. I look back towards the entrance and that is an ice bear. It might even be Frosty. Okay, plan, plan, I need a plan¡­ The bear is blocking the exit. I¡¯ve already got my hoard down. I don¡¯t feel like giving up my cave, so it looks like I definitely have to fight.

    Since I¡¯m bigger than before, and I know sharp claw magic, I¡¯m gonna rush it and go for melee combat! And the bear seems to agree because it is charging at me. Shit! I expected icicles, but this one is very melee-oriented.

    I manage to dodge out of the way, but the bear just pivots and swipes at me. I feel its claws sink into my thigh and it freakin¡¯ hurts! And why does it have ice claws?! That¡¯s not fair.

    The cold from the slash bites into me and feels like it¡¯s spreading, so I take hold of my magic and push it into the wound. I can¡¯t help but let out a deep growl as the pain spikes, but the cold does subside.

    My turn, you freakin¡¯ snow cone! I flip around and face it, then start running towards it. The bear readies itself to counter my attack, but just as I reach it, I let out a plume of fire, hopefully blinding it. With that distraction, I can jump on top of it and start clawing at its back. I really wanna do some damage here.

    I manage to land on its back, but just as I¡¯m about to rip into it, I feel a horrible tug on my tail and I¡¯m pulled from the bear¡¯s back and thrown to the ground. Shit. At least I manage to land on my side instead of on my back, small victories¡­.

    For whatever reason, the bear just pins me to the floor and keeps growling. I have no idea what its plan is, but I need to do something. What the hell can I do? It shrugged off my flames, I didn¡¯t manage to do any significant damage with my claws, and I can¡¯t feel my lower body anymore.

    Fuck, I don¡¯t want to die¡­ Why the hell is it approaching my head¡­ To bite my face off, it seems. The bastard opens its massive jaws and envelops my muzzle. The crushing hurts so much¡­ I need to do something, anything, what can I do?

    Only one thing. I force my mouth open inside the bear¡¯s mouth and push everything I have into my flames. I have no idea if this will work, but hopefully the bear is more vulnerable on the inside.

    Unfortunately, I don¡¯t get to find out because I pass out¡­

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    Some time later, I wake up to the cave covered in blood. What the fuck happened¡­ The bear¡¯s head is still attached to my face and everything smells like blood and burning. Most of the bear¡¯s body is still in one piece, but geez, that is some serious damage. Wait¡­

    Did I explode a bear?!

    Yeah, I¡¯m just gonna lie here for a bit. I¡¯m just gonna curl up and take a break¡­ Except I¡¯m not, apparently. Okay¡­ Can¡¯t move my lower body¡­ That is a pretty bad situation, hopefully I can heal that, but geez, that¡¯s gonna hurt¡­

    I reach for my magic and¡­ I¡¯m basically empty¡­ I don¡¯t want to be stuck here.

    At least I can still move my wings, so I just need to pull myself out of this cave, not encounter any potential foes, and fall off this mountain without crashing into anything below before I can start flying¡­

    Easy peasy. Easy peasy¡­

    Okay, Kira, you can do this. Just pull yourself out of this cave, one claw at a time. I wanna eat the damn bear, but the jaws seem to have been pushed further onto my head from the explosion, so I can¡¯t open my jaws at all. Even using my claws, it just won¡¯t budge.

    Frustratingly, my vision is also quite obstructed, and I need to constantly turn my head to see anything.

    Back to getting out of here. My claws dig into the rock with each pull, and I¡¯m really struggling here. I wouldn¡¯t mind someone just showing up and helping me right about now.

    By the time I make it to the edge of this platform, nobody has shown up to help me, the bastards¡­ Okay, now I just need to fall off the cliff and fly. Any minute now, I¡¯ll do it. Don¡¯t think about how you usually use your tail to steer, Kira, there¡¯s no other way to get help.

    I don¡¯t want to do it. I don¡¯t think I can do it. Okay, I need a way to force myself to do it¡­ I move to the very edge of the cliff and, this is probably a bad idea, I start jumping with my arms to cause a break in the rock. It¡¯s definitely a bad idea, but it isn¡¯t jumping off, so I can manage it.

    The rock cracks shortly after I start my weird coward dance, and I¡¯m off. I¡¯m falling more than I¡¯m flying, and my tail is flapping uselessly in the wind. Steering is really freakin¡¯ difficult.

    I mostly settle into a rhythm of manipulating my wings to stay on a somewhat straight path. If I couldn¡¯t just soar for most of the way, I¡¯d be fucked. It hadn''t occurred to me that I also need magic to fly, and my reserves are still very low. That¡¯s another layer of danger¡­ Great¡­

    Soon enough, I¡¯m practically at Tuiran, and I need to prepare for a landing, which I have no doubt will be a crash... Now, how the hell do I do this? I need somewhere open where I won¡¯t hit someone, but also somewhere near Joras. I¡¯m considering just crashing in front of his store, but it¡¯s not the widest street, and I can¡¯t really warn people with a roar because of this stupid bear head.

    I also wouldn¡¯t mind if it didn¡¯t block so much of my vision, but at least my long neck helps with that.

    I feel lightheaded, so I¡¯m just gonna stop thinking so much and aim for Joras¡¯ street¡­ I spot his house and lock in. I¡¯m gonna nail this landing. As I approach Joras¡¯ street, I even out my flying to hopefully mitigate some of the upcoming regret.

    This feels almost as bad as having to fall off the mountain, except this time, I can¡¯t stop. I do manage to crash roughly outside of Joras¡¯ place, and it sucks. Everything hurts, everything sucks, and I regret going to that damn mountain¡­ And now my money¡¯s up there! Damn it!

    With all the noise I made, Joras and Lily were very quick to reach me.

    ¡°What the fuck happened to you, Kira?!¡± Great, we¡¯re back to questions when I¡¯m nonverbal. Stupid bear head¡­

    Joras is surprisingly quick to start giving orders to those standing nearby. He has sent for everyone who might have a way to dislodge this freakin¡¯ head, and Lily seems to be inspecting me. She¡¯s gonna have her work cut out for her if she wants to catalog every injury I¡¯ve managed to get.

    ¡°Joras, fetch some Magic Potions, she¡¯s close to death.¡± What?! When did that happen?! I feel like beaten shit, but I don¡¯t feel close to death.

    ¡°Here, Lily. See if you can get this tube between her jaws. I don¡¯t think she can drink them otherwise.¡± Where are these fabled head removers?

    I can feel her trying to push the tube into my mouth, but it isn¡¯t really working. I can¡¯t even help out. Oh no¡­ Joras just pulled out his dagger. I don¡¯t like his dagger¡­

    ¡°Please raise your head, Kira. If you can.¡± Maybe I don¡¯t want to¡­ Dang it¡­ I can¡¯t really go against the doctor¡¯s orders here. As soon as I lift my head, he jabs me right in the throat. I knew he was going to do that¡­

    To her credit, Lily is very quick to follow up Joras¡¯ jab by jabbing me with the tube. I feel some sort of liquid in my throat, forcing me to swallow. I can¡¯t tell whether it¡¯s one of these magic potions or my own blood, but I¡¯m gonna assume potion. I don¡¯t really feel like bleeding into myself right now.

    Turns out my assumption was correct because I can feel magic flowing again. A little bit, anyway.

    ¡°Joras, do you think she can handle another potion?¡± Didn¡¯t they just give me one so far? Surely I can handle more than one drink, and I am feeling a little thirsty.

    ¡°No, any more, and the potions will start draining magic from her. You¡¯ll have to handle the rest from here, Lily.¡± That seems irresponsible, surely it¡¯s better to have both of them helping me. Why is he touching me? Oh no. Wait, did he mean he¡¯ll die?! What the hell is he thinking?! You can¡¯t do this, Joras!

    Stupid broken body! I wanna stop him! I can¡¯t let him do this¡­ ¡°Kira, calm down! Why are you so riled up all of a sudden?!¡± That¡¯s pretty fucking obvious, Lily! Joras is about to kill himself to save me, how can you just sit there and watch it happen? That¡¯s insane¡­

    As Joras puts his hand on my body, I try to pull away, but I¡¯m not having much success. Then I feel it, his magic is being drawn into me and he collapses¡­ I didn¡¯t want this¡­

    With his magic, I start to feel my body again, and it is painful. Before I have a chance to do anything, the magic I have been given is pulled into my spine and begins healing me. I slowly and painfully gain control of my lower body again.

    I can¡¯t help but cry. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Kira?¡± What the fuck do you mean, Lily?! It¡¯s pretty obvious what¡¯s wrong with Joras collapsing like that! How the hell do you not see that¡­

    I can¡¯t help myself as I pull Joras close to me and curl up around him. I just want to be near my friend one last time as I fall asleep and forget this stupid day... He¡¯s been so helpful and kind, he didn¡¯t deserve this¡­ Exhaustion is taking its hold, and I can¡¯t stay awake anymore¡­ I¡¯m so tired¡­

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    As Lily looked around, quite a crowd had gathered. ¡°Does anyone know how to share magic? Or if you want to learn, step up! We need as much as we can get!¡± She didn¡¯t have much hope for her request, goblins weren¡¯t known for their magical affinities.

    To her surprise, some did end up shuffling closer, and those who already knew how to share magic got to work, while those who didn¡¯t, received instructions from Lily.

    Any time someone stepped up to Kira to help, they quickly found themselves drained of magic and unable to stay conscious. If Lily hadn¡¯t known better, she would have been convinced that this was something they had planned for.

    Any time someone passed out, a couple of others rushed to their side and carried them away to the infirmary.

    Lily kept at it until no one was left to help, so she told the spectators to go home for the night, as they had done all they could. For her own part, she was thoroughly exhausted and needed sleep.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The following morning, I decided to just stay where I was. I may be recovering from my injuries, but I¡¯ve lost my friend.

    I feel like I¡¯ve done something truly terrible by not stopping Joras. He could¡¯ve continued to help so many others if he had just left me to my fate. Instead, he chose to be his usual kind and noble self and saved me.

    I regret being so suspicious of him, and I really just want my friend back¡­

    I¡¯ve still got this stupid bear head stuck to my face. What happened to those head removers? It was practically Joras¡¯ dying request. I need to think of a way to give him a proper sendoff. He deserves the best.

    As I¡¯m considering what to do, Lily exits Joras¡¯ house, I guess it¡¯s her house now.

    ¡°Kira, are you going to lie there all day? It might interfere with the shop¡¯s customers.¡± There are more important things than money, Lily. Geez¡­

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind if you got up, Kira, you¡¯re kind of heavy¡­¡± Oh dang! Joras is alive! This is fantastic news!

    ¡°Kira! Kira! Stop rubbing the bear against me, it¡¯s disgusting!¡± Okay, fair point¡­ I should probably get rid of it before nuzzling people. Not that I can do that on my own. What happened to the head removers anyway? Surely they¡¯d be here by now.

    ¡°Lily, why did you let her abuse me like this?¡± I didn¡¯t abuse you, Joras, I just snuggled a little!

    ¡°I may be prone to dangerous activities, Joras, but I¡¯m not going to stand in the way of a delirious dragon.¡± Uhm¡­ Delirious? How¡¯d that happen? I¡¯m gonna need some answers here¡­

    Oh right, I should probably actually get off Joras. ¡°Finally¡­¡± Okay, the relieved sigh was a bit much. I have feelings too, and honestly, I¡¯m not feeling very heard right now. And if anyone brings up my current inability to speak, I¡¯m gonna tail-whip them, or maybe not, someone could get very hurt, but I¡¯m definitely gonna give them a fierce glare!

    I give Joras a side-eye look, then indicate toward the bear head. I kinda want it removed already. ¡°We would have removed it last night, Kira, but we could hardly have people approach a dragon in the throes of delirium. Although it''s comforting to know that you would grieve my passing.¡±

    Maybe he¡¯ll find a little less grief next time, when he¡¯s just laughing at me now. Jerk. I wanna know how he didn¡¯t die. I definitely feel like I saw him die. Do elves reincarnate as themselves? That seems super strong.

    I¡¯m waiting patiently, but he isn¡¯t getting busy explaining stuff. Maybe if I nudge him just slightly. So I bring my tail around to poke¡­ So I attempt to bring my tail around, but it¡¯s now lodged in a wooden beam. Dang it.

    Okay, so minor problem. Apparently I¡¯m not fully healed, because I am very much struggling to dislodge my tail blade. It¡¯s really stuck in there. Joras is being no help at all, he¡¯s just bent over and clutching his belly as he laughs at me¡­

    ¡°I could never have seen that happening. Imagine a dragon disarming itself. If I fetch some rope, will you tie up the rest of your limbs too, Kira?¡± This is no laughing matter, Joras! I¡¯m a mighty dragon! Albeit a mightily stuck dragon right now¡­

    Every time I try to tug my tail free, I feel a jolt of pain through my spine, so I¡¯m definitely not gonna do any more of that for now. I¡¯m just gonna lie down again and scowl. This is definitely not how I expected this morning to go.

    I don¡¯t even get much time moping before a bunch of goblins arrive with all sorts of tools. Seems safe to assume these are the infamous head removers. And to their credit, they are very quick to get to work, even looking at this scene.

    An elf on the floor laughing his ass off, a dragon stuck to a building, and a lady elf looks exceedingly exasperated.

    The group doesn¡¯t really talk much as they work, mostly just telling me to stop moving. Turns out they want to dissect the bear right on my face. From how they work, the teeth are especially valuable, I assume, because they¡¯re carving away flesh around the gums and chiseling bone to free the teeth.

    I thought about commenting on how gross that is, but I exploded the darn thing. I don¡¯t feel like I can complain about someone being gross when I¡¯ve so thoroughly made this thing¡¯s insides into outsides.

    This entire skull ordeal ends up taking several hours of me being complained at for moving. In my defense, just lying here is very boring. I can¡¯t even swish my tail back and forth, it¡¯s still stuck!

    Raya even stopped by, but she quickly got bored and asked if it was okay if she left to collect herbs. I nodded my agreement, which got me yelled at again. Stupid Joras keeps laughing at me every time the workers get upset.

    When the bear is finally removed, some of the workers start freeing my tail, which is very nice of them. Finally able to move my face again, I¡¯m almost overwhelmed with relief. Having your jaws clamped shut for half a day is very uncomfortable. I stretch out and warm up my tired jaw muscles, but then I hear a scream and more laughter.

    Turns out Joras feels like commenting on my actions. ¡°Today is a day that keeps on giving. Minor note on your conduct, Kira. If you¡¯re gonna open your mouth as much as you can, don¡¯t do it toward someone, especially not when you¡¯ve just made eye contact with them.¡±

    Okay, that¡¯s a fair note¡­ Luckily I¡¯ve never done that before. But yeah, that would be a lot of very sharp teeth pointing toward someone.

    Enough of that nonsense. I need to find out why he didn¡¯t die. I recall someone mentioning that I was close to death from magic depletion. I demand answers, Joras!

    ¡°It¡¯s quite simple, Kira. I¡¯m a material being, you¡¯re a magical being. You can survive and recover from far more damage to your material body than I¡¯d be able to, but I can survive magic depletion far easier than you. So I¡¯d recommend you don¡¯t repeat whatever you did to drain your magic so significantly.¡±

    I exploded a bear. Don¡¯t you worry, Joras, I¡¯m not planning on that being necessary again. In fact, I might just take a few days hanging around town. I am feeling very exhausted, and I think it might be because of this magic depletion stuff. I¡¯ll definitely need to learn more about that, it seems very dangerous.

    Huh, now that I think about it, I¡¯m ending up hurt a lot lately. Maybe I should just take a nice and easy day helping out Raya. That should be safe enough, she¡¯s been going into the woods for years.

    ¡°So in essence, magic depletion is simply the experience of your magic reserves thinning and becoming incapable of maintaining your body¡¯s basic needs. And potions utilize ambient magic to grant their effect, but can only draw in so much before they start having to draw on your internal reserves.¡± Oh shit. Joras was talking this whole time¡­

    There¡¯s no way I¡¯m gonna admit to not having listened to his lecture. Unrelated to that, I¡¯m gonna go find Raya.

    ¡°Hey, Kira, where are you going?¡± A fair question, so I just tell him my plans and depart at a calm pace. It feels good to take it easy with this re-tenderized body of mine.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t listen to anything I said, did you?¡± Another fair question, so I walk away at a brisk pace.

    ¡°The intricacies of magic depletion are important to know, Kira!¡± I¡¯ll figure it out eventually, I believe in me.

    I¡¯m gonna start looking for Raya, but I¡¯m also gonna think about those potions for a bit. How do magic potions cause magic depletion if they replenish magic? It also seems peculiar to call them magic potions, because surely all potions are magic.

    I¡¯ll have to ask Joras about that eventually.

    After quite some time searching, I¡¯m quite surprised that I haven¡¯t found Raya. I did find the west gate, though, and a guard told me she had left to collect herbs. And now that I think about it, that was exactly what she wanted to do yesterday, so forest trip it is! Kira returns to the wilderness, come at me, wolves!

    On second thought, don¡¯t. I¡¯m at a bit of a disadvantage right now. Nevertheless, I continue onward into the woods, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine.

 Chapter 14: Rest

    As I¡¯m walking through the woods, I find myself frustrated by the fog covering the terrain, which is definitely limiting my sight.

    It occurs to me that evening is approaching fast, and that is when the wolves come out to hunt. And just like that, I¡¯m now anxious. To my surprise, I feel like I can recognize most of the area around me, and I don''t think I would get lost as easily anymore.

    I try to pay attention to the smells around me, but they¡¯re not as clear as they used to be, made even worse by the moisture from the fog. Geez, this magic depletion is no joke. All my senses are weakened.

    I sniff the air, hoping to pick up Raya''s trail, but I''m not having much luck. I¡¯m starting to think that finding Raya is gonna be a bigger task than I initially thought.

    I¡¯m just gonna have to press on. If she¡¯s out here after dark, she could be in some real trouble. Especially now that I can hear the wolves howling. And from the sounds of howling, one is quite close by. Those bastards are in my territory again!

    Quickening my pace, I make my way toward the source of the howling. As soon as I spot the wolf, I attack. I¡¯m not making the mistake of giving it a chance to call for help this time.

    Somehow it hasn¡¯t heard me approach, so I lunge at it, managing to latch onto its neck. To my surprise, victory comes easily as my teeth sink into the flesh of the wolf. I focus on clamping my jaws shut and I hear a snap. The feeling of the wolf''s neck snapping under my assault fills me with thrilling exhilaration.

    I let go of the wolf''s neck and it drops to the ground. I look at the invader and hunger fills my mind. I feast on the corpse, refusing to let this meal go to waste.

    Once I finish chowing down, I feel my senses growing stronger again, not where they used to be, but definitely stronger. The obvious conclusion is that I need to eat to keep my magic going. I can''t say I mind that development.

    Now that I''ve taken care of the wolf, I¡¯m ready to look for Raya again. I feel anxiety returning as I think about her safety. Instead of focusing on that, I redirect my thoughts and try to come up with a plan. I could go deeper into the forest, head for my lake, or return to Tuiran.

    I think I''m going to split the difference and move in a large arch ending at my lake. Who''s to say I won''t stumble upon more invaders.

    As I move through the forest, I begin to find myself frustrated at the lack of progress. I''m not picking up her scent at all. I need to get a better look at this situation, so I''m going to just head directly toward my lake. Flying shouldn''t be a problem with the magic I received from the wolf.

    It feels good to actually know how to get places without getting lost all the time. The trip to my lake is far quicker than I''m used to, but it still takes longer than I want it to.

    As soon as I reach my lake, I take off and I really shouldn''t just fly around aimlessly. The fog would make it near impossible to spot Raya from the air. So I return to the gate guard to ask if he has seen Raya since I left. And to my surprise, he has something to say on the subject. ¡°Yeah, she got back a short while after you left.¡± Oh, well. Guess I didn¡¯t need to worry.

    I¡¯m still gonna look for her, but now my search area has changed and narrowed down! It¡¯ll be super easy to find her now.

    I bid the guard goodnight and make my way to Raya¡¯s place.

    As soon as I arrive, I knock very gently on the door. I didn¡¯t even hear anything crash on the other side of the wall, so I¡¯d say I¡¯m getting very good at knocking.

    Not that my improved skills are being recognized by Jeannie, she¡¯s just screaming and collapsing again. I thought we were buddies after the flying and whatnot! So rude.

    ¡°Hey Kira!¡± Heya Raya! Since I¡¯m very considerate, I make sure to ask her if Jeannie is okay, but Raya just shrugs and says, ''probably.''

    I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be fine. This time I¡¯m definitely not at fault. Woo! Point to Kira!

    ¡°So, what¡¯s up, Kira?¡± Oh, I don¡¯t actually know. I didn¡¯t have much of a plan outside of just finding Raya. I guess I just wanted her company.

    ¡°Come on, you overgrown lizard.¡± Now she¡¯s giggling at me! The disrespect! ¡°We¡¯ll stop by a butcher and pick up some food, then the three of us can go to the forest''s edge and cook some food."

    That sounds like a magnificent plan! Oh! I¡¯m gonna ask where they found all that leather for the flying.

    Maybe I can even convince someone to create a satchel for me.

    Raya seems to think for a moment as she stares at me. ¡°Yeah, that might be a good idea. There¡¯s a leathersmith on the way to the butcher, so we can see if they¡¯re still open.¡± Excellent! My dreams of owning stuff may just come to fruition!

    I haven¡¯t actually looked much at the buildings around here, but most of them seem to be two or three stories tall and built for goblins. I guess it must be easier to have multiple stories when your people are very short.

    Now that I¡¯m looking at them, the buildings all have small differences and markings, so I ask Raya why that is. ¡°Oh, that. Now that you mention it, I guess you wouldn''t know about them.¡± Then she points to some markings on the side of a building.

    ¡°This first mark tells you what the place is used for, so here you have a red square, two lines, and a dot. The square tells us we¡¯re in a crafting district and the red color means products from hunting.¡± Huh, that¡¯s neat.

    ¡°And the lines and dots indicate how many buildings we are from the town square.¡±

    What?! I could have found my way around that easily?! No one taught me that¡­ I¡¯m definitely gonna have to learn more about this direction sorcery.

    We continue walking, and she starts telling me more about this stuff.

    ¡°So there¡¯s one dot per building, and one line per four dots. But if you notice the lines, they¡¯re thicker at one end than the other, that indicates whether they¡¯re coming from the north, east, south, or west. So this one has two lines and three dots, which tells us that we¡¯re eleven buildings southwest of the town square.¡±

    Why can¡¯t they just use house numbers and street names? Then I¡¯d at least know what to look for.

    ¡°You should also know that a circle means people live there, but it probably won¡¯t have a color. And a triangle means you¡¯re in a business district. Well, maybe not you, you don¡¯t fit into buildings.¡± Rude! I might just write a strongly worded letter to Turo and get this town updated for my needs.

    Thinking about the markings, it occurs to me that I would probably consider crafting professions a business. So that seems confusing, but I guess the locals know what they¡¯re doing.

    ¡°Next time you¡¯re at Joras¡¯ shop, you might notice a green triangle, the triangle means he¡¯s in a shopping district, and the green color means he sells herbs and things made from herbs.¡± Huh¡­ Never noticed that. But I''m pretty sure that''s an example of a crafting profession being a business. This is confusing.

    ¡°So what kind of building is this?¡± Dang it, we¡¯re doing quiz time now? Hm¡­ It has a red square, so that was the first thing she mentioned. Hunting materials and crafting! I feel fairly confident that I¡¯m correct about that, so that¡¯s what I go with. For extra credit, I add in that we¡¯re nineteen buildings from the square.

    ¡°Yeah! And even though this isn¡¯t in a shopping district, we can still buy things here. The craftspeople usually bring their finished goods to a shop in a shopping district. That way, we keep jobs like tanning away from clothiers and the like.¡± That seems like a good idea, but I¡¯d also imagine it brings a lot more demand in logistics.

    Shortly after she finishes that sentence, she enters the building, I hear her mention needing a satchel for her friend, and a moment later, she¡¯s back with a larger and muscular goblin in tow.

    He¡¯s quick to look me over. ¡°Hm¡­ Could do it... Gonna need measurements¡­¡± Oh! That¡¯s promising! I might finally get some carrying capacity!

    I almost get lost in thought thinking about all the trinkets and stuff I would be able to carry in a bag, but no time for that. This craftsman is already measuring me up and it isn¡¯t comfortable.

    I let out a growl before realizing it, but he doesn¡¯t seem fazed at all. Instead, he just continues touching me and saying ¡®hmm¡­¡¯

    ¡°Can you touch your shoulder with your snout?¡± Weird question, but yes, I can. I just show him instead of answering, which earns another ¡®hmm¡­¡¯

    ¡°Day after tomorrow I¡¯ll have it done.¡± That is fast. Geez¡­

    Raya slips him a piece of wood, so I ask what it is. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a token from Turo. I¡¯m supposed to give them to anyone working or trading with you, then he takes care of the cost, so we don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± That¡¯s very nice of him.

    We leave the craftsman¡¯s place and continue onward. A few buildings further down, there¡¯s a butcher, and we¡¯re getting closer. I can smell the delicious scents wafting our way.

    ¡°Hey! Watch the drool, Kira!¡± Oh, sorry Raya.

    We make short work of the last stretch of road, and we¡¯re finally at the butcher¡¯s place. Once again, Raya is the one handling the talking, so I sit down and wait patiently outside. This time it takes longer, so I have a look around at the nearby buildings, and the symbols Raya mentioned are very consistent.

    According to these, we are still in a crafting district and twenty-three buildings from the square.

    As soon as I hear the door open, I get up and see Raya carrying a bunch of meat and an older goblin following her. ¡°Could you lie down, Kira?¡±

    Okay, but why¡­ Turns out the why is so she can impale the meat on my spines. And just like that, my carrying capacity has been increased, but not the way I wanted!

    I look at the butcher, and she¡¯s grinning from ear to ear. She seems very happy, which I assume is because we''re buying a lot of meat. Raya gives the butcher a token. And then we¡¯re off. I¡¯m curious how much meat I¡¯m loaded up with, but who cares, it¡¯ll be eaten soon anyway!

    As we make it to the western gate, the guard notices us approaching and gives us a curious look. ¡°Is all that meat for baiting wolves or something?¡±

    That is not a bad idea¡­ I might have to try that. Raya is quick to inform the two guards that we¡¯re gonna grill it and the three of us are going to enjoy an evening together.

    Wait, three? I look around and there''s Jeannie! Has she been here the entire time? Geez, that''s rude of me... I kinda wanna ask if I overlooked her, but that seems like a very easy way to embarrass myself.

    ¡°Can we join? It sounds like fun.¡± I don¡¯t mind, but Jeannie looks apprehensive, which is what she normally looks like, as far as I know.

    ¡°Okay, but you¡¯re in charge of fetching firewood.¡± Hah! Nice one, Raya. We don¡¯t actually make it to the woods. Instead, we¡¯re sitting some distance from the gate, about where I met Charo for the first time, actually. Seems appropriate to create some good memories here.

    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    As we settle down, I look over at the guards and I¡¯m a little surprised at how fast they were to abandon their post, but who am I to judge others for ditching responsibilities. Thinking about my own responsibilities, I find myself remembering an obligation to attend school, but I haven''t even seen a school since I hatched.

    That line of thinking is unnerving, so I push it aside. I''m not gonna dwell on it when there are things to munch. Those guards need to hurry up with that firewood.

    And they do! Turns out I was just being a little impatient. Now that they''ve returned, the two of them build a small bonfire, and now it''s my turn to be awesome! I''m gonna light the fire. Oh! A thought! Can I light a fire with my nose? I¡¯m gonna find out.

    ¡°Watch it, Kira! That¡¯s dangerous!¡± Turns out that I can light fires with my nose, but the flames don¡¯t shoot straight ahead. That¡¯s definitely useful information. Fortunately for everyone, no one stood in the way of my nasal flames. And unlike Raya, the guards are cheering me on. They get it.

    My second attempt at nasal fire is far more successful, and I manage to light the wood on fire. And now it¡¯s time to grill some meat!

    One of the guards approaches me and tugs on the meat, but he isn¡¯t having much success for some reason. ¡°It¡¯s stuck.¡± Oh right. They¡¯re impaled on my spines. Excellent excuse to lie down and let other people work, so I coil around the campfire, forming a large circle.

    One of the guards climbs onto me and starts untangling the meat, handing it off to the other guard. They¡¯re quick to make a small pile of it.

    Raya, on the other hand, is very quick to pick her seat. Apparently, my arm is a perfect spot for her. Well, I don¡¯t mind adding another excuse for me to stay lazy. Wouldn¡¯t want to disturb my friend after all.

    As I was busy paying attention to Raya, one of the guards has taken it upon himself to start cooking some meat. And as far as I can tell, he''s doing a good job of it.

    As the meat starts to look pretty good, I feel compelled to eat a chunk.

    Luckily for me, my neck is long, so I can easily swing my head around and snatch the meat right from the campfire. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t be greedy, Kira, everyone should get some!¡± Pfft, dragons are naturally greedy, so it would be weird if I weren''t.

    Apparently, my nature doesn¡¯t stop Raya from cutting off chunks of meat hanging from my mouth, the little rascal! Those chunks were destined for my belly! And now she¡¯s throwing the chunks to the others, as if we brought infinite food.

    ¡°You know, Lady Dragon, I was there when you first approached the village.¡± Huh, I don¡¯t recognize him at all, but there were guards present back then. ¡°My helmet got melted a bit, and it left me with a bald spot.¡± Oh, well, sorry about that, buddy. It wasn¡¯t my intention to hurt anyone. I was just frightened and in danger. Yeah, that I¡¯m apologizing for.

    ¡°Hah, no, no, you misunderstand, I brought it up not to complain, but because it earned me a commendation! The brave guard who stood up to the mighty dragon!¡±

    As I recall, he just happened to be on duty and standing too close. That doesn¡¯t really have anything to do with bravery, I¡¯d say, so I point that out.

    ¡°You know that, I know that, but why would I refuse recognition? Hah! And the battle scar reminds people of how bravely I stood there.¡±

    Yeah, he¡¯s definitely a weirdo. Can¡¯t blame him for it though, I would as well. Turns out he isn''t quite done talking.

    ¡°Speaking of guard duty. Wolf attacks are down, bear attacks are down, people aren¡¯t getting hurt outside the walls as much, even traders from the south are reporting fewer attacks. My family and friends are safer now thanks to you, Lady Dragon. So thank you.¡±

    Right, I did agree to help Tuiran, which is a task I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯ve done much of on purpose so far.

    Well, if I needed another excuse to hunt those dang wolves, there it is. I''m just gonna leave that subject hanging.

    As the guards and Jeannie chat about this and that, they¡¯re suddenly interrupted by a loud and ominous sound. Jeannie is quick to jump up, clearly startled. The guards, however, burst out laughing. Raya had fallen asleep and let out quite the snore. ¡°What¡¯re you laughin¡¯ at?¡­¡± If the adorable little rascal hadn¡¯t woken herself up, the laughing guards definitely would have.

    ¡°Dumb overgrown lizard¡­¡± What did I do?! I¡¯m almost eighty percent sure I¡¯m innocent here!

    ¡°You¡¯re too comfortable!¡± What?! That¡¯s so unfair! Of course I¡¯m comfortable, I¡¯m an awesome and mighty dragon!

    ¡°Don¡¯t you growl at me.¡± I¡¯ll growl at whoever I please, little one.

    It seems the others have gone quiet, and Raya is looking around at them. As she¡¯s staring at the guards, Melty leans over to the other guard and whispers to him.

    ¡°To think the Dragonbringer is powerful enough to command a dragon.¡± Hah, they¡¯re awestruck by Raya, she¡¯s gonna get so embarrassed. Fortunately for Raya, a quick distraction appears as Jeannie speaks up. ¡°Lady Dragon, Kira, I¡¯d like to thank you for the flight last week. It was amazing, even if it was very scary.¡± Yes, praise me more, shy one.

    She doesn¡¯t praise me more, which is very rude.

    I guess I¡¯ll bring up a topic now that we¡¯ve heard from almost everyone else. So I ask who the shadow man is, but all that gets me are stares. Not a single answer in sight.

    Turns out they don¡¯t know any shadow man wandering the forest. I¡¯m filled with curiosity now! Who is he, why is he giving directions to dragons, and is he edible? Questions for the ages.

    Raya is still looking up at me as she asks how long ago I met him, and I give that a think. Yeah, I haven¡¯t been keeping track of the days at all. If the flight with Jeannie was last week, then it was some days before that.

    Hold on, by my count, it¡¯s been almost two weeks since I hatched. How the heck am I this big after only two weeks?! That¡¯s unreal. Geez. I haven¡¯t really grown in the last few days, but if I get another growth spurt, who knows how large I¡¯ll become. That¡¯s a scary thought. I don¡¯t think I want that, I¡¯m enjoying being able to walk the streets of Tuiran.

    Raya brings my focus back by speaking up out of nowhere, asking me a question. ¡°So how long ago did you meet the shadow man, Kira?¡± I¡¯m really not sure, but I think it was a week and a half ago. So that¡¯s what I tell her, but she immediately retaliates with another question.

    ¡°What did he do?¡± Now I¡¯ve ended up having to retell the story of deer hunting, wolf battles, and maybe getting lost a little bit. That¡¯s when the kind shadow man pointed me towards my lake.

    As I¡¯m expertly telling my story, Raya falls asleep again! With a twitch of my arm, I startle her awake and ooh boy, does she look grumpy. Yeah, she did not appreciate that, and now she¡¯s sitting on the ground next to Melty.

    ¡°May I try sitting on you?¡± Well, well, well. Jeannie coming in with a surprise twist. I¡¯d have thought her too shy to ask for something like that. Of course, I agree to it, she seems nice.

    ¡°Thank you, I haven¡¯t been sleeping well lately.¡± Oh, uhm... Yeah, I¡¯m gonna have to ask if that¡¯s my fault.

    ¡°Oh, no, not at all. It didn¡¯t help, but I¡¯ve always had problems, and I startle easily. Lately, it has just been worse.¡± Sorry¡­

    She¡¯s quick to climb onto my arm and get comfortable. She sits at my elbow and leans back into the crevice of my arm and neck. ¡°Wow, this is really nice, it¡¯s like I¡¯m being cradled by warmth from all around.¡± I would ask how that works, because that seems weird, but she¡¯s already asleep. If I had to guess, I¡¯d say my scales become slightly heated by the warmth from the fire.

    How am I that comfortable and why is the world so cruel that I can¡¯t experience it myself? Maybe I should find a different dragon to snuggle up with. Probably not, that feels like it¡¯ll only lead to problems.

    As the meat reserves dry up, the two guards excuse themselves and head off. Something about a shift change, which seems odd, since I would have thought that getting off work would result in more free time. No matter, they can do what they want.

    Just Raya, Jeannie, and I left, and they¡¯re both asleep. I¡¯m just gonna curl up with these two and join them in snoozeland.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Suddenly I¡¯m woken up by the sound of whimpering. Judging by the moonlight, it¡¯s around midnight, so what the heck is going on now? I need to check that out, so I lift my head and that elicits a series of words from Raya. ¡°That hurt, Kira, did you have to do that?!¡±

    Turns out she was sitting with her back against my jaw, still asleep when I moved. So she fell backward. I wish I had seen it, but my focus was on Jeannie. Turns out she¡¯s crying, and I don¡¯t know why. I¡¯m fairly sure that it isn¡¯t my fault.

    So being the caring creature that I am, I nudge her and ask what¡¯s wrong. ¡°Sorry, I¡­ I just slept really well.¡± Okay, now I¡¯m getting really envious that I can¡¯t sleep on me. How does that even work? My scales are really hard, so they can''t be that comfortable.

    I wanna know more about this comfort skill I seem to possess, so I nudge her again and ask her to explain how my hard scales can be comfortable, which results in a gentle giggle.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that they¡¯re like warm tiles, and when you flex, they move slightly.¡± Oh, fantastic, I¡¯m a heated massage chair! Great! Kira, the great massage chair of Tuiran, sought out by sore backs far and wide!

    ¡°And I feel safe with you here.¡± Oh, well, now I feel like a jerk for the massage chair bit.

    Raya¡¯s just nodding along with Jeannie¡¯s explanation, but I¡¯m worrying a bit about why Jeannie would feel unsafe under normal circumstances. I haven¡¯t really seen anything that might be dangerous around Tuiran. Aside from the giant murder cat, I suppose. But the townsfolk seem to really look out for each other.

    I think I¡¯ll ask Raya about that on our next flight.

    Raya¡¯s looking at me with a sort of inquisitive look, which I¡¯m not sure I like. ¡°What is a ¡®massage¡¯ chair?¡± Well, I¡¯m not gonna explain that, I don¡¯t wanna have her calling me massage chair.

    I find myself staring at Jeannie, so I¡¯m gonna suggest that she sleep with me in the square, but she seems reluctant to accept. I¡¯ll do what I can to protect my goblins, so we¡¯ll see if she takes me up on my offer.

    For now, though, I need to get a feel for how well I¡¯m recovering, so I send some magic through my body to do just that. And just like I suspected, I¡¯m still quite far from recovered, and my magic reserves continue to be low.

    Oh no¡­ A reason to eat a bunch of delicious things, the horror¡­ Heh¡­

    So I suggest we head into town and find a butcher, and they both agree that my plan is fantastic. Well, Jeannie just nods along, and Raya is smirking. ¡°Glutton.¡± How dare you, Raya!

    ¡°What, you gonna eat me too, glutton?¡± Maybe I am! She¡¯s surprisingly quick to run off, so I chase her, but as soon as we get inside the walls, she runs into a narrow alley and taunts me.

    ¡°Why did you stop chasing me?¡± Dang it, she knows why! Well, time to utilize some political might, so I order a guard to apprehend her for me, and he¡¯s quick to get to it. I¡¯m gonna win this one, Raya!

    Or not¡­ In barely any time at all, Raya has the guard on the ground and won the scuffle. How did that happen? ¡°Didn¡¯t know I could fight, did you?¡± No, I did not. I¡¯ve saved her every time I¡¯ve seen her in fights, except when she assaulted Joras. But then again, most of those fights were against very large opponents.

    As I¡¯m contemplating what to do next, the little rascal launches a fire bolt at me. The nerve! ¡°I win.¡± What?! That¡¯s not fair at all! She can¡¯t just call out winning and expect to win.

    Luckily for me, her firebolt hasn¡¯t gotten any stronger, so it doesn¡¯t even do any damage, but I do feel a slight tingle from the magic. Maybe I should have her shoot me lots of times to speed up my recovery, so that¡¯s what I suggest.

    ¡°You want me to attack you to heal you? I¡¯m not gonna do that.¡± But she''s fine with shooting me to not heal me? I''m gonna point out how that doesn''t make any sense!

    "Lily told me that I have no talent for magical potency, so I won''t ever be able to cast magic as a weapon." Oh, that''s a shame...

    Just gonna move past that for now. If she won the chase, then we need to find some food so I can win.

    As Raya exits the alley, I see Jeannie coming closer, and she has a slight limp¡­ I carefully broach the subject of the limp, and she mentions that it happened quite some time ago in a battle, but she says it¡¯s fine since she got away. Well, someone¡¯s getting eaten if I find whoever did that to one of my goblins.

    ¡°Do you want a ride to the butcher, Jeannie?¡± Wait, what? Am I being volunteered to be a taxi now?! Jeannie looks between Raya and me, so I lower my head, and Raya helps Jeannie up. Why did I do that?¡­

    Oh well, she¡¯s nice and doesn¡¯t weigh that much, so it¡¯s probably fine. With every movement of my head, Jeannie lets out a squeal of joy, and to be honest, that¡¯s quite fun for me too. I may be moving a little more than necessary.

    Our trip doesn¡¯t take long at all, and as soon as we reach the butcher, Raya knocks, and as soon as the door opens, she speaks up. ¡°Hello, we¡¯d like to buy enough meat to fill a dragon''s belly!¡± Now that sounds like a plan I can get behind. The old guy looks quite tired, but he just shrugs and starts fetching my breakfast.

    As soon as he brings out the first cuts, I dig in and it¡¯s delicious. The flavor fills every bit of my mouth and I¡¯m confident that I¡¯ll never get tired of this. But it can be improved, so with the next batch, I use my flames to give the meat a quick char.

    I¡¯m well into my fourth serving before I realize I forgot someone. A little shake later and yep, Jeannie is still sitting on me. Impressively enough, she managed to stay on for the entirety of my breakfast so far. And I¡¯m not a gentle eater.

    A quick apology later, and I lower my head to the ground, letting her climb off me.

    ¡°That was so much fun! You have to try it, Raya, it was so difficult to hold on!¡±

    Just gonna finish my food and not immediately agree to that. A dragon has her pride, after all.

    Instead, I focus on my magic and let it flow through my body again to assess how much I¡¯ve healed, and¡­ not enough. Geez. I haven¡¯t regained much magic at all from all of this delicious food, so I might need to do some testing to figure out the best way to recover.

    I notice Raya handing out another token, so I nudge her to find out how we¡¯re paying for this, since my money is still up in a mountain, but she just says it¡¯s taken care of. How is it taken care of¡­

    ¡°Turo told me he subtracts expenses like food from your tribute, but you get a pretty good deal.¡± What?! I need to read this contract and possibly renegotiate.

    As a rational being, I realize it¡¯s quite fair, but as a dragon, I¡¯m a little upset about my wealth getting spent. Wealth is for me to hoard, dang it! All of a sudden, my deep thoughts are interrupted by Raya. ¡°Oh, she¡¯s okay, she just gets a little distracted sometimes.¡± That¡¯s pure hearsay, not admissible in court.

    ¡°Well, if the Dragonbringer says so, I guess it¡¯s the case.¡± Hah, another person calling her the Dragonbringer, she doesn¡¯t like that one bit. So, of course, I take this opportunity to bow to her and inform the butcher that I do as the Dragonbringer commands.

    I can feel the embarrassment radiating off her as she has to stay outside of bonking distance. And that¡¯s when the butcher joins in! ¡°Such fearsome power wielded by one of our kin must signify great change coming.¡±

    I wish I had some chili, I¡¯d quite like to see if her blushing from embarrassment would intensify with the blushing from the chili heat. She could become the first truly red goblin!

    I wanna tease her some more, but Jeannie interrupts by suggesting we leave for the night, and Raya is very quick to agree. One stroll through town later, and we arrive at my square. Jeannie and Raya seem to be going different ways, so I¡¯m gonna go a third way. I boop Jeannie goodnight, and Raya approaches for a goodnight boop as well.

    It wasn¡¯t for a boop at all! She hit me with a close-range firebolt again! And now she¡¯s running off, the little rascal! I¡¯m gonna have to think of even more things to embarrass her with.

    But not now, I wanna get some sleep before daytime arrives.

 Chapter 15: A Unique Experience

    First thing I notice as I wake up is a gentle snoring. And smelling the air, I notice Jeannie¡¯s scent and find her snuggled up by my arm. I guess she decided to take me up on my sleepover offer; she even brought a blanket.

    Well, everyone needs an excuse to be lazy every once in a while, and today Jeannie volunteered to be mine. So I just coil myself up again.

    Well, I would be snoozing some more, but then a different goblin shows up to interrupt my important plans.

    ¡°Good morning, Kira! Did you sleep well?¡± I did, but I should focus and find out if there¡¯s a reason for Raya to show up this early, so I ask her.

    ¡°No reason, just wanted to say hello before I head out. What are your plans for today?¡± That¡¯s nice; she deserves a boop. I tell her that I¡¯ll need to ask Joras about the shadow man.

    ¡°What shadow man?¡± She was probably tired and didn¡¯t pay attention. So I recap what I mentioned last night, and she does not look any less confused¡­ ¡°I really don¡¯t remember any shadow man. I do remember you telling us you got lost and somehow found your way back.¡±

    I prod Jeannie and ask her if she remembers, but she shakes her head. Okay, creep factor just went up dozens of points¡­ Definitely going to ask Joras about that creep.

    Raya looks worried. ¡°Do you want me to stay with you today?¡± I¡¯ll be fine though; I¡¯m not doing anything dangerous today, so I¡¯m not gonna be in any danger. In fact, I¡¯m gonna steer clear of danger as well as I can until I fix whatever is going on with my magic.

    There are a lot of things I want to do though. Secure my hoard, eat the bear, if it¡¯s still preserved, visit Joras and if time permits. Maybe possibly apologize for not listening to his important lecture.

    First things first, I should go visit Joras and ask about magic recovery. It feels like I¡¯m still too weak after eating so much.

    Once I arrive at his place, I kno- ¡°Don¡¯t do it, Kira.¡± Okay, I wait patiently and wonder how he knows I¡¯m here.

    It¡¯s gonna be because of something obvious that I haven¡¯t considered. This is when Joras opens his door and asks if there¡¯s anything I need, which I do, information. So I ask if he knows how long he thinks it will take for me to recover my magic, and I tell him what we¡¯ve been up to.

    ¡°Well, first things first, I wouldn¡¯t have minded joining this little gathering.¡± Oh, I¡¯ll have to remember that next time. ¡°But getting to the point, I can¡¯t say I¡¯m an expert on dragons. I''m confident you should have recovered a significant amount of magic already. Both through food and absorbing ambient magic.¡±

    Yeah, but I didn¡¯t, so what¡¯s the deal... Unfortunately for me, he informs me that he can¡¯t say, so he fetches Lily and asks if she can inspect me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Kira, I can¡¯t. I don¡¯t have a lot of magic myself. And with your affinity for draining magic, anything I try to cast would get dismantled and consumed.¡± Dang it...

    Well, not much to do about that; I¡¯ll have to ask the third magic user I know, Old Man Wreyn. I don¡¯t feel like visiting him in my weakened state. Oakhold is too dangerous with those pesky adventurers around. That''s definitely my reason for not wanting to go back.

    So I ask Joras if there¡¯s a way for us to get in contact with Old Man Wreyn without me going there, but he doesn¡¯t have much of an idea. It¡¯d be too dangerous for someone from Tuiran to go, aside from him or Lily. I''m not sure why that is, but he seems confident.

    ¡°Hm¡­ Now that I think about it, couldn¡¯t you fly over Oakhold and have Wreyn come to you?¡± Okay, yeah, that¡¯s a pretty good idea. I might just do that.

    While I¡¯m here, I¡¯m just gonna ask how he knows I¡¯m about to knock on the door. Now he¡¯s just staring at me¡­

    ¡°You block out the light. Any time you approach, my shop goes dark.¡± Okay, well, now I feel stupid¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t mind it, Kira. You¡¯ve never been inside a building, so it wouldn¡¯t be a concept you¡¯re overly familiar with.¡±

    That feels incorrect, but I can¡¯t tell why. It¡¯s true that I haven¡¯t been fully inside a building since I hatched, but I know how shadows and blocking light work.

    Not much to do about that, so instead I ask if he knows the shadow man wandering the woods, and I even describe the being.

    ¡°Can¡¯t say that I do, but it could be related to old stories about a mysterious guide.¡± Yeah, he did mysteriously guide me, so that checks out. What else?

    ¡°There are quite a few stories about a being swathed in shadows and death showing up to guide a hero in times of great turmoil. But those are human stories, so their validity is unreliable. Short-lived folks like that tend not to be the best record keepers."

    Be that as it may, I still want to hear about it, Joras. Don¡¯t leave me hanging like that!

    ¡°Ugh¡­ Fine¡­ The stories always start with a child getting lost in the woods. As despair sets in and they lose hope, the being shows up and gives them a path to salvation. If the child returns to find the being again, it will teach them ancient magic. The stories repeat the same theme. Those taught by the being grow up to wield tremendous power. It¡¯s unclear why, but these great mages rarely join conflicts. They do tend to usher in a time of peace as the nations won''t risk angering these great mages and their patron."

    Huh, that¡¯s weird. So basically, this guy goes around creating doomsday weapons that deter enemies. What a weird hobby.

    Wait, is that why he guided me back to the lake? I don¡¯t want that¡­ He¡¯d better not guide me to some great destiny. I just wanna hang out and have fun and amass wealth! I¡¯m just gonna tell him to go away if he starts talking about some nonsense like destiny. Assuming it¡¯s the same guy.

    Well, since I¡¯m here anyway, I should ask Joras about magic depletion¡­ ¡°Are you alright, Kira? I don''t mean this as an offense, but you¡¯ve been paying an unusual amount of attention today.¡±

    Pfft, nonsense. I just need to learn this stuff and there¡¯s no time like the present. ¡°I think I know what¡¯s going on.¡± No, no, I¡¯m just being curious and attentive.

    ¡°We don¡¯t really have any options except Wreyn, and you need the help, Kira.¡± I know! But I don¡¯t like Oakhold¡­

    Actually, maybe¡­ What if the shocking lady in the woods can help. That way, I don¡¯t have to go to Oakhold. So I¡¯m just gonna go ahead and suggest that.

    ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with anyone living in the woods, but I guess it¡¯s worth a try.¡± Great! We¡¯ll go there now, then.

    ¡°We are? I have work to do.¡± I see I need to use my greatest weapon¡­ So I give him the cute eyes of pleading!

    ¡°That would work a lot better if you were about Raya¡¯s size, but fine, I will join you¡­¡± Success! Now I have a translator, which is necessary because I don¡¯t speak whatever she spoke. Assuming Joras speaks whatever language that was. He probably does; he¡¯s a clever cookie.

    I motion for him to jump on so we can set off. He quickly complies without complaint, as long as I ignore the sigh.

    And we¡¯re off! Wait, we¡¯re backtracking a bit. ¡°Anything wrong, Kira?¡± Nah, I just wanna see the symbol on Joras¡¯ house. It is indeed a green triangle, huh, and three lines and two dots, that¡¯s fourteen buildings from the square.

    ¡°Oh, did Raya teach you about the signs?¡± Yep, and I¡¯m doing a good job of learning stuff!

    Now it¡¯s time to go find a forest lady, so using my newfound navigational skills, I make my way towards the square again. I¡¯m finding myself looking at every building on our way to spot the signs, and they really are everywhere.

    There¡¯s even a white triangle. Raya didn¡¯t mention anything white-colored. This demands investigation. I peek through the windows and it¡¯s a clothing shop. This is perfect; I definitely need to take Raya here to get her dress fixed. Let¡¯s see, that¡¯s one line and three dots. Gotta remember that.

    ¡°Kira, I appreciate that you¡¯re curious, but please do remember that you invited me to ride you. I¡¯ve had to dodge six signboards already.¡±

    Oh¡­ Uhm¡­ Just gonna back up slowly and see what he means. Sure enough, there¡¯s a wooden board with what looks like a bolt of cloth carved into it.

    Well, we¡¯re practically at the square anyway, so I¡¯ll just focus up and go straight there. Then we can get a move on.

    ¡°This really is quite the experience when you don¡¯t have to spend so much energy dodging. I¡¯m finding myself envying Raya¡¯s short stature.¡±

    Hah, that¡¯s what you get for being very tall. Wait¡­ I shouldn¡¯t make fun of his size¡­

    I tell him to hold on tight and then I feel his legs lock around my neck, so I set off. ¡°By the Gods! This is fun! No wonder Raya keeps bringing it up.¡±

    We¡¯ve only just started flying, so the obvious thing to do now is take it up a notch.

    I push more magic into my wings and fly even higher. It¡¯s harder than it was ascending the eastern mountain, but I¡¯ll manage. Joras is really holding on tight, and I¡¯ve never heard him laugh like that before.

    As we get to about half the mountain¡¯s height, I level out and we just soar for a bit. ¡°Oh, by the Gods, Kira! You could earn however much coin you want by offering this as a service! I¡¯ve truly never experienced anything like it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea, do you think you can go higher?¡± Not sure why, but yeah, I can definitely go higher. It takes some effort and I have to focus more on steadying us. We climb higher and higher until we¡¯re above the eastern mountain''s peak.

    ¡°Do you think you can catch me?¡± Yeah, sure, you¡¯re perfectly safe with me, Joras. No need to worry.

    ¡­Why is he getting up? We¡¯re not at a ¡®getting up¡¯ altitude, Joras. ¡°Kira, hold steady, I want to try standing up!¡± Uh, that seems like a bad idea.

    To my surprise, he actually manages to stand up and not fall. How the heck is he managing that? I¡¯m pretty sure the wind resistance should¡¯ve knocked him off.

    Oh shit, if he falls, he¡¯ll probably hit my spines! That¡¯s very not good.

    ¡°Kira! Get ready to dive and follow me.¡± WHAT?! Follow you? Pretty sure you¡¯re the one who is supposed to do the following here!

    He freakin¡¯ jumped! The absolute madman jumped! Obviously, I pivot and follow him. His limbs are spread out and he¡¯s using his jacket to act like membranes. Somehow, he¡¯s actually managing to slow his speed.

    The ground is still approaching very fast, so I move to have a wing under him, which he quickly grabs hold of, and I level us out. He¡¯s holding on to my wing¡¯s elbow joint as we fly, making flight more difficult as I have to compensate for the added weight. And I have to make sure I don¡¯t crush his fingers when I flap my wings.

    He manages to pull himself up and maneuver onto my back, and, using my spines, he crawls to my head and sits back down. I thought Raya would be the crazy one. Turns out I might have been wrong¡­

    ¡°I can honestly say that I have never tried anything like that before, Kira. Do you always feel that rush when you fly?¡± Maybe not exactly like that, but it¡¯s always a rush to fly, yeah.

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    There¡¯s no way I¡¯m letting him sit on his own again. That was too dangerous. I¡¯m gonna need a seat belt installed on me or something.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I got to try flying on my own. That¡¯s something I¡¯ll never forget.¡± Yeah, a real once-in-a-lifetime experience, especially if you had hit the ground, you crazy weirdo!

    We¡¯re gonna head towards the forest lady and not do any more crazy sky shenanigans. It¡¯s pretty evident that this guy can¡¯t be trusted to keep his arms and legs on the dragon during the ride.

    As we fly towards the forest lady¡¯s hut, I begin thinking about Joras and how different he is now compared to when we first met. He seemed so grumpy and sad, maybe even angry, but now he¡¯s like a child experiencing the world again. So I ask about it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m that different, but maybe the spark of life was reignited when my Lily¡¯s health improved, and that¡¯s what you are seeing.¡± Huh, could be. I guess that makes sense.

    I¡¯m gonna ask Raya what she thinks later. For now, we¡¯ve arrived, so I land in the backyard and Joras dismounts before I even lower my head to the ground. So weird to have a much larger person riding me.

    Joras is quick to ask where the woman is, so I lead him around front and he stares at the scene a moment. ¡°I can¡¯t say I blame her for not liking you, Kira. Her fence is broken, several crops have been damaged, her pathway is a mess. Judging by her thatched roof, you also didn¡¯t watch where your wings were going.¡±

    Geez, with a summary like that, I feel like she might have been justified shocking me¡­

    Having documented the damage, Joras walks up to the door and knocks. And knocks. Nobody¡¯s answering. ¡°I would imagine she left, Kira.¡± Why would she do that?

    ¡°A dragon shows up on your doorstep and you defend yourself against it. Do you stay and wait for it to come back to settle the score, or leave and not give it a chance?¡± Okay, fair¡­ And then he just walks inside. He looks a bit funny, having to bend down to enter a hut built for humans.

    Hmm¡­ How does he visit anyone in Tuiran? Those homes are built for goblins, who are even shorter than humans. And he¡¯s like two or three times taller than any goblin I¡¯ve seen.

    ¡°No one lives here anymore. From the looks of it, anything of significant value has been taken and whoever this woman was, she¡¯s long gone.¡± Oh, well, hopefully she¡¯ll be fine and I can apologize one day.

    Can¡¯t do anything about that, I¡¯m certainly not gonna track someone down who seems quite intent on me not finding her. So what will I do now¡­

    ¡°So what will you do now?¡± I don¡¯t know¡­ I suggest we go back to Tuiran and call it a day, but Joras doesn¡¯t seem interested in that.

    ¡°You know, you¡¯ll have to face your fears. Based on what Wreyn told me, the people of Oakhold wouldn¡¯t be welcoming to you. But they also wouldn¡¯t be gathering pitchforks and torches to chase you out.¡±

    But what if they did? What if it turns out like Charo again? I don¡¯t want that. I tell him as much, but that just makes him smile at me.

    ¡°You¡¯re afraid one bad experience will end up being overshadowed by good? and you¡¯ll be accepted by the people and welcomed into their lives? That you¡¯ll build friendships and not have to be alone? Or perhaps that you¡¯ll improve the lives of those you meet?¡±

    ¡­ Fine, we¡¯ll go to Oakhold¡­

    In an attempt to find a final excuse not to go, I check on my magic, but I should be fine to fly there and back. Dang it.

    As soon as Joras mounts up again, we¡¯re off. Feeling a little retaliatory and petty, I decide to fly a little faster than necessary. He isn¡¯t quite dressed for that, so he¡¯s gonna be cold. Serves him right.

    The flight itself proceeds without incident, and it doesn¡¯t take long at all before we reach the forest¡¯s edge. I spend my time watching our surroundings, and these flat areas are quite nice. Most of the area is covered in grass ranging from green to slightly yellow, sprinkled with some pretty yellow, red and purple flowers. There are even a few trees here and there.

    I''m gonna have to have Raya teach me about plants so I can identify these things¡­

    ¡°Kira, I think you should pay attention; we¡¯re approaching Oakhold.¡± I am paying attention, just not to where we¡¯re going. Botany will have to wait, I guess. We are indeed approaching Oakhold. I ask Joras whether we should fly over the town and lure Old Man Wreyn out or approach the gates.

    I wonder if the gates are even an option, as there is quite a gathering outside. If I had to guess, I¡¯d say about thirty people are standing off to the side of the road by the gates.

    I¡¯m seeing humans, elves, scalefolk, and two types of folks I¡¯m unfamiliar with. One is a very short and wide person, like a squished human, and the other person has fur all over and a pair of pointed ears. Ooh, so many new folks to get to know!

    ¡°Well, I hadn¡¯t intended on joining you for your trip to Oakhold, but now that I¡¯m here, we should approach the gates. Showing civility will likely help your image.¡± Right, I asked him a question. That makes sense to me. Frightening the townsfolk after the trouble I took part in last time would be a bad look.

    We land a safe distance from the gates, about a hundred meters (109 yd), I think. Walking the rest of the way will be easy enough. To my surprise, the four guards at the gates aren¡¯t rushing to attack, so that¡¯s a relief. They¡¯re mostly just looking at me and each other. I suppose it might be helping that Joras is walking a bit ahead of me.

    Approaching the gate, the crowd seems content to just stand there and watch. At least until someone speaks up all of a sudden. ¡°Ti du themar feren? [Is the dragon friendly?]¡±

    I assume it was directed at Joras because he just nods and gestures for the speaker to come closer. And they do come closer! It¡¯s a young human guy, I think. He seems quite cautious about the whole thing. I don¡¯t bite! Well¡­ I don¡¯t bite without a reason¡­

    ¡°Wara E shena idu? [Can I touch it?]¡± Whatever that was, it earned another nod from Joras, and then he tells me to lie down. So that¡¯s what I do as this guy approaches me with almost impressively tiny steps.

    Yeah, this is taking too long, so I get up and approach him instead. I¡¯m gonna boop his nose with my nose! As I do, I also notice that he smells quite delicious, and that scent is increasing by the second.

    As gently as I can, I make contact with my nose and he is standing very still. Yeah, I¡¯m gonna have to play with him a bit, so I exhale with a little more force than necessary.

    I hadn¡¯t expected him to scream, but scream he did as he fell on his butt. The crowd bursts into laughter as the guy turns very red. I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s embarrassment. He doesn¡¯t seem upset to me.

    I have to commend his bravery for trying to approach me in the first place. That kinda impressed me. To my surprise, I didn¡¯t even scare him off. He scrambles to recover and compose himself, and in very short order, he¡¯s standing in front of me.

    I notice the crowd¡¯s laughter has died down and they¡¯ve gone still. I wonder if they¡¯re expecting him to do something foolish. But he doesn¡¯t, he just reaches out and touches my cheek. ¡°E Shenain un themar! [I touched a dragon!]¡±

    I¡¯m gonna need Joras to teach me their language. I don¡¯t think I can rely on falling into traumatic comas, having people¡¯s spirits show up and gift me knowledge as I unintentionally lash out and kill them. That just doesn¡¯t seem like a viable long-term plan.

    Now that Sir Bravery has shown that I¡¯m not an immediate danger, the crowd seems to have relaxed quite a bit. Even the three guards are relaxing again. Pretty sure there were four, but maybe I¡¯m remembering that wrong.

    Bringing my attention back to the people around me, I notice the scent of fear wafting off some of them, but most just seem wary. And so many of them smell like money. Maybe Joras was onto something with the whole selling flights¡­

    Bring my attention back to my immediate surroundings. The first thing I notice is that the crowd has gathered around me instead of watching from the sidelines. Most seem content to just touch my scales, but I notice one person inspecting my claws quite closely.

    So I inspect him quite closely. Moving my head towards him, people move away to give me room, and the guy hasn¡¯t noticed me yet.

    Well, if he¡¯s interested in me, perhaps he¡¯d like a closer look. So I prepare to perform my classic open-mouth startle!

    ¡°Don¡¯t do it, Kira. Just push him away if you don¡¯t want the attention.¡± Killjoy¡­

    I give Joras a disapproving look for ruining my fun, but he just goes back to talking to the locals about whatever they talk about. I¡¯m getting bored.

    So I stand up slowly, making sure people have time to give me room. For some reason, Joras claps twice and says something or other, and the crowd starts returning to the side of the road.

    It occurs to me that I have no idea who these people are or what they do, so I ask Joras what¡¯s up.

    ¡°They¡¯re trade apprentices. Traders will send their apprentices ahead to secure entry into a town or city, so that the trader¡¯s carriage won¡¯t have to wait outside.¡± Huh, that¡¯s pretty neat.

    No wonder they smell like money, but I don¡¯t see any goods. So why are the gates closed? Surely they should be open to allow passage. I nudge Joras for an answer.

    ¡°You know, you don¡¯t have to push me every time you want to ask a question¡­¡± Okay, fair, but get to explaining, buddy!

    He chuckles at me, I don¡¯t deserve chuckles aimed at me. ¡°Incorrigible child. The gates are closed to keep giant lizards out.¡± That¡¯s stupid, I can just fly over the walls and do whatever I want insi¡­ Why is he laughing¡­

    ¡°No, Kira, I wasn¡¯t talking about you, so you don¡¯t have to look for ways you can get in. I¡¯m referring actual lizards like basilisks and the like. They roam this region and they¡¯re known to attack fortified settlements looking for shelter. They often mistake the gates for caves, so the gates have to remain closed until enough people need to pass through.¡±

    I guess that makes sense. And the walls are necessary to keep other stuff out. That seems troublesome.

    I find myself curious how long it takes to open and close the gates, and I actually get to find out right now, because they¡¯re opening. At the center of the gates, I see a cranky-looking horseman.

    The gates are pretty slow to open, so yeah, it makes sense to keep them closed to prevent intruders.

    The rider is definitely Captain Cranky, and he¡¯s very quick to approach Joras and start barking. Once he stops, Joras tells me that Captain Cranky will lead us to Wreyn¡¯s place. Something about Wreyn being untrustworthy as a caretaker.

    I suggest that Joras cast his little talky spell, so I can listen in on whatever Captain Cranky says. That might make him less cranky about my being here.

    ¡°Not a bad idea¡­¡± I know, right? He¡¯s quick to start talking to Captain Cranky, and the guy just looks at me for a moment and shrugs. Joras pulls out his dagger, and I stick out my tongue. A quick jab and a tingle later, and we can talk! As we continue to walk, he speaks up.

    ¡°What do you want, Dragon?¡± Okay, I feel like I definitely got his name right.

    His attitude sort of derailed my train of thought and I¡¯m not sure what I want from him. So I just ask him why he seems to dislike me.

    ¡°Why would I not dislike you? Your kin are known as destroyers. Why would you be different?¡± Okay, now that¡¯s rude. I didn¡¯t choose to be a dragon, and I¡¯m definitely not choosing to be a destroyer. I may occasionally cause a bit of a mess, but most of that hasn¡¯t been my fault!

    So I jab back by asking if I should assume he¡¯ll attack me like the adventurers did, because if so, I might as well attack preemptively. Defending myself is only reasonable.

    ¡°Whether you attack now or later doesn¡¯t change anything. But the next time you attack someone in Oakhold, I intend to be there to stop you.¡±

    Geez, what a dick. I¡¯m just gonna ask Joras to cancel the spell. This was pointless, and now I¡¯m in a bad mood.

    Joras reaches over and scratches my chin. It takes more than that to turn this frown upside down. Or I guess to change the color of these eyes. That¡¯s not as catchy, though.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind him, Kira. We¡¯re here to see Wreyn. What the pawns think is immaterial. You only need to consider Wreyn.¡± It feels a little harsh, but I appreciate the thought.

    We¡¯re moving through a somewhat crowded street, and I look around. Sure enough, those markings Raya taught me about aren¡¯t here, so how do humans navigate? Another thing to learn!

    This street seems mostly populated by craftspeople. I¡¯m hearing some blacksmith ringing; I wonder if they¡¯d like some Dragonflame too. Not now though, I¡¯m not gonna risk burning something down. Again¡­

    The buildings really are beautiful. From what I can tell, they¡¯re a mix of solid wood and bricks. No wonder they could support my weight. Maybe Wreyn would be willing to teach someone in Tuiran to make bricks like that. Then I could climb buildings and take off from anywhere!

    Ooh! We¡¯re actually passing by the blacksmith, so I¡¯m just gonna have a peek and see what they¡¯ve got going on.

    I nudge the door slightly and it isn¡¯t locked! Pushing my head inside, I take a look around, and what a delicious-smelling room it is.

    The room, or shop, has several displays showing weapons of all sorts. Although mostly axes. I¡¯m just gonna go out on a limb and assume this is a weaponsmith¡¯s shop.

    I wonder if I could get metal claws made to go onto my claws. Super claws! The smells of the different metals are the most pervasive scents in the shop, but I¡¯m also getting hints of fear. Weapons that induce fear seem like a hat-on-a-hat situation, but I don¡¯t know their customs.

    As I continue to look around, I realize I may have been a bit silly to assume the scent of fear came from the weapons. The shopkeeper is standing in a doorway at the back of the shop, and he¡¯s looking kinda pale.

    I¡¯m just gonna leave and let him calm down. Yep, everything is normal here. Having successfully removed myself from the shop, I look around and see Captain Cranky. He seems to be waiting for me, and Joras is standing around with a wide grin.

    ¡°Building more friendships, are we?¡± Who knows where it¡¯ll go with this shopkeeper, but at least I didn¡¯t destroy anything, so that¡¯s a very good start!

    Captain Cranky doesn¡¯t seem interested in niceties. He just gestures for us to keep moving, so that¡¯s what we do. Can¡¯t be long until we¡¯re at Wreyn¡¯s place.

    Ooh! I smell food! Joras, can we go get some food?

    ¡°Sure, but you¡¯re paying.¡± He says with a chuckle. Just this once, I agree. Captain Cranky speaks up as he notices us change direction. He seems upset again, but then from what I can tell, that¡¯s his default mood.

    ¡°He¡¯s just talking about having a schedule to keep and being too busy to babysit us.¡± Well, I¡¯m fine with him leaving, Joras and I can have fun on our own.

    As I turn to leave, Joras watches Captain Cranky some more, but the captain just shouts some more and leaves. I ask Joras what he said. It turns out to be some stuff about whatever is happening not being his responsibility anymore.

    I¡¯m surprised Joras is so willing to just ditch our escort, and a nudge later, he explains.

    ¡°I just didn¡¯t like his attitude. It reminded me of myself in my youth, a time I¡¯d rather forget. Too judgmental and rigid.¡± Huh, well, I wanna know more about his youth, but that can wait until he wants to share.

    We walk further down this street towards the delicious food smells. And sure enough, we find a market! Ooh, this is gonna be great! There are plenty of food stalls and trinket stalls here. The stalls are quite pretty, each decorated with ornaments. I wonder whether they have any meaning or they¡¯re just there to be pretty.

    There are so many food options for us to try. And luck is on our side, because there¡¯s barely a crowd today! Actually, there¡¯s not really anyone. The few folks who were around have disappeared.

    ¡°Kira, you should try these, open up.¡± Ooh, skewers with veggies and meat! Those look delicious. Opening my mouth, he just throws them in. He didn¡¯t even remove the sticks.

    Doesn¡¯t stop me from eating them, but that would have been considerate of him.

    As we proceed through the market, he picks something from every food stall and throws it to me. We need to visit this place again. This is some great stuff.

    I feel a tingle all of a sudden and then hear a familiar voice. ¡°Enjoying yourselves?¡± We are, thanks for asking, Old Man Wreyn.

 Chapter 16: Mistakes Understood

    I turn my head to look at him, and he appears to be somewhat tired. I bet that¡¯s because of Captain Cranky.

    Oh, that reminds me, I need to ask him about ornery ice bears like Frosty. Hopefully, he can give me some information so I can better prepare for next time.

    ¡°You¡¯ve encountered Frostclaws? Those are fearsome foes.¡± I know, right? And weird too. I have no idea what Frosty¡¯s plan was, but I feel like I was in quite a bit of danger.

    ¡°The Frostclaws are quite intelligent beasts, and even adventurers tend to avoid them. Although their organs sell quite well if you can collect them intact.¡± Yeah, probably not much chance at that¡­

    But I need to know about how they fight. I feel like Frosty behaved oddly.

    ¡°Well, they¡¯ll fight in any way they feel they have an advantage. Some of those clever beasts are partial to magic and others to close quarters. Although you won¡¯t really know what you¡¯re fighting until the fighting starts.¡±

    See, now that¡¯s a problem, but it should be manageable since I can just fly until I know which is which. But what about the head-biting? That was very weird.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ The beast must have assumed you weren''t capable of any more resistance. When it prepares its prey, it will bite down either on a deep wound or the face of its opponent. A most effective strategy. Doing so allows it to funnel frost magic directly into its prey''s core.¡±

    Well, dang¡­ That does not sound healthy¡­ Why would they do that, though? Continue your explanation, Wreyn!

    ¡°Indeed, they need to freeze their prey to consume it. Those I have observed feeding would shatter their frozen prey and gobble up the shards. Once they have a hold of their prey, very little can be done to escape these strong beasts.¡±

    Geez, it sounds like I screwed up a lot... I¡¯m gonna need something to distract me from how close I was to dying... I''m gonna need some support munching, so I ask Joras to fetch me some food. He just shrugs and gets to it.

    In barely any time at all, he returns with some grilled meats, and then he interrupts my thoughts with a question for Old Man Wreyn.

    ¡°In case you happen to know, what would you say would happen if, say, a dragon forced as much flame as she could into the belly of a Frostclaw, followed by the Frostclaw using its own magic?¡±

    ¡°Well, that is a good question. Those elements do not play nice together¡­ If I had to make a guess, I would say the reaction would be violent. Why? Do you intend to experiment with this idea?¡±

    Nooo¡­ That would be silly and dangerous! Bone shards and organs and whatnot would fly everywhere! Totally irresponsible to do that.

    ¡°Kira already did.¡± Betrayer! That was a secret!

    ¡°Hooh¡­ Lady Kira, I really must ask you to allow me to witness these events you keep causing. I still haven¡¯t seen Dragonflame and now you¡¯re experimenting with mixtures of frost and fire? I¡¯m feeling a little hurt you didn''t include me.¡±

    I don¡¯t cause them! I¡¯m merely present when things happen. Do they have a habit of happening to me? Possibly, but that¡¯s unrelated.

    We need to talk about something else, and Joras needs to bring me more snacks. I nudge him and ask for more snacks, but then he just groans.

    ¡°I¡¯m not your servant, you know.¡± Okay, that¡¯s fair. Sorry.

    He gives me a light tap and a smile as he walks away. Maybe he will fetch snacks! Oh right, I need to ask more questions. I''ll definitely need to know more about how to defeat them, so that seems like an obvious next question.

    ¡°Hm¡­ To be quite honest, I would recommend that you stay away from them. Even our stronger adventurers are an even match for those fearsome beasts.¡±

    I don¡¯t feel like that tells me much. I kicked the asses of those adventurers, so shouldn¡¯t I be on par with or better than one of these Frostclaws?

    ¡°I believe you may be underestimating what a party of adventurers can do. The group you fought acted without any thought. Their front line ran through the mage¡¯s protective barrier and, as I hear it, experienced firsthand what Dragonflame can do. Their archer left himself vulnerable as soon as he thought you had run away. And the mage, arguably the wisest of the three, attempted to surrender against an unpredictable foe. A foe that the group had antagonized unnecessarily."

    Okay, yeah, that might not be the best benchmark to judge by.

    ¡°Adding to that foolishness, they attacked a foe of which they had insufficient knowledge. Only children and fools rush into danger like that.¡±

    Well, I very much feel like I got hit by a stray attack right there.

    I¡¯m noticing that he isn¡¯t actually explaining how I can beat a Frostclaw, so I guess I really should stay away from them, but I still want to recover my hoard.

    Since I wanna make sure, I prod him about their weaknesses again, but he just doubles down on telling me to stay away, so I guess I¡¯ll ask about something else.

    Shadow man or my magic situation¡­ I don¡¯t feel comfortable bringing up the shadow man after what Joras told me. So I¡¯m going to prioritize a third option that just occurred to me. I need to learn more about these very neat streetlight orbs!

    ¡°Oh, we have blacksmiths create orbs of Flameglass and then one of our mages enchant them with an illumination spell. It works pretty well, but they have to be refilled with magic regularly.¡±

    That sounds like a bother, and I¡¯m pretty sure all glass is made by heating something, so I have no idea why they¡¯d name something ''Flameglass.''

    ¡°Do you need any for your hoard¡¯s location? I''m certain we could find a couple of spares.¡± Of course I need shiny orbs of light. With a smile, he agrees to hand over a couple later on. Excellent, I have obtained light!

    Looking at one of the light orbs, I¡¯m finding myself quite curious about what would happen if I push magic into one of them, but I need to be careful with my magic expenditure... So being the responsible person that I am, I turn my attention towards more impor¡­ Yeah, I¡¯m doing it.

    Touching one of the orbs with my nose, I push a small bit of magic into it. To my surprise, it doesn¡¯t melt like the dagger did, but it is ridiculously bright.

    To my other surprise, I have to turn my head away from the blinding light. And I see Joras and Wreyn shielding their eyes. Good call, guys.

    ¡°Magnificent! You¡¯re a Dragon after my own heart, Lady Kira! Consequences be damned, find out what things do.¡± I feel like he just called me reckless¡­

    Joras doesn¡¯t seem too pleased by the blinding light, so he¡¯s quick to suggest we go somewhere else. I don¡¯t see much food left, so I¡¯m inclined to agree. Maybe the townspeople will return to the streets as well.

    As we walk away from the bright light someone created. Based on the snippets I pay attention to, Joras and Wreyn are talking about alchemy and trading. Maybe Joras will broker a trade deal and bring more prosperity to Tuiran!

    Turns out that traders around here just don¡¯t visit goblin towns. That seems kinda rude. I¡¯m gonna have to look into that and see what¡¯s going on.

    Oh! I should bring up my magic circulation problem. That¡¯s why we came here in the first place. So that¡¯s what I do, and I make sure to mention that I¡¯m recovering magic very slowly.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ That is most curious¡­ Would you mind if I have a look at your body¡¯s magic circulation?¡±

    I don¡¯t see why I should have a problem with that, so I¡¯ll allow it, I guess.

    ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t do that!¡± Geez, Joras seems to have a problem with that. I wonder what¡¯s got him all riled up.

    Old Man Wreyn did stop, though, but he¡¯s looking as confused as I am. What¡¯s the big deal?

    ¡°Wreyn, you should know that she will siphon away any magic she comes in contact with. A surface inspection is safe, but anything deeper than that will render you unconscious.¡±

    ¡°Hooh¡­ Is that so? Maybe I should try it.¡± Okay, just like that, I¡¯m with Joras. We probably shouldn¡¯t be knocking out the leader of the town. I¡¯m pretty sure that is bad for diplomacy.

    ¡°If you insist on doing something foolish, I have a different suggestion. Kira is a bit of an anomaly. From what I can tell, her scales are resistant to fire, but also absorb some of the magic thrown at her. That should be something you can see with Mage Sight.¡±

    Wait, we¡¯re back to me being a target? I don¡¯t like that, Joras. And I really don¡¯t like that look in Wreyn¡¯s eyes!

    ¡°Hooh, that is interesting.¡± Yeah, the old man just conjured a fireball of some sort. What the heck is wrong with him?! We¡¯re in the middle of his town; I¡¯ll get blamed for this for sure!

    ¡°I¡¯ll remind you, Wreyn, we are guests here. Attacking Kira wouldn¡¯t be a good look. What I had in mind when I made the suggestion was a simple ignition spell.¡±

    ¡°Attacking? I have no intentions of attacking. I¡¯m merely testing a¡­ Ah, I see how this looks, yes. My apologies, Lady Kira. I seem to have gotten caught up in my curiosity. We¡¯ll explore this subject another time.¡± Yeah, you¡¯d better apologize. That was mean¡­

    ¡°Since I cannot perform a thorough inspection of your magic circulation, I can only offer speculation. So if you would please answer my questions, perhaps we can narrow down a cause for your issues.¡±

    Okay, but no more attacking or being threatening, geez¡­ Instead of dwelling on that nonsense, I ask for his first question.

    ¡°Have you recently lost contact with your place of power?¡± I don¡¯t know what that is. I¡¯m gonna need some elaboration.

    ¡°Well, for creatures of magic, a place of power aids in magical stability, and it concentrates ambient magic for the creature. It is a sanctuary, and to lose the sanctuary is to lose a part of oneself.¡±

    Oh, that doesn¡¯t sound good. Well, the good parts sound good, but losing part of myself sounds pretty awful. And I had just dumped my money before Frosty arrived. Dang it¡­

    Sounds like I¡¯ll need to return to those bears again. Hopefully, one hasn¡¯t moved into my cave.

    ¡°Now, what else have you done that might affect your magic circulation?¡±

    I guess the bear thing would count. I really did throw everything I had at it. So I bring that up as well, and I tell him about the fight with Frosty and how I fought to get back to Tuiran.

    ¡°Joras, I do believe there might be truth to our drunken ramblings¡­ Based on her description of what happened in that cave, she should be dead. Magical creatures don¡¯t just survive depletion like that on top of losing their place of power.¡±

    Well, that doesn¡¯t sound ominous at all. Maybe I should have just dug a hole in Tuiran and been an adorable underground dragon. But then groundwater might get me.

    Joras chips in and explains what happened after I arrived at Tuiran, but I don¡¯t really remember much of that part. From the sounds of it, I¡¯m a clever cookie who knew exactly where I could get help in my hour of need.

    I thought about bringing up the shadow man, but given how Wreyn reacted to me absorbing magic, I¡¯m just gonna not do that.

    We¡¯ve been walking for a while now, and Wreyn seems to be leading us somewhere. It¡¯s clear that we¡¯ve entered a different district because it looks more affluent.

    The buildings are just that bit better taken care of, and the streetlights are more common. Slowly but surely, folks are appearing again. It feels weird that the streets are mostly empty because it¡¯s still quite early in the day.

    ¡°You know, Lady Kira, if you need assistance recovering your hoard, I could lend you Captain Neithro. He¡¯s quite skilled in supportive magic.¡± Well, I¡¯m up for meeting new people, and I do need to get my money back.

    Joras is smirking at me for some reason, so I¡¯m just gonna ignore that. Having a support mage on my team would make me feel safer against the bears, though.

    I¡¯m still a little hung up on this lack of a crowd, so I ask Wreyn why people aren¡¯t milling about.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s the day of worship. Our people gather to worship their chosen God and ask for blessings, guidance, or protection in the coming week. Sometimes the Gods listen, sometimes they don¡¯t, but it always brings peace of mind.¡±

    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Huh, I nudge Joras and ask him what a god is. I¡¯ve heard the word a few times, but I have no idea what it means.

    Now they¡¯re both staring at me. I expected Joras to explain, but Wreyn beats him to the punch.

    ¡°Well, Gods protect us and guide us. They are the source of our blessings. The Great God Terragaraem stands up for Humanity and has shared His power to strengthen us. Without His blessing, we¡¯d be feeble creatures, dominated by everything around us. Instead, we tame the land and bring His wisdom to other species.¡±

    I don¡¯t get it. All I get from Wreyn¡¯s rant is that this god thing is powerful and helps humans. I ask Joras if he has a god too, since he¡¯s not human. It turns out he does.

    ¡°I do worship a God, well, Goddess. Her name is Mairleark; her domain is nature and life. She keeps the balance of the wild and creates life as easily as she takes it. Her blessing gives my people longevity and proficiency with magic. So I will live a long time, and my magic is strong, but she values balance, so I¡¯m limited in variety.¡±

    Guess he¡¯s like me then. Apparently I also suck at many types of magic. Does that mean Wreyn can cast all sorts of spells?

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m certainly proud of my arsenal of spells, but humans are fragile things. If you had to guess, who is older, Joras or I?"

    Well, the white hair, beard, and wrinkles certainly make Wreyn look old, but I feel like it¡¯s a trick question, so I¡¯m gonna assume that it is and say Joras.

    ¡°Indeed, I am merely seventy-eight years old. Ancient by human standards, but I have no doubt Joras is older.¡±

    Obviously, I ask how old Joras is, and he thinks for a moment, seemingly unsure of how to answer.

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember. You would have to ask Lily.¡± Geez, what an irresponsible guy. But then if these guys have gods, why don¡¯t goblins have a god?

    ¡°Well, they¡¯re godless beings. The Gods have decreed through their actions that some beings are unworthy of a blessing.¡± Well, I don¡¯t like that one bit. Raya is worthy of so many things.

    Joras seems to be looking at Wreyn, and I get the impression that he thinks Wreyn is wrong. I hope Wreyn is wrong because that definitely seems wrong to me.

    Abandoning that subject for now, I look around as we arrive at a surprisingly large mansion. It has a small stone wall surrounding it, and the house is the typical brick structure with wooden beams supporting it. In my opinion, this yard is way too big; I think I could even spread my wings here.

    It does have some very fancy wooden carvings all over, but I don¡¯t recognize the symbols. Wreyn takes us up to the house, and the door opens.

    Some young girl stands in the doorway and looks at us, then slams the door. I guess she wasn¡¯t feeling hospitable.

    ¡°That was my granddaughter, Emily. She¡¯s a little shy, but she is the most adorable little girl you''ll ever meet, I promise.¡± Still a bit rude to slam the door like that, but there¡¯s no reason to dwell on it.

    "Emily, dear, could you open up and say hello? We have guests, and remember that we need to treat guests well. And they come from a different place, so you also need to cast your spell.¡±

    The door creaks open as a sliver of a face peers out of the door, then I feel that familiar tingle.

    ¡°Hello.¡± And then the door slams again. Well, she tried. Gotta give her credit for that. I¡¯m gonna ask Wreyn how old she is because she looks very small.

    ¡°She¡¯ll be six this winter. I just hope she¡¯ll grow out of her shy tendencies. It has just gotten worse since her mother disappeared, and now she barely talks to anyone but our staff.¡±

    Wreyn went inside his mansion, leaving Joras and me to wait outside. Joras nudged me, asking me a question. ¡°Why do you think he took us here? I doubt it was to introduce us to Emily.¡±

    He took my thing! I am the nudger here! I give him a nudge and shrug, I don¡¯t know. But I get the impression that Wreyn is a clever guy, so he probably has a plan.

    While we wait, I take a look around and this guy has a pretty great lawn. The grass is well taken care of and he even has a flowerbed. Giving the flowers a sniff, I find that I don¡¯t recognize any of them.

    I turn to look at Joras and notice that I bumped into something and hear an oomph. ¡°I need to remember that you don¡¯t always look where you move.¡± Someone knocked Joras over!

    As I contemplate whether to leave him on the ground or help him up, Wreyn¡¯s door opens and out comes Wreyn carrying little Emily. And more importantly, carrying a pouch of deliciousness.

    ¡°See, Emi, the dragon and the elf are nice people. Do you wanna try feeding the dragon?¡± Okay, I approve of this plan. I knew he was a clever guy.

    The little girl isn¡¯t much of a talker, but she¡¯s very good at staring at me. ¡°Now Emi, if you want to try feeding her, you¡¯ll need to tell her what you need her to do. She¡¯s much too tall for you, so perhaps if you ask her to come closer to the ground, she might do it.¡±

    With my gaze focused on her, she actually manages to squeak out a request for me to come closer, so that¡¯s what I do. She looks adorably nervous. She breaks off her staring and looks at Wreyn for a moment.

    ¡°If you pull out a coin, I¡¯m sure Kira here will be quite happy to be fed.¡± I will, it¡¯s true, get on with the feeding. Feed this coin-operated dragon!

    With my focus on the girl, Joras surprises me by having gotten up and walked into my periphery. He suddenly reaches into the coin pouch and pulls out a silver coin, and then he throws it to me.

    With tremendous grace, I snatch the coin out of the air, startling Emily for a moment, but then she laughs. She¡¯s quick to pick out another coin and toss it. Unfortunately, she doesn¡¯t throw as well as Joras does, so it lands on the ground.

    But the ground is within reach for me, so I eat it anyway! With every coin comes that tingle of power, it isn¡¯t much, just barely a shiver, but it¡¯s there.

    Wreyn gives me an expectant look, so I give him a nod. I believe it¡¯s working. As he continues to encourage Emily to throw me coins, she gets bolder and moves closer to me.

    She continues doing this until the pouch is empty and she¡¯s standing right in front of me. I don¡¯t think she has realized how close she is yet.

    ¡°Well done, Emi! Do you want to pet the Dragon too?¡± Evidently, Wreyn decides it¡¯s appropriate to show her how to pet me because he just does so.

    Reaching out a hand, he places it on my muzzle and starts stroking me. And then Emily does the same! Having her meet new people seems to be going quite well. Well, at least until someone else shows up.

    Captain Cranky is standing at the entrance to Wreyn¡¯s garden, and as I turn to look at him, I let out a small warning growl, soon after which I hear a smaller warning growl. Adorable! Emily is growling at Captain Cranky!

    Captain Cranky snaps his fingers a few times, and Joras pulls out his dagger and performs his little blood spell to allow communication. I¡¯m thinking I might have to knock this guy down a few pegs at some point.

    Captain Cranky looks as cranky as always. He¡¯s pretty consistent that way. But now he also looks determined. ¡°Wreyn, enough playing around. Dragon, did he make the request yet? We need this problem dealt with.¡±

    He did not, but now I''m curious. What sort of problem would a big and fancy mage like Wreyn need help with?

    ¡°Of course he didn¡¯t bring it up...¡± Captain Cranky manages to sound both cranky and exasperated. I can imagine how tiresome it must be to deal with someone as prone to distractions as Wreyn.

    ¡°A beast up north is hunting our people, and we can¡¯t find it. It hunts at night using stealth, and the adventurers who were supposed to deal with it are refusing.¡±

    Oh, hopefully that isn¡¯t my fault. I could see how tearing a few adventurers apart in town might deter others.

    "Which is part of why Wreyn wants an alternative to adventurers. They are too fickle, and they come and go as they please. A frustratingly unreliable lot.¡±

    Geez, he¡¯s even crankier when talking about adventurers. Well, at least I¡¯m reliable and focused, so I can take care of this really fast!

    ¡°Neithro is right. They¡¯ve been reluctant to take the jobs we actually need them to, and it¡¯s causing problems. We¡¯re losing guards, farmers, loggers, and hunters, and everything we''ve tried so far has failed. We can¡¯t track such a stealthy target without an experienced predator hunter.¡±

    They¡¯re laying it on thick. I¡¯m not sure I could refuse even if I wanted to. The prospect of hunting a beast like that is too enticing. I wanna do it.

    ¡°Of course you¡¯ll get the support of Captain Cranky. We can¡¯t have you getting hurt, now can we.¡± Heh, he used the nickname. Captain Cranky isn¡¯t looking too pleased with that, but he¡¯s earned that name and should be proud of it.

    I kinda wanna bring Joras along, but when I ask, he just refuses. He seems reluctant to join fights. That¡¯s okay, though; he can stay behind and wait. Captain Cranky and I will be more than enough for this mighty beast.

    Since there¡¯s no time like the present, I suggest we just get moving. Leaning down a bit, I tell Captain Cranky to climb on. And as soon as Joras shows him how, we¡¯re ready to go! And fortunately, I did a great job of guessing when I guessed that this yard would be big enough for my wings, because it is. Just barely.

    I dip my claws into the dirt and prepare for take-off, but just as I beat my wings, Wreyn throws us a curveball! ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask, Joras, how come you initiated a pact magic spell but left it incomplete?¡± A what now?

    I look at Joras to see his reaction, he seems just as surprised as I am, what the heck is pact magic... In my haste to listen in on Wreyn''s topic, I may have made a tiny mistake. As I was about to take off, the jolt of me stopping sent Captain Cranky falling. He fell right over my face and landed on the ground.

    I¡¯m just gonna ask what the heck pact magic is and how Wreyn knows Joras has used it. Wreyn launches into a rather elaborate explanation. "Well, it''s quite a fascinating branch of magic, a subcategory of Contract magic. But while Contract magic tends to be one way, pact magic goes both ways. Both parties are contractees, and as such, may utilize each other''s gifts to a degree. Magic power, affinity, all sorts of stuff can be done with pact magic."

    We definitely need to learn more about that, but then Joras goes and gives me orders... ¡°Kira, you should take care of this problem of theirs, I''ll learn more about it and tell you later.¡± Fine¡­

    ¡°Oh, before you go, Lady Kira, I should offer what assistance I can.¡± Pretty sure Wreyn is already offering assistance by lending me the captain. What he means this time, as it turns out, is that he will be giving me some of his magic.

    A lot of magic. Geez, this guy is loaded with magic. Not so much that he stays conscious, but enough that I¡¯m feeling pretty good, and it¡¯s definitely more than Joras has.

    ¡°I swear, Wreyn, this fucking project of yours will not pay off. This Dragon is far too unreliable.¡± Pfft, I¡¯m plenty reliable. Taking off again, I head towards... where I came from and grab Captain Cranky without landing.

    To both of our surprise, I manage to pick him up perfectly and we¡¯re off! Flying with him clutched in my claws is a lot more comfortable than having him sit on me. For me, at least.

    I look down to make sure he''s okay, and I get the impression that he¡¯s settling in, I even feel him clutching my arm as he watches the ground pass under us. I¡¯m gonna need directions, though, so I shake him slightly and look around.

    Captain Cranky scowls at me while attempting to answer me, but it seems Joras¡¯ spell has worn off. As soon as he realizes I can''t understand him, he opts to just point in a general ¡®north¡¯ direction. Following his directions, it doesn''t take us long before we arrive at a settlement, and it seems he wants us to land. As we get closer, I get the distinct impression that something is wrong because I don''t think this place is supposed to smell like blood.

    Being all impressive and whatnot, I manage to drop Captain Cranky gently. At least he''s not complaining about it in any language I know, so I must have done it right. For now, I''m gonna focus on that blood I smell.

    Captain Cranky isn''t readying himself for combat, so I give him a nudge and a small growl. He''s quick to draw his weapon when he realizes what I''m trying to say. His sword is a beautiful silver blade with intricate symbols carved into it. I want it.

    I may have become a bit too focused on his sword, because all of a sudden, Cranky is casting a spell and we''re being pelted by arrows. The freakin¡¯ blood was masking a group of people!

    Cranky pulls out a potion and downs it. He reaches out to touch me, and I feel that familiar tingle. ¡°There, now we can communicate.¡± Ah, Mind whatever potion. I feel like he could have used that earlier.

    "This was a peaceful village, they were supposed to give us information about the beast''s last known whereabouts, but fucking bandits have moved in."

    With a scowl, Cranky looks around and then gestures towards a particular building. They''re all built with similar wooden materials, and I''m having a hard time telling them apart. "We''ll need to deal with these scum and report the attack, so don''t play nice, burn the place down."

    I''m not sure why he pointed out a particular building if he''s fine with the entire place being torched, but as we move closer, I hear movement inside. I guess he saw bandits in there at some point. Bringing my tail around, I smash a window so I can blow flames directly inside.

    It¡¯s surprisingly fun to burn things, and I can see why my kind has a reputation for this stuff. While I¡¯m busy committing arson, Cranky keeps his barrier going as arrows continue to pelt us from other directions, but it''s holding up quite well. It almost feels like cheating.

    Now that I''m satisfied with the level of ''on fire'' the building is at, I turn around to see where all these arrows are coming from, and from the looks of it, archers are decorating the rooftops.

    Cranky starts moving towards another building, but I can already hear the people on top moving to another building to avoid being caught in the flames. What a shame, I guess they won''t just accept being lit on fire. Using my fantastic dragon brain, I come up with a plan to stop the barrage.

    I leave the comfort of Cranky''s barrier and take to the skies. If I can''t light them on fire from below, then I''ll have to do so from above. To my surprise, I hear Cranky shout from the ground.

    ¡°Beg for mercy, cowards, or feel the wrath of Lord Wreyn!¡± To emphasize, I let out a mighty roar, but they aren¡¯t surrendering. In fact, they''re shooting at my airborne self.

    Arrows soar towards me and pelt my body as I swing around, lining up with the rooftops. To my relief, these guys are nowhere near as dangerous as the adventurer in Oakhold. Having lined up with the buildings, I fly over them as I let out my flame, setting a bunch of roofs on fire.

    The sweet screams confirm my success. The exhilarating feeling of a successful hunt is becoming familiar, but not unwelcome. Bringing my focus back to what we were doing, I look around to make sure Cranky is doing fine. Turns out he''s not so fine; a gathering of sword-wielding bastards has him surrounded. That looks fun.

    I race towards the gathering and set my sights on the ground close to them. Flying low, I prepare to dig my hands into the dirt, so I can pivot my body and deliver a devastating blow with my tail. This might be the most complex thing I''ve tried so far. To my surprise, it works! My momentum pivots me, and my tail is swinging around with deadly force. It slams into several fighters, and the smell of fresh blood permeates the air.

    Looking around, it seems I''ve taken down four of them, one of which did not do well dealing with the impact of my bladed tail. But prey still remains, so I''m not done yet. Rushing forward, I aim for two of the bandits to the side and unleash my flame. They''re quickly taken down by the heat, having no way to escape the sudden assault.

    This deserves a victory roar, so with all my glory, I let loose a bellow from deep within.

    To my frustration, my roar seems to have encouraged the remaining five bandits to surrender. To their misfortune, I¡¯m not one for accepting surrender. I step towards them and prepare for another attack; I think I wanna rip one apart with my claws.

    Unfortunately, Cranky stops me. ¡°We need prisoners. Scum like this always have a hideout, so we should encourage them to tell us where it is.¡± He wants information. Well, I want food. I set my sights on one of the burned bandits, but as I step toward it, Cranky stops me again. What¡¯s with this guy?¡­

    As I glare at him, he orders the surviving bandits to kneel in a line. As they do, he moves toward the same burndit I had targeted and pulls out a very sharp-feeling knife. It¡¯s enchanted. Very enchanted, almost buzzingly so.

    Leaning down, he grabs one of the burndit''s arms and just cuts it off. I was right, that knife is VERY sharp, geez. The knife slices right through the elbow joint of the arm, and now he¡¯s talking to the prisoners.

    As he talks, he steps toward the prisoners, waving around the severed arm. ¡°I¡¯m not going to demand that you talk. I¡¯m not even going to torture you for information, but I would recommend that you deal with me rather than Lord Wreyn¡¯s new associate here.¡±

    His little display doesn''t seem to have made much of an impact, but then he whistles and nods toward me. Fine, you¡¯ve got my attention, buddy, what now?

    To my delight, he throws me the arm! Snack time! I snatch it out of the air and give it a few chomps, then swallow. It¡¯s delicious. Oh, I get it, he¡¯s threatening them. Comply or get eaten.

    And it works. Their attitude has changed a lot all of a sudden. It occurs to me that I never made sure the people I tail-whipped were out of commission, I just counted them. Well, that one guy probably is out, but I bring it up with Cranky anyway. "If they survived that attack, they''ve earned life."

    He makes it sound like I used excessive force or something, but whatever, this is his show to run and we still need to find that beast. It seems pretty unfortunate for these bandits to have been found by us, but they did attack this settlement, so I won''t lose sleep over it.

    Since we''re pretty much finished cleaning up this case of banditry, I look around and spot someone I really wasn''t expecting to see. Giving Cranky a nudge, I gesture toward the shadow man standing in the middle of the street some distance away.

    I wanna know if Cranky sees the shadow man too, and he does. ¡°What the fuck is that¡­ And why is it pointing towards the wolven forest?¡± Wait, forest? Shit! We need to go, Cranky! Now!

 Chapter 17: The Guild Pt 1: Adventuring Life

    ¡°Lauren, I might have a mission for us. Culling, three teams, the lister is in Plainshold and the mission is a while west of the town.¡± Glancing at the listing Reinfold brings me, three things stand out.

    First, the description of the mission leaves much to be desired. The listing mentions an infestation in an old, abandoned frontier town, and that the beasts will be lightly armed. Not much else about what we''d be up against is mentioned.

    Second, the high reward. The mission offers three gold, but it sounds like a mission worth only fifty silver.

    And third, that Reinfold brought it. Considering the dangers Kello and I might find ourselves in is not something he does frequently.

    The person who submitted the order for the Guild appears to be the lord of Plainshold. We''ll need to stop by there on our way to the infestation regardless, so information might be more forthcoming.

    That sounds like a pretty easy mission. Reinfold hands me the parchment with the details, and I read through it. The details are lacking, so stopping by the lister, the lord of Plainshold, is a necessity. "We need more than this, Rein. Lord Prick did a piss poor job when he posted this."

    As I continue to stare at the parchment in my hand, a sense of unease builds up within me. This mission feels wrong, but the issues I see are minor. The lords in these parts tend to pay well, so that isn''t too unusual.

    The lack of information is somewhat disturbing, but it isn''t listed as a call to arms, so there''s no rush to find Guild members to take care of it. There is a date listed for when they intend to begin the assault, but we have enough time to prepare and make our way there.

    Should we end up walking, we would be at risk of beasts and bandits, requiring additional preparation.

    Of course, the journey on foot also invites misfortune at our own hand, such as forgetting sufficient supplies or forgetting to pack up camp properly.

    On the note of forgetting, I give Reinfold a look, but before I can speak up, he interjects with his own thoughts on the matter.

    "I know that look, Lauren. I¡¯ve got my daggers sharpened, a satchel of arrowheads, and a couple of carving knives, so I think I have everything I need. You¡¯d better make sure Kello has his stuff too. I wouldn''t want him to forget his sword again.¡±

    The man has a point. Kello''s affinity for forgetting the obvious when he packs is well known in the Guild. Stories of a frontliner who forgot his extra weapons and went on to win the battle regardless are told to rookies as a cautionary tale. And they tend to feature Kello.

    I''ll need to make sure the fighter remembers his sword and daggers this time. He solves most of his problems with the blade of an axe, but it happens at times that what you need is something shorter.

    Since we left Kello at the inn, I can''t get a rundown of what he''s lacking, so I''ll have to be mindful of the obvious things, such as whetstones and oil. Whenever we leave for a multi-day mission, two things are certain: the weather turns and Kello forgets his maintenance supplies.

    Looking around the main hall of the Guild building, I''m again surprised by how crowded it is. Under normal circumstances, the hall would be barren, barely a soul in sight, but these days it remains populated.

    Setting my sights on the receptionist, I make my way to the front desk. "Hey, clerk. Why in the hells are folks just slacking off around here? Doesn''t line up with normal Guild behavior."

    "Something is spooking the beasts; we''ve got reports of a large flying beast, but no specifics. It prowls the plains and forests to the west. Not much for our people to hunt when everything is too scared to approach. And nobody wants to take on an unknown flying beast. Too much risk."

    With that, the unease builds further. The Guild rarely leaves something unknown, especially a risk to our members. Scouts, rangers, and the like should have made easy work of identifying the beast, so why not this time...

    Drawing my mind away from the unknowns, I hand the mission listing to the receptionist. She readily accepts it with a smile and begins the acceptance process. Turning my head, I see Reinfold getting antsy, so with a wave, I dismiss him. He returns the wave with a nod and leaves in a quiet rush.

    I hope he picks up some of the supplies he obviously missed.

    "It looks like you''ve got five days to get to Plainshold. On foot, it should take three or four days to get there. Two if you really push yourselves."

    With that time frame, we''ve certainly got a couple of options, as she said. Although pushing ourselves won''t be worth it. If we can find a spot in a merchant''s wagon, that would be ideal, but if we end up walking, having it take three days is acceptable.

    The receptionist lets me know that everything is ready on her end, so I bid her goodnight and speak a short prayer to Merciferus, Goddess of Health and Vitality.

    Leaving the Guild building, I''m once again struck by how beautiful Arrenfret is. The streets are kept clean, the Flameglass orbs are frequent and fueled, and the people look happy.

    Out here in the wildlands, you can determine how safe a city is by looking at what the people do to maintain it. In an unsafe city, the effort and manpower go into securing defenses and maintaining the militia.

    Most settlements this close to the untamed parts of the wildlands cannot afford to prioritize their streets like this, making Arrenfret something of a wonder.

    And personally, it''s a relief not to have to clear mud off my boots every time I enter a building.

    As I continue on my way, my target comes into sight. A commerce district. Looking around, I try to spot a general store to restock our camping supplies. I spot a wooden sign swinging gently in the evening breeze. Just what I was looking for.

    Moving toward the store, I learn that Reinfold has decided my evening is too enjoyable, as he sneaks up on me, giving me quite a start. "We need a damn bell for you, Rein. I''m getting sick of your stupid jokes."

    "Kello should still be back at the inn, so we won''t have to go looking for him today." Startle aside, that is a relief to hear. Fighters and frontliners in general have a remarkable and consistent tendency to rush ahead and find trouble. A tendency Kello doesn''t seem keen on resisting.

    "Rein, make sure to restock your supplies and double-check everything. I don''t want us to get in trouble because we didn''t get something obvious." With a groan, he agrees and moves on.

    I find myself once again appreciating Arrenfret''s comforts as night falls, but the streets remain well-lit.

    With Reinfold out of the way, I make my way to the general store I spotted. We''ll need some fire starters, rope, and cuffs in case we find any bandits. Bringing bandits to a nearby town is an easy way to make a trip more profitable.

    As soon as I enter the general store, the shopkeeper greets me in a booming voice. A tall beast of a man stands behind the counter, smiling at me.

    "Hello! What can I getcha? Got everything an adventurer might need! Even some things you think you don''t!"

    I rattle off the list of things we require, and he dances around the store with practiced grace. I find myself mesmerized by the precision of his movements as he navigates between shelves.

    "And there ya have it! Rope, cuffs, a few fire starters, a whistle, and a few pouches of spices. My missus grinds ''em herself, you know!"

    I can''t help but notice that the last two items were tacked on without my say-so. I give him a look as I pick up the whistle. "It works for wolves, keeps ''em away."

    My skepticism rises as I give the whistle a try. I don''t hear anything. "Too loud for humans. Scalefolk can sorta hear it, and some beastkin might punch ya for usin'' it."

    It''s only a few coppers for the wooden whistle, so I don''t mind adding it to the list. Glancing at the other items, pouches of spices, I note the pungent scent wafting off them, and the man grabs a pouch and holds it out for me as he opens it.

    "Give ''em a taste! Works for meats and veggies too! Add ''em to a broth to kick it up a notch!" His sales pitch is pretty good... Giving the spices a taste, an explosion of flavor overwhelms my tongue. We''ll definitely need some of these pouches.

    "Might need another two pouches of the spices. Just in case, you know how it is in the wilderness."

    "Aye, lots of stuff out there, best be prepared! Two more comin'' right up."

    A sense of sorrow fills me as I look at the cuffs. It''s one item I hate buying, as it represents the plight of the people and our inability to solve it. Very few folks choose banditry, and most bandits are simple villagers displaced by beast attacks or incompetent nobles. A dark reality of our world.

    Drawing my mind away from such depressing thoughts, I look around the store to see if there''s anything here I might have forgotten. I don''t see anything that stands out, though this would likely be the place to look given how well-stocked this man''s store is.

    As I pack up my goods, I notice a third item I''m unfamiliar with. A rod of metal with notches carved into it. Before I can ask what it is, the shopkeeper speaks up.

    "That''s a new fire starter, no magic required. You just run a blade across the notches, and it creates sparks."

    I want one of those. Perhaps Kello being useful when we set up camp will become a real possibility. A normal fire starter is a simple crystal mounted on a stick; feeding it magic heats up the crystal, which you then use to ignite some tinder.

    I glance at the smiling shopkeeper, he seems quite pleased that I''ve fallen for a few upsells. I suspect I may even have overpaid if the grin from ear to ear is anything to go by.

    "I thank you for your goods. May Merciferus smile upon you as I wish you luck in your business."

    "Oh, old man like me will always be lucky, don''t you mind me, miss!"

    Yeah, I bet...

    Leaving the store, my mind drifts towards the spices and I''m looking forward to our first opportunity to use them in the wild. Using spices as a deterrent is a common strategy among the Guild''s members, and it works very well. Although those spices tend to be specifically for that purpose, having an opportunity to enhance our meals with them is very welcome.

    With most of our supplies replenished, it''s time to head to the merchant''s lot. A fenced area for merchants to leave their wagons and beasts. Instead of having beasts crowding the streets, this results in young folks having a source of extra coin as they haul goods to and from the shops.

    My thoughts drift toward the mission once more as I walk toward the merchant''s lot. The possibility of hidden dangers fills me with worry, and I find myself wanting to abandon it. We would take a hit to our reliability score, but that''s better than getting hurt in an unforeseen battle.

    We still need to reach Plainshold to meet with the lord there, so I have time to consider what to do. He will likely have more information, and my worries will turn out to be unwarranted.

    Turning a corner, the smell immediately hits me. I''ve arrived at my destination. The merchant''s lot consists of a large enclosure within the city walls. A haven for merchants and beasts alike. Guards patrol the area at regular intervals, keeping out potential thieves.

    There is an impressive assortment of wagons and carriages, each decorated to suit the owners and their target customers. A spark of the owners'' creativity marks each and every vehicle.

    As expected, there are a number of rough wagons drawn by Giant Lizards. The rough wagons can be identified by their much wider wheels, giving them a benefit in the rough and unreliable terrain of the wildlands.

    Unfortunately, that comes with extra weight and higher demands. Simple horses won''t be able to pull them for long, so instead, the Giant Lizards are used. A formidable two-legged beast with tremendous strength, I have always liked their beautiful scales and light plumage.

    For a beast with a taste for flesh, they are remarkably friendly. It takes a buffoon of extraordinary caliber to anger one of these beasts, but once they have been angered, death is guaranteed. As a result, rough wagons need fewer guards.

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    As I move through the lot, I hear locations called out by people seeking passage. Every time a location is called, whistles can be heard returning, signaling those heading for a given place.

    The code is simple; one whistle means they''re headed there, two whistles, and they need guards, three whistles, and they have room for passengers.

    I call out ¡®Plainshold,¡¯ but all I get in return are single whistles. Damn it, it appears we will be walking. It''s doubtful that any new merchants will arrive and leave in our time frame, since any heading here would need time to unload and bargain. We could gamble on it and wait, but if we did, we wouldn''t be able to get there in time if it weren''t successful.

    Rather than standing around grumbling about missed opportunities, I turn away from the lot and head toward our inn. Being somewhat familiar with the city, I know I''ll pass by a blacksmith, allowing me to pick up the whetstones and oil Kello no doubt forgot.

    Although I find the responsibility for our supplies frustrating at times, it can also be quite enjoyable. Even more so because I''m weighing down the scale in my favor. Some mild embezzling is expected among Guild parties.

    The three of us have been working together for quite a few years now, and I''ve managed to get myself a decent set of equipment. I''m confident Reinfold knows what I''ve been doing, but as far as I know, he''s tacitly approving of it since he doesn''t have to care as much about preparation.

    With everything we need collected, aside from passage to Plainshold, I can finally head back to the inn and get some rest. The day hasn¡¯t been particularly troublesome, but this region is colder than I¡¯m used to. I want to head back south again, even if I have to fight the damnable Undead.

    As soon as we''re done with this mission, I''ll be suggesting we head back home, the North is terrible. It¡¯s cold, moist, and there¡¯s too little sun.

    Memories of home flood my mind as I reminisce about walking through the sun-baked sand of my home''s desert. I like the plants here, but the weather outweighs that pleasure.

    My thoughts are brought back to the here and now as the noise of a gathering pulls me back. A group of people are clustered around someone or something, so I push my way through and see an older lizardman having fallen. As a disciple of Merciferus, it''s my duty to offer assistance when I see someone who might be hurt.

    Giving me a short look, he readily accepts my offer, and I kneel down beside him. Reaching out to touch him, I push my magic senses into him, and his injuries, both old and new, are revealed to me.

    With a sense of what I need to do, I prepare a mild healing spell and pray for Merciferus to assist me. I feel her presence and the telltale sensation of her worry as she blesses my spell, empowering it. I''m not a competent healer, but for some reason, Merciferus has chosen to listen to me when I pray.

    With her help, I can heal most wounds, but I still need to be the one to actually cast the spell.

    As a human, my blessing comes from Terragaraem, God of Humanity, but as a healer and cleric, I can call upon the wisdom and gifts from other Gods, although they may ignore me at their discretion.

    Merciferus, Goddess of Health and Vitality, is particularly helpful in mortal matters.

    She acts to protect life in this world, and her blessing is given freely to protect against illness and disease. Without her, a single plaguemancer could ruin a country.

    She stands as the second strongest God of our pantheon, and she is revered for not hoarding that power. Instead, she shares it with mortals, and through her blessings, we can fight back against the evils of the world, such as the Undead running rampant in the south.

    Her kindness and generosity are truly boundless.

    As soon as I feel his injuries disappear, I stop my spell. The old lizardman will soon find many aches and pains have disappeared. Merciferus¡¯ Glory be with him.

    As I get up, the old man grabs my hands and starts thanking me profusely. ¡°Thank you, Priestess. Thank you!¡± I stop him as he tries to push a few coins into my hand, but taking payment for Merciferus'' gifts is sacrilege. Her gifts are hers to give, not ours to exploit for profit.

    Managing to untangle myself, I bow. "Don''t worry, Merciferus'' gifts are for us all. Pray to her when you need guidance and she''ll listen. My presence is required elsewhere, so I must be going. May Merciferus smile upon you." It''s getting late, I need to get to the inn soon, otherwise, I won''t be able to buy any dinner.

    Fortunately for me, our inn is well known for catering to Guild members, so they usually keep some food available for most of the night, but if someone else buys it first, I''ll be out of luck.

    It is common knowledge that if you want to cater to Guild members, you need to be prepared for a group of fools who manage time like the wind manages sand.

    The large wooden sign featuring a mug of ale is finally in sight. A sense of relief fills me as I''ll finally be able to rest for the evening.

    Gripping the door handle, I twist it and push the door open with my full body weight. This one tends to bind, so unaware folks tend to assume they¡¯re closed. That¡¯s how they ended up catering to the Guild, normal folks are simply too careful.

    With a loud thud, the door swings open¡­ I¡¯ve hit someone on the other side¡­

    On the ground inside the threshold lies a dwarf. Clad in heavy armor, my heart is quick to sink¡­ This is going to be expensive¡­

    A steady stream of very colorful language informs me in explicit detail of how incompetent I am and how promiscuous my parents are.

    Fortunately, I¡¯ve dealt with dwarves before. Reaching for my coin purse, I grab a few coins and show them to him. He quiets down while eyeing me with suspicion.

    "Looks like you got in the way, doorstop. How about you join me for food and drink and we call it even? I''m hungry after a long day, and my coin pouch grows heavy."

    ¡°Well, why didn¡¯ya say so?! Let¡¯s head back in and get some grub going!¡± It¡¯s a pricey form of diplomacy, but it¡¯s better than an angry dwarf. They tend to remember grudges and share stories with their friends. One bad experience can easily lead to issues with a whole host of their kind.

    He''s quick to find a bench and shoo the current occupants away. One man isn''t cowed so easily, and he glares at my new friend. "I said shoo, boy."

    I''m familiar with how foolish it is to stand up to a dwarf, but I suspect this man isn''t. The dwarf grabs the end of the bench and lifts it a few times. Not wanting to leave, the man at the end takes hold of the bench with both hands. As soon as he does, the dwarf twists the bench.

    Can''t fault the man for weak fingers. The man had a firm grip on the bench, and now he has a face full of soup. "Shoulda fuckin'' listened, boy!"

    The man skulks away with the pitiful remains of his dinner as the dwarf sits with a joyful smile. "So what brings a Southerner this far north?"

    Before I can answer, a waiter arrives to take our order. A meaty soup with bread on the side for the both of us and several mugs of ale for my new friend here.

    While waiting, I explain how my team is here for the well-paying lords, how we''ll be heading to Plainshold in the morning. And I bring up our mission to clear out an infestation in an old settlement.

    I hadn¡¯t expected his face to turn sour, but he¡¯s now wearing quite the scowl. ¡°Nay. Do not go there. My kin talk of a Dragon in that area. And you don¡¯t mess with Dragons unless you¡¯re sure you can kill them and all of their kin.¡±

    As he talks, our food and drink are delivered, and I dig in. He takes a swig of his ale and continues.

    ¡°Trust a dwarf when he tells you to stay away. We all carry the curse of past transgressions. Don¡¯t let this become your curse. Don¡¯t fuck with Dragons or whatever those beasties lay claim to.¡±

    Taken aback by how serious his mood got, I find myself wanting to abandon this mission more than ever. The hit to our reliability rating is a small price to pay for our lives.

    With my worry at an all-time high, I change the subject. "So what does someone like you do for a living? Can''t imagine most human places offer workstations short enough for your kin."

    "Hah! Nay! Fuckin'' humans won''t even bring out a crate to stand on. Got me own workshop for working leather and I hunt. If a backpack''s what ya need, find me. I''ll make the best ya ever had." His enthusiasm for the subject is infectious. And I find myself enjoying how his accent changes with his mood.

    ¡°Hey Lauren, mind if I interrupt your date?¡± Appears I won¡¯t have to look for Kello, he has managed to show up on his own.

    ¡°Join us, boy. Got plenty of bench left.¡± Shifting into a spot next to the dwarf, Kello sits down and waves over a server. ¡°Lookin¡¯ to make the lady pay for ya too, boy?¡±

    ¡°Pfft, of course I am. She¡¯s my teammate, and she manages our coin.¡±

    Giving me a wink, the dwarf looks me in the eye. ¡°I bet she manages them well¡­¡± He figured that out quickly.

    Now we just need Reinfold to join us, and we can go over the plan for tomorrow. "Kello, have you seen Rein around? Sneaky bastard must be hiding somewhere nearby."

    ¡°I¡¯m right here, Lauren.¡± I¡¯m gonna kill that guy someday¡­ Scared the shit out of me¡­

    The dwarf bursts out laughing while I scowl at Reinfold. The sneaky bastard moves to a spot next to me, and I prepare to go over the plan. Given how useful my new friend has been so far, I ask him to chip in with any info he has. So far, the plan is to leave at first light since we need to walk there.

    ¡°Ah. Me buddy Addy''s goin'' to Plainshold for something or other. Just go to the merchant''s lot and look for an old dwarf. Red robes, white beard, far too many potions to count and a slight case of brewer''s madness. He''ll get ya to Plainshold safely and quickly. Just tell ''im I sent ya."

    And just like that, it occurs to me that he never introduced himself, and I never asked¡­ As I try to rectify that, he bursts out laughing again.

    ¡°Hah! The name¡¯s Kaldren. Pleasure''s mine, Lauren.¡±

    Now that introductions have been made, we continue to go over the plan, with the transportation situation amended.

    I bring up Kaldren¡¯s worry about this Dragon situation and how the Guild doesn¡¯t know whether it is or isn¡¯t a Dragon. Kello still wants to go, but I feel it¡¯d be a mistake, so the vote is in the hands of Reinfold.

    ¡°Could just go and see what happens; if it smells like rancid shit, we leave.¡±

    ¡°Are you kidding, Lauren? If it hasn¡¯t shown itself before and we¡¯re only hearing rumors, it has to be young! Think of how valuable the parts would be. Dragons are full of Dragon things, like Dragon bones and blood.¡±

    Sometimes I feel like smacking him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be daft, boy. Wealth is useless if you die getting it.¡±

    Kello doesn¡¯t seem to particularly like the dwarf anymore, but I think it¡¯s solid advice. Having finished his food and ale faster than I expected, Kaldren gets up and thanks me for the treat. ¡°Remember, it was Addy the Alchemist. I hope you find what you seek and your pick strikes true.¡±

    "May Merciferus smile upon you and bring you luck in your endeavors, Kaldren. I hope to meet you again."

    As he walks away, I hear him mumble something. ¡°Damn shame to lose another team of young''uns¡­"

    Redirecting my attention back to my two teammates, I check in to see if they¡¯re prepared for our excursion.

    ¡°I got everything I need: my axes, my sword, my knife, and my rations.¡± Yeah, I bet he¡¯s got everything. Time for me to take a jab at him.

    "So how''s your whetstone supply, Kello? I assume you have enough for a week as you''re supposed to." His expression quickly sours.

    ¡°Okay, maybe I missed one thing, it happens.¡± It happens a lot with this guy. I bring up several items that he also didn¡¯t mention, and he just glares at me.

    ¡°If you¡¯re so great, do you have everything ready?¡± Feeling a little petty, I list off the items I have for me, for Reinfold, and for him, which doesn¡¯t improve his mood, as it turns out.

    "Okay, fine. Thank you for looking after us, Lauren the Great Logistics Manager, hero of our party and savior of the ill-prepared!¡± And that is why I allow myself some extra financial leeway.

    Reinfold chuckles, delighted to not be my focus. ¡°This is why you¡¯re in charge of the coin, Lauren. We¡¯d piss our vast wealth away on dumb shit and forget about the important shit.¡±

    Getting back on topic, I let these two knuckleheads know that I¡¯ve ordered a knocker for tomorrow while I ask Reinfold to find this Addy person. It¡¯s getting late, and he¡¯s faster than me.

    Giving the two a look as Reinfold gets up and heads out, I find myself wondering how our team works. Kello is reckless, forgetful, and battle-hungry. Reinfold is susceptible to Kello¡¯s influence, but otherwise unmotivated to do much of anything. And I worry about too many things. The Reckless, the Lazy, and the Worried. Great team...

    There isn¡¯t much left to do today, so I head off to our room and make sure to double-check everything, laying out the things Kello and Reinfold need on their beds. Being caught unprepared is unacceptable and has been the reason for many Guild teams dying.

    Now that I¡¯ve done that, it¡¯s time to offer my evening prayer to Merciferus. I¡¯m hoping she might give me a little guidance, as I¡¯m feeling somewhat lost because of this whole thing. I¡¯m not confident that this mission is right for us, but we¡¯ve always voted on such things.

    Kneeling by my bed, I pray to Merciferus. Prayer always helps me feel closer to the Goddess, as if I can feel her presence just on the other side of a wall. Like she¡¯s just out of reach but listening to my every word. A reliable friend and guide.

    Whenever I pray, I get a sensation of how she feels. Normally she¡¯s just worried for us. Mortals do have an affinity for trouble, after all. But today she feels¡­ nervous and sorrowful¡­ That worries me.

    I¡¯m not one to think I can guess what the Gods have to feel nervous about. It¡¯s not our place to meddle in the affairs of the divine. Pushing those worries aside, I focus on my faith as I lie down in my bed.

    Although turmoil roils within me as the day''s worries try to settle, sleep comes easily, and I drift away.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    My rest is interrupted abruptly as the knocker arrives earlier than I had expected. I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯ve slept at all¡­ I don¡¯t remember dreaming, but I can¡¯t shake this uncomfortable feeling. Something is very wrong.

    Forcing myself up, I notice my body feels sore and exhausted. I have no idea what¡¯s going on, but it isn¡¯t normal. I get out of bed and kneel beside it. I need to offer a prayer to Merciferus.

    Clasping my hands, I begin my prayer, but as soon as I feel the connection to my Goddess, pain overwhelms me.

    The Cataclysm wakes. The Darkness walks. A Traveler must be found.

    ¡°What the fuck was that, Lauren?!¡± I have no fucking idea¡­ Fuck... my head hurts¡­ I look around the room and see Reinfold and Kello staring at me.

    "What in the hells happened? I didn''t feel entirely conscious..."

    ¡°I was just lying here hoping to catch some side boob when you suddenly started screaming about some cataclysm, darkness, and a traveler. Are you okay? I haven¡¯t seen anything like that before.¡±

    "I''m fine, creep. Fuck off to a brothel if you''re so desperate to see some breasts."

    Any other man and I¡¯d break his knees¡­ ¡°Yeah, sounds like you¡¯re okay. The day you don¡¯t tell me to fuck off is the day I¡¯ll really worry.¡± Smirking jackass.

    "You got anything to add to the conversation, Kello?"

    ¡°No. You know I don¡¯t swing that way, and Reinfold doesn¡¯t like playing in town.¡± Not what I meant, but okay.

    After taking a minute to collect myself, I get up, gather my things, and prepare to head out. Looking over at the guys, I notice that they aren¡¯t moving. "So, Reinfold, got anything you wanna share with the group? Didn''t you do something yesterday?"

    ¡°Oh, right. I found that Addy character. He leaves for Plainshold at noon and expects to be there by nightfall.¡±

    "That''s really fucking fast." It seems more likely that Reinfold misunderstood something, but he''s usually pretty good when it comes to gathering information.

    ¡°Yeah, I thought so too, so I asked about it. Says he has some experimental concoction to improve the speed and strength of his beasts.¡± Sounds like this dwarf is about to become very rich very fast.

    Appreciating that I prepared for our departure last night, I won''t have to do much while dealing with this splitting headache. It''s time to move on.

    Heading downstairs, I ask someone if the innkeeper is available, since we need to notify him of our departure, but I''m told he isn''t.

    Kello and Reinfold head outside while I find someone to take note of our departure. "Hey! Need someone to take note of us pissing off!" After a moment, the innkeeper''s daughter shows her face and I let her know we''re leaving, dropping a few coins on the counter for their service. A few more than customary, since I may have been a bit harsh.

    Now that I¡¯ve sorted that, it''s time to head out and join the two knuckleheads. We start moving towards the merchant''s lot when a thought occurs to Reinfold. ¡°Oh, we should head outside the walls. Addy isn¡¯t at the lot. It took a while to find him last night because he¡¯s outside the west gate.¡±

    "Yeah, that''s pretty fucking relevant information, Reinfold. Thank you for sharing it..."

    Feeling like shit after the rough morning, I let Reinfold know that he¡¯s in charge of getting us to Addy¡¯s wagon and I¡¯m just gonna follow quietly. I barely pay attention as we¡¯re walking. Kello and Reinfold are talking about something or other.

    As we reach the gate, the guards wave us through, and Reinfold points to a monstrosity of a wagon. Addy''s from the looks of it.

    The tarp covering the man''s goods glistens in the sunlight. Fabric depicting bottles has been sewn onto the tarp, which I suspect has resulted in some loss of its functionality against the weather.

    Somehow he has managed to fit a door in the back of the wagon, but it doesn''t look all that well attached. Even the wind here is moving it back and forth.

    Right now, though, I don''t really care, I just want to sit down and get rid of this headache.

 Chapter 18: The Guild pt2: Wickedness

    ¡°Lauren, wake up, we¡¯ve arrived at Plainshold.¡± My sleep is interrupted in one of the most horrible ways possible, Kello''s face right in front of me. With a groan, I push him away.

    "Grumpy, are we? We need to head to the lord''s manor for more details and to meet the other teams." Yeah, yeah... I know. Somehow I manage to pull myself together and get up.

    Gathering up my things, I leave Addy''s wagon, the blinding light immediately assaults my eyes. Maybe Kello wasn''t so bad... The sun seems to be a pretty good indicator of morning having arrived. Turns out I slept for a full day.

    Stepping out of the wagon, Addy is quick to greet me with a hearty hello. "Slept well, I hope! Don''t worry, I won''t charge extra!"

    I give the dwarf a glance, and it takes me a moment to realize he''s joking. A quick smile his way, and his grin grows larger. "Do be careful out there, lady. It gets dangerous in the wildlands."

    With a wave to the dwarf, I start moving toward the gates of Plainshold. The towering gate looks magnificent with the surrounding palisade.

    A stone wall can tell you that the town has survived early assaults, but I''m partial to the logs making up this stake wall. They''re impressive and strong for how easy they are to build.

    I''m pulled out of my wall-admiring haze when a guard clad in decent-looking plate armor asks us what our purpose here is. Kello takes the lead and informs the man that we''re Guild members and we''re here for a mission.

    The guard waves us through. Entering the town proper, my nose is quickly overwhelmed by the delicious scents of food cooking. A growl from my stomach reminds me that I haven''t eaten for a day. I need something to eat.

    I find myself quite liking the food stalls being set up just inside the gates of Plainshold. Many weary travelers must come by here to enjoy a more varied meal compared to what a journey offers.

    Reaching the stalls, I pick a few items here and there, making sure to get some varied food.

    "Sure you got enough there, Lauren? Perhaps we should fetch a cart." I attempt to kick him, but he dodges it with remarkable grace.

    ¡°Shut it, Rein¡­ Just lead the way to Lord Whatshisface¡¯s manor¡­¡± He laughs off my frustration as he leads the way.

    The lack of wealth in this town is apparent, as everything is just rougher. At least compared to Arrenfret. As we walk down the street, a small stone wall comes into sight, a customary decoration for the manors of rulers within the domain of Immarderen.

    Now that I''ve had some food, my mood improves quite a bit. To make sure I''m fine, I focus my magic senses inward and see how I''m doing from a physical perspective. Which reveals that I''m not doing as well as I ought to be.

    Preparing a healing spell, I offer a small prayer to Merciferus, and her comforting presence fills me with warmth. As soon as I finish the spell, my aches and pains disappear. Feeling better, I focus on Merciferus.

    Her emotions bleed through the connection, and I can tell she feels resigned, anxious, and sorrowful. "I don''t believe we have Merciferus'' support for this mission. We need to reconsider."

    "Lauren, we need the coin, this mission will set us up for months if we don''t get too dumb with spending." Reinfold makes his case, and I can''t help but glare at him.

    "We don''t need the fucking coin that bad, Rein! A God is telling me not to go!"

    With my frustration laid bare, I consider asking for a vote on the matter, but it occurs to me just how pointless that would be. I have no doubt Kello would vote in favor of killing, and this mission offers a lot of death.

    With that useless thought rattling around my skull, I find myself appreciating when someone pulls me out of my thoughts; we''ve made it to the lord''s manor. I hope he''ll be able to shed some light on what we''ll be doing here.

    Looking at the manor, only one word comes to mind: gaudy. The entire place looks far too rich compared to the rest of the town. Glancing at Reinfold, I can tell he''s tempted to steal something when we get inside.

    "Don''t steal or break any shit, Rein. What we can''t afford is to be added to some lord''s shitlist." We can afford to abandon this mission, but we can''t afford to pay whatever exorbitant price this lord would demand for damage to his property.

    Kello has moved to the door, but before he has a chance to knock, it opens, and a servant asks us to join the lord inside.

    I don¡¯t know what to do. Maybe I can pick a middle ground and join, but not participate, aside from healing when necessary.

    I thought the outside of the building was gaudy, but it''s no match for the inside. This place is full of fancy highborn shit. There''s no way Reinfold isn''t stealing something.

    That''s a thought I''m gonna push aside. As fortune would have it, we''re entering a garden and I spot a small crowd gathering around an overdressed man standing taller than the rest. Judging by the crowd''s outfits, they''re the other adventurers.

    We join the gathering and Lord Gaudy starts talking. "As I''ve already explained to the first team, the mission offers three gold for each team. How that is distributed among the team members is up to you. I will take no part in that. Focusing on the objective, the mission is as listed."

    ''Is as listed'' my ass. The listing barely qualifies as a listing.

    "Three teams, hopefully your teams, will travel west and cull a growing goblin tribe. We know they''ve taken over an abandoned settlement a couple of decades ago, but we haven''t had the need to act until now."

    Why now... It sounds like the goblins have just been living on their own and not bothering anyone. If anything, having them there is an excellent barrier to protect against the predators of the forest. I don''t see anyone else speaking up, so I do. "Why the shit do you want to act now? What changed to make them a threat now?"

    "My, what language... But a prudent question. So what changed? We found out there were far more than anticipated. They''re multiplying rapidly and will soon grow out of control. On top of that, we''ve had Dragon sightings in the region, and the goblins would make quite the treat for it to grow. We do not want the Dragon to grow."

    The lord continues to talk about this and that and how the goblins are a threat to their very town, and if Plainshold falls, so will others. It feels more theatrical than anything.

    I tap Reinfold and Kello on their shoulders and give them a signal indicating that I wanna vote on what to do. Reinfold gives me an annoyed look, but signs that he wants to continue, and Kello, to my frustration, votes for continuing the mission as well.

    Giving up for now, I just listen to the gaudy man talk about what we''re here to do. He doesn''t actually say anything useful until he mentions that their reports of the Dragon have it flying southwest most days. But according to the lord, it leaves the goblins alone for the most part.

    That should be easy to avoid. The plan itself is simple: we are to enter through the west gate, the teams split up, and reconvene in the central pathway.

    And the first team is a fighter like Kello, an archer, and a mage. I wonder why they don''t have any support, but I guess they just go the brute-force route.

    We are the second team. The third team consists of a large man with a shield, a mage of some sort, and a healer.

    "And that is all. Any questions?" The highborn man looks around at us, and the shieldman speaks up.

    "Yeah, how we s''posed to get there? Long walk from here, don''t wanna waste time when we can kill today."

    "Ah, yes, my simple friend. I''ve arranged for a carriage to take you closer, but it obviously can''t take you straight to the enemy gates. You''ll need to camp for one night and launch the attack in the morning."

    The lord gives us directions to where the carriage is waiting, and it sounds familiar. As we take our leave, I talk to the other healer and ask if he''s gotten any messages or oddities from the Gods.

    "No, I don''t speak to the Gods. I assume you do then? Who and what are they saying?" I tell him about what I get from Merciferus, and to my relief, he actually pays attention.

    He looks like he considers it for a moment and then takes a few rushed steps to catch up with his team. After mentioning a few words, they all look my way...

    People start shuffling away toward where we came from, and I''m left self-conscious as the third team keeps stealing glances my way.

    Walking through the streets again, I bring up abandoning the mission. "Guys, this is real. We can''t do this mission, it''s cursed or some shit." Kello glares at me as he speaks up.

    "If you want to leave so badly, Lauren, just do it. This is an easy mission, don''t you remember how easy goblins are to kill? Their advantage is in numbers, but in a settlement, they''re too spread out to use that. This is free gold!"

    Conflicted feelings swirl within me... I want to support my friends, but I don''t want to disregard what my intuition is telling me... Needing guidance, I offer another prayer for Merciferus, but she doesn''t respond...

    Hurt wells up inside me as my conviction grows. I''m not going to abandon my friends just because I feel uncomfortable.

    Reaching the gates, I see a familiar sight. Addy''s standing next to his wagon with a large sign. He''s waiting for us. If I had known he''d be our transport, I wouldn''t have packed my things... The teams are quick to load the wagon with equipment, and we set out almost immediately.

    As we''re traversing the landscape with surprising speed, I notice Addy pull something from a pocket and whistle for his beast. It turns its head, and he throws something to it. Shortly after it eats whatever it is, our speed increases significantly.

    If I had to guess, we arrive a tenth of a day after setting out. Addy''s beast is ridiculously fast... I have no idea how the wagon manages to stay together or stay this comfortable.

    I can see our target to the north, it looks remarkably intact for having supposedly been overrun. I''d like a closer inspection, but we''ll need to get further west and move through the trees to approach.

    Judging by the sun''s position, it''s only midday when we arrive at the treeline. Reinfold and the first team''s archer are quick to set out and scout the area. And the rest of us move farther north to position ourselves in line with the west gate.

    Reinfold reports back as we move, he hasn''t found anything we need to care about. That''s a relief, but when the archer returns, his blade is covered in blood. "Found a goblin. It told me that the Dragon left some time ago. We should attack today instead of waiting for tomorrow."

    "That''s not the plan, guys. We need more information. Rushing in is only going to lead to injuries." I doubt my friends are listening anymore, nor is the first team from the looks of it, but I see the shieldman giving me a slight nod. He doesn''t seem to want to chip in aside from that, neither do his friends.

    As we move into position, I watch the small creatures at the gate, they look remarkably civilized. They''ve built a decent-looking gate, and the palisades look maintained. Effort has gone into that.

    The gate has two goblins guarding it, wearing simple armor made of what looks like copper, it''s even fitted to each guard.

    I''m always surprised at how human-like some of these godless beings are. Goblins are even known to carry coins, wear clothes, and mimic trade, but they''re simple creatures.

    ¡°Hey look, that one¡¯s helmet is damaged. You think it¡¯s too dumb to recognize how that weakens the material?¡± And with that, I punch Kello.

    "Shut it. They''re about to die, there''s no reason to be cruel about it. Just get it over with and let them rest."

    Reinfold and the archer from the first team line up their shots, and a moment later, the two guards fall. Two perfect shots. We¡¯ll need to wait a moment to see if any other goblins heard them drop before we move it, but it should be clear.

    No signs of movement, so we move in, but I''m suddenly overwhelmed by a mental message. Someone left a ward sign here. I look at the other magic users, and they seem to have felt the same.

    "By decree of Lord Wreyn of Oakhold, the goblin town of Tuiran is protected as a valuable asset of Lord Wreyn. Any attack on Tuiran is an attack on the lord himself. Should your intentions be peaceful, you may enter at the goblins'' discretion. Should your intentions be to cause harm or otherwise damage Lord Wreyn''s assets, you will be met with far greater force, leaving you only enough time to regret your actions."

    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    The mage from the first team is quick to speak up. "Some lord fucker just told us to piss off. Any takers?" Nobody seems to be moving to leave when the mage speaks up again.

    "Doesn''t matter, we''ve got Guild authority to cull these disgusting beasts. Let''s move in."

    Kello moves past the two corpses, and Reinfold is quick to search the one he shot. Judging by the smile on his face, he struck gold.

    We move quietly as a group as we enter the settlement proper. Kello looks like he¡¯s itching to kill some of these goblins. ¡°Hey Rein, bet I can take out more than you.¡± Reinfold is quick to take him up on the challenge.

    I hear the sounds of blades hitting flesh as we start spreading out. Three teams moving in three directions. We should be able to take out the required number of goblins before we get too far into this place.

    Any resistance to our incursion is quickly met by a blade or an arrow. The goblins barely manage to scratch my teammates. The few scratches they do get are easily healed.

    As we continue, I keep an ear out in case one of the other teams calls for backup, but so far, all I hear are death wails from the goblins.

    As I contemplate how wrong this whole thing feels, I''m pulled back to reality as I hear shouting in the north.

    ¡°DRAGON!¡± I look to the skies and see it. A Dragon flying towards the first team at an alarming speed. In barely any time at all, I lose sight of it behind the buildings.

    ¡°Lauren, are we regrouping at the gate or assisting?¡± I don¡¯t fucking know! This wasn¡¯t part of the plan and I didn''t want us to be here!

    "Fuck! We need to help them. Rein, go the long route. Kello, you go direct, and I''ll follow you." We haven¡¯t heard them shout since the Dragon landed. I hope they found cover, but I fear they didn¡¯t.

    Rushing through the passages, we soon find the first team, or what remains of it¡­ Their bodies were torn to shreds and in the middle of the gore stands a human. ¡°You¡¯ve been naughty little adventurers.¡±

    "Where the fuck did the Dragon go and who the fuck are you?!" This bastard is wearing ornate plate armor and carrying a long-handled spiked mace. I push my senses out to feel his magic, and it scares me. This man is not normal.

    ¡°Walk me through this. You find a goblin settlement, you find the magical warning put up by a local lord, and you ignore it. What could you possibly be thinking? What do you think will happen from here?¡±

    "Shove your questions up a demon''s ass. Where in the hells did the Dragon go?! We need to kill that thing before it attacks a settlement! And what happened to these people?!"

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind her, she¡¯s taking care of something personal. Now please answer my question. What were you morons thinking, ignoring Lord Wreyn¡¯s decree?!¡±

    I¡¯ve rarely met someone this quick to anger who also carries such a palpable will to carry out any threats he might throw. ¡°Rein, shoot this fucker!¡±

    "Reinfold, Kello, stand the fuck down!" As I yell out to them, Reinfold lets loose an arrow, but it just stops dead in its tracks as it collides with a barrier. Shit¡­

    ¡°Now that wasn¡¯t nice, although I guess the fault lies with me. I misjudged your intelligence when I believed you might be capable of carrying on a conversation to save your lives. My mistake. But if you believe you can kill me, I invite you to try.¡±

    Just as the man finishes the sentence, Kello rushes forward to attack. Axes gleam in the sunlight as they collide with the barrier. Reinfold unleashes a volley of arrows, but it has no effect as far as I can tell.

    ¡°Come now, if you want to kill me before the Dragon returns, you¡¯ll need to do much better than that, you pathetic fools.¡± He¡¯s goading us¡­

    "Kello! Don''t be an idiot, he wants you to attack him!" But the idiot just attacks... He''s far too caught up in his aggression.

    ¡°I¡¯ll show you fucking pathetic, you highborn cockgobbler!¡± Kello is taking the bait¡­ I look for Reinfold, but he¡¯s gone. I assume he¡¯s trying to attack from a different angle. It¡¯s a common tactic against barriers, but this isn¡¯t a normal opponent.

    ¡°I guess credit where credit is due, little adventurer. You have indeed shown me what pathetic is with that useless flailing.¡±

    In a blur, the man steps forward, his barrier colliding with Kello, knocking him on his ass. Raising his spiked mace, he gets ready to strike back at Kello, so I shout to distract him and ask for his name. But instead of answering, he brings the mace down on one of Kello¡¯s knees, destroying it.

    ¡°I should introduce myself, shouldn¡¯t I? I am the Captain of the Guard in Oakhold, Neithro the Absolute, Siege Breaker of the Twin Wars, The Unbreakable Wall, Warden of Grand Mage Wreyn of Immarderen. Do you recognize any of these titles, or do I need to give you time to read some history books?¡±

    Fuck! FUCK! Repeating my orders to stand down, neither of these fools obey. Reinfold needs to get back here instead of attacking. Rushing to Kello''s side, I drag him away from this monster of a man. Reaching for my magic, I make sure to heal Kello¡¯s knee. The injury is far worse than it should be.

    ¡°Appears we''re out of time, a pity. I was enjoying myself.¡± Terror grips my heart as I realize how thoroughly fucked we are. We were too focused on Neithro, and I forgot the Dragon!

    As I look around, the damn thing swoops down and I barely manage to jump away. Kello isn¡¯t so lucky. He screams in agony as the Dragon¡¯s claws impale his legs.

    It moves off Kello and approaches Neithro as it lets out a deep, rumbling growl. I make out what sounds like words between pauses. ¡°You¡­ okray¡­?" It can speak in the beast tongue¡­

    ¡°I''m flattered that you worry, but these pathetic insects couldn''t harm me if they had a thousand years. More importantly, what do you want to do now, Kira? You respected my orders with the bandits, so I¡¯ll respect yours in your home.¡±

    We¡¯ve attacked a Lord¡¯s domain and the home of a Dragon. By the hells, this mission is cursed¡­

    Kello is still screaming and pleading on the ground as the two monsters have a casual conversation. I need to heal his wounds, or he''ll bleed out. Getting up, I rush toward him as I prepare my spell. His legs are shredded, I¡¯m not sure I can heal all of his wounds, but I have to try.

    I pray to Merciferus and feel her presence as I cast my healing spell on Kello, she¡¯s scared for me... His wounds close up as exhaustion hits me. The flesh stitches back together and his legs become whole again. I feel a sense of relief until I notice the Dragon watching me.

    I can tell that it looks pissed off. Even more so after I finished healing Kello. I look at those fiery red eyes, like burning rubies of coalesced hatred and rage, as they stare directly at me. I¡¯ve never been this terrified in my life.

    Something large and blunt hits me in my stomach, sending me flying. Hitting the ground a distance away, I look up and see the Dragon¡¯s tail swishing back and forth. If I had been hit by that bladed part, there''s no way I would''ve survived...

    The Dragon¡¯s focus shifts to Kello as it walks over him, I don¡¯t know what it plans to do, but it scares me.

    Raising up a claw, it hovers talons over Kello¡¯s chest and starts looking at me again. Talons dig deep into Kello as he lets out a gurgling scream. The other claw joins the first, now eight talons are penetrating Kello¡¯s chest. I can¡¯t heal that¡­ Where the fuck is Reinfold?!

    The Dragon keeps its gaze locked on me when it suddenly gives a little jump, as it does, it tears Kello apart. The claws rip Kello¡¯s chest to shreds, his organs spilling across the passageway. It growls at me, but I don¡¯t catch what it said. My attention is too focused on the gruesome scene of my friend¡¯s inevitable death.

    ¡°She told you to try to heal that, murderer.¡±

    "Are you kidding me?! That thing is the fucking murderer! It just killed Kello! It probably killed these people as well, and now it''ll probably kill me too! How the fuck am I the murderer?!"

    ¡°Do try to calm down, little cleric. I do believe these things are a direct result of your employer¡¯s incompetence. After all, Lord Wreyn gave quite clear instructions to stay away. And rumors of a Dragon in the area are quite commonplace by now. A skullbroken ogre could tell that it should stay away.¡±

    My eyes fixate on Kello as his head turns, he¡¯s somehow still alive and he¡¯s mouthing something¡­ ¡°Run¡­ Run¡­¡± How can I fucking run from this thing?! It can kill me anytime it wants. There''s no point...

    ¡°How many did you kill, Cleric? By your own hand, specifically.¡± His question comes off as noncommittal, but I feel that my answer will be a critical part of my chances at a future.

    "I didn''t kill any. I''m a healer, I don''t kill for fun. Merciferus wouldn''t allow it." He looks away as he taps his chin with a finger.

    ¡°Should you heal any surviving goblins, you might be able to bargain for your life. That''s an interesting question, though. How many of the people you''ve wounded and killed do you need to save in order to appease a Dragon? I guess we¡¯ll find out if you happen to save enough.¡±

    I might survive this... My thoughts are a swirling whirlpool of confusion and fear when I suddenly hear crunching. Looking up, I see the Dragon eating Kello¡­ I won¡¯t even get to bury my friend¡­

    I''m stuck just staring at the scene, lying here in a useless heap as Neithro approaches. Gripping my tunic, he pulls me up with no effort at all. ¡°Well? What are you waiting for? Go search for survivors and make yourself useful enough to be kept alive.¡±

    I can¡¯t pull my eyes away from the gruesome sight of Kello¡¯s fate until the Dragon lifts its head and stares at me. The fucking thing is licking its lips¡­

    ¡°Kira, do mind the spatter. I¡¯d rather not get covered in any more idiot than necessary." That''s all he thinks of Kello? An inconvenient mess?...

    Forcing myself to stand, I''m struck by just how much everything hurts. I push my magic sense inward, and I see several of my ribs are broken, I¡¯ve punctured a lung, and I have some internal bleeding. I need to heal that before I can do anything.

    Using just enough healing to change it from life-threatening to excruciatingly painful, I start moving back to where the first team and my team have taken out some goblins. Please let there be survivors¡­

    It doesn¡¯t take long before I find a few goblins, looks like the first team was quick to attack a group. I see one trying to hide beneath the corpses, but I need to heal it. I rummage through the pile until I find it. A female, and it looks terrified.

    I grip its arm and push my magic senses into it to check for injuries. I see several old ones and a few new ones. I pray to Merciferus and heal the little thing¡­

    Sorrow, fear, and regret overwhelm me as I feel the Goddess¡¯s presence. This is what she didn¡¯t want to happen¡­

    ¡°What the fuck are you doing, Lauren?! Why in the hells are you healing that thing?¡± I look back and Reinfold is standing there with his dagger drawn.

    "I''m trying to survive! That''s what in the hells I''m doing! This fucking mission has turned so sideways that we''re pointing straight down into the pits of damnation. And you should know that Kello''s dead. The Dragon fucking ate him..." I see rage fill him as I tell him about what happened.

    "Get up, Lauren. We need to avenge Kello. We can''t allow that monster to live after what it did to him!" I beg him to let it go. We don¡¯t stand a chance against those two monsters. None of my pleading reaches the furious man as he stomps off in the direction I came from. I can¡¯t stop him¡­

    I finish healing the little thing and check the others. She was the only survivor in this pile, but I have to find more. I need to find more. As I continue down the passage, I find more corpses, but no survivors¡­

    Tears trickle down my cheeks and I can¡¯t tell whether it is from pain or regret. Trudging through the street, barely able to keep myself standing, something touches me and I let out a scream. Caught up in my own thoughts, I didn¡¯t notice the goblin I had healed following me.

    She takes my hand and leads me somewhere, and I just follow. Whether this will lead to my salvation or doom, I don''t know; perhaps they''re one and the same.

    We make it a ways down the pathway when I hear a bone-rattling roar behind us. I suddenly find myself confident that whatever Reinfold did after leaving me just destroyed any chance we had¡­

    Looking in the direction of the roar, I see the Dragon take flight and come directly towards me. This is how I die¡­

    It lands in front of me with a booming crash, the cobbled street is ruined, shards of stone flying toward me. In a moment of clarity, I turn to flee the beast. I don¡¯t make it two steps before I feel teeth ripping into the flesh of my lower left leg, and I¡¯m pulled off the ground.

    "Please! Let me go! I did what I was told, but I couldn''t find any others! Please give me another chance!" My pleading falls on deaf ears as I feel flesh tearing from my leg, the Dragon carries me as it climbs a building. Screams escape me as pain overwhelms me. Blood hits my face as the Dragon takes off.

    Dangling by my leg in the mouth of a Dragon, I¡¯ve never felt pain like this or been this terrified. The Dragon takes flight again, the jolt sending a new wave of pain through me. I am completely at this thing¡¯s mercy¡­ if it has any¡­

    It lands with as little grace as before, and I hit the ground hard. I feel my skull impact the ground as my vision blackens. If it wanted to kill me, it should¡¯ve just done it¡­

    ¡°Now be careful, Kira. If you want her to help you with your friend, you need to make sure she survives.¡±

    She needs my help?¡­ Why¡­ My sight returns as my confusion increases. I look around and see another goblin on the ground, an arrow protruding from its chest. I don¡¯t recognize the goblin, but I do recognize that arrow. Reinfold shot this goblin.

    I¡¯m too far away to heal it, and my leg is ruined. Clawing at the ground, I drag myself toward the wounded goblin, but before I''m able to reach it, I feel another rough tug on my leg as a fresh wave of agony shoots through me. The Dragon is pulling me closer to the goblin.

    Putting my hand on the little thing, I push my senses into it and¡­ Fuck¡­ I don¡¯t have enough magic to heal this¡­

    I pray for Merciferus to help me, but she can only do so much when I don¡¯t have the necessary magic, and it¡¯s not enough. "I don''t have enough magic, I can''t heal a wound this severe..." I don¡¯t think the Dragon understands me.

    ¡°She¡¯s saying that she needs more magic to perform her spell. Do you happen to have any magic potions, Kira?¡± I don¡¯t like how it stares at me¡­ There¡¯s cruelty in those eyes¡­

    The Dragon slams a foot down on my intact leg, and I feel the bone crunch. Screaming in pain, I suddenly feel a much worse pain. A burning fire floods my body, burning me from the inside out. All I can do is pray I survive, and to my surprise, I feel Merciferus pulling at my consciousness.

    The pain is gone, and I find myself bathed in comforting light. Looking around, I see a tall woman with beautiful golden hair and four glorious white-feathered wings.

    "Why didn''t you listen when I told you to stay away? Why did you come to this town when I told you to be afraid?! Why are you so willing to throw away your life?!"

    My foolish decisions made a God cry... "I''m sorry, Merciferus... I should have listened, I see that now. I wanted to stay away, but I couldn''t abandon my friends..."

    "I know you couldn''t... But please listen to me when I tell you to turn around." I want to agree to her request, but I can''t. If I can save people, I have to try, even if it might be dangerous.

    Looking around, the place we''re in looks entirely empty aside from us.

    "I know you''re about to ask where we are. This is your subconscious. I pulled you in here to shield you from the pain you''re currently experiencing. Your mind wouldn''t be able to take it, I needed to intervene. Please just do what the dragon tells you. You can survive this, and I need you to."

    "Why do I get to live when the others are dying? What makes me so special?! Please tell me how I can save my friends... Please..."

    "I think she''s waking up, Kira. Whatever you did looks very uncomfortable. Do me a favor and avoid telling Lord Wreyn about it. He''d want to know what it is and experience it for himself because that isn''t pact magic."

    Shit... I hear Neithro again, and pain hits me like a landslide. I''m still very much hurt... The Dragon growls at me as it looks me in the eyes with that piercing and fearsome gaze.

    "Hrreal... my... thrriend..." I reach for the fallen goblin and push my senses out. The clarity overwhelms and disorients me. What the fuck is this... I can see everything with barely any effort, every injury, every past wound, and exactly where I need to focus my healing.

    I prepare to cast my spell as I grip the arrow, ready to pull it out and heal the wound. The flesh fuses beautifully, and if I didn''t know, I wouldn''t be able to tell she had ever been wounded.

    "Now you have a decision to make, Kira. Do you let her live so she can heal more of your people, or kill her for her transgressions? If you choose to let her live, then stick with it, don''t just kill her because she annoys you. Tempting as it might be."

    I lie down on the ground and relax, at least my fate is out of my hands now, which, for some reason, fills me with relief... It almost looks funny how much thought the Dragon is giving to the decision. I might be going mad because I can''t help but smile at the scene.

    As I find myself with some extra time while waiting for my judge and executioner to deliberate, I push my senses inward, and what a fucking mess I am.

    Three ribs that aren''t broken, a punctured lung, internal bleeding, several breaks in my ''good'' leg. Strips of flesh cover my foot on my bad leg. At some point, I broke my elbows too, probably during the flight. How am I still alive...

    Deciding to throw caution to the wind, I decide to just ask a question. "Since I''m fucked beyond reason, mind if I make myself a little more comfortable while awaiting my execution? I could just heal myself real fast."

    Neithro seems to find my question amusing as he walks off while laughing, and the Dragon just stares at me, as if I barely exist.

    "I should fetch my mace before someone touches it. If the archer is still attached, I''ll bring him back for you, Kira. You seem to have a taste for adventurers."

 Chapter 19: Slighted

    Cranky walks off to search for his mace. If I take anything away from this fight about that guy, it would be that I grossly underestimated how strong he is because, geez! He didn''t even break a sweat fighting those jerks.

    Not a single one of the enemy''s attacks got through or past his barrier. He just toyed with them from start to finish, somehow having time to spare to protect me as well.

    ¡°Cora muto orinaw pi nui? [What will happen to me?]¡± As I''m contemplating how strong Cranky is, my attention is brought back to the healer, and I can confidently say that I don¡¯t like her. I¡¯m just gonna kill her and be done with it. With her friends dead, I would imagine she''s itching for some payback.

    Unfortunately for me, and fortunately for her, my bite is stopped by a stupid barrier...

    ¡°I understand how you feel, Kira, while executing those who have wronged you is enjoyable, it isn''t the right time. Do remember that she can be an asset for the time being, and you can execute her once she has outlived her usefulness.¡±

    Stupid reasonable Cranky¡­ Fine, I¡¯ll behave¡­ All of a sudden, my frustration fades as Raya speaks up. ¡°I can¡¯t reach your head, Kira. And I want to give you a hug, so lean down, please.¡±

    Hugs please the mighty Dragon, so I do as she asks, and as soon as I¡¯m within range, Raya latches onto my face and hugs me with all her might. Which isn''t a lot, but it can move the world, at least my world. This feels nice.

    Pulling me out of my Raya-induced comfort, Cranky brings up an excellent point. "I would imagine your people would appreciate the assistance of a cleric, so perhaps we ought to look for where they gather their wounded.¡±

    I don¡¯t know where they are gathering, so screw it, we¡¯re flying. I order Cranky to pick up the healer and jump on so we can take flight, and he does so without hesitation. Screw property damage right now, I''m gonna climb a building and take off. Now isn''t the time to worry about that.

    I''m having to turn my head to see as my sight is somewhat affected by the Raya-sized Raya on my face, but we''re fine. For a moment, I wonder where to go, but I would probably gather people somewhere easy to reach and familiar, like the square, so that''s where we go. It turns out my assumption was correct.

    Just as we¡¯re about to land, Cranky throws the healer and gets ready to dismount. ¡°Er lorm behan nei as un ytreff¡­ [You could treat me as a person¡­]¡±

    ¡°What makes you think you deserve to be treated as a person, cleric? Which of your actions today led you to believe kindness is even on the table when we discuss your fate?¡± Geez, harsh¡­

    "E rahin pi sora ytreff... [I tried to heal people...]"

    "Fool. You were coerced into healing them. It was not done of your free will, so you do not get the goodwill from those actions."

    Cranky just made her cry again, so I give him a nudge. She¡¯s already defeated, there¡¯s no need to be an ass about it. Still, though, I''m somewhat conflicted about her living at all, so I wanna know what Raya thinks about this whole thing.

    She seems to think for a moment before talking. ¡°I think if she helps us, she should be allowed to leave.¡±

    Yeah, I need to listen to Raya, I¡¯ve been delving a bit too far into cruelty lately, and I need to take a step back. Besides, she did help a bit before I grabbed her again.

    Not long after landing, a large, muscled, and bruised man saunters over to me. The first time I met this guy, I attacked him with a tail whip, sending him flying into a building. He took the hit with his shield and somehow survived, although his shield didn¡¯t.

    As it turns out, I didn¡¯t need to attack him at all. Once my tail connected with his shield, the other two threw themselves to the ground and Joras appeared, telling me they weren¡¯t fighting us.

    And with me having other things to think about, I left that mess for Joras to deal with. According to Joras, they can be trusted to behave, and when I brought up my skepticism, he pointed out that I''ve been in their position.

    ¡°Hello, I happy you safe. We safe friends.¡± He¡¯s not good at Raya¡¯s language, but he tries.

    Big guy''s talking seems to have stirred the healer. She wakes up and props herself up on her arms to look around. If I had to guess, I¡¯d say she¡¯s shocked to see the big guy, but I''m not great at reading human expressions.

    ¡°Mesi usi er lebendi? [How are you alive?]¡±

    ¡°Siressein. [Surrendered.]¡±

    Whatever the big guy said must have been funny, because the healer is laughing in a rather uncontrolled manner. Nudging Cranky, I gently request a translation. ¡°She asked how he had survived, and being the eloquent man that he appears to be, he informed her of his surrender.¡±

    The laughter is quick to attract attention as people turn to see what''s going on; even Joras seems to glance our way. Now he¡¯s walking our way. It doesn¡¯t take him long before he¡¯s standing over the healer, inspecting her bony leg.

    ¡°Impressive. This injury should be well within her capability to heal, but the spell doesn¡¯t seem to have worked, at least not properly. We should learn more about what happened here, though I have my suspicions.¡±

    I don¡¯t know why he¡¯s looking at me, I didn¡¯t do anything other than defend my friends. Taking his focus away from me again, he brings out his dagger and a leather strap.

    With the dagger, he starts scraping the healer¡¯s shredded flesh. And some transparent substance is attached to it¡­ Eww! That looks like snot! Why would she let me bite her if she¡¯s covered in snot?!

    Rudely enough, he isn¡¯t bothered by my outrage at all! He just continues scraping snot off her and tying strips of flesh together with the leather. I have no idea how she doesn¡¯t mind it, but she¡¯s just staring at him work.

    With my attention focused on his medical work, he suddenly startles me as he asks Raya to fetch water and she jumps off my face before running off. As Joras continues working, the leg is looking increasingly leg-like. He is doing good work.

    ¡°Kira, have you considered that you may be toxic?¡± I mean¡­ rude¡­ I know I can be an acquired taste at times, but calling me toxic feels like a bit much. I try to be approachable and friendly, but these people attacked us! Defending ourselves shouldn¡¯t really be considered toxic.

    ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re grumbling about, but I mean venomous. This sludge appears to be your saliva. I know it reacts with magic, but it also seems to interfere with the structure of magic somehow. If I had to guess, I''d say this is why she couldn''t heal her leg. Healing is complex to cast, so it''s not difficult to interfere with, but this is fascinating. We''ll need more tests, because I can''t say what effects it would have on simpler magic. I won''t be finding out right now."

    All I''m hearing is some gibberish that sounds suspiciously like a conspiracy to make me stop licking people. That¡¯s not happening.

    Instead of continuing his toxin talk, he gets back to helping the healer. As he works diligently to clean the healer¡¯s leg, I hear a bunch of footsteps approaching. A crowd appears from behind a corner, and it becomes apparent that Raya has recruited some people to carry water for her. That¡¯s smart.

    The group of people set down a bunch of pots with sloshing water, and Joras helps the healer stand up. Turns out he wants her to just dunk her leg into a pot now that they have that option. I¡¯m surprised at how good a nurse he is. Which I guess I shouldn''t be, he has taken care of Lily for years.

    Watching everyone work to help people, I find myself lost. I have no idea how to help in this situation. Everyone is so fragile, and if I try to help with first aid, I might accidentally crush someone. So I¡¯m left just standing here, watching people in pain.

    Being realistic, I should be happy that people are so busy with triage because then the victims of this attack might survive. But watching so many people laid out on the square like this, all I feel is anger... Focus, Kira. Getting angry again isn¡¯t helpful right now.

    I don¡¯t like this one bit¡­ With Joras being busy and Raya running around helping folks, I¡¯m left with Cranky, and he¡¯s just standing around looking menacing.

    I bet he knows something about what I can do after the fighting to not feel useless, so I nudge him and request some options.

    Instead of answering me, he glances my way and then he just ignores me in favor of talking to Joras¡­ Rude... Well, I¡¯ll find something to do on my own then. It''s very crowded around here anyway. Some air will do me good.

    In a stroke of luck, there¡¯s enough room to take off, so off I go! What I can do is check to make sure no more bad folks are hiding around the walls, ready to pounce on unsuspecting townsfolk.

    Admittedly, I''m pretty much just looking for distractions right now. This whole thing has been too much for me, and I''m not sure what I can really do.

    One thing I want to do is find whoever is responsible for these adventurers showing up and making damn sure it doesn''t happen again. But I''m not sure I have the strength to really do that.

    Even for the people who did attack, I had to rely on Cranky''s help. And the group I was supposed to take out myself didn''t even fight back. I have no gauge of how strong or weak I am...

    That¡¯s not even accounting for where these people land on the power scale¡­ Geez, so many things to consider¡­

    My attention snaps back to reality and I''ve been flying around here for a while now. I haven''t seen anything that stands out, so I''d say it''s safe.

    My emotions still feel raw and I''m not sure I can control myself if one of the remaining adventurers does something I don''t like... I need to keep doing something else, and Wreyn is as good an excuse as any. I''m sure he can teach me something about this whole human situation.

    Trying to focus, my mind keeps returning to hunting. I want to hunt something, but the beasts around here don''t deserve what I want to do to what I catch. Getting some distance between the adventurers and me definitely seems like the smart thing to do. And the opportunity to learn makes it even smarter to do.

    I''m done flying in circles like some vulture, so I set a course for Oakhold. I still can''t get my mind off the adventurers and hunting.

    This feeling of powerlessness is awful, and I want it to go away, but I don''t know how. I hate this feeling, I hate that I couldn''t save everyone, and I hate that I feel lost.

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Looking back, the only reason I knew anything was wrong was because of that weird shadow man. I still have no idea why he keeps giving me directions, I''m grateful, but I don''t like not knowing.

    On top of that, Cranky hadn''t brought his mace for our hunt, because I was supposed to hunt the stealthy beast, so we had to take a detour to fetch it... How many could we have saved if not for that...

    I can''t blame him, though. He helped even though he didn''t have to. And that''s really nice of him.

    Oh no... I don''t know where I am... I think I''ve flown too far. Looking around, all I see is grass, a few patches of trees, and some roads crisscrossing the landscape, none of which helps me.

    The clouds have darkened and I can''t see anything I recognize... Dang it! I''m lost again...

    I thought I was over my ''getting lost'' phase...

    Perhaps I can ask someone for directions, I did see some caravans traveling on the road. No, that won''t work, it never works...

    Stop it, Kira, you''re bumming yourself out. Instead of wallowing in previous mistakes, I''m gonna come up with a plan!

    First plan: Fly higher and see if that helps spot anything. And it works! I see a familiar mountain! It looks like my mountain! Before rushing off, though, I''m gonna look around for landmarks so I know where I am if I end up here again.

    Dang it... There''s another really tall mountain behind me and they look very similar, I can''t tell which is mine... Stupid geological features...

    I doubt my chances of figuring out which is mine will improve before the weather clears, so instead, I''ll focus on something I can do, which is check on how I''m doing internally. Focusing my will, I feel for my magic, to my surprise, I''m doing quite well.

    I guess that makes sense, I didn''t fight all that much, and when I did, it was mostly physical attacks. Saving my magic might have been a good call if I''m just gonna head off and get lost... I''ll take that as a win. Stupid jerk adventurers...

    A bright light pulls me out of my thoughts as a thunderstrike hits nearby, the loud crack rattles my skull. This weather is definitely telling me to land and stay away from open spaces. I''m just gonna follow that imaginary advice and fly towards the ground.

    The combination of bright light and sudden darkness is screwing with my vision, and I don''t like it. I don''t want to be out here anymore, I just want to go home and have fun with my friends...

    Come on, Kira, we can handle this. We¡¯re not lost, we are just having a minor directional issue¡­ We¡¯ll get through this. There¡¯s no need to cry, even if it¡¯s difficult not to.

    Okay, calm thoughts, positive thoughts. I can do this. Screw it. Second plan: I¡¯m finding someone to ask for directions. I''ll leave as soon as I see any sign of trouble. I''m pretty sure I saw some folks traveling on the roads, so I should be able to track a group down.

    Going into a downward glide, not quite a dive, I soar toward the nearest road and follow it for some distance. It takes a while, but I manage to pick up the scent of sweat. I was under the impression that rain would ruin scents, but everything smells far more intense.

    And how the heck hasn¡¯t it rained until now? I feel like I¡¯ve lived a lifetime since I hatched. The weather is very weird here. Nevertheless, I focus up and follow the scent. The scent path consistently follows the road, so I''m sure I''ll find someone.

    Before too long, the smell of smoke joins the sweat, so that''s either really good because someone has built a fire. Or really bad because someone got hit by lightning. The smells take me to a grove of trees.

    Flying over the grove, it becomes quite clear how they¡¯ve managed to light a fire in the rain; they¡¯ve done it under a roof. Someone built some sort of wooden half-roof shelter with only one opening right in the middle of the trees. That¡¯s clever. I can imagine the trees providing excellent protection from the wind. Trees are great like that.

    I¡¯m not gonna play coy this time, so I just land and crawl under the shelter, there¡¯s enough room for most of me without pushing away any of these people. I sorta expected humans, because they seem so abundant, but these four people didn''t smell right.

    ¡°Tona qorl¡­ [Don¡¯t move¡­]¡° The group consists of two well-dressed dwarves and a couple of scalefolk sitting on stools around a cooking fire. I¡¯m getting the impression that I¡¯m not too intrusive because none of them are paying me any mind.

    I picked a good group. They are the only group I found, granted, but still, they seem like an accepting bunch, and it feels nice to not be alone.

    ¡°Cora du faro to jeb to? Nuia ti un faroei Themar! [What the fuck do we do? That is a fucking Dragon!]¡±

    ¡°E tona ilan! Er vesaei pi unma kron li urok siruei kavns! Er morv du qorsaif usai sawa! [I don¡¯t know! You wanted to save coin by not hiring guards! You said the roads were safe!]¡±

    They seem content to just talk among themselves, although they smell a bit afraid. The weather turning like that is a bit scary, so I get it. Leaving them to their chatter, I notice they¡¯re a bit too caught up in whatever they¡¯re talking about and their food is getting burned.

    Being the helpful dragon that I am, I nudge the nearest person, who happens to be a dwarf with an impressive beard, and he rushes into action to save their meal.

    I don¡¯t recognize whatever stew they¡¯re cooking, but it smells really good. Maybe I should ask Raya for ideas about new meals to try whenever I find my way back home¡­ Dang it¡­ bummed myself out again¡­

    Dipping my head out of the shelter, the weather seems to have stopped getting worse, but it''s pretty bad. I would not like to be caught outside in this mess, and it looks like it will stay bad for a while before it gets better.

    And just as I finish that thought, lightning strikes somewhere off in the distance. I¡¯m kinda glad I didn¡¯t try to fly home in this weather. I''m not sure I can survive getting hit by lightning.

    Yeah, I¡¯m just gonna stay with these people for now. I¡¯m not gonna be reckless this time by doubling down on my mistake¡­ What I am gonna do is give this tasty-smelling stew a try, that¡¯ll cheer me up.

    One of the dwarves is holding his bowl just right for me to dip my tongue into it, so that¡¯s what I do! And I was right, it¡¯s glorious¡­ They¡¯ve used some great spices to make it rich in flavor. I kinda want some more, but I don¡¯t have a bowl. And I can¡¯t use a bowl¡­

    ¡°E rinu udu sokas du hatis¡­ [I think it likes the stew...]¡±

    For some reason, the little guy whose stew I tasted is now holding out his bowl for me. Being the understanding dragon that I am, I open my mouth and he pours it right in. It¡¯s delicious! I can¡¯t stop purring at this deliciousness.

    For once, a new encounter doesn¡¯t end with blades pointed at me! I still feel a nagging feeling that these people will hurt me, so I should hurt them first, but I don''t want to go through life acting in violence... That sounds like it would get lonely very fast.

    I''m gonna settle on hoping for the best here. With my thoughts on how I''ll act in the future, something creeps into my mind and it feels familiar, but afraid and sorrowful. For just a moment, I think it¡¯s some sort of stew-based attack, but that¡¯s just silly, the guy was eating it before I tasted it.

    Instead of continuing down that goofy train of thought, I focus on the sensation, and it feels very familiar, like something important that I¡¯ve lost ages ago. Prodding the sensation doesn¡¯t seem to do anything, so I might just have to wait until it gets clearer.

    I don¡¯t really like having mysterious proddable sensations like that, but I can¡¯t do much about it now. I¡¯ll try exploring it some more when I¡¯m somewhere safe. As hospitable as these people are, this isn¡¯t safety.

    With all this weather-watching and stew tasting, I forgot to ask for directions! I¡¯m gonna remedy that immediately, so with a quick question, I eloquently ask if they know where Oakhold is.

    ¡°You speak?!¡± Huh, turns out one of the scalefolk speaks Raya¡¯s language. And yes, of course I speak, and I¡¯m very good at it too. Using my amazing linguistic skills, I request some more stew and those directions to Oakhold.

    In response, the scalefolk lady punches the stew dwarf and, based on the context of him giving me more stew, tells him to give me some more delicious stew. Yush! More for me!

    ¡°Pardon my impertinence, great Dragon, but what brings you to this camp?¡± A good question, and I do feel like I need to just talk to someone, so I launch into explaining how adventurers attacked Tuiran. As well as how I fought them off, but we lost a bunch of people in the fight.

    ¡°We are not adventurers! We are but humble traders and craftsfolk. We trade goods, and we can¡¯t fight!¡± That¡¯s nice, but it also feels a little sudden to make a forceful declaration like that. Nevertheless, I continue talking about how some jerk ordered the attack, and I want payback to make sure it doesn¡¯t happen again.

    ¡°We will spread word of the goblin city Tuiran falling under the protective wing of a great Dragon. This will no doubt make all but the most foolhardy reconsider taking on such a job in the future.¡±

    Well, that¡¯s considerate of her, I appreciate that. As I¡¯m about to launch into another story about how I bravely defended myself against adventurers in Oakhold, I hear some rustling in the bushes nearby. It smells human, but as far as I can tell, they didn¡¯t have business with us because they just left instead of approaching.

    I bring it up with my hosts here, and they exchange some words before asking if I¡¯m sure it was human. I am sure, I know what humans smell like, after all, even more so now that I know what dwarves smell like too.

    It doesn¡¯t seem to be good news, as they are starting to grumble among one another. It seems like a heated grumbling session, and they smell more afraid now.

    ¡°Had they been fellow traders, an approach from the road would be the way for them, as well as a signal to alert us. We believe our nightly visitors may have had malicious intent."

    Well, good thing I¡¯m here then. If they attack, I can deal with them. As my thoughts go to what I might do to some attacking bandits, that weird sensation returns and I get the impression that it wants me to at least not kill them. That isn¡¯t an unreasonable request, even Cranky didn¡¯t want them dead.

    Although I refuse to risk myself or Tuiran again if we end up getting attacked.

    My thoughts of battle and bandits get interrupted when it occurs to me that I have no idea what time it is, but I¡¯m kinda tired, so I¡¯m just gonna go for a snooze. It¡¯s been a big day. I don¡¯t smell much metal on these people, so I doubt they¡¯ll be attacking me.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    I wake up to the group talking among themselves, so I ask what¡¯s going on, and the scalefolk lady translates for me. I have no way to verify what she says, but I¡¯m not gonna just doubt her for no reason.

    ¡°Kaldren, the dwarf serving as your steward last evening, spoke of the benefits of such a mighty Dragon as yourself residing with us. Protection from the worst that sentience has to offer is most welcome. No bandit, thief, or scoundrel in their right mind would dare approach our camp.¡±

    Yeah, you¡¯d have to be pretty out of it to attack a big and mighty dragon like me. Stupid adventurers¡­ He deserves a lick for believing in me.

    ¡°Faro nui! Nuia ti heni! [Fuck me! That is vile!]¡±

    ¡°He appreciates your gesture of¡­ appreciation?¡­¡± She seems unsure, but yes, I appreciate him believing in me. And that these folks haven''t attacked me. I''m a fan of not getting attacked by strangers.

    Enough of that, onto other matters. I still need directions to Oakhold. The bad weather seems to have cleared through the night, so I should be able to find it myself, but I¡¯d appreciate the help.

    The scalefolk lady gives me directions, but they¡¯re for ground travel. Instead, I ask for landmarks, and she mentions stuff like traveling west until I find a giant tree growing alone, and then north until I find a lake shaped like the letter wria. I have no idea what that letter looks like¡­

    Ever helpful, she draws it in the dirt with one of her claws. I still can¡¯t read their weird language, so I don''t know what it means, but now I should be able to recognize the lake. If her drawing is correct, the lake looks like bow, why didn''t she just say it looked like a bow...

    Never mind that, once I find the lake, I should be able to see Oakhold. I¡¯m confident I can find my way there now, but she isn¡¯t done talking, it seems.

    ¡°These adventurers you fought, were they three groups of three? And did any survive?¡± Guess I didn¡¯t go into detail about that, and since I can¡¯t think of a reason not to, I tell her that we captured a healer from one group and another group surrendered, so four people from the attack are alive.

    As soon as I finish talking, she talks to Kaldren, and he reacts to it. I''m not sure what that reaction is, but it is a reaction.

    ¡°Did you hear mention of one named Lauren?¡± Can¡¯t say that I did. The ones I¡¯ve heard of are Merciferus and Kello.

    That really got a reaction from Kaldren, and he starts firing off a bunch of words to the scalefolk. I¡¯m getting the impression that he knew Kello, but I can''t tell what the dwarf thinks of the dead man.

    ¡°Lauren would be a cleric working with Kello and Reinfold, an archer. She has black hair, yellow eyes, and light-brown skin.¡± That sounds suspiciously like the healer, and I¡¯m pretty sure Cranky calls her Cleric. So I mention that I might know who they¡¯re talking about, which the Scalefolk lady relays in short order, and Kaldren seems quite relieved to hear it.

    I know I should be considerate of my hosts here, but I¡¯m itching to get home, so I¡¯m just gonna leave. Weird folks, those guys. They seemed afraid of the weather even as I left. They''ll manage, I''m sure. I¡¯m just gonna follow the directions I got and head home.

    All in all, I feel pretty good after my night in the company of strangers, we definitely hit it off. I''m curious how accurate these directions are, so I''m gonna follow them to get home. I can''t wait to tell Raya about how welcoming the traders were.

    Some time after taking off, I do indeed find a large tree growing alone, it fits the scalefolk lady''s description, so I assume I''m on the correct path. Now I need to head north and find that Wria Lake. Sounds easy enough.

    At least I''m safe if I don''t manage to find it because I can see my mountain for sure now.

    I want to go even faster, so I push more magic into my wings, I''m gonna be home in no time! It''s a little difficult to maintain control of my speed, but I''ve spent longer away from home than I intended, and I really wanna see my friends again.

    There it is! Wria Lake! I''m almost there, I can even see Oakhold from here. It''s to the west, so I''ll be home in no time at all. I can¡¯t wait to see Raya, Joras, and Jeannie again! All the others too.

    Maybe I¡¯ll even see Melty again, I could use some of his optimism to keep me in a good mood. I don''t want to be pessimistic, but I suspect something will affect my mood when I get home.

    Rushing forward, I keep pushing magic into my wings and it won''t be long until I reach Tuiran. I haven''t even been gone a day, but I miss my home so much. We''re gonna have another camp-out and this time, I''ll leave some meat for the others on purpose!

 Chapter 20: Too close

    Having focused so much on my flight speed, I find myself closing in on Tuiran faster than I expected! I can see it, and I can¡¯t wait. The place appears unchanged, but the knowledge that it has changed weighs on me.

    I''m aware my guardianship was something rushed and more to keep me from hurting the people of Tuiran than actually giving me a job to do, but I want to do it now, and I want to do it properly. This feels like my town, my home. And these adventurers violated it for the sake of money¡­

    It is so tempting to have the healer, who might be Lauren, tell me where I can find the jerk who ordered the attack and retaliate, but having seen Cranky¡¯s power, I find myself a little afraid of what I might end up facing if I go alone. It would be so useless to rush off and die.

    Cranky is scary when he fights, and his magic seems to be focused on defense; what sort of damage could someone with that kind of power do if they were focused on offense?...

    My contemplation of the differences in power soon comes to a halt as panic sets in. Tuiran is approaching much faster than it should, and as soon as I try to slow down, it becomes clear that I should have practiced.

    In my fervor to return home, I''ve managed to fly faster than I''ve ever flown before; unfortunately, my braking skills are not up to par.

    The obvious thing to do is stop the flow of magic into my wings, but as it turns out, the obvious thing was a mistake and I''ve lost control...

    As I hurtle towards the treeline like some sort of giant cannonball, I find myself overcome by a sense of nostalgia. I¡¯m headed straight for a tree... At least this draconic projectile is flying over Tuiran, so that''s something.

    I''m trying my hardest to think of ways to regain control, and the first thing I try is pushing magic back into my wings. It doesn''t seem to do anything, and I¡¯m not gaining any traction. I don¡¯t even know if it¡¯s called traction, but I¡¯m not gaining it!

    Yeah, I screwed up here... I don''t have time to try anything else, so I pivot into damage control. Instead of focusing on my wings, I push my magic into my scales to harden them. The idea is that they can absorb some of the pain I''m about to experience.

    Curling into a ball, I prepare myself for the incoming pain as I hit the first tree, and it freakin¡¯ HURTS!

    Unfortunately for me, while the first tree couldn¡¯t stop me, the second makes a valiant effort to do just that. All it manages to do is cause more pain.

    At least I didn¡¯t break the second tree, which suggests to me that I am slowing down. Or it was thicker than the first tree.

    As I hit the third tree, I come to a stop and I am not comfortable... I might have to ask for some healing when I get back...

    I need to assess just how hurt I am, so I turn my senses inward, and it becomes clear that I am not in great condition. I swear I do more damage to myself than any enemy ever has¡­ so far¡­

    Going over my injuries, it appears I¡¯ve managed to break a few ribs, I think I''ve sprained my elbow, and a few of my spines have snapped. That''s definitely not great.

    Giving my wings a few soft flaps, I''m struck by a sharp pain that alerts me to the tear in my right wing membrane. Great, no flying for a while¡­

    On a more important note, I¡¯m gonna have to do something about the internal bleeding.

    Feeling the wounds inside me with my mind¡¯s eye, I force some magic into the injuries, focusing on taking the most severe injuries back down to a comfortable quite severe, but non-lethal level. This healing process is still very painful, though¡­

    It¡¯s clear that I won¡¯t have enough magic to heal all of this on my own. It feels like I¡¯m wasting resources by getting injuries like these when people in Tuiran probably still need healing. Can''t deal with that now, this was a mistake, and mistakes happen.

    Before crawling my way back to Tuiran, I give the trees a quick inspection to see what kind of damage I¡¯ve done to them, and the third tree has deep gashes in it but appears otherwise intact.

    Moving to the second tree, it¡¯s clear that it isn¡¯t doing as well. For a moment, I wonder whether this mistake could become an attack, but then if I screw it up, I''d be too invested in terms of energy and if I can''t stop myself, I''d just get hurt unnecessarily again. It is destructive though.

    I''m fortunate to not have hit any thicker trees, especially the oak trees, since they''re much thicker than the firs I did hit. I''m not sure I could break my way through them.

    As I arrive at the first tree I hit, I notice the very visible cuts, but it''s clear that blunt force was the primary source of damage. The cuts from my spines weakened the trunk so it had an easier time snapping.

    It''s a surprise to me just how little damage I''ve taken, all things considered. I mean, I''m very hurt, but this could definitely have gone much worse, and I need to be mindful of that in the future.

    Looking back at my idea of using this as an attack, I find myself becoming sure that this is not something I plan to do again. I''d get myself killed.

    Now that I''ve used the tree inspection as an excuse to rest for a bit, it''s time to head for Tuiran, on foot this time. It¡¯s fortunate that I won¡¯t have to walk back alone, though; a few folks have come looking for me.

    At a glance, I don¡¯t recognize these goblins, but it¡¯s nice that they¡¯re here. Trudging toward Tuiran with the group, one of the goblins catches my attention as he offers me a healing potion. All of a sudden, I like this little guy a lot more, not that I disliked any of them, but he seems very nice.

    As soon as I drink the potion, I feel whatever magic makes it work and I''ve gotta say, these potions are weak. They¡¯ll heal just enough to probably keep you alive, but not much beyond that.

    Admittedly, that¡¯s still really good, and it doesn¡¯t hurt as much as my own healing, but it still leaves much to be desired.

    Strolling to the gate, I smell a familiar scent and I don¡¯t like it... There¡¯s blood on the ground here and Melty¡¯s scent is still here, but it¡¯s faint. I''m not going to think about that for now.

    What I will think about for a moment is how I can hurt this jerk who sent adventurers into my home. Maybe I¡¯ll kidnap him and give him to Frosty¡¯s friends, but keep reheating him as they freeze him.

    I¡¯ve got time to workshop it. For now, I should move to the square and make sure folks are doing okay. I hope the healer has done a decent job of taking care of the wounded.

    For a moment, I find myself relieved that Cranky stopped me from killing her, and the weird sensation in the back of my mind agrees. It would have been a dumb move to just kill her like that.

    The streets are quite empty for the afternoon, but I guess that¡¯s to be expected after a tragedy... As we near the town square, I hear Raya shouting, and then I see her appear from behind a corner.

    She¡¯s rushing with surprising speed toward me, and that seems dangerous. If she trips, she could get quite hurt. A concept with which I¡¯ve become intimately familiar¡­

    With me walking toward her and her sprinting toward me, we meet up quite fast, and as soon as I¡¯m in range, she jumps. Her accuracy is impressive, and she lands on my lowered head. Then she falls to the ground.

    ¡°Ugh, dumb Kira¡¯s face¡­ I forgot how hard your head is¡­¡± She¡¯s struggling to breathe a bit as she writhes on the ground, but she seems fine.

    As she picks herself up again, she''s quick to bring her attention to me for some reason.

    ¡°How are you feeling, Kira? You okay?¡± Myeah¡­ I¡¯ll be fine... I wanna know how many died and how many were saved by the remaining adventurers though, so I nudge her for directions to the infirmary.

    "Most people have already left, but we can get there through the square."

    Sounds like a plan, and as we approach the square, I look around and if I didn''t know any better, I''d say the place looks like it always has.

    There¡¯s barely any evidence of how many people were here yesterday, fighting for their lives. The lingering scent of blood remains, but I¡¯m not seeing any significant stains.

    Raya continues to lead the way, but she keeps stealing glances at my face. It seems strange, but I''m not sure why she might be so preoccupied with my face. Well, I''m unsure until I realize that I haven''t washed my face since the assault, so I must be quite dirty.

    I''ll have to take a bath later. For now, I want to join up with the rest of my friends and make sure they¡¯re safe.

    It feels a little selfish to focus so much on my friends specifically, but I¡¯m gonna be selfish right now. My thoughts stay on what I could have lost during this assault when Ray decides to bring up a different topic.

    ¡°Where were you last night? Captain Neithro said something about vengeance, but I told him you wouldn¡¯t do that, it¡¯d be too risky.¡±

    That''s true, it would be too risky, and Neithro is the reason why I realize that.... But all things considered, I didn¡¯t do much last night.

    Raya''s expression seems to change as I tell her about how I got caught in some bad weather after flying off, how I wanted to find Wreyn and ask what I could do since I didn¡¯t feel good about not helping.

    ¡°Sometimes you¡¯re the dumbest person I know, Kira¡­¡± Okay, rude¡­

    ¡°Do you know what their mission was? It was to kill half of us! HALF! They barely got eighty, and thirty-three of those survived. Jeannie survived. You stopped them. If you hadn¡¯t come and brought Neithro, so many of us would be dead. How is that not helping, you dumb overgrown lizard?!¡±

    I can¡¯t think of anything to say to that¡­ I need to stop thinking about what I couldn¡¯t do and instead focus on what I did do¡­

    ¡°Don¡¯t ever say you¡¯re not helping us¡­ Dumb lizard¡­¡± I¡¯m not a lizard¡­

    I hear her point loud and clear, though, so I apologize for being stupid. I feel like I should say something else, but I can¡¯t think of anything. Instead of saying anything to make this worse, I decide to leave the subject at that.

    One thing I do know is appropriate for this situation is a nudge, and she responds positively with a hug to my face. She gets it.

    Letting go of me, Raya continues down the street and I follow behind, which is difficult because she walks so slowly.

    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    It doesn''t take long before I become very aware of our proximity to the infirmary. The smell of blood, waste, and herbs permeates the air as we close in on a large building.

    Right now, I wouldn¡¯t mind a much worse sense of smell...

    The front of the building has a large sign with a carved symbol on it. The symbol is similar to a pointed B with a line coming out of the back of it. I have no idea what that means, but I know someone who does.

    ¡°It¡¯s one of the past life words for healing. Long ago, someone brought it here from a different part of the cycle of life, and now we use it for signs because no one speaks the language anymore, but we all know that this one means healing and new life.¡±

    I feel like she just said some important stuff, I¡¯m gonna need her to elaborate on that. Unfortunately, though, she doesn¡¯t seem to have more to add on the subject.

    Turns out she was curious about the symbol as a kid, and that¡¯s all the people here know about its history.

    Instead of pestering her about knowledge she doesn¡¯t have, we approach the building¡¯s large doors when they swing open and Big Guy stomps out. His scrunched-up stomping looks kinda funny.

    ¡°Hello! You home safe!¡± His eyes dart across my body as he raises an eyebrow. ¡°Most safe.¡±

    I have no idea what to make of this guy. He seems so nice and welcoming, but he was here to kill people. I also don''t know the motivation for his party''s surrender.

    I''m not sure whether he''d tell me or not, but I feel like knowing that is going to be important to understand how likely it is that they¡¯ll turn around and attack again.

    Humans are too unpredictable. Dwarves and scalefolk seem to be predictable enough, at least the ones I met were easy to read.

    Not sure where elves end up on that scale. Lily seems sensible, but Joras is clearly nuts. Raya is a little green weirdo, but she¡¯s the best.

    ¡°She good?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, she just gets like that sometimes, you get used to it. Do you know where Lauren and Joras are?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Joras shop?¡±

    Sounds like I started paying attention at the right time, we now have a location to head towards! I¡¯m not sure how I feel about having four of these adventuring types in the town, but this guy seems content to just hang out. I wonder if his teammates are the same.

    ¡°Kira, are you okay?¡± I¡¯m fine, just thinking about what has happened to all the folks who got killed. If Raya¡¯s right that almost eighty got hurt, then that leaves like forty-five dead¡­ And goblins don¡¯t really seem to have any funeral rites.

    I hope they aren''t planning to just leave the bodies in the forest like Turo said they did. Wanting to find out, I ask Raya what''s going to happen to those who fell.

    ¡°Oh, a few of the families asked for their kindred to be kept safe until you returned. They¡¯re going to ask you to send the dead into the next life with your flames, so they can get a blessed start in life there.¡±

    Geez, what sort of tradition did we start¡­ It¡¯s doable, though. But it sounds like I¡¯ll have a busy and exhausting day.

    The streets are practically empty, and everything reeks of fear, and it¡¯s making me want to hunt something... That¡¯s definitely an impulse I¡¯ll need to control, especially right now.

    I haven¡¯t been paying attention to the streets, but I can tell that we¡¯re close to Joras and Lauren because despair has a distinct smell, and I only know one source of it in town.

    Before I see her, I greet her, which triggers a wave of abject fear. Part of me feels sorry for her because she really did help, but another part finds it intoxicating to get such a glorious response from an enemy.

    Turning the corner, she¡¯s standing there alongside Joras, I like that he¡¯s keeping an eye on her, but where are the other people from Big Guy¡¯s group¡­

    As I ask, Big Guy shows me his arm and there¡¯s a mark carved into it. A seven-pointed star with a circle intersecting the tips. I don¡¯t know what that means¡­ As Big Guy is about to tell me what it is, Joras decides to interject.

    ¡°It¡¯s a blood magic spell. The symbol represents Mairleark, and it¡¯s infused with my blood to maintain the spell. With it, I can ignore their natural protections against magic and attack them as I please, as long as they¡¯re within range of my magic.¡±

    Well, that doesn¡¯t sound nuts at all, but that just sounds like everyone is at risk of blood mages throwing around blood¡­

    ¡°Well, that is partially the case, but blood mages can still die from blood loss. If I didn¡¯t use a symbol of power and a spell to maintain it, my blood would simply be destroyed in their bodies. And this spell requires consent; otherwise, the symbol will be broken down. So the blood powers the symbol, and the symbol protects the blood.¡±

    Huh, well, if they agreed to be on Joras'' executioner¡¯s block, I guess I can trust them a little. Weird that I couldn¡¯t smell Joras when Big Guy is carrying around his blood, though. That isn¡¯t important now.

    Instead of having an impromptu magic lesson, we should focus on what to do now. I bring up how I want to make sure this doesn¡¯t happen again, and I want to end the guy who sent the killers here. Oddly enough, Big Guy chips in first.

    ¡°I join. Bad guy, bad job.¡± Well, I sorta understood that, but I¡¯ll just go ahead and have Joras cast his little speaky spell on us. For some reason, that gets a smile from the elf¡­ Hey, I¡¯m great at talking, you shut up, Joras!

    As soon as the cheeky elf does his job, I¡¯m hit by what feels like a mental attack with the accompanying headache. Geez, what the hell, Joras?!

    ¡°Ah, I should have warned you, Kira. Comprehension spells with quiet people can be overwhelming. The quiet ones tend to be unable to convey what they mean, rather than being unable to think of it. And the spell helps bridge that divide.¡±

    Geez¡­ That shows me to judge a book by its cover¡­ Big Guy seems fine and asks Joras how it works, which Joras is quick to explain in that human language. I feel like this part is about to suck and I¡¯m gonna hear more than he actually says.

    ¡°What I meant to say was that the Lord of Plainshold sent us here to deal with a threat, but rather than meeting a threat, we met a peaceful people merely trying to get by. Allow me to begin from the start. In choosing the mission, we were tempted by the significant reward, as no doubt many others were. At a glance, the mission presented itself as remarkably easy, hinting at some lord desiring to complete the job with haste."

    My freakin¡¯ head¡­ How the hell does a speaky spell work to make so few words mean that much?! Wait, could this guy kill people with those mind potions?!

    ¡°And given those considerations, we chose to accept the mission. Additional information could be acquired later, while leaving us plenty of time to reconsider our acceptance. Since we were already in Plainshold, we were quick to gather gossip and hearsay from the locals, hinting at hidden dangers and unwritten threats. Though even with knowledge of the mission''s condition expanding, it still appeared quite reasonable, although it was rapidly closing into non-acceptance territory. Once we met with the lord, it became clear that this mission would not be as it presented; it sounded too good and, as they say, such things are often the yarns spun by bards.¡±

    Joras! Joras! I¡¯m sorry for telling you to shut up, stop the spell¡­ My poor head hurts¡­

    ¡°Once the meeting with the lord of Plainshold concluded, Lauren provided further information by sharing with us her relationship with Merciferus and how the Goddess had told her to stay away. With this final piece, we held a vote within the group to determine where to go from there. Deciding we couldn''t let another group take our place, our group settled on joining the mission, with the stipulation that we do not attack unless attacked. And to our surprise, no one we met attacked until we met you. The guard goblins followed us, I assume, to keep an eye on us and step in should we attack. The lord mentioned part of the reason for the mission being to keep you from feasting on the tribe and growing, but that appears to be profoundly incorrect information.¡±

    Stop snickering, you jerk! I¡¯m gonna do so many evil things to you, Joras! I¡¯m gonna reposition your furniture a bit so you stub your toe! I¡¯m gonna hide the tools you only use sometimes so you can¡¯t find them when you need them! I¡¯m gonna knock on your door without being gentle! And worst of all, I¡¯m gonna tell on you to Lily!

    With a threat of that magnitude, the pressure of the magic fades as Joras stops the spell. Oh, sweet relief. What an awful and cruel spell that is¡­ Big Guy seems to wonder what¡¯s going on, but just shrugs and continues for a bit.

    ¡°Urel erilan, urel lebendi. [Stay smart, stay alive.]¡± I¡¯m sure he said something useful, but I couldn¡¯t pay attention to any of it with Joras launching a mental attack like that¡­

    To my surprise, the headache disappears completely and I¡¯m fine. That is a clear lesson in the dangers of utility spells, if I¡¯ve ever seen one. Another reminder of how unprepared I am¡­

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Kira. The spell itself can¡¯t cause any harm, it just hurts. It can be used as a weapon, but you risk the wrath of the Gods if you intentionally use utility spells as weapons.¡±

    They should¡¯ve interfered on my behalf to stop Joras¡­ And why didn¡¯t Raya help me? She has attacked Joras on my behalf before.

    ¡°I knew that it wasn¡¯t dangerous.¡± Oh, did you now? You know what else isn¡¯t dangerous, Raya? LICKS!

    ¡°Gross! Why am I the only one being punished?!¡±

    ¡°Fun good. Make sad not so sad.¡±

    He spoke his wise words with a smile, but his face now carries a solemn expression. I wonder what he¡¯s thinking¡­ And it just occurred to me that I am curious about what Lauren is thinking too. She¡¯s been so quiet that I forgot about her.

    She¡¯s just looking at the ground as she stands at Joras¡¯ side. I have never seen anyone look as defeated as her, geez¡­

    Giving Joras a nudge, I ask what he thinks of her situation and what we should do. I still don¡¯t know what the smart thing to do is. I may be a bit biased on account of how we met¡­

    He goes on a rant about how helpful and kind she¡¯s been, helping everyone she can get near while working herself ragged.

    And it turns out she¡¯s an extraordinary healer, capable of healing old injuries so many of the people here have had permanent injuries undone. Geez, that seems incredible¡­

    I wonder if she can heal my wing, so I try unfolding it. As soon as she notices my wounded wing, she rushes to it and starts healing. I think I might have scared her a bit too much¡­

    ¡°In conclusion, I think we should help her reach a safe town once she¡¯s ready to leave, but for now, she needs support. Much like Tuiran, she has lost a lot and needs time to grieve.¡±

    A warmth fills me as I settle on taking ''death'' out of the options for what to do with her. I¡¯m gonna have to explore these weird sensations at some point, but not now. As it turns out, Joras has more to say.

    ¡°Kira, how are you feeling? Are you experiencing any new emotions?¡± No, why does everyone keep asking me how I¡¯m feeling?! I¡¯m fine!

    Enough about how I''m feeling, it''s time for a subject that isn¡¯t me. Tell me about how much damage these jerks did to the town.

    ¡°The adventurers didn¡¯t really do any damage to the buildings, but there¡¯s significant damage to some buildings in the northwestern districts and a lot of damaged roads.¡±

    ¡­ Moving on¡­ I just noticed that Lauren has moved back to Joras¡¯ side and she¡¯s sort of hiding from my sight.

    I don¡¯t blame her, I may have gone a bit too far with that fighter friend of hers. Instead, I fold and unfold my wing a few times, and it feels great. She really is a good healer.

    Now I¡¯m curious why such a good healer isn¡¯t just living a life of leisure in some big city, healing nobles and kings. That seems like a much safer life than this adventuring business. Or maybe it isn¡¯t¡­ Geez, that¡¯s a scary thought.

    Thinking about scary thoughts, I wonder where Cranky is¡­ Raya is looking mighty red as I ask about Cranky, and now I wanna know more.

    ¡°Neithro left. Raya offered Neithro a bed at her place-¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell her! It¡¯s embarrassing!¡±

    ¡°but he had to crawl to get into her home-¡±

    ¡°Shhhh! Shut up, Joras!¡±

    ¡°And then she had the brilliant idea to hit him over the head with a broom and shout ¡®Kneel before me, human!'' I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen anyone storm off in such a huff before.¡±

    ¡°Stop laughing, Kira! It¡¯s not funny!¡±

    Geez, my stomach hurts, but I can¡¯t stop laughing. To think Lord of the Titles got bonked by Raya! He has got to be so cranky after that.

    My goodness, I wish I had seen that¡­ That has to qualify as using his speaky spell as a weapon.

    We might have to keep Raya away from guests, otherwise she might start an international incident.

    Since we can''t make fun of Raya all day, I pull myself together and bring up the subject of funerals. A quick question later and Joras informs me that they''re being held outside the northern gate. Apparently, they''re intending to do something similar to what we did for Charo.

    Raya is the first to move and soon all of us head there. I wonder if Lauren is okay to join us, I could imagine it being overwhelming for her to not only see the impact of what her friends did, but also the reason they¡¯re dead.

    Maybe she needs some good news. Nudging Joras for a speaky spell, he gets ready for it, but I wanna make sure she¡¯s up for it, so I have him ask her. A very soft nod later and Joras casts his spell.

    She doesn¡¯t say anything, so I just tell her that Kaldren says hello and he¡¯s happy to hear she¡¯s alive. For a moment, that seems to bring some color to her cheeks, but then she frowns again.

    ¡°Did you kill him? Is that why you¡¯re telling me?¡±

    Geez¡­ No! He didn¡¯t do anything, and I don¡¯t just kill everyone I meet! What the hell, lady¡­ I told you so you would know you¡¯re not alone¡­ Being lonely is awful¡­ And being lonely and scared is worse.

    ¡°What does it matter¡­ It¡¯s clear that I won¡¯t survive this¡­¡±

    ¡°Du themar ti urok nuia henari. [The dragon is not that evil.]¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t see what I saw¡­ These burns on my skin are because of that thing¡¯s cruelty! And what it did to Kello, that was amusement to that fucking thing!¡±

    That is a fair point, and I did do that to hurt her. I¡¯m not gonna apologize for it, but I can promise her protection in Tuiran if she continues to not give me reason to go back on my word.

    ¡°As if that means anything¡­¡± Well, this feels pointless. All of a sudden, I¡¯m reminded of how I treated Joras when we met, and it doesn¡¯t feel great to be in his shoes.

    Well, we¡¯ll see how it goes. At least she has something to think about. I''m not gonna push the subject, and most of the trip to the northern gate is spent in silence. I don¡¯t really mind.

    As soon as we pass through the gates, I see rows of funeral pyres, eight pyres in all. They¡¯re quite large, but not numerous enough to hold all the dead. I guess they have to share, but I get the impression that the families are fine with that.

    The whole thing is really quite beautiful, and if I had to guess, I¡¯d say all of Tuiran is here to help out, setting up tables with food and altars for those lost.

    The pyres seem to be raised platforms with firewood stacked underneath. Each of them has its own unique decorations. People are lining up to add their own touches to the pyres. Looking at the closest pyre, it''s decorated with flowers, woven cloth, and there are even some wooden toys.

    I find myself wondering how many of them I knew personally, and it becomes very clear that the answer is ¡®at least one.'' My earlier suspicions are confirmed when an older lady comes up to me and presents a familiar helmet.

    ¡°He was so proud to have fought and made friends with you, so please accept his helmet to remember him by.¡±

 Chapter 21: Last Rites

    I don¡¯t actually have anywhere to store a helmet like that, but I do want to accept it. Reliable as always, Raya steps up and accepts it on my behalf and I nudge the old lady. I don¡¯t even know Melty¡¯s real name.

    I point that out and she chuckles. ¡°His name was Miraen, but after he heard you call him Melty, he made that his name. He never missed a chance to tell everyone how the Guardian Dragon had given him a new name. So Melty became his real name.¡±

    I didn¡¯t realize how much it meant to him¡­ We barely met more than a few times.

    It¡¯s becoming clear to me that I¡¯ve been too flippant about this whole situation and I need to do more. Tuiran and its people are mine.

    I need to figure out how to become more trouble than I¡¯m worth to these adventurers. I can¡¯t risk a repeat of what happened here.

    I can¡¯t put these things off any longer, I need to go to the mountain and recover what wealth I have there, and then I¡¯ll move in here properly.

    First though, I¡¯ll need to sort out my injuries, I¡¯d rather not fight one of those bearstards while injured. To begin with, I¡¯ll need to find out how much magic I have and whether I can heal myself or not.

    I¡¯m thoroughly surprised when the rain is back and it¡¯s a downpour. What the hell is going on with that¡­ Regardless of what that nonsense is, I can feel the power radiating from my source of magic.

    It¡¯s clear to me that I will have enough magic to heal myself soon, but not just yet. If I force Lauren to heal me some more, it could be enough to recover completely¡­ Having a healer bound to the town would be incredibly useful.

    And they did come here on their own, so what harm is done by throwing a little cruelty their way. If anything, it will only help make things right.

    That line of thought is abruptly interrupted by a strike to my face.

    ¡°Dragon. You not bad.¡± What the hell! Why did Big Guy hit me?! If he¡¯s gonna volunteer to feed me, then maybe I¡¯ll take him up on his offer.

    ¡°Kira, please calm down.¡± I am calm, Raya! I haven¡¯t done anything to suggest I¡¯m not!

    ¡°Look down, Kira. Tell me that what you¡¯re doing is being calm.¡±

    I do as she says and find the healer pinned to the ground under my claws. When did that happen¡­ Lifting my hand, she scurries away from me. Big Guy is quick to help her up as I take a step back.

    I may have some pent-up feelings I need to deal with... though I don¡¯t think I can be blamed for being upset with her after this whole situation.

    And screw her for being upset with me, they weren¡¯t invited here, and who would even invite someone to murder a bunch of people?!

    ¡°Kira¡­¡± I know, Raya! I know¡­ It¡¯s just hard not to react when it¡¯s so plain to see that they wouldn¡¯t have stopped¡­

    I¡¯ll focus on this funeral business for now. That ought to keep my mind off¡­ There¡¯s no way that¡¯ll keep my mind off the adventurers¡­

    Well, if I have to deal with this, then so do the guilty. All of the adventurers will have to attend this funeral to see what they¡¯ve done.

    The sounds of shuffling feet bring my attention back to the crowds. The people of Tuiran have started gathering around the pyres, and I hear fragments of conversation, laughter, and crying. Seems they¡¯re sharing stories about their loved ones.

    This isn¡¯t helping me keep my emotions under control... The bits and pieces I hear make it clear just how much was taken and how much could have been lost.

    Hearing about their lives, their experiences, and how their friends and families will miss them hurts. For a moment, I feel like a hypocrite for wanting to end any possibility of this event repeating itself, but I don''t know how to deal with adventurers other than by force.

    I will need to consult Neithro and Wreyn to figure out how to handle this. Maybe ask them if I can become stronger because they seem to have that figured out.

    My train of thought is suddenly derailed as someone I haven¡¯t seen in quite some time appears. Turo is approaching with a confident but cautious gait.

    ¡°Lady Kira, Guardian Dragon, the first pyre is ready for you. I ask that you, should you deem our people worthy, send them to the next life with your warmth and your blessing.¡±

    It''s clear that he''s afraid of me, but I give him a nod, and he leads the way. As I approach the pyre, the people gathered around it turn and approach me. Feeling a hand on me, a small surge of magic flows into me, and the old lady who touched me faints.

    ¡°Mirasi has given her magic to the Guardian Dragon, so it may be given to her son! His life was cut short in our world, but his soul will travel beyond our world into the next, and he will live a long and blessed life!"

    That procedure repeats itself several more times, and I¡¯m starting to wonder what kind of ritual I started... I don¡¯t have time to consider the ramifications of that, though, because Turo has just finished his little speech for the fifth person.

    ¡°Should they be worthy, Guardian Dragon, let them feel your warm embrace!¡± I genuinely have no idea what metric is used to gauge whether someone is worthy, so I¡¯ll make up my own. They are worthy because I say so.

    Unleashing my flames, the crowd cheers, shouting wishes of fortune to the spirits of the departed as my fire consumes the dead. The sight of the dancing yellow flames is quite beautiful.

    Turo and I move from pyre to pyre, repeating the process. The reactions are always the same: cheers and shouts. Well, if those gods won¡¯t bless them, then I will. They¡¯re the worthiest people I¡¯ve ever met.

    It¡¯s well into the night by the time Turo and I finish up the ritual, and those who gave their magic are resting on makeshift beds by the palisades. Everyone else seems content to just watch the flames and talk among themselves.

    Having done my part, I¡¯m once again unsure of what to do with myself, but at least I know I¡¯ve brought some comfort to my people.

    Nighttime is quick to arrive as the crowd thins. And soon enough, there are barely a hundred people gathered around the pyres, partaking in the remaining food available and just sharing stories.

    Realizing I¡¯ve forgotten someone, I glance over at Lauren and find her shedding a few tears. Joras is leaning down, and it looks like he¡¯s whispering to her.

    At least that suggests she isn¡¯t completely heartless toward non-humans.

    Big Guy is standing next to her like a stoic rock. He¡¯s probably got some deep thoughts going on in that crowded head of his. I still haven¡¯t seen his friends around¡­

    I think I¡¯ll go ask him what they¡¯re up to, since it seems odd to not have seen them at all.

    ¡°Rest. Almost dead, drink now.¡± Yeah, that makes sense, I¡¯d probably want a drink too if I saw my buddy tail-swiped through the air and the mighty dragon who did it setting her sights on them.

    Glancing at Lauren, I find myself curious how she¡¯s holding up. Giving Joras a nudge, I give him a questioning look.

    ¡°You have to remember, Kira, she didn¡¯t want to come here. It¡¯s easy to think of her as a cruel attacker, but she did try to stop her friends. And seeing a funeral held for others, but not for her people is going to hurt.¡±

    I think the archer¡¯s body can still be found, so maybe we can let her bury him, but the fighter is¡­ unrecoverable¡­

    I suggest they find him and do their own little thing, but as Joras tells her, she glares at me with venomous eyes. Well, she¡¯s free to leave whenever she wants to, my people have already been healed, and that was the extent of my caring about her.

    I tell Joras that I¡¯m fine with her leaving, and they can just decide what to do with her on their own. Instead of dwelling on that, I¡¯m gonna make a dwelling.

    Since my wing is healed and ready to go, I can just fly back to the square! Getting there will take no time at all.

    Landing a little harder than intended, the stones of the street unsettle, and I start digging. As it turns out, the ground is no match for my mighty claws. The soil sticks to my claws, though, so I¡¯m having to clean them fairly often.

    This is a pretty good time for some healing. Pushing magic into my wounds, the pain is quick to hit, but I can manage. Since I¡¯m just digging here, I don¡¯t have to heal quickly. Digging deeper, I give the walls a few puffs of flame to create a hardened layer, it¡¯s pretty clear that this is almost all clay.

    As soon as I hit a comfortable depth, I turn slightly upward. I should be able to prevent flooding by having a small pit for water to gather, but I think the clay may work against me on that.

    I¡¯m gonna try anyway. The whole process is a lot of back and forth, as I have to bring the clay I dig out up to the surface.

    The sun is appearing as my tunnel is complete, but I still need to dig out a main room for my hoard. The whole process is time-consuming, but as soon as daytime arrives, I start finding goblins in my den.

    As I¡¯m wondering what they¡¯re doing, I realize they¡¯re carrying clay up to the surface. Helpful little bunch.

    With them carrying at a reasonable pace, I can focus on digging and heating. And soon I¡¯ll have a really nice room.

    ¡°Maybe I should have you dig a home for me.¡± Joras is here! And he''s able to stand upright with room to spare¡­ How big did I make this place?

    Now that I get a good look at him, he does seem smaller, but I¡¯m pretty sure elves don¡¯t shrink, which means¡­ Dang it! I¡¯ve grown. I didn¡¯t want to get bigger¡­

    Giving him a-

    ¡°No, you¡¯re covered in dirt, Kira. My clothes are clean and I¡¯d like them to stay that way.¡±

    Okay, posing a direct question, I inquire about the growth damage done, and he gives me a smile in return.

    ¡°I¡¯d say about half a murak taller at your shoulder, you also seem longer, but I¡¯m not sure by how much.¡± Geez, half a meter (1.6 ft), that¡¯s a lot of growth¡­ Maybe it means more strength, though. I¡¯ll have to find out.

    Maybe Neithro is willing to test me, I¡¯d like to have some idea of how powerful I am and how afraid of the people in this world I should be.

    I need to make time for a visit and bring Raya along, she needs to apologize for being a meanie to him.

    Inspecting my new den, it¡¯s coming along well, and it looks good. Some of the goblins are bringing down wood and building scaffolding, I¡¯m pretty sure I didn¡¯t ask for that. They¡¯re even setting up some mushroom lanterns.

    I feel like my little project here has been taken over, but if I get to slack, maybe it¡¯s for the best. Joras might know if they¡¯ve got everything covered because I have other things to do today.

    ¡°They should, goblins are native to the underground, so they¡¯re likely naturally skilled when it comes to burrowing.¡±

    Huh, I didn¡¯t know that, but that seems very useful. Are dragons native underground? Because I feel like I did very well when I started digging.

    ¡°No, you just have large claws, which happen to work well for digging.¡±

    Well, that¡¯s good enough. At least I¡¯m comfortable down here, so it¡¯ll make for a very nice home.

    Climbing back out, the first thing I see is a very large pile of clay. I hope some pottery person can make use of it instead of us having to move all of that out of town.

    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    That¡¯s an issue for later, for now, I need to¡­ Dang it! I should¡¯ve left my money down there before going back up.

    Heading back down, it¡¯s clear that I hit a very comfortable slope angle on the entry, and I¡¯m just gonna pat myself on the back for that. Entering the chamber, there¡¯s less space than I expected. I¡¯d wager it¡¯s because of all that scaffolding.

    These guys are really quick to put that up and now they¡¯re smoothing out the walls. Don¡¯t get distracted, Kira, you¡¯re here to drop off your money and head out to be responsible.

    To begin my new hoard, I carve out a small indent in the center of the floor and regurgitate my money into it. I¡¯m surprisingly confident that no one here will run off with any.

    It¡¯s not much, but it¡¯s mine. And now I need to get the rest of mine. Exiting my den again, I take off, it¡¯s mountain time. In a perfect world, I don¡¯t encounter any frostclaws, but I¡¯ll just stay alert and not get caught off guard again.

    With my newfound speedy flight abilities, I cautiously speed up as I fly up toward the top of the mountain. I¡¯m reasonably confident I can find my old cave again.

    During my flight, it becomes clear that the snow cover hangs lower on the mountain than I¡¯ve ever seen before, and now I suspect winter is on its way. That could be bad with how much firewood Tuiran spent yesterday¡­

    The cold winds feel like they¡¯re biting at me as I ascend. I was confident my natural resistance to cold would keep up, but it seems like this is too much. Instead of being a knucklehead, I choose to slow down a bit, and the wind resistance eases up.

    That¡¯s much better. Seems like another good thing to learn, I¡¯m not immune to cold. Which seems obvious now that I think about it, Frosty used his cold attack on me¡­ Way to go, Kira, you solved another mystery... Shush, me.

    With the snow reaching further down, does the wildlife move with it? I¡¯m gonna find out! Changing course and flying around the mountain, I reach the flat area in not much time. To my surprise, the wildlife is more spread out.

    Well, that seems interesting. It would probably be even more interesting if I had something to compare it to, but I don¡¯t really know anything about the migration habits of goats and deer and what have you. I do wonder how far down the mountain they go.

    Tempted as I am to grab one, I¡¯m gonna leave them alone. I¡¯ve got stuff to do and that stuff is getting my money back! Flying up once more, I go for faster travel. Turning my head, I take a peek over my shoulder and the view is something else.

    Oakhold and Tuiran are plain to see, and following the roads south and east, I think I spot the grove I camped out in. A good lesson is to focus on flight instead of pesky thoughts and overwhelming feelings.

    On the topic of paying attention, I¡¯m gonna do just that, instead of ending up crashing into the mountain. I¡¯ve done enough crashing for one lifetime. This whole mountaintop area is just my cave, some flat, snow-covered area, and a steep cliff. Plenty of space to move around, so it really is a nice place.

    Closing in on where I think my old cave is, a rancid stench hits me right in the nose, making me flinch. Geez, that¡¯s vile! I guess that settles it, rot does happen in this cold environment.

    Well, that adds another reason why I should move to Tuiran. I don¡¯t want to share a dwelling with a rotting bear carcass. At least I know I¡¯m in the right area.

    Following the intensifying stench, I find the opening to the cave, and this time, I¡¯m gonna be smart about it! I¡¯m not gonna just head inside and get trapped, I¡¯m gonna scout the area first and then head inside slowly.

    There aren¡¯t any animals in this area at all. No tracks or anything, and it¡¯s kinda weird. I¡¯m quite sure Frostclaws leave tracks, but as far as I can see, no new bears have moved in. That¡¯s good.

    As I land outside the cave, it becomes extremely clear that the corpse of Frosty is still in there. I¡¯ll just leave it alone and abscond with my loot.

    Peeking my head into the cave opening, I see Frosty¡¯s corpse and¡­ it moves¡­ well, that¡¯s not right. Dead and headless bears moving is not right!

    Watching it move certainly startled me, but luckily, I¡¯m brought out of my startled state as the damn thing starts charging at me. What the hell! How can it even see me?!

    Rushing away from the cave, the bear corpse keeps chasing me, but this time, I¡¯m faster! Hah! I¡¯ve grown, you bastard!

    And I can fly, so aerial assaults are just what the dragon ordered! Swooping around, the lumbering oaf swipes at me, but I¡¯m not even close to it. I have no idea what¡¯s going on that hea- Right¡­ No head¡­

    Focusing on the fight, I go in for another swoop and unleash my flames. From the looks of it, it seems to be working! The bear has caught fire and¡­ it doesn¡¯t seem to care. Good job, Kira, you¡¯ve successfully added another element to its arsenal! Well done!

    Okay, that was admittedly a bit unexpected. I had hoped that I could just burn it and kill it, but now I¡¯ve just made a fiery frostclaw corpse.

    Do I wait it out and hope it keeps burning away, or do I go for direct combat to rip it apart¡­ I¡¯m gonna go for another swoop and fan the flames. Well, blow another plume of flame at it is more accurate.

    Continuing my assault with billows of flame, the bear barely slows down. How is it so indifferent to my mighty dragonflames?! That¡¯s so rude!

    The more I try to burn it away, the more it looks like I¡¯ll need to get up close and personal¡­ But that¡¯s where this thing has its advantage¡­

    Okay, option one: I go in and try to rip it apart before it rips me apart. Doesn¡¯t sound fun, but I think I can do it.

    Option two: I keep trying to burn it, not knowing how long that¡¯ll take, if it even works.

    Or¡­ There¡¯s also option three. We are on a mountain, and I doubt this thing will perform as well as I would if we were to go vertical.

    Decisions, decisions. If I do try to throw it off the mountain, I¡¯ll need to retrieve my money quickly and follow it. If it manages to survive, I¡¯d have to go with option two to prevent it from rampaging through the countryside.

    I wouldn¡¯t feel great if this thing ended up killing a bunch of people.

    With a final flaming swoop, I land a safe distance away from the bear, between it and the cave, watching as it starts really going for me. Now that I¡¯m on the ground, it seems very interested in me compared to when I flew.

    Seeing it begin its charge, I begin running away from it. We¡¯re getting closer and closer to the edge of the mountain, and I can hear ice crack under my feet. I¡¯m gonna have to be careful now, a tumble down the cliffside can still very much hurt me.

    As we progress along the edge, the bear is doing a remarkably good job of keeping a safe distance. How is this thing thinking about that? It has no head! Can I just tail-swipe it off the mountain?

    I might be able to, but if it grabs my tail when it falls, I¡¯m screwed¡­ So my flames aren¡¯t working, I can¡¯t tail swipe, and it¡¯s not interested in falling¡­ Dang it. As things look, I might have to actually fight this dang thing.

    I don¡¯t want to get closer to it, it¡¯s gross! Just to make sure, I swing my tail towards it a few times, but every time, it fixates on my tail. It would definitely grab hold and pull me down¡­

    Okay, time to make up my mind about this. I need to take it out so it doesn¡¯t hurt anyone else. This thing was my mistake, so I need to be responsible for cleaning it up.

    The most dangerous things about the bear are those giant paws, so disabling them would go a long way toward my not dying. I think I¡¯ve got a plan.

    Taking flight again, I create some distance between the two of us and turn around. I¡¯m gonna fly fast and hard and use my bladed tail to chop off one of the bear¡¯s arms. Now that I¡¯m not so focused on falling, I don¡¯t feel like I have to worry so much about it grabbing me.

    In a direct fight, I have enough flexibility to attack it anywhere, but it¡¯s quick to sidestep and dodge, it isn¡¯t great at chasing, though.

    To my surprise, I¡¯m already feeling a thrill at my decision to fight this thing head-on. In preparation for this fight, I empower my scales, teeth, and claws. I need to make sure I¡¯m ready for this thing.

    Diving towards the beast, I perform my handstand-into-tail-swipe and this thing is fast! I execute my move almost perfectly, the only flaw is that the dang bear dodged my tail! Annoying clever bear¡­

    I¡¯m not done, though! Following up on my first attack, I use the momentum of my landing to continue swirling around, striking at the bear with my head. Managing to bite down on the bear''s left arm, I clamp my jaws shut, latching onto it.

    As soon as I do, the right arm moves to swipe at me, and I bite down harder. My teeth dig deep into the rotting flesh. I¡¯m very surprised to find that the bear is very tasty. How is it this delicious?! It looks so bad and unhealthy.

    I don¡¯t have time for contemplating the juicy nature of a dead bear, I need to deal with the swipe coming my way. Whether I dodge or block, I¡¯ll need to act. Keeping my grip on the bear¡¯s arm, I push my body forward to block the swipe.

    That doesn¡¯t quite work out, the swipe gets blocked as planned, but it appears this corpse is very keen on odd tricks. Instead of just swiping, it also pushes its entire body forward. The freakin¡¯ thing is using its ribs as a weapon! Using a gaping hole in your chest as a weapon is both unfair and frighteningly clever¡­

    I can¡¯t take my time with this thing, I need to get away. Forcing myself away from the ribs, I feel a slash in my side. The damn thing followed up with another swipe, and it can penetrate my empowered scales!

    I can¡¯t afford the magic to heal my wound entirely, so I just stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, that reveals something far worse. This isn¡¯t just a frostclaw anymore, it has something else going on. There¡¯s something in my wound, and it feels very wrong. Like it doesn¡¯t belong in this world.

    Whatever it is, it resists my magic and one thing I¡¯m sure of is that I absolutely cannot let that build up. Great, another limitation for me in this stupid fight¡­ Now I wanna kill it for being so difficult.

    Keeping my mouth clamped on the bear¡¯s arm, I rip myself away from it, I need some distance to prevent it from hitting me with more of that weird stuff. In a stroke of luck, I manage to tear away most of the muscles from the bear¡¯s arm, but that doesn¡¯t seem to slow it down much¡­

    Having distanced myself from the corpse bear a bit, I rush to get flying. I need to be safe for a bit to give me some time to think¡­

    Okay¡­ So summary of the fight so far, I can¡¯t burn it, I can¡¯t tail swipe it, and if I get close, I might get impaled by ribs or poisoned or whatever is going on with this buildup¡­ That¡¯s so freakin¡¯ unfair! The only way I see forward is landing on its back and ripping it to shreds.

    Flying around the thing, it tracks me with remarkable accuracy and I have no idea how it¡¯s doing it, it doesn¡¯t have any eyes!

    Time to think. Fire, claws, tail, flight, and my teeth. These are my weapons, how can I use them¡­ Fire¡¯s options are obvious, but this thing is resistant somehow. Then we have my claws, but getting close is troublesome.

    It somehow dodged my tail, but I should add that to the list of options, trying just once is giving up too soon. And flight keeps me safe, but also works to make other things stronger. And finally teeth, well, they¡¯re like claws, but better at clamping and chomping.

    Keeping an eye on the bear as I think about what to do, I notice a limp. That¡¯s what you get, bear. Fear my teeth of ripping!

    Unless it isn¡¯t just my teeth¡­ Ooh¡­ This requires testing! This could be the best thing ever! If I manage to pull this off, I¡¯m gonna tell Joras to stop his campaign to make me stop licking folks!

    Working up some saliva, I prepare to swoop down for a bite. Not sure how I¡¯m gonna pull it off, but I will need to focus on using my superior reach. And I¡¯ll try another tail swipe as well, it could work.

    Geez, this is getting my heart pounding. I feel like a very bad match against this opponent. Okay, time to focus, Kira. First, I¡¯ll fly further away to get some good speed for my swipe.

    Even as I fly away, the dang thing tries to follow, but it refuses to just walk off the edge. Not much I can do about that. It¡¯s time for my attack. Launching myself into a dive, I aim for the ground in front of the bear and prepare.

    I¡¯m a little cautious in terms of speed, crashing will do that to you, but I¡¯m still well within power swipe territory. With remarkable precision, I pull off my power tail swipe again, and this time!¡­ It dodges again. HOW?!

    Biting it is. My mouth is full of saliva, and my momentum forces me to face the beast. Opening my mouth to bite, I accidentally spray it as well. Not what I planned, but it works. I bite down on its right arm and rip. I hope this works because that would be awesome.

    Tearing away some flesh, I disengage from the bear again, rushing to a safe distance and watch. It looks like my saliva is working to slow it down, but only where I bit. From the looks of it, my accidental spray didn¡¯t do anything.

    Well, that¡¯s still very useful information. And now both of its arms are weakened. Point for Kira! With the arms being less grabby, that gives me more options.

    Oh! Great idea that I totally thought of myself and isn¡¯t the same strategy used by those annoying wolves! If I attack its ankles, I can immobilize it. I bet Raya would be proud.

    Moving closer, I maintain a safe distance and prepare to bite at the ankles of its hind legs, and it does not want to cooperate. It just keeps focusing on my head, so I¡¯ll need a distraction, which my tail will do wonders for. Time to choose, bear! Get hit or get bit!

    Turns out it chooses ¡®get hit¡¯ a lot, which is kinda inconvenient. I really wanted to immobilize it with my awesome venom, but it just keeps facing my head, refusing to allow me the satisfaction of ankle chomping.

    I¡¯m tired of all this thinking. This corpse keeps coming up with nonsense to counter my clever ideas, and I don¡¯t like it. I¡¯m just gonna keep it simple and tear the flesh from its arms by striking and thrashing. It might be a slow approach, but I can strike quickly, and since I¡¯ve slowed it down some, it should be safe.

    It seems to be working, and as I strike, I also lash out with my tail, aiming my bladed tip at the bear¡¯s hind legs. The cuts are amassing, and there isn¡¯t much flesh left on its arms. So how can it keep moving its arms¡­

    Oh¡­ Well, great! Just great! I¡¯m creating a skeleton bear. That¡¯s just terrific because venom and poison work so well on skeletons. I already know I¡¯d struggle to crush those bones, so I need something else to damage them.

    Back to square two, I guess¡­ Throwing this thing off the mountain. If my tumble into the trees has taught me anything, it¡¯s that sufficient blunt force really hurts and breaks bones.

    I¡¯ve managed to make some headway with my tail, and the bear is slowing down significantly, so now I just need to get it flying. I feel like I¡¯ve danced around it enough for it to not be able to react to me as quickly, but I¡¯ll need to find out. Taking flight again, I soar around, and it does indeed appear slower.

    Going in for a swoop, it rears up and swipes, but I knew that was coming, so dodging is easy. Following the swipe, it loses balance and has to readjust, which is just the opportunity I need. Aiming for its back, I dig my claws in and take off¡­ I dig my claws in and geez, this thing is heavy.

    Pushing more magic into my wings, I try taking off again, but it does not want to be lifted. This bear just keeps being so frustrating, why won¡¯t it just let me kill it?! For now, I let go of the bear and fly away from it again.

    Giving it a quick study, it becomes clear why it''s so heavy... The freakin¡¯ thing froze itself to the ground. Grr! Screw you, bear! No more clever ideas and plans, it¡¯s time to just be a blunt instrument. Focusing magic into my wings, I pick up speed as I soar in a large circle around this bearstard.

    I¡¯m keeping a much slower speed than when I approached Tuiran, but I need to be faster than it reacts. Setting my sights on the bear, I dive towards it, going for a shallow but speedy soar. The bear prepares as it seems to know what I¡¯m doing.

    Reaching the bear, I perform my power swipe again, but I dig my claws in late and my tail won¡¯t hit the bear. On purpose, you bearstard! Haha! Prepare to face my butt!

    I¡¯m a dragon of considerable weight, and if you add in my speed, my butt quickly turns into a deadly weapon. Just ask the bear I just knocked off the mountain. I did it! I actually did it! And it really hurt!

    Now I just need to recover my tiny hoard and then return home to heal up, because I feel beaten up. Using my magic, I feel for my wounds and my hip isn¡¯t doing great, neither is my thigh or my whatever rib muscles are called.

    I¡¯m gonna give myself a pat on the back, making sure to stop my bleeding whenever I took a hit was smart. I still need to do something about that bear poison though. I¡¯m gonna count on Joras helping me with that.

    The damage I¡¯ve sustained is apparent, and now I¡¯m the one limping. I won, though, so it was worth it. Looking around, it''s clear that I''ve spent too long on this mountain and it¡¯s getting late, so I really need to get this done and return home.

    Finding the cave again proves surprisingly easy, the bear left a trail of nastiness leading out of it, so just follow the smell. As I enter the cave, it all just looks the same: stalactites, stalagmites, and rock. My tiny pile of coins is still there, fortunately.

    Picking the coins up, I swallow them and head out. No detours today, just straight home to my Tuiran cave.

 Chapter 22: Small Distractions

    Okay, one detour. I need to make sure Frosty re-died from the fall or take responsibility if it somehow survived. Descending the mountain is uneventful, but it turns out that when you pay attention, you see all sorts of things, like the caves dotting the mountainside!

    Not now, Kira. Finding the bear comes first, and spelunking can happen some other time. Refocusing my attention, I keep an eye out for any signs of bear splatter, but so far, I¡¯m not seeing any.

    Tonight is quite cloudy, which means I won¡¯t have all the time in the world to find Frosty. Picking up speed, I continue down along the rough trajectory I assume it fell at, but even the smell is gone. I can¡¯t possibly have knocked it so far away that it didn¡¯t even hit the mountain, can I?

    Who knows, I¡¯ll have to find out.

    It isn¡¯t until the cliffside levels out that I find my first trace of Frosty, and we¡¯re about halfway down the mountain at this point. So it¡¯s pretty great that I found signs of Frosty, not so great that I only found signs of Frosty¡­

    Did the freakin¡¯ thing survive that drop?! Approaching the landing zone, it becomes clear that either it dragged itself away, or something else did. I¡¯m gonna need a moment to decide which is worse¡­

    Okay, got it. If something else dragged it away, it was most likely just a scavenger, so that¡¯s okay, I can deal with scavengers. Probably.

    Following the trail, it doesn¡¯t take long before I arrive at another drop, the trail just continues right off this ledge. Maybe the third option was that it rolled down. Continuing to track the thing, I follow it over the edge and descend further down the mountain.

    I might have to hurry up because it''s getting dark, and I want to go home.

    Lucky for me, it turns out it¡¯s far easier to track the bear on this cliffside, it has left gory marks along the path it took. How very considerate of it, and that pretty much rules out a scavenger, I think. So that¡¯s positive news I made up!

    Arriving at another ledge, the splat trail stops abruptly, but the smell is still strong. Frosty has to be somewhere around here. There are some crevices, but they look too narrow for an entire most of a bear to fall into.

    If I want to find this thing, I can¡¯t keep flying over the ledge. It''s pretty clear that my wings are spreading the scent too much.

    Landing with a thump, the smell of decay fills the air and it is potent. It''s quite obvious that I¡¯m in the right place. The lovely odor of the bear- No! I refuse to like it! The horrid stench of the carcass permeates the air, giving away its position as I close in on one specific crevice.

    Nearing the crack, it becomes obvious why I couldn¡¯t see it from the air. The bear is wedged into a gap slightly larger than itself. With great care, I reach my head just enough to bite down on a bit of Frosty, I should be able to get it out. Wary of my horns getting stuck, I pull my head back slowly.

    If I had to guess, then I''d say Frosty is dead this time. It isn''t moving at all, to my relief. Through gentle efforts, I managed to pull the entire thing out, and I didn''t even get stuck or anything! Point to Kira!

    Giving it a chance to move, I sit by the carcass, practicing my patience. I wanna bring it with me and show it off to Raya and Joras, but I want to make sure it''s dead first. It would not be smart to fly away with a wily corpse. I''m sure they''ll get a kick out of seeing this thing!

    Having waited for at least a long while, I''m confident that it won''t attack. I may also be getting impatient, but mostly the confident thing. Digging my claws into the soft flesh of Frosty, I spread my wings and take off, which turns out to be a heck of a lot easier than earlier.

    Frosty still has some weight to it, but now that it isn''t frozen to the ground, it''s a lot lighter.

    With my course set for Tuiran, a sense of pride overcomes me at having defeated Frosty twice. I''m pretty sure I did very well both times, even if the first time was more of an ''accidental'' victory.

    With a glance down to make sure Frosty''s doing okay, I notice it''s dripping a bit. I should probably be mindful of that, so I don''t drip any Frosty on someone''s house. That would be quite inconsiderate. I wouldn''t want someone to drop a chunk of bear on my home. I should probably leave Frosty outside...

    Approaching my den, I drop off Frosty near my entrance as I land. I''ll just grab a few bites before heading down for a snooze. I might have to look into hunting more frostclaws if they¡¯re this tasty, even if Wreyn thinks I should stay away from them.

    Entering my den, it becomes very clear that the craftsfolk have been very busy. They have evened out and smoothed the clay, making for a quite nice entryway. Floor this smooth feels very nice to walk on. Entering my main room, I can''t help but notice a goblin-sized door by my hoard. I''m about eighty percent sure I didn''t order any doors.

    That''s for tomorrow-Kira to deal with, today-Kira has a hoard to grow! With very little effort, I regurgitate the money I collected from my mountain and add it to my growing hoard. One day it''ll be so big I won''t be able to reach the ends!

    Seeing my little pile of wealth grow like that fills me with a very nice feeling, and it looks quite comfortable. Moving on top of my small hoard, I coil up and get comfortable, letting sleep take me away.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Kira, Kira, please wake up.¡± Ugh¡­ Who dares wake the mighty dragon from her slumber?! With great effort, I manage to force an eye open. I don¡¯t see anyone, that¡¯s weird¡­

    ¡°Kira, may I please be let out?¡± That voice sounds very familiar. Just as I¡¯m thinking it¡¯s too early to deal with anything, I hear voices from outside my den, too. They sound quite worried. Fine, I¡¯ll get up¡­ Stupid curiosity¡­

    Giving the door some room to open, it creaks as Jeannie''s little face appears. Well, would you look at that, I have my first neighbor! It''s nice and all, but I''m a bit curious how she ended up with a room in my new home.

    I want to ask her, but I''m not sure how to do so without making her feel unwelcome, so that''s an obvious topic to postpone. No doubt Raya has something to do with it.

    Unable to hold back a yawn, I turn my head toward the voices coming from outside. I should find out what they''re arguing about. On the other claw, the walls of my den appear to have all sorts of artwork covering them. Geez, these goblins have been busy.

    Beginning at the entrance, I study the wall murals, and they seem to tell the story of how I arrived at Tuiran. From what I can see, the first character to appear is Charo, and how we met outside the gates, so right off the bat, the story is wrong. Raya was the first person I met after hatching.

    It does show how Charo died, and Raya, Joras, and Turo are leading me back to the town. Turo shows up quite a few times, even some I didn''t know about, but he always has his head hanging low. He must really have had a tough time before I showed up. Good thing I''m here now to make everything easier!

    Continuing my studies, it''s clear that Raya is shown as some sort of hero. Geez, I thought all that Dragonbringer stuff was a fun way to tease her, but these guys might be serious about it. And worse! I might have missed her seeing this mural! Oh, she would be so embarrassed! I hope I didn''t miss that.

    ¡°Do you like it? Our people spent all day carving it together. Folks came and went as they added their own touches to it while the carvers worked."

    It''s beautiful, so of course I like it. Jeannie and I move around the room as we look at the artwork, and just enjoy each other''s company in quiet contemplation. There''s a lot of story here that I never knew. It turns out Joras has become more accepted, and he''s shown as what I guess is an important figure now.

    I kinda wanna stay here and go through all of this work, but I have things to do today, like visiting Oakhold and doing that hunting job for Wreyn. I''m a busy dragon!

    The voices outside are getting louder and I don''t particularly feel like dealing with that, so I''m gonna come up with an excuse to stay here. Nudging Jeannie, I inquire about her new residence and whether she''s settling in okay.

    "I think I am, but it''s a little frightening. It was such a relief when Raya told me a new home could be made for me here."

    I knew it! I knew it was Raya! Ooh, she''s in trouble now!

    ¡°Kira, get up here!" Crap, I''m in trouble now.

    Peeking my head out of my den, I see a bunch of familiar faces and some whoever they are. Joras and Raya are the most important people here, but Big Guy and his team are standing around Frosty as well. Even Lauren is there.

    "Where did you find this?¡± Joras doesn¡¯t sound happy at all, but they¡¯re the ones surrounding my snack! Looking at the remains of Frosty, I may have taken more than a couple of bites last night, but that doesn¡¯t mean the rest of it isn¡¯t mine.

    Climbing out of my den, I go to grab the rest of it, and as soon as my jaws close on the bear, I take a few steps back. I don''t want these guys to get any funny ideas.

    ¡°Kira, no! Drop it! Drop it!¡±

    It¡¯s mine, and you can¡¯t have it!

    ¡°Don¡¯t growl at me, Kira. Use your words.¡±

    It¡¯s rude to talk with food in your mouth, so I won¡¯t use my words, so there! I''ll need to be quick if I want my bear to myself! Taking a few large bites, I eat most of it, which quickly elicits a groan from Joras as he covers his face with a hand. That means I win.

    Raya and Big Guy seem to find the whole thing amusing, but Big Guy''s teammates don¡¯t look so good. They should find some food of their own to enjoy.

    ¡°Kira, how about a trade? I get the rest of that, and Lauren heals your wounds.¡±

    That¡¯s a difficult choice... On one claw, less snack, but on the other, Lauren appears to have understood him and doesn¡¯t seem pleased at all.

    Fine¡­ Getting healed is a good idea, that way, I can save some magic for Wreyn¡¯s hunt. And if she can get rid of this poison magic, that¡¯s even better.

    Both Lauren and Joras approach, with Joras taking out his dagger again. He really likes stabbing and cutting people... Luckily, Lauren goes first, but then he also gives me a quick nick in one of the wounds left by the bear. Bringing the blood together, I feel the tingle of his spell.

    I immediately use this opportunity to let Lauren know that she smells worse than Frosty.

    ¡°Are you fucking kidding me?! Joras, tell that BEAST to behave!¡±

    What?! I¡¯m no mere beast, you lousy first aid kit!

    ¡°By the Gods¡­ Lauren, you¡¯re yelling at a child. Kira, stop being such a child¡­¡±

    Yeah, stop yelling at kids, Lauren, that¡¯s not how you behave in public.

    ¡°Leaving that nonsense behind, Kira, what is this, and how did you get wounded like that?¡±

    Using this opportunity, I tell him of my heroic battle against the corpse of a frostclaw and how it attacked me, even though it was dead. Which is a very peculiar thing to do. But I won, and it was a very fun fight.

    To my surprise, Lauren is the one to speak first, I didn¡¯t see that coming.

    ¡°They aren¡¯t supposed to be this far north¡­ I need to ask Rein¡­ We need to inform the local lords of this, precautions must be taken.¡±

    I¡¯m going to Wreyn¡¯s place anyway, so I can tell him. Joras seems to be telling Big Guy to do something, which I assume is to inform some other people about this thing. I don¡¯t know what the big deal is, but it sounds serious. I still wanna know what Frosty was though, so I nudge Lauren, but she just stares at me.

    ¡°That means she wants information about something, no doubt about what the bear is in this case.¡± Well, if she doesn¡¯t understand my obvious request, then I¡¯m thankful for Joras translating it for her.

    ¡°Oh, this thing is undead. Undead are things that died surrounded by a huge amount of ambient magic, which attracts the Corruption. These monsters come in two primary forms, the first being an originator, which this is, and the lesser undead: minions. Originators can spread the undead plague and create the weaker form of undead. Minions are as clever or dumb as the originator is, but without an originator nearby, they¡¯re pathetic, weak, and easy to kill.¡±

    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    Interesting, so about this undead plague¡­ Is it spread through weird magic? And can it be healed?

    ¡°Yes, actually, it is spread through magic injected through the originator¡¯s weapon. For beasts, it¡¯s claws, teeth, and whatever else a beast might naturally use, but in higher beings, their preferred weapons can become tools of evil.¡±

    I don¡¯t like her use of ¡®higher beings,¡¯ but this doesn¡¯t feel like the time to bring that up. And she didn¡¯t answer whether it could be healed or not. I¡¯m just gonna nudge her and point her to my wounds.

    ¡°I can heal the damage, but if you¡¯ve been affected by the corruption, there isn¡¯t anything to do as far as I know. The Corruption¡¯s magic grows and consumes the host. Even a small infection will kill the wounded in a matter of days, turning them into undead as well.¡±

    Okay, so that sounds really bad. Pushing my magic toward my wounds, I take a look at the weird magic, and it hasn''t grown at all. Maybe Lauren doesn''t know as much as she thinks she does.

    I should figure out a way to use that to annoy her! Although she has been mostly willing to heal me and share information, so I guess I should cut her some slack. With my thoughts occupied, I barely notice her healing my wounds, and they close up nicely. It''s still clear where I got hit, and my scales haven''t returned. Dang it! That means I''ll have to recover those on my own, and that hurts...

    ¡°Joras, my recommendation is to kill her before she turns. We can¡¯t risk another Dragon turning into an Originator. I can already feel deep pain and sorrow coming from her.¡±

    Okay, never mind, annoying her it is. And here I was thinking that she was warming up to me by explaining all of this so well. And if she just wants to kill me, then why did she heal me?! Also, I don¡¯t consent to being killed, that sounds like a bad time.

    "Ah! FUCK!"

    ¡°Run, Kira! I won¡¯t let them hurt you!¡±

    Judging by the events unfolding, I¡¯d wager Raya doesn¡¯t consent either, because she just ran up and stabbed Lauren in the leg.

    Don''t you worry, Raya, I don''t plan on letting anyone hurt me. Rather than leaving though, I pin Lauren to the ground while preparing in case any of the other adventurers get any funny ideas. To my relief, Big Guy just stands there, his hand held out to stop his teammates from acting.

    ¡°Aron know Dragon good. Dragon beat bad.¡± Who the heck is Aron?!

    ¡°Lauren, don¡¯t just suggest killing people. Raya, don¡¯t just stab people. Kira, good job showing restraint. Let¡¯s all just calm down. How severely is she affected, Lauren, and is there any way she can recover?¡±

    Hah, screw you, Lauren, I got praised.

    ¡°There''s too much fucking Corruption! With that much of the shit, she''ll be dead in less than a day of infection no matter what you do. Killing her would be a kindness! At least then she won''t fucking kill everyone else! You can''t be fucking serious letting this go on! Even with a Dragon¡¯s resistance to magic, it will consume her own magic and she¡¯ll become weaker until her body gives out.¡±

    Joras just put on his thinking brow, so I¡¯m sure he¡¯s about to cook up some weird idea. While pinning Lauren, I just give Raya a lick, she¡¯s awesome. Everyone should have a friend who¡¯d stab someone for you.

    ¡°Kira, when exactly did you sustain those wounds? And do you feel the corruption spreading?¡±

    I have no idea at what time Frosty decided to hurt me, so I just tell him about my day instead. All the way from leaving Tuiran to repeating my heroic fight with Frosty and recovering my money. But the weird magic feels exactly the same as when Frosty first hit me.

    ¡°What the fuck does it matter? The Corruption corrupts! My people have no records of anyone ever surviving such a severe case of that shit! She¡¯s obviously lying about the spread to save herself.¡±

    Yeah, I¡¯m definitely growling at her and pressing my claw down a bit harder than necessary.

    ¡°Lauren, I know you don¡¯t know Kira or particularly like her, for good reason, but she wouldn¡¯t lie about something like that. I¡¯m not sure she¡¯s capable of it.¡±

    Pfft, I¡¯m plenty capable. I¡¯m also getting bored with Lauren¡¯s nonsense, so I suggest to Raya that we leave for a trip to Oakhold. She can bring her dress and we can get it fixed. Fortunately for me, she¡¯s quick to agree as she climbs onto me.

    Before taking off, I request that Joras keep them out of my den. I don¡¯t want them snooping around my money.

    ¡°Of course, Kira. They¡¯ve already been told to stay out.¡± He gets it.

    Just as I take off, he says something else, but I don¡¯t quite catch it, and I don¡¯t feel like turning around right now. Raya and I fly to her place, and she seems to have ideas on how to handle this.

    ¡°Could you keep flying? I wanna try something!¡±

    Doing as she asks, I hover above the buildings. I''m curious to see what she wants to do. Before I think of anything, she jumps from my neck and grabs hold of my wing! Geez, that''s dangerous! Somehow she''s managing to traverse my wing until she reaches the tip. My flapping wing isn''t doing her any favors, but she''s holding on tight. On a downward stroke of my wing, she lets go and lands on the roof of a building with a tumble. Geez, when did she become the Queen of Agility¡­ I feel clumsy just watching her.

    She then proceeds to climb down the building as if she''s done it her entire life! She disappears into her home, only to reappear a moment later with her dress wrapped around her. As if that wasn''t enough, she rushes into the alley next to her house disappears again. Obviously, I go to watch her, and I find her using the narrow alley to climb up! Hands on one wall and feet on another with the dress tied around her.

    Reaching the roof again, she calls for me to bring my wing closer. Lining up the tip of my wing with her position, she jumps and catches it. Holding on tight, she follows along an upward stroke and just before going down again, she lets go and somehow manages to land on my back! How the hell did she do that?!

    ¡°That was fun.¡±

    That was amazing! When did she learn to do all that?! I need to know her secrets. How did she grow so strong and powerful?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I just feel stronger lately.¡±

    That¡¯s not much to go on, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s fine. With her being even more awesome, I won¡¯t have to worry about her as much. That¡¯s a relief.

    Since we¡¯re going to Oakhold, I guess I should make myself presentable. I may still be covered in a bunch of various goop. I think I saw a river in the grassy area to the east, but I''m not sure, we''ll find out though!

    Informing Raya of my plan, she''s quick to make a different suggestion.

    "We could just go to Undine Lake, we know it''s actually there, instead of a river that might be there."

    Well, maybe I don''t want to go to the lake. I''m gonna focus on finding this mysterious river instead. If not, Wreyn will just have to deal with a messy dragon.

    Luckily for Wreyn, we do find a river! A quick dive and a soar later, we land on the bank. The whole area is quite nice. Wavy grass dotted with wildflowers. Oh! That gives me an idea! If I roll in the flowers after my bath, I¡¯ll smell like the flowers, all fancy and stuff.

    First things first, I need to get this grime off me. The river is barely wide or deep enough to fit me, but I submerge as much of myself as I can. The cool water feels lovely.

    The grime and Frosty bits come off me in flakes, and Raya joins me after hanging her clothes from a branch. She¡¯s quick to start scrubbing away at the remaining dirt and, to my surprise, it doesn¡¯t take her long to clean me up.

    It feels really nice, and I kinda wanna stay here all day. I can¡¯t, though, I have things to do¡­ Stupid things...

    Since I''m clean now, I guess I should be responsible and focus on my original plan, going to Oakhold. And not telling Raya that she''ll be apologizing to Neithro!

    Nudging Raya, she gets out of the river and hesitates as she looks at her clothes.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want my clothes to get wet¡­¡±

    I have a solution for that! Blowing flames nearby, Raya quickly picks up on what I¡¯m doing and uses the heat to dry herself. For some reason, that makes her giggle. I wanna know the source of the giggles!

    ¡°You. I¡¯m getting used to it, but it¡¯s still sometimes weird to have a Dragon just help out with simple stuff.¡±

    Perks of friendship. Now that she¡¯s ready, we¡¯re out of excuses to postpone responsibility, as Raya jumps onto me and we leave the river behind. Heading towards Oakhold, we pick up speed and it becomes clear that I¡¯ve missed her laughter.

    Dang it! I forgot about the flowers! I¡¯ll just have to try that some other time. I feel like I have way too many things going on, and I need to make more time for us to just go explore something again. Everything has been so busy, stupid adventurers¡­

    For a moment, I consider returning to Tuiran and kicking them out, but Big Guy¡¯s team has been very friendly, and I guess Lauren hasn¡¯t been troublesome aside from being annoying.

    Arriving at Oakhold, we fly around for a while as I watch the streets. Folks are buzzing around the streets, but not in a ¡®fleeing in terror¡¯ kind of way, it appears they¡¯re getting accustomed to me. Being the responsible dragon that I am, I don¡¯t give in to the impulsive desire to make them scurry away in fear. Much.

    Letting out a roar, the townsfolk all look up as they seek shelter. Haha! Scurry, small ones!

    ¡°Was that necessary, Kira?¡± Yes, it was.

    Besides, they went back to ignoring me as soon as they saw us hovering, and I can¡¯t take Raya¡¯s reprimand seriously when she¡¯s laughing like that.

    That¡¯s enough playing with the townsfolk, we should land and find Wreyn. Setting my sights on Wreyn¡¯s manor, I take aim at his lawn and decide that¡¯s where we¡¯ll land. It¡¯s nice and big, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. And if he isn¡¯t home, I¡¯m sure we can find him.

    The door to Wreyn¡¯s manor swings open as soon as we touch down, and Emily rushes out to greet us. She¡¯s so brave! And talkative! Unfortunately, she forgot to cast that spell, so I have no idea what she¡¯s saying.

    Raya is quick to jump down and greet her, and then I notice the most adorable thing ever. Emily is taller than Raya! I think Raya noticed my chuckling because she¡¯s glaring at me.

    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re laughing at, you overgrown lizard?!¡±

    I¡¯m not laughing at anything, you undergrown cucumber.

    In classic Raya fashion, she flings out one of her fire bolts aimed straight at me. It harmlessly strikes my shoulder and¡­ I feel it¡­ not just the magic, but a slight sting. She is getting stronger, not just physically! Lily was wrong about her magic!

    Her eyes widen as she apologizes for it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Kira! I didn¡¯t mean to hurt you!¡±

    That¡¯s amazing! She¡¯s gonna be the best fighter in the world with super strength and deadly magic! Then we can go hunting together, and I won¡¯t have to ever leave her to keep her safe.

    Another tingle of magic interrupts my grand plans for exploration and daring fights. It came from Emily, she probably realized that she couldn¡¯t understand us either. She¡¯s looking a little less happy compared to before Raya shot me, but I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll all be fine.

    As I greet her, she perks right up and I ask if she knows where Wreyn is, but all I get is ¡®work.¡¯ Not much to go by, but that¡¯s fine. Maybe Neithro is around instead, he''s supposed to join me for the hunt anyway, and I¡¯m sure Raya will be safe left in Emily¡¯s care.

    In fact, Emily seems to have become fascinated by the shorter person using magic she doesn¡¯t seem to know. Not wanting to be left out, I shoot some fire into the sky, which quickly draws Emily¡¯s attention.

    Raya suggests that they teach each other their spells, stealing away Emily¡¯s attention. You win this time, Raya. I have to go find Wreyn or Neithro anyway, so it¡¯s fine.

    As I leave the yard, the lack of guards swarming me kinda surprises me. The few guards I do see are just minding their own business, which I take as permission to do what I want! Strolling through the streets, folks are quick to move aside while staring. Bit rude, but I get it, I¡¯m quite a sight.

    These people are a bit distracting though, I can smell the wealth coming off them, and I have to fight back thoughts of taking it. Best behavior, Kira, don¡¯t just rob people. Although, I am surprised at how unafraid they are. I can certainly smell that they¡¯re worried, but I¡¯m not smelling much actual fear.

    Which I¡¯m gonna take as affirmation that my diplomacy skills are excellent!

    As I continue my walk, some guy suddenly stands in front of me and holds up a piece of paper. What am I supposed to do with this? I can¡¯t read that¡­

    Well, I¡¯ve encountered folks who could speak Raya¡¯s language before, so I just ask if anyone can read it for me, and to my surprise, someone does step forward. A cautious-looking elderly lady with fur and adorable little fuzzy ears sticking out of her head.

    ¡°Lemme see here¡­ It says¡­ Oh¡­ Uhm, Lady Dragon, before I tell you what it says, please remember that I do not have a hand in what this scoundrel is doing.¡±

    Yeah, precautions seem necessary here. In a rush of movement, I pin the young man to the ground under my claws and ask the old lady to continue.

    ¡°It says ¡®we have your goblin. Pay us fifty gold, or she dies.¡¯¡±

    I need more information, and this guy is gonna volunteer it. I ask the old lady to tell him that he can return my goblin, or I¡¯ll burn everything I see until I find her.

    The old lady reeks of fear now, and as soon as she relays my message, everyone around does too. I don¡¯t have time for this. If Raya needs a rescue, Raya gets a rescue. Using the old lady as a translator again, I inform the scoundrel that he will be showing me where their hideout is, or I¡¯ll find someone willing.

    ¡°E warac. [I can¡¯t.]¡± Someone willing it is then. Putting my weight on my arm, feeling his chest compress and bones crack as he screams. The screams stop as he runs out of air before dying. For a moment, I consider asking for someone else around to show me where these bastards hang out, but it occurs to me that this guy''s smell will likely lead me back to their hideout.

    Making sure to commit his smell to memory, confidence builds as the trail becomes clear. And since I''m a responsible dragon, I''m not gonna leave food uneaten.

    With that sorted, I get ready to follow his stench through the empty streets, and it doesn''t take long for me to find similar smells among the fear coating the streets.

    I don¡¯t get to enjoy it for long because I manage to find a building that reeks of him and his lot. Another building not built for dragons, so I''m out of options, I''d say. Rearing up, I dig my claws into the wall around the doorway and rip out the bricks and mortar with little effort.

    With an appropriate hole made, I can enter the building without much worry of getting stuck. I expected to find people here, but there''s no one around that I can see. At least I have a nose for solving such problems. Smelling around, my first impression is that all this dust is annoying, and my second impression is that someone is here, in the basement.

    As luck would have it, I happen to be great at digging.

    Claws infused with magic penetrate deep into the floor as I rip out the boards. Wood flies around me as the basement becomes visible. I see four people down there, but no Raya. With a ferocious roar, I shout for them to return her, but as far as I can tell, not one of them understands me.

    The floor of the basement is twice my height away, so I can¡¯t just snatch them up and ask them one at a time. Instead, I make sure to block the original entrance to the basement, and then I crawl down to join them.

    One of these people starts barking orders at the other three, but since Raya isn¡¯t here, I don¡¯t have to be careful. Unleashing my flames, two of the less important people scream as they¡¯re caught in the plume, and the last one stops in his tracks and just stares at me.

    I don¡¯t really care about him, so I focus on the boss and tell him to give me Raya. He reeks of fear, and I don¡¯t think he understands me. I guess we¡¯ll have to find a translator again. As I approach him, he gets ready to fight. What a fool¡­

    What was it Big Guy said¡­ Something with a lot of S¡¯s in it¡­ Ah, Siresse! The boss seems to think for a moment, but then a gleam appears in his eye. I¡¯m pretty sure he just chose death.

    I get ready to attack as he raises his weapon, but before I can act, I feel a wave of magic and he¡¯s thrown back by a giant icicle sticking out of his chest. What the hell? Looking around, I spot Wreyn. He¡¯s standing on the edge of the hole I dug, staring down at us.

    ¡°They don¡¯t have Raya. She¡¯s still with Emily.¡± Oh¡­ In that case, I may have overreacted slightly.

    ¡°Good to see you as always, Kira, but I fear I have a complaint to lodge.¡±

    I hope he isn¡¯t expecting me to pay for all of this, there were extenuating circumstances! It was all these guys¡¯ fault! They¡¯re liable for any damage incurred as a result of their reckless behavior!

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about the damage! My complaint is that EVERYONE but me gets to see your Dragonflame! Raya has seen it, Emily has seen it, the adventurers who attacked you saw it, even Neithro has seen it. Now these scum have seen it! But me? I¡¯m left out! I demand to see some Dragonflame!¡±

    Geez, he seems genuinely upset about this¡­ Fine, I¡¯ll show off my flames when we get back.

    ¡°No! Right now, otherwise we¡¯ll get distracted again, and then I¡¯ll miss out on it!¡±

    Is he really a wise old man?... I¡¯m starting to doubt it, but it¡¯s not that much trouble to let him have his way.

    Unleashing a plume of flame upward, I hear his joyful laughter over the roar of the flames. Raya is still my focus, though, and I want to make sure she''s safe, so I cut my flames short and start climbing out of the basement. The house was on fire when I got here.

    ¡°More!¡±

    No.

    ¡°Aww¡­¡± Don¡¯t sulk like that, old man, you¡¯re supposed to be a dignified leader! Geez¡­

 Chapter 23: A Change of Plans

    As I exit the basement, the old man starts talking about a bunch of stuff for some reason.

    ¡°If the scholar Caspariel is to be trusted, the bright yellow color of your flame would indicate that you¡¯ve reached a fledgling maturity, how curious. What would you determine your age to be, Kira?¡±

    I don¡¯t know, like two or three weeks, I guess. I have not done a good job of keeping track of that. Now that I think about it, I¡¯ve been a very busy dragon.

    ¡°Hooh¡­ Your growth appears not to match your age. It is much too fast. Judging by your size and the coloration of your flame, history tells us that you should be closer to two or three years old. Additionally, your mind is far too developed for your youthful nature.¡±

    I knew I was mature for my age. Just goes to show how great and mighty I am.

    ¡°Are you a traveler?¡±

    I guess I travel all over the place, mostly by flying. I¡¯m not sure how that relates to my growth, though.

    ¡°Hm, not what I meant¡­ In this world, the cycle of life is known to all. When a life is extinguished, the soul moves on to the next world to be reborn. Such is our cycle for eternity. Though it happens that souls become lost in the flow and find their way out of the cycle. These souls are what become known as travelers. While not a common occurrence, it has been known to happen frequently enough to influence our societies.¡±

    That sounds unreal¡­ I guess Turo mentioned something that sounds familiar to that.

    ¡°With the arrival of a traveler, a great disruption to the world¡¯s balance follows. Though disruption is often seen as something to avoid, many travelers have brought necessary change.¡±

    He seems quite serious about this whole thing, but as far as I know, I¡¯m not disrupting anything, and I belong here. So I guess I don¡¯t qualify for this traveler nonsense. Wreyn raises an eyebrow at me, he doesn¡¯t seem convinced.

    It feels like a subject I should learn more about, but I also don¡¯t want to, so I¡¯m gonna ask about Raya instead. His eyebrow still hasn''t lowered, but he is quick to tell me about how Raya fought off two ruffians on her own and that¡¯s really impressive. She¡¯s growing so fast. I should find a treat for her.

    ¡°Though they weren¡¯t all that strong, she should not have been able to overpower them, much less win the fight without much difficulty. There¡¯s more to that goblin than I am able to detect.¡±

    Yeah, she¡¯s awesome is what she is. And she¡¯s mine, so he can¡¯t have her. Leaving behind the gang¡¯s hideout, Wreyn motions for a guard to approach and gives the guard some quick orders.

    ¡°Fetch the ignis corps to deal with the remains. The ambient is too high.¡±

    Huh, that sounds interesting, I ask about it, but he just waves me off.

    ¡°A topic we shall delve into at a later date. For now, I must say I¡¯m curious as to what sort of pact you and Raya have. If you wouldn¡¯t mind sharing such details, that is.¡±

    No pact that I¡¯m aware of, we¡¯re just friends. He just gives me the suspicious side-eye, but I really don¡¯t know what he expects.

    ¡°I could take a look if you would allow it.¡±

    If there¡¯s no risk to me or Raya, I don¡¯t mind, I guess. Placing a hand on my arm, he mutters a quiet ¡®interesting¡¯ before passing out. Oh, right, the magic drain thing. Well, that was a nice and juicy boost to my magic, but I can¡¯t really pick him up without hurting him.

    Wondering what to do in this situation, I''m interrupted by two guards appearing and picking him up. Neat! I¡¯m gonna assume they¡¯re accustomed to his shenanigans. I can¡¯t imagine what it must be like to have to put up with such an impulsive person. I¡¯m kinda surprised that they didn¡¯t raise their weapons at me, but I appreciate that they seem to understand it wasn¡¯t my fault. And then I won¡¯t have to defend myself, so that¡¯s a win!

    The two guards carry him off toward his manor as far as I can tell, and I¡¯m gonna follow behind and meet up with Raya. Well, I was gonna follow behind them, but they¡¯re very slow walkers.

    Geez, Raya walks faster than that¡­ Giving them a growl, I indicate for them to put Wreyn on my back, which just results in a glance between the two, so I get a bit more insistent, and they comply. Excellent, now we can get moving. With Wreyn safely nestled between my folded wing and my spines, I can set the pace so we may arrive at his manor today.

    In barely any time at all, we arrive at the manor and-

    ¡°Hey Kira, catch!¡±

    Ooh! Flying snack! I chomp it out of the air and ignore the thump I hear behind me. Delicious meat. Raya seems to be in a very good mood, which I get. Winning fights is amazing. I¡¯m curious how she managed to beat up two thugs like that, I¡¯m sure she has quite a story to tell.

    With a wide grin, she gets ready to regale me with the story of her heroic battle!

    ¡°Stabbed them.¡±

    Okay, that¡¯s a little more abridged than I expected, but well done! Looking over the thugs, I can¡¯t help but notice that one of them is a little more crispy than the others. I give Raya a look, and she just shrugs.

    ¡°Also burned that one.¡±

    I bet that surprised him! Raya is turning into quite the spitfire. Ooh! Maybe she can hunt wolves too now. Then we can really get them out of my territory.

    As I''m thinking about all the things she''ll be able to do, thoughts of the ways she can get hurt flood my mind, and I¡¯m pulled out of my excitement for Raya by the thoughts of how quickly these bastards acted. It couldn¡¯t have been a spontaneous thing, we simply haven¡¯t been here long enough. Someone coordinated it.

    Feeling just about ready to burn this place down, I ask Raya to get on, so we can get to Tuiran, she''s quick to comply, but then taps me on the head. ¡°I¡¯m fine, Kira. They didn¡¯t hurt me.¡±

    They could have! And I won¡¯t allow it to happen again! I¡¯m done playing nice. I take off and we head back to Tuiran. I want Raya to be as safe as she can get, and the only place for that is at home.

    Pushing more magic into my wings, we speed up and make short work of the trip. Landing in the square, I demand to see Lauren, and some helpful bystanders point me in the right direction. With Raya still on top of me, I run toward Lauren¡¯s location as I tell Raya that I¡¯ll be leaving to take care of something I promised to do.

    ¡°Kira! Please stop! You¡¯re too angry!¡± I¡¯m not angry enough! I haven¡¯t been getting angry enough, and it keeps coming back to bite us!

    As soon as I see my target, I tell Raya to jump down. Running a little faster than I intended, we approach Lauren and Joras. Good, she smells afraid, and she damn well should be.

    ¡°Kira, what¡¯s going on? Why are you back already, and whose blood is that?¡±

    I don¡¯t have time for that nonsense, I need Lauren to show me who ordered their assault. As I make my demands, Joras is quick to inform her of it, but she shakes her head. Doesn¡¯t matter, she knows what I want and I will get it.

    Clamping my jaws shut around her, she screams in pain as I start climbing a building. I can feel her healing herself, a smart move, then she won¡¯t die before I get what I want. As we reach the top of the building, I spread my wings and get ready to take flight.

    ¡°Kira! Wait! She doesn¡¯t deserve that!¡±

    I don¡¯t care. We¡¯re finding the bastard who started this. With a jolt, we¡¯re flying. I can see her face as blood covers her, and I give her a growl to point me in the right direction. She¡¯s aware of what I want and points toward the southeast.

    Flying hard and fast, I keep getting distracted by Lauren screaming whenever I jostle her a little, and it¡¯s growing annoying. I¡¯m tempted to just drop her, but she¡¯s far too useful for that. Before too long, a town comes into view, and she points again.

    It looks like I¡¯ve got a destination. With more power flowing, we make it to the outskirts of the town in a short amount of time, and I land, dropping the healer. She¡¯s writhing on the ground, trying her best to heal the wounds, but my venom interferes with it.

    There¡¯s a sadistic glee in watching her efforts, but it appears that it is working. Somehow she¡¯s overpowering my venom. Impressive, but it''s something to deal with later.

    ¡°Please, henwa tona du saifwa. [Please, don¡¯t hurt the town.]¡±

    I never did learn that language, but she seems ready for the last part of the trip, but I can¡¯t have her blocking my mouth when I set this shit on fire. As I approach her, she holds out her arms, gesturing for me to wait. Growling is all I feel like doing in response, but she takes it as an invitation to fetch a stick.

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    Pointing at the ground, she makes a digging motion and points to me. I¡¯m not sure why, but I rip up the ground and she¡¯s quick to get to work patting the fresh dirt. Then she uses the stick to draw a circle with houses and points to one larger than the others and spits on it.

    Does she want me to just burn that one? Well, I can start with that one. As I get ready to grab her again, she does her little hand dance again and moves to the side of my face. Yeah, I¡¯m not letting her ride me. Instead, I take off without her, flying in a semicircle, I come back and pick her up.

    She may not be riding me, but she is coming with me. Flying toward the largest building in town, I control my flight with magic, and as we close in, I get ready to land on the roof.

    The tiles of the roof look sturdy enough, so I¡¯m just gonna drop down. My estimation appears to have been correct and it can hold my weight. I ditch Lauren up here as I claw my way through the roof. As soon as I get through, I¡¯m met with fancy furniture. I hope this jackass has insurance because there¡¯s about to be a house fire.

    I torch the entire attic and rip my way through the floor. Being large has its perks, as I can climb down to the next floor.

    Shortly after reaching the floor, a cluster of guards turns a corner, but that¡¯s a problem easily solved with more flames. Most of the guards fall to the onslaught of my wrath, and the few survivors are quick to run.

    They¡¯re not why I¡¯m here anyway, so I don¡¯t particularly care. I need to find the lord of fools. I hadn¡¯t really looked, but it appears I¡¯m at a junction with three ways to go, where the guards came from and two other ways I can¡¯t figure out where they lead. Coming to a decision, I¡¯m about to move when Lauren lands beside me.

    What the hell is she doing here?! She¡¯s throwing more healing around, and then she motions for me to follow. Fine, lead the way as we burn this asshole¡¯s world to ash. She guides me through some corridors, and I make sure to light some more fires. Everything will be lost to this person.

    It doesn¡¯t take long before we¡¯re in a large room full of tables, chairs, and tapestries. Generally some very flammable stuff. Of course, it¡¯s all being set on fire. Everything here will burn. Lauren coughs a few times, but that¡¯s easily taken care of with some healing.

    She¡¯s looking around, searching for something, and as soon as she spots it, she¡¯s off. Rushing toward some small wall, she rips open a door and points down some stairs. I¡¯m so tired of small architecture, but at least I have a solution.

    Once more I dig my way through the floor and I quickly hit dirt. The packed ground gives way to my claws with little effort and before long, I find light ahead. I¡¯ve hit some basement, and it reeks of rot. Seems like I¡¯m not the only one who has an interest in dead things. I see six people gathered here, none of them will survive.

    In the room are several devices that don¡¯t look comfortable at all, coated in blood and shit. I hear Lauren throw up, but she¡¯s quick to recover and point toward one particular person. Excellent, a target.

    Dropping down, they¡¯re quick to act and throw spells at me. I¡¯m hit by fire, ice, and rocks, but I unintentionally shielded Lauren, and she¡¯s quick to heal as many of my injuries as she can. In return, I torch two of the people, and as they writhe in burning pain, I rush at another one. Whatever this thing was, it tasted amazing.

    I can¡¯t focus on snacks just yet, there are still three people alive that shouldn¡¯t be. Flinging my tail around, I take out another, making sure not to hit the one Lauren pointed out. The screams of my playthings soothe my fury, and I¡¯m almost done here. Jumping the last pathetic underling, I rip it to shreds, but as I turn to find the bastard, he¡¯s gone.

    Where the fuck did he go, Lauren?! I want him dead!

    She¡¯s quick to point to a small doorway that I hadn¡¯t seen, and I don¡¯t fucking fit! I push her through it, and she¡¯s quick to get the message. While she tries that way, I climb out of the basement and try to find the other end.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    I need to find this fucking lord for the Dragon. It¡¯s the only chance to soothe her rage. Running up the stairs, I hear the footsteps of someone ahead, it¡¯s definitely that fucker. I have no idea how I¡¯m supposed to stop him or bring him to Kira, but I have to do something!

    Reaching the top of the stairs, I can feel the heat of his burning manor, we¡¯re outside. By the fucking hells, what did we unleash on the world... That monster was content to just rule over a small piece of land, and we fucked it all up... And now we might have an Originator Dragon on our hands again¡­

    ¡°Stop following me, you stupid bitch! Can¡¯t you see that you¡¯ll die too?¡±

    Found him. And he¡¯s probably right, but at the very least, I¡¯ll know I tried. Merciferus is gonna be fucking pissed when she finds out I got myself killed.

    Too bad, right now, I need to get this guy killed. Caught up in my thoughts of what to do, I¡¯m struck by a sudden pain as a large icicle digs deep into my stomach. It¡¯s almost funny how little it hurts compared to being carried in the mouth of a Dragon.

    ¡°So, little lord, what do you want to do now? You¡¯ve pissed off something very dangerous, it¡¯s coming for you, and now you¡¯ve left yourself vulnerable out here in the open.¡± A laugh escapes me at how absurd this whole thing is.

    ¡°Fuck you! You brought it here! You were just supposed to kill some goblins. How useless are you?!¡±

    That¡¯s a funny question. The two people I loved have died and I¡¯m repeatedly healing the thing that killed them. I hope when the Dragon finally kills me, she¡¯ll do so quick and most of all, I want to meet up with Kello and Reinfold in the next life.

    ¡°Kira! We¡¯re over here!¡±

    ¡°Shut the fuck up! It hasn¡¯t found us yet!¡±

    ¡°Kiiiirrrraaaaa, you dumb monster, come and get uuuus!¡± She has found us now. How interesting, I¡¯m looking forward to this. I don¡¯t know whether I want to watch this guy suffer, or just have Kira finally kill me, but I¡¯m so tired. She¡¯s flying towards us and he¡¯s quick to start running. I wonder how far he¡¯ll- Never mind, she caught him.

    Huh, she picked him up and now she¡¯s coming toward me. I can say from experience that she is not the best at carrying people. I¡¯d like to think I¡¯m tougher than this guy and didn¡¯t scream as much, because he is really fucking going at it with those lungs.

    A weight is suddenly lifted when the icicle falls out of me. I guess I forgot about that, I think I might be somewhat affected by bloodloss. A quick heal and I feel better, but it doesn¡¯t return the blood I¡¯ve lost, so I¡¯ll have to contend with the dizziness.

    The giant lumbering oaf brings over her quarry and drops him in front of me, and she¡¯s quick to growl out a healing command. That one I picked up real fucking fast, hah¡­

    ¡°Please, Dragon! Spare me! I¡¯ll give you gold, jewels, whatever you want, just let me live!¡±

    As if that¡¯s going to work. Dragons may be famous for loving wealth, but it¡¯s important to remember they¡¯re also famous for being prideful assholes. So trying to bribe a furious Dragon is- Well, that. One crunch later, and he lost half a leg. What an idiot.

    Well, I guess it¡¯s time to do my part. With a small chant, I use my magic to stop his bleeding, but that venom is quite impressive. It¡¯s practically useless against simple spells, but fucks up complex spells like it has a divine mission.

    ¡°Hrreaal!¡­¡±

    ¡°I did heal him, dummy.¡±

    She doesn¡¯t seem satisfied with my response because she just bumps into me in that way of hers. Oh, I¡¯m still bleeding. I guess I wasn¡¯t very thorough earlier. Not that it really matters, I¡¯m almost out of magic.

    As I look up, I notice that she isn¡¯t paying attention to me anymore, and for just a moment, I¡¯m a little offended, which is fucking funny to me. Pay attention to me, giant murderous monster. Merciferus take me, I¡¯ve really lost it.

    Just like that guy is losing parts. He¡¯s down both legs and an arm so far, I guess I should heal him again. Well, as much as I can. Dumbfuck deserves to die. Everyone has some skeletons in their closet, but who the fuck has a torture dungeon beneath their house¡­

    ¡°Please, save me! I¡¯ll pay you anything! You¡¯ll never have to work a day for the rest of your life, just don¡¯t let this Dragon kill me!¡±

    ¡°Hah! That¡¯s fucking funny, dipshit. What makes you think I have a rest of my life after you¡¯re dead? I was part of the fucking team you sent into that hellspawned bitch¡¯s home! That¡¯s why we¡¯re here, moron!¡±

    Oh, I might get why Kira likes to play with her food, watching the hope drain from his eyes was thoroughly enjoyable. I should probably avoid that in the future, I¡¯m not sure Merciferus would approve.

    In a last-ditch effort to survive, he seems to have decided to throw every bit of magic he has into one spell, and a frankly giant icicle strikes deep into Kira¡¯s side as she falls. Oh fuck! That could be lethal! Rushing to her side, I grab the chunk of ice and pull. The moron seems to find the whole thing funny.

    ¡°Hahaha! I fucking did it! I killed a Dragon!¡±

    Yeah, not yet. I can still save her! Fucking hells, this shit is cold, but I have to get it out of her. With all my delirious strength, I grip the icicle as firmly as I can and pull. I barely move the thing, but it is moving!

    It¡¯s not moving, I¡¯m just rocking it back and forth! What the fuck do I do here?!

    ¡°Kira! Fucking help me get this thing out of you! Give me a fucking hand here, I can¡¯t do it on my own! Help me and I¡¯ll do whatever you want!¡±

    I have no fucking idea what to do here, so I just keep trying to pull.

    ¡°Lousy first aid kit¡­¡±

    A second wind hits me and my strength returns, I manage to move it slightly. I think it¡¯s melting because it¡¯s getting lighter. Bracing myself with a foot against Kira¡¯s chest, I really put my back into it and pull. It comes loose! I fucking did it!

    And then a terrifying realization strikes¡­ I heard her voice in my head¡­ FUCK! I¡¯m so fucked! Ooh, good job, Lauren. Make a promise while delirious and be bound by it when it makes you lucid. Way the fuck to go!

    I¡¯m gonna need some help with that later, but right now, I need to heal Kira. Why the fuck am I healing her? She''s infected by the Corruption! I can¡¯t deal with any more shit right now, I¡¯ll heal her and whatever happens today happens. Not my fucking problem.

    As I press my hands to her wound and get ready to chant my spell, I notice the burn marks on my hands are gone. What in the hells¡­ Another thing for later, if there is a later. Chanting my spell, I push healing magic into Kira¡¯s wound and it closes up quick. She roars in pain and I feel it reverberating in my skull. What in the hells is going on here?!

    ¡°Oh shit, I almost forgot about the guy! Well, if he didn¡¯t deserve to die before, he certainly does now that he¡¯s shot me!¡±

    Oh by the Gods, I hope this isn¡¯t permanent¡­ If I have to hear that Dragon in my mind for the rest of my life, I hope it ends today... She rushes off and I follow her with my eyes, turns out while we were dealing with the icicle, he started crawling away. What¡¯s the fucking plan, crawl away slowly and hope neither of us notices?

    ¡°We didn¡¯t notice, Lauren.¡± Ah, fuck, she knows I can hear her¡­ Just kill me now¡­

    ¡°Just kill him fast, Kira, I¡¯m tired.¡±

    Huh, she does kill him fast¡­ somewhat¡­ Crushing his body one section at a time until reaching his head is faster than what she was doing, I guess. And now she¡¯s eating him¡­ She¡¯s so fucking gross¡­

    And now she¡¯s coming back to kill me, no doubt. Well, about fucking time, honestly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly, Lauren, I already told you I wasn¡¯t going to kill you. I¡­ was just a bit upset earlier, but I feel better now. Well, kinda.¡±

    ¡°Praise be to Merciferus, Goddess of Health and Vitality, please break whatever magic is allowing this Dragon into my head or just fucking kill me¡­¡±

    Yeah, that didn¡¯t work¡­

    ¡°Wanna take out the adventurers too?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to fucking take out the adventurers! We aren¡¯t some evil entity to be purged, you rabid beast!¡±

    ¡°Wanna go home then?¡±

    Yeah, that''s a fucking loaded question... As far as I can tell, I don''t belong anywhere. The only place I ever felt at home was alongside Reinfold and Kello, but they''re gone... I''ve felt so lost ever since that day...

    ¡°Sure, Kira, let¡¯s go.¡±

    She lowers her head, and I don¡¯t know what to do with that.

    ¡°Get on. Unless you prefer my mouth.¡±

    Fuck me, if this is one of the hell worlds, they¡¯ve done a great job of torturing me... I don¡¯t feel like I have much of a choice, so I just get on, and she takes off.

    ¡°Why are you so nice to me all of a sudden?¡±

    I don¡¯t get much of a response, but I do feel a sense of remorse. I¡¯ll take what I can get.

    Flying over Plainshold, the fire seems to be limited to Lord Shitface¡¯s manor, but the townspeople are coming together to put it out. For a moment, I consider helping, but somehow I doubt that bringing the arsonist back to them is the best choice¡­

    "Thank you for leaving the townspeople alone, Kira."

 Chapter 24: Reflection

    I¡¯m still not sure how I feel about Lauren, but she did help me take care of that bastard, so, reluctantly, point to Lauren¡­

    One thing is for sure, killing him made me feel a lot better, but it''s not enough. I still need to deal with those attempted kidnappers in Oakhold. If they think they can take what''s mine, then I''ll take everything they have.

    Leaving that unresolved is an insult to my pride, and I can''t allow that to stand. If they want to hurt my people, I¡¯ll just have to make sure they can¡¯t. And I need to think of a way to make it common knowledge that targeting what belongs to me means I''ll strike back with unbridled fury. The obvious thought is to do just that, strike down anyone who might be a threat, but that seems a little reckless.

    "Lauren, do you have any ideas about how I can stop people from attacking Tuiran?"

    ¡°Fuck, that¡¯s weird¡­ Not only are you in my mind, but you¡¯re so easy to understand."

    ¡°Well, screw you, Lauren! I¡¯ve always been easy to understand!¡±

    She just lets out a huff and a chuckle in response, I''m gonna take that as acknowledgment of my easy-to-understand ways. I''m sure Raya and Joras would agree with me in an instant. Before I get lost in thought again, I refocus my attention on my flying. We soar through the calm sky, not having to deal with anything, and I can tell Lauren is moving around a little.

    "How are you keeping the Corruption from spreading? Some people can train to resist it, but it takes decades. It should have killed you already, but you aren''t showing any signs of the malady at all. It should be consuming your magic to feed itself and rot your flesh, but I don''t see anything like that in you."

    "I don''t know. All I know is that it resists my magic when I try to affect it, and I really like the taste of what Frosty became."

    It is fascinating, that''s for sure, but as far as super-lethal magic goes, it seems unimpressive to me.

    "That just adds to the whole mystery. Eating the Corruption should have corrupted you more, but when I healed you, I felt it. And you''re right, it isn''t growing."

    Well, I can''t do anything about that, but that sounds like an untapped dinner source. Which sounds both tasty and, if I play my cards right, profitable.

    "So what I''m hearing is that I can eat these corrupted things, and it''s possible to get people to pay me to do so."

    "You should learn more about your resistance to the Corruption before you risk adding to what is already in your body. I meant it when I said we can''t afford to have another Originator Dragon. It took the intervention of the Gods to stop the last one. Although it was mature, you''re not."

    She''s calling me immature! That''s so rude... I''m considering telling her off, but I don''t feel like it. Instead, I''m just gonna focus on flying.

    It feels really nice to have a moment like this with no fighting, just the winds billowing around us. It¡¯s a calming sensation that feels like it was lost, but now it¡¯s back, and I''m feeling more like myself than I have for quite some time. A sudden weight on my head reminds me that Lauren is here. From what I¡¯m feeling, she decided to lean forward on me. That¡¯s okay, she¡¯s had a tough day.

    ¡°Kira, why are you like this?¡±

    ¡°What the hell, Lauren? That¡¯s such a rude question!¡±

    Now she¡¯s outright laughing at me¡­ I have no idea what¡¯s going on in that head of hers. Which I guess is because I never gave her a chance. I wouldn''t say that''s entirely my fault, but I can''t deny that I''ve been harsher than I needed to. In a solemn voice, she speaks before I do.

    ¡°I want to know what will happen to me once you''re done with me.¡±

    I don¡¯t know what she expects of me, and I don¡¯t really have a plan for her or Big Guy¡¯s group. They haven¡¯t been causing trouble, so I¡¯ve been postponing it, not wanting to deal with it. As far as I can tell, Big Guy is settling in well with my people, so maybe that gives him some leeway.

    ¡°I don''t know. What do you want to happen?¡±

    She doesn¡¯t respond, but I feel something wet dripping on me. I know one thing I should do for her. Something of a mistake I''ve made...

    ¡°I want to apologize, Lauren. I¡¯ve treated you worse than I should have, and that¡¯s not fair. And I shouldn¡¯t have just carried you off today, especially not like that. I''m sorry.¡±

    She doesn¡¯t respond this time either, or move really. I guess she fell asleep. I¡¯m gonna let her rest. I think I might have a plan to cheer her up a bit. Continuing to soar, we just breeze through the air as I aim for the western mountains, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll appreciate seeing something pretty.

    Evening passes into night as we approach the rocky mountains, it won¡¯t be long until we¡¯re over the ocean. Watching the beautiful night sky from a sandy beach is sure to cheer her up. In fact, I can tell she''s stirring from her sleep, shouldn¡¯t be long until-

    ¡°WHAT THE FUCK! Oh. Flying¡­ Where are you taking me, Dragon?¡±

    With clues like flailing, screaming, and shouting, I suspect she might be awake. And we¡¯re back to calling me dragon, I guess. We were doing so well. No matter, I¡¯m not going to focus on that when there are more exciting things to focus on!

    ¡°Morning, Lauren.¡± It¡¯s so nice that I can talk to her and just understand her with whatever this mind link is. I should ask how she did it sometime, I wouldn¡¯t mind being able to communicate with other people like this.

    ¡°It¡¯s night¡­ I don¡¯t know how well you can see at night, but it should be obvious that the sun isn¡¯t up. I know it''s bright, but that''s the moon you''re seeing.¡±

    She just starts out spicy, and it makes me want to tease her even more. It is pretty obvious that it''s night because the moon and stars keep everything well lit. But I¡¯m not gonna point that out, tonight I¡¯m gonna behave. Off in the distance, I can see our target. We¡¯re closing in on the island with the sandy beach. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll appreciate our little outing.

    ¡°Did you sleep well?¡±

    ¡°¡­ I did¡­ You¡¯re warm, and¡­ comfortable.¡±

    Is that a compliment?! We¡¯re breaking down barriers here! I¡¯m looking forward to seeing her reaction to the beautiful beach! I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll appreciate the change of scenery, she¡¯s been holed up in Tuiran ever since the assault.

    We¡¯ll be at the island soon, and I hope there are still some of those chili peppers left, those will be fun to have her taste. Turning my head a bit, I nudge her, but she doesn¡¯t seem to have much to say. At least I know she''s still there because I can feel her fingers tapping on my scales.

    The last stretch of our trip to the island is spent in silence. I can¡¯t think of anything to say to her, but I think it might be good for her to just have some time to figure things out.

    ¡°We¡¯re here, Lauren.¡± Getting ready to land, I slow my approach and go into a hover slightly above the sandy beach and drop. The beach looks just as lovely as last time, and as I let Lauren down, she takes some time to look around.

    While she meanders around, I¡¯m gonna find some food! Nudging my way through the shrubbery, I find all sorts of goodies. Most of which I don¡¯t recognize, but maybe Lauren will. With great care and magically enhanced claws, I cut the stem from some fruits and carry them in one hand. Turns out when you¡¯re used to using four limbs to walk and you then go to three, you can get a bit clumsy.

    I may have bumped into a few trees. Most of them could handle it, so I¡¯m fine! Looking through my little handful of fruits, I notice that they do look familiar to some fruits I know. Giving a large green fruit a taste, I¡¯m immediately overcome with regret. It had a stone inside, which is now lodged between my teeth! Dang it!

    Okay, enough gathering, I¡¯m gonna need some help getting this thing out. Hobbling back out of the trees, I see Lauren standing by the ocean, she hasn¡¯t really moved much. Giving her a little throat rumble, she turns to me and stares. I present the fruits, but she just stares some more.

    Oh right! I can just tell her what I¡¯m doing! Good job forgetting that, Kira.

    ¡°I found these in case you¡¯re hungry. We¡¯ve been out and about for some time, so I thought you might be.¡±

    Points to Kira! She¡¯s coming over and reaching out a hand!

    ¡°These, these, and these are poisonous.¡±

    Well, one of them is chili peppers, another is the green one I ate, it didn¡¯t taste poisonous, so it''s probably fine. And the third one I don¡¯t know. A shame that she seems to know about the peppers, it would''ve been very fun to have her eat some. Although with her thinking they''re poisonous, I wonder if the other stuff actually is, or it''s a case of her not having tried them properly. I know for sure that chili peppers give that ''I¡¯ll kill you'' vibe until you do it right.

    She does grab a few things, though, so that¡¯s good. Sharing a meal is just what we need. I settle down in the sand, and she sits nearby, staring at her fruit. She¡¯s very quiet, and I don¡¯t know what to do with that.

    ¡°Poisonous fruit for your thoughts.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Okay, she''s not familiar with that particular idiom. ¡°You¡¯re very quiet, and I was wondering what you were thinking about. It''s ''penny for your thoughts,'' but I''m not giving out money.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ I''m just thinking about this whole thing, you, my life, and what to do with it all... Everything is such a mess and I have no idea where to go from here..."

    Well, that sounds like a very heavy subject. I¡¯m not really sure how to handle all of that, but I¡¯m here if she needs me. Admittedly, part of me still wants to hurt her for being part of what happened during the assault, but the people of Tuiran seem to have accepted her. And she has helped them a lot, so that should count for something.

    Whether Neithro is right about it being because of coercion or not, I¡¯m not so sure. She''s doing a good job of convincing me that she''s a decent person.

    ¡°If you want to leave Tuiran, you can.¡±

    For some reason, that earned me a face full of thrown food¡­

    ¡°Fuck you! Fuck everything that you are, you unnatural monster! Something is deeply wrong with you! The way you change from hellspawned horror to gentle giant is not normal! And fuck you for doing it!¡±

    Geez¡­ ¡°Sorry¡­¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t get to fucking apologize to me! You took my family away! We weren''t kin, but they were all I had! Now I have no one left! It was just the three of us, and now I¡¯m alone.¡±

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t choose for you to attack my home! That¡¯s not on me! You can hate me all you want, but I didn¡¯t make that decision for any of you, Lauren!¡±

    ¡°I want to! I want to hate you so badly! I want to hate you for what you did to my friends. I want to hate you for being so happy when I hurt so much. Why the fuck can¡¯t you just be the monster I saw that day? The animal that ripped Kello apart to hurt both of us! The fiend I saw looking at me when I lost hope! The beast that tore through Lord Fuckwit¡¯s manor to exact vengeance! That¡¯s a fucking Dragon!¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°But you? You¡¯re so fucking gentle with every being in that town of yours. I¡¯ve seen how you bump them to talk, I¡¯ve felt it! You touch others just enough to make yourself noticed, but never more than that. That¡¯s not a fucking Dragon! You¡¯re so careful to not destroy anything, and you don¡¯t just kill whatever stands in your way. That¡¯s not a fucking Dragon!¡±

    I do have a bit of a kill streak¡­

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen how you control the sway of your tail so it doesn¡¯t hit anyone or break anything, and I know that it affects your balance. You had to learn that on your own, there is no way anyone trained you! Why?! Why the fuck couldn¡¯t you be that gentle with us?! Why in the hells did you have to kill the only people I had?¡­ And why don¡¯t I hate you for it?¡±

    I didn¡¯t realize how alone she was. She¡¯s been holding on to so much pain¡­

    ¡°I want to hate you so badly, and I fucking hate that I don¡¯t. I don¡¯t want to understand why you did what you did, but I do. I completely understand that you had to defend yourself, that we brought wickedness to your home, and I hate myself for allowing it. Why can¡¯t you just be the evil monster I want you to be?... Everything would be so much simpler if you were just a mindless beast to be slain¡­¡±

    As she falls to her knees, I approach and coil myself around her. I had wanted her to hurt for having been part of hurting Tuiran, but not this much¡­ not anymore.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t they listen to me when it mattered the most?¡­ Fucking Aron, a stranger, listened to me. Kello and Reinfold could have survived if I could have just reached them¡­¡±

    ¡°Someone I hated very much told me that I didn¡¯t have to be alone, and I wouldn¡¯t be lost if I built a place to belong. For me, that¡¯s Tuiran, it can be for you too. I think Jeannie would like that a lot, she could always use a first aid kit.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I need some time¡­¡±

    We just spend some time listening to the waves quietly. She¡¯s playing with the sand, and I¡¯m considering whether it¡¯s worth eating the fruit she tossed at me. It¡¯s covered in sand, but I¡¯ve eaten worse things.

    ¡°Those are mine.¡±

    ¡°Nuh-uh, you threw them away, finder¡¯s keepers.¡°

    ¡°This is what I mean. It doesn¡¯t make sense. Half a day ago, I saw you eat a man limb from limb, and now you¡¯re eating sandy merins, and it¡¯s downright adorable¡­¡±

    ¡°Fine, you can have some, I can¡¯t really keep them all if you¡¯re just gonna bring out the compliments¡­¡±

    She grabs a few and goes to kneel in the ocean. Waves wash over her as she washes the little purple fruits. She¡¯s very careful about it, making sure every bit of sand is washed away, pocketing each merin after washing. And then she just drinks some seawater! That doesn¡¯t seem safe.

    ¡°Are you sure you should be drinking that, Lauren? Isn¡¯t it too salty?¡±

    ¡°Why would it be salty?¡±

    Because it¡¯s the ocean and oceans are salty. Well, I¡¯m gonna find out for myself. Getting up, I join her in the water and dip my head into the ocean. Taking a big gulp, I''m flooded by an awful taste! That''s not good to drink at all, how can she drink this?! It''s coarse and sandy! And now she''s just laughing at me, I won''t tolerate such disrespect, it''s very rude to laugh at me!

    ¡°Laughing is rude, Lauren!¡±

    ¡°Not when you watch someone suck in a giant lump of sand. I bet that didn¡¯t taste as good as you had hoped.¡±

    It did not taste good, no¡­ Sand is a lot easier to ignore when paired with tasty fruit. I still wanna give this ocean water a shot and now I need to wash my mouth anyway, so that works out. I trudge further into the water and after a thorough rinse of my mouth, I¡¯m surprised to find that the water does taste very good, almost sweet with only a bit of salt.

    ¡°Joras told me about your eyes¡­¡±

    Did he now? I¡¯m pretty sure he wasn¡¯t supposed to tell people, but he seems to be quite willing to share that information¡­

    ¡°He also told me that they haven¡¯t changed from red since we attacked¡­ and what that means. I¡¯m sorry for the hand I¡¯ve had in hurting you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t want to talk about it.¡±

    ¡°He said he¡¯s afraid you¡¯ll lose your kindness because of us. That our actions might have turned a kind being down the path of evil.¡±

    ¡°I SAID! I DON¡¯T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!¡±

    With my fury rising, I act before I realize what I¡¯m doing. My eyes meet hers as I have her pinned to the ground and press her into the sand. I need to get my rage under control¡­ The ocean''s waves wash over her as she stares up at me. She¡¯s afraid of me again.

    Lifting my claw to release her, I apologize for being so forceful, but we aren¡¯t at a point where I want to talk about such things with her. I don¡¯t trust her that much.

    As she gets up, she chants her healing chant, and the magic feels different, purer, and raw. I¡¯m not sure what to make of it, but I haven¡¯t felt it before. Looking her over, I guess I might have hurt her in my moment of impulsiveness.

    ¡°No, I should¡¯ve let it go. It¡¯s good to remember that pissing off a Dragon can result in broken ribs and a hell-cursed headache... A mild punishment, all things considered.¡±

    I feel like going home, but I want to bring something for Raya. Getting out of the ocean, I nudge Lauren, and she follows me to the trees.

    ¡°Could you gather some things for Raya? I¡¯m not very good at it.¡±

    Giving me a look up and down, she complies with my request and pulls out a knife and a bag as she starts gathering all sorts of things I didn¡¯t even realize were edible. She even pulls up some flowers and cuts off the roots to add them to the bag. Maybe I should bring both of them on a trip somewhere to gather things.

    ¡°Try this.¡±

    She¡¯s brushing the dirt off the knotty root of some white flower, and then she throws it to me. I catch it and crush it between my teeth, which turns out to be a bad decision! YUCK! What the heck is that?! That¡¯s far too intense for any reasonable person to eat! And now she¡¯s just laughing at me. She did it on purpose¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s gurom root, I love cooking with it, but you shouldn¡¯t eat an entire head of it raw. Watch, you can pick it apart like this and get these smaller cloves.¡±

    Okay, but she made me eat it! I didn¡¯t even know it existed until she dug it up!

    ¡°Do you want help removing that stone?¡±

    Oh, right, from the poisonous green thing. Yeah, I want help¡­ Opening my mouth wide, she takes a step back, smelling afraid again. But she¡¯s quick to recover and brings her knife up under the stone, wiggling it loose. It¡¯s all very uncomfortable.

    With that, I suggest actually going back home to Tuiran, and she¡¯s quick to agree. Lowering my head, she gets on and we¡¯re ready to go. Taking flight into the morning sky feels nice. It¡¯s cooler than I expected, but Lauren doesn¡¯t seem to mind.

    ¡°Lauren¡­ If you want to leave, I can take you anywhere within a day¡¯s flight of Tuiran. You don¡¯t have to stay if you don¡¯t want to.¡±

    She lies down on me and drapes her arms over my face. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±

    That seems to be all she wants to say for now, and that¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t want to push her when she has so much to deal with, especially because I¡¯ve been such a significant part of it.

    Increasing our angle and pushing magic into my wings, I take us higher and higher. If she¡¯s gonna be sour, she¡¯s gonna have to be sour with a fantastic view. It takes some effort, but she hasn¡¯t complained about the temperature yet, so I¡¯m gonna assume she¡¯s fine.

    I take us further south, and if I get this right, the sun will hide behind the eastern mountain and it¡¯s going to be beautiful. We don¡¯t have much time before the sun rises properly, so we¡¯ve got a bit of a time crunch.

    Flying hard, I feel Lauren holding on tight, I¡¯m confident she won¡¯t be at risk of falling. Darkness descends as we make it into the mountain¡¯s shadow, and I slow us down so we can hover and watch the sunrise.

    She seems a little confused about what we¡¯re doing, so she¡¯s in for a surprise! I¡¯m not gonna spoil it though.

    ¡°Watch the mountain, it¡¯ll happen soon.¡± And it is soon, because the sun is slowly appearing right now.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never just watched a sunrise, but it''s very beautiful¡­¡±

    Gotta take time to enjoy the little things once in a while. The sun cresting over the mountain, turning from an aura of light into a blinding star, is something everyone should experience. I hope she can find other things to enjoy too. She¡¯s got plenty of life left, after all, even if right now is pretty bad.

    With the show over, I turn toward Tuiran, it won¡¯t be long until we¡¯re there. We flew pretty hard to get in the mountain¡¯s shadow in time, so we¡¯ve made it most of the way back. Which reminds me¡­

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you cold, Lauren?¡±

    She just lies down on me again and taps my scales with gentle fingers. ¡°No. I¡¯ve been kind of cold ever since my group traveled north, but now that I think about it, I haven''t felt that chill since yesterday.¡±

    Well, that¡¯s peculiar. Sounds like she¡¯s growing in all sorts of ways with raw magic, mind linking, and now not being cold. I wonder if she can teach any of that to Raya, I¡¯m sure she¡¯d like it a lot.

    We¡¯re almost at Tuiran, and I¡¯m looking forward to just relaxing in my den when we get there and having some time for myself without worry. I dug that den to have a place of my own, dang it! Watching Tuiran as we approach, I almost expect something to appear and that I would have to deal with, but to my luck, no such thing happens. I still have two important tasks to deal with, Wreyn¡¯s hunt and Oakhold¡¯s criminals.

    ¡°Kira, do you still want me dead? I know Captain Neithro stopped you, so I want to know where you stand on the matter now.¡±

    ¡°I do, but I also don¡¯t. I want to see you suffer, but I also want to make your pain go away... It¡¯s kinda frustrating and I don¡¯t understand it, but I want both good and bad at the same time¡­¡±

    This stupid sensation keeps trying to influence me, and every time I do what it wants, it gets closer and makes me feel relaxed. I¡¯m not sure what it is, but I want to chase it. It¡¯s definitely mine, and I¡¯ll take what¡¯s mine. On top of that, something is definitely wrong. Whatever is going on, I need to figure out what it is and fix it...

    ¡°Watch out, Kira!¡± Oh shit! With powerful beats of my wings, I correct course and dodge the house that came out of nowhere! It¡¯s lucky I¡¯m such a good flier; otherwise, that could¡¯ve gone quite wrong. Well, since we¡¯re in town, I¡¯m gonna take us to the square so I can check on my hoard. I¡¯m sure nobody has touched it, but I still wanna check on it.

    Landing by my den, because there¡¯s no other room in the square, I let Lauren down and it¡¯s food stall day! FOOD STALL DAY! YUSH! I want all the things!

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°Only the best day ever! Food Stall Day! They make all sorts of treats, and I get to eat so many things!¡±

    She still seems unsure of this event, but I know exactly what I need to do, which is to visit the stalls! I¡¯ll need to find an entrance to the canopy maze that I fit in, though. Walking around to an entrance just like I wanted, it appears they¡¯ve accounted for my size because there¡¯s a pathway that just happens to fit me! And not even like ¡®I barely fit,¡¯ but people can walk around me without risking getting squished!

    Every time I stick my head close to a stall, someone boops me and gives me treats! This is why Food Stall Day is the best day ever! Looking back, Lauren follows me but seems to keep to herself.

    ¡°Try some! Everything they make is delicious!¡±

    ¡°How can I? They grieve because of me¡­¡±

    ¡°And they celebrate because of me, so I say try some.¡±

    With a timid smile, she does as I say. From what I can tell, my people don¡¯t seem to mind her at all, I¡¯m sure she has started creating a place for herself here. Even if she doesn¡¯t realize it, my people do, and they¡¯re what matters.

    ¡°You should enjoy yourself, Lauren. Let these people take care of you, and if you see Raya, make sure she gets those spices and stuff!¡±

    ¡°I will, thank you.¡±

    We¡¯ve reached the other end of the stalls, and I can tell that something is off... Unfolding my wings, I take flight, leaving Lauren behind to enjoy the food. Frustrating as it is, I have more important things to do than eat. I need to talk to Wreyn now. Flying as fast as I can, I head toward Oakhold. The wind actually feels biting, but this time, I have more of a plan for how to stop.

    The ground flashes beneath me and Oakhold comes closer fast, so I start flying upwards and focus on balance. Time to make gravity work for me. As I force myself to fly straighter and straighter up, it''s difficult, but I can tell that it is working to slow me down. An added benefit of going up is the lack of trees in the sky, so I won''t be suffering any blunt force trauma today!

    Feeling that my altitude is safe, I extend my wings to slow my ascent even further. And it works! An additional benefit of going up is that if I lose control, I''ll have time to recover and reorient myself before I hit the ground! I¡¯m a clever cookie.

    One thing to note is that it hurts a decent bit. The air is really ripping into my wings, but I¡¯m confident they won''t tear. I can tell for sure that I¡¯ll need to be careful not to overdo it, if I screw up and fall to the ground from this height, I''m pretty sure I won''t have any more worries.

    Tugging in my wings, I hit my peak altitude and start falling, rapidly gaining speed, but a dive I can handle. Having gained some speed, I spread my wings and go into a soar, gliding comfortably towards the ground. Won¡¯t be long until I can find Wreyn.

    I¡¯m getting really good at this flying business. Changing between glides and dives, I make short work of the last distance to the ground and land in Wreyn¡¯s yard. The first thing I do is knock on his door, which Emily opens, and this time she remembers her spell.

    ¡°Where is Wreyn?"

    ¡°Sorry, Miss Dragon, Granpap isn¡¯t home.¡±

    Dang it! That¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll just have to find him. Taking flight again, I soar over the town and call his name, he¡¯ll figure out how to let me know he¡¯s heard me. He''s a goofy old man, but he¡¯s smart. That''s why I''m here in the first place. I''m sure he can help.

    Only a moment later, a fire bolt flies by me. I''m sure that''s Wreyn letting me know where he is, and it''s easy enough to track the trajectory. Pivoting in the air, I rush toward the origin of the bolt and I see him. He''s standing in an open area, which means I have room to land. As soon as my feet touch down, I sense his talking spell taking effect.

    It''s fortunate that I found him so fast, because I need to know...

    "What do you know about mind control, Wreyn?¡±

    "Hooh... When did you become capable of articulating so well? The growling is still present, but each of your words is clear. Soon enough, I won''t need my spell to understand you. How did you manage to acquire speech already? Is it something that other young Dragons can be taught?"

    I didn''t realize my speech had changed, but now that he mentions it, it seems obvious. Feeling the magic in my throat, I can definitely tell that I have some sort of vocal cords now, which is a huge upgrade coming from trying to sound out words through growls. Focus, Kira! You''re here for a reason!

    "Focus, old man! I need to know about mind control! How can I detect it? And how do I stop it?"

 Chapter 25: Unheard

    ¡°Hmm¡­ That is not a subject I spend much time on, I fear. A perusal of my library would be necessary, but it would take time. Though I do know of someone who could help, an acquaintance of mine, the lord of Plainshold. His knowledge of the¡­ unsavory arts¡­ is unmatched in this region.¡±

    Damn it! Fine¡­ I guess if finding this person will help, then that¡¯s as good as I can ask for.

    ¡°How can I meet him?¡±

    ¡°Oh, well, that shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Plainshold is to the southeast or just about, you should be able to find it without much difficulty. It¡¯s a town somewhat larger than Oakhold, with earthwoven walls. Mage-made walls, that is. You can tell by the veins appearing in them. It really is quite fascinating! Those mage veins will allow a skilled mage to restore the walls without much difficulty, which makes besieging Plainshold rather difficult, since a mage can simply restore the damage done to the wall!¡±

    His ranting aside, I see a potential problem here... I¡¯m pretty sure that this buddy of his managed to get himself eaten by some creature. Instead of letting Wreyn go on and on about magical engineering, I¡¯m just gonna be honest here.

    Giving Wreyn a quick rundown of yesterday¡¯s events, including killing that guy Lauren pointed out, Wreyn simply strokes his beard and doesn¡¯t seem fazed at all as he shrugs.

    ¡°That would be one reason why I don¡¯t want a Dragon as my enemy. Walls do well to keep all manner of creatures out, but what good did they do to keep you out? From the sounds of it, the walls were not even a consideration. Add to that how unpredictable you can be, and you would be a fearsome foe to have crossed."

    I''m not sure about that whole fearsome foe bit, and I''m kinda curious what else he thinks about it. "How come you didn''t kill me when we met if I''m so scary?"

    "An excellent question with a simple answer! We all have plans for the future, and you have the potential to be a powerful ally in making mine a reality! And it was no lie that I want to know more about your kind, but Dragons tend to be... uncooperative."

    Okay, well, that''s not ominous at all. I do want to know more about these plans of his, but I don''t want to get too sidetracked by distractions. So, being the responsible and reliable person I am, I bring his focus back to the subject of mind-control.

    "Of course, I will study my books to find out more about mind magic, but I need to know, Kira, who do you think has had their mind altered?¡±

    I don''t like thinking about this subject, but he needs to know, I guess... Lauren is growing on me, and I know that if I¡¯m right, there¡¯s no way she won¡¯t hate me, but I don¡¯t want to be selfish when it comes to someone¡¯s feelings like that. It¡¯s obvious that she should despise me. Unloading all that I know about Lauren and what we¡¯ve been up to on Wreyn causes him to furrow his brow.

    ¡°Yes¡­ that is peculiar. If such magic has been used, I suspect my mage sight will be able to see it once I am near enough to inspect her. Though do not discount the possibility that what you describe is simply who she is, some folks are curious like that. Another possibility is that her God has intervened and affected her outlook, though such a thing is rare. From what you describe, she has no doubt been afflicted by the Warrior¡¯s Burden and Remorse of the living¡­¡±

    He just brought up a bunch of things I don¡¯t know anything about¡­

    ¡°Wreyn, I don¡¯t know about any of that! What am I supposed to do here?! If she¡¯s affected by some mind magic, I want it removed!¡±

    ¡°Calm yourself, Kira. We will deal with this situation of yours as best we can. A simple plan will help keep your mind clear. My suggestion would be that I study the subject, and while I do so, you may go north and hunt. Neithro will be here shortly, and the two of you can go together. He quite likes you, you know, which is not something I could have predicted.¡±

    It¡¯s like ants are crawling under my scales, and I want to just break something to solve this. I don¡¯t like the idea of Lauren being under the effect of some weird magic to make her like me more... I can¡¯t do anything while Wreyn studies up on the magic involved.

    ¡°Fine!¡­ I¡¯ll go hunting¡­ Where is Cranky? I wanna get going.¡±

    ¡°Right here. Greetings, Captain. Kira¡¯s Sareff ti Hewasei ewon Vanyan¡¯s Henwasob, E muto Qor fersora bera, tio er wesr pi dubira Kira ufuri E to. [Kira''s friend is suffering from Warrior¡¯s Burden, I will go help her, but you need to distract Kira while I do.]

    ¡°Ilaninae. [Understood.]¡±

    As I get ready to tell them off for not including me in the conversation, Neithro pulls out a potion and chugs it, after which he¡¯s quick to touch me, and I feel the telltale magic of a Mind Bridge Potion. I can still growl at them for excluding me, though!

    ¡°Why was my name mentioned twice, Cranky?¡±

    ¡°Lord Wreyn had some sensitive information to share and mentioned how you¡¯ve decreased crime in our little town. I must say, I enjoy your direct approach to such matters. Having a hideout destroyed by a Dragon is a remarkable deterrent for others of their ilk.¡±

    For some reason, I feel like he¡¯s trying to distract me, but I¡¯m not sure enough to push the matter, or what else I¡¯m supposed to do. But I do want to just do something, and hunting is an excellent option. I hope Wreyn finds something in those books of his. I like that Lauren is warming up to me, but if it¡¯s just because something is influencing her, then I don¡¯t want it. Nobody should have their minds altered against their will.

    ¡°Where should we go, Cranky?¡±

    He¡¯s quick to don a smile and a vicious gleam in his eyes. "We will be going north, of course. You ended up getting called away on our way there, though I can¡¯t say I blame you. I would have done the same in your situation. As Tuiran is yours, so is Oakhold my priority, after all. But I must admit that I find myself curious about how well you¡¯ll handle an unknown bestial foe.¡±

    At the very least, I can say that I¡¯ve handled every beast I¡¯ve fought, but I¡¯ve also struggled a lot. This reminds me that I really need to do something about these wounds I¡¯ve gotten throughout the last few days. This is gonna suck, and I don¡¯t like it... Lauren may have healed me, but the scars are still there, I hope that the scales will regrow to be the way they used to.

    Taking hold of my magic, I force it into the affected areas and searing pain hits me like a boulder to the face, but I think it¡¯s working. I do find a distracting thought as my magic works its¡­ magic¡­ One thing that is very clear is that I have no problem sustaining wounds in battle, but outside of fighting, I¡¯m a delicate little dragon!

    As I react to this expected assault of my own doing, Wreyn seems to have been caught off guard.

    ¡°By the Gods, Kira! What is happening to you?!¡± Yeah, he seems a little worried. Maybe I should have let him know before tormenting myself¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­ I¡¯m just healing some damage to my scales. It¡¯s a neat trick Lily taught me, but it''s very uncomfortable¡­¡±

    ¡°Hooh¡­ Yes, I could imagine it being uncomfortable¡­ What you did was not healing, it was forced regrowth. I have never witnessed that before, truly a remarkable sight to behold! You must teach me as much as you can about yourself!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough, Wreyn. We all have things to do.¡±

    We do have things to do, and I really want Wreyn to find something to help Lauren. It must be scary for her to have her feelings suppressed like that. I know I don¡¯t want anyone forcing me to feel certain ways, if anyone tried, I¡¯d rip them apart before they could.

    Giving Neithro a nudge, I lower myself to the ground so he can hop on, but that doesn¡¯t seem to be what he wants to do.

    ¡°I¡¯ll fetch my mace before we leave. I thought it was unnecessary last time, and that was a mistake.¡±

    ¡°Get weapons attached to you, like my claws. They¡¯re great!¡± Getting up, I give him a little demonstration, letting a little magic flow into my claws, I scratch lines in one of the larger stones. He just waves me off and walks away, I¡¯m gonna follow him. Last time we were here, he just fetched his weapon from a guardhouse, maybe this time, it¡¯s at his place!

    Leaving Wreyn to his studies, Neithro and I saunter through the streets, and folks have very mixed reactions. Most are scared, but a few seem excited to see us.

    ¡°Cranky¡­ Can I call you Cranky, or would you prefer Neithro? Either way, why are people so scared? And why do some seem to be happy?¡±

    If I had to guess, it seems my questions gave him something to think about because he stopped moving and now he¡¯s facing me. And then he turns to face the people around us.

    ¡°People of Oakhold! You don''t have to fear Kira! She is the Guardian Dragon of Tuiran and she is here to help secure our neighbors to the north and defeat the beasts that threaten them! No doubt you have heard about what happened yesterday, but you should know that Monrai¡¯s gang threatened one of her people! So what should we call someone who invites a Dragon''s wrath?¡±

    The crowd seems to murmur and I have no idea what they¡¯re saying, but I like where Neithro¡¯s little speech is going.

    ¡°I¡¯m hearing some say moron, idiot, and dead. And you are all correct! Only a hell-cursed fool would do something as moronic as pissing off a Dragon! If you know someone who aligns with the unsavory elements of our great town, encourage them to turn themselves in and they shall be punished for their misdeeds, but the wisdom of their action will be considered and their punishment will be lenient! You have my word as Captain of the Guard!¡±

    Most of them seem quite relieved as he stops talking. I guess it worked, and as far as I can tell, the people seem to accept all that stuff he said, which I¡¯m gonna say is a good thing. I don¡¯t want to stand around here all day, though, so prepare to be nudged, Neithro!

    ¡°Enough of these distractions, Cranky, let¡¯s get moving. I want to bite something.¡±

    ¡°Yes, that should be done elsewhere.¡±

    About time we start moving again. If he stops to give another speech, I¡¯m just gonna knock him over and stop that nonsense. We¡¯ve got things to do so we can return and find out what Wreyn has learned.

    He leads the way down a narrow street and I can¡¯t follow¡­ Dang it! Fine¡­ ¡°Cranky, I can¡¯t fit in there. I want to see your place and how you live!¡±

    ¡°Wait there, I will be back in a moment.¡±

    I don¡¯t like this, I keep getting in trouble when I¡¯m without escort in this stupid town... If anyone tries anything sneaky, I won¡¯t hold back this time. I''m restless, and I need to do something. Hurry up, Cranky!

    "Cranky! Hurry up! I want to kill stuff! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"

    All of a sudden, with no provocation at all, a window opens, and Cranky leans out, looking quite cranky.

    "I am hurrying! Be quiet!"

    Geez, why is he so cranky, I''m the one who has to wait for an eternity... The position of the sun may disagree, but half an eternity later, he finally arrives and we continue our trek through the streets of Oakhold. And would you look at that, I didn''t even get attacked this time.

    I wouldn''t have minded if our journey through Oakhold had taken us by some food, but no such luck. I need to focus anyway, so it might be for the best.

    "Hey Cranky, do you want Raya to apologize? And why did you leave instead of just telling her not to do it?"

    "I don''t need an apology. I left because I was furious. I''ve got an image of who I''m supposed to be, and I''ve been maintaining that image for years. But ever since meeting you, I''ve been given a silly nickname, I''ve fallen from a mount, and a much weaker being has managed to strike me."

    Oh, that does sound frustrating. "If you don''t want me to call you Cranky, I can stop."

    "No, it is not a problem. It is a good reminder of why I should be less stiff in my conduct. My skills, achievements, and titles don''t mean a thing to someone unfamiliar with my history. I should work to be more approachable. Do remember the title though, it''s Captain Cranky."

    That sounds like personal growth! Good on you, Captain Cranky! With that settled, I need to think of a new subject to occupy myself with, but I''m not sure what... As luck would have it, I don''t have to think of anything because the gates are up ahead! I can finally get out of this town!

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Leaning down, Captain Cranky is quick to mount up and we''re off toward the north! I''ll finally get to bite something! I hope we get further north than that village this time, I''d rather hunt a fun beast than boring bandits.

    We''re at the bandit village, and the buildings are still burnt, so I''m not sure anyone has been here since Captain Cranky and I left it. I can''t imagine people want to move in when those who used to live there were killed.

    "Captain Cranky, will this village be left abandoned, or will someone move in?"

    "It is unlikely anyone will settle here this late in the year, but vagrants with nowhere else to go might take up residence. And if they survive the winter, they might rebuild. That is most likely the way your goblin friends found their home."

    That sounds nice, so the village might find new life. Wait, if they survive the winter? That sounds pretty bad! Maybe I should visit and check on them over the winter. It''s possible that I can help anyone who moves in. That''s for later, though, I want to focus on what we''re here for.

    "What are we looking for, Captain Cranky?"

    "A villager from the north arrived in Oakhold two days ago, he had information on the beast and, as far as he knows, it has made its home in the hills up ahead. Keep your nose out for any scents of blood or that of a large predator."

    Sounds simple enough, but I''m gonna take us closer to the ground. The whole thing ends up taking quite a while, and I''m on the verge of getting too bored when I hit a wall of smell. Something is scent-marking this area because I smell both old and new urine. I hope this is the beast, because these scent marks are potent and they make me want to challenge whatever lives here.

    "Captain Cranky, we''re in someone''s territory. Get ready."

    Feeling him readying his mace, I take us to the ground. Having learned how much of the smell my wings displace, I know that we''ll need to stalk this target. As soon as we land, he dismounts and he''s definitely ready for a fight.

    Scenting our surroundings, it becomes clear that this beast has circled recently. I''m not sure why, but I want to head northwest from here. I don''t wait for Cranky to comment before I head off.

    "Can you tell where it is, Kira?"

    "No, but it''s not far."

    Following the territory border, I track whatever it is. A weaker scent hides beneath the urine, the smell of the beast itself, and now I have something specific to track. I guess tracking urine is also specific, but now I have the scent of the animal itself!

    For something hiding in an open area, it surprises me how hard it is to see any markings left by this animal. It''s clear where I''ve been, though. The soft ground gives way to my claws far too easily.

    The smell is getting more intense, so we''re getting closer. I''m also picking up a hint of decay, suggesting we''re closing in on a feeding area. Following the trail, we crest a small hill and patches of dirt become easy to spot. It buries the remains of whatever it eats. That''s clever.

    We continue onward and go into the feeding area, I want to find out what this thing eats. If it isn''t what we''re looking for, I might leave it alone.

    "What are you doing?"

    "I want to know if we''re hunting the right animal."

    Raking my claws across the soft soil, bones jut up left and right. This beast is a proficient hunter, and it makes me want to hunt it regardless of whether it''s the right one or not. Cranky bends down and starts inspecting the bones with a scowl on his face.

    "There are dwarven, lizard, beast, and human bones here. This is far worse than we expected. We need to stay alert, Kira."

    "Cranky, barrier your body now!" He''s quick to respond, and I chomp down on him. The barriers hold, and I rush into the air. We don''t get far as something latches onto my tail. It pulls me off-balance, and as we hit the ground, Cranky is ejected from my maw. Turning around, I see the problem, a very large fox has my tail in its mouth!

    The dang thing has six legs and is almost my size! How did that thing sneak up on me?! We''d be so screwed if I hadn''t smelled it at the last moment. I don''t have time to think about all that, I need to get my tail out of its mouth.

    It yanks on my tail as I try to turn around, forcing me to stay pointed away from it. Dang it! Using my fantastic neck, I turn my head and look directly at Foxy and unleash a flame, but it isn''t having it. Foxy bites down, trying to sever my bladed tail tip from the rest of me. It really freakin'' hurts!

    With flames roaring toward it, the dang thing manages to let go before getting burned! After giving me a painful chomp, it just dodged my jet and I don''t even smell burned fur. Cranky joins me, and luckily he looks fine. Now that it isn''t holding onto me anymore, I turn around and face it.

    "Kira, watch out for its teeth! That beast can bite through reinforced plating!"

    "Gee, thanks, Captain Obvious, I hadn''t noticed because of all the bleeding I''m doing!"

    "It will try to keep some distance from you now, so we''re safe until it thinks of something."

    Well, that''s good to know, some leeway is nice as we come up with a plan. At the very least, I''m gonna stop the bleeding. Foxy is just staring us down, and it makes me want to attack first, but I''m pretty sure that''s a bad idea with something like that. As far as damage goes, it has taken the lead, and I don''t like that.

    Okay, plan, plan... This thing is fast, stealthy, and has a powerful bite, so how do we beat it?

    "What do we do here, Cranky? I don''t know how to get close to that thing, it''s much faster than me."

    "It''s fast, but it doesn''t have your strength. That''s why it hasn''t attacked us yet, it isn''t sure it can overpower you. We need to retaliate when it attacks us."

    "How is something like this even real?! That thing is so big!"

    "Do I need to point out that you are a Dragon?"

    "Okay, you shut it until you come up with a plan, Cranky. I don''t want to have to rename you Snarky."

    And now he''s smiling at me. Focus! We have to deal with Foxy! The fox is still staring at us, so I throw some flames towards it, but it doesn''t even move. Okay, that''s a bad sign. I hope it hasn''t figured out my range already.

    "Can you fly away? If we get it to hunt me, I can protect myself with my barriers, and you can use the opportunity to strike."

    That sounds like a really bad plan, and I don''t want to risk his life like that. What if I''m late, or it circumvents his barrier? If he gets caught in those jaws, he''ll die. Question is, do I trust him or do we think of something else?

    Fine, I trust him... Turning around, I prepare to take off. I don''t want to fly over that thing, it can no doubt jump high as well.

    "Kira! It''s coming!"

    Shit! The beast closed the distance in no time at all and leapt at my wing. I think it tried to ground me, but it met Cranky''s barrier, preventing it from raking my wing. Swinging my tail to strike back, it dodges me with ease. I don''t like Foxy, the bastard is too quick.

    There''s a special kind of frustration bubbling in me as I''m prevented from flying because it hasn''t succeeded in ruining my wing. It''s back to keeping distance from us, and I just don''t like that one bit.

    "Any ideas, Kira? I don''t believe it will allow you to fly."

    "Get on me. If it tries to bite me from behind, hit it. I''m confident I can kill it if it tries a direct attack."

    He does as I say, as I lean down. At least like this, I won''t accidentally leave him vulnerable by having to move away. The fox doesn''t seem to react to what we''re doing, seeming content to watch. What happens if I move closer, I wonder.

    Doing just that, the fox runs away at an angle, so I give chase. If I keep it in front of me, it can''t attack without putting itself at huge risk. I thought I was a fast runner, but now I''m feeling like all of this might have been a case of me being a big fish in a small pond. I can''t think about that right now, that''ll just worry me.

    We continue chasing the fox, and it continues to keep its distance. Stupid, clever fox.

    "Kira, take flight to close the distance."

    It stopped for just a moment... Instead of continuing the chase, we stop and the fox mimics us, it''s frustrating how well it reacts... If I can get a hold of it, then I can kill it, but it won''t let me! Let me eat you, Foxy!

    Instead of just standing around, I start chasing it again. I need to try flying toward it, even though I doubt it will work. That thing turns far better than I do, which is another problem. If it dodges me, it can turn around and attack me anyway because of how agile it is.

    Regardless of all that, I take flight and charge at it from the air, but just as I expected, it turns out of my path and avoids me without much effort.

    "Any ideas, Cranky? I''m not coming up with anything. It''s a very bad match-up for me."

    "How well can you fly straight up? I should be able to block attacks from below."

    I don''t like the sound of that ''should,'' but I don''t have any better ideas. Spreading my wings again, I prepare to take off and the damn fox shimmers! It shimmers, and I can''t see it anymore! What kind of nonsense is that?!

    Okay, screw all that being clever stuff, it''s time to be a dragon! Unleashing my flames, I pump magic into them and scorch the ground around us, making sure to turn around to get that burning ring of fire effect. If Foxy wants to get near, it''ll have to pass through the fire as my flames consume the landscape!

    "Kira, I can''t breathe!"

    I continue my jet of flame, but as I do, I dig a small pit under us. It should be enough to keep him safe from the smoke.

    "I''ve made a hole, get in and protect yourself from the smoke!"

    I can''t see anything for the smoke, but I''m gonna guess that neither can that fox. And if I had to guess, based on a very basic understanding of biology, I''m gonna say that the fox does not have a third eyelid for flying and keeping smoke out of its eyes. What it does have is a nasty dry cough.

    As I stop my flames, the smoke starts to clear, but I want to help Cranky out a bit, so I beat my wings a few times to speed up the process. The smoke clears, but a few areas keep smoldering and smoking, it shouldn''t prove problematic for us. Some distance away, I see the fox trying to hide, but judging by the burnt patches of skin, it got too close to my fire.

    Before I celebrate prematurely, I''m gonna check on Cranky. Nudging him, he seems conscious, but I suspect he''ll want a break after this whole situation. Perhaps Lauren will be up for throwing some healing magic his way.

    "Are you okay, Cranky?"

    "I will be fine. This has been a stark reminder of why Wreyn wants your help and the risks to Oakhold if we end up crossing you."

    "Pfft, I wouldn''t hurt Oakhold or anyone in your town."

    "You''ve killed three adventurers, three criminals, and ruined five buildings. So far."

    "You shouldn''t dwell on the past like that. Besides, we''ve got a fox to find!"

    As far as I can tell, he doesn''t mind my destructive tendencies so much because he''s smiling at me as I lower my head for him to hop on. He''s quick to do so, and I start toward the fox. It''s still very fast for something wounded, which surprises me. I would have thought that smoke inhalation and burn wounds would slow it down more, but the fox just keeps going.

    It is afraid now, so I doubt it will turn around and attack, so I take flight and close the distance in a very short time. It tries to pivot, but it trips and falls to the ground. Finally, I can get a taste of this thing! I''ve been looking forward to that ever since it showed up.

    Standing by the beast, it looks like it barely has enough strength to stay awake. And it''s shrinking. Why is it shrinking?! That means less food for me!

    "Why are you shrinking?! Cranky, make it stop!"

    "What do you expect me to do? I don''t know how this beast works!"

    Before I realize it, the dang thing is tinier than Cranky, and it even changes shape into some sort of tiny person. Dang it! And I miss my opportunity for a large meal! I guess I''ll have to settle for a tiny snack. Tiny snacks are still enjoyable, so I''ll be fine.

    "Please, spare. Apologize I attack. Must defend home."

    I knew it! I knew this thing understood us! That''s why it reacted to Cranky telling me to fly! Now it really deserves to be eaten!

    "Kira, I believe it might be a spirit."

    "Are spirits edible?"

    "Not to my knowledge, but that is not what I was trying to point out. Dwarves and lizards are both spirit-centric peoples. It''s doubtful that a spirit would kill and bury them."

    This is starting to sound an awful lot like me missing out on more food...

    "Well, then what killed them, Cranky? Because as far as I know, something is hunting people."

    "Spirit, what killed those in your care?"

    "Dead beast. I send next. Gone."

    I have no idea what that means, but the ''gone'' part sounds like a third missed food opportunity... I didn''t even get to bite the large fox...

    "So I don''t get to eat the spirit?"

    "No, Kira. Spirits are protective guardians. Should you kill this one, this area will be vulnerable to dark magic. Might I suggest that I buy you a few meals in place of what this spirit would offer?"

    "I''m not that easy to bribe..."

    "You know what the turning point for my opinion of you was? Your willingness to listen and think. I judged you barely above a mindless beast, but you''ve shown me to be wrong several times. Your ferocity is impressive, but you remain within the reach of reason."

    It''s pretty obvious that someone filled him in on my weakness to flattery...

    "Okay, fine... I won''t eat the spirit... But you have to tell Raya that she bested you in combat or there''s no deal!"

    "It is possible my assessment of your reason was incorrect..." He may say so, but that smile and chuckle make it clear that he''s making fun of me.

    "Cranky, how did the spirit do what it did?"

    "Spirit arts are not one of my specialties, so I can''t tell you how it performed such magic. But I can tell you that the beast it mimicked is very real. They can be found to the east of here."

    Well, that''s promising, but it doesn''t help me now. What am I supposed to do with the future having fun fights and edibles when the present has neither?

    "Kira, we should leave the spirit to rebuild its strength. Night is approaching, and I''m sure Wreyn will be in Tuiran by now."

    Why would he be in Tuiran, he''s supposed to be studying... Yeah, I need to find out what''s going on with that. Spreading my wings, I give them a beat and a moment later, we''re airborne. For a moment, I thought I forgot Cranky, but he has been on me since he got out of the little hole.

    "How is your breathing, Cranky?"

    "I will recover, though I do hope not to be caught in an inferno such as that ever again."

    Yeah, I can see that. It can''t have been comfortable for him to be in the middle of all that fire and smoke. On the topic of fire, I need to make sure I have magic left because I''m pretty sure I used a bunch on all those flames.

    Reaching for my magic, I find that I''m... doing okay. I shouldn''t go into another fight, but I''m not about to fall out of the sky. Or heal my tail, but that can wait anyway. Think of...

    "Cranky, do you know why that spirit risked itself by going through my flames?"

    "You were destroying its home. I would imagine it wanted to stop you as soon as possible."

    I guess that makes sense, but that''s also very reckless behavior, it could have died! Reckless spirits aside, I''m looking forward to getting home and finding out why Wreyn went to Tuiran without me. Knowing how my magic is doing, I''m confident I can speed up our flight some more, so that''s what I do. Why did we have to be so far north?! I want to go home!

    By the time we reach Tuiran, it''s quite late in the evening, and the empty square reminds me that I have missed food stall day! My hardships just keep on piling on... And I''m gonna make that someone else''s problem!

    "Lauren, you get three guesses to figure out who''s back!"

    judging by the distant exclamation I heard, I''m decently confident that she could hear my mind message. Which means she''s still in town!

    ¡°Cora tiai nuia? [What was that?]¡±

    Oh, I guess the potion wore off, I should find Joras so he can help us talk again. Letting Cranky down, I decide to just wait here. I''m sure people will come now that I''ve alerted Lauren to my presence. While waiting, I head into my den, and someone has been here, I can smell it.

    The leather pack on that unfamiliar table is also helpful evidence. So it''s pretty clear to me that I completely forgot about picking it up after I commissioned it. I wonder if it still fits, I have grown since then. Nudging it, I see all sorts of straps and buckles.

    I''ll have to figure out how to work it later. I''m sure the leathersmith person made it dragon-accessible, but I''d like a quick demonstration. Naturally, I make sure to check on my small pile of money, and as far as I can tell, it''s all there. I love you, small pile of money.

    "Kira! Get your scaly ass up here!"

    Well, Lauren sure is fast. I don''t feel like I spent that much time down here, but it was enough for her.

    "Kira!"

    "I''m coming up, Lauren!"

    Judging by the very furrowed brow, glaring eyes, and her being all around pissed, I''d guess she isn''t in a good mood.

    "Are you fucking kidding me?! You sent a mage to examine me because I was honest with you?"

    "In my defense, I didn''t expect him to come here. He was supposed to research mind-control. I thought you might have been mind-controlled to like me more since you have a lot of reasons to not like me."

    "I know why you did it! Wreyn explained it to me. Not hating you does not mean I¡¯m affected by mind magic, it means I can see that we were wrong to do what we did. So don''t send any more mages my way, got it?"

    "Geez. I was trying to look out for you. The scariest thing I''ve experienced was someone using mind magic on me. So I may have jumped to conclusions..."

    "Thank you for trying, you silly beast..."

 Chapter 26: Familiar

    Well, it¡¯s very clear to me that Lauren has mixed feelings on this whole help situation, but I¡¯m happy she isn¡¯t being mind-controlled. Less happy that she yelled at me again, but that seems to be her thing. I should look into getting her to stop that.

    There¡¯s plenty of time for that, though, so for now, I should be the mature and non-yelling person.

    ¡°Did you enjoy Food Stall Day?¡±

    She¡¯s just staring at me with a scowl, and I don¡¯t know what to do with that. At least the scowl isn¡¯t indicative of a foul mood, as far as I know. I haven¡¯t seen her without one, so I figure that¡¯s just her face. The only rational thing to do in this situation is to lick her, obviously.

    There we go, the scowl is gone! It has been replaced by a very shocked expression. Whether that¡¯s an upgrade or not, I don¡¯t know, but it''s different.

    ¡°Why would you do that?!¡±

    ¡°I figured you were too lost in thought, and I got a little impatient.¡±

    ¡°I was considering my answer, you vile beast!¡±

    She wipes my saliva away from her face as she mumbles and growls a bunch of words I¡¯m not paying attention to, but it¡¯s definitely foul.

    ¡°I would still like to hear about your day at the Food Stall Day.¡±

    ¡°It was fun... Your people are very welcoming and nice. They can¡¯t understand me, but that didn¡¯t seem to matter. This entire situation is unreal... Goblins aren¡¯t like this, Kira, they¡¯re supposed to be vicious, greedy, and primitive. I thought your goblins were just pretending to be civilized, but¡­ this is real.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about any of that, they were like this when I got here. But you had a good day, so that¡¯s great! Good job, Lauren!¡±

    ¡°Thank you¡­¡±

    Well, she¡¯s staring at me again, so I¡¯m gonna nudge her and go back to my den. Lately, every time I enter Tuiran, I feel stronger, and when entering my den, that feeling somehow gets amplified, which is definitely something I need to learn more about. No doubt it¡¯s related to that hoard business.

    Reaching my main room, I find myself glad that I dug out enough space to move around, it¡¯s very comfortable down here. Heading straight for my small pile of money, I thump down on top of it and coil up to get comfortable again. Looking at the entrance again, I see Lauren standing there.

    ¡°Kira, can I stay here tonight? I¡­ Uh¡­¡±

    ¡°Of course you can, Lauren.¡±

    She¡¯s hesitant to approach, but manages to make progress, reaching me after a short while. Joining me, she leans against the junction between my shoulder and neck, getting comfortable.

    ¡°Lauren, I¡¯m really curious why you¡¯re so comfortable with me, given our history.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I think I might be lonely, and you¡¯re being so kind, looking out for me¡­ Can we talk about something else?¡±

    ¡°Sure. I wish birds existed.¡±

    "... What?..."

    "Birds, they''re these small creatures with feathers, and they can fly too. There are all sorts of them and they''re really neat. I like birds."

    "I know what birds are, and of course they exist. Why would you think they don''t?"

    "I haven''t seen any since I hatched. So I just assumed they didn''t exist."

    "If they didn''t exist, Kira, how would you know about them?"

    "I can''t think of an answer to that, but how come I haven''t seen any?"

    ¡°Maybe they¡¯re smart. Seeing a large predator in their space, they hide.¡±

    Well, that makes an annoying amount of sense... Silly birds, I wouldn¡¯t eat them. Now I have to figure out some way to find birds that don¡¯t flee before I spot them.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna go to sleep and ignore the implications of your nonsense. I don¡¯t want to deal with that right now¡­¡±

    Well, she seems tired, but birds aren¡¯t nonsense, they¡¯re neat. I¡¯m gonna go to sleep instead of prodding her about birds.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    First thing I do as I wake up is do a proper stretch, and it feels good. Second thing I do is remember that Lauren was sleeping against me and she¡¯s now on the floor. Well, I can¡¯t undo that. And she¡¯s opting for groaning instead of yelling, so she¡¯s growing as a person!

    I want to find Raya and do something fun today, something non-fighting. And I want to watch her apologize to Cranky, that¡¯ll no doubt be fun!

    ¡°Hey Lauren, what are you going to do today?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, wander the town, be lost in thought, and brood.¡±

    Sounds like she has her whole day planned out, but it doesn¡¯t sound like a healthy way to spend her time.

    ¡°I have a task for you, Lauren. I need someone to go into Joras'' store when he isn¡¯t there, and move his stuff around. Just enough to be annoying. And once that¡¯s done, I want you to find me a cask of booze.¡±

    She sits up and eyes me with a semi-glare; I think she might be suspicious that I¡¯m up to something, but I¡¯m not! All of this is important Guardian Dragon business! I might even help her out. Turning around, I gently knock on Jeannie¡¯s door, which opens immediately. She¡¯s quick.

    Standing in the tiny doorway is a very ready-looking Jeannie, and now I suspect she might have been waiting for us to finish our conversation. Hold on, that doesn¡¯t make any sense, I was talking to Lauren with my mind, so Jeannie couldn¡¯t hear that.

    ¡°Were you waiting for Lauren to leave?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ uhm¡­ I was waiting for both of you to leave.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to wait, Jeannie, you can come and go as you please. We both live here. Roomies for life! But it''s good that you¡¯re still here, I have a favor to ask!¡±

    She¡¯s experiencing all sorts of emotions based on her changing expressions, and the latest one is, I think, trepidation. I explain my plan for Lauren and that I¡¯d like Jeannie to be her guide and keep the first aid kit out of trouble. She seems worried, but she isn¡¯t afraid of Lauren, so that¡¯s very good.

    As luck would have it, she agrees, and now I just have to wait until these two become besties! Someone timid like Jeannie will benefit from someone as assertive as Lauren.

    ¡°Jeannie, if you want a suggestion for what to do first, I¡¯m sure Lauren would like a bath.¡±

    Turning to Lauren, I move toward her, towering over the human as I glare into her eyes. It¡¯s clear that she worries about my sudden change in demeanor, but that¡¯s all part of the plan. Leaning down so we¡¯re face to face, I give her a sloppy lick and run off!

    ¡°YOU VILE IRREDEEMABLE BEAST!¡±

    ¡°Good luck, Jeannie!¡±

    Time to find Raya. The obvious place to look would be her house, but it¡¯s close to noon, so she¡¯s more likely to be out and about than stuck at home. My thoughts turn darker as I think back to the assault, and I think I might need to visit the place I ruined. Joras did say I broke some buildings. And seeing as I¡¯m a responsible dragon, I should offer to help out.

    Taking to the skies, I soar over Tuiran looking for the ruined buildings, but I¡¯m not seeing any. Geez, maybe they¡¯ve fixed everything already. They did work hard on my den immediately, so I shouldn¡¯t be surprised. There¡¯s also the pavement goblin who repairs the damage I do to the streets just by walking.

    I¡¯m pretty sure it was in the northwest, but everything really does look pristine... I can¡¯t even tell that a couple of buildings were torn down during that fight. Well, if the evidence of my mayhem is gone, I¡¯ll consider that a win.

    Changing course, I glide toward the western gate, I still want to find Raya, and I¡¯m sure the guards will know whether she left town or not, they¡¯re usually pretty informed on the comings and goings of folks.

    Landing outside the western gate, one of the guards falls on his ass with a scream, a very manly and intimidating scream, you¡¯re doing well, buddy. The other guard is laughing and clutching his belly. There¡¯s a chance I may have landed with a little more force than I had intended, but it¡¯s good to keep these guys on their toes.

    Approaching them, I ask if they¡¯ve seen Raya around, and the fallen guard is the first to collect himself, he informs me that they have seen her! That¡¯s a clue!

    ¡°She left by sunbreak and didn¡¯t bring her basket, so she may be exploring.¡±

    Well, then she has a head start and I¡¯m not gonna linger here. It¡¯s time to track down a goblin. This might be a fool¡¯s errand on my part, because it¡¯s a large forest and she has had quite some time to run around in there, but it¡¯s nice to just fly and not have to worry.

    I¡¯m still not seeing any birds, but Lauren seemed confident that they do exist. Maybe there are some in those small holes in the side of the eastern mountains, birds love small safe places.

    Wait¡­ If Frosty turned into one of those dead things, what happened to the other bear that fell? Okay, that¡¯s a scary thought, I might have to consult someone about that.

    ¡°Lauren, can you hear me?¡±

    Waiting for a bit, I don¡¯t get a reply, so of course I try again. Don¡¯t give up just because it doesn¡¯t work the first time.

    ¡°Lauren, can you hear me? Lauren, what happens if one of those frost bears falls from the mountain and nobody is around to make sure it¡¯s dead?¡±

    I¡¯ve just spotted a flaw in my plan. Lauren speaks aloud when she talks to me, so she won¡¯t be able to reply, even if she can hear me. I should apologize for that.

    ¡°Sorry, Lauren, I forgot that you can¡¯t speak into my mind like I can to you, so I¡¯ll remember that for next time. I also don¡¯t know if you¡¯re even hearing me, I¡¯m a good distance away from Tuiran, so who knows. Well, I guess you do. Nevertheless, I¡¯ll be more mindful of you in the future, so you won¡¯t have to hear my ramblings about scary subjects like dead bears and stuff. I¡¯ll go back to looking for Raya now, I hope you and Jeannie have fun!¡±

    There, nice and concise to make sure she won¡¯t yell at me when I get back.

    I¡¯m not any closer to finding Raya, so I¡¯m gonna go south! I haven¡¯t been south much, so it might be exciting to explore! I could even follow that road and see where it leads to. Although this time, if I find a town, I¡¯m not gonna approach it. I¡¯m pretty sure Wreyn is an outlier when it comes to being friendly with dragons.

    I haven¡¯t spotted anyone using the road, but it isn¡¯t overgrown, so I¡¯m pretty sure it''s seeing some traffic.

    The option to turn around becomes more tempting as the landscape changes from forest to green hills and all I¡¯m seeing is a gray fort in the distance. It looks way more fortified than anything I¡¯ve seen so far, and I¡¯m pretty sure visiting is a bad idea, so I stand by my earlier decision not to visit towns! Point to Kira for not being led astray!

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    Flying is nice and all, but I¡¯m getting bored of not finding Raya or anyone else, for that matter. I want some excitement! Howl at me, wolves, so I may hunt you down and claim your territory!

    I listen for a while, but no howls happen, solidifying the notion that wolves are, in fact, very rude creatures. I guess it is some time past midday, so they¡¯re probably resting from their morning hunt.

    I guess it was always unlikely that I¡¯d find a tiny green person wearing brown clothes in a forest. I¡¯m gonna head home and find out if Lauren heard me. I¡¯m sure she has something to say on the matter of dead bears, and if not, Joras might.

    Thinking back on the wolves as I fly over the forest again, it¡¯s kinda weird that I don¡¯t really get hungry, but I can eat all the time. It seems to me that that¡¯s a peculiar situation, but it might be a dragon thing.

    I¡¯m gonna try getting smarter on the subject of me! Using my magic to see inside me, I don¡¯t feel any remnants of stuff I¡¯ve eaten, and I¡¯m pretty sure I haven¡¯t been careful with things that are traditionally considered non-edible, like equipment.

    I should try exploring this after having eaten, it might be an interesting topic for Wreyn. I¡¯ll have to make some mental notes and see what else I can learn about my own biology. For example, am I really- OH GEEZ! That is a rancid stench. I¡¯ve hit some sort of cloud of yuck. Who dares offend my nostrils like this?!

    That nearly made me flinch right out of the sky! I need to find the source and make it stop. Looking around, it doesn¡¯t take me long to find someone running northwest between the trees, and I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯re the guilty party because they just threw another stink bomb!

    Not at me, granted, but I still got hit! The person on the ground is being chased by some sort of snake, and I don¡¯t know what it is about this snake, but it¡¯s making me want to leave it alone.

    The dang thing looks longer than I am and thicker too. If it¡¯s a constrictor, it could probably kill me, but what if it isn¡¯t a constrictor? That means it¡¯s venomous. That¡¯s even scarier! I don¡¯t know how I would react to venom, I might be allergic! That¡¯s two beasts around my size, and that does not sound safe with so many tiny people around.

    Going back to the events currently unfolding, I¡¯ve thought of a brilliant plan! I can annoy this snake for making me uncomfortable! There¡¯s a clearing up ahead, and if the running person makes it there, I can snatch them up and leave!

    The runner is making good time and somehow, they¡¯re staying ahead of the snake, both heading directly for the clearing and I¡¯m following from above, though I¡¯m having to crisscross to not fly ahead. I have no idea whether they¡¯re fast or not, but I¡¯m faster and that makes me feel good.

    Getting ready, the runner enters the clearing and I swoop down. They let out a scream as I pick them up by the waist and take off again. Don¡¯t worry, random person, I¡¯ve got you! The snake hisses at us, so I hiss back. That¡¯ll teach you to be big and scary!

    I don¡¯t know where this person is from, but- HECKING OUCH! They shocked me! This darn person shocked me! Here I am, on my best behavior¡­ Well, maybe not from the snake¡¯s perspective, and I did kinda just abduct someone... Never mind that! I got shocked and that''s not nice!

    Looking down at them, I see¡­. Yeah, I¡¯m just gonna dump this one on the road and leave. I¡¯ve got more important people to look out for. Setting course due east, we¡¯ll make it to the road in no time, then I can leave her and forget this ever happened.

    At the very least, I know that I don¡¯t react as much to being shocked as I used to, so that¡¯s a lovely discovery I was totally looking forward to making.

    Making it to the road, it becomes clear that I can¡¯t just land anywhere, I need enough room to take off again. I¡¯m not walking back to Tuiran, that¡¯s for sure. So far, I¡¯ve been shocked four times since picking her up, which I find to be very rude, honestly. I did save you from a snake!

    It¡¯s not even clever shocking, it just makes me squeeze her a little every time she does it.

    There¡¯s a clearing up ahead I judge to be suitable, and I¡¯m getting a little tired of these shocks. So it¡¯s time to prepare for landing, and this will be interesting, because I usually use my hands when I land, but they¡¯re occupied holding this shocking woman.

    On the other hand, why overthink it? I''ll just dump her on the side of the road in a patch of grass and leave her there. I¡¯m going back to Tuiran, and she can follow the road to wherever she wants. That¡¯s what you get for throwing things at me and shocking me, weird forest lady!

    I¡¯d like to think I¡¯m growing as a person because it was really tempting to just drop her as soon as I recognized her, but I didn¡¯t, so point to Kira again. I¡¯m scoring all the points today. And now I¡¯m gonna head back to Tuiran and see if Raya has returned.

    If the sun is any indication, I should be back in Tuiran by evening, which is also a great time to hunt. Don¡¯t get distracted, Kira. No hunting today, we¡¯re just gonna go back to Tuiran and find Raya. Maybe stop by a butcher for some snacks, it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve picked up snacks.

    The flight is remarkably uneventful until I near Tuiran and a strong scent of blood hits me. Looking around, I see a trail of blood going from the forest to Tuiran. Not again¡­ If someone has attacked Tuiran again, I¡¯m gonna make sure it can¡¯t happen a third time.

    Landing by the trail, I smell a mix of wolf and goblin blood, with how weak goblins are, I doubt it can mean anything other than a hunting pack. Following the trail into the woods, I rush between the trees. The smell grows more intense and I¡¯m confident that I¡¯ll find something soon.

    There¡¯s something up ahead¡­ The stench of blood is overpowering, and I see two dead wolves, but no trail leading away from here, aside from the one I followed¡­

    ¡°Hey Kira!¡±

    Turning around, Raya stands there looking innocent as she smiles at me.

    ¡°What happened here, Raya?! I smell goblin blood!¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s my fault, I cut myself when I tried to skin a wolf and my knife slipped, so I decided to drag them back to town and have someone else do it. But now you can help me carry one! I can see why you like hunting wolves, it¡¯s fun!¡±

    Okay, she took on three wolves and won? She was outmatched by one when we met¡­ Inspecting one of the wolf carcasses, I do see both stab and scorch marks. The burns are centered around their faces, so I¡¯m guessing she blinded them before stabbing them. That¡¯s vicious. Point to Raya, geez.

    Grabbing a wolf with my jaws, I lift it up and start heading back to town, Raya is somehow managing to drag the other. With my mouth full of wolf head, I ask her how she¡¯s become so strong.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s like when I need strength, I can reach for this big source of power, and it comes to me. I think it has something to do with you because my skin is also becoming hard.¡±

    Nonsense, I haven¡¯t done anything. But she really is getting stronger. She¡¯ll be able to fend off humans in no time! Raya the Dragonbringer, pummeler of annoying people, whacker of Cranky.

    The titles write themselves.

    Raya tells me about all the things she¡¯s been up to lately. As it turns out, she¡¯s been getting challenged to fights by guards trying to prove how tough they are. And winning with ease. At one point, she even fought Big Guy, but he won. I suggested that she just smack him into a building, because that worked well for me, but she doesn¡¯t seem to think that¡¯s viable for her.

    We¡¯re arriving at Tuiran, and my mistake following the trail becomes obvious. I went for the stronger scent when I should have followed the path with less bleeding, since that¡¯s where the carcasses run out of blood to bleed.

    ¡°I wanna eat one.¡±

    ¡°We should get them butchered first, then we can have a campfire! I¡¯ve already got someone I know to pick them up from here, so we don¡¯t have to do anything else.¡±

    It¡¯s easy to forget that Raya had a life around here before I arrived because she¡¯s been here my whole life, always ready to help. I¡¯m fortunate that she¡¯s the first person I met.

    ¡°Anyone you want to invite, Raya?¡±

    ¡°Uhm¡­ Don¡¯t laugh, but I thought it might be fun to invite Neithro.¡±

    That¡¯s a good idea. That gives me an even better idea!

    ¡°Raya, invite everyone you want, we¡¯ll make it work!¡±

    She looks at me with a questioning expression, but then shrugs and wanders off. I, meanwhile, am going to find some trees to make seating out of! Heading back to the forest, I keep an eye out for trees twice the size of good goblin seating. And I do find a few! Empowering my claws, I rip into the wood, and it is surprisingly tough. I¡¯ll have to do this gradually.

    Trying a few deep and shallow cuts, I settle on a good feeling of progress and cut most of the way through the tree. With only enough left to keep it upright, I can push the tree over to make it fall exactly where I want it!

    Now I just need to drag it out of the forest. Now, I¡¯m no fool, so I recognize that I won¡¯t be able to pull the entire thing, so it¡¯s time to divide it into sections!

    Repeating my previous cutting success, I manage to divide the tree into several sections suitable for seating three people, I think. I don¡¯t know how much seating one person requires. But I¡¯m gonna start dragging them out of here!

    It just so happens that I surprise myself at how well this is going. I imagined myself having more setbacks, but I am Kira, mighty Lumber Dragon of Carpentry! With most of the logs out here, it¡¯s time for the next part of my plan: creating actual seating.

    With a single, gentle claw, I cut a groove into the log and then empower my claw with a bunch of magic, cleaving the log in two. That¡¯ll do! Two halves make two benches! Now I just need to repeat the process four more times and the seating arrangements are complete!

    I manage to do it perfectly, as long as nobody notices that there are only seven benches. I¡¯m sure someone would like some firewood, so it¡¯s fine. The guards seem to be paying attention to what I¡¯m doing, so of course I set them to work too.

    ¡°Fetch me some dry firewood instead of loitering!¡±

    Huh¡­ they actually did run off, so that¡¯s firewood taken care of! Someone should reprimand them for abandoning their posts. Well, I need to keep working here! Arranging the benches in a horseshoe configuration, I¡¯ve managed to make it pretty clear that I either have too many benches or too few.

    There are five in the inner circle, but only two on the outer circle, so I¡¯m gonna fetch some more! Felling another tree comes easy, as I¡¯m becoming familiar with the feel of my claws ripping into harder material, and dividing up the wood practically happens on its own. These are good skills to have if I end up having to find wood for Tuiran during the winter.

    I only got four log pieces this time, but it should be fine. Making short work of dragging them back and dividing them, I add them to my campfire gathering area and it looks nice! Don¡¯t mind all the grass I ruined and the splinters of wood left behind, that¡¯s part of why this works.

    ¡°You¡¯re not normal, beast¡­¡±

    Yeah, that¡¯s definitely Lauren. She sounds grumpier than she looks, so that¡¯s progress! She¡¯s at the head of a small crowd of people, and they¡¯re bringing all sorts of goodies. Folks are quick to dump the food and other items they¡¯ve brought and take a seat. I lie down in the opening of the arrangement and look at all the people gathering.

    It¡¯s possible I may have grossly underestimated the seating needs... There are still people exiting the gates. And they¡¯re still bringing out stuff. Folks with firewood, meat, veggies, and bread. Folks with chairs and some sort of contraptions I¡¯m not familiar with, but everyone¡¯s smiling and chatting.

    I don¡¯t know why they¡¯re still around, but Big Guy¡¯s party is here too, and he¡¯s walking right up to me.

    ¡°Big party! Much fun! Good Dragon!¡±

    He¡¯s got the right idea, that¡¯s for sure! People are quick to arrange themselves into clusters and start building fires. It doesn¡¯t take long before the smell of cooking rises from a few groups, and I want some.

    Drawing my attention back to my immediate area, the guards I sent for firewood have returned and started building a fire for me. That¡¯s nice of them, they seem like a very helpful couple of guards. With the arrangement of firewood starting to look like a campfire, one of the guards steps back while the other tries to light the fire, but he¡¯s not having much success.

    Nudging him, I tell him to step back so I can light it, and with a plume of narrow flame, the campfire is lit!

    My first friends take their seats around me and the logs I split quickly fill up. Lauren is the last to sit, but she¡¯s brought some meat and a very smelly pouch of something. Opening the pouch, she reaches for a handful of dust and rubs- It¡¯s spices! It¡¯s deliciousness-empowering spices! I want them!

    ¡°Lauren, this is your brain speaking, you must give that meat to the incredible dragon. The dragon deserves your tribute.¡±

    Instead of finishing up the meat, she puts it down and motions for me to follow her. I¡¯m not sure where she¡¯s going with this, but I follow her as we move away from the crowd. She reaches into her pouch and pulls out a small handful of spices and blows them into my face!

    The urge to sneeze overpowers me and I can¡¯t stop it! I¡¯m caught in a sneezing fit and I hear people laughing, but this isn¡¯t funny! I¡¯m suffering here! Sneezing is the worst!

    Someone arrest Lauren! She has assaulted your Guardian Dragon for no reason! By now, I¡¯ve lost count of how many times I¡¯ve sneezed, but it¡¯s finally settling down, and I blink away tears. Lauren is standing at a safe distance away as she smiles at me.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t the only one with tricks, Kira.¡±

    ¡°Fine, no more pretending you have a brain. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Oh no¡­ She¡¯s holding another handful. Yeah, I¡¯m just gonna run back to the campfire! I don¡¯t want to sneeze anymore.

    ¡°You win this time, First Aid Kit¡­¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see who wins next time then, Beast.¡±

    To Lauren¡¯s surprise, she finds herself amidst a gathering of children asking her about the spices, but the poor woman has no idea what they¡¯re saying. This seems like an excellent opportunity for me to settle the score¡­ or I can be reasonable and help her out.

    ¡°They want you to make them sneeze as well, they think it looked fun. Which they¡¯re wrong about, by the way, sneezing is the worst!¡±

    As she gets up, the kids drag her away and I can hear the first victim of the horrible sneezing fate. I haven¡¯t seen Raya yet, and with a quick glance around, I manage to spot her, she¡¯s sitting in the grass with Neithro and he¡¯s braiding her hair. I did not expect the powerful man to be so tender.

    Well, I won¡¯t interrupt them, so who else can I look for¡­ Well, Joras and Lily are still here, so maybe I¡¯ll ask some questions about magic.

    ¡°Do either of you know if magic can happen for someone without their wanting to?¡±

    Joras is quick to put on his thinking brow, suggesting that he does know a thing or two about unwilling magic, but it¡¯s Lily who speaks up first.

    ¡°It is rare, but it does happen when a gifted individual lacks control. You can think of control as the barrier containing a river. The barrier has to be able to contain the river, or it will overflow. A particularly gifted individual may have such an affinity for magic that they simply cannot stop it from overflowing. Though such cases are apparent from early childhood and, grim as it may be, those children are often abandoned before they hurt someone.¡±

    Geez, that got dark fast¡­ I wonder if that¡¯s the case for forest lady. Those shocks today seemed to be pulsing, like a slow heartbeat. As I wonder what was going on with her, I¡¯m interrupted as someone brings over a bunch of delicious food. It needs to roast first, and I can be patient, I just have to try really hard.

    ¡°Oh! Joras, put away your thinking brow for a moment, I have a request! I want to learn how to speak that weird language Neithro and Wreyn use!¡±

    ¡°¡­ Thinking brow?¡­¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s right, Joras! You do have a thinking brow! I had not noticed it before, but it¡¯s true!¡±

    So Lily is out of commission¡­ I can tell that I did a good job spacing these benches because she did not hit her head as she fell backward laughing. Yet another point for Kira!

    ¡°I can teach you, but I will need to prepare first. I will need a few days, but in the meantime, if you could take Raya out to gather herbs, I would appreciate it. I have run out of materials to brew most of my more advanced potions. One in particular has met a sudden and unexpected rise in demand.¡±

    That sounds easy enough, but I¡¯ll need a bite to eat as I consider this trade deal.

 Chapter 27: Planning

    I¡¯m not gonna agree to some weird Joras deal on an empty stomach, I know how he operates. Grabbing some meat from the fire, I give it a good chew as I pretend to consider his offer. It¡¯s obvious I¡¯m going to do it, finding herbs isn¡¯t a problem at all, and I¡¯m benefiting from that as well.

    ¡°So, how are you able to understand Lauren if you need me to teach you the language she speaks?¡±

    That¡¯s a fair question, and I don¡¯t really know the answer to it. It¡¯s like I hear her twice: once aloud and then again in my head, but I don¡¯t know why or how. I¡¯m pretty sure that if she practiced, she could learn to speak to me with her mind alone, but that¡¯s for her to discover.

    ¡°We¡¯re connected somehow, I don¡¯t know how it works, but I¡¯m starting to be able to tell how she feels. Like when I lick her, she feels disgust and anger, but also comfort and hope. As far as I can tell, it¡¯s like she starts believing things will be okay.¡±

    Lily is looking at me with wide eyes, and Joras is staring into the fire with his thinking brow. I¡¯m not sure what to make of that, but I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll come up with something. Piercing another chunk of meat with my claw, I give it a quick roast with my flames and eat it. A little charred on the outside and raw on the inside, but very delicious.

    ¡°Can you demonstrate this connection, Kira?¡±

    It shouldn¡¯t be too hard to demonstrate, so I let him know that I¡¯ll be asking Lauren to come over and continue preparing that spiced meat she left behind. I really want to try it.

    ¡°Lauren, Joras has a question for you, and I want you to finish cooking that chunk of meat so I can taste it.¡±

    Leaving the children behind, she trudges on over and stares right at Joras.

    ¡°If you want me to answer your questions, find me and ask me. And you, Beast, this is mine, so I¡¯m taking it with me.¡±

    Dang it! She¡¯s leaving for a different campfire now and I¡¯ve missed my chance at spices! This is all Joras¡¯ fault! At least she¡¯s having fun. I should try some veggies and bread too, it smells delicious and there¡¯s a nearby group cooking some.

    Getting up, I saunter on over to one and nudge the woman cooking a bunch of things on skewers. With her unoccupied hand, she strokes my snout as she continues turning her skewers. Counting the heads around us, I would guess she¡¯s cooking up a few extra, which means I might be able to steal one or two!

    ¡°Kira, you shouldn¡¯t ignore this bond between you and Lauren, it could be dangerous.¡±

    ¡°But skewers¡­¡± He doesn¡¯t understand the importance of deliciousness¡­

    Shaking his head, he walks away with a chuckle, leaving me to enjoy the smell of cooking. I suspect he¡¯s gonna wake me up tomorrow for a lecture or something. The skewers look about ready and I nudge the chef, who responds with a chuckle and gives me one! It¡¯s delicious! She deserves another nudge.

    With that sorted, I should be responsible and talk to Joras about this whole Lauren business. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll have something to say about it, especially with his history of being a blood mage. It does worry me that it might be some sort of binding affecting Lauren, but she seems sure that she isn¡¯t affected by any such thing.

    ¡°I¡¯m back, Joras. Sorry I just left, I may have gotten distracted.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s all it was? If I were to consider your motivation for leaving, I might suspect that you wouldn''t want to know in case it turned out she was bound to you.¡±

    Stupid observant Joras¡­ At least he won¡¯t wake me up tomorrow if we talk about it now, so that¡¯s something. He¡¯s quick to launch into a lengthy explanation about forms of binding that he¡¯s familiar with, like mind magic and blood magic.

    ¡°So mind magic will influence the will of the target through mind bending, encouraging, and compelling it to do as the caster commands. Following orders makes the victim feel bliss, while disobeying brings discomfort. It is also extraordinarily difficult to break a mind bending without help from others. It¡¯s not unlike an addiction, with the substance being in your head at all times.¡±

    Okay, geez, that sounds freakin¡¯ awful¡­ It¡¯s pretty clear that I didn¡¯t dislike it enough and it already scared me¡­

    ¡°Comparatively, blood magic will create a binding seal on the target¡¯s heart. Instead of bending the mind of the victim, blood magic will break their will. Comply or the seal squeezes their heart, resulting in debilitating pain, but keeping the blood pumping. In doing so, the will of the victim will be broken through torment until they learn to please their master.¡±

    I can¡¯t tell which I dislike more¡­ They both sound genuinely awful¡­ And Charo tried to do that to me. If I hadn¡¯t killed her, I¡¯d bite her right now.

    ¡°Joras, have you ever done that to someone?¡±

    ¡°I have. It involves the reason for Lily and me being here instead of with our kin. It¡¯s something I regret being necessary, but I¡¯m not ashamed of doing what I had to, we can go into that another time. For now, let us focus on the topic of compulsion. There are also servitude bonds and pact bonds, but I¡¯m not familiar with them. Wreyn most likely is. And finally, we have a soul bond, never engage with a soul mage. If you find out someone is a soul mage, kill them and leave. Do not hesitate in killing them, Kira.¡±

    Well, that''s not terrifying at all. Here I am afraid of mind magic, and then he springs that on me? How am I supposed to know if someone is a soul mage? I have no idea what that even feels like.

    ¡°What I do know of servitude bonds is that the master draws strength from the servant, and the servant will be compelled to assist the master, but it isn¡¯t as intense as mind or blood magic are capable of.¡±

    Okay, all of this binding stuff is putting me in a bad mood, so I¡¯m gonna stop this talk here. I realize that I need to learn about this stuff, but it¡¯s scary and I don¡¯t like it. I¡¯m gonna go talk to Raya and Cranky, I need a distraction¡­

    ¡°Lauren, Joras told me about servitude bonds, do you feel like I¡¯ve made you a servant?¡±

    Judging by the snorting laugh she let out, I¡¯m guessing no. As I¡¯m heading for Raya, Lauren comes over and hits my arm.

    ¡°Masters can tell when their servants lie, so if I say that I did as you asked and moved the furniture in Joras¡¯ shop, can you tell whether I did it or not? Of course, I did do as you asked and Jeannie helped me rearrange the interior of his shop.¡±

    I can¡¯t tell¡­ That¡¯s a relief. Given how I doubt Jeannie would help with that, I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s lying, though, which means she didn¡¯t do the one thing I asked! And she spiced me into a sneezing fit. I¡¯m gonna have to punish her somehow.

    ¡°With the opportunities you¡¯ve had, I doubt you could bind a string to a stick.¡±

    ¡°Of course I can¡¯t, Lauren. Have you seen my claws? I¡¯m not exactly the Mighty Dragon of Dexterity.¡±

    She just laughs at me and leaves, telling me not to worry so much. I might have to look into following that advice, I have been worrying about a bunch of things lately, and it¡¯s getting a bit overwhelming at times.

    Closing in on Raya and Cranky, they turn to face me and an obvious problem occurs to me. I still can¡¯t understand Cranky, and Joras isn¡¯t here for his blood spell. I¡¯m not gonna worry about that, I¡¯ll just lie down and coil myself around them.

    ¡°Hey Kira, are you enjoying the evening?¡±

    ¡°I am, but I didn¡¯t expect so many people to show up, it¡¯s a little overwhelming.¡±

    ¡°You should know that there are talks about making it an event from now on. Tonight happens to be the half-moon night, and when the Guardian Dragon decides to have a gathering on the half-moon, it must mean something important!¡±

    What?! I have no idea where they¡¯re getting these crazy ideas from, but I just felt like sharing some food with friends! That is important, but it¡¯s not some big event important¡­ These things are getting away from me. Although on the other claw, more food-based events sound delicious and welcome.

    Bringing focus back to things I can control, I mention that Joras has asked us to gather herbs for his advanced potions, but he didn¡¯t tell me which, so we¡¯ll have to rely on Raya¡¯s expertise. I¡¯m sure she knows where to find what we need. Joras must be making a lot of money if he¡¯s selling out of the good stuff.

    ¡°Then we should start south of the forest. There are many good plants down there, and with your new backpack, we can gather so many things! We¡¯ll be rich, Kira!¡±

    That sounds like a fantastic plan! I especially like that last part! Now I kinda wanna go right now, but then I''d need to interrupt whatever Raya and Cranky have going for them. Which is also something I''m curious about, they seem like they''ve gotten quite close in barely any time at all.

    "Raya, what do you think about Cranky? You two seem pretty close already."

    She''s turning red, so I''m sure I''m onto something here. "We''re just friends, Kira! It''s just friendship! I''ll tell you about it some other time."

    Cranky smiles at her embarrassment and gives her a poke in the arm, but doesn''t press the matter as far as I can tell. Respectful guy, that one. Unless you''re a bad guy, then he''s a bit of a jerk.

    Since I can''t go get rich today, I''m gonna go get some sleep instead. And if I happen to grab some food on the way, so be it. Getting up, I start heading toward a nearby campfire, and the people sitting around it are quick to present some food to me. I''m starting to really like the peaceful aspects of this Guardian Dragon stuff.

    Walking through the field of celebration, it occurs to me that I''m having no problems at all with the width of the passages. They made it dragon-accessible! That is worth celebrating! And I do so by grabbing some more parting snacks on my way toward the gate. For a moment, I did consider just taking off and flying back to my den, but I''m pretty sure the sudden gust of wind would affect the campfires, and I wouldn''t want anyone to get burned.

    I find myself looking forward to our field trip tomorrow. Seeing as Raya didn''t mention any giant snakes, I''m gonna assume that they''re rare and not fuss about it until we meet one. They might even be easy to kill and delicious, who knows.

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    That''s for tomorrow, though, tonight it''s snooze time. Lauren joined me by the gate and we''re walking through the streets in silence. She seems have had enough socializing for today.

    "Can I sleep in your cave again?"

    "Of course, Lauren! You can consider us roommates. And if you feel like paying rent, add it to my hoard."

    "Uh... I''m not looking for a mate right now, Kira. I doubt humans and Dragons are compatible."

    I have no idea what she''s talking about, but I think we''re compatible, and another friend is always welcome. She''s a good person as far as I can tell, and I like her. That''s not something she should consider embarrassing.

    Well, I''m not gonna push the subject, if she''s uncomfortable being roommates, she can be a couch surfer. It''s no problem at all.

    Reaching my den, we head in and settle down. Lauren still feels a little embarrassed, but I''m sure she''s fine. As I coil up, she joins me, and soon enough, I fall asleep.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    "Kira, get up here! We need to discuss a matter of grave importance."

    This yelling at me to get up better not become the norm, because that''s the third person to do it and they''re on track to find out how grumpy I can be in the morning... It''s possible I need to commission a sign threatening people who yell at me to get up there.

    "Lauren, are you awake?"

    "Mmm... lemme sleep, ya doofy dwagon..."

    Well, that''s a pretty strong argument, so I''ll need to untangle myself from her without waking her. She''s leaning into me as she sleeps on my arm, so I''ll need to get clever with this. Using the wide blade of my tail as a backrest for her, I manage to free my arm and that''s the first part done! Now I''ll lower my tail to the ground and slide it right out from under her.

    With great care and caution, I manage to do it without issue! Point to Kira.

    "Kira! We need to talk about the adventurers!"

    It''s definitely Wreyn up there and he just woke up Lauren after I did such a good job of not waking her... Fine, I''ll find out what he needs to say about these adventurers.

    Heading up, he just stands there at the entrance to my den, and to my surprise, he looks exhausted and worried.

    "Kira, the Guild is making preparations for an assault. I expected this to happen, but your attack on Plainshold has accelerated my plans. We need to strengthen you and attack them before they''re ready."

    "How are we supposed to strengthen me, Wreyn?" I have no idea how he expects to accomplish that, but I''m up for getting stronger.

    "Preparations are already underway. This was inevitable with these bladebrained morons. Their affinity for starting conflicts and having it come back to take a chunk is precisely why I want them gone."

    Well, he sounds quite worried. It does sound pretty bad, and I am very against having more adventurers enter Tuiran. We''ve got enough of those.

    "Our first step will be to teach you why coin is so useful to you. It does not have anything to do with the value of the coin, but instead it is the material of which the coin is made. Metal has varying degrees of magic conductivity, and it just so happens that the coins we use are created using copper, silver, and gold, three high-conductivity metals."

    Oh, so I just need to get rich. I see no problem with that plan. But if we''re on a schedule, it might be difficult to get any sort of wealth going.

    "I have sent word to have my personal treasury transferred here. We will add it to your hoard so you can recover magic faster. Though it is important that you do not let yourself become frenzied as your power grows. Where is Neithro? Never mind, I will find him. You go to the east gate, there''s a treat for you. Once you have eaten it, fly toward Oakhold along the road and bring back the carriage. Leave the people alive."

    He''s probably still hanging out with Raya, but this mention of a treat has me intrigued. Wreyn has already left, so I take flight and head toward the eastern treat.

    "Lauren, Wreyn says that some guild is gonna attack, do you know anything about it?"

    I don''t get much back except for worry and fear. I think she might know who they are, and if so, I doubt she wants this to happen. What I find at the eastern gate is some sort of giant lizard, I''m pretty sure these are used as beasts of burden, but this one is very dead. I suspect Wreyn rode it hard enough to kill it, which suggests that this is far more serious than I initially thought.

    Getting to work chowing down on the beast, I don''t dwell on ceremony or manners, I just rip it to shreds and swallow chunks of meat. Making quick work of the carcass, I take flight again and do as Wreyn told.

    It takes a while, but I manage to find a plain carriage. The rider stops as soon as he sees me approaching, and from what I can tell, he''s quick to unfasten the lizards drawing it. The two beasts run away, and the rider jumps up on the carriage, holding up two thick ropes. From the looks of it, I can grab hold of them.

    Swinging around, I hover over the carriage and grip the ropes in my claws and push magic into my wings. This thing is very heavy, geez... It takes a surprising amount of effort to get it off the ground, but once I do, I''m good to go. Setting course back to Tuiran, I find myself struggling for balance, but that can be solved by going higher to have more leeway.

    A shout from below reminds me that I didn''t let the rider off, so he''s coming along for the flight. Looking down at him, he''s grabbing onto ropes on either side of the carriage while wearing a very wide smile. He gets it, flying is great.

    We''re closing in on Tuiran and I begin to slow down as we head toward the square. I''m gonna have to be careful with this guy so he doesn''t get hurt.

    As we reach the square, I''m surprised to see a bunch of people gathered, I''m not sure why, but I''m sure I''ll find out soon.

    Going into a hover, my focus is dedicated to the lowering of this carriage, and the difficulty of doing so is surprising. Every time I try to lower us a bit, we end up dropping a distance, and I''m not sure I can save the carriage. The rider seems to have figured out my difficulties since he climbs up and grabs hold of my arm. And with that, I don''t have to be as cautious!

    Dropping the loot box, it shatters on the ground and money spills out in all directions. The people gathered around are quick to start collecting the coins and bringing them into my den. It doesn''t feel like it adds much, but I guess the sheer quantity is what matters.

    Going for a landing, the rider is quick to jump before I set down, still wearing his wide grin. Wreyn isn''t here, but the rider waves for my attention and holds up two fingers, then points to the wreckage and holds up one finger. So I guess there''s another carriage out there, so I take off again to look for it.

    It takes a while to find the second one because it isn''t on the road at all. For some reason, it''s hidden behind a few trees. With a heavy landing, I start inspecting the area, and there''s definitely blood here. And there''s a trail to track heading further east.

    The carriage is almost empty, so someone stole from me. I can''t allow that. Focusing on the blood, I''m sure I can track the source. Between the fresh blood and the theft, I''m feeling that bloodlust growing, and I''m sure that is going to come in handy very soon.

    It takes a while, but I reach a small gathering of trees and begin to smell old sweat and piss. There are definitely people living here. I just need to find the entrance to their hideout and take back what''s mine.

    Instead of approaching on the ground, I take to the skies and fly over the trees as I empower my scales. I''m a reasonable dragon, so I''ll give them a chance to hand over my money without fighting.

    "Return what you stole from me or feel my wrath!"

    What I get in return for my kindness is an arrow plinking off my scales. Scorched Earth it is then! Making sure to enhance my flames with magic, I fly over the trees as I let loose. The screams last only for a few moments before all I hear is the roar of flames. But listening to the beauty of the fire''s song doesn''t get my money back, so I land in the flame-wreathed woodland.

    Searching the area, I don''t see anywhere they might hide. There aren''t any buildings here, so I''m guessing they have some sort of burrow. I can''t find them, and now everything smells like fire.

    "Second chance! Return what was stolen, or I will bury you!"

    It occurs to me that they might not understand me, but I feel like someone shouting and setting things on fire sends a pretty clear message. And it turns out at least one of them got the idea because some guy is running out of a hole hidden under the roots of the largest tree here. That''s a pretty neat hiding place, and I''m kinda envious.

    The guy approaches cautiously as I glare at him. His arms are held up and visible, which I''m sure is to indicate that he''s surrendering, but I can smell the iron blade he carries in his clothes. Letting him come close, it becomes clear that these people are not going to surrender. As soon as he''s in range, he reaches for his blade and rushes at my neck. That''s easily fixed with a quick scorch.

    Well, now I know where their hideout is, so I can get to work recovering my new wealth. As I approach the entrance, another man comes wandering out, but he''s looking much worse for wear than the last one. Judging by the wound and the clothes, this guy was the rider of the lost carriage. What a tremendously foolish move, thieves...

    With him out of harm''s way, I fill the burrow with flame, and something tells me that I should be careful about doing that in the future. My suspicions are confirmed when I get blasted in the face with dirt and debris as a large explosion levels a nearby hill. So I''m guessing they had something volatile down there. That''s not gonna make recovering my money easier...

    The shockwave sent a ripple through my scales, and I suspect they''re very good at dissipating force like that. The rider isn''t doing too well, though, so I''ll take him back to Tuiran so Lauren can help him, and then I''ll return to collect the larger piles of coins.

    He''s on the ground and breathing quite heavily, so I nudge him to see if he''s up for getting on me, but it doesn''t seem like he is. Time to try something difficult... Picking him up with both hands, I do my best impression of a bipedal dragon, and I was right, this is difficult. But I manage to leave the fiery woods and spread my wings. We''ll be in Tuiran quickly.

    "Lauren, I''m bringing someone who needs healing."

    She feels alert and serious, so I''m guessing she''ll be ready when we get there. The rider won''t last much longer, so I speed up and make sure to shield him from the wind as much as I can using my head.

    As soon as we reach the square, I land on my legs again and it hurts. I''m really not built for bipedal action. Letting the man go, Lauren is quick to heal him and she confirms that he''ll live. It appears Wreyn and Cranky are here too.

    "That''s not one of my riders. It''s our uniform, but I don''t know this man. What happened?"

    Oh, well... I might have to share some bad news about the rider then. It seems likely that he''s dead if he was in that cave. Granted, if he wasn''t in the cave, he''s likely dead anyway.

    "Bandits attacked and stole the contents of the carriage. I followed them to a hideout and burned it down. Who was going to tell me about explosives? That''s important stuff for a dragon!"

    With a hand going through his beard, he seems to consider what to do. If this guy is one of the bandits, I would say it''s obvious that we just kill him and get on with our day.

    "Who are you, bandit? From where do you hail, and where is my rider?"

    The bandit groans and doesn''t respond, so Wreyn pulls out a small metal stick and pokes it through the bandit''s stomach. I guess I''m not the only one with a cruel streak.

    "Please do answer my questions when I ask politely. I''d rather not have to utilize what Lord Awirtatin taught me. I don''t doubt your familiarity with the name and his... proclivities..."

    The bandit groans something, but I can''t make sense of it. Wreyn doesn''t seem satisfied as he pokes the bandit again.

    "It appears he blames you for my rider''s death, Kira."

    "Their hideout was too small for me to enter, so I filled it with flame, and then something blew up, so it''s possible I killed him."

    "Hmm... Well, who am I to blame a Dragon for resorting to flames to solve its problems. I would sooner be able to convince the sun to not break for the day. Well, since you know where their hideout is, or was, we will simply have to launch an expedition to recover the coin, but consider it lost for the purposes of our goals these days."

    I''m sure that''s the smart thing to do, but all that money makes me want to get it. But only knowing the rough area of where to dig would make it difficult to find. I don''t even know how the tunnels turned and twisted underground, so it could be anywhere.

    "Now you may dispose of this riffraff. We have no need for him, and prisoners are inconvenient when preparing for battle."

    Yeah, that terrified the guy. He looks up at me, the smell of sweat and fear tantalizing my senses.

    "Please let him live, Kira. I''ll take responsibility for him, but don''t resort to needless killing."

    "Fine, but you''d better take care of your new pet. I''m not taking him for walks when you get bored of him."

    "That''s... not what I had in mind... And about your question earlier, you asked if I know anything about this, and I swear that I don''t. I don''t have anything to do with this. Please believe me."

    "What? I never thought you had anything to do with it. I thought you might know something about the guild and maybe you could give me some information, but that''s up to you. I''m not gonna force you to share anything you don''t want to."

    So that''s what the worry and fear was about... I guess I should have been more considerate of her feelings, but in my defense, I didn''t think of it at the time. At least she''s feeling relieved now.

    Grabbing the arm of her new pet bandit, she feels shocked and generally surprised by the crack she hears.

    "Wow, Lauren, I didn''t think you were that ruthless. You just broke his arm for no reason. Super harsh, geez."

    "It wasn''t on purpose!"

    After healing him again, she pulls him to his feet. She is a lot more gentle this time and takes him somewhere to the northwest.

    Turning to Wreyn, he looks pensive. I think he''s considering what to do next, I doubt the loss of his wealth was part of his plan, but we''ll manage. The first load of money was helpful, but it wasn''t nearly as much power as I expected.

    We''ll figure something out. There''s still time for me to gather herbs with Raya before sundown, and I want to do something simple and fun.

 Chapter 28: Choosing a Path

    Giving Cranky a look, I ask where Raya is, and he points me in the direction of Joras¡¯ shop. I hope she¡¯s still around because this news of an imminent attack on us has me quite on edge. The whole thing is making me almost giddy with excitement and I want to attack them first, which does not seem like something I should want.

    As I turn to leave, Wreyn speaks up about this and that and I¡¯m not paying too much attention to it. I know I should, but I need some time to think about whether I¡¯ll stay on the defensive or go on the offense. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve been too defensive and that¡¯s part of why we¡¯re in this predicament.

    ¡°Kira, we need to prepare! The Guild cannot be allowed to regain what little ground they¡¯ve lost! If they do, they will not stop until they''ve conquered the continent!¡±

    I don¡¯t intend on letting them stomp all over my things, so I believe a first strike is appropriate in this situation. I guess I can¡¯t call it a first strike since they¡¯ve attacked twice, once in Oakhold and then Lauren¡¯s assault, but I¡¯ll think of something to do to even the score.

    In fact, I might have something plan-adjacent, I just need my pack and some preparation. And I need someone to help me.

    ¡°Wreyn, have the people here help you with fortifications, I have something I need to do. And I want your rider sent to Plainshold to tell the townsfolk to leave town tonight.¡±

    He grumbles for a bit before agreeing, Cranky looking on with a raised eyebrow. He seems confused at my demand, but that¡¯s fine, I don¡¯t need him right now. With a beat of my wings, I¡¯m airborne and headed to Joras¡¯ shop. It is a little much to fly that short distance, but why shouldn¡¯t I do what I want?

    Hovering over the street by his shop, people move out of the way, and I drop down, creating a bit of an impact on the street.

    ¡°You might as well knock, Kira, your landing already shook up most of my goods.¡±

    Knocking on the door, Joras is quick to open up and I look into his store, most things are still on the shelves, so I¡¯m not sure why he sounds so exasperated. Nevertheless, I¡¯m not here for his quirky attitude, I¡¯m here for Raya. Asking for her, he shouts for Raya and she¡¯s quick to leap down the stairs with Lily in tow.

    ¡°Hey Kira! Are we leaving to gather things?¡±

    ¡°We are, but I need help with my new pack, I don¡¯t know how to put it on. And we need some saddlebags too.¡±

    She seems to wonder why for a moment, but explaining is for later. For now, we¡¯re gonna get this bag and then find some more bags. I¡¯m gonna need a bunch of storage for my counterattack.

    Asking her to join me, she¡¯s quick to agree, and as we turn to leave, Joras hands her a few potions and a vial of the leather adhesive he used to make my makeshift saddle. That might come in handy, but looking at him, he seems worried.

    ¡°Kira, be sure the path you¡¯re taking is the one you want and not one that others are pushing you to take.¡±

    As if they¡¯re giving me a choice. As I see it, I can either lie down and die or make sure I¡¯m not worth the trouble. And I have no intention of making this easy for these jerks. If Oakhold is any indication, then I just need to make sure the locals blame this guild of theirs.

    Leaving joras behind, I lower my head for Raya as we walk and she¡¯s quick to grab hold of my horn and use it to swing onto my head. She¡¯s becoming quite the little acrobat.

    ¡°Raya, you need warm clothes tonight, we¡¯ll be flying into the clouds.¡±

    She doesn¡¯t respond, and I can¡¯t see her, so I don¡¯t know what she thinks of it. Instead, I focus on heading for my den and fetching my pack. It¡¯s a shame to be using it for warfare for its first time being used, but sometimes things just turn out like that.

    With my quick pace, it doesn¡¯t take us long to reach my den, and it¡¯s clear that Wreyn has wrangled up a bunch of goblins since I left. He¡¯s barking orders for this and that, sending some to reinforce the palisades with clay and others to gather more wood.

    I¡¯ll deal with that later, for now, we head into my den, and Raya jumps down and starts toward my pack. Laying it out on the ground, she starts instructing me on how I should step into the shoulder loops and pull on some straps and other loops.

    It seems the leathersmith is a very clever person because he has made loops to go onto my spines to hold the pack in place so I can hook two straps into place to fasten the pack. It¡¯s definitely preferable to have some help, but I should be able to do it on my own.

    Raya is very helpful in making sure I learn how to do it properly, and she even helps me a bit when I struggle, but in the end, I manage to put it on and take it off on my own a few times. Now we just need those saddlebags.

    Leaving my den, it becomes clear that I need some time to get used to having something attached to my chest. The dang thing keeps getting bumped by my arms when I walk. At least the size will be beneficial for added storage space.

    Wreyn is still barking orders, but he seems to have a different group of goblins now. From what I hear, these are being told to carve arrow shafts and make all sorts of crafts. He seems quite good at leading people in a crisis. I¡¯m not seeing Cranky anywhere, so I assume he¡¯s off somewhere to oversee the various projects they¡¯ve got going.

    He seems to have noticed me and calls for me.

    ¡°Kira, a moment, please. I have noticed that a significant amount of goblins carry one or two tools made of Dragon¡¯s Gold, how is that possible?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea what Dragon¡¯s Gold is, Wreyn¡­¡±

    ¡°It is a golden metal as strong as steel, but it is affected by magic to a much higher degree. It does not decay as iron does, and it is easier to maintain tools and weapons made of Dragon¡¯s Gold. And most of all, it is exceedingly rare.¡±

    That doesn¡¯t tell me what it is, though. Looking over one of the goblins he indicated toward, all I see is a small knife made of bronze and none of this Dragon¡¯s Gold stuff.

    I have things to do, so I tell him to just go ask the blacksmith who makes stuff like that, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll know what Dragon¡¯s Gold is and where they¡¯re getting it. I find myself curious about the topic of metals, but I¡¯ve got things to do, so I need to focus.

    Nudging Raya, we head toward the crafting district to find more leathersmiths for those saddlebags. Given how much larger I am than the beasts of burden here, I should be able to carry two or three sets.

    She¡¯s quick to rush between the stores and find what we need. A trio of leathersmiths arrives to look at what we¡¯re doing and make adjustments to their saddlebags to make them dragon-compatible. They seem quite eager to sell their stock and Raya hands out the small wooden tokens.

    Something important I need to know is how much these bags can carry before breaking, but none of the leathersmiths have an answer as they just shrug and say they¡¯ve never had one break. That¡¯ll work.

    Looking up, I see the sun nearing the horizon, so we¡¯re running out of time. ¡°Raya, we need to get going, we have to fill all these bags and see how difficult it is to fly with all of them full.¡±

    ¡°Fill them with what? I don¡¯t think we can find enough plants to fill that many bags.¡±

    ¡°Large rocks. I want the saddlebags filled with rocks as big as you can throw, and my own bag will have rocks for me. I want to show Plainshold that I don¡¯t approve of its attacks.¡±

    She seems worried, but we need to do something and I did tell Wreyn to send his rider, and I do intend to give them a chance to leave town first, since I¡¯m not doing this to kill people. But I do want them to fear me enough to not launch any more attacks.

    Their safety is not my concern, and I¡¯m showing them more consideration than they¡¯ve shown us. With all my bags in place, I now need to fill them, so I nudge Raya and let her know we¡¯re going to the river to the east. Lowering my head again, Raya hops on and we¡¯re off toward the nearest gate.

    Rushing through the streets, the people clear a path immediately, and I can smell a hint of fear. I want to say it¡¯s because of the adventurers, but I¡¯m not confident enough to say it isn¡¯t because of me.

    I¡¯ll deal with that later, for now, we need to find some rocks. Taking off and heading east, I focus on flying as I feel somewhat numb about this entire situation. Raya isn¡¯t saying anything, and I can¡¯t tell what she¡¯s thinking.

    ¡°Raya, if you don¡¯t want to join me for this, then I can return you to Tuiran. You don¡¯t have to do this.¡±

    ¡°Neither do you, Kira¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve given them more of a chance than they ever gave you! I had Wreyn send someone to warn them, that¡¯s more than Tuiran ever got. They attacked us in Oakhold when we were guests, they killed Melty and many others because of a few coins, and now they¡¯re coming to kill us because we exist!¡±

    ¡°How many of them are like Lauren or Aron?¡±

    Probably a few, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s reasonable to expect me to identify the maybe-good ones among a group of attackers ready to assault our home.

    ¡°Raya, just tell me you don¡¯t want to do this and I¡¯ll take you back. I¡¯ll figure this out on my own and make sure they reconsider their plans.¡±

    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t do this, Kira¡­ I don¡¯t want you to become a bad thing because of these dumb adventurers¡­¡±

    I don¡¯t have time for this, the sun is setting and I have bags to fill. We¡¯re almost at the river, and I ask Raya a final time if she wants to go home instead, but she declines.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to be alone when you realize what you¡¯re doing.¡±

    Landing on the riverbank, I start digging up rocks and taking those that would make good ammunition. Raya helps out and gathers a bunch for my saddlebags. As we¡¯re filling the bag, I take flight a few times to make sure I¡¯m not overburdened. So far, so good. We¡¯re about halfway, and I find that I need to use magic to maintain my flight, but that¡¯s fine, I''ve got plenty of magic.

    We¡¯ve spent a considerable amount of time collecting these large rocks, and the sun has set. Raya never did pick up those warm clothes, but if she¡¯s too cold, I¡¯ll just fly lower or heat up the air with some flames. Now it¡¯s time to head to Plainshold.

    Using more magic than necessary, we speed up, and off in the distance, I see Plainshold with a very large cluster of people standing outside the gates. As we get closer, I can tell that they aren¡¯t wearing armor, so I assume they¡¯re the townsfolk.

    It would be so easy to scorch them all, and make the town match Lord Sadist''s manor, but they aren¡¯t my target. Flying quite some distance above the group, I let out my flames to reveal my presence and I¡¯m rewarded with an arrow swishing by me. The arrow seems to have been fired from the crowd, and judging by how well it flew, I need to go many times higher, but that¡¯s okay, I can do that and it gives my rocks more time to gain speed.

    But before I do so, I¡¯m going to let people know why this is happening.

    ¡°Hear me, Plainshold! I wanted to be left alone, but your lord attacked what belongs to me, and now your adventurers plan to attack me and mine again! I will not stand for it! Beg for mercy in the morning because tonight, you won¡¯t find any!¡±

    Ascending higher with assistance from my magic, I hit a mild cloud layer, not enough to obscure my sight, but I doubt the adventurers can see me. It¡¯s time to release my first rock. Picking out a decently sized one, I let go and wait. It takes a while, but I see a tiny indication of the impact. I managed to hit a building, so that¡¯s something. It didn¡¯t quite hit where I expected, but I guess that¡¯s how it goes with air resistance.

    Changing position a bit, I release another, repeating the process until my bag is empty. Raya hasn¡¯t thrown a single one, but that¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll just drop them all on my own. Flying some distance away from Plainshold, I turn around and speed up back toward the town. Making sure to tell Raya to hold on tight, I perform a barrel roll, launching the bags from my back. No doubt they¡¯ll do some damage.

    Flying toward the gathering, I make sure to go lower so they can hear me. ¡°This time I gave you a warning and used simple stones, but if your adventurers give me reason to return, expect your town to burn!¡±

    The scent of fear reaches me even up here, and this time, no arrows fly. It¡¯s time to leave and let them consider their options. Raya hasn¡¯t said anything in a while, but that¡¯s not something I can deal with as long as this whole situation is ongoing.

    If these bastard adventurers are left to their own devices, they¡¯ll no doubt attack us again. It¡¯s time to hear Wreyn out and see what he expects of me. I¡¯m not sure he considered this in his plans, though, so I should let him know.

    I¡¯m feeling a little exhausted on the way back, but with some effort, we manage to return in a reasonable time. Flying to the square, I hear Wreyn still barking orders. He¡¯s a diligent fellow, it seems.

    ¡°Kira, where have you been? I need your flames to harden the clay your people have added to the walls. And once that has been done, we will need to plan for what to do when the Guild shows up.¡±

    Letting Raya down, she trudges off without a goodnight. I think I might have to make it up to her tomorrow, but for now, I have things to do. To begin with, I make sure to tell Wreyn what I¡¯ve been up to, and he doesn¡¯t seem too annoyed by it.

    ¡°Hooh¡­ Another reason why I would not want a Dragon as an enemy. I have no doubt a sufficient number of people in the crowd understood you to spread the word. Though of one thing I¡¯m sure, your actions will without a doubt have the cleverer adventurers reconsider their participation in this mission. Which will leave the reckless and the feeble-minded. It is unlikely to change anything for us, but it is something worth knowing."

    I don¡¯t know what the impact of that is, but if they¡¯re reckless, they¡¯re probably dangerous. It¡¯ll just be another thing to deal with. I should look into this clay heating stuff Wreyn mentioned.

    ¡°For what we need to do to excise the blight that is the Guild, you must steel your heart and embrace your fury, Kira. A Dragon¡¯s Rage is one of its most potent weapons, remember that.¡±

    He seems to know what he¡¯s talking about, so maybe I should listen, but I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s a good idea to give in to my anger. I¡¯d ask Raya about it, but I already know what she thinks. It¡¯s pretty clear that she doesn¡¯t approve of what I¡¯m doing, so I¡¯ll just need to do it on my own.

    I¡¯ll just focus on these preparations first, so asking where to start, I get ready to take off.

    ¡°You will find the dark elf in the southeast, she is carving enhancements into the walls to strengthen them, and with your help, the enhancements may even become empowered.¡±

    That¡¯s fine and all, but I¡¯m not in the mood for a scholarly lecture. I just want to do this and go to sleep.

    "Before you go, Kira, how much damage have you done to the town?"

    "I don''t know. I didn''t pay attention beyond making sure the rocks hit the buildings."

    He grabs his beard and starts stroking it as he thinks, so I''ll just leave him to that and find Lily. With a beat of my wings, I''m in the air and heading toward the palisade. Moments later, I find her and land. Watching her be startled by my sudden appearance is amusing, but I''m here to do a job, not to startle people.

    She''s using a small carving tool for the clay and, with impressive skill, is carving sigils and symbols into the clay wall. Watching her almost makes me wish I had fingers like that, but if it meant giving up my claws, I don''t think I could do it.

    "This section is ready for your flames, Kira. You can follow it around south until it ends."

    She''s indicating a series of repeating symbols that tie together to become a larger icon. There''s a mix of sharp and soft shapes, creating a weird-feeling larger sigil. Making sure to point away from her, I burn the wall and watch as the clay hardens. I''m not sure why this works, but I can''t do the enhancements to daggers and such. I''m sure there''s a reason, but either I wasn''t told what it is, or I don''t know.

    That''s not my problem anyway, I''m just here for the flames. It''s slow going, but I''m making progress. Somehow the clay isn''t cracking, and all the sigils are intact as I move further down the wall. I have no idea how long they expect this to take, but it''s fortunate that I''m doing so well with magic.

    On that note, I push my senses inward and feel for my magic, and it looks like I''ve spent a fair bit on flying a bunch of rocks around, and now this. This isn''t the most comfortable way to spend my time as I''m having a lot of time alone with my thoughts, and I don''t need that right now.

    I can''t tell whether Raya is right to worry about me or if she''s just being needlessly worrisome, but I can''t get it out of my head... And Wreyn bringing up that my rage is a weapon lends credence to her worry being valid. I don''t like that, but I''m not sure I have much of a choice in the matter right now.

    I can''t exactly turn down potent weapons if a bunch of jerks are attacking me. If anything, the opposite is true, I have to accept whatever I can to win and protect everyone here. I''ve accepted that duty, so I need to do what I can, even if it means I''ll be a little uncomfortable.

    The sudden smell of burning wood brings my thoughts back to reality, and as I look around for the source, I see that I''ve run out of clay wall. I''m just scorching the palisade right now.

    Turning around, I go back to Lily to see how far she has gotten, but as far as I can see from the sky, the answer is ''not far.'' Given her current pace, she''s been here all day, which kinda impresses me. Well, I''ll leave her to it and return after some sleep.

    Off in the distance, I can see light appearing, so the sun will rise soon. Since I''m a hundred percent sure that I deserve a snooze, I leave the walls in Lily''s care and head to my den. As I land, Wreyn speaks up again and I''m getting a little tired of his constant interjections.

    "Kira, I do hope you''re ready for the siege. I have no doubt we will win, but be prepared for some casualties among the goblins. Neithro is the most skilled defensive caster I know, but he isn''t capable of defending everyone."

    "What about you? What do you do?"

    "Why, I specialize in Destruction! The potency of my spells has earned me the title of Grand Mage! Between Neithro''s defensive capabilities and my own offense, we are a team with whom few would pick a fight!"

    "So why are we fortifying the town if you can just throw spells from the sky?"

    "Hooh... Now that is a delightful plan. We will have to look into that once the scouts return with word of the adventurers approaching. Should you be able to carry Neithro as well, our might will be unrivaled!"

    Yeah, he''s way too excited about that and I''m regretting bringing it up. Instead of dealing with it, I''m just gonna go into my little home and leave today behind in favor of tomorrow. Or whatever it ends up being when you go to bed as the sun rises.

    From the looks of the footprints all over the place, my people have been digging out more clay. It makes sense now that I think about it, but I wasn''t planning on expanding my den so soon. On the plus side, I have less work to do when I do want to expand.

    Plopping down on my growing hoard, I get comfortable and the coins feel great rubbing against my scales. I don''t see Lauren anywhere, so I guess she found somewhere else to sleep. It''s fair, I got home late, but I do miss her a little bit.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Waking up the following morning turns out to be a bad move. I¡¯m more exhausted than I¡¯ve ever been, which is very annoying. On top of that ordeal, I can smell and hear people in my den and I¡¯m pretty sure I didn¡¯t suggest a breakfast meeting. Raising my head, I give the gathering a look and see Raya leading the rest, but I¡¯m too tired to pay much attention.

    ¡°Kira? Are you okay? You¡¯ve been so aggressive lately, and I¡¯m worried about you.¡±

    She¡¯s not wrong about that. Even now, as I¡¯ve barely woken up, I want to hunt something. There¡¯s something in me pushing me to kill, and I don¡¯t know what to make of it. For the most part, I just want to give in and hunt. It¡¯s a need for destruction and mayhem, and it makes me want to return to Plainshold and find every adventurer so I can kill them and then burn the rest of that place to the ground.

    It would be so easy to just scorch their world and watch it burn to the ground, and then I could return to the ashes and take everything they¡¯ve had. And on top of that, it would make it clear what happens when one of those pathetic things offends me.

    Geez¡­ That seems a little harsh now that I think about it¡­ Why do I want to hurt them that much? I¡¯ve already dealt with everyone who has done anything so far. On the other claw, I could do it to amuse myself. Watching them all scream and scatter as their world is left in ruins would be fun¡­

    Raya is looking at me with sadness in her eyes, and it¡¯s pretty clear to me what my answer to her question is¡­

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m fine, Raya¡­¡±

    ¡°Lean down, please.¡±

    I do as she requests, and she immediately leaps onto my face and holds on tight. ¡°We¡¯ll figure this out, Kira. You¡¯ve got all of us to help you.¡±

    I have no idea how I¡¯m supposed to fight this growing need. It¡¯s like a pulsating comfort that keeps drawing my attention away from whatever I¡¯m doing. I have no idea what to do with myself, so I just lie down again and enjoy Raya¡¯s hug. It isn¡¯t helping to make this preoccupation with havoc dissipate. Tears rolling down my cheeks make me want to leave and freeze my heart to stop the discomfort, but a gentle hand wipes them away and as I look up, Lauren stands by me with a sad expression.

    For a moment, the impulse to kill her returns, but I manage to limit it to a soft growl. She doesn¡¯t even flinch at it, but I¡¯m left with a sense of frustration at the failure of keeping that desire in check. I was doing so well not thinking about killing and eating my friends¡­

    As I push down that unwanted instinct, a tiny hand touches my nose so softly that I barely notice it. Looking past Raya, I see Jeannie standing by me as well.

    Even if I turn into a monster, at least I¡¯ll have something to protect¡­

    Lauren¡¯s hand moves from my cheek to my chin as she starts scratching me. She seems deep in thought and very worried. ¡°If you will allow it, I would like to pray for you, Kira. I don¡¯t know what to do to undo the pain we¡¯ve caused you, but it¡¯s possible that my Goddess, Merciferus, does.¡±

    I still don¡¯t know what a goddess is, but this one seems important to Lauren. I doubt she¡¯d do anything to hurt me, so I guess I¡¯ll just allow it. As I shrug and tell her to go ahead, Lauren nods and clasps her hands, softly speaking some words I don¡¯t quite hear.

    For whatever reason, I¡¯m getting tired, and everything around me fades away.

    "Greetings, Traveler, Dragon. I have been looking for the two of you.¡°

 Chapter 29: Apart of a whole

    Hearing some unknown voice talk to you is a pretty quick way to wake up with a jolt. As I get to my feet, I give my surroundings a look and find my vision somehow limited. Everything feels weird and distorted, and my body feels uncomfortable and wrong, especially my stiff neck.

    It turns out that the person who spoke is some woman with a bunch of wings on her back, and she¡¯s freakishly beautiful. From head to toe, I¡¯m left in awe of how magnificent this weirdo looks, it¡¯s almost creepy.

    ¡°Dragon, I understand that you must be confused, but I brought you here to help you. Your suffering is palpable, and it will lead you and your world to ruin.¡±

    Instead of listening to whatever she¡¯s saying, I look down at myself and find that I have hands¡­ Terrifying sticks of flesh protruding from slightly hairy little things. Where are my scales and claws?! This is not okay! Somehow she has turned me into a delicious human, and I don¡¯t like that at all.

    ¡°What did you do to me? This isn¡¯t what I look like! This isn¡¯t me! Turn me back or I¡¯ll find some way to hurt you when I become a dragon again!¡±

    She completely ignores my very reasonable request in favor of looking up, and as I follow her gaze, I see myself. The real me, dragon me. And I look amazing. The slight gleam to my black scales is a testimony to the impressive durability of my body. The billowing wind of my awesome wings is a reminder of how they keep me safe and allow me to see the world. The scratching of huge claws is a constant warning to threats that I can and will defend myself against anything that might hurt me.

    I want to go back to that me, the true me, not this soft mess of a body. I feel so vulnerable and weak right now, and I don¡¯t like that one bit.

    ¡°I have done you no harm, Dragon. What you experience here is of your own making. You have taken and stolen when you should have shared and supported. She suffers in the wake of your cruelty when she should have thrived.¡±

    ¡°I have no idea what that¡¯s supposed to mean, but I want you to fix this now! Or at least tell me how I can fix it!¡±

    ¡°Dragon¡­ You cannot exist. You were never meant to exist. You are destruction incarnate, and you will only bring terror to the world.¡±

    Okay, rude¡­ She doesn¡¯t believe in me at all, I guess. It doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯ll figure something out, I¡¯m great at figuring something out.

    A quick summary of the situation might help. So far, I¡¯m human, some unhelpful woman is telling me I shouldn¡¯t exist, and my real body is standing over me, salivating. Those are all very alarming things, and I don¡¯t like this one bit. In fact, a quick summary didn''t help me at all; it might even have been a mistake.

    I can¡¯t really see any way forward aside from trying to get more information, so I ask her why I can¡¯t exist, although I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get some cryptic nonsense. She seems like the cryptic nonsense kind of person.

    ¡°Your heart ceased its function, and you found death in your egg on that mountain, Dragon. Your soul was transitioning to the world beyond when the Traveler arrived and took your body. What you are now is an amalgamation of what was left behind and what you took from the Traveler. You are incomplete and wrong.¡±

    Who the hell is this traveler anyway? Wreyn was talking about traveling too, and as I remember it, that was some soul stuff too. Something about travelers going the wrong direction and ending up where they shouldn¡¯t. Which sounds an awful lot like me being innocent in all of this and this traveler being to blame.

    I don¡¯t know much about this traveler business, so I¡¯m gonna focus on the rest of the very rude things she said. I¡¯m getting a little upset at how willing she is to say that my existence is wrong¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve done anything to warrant that¡­

    ¡°So, why am I wrong for surviving when I couldn¡¯t possibly have done this to myself consciously, and how do you suggest I fix it?¡±

    ¡°A trifling matter. Two cannot exist as one, it is an affront to this reality. Allow me to send the rest of you into the next world and become whole again, thus your sin will be purged.¡±

    Okay, geez¡­ That sounds creepy as hell and I suspect it means she wants to kill me... I¡¯m just gonna go ahead and not consent to getting killed.

    ¡°Screw that, jerk! I have a right to live just like everyone else!¡±

    ¡°You will address me with the respect I deserve, Dragon! I am a God and you are but a speck of dust in the flow of time!¡±

    ¡°I am addressing you with the respect you deserve, jerk.¡±

    Dragon Me is snickering above me, she gets it. This god or whatever seems to be getting a bit upset about me not groveling at her feet, but screw that, that¡¯s not dragon behavior.

    What dragon behavior is, is standing my ground against bullies and winning fights! So doing what I do best, I charge the woman and take a swing! With the grace of a frostclaw tumbling down a mountain, I fall on my face as I lose my balance from the swing of my arm... Stupid human body... As I¡¯m lying here contemplating my options, a shadow passes over me and my real body leaps over me, biting at the woman.

    My body is making a lot of mistakes, very obvious ones too, as it seems unaccustomed to its size and abilities for some reason. I¡¯m pretty sure it should be used to using that body as I¡¯ve been using it my entire life.

    ¡°Dragon Me! Use your flames!¡± Dragon Me looks back and cocks her head¡­ It¡¯s clear that she doesn¡¯t know what to do¡­ I¡¯ll need to help her, and for that, I need a weapon instead of these flimsy human parts. Looking around the harsh gray landscape, I don¡¯t see much I could use. Everything here is so angular and like giant crates, it¡¯s weird!

    Finding a metallic lid, I pick it up to use it as a shield, but as soon as I do, it fades away. Everything I pick up to use as a weapon fades away and it¡¯s very annoying, to be honest.

    My human body yells for me to use my flames, but I don¡¯t know how¡­ This body is so different compared to the last time I felt it, I don¡¯t even know how long ago that was... I think she¡¯s trying to find a weapon, but weapons aren¡¯t just sitting around in a modern town like this. I wish we could switch, she¡¯s probably a lot better at being a dragon than I am.

    I can¡¯t let that distract me, we need to stop this weirdo. She¡¯s oozing magical power, but I don¡¯t think she¡¯s that powerful physically, so if I can just bite her, then we can defeat her. Maybe¡­

    Turning my attention back to the weird jerk, I return to biting at her, but she¡¯s dodging my attacks with ridiculous ease, as if I¡¯m moving in slow motion. I¡¯m beginning to think that my human body and I need to regroup and think of something else. I¡¯m not gonna let her die just because of some happenstance situation she had no control over.

    We need to figure out a plan, and for that, we need to have time to think, so I speak up and tell my human body to jump onto me so we can leave and get to safety. What I manage to say is a garbled mess of growls and snarls, but she gets it.

    She¡¯s quick to react and runs to me. ¡°Lower your head, I can¡¯t climb on you!¡±

    Oh, right¡­ Of course. Once I lower my head, she¡¯s quick to get on, and I take flight. Flying feels different but familiar, so I manage reasonably well.

    ¡°You¡¯re pretty bad at flying!" Okay, rude¡­

    It¡¯s obvious that retaliation is in order, so I point out that she fell over and landed on her face while trying to hit the jerk.

    That is apparently a bonk-worthy offense as I feel a slight impact on my head, but that¡¯s okay, I¡¯m in the right here because I say so.

    We¡¯ve gotten a good distance away from the weird jerk and, as far as I can tell, she isn¡¯t chasing us. That¡¯s a relief and it gives me time to look around and see where we are. It doesn¡¯t take me long to recognize some landmarks, and we¡¯re close to home! Changing course, we fly toward my home. It doesn¡¯t take long to get there at all and I¡¯m pretty sure this town felt bigger when I had to walk.

    My human body isn¡¯t really talking, but she is feeling up a few of my scales and my horns, so I¡¯ll just leave her to it, I am pretty impressive, after all. In barely any time at all, we make it to my old home and, unfortunately, I doubt I can fit into the stairwell, so I¡¯ll have to rip out a window to get in. Sorry, Mom, I¡¯ll be making a bit of a mess¡­

    At least Dragon Me knows how to use her claws, because that is some fantastic destruction. I¡¯m holding on tight to our horns as her claws sink into the rocky surface and she rips into it. Material comes loose and falls to the ground as a hole big enough for us opens and reveals a glorious cave inside.

    The whole place is full of furniture, trinkets, and other such nonsense. It feels very familiar, but I¡¯m not sure why. At least we¡¯re safe now, I¡¯m sure of that, but I want to be really sure there isn''t anything hiding here, so I¡¯m gonna explore the cave a bit.

    Looking around, there are so many items, but none of them smell valuable, so I¡¯ll just try some of these doors instead. Gripping the handle of one door with my flimsy human hand, I twist it, but it¡¯s locked. That¡¯s annoying¡­ I¡¯ll have Dragon Me open it up later, for now, there are plenty of other doors to try.

    It takes a few attempts, but I do eventually open one, and as soon as I do, the ground shifts and turns into a rocky and sandy beach, the entire cave becoming wide open, but somehow the ceiling is still there. I have no idea how that works, but the sand feels surprisingly nice between my toes.

    I have no idea how my lake fits into this cave, but I¡¯m too tired to question it. I want to get some rest, so I move toward a long bench so I can get myself a snooze, but Dragon Me gets to it first¡­

    She manages to growl out something about this being her place, but I can¡¯t make out the rest of it. ¡°Dragon Me, use your magic to feel the structure of your throat, then push magic into your vocal cords.¡±

    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    She closes her eyes and I assume she¡¯s doing what I¡¯m telling her. I can¡¯t feel anything, so maybe it isn¡¯t working for her. Walking over to her, I put my hand to her chest and tell her what it feels like and where it should be as I indicate with my hand. She seems to get it as I feel her move, so I step back and look up. Dragon Me really is intimidating up close¡­

    ¡°This is my place, so I call dibs on the couch.¡±

    Well, now I regret teaching her how to speak¡­ Fine, I¡¯ll use something else. Nearby, there¡¯s a soft chair that smells like comfort, safety, and fun. This is valuable¡­

    Looking up from her couch, Dragon Me stares at me, seemingly wanting me to say something, but I have no idea what we¡¯re supposed to do here. I have no idea what I¡¯m supposed to do in most situations, I¡¯ve been leaping into situations as they¡¯ve presented themselves so far, just doing my best.

    With a grumble, Dragon Me asks what we¡¯re supposed to do, so I suggest we go over what the weird jerk told us. Dragon Me seems to agree, so we go over how she called me an amalgamation and as far as I can tell, she wanted to kill me. Dragon Me just nods along, seeming content to just listen. I can¡¯t blame her for not having anything to add, because I don¡¯t either¡­

    ¡°So, what do we do? I can¡¯t control this body very well, and I¡¯m sure the same is true for you. We might not be in the best position here¡­¡±

    She¡¯s right. I can¡¯t control my dragon body all that well, everything just feels discordant¡­ Instead I''m gonna focus on what the weird woman said...

    ¡°What did she mean when she said we left her behind? I don¡¯t remember leaving.¡± Human Kira seems quite confused by my question. I guess she couldn¡¯t figure it out either.

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember her telling us we left. She blamed us for this, but that¡¯s clearly nonsense. Why would either of us want to hurt us?¡±

    Seems like Human Kira wasn¡¯t paying attention. That¡¯s okay, it was an unusual situation, it still is, I guess. She¡¯s right, though; I wouldn¡¯t want to hurt her. I¡¯m sure she wouldn¡¯t want to hurt me either, even though she¡¯s scary.

    What Dragon Me said sounds weird¡­ I may be prone to distractions, but I know how to listen and that lady did not say we left... Given how annoying that weirdo was, I suspect something nonsensical is going on here... Looking over at Dragon Me, I find myself wishing I could just have my body back. If I did, I¡¯m sure I could take on that jerk and win. Ugh! I just want to be a dragon instead of having to be clever!

    I can¡¯t change that though, so I¡¯ll need to focus on being smart¡­ ¡°Dragon Me, what did she say, exactly?¡±

    ¡°My name is Kira, not Dragon Me, stop being rude.¡±

    ¡°Screw that, I¡¯m Kira! I¡¯m not letting you take my name like you did my body!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t take your body! I woke up like this! Twice! I didn¡¯t ask for any of this! I didn¡¯t ask to be stabbed, I didn¡¯t ask to be killed, and I didn¡¯t ask to be a murderer!¡±

    Her outburst makes me want to yell back, but I feel a headache building as memories flood into my mind and I feel a knife plunge into my belly. Terror grips me as memories of fear overwhelm me, her fear¡­ Reduced to a sobbing mess, all I can do is apologize to her.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Kira¡­ I didn¡¯t remember how all of this started, but it¡¯s coming back to me¡­¡±

    Moving my head over to Human Kira, I nudge her and tell her it¡¯ll be okay. I know she didn¡¯t mean to hurt me, but those are very painful memories. I just want to forget again, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s an option anymore. Instead, I¡¯m gonna go back to the subject at hand and just tell Human Kira what the weird jerk told me.

    ¡°The jerk told me that I left someone behind to shield myself from discomfort when I should have stood my ground and faced the threats around me. And something about how I had abandoned and neglected someone when they needed me as their friend. I don¡¯t know what to make of it, though.¡±

    ¡°When did she say that? I didn¡¯t hear that at all.¡±

    ¡°Right after telling us she didn¡¯t do us any harm, which I doubt, I''m pretty sure that being split in two is harmful.¡±

    ¡°No, she said¡­ I don¡¯t want to repeat it¡­¡±

    I¡¯m not sure why, but I¡¯m afraid of repeating what was said to me. What if Dragon Kira hurts me when she learns that Lauren¡¯s god told me that I took parts of her soul... I can¡¯t fight back in this body, I¡¯m far too vulnerable without my scales, and I don¡¯t know if I can trust her not to lash out. I¡¯m pretty sure I would lash out if I found out someone took such an important part of me¡­

    With a comforting nudge, she tells me we¡¯ll be okay. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Kira. You don¡¯t have to repeat it if you don¡¯t want to. She had a scary amount of magic, so who knows what sorts of tricks she¡¯s up to. We¡¯ll figure something out eventually. Until then, we should get some rest and then tomorrow, we can go look for a third Kira and then we can be an entire clever cookie jar!¡±

    That makes no sense, but I appreciate that she isn¡¯t pushing the matter. I¡¯ll have to figure out how to tell her eventually, but it¡¯s terrifying¡­

    Pushing that aside for now, I suggest we get some sleep because I¡¯m very tired for some reason. Like unreasonably tired, which I blame on this stupid human body¡­ Dragon bodies are so much better.

    Leaning back, I try to get comfortable, but this chair isn¡¯t that good at being a bed¡­

    ¡°Pull the lever on the side, Dad¡¯s chair reclines, so you can sleep in it.¡±

    Looking over the side of the large chair, I do indeed find a lever, but pulling on it doesn¡¯t really do much aside from making Dragon Kira chuckle and purr. Not exactly the most functional lever when the same can be achieved with a good joke¡­

    Finishing her chuckle, she instructs me on how to recline the chair, and it becomes far more comfortable in an instant. I want a magic chair like this!

    Looking back up, I watch as Dragon Kira coils up on the couch. It doesn¡¯t really make sense, but somehow the couch got bigger to accommodate her.

    A worrying thought crosses my mind and I have to ask... ¡°Kira, do you feel any urge to eat me?¡±

    Her eye opens and this is the first time I really get a good look at the glowing sapphire orb, Joras was right, it is beautiful. ¡°You know I do, but I¡¯m not gonna.¡±

    Yeah, I do know... It¡¯s a weird comfort to know that I can be confident in knowing how she feels and what to expect of her, but it doesn¡¯t stop the fear. It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve felt this vulnerable, there has always been something I could do, but now I can¡¯t even light things on fire...

    Human Kira seems quite sad, but I¡¯m not sure what to do about it. I can smell how afraid she got when she was supposed to tell me what the weird jerk told her, so I can only assume it had something to do with me. I¡¯m not gonna push her though, she¡¯ll tell me when she¡¯s ready.

    What I can do is distract her, and her talking about eating did get me in the mood for a munch. Getting up from my couch, I head to the kitchen, and to my surprise, the door just opens for me. That¡¯s a polite door.

    Opening the fridge, I look inside and it¡¯s clear that Mom has restocked it recently, but instead of trying to figure out how to carry some items into the living room, I¡¯m just gonna bring the entire fridge in there. Turns out that dragging it through the sand is quite easy.

    Ripping it from the wall, I lay it down on the floor and drag it back to Human Kira and run off to fetch some utensils. Again, I just opt for bringing the entire drawer instead of trying to pick up a butter knife with these butterclaws.

    Human Kira stares at me, she seems unsure of what to do, so I begin to instruct her on how to make a sandwich. Standing with a great base of rye bread, I tell her to grab a knife and a small container of chunky brown paste. We¡¯re going peanut butter on this thing!

    Then it¡¯s time to add something green, so I instruct her to grab some scissors and cut some leaves of cilantro and then cut them into fine pieces. Adding the somewhat diced leaves to the peanut butter, we¡¯re ready to add some spice to this beast! Hot sauce! Since I¡¯m not a monster, I have her taste some first to make sure it isn¡¯t too spicy for her. I doubt it is, since that¡¯s my body and I could chug the stuff.

    ¡°It¡¯s delicious! We should give this to Raya, she¡¯d love it!¡±

    Human Kira may be going a bit overboard with the hot sauce, because the sandwich is bathed in the stuff¡­ Nevertheless, with that out of the way, we¡¯re at the fruit stage, a thinly sliced banana is appropriate for that.

    We¡¯re almost done, but now it needs a final piece to complete it. The bacon! Watching her struggle with the packaging for the delicious meat is quite fun, but I have no idea how she¡¯s managed to learn all those curse words.

    Helpful as I am, I point out that she had scissors in her hands just a moment ago. After giving me an exasperated stare, she gets the packaging open, and it occurs to me that we should probably fry it. Bossing her around is pretty fun, but I¡¯ve walked straight into a power displacement situation¡­

    ¡°Give me some heat so I can fry this stuff.¡±

    I recall using flames before, so I use my magic again and try to make sense of all the information it gives me, but it¡¯s a little overwhelming to be able to feel my body with such accuracy. As I¡¯m making sense of everything, I feel a pat on my belly as Human Kira stands under me.

    ¡°Right here, that¡¯s where the flame lives. Focus magic into that bit and push it up and through you. It helps to clench your muscles a bit.¡±

    I do as she instructs and release a plume of almost white flames. I¡¯m pretty sure those were orange the last time I saw them, but whatever, I have no doubt that they¡¯re hot enough to-

    ¡°Wow! How come your flames have a different color than mine? That¡¯s so unfair!¡±

    I have no idea what¡¯s going on with her flame, but that¡¯s a third color. I want white flames, they¡¯re a great contrast to our scales. And the heat coming off it is oppressive and uncomfortable, forcing me to shield myself from it. She seems to realize that she wasn¡¯t pointing her flame out of the hole she dug, so after setting a few things on fire, she¡¯s quick to panic and start stomping out the burny bits.

    I¡¯m realizing I didn¡¯t really have a plan for how to roast this meat, so I¡¯ll rely on Dragon Kira to figure that out. As soon as I point out that I¡¯ll be burned to a crisp if I try to roast this meat, she struts off into another room again as I ignore the dribble of drool at the corner of her mouth.

    Being on the other side of that is surprisingly discomforting, but at least I can be confident that she won¡¯t eat me any time soon. Although I might have to be careful with that hot sauce¡­ if I spilled that on me, I might be inclined to eat me.

    Dropping a metallic plate at my feet, she looks at me expectantly as I pick it up.

    ¡°Use the skillet to hold the bacon, then I¡¯ll heat it up!¡±

    That sounds like a plan, but I¡¯d still be in range of the heat from our flame, so I¡¯m not sure I want to do that¡­ To begin with, I place the bacon on the skillet and put the whole thing down on a small table nearby, making sure it isn¡¯t near the valuable furniture. I¡¯d rather my comfortable and safe chair stay comfortable and safe.

    She seems to understand what I¡¯m doing as she¡­ somehow blows hot air at the bacon. How is she doing that?! She¡¯s breathing out heat without flame! I never learned to do that! That¡¯s so unfair, I only just taught her how to use our flame and now she¡¯s being all clever!

    ¡°How are you doing that?¡±

    Human Kira seems to be confused, but it¡¯s really quite simple. I figure that fire is just an expression of a chemical reaction resulting in light, heat, and the change in fuel, but we use magic in place of fuel, so we should be able to change it to a point. And as it turns out, just creating some heat is surprisingly easy. I will need to explore this more, though, since something else is going on too.

    Frying the bacon is also quite easy, and I instruct Human Kira to flip it so we can fry both sides. She cautiously does as I tell her, making sure not to get burned. Well, making sure as well as she can, bacon grease is a wily beast.

    ¡°Fuck! That hurts! Why are humans so weak! UGH! I just want to be myself again!¡±

    Yeah, I get it. I wouldn¡¯t want to be in an ill-fitting body either. I''m lucky to have gotten the body I wanted, but I can''t help but pity her a bit for not being in the same situation. I''ll have to work hard to protect her if we''re gonna fight that jerk.

    I''m not really sure how we''re supposed to do it, but I already feel a lot more comfortable with my new size than I did earlier today. I''m sure we''ll be fine, we''ve got each other and I have no doubt we''ll both make it out of this.

    With the bacon done, it''s time to add it to the sandwich, and now comes a critical step: ensuring a higher coverage rate! With my excellent guidance, she manages to complete the sandwich as she puts the top piece of bread onto the construction.

    "Now take a knife and cut it from one corner to the opposite corner, you want triangles!"

    I have no idea why triangles are important, but this thing smells amazing and she doesn''t seem to be leading me astray so far. Grabbing a sharp knife, I make sure to steady the bread as I make my cut just like I''ve seen Raya do. Gentle, but firm is key.

    Managing to cut all the way through without ruining anything, I take a moment to appreciate the pleasant smells from the food here. It''s quite lovely. Dragon Kira tells me to grab a triangle and start eating it from the center, so that''s what I do. It''s amazing... The flavors play so well together, and the hot sauce is just so good. I don''t know what half the things I used are, but I want more.

    Before I realize how ravenous I am, I''ve eaten the entire thing, but as I go to grab the other triangle, I find it gone.

    "You bitch! You stole my food!"

    "The price of knowledge is steep!"

    "Yeah? Well, you''re the coma dragon this time, so there! Deal with that knowledge!"

    Dang it!

 Chapter 30: Lost

    I can¡¯t dwell on my lost sandwich, but I can make another one! Working on the components, I find myself wondering what it tasted like for Dragon Kira. I¡¯m pretty sure things do have different flavors for our dragon body.

    My mind wanders as I keep my hands busy, thinking about how I might bring up the whole soul-stealing situation, but I¡¯m drawing a blank. I am not prepared for a conversation of that magnitude¡­ How would I even do it? I don¡¯t think I can just say, ¡®Hey Dragon Kira, I¡¯ve been tearing away chunks of your soul and adding them to my own, pretty wacky, right?¡¯

    Yeah¡­ That won¡¯t work. I¡¯ll need to think harder about this whole situation, but one thing is for sure: I need to figure out how to stop doing it.

    ¡°Kira, just take your time with whatever you¡¯re struggling with. We¡¯re home, so I¡¯m sure we''re safe.¡±

    And just like that, it occurred to me that she can smell my fear¡­ I hadn¡¯t thought of that at all, since I¡¯m usually the one doing that, and I can¡¯t smell any such thing right now. Stupid human body¡­ It¡¯s so frail and limited, and I just want my own comfortable body back.

    Whatever she¡¯s thinking about over there, she seems quite troubled by it. And the cause of it is obviously whatever that woman said. It must have been something horrible to cause such a fearful reaction every time Kira looks at me.

    She¡¯s quick to learn how to make fantastic sandwiches, though, so that will no doubt help calm her down. I wonder if it is the right move to give her space to approach me on her own, or if I should bring up the subject so her thoughts won¡¯t spiral out of control¡­ I¡¯m not sure why she¡¯s so afraid of me, though; I¡¯m pretty sure neither of us has a reason or desire to harm the other.

    We still don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on with this entire situation, getting pulled into some weird depopulated version of my hometown. Oh! That gives me an idea! As soon as she¡¯s done with her lunch, we¡¯re going out to see the sights!

    That gleam in Dragon Kira¡¯s eye is making me a little nervous. No doubt she¡¯s thinking about something weird and it¡¯ll affect me soon. I¡¯m just gonna focus on my food for now, since my options at the moment seem to be worrying about Dragon Kira¡¯s weird ideas, how to broach the subject of soul theft, or minding my own business¡­

    Grabbing my food, I go to sit by the hole in the wall. Sitting with my legs dangling over the edge, I watch the horizon and it¡¯s weird. Everything is so square and tall. And we¡¯re so high up, which is a lot more terrifying when you don¡¯t have wings, as I¡¯m learning right now in the midst of regretting having looked down.

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty, isn¡¯t it? I have always liked living so high up, because you can see so far. The bad part is having a commute to reach street level, though.¡±

    She¡¯s right, it is pretty. The massive dragon head settles down next to me as we just watch the view. I have no idea how high up we are, but my mountain is taller, so I¡¯ve got that going for me. Unfortunately, my mountain also has bears, which I hope her place doesn¡¯t. Sitting next to her head, it occurs to me just how big I am. I might have to stop laughing at Raya¡¯s height because my dragon head is almost as big as I am.

    Giving her a poke, she turns an eye to me and I hesitate again¡­ Why can¡¯t I just speak my mind¡­

    ¡°Hop on, Kira. We¡¯re gonna go do something fun, I know just the spot.¡±

    She does as I tell her, and I rise up and exit through the open-concept window, leaving my home behind for now. Soaring through the city landscape, we weave between buildings. Our target is the local park, and I¡¯m gonna blow her mind! We¡¯ll be there in no time as soon as I turn around because I¡¯ve definitely flown too far. I hope she won¡¯t notice since I¡¯m supposed to know this place, but flying is much faster than walking, so that¡¯s my excuse, and I¡¯m sticking with it.

    With the park trees in sight, we¡¯re nearing our target: the playground! She won¡¯t know what hit her! Landing in the grass, I let her down and we make our way to the playground, and more specifically, the swing set!

    She doesn¡¯t seem to have any idea what the swings are, but that just means this will be even more fun! She cautiously sits down on the swing, and I instruct her on how to hold on tight and lift her legs, giving her a gentle push with my nose.

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of this?¡±

    Just as I ask, she pushes me even harder, startling me. I may have let out a very un-dragon-like yelp, but I¡¯m starting to see the appeal as my belly begins behaving oddly. I didn¡¯t know humans had such a weird bodily function. This is great!

    ¡°Stretch your legs when you go forward while leaning back, then when you go backward, curl up and lean forward!¡±

    She gives me some odd instructions, but there¡¯s no harm in doing what she¡¯s telling me. This is amazing! I¡¯m going so fast! I keep repeating what she told me to do and I keep going higher and higher! I wonder how high I can get with this!

    As I continue to go higher, this thing does a weird thing that scares the hell out of me, all of a sudden, I¡¯m in a small free-fall as I jerk toward the ground without the support of the seat. It¡¯s surprisingly terrifying even if I¡¯m only a few meters from the ground. I could have died! Bringing the whole thing to a stop, I take a moment to compose myself and calmly tell Dragon Kira that she is being rude.

    ¡°Don¡¯t laugh at me, you stupid overgrown lizard! That was terrifying, and now my pants are wet!¡±

    ¡°You peed yourself! That¡¯s even funnier!¡±

    It really isn¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t know what to do about this, how am I supposed to wash my pants? If I find a river, they¡¯ll just get more wet. It occurs to me that I should have known what happened, but it just makes me sad that I didn¡¯t. It means the knowledge I had on the subject was hers, not mine. How much of what I am is her¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to make you cry. I will try not to laugh at you again. Hop on and we¡¯ll go back home and find some dry clothes for you.¡±

    She''s hesitant to get on, but with a nudge, she manages. Taking off again, we fly back home and I point out which door leads to my room. She grips the handle, but for some reason, it won¡¯t open. That seems odd, but I give it a go, and the door swings open like I expect it to.

    My room is exactly as I left it, so I open all the closets and drawers, so she can pick whatever she wants. I¡¯ve got a decent amount of clothes, so I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll pick something good!

    Instead of checking out my fantastic wardrobe, she sits down on my bed and I guess I should have called dibs on that one as well. Too late for that, so it¡¯s hers now, I¡¯ve still got the couch.

    ¡°Kira, we have to talk about what that lady said¡­¡±

    Oh, I didn¡¯t expect that. I have been curious though, if we got different messages, maybe it¡¯ll shine some light on what we¡¯re doing here. I¡¯m not sure what that amalgamation business is, but it seems tied into why Human Kira is so worried. The thing about wanting to kill her is definitely something we won¡¯t allow.

    ¡°She told me that I died and now I¡¯m killing you too, just by existing¡­ She told me that I have been taking parts of your soul to fix my own, and I¡¯m so sorry! I didn¡¯t know! That¡¯s why she called me an amalgamation, that¡¯s why I¡¯m wrong, and she wants me to die. So that I don¡¯t kill you. You¡¯re the important one here and I¡¯m standing in the way. I¡¯m not supposed to exist, I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯m a real person or just a patchwork of broken pieces I¡¯ve torn off you.¡±

    Baring everything, I just let loose and tell her all about how I feel and why I¡¯m so scared. I don¡¯t want to die, but I also don¡¯t want to kill Kira, she¡¯s the real one, after all. At the very least, I¡¯m happy to have tried so many more things than I was supposed to. I¡¯m happy to have met so many wonderful people, but I feel so much regret because of what I¡¯ve done to Kira.

    ¡°I felt you in my mind, Kira, but I pushed you away and I¡¯m so sorry. I felt you become stronger as we got closer to our lake, so I stayed away, and I felt your presence whenever we had a moment of peace, so I dove into our instincts until they overwhelmed me. I¡¯m so sorry.¡±

    I have no idea what to do here, but at least the real Kira knows how I feel now. I still don¡¯t want to die, but I understand why she would want to kill me for what I¡¯ve done. I¡¯m so afraid of mind control, and all this time, I¡¯ve been doing something much worse¡­

    Geez, that¡¯s a lot to take in¡­ One thing is clear, though: this will end in violence. I already know that she pushed me away and that I got hurt whenever I tried to push into her mind. But all this soul stuff is way above my pay grade¡­

    I wish I had someone here I could ask for advice. I¡¯d ask Human Kira, but she might be a little too biased right now. In fact, I might be biased too, given that I¡¯m an affected party, but screw that, who¡¯s gonna tell a dragon they can¡¯t be biased?

    I need a distraction, so we¡¯re gonna play dress-up! Turning to face my closet, I manage to pull out a lovely yellow sundress and throw it at her. She doesn¡¯t react much, aside from moving it off her face, but a quick command to put it on and she gets to work. Well, she gets to struggling, I might have to give her some instructions here. She¡¯s even struggling to take off her clothes, but with my expert guidance, she still struggles but makes progress! It takes a while, but she manages to change her wardrobe.

    With the dress in place, I tell her to go to the mirror and then it occurs to me that I don¡¯t know whether it will work or not. I guess that will determine whether this is a dream or something else, but that¡¯s not important right now. Nudging her, I ask what she thinks.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t really know what to think about anything right now¡­¡±

    I have no idea what Real Kira is doing, but I don¡¯t think a change of clothes is going to fix anything. Looking in the mirror, I just see a red-haired young woman staring back at me and¡­ that¡¯s Kira, she looks so sad. Looking over the mirror image¡¯s shoulder, I see the blue eye of Real Kira, just staring at our reflection.

    ¡°What do we do now, Kira? I¡¯m still in your way, and a dress won¡¯t fix that. I think you have to kill me to save yourself.¡±

    She doesn¡¯t seem to want to answer, but given how much it affects me, I feel like I deserve some sort of reply. I find myself wondering if I should push the subject until I annoy her enough to lash out, solving the problem, but it should be our choice, not just mine.

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    ¡°Screw that. We¡¯re not killing you and that¡¯s final. And I¡¯m a dragon, so I have the right to veto anything you say anytime I want, so there, it¡¯s settled.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s how it works, but I don¡¯t disapprove of me not getting killed. That just leaves what we¡¯re supposed to do now. From what we know so far, we don¡¯t really have a lot of options for moving forward.

    We''ll need to teach her to stop all this standing in my way business. As far as I¡¯m concerned, we¡¯ve survived thanks to her, so if she isn¡¯t real, then neither am I. All we have to do is figure out how to co-exist with no knowledge of how to do that, easy peasy. We¡¯ll have it sorted by the end of the day!

    We just have to figure out what¡¯s going on, and the first thing to do is sort out our timelines. The last thing I remember clearly is Oakhold and fighting some jerks in the street, but ever since then, I¡¯ve only had momentary flashes, and now we¡¯re bigger than we were back then.

    Asking about it, she gives a loose account of how she fought the adventurers and won. It sounds disgusting and makes me want to leave, but I need to stand by her if we¡¯re gonna solve this. Some fighting is inevitable, and I¡¯m still confident that this will end in a battle. Though it is quite scary that we might have to fight that weird and powerful woman to get out of this place.

    ¡°So what do we do, Kira? I can¡¯t fight in this human body, so I won¡¯t be any good in a confrontation.¡±

    This whole situation has made quite a mess of me, and I¡¯m lost. I wish someone would just show up and tell me how to fix everything. All I can do is trust Real Kira to come up with some idea and hold on tight to the relief of her not lashing out when she learned what I¡¯ve been doing.

    Although I appreciate it, it feels foolish to not just take the safe option of removing me from the equation, but then when did we ever take the safe option? Thinking back on this whole ordeal, it seems bizarre that the weird lady would give us different messages like that and keep them hidden from each other. I don¡¯t really see much reason for that. Which reminds me¡­

    ¡°She also told me that I was destruction incarnate¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯m good for the world either, Kira.¡±

    ¡°Pfft, screw that. You¡¯re clumsy incarnate, don¡¯t you remember how you fell when you tried to hit her? It looked hilarious!¡±

    That earned me a Mr. Mightington the Omega Bear to the face. She¡¯s throwing my stuffed animals at me! That¡¯s so rude! Using my most evasive maneuvers, I manage to dodge none of them as I swerve to reach her, which doesn¡¯t take long on account of how small my room is relative to my body. With a mighty flick of my tongue, I subdue the hostile artillery, and the weapons fire ceases.

    She scratches my chin as I use my head to press her down. We¡¯ll be fine, I¡¯m sure of it.

    Feeling the warm breath of the large dragon head currently resting on top of me, I can¡¯t help but feel comforted, we¡¯ll be fine, I¡¯m feeling more sure of that by the minute.

    It doesn¡¯t take long before sleep overtakes me as the gentle snoring of Real Kira lulls me into unconsciousness.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Waking up, I notice that I can¡¯t really see anything, Kira is blocking my view. Tapping her a few times, she stirs from her sleep with a growl, but I know that go-away-I¡¯m-sleeping growl, so I continue my tapping. I know exactly where to tap to achieve the greatest level of annoying. There are these two spots on the side of my nose with much higher sensitivity than anywhere else I¡¯ve felt.

    ¡°STOP IT, DANG IT!¡±

    Okay, minor miscalculation on my part. Don¡¯t annoy a dragon resting on top of you, when they move, they might squeeze you. Taking a moment to catch my breath as she moves away, I compose myself and get up, straightening my dress. Her dress, I guess.

    ¡°So, Kira, what do we do now?¡±

    ¡°Stop calling me Kira, you¡¯re Kira too, so I¡¯ll be Dragon Kira, you¡¯re Human Kira. I don¡¯t care what some weirdo in a weirdo version of my old home says, you¡¯re just as real as I am. In fact, we¡¯re gonna find that weirdo and tell her to knock it off. We¡¯ll figure things out on our own.¡±

    That¡¯s a plan I can get behind. Simple and direct. But one thing needs to be taken care of first. I can¡¯t just leave all of this behind with unfinished business.

    Leaving the bedroom behind, I go into the messy living room and head straight for the fridge. I want to try some more stuff! I might not have an opportunity to try these things again, so I¡¯ll need to make the most of it!

    ¡°Hey Dragon Kira, how do you open this box of liquid? The fruit on the outside looks delicious!¡±

    For someone who was deep in the dumps yesterday, she sure is quick to steal my juice. I bought that with my own money! What I see as I enter the living room is pure disaster. The sight is possibly the most horrible I¡¯ve ever come across... She didn¡¯t wait for my instructions and there¡¯s juice everywhere. She wasted it all!

    ¡°It¡¯s delicious, but these boxes are hard to open.¡±

    Maybe there¡¯s something to the whole destruction incarnate part. I¡¯ll need to keep a closer eye on this rascal, that¡¯s for sure.

    ¡°Dragon Kira! Catch!¡±

    Throwing some sort of fruit for her, she tries to grab it out of the air, but I don¡¯t think she intended to create a large hole in the ceiling. She still needs to get used to our large body, that¡¯s for sure.

    I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be a good idea to throw more things at her, so I¡¯m just gonna grab some things to try myself. The whole box situation has left me both cautious and curious, and stained.

    As I¡¯m rummaging through the fridge, I manage to find some more oranges, and I definitely want one of those. Dragon Kira¡¯s mom kept a well-stocked kitchen, and now I¡¯m reaping the benefits. I mostly focus on the fruits and veggies, not bothering to cook anything up, but it¡¯s delicious nevertheless.

    ¡°If you aren''t too busy with the fridge, where do you think the jerk is? She has had plenty of time to find us.¡±

    Okay, that¡¯s a worrying thought. I had not considered that she might be looking for us. I don¡¯t know how, but I had somehow gotten the thought into my head that she was just waiting out there for us to return. Okay, responsibility time. Limiting my foraging to only a handful of items, I ask Dragon Kira what we¡¯re supposed to do now.

    ¡°We find her, we fight her, we win, and we get out of here, easy peasy.¡±

    It¡¯s an excellent plan, if I do say so myself, especially the winning part. Admittedly, I don¡¯t know the finer details, but I have no doubt we¡¯ll sort it out. And as far as this whole soul-stealing situation goes, I can¡¯t actually tell it¡¯s happening, so we only have that jerk¡¯s word to go by and I don¡¯t trust her.

    I do feel compelled to take up the fight though, I don¡¯t like that the weirdo lady seemed so sure of what¡¯s going on with us, and that raises my suspicions. If she¡¯s trying to manipulate me into attacking Human Kira, I¡¯ll make her pay for it, with interest!

    Telling Human Kira that we should get going, and as soon as I lower my head, she grabs hold of my horn and climbs on. She¡¯s getting the hang of being human, but she didn¡¯t have to bring an armful of food with her.

    Now the big question is, how do we find that woman? The obvious first step is to just return to where we started, so that¡¯s what we do. It takes a while, and the flight feels longer than it did getting here.

    ¡°You¡¯re getting better at flying.¡±

    It¡¯s remarkable growth for such a short while, I don¡¯t like that Dragon Kira seems to be learning how to dragon faster than me, but I can¡¯t really do anything about it. For a moment, my thoughts drift back to yesterday, but with some effort, I focus on what¡¯s ahead. I need to be ready to help against this woman so we can win.

    In an unexpected surprise, she actually is just standing around where we first met her. I know how to handle this situation.

    ¡°Hey! You need to leave! The sign says no loitering, and you¡¯ve been loitering since yesterday!¡±

    It didn¡¯t work, and now I have to put in some effort to stay on Dragon Kira as she¡¯s having a bit of a laugh. She gets it.

    With my focus back on the lady, I take aim at the ground in front of her and prepare to land. Having a chuckle before a fight feels good, but we need to get serious if we¡¯re gonna win against a powerful opponent like this.

    With a gentle landing, I let Human Kira down and we wait to see how this lady reacts, but she doesn¡¯t. She just stands there, looking at us. I have no idea what to make of that.

    ¡°Tell us what you want! I refuse to kill Human Kira, and I don¡¯t believe she¡¯s a threat to me, so just leave us alone!¡±

    ¡°Traveler, it has brought you more pain than you have ever known, it has let you become corrupted, and it steals who you are. That amalgamation is a threat to you, and whether you approve or not, it will be put to death.¡±

    Dragon Kira barely waits for the lady to finish her sentence before a large plume of white flame jets out towards her. The woman dodges to the side, but Kira follows her, the scorching heat leaving clear marks on the ground as destruction spreads. Buildings catch fire and the shine of glass beads from the streets.

    Watching the scene leaves me breathless as the woman runs around, dodging the fire flawlessly. She¡¯s goading Dragon Kira into losing track of her surroundings, and the plume is turning toward me. I see it, though, so I climb underneath Kira and out on the other side to keep safe from the fire.

    I don¡¯t know how I can possibly help in this situation, so I¡¯ll just focus on staying safe for now.

    This dang lady is far too jumpy, but I just need to catch her in my fire once and we¡¯re done! For a moment, I feel a tap on my throat and I notice Human Kira duck underneath me, giving me space to continue with the fire. Our surroundings are bathed in flame and it looks amazing.

    ¡°You cannot win this, Traveler. I am a god and you are but a child. Just lie down and accept the fate your amalgamation was destined for!¡±

    ¡°Screw that, lady!¡±

    ¡°Screw that, lady!¡±

    Flames aren¡¯t working, so I¡¯m gonna use my claws! Having stopped my fire to yell, I go into a charge and aim directly for the god. I¡¯m still confident we can win this, and I won¡¯t allow anything to happen to my Kira.

    She takes my charge head-on and somehow manages to stop me in my tracks. It feels like having run into a brick wall. It freakin¡¯ hurts! In a swift movement, she grabs hold of one of my horns and twists, somehow forcing my entire body to flip. Landing hard, the breath is knocked from me and I¡¯m gonna need a moment¡­

    ¡°Leave her alone, you bitch!¡±

    Before I realize what I¡¯m doing, I¡¯m charging straight at the god. My frail body will likely not be able to do much, but I have to do something. I can¡¯t just watch as she hurts my Kira. Reaching her, I take a swing at her, which she readily blocks. I continue attacking, but none of my pitiful hits land.

    ¡°Cease your flailing, amalgamation, you cannot win where the Traveler failed.¡±

    I know that! Of course I know that, but I can¡¯t give up. I have to at least try! Tears well up as I continue my futile effort. At this point, it can barely be considered an annoyance for her as exhaustion hits me, and I struggle to even maintain a semblance of strength.

    On a missed hit, she grabs my face and holds me tight, the force of her fingers feels crushing, and I am afraid. Fear becomes overwhelming as I lash out with renewed vigor, but it doesn¡¯t do anything. She isn¡¯t even flinching.

    That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m giving up! I can¡¯t give up if it means she might attack Kira next!

    Looking up, I see the woman holding Kira off the ground. Kira is flailing, and I have to do something. My entire body hurts, but I get to my feet and manage a clumsy charge toward the two. I doubt I can make a difference at this point, but that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m giving up! I can¡¯t give up if it means she¡¯ll kill Kira!

    Reaching them, I bite at her, and she lets go of Kira, and I move over her to protect her from this monster.

    I fade in and out of consciousness, but seeing the belly scales of our dragon body fills me with relief, and I climb out from under her. Putting a hand on her side, I thank her for protecting me and get ready to attack again.

    We charge together and somehow I manage to keep pace with Dragon Kira. I hope that isn¡¯t an indication of how wounded she is, but that¡¯s stuff for after the battle. Right now, we need to focus on doing something, anything, to deter this bitch from hurting us.

    Reaching the god, I strike out and my claw almost connects. She grips my hand and tries to crush it, but my scales protect me. With my other hand, I aim for her face, forcing her to let go or be hit. Looking around, I don¡¯t see my dragon form anywhere, so I assume she has thought of something clever and no doubt she¡¯ll rejoin soon.

    The god lets go, and I bring my tail around to strike at her, just barely missing. She¡¯s struggling more now than she has been since we started this.

    I still don¡¯t see Human Kira anywhere, but I¡¯m sure she has thought of something clever, and no doubt she¡¯ll rejoin soon. Returning my attention to the god, I rush at her and strike again, unleashing my flames at the same time. I have no doubt I¡¯ll be fine to endure my heat.

    The god continues to focus on defense, much to my frustration. She¡¯s just quicker than I am¡­

    ¡°Kira, stop this childish behavior and do what must be done!¡±

    ¡°Screw that! I won¡¯t let you take me away! This is my home now, and I refuse to leave it behind!¡±

    Her telling me to stop fills me with fury and rage as I run towards her again. I¡¯m not going to let some random bitch tell me what to do! Hits and kicks fly, and she¡¯s struggling more and more to block them. I¡¯m confident that the tide of battle is turning as I continue my assault.

    She grabs one of my hands again and, in a swift motion, punches me in the stomach, knocking me back as I struggle to breathe. Looking up, she stands over me, and I can¡¯t tell what her expression means¡­

    My sight is blurry, and I¡¯m not sure I have any more fight in me, which pisses me off. With great effort, I climb to my feet and stand. Being taller than her gives me a little pleasure, but as I try to hit her again, she grabs hold of my arm and holds it in place, clearly marking that she has been toying with me.

    Where the fuck is Kira?! She¡¯s supposed to be here to help me! My eyes dart around as exhaustion causes my head to dip down and I get a look at myself. I¡¯m standing upright as I catch sight of my belly scales, the gleam of my black biological armor coating my arms as they end in a sharp mixture of human and draconic hands.

    I can¡¯t tell which Kira I am¡­

 Chapter 31: Awakening

    As I fight through my exhaustion, this enemy continues to block every hit and kick I throw her way. I guess I¡¯ll find out what happens when I collapse, but that¡¯s a problem for later. For now, I need some distance to keep myself safe in case she strikes back again. Throwing a plume of flame her way, she dodges readily, so I turn to retreat.

    ¡°Kira! Cease your useless flailing and accept fate! You cannot win a fight against something like me!¡±

    Running upright is nearly impossible, and I keep almost tripping because of the claws on my feet. Now I get why birds jump so much, geez. Adding how tired I am to it, I end up falling over a few times as I run. Stupid human parts, just go away and let me be a dragon!

    Turning my head around, I see her following at a leisurely pace. As far as I can tell, she isn¡¯t in any rush to catch up, but then I guess she doesn¡¯t have to be in a rush if I¡¯m stuck in this world.

    I¡¯m not fast enough, so I lower myself to the ground and run on all fours. This feels far more natural. The more I run like this, the better it feels as my body shifts to accommodate this style of mobility.

    Returning my focus to the god, I barely see her anymore, but I need to do something about her. Well, if I can¡¯t beat her, then I¡¯ll have to settle for annoying her! Spreading my wings, I take flight and now we¡¯re picking up speed! My target is my old home, but I want to make sure she isn''t following, so I take a detour up north.

    In an unexpected turn of events, I¡¯m flying a lot slower than I¡¯m accustomed to, and pushing magic into my wings isn¡¯t helping. This body, this middle ground between human and dragon, frustrates me as I can¡¯t rely on my memories from either form to move. As if my brain tries to send human signals to the dragon parts and dragon signals to the human parts¡­

    This whole situation is pissing me off! I just want to return to the real world and have fun!

    Flying around, I glance at the features of the city I used to live in, and they feel foreign, and I don¡¯t like being here at all.

    Setting course toward my parents¡¯ place, I quicken the beat of my wings to shorten the trip as much as I can. I¡¯m getting faster again and I¡¯m adapting. I¡¯m gonna have to cook up something special to punish Lauren for this.

    Getting close to my den, I prepare to dig my claws into the side of the wall, so I can climb inside again. With a thud, I slam into the wall, latching on. Climbing up, I enter the wrecked living room, but that¡¯s not where I want to be, so I continue down into the clay tunnel to my real home.

    The mural carved into the wall reminds me of my responsibility, and Jeannie¡¯s door is a mark of my new family. I need some rest to clear this exhaustion so I can take up the fight to annoy this god so much that she lets me go.

    Coiling up on my little dreamworld hoard, my thoughts drift and I begin to wonder whether I¡¯ll be able to take on the invading adventurers when they arrive in Tuiran. This whole splitting headache situation started because I killed adventurers, and I¡¯d rather not have it happen again¡­

    Especially not if I end up in this stupid halfway form for a third time. If this is to work, I¡¯ll have to stop clinging to the lingering thoughts of being human and plunge into my draconic nature. There is no way I can live that peaceful life my human side wants, and it needs to get with the program and realize that.

    That doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t try to create some peace, though, but I need to be ready to carve it out of the flesh of my enemies. Especially those who choose to defy me. I can¡¯t rely on instincts to force my actions, I have to take those actions willingly.

    As I fall asleep, I realize that I don¡¯t feel that old, familiar reluctance anymore. I feel whole and ready to defend what belongs to me.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    As I open my eyes, I glance around and see my familiar den. It truly feels like home, and I like it here. This is where I belong. And the sudden weight on my face is where it belongs, too.

    ¡°Kira! What happened?!¡±

    Raya stands in front of me and I¡¯m not entirely sure what¡¯s going on, but I feel Lauren sleeping against me. As far as I can tell, I¡¯m not in that stupid dream world anymore, which means I don¡¯t get to annoy Lauren¡¯s stupid god. I feel kinda cheated of that now¡­

    In fact, that feeling of being cheated is gonna affect Lauren now.

    ¡°LAUREN!¡±

    With a scream, she flails with her whole body, but she ends up in a sitting position.

    ¡°Fuck you, you evil beast.¡±

    Yeah, she¡¯s grumpy now. That¡¯s what she gets for making me a coma dragon.

    Giving my body an inspection, I¡¯m relieved to see that I have none of those silly human parts anymore. I¡¯m a complete and beautiful dragon, just like I¡¯m meant to be.

    ¡°Lauren, I have a question. How come your stupid god made part of me be human and the other part be my real dragon self? That seems very odd to me.¡±

    ¡°How in the hells am I supposed to know? I was just woken up abruptly by some dumb beast!¡±

    That¡¯s fair, she wasn¡¯t there to see it. It does feel like it has some significance, but for now, I¡¯m gonna deal with what I need to right now, like Raya!

    ¡°Raya! I¡¯m back, and I feel good!¡±

    ¡°I can tell. Welcome back, Kira! It¡¯s good to see that you¡¯re feeling better.¡±

    Not sure how she can tell, but I guess she¡¯s just clever like that. Getting up, I turn to leave my den and get some food. I have done far too little eating lately, and I intend to rectify that! The exit feels a little snug, but I make it up and out, and it¡¯s time to visit the butcher!

    ¡°Lauren, I need some of your spices, I deserve a proper breakfast after what your god put me through!¡±

    I don¡¯t get a reply, but I do get a sense of amusement for some reason. That¡¯s a little ominous. I¡¯m just gonna focus on visiting the butcher with Raya instead. Looking up, the sky is a beautiful blue and I¡¯d say it¡¯s about early noon, which leaves plenty of time for goofing off. Turning my attention back to Raya, I bring up the topic of how long I slept, and she¡¯s quick to inform me that it was for three days, which brings a different topic to mind¡­

    ¡°Did you stab Lauren when I fell asleep, Raya?¡±

    ¡°No! And I¡¯m insulted you feel the need to ask! I haven¡¯t stabbed her in days!¡±

    Given that she just told me I had slept for three days, that can be true while also having stabbed Lauren... I¡¯ll need to look into that later and curb this stabby behavior of hers.

    ¡°Raya, what¡¯s the situation with the adventurers coming to attack? Have they made any moves?¡±

    ¡°Wreyn has kept me informed, now he calls me Dragonbringer too¡­¡±

    Her little pouting face is adorable, as she talks about how the Dragonbringer stuff is spreading and she¡¯s powerless to stop it. Having aired her grievances about that, she turns the topic back to the adventurers.

    ¡°He expects them to reach the meadows surrounding Tuiran the day after tomorrow. Our rocks caused enough of a commotion to slow down their preparations, it seems. Wreyn says he has informants in Plainshold keeping him up to date on how they are doing.¡±

    That¡¯s good, but I guess it was too much to hope for them to stop their silly attack entirely. It doesn¡¯t matter, determination fills me as the thought of standing up to these interlopers comes into focus. I feel no hesitation at the idea of reducing this enemy to ash. Well, maybe some hesitation, I can¡¯t rob ash, and I want to grow my hoard.

    Reaching the butcher, it occurs to me that it¡¯s smaller than I remember, in fact, everything is smaller than I remember... DANG IT! I¡¯ve grown again! Stop it, Growth!

    ¡°Raya, what¡¯s the damage? How big am I?¡±

    ¡°Three and a half or four murak tall at your shoulder, I think.¡±

    That¡¯s so tall¡­ Raising my head up, I can indeed see over the buildings. Looking back to where we came from, there are clear indents from my feet, and the street-fixer goblin is going to have his work cut out for him. I¡¯m definitely getting heavier. Why can¡¯t magic just make me light as a feather?!

    It¡¯s a good thing we¡¯re at the butcher, because I need a distraction from all this growing business. At least it¡¯ll be intimidating when the fighting starts.

    Fixing my gaze on Raya, I give her an expectant look. She usually jumps down and fetches the butcher by now, but this time she doesn¡¯t seem to be in any rush.

    ¡°Do you expect me to jump down from all the way up here? I¡¯ll break something, you overgrown lizard!¡±

    Right, the growth¡­ And now I am an overgrown lizard! Dang it! Fine, I¡¯ll lower my head to allow her to safely dismount. As soon as she feels comfortable with the height, she jumps and enters the building. Looking at her go, there¡¯s something odd about her, but I can¡¯t place it.

    A moment later, she comes back out absolutely loaded with meat! How is she that strong?! It¡¯s like twice her body mass, as far as I can tell. The butcher follows suit after, and he gives me a look, and he smells a little scared. Rude, I¡¯m not scary at all.

    Being the helpful dragon that I am, I use my dexterous tongue to snatch up a bunch of the meat and eat it. Deliciousness fills my mouth, and I want more. With her load lightened, she glares at me for no apparent reason.

    Looking her over, her skin appears to be darker than I¡¯m used to, so that¡¯s peculiar.

    ¡°Raya, you look different, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°You should be familiar with how I look drenched in spit by now!¡±

    A fair point, but not what I meant. There¡¯s definitely something going on with her, she¡¯s got all this strength, she feels more magical, and she¡¯s definitely changing color. Nudging her for an answer, she grumbles something about Wreyn.

    ¡°Wreyn said something about Dragons¡¯ magic being so powerful that it influences those bound by a pact. So his guess is that I¡¯m becoming something closer to a Dragon.¡±

    Oh¡­ Uh¡­ I don¡¯t know how to respond to that. Judging by her tone, she isn¡¯t upset about it, in fact, she seems somewhat indifferent. Nudging her again, I make sure to check if it does upset her, since it sounds like I¡¯m to blame here.

    ¡°Of course not! I was one of the weakest goblins in town and now I¡¯m the strongest by far! Neithro and I sparred, and he says I¡¯d be a troublesome foe for most adventurers! It¡¯s like I¡¯ve got my very own blessing, and I love it!¡±

    Phew, that¡¯s a relief. I am curious what sort of pact we have, I certainly don¡¯t remember any such thing going on. That¡¯s something we¡¯ll have to look into to make sure there isn¡¯t anything bad going on. There is one obvious thing to look out for, though¡­

    ¡°Raya, make sure you keep your head clear, dragon instincts can be a bit overwhelming.¡±

    With that sorted and not at all postponed, I turn my attention back to the butcher, who has brought out a small hill of meat, and it looks delicious. I¡¯m tempted to heat it up, but I¡¯d rather not light the town on fire.

    Grabbing the pile with my mouth, I set out for the gate, so we can have a barbecue. Before joining me, Raya hands out a wooden token and sets off to join me. She¡¯s having to jog next to me to keep up, but I¡¯m just appreciating that there¡¯s still room next to me. So far, anyway. If this growth keeps up, I¡¯ll run out of street!

    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°Lauren, if you¡¯re up, could you fetch Joras and meet me at the western gate? Bring spices!¡±

    That¡¯s that taken care of, now I just need to get there myself. Looking around at the townsfolk, they appear to be quite happy as I¡¯m met with smiles and cheerful murmurs. The people are everywhere and behind me, the crowd fills the street agai- I¡¯ve been hitting buildings with my tail¡­ Dang it. Okay, no problem. That¡¯s just job security for the construction sector.

    Stupid, unreliable growth spurt! Luckily, my tail blade has been doing most of the damage, so we¡¯re looking at cuts into the buildings rather than bludgeoning, so that¡¯s something. Surely, cuts are easier to repair than big holes.

    I don¡¯t actually know what¡¯s easier to repair, but I¡¯m gonna go with that and say it isn¡¯t that bad. It¡¯ll buff out.

    Given the property damage I must have caused since leaving my den, I¡¯m a little surprised at how nobody seems to care all that much. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d be as tolerant of something like that, but I¡¯m benefiting from it, so why would I question it!

    I¡¯ll just have to try a little harder to limit my incidental destruction, but for now, we¡¯ve reached the western gate and Raya looks at me before bursting out laughing. I can tell why she¡¯s laughing, but I don¡¯t like it¡­

    ¡°Who has problems with size now, Kira?!¡±

    Yeah¡­ There¡¯s no way I fit through that gate anymore, which means from now on, the eastern and western gates are out. Dang it. I don¡¯t really have room to turn around either, so I¡¯m a little stuck.

    I can¡¯t even tell Raya off because my mouth is still full of food. That¡¯s a problem I can solve, though! Swallowing the chunks of meat, I watch as Raya turns pale, and I give her a wide-toothed grin.

    ¡°That was for sharing, Kira!¡±

    ¡°Sorry, my growing body needs all the food I can get.¡±

    Turning my attention back to the problem at hand, I don¡¯t see much in the way of solutions here. As far as I can tell, I¡¯d break the entire gate if I tried to go through it, and if I turn around, I¡¯ll have to break something else, so I think my only option is to try following the wall north. The northern carriage gate should be big enough for me.

    There¡¯s no way Raya will be able to follow next to me, so I lower my head and tell her my plan. She gets on and we get moving. It¡¯s very snug, but I¡¯m managing without causing too much of a ruckus. We¡¯re making good time, but now Joras and Lauren might make it there first.

    ¡°Kira, look at the wall behind us.¡±

    I do so, and the wall is wavy¡­ That¡¯s peculiar. As I try to figure that out, Raya starts laughing again and points down next to us. Turns out every time I breathe, I push against the wooden spikes of the palisade, causing a dent... Geez, this new size takes some getting used to. Tuiran will just have to deal with a wavy fortification because I refuse to hold my breath until we reach the northern gate.

    Brushing against the logs of the palisade does feel surprisingly nice on my scales, like a small massage as I walk. I might have to look into finding some logs to lie on so I can give myself a belly massage with them.

    Oh dang it! I wasted a golden opportunity! I could have felt what it felt like to sleep on me in the weird dream world! Argh! Do I look into going there again? For a moment I¡¯m thinking yes, but I really shouldn¡¯t. I¡¯m out of there and I should stay out. Getting beaten up wasn¡¯t all that enjoyable.

    I¡¯ll have to make sure to try it if I find myself in a situation like that again, but I really don¡¯t want to become that weird dragon-human thing a third time, it was very uncomfortable.

    All this walking is making it very apparent that I should start delegating food-fetching to others and just fly in and out of town.

    Finally making it to the northern gate, a sense of relief pushes its way into my mind as the street opens up and there¡¯s room for me to not have to be so careful. Having to control the natural sway of my body is hard work, and I deserve a treat for doing it.

    The gate seems quite busy today and there are a bunch of people gawking at me, I¡¯m sure I would have noticed sooner if I hadn¡¯t been so busy trying to not destroy everything. Gawking back at the crowd, I¡¯m seeing people of all sorts of species, like scalefolk, a couple of dwarves, and some fuzzy people. In fact, here comes a scalefolk right now, bowing to me for some reason.

    ¡°Greetings, Great Dragon. It is a pleasure to meet you again.¡±

    Again, huh? I have no idea who this person is, but she seems nice. A moment later, some dwarf joins her and pulls out a piece of meat from his satchel, holding it out for me. Leaning my head down, Raya jumps off me, and I gently grab the meat with my lips and bring it up high before snatching it with my mouth. It¡¯s delicious! I approve of this dwarf! He gets it!

    ¡°Lauren! Some dwarf gave me food! It was tasty. Come thank him for me at the northern gate!¡±

    A wave of confused annoyance flows back to me, which I will choose to interpret as an enthusiastic acceptance of my request.

    I¡¯m pretty sure I didn¡¯t see this many foreign species here before falling asleep, so that seems like a rather abrupt development. But if it helps grow Tuiran¡¯s economy and in turn results in more tribute for me, then I approve! I will be keeping an eye on them, though; I have no idea what all of these people might get up to.

    Focusing my attention on the scalefolk, I ask about their business here and how they decided to visit.

    ¡°We are simple adve- Explorers and traders. After our encounter, we were, admittedly, curious to know more. Unloading most of our goods in a nearby town, we set course for Oakhold, where we learned of the local lord offering tax relief for traders willing to visit Tuiran. A tempting offer to say the least.¡±

    Well, it sounds like Wreyn is doing good work to benefit me and mine. I¡¯ll have to thank him for that. My people here deserve to try all sorts of good stuff from around the world, and for that, we need trade. Or me stealing a bunch of stuff, but trade sounds better long-term.

    I do find it curious that she misspoke and, between the start of the word and the sudden spike in fear, it¡¯s pretty clear she almost said ''adventurer.'' Well, aside from that lie, they seem like kind folks, and they smell like they have a decent bit of wealth, so I¡¯m pretty sure they are, in fact, traders.

    I still intend to keep an eye on them, since adventurers have been a wily bunch of aggressive jerks so far, but I wouldn¡¯t be any better if I just judged them all without meeting them.

    The dwarf elbows the scalefolk in the thigh before saying something.

    ¡°Er usi Ferrhah, cora toin er runu? [You are nervous, what did you say?]¡±

    ¡°E ragit runin jeb usi Vanyetreffs. [I almost said we are adventurers.]¡±

    Whatever they¡¯re saying has now resulted in the dwarf smelling afraid as he pulls out a couple more pieces of meat and hands them to me. They can keep talking in their weird language if it means more treats for me, as far as I¡¯m concerned.

    ¡°Kira, you really need to learn the blessed tongue. Joras has already started teaching me and they¡¯re talking about being adventurers, so I think they know you have a history with those people.¡±

    Raya speaking up really scared the scalefolk lady, but this time, I¡¯ll allow bribes in the form of treats.

    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong about me needing those language lessons, Raya. It¡¯s a bit of a problem that I can¡¯t understand them, but she all but said that they were adventurers earlier. They smell familiar, though, so if I haven¡¯t eaten them yet, I¡¯m sure they¡¯re good people.¡±

    The declaration of me being sure they¡¯re good people causes the scalefolk lady to give the dwarf a kick, and he¡¯s quick to pull out even more treats and hand them to me. I¡¯m starting to like this system of treats for me after every conversation, that should be normalized.

    I do wonder where they¡¯re setting up though, I haven¡¯t really seen anyone aside from here at the gate, so I nudge Raya and ask her.

    ¡°They¡¯re in the square, you went the opposite direction immediately, so you didn¡¯t see them.¡±

    That sounds like nonsense, I¡¯m very observant. Instead of dwelling on that, I try to remember where I¡¯ve met this couple before. I¡¯m struggling to remember it, but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve met them somewhere.

    ¡°You can leave if you want, she¡¯s going to be distracted for a while.¡±

    The memory of the scent is a little old, so it was some time ago. And I haven¡¯t met many of their kin, so¡­ Oh! The trade group in the little pavilion shelter thing!

    ¡°Kaldren! I remember now, you¡¯re the guy who asked about Lauren!¡±

    Oh, they¡¯re gone. Well, I¡¯m sure Lauren will find them at some point, I¡¯m sure the two of them will have some things to talk about. Thinking back to that night, most of what comes to mind is that they were nice and had excellent stew. We should import some spices.

    Turning my attention back to why we came to this gate in the first place, I nudge Raya and let her know that we still need to meet up with Joras and Lauren at the western gate. Moving to the gate, I gauge that it is indeed big enough for me to fit through, at least once the next carriage finishes passing through.

    The draft animals seem quite uneasy at my presence, but I¡¯m harmless, so they¡¯ll be fine. Lowering my head, I manage to walk through the gate without breaking anything. It¡¯s fortunate that carriages and wagons are built so big, because then I¡¯ll fit in anything built for them!

    This whole thing does bring up a question, though: if we¡¯re about to be attacked, what are all these traders doing here? I would have imagined that the upcoming battle would be a deterrent to trade, but there¡¯s quite a crowd here. They don¡¯t seem to mind at all.

    ¡°Raya, how come these people are here when we¡¯re days away from being attacked?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, blessed people are dumb.¡±

    That¡¯s a fair point, and I hadn¡¯t considered it, but I am going to point out that she said these changes were like having a blessing of her very own. For some reason, she picks up a rock and tosses it in one hand for a bit.

    ¡°This will do.¡±

    Right in my freakin¡¯ nose! Dang it, Raya, stop having good aim! The little rascal managed to nail me right in that sensitive spot too! No more treats for her, that¡¯s for sure. Time to use that trick Coma Kira taught me with the hot air.

    Focusing on my magic, I let out a breath of heated air toward Raya, and she leaps away as soon as it hits her.

    ¡°What was that? Can you use invisible flames now?!¡±

    "Indeed, I can! Fear me, for you know not where I will attack!¡±

    With me being the victor, it¡¯s time to focus up and go do what we¡¯re actually out and about to do. Lowering my head again, Raya is quick to jump on, and we take the very short flight to the western gate. For some reason, a sense of annoyance and exasperation hits me from Lauren, so she might have stubbed her toe or something.

    Joras is standing outside the gate, so he did get here first. It¡¯s good that he¡¯s here because I need that thinking brow of his. Landing near him, I throw him a quick greeting and mention that we should probably wait for Lauren to get here.

    But we¡¯ll be discussing this weird dream world I was in and what it means because some parts of it are too strange for me. For now, though, I lie down and Joras joins me as he launches into a rant about language and how it is a gift from the gods to keep the blessed united. I¡¯m not sure how that works, but a common language certainly is smart.

    ¡°The Gods looked at the world and saw the warring peoples and decreed that understanding each other must be the way forward, so they gave us a common tongue to bridge the divide. And for those without language, they gave us the Mind Bridge potions. Understanding is divinity and can help broaden your horizons.¡±

    Called it. My people here are super divine and worthy because they tried to understand me very early on, even after the whole Charo situation. Thinking back to all of that fills me with a sense of joy as these people have grown to mean quite a bit to me. The galloping in the distance is a bit distracting, though, and it¡¯s kinda interrupting my reminiscing.

    ¡°Kira! If you tell me to meet you somewhere, you had better fucking be there from now on!¡±

    Okay, that¡¯s fair. I did get a little distracted and forgot about her coming to the northern gate. So to diffuse the situation, I bring up how trade is flowing into the city and it looks like they¡¯re bringing a lot of fun stuff.

    ¡°Oh! And Kaldren is here somewhere, the guy who asked about you! I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be happy to see you again. That¡¯s the guy I wanted you to thank, he kept giving me treats, so he gets me.¡±

    That does soften her mood a bit, which is good, but we do have something important to talk about. As she approaches, she dismounts her horse and joins our little circle. I¡¯m not sure how I¡¯m supposed to say this, so I¡¯ll just throw it out there and see what people think.

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m one of these traveler things, and Lauren¡¯s stupid god agrees. She pulled me into some sort of dreamworld and split me in two. One part Human Kira, who I once was, and the other part Dragon Kira, who I became in this world. But the personalities were mixed up, and I don¡¯t know what to make of it.¡±

    Raya is the first to speak up. ¡°You were human? That must have been awful.¡±

    ¡°It was! Well, it was in the dream world, because it was my dragon self that was the human, but before getting killed, I was fine with being human.¡±

    Joras seems to have something to say next, so I hope that¡¯s something big and important.

    ¡°I believe everyone but Raya suspected you were a traveler. Your behavior is simply too odd.¡±

    Never mind, that¡¯s neither big nor important, it''s a bit rude, actually.

    ¡°But the way you describe splitting and how the split happens is interesting. If I were to wager a guess, I would say your dragon self craved companionship and associated being human with it, so it became human in the representation. At the same time, your human self wanted safety, and I can¡¯t think of anything safer than being a dragon, at least when you grow up.¡±

    Maybe, it doesn¡¯t feel entirely right, but I think it is the right course. Giving Lauren a look, she gives me a look in return. I¡¯m curious what her opinion on this is, she basically started it with all that prayer business.

    ¡°Stop calling my Goddess stupid, you blasphemous beast¡­¡±

    Okay, fair. A quick apology later and we¡¯re back on track. Well, we were back on track when Lauren decided to drop a bit of a bombshell on us.

    ¡°I had a vision before leaving Arrenfret, given to me by Merciferus. It said The Cataclysm Wakes, the Darkness Walks, and a Traveler must be found. I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯re the traveler I¡¯m supposed to find, but I don¡¯t know what the Darkness or the Cataclysm are."

    That does sound like the kind of cryptic nonsense I¡¯ve started associating with that weirdo.

    ¡°Do you think the Darkness could be the Shadow Man?"

    All eyes focus on me, and I feel a little self-conscious for some reason. Questions about the shadow man pop up from all three of them, so I just give them a quick rundown of my encounters with him and how he gave me directions and helped prevent the assault on Tuiran from becoming even worse.

    ¡°So that¡¯s why you returned¡­ We were sure you should have stayed away longer, so we weren¡¯t prepared at all. But I can¡¯t say, I¡¯m not feeling anything from Merciferus, and I have no doubt she¡¯s watching me. Maybe if I met him, I would know.¡±

    I have no idea how we would even set up a meeting, but given Raya¡¯s history and how I¡¯ve mentioned him before, I suspect they¡¯ll all forget by tomorrow. I need to ask Neithro about him to see if he remembers.

    Changing the subject, Lauren asks what Merciferus was like, and I bring up all about how evasive, dodgy, and punchy she was. I¡¯m not a fan of hers, to be honest.

    ¡°Do you think you might have misinterpreted the situation and she let you out because you reunited with your other self?¡±

    ¡­Maybe¡­ But that doesn¡¯t make me look good, so I¡¯ll have to deny that for a bit longer. Instead, I point out how she just gave weird comments instead of giving me instructions. It would have been so much easier if she had just told me what to do.

    ¡°That¡¯s not how Gods work. They guide their faithful through trials and it is exceedingly rare for them to intervene as much as Merciferus has done lately. In fact, our texts only mention such intervention before¡­ Oh¡­ Shit! Our texts only mention intervention three times, the first was against the Abomination. That thing¡¯s defeat created The Pale Sands, a lush jungle turned into a desert overnight by the wicked magic unleashed. It¡¯s south of Immarderen¡¯s capital, Narien.¡±

    Huh, I know a Narien, and to the south of it, there¡¯s a famous tourist destination for sand surfing.

    ¡°The second time was against The Dead King, a cruel monster from my homelands, whose forces grow over time and the undead wash over the lands, resulting in so much death. Their assaults hit our fortifications every year, but they grow stronger over time. As far as we know, The Dead King is animated by the source of the Corruption.¡±

    Which I appear to be immune to. Merciferus didn¡¯t seem to have anything to say about it in the dream world, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s fine for now.

    ¡°And the third time was against Karvoric, the aspect of Famine. An ooze monster so powerful it would consume the land without the intervention of the Gods. It left vast swaths of the north desolate, and to this day, you can find places with evidence of the monster.¡±

    Geez, what sort of crazy world did I plop into here¡­

 Chapter 32: What I am

    Listening to Lauren talk about these legendary monsters is kinda scary, but also exciting for some reason. They sound like fairy tales, but if these things are actually real, then I¡¯m not sure I like where this is heading. Considering something as powerful as Lauren¡¯s god has her eye on me, it seems like it might interfere with my own plans.

    Fighting big and evil monsters just doesn¡¯t mesh with wanting a peaceful life of having fun and hanging out with friends! I¡¯m not gonna deal with it now, though; I still need to get ready for the incoming adventurer attack. It¡¯s possible that all these traders will make them second-guess their attack, since it¡¯s a pretty clear indication that Tuiran is peaceful, but if they do continue their little march, they¡¯ll be met with the full force of my fury.

    Thinking back on all of my dragon self¡¯s memories, the horrified impression from my human self has calmed down, it feels like there¡¯s a sense of acceptance at the necessity of fighting those standing in my way. If she can see the same memories as me, I have no doubt the attack on Tuiran would change her mind about how to deal with our foes.

    Looking around at the group, I notice Raya looking remarkably pensive, as if she¡¯s contemplating something deep. It¡¯s an unfamiliar expression on the tiny woman.

    ¡°Kira, if you were two Kiras in your dream, then which one are you now?¡±

    ¡°Neither and both, I think, I can¡¯t tell. But I¡¯m not sure I could tell that well before either. How much of the dragon was the traveler, and how much of the traveler was left when they became me? What I do know is that I feel stronger and closer to complete.¡±

    One thing I¡¯m sure of is that I¡¯m happy to have my real body back. It feels so much more comfortable than anything else I¡¯ve tried, especially that weird mixture of human and dragon that was by far the most bizarre experience I¡¯ve ever had. I didn¡¯t really notice how unusual it felt when it happened with Charo, but this time, I was far more clear-headed and I simply did not like that body.

    ¡°That sounds complicated, but you¡¯ll be fine now that your red eyes are gone.¡±

    They are?! That seems important. Giving her a nudge to have her elaborate, I focus on making sure not to squish her. My new size also means I have a big giant head, which means that I need to be more careful with my movements.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t know that your eyes had turned purple?¡±

    ¡°How would I know, Raya? I can¡¯t see my eyes.¡±

    ¡°I guess that means I¡¯m just better than you, then. I can see your eyes clearly.¡±

    Well, now she¡¯s just pushing my buttons. Just as I¡¯m about to give her a lick, Joras shouts for me to stop, which I find quite rude.

    ¡°With your growth, we need to be cautious with your venom, it may have become more potent.¡±

    That¡¯s a good point¡­ Dang it, growing up just keeps biting me in the ass. Putting a stop to my plans of punishing Raya for now, I retract my tongue and settle in to think of other ways I might use to punish Raya for being uppity.

    ¡°It would be prudent to listen to what Lauren knows about these historical instances of divine intervention, rather than playing around, Kira. If you are involved, we need to learn as much as we can.¡±

    That is reasonable, I guess, but we do have something else to deal with before that.

    ¡°Before that, how about we make a battle plan for how to deal with the incoming adventurers? As far as I¡¯m concerned, they have had ample opportunity to abandon their foolish mission to attack my Tuiran.¡±

    Repeating what I said to Lauren in my mind, her eyes drop as a gloomy expression covers her face. I have no doubt she would rather have this entire thing just fade away, but as far as I can tell, that isn¡¯t an option. Feeling around in my mind, I find myself feeling a little regretful that even now, these people prepare to meet their death, but other than that, I have no problem with what I must do to protect what¡¯s mine.

    I¡¯m brought out of my thoughts as I feel Lauren¡¯s resolve building, if she has any good ideas on a peaceful solution, I would be inclined to listen. I suspect that it¡¯s likely she knows some of the people who are heading towards us.

    ¡°Kira, can I try talking to them when they show up? I might be able to reason with them, and if I can save a few of them, then please allow me that sliver of hope.¡±

    Geez, she¡¯s awfully polite all of a sudden, and I don¡¯t like it.

    ¡°Lauren, why are you being weird? Just talk normally.¡±

    ¡°Respect must be given to one chosen by the Gods.¡±

    ¡°Screw that, you don¡¯t see me respecting you just because you¡¯re Merfic- Mercerf- whatever her name is¡¯s champion.¡±

    ¡°¡­What?¡­ What do you mean I¡¯m Merciferus¡¯ champion?! How the fuck did you come to that conclusion?!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it. She told me that¡¯s why she helped me. You, her champion, asked for help, so she helped. The whole thing is a bit rude, if you ask me. She should help people regardless of their status, not just because they¡¯re fancypants champions like you.¡±

    With Lauren feeling upset and worried, I think it¡¯s fair to say that she might not have known about all of this champion business, which means it¡¯s already making her life harder. With Lauren spiraling into a panic attack, Joras seems to have something to say on the matter.

    ¡°The power of this group seems to be growing at an alarming rate and, putting my ego aside, I can¡¯t keep up. Starting with Kira, we have a Traveler Dragon growing so fast it could make your head spin. That alone is frightening, but then add to it the arrival of the Champion of Merciferus, the second strongest God of our pantheon. That creates a terrifying power center, but now we have Raya becoming something new and strong. I have never even heard of what you are, Raya.¡±

    Poor guy has low self-esteem, we¡¯ll need to do a better job of including him in the future. He is a huge part of how this entire thing came together, after all.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much, Joras, you¡¯re awesome too. You¡¯re the first guy to stab a dragon in the tongue, as far as I know. That¡¯s impressive!¡±

    For some reason, he just covers his face in his hands, so I¡¯m not sure he agrees with me on that one, but I can tell that Lauren has shifted from worried and scared to curious and confused. No doubt she wants to hear the daring tale of how Joras fought off a mighty dragon and brokered a deal to secure the future of Tuiran!

    As I¡¯m regaling her with the origin story of Joras the Diplomat, she looks on with an impressed gaze, hanging on to my every word about his fearsome battle against the mighty and awesome lake dragon!

    ¡°That¡¯s not how it happened¡­ I went into the woods and tried to find Raya. And when I found her at Undine Lake, she was just playing around and having fun with Kira, so I didn¡¯t interrupt. Once they departed the lake, I set after them again, and when they spotted me, I knew I was in trouble, but the possibility of saving Lily blinded my reason. With the gentle nature of Kira fresh in my mind, I had the foolish idea that she would surely react with curiosity if she could understand me.¡±

    ¡°Where does the stabbing fit into all of this?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m particularly skilled with the spell Sanguine Communion, allowing me to create a shallow bond between two parties for the purpose of understanding each other. To cast the spell, I need to blend two sources of blood, and with a Dragon, the only way to do so reliably and with as little harm done as possible would be her tongue.¡±

    Lauren is giving me a weird look, and I¡¯m not sure how to interpret it, but she seems even more confused than before, that¡¯s for sure. After telling her how he tricked me, she goes on to ask for a demonstration, and he repeats the trick to get me to expose my tongue. I¡¯ll play along, but if I get stabbed again, I¡¯m gonna be annoyed.

    ¡°And so, acting with haste, I placed my hand on her tongue and pierced both with my dagger, allowing me to cast the spell. Before you ask, yes, she did react. She threw me to the ground, knocking the wind out of me, but my gamble paid off and I managed to speak before she killed me. I cannot deny that the idea was risky, but I trusted my instincts and now Lily is safe and there¡¯s no trace of elapidaean venom, so a risk well worth taking. Though she still struggles with the aftereffects of her ordeal.¡±

    ¡°That can¡¯t have been recent. I can¡¯t see you being so stupid as to try something like that with a beast the size of Kira.¡±

    ¡°Would you believe that about three weeks ago, she and I stood face to face? I did not exaggerate her growth making your head spin.¡±

    ¡°Fucking hells, that is terrifying¡­ I thought her recent growth spurt was a rare thing¡­¡±

    She actually does smell scared, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve done anything to warrant- Okay, I want a clean slate. For the purposes of maybe being blamed for stuff, I¡¯m a different Kira and therefore innocent. I haven¡¯t killed anyone since Oakhold. The first time.

    Besides, I¡¯m not THAT big, but as I point that out, Raya falls over laughing, and the other two just stare at me. I suspect they aren¡¯t inclined to agree.

    ¡°Kira, stand up and I¡¯ll stand next to you.¡±

    I do as Joras instructs, and his shoulder is just a bit higher than my elbow. No wonder I feel the need to be careful around them, they''re so tiny.

    ¡°Now lie down again with your head on the ground.¡±

    This feels weird, but again I follow his instructions. Raya and Lauren move out of the way, and as I touch the ground with my chin, Joras uses my horns to climb up onto me.

    ¡°Now Kira, just to emphasize how big you are, I¡¯m gonna lie down on your head.¡±

    With his feet on my nose, I¡¯ve got a rough estimate of where he is and if I¡¯m correct, his shoulders should be right around the base of my horns, which means... Geez, I wasn¡¯t wrong about having a big giant head, my freakin¡¯ head is about a meter and three quarters long (5.7 ft)! No wonder I¡¯ve started bumping into things again. I was sort of aware of how big I am now, but having it made this clear is something else, that¡¯s for sure.

    What that means is that those dang wolves won¡¯t stand a chance now! A manly and powerful yelp from Joras alerts me to the fact that I may have moved a bit fast in my excitement about fighting the local predators. Speaking of things I want gone from my territory, we should talk about those adventurers again and solidify a plan of some sort. I sort of did interrupt Lauren when she made her request.

    Asking her about what she wants to do, she¡¯s quick to suggest riding out to meet the group, but I¡¯m not sure how I feel about it. If they were to decide that she was an enemy, she would be alone, and I wouldn¡¯t be near enough to help.

    ¡°Kira, it¡¯s not likely that they would harm me. If your worries become reality, the Guild rules require them to imprison me until the arrival of an arbiter. I would be safe in their custody. Besides, who would harm the Champion of Merciferus?¡±

    She does sound pretty sure of it playing out like that, but I have far less faith in those jerks. I do have faith in Lauren, though, so I won¡¯t stand in the way of her plan. As soon as I agree, she thanks me, which just serves to make me uncomfortable. It feels more like reverence for the Traveler than appreciation for a friend... I hope that nonsense wears off soon.

    Raya¡¯s pensive expression catches my attention, and I focus my gaze on her. As soon as I do, she throws a question my way.

    ¡°What did it feel like to be two people?¡±

    That¡¯s a good distraction, and it does feel weird. Going into a bit of a rant, I explain how the benefit of hindsight allows me to see it with more clarity, and the whole thing was like a throbbing ache. An open wound I had no idea how to deal with, how it was grating and drove me toward certain decisions. So at the very least, my temper should be easier to control now.

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    As I explain, Lauren whistles for her mount, which seems to have no problem with my presence. As soon as it reaches her, she mounts up and sets out.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t even say goodbye, you lousy first-aid kit!¡±

    I get a sense of amusement back from our bond as she rides through the gate into town. If I feel her being scared, I¡¯ll have to go retrieve her.

    Going back to explaining what I feel to Raya, I mention how the dull aching pain is practically gone, but if I pay attention to it, it¡¯s still there. I have no doubt it¡¯ll fade in time, but I will still need to be a bit more careful with it, although I¡¯m sure that the human part of me is far more prepared for fighting now. Whatever weird stuff fighting that god did, I¡¯m sure that one of the things was to make me more confident.

    I may have lost my fight against her, but I¡¯m feeling more prepared to face what I have to in the future.

    ¡°Sate my curiosity, Kira, how come we came out here instead of meeting at the town square?¡±

    ¡°That seems pretty obvious, Joras. I wanted to grill some meat, but we ran out for some reason. I can¡¯t just start fires in town and do it there.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, why can¡¯t you start a fire in town?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s against the rules, isn¡¯t it? Fire safety and all that.¡±

    For someone still on my head, he¡¯s far too happy to laugh at me... Nodding a few times to jostle him changes his tune quite a bit as he has to focus on holding on. It doesn¡¯t do much, though, as he¡¯s quick to compose himself as soon as I stop moving.

    ¡°Even if we disregard the fact that you¡¯re the Guardian Dragon and nobody can or will stop you, the square was made the size it is specifically for bonfires during celebrations.¡±

    Oh¡­ Well, now I know, and that means I won¡¯t have to bother with the increasing lack of dragon-accessibility in this town.

    After dismissing my oddities as traveler nonsense, Raya and Joras start talking about this and that as I take a moment to just enjoy the gentle noise of their conversation. With Joras on my head, I feel a small vibration every time he speaks and it¡¯s like a mild head massage. I might have to promote him to a hat soon. With how peaceful everything is right now, slumber takes hold and I drift away.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    A strange scent jolts me awake, and the sound of Joras hitting the ground indicates that he was still on top of me as I slept, but that¡¯s for later to deal with. Looking at the sky, it¡¯s nearing evening, and there¡¯s something in the woods.

    What kind of moron tries to sneak up on us when we¡¯re downwind from them? We¡¯re about to find out as I get up and rush toward the source of the smell. In barely any time at all, I reach the trees and move between them with remarkable agility.

    Whoever was here has run away, but they¡¯ve done a poor job of hiding. They really should have invested in those annoying potions Joras makes for sneaking. The trail is clear as day and I¡¯ll be on them in a moment. They are trying to be clever by taking paths between narrow trees, but it isn¡¯t helping. I¡¯m faster and I¡¯m big enough to knock aside the obstacles that I can¡¯t dodge.

    Slowing down a bit, I allow my prey some leeway. This is fun, and I want to enjoy it some more. Trees flash past me as I have to find stable ground to keep running, filling me with excitement. I might have to play like this with Raya sometime.

    My fun is cut short as my quarry trips, letting out a scream. Slowing my pace, I approach and loom over the fool trying to escape. They¡¯re keeping their body covered in cloth, but I¡¯m not smelling anything aside from the usual scents of fear.

    A familiar magic cackles in the air as the smell of ozone fills the area. Adding to it is a delicious smell of blood, they must have hurt themselves during the fall. Judging by the angle of their leg, I doubt they¡¯re gonna be running away anytime soon.

    Now that I''ve caught my prey, I find myself remarkably bored, and I kinda just want to return to Tuiran and have some dinner. For a moment, the thought of just leaving them here crosses my mind, but I should be the bigger person and get them some help, I guess. Using my agile tongue, I pick them up in my mouth and ignore the terrified screaming as I make my way back to town.

    They''re lucky I''m so big that they don''t have to worry about my teeth, as I can fit their entire body in my mouth. Granted, they''re curled up a bit, but I can''t do anything about that, walking on that broken leg isn''t an option.

    For whatever reason, the cackling magic has stopped now, which is good, I''d rather not deal with that when I''m trying to be cautious.

    It takes some time, but as soon as I reach Joras and Raya, Joras fires off a question about why I left all of a sudden. With my most elegant speech, I inform him of a spy in our midst trying to sniff out our secrets.

    "Swallow your food before talking, Kira. I can''t understand a word you''re saying."

    I''m not sure I should, so with some effort, I manage to spit out the spy without her hitting the ground too hard. She doesn''t seem to be in the best of moods, but she''ll be fine.

    "I said I smelled something in the woods, so I gave chase and found a spy!"

    "Well, now it seems we will see if the potency of your venom has increased with your growth."

    Deciding not to focus on what he just said, I take a moment to inspect this spy woman, she''s definitely familiar, but the weird cackling magic has subsided.

    Looking back up, I spot Joras indicating for me to open my mouth, and I do so. With a quick jab of his dagger, he casts the talking spell so I can understand the spy. Very considerate of him.

    Looking at the forest lady, the obvious first question is...

    "Why do you keep shocking me? I never did anything to you! It''s such a rude thing to do, and now you''re back here, but you''d better not start shocking me again!"

    The rude lady doesn''t even defend herself as she stares at me with that flabbergasted expression. I''m inclined to tell her to leave, but she can''t with that leg...

    "My deepest apologies! I lose control of my magic when fear enters my heart! Please let my punishment be mild as I''m judged for my transgressions!"

    Great... Now she''s prostrating... Geez, she needs to calm down and take care of that leg of hers. Freakin'' bone is showing. Joras seems to have noticed too, as he takes hold of it and stretches the leg before pouring some potion on it. She doesn''t take it too well, which is fair, he''s not exactly being gentle with her.

    As the liquid touches the wound, the flesh stitches together and the wound closes up. I doubt it heals well enough that she should be running on it, so we''ll have to keep her around for observation.

    "Wait, if you shock people when you''re scared, why aren''t you shocking Joras now?"

    She seems taken aback as she turns to look at the elf manhandling her leg. I''m not sure what I expected her reaction to be here, but bursting out laughing isn''t it. And poking Joras in the face certainly isn''t it. But she''s doing both of those things.

    "He''s not affected by my magic! I can touch him! I can touch someone!"

    The medical procedure seems to have devolved into her poking him and him trying to make her stop. He seems to be growing quite annoyed with the whole process, but it looks very funny to me, so I won''t stand in the way of her excitement.

    Raya, being the responsible adult that she is, joins in and starts poking Joras as well. He doesn''t have enough hands to fend off the two women poking him, but he sure is trying his best.

    "Enough of this! The next person to poke me will be bound in chains and left out here overnight!"

    Looking at him, I know what I must do.

    "Don''t you dare, Kira! I will find a way to bind you."

    Okay, geez.

    "You can command the Dragon? It was you sleeping atop the Dragon! I apologize for my rudeness, great mage! I did not mean any disrespect! Caught up in my excitement, I lost myself for a moment... Allow me to make up for my transgressions!"

    Now she''s crawling away from him to prostrate herself before him. I''m quite sure she has the wrong idea about this whole situation.

    "See, Joras? I told you, you''re just as awesome as the rest of us. The forest lady recognizes it."

    After giving me a look, he turns around and heads back to town without saying a word. I''m getting the impression that he''s getting tired and needs an old man nap. Raya is quick to run after him, but as she reaches him, he picks her up in a curious way.

    "Aaah! Let go of my ears, Joras! It hurts!"

    He doesn''t let go as they continue into town. I can tell that he isn''t actually upset, he''s just a little annoyed.

    Focusing my attention back on the forest lady, I''m unsure what to do with her, but we can''t stay out here all night for no reason. She could use a bath after getting so messy from all that rolling around on the ground. It doesn''t help that she was very wet when she did it, which I didn''t have anything to do with.

    Lowering my head, I tell her to get on, but she hesitates for some reason. I don''t think she knows what to do, so, turning my head, I align one of my horns with the ground and tell her to grab hold of it on the inside by the base. With great caution, she manages to do as I instruct, and I turn my head upright again, lifting her up with a cheerful yelp.

    See? I''m not so scary. She manages to land at the base of my skull and get seated, so spreading my wings, I let her know that she should hold on tight as we take off. For a moment, I consider bringing her to my lake to wash off the grime, but I don''t know her, and my lake is special, so instead, we head for the town square.

    With my massive wings, it takes barely more than a powered jump and a glide to reach the center of town, which is a little disappointing, but I''ll have to get used to that.

    The cacophony of screams as we land serves as a good indication that I forgot about the traders visiting. They seem surprised at my sudden arrival, but they''ll be fine, I''m sure. Leaning down, I tell the forest lady that she can climb off now, but again she hesitates. I guess it is a bit of a drop on a broken leg, so instead, we repeat what we did outside of town.

    Grabbing hold of my horn, she gets ready as I turn my head and lower her to the ground. As far as I can tell, she''s growing comfortable quick, since the scent of fear is dissipating fast. It still lingers, but it''s more of a constant sense of terror than outright horror at the situation.

    As she looks around, the fear scent increases again, and she backs up against me for some reason. The more people she looks at, the worse it gets, and I''m not sure what to make of it. I''m not sure town life is for her, though, but she should stay until she has recovered. Running around in the wild with a partially healed leg isn''t smart.

    Moving to my den, she stays close to me, doing her best to stay as close as possible while not getting in my way. She even follows me into my den, which seems like some very risky behavior, considering I''ve already been directly involved in her getting hurt a few times.

    As we enter the main hall, it''s clear that she can''t see anything. With her hands out, she fumbles around the area, trying not to bump into any unseen things. Well, I might as well make her comfortable with some conversation.

    "Why did you leave your home, Forest Lady?"

    "My pardons, Great Dragon. I meant no disrespect. When I woke up and you were gone, I feared for my life as I thought you might retaliate. Most react to my magic with hostility as my kind are not well-liked..."

    Nervous seems to be her default state.

    "Thank you for saving me from the serpent, Great Dragon. I doubt I could have kept running for much longer."

    "My name is Kira, not Great Dragon. And stop being so timid. I remember how you yelled at your place, so just be yourself."

    All of this formal nonsense is annoying. If Lauren still does it when she returns, I''ll have to tease her until she stops. A creak from the wooden door behind me alerts me to Jeannie wanting to leave her room, so I move aside a bit, allowing the door to swing open.

    Jeannie looks around and spots the forest lady, so I introduce the pair and hope they''ll hit it off as friends. They both seem averse to big crowds. It seems that Jeannie also speaks that human language, so they''re quick to hit it off, leaving me as a bit of a third wheel...

    Now that I think about it, I don''t remember inviting her into my sanctum. That sneaky forest lady just wandered in! Dang it. I need to be mindful of that in the future. At least with her, I''m getting the impression that she isn''t intentionally dangerous.

    Leaving the anxious duo behind, I leave my den in search of dinner. I''m curious what sort of goodies all these traders might have brought, and now is a perfect time to find out. Unless they''ve closed up shop for the night, then it''s an awful time to find out.

    Moving toward the caravans, a familiar face runs to meet me. It''s the scalefolk lady again, and as she gets close, she is quick to stop and bow.

    "Stop being so formal! I don''t like it."

    She seems taken aback by my request, but she gives me a smile and a nod as she fights back a tinge of fear.

    "As you wish. When we saw you, Kaldren and I were hoping you might join us for our evening meal. He spent most of the day procuring spices from other traders to present his best cooking to you."

    Well, that is a convincing argument for joining them...

    "Why are you and Kaldren so interested in talking to me? Most others here avert their eyes when I look in their direction, and even more make some effort to hide."

    "As Kaldren put it, ''a Dragon''s nature is one of extremes. Should you find a kind Dragon, be kind in turn. Should you find a cruel Dragon, run the fuck away.'' The dwarven kin are known for their history and poetry, but Kaldren doesn''t quite live up to the latter part."

    "Since you are adventurers, perhaps you could offer some advice. We''re expecting an attack from Plainshold by adventurers in the coming days. How would you say I should deal with it?"

    "They have chosen their path. If they stumble and find death, then that is part of being a member of the Guild. We all know it, and we are quick to grow accustomed to friends disappearing. Such is the nature of our profession. That being said, courting death as Plainshold does is folly of the highest degree. I can fault you no more for defending your land than I would the baker for spanking the urchin stealing from him."

    She seems to be fine with a bunch of her colleagues dying... Geez, this world is harsh. Thinking back, all that mind-controlled Lauren business might have been my old-world sensibilities coming into focus. Silly dragon-me drawing weird conclusions.

    Lying down at the caravans, the smells of cooking food permeate the air, and I have to fight to keep myself from drooling all over the place. Kaldren looks up at me and exclaims something that earns him a jab from the lady, which looks a bit funny, since he''s very short and she''s quite tall.

    "What did he say?"

    "He noted your impressive growth since we met on the trade route. It did not quite sink in at the gates."

    "Speaking of unrelated topics, I never caught your name. Thinking of you as scalefolk lady is all well and good, but it might get confusing if I meet another scalefolk lady."

    "A thousand pardons! How rude of me. I am Shae Tara Nenka. As is customary for my kin, Shae is my profession, Tara is my family name, and Nenka is my given name. You are welcome to refer to me as Tara or Nenka."

    "I''m not sure, but Shae means Warden or Protector, right?"

    "Very good! Not many know of our tongue, and fewer still know our words. Though do mind that the Warden title is reserved for Shae Tara Volkai, Warden of the Lands Beyond Death. I am merely a Protector."

    I can visit the Lands Beyond Death! I want to visit that place! Naturally, I ask about it, but she''s being secretive and evasive, which I get the impression I should respect. It does become easier to change the subject when Kaldren moves over to me with a large bowl of stew, holding it up for me to slurp. I might have to adopt this guy because his cooking is amazing.

    I end up eating a bunch of stew and various other goodies, and as the night progresses, my people mingle with the traders and both parties are having fun. I''m not seeing anything that would cause alarm, which makes me quite hopeful for the future. Though every visitor aside from Kaldren and Tara keeps quite some distance from me.

    One item I need to add to my to-do list is to find out what the hell is going on with the location names, though. It feels odd that I''m hearing the names of places I already know about. And being right about the Faranean word "Shae" is peculiar.

 Chapter 33: The People We Meet

    As the night continues, the gathering evolves into outright partying, and folks are getting quite rambunctious. It turns out some of the traders play instruments, and as soon as they bring those out, the party is taken to the next level.

    Unfortunately for me, any time someone offers me booze, a small battalion of goblins show up to stop them, preventing me from drinking... For a respected Guardian Dragon, I don¡¯t get enough respect, I¡¯m a responsible drinker, I¡¯ve only had a drink once!

    As people grow increasingly bold, more and more traders try to sneak me booze, and it soon becomes a game of trying to dodge the small army of goblins corralling them away from me. I¡¯m gonna encourage this nonsense. With a claw, I draw a line on the ground and declare that anyone who manages to cross it and dodge the goblins will be permitted to share a drink with me.

    My people look on with some trepidation as the traders cheer and start making plans. Of course, I make sure to emphasize that no violence is allowed. Tara Nenka is quick to act as my translator as she brings people up to date, allowing everyone to participate.

    The goblins and traders are quick to split into teams and get ready. In an unexpected turn of events, a few goblins have joined the trade teams. Those little rascals!

    ¡°A question, if I may. Well, two, now that I think about it. The first is regarding how I should refer to you. If Great Dragon displeases you, I would need an alternative. And the second, why are the locals so averse to your sharing drink with guests?¡±

    ¡°My name is Kira, calling me Kira is fine. And I may have gotten drunk once before, resulting in some property damage and an eaten table.¡±

    Now she¡¯s looking at me with a raised eyebrow scale bump, I suspect she wants more details, so I just give her the cliff notes in a somewhat truncated way.

    ¡°Hah! You ripped the doorFRAME out of my bar, reducing my fa?ade to rubble! All it took was one barrel of ale! Let me tell you, lady, you do not want to own anything near our Guardian Dragon when she dips into the booze. My heart aches when I think of what might happen now that she¡¯s bigger! I tell you, it could be the downfall of our town!¡±

    Geez, it wasn¡¯t that bad. Tara giggles as the passionate and somewhat drunken man yells his grievances. It only gets worse as he continues to list all the things I¡¯ve broken throughout my time here in town, and¡­ it¡¯s a bit of a list... Adding to the unfortunate situation is that the crowd gathering to booze me up has now stopped to listen as the barkeep rants at Tara. A few members of the crowd act as translators, ensuring that everyone hears what he says.

    I¡¯m not sure I approve of this. I guess the silver lining is that he also includes my heroics, like beating a mire panther, reducing the predator population in the forest, and fighting off attackers. The barkeep has been taking a swig of his mug after every other sentence, and with the length of his ranting, he¡¯s becoming quite sloshed.

    ¡°And now¡­ now she got you bunch of bunches coming, buy our junk and make us rich, y¡¯hear? How¡¯s a Dragon make trade deals anyway? Alls theys got is fire and scales and fire¡­¡±

    Punctuating his sentence by falling over and passing out, his rant draws to a close and I¡¯m feeling somewhat self-conscious as the crowd focuses on me. I¡¯m really not that bad, guys¡­ I have no idea how to handle this situation, and thoughts of leaving for the night enter my mind.

    ¡°Quite the endorsement, Lady Kira. One could almost be envious of those living in a place like this with a lord who does not punish such¡­ honest¡­ speech. Is his story about the mire panther true? Those can be quite fearsome.¡±

    Mentioning how it¡¯s true and that I was much smaller back then, I launch into a rant of my own about the whole event. Making sure to emphasize how heroic I was and how well I fought. Seeing Tara listen to my every word is quite enjoyable, and I might have to become the Mighty Dragon of Storytelling. I¡¯m quite proud of how well I handled that situation given how inexperienced I was.

    Granted, it also lends credence to Barkeep¡¯s rant about me breaking things, but it was breaking things in the line of duty, not my fault!

    During the distraction, someone snuck through the crowd and as he shouted a cheer past the line I drew, all attention turned to him. My first drink! Moving my head closer to him and opening my mouth, he realizes just what his prize is. He reeks of fear as the crowd cheers him on. With a cautious and shaking hand, he holds out the mug and pours it into my mouth. The taste is amazing.

    As he retracts his hand, the crowd bursts into loud cheering and he regains his courage, joining in on the cheering. Feeling generous, I think he deserves a reward for the cocky behavior. Nudging Tara, I ask her to tell him to hop on as I lower my head. As she relays my message, the guy¡¯s mood is quick to change from jovial cheering to anxious nervousness.

    Doing as I tell him, he climbs up and holds on tight as I back out of my spot between the caravans. Spreading my wings, I take off and he screams in a mix of fear and excitement. It¡¯s just a quick few flights in a wide circle around town before we return to the caravan, but he can¡¯t stop laughing and screaming. As I settle into my spot again, he almost falls off me, barely able to keep himself upright.

    With his feet on the ground again, his friends come to help him on his way as he talks about his new experience.

    ¡°Do you intend to offer flights to everyone who manages to cross the line?¡±

    There¡¯s a tinge of excitement in Tara¡¯s voice as she asks, and I¡¯m almost inclined to believe that she is envious, but I let her know that no, I won¡¯t be flying everyone around. It was a one-time thing because I found his antics amusing. Though it¡¯s possible treats may grease the wings in the future.

    Tara relays the message to the contestants of the Drunken Dragon Games, and the mood sours for a moment before someone uses the opportunity to attempt what the earlier cheater did, sparking renewed vigor in the two opposing groups.

    It doesn¡¯t take long for the defenders to realize they¡¯ll gain an advantage by knocking the mugs out of the hands of the attackers, causing quite a mess as the boozy smell in the area intensifies.

    ¡°I wanna play too!¡±

    A familiar voice shouts over the crowd and I spot Raya running to the cleared area with Joras in tow. The duo seems quite curious about the current goings-on and I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s wise to explain it to them. I don¡¯t get much of a vote in the matter as the raised eyebrow of Joras makes it clear that someone is explaining it to them.

    With a wry smile, he encourages Raya to join. I suspect I know what his play is here, the sneaky bastard. All of a sudden, the goblins on the attacking team are quick to find other things to do as Raya moves to join the defenders.

    Fortunately for Raya, the traders are excited to have a tiny opponent on the defending team, not knowing what kind of beast she is. As the teams get ready and the start of the round is called, it occurs to me that nobody explained the rules to Raya. As evidenced by how she just floored some guy who is now groaning on the ground.

    It only took a moment for her to sweep his legs and hammer him in the chest with a palm, incapacitating him. Much to Raya¡¯s chagrin, she receives a penalty call from someone. I didn¡¯t even know that was a thing yet, but both teams seem to agree.

    Raya starts bickering about how what she did was fair game as Tara, the scalefolk lady, catches my attention.

    ¡°What is she? I am unfamiliar with any goblin subspecies that has that kind of power.¡±

    I¡¯m not about to share any of Raya¡¯s secrets, so I deny knowing anything about what¡¯s going on with her. Tara looks at me with skepticism in her eyes, it¡¯s clear she has her doubts about my claim, but she isn¡¯t pushing the matter, which I appreciate.

    Focusing on Raya again, she¡¯s being approached by some kinda large people looking for a fight. As they get a little loud about it, I let out a low growl, marking my disapproval of their antics. Watching them back down, Raya interjects with a demand for combat, challenging the battle-hungry adventurers.

    All of a sudden, this has gone from friendly sports to martial arts¡­ Someone is quick to step up and challenge Raya. He¡¯s wearing chain mail and carrying a sword alongside a sturdy wooden shield rimmed with a delicious-smelling metal band. I¡¯m not sure what to think about this, that seems dangerous¡­

    Pointing out how dangerous it is, I make sure to suggest training weapons to reduce personal injury, but to my surprise, Raya is the one to blow me off.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Kira! I can take him.¡±

    The way she smiles as she says it makes the challenger nervous. She seems very sure of herself, but all she¡¯s wearing is her usual leather vest and cloth shirt and pants with a pair of leather boots. Not much in terms of defense against a sword.

    Tapping his sword against his shield a few times, he lets loose a roar as he charges at Raya. In turn, she throws a fire bolt his way, which he barely blocks, but it¡¯s enough to stop his charge. The crowd cheers at the unexpected counterattack.

    Composing himself, he lunges at her, swinging his sword low, he aims for Raya¡¯s midsection, but she jumps over the blade and kicks at his face. Barely dodging the foot flying his way, he brings up his shield just in time to block another fire bolt.

    The force of the attack manages to knock him off balance as it launches Raya in the opposite direction, creating space between the two combatants. Landing on her feet, Raya is quick to launch yet another magical attack, forcing the shield guy to take a defensive stance.

    Fire bolts batter his shield as he struggles to keep up with the continuous attack, leaving Raya to do whatever she wants as long as she can keep the fire bolts flying, which does not appear to be much of a problem. How the heck does that little rascal have that much power?!

    This whole situation seems dangerous! All it takes is one stray fire bolt and we¡¯ll have a wounded spectator.

    With the continuous assault of fire bolts, the guy¡¯s shield falters as splinters start flying around. Abandoning his defensive position, he once again charges at Raya, prepared to strike her down. With remarkable agility, he dodges the incoming fire bolts, as the crowd behind him ducks for cover. As far as I can tell, nobody has gotten hit by the strays.

    Closing the distance in a mere moment, he swings his sword at her and as she dodges, a knife appears in his shield hand, aimed directly at her chest. Twisting her body, the knife scrapes along something hard and slides away, leaving her opponent confused and off-balance. Kicking his legs out from under him, she forces him to the ground and grips his wrist, her sharp nails digging into his flesh, drawing blood as she pulls his arm into a hammerlock.

    ¡°E siresse! [I surrender!]¡±

    The crowd is annoyingly quiet at her victory, so I¡¯ll cheer her on in its place!

    ¡°Well done, Raya! Congratulations on your victory, that was impressive!¡±

    Letting the guy go, Raya stands victorious, oozing with pride as the contender slinks away, mourning his lost shield. Raya calls for the next combatant as murmurs erupt from the crowd, but nobody comes forward. I think she might have overdone it.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°Lady Kira, how is that possible? Although Morgan may not be the best, he certainly is strong.¡±

    Well, I¡¯m sensing some doubt about Raya¡¯s awesomeness here, and I don¡¯t think that¡¯s fair, she fought very well and deserves some praise.

    This Morgan guy is the first to approach her as he rubs his bleeding arm. Knowing that adventurer types are unpredictable, I stand up, getting ready to interfere if he tries anything. A smile spreads across his face as he grabs her arm and holds it up.

    ¡°Berci essosawa! Yufili, er dornos! [She won! Cheer, you idiots!]¡±

    Moments after his shouting, the crowd catches on to Raya¡¯s awesomeness and starts cheering. It¡¯s about time, too. Showing off her sharp teeth in the widest grin I¡¯ve ever seen on her, she jumps up and down, soaking in the praise.

    It doesn¡¯t look like there will be any more bouts of combat coming as people start focusing on talking and drinking again, seemingly having forgotten the earlier games. An unfortunate consequence of that is the decreased likelihood of me getting more ale, but seeing my friend so happy more than makes up for it.

    Off in the distance, the morning sun brightens the sky. The trading party has been going on for the entire night, and looking around, I see some folks who have fallen asleep in the street and other places with thinning crowds. This looks like an excellent opportunity to check in on Lauren.

    Firing off a quick mental message asking how she is, the responding emotions feel frustrated and exhausted. I wish I could tell whether that¡¯s because she just woke up, or that she has reached Plainshold and nobody listens to her.

    Keeping a part of my mind focused on feeling Lauren, I take my leave from the gathering and head for my den. I deserve a snooze, I¡¯ve done a bunch of networking today, and while it has been quite fun, it has also been quite draining in ways I wasn¡¯t prepared for.

    Reaching my den, I head down and spot Jeannie and the forest lady staring at me. I¡¯m certain they were chatting before I arrived, so I¡¯ll assume that she¡¯s settling in. Lying down on my hoard, I settle in as well as Jeannie starts talking again. The sounds of their conversation becoming gentle noise for me to fall asleep to.

    The giggling draws my attention, though, and as I open an eye to look at them, they¡¯re quick to look away with a very guilty appearance¡­ That¡¯s suspicious... Focusing my attention on Jeannie, I make a gentle demand to know what they¡¯re laughing at and how it connects to me.

    ¡°Uhm¡­ We were talking about first impressions and¡­ how you¡¯re not very good at them¡­¡±

    The last words are barely more than a whisper, but she¡¯s not wrong¡­

    ¡°I¡¯ll have you know that I¡¯ve made a great first impression on these traders, and they feel quite welcome, so there, Jeannie! Consider yourself proven wrong!¡±

    ¡°And before that?¡±

    Okay, now she¡¯s getting bold. I¡¯m gonna go ahead and just huff and ignore her.

    ¡°E wara nura snakk pi berci soka nuia? [You can just talk to her like that?]¡±

    ¡°Berci ufzis henzi, odei berci ti sarari, Tiffy. [She looks scary, but she is kind, Tiffy.]¡±

    Have these two been here all day? They need to remember to get outside and find some food. Changing my focus back to this whole sleep thing, I leave the gabbing duo to their business and let sleep take me.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Some uncountable time later, the wafting scents of cooking spices wake me. Looking around my den, I don¡¯t see Jeannie or the forest lady at all, so they must have left. I think I¡¯ll follow suit and figure out where this delicious smell is coming from.

    Leaving my den, the first thing that comes to my attention is that I really need to widen that entrance, because having my wings scrape the top of the tunnel is getting annoying. The second thing to catch my attention is the large bonfire in the middle of the square. For some reason, it has been built like a thin oval with grill spits lined all along the side as some sort of sideways barbecue.

    For some reason, my arrival elicits a bunch of laughs and groans as money starts changing¡­ hands¡­ They freakin¡¯ bet on whether the smell would attract me or not! I¡¯m not that predictable, dang it! I deserve a treat to soothe my delicate emotions. Chomping down on the nearest roasting animal, I chew a few times and swallow the delicious meal.

    Judging by the sun¡¯s position, I¡¯d say it¡¯s just past midday, and I haven¡¯t felt from Lauren for some time, making me a little nervous for her. Throwing a ping her way, I wait for a response. After a few moments of not getting a response, thoughts of what might be going on with her flood my mind, giving me a general sense of unease. It¡¯s possible that she just isn¡¯t in range of whatever our mind thing is, but I want to make sure.

    Moving away from the crowd, I reconsider taking flight. The gust of wind might affect the bonfire, and I wouldn¡¯t want people to get hurt because of that. Moving further away from the area, I find a nice spot I think is safe as I take off, setting course for Plainshold. Flying over the gathering, I think it¡¯s safe to assume that I haven¡¯t lit anyone on fire by spreading the flames of the bonfire.

    As I get closer, nervous thoughts manage to wind me up. Sending more pings for Lauren doesn¡¯t yield any results, leaving me to wonder what might be stopping her from responding. Speeding up as I push magic into my wings, I find myself hoping that it¡¯s just Lauren being difficult or a range limitation or something, but I can tell that my body is preparing for combat as my muscles tighten and my magic starts flowing without me needing to command it.

    In the distance, Plainshold comes into view, the charred remains of the Lord''s manor sitting as a reminder of what I can do. As my flight continues, my blood takes on a fiery sensation. Thoughts of what I¡¯ll do to those who might have harmed my Lauren fill my mind and the word ¡®Glass¡¯ is central to them.

    ¡°Lauren! Answer me! I need to know you¡¯re safe!¡±

    A mental scream of pain slams into my mind, causing my body to react by strengthening itself. Watching the walls of Plainshold, I see a line of soldiers standing ready as another mental scream hits me.

    Fury builds to an almost uncontrollable degree as an urge to let loose fills me. In my mind, I can tell that both aspects of who I am agree that the lives of these pathetic fleas need to be snuffed out.

    As I approach, a volley of spells and arrows flies my way. Performing a roll, I manage to evade most of the projectiles, but not enough. Arrows pelt my scales, a few manage to penetrate, lodging themselves in my flesh.

    Spells of fire, ice, and rock hurl toward me in the wake of the volley of arrows. Their slower speed makes them easier to dodge. The icy spells, in particular, appear dangerous to me, as they take the shape of large spikes, spinning through the air like bullets.

    I really wouldn¡¯t mind having Cranky here to block these damnable things.

    Changing course and giving these asshats some space, the volleys cease and I get a moment to consider how to approach this situation. I consider going for a rocky assault again, but another mental scream from Lauren pushes me toward quicker action rather than taking my time to collect ammunition.

    I need to get to her. Steeling my mind for a wave of pain, I push magic into my wounds to force myself to recover from the damage I¡¯ve suffered so far. Arrows fall away from my body as I soar out of the range of the assailants.

    It¡¯s pretty clear to me which path Plainshold has taken in the wake of my last visit. I think this might be a good time to let loose the dragon side of me¡­

    Flying in a large circle around the town, I see some weak spots with significantly fewer people guarding them, but I can¡¯t shake the feeling that something will be waiting for me if I take the easier-looking path.

    I need to stop them from shooting me, but I don¡¯t have anything to hide behind. The sun is too bright, and the land is too open. I hate it! Just let me save Lauren!

    As my focus returns to my friend in need, another scream hits me, and my thoughts wander back to how much she has yelled at me, the pain she let loose back then, and I think it might be time to become the hellspawned horror she claimed I could be.

    Changing course, I fly back toward the main gate, but this time, I spew flames as I do, lighting everything around me on fire. The crops and vegetation unleash clouds of black and white smoke, creating a cover for me to get closer to the wall as my enemies fail to locate me. The fires burn brightly as I continue fanning them.

    As the hellscape of flame-soaked lands closes in on the town, I fly away to prepare for my next attack. With some distance between the town and me, I turn around and take a look at what I¡¯ve created. The wind is mild today, allowing the smoke to settle over the town, no doubt creating some problems on its own, but that isn¡¯t the point here.

    With a beat of my wings, I aim straight for the ramparts and accelerate. Pushing for speeds they won¡¯t be able to retaliate against, I unleash my flames toward them as I hit the smokescreen, bathing a large section of the ramparts in Dragonflame before they have a chance to realize what''s going on.

    To prevent a counterattack, I change course to fly straight up out of their range and, in a large vertical circle, I return to my starting line, readying myself for another attack. I don¡¯t know how many I managed to harm, but the screams indicated that the folly of their little scheme became clear in an instant.

    On my flight upwards, I could see that the town inside the walls have now caught fire as well. What the hell did these people expect would happen against a dragon?

    Repeating my attack on another section of the wall, more of the town catches fire, but this time, there are no screams. I don¡¯t know what actions they¡¯ve taken, but from what I can tell, they¡¯ve abandoned the walls. Soaring over the town, I unleash a roar and make my demands clear.

    ¡°Release my Lauren, or all you will know is ash as my vengeance burns your world away!¡±

    In response to my very reasonable request, I feel another mental scream from Lauren, inflaming my fury. As far as I¡¯m concerned, this entire town has volunteered to become a testament to why I should not be antagonized.

    Flying over the town, I spot a few faces from the wall, and when I do, I greet them with my warm embrace as I soak the streets in Dragonflame. As far as I can tell, they¡¯ve abandoned all offense in favor of running. I don¡¯t particularly care if some manage to get away, but I do need to restrain myself and catch some prey so I can get them to show me where Lauren is.

    I can tell that Lauren is drawing on my power to heal herself, but I can¡¯t tell from which direction she¡¯s doing it.

    With most of the town on fire, I spot a group of six people at the town square. Based on their stance, they¡¯re looking for me to drop down and challenge them. And, well, they¡¯re about to be half-right. With some speed, I take aim and fly low toward them, readying myself for my classic tail whip.

    Reaching the appropriate distance and accounting for my new size, I pivot and dig my claws into the cobbled street, stones and rocks flying up around us. The group has to shield themselves from the debris as my tail swings around. The sound of a loud impact shakes the area as my tail connects with a barrier. I manage to shatter it, leaving the caster clutching his head as he falls to the ground.

    I hadn¡¯t expected a barrier strong enough to stop all my momentum, and now my tail hurts. Turning to face the group, I ready myself for their incoming attack, and as they take up fighting stances, I unleash more flames.

    They¡¯re quick to jump aside, leaving the barrier guy to fend for himself as his world suddenly brightens. Looking at the last five, I¡¯ve got two people with melee weapons, a woman with a two-handed maul, and a guy carrying a couple of axes. To the other side, there¡¯s a caster of some sort that I¡¯ll need to pay extra attention to, and finally a guy carrying a shield large enough to cover his entire body. That¡¯s¡­ not five. There were six and I¡¯ve ended one, where¡¯s the last person?!

    Great, now I have to keep an eye out for some stupid, sneaky person¡­

    The caster mutters some words and a flash of light soaks the maul lady, healing her wounds. Someone just made themselves the top priority. Tower Shield makes a move to stand in front of me, blocking my view of the Healer. Axes and Maul are quick to use the opportunity to move to either side of me.

    I¡¯m feeling somewhat surrounded here¡­

    Unleashing a plume of fire at Healer, Tower Shield rushes to stand in the way, splitting my flame. Using this opportunity, Axes lunges at my arm, managing to lodge one axe in my shoulder. As I pull away from him, I feel a blow to my thigh as Maul strikes, the hit making my leg go numb. Looks like I can¡¯t go straight for the Healer¡­

    Well, there are other ways to prevent healing. Whipping my head around, I bite at Maul, feeling Axes trying to pull his weapon from my shoulder, but it¡¯s lodged in good. The tightening of my muscles keeps it from coming loose, leaving the guy one weapon down.

    Maul runs away as I chase after her, Axes running behind us, clearly forgetting one of the rules of fighting dragons. Don¡¯t stand in front or behind. Whipping my tail at him, a scream indicates that I¡¯ve connected, leaving him a bloody mess on the ground. The Healer is quick to get to work, leaving Tower Shield and Maul to fend for themselves.

    If she hadn¡¯t hit me as well as she did, I¡¯d have caught her by now¡­

    Pivoting, I leave Maul to run as I turn to face Axes, the Healer is working their magic, but I¡¯m too close for them to have time to finish up. Launching myself at the duo, I disregard Maul and Tower Shield as I reach Axes and Healer. The Healer screams and scurries away, and I get to work. Biting down on the wounded man, I start eating him. The flesh of an enemy is addictive, and before I know it, he¡¯s all gone.

    I hear the sound of someone throwing up behind me as the smell of bile fills the air. This is what you signed up for, morons!

    It turns out the person who threw up was Tower Shield and now he¡¯s barking orders at the other two, but I¡¯m curious... Just how strong is he, and can he withstand a direct assault from me?

    I¡¯m getting tired of limping, so I push magic into my thigh and recover the damage done to my muscles. Pain floods my mind, fueling my fury as I lunge at Tower Shield, forcing him to the ground as he continues to protect his body with the massive plate of metal.

    ¡°Qorum! Unma ereffis! [Run! Save yourselves!]¡±

    Whatever he shouted, it caused Maul to lunge at me again. I¡¯ll deal with her in a moment, for now, I place a claw in the middle of his shield and focus my weight on it. The tip of my claw digs into the shield, and as I push magic into my natural weapons, I penetrate his defenses, my claw entering his guts.

    ¡°Qorum!¡±

    He manages to gurgle out another command as I rip away his shield, taking a chunk of his intestines with it.

    The clang of metal sounds behind me, and as I turn around, I spot Maul having dropped her weapon as she falls to her knees, crawling toward Tower Shield with tears and snot covering her face.

    She doesn¡¯t seem to care about my presence as she pulls the barely alive Tower Shield into her embrace.

    ¡°E Saric er... [I love you...]¡±

    I don¡¯t particularly care about their little reunion, so I push Maul aside and demand to know where Lauren is. Placing my hand on her, covering her chest, I focus a little weight on her as I feel the snap of her ribs.

    ¡°Where is Lauren?!¡±

    The fear in her eyes is enough to tell me that she doesn¡¯t know. I¡¯m confident that this fight is over, but I still need to find my Lauren. And I don¡¯t particularly feel like risking retaliation from this group... Bringing my jaws to one of Maul¡¯s legs, I bite it off, leaving a stump for the screaming woman to deal with in the future, but she might survive and tell others not to fuck with me.

    The smell of piss and fear behind me lets me know that Healer is still around, so feeling generous, I leave the trio with a chance to survive as I go search for Lauren in the fiery remains of this shitty town.

 Chapter 34: Shafted

    It doesn¡¯t take long after leaving the trio behind before I remember the axe still lodged in my shoulder. Pulling it out gives me a moment to think and I¡¯m reminded that I need to keep my wits about me as I search the town for any scent of Lauren. These people were proof that there are still adventurers around, so it¡¯s important that I don¡¯t get careless.

    It¡¯s an obvious problem that I¡¯m so large in a town like this. The buildings may be on fire, but there¡¯s still room for people to hide in them and launch attacks from the windows.

    One thing of note is that I¡¯m not finding any townsfolk. Spying through a few windows makes it clear that the people who were here have left. As far as I can tell, the town has essentially been abandoned. A curious thing that I might have to look into.

    Focusing on Lauren again, another scream of pain hits me. I need to find her.

    Keeping my nose out for any changes in the scents around me, I make sure to stay aware of the situation in case any adventurers try to sneak up on me.

    ¡°Lauren, if you can tell where I am, send your thoughts faster as I get closer.¡±

    She¡¯s definitely somewhere in this town, and the pain I¡¯m getting from her makes it clear that someone is hurting her.

    Instead of standing around here not doing anything, I start moving, searching the streets for any trace of her. I know her scent well, so if she¡¯s around, I don¡¯t doubt I¡¯ll find her. Though, I would really appreciate Shadow Man giving me directions right about now¡­

    Maybe there¡¯s help to get from someone else¡­ Lying down, I clasp my hands as best I can, mimicking what Lauren does when she prays. Closing my eyes, I focus on thinking of the weird woman, hoping my message reaches her.

    Dear Merfercitrus, I need help finding Lauren. Please don¡¯t be cryptic about it. Thanks.

    Opening my eyes again, I don¡¯t see anything different. Everything is still on fire and burning to the ground. As far as I can tell, there aren¡¯t even any adventurers. If they¡¯ve all left without telling me, I¡¯m going to be very annoyed.

    Lauren¡¯s god doesn¡¯t seem to be much help, so I¡¯ll just have to continue my search on my own. Or maybe not¡­ Feeling fairly indifferent about property damage at this point, I bust through a building to make room to turn around as I start making my way back to the trio¡¯s square. I¡¯m curious to find out if they¡¯re up for a quick session of Pictionary.

    ¡°Faro nuia! Jebaves essomn jebui seke. Jeb usai wirlaw pi dubarin yla un yung, odei nuia hensora ti tunur curai yerun un yung! [Fuck that! We¡¯ve done our part. We were supposed to hold off a fledgling, but that beast is far more than a fledgling!]¡±

    Well, from that poor attempt at being quiet, I¡¯m confident they¡¯re still around. They spot me as soon as I turn a corner, and it looks like they managed to get Tower Shield up. Good for him.

    Looking at them, they look pretty bad, and Maul is using her maul as a crutch. Tower Shield is clearly very exhausted, and the Healer is running on fumes at best. With their attention focused on me, the Healer and Tower Shield get ready for another round, but Maul seems to have different plans. Instead of readying her weapon, she throws herself to the ground, adopting a submissive position as she prostrates before me, which tickles my dragon aspect.

    ¡°Ave sire, er dornos! E sade er, udu ulunawin hensaryt lern E buzarin enui fegyvet! [Get down, you idiots! I told you, it changed attitude when I threw my weapon!¡±

    ¡°Udu kaonin erei beon! [It ate your leg!]¡°

    ¡°Nuiati sarnaw yerun kaonei omni yia nui, tona er rinu?! [That¡¯s better than eating all of me, don¡¯t you think?!]¡±

    Watching them bicker is confusing. For whatever reason, Maul seems quite upset with the other two for wanting to stand their ground, but I can relate to wanting to make a last stand.

    Giving them a moment to settle on a plan might not be the smart thing to do, but it feels like the right thing to do. Taking a seat, I watch the ground as they continue bickering back and forth. If body language is anything to go by, Tower Shield still wants to fight, but the Healer wants to run away. Both of those are bad choices. Fighting means death, and running away means¡­ well, also death. Chasing prey is fun.

    Looking up from her prostrated position, Maul sees me just sitting around and she gets a weird expression on her face. She gets up and grabs hold of her weapon, using it as a crutch again, she apparently has the idea to approach me with a very aggressive frown on her face. Tower Shield and the Healer seem entirely focused on each other as neither of them has noticed the clanking of Maul¡¯s maul hitting the cobbled streets.

    She manages to walk right up to me, maintaining eye contact with that glare of hers, and as soon as I¡¯m within reach, the maul flies for my head as she puts her all into the final attack, swinging with all her might as she releases a mighty bellow. It would have been quite the heroic action if she hadn¡¯t missed and fallen over, but I¡¯m impressed with her determination regardless of the less-than-graceful result.

    Pinning her to the ground with my claw, her two friends finally take notice and stare at the scene.

    ¡°Qorum, er dornos! Udu warac buzirn er ufuri dubarinei nui! [Run, you idiots! It can¡¯t chase you while holding me!]¡±

    For some reason, Maul puts her arms around my hand and squeezes, which strikes me as very odd. At least we agree that she isn¡¯t going anywhere. I¡¯m curious to find out what Tower Shield and the Healer intend to do now. Their teammate has essentially just given herself to me, and they were too busy bickering to notice.

    Tower Shield steps in front of the Healer and blocks my view, making me a little antsy. I¡¯m not familiar enough with their tactics and abilities to know whether they¡¯ve got some weird ace up their sleeve.

    ¡°E sadei qorum! [I said run!]¡±

    I am on a bit of a schedule here, so I ignore their antics for now and dig my free claw into the cobblestone, ripping up the street to reveal the dirt underneath. Patting the dirt down to create a smooth surface, I draw a quick map of the local area, making sure to mark out Tuiran, Oakhold, and Plainshold.

    Maul¡¯s attention appears to be focused on my amazing artistry as I draw a beautiful depiction of Lauren. I make sure to get all her features covered as I create the most amazing stick figure ever. Pointing to my art, I say her name again, causing Maul to look quite confused. Pointing at the Healer and back at my drawing, I repeat my friend¡¯s name once more.

    ¡°Jonjon! Dunira toin beris du trodig? [Jonjon, where did they take the cleric?]¡±

    ¡°Cora du faro tose nuia masin?! [What the fuck does that matter?!]¡±

    ¡°Nura sae nui, elr vison du faroei Themar! [Just tell me, or show the fucking Dragon!]¡±

    I¡¯m getting a little tired of all this shouting back and forth, and I¡¯m becoming increasingly inclined to just squish Maul and go search on my own again. With my weight shifting slightly, Maul groans and speaks up as her eyes fixate on me instead of her friends.

    ¡°Lauren! Lauren!¡±

    That¡¯s one way for Maul to get my attention. Releasing the pressure on her, she spends a moment coughing and gasping, indicating that I may have been a bit rougher than intended. As I get up again, I make sure to remove my claw from her so I don¡¯t end up turning her into paste. There have been a few signs that I¡¯m a bit on the heavy side, so I do need to be careful.

    She takes it as an invitation to get up as she reaches for her hammer, but for obvious reasons, I don¡¯t trust her with a weapon. Grabbing it myself, I bring the head of the weapon to my mouth and bite it off, leaving the wooden shaft with a splintered end. Handing her the remains, she takes it as I swallow the hammerhead. I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s valuable metal as it is quite delicious.

    Shaft settles in with her new crutch, shooting me quite the fierce look. It seems unfair to give me any grief about not trusting her with a weapon like that, she did just try to smack me in the face with one.

    She returns to her two friends, striking Tower Shield as she seems to command him to do something. More bickering ensues until they finally start moving, and Shaft motions for me to follow. For some reason, Shaft smells only partially human, and Tower Shield is definitely not human. He just looks like a big muscly human, but I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on there.

    The oddest thing is definitely the healer. I can¡¯t place it at all. For something that pissed itself, it smells wrong in a different way, and I¡¯m not sure what to make of it. I¡¯ll deal with that later, though, I have a job to do.

    In fact, I haven¡¯t felt anything from Lauren in a while, not even those spikes of pain. It¡¯s making me antsy, and I really need to find her. Giving the trio a growl to speed them up, Tower Shield picks up Shaft, and they finally quicken their pace.

    We¡¯re moving through streets littered with burning debris as the buildings have begun collapsing. For a moment, I worry that Lauren might have been caught in the destruction, but as I think about it, I become confident that someone who would kidnap her would also bring her somewhere not easily attacked.

    If some cleric comes to talk about an imminent dragon attack and tries to save everyone, they would think she¡¯s nuts. She is a little nuts, but it¡¯s unrelated to my attack.

    They¡¯re being quite obedient as we reach the wreckage of a fancy house, and as they move to go inside, I let out a growl to indicate that I want to know what¡¯s going on.

    Shaft is quick to start signing and as far as I can tell, she¡¯s saying there¡¯s a basement here and a bunch of other stuff I can¡¯t understand. But I know basements! Digging in my claws, I begin my tunnel to the underground lair of bad guys and Lauren-nappers.

    As I dig, Tower Shield puts down Shaft, and she enters the building, sifting through the burnt remains of the building and whatever is inside. Tower Shield seems to have become fascinated by my digging, but I ignore him, focusing instead on the new material I¡¯ve just hit.

    It¡¯s some sort of very strong rock, and it feels odd. It also smells far worse than anything I¡¯ve ever had assault my nose. Every time I touch it, a little of my magic is drained away, and I don¡¯t know what to do about it. Attempting to force my way through doesn¡¯t give any results, as the rocky construction appears to be quite unyielding.

    ¡°Maya, cora du faro is heni bakal toei unari? [Maya, what the fuck is vile steel doing here?]¡±

    As I experiment with trying to break through this odd, rocky material, Shaft falls into my tunnel, lodging herself behind my horn with a groan. Backing up slowly, I let her down, and she pats me a few times before realizing what she¡¯s doing.

    With the help of Tower Shield, she enters the tunnel, and the two start inspecting the rocks, tapping them with gentle strikes.

    I¡¯ll leave them to that and dig somewhere else. Maybe I can find an opening somewhere.

    Turning a corner, I leave the trio unattended as I start digging. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be fine. Once again I hit the weird rock, draining some of my magic every time I touch it, but this time it isn¡¯t airtight. I can smell Lauren! She¡¯s in there somewhere!

    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    Pushing more magic into my claws, I try to rip the rocks apart where they look weak, but it just doesn''t work. Somehow, the dang material is too tough! I wish I had someone who could explain to me what this stuff is and how I can overcome it¡­ It''s not airtight here! I can tell she''s somewhere inside here!

    ¡°Lauren, are you in there? I can smell you!¡±

    There¡¯s no change in scent, and I don¡¯t get any mental acknowledgments. I¡¯m not sure what that means, but I don¡¯t smell any rot, so I¡¯ll count that as a win.

    Trying to melt it comes to mind, but if I end up heating up the room, I might kill Lauren, and that would not be great. In an ideal world, I would have time to figure out how to deal with this material without shouts in the background distracting me.

    ¡°Er henwasin bercan! [You killed him!]¡±

    Leaving my hole to investigate Shaft''s shouting and the general ruckus, the scent of fresh blood wafting my way, tempting my more draconic urges. At the entrance to the first hole, I see the Healer standing over the fallen body of Tower Shield, wielding a long, thin blade coated in blood. Shaft is waving around her stick, trying to hit the Healer, but with her missing leg, the Healer is evading her with ease.

    I¡¯m pretty sure I made it clear that I wouldn¡¯t allow any weapons around here. It¡¯s possible I should have done more to make sure they followed the rules.

    The Healer is backing up toward me as Shaft continues trying to hit the thing. Using all of my great sneaking abilities, I approach the Healer from behind as Shaft looks up at me, a wicked smile dancing on her lips. With my mouth open, I bring my jaws down around the Healer, snapping them shut. It tastes a little funny, but still delicious. Biting down hard, the thing¡¯s arms and legs fall away, not having made it into my mouth, and with a swallow, one of Shaft¡¯s worries disappears.

    I¡¯m not one to waste food, so I make sure to eat the legs and arms too. It¡¯s the responsible thing to do.

    It occurs to me that I should probably have found out why it didn¡¯t smell right, but now the best I can do is hope I don¡¯t get a tummy ache. Looking at the body of Tower Shield, I bring my head down and take a bi- Ouch! What the hell! Shaft just whacked me over the nose with the shaft! That¡¯s so rude¡­

    Looking at her, she¡¯s struggling to balance on one leg as she holds out the handle of her maul like a sword, getting ready to whack me again.

    ¡°Bercati enoblet. [He¡¯s mine.]¡±

    I don¡¯t need a translator to understand that. It¡¯s clear that she¡¯s laying claim to this guy. Oh well, that doesn¡¯t matter anyway, I need to focus on getting into this rock box. Given that I¡¯m not having any luck digging, I think it¡¯s about time I check out the interior of the building.

    Leaving Shaft by the hole, I begin my expert inspection of the remaining exterior, some minor demolition is necessary for me to fit the doorway. With an appropriate amount of force, I break down the facade of the first floor of the building and head inside. By my estimates, there should be an entrance to the basement somewhere in this building. Or in one of the nearby buildings.

    Worst-case scenario, I¡¯ll just dig out the entire thing and see what I find. I¡¯m great at digging, no matter what anyone says.

    The first thing I note inside this building is that they really need to do some dusting. The place is filthy. Most of the walls are gone, but the wooden beams making up most of the structure seem to be holding on well.

    Traversing the interior proves more annoying than anything else. The floorboards snap whenever I step on them, and it feels like they were built to body-shame me, but joke¡¯s on you, floorboards, I like my body!

    Reeling in my distracted thoughts, I manage to focus on finding this entrance to the underground long enough to search some more debris located near what was a wall. Ripping it away, the debris reveals the secrets hidden underneath: more floorboards¡­

    This is getting annoying¡­ Lauren is so close, and I can¡¯t reach her. I just want to take her home and leave this stupid town behind¡­

    Coughing behind me reminds me that I¡¯m not alone and I may have forgotten about them. For some reason, Shaft hasn¡¯t left yet; instead, she¡¯s leaning against a support beam, making clawing motions with her free hand. I was getting to that, geez! Don¡¯t rush me, woman!

    Ignoring her, I do something entirely different than she suggested. With gentle claws, I dismantle the floor to reveal the dirt underneath, proceeding to dig away at that as well, pushing the dirt behind me. More of the strange rock is being unearthed as I work, but I''m not finding any entrance to the place at all. I need help here¡­ Looking back at Shaft, she¡¯s on the ground covered in dirt for some reason. I¡¯m sure I didn¡¯t have anything to do with that.

    Curling one of my talons inward, I brush away layers of dirt from Shaft with the smooth curve of the top of my talon, making sure I don¡¯t hurt her. After helping her up, she looks around in a daze and rubs the bump on her head.

    As soon as she¡¯s steady again, she apparently decides it¡¯s okay to lean on me, as she points toward the wide hole I¡¯ve dug. I¡¯m not sure what her plan is here, but if I stand on that, it¡¯ll just suck away my magic, which is not something I want.

    With me not moving, she lets out a sigh and gets down to crawl toward the hole. It takes her some effort, but as soon as she¡¯s there, she taps the rock a few times and gestures for me to join her.

    ¡°E aves pi ulau Wreyn ilan ragiet nuio¡­ [I have to let Wreyn know about this¡­]

    With her saying something interesting, I repeat Wreyn¡¯s name, getting her attention. She points to the rock as she repeats Wreyn¡¯s name and growls. I mimic her actions and point north toward Oakhold, which doesn¡¯t seem to go over too well.

    ¡°FARO!¡±

    I¡¯ve heard Lauren say that enough to know what it means. I¡¯m not sure why, but it seems pointing toward Oakhold soured her mood quite a bit. I¡¯m not gonna bother with that, though, I want to get into this rock box and save Lauren. Giving the situation a think, I go over things I can¡¯t do. I can¡¯t burn it, because I might cook Lauren, and that¡¯s bad. I can¡¯t touch it, because it sucks, and that¡¯s bad. And that¡¯s pretty much the options I have available¡­

    Of course, I have more options available. Geez, think, Kira. An obvious option comes to mind: when in doubt, artillery.

    Those wooden beams look like they¡¯d pack quite a punch if dropped from on high. Leaving the building, I spot Shaft¡¯s shaft and throw it to her. She¡¯ll be better off with a crutch, so she can avoid getting all that dirt in her wounds. Though after yelling fuck, she¡¯s just lying there, not doing much of anything.

    Heading back toward the square we fought in, I keep my nose ready to notice when the subtle stench of rock box disappears. Now that I know what it smells like, I can pick up hints of it along the street, and the dang thing is massive. The dirt does a good job of hiding it, but not good enough.

    Wasting no time, I go into a run and as soon as I reach the square, my wings take me into the sky. Turning as tightly as I can, I head back toward the remains of the fancy building. Looking around, most of the fire in this area has died down, but it has spread further into town and the horizon is completely obscured by smoke.

    I¡¯m not sure what they use for walls, but they¡¯ve chosen an excellent material for the supports in their buildings. Almost all the wooden frames are still standing, a spooky landscape of building skeletons.

    Now that I¡¯m at the fancy building, I just need a beam to drop. Looking around, I spot one that looks blackened, but otherwise untouched at the top of a nearby building. Hovering over my target, I grip it with all four limbs and beat my wings hard. The dang thing is stuck! How dare joinery be this powerful?!

    Feeling for my magic, it becomes clear that I¡¯ll need a rest later as I¡¯m down to what I think is like a quarter of what I can have in reserve. I have been burning a lot of stuff today, so that makes sense, I guess. But I can deal with that later, for now, I need a large wooden beam to drop on a large rocky box.

    It has to work, because paper is made of wood, so it¡¯s the rules. Pushing magic into my wings, I manage to rock the beam up and down until it pops out of the joint, the sudden weight pulling me to the ground. With quite some effort, I manage to stabilize and fly higher with my new ammunition.

    Flying higher, I point the tip of the joinery part down, hoping to make the whole thing into a giant stake. With a sufficient height, I let go and wait. Seconds later, I hear the loud crash of my stake impacting groaning metal. Time to inspect my handiwork.

    Reaching the ground again, I look at the impact site and it worked! My stake has managed to punch through the stupid metal rock thing! Two obvious obstacles need to be dealt with now, though. I still don¡¯t fit down there, even with the widened hole. The stake is blocking the hole, making it even more snug, and even if I did fit, I¡¯d be touching the nasty bits of that place. That¡¯s three things, which is much worse than just two things.

    Gripping the part sticking out of the floor, I pull and push on it, making the hole bigger. It¡¯s slow work, but it¡¯s working and the hole is widening. As I¡¯m working away, a thought occurs to me: could I have dug underneath the box, or do they have the entire thing enclosed?

    Considering my sensibilities, it seems overkill to have the place entirely enclosed, but I don¡¯t know what sort of subterranean threats they have going on in this world. I might have to explore that.

    ¡°Corati sire doba? [What¡¯s down there?]¡°

    Geez, that startled me¡­ Don¡¯t be so sneaky and forgettable, Shaft! Though she does have convenient timing, she does fit into the hole. Pitching the support beam to the side, it becomes somewhat lodged, allowing Shaft to slide down it and enter the underground structure. If she can find Lauren and bring her back, I may just consider rewarding her.

    Pointing at the hole, I say Lauren¡¯s name, and with Shaft looking at me, she repeats the name as well. Just because it feels foolish to not try, I grab the sides of the metallic structure with my hands and pull back, but it doesn¡¯t budge. It does cut my hands a bit, but I know that was a risk. I have no idea what sort of logic this nonsensical material works on, because this feels entirely unfair to me.

    Drawing my attention, Shaft points to herself and then counts on her fingers before pointing to the hole. I don¡¯t know how many people are down there, but I do know where Axe¡¯s axe is. Leaving the building behind once more, I sprint away to go find it. In moments, I reach it exactly where I left it and return to Shaft, handing it off to her.

    With cautious hands, she takes hold of it with a solemn expression. Looking up at me, I see a fire in her eyes. For a moment, I think she might take a swing, but with a shake of her head, she turns to the hole again.

    Going to the beam, she throws the shaft of her hammer into the darkness below. With some effort, she manages to shimmy down into the pit and the search begins.

    That leaves me without much to do as I wait for Shaft to return.

    Instead of standing around not doing anything, I¡¯m gonna go find out how deep this rocky box goes! Leaving the building, I head to the first hole I dug and find Tower Shield lying there. I expected that part, but somehow, he¡¯s still alive. He got stabbed in the neck, gushing blood all over the place, and somehow he lives.

    So now I can leave him here to fend for himself, kill him because he is an enemy, or try to help him somehow. Not killing him would be a pretty good reward for Shaft when she brings Lauren to me. That leaves whether I should help him or not. I don¡¯t really feel like helping him, so thinking about my friends and what they would do, I try to come up with a solution.

    I¡¯m pretty sure Raya would stab him and yell at someone else. Joras would put some sort of curse on him. Jeannie would hide, but eventually help. Lauren would yell and shout. Cranky would tie him up. For some reason, I suspect Lily would do dark and unspeakable things. I¡¯m not getting any closer to a solution here¡­

    Screw it, I¡¯ll dig out a small pit for him to sleep it off in, and then Lauren can heal him when she gets back. It barely takes any effort before I have a small indent dug out and patted down, and with a few gentle tugs, I place the large guy into it. He groans a bit, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s better to be a bit out of the way so I don¡¯t accidentally step on him.

    With that out of the way, I can return to the task of finding out how deep this box goes. Entering the hole again, my eyes water and I¡¯m overcome with a hacking cough. Shit, I need to get out of here! My freakin¡¯ nose is on fire! Reaching the surface again, the effects lessen, but my coughing has turned bloody and I feel horrible all of a sudden¡­ Geez¡­ I need a moment¡­

    Whatever that material is, I don¡¯t want anything to do with it¡­ This is horrible in so many ways¡­ I¡¯m having to fight to stay conscious, but it¡¯s a losing battle¡­ This isn¡¯t a place I want to fall asleep in.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Silly beast, why are you sleeping here?¡±

    Forcing my eyes open, I realize I must have lost my battle with sleep, but I recognize that voice.

    ¡°Morning Lauren.¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re right this time, but why are you just sleeping here? Anyone could come by and attack you.¡±

    It¡¯s true and it¡¯s something I worried about, but I didn¡¯t have much of a choice. Giving her a look, the first thing I see is that she looks bad. I don¡¯t recognize the clothes she¡¯s wearing, and they look torn and bloody. Someone deserves all the pain for doing this to her.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad Shaft found you, Lauren.¡±

    For some reason, that makes Lauren burst into laughter as she turns around, facing a tied-up woman on the ground.

    ¡°She calls you Shaft, Maya.¡±

    Now I¡¯m getting glared at for no reason¡­ Why is she tied up anyway? She was pretty helpful in finding Lauren, as Lauren''s presence testifies.

    With Lauren back, I tell her about how I tried praying to Merfercitrus, but she didn''t respond, I do get a hit from Lauren, though, right in the nose.

    "Her name is Merciferus. Mer-Ci-Fer-Rus. Get it right, and stop blaspheming, beast. She does need to know about this, though. Vile Steel is not something you can just make, it takes a decade to grow enough for simple warding. This much must have taken centuries of combined effort to make..."

    "Why does it make me sick, though? I feel terrible..."

    "I would imagine you do. It binds to and consumes magic, so it is anathema to what you are. Leaving it exposed infects the very air with its taint. Breathing it in as a magical beast is unwise."

    Now she tells me... The look on Shaft''s face suggests that she''s having some very obvious thoughts right now, with such an easy way to defeat me. Lauren turns and follows my gaze, looking at the struggling woman.

    "Maya, if you choose to wield vile steel as a weapon, know that it will consume your soul, pulling everything you are out of the cycle and leaving you a husk of what you once were. The Gods themselves will punish you for such a transgression, and they will show no consideration for your good intentions."

    Geez, I''m feeling a little intimidated by Lauren all of a sudden.

    "Look at me, Maya. I can heal Jonjon, but in return, the two of you must leave this place and never try to hunt Kira. A simple trade, don''t you agree?"

    It''s clear that Shaft has mixed feelings about it, anger is evident on her face, but where did she think this would go? I made it clear that I was here for Lauren, but they didn''t want to give her to me, so I took action on my own.

    With a nod from Shaft, Lauren walks over to the large man and kneels down beside him, clasping her hands in prayer. Moments later, a light envelops her and she touches Tower Shield, healing his wounds and he''s quick to recover.

    With most work taken care of, we just need to return to Tuiran and sleep it off. Returning to me, Lauren flops down on my muzzle, hugging me tightly as tears well up in her eyes. She has been putting on a good act, but the stench of her fear has been overpowering everything else.

    "Thank you for coming for me, you kind beast..."

 Chapter 35: Wreyning it in

    Standing by the window of his office, Wreyn watched the smoke covering the landscape south of his town as doubts about the situation crept into his heart. With another sip of his wine, he sought insight from a friend.

    ¡°Neithro¡­ Was my trust in the Dragon misplaced? Plainshold will be no more by day¡¯s end, and no doubt our winter will be harsh having taken in this many refugees. Every thought on how to solve the coming hunger crisis leads nowhere¡­¡±

    ¡°We both know what Lord Awirtatin was doing in that town of his. The winter will be harsh, but his people, the people of Plainshold, would have starved regardless. You have given them a fighting chance. Don¡¯t be a whiny little prick just because things didn¡¯t move in accordance with your schemes.¡±

    Having his friend speak so plainly elicited a chuckle from the old mage. A welcome smile graced his lips as he took another sip. These were exciting times for his ancient heart to grapple with. Reminiscing about how he had intended for all of this to unfold, he found the current situation entirely absurd.

    The schemes Wreyn had been planning for decades would force out the Guild and their barbaric ways, allowing him to build a standing military to take their place. Which would yield greater discipline among the ranks of the defensive force. The start of which was the Ignis Corps, a group of young mage-potentials he had taken into his care and trained to be especially skilled in pyromancy.

    The Ignis Corps had continuously borne fruit, as his domain had not had an undead rising since the corps'' inauguration.

    Although Wreyn had one threat contained, that still left much of the untamed lands and the beasts within to contend with. For that, he needed a standing military, fighters willing to follow his command and train under his philosophies. The undomesticated nature of the Guild¡¯s members left many suffering in their wake. Many who he had drawn to his town to gain sympathy for his cause.

    Much to his, and many of his peers¡¯, chagrin, the Guild had the ear of King Alhepheus, the seventh of his line. And with that power, they created a reliance on the adventurers to deal with threats, as any lord raising military might would be assumed to have plans of usurping the King. It was a work in progress started centuries ago by the Traveler who had created the Guild.

    Although Wreyn¡¯s plans had begun as a peaceful endeavor to unify the lords of the west, the death of his daughter, Myrna, three years past, had driven him to look for more direct approaches. She had been taken by a group of kobolds to be used for their grotesqueries, but when he had recovered her body after the adventurers had killed the kobolds, it was neither claw marks nor bite that had dealt the killing blow.

    As the adventurers returned from their mission, they reported no survivors, but Wreyn could not abandon his daughter to rot in such a vile place. Calling on an old friend, he sought out the beasts¡¯ den, hoping to lay her to rest alongside her mother.

    The expedition took days of searching caves at the foot of the mountain, and when they finally found success, Wreyn broke. The body of his daughter had been mangled, the evidence of torture and worse painting a clear picture of what had transpired.

    This was the work of monsters, not beasts.

    Wreyn and his old friend continued their gruesome work of retrieving his daughter, loading her remains onto a stretcher for the two to carry back home. Though he worked with a stoic face, Wreyn felt himself shatter as the task and the journey back took most of the final night in the wilderness.

    Returning to Oakhold in the early hours of the day, he moved through town uninterrupted as the sheer force of his rage and sorrow caused magic to cackle and snap around him, threatening any who would dare to come close.

    For the first time in his life, he wished he knew the forbidden arts of Necromancy just for the chance to hear her voice once more.

    Dragging the stretcher, he had not noticed the disappearance of his friend, as only two thoughts occupied his mind: laying Myrna to rest and vengeance.

    With his aging body, he struggled onward to reach the family crypt even as his knees threatened to buckle. He had to give her this, at least, now that he had failed to protect her not only from the beasts of the wilds, but also from the monsters meant to save her.

    The solemn affair was dealt with little fanfare, a one-person funeral for the snuffed-out light and what wondrous things she might have wrought. Left behind was her daughter, his granddaughter, Emily. The moment she snuck into his thoughts, his stoic mask shattered. Though he had raised Myrna, he was at a loss for how to proceed from here.

    Of one thing he was certain, she would become more powerful than he ever was. Nobody would be able to hold a candle to her power once he had finished training her, teaching her all that he knew. With his mind reeling, fixated on the future as he feared the present, he returned home as the pain of realization hit him. He had yet to tell Emily.

    The day was still young, but it promised to be no brighter than the dark caves inhabited by the kobolds.

    Having chosen the coward¡¯s way, he had made the choice to simply tell Emily that her mother had business elsewhere, a disappearance yielding the hope of return one day, a fanciful lie to spare the young girl¡¯s heart as it crushed his own.

    No more than three bells later, a knock came at his door. The guards had brought dire news of the death of his friend. Vidar the Hunter had become Vidar the Butcher, laying waste to the Guild Hall, slaughtering as many adventurers as he could before they could bring him down.

    Focusing his mind on the sorrow, he hid away the satisfaction of hearing about the grisly event as the guardsman informed the lord of as many details as he could.

    A mask had to be worn, Wreyn could not outright approve of Vidar¡¯s actions, but he also refused to let those same actions be forgotten. With a decision made, Wreyn commanded a small group of guards to collect the body of this scoundrel and follow him on an expedition to the cursed lake of the west.

    Leaving his town behind on grim business once more, Wreyn and his battalion set out for the west, traveling together as day turned to night, reaching the lake by the fourth day as threats from the wild had to be avoided.

    In a display of composed authority, he commanded a pit to be dug on the far side of the lake by the roots of a Sokofoan tree, leaving the body of the butcher to be consumed by the wilds. By the customs decreed by their King, a wild funeral was barbaric and ungodly, something a lesser species than the blessed Humans might do.

    Known only to Wreyn, Vidar would have celebrated this serene lake becoming his final resting place. Tales and rumors of it being cursed were not something Wreyn concerned himself with as he took in the scenery, a mighty tree standing as his tombstone and the soil of the forest meeting the lake to become his casket.

    Though he knew that Vidar would approve, Wreyn couldn¡¯t fight back the regret as he could not perform the traditional funeral rites in the presence of witnesses who would easily discern his true intentions for this journey. With a silent promise to return, Wreyn and his entourage prepared for their journey back to Oakhold.

    The snap of fingers in front of his face brought Wreyn back to the present, Captain Neithro standing with an annoyed scowl.

    ¡°Want me to fetch your balls, my lord? Perhaps then you would quit your pathetic sulking and take action to rectify this situation. You know what power Kira holds, and so far, she is on our side. Jeopardizing that at this junction would only prove how utterly foolish you can be.¡±

    ¡°Be quiet, Neithro¡­¡±

    Though he was in no mood for his friend¡¯s oddities, there was a certain truth to his words. Kira¡¯s sudden appearance had caused an upheaval of a magnitude he could not have predicted. Though Dragons were rare, most encounters forgotten in the annals of history, the texts still spoke of the destruction wrought by the fearsome beasts.

    He once again wished he had access to the Clergy of Merciferus¡¯ libraries. It was common knowledge that they had the complete index of this world¡¯s creatures. Known for their God¡¯s obsessive nature and downright fanatical tendency to collect information on the beasts of the world, Merciferus was known for being liberal with her blessings for those in the service of collecting information or doing her bidding.

    With his mind refocused on the peculiarity that was Kira, he wondered how he might apply her might in service of his own goals. Thoughts of bribery, binding, or blackmail drifted through his mind, but he was quick to throw them aside, considering their obvious shortcomings.

    Should he manage to bind her, he would either have to rely on someone of a dubious nature or risk performing the rituals himself. And both situations would simply leave a long-lived creature with a thirst for vengeance.

    Blackmail would be equally foolish. A Dragon would no doubt willingly give up its treasure if it meant the death of the moron trying to steal from it. Kira had already shown a minor inclination toward this, proving that as gentle as she could be, she was to be feared.

    And finally, the only remotely functional option of the three is bribery. If she were susceptible to bribery, no doubt someone willing to tax their peasants more, someone richer, could usurp any illusion of control he might hold.

    These thoughts ringing in his mind kept bringing him back to one option: support. He would support her, and in turn, she would support him.

    ¡°Wreyn, if you¡¯re thinking about binding her again, let me know so I can desert my post before she shows up to prove how foolish that would be. Consider how restricted you would be if a child bound your hands in twine and started barking orders at you.¡±

    ¡°I need more wine¡­¡±

    He had spent the years since the death of his daughter making the town more inhospitable to adventurers, adding taxes to their orders and restricting what they could buy. None of his efforts had been as successful in driving away their sorry lot as the day Kira had visited. A Dragon showing up on your doorstep wanting a tour of your city¡­

    The entire situation had been absurd, but in a moment of madness, Wreyn had accepted, wanting to know more about this new, curious creature. How it had gone was entirely outside the scope of any spontaneous plans Wreyn had created, he hadn¡¯t considered how foolish those vile creatures would be inside the calm walls of his town.

    The citizens had been shocked to witness the gruesome treatment of the adventurers, but Oakhold was built on a simmering animosity towards the guild, allowing many to accept the story of a peaceful beast merely defending itself as adventurer parts were strewn across the streets. Yet another absurdity, but a welcome one.

    In the wake of Kira¡¯s treatment of those who would seek to harm her, an exodus was triggered, leading to most adventurers heading back to Plainshold and Arrenfret, leaving Oakhold vulnerable. Though that wouldn¡¯t matter much, as most dangerous beasts had receded into the forests.

    The impact of her presence was undeniable, and as the Guild¡¯s presence dwindled, the merchants¡¯ presence increased. Fear of ruffians stealing their goods or injuries incurred defending said goods fell to almost nonexistence. Crime fell to the point of guards seeking other employment out of boredom.

    No, his course was set. Kira was an ally, not a tool. She had to be helped to establish her own realm within this region, and he would continue to help her do so. The trade initiative had sparked quite some interest, and to his surprise, they had imported Dragon¡¯s Gold from Tuiran.

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    He would have to increase his own import of simple metals to increase Tuiran¡¯s production of this precious alloy. Though it was known from traveler histories that tin, copper, and other metals could meld together to create stronger metals, the process in this world was different, leading to many giving up.

    Dragon¡¯s Gold by itself would rival iron weapons, scratching at the capabilities of common steel, but it took to enhancements as if it were forged in magic. And given Tuiran¡¯s guards having equipment of copper being exchanged for equipment of Dragon¡¯s Gold, it was likely that the metal alloy was forged in magic.

    A chuckle left Wreyn¡¯s lips as his thoughts drifted to Kira doing something she considered entirely mundane, resulting in shaking up the world of trade for years to come.

    ¡°What¡¯s so funny, Wreyn?¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t mind me. My thoughts are merely preoccupied with how utterly absurd this cycle has been.¡±

    Emptying his goblet, he continued to stare out of the window, the plume of smoke from Plainshold turning the skies from day to night. How could one being allow itself to be pushed around and yelled at by a once-enemy, playing with children with no risk of injury to the vulnerable babes, also be capable of razing a town in less than a day? The idea haunted him, fear crept in as thoughts of that fearsome power being turned on Oakhold flooded his mind.

    ¡°I could use some more wine¡­¡±

    Neithro sat down in the guest chair and slammed his boots onto the ornate desk of his lord. Leaning back, he spoke his mind as was their tradition.

    ¡°She was never someone to be controlled, Wreyn. The only option was guidance, and that is still an option. You know what they did in that town, and in less than a week, Kira has not only taken out your rival, she has also taken away their source of power, and now their pitiful little kingdom lies in ruins.¡±

    Knowing that his friend spoke the truth, Wreyn couldn¡¯t argue against it. The carefully crafted plans of diplomacy and expansion had been thrown out in favor of pure brute force. Though the blow of how much of his effort had been wasted did sting.

    ¡°Neithro, do you know how many of our people made it out?¡±

    ¡°Most. I sent word as soon as you made the Guild¡¯s intentions known to Kira, so most of our people left with the civilians. If anything, this might be your fault if you think about it.¡±

    Swirling the goblet of wine in his hand, he mulled over Neithro¡¯s words, finding himself growing frustrated as his friend once again had a point... Deciding not to overreact, he threw the goblet at Neithro¡¯s head. As the goblet impacted a magical barrier, Wreyn cursed as Neithro hadn¡¯t even flinched, such was the absolute trust his friend had in the barriers on which the Captain¡¯s life so often relied.

    Taking a swig from the bottle on his desk, Wreyn grabbed his coat and started moving toward the door. It was time for him to ride out to meet the next wave of refugees from Plainshold. Though this time, he might turn them away, as there was no doubt in his mind that these would be the adventurers who refused to abandon their foolish mission.

    Ruminations of what Kira might do if she found him harboring those who set out to hurt her and those under her protection sent chills down his spine. The Dragons of old were unpredictable in the best of cases, but added to that was the possibility that Kira might be a Traveler. It frightened him to know that the old texts could only be trusted to a degree, as whatever sensibilities of her old world might influence her, adding yet another unknown to the horrifying beast.

    Neithro had begun retelling the tale of how she and he had left to hunt the beast of the north, which only served to add to Wreyn¡¯s worries. Neithro had found the entire thing amusing, but that would just be another marker indicating the dangers of involving oneself with a Dragon. Neithro was a man of many virtues and accolades, but beneath that exterior slept a dangerous threat. One Wreyn had seen a glimpse of during the retelling.

    ¡°Wreyn, you worry far too much. Kira has proven that she takes action in response to what others do. Lord Awirtatin died because he issued the culling mission, he should have wavered when rumors of a Dragon spread. The cleric¡¯s team died because they took the culling mission, they should have turned back when they found your message. Now Plainshold burns because the adventurers chose to continue down the path of the moron, and they were given a taste of destruction they couldn¡¯t fight. What they all had in common was a clear opportunity to turn back, and every one of them chose not to.¡±

    With a steady pace, the two men continued down the hallway, a clear goal in mind. Mounts would be required as they headed for their goal of meeting up with the horde of adventurers heading their way.

    Along their journey, they met bowed heads and gentle smiles from Lord Wreyn¡¯s staff, the people working for the Grand Mage were as well taken care of as any within his domain. Reverence clear in their eyes as gazes found the old man.

    Wherever he went, a path was cleared and respect was shown, a stark contrast to his experiences with the cocky Captain of the Guard who so often disrespected him and disobeyed his orders. Captain Neithro was famously a wily and cunning man, with an exceptional talent for knowing when to push a subject and when to leave it be.

    With their storied history in mind, Wreyn found his doubt regarding Kira becoming doubts about himself. What Neithro had said had a certain clang of truth, though that did not mean he would recognize the signs of doom when they showed up for him, just as those defeated by the terrifying beast hadn¡¯t recognized the signs given to them.

    ¡°Wreyn, you¡¯re worrying far too much. Your initiatives have begun bringing prosperity to the goblin town, you acted swiftly in her defense, wasted though it was. To think you put all that effort into fortifying Tuiran only for Kira to leave and obliterate the enemy force. It¡¯s almost enough to bring a tear of pride to my eye.¡±

    As Wreyn watched his trusted friend laugh at his efforts, a calm settled in his heart. He had indeed done much to aid this new ally, and more than she would know. Though even with his full weight placed behind this alliance, he could not stop the days of worry. Wreyn was far too accustomed to being the most powerful person in the room, but that would soon no longer be true.

    ¡°Oh, Wreyn, I guess you should know, I gave Raya a Link Ring, so that she may tell me of any issues. And she informed me that after Kira woke up, she had grown to close in on four murak (12.5 ft). Use that fancy education of yours to figure out how much extra mass and power that is.¡±

    Brought to a halt by this information, Wreyn found himself wanting to laugh. At least that explained how she was able to conquer Plainshold with such ease. Though giving a Link Ring was unusual. It allowed for direct mind communication for distances reaching up to three days'' travel by horse, though it did not have the benefit of a comprehension spell attached.

    ¡°Why must you do this, Neithro?! I had finally calmed down, and now I won¡¯t be able to control my excitement or my fear! I should pray to the gods so that they may curse you to an eternity of worry!¡±

    It was exciting, though. The old scholar had an opportunity to witness the growth of a Dragon, expedited so that he might see it before his death by old age. His hunger for knowledge growled at the prospect of knowing deep, intimate details of the Dragon species that none before him had known.

    ¡°Neithro, where are we?¡±

    Looking around, Wreyn found himself disoriented, not immediately recognizing where they had gone.

    ¡°You seemed distracted, so I took the opportunity to get you some exercise when I noticed you just kept following me. You will need to take better care of yourself if you want any hope of seeing Emily reach adulthood.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s my wine? I¡¯m sure I had a bottle.¡±

    ¡°I gave it to a young man passing by.¡±

    ¡°Neithro, what is your relationship with that young goblin? Word has begun to spread that she has become your favored.¡±

    A hearty laugh escaped the captain of the guard as he prepared to explain.

    ¡°I¡¯m not about to fuck her, you creep. She reminds me of my daughter, Abigail, and getting to know Raya has stirred up forgotten feelings. And you should know that when things settle down here, I¡¯ll be traveling south to meet up with her and Victoria. Or perhaps I should send word for them to visit us.¡±

    Ice crept into his heart, freezing Wreyn solid at the prospect of the devilish woman, Victoria, visiting and meeting Kira. How Neithro survived that beastly woman was a mystery he did not want to solve.

    ¡°I humbly request that you do not invite that woman to come here.¡±

    Victoria Crushmaul, Crushmaul the Destroyer, Crushmaul the Berserker, Breaker of Death. She stood as Commander of Rotguard, holding back the tides of Undeath breaking upon the walls of life. Famous for her keen mind, powerful body, and undaunted spirit, though she had many accolades, it was common knowledge that wherever she went, she left a trail of blood and broken bones.

    ¡°Did I tell you about our first night together, Wreyn? She broke four of my ribs, my right arm, and gave me a concussion. I ended up in the healer¡¯s tent for two days. What a woman¡­¡±

    One of Wreyn¡¯s hypotheses for how Neithro had become so skilled with barrier and support magic was the captain''s and Victoria¡¯s lovemaking, though that was an avenue he was unwilling to explore. As he watched the usually composed captain¡¯s giddy smile, he couldn¡¯t help but feel envious.

    As he pushed that subject aside, the smell of manure became apparent. The stables were nearby, and the two men would have to focus on the upcoming task of what to do with the incoming wave of refugees. Considerations had been made, but mercilessness kept winning.

    Thoughts of giving the group supplies to reach Arrenfret were considered, but with the civilians from Plainshold, Wreyn¡¯s town did not have enough to spare.

    Giving them sanctuary wouldn¡¯t be an option in case it angered Kira, and even if it did not, the risk of one of these buffoons attacking her was too great.

    Turning them away without help was simply the only choice he felt he had. Though he also knew that, without a doubt, some of them would turn to banditry, that was something he would have to deal with in the future.

    With the aid of a few stable hands, Wreyn and Neithro soon found themselves ready to head out.

    Riding side by side, Wreyn and Neithro readied themselves for the potential of combat should any of the adventurers decide to take it upon themselves to retaliate for the lack of help. Even as his hatred for the Guild seethed, he found himself pitying those who sought to better the world but ended up caught in the cruelty of the organization.

    It was undeniable that many adventurers had joined the Guild as hopeful young men and women, with the goal of protecting the lands and earning a few coins in doing so, though it was equally undeniable that such an offer would also attract those who hungered for power but found themselves unable to rise in the ranks of the Kingdom¡¯s military or the titles given by nobles.

    Neithro had often described it as a clusterfuck of incompetence and arrogance. A crude description, but not ill-fitting.

    Riding on, the two men saw a large group of people ahead, far sooner than they should have, which put them on edge.

    ¡°You think those are the adventurers? To have come this far already, they must have deserted almost as soon as Kira launched her first attack on the city.¡±

    Wreyn found himself hoping it was indeed the adventurers. Though he would have liked to know most of those foolish enough to stand their ground in Plainshold had fallen, the aftermath would have required a significant effort on his part. No doubt the ambient magic in the town would become saturated, allowing the formation of those damnable Undead Originators, but if most had deserted, then that risk would have been cut down to barely anything.

    Closing in on the massive group, Wreyn felt his nerves growing tense, with thoughts of this turning to violence at the forefront of his mind.

    The group¡¯s marching stopped as Wreyn approached, Neithro standing at the ready with his defensive magic.

    ¡°Lord Wreyn! Plainshold has fallen to a powerful beast, and we need refuge until we can alert the Guild!¡±

    ¡°I advised you to abandon this folly, and you disregarded my warnings. I advised you to stand down so as not to anger the Dragon, and yet again you disregarded my wisdom! And now you ask for sanctuary when the threat still looms above your heads? Would you see Oakhold burn as well as payment for your utterly idiotic, profoundly stupid, AND FUCKING LAUGHABLE attempt to subdue something you do not understand?!¡±

    Having lost his composure, Wreyn unleashed a torrent of profanity at the adventurers as Neithro watched on with a smile. It was no doubt amusing to the captain to watch his kind and excitable Lord lose it to wrath. A wrath he had carried for far too long. But it became clear to Neithro that he would have to step in and cut his own amusement short.

    ¡°Lord Wreyn, look to the skies over the ruins of Plainshold.¡±

    After a few attempts to reach the old man, they both saw the shadow approaching. Soaring on dark wings, the fearsome beast approached with terrifying speed. One by one, the adventurers turned to see what had silenced the furious lord, and what they saw made them feel as if a demon had created a veil of frost as their blood turned to ice.

    A mighty roar could be heard, the adventurers quick to get into combat positions, dividing themselves into the remaining teams. They stood prepared to defend themselves, but the stench of cowardice covered their location. They held ranks not because of bravery, but because they couldn¡¯t think of anything else to do.

    ¡°Stand down, you utter fools! If you couldn¡¯t defeat that Dragon with cover and walls, why would you be able to in an open area where it has the advantage?!¡±

    A few turned to face the lord, and as his words rang through the ranks, more and more lowered their weapons, their only hope being that they could trust the lord to know what to do.

    Neithro hadn¡¯t stopped smirking since this had begun, knowing very well that what was to come would be entertaining. While he had initially had doubts about this alliance with Kira, he had since grown to appreciate how much fun he was having. And this promised to be no different.

    As Kira flew toward the gathering, Wreyn felt a sense of disappointment in his fellow man as he spotted an archer with a readied bow. With a quick mental jab, he pointed out the archer to Neithro, expecting the captain to interpret what to do.

    With the final approach, it became clear that Kira had recognized the two men from Oakhold as she flew on a direct path toward them. With no regard for the enemy below, her path took her over the gathering as she prepared to land by her friends.

    The arrow loosed, impacting a barrier just under the Dragon. She noticed the clang of impact and turned around in a wide circle, it became clear that she had spotted the offender. The adventurers fought to scatter, pushing each other aside as it turned from a retreat into a stampede. With her aim locked onto the archer, a plume of bright white flame bathed the area, leaving only charred ground.

    ¡°Neithro, I do believe Raya was right, she has grown again¡­¡±

    ¡°We will need to help her practice those flames, she only caught half a dozen in that attack. And who are those people she¡¯s carrying?¡±

    With the adventurers having cleared the area, Kira found herself with a lot more room to land. With a thump, she dumped her cargo before landing herself as Wreyn cast his comprehension spell.

    ¡°Hey, Cranky! Hey, Wreyn! Shaft and Tower Shield here have some information for you!¡±

    With his gaze locked on the towering beast, he couldn¡¯t help but be overwhelmed by the jovial nature of her personality against the backdrop of having just erased several adventurers mere moments ago. A sense of his resolve solidifying and as he settled in to throw everything he had into the basket of helping Kira grow her power. She would live long after he had died, and if she could protect his lands, and his sweet, little Emily, then his would be a legacy for the ages.

    ¡°Greetings, Kira. I hope you¡¯re well. I suspect we have much to discuss.¡±

    ¡°We do?¡±

 Chapter 36: Looming Shadows

    ¡°We do, Kira. You burned down a town, and I have to deal with the aftermath. And from the looks of this, you have brought another headache to my doorstep.¡±

    He¡¯s gesticulating with his arms towards the two people I dumped at his feet, and¡­ he might have a point there¡­ Shaft certainly did try to give me a headache when I tried to snack on Tower Shield. Not my fault, though! He looked dead. I wonder if I can just fly away and dodge all of this responsibility¡­ Probably not, he knows where I live¡­

    ¡°As you may have noticed, Kira, your presence appears to have scattered the remaining adventurers, so do make sure to warn the traders in Tuiran about bandits when you return.¡±

    Oh! That sounds like he doesn¡¯t mind if I-

    ¡°Stay. You can inform them later. We will need a plan for the winter as the refugees from Plainshold need shelter and food, which you will be assisting in acquiring.¡±

    Geez, he¡¯s feeling particularly bossy today. Glancing over at Cranky, all I get is a shrug, but he seems to understand my plight. As far as I¡¯m concerned, I haven¡¯t done anything wrong, they started it, and they made it worse than it had to be by taking what belongs to me.

    From the sounds of it, he already has plans for all sorts of work I need to do, which is not ideal. I would much rather just be lazy and have snacks, so I¡¯d better get paid for that work, and I want to be paid well!

    For some reason, Shaft chips in with her own opinion on the matter, and as far as I can tell by the smell of frustration and her tense muscles, she agrees that putting me to work is unfair.

    ¡°Er saewira du Themar? [You command the Dragon?]¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your name, adventurer? I suspect the name I have been given is subject to Kira¡¯s proclivities.¡±

    ¡°Maya. Curnu er toina averin enui wesilanei. [And you didn¡¯t answer my question.]¡±

    ¡°Maya, that is a subject to be discussed in private. As I understand the situation, we both hold knowledge that should be shared with the other party. I believe you may come to understand my position, given that you¡¯re somehow still alive.¡±

    For a moment, I feel a little excluded, but it¡¯s clear that if I partake in this private conversation, I¡¯ll just get more work or worse¡­ criticism! I¡¯m far more interested in getting back to Tuiran and getting Lauren settled in again, she¡¯s had a tough time today.

    Wreyn and Shaft continue bickering as she sits on the ground looking up at the mounted man. As far as I can tell, she wasn¡¯t satisfied with the subjects being discussed in private at all, and they seem quite preoccupied with each other.

    ¡°Wanna go home, Lauren?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±

    Leaving the pair to bicker away, Lauren and I take off toward Tuiran, ignoring the shout from Wreyn that I hear behind us.

    ¡°Now look at what you have done!¡±

    They¡¯ll sort it out. Lauren and I are gonna find some snacks and make sure she¡¯s snug as a bug! Judging by how she¡¯s just lying limp on my head, I¡¯m pretty sure she needs some rest. If Kaldren is still around, I¡¯ll have him make a hearty stew for her, his cooking is delicious and she needs to eat.

    With our quiet flight, it doesn¡¯t take all that long to reach home, and from the looks of the crowded square, the traders are still around. Judging by the music, laughter, and cheer, tonight will turn into a party again.

    With my target in sight, it¡¯s clear that they¡¯ve respected my boundaries and haven¡¯t gotten close to my den. Good on them, respecting boundaries is important. There¡¯s a pause in the celebration as I fly over the caravans, replaced by marveling exclamations and a few screams of terror, but mostly the first thing.

    Landing by my den, I take a couple of whiffs around the entrance to make sure there aren¡¯t any foreign smells, and it turns out my visual inspection was correct, no intruders that I can detect. It takes some effort, but I make sure not to bump my head against the ceiling since Lauren is still on top of me.

    Entering the main hall, she gets ready to climb off me as I lower my head to the ground. She seems somewhat muted¡­ Time for that stew. Giving her a nudge, I take my leave and go find Kaldren. She was so strong when she got out of that basement thing, but now Lauren has just deflated entirely, and I think I might have to keep an eye on her.

    Before I reach the caravans, Shae Tara Nenka comes to greet me, cheerful as ever. I had thought that causing a ruckus in Plainshold would put a damper on that, but she seems indifferent to the whole thing.

    With a quick greeting, I sneak in a question about Kaldren and his willingness to provide emergency stew for my friend, and in response, Tara brightens as she stands straight, clasping her hands.

    ¡°Oh, wonderful! He will be quite delighted to hear that not only is his cooking enjoyed, but it is sought after! We shall go to him immediately!¡±

    ¡°Tara, how come you¡¯re fine with Plainshold burning? It¡¯s a little suspicious, and I would have expected adventurers like you to rise to the challenge of defeating a mighty dragon.¡±

    ¡°In your presence, I am but a humble trader, and you may consider that to be true for the foreseeable future. As for Plainshold, merchants already knew to stay away from there. Too many disappearances. And of course my merchant¡¯s heart cannot deny the opportunity for trade in the wake of tragedy! There¡¯s no doubt our coffers will grow heavy.¡±

    That feels a little exploitative¡­ I might have to actually work a lot with Wreyn to make sure the people he has taken in are cared for. I¡¯m at least, like, ten percent responsible. Most of it is on the adventurers for not leaving me alone, though.

    ¡°I can tell that your thoughts of me have soured, so rest assured that the lord I serve, Lord Faran, would never allow us to exploit tragedy for excessive profit. It would result in banishment from The Lands Beyond Death, something none of my kin would risk, much to Kaldren¡¯s frustration. It is simply the guaranteed sale that is enticing, people need supplies to rebuild, and I am willing to be the supplier.¡±

    I feel like she just threw Kaldren under the proverbial bus here. That¡¯s for later, though, I still need that stew. As we move on instead of just standing around for no particular reason, we join up with Kaldren, who gives me a cautious side-eye, as if trying to avoid challenging a beast.

    The two are quick to exchange words, and Kaldren begins assembling a cooking fire as Tara brings out a large cauldron. It¡¯s stew time! He¡¯s quite good at stacking wood, but significantly less good at starting a fire. I have no idea why he isn¡¯t using magic to do it, but with a nudge, I get him to step back so I can light the fire for him.

    Using my nostril trick, I unleash a small nasal plume of fire, expertly setting the wood alight. After nesting the cauldron in the cooking fire, Kaldren starts fetching materials from barrels and crates. I have no idea what half of this stuff is, but apparently he¡¯s using some sort of alcoholic broth as the base. He¡¯s adding ingredients faster than I can keep track of, and by the time he puts a lid on the cauldron, I¡¯ve completely lost track of how much stuff he threw in there. Geez, he¡¯s fast.

    As I watch the cauldron cook, he waves to get my attention and blows a breath toward the food. As far as I can tell, he wants me to heat it up, and I have a trick for that! Using Coma Dragon Kira¡¯s heat breath trick, I blow a very hot breath toward the cauldron, heating it up in a jiffy. And if I had to guess based on Kaldren¡¯s jumping around and screaming, he doubted the heat of my breath enough to stick his hand in the way. Not advisable, buddy.

    ¡°Faro nui! Nuia ti itarn! [Fuck me! That is hot!]¡±

    With the impromptu dance performance out of the way, he returns to his wagon and rummages around for a bit before pulling out a potion, pouring the contents over his hand. As far as I know, dwarves are naturally skilled with forging, so he should know that heat doesn¡¯t need fire to be dangerous, so that¡¯s on him.

    With his hand healing, he seems to have forgotten the whole ordeal as he returns to tending the now boiling stew. It smells so delicious, and Lauren is gonna feel great getting something to eat!

    Kaldren tastes it a few times, adding more spices until he¡¯s satisfied, and then puts the lid on again. With a few weird motions aimed at me, he brings out a few bowls and says something to Tara.

    ¡°He says if you can carry the stew with the lid on, it will be ready when we get to your den entrance, then your friend can have as much as she wants.¡±

    That¡¯s a good idea. She should be allowed to have a bunch of delicious stew! With one hand, I hold the lid tightly on as I tip the cauldron just enough to get my jaw under it, and with the dexterity of the mighty Dragon of the Stew, I manage to get it into my mouth so I can carry it. With Tara and Kaldren in tow, we head towards my den. I can¡¯t smell anything but deliciousness, and I¡¯m envious of Lauren having automatic dibs.

    Careful not to slosh the stew around, it takes a little longer to reach my den than it should, and since Kaldren and Tara have been so helpful, I invite them in. They seem like good people.

    ¡°Lauren! I brought dinner!¡±

    I can tell she¡¯s stirring through our mental link, not overly enthusiastic about my waking her up, but stew will change that! Entering the main room of my den, I see her lying on the ground, looking toward the entrance. I guess we really should find her a bed for when I¡¯m not here, maybe even some other furniture. That¡¯s for non-stew times, though.

    Marching my appropriately sized dragon butt on over to her, I maneuver the cauldron out of my mouth and place it in the ground without spilling much. She¡¯s staring a bit as the sound of metal striking flint rings out from behind me.

    ¡°You brought guests?¡±

    ¡°I did! Tara and Kaldren! They made the stew.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m in a condition to see anyone, Kira¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±

    ¡°Shush, everyone needs some food, and if they¡¯re mean, I¡¯ll kick them out.¡±

    There¡¯s a sense of appreciation from her, but underneath it, I can tell she¡¯s hurting far more than she¡¯s letting on. I don¡¯t know how to fix her problems for her, but the least I can do is be here for her.

    Turning around while focusing on the sway of my tail, I find the dwarf trying to light a torch, and with a gentle nudge, I push him away from it and light it for him. Picking up the torch, he becomes distracted and drops everything but his light source as he runs toward the walls, letting out a bunch of weird explorer sounds as his eyes fixate on the gorgeous murals carved by the goblins.

    ¡°I do believe we have lost Kaldren, Lady Kira.¡±

    Tara lets out a giggle as she picks up the dropped bowls, a kind smile gracing her lips as she watches her friend explore my den with the excitement of a child released into an amusement park.

    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    ¡°Ti nuia du Themaret buvilamuro? [Is this the Dragon¡¯s history?]¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the people of Tuiran carved that as soon as she dug out this place. They¡¯ve been expanding on it ever since.¡±

    Woo! Lauren is talking to other people. That¡¯s a good sign. I don¡¯t think Kaldren is paying attention, though, so that¡¯s a bit rude. That¡¯s forgivable this time, we¡¯ve got more important things to do, like get these bowls handed out.

    Nudging Tara, she gets the message and starts removing a somewhat sticky substance of unknown origin from the cauldron before removing the lid and filling bowls with the amazing contents. Steam rises from the stew as she dips in a bowl, handing it off to Lauren, who is quick to dig in.

    The light in her face returns as Kaldren¡¯s cooking renews her life, but then the serene image of a friend slurping stew shatters and gives way to tears and pain spilling out. As she lowers the bowl, tears flow from her eyes as she looks up at me. Lowering my head, I make sure to give her a firm nudge, making sure she knows I¡¯m here for her.

    ¡°Kira, we need to talk about what they were doing in Plainshold¡­ They shouldn¡¯t have known what Vile Steel is, but they had so much of it. You need to know what it is and why you should avoid it.¡± Her gaze fixates on Tara as she pauses. ¡°Lizard, what is your rank and heritage?¡±

    ¡°Shae Tara Nenka. Fourth. Kaldren shares my status.¡±

    ¡°Good¡­ Kira, Vile Steel is not quite an appropriate name for that material, it is grown from true evil. There¡¯s a soul mage somewhere, and they are killing people, twisting their souls into material form, and that is what Vile Steel is. The people sacrificed for it crave to become whole, taking whatever they can from anything that comes into contact with it. But it''s impossible for them to become whole again, and they won''t ever be able to move on to the next world. When you touched it, you no doubt felt a drain in your magic, but that isn¡¯t all, if you kept touching it, or had it enter your body, it would begin consuming your soul, propagating itself.¡±

    That makes me want to throw up, geez...

    ¡°Lady Kira, did you experience this as well? I do not know of any records outside my homeland even mentioning Vile Steel¡­¡±

    Tara smells scared at this revelation, and I give her a retelling of what I experienced, which isn¡¯t helping her feel any better. How are we even supposed to deal with this without being soul mages ourselves? This feels way above my pay grade. Oh, there¡¯s one thing I should deal with, though.

    ¡°Lauren, calling the scalefolk ¡®lizard¡¯ or ''lizard person'' is derogatory, you should refer to them as Faranean or Scalefolk.¡±

    Lauren stares at me with a blank expression, and Tara bursts out laughing for some reason. I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s so funny, but it¡¯s important to nip this stuff in the bud, otherwise, animosity might grow over time. I¡¯m not getting any opposition to my correction, so I¡¯ll assume it¡¯s dealt with. Lauren continues explaining, ignoring Tara''s laughter.

    ¡°Right¡­ Returning to the matter at hand. Kira, you must stay away from Vile Steel, and soon from me. It is anathema to what you are, and when you breathed in a small amount, you passed out. What do you think would happen if you were impaled and shards broke off inside you?¡±

    Yeah, that sounds pretty bad, if those shards just kept feeding off my magic, they could probably grow to quite a size, and then that would grow even more, and I don¡¯t like this situation at all¡­

    ¡°Lady Lauren, if you would allow it, I would like to send word to Lord Faran about this discovery, his knowledge on the matter would no doubt be invaluable. Though his secretive nature would no doubt mean that he would deal with the situation in Plainshold alone if we choose to inform him.¡±

    That seems like an obvious path to take, if he just takes care of it, then we don¡¯t have to deal with it at all. I vote for the path where I don¡¯t have to deal with the dead people murder metal.

    ¡°A generous offer, but we need to know how to deal with it on our own for when we encounter it again. We will need to inform a few more people of this situation and bring them up to date. Joras, Raya, and Lily come to mind.¡±

    ¡°What about Wreyn? He knows magic stuff.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Kira. Lords talk, we don¡¯t know how much Wreyn knew about this, and we can¡¯t risk including him until we do. The operation was far too large for this to have been a recent situation. Don¡¯t share anything more than necessary.¡±

    I don¡¯t like secrets like that... If I¡¯ve learned anything from watching TV with my parents, it¡¯s that if Wreyn is a bad guy, he already knows and we should know that he knows, or he doesn¡¯t and he¡¯s not a bad guy, but us treating him like one will turn him a little more bad than he should be.

    I let my thoughts be known, minus the things about my past, and to my surprise, Tara agrees. Sorry, Lauren. Lauren seems to think it over, but she doesn¡¯t say anything as she grabs another bowl of stew. Between her and Tara both eating, the cauldron is getting dangerously low as the risk of me not getting enough increases.

    As she brings the bowl to her mouth, Lauren unleashes a mighty yawn, reminding me that it¡¯s getting quite late and we should get some sleep. Tara is quick on the uptake and realizes what I¡¯m thinking. With a gentle sway, she walks over to Kaldren and picks him up before leaving, bidding us goodnight.

    The dwarf is shouting, grunting, and flailing his limbs, he¡¯s almost adorable as he tries his best to get free from the mighty scalefolk¡¯s grip. I get it, those walls are very pretty, and I¡¯d want to study them too if I hadn¡¯t lived it.

    With the tradeventurers leaving, I refocus on Lauren, it¡¯s pretty obvious that she needs some sleep in a safe environment, and I am gonna be that safe environment, that¡¯s for sure. I hope she¡¯ll be comfortable enough to share what happened, but I suspect she¡¯s gonna need some more time to rummage through whatever they did to her.

    Moving around a bit, I get comfortable and coil up, Lauren is quick to take off what little clothes she has on as she joins me, snuggling close. Given the spikes of pain I felt from her, I doubt she¡¯ll have a comfortable night. She¡¯s strong, but I can¡¯t see how anyone would be strong enough to endure whatever they did to her. One thing¡¯s for sure, there¡¯s a hell of a lot of fire in somebody¡¯s future.

    ¡°When you¡¯re ready to talk, Lauren, I¡¯m here. You don¡¯t have to be alone with this. I felt some of your pain, so I hope you¡¯ll share more of it to lessen your burden.¡±

    She doesn¡¯t reply, but I can tell that she appreciates it. For some reason, there''s a sense of sorrow mixed in with the hurt and appreciation.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    It turns out I was right. I¡¯m coiled up tight, leaving my face close to my arm where Lauren sleeps, and her flailing arm hitting me right in the eye makes me acutely aware of her nightmares. It freakin¡¯ hurts! Nudging her a few times, she settles down and the fire inside me burns brighter as my instincts push me toward vengeance. There¡¯s a compulsion within me pushing me to find whoever is responsible for this and bathe their world in dragonflame. I¡¯m not sure I want to fight that.

    My eyes drift toward the entrance of my den, and the looming darkness makes it clear only a few hours have passed. There¡¯s no doubt in my mind that she¡¯s in for a long night... Giving the room a few sniffs, I smell for Jeannie and Forest Lady, but the scents aren¡¯t fresh enough for them to be home, which I think is a good thing. I¡¯m sure they¡¯d forgive her, but getting woken up by Lauren¡¯s screaming and my growling when she smacks me with that weird accuracy of hers would be annoying.

    Since I want her to be comfortable, I move my arm a bit, opening a larger crevice between it and my neck, allowing her to drop into it so I can tug her in tight. It¡¯s the best I can do, so I hope it¡¯s close enough to swaddle her to help her feel safer. I know that I always liked a tight duvet when I had bad dreams. Rather than falling asleep again, I¡¯ve decided to stay awake and nudge her whenever the dreams get bad. At least that way, she might get a little rest.

    By the time morning arrives, her face has clear evidence of dried tears, but she got through the first night. It¡¯s a team effort, but we¡¯ll get her better eventually, we just need to keep working at it and keep her safe. One thing is for sure, though, I need to find out how Raya got so powerful through me, so I can repeat it with Lauren.

    ¡°Kira, why am I stuck?¡±

    ¡°Mystery of the world. Nobody knows.¡±

    She exhales with a smile as I uncoil myself, releasing her from her scaly prison as we get up. She moves to pick up her clothes from yesterday, but her bravery falters as she gets near them. I don¡¯t think I would want to wear the clothes given to me by assholes like that.

    Telling her to wait here, I rush off in search of Tara. I¡¯m sure the scalefolk lady has a dress or something I can bargain for, so Lauren doesn¡¯t have to walk around in a reminder of what has happened. Something new is critical for healing!

    Running across the square might be a bit inconsiderate considering my size and the inherent noise involved, but if anyone wants to complain, they know where I live. It doesn¡¯t take me long at all to locate Tara and Kaldren¡¯s wagon on account of it not having moved at all since I first saw it.

    Getting closer, Tara exits the tented vehicle and greets me with a yawn. Admittedly, it is still quite early and the sun is only just rising, but that just takes us back to the fact that they know where I live.

    With my target found, I make my request and she¡¯s quick to comply, entering the wagon as the sounds of rummaging and dwarven complaints become more prominent.

    Moments later, she returns with a beautiful dress of black and red with a leather corset in hand. As she hesitates to hand it over, it occurs to me that I don¡¯t have a reliable way of carrying it without damaging it. Dang it, it looks like I¡¯m a taxi again. Lowering my head, I tell Tara to get on, and she¡¯s quick to comply. I¡¯ll just ignore the wide grin on her obviously excited face.

    Rushing back to Lauren, I hurry down into my den and let Tara down. Handing off the dress to Lauren, the two women help her into it, and it looks great on her, though it is a bit on the larger side, given that Tara is a fair bit taller than Lauren.

    With that out of the way, Tara bids us farewell and leaves on her own. I didn¡¯t even have to nudge her out.

    ¡°Kira, how much did you pay for this?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t pay, she gave it to us.¡±

    ¡°This dress is valuable. Not even accounting for the material, red and true black fabric dyes are expensive.¡±

    ¡°Good. You deserve nice things. All my people do.¡±

    She turns her face away, but I can tell that we¡¯ve got another case of spontaneous and extremely localized rain out of nowhere. Giving her a nudge, I lower my head, allowing her to climb on, so she doesn¡¯t have to deal with getting clay on her new wardrobe. I should look into getting some flooring done.

    We should find Raya, so both of them can show off their dresses! Leaving my den behind, we head out without too much of a goal in mind for the morning. It¡¯s undeniable that I will have to listen to whatever Wreyn has to discuss, and I will have to take some responsibility for the refugees of Plainshold. I don¡¯t really mind helping them out, I¡¯m just feeling lazy and helping them sounds like a lot of work.

    ¡°Lauren, I have a question, and you don¡¯t have to answer if you don¡¯t want to, but how come you didn¡¯t pray last night or this morning?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t feel like it¡­¡±

    That doesn¡¯t sound like the whole answer, but I¡¯ll give her some time to think before I push her on the matter. Moving my head with expert precision, I stroke her arm with my horn, which leads to her lying down on top of me instead of sitting.

    ¡°You still smell like smoke¡­¡±

    Geez, rude¡­ Of course I smell like smoke, I¡¯m a dragon! Feeling my indignation, she taps my head a few times as she chuckles at me.

    Leaving that behind, we head for Raya¡¯s place to see if the weirdly strong goblin is home. Lauren did say we needed to tell people, so we might as well make an event of it. Following the marks on the buildings and cheating by looking over the buildings, we make it to Raya¡¯s place in no time. I don¡¯t even get to consider knocking before she opens the door, already wearing her mended dress. She gets it.

    Before I have time to react, she runs up to my midsection and uses my limbs as jumping points, allowing her to reach all the way onto me somehow. She¡¯s getting way too good at that.

    Joining Lauren on my head, we exchange quick greetings as Raya asks where we¡¯re headed: Joras¡¯ place.

    Since I don¡¯t have to slow down for anyone, we make it there in very little time. This town is a lot smaller now that I¡¯m a lot bigger.

    Joras opens the door as I¡¯m once again cheated of my knocking needs, and as he asks what we¡¯re up to, I let him know that we¡¯re going for a group event and I¡¯m the boss, so he has to get ready and bring Lily and Jeannie.

    ¡°How did you know Jeannie slept here?¡±

    ¡°I can smell her, now hurry up, we¡¯ve got a schedule to keep.¡±

    We don¡¯t have a schedule, but this is a rare opportunity to rush the orderly elf. It takes a while with some bickering from the building, leading me to lie down for a bit. Joras is the first to exit his house, wearing quite the snazzy explorer outfit. He¡¯s got the sturdy boots, tucked-in pants, a fancy shirt, and a vest with a lot of straps holding potions. I¡¯m not sure what he¡¯s expecting here, but I guess it¡¯s good to be prepared.

    One thing does become clear, though: I haven¡¯t prepared, and I¡¯m not sure how I¡¯m gonna carry all these people. The weight isn¡¯t a problem, but the seating arrangements are.

    Jeannie, Lily, and Forest Lady soon join him in the doorway, and I let them know to just find somewhere on me to hang on, so they¡¯ll be safe while we fly. Joras raises an eyebrow to go with that smug smile of his, but I¡¯ll just ignore that. I¡¯ve washed my claws of responsibility by throwing the job in their direction.

    With Joras helping, everyone gets on, and it turns out that with my new size, the space between the spines on my back has also widened, allowing for people to sit between them. Though it¡¯s clear that I¡¯ll need to be careful still, I wouldn¡¯t want to squish anyone by stretching too much.

    With everyone somewhat securely loaded, we head for the town square so we can take off and head out. Our troop draws quite a bit of attention, and as soon as I hit the open area, I spread my wings, and we set off.

    We¡¯re gonna have half a day at my lake before I have to meet up with Wreyn. Flying over the forest with my friends feels fantastic, and the prospect of watery fun even more so.

    With a gentle-ish landing, I lie down, allowing everyone to dismount, and Raya is the first to throw off her clothes and rush into the water, splashing all over the place. Jeannie joins her shortly after, and it quickly devolves into a stampede to reach the lake and spray each other.

    Of course I¡¯m joining them! With significantly less speed than I thought I had, I run through the rocky and sandy beach and splash into the water, causing waves all over the place. Moving into the deeper area, I submerge most of my body and just take a moment to watch my friends on the lakeshore. Raya is throwing water around, Jeannie is cautiously standing in the shadow of Lauren as the taller woman starts a water fight with Raya, water splashing everywhere.

    It takes a moment for me to spot Forest Lady, since she has wandered off and now she''s groping my tree for some reason. Good choice of tree, that one¡¯s my favorite. Joras and Lily seem content to just watch the rest of them, and Shadow Man is looking as ominous as ever. If Neithro were here, we¡¯d have all of my best friends in one spot. The sight of Lauren laughing catches my eye, but it¡¯s clear to me that most of her joy is just a fa?ade to fool the others into not worrying about her.

    Wait¡­

 Chapter 37: Learning More

    If you end up reading this, I wanna say that it occurred to me that I didn¡¯t credit you for having helped me settle on a path, and now that I have thought about it, I wanted to ask whether you wanted some credit or if you¡¯d rather no attention be drawn to it.

    The Shadow Man is just standing there like a weirdo, but more importantly, he¡¯s pointing at Lauren¡­

    ¡°Lauren, why is the Shadow Man pointing at you? What aren¡¯t you telling me?¡±

    She freezes and the area becomes flooded with the smell of her fear. It¡¯s pretty obvious that she¡¯s been hiding something important that I very much need to know. Feeling a glare growing on my face, I take a breath and calm my emotions. I have to be supportive and show that I¡¯m not angry with her.

    ¡°Lauren, we can''t help you if you don¡¯t tell us what¡¯s going on. If the Shadow Man thinks it¡¯s important enough to show up, it means that it is. Tell us what¡¯s going on and we can all think of a solution.¡±

    ¡°They infected me with Vile Steel¡­ This is not something we can fight, Kira. All I can do is prepare for my death, and I had hoped to have a little fun before I had to face reality¡­¡±

    ¡°Why did the adventurers do this to you? You were one of them. Do you need me to rough them up for you?¡±

    Tears well up in her eyes as she struggles to look at me. Abandoning my comfortable, watery bed, I move to her and give her a nudge, making sure she knows I¡¯m on her side.

    ¡°They didn¡¯t know. The Guild members are just pawns for whatever is doing all of this. When they brought me to the leaders of the defensive force, I was enthralled by a spell as soon as the guards left and took me into the catacombs. I tried to break the spell, but whenever I did, an intense pain struck me, forcing me to surrender to the cursed magic again. I was too weak¡­ I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, Kira, but you have to stop it. Please. Just leave me and focus on the larger threat.¡±

    Bad news for Lauren, I¡¯m not a big picture kinda person. But I am at a bit of a loss for how to help her. At least we have a bunch of clever cookies around, so we have to think of a way to do something. Although I may have to face the music and partake in the bigger picture soon¡­ I can¡¯t ignore them hurting the people close to me, and it¡¯s clear that I haven¡¯t done enough to make it common knowledge that doing so has consequences.

    The thought of this stuff reaching Tuiran scares me, the whole soul destruction thing is terrifying. How the hell am I even supposed to stay away from this Vile Steel nonsense while also stopping it?! That¡¯s an impossible ask! Looking down at Lauren, I give her a lick to soothe her, letting her know that I¡¯ll be here for her.

    I¡¯m not sure the others will be, though. Aside from Raya, they¡¯re still fixated on Shadow Man for some reason. He looks like he always does, so there isn¡¯t anything new there. At least now that they¡¯ve seen him, perhaps they¡¯ll remember when I bring him up in the future, but I never did test that with Neithro. Not taking his eyes off the shadowy figure, Joras partially turns to me as he throws a question my way.

    ¡°Kira, what is that thing? It radiates tremendous power, and it''s not of this world¡­¡±

    Well, that¡¯s a bit rude. Shadow Man hasn¡¯t been anything but helpful, so as far as I¡¯m concerned, he¡¯s welcome to stay. Of course, I repeat everything I¡¯ve already said about the Shadow Man, including the previous times I did that, but that just confuses people, as far as I can tell. They are less discomforted by him now that I¡¯ve approved of him, so that¡¯s something.

    I am curious about what he is, though. Lily joins Joras in throwing questions around about what he is, what he wants, and stuff like that, but Shadow Man is the quiet type, resulting in their questions remaining unanswered.

    It¡¯s a little annoying that they¡¯re focusing on the Shadow Man so much, we¡¯ve got more important stuff to deal with than some harmless gas person or intangible threats from Plainshold. We should definitely be focusing on curing Lauren of this thing and saving her. And for that, we need more information.

    ¡°Focus, people! I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m the one who has to be the voice of concentration today, geez! We have to think of Lauren! Speaking of... Lauren, do you know why they did this to you? You¡¯re a champion, so it has to have been far too risky.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why they did it. Vile Steel needs powerful souls and mine has been empowered by the Divine¡­ I¡¯m sorry, Kira, I shouldn¡¯t have gone alone¡­¡±

    I can¡¯t fault her for not bringing a multi-ton flying tank of a beast like me on a diplomatic mission... Admittedly, there is a small chance that I have a tendency to cause a mess, whether that¡¯s my fault or not is debatable, but that¡¯s not important now anyway.

    As we¡¯ve been talking, everyone has gathered around, a clear sign of the new found-family we have acquired. They¡¯re all here to support her in her time of need, and there¡¯s no doubt in my heart that they¡¯d step up to the plate at a moment¡¯s notice. We¡¯ll find a solution for sure!

    I just don¡¯t know how¡­ Nobody else is chipping in with ideas either, leaving silence to fall over the area. There is one person who knew this was going on though, so looking at Shadow Man, I send him some pleading eyes, hoping he¡¯ll take pity on us and solve all of our problems. Of course, he doesn¡¯t. He just stands there looking ominous¡­ It almost makes me want to smack him, but this isn¡¯t his fault.

    Having noted the change in mood, Joras approaches and asks what¡¯s going on. After giving him a quick recap, he furrows his brow and thinks for a moment.

    ¡°Have you asked your Goddess for assistance, Lauren?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ My plan was to enjoy a few more days here, and then pray for her to smite me, purifying this evil thing growing inside me, so it stops with me.¡±

    Okay, yeah, I can¡¯t allow that. Geez¡­ Nobody¡¯s getting smote on my watch. We just have to figure out some way to cure her or something. Instead of standing in the lake, everyone moves to the lakeshore and settles around in a circle, focusing on Lauren. Silence dominates the area until the fearless Raya chips in with a question, clearly having listened in on the recap for Joras.

    ¡°If it eats magic, how come you don¡¯t just feed it Kira¡¯s magic? She has so much, so it might leave Lauren alone since she¡¯s so weak.¡±

    Lauren sends her a glare, which Raya just returns with a toothy grin, demanding they prove her idea to be a bad one or try it out. I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s how it works, and I would really rather have some assurances of success before experimenting on someone I like. But the only way I can think of for testing it out is to try it on someone else, and I¡¯m not about to expose others to whatever that wrong thing is.

    I think I might have to go back to Plainshold and try out some things on the Vile Steel already there, but I can¡¯t really touch it, and I don¡¯t want to risk anyone else¡¯s life.

    ¡°If it happened in a dumb human town, we can just go to the dumb human town and find out what happened, right? No more sulking, it¡¯s time to solve the problem the goblin way! Do whatever you think of first! And I think we should explore where it happened!¡±

    Raya¡¯s cheerful attitude certainly does manage to raise my spirits, and all I¡¯m contributing is sitting on my claws feeling bad about the whole thing, so maybe we should let her steer.

    ¡°Commander Raya! I will follow your orders, lead us to victory!¡±

    Giving her permission to boss me around causes a dangerous glint to form in her eyes, making me worry a little, but she hasn¡¯t steered me wrong yet.

    ¡°Okay, everyone! I am Captain Raya and I¡¯m the boss of all of you! Bow before my authority! Joras, you make sure Lauren is comfortable. Jeannie, you make sure Lauren is kept in good company. Tiffy, you stay a safe distance away from Lauren so you don¡¯t shock her. Lily, you do Lily things. Lauren, you focus on preparing to teach Kira how to speak your dumb language, because she keeps being too busy to show up for Joras¡¯ teachings. Skull, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing, but you¡¯re weird. Kira, you and I will go investigate Plainshold! That¡¯s the best plan we have, because it¡¯s mine, and that¡¯s why we¡¯re doing it!¡±

    Throughout her speech, she manages to jump around on me, landing on my limb closest to whoever she is currently addressing. That was all well and fine until she got to me. With one foot resting on my lower lip and a hand grabbing my nostril, she swings around her dagger to look intimidating as she shouts about how we¡¯re going to Plainshold and finding out what is going on there.

    The tickling sensation in my nose makes my eyes water as I fight back a sneeze. With the agility of something I can¡¯t think of, but really agile, Raya jumps onto my head just as I involuntarily unleash a torrent of flame into the sky. Dragon sneezes are dangerous, geez.

    The mood in our little group does seem to have lightened because of Raya¡¯s enthusiasm. I don¡¯t even get time to worry about the efficacy of her plan before she taps my head with her feet, telling me to get moving. I do as she commands, creating some distance from the group before taking off.

    I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s just making stuff up as she goes, but that is a tried-and-true method for not sitting around twiddling our claws. As we''re flying, she''s somehow able to just stand on top of me like a maniac as we fly toward the ruined town.

    Instead of being worried, I¡¯m kinda excited to find out what Raya might do, which serves to emphasize that I¡¯ve neglected her lately with everything that has been going on. Once we get Lauren healthy again, I¡¯m gonna be more responsible! In the context of my friends, at least. I¡¯m not about to set unattainable goals here.

    ¡°Faster, mighty steed! We must reach the ruins by nightfall!¡±

    Okay, but that was never in question. Even slowing my flight, we¡¯ll be there quite fast. Regardless, we speed up, letting the magic flow as Raya digs one of her heels in to stabilize herself. Aside from the odd demand and order from Captain Raya, which she seems to have settled on instead of commander, the flight is uneventful.

    As we reach the walls of Plainshold, it becomes clear that my flames are a lot more dangerous than I had imagined. The earthwoven wall has a huge gap of melted rock in it. Geez, no wonder people fled. I am a little proud, though, that¡¯s a lot of destruction.

    ¡°Did you do that, Kira?¡±

    There''s a mix of worry and excitement in her voice as she asks me. And me being unable to restrain myself, I give her an enthusiastic affirmative. In return, I get a bonk on the head, leaving me to wonder what I did wrong.

    ¡°It¡¯s impressive, but it¡¯s a bit much. Next time, don¡¯t burn down the town.¡±

    That¡¯s fair¡­ But they started it, so I¡¯m not entirely to blame here. Instead of arguing my case and risking another bonk, I leave it and focus on remembering where that place Shaft showed me was. Increasing our altitude, I spot the town square where I fought Shaft¡¯s group, and I figure if I land there, I can retrace our steps.

    Aiming for the scorch marks from my fight with Shaft and friends, we land with a gentle thump, and Raya jumps down to inspect the scenery. Moving through the charred cone of scorched stone, she kicks up a small ash cloud, finding the exact spot where the barrier guy died.

    Touching her fingers to the ground, she rubs the char and brings it to her mouth before tasting it. That seems irresponsible, she shouldn¡¯t just put things in her mouth like that, it could carry germs and stuff.

    ¡°What did you kill here? The magic is strange."

    I tell her about the guy who blocked my entire tail swipe attack and that I just burned him away after, but when the heck did she become able to detect magic? If that¡¯s something she¡¯s gotten from me, I need to pay more attention to it. I know I can tell when someone casts spells, but if I can infer how strong the magic is in a given area, I could use that for... I can¡¯t think of anything I can use it for right now, but I¡¯m sure it would be useful.

    ¡°It¡¯s this way.¡±

    She seems very confident, so I ask how she knows, and I don¡¯t like her answer one bit¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s easy, I can see how your weight pushed down the stones in the street, so I can just follow your tracks.¡±

    Seems a bit rude to focus on my weight like that, but as I lower my head to the ground to see it from her perspective, I see that it¡¯s true. I haven¡¯t made a mess of the streets, but there¡¯s a clear waviness to the cobblestones.

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    Moving very slowly behind Captain Raya, we move toward the fancy house, which I suspect will be even less fancy now that the fire has died down.

    ¡°Kira, dig here.¡±

    She¡¯s indicating to the side of the street, and I do as she tells me. It doesn¡¯t take long before I hit the weird metal again and feel the telltale magic drain. Knowing more about what I¡¯m up against, I make sure to dig out a much larger area so the air pollution from it doesn¡¯t get as concentrated as it did before.

    Continuing my excavation, Raya jumps into the hole and inspects the bumpy exterior walls of the catacombs. Glancing over at her, I see her reaching out for the bumpy wall. Geez, that¡¯s reckless. Yelling for her to stop, she jumps back as I startle her.

    ¡°What was that for?! You frightened me, Kira!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s dangerous, Raya! That stuff drains magic and eats souls, why would you touch it?!¡±

    In response to my dire warnings, she just shrugs and places her hand on it. And as I¡¯m waiting for something big to happen, I¡¯m left with mixed feelings. I don¡¯t like being wrong, but I do like my friend not getting her soul eaten by weird danger metal.

    ¡°It¡¯s not doing anything to me.¡±

    She pulls out her dagger and starts carving away at the material, the stuff breaking away without much effort. Just how magical is Raya? Geez¡­

    ¡°Open your mouth, Kira. I wanna try something with your venom.¡±

    Following orders like a dutiful little dragon, I open my mouth and she starts rummaging around my teeth, scooping up globs of venomous saliva. Watching it cling to her makes me a little uncomfortable, it looks like thick egg white and she just carries it like¡­ I have no idea what I would even compare that to¡­

    As she reaches the steel again, she starts rubbing my venom all over it, which does in fact cause a reaction, like rapid oxidation. I don¡¯t think I can make enough venom to rust away this entire structure. As she continues working, I''m surprised to find that the rusty Vile Steel takes on a pleasant odor and I kinda wanna eat it...

    She repeats the process until my mouth feels unnaturally dry and uncomfortable, and I¡¯m not sure what her endgame is here, but if I can stop the growth of this stuff, then that is a definite win. Watching Raya spreading out my venom is interesting and all, but I¡¯m getting quite thirsty, and the hole she¡¯s making isn¡¯t big enough for me to get inside.

    But I can look inside! The interior seems to be brick flooring with a mix of wood, brick, an Vile Steel for the walls. It is large enough that I should be able to crawl around in there, but I would have to watch my wings, so I don¡¯t bump them against the ceiling.

    Though I¡¯m not sure I wanna go down there, I don¡¯t really know how intense the Vile Steel contents in the air would be, which is definitely dangerous. Looking around some more, the place definitely looks deserted. They must have quite some resources if they abandon a place like this at a moment¡¯s notice.

    Unperturbed by the threat of all the possible threats, Raya jumps into the catacombs and starts exploring.

    ¡°It¡¯s safe, you can come in, Kira!¡±

    ¡°How?! I don¡¯t fit through the hole you made!¡±

    ¡°Not so fun being big now, huh?¡±

    She¡¯s just laughing at me as she wanders off... As the main producer of my venom, I take it upon myself to replenish my supply, and for that, I¡¯m pretty sure I need to quench my thirst. Shouting for Raya, I ask if she¡¯s fine with me leaving to get a drink, and she lets me know that she¡¯ll be fine.

    ¡°Shut up! Your voice is very loud in here, and it shakes everything! Go get some water, I¡¯ll be fine! I¡¯m the toughest goblin ever!¡±

    Even with her reassurances, I am a little hesitant to leave her alone, but I also wanna trust that she¡¯s right about being strong enough to fight off whatever they may throw at her. And if she isn¡¯t, she can draw on my power.

    I am pretty sure I saw a well by the square, though, so retracing my steps again, I walk back there and, as I do, I take a moment to look around. The fires sure did spread fast, and that¡¯s definitely something I have to be mindful of in the future. I wouldn¡¯t want to accidentally burn down Wreyn¡¯s town. I¡¯m confident he wouldn¡¯t be pleased with that.

    Sticking my head into some of the more open ruined buildings, I sniff around, but I don¡¯t smell anything of value to me, which suggests that people had time to leave before I got here. It¡¯s a shame the fire spread so much, but I don¡¯t regret my assault.

    Pulling my head back into the street, I continue on my way toward the square in search of this mythical well I might have seen. The moment I stand still before continuing my trek, I hear a tap, tap, clank in the distance, it keeps repeating and I¡¯m finding myself very curious all of a sudden.

    Once again, life has presented me with a difficult choice¡­ Sate my thirst or my curiosity. Taking a moment longer to think about it, it really isn¡¯t that difficult a choice. I can¡¯t leave whatever that tapping is to find Raya, so I have to find out if it¡¯s a threat or just some debris getting knocked around by the wind.

    Following the noise, I hide my own noise as much as I can by focusing on how my claws hit the ground, and trying to only walk on the fleshy bits of my feet. It mostly works, I¡¯m definitely making less noise than whatever I¡¯m tracking, but I still haven¡¯t picked up its scent yet.

    ¡°It stalks them as they search for the affront.¡±

    What the heck was that?

    ¡°They wonder if it chooses to be an enemy or ally.¡±

    ¡°Uhm¡­ Ally for now, I guess, what are you people and how are you talking to me?¡±

    Somehow I¡¯m hearing them inside my mind, and if this is how Lauren feels, I might have to be more vocal with her because whatever this is, it feels like something is caressing my brain with cold fingers. I don¡¯t like it.

    ¡°They accept its terms for a temporary truce.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not an ''it,'' you know.¡±

    ¡°They apologize to the Dragon.¡±

    ¡°My name is Kira, not ¡®the dragon!¡¯¡±

    ¡°They apologize to Kiranot the Dragon.¡±

    Great, now the weird voice in my head is being snarky¡­ At least that¡¯s better than being hostile. I still haven¡¯t managed to find them, and the tapping stopped when I started hearing the voice in my head, so I haven¡¯t got much to go on here.

    ¡°Where are you?¡±

    ¡°They ask that Kiranot the Dragon remember the truce.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m a dragon of my word.¡±

    As soon as I say that I¡¯ll keep my word, a robed figure with a long staff comes out from behind a corner and it¡¯s looking decidedly undead, so that¡¯s a little alarming. The being¡¯s skull is decorated with gems and inlaid with gold, and I have no idea how I couldn¡¯t smell such wonderful materials. The robe they¡¯re wearing looks fancy as hell. Black material with deep purple highlights and more gold and jewels than I¡¯ve ever seen. I want it.

    ¡°They see Kiranot the Dragon carrying a prisoner locked in torment. They wish to bargain for the prisoner¡¯s Soul.¡±

    Okay, I have no idea what that means, but I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m not carrying any prisoners. I also wanna know what this affront is that they¡¯re searching for, so I do the obvious thing and just ask about both the prisoner and the affront... No point in beating around the bush.

    In response to my questions, the skeleton walks up next to me and taps my stom- I don¡¯t feel so well... Feeling my stomach clench, I hurl all over the place, struggling to stay standing. Catching sight of the mess in front of me, I''m quite tempted to go find Raya and take her home...

    Somehow I threw up a different skeleton¡­ I think that might be the healer. Geez, I need to chew more.

    ¡°They see the prisoner has been released from Kiranot the Dragon. They wish to interrogate the prisoner."

    ¡°Fine, but no more making me puke, that was very uncomfortable¡­ And I want a lot of repayment for my inconvenience.¡±

    ¡°They accept the terms proposed by Kiranot the Dragon.¡±

    Looking at the skeleton on the ground covered in bile and what-have-you, it starts writhing and that makes me really uncomfortable. That thing was inside me?! Geez¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure it wasn¡¯t a skeleton when I ate it. I¡¯m pretty sure the only person I¡¯ve eaten whole was that healer working with Shaft¡­ mostly whole¡­

    ¡°Is that thing an undead like you?¡±

    ¡°The prisoner is unliving, but the prisoner is not the same as they. The prisoner is of the Dead King¡¯s Legion.¡±

    I can¡¯t help but notice that Skelly here didn¡¯t tell me what they are, and I still haven¡¯t heard about this affront business. I don¡¯t even get time to be indignant and pouty about it before Skelly touches the Healer with that staff of theirs. The rattling bones of the healer make it pretty clear that whatever Skelly is doing is very uncomfortable.

    ¡°The prisoner has told them that Kiranot the Dragon knows about the Affront. Does the prisoner speak the truth?¡±

    ¡°Depends, what¡¯s the affront?¡±

    ¡°They wonder if Kiranot the Dragon is hiding knowledge... They choose to believe Kiranot the Dragon does not know what they mean. They explain that the Affront is undone Souls made manifest. They explain that the Affront is offensive to those unliving as they. They point out that Kiranot the Dragon is a beast of Magic and Soul, much like they are a being of Magic and Soul. They and Kiranot the Dragon are both in danger near the Affront.¡±

    Well, that clears it up. Skelly is definitely talking about the Vile Steel. I still need to get a drink, though, so with the mystery of the tapping solved, I ask Skelly if they know where I can find a water source.

    ¡°They can conjure water for Kiranot the Dragon in exchange for a taste of Kiranot the Dragon¡¯s Soul.¡±

    Yeah, no¡­ I¡¯m not up for someone tasting me like that. It¡¯s creepy, and I don¡¯t like the sound of it.

    ¡°They explain that Kiranot the Dragon contains one point four Souls. They explain that Kiranot the Dragon produces more Soul energy than Kiranot the Dragon can contain. They soothe the worries Kiranot the Dragon carries.¡±

    ¡°Saying you¡¯re soothing my worries isn¡¯t soothing my worries¡­ It just makes me more uncomfortable and worried...¡±

    I think I might have to re-evaluate my weirdo scale¡­ This skeleton has Merciferus beat by so much. I wanna rejoin Raya so I can experience some normalcy again. In fact, I¡¯m gonna return to the entrance to the catacombs and find her. I¡¯m sure she has found something interesting by now.

    Moving along, I hear the tapping from Skelly behind me as they follow along, and the pace I¡¯m going doesn¡¯t really match the tapping along with them being able to keep up with me. Looking back, I see the skeleton floating, so why am I still hearing the tapping sounds? And what happened to the prisoner? I completely forgot about that guy. Throwing the question at Skelly, I get a reply that leaves me feeling even more uncomfortable.

    ¡°They consumed the prisoner. They can offer refreshments for Kiranot the Dragon.¡±

    On one hand, refreshments sound nice, but on the other, it also sounds like it¡¯s literally soul food. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m ready for that, I kinda hope I won¡¯t ever be ready for that. Though this might be an opportunity for me to learn more about myself as we walk.

    ¡°Hey Skelly, how come the prisoner could survive inside me?¡±

    ¡°They explain the Dragon''s digestive system to Kiranot the Dragon. They explain that Dragons consume magic. They explain that Dragons unravel the material to generate magic. They explain that Dragons do not consume Souls, leaving the Soul of the prisoner stuck within Kiranot the Dragon.¡±

    Well, that sounds like something that needs a lot more explanation, but as far as I can tell, Skelly isn¡¯t big on actually explaining things. Wait, what about the other things I''ve eaten? Are their souls also stuck inside me? I hope not, that would be creepy.

    Leaving that uncomfortable line of thought unexplored, I focus on us nearing the hole Raya entered. We¡¯re still a bit away, so I give a little shout to her to let her know we¡¯re coming.

    In response, I get hit in the noggin by a rock from above. Looking up, I see Raya sitting on a charred support beam and she¡¯s looking mighty smug.

    ¡°What took you so long, Kira? And where did you pick up that bag of bones?¡±

    ¡°They greet the First of Kiranot the Dragon¡¯s court. They focus on the Affront nearby.¡±

    Skelly just wanders off after calling Raya the first of my court¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure I don¡¯t have a court, but if I did, I would be proud to have her on it. I¡¯m not sure how good I¡¯d be at sports as a dragon.

    Raya is quick to jump down from her perch and grab hold of one of my horns, using it to swing around and land on my head with a little more force than I would appreciate.

    ¡°You find some weird things, Kira. But I found some weird things this time too!¡±

    As is entirely mandatory, I point out that I found her, earning me a bonk, followed by her pointing to where she has dumped a bunch of weird tools, gadgets, and bodies... Those bodies look suspiciously stabbed, and I suspect Raya may have been the cause. Prodding her about it, she¡¯s quick to show a toothy grin.

    ¡°Yeah! They tried to attack me, but I got them first! I don¡¯t even need magic anymore. I don¡¯t need my dagger either, but I like it.¡±

    It is a pretty dagger. Her trademark dagger is a quite simple iron dagger, and the wear is starting to show, so it might be time I commission some of that famous Dragon¡¯s Gold I keep hearing about and have some made into a new, fancy dagger for her. Though I¡¯m a little curious why she wouldn¡¯t need her dagger for fighting, so I shake my head a little, causing her to struggle to hold on as I ask my question.

    ¡°My nails have become really tough and really sharp, much more than normal goblin nails, so I don''t really need my dagger anymore.¡±

    To demonstrate, she takes it upon herself to scratch up one of my scales. I don¡¯t recall approving that! I¡¯m not even sure how she manages it, but I can feel that she IS making scratches. Scratches in scales don¡¯t buff out, Raya!

    ¡°Where did your skeleton go?¡±

    Raya¡¯s question takes my attention away from my scratched-up scale, and I can¡¯t see Skelly either. I have no idea whether that skeleton is trustworthy or not, but so far, I¡¯m not getting pure soul-sucking vibes from them.

    ¡°They wish to know what substance has been applied to the Affront. They wish to weaponize it against the Cult of the Affront and the Dead King''s Legion.¡±

    Skelly is nowhere to be seen, but I guess sight or earshot isn¡¯t necessary for whatever method of communication they¡¯re using. With a few steps, I see the large hole I dug and the opening to the underground catacombs. Skelly is walking inside some sort of bubble, pushing away a weird mist I¡¯ve never seen before. I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s the Vile Steel dust that could kill me.

    I want a safety bubble too.

    ¡°Raya, what do you think? Should we tell Skelly what we used on the Vile Steel?¡±

    ¡°They encourage the First of Kiranot the Dragon¡¯s court to share the secrets. They express curiosity and utilize social adaptation to encourage favors.¡±

    Well, when they say it like that¡­ I don¡¯t know, though. It¡¯s a possible weapon against magical things that I could use to surprise an enemy in the future, and keeping some secrets, I feel, is a very good idea, so I don''t think I''ll share that just yet.

    ¡°It¡¯s Kira¡¯s venom, Joras says it disrupts magic, and the more complex the magic is, the more effective the venom is.¡±

    I¡¯m gonna have to find some other secrets to keep, apparently. The tapping speeds up and Skelly comes rushing out of the catacombs, reuniting with Raya and me.

    ¡°They do not understand. They can see that Kiranot the Dragon¡¯s specialty is primordial flame. They have not known a Dragon to have two specialties. They hypothesize it is because of Kiranot the Dragon¡¯s mutated Soul. They wish to taste Kiranot the Dragon¡¯s Soul to learn more.¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°They are displeased. They threaten violence in the hopes of Kiranot the Dragon fearing them enough to allow it.¡±

    ¡°Can you defeat me? Or hurt me enough to take anything from me?¡±

    ¡°They cannot. They are not built for combat.¡±

    Not really much of a threat if Skelly just admits that they can¡¯t defeat me. I don¡¯t know why, but Skelly is weirdly endearing to me. I wonder if I can keep an undead as a pet.

    With a wave of Skelly¡¯s hand, I feel a little sick again as one of the things Raya defeated rises up and starts lumbering about and I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s necromancy. And I¡¯m pretty sure necromancy isn¡¯t allowed, but Skelly seems entirely indifferent to that rule.

    ¡°They request Kiranot the Dragon to use her venom on the risen Cultist.¡±

    Sure, buddy, that¡¯s not a big ask. Given that licking is reserved for only my best of friends and those I feel like licking, I opt for just spitting on this thing. It takes a while, but whenever my venomous spit lands on any of the cultist''s body parts, it stops moving as the body stiffens again. Am I an anti-undead weapon?!

    ¡°They are pleased with the results of Kiranot the Dragon¡¯s venom. They request a vial to analyze. They wish to understand the venom.¡±

    That seems like a risky proposition for me, since this unknown entity that has only managed to reach truce status...

 Chapter 38: Where Dust Settles

    If we didn¡¯t have to focus on learning more about this vile steel affront business, I might have wanted to explore this mutated soul stuff. But that¡¯s another thing I¡¯ll have to shelve. It does seem very valuable to know that my venom has quite an effect on this material, and I think that might be useful for helping Lauren. We just need to figure out how.

    ¡°Captain Raya, we need a decision about what to do now. Where do we go from here?¡±

    I¡¯m sure she looks pensive as she stomps back and forth on my head. Stopping on my nose, she raises a hand into the air and proudly summarizes our needs.

    ¡°What we need is someone who knows a lot about this stuff and how it affects those afflicted by it. Then we can trade that knowledge and maybe a cure for something else.¡±

    ¡°They know much of the Affront. They cannot undo the damage done.¡±

    That¡¯s only somewhat helpful, and I already have a good idea of what this soul-tasting weirdo wants. It does seem prudent to learn what Skelly knows, so maybe we should trade some venom for knowledge. Especially if Skelly¡¯s faction is warring against this Dead Jerk¡¯s Legion.

    ¡°And would you trade your knowledge for some of Kira¡¯s venom? We would need a lot of knowledge since the venom is so valuable!¡±

    She drives a hard bargain, still swinging around that dagger of hers. I¡¯m a little worried about it ending up in my eye with all this movement going on.

    ¡°They will consider this trade. They bring up a debt owed for the prisoner. They consider the breadth of repayment options.¡±

    I forgot about that. To be fair, I was busy being sick because of some sort of evil vomit magic. Now that I think about it, all Skelly would have to do to defeat me is just keep casting that spell until I give up. Geez, I need to keep that to myself.

    ¡°You¡¯re making bags of bones owe you a debt now, Kira?¡±

    ¡°Yep! I¡¯m very entrepreneurial.¡±

    I wonder what sort of things I might be able to extort from this undead person. I¡¯m sure some old faction like that has a lot of very valuable things I could use. Of course, if they offered to cure Lauren, I would take that in a heartbeat.

    ¡°Skelly, what can you do to help my friend, exactly?¡±

    ¡°They ponder the question. They struggle to reach a desirable answer. They seek guidance from their patron. They receive revelation. They suggest the creation of a phylactery. They explain the creation of a Lich.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure Lauren would appreciate becoming undead, but from the sounds of it, that¡¯s one possible solution, which is a start.

    ¡°They offer an audience with their patron in exchange for a taste, a vial of venom, and a cleared debt.¡±

    That seems like a lot, and it doesn¡¯t really tell us what Skelly¡¯s patron is, but it feels like a dangerous thing to agree to. So far, Raya hasn¡¯t rushed to agree, making me suspect that she¡¯s feeling cautious too.

    Giving the sky a look, I notice how the sun is setting and it¡¯ll be dark soon. I don¡¯t really wanna stand around here all day, and I also have that meeting with Wreyn. Since I¡¯m a little curious, I toss a question Skelly¡¯s way about how this tasting would affect me, the risks involved, and whether it would come back to hurt me somehow.

    Skelly then goes on to explain how it wouldn¡¯t affect me at all, really. There¡¯s no risk involved because of my mutated soul being more powerful than it should be, but it would attune Skelly to my particular brand of magic, allowing them to more easily affect me with their magic. That is most certainly a risk I don¡¯t like.

    Demanding more information on the last part, Skelly gives me some quick information about how they aren¡¯t one person. Once they have become attuned, then the parts they''re made up of would also become attuned, allowing them to spread the attunement in a diminished form to those who have sourced parts from the same bodies. Geez, they just go around exchanging body parts? Undead are weird¡­

    The back and forth continues for a while between Raya and Skelly, most of their chat is just Raya throwing Skelly a bunch of random questions about being a skeleton. It turns out that if they break a bone, they just go find a replacement. I didn¡¯t ask where they found a replacement, but Raya seems to think that makes perfect sense.

    ¡°Skelly, if I agree to this trade, can you promise me that you won¡¯t share that attunement with others and that you won¡¯t use it against me?¡±

    ¡°They seek approval from their patron. They have been granted approval from their patron. They wish to taste Kiranot the Dragon.¡±

    ¡°Fine. I want you and your patron to help Lauren get rid of the affront, and in exchange, you may have a taste, some venom, and you won¡¯t owe me anything.¡±

    Somehow, Skelly just pulls a vial out of thin air and throws it to Raya, followed by absolutely exploding in a cloud of dust! WHAT THE HELL! What was that?!

    ¡°Kira! What did you do?! You can¡¯t just explode skeletons because they¡¯re weird!¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me, Raya! I didn¡¯t do anything! I felt a weird, tingly sensation, and then Skelly exploded! I have no idea what happened!¡±

    I feel like we might have to leave the crime scene before Skelly¡¯s patron, whatever it is, shows up. I have no idea how it might react to Skelly being extra dusty.

    ¡°Raya, grab Skelly¡¯s robe and stuff, we¡¯re getting out of here.¡±

    Lowering my head, she jumps down and starts collecting the stuff left behind by Skelly¡¯s mysterious explosion. Using the skeleton¡¯s robes as a bag for everything, she collects a surprising amount of baubles. My best guess is that Skelly had a bunch of jewelry attached to their ribs and such as well, so that¡¯ll be a nice haul. That I¡¯ll return if their patron shows up, of course.

    As soon as we return to Tuiran, I¡¯ll need to put Joras to work figuring out how we can turn my venom into an antidote for Lauren. It could end up being quite important in the future, so I want him to dedicate as much time to that as possible, and that means no distractions!

    With Raya jumping up on me again, we rush to the square so we can take off. I¡¯d rather spend as little time as possible at this crime scene before that patron fellow shows up and demands answers.

    The sun is setting in the distance, and if I want to visit Wreyn, it''ll be quite late, but I don''t think he''ll mind that if I actually show up today. I wanna bring Raya, since she''s pretty good at casual conversations with new people. She sure did hit it off with Skelly before the skeleton¡¯s untimely demise.

    At least we got out of there with an idea of how to proceed. That¡¯s a very good start, and when Joras solves everything, it¡¯ll be even better!

    With Raya somewhat securely seated on me, we leave Plainshold behind, hopefully for the last time. I haven¡¯t really had any good experiences in that place, and I guess they haven¡¯t had any good experiences with me visiting. Once we sort out this Lauren being sick business, I should look into helping out the people who used to live there. It really was the adventurers I was mad at. I still am, they¡¯re jerks, but the citizens haven''t done anything aside from harboring the jerks.

    ¡°Raya, do you wanna join me for a trip to Oakhold when we finish overworking Joras?¡±

    ¡°Are you going to cause problems in Oakhold too? I don¡¯t think Neithro would like that.¡±

    I do other things than cause problems! Dang it, I can¡¯t think of any examples right now¡­ Wait! I know! I hunt wolves and keep people safe, that¡¯s a good thing and it can¡¯t possibly cause problems. As I point that out, Raya is quick to dash my enthusiasm by pointing out that I¡¯ve caused quite a bad situation for the adventurers, which I guess I might have.

    ¡°So I can admit that I did cause a problem with my hunting, but the overall improvements outweigh it, right? And the adventurers can just hunt other things, right?¡°

    ¡°They did: you.¡±

    Right, there is that¡­ Well, I hope I¡¯ve discouraged any such foolishness now. I¡¯m reasonably confident that I¡¯ve made my stance clear on the topic of hunting me or my people. All I can do about that is hope for the best and stand firm if trouble arises.

    ¡°Raya, do you disapprove of what I¡¯ve done?¡±

    ¡°A little, but nah. They had it coming, and Neithro says that the regular people got out, so only dumb adventurers got hurt.¡±

    ¡°Well, and Lauren.¡±

    ¡°I know what I said.¡±

    Huh, that might be something I need to explore. If Raya is jealous of the time I¡¯ve been spending with Lauren, I¡¯ll definitely need to focus more on Raya and make sure she knows that she¡¯s still the most important person to me. She was the first person to give this overgrown lizard a chance, after all.

    ¡°Do you dislike Lauren, Raya?¡±

    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s just hard to forget what she is. I¡¯m trying, though. And she has helped a bunch around town, making sure people are safe and healthy. But I don¡¯t wanna talk about that, fly faster and higher, you overgrown lizard!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a lizard!¡±

    Having made my indignation clear, I do as she asks, pushing magic into my wings as we ascend into the skies at a steep angle. She¡¯s holding on tight as she yells in excitement. Building up speed, we do a loop as the centrifugal force keeps her from flying away.

    Evening out and going for a soar, we approach Tuiran and I¡¯m kinda curious what the others have been up to. Especially now that they had Shadow Man among them.

    ¡°Lauren, are you all back in town or still at the lake?¡±

    It¡¯s a fairly simple question, but I¡¯m not sure how to interpret the feeling of exasperation I get in return. We¡¯ll just check the town, now Lauren knows we¡¯re near, so I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll meet up with us.

    Naturally, we take a flight over the town square and my den to see if Lauren is there, but neither Raya nor I spot her, so instead I suggest we go to Joras¡¯ shop and appropriate some containers to start gathering my venom.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to carry around Skelly¡¯s items all night, Kira. Where do you want me to leave them?¡±

    That¡¯s a fair point, so after landing in the square, Raya and I head for my den to leave Skelly¡¯s items behind, so they¡¯re kept safe alongside my hoard. If they happen to end up mixed together, well, I can¡¯t be held accountable for that.

    Smelling around my den, it¡¯s obvious that Jeannie and Forest Lady are here. Forest Lady has this interesting smell of moss, trees, and lightning strikes, it¡¯s quite pleasant to be around. My den¡¯s own personal air-freshener. My own smell is more like smoke, burning, and blood. Raya¡¯s smell is one of the best though, she smells of fresh herbs, flowers, and energy. I¡¯ll never get tired of that.

    I don¡¯t know why, but Lauren is more comfort, familiarity, and home for some reason, and I think that might be part of why I¡¯ve grown to like her so fast. Smelling people is something I¡¯m definitely gonna keep indulging in, but I also need to be wary of threats that smell endearing.

    Redirecting my attention away from scent-based thinking, I instead choose to greet Jeannie as her door swings open. I¡¯m curious how she has decorated her room, but the door is so small that it¡¯s difficult to get my head low enough to see inside.

    I¡¯ll have to think of some sort of yoga stance to spy on Jeannie¡¯s interior design. For now, I throw a quick greeting her way and give her a nudge, asking if she knows where Lauren is. If it weren''t for my great hearing, I don¡¯t think I would have heard her over the noise of Raya rummaging through my stuff.

    ¡°Uhm... Joras invited her to visit him to keep her safe and study her infection.¡±

    She seems almost remorseful as she tells me, but there¡¯s no way she¡¯s at fault for anything, so she just gets another nudge and a tiny lick. Well, as tiny a lick as someone as big as me can do. Jeannie responds by hugging my nose before returning to her little den. It sounds like Jeannie and Forest Lady are really hitting it off. Good for them.

    Turning around to see what the heck Raya is doing, I¡­ uh¡­

    ¡°Help me, Kira. Please.¡±

    She¡¯s stuck in one of Skelly¡¯s sleeves! I have no idea how she has ended up in this situation, but she¡¯s thoroughly stuck and I don¡¯t have the dexterity to help her without ruining the very valuable piece of garment. I¡¯ll need someone to help out here, and asking Jeannie would be far too easy for Raya. Instead, I, with all the caution I can muster, pick up the robe with my lips and lift it up with Raya dangling in the sleeve as we leave my den behind.

    ¡°Nooo! Don¡¯t let anyone see the mighty Dragonbringer like this! Kira! Stop!¡±

    Obviously I¡¯m far too focused to pay her pleas any mind. It¡¯s around midnight now anyway, so nobody will see. Well, nobody except Joras, Lily, and Lauren. Feel the wrath of the mighty Dragon, Raya! This is my revenge for all the bonks! Mwahahaha!

    Raya squirms as she dangles, resulting in her swinging from side to side as her head sticks out of the bottom of the sleeve, I wish I could see it from a different perspective.

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    Trudging down the street, it turns out I have to be more careful than I¡¯m used to, otherwise, Raya will fly all over the place, and I might damage Skelly¡¯s robes. She has settled down a lot, though, which I suspect is to avoid drawing more attention to herself.

    Aside from the odd yelp from Raya, our trip to the elfchemist''s shop is uneventful, and I kinda miss a spectacle happening. For a moment I consider using Raya as a knocker, but I think that might be taking it too far. Instead I let out a growl to get the attention of Joras, and judging by the sounds of people using stairs, Raya is about to be mortified.

    ¡°Lily, it¡¯s for you.¡±

    Huh, Joras seems to just pass us on to Lily for some reason. He did look a little tired as he dragged a hand across his face.

    ¡°Oh, what a predicament you find yourself in, Raya. Do you wish for assistance? And where did you find something like this? The material is exquisite, and these enhancements are unbelievable. In addition to enhancements, it has enchantments as well! I would not be surprised if this robe could withstand your flame, Kira.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s nice, Lily, but could you help me out? Being upside down is getting annoying.¡±

    ¡°Oh, my apologies, Raya. Though could I ask for an opportunity to study these robes? They are fascinating, and if you see here, this type of gemstone is known to originate in the dwarven city of Irathmar¡¯s Anvil, the capital of the old dwarven empire. Ooh! And this is-¡±

    ¡°Lily! Please! Help me!¡±

    ¡°Oh, my apologies! Right away.¡±

    Watching Lily obsess over Skelly''s robes makes me a little relieved that I didn''t agree to let her gather the more accessible parts of my body for her magic stuff.

    Letting Raya down gently, Lily is quick to help the goblin out of her unfortunate situation, and I¡¯m getting the impression that I might not see Skelly¡¯s robe again now that Lily knows about it. As I let go of Raya, I glance through the doorway, spotting Lauren snickering on the stairs.

    ¡°Lauren, we found something that could lead to somewhere.¡±

    With a wave of confusion flying back to me, I let her in on all that we saw in the ruins of Plainshold, from corroding vile steel to it being called the affront, and everything else, except the exploding skeleton thing. I¡¯m not gonna become known for blowing things and people up. It¡¯s not something I do on purpose!

    The rummaging and tussling noises increase in front of me, and it looks like Raya is almost free with no damage to the robes. That¡¯s a relief, it would be a shame to ruin such an expensive and delicious item. With the help of Lily, Raya manages to get up, but she looks a little wobbly.

    Asking for Joras to rejoin us at the door, I explain what we found out in the ruins of Plainshold, including the non-exploding parts of meeting Skelly. Joras seems to think that there¡¯s something he might be able to do, since he¡¯s using a high-tier thinking brow right now.

    ¡°Kira blew up Skelly for no reason!¡±

    ¡°Dang it, Raya! Now is not the time to get even, we need to focus! And I did not blow up Skelly for no reason!¡°

    ¡°Then what was your reason?¡±

    ¡°I mean, I didn¡¯t blow up Skelly! I had no reason to!¡±

    ¡°That makes blowing up Skelly even worse!¡±

    Dang it, that is worse¡­ But I¡¯m not having this discussion! It¡¯s pretty clear that I¡¯m not making it better by engaging. In a fortunate stroke of luck, Joras seems to have woken up some more, and now he¡¯s asking questions, like who is Skelly, where did we get these robes, and other incriminating things. More importantly, he wants to know more about how my venom interacted with the vile steel stuff, and Raya is quick to explain. With that out of the way, we get down to business.

    First, we need to extract some of my venom and have him do experiments on it, or whatever alchemists do to figure out how stuff works. With a shrug, he gets to work and fetches a bunch of vials and bottles and turns the game around on me by ordering me to open wide. Doing as he tells me, I open my mouth as wide as I can and¡­ he gets scared.

    ¡°Relax, Joras, she doesn¡¯t bite!¡±

    ¡°Raya, we have plenty of evidence to the contrary, making it very clear that she does, in fact, bite.¡±

    That¡¯s fair, I have been known to bite. But I¡¯m not gonna bite Joras! Closing my mouth again, I give him a nudge and a lick to reassure him. Being the resourceful little elf that he is, he collects my saliva from the lick in a bottle and takes a few deep breaths.

    Raya, on the other hand, has no fear whatsoever. She just gets to work scooping globs of venom into containers, rummaging around my teeth to scoop out the viscous stuff just like she did in the ruins of Plainshold.

    ¡°Hey Lauren, why would Joras be scared of me? I didn¡¯t do anything.¡±

    Walking over to us, Lauren gives me a look and a small smile.

    ¡°Silly beast, you can open your mouth almost as far as I am tall, and with your growth, your teeth are larger too. Of course he¡¯s gonna get scared. Not only that, but he and Lily are the oldest ones here, it¡¯s likely that they or their parents were alive during the last true Dragon attack.¡±

    Huh, there is that¡­ It¡¯s still a bit rude, though. I just did as he asked, and all of a sudden, he¡¯s bombarding my nostrils with his fear smell and making me drool. That¡¯s on him. He does look a little embarrassed at his reaction, so we should be supportive when he''s ready to share.

    It takes a moment, but he does manage to gather up his courage to join Raya in the collection process. The weird sensation isn''t getting any better by having two of them work, and I¡¯m not sure I would allow it again if not for the obvious goal of saving Lauren. With the last bottle filled, Joras lets me know it¡¯s fine to shut my mouth again, and I can finally relax my muscles.

    Nudging Joras, I let him know that he¡¯s welcome to talk to me about any dragon-related traumatic events. We¡¯ve had a bunch of fun after all, so that''s something positive to draw on. I think it might just be a case of him needing to get used to my growth spurts and whatnot, but I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll get there again.

    ¡°I know, Kira. I know you wouldn¡¯t harm us, but you hold a tremendous amount of power and I worry. Though it is impressive how much you¡¯ve changed Tuiran for the better. Traders have begun importing metals for the blacksmith you gave Dragonflame. In exchange, the cost is subtracted from the enchanted metals, like Dragon''s Gold. We''re seeing more goods of all kinds as more traders associated with Immarderen arrive. The town is prospering under your guardianship.¡±

    Seems to me that he worries far too much, but that¡¯s okay, every group needs someone to worry. I am happy to hear that folks in my town are prospering, and I¡¯m curious how much that impacts what I get paid in tribute. I hope it¡¯s a bunch! With a few pats on my nose, he goes back into his shop and starts rummaging through a bunch of alchemical stuff. It seems he¡¯s preparing for tomorrow.

    Looking into the sky, I notice that we¡¯re a decent bit past midnight, and I¡¯m not sure whether to just go to Oakhold and visit Wreyn or have a snooze, leaving it for tomorrow. Nudging Raya, I leave the decision up to her as Lily and Lauren say goodnight. Before they leave, they get some goodnight nudges, too.

    As expected of Raya, she''s quick to decide that getting some sleep is best, so that¡¯s what we do. Before going our separate ways, she attempts to give me a nudge. It¡¯s arguably more of a headbutt, but she tries, and I appreciate it.

    On my way home, I can¡¯t help but think of how it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had to sleep alone, and I¡¯m happy to have so many great people around me. I might have to kidnap Jeannie for the night, though.

    For obvious reasons, I keep my nose ready as I walk through the streets of Tuiran, I never know what I might smell, and if it''s something dangerous, I wanna deal with it fast. To my relief, and a tinge of disappointment, I don''t find anything odd. So far as I can tell, tonight is as peaceful as ever. Unless someone has snuck in using one of those stupid sneaking potions, I hate those.

    Approaching my den, I find myself growing quite sleepy and looking forward to getting some rest. It¡¯s been quite an exciting few days.

    By the time I enter my den, my thoughts flow toward Jeannie and Forest Lady, and I¡¯m curious how they¡¯re managing to keep Forest Lady¡¯s shocks to a minimum. I¡¯ve got the whole magic absorption thing going, but it has to be dangerous for others if she gets startled. I guess that might be why she was living alone in the woods. Settling down on my hoard, I get comfortable and coil up most of the way, leaving a gap big enough for a goblin or human to pass through.

    ¡°Jeannie, I want company while I sleep, please.¡±

    Moments after I speak, the door creaks open and Jeannie''s face appears, showing none of her usual shyness. With impressive gusto, she rushes to me and jumps onto my arm, settling into the usual sleeping spot.

    A moment later, I spy Forest Lady approaching, she''s a lot more cautious around me than Jeannie is. Welcoming her into my embrace, she joins Jeannie and we settle in for the night, not a shock to be felt. With the two shy ones nuzzled up in the crook of my arm, as is customary for folks now, we soon fall asleep, allowing the day to end.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    I¡¯ve grown fairly accustomed to waking up to the gentle bustling of the town or the smooth voices of my friends talking nearby. Sometimes even Lauren¡¯s yelling, but I have yet to grow accustomed to getting freakin¡¯ shocked! I should have seen that coming. It feels like nightmares are fairly common in this weird world, and Forest Lady waking up scared is kinda expected.

    The shock caused me to jerk a bit, and she¡¯s even more scared now, refusing to look me in the eye as she backs away. Approaching her, I give her a nudge, earning me another shock, but that¡¯s okay, I prepared for it this time.

    ¡°Tiffy, usi er mora? [Tiffy, are you okay?]¡±

    ¡°Eb fhrah, Jeannie, e henwa du Themar¡­ [I¡¯m sorry, Jeannie, I hurt the Dragon¡­]¡±

    Not feeling like being left out, I ask Jeannie to translate for me, which she readily does. The first thing I learn is that Forest Lady¡¯s name is Tiffy, which I now feel like I¡¯ve heard before. I like it.

    Having Jeannie tell me that Tiffy feels bad for shocking me does make me chuckle a little. I get hurt more than that by being left alone in an empty room. Just look at the first time I went sightseeing in a new town, I got several arrows lodged in my body. Those arrows hurt more than Tiffy¡¯s shocks.

    I wonder what sort of criteria need to be met for Tiffy to shock people. It won¡¯t take long to find out. Leaving the two shy ones behind, I leave my den and rush toward the blacksmith. Hearing the gentle footsteps of their mighty Guardian Dragon, folks move aside to allow me passage on my journey to acquire a legendary Dragon¡¯s Gold sword.

    Given the length of my stride, I arrive at the blacksmith in no time and request the longest Dragon¡¯s Gold sword he has available, earning me a raised eyebrow and a questioning look.

    ¡°Dragons taking up fucking swordsmanship now¡­ World has gone mad¡­¡±

    Taking the opportunity to do some more curiosity feeding, I take a look through a sooty window and spot two forges. The one farthest away definitely still has my old flame going somehow. I''m kinda curious if my new flame makes a difference, and I find myself wanting to find out.

    Making my suggestion clear for the blacksmith, he shrugs and walks into his forging area. Coming back out, he¡¯s holding a large sledgehammer and starts demolishing a wall. That seems like a bit much, but when I question it, he just talks about how I need room to reach the forge, otherwise, I might burn the entire place down. There are a lot of assumptions going around about me and supposed destructive tendencies...

    I¡¯m actually trying to solve something right now, and solving things is constructive, not destructive!

    Having worked diligently, the blacksmith has torn down half a wall, allowing me a little more access to the forging area. Aiming for the non-dragonflame forge, I release a small jet of white-hot fire, igniting the forge and earning an impressed gasp from the blacksmith. Seemingly having forgotten all about my sword request, he gets to work preparing a small crucible.

    I don¡¯t really want to wait for him to forge an entirely new sword, since I have the impression that it would take a while, so I ask for one of the already-made ones. I¡¯ve lost him¡­ He¡¯s in an artisan¡¯s trance and not listening to a word I¡¯m saying¡­

    I¡¯m a problem solver, though, so I wrangle up a passerby and put them in the blacksmith¡¯s shop, asking them to find the largest sword they can. A moment after they¡¯ve disappeared into the shop, I hear metal dragging across stone, indicating their return. Why would anyone make a sword that heavy¡­

    Lowering my head to the ground, I push most of my face through the hole in the wall and snake my tongue into the blacksmith¡¯s shop, feeling for the goblin dragging the sword. With some effort, I get a hold of the guard of the sword, dragging the entire thing into my mouth. Success! With my newly acquired sword, it¡¯s time to return to my den and see what we can do for Tiffy.

    Meeting up with the shy ones again, I take the sword out of my mouth and plunge it into the clay, no doubt breaking the hearts of many blacksmiths around the world, but that¡¯s not important right now. With Jeannie¡¯s help, I ask Tiffy to channel her magic into the sword and see what happens. As expected, not much, but the sword does take on a weird blue glow.

    Tiffy shares her experiences as well and explains that it feels like something is drawing away the magic she uses. That sounds like grounding to me. With her sufficiently drained of magic, we just need to scare her a little. Sharing my plan to scare her, she seems unsure of how we''re supposed to do it, since she''s confident that I won''t hurt her.

    And that¡¯s a fair point, so I nudge Jeannie, asking her to translate something for me, and she is quick to agree.

    "Kira sadis berci muto kaon- Wait! [Kira says she will eat- Wait!]"

    Lowering my mouth over Jeannie, I push her against my palate as I close my mouth. Trapping her inside with a bunch of clay, she seems surprisingly indifferent to the situation considering her shout for me to wait. As far as I can tell, Jeannie trusts me to keep her safe. She isn¡¯t even fighting to get out, but I can feel her finger tracing shapes on my palate now that I¡¯ve loosened my tongue, making it surprisingly hard not to spit her out again. It tickles far more than I expected!

    Tiffy isn''t quite on the same page, though. Instead of trusting me, she rushes to me and starts slamming on my belly scales, demanding I release Jeannie. Getting translations from inside my mouth feels odd. It isn''t quite the reaction we were going for since we wanted fear, but all we''re getting is oodles of defiance and bravery. It''s a little surprising that Tiffy is ready to throw herself at the mighty guardian dragon of Tuiran to recover her friend. Good on her, that''s awesome.

    But this isn¡¯t working, so it¡¯s time to let Jeannie out again. Landing on the ground, she seems unshaken by the experience as she gets up and wipes away the worst of my saliva before pulling Tiffy into a firm hug.

    We¡¯ll need to think of something else, but I¡¯m sure that I¡¯m onto something with the sword and conductivity, so we¡¯ll have to explore that some more, but in a different way. Not today, though, I think Tiffy needs a rest after all the sudden excitement.

    It¡¯s also becoming increasingly obvious that I can¡¯t rely on translators and spells to communicate, I need to learn Lauren¡¯s language, and I am dragon enough to admit that I should have done so earlier. That¡¯s gonna be the second-most highest priority now: studying and learning language. I still want Joras to focus on finding some way to fix Lauren''s affliction.

    With a nudge given to both Tiffy and Jeannie, I take my leave again, my destination this time is Joras¡¯ shop! I¡¯m gonna be the best student he¡¯s ever had! In fact, I should bring breakfast. Using my keen dragon senses, I smell out a bakery and change course. I¡¯m not sure what sort of stuff the others like aside from meat and spices, so I¡¯ll have to get a few things.

    Given the early hour, I¡¯m not surprised to find a line leading to the bakery. With the delicious smells coming from it, I¡¯d imagine people from all over town come here. It¡¯s a good thing I don¡¯t have a schedule to keep because waiting in line would definitely make me late.

    Everyone¡¯s leaning against the walls, making sure the streets are clear for other traffic, so I try to do the same, but given how much larger than a goblin I am, I don¡¯t really succeed. That¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll just get out of the way if anyone needs to pass with something large.

    The folks in line seem to be engaged in idle conversation about what to do, and they seem unsure, leading me to believe that they have a day off. That¡¯s nice, a day or two of rest is very important.

    We should make a road leading to my lake so folks can go for a dip in the water with their families. I¡¯ll have to suggest that at some point, maybe the next time I find Turo, the money guy. With the line moving at a steady pace, I don''t really get to just sit and wait, which is a little annoying, but I''ll just have to deal with it. Can''t win ''em all.

    It takes a while, but when I finally make it to the front, I see all sorts of goodies. Bread with berries in it, darker breads that look like rye, pastries of all sorts. I don¡¯t know what to pick¡­ Oh no! I¡¯m one of those people who don¡¯t make up their minds while waiting in line, and now I''m making everyone else wait! This is bad!

    Thinking fast, I point out a bunch of stuff and ask them to pack it up for me. Finishing up, I let them know that Raya the Dragonbringer will stop by with payment later, hoping that''s good enough. To my relief, the baker agrees with a wave of her hand, leaving me with another problem to deal with: I didn¡¯t bring my bag. Dang it.

    The baker laughs as she orders a few young gobbies to help carry my stuff, which they seem quite willing to do, so that¡¯s another problem solved. We¡¯re really making great progress with problem-solving today.

    With a gang of gobbies on my heels, we saunter through the streets toward Joras¡¯ shop and make it there in not-record-time. It¡¯s so easy to forget how long my stride is compared to goblins, so I¡¯ll have to be a bit better at accommodating them.

    Before I have a chance to consider knocking, Joras¡¯ door swings open and standing in the doorway is a wraith of some sort. With sunken cheeks, hollow eyes stare at me with a mix of irritation and regret. I think Joras might have been up all night, but he still greets me with an apology for getting scared last night. Of course I act with tact and grace, letting him know that it''s okay to be a little frightened sometimes.

    "Kira, dancing and teasing isn''t making me feel better... But it is making me annoyed..."

    Disregarding his slander, it''s time to bring up those language classes, which I do. And as soon as he hears, his mood lightens to an almost scary degree. I''m gonna need backup here.

    With a gentle request, the gobbies bring my baked goods into his shop as he calls for Lauren and Lily. For someone who carries himself with quite a lot of elegance and dignity, he sure is fine with just shouting for people. The battalion of tiny gobbies rush back out the door, having unloaded the goods. I nudge a couple of them and ask for a few to fetch Raya and send her to the town square. I hope she''s enough to contain the now overly enthusiastic Joras.

 Chapter 39: Down to Business

    Not only is it daunting to return to school, but Joras is bringing out all sorts of books. I¡¯m getting a bad feeling about this, and I¡¯m starting to think he might demand unreasonable things of me, like paying attention and sitting still... or worse¡­ that I won''t get into trouble.

    ¡°Kira, please lie down and place your chin on the ground with your cheekbones off the ground.¡±

    Odd request, but okay. I do as he tells me, and he starts hanging bags on any horny protrusion on my skull and the spines on my neck. I¡¯m no beast of burden! In an act of dignified defiance, I raise my head whenever he¡¯s about to hang another bag on me, staying just out of reach of him.

    ¡°Kira, if you can carry these to the square, I¡¯ll ask Lily to cook a meal from her homeland.¡±

    That is very tempting, but first I need to try to counter his very obvious bribe by using guile and my keen dragon brain.

    ¡°Lily, can I try some food from your homeland?¡±

    ¡°Oh! What a wonderful idea, Kira! I shall fetch the ingredients we lack and order the rest right away!¡±

    Joras watches as Lily runs off into the street, no doubt impressed by my outstanding skill outperforming him in this battle of wits. Giving him a smug look, he lets out an exasperated sigh that I feel is wholly undeserved.

    ¡°Kira, I can¡¯t carry all of this by myself, could you please just do it for me?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Joras, all you had to do was ask. I love helping my friends.¡±

    He lets out a chuckle as I settle down to let him load up his bags. I am curious about any ideas he may have about my venom. With a few pointed questions, he¡¯s quick to explain a few things.

    ¡°I¡¯ve worked through the night, and I¡¯ve found a few interesting things. First, your venom becomes concentrated when exposed to elemental heat, but when I sent Lily to attempt the same with the blacksmith¡¯s forge, it had no effect. Second, the way it interacts with magic is as acid would interact with metal. So it might be a misclassification to call it venom.¡±

    For one night, he seems to have tried a few things already, but I¡¯m not sure how any of that works to save Lauren.

    ¡°Third, you know that you¡¯re a magical being and I¡¯m a material being, but there¡¯s another: a spiritual being. But those are just archetypes, and as such, they are not mutually exclusive. As far as we know, all beings touch all three realms of being. The magical allows us to make thought manifest, the material allows us to shape the world to our will, and the spiritual anchors us to the world.¡±

    Wait, does that mean I¡¯m less real than Joras? Dang, I¡¯m a powerful thought. Nudging the ranting elf, I bring up these things about what¡¯s more real, earning a chuckle in return.

    ¡°I can¡¯t say, Kira. Am I more or less alive or real than a tree? We¡¯re both material beings, both living our own lives, but we¡¯re so vastly different. Many scholars have been stuck trying to create a distinction, but without righteous fanaticism, a distinction hasn¡¯t been found to my knowledge. But it is this overlap between archetypes that will be my focus. The soul is said to reside in the center of what makes a being. And based on what Lauren has shared of the wretched Vile Steel, it attacks and consumes the magical aspect of what makes someone who they are until it reaches and tears apart the soul.¡±

    Fuck, that sounds awful... I might have to face the music and apologize to Skelly¡¯s patron for blowing up the bony weirdo. I can¡¯t hoard my secrets if they can bring an end to this grotesquerie and it¡¯s becoming quite clear why they call it the affront¡­

    ¡°Now, my idea so far is to concentrate your venom as much as I can, but I¡¯m gonna need to harvest more. My hope is that it will burn away the Vile Steel¡¯s food source, but that could also destroy Lauren¡¯s magic. It will have to be her choice because this path will leave her unable to interact with the magical world.¡±

    Geez¡­ She loves her magic and healing people. Every time someone asks for help, I feel a tinge of joy and excitement, but being alive has to be better. I¡¯ll need to be as supportive as I can be going forward. I¡¯m feeling inclined to ditch these language classes and just focus entirely on her, but when I suggest that to Joras, he waves me off.

    ¡°You need to recover between harvests. Your current supply is too diluted to be helpful, so we would need four or five times as much compared to simply waiting a day or two. The last two bottles were scarcely more than saliva, while the bottle I filled with the aftermath of your licking me was many times more potent. But rest assured that I am hopeful that this is the path forward.¡±

    Crap¡­ That means I have to be patient¡­ On the other hand, it means we¡¯ve got a proper plan for how to help Lauren. I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s gonna have some words to say about potentially losing her magic, though. Yeah, thinking about her yelling at me about it is making me a little anxious, so I¡¯m gonna use a different tool from my toolbox! Changing the subject!

    ¡°Joras, how does Tuiran¡¯s economy work? It doesn¡¯t make sense to me when traders from the east have stayed away until now.¡±

    The moment of hesitation and raised eyebrow suggests to me that he considers the answer pretty obvious and common knowledge. I¡¯m not sure I appreciate his non-verbal tone.

    ¡°Tuiran trades with other tribes in the west and the south, there are even some dwarven traders stopping by from time to time. You have to know, Kira, that goblins come in all sorts of flavors, just like every other species. If you had only met the isolationist elves of Coille-Cridhe, you would have the impression that elves were murderous and warlike. Now, if you had only met my kin, you would think elves were aloof and arrogant. While you can create art with only a few colors, greater variety helps bring true life to your creation.¡±

    I haven¡¯t really given this stuff much thought, but I think he might be onto something. What about Lily¡¯s kin, though? She seems different from Joras. One day I¡¯m gonna get both of their origin stories, but not today, today we¡¯re learning languages and worrying about Lauren!

    With Joras just standing around, I realize he finished loading me up with cargo a while ago and we¡¯ve just been standing around blocking the street. We should probably get moving.

    Heading toward the town square, he throws a question my way.

    ¡°Do you know any God-given words yet, Kira?¡±

    ¡°Faro. [Fuck.]¡±

    ¡°Outstanding¡­ Remind me to reprimand Lauren.¡±

    Instead of being impressed by my vast vocabulary, he just sighs and keeps walking. A bit rude, if you ask me. I do mention a few more words, like I know ¡®themar¡¯ means ''dragon'' and ¡®siresse¡¯ means ¡®surrender,¡¯ which does bring a little more light to his eyes.

    Arriving at the square, I see Raya surrounded by a bunch of children, that¡¯s definitely more gobbies than I sent to fetch her. Turns out Raya is great with children, who knew?! They¡¯re all excited to play with her and she¡¯s engaging as many as she can, spreading the laughter and joy. Joras is gonna have trouble wrangling all of those gobbies, that¡¯s for sure.

    Greeting the children, Joras wanders over to the wall of one of the larger buildings and pulls out a piece of chalk as he lets the children know where to sit. Following his instructions, they¡¯re quick to gather into small groups as Raya helps him manage all of the rambunctious gobbies.

    I¡¯m not sure where he wants me, so I just settle down between a few of the groups, and as I do, they scoot closer to touch me. Sneaky little things.

    Watching Joras, he starts drawing a bunch of symbols with impressive accuracy. Every single line seems to go exactly where he wants it. Oh! I know that one, that¡¯s Wria! Pointing it out only earns me a raised eyebrow and a question of how I know it, and my answer of ¡®because I¡¯m smart¡¯ isn¡¯t enough, it seems.

    I don¡¯t know why he¡¯s questioning my intelligence like that, but he¡¯s not at all satisfied with my answer, so he keeps prodding as I keep refusing. Unfortunately for me, he¡¯s an evil mastermind, and now he has the children asking me about it too... Admitting that I got lost and Tara drew it for me only earns me a laugh from both Raya and Joras. It seems that¡¯s more in line with what he expected.

    ¡°I¡¯m not doubting your intelligence, Kira, I just found it odd that you knew one letter of the God-given alphabet.¡±

    That¡¯s fair, I guess. With Joras settling down again, he hesitates for a moment before shaking his head, making me quite curious about what he¡¯s thinking. I¡¯m sitting too far away to nudge him, so I have to actually ask¡­

    ¡°Oh, it isn¡¯t anything important. It just occurred to me how retelling what¡¯s going on here to anyone in the world would get me mocked as a teller of tall tales. Having an outdoor class on language with a Dragon in attendance is unusual, to say the least. Though perhaps it would do well as a bard¡¯s tale.¡±

    I wouldn¡¯t mind having a bunch of musicians around singing to me, so maybe we should look into starting a band in town so we can have some reliable music. That would make food stall day even better!

    ¡°We should hire some bards and musicians to play at the food stall day! We can even make Turo pay for it! Music and storytelling are good for you and they help people find themselves, that makes it important and worth the expense!¡±

    ¡°While I agree that cultural subjects like songs and music are important, would you mind if we got back to the topic, Kira?¡±

    He got serious again all of a sudden, but I¡¯ll allow it. With my confirmation, he launches into a rant about how the hen- prefix denotes a negative word, such as hennaw meaning worse, and sarnaw meaning better. From that, I can deduce that the sar- prefix is a positive affix.

    ¡°Very good, and you can combine them into a neutral word, like Hensaryt, which means attitude. An attitude by itself is neither good nor bad, but it can be both. Similarly, Hensaristota means magic, but with time, istot has become the word used for magic. The prefixes can also change the subject of the word, such as hensora meaning beast, and sarsora meaning animal. An animal is typically not seen as bad, but a wild beast is. If you want to refer to a person, then the -eff suffix would be used. Sareff curnu heneff, friend and enemy.¡±

    Wait¡­ Lauren has been calling me Hensora all this time, and I didn¡¯t realize it was negatively charged!

    ¡°Lauren! I just learned about the hen- prefix! I¡¯m not some wild beast, you dang first-aid kit!¡±

    She¡¯s just amused by my outrage, and I can tell that she¡¯s laughing it up. I¡¯m gonna have to find a way to punish her¡­

    A pebble bouncing off my neck brings my attention back to Joras¡¯ class, but as I look around, I don¡¯t see the shooter anywhere¡­ That¡¯s peculiar. Oh well, now that I¡¯ve spoken my mind to Lauren, I can focus on class a bit more.

    It turns out there are a bunch of words for making up a language, and this one seems to be made of a bunch of prefixes and suffixes. It¡¯s surprisingly easy to learn, but the rules are weird. Like ¡®Enoblet¡¯ means ¡®mine,¡¯ as in something that belongs to me, but ¡®my weapon¡¯ is ¡®enui fegyvet.¡¯

    Geez, someone needs to stop it with all these rules.

    ¡°And a subject you should study more is Buvilamuro, Buvi means old and Ilamuro means knowledge. Combined, they become history. We¡¯ll go over some history once things have settled down a bit, but today we should continue to focus on the language.¡±

    Joras is a surprisingly enjoyable teacher, sprinkling in positive reinforcement and keeping most of my attention on the subject. Looking around, the children are doing a pretty good job of following his lesson too, especially with Raya jumping in whenever it looks like one of them is struggling.

    I think he might have earned himself a new job, but I¡¯m not allowing him to bring Raya! Even here, I haven¡¯t really had a decent opportunity to engage with her. She keeps focusing on the little gobbies, helping whenever one of them struggles. It¡¯s quite impressive, but I¡¯m reminded again that I haven¡¯t been around that long, and there¡¯s so much I need to learn, like how responsible she is.

    ¡°Now, the prefix ber- indicates a pronoun, so Kira would be a berci. Berci ti un Themar curnu eb bercin sareff.¡±

    A bunch of the kids start murmuring about what it means, and I know this! It¡¯s ¡®She is a dragon and I am her friend!¡¯ And he¡¯s right, he is my friend. I may be too far away for a nudge, but maybe I¡¯m not too far away for a lick! Stretching my neck, I give it my best as he scurries away with a chuckle. Rude. I¡¯ll get him eventually.

    ¡°I think we need to make it clear that assaulting me, with tongues or any other limbs, is not how we express our understanding. A simple raised hand is sufficient, now everyone who understood, please raise your hands. If you need a little more help, remember to let Raya or me know, and we will be right with you.¡±

    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    Most of the gobbies raise their hands, but a few look timid as they keep their hands down. Joras is quick to praise both those who are caught up as well as those who aren¡¯t, encouraging them to ask more questions in the face of confusion.

    All of a sudden, an important question springs to my mind, and I need answers fast.

    ¡°Joras, when is the next food stall day? I have to attend, it¡¯s been too long!¡±

    I didn¡¯t ask for you to cover your face and sigh, Joras! Geez, he¡¯s just being rude now.

    ¡°It¡¯s tomorrow, Kira. Is your focus spent, or can you keep going a little longer?¡±

    I think I might be spent, I need a stretch and a snack. Letting him know, he¡¯s quick to dismiss his students, and instead of leaving, they help him gather up his books. Getting up, I move to him to nudge him, thanking him for taking the time to help me out with this.

    ¡°When you¡¯re ready, we can continue, we should also discuss other topics, such as this Skelly character and your upcoming meeting with Wreyn. But before that, I wish to apologize, Kira. I didn¡¯t mean to become frightened of you, and I can imagine it being hurtful.¡±

    Aww¡­ he deserves a lick.

    ¡°Get back here, Joras, and let me lick you!¡±

    Chasing after the unexpectedly agile elf, we leave Raya to deal with the children, but I¡¯m having no luck at all catching up to Joras.

    He easily navigates the tide of people, while I have to wait for them to split and let me through. It¡¯s cheating! He¡¯s definitely cheating, and it isn¡¯t any less cheating that he can take the side passages that are too narrow for me!

    I might have to enlist some help to subdue the wily alchemist. Being able to see over buildings isn¡¯t helpful at all when Joras isn¡¯t tall enough to be spotted over them. I can still track him, but I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯s just going home, so that isn¡¯t helpful either.

    I¡¯m just gonna give up for now, I¡¯ll get him eventually. Dang it¡­ I have to take a different route, I can¡¯t turn around here without causing damage. He knew! Oooh! He¡¯s gonna get so many licks!

    ¡°Lauren, if you see Joras, I demand that you lick him for me! He has offended the Great Guardian Dragon of Tuiran!¡±

    As expected, I just get a wave of amusement back.

    ¡°You better not be laughing, Lauren! This is serious stuff! Lick and poke the offender!¡±

    Yeah, she¡¯s definitely laughing at me. I need some backup, and I know just where to find it. Following the streets I fit through, I make my way toward the square again. They take me through some of the streets I¡¯m less familiar with, and I¡¯m quite pleased to see a few taverns serving food.

    This entire street smells fantastic, and I¡¯m inclined to sample the goods. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had a proper meal, and I haven¡¯t eaten today, so that works out nicely! In retrospect, I should have tried some of those pastries.

    ¡°Hey Kira. Wanna get some food before you see the messenger?¡±

    Raya is here! And she knows me so well. Wait, what messenger? I don¡¯t know about any messenger. While I¡¯m busy wondering about this development, Raya jumps onto my face and slides down my neck to reach the ground. I wanna go dragon surfing too.

    ¡°I do want some food, Raya, but what messenger? This is the first I¡¯m hearing about it.¡±

    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t say, just that he was sent to talk to you from Oakhold. I¡¯ll be right back with something good. Wait here!¡±

    Ooh, something good sounds good. Though I¡¯m pretty sure this messenger situation is because I didn¡¯t show up to Wreyn¡¯s meeting yesterday. That happens, I can¡¯t be everywhere at once.

    That being said, I should go there soon and join in on this meeting stuff. I¡¯ve been doing very important stuff, but- Oh! Raya¡¯s back! And she¡¯s got two bowls of something delicious-smelling.

    Holding one out for me, I maneuver myself into a position to allow me access to the deliciousness. These streets really weren¡¯t built with me in mind, I¡¯m having to back up slowly to get into a position where I can comfortably lower my head down to the ground.

    But now that I have sorted that, I open my mouth and Raya just chugs the entire bowl in. If I didn¡¯t like the extra crunch, I¡¯d be a little offended by this callous disregard for the possibilities of splinters. More importantly, my nose was right! It¡¯s delicious!

    Before I have a chance to nudge Raya for more, I see her eyeing her bowl with curiosity, and then she just takes a bite out of it! Well, hearing what she thinks of it will be interesting. Judging by the spitting, I¡¯d wager she does not like the woodsy flavor.

    ¡°How can you eat that, Kira?¡±

    ¡°Like this!¡±

    Her bowl isn''t empty, so I quickly close my mouth over her hand and snatch the bowl with my tongue! Hah! More for me.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting seconds, Kira, and you¡¯re paying!¡±

    What?! When did this become my treat?

    ¡°Get me seconds too, Raya!¡±

    Yeah, getting some more of that delicious stuff is important enough to pay for. I¡¯m not sure what it is, but it¡¯s some sort of thick chowder or maybe gruel; it¡¯s delicious.

    Something smells afraid... Sniffing the air some more, I notice it coming from behind me and there¡¯s some human guy standing there. He looks very unimpressive, wearing some sort of quilted outfit with an insignia on it.

    ¡°Lady Kira, by command of Lord Wreyn, you are to appear in Oakhold by nightfall to discuss a matter of grave importance.¡±

    Well, that¡¯s a surprise, I did not expect him to speak Raya¡¯s language. And for how afraid he is, he did a very good job of saying that with a straight face. Though the murmurs from people around us do serve to make his resolve falter. I¡¯m not sure I would be able to keep up my bravery with the locals around me talking about well-fed dragons and butchers losing business when fools appear.

    I don¡¯t just eat people, folks! It has happened a few times, but it¡¯s not THAT common! They are right, though, I don¡¯t like this ¡®command¡¯ business, but I¡¯m not sure Wreyn would have told someone to command me to do something. I suspect it¡¯s a moment of artistic license on this guy¡¯s part.

    I¡¯m gonna have a little fun with him.

    ¡°Why would I listen to someone speaking to my back, human? Stand before me or leave.¡±

    He¡¯s quick to scurry by me, taking great care not to touch me, but my people aren¡¯t making it easy. Between standing in his way and my focused gaze, he¡¯s encountering some struggles as he tries to reach the street in front of me. As soon as he manages it, he bows and repeats his message, saying ¡®command¡¯ again, causing the small crowd forming to grow temperamental.

    ¡°Am I not worthy of a ¡®please,¡¯ messenger?¡±

    Emphasizing the word please with a show of teeth, the tantalizing scent of fear kicks up a notch. It¡¯s quite enjoyable.

    ¡°Kira, don¡¯t be an ass. I already got the message from Neithro, and Wreyn ASKED you to join him. You can leave this dumb human alone now.¡±

    With Raya speaking up, the crowd calms down and starts dispersing, leaving the messenger as the sole focus of my watchful eye. I¡¯m not sure he likes that. Wait¡­

    If Raya already got the message, she could just have told me and we could have avoided all of this. Oh well, I don¡¯t mind, it was fun messing with this guy, and I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll get some sort of reward for delivering the message. He did do it twice, and it takes some impressive fortitude to walk up to a dragon and throw around commands like that. Well, fortitude or being Raya, she¡¯s a beast in her own right.

    I haven¡¯t had time to learn all that much of Lauren¡¯s language, but it will have to do. I can¡¯t keep postponing this meeting Wreyn wants. I am a little curious to see how Shaft is holding up.

    ¡°Wanna join me for the trip, Raya? I could use someone who knows how to handle a political situation.¡±

    ¡°Sure! But it¡¯s my turn to burn down a town.¡±

    To emphasize, she conjures a ball of fire in her hand. I¡¯m pretty sure she just told me to stop messing with the messenger, and there she goes making him smell delicious again.

    Giving her a nudge of disapproval, she squeezes the fire into a poof of smoke and takes the opportunity to jump up and grab my horn, swinging herself onto my head. She¡¯s way too good at that.

    With a gentle suggestion, I let the messenger know that he can start walking toward the nearest gate so we can head to Wreyn¡¯s place. He seems hesitant, especially about walking in front of me, but he¡¯s doing a good job of keeping it together.

    Reaching a fork in the street, he stops, not knowing where to go. Lowering my head to him, I breathe on his neck, eliciting an adorable yelp. I think I¡¯ve teased him enough, so I give him some quick instructions on the carvings of Tuiran¡¯s streets. He seems quite receptive, and he¡¯s quick to learn. Good job, messenger!

    Well, he did a good job until he turned down a street I can¡¯t fit through. Honest mistake, but the look on his face when he realizes is very funny. Raya stands up and walks onto my nose, fixing her gaze in the messenger¡¯s direction.

    ¡°You dare offend the Guardian Dragon?! What would Wreyn think if he knew you were creating a crisis like this by not considering the needs of the esteemed and girthy person you¡¯re escorting?!¡±

    Okay, that might be going a bit far. The messenger is more horrified than I¡¯ve seen him since I met him about an hour ago. Moving my head into the narrower street with the messenger, I pick him up with my tongue and move him to a more appropriately sized street so we can continue.

    Raya really did a number on him, he¡¯s terrified. With a few reassurances that it¡¯s fine, I¡¯m not offended, he calms down a bit, looking quite relieved. Raya even apologizes, but I think that¡¯s just for show, she had too much fun with him.

    To his credit, he tries very hard to be subtle as he steals glances whenever we reach a junction. I¡¯m pretty sure this guy is used to dealing with uptight people in a very specific and firm way.

    As we reach the west-heading main road, he starts guiding us toward the gate, but I already know that I¡¯m too big for the western gate. So, clearing my throat, I share those details with him and let him know that we¡¯ll be heading toward the square instead.

    The longer we walk, the calmer he gets, which is both a relief and a little disappointing. He has been an excellent scent stick so far, but at the same time, I can¡¯t just keep frightening the guy.

    Instead of focusing on this guy, my thoughts wander back to Skelly, and I¡¯m curious how bad turning to dust actually was for the skeleton. They did mention phylacteries, so it¡¯s possible that they have one and we¡¯ll meet again. If we do, I¡¯ll apologize for the whole disintegration situation.

    I wanna ask Raya what she thinks, but not while we¡¯re being listened to.

    All that ¡®command¡¯ business aside, this messenger has been quite reasonable, so now that we¡¯re in the square, and I have enough room to take flight, I pick him up with a clawed hand around his waist and take off. It turns out I can keep frightening the guy, who knew.

    With Raya sitting on top of me and a screaming human under me, we fly toward Oakhold for an important business meeting! Speeding up helps quiet him down, but rather than him getting used to the situation, he just passed out. I¡¯ll have to keep an eye on him now. If he stays passed out for too long, it could be quite a problem.

    Going even faster, we hurry toward Oakhold, and to my relief, he seems to have transitioned from passed out to gently sleeping. I have no idea how he¡¯s managing that, but it does mean there¡¯s one thing I must do.

    By the time we reach Oakhold, the sun has just begun to set, which is perfect. With as much focus and care as I can possibly muster, we land in Wreyn¡¯s garden, and I put Sleepy Guy down in the grass.

    It¡¯s time to make some preparations. In full sneak mode, I break away pieces of the stone wall surrounding Wreyn¡¯s garden and spread them around in a general ¡®ruin¡¯ aesthetic. With the scene ready, Raya helps move the messenger to the now broken wall, and I spread out my wings to cover him in darkness, the last light of the day shining through my membranes, creating a surprisingly spooky scene.

    With a soft slap, Raya wakes him up and he¡¯s looking mighty confused.

    ¡°Good! You¡¯re awake, Messenger! You¡¯ve slept through millennia and I, the Mighty Dragon of Endless Night, have come to bestow upon you a mission of utmost importance! Only you can save the world from the evil dragon-goblins!"

    To really drive it home, I pick up Raya and show her to the messenger. She immediately gets into character and starts clawing and chomping in his direction as I hold her just out of reach.

    ¡°No! I can¡¯t! I haven¡¯t received proper training and I¡¯m no fighter! Please! I have to return to my family! You have to help me back! By the Gods! Did Lord Wreyn reach Lady Kira? Please tell me that he managed to convince her to help with the cultists! Is this because he lost?!¡±

    The sound of someone clearing their throat behind me ruins my fun, and I fold up my wings again. Raya loses control and bursts out laughing, adding to the messenger¡¯s confusion. She did so well holding back her laughter and staying in character. Putting her down on the ground, she falls over, clutching her stomach.

    Looking back at the folks behind me, I see Wreyn and Shaft standing there. I have no idea what that expression on Shaft is, but Wreyn appears to be both amused and annoyed as he casts his talky spell.

    ¡°The Mighty Dragon of Endless Night, you say? A powerful ally to have. Though I must say, the next time you feel the urge to terrorize someone, please do leave my walls intact. And what did he do to deserve this?¡±

    Okay, that¡¯s fair, it¡¯s possible I took it too far. And since Wreyn asked, I give him a quick rundown of how I met his messenger, causing the old man to draw a sharp breath before composing himself again and relaxing his shoulders.

    Instead of dwelling on unimportant stuff like that, Wreyn suggests we get down to business since it seems Shaft has shared some critical details that supposedly change everything. This idea of changing everything does make me a little curious about what the original state of things was.

    With a finger pointed towards a window on the second floor of his house, he starts explaining how we are gonna do this.

    ¡°My office is through that window. Maya and I shall go through the house, but I will open the window, allowing you to join us, Kira. Neithro will be arriving shortly. Gregory, you may take the rest of the day¡­ no, the week off.¡±

    It seems he¡¯s in a hurry to get started, so I give Raya a nudge as she calms down and spends some time lying in the grass.

    ¡°My stomach hurts, Kira.¡±

    Yeah, that¡¯s what happens when you almost laugh yourself unconscious.

    Helping her up again, I lower my head to the ground and she climbs on, struggling a little more than usual as the cramps from laughing have taken their toll. Lifting her to the window, she jumps in as soon as Wreyn opens it, and I place my head on the windowsill, ignoring the crunch of wood and the side-eye from Wreyn.

    ¡°So, first of all, Maya, I understand that you feel great animosity toward Kira, for good reason, but if you truly wish to help, you will need to set that aside for now. Kira, Maya tells me you ate her hammer. Is there any chance she can have it back?¡±

    Oh, right. That¡¯s why I call her Shaft. Well, as luck would have it, I haven¡¯t added it to my hoard yet, so I regurgitate the hammerhead onto Wreyn¡¯s floor, alongside some money I had forgotten about. When did I eat those¡­ Doesn¡¯t matter, they¡¯re mine, so I want them back. Trying to angle my head to get them, I¡¯m interrupted by a frantic Wreyn.

    ¡°Stop! Kira! My home cannot withstand such abuse!¡±

    Shaft sits by a large table as Wreyn and Raya start picking up my money and feeding me. Delicious as always. Returning to his seat, Wreyn brings the heavy hammerhead to Shaft, which she takes hold of and drags toward herself. She doesn''t look happy to have it back as she glares at me.

    Giving Wreyn¡¯s office an inspection, I notice that it¡¯s far more humble than I expected. The walls have a couple of paintings, one of a landscape, and one above his escritoire depicting a beautiful woman holding a baby. I¡¯m curious about the history, but Wreyn has looked at it a few times, and every time, he pauses for just a second.

    ¡°Now, Kira, Maya has brought to my attention the presence of Vile Steel in Plainshold. It is clear that you need to be informed of the threat it poses to you, but also to the entire region. To keep secrets from causing strife in the future, I fear I must inform you that I knew of Lord Awirtatin of Plainshold¡¯s fascination with darker arts and how he used bandits and lawbreakers to feed his interests. But trust me when I say that I did not know the depths of his depravity! If I had known, if I could have done anything, I would have put a stop to this!¡±

    Well, at least I squished him, so that part is dealt with. And Plainshold is a ruin, so that¡¯s not much of a base of operations for these cultists.

    ¡°Fului are we averilanei this with that beast, Megnar Wreyn?! Udu muto nura turn on us like udu did Plainshold! [Why are we discussing this with that beast, Lord Wreyn?! It will just turn on us like it did Plainshold!]¡°

    Well, I caught most of that, so I¡¯ve got the gist of what she¡¯s saying. I don¡¯t see a reason to reveal that I¡¯m learning their language, though. Besides, Raya is quick to translate the whole thing for me, so I can use this to learn even more words! I will soon be the Mighty Dragon of Linguistics!

    What I do reveal is that I know about the Cultists of the Affront and that we have killed a few of them. Wreyn relays it to Shaft and receives another earful of her disapproval of me.

    ¡°Maya, if you cannot focus, you cannot stay. Without Kira, we have no way of finding these cultists. She has found and killed several, we have found none.¡±

    Okay, I incapacitated one by eating it, Skelly killed it, and Raya took out some others, so I don¡¯t really have a kill count yet as far as I know. Wait, I killed the barrier guy, that¡¯s one cultist I killed. But returning to the table of animosity, I¡¯m feeling a little annoyed at all of this aggression aimed my way by Shaft, so I may be letting my vindictive side out to take a jab at her.

    ¡°Shaft says I¡¯ll turn on you, but she¡¯s the one who fought side by side with the cultists to attack me.¡±

 Chapter 40: Uncertain

    The first thing that happens after my vindictive little jab is that Wreyn becomes quite furious. A few weird words and a couple of hand gestures from the old man cause a bunch of purple chains to sprout from the wall next to Shaft and rip her from her seat. In the blink of an eye, she¡¯s shackled to the wall, unable to move.

    It¡¯s a bit more of a reaction than I had expected, I must admit, but I appreciate that Wreyn trusts me without question like that.

    Watching Shaft struggle against the restraints as she shouts profanity at me and accuses me of lying is making me feel a little bad. I don¡¯t know if she¡¯s part of the cult and she just never got turned into one of those things like the Healer, but it seems to me that it depends on what happened on their side during the assault.

    Of course I let Wreyn in on that part, too, but he doesn¡¯t seem convinced as she continues fighting the chains and shouting at me. She¡¯s completely unwilling to consider anything Wreyn says, which is kinda scary, since she seemed open to helping with the vile steel while we were in Plainshold¡­

    It¡¯s completely understandable that she hates me, but I don¡¯t think she realizes that it goes both ways. If I were hungry and she was the only other person around, I¡¯m not sure I could keep myself from being the only person around.

    I do find myself curious about whether she even knows why I attacked the adventurers. If the cultists have already fooled her, then it would be possible that she was left in the dark about my motivations as well as what led up to the whole thing.

    Talking it over with Raya, she opts to ask Shaft directly instead of trying to guess. Unfortunately, most of what I hear from Shaft can be summarized as profanity, accusations, and demanding that I be killed before Oakhold or some other town burns.

    ¡°Kira, can we go home? I don¡¯t want to be here anymore.¡±

    Raya¡¯s mood has taken quite a turn, and I haven¡¯t seen her looking this sad since I lost myself.

    ¡°Of course, Raya. I¡¯ve got a great idea for what we can do tonight.¡±

    Wreyn is busy demanding answers about the cultists, but I let him know that this situation feels weird to me before pulling my head out of the window. Raya jumps on, and we take our leave. I appreciate that Wreyn doesn¡¯t try to stop us, but I do hear him shouting about opportunities lost and that he isn¡¯t commanding me to do anything.

    ¡°Wanna find Neithro and bring him with us, Raya?¡±

    I can feel her trace shapes on one of my scales with a fingernail as she thinks about my question. It takes a moment before she replies, but then she gives me a soft ¡®yes.¡¯

    Instead of flying away, we head into town to find the cranky captain.

    The last thing we hear is Wreyn shouting about how bad and stupid the guild is and, to his credit in my book, he blames them for any destruction I¡¯ve caused. Poor guy seems to have held on to a lot of emotions related to the adventurers, and now Shaft is taking that mess head-on.

    Walking through the town is what I would call a mixed bag. There¡¯s excitement as people try to get as close to me as possible, grumbling about how big I am and what I might do. But the screams of terror and fleeing going on at the same time as the other stuff are really what mixes up the proverbial bag.

    It isn¡¯t long before the ruckus attracts guards, but when they see me, they seem to stand down as they begin reassuring people that everything is okay. To emphasize the point, one of them walks right up to me and pats my throat.

    Folks around are noticeably calming down, and the ones trying to touch me grow even bolder as I feel a bunch of hands caressing my tail.

    We seem to have been caught in a gridlock, and I can¡¯t move any further without people being at risk of being squished.

    ¡°Raya, are you fine with just waiting here until we have a chance to move again?¡±

    In response, she jumps down and runs through the street. Her lack of verbal response makes me worry, and as I start moving in the direction she ran, the guards are quick to start clearing a path. I need to find her.

    Progress through the street is slow and tedious, making it clear that coming here was a mistake and now I¡¯ve lost track of Raya in all this human town stench. I¡¯m sorely tempted to climb a building and search from the sky, but I doubt it could hold my weight anymore.

    Pushing on, we reach a junction and I have no idea where to go from here. The buildings of Oakhold are much taller than Tuiran¡¯s and they¡¯re making the streets feel so narrow and crowded. My den feels less oppressive than this, and I bump into the walls of my entrance¡­

    Leaning my head down next to the leading guard¡¯s head, I ask him to bring me to the gates or somewhere big enough for me to fly away. I still need to find Raya, but I also want to get out of here soon.

    The guards continue to lead me through the streets, with folks moving aside to stand by the walls surrounding us as our little makeshift procession progresses. I¡¯m confident that Raya is safe on her own now, but I still worry.

    Calling out to her scares the nearby people, but they¡¯ll be fine. I don¡¯t get a response, so I call out again as tension builds inside me. I don¡¯t like this one bit. Nudging the leading guard again, I ask him to send a few guards to find my Raya and bring her to me so we can leave. He¡¯s quick to signal a few others standing nearby and give a quick description of who they¡¯re looking for and where we¡¯re heading.

    Just as I¡¯m about to call out again, the lead guard waves to me, catching my attention.

    He seems to be unsure of how to convey what he wants, so he starts miming himself shouting with his hands to his mouth in a cup shape, after that, he bends over holding his ears and looking like he¡¯s in pain. I guess my voice might be a bit too loud for people.

    I get what he means, though, so I point to him and indicate for him to start shouting for Raya instead. Turning around, he starts leading the way again as he shouts for Raya in my place at a much lower volume.

    We¡¯re making slow progress as a kid comes up to the leading guard and talks to him.

    ¡°They found her, she¡¯s with Neithro. Go norden.¡±

    Nudging the lead guard, I repeat the last bit the kid said, and he pulls out a compass. Holding it out for me to see, he points to each direction on the compass and then the equivalent direction from where we stand. So we have to go north.

    Lead guard continues barking orders as he still shouts for Raya, although he¡¯s doing it with less vigor. I think he wants to reassure me that they¡¯re still helping me. That¡¯s considerate of him.

    It doesn¡¯t take long before we reach the north gate and I spot Raya next to Cranky. It takes so much effort to not rush ahead and nudge her, but I¡¯d have to trample a few folks to do it, and that seems like a bad thing. My excitement does seem to make a few people nervous, resulting in the people clearing the street much faster than what we¡¯ve experienced so far.

    ¡°Raya! No more running away from me, I was so worried!¡±

    She runs to meet me, and as soon as she¡¯s in range, I nuzzle her to the ground. I can¡¯t stop myself from rubbing my face against her.

    ¡°Kira, calm down! I needed to find Neithro, but I¡¯m here now. I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to worry you.¡±

    Yeah, well, she did worry me, so now she gets nuzzles. Having her firmly pinned to the ground with my head, I look up and see Neithro approaching with a smile on his face, looking remarkably un-cranky.

    Speaking in their language, I ask Neithro if he wants to come to Tuiran with us. My use of their language is a little more broken than I had first thought it would be, but he gets it. I need more lessons and practice.

    In a mix of words and hand gestures, he throws a question my way.

    ¡°If I agree to join you, will you let Raya up?¡±

    He seems to be making the gestures clear to help convey the meaning of his spoken words, which I appreciate. Lifting my head, Raya scurries out from under me and grabs hold of my nostril to climb up my face.

    Turning my head sideways, I tell Cranky to grab hold of my horn, and when he does, I lift him up and turn my head the other way so he can climb into position as I start leaving town. Relief hits me as we leave the town behind, taking off into the skies.

    Night has fallen, but it¡¯s not quite midnight yet, so we still have time to do stuff, like a late dinner with lots of food.

    I know exactly how to prepare for a dinner party before I arrive!

    ¡°Lauren! Lauren! Lauren! First-aid kit! Lauren!¡±

    It takes a bit, and I don¡¯t know whether it¡¯s because of range or Lauren being obstinate, both are possible, but I finally get back a response to my query. It¡¯s a feeling I can best describe as ¡®shut the faro up.¡¯

    ¡°Lauren, I need you to ask Joras to prepare a feast near my den. I¡¯m feeling a little down, and I want to enjoy the company of my friends. So you¡¯ll be joining too!¡±

    Yeah, that makes her a little anxious, but I was expecting that. She¡¯s strong, though, so I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll get to work right away.

    As we¡¯re flying, I feel a tingle of magic and Cranky brings up the meeting and asks why it ended before he arrived, as it was supposed to end late into the night. I let him know that I didn¡¯t want to stick around listening to Shaft insulting me when we supposedly have a common goal of stopping these cultists, leaving the bit about Raya feeling uncomfortable out of it, since that¡¯s for her to share if she wants to.

    ¡°Ah, so it sounds like the first pillar has fallen¡­¡±

    It¡¯s almost a whisper, but Cranky says something odd¡­ I want to know more about these pillars and why one of them has fallen. It sounds ominous and like something I should know about.

    ¡°You weren¡¯t meant to hear that. But now that you have, I may as well tell you. Wreyn had this idea of pillars holding up your support. The first pillar was attachment. If you felt comfortable, he thought you would become attached to Oakhold and help defend it. The second pillar is trust. If you trust Wreyn, he can count on your help and you can count on his. The third pillar is benefit. If you benefit from the arrangement, you would be incentivized to maintain it. There are a few more, but I¡¯m sure you understand the idea.¡±

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Well, he¡¯s right that Oakhold has started making me uncomfortable. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m about to burn the place down, but I think I¡¯d be more inclined to work with Skelly¡¯s friends than risk engaging with more adventurers by continuing all this interaction with human towns. The cup of good experiences in human towns isn¡¯t exactly overflowing.

    It might be time to explore the South and see where some of the trade Tuiran experienced comes from.

    ¡°Kira, should Oakhold need your help, are you still willing to lend it?¡±

    His question sparks a moment of hesitation, but I let him know that I am. I don¡¯t like the place anymore, but Wreyn has been very willing to help, and he has done a lot for me. Especially by helping me grow my power by growing my hoard when the adventurers were preparing to attack. I¡¯m glad I got to them first, and nobody in Tuiran even experienced another attack.

    ¡°Yeah, I am. I don¡¯t feel attached to it, but I¡¯m not gonna abandon you, Emily, or Wreyn.¡±

    Speaking of helping Oakhold, I might have to suggest Tuiran start exporting building materials. We have quite a lot of clay in the area, so it¡¯s a simple matter of figuring out how the heck proper bricks are made.

    ¡°Raya, do you think Tuiran could build a bunch of kilns? We could start using the clay around town to make and sell bricks.¡±

    ¡°I collect flowers, Kira. I have never needed to pay attention to that part of the town. I couldn¡¯t afford the fancy things they made until I met you.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t those flowers sell for a lot? I thought it was a lot.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, selling my flowers earns me a lot, but if I spend it all in the warmer times, I¡¯ll either die when the cold sets in, or owe someone else a lot of coin. And we never know how long the snow lasts. I can¡¯t collect much in the snow, and people hold onto their coin, so there¡¯s not much work to be done. So I have to make the coin I earn in the summertime last until the next summer.¡±

    Yeah, that¡¯s over now. If Tuiran needs food in the winter, I¡¯ll get it for them, and if they need firewood, I¡¯ll find it for them! I do apologize to Raya for being inconsiderate, though it hadn¡¯t occurred to me that she had it that tough. In response to my apology, she bonks me on the head again¡­

    ¡°Why are you apologizing, you overgrown lizard? I just told you, I¡¯m better off having met you, so stop being dumb.¡±

    All I get from Cranky is laughter. It turns out there¡¯s no support to be had from that guy, but I can tell that he¡¯s leaning forward as he pulls Raya close. At least he supports my friends, so that earns him my seal of approval.

    ¡°If Tuiran can begin a production of building materials, Kira, it would go a long way to improving the current housing crisis in Oakhold. Wreyn has already begun encouraging the import of metals for Tuiran¡¯s blacksmiths. The cooperation between our towns could yield impressive profits for both.¡±

    It seems Cranky does support me, who knew? He goes on to talk about how to build a good kiln and the difference between several types and their benefits, and I¡¯m barely catching a word of it. I¡¯m very not interested in pottery or masonry, but I like the money it might bring in in the future.

    ¡°Cranky, I don¡¯t think it will be a problem for Tuiran to offer C-A-A.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with that phrase.¡±

    ¡°Crisis Aversion Assistance. Help with food and shelter in the event of something big and sudden happening, other places step up to help reach a basic living standard.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not blaming you, Kira, but it does amuse me that you are offering help after being the ¡®big and sudden¡¯ event. I think it sounds like an excellent idea, and I would be honored to accept the help on behalf of Oakhold.¡±

    Raya is quick to agree that it¡¯s a good idea, and Cranky launches into another tirade about things that would be helpful. I¡¯ll just throw him at Turo and call it a day, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll figure it out.

    More importantly, we¡¯re above Tuiran now and I can see a fire in the square. For a moment I¡¯m caught up in fear as I tense up, thoughts of an attack springing to mind, but as I push that aside, the memory of asking Lauren to prepare a feast becomes clear in my mind.

    Soaring down, I see a bunch of people, and it seems that once again, far more people than I had in mind have joined in. I quite like that my people are so willing to just have a good time any time I feel like it. It tickles my pride for some reason.

    They¡¯ve made an area clearly marked for my landing, and I love that. Landing exactly where I¡¯m supposed to, I join everyone by the fire as I let Raya and Cranky down. Mostly Cranky, because Raya is fine to just jump.

    Looking around, I see a bunch of somewhat familiar faces and some very familiar faces. It turns out Tiffy found her own solution to her shocking problem by bringing the sword around with her. She currently has it jabbed into the ground as she¡¯s leaning against it, and I guess that works.

    I think it might be better for her with a small lightning rod to jab into the ground, so it¡¯s not as heavy.

    Off to the side, there¡¯s an area marked up and surrounded by standing torches. That¡¯s a playing field, and every side of it has a crowd cheering the teams on. It looks like they¡¯ve continued those Dragon Games of theirs, and I¡¯m curious to see how it¡¯s going.

    Nudging Raya, I ask if she wants to watch it with me, but she lets me know that she wants to spend a little time with Neithro, so that¡¯s fair. Leaving them to their shenanigans, I wander over to the Dragon Games area and watch for a bit. Geez, they¡¯re really going at it¡­

    Personal safety isn¡¯t a concern at all as they¡¯re ramming into each other with full force. Geez, that¡¯s rough. There¡¯s a guy carrying a wooden mug-like thing and he¡¯s running through the playing field, jumping and dodging everyone else, and- Geez! Someone slams into him with so much force that his leg turns the wrong way¡­ I might have to introduce safety regulations¡­

    Someone shouts out for Lauren, and that explains their disregard for safety. She walks onto the field and pulls the guy¡¯s leg into place and heals it. As soon as she lets go of him, he jumps up and charges the person who slammed him. And now it¡¯s a brawl¡­

    ¡°Lauren, are you sure you should be encouraging this?¡±

    It seems she hadn¡¯t heard me approach because of how loud the crowd was, but now that she¡¯s aware of me being here, she walks on over to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m not encouraging this, I¡¯m just taking advantage of it. You know I like to heal people, and this lets me do just that. I hadn¡¯t anticipated the brutality of it, though.¡±

    Yeah, I would hope so, geez.

    ¡°Lauren, have you spoken to Merciferus yet? You know you¡¯re her champion and you can¡¯t just ignore her, even if she is frustrating to deal with.¡±

    ¡°My faith is none of your business, Kira. Leave it alone.¡±

    It¡¯s clear that she¡¯s upset with me for pushing it, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s good to ignore something that important. I feel like I should give her time to deal with it, but I also don¡¯t know how much time she has left, if the venom idea doesn¡¯t pan out. I really don¡¯t want her to have any regrets with her god.

    Deciding to maybe be a bad friend, I take matters into my own hands. I just want to do something after that dumpster fire of a meeting with Wreyn.

    Merciferus, your champion is sick and needs your help. Get your pretty butt over here and I¡¯ll give you a snack. If you don¡¯t help her, I might as well eat her. At least then one of us cares enough to make a change in her life.

    Yeah, I didn¡¯t expect a response. It seems to be quite unpredictable whether these god things help or not, and I doubt I have enough credit saved up to ask for any sort of favor¡­

    ¡°Kira¡­ Please get off me¡­ You¡¯re crushing me¡­¡±

    Oh, I hadn¡¯t noticed that I was squishing Lauren with my face. Well, she deserves cuddles. Being this close to her does make that weird cultist smell very apparent¡­ And that gives me a bad idea... If I can smell the affront like that, then I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s part of her body. And that means I might have to invent dragon surgery.

    I now know what Joras and I are doing tomorrow, that¡¯s for sure. We¡¯re gonna find a way for me to increase the potency of my venom, and then we¡¯re gonna create a very concentrated version of it and use it in a very limited way.

    ¡°Lauren, I have a question unrelated to anything, but you can heal yourself with only one arm, right?¡±

    ¡°What the fuck kind of question is that?¡±

    ¡°Please answer it.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I can heal myself with only one arm.¡±

    ¡°Can you restore body parts?¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    She seems a little outraged. She does think about it for a moment and tells me about how she used to rely on Merciferus to guide her spells, since she was magically weak. She got over that weakness when I gave her my magic, though, and now she just siphons off a little of my magic whenever she has to heal someone else.

    She also mentions that healing me seems to be more magically costly than healing anyone else, and I call that discrimination! I deserve cheap heals, too!

    What really sounds interesting is that she doesn''t know how much damage she can heal anymore. So we will have to explore that tomorrow as well.

    I can¡¯t just spend the makeshift festival worrying, though, so I let Lauren return to her job as the Dragon Games healer. And looking at the field, she¡¯s been sorely missed as seven goblins have pretty bad injuries. Geez, those guys are nuts.

    As Lauren rushes to aid them, I turn and leave the field behind. I¡¯m gonna go grab some food from the bonfire because it smells delicious and I haven¡¯t had much to eat today.

    It seems the blacksmiths have been busy as the bonfire is surrounded by giant pikes with entire carcasses impaled on them. There¡¯s a crew of goblins rotating the pikes, cooking the meat on all sides, and judging by the delicious smell wafting all over the place, they''ve used a generous amount of spices.

    I want to just grab one of them and chow down, but with this many people around, I don¡¯t feel like I can be that greedy. It does make me wonder how the heck they managed to pull all of this together in such a short amount of time. This entire thing feels preplanned.

    There¡¯s even an area for dancing and music. They¡¯ve got music! It¡¯s mostly drums, but it¡¯s music, and they¡¯re doing a good job of making it sound good.

    The most remarkable part of the dancing area is watching Cranky and Raya dance together. Raya¡¯s head is resting on Cranky¡¯s shoulder, which is achieved by him creating a barrier for her to stand on.

    So Tiffy and Jeannie are together, Cranky and Raya are doing their thing, Lauren is busy healing, and I¡¯m just standing around feeling awkward... Having to be so careful when I¡¯m walking is getting on my nerves today. Everyone is so small compared to me, and if I¡¯m not careful, I could literally kill someone... I¡¯ll just sit by this fire and let people move around me instead¡­

    ¡°Share a thought with the wind, Kira.¡±

    I have no idea what Joras just told me to do¡­ And now he¡¯s chuckling at me as he sits down next to me.

    ¡°Sorry. You look like your thoughts are getting the better of you, and to share a thought with the wind is to lighten that burden with no particular regard for who might hear. It can help clear up the clutter of one¡¯s mind.¡±

    Maybe I should try it. I bring up how the meeting with Wreyn went, which was not great. Then we go on to talk about how all we¡¯re working with to cure Lauren are maybes, leaving me very worried about her. And Merciferus is supposedly of Health and Vitality, but she¡¯s nowhere to be seen, so she isn¡¯t helping Lauren.

    And then there¡¯s the part where I displaced so many people from Plainshold. I regret doing that to them, and I should have waited until the adventurers had left the town, but now so many people are left without homes, and the weather is getting colder.

    Adding to that, I have no idea what it means that I still have this Corruption inside me. It still isn¡¯t growing, but it also isn¡¯t shrinking. And if the Dead King is born of the Corruption and he¡¯s apparently responsible for the Affront, which means the two have to be connected. I don¡¯t know enough about either one, and I have no idea what it means that they both seem to have ties to the Dead Jerk.

    On top of that, I have no idea who the Shadow Man is, but he keeps showing up and I appreciate the help, but fuck! Just say something! And now I¡¯ll be expected to find these damn cultists and I don¡¯t want to! I just want some fucking peace! But that¡¯s out of the question because the adventurers are still out there. I didn¡¯t kill nearly enough, and if they join the cultists, we¡¯ll have an even worse problem on our hands.

    And somehow everything comes back to me, and I hate it! I¡¯m not special, and I don¡¯t want to be!

    ¡°Well, when you summarize it like that, I agree that it is too much.¡±

    Real helpful, Joras¡­

    ¡°I can¡¯t offer you the answers you want, Kira, but you aren¡¯t alone. Lean on your friends more and you¡¯ll get the help you need. Think of the actions you regret and then consider what your friends might have suggested you do instead. With that in mind, would you repeat the same actions, or would you choose a different path if you could turn back time?¡±

    That just makes me feel worse¡­

    ¡°What¡¯s done is done, Kira. Use it to learn and consider what your friends would suggest in the future, or just ask them. Consider the variety present in your friends. Lily is an ancient elf from the Dark Below, you gave her back her life. I¡¯m sure she would share a few bits of wisdom. Raya is a spirited young survivor, she has fought for everything she has, and she took a, frankly, suicidal chance at befriending a wild animal.¡±

    I¡¯m more than an animal¡­

    ¡°Jeannie is a caring soul seeking to help anyone she can. She was locked within herself before you arrived, only traveling between her home and my shop to care for Lily. You may have frightened her at first, but you also showed her that fright can be overcome, she has grown so much since then. And then there¡¯s Tiffy. Tiffy lived alone in that hut for over a decade, not speaking to anyone other than passing animals. In her own words, she was just existing with the thought of living having been abandoned long ago. You saved her from death and allowed her to join us here, reigniting the embers of life within her.¡±

    ¡°Joras¡­ I didn¡¯t save her, I took away the snake¡¯s meal because it scared me. I was being petty, I didn¡¯t do it to save her. I didn¡¯t even know it was her¡­¡±

    ¡°If every good deed had to be pure, we would live in a truly cruel world. I doubt she would care all that much even if you told her. She¡¯s happy now, and that sword she carries lets her share touch and intimacy. I hear that was your idea.¡±

    ¡°It was part of an idea, but we couldn¡¯t test it properly.¡±

    ¡°Looks to me like she did some testing of her own, why else would she carry it around? Besides, as she tells it, she has lived and laughed more since arriving here than she had in the last decade. And judging by how close she is with Jeannie, she has also loved more. And have you noticed that Lauren doesn¡¯t use much foul language anymore? She¡¯s happy here, you know, because of you. You¡¯ve brought so much life to this place that people are focusing much more on their own growth rather than being stuck trying to survive.¡±

    With a firm nudge, I make my opinion on this matter clear.

    ¡°Stop being so reasonable, Joras, you¡¯re ruining my moping by making me happy for my friends and everyone here in Tuiran. And stop being sneaky by changing your lecture from what they offer to what I¡¯ve helped them with!¡±

 Chapter 41: Refreshment

    With Joras having thoroughly pulled me out of my momentary slump, I¡¯m feeling ready to have a snack and take on the world again. I¡¯m feeling quite happy about how well my friends are doing. It does leave me somewhat unaccounted for in terms of what to do next. Given all the stuff he just said, it makes sense to ask him what he thinks I should do.

    ¡°Joras, if you were a big, super awesome dragon capable of whatever you wanted, what would you do in my situation?¡±

    ¡°I admire your humility, Kira. But I think I would do what I did as a tall, handsome, and magnanimous elven alchemist: focus on those near your heart and throw all that you are into solving their problems. I believe you¡¯ll find your own problems will soon disappear if you do.¡±

    I feel like he does have a point, and I know just where to start. Getting up, I turn to Joras and push him to the ground, pinning him with a clawed hand while making sure he¡¯s safe.

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure we have a score to settle, Joras. If I remember correctly, I promised you licks, and I will not be made a liar.¡±

    Unleashing a thousand licks upon the helpless elven man yields screams for mercy, but today, there is no mercy to be found as he reaps what he has sown!

    Having been thoroughly punished, I release him from my grip, and he just lies on the ground, chuckling softly.

    Taking off his shirt, he starts wiping away my saliva and throws the wet clothes at my head, but I¡¯m too fast! The bonfire wasn¡¯t too fast, though. His expression makes it pretty clear that he realizes the mistake he just made as the fire begins lapping at the shirt.

    ¡°That was my favorite shirt¡­¡±

    He looks so heartbroken! I have to help, and given that I¡¯m a dragon, I¡¯ll just assume I¡¯m impervious to fire. So I stick my head into the bonfire, and using my tongue to pick up the piece of clothing, I pull it out. As far as I can taste, it hasn¡¯t been burned as the flames didn¡¯t manage to get through the layer of my viscous saliva.

    Tonguing it back to him, he grabs it with one hand, looking somewhat conflicted. I can tell that he appreciates it, but he might need to wash the shirt before he wears it again.

    ¡°Wait, if it was your favorite shirt, why did you use it to wipe your face? That¡¯s irresponsible, Joras!¡±

    ¡°It seems like I didn¡¯t think about it in the moment. Thank you for saving it from the fire.¡±

    At least I confirmed that I¡¯m close enough to impervious to fire, so I resist the heat from the bonfire just fine. Thinking of the bonfire, the food they¡¯re cooking is starting to smell irresistible and I want some. Moving to the side a bit, the cooking carcass comes into reach and I lift it off the roasting spit. The delicious flavors assault my tongue well before I¡¯ve taken my first bite and I want more!

    The shirtless Joras joins me as he carves a piece off, ignoring the spices and grease dirtying his fingers and face as he digs in. Just like me, he seems quite impressed with the flavor, and I don¡¯t think I get to have it all to myself. That¡¯s okay, though. It tastes better when we share.

    ¡°Joras, I have an idea for Lauren. Do you think we can inject a small amount of my venom directly around her heart? I don¡¯t know why, but I had this idea that if we did, it might make the vile steel move somewhere else. If we can corral it to her left arm, I can bite it off, getting rid of the physical part of the stuff.¡±

    ¡°That¡­ That¡¯s a dangerous plan, Kira. Is that something you¡¯ve learned in your old world?¡±

    I explain to him that it sort of is, and that there are medical techniques using some pretty serious toxic stuff to fight something worse. He seems quite interested in learning what I have to say on the matter, but I¡¯m nowhere even close to being an expert, I¡¯m not even a novice.

    ¡°At the very least, it¡¯s an interesting thought. I had intended to administer the venom as one would a potion, letting the body do the distribution, but this could be far more potent. I¡¯m not sure why getting rid of the physical part would work, though. Do you have any additional information regarding that part of your plan?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s just a feeling I can¡¯t shake, buzzing in my head."

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s an interesting choice. Would she rather lose her arm or her magic? I think we both know what she¡¯d choose. I will have to think about how to do it, though.¡±

    It sounds like he¡¯s on board to try, so that¡¯s a relief. Now I just need to finish off this deliciousness! Joras takes a few more slices before I manage to eat the last few bits. And annoyingly, another question pops into my mind¡­ I wanted to get some more food, but now I have to deal with my curiosity¡­

    ¡°Joras, do you have any idea why I¡¯m so prone to shifts between happy and sad? It¡¯s getting annoying.¡±

    ¡°Well, had you been human or elven, I would say it reminds me of the growth into adulthood, but I must admit that I can¡¯t say for sure.¡±

    Ah, dang it! That makes sense! If Wreyn is right, I¡¯ve basically grown several years'' worth of growth in a few weeks, of course I¡¯m gonna have hormonal problems¡­ Dang it! Dang it! Dang it! I had to deal with hormonal balance issues for six years before I got stabbed, and now they¡¯re back! I¡¯m gonna be so angry if I¡¯m hitting puberty and turning into Kira the Teenage Dragon of Tuiran! I¡¯m gonna be so annoyed if I start getting pimples again.

    ¡°It appears you¡¯ve come to a conclusion, Kira. Whatever it is, I wouldn¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get through this as well.¡±

    The words sound reassuring and kind, but the laughter sounds mocking and annoying.

    He¡¯s making it pretty clear that the punishment I dealt out wasn¡¯t enough, so maybe I¡¯ll add twice as many licks next time.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking, Kira. Do you have any ideas on how to make the world better? Most travelers bring something from their old world to create a significant change here. The last traveler I know of brought along new ideas for carriages and wagons to smooth out the rides. And I must admit, I find myself tremendously curious about what you might know.¡±

    Geez, that¡¯s a big question. ¡®Oh hey, got a minute to revolutionize the world?¡¯ I do have a brick idea though¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s not really a thing from my old world, but I did think about suggesting dragon-fired bricks. I feel like they might be pretty good if this Dragon¡¯s Gold stuff is so good because of my flames.¡±

    I don¡¯t really appreciate all this laughing at me Joras is doing, and now he¡¯s really laughing as he rolls on the ground.

    With a curled claw, I boop him in the stomach, changing the laughter to a mix of coughing and laughing. I might have been a bit too rough. It¡¯s pretty clear that he needs a moment.

    ¡°My apologies, Kira. It wasn¡¯t you, it was the absurdity of it all. It¡¯s a great idea and I have no doubt it would work, but a Dragon going into construction isn¡¯t exactly the norm around here. Unless you count creating work. By the Gods, you pack a punch¡­¡±

    His breathing stays heavy for quite a while, and I hope that¡¯s because of all the laughing and not my booping him¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s getting late, would you be up for letting me gather some venom? Then I can bring your suggestion to Turo¡¯s attention tomorrow.¡±

    That sounds like a decent plan, so turning my head, I lower a horn for him to grab onto, and when he does, I turn my head again, pulling him up from the ground. With him standing, he gets to work gathering his things, and our trek to his shop begins.

    It¡¯s quite an enjoyable walk in the empty streets. We can just keep a leisurely pace and I don¡¯t have to worry about stepping on or knocking over anyone. I still have to watch my tail, but that¡¯s okay. We just enjoy the quiet as the rambunctious party continues behind us.

    ¡°You know, Kira, I think it was quite clever of you to ask Lily about her homeland¡¯s cooking, and I wanted to thank you for it. She has spent most of the day talking to traders and buying ingredients. It¡¯s good that she gets out more. That¡¯s another example of how not every good deed has to be pure. And this good deed will be rewarded. She has baked a batch of cookies for you.¡±

    Ooh! I haven¡¯t had cookies in so long! I wonder what kind they are. I bet they¡¯re delicious.

    I¡¯m quite looking forward to having some cookies, and before I know it, I¡¯m trotting at a decent pace to get there. With my size, I cover the distance in barely any time at all, and stopping outside his door, I knock.

    ¡°Kira¡­ Let me just catch my breath¡­ I¡¯m already here, you didn¡¯t have to knock¡­ By the Gods, I need to get out more¡­ You¡¯re fast when you aren¡¯t being slowed by crowds¡­¡±

    That¡¯s a fair point, but it isn¡¯t as important as cookies. Joras meanders through his door and heads into some other room back there. Only a moment later, he returns with the greatest treasure of all time! Potentially delicious cookies!

    ¡°We should gather the venom first; otherwise, the collections will be contaminated by crumbs.¡±

    That¡¯s just unfair! He dangles the cookies in front of me like that and then tells me to be responsible?! How can I possibly be responsible with my prize so close?

    ¡°Don¡¯t growl at me, Kira. This won¡¯t take long, and then you¡¯ll get your cookies.¡±

    Fiiine¡­ Opening my mouth a little, I keep the memory of frightening Joras fresh in my mind. I don¡¯t want to repeat that, since it¡¯s not fun to scare friends. Well, except when it is, but this time it isn¡¯t.

    He puts a hand on my nose and gently pushes upward, and I let him control how wide my maw is so he can feel safe. When he feels it¡¯s appropriate, he starts his thing and scoops up my venom. It doesn¡¯t take long, and by the time he finishes, I notice that my mouth isn¡¯t as dry as it was last time. So I question him about that.

    ¡°It makes no sense to collect it all as the last few batches would be effectively useless regardless of how much effort we put in, so we might as well prioritize your comfort. And thank you for prioritizing my comfort.¡±

    Aww, he¡¯s a sweetheart. But enough of that, I want delicious cookies! And he¡¯s busy being nice, I¡¯ll have to see if I can fetch them myself. I saw him place them just inside the door. If I snake my tongue around just right, I should be able to get them.

    I¡¯ll have to be careful not to break anything, but I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m close! It takes a few tries, but then I hear a crash and glass shattering¡­

    ¡°Whasn¡¯ meh.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no one else around, Kira, denying your involvement will be a difficult sale. Just let me get them for you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    A moment after going in to fetch the cookies, he returns and asks me to open up. Doing as I¡¯m told, he throws a cookie into my mouth and it is delicious! But it¡¯s also stuck under my tongue¡­ My dang mouth is too big for non-dragon-sized cookies! Try as I might, I just can¡¯t dislodge it from under there¡­ No amount of tongue twisting is working, dang it!

    ¡°Joras, I need help¡­¡±

    ¡°I can see that. Hold still, I¡¯ll get it for you.¡±

    He sure is laughing at me a lot today. But he¡¯s a lot less afraid of me now than he was the last time we collected venom. Instead of giving me intact cookies, he crumbles them up and drops the crumbs on my tongue. They¡¯re even more delicious when I can taste them properly!

    ¡°I want another!¡°

    ¡°No. Two today, and then you can come back tomorrow morning for two more, okay? We can¡¯t have you eating them all in one day.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure I approve of this responsibility¡­ but it makes sense to split them up over several days for maximum deliciousness.

    Joras lets out a yawn, and I fail entirely at holding back one of my own, but I manage to turn my head away from him, which earns me a pat and a thanks! Letting me know that he needs to do some work before bed, we say goodnight to each other, and I leave for my den. I want some sleep, too.

    The weird mushroom lights provide a lovely glow for the streets, and I can just take my time returning to the square. As usual, I keep my nose ready for any odd smells, just in case. I haven¡¯t had any hits on the sniffer since the mire panther, but that was a big one, so it¡¯s worth it to be ready.

    I am kinda hoping I find another one, I want to taste it.

    Speaking of taste, I¡¯ve had some good use of my tongue lately and I¡¯m kinda curious¡­ Sticking my tongue out, I move it toward my eye and¡­ Geez, maybe I am an overgrown lizard¡­ Giving my third eyelid a lick, it cleans up a bit and my sight becomes just a tad clearer when I use it. Raya must never know¡­

    That weirds me out, so I¡¯ll just rely on my eyelids instead.

    Time to head for my den and forget all about that nonsense. The walk remains quiet until I reach the square and hear that the party is still going strong. I¡¯m tempted to join them again, but I also want to see what tomorrow holds. I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯m supposed to do tomorrow. I¡¯m sure something will come up and that¡¯s okay.

    Reaching the square, my people spot me and the place goes quiet¡­ I need to take some responsibility and forge my path ahead instead of being dragged along by the designs of obnoxious actors in the shadows. Raising my head up and standing proud, I unleash my booming voice as inspiration strikes and feel a sense of clarity.

    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    ¡°Hear me, people of Tuiran! As your Guardian, I will throw my all into defending you! If anything threatens you, it threatens me, and I will not tolerate that anymore! It doesn''t matter what shows up to attack us, we will fight back! And I will sear it into their minds that attacking Tuiran or our people will only result in pain! I will do what I can to make your lives better, and I hope I can expect the same from you! Tuiran is my hoard, and you are my treasures!¡±

    With that, I take my leave and head into my den as murmurs turn to cheers and the party kicks up a few notches.

    Jeannie and Tiffy are quick to join me, and before I know it, Lauren is here too.

    ¡°Did you mean it, Kira? Are you sure that¡¯s the path you want to take?¡±

    I let her know that I am sure. I have no intention of going after everyone, but I need to be willing to kill the threats that stand against us.

    "Please promise me that you will offer leniency to those who surrender, as you have done before."

    I don''t need a mental link to tell that she''s worried I''ll turn into a tyrant. Killing the cultists is non-negotiable, though, but I''m not entirely against offering leniency toward adventurers. As far as I''m concerned, they''re jerks, but jerks can be reformed. I''ll have to rely on my friends to determine when I should be lenient because I''m still leaning toward killing them all.

    Given that I need to find the cultists, it might just be the easiest to have Wreyn gather all the people who fled Plainshold in one spot, then I can begin smelling them. It¡¯s not much of a plan, but it will put the cultists in danger, and that means they¡¯ll be easy to hurt.

    Lauren seems to feel a little more reassured that I¡¯m not turning into a giant murder tyrant as she joins Jeannie, Tiffy, and me while I coil up. Snuggle pile!

    ¡°Got room for a few more?¡±

    Raya¡¯s here! And she brought Cranky. That¡¯s unusual, but I¡¯ll allow it. Lifting my head, I give them passage to enter the snuggle cave and they¡¯re quick to find a spot by my thigh. Cranky leans against me as Raya lies on top of him. This feels nice. Sleep claims us as we all settle in for a snooze.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    A gruff voice tries as hard as it can to be impossible to ignore, but it underestimates my ability to snooze.

    ¡°Guardian Dragon Kira! We must speak of these kilns and bricks Joras mentioned! We have to begin right away! He theorizes that dragon-fired bricks will insulate against the weather well AND be capable of heating with the right inscription! Kira! We must begin immediately! Now! Wake up! Joras, how do I wake her up? Kira! The kilns await!¡±

    Okay, geez, calm down... The voice sounds familiar, but the energy doesn¡¯t match what I remember.

    It seems the shouting old goblin outside my den has woken up a few others as stretches and yawns spread among my treasures.

    Raya starts translating for Cranky, and it seems to pique his interest too, as he begins yammering on about how I should do it and it could help a bunch of people through winter and cut back on firewood and charcoal needs. Great, now I¡¯ve got Cranky and Turo telling me to wake- Never mind, I¡¯ve got Cranky, Turo, and Lauren telling me to wake up and start making construction material... Let me snooze, dang it!

    Not even grumbling at them stops their incessant interruption of my snooze, and it only gets worse when Raya starts shoving my face as she tells me to get up. Fiiine. Everyone has already gotten off me, so I get up and stretch before heading outside.

    As I¡¯m stretching, Cranky puts his hands on the side of my belly for some reason and rubs my scales. I have no idea what he¡¯s doing, but as I look back, he seems to be concentrating and moving his hands with purpose.

    That¡¯s weird, but I have business to deal with, so I¡¯ll ignore that for now. Leaving Cranky behind, I head out to meet with Turo, and the tiny man is ecstatic to see me. Joras mouths an apology as the old goblin starts telling me to follow him. Joras starts heading a different direction when I clear my throat and make it clear that he¡¯ll be joining us.

    It¡¯s tempting to tease the older goblin by being reluctant to follow, but his excitement is infectious and I¡¯m not gonna ruin it. So today will be a well-behaved day as we head to the blue square area. Soil-based production.

    To my relief, Turo is actually quite fast as he almost runs ahead, shooing people out of the way to make room for me. I might have to enlist him as a permanent people-shooer.

    With our reasonable pace, we manage to reach an area with a deep scent of earth, similar to my den. It¡¯s definitely the blue square area.

    Turo walks up to a specific building and knocks a few times, growing visibly impatient when they don¡¯t open the exact second his knuckle leaves the door after the final knock. Geez, calm down, old man.

    It doesn¡¯t take long before a middle-aged pair opens the door, two goblins covered in clay looking like a wife and husband with a shared purpose.

    I don¡¯t even have to use my keen dragon brain to deduce that these two are potters. I¡¯m curious what sort of things they¡¯re making, but before I have a chance to ask, Turo launches into a rant about how we need their kiln. He¡¯s not being very polite about it either.

    The two look apologetic as they explain how I won¡¯t be able to reach their kilns, since they were constructed before the housing was set up and now the area has buildings on all sides.

    I¡¯m not the best at reading expressions, but I do know when someone has a foolish idea, and if I¡¯m right, Turo is thinking about demolishing a nearby house to make room for me.

    ¡°Elder Turo, perhaps it would be prudent to construct a new area for larger kilns. Perhaps in an area outside of the walls, reducing the risk of fires spreading.¡±

    Good one, Joras! That¡¯s a pretty good idea, it would also allow for scaling up. But more importantly, if Joras becomes the focus of Turo¡¯s attention, I can take off and leave all this boring city planning to those two. I¡¯m just here to light fires and have fun.

    Joras seems to be keeping an eye on me, preventing my subtle escape, but with how much Turo is talking about plans to expand the town, the sneaky elf will no doubt lose track of me eventually. Especially if I ignore his upcoming protests.

    He¡¯s also deliberately standing in the middle of the street, knowing I can¡¯t turn around. Nudging him a few times does get him to move, but then he just steps back as soon as the nudges stop¡­ This is a problem. How does one move an elf who refuses to be moved?

    It¡¯s obvious now that I think about it. Grabbing him around the waist, he does indeed protest, and when I place a claw against the wall of a building, using it to raise my body up, he starts protesting even more. He really is light, and that makes it very easy to put him down on top of the potter¡¯s building.

    ¡°Kira, get me down from here! You can¡¯t just put people on top of buildings because you¡¯re bored!¡±

    Turns out I can, so there.

    With Joras taken care of, I¡¯m free to leave and enjoy myself. Continuing down the street, the crowd, being slower to disperse to make room for me, reminds me that I forgot about Turo. It seems he¡¯s content to let me leave, so that¡¯s nice of him.

    Following the roads big enough for me, it doesn¡¯t take too long to reach the northern gate, allowing me to leave for an area big enough to take off from. I¡¯m itching for a fight, and I kinda hope I can find some adventurers to scratch that itch.

    Flying east with significant speed, I search the plains for any signs of humanoid life, but all I spot are goblin patrols. It seems the hunters are out looking for prey today. Diving closer and going into a soar above them, I ask if they¡¯ve seen any signs of adventurers.

    One of them waves me down, so I land by them and she starts talking about how there are signs of camps to the east and northeast, but I would have to find a scout group to know more. For now, they intend to stay away from those particular areas, but that¡¯s a pretty good reason for me to get closer.

    Taking off again, I contemplate whether I should make this a regular thing or not. It might be a good idea to add patrolling the skies to my list of chores throughout the week. Especially if I get some fighting out of it. Although if the adventurers have left on their own, I guess I shouldn¡¯t chase them down.

    That¡¯s something I should ask advice about, so I¡¯ll turn my focus back to spotting these camps of adventurers. Flying between the few trees standing in the plains here, it doesn¡¯t take long before I find one of the camps mentioned by the hunting party.

    Giving it a sniff, it¡¯s obvious that this party consisted of an elf, a human, and something unknown. Not a cultist, but something I¡¯m not familiar with. Tracking their scent, they headed due east, which should make them easy to find.

    I know by now that if I want to track something, I need to do it from the ground, so with that in mind, I keep my head low and start following the trail. Given my size, even if they had horses, I would be able to catch up, or at least keep up.

    All of a sudden, the trail stops. It¡¯s gone and I don¡¯t know why. Searching the area doesn¡¯t provide any leads, and a thought strikes... It¡¯s those dang anti-tracking potions! How dare they use that against me?!

    Taking to the skies again, all I can do is keep my eyes peeled and try to spot them. They¡¯re like little pests invading my home, and I¡¯m growing a little angry at them for being so difficult to find. And they no doubt know exactly where I am. I would be very easy to spot in an open area like this.

    All I see is a merchant¡¯s wagon off in the distance, but that¡¯s in the southwest, so not what I¡¯m looking for.

    Spotting another camp, I take aim and soar down. I can¡¯t leave it unexplored, especially not when this campfire is lit and roasting some meat. That¡¯s free lunch! I don¡¯t see or smell anyone around, and it¡¯s getting weird. I suspect it''s those annoying potions again, and I don''t like that it''s common enough for multiple groups to have used them.

    In a rush, I land, snatch the food, and take off again. Chewing lets me know that they can''t have gone far because this meat is still raw. And delicious.

    I don''t like that I''m finding camps within the line of sight of Tuiran. Flying over the camp again, I scorch it to send a message that I don''t want the adventurers this close. I''m not sure they''ll get it, but it''s an attempt.

    If I keep scouting the area, I''m sure they''ll run out of those potions, but I don''t know how long those things last.

    It takes hours of flying before I manage to find some adventurers, and they immediately notice that I''ve spotted them.

    Fleeing across the plains, they''re easy to keep track of, but I''ve gotten closer to the trade route, and there''s an incoming merchant. If they reach the merchant, it''ll be a whole bother to avoid hurting the bystander.

    Speeding up, I close in on them fast, and with my mouth open, I get ready to chomp one of them.

    "DROP!"

    Just as I reach them, they all fall to the ground at the leader''s command, evading my bite. That''s very rude! Swinging around, I go for another pass, but this time, I''ll burn them instead of messing around.

    Closing in, I get ready to unleash my flames on them, but as I do, the leader shouts another command, and they all huddle together. Several barriers form in front of them in a wedge shape, causing my flames to split to either side and dissipate. I can maintain my flame with ease, but my speed carries me over them, so they manage to survive my second attack as well.

    These people are annoyingly persistent in their ability to not let me kill them.

    But they have to be running low on magic, so I wonder if they can hold up against another wave of flame. Going for another fiery strafing run, the leader shouts, and everyone but the bulky leader splits up and runs away. I''m fine with just killing one for now, so I continue my strafing run.

    Closing in, I get my flames ready when a heavy object impacts my nose right in the dang sensitive spot! Dang it, that hurts!

    The sudden pain makes me lose focus, my flight turning wobbly as I flinch, and I crash into the ground hard. Those jerks! What the hell did they throw at me?!

    I can''t lie here all day. Pushing myself up, I get ready to face the onslaught of adventurers. There were like nine of them, and they could be trouble if they work together properly. Geez, my nose hurts... I think I''m bleeding... Giving my snout a lick, I confirm that I am bleeding.

    That''s one impressive throw. Getting up, I take a look around and see the large throwing guy standing at a distance in front of me. This jerk is looking mighty upset. Next to him is a smaller-framed person, a woman, I think. She''s wearing a hooded robe and wielding a long gnarled staff. So it''s a fighter and a caster of some sort. Well, as luck would have it, I''m both, so screw you guys.

    Charging them, I unleash my flames as I run, but the large guy grabs the small woman and holds her tight in front of him. Using his back as a shield, he protects her from my flames as she creates a sharp-angled barrier to redirect my flames just enough to keep them safe. That''s clever, I like that.

    Well, that doesn''t stop my charge, though! Lunging at them, the larger guy gets ready to fight, and he freakin'' uppercuts me! The punch connects with my jawbone and makes my ears ring, but judging by the crunch of bone, he''s not using that hand again.

    Still, that hurt. Seriously! Who uppercuts a dragon?! That''s just nuts!

    This is a world with magic! Punches aren''t magic, dang it!

    While I''m a little outraged at the absurdity of punching a dragon, I¡¯m also impressed by how much it hurt. Giving them a moment to prepare before getting up again, I feel a tingle of magic. Looking up, I see the small woman chanting and healing Punchy¡¯s hand. She looks exhausted already, so they''re just buying time.

    He charges at me with a smile, I get it, this is pretty fun. But I''m pretty sure I shouldn''t let this guy get too close. Unleashing more flames, he sprints to the side, dodging like a freakin'' expert. As he closes in, I swing my tail around to meet my flames in a pincer attack, but the agile giant leaps over my tail with incredible grace.

    Taking hold of one of my tail''s spines, he starts climbing up my back, rushing for my head. This is the mire panther all over again and I¡¯m not sure how I¡¯m supposed to deal with this guy¡¯s strategy, so I turn my focus to the other party member, the healer. It¡¯s time for a charge!

    "Run, Sarah!"

    "Don''t run, Sarah!"

    Following up his yell with one of my own causes Sarah to hesitate in a moment of confusion. As she looks back, she trips over something and falls to the ground. Feeling the heavy footsteps of Punchy running on my back, I find myself curious what he¡¯ll do next. With impressive force, he jumps from my back and grabs hold of one of my horns. Using his considerable, and sudden, weight, he pulls my head to the side, causing me to lose balance and slam into the ground face first. Geez, what the hell is this guy made of, freakin'' osmium?

    This is the second time he''s caused my head to impact the ground, and I do not approve!

    As I¡¯m wondering about whether Punchy is meat or metal, Sarah gets up and runs away while Punchy tries to hold me down by the horn. He¡¯s certainly trying his best, but without the assistance of surprise and velocity, I''ve got the advantage! Prepare yourself, Punchy, you¡¯re about fly!

    With a jerking motion, I pull my head up in a sideways arch and slam it back down again, causing him to have to let go. Unfortunately, he lets go too late, resulting in him being pounded into the ground by the force of my thrashing.

    "Please let her go..."

    He should have been able to withstand that, but he¡¯s not really moving. With a gentle claw, I roll him over and see what went wrong. There¡¯s a rock protruding from the ground and it hit him right in the chest. He¡¯s got a giant bruise and I don¡¯t like this¡­ I want to win on my own, not because of some rock he happened to hit¡­

    This isn''t a wise choice, but I take off and fly after Sarah. I''m gonna have her heal him so we can try again. I need the practice if I want to stay safe and protect Tuiran. And my pride is telling me to win by my own power.

    "No! No! Leave her!"

    Ignoring his pleas, I take off after her, and she hasn''t gotten far at all. I could have run at a brisk pace and caught up in no time. Swooping down, I pick her up and turn around, bringing her to Punchy.

    He seems to have pulled together enough strength to stand up and shuffle toward us.

    Dumping Sarah on the ground near him, she seems confused, and I want to tell her what to do, but I don''t know the word for ''heal'' in their language.

    I hadn''t noticed it until now, but she''s not human. She doesn¡¯t smell like a cultist either, so I don¡¯t know what she is.

    Landing near them, they just stare at me while Punchy clutches his stomach as he struggles to stand. How do I convey that I want him healed¡­ I have no idea.

    Before I have to admit that I¡¯m not very creative, he hunches over, and she rushes to his side and starts to heal him.

    ¡°No, Sarah! Run!¡±

    "No, Sarah. Don''t run!"

    "Fuck you, Dragon!"

    She speaks!

    Finishing her healing as best she can, she''s looking very exhausted and I have no doubt that she''s being pushed to her limit, but Punchy will survive. He isn''t fight-ready, though, which is a little disappointing.

    And she seems to have found her bravery as she struts right up to me with staff in hand and raises it to the sky. With enough force to knock herself over, she whacks my nose, but she didn''t hit the sensitive spot, so it doesn''t hurt much.

    I''m a little surprised that all the others just left these two to deal with me, but at least they''re sticking together now. It''s an impressive last stand, but if I want him healed for another fight, I''ll have to rely on Lauren. She''s a much better first-aid kit.

    Ignoring the downed healer, I move over to the crater I initially made when Punchy shot me down and look for his weapon. It takes a moment to find, but when I do, I find that it is a large wooden log attached to a stick. That''s one basic weapon, but geez, it hurts when it hits you in the nose.

    When I return with the hammer, the two adventurers are holding each other, and they look quite nice together. Dumping the weapon near them causes Punchy to look at me in confusion as he lets go of Sarah and reaches for it. With a growl from me, he raises both hands to show that he''s not going to attack.

    Turning my side to them, I swing my tail around in a loose circle in the air. Catching Punchy''s attention, he tells Sarah to move away as he gets ready.

    With a soft swipe, he tries to jump over, but he''s still too wounded to be fun. A blunt part of my tail impacts his legs, and he falls to the ground again. Looks like I really need Lauren to heal him if I want more fun.

    As he''s lying in the dirt, he starts chuckling, leading him to cough. I''m not gonna focus on that though, I''m gonna take to the skies and pick them up so I can bring them to Lauren for healing.

    "I think it likes us, Sarah."

    Swinging around, I fly low to pick up Punchy first. He just accepts it, and with another swing-around, I snatch up Sarah as well before heading back toward Tuiran.

    During our flight, they keep talking about what''s going on. Sarah seems convinced that I''m gonna kill them, but Punchy seems curious to see what''s going on and argues that they''ve traded certain death for a possibility of survival. She''s not buying it.

    I want a rematch, though. That was a fun fight, and I need to learn to cover those weaknesses.

 Chapter 42: Rayas Responsibility Pt 1

    That old Elder waking us up is so annoying¡­ I was sleeping so well on Neithro and Kira.

    But sleeping all day isn¡¯t an option, and I don¡¯t want it to be.

    It looks like Kira is leaving with Turo, so today is a working day. With a stretch, I listen to the now-familiar creaking and cracking of my bones as they settle into place properly. Whatever is going on with them has started happening more lately.

    I love most of the things happening, but it¡¯s becoming easier to understand why Kira can be so aggressive toward anyone standing in her way. I¡¯m feeling it too. The idea that there are dumb adventurers out there wanting to take what¡¯s ours makes me want to go out and hunt them down.

    Neithro is the only one I¡¯ve told, and he has helped me manage it. He told me that hunting something else would take the edge off, and he was right, but it takes longer and longer to find the beasts in the forest. I think I might have hunted too many.

    It feels so odd to tell Kira that I used to struggle to survive and now I¡¯m doing so well. A few days of hunting wolves, and I make more coin than I did in a season of collecting herbs. It feels like a dream.

    Getting ready for the day, I let Neithro know that he can ask Jeannie to tell him where Turo is if he wants to share any knowledge about all that clay stuff he was talking about. The dumb human tousles my hair in response and gives me a hug. If this is what Kira left behind when she died as a human, I don¡¯t think I can blame her for being sad sometimes. It feels really good.

    I¡¯m not gonna linger around here anymore, though. I want to get out and join the scouts heading east. If they get into trouble, it¡¯ll be good to have my dagger nearby.

    Before leaving, I¡¯ll just ask Lauren to cast one of those healing spells on me to take care of any cuts I may have gotten throughout the night. If I wanted to, I could call on Kira¡¯s magic to heal me, but I don¡¯t think I should do that for small stuff like this, not when I can bother Lauren with it.

    Looking at my hands, I can¡¯t help but admire these sharp nails. They¡¯re great for killing beasts, but terrible for sleeping uninjured. And that¡¯s not even bringing up my even sharper teeth. I¡¯ve bitten my tongue so many times, it¡¯s silly.

    With everything all healed up and her thanked, I leave Kira¡¯s den behind and head for the eastern gate. Judging by the sun¡¯s position, the scouts shouldn¡¯t have left too long ago, so I have plenty of time to catch up, and if I get exhausted, then I can touch Kira¡¯s magic to feel full of energy again.

    Rushing through the square, I leap for a building and collide with the wall as my nails sink into the structure. It¡¯s so amazing that I can just climb buildings now if I want to, and I do want to! With one hand in front of the other, I pull myself up to the roof and start running across rooftops. It¡¯s so much faster than having to run through the street.

    Reaching the final building, I push off and jump onto the guarding wall and continue out into the plains. Raya the Dragonbringer can do anything!

    Bending down, I sniff the ground a bit and I can tell that the last scouting team to leave were headed for the east through the mountain road. So now I have a direction to follow!

    Taking off into a sprint, I run through the plains as I keep my nose peeled, ready for any odd smells. I wonder if Kira does that as well, she is the source of my great nose after all. She probably does. She¡¯s a weirdo, but she¡¯s not dumb.

    It takes a while before I reach the scouts, they''ve got a small camp set up with a basic setup of rocks for placing food on. They keep it simple so passing threats don''t think anything of it. As I greet them, they¡¯re quick to invite me to join as they let me know what¡¯s going on. It turns out one of the other scouting parties was supposed to have come this way, but the marker hadn¡¯t been touched. That¡¯s a problem.

    The scouts fuss a little as they draw a map of their route and look it over a few times, I commit it to memory. I¡¯ll just have to follow it backwards until I find the previous scouting team¡¯s scent. I¡¯ve always been a good tracker, but ever since this pact of friendship with Kira, I¡¯ve become so much better. Tracking footprints and broken branches is baby stuff compared to following a scent trail and hearing. And doing both is better than either!

    Leaving the scouts behind as I head southwest, I wish them luck and safe passage, as I run at a brisk pace to avoid kicking up too much dust.

    Instead of following the usual animal paths, I¡¯ll take the merchant¡¯s route by the mountain. It intersects with the route I need to follow, so it¡¯s just faster.

    I wish I could fly like Kira. It¡¯s so much more fun than running, and it¡¯s so much faster.

    I can¡¯t, though, so that¡¯s fine! I¡¯m still so fast!

    Taking a moment to check the time, I look into the sky as I hold up my fingers to count. I¡¯ve got plenty of time until midday. The creaking noise of a wagon interrupts my timekeeping, though.

    ¡°Hey Leon, there¡¯s a goblin on the road.¡±

    ¡°Just kill it before more show up.¡±

    Turning to face the dumb, I spot two dumb guards or adventurers or whatever they are, it doesn¡¯t matter, they¡¯re dumb. One of the guards advances toward me as he pulls out his sword with a dumb grin on his face¡­ This could be fun.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare touch that goblin! Not around here, you fools!¡±

    Huh, I didn¡¯t expect the merchant to be less dumb than the guards, but it seems he is.

    Drawing my dagger, I throw it at the advancing guard, he easily knocks it away and laughs at me. The merchant is still yelling about leaving me alone, but the second dumb guard, Leon, unsheathes his sword as well and starts advancing too. I¡¯m not sure why they would need two to attack me if they think I¡¯m a normal goblin.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see that she isn¡¯t afraid of you idiots?! Put away your swords and let¡¯s leave!¡±

    ¡°Goblins are too stupid to be afraid. We¡¯ll just kill it and get moving.¡±

    I knew they were dumb¡­ Well, they¡¯ve chosen death, so I¡¯ll happily deliver it!

    Charging at the first dumb guard, I kick off the ground, sending me flying toward his face. He tries to evade, but with a clawed hand, I reach out as I fly over him. My nails dig into his shoulder, and I pull myself onto him. Landing on his back, I start ripping apart his chain mail and gambeson, broken materials scattering around us.

    Soon his flesh is revealed, and I dig my fingers into him, curling them around his ribs and pulling. The snapping bones make me feel powerful as the blood of my prey falls to the ground. I¡¯m not quite feeling done yet, though. Taking hold of his shoulder blades, I force them upward until they pop. That should keep him steady for now.

    With the dumb guard taken care of, mostly, I notice a smell of piss, which reminds me of the other dumb guard. As soon as I turn my head toward him, he drops his sword and flees, abandoning the merchant.

    I¡¯m gonna let the other dumb guard run, he¡¯ll be easy to track when I¡¯m done here.

    ¡°Hey, less dumb merchant. Tuiran is that direction, it¡¯s safe and you can buy some great stuff there!¡±

    Watching him drive off with his wagon lets me focus on the first dumb guard, he¡¯s still alive, and I find myself enjoying that. Walking over to the fallen dumb guard, the delicious smell Kira won¡¯t shut up about sometimes hits me. Fear. And I get it, it smells so fantastic, and I want more.

    ¡°Hey Dumb Guard, you must be much smarter than me because you smell very afraid.¡±

    With a hard kick, I turn him over so he¡¯s lying on his back and his eyes fixate on me as I bring a hand to his throat and dig my fingers into his neck. With a firm pull, I rip out his throat and watch the blood pool on the ground. Humans sure have a lot of blood.

    Time to find the other dumb guard. After I pick up my dagger again, I don¡¯t want to leave it behind. It was a present from Joras, after all.

    Taking off down the road, I pick up the scent of the running dummy without much difficulty. All I have to do is follow the scent of fear, piss, and sweat. It won¡¯t be a problem at all.

    He hasn¡¯t really gotten that far, but he might not be as dumb as the first dumb guard. Using bushes and stuff to hide, he¡¯s trying his best to remain hidden. If I couldn¡¯t smell him, he might have had a chance. I guess this is an opportunity, and I should use it.

    ¡°Hey, dumb guard, have you seen any other goblins around here?¡±

    He¡¯s not replying¡­ I¡¯m looking right at him and he¡¯s crying. It¡¯s less fun when they cry.

    ¡°Dumb guard, how about a bargain? If you answer my questions, I might not hurt you.¡±

    ¡°We didn¡¯t find any goblins! I swear on Terragaraem and my blessing! We haven¡¯t found any goblins!¡±

    ¡°You found me, does that mean you¡¯re lying? Tsk, leave it to a blessed dummy to lie when they swear on their dumb gods¡­¡±

    ¡°We found one goblin! You! We didn¡¯t find any others! Please believe me! Please!¡±

    He¡¯s still watching the road, but I¡¯m behind him now. Sneaking up on him, I move as close as I can without him noticing, which turns out to be really close. With my head right behind him, I ask him a simple question to tease him.

    ¡°Why would I believe you when you¡¯ve already lied to me?"

    All he does is scream and run away toward where they came from, leaving me to wonder whether to let him live or kill him for being the one to tell the first dumb guard to kill me. If he stumbles on any other goblins, he might hurt them, so it would be irresponsible to let him live, and being irresponsible is Kira¡¯s job.

    Giving chase, I charge the fleeing dummy. With claws extended, I slice across the back of his heels, just like the wolves do when they attack.

    As he falls, he hits the ground hard and looks quite distraught when he twists around to look at me.

    ¡°You promised you wouldn¡¯t hurt me!¡±

    As he shouts at me, I climb on top of him and take a seat on his chest as he lashes out trying to throw me off, but Kira puts up more of a fight than this when we go flying. And she¡¯s not even trying.

    ¡°And you swore you hadn¡¯t seen any goblins, so really, I¡¯m not even here.¡±

    His struggle continues with punch after punch aimed at my head, but he¡¯s exhausted and weak, making it very easy to knock his hands aside. It¡¯s fun to play with him, but I really should get moving. Grabbing his wrists, I force them to his chest. His fear deepens as he starts to realize just how much stronger than him I am.

    Looking at him being so helpless and weak makes me curious¡­ I wonder what he tastes like. Bringing one of his arms up, I take a bite and he¡¯s so tasty! As his blood fills my mouth, I can¡¯t help but wonder how Kira can hold herself back with all of those snacks walking around.

    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Taking another bite of the tasty dummy, he screams again, reminding me that I should probably kill him. Releasing the arm I¡¯ve eaten from, I bring my free hand to his throat and dig my fingers in before ripping it out. The gurgles let me know that he¡¯ll die soon.

    His eyes stare up at me in his final moments, fear and despair shining brightly.

    ¡°Not so fun hunting goblins when they fight back, is it?¡±

    With that taken care of, it¡¯s time to get back to finding that scouting party. I should make sure I¡¯m prepared, and for that, I need some food. A few bites for the road won¡¯t hurt. Maybe I should do what Kira does and try the inside stuff first.

    Stomping on the second dummy¡¯s chest a few times, I hear the ribs snap and I get to work pulling his rib cage open, revealing the treasure trove of treats. I don¡¯t think I should be as greedy as Kira today, so I¡¯ll settle for his heart and liver.

    Taking a bite of the heart, blood squirts all over me. The rush of flavor is overpowering and I find myself wanting more. Finishing off the heart far too fast, I look down at myself and I should have realized how dirty I¡¯d get, but that¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll just wash up when I get back.

    With liver in hand, it¡¯s time to head back to tracking. Following the scouting route further south, it takes me closer to the mountain¡¯s foot and into our forest. I should be able to find a checkpoint around here, but I¡¯m not entirely sure what I¡¯m looking for. All the checkpoints are carved into something, and they¡¯re easier to spot as a goblin than those dumb tall blessed people.

    Looking around, I don¡¯t smell or see anything that stands out, but I¡¯ll just need to keep trying. Searching the area is easy enough, and I have a good enough memory to remember where I¡¯ve already searched, but I¡¯m still not finding the markers.

    My search is interrupted by voices in the distance. I guess I¡¯ll need to deal with that because those sound like human voices and they¡¯re speaking in the blessed dummy language, so I¡¯ll probably find trouble again. And this is far too close to one of our scouting trails, that information should have been brought back.

    There are two voices and they¡¯re headed in my direction. Climbing into a tree, I get ready for them to pass by as I snack on the liver. It takes a little effort to not get distracted by the flavor, but I¡¯m good, so I can do it.

    The two humans pass by a few trees away and they¡¯re very easy to keep an eye on. One of them is wearing a robe long enough to cover his knees, along with a large staff, and the other has leather armor and a bow.

    ¡°They were sneaking around over here. I don¡¯t know where they ran off to, but we should be careful. Goblins are weak, but they¡¯re sneaky.¡±

    They¡¯re right about us being sneaky. Though it sounds like they¡¯re looking for the scouts, so it appears I won¡¯t have a choice but to fight these guys too. I can¡¯t fight back the smile forming on my face as the prospect of fighting these stronger opponents excites me.

    ¡°Are you sure we should be doing this? I know the boss told us to hunt for goblins, but don¡¯t you think we should worry more about the Dragon? If it finds us, we¡¯re fucked. We should head back to Arrenfret.¡±

    I have no idea who Arrenfret is, but I agree with that dummy, leaving our forest would be a good idea.

    ¡°We can¡¯t! Arrenfret is to the east and we don¡¯t have the supplies for the southern route, so we would have to go northeast into the plains! Don¡¯t you think that monster would find us if we¡¯re out in the open?!¡±

    ¡°Did you guys kill any goblins yet?¡±

    There¡¯s that intoxicating fear again. I want to give them a chance to clear themselves of suspicion, but I also want to just attack and kill them. But then I¡¯d be no better than them, and I don¡¯t want to be like them.

    ¡°Are you a forest spirit?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure, whatever. Answer my question, dummy.¡±

    They seem unsure of how to answer as they start whispering to each other. The mage mutters some words and then looks around the area until his gaze stops right on me. He knows exactly where I am. I should be hidden well enough here, especially with my dark green skin and the tree¡¯s leaves.

    ¡°That¡¯s not a forest spirit. I have no idea what it is..."

    The mage is pointing to me and the archer is getting a shot ready, so I think it might be time to relocate. It seems they¡¯ve made up their minds and this is a fight now.

    If the mage can track me, then he¡¯s the one I need to kill first. Rushing through the woods, I can see his eyes following me every time I get a line of sight, but the archer isn¡¯t having as much luck.

    The archer seems to be watching the mage instead of me, and then I hear a snap of someone¡¯s fingers. Just as I leave the safety of a tree¡¯s shadow, an arrow whizzes by me, just barely scratching my stomach and leaving a line of fresh blood. How in the hells did the archer manage that?!

    Peeking out from my tree¡¯s shadow, I hear another snap and an arrow embeds itself right next to my face. That was so close!

    ¡°We¡¯ve got it pinned, what do you want to do, Kanen?¡±

    ¡°Flee, if I¡¯m honest. I have no idea what that thing is, and I don¡¯t want to fight something unknown without a front line.¡±

    Well, I don¡¯t think I have much of a choice¡­ I prefer fighting with my hands, but if he keeps shooting those arrows, getting close is too dangerous.

    Pulling on Kira¡¯s power, I form a fire bolt in my hand, ready to be fired at them, but first I need the archer to fire at me. Using my other hand, I wave it out of the tree¡¯s shadow, and the archer shoots an arrow, nailing me right in the palm. That freakin¡¯ hurts!

    I can¡¯t focus on that, though. Jumping out from the safety of the tree''s trunk, I throw a fire bolt at them before ducking back out of their line of sight.

    ¡°Get down!¡±

    Looks like the mage pushed the archer to the side as he threw himself onto the ground.

    ¡°What in the hells was that, Kanen?!¡±

    ¡°I think we¡¯re facing a demon¡­ That was primordial fire. Demon! Let us leave in peace and we won¡¯t return again!¡±

    That sounds like more lies, and I¡¯m not a demon. I also don¡¯t like how willing these dummies were to attack me. It makes me think that they¡¯d also attack my people as soon as they saw them. I¡¯ll need to deal with them for sure, so I need a plan.

    ¡°One of you can leave.¡±

    ¡°Both or neither. If one of us leaves, the other is as good as dead.¡±

    He¡¯s not wrong about that, so maybe the mage isn¡¯t dumb. First, I need to get this arrow out of my hand, so I bite off the fletching part and pull the rest of the arrow through my hand.

    Twirling the arrowhead in my fingers, I inspect the arrowhead, and I think it might be worth a few coins, I should pocket the ones I can find.

    ¡°If I let you go, you¡¯ll just kill my people, and I still don¡¯t know whether you have killed any so far.¡±

    ¡°What if we promise we won¡¯t? We''re not heartless killers.¡±

    Peeking out, I notice that the archer doesn¡¯t have his bow all the way ready to shoot, so I watch the two for a bit before shouting back.

    ¡°You tried to kill me as soon as you saw me. That doesn¡¯t make me very interested in trusting you. Besides, if you¡¯re here, you''re part of those jerks'' group who were attacking us. Would you be willing to talk peace if you were on the side with the Dragon, or would you just slaughter us?¡±

    The mage puts a hand on the dumb archer¡¯s shoulder and they sit down in the foliage for some reason. I¡¯m not sure what they¡¯re doing, but I¡¯m not gonna be deceived by their tricks.

    ¡°If you come out and join us in this clearing, we can talk. With the power I¡¯ve seen, you would win a battle of magic, so we would either get lucky or die.¡±

    ¡°What in the hells are you talking about, Kanen?! We can kill that thing! Two of my arrows made contact!¡±

    The dumb archer gets up again, and the mage tells him to sit down and be quiet, but the archer doesn¡¯t like that at all.

    ¡°I understand how you might think that, Roward, but please be calm before you act. Demon, Roward says you¡¯re wounded, would you mind telling us how bad your injuries are?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any injuries.¡±

    Kira¡¯s magic is so good for healing, and after I removed the arrow, my hand just healed in a moment. I barely notice it happening anymore.

    ¡°That¡¯s a fucking lie! I shot you! I hit your hand!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s faster than I expected¡­ I surrender, demon. Please allow us to trade for our lives so that we may leave here alive.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a fucking coward, Kanen!¡±

    The dumb archer seems quite angry as he readies his bow and shoots another arrow in my direction. It doesn¡¯t hit me this time, but I can hear him rushing toward me. I¡¯ll need to make sure to keep an ear out for that mage, so I run further into the forest with the archer trailing me. Weaving through the woods keeps his arrows from being able to hit me.

    Turning into the shadow of a tree, I climb it, making as little noise as I can as I listen for the archer¡¯s approach. He¡¯s still running at a steady pace, and he¡¯ll be here shortly. Without the mage, he won¡¯t be able to find me, though.

    Before he gets to my tree, he slows down as he looks around with frantic jerks. For a moment, I expect him to call out for me, but instead, he starts creeping through the underbrush. It¡¯s surprising how quiet he is. Any noise I make will be heard by him.

    All I hear is the rustling of the wind, his steady breathing, and the pounding of his heart.

    ¡°You abandoned your friend, dumb archer. My friend killed him. Your friend is dead because of you.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you, demon! Kanen can take care of himself.¡±

    ¡°Are you so sure about that? He doesn¡¯t have your quick reflexes.¡±

    I¡¯m lying, of course, but it does make the archer more nervous. He doesn¡¯t want to believe me, but the doubt is hard to fight. Having heard my voice, he starts walking in a circle around my tree, no doubt trying to get a clear shot, but I won¡¯t allow that.

    Jumping down from my tree, I run in a line away from him, making sure to dart behind trees. Hearing my noise, he¡¯s quick to follow, and it doesn¡¯t take long for an arrow to whiz by me as I take a turn.

    ¡°Ready the ambush! He¡¯s coming!¡±

    Hearing my shout makes him hesitate, allowing me to gain ground and find a hiding spot. He¡¯s a dummy, alright. If I didn¡¯t want him to understand me, I¡¯d just use the godless word.

    Climbing into a tree again, I run through the canopy toward the archer. He knows where I am, but all the branches and leaves make it hard for him to pinpoint my location.

    I can see a tree up ahead with fewer leaves and branches than the others, and I¡¯m gonna use that. The archer keeps staying in one location to track me, so he could be an easy target. Approaching the clear tree, I pull on Kira¡¯s magic and shape it into a fire bolt just as I jump into the archer¡¯s line of sight.

    Shielding my stomach with my legs, I throw the fire bolt as an arrow flies toward me. It embeds itself in my left leg, and I fall out of the tree, tumbling to the ground. He¡¯s a dummy, but he¡¯s a great shot.

    He¡¯s also on fire. Being so focused on shooting me, he didn¡¯t expect a fire bolt coming at him, so he was too late to dodge.

    Snapping the arrow stuck in my leg, I pull out the rest of it and draw on Kira¡¯s magic to heal it. Before the wounds close, I start running toward the archer. I can¡¯t let him get up again. Reaching him in moments, I jump on him and use everything I can to kill him. Clawing and biting at him, I inflict so many wounds.

    Screams fill the forest as blood soaks the ground. Flesh tears from his arms as he tries to block my nails. Biting down on one of his hands, I hear the bones crunch under the force of my jaws as I tear his hand to pieces with my teeth. With a bloody stump, he continues his attempts to fight me off. His wails of pain and terror fill the forest as I continue ripping him to shreds.

    None of his armor is any match for the gifts Kira has given me.

    His efforts wane until he passes out, there will be no recovery for him. Pushing his mangled arms away, I take hold of his throat, forcing my fingers deep as I rip out his throat. Before leaving, I rummage through his pockets and find a few coins and a healing potion.

    Pocketing the items, it''s time to find out whether that mage stayed around or not. I might hear him out if he didn¡¯t run.

    Sprinting through the woods, I can feel the archer¡¯s blood dry and flake off. I must look quite gruesome by now. That will help to make sure the mage takes me seriously.

    Reaching the clearing, I find the mage lying in a grassy patch, watching the sky. I¡¯m not sure what he¡¯s up to, but this feels like a trap.

    ¡°I take it my buddy has met his end, then?¡±

    ¡°Why are you still here?¡±

    ¡°Come lie down for a minute, the clouds are quite beautiful today.¡±

    This dummy is weird¡­ I¡¯m not approaching, though. Him telling me to lie down makes it feel even more like a trap.

    ¡°What do you want, mage?¡±

    ¡°I want to know more. A character flaw of those who seek out the magical arts, I must admit. We tend to find danger and explore it to learn, often dying in the process. But that last part is more in your hands than mine, I would wager.¡±

    He¡¯s right about that. I¡¯m very willing to kill him and get moving so I can find those scouts.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about that, mage. You said you wanted to trade, what do you have to trade that has as much value as your life?¡±

    ¡°Huh¡­ I wonder¡­ Does anything have more value than a life? All I can think of is another life. But to a mugger, my life would have less value than what he can steal. A topic worth much discussion, but I would imagine you have other things to concern yourself with. How about knowledge for knowledge? I must know why the goblins mean so much to you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a goblin, dummy. Of course, my people mean a lot to me. You humans might be different, but goblins stick together. That¡¯s how we survive.¡±

    Pushing himself from the ground, he sits up and looks right at me. He¡¯s got weird eyes and a serious expression.

    ¡°You might have been a goblin once, but that is no longer the case, although I don¡¯t know what you are. So, how about that trade? I could teach you a few things if you teach me a few things. I¡¯ll even start by teaching you how to use your magic in a less primitive way."

    Keeping his word, he starts telling me how to stretch and form magic inside me, what to feel for to know when I¡¯ve done it right. I try to follow along, but he sometimes starts talking about a bunch of gibberish that I have no idea what it means. I¡¯ve been studying the language a lot, but this guy is making it obvious that I need to study more.

    ¡°Now, once you¡¯ve stretched the magic, pulling it into strings, you¡¯ll want to make sure the strings feel like they could hold up the world. When you learn to do that, you can start weaving powerful magic with it.¡±

    ¡°If you know how to do this, then why didn¡¯t you help your friend more? It doesn¡¯t make sense to not use everything you have in a fight.¡±

    He takes a moment to answer, so I just keep practicing the magic stuff with Kira¡¯s magic, and it¡¯s so slow to work. I¡¯ve only got four strings so far. If I¡¯m supposed to weave something, I¡¯ll need a lot more than that.

    ¡°Ah, I fear that I must admit I have a rather unfortunate weakness. I don¡¯t have much talent for controlling magic myself. My skills lie in teaching the next generations, and I was in Plainshold for that exact purpose. Though when it came to the exodus, I found myself unable to leave as my pupils felt the call of duty as adventurers. How is your string progressing?¡±

    It¡¯s a little annoying to work with magic like this, so I just let him know that I have seven so far. Weaving things like baskets takes a lot more than that, so I¡¯ll just have to keep going.

    ¡°Oh! You can stop then. Next, you should weave the strings into a mesh. It¡¯ll be difficult, but once you succeed, move that mesh to the back of your mind, and you should find somewhere suited for it. That will be how you cast Mage Sight. Although it takes quite some time to learn, once you do, you will be able to cast it with ease and a small chant. The specifics of the chant are affected by the individual. So my chant would be different from yours, but the meaning would be the same.¡±

    Keeping the strings in place while I move the others is quite difficult. They want to move away from each other¡­ I keep trying, but the dumb strings just won¡¯t stay still!

    ¡°Why do the strings move away from each other?! They¡¯re so annoying!¡±

    ¡°They shouldn¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t know why they would do that.¡±

 Chapter 43: Rayas Responsibility Pt 2

    Ugh! He¡¯s no help at all. Focusing on my dumb strings again, I wave them over each other as I try to just let them float into a sort of net shape, and it mostly doesn¡¯t work, but then all of a sudden, one of the strings attaches itself to another. Grabbing hold of the two strings, I try to pull them apart, but they¡¯re just stuck together like they¡¯ve been tied together.

    Grabbing another one, I try waving it over the two pieces and it happens again. I think they want to be attached in a specific way. With the last four strings at the ready, I begin trying to add them to the rest of the mess. It takes some fidgeting, but they¡¯re slowly falling into place.

    With all the strings attached to each other, I start weaving them into a vaguely mesh-shaped form. I don¡¯t know why, but they¡¯re so much easier to work with now, and I¡¯ve completed the mesh in very little time.

    It feels pretty good. I think. Now for the moving it to my mind part. I assume that¡¯s the back of my skull, so that''s what I go with. It flows like a leaf on water inside me, and when it reaches the spot, I can feel where it should go, as if there¡¯s a spot made for it. It attaches itself and gives me a headache. I think he tricked me!

    Opening my eyes again, I¡¯m ready to attack him, but I don¡¯t recognize the world anymore... Looking at the sky, I can see the wind glowing with a teal color, growing more blue as the waves of air swirl around, it looks so forceful. The trees have a beautiful green color, shining bright with life, their magic looks like they could withstand anything.

    And looking at the mage, I see his magic and his life. A mixture of deep blue magic floating in a pool of faded yellow, it feels soft like air, as if I could pass right through it. The shape keeps changing and pulsing, as if it is trying to be many things at the same time.

    ¡°¡­ You¡¯ve already mastered it?¡­¡±

    The notion that I¡¯ve already learned this spell seems to make him uneasy, but it¡¯s not my problem that he underestimated how clever I am and how easy Kira¡¯s magic is to work with. I should learn as much magic as I can and then tease her about it! I know she was annoyed when she was told that she wouldn¡¯t be able to learn blessed people magic.

    ¡°Do mages see everything like this all the time? Watching the sky is making me dizzy¡­¡±

    ¡°You should only be able to see magic in other beings¡­ What are you, little one?¡±

    I don¡¯t like that he¡¯s calling me Little One, that¡¯s Kira¡¯s name for me. With the fiercest glare I can manage, I tell him to stop using that name. He¡¯s a little startled, but he relents.

    ¡°I apologize, may I ask your name then?¡±

    I don¡¯t know why, but he¡¯s smiling as he asks me my name, and it¡¯s weird and makes me want to punch him.

    ¡°I¡¯m Raya. What else can you teach me?¡±

    "Hello, Raya. I¡¯m Kanen. I¡¯d be happy to teach you in exchange for my life.¡±

    Looking around at the world with the magic sight, everything seems to be what it is. Trees always have the same magic stuff, the wind moves the same way. The same is true for everything I can see, except Kanen¡¯s magic stuff.

    ¡°Why is your yellow magic stuff so weird? It won¡¯t sit still.¡±

    The question seems to make him unsure of what to do. He starts fidgeting with his hands and doesn¡¯t seem to want to answer, but as far as I can tell, he can¡¯t think of a way to get out of it. His reluctance makes me want to know even more.

    ¡°How about this, I will tell you my secret, but you have to promise me that you won¡¯t kill me unless I threaten you first.¡±

    I don¡¯t think he¡¯s being tricky, but I can never know with humans. It sounds reasonable, but he left something out that I¡¯ll need to add to make him more trustworthy.

    ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t kill you unless you threaten me or my people first! Now tell me your secret!¡±

    With a sad smile, he points to a tree and chants a spell. In a shower of splinters, the tree explodes, leaving a small crater and shaking the surrounding forest.

    ¡°My magic is unstable. If I use it on myself, it works as I intend, but the spell I cast on that tree was to shake it. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s quite shaken now, but not quite in the way I had in mind.¡±

    ¡°So why didn¡¯t you explode me? You could have easily won if you had just done that.¡±

    ¡°Sure, I can kill you without much effort, but unstable magic tends to react with and destabilize magic in whatever I cast it on as well. A tree¡¯s magic is strong and resilient, so asking it to shake goes against its nature. It¡¯s what a tree fights its entire life, so my magic made it violently change its nature. Now, what would happen if I cast a spell on you and it conflicted with your nature?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. What happens if the nature is the same?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t say that I know what would happen either, but if the nature aligns, it becomes amplified. If your magic¡¯s nature is to bring life, life blooms around you. With the power you carry, you might even turn this entire forest magical if that were the case. But what if your magic¡¯s nature is destruction, death, or some other¡­ less fortunate¡­ force? Think of the most powerful being you know and consider what would happen if all of their magic got released at once and their nature was death.¡±

    That doesn¡¯t sound nice. I¡¯m not sure what Kira¡¯s magical nature is, but she¡¯s really good at breaking things, and she has so much magic. It does make me curious, and I want to learn more about this stuff.

    ¡°How come you don¡¯t find someone with a good nature and use it to create a lot of good?¡±

    ¡°Very few people would trust the unstable magic, and fewer still would allow it to be cast on them. And you¡¯d have to watch out for liars or those believing they¡¯re good-natured, but aren¡¯t. I¡¯m not sure how the force of magic determines that, but it¡¯s surprisingly specific. Now, we can discuss this all day and night, and in a better setting, I might be inclined to do exactly that, but let us not fuss about that. Now I¡¯m curious, how come you¡¯re out here hunting adventurers?¡±

    I¡¯m getting the impression he really doesn¡¯t know anything about the stuff going on, which means Lauren didn¡¯t get a chance to tell them before she got attacked. Starting slowly, I tell him about everything from Lauren¡¯s first attack, bringing him up to speed on everything we know. I¡¯m not sure why I¡¯m being so honest with him, but there are still things I don¡¯t tell him, like where Kira came from.

    ¡°That is a lot to take in and in our trade of knowledge, I believe I may have made the better deal. So perhaps some advice from an old fool: I can understand why you were so willing to kill us, and I understand that there¡¯s a score to settle. But remember, little Raya, a price paid in blood is rarely paid in just the blood you spill.¡±

    It¡¯s true, but what else can we do? The adventurers will return and attack, so we¡¯ll be forced to fight even if we want peace.

    ¡°I have another trade in mind, little Raya. I can offer you the location of the camp I stayed in, and in exchange, I would like to know how I can travel north without getting eaten by a Dragon. I realize that it goes contrary to what I said about spilled blood, but they have four goblins bound and I¡¯m not sure what their intentions are.¡±

    ¡°You kept that a secret to bargain?! They could be dead by now! Adventurers kill us for fun! Where are they?!¡±

    The urge to hunt flares up as I leap onto the mage¡¯s chest. With rage flowing, I dig my fingers into the flesh of his shoulders as he screams in pain. He¡¯s exactly like the rest!

    ¡°Please! Raya! If the goal was to kill them, they would have done it already! I believe they want to trade the goblins to the Dragon!¡±

    That makes sense¡­ It¡¯s dumb, but it makes sense. They don¡¯t know anything about what¡¯s going on, and they¡¯re just making everything worse. I¡¯m starting to understand why Wreyn wants to trust Kira instead.

    Taking my fingers out of his meat, I climb off him and throw a coin token at him, telling him that Kira won¡¯t kill him if he carries that. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true, but it might be.

    He starts telling me where to find their camp and which landmarks to look out for, such as a big stone shaped like half a skull. When I reach that, I should be able to hear the noise from the camp. So all I have to do is head west until I find a rock shaped like a skull. And then I¡¯ll be near a clearing between some Sokofoan trees, where they¡¯ll have a camp.

    While he¡¯s explaining, he pulls out a potion and pours the contents on his wounds. It smells like a strong healing potion, and I¡¯m tempted to take his stuff if it¡¯s that valuable.

    ¡°I am curious about what you are, Raya. I have never met anything with two sources of magic before. Could I ask you to cast another one of those fiery balls again?¡±

    Forming a fire bolt in my hand, I look at it and see black and red magic fighting each other inside the ball, one consuming the other and multiplying, caught in a loop of feasting. Throwing it at a nearby tree, it burns deep into the trunk.

    ¡°Magnificent! The sight of your spell forming will be etched into my mind until the day I die. Oh, what I could do with power like that.¡±

    As he mumbles about things he could do with Kira¡¯s magic, he starts walking away as if it¡¯s the most normal thing in the world... I¡¯m not sure what to make of his explanation about his unstable magic, though. If I had the power to explode something like that, I would use it to defend Tuiran.

    ¡°You¡¯re walking south, dummy!¡±

    Turning around, looking at me, then the sky, he chuckles as he starts walking north.

    ¡°Right you are, Raya! Thank you, I guess I owe you a small debt for saving me from getting lost. If you find yourself in Arrenfret any time soon, visit the Barmaid¡¯s Warmth and I¡¯ll buy you a mug of ale.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d ever visit that place, it sounds awful. Instead of lingering, I head toward the opposite direction of where he indicated. I¡¯m sure he got turned around when he explained that too. With my first step, I almost trip as the ground doesn¡¯t match what I¡¯m seeing. The magic in the grass makes the ground look higher up than it is.

    I need to take some time to learn how to move with my new magic sight. Everything is just glowing and weird. Wait, he didn¡¯t tell me how to turn it off again! He tricked me! And everything is too wobbly for me to follow him¡­

    Feeling around for it in my mind, I get a sense of where the mesh is, but when I try to move it, it just keeps sticking to that part of me. Instead of doing that, I¡¯ll try to stop the flow of magic. Focusing on the stream, I feel the mesh lose power, and when I open my eyes, the world returns to normal.

    I want to hunt him down for tricking me, but I need to help those goblins before they¡¯re killed. If I chase him now, it¡¯s possible that he¡¯ll use his weird magic on me and neither of us knows what would happen¡­

    It feels foolish to try, so I¡¯ll need to get moving and find that camp. My impression is that he told me the truth about it, but for some reason, he didn¡¯t seem to mind that I¡¯m probably gonna end up killing them.

    With my sight back to normal and the world less wobbly, I can finally start running toward the camp. Rushing through the trees, I run for quite some time before I reach the big stone he mentioned. Being as quiet as I can and steadying my heart, I listen for any voices nearby.

    Folks underestimate how far a voice carries, even with a little wind making noise. I can¡¯t hear what they¡¯re saying, but I can hear them. I¡¯ll just need to get closer.

    Sneaking between the trees, I spot something very useful, Heden¡¯s Grasp. A climbing plant used for some of Joras¡¯ weaker potions, but if I can find some Wallowing Shadow, I can make a very nasty little mixture. It¡¯s annoying to extract, but mixing the crushed petals from the Shadow with the sap of the Grasp makes some goop that will burn and stick to skin.

    Cutting a few lengths of Grasp and stowing them in my pocket, it¡¯s time to find some Wallowing Shadow. They should be around here since the two plants always seem to grow together. It¡¯s probably to help each other since an animal eating one and then the other would have a very bad time.

    Rummaging through the underbrush, I find exactly what I¡¯m looking for. A flower with black petals and deep roots. Heden¡¯s Grasp grows up into the trees, and Wallowing Shadow grows wide around the roots, neither interfering with the other.

    Cutting a few of them, I get the work crushing them in my hands along with a little spit. Working the flowers yields a nice ball of paste, and it¡¯s ready for the sap. I can¡¯t mix them in my hand, though, so pulling a sheet of Sokofoan bark, I drop the ball of paste onto it and grab the Heden¡¯s Grasp vines.

    Pulling another sheet of bark to have a workstation, I start placing the vines and crushing them with my knife, forcing the sticky sap out of them.

    Picking up the sap with my knife, I add it to the paste and start mixing the two components together. The mixture immediately starts giving off a rancid smell, letting me know it¡¯s working. I just need a handful of Sokofoan leaves and I¡¯ll be ready to continue.

    Sokofoan leaves are great for something like this because they''re wide, and if you squeeze and roll them in your hand, they become malleable, so you can use them as wrapping. Picking up my knife again, I cut a small glob and put it in the middle of a squished leaf, wrapping the leaf around the glob to form a small green ball of suffering.

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    Repeating the process, I end up with twenty-five small balls of suffering, which should be plenty. Adding them to my pouch, I¡¯ll have no problem reaching in and grabbing a few when I need to distract an enemy. The Sokofoan leaves will dry a little and become fragile, so as long as I don¡¯t rush, they should be ready when I need them.

    With my prep ready, it¡¯s time to head out and have a look at this adventurer camp. Continuing east is easy, but getting the right path is more difficult. I know humans are bad at walking in forests, so they always follow animal trails, and I can smell some human scents along the one I¡¯m on now. It¡¯s faded, but it smells like the archer before he got bloody.

    It doesn¡¯t take much time following the path before I reach the skull rock. It takes some imagination to consider that a skull, but I guess it¡¯s the one because I do hear talking. Sneaking closer, the voices get louder and they¡¯re talking about what to do now.

    From what I can understand, the group is split into three. The first faction wants to bargain for their safety, but that¡¯s not going to work. The second group wants to flee south, which could work if they find safety before getting killed by something. And the third group, the dumbest group, wants to fight Kira.

    Continuing to sneak closer, I spot the clearing and it looks like they¡¯ve taken over an old bandit camp. I can see the roofs of at least two buildings, so there¡¯s no way they¡¯ve had time to build those and the wall in such a short amount of time. I¡¯m not even sure how they¡¯ve managed to get here in so few days.

    They have a south-facing gate guarded by two dummies, and the walls are made of wooden logs three times as tall as me. I could climb the walls, but I think they¡¯d see me.

    I need to see into the camp to get a count of how many of them there are, so heading for a larger tree, I climb up to get a good view. From the looks of it, I can see fifteen adventurers standing in small groups, with the guards, that¡¯s seventeen, and however many they have out gathering food. That¡¯s a lot of adventurers... They¡¯re gathered around a cooking pot as one of them stirs it while the rest argue about how dumb a decision they should make.

    Listening to their arguing, I think the trade faction has three members present, the run faction has five, and the fight faction has seven. Most of them have already chosen to die.

    Judging by their equipment, they have six mages, four archers, and seven fighters, including the two guards. That¡¯s gonna be a tough fight... And with the mages, I won¡¯t be able to hide... It won¡¯t be long before nightfall, and that will improve my chances, and I¡¯ll know if any other adventurers are out hunting since they should be coming back.

    It looks like Kanen was right about the goblins being safe for now. They¡¯re just bound to a post near the east wall. It appears they¡¯ve been beaten, but I think they¡¯ll be fine. I don¡¯t recognize any of them, so they aren¡¯t the scouting party. I¡¯d imagine Kanen and the archer were looking for my people, and these are just some random goblins.

    Sneaking around the outside of their little camp, I get a good idea of what I can and can¡¯t do. They will be far more limited by those walls than I will. I¡¯m not hearing anyone return from the woods, and there¡¯s only one gate. That strikes me as foolish. They will have a hard time escaping.

    Returning to the gate, I watch the guards for a moment, and they just stand around without watching the woods. Pulling one of my paste balls out, I crawl closer as quietly as I can, but some noise is unavoidable, and it draws the attention of one of the guards. Pulling some of Kira¡¯s magic into me, I infuse my arm with it and throw the ball of paste as hard as I can at the guard who is looking my way.

    Catching them in the face, the sokofoan leaf cracks and it sticks to their face, but it didn¡¯t smear as much as I wanted, which means I made it too thick... I don¡¯t have time to linger, they¡¯ll know I¡¯m here now, so rushing through the woods again, I reach a safe spot east of the camp. As far as I can tell, the guard just rubbed the paste onto other parts of their body. The screaming and complaints about burning are pretty good indications of that.

    Perched in a tree, I watch as the adventurers inside the camp rush to the gate. That gives me an opportunity. The adventurers have begun searching the woods with a larger group defending the gate. Sneaking up to the wall, I use my sharp nails to climb up and over. On the other side, I land by the goblins, but they¡¯ll need to wait a little longer.

    They¡¯re quick to ask if I¡¯m there to save them, but they need to shut up and let me work. Keeping an eye on the gate¡¯s new guards, I sneak closer to their cooking pot and, as I get to it, I hide behind it so they won¡¯t spot me.

    Reaching into my pouch, I pull out a handful of paste balls and dump them into the food. I should learn to share, so they can have another handful. Feeling around my pouch, I have three left. Whichever one of them takes the next bowl is gonna have a terrible time.

    Sneaking back to the goblins, I cut their restraints and let them know we¡¯ll be getting out of here. Putting a finger to my lips, I get a nod back from each of them showing that they¡¯re listening to my instructions about stealth.

    With a gentle hand, I grab hold of the nearest goblin¡¯s arm. She¡¯s a little apprehensive about my touch, but doesn¡¯t protest as I wrap her arm around my neck and carry her like a pack up the wall. When we reach the top, she gets a seat between two points in the log and a quick rundown of what we¡¯re gonna do now.

    I¡¯ll be getting the others up, and she will help them get over the wall. Jumping back down, I get to work helping the next one, a young boy this time. He follows along immediately, and the wall goblin helps him up when they can reach each other.

    It¡¯s all going according to plan. There are too many adventurers to fight, so helping the hostages is the best that I can do.

    With the third goblin up and out, I tell them to find somewhere to hide in the forest. Listening over the wall, I can hear the two over there running off. Carrying the last one up, the one on the wall helps me get them up and we¡¯re in the clear.

    ¡°Watch out!¡±

    She shouts for me, but just as she does, an arrow pierces my leg, pinning me to the wall. Falling sideways, I find myself annoyingly stuck to the wooden palisade as some sort of trophy ornament. Chains of magic spring from the wall, binding my legs and torso to the wall, and I can¡¯t seem to break them. They¡¯re far too strong, so instead I focus on shouting for the goblins on the wall to run away and hide.

    They¡¯re doing a good job of following instructions, so at least they¡¯ll get away from here.

    ¡°What in the hells are you¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Raya, let me go, or you¡¯ll all die!¡±

    The archer who asked me what I am seems to find it funny, but there¡¯s not a lot of laughter among the rest of the group. Especially the mages seem concerned.

    ¡°How are we the ones who will die? All I have to do is slit your throat and we''ll be safe to figure out what to do.¡±

    He¡¯s right that I¡¯m in a rough spot to threaten them, but I¡¯m not about to let them kill me.

    ¡°You, mage, turn on your dumb mage sight and look at me. Keep looking at me.¡±

    He does as I tell him, and when he nods at me, I form a fire bolt and throw it in the face of the laughing archer. His screams of pain are delightful.

    The rest of the group scrambles to put out the flames, but by the time they manage to do so, his face is gone, and he has stopped moving.

    ¡°Now then, about letting me go, I¡¯m inclined to retract my offer and go for the second option. Unless you have any other ideas.¡±

    They¡¯re quick to start bickering about primordial fire this, demon that, and what to do to survive. I¡¯m gonna commit the faces of the ones wanting to kill me to memory so I can burn those faces away.

    At least I have all the mages on the ¡®Just fucking leave¡¯ side. Deciding to make this easier to keep track of, I make a suggestion.

    ¡°Okay, since you¡¯re all dumb adventurers, how about those who want to leave go over there as one group, and those who want to kill me and doom the world to be bathed in Dragonflame when she finds out her best friend is dead go over there.¡±

    The ''Just Leave'' side is definitely afraid, and they seem convinced that leaving me alone is the better choice. They¡¯re right, but the other group wanting to kill me is louder. And they aren¡¯t splitting up like I suggested.

    While they¡¯re bickering, the magic chains binding me disappear, and with the opportunity, I kick off the wall, feeling the fletching of the arrow pull through my leg in a painful reminder that I¡¯m strong, not invincible. Landing on the ground, I¡¯m quick to run as archers and fighters target me, arrows whizzing by. I¡¯m a little stuck inside these walls.

    Turning a corner behind the building gives me a moment of reprieve. I need to think of something¡­ Forming a fire bolt, I throw it into the air. The adventurers already know where I am, so that part doesn¡¯t matter, but it¡¯s night, and Kira might see it from far away and come to help me before they get me.

    Throwing a few more before relocating, I rush for the gate, hoping I can get out, but as soon as I leave the safety of the building¡¯s shadow, arrows fly toward me as fighters charge. They¡¯re closing in fast as I retreat. I don¡¯t have a choice but to climb the wall. It¡¯ll leave me vulnerable to attack, but so will staying here.

    Jumping up and grabbing hold, my nails sink into the wood as I make some progress. But not enough, another arrow pins me to the palisade, halting my advance. And then another. And another from a different angle. I can¡¯t pull my leg over them anymore, and I¡¯m stuck¡­

    The fighters surround me as the archers keep arrows nocked. At least they¡¯re taking me seriously.

    ¡°Get the shackles, we are bringing this one with us.¡±

    Keeping my nails dug into the wood, I use my arms to keep my weight off my legs. It hurts so much to have multiple arrows stuck in me¡­ I don¡¯t know how Kira just shrugs it off¡­

    ¡°Garrett, bind it before he gets back with the shackles, we need it on the ground.¡±

    Magic chains form around me, and two of the fighters pull me from the wall. I think I might have lost too much blood because I¡¯m getting tired.

    The shackle-fetcher returns, and the other fighters are quick to hold me down as they put them on. I¡¯m not sure how I¡¯m gonna win this.

    With the shackles on, they start taking away my stuff, pulling off most of my clothes as they talk about how I might be hiding weapons. As soon as I¡¯m almost naked, they add ropes to the shackles, tying me up so I can barely move.

    ¡°Look at this, I think we found what Lorn got hit by.¡±

    If Lorn is the guard I hit, then he¡¯s right; that is what Lorn got hit by. He hands it off to one of the mages, who opens the wrapping carefully and inspects the paste. The smell hits him fast, making him recoil.

    ¡°Heden¡¯s Grasp and Wallowing Shadow. It¡¯s a simple mix, and the ratios aren¡¯t great, but it¡¯s been infused with magic. We need to get Lorn to a healer soon, otherwise, he won¡¯t get his sight back at all.¡±

    ¡°How the fuck are we supposed to find a healer out here?!¡±

    More bickering¡­ They¡¯re great at wasting time on dumb stuff like that instead of just having a clear leader make the decisions. With me thoroughly bound, they seem to calm down and gather around the campfire. I might be able to manage forming some fire bolts, but with my arms bound, I can¡¯t really throw them.

    They start filling bowls from the cauldron and handing them out, and I notice one of the mages nudging the others, followed by a small gesture. They¡¯re quick to mumble something, and each of them takes on a worried expression as they look at the cauldron. They know, and they¡¯re not saying anything¡­ how interesting.

    ¡°You spellslingers don¡¯t want any? It¡¯s delicious.¡±

    ¡°No, the smell of that pellet ruined our appetite. Would you like to try a whiff? If not, dig in and enjoy. We¡¯ll rest and wait for breakfast instead.¡±

    ¡°Suit yourselves.¡±

    They could match Kira¡¯s greed when it comes to food. They¡¯re really going for it. There are loose comments about how delicious it is, and the adventurers don¡¯t seem to be affected by the paste at all. Maybe it got too diluted and won¡¯t do anything¡­ That leaves me with no plan at all.

    Since I have to do something, I begin scratching at the metal bindings. I¡¯m able to make a groove with my nails, but this is gonna take a lot of time to get through the shackle.

    I have no idea how their group dynamics work. As far as I knew, they were supposed to be small groups, but this seems like there¡¯s clear strife between the people here. The mages made no effort to stop any of the archers or fighters from eating the poisoned food. And if their reaction is any indication, my poison is gonna work.

    I¡¯m not sure how it¡¯s gonna work, though¡­ I used a lot of it.

    I am a little curious about what the mages are seeing, so turning my focus inward, I pull on some of Kira¡¯s magic and start weaving that spell again. As soon as it works, I look around to see the mages with blue or purple, mostly solid magic, nowhere near what Kanen had. But looking at the others, there are three with Kanen¡¯s gassy yellow magic. I don¡¯t know what that means¡­

    ¡°Hey Ulla, did you know that some mages focus magic into their limbs to strengthen themselves?¡±

    ¡°No, why would they do that when they can just throw spells at their opponents?¡±

    ¡°Well, consider having a magical weapon you empower, but then, by creating a weave and binding it to your muscles or bones, you could strengthen those parts of you. It¡¯s a subject studied in Immarderen, and the students of the discipline call themselves the True Battle Mages. I¡¯ve heard that one guy even managed to make his finger strong enough to punch through a solid table.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s fascinating, Jarna, but is it important right now?¡±

    ¡°I guess not... I was just making conversation¡­¡±

    I¡¯ll have to repay Jarna. Pulling more of Kira¡¯s magic, I start weaving it into a mesh again, and feeling a little adventurous, I imagine it growing hot as well. It takes a while to get right, but when it starts becoming distinctly mesh-like, I imagine wrapping it around my nails. It latches into place, and every scratch against my shackles now carves away much larger pieces.

    In a very short time, I feel the shackles loosening and falling away. The dead ones don¡¯t seem to notice, and the mages are keeping a noise level loud enough to hide the little noise I make. I¡¯m not sure what their plan is here, it¡¯s obvious that the dead ones are going to die. Whether it¡¯s my poison that kills them or my hand, I don¡¯t know yet.

    Since I still don¡¯t know how to move with this mage sight, I pull away that magic, but I¡¯m going to start empowering myself a lot going forward.

    Neithro is in for such a surprise the next time we spar. But I¡¯ll need to work on these ropes, too. Being tied up is getting annoying.

    "Who is taking watch tonight?¡±

    The mages are quick to volunteer, causing an eyebrow to rise on the yellow-magic archer¡¯s dumb face.

    ¡°I don¡¯t even feel like questioning that, my stomach isn¡¯t feeling well¡­¡±

    Everyone but the mages starts shuffling toward the building, leaving the mages to deal with me as I still lie bound on the floor.

    As soon as we¡¯re alone, Jarna approaches me with a question.

    ¡°How do you know Kanen¡¯s sight spell?¡±

    ¡°He taught it to me in exchange for giving him a way to travel north.¡±

    I¡¯ve still been working on the ropes, and I¡¯m almost through them. As soon as I cut the last bit, they fall away and I can finally stand up. My wounds have healed, but I¡¯m still feeling a little weak from the blood loss. I¡¯m small, so I don¡¯t have a lot of that stuff.

    It''s clear that they aren''t sure what to do with me, but Jarna isn''t fleeing, so he must believe I''m not a beast. And since I haven¡¯t attacked them yet, they seem fine with just watching me.

    The night is very quiet, aside from the groaning from the sleeping building. Off in the distance, I hear a familiar sound. I know what to do now. Climbing the building, I form another fire bolt and launch it into the sky. It¡¯s quite pretty as it flies, and I can¡¯t help but smile as I hear a roar in response to my signal.

    Firing another one, and the noise from her flight grows louder. She¡¯s coming this way for sure. That means I still have time for a little score-settling.

    Climbing back down the building, I open the door to the sleeping room, keeping an eye on the mages. They seem decidedly unsure of what to do, they really should get better at thinking on their feet. Though, Jarna¡¯s idea of teaching me how to use this magic to make my nails even stronger was smart. For a dumb adventurer, he seems quite clever.

    A stench of blood and vomit hits me as I enter the resting area. They all seem to be having a terrible time. Sneaking through the room, looking for the one who shot me the most, I¡¯m interrupted by a loud noise all of a sudden. Kira¡¯s here.

    I¡¯m gonna need to clear up any misunderstandings before we proceed, so I rush outside, leaving my score-settling unsettled.

    ¡°Kira! No! They helped me!¡±

    She¡¯s already eating one of the mages, and the others are running, so I don¡¯t know which one it is. The distinct bump in her throat stops moving as she looks at me with defiance. She doesn¡¯t appear to be that interested in giving up her prey.

    ¡°Kira, spit it out. I owe them a debt for helping me.¡±

    With a growl, she spits out the mage and I notice that it¡¯s Jarna. He¡¯s looking mostly fine. Physically fine. I¡¯m not sure how his mind will handle that, but he¡¯ll survive.

    ¡°Good, thank you. The people inside here attacked me, you can play with those, but the mages were helpful.¡±

    She gives me a nudge before ripping through the wall of the building, leading to screams from the people inside.

    ¡°You weren¡¯t kidding about being the Dragon¡¯s best friend¡­¡±

    ¡°No. Why would I? Thank you for the spell, Jarna.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for¡­ I¡¯d rather not think about it¡­¡±

    I let him know that he can safely travel north, and as long as they don¡¯t hunt any of the godless species like us, Kira won¡¯t have a reason to hunt them.

    ¡°Don¡¯t fuck with goblins, or they¡¯ll summon a fucking Dragon¡­ Got it... What in the fucking hells is going on with the world¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, a bunch of bad people called Cultists tricked you adventurers into attacking Kira. So Kira attacked you and now she considers you mortal enemies and snacks. What she really wanted was to be friends with you, but you guys are being dummies, so you ruined it. And now that is out to get you.¡±

    Emphasizing my point, I point to the thoroughly ruined building as Kira destroys another wall to get out of it, blood covering her muzzle and most of her face.

    ¡°It was rhetorical¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey Raya! Thank you for the cultist you sent my way! He was delicious!¡±

 Chapter 44: Hope

    ¡°I sent him north to be safe, Kira. I gave him a token so he could show you to prove that I sent him, so you wouldn¡¯t hurt him¡­ I didn¡¯t know he was a cultist.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Raya. The person I met had the cultist smell, and I don¡¯t think we can let them go. If they spread that affront stuff, it could be trouble for everyone.¡±

    ¡°I know¡­ Shut up¡­ I don¡¯t blame you, I¡¯m just sad that it happened¡­ Just don¡¯t eat Jarna too.¡±

    Nudging her, I reassure her that I won¡¯t harm anyone she asks me not to harm, so of course I won¡¯t eat them. With a tiny bonk on my nose, she starts gathering up her things and putting her clothes back on.

    ¡°Jarna, Kira wants to apologize for almost eating you. She¡¯s very sorry.¡±

    I am? I don¡¯t remember that.

    ¡°Kira, tell him you¡¯re sorry and apologize. And do it in the blessed language.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for almost eating you, Jarna. I didn¡¯t know you weren¡¯t food.¡±

    It¡¯s not my fault they¡¯re terrible at defending themselves. All I did was swoop in and catch him with my mouth, and now I¡¯m the bad person.

    ¡°Thank you¡­ I hope it never happens again. By the Gods, I hope it never happens again¡­¡±

    Well, he might be a little traumatized.

    Leaving that for someone else to deal with, I nudge Raya again and ask how she¡¯s doing. As far as I can tell, she¡¯s had quite the busy day and now we¡¯re past midnight, so she might need someone to listen to her.

    She mentions this Kanen person again, but I don¡¯t think I can do anything other than apologize for now. I should make it up to her since it¡¯s pretty clear that this is my mistake.

    She continues talking about him and what they talked about, and it sounds like I¡¯m not the only one with an affinity for picking up strangers. When she mentions Kanen¡¯s unstable magic, this Jarna person chips in and explains more about unstable magic. According to his rant, most people affected by it choose to become fighters, as they can still empower magical weapons.

    It keeps surprising me how many people are bilingual in this world, and here¡¯s Jarna happily chipping in with tidbits about unstable magic in that blessed language. Prodding him for more information, he¡¯s quick to stare at me with a blank expression.

    Ah, I guess he doesn¡¯t speak Raya¡¯s language.

    ¡°My apologies. I interpreted the meaning of your conversation based on keywords and body language. I do not speak the godless tongue.¡±

    Raya lets me know that she needs to find the goblins again, so we can bring them back to Tuiran. They should be in the woods nearby, so she runs off, leaving me to enjoy some awkward silence with Jarna.

    I want to tell him to calm down, since it¡¯s pretty clear that he¡¯s quite afraid of me, but even I can admit that it¡¯s a justified fear. It was pretty close to too late for Raya to save him.

    I¡¯m gonna try being friendly, since we¡¯re letting him live. Mages seem to love my fire, so I give him a little show, hoping that he¡¯ll like it too. With a partially open mouth, I spew a burst of flame, lighting up the camp. He seems to watch with interest, but he¡¯s still not making eye contact or looking at me much now that Raya isn¡¯t here.

    Giving him a puff of smoke to the face, he seems to be caught up in his interest as he waves a hand through it, feeling the magic, I¡¯m sure. Oh! I know what he might like! Pulling one of the seating logs to me, I split it with a claw and blow air onto one of them, which doesn¡¯t do anything, but he¡¯s paying attention. So I blow heated air on the other, blackening it.

    That got his attention! He¡¯s approaching now and touching the burned area. Pulling out a knife, he starts making cuts to see how deep it goes, I think.

    Those mage types are so easy to lure in. Giving him a nudge, he moves to the side, and I scorch some more wood, eliciting wide eyes and ¡®oohs¡¯ from the increasingly giddy mage. He¡¯s throwing a little magic around as well, trying to mimic what I did. Most of his attempts end in a flame, but he¡¯s getting closer to just creating heat. I think this guy might be quite smart.

    Watching his attempts is quite fun, so I lie down around him as he burns the logs. I¡¯m not sure he even remembers that I¡¯m here.

    The smell of wood smoke is quite enjoyable, so I take a moment to just close my eyes and relax. The small tingles from Jarna¡¯s magic are like tiny pokes massaging me.

    ¡°Jarna, psst! Jarna! I think it¡¯s sleeping, you can escape now!¡±

    Someone¡¯s at the gate, but Jarna is too busy with his experiments to hear them. At least one of his friends didn¡¯t abandon him, good for him!

    Whoever it is, they¡¯re sneaking closer as they attempt to get his attention. They keep repeating his name with such frequency that had I been asleep, I would have woken up for sure. Passing by my nose, they spot Jarna playing with fire as they place a hand on my nose. This person is really bad at sneaking, geez.

    ¡°Jarna! We have to get out of here! We have to go before the Dragon wakes up!¡±

    ¡°Oh, Ulla, when did you get here? You should see this. The Dragon did this thing where it created heat without flame, like holding your hand over heated metal, and I¡¯m trying to replicate it. Imagine what it would do for other elemental magics! You could create a wave of cold without ice, or a burst of healing light without a specific target! It could be a whole new way to shape magic!¡±

    ¡°Jarna! Focus! Do you want the Dragon to kill you?! We have to go before it wakes up!¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s already awake.¡±

    Ulla was already afraid, but now she¡¯s terrified as she stares right at my eye. Giving her a friendly wink, she starts screaming, which is just rude. I¡¯m right here. I¡¯m not sure where she lands on the list of whether Raya wants her alive or not, so for now, I¡¯ll err on the side of caution and assume she¡¯s on the alive list. She did come to save Jarna from me, after all.

    ¡°By the Gods, woman, please stop screaming!¡±

    Jarna¡¯s quick to move to her and calm her down, which is a relief, considering how impressively loud she was.

    Jarna manages to calm her down a bit, but all that screaming is making it very tempting to remove her from the ¡®alive¡¯ list. I guess I should consider all of Jarna¡¯s friends part of that list. From now on, anyway. The building is a bit more vacant than it was before I arrived. It¡¯s a little boring, but I don¡¯t want Raya to be mad at me.

    ¡°Come, watch this, Ulla!¡±

    ¡°Are you serious, Jarna?! How can you be so calm with that beast lying there?!¡±

    Rude. I¡¯m a delightful and well-behaved dragon, not some beast. And to prove this, I swipe her feet away with a flick of my tongue, causing her to fall on my face.

    As she slides off my face, it occurs to me that she seems to have passed out. Jarna is quick to come to her rescue, but I¡¯m sure she¡¯s fine. My snout isn''t so big that she had to fall that far, so she probably didn''t fall that hard.

    ¡°Kira! What did you do now?!¡±

    Dang it... I''m getting the distinct impression that Raya might yell at me soon, considering that she returned just in time to see this mage lady fall. With some quick thinking, I set the record straight!

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything! She suddenly passed out, and it was entirely on her own!¡±

    Considering the doubtful expression on Raya''s face, it¡¯s pretty obvious that she¡¯s skeptical, but I am more innocent than guilty here. Nudging Jarna, I tell him to back me up and tell her that I¡¯m innocent, and he¡¯s quick to comply.

    ¡°Yes, Ulla suddenly passed out, a bird must have startled her.¡±

    Well, he gave it a try, but now Raya looks even more skeptical... If someone told me that she didn''t believe me, I might think they were right.

    ¡°Enough of that. Kira, do you think we can bring everyone back to Tuiran? Four goblins, four mages, and myself. We can¡¯t really leave them here, since the wolves might come in the morning.¡±

    That¡¯s true, it would be safer to get them back. The weight shouldn¡¯t be a problem, but I¡¯m not sure how I¡¯ll carry them all. If they can hold onto my spine spines, then we could do that, but they¡¯d have to hold on tight. I suggest it and Raya is quick to pass it along. Jarna seems very interested, and even suggests that Raya cast mage sight during the trip. I didn¡¯t know she could use that spell.

    I¡¯m not sure this Ulla person will be as interested as Jarna is, but I¡¯m sure it beats getting attacked by wolves. Looking around, I don¡¯t see four mages, there are only Ulla and Jarna here.

    ¡°Jarna, could you find the two others? We should get them to safety, too.¡±

    For some unexplainable reason, he looks at me for a moment with a tinge of doubt in his eye. Geez, you almost eat a guy one time and all of a sudden, he thinks the worst of you. Well, I¡¯m not gonna let it get to me. Raya seems to have noticed our little exchange as she puts on a cute little frown.

    ¡°You know, Raya, you and Lauren are starting to sound alike. She also told me to leave some adventurers alone.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not like Lauren¡­¡±

    This feels like an excellent opportunity to tease her!

    Being not at all dramatic, I tell Raya the tale of my epic battle against the hammering giant and the tiny stick wielder. How they managed to knock me out of the sky, and I wanted to bring them home to play some more and for them to teach me how to fight something like that.

    But then the fearsome Lauren arrived and told me that I couldn¡¯t just kidnap people. Not even promising to feed and exercise them worked. I even asked them if they were fine with it, and Punchy thought it would be fun, but Sarah wouldn¡¯t have it. She kept yelling at me, and then she started yelling at Punchy, calling him a muscle-brained toddler stuck in a perpetual loop of looking for his next beating.

    ¡°And worst of all, Lauren gave away some of my money so they¡¯d have travel funds! Pity me, Raya!¡°

    ¡°I agree with Lauren.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not pity, Raya!¡±

    Well, that didn¡¯t go as expected, and now she¡¯s looking smug with her arms crossed and a wicked smile. But she¡¯s the one who¡¯s about to adopt a bunch of stray mages, so I should get to keep one Punchy and a Sarah to keep him company, it¡¯s only fair.

    ¡°How are you feeling, Kira?¡±

    It''s not where I expected this conversation to go, but she sounds a little worried, so of course I let her know that I¡¯m feeling fine. I¡¯m not sure why I wouldn¡¯t, but now I¡¯m curious.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I feel fine, Raya? I found you again and we¡¯ll be able to go home for a snooze soon!¡±

    ¡°I was just wondering whether you were feeling particularly... poisoned. I did poison the adventurers in the building, after all.¡±

    Aww, she¡¯s worried I might get food poisoning, that''s nice. But I¡¯m not feeling any sort of ill, so I¡¯ll probably be fine. Telling her as much, she gives me a smile.

    ¡°That¡¯s good, I was a little worried I might have made you sick.¡±

    She deserves a nudge.

    As soon as she has been nudged, she starts wrangling up people and bossing them around so we can get going. She even bosses me around, wanting me to lie down as low as I can, as she starts adding people to my back. The goblins are placed on either side of one of my spines, so they can interlock their legs for safety, becoming each other¡¯s seat belt.

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    She even starts bossing around Jarna and Ulla, who have woken up, it turns out, and they¡¯re being ordered to try to find the other two mages before we leave.

    The two go shouting for the other two, and I hear Ulla tell Jarna that they should take the opportunity to run away. I don¡¯t particularly care about them, but Raya seems to think she owes them a debt for helping her, so it¡¯s not my call.

    While we wait, the goblins start getting chatty about this and that, and one of them even mentions being from a tribe in the south. I¡¯m curious why these adventurers even kept the goblins around. Listening to the chatter is nice, though. The group sounds quite happy about the current development, and they seem quite excited about visiting Tuiran. It¡¯s a pretty great place, so I get it.

    Just as I start to itch to get moving, Jarna returns with the other people in tow. I assume it¡¯s the people he was looking for because it seems weird that he¡¯d wrangle up some strangers and bring them to a dragon.

    They seem very worried about this whole situation, but Raya and Jarna are quick to reassure them, and they don¡¯t calm down at all. Instead, they point out that I¡¯ve got blood coating parts of my face, which I guess is a fair point.

    To get moving, Raya takes Jarna by the hand and pulls him toward me. He¡¯s the bravest of them, but he¡¯s still quite scared.

    ¡°Foot here, grab there, then pull yourself up. Just like climbing a tree, and then you sit behind those larger horns.¡±

    He¡¯s slow, but he starts climbing the side of my skull and settles in. That¡¯s one.

    With Jarna in place, the rest grow a little bolder, or Raya grows a little sterner. Whichever it is, they¡¯re getting a move on and starting to shuffle toward me. As they start climbing up on me at Raya¡¯s order, I feel Jarna scooting forward.

    ¡°Jarna, I carved a tiny line into Kira¡¯s scales, don¡¯t sit beyond that line.¡±

    You what?! That¡¯s vandalism! Or assault. I don¡¯t know which, but I didn¡¯t consent to having my scales defaced!

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°Kira, raise your head a little.¡±

    We''ll have to talk about this casual vandalism, but for now, I do as the little vandal tells me. Lifting up my head causes Jarna to start shouting something or other about understanding what she means.

    ¡°If you sit beyond that line, your legs will be crushed by Kira¡¯s horns. That was just up and down, it¡¯s worse from side to side. So stay behind the line.¡±

    Maybe having a safety line is smart. I don¡¯t want people paste stuck behind my head.

    Somehow, Raya is able to fit everyone onto me as she sits herself between my eyes. Grabbing hold of my eyebrow scales, she tells people to hold on tight as she asks me to take off. Doing so leads to very mixed reactions.

    ¡°Raya! Mage Sight!¡±

    Jarna calls out to her, and I feel a tingle of magic from her as she starts looking around with wide eyes and an excited smile.

    All of a sudden, I feel more magic tingles as the other mages gasp. They all seem quite excited about whatever that mage sight is letting them see. Asking Raya about it, she starts talking nonsense.

    ¡°It¡¯s like there¡¯s a barrier of magic around you, Kira, and it takes in the magic in the air and pushes it out behind you. I don¡¯t know how to describe it, but it¡¯s so beautiful. The colors in the magic all dance around and mix. It¡¯s your magic, but it¡¯s also the wind¡¯s magic becoming one as you fly.¡±

    I wanna try focusing my magic in my eyes to see it too, but I feel like that¡¯s a bad idea right now. If I get startled or overwhelmed by it, I could hurt someone by accident.

    Given how Raya explains it, I would imagine it¡¯s quite beautiful against the starlit night sky, and it¡¯s definitely something I want to explore under safer conditions.

    For now, though, we¡¯re nearing Tuiran and I¡¯m gonna immediately disregard that, since I just got curious. How will they react if I push more magic into my wings? Doing so leads to a bunch of yelps as we speed up and those yelps are quickly followed by excitement, so I guess there is a difference to be seen.

    Circling back, I slow down as we aim for the town square of Tuiran. Morning is approaching fast, and folks need to get some sleep. With a mostly soft landing, I lie down and folks start climbing off. Raya is quick to help anyone struggling, and the mages seem quite happy to get away from me. They might have been excited to see my magic in action, but they still very much fear me.

    The goblins are much more excited to be here, and as Raya calls over a guard to find somewhere for them to stay, they run up to the guy who seems woefully unprepared for this task. With them taken care of, she turns her attention to the mages and tells them that they¡¯re free to leave if they want, but she can also find somewhere for them to get some rest.

    Jarna seems wholly on team get-some-rest, but everyone else appears to want to leave.

    ¡°Follow that road north and you¡¯ll reach the northern gate. If you cause problems, you¡¯ll be volunteering to be Kira¡¯s breakfast.¡±

    Ooh! Do we have any troublemakers among them? Judging by the scent of fear, I¡¯d say no, but I could be wrong. The trio is quick to start moving as they discuss things among themselves, talking about plans for the future and such. Jarna waves them off as they leave for the north.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect any of them to stay, Kira. What are we supposed to do with Jarna?¡±

    Hah! I¡¯m not the only one who ends up in situations I¡¯m not prepared for! Of course, I try to help, so I suggest throwing him at the kiln project or the blacksmith so we can keep him distracted and make him someone else¡¯s problem.

    ¡°That could work¡­¡±

    Calling over another guard, she tells him to bring Jarna to the blacksmith and find a house in the production district.

    With all of that taken care of, Raya lets out a yawn, indicating that she finally has a moment to rest. Nudging her, I suggest we head for my den and get some sleep, and in return, I get an adorable sleepy nod. She climbs onto my head and we enter my den. It¡¯s clear that she has been far busier today than she expected.

    Settling in, she nuzzles up to me and falls asleep almost immediately. I don¡¯t see anyone else around, so it¡¯s just the two of us tonight.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Delicious smells wake me up, alerting me to a most delicious development! It smells like food stall day! Shuffling a little, I wake up Raya too, she should get to enjoy food stall day as well.

    ¡°Lie still, you overgrown lizard¡­ The feast was yesterday¡­¡±

    I refuse! I can smell deliciousness, and I must have it! Nudging her some more elicits more groaning until she finally wakes up. She doesn¡¯t seem all that keen on being conscious, but a creaky stretch later, she looks better.

    We¡¯re ready to head out for snacks!

    ¡°Kira, I¡¯ve been thinking and¡­ how come you¡¯re fine with eating people? I would have thought you would have a problem with it, given your past.¡±

    That¡¯s a pretty good question, and I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve given it much thought. Postponing my departure for food stall day, I settle in to talk about it with her.

    The best I can figure is that I have two sets of memories surrounding it. My human side being against it but liking delicious things, and my dragon side being for it and liking delicious things. So that ends up being three positives and one negative.

    On top of that, it¡¯s like parts of me are dormant in both my human side and my dragon side. I like money and wealth, but I¡¯m not ravenous for it, so I¡¯m not really as greedy as dragons are supposed to be. And at the same time, I¡¯m not feeling any human attraction to others. I want friends, sure, but I don¡¯t want a partner, romantic or sexual. It¡¯s a little weird.

    At least my urge to eat my friends is becoming much easier to control, as if there¡¯s a line being drawn between them and what my dragon side considers food. Although adventurers I don¡¯t know sit firmly in the food section. To Jarna¡¯s benefit, Raya vouching for him has moved him a good way closer to the not-food side.

    I explain it as well as I can to her, but it¡¯s hard to put into words. As far as I can tell, she gets it, but I¡¯m not sure I do, not entirely at least. But she seems relieved, so it must have put her mind at ease and settled any worries that I would be at risk of going on a rampage.

    I ask if she wants to talk about it some more, but she lets me know that she got the information she wanted, so now we¡¯re ready to head out!

    Walking ahead of me, she exits my den as I peek my head out above her. There are so many stalls, even more than usual, and everything smells even better than usual! The chefs must have taken advantage of the influx of traders to acquire new ingredients. Ooh! This is going to be good!

    Looking around the crowd, I see a surprising mix of species, and I¡¯m not sure where they¡¯ve come from. Regular humans, tall humans like Punchy, dwarves, scalefolk, and fuzzy people. Goblins still easily outnumber them, but we have guests!

    Oh! I should make myself presentable! Nudging Raya, I ask if she wants to join me for a trip to the lake for a bath before we get some food. She¡¯s quick to agree, and we rush off. We¡¯ll need to hurry, but I can¡¯t just show up with a bloody face.

    The trip to the lake is, luckily, uneventful, and as we land, Raya strips and leaves her clothes on top of me as she jumps into the water and begins scrubbing herself and my scales.

    ¡°Raya, I really am sorry about Kanen. I didn¡¯t know he was your friend.¡±

    ¡°I told you, it wasn¡¯t your fault, and I don¡¯t blame you. If he were a cultist, then he would be an enemy.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s okay to be sad or upset about it.¡±

    She just taps my side a few times as she continues working on my scales. It doesn¡¯t take long before she declares that she¡¯s done and swims to the lakeshore. As I follow, she tells me to do the heat breath thing toward her so she can dry off before putting her clothes back on, and that¡¯s smart! Mighty Blow Dryer of the Lake!

    Blowing heated air off to the side, Raya steps close to prevent herself from being burned as she uses the radiating heat to dry off. As soon as she¡¯s satisfied, she climbs on top of me and puts her clothes back on as we leave for Tuiran again.

    As soon as we land, a guard approaches with some guy following after him, and I get the mightiest bonk I¡¯ve ever been hit with. Geez, Raya, that actually hurts¡­

    ¡°YOU TOLD ME YOU ATE HIM!¡±

    I¡¯m so confused. I don¡¯t recall ever saying I ate this guy, I¡¯ve never even met him before! He seems just as confused as I am about her outburst.

    ¡°Kanen! What happened to you? Why did Kira say she ate you? And are you one of the cultists trying to ruin things?¡±

    I didn¡¯t say I ate this guy! I said I ate a cultist who claimed to be sent by Raya. There¡¯s a difference, and I¡¯m innocent! I tell Raya as much, but she seems reluctant to take my word for it. This Kanen person seems to mumble something about me being huge up close before launching into an explanation of his survival.

    ¡°I hid in the woods, staying out of sight of any potential threats. I can¡¯t say I know why¡­ Kira¡­ would say that, a possible mistaken identity, I¡¯d wager. I did see her attack someone else. As far as being a cultist, well, the only thing I¡¯m fanatical about is knowledge!¡±

    He seems unsure of how to appropriately address me, so when he says my name, I give a little nod, which he appears to understand.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you show her the token?¡±

    ¡°Raya, no offense meant, but we¡¯ve only just met and, while I¡¯m sure you are trustworthy, this is a piece of mundane wood. As far as I can tell, there¡¯s not a shred of magic in the base or these carvings. I simply could not figure out how it was supposed to ward off a Dragon, so I decided to hide instead of betting my life on it working.¡±

    She seems to acknowledge that it was probably smart to not just blindly trust a stranger like that. She doesn¡¯t seem all that happy with me, though. It¡¯s an honest mistake! Who here hasn¡¯t eaten the wrong person only for it to turn out to not be the person your friend expected? Happens all the time.

    That does make me a little curious though...

    "Kanen, how come you trusted the goblin guards not to take you prisoner so you could be fed to me later?"

    "I hadn''t considered that..."

    With another bonk for me, Raya jumps down and changes the subject, much to Kanen''s relief. She throws various demands at him about teaching her magic so she can show off to me and tease me about my inability to learn fancy people magic. That¡¯s a bit rude, so she gets a rough nudge! Take that, Raya! She sidestepped my nudge...

    Kanen seems to laugh at our exchange, and on the outside, he appears quite calm, but it¡¯s obvious that he is afraid, even though he was invited here. He''s quick to agree to teach her as much as he knows, which brings a delightful smile to Raya''s face before she frowns and looks at me.

    ¡°Who did you eat, Kira? And have you done it before?¡±

    All of a sudden, with no provocation at all, Raya starts throwing some completely unfair questions my way now. I can''t answer either of those questions, but I know for sure that the person I did eat had that distinct cultist smell. So I can''t say that I regret it, especially now that I know it wasn''t Raya''s new friend.

    Nudging Kanen, he releases a puff of fear and I¡¯ll just ignore that. Instead, I ask if he can teach me magic as well, since he seems like a great teacher if Raya¡¯s enthusiasm is anything to go by.

    ¡°Uh¡­ Are there any consequences to declining or failing should I accept?¡±

    Before I get a chance to reply, Raya starts talking about how I won¡¯t do anything to him and he¡¯s completely safe. Watching her interrupt me seems to put his mind at ease and he agrees! He¡¯s gonna try to prove Lily wrong about my ability to learn fancy magic! That deserves a celebration, which is a good excuse to go for some of this food stall day food!

    As I leave the two to reunite, I overhear Raya ask about how someone else would¡¯ve known to say they had been sent to her. Kanen just chuckles and waves it off as them not being very quiet and that anyone could¡¯ve overheard them.

    ¡°Lauren! Food stall day is here!¡±

    ¡°I know!¡±

    She¡¯s here somewhere! I don¡¯t know where she is shouting from, though. I can¡¯t catch her scent with all this deliciousness filling the air either, so I¡¯ll just have to get rid of it, I have no choice!

    Approaching the first stall, I see skewers with a bunch of veggies I¡¯ve never seen before, but I¡¯m an adventurous eater, so I¡¯ll give it a shot. Seeing my face approach the stall, the vendor is quick to explain how these are root veggies imported from so-and-so in the east and that the new traders bring all sorts of good stuff.

    Giving it a taste, I agree! This is good stuff! Looking around, almost all the stalls are full of things I don¡¯t recognize. I don¡¯t even know where to go from here, I want to try it all, but it¡¯s a little overwhelming.

    ¡°Follow me, you silly beast.¡±

    Looking down, I see Lauren has found me, and she leads me through the area. The crowd splits ahead of us, and she¡¯s quick to jump between stalls, grabbing anything that might be interesting and throwing it to me.

    She seems like she¡¯s in a fantastic mood today, so I¡¯m not gonna risk ruining it with questions and such. I¡¯m just gonna enjoy it. Caught in a moment of distraction, she lobs a piece of food my way and I don¡¯t catch it. Well, I do, but not in my mouth. A piece of spicy meat is stuck in my nostril, and the spices are making me need to sneeze!

    Pointing my head upward, I feel the sneeze come, and when it does, it¡¯s followed by a gout of flame. Instead of taking responsibility for the incident, Lauren just starts laughing! At least my flames burned away the intruding spices, taking care of any sneeze risk.

    ¡°You should see yourself when you¡¯re about to sneeze, Kira! You scrunch up your entire face and neck before it happens.¡±

    Giving our surroundings a look, it appears I didn¡¯t light anything on fire, so that¡¯s good. Lauren¡¯s laughter seems to have kept the strangers from panicking at the sudden outburst, but there¡¯s a clear air of caution now.

    With Lauren composing herself again, we continue our treat tour. There''s a bit of a ruckus, but with more people noticing that I¡¯m not, in fact, eating everyone, they start to calm down and the general atmosphere improves quite a bit.

    ¡°I prayed to Merciferus, Kira. She spoke to me, not just impressions and feelings, she actually spoke directly to me.¡±

    ¡°Really?! What did she say?¡±

    ¡°That you¡¯re the most obnoxious creature she has ever dealt with.¡±

    ¡°Rude¡­¡±

    ¡°And that whatever you have planned could work. It isn''t guaranteed, but it could work.¡±

    That¡¯s good! Now we just need to bring it all together. We still have a few kinks to work out, like how to keep my venom from infecting the rest of her. I don¡¯t know if the blacksmith can make thin tubes to use as needles, but we¡¯ll figure something out. At least we know for sure that we¡¯re on the right track!

    Thank you for not being useless, Merciferus.

    For some reason, Lauren walks over and punches my arm with a laugh. It¡¯s nice that her mood has turned around so much. I was worried she might end up shutting down and locking herself away.

    ¡°So, why did my Goddess just tell me to punish you, Kira?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just thanked her for helping us.¡±

    She doesn¡¯t seem to dwell on it as she continues leading me down the aisle between the stalls, grabbing things from here and there. This is what I want life to be: hope for the future, joy in the moment, and everyone being welcome to have fun.

 Chapter 45: Trying

    So far, food stall day is going great, and the food is delicious. I want it to last, and I have the impression that to make it last, I need to be more active. I need to get rid of this Dead Jerk¡¯s attempts at spreading this affront stuff.

    I don¡¯t want to ruin the day for others with my doom and gloom about some dead jerk who thinks he¡¯s all that. I¡¯ve had a good taste of what the day has to offer, so it¡¯s a good time to let other people worry less. Nudging Lauren, I let her know that we¡¯ll be going to a more open area by my den, and aside from a raised eyebrow, she¡¯s quick to lead the way.

    Moving through the crowd has mixed results as the non-goblins seem cautious around me. They¡¯re afraid. Anyone who hasn¡¯t been around for a while is afraid of me, not just apprehensive or wary, but outright fearful. But the goblins are fine with me, and I like that.

    The non-goblins all move away as I approach, but the goblins are running between my legs, not minding my presence at all. They¡¯re all getting very good at evading my steps, but not so good that I¡¯ll get complacent.

    I spot Raya and Kanen talking, and every few moments, I feel Raya pull on my magic. It¡¯s not something I notice unless I¡¯m paying attention, but I can feel it. Watching her concentrate on her spells is making me a little envious.

    ¡°Lauren, how can I cast a spell?¡±

    ¡°Well, that depends on what kind of spell you want to cast. Some forms of magic are woven, while others are shaped. My healing spells are woven with chanting and divine intervention. So I have to pull the magic, form it into a usable form, and then give it commands to do what I want. After that, Merciferus helps empower and guide me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s so much more effort than what I do. I just push magic where I want it, and things happen, like my flame breath.¡±

    ¡°Yes, who would have thought that a magical beast would be able to use magic with ease? Material beings can¡¯t do that. We have to take the shaped magic of the world and force it into what we want. We have our natural reserves just like you do, but without using the magic of the world, I might only be able to cast one or two spells a day.¡±

    Well, it¡¯s clear that she¡¯s making fun of me a little, but that¡¯s some good information. It does make me a little curious if that ties into what Joras mentioned about having an easier time casting spells after I forced my magic into him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t yell at me, Lauren, but how did it feel before and after I¡­ tortured you with my magic?¡±

    ¡°Pure. It was as if I had relied on rain to water my crops my entire life, and then you came along and created irrigation. When I calm my mind for prayer, I can feel the magic of the world seeping into me. Don¡¯t think of it as torture, Kira. It may have come from a place of cruelty, but it is a gift I wouldn¡¯t want to be without.¡±

    ¡°Do you think what is happening to Raya will happen to you too?¡±

    ¡°No. I haven¡¯t felt any changes aside from my magical aptitude improving. My guess would be that you consider her your equal, and your magic is trying to make that as true to the world as it is to you.¡±

    That makes sense, I think. That does make me wonder about Lauren, though. Nudging her, I ask what she thinks about that part of it all.

    ¡°Can you ever consider yourself equal to someone you saw as an edible obstacle? Don¡¯t worry about that, Kira. I¡¯m content. I wish Kello and Reinfold hadn¡¯t died, but I¡¯ve realized how unhappy that lifestyle made me. It was a life I was forced into due to a lack of options, not one I had chosen. The only time I felt any joy was when I drank with strangers or healed the injured.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure how it differs from what I forced her into here, but if she¡¯s sure that she¡¯s better off, then I won¡¯t stand in her way.

    She goes on to suggest that I join Raya and Kanen in their magic studies, and I might do that later, but right now, I think I¡¯m content to just people-watch for a bit. As soon as I lie down, Lauren takes a seat on my arm and leans against my neck as if it¡¯s the most normal thing in the world.

    Listening to the noise of people¡¯s excitement is quite enjoyable and as far as I can tell, a lot for the newcomers are forgetting I¡¯m even here.

    ¡°Lauren, could you fetch me a snack?¡±

    ¡°I could, but I don¡¯t want to. I¡¯m comfortable here.¡±

    I get that. I don¡¯t want to get up right now either. She sounds sleepy, and it doesn¡¯t take long before I hear gentle snoring from her, and I¡¯m fine with just spending some time lazing around.

    Listening to the noise of Tuiran with my eyes closed is calming, and the sounds of people bartering, laughing, and the occasional child¡¯s playful scream make me happy. This place is great.

    For some reason, I¡¯m pulled out of my half-asleep state. Giving the sky a gander, it¡¯s clear that a good chunk of the day is gone. It seems food stall day has ended and folks are packing up. I got to go, and it was fun and delicious. And they¡¯ve left a wheelbarrow of snacks for me!

    ¡°Woah!¡±

    Getting up, I start digging in as I hear Lauren yelp. Ooh, it¡¯s delicious even when it¡¯s cold. I¡¯ve got fruit, steaks, skewers, and grilled veggies in here!

    ¡°You could have woken me up before moving, Kira¡­¡±

    She¡¯s not wrong¡­ Grabbing the wheelbarrow, I move it closer to her and offer her a treat and an apology. She gives me a few pats before grabbing a couple of things to munch on.

    ¡°Lauren, could you go to the blacksmith and ask him to make some tubes? As thin as he can. We need them to inject the¡­ Actually, never mind that.¡±

    ¡°Kira, I believe that¡¯s your ¡®bad idea¡¯ face. How about you just tell me what the plan is?¡±

    Where would the fun be in that? Instead, I ask her to prepare some magic lessons for me, so we can start that when I return. As far as I can tell, she isn¡¯t too keen on it, but that¡¯s okay, it¡¯s important.

    ¡°You finish up the wheelbarrow, I¡¯ll return as soon as I can.¡±

    With a small jump, I take off toward Raya''s home. I''ll need to ask her for directions, and as I soar above the building, I call out to her. She''s actually home today, and she''s quick to lean out of a window and shout to me.

    "Hey Kira!"

    "Hey Raya! I need to know where I can find venomous snakes in the forest! The only one I''ve seen chased Tiffy, but I need more than one!"

    She seems to think for a moment, and then she asks Kanen if he knows, but neither of them seems to have experience with giant snakes. Dang it, that means I have to find some on my own. I can do it! I believe in me. And the last time I saw one, it was as big as me, but I''m even bigger now, so I have the size advantage!

    Before I fly away, Raya shouts that Kanen says he has heard of venomous snakes in the western forests, so I should be able to find some. Unfortunately, the western forest is literally all the forest to the west, and it goes on to the south. Pushing magic into my wings, it''s time to leave Tuiran behind.

    Flying over the forest with my eyes peeled, I spot all sorts of familiar things. There¡¯s a good amount of boars and deer running around down there, and it¡¯s taking a surprising amount of effort not to get distracted. All of that running away they¡¯re doing is making me want to hunt them.

    Time to focus up, Kira. Stop it with all these wandering thoughts. Where would I be if I were a giant snake wanting a snack? I¡¯d go where the snacks are, and the snake did hunt Tiffy, so maybe near human things. Roads are human things, so if I follow the road south for a bit, I might spot a trail or something.

    But the humans are west, and I was told that Tuiran trades with people from the south. There¡¯s definitely a road, and I¡¯ll just follow it and see what I find. Hopefully, the snake. Just like that eastern road I found Kaldren on, this road has a few small outposts for people to sleep in. They¡¯re not occupied at the moment, so I can¡¯t ask about any snake sightings.

    Reaching the other side of the forest, the landscape changes from a comfortable forest to the scary hills of unfamiliarity. The ominous fort still sits in the distance, but that¡¯s not important, I have snakes to find. I need their needle teeth!

    I¡¯m not having much luck finding any so far, and evening has arrived, so it¡¯s getting a little dark. I¡¯ll need to try something else, so I think it¡¯s time to try that eyesight thing Raya and Kanen talked about.

    With a gentle tug on my magic, I can tell a small bit has separated from my source and, with barely any effort, I move it to my eyes where it settles without effort. As it does, the world turns weird. Geez, I should have landed before I did this¡­

    There¡¯s still a clear distinction between ground and air, so I¡¯m able to stay flying, but geez, everything glows in weird colors. I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going on with that, but it is disorienting. I¡¯ll just slow down and settle into a hover until I get used to this.

    The more I look around, the easier it gets, and the swirling blue winds start to make a little sense. Looking at the ground, the shine of the grass has a delightful green color and mixes with the blue of the wind, creating a beautiful teal color where they meet.

    Most of the area contains the same colors, but there¡¯s a smudge of red in the distance and I want to know what it is. Setting course for it, I aim for a nearby spot to land so I can approach from the ground. I haven¡¯t seen it move since I started approaching it, and I still don¡¯t know what it is. I will discover you, red-glowing smudge.

    Given that I have a good idea of where it is, I stop funneling magic to my eyes and my vision returns to normal. Now I won¡¯t be limited by my unfamiliarity with the way the world looks, at least. If that¡¯s what mages see with their mage sight, then I should¡¯ve started doing it a lot sooner. I¡¯ll have to get into the habit of trying other body reinforcements with magic, who knows what will happen if I infuse my horns with magic or my tail.

    I need to focus on finding this smudge, it could be a snake for all I know, and if it¡¯s venomous, which I hope, I have to be extra careful.

    Sneaking over the final hill in the cover of darkness, I smell smoke, which is decidedly un-snake-like. I¡¯m still a good distance away, but I¡¯m starting to hear talking. Sneaking even closer, it becomes easier to hear what they¡¯re talking about. As far as I can tell, they¡¯re out here hunting for critters, and they¡¯re just camping for the night.

    ¡°Shh, I think I heard something.¡±

    Dang it! I¡¯m not sneaky enough. Standing as still as I can, I try not to make any more sounds.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t hear anything, are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Shh, listen.¡±

    I¡¯m Kira, the quiet dragon of the hills today, not making any noise is my specialty.

    ¡°I can only hear the wind, maybe it was a particularly powerful gust or something.¡±

    Whoever that person is, he¡¯s far too quick to dismiss his partner. She did hear something, and I know this because I kicked a rock by accident. It¡¯s remarkable how much noise I can make before they notice it because of the wind.

    I¡¯m quite certain that they¡¯re holed up in a small cave, and I¡¯m almost on top of it. With my weight, I really should stay off the roof of it, otherwise, I might collapse it on top of them, and that would be rude.

    Sneaking further around, the smell of smoke intensifies and I¡¯m almost at the entrance, I¡¯m sure.

    ¡°I know I heard something that time! Something¡¯s out there!¡±

    Well, I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯ve been discovered, so I might as well have a little fun with it.

    ¡°There isn¡¯t anything out here. It¡¯s just the wind.¡±

    ¡°I told you, I heard something!¡±

    She doesn¡¯t seem convinced that I¡¯m the wind. In fact, she seems to be getting convinced that I¡¯m some sort of beast looking to eat them. And that simply isn¡¯t entirely true. Instead of focusing on the imminent threat of me, they¡¯re bickering about who was right and never listening. I¡¯d rather not get in the middle of that.

    ¡°Are you serious?! Are you trying to say I¡¯m too Uhygfaril [paranoid] when some beast is outside the cave?!¡±

    Or maybe I should get in the middle of that¡­

    ¡°She¡¯s right, guy, I am outside the cave, and she did hear me the first time.¡±

    ¡°See? Even the beast agrees with me! Why don¡¯t you ever listen?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I really didn¡¯t hear anything. I¡¯ll try to do better in the future.¡±

    Aww... That¡¯s cute, they¡¯re trying to resolve things.

    ¡°What makes you think we have a future? Whatever that thing is, it sounds huge!¡±

    Well, that''s an easy thing to solve. I¡¯m quick to inform them that all I want is¡­ I don¡¯t know the words for snake or fang in Lauren¡¯s language¡­ Dang it¡­ Easy peasy, all I need is a new plan.

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°I¡¯m a harmless lizard, I¡¯m small, and I want to trade.¡±

    ¡°Do you think that¡¯s true?¡±

    Guy seems to believe me for a moment, but the smack I hear knocks that idea right out of his head. She starts telling him not to believe weird voices in the night and such things. Which is fair, that¡¯s just good advice.

    Sneaking a little closer, but staying out of the light, I reach a claw out and start drawing in the dirt outside the entrance. I would have thought it¡¯d be easy to draw a snake, they''re just tubes with a mouth, but it turns out that they¡¯re difficult to draw. I¡¯m having to restart a few times, but I manage to get a decent drawing going.

    ¡°By the gods, that is a huge talon¡­¡±

    I¡¯m sure she¡¯s impressed and not afraid, but focus! Pointing at the fang, I use my most innocent and calming voice. I hope they¡¯re paying attention and understand what I want.

    ¡°I need this, but it needs to be big enough to go through a human¡¯s chest.¡±

    ¡°You lied about being small.¡±

    That doesn¡¯t seem relevant right now, but it is true, I¡¯ll give her that. Instead of lingering on their indecisiveness, I make the suggestion that they tell me where I can find snakes like the ones I need. Judging by the not doing that, they don¡¯t seem all that interested in helping me. It¡¯s a bit rude, I haven¡¯t even done anything.

    ¡°Maybe it is friendly. It hasn¡¯t done anything dangerous yet.¡±

    ¡°Are you kidding me?! When growling is a major part of its vocabulary, friendly isn¡¯t an option!¡±

    Is it really that pronounced? I thought my voice was just deep, but to call it growling is a bit rude.

    Never mind that. I¡¯m getting a little impatient here, but aside from being rude, they haven¡¯t done anything to warrant my retaliation, so I¡¯m a bit at a loss. I¡¯ll try my luck one last time, otherwise, I¡¯ll try finding some snakes on my own again.

    Pointing to my drawing again, I ask them about the fangs and where I can find the animals, but I¡¯m not all that hopeful. They seem far too focused on what I¡¯m not doing¡­ And they do start bickering again. This time about how to escape¡­

    Dealing with these people feels like a giant waste of time, and I should see it as a learning experience. Leaving the distrustful duo behind, I push aside my frustration as best I can, but they got to me a little. Taking to the skies, temptation nags at me with thoughts of turning around and leaving the duo extra crispy, but I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s the exact sort of thing Raya doesn¡¯t want me to do.

    Instead, I¡¯ll focus on my task: finding these needle fangs so we can cure Lauren of this stupid disease that I¡¯m getting thoroughly tired of. I¡¯m beginning to want to gather everyone up and launch a mission to take out this annoying dead jerk, so I don¡¯t have to worry about it anymore... But that¡¯s probably foolish. Yeah, don¡¯t go attacking the scary bad guy just because he¡¯s annoying.

    Focus, Kira! It¡¯s critter-hunting time.

    Spotting a few deer, it appears their magic signature is a curious yellow color with a tendency to flatten whenever they move. Or become thin, I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going on there, but I want to know more about it. Flying after a deer, it flees from me and just as it turns direction, it releases a magic burst. I didn¡¯t notice it the last time I hunted deer, but they don¡¯t lose any speed when turning. Geez, no wonder it got away.

    As far as I can tell, the deer¡¯s natural magic helps them in sprints and maneuvering, but they¡¯re quite limited by how little they have, so I won through endurance. Good job, me.

    I wonder how other animals are affected by magic. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if those dang wolves have some sort of magical communication going on, they¡¯re way too organized.

    Continuing my flight toward the forest, I see a few boars and their magic signature seems to be brown, and as far as I can tell, the magic itself is tough, robust, and able to feel out the area around them. I want that, I want magical sensory things. I¡¯ll need to experiment with that later.

    I can¡¯t focus on boars right now because there¡¯s something peculiar up ahead. I can just see glimpses of it between the trees. A deep blue signature with a bit of red inside it, the border between the two colors creates a pretty purple ring. That definitely deserves a closer look.

    Looking around for a spot to land between the trees, I close in on the weird magic signature. I still don¡¯t know what it is, but the area smells like blood. I¡¯m not familiar with this particular scent of blood, but I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a good amount of it.

    Disregarding stealth, I break a few treetops to make room for me to hover closer to the ground. I''d rather have as short a fall as possible. Focusing my magic into my extremities, I fold my wings up and fall to the ground, making quite a lot of noise. No doubt about it, whatever is up ahead knows I¡¯m here.

    Moving through the woods to close the distance between us, I reach the remnants of a small battlefield. Corpses of beasts and people lie scattered throughout the area, and this looks like the exact sort of thing that would become a bunch of undead.

    As far as I can tell, nobody survived this on either side. And I think it¡¯s fortunate that I came along to clean up. It would be a bit of a disaster if all of these beings turned into the undead. And that¡¯s not just me looking for an excuse to chow down on this buffet.

    It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had bear, so that¡¯s where I start. With my first bite, I wonder how it would taste with spices, but I don¡¯t get much time to contemplate the option of bringing my bag. I forgot my freakin¡¯ bag! Dang it¡­

    ¡°Die, beast!¡±

    A what now? Fuck! That hurts... One moment, I¡¯m happily enjoying some bear and the next, some jerk impaled me with a spike of dirt¡­ That¡¯s not sanitary¡­

    Flexing my muscles, I break off the part of the dirt spike inside me so I can move again. If I wasn¡¯t so big, the extra weight would¡¯ve been a problem. There¡¯s some weird person panting at me, and as far as I¡¯m concerned, they¡¯re fair game for having attacked me. I¡¯ll just reinforce my scales with a bunch of magic to be safe.

    They start chanting something at me while waving their hands around, and a moment later, magic builds under me and another spike connects with my ribs. Geez, even with power-scales it hurts and it still managed to make me bleed... A bunch of my scales break under the pressure and I¡¯ve now got two tips of dirt spike stuck in me... At least my bones are made of dragon bone, so they¡¯re tough, but a piece definitely snuck through the gaps.

    Whoever this jerk is, they¡¯re powerful. But so am I. Blowing a powerful stream of flame in their direction, they run to the side while casting another spell. A wall of dirt erupts, forming a large dome, protecting them from my flames. The dang thing is like half my height. I guess we¡¯ll find out if it protects against heat as well.

    With my growth, I¡¯ve become quite capable of sustaining a flame, which is terrible news for whoever attacks me.

    I¡¯m starting to feel these holes this jerk punched in me, and I should really do something about them. Flexing my belly muscles, I feel the dirt crumble and fall out of me in clumps. It¡¯s not all that comfortable, but it''s working.

    Cutting off my flame, I give the dirt dome a look, and it has a shiny, blackened exterior now. Keeping an eye out for any buildup of magic, I mentally prepare myself for the incoming pain as I push magic into my wounds. Not enough to heal them completely, but enough to stop the worst of it.

    It freakin¡¯ HURTS!

    Woah, dizzy¡­ Don¡¯t force healing while using magic eyesight, it¡¯s not a great combination.

    Pulling myself together, I approach the dome when more magic builds under me. Dodging to the side, a spike spears upward, scratching my side and tearing more scales off. How the hell did this butthole of a person get this exhausted fighting regular beasts when they¡¯re capable of hurting me?!

    Punchy was a lot more fun than this nonsense.

    I want to just fly up and scorch the area, but the trees are too close together for me to have enough room, leaving me in a bit of a predicament.

    Pulling at my magic to empower my claws, I bring them to the shiny exterior of the dirt dome. Pushing down, it cracks and I start digging. I have to be prepared for another magical attack as I work, and geez, this dome is thick and it keeps trying to rebuild itself. The jerk has somehow reinforced it to make it tougher to dig through as well, but it¡¯s still no match for my big claws.

    ¡°Get out here, jerk!¡±

    Shouting at the jerk doesn¡¯t seem to work, but I kinda expected that. Wait, this could be an opportunity to learn a bit more about myself. Holding my mouth open, I move my head over the side of the dome, letting my drool drop onto it. The dirt is quick to absorb the moisture and as it turns to mud, it starts falling away.

    The dome is much slower to regenerate the spots affected by my drool. Looking closely with my magic sight, I can see how my saliva mixes with the surrounding magic, creating blockages and isolating it into smaller sections. Geez, no wonder it works so well against complex magic.

    The flow of magic increases, making it apparent that the mage is trying to counteract the might of my drool. Not letting up, I start ripping into the surrounding area, creating deep gouges in the dome. I¡¯m getting the impression that the mage is getting a little desperate as I haven¡¯t had to dodge any spikes of dirt since they sliced up my side.

    All I wanted were some dang snake fangs to use as needles, and I¡¯m only meeting distrust and aggression... All I can conclude is that they¡¯re envious of my beautiful scales and amazing wings.

    Refocusing on the dome, I get another maybe-good idea. I¡¯m gonna see what my tail can do. Looking around, it¡¯s clear that some of these trees will get in the way, so I¡¯ll have to push a few down first. Getting to work on the nearest tree, I get up on my hind legs and use my arms to steady myself. With a thrust, I realize I put way too much power into it as I¡¯m suddenly horizontal again.

    At least it didn¡¯t snap, it would have been awkward having to explain how I got impaled on a tree trunk. It does paint a picture of how unfamiliar I am with my own strength, though. Moving to the next tree, I push my head against the trunk, keeping it secure between my horns as I push forward. It doesn¡¯t take much effort before the arboreal foe succumbs to my might.

    Geez, I could level a forest with my face. Well, a forest like this with firs growing shallow roots. I¡¯m not sure about other tree types.

    Continuing my work, I clear a decent area and I still haven¡¯t been attacked again. Getting into position, I ready my tail and swing it around. The impact with the dirt dome results in a loud and deep thump, but it doesn¡¯t really hurt. My bladed tip digs deep into the barrier, adding extra danger for the mage as the blunt force of my tail leaves a significant dent.

    Getting ready for another attack, the dome starts to crumble, and the mage starts running away. That¡¯s not fair! I wanted to crack this egg!

    Looking at the jerk, I¡¯m not sure I can describe it as running, they¡¯re on the verge of passing out, and as far as I can tell, they¡¯re taking fast and shallow breaths. That¡¯s just not a good idea when trying to flee. Leaving the dome behind, I find myself not even having to run to catch up. This jerk is really exhausted, and their magic is looking weak and spotty.

    Oh! I have leverage! Speeding up a bit, I catch the mage and pin them to the ground. Clearing an area of the forest floor, I reveal the dirt and start drawing again. I¡¯m willing to let this jerk go if I can get some dang snakes already.

    It¡¯s pretty clear that the mage is terrified, for obvious reasons, but they are paying attention, which is good. Being the benevolent and kind dragon that I am, I offer a trade of their life for snake fangs. Lifting my claw a bit, they get a moment to breathe.

    ¡°If I get you some bakis [Fangs], you¡¯ll let me go?¡±

    Just to make sure, I point to the fang on my drawing and repeat the word bakis, which the mage, a male, it turns out, repeats a few times. I feel like we¡¯re getting somewhere, so I let the guy get up and he¡¯s not throwing magic at me so far. As he settles into a sitting position, he seems to be deep in thought.

    Deciding I¡¯m owed something, I point out that he should apologize for attacking me, but that just earns me a frown.

    ¡°Why should I apologize to you, beast?¡±

    Geez, don¡¯t these people read about dragons anymore? So far, Wreyn, Joras, and Lauren have realized what a potential threat I am, but Wreyn is into studying, Joras is old, and Lauren has her whole Merciferus cult thing going on, so they seem to be outliers. I would think adventurers would keep up to date on lore as well. I do have a retort, though¡­

    ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I eat you, lunch?¡±

    Not the best diplomatic option, but I¡¯m not gonna be gracious to someone I don¡¯t know calling me beast. To his credit, he seems to consider his options before he apologizes for his misdeeds. It¡¯s more because of the threat than any sort of remorse, that much is clear.

    Focusing back on these needle fangs, Lunch suggests that he buy some in town, but that just sounds like a thinly veiled attempt at getting away or calling in reinforcements. Instead, I tell him that I want to be shown where I can find what I¡¯m looking for, but he just rants about how it¡¯s dangerous and he might die, ignoring the very obvious other way he might die¡­

    ¡°Here¡¯s the plan, Lunch. Either you make yourself useful, or I make you useful. I don¡¯t care whether you live or die, but I would think you do.¡±

    And just like that, he¡¯s a lot more willing to help.

    He starts telling me about how the venomous beasts hide in the rocky parts of the forest further west, and I¡¯m searching in the wrong part of the forest. That¡¯s not my fault, this place is huge.

    While he seems cooperative, I¡¯m mindful of the obvious risk of him luring me into a trap or turning on me at a critical moment.

    Before we head off, I throw a question his way, wondering what he plans to do about all the corpses around here. If my count is right, there are five adventurers and nine animals, one of which is a partially eaten bear.

    He still seems reluctant to answer, even after my gentle offer of cooperation, and it¡¯s definitely starting to be grating.

    ¡°What we do with our dead is none of your business, beast.¡±

    Okay, screw this guy... Ignoring him, I get to work eating the remains of everything around, starting with the bear. If I eat it, it won¡¯t return as undead, that¡¯s one thing I know. Glancing at Lunch a few times, he seems quite disgusted by my manners, but that¡¯s his problem.

    It takes a while to work my way through all the meat, but when I finish up the last animal, he lets out a breath.

    ¡°Finally, are you done?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    Placing a claw on one of the dead adventurers, I rip off an arm and swallow it before slowly working my way through the rest of the bodies. It may be a bit vindictive, but I¡¯m making it more gory and time-consuming than it has to be. And he does not like it.

    Every crunch of bone makes him flinch, and every time I rip a limb from a body, he almost throws up. This far more amusing than it should be.

    ¡°You¡¯ve made your point, beast¡­¡±

    ¡°And you still call me beast, Lunch.¡±

    I¡¯m getting less of a reaction from him, draining a bit of the fun, so picking up the pace, I make the remaining adventurer corpses disappear. He¡¯s glaring at me with quite fierce eyes, and I¡¯m confident that he would attack me again if he thought he had a chance.

    ¡°Lead me to what I seek, and you''re free to leave.¡±

    He grumbles a bit, but then starts walking west. He seems to grumble a bit with displeasure, but he¡¯s not speaking up and I¡¯m not feeling any magical buildup, so I just leave him to it. I do worry about him attacking me at a critical moment if I end up in a fight, so if it comes to that, I¡¯ll have to have made him leave first. Though I am a little curious about the locals'' situation with these snakes. Tiffy certainly had a problem with them.

    Asking him about it, he grumbles at me some more and gives me the stink eye. That¡¯s up to him, I just need my fangs and I¡¯ll be gone. As long as they aren¡¯t a threat to Tuiran, they can do whatever they want. I tell him as much, and he seems a little confused before he puts on a scowl.

    ¡°So, Lunch, what are you? I can smell that you aren¡¯t human, but I can¡¯t see you properly with that hood on. And I¡¯m not familiar with your scent.¡±

    After giving me a look, he sniffs his armpit before declaring that he doesn¡¯t smell. Well, I disagree, he most certainly smells.

    ¡°If I had to describe your smell, I¡¯d say¡­ home, regret, and sorrow. And of course there¡¯s the earthy scent of your magic.¡±

    ¡°Shut your filthy mouth, beast!¡±

    Geez, okay, he¡¯s upset now. Well, he was upset before, too, but now he¡¯s even more upset. Well, nobody said I couldn¡¯t tease an enemy. And he made sure to declare himself my enemy with those attacks.

    ¡°Share your sorrows, Lunch, you¡¯ll feel better. I¡¯m just a stranger who can listen to your woes and disappear in the morning.¡±

    Speaking of morning, the sky is changing just a bit, so morning is closing in. As I¡¯m staring at the sky, I feel his magic building and it¡¯s obvious that he¡¯s trying to use some sneak attack on me.

    ¡°I can feel your magic, Lunch. If you want to survive this, stop it. You¡¯ve already given me a direction, so I need you a lot less than I did a while back.¡±

    ¡°Why are you doing this?...¡±

    ¡°Simple. I need the fangs of a venomous beast to save a friend. I can¡¯t forge metal thin enough to inject her with the solution, but the fangs already do that naturally. So, my turn for a question. Why did you attack me?¡±

    ¡°Because you killed them!¡±

    I¡¯m drawing a blank, I¡¯ve killed a bunch of people and animals, but I have no idea which ones he¡¯s referring to. Asking for clarification makes him furious, and now he¡¯s shouting at me.

    ¡°You killed my friends back there and then you ate them, you fucking hensauai! [monster!]¡±

    I try clearing it up for a moment, but he won¡¯t hear it and I find myself not caring enough to keep trying, so I¡¯ll just leave it at that. I can smell the anger wafting off him as we trudge through the forest, and I¡¯m sure he¡¯s sworn all kinds of revenge on me. All that does is make me want to kill him now, so I don''t have to deal with that in the future. But I feel like I should also keep my word, and I did promise him that he could leave when we found these snakes.

    ¡°We¡¯re here. The nest is over that hill.¡±

    There is indeed a hill ahead of us and there¡¯s a distinct smell of discomfort in the air. It¡¯s so pervasive that I can¡¯t pinpoint the source, so if I want to track the nest itself, I have to go by intensity.

    He¡¯s still here, staring at me. Now we¡¯re staring at each other and I¡¯m not sure what he wants, so I tell him to leave, but he seems reluctant.

    ¡°You¡¯ll no doubt attack me when I turn my back.¡±

    Right, because I need him to not pay attention in order to be able to kill him. Lunging at him, I knock him to the ground, pinning him with a claw as I bring my open mouth down over his head. The scent of fear makes it tempting to have a bite, but I get the impression that he got the message. Pulling back, I let him up as I gently inform him that I don¡¯t need him to show me his back for me to kill him.

    ¡°Final chance, Lunch. Leave or live up to your name.¡±

 Chapter 46: Trounced

    He stares at me with obvious contempt. He¡¯s blaming me for something I¡¯m mostly sure I didn¡¯t do, and he seems reluctant to leave for some reason. He smells a little afraid, but it isn¡¯t fear keeping him from leaving. I wouldn¡¯t mind him just staring at me if he weren''t such a liability to have around.

    On that topic, it makes no sense to me that he¡¯d attack something as big as me on his own, especially considering how weak he already was when he attacked me... Those spells did hurt, but it was one hell of a gamble, leaving him so vulnerable afterward.

    Maybe he has a death wish and that¡¯s why he attacked me. It would explain why he was antagonizing me. If that¡¯s the case, well, then I have no idea how to handle this. It doesn¡¯t seem right to kill someone for acting out due to sudden grief. If he was just some stupid adventurer wanting to kill me, I would be fine with killing him, but it¡¯s not fun if he¡¯s looking for an executioner.

    Geez, I should have brought Raya or Lauren to solve this for me. Here I am, trying to be less focused on killing my problems, and then this happens¡­ a problem wants me to kill it¡­

    I just wanted some dang needles!

    For now, I¡¯ll let him know that he¡¯s welcome to leave, and I won¡¯t go after him. That should cheer him up a little. And it might make him leave, which would be two good things. Any time now, he can just leave.

    He just stands there, as I feel him gathering magic for a spell while he glares up at me. He looks aggressive, but he isn¡¯t all that threatening. It¡¯s tempting to smack some sense into him, but before I can do that, the spell fizzles out and he falls to his knees, sobbing.

    I don¡¯t have any dragon powers to deal with this! Okay, you can be supportive, Kira. What would I do if Raya were upset? I¡¯d offer her a flight. She likes flights. What do trigger-happy terramancers like? Dirt, I guess. I don¡¯t know!

    Why is this even my responsibility? The guy attacked me for no reason. I¡¯m being generous enough by not killing him for attacking me, I¡¯ve decided. Now it¡¯s time to get moving.

    Instead of standing around waiting for him to stop sobbing, I begin moving toward snake country. The smell of snake musk intensifies as I approach the hill. At least now I won¡¯t need a guide anymore, so leaving him to his sobbing is no loss for me. The hill is marked by a trail of crushed vegetation as the forest opens up to a large area of arboreal devastation. It looks like the snakes have been doing some deforestation of their own. The entire area consists of hills covered in downed trees.

    Which means I can fly from here! And it might be a good idea to do that because I¡¯m hearing a lot of hissing. Not impressive hissing like what I do, but annoying hissing that makes me want to burn the place to the ground.

    I¡¯m not sure how to approach this situation, since I need to either attack fast enough to kill a snake before it can strike, or attack it from somewhere it can¡¯t retaliate. And the hills here are littered with small holes. Well, small compared to me, Lunch would fit in there just fine.

    Oh! I have an idea! I¡¯m gonna go get Lunch and put him to work.

    Turning around, I head back to the sobbing mage and, as luck would have it, for me anyway, he¡¯s still there. He¡¯s still crying a little, and I kinda want him to let out his emotions and deal with it, but I also want to get moving. So I give him a little nudge.

    ¡°Leave me alone¡­¡±

    I¡¯m not gonna leave him alone. Sitting around in a wolf-infested forest isn¡¯t conducive to an improved quality of life, or life at all, for that matter. But he doesn¡¯t seem all that interested in moving, so I open my mouth and close my jaws over him, with a considerable amount of dirt as well, carrying him with me.

    He doesn¡¯t fight it, which is good news for me, so back to the hill we go! As soon as we hit the clearing, I take flight and start scouting for a snake hole hill with only one resident. It¡¯s experimentation time.

    It takes a bit, but we do eventually find a hill with only one snake living in it, and judging by the size of the hole, it could be appropriately sized for the fangs I want. I hope this one is venomous and not a constrictor.

    Landing in a safe spot atop the hill, it¡¯s time to spit out Lunch and get to work. He lands on the ground and just lies there, moping some more.

    ¡°Lunch, use your magic to create a narrow vent down into the snake¡¯s home.¡±

    I wish he¡¯d get to work, but he just lies there, glaring at the sky.

    ¡°Why? There¡¯s no point in fighting... No matter how much we stand against evil, we¡¯ll lose all that we love, as darkness consumes more of what we love¡­¡±

    What a load of crap¡­

    ¡°Shut up and fight for those following in your footsteps. Help me with these snakes and you might give me a reason to spare another adventurer in the future by showing me that not all adventurers are hopeless threats. And you will save whoever this snake would have killed.¡±

    He glares at me some more before getting up and chanting a spell. This time I don¡¯t get impaled, which is a very welcome change. After his chanting and glaring, a small hole opens up between us. It¡¯s pretty much what I wanted, although it¡¯s a little smaller than I wanted. It should work fine, though.

    Putting my mouth to the hole, I focus my magic to create smoke and fill the snake¡¯s home with as much smoke as I can. While I¡¯m doing that, I notice Lunch looking at me with a confused glare, but when he notices a snake fleeing from the hill, he shouts at me.

    ¡°There! The heriwana! [Snake!]¡±

    Leaping into the air, I unfold my wings and soar toward my prey. It¡¯s a large one with a beautiful pattern of crisscrossing green and brown on its back, with a white diamond shape on its head. It¡¯s too busy fleeing the smoke to notice my approach. Landing on it with all my weight, I feel its bones crunch as I bite down on its neck, severing its head from the body in a swift motion. I had expected more of a fight, but I guess I did just introduce it to sudden smoke inhalation.

    I shouldn¡¯t have severed the head¡­ Now I have to take two trips to get both the head and the body back to the hill¡­ I should find out if it¡¯s venomous first. If it isn¡¯t, I can just leave the head behind. To make sure it doesn¡¯t have any lingering possibility of biting me, I crush the skull, leaving the jaws mostly intact. Prying its mouth open, I see two very sharp-looking teeth with some fleshy covering and it is venomous! Excellent!

    Dang it! That means two trips.

    This thing really is big, even if it feels small compared to me. It looks like the neck of the snake has a diameter of about half a meter. (1.6 ft.)

    Dragging the body back to Lunch, he seems to have a curious glare going. I doubt he has had anything to eat since we met, and that¡¯s too long for whatever he is to go without eating, I¡¯m sure. I¡¯ll take care of the cleaning of the body. Using my sharp teeth to rip the belly scales, I work my way through its body, eating the organs as I go. Turns out snake is delicious as well, but I doubt Lunch is interested in eating this part of it.

    By the time I reach the halfway point of the snake¡¯s body, my offal munching turns into regular munching as I just start eating the snake¡¯s meat as well. It¡¯s crunchy and delicious, and I could be tempted to stay around to hunt a bunch more of these things.

    By the time I run out of tail to eat, I realize that I may have let my gluttony win out a little. Looking back at Lunch, he glares at the section of meat I left behind from my initial self-control. I¡¯m sure he wants some, that¡¯s a hungry glare if I ever saw one. Using my heat breath, I cook some of the meat for him, and when he realizes what I¡¯m doing, he pulls out a knife and carves off a few pieces to eat.

    ¡°How is the food, Lunch?¡±

    He takes another bite as he glares at me, but it¡¯s a conflicted glare, so I¡¯ll take that as a victory!

    ¡°I feel my magic recovering¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try anything dirty.¡±

    For just a moment, the barest hint of a smile crossed his lips. It fades just as quickly as it appeared though. I never doubted my ability to cheer him up for a moment. Raya is gonna be so proud of me solving problems in non-violent ways. Well, there was the snake-murder, but other than that, it was non-violent.

    More importantly, I¡¯m gonna cook up some more meat and try some myself. I¡¯m not giving Lunch all my breakfast.

    As soon as we finish up the meat, Lunch starts heading toward another hill and as he reaches it, he begins casting another spell outside a snake¡¯s hole. Dirt begins to flow into the entrance, blocking it completely. When he finishes closing up the hole, he climbs further up on the hill and casts another spell, it feels similar to the one he used to create the smoking vent.

    With a leaping start and unfolding wings, I soar toward him, landing nearby as he finishes preparing another vent for me to fill with smoke. But it seems he has other plans.

    ¡°Flames to burn them. There will be a cluster in this one.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure how he knows, but I¡¯m fine with burning them. Putting my mouth to the ground again, I funnel my flames through a small gap in my lips. Focusing them into the hole as a jet of fire escapes through a small hole in the wall Lunch created. That¡¯s clever, it means we didn¡¯t make a bomb.

    The delicious aroma of cooked snake wafts through the vent and I¡¯m tempted to dig them out, but I shouldn¡¯t be greedy. And I shouldn¡¯t leave the head of the previous snake lying around where someone might steal it. Since I know where this place is now, I can return at any point to clear out a few more nests, so for now, I¡¯ll return to Tuiran with this snake head and get started on Lauren¡¯s treatment.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t the beast that slew them, are you?¡­¡±

    ¡°I told you that already. And it¡¯s pretty obvious that I¡¯m too big to inflict such tiny wounds. If I attack a human with my claws, I will rip them apart.¡±

    To prove my point, I rake a clawed hand across the ground, leaving large gashes in the dirt. He glares at them for a while, thoughts of this and that no doubt rushing through his mind. Or maybe he¡¯s thinking of more ways to throw dirt at me.

    ¡°The memories of what happened are foggy, and I can¡¯t seem to remember it all¡­ We were attacked by a pack of wolves, our front line fell... It felt as if a couple of bears were hunting alongside the wolves, but that cannot be... There is no history of that ever happening¡­¡±

    I guess I did offer to listen to him to make him feel better, but I kinda wanna get back to Tuiran.

    ¡°I lured one of the bears away and killed it, but by the time I returned, you were there¡­ and I reacted. And now I¡¯m lunch¡­¡±

    ¡°I already told you, you can just leave. I¡¯m just calling you Lunch because I don¡¯t know your name and you are annoying.¡±

    And I wanted to eat him, but he doesn¡¯t need to know that. With a questioning glare, he glares up at me, glaringly. I think his face might just be stuck like that. But I¡¯m getting the impression that he doesn¡¯t trust me at all. It¡¯s a little rude after I¡¯ve been so accommodating. Screw it, I¡¯m getting my snake head and leaving. Moving down the hill we¡¯re on, heading straight for the snake head, I hear twigs snap behind me and it seems Lunch is following me.

    ¡°Why are you following me?¡±

    "It is doubtful that I would be able to make it out of the forest on my own¡­¡±

    Well, he actually wants to live now, so that¡¯s something. Good job, Lunch, adjust to that grief.

    ¡°You were going to kill me, weren¡¯t you, Dragon?¡±

    ¡°Of course, why wouldn¡¯t I? You¡¯re an adventurer, and your little guild has been attacking me since a few days after I hatched.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    I don¡¯t feel like telling him that I was born into this world like a month ago or so.

    ¡°So you¡¯re breaking the cycle of hate?¡±

    ¡°No. I¡¯m not that good of a person. I¡¯m keeping a promise to a friend who is far more important to me than some adventurer who is incapable of not attacking something different from them. The words of someone you would kill in a heartbeat are what saved you from me, Lunch.¡±

    We¡¯re at my snake head, so I pick it up, careful not to jab myself on the fangs. As far as I know, venomous things don¡¯t stop being venomous just because they¡¯re dead. And jabbing yourself on a fang is a quick way to get envenomed.

    ¡°Are people no more than mere food to you? As an intelligent being, you should know that¡¯s wrong. The Gods did not shape us to be food for the beasts, that¡¯s why the Guild exists, to offer a way for us to fight back.¡±

    If he starts with some moral high ground, I might have to find someone else to spare... Putting down the head again, I reply with words tinged by frustration.

    ¡°Not people, adventurers. I don¡¯t eat merchants, farmers, craftsfolk, or any other such person who wouldn¡¯t give me a reason to chew in self-defense. If you intend to go down a road of moral high ground, convince me that my dietary habits are worse than your wanton slaughter for trophies and bragging rights because someone paid you a pittance.¡±

    Geez, I¡¯m starting to prefer the sobbing. It occurs to me that I¡¯ve been getting more and more annoyed, and I stopped speaking in Lauren¡¯s language, which means this jerk knows Raya¡¯s language... I don¡¯t know what to do with that information, but it annoys me.

    ¡°What we, as Guild members, do is-¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t actually want to hear it, I misspoke. When you hear about Plainshold, or the ruins formerly known as Plainshold, reconsider whether you wish to continue this foolish crusade on anything you don¡¯t understand. The adventurers there chose to continue the crusade.¡±

    Grabbing the head again, I spread my wings and ignore whatever he¡¯s saying. Taking to the skies with powerful beats of my wings, the dust of the snakes¡¯ home kicks up, covering Lunch in a fine layer of the stuff. It¡¯s a little funny to me that it¡¯s likely that most of that dust is old poop. But I can¡¯t really tell Raya that I spared him if I leave him to die in a hostile area like this¡­

    Changing course, I fly back toward him, low to the ground. Readying my hands, I prepare to grab him as I fly by. It won¡¯t be comfortable for him, but it will be better than being alone here.

    Landing on my hind legs with a thump, he tries to shield himself with his arms as I grab him and take off again. His magic flares up for a moment, but when we leave the ground, it fizzles out. We¡¯re heading south, since I figure that¡¯s the best bet for somewhere safe for him. Judging by his screams, he¡¯s not enjoying looking up at a severed snake head, so with an amount of care, I flip him around so he can watch the ground. It¡¯s quite the¡­ He¡¯s screaming even more now.

    The only place I know around here that seems like a place for adventurers is that weird fort, so that¡¯s where we¡¯re heading.

    With my focus being on speed, we arrive by the impressive walls in short order, but I have no intention of giving these people much of an opportunity to attack me. Holding Lunch in one hand, I fly toward the top of the wall, latching on with my claws digging deep into the side of the fortification as I place Lunch on the ramparts.

    The plan to drop off Lunch goes off as planned, but it does make me wonder how big this wall actually is. With my body growing this rapidly, it¡¯s impossible to get a handle on how big things are. But if my shoulder height is almost four meters (13 ft), and my claws can reach my hips, that means I¡¯m freakin¡¯ huge, but also that this wall is, if I¡¯m right, around forty meters tall (131 ft). That¡¯s a freakin¡¯ huge wall, what the heck did they build it to defend against?

    Judging by the sounds of feet stomping closer, it¡¯s gonna be against me if I don¡¯t get out of here. Lunch is probably fine to stay here, so I push off the wall and twist my body in the air and with a beat of my wings, I take off. I¡¯m sure he can explain what¡¯s going on, because it¡¯s time for me to fly back to Tuiran. I¡¯ve been gone all night, and now we have another item necessary for the treatment of the Affront and saving Lauren.

    The plan is simple enough. Inject my venom around the center of the affront and either kill it there, or, since it¡¯s living, force it to migrate to her arm and remove the limb alongside the disease. And by using my magic to fuel her healing, she might be able to regrow the entire arm. Though if it hurts as much as my own healing, then she¡¯s in for quite a headache.

    It sounds easy enough, and Merciferus did say it could work, so I¡¯ll stay hopeful.

    More importantly, noon is here and that means I¡¯ve spent too much of the day dealing with this whole situation.

    It¡¯s a little daunting, and I¡¯m unsure of what to do after this. With Lauren up and ready again, Merciferus might give her some sort of champion goals. I don¡¯t want to lose my friend¡­

    Focus, Kira! Sorrows are for later, now is the time for heroics and fangs! It¡¯s time to use my magic to fly faster and get to Tuiran before I get distracted by something.

    With how big my wings are, I¡¯m able to cover an impressive amount of distance in very little time, and it doesn¡¯t take long before I¡¯m in Tuiran. This time, I¡¯m not landing in the square, instead, I¡¯m gonna drop down by Joras¡¯ shop, since we need help to perform the injections.

    Hovering over his street, I position myself with my hind legs as close as I can before folding up my wings for a drop. As long as nobody points out the destruction of the street because of my weight, then I did that perfectly.

    ¡°Lauren, come to Joras¡¯ shop! We need to get ready for surgery!¡±

    Oh! Raya should be here too. I can¡¯t really move from here, on account of my inability to turn around in these narrow streets. I¡¯d have to take a big detour to end up at the same place. So that¡¯s on you, random guard! Putting down the snake head and throwing the guard a quick request, he rushes off to find Raya. I¡¯m not sure why she needs to be here, but she does. And it¡¯ll be nice to have her around.

    Merciferus, you should come support Lauren in this as well. It would be the nice thing to do, and I¡¯m sure Lauren would appreciate it. She really likes you, you know.

    At this point, I¡¯m just finding it fun to tease Merciferus. I¡¯m sure she could use the distraction in her busy day.

    ¡°Kira, stop antagonizing my Goddess!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not antagonizing her, I invited her to join us for your procedure.¡±

    I am antagonizing her a little, but Lauren doesn¡¯t have to know that.

    We do need some things for this, like a basin of water, some clean towels, and healing potions would be useful too, I think. We could use another healer, but I don¡¯t think Sarah is up for being kidnapped again. She wasn¡¯t all too pleased with it the first time. If Merciferus actually shows up, then I¡¯m sure she could heal anything once the affront is gone, I¡¯d even be up for lending her some magic to do it if she needs it.

    Joras¡¯ door finally opens and the man himself steps out and looks up and then down at the snake. He seems to understand what the snake is for as he takes out his knife and starts cutting into the flesh of my prey. It turns out that he¡¯s quite a good butcher and a little while later, he¡¯s got the first fang cut loose. He repeats his success on the second and brings them into his shop. The dang things are as long as his forearm.

    ¡°Hello to you too, Joras.¡±

    His head pops back out as he leans backward out of the door with a cheeky smile.

    ¡°Hello Kira.¡±

    And that¡¯s it, he just heads back into the shop. He¡¯s teasing me! That¡¯s not allowed! I can¡¯t tease him back without breaking a building. Dang it! Everything is too fragile. I deserve a treat and he did leave the rest of the snake¡¯s head, so that¡¯ll do. As I bite down, something pops and tastes sour, making my eyes water. I kinda like it¡­ I might have to hunt more snakes if their faces have sour treats inside them.

    I never did pay attention to what sort of magic situation those slithery animals have going on, so my next excursion to Snake Country will be a research expedition! With snacks.

    I don¡¯t really have anything to do while Joras prepares the fangs. They already have a hole going through them, so they just need to be cut down to size, I think. He might need some carpenter tools or something. Or maybe he has some weird alchemical things to dissolve parts of the fang with. I want to go in there so badly!

    ¡°Lauren, describe what Joras is doing, please. I¡¯m so curious!¡±

    Oh no¡­ The feeling I feel from Lauren is mischievous¡­ I may have screwed up here¡­

    ¡°Oh, Joras! What a curious thing you did! And that concoction, how can it do something like that? It¡¯s truly marvelous!¡±

    ¡°Dang it, Lauren! Stop it and just describe what he¡¯s doing properly!"

    ¡°Oh my! That was quite the reaction! How did you know to combine those two liquids to create such a spectacular event? That was truly astounding! I can¡¯t believe what I¡¯m seeing, it¡¯s magnificent! And how do you create such a liquid? It seems to work wonders for the shaping process!¡±

    ¡°Lauren! Stop it! Please!¡±

    ¡°This is so interesting that I might abandon my calling as a healer to become an alchemist! To think such a world was sitting right under our noses! What marvelous things we could create! And this thing, what do you call this, Joras? A bulb flask? And you use this setup to hold it over a flame? Oh, I wonder what would happen if we were to use Dragonflame. What a shame we don¡¯t have a Dragon capable of reaching the burner.¡±

    Ooh! She¡¯s getting to me, and there isn¡¯t anything I can do about it! I want to see what they¡¯re doing, but she¡¯s shouting from a back room, and even if I look through the door or the windows, I can¡¯t see anything back there.

    ¡°Lauren, I believe it would be for the best that you stop teasing her, amusing though it is. The stomping from her inability to act is likely to cause some destruction, and it isn¡¯t exactly useful when we need to measure precise amounts of our ingredients.¡±

    She just laughs! She laughs! The disrespect!

    ¡°Sure, Joras. I shall endeavor to contain myself. There are plenty of interesting things here to keep me occupied.¡±

    She¡¯s still doing it! And I hadn¡¯t even noticed that I was stomping my feet out here. I guess I let it get to me too much. But it was Lauren¡¯s fault! She kept teasing me with exciting things I can¡¯t see, and it¡¯s only natural that I¡¯d want to watch the fancy alchemical stuff too!

    Instead of standing around not doing anything, I lie down and still do not do anything. I can¡¯t contribute right now, and it¡¯s so boring. If only there were something to attack or light on fire, but there¡¯s only tiny measurements and being patient...

    At least Lauren is taking it seriously now, so she¡¯s not teasing me anymore, but listening to them talk about alchemy could still count as teasing. I like chemistry, dang it! And alchemy is just magic chemistry.

    ¡°Joras, do you have enough of my venom?¡±

    ¡°I believe so, Kira. By using these fangs as needles, the required amount has been greatly reduced. It''s quite a clever idea, I must admit.¡±

    Dang it. I wanted to participate, but my earlier participation ruined my current opportunity. And Lauren is laughing at me again¡­ A thousand and one licks for her for this insult to the Great Guardian Dragon of Tuiran! And where¡¯s Raya? She should be here by now.

    It doesn¡¯t take much looking around before I spot her. She¡¯s just sitting on a rooftop watching me with a wide grin. She¡¯s amused by my suffering too! This is a conspiracy! I might have to find Jeannie to get some sympathy when I can¡¯t rely on these vile creatures I¡¯ve surrounded myself with. Giving her a lick and a change of subject, I ask about the guy whose name I forgot.

    ¡°Jarna is working with Knotten in the smithy. They¡¯re trying to figure out how to split Dragonflame, so they can light more things on fire. It was a great idea to introduce the two. Well done, Kira.¡±

    Who the heck is Knotten?! Do I even know people in this town? And I¡¯ll just avoid pointing out that my suggestion to throw Jarna at the blacksmith was more in the vein of not being all that interested in dealing with him. If they asked, I could just light some more fires, it¡¯s really not a problem for me. In fact, I¡¯m quite good at lighting things on fire. It¡¯s remarkable that the forest is still standing.

    Instead of lingering on topics of potential arson, I ask Raya if she knows anything about the kiln''s progress, which is arguably still an arson topic.

    ¡°Elder Turo and Neithro have been discussing it at length, and they¡¯re gonna have more kilns built outside the walls. Neithro says he¡¯ll send a few guards to help us keep them safe while we get walls built. Those two are becoming inseparable now that they have a common topic. They¡¯re planning to have the kilns built into the ground so you¡¯ll be able to walk over them to ignite the flames.¡±

    That sounds quite clever. It might future-proof them as well for the next time I have to get frustrated by a growth spurt. If it ends up becoming a booming industry, Tuiran could end up becoming quite an industrial powerhouse. The only manufacturer of dragon-forged goods. I wonder if dragon-forged glass is a thing. Or dragon-forged grilled veggies.

    ¡°Raya, I just had the greatest idea ever. Food cooked in Dragonflame! If Dragonflame makes everything better, then cooking must be better too!¡±

    ¡°I doubt it. You would probably just burn the food before the flames have any meaningful effect. It can be used to forge metal, so I think it¡¯s too hot for cooking.¡±

    That¡¯s a good point, but it¡¯s not a good enough point to not experiment. We¡¯ll have to try it at some point, maybe bribe a chef to try it for us, and we¡¯ll be the judges of how well it works. Oh, that¡¯s an idea, a food competition to create a fancy dish for me to taste!

    While Raya and I are discussing critical plans for the future, Joras and Lauren seem to have finished up their initial prep work. With a bunch of teamwork, they bring a table out of Joras¡¯ shop for Lauren to lie on during the procedure. They aren¡¯t bringing out any basins of water or towels, though. We should definitely disinfect these fangs before stabbing Lauren with them. The thought of residual venom in them also worries me.

    Nudging Joras, I ask about the risk of bacteria and infection, but he seems a little unsure of how to answer.

    ¡°There aren¡¯t any plague mages around, so there¡¯s no risk of disease.¡±

    That doesn¡¯t sound real... Bacteria are such an integral part of life that the idea of no diseases sounds... Well, it sounds crazier than waking up as a dragon in a foreign world. Lauren and Raya seem to agree with him, and I don¡¯t like being the only one who believes in microbial life here.

    Merciferus, tell Lauren that microbes exist. We gotta have some precautions here.

    ¡°By the Gods, how did I become the conduit between a Dragon and a God... Kira, Merciferus says that her power keeps us safe from such things. And to stop pestering her with every little thing. And I¡¯m not saying the last part of her message, it would be more of a mistake than Merciferus realizes.¡±

    That sounds interesting. It¡¯s pretty obvious that I have to tease her about it.

    ¡°You dare claim to know better than the god you worship, Lauren? That¡¯s pretty bold.¡±

    ¡°I do know better in this case. And neither of you are making me convey the message.¡±

    Well, I¡¯m gonna respect that, she¡¯s setting a boundary, and I¡¯m not gonna force it out of her. But I am so freakin¡¯ curious! Geez¡­

    ¡°Fine! Fine, Merciferus! It¡¯s your own fault, and you can¡¯t take it back when you realize how much of a mistake you¡¯ve made! Kira, Merciferus says to stop pestering her about every little thing because the strength of your magical power forces the prayer through to her, so she can¡¯t ignore it. Dragons aren¡¯t supposed to be able to pray to the Gods.¡±

    I have no idea how to react to this. I¡¯m feeling so conflicted right now. On one claw, I should respect Lauren and her wish to keep this a secret, but on the other, well, it¡¯s pretty obvious what this means.

    ¡°I know exactly what you¡¯re thinking, Kira¡­¡±

    There¡¯s no way she knows.

    ¡°You¡¯re thinking that you can annoy Merciferus all the time now, and she won¡¯t be able to do anything to stop you.¡±

    Okay, so she knows exactly what I¡¯m thinking. That¡¯s still some powerful leverage. I¡¯m leaning towards not using this great new power I have been bestowed, considering Lauren didn¡¯t want to give it to me. After today, I promise. Lauren is giving me a look of exasperation, suggesting that Merciferus realized her mistake.

    Merciferus. It is I, Kira the Great and Magnificent Dragon of Tuiran. I speak to you today for the purpose of aiding Lauren, Champion of those things you¡¯re the god of. I offer a deal: I¡¯ll stop praying to you unless necessary, and in return, you have to personally help her survive this procedure.

    Joras gives Raya a look as Lauren rubs her brow in frustration. But in my defense, Merciferus did tell Lauren that my plan might work, and this is part of my plan now.

 Chapter 47: Facing the Pain

    I¡¯m not sure I like how Raya and Joras are looking at each other. It¡¯s giving me the impression that all of them agree that I¡¯m up to something. Which I am, but that doesn¡¯t justify those looks. All I want is for the person Lauren is devoting her life to actually to show up to help her. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s unreasonable. Well, I also want Lauren cured, especially now that I have magic eyes to see just how bad it is. And she¡¯s been keeping secrets.

    The Affront is spreading throughout her body. Tiny tendrils of evil are creating a web siphoning off her magic and killing her at a snail¡¯s pace. She¡¯s a lot weaker than she¡¯s been letting on. Joras looks at me with doubtful eyes before speaking up.

    ¡°Kira, I have my doubts about your goading of a God. They can be as vicious as they are generous. What will you do should Merciferus choose to strike down Lauren to spite you for your actions?¡±

    I already know she won¡¯t. In fact, I think the thing she finds most annoying about me is that she agrees with me. I tell Joras as much, but it doesn¡¯t help with those doubts of his. Her entire thing is that she keeps people safe and healthy, and her own champion is dying because of a disgusting magic-eating soul disease. That has to be pissing her off more than I am. It¡¯s like a direct insult against her very being.

    We do need something more for this envenoming, though. We need a couple of balloons or pouches to hold the venom and make the needle fangs into pipettes. I explain the idea to Joras while carving it into the stones making up the street. His thinking brow indicates that he¡¯s curious, and walking away without saying a word indicates that he¡¯s rude, but has a plan.

    ¡°Raya, try using the magic sight and see what you can see when you look at Lauren up close.¡±

    Raya jumps from the roof and bounces off my arm before landing at street level and sauntering right up to Lauren, getting way too into her personal space. As soon as Lauren expresses discomfort, Raya gets even closer, grabbing hold of Lauren¡¯s arm and inspecting it with a keen eye.

    ¡°Can you see the lines, Raya?¡±

    She confirms that she can, pulling out her dagger and making a cut in Lauren¡¯s arm, trying to remove one.

    ¡°What the fuck, Raya?! That hurts!¡±

    Instead of letting Lauren go, Raya tells her to take some of my magic and do some weird weaving, and Lauren actually does as Raya says. She still seems a little pissed, though, which is fair. Getting cut is not fun. The little stabby goblin continues inspecting the incision with remarkable focus.

    ¡°As if I have any idea how to do this... If I could learn mage spells, I would at least have some defensive spells...¡±

    ¡°You can do it, Lauren! I believe in you!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Kira. It¡¯s not like it matters all that much anyway. I¡¯ve never had the luck to rely on something unreliable like this. I wish it were the solution, but I¡¯ve already accepted my death.¡±

    It¡¯s pretty obvious that she doesn¡¯t know that I can hear her, so I¡¯ll just take the opportunity to push her to the ground with my face and reassure her. With my snout resting on top of her, I make sure she knows that it isn¡¯t just her luck we¡¯re relying on here, it¡¯s mine as well. And I¡¯m pretty lucky when I¡¯m not making a mess of things.

    ¡°You¡¯re so heavy, Kira...¡±

    ¡°Heavy with love for my friends.¡±

    ¡°No, literal weight... You¡¯re crushing me...¡±

    Raya joins in by lying on top of Lauren¡¯s face, and we¡¯ve got her now! She won¡¯t escape the care and support of her friends!

    It is taking some effort to keep her pinned just enough to not hurt her. I¡¯m pretty sure the weight of my skull alone would be enough to kill someone. Getting off her, she keeps lying there with Raya covering her face. Raya turns her head to face me with a question.

    ¡°Kira, do you think we should try pushing some venom into a cut on her arm before Joras gets back? It looks weak enough to be affected by your regular venom.¡±

    Before I get to reply, Lauren grabs hold of the goblin and throws the tiny figure away with all her might. Raya lands on her feet without much effort, much to the annoyance of Lauren.

    I do agree with Raya, though. We should try something. To begin with, I nudge Lauren and tell her it¡¯s okay to get up now.

    ¡°I can¡¯t! Your damnable purring numbed my legs! And how did you know I was thinking about my bad luck?¡±

    ¡°When you were interacting with my magic, I could hear you, but it seems to have stopped now.¡±

    She seems relieved, which I get. I¡¯m not sure I would like someone reading my thoughts all the time. But it does bring us closer to understanding what¡¯s going on with this mental link. It¡¯s quite the advantage in a fight if we can just project our thoughts onto the other, leaving the enemy no way of knowing what we¡¯re planning.

    Raya is approaching Lauren with her hand drawn and a mean look in her eyes. She doesn¡¯t seem concerned with Lauren¡¯s worries about my mental prowess.

    ¡°Did you cast the sight magic, Lauren?¡±

    Lauren confirms that she did, and Raya instructs her to look at her arm. It appears that both of them can see the Affront tendrils now. And then Raya gets bossy again.

    ¡°Kira, head to the ground and open your mouth so I can get some venom. I don¡¯t want to climb all the way up there to get it.¡±

    That does make sense. With my neck stretched, I¡¯m like nine or ten Rayas tall. That does mean one terrible thing... I have to back up a little to lie down. With how fragile buildings are, I¡¯m gonna have to be so careful with my tail. The dang thing has a life of its own at times, and walking backwards is definitely one of those times. And if I turn my head back to look where I¡¯m going, my tail will want to swing in the opposite direction for balance. I¡¯m not sure how I¡¯ll do this...

    I¡¯m gonna have to do it without looking back! Keeping my nose pointed straight ahead, I take a careful step back, focusing on feeling anything I might bump into. Of course, Raya tries to sabotage me with idle chatter aimed at Lauren.

    ¡°Did you know she couldn¡¯t walk backward?"

    ¡°No, and now that I think about it, I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ve ever seen her walk backward."

    I can walk backwards, dang it! It¡¯s just that this is a very delicate situation... The piercing stares of those two tiny people fixating on me are making this even more difficult. With such unreasonable pressure, I focus my entire will on moving one of my hind legs and follow it up with one of my arms, shifting my weight with caution. I¡¯ve done it! I¡¯ve taken one step backward!

    ¡°See?! I can walk backwards! Screw the both of you!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you really showed us with that one step.¡±

    Yeah, Raya is getting a puff of punishment smoke for that. They¡¯ve both got amused smiles going on, and just like that, this is gonna become their issue. Instead of trying to make room, I¡¯m gonna take room by lying down and forcing them to move. Raya moves to a wall and Lauren is quick to get up and move away from my descending head. Turns out she¡¯s not quite numb anymore.

    With all of me lying down, Lauren and Raya move to my head and sit next to me. I¡¯m curious to see whether Lauren is up for trying a little experimentation with her extremities and my venom. Raya seems quite eager to try, which should be a red flag for Lauren.

    Raya brings up the subject of the magic sight again, and it turns out that Lauren did sort of maybe start getting the hang of it, but she blames me for distracting her, which is complete nonsense.

    She gets to work trying the spell again, I can tell when Lauren pulls on my magic, and she does it in a different way than Raya. When Raya takes some of my magic, it¡¯s like she grabs a handful and runs away with it without a care in the world, but Lauren is more cautious, reluctant, and she doesn¡¯t quite bring it close to herself.

    ¡°Raya, tell Lauren how you use my magic. The two of you feel very different when you reach for it.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? I just take some and make it do magic stuff.¡±

    Okay, so not the best way to explain it, and Lauren isn¡¯t looking all that impressed with the explanation. Raya demonstrates by creating a fire bolt in her hand and showing it to Lauren before snuffing it out by closing her hand. Watching it up close seems to confuse Lauren.

    ¡°That¡¯s not... How did you just end the spell like that?¡±

    ¡°Just did.¡±

    I¡¯m beginning to suspect that Raya might not be the best magic instructor around. Which reminds me, where the heck is Joras? He¡¯s been gone for a while and I have no idea why it would take this long to fetch a couple of waterproof pouches.

    ¡°Raya, that¡¯s not normal. To cancel a spell, you would have to dissipate the magic. You can¡¯t just close your hand around it like that.¡±

    ¡°Sure, I can.¡±

    To prove her point, she does it again, and I can¡¯t tell whether Lauren is flabbergasted or frustrated at Raya¡¯s nonchalant approach to magic. It does seem like Raya has a different approach to the whole magic thing that might be useful for Lauren to learn. If she could learn to use Raya¡¯s fire bolts, then that would go a long way toward having some magic to protect herself. Especially because those fire bolts can hurt me.

    I¡¯m not sure this magic practice is a good idea while Lauren has some illness eating magic, so I¡¯m gonna cut this short. Instead, I suggest that we try that venom thing on an arm while we wait for Joras. They seem to agree, though the levels of enthusiasm vary quite a bit. Holding her arm out, Lauren lets Raya make a cut where she sees one of the tendrils and then grabs some venom from my mouth and rubs it into the wound. If I hadn¡¯t been assured that germs weren¡¯t an issue, I would have thought that this would be a ticket straight to infection town.

    I¡¯m not sure how well it¡¯s going because Raya keeps blocking my line of sight, but judging by her enthusiasm, it seems to be working.

    ¡°It¡¯s like the Affront is pulling away from Kira¡¯s venom. I¡¯m gonna keep trying stuff.¡±

    I wanna see, though! Making my displeasure known, Raya scoots to the side a bit, letting me watch her stabby misadventures.

    It doesn¡¯t seem like Lauren¡¯s consent is all that important to Raya right now. The little goblin just keeps stabbing away at Lauren¡¯s hand and rubbing venom in the wounds, but from the looks of it, it¡¯s very targeted, starting at the tips of her fingers and moving toward the palm, except for the pinkie. Raya seems to be going with my plan on her own. Isolate it somewhere and cut it away, which means Lauren is about to yell at Raya.

    With almost all of the affront from Lauren¡¯s wrist and hand isolated in her pinkie finger, Raya is ready to carefully cut it- She bit it off...

    ¡°What the fuck, Raya?!¡±

    Not one to waste time, Raya spits out the small bit of finger, and as soon as it hits the ground, it explodes into a small metallic tree of evil. Raya is quick to ignore both Lauren¡¯s yelling and my consent when she jams both her hands into my mouth and scoops up some more venom to douse the Affront tree.

    And it seems to work, the tree is too weak to handle even a little venom and starts crumbling. I feel like I shouldn¡¯t be here for this. If some of that affront gets a hold of me, it would have a ridiculous amount of magic to grow from. And I might be a little afraid of the evil metal that can knock me unconscious by shedding particles into the air.

    Instead of wasting time by listening to Lauren¡¯s valid complaints about losing a finger, Raya pulls out a very small waterskin and douses the stump of Lauren¡¯s finger. She even rubs the venom away, much to Lauren¡¯s displeasure.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    With the wound cleaned, Lauren gets the opportunity to heal her hand from the absolutely ridiculous amount of stab wounds. Her hand looks like she went straight from slapping a porcupine to high-fiving a cactus. That seems vicious, and I¡¯m impressed by how little yelling was going on.

    ¡°Gimme your arm so I can remove some more, Lauren.¡±

    Raya is enjoying this a bit too much, and I think Lauren knows because she is not up for more stabbing and cutting. Instead, she suggests we just wait for Joras to return, which I¡¯m kinda for. It¡¯ll also give us an opportunity to see how it spreads after being removed.

    ¡°Lauren, try taking some of my magic like Raya does and using it to heal your hand, but you should know that my healing ability hurts.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m familiar with pain, Kira.¡±

    I feel a small amount of magic disappear as Lauren concentrates on her spell and prayer. As she finishes her chant, she screams in pain as her finger regrows. Yep, that¡¯s my healing alright.

    Whatever amount of magic she took, it wasn¡¯t enough. I can feel her spell draining more magic to regrow her finger, so that¡¯s really good to know. It won¡¯t just fizzle out and leave half a finger with nerves exposed. Though the other side of it is that it could keep draining me to heal too much. We¡¯ll have to explore that today.

    ¡°Is... Is that what you go through when you heal, Kira?¡±

    She deserves a nudge for worrying about me. But I can¡¯t tell whether it¡¯s the same or not, since pain is so subjective, so I¡¯ll just reassure her a little.

    ¡°Not that bad, so you did really well, and I¡¯m proud of you, Lauren.¡±

    ¡°Are you proud of me, too?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Raya. You¡¯re the best stabbing herbalist around.¡±

    Raya beams with pride as Lauren takes a moment to just sit there, breathing heavily. The bad news is that she will have to go through more of that once Joras- Oh, he¡¯s here and he¡¯s running. He¡¯s quick to ask what¡¯s going on, what happened, and whether Lauren is okay, and when she waves him off, he settles down and collects himself.

    ¡°Hey Joras, do you think Lily could cook for us today? I wanna try those dishes from her homeland and I¡¯m sure Lauren would like a hearty meal once this is done.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯d like that, but we should focus on Lauren for now.¡±

    Where is Lily anyway? Lauren has been yelling and screaming for a while now, and nobody has come to check on her, that¡¯s a little rude. If they¡¯re assuming that I know what I¡¯m doing, they¡¯re sorely mistaken.

    ¡°Joras, how come you still have those burn marks from my magic, but Lauren doesn¡¯t, and Raya uses my magic for every little trivial thing she can think of?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°Raya, have you or have you not used my magic to heat up your dinner?¡±

    ¡°Shut up, that wasn¡¯t trivial. Cold stew isn¡¯t good.¡±

    For some reason, Lauren looks at Raya with envy. I¡¯m getting the impression that she wants my magical stew-heating powers too.

    ¡°To answer your question, Kira, I¡¯m not sure. To be entirely honest, I haven¡¯t given it much thought, as I¡¯ve frequently had other things to see to. Now, I believe we have what we need to begin this procedure.¡±

    Before things get away from me, I bring up my worries about the affront metal affecting me again, and after a moment, Joras seems to agree. He doesn¡¯t agree with the experimentation Raya and Lauren have been up to as he shouts at them about how irresponsible it is and all the things that could have gone wrong, and demands to know everything they¡¯ve done so far.

    I don¡¯t feel like getting yelled at, so I get up and sneak away quietly. They won¡¯t notice me leaving.

    ¡°Kira, you¡¯re not getting away that easily! You should not have encouraged this behavior! It was reckless and dangerous! And are you really trying to sneak away by stepping over us? We¡¯re gonna notice the sun disappearing!¡±

    His ranting is cut short by Raya stepping in to help me.

    ¡°She can¡¯t walk backward, Joras.¡±

    ¡°I can walk backwards, dang it! Stop saying backward! The streets are just really narrow here, and I don¡¯t want to break things.¡±

    She did succeed in distracting him, and now he¡¯s got his thinking brow going as he no doubt thinks about how to make my life easier.

    ¡°Enough of that. Everyone gets up now. Raya, fetch the concentrate from my lab. Kira, carry Lauren and go to the north gate and wait for us. We need to do this outside of town to prevent any contamination here.¡±

    That¡¯s smart, and since I¡¯m such a responsible person, I¡¯ll get right to my task. Grabbing Lauren by wrapping my tongue around her waist and ignoring the yelp, we head toward the north gate and prepare to wait for Raya and Joras to join us.

    ¡°Kira, please. This is embarrassing.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, Lauren. I can¡¯t reply right now, since I need my tongue to verbalize, and it¡¯s currently busy.¡±

    For some reason, that earns me a few pats as she chuckles at me. Our trip through town goes off without a hitch, and the people around us stare for a bit, some sharing jokes about Lauren¡¯s current predicament. She seems to have resigned herself to her fate.

    ¡°Do you think Merciferus might show up? I think it would be nice if she did.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Kira. It would be unusual for her to do so, but unusual seems to be a daily occurrence with you.¡±

    She makes it sound like I¡¯m disruptive or something. I may have been a little disruptive. But I¡¯m not the one who started it, so I say the adventurers and Frosty were the disruptive ones.

    Enough of that, we¡¯re at the gate and I just need to wait for folks to get through so there¡¯s room for me to go through. Much like last time I was here, I have to tug in my limbs a little to pass through, but I manage to do so without much difficulty. I¡¯m great at not breaking things!

    We can¡¯t stay here blocking the gate though, so we¡¯re off to somewhere a bit from here! We still need Raya and Joras, so we can¡¯t just leave, but I don¡¯t want to block all the merchants from entering or camping out here. A lot of the wagons smell very enticing and it¡¯s so tempting to go have a look at what they¡¯re transporting, but I know it¡¯s rude to just stick my head into someone''s wagon like that.

    Yes, sticking my head into the wagon is rude... Sneaking closer to one on the outskirts of the trade encampment, I stick out my Lauren-carrying tongue and push her into the covering tent of the wagon.

    ¡°Kira, stop this! What are you doing?!¡±

    ¡°Lauren, tell me what¡¯s in there! I¡¯m so curious! It smells really good!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell. How is that important? You realize I¡¯m trespassing, right?¡±

    Well, if she can¡¯t tell, then we can¡¯t do anything about it. I¡¯ll just have to sate my curiosity somewhere else. Like finding out who¡¯s shouting for some old man, telling him that someone is messing with his wagon.

    ¡°Who¡¯s back there?! Don¡¯t make me get the belt!¡±

    A gruff old man comes stomping around the corner and stares straight at Lauren and me, but mostly at Lauren. She¡¯s in trouble now!

    ¡°Run, Lauren! He¡¯s getting the belt! You shouldn¡¯t have gone into his wagon!¡±

    He isn¡¯t getting the belt, as it turns out. He seems to have frozen somewhat, and Lauren is too busy laughing to run.

    ¡°How am I supposed to run, Kira? You¡¯re still holding onto me, and I can¡¯t reach the ground.¡±

    To prove her point, she squirms a bit, but that¡¯s nowhere near enough to get loose from my mighty grasp.

    ¡°You caught them, old man, gonna get your belt?¡±

    ¡°Uh... No... I think I¡¯ll overlook it this time...¡±

    The people behind him seem to find his response quite amusing as they begin talking about how it¡¯s a rite of passage to be frightened by me. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ve scared that many people, so it must be an exclusive club. Good for him.

    ¡°No worries, old man. Fearsome beast she is, but no trader has been harmed by her that we know of.¡±

    He seems pretty confident that he¡¯s speaking the truth as he struts up to me and pats me on the arm. I have to mess with him, but how?! I can¡¯t let him get away while I give this conundrum a think, so grabbing him, I hold him above the ground to prevent his escape.

    Oh! I¡¯ll put him in the wagon, then he can get the belt! The old man is quick to pick up on what I¡¯m doing as he pulls his belt from his trousers and approaches the wagon. As soon as the younger guy climbs out, he¡¯s assaulted by light slaps of leathery discipline from the old man shouting about entering other people¡¯s wagons without permission.

    My fun is interrupted by Joras arriving with a stern look on his face. He points toward the north with a surprisingly bossy finger, and he¡¯s right, we should get moving and sort this stuff out. Rather than linger here and let Joras get upset, Lauren and I join him on the trek further north to get some distance from the town. I don¡¯t see Raya, so I use our mental link to ask Lauren to ask about her.

    ¡°She will join us soon. She¡¯s bringing the concentrate with the help of a guard. Kira, you understand that Lauren will die if this continues, right? We can¡¯t afford to keep delaying this.¡±

    I do understand, but rushing can also be fatal, and I don¡¯t want to lose a friend because I couldn¡¯t wait five more minutes. And draining the fun out of Lauren¡¯s life to gamble on a maybe doesn¡¯t sit well with me. I want her to have had fun if she¡¯s going to die. If I were dying, I¡¯d want my last days to be spent having fun, not wallowing in misery. I tell Lauren to tell him as much, but she doesn¡¯t, she just pats me some more.

    As we reach a spot to Joras¡¯ satisfaction, I release Lauren gently as she struggles to balance, mumbling something or other about needing to adjust to no longer being held in the air by a slimy appendage.

    Joras starts preparing by unfolding a large blanket for her to lie on as he tells her to strip and lie down. She doesn¡¯t seem to mind as she gets to work, and when she lies down, he opens a small wide-mouthed bottle and starts using the liquid inside to draw on her body.

    Finishing up that part, he pulls out two large, thin sticks. Oh! Those are the fangs! He really got to work on them. They look like large chopsticks but hollow. I¡¯m curious what the plan is, so asking him, he starts explaining.

    ¡°We will fill the needles with venom and inject it into these areas. The venom should then permeate her body and force the affront to retreat into one body part. And instead of amputation, which the three of you seem so keen to do, we will attempt an extraction instead. Which should be far less painful.¡±

    Okay, so that does sound like a better plan, but at least we know that amputation works. And turning on my magic eyes again, I give her hand a look. As far as I can tell, the affront hasn¡¯t regrown in the area, so that leaves whether she can use magic all that well. We¡¯ll find out soon, I guess.

    Just as I¡¯m wondering where he¡¯ll start, he pulls out a knife and grabs Lauren¡¯s face. She just tolerates it as he starts shaving the sides of her head. He might not be a hairdresser, but he¡¯s doing a good job of giving her an even cut. And it really suits her, I might have to encourage this hairstyle in the future.

    As he finishes up her haircut, Raya finally joins us, looking somewhat tired from all the heavy lifting. The concentrated venom has been stored in a barrel as large as Raya, and it¡¯s making me hope I don¡¯t drool that much. If that¡¯s the result of concentrating the venom from like three or four gathering sessions, then I produce a lot of the stuff, geez.

    As soon as she puts down the barrel, Joras cracks open the top and dips a bowl into the contents, pulling out the viscous fluid. Raya steps up with some crude scissors and cuts the fluid, so it doesn¡¯t empty the bowl again. Geez, that¡¯s gross.

    Now he¡¯s picking up one of the needles, attaching one of the small bladders to it. With a few magic words, the bladder starts inflating, and as he dips it in the bowl, it sucks up the venom, filling the needle. Raya then cuts the string again and they¡¯re ready for the first injection.

    ¡°Are you ready for this, Lauren? I don¡¯t know what it will be like, but I have no doubt that it¡¯ll be painful.¡±

    She nods, and he places the bevel of the needle against the side of her head and pierces the skin. She manages to hold back most of a wince as he starts squeezing the bladder, injecting a bit of venom. I feel Raya pull on my magic as she starts instructing Joras on where the affront is moving.

    From the sounds of it, it¡¯s working, but Lauren is in obvious pain. Raya and Joras continue to work together to inject her at the right spots, and it looks like his little painted spots have been spot on so far. It seems he had an idea of how effective the venom would be.

    To facilitate the extraction of the affront, Raya makes an incision into the bottom of Lauren¡¯s foot and leaves her dagger in the wound. It goes against everything I¡¯ve learned about sanitation, but that just goes to show how little I know about things here.

    As they finish up with her head, Joras remarks that the most dangerous part is done, but that leaves the most tedious part. As they prepare to proceed, Joras inserts a needle in her chest, just around her heart, and pushes more venom into her, explaining that it will help protect her heart as the affront will try to evade it instead of gathering at it.

    Leaving the needle in, he uses the other to get working on her hands, starting with each finger and working his way up her arms until Raya tells him that they¡¯re clear. I want to know what¡¯s going on, and I could see it if I used my magic sight, but I¡¯m afraid I¡¯d intervene to protect her instead of allowing the two surgeons to proceed. It¡¯s taking so much effort to not push them away from her whenever she screams in pain. Don¡¯t they have freakin¡¯ anesthesia?! Give her all the drugs!

    Watching Raya and Joras work is impressive to a degree that I¡¯ve never seen before. Every little gesture seems to mean something that the other understands, and they¡¯re so synchronized.

    Raya scratches tiny marks into Lauren¡¯s skin with her sharp nails, and Joras follows it up by jabbing a needle into her, injecting even more venom. Even when they refill the bowl, they both just do what has to be done without communicating, at least not in a way that I can see or hear. They''re working too well for me to participate, and I¡¯m feeling a little envious. Focus, Kira! Lauren is the center of attention, not your negative emotions!

    Lauren has been doing an amazing job of toughing this out, so she deserves a nudge. She raises a tired arm to pat me as I brush her face with mine.

    ¡°Thank you for staying, Kira. I know you¡¯re afraid of vile steel...¡±

    It¡¯s true, I am, but I¡¯m not leaving a friend behind like this. I can¡¯t really do anything, I can¡¯t even stop growling at Joras and Raya, but staying by my friend¡¯s side is something. At least I¡¯m managing to keep it at a low rumble, rather than outright predatory growling.

    Judging by the progression of the needles, they¡¯re pushing the affront further down her body and they¡¯re working on the lower half of her abdomen. That¡¯s where a lot of the tasty organs are, so they¡¯d better be careful, those are very important.

    Joras pulls out the needle near her heart and hands it to Raya, who moves to the opposite side of Lauren and starts injecting venom mirroring Joras. They¡¯re concentrating so much to get it right, and Raya continues to give Joras instructions as she works on her side. Lauren is looking thoroughly hurt, with needle marks covering most of her body. I have no idea how she¡¯ll heal this, considering my venom has a habit of interfering with healing magic.

    The smell of rot starts permeating the air and as I look down, the affront has begun leaving her body through the wound in her foot, but that leaves her other foot to become flooded with the stuff. I have a plan for that, maybe. Pulling my head away from Lauren, I move it to my belly where Lunch struck me with his magic and with a careful tooth, I manage to snag one of my ruined scales and rip it off. It falls to the ground and looks quite sharp, so picking it up, I hand it to Raya who gives me a look before stabbing Lauren¡¯s other foot with the jagged scale.

    She barely manages to pull her hand away as the affront bursts out of Lauren, creating a web of the stuff. It would be pretty if it weren''t so gross and evil.

    Joras and Raya have been at this for hours, and Lauren¡¯s breathing has become shallow as her skin turns pale. I bring up the possibility of blood loss being an issue, but Joras tells me that we can¡¯t do anything about that, we have to keep working on this and hope for the best...

    I don¡¯t like that... Merciferus, I¡¯m sorry for bothering you, but Lauren really needs your help. I think she might die without it, and I don¡¯t know how to save her. I¡¯ll do what I can to pay back your help if you just show up this once.

    Lauren looks at me with a smile before speaking.

    ¡°You¡¯re in trouble, Kira. Mermer is gonna kick your ass for teasing her...¡±

    What? She seems delirious, but she seems to be having fun as she laughs at me, repeating that I¡¯m in trouble with a singsong voice. It¡¯s a little ominous, and I¡¯m not sure I like it. Joras and Raya glance up at me before shrugging and returning to their work.

    If I had hair, I¡¯m pretty sure it would be standing right about now.

    ¡°What my dear champion means to say, you insolent dragon, is that I will demonstrate why the people of this world revere the Pantheon. And why those who stand against us fear us.¡±

    Ah, crap. I don¡¯t like that last part.

 Chapter 48: Exhausted

    Merciferus standing next to me all of a sudden is not filling me with awe and respect. It¡¯s filling me with worry and nervousness. I¡¯m pretty sure that attacking her is the wrong move, and I did get my ass thoroughly kicked in the dream world. There¡¯s a chance that her strength was just tied to being in control of that world, but that seems like a risky gamble.

    Merciferus was impressive in the dream world, but watching her expansive feathery wings gently move in the wind almost feels unreal. I feel like she was taller, but now she¡¯s only about a head taller than Lauren. A human head, not my head. And looking at her equipment, she looks ready for combat with her breastplate and leg plates on top of what looks like quilted armor and leather pants. The whole thing seems to be inscribed with runes that smell powerful, and-

    ¡°Stop sniffing me and step back, dragon.¡±

    Geez, she does not like to be smelled, which I guess is fair, we don¡¯t really know each other, and that makes it a little creepy. As I abandon the thoughts of how good Merciferus¡¯ equipment smells, I hear Raya snickering, no doubt about me being told to step back. She¡¯s definitely asking for licks of vengeance.

    As I step back, Merciferus walks up to Lauren and kneels next to her, and with obvious care, she places a hand on Lauren¡¯s cheek. A gentle and comforting light flows from Merciferus¡¯ hand, and Lauren¡¯s wounds fade away, leaving no signs of the brutal procedure she¡¯s still enduring. It seems Merciferus¡¯ healing doesn¡¯t care about my venom, so that¡¯s good.

    What¡¯s less good is how the goddess is looking at me. There¡¯s a gleam of wickedness in those eyes of hers as she gets up and glares right at me with a smile.

    ¡°Dragon, you wish to help my champion, do you not?¡±

    Of course I do, but it very much feels like a trap and I don¡¯t like it one bit. Given my mild teasing and playful banter, I suspect Merciferus has some sort of plan that I¡¯m not gonna like. Judging by how Joras and Raya keep working, I¡¯m not expecting much help from them and I¡¯m getting a little nervous as the goddess steps closer, reaching a hand out toward me.

    ¡°Do stand still, dragon. I wouldn¡¯t want to hurt you.¡±

    I¡¯m sure she knows what she¡¯s doing and whatever her plan is will end up helping Lauren, but I have no doubt that she¡¯s gonna hurt me in some way, even if she says she wouldn¡¯t want to. In fact, I¡¯m just gonna run away. Turning to leave, I spread my wings and take to the sky.

    ¡°You think the skies are safe from me, dragon?!¡±

    Obviously, I don¡¯t, but what choice do I have if I want to get away from her? She doesn¡¯t seem to care about my plight as she spreads her wings and takes off after me, closing the distance in very little time. Focusing my magic, I fly even faster, making sure to leverage the size of my wings to try to ascend faster as well, but she keeps catching up so dang easily! And it doesn¡¯t get any better when she starts laughing at me. That just makes me even more nervous!

    I can¡¯t just fly in a line, so bracing my wings, I halt and flip myself to catch the goddess, and as she slams into me, I grab hold of her as we plummet toward the ground. She¡¯s small enough for me to hold between my claws, but she¡¯s so dang strong. Stopping our descent with a few beats of my wings, she grabs hold of one of my fingers and starts twisting it as if it¡¯s the most normal thing in the world to overpower a dragon with raw strength. I can¡¯t even hold her, so I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s just as strong in the real world as she was in the dream world, and that means I¡¯m about to have a less-than-ideal day.

    ¡°Why do you flee, little Kira? Did you not wish for a physical battle to punctuate the verbal battle you instigated?¡±

    That sounds an awful lot like the consequences of my own actions, and I don¡¯t like that! I don¡¯t know what to do here. I don¡¯t want to hurt her, but I also don¡¯t know how much I can fight before hurting her. I¡¯m pretty sure Lauren would be quite upset if I returned her goddess as a charred lump, not that I have any idea whether she could withstand my flames or not. I¡¯m getting the impression that she wouldn¡¯t care at all, but I don¡¯t want to risk it.

    Geez, she¡¯s really got a grip on my finger and she¡¯s twisting it, how is she strong enough to just twist my finger like that?! It¡¯s pretty obvious that I have to shake her off, so stretching my arm, I shake it as vigorously as I can, but she just keeps sticking to me and laughing! She¡¯s a maniac!

    Instead of getting shaken off, she wraps her legs around my wrist and holds on even tighter. How am I going to get rid of her now?!

    Grabbing hold of her with my other hand, I try simply pulling her off, but the weirdo is stronger than me. This is no way for some big-shot dignified person to behave! I don¡¯t know how to get rid of her without attacking and since she is helping Lauren now, I don¡¯t want to attack her in case I hurt her... I need help...

    Oh! I have an idea! A most devious idea of cruelty! A most evil, cruel, and devious idea!

    It¡¯s time to land and do something even I consider monstrous. Flying low, I make sure not to snag her wings as I land on three legs.

    She looks up at me with a smug smile, but it fades when I look back down at her with a smile of my own. Grabbing hold of her with the hand she¡¯s holding onto to prevent her escape, I use the bend of my claw to tickle her! And it works! She¡¯s ticklish!

    ¡°Stop this at once, dragon!¡±

    Oh, she does not like that, but that¡¯s too bad! She struggles and squirms to get me to stop, but I¡¯m unstoppable!

    ¡°Stop! I command you!¡±

    As if that has ever worked with me! Of course, I¡¯m gonna continue my assault!

    ¡°Stop, or you will face the consequences!¡±

    No, these are the consequences she must face! Continuing my assault, she screams as she laughs, struggling to hold onto my arm, but I¡¯ve got her, so she won¡¯t escape!

    The ongoing tickle assault stops abruptly as she squirms and flexes too hard, causing my wrist to snap! She freakin¡¯ broke my wrist! Fuck, that hurts! Dang it... That means my parents were right, it¡¯s all fun and games until someone gets hurt... And one thing is obvious now: she¡¯s so freakin¡¯ strong and I¡¯m happy that I didn¡¯t attack her, geez. Point to past Kira, that¡¯s for sure.

    She lets go of my arm and falls to the ground, still laughing as I look at my broken wrist. I¡¯m gonna lie down for a moment and rest my head on top of her, she deserves to be smushed.

    She seems to disagree as she just lifts up my head and tries to toss it aside. I have no idea how such a small body can have that much power. At least I have a big and strong body for it to make sense, but in terms of strength, I¡¯m easily dwarfed. Lucky for me, though, my head did land on one of her wings and those are some comfortable feathers...

    ¡°Laughter like that is rare for someone in my position...¡±

    Geez, and just like that, she turned this whole thing sad. Looking at the sky, it¡¯s closing in on evening, and I think we should get back to the group and see how well they¡¯re doing. Lifting my head up off Merciferus¡¯ wing, she takes a moment to just stare into the sky before getting up, and I¡¯m getting the impression that she¡¯s lonely. She deserves a nudge. I do have an opportunity here, and I¡¯m gonna use it to ask a question.

    ¡°Merciferus, why don¡¯t goblins get a blessing? Raya is just as good a person as Lauren is, so why do you god-things think Lauren is worth helping, but Raya isn¡¯t?¡±

    She doesn¡¯t seem to pay me any mind as she dusts herself off, cleaning the dirt and grass off her clothes, finishing her little ritual with a stretch.

    ¡°The goblinkin do carry a blessing, Kira, mine. And for them, it is stronger than most, but I cannot give power as Terragaraem, Irathmar, Ziakass, or Mairleark do. Even the Abomination is capable of that in a way I cannot. So all I can do is provide them with improved health and resistance to those microbes you brought up. And judging by that little creature you¡¯ve created, even you are capable of bestowing power in a way I cannot. Now, give me your hand.¡±

    Doing as she tells me, she takes hold of my wrist and that comforting light flows out from Merciferus again, and a moment later, my wrist is fine, not a scale out of place or any remnants of pain.

    ¡°Does this mean you won¡¯t punish me for teasing you?¡±

    ¡°No, your punishment will be exacted once my champion recovers.¡±

    Dang it...

    ¡°Will it hurt?¡±

    ¡°Tremendously.¡±

    Dang it... I don¡¯t like how she is saying that with such an absolute tone.

    ¡°But you will recover, and you might find the momentary suffering worth the end result. And, though I know the action was led by another, I am grateful that you did not kill my champion as was your right. That will not be forgotten.¡±

    That sounds like a lot of nice words right after basically telling me I¡¯m going on the torture rack... I can¡¯t dwell on that, though. I have a follow-up question! It seems pretty obvious that these gods have enough power to keep people safe and happy, so why wouldn¡¯t they do what I¡¯m trying to do with Tuiran? If Merciferus decided to say ¡®this continent is under my protection,¡¯ few would try to upset her, I¡¯d imagine. I ask her as much, but she frowns and takes a moment before answering.

    ¡°Our power is our weakness. The Pantheon was created to rein in our influence on the world, as squabbles between Gods wrought untold destruction on the world. Consider your tantrum and what it did to Plainshold, and then imagine someone of equal power trying to stop you. We tried it eons ago, but the results were always the same: destruction and death as battles escalated. So we founded the Pantheon, and now we limit when and how we can interfere with mortals.¡±

    So first of all, I¡¯m a little offended she called my siege of Plainshold a ¡®tantrum,¡¯ but it¡¯s also a little scary to think of someone as strong as me showing up to fight me. Even more so if it was someone as strong as her, geez.

    I am curious about these limitations, though, so of course I throw a question her way about those. She takes a moment to think, so I take a moment to nudge, to which she responds by pushing my head away. A little rude, if you ask me.

    ¡°The limitations still allow for me to answer and act in response to the prayers of my champion, but we cannot change their fate if they court death as a result of their own actions. We are also allowed to engage in a few deals for the sake of our faithful or soon-to-be faithful, such as when a particularly frustrating dragon offers to be quiet in exchange for helping my champion.¡±

    I¡¯m getting the impression that we might have to be careful around this god, she might be sneakier than Lauren gives her credit for...

    ¡°And the most important clause, we are allowed to punish those who dishonor us, a skill with which you seem particularly proficient.¡±

    She¡¯s smiling, but I¡¯m getting the distinct impression that she wants to punch me...

    ¡°A warning regarding the matter of blasphemy and dishonor: do not treat the other gods as you treat me. They are far less tolerant of such things and would not hesitate to strike you down. Now, the time has come for us to return to my champion and see what progress has been made.¡±

    I do want to go back, so I spread my wings and with a flap of her wings, she jumps onto my head. I did not consent to being ridden by her! Shaking my head just makes her laugh as she holds onto my horns... Dang it, looks like I¡¯m a mount again.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve always wanted to try riding a dragon, Thaegon and Deannon¡¯Tathir made it look so fun, but most dragons are not as receptive as you. And my champion has told me so much about the joys of riding a dragon. You wouldn¡¯t deny me this experience, would you, Kira?¡±

    I have no idea who those two people are, but I¡¯m definitely gonna leverage this to reduce my sentence. It¡¯s quite nice to hear that Lauren is having enough fun with me to talk about it with Merciferus. Still, though, I¡¯m gonna grumble my displeasure at this blackmail-adjacent treatment while asking who those two are. She starts talking as we take off toward Tuiran.

    ¡°Thaegon was the first dragon rider and Deannon¡¯Tathir was the Emerald Dragon of Haven, one of the most honorable beings I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Should you ever meet the dragon, do ask him if he would like a few cows.¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    That sounds like a trap, especially considering that she¡¯s chuckling at the prospect of me bringing up cows around him. For obvious reasons, I demand more information on the matter, I¡¯m not about to accidentally step on a social landmine here.

    ¡°Making demands of a god? Perhaps you are becoming too comfortable in my presence.¡±

    To emphasize her point, she moves my head by grabbing my horns and I¡¯m powerless to stop it, but I¡¯m getting the impression that she¡¯s just teasing me.

    ¡°I forget how long ago they met, but Thaegon was dying and, as a professional buffoon, he had the clever idea that if he stood at Death¡¯s door, it would not matter whether he died in his bed or the belly of a beast. Having heard of a dragon nesting in the near mountain ridge, he sold his possessions and bought cattle to appease the beast. Over the course of several weeks, Thaegon would bind the cattle to a tree outside of Deannon¡¯s nest and call for the dragon to give him a ride through the skies in exchange for the animal. It was, of course, declined.-"

    ¡°-This went on until Thaegon was without worldly possessions, and with naught but the wish for the skies, he strode up to Deannon¡¯s cave, demanding the dragon keep his part of the agreement. Thaegon argued that Deannon, having happily consumed the cattle, had agreed to the terms. As Thaegon tells it, they argued for half a day before Deannon gave in, leading to Thaegon becoming the first dragon rider. Deannon tells it differently, though, arguing that his honor would not permit him to abandon such an utter fool to waste away on the mountain, always finishing his retelling with ¡®so really, it was my magnanimous nature saving the idiot.¡¯¡±

    Listening to Merciferus happily retelling the story of old friends, even mimicking voices, is quite fun and I kinda wanna hear more about these two, but one thing is for sure, the dang fine print got him, too. I¡¯ll have to be careful around any suspiciously tied-up snacks.

    ¡°Merciferus, how come you¡¯re so friendly toward me? I didn¡¯t have the impression that you particularly liked me.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps I wouldn¡¯t be a few centuries ago, but as you¡¯ve experienced, getting humbled by someone stronger is a quick way to gain perspective... So now I find that I¡¯m not quite as cantankerous as most of the Pantheon. And of course, listening to my champion talk about you in her prayers gives me some insight as well.¡±

    Now I¡¯m curious what other things Lauren has been sharing about us. But it¡¯s nice to hear that she¡¯s happy enough to want to talk about it with her goddess. She deserves a nudge and a lick of appreciation.

    ¡°It is quite a group of misfits she finds herself in for disobeying me. To think she¡¯d meet a mutating goblin, a banished Crimson Lord, and a twin-aspected dragon. What a marvelously chaotic group you are, and I can imagine no better gathering to ruin the meticulous schemes of my enemies working in the shadows. Do let me know should you find a fifth group member, I find myself quite curious what sort of creature it might be.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t know about this twin-aspected situation before telling Lauren to stay away from Tuiran?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not omniscient, Kira. I knew of the Crimson Lord and a dragon being present in the town, I did not know the dragon¡¯s temperament or personality traits. And I knew a traveler had been born in the region, but not as what or where. I felt it safest to steer her away from Tuiran at that time, and rightfully so. Had it not been for my own intervention and The Absolute, she would have died. To learn that the traveler and the dragon were one and the same was quite a surprise.¡±

    ¡°Since you¡¯re here, you might as well tell me about all this walking darkness, waking cataclysm, and finding me business. It¡¯s odd and annoyingly cryptic, so clear it up for me!¡±

    I feel a hand on my head and my vision goes blank for a moment before returning, but I don¡¯t feel any different. I¡¯m gonna ask her what the heck that was, but as I do, I just feel the thump of her breastplate hitting my head as she lies down with her arms spread out, tapping the sides of my skull with her fingers. Yeah, she¡¯s definitely lonely.

    ¡°I cannot tell you, as that is for my champion to explore, but please stay by her side, she will need the help of you and yours. She¡¯s been through so much that you don¡¯t know about... Please take care of her...¡±

    I want to ask about that, but as she finishes her sentence, she falls asleep. I¡¯m just gonna let her sleep, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s been worried about Lauren¡¯s condition and whether or not this idea of mine would work.

    I¡¯m not sure how she¡¯s keeping her wings under control while asleep, but I¡¯m not feeling any increase in drag as I speed up a bit. I want to get back to the others before darkness falls entirely. We flew quite fast when I tried to escape Merciferus, so I¡¯ll have to fly quite fast to get back as well. I hope I don¡¯t drop her, I¡¯m not sure she¡¯d like that.

    I can see the light of Tuiran and we¡¯re almost there, so aiming for the north side, I pace myself so I don¡¯t overshoot it. I¡¯m curious to see how far they¡¯ve gotten with Lauren, and I¡¯m a little worried that they¡¯ve encountered problems, but I¡¯m reasonably sure that Merciferus wouldn¡¯t have left Lauren behind if there were a risk to her health.

    I can see them now and they¡¯re in the same area we left them in, and Lauren is sitting up now, which is great news! The dendritic structure of evil sitting nearby is less good news. I hope it isn¡¯t giving off that dust I inhaled in the ruins of Plainshold, I really don¡¯t want to experience that again.

    I land a small distance from the group to not kick up any dust and walk over to them. Lauren looks quite exhausted and Raya and Joras just stare at me with open mouths as if I¡¯ve got something weird stuck to me... Joras decides to ask me a question instead of just staring at me.

    ¡°How did you defeat her, Kira? How are you powerful enough to defeat a God?¡±

    ... What?... Oh!

    ¡°She¡¯s asleep. She¡¯s been so worried about Lauren, and now she finally has a moment to calm down, so she just fell asleep.¡±

    That¡¯s my guess, anyway. I¡¯m fairly confident I¡¯m right, but who knows how gods work. I¡¯m not sure what to do about her now, though. Oh, but I should tell Raya about that blessing thing!

    ¡°Raya, get this! Merciferus told me that goblins get a stronger version of her blessing! She makes sure that you goblins live longer and healthier, isn¡¯t that great?¡±

    ¡°Eh, I like your blessing more, I get claws, fangs, and magic.¡±

    I can¡¯t argue with that, those are some pretty great benefits. Lauren doesn¡¯t seem too pleased with the casual dismissal of her goddess, as she smacks Raya in the back of the head. The two start bickering about blessings and blasphemy, but I¡¯m not gonna intervene to stop them.

    Instead, I¡¯ll focus on the most reasonable person here, Joras!

    ¡°So, Joras, how did the procedure go? Exactly as planned?¡±

    ¡°For the most part, yes. Though Lauren will still need time to recover from the ordeal. Unfortunately, I suspect her magic capacity has been permanently damaged, and I doubt she can overcome that. We tried having her pull on your magic, but she struggled with that as well, but she¡¯s alive, and that is what matters.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true. So, what is a Crimson Lord?¡±

    The moment I mention Crimson Lord, Joras goes pale and looks away, as if trying to hide his presence from me. I¡¯m getting the distinct impression that he doesn¡¯t want to talk about it, which of course makes me far more curious about it.

    ¡°I fear it may affect your view of me if I tell you, so can we talk about it another time? I¡¯d rather hear about your excursion with Merciferus. It felt volatile when the two of you departed.¡±

    ¡°Sure, I don¡¯t want to pressure you, but you should know that Merciferus doesn¡¯t seem to consider you a threat, so I¡¯m sure this Crimson Lord business is fine. As for what we did, I tried to get away, failed miserably, she caught me, I caught her, I tickled her into submission, and she broke my wrist. And then she told me that whatever punishment she has lined up for me will be tremendously painful. So... any tips?"

    ¡°Don¡¯t piss off the Gods.¡±

    ¡°Little late for that, Joras...¡±

    He responds with a chuckle and promises to reassemble me once Merciferus is done with me, which isn¡¯t exactly what I wanted to hear. It¡¯s nice that he wants to be there for me, but really, phrase it differently...

    We do need to get moving, though, and I don¡¯t want Lauren to walk all the way back to town since she¡¯s exhausted, which means getting rid of my current passenger.

    Dear Merciferus, wake up!

    I can tell that she woke up by the sensation of choking slightly as she jerks awake and kicks me in the throat, grumbling something or other about a dragon asking for divine judgment. That dragon is in trouble!

    Lauren and Raya¡¯s bickering seems to die down as they focus on Merciferus dismounting me. Raya struts up to the Goddess, eyeing her with a gleam of trouble in her own little goblin eyes.

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t look so tough. I could take her.¡±

    The air of amusement coming off Merciferus seems to imply that she¡¯s up for the challenge, and I¡¯m pretty sure Raya just made a mistake. An opinion seconded by the wicked smile on Lauren¡¯s face. I take a few steps to the side to make room for the two to get rambunctious, and Lauren and Joras are quick to join me.

    Getting ready for combat, Raya pulls her knife and crouches to lunge at the much taller Goddess. Merciferus takes a combat stance, clearly intent on amusing herself as Raya takes off toward her. With a leap, Raya flies toward Merciferus¡¯ face, but instead of blocking the oncoming goblin with her arms, she simply knocks Raya out of the way with a wing. I should take notes.

    Raya slams into the ground, eating dirt, and as she gets up again, she spits a few times before launching herself at the goddess again. This time, she¡¯s going for a lower strike, aiming for Merciferus¡¯ legs. Claws at the ready, she charges and lashes out at the plated legs in front of her, while Merciferus barely moves.

    The goddess sidesteps the goblin and as Raya passes by, she thrusts a hand into the ground and pivots, following it up with another charge, creating her own version of my old tail swipe attack. That¡¯s clever! She appears to go for another claw attack, but just as Merciferus sidesteps again, Raya launches a fire bolt at the goddess, which hits Merciferus in the stomach, much to my surprise, and judging by the fear coming off Lauren, to her surprise as well.

    Aside from a light scorch mark on her breastplate, she¡¯s unaffected by the attack and quickly retaliates by grabbing Raya¡¯s leg and throwing the tiny goblin away. Raya manages to pivot mid-air and land on her feet as she uses her claws to slow down before sprinting towards Merciferus again, firing a volley of fire bolts, which are no match for the barrier that is Merciferus¡¯ wings.

    Lauren seems very worried about this whole thing, but Merciferus is smiling and I bet she¡¯s having fun. It¡¯s pretty obvious that Raya doesn¡¯t stand a chance, but as far as playing around goes, she¡¯s doing a great job of entertaining our guest.

    ¡°Kira, just how powerful have you made Raya?¡±

    Joras throws me a fairly good question, but I don¡¯t want any responsibility for this. All we did was ask each other to be friends, and then this happened, so that¡¯s not on us.

    From the looks of it, Raya has been wounded a bit by the throw, as she has a minor limp, but when she closes in on Merciferus, she launches another clawing attack, which the goddess easily catches, following it up with that comforting light again. How trivial must a fight be to have time to heal your opponent like that?

    Raya seems to have been convinced that she can¡¯t take Merciferus in a fight, and with a glare, she stands down and asks who fought better, me or her.

    ¡°Of course you were the better opponent, little Raya.¡±

    Well, that¡¯s a little rude, I¡¯m a great opponent! And Raya sticking her tongue out at me isn¡¯t helping, dang it!

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you beat up Kira? Lauren says that she¡¯s been very rude to you.¡±

    ¡°Her punishment will arrive, but it¡¯s important to remember how valuable people are. I wish for you, Joras, and Kira to help Lauren, and how would I go about convincing you to do so if I broke her before getting started?¡±

    ¡°Not even a little?¡±

    Dang it, Raya! Don¡¯t convince the goddess to beat me up!

    ¡°Maybe a little.¡±

    Raya seems satisfied with that as she nods a few times, earning her a pat on the head from Merciferus. The adorable image of Raya beaming with pride at the head pats is quickly ruined for me by Merciferus turning her attention to me, and all of a sudden, I want to run away again.

    One thing I¡¯m quickly learning is that when the second most powerful god looks at you after promising you tremendous pain, you start to build up a little worry, sort of like I am right now. Everyone is just staring at my face instead of helping me, and I don¡¯t like that. Joras clears his throat before speaking, no doubt to help me with his wisdom.

    ¡°Nobody tell her.¡±

    That¡¯s neither helpful nor wise, dang it! Nobody tell me what?! They¡¯re all out to get me! As I worry about what¡¯s going to happen, Merciferus places a hand on my nose and tells me to calm down, but how am I supposed to calm down with all these threats and secrets?!

    ¡°Kira, do not worry so much. I wish to pluck some of your scales to fashion armor for my champion, but I cannot do it without causing you pain. Quite some pain, in fact, but it will be protection worthy of a dragon¡¯s ally and the champion of a Goddess.¡±

    Why didn¡¯t she just tell me that? Of course I¡¯d be on board to help Lauren like that, especially if we can add Raya to the list of recipients of Kirarmor. Witnessing my frustration seems to amuse her quite a bit for some reason. I think it¡¯s entirely uncalled for.

    ¡°Perhaps you are not the only one with a mischievous streak, Kira.¡±

    Letting her know that I¡¯ll agree to it if Raya gets a set too, she nods, and Raya is quick to suggest all sorts of equipment she wants. As far as I can tell, Raya has completely forgotten that the material has to be extracted from me, painfully, as she lists a full armory''s worth of stuff she wants.

    It doesn¡¯t even stop at Kirarmor, she starts rambling about a dagger carved from one of my teeth all of a sudden, the little ghoul! At least Lauren and Joras seem a lot more reluctant to wear parts of me. Although Joras is wearing his thinking brow of making me worry... As I glare at him, he decides to speak up.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, Kira. You¡¯ll need to heal your damaged scales, and I can collect a few of those to use for bracelets and talismans, and Lily can carve glyphs and runes into them.¡±

    Okay, so he doesn¡¯t want to pluck them from my body, but he isn¡¯t opposed to using my body parts. Why is that an improvement?! But then I guess he was the first to want some of my body... Ugh, I don¡¯t think I can escape some punishment for having teased Merciferus, and if it helps keep my friends safe, then even better. But I¡¯m not consenting to Raya getting an entire armory''s worth of Kirarmor, that¡¯s for sure.

    As I lie down, Merciferus steps up and puts a hand on the side of my body before asking about a very forgotten topic.

    ¡°Kira, how come you have dirt stored in your chest cavity?¡±

    Great, now everyone¡¯s staring at me like I¡¯m some sort of weirdo. I don¡¯t eat dirt, people! Instead of letting them guess what¡¯s going on, I explain what happened with the dirt mage and how I got the needles, emphasizing that not only did I let the mage go, but I brought him to a safe place!

    Lauren is quick to praise me, but Raya seems to be more in the ¡®if he attacked you, then you can kill him¡¯ camp. Well, I got praised, so I¡¯ll take it. I¡¯m so caught up in receiving praise that I don¡¯t notice what Merciferus is doing until she jabs a hand into my stomach. A little warning next time! Geez, that hurts...

    She¡¯s just casually scooping out dirt from my belly, and I¡¯m getting the impression that this weirdo doesn¡¯t know what normal is. Neither does Raya, since she joins Merciferus in the task of clearing out my dirt storage.

    It feels so weird to have arms moving around inside me, and I want it to stop, but this was sort of what I had planned already, so I guess it works out, but geez, I was gonna keep putting it off.

    ¡°You should bring this earth to your farmers and have them spread it. It¡¯s saturated with magic and will be a great growth booster.¡±

    ¡°So we should fill Kira with dirt to get more food?¡±

    No, we should not, Raya. That¡¯s a terrible idea. They¡¯re quick to finish pulling out the dirt and there¡¯s a small mound of it bigger than Raya. Geez, I really got impaled.

    ¡°My champion, please heal Kira¡¯s wounds as you would any other.¡±

    The sudden focus causes Lauren to flinch, and I think it might be related to the whole magic capacity loss, but I¡¯m no expert on that. She steps up to my side and puts a hand on the hole that I definitely want patched, I¡¯d rather my insides don¡¯t become outsides.

    I can feel her magic building, but it fades away before the spell takes hold, leaving Lauren quite frustrated, so I give her a helpful nudge.

    ¡°Take some of my magic, and you¡¯ll be fine. I believe in you, Lauren.¡±

    She pats me a few times and I feel the telltale sensation of my magic being taken away as she focuses again, this time she manages to cast the spell, forcing my wound to close. It seems to have exhausted her, though, as she falls to her knees, panting.

    Merciferus kneels beside her and places a hand on her shoulder before pulling her into a hug.

    ¡°Well done, my champion. I knew I had chosen wisely.¡±

 Chapter 49: New Things

    Merciferus seems quite proud of Lauren, but it¡¯s pretty obvious that even using my magic, Lauren is not in a good way. Whatever is needed of her, we definitely have to help because there¡¯s no way she can handle it alone anymore. And if what we¡¯ve just been through with this affront is any indication, we need to get to burning down a cult.

    It feels great that she¡¯s no longer at risk of dying, but she loved healing so much, and they¡¯ve essentially taken that from her, and I can¡¯t forgive that. Nudging Merciferus, I tell her to get to plucking scales so Lauren can get some armor. And as she begins, it becomes obvious that she was right, this is freakin¡¯ painful. Each scale feels like it¡¯s hooked into my flesh, and pulling it out does not involve removing the hook first.

    With her ridiculous strength, at least she manages to do it in a smooth motion for every scale. As I groan in pain, she asks if I¡¯m sure I want enough for Raya as well, and I am. I want my littlest friend to also be protected. Merciferus is quick to get to work again, leaving my shoulder bloody and pained.

    As the goddess pulls the final scale, she pats the wound and it heals up, but to my dismay, the scales don¡¯t recover, which means... I have to do that on my own. Dang it...

    I can¡¯t postpone it any longer, since I¡¯ve just been accumulating more scars and wounds, so focusing my magic, I push it into my skin and scales, and the massive jolt of pain tells me that it¡¯s working. The passing out tells me that it¡¯s working well. The last thing I hear is my name being shouted, but that¡¯s normal when someone suddenly passes out.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    By the time I wake up again, it¡¯s a bit past noon, which is definitely not the nighttime I passed out at. The obvious first thing to do is figure out where I am, and by looking around, I do just that. I¡¯m still outside of Tuiran, and the smell of blood still lingers. Those jerks just left me here, that¡¯s so rude! I bet they¡¯re gonna say something like ¡®Oh Kira, we¡¯re sorry, but you weigh too much for even draft animals to pull.¡¯ Jerks.

    Getting up and doing a stretch, the comfortable flexing of my muscles perks me right up and now I¡¯m ready for the day! The rest of the day, that is. I have no time for time now, I need to figure out where the others went, and for that, I have a secret weapon.

    ¡°Lauren, where are you? I¡¯m awake! And you guys just left me, which is quite rude.¡±

    There¡¯s a pull on my magic, and I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s the weird new way for Lauren to interact with it.

    ¡°Be quiet, you silly beast.¡±

    ¡°How dare you, you lousy first-aid kit!¡±

    She lets go of my magic, and instead of words, I just feel comfort and amusement from our connection. It¡¯s time to return to Tuiran and that¡¯s exactly what I do, I¡¯m not all that far away, so all I need is a small jump, a beat of my wings, and soar the distance. Another beat takes me above the walls and I¡¯m well on my way to the town square. In retrospect, I think I could have saved myself a bunch of pain if I had passed out before Merciferus plucked my scales, but it¡¯s too late for that now.

    I hope the Kirarmor being made for Raya and Lauren ends up being awesome. They finally get beautiful black scales of their own.

    Looking around the town square, there isn¡¯t anything going on at all. I¡¯m not seeing that many merchants either, and I have no idea whether that¡¯s normal or not. I was never that into history, especially not historical economics, so who knows how traveling the roads as a merchant works.

    With a quick landing by my den and a less quick entrance into the pit I call home, I wouldn¡¯t want to break anything, after all, I prepare to regurgitate whatever I might have stowed away in my crop. I¡¯m not sure how it works, but as far as I can tell, my stomach can somehow separate the valuable stuff from the edible stuff, resulting in delicious food and delicious metal both being okay to eat.

    With a moment of quiet, it occurs to me that it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve felt dragony, and I¡¯m starting to itch for a fight again. The fight with Lunch was okay, but it felt unsatisfactory since I didn¡¯t kill him.

    I wish I knew where to look for these cultists so I could eat them all. Thinking about eating folks, I wonder what Jarna and Kanen are up to. Focus, Kira. Add to the hoard, then explore the unknown whereabouts of the non-snack adventurers. Flexing a muscle in my chest, I feel a glop of goop ascend my throat and, with a plop, it falls to the ground, spilling glorious hoard material all over the place.

    I have no idea whether I¡¯m rich or not, but my hoard is growing and it feels very good. I¡¯m gonna lie on it for a moment, I have time. Ooh, lying on a hoard is the best. Huh, the mural has changed- well, not changed, grown. It¡¯s much bigger now and covers the fall of Plainshold and... They¡¯ve embedded coins to depict my hoard, that¡¯s clever.

    ¡°Kira? Are you in here?¡±

    I have guests, well, a guest, it¡¯s Lauren. Unleashing a small jet of flame toward the ceiling lights up the room, and she focuses her eyes on me. She approaches me and sits down on the clay for some reason. I¡¯m not sure why she doesn¡¯t just sit on me like she usually does, but she isn¡¯t looking too happy.

    ¡°Kira, I¡¯m not sure I have what it takes to be a champion, and now most of my magic is gone... I...¡±

    Yeah, I know what I need to do here. Getting up, I grab her with my tongue to bring her over so we can coil up and snuggle a little. I¡¯m gonna put her down at the nape of my neck and give her a little squeeze. She responds by pressing herself against me as the localized rain hits her, the weather is so unpredictable. With a nudge, I let her know how I feel on the matter.

    ¡°Lauren, I don¡¯t care whether you¡¯re a champion or not. You were my friend before I knew any of that, and you are important to me, not your status or abilities.¡±

    She¡¯s mine and that won¡¯t change just because of some, well, I want to call it a minor change, but it¡¯s important to her, so I don¡¯t want to diminish her feelings by not acknowledging the impact it has on her. Instead, I suggest she takes some of my magic and practices holding it inside her as she grows more accustomed to it. It might not fix the issue, but it might help.

    I don¡¯t have anything to base it on, but sometimes we just have to try something, and judging by the pull on my magic, she does try, but only a little. She¡¯s just pulling on it and not taking it, so I¡¯ll have to tune out her thoughts to respect her privacy.

    ¡°Besides, I need you, Lauren. Joras is still a little scared of me, Raya is more likely to encourage my questionable behaviors, but you just walk up and yell at me. Seriously, who yells at a dragon? You might not have all of your magic anymore, but you never had all of your marbles, and you did just fine.¡±

    As she leans into me, she drags her nails back and forth along my scales, and it feels quite nice. We¡¯ll just have to think of some other way she can feel useful.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any marbles. I¡¯m not sure what I would do with them, maybe use them for a trap to make my opponents trip, but other than that, they don¡¯t seem very useful. Why are you laughing at me? Did you insult me, you brutish beast?¡±

    Maybe a little, but she did most of it herself. Taking a moment to explain the idiom just earns me a smack and a glare before she settles in for another cozy rest.

    ¡°If it¡¯s any consolation, I¡¯m pretty sure Merciferus is nuts as well, so you¡¯re a good match.¡±

    ¡°Kira, I¡¯m confident that calling a God insane constitutes blasphemy.¡±

    She chuckles, but she might be right, and if Merciferus finds out, she might start banking more punishment. Who knows what I¡¯ll be asked to contribute next time. I¡¯d rather not develop a bald spot on my beautiful scaly exterior.

    Thinking more about how Lauren might find new purpose, the whole teaching me magic thing springs to mind again, and of course I bring that up. She seems skeptical at the prospect of teaching me, mumbling something or other about bad students who get distracted, but she seems to like the idea when goblins are brought into the picture. She could have her very own magical medical school!

    Speaking of teaching magic, I¡¯m curious how Raya is able to learn it with so little difficulty. It feels weird to me that she went from never being able to learn any meaningful magic to being kind of gifted and learning things super fast. Asking Lauren about it, she stares at me like I asked a really stupid question. A bit rude on her part.

    ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s a reasonable question when you don¡¯t know how magic works for us. Think of it like working clay; Joras and I have learned how to find clay, dig it up, prepare it, and then start working it to create what we want. It¡¯s a lengthy process that Raya never learned. So she doesn¡¯t care about the intricacies of shaping and weaving magic. Instead, she just takes a lump of yours, which is pure and purposeless, and throws it at whatever problem she has.¡±

    Her explanation begins to take on a tone of envy and frustration as she gets into how Raya uses my magic. It seems they¡¯ve been talking about it, and Raya mentioned that to use a fire bolt, she just takes some magic and thinks of it as fire while she holds it. And based on Lauren¡¯s rant, that¡¯s not how fire bolts work.

    Good on Raya, she¡¯s finding her own style! The obvious question now is why doesn¡¯t Lauren do the same, and asking about that, she glares at me before taking a deep breath.

    ¡°I¡¯ve tried, but it¡¯s... Try imagining a color you¡¯ve never seen before. And if you do manage that, explaining it to someone who hasn¡¯t seen it becomes the next challenge.¡±

    I¡¯m pretty sure I see the problem here, she¡¯s thinking too much and she needs to... Well, I¡¯m not gonna say I don¡¯t think at all, I¡¯m very thoughtful, but she¡¯s overthinking things. We¡¯re gonna solve this problem, and to start with, I¡¯m gonna pick her up and put her on the ground.

    She wiggles a bit, but she¡¯s no match for the might of my prehensile tongue. Okay! Instruction time! First things first, I have her jump in place, which she does after a little complaining, and my conclusion is that she isn¡¯t very good at jumping. Second, we¡¯re gonna get some magic going, and by that I mean I¡¯m telling her to take some of my magic and push it toward her legs, focusing on it without thinking of shapes or weaves or any of that.

    One thing is for sure, she is great at glaring and questioning my instructions.

    Instead of lingering on her reluctance, I push some magic into my eyes to track her progress as we move on to instructing her to keep the magic there and focus on wanting to be stronger, to jump higher, and to land without getting injured.

    She kinda does it, and some of the magic is used, but she loses focus whenever she jumps and most of the magic dissipates, which allows me to see another curious thing. My hoard takes in the ambient magic and returns the room¡¯s magic levels to a more normalized level.

    ¡°I feel stupid jumping on the spot like this, Kira...¡±

    ¡°We can move to the square and have the children join you if you want. Then you wouldn¡¯t be jumping alone, and you could make a game of it.¡±

    Judging by the sudden wave of anxiety I feel from her, she isn¡¯t too interested in learning about my magic in public. She doesn¡¯t say anything about it, but she does get back to jumping, and slowly but surely, she increases her jump height.

    ¡°Is this it? You just move magic to the part of your body where you want it to do something, and then it does?¡±

    That is pretty much it for me. I don¡¯t know whether that¡¯s because of my draconic nature or just a quirk of my magic, but it really is that easy for me to empower myself. She still seems to doubt me as I tell her, but it sounds like Raya is doing the same thing, so I¡¯m gonna count that as me being right. It feels to me like my magic wants to do something, so it does when it gets the opportunity to.

    I¡¯m not sure why it¡¯s so difficult for Lauren, though. She seems to really struggle with the idea of unshaped magic, and I think Raya may have been onto something with her weaving thing, as it could be a bridge between two schools of magic.

    ¡°Oh, I forgot to ask, but where did Merciferus go? I haven¡¯t seen her around.¡±

    ¡°She left with your scales. Since she came to punish you and that goal had been accomplished, she had to go and attend to her divine duties.¡±

    Sounds like those god rules kept her from staying. Maybe I should tease her a bunch next time we have a feast, so she can join us and claim that it¡¯s to punish me for being naughty. I¡¯m sure she¡¯d like that.

    ¡°Kira, focus. It¡¯s obvious that you¡¯ve gotten distracted and started thinking about something questionable.¡±

    ¡°Not at all! I was thinking about holding another feast to celebrate your recovery!¡±

    ¡°Oh... Sorry, I¡¯d like that.¡±

    Point to Kira, but also job to Kira since I now have to arrange a feast. I should find something exciting to eat for that, maybe some herbs and exotic things. Maybe they¡¯d like to try some frostclaw, or perhaps some sort of goat from a mountain, I¡¯m sure Lauren hasn¡¯t tried that all that often. Or I could even hunt something from the south and bring it back! Maybe some advent- No... She wouldn¡¯t like that... but the other things are still viable ideas!

    She¡¯s staring at me with a knowing smile, as if she suspects me of thinking something questionable this time...

    ¡°If I have to learn to use your magic, Kira, then you should learn how to use my magic, start weaving.¡±

    Lauren is too bossy, and I don¡¯t know how to weave.

    ¡°Just take hold of some of your magic, and stretch it. Repeat it until you¡¯ve got thin strings of magic, you¡¯ll know when you¡¯ve done it sufficiently, and when you feel it, you can begin weaving the strands together.¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    Well, that¡¯s barely any instruction to go on, so let¡¯s try it out. I wonder if it makes a difference whether I do this stretching stuff or if I try going for extruding. I¡¯m gonna try the latter. Focusing my will on a chunk of magic, I squish it into a noodle and I start thinking about why I need to make the strings or strands or whatever so thin. She never did say, and I have enough magic to just make thick magic noodles.

    As far as I can tell, it¡¯s working and there aren¡¯t any problems with it, which means I can think about how to weave them. I don¡¯t know how to weave, or knit, or anything of the sort, so what¡¯s a dragon to do? Braid, of course. With all these noodles, I start braiding them together into a thick rope, and it seems to be doing something, but I have no idea how this is supposed to become a spell.

    Nudging Lauren, I feel nauseous... Geez, I¡¯m starting to really not feel well...

    ¡°Lauren, I think your magic weaving is making me sick.¡±

    I barely finish the thought before I expel my viscous fluid of grossness and, unfortunately for Lauren, she is right in the way of the outgoing stream on account of the recent nudge.

    She¡¯s both quite upset and worried, as she looks my way, covered in dragon gunk. I don¡¯t think I like her magic style. I want to compliment her for being able to stay standing in the face of such a powerful wave of vomit, but I get the impression that she wouldn¡¯t be receptive to such positivity right now. She can be like that sometimes.

    At least I feel a little better now, so that¡¯s a win in my book. Now we just need Lauren to feel better, and I have a plan for that. Leaving her behind as I head outside, I flag down a guard and ask him to fetch Joras, since the elven alchemist is into all sorts of weird stuff like bodily fluids, so who better to thoroughly clean Lauren of dragon vomit gunk?

    I¡¯m just gonna have a lie down while we wait. It turns out something like that wears a dragon out... Just gonna close my eyes for a minute...

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°What thoughts were occupying your mind as you did this?! You are aware that Kira needs clear instructions! You cannot teach her like you would a human!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I wasn¡¯t thinking. I wanted-¡±

    ¡°Indeed, you were not thinking. The magic Kira possesses is Primordial, it is already concentrated. She does not need to weave and by telling her to do so, you had her... I cannot think of an apt comparison! Her magic is not like the magic we use. You are both lucky to be alive!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry...¡±

    ¡°I am aware, but do not attempt to teach her magic again. My own intent to teach her was halted as she showed me the nature of her magic, but my explanation and knowledge at the time were inadequate. Just be mindful going forward, Kira has much wisdom, but she has an equal amount of foolish daring. She is not a material being, her reactions to magic are not like ours.

    This is why snooze buttons were invented, if I had slept five more minutes, I wouldn¡¯t have heard Lily insult me like that... She¡¯s rude... Lauren doesn¡¯t seem to have much to add anymore, which I get. I¡¯m sure I didn¡¯t wake up at the beginning of Lily¡¯s tirade, and I doubt I¡¯d have anything to chip in with in Lauren¡¯s situation.

    Opening my eyes, I take a look around and see that I¡¯m just outside the entrance of my den, and it seems Lily¡¯s shouting has brought out a bunch of people to listen to the spectacle. It¡¯s not a huge amount of people, but it¡¯s more than expected considering it¡¯s past midnight. I¡¯m still not feeling great, and I think I¡¯d like to just rest some more. Although, perhaps I should go hunting, I am pretty hungry...

    There¡¯s an odd clinking of glass coming from my den, and a bit after I started hearing it, Joras emerges with a box and a far too happy expression on his face.

    ¡°Hello Kira and-¡±

    ¡°Shush, Joras... What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Oh, this is what I collected from Lauren, I¡¯ll get some buckets for the remaining material on the floor. Do you have any idea what I can make with this?!¡±

    He¡¯s far too excited to be working with my vomit, but I have no idea what he can make with it, so that¡¯s what I tell him.

    ¡°Neither do I! This is a first for me, isn¡¯t that exciting?¡±

    I knew that weirdo was into weird stuff, but he¡¯s far too excited about this. I¡¯m not gonna stop him, though. Instead, I wish him luck with his discoveries and tell him to be careful, earning me a mocking snort.

    ¡°How are you feeling, Kira? An expulsion like that would not do great things for me. The volume alone...¡±

    He sounds worried, but his giant smile and glinting eyes betray him. I¡¯m sure he is worried about me, but it¡¯s obvious how much he wants to run off and start experimenting with that nasty stuff. I¡¯ll just let him know that I¡¯ll be fine, so he can run off. I also mention that he should clean my den first, so the gunk doesn¡¯t dry and get crusty.

    ¡°You think it might take on different properties as it dries? An interesting thought, and we certainly have enough to try it. Very clever, Kira! And perhaps it will be influenced by the herbs around it. Oh, so many avenues of exploration.¡±

    Yeah, that¡¯s what I meant. Totally. I¡¯m pretty sure he knows to dry things, so I suspect he¡¯s just caught up in having a new material to work with and hasn''t thought of it yet. And it¡¯s pretty clear he¡¯s too caught up to pay me much mind, considering he¡¯s begun wandering off with his crate.

    ¡°Are you okay, Lauren?¡±

    She doesn¡¯t pull on my magic to respond, leaving me with only a sensation of regret and sadness. It¡¯s understandable, but it¡¯s also misplaced.

    Merciferus, tell Lauren that it¡¯s not her fault, I¡¯m to blame as well.

    ¡°Lauren, you didn¡¯t make me do anything, so you don¡¯t have to feel sad. Besides, now we know that I probably shouldn¡¯t face anyone when I get sick. That¡¯s valuable information we couldn¡¯t have gotten in any other way, right? So really, it was worth it to learn something new. And we learned that you can stay standing in the face of something like that, which is impressive, so we learned two things. That¡¯s twice as much, making it so worth it!¡±

    Point to Kira, I made Lauren laugh. Unfortunately, that also means I made Lily yell at her about how this is no laughing matter. At least Lauren knows I''m not mad at her, and that''s all that matters.

    I¡¯m gonna stretch instead of lying here all night, and as I do, my body feels much stiffer than usual, and I don¡¯t like that. Focusing on my magic, I use it to inspect my body, and from the looks of it, my fleshy bits are fine, but I have somehow managed to drain my body of magic, not all of it, but enough to make me sure it¡¯s a bad thing.

    I don¡¯t like feeling hungry; it¡¯s making my teeth itch, and I want to chomp things. Instead of lingering here until it overwhelms me, I¡¯ll just go find something to hunt. That seems like a much better idea.

    As I take to the skies toward the south, my thoughts wander to how I haven¡¯t really felt hungry until now, as if magic itself has kept me sated, but this isn¡¯t the first time I¡¯ve used too much magic, so I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. It could be a maturity thing, but that¡¯s guesswork.

    The night sky is quite beautiful with gray clouds creating a lovely contrast to the starry blue background. Soaring over the forest, it becomes clear that winter is approaching as the trees have begun changing color. That¡¯s something I need to think about and remember that I shouldn¡¯t be eating all of Tuiran¡¯s food.

    I¡¯m not seeing much in the way of prey, which is a bit annoying, so I¡¯ll try further south. Using this trip to gather information could be a good idea as well. I should start preparing myself for when Lauren and Raya get their Kirarmor, so we can start fighting back against this cult instead of just having incidental encounters.

    I hear the sound of combat from the west, with the occasional tingle of magic, who fights this early? Adventurers, that¡¯s who, but what are they fighting? Flying toward the clang of metal impacting something very hard, I soar as quietly as I can, as I listen for any spoken words.

    ¡°Banyai, run behind it while I distract it. Turgai, aim for the eyes. Illya, focus on protecting Banyai!¡±

    The commands flow in an easy stream and as they come into view, it becomes clear that this adventuring party is in trouble. They¡¯re fighting a big rhino-looking thing, but it has tusks along with a horn, making it look quite intimidating. Turgai fires spells of some sort, they look like teal lightning, bright enough to be painful in the darkness. I¡¯m not sure what they are, but the boar doesn¡¯t seem to care all that much. And it cares even less about the commander as his blade fails to cut through the thick bristles covering its body. But it does look like prey to me.

    The commander is the only one not obscuring their face with some sort of cowl, everyone else looks shadowy and mysterious as they fight together, following the commands of their leader.

    ¡°We should help them, Kira.¡±

    What the hell?!

    ¡°When did you get here, Raya?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been sitting on you since yesterday. I heard you tell Joras to shush.¡±

    Oh... That¡¯s probably bad news for my senses, I couldn¡¯t smell her at all.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t notice me?¡±

    ¡°I did not, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s okay, you overgrown lizard. A Dragon would have noticed me, though.¡±

    Well, Raya is feeling sassy right now, but I''ll deal with that later. It seems that my sense of touch and smell are both on the fritz, which means I should probably be wary of other senses not working properly. Refocusing on the boarhino, I¡¯ve decided we will help the adventurers, but mostly because I want to eat that aggressive snack.

    As we get closer, the beast begins to look more intimidating as it becomes obvious that the commander is a very large guy, being as tall as the dang giant boarhino, and his size screws with my sense of scale. If my estimate is right, the dang thing is three meters tall (9.8 ft) and four long (13.1 ft). It¡¯s freakin¡¯ huge and that horn on its face is half its height.

    Getting a closer look, the Banyai person is thin and agile, Turgai is bulky and tall with a thick tail, while Illya is short and I¡¯m pretty sure Illya is a dwarf. Enough inspecting people, that¡¯s a distraction and I need to manage my distractions!

    Focusing up, my choices here seem to be either to turn back because this magic depletion is no joke, or to attack and try to get a delicious meal to solve the problem. Well, I¡¯m a problem solver with foolish daring to spare, so of course I¡¯m gonna attack.

    Aiming for the beast, I beat my wings to speed up, and as we approach, Raya takes it upon herself to yell at the adventurers to stand back as I unleash my flames on the beast in a strafe attack. The brightness of my fire lights up the area even more than the caster''s lightning, causing the adventurers in my line of sight to flinch. The boarhino roars at me, pain and rage obvious in its outburst as I catch its attention. It runs after me, the adventurers no longer interesting to it.

    ¡°Follow that thing! We need to kill it!¡±

    Oh neat, we get back up. Instead of flying in a straight line, I circle around and prepare to swoop again. The adventurers move around the fires I started and run toward us, casting long shadows as they pass the burning area. That''ll make them easier to keep track of, so I probably won''t incinerate them by accident.

    ¡°Kira, watch out for any spells, it has an affinity for earth magic, so it might do something.¡±

    She wasted such a good opportunity to say it might do something dirty or that it might fight dirty...

    Never mind that, Kira. You need to focus! And focus I shall! Going for another swoop, the boarhino prepares to meet my assault as it digs in its feet, ready to gore me. With its backside against the adventurers, the caster throws more spells at it, distracting it enough for me to continue my swoop.

    ¡°Get ready! The Dragon is coming in again, shield your eyes and do not get caught in the flames! Get ready to attack as soon as it passes over us! Banyai, rush to the beast¡¯s left flank and strike with your venom!¡±

    Just as I swoop, they throw a bunch of ranged attacks at the beast, drawing its attention away from me as I burn it again. Raya takes this opportunity to jump off me, landing in the flaming vegetation. I¡¯m sure she has a plan, but I¡¯m just gonna go ahead and worry.

    The beast focuses on me again and I see Raya running toward the Banyai person. That makes me even more worried. Whatever they¡¯re doing, Raya doesn¡¯t seem to be getting attacked, so I¡¯m gonna focus on the boarhino again.

    ¡°Kira! It¡¯s using earth magic to protect itself! Flames won¡¯t work!¡±

    Oh, that¡¯s clever, she got information from them. Well, I have experienced defensive earth magic before, so fire could cook it, but it might also be dissipating the heat somehow. Well, I do have bone-crushing jaws, flesh-rending claws, and a stone-shattering tail, so it¡¯s not like I¡¯m out of options here.

    It has run past the adventurers to get at me again, so I¡¯ll have to get it closer to them to use their abilities too. Stopping midair, I set course for just past the middle of their location where I intend to land. I just have to watch out for that absolutely massive horn. The tusks are bad too.

    As soon as I land, it starts really charging, so I¡¯m gonna have to be ready here. With my side toward it, it becomes clear that the beast wants to impale me, but I¡¯ve been impaled enough for one lifetime! Focusing some magic into my tail, I can tell that I won¡¯t be able to do that too many times, and as it gets within reach, I whip my tail around with as much force as I can. The impact of my bladed tip sends a shockwave of pain through my spine, but the beast isn¡¯t doing too hot either.

    I managed to smack it right in the face, but it¡¯s still standing, trying to recover. I have no idea how much damage I did, but I have better reach and now it knows that. It keeps its distance, giving me a moment to look at my tail, and I¡¯ve shattered the left side of my blade. Well, that explains why it hurts!

    I wouldn¡¯t mind a handbook on how to hunt prey like this because I have no idea how I can get close without risking that horn. I¡¯m pretty sure I need to knock it over, but if I swoop in, I¡¯ll be vulnerable since it focuses on me, and my tail swipe wasn¡¯t powerful enough to do anything other than stun it and mess up its face.

    I¡¯m gonna flip around so I¡¯m ready to swipe at it with my intact tail blade, and then I¡¯ll hope the adventurers have something to add.

    ¡°Banyai, right side bloody. Illya, protect me!¡±

    As the Commander calls out a few commands, I feel a magic tingle around him as he starts running toward me for some reason. And where is Raya in all of this? If they¡¯ve hurt her without me noticing, I will eat them slowly. I¡¯ll just have to trust that she¡¯s able to take care of herself for now.

    The Boarhino seems at a loss for what to do as the adventurers seem to utilize the fires I''ve started to hide from the beast''s sight. Whenever it looks toward the people behind it, it flinches at the brightness, but the adventurers seem to be quite good at using sudden terrain changes like that.

    The boarhino is hesitating, and I don¡¯t think it wants another smack, but it needs to deal with me if it wants to win this. Banyai runs past me well within chomping distance, showing no regard for my presence. It seems like they¡¯ve decided that I¡¯m not the priority. This might be a proper positive experience with adventurers! They said it couldn¡¯t be done!

    As the commander reaches me, well my tail, he pulls out a potion and crushes it in his hand, throwing the liquid and glass at my wounded tail blade, and I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s how you¡¯re supposed to use potions. Somehow it works, though. The potion he throws is more gelatinous than I¡¯ve ever seen, and the glob of healing potion smacks against my tail, soaking into my wound.

    It feels very nice and cool, and I want some for those warm summer days.

    The boarhino seems offended by the sudden collaboration as it begins charging again. The Commander is already moving, having seen the change in behavior. I give him a soft growl of warning, and he turns to me, spotting my tail. Beginning my powerful tail swipe, he throws himself to the ground, letting my tail pass over him, impacting the other side of the beast¡¯s skull. This time, I break one of its tusks and my blade holds, so I guess the instability of my magic caused a loss in protection when I empowered my other swipe.

    Banyai is quick to seize the opportunity to rush up to the boarhino and smear something into the wound. As they do, I feel my magic being drained a little as I spot Raya climb out from under Banyai¡¯s cloak, thrusting a hand into the beast¡¯s eye. Geez, when did Raya become so brutal?

    The two are quick to retreat back into the darkness, using the vegetation to hide in the night as the beast regains its senses.

    ¡°Grade four ancog venom, eye lost.¡±

    Banyai calls out what Raya and she did to the beast, letting the Commander know what to plan for. With my tail swipe done, he gets up and starts barking orders again.

    ¡°Turgai, reposition to the right, go for damage. Banyai left. Illya, focus on shielding the Dragon.¡±

    ¡°Are ye kiddin'', boss? What if it attacks us?¡±

    He responds with a whistle and I feel magic flow into me, replenishing my body. The spell is followed up with another, and I¡¯m not sure they have any effect other than making me feel better.

    ¡°I cannae do it, boss, the beast blocks it.¡±

    ¡°At will, then.¡±

    I think these guys might be the kind of adventurers Wreyn warned me about. At least I¡¯m bigger and more dangerous now than I was back then, so screw those fears.

    Banyai, Raya, and Commander are now standing side by side, ready to launch an attack, and as Commander charges, Turgoi launches those weird lightning bolts at the beast¡¯s face. As he reaches the beast, Commander¡¯s blade digs into the wounded flesh left by my swipe as he struggles to hold the beast in place for Raya and Banyai to begin cutting at its vulnerable areas.

    I don¡¯t feel like being left out, so I join the charge. As soon as I reach the beast, I rear up and grab hold of the horn, pushing it to the left with all my weight. The sudden bulk forces the beast to the ground, and I hold it there as I bite into its thick neck. Its skin is impressive as my teeth struggle to penetrate it properly, but with a few more chomps and tears, I begin to make progress.

    Blood flows as Raya and Banyai both begin to smear paste into the wounds, causing the blood to flow faster. I¡¯ll have to ask Raya what sort of herbs she¡¯s been gathering to create blood thinners. That seems dangerous, but it might also be something that people should know could be helpful.

    The boarhino is losing strength fast, but at no point has it been afraid. It¡¯s all just muscle and rage. I might not have gotten hurt outside of a shattered tail blade, but this is one scary beast.

    The beast stops breathing, and the adventurers begin to breathe deeply as they get a moment to relax, darkness cloaking the world as the last patches of fire I left die out. They aren¡¯t attacking or acting with any hostility, so it is a positive experience! I¡¯m not getting attacked! Raya is getting paid, though, why is she getting paid? I wanna get paid too!

    Commander is handing her a few coins, so I hold out my claw for some coins as well. He stares at my claw for a moment with a raised eyebrow. He gets the message and hands me two golden coins. I got paid for my work!

 Chapter 50: Treats and Threats

    I¡¯m not sure what to make of these adventurers. Aside from Illya, the glaring dwarf, they seem to assume that I¡¯m Raya¡¯s pet, and because of that, I must be under her control. If it means we won¡¯t get attacked, then I can pretend to be a pet for a while.

    ¡°Never been extorted by a Dragon before...¡±

    ¡°I reckon you oughta be payin'' for that experience as well, boss.¡±

    I¡¯m inclined to agree, but I don¡¯t want to reveal that I understand them just yet, and I feel like I would be giving that secret away if I demanded more money right after Banyai suggested it. For some reason, Turgai the scalefolk seems to follow my every move with those eyes of his. That¡¯s worth watching out for.

    The dwarf, though, Illya, is very obvious about giving me the stink eye and I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s expecting me to be hostile. And to be fair, that could still happen, but it¡¯s up to them. They¡¯ve been behaving well so far, so I should as well.

    ¡°Ain''t no way that''s the Black Dragon of Death, boss. ''Cept for makin'' a fuss and fleecin¡¯ you, which I¡¯m all for, it looks fine sittin¡¯ there, watchin¡¯ us.¡±

    ¡°First of all, fuck you, Banyai. Second, the reports weren¡¯t unanimous. Most of them claimed that the beast was rampaging through the eastern plains, leading to the downfall of Plainshold, but some included mention of an instigating event caused by a faction within the Guild. And you¡¯ve heard the merchants talk, they won¡¯t shut up about meeting a Dragon up close, but they aren¡¯t part of the Guild, so they aren¡¯t in the reports.¡±

    I don¡¯t really care about all of that, I got paid and now I¡¯m gonna get breakfast! I¡¯ve gotta stash these two coins, so I use the sticky nature of my tongue to pick them up and swallow them, and the familiar tingle of power flows through me, but it¡¯s so small compared to what it used to be. With that sorted, it¡¯s time to get some actual food. Grabbing the carcass and rolling it over, I rip into its belly with a claw, letting the insides spill into outsides. Digging in, the sweet taste of delicious blood fills-

    ¡°Whoa whoa whoa! Wait just a moment here, Dragon. You got paid, so we share the kill.¡±

    What?! That¡¯s so unfair! I¡¯m big and need lots of food. Turning my gaze toward Raya and giving her a pleading look reveals that she isn¡¯t helpful here, she just laughs at me...

    ¡°You sure you oughta be tellin'' it what to do, boss?¡°

    Instead of looking up at me, the giant commander begins looking down at Banyai with a scent of anger. Ooh, he¡¯s in trouble. Giving my lips a lick to clear the dripping blood, I settle in to listen to this group drama, I¡¯m curious how they handle disagreements as adventurers.

    ¡°I¡¯m just sayin¡¯, seein¡¯ all them chompers, I sure ain¡¯t tellin'' it to stop.¡°

    ¡°Shut yer trap, Banyai. Boss, I cannae condone workin¡¯ with a Dragon. Me kin¡¯s got legends spanning thousands o¡¯ years all tellin¡¯ o¡¯ Dragons bringin'' ruin an¡¯ devastation. Trustin¡¯ tha beast would be a mistake.¡±

    The Boss Commander seems unsure of what to do, glancing at Raya, who seems content to just stand around smiling. I¡¯m getting the impression that he wants her input on the matter, but he¡¯s reluctant to ask, which is silly, she¡¯s great at settling things.

    ¡°Turgai, you got anything to add to the conversation? Might as well get everyone¡¯s opinion on the matter before we proceed.¡±

    ¡°I would simply ask the Great Dragon whether she would be amicable to a shared reward. I would add that her ally deserves a cut as well, considering her contribution in aiding Banyai¡¯s attack.¡±

    ¡°What, y''all wanna ask her? I reckon she ain''t gonna understand a lick of what we say, Scales.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure how the scalefolk mage knows, but the look he¡¯s giving me makes it pretty clear that he does. And that he has a plan to expose my great deception. Hopefully, whatever is giving me away is something I can hide in the future, so get to the explaining, Scales! He takes a shiny coin from his pocket and holds it up for me to see, and I want it.

    ¡°Great Dragon, I will offer one coin if you would point to the shortest person present.¡±

    That feels like a trap and I¡¯m not gonna do it. In fact, I¡¯m gonna keep looking at this Turgai person and not be trapped by his weird scheme.

    ¡°Okay, ya win this round, Scales. She gets what we¡¯re sayin¡¯.¡±

    What?! I didn¡¯t look at the shortest person, so that means I didn¡¯t understand! I¡¯m just a very large and friendly creature who happens to have helped them out because Raya wanted to.

    We¡¯re not really getting anywhere as the Commander just closes his eyes and stands there, looking thoughtful as he pinches the bridge of his nose. Illya of the Stink Eye is still going strong, and the poisoner and mage seem to have other things to talk about, which leaves me without much to do.

    ¡°Banyai, what is that tiny creature you picked up?¡±

    ¡°Gobbo, she says. Can''t say I''ve ever laid eyes on a goblin like that before, and the gal¡¯s packed with muscle. She¡¯d be a mighty good fit for the team.¡°

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m the Dragonbringer, I do Dragonbringer stuff, not adventurer stuff.¡±

    As she mentions being the Dragonbringer, the team shares a few stares, seemingly unsure of how to respond to that, but I know how to respond! She would be a great addition to their team because she¡¯s great, but she chose me! And just for that, I¡¯ll forget the sass about me not being a dragon. But it¡¯s not quite nudge-worthy yet. She¡¯s gonna have to work for a nudge. In fact, I¡¯m gonna nudge her to show her what she¡¯s missing out on! That kind of reinforcement should be enough to keep her out of trouble for a while.

    ¡°Are you dummies part of that cultist thing? If you are, Kira will have to eat you.¡±

    So much for her keeping out of trouble...

    ¡°Uh... No. What cultist thing is that?¡±

    Secrets have no meaning to Raya as she launches into an explanation of everything going on with that whole vile steel affront situation. To her credit, she doesn¡¯t mention my venom being useful to fight it, which is good, since I do want to keep that a secret so I don¡¯t end up getting hunted for my drool. But as far as I can smell, none of them have that peculiar cultist scent.

    The adventurers are frowning quite a bit as she tells them about all the things involving Plainshold, and judging by their intense stares, they¡¯re paying attention. I¡¯m gonna get some food instead, though. Digging into the beast, the first thing that becomes apparent is that it is far too early in the day for me to be wrong multiple times. My tail wasn¡¯t stone-shattering, unless the boarhino¡¯s skull was tougher than stone, and now my jaws aren¡¯t bone-crushing... At least my claws still rend flesh.

    These bones are way too tough, geez. What is this beast made of?

    While they¡¯re frustrating me, I take a moment to listen to Raya, and she has begun talking about fending off mire panthers and helping Oakhold. She seems to have them hanging on her every word, and she¡¯s loving it, but the Commander seems a little lost in thought.

    He stares at me for a moment as I pull out something delicious from the beast. He isn¡¯t talking, so it isn¡¯t my problem.

    ¡°Hey boss, y¡¯all reckon them cult folks could be the faction?¡±

    ¡°Maybe... I don¡¯t know, but there has been unusual occurrences lately, and they have been pushing strange policies... We¡¯ll need to be careful from now on. Raya, was it? What sort of magic do these cultists use? What are their strengths and weaknesses?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t know, don¡¯t know, getting eaten. Kira can smell them.¡±

    She¡¯s not wrong, but it is making them a little nervous to hear her talk about eating people so casually, but at least she didn¡¯t say that I¡¯ve been doing the eating, so I¡¯m not gonna fuss. I still can¡¯t crack these bones, though, and it really drives home the point that I chose wisely not to jump on this thing¡¯s back to rip out its spine. I¡¯m not sure I could do it without being powered up.

    ¡°Raya, could you inform your Dragon that we would like the beast¡¯s heart? She¡¯s welcome to the meat and any other organs. It¡¯ll be too heavy for us to carry back, so we just want the feet, heart, tusks, horn, and skull.¡±

    ¡°Sure. Kira, what he said. So those are the valuable parts? Why not take the hide, too? It¡¯s tough and would make strong armor, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°In theory, yes, but it¡¯s tough and stiffens instead of becoming malleable when processed. But it is useful and that, along with the bones and meat, is valuable, but it¡¯s also too heavy to carry back, so we take the most valuable parts and leave the rest for predators. A well-fed wolf won¡¯t hunt livestock for a few weeks.¡±

    That sounds like some sort of saying. And it sounds like they intend to abscond with the prizes! I¡¯m not gonna get involved in Raya¡¯s negotiations here, but I feel like I should be compensated more for my broken tail blade. Giving Raya an inquisitive look, she responds with a smile while telling the adventurers that she¡¯s fine with them taking the valuable parts, as long as we get the rest.

    With her consent, the group of adventurers starts processing the boarhino, working together with remarkable efficiency to cut it into pieces they can carry. I¡¯ll just step back to give them room to work. Having a moment to himself, Turgai cuts a few strips of flesh and tosses them my direction, and with my incredible skill, I catch them mid-air, earning me a smile from the scalefolk. With a larger chunk in hand, he throws it my direction again and with excellent use of my neck¡¯s flexibility, I snap my jaws closed around that chunk as well.

    He continues his game by changing up the direction a few times, forcing me to keep an eye on the wily scalefolk, wondering where he might throw the next treat. Pulling his arm back, he throws another chunk, but he makes it look like he threw it right, but really, he threw it left! He¡¯s getting cheeky, and I¡¯m gonna have to be extra ready if I want to win this.

    He tries all sorts of throwing methods, but I keep winning until I fall victim to his greatest and most cruel deception! He didn¡¯t throw it that time, it was a feint and I didn¡¯t catch anything but air... Puff of punishment smoke it is!

    He laughed at my failed attempt at catching the treat, and now the others are laughing at him for coughing, so take that, you scalefolk deceiver.

    ¡°Turgai, if you lose an arm playing with the Dragon, you¡¯re paying for your own healing.¡±

    ¡°Do not worry, Ayra, Kira is a gentle giant capable of remarkable consideration.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true, I am.¡±

    Turgai busies himself cutting more strips of meat as the other three stare at me with mixed expressions. It doesn¡¯t take long before another slice flies my way and I catch it in the air with very little effort. Raya seems to feel a little left out as she moves to stand in front of me, and as Turgai throws another piece, he aims low and Raya steals it from me! She catches it expertly with her mouth, though, so she gets a point for that, but I still wanted it.

    ¡°Well, are we gonna have ourselves a rattle ¡®bout that there talkin¡¯ Dragon?¡±

    ¡°The Dragon isn¡¯t a priority, Banyai. That feels fucking weird to say... We need to get these goods back to Margwen and find information on this supposed cult. If they are as dangerous as Raya says, we need to gather allies to fight them. Speaking of, two days ago, a black Dragon was seen assaulting the Fortress City of Margwen, reports say it was fought off by a lone earth mage, but the mage denies having fought. Was that you, Dragon?¡±

    ¡°No, and any damage done to the walls also wasn¡¯t me. In fact, I was in an entirely different city. Oakhold! Yeah, I was in Oakhold. Right, Raya?¡±

    ¡°No, you said you found a mage while hunting snakes, and since you didn¡¯t kill him, you brought him-¡±

    ¡°Shut up, Raya! I¡¯m not paying for a new wall! Lunch can take care of that, it was to rescue him!¡±

    Dang it. That smug little rascal is smiling at me. She¡¯s not even pretending she didn¡¯t do that on purpose! I have no idea how I can possibly punish such a severe transgression...This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    Illya begins arguing with the others about ignoring me, something or other about how I kept it a secret that I could understand them and speak, but both Banyai and Turgai argue that by paying attention, she would have noticed too. The most egregious offense caused by Illya is that Turgai has stopped throwing me treats...

    The Commander seems to mull things over for a moment as he furrows his brow in thought.

    ¡°Illya is right, we¡¯ve been too complacent considering what we¡¯re dealing with here. Raya, is Kira under your control?¡±

    Raya brings a finger to her chin in an exaggerated thinking stance before looking up at me.

    ¡°Kira, are you under my control?¡±

    ¡°If the mood strikes, I suppose."

    As it turns out, my answer doesn¡¯t seem to put them at ease. Well, Turgai returns to throwing me treats, earning him a fierce glare from Illya, but I support his willingness to keep me entertained.

    ¡°Turgai, ye cannae keep treatin¡¯ that thing as a pet! Boss, we need¡¯ta be on guard should tha beast turn on us! It bein¡¯ clever makes it more dangerous, nae less!¡±

    The Commander seems to be stuck in consideration mode as he takes in Illya of the Stink Eye¡¯s grievances. She¡¯s making some reasonable points about me attacking if they do anything wrong and that I want their money, which are both sort of true. It¡¯ll take a bit more than just anything, but it¡¯s up to them whether they¡¯re treats or new buddies.

    Out of the blue, Banyai agrees with her that they¡¯re too complacent around me, swaying the Commander toward getting done with the processing of our prey, so they can get back for some day-rest. Aside from Illya, there¡¯s not really any hostility as the three of them return to working on the beast and dividing up the materials they extract.

    The process of skinning the skull reveals that I may not have cut through it, but I did do quite a lot of damage to it as the cheekbones have been reduced to chunks of varying sizes. A sense of pride wells up inside me as I watch the destruction wrought by my tail swipe, and I¡¯m feeling impressed with myself enough to ignore the chunk of meat Turgai threw at my face. I didn¡¯t catch that one, and now it¡¯s stuck to my snout.

    Glancing at Turgai, he prepares another cut, but Illya and the Commander seem to grow still, waiting for me to react, so I do by using my tongue to snatch the meat. I¡¯m not sure why there¡¯s a sudden distrust from the Commander, he was swayed by Raya, not me, so he should take it up with her.

    Turgai has been cutting away at the neck of the beast, revealing the spine, and then he stops throwing me treats as he begins working to sever the spinal cord, clearing his throat as he gets to work.

    ¡°It is Lord Faran¡¯s teachings that allow me to trust the Great Dragon, Illya. We must not rush to break others, lest they break us in turn for our ignorance and wrathful sins. They showed up and helped when they could have attacked in our vulnerability, yet you show them hostility when they show kindness. That is not what Lord Faran teaches.¡±

    He deserves a nudge for defending me, but it seems to be getting in the way of their group dynamic. Nudging him, I step up and grab hold of the boarhino¡¯s body with one claw and the head with the other, empowering my muscles with magic, severing the beast¡¯s spine where Turgai was cutting. We¡¯ve warned them of cultists, helped them with this big animal, and treated them well, so our business is concluded.

    Raya seems to pick up on my intentions as she jumps up on the beast and then onto me. Stepping over the carcass, I reposition it so I can hook my claws under it and into the rib cage, and with that, I spread my wings and we¡¯re off. Kinda. This thing is freakin¡¯ heavy and I¡¯m having to push more and more magic into my wings to fly, but I do manage it. The second problem is steering, and I have underestimated how much I use my tail blade as a fin, and now I¡¯m having problems.

    ¡°Hold on! We didn¡¯t finish butchering the horned steelback!¡±

    As Raya and I make our way toward Tuiran, the wind makes a weird noise, but I¡¯m way too focused on trying to steer. Raya seems to be enjoying the turbulent ride, but I¡¯m struggling here. It helps to just brute-force it by using my wings, but geez, my tail is important. With how much effort I have to put in to fly, I worry what would happen if I lost both my tail blades. Geez, I¡¯d be tumbling through the air like a giant murder ball waiting to land on someone, assuming I could even fly.

    It¡¯s slow going, but even with the difficulties of uneven flight and carrying heavy cargo, we¡¯re probably gonna be in Tuiran by noon. We¡¯ve been flying for a while and my wings are getting tired from all of this, and I need a break. There¡¯s a clearing up ahead that looks good from a distance, so changing course a bit, we aim for it so I can just take a breather for a minute.

    ¡°Are you okay, Kira? You don¡¯t look too good.¡±

    Dang... It might be worse than I expected, and I really need a rest. Flying over the clearing, I just let go of the boarhino, and it crashes to the ground with an impressive thud. And with that, I soar down as best I can, and we land well enough to not call it crashing.

    ¡°Hey Raya, what do you think those adventurers were doing out there in the middle of the night? That¡¯s an odd time to hunt, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Banyai told me they were hunting that horned steelback, but it attacked their camp, so they had no choice. It had been hunting people and animals for weeks, so they needed to kill it. We did good, Kira.¡±

    Ooh... She starts scratching my chin as she says we did well, and now she¡¯s doing great. Keep scratching, this is just what I need to regain some strength. Unfortunately, she doesn¡¯t keep scratching, in fact, she just leaves me here. That¡¯s a bit rude.

    ¡°It fell over here. It has to be wounded. There, next to the steelback. By the Gods, that must have been a fight worth seeing. Do you think you can tame it?¡±

    Dang it... I think I¡¯m about to be attacked. I¡¯ll just keep lying here and let them get closer, if they try anything, I¡¯ll consider that consent and bite them.

    ¡°Do I think I can tame it?! No, I can¡¯t tame it, it¡¯s a damn Dragon! What do you expect me to do, throw some treats and say pspspsps? Let¡¯s just leave before it wakes up.¡±

    Isn¡¯t that basically what Turgai did?... Dang it, am I that easy to appease? I might have to set higher standards in the future so I can maintain some dignity...

    Judging by their voices, it seems to be a man and a woman of some sort, they don¡¯t smell like anything and I can¡¯t hear their footsteps, so I assume they¡¯re using those stupid sneaking potions. That¡¯s annoyingly smart, and they do still have a chance to get away, so they should probably take it instead of lingering until I stop pretending to be asleep. But they aren¡¯t going away, in fact, the man seems to be getting closer instead.

    ¡°Look at it! Have you ever seen anything like this?¡±

    Reaching me, she starts running a hand over my scales, and as far as I can tell, she¡¯s too caught up in touching me to pay attention to much of anything.

    ¡°Oh hellcursed luck... Yes, I have seen something like that... And so have you. Remember the beast that told you to listen to me more? I¡¯m pretty sure this is that one. And I told you it lied about being small!¡±

    ¡°How do you figure? That was days ago, and we didn¡¯t get a good look at it.¡±

    Seems he hasn¡¯t learned his lesson. Their chat devolves into bickering about whether I¡¯m me from the cave or not. All I see from these two is bickering and arguing, and they could do with some couples'' therapy, but I¡¯m not willing to be their therapist, so I¡¯ll just wait for them to leave.

    Getting some rest is proving difficult with these two nearby, so to encourage them to leave, I move a bit, which does make them go quiet for a while.

    ¡°Okay, fine, let¡¯s get out of here then.¡±

    ¡°Do you dummies have any magic potions?¡±

    The sudden screaming is making my subterfuge difficult as it startles me, geez... All Raya did was ask a question... The duo begins shushing Raya, telling her to be quiet so she doesn¡¯t wake me.

    ¡°She¡¯s already awake. The Dragon snores, so you¡¯d know if she were sleeping.¡±

    I don¡¯t snore, do I? I don¡¯t know... I¡¯ll have to ask Jeannie about it, since she¡¯s the only trustworthy source on teaseable subjects like that. The guy seems to be curious about the subject as well, as he starts talking about how lizards don¡¯t snore.

    ¡°I¡¯ll let you leave if you give me a couple of magic potions. Or the Dragon can just eat you to recover magic.¡±

    Harsh, but they¡¯re quick to agree to her terms. We could run a great racket by extorting adventurers, I¡¯m sure they have some good stuff to add to my hoard.

    Since Raya has already outed me as being awake, I¡¯ll just get up instead of lying here. I do feel better now, having had a moment to relax. They seem a lot less relaxed as I stand up, though. They look scared as they stare up at me, but they¡¯re the ones who decided to get so close, so it¡¯s not my fault. It does convince them that Raya¡¯s deal is a pretty good one, and they¡¯re quick to bring out a potion each, handing them off to Raya.

    Raya tells me to get closer and I do as she uncorks the potions, but one of them smells wrong. I tell her as much and she frowns, gaining a fierce look. Taking a potion in each hand, she holds them apart so I can tell exactly which is off. As I do, she throws it in the face of the guy before corking the other potion and leaping at him. Her sudden weight makes him lose his balance and as he falls, she brings her nails close to his throat in a very threatening manner.

    ¡°What was in the potion?!¡±

    She¡¯s making it pretty clear that she wants answers, and the woman draws a sword to help him, but I¡¯m still here, so stepping forward, I push her to the ground and pin her as Raya gets to work finding out what¡¯s going on.

    ¡°It was a magic potion! I swear! It restores magic!¡±

    I can¡¯t even smell that he¡¯s afraid because of that stupid sneaking potion, but he looks far more afraid than someone who just tried to poison me should be. Although, I don¡¯t really have much experience with poisoners.

    ¡°It¡¯s true! We bought the two potions together, and he¡¯s too dumb to plot something like that, he can barely plot his way out of being responsible for breaking camp! And how would we know we would be stumbling upon a Dragon?!¡±

    Those are fair points, and he does seem like a bit too irresponsible to plan any sort of assassination attempt. The alternative is that some vendor is selling tainted potions, and I can¡¯t deny the possibility of that. They end up telling us who sold them the potions, too. I have no idea what these people do in terms of food and drug safety, but if something smells that bad and wrong, they¡¯re not doing enough. Smelling the spots where the liquid landed on the ground, it becomes obvious that it¡¯s the same wrong feeling that the affront has, and that worries me.

    ¡°Raya, we have to go warn Turgai and his friends. That potion is somehow related to the vile steel.¡±

    ¡°Do we kill them?¡±

    I let her know that I think we should leave them, I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯re victims. She takes her hand away from the guy¡¯s throat and jumps onto my arm and then my head. She doesn¡¯t stop there, it seems, as she continues onto my nose and grabs hold of my nostril, telling me to open my mouth. As I do, she throws in the untainted magic potion.

    I¡¯ll return for my boar later, but now I need to be heroic and helpful, so spreading my wings, I-

    ¡°Wait! What was that? What was in that potion?!¡±

    She seems genuinely distressed, and it isn¡¯t getting any better as Raya explains what vile steel is and how it kills people, but I guess the more people who know, the better. With that out of the way, I spread my wings and-

    ¡°Wait! I bought more potions, could you check them for me?¡±

    Dang it, just let us leave... She starts pulling out potions and uncorking them one by one as I sniff them. I¡¯m pretty sure this destroys their shelf life, but then that¡¯s better than dying from some awful poison. The guy is quick to do the same and it turns out they have a dozen potions between them, and three were poisoned. That¡¯s a lot, I wonder if they just got unlucky, or the cultists really have enough to sell one group that many tainted potions...

    I point out the bad ones and she corks up all the potions while marking the tainted ones. She even puts them in a separate compartment of her bag, so they won¡¯t accidentally take the wrong one.

    I¡¯m a little suspicious of it, but they don¡¯t seem competent enough to be tricksters, which could be a trick... I¡¯m gonna believe they''re good people, though. It¡¯s a lot of deception to trick me after I was already leaving. So spreading my wings, I wait to see if there¡¯s another wait coming, but it seems they¡¯re done interrupting me, so we take off toward the southwest again. I don¡¯t want Turgai to end up poisoned, and he seems the most likely to drink magic potions on that team.

    As it turns out, flying without a massive steelback weighing me down does make it easier to steer, even with a broken tail. I¡¯m also a lot faster, emphasizing how much I was struggling with the dang beast because I can already see the group. Giving a roar to alert them to my presence, they stop as we aim for their location.

    They¡¯re only getting a little into a fighting stance, which I get, we¡¯re acquaintances at best, so it¡¯s okay to be wary. Flying over them, I go into a hover and land slowly on my hind legs, showing that I¡¯m not gonna fight them. Raya is quick to launch into an explanation of what we found with tainted potions and where the two goofballs bought them.

    Without question, Turgai brings out his potions and arranges them in front of him. As he begins uncorking them, I give them a sniff and none of them are tainted.

    ¡°Turgai, you just ruined all of those...¡±

    ¡°Lord Faran¡¯s teachings show us that our equipment is replaceable, but we are not. A lost bounty is worth less than our lives lost to greed."

    With a shrug, Banyai repeats what Turgai did and arranges his own potions. It turns out one of his was tainted, and he corks up the tainted one before handing it to Turgai. As soon as Turgai grabs it, I feel a tingle of magic, and it occurs to me that I should have tried my magic eyes to see if I could tell a difference like that. Raya has the same thought as I feel a smidge of my magic disappear as she jumps down and joins Turgai in staring intently at the tainted potion.

    The two start exchanging words, describing what they¡¯re seeing and how it differs from a regular magic potion.

    Everyone seems to take it quite seriously as Turgai confirms that the potion isn¡¯t what it¡¯s supposed to be, and that¡¯s finally enough to make Illya check her potions, too. I don¡¯t like her, but vile steel is a fate she does not deserve.

    While the Commander and Illya get busy spreading out potions, Turgai walks a bit away, pulls out a rod from his bag, and jams it into the ground.

    ¡°Great Kira, may I ask that you scorch this brightsteel rod so that I may conduct an experiment for a moment?¡±

    Easy request, I guess. So I tell him to step back as I unleash my flames, creating a patch of ashen vegetation. With a snap of his fingers, he indicates that I should stop, and I do. The rod isn¡¯t as straight as it was when he placed it, but he doesn¡¯t seem to mind as he pours the contents of the tainted potion onto the rod.

    Every drop hitting the rod sprouts into a tiny branch of vile steel, proving the presence of the affront. I¡¯m not sure how he¡¯s doing it, I¡¯m pretty sure it was supposed to require a soul to grow, but he did it without one as far as I can tell.

    ¡°Well, if there was any doubt before, then this settles it... By the Gods, what are they up to...¡±

    Just to be sure, I give them all a thorough smell, protests be damned, and they all come back clean. As far as I can tell, none of them have been infected by the affront. I don¡¯t even know if a single potion is enough, but I don¡¯t want to experiment on someone to find out. Eating people is one thing, but I¡¯m not a monster who would do that to folks.

    The Commander is quick to thank us for bringing this to his attention, his casual demeanor from our earlier encounter is gone, replaced by a very stern expression and tone. As it turns out, Turgai is a lot more thankful, which I determine by the fact that he¡¯s tossing me a treat. A delicious strip of spiced meat wrapped around some sort of sour fruit. Seeing my enjoyment, he seems to decide I deserve another before the Commander tells him that they need to get going. Giving him a lick, I let them leave.

    They¡¯re heading back to that fortress place, it looks like, but we can¡¯t leave this affront rod standing. Raya already knows what to do as she grabs hold of my nostril and puts her feet to my lower lip before collecting a handful of venom to throw at the tiny spire, causing it to corrode in seconds. That¡¯s that taken care of, now we just need to head back for my steelback and bring it the last of the way to Tuiran.

    These magic potions are really something, I¡¯m feeling quite good. Not as good as after eating a bunch, but still a lot better than I was prior to having it thrown into my gullet. We can¡¯t linger here, though, so we take off back to my steelback, and I know exactly where it is, so point to Kira for not getting lost.

    The clearing is exactly where we left it, and in it, my steelback is exactly where we left it, so I just land on top of it and hook my claws into the rib cage again. With that ready, we take off with great effort, pushing a bunch of magic into my wings to ease my flight, and now we¡¯re finally heading back to Tuiran. Dang thing is heavy, though... I¡¯m gonna be so upset if I end up being told that these bones aren¡¯t worth anything.

 Chapter 51: Unchanged

    The farther I carry this dang steelback, the more I become convinced that my stubbornness on the matter is a character flaw, and I don¡¯t like that. But we¡¯re almost at Tuiran, and I refuse to acknowledge the fallacy part of sunk cost. We¡¯re practically at Tuiran, and that means I need to step up my caution, since dropping this heavy thing would be quite bad. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d have a good time getting hit by it, much less some random goblin.

    It¡¯s not time for what-ifs though, we need to get this to the square and find a butcher to deal with it, so that¡¯s where we¡¯re off to. It¡¯s quite apparent that people are already up and about doing all sorts of things as we fly over Tuiran. I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going on, but they¡¯re digging ditches along the roads and not shallow ones either. Those look like irrigation ditches.

    As we fly lower to the ground, Raya climbs down my arm and onto the carcass, and with impressive agility, she just- Oh crap! Watch where you¡¯re flying, Kira. I bumped into a building a little, and I might have to apologize to someone. Given the size and weight situation, it was like a wrecking ball hitting the building, so it turns out to have been a fair bit of damage caused, and I will need to find a solution to that. At some point.

    Pushing that responsibility to the side, it must also have startled someone because I heard screaming, but the people at street level seem quite unperturbed. I¡¯m sure it came from below, but I can¡¯t see anyone who looks like they would be screaming, which seems a little weird and makes me a little self-conscious... How accustomed to property damage are these people, and how much of it is my fault?

    Pushing that aside as well, I reach the square and, with great care, set down the carcass, careful not to create too big a crater from the dang thing touching down. I¡¯m not hearing any stones crack, so as far as I¡¯m concerned, it¡¯s a success!

    Now is the time for doing something else, like checking up on Lauren to see how she¡¯s doing after the horrendous talking-to Lily gave her. The vomit thing might also have been a bad experience, but I¡¯m gonna focus on the one I¡¯m not responsible for.

    The first place to check is obviously my den since I¡¯m here and she might be snoozing down there, but as soon as I get down there, it¡¯s apparent that the place is deserted and still a bit stinky. Knocking on Jeannie¡¯s door, Tiffy opens and looks embarrassed for some reason, but I¡¯m not gonna question it. They¡¯ve got a musk going on in there, so of course I suggest digging a vent of some sort to get some fresh air in, but that just makes her blush even more.

    Focusing on the task at hand, I ask her if she¡¯s seen Lauren around, and she manages to squeak out Joras¡¯ name, and since that was my next location to search anyway, I might as well get going.

    Turning around to leave, the door slams behind me and the sound of Jeannie¡¯s laughter can be heard over the sounds of Tiffy telling her to stop making fun of the poor forest lady. They seem like great friends.

    Heading back out, it looks like the clouds are gathering even more and it¡¯s getting dark quite early. It hasn¡¯t been this dark since the storm, and all I can do is hope my den is safe from the rain, if it gets bad. If my den does flood, Jeannie and Tiffy are gonna get very wet down there...

    There¡¯s not really anything I can think of to keep my den safe from the weather, so the obvious solution is to outsource the problem, and there¡¯s always a guard nearby to send on an errand. Walking up to one, he stares up at me, giving me time to list off the things I want, like a roof built for my den, but big enough to fit me, and he¡¯s doing a great job of listening, but a terrible job of running off to find someone to do it. As it turns out, the guy has demands! Who makes demands of the fearsome Guardian Dragon of Tuiran?!

    ¡°I want one of those bumps you give to people.¡±

    A nudge?! Oh, he will receive a nudge, alright! Picking him up and with my neck bent, I bombard him with nudges! Succumb to the overwhelming force of my nudgergeddon, for you have triggered the nudgepocalypse! He¡¯s trying to fend me off as he struggles to contain his laughter, but he is no match for the power of cuddles! It isn¡¯t until he outright tells me to stop that I stop and put him down, but as I release him from my grip, he almost falls over, so I¡¯ll just lay him down on the ground.

    I might have gone a bit too far as he lies there, chuckling like a mad little goblin. The obvious thing to do now is to make sure he¡¯s okay, and between chuckles, he manages to say he is and that he¡¯ll find a builder for me. Mission accomplished! Now back to finding Lauren!

    Heading toward Joras¡¯ place takes me down the usual streets to the north, and the trench digging seems to be progressing at a decent pace, and it makes me curious why they aren¡¯t making them permanent by adding boards or bricks to reinforce them. Asking one of the workers, he informs me that he has no idea on account of being a tailor who is only doing the job because it has to be done fast.

    Not the answer I expected, to be honest, but I like that people are working together to get this job done, and I should probably help out too, after finding Lauren. Heading out and leaving the tailor to his ditch digging, the journey toward Joras¡¯ shop continues.

    The streets are becoming narrower than normal, and it¡¯s becoming apparent that in the future, I¡¯ll be at risk of slipping on the edges. And if I do slip, I could end up breaking things, which is bad. Dang it, that could mean these streets will become off-limits too. Everything needs to start being more dragon-accessible, not less.

    Closing in on Joras¡¯ shop brings up the next distraction. A goblin is waving at me and pointing to the ground. And that just tickles my curiosity far more than I can handle, so of course I investigate what she wants. She¡¯s quick to tell me that a rock is blocking the path and it¡¯s a lot of work for them to dig it out. It¡¯s true and I did just think about helping, but this feels a little convenient for her.

    I¡¯m a helpful dragon, though, so digging my claws into the ground and feeling my claws scratch the surface of it, it becomes clear that this is a two-hands job. Clearing some more clay around it reveals a boulder of a decent size, and pushing my claws down on either side of it, it still won¡¯t budge.

    Placing my forehead against the ground on the opposite side of where I¡¯m standing, I leverage my powerful neck muscles in tandem with my back and arms to give it a powerful and steady pull. It¡¯s tough going, but as a tripod dragon, I manage to make the ground release its precious rock with a loud slurp. Geez, this thing is heavy.

    Now what? I¡¯m not sure what to do with it, so for now, I¡¯ll just put it down next to the goblin who made the request, and it seems my antics have gathered quite an audience around us. It felt like a large boulder, but seeing it next to the goblins, it looks massive.

    It¡¯s like one and three quarters goblin long, and asking about specifics, a goblin from the audience steps up and gives it an inspection, letting me know that it¡¯s the largest boulder they¡¯ve extracted. It isn¡¯t really helpful in terms of determining the size of it, but he seems quite enthusiastic, so I¡¯m not gonna ruin it for him. If I were to guess, I¡¯d say it¡¯s almost two Raya¡¯s long and one Raya tall and wide, with one Raya being about eighty centimeters (2.6 ft.)

    That¡¯s a big rock and I¡¯m gonna carve a face into it. Using a smidge of magic to empower one of my talons, the project begins and the first step is a smile because it¡¯s a happy rock. Next up are the eyes since seeing is great and just a tiny nose and it¡¯s done! Standing it up and pushing it slightly into the ground for stability, it now stands watch and keeps an eye out for evildoers!

    The goblins around me stare at it with expressions that feel more questioning than appreciative, which I¡¯ll interpret as my art working and making people think. It¡¯s even making me think, but mostly about my size and how my arm is more than twice the length of this rock, closing in on thrice as big.

    I¡¯m just gonna go ahead and not focus on the day when I become too big to visit places in town and instead redirect my attention back to finding Lauren. Stepping over the row of goblins leads me the final distance to Joras¡¯ place, and with very little distance left to cover, the door swings open and out comes Joras, looking a little too happy to see me...

    So the first thing needing to be done is telling him that I¡¯m not interested in vomiting again. It sucked and I don¡¯t want to repeat it. It still sucks and focusing on my magic, I¡¯m still not recharged, but it¡¯s getting better and I even feel better now that I¡¯m back home. Given how much work it was to fight and haul this dang steelback, I get the impression that it was wasted effort and it would be just as good to snooze for a day. Although that would mean fewer treats thrown by Turgai, so it breaks even, I think.

    Never mind that. Looking at Joras, he appears quite crestfallen at the news that I won¡¯t be vomiting and I¡¯ll have to have Raya bonk him on the head for that. I suspect if I did it, I would run the risk of severely injuring him.

    He¡¯s staring at me with a knowing smile, as if he can see the thoughts going through my head, and when he tells me that he won¡¯t push the matter and that I won¡¯t need to punish him. I can¡¯t help but feel that I¡¯m missing some information in regards to how he knows that. But that does mean the matter is settled and we can focus on other things, which is an opportunity he¡¯s quick to grab.

    ¡°Kira, you will be pleased to know that the fluid you expelled is an exceptional component in alchemical brewing. I¡¯m not sure what it is, but combining it with potions increases their potency and volatility. The second part of that is something I wish I had known prior to my experiments...¡±

    With that last bit he said, his mood falls a bit, and I suspect that Lauren and Joras now have something in common, and there¡¯s a risk of Lily¡¯s voice being used up from yelling at these two. I¡¯ll need to set up Raya to get yelled at next, so I won¡¯t be in the crosshairs of the stern enchantress.

    I am curious about Lily¡¯s craft and the utility of my magic vomit. I wonder if it could be used to create some sort of ink to inscribe glyphs and whatnot onto things, since it seems to be very potent grossness from a magical perspective. As I bring this up to Joras, he starts shushing me for some reason as he checks the house and closes the door before he steps into the street.

    ¡°If you tell her, she¡¯ll take it all and my chance to experiment with it will be done. You¡¯ve seen how hungry she becomes when there¡¯s an opportunity to use new materials. And she has already taken all of the scales you shed.¡±

    He might have a point... And I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m prepared to fend her off, given the aggressive way she yelled at Lauren. I¡¯d rather fight another Frosty.

    I am curious what sort of effects he has managed to create with the alchemical stuff, and asking him about it, his smile widens and he pulls out a fragile-looking bottle, and it kinda stinks. He opens it up and it feels like a dang punch in the nose! It¡¯s so freakin¡¯ intense that it makes me flinch so hard my head smacks into the building on the opposite side of the street. Geez, even my eyes are teary...

    Fuck, that¡¯s disgusting... He corked the bottle again, but I can still smell it... Who knew he could create a weapon of mass destruction and just have it in a pouch? I might have to-

    ¡°Joras! What did you do?!¡±

    Oh, well, it sounds like I won¡¯t have to concern myself with punishing him with Lily yelling like that. Aside from smelling a little afraid, he does seem remorseful about my reaction to his concoction, so I doubt it was the intended result. But geez, he didn¡¯t have to create a dragon repellent.

    Looking at the destruction he caused, it appears I also shoulder-checked a building into rubble. I¡¯m definitely gonna point out that Joras is responsible for that. Although the rubble does make it clear that I need to search for anyone who might have been caught up in the sudden change in structural integrity.

    With gentle claws, I remove rubble slowly and deposit it in the middle of the street, and as people around me notice, they join in, salvaging what can be salvaged and searching. A few take down the mushroom lanterns and use them to light the area with darkness falling quickly. Fortunately, it seems nobody got hurt, so I¡¯ll consider that incredibly lucky. I hope Turo has a few extra houses available...

    I¡¯ve done my part, and I just want to go back to my den and sleep off this chemical attack. It¡¯s nighttime now anyway, so it seems like a reasonable plan, but I still haven¡¯t met up with Lauren.

    ¡°Lauren, I wanted to ask how you¡¯re doing after all the things that have happened.¡±

    The creak of a window opening on the second floor draws my attention, and there¡¯s more of that stench wafting out of it, but Lauren leans out and looks up at me.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Kira, but I used some of Joras¡¯ perfume, so I won¡¯t come out to meet you. I¡¯ll wash up a few times to get rid of it and see you tomorrow, alright?¡±

    That was perfume?! These people are absolutely nuts to use something with such an offensive smell, geez... I might have to put my foot down and blacklist that stuff, I really don¡¯t want to be blasted in the face by it again. And I¡¯ve been so careful to not destroy things, but today I¡¯ve broken three buildings... At least the people who helped with the rubble seem to be more relieved that nobody was hurt than angry about the property damage.

    I want to stick around some more to talk, but I also want to get the heck away from that lingering stench, so it¡¯s time for me to leave. With my target being the northern gate, I step over the townsfolk and make my way there. The trip doesn¡¯t take long, but it feels like it does on account of my nose still hurting.

    The gate is blocked by people, and I¡¯m feeling a little moody, and I don¡¯t want to wait, so it¡¯s time to see if I can step over the wall. I¡¯m technically taller by a fair bit, but my belly hangs a little low compared to my shoulder height, so it¡¯s possible I¡¯ll cause another destructive event, but folks will just have to deal with that.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Stepping up to the wall, I rear up and push some magic into my hind legs to jump over, and at the apex of my jump, I beat my wings to gain a little help to clear the wall. To my surprise, I mostly made it. My tail did slap against the wall and break a few of the logs, but that¡¯s repairable. I should be able to do it without causing damage the next time, so it was worth it.

    I¡¯m not gonna linger here, though, so I¡¯m off to my lake to clean out my nose and get rid of this rancid smell of evil. Taking off and leaving Tuiran behind and rushing to the lake, my nose looks forward to the cleansing waters I¡¯m about to expose it to. And as soon as I reach the lake, I waste no time before submerging my face in the purifying liquid of salvation. Sucking in water through my nostrils feels wildly uncomfortable, but it¡¯s so much better than the lingering, torturous stench of that so-called ¡®perfume.¡¯

    Sweet, uncomfortable nostril water...

    With relief calming my nerves, nose, and my mood, it¡¯s time for a quick rest before heading back home. Getting up and trudging to my old nesting tree, ignoring the weird tent I pass by, I feel a moment of nostalgia thinking about how I used to sleep in this lovely tree. But now I¡¯m far too big to even consider climbing it, in fact, if I stretch my neck, my head will poke through the canopy. I¡¯m gonna give it a nudge for being such a lovely tree.

    The sound of feet meeting rocks alerts me to the fact that the weird tent was not unused... I¡¯m not feeling very diplomatic right now, so I¡¯ll leave the choice of what happens now to them.

    ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood for a fight, so if you attack me, I will reduce you to ash.¡±

    Turning my head to look at them, the frontliner looks ready to battle as they use hand signs to communicate with the others, leading them to ready their weapons too. I have no idea why these jerks think they can defeat me. From the looks of it, they have a defensive frontliner with a shield and a torch, some sort of mage with a shining staff, a healer, and an archer, so they¡¯re bound to be annoying.

    Instead of giving them a chance to have the opening strike, I turn around, whipping my tail at the frontliner, making sure to use my good tail blade. I have no idea why they would attack me given my coloration. The light from the frontliner''s torch dances on the shiny surface of my scales, but given his reaction time, it must look to him as if my tail appeared out of nowhere.

    He tries to block it, but the blade cuts through the shield and bisects the frontliner before either of the casters have a chance to protect him. To the archer¡¯s credit, she manages to fire an arrow at me, aiming for my eye, but a quick twitch, and it impacts my scales. Somehow she managed to break through my scale with that arrow, but shooting me in the head isn¡¯t all that clever because that¡¯s where my dragon bone skull is located and that thing is tough.

    Given the risk to my eyes, I don¡¯t really feel like giving her a chance to fire again, so it¡¯s time for me to fire. The healer manages to throw up a barrier to protect the archer from my flames. The sudden light from my bright flames elicits grunts of discomfort from the jerks, causing them to flinch, but not enough to disrupt the barrier. The bigger problem for me is the unattended mage. Judging by the large icicle forming, I¡¯m gonna go out on a limb and assume it¡¯s a frost mage, but it¡¯s also human, so they might not be limited to ice.

    Keeping my flames going, it becomes clear that the healer is struggling to keep the barrier up. Keeping an eye on the mage pays off as the icicle flies toward me and it¡¯s going straight for my chest. Since I don¡¯t feel like being impaled again, I stop spewing flames and drop to the ground, spreading my wings low to not let the icicle pierce them.

    The mage throws another icicle at me, this time aiming low, and since the archer is no longer pinned, she starts firing arrows. Pushing magic into my scales, I feel them strengthen as I get ready to attack again.

    I told them that I didn¡¯t want to fight, so instead of trying to be clever, I¡¯m just going to be brutal. Charging the healer, he throws up a barrier to protect himself, but the force of my claws impacting it causes it to crack. However, I don¡¯t get the opportunity to finish the job as icicles and arrows hit me. Even with my scales empowered, it hurts and I can smell my own blood, making it clear that they are making progress in wearing down my defenses. The icicles embedding themselves in my side spread their cruel coolness, but I can¡¯t let that distract me.

    I keep my focus on the fleeing healer, lashing out with my head as I go for a chomp, but my teeth are blocked by that damn barrier again. The healer finds himself between my teeth, the only thing keeping him alive is the barrier, and if it falters, he¡¯ll find himself very thoroughly penetrated. It doesn¡¯t take long before my venom starts interfering with the magic of his barrier, and I can feel it weakening.

    So pushing magic into my jaws, I feel my muscles become empowered and the barrier crack under my assault. My jaws snap shut, crushing the healer''s legs off, sealing the rest of his body away inside my mouth as he screams in pain.

    Instead of thinking too much about the healer, it¡¯s time to turn the frost mage into an ember mage. Turning to face the jerk, he tries to flee my flames, but as far as success goes, he isn¡¯t having any. The scorched body of the mage falls to the ground and the archer is nowhere to be seen, but these jerks are far too willing to attack me to be left alive. As far as I know, the archer would show the same compassion to a goblin as well, and I don¡¯t want to hear that leaving this one alone led to the death of one of our hunters.

    The archer¡¯s scent still lingers, and I¡¯m feeling a little vindictive because this was my first home here, and they tainted it with their stupid adventuring.

    Giving chase takes me further into the forest and the archer has run quite a bit ahead, but given that I¡¯ve already been destructive today, I don¡¯t see much reason to stop now. Instead of running around the trees to search for paths big enough to fit me, I just trample through to create my own path. Add to that my larger legs, the archer¡¯s scent is becoming more intense by the second.

    The bastard is right in front of me, and as she clears a root, she jumps with a spin, firing an arrow my way. Lowering my head, the arrow impacts one of my horns harmlessly as my charge continues. She jumps again, but this time is the last time she¡¯ll ever do that as I¡¯m far too close. Bashing my head into her body knocks the air from her lungs as she falls to the ground, gasping for air. Her breathing carries the scent of blood, tantalizing my senses.

    For a moment, I hesitate to go for the kill, wanting her to have seen the errors of her ways, but as I approach, she spits her vitriol at me, and I doubt she¡¯d take a second chance even if she were given one. So instead of lingering on that moment of mercy, I bring my jaws down and chomp off her head. Given how much I¡¯ve used my flames and my lack of familiarity with the undead, it¡¯s time to use that as an excuse for treating her remains as a snack.

    The pouch she carries does lead to some wariness, though. It¡¯s not clear whether she¡¯s carrying any potions, and if she is, then they could be tainted, and I¡¯d rather not eat any of that grossness. Picking up the body with one hand makes it quite easy to snap the belt strap holding her pouch up, and with it falling to the ground, I don¡¯t feel like there are any other things to be concerned about.

    Making quick work of the meat, it¡¯s time to return to the lake to make sure none of the others rise up as undead. Turning around makes it pretty obvious where the lake is, as the path of destruction left in my wake is somewhat significant, with trees knocked over and soil torn up by my claws. My trek back to the lake is quite pleasant, as the sensation of my feet sinking into the loose and cool soil is very enjoyable.

    It could be useful to send some goblins out here to gather wood and help them drag it back to town. It would be a lot of firewood for the winter and maybe even some building materials, which will be useful given how much chaos Joras has caused.

    Reaching the lake makes it apparent that I may have gone a bit overboard with the flames, considering there¡¯s a shiny lane of blackened ground leading to a small cone of uncharred sand and rocks. Tapping the scorched area reveals it to be solid and tough, and I think I might have made crude glass.

    That will be something to explore as well, but for now, I need to be responsible and get rid of these corpses. Going for the mage first, the corpse of the healer reminds me that I didn¡¯t pay attention to where the healer went as I spewed flames at the mage, but it seems like he got launched from my mouth and was burned to a crisp in the process. That¡¯s rough, buddy.

    Well, that¡¯s enough mourning jerks who chose to attack me. And now it¡¯s time to get rid of most of the evidence, and given the crisp appearance of the mage and healer, I doubt their potions survived the heat. Their equipment certainly didn¡¯t.

    Given how big I am, all they amount to is one bite each, so I won¡¯t have to linger, but seeing the aftermath of the unnecessary battle does annoy me somewhat. This little beach will never be the same again.

    There¡¯s still the frontliner to deal with, and I didn¡¯t burn him, so he has probably still got some potions on him. Given his newly acquired bisected body, removing the belt pouch is remarkably easy, and it practically comes off on its own, making my job quite easy.

    With him taken care of, there¡¯s no reason not to go for a dip in the lake and wash the blood and soot off my face as well as I can. The clouds make it dark enough that I can¡¯t tell how much discoloration of the water I¡¯m causing, but that¡¯s okay. Then I can pretend that it isn¡¯t my fault.

    I do feel a little sad that none of these people smelled like the cultists, meaning they were just regular adventurers, and if they had been more receptive, like Turgai or Punchy, we could have worked something out.

    I do have to go a bit far into the lake to fully submerge my body, and doing so makes it clear that I¡¯ve been pelted by quite a few attacks. The cool water feels a little painful whenever it touches one of my wounds, and there are a lot of little painful moments. Spreading out my wings makes it clear that I did not succeed in keeping them safe.

    There are a few holes in my membranes, and it¡¯s pretty obvious even to someone as inexperienced as me that if I try to fly with damage like this, my wings will be torn to shreds. So it¡¯s time to walk back to town.

    Looking up at the sky fills me with unease as the clouds cover the majority of it, leaving me unsure of the time. And since this is a rare moment of experimental potential, I pull the magic flow away from my eyes, which cloaks the world in darkness. It turns out that I need some magic flow to my eyes to see in the dark, and I figure the opposite is true too. So, trying it out, I push magic into my eyes, watching the world brighten. Well, by comparison anyway.

    It¡¯s still quite dark and it¡¯s somehow easier to navigate by the magical glow of everything around me than what I can physically see. Oh! I wanna see what my smoke looks like! Releasing a quick puff reveals the dancing red magic of my smoky magic combining with the blue and teal of the wind to create a beautiful purple mixture.

    I¡¯m curious what will happen if I do the same toward a tree with its pretty brown magic, and when I puff smoke toward one, it dances around the tree, as if it¡¯s being sucked into the bark. From the looks of it, the tree does absorb the magic as it mixes it into its own and spreads it through the trunk.

    That makes me a little curious and could answer a bit of a question I¡¯ve had for some time. So, releasing a small jet of flame toward the tree, just enough to catch it on fire a little, I watch the magic and how it progresses. And it looks like the two forces fight, but it¡¯s a battle of attrition, and the tree is winning, consuming the magic of my flame.

    That is fascinating, and if that¡¯s what has happened to all of those small fires I¡¯ve started, then it¡¯s starting to make sense how I haven¡¯t burned the forest down yet. Wait, not ¡®yet.¡¯ I¡¯m not going to burn the forest down.

    Although I am curious how much fire it would take for my fire to consume the tree... No! Kira, we¡¯re not burning down the forest!

    With my flame dying down, I am going to give it a quick lick to see how my venom interacts with a tree¡¯s magic. And it seems to not do all that much. The magic retreats away from the venom and the bark seems to form a protective barrier, refusing to absorb the moisture. I didn¡¯t bring any way, but if I had, I could have tried checking if my venom functioned as a sealant for the bark. I have no idea how that might be useful, but it is interesting!

    A pull on my magic draws my attention away from the tree, so it can have a moment to rest for now. I¡¯ll be back for more experiments, tree.

    ¡°Kira, where are you? I checked your den, but you weren¡¯t there. I washed the perfume away, so it¡¯s safe to come home.¡±

    Lauren feels quite worried, so no more distractions! It¡¯s time to go back home, and the mention of that toxic chemical warfare reminds me of why I went out here in the first place, so I deserve a pat on the back for doing what I came for. Maybe even scritches for being such a good and focused dragon.

    Instead of lingering on that, the journey back begins and, weaving through the trees, I cause significantly less damage than when chasing the archer. My running speed does mean that the trip back is over quite fast and as I clear the tree line, I spread my wings, which reminds me of the wounds as they catch the wind. Okay, folded wings it is. Geez, that hurt...

    Even just that tore up the tears some more, so flying is definitely not on the table. Dang it, that means I¡¯ll have to go through the northern or southern gate. And since I¡¯ve caused a bit of a ruckus in the north, I think I¡¯ll just avoid that by going south.

    It won¡¯t take long to reach the gate by running, but with how much my claws dig into the ground, I won¡¯t be able to use the roads. Well, I could, but they wouldn¡¯t be roads afterward, and I¡¯m sure I¡¯d get a stern talking-to for breaking the trade routes.

    Reaching the road leading to the gate means I have to slow down and walk cautiously again. It¡¯s not easy to avoid my claws digging into the soil all the time, and I don¡¯t manage it perfectly, but that¡¯s what the road repair guy is for, and he¡¯s got job security for the foreseeable future.

    The two guards at the gate wave at me with smiles on their faces, and that just brightens my day. The people here are awesome. Before entering the town, they each get a nudge of appreciation. Next up is getting to my den and blaming Joras for everything bad that has ever happened. It was very rude of him to create a dragon repellent.

    The streets are, as I feared, narrower because of the ditches, so it¡¯s taking some effort to keep my feet closer in line, so I don¡¯t slip on the clay. I usually have a pretty wide walking stance, but geez, having to work on that is difficult.

    I¡¯m beginning to think that I should have tried regenerating my wings, but the pain from that nonsense is worse than being pelted by arrows and icicles... I¡¯ll have to see if I can have Lauren heal it with her magic champion powers instead. That¡¯s a lot more comfortable.

    At least the goblins around me are kind enough to walk in the ditches instead of trying to go under me as I continue my struggle toward the square. It doesn¡¯t take me an entire day to reach my den, which I appreciate, but I¡¯m far too close to that being the case with all this cautious walking, and I¡¯m about ready for a snooze as the concentration is wearing me out.

    As soon as I reach the square, I take a moment to appreciate my ability to take a wider stance again and celebrate by running in a circle with a few jumps, I love having room to move!

    It¡¯s good to be home, and the noise from my jumping seems to have drawn a bit of an audience who joined in on the spontaneous celebration. Stopping my dancing session, I take a moment to lie down and watch the people around me. Watching a bunch of goblins holding hands and jumping around in a circle together is a delight.

    ¡°Lauren, I¡¯m home and if you aren¡¯t busy, I could use a little healing.¡±

    That didn¡¯t help her feel less worried, but she¡¯ll be fine. I can tell she¡¯s getting close, on account of her not being quite as clean as she implied, and that stench lingers, but it¡¯s within tolerable limits. I¡¯ll just leverage my long neck to keep my head further away from her stinky stank.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Kira?¡±

    She looks even more worried now, so instead of beating around the bush, I just let her know that she still reeks. She¡¯s quick to think up some compassionate words to calm my discomfort.

    ¡°Stop being such a child, Kira. We need to get those arrows out of you. By the Gods, did you fight an entire squad of archers?¡±

    I haven¡¯t counted the arrows yet, but her comment does make me curious, and looking back and counting, it seems I¡¯ve been hit by forty-four arrows. Geez, that¡¯s actually a lot. She grabs hold of one and pulls it out, and it does certainly hurt. Good thing I¡¯m a big tough dragon, though, otherwise, I¡¯m not sure I could handle it.

    Watching her work seems to spark interest in the dancing goblins as they all join to de-arrow me. It¡¯s a little weird how comfortable I am with having people climb all over me, but it feels normal.

    ¡°These are high-quality arrows, Kira. They are giant-killers. If you look at the head, you can see they¡¯re engraved with magic and made to bury deep into their target.¡±

    Looking at them, there¡¯s no magic left, and they appear perfectly mundane, although they are pretty. We should give a few to Lily so she can enchant them again for our hunters. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be useful for hunting.

    It takes a while for the gathering of goblins to finish removing arrows, but when they finish, they line up in front of me and stare at my face. Oh! They want nudges too! And they shall have them! Beginning my glorious task of doling out nudges as payment, I feel Lauren pull on my magic as she begins a quick prayer.

    The sensation of magic flows through me as she touches me, but my wounds aren¡¯t healing. I do feel lighter and energized, but I¡¯m still bleeding.

    Interrupting my nudge-session, I take a look at her and she¡¯s glaring at her hands before she repeats the process, but this time, I don¡¯t feel anything other than magic being pushed into me.

    ¡°I can¡¯t heal...¡±

 Chapter 52: Memories

    Aside from the wounds, I do feel a lot better, so she must have healed something. Nudging one of the guards, I ask if he¡¯s up for making a very shallow cut on his arm for her to heal, and he¡¯s quick to do so. It¡¯s indeed a very shallow cut as it barely bleeds, and he walks over to Lauren with it, but as she casts her spell again, it doesn¡¯t do anything, and he can¡¯t feel magic like I do, so all we get is a shrug.

    Geez, that was her whole thing and how she saw herself. She¡¯s the Healer. We¡¯ll need to figure out what her magic spell did to give her a new purpose, but for now, she needs a nudge and some comfort.

    Letting the remaining goblins know that they¡¯re welcome to come by tomorrow for a visit, I glance at Lauren and she¡¯s crying, so I pick her up with my tongue, fighting the urge to run away from the perfume. We¡¯re just gonna go to my den and snuggle, I¡¯m pretty sure she just needs a friend right now.

    Letting no distraction stand in our way, we reach my hoard and I coil up, nuzzling her into the crevice by my neck as she leans against me, almost trying to press herself into me.

    I want to reassure her that it will be okay, that Merciferus must have a plan if she¡¯s preparing equipment, but I don¡¯t know how to put it into words. I think the best thing for her right now is just a good cry. That¡¯s okay, that is sometimes what the doctor ordered.

    We end up spending quite some time just snuggling, and eventually she manages to fall asleep. A day spent comforting a friend and resting on my hoard is a day well spent.

    The sound of Jeannie¡¯s door opening is the only disruption of the peace I¡¯ve heard in quite some time, and it sounds like both Jeannie and Tiffy are heading out. Before they go, Jeannie climbs up on me and mimes eating as she points to Lauren, so I give her as slight a nod as I can manage. They¡¯re great, always so considerate.

    Judging by how quick they are to return, I¡¯m growing increasingly confident that my perception of time is screwy when I¡¯m resting here. They¡¯re already back and I feel like they¡¯ve just left. Nudging Lauren, she wakes up and looks around, there¡¯s a hint of fear in her scent as she struggles to recognize the place.

    With the heavy clouds, the place is darker than usual, and if I didn¡¯t funnel more magic into my eyes, I would likely struggle to see as well. Tiffy climbing on me with a stick topped with glowing mushrooms does help brighten the room for her, calming her down. Torches without fire seem very convenient for not accidentally burning things down.

    Jeannie joins Tiffy on top of my hips, and the two look at Lauren before walking along my spine to join her. Jeannie is carrying a small pack with some delicious smells coming from it, and I want some.

    Reaching my shoulder, they slide down to meet Lauren and Jeannie, handing off a package of refreshing foods and a few potion-looking bottles, but I can¡¯t see anything magical about them. Sniffing them, Jeannie pushes my head away and lets me know it¡¯s just water. That¡¯s a little boring, Lauren deserves a fun drink for her hardships.

    Tiffy plunges the mushroom stick into the ground, and the three of them sit around it, and I don¡¯t want to be left out, so I shift a little to lay my head down alongside them. For some reason, that makes Lauren laugh at me.

    ¡°You¡¯re so needy, you adorable beast.¡±

    I¡¯m about to retort, but then she uses my snout as a backrest, disarming me completely.

    It¡¯s pretty obvious that she¡¯s still bothered by her lack of healing abilities, but she¡¯s strong, so we just need to figure out where her specialties lie now. It¡¯ll work out, I¡¯m sure. And I¡¯m extra sure that her spell did something, I just don¡¯t know what.

    For now, we settle in to spend the night chatting about this and that as Tiffy starts talking about how she met me, and she¡¯s got it all wrong. She¡¯s making up stuff about broken fences, shattered jars, things knocked off shelves, and damaged walls. All this hearsay is complete nonsense, I was an excellent guest who didn¡¯t do anything wrong. In fact, I¡¯m the wounded party who didn¡¯t consent to getting shocked in the neck!

    Nostril puff of smoke at you, lady!

    Through the smoke, I can see Jeannie whisper something to Tiffy. Focusing my hearing to listen in, it becomes obvious that they''re whispering about me taking offense as they giggle at my very obvious and not at all overly dramatic misery. Controlling her giggling, Tiffy gets up and walks over to me, jumping onto my snout and hugging me. My forgiveness requires a lot more effort than that!

    ¡°My apologies for mistreating you, Great Guardian Dragon. It was not my intention to hurt you, and I appreciate the effort you made to minimize the damage done to my home. And most of all, I love my new home.¡±

    ¡°Lauren, tell her that I accept her apology.¡±

    ¡°You can do that on your own, Kira.¡±

    With a mighty ¡®whoa,¡¯ Lauren falls backwards as I lift my head to thank Tiffy for the apology. Tiffy is very appreciative as she lies on my face and stares into one of my eyes. I¡¯m not sure what she¡¯s thinking, but she seems to be settling in here quite well, so I¡¯m just gonna be happy for her.

    ¡°You did that on purpose, beast...¡±

    ¡°I did, yes. And what are you going to do about it, Champion of Merciferus? The mighty Guardian Dragon has toppled you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll wait two more days before I cook a dish from my homeland.¡±

    Oh crap! That reminds me that I never tried Lily¡¯s cooking, aside from the cookies. I¡¯ll need to rectify that soon. Maybe if I coordinate it, Lily and Lauren can both cook, and I can have a bunch of food for my dinner. I¡¯d like that a lot.

    The sounds of laughter draw my attention away from the delicious thoughts of food, and it appears everyone else is seeing something funny, and I want in on the joke. Asking about it earns me more laughter as Lauren tells me what¡¯s going on.

    ¡°We¡¯re laughing at the mere mention of food causing you to drool. Who needs rain when we have a gluttonous Dragon?¡±

    ¡°Pfft, you eat every day, Lauren, I don¡¯t. So who is the real glutton?¡±

    ¡°You are.¡±

    Dang it, she got me with that one... Just for that, I''m gonna retaliate with a lick! Take that, Lauren! She gets up from the floor to wipe off the saliva, and besides, I¡¯m a young, hopefully done growing dragon, and I need a bunch of sustenance because I want it.

    Speaking of my munching habits, I do have a crop to empty of hoard material. So focusing on the internal muscles in my chest, the sensation of a glob of things ascending my throat again. With a plop, it lands on the ground with the protective mucus bursting open, spilling glorious hoard material all over the ground.

    Jeannie seems transfixed by the glittering gold and other things, and Lauren is a lot bolder as she gets up to explore the goods with very little restraint. She just shoves her hands right into the remaining goop.

    ¡°Uhm... Do you do that with all of your wealth, Kira?¡±

    Huh... Jeannie is looking a little pale now, but I let her know that I do, since I can¡¯t really carry a bucket of gold and I tend to forget my backpack. And even if I did have my backpack, robbing the dead isn¡¯t likely to be less messy with my giant claws.

    ¡°I need to wash my hands...¡±

    And with that, Jeannie is off. Tiffy taps my face a few times, reminding me that she¡¯s still on me, and with a quick request, I let her down and she runs after Jeannie. I¡¯m beginning to suspect they¡¯ve been playing around in my hoard, and I get it. If I were tiny like them, I would do that as well.

    It¡¯s beginning to be a respectable pile of hoard by now, a little on the flat side, but it¡¯s getting wider. Lauren could probably spread out on it, but for now she seems content with gathering my crop mucus in bottles for some reason. That seems like odd behavior, and I¡¯m gonna nudge her about it.

    ¡°Joras has asked everyone to gather samples of anything you might... expel... This qualifies.¡±

    That Joras seems to be taking quite a lot of liberties, and he hasn¡¯t even asked for permission. And Lauren is just doing it, which is also kinda rude. That¡¯s my mucus and I¡¯m feeling weirdly defensive about it. She doesn¡¯t even stop there, now she¡¯s sorting my things into little piles. Coins in one, small weapons in another, and trinkets in a third. That weapon pile is a lot larger than it should be for things I¡¯ve eaten.

    ¡°Kira, can I have this one?¡±

    She¡¯s holding up a pretty knife, and it looks engraved with some sort of symbols. It looks quite well-crafted with wavy golden veins going down the blue edge of it. I can¡¯t think of a reason to decline aside from not wanting my hoard to lose any value, and as she sees my hesitation, she grabs a few coins and offers them in return with a smile. She gets me.

    She removes her old knife, adding it to my pile and sheathes her new one before getting back to sorting my things. I¡¯m curious why she¡¯s interested in it, though, and she unsheathes it again, holding it out for me to inspect, but aside from looking fancy and magical, I can¡¯t tell why it¡¯s good.

    ¡°The material is magic-forged brightsteel, and the engravings make it a lot sturdier as well as sharper.¡±

    To prove her point, she grabs a vambrace and channels a bit of magic before carving into the protective gear with ease. Geez, that looks dangerous, and it should come with a warning label to let me know that it isn¡¯t safe to swallow. Naturally, I disregard that and ask her to put the next valuable knife like that aside for Raya.

    It doesn¡¯t take her long to find another valuable knife like hers, and she sets it aside for Raya by throwing it, lodging it in the wall of my den. I didn¡¯t know Lauren had knife skills like that! And judging by her being somewhat surprised by it, I suspect she didn¡¯t know she had knife skills like that either. She picks up another knife and throws it as well, lodging it next to the other one.

    And another, and another...

    ¡°Lauren, stop throwing my knives, they¡¯re for hoarding, not for wall-decorating.¡±

    Instead of stopping, she picks up her old knife and throws it as well, letting it join the others in the wall. She¡¯s frowning at this development, but I should be frowning at my property being thrown all over the place and the casual damage to my beautiful, undecorated clay wall.

    ¡°Kira, the adventurers who shot you with arrows, what weapons did they use?¡±

    ¡°A bow.¡±

    She has an impressive ability to look amused and exasperated at the same time, and I think that could be a valuable skill to learn.

    ¡°Even with the limited evidence you provided, I could have figured that out on my own, thank you.¡±

    Since she seems to want more information, I¡¯m just gonna tell her about the fight itself, and how they were going to attack me, so I got them first. She¡¯s listening quite intently, but I¡¯m realizing that I might not have been considerate enough of her feelings. They were adventurers who made a mistake in taking me on, just like her, and that could trigger some bad memories for her.

    ¡°Can we go there? I would like to see if there are any weapons left behind that might be useful. If they used this many giant-killer arrows, I would wager that this blade was from one of them as well, but I don¡¯t see anything that looks like the weapon of a defender or striker.¡±

    I don¡¯t see why not. Aside from the trauma thing, she¡¯s free to go if she wants to, and going there with me would be the safest option. She¡¯s still not done sorting my things, though, but that seems all but forgotten as she gets up and meanders toward the entrance.

    ¡°Coming?¡±

    Geez, now she¡¯s rushing me. But of course I am, I can¡¯t leave her alone to get into trouble. The sky outside is still quite dark, leaving me with no clue what time it is. Studying the skies, I can¡¯t see the sun anywhere, or the moon, for that matter. All I see is black, blue, and gray magic swirling around in those pesky clouds cloaking the skies in a quite pretty but very ominous appearance. With a nudge, I ask Lauren what time it is, and that just leads her to throw lies my way.

    ¡°It¡¯s past midday, the sun is right there.¡±

    It really isn¡¯t. She¡¯s just pointing to an area with more of those black, blue, and gray clouds.

    ¡°Are you using your mage sight?¡±

    I am using my mage sight... Okay, so reducing the magic in my eyes reveals that the sun does, in fact, still exist and I may have been a bit hasty in my judgment of Lauren¡¯s lies. I like my sight better with the magic flowing through my eyes, so it¡¯s time to turn that back on now that I¡¯ve confirmed the existence of the sun.

    ¡°Are you going to apologize for doubting me?¡±

    ¡°No. I gave you a good deal on that knife, so consider us even.¡±

    I win this one, Lauren!

    ¡°I can live with that, considering you seem unaware of the value this blade holds.¡±

    Dang it! She¡¯s right, I don¡¯t know. All I can do is smell that it¡¯s quite valuable, but so were the coins and I can¡¯t determine its sale value... That rascally first-aid kit is laughing at me as she motions for me to lower my head, and as I do, she tries to climb on, but I didn¡¯t go as low as I usually do, so take that, Lauren!

    To settle the peace, she bribes me with a few scritches, and I can¡¯t fight that, so with a turn of my head, she grabs my horn and I lift her up. She settles down on me and before taking off, I unfold my wings to inspect them. They aren¡¯t quite healed yet, but they¡¯re doing better than I expected now, so that¡¯s quite nice. Who knew rest and recovery would help recover? It¡¯s sorcery and a great excuse to snooze.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    Lauren looks at the damage and frowns as her shoulders sink, it¡¯s pretty obvious what she¡¯s thinking, but it¡¯s okay. For now, I¡¯ll just focus some magic into them to speed up my recovery and dang it, that still hurts! At least they were lighter wounds, but the sensation of regrowing nerves and flesh stitching together is enough to bring a tear to this dragon¡¯s eye. And being the considerate friend that she is, Lauren leans down to comfort me... She¡¯s collecting my tear in a bottle...

    I do get a few pats and scritches, so we¡¯ll call it even. The scratching at the back of my head feels amazing and as she moves her hands closer to my horns, it gets so much better, freakin hell... I didn¡¯t know I needed this... Geez, this is so good...

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Kira! Kira, wake up!

    I think I fell asleep for a moment there. Lauren seems to be pushing on my face, and I appear to be a lot more lying down than standing up, which was certainly not the case when she started the scritches. For some reason, she¡¯s forcing my eye open, leaving me no choice but to stare at her, but as I blink, she lets go.

    ¡°Kira, what happened? Why did you collapse like that?¡±

    ¡°Felt good. Do it again.¡±

    She declines with quite a stern tone, ranting about how she won¡¯t be making me pass out again and other nonsense like that. But I just got a little overstimulated by the sensation, and I need to get used to it, so I don¡¯t get lured in by wicked promises of scritches from the bad guys. I tell Lauren as much, but then that amused, yet exasperated expression returns.

    ¡°You¡¯re incorrigible, you silly beast... When it¡¯s time to sleep, we can talk about it, but for now, falling asleep is not in the interest of our goals.¡±

    Sounds more like her goals of finding fancy weaponry, but I kinda want to be lazy and get scritches now. She seems to understand this as she starts pushing on my face again, telling me to get moving. It¡¯s pretty clear that she doesn¡¯t agree with my interests. Fine, we¡¯ll go look through the remnants of the fight...

    Getting up brings up the subject of whatever her spell did, as my body feels lighter, and jumping around a bit makes it even clearer. It feels as if I were being weighed down and now that weight is gone. The ground is being rude by disagreeing with my feeling of being lighter, as it forms indents wherever I land.

    ¡°Kira, calm down!¡±

    Spoilsport... She does seem to be struggling to stay standing somewhat whenever I land after a jump, so it might be another thing I need to be mindful of. I wouldn¡¯t want to shake buildings apart by accident. Well, since I¡¯m done jumping around anyway, we might as well get going. Lowering my head with the customary turning it sideways lets Lauren grab hold, and with a quick lift, she¡¯s up and ready to go. Just as we¡¯re about to take off, Jeannie and Tiffy return, so of course they get the offer to join.

    We¡¯re not getting much of a response as they whisper back and forth, leaving Lauren and me to wait until they settle on something. Their whispering changes a little by including giggling, so I¡¯m pretty sure they aren¡¯t coming. Instead of lingering while they make up their mind, I¡¯ll just offer them a flight some other time.

    And we¡¯re off!

    ¡°Whoa!¡±

    We¡¯re off a lot! Geez, I didn¡¯t use that much magic, but we really took off and Lauren must really appreciate holding on tight. I¡¯m growing more confident that I am somehow lighter, which is her doing, so I¡¯m not to blame for her almost falling off me. We should bring Raya, so turning around it is, taking us in the direction of her house. When we reach the building, I settle into a hover, calling out for her. A moment later, she appears in a window, which she then proceeds to climb out of. She could have used a door, but she seems intent on scaling the side of the building from the window.

    It is pretty fun to climb buildings, so I don¡¯t blame her. As the little goblin reaches the roof, she takes a running start and leaps toward me. She manages to grab hold of one of my claws and drag herself up, followed by climbing up my arm and settling in with Lauren. And we¡¯re-

    ¡°Kira, can we stop by Joras¡¯ alchemical shop? I would like to drop off a few items.¡±

    So that¡¯s what Lauren meant by goals plural. Well, it¡¯s not much of a problem, so we¡¯ll just stop by and drop off all that biological material she¡¯s been pilfering. Flying over the town makes me pretty happy that I can see so well in the dark with the help of a little magic.

    When we reach the alchemical store, Lauren hands off a bag to Raya, who then climbs down me and leaps onto the building. Before I know it, she¡¯s at street level, knocking on Joras¡¯ door and handing off the goods before just climbing up the wall, leaving small marks where her nails bite into the material.

    As soon as she¡¯s back on me, we leave for my lake, with no more detours, deliveries, or other such things. Even flying slowly, we reach the lake quite fast, making me groan in annoyance a little. I¡¯m too dang big! It is pretty fun to have the mass to stand up to animals like the steelback boarhino, though. I forgot to fetch the meat! Dang it...

    ¡°Raya, what did they do with my meat from the steelback?¡±

    Instead of bringing me good news of how they made even more meat available than I brought back, she brings me dire news... It turns out the butchers got together to carve it up and they split most of the meat between the chefs of the town. My delicious treat source has been given away!

    ¡°And they are planning a cooking fight.¡±

    Oh, that sounds like a great idea. I want some of that. I don¡¯t get much time to think about what sort of interesting dishes they might cook up before Lauren interrupts my thoughts by pointing out that we flew too far and we have to turn around to go back to the lake. That¡¯s easy, though, so circling around, we get back on course and land by my tree a moment later.

    ¡°Hey Lauren, did you find a knife for Raya?¡±

    The moment we touch down, the two of them dismount and Lauren shows me a beautiful light golden blade with engravings covering it and a handle made of some sort of dark wood, creating a lovely contrast. She¡¯ll love it!

    I¡¯m not sure where she went, though, so we¡¯ll have to solve that mystery first. Looking around reveals that the goblin has gone exploring, and when I call to her, she¡¯s quick to come running. Nudging Lauren, she holds the knife ready for Raya to inspect, and I let her know that I want her to have it!

    Grabbing the handle, Raya starts inspecting the weapon, turning it this way and that as she tries jabbing the air a few times.

    ¡°I like it.¡±

    Success!

    ¡°Lauren, tussle her hair!¡±

    It¡¯s time for me to lie down as Lauren throws around that exasperated smile again, I doubt she¡¯s going to do what I tell her. Focusing instead on Raya, she stashes the blade in the rim of her belt and starts exploring again. She walks straight to the glass where I burned the mage and begins inspecting and tapping on it.

    Lauren seems more interested in a pool of blood with two halves of a shield. She picks up the top half and inspects it, no doubt impressed with how well I bisected it.

    ¡°I know this shield.¡±

    Crap... I doubt ¡®they started it¡¯ is going to work in this situation, so I¡¯ll have to see where she takes it.

    ¡°Did you offer them a chance to not fight, Kira?¡±

    ¡°I told them I didn¡¯t want to fight, and if they attacked me, I would defend myself. They didn¡¯t listen and got ready to attack. I¡¯m sorry...¡±

    ¡°I believe you. Rakhel wouldn¡¯t leave something as valuable as you behind, and I¡¯d have lost a friend either way. How did the healer die?¡±

    I don¡¯t see any reason to hide it, so I tell her the story of how I bit down on his barrier until it cracked, imprisoning him in my mouth before unleashing flames to burn the mage.

    ¡°Good. He was not a good man.¡±

    She seems to have mixed feelings about the situation, and I am a little curious about the healer, but she doesn¡¯t seem to be interested in talking about it, so it¡¯s not something I want to push. Instead, she starts digging at the ground until she pulls out a spiked ball mace. I didn¡¯t even notice the frontliner having a weapon like that.

    ¡°I am sorry for killing another one of your friends, Lauren.¡±

    She walks right up to my face as I¡¯m lying in the sand, with her mace in hand, she stares me right in an eye as she places her empty hand on my nose.

    ¡°His greed killed him. It¡¯s part of the job and we all know it. Don¡¯t mistake my grief for blame. The Guild has chosen to make you an enemy, they are to blame for what happens. The Guild has rules for missions that become too difficult or when the conditions change significantly. For example, when you¡¯re sent to cull a goblin tribe and a Dragon shows up with Neithro the Absolute, then the rule is to retreat and abandon the mission.¡±

    Yeah, that makes sense. It¡¯s not helping me feel better, though. But it does help when she presses her forehead against my nose and caresses the side of my muzzle.

    ¡°Promise me, Kira. Promise me that you won¡¯t hold back if you¡¯re attacked. Don¡¯t let the possibility of killing someone I know be your death. Give them a chance, but don¡¯t hold back...¡±

    I¡¯m not sure what to say to that, it feels like she¡¯s signing the death warrant of all of her colleagues, which is a bit much. I had no intentions of holding back, considering I don¡¯t feel bad about killing them, I just feel bad about hurting Lauren. She hits my muzzle with a closed fist, demanding I make the promise, so I do.

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    She gets off me and asks if I burned the archer as well, which I, of course, didn¡¯t, so she starts walking down the path of destroyed and toppled trees.

    ¡°How do you know the archer died down that path?¡±

    She points to each of the spots where someone died and then points out that the only one missing is the archer, which makes sense... I could do without the smug smile, though, know-it-all.

    I feel like following Lauren, so first I need to make sure Raya is fine, and she¡¯s just playing with the chunk of unrefined glass, and then she drags her nails across it, encouraging me to follow Lauren. That is a terrible sound! Interrupting my goblin friend¡¯s experimentation, I ask her if she¡¯d be fine if we went to explore a little, and she waves me off and returns to whatever she¡¯s doing.

    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t blame me, Lauren? I would understand if you did, but we would need to talk it out.¡±

    ¡°Do I blame the giant murder lizard for being a giant murder lizard when people attack it? No, Kira, I don¡¯t. I blame the Guild members for being too stubborn to spare a thought for their own survival.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a lizard...¡±

    She laughs at me, which gets much worse as we hear Raya shouting.

    ¡°You¡¯re an overgrown lizard, Kira!¡±

    Dang... They¡¯re both attacking me now. I kinda wanna call Raya something, but I can¡¯t think of anything that she wouldn¡¯t just enjoy. If I call her a lesser dragon, she¡¯d take pride in the dragon part. If I called her a lizard, she¡¯d talk about growing up to be a dragon. She¡¯s impervious to nicknames and teasing!

    I¡¯ll just focus on following the very slow Lauren as she proceeds down the path of broken trees. Looking around at the plants, I recognize some of the ones Raya and I gathered when I was tiny, and with a nudge, I catch Lauren with my tongue. I may have nudged her just as she was climbing over a log...

    She¡¯s really perfecting that stare of exasperation with the accompanying smile.

    ¡°Thank you for catching me, you clumsy beast.¡±

    Ooh, I earned pats on the nose. Putting her down again, I point out a few herbs around us and she starts gathering them, but she¡¯s not as good at it as Raya. That still means she¡¯s so much better than me and I¡¯m not even gonna attempt gathering herbs anymore.

    We¡¯re making terrible time reaching the end of this path, but we¡¯re doing very well gathering an assortment of plants, so we win some and we lose some. I hope we win a lot with these plants.

    ¡°How far did you chase her, Kira?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, not that far. You¡¯re just taking a lot more steps than I am.¡±

    She stares at me for a moment, and I don¡¯t think she considered that when she started walking because now she¡¯s indicating for me to give her a ride. So, picking her up with my tongue again, we get moving!

    ¡°No! Kira, put me down! This isn¡¯t what I meant! Kira!¡±

    Too bad! With me in charge, the distance is covered a lot faster as we¡¯re running at my pace, and Lauren is kept safe from falling by having me carry her.

    She¡¯s squirming a bit, but I¡¯m the stronger one and it doesn¡¯t take us long before we reach the end of the path of fallen trees.

    ¡°How you manage to hold your head that still, I¡¯ll never understand. It is akin to standing in the spot and just moving through the air. Now put me down!¡±

    She sounds stern, but she¡¯s also struggling to hide a smile. It helps that I can also feel how she feels when we¡¯re this close and, while she objects, there¡¯s a hopefulness that I¡¯ll do what I say in situations like that, letting her have fun.

    She takes a moment to steady herself before she walks to the bloodied patch on the ground and picks up the bow I left behind. It¡¯s very obvious that it has a bunch of magic going on, and I should have taken it with me the first time.

    ¡°How much do you think this is worth, Kira?¡±

    ¡°A lot.¡±

    I don¡¯t really know, and I¡¯m unsure of how the economy in this world works, whether it¡¯s commodity-based or not, but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll learn about that eventually.

    ¡°Selling this bow to a lord would pay for Raya¡¯s survival through five cycles at least.¡±

    So... Valuable... Sounds like we need to stop by Wreyn¡¯s place to unload it. Crap! I forgot to tell Wreyn about those tainted potions. That¡¯s really bad! That¡¯s really, really bad! Lying down on the ground, I tell Lauren to get on, and when she does, we rush back to the lake to fetch Raya.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Kira?!¡±

    I tell her what we found out about the potions as we run, and by the time we reach Raya, I¡¯ve given her a quick rundown, and calling for Raya, I tell her that we need to get going. I walk toward her and she runs to meet me. Just as I take a step, she jumps and lands on the wrist of the arm I¡¯m moving, using the momentum to fly upward, catching one of my horns and sliding down to land by Lauren.

    Spreading my wings, we take off toward Oakhold and I push magic into my wings to fly faster. Lauren and Raya are holding on tight, allowing us to go quite fast. It still takes a while to get there, since I can¡¯t fly so fast that Lauren and Raya fall off me, but we do make it to Oakhold and land in Wreyn¡¯s courtyard. And as soon as we touch down, ignoring the sudden shift in color of Wreyn¡¯s yard as my claws dig into the soil, I tell Raya to knock on the door and get Wreyn out here so we can warn him.

    ¡°I already told them about the potions.¡±

    ¡°What?...¡±

    ¡°I have this ring, and it lets me talk to Nei from home, didn¡¯t I tell you? It¡¯s very nice.¡±

    Dang it, Raya!... I''m pretty sure she didn¡¯t tell me. She just somehow got messages to and from Cranky and it was odd, but so many things are odd to me... And dang it, Lauren! Stop laughing at me. As I¡¯m feeling increasingly flustered, Raya stands around admiring her ring without a care in the world while the guards gather around us, quite upset at our sudden arrival.

    Before things escalate, Wreyn steps out of his house wearing a very casual robe as he tells the guards to stand down and return to their posts. There¡¯s a tingle of magic and he greets me like an old friend, reminding me that I might not have told him that I¡¯ve been learning Lauren¡¯s language. I feel like my position of superiority just disintegrated... I¡¯ll make sure to speak Raya¡¯s language so he doesn¡¯t waste the spell.

    ¡°A marvelous surprise and excellent timing, Kira. We have uncovered a cell within our ranks and begun isolating those suspected of assisting the Cult of the Affront. As a secondary concern, it would be prudent to warn you of Maya¡¯s oath of vengeance. I suspect she isn¡¯t quite your biggest admirer.¡±

    I¡¯m drawing a blank here... Nudging Raya, I ask who Maya is and she¡¯s quick to talk about some angry lady who hates me and wanted her hammerhead back... Oh! Shaft! I remember now, we met in the ruins of Plainshold where this whole thing started!

    He¡¯s right about that being secondary, she¡¯s upset with me and I get it, but she joined in on the troublemaking. More importantly, Wreyn mentioned excellent timing, so I feel like that¡¯s what we should focus on.

    Asking the old man about what¡¯s going on is a quick way to make Raya lose interest as she wanders into Wreyn¡¯s home, and the sound of Emily squealing with joy disrupts any chance of a conversation.

    She isn¡¯t coming out, so I assume she and Raya are doing fun stuff in there as she settles down and the squealing stops.

    ¡°Now then. Our knowledge at this point is rather limited, although it isn¡¯t nonexistent. We¡¯ve learned that the potions you¡¯ve informed us of are coming through shipments from the southwest, most likely Margwen or beyond. I have already sent messengers to the Council of Margwen to share our findings, allowing them to act. What we need from you, Kira, is intimidation. Those with confirmed ties to the Cult are quite unwilling to share their thoughts.¡±

    That sounds like he wants me to torture people, and I¡¯m not sure I want to go in with the intention of torturing someone.

    He¡¯s staring directly into my eye and as he¡¯s about to say something, Lauren shushes him. They¡¯re keeping something secret from me and I want to know what it is, dang it! And now he¡¯s got a mischievous smile as well...

    He changes the subject, even though I¡¯d like to dwell on this secret, and brings up the captives they have as he begins leading us into town. He doesn¡¯t seem to care that he¡¯s wearing shaggy robes or that I barely fit in most of these streets.

    I don¡¯t really see any of the trenches that Tuiran has been digging, so I suspect they have some other system in place to combat the rains. Maybe it¡¯s something we can get in Tuiran, too. We could always try building storm drains for next year.

    Walking behind a walking human is the worst... One step and then wait for them to move before taking another step.

    We reach a t-junction, which poses a bit of a problem... It¡¯s too tight a turn and I don¡¯t think I can do it without breaking anything... And I can¡¯t turn around, and I can¡¯t fly away.

    ¡°Wreyn, we have a problem. I¡¯m too big for this junction...¡±

    He stops and looks at me while stroking his beard with a ¡®hmm...¡¯

    ¡°I do believe you might be correct.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure what sort of solution he¡¯s cooking up, but he¡¯s gathering a bunch of magic and chanting a bunch of words, none of those usual small spells. This feels powerful. With a mighty stomp into the ground while spreading his arms out, the area cools down rapidly, ice forming on the walls around us, creating a protective layer but also making the street narrower.

    He just froze the entire street, covering my full length in all directions, and now he¡¯s back to stroking his beard as if he didn¡¯t just create an ice age for the residents of this street.

    With a wave of his hand, he continues walking, and Lauren and I follow along. Bending my body as I turn the corner is annoying, but I don''t know if the ice would hold against the impact of my belly. At least it does its job as my tail impacts the wall, but only chips the ice. As soon as I clear the junction, he cancels the spell, causing the ice to disappear in sparkly glimmers of magic. That was a lot of magic used as a convenient solution to a problem that we might have solved in a more mundane way.

    I¡¯d nudge Lauren about it, but she¡¯s walking under my throat, so I¡¯d have to headbutt the street to do it...

    I¡¯ll leave that for later, we¡¯re arriving at a broken house in another t-junction and it looks like some sort of giant mole dug its way into the place, causing- That was me... It¡¯s the bandit hideout I wrecked trying to find Raya...

    ¡°You recognize it. The building has been repurposed as it gained a somewhat dramatic reputation for leading to death by Dragon. I wish to lean into that reputation, for which I would like your consent to threaten the cultists we keep here with their fate being left in the hands of the local Dragon, should they refuse to work with me.¡±

 Chapter 53: Metamorphosis

    I¡¯m not sure what Wreyn wants me to do, but torture is not something I want to be part of my repertoire, at least not more than it already is. Telling him as much seems to disappoint him, but thinking of doing something like that now feels very different from hunting prey or defending myself and what belongs to me.

    His happy face is quick to turn into a scowl as he glares up at me. It¡¯s very obvious that he¡¯s displeased with my unwillingness to walk that path. I can barely walk the path we¡¯re on with these buildings so close together.

    ¡°No doubt you realize what these monsters do to people, so how can you refuse to dole out retribution for their transgressions?! You were bestial enough to burn Plainshold, so you are bestial enough to do this!¡±

    Why the hell does he even need me? If he just wants to torture people, he can do that without my help. I have no idea what I expected to happen here, but I¡¯m still disappointed that this is the way things are going.

    ¡°Lauren, do this mindspeak thing. I don¡¯t know what to do. I want to help fight the affront, but I don¡¯t want to torture people.¡±

    ¡°Then don¡¯t. What would he do? Order a Dragon to do his bidding? He¡¯s powerful, but he isn¡¯t that powerful. And he stands to lose more than he realizes, should he choose the path of conflict with you.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure about that. I have no intention of burning any more towns. And where are all the townspeople? This place is quiet and we haven¡¯t met anyone in the streets, which is making me uncomfortable now that I¡¯m noticing... Smelling the air... There are hints of rot and burnt flesh in the air... How did I not notice that?

    ¡°Wreyn, why does the air smell like rot?¡±

    Everything about him exudes calm, except for the scowl on his face. He just stares up at me before drawing a deep breath.

    ¡°Because we did not act with sufficient haste... Those we have captured here are known cultists because they were caught in the act of sacrificing people to the Affront... They hid among the refugees from Plainshold, and I want them to be given cruelty for having shared it. I want them to burn, and I want their entire order to crumble!¡±

    He yells until he ends up coughing and scrambles into the broken building. For a time, all we hear is the sound of boots hitting wood, and when he returns, it¡¯s with a thin man in tow who reeks of the telltale scent of the cultists. It¡¯s not clear what Wreyn¡¯s mood is, but I doubt his anger was directed at us, although that¡¯s no excuse for yelling at me.

    The man is covered in wounds and his skin is taut against his bones, looking almost mummified. Wreyn throws the cultist to the ground, anger and fear clear in Wreyn¡¯s scent.

    ¡°All my attempts at executing them have failed. They stay down for a moment, only to rise again. I am at a loss for how to defeat them...¡±

    The cultist jerk appears to be fine with just laughing at Wreyn as the old man talks about what he has tried so far, which ranges from incineration to dismemberment. Geez, he¡¯s been busy.

    ¡±The lands will be bathed in the glory of death! Our rule will be eternal as our legion is eternal! Our King will forge the realm of decay and unite the world in rot!¡°

    What a dramatic little jerk...

    ¡°Lauren, I have an idea. Follow my lead.¡±

    Telling her what to do, she struts up to the cultists and repeats what I tell her in a very intimidating voice. Turns out she¡¯s great at acting.

    ¡°Eternal, you say? What does an eternal being like you know of a Dragon¡¯s digestive system? Perhaps that is something you wish to explore. My pet here could certainly accommodate you.¡±

    I didn¡¯t tell her to call me a pet, but if it helps sell the ruse, I¡¯ll roll with it. She stands in front of him and lifts his head with two fingers, their eyes meeting in deadly glares at each other.

    ¡°I hear Dragons are only capable of digesting magic and material, leaving your soul to linger within her for as long as she lives. Powerless. Imprisoned. Lost in the darkness. Remind me, what¡¯s the lifespan of a Dragon?¡±

    To emphasize, I lean in, baring my teeth at him with a snarl. There¡¯s a pull on my magic and a sense of worry from Lauren, but it doesn¡¯t show on her face at all.

    ¡°By the Gods, Kira, is that true?! That¡¯s horrifying!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it¡¯s what Skelly said. And Skelly did make me vomit up a cultist, so it feels true.¡±

    We¡¯re just acting here, but the thought of a snack is making me drool a little as I look at the bound jerk. The cultist appears to be quite brave as there¡¯s not even a hint of fear wafting off him. He does respond to the threats by spitting at Lauren, making me want to crush him, but before I can act, Wreyn has a blade pierced through the jerk¡¯s chest, which earns us more laughter.

    ¡°Cleric of Merciferus, if you would be so kind as to heal him.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t... My healing is gone...¡±

    That seems to have reignited Wreyn¡¯s curiosity, and it feels like either a very good thing or a very bad thing, but definitely not a medium thing. I¡¯m not sure, but I am curious where he¡¯ll land on the danger scale. We¡¯re about to find out as he walks right up to Lauren and starts eyeing her with that mage sight of his.

    ¡°Hooh, how curious. And where has it gone to, I wonder? Magic does not abandon, it does not leave, it merely shifts. Your magic is powerful and your circulation is strong. Healing magic affects the realm of the Material. So where has the healing gone, if it is not material? Are you unable to cast the spell as you used to?

    He¡¯s a little creepy as he continues to look her over, inspecting her magic veins from what I can tell.

    ¡°Do you want me to interfere, Lauren? You don¡¯t have to put up with him if he¡¯s getting too close.¡±

    She shakes her head and starts demonstrating her spell and how it¡¯s apparently different from the normal version. Wreyn¡¯s interest only grows further as he stares at the magic gathering in her hand. I never really paid attention to how the magic looks, so I¡¯m not sure which parts he¡¯s looking at, but Lauren¡¯s spell just appears as a golden flame to me.

    ¡°Very interesting... I wonder... Are those who surround you special, or are they special because they surround you, Kira?¡±

    When did the subject change to being about me? I didn¡¯t do anything. If anyone should be blamed, it¡¯s that weirdo Merciferus. Both Lauren and Wreyn are staring at me now, Wreyn with his eyes full of childlike wonder and Lauren with a distinct ¡®I sense blasphemy¡¯ look. Naturally, I inform them that I don¡¯t make people special, they¡¯re special all on their own by being awesome.

    Judging by the raised eyebrows I get, they aren¡¯t buying it, but Wreyn is quick to change the subject when he gives Lauren a look and remembers her golden flame magic. I kinda want Raya for this, too, but I don¡¯t have a fancy way to communicate with her. So being the quick thinker and problem-solver that I am, I solve the problem by raising my head to the sky and shouting, hoping she¡¯ll hear me.

    ¡°A little warning next time, Kira.¡±

    Looking down makes it clear that Lauren has a point and I should have warned people. Wreyn and the cultist are both on the ground, quivering and smelling afraid. It may have been more of a roar than a shout, and it may have negatively impacted Wreyn as he needs a moment to gather himself. At least Lauren seems fine, so I¡¯m not gonna worry about it too much.

    Ever responsible, Lauren helps Wreyn up and may have stepped on the cultist¡¯s hand a few times in the process. I suspect she may still have some lingering emotions about their operation and I¡¯m not gonna stand in her way.

    Thinking back to Wreyn¡¯s mention of circulation is interesting, though. Moving my head down to street level, I give the three of them a thorough look and there are these small glowing veins throughout their bodies. Lauren¡¯s appear clear, strong, and robust, so I think Wreyn is right about that. His own look like old rivers, snaking through the land instead of running in a mostly straight line.

    The weirdest of them all is the cultist. His magic veins look shattered and scarred, like a mosaic made of mismatched pieces forced together. It looks so fascinating, and I find myself curious about what would happen if the veins were to be rearranged to fit together. I don¡¯t know how to do that, though.

    I am curious what my own magic veins look like, but there is nowhere near enough room here for me to turn my head around without bonking into things. I¡¯ll have to settle for looking at my hand, and what I see isn¡¯t anything like what the humans have going on. I¡¯m more like a bottle of magic with the stuff just flowing around inside me in a very uncontrolled manner. No wonder I have such an easy time empowering my limbs, the magic is already there, I¡¯m just telling it what to do.

    A sudden distraction appears as the sensation of someone jumping onto my tail and walking up toward my spine. Judging by the general indifference to what I think about it, I¡¯m gonna assume it¡¯s Raya.

    As the wanderer reaches my hips, the complaint settles any doubt about the person¡¯s identity.

    ¡°Kira, you¡¯re too long. Shrink down a bit so I don¡¯t have to walk as far.¡±

    Pfft, yeah, I¡¯ll get right on that, Raya! I can¡¯t even face her to roll my eyes at her... Life is tough as a big dragon. Can I roll my eyes? Trying to move them doesn¡¯t shift my vision all that much, and I do rely on moving my head most of the time...

    ¡°Lauren, watch my eyes. Can I roll them?¡±

    ¡°You have the most bizarre things to be concerned about, Kira...¡±

    Telling her to focus, I try my best to roll my eyes, but she gives me news most dire... I can¡¯t roll my eyes! Dang it! How will I casually show disrespect?!

    ¡°Stop rolling your eyes at me, Lauren! And stop laughing! We¡¯re in a very serious situation here!¡±

    She continues rolling her eyes while facing me, a clear taunt of my limitations. Wreyn stares at her with a very confused expression, no doubt wondering what¡¯s going on, but I¡¯m not gonna tell him. What if he joins in? I¡¯d be outnumbered.

    Having heard Lauren¡¯s laughter seems to have sped up Raya as she¡¯s quick to reach my head and now stands on my snout, offering me the opportunity to see what sort of magic veins she has. And it turns out barely any. I don¡¯t think I would even notice them if I wasn¡¯t looking specifically for them. I am curious about her magic, though, so while asking her to form a fire bolt, I mention my interest in seeing how she controls magic.

    A ¡®hooh¡¯ from Wreyn indicates that he¡¯s curious, too, and as she fulfills my request, the magic forms in her center before traveling up her arm and out of her hand, forming into her usual ball of fire. It looks quite impressive with the black and red magic swirling in quite an aggressive manner. It even looks impressive when it flies...

    ¡°Raya, why did you throw it at him?!¡±

    ¡°He looks like a bad guy.¡±

    She¡¯s not wrong, and the fire is really going at it. She struck him on an arm, and the flames tear into his flesh, eating away at it, leaving only ash and charred bone behind. I¡¯d like to say I¡¯m thinking fast and coming to his rescue, but I¡¯m kinda fascinated by the magic as well, which distracts me for a bit before I think of helping the guy who is literally on fire. With a mighty stomp and minimal squish, I use my hand to extinguish the flames.

    ¡°You crushed my arm! It is not regrowing?! WHY IS IT NOT REGROWING?!¡±

    Wreyn is showing no sympathy as he stands over the cultist, watching the aftermath of Raya¡¯s fire bolt as the writhing desiccated guy screams about something. I feel like we¡¯re getting too close to torture territory, and we should probably help him a little. With too much effort, I manage to nudge Lauren and point her toward the guy. She¡¯s quick to remind me of her inability to heal as she rolls her eyes at me... I¡¯m pretty sure she just found a new way to tease me...

    This does feel a little torturous, though, so with a stern voice, I tell Raya to not do that again and if she is gonna shoot him with fire bolts, at least make it fatal.

    ¡°I tried to, but he flinched! It wasn¡¯t my fault!¡±

    I didn¡¯t see it, so it¡¯s not like I can argue against that, but we do have to keep some moral high ground around here, I think.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Cleric of Merciferus, I believe it would be prudent to try your healing spell on him. He is not bound to the material as you and I, as such, he may be affected in a different manner.¡±

    It¡¯s not really a way I want to go, but there¡¯s a battle between standing my ground and finding out what happens. It¡¯s possible she¡¯ll heal his fragmented magic veins, but we don¡¯t know, so we¡¯d be experimenting on a prisoner, and that¡¯s not okay.

    Voicing my concerns on the matter splits us into two camps. Lauren and I are reluctant to experiment on this jerk, but Raya and Wreyn seem to be fine with it.

    ¡°It¡¯s up to you, Lauren. It¡¯s your magic they want to use, so we can either explore it now or later. I¡¯ll support your choice either way.¡±

    ¡°If I do this, you must kill him afterwards, Raya.¡±

    She nods in response to Lauren¡¯s demand, and Lauren chants her healing spell as she channels my magic, touching the man¡¯s arm. With her fingers touching the skin of his arm, it bursts into bright golden fire and he screams in agony as his body disintegrates into motes of shimmering flames. His body falls to the floor, becoming a pile of dust that continues to exude motes of light.

    ¡°Lauren, I think I figured out how you can fight on Merciferus¡¯ behalf.¡±

    ¡°By the Gods and the Pantheon... What was that spell, cleric?! You must teach me how to cast it! The words sounded like a simple healing spell, but the result speaks for itself. That was purification like none I have ever witnessed!¡±

    Wreyn¡¯s gaze shifts upward, staring at Raya as he lifts an eyebrow. She doesn¡¯t seem to be affected by his piercing stare or his obvious interest in her fire bolt, but I¡¯m certain he really wants to know how she¡¯s casting magic that can hurt the cultists.

    Instead of standing around all day, Wreyn heads into the broken building again, and Raya taps my nose a few times before asking me to go closer to the ground. Doing as she asks and paying special attention to the position of my horns, she jumps as soon as we get close to the ground and joins Lauren. The two launch into a chat about what to do from here, and they mostly seem to agree that the cultists should be executed, just not how or the duration.

    They¡¯re bickering back and forth about whether to make the cultists suffer as Wreyn brings up the two remaining jerks. They¡¯re looking desiccated as well, and I¡¯m not sure why that is. If I had to guess, it would be Wreyn¡¯s attempts at killing them and their subsequent regrowing draining their bodies of resources.

    ¡°We are eternal! Our Lord will reign over this world as death takes all! Our Lord will take all from you!¡±

    Take all from me?! Those are my things, and I¡¯m not letting anyone take them!

    ¡°See, Lauren? Kira is on my side, she wants them to suffer a little, too!¡±

    I may have lashed out at the thought of someone stealing from me... The cultist is groaning on the ground, but most of him is still left, well, half. It¡¯s possible that I may have taken a bite out of him and, in the process, pushed the wall of a nearby building inward somewhat. Raya looks at me, beaming with pride, but the other two seem to be staring at me, Lauren with exasperation and Wreyn with worry.

    ¡°He said they were gonna take my things! It¡¯s not my fault! Don¡¯t tell a dragon you¡¯re gonna come for her things, that¡¯s just irresponsible...¡±

    Lauren rolls her eyes at me with a short laugh before channeling her spell and touching the torso cultist. The golden flames and fiery motes get to work reducing him to a pile of ash, as his companion stares with obvious fright. It seems the idea that they aren¡¯t quite as eternal as they thought is quite a scary surprise.

    The last cultist keeps his head down, seeming quite intent on not looking at the dusty piles of ash left behind by his friends.

    ¡°If you hold any hope for surviving this day, speak, abomination!¡±

    To emphasize Wreyn¡¯s demand, Raya launches a fire bolt at the cultist¡¯s leg, startling Wreyn if the scream and jump are any indication.

    ¡°What? He wasn¡¯t talking.¡±

    ¡°You could have given him a chance to! By the Gods, how is your group capable of gathering any intelligence on the enemy...¡±

    Raya shrugs and raises her arms, interlocking her fingers behind her head as she joins Lauren to the side. The two of them start talking back and forth about Lauren¡¯s magic and how potent it seems to be when used against these jerks. I¡¯m kinda curious to see if her fancy golden fire magic has an effect on the affront.

    Wreyn gets to work on the remaining cultist, threatening him with this and that and a dusty future if he doesn¡¯t share their plans. But the cultist seems resilient as he resists Wreyn¡¯s methods. I wish Skelly were here to do their weird magic, but we probably wouldn¡¯t learn too much given their peculiar manner of speech. It could be worth going that direction, though.

    ¡°Wreyn, have you ever met any polite undead, and if you have, do you know where they live?¡±

    With a raised eyebrow and a skeptical look, he asks me why I want to know. So I give him a quick rundown of how Skelly and I met, and suggest that we could find Skelly''s faction and have them interrogate the cultists, since they seem quite interested in doing just that.

    ¡°If you have already met one of them and established a connection, why would my help be required?¡±

    ¡°No reason...¡±

    ¡°She blew up Skelly.¡±

    Raya is standing off to the side, preventing me from nudging her without bumping into a building, the clever little rascal. These narrow streets and tall buildings are getting on my nerves, and I want to leave.

    Wreyn asks her to elaborate, but I¡¯m just gonna interrupt and tell him that I need to stretch, and there isn¡¯t enough room for it here. He doesn¡¯t seem to want to move this anywhere else as he tells us to stay a little longer.

    ¡°We must all endure hardships for the greater good, waiting a moment longer hardly qualifies as a hardship.¡±

    Lauren and Raya share a look before glancing up at me and whispering something to each other, but I¡¯m too busy not knocking down buildings to pay attention to them.

    Every single movement feels confining, and if I move my shoulder wrong or twitch a wing, I¡¯ll break something! Ugh! I want out!

    ¡°Wreyn, I believe we need to get moving now.¡±

    He seems to question her as to whether it¡¯s a suggestion or an order, but then she insists again, with impressive authority in her voice. Wreyn grabs the prisoner by the neck and pulls him to his feet. We¡¯re finally getting a move on, but that also means I have to turn a corner here... Frustrating corners not built with dragons in mind... Geez, my mood has turned sour fast. It isn¡¯t helping that humans are so dang slow!

    ¡°I do not understand the problem, we were making progress, and changing location like this shows weakness!¡±

    The cultist laughs some more and agrees with Wreyn, saying we are weak, spewing nonsense about the world falling into the realm of death. Lauren seems to have a problem with Wreyn¡¯s statement as she grabs hold of his robe and pushes him against a wall. His befuddled expression suggests that he has no idea what she¡¯s trying to say, but then she just leans against him, forcing him against the building.

    ¡°Conduct your interrogation like this. If you move me, you lose, and people will hunt you down to kill you.¡±

    Her voice is calm, but I know her well enough to know that she¡¯s angry at him.

    ¡°How can I possibly do anything under these conditions? And why would anyone hunt me down? Stop this madness!¡±

    She doesn¡¯t stop that madness and instead presses harder against him, much to his frustration. Some guards appear in response to Wreyn getting kinda loud as he tells Lauren to knock it off, but then she just points to me and they hesitate.

    ¡°How can you not see that this is what Kira faces every time she enters a settlement? I mistakenly believed we were stopping by somewhere and moving on, not settling down in the middle of a street, otherwise, I would have put a stop to this before we began.¡±

    ¡°And why did she not simply say anything?"

    ¡°Ah, of course the Dragon would say she¡¯s struggling because Dragons are famously without pride! She would be far more likely to make room than to ask for it. Do you want her to make room for herself here?¡±

    Lauren keeps Wreyn pinned to the wall as they bicker, but Raya has another plan, which is brought to my attention as she snaps her fingers twice, drawing my eyes to her. She motions for me to follow, and I do, stepping over Wreyn and Lauren.

    Raya runs ahead, telling the guards to stand aside or be crushed by a dragon, and I can finally move at a reasonable pace. It¡¯s not my preferred pace, but it¡¯s better than walking behind humans going their own walking speed. That¡¯s not really walking for me, it¡¯s more like taking a step, then waiting before taking another.

    Raya is leading me down some unfamiliar street, but she seems to know where we¡¯re going, so all I can do is trust her. Getting moving is enough to make the encroaching feeling go away, and the gate up ahead promises freedom from the obnoxious buildings.

    It appears that we¡¯ve moved faster than people have had time to clear out as the street becomes somewhat crowded with folks scrambling to get out of my way. Fighting back my urge to just run for it, I slow down to avoid trampling random citizens, and to their credit, they¡¯re doing a decent job of moving away from me.

    From the scents I pick up, they¡¯re scared, but not terrified, which I find a little interesting. I would have thought the sight of a dragon trampling through the streets would¡¯ve set the scary-meter straight to terrified.

    At least there are no carts around to block me. There¡¯s an almost clear path to the gate, and I¡¯m getting anxious to get out. Picking up speed a bit while stepping over the last few obstacles, Raya and I finally exit the dang town! We¡¯re free!

    The moment we pass through the gate, there¡¯s some resistance and my head feels very heavy. I¡¯m managing to keep it up, but it¡¯s tough, as if there¡¯s a dang weight pressing down on me...

    Instead of dwelling on that, we head for an open space to appreciate our freedom, and we settle down on a patch of grass as I wonder why Raya is snickering to herself.

    Every time she looks at me, she tries to contain herself until she bursts into uncontrollable laughter.

    It takes quite some effort, but as I lift my head and look toward the gate, it becomes clear what¡¯s going on... The portcullis is missing, and the gate is damaged. I think the dang thing is stuck on my horns!

    I need to do something about this, I can¡¯t run around with a heavy iron lattice stuck to my head, that¡¯s no way to live! So, tilting my head to the side, the weight of the thing takes over and slams into the ground, and try as I might, the dang thing is stuck!

    Getting up and walking sideways with the portcullis dragging along the ground doesn¡¯t work to dislodge it... All it does is make Raya laugh harder... Stupid iron and its stupid flexibility...

    ¡°Raya, I need help.¡±

    She¡¯s laughing hard enough to cry, but the moment I ask for help, she pulls herself together and settles with a hearty chuckle as she creates a fire bolt in her hand and walks up to my horns. I¡¯m not sure what she¡¯s doing, but I¡¯m gonna hold as still as I can, so I don¡¯t end up hurting her.

    After a while, she walks to the front of my face and climbs up as she moves to my horns again. She forms the fire bolt again and this time, the pull on my magic is stronger than she¡¯s ever done before. I¡¯m just gonna let her work because that seems dangerous. She¡¯d better not be using fire to cut my horn off...

    I like my horns even if they get in the way and I don¡¯t see them much. They¡¯re mine and I want to keep them. They¡¯re long and beautiful and I¡¯ll figure out how to use them for offense one day.

    ¡°Lauren, when you¡¯re done with Wreyn, we can meet up outside of Oakhold and go home. Raya is helping me with something before we can go, though.¡±

    Just like that, I find myself worrying about her well-being. If she gets hurt by being alone and trusting, I¡¯m not sure how I would react. ¡®Not well¡¯ is definitely on the table. While my worry builds, she responds with a sensation of curiosity and amusement, so at least I know she¡¯s safe. Giving the situation some thought, I don¡¯t doubt that she would send a message if she were in trouble, but I¡¯m still gonna worry.

    ¡°Are you okay, Kira?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I just worry about Lauren being alone.¡±

    Raya pats my horn a few times before reassuring me that Lauren is fine and she won¡¯t be trapped again like she was before. From the sounds of it, Raya has begun warming up to my favorite first-aid kit. Which very nice, even if it means they¡¯re teaming up when it comes to teasing me.

    ¡°I can¡¯t get it off, Kira. I can¡¯t make a fire hot enough to weaken the metal.¡±

    Oh, that¡¯s a great idea. As I start moving, Raya jumps off me, and I turn my head upside down with the portcullis aligned with the ground. Hooking a talon from one of my hind legs into the lattice, I push magic into the metal, hoping it will react like the dagger I melted when Lily tried to teach me magic.

    Pushing magic into the metal as I pull with both my neck and my leg, the magic starts to weaken the metal and I¡¯ll be free any minute now! It¡¯s taking quite a bit of magic, as it turns out. Iron is terrible at taking it in, so I¡¯m forced to really shove it into the metal.

    ¡°Kira, are you sure you should be doing that? The air is starting to shimmer.¡±

    Just a little more and I¡¯ll be free, I¡¯m sure of it. As I start pulling harder, Raya tells me to stop for some reason.

    ¡°Lie on your side and look at the sky. Like this.¡±

    She shows me how to look into the sky, but I already know how to do that, it¡¯s how I tell time. She¡¯s clever, though, so I¡¯m sure she has a plan. Doing as she tells me, she directs me to stretch my neck and align my horns to be vertical, pressing the iron against the ground and changing its orientation.

    That just feels like it¡¯s stuck in a different way, but Raya the Clever climbs onto it and starts pushing against the top of my skull. From the feel of it, she¡¯s using all of her might, even taking some of my magic for something as she, judging by the scraping feeling, manages to push the metal off my horns.

    With a mighty slam against the ground, I¡¯m free! All thanks to my hero, Raya the Clever Dragonbringer!

    Getting up results in a moment of dizziness as I feel so much lighter without the weight of the portcullis stuck to my head. I deserve a stretch, so unfolding my wings to their widest, I dig my claws into the soil and let a stretching shiver roll through my spine, and it feels fantastic.

    Turning to face Raya reveals that something has changed about her... I can¡¯t quite place it, but going over her features, she has those long nails, pretty dragon eyes, darkening scaly skin, and a small pair of dark gray horns growing out of her forehead.

    ¡°Raya, are those horns new?¡±

    A speedy hand is quick to grab one of the two horns now adorning her forehead, and her mouth spreads in a wide smile. I¡¯m not sure where this mutation stuff is going to end, but she seems quite happy about it.

    Squealing with joy, she jumps around while holding onto her new horns. They match her hair quite well, and they just look really awesome.

    ¡°What has her so excited?¡±

    Oh! Lauren is here. I¡¯ll have to deny anything involving gates and things like that, so for now, we¡¯ll focus on Raya and then leave. Telling her about Raya¡¯s new horns earns me quite an indifferent expression.

    ¡°Huh, that makes sense.¡±

    Nudging her for an answer earns me one of those dastardly eye rolls, and I¡¯m regretting ever bringing that subject up. Explaining the situation about how Raya was using a bunch of magic to help me out does seem of interest to Lauren.

    ¡°That explains a few things... I believe we were mistaken about the source of Raya¡¯s mutation. I now believe it¡¯s tied to using your magic, rather than a bond or pact. The more she uses it, the more changes she will experience.¡±

    ¡°How come you think that?¡±

    She stares at me for a moment before rolling up one of her sleeves.

    ¡°Because I¡¯ve been using your magic, and now I have begun to grow scales.¡±

    Oh... She shows me an arm with beautiful light brown scales growing on the part facing away from her body. Well, I¡¯m gonna use the ''correlation does not equate to causation'' card and discard any potential blame, telling her as much earns me yet another eye roll...

    ¡°Using bizarre words won¡¯t get you out of this, Kira. I¡¯m not letting you get away with throwing in your old language to confuse me. You usually make some sense when you do it, but this is just gibberish.¡±

    So it turns out, I don¡¯t know the words for correlation and causation in her language or Raya¡¯s language, and I¡¯ve been using the occasional word from my old language here and there. I didn¡¯t even realize, and they¡¯ve just been rolling with it, using context.

    ¡°Are you going to turn into a dragon-woman, Lauren?¡±

    ¡°If Raya is anything to go by, I would imagine so.¡±

    ¡°Does it bother you?¡±

    ¡°I have worried about it in the past, but I think the strength it brings outweighs any possible downside. And when I restrained Wreyn, it became obvious that I¡¯m already stronger than I¡¯ve ever been. So I¡¯m confident it¡¯s a good thing.¡±

    I haven¡¯t seen Wreyn around, and swiveling my head around, I don¡¯t see him anywhere, or the prisoner cultist for that matter. Nudging Lauren about it, she informs me that they have made a deal regarding how the cultists are to be handled, and she¡¯ll tell me about it when we get home.

    Lowering myself to the ground, she climbs on and calls for Raya. The rascally goblin is quick to leap onto my nose and join Lauren by my horns. Spreading my wings, we take off toward Tuiran as Lauren is struck by sudden madness, asking questions about events that never happened.

    ¡°So, exactly what happened to the gate back there? I find myself quite curious to hear your explanation, Kira.¡±

    "Should we worry about the cloud of magic we left behind?"

    "Can we stop by the lake to pick up the bow I dropped?"

    I feel like they''re throwing a bunch of unnecessary questions my way when all I want to do is go home and enjoy that Tuiran''s square is big enough for me to spread my wings and stretch. Lauren''s yawn seems to agree that a rest is in order.

 Chapter 54: Narrowing Paths

    On the way home, Lauren lets Raya know about the secret to becoming a dragon, leading to the rascally little goblin throwing fire bolts all over the place. We¡¯re a flying fireworks show... At least we managed to convince her to shoot them into the sky.

    ¡°So about that gate, Kira...¡±

    I¡¯m confident I won¡¯t have to tell her because that¡¯s the kind of stuff that Raya loves to share, so I¡¯m not gonna. Instead I ask about this deal she has made. With a few taps on my head and a chuckle, she complies.

    ¡°Going forward, Neithro will be your liaison as he has an existing relationship with Raya as well as a way to communicate over longer distances. And by the word of the Goddess, I swear that if you don¡¯t lash out against Wreyn soon, I will. What a frustrating person to deal with. I am sympathetic to his grief and his ordeals, but we must all carry our burdens. And the way he stands so close when he finds something interesting, I could just punch that inconsiderate son of a minotaur! And worst of all, he doesn¡¯t think it matters because he¡¯s so accustomed to people tolerating it due to his status!¡±

    Geez, she does not like people getting into her personal space... I don¡¯t have the impression that she minds it all that much when I get into her personal space.

    Everything is pointing toward needing to find Skelly¡¯s faction to learn more about this whole situation, and for that, I think returning Skelly¡¯s possessions would make a good gift of peace. We just need to figure out where their home is.

    I don¡¯t have much in the way of a plan going forward, but the sudden weight of Lauren lying down on my head suggests that the plan for now should definitely be to head home to rest.

    ¡°Kira, Lauren passed out. She¡¯s exhausted from using your magic. It happened to me too when I started to use it all the time.¡±

    I did not know that was a thing. Come to think of it, I passed out too when I learned to use my flame breath. Was that because of using my magic instead of burning away oxygen? I¡¯m not sure, but I haven¡¯t passed out because of my flames since, so now I¡¯m leaning toward the magic thing.

    I trust Raya to keep the unconscious Lauren safe, but it¡¯s still worthwhile to take it slow and soar our way home. Ideally, we don¡¯t drop her from however high up we are. The flight is already turbulent enough with my tail blade broken. Given the metallic bone it seems to be made of, I have no idea whether my magic can even heal that, and if it can, it will definitely be an uncomfortable experience.

    That¡¯s something I¡¯ll leave for tomorrow evening, so I won¡¯t fuss about it now.

    Watching the terrain from up here is quite something. The magic of all the living things on the ground stands out in contrast to each other. The wind sweeping through the sturdy trees, splattered with tiny blotches of all sorts of colors from critters running around.

    It¡¯s remarkable how visible every little critter is when I can see their magic, but I¡¯m not familiar enough with their signatures to know what each of the blotches is. It¡¯s like trying to identify an animal behind a wall by deciphering the splattered paint someone threw on there. I¡¯m not up for that task just yet.

    Instead of focusing on that, it feels like a good time to see if I can get some sort of middle ground sight, allowing me to both see the world in detail as well as the magic that overlaps it.

    With my attention directed toward the magic circulating to my eyes, I stem the flow to see how it affects my vision. It doesn¡¯t do all that much to begin with, but as I continue, I see the magic of the world becoming significantly more muted as the details of the physical become much clearer. However, the switch isn¡¯t anywhere near as gradual as I want.

    From what I can tell, this material world doesn¡¯t want to be seen at the same time as the magical, and it¡¯s making me wonder if there¡¯s a spirit sight as well. As far as I know, I have only met one spirit, and I didn¡¯t get to eat it, but it¡¯s possible they¡¯re everywhere and my vision is too magical in nature to see them.

    ¡°You went too far, Kira.¡±

    Looking around makes two things clear: The first is that Raya is correct, we flew too far, and the second is that it¡¯s almost noon. We¡¯ve passed Tuiran, and we should turn around to get Lauren home. I wanna nudge Raya about why she didn¡¯t tell me earlier, but that¡¯s a little hard when she¡¯s sitting on me. I guess since we¡¯re already flying over the forest, we might as well get the bow from the lake before heading back. It¡¯s not much of a detour at all. So that¡¯s the plan! We are heading for the lake!

    The woods are mostly the same as always, except there¡¯s a bird! I see a bird! Some sort of hawk-looking bird with beautiful brown feathers and black spots here and there, and I want to pet it.

    ¡°Raya, look, a bird!¡±

    I feel a pull on my magic and I know what she¡¯s about to do, so with a flex of my wing, I change our course and tell her not to kill it. It¡¯s the first dang bird I¡¯ve seen, and it shouldn¡¯t be killed for that.

    ¡°Those are common, Kira, and they taste good.¡±

    Good arguments aside, I¡¯m not gonna let her blast it with a fire bolt. If they¡¯re finally returning to the area, I don¡¯t want to discourage that. I tell Raya as much and bring up a few points about ecosystems and such, how everything has a place and there¡¯s a balance to things.

    ¡°So what about the dire wolves?¡±

    They don¡¯t count. It¡¯s possible that I might have to take responsibility for the lack of predators in the area and either leave them alone or take their place. Leaving them alone sounds risky, though. And taking their place sounds delicious, so that¡¯s a pretty easy conundrum.

    For no reason at all, Raya bonks me on the head, leaving me a little confused as to what she wants.

    ¡°Thinking about my question doesn¡¯t answer it.¡±

    ¡°Right... I don¡¯t like wolves because they¡¯ve hunted me and they hunt you and the people of Tuiran. I want them out of my territory and I want bears out, too. But I can¡¯t leave the herbivores to grow out of control either, because then the plants will suffer. And then everything will become a mess. It might already be a mess and I just don¡¯t know about it. Like with the birds disappearing.¡±

    ¡°The birds didn¡¯t disappear, they flew away from you. When you fly away for the day, so do the birds, but when you fly west, they fly north and south. And then they come back later. I can show you, there are a few nests by the lake, and they know me.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure what she means by the birds knowing her, but I¡¯m quite curious to find out. I¡¯m also curious to find out how they know I¡¯m coming, since I should have been able to sneak up on at least a few.

    ¡°How do they know I¡¯m coming, Raya? I don¡¯t feel like I make that much noise.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Maybe you¡¯re too loud for them, maybe it¡¯s your magic, or maybe it''s because you smelled bad.¡±

    ¡°I smell?! I didn¡¯t know... What do I smell like?¡±

    ¡°You used to smell sour and a bit like a corpse, but now you just smell like an old fire.¡±

    Okay, well, that¡¯s alarming. That does change the plans a little. Since we¡¯re heading for the lake, Raya is gonna show me these birds, then I¡¯m gonna have a proper bath, I do not want to risk smelling like a corpse again. And when we go home, we can bring the bow.

    Setting down by the lake with a gentle drop, I lower my head to the ground, allowing Raya to pull Lauren down from me, helping the limp woman onto the beach. I think they¡¯re starting to become real friends, and not just tolerate each other because they¡¯re my friends.

    ¡°Show me the birds, Raya!¡±

    She pulls out a handful of seeds from one of her pouches and starts whistling. Not long after, I hear birds singing back to her as she spreads the seeds around on rocks near us. Emerging from the brown leaves of the trees are a bunch of tiny birds, and it soon becomes obvious why I haven¡¯t seen any. They have freakin¡¯ camouflage! They can blend in with the trees like some sort of invisible birds!

    A few of them fly toward Raya, ignoring my presence as the promise of delicious seeds guides them, and I get that. With the first couple of birds landing on her, more become emboldened and join her, and soon the area is covered in the little things, but none of them seem to be hunters. As far as I can tell, all the birds here have short, thick beaks, which I guess makes sense since Raya is using seeds to lure them.

    One landed on me! Right on my nose! It¡¯s so cute! I don¡¯t think it will allow me to pet it, though. And I¡¯m not sure I could without squishing it. A few have landed on Lauren as well, but she¡¯s not awake to enjoy the glorious moment.

    ¡°Lauren, if you wake up, don¡¯t startle the birds.¡±

    She lets out a groan and shifts a little, startling the birds. I just told her not to! I can¡¯t do anything about that, and my nose bird is still on me, so it¡¯s all good. The little fella seems to be enjoying his perch as he watches the others fight for seeds.

    All of a sudden, Raya snaps her fingers and most of the birds scatter. As I raise my head a bit, I ask what that was for since it doesn¡¯t make much sense to me to send them flying away.

    ¡°I¡¯m out of seeds, and they need to get back to safety. They know the sound means that the food is gone.¡±

    Huh, it sounds like she has them trained. She goes on to explain that as she comes out here to gather flowers, they usually alert her to incoming predators, like those dang wolves, and that helps her escape in time.

    I¡¯m curious how she got cornered the first time I met her if she has birds watching out for her. She seems to think a few of those hawks were around, so these little guys couldn¡¯t make their positions known. I guess I shouldn¡¯t have stopped her from lighting up that hawk I saw.

    Nudging Raya sends my little snout passenger flying, and as I watch it go, I ask Raya if she could find the bow Lauren dropped and watch her while I take a bath to get rid of this supposed smell I have. Without anything to focus on at the moment, the sensation of my claws digging into the beach as sand and rocks fill the gaps between my toes draws my attention, and it feels lovely. Everything is so smooth and nice.

    Looking back at Raya, it¡¯s clear that she has taken to following my requests in whatever way she sees fit. She¡¯s dragging Lauren to the chunk of glass left behind from my encounter with the adventurers. I¡¯m a little curious what she¡¯s up to as she pulls Lauren onto the chunk, and calling out to ask her startles the tiny bird on my nose, causing him to take flight. Dang it, I liked the little fella.

    ¡°It¡¯s warm, so she won¡¯t get cold.¡±

    That¡¯s considerate of her, and that seems like something very useful to know. We might have to look into bringing that chunk of glass back to town to see what the artisans can do with it. I think people would love small orbs of heated glass to fidget with. I certainly would love one of those.

    I¡¯m getting distracted again. Back to this bath I was going for. One of the benefits of a really long neck is that I don¡¯t have to turn around to look back at Raya, so I can just continue straight ahead and wander into the lake.

    The water enveloping me feels quite lovely, and it gives me a moment to think about where to go from here. I think finding Skelly¡¯s friends is the right choice, and then apologizing for exploding the poor, weird skeleton. I¡¯m not sure how receptive they¡¯ll be, but Skelly left a good impression, and their patron did want a vial of my venom, so that might be a good trade. I just need to figure out where they are.

    The only ones I can think to ask now are Merciferus and the Shadow Man, but I haven¡¯t seen the Shadow Man in quite some time. And Merciferus can¡¯t just give us the information we want, so that doesn¡¯t leave us with much in the way of options.

    At least I can just lie here and blow bubbles with my nose for now. The water doesn¡¯t taste bad either, so this is a good opportunity for a drink.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Time passes by as I lie here, enjoying the soft waves colliding with my body as I listen to the soft plinking of something impacting my scales. There it is again... Raising my head and looking around, I spot Raya with the bow and a stick nocked, she¡¯s pointing it toward the sky for some reason.

    She jumps before firing, and another plink confirms that these plinks have been her all along! Her face is full of a mischievous smile as she grabs another stick. Standing up, I start rushing to her location, my size pushing the water out of the way with ease. Just before reaching her on the beach, she turns to flee, but that¡¯s not gonna work, Raya!

    ¡°You should watch Lauren, Kira!¡±

    Ah, she¡¯s using deception! I don¡¯t want to fall for an easy trick like that, but glancing back, I see the waves I¡¯ve created washing over Lauren, causing her to sputter and curse.

    ¡°KIRA! What the fuck did you do?!¡±

    So I¡¯m gonna guess that she¡¯s awake. She¡¯s standing up as the water recedes, glaring at me and looking somewhat more drenched than she was a moment ago.

    ¡°Raya did it.¡±

    Her glare shifts onto the rascally goblin and I can¡¯t believe that worked. Well, I¡¯m not gonna question it if it means Raya gets the stern talking-to instead of me. Although I¡¯m sure Raya has some way to get out of it.

    ¡°I lured some birds to Kira.¡±

    ¡°Without me? I wanted to see the colors, Raya.¡±

    They were brown with a slight shimmer and cute little beaks for eating nuts and seeds. I tell her as much, but the way she thanks me for it makes me suspect it wasn¡¯t what she wanted to know... They have been keeping a lot of secrets lately, or maybe it¡¯s the same secret that keeps coming up...

    Moving to Lauren, I pick her up in my hand and limp over to Raya. Putting down Lauren, I grab Raya and lie her down next to Lauren, and they¡¯re being remarkably docile for this procedure, but that¡¯s to my benefit. With the two of them next to each other, I pin them with my claw and demand what this secret is that nobody wants to tell me. It¡¯s getting annoying!

    Somehow, Raya wiggles out of my grasp by being tiny and moves to stand over Lauren.

    ¡°Yeah, stop keeping so many secrets, Lauren. It¡¯s rude.¡±

    I wanna agree with Raya, but she¡¯s in on it, dang it!

    ¡°Fine. Merciferus made your eyes shimmer in different colors based on your state of mind and emotions. Right now, the outer ring of your iris is blue, while the inner ring is green, which we have noted as playful and happy. With blue being the dominant trait of your current state of mind, with a desire or curiosity for something to be the green lesser trait. Now, Raya. What colors were her eyes when the birds came?¡±

    Freakin¡¯ mood eyes are back?! I thought I got rid of them with nobody mentioning them. Dang it!

    ¡°Gold rings around white, she seemed to be very calm as she focused on the birds.¡±

    Dear Merciferus, you bitch!

    As soon as I finish my prayer, Lauren lets out a sigh and looks at me with her infamous exasperated stare.

    ¡°Kira, Merciferus wants me to laugh at you and to tell you to offer her tribute if you want her to consider undoing it.¡±

    I¡¯m not doing that. I refuse to reward such behavior!

    Dang it. She¡¯s one of the people I have to ask about where Skelly¡¯s friends might be. I think I¡¯ll leave that responsibility to Lauren.

    We do need a plan of some sort, and I can¡¯t pin Lauren to the beach all day. Letting go of her as I offer her a talon to hold, I pull her up, and she dusts off as much sand as she can. She¡¯s not all that successful considering the wave of lake that hit her before she got sandy. I can help with that, though.

    Focusing my heat to a nice warmth, I blow air toward her from a safe distance as she shields her face, but her clothes are drying and before long, she tells me to stop as it¡¯s getting too hot. Doing as she tells me leaves her room to dust off most of the remaining sand.

    Another plink hits my scales, and as I look toward Raya, she stands there with a smile.

    ¡°Can I keep this?¡±

    It feels like a terrible idea to agree, but she also looks adorable with that oversized bow. I¡¯m not sure what she intends to do with it, considering she can just lob fire bolts at things if they¡¯re too far away for melee combat.

    Well, all I can do with it is sell it, in which case it might be used against me in the future, so I¡¯ll just agree to let her have it. Glancing at Lauren earns me an eye roll, which earns her a lick of doom!

    She glares up at me with a smile as she wipes away the aftermath of my vicious counterattack. Seems she wants to wash it away, judging by the trudging toward the lake she¡¯s doing.

    Another plink hits my scales as Raya strikes my shoulder.

    ¡°I think we should go home soon, I¡¯m hungry.¡±

    Raya has a good point, unlike those makeshift arrows. It has been a while since we¡¯ve eaten, and judging by the sun¡¯s position, we¡¯ve been hanging out around here for quite some time as we¡¯re closing in on evening.

    Before we leave, I¡¯m gonna get another drink. Walking into the water again, Lauren calls out for me as I dip my nose below the surface.

    ¡°Going for another drink of sand, Kira?¡±

    Well, she¡¯s asking for payback. With my mouth full of water, she runs away as I chase after her, but she¡¯s much slower running through water than I am, so catching her is easy. First, the wave from my movement batters her, almost knocking her over, but I¡¯ve caught up to her now and, holding my head over her, I open my mouth, letting all the water out as it drenches her again.

    ¡°I will admit that this was my own doing, you silly beast.¡±

    Yeah, it was. With payback paid out, I let her climb up on my head and take her back to the glass blob where Raya sits.

    With my head down, Raya joins Lauren on top of me as the two start tying something to my horns. I can¡¯t see what they''re doing, but I trust that it isn¡¯t harmful. I do want to bring this heated glass back, though.

    ¡°Lauren, we need to talk when we get back home.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure what Raya needs to talk about with Lauren, but I¡¯m curious, so I just ask about it.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Kira. I¡¯m not ready to share that yet.¡±

    Well, that¡¯s okay. I won¡¯t push for it, then. It feels less like a secret and more like turmoil not quite ready to be shared. And she seems to feel bad about not sharing it, so I think the best thing to do is just not push for it. She¡¯s allowed to keep things to herself.

    ¡°Brown for compassion, and gray for worry, I think.¡±

    Dang mood eyes!

    Screw that, I¡¯m gonna focus on this chunk of glass. To begin with, I need to know how big it is, so grabbing a side, I lift it up with a claw, proving that it¡¯s wide, but kinda thin. It should be possible to bring back. So climbing on top of it, I hook my claws underneath it and get a good grip, following that is the wing-spreading and taking off. Well, taking off comes after funneling more magic into my wings, as it turns out. Dang thing is heavy, but not quite as heavy as the steelback.

    Flying is still wobbly, and it turns out that carrying a large, heavy piece of somewhat flat glass is not helping. Judging by the maniacal laughter from Raya and the screaming from Lauren, my flight is a little more wobbly than usual. There¡¯s a risk that a few trees have had a little taken off the top as we¡¯ve bumped into them, prompting me to fly a little higher.

    The trip isn¡¯t long, but I¡¯m learning quite a lot about flight, such as how a big slab of glass can function as a rudder. Who knew? I sure didn¡¯t, but I do now.

    Just soaring and moving the rudder slab lets me do some neat dives and maneuvers, which Lauren loves. Our lovely flight comes to an end as we reach Tuiran, and the detour I took didn¡¯t make it that much longer. But there¡¯s plenty of time for more of that tomorrow.

    The trenches people have been digging seem to be coming along nicely, although I¡¯m not sure how they¡¯re supposed to look. Nevertheless, we¡¯re almost at the square, and that means I have to figure out how to set this slab down without cracking it.

    Hovering over a nice open spot, I get doubtful questions like ¡®Are you sure this is a good idea?¡¯ and ''What do you even need this for?¡¯ But I have no time for such doubt as I need to focus on doing my job here!

    Slowly hovering lower proves somewhat difficult as the weight of this thing is considerable. We¡¯re almost there, and I¡¯m sure we¡¯re close to the ground, but I don¡¯t want to land on top of it, so I¡¯ll have to drop it the last bit and hope for the best.

    Letting go results in quite a loud noise as it smacks into the stones that make up the town square. With the heavy weight gone, flying becomes magnitudes easier and we gracefully land nearby, ready to ignore any damage I¡¯ve caused. Hopefully, the gathered crowd is ready to ignore it as well.

    And it appears they are! The first person to touch the slab climbs on top and spreads her body out, as she lets out a comfortable sigh, sparking interest in the others, and soon my slab of glass is covered in goblins. A job well done!

    We¡¯ll have to see if anyone around here knows knapping, so we can get useful chunks off this chunk, otherwise, we can just use it as a heating attraction. I don¡¯t even know how long it will stay warm, but that¡¯s for other people to figure out.

    Raya¡¯s stomach growls, reminding us of why we came back, and she¡¯s quick to stare at me with apologetic eyes.

    ¡°Kira, we can bring some food back here if you want, but the only tavern you can reach is closed today. We might be able to find a butcher or something, but they¡¯re focusing on building reserves.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s okay. You guys have something to talk about, so don¡¯t mind me.¡±

    She deserves a nudge for worrying about me. Lauren deserves a nudge too for looking out for me. As parting words for now, I bring up Skelly and ask that Lauren contact Merciferus about the skeleton¡¯s faction, earning me a raised eyebrow, but no eye roll this time.

    Leaving the two to their chat, I head for... I don¡¯t know where to go. I don¡¯t know how to find the Shadow Man, Lauren is on top of the Merciferus thing, and I don¡¯t want to talk to Wreyn. That doesn¡¯t leave many options for how to proceed with this whole thing.

    I could go hunt some adventurers, but the fun ones I¡¯ve met have left an annoyingly good impression on me, making me a little more reluctant to hunt them, adding to that is the fact that Lauren may know some of them. I don¡¯t want to deliberately be hunting her old friends, that feels a bit cruel.

    Dang it, that leaves treating my tail... Okay, heading for my den it is. The looming clouds are making me worry about the potential for flooding, but at least I have flames to dry out my den. Assuming that¡¯s gonna work.

    As I move through the entrance to my den, thoughts of how I¡¯m so comfortable with the narrow corridor spring to mind, as I enter the even more comfortable enclosed space of my room. It¡¯s so much better than a stupid human town. Tuiran is much better too, at least I can spread my wings over most buildings if they feel stiff. Good job on the construction, goblins. Aside from the lack of dragon accessibility.

    With my hoard under me, it¡¯s time to coil up and see how bad this healing business is gonna be. Focusing my magic and pushing it to my tail in a slow but restorative manner makes it clear that I don¡¯t have to heal anything in one fell swoop. I can just let the magic trickle into the wound to restore it and worst of all... I ALREADY KNEW! Dang it, Kira! No points for you today!

    I¡¯ve done this before and I could have been healing my wounds slowly all this time, and I just didn¡¯t. Well, I am going to do it now, and I¡¯m gonna try to experiment with it as well. Focusing on the trickle of magic, my mind focuses on it as I increase it in a gentle manner so that I don¡¯t get a burst of pain.

    For now, it isn¡¯t more than an itchy feeling, but that¡¯s fine, so I increase the flow until it starts hurting a little. Dialing it to an uncomfortable itch seems to be the sweet spot, and looking at my tail, the effect is obvious. Some sort of liquid is flowing out of the damaged area and solidifies into new tail blade material. The whole thing is kinda creepy, and it¡¯s gonna take a bunch of time, but it has changed it from painful to annoying, so that¡¯s a win.

    I¡¯m curious to see how much it speeds up when it starts heading for the painful territory, so increasing the flow a little, the liquid starts flowing faster, and when I reach a dull, throbbing pain, it seems to flow at a reasonable rate. I can tolerate this, but it¡¯s still gonna take quite a while. By my guess, it could be four full days of dull throbbing pain, but it¡¯s working.

    ¡°Kira, are you available? Lauren and Raya sent word that you were without an evening meal, and I wish to remedy that.¡±

    A rare sight! Lily has arrived with three goblins in tow, each carrying some sort of pot, and a gust of wind wafts the scent my way, encouraging my drooling tendencies. Naturally, she¡¯s welcome to enter my den with treats. I¡¯m never gonna be against that.

    The group of goblins seems to be walking on unsteady feet as they approach, and it occurs to me that the floor in here is quite uneven from my own walking. I don¡¯t think clay is the best flooring for a dragon¡¯s den, but they¡¯re managing it. As they reach me, they take turns placing a pot down before stepping back, bidding Lily goodnight as they leave. I love how helpful people are here.

    ¡°My intent for these was to soilbreak them for the winter in order for Joras and I to have meals ready as we please without much effort. But what better change of plans than sharing a new experience with someone!¡±

    I don¡¯t know what soilbreaking them means, but my interest lies in the dishes presented to me. Dang it, I want to know what that word means... Asking her about it, she giggles before explaining.

    ¡°My apologies. The word is a bastardized one from my homeland. You do not have rocks covering the ground as we do, so I have changed it to soil. To rockbreak a dish is to create a hole in the rocks we walk on, breaking them up to bury a pot, providing a way to keep it preserved.¡±

    Sounds like a rudimentary cellar, but I would imagine it¡¯s pretty hard to dig out enough rock to actually make a cellar. Before I know it, she¡¯s pointing to a dish and explaining what it is and how it¡¯s made, but she uses magic to cook and enchants to empower spices, like some sort of magical chef. I¡¯m not familiar with most of what she says, but she¡¯s very enthusiastic and I know what a stew is.

    She kneels on the other side of the pots and pulls out two bowls, filling both with the stew from the first pot. Holding it out for me, she opens her mouth and says ¡®aahhh,¡¯ leaving no doubt as to what she wants me to do. Opening my mouth a little, she puts down one bowl and pushes on my snout to get me to open wider before pouring the other in. The explosion of flavor is fantastic, and I have been missing out.

    ¡°I take it you enjoy the flavor.¡±

    Rolling my tongue around in the small puddle of stew in my mouth, I let the flavor settle before swallowing what I can. It¡¯s so good.

    ¡°I do not believe I have heard you purr with quite such ferocity before, Kira. I shall take it as the best compliment I have received.¡±

    Picking up her own bowl, she sips from it directly, commenting on how this is how her people usually eat this dish, although they typically have some spiced bread as well.

    As she holds her bowl with one hand, she grabs the other with her free hand and fills it again, and I know the procedure now, so opening my mouth, she pours in the next bowl. I could get used to this. Between sips, she lets out a soft chuckle as she stares at the floor.

    ¡°Never in my three centuries did I expect to experience hand-feeding a Dragon. This will be quite the thing to brag about, should I ever meet any of my own. They would be positively boiling with envy!¡±

    It feels weird to hear something like that, since I let people feed me all the time. But if the novelty of it means more treats, then I¡¯m all for it. Her mentioning three centuries does bring up a potential path forward. So I bring up Skelly and the mention of a patron, but it doesn¡¯t even cause her to flinch as she opens the second pot.

    ¡°This is a soft dish and it does not keep as well as the other two. It is made from Drowned Hairs of Marsai. The seeds from the plant grow underwater and carry quite a lot of nutrition. Add to it the milk of lowlands twinhorn cows and a third of that in added water, along with a child¡¯s hand of salt. It needs to cook for a quarter of a sun cycle. Have a taste.¡±

    She holds out a spoonful of the stuff. It¡¯s some sort of sticky white meal, and as I approach with my mouth, she whips the spoon to throw the dollop of stuff into my mouth, and it¡¯s sweet and delicious! I taste rice! It¡¯s freakin¡¯ rice pudding! My mom used to make this... I need to find some cinnamon and sugar to go with it.

    ¡°Is it bad, Kira? I did not think it would make you cry. My deepest apologies.¡±

    "It''s good. I just miss my parents, and this reminds me of them."

    She deserves a nudge.

    "I will have to commit to my memory that you become affectionate when eating Marsai''s Treat. Though we cannot have the mighty Dragon of Tuiran weep. As such, perhaps it is my duty to cheer you up. The messenger sent by Raya informed me of your desire to seek out a certain faction beyond life. And I know someone who is familiar with every such faction residing in this world."

 Chapter 55: Harrowing Path

    The memories of my parents rushing to the forefront of my mind fill me with a certain sadness, but it also feels good to remember where my life began and how much I¡¯ve grown. There¡¯s also joy to be found in not having forgotten who I am in all of the events happening in this weird world.

    I hope they¡¯re doing well, but even if I could somehow visit them to tell them I¡¯m doing fine, I wouldn¡¯t have anything to wear. What would a dragon even wear to meet up with her grieving human parents? I have no idea.

    Lily doesn¡¯t sit idly by as my thoughts wander. Instead she gets up and moves toward me.

    ¡°I do not know the procedure for this. Do I simply request that you lower your head so that I may hug you?¡±

    She¡¯s so adorable, and after giving her a nod and bringing my head down to meet her, she embraces my snout with a firm hug. At least as firm as she can manage.

    Settling back down after our hugging session, Lily prepares another bowl of food for me, this time from the third pot. I¡¯m not sure what it is, but it looks like soup stock. With half a bowl of the stuff, she adds some stew from the first pot before giving it to me. Everything here is delicious, and I want more.

    I wonder what Lauren might cook up and how well it would go with Lily¡¯s cooking. Once this winter business is done, I might have to look into a cultural food day.

    It¡¯s a shame that these pots are so small because we¡¯re out of food, but at least we still have plenty of good company. Can Joras cook? I would imagine it¡¯s quite close to his alchemy business, so he should be a great chef, but he hasn¡¯t offered to make any dishes for me. I¡¯ll have to investigate that.

    Not today, though. I will need to figure out what time it is, and judging by Lily¡¯s yawn, it¡¯s late. Or early. Or she¡¯s old and hasn¡¯t had a nap today. Geez, I¡¯m doing a terrible job of narrowing down the time.

    Well, there isn¡¯t much point in wondering about the time, especially when I can focus on a hug. We just stay like this for a while, with her attached to my face.

    This does give me a moment to think about what to do going forward, and it seems that we will need to find this contact of Lily¡¯s. And we need to gather up Skelly¡¯s things so that we can bring them back to this patron the bony weird mentioned. That¡¯s a lot of wealth leaving my hoard and I don¡¯t like that, but it¡¯s the right thing to do...

    The sound of gentle snoring draws my attention, and as I open my eyes, it becomes very apparent that Lily has fallen asleep. And she¡¯s drooling on me. With a few gentle movements, I manage to wake her up without her falling to the ground, and when she opens her eyes and stares at me, her face becomes flushed with embarrassment.

    ¡°My sincerest apologies. I did not mean to show such disrespect.¡±

    A little drool is hardly disrespectful, but she sure is rambling about it. The easiest solution I can think of is to make us even, so she gets a lick! Just a small one. Well, as small as I can manage, given my size.

    She does quite a good job of taking it in stride as she wipes away the viscous fluid left behind by my tongue. Most of it is stuck to her face, and it takes a moment for her to get it off, but persistence is key!

    ¡°Lily, if you¡¯re tired, I know just the place for a snooze.¡±

    ¡°The oft-spoken-of armrest? I would be delighted to have the opportunity to try it.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know people spoke of it, but then I¡¯m not around all the time to listen to every topic folks talk about. Nevertheless, it was what I was thinking. As I coil up my body, Lily gets ready to join me for a snooze. She isn¡¯t quite as competent a climber as Raya or Lauren, so by giving a little help by nudging her with my nose, she manages to get up on my arm as she asks for instructions.

    As far as upper body strength goes, Lily has none. She must have had a really hard time since getting cured of that poison thing. At least she¡¯s getting better, so we will just have to find someone to train her a little.

    Almost the moment Lily settles into the spot on my arm, she leans against my neck and falls asleep. I''m gonna join her, I deserve a snooze.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The first thing I notice when I wake up is the sensation of someone climbing on me, which makes sense since that''s what woke me up. I''m not quite sure who it is just yet, but given how I haven''t lashed out, they must be familiar, so that''s good enough for me.

    Opening my eyes reveals the identity of this mysterious climber, and it''s Raya!

    "Hey Kira! I came to ask who the two people you brought back are."

    Uh... I have no idea who she is talking about. I''m pretty sure I haven''t brought anyone back lately, and the last thing I brought back was a big slab of glass, before that, it was the steelback. I hope I''m not going crazy here and abducting people without realizing it.

    This is something that I should look into, but if these mysterious people aren''t causing any harm, then I can safely postpone it and do something else. Like nudging Lily awake and asking about this contact of hers.

    In fact, it might be a good thing for Raya to be here as well, so we can both hear what Lily has to say on the matter, since Raya is obviously gonna be the diplomat here. She has a knack for making friends.

    Nudging Lily awake results in groans and attempts to push my face away.

    "No... Leave me, I wish to sleep..."

    She has a pretty good point. And with a few squirms, she''s thoroughly entrenched in the gap between my neck and arm as she snuggles up even more. I don''t think there''s anything else I can do, so all I can do is resign myself to being lazy today.

    ¡°Raya, what did you do with those two people?¡±

    ¡°I gave them to Turo. He¡¯s still working on those clay things outside the wall.¡±

    Oh, well, that sounds like a problem solved before it arose.

    Sudden movement from the sleeping snuggler makes me move my head a bit to give her some room to get up. Lily is quick to use the opportunity to stretch with a big yawn. Nudging her and asking whether she slept well earns me a weird expression, some sort of mix between a glare and appreciation.

    ¡°It was a truly wonderful slumber, thank you. The notion that the natural armor of a Dragon would be so comfortable leaves me somewhat speechless, but comfortable it was, until you spoke.¡±

    What? I kept my voice down, so it shouldn¡¯t have been a problem. Maybe she¡¯s a light sleeper, but suggesting as much has Raya chip in with an opposing viewpoint.

    ¡°She¡¯s right, Kira. When you talk, it feels like being dragged across rocks while tied to a wooden board.¡±

    ¡°That is exactly what it is! Thank you, Raya!¡±

    Their agreement sure did perk Lily right up, but having me in the line of fire seems unfair. I¡¯m innocent of any crime they may think I¡¯ve committed. Fixating an eye on Raya reveals that she¡¯s staring at me, too.

    ¡°Your voice is deep and sounds like you¡¯re growling sometimes, Kira. So it rumbles when you talk.¡±

    Pfft, that¡¯s nonsense, my voice is light and feminine and a delight, and Raya¡¯s gleeful smile won¡¯t change that! I can¡¯t think of a retort, so puff of smoke it is. Take that, Raya!

    With a delightful laugh, she sits down on me and brings up the topic of what we¡¯re gonna do from here. In response, Lily clears her throat as she prepares to speak.

    ¡°The Shae is the one you must seek out. Though I must warn you, Kira, she and those with whom she associates hold tremendous power and do not take insult lightly. Should you meet them, please do be on your best behavior. It is of critical importance that you do not offend the Shae.¡±

    For someone still snuggling up against me, Lily sure is speaking with quite a bit of authority. It sounds to me like she has intimate knowledge of what it means to offend this Shae person. At least I¡¯m great at first impressions, and with Raya leading the conversation, I¡¯m sure we won¡¯t have anything to fear.

    ¡°The Shae reigns as the Warden of the Lands Beyond Death in the north. The Shae holds a reputation for mercilessness in the face of opposition and a true willingness to slaughter anyone standing in the way of her goals. To find the Shae, you must find one of her subjects to guide you on this journey as those uninvited will soon find themselves lost in a maze of mist and thorns.¡±

    So flying south sounds pretty good, maybe we¡¯ll find something interesting down there. We could look into finding some caves to hide out in or explore new lands. Yeah, we could even find some new food to try or fancy critters to hunt. Raya seems curious about Lily¡¯s doom and gloom ranting as she asks who the Shae is and what these subjects are.

    Continuing her rant, Lily brings up some stories about how the Shae guards the world from a great evil of some sort. It sounds familiar, but I can¡¯t quite place it. At least I get some clarity when she brings up scalefolk and it occurs to me just who the Shae might be! It¡¯s probably Shae Tara Volkai, leader of the Scalefolk, and if we just have to find a scalefolk person to lead us there, then we can go south and find Turgai! Or see if we can find Kaldren and Shae Tara Nenka.

    Why didn¡¯t she just say it was the scalefolk? Those people love me! So we could end up going south after all. Although I¡¯m not sure how well that fortress city will respond to my presence if we go there. Hopefully, Lunch, the Commander, and Turgai have spoken well of me. After all, I¡¯m a delight.

    Raya could even meet up with Banyai and talk about poisons and herbs. It¡¯s good to have someone to share interests with like that.

    ¡°What are you so excited about, Kira?¡±

    ¡°I figured out a plan! We know some scalefolk we can ask, and with their help, we can find Shae Tara Volkai, and she can tell us where Skelly¡¯s faction is, and then we can help them fight the cultists while we sit back!¡±

    Ranting a bit about the people we¡¯ve met does make Raya a little curious as she ponders the situation. Who needs doom and gloom when you have friends and acquaintances?

    ¡°I did not think you had been so industrious in your social endeavors, Kira. Most I hear on the matter relates to your affinity for... removing unsuspecting adventuring parties.¡±

    Geez, no wonder she¡¯s worried if she thinks I attack before saying hello. I¡¯ll have her know that I¡¯m very polite and I¡¯ve been friendly to most people I¡¯ve met. Those jerks just have a habit of attacking me, is all. And I don¡¯t like getting attacked, so I defend myself, which I think is perfectly reasonable. That it happens to be lethal for them is their problem. They started it.

    So our choices going forward are seeking out Turgai or Nenka the Trading Adventurer. I¡¯m not sure I ever got Turgai¡¯s clan name, but I do know that Nenka¡¯s full name is Shae Tara Nenka, which suggests that she might be a descendant of the Shae. We don¡¯t know where she is, though, so Turgai might be the safer bet, although he has the issue of being in that fortress.

    I definitely don¡¯t want to go into that daunting place, so we would have to lure him out, so we can talk to him. I¡¯m sure he would be interested in helping out, especially if it means fighting back against the undead jerk controlling the cultists.

    First things first, though, we need to get up and stop being lazy. Moving my arm to the side elicits a few groans from Lily as her resting spot is disrupted, but that¡¯s too bad, Lily!

    She surrenders to the coming day as she lands on her feet, allowing me to stand up without her getting injured, and that means it¡¯s stretching time! Ooh, feels good.

    There¡¯s an unfamiliar scent wafting in from the outside, and I want to investigate it, but before I can, Raya calls out for me.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Kira, wait. We should bring the pots out for Lily. She can¡¯t carry them all.¡±

    That¡¯s true. Raya jumps off me and onto the ground, grabbing hold of two of the three pots before climbing up on me again. Lily moves to grab the last one, but I intercept it with my tongue, drawing it into my mouth as I lower my head for her to join Raya behind my horns. Raya places the two pots on top of my head as she helps Lily climb up, and with the two of them somewhat secure, we¡¯re ready to head out!

    Trudging toward the opening of my den, the scent becomes stronger and the sound of raindrops makes it obvious what the scent is! It¡¯s the scent of disturbed dust as the rain hits the ground and it¡¯s quite lovely, but it isn¡¯t similar to what I¡¯m used to at all. I¡¯m not sure whether that¡¯s because of my stronger sense of smell or something else, but I like it.

    As we ascend the ramp, it becomes quite clear what a good decision it was to have Lily ride on top of me, as the moist clay is quite malleable. My feet sink into it, but my claws keep me secure, and I¡¯m pretty sure that Lily would have slipped in this mess. In a few days, we¡¯ll find out whether my den will flood or not, I guess.

    As we reach the outside, I notice that I don¡¯t notice any shift in temperature, which is a little odd, but I¡¯m pretty sure the rain is cooling things down. I don¡¯t want Lily to catch a cold, so we should get her home soon, and that will be the first priority considering Raya must be accustomed to the outdoors, so she¡¯ll be fine.

    The deserted streets allow me to rush a bit, and the street is doing a pretty good job of withstanding the assault of my weight, but I¡¯m getting the impression that they won¡¯t handle regular use. It wouldn¡¯t be great if I ruined the road by stomping all over it in the rain. Which means more limitations... Yay...

    ¡°Why are you hurrying, Kira?¡±

    ¡°I want to get Lily home before she catches something.¡±

    ¡°Like what? You think someone might throw something at her?¡±

    It doesn¡¯t feel like she¡¯s teasing me, so her question makes me think I¡¯ve forgotten something... Instead of wondering too much about it, I just talk about how easy it is to catch a cold in the rain and get sick. And considering that Lily is still recovering from a longer period of bed rest, she might be especially susceptible to things like that. It doesn¡¯t quite have the reaction I expected, as Raya draws her knife and the scent of fear permeates the air.

    ¡°Tell me where the plague mage is, Kira! I¡¯ll kill him!¡±

    Right... That¡¯s what I forgot. They don¡¯t really deal with random diseases here because of Merciferus. Well, good news road-fixing goblin, I¡¯m gonna take it slower for the last stretch of road. I¡¯m a gentle and non-destructive dragon, after all!

    Raya is quick to bonk me on the head as I bring up my mistake. She¡¯s a little upset, which is fair, since she was genuinely frightened by the possibility of a plaguemancer.

    ¡°I cannot fathom how terrifying it must be to live in a world in which plagues and diseases spring up without the presence of a plaguemancer.¡±

    Oh, they have no idea... Granted, we didn¡¯t have magically powered diseases, but this is an opportunity to tell scary stories!

    ¡°In my old world, a cut on your finger while gardening could result in half of your arm needing to be cut off! A small cut from combat could be a death sentence! And poo was used to deal poison damage!¡±

    ¡°To live with such horror... How awful it must be.¡±

    Lily seems worried and scared by the concept of microbial life affecting people like that, so I might have overdone it. At least Raya doesn¡¯t seem all that fazed by it, but we should probably cheer up Lily a little. This is a job for the positive things from my old world! Shopping centers, indoor plumbing, and smoothies!

    Judging by her hmm''s and other noises of a thinking nature, my mission to cheer her up ends up confusing her more than anything, but it does lead to her asking me to elaborate! So I do! Launching into an explanation of smoothies and how great they are and that you can make them in your own home seems to work quite well, until I realize that she¡¯s focusing on the entirely wrong thing here...

    ¡°How does this ¡®blender¡¯ work? Does it not require magic to function or maintain its strength? I do not understand how such a thing can carve fruit at such speeds without magical inscriptions.¡±

    We¡¯re standing outside the shop, and I¡¯m not sure Lily has noticed. She seems far too engaged in asking questions about blenders as she fires a few more my way, but I don¡¯t know a lot about how they work, so I¡¯m just guessing when I explain it to her. If she wants to try to make one, she needs as much information as I can give her.

    I¡¯m getting the impression that we could end up standing around here talking if I don¡¯t cut it short, and we do have things to do. I¡¯m sure Joras would be interested in hearing about it, too, since gears and mechanical force will no doubt have the potential to help his alchemy as well. And there are some skilled craftsfolk in town who would probably love the challenge of creating new things like that.

    It does make me curious about things like flour milling, considering how much easier that becomes with more mechanical energy. Maybe they¡¯re using some weird magic to do the same thing. Oh! The blacksmith would most likely love having a trip hammer! But I don¡¯t know how to make those... I¡¯ve only ever seen them in video games. I¡¯m sure people can figure it out if they start working with gears.

    ¡°Kira, you¡¯re distracted again.¡±

    ¡°Pfft, no. I was just exploring possibilities on my own instead of sharing them with the group.¡±

    Raya doesn¡¯t seem convinced by my explanation, but a welcome distraction in the form of laughter comes from Lily as she invites us to stay.

    ¡°Please do leave the pots as you depart, I would rather not have to seek them out in peculiar locations around town.¡±

    Oh... I forgot about those... So I have some bad news for Lily, and now I need to let her know that she only has two pots and a chewed-up piece of scrap metal. Opening my mouth and letting the chunk of metal fall to the ground elicits a laugh from Lily. All I can do is apologize, which earns me a laugh from the elf. Raya might have been right about me being distracted.

    ¡°Do not worry, Kira. With the flow of Dragon¡¯s Gold, replacements for these old things are in order. It would allow me to create new and more powerful inscriptions, as you have provided quite a few potent reagents for us to work with.¡±

    Her optimism sure is helpful in making me feel less guilty about treating her pot as chewing gum. Giving her a nudge, she pats the side of my face before heading inside with the two surviving pots. I¡¯m just gonna push the scrap to the side and leave.

    It¡¯s quite exciting to maybe have the opportunity to visit the Lands Beyond Death, and to think, all it took was me literally dying. All we need to do now is abduct a scalefolk person with a friendly disposition, and we¡¯ll be exploring that legendary place in no time!

    ¡°What do we do now, Kira?¡±

    ¡°We need to find a scalefolk person, Raya, and for that, we can either go to the fortress and find Turgai or see if we can find Shae Tara Nenka anywhere. Which do you think we should do?¡±

    With a ¡®hmm,¡¯ she starts wondering about what to do, and it is a big decision considering one of them will take a lot of time flying around, hoping for the best. And the other takes us to the fortress of unknown friendliness.

    I¡¯m leaning toward the fortress, since we can stay a safe distance from any armaments while waiting for someone to come greet us. And if they look hostile, we can fly away before they have a chance to reach us.

    We could even bring Lauren to smooth out any misunderstandings. Between Raya and Lauren, we¡¯re diplomatically unstoppable!

    ¡°Lauren, we¡¯re almost at the north gate, and when we get there, we¡¯re gonna head back to the square, could you meet us there? I wanna hear your thoughts on how to acquire a scalefolk person.¡±

    I¡¯m just gonna ignore that sensation of worry and confusion. Instead, I should probably duck under the gate, so I don¡¯t ruin this one, too. I would rather not get a reputation for being an accidental gatebreaker.

    Spreading my wings brings even more new-ish sensations as the raindrops beat against my wings¡¯ membranes like drums, creating their own little musical number. Raya is quick to climb down to one of my wings and join in on the drumming. We can¡¯t really stand around here listening to that all day, though, especially not when I¡¯ve asked Lauren to brave the rain to meet us.

    Raya is quick to grab hold of me as I move my wings, and we set off into the sky. As it turns out, the rain isn¡¯t really an obstacle at all for me, especially not with my nictitating membrane protecting my eyes from wind and weather.

    Flying in a wide circle over the town reminds me of the trenches dug to keep the rainwater flowing, and looking down makes it apparent that they¡¯re working quite well. They¡¯re already diverting a bunch of water to the walls, allowing it to flow into the surrounding landscape instead of flooding the town.

    That¡¯s some solid rudimentary civil engineering. I¡¯m sure they could improve it once spring rolls around.

    ¡°Kira, I don¡¯t want to keep flying in the rain...¡±

    Right. We have things to do. Refocusing and setting a course for the square, I feel Raya hiding behind one of my horns to shield herself from the rain as much as possible, and we might have to come up with some sort of solution for that.

    It doesn¡¯t take us long to reach the square, and Lauren is already standing outside my den, ready to chip in on the decision-making.

    As we land, Raya is quick to jump down and shield herself from the rain underneath me, and Lauren joins her, leaving me to be the only one getting pelted by the weather. I can do better, though! Coiling up around them, I spread a wing over us, shielding them and my head from the merciless assault of liquid discomfort.

    I can even heat up the space with a little dragon breath of heat. Lauren seems curious about my actions as she speaks up.

    ¡°How cold can you make your breath, Kira?¡±

    I¡¯m not sure, but it¡¯s an interesting question. Focusing on my breath, I try to lower the temperature even more as I blow still-warm air onto my body. Raya touches the stream of air with a hand and notes that it isn¡¯t too warm anymore, but as Lauren tries touching it, Raya earns a smack on the back of her head. Judging by that interaction, Raya is inheriting my fire resistance.

    ¡°Did I burn your hand?¡±

    ¡°No, I burned my hand, but not too badly. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    She holds up her hand for me to see and it is a little red, but it¡¯s just a first-degree burn, so she should be fine. I don¡¯t think I can lower the temperature any more than that, though, so it¡¯s not great for drying clothes or heating people. Well, it is great at heating people, but more in the charred fashion, rather than the more helpful ¡®not cold¡¯ fashion.

    ¡°So why do you need to ¡®acquire¡¯ a scalefolk, Kira?¡±

    That¡¯s a good question and as I tell her about our brilliant plan to gain access to the Lands Beyond Death, and if we have time, possibly convince the people to the south not to wander into my territory. It would be neat to not have to kill as many adventurers, but they do seem to be quite interested in me doing just that. I don¡¯t mind the free treats that they are, but it would be quite bad if they ended up hurting more of my people.

    ¡°Maybe we should hire some of them to hunt you, Kira. That way, we can get rid of the dumb adventurers faster.¡±

    The smack to the back of Raya¡¯s head indicates that Lauren might not agree with her suggestion, but I don¡¯t know... There is some merit to it, I think. If these quests into my territory end up with a high fatality rate, it could discourage others.

    ¡°Raya, don¡¯t encourage that behavior, and Kira, stop considering it. The goal should be to reduce the amount of needless death. That being said, if the Shae can point you in the right direction for allies against the cultists, then I think it¡¯s worth the effort. We just need to be careful we don¡¯t end up with more enemies.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, with Raya in charge of diplomacy, we¡¯re gonna make friends all over the place!¡±

    I don¡¯t think Lauren is all that convinced...

    ¡°And you¡¯re certain that Raya is the right person for that? What merits does she have to warrant being at the head of your talks with foreign powers?¡±

    ¡°She convinced a dragon to play in a lake and then protect her town. That¡¯s some high-level diplomacy.¡±

    For some reason, Lauren covers her face with her hand as she lets out a mighty sigh, but Raya agrees with me as she beams with pride. I¡¯m pretty sure my point is valid, even if Lauren doesn¡¯t seem to agree.

    ¡°That argument doesn¡¯t work when you are that Dragon, Kira...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s called firsthand experience. Besides, she also convinced Kanen to help her, and kept me from eating the other mages. And she befriended Cranky. In fact, she might be the most socially skilled person here.¡±

    For some reason, Lauren just stares into the void after listening to me until she gets up and starts to walk away.

    ¡°The goblin who attacked a Goddess is the most socially skilled person... Reality is pointless...¡±

    That feels a little dramatic, but I feel like I convinced her of Raya¡¯s talents. Don¡¯t underestimate the wise and sneaky Raya.

    ¡°I think you broke Lauren, Kira.¡±

    ¡°Do I get credit for you not eating me, Kira?¡±

    I¡¯m inclined to agree with Raya, but Lauren¡¯s question doesn¡¯t have the answer she¡¯s looking for... This might be a time to lie by not pointing out that it was Cranky who convinced me not to kill her. So of course she gets credit! And as I tell her, she raises an eyebrow with a clear hint of skepticism before coming back to join us again.

    Well, changing subjects. We need to focus on these upcoming scalefolk abductions. I don¡¯t have much of a plan outside of showing up and hoping for the best, and I¡¯m not sure that it will work. I could think about it all day and never come up with a solution, so it might be time to just try something and hope for the best.

    Neither Raya nor Lauren has any good ideas, although Lauren does suggest that she simply walk into the town and ask around, but given what happened in Plainshold, I¡¯m not up for letting her try. I¡¯m aware that it¡¯s controlling behavior and it¡¯s not great, but I really don¡¯t want to risk putting her in a position where I don¡¯t have time to interfere and save her.

    As I tell her as much, she signals for me to lower my head, and as I do, she hugs me. She really shouldn¡¯t be rewarding bad and controlling behavior like that...

    ¡°I know you worry for me, Kira, but you cannot be there to protect me every time I go outside. We will attempt your plan this time, but you have to prepare yourself to let me go in the future. I wouldn¡¯t feel great if you ended up burning down every town I visit.¡±

    Fine... I still don¡¯t like it, though. She¡¯s mine and I shouldn¡¯t have to risk losing her. That¡¯s another part of all of this, after all. To have fewer jerks trying to kill my people.

    We can¡¯t leave Raya out of this, so I nudge her for her opinion, and she¡¯s quick to give it.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine as long as we stick together. Who would be dumb enough to attack all three of us?¡±

    Adventurers, probably... With that settled, I¡¯m pretty sure we should just get moving before the day ends. As I tell them that I want to get moving, Raya is quick to use her weird acrobatics to jump onto me while Lauren is less agile. As I lower my head, she tells me to stop halfway to the ground before she tries to mimic Raya.

    With a little distance between us, she rushes toward me and leaps for my arm. Her boot hits my bicep and, with a mighty thud, she falls backwards, landing on her ass. I kinda expected Raya to laugh, but instead the goblin climbs down and shows Lauren how to do it.

    The two of them leave me standing like a wall as Raya demonstrates and instructs Lauren in how to climb me. She even throws some orders my way, like raising my arm off the ground to create a stair of sorts and lowering my horn as a handhold.

    After a few tries and with Lauren having fallen a bunch, she manages to jump from my arm and grab hold of my horn before pulling herself up. With bright enthusiasm, Raya and Lauren burst into cheers as they jump around on me.

    ¡°Thank you both for being patient with me. It¡¯s surprisingly difficult to get used to my new strength.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s so much fun.¡±

    Raya begins sharing stories of things she has broken because of this strength of hers and how she has fought off adventurers, impressing Lauren quite a bit. For now, though, we should be heading out, and with the goal being to find Turgai, we¡¯ve gotta get moving so he doesn¡¯t end up in some weird adventuring location.

    The entry to my den is even muddier now, and I¡¯m lucky to have my claws to keep me from slipping, but we might have to temporarily evacuate Jeannie and Tiffy when I get back.

    Leaving my den and taking flight goes off without a hitch, and the rain is making an excellent effort toward cleaning the muddy clay off me. Hopefully, nobody below minds the drops and clumps. To avoid any personal injury to those below, I rush a bit to get outside the town before we become entirely soaked.

    Next stop: A safe distance from the fortress city of whatever its name is!

 Chapter 56: According to Plan. Ish.

    We¡¯re well on our way to the fortress, and with our current pace, we¡¯ll be there before nightfall, which is great news for actually being seen. The near-constant cloud cover does mean that even daytime is quite gray and gloomy.

    A tap on my horn alerts me to someone wanting my attention. It¡¯s remarkable how easy it is to feel whenever something touches my horns, while they¡¯re strong enough to withstand ripping an iron gate apart. It occurs to me that I might have been underutilizing them for combat, especially considering the kinds of stuff I¡¯ve run into. If I¡¯m built to ram things, I could really ruin someone¡¯s day.

    Another tap to my horn alerts me to someone pointing out that I got distracted... and Lauren telling me as much does the same.

    ¡°Kira, we have to go back. Merciferus has informed me that she has sent an envoy for us to meet in the Field of Punishment. Do you know where that is?¡±

    I have my suspicions... That¡¯s a pretty obvious taunt from the goddess of attitude and mischief. I am kinda curious what kind of envoy she has sent. Hopefully a polite one, but I¡¯m not sure about how likely that is. And Merciferus sure is using her ability to talk to Lauren a lot lately, especially when it comes to bossing her around.

    I¡¯m sure Merciferus has her reasons for it, and she has been quite helpful when she can be, so it¡¯s not like we¡¯re likely to lose anything significant from this detour. We might even gain something if she¡¯s feeling generous.

    With a little magic in my wings, it won¡¯t take that long anyway, but ways to safeguard my passengers from the weather might be a good thing to think about. Raya and Lauren are whispering about something to do with hunting, but I get the impression that they¡¯re worried about me overhearing. Yeah, I¡¯m just gonna point out that I can hear them. And with a few scratches to make me purr, they change the subject.

    I¡¯m so curious about what they¡¯re talking about, and geez, I hope they¡¯ll tell me when they¡¯re ready.

    ¡°How do you manage to avoid the trees, Kira?¡±

    I know I¡¯m not flying too high up, but have a little faith, Lauren! I¡¯ve been flying low enough for the tallest trees to poke up, but they¡¯re easy to avoid with a little turning. I tell her as much, pointing out that they¡¯re quite easy to see, so why wouldn¡¯t I be able to avoid them?

    ¡°I think she¡¯s talking about the fog, Kira. I can¡¯t see that far ahead.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Neither can I, and you seem to be avoiding everything without much difficulty.¡±

    Slowing down to a hover, I look around trying to spot the fog, but I don¡¯t see it. I¡¯m not sure if they¡¯re teasing me again, but aside from being a little grayer, I don¡¯t see much of a difference from any other day. Maybe I can¡¯t see as far, I guess, but fog should be imposing and restrictive.

    I just don¡¯t see it... With a little magic directed to my eyes, my sight changes to see the magic of the world and geez, I should have prepared a little. The air around us is saturated with magic, and now I can barely see farther than my nose. Okay, so if that¡¯s magical fog, then my physical vision can¡¯t really see it, which is kinda helpful.

    Reducing my magic sight again turns the world visible, and I¡¯m kinda curious how many foggy days I¡¯ve missed out on. Dang it, I like fog, it¡¯s pretty and mysterious...

    As this terrible news hits me, Lauren uses the opportunity to tell me to get moving so we can meet up with Merciferus¡¯ envoy and see what they want.

    ¡°And after that, we need to head directly south of here. If you can¡¯t see the fog, there¡¯s a beast we need to hunt. It has avoided the Guild for a very long time and hunts on foggy days.¡±

    ¡°That sounds like an unnecessary detour, and I feel like we¡¯re getting distracted here. We have that whole meeting with Turgai thing to do.¡±

    It¡¯s usual for Lauren to be the one to take us to weird locations, so maybe we should do as she says. The firm tone of her voice sure suggests that she wants this beastie dead.

    ¡°Please, Kira. It targets merchants and peasants. The Guild has frequently sent out parties to hunt it, but it either hides or hunts them back. Reports say that it strikes from behind and approaches without being seen or heard.¡±

    Well, when she puts it like that, how can I refuse? Who knows, it might even be delicious. I hope it is. To the south, she said? Yeah, we should hunt it.

    ¡°The envoy first, you silly beast.¡±

    She laughs as she pats my head, and I may have started flying south... Deliciousness, you tasty temptress, you won¡¯t get me this time!

    ¡°The fog monster has killed Tuiran¡¯s hunters too. It has left us alone lately, but we usually lose a bunch of people every year.¡±

    And just like that, it¡¯s going to die. If Tuiran¡¯s people are getting killed by it, then it¡¯s hunting in my territory and I don¡¯t like that one bit. I wanna go hunt it now, but noo... I have to be responsible and do things in order. That doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t rush things, though. Pushing magic into my wings, we set off and fly toward the northern end of Tuiran.

    It isn¡¯t that far when you can fly, and by the time we pass the town, a lone figure comes into view, standing in the exact spot where Lauren was treated. This woman looks very similar to Merciferus, with feathery wings folded up behind her as she looks our way. The two crates beside her suggest that this might be the Kirarmor that I totally didn¡¯t forget about.

    Slowing our approach, we prepare for landing next to this Merciferus-adjacent person and her eyes lock onto mine as we set down. Moving my head a little proves that her stare follows me. Even when I start moving my head more, she still follows me with her fixated stare.

    Raya¡¯s laughing above me draws my attention to something I might not have considered while I tested our guest here.

    ¡°By the Gods, Kira! Stop moving so much... I feel nauseous...¡±

    Yeah... I did not consider how they might feel as I jerked my head around, but at least Raya thought it was fun and I¡¯m sure Lauren will be fine. As I lie down, the two differing attitudes descend to the ground and the envoy switches her focus from me to Lauren.

    ¡°Champion of Merciferus. I present to you the blessed protective garments offered by Our Holy Mother. Don your armor so that you may guard yourself against the evils you will come to face.¡±

    Lauren and Raya are quick to check the crates and pull out all sorts of Kirarmor. I¡¯m curious about this winged woman calling Merciferus ¡®mother,¡¯ though. Smelling her doesn¡¯t reveal any similarities in scent, so I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s a mother-daughter relationship. It might be figurative instead.

    ¡°Cease your incessant prodding, beast!¡±

    ¡°She does that, you can¡¯t really stop it.¡±

    Lauren sighs at Raya¡¯s proclamation, and yeah, I do do that. But there¡¯s something interesting about this person¡¯s scent, like they¡¯ve been around something dangerous and spicy. It smells fascinating, and I kinda wanna taste whatever it came from because it isn¡¯t her own smell. There¡¯s a tingle to it for sure.

    The winged person pushes at my face, but that¡¯s okay because it lets me smell her even more, since it means she has to get close to me.

    ¡°Why are you so interested in her, Kira?¡±

    Instead of answering, I get a few more whiffs of the scent, and I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯ve got it memorized now. What a fascinating scent. I¡¯m not sure what it smells like, but it¡¯s making me feel good.

    ¡°I demand you cease this behavior, beast! Champion, call off your beast this instant!¡±

    ¡°Raya isn¡¯t wrong. Kira¡¯s attention is a beast born of Chaos, best you can do is distract her with something else. Treats work quite well.¡±

    The envoy keeps trying to push me away as she listens to Lauren, and with a deft hand, she snakes her fingers into a pouch and pulls out something delicious-smelling.

    ¡°Beast, this is yours if you stop smelling me.¡±

    She¡¯s holding a small square of something wrapped in a small leaf. I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s candy, and I want it. Giving her a moment, she unwraps it, but before she has a chance to throw it to me, Raya snags it out of her hand and eats it.

    Dang it, Raya! That was mine! Judging by the joy in her eyes, it was delicious and she¡¯s chewing a lot.

    ¡°It¡¯sh shtuck to my teef!¡±

    It¡¯s caramel of some sort! Dang it, I wanted the caramel! Nudging the envoy again, she sighs and pulls out another piece, and as she unwraps it, she readies her arm to throw it to me, but just as she lets go, Lauren snags it out of the air and eats it.

    I¡¯m being cheated out of all the treats!

    ¡°It¡¯sh shtuck to my teef, too.¡±

    Now they¡¯re both chewing at me, taunting me with their munching of malice! Instead of having pity for my plight, they drag the crates to my side and ask me to unfold my wing to shelter them from the rain. That¡¯s a big demand coming from candy thieves, and this is an atrocity warranting greater punishment than I have ever dished out. I have no idea what that would even look like, but I¡¯ll have to remember to do it.

    As they settle in under the shelter of my wing, they begin undressing in preparation for putting on the Kirarmor.

    With a tremendous sigh, the envoy pulls out a third piece of caramel and after unwrapping it, she holds it out for me and with gentle movements, I close my mouth over her hand and grasp it with my tongue, snatching the candy. It¡¯s delicious and as I let go of the envoy¡¯s hand, I give it a chew, which, unpredictably, gets stuck in my teeth, but that¡¯s okay, I can lick it now and it won¡¯t get stuck under my tongue.

    The envoy stares at her goop-covered hand before grabbing a piece of Lauren¡¯s discarded clothes and wiping off my venom. With another sigh and a grumble about losing her candy, she stands back, leaving Raya and Lauren to continue putting on the Kirarmor. It seems the sets come with both external and internal armor.

    The undergarments seem to be made of leather and fur, and if I had skin exposed, I¡¯m sure that would feel fantastic on it. The leather is covered in symbols and runes that smell quite strongly of power. I¡¯m not sure what they do, though.

    Raya has begun strapping on a leg plate to her thigh. It¡¯s made up of a large scale covering the outside of her leg, and somehow, whoever has made this armor has managed to bend it to fit her. On the inside, there¡¯s a thinner scale, which has clearly been ground down in thickness to avoid getting in the way of movement. The scales themselves overlap to protect her leg all the way around. It also seems to be lined with fur, and I assume it¡¯s to keep it from cutting into the inner garments.

    I have no idea how whoever crafted these managed to get the measurements right, but everything seems to fit perfectly. Even nudging it, the Kirarmor pieces stay in place. Nudging it harder just makes Raya move, but the equipment is very well fitted.

    ¡°Stop it, Kira. I need to get the rest of it on. We will need to wear it for a time to get accustomed to the weight and feel.¡±

    That¡¯s fair and smart. And I do want to see her in the completed outfit. The chest Kirarmor seems to be made of scales cut into sections horizontally, creating layered protection as they overlap, but maintaining flexibility when its moved around. Somehow they¡¯ve also had all sorts of symbols and images of flowers chiseled into them. And best of all, at the center of it, there¡¯s a golden dragon head, but the horns aren¡¯t straight like mine. Instead, they curl inward toward her collarbone. Geez, this feels like I¡¯m under-dressed... The whole thing smells so fantastic and I want it.

    Looking at Lauren¡¯s Kirarmor, it¡¯s just as amazing. She¡¯s further along in the process and has started putting on shoulder guards. They are quite smooth, with the edge by her neck curling upward. They tie the armor together quite well while protecting her neck and upper arm. And while the shoulderguards block parts of the horns of the dragon icon, it becomes apparent that they replace them instead.

    When Lauren wears the shoulderguards, the gold on them becomes the new horns that do match mine! That¡¯s so awesome! And the straps to tie the shoulderguards to the rest of the Kirarmor follow the horns down, almost becoming hidden as they match the color of the horns. That¡¯s pretty neat.

    ¡°Kira, I know it smells good to you, but I need a little space to put on the rest.¡±

    Geez, all these complaints. At least Lauren pats my nose as she asks me for some room.

    The whole thing looks like it has incredible flexibility, moving and shifting as they do, and if I had to guess, I¡¯d say the equipment wouldn¡¯t detract from mobility at all. I am curious whether they¡¯re heavy, though. I don¡¯t have a firm grasp of what my scales weigh. Or what I weigh, now that I think about it.

    With all this extra protection, Raya is gonna be a tiny tank. She is already tough from my magic changing her, and now she has an exoskeleton as well.

    Aside from the whole thing being kinda slow, neither of them has had any issues putting on their equipment without assistance. Even the shoulderguards appeared reasonable to put on, as they attach firmly to the back of the chest piece, so they hang loosely until they¡¯re ready to be strapped down in the front.

    Lauren has moved on to gauntlets, which protect her entire forearm, leaving very little of her exposed. The fingers end in sharp points, which I think make them weapons in their own right. As she tests the fit, I notice that the inside of her hands is covered as well, and I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s strong enough to allow her to grab enemy weapons.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    I¡¯m curious how Raya is gonna handle the gloves, but she has only just begun getting the shoulderguards on.

    Aside from providing shelter, I¡¯m really not doing much here. Giving the envoy a glance, I notice that she¡¯s just standing around keeping an eye on Lauren. And she¡¯s dry. She¡¯s been standing in the rain for some time, and somehow she¡¯s still dry.

    ¡°Are your wings like duck wings?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Well, now she¡¯s glaring at me. I think it¡¯s a good question. If she repels water, it¡¯s probably because of some sort of grease or oil, and waterfowl are good at that sort of thing.

    ¡°If they¡¯re like goose wings, then I¡¯m sorry for assuming they were duck wings.¡±

    ¡°Champion, explain what your beast is referring to.¡±

    Lauren glances our way before sighing and rolling her eyes, a clear taunt, but I¡¯ll let it slide this time, like water slides off the envoy¡¯s goose wings. The eye roll might not have been directed at me, considering that her gaze is focused on the envoy.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Kira, stop teasing her. And you could treat Kira like the person that she is, daughter of Merciferus.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t my intention to tease the envoy. I genuinely wanted to know how her water-repellent powers work. I should apologize, since she does seem offended. And as Lauren looks at my face, her expression changes a little, I¡¯m sure my mood eyes revealed that I wasn¡¯t trying to be mean.

    ¡°I will not debase myself by consorting with such primitive brutes. Dragons have earned no favor among the Divine. They care for neither honor nor dignity, they hold only greed and brutality as virtues, as evidenced by how easily the simple beast was tricked by basic bribery.¡±

    Okay, so no apology. And she seems to be trying to move herself onto the food scale.

    ¡°Kira, don¡¯t mind her. Please, for me.¡±

    Lauren is still looking up at me, waiting for an answer, and glancing at Raya, she nods her agreement with Lauren, leaving me without much choice but to let it slide.

    Well, I¡¯m still allowed to huff with indignation, so I¡¯m gonna!

    ¡°How Our Holy Mother can tolerate an abomination such as this, I will never be capable of understanding. She truly holds the highest virtue of patience."

    Okay, control yourself, Kira. You¡¯re holding back for Lauren. Don¡¯t lose your temper...

    ¡°By the eternal hells, would you shut the fuck up? Consider the dishonor you bring Merciferus for disparaging her choices, such as enlisting the help of Kira. You have delivered the equipment and completed your task, so piss off if you can¡¯t behave. How can you consider yourself an envoy of a Goddess when your behavior reeks worse than the beast you claim superiority to?!¡±

    Geez, it seems Lauren has reached the end of her rope on this matter. Raya steps up to her and, with a few taps to the healer¡¯s leg, Lauren calms down a bit, letting the anger flow away. I¡¯m getting the impression that Lauren would have attacked if Raya hadn¡¯t interfered.

    ¡°You think yourself my equal, Champion? You were chosen so that Our Holy Mother need not trudge through this lower plane. You are no more than a tool to be wielded and discarded when your usefulness reaches its end.¡±

    Merciferus, your envoy is insulting Lauren, and I want to eat her. Can I?

    Looking at Lauren, she is smiling for some reason. There is obvious amusement painted on her face.

    ¡°Merciferus says you can¡¯t eat her, Kira. Unless she continues to misbehave.¡±

    As Lauren speaks, the envoy¡¯s expression sobers and turns from arrogance to worry, and all of a sudden, she seems to have a lot less to say.

    ¡°You would not allow such blasphemy, Champion. It would be a direct strike upon Our Holy Mother¡¯s divinity.¡±

    ¡°Judging by how much Kira is drooling, I doubt I would have much say in the matter. The choice has become yours. Treat us as we treat you, or we will treat you as you treat us.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t noticed the drooling, but she¡¯s right, I¡¯m making a mess. I¡¯ll have to make a note of that and try to be less sloppy in the future. Or people could try to be less edible. I¡¯m leaning toward the latter, but we will have to wait and see how that goes, considering we still have an appointment at the fortress city in the southwest.

    Focus, Kira! The opportunity to see what someone like the envoy tastes like is here, and I have to pay attention to any insults to be allowed to eat her.

    ¡°Kira, your wing.¡±

    At Raya¡¯s words, I glance back, revealing that I seem to have partially folded up my wing, so stretching it again earns me a ¡®thank you¡¯ and the two of them get back to putting on their Kirarmor. Lauren practically has it all on, and she looks amazing, but Raya could use some help. I assume this is the first time Raya has ever worn armor, so it¡¯s understandable that she would struggle a little compared to Lauren and her past as an adventurer.

    Watching the two of them work together is quite nice, and with a little effort, they both have their new Kirarmor equipped, looking very nice. The fact that they¡¯re mostly matching sets makes it even better. And getting a good look at Raya¡¯s gauntlets reveals that they¡¯re open at the tip with her nails peeking out, which begs the question: who the heck made these things and how do they know so much about my friends?

    With a nudge, I inquire how it feels for Raya. The equipment appears quite comfortable, and Raya jumps around a few times while running back and forth under my wing. She doesn¡¯t seem to be restricted in movement at all.

    There are a few notable differences between the two sets of Kirarmor, it seems. Lauren''s set appears to have been more focused on covering every potential weakness with something. But Raya''s set has a utility belt and a few protrusions that could be used to secure something like a bandolier. She''s quick to grab all the things from her clothes and put them into pouches on the utility belt, and she even keeps her satchel around. The more I watch her pull out flowers, leaves, rocks, and all sorts of tiny things, the more I suspect she might be a hoarder. Which I am not going to point out.

    I haven¡¯t heard anything from the envoy since the possibility of getting eaten dropped onto the table. She seems awfully quiet now, but turning my attention to her reveals that she is seething. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she were thinking up a storm about what she¡¯d like to do about this little abomination. I¡¯m not even sure what makes me an abomination, but it¡¯s a little harsh.

    The envoy steps forward, surprising me and causing me to let out a growl as I instinctively shield Lauren and Raya.

    I may have some feelings toward this person. But I don¡¯t have to focus on that right now as I feel two hands patting my arm at different heights. Lying down, the two of them gather up their drenched clothes and climb up on me. As they walk along the back of my neck, I hear Raya comment on the situation while keeping her voice down.

    ¡°Good job holding back the aggression. It gets easier.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure what that¡¯s about, but considering it was barely a whisper, I''m gonna assume it has to do with that thing they don¡¯t want me to know about yet. Given that Raya is familiar with it and she¡¯s now talking to Lauren about it, while I¡¯m not supposed to know, it makes me suspect that it has something to do with me. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve driven Lauren to anger, so that rules out general shenanigans. All that¡¯s left as far as I know is the transformation. And I can certainly feel aggressive at times, so I know how that goes. I¡¯m not gonna say anything until they¡¯re ready for me to know, though.

    Their trip up my neck comes to an end as they settle in between my horns, and it sounds like Lauren has some parting words for the envoy.

    ¡°Thank you for the delivery, daughter of Merciferus. May your future be bathed in light. Though you may wish to stay alert and identify the source before you embrace it.¡±

    I have no idea what that gibberish means, but as Lauren spoke, the envoy got quite a bit angrier. That doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯s saying anything, though. I guess I did tattle on her by accident when I asked for permission to eat her. She is not getting an apology for that.

    Spreading my other wing, we take off toward the south. I¡¯m not sure whether it¡¯s foggy or not, and I don¡¯t feel like blinding myself with magic sight in case it is, so I do the next obvious thing: just asking about it!

    Raya is quick to inform me that the fog has lifted and we¡¯re too late to hunt the fog monster, but that just means we have a fun fight in the future.

    Flying toward the fortress city goes off without a hitch and we¡¯re almost at the forest. As we approach the treeline, Raya is quick to point out something that hadn¡¯t really occurred to me.

    ¡°Kira, we need to drop off our clothes. Fly over my home and I¡¯ll jump down with them.¡±

    Right, obviously... We shouldn''t fly around with bundles of wet clothes.

    So turning around, we head for Raya¡¯s place and hopefully no more detours today. I wanna see if Turgai has more treats for me. It barely counts as a detour given how short the distance is, but that doesn¡¯t matter, we¡¯re here now and Raya is climbing down as Lauren sits on me some more.

    Judging by the thud of Raya landing on her roof, I¡¯m guessing the Kirarmors have a decent weight to them and hers is probably a lot lighter than Lauren¡¯s. It didn¡¯t really make much of a difference for me, so I¡¯m guessing the equipment isn¡¯t too heavy. Raya seems to have returned after dumping her clothes inside, since she¡¯s calling for Lauren to throw her more things. The whole thing is quite fast, and soon enough, Raya is climbing up on me again.

    ¡°How much do those Kirarmors weigh?¡±

    ¡°Are we settled on that name?¡±

    ¡°Yes, now answer the question.¡±

    After a chuckle, Raya tells me that her weight has probably increased by almost a third of her own weight. Lauren chips in and says that hers likely weighs as much as Raya does, but that isn¡¯t all that helpful since I don¡¯t know what either of them weigh.

    I don¡¯t even know what unit of measurement they use for weight.

    I¡¯m not gonna bother with that, it¡¯s time to get to Fort Big Walls. Setting the course for the southwest, we fly off into the distance.

    Aside from the complaints about the rain, the flight goes smoothly as we pass over the trees. This time, a little higher to put the passengers at ease. With a clear goal in mind, and no distractions to speak of, we make good time as we fly over the hilly fields past the forest. I should try hunting around here, too. I¡¯m sure there are- no. Fort Big Walls is the first priority.

    We¡¯re closing in on the place, and I¡¯m not sure what a safe distance is. If this were my old world, there wouldn¡¯t be anything called a safe distance, but I don¡¯t know what to expect from magic and how it correlates.

    I think an old strategy is in order, so flying closer, we make sure we¡¯ve been spotted before creating some distance between us and the town again. The sounds of horns blaring inside the walls make it pretty obvious that we have, in fact, been spotted. And just like that, we¡¯re flying away.

    Landing a good distance from the fortress, we settle in and wait, keeping our eyes peeled in case danger approaches. I may be good at antagonizing people, but it¡¯s not the goal.

    I can tell Raya stands up and soon, she¡¯s walking between my eyes and onto my nose, taking a seat as she watches the distance. I hope we¡¯ll meet some friendly people, but we need to be ready to leave at a moment¡¯s notice.

    ¡°Do you think Banyai will meet us? He talked funny.¡±

    ¡°I hope so. If it isn¡¯t Lunch or Turgai¡¯s group meeting us, I think we might have to leave.¡±

    The first red flag is that a group of ten is approaching on horseback. And they¡¯re still far enough away that I don¡¯t recognize any of them. One of them is holding a banner with a fancy horse on it, so maybe they¡¯re important people. Or maybe they¡¯re trying to stake their claim on a fancy magic dragon like me.

    I may be experiencing some mixed feelings right about now. I¡¯m hopeful that they''re friendly, but I¡¯m also anxious about the potential risk of them attacking. At the same time, I kinda want them to attack to justify fighting them and getting a snack out of it. I¡¯m gonna focus on the optimism part.

    They¡¯re getting closer now, and the rascally riders are hiding their faces with hoods. So with that in the way, it¡¯s time to get ready for a retreat. Getting up and spreading my wings, I tell Raya and Lauren to get ready for takeoff.

    One of the riders breaks off from the rest and charges at us, and as the questionable character does, Raya jumps down, landing with a thud before running toward the rider. I don¡¯t like that one bit. Calling out to her, I ask what¡¯s going on as I start to follow. And I¡¯ve got longer legs.

    ¡°It¡¯s Banyai! He gave me a signal they use to let others know they¡¯re friendly.¡±

    When was this?! Obviously, it was when we met, but I don¡¯t recall any signals. She really isn¡¯t being slowed down by all that new equipment, but the rider is quick to reach us, showing no hesitation at what is essentially a charging dragon. Either Raya is right, or this person is very brave. Or foolish.

    As Raya and the rider meet up, the rider dismounts from the galloping horse, somehow managing to stay standing as he slides across the gravelly road toward Raya. The two collide with a fist bump somehow, when the hell did fist bumps become a thing?

    As the rider lowers his hood, Banyai¡¯s fuzzy face is revealed, and Raya looks back at me with a big ¡®I told you so¡¯ smile. Well, at least we have one friendly person here. Or maybe we lost one friendly person, considering the two have quickly begun talking about herbs, poisons, and where to find them.

    ¡°By the hells, she really is the most socially skilled person here...¡±

    As Lauren¡¯s reality collapses, the other riders approach and lower their own hoods, revealing Lunch, the Commander, and Turgai. I guess the six others are there, too, but I don¡¯t recognize them, so they¡¯re not important.

    Fixing my gaze onto Turgai, I send him a clear message, and he knows what must be done. With a smile, he approaches and tosses me a piece of dried meat, earning me a slap to the side of my head for some reason.

    ¡°At least let me down before you start snapping at flying objects.¡±

    That¡¯s a fair point, and lowering my head, she climbs down as she chuckles. She¡¯s quick to greet the riders, and to my surprise, Lunch approaches me on his own.

    ¡°I wish to apologize for attacking you. You are truly a greater person than I, and I am deeply grateful for the rescue.¡±

    He finishes up with a bow, so he gets a nudge. Being all sneaky, I use the nudge to whisper to Lunch, asking who all these weirdos are and why it isn¡¯t just the people I know who came to greet me.

    Given that he covered his ear, I suspect I didn¡¯t whisper as quietly as I wanted to. At least none of the random people look offended all the way over there, so that¡¯s something.

    ¡°These fine folks are the Council of Margwen. They requested to join Ayra¡¯s group should you appear again. And as you no doubt have noticed, Ayra''s group has lost a member, and for the time being, I have joined them.¡±

    ¡°Big congratulations, Lunch! I¡¯m proud of you for staying strong!¡±

    He looks quite proud too, and he deserves it. He had a very rough day, so I hope the Commander can help brighten his days going forward. He did prove very useful during the snake hunting, so I¡¯m happy that he¡¯s happy to see me. Now...

    ¡°Who the hell is Ayra?¡±

    There is a moment of silence before Banyai and Turgai burst out laughing, and the Commander slumps.

    ¡°Am I that forgettable? I thought I made a good impression...¡±

    So using my keen dragon mind, I deduce that the Commander¡¯s name is Ayra. Who knew? It does sound like something I¡¯ve heard before, but I can¡¯t be expected to hear every little detail spoken in my presence.

    Ooh, another treat flying my way. As I snatch it out of the air, the area becomes saturated with the scent of fear and I¡¯m not sure why, but I do know the source. The six council members seem to be quite scared of something, but I haven¡¯t done anything to warrant being afraid, so that¡¯s on them.

    As I discard that nonsense subject, the Commander approaches me, commenting on the impressive equipment worn by Raya and Lauren. And I agree, the Kirarmor is impressive and I¡¯m an impartial third party with no biases here.

    He seems to have gotten over his momentary melancholy as he rants about the Kirarmors and what features they most likely have. Which seems to include being excellent for infusing magic, fire resistance, and just being very tough. I¡¯m curious if he knows anything about the runes and symbols on the undergarments, but I¡¯m not about to ask my friends to strip here.

    If he visits Tuiran sometime, it¡¯s possible that he could check them while they aren¡¯t being worn. What he can help with is telling me why the council members got afraid when I got a treat, but as I ask him, he just stares at me for a while.

    ¡°You bare your fangs when you grab what Turgai throws. And they are impressive fangs, to say the least.¡±

    Huh, I didn¡¯t realize I did that. Well, they just need to get used to me, and there won¡¯t be a problem.

    ¡°My turn for a question, then. What brings you here? Not conquest, I hope.¡±

    He¡¯s got a happy smile on his face as he brings up the topic of conquest, and I suspect he knows that that¡¯s obviously not my purpose here, but there''s a glint of something in his eye. I don''t know him that well, though, so I don''t know what it means. Instead, I tell him that we¡¯re here primarily for Turgai, since we want to go to the Lands Beyond Death. And as a secondary objective, I want my people to be safe, so no more adventuring in my woods.

    He seems to think about it for a moment before shrugging and glancing back at the council members, who start murmuring about what to do. They¡¯re talking about all sorts of things, like game hunting, pelt hunting, herb gathering, and predator control, which are all fair subjects.

    Sneaking closer, I lower my head to their huddle and chip in with my own opinion.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a bad deal. The local dragon only wants you to stay out of the forest, so her people are safe from any wily adventurers. If the adventurers can be trusted to leave my goblins alone, then perhaps we can talk about access.¡±

    I like that I¡¯m getting all the attention while I¡¯m talking. They¡¯re quiet and focusing entirely on me.

    ¡°I¡¯m inclined to agree with the Dragon, council. When missions for goblins go up, it¡¯s crowd control missions, but that crowd is already controlled. We have very little to gain and so much to lose. Consider what your merchants say when they speak of the goblin village.¡±

    Ooh! The Commander is coming in with the assist. That¡¯s a beginning, though, so we can probably leave them to talk about it on their own. For now, we need to focus on Turgai and get him to show us the way to his homeland. Looking at the scalefolk makes it clear that he¡¯s been staring at me with a smile.

    Turgai calls to me as he asks me to join him a small distance from the council members, and that hits me right in the curiosity. He takes out another of those fancy metal sticks and jabs it into the ground just like the last time. I¡¯m pretty sure I know what he¡¯s about to ask me, and sure enough, he tells people to stand back before asking me to unleash my flames on the rod. Of course, I help him out because I''m kind and helpful, but I would be lying if I didn''t say that the snacks I smell in his satchel had an impact on my decision.

    Soon enough, the rod is flowing with magic and Turgai pulls out a potion, pouring the contents onto the rod to grow a spire of vile steel. As the potion runs out, he turns to the council members and explains what it is, how he can find it, and what it does. He¡¯s giving away a remarkable amount of details about vile steel here, but the council members don''t seem all that impressed by his knowledge. I am a little curious about something else, though.

    ¡°Lauren, try healing the vile steel. It¡¯s a magic thing, and your healing affects magic things now, so who knows what will happen.¡±

 Chapter 57: Magical Solutions

    She looks worried, but curious as she stares up at my face. Curiosity wins out as she steps up the vile steel and starts drawing on my magic to cast her spell. It doesn¡¯t seem to be working quite as well as she expected, judging by the frown on her face. Another pull of magic and her frown deepens before she asks Raya to form a fire bolt.

    Raya is quick to comply, earning worried grumbles from the gathering of kinda annoying grumblers grumbling about goblins in armor wielding magic. That¡¯s really beside the point here, the focus is Raya right now. It¡¯s a little soon to get annoyed at the politicians, but here we are. Raya¡¯s the diplomacy expert anyway, not me.

    She does seem to focus on the magic for a bit longer than usual before forming the firebolt.

    ¡°The armor takes some of the magic.¡±

    With her investigation completed, Raya throws the fire bolt at the vile steel, blasting the branch of evil into a lying down branch of evil. It didn¡¯t do much to it, aside from making it glow bright orange. Which on its own is also quite interesting.

    Lauren didn¡¯t even flinch as the firebolt whizzed past her, which I¡¯ll interpret as trust in a friend and that these two are becoming great friends! There¡¯s a stronger pull on my magic as Lauren begins casting her healing spell. This time, it looks to be forming and she directs it at the vile steel.

    The wicked metal glows brighter and brighter until it starts evaporating into shiny motes of gold. She continues to draw on my magic and I¡¯m starting to feel a difference, as more of the vile steel poofs into fancy motes. It doesn¡¯t feel viable for her to use magic to destroy it, but it¡¯s good to know that it¡¯s a possibility.

    ¡°Lauren, please stop casting. It¡¯s taking too much magic.¡±

    The spell fizzles out and the drain drops. I can tell that I¡¯m still fine on magic, but that was a lot compared to what is usually consumed by their spells. It has drawn the attention of the adventurers, though, and Turgai seems quite interested in what Lauren is doing as he steps up to her, requesting that she cast the spell on him to cleanse any potential taint he might be carrying.

    Judging by the cautious frown on her face, Lauren appears to feel unsure of whether to do it. So with an encouraging rumble from my throat and a nod, she begins forming her healing spell again before casting it on Turgai. I¡¯m sure he will be fine. Who ever heard of people being healed to death? Aside from the people Lauren healed to death. But we aren¡¯t gonna focus on negativity like that, though.

    As the magic flows into Turgai, his body tenses while he very obviously holds back a scream. He does not seem to think the healing is comfortable, and I¡¯m curious what it is doing to him, but who knows how many tainted potions he might have drunk over time. Those can¡¯t be healthy for him.

    Oh right! Magic sight! Turning on the flow of magic, the world lights up in dancing colors and I see the golden fiery glow of Lauren¡¯s healing bash against small crystalline structures throughout Turgai''s body, shattering them to pieces before consuming them with glorious flames.

    As the magic fades, he slumps to the ground, landing on his knees with rapid breathing, as if he has just returned from a long sprint. His ordeal seems to have drawn some attention, but not enough for anyone to act, aside from the Commander helping Turgai up again.

    ¡°What in the hells was that?!¡±

    ¡°Do not worry, Ayra. I need but a minute to recover, but if my estimation is correct, any of the Affront tainting me has been purged. I must pray on this come evening. By Lord Faran¡¯s glory, that is a trial of suffering.¡±

    Turgai sounds exhausted as he breathes hard, getting to his feet. With Turgai back on his feet, the Commander steps up to Lauren and extends his arm in a very handshake fashion. As they clasp hands, he puts his other hand on her shoulder and thanks her for the spell. For some reason, he looks tense and Lauren¡¯s face turns into a scowl for just a moment.

    After they let go of each other, Lauren adjusts her leg plates and they continue talking about healing other people, and what to do from here. She seems to enjoy talking to fellow adventurers again.

    I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯m supposed to do now, I don¡¯t want to talk to the council members. Raya is busy with Banyai, and she¡¯s supposed to be the diplomacy expert. Lauren and the Commander are now chatting about spells, healing, and the difficulties of herding small critters from the sounds of it.

    I want something to do, so I¡¯m gonna grab Turgai and go talk to Lunch about how he¡¯s been doing. He struggles a little as my tongue wraps around his waist, but he¡¯s no match for the might of my tongue! With him secure, we move the small distance to Lunch, it¡¯s really more like just turning around and there¡¯s Lunch. Well, we¡¯ve still arrived, so I just lie down as I place Turgai on the ground in a mostly upright position. Aside from being surprised, he didn¡¯t seem to mind it too much.

    It did give me time to smell him properly, and he has a curious scent of power and something I don¡¯t know. He doesn¡¯t seem to have any body odor, but there is a hint of blood around him. So Turgai smells of power, something, and blood. My obsession with smelling him is interrupted as he lets out a light chuckle.

    ¡°Although not uncommon among my people, it has been quite some time since I have had to brace myself with my tail. I would like to request that you limit yourself to scenting me, as I fear a taste from a scrumptious treat such as myself would cause adverse effects in regards to my health.¡±

    I have almost no intention of tasting him, so he¡¯ll be fine. Well, maybe a lick eventually, but biting is not part of my plans right now.

    ¡°You would so casually joke about the Dragon feasting on you, Turgai?¡±

    ¡°My youth was spent with a Dragon, Lurram. They are temperamental creatures, but not unpredictable.¡±

    A sudden wave of being offended washes over me as we hear a loud ¡®hah¡¯ coming from Lauren¡¯s direction. As I turn to glare at her, she sticks out her tongue at me, but I have a much bigger tongue, so I stick out mine at her and blow raspberries at her! Take that, Lauren!

    After clearing a glob of saliva from her face, she stares up at me with that distinct exasperation before laughing and trying to wipe the rest of the, quite frankly, too much saliva from herself. As Turgai spots the Commander being even more soaked than Lauren, he bursts out laughing, drawing the attention of Raya and Banyai. Lauren doesn¡¯t appear disgusted by something like that anymore, so she¡¯s probably getting used to it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll admit I¡¯m to blame for that... At least my armor repels liquid...¡±

    ¡°Kirarmor.¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    Pfft, spoilsport. Looking at her, it does appear that the armor is quite good at repelling my projectiles and she¡¯s right about it being hydrophobic. Am I hydrophobic? Looking back at my scales, it shows me that I¡¯m not sure! The rain seems to roll off me without much issue, but I have been caked in gore before, so maybe, I guess.

    Well, we have other subjects to deal with, such as wiping my face on the wet grass to get rid of the lingering goops of drool. Doing that makes me feel refreshed and dirtier than when I started. The grass did not hold up to the assault of my scaly face and now I¡¯m muddy...

    ¡°Don¡¯t do it, Kira.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure what she¡¯s talking about, so to begin with, let¡¯s get rid of this mud, and then I can ask her. With a mighty shake, most of it flies away, and I¡¯m sure the rest of it will be taken care of by the drizzle of rain.

    Turning to Lauren, it¡¯s clear that I wasn¡¯t the only one who decided to get a little messy, but she doesn¡¯t have as easy a time shaking it off as I do, so she should think about that in the future. Pointing this out to her earns me a glob of mud in the face and some laughs. She¡¯s pretty great at throwing.

    There¡¯s a curious tingle of magic behind me and the moment I turn to face it, a torrent of water blasts me in the face as I sputter against the waves coming my way. As the water flow ebbs, I get a moment to spot the culprit standing among the laughter. It was Lunch! How dare he be emboldened by the casual interaction of others! Puff of Punishment smoke at him!

    A tingle of magic alerts me to more magic being cast as a gust of wind clears the smoke away, and I¡¯m reminded that those unpredictable humans can cast all sorts of magic. Wait... Lunch wasn¡¯t human, that¡¯s like the one thing I know about him. That warrants investigation, and as I take a couple of steps toward him, he starts worrying as the scent of fear flows off him.

    Giving him a few sniffs doesn¡¯t make it clear what he is, but he looks human... Flicking on my magic sight reveals that he has a lot more magic flowing through him than humans do. He¡¯s closer in magic composition to me than he is to them. How curious...

    ¡°Uhm, Cleric, how do I prevent my demise?¡±

    ¡°What color are her eyes?¡±

    Lunch stares right into my eyes for a moment before calling back to her.

    ¡°White is surrounded by green. Am I in danger? What does that mean?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re fine. The colors you need to watch out for are orange, red, and violet.¡±

    Now Lauren is giving away my secrets, too? Dang it... I still want to know what Lunch is, though. Smelling him isn¡¯t bringing me any closer to an answer, since I don¡¯t know this scent either. That¡¯s two scents from two people today that I¡¯m unfamiliar with.

    Lunch doesn¡¯t seem all that reassured as I continue trying to identify his scent, but how can I possibly give up now?

    ¡°Why are you sniffing him, Kira?¡±

    ¡°He smells different, and I want to know why.¡±

    For some reason, that amplifies the scent of fear even more than when I spoke with my face right up against him. Which suggests to me that his secret getting out scares him more than my teeth. Geez, that must be a serious secret.

    As I draw my head back and stop my nasal assault on the guy, Turgai approaches him and gives him a powerful whiff as well.

    ¡°His scent does not appear to differ from that of other humans.¡±

    ¡°Would everyone please stop smelling me?! It¡¯s making me very uncomfortable!¡±

    It¡¯s true, his scent proves that he is uncomfortable, but he doesn¡¯t smell human. I¡¯ll figure out what he is some other time, I¡¯ve tried enough for now. With that out of the way, I cast my gaze back at... I completely forgot about the council members. Right, we came here with a purpose and should probably do something about that. Nudging Turgai, I ask what we¡¯re supposed to be doing since I haven¡¯t been paying attention.

    With a smile and a few pats, he¡¯s quick to tell me that they¡¯ve identified a few of the sources on the tainted potions, and they need to worry about internal conflict going forward. Right, I suggested that they don¡¯t go into my forest and then I would leave them alone. That¡¯s still on the table, but they haven¡¯t agreed yet as far as I know. And just like the Commander, I would suggest they agree.

    Just as I think about the Commander, he stands up and claps his hands, and I would assume he¡¯s getting ready to address everyone for some reason.

    ¡°Alright. Council of Margwen, you have seen that the Black Dragon of Death can be reasoned with. And her demands are reasonable in exchange for peace. Do you agree to make the Wolven Forest off-limits to hunters and the Guild?¡±

    There¡¯s that name again. I don¡¯t remember signing off on getting such a dramatic name, it almost makes me miss Skelly¡¯s name for me. We should really focus on kidnapping Turgai, and I¡¯m pretty sure I brought that up as well.

    Glancing at the council members, they¡¯re huddled together, murmuring about what I assume is the subject of a treaty of some sort. I would rather they agree, so we can get a move on and I don¡¯t end up in some odd situation of having to burn down their town. Okay, focus up, Kira. It¡¯s diplomacy time.

    Raya joins us, bringing instant relief as she can do the talking, so Lauren and I don¡¯t end up offending or eating anyone.

    ¡°Talk out loud instead of being dummies in a circle. If you need to hunt in the forest, you can pay us for it, and if you need big animals taken care of, you can pay us for that, too. And if you can¡¯t leave our people alone, we will defend ourselves. By killing your people.¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    Ooh! She¡¯s nailing it! I hadn¡¯t even thought of extorting them, I was just gonna let a few trusted people in, but this is a lot better. I wonder what other things the clever little goblin has thought of, but for now, one of the council members steps forward with an expression I¡¯m pretty sure is arrogant. As he begins speaking, Lauren waves over Turgai and Lunch.

    ¡°Cleric of Merciferus, control your tiny beast, please. We wish to conduct our assembly with decorum, not idle threats.¡±

    Using her shoulder to bump into Lunch, Lauren gets his attention before pointing towards me.

    ¡°Have a look. Remember which colors I mentioned?¡±

    I don¡¯t know which colors correlate to which emotions, but I¡¯m quite annoyed at this jerk dismissing Raya like that. And using the word Hensora to call her a beast makes it even worse.

    ¡°I remember, it was orange, red, and violet, correct? What does orange equate to?¡±

    ¡°Mostly trouble. The white outer ring means she¡¯s focused and the orange inner ring means she¡¯s upset. So the council has offended her. If one of the rings turns red, I would wager this meeting is going to end in the same color.¡±

    Listening to Lauren tell Lunch my secrets is a little annoying right now, but it¡¯s also new to me, so at least I¡¯m learning something. I¡¯ll need either Lauren or Raya to give me a cheat sheet at some point so I know these things. She is right, though. These jerks talking about Raya like that are upsetting me, and I do want to end this meeting. We don¡¯t really need them, anyway, we just need Turgai. Although I would prefer if these adventurers all survive. I like them.

    ¡°So your recommendation might be to apologize and treat the goblin as a person, correct?¡±

    ¡°If my intent were to survive the day, then yes, that would be an excellent plan.¡±

    Their little talk isn¡¯t exactly helping the council members be less afraid, but it¡¯s a good recommendation. Giving Raya a glance, she looks wholly unimpressed by the council as she twiddles her dagger, completely unconcerned with their opinion of her.

    They¡¯ve huddled up again, and all four adventurers are just standing around, not making any effort to help the politicians with the thinly veiled threats thrown around. That just gives them bonus points in my book.

    ¡°Ayra, do you have no intentions of aiding us? You were commissioned to protect us from such beasts!¡±

    ¡°No, we¡¯re here to protect Margwen from such beasts; you forced yourselves on us. And if you decide to piss off a Dragon, well, I doubt anyone would condemn me for returning without you.¡±

    It feels a little odd that he¡¯s willing to abandon them to my wrath, but his team seems to agree with their Commander as they stand by his side with Lauren and Raya. Instead of making up ideas about why that is, I¡¯m just gonna ask him about it.

    ¡°I pay my debts. You put yourself at risk in the fight with the Steelback, and you got us a very skilled mage. That wasn¡¯t directly you, but it is helpful. And finally, aside from almost knocking over Turgai and covering most of us in mud, what aggression have you shown us? I cannot think of any reason to attack you, but there are many reasons not to.¡±

    Sounds transactional, but I¡¯m okay with that if it means I won¡¯t get attacked, especially considering Lunch being a lot closer to full power now, I assume. He got a couple of good hits in last time, and that hurt, so I would rather avoid that happening again.

    Raya glances up at the Commander with a smile before bringing up our demands again, and this time, it appears they¡¯re a lot more interested in listening.

    She struts around with an air of pride and arrogance, like someone who knows they¡¯re in charge and nobody can touch her. They certainly can touch her, but I wouldn¡¯t even have to interfere. I might not have time to interfere before they hit the ground.

    ¡°Okay, listen up, dummies! I¡¯m the Dragonbringer and if you annoy me, I¡¯m gonna bring Dragons! I have already brought one, don¡¯t make it two! Now, all we want is OUR forest left alone, and then you can go back to doing whatever people like you do. Nobody hunts goblins in the forest, and nobody hunts goblins north or east of the forest. Got it?¡±

    The cluster of edibles is a lot more timid now. I¡¯m pretty sure Raya can¡¯t bring another dragon, but they seem to believe her. The Commander¡¯s group all look stern and disciplined as they watch the events unfold.

    ¡°And if you need to hunt for wolves or deer, you come to me and pay for the right. It¡¯s our forest, we have lived there for our entire lives, and you blessed people have hunted us for that entire time. But that is going to change now! Because we have a Dragon and you don¡¯t. And if you manage to get a Dragon, what then? I¡¯ll bring more Dragons! You don¡¯t want that, do you?¡±

    I¡¯m not sure why they¡¯re buying it, but five of them are shaking their heads, clear indications that they do not, in fact, want more dragons around.

    ¡°And when you do come to me to hunt in our forests, you have to pay twenty for the right to hunt for one cycle!¡±

    ¡°Twenty ulunarai?! That¡¯s too much! Ten!¡±

    ¡°Eighteen!¡±

    The council members grumble among each other for a moment before returning with a reply.

    ¡°Fifteen ulunarai, and we will agree to your terms.¡±

    ¡°Fine. But you get it to me for free!¡±

    After a little more grumbling, they agree. She did it! I knew she would, and now we have a trade deal with very little show of force necessary. Now we just need to steal away Turgai, and we¡¯re good to go. With a clap of his hands, the Commander steps forward, taking Raya¡¯s place as the speaker.

    ¡°Now, with that settled, we can expect not to have any problems with the Black Dragon of Death. Doesn¡¯t that make everyone feel better? That means we can focus on our own problems and stop wasting resources defending a wall that won¡¯t be attacked. Banyai, are we heading north or south after this?¡±

    ¡°South.¡±

    The six council members begin walking toward their mounts and I¡¯m pretty sure I haven¡¯t given them a proper look before this, because there¡¯s something odd about two of them. It¡¯s tingling my curiosity and I want to find out what¡¯s going on with them. Following them immediately startles the horses and as they turn to face me, they each stare up at the looming face of mine above them.

    The scent of fear permeates the area and it¡¯s hard to pick out which of them smells the worst, so with a deft claw, I start picking them up one at a time and putting them down away from each other. There¡¯s definitely something odd about two of them.

    ¡°Not to question the wisdom of a Dragon, but as the guy responsible for security here, what are you doing?¡±

    It¡¯s not unreasonable for the Commander to question me, and I appreciate that he comes at me with words instead of blades, but I¡¯ve got something interesting going on here. I don¡¯t want to tip off the two odd ones, so he just gets a low grumble. With three of the four regular council members separated from the group, it becomes apparent that the overwhelming scent of fear from six people grouped together has hid another scent...

    They have begun hiding their nasty stench of the taint, and as only three council members remain, two of whom are related to the undead jerk responsible for all of this, I prepare to strike.

    Shadows flow out from one of the odd ones, rushing under me, causing a very uncomfortable feeling that I¡¯m pretty sure is gonna be bad soon. As the shadow cultist works his magic, the other one sprints away, leaving a very confused council member to ponder what to do as the shadow cultist behind him is pissing off the dragon in front of him.

    I don¡¯t really have time for much thinking, and reaching forward with my shadows proves that I¡¯m somehow locked in place. I have no idea what shadow magic does, but judging by the current situation, I¡¯m gonna guess it¡¯s restrictive in nature.

    ¡°Run, you fucking idiot!¡±

    The Commander has a pretty good point as I prepare my flames. The cultist struggles to contain me as I fight against his magic, and with my magic sight fixed on him, I notice small glowing crystals throughout his body. Their glow fades as he continues to hold his magic to restrain me, but the more I fight, the more they dim.

    As we struggle against each other, it occurs to me that I¡¯m being stupid... Pulling on my magic, I let it flow into my muscles, empowering me and with my new strength, the crystals burst into shards, shooting out of his limbs. The restraint fades and just as I¡¯m about to burn this filth away, Lauren walks into my line of sight and touches him. The cultist bursts into screaming golden flames as his body is reduced to smoldering ash, which is quickly turned into moist ash by the ongoing drizzle.

    Good for Lauren, she got a kill and did a good job of it, but she also stole my kill, which annoys me a little. It feels more like instinctual annoyance than rational, but puff of smoke for her! Dang killstealers...

    ¡°By the Gods, would that have happened to me if I had been corrupted?!¡±

    Right, she already used her magic on the Commander and now he¡¯s kinda afraid. That makes sense, that¡¯s a very reasonable fear. The smell of urine and fear sure is pervasive right about now, but at least the Commander isn¡¯t among those who peed their pants. That¡¯s limited to the four council members.

    Right, four, that leaves the runner. I should probably do something about that. He ran south, so that¡¯s... where Raya is coming from, carrying a head. Is she a better fighter than me, too? I have mixed feelings about that. I¡¯m proud of her and a little jealous.

    As far as fights go, I feel left out of this one. All I did was fight restraints and stand around... With a clap of her hands, Lauren starts addressing the remaining members of the Margwen Council.

    ¡°Esteemed Council of Margwen, should you doubt the value of the deal you have agreed to, consider that the Dragon you brokered peace with is now pouting because she did not get to kill anyone.¡±

    Dang it, Lauren, that¡¯s not fair! And now the Commander¡¯s group is chuckling behind me. I might have to go hunt something to feel better. A sudden whistle from the Commander sounds, startling me, and out of somewhere I didn¡¯t see, five horses appear. Every time I move a little, they stop their approach, but when I stand still, they continue their approach, and it¡¯s kinda fun to play with them.

    People are staring at me... Fine, I¡¯ll let the horses approach without teasing them... As soon as I stop moving all the time, the animals approach with some caution, and I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯re expecting me to move all of a sudden. Well, I¡¯m not gonna!

    With the mounts in range, the council members each grab one, and as soon as the politicians are ready, they leave without saying goodbye as their horses gallop down the road. I¡¯m not sure they like me. Rude.

    As Lauren turns away from the folks riding into the distance, the members of the Commander¡¯s group stop chuckling under the fierce gaze of my friend.

    ¡°I believe we should make sure everyone here is cleansed of the taint. It wouldn¡¯t do to let it fester.¡±

    They seem to know that it¡¯s for the best, but witnessing what happened to Turgai seems to have made the rest of them a little reluctant to proceed. As Banyai and the Commander start stepping backwards, Lunch betrays the team with a wall of dirt, blocking off their escape as Lauren approaches.

    I¡¯m gonna leave them to their fun and focus on Raya and her head instead. She¡¯s sitting down with it and somehow it continues to move, so I¡¯m gonna guess that it¡¯s undead. The magic circling it seems to be gray, green, and yellow all mixed together and coming off it in smoky waves. I¡¯m kinda curious what would happen if I infused it with my magic... I probably shouldn¡¯t... Redirecting my focus, I nudge Raya, asking where the rest of him is.

    ¡°I burned him. I didn¡¯t want to carry the rest back, too.¡±

    That¡¯s smart. I¡¯m not sure why any of it needed to be dragged back, but at least she¡¯s clever about it. It does seem to be biting toward her, but without any body for leverage, it¡¯s doing a very poor job of it. The sensation of a hand touching my arm draws my attention to Turgai, it seems. It appears he¡¯s joining Raya and me as we don¡¯t do much at all.

    Considering he¡¯s here anyway, I might as well ask if he¡¯s up for showing us where The Lands Beyond Death are. As I do, he brings his hands together, clasping them, as he closes his eyes, and my magic sight reveals that he¡¯s definitely casting some sort of spell. It¡¯s not something I¡¯ve felt before, so I have no idea what it does.

    ¡°I cannot guide you, but if I may have that head, creating a guide may be possible.¡±

    Raya looks up at him before throwing the head of the decapitated council cultist, which Turgai catches without much difficulty. Holding it in one hand, facing himself, he prepares to cast some sort of spell.

    ¡°What are you doing to it, Scaly?¡±

    Instead of answering, he just smiles and pokes a nail into one of his fingers, causing blood to flow. With the blood, he draws runes and symbols on the skin of the head, each of them glowing with magic. The flow of magic increases as he draws even more symbols. It¡¯s primarily a variety of circles and stars, with runes all around them.

    The more he casts, the more offensive it feels to me, making me want to lash out. This feels wrong. With a burst of energy, the head starts moving in a far more deliberate fashion as the flesh melts away, oozing over his hand and onto the ground. With the aid of the rain, it doesn¡¯t take long before he is left standing with only a fleshless skull, clacking its teeth at him.

    ¡°The spirit and soul have left the remains. With this, you may now be able to locate Lord Faran.¡±

    So I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s necromancy, and I¡¯m pretty sure necromancy is bad. I¡¯m gonna point that out, and as I do, Raya is quick to nod as she agrees with me, but Turgai seems to find it funny as he lets out a soft laugh.

    ¡°Lord Faran teaches that no magic carries the merits of morality. That responsibility lies with the wielder. What I and those of the Mura clan practice is not like that of the foolish Dead King. His is the abolishment of will and purity, twisting souls to do his bidding. What our kin practice is the art of bringing unlife to a forsaken vessel. Soul Magics among our people are limited to the Shae, as many who attempt it fall to the allure of abuse.¡±

    Oh! I forgot to ask about his whole name! Nudging the necromancing scalefolk for an answer as I pose the question, he gives me a bow before responding.

    ¡°Kind of you to ask, the one standing before you is Mura Unra Turgai. The Mura stand on the precipice of life and dance with the Darkness. Pleased to meet both of you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Raya! I play with fire and make sure Kira doesn¡¯t get in trouble!¡±

    Hey! I don¡¯t get in trouble that often...

    ¡°A tremendous task for such small shoulders. Skill and competence must come as second nature to one such as you.¡±

    Okay, now she¡¯s beaming with pride. Geez, she might end up exploding if someone pays her any more compliments. She¡¯s adorable, though, so it¡¯s all good.

    Turgai hold out the skull as he bends down to give it to Raya, citing her as the responsible party, and now that I think about it, he might be right... It keeps coming back to that tendency to eat people I have and do I want to eat a necromantic skull to find out what it tastes like? Yes, of course, but I shouldn¡¯t. I¡¯m also not quite equipped to hold something that small. That leaves Raya and Lauren. Lauren might purge it for looking at her wrong, even though it doesn¡¯t have eyes.

    So, using some deductive reasoning, yeah, Raya is the best choice.

    ¡°Kira! Lunch refuses to be healed.¡±

    Geez, I just found out we¡¯re friends with a necromancer, and now I¡¯m gonna find out we¡¯re friends with an uppity toddler? Looking back at Lauren¡¯s group, I see the Commander, Lauren, and Banyai standing outside Lunch¡¯s dirt shield. They seem to have moved further away, so I¡¯m gonna have to move to get there. Every step I take squelches as my feet dig into the wet soil, and I would be so easy to track on the ground in this weather.

    It isn¡¯t a lot of steps until I¡¯m at the dirt ball of defense, but it looks sturdier than it did last time, which means I might not get through it. Especially since I don¡¯t want to kill the guy. Choosing a more civil approach, I knock a few times, asking if he wants to come out and talk.

    ¡°No. That magic will kill me, and I don¡¯t want to die.¡±

    Okay, yeah, that¡¯s a pretty good reason to not want it cast on him. Looking back at the three standing around him, I ask them to step back as I promise Lunch that he won¡¯t have to be healed if he doesn¡¯t want to. We can talk about this after all.

    The dirt barrier falters as the little mage comes out of hiding. Well, little to me, he¡¯s regular human size, even though he isn¡¯t human. All eyes seem to be on him as folks expect an explanation, but I know how difficult it can be to open up emotionally, especially with an audience. So being the force of destruction I am, I let the others know that we¡¯re respecting his decision on the promise that he isn¡¯t one of the bad guys.

    ¡°I''m not one of the undead and I do not belong to the cult, but promising that I¡¯m not a bad guy is a promise I cannot make...¡±

    Well, that¡¯s awkward... Well, we need allies against the undead jerk, and since Lunch isn¡¯t with them, I¡¯m gonna count him as one of us. And just like that, he won¡¯t have to be affected by Lauren¡¯s magic. We could use some more misfits.

    ¡°Are you sure this is wise, Kira?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but he hid away instead of retaliating, so how bad can he be?¡±

    I am so curious about what he is, though.

 Chapter 58: Reporting in

    Scheduled Report of Mura Unra Turgai.

    The meeting had been spontaneous and unpredictable, though certain things were very much within the expected results, such as the True Blessed displaying her tremendous and fearsome powers.

    As the Great Dragon, known by the misnomer of Black Dragon of Death, soared across the sky, alarms were sounded as streets became soaked in panic. Though Ayra had warned of this eventuality, few had listened, yet he stood prepared, demanding that we stay at the ready to ride out when she showed. His resolve was adamant as he refused to consider it an eventuality rather than the reality it was.

    This scaled one is proud to say that I acted swiftly in service of my group¡¯s leader, wrangling the council members demanding to join any peace talks. The council group had been created as six members, three elected and three inherited. The ideas and notions of the faction grow quick among the inherited, as their positions remain secure, but stagnant, temptations of power bloom into sacrilegious weeds.

    Our meeting with the Great Dragon had been, in large part, uneventful, though to say it was wholly so would be a blasphemous lie. The powers of the True Blessed were shown, though the term appears to be lacking, as she stands above her predecessors, being both the Champion of a God as well as one of the Dragonforged. My scales itch to know what lies in her future.

    This scaled one has yet to determine how she succeeded in undergoing the Dragonforging process, as the divine magics should not allow for such mutations. The little one, Raya, is far more understandable, as she, being a goblin, does not have the magical fortitude to withstand the cruel and twisting powers of a Dragon¡¯s unleashed force.

    Raya the Dragonforged, or Dragonbringer, as she calls herself, has taken to the Dragonforging with tremendous excitement, allowing the process to overwhelm her biology rather than fighting it or standing in its way. This scaled one has doubts about whether victory would be possible in a confrontation. By Lord Faran¡¯s generosity, no such confrontation will be necessary.

    To avoid delving too far into subjects immaterial to the current topic, my pen returns to that of the True Blessed. As Raya the Dragonbringer does, the True Blessed calls on the Great Dragon¡¯s might with no more difficulty than I would experience drawing water from a river. This scaled one has never heard of such a thing, as even the Dragonforged of old described the struggles of wresting power from the Great Dragons that they served.

    Our initial meeting remained uneventful, though to demonstrate the tainted nature of the poisonous potions, I brought my brightsteel rod, having retrieved it from our meeting prior. As per my last message, the brightsteel had been purged of the taint by some yet-unknown mechanism.

    With it, I prepared the demonstration with the assistance of the Great Dragon. As expected, when the potion¡¯s content connected with the enriched brightsteel, the Affront emerged with enthusiasm, grasping for the skies as it found freedom. Most of the council present were enraptured by the display, though one remained unconcerned, drawing my suspicion.

    Though such suspicions were shelved for a more opportune time as the Great Dragon put forth a suggestion of tremendous intrigue. To have the True Blessed cast her Divine healing twisted by the primordial Dragon magic unto the branch of the Affront.

    This scaled one had never conceived of such an idea, as it is common knowledge among the followers of Lord Faran that the Divine cannot truly banish the Affront, as it is anathema to their very existence. Conjured as it is from the Nothing beyond the in-between, it consumes and destroys, leaving only the empty in its wake.

    With quick preparations, the True Blessed called upon the Great Dragon¡¯s magic and was soon waylaid by the expected properties of Dragonscale resisting the formation and impact of magic. Though such an obstacle will not deter her companion, Raya the Dragonbringer. The Dragonforged goblin showed her mettle, uncovering and explaining the difficulties experienced by the True Blessed.

    Not one to be deterred, the True Blessed worked her divine magic, twisting it with that of the Great Dragon. This scaled one is not so proud as to refuse to admit that my tail could not be contained as excitement overwhelmed my senses. It worked. The spell combining the divine and the primordial managed to undo the Affront, though it was a slow process, channeling magic on a scale that would burn the core veins of even a skilled magic practitioner.

    A secondary discovery was revealed prior to the revelation of a weapon against the Affront, as the True Blessed struggled to channel her magic. It would seem, as per Raya¡¯s observations, that their new Dragonscale armor, which bears a familiar signature, has the capacity to consume magic to strengthen itself. Any who would dare oppose the Dragonforged of Kira the Great Dragon¡¯s court would have to be cursed with minds so feeble the very Hells beneath would pity them.

    It has not been known to this scaled one that a Great Dragon might have such a strong affinity for gluttony that her very being becomes infused with it, though this appears to be the case as even the parted scales exhibit this trait. There¡¯s no doubt in my mind that the alchemists of the Lands Beyond Death would trade their fortunes to work with such a unique specimen.

    Returning to the topic of the Affront, the brightsteel I recovered warrants mention as it was without the branch of the Affront when we left it. It remains unknown what occurred to disentangle the two materials. It would be unlikely that the magic of the True Blessed was at work, given how inexperienced she is with the reality of her mixed nature.

    In her experimentation, Raya the Dragonbringer wrought a bolt of fire, letting it loose on the branch of the Affront, yielding little results aside from knocking over the rod of brightsteel. Though that result should not be discounted, as it shows tangible force exerted on the Affront.

    As these events unfolded, this scaled one remained unsure of how to proceed, peaceful negotiations hadn¡¯t even come up as the Great Dragon and her allies were quick to disregard any attempts by the council to draw her attention. Their efforts were repaid with turned heads and disrespect as their status has no more meaning to a Great Dragon than the color of a prey¡¯s fur might have to a Terrasaurid¡¯s hunger.

    This scaled one cannot deny the satisfaction in watching the politically inclined stumble over which course of action to take in order to draw the attention of a clearly disinterested Great Dragon. The fear of offense was palpable as they were caught between waiting their turn or risking the ire of a creature capable of bringing down everything they hold dear.

    It was this fear I suspected was masking the scent of the corruption, as the faction remained alive at the time. It would be unlikely that even one as well-versed in scenting others as Kira the Great Dragon seemed to be.

    In a moment of clarity, Raya the Dragonbringer addresses the council, though they appeared to puff out their chests as the northern Sokofoan frog might, they were soon deflated as Raya proved to be a forceful and threatening negotiator. Rather than letting it be a true negotiation, she levied the might of not one, but multiple Dragons in an obvious ruse to browbeat the prideful buffoons.

    Raya the Dragonbringer managing to yield a fifteen percent payment for use of the forest was a surprise liable to cause my premature molting, though that endurance was tested in short order as it was revealed that she had no notion of that which they were negotiating.

    As the gathering began to disperse, curiosity nodded its ferocious head, and I could not stop myself from weaving calming spells onto the council members, dissipating their fear and allowing the Great Dragon to scent them properly.

    As expected, she was quick to separate the two prominent faction members from the rest of the council, though the involvement of shadow magic caught us by surprise. It should not have been in the realm of possibilities for a common mage such as he, and yet he managed to bind a Dragon. Although shadow magic of that calibre should be capable of binding a Dragon, Kira managed to push through it by sheer force of will, such is her calm fury when faced with an offending party.

    As the short-lived exchange ended, it was not the Great Dragon delivering the killing blow, but the True Blessed. With a simple touch and her spell, she purged the revealed-to-be cultist, reducing him to no more than a pile of smoldering ash.

    During the distraction, Raya the Dragonbringer slipped away on quiet feet to pursue the second cultist as he attempted to make his escape. The events of their engagement leave little to the imagination as Raya returned with only his head, commenting on the inconvenience of bringing more than that. A grim task left for us remains, as the corpse needs to be inoculated against the corruption.

    Grim as it may be, it affords me an excellent opportunity to study the variations brought on by the Affront, and it is my hope that we may uncover their power source and strike at their heart.

    I have taken the opportunity to recreate the head of the second cultist in your image to guide them to you, so that they may seek your guidance. It is my opinion that Kira the Great Dragon and you have plenty in common, as you both share a deep bond with those you let in, while holding a callous disregard for life outside of your mind fortress.

    As per usual, I leave this as the final note of my letter, and my request is that you greet them as one would greet a long-lost friend.

    This concludes the report of Mura Unra Turgai, High Necrophage of Lord Faran. 319th year of Salvation, first cycle of the fourth quarter, day seven.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°What are you writing? I can¡¯t read it, it¡¯s so small and in a language I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Though it has been difficult to do so, I am writing my report, which will be sent to my home, so that they may know what I have been doing, Great Dragon.¡±

    Drawing on the lingering power of the dead around us, it takes little effort for one such as I to cast a transference spell to deliver my letter. It isn¡¯t enough to divert attention from my being, though, and gazing up at the large draconic head above me, a mild sense of worry worms its way into my mind.

    The Great Dragon appears to be observing me with an ever-so-slight tint of orange in her eyes, one of the colors we were warned about. With a gentle but forceful push against my body, the Great Dragon makes it known that I have made a mistake, although it is a gesture I find myself growing increasingly fond of.

    ¡°My name is Kira, not¡­ My name is not Great Dragon, it¡¯s Kira.¡±

    ¡°Very well, Kira. I apologize for my lack of consideration.¡±

    As I bow to her during my apology, it becomes clear that she is quite pleased with my acceptance of her declaration. Although it isn¡¯t unusual for powerful creatures to demand the usage of a certain name or moniker, it tends to be to demand more than they are or to emphasize an aspect of their power.

    ¡°How did you make an umbrella for the rain? Can you teach Raya? She¡¯s great at spells, so she won¡¯t take long to learn it.¡±

    Admittedly, I have my reservations when it comes to Kira¡¯s descriptions of her allies. While Raya most certainly succeeded in her negotiations, I suspect the looming threat of the Dragon glaring at the council members from above bore the brunt of responsibility. A fascinating notion is that her tendencies to reinforce her allies are downplayed within her own perception of reality.

    That hypothesis won¡¯t stand in my way as I beckon over Raya, and with no regard for the summons of a Dragon, the goblin takes short steps and makes no effort to show that what we want has any impact on her day.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Turgai is gonna teach you to create a bubble of windy air to push away the rain!¡±

    To think she deciphered the spell¡¯s workings with such speed. Most novices struggle to realize that it is far easier to create a circling wind that redirects all but the most determined raindrops. Yet she correctly surmised the nature of the spell in moments.

    ¡°Sure, when can I learn it?¡±

    ¡°I fear it is a spell that requires some knowledge of aeromancy, though I find myself curious about how well you take to learning spells. We will simply begin with a basic mage wind.¡±

    As our interaction evolves from mere acquaintances to student-teacher, I find myself longing for the days of teaching the young back home. This promises to be an experience for me to cherish in the future.

    As we begin, my instructions focus on the basics of weaving magic, as those are not necessary for creating fire bolts, for which she has an affinity.

    ¡°I already know how to do that. Kanen taught me how to use mage sight, so I can see the magic in everything. And Jarna taught me how to strengthen myself with magic.¡±

    ¡°By ¡®seeing magic in everything,¡¯ do you refer to the magic in people?¡±

    ¡°No, everything, dummy. Trees, grass, wind, whatever.¡±

    What she is describing is not mage sight, but the similarities between it and what Deannon¡¯Tathir, Emerald Dragon of Haven, described as what he saw. The absurdities of this group continue as Raya reveals that she possesses Dragon Sight, and I cannot wait to see which ways the world will be left changed by their travels.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    ¡°Very well, what you describe is not the sight of mages, but that of Dragons. It seems your progression into the realms of Dragons is further along than your bodily changes belie. That is not a concern for today, though I suspect you have felt certain changes to your disposition. For those, I can promise you that they will become subdued as your new form matures.¡±

    Heightened aggression comes as an early experience for those undergoing the Dragonforging process, though more severe symptoms will be experienced. A secondary attribute one might acquire is a change in what one might consider consumable.

    There will be additional effects of the metamorphosis to come, among them superior infusion magics to empower weaponry. Though that necessitates equipment powerful enough to handle it. There is no doubt in this scaled one¡¯s mind that Raya will become a truly fearsome watcher of the world, though how prepared for such a life can a short-lived race be?

    We must pray that she does not succumb to the immortality madness that has driven the Undead King to become what he now is.

    There is growing disapproval of this scaled one being locked in thought as the push of Kira¡¯s muzzle is felt. It is time to teach Raya more magic. As she has already learned the basics of weaving to a sufficient degree, the next mark to cover is shaping the magic into the desired form and asking it to perform as we wish.

    ¡°Raya, drawing on your weave and stretching the strings, your next mark to scratch is to create an elongated weave. The strings must remain tight, but loose enough to move. As the wind does, it must stretch, bob, and weave. It must be firm and malleable. It has to make way for obstacles to reach its goal, yet be unyielding to that which attempts to stand in its way.¡±

    With my slitted eyes locked onto the weave she creates, it becomes most obvious that she is not doing as I instructed. It is unclear what she is weaving, though it looks stable and should hold. She is weaving far faster than a goblin should be capable of doing, bringing a spike of envy to my heart as I have never worked with Primordial Magic. The Dragonbringer radiates power as she continues her work.

    ¡°Done!¡±

    With a declaration of success, she unleashes the weave in a wave of flame, guiding it by her hand as she creates an encirclement surrounding herself, forcing others to step back. It is unlike any spell this scaled one has observed before. It is not a firewall; it is not a fire shield; and it is not a flame infusion, yet it appears to bear the functionality of all three.

    Such fearsome power rests in the realm of ignorance and talent. If she were to dedicate her life to magecraft, there is no doubt in my mind that we would see a new golden age of spellcrafting.

    ¡°Good job, Raya! But that isn¡¯t really wind, so are you sure you did it properly?¡±

    ¡°Fire is better, and it keeps the rain away, so it works. Don¡¯t question it, Kira.¡±

    As she says, the rain is kept away as it becomes steam the moment it impacts the fiery barrier. It is likely that her arms will be hit by fatigue before the journey¡¯s end as the barrier moves in relation to her hands.

    Though pointing out such absurdity does little to shake the Dragonforged goblin¡¯s confidence as she declares the matter as simple as rearranging the points of binding, so that she may keep the barrier while resting her arms. Should she manage that, she will have done something no mage before her has done: create a true defensive barrier without using support magic.

    She attempts to do so as the goading of Kira antagonizes her through prodding and taunting questions.

    ¡°So when are you gonna do it, Raya? It¡¯s easy, right? Just change the position of your flame shield and have it be in front of you, easy peasy. I believe in you, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll master it by next year.¡±

    With a deft hand, Raya reveals yet another property of her barrier as she readies the reanimated guidance skull, throwing it at Kira. The skull itself becomes infused with flame as it passes through the barrier, though the potency remains unknown.

    ¡°Ouch! Dang it, Raya, that was right in the sensitive spot! Stop having such good aim!¡±

    ¡°Raya, it would be prudent not to throw away the beings necessary for your group to complete their goals. Though I would recommend trying to create a wall of wind as I instructed, fire could become detrimental under certain conditions.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to make it fire¡­ It just came out like that.¡±

    How curious indeed. The elemental attribute of a spell should not be able to go against the caster¡¯s wishes, except in the case of wild magic. I cannot instruct her in the ways of that chaotic mess. Instead, I will merely let her know that she may let the Shae know of the spell and let slip my name, so that the Shae may find an instructor for the gifted little being.

    What fascinating things may be uncovered about the wild magics if that is indeed Raya¡¯s true affinity.

    ¡°Is my magic broken?¡±

    ¡°No. Magic cannot truly be broken, it is a foundational part of our Reality. It either is there or it is not. Your affinity is simply undetermined as of yet, a matter which will be resolved in the days to come.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Raya! You just need to find what you¡¯re extra good at, since you¡¯re good at so many things! Just like Joras is extra good at raising his eyebrow, Lily is extra good at cooking, I¡¯m extra good at being awesome, and Lauren is extra good at yelling at dragons! Everyone is extra good at something, it can just be hard to find out what sometimes.¡±

    There is clear indignation in the eyes of the True Blessed. I suspect she finds herself in a conflicting circumstance of wanting to make her feelings clear and not wanting to prove Kira¡¯s depiction of her talents correct.

    Though the notion that one might be ¡®extra good¡¯ at yelling at Dragons is a fascinating one. This scaled one is overcome by an itching curiosity to learn more about what brought that descriptor to the forefront of Kira¡¯s mind.

    ¡°I will smack you if you ask, Turgai.¡±

    ¡°It was not my intention to pry, Blessed One. The past of another is to be shared with friends and the trusted, not with strangers met on a field of diplomacy.¡±

    It is not a lie to say that my scales grow a little paler in the presence of a Dragonforged True Blessed, and I fear the power she might come to wield. Though the lack of instructions from Lord Faran to capture or subdue her implies that he and the Pantheon hold an agreement regarding her coming growth.

    Night approaches, and we must be going soon. Signaling for Ayra, he makes quick work of readying our people for the trek back to the Fortress City of Margwen.

    ¡°Do keep that skull close, Raya. It has the potential to guide you to where you need to be.¡±

    ¡°Oh! Like the Shadow Man! That¡¯s so cool, Raya. You got your very own handheld Shadow Man!¡±

    What a tumultuous world it must be to live in the presence of Kira, who so casually throws out unstable magic spheres to shake up the conversation¡­

    ¡°I am unfamiliar with anyone by that moniker, though the nature of shadow manipulation would fall well within the gifts bestowed by Lord Faran. Might I have a description of this ¡®Shadow Man''?"

    ¡°He¡¯s shadowy, big, and has this bony skull as a face. I think it¡¯s an elk, but I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯ve seen a few creatures I¡¯m not familiar with, so maybe it¡¯s something else, but I couldn¡¯t tell you. In fact, it probably is something else, we should go find something that matches so we can figure out what it is. I¡¯m sure it will be a delicious way to spend the day, so maybe that¡¯s what we should do. No wait, we should head to the Lands Beyond Death first, I wanna see what¡¯s going on there. I¡¯ve never been there, you know.¡±

    Sifting through the torrent of information unleashed by Kira tests my sensibilities. It appears the comfort of familiarity has grown, allowing a more casual demeanor between us. With it, the difficulty of deciphering her peculiarities grows ever more cumbersome.

    To buy a moment for my mind to catch up, a thrown piece of smoked meat will suffice. The importance of angle and height when throwing food to the Great Dragon remains fresh in my mind, as deviation and distraction could conceivably result in bodily harm for any who may be standing in her path.

    The mention of a Shadow Man does spark interest, as suspicions rise about who it may be. The disembodied souls of vengeful warriors could appear as a shadow creature in their unlife, should their soul become unable to move on to the next world.

    That is a topic for which I must ask Lord Faran for guidance. But it is not a situation for which I am without tools.

    ¡°It is possible that I may summon this Shadow Man, although I require materials of great power to perform the ritual. If it is a thing to which you consent, I may shed some light on who this being is.¡±

    ¡°Will it hurt him? I don¡¯t want to do it if it hurts him, he hasn¡¯t done anything other than being nice to me and helping me out.¡±

    ¡°It will cause no harm, though it may result in some confusion as he adjusts to being corporeal once more.¡±

    ¡°Oh! That means we can talk to him, right? And maybe touch him, he deserves nudges for having been so kind. The first time I met him, I was lost and he gave me directions. If it wasn¡¯t for him, I¡¯m not sure where I¡¯d be, but I would be lost for sure.¡±

    As approval has been given, the preparations must be completed. As the first objective, a circle of power must be drawn in the blood of the caller and marked by the essence of the summoner. With a simple gesture of my hand, Kira the Great Dragon holds out her arm for me to draw from. With a quick reminder, she lowers it so that I may reach it.

    Conjuring an open container for the powerful material that is Dragon¡¯s Blood, it fills with ease as our preparations progress. The drawing of a circle comes without much difficulty as a Dragon of her size has an abundance of blood, though considering the state of the terrain, some preparations are necessary. A simple groove in the soaked surface will suffice.

    It takes but a moment of pouring to have the casting circle completed, the rain is liable to cause mild disturbances within the ritual, though that can be overcome through casting. Another moment is to be spent pondering how little difficulty it proved to be to gain access to her blood, which warrants warnings.

    ¡°Kira, it is important that you heed my warning going forward. Do not so casually give access to your blood. There is power in consent, and blood taken holds less power than blood given.¡±

    ¡°Are you gonna abuse it?¡±

    ¡°To abuse such a gesture would be to forsake the teachings of Lord Faran, a thing that I could never do.¡±

    As my words leave my mouth, she responds with a gesture of her own making, as her muzzle impacts my chest, accompanied by a gentle purr. It is not a gesture with which I am familiar, but there is kindness to it, as such, that is the way it will be interpreted until proven incorrect. I had initially assumed it was a misjudging of distance, but the continued use of the gesture makes the intentional nature clear.

    With a warning given, the task at hand calls for attention once more. The time has come to add to it the essence of the summoner. A simple matter of carving the flesh of my arm and adding it to the ritual. A wound will be left, but flesh stitching solves that issue with ease.

    With a thin slice of my scaled flesh and a drawn dagger, etchings must be added to give the essence purpose. To that end, it calls for the sigil of location, a simple rounded square with a corner directed toward a place of home. With a location settled, a call to the summoned comes next, an animal depicting the hunt will suffice, no doubt enticing the Shadow Man by appealing to his soul¡¯s wants.

    As a final touch, a binding mark to keep him from dissipating. For this, a depiction of loose manacles will do the job. It wouldn¡¯t do to bind him with firm shackles, as he will be using this scaled one¡¯s body as his vessel for the ritual.

    With the essence completed and placed in the ritual circle, the final step is to bind the two together, for which we must use the power of the land.

    ¡°Lady Raya, First of the Great Dragon¡¯s Court, I believe you carry a plethora of local plants, might you have a Golden Touch and a Tiara of the Heavens?¡±

    As the questioning gaze of the goblin runt turned powerful warrior meets my eyes, doubts about my terminology enter my mind. Suspicions of lacking familiarity with the plant names strike me, as explanations of their appearances come forth.

    ¡°The Golden Touch appears in bloom as a bright yellow flower, spreading pollen far and wide, coating the surrounding area in a delightful golden gleam. As for the Tiara of the Heavens, it grows alone as it needs a significant amount of space. The bloom of the flower appears as a large, blue crown that, as it withers and yields to the seasons, a ring of bark-like substance remains of the original flower. I require but a petal of each.¡±

    ¡°I think I know those. I might have some.¡±

    Though she wears her exquisite armor of Dragonscale, she carries pouches of herbs and ointments around and underneath the protective equipment, which will no doubt come as a surprise to any would-be attacker. Attacking her and finding oneself with a face coated in Gothry¡¯s Fate would be a fate akin to its namesake. The plant¡¯s milk is capable of damaging weapons of metal and has been the downfall of many inexperienced alchemists.

    She does indeed have some. Bending down, I hold out my hand for her to hand over the surprising quantity of the requested herbs. She must be a skilled tracker to know the forest well enough to have herbs to give away, knowing the forest as well as the Mura clan knows our own bones.

    One cannot stand still in thought too long, as the next step must be taken. With the herbs acquired, they must be crushed into a paste and for that, we scaled ones are particularly adept. The rough hide of our hands lends itself as an excellent substitute for a mortar, with our tough nails working as a pestle, allowing the crushing of herbs in our hands with ease.

    It takes but a moment for the herbs to be prepared and in that time, the ritual ground has grown accustomed to itself. Adding the paste as a binding agent, the circle hums with power, ready for the final part.

    As I step into the circle, I ask that all who have met the Shadow Man think of him and the emotions they felt when they met him. As they do, a clear image forms within my mind, and what I see is a wayward soul, lost on its path to the next life.

    Stretching my spirit to take hold of the being, I pull him to us, unifying our beings as I relinquish control of my flesh to allow his communion with those who seek him.

    There¡¯s a weird freygarn flash of light and I haven¡¯t a clue what the shit is going on¡­ Opening my eyes, the first thing I see is a giant freygarn dragon... Yeah, I¡¯m gonna run away from the giant freygarn dragon!

    ¡°Wait! Turgai, where are you going?! Shadow Man, is that you?¡±

    Those words sound so familiar, and they make me want to cry. Why the freygarn does ¡®Shadow Man¡¯ make me cry?!

    The time I¡¯ve spent slowing down has been enough for the giant dragon to catch up as the squelching of mud behind me stops. It doesn¡¯t look like she intends to eat me, so that seems like a good thing.

    ¡°Are you really the Shadow Man?¡±

    I know that I am, but I have no idea what a shadow man is, and my acknowledgment of the name seems to bring some joy to the dragon as she pushes her face against my body. I¡¯m not sure how to respond to her, but I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯m in danger anymore.

    As I clear a tear from my face, it becomes clear that this is not my face or my hand. Looking down, what I see is the clawed hand of a lizardman, and with awareness comes the realization that I have an elongated face as well. What the freygarn is going on?!

    ¡°Turgai said you might be a little confused, but you¡¯re okay, this is only temporary, Shadow Man. I just wanted to meet you for real and thank you for helping me out so much, it really means a lot to me. I¡¯m pretty sure you saved me from becoming something very dangerous.¡±

    Disorientation strikes as memories flood my mind, reminding me of what has happened... since I died¡­

    I died the moment I stepped into that guild hall, and before my body hit the ground, time itself froze, and a being of absolute power pulled my soul out of my body, offering me a deal. It would allow me to complete my grim task, in exchange, I had to become a hunter of the worldshifters¡­ I was supposed to kill her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me, dragon. I was meant to be your murderer, not your guide¡­¡±

    ¡°Pfft, so what? Anyone here who hasn¡¯t tried to kill someone else here, raise your hand.¡±

    Of the five people around the dragon, only one raises his hand. A beastkin of questionable disposition.

    ¡°Don¡¯t fucking lie, Banyai. You¡¯ve tried to kill me several times for ¡®underpaying¡¯ you.¡±

    ¡°Nah, boss. Eternal slumber ain¡¯t killin¡¯.¡±

    ¡°You could just find employment somewhere else!¡±

    ¡°Ain¡¯t no such thing, boss. Them other groups got worse pay and benefits, y¡¯know?¡±

    ¡°And you don¡¯t think that might indicate that your pay is fine?!¡±

    ¡°Could be more.¡±

    Their exchange doesn¡¯t appear to be ending until the dragon blows a plume of smoke in their direction, covering the arguing pair and reducing the discussion to a variety of coughs. How could any group function like this¡­

    ¡°So why were you supposed to kill me? No judgment, I¡¯m just curious.¡±

    How does a being such as her not take offense to a deed of such severity?...

    ¡°It is what I was remade for. I hunt and kill worldshifters, such as you, Dragon. Beings from other worlds coming here and disrupting the reality of our world.¡±

    ¡°And you saw how well-behaved I was and couldn¡¯t do it? I knew you were nice!¡±

    I¡¯m not sure why I didn¡¯t go through with it, but that isn¡¯t it. I stalked her for so long before I revealed myself, an act I should never have committed. But I did, and I changed the course of history for it. I''m remembering what would have happened and what was to come, but the simple act of showing her the way back changed things so much.

 Chapter 59: Circling Shadows

    I had entered the Guild Hall of Oakhold with my blades drawn, but the Guild members had been prepared. The moment I opened the door and stepped inside, my heart was pierced by an arrow, promising an end to my vengeance before it had truly begun.

    As I fell to my knees, time stood as still as the waves of a midwinter lake. The floor of the Guild Hall drew closer as my eyes failed to keep watch on the world. How thoroughly disappointing to have been cut down before landing a blow against my prey.

    Gasping for air and bleeding out like a simple animal, I waited for death to take me into the next world, but that grace never arrived. Time itself had abandoned me in my folly, leaving me to suffer for days before that thing arrived¡­ Rage boiled within me as frozen time mocked me with the faces of my prey standing around me.

    Though my wish for death grew stronger as my desiccated body aged within this timeless realm, my lust for the hunt swelled to unknown heights. My prey not only got away, but mocked my predator¡¯s instincts by staying alive around my fallen body.

    No matter what I did, how much I focused, or what I told myself, I could not move. I haven¡¯t a clue how long I was locked within that place, but relief arrived in the shape of a tall, monstrous being clad in robes of darkness itself. Beside the monstrous being stood a female lizard wearing a beautifully adorned dress. No doubt the keeper of this beast.

    It spoke to me under the watchful eye of its keeper.

    ¡°I apologize for being late, time is difficult to work with. I come with an offer for you, Vidar the Hunter. I will grant you an opportunity for vengeance, and in return, you must simply hunt world-shifters.¡±

    The being finalized its offer by asking its keeper how well it had done, to which she simply nodded. With my gaze cast upon the two, my sight fixated on the beautiful lizard as she stared down at me, making it painfully obvious that I was of no concern to her.

    ¡°You did well, my lord. Though you did not greet him, as is customary among the ensouled.¡±

    ¡°The rules you things apply to yourselves grow so tiresome, I cannot be expected to learn everything with the frequency at which you change such nonsense.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be a hatchling, my lord. Greetings have been customary for millennia. Leaving that aside, I would imagine our friend here would prefer to get to the point.¡±

    The indignation at being called a hatchling was palpable, and it terrified me as thoughts of how powerful this lizard must be to so casually refer to this monster as immature.

    The thing repeated the offer: work as a hunter or accept death. In my folly, I did not ask further questions as the promise of vengeance drew my addled mind. I accepted the offer, and not a moment later, I stood where I had, an arrow-perforated chest and a door closing behind me. The ravages of time had been undone, and this was what I wanted. A final stand against the cruel hordes of the Guild.

    Picking up the blade I had dropped, I began slicing my way through every Guild member present. They fought back as best they could, but my body refused to fall a second time. As the adventurers around me fell, I cursed the memories of my muscles as they enforced a strict policy of quick kills. None of the bastards suffered as their prey did.

    My body was flooded with unholy energy as the blade carved a path toward my doom. I had always been a proficient killer, but the unnatural power granted to me by this monstrous being had unmade what I was and turned me into a weapon of true slaughter. My blades met no resistance as the culling proceeded, and soon, the floor was soaked with the blood of sinners.

    As satisfaction settled within my broken heart, my body fell to the ground and my soul was left lingering to become a corrupted entity of senseless murder. Though I was to be given a sinner¡¯s funeral, Lord Wreyn saw fit to bring my body to my final resting place. Through his kindness, I had a grave for my spirit to remember who I was.

    Following that tragic day, my time was spent watching, unseen in the shadows, and hunting the worldshifters. Those that would travel to our world to sow discord. Tales of old come to mind. Stories of worldshifters growing their power through the use of forbidden knowledge only to turn their might on the world, disrupting the balance of the kingdoms, and condemning swathes of lives to suffering under their tyranny.

    Though I drew no pleasure from butchering those who did not choose to come here, it was a task that had to be done for the sake of the balance.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for interrupting your story, Shadow Man, but is it gonna be much longer? I¡¯d like to hear it, but I¡¯ve been standing still for far too long today, and my social energy is spent.¡±

    I did not know such a thing would be a concern for the Dragon, but it seems accommodations must be made. Rather than give the full tale of my unlife, I suppose a young one like her would need an abridged version.

    The monster who gave me unlife also bestowed upon me the sight of impact. The ability to see the significance of the impact a being would have upon the world, to see the impact a worldshifter¡¯s knowledge would have. And as I cast my gaze upon the Dragon, it is clear that she will touch many lives, but very few related to her being a worldshifter.

    Having stalked her from the shadows, it became apparent that she would not draw the attention of my master, allowing me to let her live. Her actions, although profoundly odd at times, do not deviate from a true denizen of this world. Though, as I explain this, she exudes a sense of indignation.

    ¡°Okay, let me just get this straight: I didn¡¯t get killed because I have no skills and I¡¯m unremarkable? Yeah, I¡¯m just gonna take a moment to be offended¡­ Seems a little rude to write me off like that¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Kira. You¡¯re great at eating and breaking things.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Raya¡­ and Lauren! Stop laughing, dang it!¡±

    As the Champion of Merciferus laughs at the Dragon, the gentle giant responds by swiping away the Champion¡¯s feet with a deft claw, causing the Champion to fall over into the muddy soil. With a generous coat of the seasonal muck, the Champion¡¯s laughter stops as she rises once more, throwing a clump of mud at the Dragon.

    The impact of rock and splattering dirt against Dragonscale made a simple thud, eliciting no reaction from the world-shifter.

    ¡°Oh! But what about the dragon¡¯s gold stuff in Tuiran? Doesn¡¯t that make me remarkable? From what I¡¯ve heard, other dragons wouldn¡¯t do that for people.¡±

    Although she makes a reasonable argument, the fact remains that she hasn¡¯t done anything that couldn¡¯t be done with little effort by a denizen of this world. Though informing her of this yields further glares of indignation and arguments about her unusual additions to Tuiran¡¯s prosperity. I would hope she does not stumble upon a reason for my master to notice her existence, as she currently does not need to be slain. With a thrown rock impacting her nose, the goblin draws her attention.

    ¡°Kira, stop trying to get yourself killed, dummy!¡±

    ¡°Right in the dang sensitive spot¡­ Stop having such a good aim, Raya!¡±

    It was an impressive throw. The goblin managed to hit a target six murak above her with enough force to draw a reaction. She could become a hunter of legends, should that be what she desired. With the talents possessed by the three of them, they will continue to have a profound impact on this continent. My hope is that they limit themselves, so as not to travel to the eastern continent. The Kingdom of Immarderen would make a powerful foe to stand in their way.

    It is becoming apparent that this meeting will have to be cut short as the sparks of change grow increasingly dense around her. The growth of stress increases the likelihood of Kira lashing out, which I would prefer not to be caught up in.

    ¡°Kira, when you arrive at the Dead Wastes before reaching the Lands Beyond Death, you must stop and wait. Do not set foot in that accursed place before you have been invited by the Shae. That is all I can tell you. I fear my time with you is coming to an end as the spell binding me begins to fade. My master is still unaware of you, and it is in your interest to keep it that way.¡±

    I can only hope that she heeds my advice as the spell fades and my consciousness returns to my shadowy body.

    Although I could have held onto the binding for longer, it is prudent that I limit my time with the worldshifter, lest my master take notice of her. Since accepting that thing¡¯s deal, I have seen so much of the world that would have been impossible before. Though I died only a few years ago, the gifts that have been bestowed upon me allow me far more freedom than I could have ever imagined.

    Time to linger on such thoughts must wait as the calling of another event sounds within the skull, marking my status as a hunter.

    In front of me is a familiar rift, which will take me to the destination of my quarry. As I step into the rift, the world shifts around me, becoming a landscape of fungus and rot. It appears that the hunt has taken me to the Dark Below.

    ¡°This way, Lilirinna! He¡¯s closing in on us!¡±

    ¡°No matter where you run to, blood mage, your death will find you!¡±

    The voice of the pursuer resonates with my skull, indicating that he is my prey. A tall but thin silhouette of a dark elven man chases two others. His fixation means this will be an easy hunt. With the abilities this body affords me, stalking him comes easy. The two elves he hunts are taking shortcuts through the forest of massive mushrooms covering the landscape. They¡¯re doing a good job of evading their hunter for the time being, but he is gaining on them.

    Moving through the shadows of the undergrowth proves once more that this body was forged for this purpose.

    My prey moves with ease, dodging the underbrush likely to trip him. He is familiar with the terrain, but such things cannot touch me. It would be quite an amusing coincidence should he stumble onto a paralyzing bleach cap, though such a development is unlikely given my presence.

    The towering sporocarps provide such excellent shadows for cover as the blazerocks above provide a sprinkling of light alongside the glowing caps of the brilhoshroom. Combined, the visibility is enough to see the spores saturating the air.

    Between the fungi wanting to eat the rotting flesh of trespassers and the spores infecting the lungs of the living, the area provides a plethora of dangers for the unprepared. Extended exposure to the spores is prone to leave anyone in a terrible state wishing for death.

    How they feed aside from trespassers, I do not know, but they have already consumed the animal and plant life in the area, leaving only fungus to dominate the terrain. And a magnificent display of domination it is. Their virulent presence stands indomitable, and it would take a profound force to drive them out.

    It is obvious that the two elves running from the hunter are inexperienced in the art of traversal, and if they fail to lure in the hunter, they will fall to his experience. And I cannot strike as long as they remain in my line of sight, as I have to remain hidden. As is my nature, I must remain in the shadows, preying on the targets my master directs me.

    My prey continues his hunt as the two fleeing elves try their best to lose him, but the woman is slowing them down, the air smells of necroflesh, indicating that she has been hit by a venom.

    I cannot reveal myself yet as the fleeing elves are still in my line of sight, though we¡¯re all closing in on a bend in the fungus forest. My time to strike looms ever closer as the best opportunity to buy time for them will arrive in mere moments, and as such, I need to be ready to strike.

    ¡°Cease this pointless resistance, blood mage! The enchantress will die today!¡±

    My prey stopped to play with his quarry, a mistake that will cost him as the two elves get further away. The shadows hide me as well as I want them to, letting me sneak close enough to breathe on the neck of my prey. He shivers as I do, becoming aware that he is no longer the hunter.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    As he turns around to face me, I let my ethereal hand slide into his chest and, with his heart in my grasp, a simple thought is enough to end him. A quick death for my prey, but one unworthy of a warrior, as he had no chance of fighting back. Today he is not a warrior, he is prey.

    Though he was not a world-shifter, by opening the rift, my master has condemned him to death, and it is my duty to carry out the order.

    The area is rife with dangers as the two runners continue on their journey, though without this one to hunt them, they may yet live to see the coming age. Their first hurdle will be securing shelter as they tend to the woman¡¯s wounds, grave as they are.

    With my task complete, it¡¯s time to leave this place of beauty. The corpse of my prey will join the cycle through the fungal forest, and his soul will move on to the next life, while I must move on as well. There is little rest for a damned wraith such as I, as another rift opens.

    Leaving the land of rot and decay behind, the rift takes me to a frozen wasteland. I cannot say which time or place this is, as it feels unfamiliar. It appears the rift opened into a vast cave, though I don¡¯t see anything of note. The stalagmites and stalactites grow aplenty, though there is little else to watch out for. Rather than standing here, I must get my bearings.

    The cave carries no signs of internal illumination; as such, I must conclude that the ray of light ahead of me will lead to the cave¡¯s entrance.

    As I reach the entrance, it becomes apparent that this is a mountaintop, standing tall above the plains and forests below. The snow-covered cliffs around me form a crescent shape as familiar forests sprawl at the base. Forests where I once led the Dragon to safety, rather than hunt the mighty beast. I cannot help but feel curiosity as to what her fate might have been, had I not interfered.

    A roar nearby makes it apparent that this mountain is not deserted, and the resonating sensation tells me what I must do. The hunt calls to me, and my prey approaches.

    This is Frostclaw territory, and they are to be culled. Facing the approaching beast, I stare it down, although I would imagine our experiences of this situation are vastly different from one another. It charges at me as it prepares the frightening frost magic that comes as a natural aspect of these beasts.

    As it launches an icicle in my direction, I sidestep it as magic can affect my ethereal form. As we reach each other, it swipes at me, though with little luck as I have the advantage of not being bound by my shape. A wraith can simply fade into the shadows. Though this place has few shadows, the beast does not attempt to lure me away from the cave, which means I have the advantage.

    The magical nature of the beast means its hide protects it from my invasion, so simply crushing the heart will not be possible. As the beast swipes once more, I take hold of the claw, leveraging my ability to influence the corporeal to take hold of the beast¡¯s claw. With a mighty heave, I pull on the tremendous paw with all my might, throwing it toward the cliff¡¯s edge. I cannot penetrate its hide easily, but the jagged cliffs can.

    As I send it flying, the sound of the beast¡¯s body impacting the cliffside sounds through the area, echoing among the rock faces. Though there is a moment of rest, it won¡¯t last long as more Frostclaws approach. From the resonating, it appears I must handle three additional foes.

    A cluster of Frostclaws approaches, meaning this will not be a simple one-on-one fight, though it will carry other benefits. The uneven numbers will make mistakes and friendly fire more likely as the foes lose track of the battlefield.

    The trio is quick to approach, and the first begins its charge, though the other two appear more reluctant. With a simple shimmer of my form, I fade away from its bite, reforming by its side as I strike it.

    These beasts are known for their endurance and durability. And though I have the power to throw one, the more defensively oriented specimens tend to have an impressive ability to bind themselves to the ground.

    In my distracted moment, another took the opportunity to launch shards of ice at me. The sensation of my shadow being pierced is something I cannot get used to. It feels as though something pushes its way through me as my flesh reshapes itself to accommodate the foreign object. There is no pain involved, but it does drain my essence.

    The beast I struck has been left with a bruise and perhaps a broken rib or two, but that is far from enough to make it retreat. The other two continue their barrage, forcing me to retreat further into the cave. With the shadows around us deepening, my connection to my master grows alongside my power.

    Though I have become strengthened, the continued barrages of frozen magic prevent me from gaining the upper hand, and the fact that they have seen me means I cannot fade into the shadows completely.

    The charging beast makes a terrible target, so that means I must take out those favoring ranged combat. While becoming unseen isn¡¯t possible, shifting into the shadows for speed is. Though I cannot match the defensive Frostclaw¡¯s fortitude, it cannot match my speed.

    Slipping into the shadows, I move at inhuman speed toward the barraging beasts. A mere moment later, my form descends upon them as I strike with my shadow-empowered fist. Bones crunch under my assault, but I find myself compelled to draw them out of the cave, giving up my advantage. It is rare that I feel these compulsions, but they come from the monster itself.

    With one ranged Frostclaw wounded, I leave the cave behind as the other continues its magical assault while the defensive beast charges at me once more, though it is wary of the cliff.

    A surge of power fills me as I feel the attention of my master upon me. This is taking too long, and I need to hurry. With the additional power, my form becomes corporeal and strengthened beyond anything I can muster on my own. This fight is done, and now all that is left is to clean up.

    As the charging beast reaches me, I take hold of its jaws and twist my body, throwing it further into the snowy landscape. It has been weakened, but it lives. I cannot dwell on it as two Frostclaws remain.

    Charging them, one flees as the other draws in more magic, its attention focused on me as it prepares a spell of significant magnitude. As long as I am empowered by the monster, it won¡¯t matter. It cannot harm me any longer. Grabbing hold of its upper jaw, I pull as I twist my body once more. It impacts the rock face as the first did. Waiting for a moment yields no information as to whether the two survivors wish to re-engage me in battle, though the rift opening suggests that my task has been completed.

    I cannot help but be curious about what my master has planned. These rifts do not seem random, but the machinations of such a monstrous being remain shrouded in the mists of eternity. I am but a tool to carry out orders and stop the threats posed by the worldshifters.

    Stepping into the rift before me shifts the world around me, and the landscape changes from frozen mountaintop to a hellscape of stone pillars and beasts of metal.

    ¡°Now look what you made me do, bitch!¡±

    To think this hunt will be over in mere moments, a shame that I do not get to enjoy traveling this realm as my prey stands over the body of a young human woman. She is bleeding out, and I have no doubt that she will die soon, though that is of no concern to me, as he is my prey.

    As I approach, I remain unseen, though his actions seem to spur him into movement as he turns to flee, turning to face me. With an outstretched hand, I grab hold of his neck, lifting him off the ground as I stare into his eyes. There¡¯s no remorse, no respect for the hunt, and no justification for the kill. It was needless, and it was wasteful.

    ¡°What the fuck are you?! Let me go, you fucking monster.¡±

    I find myself chuckling internally at the notion of me being the monster when he has not seen what a true monster is.  He lacks perspective, though that is all the mercy he will receive today. Flexing my grip, his neck snaps, but he does not die. This time, I won¡¯t respect the hunt either.

    As I let go of him, his limp body falls to the ground as he tries to gasp for air and beg for mercy, but his death will come soon as his lungs cease to function. He chose his hunting grounds well, as he is unlikely to be discovered in time for assistance.

    Another rift opens, proving that he will live out the rest of his pitiful life in this filthy alley.

    Before entering the rift, it seems appropriate to take a moment to stare at the skies. This is a place I have never known before, the skies are unfamiliar and the sounds from the surroundings are overwhelming. I cannot say that I wish to return here again, but should my mission call for it, I will have to.

    The rift reveals a desert covered in sand and bones, shrouded by night. As my body enters this new place, my shadows coalesce into blackened bones, forming a corporeal skeleton as well as robes to cover them. Standing before me is a beast of significant stature. It bears the twisted appearance of a rotting wolf merged with the unwilling flesh of man. A beast from the in-between.

    ¡°So your master has finally sent his lapdog to deal with the Unbidden, has he?¡±

    It appears this being knows the monster I serve. A shame I cannot say that I was sent here to deal with it, and I feel no resonance at this thing¡¯s words, indicating that it is not what I seek. Melding in with the darkness of night, I leave the being from beyond behind.

    ¡°It appears I am of no interest to you. As such, I must warn you, lapdog. Do be careful, the workings of the ancients rarely benefit those with finite lives such as we. You may find that what you are doing will leave a taste most terrible in your mouth.¡±

    I was never a wise man, so I cannot say whether what the being says is true, but the bindings on my soul keep me from rebelling against the cage I find myself in. How I solve the problems is up to me, but whether the problems are solved or not is not a choice for me to make.

    I cannot linger any longer, the call of the hunt draws me west, further into this wasteland.

    The night is spent wandering through the desert as daytime approaches without much change in scenery. Dunes of sand covering bleached bones. The call continues drawing me west, although it is shifting further south.

    As midday approaches, an oasis comes into sight and as my eyeless sockets fixate upon it, the familiar sensation of resonance reverberates through me. I have found my goal, now I must find my quarry.

    The intensity of the sun makes it clear why my master forced this body upon me. My shadows would not have fared well in this region.

    Reaching the oasis, there isn¡¯t anything standing out, and the call to hunt feels¡­ odd¡­

    ¡°Are you here to kill me?¡±

    From behind a rock, a child speaks, his voice resonating with me, though it doesn''t tell me to kill him.

    ¡°No, I will not be killing you. What are you doing here, child?¡±

    ¡°I ran away¡­ The skeletons attacked my village and I ran away, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±

    He steps out from behind his cover, the boy is scrawny to say the least. By my guess, he has tried to survive out here on his own, and considering he¡¯s still alive, I would say he has succeeded.

    ¡°My name is Vidar. I believe I have been sent here to help you, child. Though I think it might be helpful if I knew your name.¡±

    ¡°My mom says not to give out my name because demons use it to control you.¡±

    ¡°Ah, but I am undead, not a demon, so you don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡±

    He seems to think for a moment, caught up in the questionable logic, though there is truth to it. Demons cannot be undead as the infernal magic they consist of is corrupted by the necromantic energies. Rather than give me his name, he changes the subject and asks how I¡¯m supposed to help him.

    ¡°The master I serve has deemed you worthy of knowledge, and as his servant, I am the conduit with which to teach you.¡±

    There¡¯s acceptance in his eyes, though I suspect it¡¯s born of desperation rather than rationale, but it will have to suffice. Instead of dwelling on motivations, we begin talking about magic and how to use it. I explain how it can become a shield to defend what you hold dear, a weapon to strike down your foes, or a tool to build monuments to one¡¯s own ego or uplift those around you.

    He appears enthralled by my words as we continue talking. Before setting foot in this desert, I had little knowledge of magic, but the longer I stay here, the more I know as secrets hidden from me become revealed. It is obvious that this is my master¡¯s doing and this boy needs to become a mage of profound skill.

    With the knowledge bestowed upon me, our first objective becomes nourishment for the boy. What I know of magic appears to be rendered moot by the knowledge of the monster as I find myself capable of shaping the magic itself into the matter I wish to bring forth.

    At the mere thought of fruit and a push of magic, the energy coalesces and becomes what I want.

    "Whoa! Can you teach me to do that?!¡±

    ¡°Not this exactly, but you will learn much of how to wield the magic of mortals.¡±

    Having conjured enough sustenance for the boy to have a feast, we begin our lesson. The first lesson being simple weaving. To my surprise, it appears we will not be spending ages teaching him. He takes to the magic as if born of it. In only a couple of tries, he has mastered the basics of weaving, allowing us to move on to the next lesson.

    The second lesson should prove tougher. Weaving beyond the confines of one¡¯s body. The uses of which lie in healing without the reliance on divine magic. I know not why this has to be the second lesson, it seems to me that it would be far above the potential of a mere boy.

    Giving him a simple explanation, he gets to work without question. It doesn¡¯t take long before he grasps the concepts hidden behind the magic, and as I conjure a beast from realms unknown, he tries to cast his magic upon it, though with little success.

    The beast reminds me of a common horse, though it holds bountiful magic within its body. It would be a fascinating subject for magical experimentation, but those thoughts are not mine, they are from the source of this borrowed magic. I cannot let them dominate my mind.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do it, Vidar¡­¡±

    Though tears well up in his eyes, his expression holds no sorrow, just worry that he cannot do as I need him to.

    His training has taken a handful of days so far, the beast has taken a liking to the boy, and the two often share meals, making sure the other is well fed. An unnecessary gesture, as I would simply conjure more if the food runs out.

    ¡°Of course you can¡¯t. That¡¯s why we¡¯re teaching you. What point would there be in teaching a master the same tricks he has known for a lifetime?¡±

    He stares up at me, seemingly unsure of what to make of my words. I¡¯m not sure they are my words anymore, but I know in my empty chest that he is making progress. Within a week, he will have mastered this ability, and with it, he will grow at a tremendous pace.

    Time seems to be slipping for me as days pass without my notice. Whenever the boy calls out to me, I¡¯m drawn out of my stupor, but left on my own, my mind goes dormant. I am unsure what to make of it, though I have to trust that my master knows what he is doing.

    ¡°I did it, Vidar! I healed Bossy!¡±

    Inspecting the beast, it appears the boy did succeed. The beast has been healed of any old wounds or scars it had and now appears pristine, as if it had spent its life living in the mansion of a nobleman.

    As I prepare to teach him more, the sensation of a rift draws my attention, and it appears we are out of time.

    ¡°I have to go, but continue your exploration of magic, boy. I hope to one day hear of your exploits. Perhaps you¡¯re ready to give me your name now, so that I may listen to the bards¡¯ tales in search of it.¡±

    ¡°My name is Neithro. I promise I will do my best to become someone you can be proud of, Vidar!¡±

    ¡°I knew a Neithro once, long ago. He was a brave man with a righteous heart and exceptionally skilled in barrier magic.¡±

    My old memories come flooding back, of drinking at the tavern with Neithro and Wreyn. I find myself aching to return to those days, but it cannot be. This deal I have made has been a curse of isolation. Leaving the boy behind with his beast, I take my leave through the rift as the world fades around me.

    Reaching the other side, the knowledge of magic disappears, and my body returns to that of my shadowy self. Though my body is incorporeal, it feels much more tangible to me. I guess I have grown accustomed to this unlife.

 chapter 60: Creature Comforts

    Waking up in my own den feels amazing. It has been good to get out and meet people, but I do worry about the safety of my people when I leave. I¡¯m pretty sure I used to feel bad about just leaving like that, but I¡¯m feeling more assertive than I ever have been before.

    I¡¯ve told Turgai and his group that they¡¯re welcome to stop by Tuiran any time they¡¯d like, and he appeared quite interested in coming here at some point. So we will see how that goes.

    ¡°Kira, are you awake?¡±

    It¡¯s Raya! With a soft purr, I let her know that I am awake and she¡¯s welcome to come inside. I¡¯m always happy to see her, and it appears she has put away her Kirarmor in favor of her usual shirt and pants, but judging by her expression, she has something else to talk about.

    ¡°Kira, have you looked at the town with magic eyes? I think you should next time you come home from a trip. ¡°

    Oh, that sounds odd. Nudging her, I ask what¡¯s going on, and she informs me that the magic saturation in the area is growing denser. I¡¯m not sure what that means for us or the townsfolk, but I hope it isn''t bad.

    Considering how my magic is affecting my friends, I would think more magic in the area might make people stronger. And if they become stronger, then Tuiran will have fewer things to worry about, especially uppity adventurers who think culling goblins is okay.

    Oh! A town full of dragon goblins would be so cool! Though there is something to be said about consent on the matter, but I''m not sure what to do about that. Maybe we should have a meeting about it with a bunch of townsfolk, but then they might ask me to leave to avoid getting turned into dragoblins.

    "Kira, I can tell that you''re thinking dumb thoughts. Stop it."

    Dang it, she''s right... I shouldn''t be worrying about that before it becomes a problem. I express my thoughts to get Raya''s opinion, but all I get is a pfft and a dismissal as she''s sure everyone in town would love to learn magic and become stronger.

    "Everything I could do before meeting you, I can still do, but now I''m strong enough to not have to worry about wolves or anything in the forest. In all the ways that matter, I''m more than I was."

    It still feels like something people should know about before they wake up with a tail or a snout.

    That''s a problem for later, though. For now, we should worry about going north and finding the Lands Beyond Death and the Shae. The skull Turgai prepared for us is just floating there off to the side with its faint teal glow. It seems fixated on my hoard, which makes me a little uncomfortable, but without hands or flesh, it shouldn''t be able to abscond with any significant amount of my hoard.

    My hoard is growing at a steady pace. Between eating adventurers, regurgitating the wealth they carried, and the tribute given to me by elder Turo, I''m becoming quite wealthy without having to rob villages.

    It''s becoming quite apparent that I''m gonna have to look into some sort of flooring to prevent my money and precious metals from sinking into the clay. I might also have to dig out a new room for my hoard to prevent the water dripping from my body from moisturizing the clay around it.

    It would not be good to have to dig out my hoard regularly, especially considering how consistently it seems to be raining now. At least my little trench at the entrance is working, so my den isn''t flooding yet. Maybe I should deepen it and make a little bridge for people to cross.

    Dang it, I got distracted by engineering! Focus up, Kira, we''ve got mysterious and ominously named lands to visit.

    I''m gonna push all this magic talk to the side and think about what we''ll do when we meet up with the Shae and what we''re gonna do about the undead jerk and his shenanigans. I don''t really care all that much about the human towns near us, but I would rather not be surrounded by the undead, especially if they turn out as tough as Frosty.

    "I''ll grab Boneface. Could you call for Lauren? Then we can get going."

    How did she know?! She''s a witch!

    Raya grabs the skull as she said she would and starts heading for the exit. She might have to stop by at home to change, since she is wearing her usual clothes instead of her Kirarmor.

    "Lauren, do you want to join us for a trip north? We''re going to find the Shae!"

    I don''t know how she does it, but I swear the sensation I get in return is an eye roll. She does seem interested in joining us, so we''ll have to pick her up too.

    As soon as I cross the trench of my den''s entrance, the clay becomes so muddy that my feet sink into it. The squishing and slurping sounds as I make my way up the ramp are weird, and the ground does not want to let me go.

    I''m stronger than some silly muddy clay, so I''m getting further and further up the ramp, although not without digging in my claws. Dang wet soil trying to entrap me. When we get back, I might have to roast it a bit to get some of that moisture out.

    As we get outside, the first thing I notice is that it''s still quite cloudy, but the rain has stopped for now, so I''m gonna have to build a dam of some sort. There was still water dripping into my den''s entrance, so that suggests to me that the place is sloped toward my ramp, which is bad.

    It''s possible that I might have to look into actually finding a good spot for a den instead of just having dug a random hole and called it a day. Although it would be a shame to abandon all of that wonderful mural art.

    "She got distracted while waiting for me, huh?"

    "We didn''t even get to the waiting part, she just started grumbling about moisture and saying some weird words from her language a few times."

    Pfft, Lauren just hurried to get here and that''s why it looks like I got distracted for a while. In reality, it was just a moment and that''s okay, insulating your home against the elements is important.

    Instead of lingering on that nonsense, I ask them if we should get going, and they both stare at me for a moment.

    "Do you want us to climb all the way up there?"

    "Sorry, I must have been too distracted to notice how tiny and flightless the two of you are."

    Lauren''s expression changes to a coy smile and a raised eyebrow as Raya chuckles an apology. And with things in order again, I lower my head for them to climb up on me. I''m sure Raya could have managed without any assistance, but it''s a long way up to my head for her.

    I do have one question that I''m unsure of...

    "If we''re gonna find someone who knows Skelly, should we bring the things we''ve been keeping safe?"

    Raya seems to think that it would be better to have Skelly visit and collect them if I want to give them up, which is fair. And Lauren points out that it would be rude to get the robes drenched if it starts raining. They''re full of good points.

    We should probably stop by Raya''s place so she can get her Kirarmor, since we might be headed somewhere dangerous. I would certainly feel better if I knew she was properly protected.

    As I tell her, she tells me that the craftsfolk north of town have finished building some of the kilns, and they need me to light them. That''s a quick job, so we''ll fly by Raya''s place and continue to the kiln area.

    As I look around, I don''t see the magic Raya mentioned, but the glowing mushrooms are becoming brighter. I''m curious how that will turn out. I kinda want to learn more about the functionality of my magic and how it impacts the world around me, since it does seem to follow some sort of rules.

    So far, what we have to work with is that I can hurt people with it, like I did to Lauren and Joras, but I can also change people, like with Lauren and Raya. And if using my magic is the key to the latter, then the people here soaking in the magic must have to give some sort of consent through usage before changes occur. At least I hope so.

    But then Lauren only started changing after she got hurt, so that suggests something else going on, but there isn''t anything jumping out at me. A bonk from above alerts me to the impatience of a certain goblin, which is followed by orders to get moving instead of hovering in the air for no particular reason. At least I didn''t keep flying this time. Who knows where we''d end up.

    We stopped pretty much on top of Raya''s place, so flying a little lower, she climbs down as Lauren and I continue on to the kiln area.

    Crossing over the crooked wall, which someone should fix and nobody knows how it happened, the kiln area comes into view. All the grassy bits have been removed in favor of a raw dirt look. They seem to have dug the kilns into the ground, and I have no idea how such things work.

    I''m impressed by how quick they''ve been to dig this out. By my measurements, I''d say these four kilns are very big. As I land next to one, it becomes clear that I''m right. One of them is as long as my tail, and if my shoulder height is almost four meters (12.6 ft), I would say my tail is about three times that. Those are some big kilns.

    I don''t think they''re done, though. From the looks of it, the townsfolk have dug out a right triangle and built the kiln into it with two branching arms filling the hypotenuse with storage for pottery to be fired. The acute angle seems to be where they''re tending the fires, and that seems dangerous if they''re planning to use dragonflame, but I''m no kiln master. And I assume Neithro has done a good job of guiding them.

    "You are serious about helping people rebuild, aren''t you, Kira?"

    Lauren seems to be getting the wrong idea here. This is just me offering to assist, but the help is almost entirely from the people of Tuiran. Hell, I''m a big part of why the people of the Ruins of Plainshold need to rebuild in the first place, so taking credit for rebuilding feels inappropriate.

    There''s a goblin staring at me, and he''s coated in clay, making him look like a golem.

    "..."

    He grunts at me and motions for me to follow, and I get it. Being non-verbal isn''t easy, but he''s doing a good job of motioning with his hands as he guides me into the acute angle fire pit. It''s already loaded with firewood. He''s blowing on the wood, so I assume he wants me to do the same, and with a focused jet of flame, I light the wood on fire, earning me an appreciative grunt.

    "Lauren, do you know how a kiln like this works?"

    "Sort of. It takes at least three people to operate, a tender and two flue openers. They''ll have to work together to get the heat to where it needs to go by opening and closing the flues and inlets as needed."

    That''s interesting and it seems like a great opportunity for woodcutters and kiln operators to earn some money from all of this, but it does bring up another question...

    "What''s a flue?"

    "The burn chamber will fill with smoke, and that smoke needs to be let out through the flue, but the opening of the flue inside the chamber is much lower than a chimney would be. So it traps the heat while pulling out the smoke."

    Huh, that''s clever. And supposedly, with my dragonflame, the heat becomes magical and empowers the pottery and bricks. That does seem like an awfully long chamber to go into to collect the finished products, though.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    Lauren comes to my ignorance rescue as she explains how they''re adding metal sheets to the sides of the burn chamber, so they can redirect and reduce the heat. That''s very clever, but I''m still gonna urge them to be careful. I''d rather not kill any of my people, even by indirect means.

    The sensation of someone climbing my arm lets me know that Raya has joined us as Grunty grunts for me to follow him to another kiln. It''s a mirror image of the first one, and I''m pretty sure all four of them are built the same way. For something these guys built in a week or so, this is ridiculously well done. And best of all, they made the pathways between the kilns dragon-accessible! I can fit without bumping into things!

    As nice as that is, I don''t want to spend all day walking between these constructs, so with a few puffs of rushing heat, I get a grunt as Grunty gets a move on. He gets it.

    I''m not sure how much they have prepared, but I''m gonna assume the blacksmith, whose name was... Knotten! Right, I remember. Point to Kira! Nevertheless, I''m gonna assume he knows how to handle dragonflame by now and can help them out as they go.

    With the last kiln lit, we''re ready to head out for the north! I hope Shadow Man will show up if I end up needing to return in a rush, but I can''t help worrying about anything that might happen while I''m gone.

    "Kira, it will be okay. The guards are stronger now, and they can take care of themselves. Besides, I told Neithro to check up on the village if we take too long to return."

    I can always count on Raya. She may be the first to bonk me on the head, but she''s also the first to help me when I''m in trouble or if I get bad ideas in my head.

    Spreading my wings, I fold up my wings as I''m reminded of the fact that I just lit a bunch of fires and blowing a gust of wind onto them is a bad idea. So we''re walking a distance away before we take off!

    Another point to Kira! I''m winning all the points today, and the point-giver isn''t biased at all.

    As we walk away from the kiln area, my feet sink into the ground again and I''m getting curious about how much I weigh. I''m kinda big, so it must be a lot. Asking Lauren and Raya about it doesn''t yield any results, so that leaves one source who might know.

    *Hey Merciferus, how much do you think I weigh? I''m a little curious since my feet sink into the ground a lot.

    "Did you really just pray to a God to ask what your weight is, Kira?"

    I don''t see the problem here, but Lauren is using her blasphemy voice, and Raya is laughing, so it must not be an acceptable question.

    "Did she give you an answer?"

    "Yes, but I don''t understand it. She said fourteen tonnes, but I haven''t heard of the word tonnes before."

    Geez, that''s a lot of me. I don''t even have anything to measure it by here. We need to make some weights at some point so I can explain how much one tonne is. But yeah, no wonder my feet sink into the wet ground and I can be tracked by the damage done to the roads.

    Well, enough about how awesome I am, it''s time to head north! In post-summer season, which always ends well for everyone who has done it.

    With wings spread wide, we take off and Raya climbs onto my nose for some reason, which reveals that she is wearing some sort of helmet. The Kirarmor didn''t include helmets as far as I remember, but this helmet does match the set, and it seems to have glass to allow Raya to see as well as holes for her horns. Dang, she''s responsible, wearing a helmet when riding dragons. Point to Raya.

    I can''t tell whether Lauren has one as well or not, but I''m gonna assume she does, since Raya''s helmet matches her Kirarmor.

    It soon becomes apparent why Raya has chosen my nose as her seat. She''s holding the skull so I can see which way it''s pointing. Which is not quite the way we''re flying. It wants us to go north-northeast.

    Off in the distance, I can see Oakhold and I''m a little appreciative that I don''t have to go there. The buildings are too tall and the streets are too narrow. I''m not gonna focus on that, though. The scenery around here is a lot prettier to look at in this gloomy season.

    The flowers are losing their bloom, and the leaves are blowing around in the wind, creating vortices of flower petals dancing across the fields. I expected that to be on the other side of the year, just before summer, but I appreciate the beauty in these cloudy days.

    A tap on my snout alerts me that the skull seems to be changing direction a little, so we should as well. With a flick of my tail and a slight twist of my body, we head further east towards whatever it ends up being.

    I''ve heard a bunch of stories about what the Lands Beyond Death might be. Some say that it''s a place where the living can meet up with dead relatives to talk one last time, which sounds like a neat idea. Others say a cruel demon rules the place and will torture any trespassers who might encroach upon the lands, but those stories just make the scalefolk laugh.

    The story that doesn''t make them laugh, but instead makes them smile is that it is a place of salvation. A place where they can abandon the shackles of their old lives and be anointed in the waters of renewal to become a whole new person, but I have no idea what that entails. I''m pretty satisfied with who I am, so I don''t want that renewal business.

    With gentle movements, I ask Raya and Lauren if they know anything about the place, and Raya is quick to shrug and tell us that she doesn''t know anything about any place with such a dumb name.

    A tiny berry flies from behind me and whacks Raya in the nose.

    "Don''t call things dumb just because you don''t know about them, it''s a bad habit."

    "Sorry..."

    Yay! My two besties are becoming besties!

    "I don''t know much about the place, but the Order of Merciferus considers it a sin to go there."

    That sounds relevant...

    "Correct me if I''m wrong, Lauren, but you''re going there with Raya and me, aren''t you?"

    "I am. I assume Merciferus would have stopped me by now if she didn''t approve."

    That sounds like the kind of nonsense reasoning I would go for, but Lauren is usually more responsible than that. If I were responsible, I might look into whether I''m a bad influence on her, but I''m not, and she''s an adult. So we''re going to the place she''s not allowed to go to!

    Onward to mysteries and action! Oh! And treats! I''m sure we can stop by somewhere and find some treats. In fact, we''re closing in on a village and I''m curious what sort of things the farmers of this region eat every day.

    I''m not sure they''ll be welcoming, but I hope I''ll be given a chance to prove that I''m just a mighty dragon of cuddles.

    At the very least, they have some pretty houses with a typical wattle and daub look. I quite like that look, it''s quaint. And the straw roof matches it quite well.

    As we fly over the village square, it becomes apparent that things will not go like that. As we prepare to land, the screams from the villagers grow in intensity as Lauren asks me what my plan is. And... I don''t have one.

    I can tell she''s rolling her eyes at me as she chuckles while dismounting.

    "Calm yourselves! I am a cleric of Merciferus and we come in peace. We saw your village from the skies and our hope is that we may purchase a few rations to get us through the rest of the day. Take a look at my equipment, and think about whether I know what prices are like in a quaint village as yours."

    Did we even bring rations? That sounds like a smart thing to bring. Although it might be tough to bring enough for all three of us, and I''m not going to point anyone out as the most voracious glutton. It could be anyone.

    And that last part sounds remarkably like she''s telling them to take advantage of her. Well, if she''s paying, then it''s up to her. And it seems to be working as some old guy is approaching, with caution being the word of the day.

    "By Merciferus'' kindness, how has a cleric tamed a Dragon?"

    "Merciferus'' light shines on all creatures, and may she smile upon you, elder. Though I fear I must request rations once more. A beast such as this one eats quite a lot more than the Order is willing to accommodate, so if I may impose, would we be able to purchase a few meals and a beast fated for slaughter?"

    "And it has been tamed? Truly?"

    I have not.

    "She has, as well as anyone may tame a Dragon. I invite you to touch her. Kira, down."

    I''m agreeing to it only because I want these meals. I want to try all the meals in the world!

    "It is true, you have command of the animal... We have heard tell of a dangerous Dragon from the south, so I must apologize for our fearful response to your presence. It is clear that this is not the Dragon of the tales."

    I''m pretty sure I am the dragon of the tales, but right now seems like a bad time to correct him. The sounds of creaking shutters opening around us make it clear that the elder''s change in tone has been enough to put the villagers at ease. At least to a reasonable degree. I guess the part where their village isn''t burning is also making them feel safer.

    Lauren continues to talk to the elder as I decide to lie down, but it becomes very obvious that I have forgotten how wet this season is as my belly becomes coated in, I hope, mud. It''s probably not just mud, but I''m not gonna face that reality.

    "Animals poop in the street, Kira."

    Dang it, Raya! I''m trying to ignore that! And she''s on top of me, so I can''t give a puff of punishment smoke... I''m powerless against her harsh realities!

    "Kira, they''re bringing out a twinhorn for you, and preparing a few things for Raya and I. And yes, I will share with you."

    She knows me so well. And I get to see what a twinhorn is! There''s a commotion coming from behind a building, and I can''t quite see it, but that''s easy to solve, I just need to stand up. And as I do, the commotion grows louder as a group of men are dragging a cow with four horns behind them. The horns seem to be arranged in a decidedly square formation, poking forward and capable of dealing quite a lot of damage to anyone poked by them.

    That''s not a problem for me, though, I''m a lot bigger.

    It spots me and seems to decide that getting out of here is the smart move, so with a mighty shake of its head, it manages to pull the lead loose. As the men scramble to get the situation under control again, Lauren shouts for them as the cow takes the opportunity to run as fast as it can away from me.

    "Let it run, we don''t want anyone to get hurt, and she enjoys a hunt."

    It''s true, I do enjoy a hunt, but I don''t think this will be much of a hunt since the twinhorn isn''t all that fast.

    The buildings around here are only one story tall, so I won''t have problems with my wingspan, which means I don''t have to leave town first! As I lift my unfolded wings, Raya takes the opportunity to join Lauren at street level, and off I go!

    It hasn''t made it far at all, and with a swoop, I catch it in my mouth and carry it off. With a crunch, I make sure it dies quick, since I don''t want to torture it. It''s delicious and I kinda want more.

    Soaring toward the ground, I prepare to land so I can eat. It''s not much more than a couple of bites, but I''d rather not drop any of it. With a mighty... Well, it was supposed to be a thud, but it ends up just being a squish sound as my feet sink into the soil again. All this wet ground is getting annoying.

    Focus, Kira! It''s snack time! It really is small compared to me, and I suspect I might have been able to swallow the entire cow if not for those horns. I''ll sort it in two bites and a severed head. That''s just being smart and not overdoing it.

    This time, I''m not gonna bring the remains back, which I''m sure some small predator will enjoy.

    Looking back at the village, it''s clear that I haven''t traveled far at all, and as far as time is concerned, it''s barely worth flying. I''m gonna fly anyway, since the animals they have around might get frightened by my land-based approach.

    The lack of screaming is a relief, and it doesn''t take long to smell out where Lauren and Raya have gone. It seems they''ve gone into a larger building, leaving me irresponsibly unattended. Landing with a thud, an actual thud this time, not some stupid squish, thank you, cobblestones, I head for the larger building where Raya and Lauren are.

    Aside from people still hiding, they''re being quite hospitable. I feel like my bar for hospitality has fallen quite far when the measurement is ''are they fleeing in terror?'' I might have to work on that at some point.

    "I believe my Dragon has returned. I thank you for your graciousness, elder. May Merciferus bless you with a mild and safe winter."

    "And thank you, Cleric. I must say, I had not expected to be entertaining such unusual company this evening, but I thank you for your contribution and the experience."

    The door opens, and Raya is the first to step out to greet me. Following her is Lauren as the elder bids them farewell again.

    Lauren looks up at me and claps her hands, following it up by pointing to the ground, which I''m gonna interpret as wanting me to lower my head for her. I do so and the two of them are quick to leave the elder behind as they get ready for the last bit of our journey.

    "I must say, I am thoroughly impressed by your bond with the Dragon. I had not thought such a thing possible, but I will stay true to my word and teach my descendants to do the same."

    "And I thank you, elder. Now, we must be going, the tasks of a cleric appear endless, I fear."

    I don''t feel like I was gone long enough for some sort of deal to have occurred, so I''m gonna have Lauren explain as we get out of town. I''m not faced toward the square and I''m not gonna break any buildings. There''s no wall around this town, so there won''t be a gate to block me, at least.

    And just like my old world, there''s a large central road leading out of town for me! Add to that the small size of the village and I''m already outside in the field. We should visit more small villages in the future, they''re nice.

    Raya takes up her spot on my nose again, but this time she seems to want to lie down as she looks back at my eyes.

    "You look happy, Kira."

    "Yeah, this was a fun little stop. And what did you guys discuss with the elder?"

    "Lauren overpaid for the twinhorn and asked the elder to offer you another if you stop by on your own. He will also spread the word to other villages, so you shouldn''t get screamed at as much."

    I want to nudge Lauren so bad right now, but she''s on top of me, so I can''t! Dang it!

    "Thank you for looking out for me, Lauren. It means a lot to me, and I hadn''t even considered doing something like that."

    "You''re welcome, Kira. Though that isn''t the entire story. I also offered your hunting services should the villagers need them whenever you might stop by. So they might ask you to hunt down a predator or nearby bandits."

    It just keeps getting better. I love my friends.

    "What about me?"

    "Thank you for always being there for me, Raya. I can always count on you to keep me on the right path."

    "You''re welcome. We should stop standing around here, the skull is rattling for some reason."

    Raya proves her point by pulling out the skull and she''s right, it is rattling. And it seems to be trying to go further north this time, seeming to have abandoned the east part. I have no idea how that works, since I''m pretty sure that countries don''t move that fast.

    So we''re gonna find out what''s going on with that! And off we go!

    As we continue north, the landscape changes from fields and hills to forests again, but it seems to be just firs around here. Oh! We should visit this place before the snow sets in to collect wild mushrooms!

    "Kira, the skull wants us to go south now, I think we went too far."

    How did we go too far? We haven''t found anything special yet. Trusting Raya, we turn around and head back south at a leisurely soar. I''m not sure what we''re looking for so-

    "North again."

    Okay, so we''re definitely looking for something small. I''m trying to fly even slower, but it''s not working. I seem to have a minimum speed I have to go at, and it''s too fast to deal with this indecisive skull of bad directions.

    We''re gonna land and do this on foot. It''s gonna be another squish landing instead of a satisfying thud landing...

    As we touch down, I''m proven right. I''m not gonna get hung up on that and instead start walking into the forest to find where the skull is leading us. I am curious about where that might be, since this seems more foresty than deathy. Asking Lauren and Raya about it is the obvious choice, so that''s what I do!

    "The Skull of the Necrophage is leading you to me, Great Dragon."