by M Arienach
“So the problem will not be killing them, but not destroying the city as I do it.”
“Correct.”
With another sigh, I mentally pushed the YES.
The gates of the city were hanging off their hinges and it was no trouble to squeeze between the bottom gap. The street in front of me was choked with rubble, but there were ways through. I pulled up my “radar” and instantly knew where my enemies were. Including the one in the tower behind me. I felt it as the crossbow bolt left the bow and things slowed down. Turning I waited, almost tapping my foot as the quarrel closed the distance. Then I caught it.
I also caught my first glimpse of my opponent then. It was an orc. I may not be a gamer, but an orc is an orc. Tall, broad shouldered, huge muscles, green. Well, this one was greenish brown, but you get the idea. He jumped off the parapet and I let him get about half way down before I sent a minor fireblast his way. I saw then, why I was going to have a difficult time here.
The orc was gone. So was part of the tower. A minor fireblast took out a good six yards of the center of it, and it collapsed. Great. I sensed another trying to get in behind me and spun. I tried to back the mana down from the first spell and cast it again. Another orc down and I could see a three foot hole behind him. Judging by the light and shadows, I would guess that it stopped about seven or eight houses in.
“I am open for suggestions here.” Shaking my head.
“Hm… I have never tried anything such as this, but maybe a mana blade?”
While we were speaking, another orc was approaching.
“Could you show me… er… you might want to hurry.”
“Why? Oh, him. Don’t worry about him, he can’t even touch you with your shield up.”
I turned to watch the orc swing a spiked club at me. He looked to be around three hundred plus pounds and he put everything he had into it. I forced myself to hold still and was shocked to see the club break. Then he started to pound on the shield.
“See? Now. Focus your mana into a sword. Just think of the shape you wish and push your magic into it.”
It took a few tries but after a couple of minutes, I had a rapier. I stared at it for a moment, then flicked it at the orc. I then proceeded to lose my lunch as the orc slid apart where I had cut it in half.
“New at this I see. Don’t sweat it. Finish killing it… take off the head. That’s right. Shame to waste good meat, but that’s life I suppose.”
Yeah, this was going to be a long day. The next five hours consisted of; find orc, kill orc, repeat. After the first few, I was no longer trying to empty my stomach as much, but there were still a few that reminded me that this was not a pleasant game. Since they couldn’t surprise me, I started to feel like a butcher. I systematically tracked them all down and killed them. The leader was about half again their size and a little messier. I had to take off his legs to get to his head, but it still wasn’t a challenge.
Arienach, reading my thoughts, replied. “Now you realize the problem of being overpowered. The challenge is gone and life becomes boring if you don’t find a goal. I think that is one of the reasons that the elf that slew me was so effective. I was at the point of not giving a damn.”
Clearing the dungeon Calalistos
159,000 points
Killing the boss Grebar
1200 points
Preserving 82% of the city of Calalistos
12000 points
3% to next level. Congratulations.
I stared at the notification for a moment. At a guess, the next level was several million points away. Then I realized that it didn’t matter. I didn’t even have a clue what my level was anyway. That thought brought up the pop-up;
Michael
LEVEL - 8764
EXPERIENCE - 1,173,512 / 3%
RACE - Planar Dragon
BREED - Silver
AFFINITY - Fire, Magic
CLASS - Ancient
ALIGNMENT - Neutral
Health - 112%
Mana - 105%
Oh….
Housewarming
I was so deep in thought as I flew back to the elf village, that I almost overflew it. This was to be my new life. I was in a body that for all practical purposes was immortal. What the hell was I going to do to keep myself sane? After the city, it struck home about Arienach not giving a damn. I didn’t have centuries of experience behind me to cope. There had to be a direction that would allow me to survive and preferably thrive. I thought again to all of the orcs that had just died in and almost offhand manner. Where the hell was I going to find something to keep me focused? The other dragons wouldn’t even be a challenge. I was already over the village when I noticed it. I had to circle around and find the place where I landed before. I set down carefully to avoid any more damage to the surrounding forest. The elves were waiting as I landed and I detected a faint sense of amusement from them.
Haladoria spoke first; “Greetings lord Michael. How was your discussion with the orcs?”
She had a slight smile on her face, knowing the answer before I spoke, I think.
“Greetings lady Haladoria. They did not wish to speak with me.”
She sighed and looked a little wistful. “I regret hearing that, but it is not unexpected.”
“You can return there when you wish, but there is a lot of work to be done. I cannot help with that as it isn’t in my skill set.”
Her eyes few wide and the two with her stepped back.
“But you said that you were unable to speak with them.”
“They would not talk with me, so I removed them. They will not trouble you or anyone else anymore.”
“You… you… removed them?” Her voice trembled.
“Yes. They attacked rather than talk. Your city is yours again, but it was damaged. There will be much work to be done. All I request is a place large enough for me to land so I can visit with you in the future.”
“Of… of course lord Michael. Of course. We would be honored to have you visit.”
“I was also considering of having a small harbor up by my lair, so if you had any spare cattle, you could sell them to me. Would that be acceptable?”
Her eyes went wide. “Trade? With a dragon?”
“Would that be a problem? Who knows, there might be other things I could purchase as well. It has been ages since I tasted a decent brandy. If you find any others that would be interested, please contact me and I will return. The stone will summon me no matter where I am.”
She was looking quite dazed by this point. “Of course… yes.”
I could see the wheels turning as the possibilities started to sink in. I had placed her in a position of ambassador and left it up to her to find others who might reap the profit from the horde of an ancient dragon. Glancing around, I could read shock on all of the faces present. Frankly, I doubted I would get much out of it, besides being a distraction. But it was something. I was still trying to shake off the vision of endless empty years.
Establish trade agreement with the Horiel Clan.
50,000 points
Establish ambassador with the Horiel Clan.
50,000 points
You have established a good will with another race.
10,000 points
Arienach chuckled in my head as I spoke with the elves. “Fair winds to you and I wish you well on your journey. If you have a need, please feel free to use the stone. May we both profit from our agreements.”
Haladoria looked up and smiled. “Clear paths to you, friend Michael. We will do as you suggest and may we both profit. Thank you.”
With that, I took wing and flew back to my lair, my thoughts spinning.
The next few months, I heard nothing from the Horiel. I was busy carving a new channel for the river to follow to where I proposed my harbor town. Dragon fire was a great carving tool and it taught me fine control. The harbor itself showed me the power of the AOE spell that Arienach told me about. I redirected runoff from the various streams around my outer
wall of mountains and made two tributaries that circled either side of the chain. I had centered the harbor before two of the largest peaks then, after it was complete, carved an entrance into the inner ring. Looking from the harbor, the two peaks framed my lair, miles distant.
I was called to the city of Calalistos about four months after. It was getting cold and I did not wish to linger in the air, so I ported over the bay… too close to the city, I found. I watched as the water went over the docks. I flew up, but the damage was minimal, thank whatever deity was watching over the city. In chagrin, I flew to the new pad where they had placed the crystal before the sculpture of a dragon that rose up with it’s wings rampant. It was quite beautiful and I was touched. As I landed, there was a large throng that was waiting for me. A few were fearful, but most actually looked happy to see me. Arienach gave off a feeling of great surprise.
“Greetings Lord Michael!” Haladoria shouted.
The crowd cheered. I was stunned.
“Welcome to Calalistos! Please consider this your second home. Be welcome in this land!”
The crowd cheered again. I notice that there were also several shorted people dressed in leather and rough homespun clothes. They had on iron helms and carried double bitted axes. Dwarves, if any thing I had seen before was held true on this world. They cautiously stepped forward. I stared at them slightly confused. Arienach mirrored my confusion.
“What the hell are dwarves doing here? They are mortal enemies of the elves.”
Haladoria introduced them. “Please meet Cornal and Dorvus of the dwarven clan Rockheld. They wish to talk with you.”
“I am honored to meet you sir Cornal and Dorvus.” Though I had no clue which was which.
I heard a whispered “so it does talk.” then louder. “Greetings Lord Dragon.”
I chuckled, though it did almost sound like a growl, making them both back up a pace and their hands moved to the hafts of their weapons. “Tis an honor to speak with you and yes I do speak. I prefer speech to the alternative.”
They broke into a boisterous laughter. “Well said dragon. We came to ask if ya had need for miners or stone workers?”
I smiled, careful to hide my teeth this time. “Now that you mention it…”
The dockside meeting went on for another hour or so. After a time, I asked if they minded if I shifted to talk on a more even level with them. I discarded my human form as I remembered Arienach’s reaction to the thought of scavengers. Instead I went for the elven look. Average height with medium brown hair just past shoulder length and matching eyes. Made my “clothes” black with silver trim. Once the shock wore off it seemed to ease tension and allowed us to go pub crawling. I was rather surprised when Haladoria and Graniel joined us. We drank and ate and discussed plans. They agreed to journey north after spring thaw as it was getting late into the year. Haladoria also promised a keg of elven brandy for me. When morning came, they begged their beds and I changed and flew back north, not even feeling the cold for the friends and agreements that had blossomed from them. Twas about half way back when the discussion started.
“I do not comprehend what has happened.” Arienach exclaimed.
“Oh? What part?”
“All of it! You give away cattle and offer to buy them back, you free a city and offer a trade route. There has been no profit for you, but suddenly you have them wanting to work for you.”
“Arienach, not all profit is gold. Do we need wealth?”
“Not in the least, however, we do not need trade either.”
“This is true. We do not need trade, we do not need wealth, we do not really need anything. But where else may we conquer? In game terms, we are so OP as to be ridiculous. Why not make our own empire? You admitted to being bored to the point of carelessness. I understand. If we keep doing what dragons do, I can see the next witch winning. Think if we can make an empire that brings together the different races and opens trade and ideas between them.”
“But they will seek power and cause much conflict.”
“Not if the one who is in power happens to be a level 8764 dragon with a known history of removing problems like orcs who don’t play nice.”
Arienach was silent for a time. “You truly seek power over all of them?”
“Not really.” I sighed. “I could care less about what they do, so long as they work together to do it. It will keep us and them busy and should work well for both of us. I just hope the other dragons will join us down the road.”
“Now you are being ambitious. But you have been nothing if not a surprise to me since we met.”
New Beginning
The winter passed slowly. I found and cleared a few more of the “dungeons” and also located a few more races that were on the continent. I left them alone, much to Arienach’s chagrin.
“If we let the others bring them in, then they get a feeling of accomplishment. Rather they do the diplomatic work for us.”
Most of the time was spent sleeping in the caldera since I had little use for the cold, even though it didn’t effect me as when I went on two legs. Arienach and I talked long about many things. I think even he was impressed with what the elves had done in the short time they had to reconstruct their town. It looked alive now. When we weren’t talking, I was thinking about the future. I was scheming even then about how I wanted the soon to be trade city set up. I had a few other ideas as well, but time would tell. I could only await spring and the arrival of my “hands”, the dwarves.
The first goal was to set up a trade city around the harbor and have it act as a gateway into the inner ring of my lair. Later on, I would have them build another city, much different around my volcano. It would be the hub at which the dragons would meet and have council. I would also task them to build lairs around the outer ring facing inward.
Depending if I could get any of the other dragons on board. Time would tell on that as well, though. It really wasn’t high on my list of priorities. I also wondered if the land around where I was planning the inner city was fertile. If so, then we could have farms protected from the outside if something did decide to come calling with trouble in mind.
Surprisingly, the ice had barely melted from the harbor in early spring when I first sensed something moving up the channel to the harbor. I took to the air and met them at the harbors side closest to the entrance to the inner lairs. It was a flat bottom barge and it was packed with both elves and dwarves. A rarity, as it seemed historically those two races did not get along well. I also noticed two who at first I thought to be on horseback. Then I noticed the lack of horse head. Centaurs. I hadn’t seen their like yet and they were a shock to me. There were also a few strangely colored elves, who Arienach informed me were drow. Again, the stories I had read before put the drow and the elves at odds. I supposed at least the orcs were predictable.
“I know not what is going on here, Michael. There should be no way that even the elves and drow should be there, let alone the rest of them.”
I was about to step forward to greet them, when I felt something off in the distance. It was circling over the route the elves and dwarves had come from. I let my eyes focus and Arienach hissed. “Viennarinia”. A pale gold dragon, she looked to be an ancient. She watched me as I watched her over the mile or so between us. She had a row of spikes down her back and her horns tilted forward as mine sloped back. She was majestic in the sky. After a while she flew moonward, or west I suppose. I was falling into the terms of this new land. I figured, rather than have the distraction now, I would talk with Arienach later about this new wrinkle. Several of our guests spotted her as well and looked decidedly uneasy. To break the spell, I greeting them.
“Be welcome.”
They slowly made their way off the barge, many were pointing. My lair in the distance, the wall of mountains, the new harbor… and of course, trees. Strangely, even the dwarves were interested in the forest that stretched out from the outer walls. Many wandered the shore looking at the scenery and talking in a subdued
manner. Most seemed uneasy with me. Arienach chuckled and pointed out that dragons did not have the best reputation. The approach of Haladoria and Dorvus prompted me to shift. I was getting better at the vertigo that sprung from the balance shift and the change of perspective, but it had been a while and I almost staggered.
“Greetings Lord Dragon.” Haladoria said with a grin.
I just looked at her. “Michael, milady.”
She just grinned bigger and replied. “Who else can say that they can tease a dragon and live?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. The various people around us looked on curiously. Dragons laugh?
Dorvus actually smiled. “Greetings Michael, I find I be not that brave. Of course I did some of the cleanup work in Calalistos.”
I nodded. “I regret that I didn’t clean up after myself, but I am not really equipped for it.”
Dorvus chuckled. “Ya did quite enough removing that plague. I also have heard rumors that ya took care of a few other towns as well.”
“I was trying to remove trouble before it started.”
“That is all well and good, but it leaves us short on places to train our warriors and build our wealth.”
I was surprised. “I didn’t realize you could get wealth from removing those pests.”
“Ya didn’t… Oh, yes. Ya wouldn’t. I couldn’t guess at your level, but I doubt either was a challenge for you.
“What do you mean by level?” I asked curiously.
He looked at me strangely. “It be that long since anything were a challenge for ya? The rewards be based on how much of a fight ya have.”
“Well, it has been a century or two…” I worked to cover my ignorance. Arienach chuckled.
Haladoria chimed in. “He cleared Calalistos in a few hours by himself. I have no idea what level that would take, but it is far beyond anything we could do. Or imagine for that matter.”
