Into the Hells

by Christopher Johns

  “What in the Hells and the eternal Heavens have you brought to this village, Zeke?” Her voice was tight with some kind of emotion that I couldn’t seem to place, but she was completely rigid and looked ready to scrap.

  “When we found the black Dragon, it had killed a red and left these ones motherless. One of them is gone. The second is just barely hanging on, and the third seems to be healthy,” I explained, then stepped aside as she rushed toward the nest.

  “Get the dead one out of the nest. Dragon eggs can drain the life from each other if they aren’t kept at the proper temperature.” It took me, Muu, and Jaken all lifting and shifting the egg left and right to get it out of the hole that it was buried in.

  Once it was gone, Dinnia had Jaken and I cast multiple healing spells into the fading egg while Coal stood in the nest and superheated himself.

  Dinnia closed her eyes, and her lips moved rapidly. She snapped her eyes open and looked at us. “Help is on the way.”

  A dull chufft came from over next to Muu where he stood watching the goings on when Ampharia, the green Dragon who had helped train him, appeared standing next to him.

  “What the fucking fuck?!” He stumbled and fell on to his ass to the crowd’s amusement and his chagrin.

  “Hello to you too, Muu.” The elder Dragon, in her Dragon-kin form, grinned at him sweetly before turning her head toward the nest. “Well Druids, both of you seem to have a habit of cutting into my napping.”

  Dinnia bowed to the Dragon respectfully, and I just gave her a big smile. “We don’t mean to. You do nap a lot, though.”

  She eyed me reproachfully, then walked toward the eggs and spoke under her breath, “Oh this will be annoying.” She looked to Dinnia. “Touch them. Feel their life force and feel which of them calls to you.”

  Dinnia looked at a loss for words as her mouth moved with no sound, but she finally took a deep breath and did as she was told. She touched the stronger one first, but Ampharia sighed and picked Dinnia’s other hand up and placed it on the other egg as well. Now she touched both and closed her eyes.

  There was no outward sign of decision other than Dinnia taking her hand off both eggs and then touching the weaker of the two with both hands, saying simply, “Him.”

  “Goody.” Ampharia’s smile was sardonic, but she walked toward me and pointed at the nest, “They will need exceptionally powerful flame to keep them alive long enough to hatch. It won’t be too long, I’d say about a month or so, but with so little heat sustaining them for who knows how long, it could be longer.”

  “I’m not sure I can get you that kind of power without help,” I replied honestly, my newly-made right hand clenching at the thought.

  She glanced down and lifted it to her eyes for inspection, then sniffed at it. Her eyes closed, and she shivered.

  “That is powerful magic, and it could be helpful. The scent that clings to it. That creature is here. Somewhere in this village.” I nodded, and she grinned wolfishly. “I want it.”

  “Xiphyre is a citizen of my court and is not for loan to anyone but this village,” Maebe supplied sweetly, but I could see the darkness surrounding her, the shadows under her feet—and those of the items and villagers around here—deepen menacingly.

  I interceded swiftly, “How about I pay for him to make you an item? As payment for the help with this?”

  Her grin only deepened. “Two, and I will take the other Dragonling with me and leave your village unmolested. I’ll even offer to come at your call should you ever need me. Do we have an accord?”

  I sighed. We were flush and rife with money, so it was a hit we could afford, and it would work in our favor down the road too.

  “We do.” I offered my green and purple hand to her, and she seemed confused.

  “I want my own items, not one that you are already wearing, Druid.” Ampharia seemed offended.

  Before I could explain, Maebe put a hand on my shoulder and excitedly told me, “Wait.” She looked back to the Dragon-kin before her and motioned to my hand. “This is a customary symbolism that an accord has been struck of many different types of humanoids in this realm. I do not know about a lot of other cultures, but Zeke and his company seem to hold fast to this belief. Though I’m not sure if saliva was involved with this one or not.”

  I almost laughed at the disgusted look that passed over Ampharia’s features, her teeth bared and snout wrinkled. “Saliva? On your hand? For any other reason than licking away blood? Barbaric.”

  “There’s no need to swap saliva.” I shook my head and offered my hand again, palm shifted up so she could see there was none hidden.

  She took my hand in both of her own and inspected my palm before grasping my hand with her’s in a startlingly rough grip.

  “Let’s go see the smiths and enchanters then.” I motioned for Ampharia to follow me and left the others to their devices. Maebe wanted to visit the children and check on her people.

  The others wanted to rest and restock as best as they could.

  She lifted the still Dragon egg in one hand and followed me without anything to say. I wasn’t going to be the one to tell a Dragon I thought of as a friend what the hell to do with a Dragon egg. It took a moment to get to the forge, but once we did, I stilled.

  The building was changed completely. The outside of it was now black stone, similar to the stone I had seen Thogan make in the Fae realm.

  The elves that Maebe had ordered guard the forge stood at their posts stoically, casting nervous glances at the Dragon in Dragon-kin form behind me.

  They crossed their weapons, spears with long blades like a glaive at the end, in front of the doorway. “If she is with you, Master Erebos, she can enter—but only if you vouch for her.” The Elf looked nervous. He was right to be.

  “She’s cool. We’re here to buy some love from our crafters.” I patted his shoulder, and he stiffened, then relaxed. “Thank you for all of your hard work. It’s appreciated.”

  The Elven sentries looked to me, then at each other before they lowered their heads and weapons to allow us entry.

  The first thing I noticed was the sweltering heat; then I saw that all of the wood had been replaced by stone. The interior racks of weapons had been covered by stones with metal studs placed on the corners with runes that glowed.

  The dry, sauna-like air instantly made my fur itchy, shitting all over my day, but I wasn’t alone. Ampharia clawed at the scales of her neck ferociously.

  “Why don’t I bring them out to you?” I offered, and the Dragon snarled at me. “Just a thought.” I called out over the din of hammering, “Thogan! Rowland? Xiphyre. Get your asses over here!”

  Rowland poked his head out from around the doorway to the forge area itself. “Oi!”

  “Hail, Rowland, owner of this smithy!” I teased, and the Dwarf merely winked before ducking his head back out of sight.

  “Thogan! Pixie! We got comp’ny!” The hammering stopped, and a rush of angry curses and the sound of something receiving a throttling reached my ears.

  I bounded toward the doorway and caught the end of Xiphyre punching Rowland in the chest with a grimace.

  “Call me pixie again, you pebble, and I’ll curse you so hard that your own God won’t even recognize you.” I hadn’t seen the crazy Fae pissed before, but he looked ready to kill someone.

  “You aren’t a pixie?” I asked, partially to fuck with Xiphyre but mostly because I thought he had been one.

  A tiny fist smacked me right in my gob, and I stumbled back a step, a fourth of my health gone from the strike.

  “Pixie heads are too big for their tiny bodies.” He stood with his hands on his hips, his cheeks flushed in outrage. “Does my head look proportionally challenged?”

  “You don’t want me to answer that.” I grinned wolfishly. If he was gonna be a bitch, I’d play. “What are you then?”

  “I am a Ragalfr.” His little chin pointed into the air haughtily. “We are second only to the Celestial Fae and powerful.”
>
  I rubbed my sore jaw and winked. “Sure you are, big guy.”

  “Thogan, Rowland,” the smaller man looked to the other two men in the room skeptically, “I believe he is addled. Perhaps I struck him too hard?”

  “He’s teasin’ you, Xi—means he sees ye as a friend. Aye, Zeke?” Thogan chortled when I winked in his direction. “What’s ye come ta get, lad?”

  “Is that a Dragon egg?!” Xiphyre stiff-armed past me to stop in front of Ampharia. “Where did you get it? Give it to me!”

  He reached for the large item, and the green Dragon simply snatched him out of the air by his throat and shoulders, her fist almost engulfing him completely somehow.

  “You may be second only to the Celestial Fae, tiny one, but you will never come close to the majesty of a Dragon. Never assume to take anything from me.” She blinked once, her eyes shifting ever so slightly as she cocked her head to the side. “Do you understand your place in my world now?”

  Xiphyre gurgled helplessly and choked out, “Yegh!”

  Thogan looked ready to fight, his axe in one hand and a hammer in another, and Rowland placed himself in front of his equipment.

  “Ampharia,” I grunted. The Dragon looked my way, and I motioned for her to let him go. “You’re here as our guest. He’s a friend, and he meant no harm. Let him go. Besides, if you kill him, he can’t enchant your items.”

  A cloud of green mist flared from her nostrils as she thought for a moment. I heard a small snap, and Xiphyre grunted; then he was free and fell limply to the ground, his left arm hanging broken at his side.

  I tapped him and cast Heal to help him mend, then Regrowth.

  “A Dragon’s toll,” Ampharia growled. “Speak to him, Druid. I find this heat… irritating.”

  “Thogan, Rowland, and Xiphyre,” they all tore their gaze from the Dragon and listened to me, “I’m requesting that you make two items of similar value to my arm for Ampharia. Enchanted, please.”

  I saw complaints and lack of interest, so I held out a hand.

  “I bring components, scales, bones, and fangs of dead Dragons, as well as gold. Do this, and I will compensate you handsomely.” That got their attention. Xiphyre was already flying again, running his greedy mitts together vigorously.

  “Please me with them, and this egg is yours.” Ampharia showed the large red egg off for sweetener. “Possibly add in another item? To pay for your lack of sound judgment earlier?”

  “Done!” Xiphyre and Rowland shouted in unison. Thogan simply sighed and accepted his role in this.

  “No specifications, and no requests other than what has been stated?” Thogan eyed Ampharia carefully.

  “I have none.” She lifted my right arm and motioned to it. “I do like this material though. It feels warm. Almost alive.”

  “It is, but that’s an enchantment that I made, Your Scaliness.” Xiphyre quipped, then seemed to reign himself in as Ampharia stepped forward. “I meant that with the deepest respect. Dragon scales are highly prized by enchanters of my level as components, and having only ever met one Dragon before your magnificence, I see that there is reason behind this now.”

  She huffed, and I saw her look directly at me before giving me a drawn-out wink. She was fucking with him now! Excellent. Weird, but excellent.

  “We will begin immediately.” Thogan patted me on the shoulder, and I called to Jaken through our earrings to get him to bring most of the bones and things that we had collected to the smiths. As well as the tail. I also had him be sure to keep some back for me and for Vilmas.

  Already on the way. Muu gave me an order that he would like to get done while we’re here, and I think Vilmas has something for you. Jaken grunted and growled, This tail weighs a metric-fuck-ton.

  You’ll get it, bud. I chuckled as I imagined the finger he might hold up in response to that and nodded to the others. I opened a notification I received and grinned.

  SECRET QUEST COMPLETE!

  Completed - Great Egg Scramble - Mother Nature loves all her creatures, and Dragons fall into that category. As a Druid and as a special breed yourself, these young ones’ plight falls to your assistance. Find someone suitable to bring these creatures into adulthood, or their line will perish, and the world will be poorer for it.

  Reward - Unknown, favor with Mother Nature.

  Well, makes sense that I wouldn’t know what it gives right away, annoying, but long game is okay, I suppose, I grumbled to myself.

  “I’ll be going to meet with Vilmas now.” Rowland perked up at her name and smiled to himself. Odd. “If you guys have anything interesting, I’d love to see it later. Drinks?” I asked, and the Dwarves looked so eager that I had to run before I was carted to the tavern for drinks I would likely have had to supply.

  After I fled the room, Ampharia hot on my heels, the Dragon left to explore the village with her newly obtained egg in hand and a promise, “I will not injure anyone else unless they start it.”

  I had to take her at her word, and a short walk later, I was standing outside Vilmas’s door in the tavern. I knocked, and a loud clatter and mild, squeaky cursing rang out. Vilmas, her hair messy and unkempt, opened the door a bit until she saw me.

  “Zeke!” She reached out, grabbed a handful of clothes, and tugged me swiftly into the room. “I am so happy to see you!”

  I felt her wrap her arms around me. I smiled and patted her head as I looked about. The place was a mess of components, a crudely-made workbench, and some items on the desk.

  “What’s been going on since we left? It’s been a week or so?” I sat on the spot she cleared on her bed that had diagrams and designs all over them of varying sizes and complexities. “Holy fuck, Vilmas, what is all this?”

  “Research!” She picked up several designs and shoved them at me. “Master Xiphyre has taken me under his wing and has been giving me lessons on how to create higher tier items and enchantments!”

  She held out a small, metal raven made completely of Fae Iron with small diamonds for eyes. The detail in the work was unreal, as if the feathers would ruffle out then settle back against the chest under my gaze and the head peek to the side.

  “Look.” She shifted the item so that I stared at a complex series of runes engraved into the raven’s breast. “The enchantment allows you to cast a Sending to anyone you know on your current plane of existence for only 100 MP, and they can respond for a full minute!”

  “That’s great, Vilmas!” She handed it to me, and I pocketed it for later. “What else has been going on? The wall for the village working well?”

  “It is, but there’s nothing to truly test it anymore—which is good!” she added hurriedly. “But there hasn’t really been anything. Vrawn is out training with the newest recruits, and I went on a date with Rowland the other night to the mine where you found the Fae Iron.”

  A date?! I smiled at her and raised my eyebrows, making her blush.

  “He was a perfect gentleman. Brought a pickaxe he forged especially for me, designed to help work through the minerals around the metal that are so much harder than normal stone and earth.” A dreamy look settled over her gaze as she stared out the window, her normally well-thought speech patterns dipping toward traditionally Dwarvish baroque. “It were dark. He laid out a pan to sift the dirt away and gave me a chilly mug of ale he brewed himself. Never passed anyone’s lips before mine, not even his own. Zeke, it were the sweetest I ever did taste, and you know what he said?”

  I was damned near giddy at all the thoughts that were racing in my head that he could have said, but I shook my head excitedly.

  “He took a long pull of his mug, and he threw it down—right upset—and he said, ‘won’t never be sweet as the sight o’ you, Vilmas. Never as bold as yer figure, nor as delicate as yer smile. I’d need ta be a brewer me whole life ta come even close ta capturin’ yer beauty in a barrel.’”

  The woman’s cheeks reddened furiously as I cackled in delight. Holy fuck, Rowland was smooth as hell!

  “I
t was so sweet, what he said, do nae be laughin’ at him!” She rebuffed me as her fist connected with my arm. There was no damage.

  “I’m not teasing anyone, Vilmas. I’m not even laughing at him!” She seemed confused, so I put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. “I’m proud of him. And you, for being so brave as to go with him. Other than that, what do you think of him?”

  She hid her face in her hands for a moment, and I worried she wouldn’t respond when she took a deep, steadying breath.

  “He’s handsome and a good crafter. A good friend. A hell of a miner.” She smiled slightly before continuing a little stronger spoken, “His laugh is infectious. He’s a fine brewer. And have you seen him swing a hammer?” A lusty look passed over her features, making her blush. “He’s so different from any of the other Dwarves in Djurn Forge.”

  “And that’s a good thing?” I leaned a little closer to her.

  “It is. He doesn’t see my clan or my abilities as a curse. He sees me as a crafter and as a woman, proper.” She looked up at me, tears beginning to fall from her eyes as she smiled and whispered, “He’s so sweet and shy. Gentle. I want to court him.”

  I clasped her shoulders and called to Thogan with Mental Message, “Thogan, my friend—send Rowland to the tavern for me? Right away. Tell him you need him to grab an item from Vilmas, and don’t mention me.”

  “Well then, he will be on his way!” Thogan chuckled conspiratorially.

  “Hold on to that resolve then, Vilmas.” I smiled and shifted so that I stood behind her, facing the door.

  “He’s coming?” She tried to rise from her seat, but I put a steadying hand on her shoulder. “What if he thinks I’m moving too fast?”

  I laughed softly, remembering how struck stupid the smith had looked when he first laid eyes on the other Dwarf for the first time. “I don’t think you’ll have to worry, but it’s okay.”

  A couple minutes passed with Vilmas nervously wringing her hands before I heard panting and a light knock on the door. I scented the air and caught the scent of burnt metal and sweat. And fox?