by James Patton
“Boh! Stop, ya done good.” Aila broke into her concentration.
Upon seeing the small woman, the seduction lost its hold, and she choked back her moaning. Light magic’s ecstasy tried to take control, but she closed her fist tightly. She dropped to a knee trying to get her breathing under control. Boh swayed for a few seconds feeling nauseous, until she leaned over and vomited. Black bile erupted from her mouth, and it looked, smelled, and tasted like oil.
The drake recovered and crashed into the naga like a two-ton flaming boulder. The naga hit the cavern wall with the drake right behind it, and even in her dazed state, she could hear the snapping of bones and the wet sound of meat tenderized. The drake then ripped its head off, but it was already dead.
A little bit of overkill never hurt anyone. The thought popped into her head and she chuckled.
He turned towards her and made it a few steps before collapsing. Her healing could only do so much, and there were still hundreds of bleeding wounds. The magma-like blood was leaking slowly from each unhealed hole. She looked at Aila, but the witch was watching the drake.
“Is this another one of its feints?”
“Before ya entered my life, I woulda said that beast is too honorable to betray someone that saved its life. Now- I dunno what to think. This is ya journey, so ya get to decide.”
“What about the bile? Why is it black like that?”
“Not now, we can talk later. Decide about the drake.”
Aila was not helpful at all, but it did not matter because she had already made up her mind. Stepping over the corpses of the mauled and decapitated nagas, she approached the drake. Even its weakened and dying state, it attempted to attack her.
“None of that!” She said sternly, and the creature’s horn ridged head turned to look at her. “If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it from back there. Now sit still if you want to live.”
“Get to it then.” The drake’s voice was soft and deep, but she could feel the edge of command to it. Its eyes never left hers.
Climbing onto the beast, she removed the ointment Aila gave her and started to uncork it.
“Careful elf. My blood is hot, hot enough to burn your soft skin off.” The drake told her.
Aila was nodding as if to confirm the drake’s words. So she took the advice to heart and used one of the drake’s cracked scales to smear the ointment into the wounds. She could feel the heat from each one and had no doubt it would have done just as he said.
A few wounds still had some ice lodged in them, and she realized how dangerous the albino’s magic was. She could see the residual magic in the ice needles. There were also many scales missing where the wounds were, but she was impressed by its fur. Not even its blood was damaging it, and the high level of fire resistance it had was impressive. She used the tufts of fur to move across the drake’s body and look for wounds.
Its fur was surprisingly soft, and she found the mixture of scales and fur for armor gave the beast an old warrior vibe. Once more she was reminded of Vikings, and it probably provided a lot of protection. Its scales were much denser than dragons.
Up close, when they were not trying to kill her, she liked the look of the beast. It was fearsome and stoutly built. The resemblance to a dragon could not be missed.
“Enough girl, he’ll live,” Aila said. “Now back away as he recovers.”
Deep rumbling laughter came from the drake, and Boh backed away. It opened one of its eyes to stare at them but did not move in any way that seemed threatening.
“A pixie? Have not seen your kind in a long time.” The drake said. “The Witch of the Woods if I don’t miss my guess.”
“And I woulda nevah thought to see ya kind commit genocide,” Aila said. “Why do ya ride to war? Who is in charge?”
“I am not with those others out there. They are mindless beasts, broken. I have no idea who leads them, nor why. If I do find out, nothing will stop me from executing the monster.”
“Why are you here then?” Aila kept grilling him.
“I assume the same reason you are. I was looking for the passage to the other side of this mountain range. Was not aware that the naga had moved in, nor was I prepared to fight them.”
“Are ya willing to give an oath?”
The drake was staring at Boh, and she stared back. The beast was a fighter and the way it moved reminded her of Midnight. She could not read its mind, but Boh had a sense for when something was assessing her.
“I’ll do one better. I’ll bond with the girl there.” The drake said and his eyes had not shifted, they still stared at her.
“I’m already bonded with a dragon.” She said with thinned lips pulled back and revealing teeth. She knew it made her look angry, but did not care so much.
The drake’s laughter vibrated her eardrums.
“I am not a dragon. You can bond with one of every Drache.”
“I’m out of my depth Aila, what do I do?”
Aila was also staring at her, which was starting to make her feel self conscious. The pixie’s eyes shifted to the drake and then her eyes closed as electricity crawled across her hair.
“Interesting companion you travel with,” The drake said to her.
“Like you, an accidental encounter. What is your name?”
“Manners are good, I am Taro.”
“Boh, that is Aila.” She said pointing towards the witch and stepped away as the electricity grew in intensity.
“I am familiar with the Witch of the Woods. I would like to know how you became a Dragonrider?”
“A topic for safer environments,” Aila said. “Boh, I fear I canna influence ya decision. I’m no fortune teller, but I sense the wrongness of advising ya.”
“How do I bond with you and what happens if I do?” She asked Taro directly, trusting Aila’s instincts on this.
“All Drache bond with blood, but only Primary bonds share abilities automatically. Since I am not your Primary Drache, skills can only be transferred through the Drache Bond, which requires trust. And the skills we share will always be secondary abilities. If I give you my primary ability, you will get a lesser version of it. I offer the bond out of respect and because you saved my life.”
“Does he tell the truth?” She asked Aila.
“He does.”
“Then I accept.”
“Do it, quick girl, more of those things are bound to come searching for this guy,” Aila said with her toe nudging the albino naga.
Taro rolled to his feet while avoiding crushing his wings. Then crouched in front of Boh. “I have never taken a rider before, but I meant what I said. I offer it out of respect, and I give you one more chance to back out. I will gladly offer an oath if you prefer.”
She grabbed her knife and sliced open her palm. She held her hand out, and the silver blood dripped to the ground. Taro laughed and sliced his paw with one of his nails. The orange fire like blood leaked out.
“But I promise, if you betray me, you will never know safety. I will hunt you down and destroy you like a dog.” She whispered to him as she pressed her hand against his claw.
It burned, but she closed her eyes hoping the lava-like blood did not destroy her hand. She bit her cheek trying to contain the yelp that wanted to escape. The fire flowed through her blood as it did with Malinite, but with more intense heat and pain.
You have formed a Drache Bond with Taro
Taro
Drache Type: Drake
Dragon Affinity: Fire/Earth
Dragon Age: Adult
Empathic Connection: Low
Telepathic Connection: Low
Trust: Neutral
Affinities Impacted:
- Affinity to Fire +5%, Fire Affinity is now %79.
- Affinity to Earth +2%, Earth Affinity is now %81.
- Affinity to Water -3%, Water Affinity is now %73.
Shared Ability:
- None - Trust must be Ally or higher
One Time Bonuses:
- Strengt
h +1, Strength is now 2.
Currently Bonded:
Dragon [Primary]: Malinite
- Honor: 0
Drake: Taro
- Honor: 0
Wyvern: None
- Honor: 0
Salamander: None
- Honor: 0
Congratulations you have gained the class Drakerider
Novice Drakerider [Taro]
At Novice rank you gain the following:
- Acquire an additional Active Skill Slot
- Acquire an additional Passive Skill Slot
Skill Swap Bonus:
- When Trust is Ally, rider and drake can choose one skill to share with their partner. This is a secondary skill (or becomes one). There are no restrictions provided they have learned the skill.
One Time Bonuses:
- Agility +1, Agility is now 9.
- Speed +1, Speed is now 8.
Drakerider is a secondary class, but you may change it to your Primary Class in your Skills Book.
Quest Completed: Save the Drake
Quest Rewards:
- Drache Bond with a drake.
- Cognitive +1. Cognitive is now 11.
About damn time. Finally a boost to Strength! Boh nearly yelled, but managed to keep the thought internal.
“It is done,” Taro said softly locking eyes with her. “And my kind do not betray.”
Boh looked at her hand and saw no mark, not even a scar. She squeezed her hand to be sure, and it responded without issue. “No scar?”
“A bonding strengthens both parties. It only grows stronger through trust. At our current trust level, I gained boosts to Agility and Magic from you, as well as increased Affinity to Air and Dark. Do you understand?”
“We are attuned. Strengthening the bond strengthens the benefits.”
“Yes. As far as the wound, the bond magic heals thats, but it also leave a mark. You will have a marking somewhere on you, probably two, one from your dragon and one for me. Learn to feel our connection through the mark. It will be worth it. At least that is what my Matriarch has always told us.”
“Ya Matriarch is right. However, we needa go, and I assume ya know the way, Taro?”
“I do. I can get us through fairly quickly. The problem is I was not aware of the naga and have no idea how much of this place they have taken over.”
“It’s gonna be worse than ya know. Uro is here. This big guy mentioned him before ya came along.” Aila told them.
The wyverns she talked to during her trial did not seem evil, just angry with the dragons. She had no idea who Uro was, but they made him sound like an evil asshole.
“I thought Uro left or died long ago.”
While they talked, she looted the corpses. More junk but on the albino naga she found studded leather bracers. They were not anything fancy, but they were very well made, so she put them on. The big score was a spell book.
Studded Black Leather Boots
- Type: Work Boots
- Armor: 5 Armor
- Resistance: 5% Lightning Resistance
- Requirements: None
Journeyman’s Guide to Ice Magic
This guide provides the hand gestures needed to cast the spells Ice Sheet and Ice Spear. Using this book will cause it to disintegrate, and the spell knowledge will appear in your skill book.
Note: You will gain the knowledge but not the spell. You must successfully perform the hand cast of both spells before they appear in your available spells list.
Do you wish to absorb this knowledge? Yes or no?
“Yes!” She said excitedly; it was about time she gained a few useful spells.
You gained knowledge of the spell Ice Sheet.
Ice Sheet - This spell is the Novice ranked spell of the Ice spell line. It creates a thin sheet of ice, which coats the targeted surface and surrounding area. By default, the targeted area has a five-foot radius from targeted spot.
You gained knowledge of the spell Ice Spear.
Ice Spear - This spell is the Journeyman ranked spell of the Ice spell line. It sends a five-foot-long spear of ice at your target. Default range of the spell is roughly one hundred yards.
The knowledge flooded her, and it reminded her of what the half-giant did to her. It left her slightly nauseous.
“What did ya just do?” Aila asked, stopping whatever conversation she was having with Taro.
“Learned two ice spells. Ice Sheet and Ice Spear.” She told the witch while she checked the albino’s trident, but it had no information. She was not sure what to make of it, so she put it into her bag too. Her bag could only hold thirty items, and it was filling up fast.
“That thing had a spell book on it? Maybe ya dungeon exploration idea does have merit.” Aila said thoughtfully.
Oh no. She thought as she saw the way the pixie was eying the corpses. She hoped she had not just given Aila the loot bug.
“Time to go,” Taro said as they all heard the roars of incoming drakes. Shortly after they exited the cavern, they also heard more naga, and the sounds of battle carried through the tunnels a long way.
Boh
Chapter 49
Ironhand
My therapist once asked me about the difference between ignorance and apathy. I replied I don’t know and I don’t care.
-from Boh’s Journal, July 7th, N139
“No more guns unless you can mute the sound,” Taro told her, as they walked through the winding tunnels.
“I have Ice Spear; I should be able to learn that.” She told Taro as she kept practicing the spells she just learned. She had already learned Ice Sheet, but that one was easy compared to Ice Spear. She was struggling with the finger placement.
“She is strange,” Taro said to Aila. “I’ve seen master mages spend days learning a novice level spell, and she did it in an hour.”
“Its gotta be her Historian skill,” Aila replied.
“I’m right here,” she told them. Aila just fibbed, but she was not sure why. They both discussed her Seer ability and agreed it assisted her in learning spells fast.
“Anyway, I won’t need the light, but if you kill it when they approach and stay near me, they won’t see you. The naga track by heat and I might as well be the sun.”
Aila was grinning.
“What are you smiling at witch?” Taro asked.
“Gimme a ride, and I’ll tell ya.”
“Hop on,” Taro said, and Aila killed the light while she climbed up the drake.
Boh could still see, but it was like a forest after the sun disappeared on the horizon. Not quite completely dark yet, but enough light to make out details and the silhouettes of the things around her.
Aila grabbed tufts of fur and scaled Taro quickly. The pixie managed to avoid the wings and settled near the beast’s neck. She was up far enough that the wings would not unseat her, but back far enough that the sharp spikes on the crown of the drake’s head would not impale her. The pixie’s child-like nature had her giggling despite their situation.
Aila looked over at her. “Ya can see?”
“Not well enough to move or fight. Must be some of the lichens around.”
“Naw, ya are a Mercury Elf, ya adapt to ya surroundings. Its part of ya Wanderlust, but it is also part of its curse. If ya acclimate too much, ya gonna become an elf of that nature, and it is why ya see very few of ya kind. If ya are here too long, ya gonna become an…? Ya know I am not sure if ya become a dark or wood elf.”
“We have to move, talk while we walk. Suppose you want a ride too?” Taro asked her.
“I am more of an action kind of girl. I’ll walk. For now.”
The drake chuckled, and his claws broke rock as he stood up. Its tail was short, but it too looked armored, and the spikes along the ridge could rip something apart.
“Suit yourself,” Taro said and continued his path forward.
“I’m smiling at the both of ya. So much alike, and both of ya are as stubborn as a newly hatched dragon.” Aila said, fulf
illing her end of the bargain.
She turned her head to eye Taro and snorted just as Taro huffed in return, which caused Aila a fit of giggles.
“What happens if I turn into one of these other elves? Does that affect my skills?”
“It will largely affect ya Affinities. If ya became a dark elf, for example, ya’d gain Dark Affinity and lose Light Affinity. Permanently. Every elf born has the potential to be a Mercury Elf. Ya kind ain’t rare because they are dying out, ya kind is rare because elves don’t wanna wander. Eventually, ya gonna have to choose, it is just a matter of time.”
She was not sure she liked that, and the description for Mercury Elf said nothing about changing permanently. She loved her elf as is.
“Is it me or is the air dry here?” She asked as she removed her leather coat and put it into her bag.
“It is dry. We are near an old dwarven forge, which harnesses a lava tunnel.” Taro’s gravelly voice informed her.
“Great, just what we need is more lewd statues,” she said sarcastically
Taro bellowed out with laughter.
“Quiet ya fool, ya laughing is gonna bring every beast for miles,” Aila said slapping the drake, but he still kept chuckling, just in a softer tone.
It was the carved pillars that first indicated they were crossing a threshold. At first glance, the pillars seemed innocent, but as she looked upward, the top flared out into a bulb-like shape. She managed to stop herself from groaning but could not prevent her eyes from rolling.
The doorway was even more impressive than the one in Minot, and the left door was all the way open. Even from her place near Taro, she could see the build-up of stone and debris and knew the door had not moved in a long time.
Crossing through she was amazed at the cut stone walls and floors. The stone walls, and presumably the floor, was so smooth, and she knew no hand tool created any of this. Dirt layered the floor, including the random lumps she spotted. She did not want to speculate what lay hidden beneath those dust-covered bumps.
