Mitigating Risk (Nora Hazard Book 1)

by Blaise Corvin

  I frowned and asked, “Huh?”

  “Oh, it’s true,” laughed Duanna. “Most drakes just mope around all day complaining about how they don’t have thumbs and how mean all the dragons are to them. A lot of them work with giant magical machinery or serve as rulers of shitty little kingdoms. Well, either that or they can collect gold, or act like scaly, spoiled children. But not Jadanak. Nope. He did menial work—for a drake anyway—so he could have more time to devote to his passion. See, he has a thing for bipedal women of all races and likes to see them naked.

  “You might be wondering why.” I shook my head, but Duanna kept talking. “He has a photographic memory, you see.”

  I glanced at the drake, and tilted my head when I realized he was shifting from leg to leg, looking...well, embarrassed.

  Duanna continued, “Do you know what his favorite pastime is? Do you want to know?” The demigoddess was obviously enjoying Jadanak’s discomfort.

  “Stop this! Why are you even here?” growled the drake.

  “I was called. Pipe down, you nasty newt.” She turned to me. “Nora, Jadanak simply adores watching women bathe. He is too shy to just ask, though. Who do you think built that small bath there,” asked Duanna, pointing at the pool I’d been using.

  “You have got to be kidding me,” I sighed. I’d never even considered that the drake had been watching me with anything more in mind than keeping tabs on my whereabouts. He wasn’t even...He didn’t have...I wasn’t even...I buried my face in my hands, pushing my palms into my eyes and ran my hands down my cheeks. Why do I always attract these types?

  Duanna nodded. “Did he encourage you to take a bath? That’s probably the most he’d do, though. He’s actually really shy.”

  “How is he shy? He’s big and strong enough to tear apart a village by himself! I’m a rotting orb-Bonded, and I would have no chance against him right now!” I looked between the High Priestess and the drake in disbelief.

  “You know, I’m right here. I can hear you,” grumbled Jadanak, but I ignored him. I had stopped seeing the dragon-kin as a huge, powerful creature from myth. Now he was just a creepy old man!

  “Oh, that’s not even the worst,” said Enheduanna. “He was actually supposed to be done with this punishment hundreds of years ago. See, a god from Jadanak’s plane asked Dolos to help with a fitting punishment, and Jadanak was put in this dungeon. His job here is actually to either guard the treasure, provide challenges to adventurers, or die.

  “So anyway, the only adventuring group to ever get to this point had a female member. She was an orb-Bonded Areva if memory serves.” Enheduanna suddenly turned to the empty air, looking up at nothing and said, “Yes, yes, I’m going to get to that part, be quiet.” Then she turned back to me and continued as if there had been no interruption. “This nasty newt killed every member of the team but the woman, then told her he wouldn’t let her leave until she showed him something new. Just like with you.

  “Eventually, she became so desperate, she started doing increasingly perverse things, and even tried depraved sexual acts to show this scaly piece of work something new. He encouraged her, of course. Apparently, despite being far too large for a liaison with a woman, he still has a tongue, and the tip of his tail is sensitive.”

  I blinked at that and slowly turned to glare at Jadanak. The drake’s scales seemed even redder than usual like he was blushing. He swung his huge head away, not returning my gaze.

  “What happened?” I asked in a flat voice. “Is this why he was punished more?”

  “Oh no, he wasn’t breaking any rules, and although the woman became orb-Bonded later, she was just a mortal at the time. He could have killed and eaten her. In fact, that was really supposed to be his job.”

  I blinked at that but quickly refocused. This reminder of Enheduanna’s true nature had been timely. The High Priestess was definitely not my friend, not even my ally. She had me trapped in servitude, but I intended to survive. I fanned the spark of anger I’d briefly felt a moment before, kindling it into something I could hold on to. How dare they? All of them! My newfound wish for more power grew stronger.

  “No,” the demigoddess said, “what actually happened was this fool took pity on the weakling he’d been entertaining himself with and let her go. That by itself would not be a problem, except he let her take some treasure with her.”

  Jadanak interrupted. “She’d lost everything, including her team. I kept her down here for years. There was no way I could let such a lovely person back into the world with nothing to her name. She had such a hard life. I refused to let her suffer more, with nothing to look forward to.” The dragonkin kept his huge eyes on the ground.

  “Uh huh,” said Duanna dismissively. “So as you can see, this dirty drake fell in love, or at least thought he was. Then he lost his lizard mind and let his silly naked-dancing concubine leave with a Dolos orb! She’s even still alive!” Enheduanna changed tones and laughed. Her posture changed too, becoming more relaxed. “Tascany lives in Mensk now, and she’s doing well for herself.”

  “Does she ever talk about me?” asked Jadanak in a rumbling whisper.

  “How should I know? I don’t know anything about your silly ex-captive or her life, you pervert!” exclaimed the demigoddess.

  I decided it would be unwise to point out that Duanna had obviously known of the orb-Bonded woman’s location and status. Instead, I asked, “He was punished for that? Also, what is this about the end of the tail?” I glared at the drake again, remembering the ‘accidental’ brush of his tail the first time I’d met him.

  “Yes, he was punished. His incarceration should have ended a few hundred years ago. It was extended by two hundred years. His time is almost up, actually. You were unlucky enough to meet him while he was still here. So, Nora, what are you doing down here anyway? Have you been getting licked? I’m very old, but that’s not my thing. I won’t judge you. I will destroy you if you don’t follow through on our deal, though.”

  “Deal?” Jadanak’s head snapped up.

  I sighed. “I’m stuck. Jadanak obviously didn’t kill me when I got here. You probably already know this from talking to Vistvis, but I can’t leave until I show him something new.”

  “Vistvis?” asked the drake. Duanna and I ignored him.

  “Yes, I already know that.” Enheduanna sniffed in distaste at the enormous, dangerous reptile. “This dirty drake will never give up on his old tricks. But I still don’t know why you called me here.

  “I sincerely hope you didn’t try calling me here to kill him, or I will be annoyed. Jadanak’s perversions are distasteful, but he is not breaking the rules of his incarceration. The task he gave to show him something new is silly, but it sufficiently difficult enough to qualify as a legitimate challenge. This power was granted as part of his binding, I believe. You are held to the challenge, and so is he.”

  “So what about the fact he was watching me bathe?” I snarled, pointing at the increasingly guilty looked Jadanak.

  “Oh, he just looked, I’m sure. I told you, he’s too shy to actually force himself on a woman. He’d kill you without a problem, but he won’t violate a female’s body without her say-so. It’s honestly really strange.”

  I clenched my jaw. “He touched me with the tip of his tail.”

  “He what?” Enheduanna raised an eyebrow at Jadanak. The drake tried to keep his composure but failed. “Oh we can’t have that now, can we?” The demigoddess walked over to the enormous, dangerous dragon-kin. I held my breath as she came within range of his jaws. While I knew that the High Priestess was powerful, Jadanak was huge! She could be in real danger!

  Suddenly, the petite, dark-skinned Areva woman jumped forward and punched, all in one smooth motion. My jaw dropped as the drake’s head whipped back so hard from the force of the blow, his body followed. The entire cavern shook from the impact of the dragon-kin’s heavy body hitting the ground. Duanna calmly walked back to where she had been before, and we stood in silence until Jadanak sh
ook his head and picked himself up.

  “You didn’t break any actual laws, but you know how I feel about your deviancy,” announced Enheduanna. “I am not Biivan, Tariya-ko, or one of the others. Know your place, you dirty drake. You can hide behind the laws for some of your actions, but I won’t tolerate others messing with my tools.”

  “Yes, mistress,” grated the drake, holding his head down. “I apologize, High Priestess Enheduanna. I did not know of her relation to you.”

  That’s an interesting way to word the apology, I thought. If I wasn’t working for her, I don’t think she would have cared. This was about pride.

  Enheduanna tsked. “Sure, you are apologetic right up until you leave this planet, you lecherous old, scaly schemer. You’ll probably go right back to your previous job until you just start peeping on goddesses again.” She sighed and rounded on me. “Now, you! Why did you bring me here! I don’t fight your battles for you!”

  Her annoyed tone changed, and she began muttering to herself. “It is nice to see this place again. He seems to have done some nice things to the cavern. Hmmm, that stalactite is new isn’t it? Amazing how time flies.” Duanna pursed her lips, scratching her cheek and looked around some more until her eyes fell on me again. “Explain yourself, girl! I don’t have all day, what is taking you so long to answer?”

  A strong sense of danger bubbled in my gut. This would be an important moment in my life, I could feel it. It was hard to keep up with Enheduanna’s moods and the events of the last few moments had been almost surreal.

  My hands clenched and realized I still held the enchanted spear. Gripping the beautiful weapon helped my brain start moving again. The fact that the demigoddess had not immediately assumed I had called her for the Duanna Boon was strange. Why else would she have thought I summoned her? I filed the questions away to think about later.

  I announced, “I have to show Jadanak something new for him to let me go. I want to use my Duanna Boon.”

  Enheduanna relaxed. “Oh,” she said, scratching her nose. “Oh, indeed. That is actually fairly clever. This old creeper has lived a long time, though. There is really probably not a lot he hasn’t seen, including whatever depraved thing you might have eventually done or shown him.”

  “I’m not that old. I sleep a lot,” muttered the drake, sullen. “And I just try to be fair.”

  “Yes, sure you do.” Duanna rolled her eyes, then pointed at my spear. “You want to use this?” she asked. “This is the item you want to trade using the Duanna Boon that you are definitely never, ever, ever going to acquire again when you reach your next orb-Bonded rank?”

  “Ah. Well...yes. I want to trade this item.”

  “Interesting. Interesting.” Enheduanna walked around me several times, and I stayed completely still. It felt like I was in the presence of a hungry animal.

  On sudden impulse, I said, “The entire treasure room already belongs to me, at least Jadanak said so.”

  “That true?” Duanna asked the drake, not pausing as she walked.

  After a mournful chuff, the giant, red reptile hissed and muttered, “Yes.”

  “Oh wow. You were really trying to turn on the charm, weren’t you? That was not yours to give, dirty drake. This actually could change things, though. Nora, this not only means the spear is truly yours, but—hmmm.” The petite woman continued to pace in circles.

  Finally, she stopped in front of me and stood in thought with her chin in her hand. “This is a very unique situation. I have mutually exclusive promises and directives. I think I might have a solution, though. Nora, will you give up all of your treasure for the Duanna Boon? This is still a stretch, but maybe I can justify it. Plus, and more importantly, this is interesting!” The stern High Priestess broke into a sudden dance.

  I goggled at her as she gyrated and seemed to sway to music that wasn’t there, but then shook myself. Despite my newfound confidence, it was really difficult to maintain my composure around Enheduanna. “Yes, you can have all of it, I said. “I just want to get out of here.”

  “Perfect!” she purred. “Give me your spear.” I handed the weapon over, and the dusky skinned woman began walking in a circle and muttering again. “Is it fate? It’s a spear, yes? It is a spear. Was it a sign? What is this girl? The dungeon is dead—it really is dead, right? Should I go through with it? Does the risk justify the reward? So many questions! Yes!” she yelled. “I have not felt this confused in ages!”

  I blinked, and despite how angry and confused I still felt about Jadanak, I couldn’t help turning towards the drake. By his expression, he was just as taken aback as I was. Enheduanna suddenly ran into the treasure room, moving so fast that she created a breeze from her passage. “Hey, I want to save another m-stone for my—” I started, but my request was interrupted by a bright flash.

  Even though I’d covered my eyes, it took a few moments to regain my sight. When I could see again, I saw Enheduanna come strolling out of the weapon room while gingerly carrying a cloth-wrapped bundle in her arms. Behind her, the treasure room was just bare rock. Everything else was gone. Vanished.

  “What did you do? What is this?” asked Jadanak in a hushed voice. “Did you take the entire treasure room?”

  “Yes, and it truthfully still was not enough,” replied the High Priestess.

  “What will I guard? Does this mean I can leave now too?” A bit of excitement had crept into the dragon-kin’s voice.

  “No. This dungeon has been dead for ages anyway. You can stay down here, alone, until your sentence is done. Reflect on your crimes.” The demigoddess placed the bundle on the ground and stepped back. “I believe Nora will be leaving today, though. This will probably be something new to you, you deviant.”

  “I doubt it,” huffed the drake.

  “We will see, then.” Enheduanna turned to me. “Nora, you have a choice. You can unroll the fabric from this item with your foot and show it to the drake. If you do, you will have your freedom. Of course, you still have your task from me, but you will be able to leave.

  “The other option for you is to take up what is in the wrapping, make it your own. If you do, if you try, there is a chance you will die.”

  “Is it powerful?” I asked, staring down at the bundle.

  “Yes.”

  “What are the odds I will die?”

  “At least one in four...I think,” answered Enheduanna, her tone abnormally somber.

  I stood and stared at the bundle on the ground for a long time. Enheduanna walked to the entrance of the cavern and easily moved aside the boulder that Jadanak had used to block the tunnel. I noted her activity, but my mind wandered, lost in thought.

  Within the last couple days, I’d learned that I had an honest desire for more power. A year ago if I’d been presented with this choice, I know I would have just walked away. Now things had changed. I’d gained a lot of perspective, and now I understood the crushing feeling of powerlessness.

  I had not enjoyed my capture and imprisonment by the horny, lying drake. Being felt up by a huge tail and spied on while taking baths were not exactly high points of my life, but they’d served to drive something home.

  Victimhood didn’t sit well with me. I needed to get stronger. Whether bullies, bounty hunters, budget dragons, or even a High Priestess, I was tired of being pushed around. After only two more heartbeats, I reached into the bundled cloth and felt the object inside.

  Nothing happened.

  I held my breath for a moment, but I was still alive! Finally exhaling a breath, I unwrapped what I held, my hands shaking. With all the cloth off, I realized that I was holding a spear.

  A really plain-looking spear.

  This new weapon was solidly made, but compared to the spear I’d traded for it, much less the entire treasure room, it was highly unimpressive. It really just looked like a fairly average blessed steel spear. Sure, blessed steel weapons were rare and expensive, but I wondered what all the fuss was about.

  The weapon’s blade was a bit l
onger than two hands in length, its length gleaming. The haft sported a block of gold or bright bronze beneath the blade, and a bright red length of cloth hung from the dark, wooden haft.

  “Oh, it accepted her!” exclaimed Enheduanna, pleased. “There was such a low chance of survival too. How interesting!”

  My head came up. “I thought you said it was one in four.”

  The petite woman smiled indulgently. “No, I said at least one in four. You never asked for the full range of probability or the worst case estimation.”

  “But why would you lie?” I felt so very tired.

  “I didn’t lie. Plus, I really wanted you to take up this weapon. If I had just told you the full extent of the danger you were in, there would have been less of a chance you’d take it. It all turned out perfectly, though! This will provide incredible data.” The demigoddess nodded sagely.

  I shook my head. “You could have just not said anything about the risk in the first place.”

  “But that would not have been fair!” The High Priestess sounded scandalized.

  Confronted with such honest, but baffling shamelessness, I wasn’t really sure what else to say. I just stared at the plain spear in my hands until I heard a deep gasp. Jadanak had moved closer, his eyes wide in surprise and his nostrils flaring. “Is that what I think it is?” he asked in a gravelly whisper.

  Enheduanna responded cheerfully, “Probably! I figured that you would recognize what this is. I assume you have never seen anything like this before in person, so Nora can leave, correct?”

  “Yes, but that’s—” The drake’s voice was full of wonder.

  “Don’t say anything more,” warned the demigoddess. “She must find out for herself.” Then she stretched and winked. “It’s more fun that way!”

  So many conflicting emotions filled me, I didn’t even have the energy to question the High Priestess any further. She might just lie in response, anyway.

  No, I just wanted to leave this place, get out of the dungeon, and away from the High Priestess and the drake. My skin hadn’t felt sunlight in days, and I’d never realized how badly I could yearn for it. I threw my shoulders back and demanded, “I want to go. Open the way.”