A Dragon’s Curiosity

 

 

“The events leading up to the unfortunate accident showed no signs of abnormality, the instructors patrolled as usual and the students regularly checked in at the base camp.

Again, there should have been abnormalities and other signs in the environment if a strong individual broke in, not to mention that the patrols would have caught sight of such activity.

Despite that, around the halfway mark of the activity, the evidence suggests that the team formed by the two deceased students and four others encountered the source of calamity somewhere near the centre occupied by [Starved Shredder Hatchlings].

Just like the other groups, they fought monsters and brought back materials at a steady pace, seeking medical attention once at base camp to treat light injuries and rest, going by the records and testimony of the personnel there.

Eventually, they fought an unknown insectoid monster, which has been estimated around the early fourth rank by our instructors and the experts of the [Adventurer‘s Guild].“

Sera Salas kept to the facts and never mixed in her personal opinion, only giving the straight facts and nothing else, never trying to soften any oversight or push the blame away from the academy.

None of the lounges interrupted either, the Dukes or the stand-ins showed clear signs of respect for the former knight and that alone spoke volumes of her face in front of the king.

“As for its exact nature, there is still no clear verdict, but the guild has sent for records from other branches and is looking into it.

During their fight, two of the students sustained harsh injuries, the first casualty, Max Stratherd, happened because the group underestimated the foul creature and thought it was a variant of a regular [Starved Shredder Hatchling].

From the account of the group members, it was too late when they noticed the discrepancy in power and the boy, Max, asked them to run away and get help from the instructors.

Consequently, the five other students scattered and rushed out to secure assistance, whereas Jens Whitford should have ended up as the second fatality, an unlucky coincidence that the two are related and both fell to the monster.“

 

For a brief moment, the military woman failed to keep her straight facade and showed distress and grief.

It was not only the family that mourned for the loss, the students at the Royal Academy were not only reports and numbers to the Sera.

Having lost two of them weighed on her conscience, and the administrator wanted to bring the perpetrator to justice as well.

Mentally, Nisha made a note to keep this valiant personage in her memory, if she ever faced a problem at the academy, she could try to appeal to this lady.

As long as the Sera had justice in her heart, it was not a bad choice to turn to her.

“Within the shortest possible amount of time, the instructor sent a signal of distress towards the other patrols and rushed over to the place of the incident.

The large insectoid monster hovered on top of a fallen body, taking pieces out of it without any care in the world.

Angered by the disregard of the foul creature, he struck in anger and tried to slay it on the spot, yet the attacks only bounced off the insect armour and alarmed the target.

Perhaps unwilling to engage, the monster fled deeper into the forest and left Jens Whitford behind, who had sustained grave injuries.

The instructor called for the reinforcements to come to their side and asked them to return the boy to the healers at base camp, then took up pursuit of the offender.

He managed to track it to the first victim, Max Stratherd, and had to abandon the chase as the other boy was in even worse condition than the first and had to be rushed back as soon as possible.

Other instructors following behind them picked up the trail, but had to retreat eventually when it led away from the site and deep into the Wilderness.“

In spite of the dry delivery, many of the court attendees managed to see the desperate struggle happening deep inside the forest, a concerned teacher standing in front of a broken body while fending off a vile monster.

For humanity, this was the constant threat that lurked in the darkness just beyond the borders, the reason why nobility existed and stood as a bulwark against the bloody claws and teeth just out of sight, lusting for their lifeblood.

Contrary to the riled up feelings and deep imaginations, Nisha leaned to the side in her seat and frowned.

 

It was not about the difference in treatment or the verbal insults towards monsters.

As a dragon who ruled over her own den with her siblings, Nisha deeply understood the law of the jungle and was aware that a human kingdom essentially resembled a giant tribe, just like any other species in the wilderness.

They had a large base population, which was generally weak.

Next were elites that protected the bulk of the members, the nobles and knights, along with their individual territories.

And finally, the royal family and other top tier powerhouses sat at the summit and enjoyed the best resources in return for shielding the entire kingdom against threats and invaders, retaliating when necessary.

The dragon knew about similar arrangements deep in the unknown wilds, a place the siblings had not dared to dream about when they sought a place of their own.

Some of the lesser monsters paid them respects simply because of their dragon bloodline and the potential revenge of an adult dragon if anything happened to the four, but those truly big tribes hidden in the Wilderness might not fear any reprisal and hunt down the dragon siblings anyway.

Apart from the idle thoughts about humans and their place in the world, Nisha felt that the report was flawed, something did not make sense to her.

Perhaps the life inside the capital city had influenced her subtly, it was as if a thin layer of paper stood between her and the answer she sought.

It would only take a single poke to tear that layer apart, yet without the spark of inspiration, the solution just eluded her, so she just listened to the final part of Sera Salas speech.

“We brought back the two injured students and rushed them back to the capital for emergency treatment, the healers at the base camp did not have the necessary cultivation to use big spells, as they were merely there to treat minor injuries and scrapes, not perform miracles.

Another team was put together to pursue the monster, but the trail eventually went cold with the interference of too many unrelated monsters.

Unfortunately, the first boy, Max Stratherd, was declared dead before the rushed carriage reached Leandar‘s gates, whereas the second one, Jens Whitford, received the best care of the high priests at the [Seven Stars Church], yet he also succumbed to his heavy injuries.“

At the end of her words, Administrator Salas had her head bowed to the king, only her steady voice trembled minutely, giving a hint of her mental state.

One of her hands reached towards her eyes, perhaps brushing away a stray tear at the sad ending of two promising kids, but no one would ever know.

When she was done with her report, the former knight stood straight and waited for the verdict of the ruler, whether it was good or bad.

 

In presence of the king, who deliberated on the former knight‘s fate, not even the nosy attendees were brave enough to drone in the background and interrupt His Majesty‘s thoughts.

Eventually, King Cederic tapped the armrest of his throne with his fingers and focused on Administrator Salas.

“We are not yet convinced that the Royal Academy is not involved with the entire happenings that led to a major tragedy.

Our honor and pride are the last thing that should be considered, given that two subjects under Our protection perished.

As such, We will not form a final opinion on the performance displayed so far, only when the veil of mystery is torn apart and the final truth is revealed, then Our judgement can be unbiased.“

Some of the audience members sighed with disappointment, the censure of a high ranked member in the academy would have opened advancement choices for their own relatives working there, while others put their pensive gaze on the Sera, wondering how deep the king‘s favour for her ran.

Notwithstanding their fantasies, the kingdom's ruler did not give them a break and directly continued with his inquiries.

“Have you contacted the church and arranged for the preparation of major rituals?

We are inclined to pay the cost of materials and services first, so that those two boys can return to the life that they were torn out of unduly.

This is the least We can do for those serving Us.“

Hearing the king talk about [Resurrection], Nisha had a vague feeling of disdain all of a sudden.

She had talked with Miss Thana extensively on the topic before, and was certainly aware of the strict restrictions when it came to invoking that particular spell through a grand ritual.

The essence of the spell was the time component, only by acting fast and saving as many corporal and spiritual remnants as possible was there a chance for the ritual to succeed and even then it was not a guaranteed outcome.

Combining the heavy cost, strict restrictions and narrow applications, it was actually pretty rare to see the spell getting carried out all, far less than one would expect from a spell that can defy the fatality of death.

Even without hearing the answer, the elf already knew that it was impossible for the ritual to succeed.

 

“How can we take advantage of His Majesty‘s generosity and benevolence, it is not proper to burden the kingdom with private affairs.

Seeing that we share part of our roots, the Whitehall house is amenable to bear the costs first and dedicate any repayment as an offering directly to the royal coffers as a donation for those in need.“

While the elderly gentleman did not return to his former state with a straightened spine and piercing eyes, the mellow voice filled the room and fostered goodwill towards the Whitehall Dukedom, in two different ways.

As the Whitfield Viscount quite likely was among the extended family of the Whitehall lineage, it made sense for them to bear the cost and flatter the king at the same time.

Hearing the offer and combining it with the appreciative gaze of King Cederic, Nisha suddenly figured out why none of the people present mentioned that [Resurrection] was quite likely wasted in this case.

It was not only the dragon, who had knowledge about this divine spell, but it did not benefit anyone to speak out about it.

This was all political posturing, the king offered to take up the cost as a gesture, whereas a faction quickly responded and absolved the royal from the responsibility, as well as praising his good qualities with the same move.

Whether King Cederic really intended to pay the cost or not, his image was raised in the eyes of his subjects and the Whitehall house rose in his graces.

Glancing over at the Silverwood lounge, Nisha noticed that the young representative was way out of his depth and blinked dumbly at the proceedings.

Even Nisha, who had little to no contact with human politics before, saw the opportunity here, as long as he spoke up and offered a branch as well, it was quite possible to cause a rift in the relations between the victims, Viscount Whitfield and his family, as well as the Whitehall Duke, which would have been a merit under his name.

As for the Blackburn Duke, he looked amused as well but made no move himself, he had no need to kiss up to low ranked nobles.

Given that he spoke up, these minor characters would trip over themselves to please him, never the other way around.

And neither Duke Dharnas nor the representative from the Sheridan area had a stake in the fight, the former was more of an in-between when it came to faction fights and remained neutral otherwise, whereas the elven Dukedom did not take part in other affairs unless it concerned their own matters.