NOVEL NEXT 172- All Myrthaxya wants is a new home. Part II.
We travel through the corridors marked with the dragon's claws and go up to the dungeon's second floor.
"Myrthaxya, can you try casting the mist?" I ask once we've reached the lake cavern and are near the forest edge, outside of it. It's not snowing.
We flew here, since if both of us fit on one of the small bears, we can fit on the dragoness too. Once on the ground, we dismounted. By the way, ever since the dragoness has been with us, Petunia hasn't even stirred inside the lich's robe. I think the poor thing must be scared. I'll have to tell Ronan to introduce her to her next evolutionary step.
Now that I think about it... where do dragons come from? Lizards?
Myrthaxya, oblivious to my wandering thoughts, begins to puff out her chest, immediately drawing my attention.
She inflates it a little, then a little more. Her bones and hollow spaces are covered by a mixture of black and bluish mist. The first from the necromancer, the second from the powerful magic she had when alive.
I can't help but take a step back. Even though she's not a particularly large specimen, she's a damn dragon who looks like she's about to launch a fireball at me.
When she opens her fanged maw, what comes out is a damp mist that spreads quickly and reduces visibility, at least in the meters it covers.
"If you move, does it move with you?" I ask her.
In response, she walks across the snow until she vanishes from sight. When I follow her, I step out of the fog myself. She's there too, standing outside it: the spell didn't follow her. I figure when she's flying, it'll cling even less. But if she moves slowly and keeps producing it as she goes, it could actually work.
"Have her use it when ascending or descending from high up, at the beginning and end of the journey." I have no doubt that, being undead, she won't get tired from flying. "Also if she flies over any settlements."
"It will be so, my lady."
"Since I imagine she'll arrive before us, will the goblins attack her?"
"No, because my other creatures will know I animated her."
"Perfect. Another thing I wanted to ask you... what's this about excavating the cave? Do you think an underground village is better than moving it to the mountain pass? I think if we move them there, to that kind of no-man's-land between two kingdoms, they'll be safer."
The no-man's-land thing is just a figure of speech, because the border runs through the middle of the mountains. However, the guards from this kingdom don't reach that far in their patrols and, from what the goblins told me, neither do the ones from the other side.
"For two reasons, my lady. First, that is where the ants are, which provide experience to both the divine beast and the goblins, as well as possible materials for armor, weapons, and traps. Second, it would be a village with only one access point—easy to defend. And let us not forget that we might be able to domesticate the queen."
"How do you domesticate a queen?"
Because I get the part about the wolves we still have to tame, but an ant?
"Well, either you make her understand she has to swear allegiance to you, or I raise her."
Right, why do I even ask...
"And if we have to escape and evacuate the village? If there's only one access point, we'll have trouble."
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"Why? The ants know how to excavate, and so do you."
"Right, and it'll help me level up the spell, won't it?" I remark sarcastically.
"Of course, my lady," he answers without any duplicity.
Yeah...
I sigh.
"Well, let's go for it. I'll go with your plan about the underground village. The climate will be more favorable than in the mountain pass, that's clear. And if we invade the ant colony, we'll have caves already made. Now, do we bring out the dragoness from here? Or do we try to see if she fits through the labyrinth without having to blow out the walls?"
"The cave ceiling goes quite high. I think you could ride Myrthaxya and make space for her from up there."
"Agreed."
Well then, let's get to work. I mount up, she lifts me, I cast the spell, connect with the stone, and start moving it aside. I'm like some kind of Moses but with the ceiling instead of the sea. As we pass through, I put the rock back in place. I don't want to alter the dungeon core's terrain and make it spend its already depleted resources rebuilding. I have to cast the spell several times due to its range. Once we're outside, I finish leaving the mountain as it was, except for the snow that covered that part of its slope, and Myrthaxya carries me to the road leading to the dungeon, where she drops me off. Soon after, Ronan appears coming out of it, along with Tom carrying the troll blood flasks and yeti hide, sherpa-style.
"Everything okay, my lady?"
"Yes."
My friend approaches the dragon, pets her head, and she casts her mist spell while beginning to ascend into the air. I see it works—casting it more than once to cover herself as she rises. When the mist dissipates, I can't see her anymore. Ronan, who must realize I'm looking for her, points to a spot high up to my left where I can see her, so tiny I can't make out what kind of animal it is.
Perfect.
With that, we finish the trials. We go back to the academy to get cleaned up and collect our payments. Since I managed to reach 300 points, I'm going to buy the +3 Int and +2 MP necklace I want.
Aesthetically, it's beautiful: it looks like a delicate gold chain with small crystals mounted in the front part. Without a doubt, I can wear it for a special occasion or to the ball. For my red dress, I already chose a more striking necklace from those the seamstress was selling, but I can wear this one too—it won't clash.
It's cold when I take it out of the jewelry case the clerk hands me. I ask Ronan to hold my hair back, away from my neck, so I can fasten it myself. The guy gets a bit flustered but does it. With how eager I am to put on the necklace, he's going too slowly for my taste, too carefully. Anyway, I understand that with his peculiar upbringing, he probably hasn't had much human contact.
Once it's fastened and I feel its weight on my neck, I can't resist taking a quick look at my stats:
Bianca L'Crom
Race: Human
Age: 18 years
Level: 10
Constitution: 17
Strength: 9
Agility: 9
Wisdom: 12
Hit Points: 21
Mana Points: 14
The merchant doesn't notice that I'm kind of staring straight ahead, since Ronan is asking him to show some items. In the end, he doesn't choose any. He asks if they can exchange points for gold and, since the answer is yes, he chooses that.
We say goodbye to the merchant and, once in the hallway, alone except for my escort, I ask him mentally as we walk:
What do you want so much money for?
To buy materials for the village, both for construction and for crafting. And tools.
Oh, I feel bad. I should be paying for that.
Keep my share of the gold we got from the yeti chests too.
No, my lady. You need to buy objects and clothes to maintain your status.
I snort.
Nothing doing. You keep it—it's my village, not yours.
He looks at me sadly.
Sorry, it's your village too, I quickly tell him mentally. God, I'm such a loudmouth... What I meant is that it's my responsibility and I can't let you spend your money while I don't even contribute.
I understand, my lady. You are very generous.
Okay, better leave it here—I don't answer him. Let it be clear that this is vassal abuse or something like that. It's not that I charge him taxes, it's that he gives me everything and voluntarily at that.
What if I tell him that if he doesn't save money for himself, how does he expect to start a family with Mary in the future?
Uh... better not, I might scare him off.
Oh, he's looking at me.
"Is something wrong, Ronan?" I ask out loud.
"Not with me. But you are making strange faces."
Right, caught.
"Sorry." I force myself to smile at him. "I was in la-la land."
"La-la land?"
"Uh... in my mental world, thinking about silly things."
Ronan looks at me suspiciously, not at all convinced by my excuse. Since it's dinner time, we're walking toward the dining hall. And as for the rankings, they'll come out tomorrow.