Tribulations of a Dragon

Flying over the western mountain range shows that Merciferus is a weather device. Somehow, she has cleared the skies for such a huge distance that we still haven't encountered any clouds. It feels a little odd, but it does make it very easy to find the Friendship Island. As a testament to my improving navigational skills, we manage to find the island on the first try, and not even the approaching nighttime can stop us!

And none of us can stop Lily's excitement as she points all over the place, frequently almost falling off my head. She doesn't seem to have considered the possibilities of flight before, but she sure is now. I'm getting the impression that she's gonna be ordering me to fly all over the place to collect materials for her. We might be able to work something out with a shopping list for a particular area, if I'm going there anyway.

"My goodness, Kira! We could obtain the bark of the desert's heart! Oh, what magnificent creations I could make with such a medium. Or the ink of a sorrowful Cecaelia. Might the dream of a squall's feather be possible?"

I definitely know some of those words, but geez, it sounds like she wants me to travel the world to collect ingredients for her master plan or something. Instead of getting bogged down by Lily's endless enthusiasm, I turn my attention to Lauren. I haven't heard a peep from her since we left Tuiran, and it's making me a little worried.

Gauging Lauren's expression is quite difficult, given that she's on top of me, so I can't see her face. But I can feel her butt and her feet, and they're quite close together, giving me the impression that she's holding onto her knees, trying to make herself small.

We'll sort that out any minute now. The small island with its central patch of palm trees and thicker vegetation is approaching quite fast. At least I'm confident that we won't crash, which I'm gonna interpret as me getting better at landing. Since we're not in a rush, we approach the island from a gentle angle, but Raya still warns the others to hold on. That's good advice, considering both Joras and Lily are unfamiliar with my flying.

And once more, I land perfectly with my feet digging into the soft, sandy beach. And thanks to someone else, Joras didn't fall off my head! Instead, his torso is dangling over my eye like an elven eyepatch, held up by someone grabbing his belt and gripping one of my scales, which feels like a tiny pinch.

"A harder landing than I had anticipated."

"I told you to hold on. That's what the rope is for, dummy."

"You didn't hold on to the rope, Raya. I thought it was safe not to."

Without wasting a moment, Raya launches into a rant about how she knows me very well. So well, in fact, that she knows which scales to hold onto for leverage. I didn't know there was a difference, but she seems confident about it.

Never mind that. I'm not gonna let Joras distract me with his gymnastic shenanigans. My focus right now should be Lauren and her doubt and sadness. But first!

"Lauren, this is the wyrm in your brain speaking. Collect fruits and treats from the plants around here as tribute for the great and honorable Brain Wyrm! Even poisonous ones because they might just be spicy."

"Shut up, you silly beast."

The words lose a lot of their impact as she struggles to hold back a smile. That's a good start, but we can go further!

"Did you hear about the necromancer who was banished from the graveyard? It was really unfair because all he wanted was to raise a family in peace."

"Gods, Kira... Necromancy is no laughing matter."

She's telling me, but she's the one who couldn't help but laugh a little. Raya and Joras seem to have enjoyed the joke as well, but it does remind me that I should probably let Lily down from my head. As I lower my head, she crawls onto my snout and slides down my cheek, right into Joras' arms.

With Lily on the ground, both Joras and her take off their shoes and wander away, appearing to enjoy the feel of the sand. It has to be cold this time of year, but they don't seem to mind. While they wander, I turn my focus to Lauren again.

"So, Lauren. We need to talk about the future. I know you want to save as many people as you can, and Merciferus wants the same, right? But you don't agree on how to do it. That's the gist of it, right?"

"Yes... But I can't just lie around uselessly while people are in danger, Kira."

She deserves a comforting nudge, that's for sure. Unfortunately, I'm not smart enough to know the perfect solution, but I do know what it means for people to work themselves to death. And that sounds especially relevant when fighting an army of undead jerks out to get you with pointy arrows and swords.

I do feel for her, though. It's a lot of responsibility to be this champion person, and right now is an especially dangerous time, as far as I can tell. I don't get the impression that undead rising inside towns occurs that often. That being thought, the onus does fall only on her; the guild and whatever government they have here must do their part as well. At least people like the Commander and Turgai seem motivated to fight back. I'm sure others will join the fight as things progress.

"You also have to rely on other people, Lauren. You should strive to survive on your own, but you shouldn't stand alone. And there are a bunch of people out there ready to help. Remember all those mages who helped almost kill me?"

Judging by the frown on Lauren's face, it's possible I should have phrased that differently. I got the point across, though.

"You're not wrong. It's just difficult. How can I ask others to put themselves in danger for my goal?"

"Like this: Hey adventurer, wanna go kill a bunch of undead before they kill your friends? And then the adventurer is like, "Heck yeah! Let's go break some bones!" And that's how you do it. Heckin' Punchy is probably out there breaking bones right now. I'm not sure we could stop him if we tried now that he has a fancy new hammer."

"I'm being serious, Kira. The threat waiting in the shadows is far greater than anything I've seen before. The scale of this... it's too big. The undead have never tried to assault cities like this, and who knows where else they might strike."

Sounds like a job for animals trained to find carcasses. I know that I could smell the delicious scent of rot from quite a ways away. So there's definitely a solution, and I'd imagine there's a magical one as well. And I'm sure Branchie Tae will send word from her guild if she wants to hire me again.

"All I know is that you're not alone in dealing with this. You have me and a bunch of adventurers to help you out,-"

"And me!"

"-and Raya. So we will just have to do the best we can, and for what it's worth, I think both Merciferus and you are right. You can't just sit idly by, but you shouldn't destroy yourself either. The math is right there. If you can save a hundred people in a day, but it kills you, you have done very well. Now, if you can only save eighty, but survive to save eighty tomorrow as well, you will have saved a bunch more people. It's harsh, but it's how that works."

"I know, Kira! Hell-cursed fates, I know! That's the problem! Who am I to decide who lives and dies?! How can I be the arbiter of death like that?!"

"It's not unreasonable to think that, but you also have to acknowledge that you're overthinking it. You don't decide who lives and dies; you're trying to prevent someone else from deciding that. Like when you told me to defend myself if adventurers attack me. That isn't deciding who lives and dies; it's accepting that you don't want me to die at the hands of someone else's foolishness. Neither of us can be perfect, and that's okay. We just have to do things as well as we can."

"It's just hard... I want to fight the undead threats and I want people to live..."

That's understandable, and the prospect of a bunch of regular people getting murdered by some rambunctious bag of bones is grim. Nudging her and trying my best do make an appropriate voice, I offer some suggestions for how we can handle this whole thing.

"Do you want to go bathe our enemies in an ocean of draconic flames? Hm? Does that sound like a good time? Does Lauren wanna go incinerate hordes of undead? Burn the countryside, leaving scorched earth and blackened bones in our wake?"

"That does sound good, but stop patronizing me, Kira."

"And then you'll rest sometimes, okay? That has to be the deal. We'll incinerate hordes of those who oppose us and then have a few days resting. That's a good plan. If we get the opportunity to earn or steal some gold, we'll make time for that as well."

It might be worthwhile to make her feel less alone. And we do have other things to address. And I'm just gonna get to it with a nudge of comfort!

"You're not alone in having worries, Lauren. For example, Joras is worried that we won't accept him for being a crimson lord or whatever it was. And Raya is worried about being a bad friend because she got upset after Cuddles prevented her from hitting me with the rocks she threw. It would be a lot easier to just talk about these things, but it's okay to struggle to find the words. Just don't let it go on for too long, some subjects become festering wounds."

"How did you know about my rock thing?"

The answer is that she gets upset about things like that bothering her. She's a peculiar little goblin, but she isn't cruel or mean, just a little rough around the edges. And, while she has a knack for hitting my sensitive spot, I know just how to demonstrate it not being a problem.

"Lauren, could you sneak away and grab a blade of grass, and then sneak up on Raya and use it to tickle the inside of her ear?"

With a mischievous smile, Lauren does as I ask. Her mood seems to have improved at the prospect of laying waste to our enemies, and, with a few quick brushes of her hands to get rid of some sand, she saunters off.

Raya and I continue discussing the rocky matter, but I maintain that it isn't an issue because my scales can withstand direct arrow hits. She seems less convinced, focusing on the action itself rather than the results. And she does have a point. Not a point I agree with in this case, but it's there. I think the rudeness of throwing rocks is countered by my sheer size and that it actually works to get my attention, especially considering I sometimes don't hear people talking to me.

Lauren is closing in on Raya and, as I keep talking about how rocks don't hurt me, Raya fails to hear Lauren in the soft sand. With a quick thrust and a wiggle, Lauren shoves the tip of the blade of grass into Raya's ear and tickles her, causing quite a reaction as Raya shakes her head and leaps away.

"What was that for?! That was awful!"

"And from the looks of it, worse than when I get hit by rocks. So you don't have to feel bad about trying to get my attention like that."

"I might throw rocks at Lauren now…"

In response to the vicious threat, Lauren wiggles the blade of grass some more, an obvious offensive attack to instigate a war between the two. The danger is obvious to Raya as she flinches and takes a few steps back, covering her ears as well as she can. It's not enough to stop the fearsome Lauren's approach, though. And with her savage blade held high, she manages to push back the dreadful goblin! Those two are definitely becoming best friends.

While they continue their formidable battle, Joras takes the opportunity to approach with a scent of trepidation. Like a sweeter version of fear that doesn't make me want to attack. Granted, when it comes to friends smelling like fear, that tends to make me want to attack something else. Which I'm gonna consider personal growth. Doubly so for how I'm not attacking people whenever I smell that tantalizing, delicious scent of fear.

Raya and Lauren run into the forested area, hopefully to find me some treats, but I suspect they're just goofing around, but it does give Joras a moment to gather his thoughts. I'm gonna go ahead and lie down and wiggle my belly into the soft sand while I wait for him to prepare himself. It's pretty obvious that he wants to address the whole crimson lord thing, and it's also pretty obvious that he has experience with mind control through his blood magic. Granted, he hasn't given me any reason to doubt his intentions, aside from a slight stabbing, but what's a small stabbing between friends?

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The longer we wait for him to speak, the worse his worrying becomes. I don't think I've ever seen him feel so locked up by his inability to take action. So I'm gonna do it for him.

"Joras, you don't have to tell me anything about that blood stuff. I owe you that at least, so keep it a secret or share it with us when you're ready, but don't rush into anything. I trust that you won't be different whether I know your secrets or not."

"I'm not sure I could extend the same kindness in your position. How can you simply ignore what you know about my magic?"

"It's not that deep. I hatched in this world, scared and alone. I came from a life of comfort and closeness. You and Raya gave that back to me after I lost it. You offered me help and gave me time to learn about you instead of taking what you wanted. We both know I could have left at any time and Lily would have died, but you never forced me to do anything. And I'm grateful for that. To me, you're a good guy. Pretty stupid to stab a dragon, though."

Rather than reply right away, he sits down and leans against the back of my arm, facing away from me. I could turn my head to see him, but I imagine he doesn't want that right now.

"That was pretty stupid. I couldn't believe that Raya had tamed a Dragon, so it, you, had to be intelligent. I'm glad to have disproven that hypothesis."

That pointy-eared jerk! Swirling my head around, I unleash a puff of punishment smoke at him, but all I get is laughter, which is not the outcome I want when I punish people…

At least he sounds like a burden has been lifted, even if it isn't all of it. Knowing that I'll offer him the same kindness he offered me has to count for something. I'd still very much like to know what brings a couple of elves like Lily and Joras to Tuiran, especially because of how they have mentioned living underground in the past. I also want to know more about those bard elves who hate dragons. I'm sure we could reach some sort of understanding and become friends.

While I'm pondering the mysteries of elven folk, Lily approaches, walking toward Joras with a smile on her face.

"I did not lie when I told you of your kind heart. Let your old sins be forgotten and continue to strive to do better with our new lives. Do not forget, though they call you grumpy, the goblins of Tuiran do appreciate and remember what you've done. Few would teach alchemical secrets to others as you have."

The wind has blown away my smoke, leaving Joras' expression of sorrow clearly visible. As Lily approaches him and takes a seat next to him, he brightens up as the two lean against each other and me.

Prodding people's worries under a beautiful night sky is a great way to spend time. It'd be even better with some treats, but we can't have it all. Unless we brought some. That might be a good plan. Or just fish for some. I haven't had many opportunities to eat fish since hatching, and that seems odd now that I think about it.

On top of the lack of fish, Esfjord, a major trading hub, was landlocked. It's not impossible for major trade to go through a landlocked city, but I haven't seen any cities bordering the oceans. Sure, there's plenty more of the world to explore, but...

"Joras, how far along is..."

Crap, I don't know the word for seafaring in any language except my own. Doing as well as I can, I make up words for water travel, and the like. I have no idea whether he gets it, but I hope he does!

"I believe you are referring to Ocivanyhen. Oci is often used to describe a large body of water, Vany meaning fight, and hen denoting something bad. The oceans are far too treacherous for any but the boldest or richest to engage in such activities. To invest in a ship capable of traversing the oceans and fending off the beasts below could devastate a small kingdom should it sink."

Well, now I'm curious about that whole situation. Asking for elaboration very quickly turns into a mistake as both Lily and Joras take the opportunity to talk over each other, leaving me without much of a chance to understand them. The gist of it appears to be that ships need to have constant mage oversight to maintain some sort of deterrent to keep the big fish away.

On top of that, the deterrent, some sort of magical crystal, uses a boatload of magic, so extra mages are necessary for that, and the mages all need to be fed. So the cost ends up being ridiculous for even simple journeys. As a result, this world never got into seafaring. And that definitely smells like an opportunity.

Although realistically, I've already got way too many things on my plate and I might not have room for giant sushi. I think the correct thing to do is keep an eye out, but not focus on fishing. I still need to get caught up on everything that has happened in Tuiran and Wreyn's town.

From what I've heard, my goblins are already doing a great job of shipping materials to the people of Plainshold, so they can rebuild before winter. I have no idea how harsh winters are in this world, but I sure hope they're mild around here.

"Joras, what are the winters like? The fall rain suggests that it might end up snowing a lot."

My very reasonable question results in a chuckle for some reason, and Lily seems to find something funny as well, but who knows what that might be. Nevertheless, he does seem to want to answer.

"You can expect snow, yes. The weather will continue to be agreeable for some time still, though once the first snow falls, it will soon blanket the landscape. In the past cycles, it has been an issue with some deaths, yet I suspect this winter won't be marred by such tragedy in Tuiran."

That's good news. I still have no idea whether there's enough firewood to get through winter for my goblins, but if Joras is hopeful, then I will be too! But at the same time, if some trees need to be defeated, I'm there!

Thinking of trees, I haven't seen Raya and Lauren in a while. Raising my head isn't enough to let me have a look over the trees at all. At least not while lying down, but I don't think it would make a difference in spotting the two rascals regardless, considering the thickness of the vegetation. Raya and Lauren could end up hiding from me without even trying.

Dang it, now I'm making myself worry. It's the middle of the night and I can't hear either of them. They could have tripped and gotten themselves hurt. I'm gonna do something about it, and since Lily and Joras are leaning on me, I give a soft shake first to alert them to my movement before getting up.

Calling out doesn't yield any results, so I might have to circle the island a few times to see if-

"Hi, Kira! What's going on?"

Freakin' heck! Sneaky little Raya startled me!

"I thought you were lost! I got worried and wanted to make sure you were safe."

"Oh, yeah. We got lost and ended up on the other side of the island, but look at all these things we gathered!"

Lauren is standing behind Raya with both her arms full of a variety of nuts, roots, and fruits. Somehow, they've found a red, thin pineapple. I have no idea what most of that stuff is, but I'm willing to try it all, especially the small bulbous one that looks like an avocado. This island has a lot of stuff going on and I might have to look for other islands if they're gonna be treasure troves of deliciousness.

They deserve nudges for being great. As I go in for a nudge, I'm struck in the snout by a flying fruit.

"I thought you wanted a piece. Sorry."

"I was gonna nudge you for being awesome, Raya. That's a great haul and you've both done well!"

Raya's face brightens as she smiles up at me as I go for another nudge. This time, she returns it with a nudge of her own, resulting in her smacking her forehead against my nose. I'm not sure she knows how it's done, but I appreciate the effort.

After nudging Lauren as well, I make sure to ask how she's doing. It can't be easy to be saddled with an epic quest like that, especially on top of her existing situation of being the champion.

"I'm better now. I think it was all just too much for me, it probably still is, but this break has been nice. And necessary, I believe. But I can't shake the feeling that I'm the wrong choice. I don't know what Merciferus was thinking, making me her champion."

I have an idea regarding that.

"So, don't take this the wrong way, but it's no secret that you're a bit odd, and with that in mind, is it possible that Merciferus is the same kind of odd? My impression of the both of you is that you'd rather risk danger than let someone you care about get hurt. You do it all the time, but I think Merciferus does it too with the whole punishment thing and being so talkative with you. Judging by all the secrets and what she can and can't share, I don't think her behavior is normal for those god people."

Everything I know about the gods says they're supposed to be passive, but Merciferus is doing a bunch of intervening. I certainly do appreciate it, especially the part where she prevented me from exploding, but it seems odd that she's allowed to when she keeps saying she isn't.

Lauren doesn't seem convinced if her expression is anything to go by, but I think I'm onto something. They're both doing risky stuff in favor of helping others, and, at least in Lauren's case, disregarding the risks for the greater good as she sees it.

"You're gonna get punished again if you keep talking like that."

Crap, that's a fair point. But it also feels like an excuse to change the subject. And, well, she already has a bunch of things to think about, so I don't think I should add too much to her pile until she gets to the bottom of what she already has. Regardless, I'm gonna stay by her side and support her as well as I can. Especially if it involves burning jerks.

"Perhaps a change of subject is in order so that Lauren might avoid becoming overwhelmed."

That's what I thought! Dang it, now Lily is stealing my brownie points.

"I'd appreciate that, thank you."

Lauren doesn't seem too bummed out by the topic so far, but we can deal with the rest of it later. And I suspect Lily has ulterior motives for changing the subject, mostly because her and Joras take the break in conversation to ask me to dig into the beach.

"I believe it would be prudent to recover a sample of the soil. We might uncover a hidden supply of materials for alchemical purposes!"

Raya and Lauren have made a great choice as they begin eating some fruits and discussing which taste the best and what to look out for. They're eating the pineapple... I wanted the pineapple...

"Do focus, Kira. We will need a sample from about a murak below the surface."

I know murak was about a meter, but with all this growing I've been doing, my gauge for size is not great. That's where being a giant dragon comes in handy! With a single claw, I rip into the sandy beach, leaving large scars in the surface. Repeating the process moves a bunch of mud away as I reach the wet subsurface sand. Is wet sand called mud? I'm not sure, but it is now.

Both Lily and Joras show no regard for their clothes as they jump into the hole, which is extremely unsafe. Don't jump into holes on the beach, the water-saturated sand can easily catch you as it floods in to fill the hole. I'm definitely keeping an eye on those two reckless elves.

To make sure they're safe, I keep digging away at the sand flooding the hole, trying my best to keep it from filling. It's not working, but that's to be expected. Both Joras and Lily realize the issue and ask me to help them out, even though the hole itself is only about half their height in depth. It isn't a problem for me to lift them out, so that's what I do.

They seem to have collected their samples in small clay jars, and they've soon got the jars packed away, leaving the two to deal with their sandy boots. As they sit down in the sand a safe distance from the collapsing hole, they help each other pull their boots off, making it very apparent that the muddy sand got in. That's something I don't miss. Wet things causing suction in footwear are awful.

"So, what do you need that sand for?"

"We intend to sift it through several alchemical strainers to separate the valuable material from the mundane so that we may ascertain whether this island contains valuables. It is often the case that a sample such as this contains trace components of a richer vein deeper below."

So a core sample and some chemical analysis. That's more than I expected. I thought they were just gonna look at it and try to spot something valuable, but that sounds closer to science rather than magic. Although I guess magic is a tangible force in this world, so it should be something that can be measured and worked with.

"Do you have some sort of container that can hold magic? Like a bottle, or jar, or something?"

"We do not. Magic does not wish to be contained, and only a few methods have been devised to do so. Joras was particularly excited by your regurgitation covering Lauren after your attempt at shaped magic, as it was an expression of magic with which he was unfamiliar. The resulting mucus was a concentrated mass of magical energy, becoming so dense that the mundane could interact with it."

"I remember that it felt so bad. You're not getting more dragon vomit, Joras."

The two elves share a look and I'm not sure I like it, but I'm certain I can trust them to not do something weird to make me throw up. It's still not a pleasant memory and I don't like that I seem to be biologically incapable of learning spells. We'll have to figure out some sort of dragon magic at some point. I can't even spit my venom... or can I?

"HRALTHAR!"

As I expected! By saying my new magical word of power, I managed to spit venom all over the place, slobbering all over the beach in front of me. And I didn't even hit anyone! That would've been a bad attempt if I had tried to hit someone, but I cast a spell! Sort of!

And the encouraging laughter from my friends is fantastic! They have to be proud of me for working out a spell. Trying it again results in even more venom covering the beach in front of me. So it's definitely repeatable.

"You should definitely show Hralthar that trick, Kira. He'll love it."

Lauren's suggestion feels a little like a trap, but Foreman might find it funny.

"Might I ask if you have suggestions for containers of magic, Kira? I do not believe such a thing to be impossible, more so as you seem to go against the expected at a remarkable frequency. It is a matter Joras and I have discussed at length, and our conclusion is that your dual nature's combined result is incapable of aligning with either origin of your being."

"I'm not sure what that means, Lily. Are you saying I'm not me, but someone else?"

"Oh, no, you are most certainly you, for which I am grateful. Though you have certain proclivities which do not align with either origin nature. Consider your inclination toward bloody defilement of life, I do hope your human origin would be unwilling to commit such acts. Standing atop the other scale is your Dragon origin. She would be most unwilling to share your generosity, yet that very generosity has brought tremendous joy to beings so often neglected. A Dragon does not share with anyone but their mate. You are a singular entity, Kira."

Okay, well, I'm just gonna shelve that mate part away and not think about the dragon I did meet. I don't think I'm that gory, though. I mostly chew in self-defense or munch on dead things, so that seems acceptable to me. And I quite like the sound of me being unique. Unfortunately, my basking in this uniqueness is interrupted by Joras.

"Do you mind if we go back to the topic of containment? I'd be quite interested in hearing what ideas you might have on the matter, given your history."

"I can't say much. We had electricity, which was a form of energy like Tiffy's magic, but we could store it with molten salt and, what the heck?!"

I don't get a chance to elaborate on molten salt storage as a black void opens behind me and yanks my tail! Tails aren't supposed to be yanked, you dang void! Clawing at the ground doesn't do any good, as the sand just gives way to my claws, leaving me with little recourse. Even batting my wings doesn't help as I'm sucked into whatever this thing is.

As it creeps up my body, or my body disappears into it, I lose any tactile sensation in my hindquarters, which is freaking weird! As I continue to try to claw myself free, I turn my head and unleash a torrent of flame, hoping it does something, but the void just keeps sucking me in. To my relief, my friends don't try to help me, so I'm not at risk of hurting them as I do my best flailing helplessly to try to get out of this dang circle. But they sure do look worried as they call out to me.

With my wings disappearing into the void, I lose any feeling of resistance and I can't tell if I'm flapping them anymore, but I'm gonna freakin' try! I'm never giving up! Even as it reaches my head and the last thing I see is the sight of my friends looking worried on the beach. How the heck are they supposed to get home without me?! Stupid void, you can't just abduct people!