Disaster classes the cal.., p.6
Disaster Classes: The Calamitous Bob Book Five, page 6
“It appears we have picked up a tail,” Sidjin said.
Behind them, two fast ships sailed from behind a bend. There were also three smaller skiffs that moved as fast as modern jet skis. Each carried a pilot, a mage, and a couple of archers. They all bore a crest like a shield with a fish on it.
“I think we’re being pursued by the law,” Viv idly commented.
It was her first time. Technically.
“I know. Exciting, isn’t it?” Sidjin added.
“Oh dear oh dear oh dear oh dear, that won’t do at all,” Leit said. “By guild rule, I must stop!”
“Those are clearly criminals in uniform. They would have attacked us if we didn’t refuse to be kidnapped,” Viv said.
“Irrelevant to the situation,” Leit said as the skiff made a quick approach.
“Don’t you have a duty to protect your passengers from harm?”
“Well… yes… within reasonable limits.”
“Those are reasonable limits; we just need you to keep going.”
“Think of it this way,” Sidjin added with a pleasant voice as he poured mana into the circle. “We won’t allow ourselves to be taken, so if you still want a ship at the end of the day, you’d best move, yes?”
“Oh dear. The guild won’t like this one bit. Very well. Full sails!”
The cry was picked up by the few sailors remaining on deck. Others rushed out of the hold and busied themselves doing sailor things. It mostly involved undoing knots, as fat as Viv could tell.
Meanwhile, the skiffs were getting close now. One of the mages cast a spell, and his authoritative voice carried over the Shal River.
“We have found you in violation of the law of Markeis. Drop anchor, lower your weapons, and prepare to be boarded.”
“Oh, oh, oh, can I tell him no? I’ve always wanted to do something like that,” Viv said.
Sidjin nodded, clearly concerned, but Viv merely used a voice-enhancing spell and clutched the railing.
“ANY OF YOU FUCKING PIGS MOVE, AND I’LL EXECUTE EVERY MOTHERFUCKING LAST ONE OF YOUS!” she roared with excitement.
Sidjin sighed and raised the shields. “I suppose it’s an Outlander thing.”
In the dark recesses of a lightless, confined space, a pair of yellow eyes lit up. The ancient mind behind those ominous orbs Inspected a new addition to its charge’s profile.
New Title Added: Anarchist
//NO.
//DO NOT TRY ME, DEAD ONE.
The title faded away, having fulfilled its function. Nous, God of Magic, would never let his own death get in the way of a little bit of trolling.
Viv’s first spells hit one of the agile ships, despite the pilot’s desperate attempts to stop her. One of the Nets killed an archer, but the mage reacted fast. He lifted a hand, and a black mana shield blocked her next spells.
“You are insane!” the mage screamed, spell still active.
Several offensive spells launched towards her, but Sidjin’s larger shield blocked them without issue. The skiffs activated something, and a blue, watery shield expanded over them. A Net from Viv penetrated only shallowly, and the damage was almost instantly repaired. Nevertheless, she could have killed another man if she had aimed a bit lower, and the three fast boats sailed away towards the other shore, never slowing down. At least they could not attack the other side of the River Flower since the old ship was still very close to the edge of the riverbank. Viv switched to Blast and fired once, arcing her projectile to hit the ship’s center, realizing it could only move forward and to the sides.
The smaller ship stopped where it was and let the spell land harmlessly in front of it.
“Wait, those things have brakes?”
“The blue mages use their power to stay mobile, but it’s tiring business. Keep the pressure on!” Sidjin advised.
Their foes looked like they were changing tactics, seeing how useless attacking the Flower itself was. Viv shuddered to think what would have happened if they hadn’t prepared.
Their new strategy involved a massive wave, which they were building up farther and to the right of the River Flower. The depression in the otherwise flat waters looked extremely strange, as if a turbid ocean had suddenly come from across dimensions. Viv realized the danger. Even if the wave didn’t sink the ship, which Viv didn’t think it would, the three fast crafts merely had to delay them until the heavier ships caught up to them.
They charged towards Viv, tidal wave in tow.
Which also made them much easier to hit. Viv waited, then arranged three Blasts, which she shot at the same time. The lead skiff tried to dodge and caught two instead. The ship disintegrated, though the mage and one of the archers managed to dive away in time. The other two split up once it became clear inertia would do the job for them. Viv watched the wave approach and realized she was without recourse, once again. Fortunately, she was not without allies. Sidjin’s circle flashed blue, and the waters around it settled immediately. Only a tiny joke of a ripple came to lick the River Flower’s hull. Viv was aghast.
“Did you think of everything?” she asked Sidjin.
“I have something to protect against wind attacks as well,” he replied.
The worst thing was, he wasn’t even smug about it. Perfect preparation was just a matter of fact.
“Okay then,” Viv said, then returned her attention to the two surviving skiffs. She targeted the one that had raised the black shield earlier, casting in quick succession. As expected, the first Blast was blocked by a black mana shield, which was perfect for when the Yoink hit.
The expression of pure bafflement on the mage’s face was a memory Viv would cherish for a long while.
The next blast took the mage’s hand with it. He screamed, and the fast craft came to a stop. The last one disengaged.
The two larger ships didn’t give up the chase. They were quickly gaining on the Flower. Viv walked to the stern and watched them approach.
“Can’t we go faster?” she asked Leit, who was standing in the middle of the deck with fear-tinged dignity while his crew did their best.
“We will not outrun them,” Sidjin replied.
“It is as the good mage says, I’m afraid. Patrol ships are designed to catch up with all but the fastest transport ships. They are not even at full speed right now. I fear… a confrontation will be inevitable.”
Leit’s next words were interrupted by a loud clang and Viv turned just in time to see a flash of metal. She reflexively shielded, but she was not the target this time.
Sidjin lifted a fist and punched forward. A woosh of displaced air heralded a terrible impact. Wood groaned, and only Viv’s reinforced reflexes prevented her from falling. She looked down to see a harpoon smacked sideways into the hull. The shaft had only dug a few centimeters in, thankfully. If it had been the tip going in first, they would have had trouble.
A chain followed the harpoon, attached to the ship behind them. It was already growing taut.
“You stopped that?” Viv wondered. The projectile was clearly enchanted to the gills.
“No, I attacked the chain. It’s not enchanted after the first ten links or so.”
“Oh,” Viv replied.
She Blasted the chain and cut it cleanly.
“That will work nicely. They can still catch us, however,” Sidjin said. He calmly walked belowdecks and returned with a metal plate engraved with symbols.
“Is that our spare heating plate?” Leit blurted.
“Yes.”
The mage threw it in the water.
“I can reimburse you?” Sidjin suggested.
“At this stage, I think I can justify it as a business expense.”
Viv was about to ask a question when a panicked sailor burst out from belowdecks as well.
“Something’s eating into the hull! We have a breach!”
Viv’s mind went into overdrive. She leaned over the railing the sailor was pointing out and saw absolutely nothing.
She could, however, feel the blue mana being hurled at the wood. It felt constructed.
“It’s the mage we sank, the first one.”
“Alas, protective domes seldom extend to the lower part of the hull. Can you handle it?”
Viv thought for a moment. Her disintegration mana was strong but also indiscriminate. It would disperse against the water before she could cover the bubble of blue she felt under her feet, and that was before she got through the bubble the mage used around himself to keep from drowning. She imagined fighting a blue mage near water would universally be considered a bad idea, but it was done. If only she could see him and…
Actually, maybe she could.
Viv slowed down time and focused to release a very, very powerful blast of light under the surface. The rave-like purple glow lit the murky waters, revealing the frame of the mage floating under the surface. She cast immediately, and missed by a hair. She had not accounted for refraction.
“Fuck.”
Before Viv could strike again, the mage fled, spooked. Apparently, the man was unwilling to forfeit his life for a corrupt city. It did not surprise Viv in the slightest.
“They are gaining on us,” Leit said. He was sweating a lot. “I find this rather more exciting than I expected.”
“Will you reconvert into a smuggler?” Viv asked him.
“Gods no. I’m going to drink.”
“Speaking of drink, I believe the time has come to depart Enoria. The border is near. I propose to go out with a bang, Viviane dear. I’ll take the right and you take the left?”
“Gladly.”
Sidjin gestured and a whirlpool opened in front of his target, dragging it in. Viv realized the ship was just over the plate Sidjin had thrown overboard. The prow dipped in first, leading the rest of the ship towards the depression. Once it was close enough, Sidjin gestured again, and the whirlpool turned into a maw of colorless energy blades. The crew yelled with consternation as their ship slowly, slowly dove into a blender. Splinters and flying planks flew out of the vortex.
“As I mentioned, the hulls are often a weak point,” Sidjin concluded as the spell faded. The damage was enough to put the ship out of order.
“Is it my turn?” Viv asked.
“Yes.”
“Alright. Hocus, pocus, draconicus.”
A screeching Arthur dive-bombed the remaining patrol craft, setting all the sails ablaze in a single pass. A shield blocked most of the remaining fire before it could turn the deck into a raging inferno. The pursuer was disabled, however.
“This does not count as a spell. I call foul,” Sidjin calmly stated.
“I thought you would.”
While the pair bickered, Leit turned around and found a barrel to sit on. He removed a flask from his breast pocket and took a discrete swig, the container disappearing quickly when a sailor made his way over.
“Captain, I don’t think it’s a marsh drake.”
“It is a marsh drake if anyone asks.”
“Okay…”
The journey continued for two days without incident. Viv did her best to practice mixing colorless and black mana, finding it surprisingly difficult. It was the first time she’d struggled to achieve what others took for granted, but Sidjin had an explanation as to why.
“You love black mana and black mana loves you. Using it is second nature. You are struggling to do what comes naturally to other casters as a result. Don’t worry, and take your time. It’s just a minor hurdle.”
The next morning, they arrived at a small outpost, where Leit sent a report to his headquarters via one of the guild’s branches. Viv expected trouble for turning the ship into a fortress and dishing it out, but in reality, it was Leit who got chewed out—and quite viciously, too.
“Your negligence and lack of foresight led to the grave endangerment of your passengers. Not only did you stop at a dangerous destination, but you took no steps to address the risks inherent to changes in the gang’s hierarchy once you discovered them. After that, you knowingly led your charges into an obvious ambush. Their survival is due to their luck, skill, and wherewithal, not your services. Had they perished, you would have been removed from the list of approved captains and incurred serious penalties. Regardless, a disciplinary hearing will decide a suitable punishment. You may not decline carrying your passengers to their final destination, and you may not charge them for the repairs or the loss of your spare heating plate.”
The tongue-lashing had been delivered in a detached voice by the branch manager, since he was only here to relay it. The fact that Viv and Sidjin were present for the blame made it public, always a significant choice when humiliation was concerned. It either meant they cared about their reputation, or about Sidjin and Viv’s future patronage. Perhaps a combination of both. She didn’t think it could be an accident.
Nevertheless, she was more relaxed when they left since it was now someone else’s problem. That was exactly how she’d envisioned her journey to Helock. It made the following conversation slightly less nerve-wracking for her.
Viv picked a clearing near a waterfall, a short walk away from the outpost, to have it. Nightfall was close, and the sky had already begun to darken. This was not going to be easy, and isolation from the other humans would not be a bad idea. She sat by a stone and shared a pile of freshly bought jerky with her adopted kiddo.
“Hey Arthur, I wanted to talk to you a bit.”
About stealing?
“Did you steal anything?”
Not.
Recently.
“It's not about stealing. I trust you are a big girl now, and you know why it’s not a good idea.”
Thieving bad.
Looting good.
I know.
“What I wanted to talk about is that… I fear I may be reaching the limits of what I can do for you. Or rather, what I know I should do. You see, you’ve been growing very fast the past year, faster than any creature I’ve ever met. And certainly faster than a human.”
Of course.
All humans stupid.
Except mother.
And bankers.
“And herein lies the problem. When we met, you didn’t know how to talk and you were very small. It was obvious that you needed food, water, and safety. That I could mostly do. Then you grew up and started taking things, and I became generally sure you needed self-control and a sense of actions and consequence, if not right and wrong. Even then, it was a bit iffy because… you are a dragon. And I am using human logic and instincts to take care of someone who is not human by any means. It’s just the best I can do, the only thing I know how to do. It might not be enough.”
Mother provides good meat.
And gold.
“As outlandish as it sounds, there is more than meat and gold in life.”
The dragonette tilted her head pensively.
Also.
Scritches.
She nodded to herself, satisfied with her wisdom.
“And magic,” Viv said, getting Arthur’s attention. “And flight, and combat, and possibly etiquette. There are no books on dragon rearing. I’m operating on guesses, but it’s clear there is a lot for you to learn that I cannot teach. And I don’t want that, because I want what’s best for you. I just don’t know what it is.”
I am still happy.
And safe.
And not hungry.
Lots of magical meat!
I grow fast.
“Yes, you do. And you fly for longer periods of time, and explore much more than before. In bird terms, that would be called fledging.”
Am no stupid feathered thing!
“Leaving the nest, whatever you want to call it. Listen, there might be a point when you need to do more things or feel like doing more things. You can tell me. You can make your own plans. We’ll be going to Helock for a while, and I know you don’t like cities, or being locked in for that matter. Don’t wait until you feel too sad to tell me. Talk to me. Tell me what you need.”
If I don’t know?
“If you don’t know what you need, we’ll figure it out together.”
Ask other dragons?
“Well… we may not have a choice. I just don’t know how to contact them without being roasted.”
I protect you!
“Sure.”
“Skreeeeeeeeee!”
Viv jumped at the sudden and unexpected scream, but Arthur didn’t show any sort of pain.
Called.
“Wait, what?”
Chapter 104: Judgment
It was day, then it was night. There was no time to leave, no time to plan, not even enough time to look up before a wave of pure world-bending mana drenched her soul under a torrent, numbing her senses.
Once, Viv had gone diving off the coast of Eilat, at the south end of Israel. There was a peculiar feeling to descending that far below the surface, when the pressure increased and water seemed to close around her. She imagined a deep diver must feel something similar while the more primal part of their brain screamed incoherently.
There was exactly one flap, one so powerful it lifted rocks, then the dragon was on the glade.
He took up a lot of space.
Viv caught a taloned finger moving as the monster settled, more graceful than a creature this size had a right to be. She lost herself for a few seconds in the vastly complex, mesmerizing fractal of mana emitting from the obsidian scales like heat from desert sand. It was Arthur who woke her up from her reverie.
The dragonette raced around, hunting her tail then squealing excitedly. She bounced around the clearing then climbed a flabbergasted Viv.
It’s him.
It’s hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim.
She finally looked up into a green iris larger than her head.
It was him.
It was really him.
The book really didn’t do it justice.
The Desolation of Aristan pulled his wings back and sat comfortably. Suddenly, it was day again.
His aura withdrew.
Viv fell forward, one hand on the ground. She felt every detail of the grass under her with perfect clarity. Her mind was fully her own again. The dragon had sent a message when it landed. Now it sent another. The first was about power, and the second, about control.
Behind them, two fast ships sailed from behind a bend. There were also three smaller skiffs that moved as fast as modern jet skis. Each carried a pilot, a mage, and a couple of archers. They all bore a crest like a shield with a fish on it.
“I think we’re being pursued by the law,” Viv idly commented.
It was her first time. Technically.
“I know. Exciting, isn’t it?” Sidjin added.
“Oh dear oh dear oh dear oh dear, that won’t do at all,” Leit said. “By guild rule, I must stop!”
“Those are clearly criminals in uniform. They would have attacked us if we didn’t refuse to be kidnapped,” Viv said.
“Irrelevant to the situation,” Leit said as the skiff made a quick approach.
“Don’t you have a duty to protect your passengers from harm?”
“Well… yes… within reasonable limits.”
“Those are reasonable limits; we just need you to keep going.”
“Think of it this way,” Sidjin added with a pleasant voice as he poured mana into the circle. “We won’t allow ourselves to be taken, so if you still want a ship at the end of the day, you’d best move, yes?”
“Oh dear. The guild won’t like this one bit. Very well. Full sails!”
The cry was picked up by the few sailors remaining on deck. Others rushed out of the hold and busied themselves doing sailor things. It mostly involved undoing knots, as fat as Viv could tell.
Meanwhile, the skiffs were getting close now. One of the mages cast a spell, and his authoritative voice carried over the Shal River.
“We have found you in violation of the law of Markeis. Drop anchor, lower your weapons, and prepare to be boarded.”
“Oh, oh, oh, can I tell him no? I’ve always wanted to do something like that,” Viv said.
Sidjin nodded, clearly concerned, but Viv merely used a voice-enhancing spell and clutched the railing.
“ANY OF YOU FUCKING PIGS MOVE, AND I’LL EXECUTE EVERY MOTHERFUCKING LAST ONE OF YOUS!” she roared with excitement.
Sidjin sighed and raised the shields. “I suppose it’s an Outlander thing.”
In the dark recesses of a lightless, confined space, a pair of yellow eyes lit up. The ancient mind behind those ominous orbs Inspected a new addition to its charge’s profile.
New Title Added: Anarchist
//NO.
//DO NOT TRY ME, DEAD ONE.
The title faded away, having fulfilled its function. Nous, God of Magic, would never let his own death get in the way of a little bit of trolling.
Viv’s first spells hit one of the agile ships, despite the pilot’s desperate attempts to stop her. One of the Nets killed an archer, but the mage reacted fast. He lifted a hand, and a black mana shield blocked her next spells.
“You are insane!” the mage screamed, spell still active.
Several offensive spells launched towards her, but Sidjin’s larger shield blocked them without issue. The skiffs activated something, and a blue, watery shield expanded over them. A Net from Viv penetrated only shallowly, and the damage was almost instantly repaired. Nevertheless, she could have killed another man if she had aimed a bit lower, and the three fast boats sailed away towards the other shore, never slowing down. At least they could not attack the other side of the River Flower since the old ship was still very close to the edge of the riverbank. Viv switched to Blast and fired once, arcing her projectile to hit the ship’s center, realizing it could only move forward and to the sides.
The smaller ship stopped where it was and let the spell land harmlessly in front of it.
“Wait, those things have brakes?”
“The blue mages use their power to stay mobile, but it’s tiring business. Keep the pressure on!” Sidjin advised.
Their foes looked like they were changing tactics, seeing how useless attacking the Flower itself was. Viv shuddered to think what would have happened if they hadn’t prepared.
Their new strategy involved a massive wave, which they were building up farther and to the right of the River Flower. The depression in the otherwise flat waters looked extremely strange, as if a turbid ocean had suddenly come from across dimensions. Viv realized the danger. Even if the wave didn’t sink the ship, which Viv didn’t think it would, the three fast crafts merely had to delay them until the heavier ships caught up to them.
They charged towards Viv, tidal wave in tow.
Which also made them much easier to hit. Viv waited, then arranged three Blasts, which she shot at the same time. The lead skiff tried to dodge and caught two instead. The ship disintegrated, though the mage and one of the archers managed to dive away in time. The other two split up once it became clear inertia would do the job for them. Viv watched the wave approach and realized she was without recourse, once again. Fortunately, she was not without allies. Sidjin’s circle flashed blue, and the waters around it settled immediately. Only a tiny joke of a ripple came to lick the River Flower’s hull. Viv was aghast.
“Did you think of everything?” she asked Sidjin.
“I have something to protect against wind attacks as well,” he replied.
The worst thing was, he wasn’t even smug about it. Perfect preparation was just a matter of fact.
“Okay then,” Viv said, then returned her attention to the two surviving skiffs. She targeted the one that had raised the black shield earlier, casting in quick succession. As expected, the first Blast was blocked by a black mana shield, which was perfect for when the Yoink hit.
The expression of pure bafflement on the mage’s face was a memory Viv would cherish for a long while.
The next blast took the mage’s hand with it. He screamed, and the fast craft came to a stop. The last one disengaged.
The two larger ships didn’t give up the chase. They were quickly gaining on the Flower. Viv walked to the stern and watched them approach.
“Can’t we go faster?” she asked Leit, who was standing in the middle of the deck with fear-tinged dignity while his crew did their best.
“We will not outrun them,” Sidjin replied.
“It is as the good mage says, I’m afraid. Patrol ships are designed to catch up with all but the fastest transport ships. They are not even at full speed right now. I fear… a confrontation will be inevitable.”
Leit’s next words were interrupted by a loud clang and Viv turned just in time to see a flash of metal. She reflexively shielded, but she was not the target this time.
Sidjin lifted a fist and punched forward. A woosh of displaced air heralded a terrible impact. Wood groaned, and only Viv’s reinforced reflexes prevented her from falling. She looked down to see a harpoon smacked sideways into the hull. The shaft had only dug a few centimeters in, thankfully. If it had been the tip going in first, they would have had trouble.
A chain followed the harpoon, attached to the ship behind them. It was already growing taut.
“You stopped that?” Viv wondered. The projectile was clearly enchanted to the gills.
“No, I attacked the chain. It’s not enchanted after the first ten links or so.”
“Oh,” Viv replied.
She Blasted the chain and cut it cleanly.
“That will work nicely. They can still catch us, however,” Sidjin said. He calmly walked belowdecks and returned with a metal plate engraved with symbols.
“Is that our spare heating plate?” Leit blurted.
“Yes.”
The mage threw it in the water.
“I can reimburse you?” Sidjin suggested.
“At this stage, I think I can justify it as a business expense.”
Viv was about to ask a question when a panicked sailor burst out from belowdecks as well.
“Something’s eating into the hull! We have a breach!”
Viv’s mind went into overdrive. She leaned over the railing the sailor was pointing out and saw absolutely nothing.
She could, however, feel the blue mana being hurled at the wood. It felt constructed.
“It’s the mage we sank, the first one.”
“Alas, protective domes seldom extend to the lower part of the hull. Can you handle it?”
Viv thought for a moment. Her disintegration mana was strong but also indiscriminate. It would disperse against the water before she could cover the bubble of blue she felt under her feet, and that was before she got through the bubble the mage used around himself to keep from drowning. She imagined fighting a blue mage near water would universally be considered a bad idea, but it was done. If only she could see him and…
Actually, maybe she could.
Viv slowed down time and focused to release a very, very powerful blast of light under the surface. The rave-like purple glow lit the murky waters, revealing the frame of the mage floating under the surface. She cast immediately, and missed by a hair. She had not accounted for refraction.
“Fuck.”
Before Viv could strike again, the mage fled, spooked. Apparently, the man was unwilling to forfeit his life for a corrupt city. It did not surprise Viv in the slightest.
“They are gaining on us,” Leit said. He was sweating a lot. “I find this rather more exciting than I expected.”
“Will you reconvert into a smuggler?” Viv asked him.
“Gods no. I’m going to drink.”
“Speaking of drink, I believe the time has come to depart Enoria. The border is near. I propose to go out with a bang, Viviane dear. I’ll take the right and you take the left?”
“Gladly.”
Sidjin gestured and a whirlpool opened in front of his target, dragging it in. Viv realized the ship was just over the plate Sidjin had thrown overboard. The prow dipped in first, leading the rest of the ship towards the depression. Once it was close enough, Sidjin gestured again, and the whirlpool turned into a maw of colorless energy blades. The crew yelled with consternation as their ship slowly, slowly dove into a blender. Splinters and flying planks flew out of the vortex.
“As I mentioned, the hulls are often a weak point,” Sidjin concluded as the spell faded. The damage was enough to put the ship out of order.
“Is it my turn?” Viv asked.
“Yes.”
“Alright. Hocus, pocus, draconicus.”
A screeching Arthur dive-bombed the remaining patrol craft, setting all the sails ablaze in a single pass. A shield blocked most of the remaining fire before it could turn the deck into a raging inferno. The pursuer was disabled, however.
“This does not count as a spell. I call foul,” Sidjin calmly stated.
“I thought you would.”
While the pair bickered, Leit turned around and found a barrel to sit on. He removed a flask from his breast pocket and took a discrete swig, the container disappearing quickly when a sailor made his way over.
“Captain, I don’t think it’s a marsh drake.”
“It is a marsh drake if anyone asks.”
“Okay…”
The journey continued for two days without incident. Viv did her best to practice mixing colorless and black mana, finding it surprisingly difficult. It was the first time she’d struggled to achieve what others took for granted, but Sidjin had an explanation as to why.
“You love black mana and black mana loves you. Using it is second nature. You are struggling to do what comes naturally to other casters as a result. Don’t worry, and take your time. It’s just a minor hurdle.”
The next morning, they arrived at a small outpost, where Leit sent a report to his headquarters via one of the guild’s branches. Viv expected trouble for turning the ship into a fortress and dishing it out, but in reality, it was Leit who got chewed out—and quite viciously, too.
“Your negligence and lack of foresight led to the grave endangerment of your passengers. Not only did you stop at a dangerous destination, but you took no steps to address the risks inherent to changes in the gang’s hierarchy once you discovered them. After that, you knowingly led your charges into an obvious ambush. Their survival is due to their luck, skill, and wherewithal, not your services. Had they perished, you would have been removed from the list of approved captains and incurred serious penalties. Regardless, a disciplinary hearing will decide a suitable punishment. You may not decline carrying your passengers to their final destination, and you may not charge them for the repairs or the loss of your spare heating plate.”
The tongue-lashing had been delivered in a detached voice by the branch manager, since he was only here to relay it. The fact that Viv and Sidjin were present for the blame made it public, always a significant choice when humiliation was concerned. It either meant they cared about their reputation, or about Sidjin and Viv’s future patronage. Perhaps a combination of both. She didn’t think it could be an accident.
Nevertheless, she was more relaxed when they left since it was now someone else’s problem. That was exactly how she’d envisioned her journey to Helock. It made the following conversation slightly less nerve-wracking for her.
Viv picked a clearing near a waterfall, a short walk away from the outpost, to have it. Nightfall was close, and the sky had already begun to darken. This was not going to be easy, and isolation from the other humans would not be a bad idea. She sat by a stone and shared a pile of freshly bought jerky with her adopted kiddo.
“Hey Arthur, I wanted to talk to you a bit.”
About stealing?
“Did you steal anything?”
Not.
Recently.
“It's not about stealing. I trust you are a big girl now, and you know why it’s not a good idea.”
Thieving bad.
Looting good.
I know.
“What I wanted to talk about is that… I fear I may be reaching the limits of what I can do for you. Or rather, what I know I should do. You see, you’ve been growing very fast the past year, faster than any creature I’ve ever met. And certainly faster than a human.”
Of course.
All humans stupid.
Except mother.
And bankers.
“And herein lies the problem. When we met, you didn’t know how to talk and you were very small. It was obvious that you needed food, water, and safety. That I could mostly do. Then you grew up and started taking things, and I became generally sure you needed self-control and a sense of actions and consequence, if not right and wrong. Even then, it was a bit iffy because… you are a dragon. And I am using human logic and instincts to take care of someone who is not human by any means. It’s just the best I can do, the only thing I know how to do. It might not be enough.”
Mother provides good meat.
And gold.
“As outlandish as it sounds, there is more than meat and gold in life.”
The dragonette tilted her head pensively.
Also.
Scritches.
She nodded to herself, satisfied with her wisdom.
“And magic,” Viv said, getting Arthur’s attention. “And flight, and combat, and possibly etiquette. There are no books on dragon rearing. I’m operating on guesses, but it’s clear there is a lot for you to learn that I cannot teach. And I don’t want that, because I want what’s best for you. I just don’t know what it is.”
I am still happy.
And safe.
And not hungry.
Lots of magical meat!
I grow fast.
“Yes, you do. And you fly for longer periods of time, and explore much more than before. In bird terms, that would be called fledging.”
Am no stupid feathered thing!
“Leaving the nest, whatever you want to call it. Listen, there might be a point when you need to do more things or feel like doing more things. You can tell me. You can make your own plans. We’ll be going to Helock for a while, and I know you don’t like cities, or being locked in for that matter. Don’t wait until you feel too sad to tell me. Talk to me. Tell me what you need.”
If I don’t know?
“If you don’t know what you need, we’ll figure it out together.”
Ask other dragons?
“Well… we may not have a choice. I just don’t know how to contact them without being roasted.”
I protect you!
“Sure.”
“Skreeeeeeeeee!”
Viv jumped at the sudden and unexpected scream, but Arthur didn’t show any sort of pain.
Called.
“Wait, what?”
Chapter 104: Judgment
It was day, then it was night. There was no time to leave, no time to plan, not even enough time to look up before a wave of pure world-bending mana drenched her soul under a torrent, numbing her senses.
Once, Viv had gone diving off the coast of Eilat, at the south end of Israel. There was a peculiar feeling to descending that far below the surface, when the pressure increased and water seemed to close around her. She imagined a deep diver must feel something similar while the more primal part of their brain screamed incoherently.
There was exactly one flap, one so powerful it lifted rocks, then the dragon was on the glade.
He took up a lot of space.
Viv caught a taloned finger moving as the monster settled, more graceful than a creature this size had a right to be. She lost herself for a few seconds in the vastly complex, mesmerizing fractal of mana emitting from the obsidian scales like heat from desert sand. It was Arthur who woke her up from her reverie.
The dragonette raced around, hunting her tail then squealing excitedly. She bounced around the clearing then climbed a flabbergasted Viv.
It’s him.
It’s hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim.
She finally looked up into a green iris larger than her head.
It was him.
It was really him.
The book really didn’t do it justice.
The Desolation of Aristan pulled his wings back and sat comfortably. Suddenly, it was day again.
His aura withdrew.
Viv fell forward, one hand on the ground. She felt every detail of the grass under her with perfect clarity. Her mind was fully her own again. The dragon had sent a message when it landed. Now it sent another. The first was about power, and the second, about control.
