Theo watched as a Frozen Tear melted in his hand. Fenian had spent about a year working on the cultivation technique, and was coming close to using the perfect form Tresk had developed. But he wasn’t quite there. He could block out about 90% of his system, but getting it to go all the way was still out of his range. The alchemist watched as the reagent melted into essence in his hands, stopping and floating in mid-air.
So much time being bored had resulted in a few more tricks.
The last property on the flower, labeled only as ‘#$1123’ was tricky to understand. The first property produced ice immunity, while the second turned a person into a piece of the Shard Network. But this one just didn’t want to budge. No matter how many ways the alchemist approached it, it didn’t relent with its secrets. The entire time he had been forced into babysitter mode, he had considered only two things. The flower, and becoming a demon-dragon. Or was it dragon-demon? Which side of him would express itself more was beyond him, and none in the Tara’hek had reached a conclusion.
“Should be about morning back in the real world,” Theo announced. “Maybe. I can’t do math.”
“We’re so close to a breakthrough. I can feel it!” Fenian shouted.
Alex landed and Tresk dismounted with a pretty neat flip. “Gotta get to the real world, dude,” the marshling said. “Once you feel the celestial energy in full, you’ll get a better sense for how to shut your system off.”
“Is that true?” Theo asked.
“Maybe. Anyway, did we decide on dragon mode or not?” Tresk asked.
Theo cupped his chin, watching as the essence floated before him. He felt close to figuring out what potion it could make, but no matter how hard he pushed against it, the stubborn flower’s essence wouldn’t relent. “Yeah, I think that’d be neat.”
“That’s how the two of you make life-altering decisions? Oh, perhaps I’ll be a dragon today! Might mess around and turn my legs into tentacles, hehe!”
“The key is to move the celestial energy with the draconic energy,” Alex said, her voice rumbling across the paper landscape.
Fenian jumped with fright. “I’ll never get used to that.”
“Agreed. You’re scary, Alex,” Theo said, patting the dragon on the snout.
“Come, father. Become a dragon with me. We’ll do cool dragon stuff.”
“We’ll work on the technique on the mortal plane,” Theo said. “I want to use caution this time, so we don’t become full dragons. I like my bipedal form.”
“Yeah. Thumbs are cool,” Tresk said.
When everyone was ready to depart, Theo surrounded them in his aura and dropped them through reality. A moment later, they all appeared in the field behind the Newt and Demon. There wasn’t enough space for Alex to land safely anywhere but the empty field, and she took off into the air the moment they arrived. The alchemist narrowed his eyes, feeling a strangely familiar power nearby. But it was a placid thing, promising protection and safety so he didn’t pay it much attention.
All the bad guys had a habit of putting of this nasty aura that anyone could sniff out from a mile away.
“How many games do we have today?” Theo asked.
“Quite a few,” Fenian said, straightening his shirt and adjusting his hat. “I’m feeling dizzy.”
“Don’t faint, that only makes it worse,” Theo said. “I put a barrier in your mind, but you still spent a year in another dimension. Your body and soul need time to adjust to the new flow of time.”
“You’re saying I’m weak,” Fenian said, swaying on the spot. “I’ll have you know…”
“Down he goes,” Tresk said, shaking her head. “Wanna flip for it?”
Theo nodded. Tresk produced a coin from nowhere, flipping it into the air.
“Heads,” Theo said.
“Tails,” Tresk announced, showing the coin for him to see. “Enjoy the infirmary.”
Theo looked down at Fenian’s prone body, then back at Tresk. She was already scampering off. “You need to get someone to cover for me!” he shouted at her. “Someone who isn’t an idiot!”
Theo bottled the essence he had been levitating and grumbled as he scooped Fenian up. He wasn’t that heavy, and smelled strongly of sweet flowers. The alchemist navigated the streets, finding his way to the temple. There were quite a few people giving offerings or praying within, but he ignored them and headed down to the dungeon. A few more healers were milling around than normal, and a nice dwarven healer helped him find a room for Fenian.
“Elves!” the dwarf shouted, spitting on the ground. “A slight breeze will knock them down.”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Right? Absolute cowards,” Theo said.
The only thing Fenian needed was rest. They might give him some minor healing, but he just needed some time. For someone like him, it wouldn’t take long for his brain to adjust to the new flow of time. It would’ve been much worse without the barrier.
Just as Theo was rounding another dark corner, he spotted Sulvan in the distance. The once-grumpy paladin was walking down the hall with someone he didn’t recognize. The alchemist had to stop to stare for a moment, trying to figure out where she was from. She had the grace of an elf from Tarantham, with the poise of a local half-ogre. It took him far too long to put the pieces together, and by that time the pair had already approached him.
“New girlfriend?” Theo asked, tilting his head to one side. “Didn’t know you went for dragons.”
The dragon was beyond obvious to Theo. Perhaps that was only because he had been around Alex for so long, but the energy she put off was very distinct. She had shockingly red hair with sun-kissed skin and pouty lips. Compared to Sulvan’s ugly mug, she was way out of his league.
“Am I really that obvious?” she said, looking down at her human-like form and frowning. At least she was human-sized, compared to the alchemist’s seven-foot frame.
“It really is,” Theo said, folding his arms. “I didn’t know dragons could take a form like this. You’re here about Alex, right?”
“I’m really just that transparent, huh?” she asked.
Sulvan cleared his throat. “She would like a word with you, if that’s okay.”
“I don’t see why not,” Theo said, narrowing his eyes. “There’s something about you that seems familiar, though.”
The dragon scoffed. “Well, I’d hope so! I lived under your town for about a thousand years, defending it against the deep places of the world.”
Theo blinked, mouth falling open. “Pogo? Seriously? I don’t remember you being this… attractive.”
“Sorry, I’m taken,” Pogo said, pressing herself against Sulvan.
“I didn’t agree to this,” Sulvan said, his cheeks going a dark shade of red. He mouthed, “Help me.”
Theo extended his hand for Pogo to take. “Come on. I got someone covering for me at the arena today. We can discuss whatever it is you need back at the manor.”
Pogo looked between Sulvan and Theo, eventually nodding and taking the alchemist’s hand. “This is a warmer welcome than I had expected.”
“Sulvan, can you take a look at Fenian?” Theo asked over his shoulder. “I took him to a time-dilation realm, and I think his brain is kinda fried.”
“So, the same old?” Sulvan asked, shaking his head. “Yeah, no problem.”
Theo led Pogo through the town, rolling the scenarios over in his head. The dragon had vanished at once, leaving her underground refuge for apparently no reason. The only reason she would be back is if she felt the draconic energy coming from Alex, which made sense. He guessed he had more questions than her, and led her to the manor.
“Sarisa, can you make some tea?” Theo asked as he entered the building. He waited a beat. “Rowan? Guess I’m making our own tea… Everyone is busy at the arena.”
“That’s fine,” Pogo said, finding her way to the massive dining table and having a seat. “I’m quite patient.”
Theo took his time with the tea, preparing the way he would approach the conversation. One thing was for certain: Pogo wasn’t here for pleasantries. She was a dragon, and as far as he knew a very powerful one. There could be other dragons in the world who had an interest in keeping random geese from becoming one of their kind. It was all conjecture, but he had to make sure he didn’t step on any tails.
The alchemist returned with a brewing pot of tea, setting it on the table and taking his own seat. He settled in, smelling the scent of the moss tea filling the air. Joining with the pleasant scent of tea was the heavy atmosphere brought by the dragon.
“I’ll get right to it,” Pogo said, drumming her fingers on the table. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe I’ve put it together from afar. I’d like for you to become a dragon, joining our little group.”
Theo blinked a few times. That wasn’t what he had expected her to say at all. Not even remotely so. He expected her to grill him about the technique he used to turn Alex into a dragon, or to question why the Tara’hek was filled with the same energy. Instead, she wanted him to become a dragon? Who would that serve? Unless… Unless dragons were in short supply, and they served some other purpose besides being big and blowing fire.
“Pardon if this is rude, but why?” Theo asked. “I was never able to figure out what you were doing in the underground city. All I know is that you were working with Khahar.”
“That annoying cat’s plan would’ve failed without us. We might not be the most influential, but we’re not dead. We make changes to the world with a nudge, rather than a shove.” Pogo poured her own tea, taking a tentative sip and nodding with approval. “This is rather good.”
“Thanks,” Theo said with a nod of his head.
“We haven’t seen a clutch of new dragons in a long time. We need a certain level of draconic energy in the world to make that happen,” Pogo said. She took a long time to continue, leaving Theo in suspense. “We’re very close to reaching that point. After we settle on a new world, once the reset happens, we’ll get to work on clutches again. But to make that happen, we’ll need more energy than ever.”
“You’re interested in using the Tara’hek as batteries,” Theo said, shrugging. “That’s not an awful request. But what do we get out of this?”
“Aside from amazing power and the ability to enforce your role as the Dreamwalker?” Pogo asked. “The appreciation of the dragons, and the knowledge that you saved a race.”
“One more thing. We’re weaving the draconic energy with celestial energy to make it purer,” Theo said. “My thought is that I’ll get to keep my humanoid form if we do it that way.”
“If you follow the path of your familiar, you’ll gain access to a humanoid form anyway,” Pogo said, shaking her head. “And you can pick the humanoid form as your default form. You weren’t born a dragon, so the rules are different.”
Theo wondered if he had to think about this. A giant dragon form, fire breathing, along with access to a new type of magic and a path of progression that would help him keep his people safe was good enough. But the support of a group of dragons was even better. If they had planned to stay in Iaredin, and the world wasn’t resetting, he wouldn’t accept the deal. But since the change was coming, he had to do everything in his power to ensure their future.
“Okay. Got any tips for me?” Theo asked. “We discovered the technique by accident.”
Pogo issued a soft, polite laugh. “You’ll be drawing from the energy of an ancient dragon this time,” she said. “The process will be far more potent. But I’m happy to guide you.”
“Welp. Time to be a dragon, I guess.”