“Mm.” Karalti swung her head, scenting the air. “I hope the saddle guy will talk to us.”
The saddlery was attached to a stable that was set up for creatures Karalti’s size. There were a pair of toothy, feathered, griffon-like creatures lashed to hitching posts at the front – quazi, I guessed. They chirped and clattered their beaks at us as we rang the bell at the gate. After several minutes, a slender, heavily robed Mercurion peeked out from around the corner of the building at us, her face obscured by a smooth dish of metal.
“I’m here to see Mikhail. I have a commission for him,” I called to her – or at least, I thought it was a ‘her’.
‘She’ did not reply, except to vanish back around the corner. Nearly fifteen minutes passed before I could hear anything but the murmur of speech from inside the main house attached to the stable. The sylvan Mercurion reappeared, accompanied by a hulking man in a heavy leather apron. Mikhail was also a Joh Mercurion, the largest and most obviously masculine of their race’s six different body types. He had a high ponytail of silver hair, and as he strode toward us, he pushed his mask up onto his head. He looked alarmingly like Sephiroth of Final Fantasy fame... something that momentarily gave me a twinge of nostalgia. I’d grown up playing my grandparents’ games, and that game - and character - was one of my favorites.
“Sorry to spook your clanmate,” I said through the fence. “I’m looking for a saddle for this girl here. I heard you’re the best.”
“I am,” he said simply. “And my name is not Mikhail. It is Mix’hxian. Mikhail is the name the sang’hi give me. I prefer Mix.”
The middle part of his name sounded like a wooden clicking sound, so I was grateful I didn’t have to try and pronounce the whole thing. “I meant no offense. I’m Dragozin Hector of Tungaant, and this is Karalti.”
“Karalti.” Mix echoed the name as he unlocked the gate and threw it open. “The silhouette cast by the moonlight when it touches an object.”
“Sorry?”
“That is what her name means in Tlax’it,” Mix rumbled. “We are both People of the Blood. We still share some language with the dragons.”
Karalti gaped her jaws in the imitation of a human smile. “Kochi gul-gabi!”
“Kochi suna, sulunkraati.” The Mercurion bowed his head, and motioned for us to follow him into the workshop behind the conjoined house-stable complex.
“What does that mean?” I asked Karalti. “I still know shit-all about Mercurions.”
“It means like… uhh… your face is awesome? Like when you tell me I’m pretty. And he told me I’m pretty, too.”
I blinked. “You told him he’s pretty?”
“Yeah! Because it means his clan did a good job making him. That’s what you say when they take their mask off like that. They only take it off when they wanna get to know you.”
“How do you know this?”
Karalti chirped out loud, flipping her wings against her ribs. “Rin told me about it! She said that masks are really important for Mercurions, but she doesn’t wear one as much because she’s Starborn.”
“Huh. She explain why?”
“Kind of. She said that the masks show what House you’re from, and if you don’t wear one, it’s like showing off. You could offend someone and start a fight. She said that Mercurions like to fight a lot, so...”
“So you don’t want to be flaunting your family’s goods on the street.” I chuckled. “Weird. You know, I’m worried about Rin. I wonder if these guys know where she is, or if she’s okay.”
“I dunno. But even if they do know where to find her, I don’t think they’re going to tell us.”
“No? Why?”
“Sang’hi is a really rude word.
Chapter 26
Mix’s open-plan workshop had an array of works-in-progress laid out on saddle forms. They were obviously of high quality, and beautifully made. Three other Mercurions were here. I couldn’t remember the names of their body types, but one was tall, thin, and androgynous, while the other two were stocky, short but feminine, and similar in build to Rin. They paused in their work, watching us in inscrutable silence.
“I have never made a saddle for a Solonkratsu,” the craftsman said. He collected a long measuring tape from a workbench stacked high with cured leather hides of various animal species. “However, I believe I can adapt a quazi saddle blueprint to fit her.”
“How long will it take? And what’s the cost?”
“The base price is 80 olbia. If you do not want it tooled, it can be done quickly.” Mix hung the ribbon over his shoulder and looked more closely at Karalti. “Hmm. There is already one unique challenge for this project – her wing membranes. We will not be able to use a tightening strap around her abdomen unless her membranes are pierced.”
Ouch – 80 olbia was pricey. Karalti’s crests flared, and she reared her head back, looking at me nervously as I slid to the ground. “I know the dragons I saw in Ilia had small holes for tack cut into their wings. Any other options?”
He shrugged. “Extend your wings, sulunkraati, and I will make an assessment.”
Karalti shook herself out, and then lifted and stretched her wings. She kept the tips folded in so that they didn’t snap out and strike the ceiling. Mix walked around her, asking her to kneel down so that he could see the shape of her back and wings from in front and behind. I could see the problem too. The edge of the thick membranes went nearly one-third of the way down her tail. I watched on with my arms crossed, and when Karalti met my eyes, I nodded and smiled.
“The wing piercing would be the most efficient route,” he said slowly. “However, I have concerns. Her membranes are too soft. The dragons you saw most likely had the holes made when they were freshly hatched, then stretched and tempered as they grew. That is how skin works. Even if I cut the holes and cauterized the edges, they would become prone to tearing. She would experience cycles of tearing and healing until they scarred.”
I frowned, thinking back to the dragons of the Eyrie. Their wingholes for their saddles had been thickly scarred and tough-looking, and there was probably some technique to creating them that I didn’t know. “Right. What are our other options?”
“A tail cinch is sub-standard. Too many moving parts.” The Mercurion reached up to run a smooth, alabaster hand over the dorsal ridges at the base of her tail. “As for other options… Hmm.”
“Wait.” I joined him by Karalti’s hindquarters. “Are these dorsal fins of yours sensate, Karalti?”
“What do you mean?”
I took out my dagger, and rapped the edge of a fin with the hilt. “Feel that?”
“Nuh-uh.”
“What if we pierced holes through these?” I asked the crafter. “Could they be used as anchor points?”
“Those could be used as anchor points, though we would have to drill through them and weld the saddle attachment rings in place,” Mix mused. “Though a screw-on clasp would also work to allow for replaceable rings… and that would also mean a lighter saddle. Yes, with ingenuity and proper tension, that would be possible.”
The thought of drilling into Karalti’s dorsal ridges made me nervous and a little queasy, but it was better than weakening her wings. At her current small size, even small holes could be a liability. Not to mention, I didn’t want to do anything the way the Skyrdon did if I could avoid it. That wasn’t just out of conceit – in the event of us having to ever fight one or more dragon knights, our tactics, gear, and abilities needed to be wildly different than anything they were used to having to deal with. I rubbed the base of her tail. “What do you think, girl?”
“Drilling sounds scary. But I’ll do it.” She leaned against my hand. “I wanna fly with you more than anything. Because then you’ll love me, right?”
“What do you mean ‘I’ll love you’? I already love you.”
She flattened her wings back against her body, shifting from one foot to the other like a new hatchling. “Yeah, but you’ll love me the best then.”
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“I’ll always love you the best. Don’t you worry about that.” I clapped her on the leg. “Alright, Mix. Let’s mark her up and get started.”
We blocked in between 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. for crafting. While Mix and his spouses – plural – and kid worked on the structural parts of the saddle, I had to drill the holes we’d need through the bony dorsal ridges of Karalti’s back.
“Ready?” I knelt beside her out in the yard. She lay on her side, one wing tucked underneath her, her spine arched toward me. That meant I could drill down from the top instead of having to hold the tool upright.
“Yeah. I’ll tell you if it hurts.”
The drill Mix had given me was basically a steampunk power drill with a long diamond bit. It was powered by a small capsule of green crystal mana. Resolutely, I set it against the dark scales of my dragon’s back, sweat running down my forehead, and gently depressed the trigger.
Karalti flinched as the drill bored through the thick keratin ridge on her back, and I pulled away. “Hurt?”
“No. It’s okay,” she said. The tip of her tail flicked on the ground, sending up puffs of dirt and dust. “Just feels weird.”
“Right.” Nervously, I resumed my work.
Karalti lay there placidly as we started to bore through what I had always assumed was solid bone. But the fins weren’t actually bone – they were more like very thick fingernails, keratin mixed with the black nacre-like substance that gave her dark scales their camouflage. They were extremely tough, but we weren’t going to paralyze her by drilling through them, provided we weren’t too close to her spine.
“It doesn’t hurt at all,” she said once I was about halfway through. “Makes my bones feel funny, though.”
“Better this than your wings, then.” I wet my mouth – it was dry with anxiety – and kept drilling. “You want to try flying after we get this on you?”
“Yeah! Flying is the best thing ever!” Her tail began to twitch harder. “We should go to the auction that way.”
“If you think you’re strong enough to carry me and our gear.” I sucked a tooth as I felt the drill bit sink into the ridge, then punch through. “There. That’s one. Five more to go, and then it’s on to potion making.”
“I decided on what Path I want, by the way,” Karalti said. “Is it a good time to talk about that?”
“Sure.” I started on the next hole. Mix had marked the exact places I needed to drill. This activity wasn’t technically a Crafting skill, so nothing was levelling up while I worked on this. Only the leatherworking part would raise my skill EXP.
“Well, like I said, flying is the best thing ever… so I want to take the Path of Alacrity,” she said shyly.
“Yeah, I like that Path, too.” I smiled, leaning onto the drill as it ground out a round hole about an eighth of an inch in diameter. We had to bore them out, then widen them with a chisel bit. “Why do you like it?”
“Because I want to be faster. And it has more magic… you get some bonus Lexica with it.”
“You like magic, huh?”
“Yeah.” She heaved a deep sigh. “And there’s a spell I want later, too.”
“Which one?”
She hummed in her throat, and her toes curled. “I don’t wanna tell you.”
“You don’t? Why not?”
“Nuh-uh. Not telling. But can I choose a spell at Level 9? And take the Path of Alacrity?”
“Sure.” While I worked, I bought up the Path descriptions and looked over the Skills, curious to see what spell she might want. There was a relatively long list, but none of them leaped out at me as being particularly special. An enhancement for her breath weapon, polymorph, a teleporting spell, and a tracking spell. I recognized the tracking and teleportation spells – they were the same magic that Knight Commander Arnaud and his team had used to track and rescue Rutha and I when we were stranded on the coast of Zaunt. This was probably a veiled game-speak way of ensuring she ended up with the teleport spell. “So, you sure you want Alacrity? Want me to lock it in?”
“Yeah!”
Before I confirmed it, I went into her submenu and had a look over the Path ability summaries, ensuring they were what I also wanted.
Path of Alacrity Abilities
Level 5 - Split Turn: Burn 5 mana points per second to immediately change momentum while rolling. This allows for 90 degree and 180 degree turns in any direction. 2 bonus Lexica.
Level 10 - Wings of Deception: Create a brief illusory decoy in midair and teleport a short distance in any direction, then attack your distracted enemy for double damage. 1 bonus Lexica.
Level 15 - Death From Above: Dive at an enemy and strike their weakest point while continuing to move at full speed. x2 damage, sharply increased critical hit rate. A successful hit causes the Bleeding (normal hit) or Hemorrhaging (critical hit) debuff. 2 bonus Lexica.
Level 20 - Parabolic Mastery: Your dragon has mastered her control of gravity, allowing her to stall herself in midair and recover from tumbles that would send other dragons falling out of the sky, even while injured. In addition, her wings become stronger: Wing injuries become 50% less likely to occur and 50% less disabling in the event they are injured. 1 bonus Lexica.
Level 25 - Skydancer: Your dragon has unparalleled abilities of evasion and maneuverability while flying. She gains steep bonuses to Stamina, Evasion, and Dexterity, and gains the Burst Flight ability that allows her to briefly launch through the air at near-supersonic speed. 2 bonus Lexica.
The other Path was essentially a combat-focused path that allowed you to turn your dragon into a tank, but it was better suited to someone who needed their dragon to do all of the heavy lifting while they were in the air, literally and metaphorically. For an armored knight who was their dragon’s personal assistant, spotting attackers and protecting their vulnerable wings, the Path of Power was probably better. The Path of Alacrity was better suited to a mobile DPS unit like me.
The Path of Alacrity would lead into the Shadow Wing advanced path at Level 30. That AP was focused on precision attacks, stealth, and crippling abilities that were a good compliment to my own – and, I hoped, a good compliment to an acrobatic aerial partnership. I selected the Path, and paused to confirm.
Karalti shivered, and closed her eyes. Her head flopped onto the ground. The Path selection added 10 more points to her Dex, and 5 each to her Str and Sta, just like that.
While she digested the information, I had the HUD read out her new ability description:
Split Turn
The Path of Alacrity turns dragons into masters of the sky and their own bodies, allowing them to perform aerial feats that should be impossible for a creature of their size. Split Turn is one of those feats.
Normal dragons possess awesome momentum in the air, but relatively little dexterity due to their size and weight. However, your dragon partner can now literally turn on a wingtip, cutting the air like a swallow. While using Split Turn, your dragon burns Mana at 5 points per second to speed her flight and allow her to change the course of her forward momentum with supernatural dexterity. She can fly around sharply angled corners, u-turn while in the air, and perform a vertical ‘figure eight’ turn to completely change direction.
Both of your dragon’s wings must be undamaged to use Split Turn. To safely ride your dragon during Split Turn maneuvers, you must have a Dragon Riding skill of 5 or higher. If your skill level is lower than this, you risk having an accident, falling off your mount (if unsecured), or sustaining injury (if secured). If your dragon exerts more g-force on you than your body can handle, you will suffer damage, penalties, and debuffs appropriate to the level of force.
“Looking good,” I said. “So, my plan for training is to take some small, short flights, and work up to longer ones. We have to increase your strength and stamina before we get too ambitious. Sound okay with you?”
“Yep.” Karalti had ceased moving, and lay in the weak sun like a gleaming sculpture of black opal, her eyes closed. “I need to meditat
e for a while on this though… It’s a lot of changes.”
“Think you’ll be ready for tonight?” I began to bore hole number five.
“Uh-huh.”
“Good.” I sighed, setting the drill against the mark for the last hole. “Because I’m a hundred and twenty percent certain that tonight is going to suck.”
Chapter 27
Despite its everyday realism – the sights, smells, and sensations of an early industrial-era city, with magic and monsters – there were things in Archemi that reminded me that it was a game. The crafting, especially. Watching Mix fit and craft the saddle was like watching God create something à la Genesis, with parts precisely cut and hammered together at a pace that was impossible IRL. All the leather shapes fit together like a puzzle. I knew there was no earthly way an item of this complexity was able to be created in five hours or less… but somehow, it worked. And the NPCs thought nothing of it.
“This turned out well,” Mix said to me, as he buckled the finished breastplate across Karalti’s keel and patted it fondly. “You really want no other restraining straps than these ones on the stirrups?”
“Nope,” I said. “That’s why I made twenty health potions while you were busy. The whole point is to learn without training wheels.”
Karalti bobbed her head and made little gurking noises of excitement as she flexed one wing, then the other. Eighty gold had bought us a sleek, long saddle that was sculpted so that I could lie down, stand, crouch, or ride astride. There were grips to the front and back, points for lashing gear, and iron footrests to either side of Karalti’s ribs that allowed me to buckle my feet in and take a jockey position on her back. The short swallowtail end was held flat by the heavy brass dorsal rings that kept the saddle under tension. Our ten-slot saddlebags sat forward of the rings, but behind the shallow cantle – the scooped back of the saddle.
“You’re crazy, san’harik,” Mix remarked, locking the last strap in place. “But I am satisfied with this saddle’s design. When she grows and you need another, let me know.”
Archemi Online Chronicles Boxset Page 59