by Daniel Ruth
Thankfully he didn't want to take the transport. He wanted a modicum of stealth while he appropriated the Dark Guild's assets. Therefore, after a humiliating five minutes of standing in front of the academy waving a flying carriage down, we rented the driver's services for a day.
The next thing we did was go to the mercenary's guild and hire a platoon of soldiers. I didn't even know that there was a mercenary guild until I combed through my acquired memories the other night as I recorded the file of naughty Dark Guild secrets for Alan. To be more specific they weren't called the mercenary guild either. However, if it quacks like a duck and walks like a duck, let's just call it a duck.
Maribel had been to most of the locations ahead of us. Therefore, some of the assets Alan wanted to seize were cordoned off by the government forces as they combed for survivors in the smoking wreckage.
In some of the locations, she had been subtler. No external damage visible, simple bloody carnage inside. In these buildings there was no traditional loot. Asking a dragon to leave behind valuables after an honest slaughter was ridiculous. Never the less there were plenty of things that Alan found noteworthy. Mostly records and documents. Leases, licenses, and titles. Simple things, but without anyone to contest them Alan suddenly became one of the biggest landlords in the city.
While I didn't really care that much, it was also clear that many of the documents were outside of the city and even outside of the country. While there were presently no open wars, I had some doubts about the legality of it all. Actually, they all came from a guild of assassins. Looking at it that way I had no doubts regarding the legality of it all.
Like Maribel, I didn't care. Dragons don't care about paperwork. We care about ownership but mostly of a patch of land to call our own. While I had jumped through the hoops back home to settle with the government, most would simply lay claim to an area and burn anyone who objected.
Other than leading Alan from one location to another, what was I doing? Apparently, I was practicing that whole burning down anyone who objected thing. I stood outside or in a courtyard and juggled fireballs.
Initially, it was pretty hard. The juggling part I mean. I lay no claim preternatural nimbleness and grace. Everything I do from swordsmanship to... actually that’s the limit to my physical skills. I practiced and practiced and eventually became decent at it.
So, for half the day I looked pretty silly with balls of fire falling on my feet, slipping through my fingers and quite often bouncing off my head. The spell itself was a nerfed version to allow apprentices to get used to casting spells so it did no real harm. I likely could have juggled full powered ones and not felt a thing. In fact, that was the goal.
Half a day into following the budding kingpin around I finally mastered juggling. Two balls, five balls, ten balls. These proved no barriers to me. The mercenaries that had been following Alan no longer hid away as I practiced. I personally thought they were being far too paranoid. I had, after all, healed that first unfortunate fellow, but I suppose when people want to have screaming histrionics it's difficult to calm them down.
Another half a day in I finally started to master the fireball spell. I felt the imperfections in it. I knew there was a real spell locked inside it, so I gradually tested the limits of the spell to reveal it. Naturally, there were objections. The mercenaries who had just started to feel safe around me and be brave enough to watch started to get uncomfortable.
A few had magic armor or rings of defense or the occasional bracer of fire resistance, but frankly, Alan had hired a mix of unskilled soldiers and some were new to the art of fighting and risk taking. They began to whine about how hot the fire was. I was thoroughly encouraged by this and doubled my efforts.
The second accident where one of the mercenaries caught on fire was completely not my fault. He walked into the rain of fire while I was shooting at a barren courtyard. I have no idea why he was even over there!
I reluctantly wasted a few minutes healing the third-degree burns and the other mercenaries pooled their spare scraps of cloth together so he wasn't completely naked. After that, I was pretty much left to myself. I was simultaneously offended and grateful.
By the time Alan and I had finished gathering illicit resources from the defunct Dark Guild, I was fairly confident that I had mastered the more advanced version of the fireball and even restored it to its original glory. More importantly, I had also gotten comfortable enough with it that I was able to do tricks other than juggling.
"Are you breathing fire," Alan asked as he walked out of the last building.
"Only a little," I replied defensively. However, I was in truth breathing fire! I admit that I may have possibly once envied some of the other dragon breeds that could breathe fire. I am comfortable being a bit more of a scholar than the average dragon. I fiddle with alchemy and circles. Research is how I wile away my leisure time. And I used to totally rock at shapeshifting!
There are only three things most other dragon breeds can do that I can't inherently do. Teleport within the dimensions, fly and breath fire. I can use my psionics to teleport. When I wasn't trapped by my anchor rune, I even used to be able to dimensionally teleport to another plane and then pop back anywhere I wanted. Or I would have been if I knew any locations... never the less, the point was that there were workarounds.
On the other hand, flying was easy. Simply take a shape with wings. I could even add wings to forms that shouldn't have wings. It was fun and super effective, though it may not have been as fast as many natural flyers.
The fire was the last thing I was lacking. I didn't even know I was missing it until I saw how much fun Maribel had burning everything in sight. Given that, I'll just chalk it up to a girlfriend thing.
"You seem incredibly pleased with yourself," Alan said as he kept a cautious eye on the burning stones next to me.
"Well, you left me to my own devices all day," I said, stifling another smile. Then I couldn't resist it and spat another gout of flame on the ground. Alan inched back a bit. "This is the last location. I have written up all the contacts the officer knew and sent it to you."
"Will anyone from this guild come hunting for their property," Alan asked. I looked at him in annoyance. It was a little late to ask that considering we had pretty much spent the day looting.
"Not as far as the officer knew," I said with a frown.
"And the officer himself?"
"He was one of the first in his organization to meet his end," I said as I remembered his threats. His organization might have still been around if he hadn't gotten so mouthy.
"It will take me some time to go through all of the paperwork I found," Alan said thoughtfully.
"You may want to move into one of the properties you now own," I suggested. This idea had nothing to do with not wanting one of Kingston's representatives hanging around. Really. "I doubt Durmont would want a burgeoning criminal empire operating out of his house. It might bring back bad memories."
"Hmm, another base of operation might indeed be wise," he said as he gave me a piercing look.
I think he may have realized my true motives, but since he didn't say anything, neither did I. Truly we had a far better relationship than that of Kingston's other minions. They simply didn't know when to be silent.
We got back in the carriage. I was thinking about whether I wanted to bother unlocking the Lightning spell. Bringing out the student's fireball's full potential had taken me an entire day. It was a lot of fun but not very productive. A punch or a psi-blade still dwarfed my fireball in terms of destructive potential.
On the other hand, wouldn't it be neat to breathe lightning? And would it feel like snorting soda? So many profound questions. I almost missed paying attention to our landing. Fortunately, Alan was comfortable with silence and didn't disturb my deep thoughts.
As I stepped out of the coach, I brought up my terminal and sent Jeremy a question asking where he wanted to meet. A moment later he replied and said that he was at the principal's mansion.
I headed straight there.
I was spared the burden of spending more time with Alan because he had stayed back to discuss business with the driver and the captain of his troupe.
Since the party tonight was to welcome us as dimensional diplomats, I changed my robe back into my favorite suit and headed in. The first person I saw as I entered the manse was Diego. He was back in his Zorro costume, complete with mask.
"You know," I began. "Without the same cultural background as us," I gestured to Jeremy and Mei behind him. "You rather look like a highwayman."
"That is appropriate considering that Zorro was not only a freedom fighter but a highwayman," Diego replied with a laugh. "You would look remarkably at home in my dimension."
"Derek, how do I look," Mei called out. I turned to her. She had a fancy dress, with scads of layers and ruffles. As usual, her sword was glowing blue over her shoulder. Knowing how those tricky rune weapons were, I suspected it was simply allowing me to notice it.
"Well, I like the sword," I said with a frown. Jeremy was wearing a tuxedo, which was inherently more practical than the foofoo dress. I gave him a nod of approval. I should probably get him a magic sword too.
"What about my dress," she asked stridently. "You've been here the longest. Will it be appropriate?"
"Sure. Why wouldn't it be," I said dismissively. Personally, I thought that if demons attacked, she was going to be regretting it.
"Hey have you thought about going to one of the magic tailoring shops? Having a suit that shape changes with you is very handy. And you wouldn't have to worry about the dress." Mostly she wouldn't have to worry about tripping over the silly thing. I shook my sleeve, transforming the suit into a robe and back again.
"That is tempting," she said as she bit her lip. "But I haven't had time to go out yet. They actually sent a seamstress to me. I have been holed up with her all day doing the final fittings."
Now I felt bad. I had been out juggling fireballs and learning how to fake breathing fire and she had been stuck in a room trying to look silly all day.
"I brought an old tux," Jeremy chimed in. "I figure this may be the last time I can use it before I have to get local attire."
"Wait, have you been wearing that one suite since you bought it," Mei said, fixating on a single fact.
"Well, yeah," I said eliciting a look of mild disgust from her. "Hey it is self-cleaning and for the occasional bloodstain that takes too long, I can clean it myself." I waved my hand and cast a Clean on myself.
"Since when can you cast spells," asked Mei in puzzlement.
"What do you mean," I asked, mildly offended. "I put wards on the building in Arc and you even complained about all the fog the vaporized vampires were causing from being disintegrated from them. I even have that circle that..."
"No, I mean spell magic," she said, interrupting my list. "That’s new. Right?" Mei turned to Jeremy as she asked.
"Derek and Beth have been attending the academy," Jeremy started.
"Hey, sshh," I hushed him. The walls have ears, especially the walls of the demon lord's old house.
"Did you say you had a ward that vaporizes vampires," Diego asked with professional interest. "Is it difficult? I don't do circles or wards myself but I have some friends that would love that one."
"The other earth has a mage population," I asked, perking up in interest.
"Well, not that I know of," he replied glumly. "They're from another planet. Dimension too. I liked to travel before we all got caught in the demon's trap."
"How did you get around," Jeremy asked. "Circles seem the most common dimensional transport media out there. I didn't think you were a caster."
"Oh, I'm not," Diego said with another chuckle. "There are places of power that have weak dimensional barriers. If you can find them and wait for the right time, you can leap to another similar place if you know the trick. The pyramids and Stonehenge are examples of them. My people have been using them for ages."
Dimensional gypsies. Neat. If the chains ever went down, I would have to follow him around to a few of these places and see if I could learn that technique.
Durmont appeared at the stairs and swept down. "Looks like everyone is here except Mr. Burrows."
"He was talking to a coachman," I offered. "If you give me the location, I'll send it to him."
"No need," he replied holding out his own terminal. Which used to be mine. "I'll let him know we are leaving and to meet us there. If he needs help, I can send people to him."
We headed outside. A very fancy and familiar carriage was waiting for us. It was the one that I had seen Durmant use in the past. I wasn't actually sure if his dispensation to use flying vehicles on the academy proper resided in this carriage or with Durmont himself. Either way, it was spacious and even came with a coachman to open the door for us.
"I see none of you took advantage of the invitation to bring someone along," Durmont said with a smile.
"We haven't really been here long enough to know anyone," Mei shrugged.
"The Professor has been here for over a month," Durmont responded blandly.
"I was busy studying," I said glancing sideways at Jeremy. "In the library."
"You must have learned a lot," Durmont prompted.
"Nothing of note, but it was relaxing. I came away feeling much refreshed."
"The event is taking place at the old Baron Kerns estates. We thought it would be appropriate for him to contribute to the alliance against the demons," Durmont said with touch more genuine warmth.
"Baron Kerns was the rakshasa demon that was taking care of thing locally while his boss was busy," I explained to Mei.
"We still aren't sure whether he killed the previous Baron or he has been his family's 'Baron' all these centuries," Durmont said sourly. "We are coming up to it now."
Below us was a vast estate. It looked like a savannah, with lush grass with clumps of trees. Magical globes of light were scattered around the main mansion and large gazebos were scattered around. From the number of overly dressed people already there, this party was going to be quite popular. Mei smiled as she looked over the land.
Landing the carriage with nary a bump, the principal called out, "Here we are. From here on out you are our honored guests for the night."
An hour later I wasn't liking being an honored guest. There were many small snacks in many varieties. That part I liked. Standing around, surrounded by other people talking about garbage wasn't.
"Did you see the newest play," asked one man with frills on his collar.
"Sorry I hadn't realized you had plays," I responded honestly. "I can't stand them. They involve being surrounded by people. Isn't that the opposite of being entertained?"
The man looked at the people around us. Perhaps getting the idea I was talking about the sea of mortals around us. I wasn't really but he had coincidentally brought it up. "Right, I suppose not everyone likes that. Do you enjoy art? We have some wonderful museums."
"Well, I suppose if they are made with gold or precious gemstones it might be nice," I nodded in appreciation. "The only problem is that some people sculpt them into very lumpy pieces. It's impossible to sleep on them properly."
"I see," he said in a confused tone. "What do you think of our defense from demons? How can we keep them from swarming us?"
"That’s a good question," I nodded in approval. Finally, a conversation that was mildly interesting. "As you know Vatapi has locked the dimensional barriers with his circle matrix. Although he has been killed, it's only temporary for demons. Once he fully reforms, I expect he will use his blood to send his demons in large numbers..."
"Professor," Durmont interrupted. I glanced at him in surprise. When did he get here? He was across the room talking to some old woman a moment ago. "Duchess Margaret wanted to talk with you desperately. Can you spare a moment?" He turned to frilly collar man. "I apologize for interrupting Baron Zeemer."
"No problem at all," he said in a confused tone. "I look forward to talki
ng to you later. It was... fascinating." I smiled politely. I'm glad someone enjoyed that conversation but it certainly wasn't me.
A moment later I was introduced and on the fast track to being bored again. To compensate I grabbed a tray of appetizers as a waiter passed by and told him to bring me another.
"Excuse me, sire," he asked. "Do you realize that we are going to have a seven-course dinner in less than an hour?"
"Oh, thank goodness! Hopefully, I can leave after I eat. Make sure to triple my portions. It’s a wonder you people aren't skin and bones."
"You do seem to seem to have a... healthier appetite than your companions," Margaret said in a flat tone as I started eating one appetizer after another. I didn't offer her one. They were mine.
"Eh, Jeremy and Diego eat like people," I shrugged. "I'm sure Mei would love to go hunting and get some real food. I used to do some cooking for us over at my house."
"You did your own cooking?"
"You might say I was born to be a chef." Oddball inherited skills for the win! "I also got lucky enough to slaughter one of the big dinosaurs." I saw that this word may not have translated. "One of the thunder lizards from the portals. I think your patrols deal with them pretty fast but I was lucky enough to run into one. Boy, do they cook up nice. We had a barbeque for the whole block."
"You don't seem happy about that."
"They weren't invited," I said grumpily. Then I expanded a bit, "By me that is."
"Who invited them?"
"That's a good question," I paused in thought. "It must have been Jeremy. I think he invited them to squat on my land too."
"They took housing on your land without your permission?"
"Yeah, I own the entire block," I explained. "After the aborted invasion, the city asked me, or rather Jeremy I guess, to house the people whose homes had been destroyed." I ground my teeth, "Makes me want to cut that damn demon in half again."