Dragon Emperor 3_Human to Dragon to God

by Eric Vall

  I opened my eyes at those words. It didn’t make sense for parts of Asher’s memories to have been blocked away. That would only happen if the miasma was trying to hide something from him, and by extension, me.

  Asher’s master had to know Asher was far out of his reach now, so maybe this was a failsafe that had been put into place. Either way, its very existence gave me the clue I needed.

  “Then this means Oliver’s someone important,” I mused as I leaned back against the wall and crossed my arms over my chest in triumph.

  What do you mean? Confusion radiated from Asher’s voice. He’s important because I cannot remember him?

  “If the miasma is trying so hard to keep the memories of him out of reach from your consciousness,” I explained to my former enemy, “then that means he’s high up in the Green Glass Sect. He’s someone the miasma is trying to protect.”

  This was a common mistake I’d seen a lot in movies and games back on Earth. Instead of erasing everything so no one would know what was missing, people would specifically hide or erase what they didn’t want anyone to know about.

  And that gap was the clue.

  This irritates me, Asher growled out. Even now, the miasma and its master is still treating me as a puppet. I doubt I’ll ever be free of it in this life.

  “Calm down,” I replied, “stop thinking about him before you hurt yourself. I have an idea for us to try.”

  What? Asher struggled to contain the anger in his voice. Didn’t you want to know everything you can about him?

  “Sometimes, you have to take the long way to get where you wanna go,” I replied. My anger had frozen over, and it was ready to be used as a weapon. “And that’s just what I’m gonna do with this. Trust me on this.”

  I obviously do, Asher replied quietly.

  “Before the Green Glass Sect army came to Hatra,” I began, “did you stop anywhere or do you remember anything about the route you took to get here?”

  Well, we came, ah … I’m not sure how we came to Hatra, but we couldn’t have gone through a portal. Asher seemed confused by his own lack of knowledge and began to ramble on, almost to himself. That amount of concentrated power would have set warning bells off for anyone, not to mention the amount needed just to transport all of us would have been immense. How did no one notice us?

  “That’s a start,” I remarked as I chewed on my lip. “So, you guys came by foot or something?”

  We must have. However, we would have needed to avoid arousing suspicions from the kingdom’s guards, so we probably travelled in smaller groups.

  “Which means you would have needed a meeting place,” I pointed out. “Can you think of where you would have met up with everyone?”

  We came from the east. I remember traveling through the forest and the mountains.

  “Did you stop in the mountains at all?” I asked. “That’s some harsh terrain, especially for a large group to travel through. You must have stopped somewhere to rest.”

  We did … Asher’s voice trailed off.

  “Do you remember where?” I prodded him further. “Was it near Hatra?”

  There was an old fortress, deep in the mountains. I thought it was abandoned at first. But it wasn’t, and there were strange things there amongst the people who lived in the fortress.

  “What kind of things?” I questioned with a sharp frown. “Did you see the harpies there?”

  I don’t … I can’t tell you. Asher sounded strained as he attempted to answer me. There was something, there was something old and dark there. It gave me an order, and I followed the order. I know I did. I was supposed to attack Hatra. So, I led everyone to the walls of Hatra.

  “Can you remember anything about who gave you the order?” I demanded.

  The Sage. Asher’s voice was pained as he answered me. It was the Sage. He said to wipe out Hatra and to bring back what was his.

  “His?” I snarled as my hands tightened into fists, and my claws sliced my palms. “Did he say what it was?”

  No, Asher responded, and confusion was clear in his voice. He said we would find it underneath the city, and it was ready for us to take back to him.

  “I see.” I gritted my teeth angrily as I let out a breath and jumped off the roof of the building.

  Those words could only mean two things, and neither pleased me. The Sage was either targeting the underground library or Alyona. Even worse, he could be after both of them.

  It didn’t matter, though, because he wasn’t going to get either of them.

  Where are you going? Asher asked, and his voice was still pained.

  “To talk to the survivors from the battle,” I replied as I made my way across the roofs of the city. “Do you want to talk to them and know how they’re doing?”

  No. The pain in Asher’s voice wasn’t just from fighting whatever had control of him, it sounded like actual regret and guilt. It’s pointless for me to do so anyway. I can do nothing for them, nor can I even remember them. I know you will be chivalrous in regards to them.

  “Maybe,” I muttered as I kept running.

  The rain hadn’t let up, but I wasn’t going to let a little thing like rain stop me from heading over to the Blue Tree Guild’s airship. If anything, the poor weather would make sure I didn’t run into anyone, so I could reach my destination faster.

  Slipping into the airship wasn’t difficult, I had the authority to go wherever I pleased since I was their liege lord. The hallways of the airship weren’t crowded either, and the few people I bumped into only bowed or nodded respectfully in my direction.

  A doubt curled inside of me when I was almost to the brig. What if the prisoners were in the same situation Asher was in? What if they couldn’t give me answers because they were still tormented by the miasma, too? Asher had the benefit of my continued healing magic pretty much every single second, but the prisoners didn’t have that luxury.

  I wasn’t sure exactly why, but I felt a twinge of worry, and my instincts began to impatiently rear their head. I needed to know what had been happening to the prisoners during their time in the brig and if any of them had reported similar symptoms to what Asher had been showing.

  Just then, a young wolf Demi-Human carrying a bundle of scrolls walked down the hallway in my direction, so I waved her toward me.

  “Greetings, milord.” The young wolf girl curtsied as daintily as she could with her burden. “May I assist you in something?”

  “As a matter of fact, you can.” I racked my head for who would be a good choice and settled on one. “I need you to inform Daya that I’m requesting her presence while I check up on the prisoners from the Green Glass Sect.”

  “Of course, milord,” she replied as she shifted her burden to one arm. “I’ll send her a message immediately.”

  The wolf girl placed a hand on the gorget around her throat, and I felt an imperceptible shift of magic in the air. I hadn’t felt this the other times I’d seen Laika or Anton send messages through the gorget, so maybe I was becoming more attuned to the magic and energy of this world?

  “Daya doesn’t need to rush,” I added as an afterthought, “but tell her to make it a priority.”

  The wolf girl’s ears flopped as she nodded, and a bright smile flitted across her face. “Lady Daya says she’s on her way. Is there anything else I can do for you, milord?”

  I grinned back at the girl. “Nah, that was perfect.”

  She curtsied again and continued on down the corridor while I started walking again to the brig. After that short interaction, I made it to the brig easily and without anyone bothering me.

  The prisoners from the Green Glass Sect weren’t in the horrible condition I’d first seen them in. They were still in the Blue Tree Guild’s prison cells, but they had proper beds, and they were spread out further. Instead of it being ten prisoners per cell, there were now only five prisoners per cell.

  It was the middle of the day, so I thought they would be awake, but none of them were. All of them were in a fi
tful sleep that almost reminded me of the way Asher would fall silent in my spiritual sea and how the snake Demi-Human remained comatose.

  My heart began to race inside of my chest, and my instincts seemed to rise ferally inside of me. These people may have been my enemies once, but it was not of their own free will, and after seeing what Asher suffered through, I was angry that these people were still being controlled by some malevolent outside force.

  I walked toward the closest cell and saw the dark haired crow Demi-Human I’d spoken to the first time I was here. Maybe I would be able to wake him up.

  But first, how was I going to get into the cell? Before, the guards from the Blue Tree Guild had opened it for me, but there was no one in here. I could try and break the cell door open, I wasn’t sure how strong they were, but surely they wouldn’t be able to stand up to the strength of an angry dragon.

  I placed a clawed hand on the door of the cell, and it swung wide open to my surprise.

  “According to the guards,” Daya’s drawl echoed throughout the brig, “the prisoners only just fell asleep, perhaps half an hour ago. But it is a strange sleep. It seemed to befall them all at once. ”

  I glanced back to see Daya leaning on the doorframe of the entrance, and the dark haired fox Demi-Human smirked back at me as she stepped into the brig. Obviously, the door swinging open was her doing, but I wasn’t sure how she’d accomplished it.

  “How would the guards know when they fell asleep?” I replied back at her. “There isn’t anyone here.”

  “The guards have been keeping an eye on them with magic.” Daya walked toward me with a frown on her face. “All in order to give them some more privacy so they wouldn’t feel exactly like prisoners. We’ve been treating them kindly, like you’ve told us to. Not exactly guests, but not prisoners either.”

  “That doesn’t explain why they’re like this.” I turned back to face the unconscious crow Demi-Human and walked into his cell.

  As I studied the prisoners before me, I knew this was an unnatural sleep, but I wasn’t sure what to do to wake up any of them. We still hadn’t figured out how to wake up the snake girl, let alone hundreds more.

  Whatever this was that was happening, it was because of the miasma and whoever this Sage was.

  “The guards already tried to wake them,” Daya called out from behind me. “Nothing they tried worked, they even used magic. When that failed, we were just about to call you, but here you are.”

  “The guards aren’t me,” I replied quickly as I knelt next to the crow’s bed. “I might be able to do something about this.”

  I focused on the crow Demi-Human in front of me, but nothing would come up, not even the status check I’d grown to rely on. There was absolutely nothing but the slight twinge of miasma as it burned my senses.

  I reached out a hand to the sleeping crow and placed it on his shoulder. Then I sent out a quick burst of lightning along the tips of my fingers, not enough to seriously hurt anyone, but enough to wake even the deepest of sleepers from their slumber.

  It didn’t work. The crow Demi-Human remained asleep, even fitful as it was.

  They won’t be able to tell you anything more than the puppet man did. Miraya’s calm voice shattered the silence in my spiritual sea.

  “What do you mean by that?” I grumbled back to the spirit.

  “My Lord?” Daya asked curiously behind me, and I realized I’d spoken out loud.

  I waved the Mistress of War off. “The Sword of Hatra is speaking to me. Just a moment.”

  There is something quite close to a geas on these poor souls, Miraya explained languidly in my mind. It’s wrapped around the innermost veins of their heart. If you want any information from them, you will have to break it first.

  I gritted my teeth as I brushed my hair away from my face. “What exactly is a geas?”

  A form of magic that forces people to commit actions against their will. Annoyance dripped from Miraya’s voice, not at me, but at whoever had placed the geas on these people. But it is far deeper than that. It may be benign, a promise between two people, or it can reach the depths of cruelty and rip away any free will from a person.

  “Sounds like what’s wrong with Asher,” I murmured as my mind churned through ideas. “How did this happen to them, though? They’ve been in the brig for weeks.”

  Darker geases take time to take root, Miraya explained. These poor souls have been afflicted this entire time, but it wasn’t until now that the effects were made visible.

  “So, kind of like a cancer curse,” I muttered. “It grows in the body, silently, until the body breaks down.”

  Yes, that is an apt analogy.

  “Can you break it?” I asked.

  I cannot.

  I frowned. “Why not? You’re the Sword of Healing.”

  I am, Miraya replied, but I am not all powerful. This geas is a dark magic, and it runs deep. In order to break it, I would need help.

  “Help from who?” I asked.

  Why, from you of course, she answered, and I got the distinct impression she was smirking.

  “From me?” I echoed in surprise.

  You are my wielder, Miraya purred, and a powerful one at that. You might even be the most powerful lord Hatra has ever seen.

  “But that doesn’t mean I know how to break a geas,” I pointed out, even though something in my chest preened at the praise.

  Not yet, Miraya chuckled, but I have every faith in you. And once you find the knowledge you seek, we can work together to root out this evil magic once and for all. If you can learn how to wield me properly and channel my magic, I believe there is little we cannot achieve together.

  I grinned at the thought, and my dragon side growled at the idea of gaining more power, more wealth, and more acclaim.

  “Guess I have some studying to do,” I chuckled as I felt Miraya fade back into my spiritual sea. Then I rose to my feet, stepped out of the cell, and softly closed the door behind me.

  When I turned around, Daya raised an eyebrow at me.

  “Everything alright?” she asked.

  “Yes, sorry,” I nodded, “the Sword of Healing gave me a lead on how to help the prisoners, but it will require a little more research.”

  “What do you want us to do in the meantime?” Daya asked as she sat down in a nearby chair and leaned back on two legs.

  “Keep a watch on them,” I responded after a moment, “let me know if there’s even the slightest change in their condition.”

  “Of course.” Daya shrugged and let her chair fall back into place. “What do you think is wrong with them?”

  “Either the miasma or their sect leader placed a geas on them,” I sighed as I ran my hand through my hair. “Maybe the miasma is their sect leader, I don’t even know at this point. Each time we find out something more about this poison cloud, it keeps evolving and somehow managing to stay one step ahead of us.”

  “That’s a dark implication.” Daya stood up as the expression on her face darkened. “If the miasma is, as you say, staying a step ahead of us … well, that implies they’re watching us. Perhaps even now.”

  “Or there’s a traitor somewhere,” I murmured back as I sought to make sense of everything. “The miasma could be inside of anyone in the country, and we might not even know. It could be remaining dormant.”

  “That would make the perfect spies.” Daya scowled as she clenched her fists. “Even if someone was truly loyal, they would be unable to fight back against the corruption of the miasma.”

  “Don’t tell anyone,” I commanded as I walked past her. “I don’t want anyone panicking over something that might not even be true.”

  “Of course,” Daya agreed quickly. “There’s no point in creating chaos. No one in Hatra would be able to trust anyone from the outside, even if it were false.”

  “The same would be true for the reverse,” I pointed out to her, “if anyone from the outside finds out. They’d say no one in Hatra can be trusted.”

  �
�I will look into this on my own.” Daya’s frown only deepened as she sat back down.

  “Thank you,” I replied as I turned away.

  There was nothing I’d be able to do about these prisoners for the time being, but Alyona’s research would hopefully turn up something that would help once I told her to look for any mention of a geas.

  But the prisoners were relatively safe for the time being, and I had more pressing matters to attend to.

  For now, I would have to find that fortress I asked Asher about myself and see what was going on with my own eyes. And for that, I wasn’t going to be going alone. I had enough resources now that I didn’t have to launch a risky operation.

  There were also the maps in the archives of not only the Blue Tree Guild, but those of the underground library. Not to mention, the other resources that the adventuring guild had available to them.

  Airships.

  Chapter 5

  I paused in the doorway of the brig.

  “Daya,” I turned back to the Mistress of War, “is there anyone who can take me to the airships?”

  “Let me see who is nearest,” she replied, and her black fox ears twitched forward in consideration as she hummed. “Not everyone has access to them.”

  “Oh, so there’s a security system in place?” I asked.

  “There is.” Daya nodded as she tapped the gorget at her throat. “The airships can be quite dangerous in the wrong hands, and many of the cubs are rather adventurous. Restricting their access makes things easier for us and prevents headaches from occurring. Ah! Laika is nearest. She’ll meet you outside the brig.”

  “Thanks, Daya.” I nodded and turned around to leave.

  “Of course,” Daya replied easily, “this is our city now, too. We’ve put down roots, and anyone who threatens our home will have their throats torn out.”

  I grinned viciously back at her. “You took the words right out of my mouth.”

  With a laugh and a shake of my head, I left the brig and leaned against one of the corridor walls to think. I didn’t like the implications of there being a traitor somewhere in Rahma, but that was the only possible answer with everything that had happened.