Seventh Talon_Dragonrider's Fury

by James Patton

  “I Have seen him, but he went by a different name.”

  “Then it tweren’t him.”

  “Big white dragon? Runes on his scales? I saw him, and talked with him.”

  “Enough you two. Farmer, what happened here?” Midnight said interrupting the two, and she fought her facial expressions as she tried not to sulk.

  “Damnedest thing ye e’er will see. Dem drakes came out o’ nowhere, and started devourin’ my livestock. Doubt there be anything livin’ out der.”

  “I killed them for you.”

  “No, ye jus’ killed three of ‘em. Der were hundreds.”

  “Where did they all go?”

  “Beats me, I stayed hidden. Was no’ gonna be der dinner.” The farmer said and hitched a thumb behind him.

  “Want a ride into town? Or you going to try to brave it out here?” Midnight asked.

  “I think I’ll be takin’ ye up on that ride.”

  She and the farmer mounted Midnight, and he took off at a run towards the town. It was getting dark fast.

  Boh

  Chapter 30

  Tinkerer

  In a crisis, assistance is better than advice.

  -from Aesop the Wise

  The ride was silent for most of the way, but she could not stop thinking about the machines in his workshop.

  “Farmer, what are all those machines in your shop?” She asked letting curiosity get the better of her.

  “Ah ye be seein’ me beauties. They be relics from before the Usurper Wars, things changed af’er dat. Machinery started breaking faster, so keepin’ ‘em up an’ runnin’ is a valuable skill ta have.”

  “So magic prevents machinery from being built?”

  “Ya daft girl? That be stupid. Machinery jus’ lost usefulness, and then those that knew how to build the things started disappearing. It fel’ like it all happened o’ernight. Jus’ don’t ye go tellin’ anyone about my machines.”

  It was the eyes; she knew something seemed familiar about the farmer. Richard was a much stockier build, but now that she recognized it they both shared similar facial features toe.

  “Are you Henry Gatz?” She asked, and she spied Midnight turning to look back at the question. She felt the man tense behind her and then felt a sharp point poke right above her kidney.

  “Ye betta talk fast girly. How do ye know me?”

  “Relax farmer,” Midnight called back. “She knows your father. They became friends.”

  “Does yer dragon speak true?”

  “He does. Spent a day with him trying to remove a stump. The old bastard is stubborn as they come, you both have a similar look, and you are both the worst farmers ever. His fields are dead, and your livestock.”

  The knife disappeared, and she heard him guffawing.

  “I ain’t no farmer. Ye right we both cannot keep anything alive. My father is a dog of war; old man only knows how ta kill.” Henry told her still laughing.

  “Well, I found your old man delightful and charming,” she replied.

  “Aye, but jus’ so we are clear—“

  “I know, I know. We don’t talk about the farm or what you do. However, your father said he owed me and said if I found you, you could teach me the trade, whatever that means.”

  “Dragon, he say that?” Henry asked Midnight.

  “If Boh says he did, then he did. The girl doesn’t have a dishonest bone in her body.”

  “I warn ye, keep this a secret. Tinkerers tend to disappear. I will teach ya da ways o’ tinkerin’ if ya a mind ta learn it.”

  “That’d be great.” She told him.

  “’Ere, take dis and remove the handle and put ‘er back t’gether.” The farmer handed her a hand crank drill press.

  The drill press was one of those old ones. It had a handle on top and another hand on the side that turned a gear that spun the drill. The handle on the drill press had a wingnut holding it in place.

  The wingnut was on tight, but she did manage to twist it off and remove the handle. Then she put it back together again and tightened the wingnut back down.

  Congratulations! You have gained the class Tinkerer.

  Tinkerer - This is a crafting class, and all crafting skills are considered Innate. A recipe section is in the back of your Skill Book, organized by crafting types.

  - Note: Most Tinkerer recipes will require a shop or a workbench. There are very few standard recipes, and almost every Tinkerer you come across will have different ways to build things.

  At Novice rank you gain the following:

  - Acquire an additional Active Skill Slot

  Skills Acquired:

  - The Fix It ability [Innate]

  - The Inventor ability [Innate]

  One Time Bonuses:

  - Cognitive +1, Cognitive is now 9.

  Fix It - this gives you the ability to understand and repair Tinkered items. You can diagnose, fix or improve the item if you have the appropriate recipes and components. Once you have fixed or improved an item, if your Tinkerer class is high enough, you will learn the recipe for that item.

  Inventor - this gives you the appropriate knowledge to use a Tinkerer Shop. In a shop, you understand the tools and components needed to create gadgets.

  You have learned the recipe for a Hand-Cranked Drill Press.

  “Well, that is pretty nifty.” She said handing the drill press back to the farmer.

  “Glad we agree on somethin’ girl,” Henry said chuckling. “Jus’ don’t be expectin’ ta make stuff like me beauties. The knowledge o’ those machines have been los’. One last gift for ye.”

  Henry handed over a stick grenade.

  You have acquired a Stick Grenade.

  M17 Stick Grenade

  - Brand: Stielhandgranate

  - Type: Explosive

  - Speed: 5-second timer once ignited

  - Damage: [Area of Effect (AOE)] Deals up to 65% damage to targets closest to blast radius. Has less effect on bigger creatures.

  - Requirements: Tinkerer or Demolitionist

  “Don’t ye lose that, and don’t ye go pullin’ that string when ye unscrew the top. Take ‘er apart, and ye can learn it.”

  “Thanks, this is awesome,” she replied, carefully putting it into her bag.

  “Quiet.” Midnight said softly, and his head cocked to the side. “The machine gun is in use. The drakes must have circled the trees.”

  Not even waiting for a reply, he took off running and launched himself into the air. They rocketed back to town quickly to find thirty or so drakes charging towards the small village.

  “Get ready to leap off and run towards the village.” Midnight growled at them and landed right at the edge of the city near the guard tower. They jumped down and Midnight ran off to engage the enemy.

  Mission: Protect Valoh

  - Orders: Your help is required to repel an invasion.

  - Victory Conditions: Repel the drakes and save the citizens

  - Orders Given By: Area Event

  - Reward: Depends on contribution to area event, and how many citizens survive.

  As he did, she could swear she heard him singing Panteradox’s Soul Sender. She loved this damn dragon, and as he engaged the drakes, she could hear him.

  “I am a thief, stealing their last breath

  Sending them on, damning their souls

  I’m their devourer; I’m their death

  Expendable, I consume them whole

  Fear no more, I am the Soul Sender

  Soul Sender”

  Midnight sang as he dealt death. Other dragons joined him, but they attacked from different directions. Rather than stand back and do nothing, she climbed the guard tower.

  “Hey Paul, you got a weapon I can use?” She asked the guard, while he was reloading the machine gun.

  “Magic or Gun?” He grunted at her.

  “Magic.”

  “Inside the door,” he said.

  She reached in and grabbed a weapon she did not quite understand. It look
ed similar to a rifle but was build quite a bit differently.

  Soul Seeker

  - Details: Modifications make this a magical weapon. This means that the user’s Magic aptitude will affect damage, range and accuracy.

  - Brand: German Mauser [Modified]

  - Type: Rifle [2H]

  - Feedback: 3% per shot

  - Speed: Charging the crystal takes 5 seconds

  - Damage: 35% to base health

  - Range: 500 yards

  - Ammo: 30 Crystal Shards

  - Requirements: 5 Magic, 2 Agility (If you do not use a tripod/bipod you need 4 Strength).

  What the hell? She thought this is a modified sniper rifle. Then again, she was standing next to a man cranking on a machine gun. Doesn’t matter, I got things to shoot.

  “Use that ammo carefully. We do not have a lot, so make your shots count.” Paul told her.

  “How does this thing even work?”

  Paul looked up from the machine gun, and while he was reloading blind, he explained.

  “See where your trigger and hammer assembly woulda been? Its smoothed over and there is a crystal there, this is your charge crystal. Top or bottom don’t matter, focus your energy on it. Make a fist, then open it, and press your palm to the crystal. The crystal is also your spell shape. Removing your palm from the charged crystal casts the spell. Ever fire a flintlock?”

  “A long time ago.”

  “Good, then you know there is a delay from when you pull the trigger until the shot fires? Same process. There is a transfer phase where the energy stored in the crystal moves into your ammo, in this case, they are crystal shards. Once that happens you will feel the projectile as if you cast it. Just point where you want it to go with your mind, and let it go.”

  “That is wicked.”

  Paul started laughing. “It is not easy to master, but powerful. It is a very rare weapon; please use it carefully. Well— get to it girl, we got shit to kill.”

  She smiled at the man, wasting ammo was a legitimate concern, and this was not like anything she had ever fired before.

  “Bit of advice. Aim for the eyes. If you can get past their shield, it's the best shot you have at killing one. Their skin is tough. I’ll try to blast away some shields, just watch for the periodic tracer round to see where I’m shooting. Here goes.”

  Paul pressed down on the trigger, and did not bother aiming. Boh did notice he was shooting in bursts, and the red glowing barrel was a concern.

  Aiming towards the drakes, she put out the bipod and rested it on the railing. Then pressed her palm to the underside of the charging crystal, rather than on top— it just felt more natural.

  The charging crystal filled to a point and stopped taking energy which was helpful. “Now or never,” she muttered and moved her palm off the crystal. Her knees started to buckle as she felt a moment of disorientation. The transference of energy from crystal to shard was dizzying.

  Her first shot went into the heavens for all she knew. It was not a good start. Reloading from the pouch, she fired again. This time she was ready for it and shifted the trajectory of the projectile. It struck a drake, but her aim was low, and she hit it on the snout. Scales broke away, and it stumbled into the drake next to it.

  She lined up her shot again and squeezed. She could see the shard penetrate the soft liquid flesh of the eye as it struck true. The exploding eye had her heaving because she held on to the shard too long and felt it enter the drake. She burped as the sickening growth in her stomach took hold.

  “Bucket’s over there girl,” Paul told her, nodding his head to a corner. “Never gets easy. Cigars help, not sure why. Want one?”

  She threw up several times until her stomach was empty and went back to the rifle. She braced it once more and sighted another target. Now that she had their speed down and the range of the weapon, it was easy.

  The drakes she picked off were the ones going around the dragons and heading for the village. She hoped Henry was helping the villagers get to a bunker. These things operated on a pack mentality and felt much more organized than they were.

  She saw a drake leap unto the blue scaled dragon’s back. The distance was further than she had tried to fire so far, but she sighted on it anyway.

  “How far can this go?” She asked as she powered up the crystal.

  “You can hit it from here, but aim high. At that distance, you are going to lose a lot of energy. Account for that.” The guard said and kept up his burst fire, and she had to admit the second-hand smoke from the cigar was settling her nerves and stomach.

  Readjusting her sight, she removed her palm. She stuck with the crystal as long as she could and brought it up higher before letting it go. Just as he said, the shard dropped. It struck the drake on the horn that came from the crown of his head and protected his neck. The horn splintered and a large part of it broke away, but more importantly, it lost its balance and fell off the dragon.

  “Damn! Nice shot, Boh. Couldn’t have done it better myself.”

  Reloading, she got into a groove and managed to kill three more and assisted twice. The weapon made a difference in her ability to fire a gun, but sadly it did not belong to her.

  The blue dragon was hurt pretty badly, but Midnight was helping her out. The rest of the drakes were killed off with little help from the shooters in the tower.

  “Any time you want a job, just let me know. Take this, give it to the Monarch of Haase when you see her.”

  Mission Complete: Protect Valoh

  - Results: Drakes repelled and no citizens lost.

  - Reward: Golden Achievement Token

  Event Bonus: Invasion

  - Reflex +1, Reflex is now 2.

  The item was a simple looking coin, but she flipped it over and saw the town of Valoh on it. Inscribed on it was the Mission she just completed.

  “Those are rewards for military personnel. I assume you are going to join. If not, I can give you a civilian one.”

  “No— Military is fine.” She told him, and the guard chuckled slapping her on the shoulder.

  “Here, a cigar, to remember me. Don’t worry about the weapon. I’ll clean the old girl. Had my doubts about you handling her, but- you done right by her.” Paul said gruffly, and patted the weapon affectionately.

  Boh took the cigar, shook the man’s hand, and stepped away. It was like she had just witnessed a man kissing a woman that was not his wife. The affection the man showed for his gun made her very uncomfortable.

  You received a Cigar.

  She climbed down and found Midnight waiting.

  “That was some impressive shooting.” Midnight told her.

  “Why Panteradox’s Soul Sender?” She asked in return, but Midnight’s bellowing laughter was the only response.

  Boh

  Chapter 31

  Minot

  Battle never scared me, because I could see my enemy. Dragon politics scared me, because I could not.

  -from Midnight, Audio Roll 0912

  “Ye come back when ye ready ta learn more,” Henry Gatz said gruffly. He was not his father, but at heart, they were both good people.

  “I will, you can count on it,” she said and climbed Midnight to reach the saddle. They had already agreed that a leisurely walk was out and that they would fly with all haste to Minot.

  The big guy was worried, she could tell by his restlessness and his change of plans. Something was going on, and she wanted to be a part of it. The action helped her forget about her torture and Vasia, at least temporarily.

  Midnight ran into the wind and leaped into the air, and they were airborne. The effort put into lifting off felt casual, but she knew it was his strength that made the transition smooth.

  The coastal city appeared on the horizon, and for a significant city hub, it looked smaller than Valoh. Maybe she was missing something, but even at this distance, she could see only a handful of buildings.

  Midnight slowed down and circled the city. It had a single giant cylindrical
building and a few smaller buildings outlying it. The large building was flat on top and plenty large enough to hold a dozen dragons. The middle of the town had a very wide avenue, enough to fit several dragons side by side. Like Valoh, there was also clearing outside of town, roughly the size of the entire city. No dragons were resting there, which was odd.

  There were three piers and other than their solid stone construction they were nothing fancy. They were however far superior to Osprey Harbor’s dock. There were a few ships moored here and there, none of which were the mechanized ship she on the starter island.

  “What is this place?” She said, now that they had slowed their pace.

  “This is Minot.” Midnight replied.

  “I know that smart ass. I only see eight buildings, where are the rest? I thought this was a major city.”

  “You have a lot to learn Boh. The city is underground, protected from raiding parties. A lot of aerial warfare, which make walls pointless, so you two-legs adapted. Either you live amongst trees providing a screen from overhead attacks, or cave systems that wind through narrow areas we cannot reach. Or they are like Valoh and just build above ground and use bunkers and early warning systems.”

  “Who builds these cities? That seems like a lot of work.”

  “Dwarves.”

  “Oh man, please no more dwarves,” she shook her head adamantly. Midnight was laughing at her, but she did not care.

  “Anyway, if raiding parties attack, this place is the most defensible place within thirty miles.”

  “So you aren’t joking… there is an entire city below us?” She asked as they touched down in the clearing outside of town. There was a smaller road here that went east into Minot or west into the massive forest she saw from above.

  “Yes. Come and I’ll show you. See along the edge of the road, those slits in the curb?”

  “The sewer drains?”