Mitigating Risk (Nora Hazard Book 1)

by Blaise Corvin

  The drake’s internal clock seemed to be much better than mine. After I’d realized that, I’d asked him for the time of day often enough that he eventually told me he’d just inform me of the start of each new day.

  So far, according to the drake, I’d been in the giant cavern for over forty-eight hours. I was feeling better for sure. The little waterfall was clean and I could drink it before it fell into my bathing pool. That was good, since I used the pool to wash my clothes, too. Jadanak had been right that I could eat a lot of the moss. Most of it didn’t even taste too bad. As it turned out, the giant, stupid bug monsters that the drake kept for food tasted a lot like yukka. The drake just ate them raw, but I was able to cut them into steaks and grill them using ancient, dried drake dung. Jadanak had not seemed embarrassed in the slightest when he’d noticed what was I was doing, although he had suggested I take a bath afterward. Apparently, he had a sensitive nose.

  A solution to my problem was proving difficult to find. I’d shown the drake everything I owned or had on me, and he’d already seen something like it before. I’d even demonstrated some of my abilities, and he had not been impressed. I guessed that in all the time he had been in Dingeramat, he must have seen quite a few adventurers pass through, and possibly before he’d been down here. The thought was a little chilling when I wondered what had come of them.

  ...Probably eaten. The drake was a predator, after all. His eyes tracked me everywhere I went, especially when I was at my most vulnerable while taking a bath. I tried not to let it bother me.

  Vistvis had been entirely silent so far during my stay in the drake’s cavern. I’d even grown so bored and frustrated at one point I’d begun talking to the dagger. This didn’t last long, as I got no communication back, and speaking to a silent knife was making me feel like my brain was soft.

  I probably checked the treasure room every other hour, searching for a solution. Everything there apparently belonged to me now but didn’t do me a lot of good. There were plenty of weapons and armor, but I didn’t know what most of them even did. The shimmer on some of them made it obvious that they were enchanted, and I knew enough to not to touch them.

  It was strange to be surrounded by so much wealth and yet be so poor. At least I had plenty of magic stones for power. This meant I would never run out of fuel for my Firestarter. Of course, Jadanak could start fires with his superheated breath—I’d seen him do it once already. Using the Firestarter was better, though. I didn’t want to ask for favors.

  My Firestarter was the only thing I really needed the power for anymore, though. I hadn’t used my magic torch much at all.

  The lights in the cavern were marvelous, unlike anything I’d ever seen before. When I’d asked Jadanak about it, he’d said they used something called crystal phase technology, Areva tech. I’d just shaken my head when I’d heard that. On the rest of Ludus, crystal tech, electricity, and whatever the Mo’hali used on their homeworld were all outlawed. If anyone tried to cobble any technology together other than magic tech, a Dolosbot would eventually show up and exterminate everything in the area.

  Everyone knew about the ban on homeworld technology, but it seemed that dungeons had different rules. Either that or Dolosbots couldn’t get down here. Actually, I wondered if a Dolosbot could even kill Jadanak. It would probably be one hell of a fight either way. I’d heard that Dolosbots were almost unstoppable, but I’d also seen the drake lift huge stone boulders with no apparent effort.

  The reptilian beast’s incredible power was why I was never even tempted to try fighting, even with access to all the unidentified weapon and armor in the treasure room. Thinking about the weapons, I decided to wander over and look at the dungeon’s treasure room probably for the tenth time that day. Jadamak was sleeping, and I found that I preferred thinking when the drake wasn’t staring at me, or asking about details of my life before I’d become an adventurer. He’d even asked for my clothing sizes before. I had no idea why a drake would care about fashion.

  The treasure room itself wasn’t that amazing. Basically, it was just a naturally three-sided room, partially carved out of the solid rock of the cavern. It had some built-in stone shelves and storage areas and was full of valuables.

  Once inside, I was surrounded by wealth. Weapons made of all sorts of metal littered the floor, even blessed steel. Various gadgets lined shelves. The pressure some of them gave off indicated they were heavily enchanted. Enough magic stones to buy twenty houses filled cubbies in the walls, and full suits of armor stood on stands—entirely untouched; pristine even after all this time.

  The number of blessed steel weapons really impressed me. Normal iron or steel didn’t even last a full day on Ludus, usually. Everything in the room was very valuable. I noticed a few really interesting, beautiful weapons I’d love to own, but decided that touching them was too risky.

  Some of the armor was really, really tempting, though. One item, in particular, reminded me of armor I’d read about in the books of my childhood. Many famous adventurers, even Thato Jacobs, had used fine armor that when activated, provided enhanced protection for a time.

  The armor was folded and looked like a tunic made of tiny bronze scales, all interwoven together. The tunic had a box resting on top, and if it were the kind of armor that I thought it was, the container would hold jewelry. These would be meant to be worn with the tunic.

  The armor was interesting to me both because I thought I might recognize it, and because I really needed a new shirt. Mine was torn and stained.

  My eyes panned over the rest of the treasure room and rested on the shelf that had held two Dolos orbs and two spirit stones before. The Dolos orbs I hadn’t touched. Everyone on Ludus knew that swallowing another Dolos orb after already being ‘Bonded was basically suicide.

  Spirit stones were different.

  When I’d found the spirit stones, I’d been excited. If I ranked up, maybe I would have more options in dealing with Jadanak. I’d held both spheres in my hands for some time before I’d had the courage to swallow them. I’d recognized them as soon as I’d seen them. They were similar to a Dolos or Enheduanna orb, but definitely not the same.

  Finally, I’d tilted my head back and had thrown them both in my mouth, gulping down harder than I had really needed to. Nothing had happened, which had definitely not been my expectation. Everyone knew that spirit stones were supposed to increase a person’s ‘Bonded rank. I had wondered if they could go bad or something.

  The memory rankled. Despite deciding to get stronger, despite having the means, nothing was happening! Not being able to level up yet was extremely frustrating. I even already had an idea of how I wanted to invest my new points. I still really needed to talk to Muffin, my orb, though.

  I scanned the treasure area one last time, my gaze resting on the most impressive item in the entire room. A massive spear stood against one wall in a special alcove of its own. The entire weapon was gorgeous. Wavy steel patterns were prominent in the blade, and accents near the head and down its length had bands of precious metal, studded in jewels. The bottom of the spear was capped in blessed steel or titanium, and a giant, faceted diamond glowed green from within its setting.

  The spear looked like something out of myth or legend and was obviously the most valuable item in the room. Since I was standing in an ancient, elite dungeon, I could only imagine what the enchanted weapon could actually be worth.

  I grunted and left the treasure room, heading towards my bathing area. After splashing water on my face, I shook my head and turned, only to jump, startled. Jadanak had crossed the cavern and laid down a short distance away, regarding me with a massive head resting on folded claws.

  “Don’t do that to me!” I snarled. “How did you even cross all that distance without me noticing, anyway?”

  “I can be very sneaky,” said the drake. Sometimes his expressions were hard to read, but I got the feeling he was feeling smug. “Remember a few days ago when you first came in here?”

  “And
you trapped me?”

  “Exactly,” he replied.

  Now I was sure of his smugness. I said, “Yeah, and I was exhausted and beat up. Good for you.”

  “So have you accepted yet that you cannot show me anything new, or do you still have something to show me? I would really like if you did. When you get as old as I am, seeing anything new is such a rare treat. I understand if you give up, but if so, you should probably just settle in to get comfortable here in my cavern,” said Jadanak. He shrugged, and his massive wings twitched, stirring the air.

  “No, I will get out of here,” I said with more confidence than I really felt. I had not told my huge red captor about my servitude to Enheduanna yet. A long stay in the drake’s cavern wasn’t even worth thinking about. I was a dead woman if I didn’t catch the airship out of Mensk on time. That meant I absolutely had to escape...somehow.

  Jadanak idly scratched at the stone floor with one claw. “If you really must think, pacing around probably won’t help. Don’t Terrans always say they get ideas in the shower? Maybe you could take another bath or something,” he teased.

  I ignored the drake, my eyes unfocused as a stray thought began working its way through the layers of my worry. Enheduanna...Enheduanna...why was the demigoddess weighing so heavily on my mind? Yes, my life was on the line, but to be honest, I wasn’t even sure if the High Priestess could find me anymore, or make her way down into this cavern…

  My eyes widened as the thought hit me. How could I have been so oblivious? I had held a possible solution to my capture the entire time. Jadanak watched curiously as I turned and left without a word, heading back towards the treasure room. My plan might not work, but the time had come to act.

  I walked directly to the beautiful, ornate spear on the wall and reached out for it, then hesitated before my hand made contact. After staring for a few seconds, I shook my head and gritted my teeth, hoping my skin wouldn’t melt from my hand or something. Then I grabbed the spear.

  Nothing happened.

  Other than being surprisingly heavy, the weapon didn’t feel odd at all. It came off the wall, and after waiting a few more moments to keel over dead, I shrugged and turned to leave the treasure room.

  I was on an emotional high. Something had finally gone right! On the way out of the room, I stopped again and eyeballed the enchanted shirt I’d been admiring before. Then I grabbed it along with the little box it came with. I thought I might have felt a twinge in my hand when I’d touched it, but I decided it was just nerves. After a quick pause to open the box and verify that I’d been right—it held a choker necklace and two rings—I began moving again. I’d don the enchanted armor on later and hope I’d been right about what it was.

  I exited the cavern and headed towards my sleeping area. Jadanak was still lying in the same spot as before, his huge, reptilian eyes regarding the spear without blinking. “You cannot slay me with that,” he said casually. “I hope that is not your plan. If you attack me, I will have to kill you. This would be regrettable. I know you are not going to show it to me, though. I have obviously seen such a thing before, so you cannot leave using that.”

  “I know,” was all I said. The drake shrugged.

  After I reached my meager bedding, I sat cross-legged and set the spear across my legs. I breathed deeply, thinking about what I was planning to do. After calming my racing heart, I made up my mind. Yes, this was my only real hope.

  Then I mentally called up the message I’d gotten about the Duanna Boon. I read it again, and yes, I could use it to summon Enheduanna. Sure enough, the message now had a huge red button, flashing in my mind.

  With a mix of conflicting emotions, I pressed the button.

  Duanna Boon

  After pressing the red button, I did not volunteer what I’d done to Jadanak. The drake continued to watch me as I sat quietly and mentally prepared to meet Enheduanna in case she showed up. The only thing I was sure of was that the volatile demigoddess would probably surprise me. The last time I’d seen her, she’d basically raised me from the dead, knocked me out cold, given me special powers, threw a quest at me, and blown up a road.

  Since nothing immediately happened, I decided to put on the armor I’d taken from the treasure room. Luckily, it was easy to wear, and the shirt itself offered decent protection. However, even after putting my additional collar in place and wearing the rings, I still couldn’t figure out how to activate it. I fiddled with it for at least twenty minutes before giving up for the time being and sitting back down. For now, being properly covered was enough. Nothing I’d touched so far had disfigured me, either. There definitely could have been worse outcomes.

  As I waited, my mind turned again to how I’d swallowed spirit stones and how nothing had happened. Orb-Bonded were supposed to gain a new rank if they swallowed a spirit stone, right? I thought about it some more, really digging deep, and then realized what I’d forgotten.

  Muffin.

  My orb, the capybara girl had told me that I would not advance until she thought I was ready. This meant my own orb was probably holding me back. While frustrating, there was nothing else I could do about it. Also, at least I understood what was going on now. Maybe I needed to get more experience?

  I sat and thought for so long, ignoring the nearby dragon-kin, Jadanak must have gotten bored. I barely noticed him wandering off, muttering about baths.

  With my orb ranks situation figured out, I tried to run through ways Enheduanna might appear. I thought of possibility after possibility, imagining a whole slew of ways that the dark-skinned Areva demigoddess might make an entrance. She could come crashing through the ceiling, walk through a wall, appear in a flash of fire and smoke—

  “Hello there,” came a throaty soprano from my left. To my credit, I didn’t jump, just slowly turned my head. Enheduanna was seated next to me, holding Vistvis, my dagger. She looked down at the blade thoughtfully and held a finger up when I opened my mouth to speak. I closed my jaw with a click, and instead sat quietly and watched the High Priestess as she continued to stare at Vistvis.

  Eventually, her head came up. “Got it,” she said. “You are way too slow, Nora. I needed data. Little Vistvis here was more than happy to speak to me, though. Dreadful what that Biivan did to her.”

  She absently patted my knee and said, “I have not checked on you in a while—figured you wouldn’t be up to anything interesting for a while. I love being wrong. You have been quite busy!”

  Duanna tittered into her hands for a full ten seconds, then her head snapped up, staring straight into my eyes. Her unsettling, ancient gaze made me feel vulnerable, bare. “It is good you haven’t died. If you are in such a hurry to perish, I could do so myself. Just say so.” She looked up into the air for a second and amended, “No, that doesn’t make much sense. I should say instead that you should be careful! You are an important asset, after all.”

  I blinked and felt a chill but steeled my nerves. I’d made a promise to myself not to be afraid anymore, to always meet life head-on. Nobody and nothing would ever intimidate Nora Hazard again! Well, at least not outwardly. “You were talking to Vistvis?” I asked.

  “Yes. She had a lot to say about you. Apparently, you’ve really earned her respect, and that is impressive. I remember her from the past. She had a sharp tongue while alive, and being soul-trapped hasn’t exactly made her sweeter. Bad business what Biivan did with her.”

  With no warning, Enheduanna changed tone and subject. “Why did you call me? This silly girl hadn’t even known you could summon me,” she said, absently shaking the dagger. I still wasn’t sure how she’d removed Vistvis from my belt without me noticing.

  “So you know everything that has happened since I met Vistvis?” I asked.

  “Yes, yes,” said Enheduanna, moving her hand back and forth. Then her tone turned frosty. “I asked you a question, child. Answer. I am busy.”

  I could actually feel my skin prickle, whether from instinct or waves of power coming off of the demigoddess, I di
dn’t know. Either way, I decided that new attitude or not, I should probably just answer Duanna’s questions—especially since I needed something from her.

  “I am being held here by the drake, Jadanak. He said that if I don’t show him something new, something he’s never seen before, he won’t let me go.”

  “Uh huh. So Vistvis told me,” said Enheduanna, a strange look on her face. She didn’t look directly at me. “Time is up. He’s coming. Be quiet now.”

  At this point, I was thoroughly confused. The rushed nature of the little interview I just had with my benefactor, her attitude about my capture, and her strange mood were all baffling. Sure enough, a few moments later, Jadanak came into view around a stalagmite, trundling along and looking off to one side. “I thought I heard—” He slowed to a stop after he noticed Enheduanna sitting next to me.

  The demigoddess stood, and an awkward silence settled on the scene, stretching long enough to make me feel uncomfortable. Enheduanna just grinned, and Jadanak didn’t blink, just swished his tail from side to side. Finally, the drake broke the standoff. “Enheduanna,” muttered Jadanak. “I have been following the law.”

  “Yes, the letter, not the spirit,” replied the High Priestess.

  “Doesn’t matter,” chuffed Jadanak. “The letter is what I must follow.”

  “That attitude is why you’re still down here, you horny old newt.”

  “I am still down here because of narrow-minded, unjust tyrants,” the drake scoffed.

  “Well, you obviously know each other,” I observed.

  “Nora,” said Duanna, not turning her head from Jadanak. “Do you know why this overgrown garden lizard is down here?”

  “Past judgments are not appropriate to—” the drake began to say.

  “He got it trouble for peeping. You see, despite his cultured airs, Jadanak is a pervert. He was very sneaky in the past, but he tried to watch the wrong goddess while she was naked or intimate, or in some other vulnerable state. He got caught.”