The Desolate Mountains (The Divine Elements Book 2)

by Daman

  “I might lose this war, Laris, but at least Xardoth will not kill the beasts within the city once he takes it. We cannot be so sure that this Calron will have the same principles if we try to force him to fight against his wishes.”

  Wier tranquilly conveyed, as the newly lit up room revealed his silvery body.

  With mesmerizing silver scales covering his skin, Weir was adorned in a regal black robe with golden patterns etched onto the fabric. Placed on top of his head was an ornate gold crown with a single obsidian gem placed in the center.

  “I wonder how things are going on Georan’s end…”

  Weir whispered, as his draconic head gazed outside the massive windows.

  …………………

  “I hope you enjoyed the little tour, Calron. If you need to contact me again, simply send out your thoughts into this crystal, and I will immediately be able to communicate with you.”

  Georan conveyed as a small red crystal appeared in front of his mouth and slowly drifted into the metal bracelet on Calron’s claws.

  The metal bracelet was a gift given by Georan a few hours ago when he saw that Calron did not have a storage device of his own. As a beast, things were rather hard to carry around, so Calron was more than happy to accept the metal bracelet.

  Throughout the day, the large reptilian had acted as a guide for Calron and shown him various places within the city, including armories, fighting arenas, and other specialties of the city. Since Calron was flat broke, Georan suggested for the golden bird to try enlisting himself as a beast carrier for transporting goods within the city, as a way to earn some money.

  “Haha, thank you, Georan. I must say, though, this city is a lot more exciting than I thought! I think I will visit that bard’s shop early tomorrow morning.”

  Calron cheerfully thanked the large reptilian, and the little wolf pup did the same by letting out happy barks.

  “No need to worry about it, it was all my pleasure. I hope this inn will provide a decent accommodation. I will see you later then, Calron. Faro, say goodbye.”

  Georan bade them farewell, while gesturing the little reptile seated on his head to do the same.

  “Kekeke~”

  Faro laughed out, as he happily waved his leathery wings.

  Calron waved back, while Avi completely ignored Faro with a harrumph.

  Soon, the father-son duo disappeared from their sight. The moment the large reptile left, Calron’s face immediately turned serious.

  Teacher, did you sense it?

  Calron inquired, as his eyes gazed into the direction that Georan just departed.

  He did a good job at hiding it, but it became obvious when he kept on constantly trying to glean information out of you about your home and beast bloodline. I’m guessing the Beast King has not forgotten about you, kid.

  Ezkael responded back in an amused tone.

  Sigh… things are about to get complicated from now on, aren’t they?

  Calron thought dejectedly, as he began walking into the inn.

  With you… there’s never a doubt about it.

  Ezkael’s laugh echoed within Calron’s mind, bringing out a slight smile on the boy’s face as well.

  Chapter 29 – The Life of a Destitute

  *crreeaak*

  Calron uncomfortably shifted on the bed as he awoke to a slight weight being pressed down upon his body.

  “Damn this beast…”

  Calron groggily muttered, as he gently picked up Avi from his chest and placed her back on the mattress.

  Throughout the entire night, the little pup had been constantly crawling onto Calron’s chest to sleep instead of the large bed. Since the rooms were designed for beasts, the single bed within Calron’s room had enough space for three grown men to sleep.

  He honestly would not have minded this so much if the sleeping Avi did not keep scratching him with her claws.

  Sitting up on the bed, Calron turned his head towards the window and gazed at the sun rising up on the horizon, as he forced the sleepiness out of him by rubbing his eyes.

  Calron had resumed his human form before sleeping last night, as just the thought of one of his scales accidently piercing into Avi’s skin made him shudder. Besides, he still had no idea how long he would be able to sustain his beast form.

  The more Calron thought about his shape-shifting duration, the more confused he became. There were times when he felt like he would only be able to maintain his beast form for a few hours, and there were other times like yesterday where he could remain in his beast form throughout the entire day.

  “Mn… nnnn…. grrr… ”

  Avi began growling in her dream, as she snapped her jaws at the bed sheet.

  “Hey, Avi! Wake up!”

  Calron nudged the wolf pup and tried to get her to wake up before she chewed through the cloth.

  “woof…”

  Avi sleepily barked, as she rubbed her furry head against the bed. Turning away from Calron, the pup resumed her slumber.

  “Oi… don’t just ignore me.”

  Calron let out a sigh, as he prepared to go downstairs.

  ……………………

  “Morning, Dag!”

  Calron greeted the old ape as he walked to the front of the inn.

  Dag was a common ape-type beast of the mountains, with wizened grey tufts of hair on both sides of his head and a slightly protruded belly. The old ape was arduously cleaning the table counter when Calron came down the stairs.

  “Morning, kid! Haha, is that little runt still sleeping?”

  Dag chuckled, when he glanced at the sleeping figure of Avi perched on Calron’s scaly back.

  “Yeah, she does that a lot. Hey, Dag, you have anything to eat right now?”

  Calron eagerly asked.

  “Of course! I’ll get you a steaming hot tray of food right away.”

  Dag said mirthfully as he discarded the cloth he was cleaning the table with, and went back to the kitchen.

  Stepping over to a nearby table, Calron carefully sat down a bizarrely constructed chair while placing the still sleeping pup next to him on the seat.

  It’s so uncomfortable sitting down in my beast form.

  Calron inwardly grumbled as he patiently waited for the food to arrive.

  He did not have to wait for long, as Dag soon hobbled over with a steaming tray full of food. The delicious aroma wafted into Calron’s nostrils, causing his mouth to drool. Even the sleeping Avi next to him unknowingly lifted her head into the air as she sniffed the surroundings.

  “Here you go.”

  Dag chimed while placing the large tray of food in front of Calron.

  With a wide selection of assorted meats, eggs, bread, and milk, Calron immediately dug into the meal.

  “woof!”

  Avi abruptly woke up, and cried out as she nudged Calron and quickly hopped onto the table. Without saying a single word, she began chomping down on the cuts of meat.

  “Kid… “

  Dag nervously remained standing in front of Calron’s table as he scratched the back of his head.

  Stopping mid-bite, Calron tilted his head to face the old ape.

  “Lord Georan only left enough money to cover your stay here for one night, but he did not pay for the meals. So, uhh… ”

  Dag mumbled as he embarrassingly glanced at Calron.

  “Oh…”

  Calron numbly stared back at the ape, as he realized what this meant.

  Slowly rotating his head to see the little pup rapidly devouring mouthfuls of food from the tray, Calron felt tears forming in his eyes.

  “woof?”

  Avi let out a curious bark while raising her head at Calron, but quickly resumed back to wolfing down the food.

  Shit! I’m broke right now!

  Calron cried out within his mind, as he racked his brains for ways to pay the innkeeper.

  Seeing the anguished expression on Calron’s face, the old ape hurriedly interjected.

  “Don’t wor
ry, this meal is on me!”

  Dag could tell from a single glance that Calron did not have any money on him, but he liked the golden bird and the cute little pup, so he gave them a free meal.

  “Thank you, Dag. I will find some work today to repay you, and if I don’t, then we will gladly move out of the inn.”

  Calron breathed out in relief.

  “I’m sure you will find a job, kid!”

  Dag cheerfully laughed, as he patted Calron on the back and returned to running the inn for the other customers.

  Meanwhile, Avi continued to viciously attack the food on the tray.

  Watching the gluttonous pup, it dawned upon Calron that he would have to get a job quite soon.

  Preferably before lunchtime.

  Looks like I’m going to be a cargo bird…

  Calron contemplated in resignation as he recalled Georan’s suggestion for a job yesterday.

  …………………….

  This is a stupid idea. If Raizel knew that his descendants were working as pigeon carriers, he would have died with shame right there and then.

  Ezkael stated with irritation in his voice.

  Teacher, I’m not a pigeon…

  Calron quietly responded back, as he continued walking down the street while looking for the location of the cargo building given by an earlier passing-by stranger.

  Well, once you start carrying goods around, you will be no different than a real pigeon!

  Ezkael angrily retorted.

  Letting out a sigh, Calron trudged ahead while Avi excitedly explored the city from his back.

  “Joren! The Arena will soon open! Hurry up!”

  A little horned tiger cub shouted back to his friend, as he raced towards a massive building in front of Calron.

  “You are too fast, Taro! Wait for me!”

  A chubby red cat rasped as it clumsily trailed behind.

  “Hmm, an Arena?”

  Calron curiously muttered, as he changed his direction towards the large building.

  Georan had mentioned an Arena yesterday as well, and it was one of the biggest entertainments for the citizens of the city. Another thing he had added was that the warriors entering the battles, received an extravagant amount of money for winning each battle.

  However, Georan did not comment any further and simply moved on to other buildings. Initially, Calron would not have considered fighting in his beast form, as he was still unaccustomed to this new body and did not have a single clue on how to fight as a bird.

  Teacher, I think I just found a new profession.

  Calron yelled within his mind, as he spread his wings and leapt towards the Arena.

  …………………

  Entering the front of the massive building, Calron saw a bustling crowd gathered at the far end of the room.

  “Entrant or visitor? Visitor price is one copper square for the back row seats, three coppers for the middle row, and a silver for the front row. Entrant registration is over there.”

  A lazy voice sounded out from the guard standing beside Calron.

  “Umm, I’m an entrant.”

  Calron quickly replied back.

  “I just said to go over there for entrant registration, didn’t I?”

  The guard annoyingly stated as he shooed away Calron. It seemed that he was more interested in making cash from the paying visitors.

  “Oh, by the way, to register as an entrant, you will have to pay two silver squares.”

  The guard’s voice suddenly sounded to Calron, just as he was about to turn around.

  “You have got to be kidding me…”

  Calron groaned.

  …………………

  “How did it go?”

  A deep voice rumbled within an empty room.

  “Your Highness, I don’t think this beast is a threat to us. He is still very young, and although his aura is powerful for his age, it not that of an expert within the Saint stage.”

  A familiar voice echoed from a small glowing crystal within Wier’s claws.

  “Hmm… well, did he take the bait?”

  Wier inquired in a low voice.

  “I was initially doubtful of whether it would actually work or not, but he seems to have just entered the Arena’s building right now. I will keep an eye on him.”

  Georan responded in an even tone.

  “Good. Report to me after an hour.”

  Wier commanded, as he withdrew the small crystal back into his storage ring.

  “Let’s see what this Calron is capable of…”

  Weir quietly muttered in the darkness, as a streak of light partially shone upon his draconic face.

  Chapter 30 – The Little Birdy

  “Oh, by the way, to register as an entrant, you will have to pay two silver squares.”

  The guard suddenly yelled out to Calron, just as he was about to turn around.

  “You have got to be kidding me…”

  Calron groaned.

  “Registering as an entrant is free, so ignore that rascal, kid!”

  An elderly woman’s voice abruptly burst out from behind the guard, as a small grey raccoon appeared and stomped on the guard’s foot.

  “Tch, crazy old bat.”

  Muttering a string of curses, the guard left the scene and walked off to the corner where the groups of beasts were still waiting to get to their seats.

  “Thank you, madam!”

  Calron greeted the old raccoon by bobbing his head.

  “Bahaha! A madam… I think you are the first to ever call me that, little birdy!”

  The elderly raccoon cackled, as she approached Calron and slapped him on his wings.

  “Little… birdy?”

  Calron quietly mumbled, as he glanced down at the three foot grey raccoon who was curiously touching his golden scales.

  “Oy, birdy, why are your feathers made of metal? How the heck do you even fly? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bird like you…. Which clan are you from?”

  As the elderly raccoon pestered him with questions, Calron frantically started thinking of ways to escape from her scrutiny.

  “Ah, I should really go now, madam.”

  Knowing that any excuse he could come up with at this moment would only draw more suspicion, Calron politely stated a simple farewell.

  “Fine, fine, youngsters these days are so impatient to run. Shoo, shoo!”

  The old raccoon grumbled, as she waved her paws at Calron.

  Inwardly letting out a sigh, Calron gave a slight bow to the small raccoon and began rushing towards the registration booth before the grey raccoon changed her mind.

  ………………..

  “So, he’s a beast of lightning…. interesting. Gahaha!”

  The old raccoon cackled, while the passing-by beasts gave her strange glances.

  However, in the very next second, faint traces of golden lightning burst around the elderly raccoon and she disappeared in a flash.

  ………….

  “Hi, I would like to register as an entrant for the Arena.”

  Calron stated to the large rat-type beast sitting in the booth.

  Although the beige colored beast was sitting down, Calron estimated that the rat would be around five feet tall when standing upright.

  “Ah, a new entrant! Welcome to the Arena, lad. Please place your forehead against this stone.”

  The rat calmly replied by gesturing the black stone placed on the side of the booth’s counter.

  Calron immediately touched the stone with his forehead, but he could not tell if anything happened, as there was simply no reaction. Just as he was about to ask if it was broken, the white rat muttered:

  “Hmm, first rank of the Vajra stage… not bad!”

  The large rat glanced at Calron while raising its eyebrow in surprise.

  “Well, since you are in the Vajra stage, you will begin with the bronze badge. What is your name?”

  The rat asked, as his skinny claws whizzed behind the counter.
<
br />   “My name is Calron. Wait, what are the badges?”

  Calron curiously inquired as he tried to sneak a peek at what the white rat was doing.

  “You entered the Arena without knowing what it is?”

  The beast conveyed in astonishment.

  “Yeah, I was just curious, so decided to check it out.”

  Calron muttered with embarrassment.

  Now that he thought about it, his decision to enter the Arena was completely spontaneous and on the spur of the moment.

  I guess I really did not want to be a pigeon carrier…

  Calron thought in amusement, while he heard a faint snicker in the background.

  “The Arena is not a plaything. You get to win an abundant amount of money, but it comes with a great risk. Once you enter the stage, you will have to fight until one of you gives up. Whether your opponent wants to kill you, or you killing him, will be completely up to you both.”