Renting it, however, was another matter. This would be a good change—a fresh start for both Louie and myself. It didn’t mean we would forget our history in the old apartment. We would never forget. But we needed to move on. For the sake of both of us. And we could use a bit of pampering, quite a lot in this case.
“Can’t wait to fire up those crafting engines again,” Rory said.
“I think we’ll need to look into people to recharge your mana, good dwarf,” I said. “Demand is rising, right?”
“Damn right it is. It’s about time ye listened to me.”
“So you guys are going full in?” asked Leo. “Will I be reading about the new arrow moguls of New York in the Apocosmos Times soon?”
“First, we completely take over the arrow market in New York,” I began, laying out the plan that had already started forming in my mind. “I’m…” I glanced at the dwarf who was enjoying his pipe. “We’re still far from the goals we’ve set. I was thinking of raising the price of steel arrows just a bit above bone arrows. That way we’ll sell both types while I look for new openings.”
“Lad, even with people recharging me, I don’t know how I’d be able to produce that many arrows. After a certain point, there just won’t be enough time.”
“Well I don’t know how long it takes you to craft a batch,” I said, and I leaned forward to make my point more forcefully, “because you won’t fucking let me in your workshop.”
“Crafting is sacred. Ye’d only be a bother in there. Trust me when I say we’ll soon need someone to recharge me. And even with multiple mana rechargers, I won’t be able to craft for the whole state.”
“Then we need to figure something out. It’s a shame to leave money on the table, especially when most of the neighboring states are as lucrative as New York, even when you consider transfer costs.”
“Wow,” said Leo with a smile. “Look at you, Alex. Moving up in the world.”
“Other states?” Rory’s expression was a mixture of frustration and excitement. “We’d need more crafters then.”
“You know some, don’t you?”
“Lad, I’ve told you I won’t contact them,” Rory replied, which prompted a quizzical look from Leo.
“What about your apprentice? Would she be interested?”
“She loves crafting, aye. But she just upgraded her class and I know she wants to keep leveling up and crafting stronger items.”
“Then you’ll help me screen applicants?” I asked. “I find them and you interview them?”
“Just make sure ye screen them good. I don’t want to talk to any more people than I absolutely need to.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied and winked at Louie.
A little while later, Leo’s moving command center pulled up outside of Rory’s apartment. Leo came into the room with us to unload the loot he’d gathered from his inventory and leave it with us.
“Are ye sure ye don’t want anything, elf?” Rory asked as Leo turned to leave.
“Yeah, I’m good. My clan raids pretty regularly and since I’m the only spellcaster—I mean, apart from my sister—I have top-tier equipment waiting for me whenever I’m ready for an upgrade.”
“Ye’re a lucky lad, having yer family love ye and take care of ye like that,” Rory said, and his gaze momentarily wandered to places far away from this realm.
“I guess that’s one way to think about it,” Leo replied and lowered his eyes to the ground.
I knew what troubled both of them and that they both needed to address their issues in order to move on with their lives. What I didn’t know was why I cared about all this shit suddenly. It wasn’t like my problems were now solved. There was no solution for me. This was the hand I’d been dealt and I had to play it out. Much as I would prefer to burn my hand, the deck, and everyone else involved in this horrible game of fate, I had Louie to think about.
“See you tomorrow,” Leo said as he opened the door to leave.
“Hey, Leo,” I asked quickly before the door completely closed. “Can we transfer some of my stuff to the new apartment?”
“It’s already happening,” he replied. “I’ve texted my family and once I got the confirmation, I sent some people to do it.”
“You’re the best,” I said.
“I know, right?” he said and waved us goodbye.
“Bye, Leo!” Louie shouted.
Rory waved his own goodbye. “Lad,” he said in a low voice a couple of minutes later. “Ye’re not sleepy, are ye?”
The time was way after midnight, but I knew that even if I lay on the sofa, I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep. Not for lack of exhaustion, but because I’d have to revisit today’s battle and the wrath that overcame me. I shook my head.
“Shall we count the money then?” he asked with a smile.
“Let’s do it. But it’ll take forever without…” I left my sentence hanging as he produced two money counters similar to those I’d only ever seen used by cartels in movies. “Of course you have those things…”
“Take this one and start counting,” the dwarf said, passing me one of the surprisingly heavy devices.
“Where should I plug it in, Rory? You don’t have any outlets.”
“They don’t need electricity. Just start counting.”
“So they’re magical, but we still have to do the manual work?”
“The ones that just scan a place are too expensive. Now just start counting, will ye?”
“Do you want to help me?” I asked Louie, who was already on his tablet, the tinkling sound of a Playstation one game booting up coming from it. “Louie?”
“Huh? What?” he said and turned toward me, his tail wagging softly at the mention of his name.
“Do you want to help me count the money?”
“No, I’m fine. I’ve been looking forward to the battle of Rockaxe for a while.”
Ah yes, the battle against the Highland Army in Suikoden 2. I didn’t blame him for wanting to continue playing. Money was only really exciting if you could directly relate the value of it to material possessions and that was one thing Louie hadn’t really learned yet. Neither was he very interested in learning. He turned back to his screen again, his tail moving softly as he fell back into the beautiful world of his new JRPG.
“Say, Rory? Why do you think they kept the money in briefcases?” I asked. “Why even have cash in the first place?”
“I would say hoarding, but they’re no dragons.”
“That sounds a lot like you’re profiling all dragons as hoarders…” I said as seriously as I could.
“Aye, and all humans are weaklings that like fucking around with words,” he retorted angrily, instantly taking the bait and pulling as hard as he could at it. Only when I couldn’t hold in my laughter anymore did his angry demeanor fade. He pointed his finger at me, smiling. “Ye think ye’re clever, lad?”
It felt good to joke around again. I wasn’t sure if it was because I could relate to what the dwarf had been through or because I was trying to escape some of the other thoughts in my head, but it felt good.
“Seriously, though. Why would they have so much cash lying around?”
“They were probably going to transfer the money,” he replied. “Some transactions and deals are better left outside the purview of the Dark Energy Marketplace.”
I considered the implications. “That can’t be good. Did we just steal from the mob?”
“All the mobs we encountered are now dead,” he replied, obviously not understanding what I meant. “And whoever wanted to get this money will never find ye now. Not as long as ye keep that orb on ye.”
I produced the orb from my inventory and held it out in front of me. It emitted a soft glow that had been indiscernible under the multicolored lights of the neon sign warehouse. Its scaly surface was cool to the touch, but I could feel warm spots here and there that moved as I held it.
“Why do you think it’s called Dragon’s Reckoning?” I asked.
&n
bsp; “Hell if I know,” Rory mumbled, annoyed that I was distracting him from his counting.
“Do you think it’s a dragon egg?”
“Alright, that does it!” A low rumbling voice boomed from the orb.
Horrified, I let it drop onto the sofa. Rory stopped counting instantly.
“Idiot human,” the voice boomed again. “What do you think we are? Fucking chickens?”
18
Tears of the dragon
“What the fuck!” I shouted and looked at Rory for help.
“Birds lay eggs,” the voice continued. “We dragons give birth.”
“Where are ye, beast?” Rory stood up and pulled his hammer out of his inventory.
At the same time Louie jumped to my side, prepared for battle, and I quickly accessed my swords that had been safely stored in my inventory. For all the potential magical abilities this item might have, I had never considered that it might bring an enemy into our midst.
“Oh, but I’m in the orb your human friend has for some reason confused with an egg, good dwarf,” the voice replied.
“And ye said ye’re a dragon?” Rory asked, taking a step toward the orb.
“Indeed. Where are my manners? My name is—”
The voice was interrupted abruptly as Rory brought his long war hammer, spike-first, down onto the orb. Not only did the orb not break as he’d presumably hoped, but a strong wave of an unknown force pushed me and Louie back against the wall. Rory catapulted back with such fierceness that the table he landed on was completely destroyed. As was my favorite longtime friend, the couch. Once Rory stood up and the pieces of couch filling and garments had finally floated back down to the floor, the voice spoke again.
“Touchy, touchy, are you, dwarf?”
Rory picked up his weapon again and rushed forward to attack the orb a second time. From a quick glance at the item’s stats, however, I didn’t think his attacks were having any effect at all.
Item: Dragon’s Reckoning
Type: Greater Magical Artifact
Durability : 7200000/7200000
Rarity: S Grade
Weight: -
Description : ???
“Rory, stop!” I shouted and brought my hands up to push him away. “You’re not damaging it at all.”
“Fuck if I care,” he replied, but put down his weapon nonetheless.
“There, there,” the voice said. “Now we can talk. I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”
“Yeah, we have. Why the hells are ye in my house?” Rory bellowed and pointed his weapon toward the orb that was now on the floor. “Ye’re not welcome here, beast.”
“I’m not here by my own volition,” the voice replied. “You brought me here yourselves, remember? I’m imprisoned in this orb.”
“Who are you?” Louie asked.
“Ah, at last. Someone civilized. My name is Ommanth. You might have heard of me as Ommanth the Beneful.”
“Nobody has heard of ye, fiend.”
“You wound me, good dwarf,” Ommanth said. “My name is known far and wide across the planes. I’m sure your more educated friend from the other day must have heard of me. Leo is short for Leonardo, correct?”
“We’re asking the questions here,” I said, trying not to give away any more information than I had to. “Why are you imprisoned in there?”
“Throw it in yer inventory and forget about it,” Rory said. “At least now we know it’s useless.”
“I beg you,” the voice pleaded. “None of that. I can be your ally. My knowledge spans millenia and hundreds of worlds. All I ask for is somebody to talk to.”
Rory didn’t say anything, but instead furrowed his brows and looked at me.
“Then answer our question,” I prompted him.
“Many, many years ago I was part of a dragon order,” the disembodied voice of the dragon began explaining. “We had taken it upon ourselves to hunt down and destroy dragons who were terrorizing the… smaller races.”
Rory grunted upon hearing this but didn’t say a word.
“We were a revered and loved group. I think some of them still are. I bet they’re still wondering what happened to me…”
“What did happen to you?” asked Louie.
“A dragon. A powerful one. He attacked a city on the day they were celebrating the queen’s birthday.” The dragon’s voice became softer. “There was no time to wait for my guildmates. I made a decision. Turns out it was the right one to minimize casualties but the wrong one for me.”
He stopped talking and Rory rolled his eyes though it was obvious he was interested to know more.
“Why was it the wrong decision for you?” I asked this time.
“It was an ambush. The dragon was waiting for me. He knew I was the only other dragon in that realm and he made sure I wouldn’t be able to communicate with anyone from my order. He imprisoned me in this orb and threw me to the bottom of an ocean, someplace far, far away from there. Maybe in a different realm altogether. My order must have thought I was slain that day. Not that it matters anymore, I suppose.”
“Why not?” Louie asked. “I bet they’d be thrilled to find out you’re still alive.”
“Many things have changed since that time,” Ommanth replied. “Most of the order has died and those who are still alive either don’t care or aren’t as good as they used to be.”
“And I guess ye want us to rush into an epic quest to free ye from yer prison?” Rory asked sarcastically.
“If only,” the dragon said, and let that linger for a couple of seconds before continuing. “There is no escape from this prison. The dragon who put me in here knew exactly what he was doing. I can only hope to extend my sanity by communicating with others. I’m doomed with eternal imprisonment. If anything, I would have been pleased for you to destroy this orb and let me move on to the divine dragon realm, but alas that too is impossible.”
“We’re sorry to hear that, Ommanth,” Louie said with dropped ears. He’d obviously been affected by the dragon’s sad story.
“It is what it is, gentle creature,” the voice said. “I do not ask for much, only that you let me out of your extra-dimensional satchel every once in a while. Perhaps we can talk. I don’t have anything to offer but the advice and knowledge of history that many have forgotten.”
“I don’t see how this could cause us any trouble,” I said and looked at Rory, who was taking a deep breath, no doubt readying himself to voice his objection. I spoke again before he was able to. “Give us a moment please, Ommanth.”
I put the orb back into my inventory and turned to Rory who was about to explode with anger.
“Ye can’t be thinking of consorting with a dragon, lad,” he said angrily. “They’re cunning beasts. They only bring trouble.”
“Well, he can’t hurt us from in there,” Louie said.
“Dragons don’t need their fangs or firey breath to hurt others, small one. The words of dragons, the ideas they plant in the minds of mortals can be more dangerous than a whole army of orcs.”
“But you heard his story,” Louie insisted. “He was a good dragon. He was protecting people. That’s why he’s in there now.”
“And I’m the president of the Dark Energy Marketplace,” Rory replied sarcastically, putting his hands on his waist and puffing his chest. “Just because he told us a story doesn’t mean it’s true.”
“Then let’s make sure that the story is true,” I suggested. “I can ask Leo if he knows anything about this incident. And even if he doesn’t, he’ll know of a way that we can find out the truth about it.”
“I don’t like this, lad,” Rory said, shaking his head. “I don’t like this one bit.”
“We’ve got nothing to lose,” Louie said.
“Ye keep him in the bag for now. I don’t want him listening to our conversations.”
“We’ll only let him out if we want to ask him something,” I suggested. “At least until we verify his story. Are you okay with that?”
> “Fine,” Rory said.
I retrieved the orb from my bag. “Sorry about this. We need to be cautious,” I said.
“I understand,” the dragon replied. “It’s good to talk to goodly folk again.”
“How did you end up in the warehouse? Did you know those people?” I asked.
“Before that time, I was… the orb sat behind a glass wall for countless years. I was part of a collection, I suppose. I never saw the owner of the collection though, for there was always light shining on the orb.”
“Wait. Ye can see?” Rory asked.
“I can indeed,” the dragon replied. “Think of this orb as a translucent prison that contains my soul. I can see and hear but nothing more.”
“You said you never saw the owner of the collection you were part of?” Louie prompted, as Rory looked around the apartment as though suddenly concerned the dragon would see something it shouldn’t.
“Indeed. Until someone came and removed the orb from the collection. I presume it was a robbery. Since then, the only times I’ve been out of an extra-dimensional bag was when I was sold to the incubus, and when I was placed in that storage room.”
“Abrathion was the incubus?” Rory asked.
“I don’t know their names.”
“I assume that means you have no idea what the book next to you was?” I asked.
“The book arrived yesterday. I didn’t hear them say anything about it.”
“Ye didn’t ask them what they were going to do with ye?” Rory asked.
“I didn’t initiate communication with them,” he replied. “I don’t favor socializing with infernal creatures. No doubt they thought that locking me in that room would break me and make me want to talk to them, provide them with knowledge. But they didn’t account for a dragon’s strong will.”
Berserker: A LitRPG Urban Fantasy Adventure (Apocosmos Book 1) Page 29