Leona kicked her feet against the edge of the cart, and sighed for a moment, then realized what she was doing and pulled her arm away from Kryos’ waist. “We’ll probably be going along the trade road,” she said, pointing to the winding, packed-dirt road that headed alongside the river. “We could try the sea-worthy mode of the wagon here and there, but I think we should really get used to every facet of it: land and water.”
Kryos pulled his arm away from around her shoulder, and for a moment she had a fleeting feeling of missing it. He said, “Sounds like a plan.” He glanced back behind them, prompting Leona to as well.
The smoke from the forges, the noise of people going about their business, and the movement of men and women about their tasks began to recede as the elevator continued its slow, ponderous descent. It would take thirty minutes to get to the bottom of the valley floor, and as she looked back to the road ahead, she contemplated what she had gained, versus what she had left behind.
Firstly, she had found an ally—that was completely unexpected. A half-dragon, like the ones from the stories, who wasn’t an evil, villainous asshole. Sure, he was greedy, but so was she. That was fine. They had a similar goal of getting rich. Not only that, but he was a good Anchor, whose Skills complemented hers quite well in combat. The fact that his aura slowed down foes and reduced their Agility directly amplified her damage dealt with Exploit Opening and Precision Strike.
Secondly, they had profited. She had quite a bit of money, those weird Essence Shards jingling in some weird, extradimensional storage space that she could access with her SAVE system, and they had a mobile Adventuring Guild. Leona took in a big sigh and let it out.
“What is it?” Kryos asked.
“Hmm?”
“Everything okay?”
Leona nodded.
Just . . . freedom, she thought. No more ten percent cut. We keep all of it, minus the Quest Conclave’s bit, but that’s the price of business.
Thirdly, they had left Suncrest at the right time. She wished they could’ve smelted more of the silver ore and taken away a massive haul, but they got out without being punished for—what she thought—wasn’t even a crime. It’s not like the town knew there was loose ore down there anyways. She was still bitter about that.
Lastly, she had a bit of unease lingering in the pit of her stomach, like she had eaten something sour. This was the first time since leaving the orphanage, leaving Shhiv’s Spear, and going to Suncrest to try and make some money on the outskirts of the ever-expanding world of Vorunor, where she felt vulnerable. Irontrail had been a safety net she could fall back on. Now? All she had was their mobile Guild Hall, and her Anchor and Guildmaster, Kryos.
She glanced back up once more at the now-receding clifftop town of Suncrest.
It wasn’t ever my home, she thought. It was always just an opportunity. She looked back out to the wide valley coming ever closer, and then glanced up at Kryos, who was also taking in the vista. This is my best chance for long-term play. My new opportunity.
After another ten minutes, the elevator reached the valley floor, and while Kryos got back into the harness and waited for the Highpeak Mining Company wagons and carts to leave ahead of them, Leona got back into the indented driver seat that she had put a blanket on for comfort's sake. She gripped the rod that was to her right and controlled the rotation of the front wheels for steering the wagon, and the left rod which would engage the brakes on the back wheels.
The valley floor spread out a good few miles, with the roaring falls nearby drowning out most noise as it crashed into the river which was easily three-hundred feet across. A bit farther down was a house with a massive set of water wheels, which served to power the elevator, and a huge chain that ran down the length of the river and vanished into the distance.
Leona knew that large rods with metal eyelets were staked into the river’s bed, with the enormous chain running through it, with more water-wheels down river, running all the way to Shhiv’s Spear, and the chain looped back on itself. It made for a giant pulley, so that boats full of silver ore and other raw goods from up here in the valley and these outlying regions could be shipped down to the mercantile capital on the coast. Then vital supplies like food and other trade goods could come up the river without the need for oars; boatmen would simply attach hooks connected to their ships onto the chain, be dragged upstream, and then re-attach after each eyelet.
Kryos pulled the wagon forward when it was their turn, and as he walked, Leona observed him taking in the sight with a sense of wonder. “What is it?” he asked, being quite loud so that she could hear him over the crashing water.
Leona, equally as loud, explained the entire setup, and by the time she was done, they were onto the dirt road and out of earshot of the crashing water. No one else was on the dirt road, as the majority of trade was done via the river. The packed dirt was overgrown with grass and weeds, with flowers poking up here and there.
“Sounds like a smart setup,” Kryos said. “Do we have a hook thing?”
Leona frowned. “I didn’t think to ask to have one installed.” She shrugged. “Well, it’s not like we plan on coming back anytime soon. If we want to, I’m sure getting one added won’t be hard.”
Kryos kept plodding forward, and Leona didn’t even need to steer or worry about the brakes thanks to the flat landscape. The mountains around them were much smaller and spread out farther than up in Suncrest.
Down here, trees had been cut down for their timber long ago leaving decimated woodland, and much of the land had been harvested and lived-on before people had moved farther to the edge of the ever-expanding world. Fallow farmland could be plowed and farmed, and a handful of hamlets for both fishers along the river and farmers on the other side of the road were dotted across the landscape. Off near the mountains, ancient mine entrances stood empty, signaling once-tunneled excavations long left abandoned.
Leona watched Kryos, and as she observed his feet dig into the dirt and claws propel their new mobile home and base forward, she went through all of the experiences she had with him in Suncrest.
He had adjusted fairly well, all things considered, to the loss of their silver ore haul. She was worried when Pavish found them that he would have tried to kill the older Adventurer—which would have been a big mistake, as the veteran would have annihilated him by virtue of level alone. The half-dragon had definitely grown since the Rift, when she had seen him succeeding at but visibly struggling to fight against his treasure instinct . . . sense . . . detection . . . thing.
Kryos also had chosen to not be pulled into the mine conflict. More importantly, he listened to her, which is something Leona was not used to. Her whole life, people ignored her, because she was just the half-sea-elf Rogue. She was the Breaker, not the Anchor or Mender. She was the orphan, not someone who knew anything, despite her parents once owning the third largest mercantile company in Shhiv’s Spear.
So having someone that listened to her and followed her directions was refreshing.
He’s not reckless at all, she thought. He’s just . . . new to how things work. Definitely naive, as well. He mentioned some place called the Drakemount, but I’ve never heard of it. Then again, I never heard of the place he said his mom owns—a whole town? Rich parents. He did mention his dad was level seventy-something. His mom being a full-fledged dragon? I wonder how in the heck his dad managed to . . . no, I really don’t want to think about how that works.
Regardless, Kryos was useful and reliable as an Anchor. It was why she chose to invest in this venture.
A Mobile Adventuring Guild. As far as she knew, it hadn’t been pulled off before. There were pros: mobility, independence, they didn’t have to worry about a Guild cut—in fact, if they grew big enough, and had enough members that they could add more wagons, they could take a cut and get money faster.
The cons: no safety net that being in a bigger Guild would offer, not being in a single location meant that getting Quests via reputation would be nearly impossible, their access to resources would be limited by where they traveled, and the risk in general would be larger since their entire accumulated wealth was in a single location.
Most importantly, though, and possibly the biggest benefit, is that they were more likely to be called to Rifts. Those were incredibly profitable—more than any but the most value-generating Quests, such as those given by rulers of large cities.
If this works, she thought, we can scale it up. We can add more wagons, possibly even set up other teams of single wagons with a Mender, Anchor, and Breaker, and then send them off in different directions across Vorunor, and connect our Quest Boards so that the ten-percent cut deposits our Dragontrail cut into our wagon. We can franchise it. Make a name for ourselves, then other Adventurers will want to get in on a piece of the action.
Leona felt giddy at the idea. Perhaps, one day, she could just have a giant mansion and generate passive revenue while a ton of Dragontrail mobile Guild Halls went around Vorunor, completing Quests and clearing Rifts, giving ten percent of all of their earnings to her and Kryos’ vault. That would be an incredible way to live a luxurious life while not having to lift a finger to make money.
But . . . if it doesn’t work . . . if we don’t make a name for ourselves . . . we disappear.
That thought left a bitter taste in her mouth, and she pushed it aside. All she and Kryos had to do was find a good Mender who meshed with their dynamic, completed their Skill sets, clear some Rifts, get to a big city like Shhiv’s Spear, and set up shop while completing some Quests for a few big-name clients. Then they’d be able to spread word of their incredible new Guild, and her franchise plan might have a chance to take root.
The sun began to set, and Leona instructed Kryos to pull it off toward the river so they could easily access water. She steered, pulled the brakes, and then Kryos pulled his harness off and hung it up. “Good day’s travel,” Leona said.
Kryos leaned over and let out a groan as he stretched out his quads. “Oh, Drakemount overhead, that feels good.”
“You keep mentioning that place,” Leona said. “Where is it?”
Kryos stood up and leaned back, and she heard several loud pops. “It’s a place outside of reality,” he said. “All dragons go there when they’re born, and then get . . . distributed? That’s the best way to put it. It makes sure dragons don’t overpopulate any one place.”
Huh . . . interesting.
Leona pulled the pins out from both the steering column and brake column and then folded them into the top of the metal frame of the wagon. While the top and side panels were wood, the metal frame holding them together was part of the bottom and wheel structure, and with the brakes and steering able to recede, it would make the vehicle impossible to steal. She slid the pins into their hidden compartment along the front near the harness, and then climbed down.
Kryos had moved to the back of the wagon and pulled the circular brazier off of it, then moved toward the river bank and cleared out a section of grass with his feet-claws before setting it down. “Do we want a fire tonight?” he asked.
“Sure,” Leona replied. “A hot meal to celebrate our first night in the new Guild Hall sounds good.” She stood back while Kryos opened the door on the back and she took in their new home. The side panel with their Guild symbol—Kryos’ black dragon claw, curling around a silver coin, with a pair of daggers representing Leona—was probably her favorite addition.
Kryos came back out with a single black block about the size of his fist, moved over to the brazier, crumbled it up, and began striking flint and steel to light it. “Mind getting the pot and some water? A stew would be good.”
“Mmm sounds tasty,” Leona replied. “Oh, first, the wheels.” She moved over to the back door and slipped inside.
The wagon interior had been set up with all of the supplies at the front: the barrel of potable water, their crate of salted meat, a crate of salted fish, another crate of hardtack, a variety of supplies for carpentry repairs, a small smithing kit for metal repairs, a slim book which contained the schematics for the entire wagon—including some simplified instructions for fixing some of the smaller components that might break—and all of the other adventuring necessities for long periods of travel.
They had opted to try and save some space as well for sleeping arrangements. Leona had rigged up a hammock for herself, and Kryos had a bedroll that was currently rolled up and pushed over with the supplies. It left them a good amount of space to move around in the center. Leona moved over to the vertical wheel-locks, and then paused. “Ah, shit.”
She looked back at the door, grabbed the vertical ratchet-winch—a thick, metal pole with a foot-pedal—and took it outside. Then, she shoved it under the wagon, ratched it up until it had pushed the wagon up, and then went back inside, grabbed the second one, and set it up on the front to stabilize the whole thing.
Kryos came around and was about to get into the wagon. “Don’t!” she said.
“Why?” Kryos asked as he looked at her quizzically, hands on the door.
“I need to lower it first. You’re too heavy, you’ll probably—I don’t know, just don’t get in yet to grab whatever it is!” Leona moved to the back of the wagon, slipped past him, and once she was inside, turned the knobs to loosen the wheels, and then pulled them along their slides until they were all the way at the top, then tightened them once more. She repeated that for all four wheels, then got out. “Okay, get to the other side, and un-ratchet at the same time as me.”
Kryos did as he was told, and the two slowly let the wagon down until the bottom of it was sitting on the grass, with the wheels having been retracted up alongside the sides of the wagon itself. It would be perfectly stable, and no one could move it unless they dragged it along the ground. The wheels could only be re-deployed if the duo lifted the wagon once more, Leona went inside, and dropped the wheels once more.
“Okay, good to go inside,” Leona said.
Kryos dipped inside and came back with a bucket. “Fill it up, please.”
Leona grabbed it and went to the river, past the now-blazing brazier that was their campfire, and then put the bucket next to the fire. Kryos came out of the wagon with a small cauldron, poured some water in, crumbled up hardtack, and then looked at her. “Fish,” Leona said as she licked her lips.
Kryos smirked at that. “Is it because of the sea-elf thing? Or just because you feel like it?”
“A bit of both,” Leona replied. “I’m going to go for a swim and then get comfortable. Are you okay cooking?”
“Sure, I don’t mind. Oh, one thing, though.” Kryos crossed his arms as he stood up. “You haven’t put your money, gems, and all that into the vault. I believe we had agreed that you could withdraw as you needed, but you would store your wealth there so I could be stronger.”
Leona internally winced, but didn’t let it show on her face. She had completely forgotten. “I’ll do it right now,” she said. She went over to the wagon, got inside, and then moved to her bag and opened up the false bottom, every false pocket, and every other little, secret compartment. Then, she went to the center of the wagon, and pulled aside the well-concealed metal panel which hid the keyhole to the vault. Taking the key on the heavy-duty chain from around her neck, she slid it home with a click, opened the vault, and dumped her gold, silver, jewelry, and coins into it, before closing it tight.
“Thanks!” Kryos shouted out.
Leona shot up at that. “You can tell?”
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“Yeah. I just . . . well, SAVE system and my hoard. It’s weird to explain.”
I should be able to as well, Leona thought, since I’m the Guild Treasurer. The moment the thought went through her head, she saw a new message flicker in her HUD.
[Effective Vault Value: 1301]
Huh, interesting. I wonder what that translates to in raw silver value? Or is that in silver itself? Does it count Kryos’ artifact also? No answer came from SAVE, and she shrugged. Doesn’t matter, honestly. Just being able to glance at my HUD and know what’s in our vault, and what comes and goes at any time, is incredibly valuable. But, just to test.
She grabbed a silver coin, and received a notification that one silver coin had been removed.
“Hey!” Kryos shouted from outside, voice tinged with frustration. “I felt that!”
“Just testing how it worked!” Leona replied as she put the coin back.
He can just sense it? she asked in her thoughts. Or maybe he has something in his HUD as well? Meh, either way, we both can keep tabs on it.
She made sure to run a hand along the seams of the hidden compartment, and couldn’t even feel it. If she didn’t know it was there, she wouldn’t know it was present. The smiths had absolutely done their work, and done it extremely well. She stripped out of her armor, got out of all of her clothes, and grabbed a towel and a collapsable metal pole to stake it on.
Slipping outside, she silently used Seafoam Steps, got to the river without Kryos being any the wiser, planted the rod and hung her towel, then slipped into the welcoming river. Dipping into the waves, she fully submerged and breathed in the fluid with a sigh. Thanks to Aquatic Adaptability, she was just as comfortable in any liquid as she was on land.
She swam against the current with ease, and poked her head up, watching as Kryos walked back and forth between the wagon and the fire, swapping between stirring the pot of slowly-thickening stew from the hardtack and salted fish which was now starting to reach her nose, and getting out of his own armor. The wagon in the background was a good match for him: both were heavy, resilient, and would endure.
Kryos went to the front of the wagon and grabbed the harness, his mace, and shield, and took those into the wagon—he was removing everything from the outside except the Quest Board—since that couldn’t be moved without his express will, and it was practically indestructible from what Leona knew—and putting it into the wagon. Considering the vehicle was very sturdy, they would be safe if they both slept in it and didn’t set up a watch.
“Food is ready,” Kryos said. He stood up, looking around. “Leona?”
She got out of the water, letting her Skill fade, and grabbed her towel off the rod, wrapped it around herself, and moved over. “Great. Got bowls?”
Kryos had thought ahead, and handed her a bowl and a spoon. “I didn’t get something to sit on—sorry.”
Leona shrugged. “It’s fine.” She scooped up some of the stew and chowed down. The salty fish and thicker stew from the hardtack that had partially goopified was quite filling, if a little one-note flavor-wise. But, there was something else in it. “What did you put in here?” she asked as she smacked her lips.
“Just a little bit of pepper,” Kryos replied as he scooped his own bowlful. “Too much?”
“No, it’s good,” Leona replied as she kept scarfing down her food.
The two ate in silence: Leona standing and Kryos squatting, as the fire slowly flickered down and finally extinguished. The light of the moon and stars overhead was enough to illuminate the area, so she could see just fine. “Want me to leave the stake for you?” she asked.
Kryos nodded as he went to the wagon and came back with a towel as well. “Yeah. I’ll clean up if you want to head to bed.”
“Thank you.” Leona headed to the back of the wagon and made sure to wipe off the dirt from her feet, though she did glance back at Kryos and saw his broad shoulders and shapely rear before he dipped into the water with the stew pot in hand.
The exterior of the wagon-frame on the back had a small groove which could, if clothes or fabric were shoved into it, hold onto the cloth. She shoved the edge of her towel into it, and slipped into the wagon, then got into her hammock and wrapped herself in her comfortable fur blanket. The sounds of the night were somewhat dulled by the walls surrounding her, and the soft sounds of Kryos’ splashing in the river were muted as well.
First day of travel, done, she thought. Not bad all things considered. Our routine tonight took a bit longer than expected. We will get faster at putting the wagon down onto the ground, no doubt about that. I think the setup of me taking care of the wagon and him cooking is the smart way to go about things, since I can get into and out of it faster than he can.
Their wagon, from the outside, would just be a big box in the dark. But, an idea flickered into her head as she used one foot to swing herself gently back and forth. If they wanted to invest in it, they could purchase some canvas, and cover it with paste, and stick a bunch of branches and leaves to it, throw it over the wagon, and bam! They would have a concealed ‘bush’ alongside the road.
Definitely something to look into, she thought.
Kryos’ heavy tread sounded outside the door, and voice low, he said, “I’m going to lock us up. Are you okay with that?”
“Yeah,” Leona replied, peering over the edge of her hammock at him. He had slipped into his small clothes and left the towel outside, collapsed the metal rod and put it into its small holder inside the wagon, and then—thankfully—wiped off his foot-claws before getting inside. He pulled the wagon door shut and then closed it, and slid a single bar across to close it up fully.
The vehicle did have a lock mechanism that could be operated from the outside, which used the same key as the ones the duo had for the vault—it just required less key-length to open compared to the vault—but Kryos had insisted on a full bar to block the door off. The room was completely black, and she could only hear him moving around under her.
“Ouch!” she said as something poked her rump.
“Crap! Sorry!” Kryos said as the sharp object rapidly moved. “My horn. My bad.”
“It’s okay,” Leona mumbled as she rubbed the spot she had been jabbed. Thankfully it hadn’t pierced her hammock or broken skin. “Watch where your head is.”
Kryos replied, “I’ll make sure to put my bedroll down the opposite way next time for storage. Less risk of me poking on accident.” She could hear him moving about below, heard the floop-thunk sound of the padding being rolled out and laid flat, and then the fthwip of a blanket being flared out with a slight flourish. “Goodnight.”
“Sleep well,” Leona replied as she shut her eyes, pulled her leg back into her hammock, and nestled herself into her quilted blanket as best she could.
. . .
The first difference between Suncrest and the Dragontrail Guild Hall was immediately noticeable. The wagon became warm rather quickly, and there was no window. Leona had to ditch her blanket and toss it out of her hammock, onto the ration crate. Perhaps a different time of year, or in a colder climate, the covering would be appropriate. But with two people in the enclosed space? Nope, no way.
. . .
The next was having someone else sleep nearby. In the Irontrail Guild Hall, she had her own quarters. It was quiet, and she could only hear herself, the creaking of wood when the wind was especially fierce, and the occasional squeaking of mice in the walls. Here, she could hear the deep, steady breathing of her Party member, almost like a metronome—consistent like the clockwork she remembered in her parent’s mansion before they gave her up for adoption post-business collapse. The consistent, steady noise was almost soothing, akin to the noise of the ocean lulling onto the beach.
. . .
Last, Leona felt a sense of mixed safety and danger. She felt safe, because she was inside a darned sturdy box, with a hulking mountain of a man in the way of a possible attacker and herself. But she also felt vulnerable, because she was not in a massive Guild Hall with dozens of Adventurers, up on the second floor of a building, near a city. She was in the wilderness. Sure, hamlets were around, and little villages may dot the landscape here and there, but she had never been away from large groups of people before.
. . .
As Kryos’ steady breathing continued, and Leona’s thoughts began to finally settle, her mind was able to drift off, and darkness took its hold.
Ca-thunk!
Leona shot up, which thanks to being in a hammock, resulted in her wrapping herself into a cocoon, which took a moment to extricate herself from. Thankfully, someone grabbed the rope and held it steady. She managed to get a leg out to stabilize against the wall of the wagon.
“You okay?” Kryos asked. He was crouched over, and the door was open behind him, letting in faint sunlight hued orange of early morning.
“Yeah,” Leona replied as she blinked herself awake. “Did you open the door just now?”
Kryos glanced back. “It was a bit loud. Sorry. I tried to slide it slowly, but then I fumbled it.”
She looked at his big hands and sighed. “It’s okay. Breakfast?”
“Depends if you want something cooked or not.”
Leona nodded. “I can catch us some fish if you want a fresh fry.”
“Sure. Want me to ready the wagon while you prep all that?”
“Mhmm.”
The duo split off to their tasks. Leona, being naturally inclined to the water, was easily able to catch a few fish from the river, quickly killed them, gutted, cleaned, filleted, and then skewered them. Grabbing the metal brazier and setting it up, and one of the crackable charcoal bricks, she ignited a blaze and set to cooking their breakfast.
While she did that, she watched the last bits of Kryos’ setting up the wagon. He moved with slow and steady efficiency. Lumbering, but not oafish, with a measured precision that ensured movements weren’t wasted. It reminded Leona of a phrase, “smooth is fast”, which she heard from someone with a weird Class called a Sensei she once met. She had no clue what it meant, but maybe it referred to people like Kryos who did things slowly, but without wasting movement, so it looked faster than it was.
He did what she would’ve done—put the ratchets into place, put the wagon up, then didn’t enter the wagon to lower the wheels. Good, she thought, he’s going to wait for me to go in and lower them since I weigh less. He listened and remembered. Then, he set up the harness on the front, and finally began gearing up in his armor and equipment.
Leona finished cooking the fish, pulled the skewers, and planted them in the ground next to the wagon to cool a bit. She dumped the brazier into the river, cooled it with a quick dunk, then set it back onto its holder on the back of the wagon. Slipping inside, she pulled the pins that dropped the wheels down, and then slotted their locks back into place. “You can ratchet them down!” she shouted.
“Got it!” Kryos replied.
Leona geared up while she was in the wagon, and felt the little bit of downward movement first behind her then in front of her as Kryos lowered one side then the other, then he came around the back and handed her the two devices, which she stowed away.
After eating, Kryos got into his harness, Leona locked up the wagon, scrambled up top, and set up the steering and braking column. “Okay,” Kryos said. “We ready?”
“All good up here. One day of travel down.”
“And a lot more to go.”
The next few days and nights passed in much the same routine. The road was more-or-less the same, with more packed dirt and less growth as they approached villages and hamlets. The river was occasionally busy, with shipments consistently racing down toward the far-off coast. The two had discussed and considered trying their wagon’s water-travel mode, but chose to really nail down their road routine first.
And that is exactly what they did. Evening break-down was streamlined, with the duo combining their focus on the mobile Guild Hall and setting it down on the ground, converting it to its ‘home mode’ as they began to call it, then doing some camp activities: cooking, fishing, and making small adjustments to gear.
Most of the time, during travel, Kryos was quietly walking forward, and Leona was just fine with the silence. It gave her time to think about their conversations.
The 7th of Caldris arrived, as Leona noted in her journal. She slipped it into the vault before locking it up and sealing the keyhole. She wanted to make it a habit to note down how much was put into the vault every day—even if it was nothing. It was something she thought should be logged, her duty as Guild Treasurer.
Kryos was making their dinner, which this time was some of the fresh fish that she had caught the day prior, but he had prepared in an intriguing way that she had never heard of despite living next to the ocean for much of her youth. It was ‘marinated’ as he called it, putting it into a bag of water, herbs, and spices to almost ferment. She had to admit, it smelled delightful as it cooked on the skillet.
Leona walked over and sat down on a rock that Kryos had pulled over for them to sit on. “How’d you learn to cook like this?”
“My mom,” Kryos replied.
“A dragon taught you how to cook on a skillet,” Leona stated with the corners of her mouth turning up to a smile.
Kryos looked at her, and there was a flicker of some emotion that crossed his face. It took her a second to figure out what it was, but Read the Room picked up on it—he was assessing whether to reveal a secret or not. After a few seconds, he said, “My mom transformed into her visage. Any really strong dragon can turn into a humanoid form.”
Leona was utterly gobsmacked at that. She’d heard it from legends and stories—but hearing it confirmed was a whole different matter entirely.
That might mean that the rumors about Lossris are true, she thought, recalling the name of the Merchant Lord who lived in Shhiv’s Spear and was part of the Merchant Council and Civil Authority. Leona’s grip on her pants tightened. The bitch.
Kryos must have noticed her discomfort. “What is it?” he asked, voice filled with concern.
“I think a dragon might have ruined my family’s business,” Leona muttered. “There’s this bitch of a woman in Shhiv’s Spear, Lossris Troxar, who has been rumored to be dragon-blooded like the . . . well, the not you type of half-dragon, the other type. But she doesn’t have the eyes they’re supposed to have.”
“She could be a true dragon,” Kryos replied. “At Tier IV, a true dragon figures out their visage. Around Tier VII, they pretty much stay in that form because it's easier to build hoard value while in society.” He chuckled and flipped the fish with a satisfying szzt. “The days of dragons flying into kingdoms and plundering before going back to their mountains with riches are far gone, now.”
Leona wrapped her arms around her knees and stared into the crackling charcoal block on the metal brazier.
Kryos left the skillet for a moment and sat next to her. “Silver for your thoughts?”
She glanced at him. “Like you’d give up a silver.”
“True,” he replied with a chuckle. “Still, come on, talk. It’s not like we’ve got anything better to do.”
“She bankrupted my parent’s business,” Leona replied. “Undercut their venture and then paid pirates to steal their cargo. My . . .” she took in a shuddering breath before continuing. “My parents had to give me up for adoption. It was that, or I live on the streets with them.” She put her head onto her knees. Emotions she had thought long buried came welling up to the surface. “I haven’t seen them again.”
Kryos didn’t say anything. She felt a firm, gentle hand on her back, and almost instinctively leaned into him and didn’t say a word. Finally, Kryos broke the silence as he pulled away. “Damnit! The fish is burning!”
“I don’t smell it burning,” Leona replied as the comedic sight of the clumsy half-dragon got off the rock and almost messed up his grab for the skillet, nearly dumping the food onto the ground and ruining dinner. He moved it to a flat rock that had already been scrubbed clean with water, and slipped the fish out.
“Whew,” he said as he put the skillet to the side. “Okay, got it just in time.”
“You have a good sense of smell,” Leona commented.
“Yup. I can smell all types of stuff. I might not have elf hearing, but I can sniff very well.” Kryos went to their mess kits and grabbed their plates and forks, then handed Leona her portion of food. “Enjoy.”
She accepted it with a nod of thanks and tried a bite of the flakey flesh. To her shock, the pungent, herbaceous flavors that assaulted her senses were almost overwhelming, and she had to open her mouth and take several breaths to let the night air wash out her sinuses. “It’s tasty,” she said through a partially-full mouth.
Kryos was already halfway through his fish and just nodded. “Mhmm.”
So tasty, she thought. But there are so many damned flavors, and they’re so strong.
Kryos finished off his first fish by the time she was halfway through her first, and as he grabbed his second and last, he paused and looked at her. “Well, if she is a dragon, I’ll be able to tell the moment I see her. We can just . . . kind of know.”
“Like with that earth dragon?” Leona asked.
Kryos nodded. “Like that. If she’s been in her visage form for a long time, she is probably quite strong. I wouldn’t want to be her enemy unless we were very strong ourselves.”
“Long term goal, perhaps,” Leona replied. “It’s not like she would know who I was anyways. My family business was just a casualty of her plans. One of many.”
Kryos looked downcast at that. “I’m sorry.”
Leona looked at her fish and took another bite.
The morning of the 8th of Caldris, the duo were able to rapidly get packed up and on their way. Leona reached into her hip pouch and squeezed the single nugget of silver ore she had held onto from Suncrest’s mine during one of their guard jobs.
The reason she had held onto it was because it was . . . weird. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. It was soft, and oddly malleable. She had peered at it the night before while Kryos was bathing, and it was oddly greenish, like how silver would turn the skin green over time—but it was the silver itself turning that hue.
In the few days since their departure from Suncrest, the metal hadn’t changed. Still she didn’t want to put it into the vault. For some reason, that just didn’t sit right with her. She knew it had some value, but something tickled the back of her mind, telling her that putting it in there would be a mistake.
A few hours later, as the sun was high overhead, the valley opened up as the mountains fell away. “Behold!” Leona said. “We are finally free!”
The landscape before them stretched away far, far into the distance. The duo and their wagon were atop a small hill, and the river wound its way in a winding course to their side, continuing on its path down towards Shhiv’s Spear somewhere past the horizon. Here, though, the mountains did not ring them in. Now, the world opened up before them.
Dragontrail could go anywhere.
Kryos looked back at her. “Where to?”
Leona put her hand on her thigh and tapped her fingers. Well, the land is flat enough we could just go over the plains and head toward one of the larger cities, but not some huge place like Shhiv’s Spear. If we cross the river, we can go towards the forested regions, which will be a pain to navigate aside from the main roads—but there’s bound to be monsters aplenty, which means lots of Quests to kill them. And, probably, Rifts galore.
“Quests, Rifts, or heading towards the biggest city around?” Leona asked.
Kryos’ voice was ecstatic. “Rifts! They have the most value! Plus, we need a Mender, and one will be called from nearby, right? Best chance to recruit we could ask for.”
“Okay then,” Leona replied. “Follow that road, and we’ll hit a bridge in a few miles. Hyah!”
Kryos chuckled. “You don’t have to mush me. Just be ready on that brake. I don’t want to have to try and hold back this thing from running me down.”
“I’ve got you,” Leona replied.