Game On
Chapter 2
The sound of writing could be heard, someone writing on a page of paper, the wording reading,
From The journal of Vito,
End of Week one.
It has been a week since the Storyteller put me in this world, or I guess you could say since the elves found me in that tomb. I underestimated how long it was going to take, we spent just about a week traveling to the city they were fleeing to, I can understand why though we have a lot of children and elderly in the caravan. After Day three I had the unfortunate opportunity to make myself look better among the refugees, we were attacked on night three. I managed to repel the little bastards with minimal wounded, but people still got hurt, that slowed us down further. I made a good impression but still many of them are still unsure of me, they are however much much more relaxed with me now at the least; Jessica's family has by proxy taken me in. I seem to be on a first name basis with her father, who has taken something of a liking to me. I never thought I'd actually have what some would refer to as a beer buddy, he's a decent man honest enough if a little biased; having finally told me on night four how he had to ferry his family around for a good while when human nobles managed to cheat and disrupt his family's store in two different cities leaving him little option but to move, in fact they had only been at the location they were at for little over a year.
Their mother who once more formally introduced herself to me as Marry; she’s a decent person, a caring and dutiful mother, and a hard worker, a bit more free of the bias her husband has but your typical mother bear turns out, was actually kind of frightening how quickly she reacted to save her son when that attack first started.
Last but not least I must admit I've taken a bit of a liking to their grandmother, she's a good soul, a calming spirit and the women knows a lot despite the fact their social norm would deem a women knowing anything besides how to be a housewife as unnecessary, She has been vital to helping me stay on the right path so far, I must admit I can't remember the last time I had such a pleasant time being with someone of such an advanced age; it could be that I don't remember much from my own grandmothers and am experiencing this for the first time, guess that kinda helps paint my family life
. . . . you know I think I'm done with this journal entry.
~~
The dragon looked down at the page he had just written then to what he had written it with, the dragon thinking to himself,
'Never thought I'd be writing with a feather pen and an ink well, guess I should be thankful they had these things, being able to write down my thoughts is kind of nice, like getting a weight off my chest.'
He looked back at the elven family in question, their tent got lost in the attack so he allowed them to sleep in his tent seeing as it had been theirs to begin with, he couldn't bring himself to make them sleep in the cold. He looked down at the page again, remembering when the boy Jacob had peeked over his shoulder and looked at his character sheet in the binder, he couldn't read it though leading the dragons discovery that they couldn't read English; guessing that it wasn't the language they were speaking. Their grandmother turns out was something of a language hound and once she discovered another language she didn't know, she started asking him to teach her how to write it, he decided to agree to her request provided she do the same in turn and teach him how to write their language to which she eagerly agreed, seems she liked learning as much as she did teaching. He looked over once more at the sleeping family idly wondering if his own family would have even been capable of pulling together in such a way, but with a shake of his head banished the thought, the last thing he wanted to think about was his family right now, he had more important things to worry about, like how he was going to take over the world for starters.
'First thing I'll need to do is establish myself as a leader beyond just the fact that I am the strongest here, the other day I took a moment to speak to a family of farmers, I spoke with them for a long time about their family, their farm, what they've lost, and other such things, and though I did this in private I made sure others saw me, I need to work on how they see me, to quote a strategy game I was fond of, it's easier to rule with an iron fist once Its wrapped in a velvet glove. Anyway, that's enough for this journal entry, I need to start my morning.’
Putting aside the feather pen the dragon muttering “Not sure i'll get use to this” As he put his pen away in his binder, the book in which held his ten still blank pages, lifting one page and saying,
“I need to figure out how to use these, won't do me any good if I don't anoint champions.”
He then reached over to his inkwell returning the cork stopper into the jar to keep the ink inside, Setting itself in a bag he had managed to bargain for; having found a means to get both the bag he'd need and make the group see him in a better light, the woman whose son had asked him for fire for his magic jar had broken her leg fleeing the city, it would have been impossible for the boy to help his mother keep up. Vito had in turn offered to carry the women in exchange for the large bag she had, she agreed and now he had the bag he was going to need to start carrying his stuff, and was also garnering some good will being seen as a kind soul who helps those in need. He looked back as Jessica finally started to wake, the girl after a moment seeing her draconic master putting his stuff away, Vito then saying,
“Morning Jessica, you sleep well?”
The elf girl rubbed her eyes then said softly,
“I did master, thank you for asking.”
Vito looked back at her for a moment then thought to himself,
'She said that rather quietly, still I heard her as easily as if she had said it out loud, I wonder is this a side effect of being at least half dragon; I can't help but wonder if I have any other perks.'
Getting up himself the dragon then said as he got up from where he had been sitting,
“Take your time waking, I'm going to go check on the rest of the camp.”
She nodded watching when she noticed her father start to stir, by the time she looked back to the dragon, he had left. He looked around the outside of his tent for a moment seeing a clustered array of tents huddled around the dragon's in a mock tent city fashion surely proving how quickly the dragon had beacon a safety Vito idly remarking,
“Hell at this rate I'm going to have to build a city to keep them all safe.”
Scratching his scaled ears for a moment, an act he had found days ago felt rather good, more so when he managed to get a claw under the scales to get at the actual flesh of his ears, then said as he looked around at a few of the other early risers coming out of their own tents.
“Hell I wanted to take over the world, going to have to do so sooner or later I think.”
Moving to go walk around the camp, saying as he started to walk,
“Guess it's a good thing I'm a child of Four X games, once I get to the grand strategy level, That's when I'll shine.”
His quick walk around the camp was soon joined by several children, the dragon idly wondering why they wanted to be so far away from their parents at a moment like this, till he noticed that said parents while still looking around for the children every so often felt OK letting their children walk around with him, leading him to think to himself.
'They’re either bad parents, or they already trust me to this extent,'
He stopped for a moment when he found a few children hopping over his tail, the outburst of laughter when one boy missed his jump and ended up on his butt filling the air, the outburst of childlike laughter filling the area for a moment; Vito noting the more then a few smiles on faces that days before had held grin outlooks, the dragon thinking as a smile filled his own face, before offering the boy a hand to pull him back onto his feet,
'This is a good change of pace, the whole camp had felt like one big gray storm cloud had been following us, their overall moods are getting lighter though, its for the best I help them cheer up, they need to realize I bring prospects for a better future, beyond the fact they all work for me now.'
He looked around once more, the sun was starting to come up now and with a lack of darkness the likelihood, he had quickly learned, of the monster attacking was not very high, and with a satisfied nod knowing that at least for the moment the coast was clear returned to the camp still with a few children making a game of jumping over his tail; he was allowing it less because it didn't bother him, but more because they were kids who were most likely bored out of their skulls. It was the first time the kids had been acting like children since the town was attacked or at least since he had joined them; many whom had already been refugees before the city attack. He returned to the center of camp the children that had been following him now returned to their parents who most of which had called them back, telling them to stop bother the “nice dragon” and left him to his devices, Vito noting how many of the group where waiting on him to make a call, leading him to think for a moment,
'Well, I do want to build myself a power base, a city will be necessary, first and foremost we'll need supplies, also i'll need to figure out how many skilled craftsmen I have with us, no point in trying to building a city if no one here knows how to build.'
With that and a nod the dragon then said to those who were both directly and indirectly were looking to the dragon,
“Alright let's get ready to move ladies and gentlemen, pack up the camp. My first goal is to restock our supplies and we can't do that in a field, make sure our supplies are packed away properly, make sure everyone gets a decent meal in their bellies and last but not least make sure everyone is ready to leave, don't be afraid to help your neighbors or to ask me,”
The dragon thinking for a moment before saying aloud,
“Regardless of who or what you were before know now you're all now the precious property of a dragon, hold yourself in high regard.”
There was a general concussion as many started to once more pack up this makeshift camp, The dragon looking around as he thought to himself,
'First thing I need is a location, a easily defensible location, i'll build my city there, second i'll need the supplies and skilled builders to make my vision come to life, till I have those things it's pointless appointing warriors to keep them self, at this point it’s my job to keep these people alive, I need them to know that I will keep them protected, that they can trust me, so far this is working.'
He looked around again watching the people under his watch do as he said, no off hand looks no sideways glances they were clearly starting to trust the dragon who a week ago they were unsure of. With their path set for the day the dragon returned to his tent, which was being taken down by his pet elven family who he was still sharing the tent with, His little servant girl asking as he returned,
“Master, how is everything?”
He looked at her then gave her head a pat saying after the fact,
“Good, I'm having the rest of the camp get ready to go, with any luck we'll be able to reach that town you lot told me of.”
Her father said as he overheard the conversation,
“Ay we should sir, mind you it's taken a little longer but it normally takes no more then four days to walk from the two cities, if we don't make it there before today is done i'd be amazed, also worried I'm told by some of the people you've left in charge of our supplies that food is getting low.”
The dragon nodded then said,
“Should we reach the city today i'll trust you to restocking our supplies, and be sure to let me know if I can help the obvious money issue, I might not have the actual coin but I'm sure I'm strong enough to earn more than a little.”
The Elf nodded the dragon then thinking as he watched over them pull down their collectively shared tent,
‘I'll trust this job to him, i'm a strategy gamer not a merchant, I'm sure as a merchant he'd be far better at negotiation and managing our limited money then I could.’
The girl then asking as she returned to his side, with her brother of course,
“So, what will be your first plan master?”
The dragon was lost in thought for a moment before he finally said looking down to the elf,
“In order to build the vision in my head, I need to start by accepting my limitations, you can put a gamer into the game but that doesn't mean you'll instantly get a war hero, I need to learn, how to fight, magic, how to rule properly, it'll be a long path, but it's the path I have to walk, and no one can walk it for me.”
Walking over to the rest of the elven family the dragon watched as most of the family was working on putting stuff away aside from the girl who was being whatever the dragon need at that moment, the boy however it seemed was missing, the dragon looking around before asking,
“Where is your brother?”
The girl looked around then said,
“I'm not sure he was just here.”
Her grandmother smiled then said,
“Oh I know where he is deary, the boy asked if I could make him a bow, I do believe you've inspired him to try to be more than just a merchants son Vito, you're rubbing off on him.”
She pointed him in the direction the young elf had gone the dragon nodding then intending to go see for himself. Vito and Jessica took the short walk away from the camp where the boy had taken a knife and carved an X into the trunk of a tree, and was now trying to take shots at it, to the boys credit wasn't bad, but obviously a novice marksmen, the twang of the bow string heard then the thunk of the arrow hitting the tree the boy however letting out a sigh when the shot, though it hit the tree, missed the mark. The dragon saw the disappointment on his face boy then said,
“You know, you're not bad, doubt i could hit the tree.”
The boy jumped then looked over to the dragon,
“Oh master Vito, good morning, sorry I wandered off.”
The dragon nodded then said,
“No worries, take another shot.”
The boy looked at the dragon then nodded, the boy notching another arrow before letting it fly the boy once more seeing the arrow miss its mark even if it did hit the tree, the boys face mixing with a twist of disappointment mixed with shame knowing the dragon had seen him miss, Vito however though to himself,
'He's not bad, he's got potential, while I don't know how to use a bow either, I have learned at least one thing about them from my games.'
The dragon approached the boy then saying,
“You're not bad for a beginner, here let me show you something I learned about bows.”
Instructing the boy to ready another arrow, the dragon then saying as he moved the boy's pointer finger out in the same direction the arrow was now pointed in then saying,
“Here, now you can get a decent read on where that arrow will most likely hit, now mind you I've never used a bow before so this is second hand knowledge, at best, but maybe it'll help, now give it another try.”
The boy nodded training his eye on the X craved in the tree then making sure his finger was pointing at the tree, the twang of the bow as he let go of the arrow, then the thud of the arrow hitting the tree, and while it wasn't a bullseye it was close the boy jumping as he said,
“IT WAS SO CLOSE, you see that?!?”
He nodded with a smile saying as he pat the boy's head,
“Not bad, you've got a lot of potential, now why don't you go fetch your arrows we're leaving in a few.”
The boy nodded saying “Yes sir” as he hurried over to the tree, the dragon then asking,
“So where did you get the arrows?”
The boy looked back for a moment before returning to the arrows in and around the tree,
“One of the men in our camp was a hunter, his bow had been broken in a previous attack but he did still have some arrows so I asked him if we could trade, I promised that I'd pay him back for them once I had the coin for it, he agreed.”
The dragon nodded thinking as he did,
'Well so much for my harem It'd be dumb of me to ignore his potential just because he's male, but first things first I need to learn how to use these pages and only one person can teach me.'
With a nod the dragon watched the boy finish collecting up his arrows, the dragon then saying,
“Alright you two, go and help your parents in packing stuff away, I'll be along shortly.”
The two young elves nodded then hurried back to the camp leaving the dragon alone, who said only after he was sure he was in fact alone,
“Alright, I know you're still here, show yourself Storyteller.”
It took a moment but the teller then said as he walked out from behind a tree his face still shrouded in unnatural darkness and wearing the same black cloak, who said facing the dragon,
“You know, normally I don't let my characters call me out, but I suppose this once I can make an exception, what can I do for you my friend?”
The dragon fished into his bag saying as he fetched the binder,
“You handed me a book of magic paper, gave me no instruction on how to use it, not to mention if this is what I think it is then no one on this planet can teach me how to use it, but you. So we both know this is what you wanted to happen so start talking, how do I make it do the thing?”
The Teller smiled or so was the feeling the dragon got, the shrouded being than saying,
“True, on both accounts, well then I will tell you, its a blood pact contract,”
Pulling an ornate dagger from his cloak the Storyteller then says,
“Simply put, you have your chosen person cut their thumb with this dagger and this dagger alone, then with their life's blood have then press the bloody finger into the portion of the page where their picture would go. That night take your quill pen and your ink sit before an empty page and allow yourself to relax tell yourself you are going to fill in the page, you'll proceed to go into a trance in which you will fill out their page; do note you will lose control of yourself in this moment so it's best to do this while you know you are safe, remember you can be killed and no more freebies.”
The dragon nodded looking at the page then saying,
“Alright, so i'll just know how to fill out this page then? And I won't be able to control myself as in i'll be on autopilot or something?”
The Teller nods then says,
“The person must also be willing to serve you but that's about it, now go ahead and take this dagger and do not lose it, I won't so easily replace it if you do, meaning this first one is free the next one will cost you.”
The dragon nodded approaching the teller and taking the dagger, the Teller then vanishing once he had the knife, leading the dragon to say as he put the knife in his bag,
“Yup he had that planned or he'd have already given me the knife.”
Much like the days before once breakfast was given and eaten, the caravan packed up and got back on the path, much remaining the same till finally much later that day the city came into view, much to the relief of the survivors, it was the dragon who noticed the winds suddenly change, the dragon looking around as a sudden chill took the breeze, Jessica asking as she noticed the disturbed look the dragon had,
“Master whats wrong?”
He didn't respond, the dragon training his eyes on the horizon till he seen them, the shadows were hunting them, the mass of darkness shifting once they realized they had been spotted. With an angry growl Vito said,
“Son of a bitch, we're being stalked.”
Looking at the group surprised at his words the dragon then yelled as he handed the human woman he had been carrying to Bart,
“Hurry the horde is upon us get to the city now, RUN!”
The dragon then turned and unleashed a gout of fire shocking the creatures hiding in the unnatural darkness that had been sneaking up on them. Seeing the creatures so close the caravan panicked the dragon then shouting,
“RUN TO THE CITY! I'LL HOLD THEM HERE! GO!”
Grabbing up a sword on his belt Vito let out another breath of fire actually igniting one of the beast which shrieks in an ear piercing scream, riling the rest up as the dragon made himself look the obvious target allowing the rest of them to run, the dragon seeing the group start to grow far enough to the point the darkness hid all around him, saying as he kept his wits about him,
“Its for the best, none of them are warriors, all I have to do is survive.”
Watching the shadow creatures swarm around him, much like a pack of coyotes would surround dinner, the dragon realizing after a few moments the position he had put himself in, unleashing more fire and making the monsters in front of him back off, only for him to have to jump away from the counter attack that came from behind. The creatures had him surrounded, Yelling at the creatures with a snarl,
“If you think you can take a dragon, then come at me!”
He fought with the ferocity of a dragon swiping with his blade then spewing a gout of fire, his best assets at the moment was the fire at least for a second tore the shroud the creatures created around themselves exposing them for brief moments the dragon saying after making this discovery,
“Damn, you things are fugly.”
The creatures were thin unnaturally so, lanky stringy creatures some as small as a house cats others who would be about the size of your average human if they could walk upright, each one of them hunched over in some unnatural way each staring back at him with blank white eyes, a collective hiss coming from the creatures when the dragon fire exposed them, Vito saying with a grin as he got ready to unleash another gout of fire,
“Oh so that's how you bastards work, that unreal shroud of darkness protects you, Well I've got your number now fuckers!”
Unleashing another gout of flames the dragon reacted as fast as he could rushing into the flames as they ripped open the shadow barrier they created, for the first time impaling one of the creatures who hissed and screeched on the end of his blade hissing at the dragon till it collapsed into a sickly black mist. Grinning at the creatures who once more hid in the shadows they created, the dragon saying rather smugly,
“I know how to fight you fuckers now, that's your asses.”
The dragon noticing an arrow strike where one of the eyes would have been, looking back as the elf in question said,
“I've got your back master, I brought backup too!”
Guardsmen formed up behind him a man in armor shouting to the assembled battle group,
“STAND YOUR GROUND MEN! Notch arrows!”
The dragon then having an idea took in a breath a deep one then as he heard the man shout “FIRE!” then with the resulting sing of arrows the dragon unleash what quickly exploded into a large mushroom cloud like gout of flames into the air rending the darkness around him allowing the arrows to hit their targets, killing an impressive amount of the creatures before the light from the dragons fire faded allowing the shadow to creep back in, the men in the firing line saying in more shock then amazement, one man saying “Holy shit” and another following up with “We actually hit them” the man in charge however saying,
“KEEP YOUR HEADS YOU NINNY'S, NOCK!”
The man got the dragons idea the man watching the dragon in the shroud then shouting once he saw he was ready for another,
“FIRE!!”
The group unleashed their arrows and once more the dragon lit up the twilight sky with dragons fire violently shoving the unnatural darkness once more and exposing the sickly looking creatures more of whom were quickly introduced to arrows, the same results as the last more falling into mist. The dragon saw a collective knee jerk reaction in the horde, the survivors of the group fading as the darkness, much like mist, receded, Vito yelling as joy and Adrenalin overtook him,
“That right run fuckers! RUN from the mighty dragon, i'll kill you all!”
He leaned back over excited as he yelled into a roar of fire into the nights sky, the men far behind him cheering along, till suddenly after stopping his breath of fire Vito says suddenly dizzy,
“What the fuck is this feeli. . .”
The elf boy shouted as he suddenly rushed toward him seeing the dragon collapse,
“MASTER!”
The last thing Vito could remember that night was an overwhelming amount of dizziness and then a sucker punch fatigue then blacking out, not even hearing the loud slam he made when he hit the ground. The next thing he knew he woke in a bed looking up at the family of elves around him. He opened his eyes and felt a small wave of dizziness overtake him till rubbing his head he was able to sit up, asking when he met someone's gaze,
“What happened, I can't remember last night.”
Jessica then responded after she offered him a biscuit she had put some jam onto for him when she noticed him coming around,
“That's because you've been out for at least a day master.”
The boy quickly rushed out of the room saying as he did,
“Mom, Dad, He's awake. Vito's awake go tell the others.”
Looking over to the boy then back to the girl Vito asked as he rubbed his head,
“Gah, why do I feel like I went five rounds with the world heavyweight boxing champion?”
The girl looked at him confused asking “The who master?” As another person walked in, the male voice then saying,
“Hello there, allow me to clarify for you, You've been suffering from what is known as mana overdraw syndrome, you used a lot of mana the other day I'm not surprised you collapsed with how brightly you lit of the battlefield, Allow me to introduce myself, the name's Trevor Kitsmen, I'm the captain of the guard, Welcome to the city of Brakkon Root Sir.”
The dragon looked over to the man, he was wearing what was a far cry from plate armor but was still very well crafted armor, head to toe the man reeked of authority, the man offering the dragon a hand, to which Vito stretched out his own shaking the mans hand. After shaking the man's hand he helped pull the dragon back to his feet, the guard captain then saying,
“I know you just woke but the lord of castle has asked me to bring you before him the moment you woke, if you don't mind.”
The Dragon shook his head for a moment then said looking to Bart who was outside,
“Is everyone alright? Did those damn things take anyone?”
He shook his head no, the elven man then saying,
“No Sir, thanks to your actions we were able to make it to the city unharmed; the beast were to busy trying to deal with yourself to give chase.”
Vito looked over as Trevor then said,
“That boy of his ran all the way to the walls of the city he was beyond out of breath but still managed to tell us that his 'master' was fighting those monsters and needed backup, I collected what men I had on hand and followed the lad into the field, never would have found you till it was to late if not for the boy, he can run a long distance I have to give him that, but that battle itself I'm both profoundly proud and ashamed to say that, that was the very first battle our side can report that we won.”
The Dragon nodded Vito then saying,
“So the lord of the town wishes to see me?”
The man nodded the dragon then asking,
“Does this meeting come with food, I'm starving.”
The man looked over to one of his men saying,
“It does not sir, but that can be arranged,”
Looking to one of his men he said,
“Send one of the squire's to the castle, have the lad inform them the dragon desires food.”
The man next to him gave a salute striking a fist to his chest saying “Yes sir” then left to carry out his instructions, Trevor then saying,
“It'll only take a short while sir, I shall return when the castle is ready to receive you.”
The dragon nodded watching the man leave, the dragon after a moment then asked looking to Bart,
“So the towns lord wants to meet me, how much gold do you want to bet they want to try and milk me for information.”
The elven shopkeeper gave a laugh then said,
“I wouldn't bet on it as that is most assuredly the reason why sir, they're being unusually cordial to a being that a week ago didn't exist .”
The dragon nodded then saying as he got up,
“I want to see the others, make sure they're safe.”
The man nodded saying as he offered to show him where they were,
“I'm sure the others want to see you as well sir, you've become very popular among the survivors, I dare say most of the others won't move on without you.”
The dragon laughed then said,
“You know I was joking about It before to myself but at this rate I really will have to build a city, won’t I.”
The elf laughed then said,
“A city, never thought I'd hear that from a dragon my family pulled out of a tomb, still I'm fairly sure at the least most of the others would follow if you allowed them too.”
He nodded then followed him out, they had taken him to an inn it seemed a few people where there with him but obviously the inn could not hold everyone. The dragon followed the others, leading him to where the others were at, the dragon slightly appalled when he found them in what would barely pass for a tent city in the crappiest section of the town, the dragon growling the words,
“This is where they put you all? This place is a shit hole! What self respecting ruler would let a section of his city fall into this state!”
He looked around gone where the cobblestone streets and fancy well built stone building that would last and what structures that still stood in one piece were shabby and falling apart. He watched as as the refugees he had traveled with crawled out of tents that had to be set up in mud for a simple lack of a better or safer location to set them up in, many people were in clothing that by now were matted with dirt and mud, the overall conditions they were in was simply abysmal Vito then thinking as his anger rose,
'This! this is where they put my people at, this place is a sanitary disaster zone, I can't let them stay in these conditions, I'm the only one here who understands why you can't live in this kind of squalor.'
The elf looked at the dragon who just looked like a switch had been flipped others backing away as smoke started billowing from the dragon who's rage became more and more obvious,
“Vito, I know it's not much but we're all thankful just to be alive right now.”
The dragon turned in an almost snap like motion and yell “Unacceptable!” At the top of his lungs Jessica asking as she tugged on his arm a little,
“Master whats wrong?”
He looked at the girl, rubbed her head longingly then said as his rage filled sneer returned,
“Throw my family in the fucking mud, not if I have anything to say about it.”
He pulled himself away from her, the girl a little dumbstruck as her father walked up to her asking the girl “Whats wrong what did he tell you my sweet?” the girl saying as she watched the dragon storm off,
“He called us, his family. . .”
Vito's mind suddenly reeled for a moment thinking as though he had pulled away from himself,
'Oh shit, what happened why does my head hurt'
Suddenly noticing his anger from an outside perception, then asking himself,
'Wait, I'm not actually this angry about this, what is going on?'
In a sudden twist of perception the soul turned and saw both the Storyteller and his white hooded counterpart, as if watching the events unfold the white hood asking,
“Are we on the hook for this?”
The Storyteller Nodded then said,
“You never warned him, and I slipped, no one among him knows a thing about his kind, it's impossible for a human to understand what Dragon Rage is let alone control his first one.”
The being in the white hood said as he suddenly started to vanish,
“Right i'll get into position to intervene.”
The Soul asked as he looked out the storyteller,
“What's going on why am I here again, what's going on?”
The Teller nods saying as he approached,
“There is a, grave, issue, do you know what a dragon rage is?”
The soul gave a nod like sensation as he said,
“I understand the concept of it but it, but it depends what it means for this world doesn't it.”
The Teller nods then saying,
“Well consider this your one time you can laugh at me, A Dragon Rage in this world is a condition affecting dragons and dragon kin, in moments of pure rage you can lose control of yourself, utterly”
The teller stopping for a moment then saying as he thought the best
“Take the berserk skill from D&D, turn in to twelve, rip the knob off, THEN JAM IT DOWN THE THROAT OF THE GUY NEXT TO YOU! The first Dragon Rage of an adult dragon is the most uncontrollable condition around; which is normally something triggered by dragons, themselves, among their kin of whom know of and would have been able to control their kin till the first rage was spent.”
The Soul nodded a little bit of understanding as the tell then said,
“Right now, you stand as the sole surviving dragon, in your first rage; no one will be able to control you or contend with you, you blow your top it might be game over for you, or this city, most likely the city though, they would have to role a few Nat twenties to kill you in that condition.”
The soul gulps hard despite the body to do so, The Tell then said,
“Ok, I'm cheating here but only because it's necessary, I kid you not this is bad, I'm restoring you mentally to peek condition and sending you back to your body, grab your mental reigns and pull hard get yourself back under control before you create a bloodbath.”
The Soul nodded, once returned to the real world he found himself being lead through the castle, the men around him unnerved by his angry rant like mumble he was having under his breath which absolutely smelt of brimstone. One man saying as he lift an arm up to a door,
“Sir my lord is just beyond this door, allow me announce your arrival.”
The man gulped as the dragon approached, Vito thinking as he realized what he was going to do,
'Oh boy, this isn't going to go over well.'
Vito raised his foot, kicking the door open much to the shock of the men outside with him and those inside. The Dragon stormed in with a billow of smoke, the lord inside then saying,
“What is the meaning of this?”
The dragon walked in, the men inside the room covering their noses as the stench of brimstone filled the air, Vito Saying in another billow of smoke,
“This is unacceptable.”
The man sitting in the fancy chair looked to another man and asked,
“I guess this the dragon you told me about?”
The man next to him nodded, the dragon then saying,
“MY people are out there in the mud.”
The man looked up at the angry dragon who let out another billow of smoke after filling his lungs again,
“The refugees you came with?”
The dragon gave a stiff nod then said,
“These people came to you for aid, running for their lives and you threw them in the fucking mud!”
The room was silent for a moment as the shock of the dragons sudden yell shook the room, the castles lord then saying,
“We had helped them find plenty of rooms, but I can not ask honest inns take in these people who can not pay, I was however told they had found a suitable location for them.”
The dragon then lost his temper, walking up to the man without a word, grabbing him up by the scruff of his neck several guards moving in to stop the dragon who lifted the man off the ground looking him square in the eye, brimstone being all the man can smell as the dragon said,
“THEY ARE IN THE MUD, children and the elderly, not to mention the sick and wounded are covered in filth!”
Pulling him closer, said,
“FIX, THIS, NOW!”
Vito suddenly grabbed a hold of his mind, his hand shakily working its way up onto his head, taking a moment before he managed to put the man down, then saying,
“I . . I need a moment. .”
Setting the man down the dragon walked away for a moment, holding his head as he struggled to remain in control, the dragon hearing the man speak to someone, Vito then saying,
“Please, remain silent . . . . . it's in all of our best intention if you lot just shut up for a moment and give me some time, I am actually struggling to remain in control.”
There's a slight clattering of armor as the dragon reeled, then looking back at the lord of the castle who now had a rather large collection of armored guards protecting their lord, the dragon looking at the man hiding behind his men, the dragon after a moment managing to take a deep breath then saying,
“Alright I'm good, my apologies.”
The men before him were still on edge, the lord of the castle after a moment then said,
“I don't suppose you have some explanation for what the hell you think you were doing in my castle Dragon?”
Vito nodded then said,
“Yes, I had succumbed to a condition known as Dragon Rage, it's a fit of pure uncontrollable rage, the first of which for any dragon is several times more intense than any other, in retrospect we should all be thankful there is no blood splattered all over the walls.”
The man nodded after a moment judging the dragon to be no longer a threat, pat his guard captain's shoulder,
“So be it, I will forgive you this once dragon, don't . . just don't let it happen again.”
Vito Nodded quickly saying “understood” as the collected guardsmen dispersed and went back to their positions, as the man then said,
“Now then My name is Kenway Morgan, Lord of this castle and governor, as appointed by the emperor himself, of the City of Brakkon Root, May I have your name dragon?”
The Dragon gave a polite bow then said,
“My name is Vito, would you prefer I referred to you as my lord or governor?”
The man gave a curt nod, then,
“My proper title is Governor, so I would prefer you used that.”
The dragon nodded, then saying,
“As you wish Governor.”
The man nodded Kenway then asking,
“So now that you've got yourself under control . . .”
The man stopped mid sentence, the dragon looking around as everything was frozen in time, Vito then seeing the white hooded being poke his head in, looking to the dragon and asked,
“Are you good now, got that rage under wraps now?”
Vito gave a nod then said,
“I think so, I still feel it bubbling but I've managed to curve my anger at the moment.”
The white hood nodded then said,
“Alright well i'll keep around for a little while to keep an eye on you, keep in mind the first dragon rage last twenty four hours, so keep your condition in mind and try to keep your cool, I've been authorized to intervene should you blow your top but I would prefer not having to set a rewrite into necessity.”
The dragon nodded the white hood then saying,
“OK i'll have time restored count to five.”
The dragon nodded counting in his head to five at which point Kenway said as if nothing had interrupted his sentence in the first place,
“Would you mind telling me what was it was that earned your ire?”
The dragon gave him a quick nod then said,
“My people are out there in the mud, we have wounded and elderly sitting and sleeping in unsanitary conditions, and none of them have access to clean clothing, children and the wounded are almost covered in filth, now I understand that we don't have access to much in the way of funds so any aid we could get from you and yours, I would personally be thankful for.”
The man nodded, looking over to a man near him, the dragon believing him to be the governors steward, after the two talked quietly to one another for a moment, Kenway then saying,
“Well, I'm sorry to say there is not much we can do to aid you the city is already strained, however I will give you access to an allowance of gold you and your people can use to obtain what you need, I do apologize for this incident.”
The dragon nodded a moment later the governor had a man bring a heavy sack of coins largely gold piece and a few of the platinum coins the dragon remarking that the eagle on the coin did look pretty good. Vito looked around he didn't feel comfortable here right now, let alone he wasn't ready to have these people try to grill him for information, and excused himself, telling the governor that he would have to come back so they could talk about what happened in more detail. The man nodded but then asked before Vito could leave,
“Before you leave dragon might I ask you if you know of the Fate of Count Vasheer, he was the lord of the town your group fled from.”
Vito looked to him then said,
“I'm afraid I don't, I never had the opportunity to meet the man, in fact by the time I came into play the city was in flames so I'm afraid I'm the wrong person to ask about this.”
The governor nodded allowing the dragon to leave, who once escorted out of the castle returned to his group who remained in the muck and mud of the cities slums. It was Jessica who greeted him the elf girl saying as she saw him return,
“Welcome back master, how did you meeting with the lord of the city go?”
The dragon gave something of an awkward laugh before responding with,
“Could have been better, considering I yanked the man out of his seat, and threatened him to kill him.”
She nodded a bit of sweat rolling off her brow remembering how angry the dragon had been when he left, Vito then saying as he looked around,
“Now then where is your father I have a task for him.”
She looked around then said,
“Well daddy has kinda stepped into the role of your second so he's making rounds making sure everyone is ok, I do believe he told mamma he going going to make sure everyone had enough blankets . . . not that there is much we can do to fix that.”
Vito nodded saying as he walked past the elf girl,
“Come with me than I have a task for you and your family.”
She nodded following after the dragon, who a little while later found the man he was looking for. Saying once Bart was close, greeting him with a half hug,
“Hello there Bart, good news and bad news i'm afraid.”
The elf nodded than said,
“Yes sir?”
The dragon then explained,
“Well the lord of this town is going to be useless, he gave me access to some funds though, so I'll trust it to you, please buy any supplies the group needs.”
The man nodded looking up when the dragon handed him the sack of coins, The elf then asking,
“Anything in particular?”
The dragon shook his head then said,
“I'll trust your judgment, just make sure we have food and any necessities the group needs, and please do whatever you have to to get my people out of the muck, start with the sick and wounded, then the elderly and children.”
The man nodded then looked over to his son, told him to go find a few of the others and ask them to come over to him. The dragon sighed today wasn't going the way he hoped, tired and hungry so he opted to go to his camp, refusing to stay at the inn while his group was in the mud, the others setting the dragons tent with theirs, the others at least finding another dry place to set his tent. Sitting with the others later on into the day the dragon sharing a meal with the group, thinking to himself as he watched the group that had gathered around him,
'We can't stay here, that man won't help us, I could almost smell it, there really is only one choice'
Vito looked over to Bart, the elf who had appointed himself the dragon's sudo right hand,
“Alright here is a portion of my plans,”
Everyone turned to look at the dragon Vito saying once he was sure all eyes where on him,
“We're leaving this city as soon as we're ready or at least that's my plan anyone is welcome to join me under the condition you acknowledge me as your lord, do this and i will consider you my family, my treasure, and if there is one thing a dragon will defend to the death, It's his treasure,”
There was a general consensus from the group the dragon then going on looking to Bart as he asked,
“First I need to know, how are our supplies looking; were you able to get enough food supplies and other such necessities?”
The elf nodded then said,
“Yes sir, while I didn't get everything I was hoping to get, food, for the moment, is no issue, I have also taken the liberty of purchasing a wagon to carry said supplies, I do hope you don't mind.”
Vito looked over to him and said,
“I don't mind but please at least run it by me first next time, our funds are currently finite.”
The elf nodded leaving Vito to say,
“I plan to establish my own city, needless to say I need to lay the groundwork for this first; we must gather supplies, skilled builders and craftsmen I must learn more of magic first, depending on what I can find this could make or break my plans, so not just Bart and his family, this goes to any who would live under my rule, I need a mage guild willing to teach me magic, please keep your eyes and ears open to any who could fit this bill, if you do hear of something please by all means inform me, Bartholomew, or Jessica,
The others nodded as the dragon then said producing his ritual knife given to him by the storyteller,
“Now last but least there is one among you in particular I must acknowledge, Jacob come with me, Jessica too.”
The young elf siblings double took, as the dragon quickly thought to himself
'So much for my harem of waifu's, but I would be a bastard to overlook this boy simply to chase lust, and the girl i can’t put my finger on it but i get the feeling she’ll be worth a page too.'
Once he was before the dragon Vito motioned for the two to follow him, suddenly deciding to keep this more under wraps leading the two into his tent, saying once the two were alone with the dragon saying,
“Alright you two, First you Jacob, In a moment of uncertainty you choose to race to the city, where you managed to get the attention of the guard, raced back to my location with them in tow, in doing this you most likely saved my life, I own you a debt, and Jessica you have since my awaking been a loyal, if unsure, servant, you sacrificed your freedom to save your family and i am willing to see that with respect add to the top of the list that i have a good feeling about you i have made a choice, What i am about to show you does not leave this inner circle alright? If it goes beyond this inner circle, i will no doubt have to deal with boot lickers desperate for power, i want only the best.”
The two younger elves nodded agreeing to his terms, leading the dragon to fish into his bag, pulling his binder from his bag, opening the book to the first two empty pages.The dragon then says as the elves looked clearly unsure what they were looking at,
“What you see here, is a gift from, i can only assume are, the gods, if how i understand these pages work, it will not only give you great power as my champions, but allow for that power to continue to grow as you get stronger.”
The two elves were unsure but then nodded, Vito then saying,
“So far you two have not only been helpful, but loyal, you show a general concern for your fellows and a strong desire to improve, these are the reasons i wish to anoint you as my first champions.”
Jacob looked up to the dragon asking with a rather uncertain but hopeful look,
“Wait you want to knight us or something to that effect we’re commoners though shouldn’t that be reserved for someone special?”
The dragon grinned asking,
“What makes a noble so different from a commoner and vise versa?”
The two looked at once another before Jessica responded with,
“A title?”
The Dragon nodded then saying,
“If you give a bastard a title does it make him a better person? No it doesn’t I would rather have people with good hearts in their chest then a person with a pretty title.”
They nodded Jacob then asking,
“Are there any rules?”
Vito In turn says,
“A few yes, First and foremost, you must be willing to submit, i can no more force you to accept this pact, then you can stop me from taking over this world,”
Vito Suddenly stopped mid thought then felt himself say,
“Second you must know that this binds you to me in a way beyond any other, you will feel my life force and i yours, we will be able to speak, magically, to one another from great distances, we will enter into a blood pact, in doing so i will grant you a portion of my own near limitless power.”
The two nodded Vito then thinking to himself,
‘I didn’t actually say that, guess the Storyteller changed his mind about something and this was his best way to inform me, come to think of it i think I've been feeling a weird sense of deja Vu, guess I’ll never just get use to this.’
Jacob was the first to speak, saying as he stood,
“Well then, if you’ll accept me, then I Jacob Rivergreen will submit to this pact.”
His Sister tried to follow through with a nod, leading the dragon to quickly say,
“You must speak the words Jessica, state to the pages you willingly accept this pact.”
The dragon then thinking,
‘Another rule, will you let me do the talking for the moment you black hooded weirdo?’
Jessica with a nod then said,
“I Jessica Rivergreen, willing submit to this pact, as long as my master will have me.”
As the two stated their words the two pages glowed, Vito then once more going into his bag, saying as he produced the dagger,
“For the next step, you must cut your thumb either will do, then press your blood into the page here.”
Vito then pointing them to the empty box at the top right of the sheet. Handing the dagger first to the boy he took a moment, before cutting open is thumb on his right hand with a sharp hiss like sound from the obvious pain, then doing as he was told, pressing his bloody thumb into the box, once that was done he handed the knife to his sister, the girl after a much longer moment did the same crying out a little as she did, then following the same steps her brother had. In the following moments that they pulled their fingers away, the page almost drank in the blood, the box going red for a moment, before then as if peeling away a layer of film exposed portraits of the two, the page then magically filling in basic information, their true names, age, other vitals like hair color, eye color, to name a few. With that done the first stage was doing the pact was made and the two now bound to the dragon, who knew the next step would be his, it was only a matter of time to see how best to use the two elves in his formation. Looking to the two Vito then said,
“Well then, from this day forward you two are mine and mine alone, champions no, knights in my service.”
The two looked at each-other, the girl giving her brother a hug, the Jacob asking after a moment,
“So master, what happens next?”
The dragon looked down then said,
“I want you two to watch me closely, apparently I’ll go into a trance once I sit down with these pages, once I finish and I come out of it, I want you to tell me in detail how I filled it out, see if I can figure out how to use these pages without having to go into an autopilot trance.”
The two nodded the dragon then pulling his inkwell out of his bag, then picking up his quill pen the dragon then thinking,
‘I will fill out this page.’
There was a flash in the dragon’s eyes then an obvious dulling in his eyes, the dragon then as if going through the motions, pulling the cork stopper out of the vial, the dragon then dipping his pen into the ink, beginning the lengthy trance to fill out their pages.
~End of chapter~
