Favors Owed

[Hiver]

We examined things of course.

We went flying. Whatever had happened, didn't seem to have covered the whole world. It seemed to have only affected an area around the ruin.

Luckily the ruin had been isolated. But halfway down the mountain, beneath the glacier, there had been a village.

Nobody lived there now. All it had were those piles of Dwemer metal bars.

I went down for landing, my wings beating up a cloud of snow as I settled down on the ground, the trees all around forming a natural windbreak from the rest of the frozen valley.

Ren landed next to me while Sheila climbed out of my saddle.

I watched as Ren quickly removed her armour, dropping it onto the snowy ground before stretching her wings. She glared at it and then moved up to nuzzle me, "Destroy it."

I just nodded, "Of course."

I understood why she didn't want anything to do with it. I didn't want to work with it again. It was… necromancy metal. Made my scales crawl.

We had worked with it so much, it was so… efficient. So good at channeling magic, and even soul energy.

I suppose now I understood why.

"Stay still for a moment," Sheila said and patted my neck, "I'm going to unpack the tent."

I nodded and settled down in the snow, putting my head on my front legs, making it easy for her to reach. Ren laid down next to me.

Carrying the tent, Sheila reached to give my snout a flick, "I didn't say sleep! I'm not putting this tent up on my own!"

Snorting, I nodded and got back up, moving over to dig the snow away, clearing an area of as much snow as possible before I turned into mortal form to help her put the tent up.

Ren did the same, moving to help us get the shelter set up before she moved to gather firewood as soon as we finished laying out the blankets in the tent.

"Atreus… are you okay?" Sheila asked after a moment.

"All of those people. Dead. For nothing."

Sheila frowned, "It's not your fault."

I shook my head and sighed, "No. No I know it's not. They shouldn't have fucked around with machinery they knew nothing about. But I was the one that put them in that position. To gather material and such for that fucking ship. A material that we didn't know the truth about; what it really was, how it was made! Stupid!!"

Sheila shook her head, "Not stupid."

I laid back, looking towards the ceiling of the tent, "...Yes, yes it was. And if not stupid, then it was at least a large mistake. One that I don't plan to make again."

She frowned down at me, "Nobody could have predicted that."

"...Maybe not," I admitted after a moment as I looked up at her, "But it doesn't feel like it."

"I know," she said and laid down next to me, resting her head against my shoulder, "I know."

After a moment, I moved to get up, "We should help Ren with the…"

Sheila pushed me back down, "You stay here and rest, I'll do it. I know how tired you a couple of days after Walking. The sooner you get rested, the sooner we get home."

"...Yeah, okay."

Not like she was wrong, I would just have liked to do… something… to get my mind off things. Fucking damn it!

Sitting up, I crossed my legs and ran my real hand across my face before looking down at the blanket I was sitting on.

What the hell do I tell Alexstrasza and Kalecgos? Caelestrasz had been the leader of the expedition. Alexstrasza was his mother.

Fuck.

I had let her down. I had fucked up with dwemer metal. I had fucked up with the expedition, I had fucked up with that fucking elf…

I looked down at my silver hand. I had fucked up and they had paid for it this time. Last time, it had been on me.

Not this time.

 

[Hiver]

Reality crashed back around me and I took a couple of steps, wings half spread for balance as I looked around. I was on a mountain, overlooking a valley. I could see a village down below among the green.

Fields around it, small wooden houses with smoke rising from the chimneys.

A quick look around before I reached to give the soulstones a small burst of magic.

As Ren and Sheila reformed, I laid down on the rocky ground, looking towards the village in the distance.

What was I going to tell Alexstrasza?

Sheila finished getting dressed and then she patted the top of my head, "Ready to head back?"

Sighing, I got up and turned into mortal form, "Yeah, I suppose I am."

Sticking my hand in my satchel, I pulled out the portal key stone, channeling my magic into it before aiming my hand forward, the shimmering portal forming and expanding before us.

Ren gave me a quick bump on the shoulder with her snout on her way past before moving on into the Tower.

I followed through the portal with Sheila, "I'm going to go to Alexstrasza."

"Not Kalecgos?" Sheila asked with a frown.

I shook my head, "Not this time."

"We'll come with," Ren said and turned to us.

I shook my head again, "No. No, it's my job," before I scratched softly behind Rengosas nose horn, "You two go rest."

Sheila shifted in and kissed my cheek, "We'll find Zrazta. See you in our quarters later?"

"Yeah."

I watched them head off before I turned to the closest dragonkin guard, "Where might I find Alexstrasza?"

She bowed slightly, "The Life-Binder is currently at the top of the tower, World Walker."

"Thank you."

Heading to the closest exit of the tower, turning back to my real form on the way, throwing myself out into the wind. Spreading my wings I started to climb, slowly circling the tower all the way up to the wide top.

Alexstrasza was there alone and in her real from. She was massive in a way no other being I seen was. The tower was massive and wide, but even so, she didn't fully fit, her tail club hanging over the edge.

Doing one more pass, I circled around before landing before her, folding my wings.

It took a moment before she opened her eyes to look at me, "Welcome back, Atreg-" and that was as far as she got before she raised her head and peered down at me.

"What happened?"

I looked down at my bronze paw, "Another Planeswalker. I was too slow, we were lucky to escape."

Alexstrasza turned into mortal from and walked over to me. Even in mortal form, I had to look up at her. Kneeling down, she reached to take my damaged front leg, running her gauntleted hand up along the bronze to where it met the scales.

I didn't say anything, just did what she wanted me to.

"This isn't recent. This happened months ago," she said before she looked at me, "Tell me everything."

So I did.

I told her everything. Of That Fucking Elf. Of the time helping Alexis. Of the Gauntlet. Of the expedition. Of the machine we found. Of Caelestrasz.

I didn't hold anything back.

Alexstrasza remained silent for most of it, just asking for clarifications from time to time, but otherwise simply listening.

As I finished, she reached up to take my snout, pulling me close and resting her head against the side of mine. We stayed like that for a long moment before she let go and looked at me, "Did you destroy it? The machine?"

I shook my head, "Didn't dare touch it. We had no way of knowing what triggered it, I just wanted to get Sheila and Rengosa away from it as fast as possible."

The Dragon Queen slowly nodded, "Yes. I suppose that was the best course of action," she said softly, "How much dwemer metal do we have?"

"A few tons. I plan to destroy it."

She nodded and stroked between my eyes, "Let's have a look at your leg, it's not too old to heal. Can you remove the artificial one?"

I hesitated and then shook my head, shifting my leg back, "No. Leave it."

Alexstrasza frowned at me, "What?"

"I'll keep it. It's a reminder of how dangerous things are out there. How I need to be careful and prepared. How I can't keep being stupid."

Out of all the things I said to her that day, that had the strongest reaction.

Next thing I knew, she growled and smacked the side of my head powerfully enough to make me see stars, "Stop being a whelpling!" she snarled, "Leg! Now!"

I did like I was told.

 

[Hiver]

I slowly came back awake. It took a second before I realized where I was. Back home. I was lying on the bed, looking up at the stone ceiling.

Looking around, I saw that Sheila was missing. I wasn't surprised, she never was one for sleeping in. It was rare if she was still in bed when the sun was above the horizon.

Zrazta was asleep to my left, Rengosa behind her.

I had missed Zrazta so much.

I just laid there for a long moment, watching them before I slowly shifted back, gently extracting my arm from beneath her head without waking her.

Zrazta shifted slightly, but didn't wake up.

Silently moving off the bed, I got dressed before I paused in the half darkness, looking at my left hand.

Alexstrasza had healed me before allowing me to go rest. It was… good… to be back to normal. But I won't forget it.

Exiting the bedroom, I gently closed the door before turning to find Sheila sitting on the couch, a book in her lap as she looked at the bookshelf across the room, seemingly deep in thought.

"Morning," I said as I moved up to her.

She blinked and then half turned to give me a small smile, "Hey. Feel better?"

I nodded and flexed my left hand, "The pins and needles are gone. Still feels a bit odd, but getting better," I said and then leaned down to give her a kiss on the top of the head, "What are you up to?"

"Just thinking?"

"About?"

She shrugged, "Nothing. Dragons."

"Oh?"

She smiled a bit and reached up to give my hand a squeeze, "Nothing serious, just checking on some things I thought about while we were away. Going to see if I can find Jaina a bit later."

I nodded, "Nothing I can answer?"

"I think it's better I speak with her."

"Okay, love."

Sheila closed her book, "Going to the workshop?"

I nodded, "Yeah. Going to clear out all the dwemer metal. I'll tell Jaina that you're looking for her if I see her."

Sheila nodded and I headed out of our quarters and to the main corridor before making my way towards the workshop.

I slowly slowed down before shifting my course as an idea entered my thoughts. It didn't take long to get to the Bronze Dragonflight section.

A couple of questions to a passing dragonkin led me to my destination. Pushing the door open, I entered the small library before closing it behind me before I turned around to look at the gnome sitting by a desk, writing something in a small book.

"Chromie."

"Atregos," she answered and then blew at the ink on the page before putting her quill away, "You're late."

I shook my head, "Is that even a thing with the Bronze?" I asked with a small smile before moving to sit down across from her, "But if you knew I was coming, then you know what I want."

Chromie nodded, "I do. The answer is no."

"You owe me, Chromie."

The drake/dragon/wyrm depending on which version of Chromie this was nodded, "Yes. But that isn't about that," she said and jumped off her chair, walking around the desk to look up at me, "It's not the time. Or rather, it is the time and it is as it should be. I'm sorry, Atregos. I really am. But we can't."

"...I'm starting to understand why none of the flights actually like the Bronze."

She smiled a bit sadly up at me as she patted my knee, "I know it sucks. But imagine how it is from my side."

Knowing how things could be. Knowing that you could change things. Knowing that it's most likely going to make things worse. A lot worse.

"Damn it, Chromie," I sighed and rubbed my face, "...So, from which time period are you?"

"Does it matter?"

I shook my head, "...No, I suppose not. Just wondering if you knew about this and it's why you visited me for a drink before we left."

"Did I? I suppose I better do that then," she said with a smile, "I should put some booze away for aging first."

I stared down at the bronze dragon for a long moment before I sighed, "You know what, I should just stop asking you questions."

That got her normal cheerful grin and she nodded, "That's likely wise."

 

[Hiver]

"Atregos," Jaina said as she padded inside, "I heard what happened."

I just nodded and turned the dwemer metal gyro over in my hands before I sighed and tossed it across the room. It clanked off the stone wall and then dropped into a large crate on the wall.

So useful. Such a fucking waste.

But I couldn't bring myself to use it.

Turning to look at Jaina as she sat down, I couldn't help but admire her. She was beautiful. Her sapphire scales glittering in the light from the crystals floating close to the ceiling. Her horns were small, but sharp and narrow, her wings powerful and large.

"You are doing better," I observed and walked over, reaching to run my hand along her snout, "I barely heard you walking in."

Jaina nodded as she watched me, shifting her wings slightly, "It gets easier with time."

"How did your flying lessons go?"

That got a small snort from her, "Let's say I'm grateful for the ring of feather falling. But that is getting easier too."

"Sheila was looking for you."

Jaina nodded, "I heard. I will find her after this."

I sighed softly and scratched next to her nosehorn, "Kalecgos told you what happened?"

She nodded again, shifting a bit into my touch, "He did. Alexstrasza told him and Kalec told me. He wants to talk to you later. You should have come to him as soon as you talked to Alexstrasza."

"...I know," I admitted, "I just needed… I needed a little time."

"Should have gone to the Bronze for that."

I sighed and gave her a small smile, letting my hand drop, "I tried. Didn't help."

That got a snort from her and she shook her head, looking over towards the crate of discarded metal, "...Nobody knew."

"Nobody knew," I agreed, "But in retrospect, I suppose I'm not that surprised. Being that good at channeling magic and souls… there had to be something wrong with it. Nothing in the world is free. Especially with magic."

Jaina nodded and shifted her wings slightly, "A lesson some never learn."

"Yeah," I said and walked to pick up a helmet prototype, turning it over in my hands. It was the last thing in here made from the material.

Sighing, I turned and tossed it over into the crate, "Too close to Necromancy. Way too close."

Turning back to my workbench, I put my hands against it, closing my eyes for a long moment, "Thirty people dead. Years of work based on using the metal for things that don't work efficiently without it. All. Fucking. Gone."

Jaina didn't say anything. I finally turned around to look at her, "All because I didn't find out what it was from first."

She didn't say anything.

"Don't say it. Everyone already has," I told her as I crossed my arms, "I know."

"I won't," she said, "I know exactly how you feel. You're not the only one to lose people to mistakes. But do you know what a mistake is?"

"What?"

Jaina shifted closer, "Something you learn from and never do again."

I looked at her for a moment before I looked down at the floor, "...Yeah."

She was right, of course. That's not a mistake I'll never make ever again. I had already decided I couldn't just go wander around the Planes without preparing. I'd just need to… get more serious about things. If I discovered the magical equivalent of Naquadah, then fucking awesome.... As long as I knew where it came from, what it did.

Jaina shifted back a bit, "I'll let Kalec know that you'll meet him tonight?"

I nodded, "Yes. I'll see him then."

As she shifted to leave, I looked after her, "Jaina?"

She turned her head to look at me, "Yes?"

"Thank you."

The dragoness simply nodded once before leaving me alone in my workshop to my thoughts. She was right though. If I didn't learn from this, it was all for nothing.

Dwemer metal was out in the future. Etherium was out even if I could somehow found more than a single sliver of it, at least until I could figure out where the fuck it was from.

Which meant I had to make do with more normal metals like adamantium or alloys like bronze. None of which got even close to dwemer metal.

Opening my eyes again, I looked around.

Fucking fine. I invented brand new ways of using enchantments before, I can do it again, without crutches this time. I also had two brand new enchantment systems to examine, test and integrate.

I'd find a way.

I suppose I'll just have to Tony Stark it.



AN// And that's it for now. Thanks to everyone for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. The story will continue in the future, but next time, on popular demand from over on fimfiction, we are back to ponyland. I will of course post a link to the new story here.