This is the next part of the That First Step... (SI) series.
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AN// This is the next part of the That First Step... (SI) series. You may want to start there or things will be confusing. Now, on with the story!
_______________
Slowly opening my eyes, I found myself in darkness pressing down all around me. So comfortable. My eyes started to drift closed again.
I stayed like that for a long moment before sounds started to filter through into my sleepy mind.
Muffled yells, grunts, the sound of metal against metal. Something moved close to me.
Noooo.
Sleepy. Don't want to wake up.
So comfortable.
Somebody yelled something closer and I snorted, raising my head through the heavy cover of snow covering me to look at the human standing next to what he likely thought had been a thick snowdrift.
Across from him, were a dozen other humans. A bit over half wore the armour and livery of the local lord, the others were wearing more simple armor, mostly a mix of chainmail and leather pieces or even none at all.
Some were dead on the forest floor already.
The battle just kind of came to a halt as they spotted me. Somehow none of them seemed overly motivated to keep beating each other to death over something that was undoutbly something dumb.
Turning my head, I looked over them. There was a small campsite set up a dozen meters away with a still burning fire with a pot set over it.
"Do not run. Do not run. If anybody runs, it may kill us all," a voice said quietly, but still loud enough to carry to everybody there.
I turned my head to look at the one that spoke. He was tall, wearing armor of the local lord's guard, some sort of wolf head mark on it.
Now that's just specicist. I generally don't eat humans.
But they woke me up, so I might make an exception. I glowered at him.
Moving slowly, he walked around his former combatant and with slow motions he sheathed his sword and approached, guiding the terrified looking man closest to me behind him before he bowed deeply, going down on one knee, "My apologies for disturbing you, master dragon. We did not see you."
I watched him for a second before I nodded, "Granted," I told him as I slowly stood up, shaking the snow of myself as I spread my wings, stretching, "Why did you disturb my rest?"
"These men are bandits, master dragon. We are apprehending them for the Lord of Winterfell," He answered, seeming determined not to flinch.
Brave man.
"I see."
He motioned for a younger man to the side to walk over to him. I watched curiously, wondering what they were up to.
It was soon revealed as they pulled what seemed an entire leg of a sheep or deer from his bag, unwrapping it from a leather sheath before holding it up before me with both hands, "Master dragon, for waking you, I would like to give you this offering," he said and put it on the snow with a bow before backing away.
I eyed him before I moved closer, leaning down to sniff the meat. Venison. Definitely. Smoked, not fresh. No poisons.
Well, if they were offering breakfast, why not.
It wasn't more than a snack, but it was tasty.
I nodded to him, "Thank you," I said and then stretched before settling back down with a yawn, "You may conduct your business, human."
He bowed again, "We thank you, master dragon," and then backed away, grabbing the man just behind him by the arm and tugging him along.
The fight seemed to have gone out of the presumed bandits and they were quickly and harmlessly rounded up, their hands tied behind their backs.
I watched them idly. The Dragonflights don't really interfere with the affairs of mortals of this world. Not that no dragons did, but in general we just left them to their own business.
Wonder what those men had done?
I could have asked, but I didn't really care enough to bother, so I just watched them be led off through the forest and soon I was alone again.
Could go back to sleep again, but I think I should just get back home. I had work to do as well. Yawning again, I got back up and stretched before taking a couple of running steps, spreading my wings and taking to the air, climbing higher and higher as I circled before swinging around and heading north.
_______________
Slowly opening my eyes, I found myself in darkness pressing down all around me. So comfortable. My eyes started to drift closed again.
I stayed like that for a long moment before sounds started to filter through into my sleepy mind.
Muffled yells, grunts, the sound of metal against metal. Something moved close to me.
Noooo.
Sleepy. Don't want to wake up.
So comfortable.
Somebody yelled something closer and I snorted, raising my head through the heavy cover of snow covering me to look at the human standing next to what he likely thought had been a thick snowdrift.
Across from him, were a dozen other humans. A bit over half wore the armour and livery of the local lord, the others were wearing more simple armor, mostly a mix of chainmail and leather pieces or even none at all.
Some were dead on the forest floor already.
The battle just kind of came to a halt as they spotted me. Somehow none of them seemed overly motivated to keep beating each other to death over something that was undoutbly something dumb.
Turning my head, I looked over them. There was a small campsite set up a dozen meters away with a still burning fire with a pot set over it.
"Do not run. Do not run. If anybody runs, it may kill us all," a voice said quietly, but still loud enough to carry to everybody there.
I turned my head to look at the one that spoke. He was tall, wearing armor of the local lord's guard, some sort of wolf head mark on it.
Now that's just specicist. I generally don't eat humans.
But they woke me up, so I might make an exception. I glowered at him.
Moving slowly, he walked around his former combatant and with slow motions he sheathed his sword and approached, guiding the terrified looking man closest to me behind him before he bowed deeply, going down on one knee, "My apologies for disturbing you, master dragon. We did not see you."
I watched him for a second before I nodded, "Granted," I told him as I slowly stood up, shaking the snow of myself as I spread my wings, stretching, "Why did you disturb my rest?"
"These men are bandits, master dragon. We are apprehending them for the Lord of Winterfell," He answered, seeming determined not to flinch.
Brave man.
"I see."
He motioned for a younger man to the side to walk over to him. I watched curiously, wondering what they were up to.
It was soon revealed as they pulled what seemed an entire leg of a sheep or deer from his bag, unwrapping it from a leather sheath before holding it up before me with both hands, "Master dragon, for waking you, I would like to give you this offering," he said and put it on the snow with a bow before backing away.
I eyed him before I moved closer, leaning down to sniff the meat. Venison. Definitely. Smoked, not fresh. No poisons.
Well, if they were offering breakfast, why not.
It wasn't more than a snack, but it was tasty.
I nodded to him, "Thank you," I said and then stretched before settling back down with a yawn, "You may conduct your business, human."
He bowed again, "We thank you, master dragon," and then backed away, grabbing the man just behind him by the arm and tugging him along.
The fight seemed to have gone out of the presumed bandits and they were quickly and harmlessly rounded up, their hands tied behind their backs.
I watched them idly. The Dragonflights don't really interfere with the affairs of mortals of this world. Not that no dragons did, but in general we just left them to their own business.
Wonder what those men had done?
I could have asked, but I didn't really care enough to bother, so I just watched them be led off through the forest and soon I was alone again.
Could go back to sleep again, but I think I should just get back home. I had work to do as well. Yawning again, I got back up and stretched before taking a couple of running steps, spreading my wings and taking to the air, climbing higher and higher as I circled before swinging around and heading north.
I flared my wings, coming in for landing and I pulled up hard before digging my claws into the solid rock side of The Tower.
Wind buffeted at me and I pressed closer against the vertical rock as I looked around. Dragons of different sizes circling the area. I turned my head, scanning the area. Very few from the Red Dragonflight around.
Which was to be expected.
They had all been busy for the last month or so on their project. Alexstrasza's idea of turning the desert on the other continent into a lush forest was a really nice one. A big pro was that it got the red dragons doing something they liked and kept them busy.
They had gotten a bit… antsy lately. In general anyway. Besides, it helped our adoptive world.
I'm just glad none of the others had been acting the same way. I shudder to think what happened if the Green or even worse, the Bronze started to get inventive with their abilities.
At least the Black were too few to get really destructive. Not enough of them to… raise a new continent or something.
And us Blues had plenty to do. Investigating, cataloging or experimenting with everything the Consortium had gathered. And everything we discovered on this world.
I caught sight of a different shape from the rest and I threw myself back off the tower, twisting and spreading my wings as I swooped down, pulling up just before the snowy ground as I headed towards the figure on a horse riding towards The Tower from the forest.
I circled twice before coming in for landing, beating my wings hard, sending up a cloud of loose snow before I waited for the horse to calm down and they moved closer, the rider bundled up warmly against the temperature.
Alexis pushed her hood back, shooting me an annoyed look, "Do you have to?"
I chuckled and dug my claws into the frozen ground, "You've been gone for a bit. Have a nice journey?"
"It was," she said and rode closer. Her horse was clearly a summon to dare to get so close to something with big sharp teeth, "Just needed to get away from the middle of a bunch of toothy predators for a bit."
I tilted my head as I regarded her before I yawned playfully.
"Yes. that," she agreed and shook her head, "You know I like you guys, but sometimes that view just makes my monkey brain gibber and want to climb a tree. Especially if it's by surprise."
"Sorry."
"Hardly your fault," Alexis said and vaulted off the horse and unstrapped her bags from its sides before unsummoning it. Taking the saddle bags over one shoulder, she walked over and reached up to pat my snout, "Down?"
I moved to settle down in the snow, lowering my neck, allowing her to throw the bags over it before I turned my head to look at her as I shifted my foreleg to give her somewhere to step, "I figured you would have headed off to earth by now."
"So did I," Alexis admitted and clambered up onto my back, "But it's not exactly a short trip and I figured I might as well prepare properly. So I'm back here first."
"Makes sense. It's… what, four Walks for you?"
"Somewhere around there," she agreed and sighed as she patted the side of my neck, "Let's get going."
I nodded and got up as she adjusted the bags hanging across from my neck, "Hang on," I said and took a couple of running steps, spreading my wings and climbing upwards, slowly circling higher towards the tower.
Banking, I shifted course, turning the other way before heading in towards landing in one of the openings on the side.
My claws scraped across the hard rock and I landed, folding my wings before lowering myself back down.
"Thanks," Alexis said and dropped her bags before jumping down to join it.
I nodded and channeled my magic, transforming to mortal form in a cloud of quickly dissipating spell smoke, "So how was your trip really? This world isn't the best nor the safest."
Axleis picked her bags up and threw them over one shoulder and smiled, "It was nice enough," she admitted, "This world isn't the nicest one I have seen but… it's been a while I could just take a while to explore a world. Humans seem to be humans on pretty much every world that has them."
"Any trouble?" I asked, thinking about the group that offered me breakfast this morning.
That just earned me a look of 'oh please'.
"So, any plans now?" I asked, "Going to pick up some stuff and then head straight to Earth? Because I have been thinking about stopping by Azeroth. I found we are missing some books, I would need to go to the Nexus and pick up some copies we had there. Want to tag along? I figured I might pick up some gold and gems as well to make some new jewelry. Easy way to move wealth between Planes."
Alexis slowly nodded, "That's a good idea. I do need to pick up some of that too. And magic potions and such are cheap on Azeroth," she admitted, "Who else is coming?"
"Ren and Sheila, if she manages mortal form. She's going to try for the first time today. Figured we'd stop by and visit Venir too."
"Ah, cool."
Wind buffeted at me and I pressed closer against the vertical rock as I looked around. Dragons of different sizes circling the area. I turned my head, scanning the area. Very few from the Red Dragonflight around.
Which was to be expected.
They had all been busy for the last month or so on their project. Alexstrasza's idea of turning the desert on the other continent into a lush forest was a really nice one. A big pro was that it got the red dragons doing something they liked and kept them busy.
They had gotten a bit… antsy lately. In general anyway. Besides, it helped our adoptive world.
I'm just glad none of the others had been acting the same way. I shudder to think what happened if the Green or even worse, the Bronze started to get inventive with their abilities.
At least the Black were too few to get really destructive. Not enough of them to… raise a new continent or something.
And us Blues had plenty to do. Investigating, cataloging or experimenting with everything the Consortium had gathered. And everything we discovered on this world.
I caught sight of a different shape from the rest and I threw myself back off the tower, twisting and spreading my wings as I swooped down, pulling up just before the snowy ground as I headed towards the figure on a horse riding towards The Tower from the forest.
I circled twice before coming in for landing, beating my wings hard, sending up a cloud of loose snow before I waited for the horse to calm down and they moved closer, the rider bundled up warmly against the temperature.
Alexis pushed her hood back, shooting me an annoyed look, "Do you have to?"
I chuckled and dug my claws into the frozen ground, "You've been gone for a bit. Have a nice journey?"
"It was," she said and rode closer. Her horse was clearly a summon to dare to get so close to something with big sharp teeth, "Just needed to get away from the middle of a bunch of toothy predators for a bit."
I tilted my head as I regarded her before I yawned playfully.
"Yes. that," she agreed and shook her head, "You know I like you guys, but sometimes that view just makes my monkey brain gibber and want to climb a tree. Especially if it's by surprise."
"Sorry."
"Hardly your fault," Alexis said and vaulted off the horse and unstrapped her bags from its sides before unsummoning it. Taking the saddle bags over one shoulder, she walked over and reached up to pat my snout, "Down?"
I moved to settle down in the snow, lowering my neck, allowing her to throw the bags over it before I turned my head to look at her as I shifted my foreleg to give her somewhere to step, "I figured you would have headed off to earth by now."
"So did I," Alexis admitted and clambered up onto my back, "But it's not exactly a short trip and I figured I might as well prepare properly. So I'm back here first."
"Makes sense. It's… what, four Walks for you?"
"Somewhere around there," she agreed and sighed as she patted the side of my neck, "Let's get going."
I nodded and got up as she adjusted the bags hanging across from my neck, "Hang on," I said and took a couple of running steps, spreading my wings and climbing upwards, slowly circling higher towards the tower.
Banking, I shifted course, turning the other way before heading in towards landing in one of the openings on the side.
My claws scraped across the hard rock and I landed, folding my wings before lowering myself back down.
"Thanks," Alexis said and dropped her bags before jumping down to join it.
I nodded and channeled my magic, transforming to mortal form in a cloud of quickly dissipating spell smoke, "So how was your trip really? This world isn't the best nor the safest."
Axleis picked her bags up and threw them over one shoulder and smiled, "It was nice enough," she admitted, "This world isn't the nicest one I have seen but… it's been a while I could just take a while to explore a world. Humans seem to be humans on pretty much every world that has them."
"Any trouble?" I asked, thinking about the group that offered me breakfast this morning.
That just earned me a look of 'oh please'.
"So, any plans now?" I asked, "Going to pick up some stuff and then head straight to Earth? Because I have been thinking about stopping by Azeroth. I found we are missing some books, I would need to go to the Nexus and pick up some copies we had there. Want to tag along? I figured I might pick up some gold and gems as well to make some new jewelry. Easy way to move wealth between Planes."
Alexis slowly nodded, "That's a good idea. I do need to pick up some of that too. And magic potions and such are cheap on Azeroth," she admitted, "Who else is coming?"
"Ren and Sheila, if she manages mortal form. She's going to try for the first time today. Figured we'd stop by and visit Venir too."
"Ah, cool."
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"Ready?" I asked.
Sheila slowly nodded, getting up from where she had been laying, stretching for a moment, "I think so," she said before she shifted, "I admit, I am nervous. What if I can't do it?"
I smiled and walked up to scratch along the edge of the armored bridge of her snout, "Then we try again later. This is a skill most dragons don't manage until their first century."
Sheila snorted and spread her wide and purple, almost translucent wings and bumped her head against my chest, "You did it in a couple of years. Both Ren and Zrazta have done it."
"Both of them have more magic than you," I told her softly, stroking beneath her left eye, "And were dragons all their lives. You can do this."
Sheila took a deep breath, letting it out before she nodded, "I'll try."
"Do, or do not. There is no try."
Sheila looked at me, "Was that a quote of some sort?"
I smiled at her, "Remind me to show you next time we visit Earth. Or ask Alexis to bring some things back."
She snorted and bumped her head firmly against my chest, causing me to take a step back from the force, "Give me some room to work."
I took another couple of steps back, "Take your time. It's a complex thing."
She nodded and closed her eyes to focus. I backed away not to disrupt her. A sound made me glance back to spot Zrazta walk into the chamber. I shot her a small smile and raised my finger to my lips.
The elf-like dragon nodded and walked over to me silently, "How's she doing?" she whispered softly.
"Just watch, she'll do it," I told her quietly.
Zrazta nodded and just watched with me. Sheila just stayed there without moving as the time dragged out.
Suddenly there was a flash of spell smoke hiding her from view. As it quickly dissipated and faded away, it left Sheila alone on the stone floor.
In human form, breathing heavily on her hands and knees, head down, face hidden by her purple hair. Purple, not blonde like before.
I quickly moved over, kneeling down with her, "Sheila? Sheila, how are you feeling?"
She breathed heavily and then struggled up to kneel, looking at her hands, "I… I have hands…" she said quietly.
I grinned and nodded, "You have hands and hair and feet and external ears and not a single wing in sight."
Sheila flexed her hands, staring at them before she looked at me, a smile lighting up her face. Her eyes… purple.
Like mine were blue in mortal form, it seemed the rules for the actual dragonflights were still in effect for her too. Hair and eye color matched our flights.
"I missed hands."
"I did too, opposable thumbs? So useful," I admitted and smiled back as Zrazta walked up to join us, "How are you feeling? The first time I did it was rough," I then said.
"Mine as well," Zrazta admitted, "Took a while until I could even walk."
Sheila smiled, "I feel… strange," she admitted, "But good. Help me up?"
I nodded and Zrazta and I both moved in, taking her arms as we carefully lifted her to her feet,
"Ready?" Zrazta asked with a smile.
Sheila nodded, "Okay… I think I have it," she said, wobbling on her feet slightly, "You can let go now."
I slowly started to let go and she wobbled a bit more, spreading her arms a bit for balance, but I stood ready to grab her if she looked like she would fall.
"I got it… I got it…" Sheila said and lifted one foot from the floor before promptly starting to fall. I was already moving to catch her, putting my arms around her waist and holding her close before she could do more than let out a startled yelp.
"Let's wait a bit before walking," I told her softly with a smile, "Let yourself get your balance first. You've been quadruped for a year, let yourself get used to being bipedal again first. You have already done the hardest part, just relax and get used to things."
"...Okay," Sheila admitted and sighed, "Sit?"
I nodded and carefully helped her down, "So, you decided to go with human in the end?" I asked with a smile as I settled down to sit next to her.
Sheila nodded, "I figured it would be difficult enough without making it harder than necessary," she admitted and smiled at Zrazta again, "I considered an elf, I always were a bit jealous of your hair, but this was hard enough as is."
Zrazta nodded before she grinned, "I couldn't help but notice that you are a bit taller than before however."
Sheila's cheeks turned slightly red and she shifted, leaning slightly against me, "...I couldn't resist quite that much," she said with a smile, "I always did wish I was a little taller."
I slipped my arm around her, resting my cheek against her hair.
"Want me to get you something to wear?" Zrazta asked and started to get up.
"Clothes please, not what you're wearing."
Zrazta rolled her eyes, "I know, I know."
Sheila slowly nodded, getting up from where she had been laying, stretching for a moment, "I think so," she said before she shifted, "I admit, I am nervous. What if I can't do it?"
I smiled and walked up to scratch along the edge of the armored bridge of her snout, "Then we try again later. This is a skill most dragons don't manage until their first century."
Sheila snorted and spread her wide and purple, almost translucent wings and bumped her head against my chest, "You did it in a couple of years. Both Ren and Zrazta have done it."
"Both of them have more magic than you," I told her softly, stroking beneath her left eye, "And were dragons all their lives. You can do this."
Sheila took a deep breath, letting it out before she nodded, "I'll try."
"Do, or do not. There is no try."
Sheila looked at me, "Was that a quote of some sort?"
I smiled at her, "Remind me to show you next time we visit Earth. Or ask Alexis to bring some things back."
She snorted and bumped her head firmly against my chest, causing me to take a step back from the force, "Give me some room to work."
I took another couple of steps back, "Take your time. It's a complex thing."
She nodded and closed her eyes to focus. I backed away not to disrupt her. A sound made me glance back to spot Zrazta walk into the chamber. I shot her a small smile and raised my finger to my lips.
The elf-like dragon nodded and walked over to me silently, "How's she doing?" she whispered softly.
"Just watch, she'll do it," I told her quietly.
Zrazta nodded and just watched with me. Sheila just stayed there without moving as the time dragged out.
Suddenly there was a flash of spell smoke hiding her from view. As it quickly dissipated and faded away, it left Sheila alone on the stone floor.
In human form, breathing heavily on her hands and knees, head down, face hidden by her purple hair. Purple, not blonde like before.
I quickly moved over, kneeling down with her, "Sheila? Sheila, how are you feeling?"
She breathed heavily and then struggled up to kneel, looking at her hands, "I… I have hands…" she said quietly.
I grinned and nodded, "You have hands and hair and feet and external ears and not a single wing in sight."
Sheila flexed her hands, staring at them before she looked at me, a smile lighting up her face. Her eyes… purple.
Like mine were blue in mortal form, it seemed the rules for the actual dragonflights were still in effect for her too. Hair and eye color matched our flights.
"I missed hands."
"I did too, opposable thumbs? So useful," I admitted and smiled back as Zrazta walked up to join us, "How are you feeling? The first time I did it was rough," I then said.
"Mine as well," Zrazta admitted, "Took a while until I could even walk."
Sheila smiled, "I feel… strange," she admitted, "But good. Help me up?"
I nodded and Zrazta and I both moved in, taking her arms as we carefully lifted her to her feet,
"Ready?" Zrazta asked with a smile.
Sheila nodded, "Okay… I think I have it," she said, wobbling on her feet slightly, "You can let go now."
I slowly started to let go and she wobbled a bit more, spreading her arms a bit for balance, but I stood ready to grab her if she looked like she would fall.
"I got it… I got it…" Sheila said and lifted one foot from the floor before promptly starting to fall. I was already moving to catch her, putting my arms around her waist and holding her close before she could do more than let out a startled yelp.
"Let's wait a bit before walking," I told her softly with a smile, "Let yourself get your balance first. You've been quadruped for a year, let yourself get used to being bipedal again first. You have already done the hardest part, just relax and get used to things."
"...Okay," Sheila admitted and sighed, "Sit?"
I nodded and carefully helped her down, "So, you decided to go with human in the end?" I asked with a smile as I settled down to sit next to her.
Sheila nodded, "I figured it would be difficult enough without making it harder than necessary," she admitted and smiled at Zrazta again, "I considered an elf, I always were a bit jealous of your hair, but this was hard enough as is."
Zrazta nodded before she grinned, "I couldn't help but notice that you are a bit taller than before however."
Sheila's cheeks turned slightly red and she shifted, leaning slightly against me, "...I couldn't resist quite that much," she said with a smile, "I always did wish I was a little taller."
I slipped my arm around her, resting my cheek against her hair.
"Want me to get you something to wear?" Zrazta asked and started to get up.
"Clothes please, not what you're wearing."
Zrazta rolled her eyes, "I know, I know."
Ow!
I shook my hand and glared at the softly glowing gem. It zapped me straight through my gauntlet! Spicy gem!
I growled at it and reached for my magic goggles, slipping them on before leaning in to study the enchantment matrix running through the red crystal, energy pulsing around the metamagical pathways.
Somewhere in there I had fucked up. While it carried more than enough magic to do that, it wasn't meant to, which meant there was a serious inefficiency in there somewhere.
Without being able to touch the damn thing, it meant visually tracing the lines. There were other ways of course, but they took a lot of time. And I had promised I'd be back home by sunset.
Which meant trying to find the flaw, somewhere in twenty thousand paths of thaumic flows making up the enchantment.
That was a serious zap though, it had to be by one of the high-
"Atregos."
I twitched and stood up, pushing my goggles up onto my forehead before turning to my visitor, "Wrathion," I greeted him in turn, looking at the leader of the Black Dragonflight. He was almost as tall as I was, hair as long as mine and with a goatee beard, wearing a black cloak over a set of leather armor with metal details along the sides of his arms and shoulders.
I scowled at him, stalking over as I grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him around, "You damaged it!"
"I did not," he protested, "You told me it was capable of handling that sort of environment."
"It was!" I said and growled at him, my fingers tracing across the silver filigree woven through his forearm vambrace, "This looks like you dipped your arm in lava!"
Wrathion shifted slightly.
I looked at him, "You dipped your arm in lava."
"I did not," He said pulled his arm back, "I was practicing geomancy and there was… splashback."
"You wanted heat resistance," I told him seriously, "I gave you heat resistance. Heat resistance is not heat proof. Too much heat and your armor will literally melt and burn off you. If you want heat proof, it will seriously cut into the other stuff."
"...I know," he admitted and crossed his arms, "It held."
"And it will do so a couple of more times, but more than that and it'll get seriously damaged," I said before I sighed, "What do you want?"
"I heard you were going to Azeroth."
I nodded, "In a week or so. And you want to come?"
"I do."
"You are going to come back here quietly this time around?" I asked, leaning back against my work bench, raising an eyebrow at him as I crossed my arms.
Wrathion shot me an annoyed look, "Of course. I simply want to visit."
I glanced down before I sighed, "You know, if their war is still going on, he might not be in Stormwind. We're only staying for a week. Not enough time to track someone down across the planet."
"I am aware," he said.
I shrugged, "Yeah, fine. Don't have a problem with it."
"Thank you."
"Is Umbria coming as well?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him.
Wrathion nodded, "if you don't mind. She wants to practice her mortal form some more, she doesn't get a lot of opportunities normally. I understand Sheila managed it as well?"
"She did." I said and glanced at the softly glowing gem sitting there on my workbench. Mocking me. No way I'd have time to finish it tonight.
Wrathion nodded, "That was fast."
I smiled, "It was. She's very good at what she does."
Her mana pool was small without using land magic, but still bigger than mine had been before I ascended.
"Unusually so, I would have expected her to have gone with Blue actually instead of Black," he agreed.
"Maybe," I agreed before I shrugged, "Well, it's up to her to pick."
"What's that?"" Wrathion then asked, nodding towards the gem on my workbench.
I scowled, "Don't ask. Prototype mana storage, having a bit of trouble with the enchantment matrix. And don't touch it, it's unstable and not stabilized yet," I said and picked a wand up from my workbench to poke it. There was a blindingly bright zap and the wand turned to ash in a discharge of raw mana between my gauntleted fingers, "I'm trying for a mana battery I can use for larger spells and so I can still cast spells after I Walk. It works, but it's a bit temperamental."
Wrathion shifted slightly closer to the door.
I shook my hand and glared at the softly glowing gem. It zapped me straight through my gauntlet! Spicy gem!
I growled at it and reached for my magic goggles, slipping them on before leaning in to study the enchantment matrix running through the red crystal, energy pulsing around the metamagical pathways.
Somewhere in there I had fucked up. While it carried more than enough magic to do that, it wasn't meant to, which meant there was a serious inefficiency in there somewhere.
Without being able to touch the damn thing, it meant visually tracing the lines. There were other ways of course, but they took a lot of time. And I had promised I'd be back home by sunset.
Which meant trying to find the flaw, somewhere in twenty thousand paths of thaumic flows making up the enchantment.
That was a serious zap though, it had to be by one of the high-
"Atregos."
I twitched and stood up, pushing my goggles up onto my forehead before turning to my visitor, "Wrathion," I greeted him in turn, looking at the leader of the Black Dragonflight. He was almost as tall as I was, hair as long as mine and with a goatee beard, wearing a black cloak over a set of leather armor with metal details along the sides of his arms and shoulders.
I scowled at him, stalking over as I grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him around, "You damaged it!"
"I did not," he protested, "You told me it was capable of handling that sort of environment."
"It was!" I said and growled at him, my fingers tracing across the silver filigree woven through his forearm vambrace, "This looks like you dipped your arm in lava!"
Wrathion shifted slightly.
I looked at him, "You dipped your arm in lava."
"I did not," He said pulled his arm back, "I was practicing geomancy and there was… splashback."
"You wanted heat resistance," I told him seriously, "I gave you heat resistance. Heat resistance is not heat proof. Too much heat and your armor will literally melt and burn off you. If you want heat proof, it will seriously cut into the other stuff."
"...I know," he admitted and crossed his arms, "It held."
"And it will do so a couple of more times, but more than that and it'll get seriously damaged," I said before I sighed, "What do you want?"
"I heard you were going to Azeroth."
I nodded, "In a week or so. And you want to come?"
"I do."
"You are going to come back here quietly this time around?" I asked, leaning back against my work bench, raising an eyebrow at him as I crossed my arms.
Wrathion shot me an annoyed look, "Of course. I simply want to visit."
I glanced down before I sighed, "You know, if their war is still going on, he might not be in Stormwind. We're only staying for a week. Not enough time to track someone down across the planet."
"I am aware," he said.
I shrugged, "Yeah, fine. Don't have a problem with it."
"Thank you."
"Is Umbria coming as well?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him.
Wrathion nodded, "if you don't mind. She wants to practice her mortal form some more, she doesn't get a lot of opportunities normally. I understand Sheila managed it as well?"
"She did." I said and glanced at the softly glowing gem sitting there on my workbench. Mocking me. No way I'd have time to finish it tonight.
Wrathion nodded, "That was fast."
I smiled, "It was. She's very good at what she does."
Her mana pool was small without using land magic, but still bigger than mine had been before I ascended.
"Unusually so, I would have expected her to have gone with Blue actually instead of Black," he agreed.
"Maybe," I agreed before I shrugged, "Well, it's up to her to pick."
"What's that?"" Wrathion then asked, nodding towards the gem on my workbench.
I scowled, "Don't ask. Prototype mana storage, having a bit of trouble with the enchantment matrix. And don't touch it, it's unstable and not stabilized yet," I said and picked a wand up from my workbench to poke it. There was a blindingly bright zap and the wand turned to ash in a discharge of raw mana between my gauntleted fingers, "I'm trying for a mana battery I can use for larger spells and so I can still cast spells after I Walk. It works, but it's a bit temperamental."
Wrathion shifted slightly closer to the door.
Sheila frowned at Rengosa, "Are you sure?"
Ren crossed her arms, "Yes, I'm sure. Everything is packed."
"Relax," I said as I shouldered my own pack as I walked up to join them," even if something turns out to be missing, we can easily make or buy it."
Sheila sighed softly, "...Sorry," she said, picking up her own in turn before smoothing down her white robes.
"You're still getting used to your mortal form," Ren said gently, shifting closer to give her a hug, "Having to remember all these things again."
"...Feels strange wearing clothes again," Sheila admitted and hugged back.
I grinned, "Oh, don't worry about it. But if you are more comfortable witho-"
"And you be quiet," Sheila said with a small smile as she shot me a look before she whispered something to Ren, causing her to grin and glance at me in turn.
Okay, what are those two up to?
I raised an eyebrow at them, "...Do I want to know?"
"Not really, no," Sheila teased as she walked up to me, "But we should get going. Wrathion and Umbria are likely wai-eep!"
I pulled her close with a small growl, resting my forehead against hers as I looked into her eyes, "Maybe we can be a bit late," I said quietly, "Maybe a lot late."
Her cheeks turned slightly red and she went onto her toes to kiss me before she smiled, "We're getting a nice room in Stormwind tonight."
"No, we're not," I said, "You know, our home still stands. I checked last time we were there and hired some caretakers. The valley in Pandaria we had built is untouched."
Sheila leaned softly against me, "That sounds nice," she admitted quietly.
"I thought we were in a hurry," Ren teased as she walked up to poke at Sheila's waist on her way past.
Sheila shot her a look, "...You did pack actual clothes, right? Because nobody but a dragon wears that kind of armor."
"Of course. But Atregos enchanted it so it can project illusions too so I can wear it and it'd look like anything I'd like," Ren said and smirked, "If you tried one, you'd know how much more comfortable it is."
Sheila rolled her eyes. It was an old argument.
Then she pulled away and winked at me before walking out, Rengosa quickly following. I looked after them for a moment.
Sheila had been in an interesting mood since she managed mortal form. Even Sheila had noticed it and talked with Kalecgos about it. Apparently it had something to do with hormone rebalancing, getting a new equilibrium between her two forms. It was fairly normal actually, didn't happen to every dragon, but many.
Thinking back, I felt a bit strange too when I first managed mortal form again, but things had been so busy I didn't really have time to think about it at the time.
But I was hardly going to complain.
I quickly moved to follow them out towards the landing platform dug into the side of the massive stone tower.
Ren glances back at me, "We're Walking from the usual spot?"
I nodded, "Yep That will put us close to Stormwind. Wrathion and Umbria will meet us there, Alexis should be waiting by the landing platform."
"And there she is," Sheila said and waved as we walked out into the open area. Alexis waved back and got up from where she had been sitting with a book by one of the walls, bundled up in thick winter clothes.
Alexis closed her book and got up, grabbing her bag before walking over to us, "Okay, that's not fair," she said as she looked us over, "Those two are Blues and I expect them to be nuts about cold, but aren't you freezing?" she asked Sheila.
Sheila glanced down at her white robes and then frowned, "...Not really?" she admitted, "I can feel the cold, but it doesn't really bother me? It still feels a bit strange, but it's about like in my dragon form."
Alexis shook her head and muttered something about crazy lizards before she nodded, "So… we going?"
"We're going," I agreed and tossed her my bag before turning back to my real form and stretching. My current armor was in retracted mode, similar to normal dragon armor, covering my back and part of my tail as well as the top of my head more than anything else.
I turned my head to look at them, "Might as well attach your bags now and we can get going."
Everyone did so and Alexis patted my neck, "Down."
I rolled my eyes and lowered myself so she could climb onto my back, "I know you can jump that high."
"But why would I when you can do this?"
"Got you there," Sheila said with a grin before walking to get a bit of distance to turn back too.
"Do you want to carry the human?" I asked her with a small growl.
Sheila winked at me before closing her eyes and focusing on transforming.
Ren crossed her arms, "Yes, I'm sure. Everything is packed."
"Relax," I said as I shouldered my own pack as I walked up to join them," even if something turns out to be missing, we can easily make or buy it."
Sheila sighed softly, "...Sorry," she said, picking up her own in turn before smoothing down her white robes.
"You're still getting used to your mortal form," Ren said gently, shifting closer to give her a hug, "Having to remember all these things again."
"...Feels strange wearing clothes again," Sheila admitted and hugged back.
I grinned, "Oh, don't worry about it. But if you are more comfortable witho-"
"And you be quiet," Sheila said with a small smile as she shot me a look before she whispered something to Ren, causing her to grin and glance at me in turn.
Okay, what are those two up to?
I raised an eyebrow at them, "...Do I want to know?"
"Not really, no," Sheila teased as she walked up to me, "But we should get going. Wrathion and Umbria are likely wai-eep!"
I pulled her close with a small growl, resting my forehead against hers as I looked into her eyes, "Maybe we can be a bit late," I said quietly, "Maybe a lot late."
Her cheeks turned slightly red and she went onto her toes to kiss me before she smiled, "We're getting a nice room in Stormwind tonight."
"No, we're not," I said, "You know, our home still stands. I checked last time we were there and hired some caretakers. The valley in Pandaria we had built is untouched."
Sheila leaned softly against me, "That sounds nice," she admitted quietly.
"I thought we were in a hurry," Ren teased as she walked up to poke at Sheila's waist on her way past.
Sheila shot her a look, "...You did pack actual clothes, right? Because nobody but a dragon wears that kind of armor."
"Of course. But Atregos enchanted it so it can project illusions too so I can wear it and it'd look like anything I'd like," Ren said and smirked, "If you tried one, you'd know how much more comfortable it is."
Sheila rolled her eyes. It was an old argument.
Then she pulled away and winked at me before walking out, Rengosa quickly following. I looked after them for a moment.
Sheila had been in an interesting mood since she managed mortal form. Even Sheila had noticed it and talked with Kalecgos about it. Apparently it had something to do with hormone rebalancing, getting a new equilibrium between her two forms. It was fairly normal actually, didn't happen to every dragon, but many.
Thinking back, I felt a bit strange too when I first managed mortal form again, but things had been so busy I didn't really have time to think about it at the time.
But I was hardly going to complain.
I quickly moved to follow them out towards the landing platform dug into the side of the massive stone tower.
Ren glances back at me, "We're Walking from the usual spot?"
I nodded, "Yep That will put us close to Stormwind. Wrathion and Umbria will meet us there, Alexis should be waiting by the landing platform."
"And there she is," Sheila said and waved as we walked out into the open area. Alexis waved back and got up from where she had been sitting with a book by one of the walls, bundled up in thick winter clothes.
Alexis closed her book and got up, grabbing her bag before walking over to us, "Okay, that's not fair," she said as she looked us over, "Those two are Blues and I expect them to be nuts about cold, but aren't you freezing?" she asked Sheila.
Sheila glanced down at her white robes and then frowned, "...Not really?" she admitted, "I can feel the cold, but it doesn't really bother me? It still feels a bit strange, but it's about like in my dragon form."
Alexis shook her head and muttered something about crazy lizards before she nodded, "So… we going?"
"We're going," I agreed and tossed her my bag before turning back to my real form and stretching. My current armor was in retracted mode, similar to normal dragon armor, covering my back and part of my tail as well as the top of my head more than anything else.
I turned my head to look at them, "Might as well attach your bags now and we can get going."
Everyone did so and Alexis patted my neck, "Down."
I rolled my eyes and lowered myself so she could climb onto my back, "I know you can jump that high."
"But why would I when you can do this?"
"Got you there," Sheila said with a grin before walking to get a bit of distance to turn back too.
"Do you want to carry the human?" I asked her with a small growl.
Sheila winked at me before closing her eyes and focusing on transforming.
I came in for landing, swooping in above the thick snow at the edge of the forest. I glanced back towards Alexis.
She looked at me and her eyes widened, "Don't you dare!"
"You're no fun," I grumbled and went in for landing, my wings beating up a cloud of drift snow as I settled down.
"I just don't feel like digging snow out from beneath my-Hey! Stop!"
I started bucking, jumping and laughing as I tried to throw her off.
Alexis squeaked, trying to hang on to my armor before her fingers slipped and she went flying into a snow drift with a puff, disappearing in a cloud of snow.
Sheila landed next to me, laughing, "You two having fun?"
"Yep," I agreed.
Rengosa circled down from above and I could see Wrathion and Umbria approaching from the horizon.
Alexis was cursing as she climbed out of the snowdrift, glaring at me, "You!"
I snorted, "What?" I asked innocently.
For somebody not a dragon, Alexis had a rather impressive growl as she stalked over and grabbed hold of my nosehorn, glaring at my closest eye before she sighed and gave up, reaching to shake her jacket, "Damn it, I have snow down my-"
I bumped her with my snout, sending her sprawling in the deep snow when her balance was off.
Alexis sighed, staring up at the sky, "Why are we friends again?"
"Because I'm adorable," I answered, leaning in.
"Nobody is that adorable," Alexis grumbled and took hold of my nosehorn, allowing me to pull her back onto her feet before she looked at Sheila, shaking snow from her jacket again, "You married this? By choice?"
Sheila purred and moved up to press her nose to my neck, "He has his bright sides."
Alexis shook her head and then shook the snow from the back of her jacket, "I hate you."
"No you don't."
"Right now I kinda want to," Alexis grumbled, "Damn it, I was freezing already."
"We'll be in Azeroth in a couple of minutes, unless I've lost track of time, it should be late summer there by now," I pointed out.
Alexis glared at me, "And still, somehow I still have snow down the back of my neck!"
"...Sorry…"
She rolled her eyes and smacked my snout before looking at Sheila, "Ready?"
Sheila shook her head, "Need to turn to human form and undress first," she said and backed off to close her eyes to focus.
"We're still waiting for the others anyway," I said and settled down to wait, looking towards the sky as Rengosa landed a bit away in a cloud of snow, "Wrathion and Umbria will be here in a few minutes."
Alexis nodded, "Just because of this," she said, "You're doing the Walking and pulling me along."
"Fair," I admitted.
Rengosa walked up to us, having quickly shifted to mortal form and undressed, moving to hang her bag from my armor.
"Soulstone stored?" I asked her.
"All packed," she said with a smile, patting the bag.
"Just double checking."
That earned me a scratch behind my nosehorn before we settled down to wait for Wrathion and Umbria to arrive.
It didn't take long but they went down to land, quickly returning to mortal form and making their way over.
I looked over to them, "Bags strapped to my armor, clothes and soulstones stored," I told them, "Unless you want to lose those clothes."
"I know how it works," Wrathion said and started to get undressed, Umbria following his example.
Alexis quickly turned to look out towards the forest as I watched her in amusement.
Humans.
...It's been so long I don't even remember what it was like, really. I turned my head to watch Umbria.
As good looking in mortal form as in her true form. Pale skin and raven black hair.
"Ready to go?" Sheila asked as she walked up to my other side, strapping her bag in place to my armor.
"Almost," I said as Umbria followed Wrathion's example to do the same, "Everyone has their soulstones stored and active?"
Everyone confirmed it and I nodded, "Very well, everyone hang on to a horn or something."
As everyone did, I closed my eyes and started to channel my magic and a couple of minutes later, reality shattered around me like a mirror to be replaced with whirling and howling unreality.
I reached out towards an infinitely large dot and it exploded around me as I fell back into reality in the middle of a wheat field.
I stumbled, quickly catching my balance before I looked around as Alexis stumbled to her knees, "Damn it, gecko! Why do you always go so hard!"
"That's what she said."
We had landed in some poor farmers' wheat field. Better fix that before I let the rest know it's safe to come out, I wouldn't want to trample the poor guys' crops any more than necessary. At least it was the middle of the night and nobody in the farmhouse I could see in the distance seemed to be awake.
"We should move though," I then added, "Before I signal the rest or we'll trample these peoples crops. Jump on?"
Alexis nodded and clambered onto my back before I took to the skies in a quick jump to the edge of the field, setting down in the dark shadow of the trees.
As Alexis jumped down again, I sent a spark of magic into the soulstones, causing everyone to reform in clouds of smoke and fire.
"Welcome to Azeroth," I said and stretched my wings before I turned my head to look at Wrathion where he was helping Umbria onto her feet, "Remember, one week."
"I remember," He agreed and unhooked his bag from my armor, "We'll be there."
"Do we portal to the mansion for now? Even if Venir is in Stormwind right now, she'll be asle-" Sheila started to say before she broke off, "What's that?"
I turned my head just in time to see a golden sparkle hovering in the air next to us. Even as I watched it grew, first into a ball, then into a circle revealing daylight on the other side of it.
And a gnome.
A very familiar female gnome with copper colored hair.
"Get in the portal! All of you! Get through the portal now!" Chromie yelled, arms raised and clearly straining, "I can't hold it much longer!"
When a Bronze yells at you in that tone, especially Chromie, you damn well get in the portal.
She looked at me and her eyes widened, "Don't you dare!"
"You're no fun," I grumbled and went in for landing, my wings beating up a cloud of drift snow as I settled down.
"I just don't feel like digging snow out from beneath my-Hey! Stop!"
I started bucking, jumping and laughing as I tried to throw her off.
Alexis squeaked, trying to hang on to my armor before her fingers slipped and she went flying into a snow drift with a puff, disappearing in a cloud of snow.
Sheila landed next to me, laughing, "You two having fun?"
"Yep," I agreed.
Rengosa circled down from above and I could see Wrathion and Umbria approaching from the horizon.
Alexis was cursing as she climbed out of the snowdrift, glaring at me, "You!"
I snorted, "What?" I asked innocently.
For somebody not a dragon, Alexis had a rather impressive growl as she stalked over and grabbed hold of my nosehorn, glaring at my closest eye before she sighed and gave up, reaching to shake her jacket, "Damn it, I have snow down my-"
I bumped her with my snout, sending her sprawling in the deep snow when her balance was off.
Alexis sighed, staring up at the sky, "Why are we friends again?"
"Because I'm adorable," I answered, leaning in.
"Nobody is that adorable," Alexis grumbled and took hold of my nosehorn, allowing me to pull her back onto her feet before she looked at Sheila, shaking snow from her jacket again, "You married this? By choice?"
Sheila purred and moved up to press her nose to my neck, "He has his bright sides."
Alexis shook her head and then shook the snow from the back of her jacket, "I hate you."
"No you don't."
"Right now I kinda want to," Alexis grumbled, "Damn it, I was freezing already."
"We'll be in Azeroth in a couple of minutes, unless I've lost track of time, it should be late summer there by now," I pointed out.
Alexis glared at me, "And still, somehow I still have snow down the back of my neck!"
"...Sorry…"
She rolled her eyes and smacked my snout before looking at Sheila, "Ready?"
Sheila shook her head, "Need to turn to human form and undress first," she said and backed off to close her eyes to focus.
"We're still waiting for the others anyway," I said and settled down to wait, looking towards the sky as Rengosa landed a bit away in a cloud of snow, "Wrathion and Umbria will be here in a few minutes."
Alexis nodded, "Just because of this," she said, "You're doing the Walking and pulling me along."
"Fair," I admitted.
Rengosa walked up to us, having quickly shifted to mortal form and undressed, moving to hang her bag from my armor.
"Soulstone stored?" I asked her.
"All packed," she said with a smile, patting the bag.
"Just double checking."
That earned me a scratch behind my nosehorn before we settled down to wait for Wrathion and Umbria to arrive.
It didn't take long but they went down to land, quickly returning to mortal form and making their way over.
I looked over to them, "Bags strapped to my armor, clothes and soulstones stored," I told them, "Unless you want to lose those clothes."
"I know how it works," Wrathion said and started to get undressed, Umbria following his example.
Alexis quickly turned to look out towards the forest as I watched her in amusement.
Humans.
...It's been so long I don't even remember what it was like, really. I turned my head to watch Umbria.
As good looking in mortal form as in her true form. Pale skin and raven black hair.
"Ready to go?" Sheila asked as she walked up to my other side, strapping her bag in place to my armor.
"Almost," I said as Umbria followed Wrathion's example to do the same, "Everyone has their soulstones stored and active?"
Everyone confirmed it and I nodded, "Very well, everyone hang on to a horn or something."
As everyone did, I closed my eyes and started to channel my magic and a couple of minutes later, reality shattered around me like a mirror to be replaced with whirling and howling unreality.
I reached out towards an infinitely large dot and it exploded around me as I fell back into reality in the middle of a wheat field.
I stumbled, quickly catching my balance before I looked around as Alexis stumbled to her knees, "Damn it, gecko! Why do you always go so hard!"
"That's what she said."
We had landed in some poor farmers' wheat field. Better fix that before I let the rest know it's safe to come out, I wouldn't want to trample the poor guys' crops any more than necessary. At least it was the middle of the night and nobody in the farmhouse I could see in the distance seemed to be awake.
"We should move though," I then added, "Before I signal the rest or we'll trample these peoples crops. Jump on?"
Alexis nodded and clambered onto my back before I took to the skies in a quick jump to the edge of the field, setting down in the dark shadow of the trees.
As Alexis jumped down again, I sent a spark of magic into the soulstones, causing everyone to reform in clouds of smoke and fire.
"Welcome to Azeroth," I said and stretched my wings before I turned my head to look at Wrathion where he was helping Umbria onto her feet, "Remember, one week."
"I remember," He agreed and unhooked his bag from my armor, "We'll be there."
"Do we portal to the mansion for now? Even if Venir is in Stormwind right now, she'll be asle-" Sheila started to say before she broke off, "What's that?"
I turned my head just in time to see a golden sparkle hovering in the air next to us. Even as I watched it grew, first into a ball, then into a circle revealing daylight on the other side of it.
And a gnome.
A very familiar female gnome with copper colored hair.
"Get in the portal! All of you! Get through the portal now!" Chromie yelled, arms raised and clearly straining, "I can't hold it much longer!"
When a Bronze yells at you in that tone, especially Chromie, you damn well get in the portal.
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I quickly grabbed Alexis by the back of her jacket with my teeth, throwing her through the glowing rift in the air before scrambling to follow her through as she let out a squeak of protest and alarm, landing in a sprawl.
Everyone else ran through before me, which was lucky because as I dove through the narrow portal, just barely large enough to fit me, it snapped close in a shower of golden sparks.
It was a scale width from making my tail shorter.
I stumbled slightly, the hot humid air pressing in from all around as I found myself standing in daylight filtered in through thick vegetation and branches.
Alexis clambered to her feet, brushing dead leaves and dirt of herself as she turned to me, "What the hell was that?!"
"Too slow," I said and looked around, "When a Bronze yells at you, you do as they say. Because it's likely life or death."
"Where are we?" Sheila asked as she looked around at the thick tall trees while digging through her pack to pull her robes out.
"Better question is when are we," Wrathion said as he knelt down next to a downed Chromie, feeling along her neck and face, "She is alive, just unconscious. Whatever this portal was, it took a lot out of her. Umbria, take a flight and see what you can see. We need to know if we're in danger here."
I nodded as Umbria headed a couple of meters away to turn back, "Ren, go with her," I told her, "Until we know what's going on, nobody goes anywhere alone."
Ren transformed back and both climbed towards the open air between the thick trees and towards the blue skies above.
Sheila finished putting her robes on before she looked at me, "You should go human, easier to keep hidden like that."
I nodded in agreement and removed the rest of the bags I had been carrying before I closed my eyes and focused for a couple of seconds before I transformed in a cloud of spellsmoke.
I sniffed the air, "The air smells strange."
"It does," Wrathion agreed as he finished getting dressed in his usual mix of armor and robes, "But I am unsure as to how. It's something else too, but..."
"What?" Alexis asked as she finished taking off her winter gear, leaving her in her usual leather pants and loose fitting blouse.
"I don't know," Wrathion said with a frown, "The ground feels strange."
I looked down at the ground. It looked like ground to me. But what do I know, I'm not a Black. Rocks and dirt were kind of their thing.
Sheila moved to check on Chromie, "Wrathion is right, she's unconscious. Exhaustion... I wish Zrazta was here, she'd be able to do something about it. We should find some shelter until Ren and Umbria return."
I nodded, "Maybe do some scrying."
With that we picked up our bags and started off into the forest looking for a more defensible position. But not before I dropped a tracker where we had arrived. Not sure if it mattered, but if we did need to find our way back, that would be useful.
Reaching into my satchel, I pulled out a pair of spysects and tossed them into the air, the constructs taking wing and flying off in search of anything that matched their mission parameters. Strong magic, villages, buildings, large groups of people.
If they find any, they'd signal me.
"Atreus, send up one of those scrying spells too," Sheila said, "See if there are any cliffs nearby. That'll work as well as anything right now."
I nodded in agreement and quickly cast the spell, forming a viewpoint that I sent straight up while I projected what it saw above my right hand. And what it saw was a sea of green forest as far as the eye could see. Thick jungle forest, blue skies. I sent it higher and higher until I could just about make out blue in the distance. Didn't look like an ocean to me, maybe a lake?
"Nothing," I said and canceled the spell, "And I have no clue where or when we are, at least until the sun sets and we can see the stars."
"That'll tell us a bit where we are," Sheila agreed as she nodded.
"And when," I clarified, "If they look like they did back home, we're not too far away from our own time. Otherwise they would have moved."
She looked at me in surprise, "Stars move?"
"Very slowly," I said with a small smile, "So if things look very different, we are far away."
"Why would she bring us here?" Wrathion asked, glancing at the gnome he was carrying over his shoulder.
"I guess we just have to wait until she wakes up to find out," I said and then frowned, "...Should we transform back and head towards the coast?"
Sheila shook her head, "Maybe after Ren and Umbria is back, but until we know what's going on, we should try to keep as low profile as possible."
Fair.
"There," Alexis said and pointed, "That tree has fallen across that rock outcropping, that'll give us shelter from two directions. Atreus, you can put up one of those shield bubbles to hide us fully."
"Good a place as any," I agreed.
We made our way over there and I started to scratch the symbols required into the rock as Wrathion set Chromie down to sit against the rockface.
"Sheila, we should see if we can find some fresh water or something to eat, none of us really packed any provisions for this," Alexis said and dropped her pack, "Wrathion, find us some firewood, it's hot now but it may be cold tonight and not all of us are immune to it."
Alexis and Sheila headed towards the forest as Wrathion looked at me, "...Who put the mortal in charge?"
I glanced at him and smirked before going back to my carvings, "Do you really want to argue with her about this?"
He seemed to consider that for a moment before going to gather some firewood.
Everyone else ran through before me, which was lucky because as I dove through the narrow portal, just barely large enough to fit me, it snapped close in a shower of golden sparks.
It was a scale width from making my tail shorter.
I stumbled slightly, the hot humid air pressing in from all around as I found myself standing in daylight filtered in through thick vegetation and branches.
Alexis clambered to her feet, brushing dead leaves and dirt of herself as she turned to me, "What the hell was that?!"
"Too slow," I said and looked around, "When a Bronze yells at you, you do as they say. Because it's likely life or death."
"Where are we?" Sheila asked as she looked around at the thick tall trees while digging through her pack to pull her robes out.
"Better question is when are we," Wrathion said as he knelt down next to a downed Chromie, feeling along her neck and face, "She is alive, just unconscious. Whatever this portal was, it took a lot out of her. Umbria, take a flight and see what you can see. We need to know if we're in danger here."
I nodded as Umbria headed a couple of meters away to turn back, "Ren, go with her," I told her, "Until we know what's going on, nobody goes anywhere alone."
Ren transformed back and both climbed towards the open air between the thick trees and towards the blue skies above.
Sheila finished putting her robes on before she looked at me, "You should go human, easier to keep hidden like that."
I nodded in agreement and removed the rest of the bags I had been carrying before I closed my eyes and focused for a couple of seconds before I transformed in a cloud of spellsmoke.
I sniffed the air, "The air smells strange."
"It does," Wrathion agreed as he finished getting dressed in his usual mix of armor and robes, "But I am unsure as to how. It's something else too, but..."
"What?" Alexis asked as she finished taking off her winter gear, leaving her in her usual leather pants and loose fitting blouse.
"I don't know," Wrathion said with a frown, "The ground feels strange."
I looked down at the ground. It looked like ground to me. But what do I know, I'm not a Black. Rocks and dirt were kind of their thing.
Sheila moved to check on Chromie, "Wrathion is right, she's unconscious. Exhaustion... I wish Zrazta was here, she'd be able to do something about it. We should find some shelter until Ren and Umbria return."
I nodded, "Maybe do some scrying."
With that we picked up our bags and started off into the forest looking for a more defensible position. But not before I dropped a tracker where we had arrived. Not sure if it mattered, but if we did need to find our way back, that would be useful.
Reaching into my satchel, I pulled out a pair of spysects and tossed them into the air, the constructs taking wing and flying off in search of anything that matched their mission parameters. Strong magic, villages, buildings, large groups of people.
If they find any, they'd signal me.
"Atreus, send up one of those scrying spells too," Sheila said, "See if there are any cliffs nearby. That'll work as well as anything right now."
I nodded in agreement and quickly cast the spell, forming a viewpoint that I sent straight up while I projected what it saw above my right hand. And what it saw was a sea of green forest as far as the eye could see. Thick jungle forest, blue skies. I sent it higher and higher until I could just about make out blue in the distance. Didn't look like an ocean to me, maybe a lake?
"Nothing," I said and canceled the spell, "And I have no clue where or when we are, at least until the sun sets and we can see the stars."
"That'll tell us a bit where we are," Sheila agreed as she nodded.
"And when," I clarified, "If they look like they did back home, we're not too far away from our own time. Otherwise they would have moved."
She looked at me in surprise, "Stars move?"
"Very slowly," I said with a small smile, "So if things look very different, we are far away."
"Why would she bring us here?" Wrathion asked, glancing at the gnome he was carrying over his shoulder.
"I guess we just have to wait until she wakes up to find out," I said and then frowned, "...Should we transform back and head towards the coast?"
Sheila shook her head, "Maybe after Ren and Umbria is back, but until we know what's going on, we should try to keep as low profile as possible."
Fair.
"There," Alexis said and pointed, "That tree has fallen across that rock outcropping, that'll give us shelter from two directions. Atreus, you can put up one of those shield bubbles to hide us fully."
"Good a place as any," I agreed.
We made our way over there and I started to scratch the symbols required into the rock as Wrathion set Chromie down to sit against the rockface.
"Sheila, we should see if we can find some fresh water or something to eat, none of us really packed any provisions for this," Alexis said and dropped her pack, "Wrathion, find us some firewood, it's hot now but it may be cold tonight and not all of us are immune to it."
Alexis and Sheila headed towards the forest as Wrathion looked at me, "...Who put the mortal in charge?"
I glanced at him and smirked before going back to my carvings, "Do you really want to argue with her about this?"
He seemed to consider that for a moment before going to gather some firewood.
The fire crackled softly in the dark night. I sat with my back against the rock, looking up at the alien sky.
The moons were both in the sky, but the stars…
I couldn't recognize any constellations.
"Can we calculate when we are?" Alexis asked with a frown, "I know scientists on earth have done that."
"I can't at least," I admitted with a small shrug, "Maybe with study and time, but not off hand, no. But for them to move this far and for us to see a clear difference… off hand, five thousand years or so at least. If I remember right, this would be… very early bronze age on earth? So welcome to the invention of metal. Assuming I'm even remotely close with that guess."
Umbria frowned, "...Why are we here?" she asked and looked at the still unconscious Chromie, "It makes no sense."
"I guess we have to wait for her to wake up to find out," I said with a frown of my own as I put my arm around Sheila and she leaned her head against my shoulder, "But something about that time portal was strange. I've been through those a couple of times before and it was… odd."
"Odd how?" Sheila asked.
"Never seen one collapse like that before, nor take as much out of Chromie," I admitted, "Sure, they are always difficult, but pass out? No."
"You're never been this far before," Wrathion pointed out, "I'm not a Bronze, but it makes sense that making one that goes further is harder to do."
I nodded in agreement, "Nothing to do but to wait," I said and looked up towards the stars again, "This jungle worries me though. Wrathion, you said that the earth felt strange?"
He nodded, "It does. I can't explain it, but it does. Umbria?"
She nodded as well, "Somehow feels more solid."
"...Fuck."
"What did you think of?" Ren asked, "you figured something out."
I sighed, "...Nothing specific, just a feeling. But I think we're significantly further back than five thousand years. I think we may be before the great sundering. It's the only explanation I have about this," I explained and motioned towards the giant fallen tree our camp was next to.
"The tree?" Ren asked.
"Not the tree, the jungle," Alexis said, turning the fish she had over the fire, "He means the climate."
"Yeah," I agreed, "I think Chromie only moved us through time. Those portals can do both, but if she brought us back as far or further than five thousand years, I don't think she'd risk moving us through both space and time at the same… time. Which means that we are still more or less where we were and the climate is completely different. Last time there was a hot jungle in the area of Stormwind..."
Wrathion nodded, "Was before the great sundering."
"What's that?" Alexis asked, "I never heard of it."
"In short, Azeroth had a single large continent once," I explained, "Some elves fucked about, got the attention of the Burning Legion and blew up about eighty percent of the continent, sinking it into the ocean. The ocean between the two major continents in our time? Didn't used to be there."
Alexis stared at me, "...Shit."
"Yeah…" I agreed and reached to poke Chromie on the shoulder, "Hey. Wake up. If you took us here just in time for the planet to blow up, I'd be pissed."
Chromie snoozed on.
"Let her rest," Sheila said and shifted to get comfortable, "We should follow her example and try to get some rest. You too, Ren," she said and looked at her.
Ren had stayed in her real form for increased security.
Ren just nodded in agreement, "Somebody should keep watch."
"We all should," I agreed, "We'll take turns."
I also had Rogue and Witcher summoned and kept an eye out in the forest. If something got past those without them raising the alarm, they were very, very sneaky.
"I can take first," Alexis offered and turned her fish again, "Rest of you, get some rest if you can."
"Fair," I agreed and sighed, rubbing Sheila's shoulder before closing my eyes. But not before glancing at Chromie again.
Why were we here?
Why did you risk bringing us here, especially so far back?
And why us?
But right now, she was completely out of it. Healing spells didn't help, she wasn't hurt, just exhausted.
Nothing to do but wait and hope we had enough time.
The moons were both in the sky, but the stars…
I couldn't recognize any constellations.
"Can we calculate when we are?" Alexis asked with a frown, "I know scientists on earth have done that."
"I can't at least," I admitted with a small shrug, "Maybe with study and time, but not off hand, no. But for them to move this far and for us to see a clear difference… off hand, five thousand years or so at least. If I remember right, this would be… very early bronze age on earth? So welcome to the invention of metal. Assuming I'm even remotely close with that guess."
Umbria frowned, "...Why are we here?" she asked and looked at the still unconscious Chromie, "It makes no sense."
"I guess we have to wait for her to wake up to find out," I said with a frown of my own as I put my arm around Sheila and she leaned her head against my shoulder, "But something about that time portal was strange. I've been through those a couple of times before and it was… odd."
"Odd how?" Sheila asked.
"Never seen one collapse like that before, nor take as much out of Chromie," I admitted, "Sure, they are always difficult, but pass out? No."
"You're never been this far before," Wrathion pointed out, "I'm not a Bronze, but it makes sense that making one that goes further is harder to do."
I nodded in agreement, "Nothing to do but to wait," I said and looked up towards the stars again, "This jungle worries me though. Wrathion, you said that the earth felt strange?"
He nodded, "It does. I can't explain it, but it does. Umbria?"
She nodded as well, "Somehow feels more solid."
"...Fuck."
"What did you think of?" Ren asked, "you figured something out."
I sighed, "...Nothing specific, just a feeling. But I think we're significantly further back than five thousand years. I think we may be before the great sundering. It's the only explanation I have about this," I explained and motioned towards the giant fallen tree our camp was next to.
"The tree?" Ren asked.
"Not the tree, the jungle," Alexis said, turning the fish she had over the fire, "He means the climate."
"Yeah," I agreed, "I think Chromie only moved us through time. Those portals can do both, but if she brought us back as far or further than five thousand years, I don't think she'd risk moving us through both space and time at the same… time. Which means that we are still more or less where we were and the climate is completely different. Last time there was a hot jungle in the area of Stormwind..."
Wrathion nodded, "Was before the great sundering."
"What's that?" Alexis asked, "I never heard of it."
"In short, Azeroth had a single large continent once," I explained, "Some elves fucked about, got the attention of the Burning Legion and blew up about eighty percent of the continent, sinking it into the ocean. The ocean between the two major continents in our time? Didn't used to be there."
Alexis stared at me, "...Shit."
"Yeah…" I agreed and reached to poke Chromie on the shoulder, "Hey. Wake up. If you took us here just in time for the planet to blow up, I'd be pissed."
Chromie snoozed on.
"Let her rest," Sheila said and shifted to get comfortable, "We should follow her example and try to get some rest. You too, Ren," she said and looked at her.
Ren had stayed in her real form for increased security.
Ren just nodded in agreement, "Somebody should keep watch."
"We all should," I agreed, "We'll take turns."
I also had Rogue and Witcher summoned and kept an eye out in the forest. If something got past those without them raising the alarm, they were very, very sneaky.
"I can take first," Alexis offered and turned her fish again, "Rest of you, get some rest if you can."
"Fair," I agreed and sighed, rubbing Sheila's shoulder before closing my eyes. But not before glancing at Chromie again.
Why were we here?
Why did you risk bringing us here, especially so far back?
And why us?
But right now, she was completely out of it. Healing spells didn't help, she wasn't hurt, just exhausted.
Nothing to do but wait and hope we had enough time.
Someone shook my shoulder and I blinked awake to see Sheila kneeling next to me, "I'm awake…" I muttered, rubbing my eyes, "What's happening?"
"Chromie's awake."
That got me to wake up and I looked over, seeing the dragon gnome sitting by the fire, looking into the flames across from Wrathion.
I struggled to my feet and moved to sit down next to her, "So…" I said, "Now when everyone is awake, would you mind filling us in on exactly why you felt bringing us ten thousand years into the past?"
Chromie looked at me in surprise, "...Figured that much out? But it's not ten thousand, it's fourteen thousand."
Fourteen thousand years. Everyone was quiet, digesting that.
That's pretty good, I was only off by four thousand years.
But seriously, fourteen thousand years.
I looked at Chromie seriously, "Why?"
She took a deep breath, "Because the world ends in five years unless I don't. And we need to figure out how to stop it."
Everyone stared at her for several long moments and the only sounds to be heard was the crackling of the fire before Alexis spoke up, "How's that possible? That never happened, did it? Last night Atreus explained how the elves blew up the continent in four thousand years. How can it end in five years then?"
"Something is disrupting the timeline," Chromie explained, "The most major one is the end of the world in five years and we need to fix that before anything else."
"Do we know what causes it?" Wrathion asked.
Chromie nodded, "Yes and no," she said before she sighed, "...Okay, it's easier if I just show you. All of you, mortal form."
Ren transformed back and Chromie struggled onto her feet, Alexis helping her up. Once everyone had gathered their things, Chromie turned and started to cast a portal spell.
A normal blue point to point portal, not a time one.
"Everyone through," Chromie ordered and we did as she told us, walking through from the damp jungle to the… warmer and less damp jungle.
I glanced around, raising my arms in mock annoyance as I turned to her, "Chromie, this isn't an improvement."
She stepped through the portal last and that's when I saw that she looked… tired. Not just physically.
Normally she would have snarked right back at me. Now she just walked past us, "This way," she said and led the way through the trees, pushing brush to the side.
I followed her, pushing the brush to the side, Wrathion following along. We didn't need to go far, maybe some thirty meters before we walked straight onto a stone platform with large pillars and a thick path leading to a gate into the mountain.
I slowly walked onto the stone courtyard, looking around at the large pillars. The door across from us looked like it was the same sort of construction, leading in the mountain.
"This…" I said, "This is Titan-built."
Chromie nodded, "It is," she said and pointed at the door, "And whatever is in there is going to end the world in five years," she said and then looked at me, "Open it and stop it!"
I stared at her, "Excuse me?"
"I sure can't! It won't let anyone inside, we tried everything!" she exclaimed and pointed at it again, "Do your thing and stop it!"
I stared at her for several long moments before I dropped my bag and headed for the door, pulling out my magic seeing goggles and slipping them on before looking at it.
The door looked… like a door. No magic, no anything.
But then again, Titan stuff didn't really leak magic, at least not enough to see at a distance. I slowly approached, raising a hand to run across the surface just above it, not touching in case it would trigger some sort of defense.
Channeling a bit of magic, I felt the enchantment of the door reacting to the slight fluctuations of the field.
Oh yes, it was definitely enchanted, but even this close all I got was a general slight glow from it.
I leaned in closer, my eyes widening behind my goggles. What in the…
There were enchanting lines in the door… the smallest, finest ones I had ever seen and they weren't just on the surface, they were all along it and… all through it in three dimensions. This work was… amazing.
I'm good, I'm really damn good.
I'm not this fucking good. Nobody is this fucking good. Nobody I have seen yet anyway. Not even the gauntlet or the ring.
Whoever made this did amazing work. Past amazing. It was beautiful.
But who the hell would put this kind of effort into a door!?
I slowly pulled back and looked back at the group as I pushed my goggles up onto my forehead, "...Might as well set up camp or something, this will take a while."
"Chromie's awake."
That got me to wake up and I looked over, seeing the dragon gnome sitting by the fire, looking into the flames across from Wrathion.
I struggled to my feet and moved to sit down next to her, "So…" I said, "Now when everyone is awake, would you mind filling us in on exactly why you felt bringing us ten thousand years into the past?"
Chromie looked at me in surprise, "...Figured that much out? But it's not ten thousand, it's fourteen thousand."
Fourteen thousand years. Everyone was quiet, digesting that.
That's pretty good, I was only off by four thousand years.
But seriously, fourteen thousand years.
I looked at Chromie seriously, "Why?"
She took a deep breath, "Because the world ends in five years unless I don't. And we need to figure out how to stop it."
Everyone stared at her for several long moments and the only sounds to be heard was the crackling of the fire before Alexis spoke up, "How's that possible? That never happened, did it? Last night Atreus explained how the elves blew up the continent in four thousand years. How can it end in five years then?"
"Something is disrupting the timeline," Chromie explained, "The most major one is the end of the world in five years and we need to fix that before anything else."
"Do we know what causes it?" Wrathion asked.
Chromie nodded, "Yes and no," she said before she sighed, "...Okay, it's easier if I just show you. All of you, mortal form."
Ren transformed back and Chromie struggled onto her feet, Alexis helping her up. Once everyone had gathered their things, Chromie turned and started to cast a portal spell.
A normal blue point to point portal, not a time one.
"Everyone through," Chromie ordered and we did as she told us, walking through from the damp jungle to the… warmer and less damp jungle.
I glanced around, raising my arms in mock annoyance as I turned to her, "Chromie, this isn't an improvement."
She stepped through the portal last and that's when I saw that she looked… tired. Not just physically.
Normally she would have snarked right back at me. Now she just walked past us, "This way," she said and led the way through the trees, pushing brush to the side.
I followed her, pushing the brush to the side, Wrathion following along. We didn't need to go far, maybe some thirty meters before we walked straight onto a stone platform with large pillars and a thick path leading to a gate into the mountain.
I slowly walked onto the stone courtyard, looking around at the large pillars. The door across from us looked like it was the same sort of construction, leading in the mountain.
"This…" I said, "This is Titan-built."
Chromie nodded, "It is," she said and pointed at the door, "And whatever is in there is going to end the world in five years," she said and then looked at me, "Open it and stop it!"
I stared at her, "Excuse me?"
"I sure can't! It won't let anyone inside, we tried everything!" she exclaimed and pointed at it again, "Do your thing and stop it!"
I stared at her for several long moments before I dropped my bag and headed for the door, pulling out my magic seeing goggles and slipping them on before looking at it.
The door looked… like a door. No magic, no anything.
But then again, Titan stuff didn't really leak magic, at least not enough to see at a distance. I slowly approached, raising a hand to run across the surface just above it, not touching in case it would trigger some sort of defense.
Channeling a bit of magic, I felt the enchantment of the door reacting to the slight fluctuations of the field.
Oh yes, it was definitely enchanted, but even this close all I got was a general slight glow from it.
I leaned in closer, my eyes widening behind my goggles. What in the…
There were enchanting lines in the door… the smallest, finest ones I had ever seen and they weren't just on the surface, they were all along it and… all through it in three dimensions. This work was… amazing.
I'm good, I'm really damn good.
I'm not this fucking good. Nobody is this fucking good. Nobody I have seen yet anyway. Not even the gauntlet or the ring.
Whoever made this did amazing work. Past amazing. It was beautiful.
But who the hell would put this kind of effort into a door!?
I slowly pulled back and looked back at the group as I pushed my goggles up onto my forehead, "...Might as well set up camp or something, this will take a while."
10
I slowly sank down, resting my head on my forelegs with a long, slow sigh. My head throbbing with pain.
Alexis walked up, "Getting anywhere?" she asked as she sank down to sit with her back against my foreleg, "You have been staring at that door for three days now. And we have run out of paper for you to make notes on."
I snorted but didn't answer.
"Hey, I'm talking to you, gecko," she said and reached to poke beneath my eye, "Are you making any progress?"
Sighing, I turned my head to look at her, "Alexis, that door is the most complex piece of artifice I have ever encountered. It's Titan made, yes, but even among the Titans whomever made that thing was an absolute genius. It's like… The Mona Lisa. It's a work of art."
"But you can open it, right?"
I let out a frustrated breath, "Let's see if I can put this in a context you'd understand… I work with vacuum tubes. This thing is a modern nanometer scale cpu. Technically related, but one is infinitely more complex. I… looking at that door for three days has taught me more than I learned during the last two years."
"That's nice, but can you open it?"
I hesitated, "Yes, but… do we really want to?" I asked as I looked at her, "That door is there for a reason. What if… what if opening is what triggers whatever it is? What if it's not to keep people out… but to keep something in?"
"So it'd take you five years to open it?"
"No-" I started to answer before I snorted, "I see what you mean. I don't think I can tell you how long it'd take, but five years… no."
I wasn't sure I could open it at all.
I didn't like that feeling at all, enchantment was my thing. It was what I was good at. I was the best… or so I had thought.
Now I felt like a student again, learning the basics. The worst thing was that I recognized the enchantment language. It was the same one I learned first, but it was like… what I learned before was a broken dialect. Without grammar and with a vocabulary of about three hundred words.
In comparison, what was in that door was… poetry. The collected works of Shakespeare or Tolkien.
Where I had patched things with other enchanting languages, this flowed smoothly. The language of creation itself.
"Where are the rest?"
"Hunting," Alexis said, "I just finished with the shelter in case it starts raining again tonight. You guys might be fine and just turn big and scaly, but I want something above my head. And so does Chromie apparently."
I nodded, "She prefers her mortal form," I agreed, "How's she doing?"
"Better I think, but she still looks tired. I… I don't know how long she's been doing this," Alexis said and scratched behind my nosehorn.
"You never know with the Bronze," I said, "Never know which version of them you talk to either or where they meet in their personal timeline. This Chromie may be twenty or she may be twenty thousand years old. How big was her real form?"
Alexis shrugged, "Wyrm," she said before she frowned and motioned towards the side of her head, "But I noticed something strange when she turned back. Don't female dragons usually have horns on the sides of their heads?"
"They do," I agreed, "Chromie just prefers being female."
Alexis nodded, "Oh. I see. That also explains why she likes her mortal form. Well, two mysteries solved, thirty thousand left."
I snorted in amusement, "Indeed. Now if my head could stop hurting, I could get back to work."
"Want a pain potion? I still have some in my bag," Alexis offered, "They should work if you turn back."
I shook my head slightly, "Better not waste them, don't know how long we'll be here. I just need to rest for a little. Try to get these… equations out of my head. Alexis, I can literally feel myself getting smarter. Or dumber."
"Has to be smarter, hard to do the opposite," she teased with a smile, "Get some rest, I'll see if I can't hunt down some dinner for myself."
"The others didn't offer to bring something back?"
Alexis shook her head as she got back, "When given a choice, I prefer my food not covered in dragon slobber. I'll see if I can't trap a rabbit or do some more fishing. You really should eat too. Also, your headache might not be so bad if you drank something?"
"I'll eat tomorrow, mother," I grumbled and set my head back down, closing my eyes as I listened to the sounds of the jungle.
Not sure how long until I fell asleep, but when I did, my dreams were filled with enchantment patterns and equations of staggering beauty.
Alexis walked up, "Getting anywhere?" she asked as she sank down to sit with her back against my foreleg, "You have been staring at that door for three days now. And we have run out of paper for you to make notes on."
I snorted but didn't answer.
"Hey, I'm talking to you, gecko," she said and reached to poke beneath my eye, "Are you making any progress?"
Sighing, I turned my head to look at her, "Alexis, that door is the most complex piece of artifice I have ever encountered. It's Titan made, yes, but even among the Titans whomever made that thing was an absolute genius. It's like… The Mona Lisa. It's a work of art."
"But you can open it, right?"
I let out a frustrated breath, "Let's see if I can put this in a context you'd understand… I work with vacuum tubes. This thing is a modern nanometer scale cpu. Technically related, but one is infinitely more complex. I… looking at that door for three days has taught me more than I learned during the last two years."
"That's nice, but can you open it?"
I hesitated, "Yes, but… do we really want to?" I asked as I looked at her, "That door is there for a reason. What if… what if opening is what triggers whatever it is? What if it's not to keep people out… but to keep something in?"
"So it'd take you five years to open it?"
"No-" I started to answer before I snorted, "I see what you mean. I don't think I can tell you how long it'd take, but five years… no."
I wasn't sure I could open it at all.
I didn't like that feeling at all, enchantment was my thing. It was what I was good at. I was the best… or so I had thought.
Now I felt like a student again, learning the basics. The worst thing was that I recognized the enchantment language. It was the same one I learned first, but it was like… what I learned before was a broken dialect. Without grammar and with a vocabulary of about three hundred words.
In comparison, what was in that door was… poetry. The collected works of Shakespeare or Tolkien.
Where I had patched things with other enchanting languages, this flowed smoothly. The language of creation itself.
"Where are the rest?"
"Hunting," Alexis said, "I just finished with the shelter in case it starts raining again tonight. You guys might be fine and just turn big and scaly, but I want something above my head. And so does Chromie apparently."
I nodded, "She prefers her mortal form," I agreed, "How's she doing?"
"Better I think, but she still looks tired. I… I don't know how long she's been doing this," Alexis said and scratched behind my nosehorn.
"You never know with the Bronze," I said, "Never know which version of them you talk to either or where they meet in their personal timeline. This Chromie may be twenty or she may be twenty thousand years old. How big was her real form?"
Alexis shrugged, "Wyrm," she said before she frowned and motioned towards the side of her head, "But I noticed something strange when she turned back. Don't female dragons usually have horns on the sides of their heads?"
"They do," I agreed, "Chromie just prefers being female."
Alexis nodded, "Oh. I see. That also explains why she likes her mortal form. Well, two mysteries solved, thirty thousand left."
I snorted in amusement, "Indeed. Now if my head could stop hurting, I could get back to work."
"Want a pain potion? I still have some in my bag," Alexis offered, "They should work if you turn back."
I shook my head slightly, "Better not waste them, don't know how long we'll be here. I just need to rest for a little. Try to get these… equations out of my head. Alexis, I can literally feel myself getting smarter. Or dumber."
"Has to be smarter, hard to do the opposite," she teased with a smile, "Get some rest, I'll see if I can't hunt down some dinner for myself."
"The others didn't offer to bring something back?"
Alexis shook her head as she got back, "When given a choice, I prefer my food not covered in dragon slobber. I'll see if I can't trap a rabbit or do some more fishing. You really should eat too. Also, your headache might not be so bad if you drank something?"
"I'll eat tomorrow, mother," I grumbled and set my head back down, closing my eyes as I listened to the sounds of the jungle.
Not sure how long until I fell asleep, but when I did, my dreams were filled with enchantment patterns and equations of staggering beauty.