B1C19: Partying Up with a Vagabond

Nolan raised his eyebrow at me. I thought that maybe he didn’t know what I meant, and then he confirmed it when he asked, “An infernal bloodline? What the hell is that?”

‘Not sure. But it’s what allows me to level up beyond the standard rate.’

“Whatever it is, it doesn’t sound good at all.”

‘That’s why I was so afraid for you to see it!’ I blurted. ‘I didn’t want you thinking I was some monster waiting to burn the world to the ground! And when I thought that you were questioning my morals, I was offended. I take that stuff personally, because it’s not who I am.’

Nolan’s gaze softened, and then he snickered wholesomely. “I can see that you’re very passionate about this. But you don’t have a choice but to turn dark.”

I jerked back as if I was struck. ‘What?’

“That’s what you’re thinking, right? That’s why you didn’t want me seeing it? Why else would you be so defensive about it?”

His words got the cogs in my head turning.

“Pinned down to a path of darkness, having the power to forge souls, raise the dead, and do all types of shit in between. At a certain point you think to yourself that everything is set in stone. This is the life that’s been given to you, and that’s how things are going to be. You have an infernal bloodline, whatever that means, but it doesn’t define who you are nor does it dictate your actions. Only you decide what kind of person you want to be, regardless of your bloodline. Yeah, you have an innate power that others don’t have, and some dream of, honestly. And it’s a big responsibility. But it’s not a sentence for evil shit. You can choose to use this power for good, just as you’re doing right now by trying to save two planets.”

My eyes started getting misty.

I didn’t know how much I needed to hear that from him until now. Wilna had taught me to embrace the art of necromancy. With light came darkness, because without darkness there would be no light. Yeah, I could live with that. I could live with being part of the natural balance of things, but having an infernal bloodline felt like something I couldn’t escape. Like something I was destined to become. It was like a stain I couldn’t wash away, and I was afraid that Nolan would see it the same way I did.

Nolan told me not to obsess over the systematics of it, not because we didn’t understand but because it made little difference in the grander scheme of things. He compared it to an unchangeable past, a part of our history that served to inform the present but not necessarily prescribe the future.

“Think of it this way,” he began, crouching down to me on my level, “My father was a knight. Valor and honor ran through his veins. He carried code and conduct in one hand, and might and warriorhood in the other. He fought fiercely for the kingdom, protecting the weak and upholding justice. But then my father turned sides, terrorizing the very same people he swore to protect. He sold his people for self-preservation, and promise of power. Basically, two men, same bloodline, completely different paths because of the choices that were made.”

‘But… aren’t you a mercenary?’

He deadpanned me, and I giggled. “My point is, I could have turned out much worse!” he jested.

‘Boy, a witch for a mother and a knight turned human trader for a father.’

He chuckled. “Humble beginnings.”

‘I see what you mean, though. Your bloodline isn’t pure either, but you’re still your own person.’

“By the way, I don’t sell or smuggle people,” he emphasized. “I take on a lot of dirty jobs, but that’s something I refuse to condone.”

‘That’s reassuring to hear,’ I said with a bright smile on my scaly face. ‘So… Party up?’

He nodded with my smirk on his rugged face. “Yeah, short fry. Party up.”

I didn’t think I’d party with Nolan so soon, but I was glad I did. I felt such a weight lifted from my shoulders knowing that I didn’t have to hide anything from him anymore. We exchanged glances at our codices—I saw his, and he saw mine. From his facial expression, I could tell that the man was certainly impressed. And I was happy to know that Nolan had a lot of skill scrolls to his name.

I guessed now would be a good time to talk to him about those.

“Don’t go asking me for any money, now,” he teased. “I’ve shared with you plenty.”

I rolled my eyes. ‘I’d expect such a comment from a vagabond like you.’

“Damn, level 19. I doubt an infant dragon ever reached level seven.”

‘Because, I’m smarter than your average bear, erm-I mean, dragon.’

He snorted. “Like I said, a crony.”

‘Jealous.’

Nolan began pacing toward the direction of our wagon, and I tilted my head. Standing there confused, I turned my head over my shoulder toward the witch’s house and then back to him before I started to move forward. ‘Um, why aren’t we looting Wilna’s place?’

“Because I learned the hard way that taking her shit comes with consequences,” he admitted.

‘Then maybe you should close the door? You know, so no one else would raid her stuff?’

He smirked.

Oh right, I forgot who I was talking to for a moment.

‘After that heart to heart, warm and fuzzy talk we had about not being evil, too,’ I said, shaking my head.

“We’re assuming anyone could even make it this far through the forest,” he reminded me.

‘Well, since we are on the topic of spells, I noticed your skill scroll locker was full.’

“Oh yeah, about that. You won’t have access to skill scrolls, seeing as you’re a dragon.”

‘I remember my codex saying my magic affinity negates it. Well, the exact term was not compatible.’

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“For good reason. As a dragon, elf, or drow, you are born, more or less, with the natural ability to wield magic. These abilities are usually elemental. Dragons are more limited than the elves and the drow, with only five elements they can manipulate: frost, fire, earth, air, and space. A common representation is one element per dragon. Very rare instances of two per dragon has been seen, but no more than that. Then, there’s you, who can wield all five.”

‘So, dragons are limited to frost, earth, fire, air and space. What about elves and drow?’

“Well, drow are just underground elves. Both of them have a wider range of elements they can manipulate.”

‘And they are born with the element, too?’

“Yeah, same deal. Both dragons and elves are born with a magical element, usually. But unlike dragons, elves have a wider variety of shit in their arsenal. Wind, fire, space, venom, electricity, ice, time, earth, metal, storm, light, heal, nature, illusion, crystal, lava, sound, and gravity.”

‘What a huge gap!’

“It is, but if you look at the bigger picture, dragons have a lot going on for them, too. Not only do you have breath weapons, but also resistance to those breath weapons, and environmental buffs.”

‘Environmental buffs?’

“I’m not sure if you could sense it at your early evo stage, but yeah. A frost dragon would get a stat boost for being somewhere cold, like in the mountains. Same thing with a fire dragon. Volcanoes and desert climates would boost their stats. Earth dragons are more formidable in stony terrains, while air dragons reign supreme in high altitudes. And space dragons... well, they don’t really have an environmental boost that they could realistically utilize. Unless they want to live in the cosmos.”

‘And what about me, a dragon with all five elements?’

He looked at me skeptically. “I guess you get a boost in all environments? At least until you pick an evolution route. It is hard to say. You’re unique, kid.”

‘So then, this magic system is balanced?’

He chuckled. “I wouldn’t say that. Not by a long shot. It’s clear as day that dragons and elves are the strongest race in Etheryn. For the rest of us, humans, goblins, orcs, and beastkins, we rely on skill scrolls. Magic skill scrolls. It’s the only way we could compete with you guys.”

‘So, if I had to guess, these scrolls imitate the elemental advantage that elves and dragons have?’

“Yeah. We have the same variety that elves have with skill scrolls. But there’s a catch.”

‘What is it?’

“The amount of mana points is doubled for us.”

My eyes grew.

“So let’s say an elf wants to summon a simple fireball. Obviously, the level of that skill comes into play, but if we remove that factor and say it costs 100 MP to cast, that same fireball would cost a human, orc, goblin, and beastkin 200 MP.”

‘Say what?!’

“Not only that, if we don’t have the skill scroll for that attack, we cannot execute it.”

‘So wait, you have a skill scroll for your magic imbued bullets?’

“I do. You didn’t catch that when we partied up?”

‘No, I didn’t. I was distracted by all the items you had. And that one questionable My Lady Orc magazine….’ I cocked him a side eye. ‘That seems like one big disadvantage for you guys, though.’

“Those goblins took my scrolls, so I was completely defenseless. It was a good thing you were around to scorch them.”

‘I don’t get it. You said that the dungeon core created Etheryn. Why would she, or he, make some races inferior and some superior?’

“Nothing is ever built on even grounds. I’m sure it’s the same way on Earth. All of that light and dark, good and evil bullshit. This works the same way. Strong and weak. Even when that’s the case, we thrive. We just have to work that much harder. Is it fair? No, but we make do. We find our own ways of surviving, of fighting. We form alliances, and strengthen our numbers. That’s why guilds exist.”

‘I see. But still, that seems rather harsh.’

“Maybe,” he said, with an air of nonchalance. “But think of it this way: adversity breeds strength and innovation. It keeps us on our toes.”

‘Innovation? Like the gear you have? The bullets?’

“Exactly like that.” He smiled. “We have to compensate for our lack of natural magic with tools, technology, and strategy.”

I remembered Nolan telling me about the decades dragons tried to overthrow the human race. It made sense now why they hadn’t succeeded. Despite dragons and elves having their natural magic, humans and the other races had their wits, strategy, and technology.

When pushed to a corner, even the frailest creature could do some damage….

‘And I assume there are more of you out there with specialized weaponry?’ I asked, referring to Scarlet.

“Of course,” he said. “There are blacksmiths who specialize in creating magical tools and weapons. Alchemists who brew potions to enhance our abilities temporarily. Not to mention all the strategists, leaders, warriors that each have a role in our feeble little nation.”

I chuckled. ‘Kinda dilutes the whole cool factor in a sharp shooter like yourself, knowing that there are more of ya around.’

“Bullshit, there’s no one like me around,” he said, quick to correct me confidently. “I’m one of a kind.”

We made it to our wagon, and I noticed Nolan pulling something out of his back pocket. It was a card, a basic white business card, but there was a blue ring in the middle of it that swirled with resin-like material.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of this scenery,” he said with a smirk on his face.

‘What are you doing?’

“I finished my business in Yhole Valley. Now I need to pick up my next assignment.”

‘And where is that?’

“Ebor Town, Beastkin Country,Nemetesnia. It’s far from here. Not near goblin country at all.”

‘Are you meeting someone there in particular?’

“Yeah. Mable, my guild leader.”

‘Guild leader?’

“The Bandits Guild.”

I rolled my eyes. ‘Ahhh, of course….’

“But to everyone else in Ebor Town, we are a quaint coffee shop in the corner of Emuz and Rogothi.”

‘I don’t have much of a choice but to go along with your escapades, so….’

“I promise, you’ll never get bored.” He winked.

I shrugged. ‘That IS a good thing.’

“Hey, do me a favor, when we get there, don’t tell anyone that we’ve partied up, all right?”

‘Why?’

“Because I’m constantly being nagged at to join the rest of the members in the guild. And you know my motto.”

‘Loner,’ I teased him, while teasing myself in the process.

“If they hear about us partying up, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

‘Deal.’

“Also fair warning, Mable is a little on the, eh, grabby side. She comes off as eccentric, but she means well.”

‘For us introverts, I could see how that might be a bit frightening….’

“That’s an understatement,” he muttered under his breath. “But don’t worry, she’ll like you.”

‘I’m not sure if that’s supposed to make me feel better or worse,’ I jested.

“You’ll see for yourself soon enough,” Nolan responded as he tapped the swirling circle on the card. He placed it on the ground and then proceeded to go into the wagon. In an instant, the swirling ring grew larger, encompassing us and the wagon in a bright blue dome of light.

‘Are you seriously telling me that the card is a teleporter?’

“Well, I did have a ring, but its durability expired on me,” he admitted. “Come on. The tear won’t stay open for long.”