Chapter Sixteen
The girls all tumbled down the slope at a quick pace, and a moment later my arms were full of women. Eva, Mahini, and Elissa all hugged me at once while Sarosh watched with an impressed expression on her face.
“You did it!” Eva gasped as she threw her arms around my neck and kissed my cheek. “I knew you would!”
“I had total faith in you, husband,” Elissa purred.
“Your power is beyond my imagination,” Mahini breathed in a voice full of awe.
“Yes, well done, Sir Sebastian,” Sarosh interjected with a thin-lipped smile. “You have proven yourself to be a man of your word.”
“Thank you.” I inclined my head, but I couldn’t wipe the shit-eating grin off my face.
“I wonder what it was guarding in that nest…” Eva mused as her gray gaze turned toward the rock-hewn circle on the far edge of the hollow.
“Your curiosity could get you killed,” I laughed, and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “But there’s no danger in taking a look now.”
“It could be gold,” Elissa guessed.
“Or skeletons of past meals,” Mahini pointed out.
“Or nothing,” Sarosh added.
“Who knows.” I shrugged. “We’ll find out soon enough.”
So, we began the climb into the dragon’s nest, and the rocks radiated heat that was almost too strong to touch. My gauntlets protected me, but I worried about how the delicate hands of the women would fare.
We all managed to reach the top, though, and then we began the climb down the other side. The rock-hewn perimeter of the nest was probably ten feet high, but it sloped more gently on the inside to create a bowl-like enclosure. Inside were indeed some scattered bones, but my gaze swept over the interior in search of something more valuable.
Then I spotted it.
Nestled between some rocks and debris was a bright, iridescent-purple egg.
My mouth fell open as we all crossed the distance to the center of the nest, and we blinked at each other in surprise before we squatted down to get a closer look.
“It’s beautiful,” Elissa breathed as she studied the gemstone quality of the exterior of the egg.
“And deadly,” Mahini added.
“I can tell it holds great power,” Sarosh observed with narrowed gray eyes.
“Should we destroy it?” Eva asked as she worked her thick bottom lip between her teeth.
“No,” I said with a firm shake of my head. “We’re taking it with us.”
I didn’t know what exactly led me to make that decision, but it felt right in my gut, so I went with it. Who knew when I’d need a dragon’s egg at my disposal? There couldn’t be very many of them in this world since Smiguel was the first dragon seen in ages, so I wasn’t about to let the opportunity go to waste, but I had so many questions now.
How was this egg even possible with only one dragon? Where was the little baby’s mother? Did dragons need to have a girl and a boy, or had Smiguel laid this egg all on his own? Would this egg even be capable of hatching?
My thoughts spun around the new discovery, but I didn’t have any of the answers yet, so I’d just have to wait and see.
“Is that wise?” Sarosh frowned.
“I don’t care if it is or not.” I shrugged. “I can handle whatever happens. I’ve proven that today, and you know it.”
“Very well,” she huffed. “Do as you wish.”
I reached out toward the egg, but then a thought occurred to me, and I pressed my finger against its shell to see if any stats popped up. Nothing happened, though, so I picked up the egg carefully, and I cradled it against my breastplate as I got a closer look at it. It was about the size of a watermelon, maybe a little bigger, and the scales looked purple from a distance, but up close they were an even mixture of crimson and sapphire. They sparkled in the fading light of day, and it almost seemed like the egg was glowing from inside.
Elissa was right, it was beautiful.
Maybe there was a baby dragon inside that I could train to be my minion of mass destruction. No one would stand against me if I had a fire-breathing dragon at my beck and call. I would be more than godly. I’d be unbeatable. I wouldn’t even need to chime through a bunch of attempts in order to conquer a tough enemy. There wouldn’t be any more tough enemies.
I got lost in my daydreams for a moment until I heard Sarosh clear her throat, and I reluctantly came back to reality. I had to deal with the current situation and not live in the future where I rode on a dragon’s back and commanded a vast army.
It would happen, but not today.
“What now, Great One?” Eva asked. “I never even thought about what we would do after the dragon died, but here we are.”
“We have to take the head back to the king,” I reminded her. “After that, we are free to do whatever we want.”
“I’m sure my father will be pleased to learn of the dragon’s demise as well,” the duke’s daughter said in a hesitant voice. “Are you… going to tell him about us?”
“I will,” I confirmed. “You’re mine now, and nothing he says will undo that.”
Mahini and Elissa exchanged a knowing glance, but they didn’t say anything.
“I will arrange a meeting with my master,” Sarosh said with obvious reluctance. “He will want to know about someone as powerful as you.”
“Tell him he can find me in Bastianville,” I said. “You’re still more than welcome to travel with us to Vallenwood, though. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you or your followers.”
“You are gracious,” she replied. “Thank you.”
“So, we have to cut off the dragon’s head?” Elissa wrinkled her nose in disgust. “How are we supposed to get it out of here and down the side of the mountain?”
“I’ve seen people use two poles strapped to a horse’s side,” I said as I thought about the Native Americans and their travois. “We will strap everything between the poles, and we should be able to drag it back to Bronzeberg like that. Maybe they will have a wagon we can buy.”
“Good idea.” Mahini nodded, and she moved to leave the nest. “Let’s get started.”
“Can you guys cut down the poles we need and bring the horses down here? I left Goliath by the dragon’s body, and he seemed fine with it, but the others might get spooked, so be careful.” I looked over the women as I repositioned the warm dragon egg in my arms. “I’ll get started on field-dressing the dragon.”
“Yes, Great One,” Mahini replied. “I will see it is done.”
Then we all climbed out of the nest, and the women began the arduous ascent to the rim of the hollow while I made my way over to Smiguel’s corpse. I laid my hand against the dragon’s motionless side, and the heat radiating from him caused me to pull my palm back in alarm.
It would be more difficult than dressing a deer, that was for sure.
I pulled Lucian’s sword out, and I worked on sawing through the beast’s massive head. First, though, I had to remove the lance jutting out from its skull, and it took a lot of muscle power to rip it free.
I pressed my pointer finger to the lance to see how much damage it had sustained, and my mouth nearly hit the ground when I saw the durability.
Durability - 10%
Weight - 15lbs
Quality - Epic
Magical Aspect - None
Magical Ability - Return to hand.
The dragon’s skull was so thick and tough that it had nearly broken my lance, so I’d have to find a way to repair it before I tried to use it again, but I’d worry about that later.
Then I used the hole the spear-like weapon had carved as an opening to start severing the dragon’s head from its body.
I had to climb up onto its back to reach the top of its neck, and I dug Lucian’s sword into the opening and began to saw my way around to the bottom. There was one tough part where I cut through the vertebrae in the neck, but the beast’s head finally toppled off and rolled to the side. Then I went about cutting off some of its talons from the giant claws, withdrew some blood, and lastly I sawed off some large chunks of the dragon’s hide. I couldn’t wait to experiment with the pieces, and I wondered what gear I could make from the remains of the mythical creature. If it was anywhere as potent as the griffon feather, then even a small amount would be priceless.
By the time I had a giant pile of dragon pieces, the girls arrived with the horses and some poles. We used our daggers to peel off the bark from the long, slender trees they’d cut down, and then I lashed them to the horses’ saddles.
“I see,” Mahini said as her eyes widened with understanding. “We can strap the pieces of dragon to the poles, and the horses will drag most of the weight behind them.”
“Yep.” I grinned. “I saw it in an old black-and-white movie, and it seemed simple enough. Looks like it’s going to work.”
“What is a movie?” Mahini tilted her head to the side with an adorable look of confusion.
“Never mind,” I laughed. “Just trust me.”
“Always, Great One,” the desert goddess replied.
Then we began the task of dividing the dragon pieces between the five travois, but I made sure to put the dragon’s head on the pull-behind Goliath dragged. It would be difficult to get out of the canyon again, but I hoped the design held up under the pressure of the climb.
We walked while we pulled the horses by the reins, but Mahini’s mule, Warrior, fared better than the rest. The steady beast of burden seemed unharried by the load he pulled behind him, and he plodded faithfully up the side of the slope.
Goliath wasn’t one to be outdone, though, and he quickened his pace once Warrior pulled ahead of him. The white stallion had served me well during my battle with the dragon, and I was anxious to give him lots of rub downs and carrot treats as a reward.
Once we made it up the slope and over the other side, we began the difficult task of maneuvering down the mountainside. It was tough going down in the dark, but we lit some torches to light our way. It was peaceful on the hillside as the stars began to illuminate the sky, and the forest was quiet.
I was sure the humans wouldn’t be the only ones relieved by the dragon’s recent death. The local cow population was sure to be grateful, as well as the larger animals of the forest.
“I am dead on my feet,” Elissa groaned after an hour or so of walking. “How much further?”
“You can sleep all day long once we reach Bronzeberg,” I said with a sympathetic smile. “Not much further, I promise.”
We didn’t stop for any breaks since everyone was anxious for the night to be over, and the moon was high in the sky by the time we reached the small village. I sighed with relief when I spotted the inn, and we all quickened our pace until we made it to the last remaining business in Bronzeberg.
“Y-Y-You’re alive!” The innkeeper, Gurgi, seemed astonished by our sudden appearance in his establishment, if his slack jaw was any indication.
“The dragon is dead,” I informed him with a proud lift of my chin.
“Oh, thank the gods! Your rooms are on the house,” Gurgi replied, and the man bowed his head numerous times. “If there’s anything else I can do for you, please let me know.”
“A wagon would be helpful,” I said. “Any chance you’d be able to sell us one?”
“I have a horse cart that wasn’t damaged during the dragon attack.” Gurgi nodded vigorously. “I’d be happy to give it to you.”
“I’ll pay for it,” I insisted. “You’ve had enough bad luck to last a lifetime, but I am grateful for your generosity.”
“Anything for the man who slayed the dragon,” Gurgi persisted. “I couldn’t accept a single coin.”
“I appreciate it, but it’s really not necessary,” I pressed. “Really, I’d be happy to pay. I insist, really.”
“Very well,” Gurgi sighed. “Your wish is my command.”
After the horses were unsaddled and tied out, we all collapsed into bed in an exhausted heap. I was almost too tired to realize Evangeline had crawled into bed beside Mahini, but I smiled to myself as the two women snuggled up against each other and went to sleep.
The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my name being called from outside.
“Sir Sebastian?” a man’s voice called out. “Great One?”
The sun glared through the window with an intense heat, and I cursed the dragon for burning down any of the shade trees that could have blocked the rays. Then I climbed out from beneath the pile of sleeping women, pulled on my clothes, and ducked out of my room to see what was going on.
Riondale, the rest of the men, and Sarosh’s followers waited for me outside, and they flashed me relieved expressions when I stepped out of the inn.
“You live!” Thom declared, and the group erupted into loud cheers.
“Didn’t you see the dragon’s head?” I asked as my gaze flicked to the skull stacked neatly against the front of the inn. “The beast is dead!”
“Hooray!” the people before me cheered and pumped their fists into the air. “The beast is dead!”
Everyone looked incredibly happy as they hugged each other, and then I was swarmed by everyone coming to congratulate me all at once. Riondale clapped me on the shoulder and grinned with pride, Thom and his brothers all shook my hand profusely, and the widows pressed me into warm hugs.
“Alright, alright,” I laughed as I pushed back the squeezing arms of Cristal. “Let me go, and I’ll show you the dragon’s head.”
Everyone liked that idea, so I led the small crowd over to my treasure, the dragon’s skull. Its tongue hung out the side of its gaping maw, and its ruined eyes were rolled back into its head.
“How did you conquer the fire breath?” Jorgen gasped.
“A god has to keep his secrets,” I quipped, but I knew the hunter had seen me use my ice magic before. He was just amazed by the kill I’d managed and wasn’t thinking clearly, but I wasn’t about to correct him.
A short while later, the women woke up and joined us outside. I’d recounted our adventure up the mountain while they slept, but they filled in the details I’d left out once they joined the party.
Then we got the cart from Gurgi, and with many helping hands, we made light work out of loading the dragon pieces onto the cart. I strapped the vehicle to two of our horses, and then we went about packing up the rest of our items on the remaining steeds.
Once we were ready to head out, we waved to the few people left in Bronzeberg, thanked the innkeeper again, and departed for Vallenwood. It took us an entire day of steady travel before we reached the capital of Sorreyal, but the golden walls were a sight for sore eyes when we finally arrived.
Word must have spread of our arrival, though, because we were greeted at the gates by a large crowd of people. Children ran through the streets ahead of us, trumpets blared from some unknown sources, and women giggled as they fluttered their eyelashes at my men.
We were returning heroes, vanquishers of the dragon’s terror, and saviors of Sorreyal.
It was fucking amazing.
The king met us at the steps of the palace, and his eyes took in the sight of Smiguel’s skull greedily. I knew he was just as excited as I was to see the end of the beast’s horrors, but I wondered what sort of magic the king’s wizard could cook up with that much dragon.
I made sure to keep the egg hidden, though, since I didn’t want to explain to the king why I was keeping it. The less people who knew about it, the better, and I barely trusted Sarosh’s followers with the secret. The elven-like priestess already knew of the egg’s existence, though, so I didn’t think there was any point in hiding it from the twelve people.
“Sir Sebastian of Bastianville,” the king said in a loud voice that echoed out over the gathered crowd. “You have conquered the dragon and freed Sorreyal from its reign of terror. On behalf of the kingdom, I thank you for your service.”
“You’re very welcome,” I replied with a grin. “Now, about my title.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” King Frederick chuckled. “You are now officially His Grace, Sir Sebastian, the Archduke of Bastianville, and Dragon Slayer.”
“Don’t forget God of Time,” I reminded him.
“Yes, yes, of course.” The king laughed, and he clapped me on the shoulder. “Are you ready for the feast in your honor? The people haven’t had this much cause to celebrate in a very long time.”
“I would like that,” I said. “As long as my men and the rest of my followers have a seat at the table as well.”
“Yes, there’s room enough for everyone,” the king answered, and his gaze flicked across the faces of my loyal followers. “Anyone who serves the Dragon Slayer will be rewarded for their bravery.”
“Now that the dragon is dead,” I said in a serious tone. “Are you going to tour the countryside to get to know your people better?”
“If you insist,” the king sighed. “I suppose it could be good for the crown to get out and about every once in a while.”
“It will be good for all of Sorreyal,” I pointed out. “What good is a ruler if he is unfamiliar with the people he leads?”
“You make a valid point, Your Grace,” the king replied with an incline of his head. “But let us focus on the feast for now. We have so much to celebrate, let’s forget these affairs of state and just enjoy the evening.”
Well, I couldn’t really argue with that.
We partied with the king for several hours before we returned to our rooms in the west wing. It was a little more cramped than our previous stay since Sarosh and her followers joined us, but there were plenty of beds for everyone.
The next morning, the elven-like priestess strode into the dining room while I was eating breakfast, and she cleared her throat loudly to get my attention. The room fell silent as all eyes latched onto her timeless face, and the silver-haired older woman smiled radiantly at me from across the table.
“Goodbye, Your Grace,” she said with a curtsey. “It is time for us to part ways.”
“You don’t have to leave so soon,” I argued with a frown. “Stay and enjoy breakfast.”
“I must go.” Sarosh shook her head. “The further I am away from you when my master comes to visit me, the better. I fear the worst will happen if you are nearby. His wrath can be volatile.”
“I don’t want him to hurt you.” My frown deepened. “Are you sure I cannot convince you to stay?”
Sarosh shook her head again, but a sad smile pulled at her lips. “You have convinced me to live, that is more than I expected even a god to be capable of. I will see you again, once my master agrees to meet with you in person. I’m sure I will be by his side.”
“Good.” I relaxed my frown and gave the priestess a grateful smile. “That makes me happy. You promise you’ll be okay?”
“Yes, I promise,” Sarosh laughed, and the musical sound reminded me of wind chimes clinking in the breeze.
“It was nice to meet you,” Elissa said with a charming smile. “I’m glad you want to live now.”
“After witnessing the Great One’s power, I realized there is so much magic left in this world for me to see,” Sarosh explained, and her usually sharp features softened. “Thank you all for welcoming me and my people. I will never forget your kindness.”
“It was the least we could do,” Eva insisted, and she took the older woman’s hands in hers and squeezed them warmly. “Travel safely, Sarosh. Until we meet again.”
“Until we meet again,” the priestess replied before she nodded to her followers, and they all left the west wing as a group.
“That was an adventure,” I quipped once they’d left the area. “I can’t say I’m happy to see them go, though.”
“Thom and his brothers were good men,” Riondale noted. “I hope to see them again someday.”
“At least you stopped them from performing that horrid ritual.” Elissa shuddered. “Not only did you save Sorreyal from the dragon, but you saved all those people from suicide.”
“All thanks to one dragon’s death,” I said with a grin. “Easy, peasy, dragon killy.”
“You are so strange,” Mahini laughed.
“That’s why you love me, though,” I countered, and I wiggled my eyebrows at the desert goddess, which made her giggle.
After breakfast, we all packed up our belongings once more, and then we began the trip back to Castle Bullard to confront the duke for what I hoped to be the final time.
I almost felt bad for the guy. The last time I’d come to town, I’d brought the news of his son’s death by my hand. This time, I was going to have to tell him his daughter and nine of his men were going with me. I hoped the old man took it in stride and didn’t try to start a war, because he would lose.
As an archduke, however, I was sure he wouldn’t be in any position to argue with me. Plus, I had the king’s blessing, and I knew he didn’t like Bullard.
I wasn’t worried about anything now that the dragon was dead. I could return to Bastianville as an archduke, and no one would interfere with my dominion over the small copper mining town.
I couldn’t wait to introduce Evangeline to the rest of the townspeople back in Bastianville, and then I would begin the work of expanding my house until it was fit for an archduke.
Maybe someday I’d have a palace fit for a king, but I was ready to go home and take a break from adventuring. At least for now.
With creepy masters, mythical creatures, and other bad guys roaming throughout Sorreyal, I was sure my adventures were far from over, but I was happy with what I’d accomplished so far.
We hit the road to Bullard shortly after breakfast, and I rode between my three women at the front of the group.
“I can’t wait to see my father’s face,” Evangeline snickered. “He’s going to explode. It will be hilarious.”
“I cannot wait to get back to my father,” Elissa mused. “I’m sure he misses me terribly.”
“While you guys talk about your fathers,” Mahini quipped, “I’m over here fantasizing about sharpening my sword’s edge.”
“All three of you are absolutely perfect,” I informed them with a proud grin. “I couldn’t ask for better companions.”
“We are lucky to have you,” my wife cooed.
“I wouldn’t follow anyone else,” Mahini assured me.
“What adventures come next?” Eva asked with an arched eyebrow.
“All of them,” I replied.
My wife might consider herself lucky to have me, but I felt like I was the lucky one. I had three beautiful women by my sides, nine loyal soldiers at my back, and an arsenal of powerful weapons and magic at my disposal.
I was the unbeatable, unbreakable God of Time, and Sorreyal was my playground.
End of Book 3