It was a female’s voice, soft and husky. Is it wrong that I find my potential assailant’s voice attractive? I guess I will soon think differently if she makes good on her promise.
Roh could feel the nestling tense up upon his shoulder and in the corner of his eye he could just about see it flurry and then almost tumble. It was still very much off balance, having not long hatched. That and being startled by this daunting intruder. Fortunately, the whelpling found its footing and clawed into Roh’s shoulder again. Gah! What’s with all the pain? First hunger, then an assailant and now the hatchling.
“Now hand over the wyrmling!” demanded the woman. “It'll fetch quite the price at auction." The wyvern hatchling seemed to unsettle at the word and something about the word seemed to bother Roh at his core, but he could not for the life of him understand why. She might have the upper hand, but I won't stand by, especially when I've sworn to protect this wyvern. If she's eyeing it so keenly, it's clearly more valuable than I thought.
Using his [Sharpened Senses] skill, Roh could detect that there was a high chance that the stranger was bluffing and meant no actual harm. It also gave him a 10% increase should he need to dodge the stranger’s weapon.
Roh grabbed the wyvern hatchling, threw his head back and slammed it into his opponent’s face. With his extra strength, it briefly stunned her and she dropped her weapon. He placed the hatchling back on his shoulder and picked up the weapon pointing it at the woman.
As Roh turned, he couldn't help but stand there momentarily frozen with her athletic build, and long, raven hair in a braided Mohawk, as well as her pale blue eyes. Roh was in awe of her beauty. A pity her nose was now bruised and bleeding.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?! Who does that?” shouted the woman as she caressed her injury.
“Excuse me?! You’re the one going around ambushing me! And what did you expect? You wouldn’t approach a mother with a cub.”
“Ha…ok…what are you its mother now?” retorted the woman as she folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.
Roh remained silent, but stared back unamused, maintaining his resolve.
“Anyway, you’re not good at following orders are you? This didn’t need to turn nasty, you imbecile.”
“I can tell you’re not someone to reason with and the hatchling belongs to me. I wasn’t going to hand it over, it’s my find!”
“That wyrmling is not worth all this. Keep it! Can I have my Sai back so I can get as far away from you and this god forsaken place? Seems like there is nothing but trouble around these parts.”
This time the hatchling made swiping motions at the woman at the mention of the word wyrmling and again the word inexplicably made Roh feel agitated from within.
“Now wait just a minute. I need some answers. Like firstly who are you and why did you surprise attack me? And why do you keep calling the wyvern hatchling a wyrmling?” Roh struggled to get the last word out, as if his own body was fighting against it. The draconic whelp winced in response.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Gah. So many questions. My nose hurts, remember.”
“The sooner you answer, the sooner you can have your weapon back.” Roh ripped some cloth from his linen tunic and leaned in to help stop the woman’s nosebleed.
“Don’t even dare you creep!”
“I’m only trying to help.”
She grabbed the cloth from Roh’s hands and placed it by her nose as she leaned her head forward. She narrowed her eyes with a hint of distrust, cautiously taking Roh in before finally letting out a breath. “The names Lorne, and like you, I’m a player. I think we are now outside the instanced area and just as I exited the cave I noticed you and the wyrm – sorry I mean hatchling – and like I said I haven't been having much luck in these parts and thought you looked like a noob and it would be really easy to take it from you since you didn’t really look self-aware… no offense.” Lorne gave a half-hearted smile.
Roh passed Lorne back her Sai. “Well Lorne, I do like your fighting spirit and we both know I could use the help,” he chuckled. “I’m Roh by the way. Would you care to join my party?”
“Yeah sure, could be fun. But Roh…just don’t get all sappy and cheesy on me,” winked Lorne.
Roh added Lorne to his party.
A notification from the party channel flared up on Roh's screen, catching his attention.
Lonely no more! Lorne, bringer of chaos and laughter, has joined the party
All hail Lorne, the first member of our illustrious group.
Looks like it's just Lorne and Roh for now. Better make it a good time.
Since they were in a party together, the notifications appeared for both of them.
Seeming to take no notice of the notifications or choosing to ignore them, Lorne inquired, “So what’s your hatchling’s name?”
“I haven’t even had a chance to name him yet. Although wait you still didn’t answer my question on why you have been calling it wyrmling?” This time he forced the word out hoping that the more he said it, the less it would affect him, however, it had the opposite effect and he felt a pang of guilt like he was betraying something of which he knew not. The hatchling had had enough of the word and attempted to breathe out fire, however, only plumes of smoke billowed out.
“Haha, you best stop using that word too. It’s an ancient word that is used for any draconic species, however, it has negative connotations having been derived from the word worm and thus comparing them to worms due to their elongated form. There are actually draconic species that are called wyrms or wurms, but that is because they appear wormlike or snakelike, take your pick ,as they don’t have any appendages. However, the other species that do have appendages do not like to be called that nor any other similar variation as they are highly respectable beasts and the word is diminutive comparing them to such creatures of a lowly class.”
“Ah, I see. Well that makes sense and now I think I get why I don’t like hearing it either since I have Dragon-blood coursing through my veins.”
"Lorne's eyes widened as she studied Roh, her gaze sweeping over his human-like appearance. 'I must admit, I would have never guessed that you were anything other than human,' she said, her eyes darting to his armor. 'Your attire does a good job of hiding any potential telltale signs or markings, and your knowledge of the various draconic species seems somewhat limited.'
Roh shrugged. “I'm sorry, I don't know much about the different species.”
I jest, just because you picked a certain race to play doesn’t automatically mean you know all the background lore. To be fair, I’ve never tried any of the other races. I’m much too fond of the Half-Elf.” She narrowed her eyes and caught a glimpse of a part of a faint tattoo that was visible from where Roh had ripped the cloth from his tunic. “Oh there we go…the runic sigils of a Dragon-blood.”
Before Roh could even respond, the vibrations caused a level of pain that left him clutching the jagged surface of the ridge for support. His knees buckled beneath him as he tried to steady himself, his breaths coming in short gasps as he struggled to endure the agony.
He gripped the rugged surface of the ridge, his fingers burrowing into the stone as waves of pain wracked his body. Sweat beaded on his forehead and trickled into his eyes, clouding his vision.
The pain he was enduring was beyond his belief. It felt as if his insides were undergoing a brutal assault, and standing upright was becoming an uphill task. He could feel himself wavering, his hold on the rough surface of the ridge gradually weakening.
Roh checked his HP and noticed that it was down to 30.
Although Roh had been saved by leveling up, it had only been a temporary solution. While his HP had been reset and increased, his Hunger remained at the max level of 100, causing him to lose health at a rapid pace. The seriousness of the situation suddenly dawned on him as he realized that he had been so preoccupied with the wyvern hatchling and Lorne that he had all but forgotten about his own well-being. While it was just a game, the faulty kit he was using had been causing him significant pain, making the situation even more serious than it would normally be.
Lorne's eyes narrowed as she watched Roh double over in pain, her face etched with concern and confusion. "What's going on?" she asked, her voice laced with worry. "Are you okay?"