The dragon’s form waved from side to side, yet she never moved from her place in front of me. She was patient too, a sly player who was content to let her words hang there in the air until they got a response. Her face was stony, plain of emotion. And two of her fangs jutted from her upper jaw over her lips, hinting at a venomous bite.

I glanced over at Hina, and saw that she was staring at the beast in open-mouthed wonder, her eyes starry and her hands clasped together in front of her in what had to be the craziest bit of fangirl fandom that I’d ever seen.

“A real life dragon! Oh my god, oh my god.” The dragon was returning her stare now, bemused. “This is officially the best day of my life!”

The dragon turned her head and settled her gaze onto me. “Story of my life,” she muttered. “Stradismus, what is going on here?”

Roger stepped forward and took a knee. “Empress I, well, I just . . . you see we share a kinship, this man and I and —”

The Empress’s right eyebrow shot up, and he shut up. I stepped up beside him, earning a baleful glare.

“Lady, listen, I’m an American and we don’t do titles. Not really. You wouldn’t even want us to, to be honest. We mess it up. I don’t kowtow. I don’t bow. I don’t do silly little dances for anyone. And I’m not here to submit.”

The Empress snarled, finally moving from her place, swimming around the diameter of the pavilion and snorting small gouts of fire from her nostrils. “What good is being an empress if the lesser beings will not pay obeisance? How dare you come to me and not pay the devotion worthy of my creation?”

Her lap ended with her face just an inch from me, her eyes level with my own.

“The simple,” I said, refusing to avert my eyes. “Neither of us is a lesser being.”

I saw Hina reach out to touch her, stars in her eyes. The empress turned her head and warned the shopkeeper back with a glare.

“I am she of the mount, the scion of Clan Pike, the greatest of my lineage. Of what line do you hail, being?” Her eyes burned with scorn, but there was something there behind it. What was that? Her whole display reminded me of OSUT, the drill sergeants getting right in your face and saying the most horrible hellish things. There was always that flame there as well.

“Clan Daley, technically. Also Clan Stone, I guess. And I’m here to form a partnership. One of equals.”

“Of equals, it says,” the Empress spoke, her words seeming to be meant for her officials and advisors. But I knew better. This was grandstanding and gallivanting. I was feeling better and better as the charade went on.

Hina grabbed at me, her eyes wide. She was shaking her head no. But I pulled myself off. Hina didn’t understand.

I was calling the Empress’s bluff.

“Of equals. Tell me, why weren’t you able to destroy the other gangs when they tried to take Heso Marketplace? I mean, it just took three of us to defeat the Bonsai faction, and the Nightclub Ninjas weren’t that tough either.” I started walking, a pace one way and then the next, looking very much like a detective explaining his reasoning before revealing the killer.

Or so I hoped.

“It seems to me that, if you were as powerful as you let on, Empress, these factions and Heso wouldn’t be a problem for you. Indeed, I would expect you to be the Boss. Ruler of the city.”

I looked up at her, saw her hovering, enthralled.

“I suggest that, rather than the all-powerful being that you are presenting yourself to be, you are something a bit less epic. Something that’s more bark and less bite.” I strode closer to her. “How am I doing?”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

I glanced back at Hina, and saw her face a peculiar screwed up mixture of confusion and deep thought. She was stroking her chin while staring at her own nose cross-eyed.

There was a shlorping noise, and the Empress changed, shrinking down to a beautiful pink-scaled draconian woman clad in blue and purple robes that screamed her regalness. She laughed, her eyes shining as she covered the rest of the distance between us.

“That was brilliant. Perhaps an alliance is favorable after all. Let us dine together to see. I am the Empress Chu Hua and I would be honored to know you.”

I took her hand and kissed it. I’d seen it in the movies and it didn’t seem like it was demeaning in any way. Actually, it seemed pretty cool. And the movement seemed to impress her as well, because she put one petite dragon lady hand to her petite carnivorous mouth in surprise and giggled.

“I’m Grand Poombah Dirk Stone. But, hell, you can call me Kevin if you like. Seems like we have some talking to do.”

With a snap of her fingers the advisors ran in all directions, barking orders in the hissing language of their people. Soon a fancy dining table was carried into the pavilion, followed by men carrying large platters of food. Roger tried to beg off, but Empress Chu Hua insisted he stay, and soon the four of us were seated.

The dishes were wonderful. Simply smelling them made me feel a bit guilty for the rest of our army, situated in high and probably uncomfortable positions around them. Ice was going to be pissed when he heard, I was sure. Steak with thick brown gravy. Mashed potatoes. Roast duck. All sorts of greens, bread and rice. And a big old flagon of wine sitting to the right of my massive plate.

It wasn’t quite the menu that I would have expected.

“That is quite the act you have going on, Empress,” I said, reaching for a dinner roll. Honestly, did they have everything here? I spotted a bucket of fried chicken and made sure to grab a piece of that as well.

“Thank you, Grand Poombah. It is a lark of mine, something fun and fanciful that I used to play at as a child. I have found that it works well for me as an adult, as well. Usually, at any case.”

I felt a reptilian leg slither light against my own, an extra shine flash over her snakelike eyes.

“Uh, yeah, I can imagine. It’s good camouflage.” I refused to react, seeing her toy with me at the table. “Speaking of camouflage, how is it that you are an empress if you don’t have a kingdom?”

This got her attention. She ceased playing footsie with me, sitting up straighter and somehow looking more regal than I’d seen her so far. “I am the only living heir of the Ryuu Empire. Born to the mating of man and dragon at the end of the age of enchantments. The Empire was vast when I was young. And beautiful.”

Chu Hua swept her gaze over all of us. “We had floating islands. Waterfalls that cascaded from empty places in the sky. Lands of eternal cooling mist and sunny skies where everything was rainbows. My first millennia was a happy one.”

“Daaaaaaaamn,” Roger squealed in surprise. “You’re old!” She cast him a dirty glance and he shut up.

“The world changed over time. The kingdom splintered, fragmenting into so many pieces. Magic grew dim, slowly becoming inaccessible to most of the others of the world. Great cities were born, technology rose up and took over all. When I took the throne three hundred years ago, the empire was just a cave complex in a mountain. An old mining hall, once filled over with dwarves.”

Chu Hua sighed. “The world moved on and many of the beings of the old times faded away and vanished. I feared that the same was happening with us as well. The ages of my people, they dwindle. The newest children die after just a hundred years and no new children are being born. I took my people out of those halls and came here to the city, to eke out a new living and to maybe find someone in this place of technology who could save our species.”

She stopped, suddenly staring as if caught by surprise. “Why am I saying all of this? What does it matter to you?” She waited, staring into my eyes.

“It matters to me. I wish for us all to come together and share the city in peace. If the solution to your problem exists here, I pledge to help you with it.”

My side bar told me I’d scored a Critical Success. I kept my face plain, despite the smile hidden underneath.

“Yes. Yes! That is why. My own good sense sometimes surprises me. I will enter into alliance with you all and end my attack on Heso Marketplace. Together we shall find a way to preserve my people.”

Quest Completed! Rout Hina Owari’s enemies.

+ 700 reputation with Hina Owari. Alliance with Heso Marketplace. +700 reputation with Celestial Divine. Alliance with Celestial Divine.

I sighed with relief and let a big grin split across my face, then grabbed a flagon of wine to celebrate. I was drinking it in deeply when another message appeared in my vision.

New Quest Attained: Find a way to save the Celestial Divine from eventual extinction.

Objective: The Draconion race is dying out. Find out why and save them from extinction.

Reward: An automatic level up

I coughed and hacked, spitting wine everywhere. Good reward, but would have been nice to have the option to say yes. Then I felt myself start fading away.

“Oh, crap, sorry Empress. Hina. Roger,” I shouted rapid-fire, getting all the words out before I could disappear. “Duty calls!”

And then I was somewhere else.