53.
Pomp’s head came out of his shoulder pauldron, the dragon thin and ephemeral as he looked up at Erak. There was a sense of exhaustion radiating from the dragon, pulsing from the dragon to push against Erak’s mind.
“The bond, Erak. If you choose the bond it’ll elevate our partnership.” Pomp whispered as they stood silently in the room filled with corpses. Erak arched an eyebrow at that, hidden as it was by his helm, and Pomp chuffed, a vapor cloud rising in front of his snout.
“It’ll allow me to store the excess Essence you generate. As it is currently, with how small your core is, that you fill the core within minutes of using an ability. After you fill that, all Essence you absorb just rolls through you, like an overfull bucket with a water spout running on it. You choose the skill and that excess will flow into me,” Pomp explained.
Erak shrugged.
“Bonds go both ways. I’d be like a storage space for you, you could pull Essence from me as the fight goes on,” Pomp explained slowly. Illyria was looking over at them and had yet to voice her impatience. Erak nodded at that, if he could avoid the pain of expanding his core again by simply using the spirit as a battery, that had a certain appeal to it.
“Did you not read the introduction pages that the System came with?” Illyria asked suddenly. Erak looked at her and shook his head, he had been busy at the time.
“Essence is like slivers of reality. The more of it you have, the more real you are. The older something is, the more people know of it or worship it or whatever, the more weight it has. It’s why that replica armor you're wearing is actually useful and not just pieces of steel. If you store all that extra Essence in the spirit bond, then he grows a bit more real,” Illyria said quickly.
Pomp shrank down a bit, most of his head disappearing inside of Erak’s armor and a feeling of consternation and embarrassment came through their bond.
“She’s right. Eventually, after a long while, I will have enough Essence to begin warping reality. I’ll transition from spirit to reality. We’d still be bonded and you’d be able to pull from my much larger Essence core, but I would become a part of the physical realm. You’d have more options to select skills for me as I would be seen as an extension of yourself by the System rather than my own individual creature,” Pomp explained quickly.
Erak shrugged. The dragon was already real to him and if he could gain another ally that was useful in the fight, why wouldn’t he?
Bond Channel
Channel excess Essence into your bond to be used later if needed
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Erak Bloodsworn lvl. 20
Strength: 55
Vigor: 30
Durability: 30
Perception: 22
Processing: 21
There was a sense of tethering, as if he had been jerked to the side by a rope lodged in his gut and the dragon growled in contentment. Pomp’s head disappeared completely inside of Erak’s armor and Erak nodded his head back the way they had comme. Illyria turned and walked out quickly, with Erak following only a foot or so behind her.
“Are you naturally incurious or is that new?” Illyira asked. She didn’t turn around to look at him and the insult was irritating. Erak tapped his armor with a single finger and Pomp re-emerged, confused for a moment before nodding.
“Erak says it’s rude not to turn around and listen when he’s talking,” Pomp said for him.
“It is.” Illyira nodded her head and Erak rolled his eyes. Royalty and the highborn always acted like this if given enough tie and comfort. The slight insults, the way one would degrade and demean with ease in a game of social warfare.
“My only goal is to serve my Oaths and my liege. I have no need of knowing the intricacies of this System or what Essence is to kill with it. It is simply another weapon for me to use,” Pomp said.
“You need it, if for nothing else than to prevent others from taking advantage of your ignorance,” Illyria retorted and Erak could find no counter to that.
Illyria fell silent and Pomp looked up towards as Erak as they kept retracing their steps. The little dragon had something to say, but there was a sense of fear in their bond. Erak looked down at Pomp and rolled a finger.
“Your investment is growing lopsided, Erak. While it’s not a problem for now, if it continues you’ll find yourself outclassed. Enemies who move faster than you can observe or understand. Who hit hard enough that even your armor can not withstand it. I will not tell you how to invest, but I do need to warn you. With our bond, you don’t have to worry about investing in any Essence channeling abilities, but you do need to keep your mental processes closer in line to your physical,” Pomp said in a rush. The dragon fell silent and then slid back into Erak, tired and wishing to sleep. Erak looked down at the thin divots in his armor where the spawn had managed to peel parts of the armor away.
They walked the rest of the way back in silence, passing through the areas where they had killed all of the emaciated Dragonmen. Their bodies were as they left them and Erak stepped past them, scanning the blood pools to see if they had been disturbed. He didn’t want to face another ambush while their guard was down.
The guards Illyria had left at the entrance all turned to her and their faces fell when they saw it was only the two of them. They masked their pain for their fallen comrades, but Erak could see the hurt in their eyes. These last days had stolen much from many and this wouldn’t be the last time comrades didn’t return.
“The way is clear. Let’s get moving, quickly now,” Illyria was in no mood to discuss what had happened and she was quickly chiding the large group through the secret lab. Janus took the lead and his muttered curses were loud enough that even the marching of a half thousand couldn’t drown him out.
Erak stayed only a foot or so from the man, while Illyria and the remnants of her guard stayed in the heart of the formation. He could forgive her the foul mood and manners, with her comrades laying dead and torn apart. They passed the scene of the battle and reached the door at the back of the room and Erak stepped in front of the guide, opening the door and entering back into the sewers.
Janus walked quickly, checking the markings on the walls as he orientated himself. He was nodding and talking to himself as he raced along the pathway.
“Not far now, this lab cut across some of the sewers. No more than another half-hour to get there.” Erak nodded in acknowledgment, following behind the older man. There wasn’t much longer till the Sword of Empire sailed forth and he could continue to fulfill his Oaths.