Rotgoriel stared at the yellow-robed creature. It sounded human but he wasn’t sure. “Take off your mask and let me see your face.”
“I wear no mask.”
Rotgoriel stared at the man’s very prominent copper mask and shook his head. “I have no time for madmen or liars.” He turned to leave.
“Wait... please.” The creature ground out the last word as if it hurt.
That amused Rotgoriel sufficiently, and he turned back.
The form continued. “The hero will return soon. Her influence will wear at me. Even here, even in the heart of my power, even isolated from the world and its changes, it warps me. Names twist and turn. They lose their power.” The figure gestured at the walls, and the golden letters upon them. “Tindalos becomes Tinderloss. Carcosa becomes Corcasa. Even his sacred name wears away as we drift... as the language drifts...”
“I told you already that I have little room for madmen.”
“And liars.”
“I’m willing to believe that you’re telling the truth,” Rotgoriel admitted. “You seem more mad than dishonest. What I’m having trouble seeing is why I should care.”
“You seek power.”
“Yes.”
“Your enemies are mine.”
“Are they?”
“The ones who you drove off today, the humans who attacked my worshipers yet again... they are the ones who slew the black dragon who dwelled within the mountain.”
Rotgoriel tensed, fury filling him. “What? Those were the murderers? They killed my mother?” Now he regretted not following them! They had fled before him, and he hadn’t pursued! Oh, he shook with rage...
...and yet a small voice whispered in the back of his mind, that this was what the yellow-clad being desired. He wanted Rotgoriel angry, wanted to use his temper to get something while the young dragon was distracted.
INT+1
That revelation literally blew his mind. The dragon felt like a pressure had lifted from his head, like his skull was growing, and his brain washing in like an ocean to fill the void. Little details swam into view now, things he had noticed but dismissed... the patterns of words on the walls, the tiny brown crusts of dried blood between the bandages, and the expectant way the creature was watching him.
The Icon, that was his name, Rotgoriel remembered. And it was easier to remember now, so much easier.
“So those are them. Two of them,” he concluded. “There were more, weren’t there?”
“Four in all,” the Icon stated. “I watched them invisibly when they came to our village for the first time. They are far from home and know full well their risk. This makes them cautious. But they are powerful, and plan carefully, and not afraid to be patient. And why shouldn’t they? Time is on their side. Or it was...”
“What has changed?”
“You have come. I have studied the entrails of the dead, called forth omens and portents. I am a Doomsayer, and my sooth has had its say with me.”
“Sooth?”
“Forsooth,” the creature said, its voice repressing mirth.
Rotgoriel didn’t understand why he was so damned cheerful. “Am I then your chosen one? Your savior? I do plan to kill those humans who murdered my mother.”
“Yes. Your enemies are mine, as I said.”
“You did,” Rotgoriel admitted. “All right. You’re making sense now, so speak your peace while this lasts.”
“I...beg... your patience,” the creature ground again, and Rotgoriel enjoyed the grudging politeness. It clearly annoyed the being to recognize its proper place in the world, and that was fine by Rotgoriel.
“You have it, but get to the point.”
“The point is impossible without understanding. Understanding is impossible without thought. The lord that I serve dictates that I cannot allow seekers to take the easy road, nor the convenient one, no matter what I desire. Thus, I must illuminate the path in the darkness, and all who seek answers must be strong enough to follow it.” The creature paused and added, hurriedly, “You are strong beyond imagining, of course, and you are growing quickly, so quickly to become the terrible force of reckoning that you must be to control your fate. As is your other, though his trials are beyond my understanding and far from us both.”
“Another? Surely you do not mean Geebo.”
“Who is Geebo?” The creature turned its mask and studied the words. A few on the wall flared to life, emitting a cold, golden glow. “Ah. No, not that one. I speak of the one who rides your body... and whose body you ride, when you are awake, and he is occupied here.”
A ghost of concern trickled through Rotgoriel’s mind. This madman was making too much sense. “I am not mad, then?”
“No. You are... possessed. But it is a path that has been forged both ways, though I do not know why. There is something in the center, something I cannot see. Something that has been hidden. Forgotten. Secret. Occult.” It intoned the words with heavier breath each time. “Had I another lifetime I could adjust the divinations for the hole in the pattern, and oh how this would recalibrate my magic. The power I could draw from this secret, the mysteries uncovered... ah. Ah, I apologize. The one I serve demands plunging into the abyss of knowledge and returning with power. He demands strength and growth at the cost of all else. You understand the lure I must endure.”
“I do,” Rotgoriel said. “This one you serve... a dark power?”
“Yes.”
“I will not serve. But I seek a dark power to pledge and draw strength from.”
“I know... alas, your other came here first. He came with the same request, and I saw that to honor it then would prevent our meeting now. And so I cannot just hand you what you seek, though you would be a strong, powerful ally to the Thing in Yellow.”
“A pity. His view matches mine.”
“I know, which is why I have a solution...”
“I am listening.”
“Your problem, your dilemma, is that you are one body with two souls. The means by which your invader came here typically produces one body with one soul, and move it beyond time and space when it is not in use. But you, alone among the twice-named, have spawned an extra soul. You are an anomaly. You are the break in the pattern. You are the growing flaw that can cheat fate itself, and not even the things they call gods can stop you... if you can realize your true potential.”
“You can see all of this,” Rotgoriel asked. “In those entrails you mentioned?”
“No. Even an Oracle could not. But a Doomsayer, whose fate has been intertwined with yours for decades? Who has only maintained this frail and failing mortal shell so as to meet you at the time of destiny? Ah, a different story. I would not have seen the difference within you, if I were not... Fear not. Your nature is concealed from those you should truly fear. For now.”
“I fear nothing and no one,” Rotgoriel snapped.
“And right now, you should not. Because like everyone else who is twice-named, you are immortal. You can return from the lands of death... at least for now.”
“You know about that, too,” Rotgoriel mused, pacing restlessly. He wasn’t sure he was comfortable with this being knowing his doings and problems so intimately. But the offer he had made... “You spoke of a solution, earlier. Of pledging to the Thing in Yellow.”
“Yes. And you can do it, if both of you agree to it. And you complete the quest that I shall give you.”
“I do like quests,” Rotgoriel confessed. “The one I did was easy and gave me things.”
“This one shall likely be more troublesome,” the being said. “You must agree here and now, and one of you must complete the quest that I will leave behind. And this must be finished after he enters this world again. He must have a chance to see the quest and decline it. If he does not refuse, the world shall count it as consent.”
“The world has a say in this?”
“I misspoke. Say rather the words shall count it as consent. Words are power, you see. And it was a power I thought I had mastered long ago...” The thing waved a hand at the walls. “...and yet I was still ensnared within the trap! Foolish! Stupid.”
“The trap?” Rotgoriel considered the entity. He still knew little about it. It hadn’t given away much information about itself, not at all, and that made him wary.
WIS+1
“A simple trap. Built to catch the overconfident. See if you can see it.” The creature drew itself up straight and intoned “Phantasm.”
Rotgoriel tensed but relaxed when two wavering, semi-translucent scrolls appeared. They unrolled and started slowly falling to the floor. One of them was legible to him, written in the common tongue. The other was scrawled in some alien symbols. And below both of them, a rectangle popped up with the words ’accept the contract y/n?’
Rotgoriel stared at the scrolls until they unwound fully, then looked up and shook his head. “It is a contract. I did not have time to read it fully.”
“That is not the trap,” the creature sighed. “Never mind. Time grows short, the hero will appear soon enough. Do you wish me to give you the quest? Will you proceed with my plan?”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“It is still foolish to agree to a contract without understanding the details. Tell me what this quest requires.”
“Very well. As my omens have portended, your other soul has found a way to scry between the worlds. To examine you from the other side. But we... we can use that link to do the same. You will be able to see him.”
“I have seen him. His body, anyway. It is a weak thing,” Rotgoriel growled at the memory. “I hate it.”
“I expect he hates it as well. Why else would he go to the lengths to seek such power and perfection as your own form?”
Rotgoriel paused. That was an interesting way of looking at it.
When you put it that way, you couldn’t fault a human for wanting to be a dragon. Who wouldn’t?
But the being was still speaking. “Three things you need for this forbidden talisman. The first is a ring of daemonsilver.”
“Daemonsilver? Wait, I have that... No, I had it. Gone now. Damn it!” Rotgoriel frowned. “I lost it when I returned from the dead!”
“You can find it again; my omens tell me that. You also need a seal of sea gold.”
“Sea gold... I know not where to find that.”
“You already have. Try again, and you may remember. If not you, then your other will. The last thing you need is a pane of purest crystal, forged by the hands of djinn.”
“What is a djinn?” It sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place it.
“The fallen of the third confluence. They dwell in the vault that you have been exploring. If you seek, you will find them, though I know not where. They are masters of fate, and the seals built to contain and withstand them resist my divinations.”
“Which is why you need me.” Rotgoriel nodded. “I am to bring you these treasures?”
“Yes. The completion of the quest will gain you power in two ways.” The being rubbed its fingers together. “Firstly, it will allow you to pledge to the Thing in Yellow.”
“And the second way?”
“It will allow you to confront the one who steals your body and slay him. It will allow you to break your chains... and if you so desire, escape this world entirely.”
“Where would I go?” Rotgoriel felt confusion.
“To his world, if you wish. A place as alien to you and I as my own was when—” the masked creature fell silent. “It is a bleak place, though. I have seen it in the memories of those twice-named I have devoured.”
“Twice-named. You keep coming back to that word. But you say I am the only two-souled. Speak plainly, what do you mean by this?”
“We are in the fourth confluence. This is heralded by the arrival of beings from another world, who occupy bodies in this world, yet keep their bodies on their own. I think I have said this, though words blur, and my mind fails... but I say it again, for the sake of patience and respect. While the confluence lasts, the twice-named may return from the dead, over and over again. The hero that defends our village is one such. The four who attack it and slew your kindred, are also of that nature.”
Rotgoriel growled, and the figure jerked back in surprise. “What have I said to offend?”
“Nothing. But if they can return from the dead like me, then I’m going to have to kill them over and over again to get the vengeance I require.”
The mask inclined in a shallow nod, and the being continued. “When the twice-named approach the ones who dwell only in this world, they spread a veil of confusion. Actions and words are constrained... thoughts are muddled. You do not spread this veil, thanks to your nature. Remember that.”
“I will,” Rotgoriel nodded. Getting allies against the twice-named would be difficult. They would be stupid in a direct fight.
“The twice-named are legion right now,” the being sighed. “They move across this world building their kingdoms and being the heroes and villains they cannot be in their own world. Their desires are granted here. And each and every one of them fell for the same trap—” Again the being fell silent.
“Are all of them my enemy?” Rotgoriel frowned. “Are there any other dragons who have been so... cursed?”
It was sort of like a mage’s curse, like what he thought was going on when he woke up as a human the second time. On the other hand, it was a curse that had just gotten him out of death, so the term didn’t quite seem to apply.
“I know of no others,” said the being. “But I will tell you this. Plenty of them seem to enjoy slaying dragons.”
Rotgoriel growled. Unnatural! They needed to be taught proper fear, these twice-named.
Of course, if they didn’t stay dead, that made it a bit trickier. Still, he thought he could manage. He was smart now, after all.
After that, there was little left to discuss. The being gave him a quest, and he accepted. Rotgoriel left to sleep off dinner... the inside of the hut was warm, and he had a full belly, but he didn’t want to sleep there. He’d learned his lesson about sleeping next to eldritch things.
A quick nap, then he would continue on his quest.
But no sooner had he gotten settled in an empty hut, than words flickered past his vision.
LivingDeadGrrl has entered Generica!
Incoming Message >> LivingDeadGrrl
Oh shit. Rutger, can you get back to the village? We’ve got a problem.
Rutger? He was Rotgoriel... no. No, his status screen said differently, didn’t it? Because he was twice-named. And who was writing to him and how?
Shaking himself awake, the little dragon poked his head out of the hut and glared around.
And there, moving from ruin to ruin, talking to people and searching through the rubble, was a human with a glowing green name above her head.
Twice-named. He felt his eyes narrow. Then he braced himself, as she turned to him and jogged forward. An attack? It seemed unlikely, since her spear was still on her back. Did she mean to try to gore him with the antlers sewn to her hood?
But then she slowed and waved. “Okay, sorry for the confusion. Maktuq over there tells me you defended the village. How the hell did you manage that? Your name’s red, did you try attacking them or something? Why are you still alive?”
“They tried to kill me with fire, then fled when I gave chase,” Rotgoriel told her, as he studied the words above her. This was the one who had sent him the message. “How did you write to me?”
“What are you talking about? I just... oh, wait. You didn’t get a tutorial, that’s right. Here.”
She stepped Rotgoriel through the messaging process, but when he tried it, nothing happened.
That frustrated her a bit. “Is something wrong with your Echo? Maybe your government’s spying on you extra hard today?”
“It matters little. We have more pressing concerns,” Rotgoriel told her. “The Icon has given me a quest, and I must do it.”
“Is this the Cultist quest? No, it couldn’t be, even saving the village wouldn’t grant you that much faction.” She pursed her lips and looked around. “And saving is kind of a bad word anyway. At this point we’ve lost so many people and supplies that the village is pretty much a foregone conclusion. Two vendors and one of my big questgivers gone. No way they’ll recover from this.”
“They are doomed?” Rotgoriel asked.
“Unless something changes, yeah.”
“Oh well,” Rotgoriel said, then shook his wings and started walking towards the mountain.
“Rutger? Where are you going?”
“To do my quest.”
After a moment, he heard her boots pounding on the slush as she followed him. “Okay, what’s the quest?”
“I have to retrieve some things from the tunnels under the mountain.”
“Will this help take down the griefers?”
“Maybe,” Rotgoriel shrugged. “If not, then I will chase them off again the next time they come. If I am here. And awake. And I get offered a quest to do it again.”
“Okay, then take me with you.”
“Why?” He stopped and looked back at her.
“Why? Because it’s experience! I mean, you got to level four so good for you, but I need a few more levels, too.”
“That’s your problem.”
He watched her eyes grow wide, then there was a flash of fur, and pain exploded in Rotgoriel’s jaw. He backed up, surprised.
Her name had gone red. She’d kicked him, he realized, and a low growl rose up in his throat.
“I helped you, and this is how you act?” She put her hands on her hips and glared down at him. “I gave you the benefit of the doubt, kid. I cut you in on quests, and got you set up, and this is how you repay me?”
Rotgoriel blinked, as realization started to trickle through his mind. His other soul must have allied with this human. They had done things together, fought together while he was slumbering, or off stuck in his invader’s body.
And therein lay the problem.
Was he responsible for what the invader did with his body?
He chewed his lip, then stopped, wondering where he’d picked up such a habit. It was harmful and pointless. “Let me think,” he told her and tried to focus. It had been a long day and some eldritch jerk had talked his ear off. His mind was tired.
It struck him after some consideration that he should take the long view on this. He was going to sort out the ownership of his body, but he wasn’t going to tell every damn human or other prey species about his private woes. And doing something like appearing to act nice one day and uncaring the next would cause problems. It would make people think him a liar, and Rotgoriel wasn’t that.
Dragons had no need of lies. If you had to rely on such tactics you were obviously a weak dragon.
So...
“I have had a complicated few days,” Rotgoriel finally told her. “I have perhaps forgotten to be kind.” True enough, in its way.
It wasn’t an apology, because dragons never apologized, but she eased back, took her hands off her hips and folded her arms. “All right. Maybe you woke up on the asshole side of the bed today. So, make it up to me. Invite me to your party for the quest and explain what we’re doing.” Her mouth quirked up. “And congratulations on level four, by the way. You obviously pulled an all-nighter to land that, so I imagine that’s contributing to your assholery.”
“Level four?” Rotgoriel stared in incomprehension. She had said that a few times, but it had finally sunk in. He was level three... wasn’t he? “Status.”
No, there it was. Level four.
The ancestors had told him it would take a decade or five to advance, a time where he must mind his mother and learn as she taught him, in what time she could spare.
No wonder he felt stronger. No wonder everything looked slightly sharper. He was bigger. He was growing at a rate the ancestors had never expected.
His rival soul had controlled his body for half of his body’s life, and between their efforts they’d managed level four in the space of a single day.
Oblivious, LivingDeadGrrl nattered on. “And hey, Geebo’s still alive? Cool. Cute little thing. Wish I had a pet like that.”
“Yes,” Rotgoriel said, as the thoughts of power and rapid growth sung its siren song through his mind. “Let us go and retrieve my minion. There is much to do today...”
RUTGER'S CHARACTER SHEET
Spoiler: Spoiler
Name: Rutger Royal
Age: 1 Day
Jobs:
Cultist 1, High Dragon Hatchling 4
Attributes Pools Defenses
Strength: 156 Constitution: 153 Hit Points: 309 Armor: 75
Intelligence: 40 Wisdom: 37 Sanity: 77 Mental Fortitude: 75
Dexterity: 14 Agility: 36 Stamina: 50 Endurance: 0
Charisma: 36 Willpower: 151 Moxie: 187 Cool: 75
Perception: 151 Luck: 33 Fortune: 184 Fate: 4
General Skills
Brawling – Level 13
Dodge – Level 6
Fly – Level 10
Ride – Level 1
Stealth – Level 2
Swim – Level 1
High Dragon Hatchling Skills
Burninate – Level 6
Chomp – Level 5
Draconic Tongue – Level N/A
Dragonseye – Level 15
Limited Equipment – Level N/A
No Thumbs – Level N/A
Scaly Wings – Level N/A
Slow to Age – Level N/A
Cultist Skills
Unlocked Jobs
Conjuror, Grifter, Knight
Gear: