The journey back was just as beautiful as the way to the village, and along the way, Velariah explained a few things that she’d come to know during the talks inside the building.

She explained it was a minor guild outpost, with just a few simple quests for the area in addition to delivery requests. Despite its size, it was a crucial piece of the puzzle that was the local iron industry.

The most interesting thing she talked about was the environment. There were pockets of warm places, with greenery and life, like oases in deserts. She was told they were fueled by an ancient kind of magic, but I’d have to see them for myself to confirm. These places were also where the wildlife would go to eat and drink.

It was so weird to know the animals here had adjusted to the cold, but there were still warm, green places. One would think they’d stay where it was warm, but apparently, they did not do such a thing.

I would have to see them for myself. One thing I had started to wonder about was whether the warm streams, possibly volcanic, caused the phenomenon. Then again, I doubted that just that would explain all this. Magic did offer a much more complete explanation.

We left the winter wonderland behind and found ourselves back in the mountains, taking the same path back which was admittedly significantly harder with this much added weight. I thought I was doing a fine job, but Velariah at one point decided to nicely request the others to hop out of the vehicle with her.

Funnily enough, even though this was easier, we were slower as the others’ pace, while quick, just wasn’t as fast as mine. Disregarding that, we still remained on schedule to reach Dawnleaf late in the afternoon, and I could speed things up if needed on the way back through the fields.

One minor delay we encountered was the scorpions. While we were mostly able to avoid them earlier by following the beaten path, we had to branch off this time to reach Ember’s lair.

Okay, they were no trouble to deal with at all, but we were still careful, just to make sure we wouldn’t have them accidentally damage the cart.

When that was all done, we walked down the trail leading to her chamber, the heat becoming more intense with every step we took. This time, however, the volcano felt at ease. There was no smoke coming from its top which in itself doesn’t say much, but it did add to my feeling that there wouldn’t be an eruption anytime soon.

Navigating the cart down was easier than I’d anticipated, especially with Velariah and Draco helping by supporting from the front so it wouldn’t just roll down. My abdomen was in the way of that, but this made things go more smoothly.

Finally, we arrived at our destination and, to our surprise, the dragon was seated upright, fully awake and smiling when we entered the area.

Nothing had changed about this place since our last visit. The eggs were still spread out in a ring around the edge of the room, and part of me wondered just how damn long it took for them to hatch. As far as I could see, these were still the same, and we were several weeks further now.

“I seem to have visitors. Welcome. I’ve been expecting you.”

“Greetings, Miss Ember,” Velariah greeted our host. “I hope we don’t come at an inconvenient time.”

Ember’s smile only grew larger at that.

“Child, you know there’s no such thing as an inconvenient time. Although, I suppose our last meeting could perhaps qualify as such, considering I had you running out of here posthaste.”

“Yeah,” Velariah said with a smile. “Thank you for the early warning.”

“And while I would love to indulge in the coming conversation, first, I see you have a new ally,” The dragon continued. “Or rather, a friend.”

“Yeah,” Velariah replied. “This is Nira, but you of course already knew that. Nira, this is Ember, an old and wise dragon, and a friend of my father.”

“Hi,” The harpy said meekly. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

Ember’s large lizardy eyes trailed between our party members before they eventually settled onto the cart, prompting a chuckle.

“And I see you have a request for me.”

“Yep,” The white-haired elf said with all the confidence she could muster. “But we have some things that we think you will find highly interesting. We hope it’s worth the effort… and that the volcano won’t blow.”

“No worries, child. It won’t for a couple of months. We have all the time in the world.”

How the hell did she know that? Just how advanced were the internal seismographs on dragons?

“First of all, we would like to apologize. We have been extremely busy, my father included. He hasn’t had the time to visit yet.”

“That’s okay,” Ember replied calmly. “He is quite the busy bee. I’d love to hear about it, though.”

“Heh, I guess. Well, you see, it started with this drink that Elania knew about. It’s called coffee, and has already made quite the impact. So much that entire fields have been created to grow the plant that creates the fruits needed for the beverage. I’m sure you can imagine who’s behind that.”

“You and I both know that your father can smell opportunities from miles away. This comes as a surprise to no one.”

Velariah went on to explain the many things that had happened since we’d last seen the dragon. How we found the dungeon she’d mentioned, how I could talk to it, how it helped us in more ways than we could have imagined, but also about the sinister plot to get me killed for reasons yet unknown to us.

She finished with the part where we’d found a new dungeon and the mysteries surrounding it, how a base of sorts is being set up, and how her father had already seen fit to start working on a canal from the mountains to Dawnleaf.

“The outside world is changing rapidly,” Ember said quietly. “In most interesting ways. You were right about that.”

“Yep, and all that is part of the reason why we’ve brought a great deal of iron with us. There’s no doubt adventurers will be drawn to our village, and we thought it a good idea to be prepared.”

“Wise, indeed.”

A few seconds passed before Ember turned her head in my direction, and I knew there would be several questions for me. I was surprised she’d managed to hold on to them for so long.

“Elania, child, there is something I’d like to ask you that has to do with something… personal, for me that is. When you first came, I told you the only thing older than us dragons are the Ancient Ones. Now that I have confirmation you can talk to them using your special technique, I’d like to know if you’re willing to ask them a question in my stead.”

“I’d be happy to.”

“Ages ago, there used to be a people called the Tynrodan living in the area. They’d visit me from time to time, but one day they completely stopped coming. I’ve never been able to find out why and had given up hope as there’s nobody alive anymore who could know, but you may have the answer in the palm of your hand, at last .”

“How long ago are we talking?” I asked, trying to comprehend the timescale we were talking about here.

“It must have been about three thousand years by now. They were the ones that lived here before the elves, and they settled here about fifteen hundred years ago.”

“The Tynrodan?” Velariah asked with large eyes. “I’ve never heard of them. I can ask my dad, though.”

The dragon shook her head.

“He doesn’t know. I’ve asked him and others before, but there are no records of that time. It’s as if the entire race suddenly vanished.”

“That’s… odd,” I replied. “I’ll see if Arch knows the answer and then come back to tell you about what he said sometime soon.”

“I’d very much love that. Thank you.” She paused again. “Now, about those figures that messed with that other dungeon, Lorin was among them, right?”

“Yep,” Velariah nodded. “But we’ve completely lost track of him. We’re doing our best to track him down, but so far, no luck.”

“I wish I could assist you with that.”

“It’s fine. We’ll find him. We have another question if you don’t mind.”

“You’re always free to ask.”

Velariah nodded as she reached for her pack and pulled out one of the turquoise gemstones.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

“We were told that these are vessels for enchantments and that certain beings could imbue them with those, and were wondering if you could tell us more about it.”

A large smile grew on Ember’s face.

“Young Velariah, in case you are wondering if I’m able to do such a thing, the answer is yes, and I’ve done it in the past. However, the stone you are presenting to me is not able to contain my power. You would need a larger one, a higher quality one for that. This one can be filled by mortal hands. If you wish to do so, you’d have to seek out… I believe your race calls it a gem melder.”

“A gem melder?” Velariah spoke my thoughts and I was certain of the thoughts of the others as well. “Surprised I’ve never heard of those before.”

“In case you weren’t aware of this yet, Valtheril tends to not spoon-feed you all the information he knows.”

“Oh, I know. I’m just surprised he’s never managed to say anything about this, not even in a casual manner. He’s just that good with knowing what to say, apparently.”

“That he is.”

“I would ask where we can find such a melder, but I reckon I could just ask my father now that we know what to ask for.”

The dragon let out a small chuckle but gave no reply. An awkward silence followed before Ember continued.

“So, you’ve told me a fair deal about what is going on, and I am grateful for that, but what I’d really like to know is how all of you are doing. You seem much better equipped than last time.”

“It is as you see,” Velariah said. “Things are going as well as they can. We’ve been promoted in guild rank and we’re making good money. We’re actually looking to explore beyond our own lands, but that’s a long-term project.”

“Oh? Color me intrigued.”

“We plan to head to Zerdania when the time is right. We’re looking to explore some different dungeons and head to the jungle. Apparently, there’s some kind of fruit there that produces what Elania describes as ‘irresistible’.”

Despite the lack of eyebrows, I could see the answer made Ember curious without saying a word.

“Long story,” I said with a sigh.

“But I so adore stories.”

“Uhm,” I interjected. “Might be a weird thing to ask, but can you keep secrets?”

“Elania, child, I can feel there’s a burden on you. If you wish to share a secret, know that it will be safe with me, but if it’s something you wish to keep for yourself, and perhaps your party, I understand.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s fine. I do trust you, and this is a piece of crucial information when it comes to understanding why I know about this fruit.”

She nodded, her eyes closed.

“First of all, it’s not really a fruit. Rather, this is about the seeds, and they require processing and are then turned into a type of candy that almost everyone loves. At least, that used to be the case in my old world.”

I closed my eyes and sighed, knowing Ember would be able to extrapolate from there. She was a dragon, after all.

“A different world,” She said in wonder, but not in surprise. “It has long been hypothesized that other worlds exist, and that some could be just like ours, with green and blue, and life. To have the confirmation stand right in front of my eyes is something I wouldn’t have dared to dream about.”

“You believe it?” I said in mild shock.

“Child, you are too easy to read. Your words contain no lie, and I see that burden has been lifted from your shoulders. I’ll keep this secret safe.”

“Thank you…”

“Now, do elaborate on this… candy.”

Her genuine interest brought a smile back to my face. Within seconds, I started explaining about the dark brown sweetness that was chocolate, how it was a major product in my old world, and how I saw plenty of opportunities for it here. While I was at it, I also explained the coffee thing and how demand had already skyrocketed, explaining much of the financial boom that Dawnleaf was going through right now.

“I do hope you’re being very cautious with all this information,” Ember said after I had finalized my story.

“I am,” I said with a nod. “There’s an extensive cover story that originated from Valtheril, and people seem to have a hard time doubting his words. I daresay he has quite the reputation.”

“That he certainly does.”

“But yeah, this is a completely different beast, especially since it’s only found so far away. We will have to check and try ourselves to see if we can get the process solved before we try anything fancy.”

“I hope all goes well. I’m looking forward to hearing how it went after your return.”

Ember then directed her gaze at Velariah and smiled.

“Your stories today were a pleasure to hear, and I’d be happy to bless the iron you’ve brought.”

“Thank you, Miss Ember.”

We unloaded everything which took several minutes before placing the crates at a safe distance along with us as the dragon took a deep breath. Draconic fire engulfed the ore and brought the temperature inside the cave to near-unbearable. Fortunately, it was only a short while before things returned to normal, and when they had, Velariah handed us a couple of small spades that I didn’t know we had.

She must have smuggled them with her when we were in the village. Makes sense.

We all thanked Ember as we started shoveling the blessed ore back into the crates and loaded them back onto the cart.

When we were almost finished, I asked her for the name of the ancient race once more.

“The Tynrodan. A race that in a way looked like elves, but they had blue-gray skin like trolls, and their ears were pointy and short. They also possessed some magic weaponry, the secrets of which are now likely lost to time. Never did they bother to share those with me”

“I’ll make sure to ask Arch, and I think it’s safe to say we will return here at least once more before we set out to Zerdania… right, Vel?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Glad to hear that. I’m already looking forward to it.”

“Thanks, Miss Ember,” I said. “We’ll see you soon,” I said as we reattached the cart.

The dragon nodded, and the others said their thanks as well before she went to lie back down, probably readying herself to slumber once more.

None of us spoke a word as we made our way back up the mountain trail and through the scorpion habitat to get back to the main road. Once we were finally there, it was Velariah who first spoke again.

“Well, that was certainly interesting. Didn’t expect to learn a few new things.”

“No kidding,” Seralyn replied. “Gem melding? I would have never known that to be a thing.”

“Neither would I. Makes me wonder what else my father has taken upon himself to not disclose.”

“Think he will tell you if you ask him?” I asked.

“Probably not. Let’s be real.”

“Sounds harsh, Draco spoke. “But for his goals, it makes sense.”

“Yep,” Velariah continued as she hopped back in the cart. “But that’s enough of that. Let’s get home fast. I’m dying to know how Dworag is doing.”

“As am I,” The archer added with unusual excitement. “Wait, does this mean we get to drink the booze now?”

I grinned at her words as Velariah rolled her eyes and tilted her head to the sky as if to ask ‘why?’ She did ultimately answer the question with the words that she could do all she wanted with it… tonight, after we get back… possibly after dinner if you don’t want Elly to get angry.

“You don’t want any?” She asked, at which all of us shook our heads.

“Score!” She exclaimed with a fist pump.

I couldn’t help but smile at the joy being shown in the vehicle as I picked up the pace, eager to get back home.