Blyn carried his younger brother on his back, who was sobbing uncontrollably. He stood up and bowed down towards Chaeyar, Sayi and Pamela. His hands holding his sibling in his arms were trembling slightly.
“You have my eternal gratitude.”
His voice was hoarse but it was filled with sincerity. He was truly grateful from the bottom of his heart.
“Hmph.” Sayi clicked her tongue, a permanent frown etched on her eyebrows. “This is the only time, human.”
“Don’t lose hope,” Chaeyar assured. “Your parents will recover and open their eyes once more.”
“...thank you.” Blyn smiled bitterly.
“Mister Prince! I don’t want your gratitude!” Pamela pouted. “You said you'd show me where to get groceries!”
Blyn furrowed his eyebrows. “Ye-yes, I did. It would be best if you followed me back to the Innerlands.”
“Innerlands?”
“That is where the three major cities reside. My home is in Eleyville, and it’s located there.” Blyn commented, pointing towards something in the distance.
The three of them glanced over and noticed that Blyn was directing them to the mountains where a large monastery was located. Pamela blinked in curiosity, and she finally started to wonder what kind of world she was brought to.
“What a strange planet this is.” Pamela muttered out in wonder.
“I pity you, Pamela.” Blyn said.
“Huh, why?”
“Because this world is–”
At that moment, someone’s stomach began to rumble loudly and all of them looked towards the culprit. It was Illian who was trying to curl himself up into a ball on his brother’s back, shyly lifting his head up.
“I…I’m so hungry that my tummy….” Illian murmured out sheepishly, a tinge of pain on his face. “It kinda hurts.”
“Hurts?!” Blyn paled, glancing back at his brother and bombarding him with questions. “Since when? Where does it hurt? What does the hurt feel like? How painful is it?”
“He’s fine, he just needs a little…” Chaeyar observed Illian with a smile, his eyes looking back at Pamela who was already rummaging through her interdimensional bag. “...drink.”
“Hey, kid!” Pamela called out, a hint of disapproval in her words. “I don’t usually like to serve drinks like this, but this should help.”
“...?” Illian tilted his head at the pretty lavender-haired lady with blue highlights.
“For you, some warm ginger tea!” Pamela grinned, handing a small canteen to Illian.
He glanced at his brother who nodded in approval, reaching his small hands out to the canteen. He uncapped it and Blyn slowed down his steps, letting his brother take a sip without spilling it.
Meanwhile, Sayi watched the scene in discontent. “Why does that brat get to have whatever tea and I get water?”
“I’ll make you a better drink later, and a drink only suitable for the great elder dragon!” Pamela blurted out smoothly.
Sayi perked up upon hearing those words, a smirk gracing her lips as she tilted her chin upwards. She was clearly proud. At once, Illian felt the pain dissipating around his stomach and he brightened up. He rubbed at his tummy as it growled even louder, grinning.
“I wanna eat!”
“How about baked potatoes?” Blyn suggested.
“Yay, potatoes!” Illian cheered.
“I wonder what special ingredients this world sells?” Pamela spoke to herself, her amethyst eyes sparkling with excitement.
“I can’t believe I was dragged out from my lair for this.” Sayi grumbled.
“You haven’t stepped out of it ever since arriving here. It’s a day to celebrate your first step into the world, Sayi.”
“Laht’kil seht.” Sayi flared up, grabbing Chaeyar by the collar. “You dare treat me like a child?”
“Yes, yes, how dare I.” Chaeyar sighed, patting her head as if he was comforting some hot-tempered brat.
Sayi snapped at his fingers while Pamela tiptoed quietly behind Sayi, touching the horns on Sayi’s head as her eyes gleamed with curiosity. Pamela scrambled away in horror when Sayi snapped at her too, making Pamela giggle at her aggressive reaction. On the other hand, Blyn and Illian watched the scene in amusement.
“By the way, how are we going there?” Pamela questioned.
“I’m a Transmuter, so I’ll be able to make my way back quickly with Illian, but…” Blyn hesitated, glancing at the three of them. “Accommodating more than two people is too much, I am close to my limit.”
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“I have reached my limits too,” Chaeyar said as he raised his arms up in surrender, smiling. “I won’t be able to help.”
“You want me to travel on foot?” Sayi raised an eyebrow, snorting. “What a distasteful joke.”
“You are using your powers again?” Pamela asked. “Didn’t you complain about your migraines earlier?”
“It’s not powers,” Sayi smirked, tilting her chin with a haughty look in her scarlet orbs. “It's the magic of all dragons, the Dragon’s Tongue.”
“Dragon’s Tongue…” Blyn nodded, observing her hand in a daze.
He couldn’t forget the ethereal sight of Sayi dispelling the curse around his younger brother. With just one touch and one word from her, everything reverted back to normal and Illian was returned back safely.. It sent chills down his spine just thinking about it.
Truly, that was the power of an elder dragon.
“You said it was that monastery up in the mountains, right? Hmph, simple.”
“Yes, it was…” Blyn trailed off and widened his eyes in surprise. “Are you planning to teleport–”
In an instant, Sayi snapped her fingers together.
“Wait–!” Blyn exclaimed but it was too late.
All their bodies immediately disappeared from the swamp. Meanwhile, the monsters who were cowering under the pressure of an elder dragon crawled out from the shadows, snarling and trembling at the spot that they had vanished from.
***
“Haha, how fun.” Chaeyar chuckled.
“Why am I falling?” Sayi frowned.
“Ahhhh!” Pamela screamed as she fell headfirst into the stone path before her.
“Illian, hang on!” Blyn called out, holding his brother close to him.
Fortunately, all of them found themselves landing on a cushion as they heard a grunt below them. It turned out to be Sayi who flared up, the anger unbridled in her scarlet irises. They all scrambled to stand up, sensing the irritation rolling off from Sayi who pushed herself up, patting at her dirtied white shirt and black pants.
“How dare you measly humans interfere with my Dragon’s Tongue!” Sayi roared, grabbing Blyn by the collar.
“O’ great dragon, I am not that capable, you see…” Blyn began to explain, a hint of nervousness in his voice. Illian climbed down from his brother’s back, observing the two of them with unease. “It is because of an Augmenter who specialises in nullification.”
Pamela and Chaeyar glanced around and they realised they were standing in a dim alleyway. Just ahead of them, there was an opening that led to the main streets of Eleyville, the City of Wanderers. They could hear the noisy chatters and murmurs from there.
“Nullification?”
“There is a nullification barrier installed in all the three cities, and the barrier is what prevents the monsters from invading us.”
“Are humans that talented?” Sayi whispered to herself, bemused as she released her grip on Blyn.
“We cannot be compared to dragons.”
Sayi’s eyebrows twitched, her arms going across her chest as she tilted her head. “But of course.”
Blyn grinned. He had heard of the legends about dragons from his parents. They are known to be extremely proud, volatile and ruthless. Beings who simply did as they pleased. Surprisingly, Sayi was easier to speak to than he thought. Pamela did not pay attention to the conversation happening behind her, and she rushed out of the alleyway. Chaeyar followed behind her, his steps languid.
“Woah!” Pamela grinned as the light shone down on her as she stepped out of the alleyway.
“Welcome to one of the major cities in the Innerlands,” Blyn told Pamela, glancing down at Illian who held his hand. “The City of Wanderers, Eleyville.”
Sayi clenched at her fists, staring at it in wonder. She was obviously fascinated by the nullification magic applied in this city. “What kind of humans reside in this broken world?”
Pamela beamed, enjoying the buzzing sight of a busy marketplace, her shoes tapping against the stone path in excitement. There were merchants standing alongside the streets and displaying their wares on their wooden carts. There were also stalls belonging to the merchants that resided here permanently, and the wares ranged from clothes, trinkets, accessories and other miscellaneous goods.
“How wonderful!”
In her excitement, Pamela didn’t notice the dilapidated condition of the buildings around her. Moreover, there was a hint of fatigue on the merchants who were struggling to sell their wares to any potential customers. In fact, some of their potential customers had an emaciated appearance.
“That’s a rare comment to hear about our city.” Blyn smiled wryly.
At that moment, Illian’s tummy began to growl again. He rubbed at it, looking at his brother with a sheepish smile.
“Let’s go home. They are waiting for you, Illian.”
“Okay.”
“Groceries!” Pamela cheered before she paused, deflating. “I don’t have any money on me.”
“Pathetic.” Sayi snickered. “You need my help again, don’t you?”
“You don’t have any money either! You are a broke dragon!” Pamela pouted.
Sayi stiffened.
“There are other ways around it. You don’t have to necessarily pay money.” Chaeyar advised.
“Chaeyar is right.” Blyn nodded, his eyebrows furrowing as his voice grew lower, a hint of gloominess to it. “You can trade by doing favours.”
“Favours?” Pamela repeated, blinking in confusion.
At that time, there was a commotion as a loud crashing sound was heard nearby them. Blyn let out a heavy sigh, glancing in the direction that commotion originated from as he continued explaining to Pamela.
“These are the rules set by the Regent of Eleyville.”
“Spare me! Have mercy on me!”
“You know the rules.”
People glanced at the man pinned to the ground by a burly man. There was a knife stuck to his throat by the burly man. Once they realised what was happening, they walked on by without a care in the world.
“Help me, help me please!”
“The favour can be traded with anything. Your family, your eyes, your limbs,” Blyn raised his hand, covering Illian’s eyes. “Even your life.”
Illian had covered his ears ever since the fight started, trembling in fright. In an instant, the man pinned to the ground was violently slaughtered as people trudged on. It was as if this was an everyday sight. The blood spurted out from his neck, painting the stone path in a disturbing crimson red.
***
Featured Drinks
Ginger Tea
Cup of tea with ginger root on grey wooden table Ginger - Spice Stock Photo [https://media.istockphoto.com/id/656808066/photo/cup-of-tea-with-ginger-root-on-grey-wooden-table.jpg?s=1024x1024&w=is&k=20&c=0mNkZr-UhD6QMCF-WPlXv-WZN1qyzqLm9CON2uf5Bps=]
Coffee Tip of the Day
Both coffee and tea contain caffeine, but coffee is known for having a higher caffeine content. However, tea leaves have higher caffeine content than coffee beans, and it is through the brewing process which extracts more caffeine from the coffee beans. Moreover, in this process, more coffee beans tend to be used as compared to tea leaves. At the end of the day, the caffeine content in both coffee and tea vary greatly depending on the preparation and brewing process.