Chapter 102: Developmental Hazards
“Right, what's up for today?” Sapphire questioned as she got out of bed to do her morning stretches. She was still feeling slightly funny after last night. They couldn’t walk away with a score like that and not celebrate a little, and Balethon owed more than a few rounds after all.
“Trying to convince Tink to come along and shopping. I’m hoping we can get Junior to help out with that. He might know how to get a better deal on some things. And the game this evening,” Dakota replied, seemingly not doing any better as she rubbed her eyes. She grabbed the contracts she had penned for both Tink and Junior before they started drinking the night before.
“Sounds like a plan to me.” Sapphire sighed as she bent down, putting her forehead on the floorboards, “It’s gonna be weird to go back there... I wonder if they would let me in without paying still?”
“I’m sure they will. Let’s go see how Ray is doing.”
Ray had turned out to be sorely in need of a night drinking, even if it hadn’t taken much to get her very drunk indeed. Sapphire put that down to just how thin she was. They would have to fix that. There was trim and proper and then there was skinny to the point that ribs were showing.
A quick survey found Ray to be in no condition to join them yet. Mainly on account of that she was sleeping soundly and not waking easily. They asked the barkeep to let Ray know where they had gone and that they would be back later, so she wouldn’t worry too much.
Balethon and Canabrera had come sauntering down the stairs while they were in the middle of breakfast. He had still been rather merry, Canabrera demanding to come along today since they didn’t really have any formal things to do today. It meant a babysitter for Balethon so they didn’t have a problem with that.
En route to the workshop, the discussion had been on just how to best sell the proposition to Tink without making Tom mad that they had told him too much. Sapphire didn’t think they could tell him too much. Tink was gonna be coming along if he said yes, so he would know everything soon enough. As they came in to land it would appear the task of talking Tink out of the workshop might be easier than at first expected, as the inventor and Junior were currently standing outside inspecting the damage done to the ground floor of the building. Which did seem rather substantial.
“What the hell happened here?” Sapphire demanded as she touched down first. “You two okay?”
“Yeah. Not quite sure to be honest. It certainly woke us up though,” Tink replied, scratching the back of his neck.
“We were sleeping upstairs and then suddenly there was just this huge bang. It even shook the building,” Junior proclaimed wide-eyed. It looked like quite the wake-up call too. Sapphire definitely had to give him that.
“I just don’t get it though. Why did it blow up now?”
“What did?” Dakota questioned very pointedly.
“I tried to make the thing Maiko here talked about, a kind of naggnet scabbard. That wouldn’t work if it doesn't last, so we left the sword in the scabbard overnight.”
“We told you not to fuck around with that stuff,” Sapphire broke out. Sure, they hadn’t been successful the first time, but she had at least hoped that after the first explosion he would have learned his lesson.
“How much did you use?” Balethon questioned, looking over the damages. There wasn't a single window left in the lower story, and it looked like the interior had been redecorated rather substantially too.
“We just used a jar. The little test thing we made for the first Nagnetizer didn’t last more than an hour,” Tink protested, arms wide. “Why would it do that!”
“Got too hot maybe, stray spark, general bad luck. A rat knocked something over” Dakota retorted, Tink’s expression growing rather unamused. “Did the prototypes survive?”
“Yes, they are all good. The lighter and the wayfinder are being finished by a jeweler Junior found. The Dencils are good to go as well.”
Sapphire knew what came next, so she leaned over to Dakota to whisper a bit. “Are we completely sure we want him in the keep? I mean, look at it...”
“Do you have a better idea?” Dakota replied, clearly more than a little conflicted herself. “Tom seems to know how to keep things from going that badly. Hopefully he can keep Tink in line,” she continued, clearly not even managing to convince herself.
“A most excellent piece of work, Tink. Now I do seem to remember you were interested in meeting the man behind the designs we brought to you?” Dakota went, taking a step forward towards Tink.
As if by magic she had his full attention as he stared at her in clear anticipation of what came next.
Dakota hesitated for a second before continuing, with a slightly strained expression, “As a reward for completing the contract we set out, we would like to offer you a position at our keep, where you will, for the most part, be working with Tom to make more such inventions.” Tink looked ready to scream out with joy before he seemed to catch himself, looking at Junior, with a rather worried expression. “Junior here too, of course,” Dakota continued, apologetic that she had failed to make that clear.
Then came the celebration from Tink, followed by a small avalanche of questions, thank yous and statements Sapphire honestly couldn’t make out, before turning to hug Junior who stood there dumbstruck.
“Does that mean we are leaving, dad?” he finally questioned after having waited for Tink to calm down enough to put him back down.
“Yes, I mean, I presume so? When?” Tink replied, still struggling to make coherent words as he looked back to Dakota.
“In a few days most likely. We have some business to attend to, then we will be departing as soon as the prototypes are delivered to the guild,” Dakota replied calmly, looking at the young man.
“But that means…” Junior seemingly trailed off looking towards the damaged building. “Is it like a few months or what?”
“The contracts we made aren’t binding. So in a sense, it’s up to you.”
“Got many friends here?” Balethon questioned in a far softer tone than was common for him.
“I mean… what’s many?” Junior tried to deflect the question, mimicking his father's neckscratch from earlier.
“Maybe you can get along with Lothal. He’s about your age,” Sapphire tried, in an optimistic tone. “He’s an able hand aboard Jarix. Who knows, the big blue guy is likely gonna be part of a few experiments.” That notion did seem to strike a chord with Junior as he clearly pondered that idea.
“Not to mention the Royal Guard combat wing we will be flying with. We are gonna be overloaded as is, I think. Might be able to score a ride with someone else,” Dakota added, clearly picking up on what Sapphire was putting down.
“Wait, you serious?” Junior let out at that.
“Three strong, led by Baron. He’s my current posting. I’ve only been loaned out for the time being, remember?” Maiko also joined in.
“Fuck, that sounds awesome. Are there any... girls at the keep?” Junior tried, the hopefulness clear in his voice. Sapphire restrained herself from snickering at that. ‘Classic.’
“There might be soon. I am in need of some fresh recruits. Fengi is our youngest huntress at the moment, and she’s 24. We were planning on scouting for some up-and-coming talent at the tonselra game this afternoon though,” Dakota replied, clearly trying to sell the prospect.
Junior’s expression wasn’t quite happiness, more of a cautious optimism. Sapphire guessed he wouldn’t call it a day 'til he knew he wouldn’t be spending the time alone so to speak. Life at a keep could be both close and lonely at times if you weren’t so lucky with who was around.
“So what do you say Junior, wanna come work with a mad man and hopefully not blow stuff up?” Sapphire added, trying to drive home the deal. It wouldn’t do if Junior didn’t end up happy at the keep. She was fairly confident he would fit in though.
“Deal… But I wanna ride with Baron.”
“I think that can be arranged… If you promise to behave yourself,” Maiko replied with a raised finger.
“Fuck yeah.”
“What about the workshop?” Dakota questioned, looking at the building.
“Oh don't worry, that was rented from the guild,” Tink replied as if that solved everything. “I’m sure the craft master will understand.”
“Right…”
__________________________________________________________________________________
“And everything was good?” Tom questioned, looking up at Jarix.
“Yup. Not quite good as new, but it will do. Everything works just fine,” Jarix replied, shifting his shoulders a bit. “We don’t need much help being put back together, a few bandages and getting everything back in the right place will do for the most part.” Jarix did look mostly good as new, apart from the wide array of scars he had accumulated, mostly from the long rends of the bat thing’s claws… They really needed a better name for that, come to think of it. The arrows hadn't left scars at all though which was fairly impressive.
“Okay then,” Tom went as he walked up Jarix's wing, Jacky at his side just in case. He could walk just fine; it was only the fine motor skills that had really taken a hit. Jacky would have none of that though, so she was with him whether he liked it or not.
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Jarix had the ruined parts of his armor strapped on as best they could without it being too annoying. The bent and broken pieces were hanging by ropes from his sides. His helmet dangled like a necklace around his neck as he got to his feet. The adult dragonettes would be taking turns on the wing to reduce the strain on Jarix while still speeding up the journey a fair bit, but without having them work too hard. Tom though as usual would just have to sit back and relax as much as you could with five kids onboard.
They said their goodbyes for now, waving to the inhabitants of Deriva Keep as they took to the sky at long last and made for home. The flight had gone by without incident, besides one of the twins falling off when he tried to buffet his wings against the wind, which gave Tom quite the shock. The young guy was old enough to fly though or at least glide rather well though, and was scooped up by Fengi and placed back on Jarix with a stern talking to.
Zarko made some lighthearted jokes about getting promoted for this. Jarix thought a medal was in order, Jacky didn’t seem too concerned with any of that, instead wondering whether this was grounds for getting out of cleaning duties for a few weeks. Maybe even for a month. Tom lent his support to that motion. He wouldn't mind not scrubbing floors for a bit after this.
“I was thinking. What should we name those bat things?” Tom questioned as Zarko came down for her turn to rest.
“I dunno, giant bats?” Zarko replied with a shrug.
“Oh, have a little imagination,” Tom protested.
“I like Igrakere,” Jarix added in. “I don’t want to deal with them at night again, that’s for sure.”
”Terror bats?... What about night terrors?”
“Uhh... I like that. The hideous night terror,” Jacky added with a laugh as she got ready for her turn on the wing. “The night whimper after Jarix was done with it.”
“Let me at them in daylight then we’ll see who's the terror,” Jarix replied, his usual confidence cracking a little.
“Well hopefully we can get a little work done on that gun of yours when we get back,” Tom replied, trying to lift the dragon's spirits a little.
“Oh yeah, then I’ll rip 'em apart.”
When the keep finally hoved into view, Tom felt relieved more than anything else, a sizable smile creeping onto his face. This was supposed to be a two-day expedition, maybe three, and here they were well over a week later. Three of them had nearly died, he had nearly done so a few times. They had saved five kids, and many of the inhabitants of Deriva Keep. They had fucked up a force that would undoubtedly have been heading for their home in time, so even more lives were saved on that front. They had disobeyed orders, but they had done what they needed to do. Hell, even Kalestine had gotten what she wanted out of them. All in all Tom was damned proud of everyone involved.
Coming in to land they were greeted by everyone standing out in the greeting hall. Every adult kitted out for battle and armed to the teeth. Apuma, Rachuck and Anchor out in front as they came down.
“It is so good to see you. We were worried sick,” Apuma stated, clearly delighted, though his face switched to one of apprehension when the cargo of kids began to disembark.
“Yeah about bloody time, what the hell happened back there?” Rachuck started out in a light-hearted tone with a grin on his face for once.
“Sorry, ran into some problems, fixed some of them,” Jarix replied with a hint of guilt in his voice.
“What kind of a greeting is that? Aren't we heroes or something?” Jacky joked as she followed Tom down the wing.
“Oh sure you are, drawing off the last of our good flyers and both of our remaining healers. Very noble indeed.”
“Luckily we have such a good captain to ensure that our home stays nice and safe,” Nunuk retorted, sounding only slightly teasing, as she took her son into a hug. “Good to see you didn’t burn the house down.”
“Hey that’s Tom's job,” Rachuck replied as Nunuk released him from the hug. He looked Tom up and down. “You look like shit by the way.”
“Feel like it too. Did Heron shoot someone or can he keep the shotgun?” Tom replied, making his way to steady ground, walking over to the captain.
“Nope, he sure loves that thing though.”
“TOM!” Kiran burst out as Wiperna let go of him, the little guy coming over at a flat sprint and wrapping around one of Tom’s legs. Tom bent down to give the kid a few head scritches otherwise content to let him sit there for a bit.
“Missed you too... Did anything bad happen around here?” Tom questioned, looking back up.
“Not really. We prepared for the worst but for once nothing bad happened.”
“God, that is a rare statement around here,” Tom let out. In fact, it was depressingly rare. It would seem things were going their way at the moment though. At least it sounded like Saph and the others had been making the best of a shitty situation.
“How’s Essy doing?” Fengi questioned after quickly scanning the room.
“She’s sleeping soundly in her room. We didn’t want to wake her.”
“Good, she needs it,” Nunuk concurred. “We are expecting reinforcements any day now. Your lookouts are to keep an eye out for a black dragon of the Royal Guard, he’s heading for Deriva and Hylsdal but he’s stopping by to drop off some things for us. We have a lot to talk about.”
“Uhhhh… Yes mother,” Rachuck replied after a second or two standing there shocked.
“Oh, it gets better. We have three more incoming to scour the woods, and you will not believe the shit that happened in the capital,” Jacky added with her usual bravado.
Rachuck just turned to his mother as if expecting an explanation, to which she simply gestured inside.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Tink and Junior had work to do. They were gonna call in a few favors to help clean up the place and get their affairs in order. They had both signed the contracts though. So that was that for now. They had found most of the things they needed beforehand, so today it was mostly a matter of actually bartering for those things and making a few trips back to Archeon to hand off the wares. To the growing concern of both the dragon and Vulzan, as the more volatile parts of their cargo were handed over.
The amount of flash powder was downright unhealthy, to the point they ended up storing it in three separate storage lots which they rented at the guild. Sapphire could only imagine what Tom had planned for that lot. Following the reports of the battle of Deriva Keep though, she had a pretty good idea.
That was not the part of today that excited her the most though. It had been over a decade since she had last set foot inside a tonselra stadium while there was an event on. Sadly she had missed it the last time she was here, due to bad weather canceling it. They had swung by the tavern to pick up Ray, Saph wouldn’t have her miss this. Ray had of course made it very clear how sorry she was she had overslept, promising to make up for it. Being told they were going to see a game was clearly not quite what she had expected in return, struggling a bit for a response. So Saph just took her by the hand to drag her along.
Sapphire did feel a little nervous though as they stood outside the entrance. It was just like she remembered it, well except this wasn’t the entrance she normally used back in the day of course. Taking point she walked up to the ticket booth, being greeted by an older woman who looked like she had a long day the last decade.
“Hello and welcome. Are you here for today’s game?”
“Yes. It’s been far too long,” Sapphire replied, not letting the woman get in the way of her chirpy attitude.
“Excellent, what kind of seat would you like… where did you get that?” The woman paused, eyes landing on Sapphire’s necklace.
“Oh, this old thing? That was years ago. I did take the championship though,” Sapphire replied nonchalantly as if that wasn’t a big deal, making sure the engraving was clearly visible.
“One second darling… Ralex!” the old woman went, looking off to a guy seemingly keeping tabs on proceedings as people were making their way into the stadium. The man-made his way over in a very dignified fashion until he caught a glimpse of Sapphire.
“Sapphire Rayland! Do my eyes deceive me? The streak has come home!”
“Good to see you are still kicking, you’ve gotten old though,” Sapphire replied with a smile at her old friend.
“I wish I had a counter to that. You look even better than the day we lost you though. What took you so long?”
“It’s not easy living out in the sticks. You told me so yourself.”
“I guess I did... I take it, these are your friends?” Ralex went, gesturing to Dakota and the others.
“They are indeed. That’s my fearless leader Dakota, the one who stole me away; that’s Canabrera and her boy toy known as Balethon, he can be a bit of a jerk; that is Maiko… Security.”
“Hey… Well you're not wrong, but still, hey,” Maiko protested.
“And this is Ray, a very good friend.
“Oh I see how it is. Come on in. Barbra, tickets all around please.”
“As you wish. A shame she’s not here to teach the new kids a lesson. Things were better back then.”
“Don't listen to her, she just likes the old days. We have got a lot of great new racers this year. Come now, I’ll give you lot the tour, we actually expanded the stadium since you were last here,” Ralex interjected, taking Sapphire by the shoulder and leading her onwards, enthusiasm still just as infectious as she remembered. “There are still a few of your old rivals knocking about, if you fancy a rematch though.”
“Thanks, but I think I would disappoint. I broke a wing earlier this year.”
“No you didn't! That is a disaster!” Ralex exclaimed, sounding genuinely worried, letting go and folding out her wing to inspect it.
“If I did that she would slap me so hard we would need Nunuk to put my jaw back on,” Sapphire heard Balethon let out, at least trying to be a little subtle. Canabrera whispering something in reply which made him smile for some reason. This was Ralex though, not only had he helped coach her, she knew full well that he cared more for the sport than anything else. Not to mention, if anyone could tell her her wing was indeed perfect it was him.
“I see what you mean, looks like that hurt… It’s nicely done though, who fixed this?”
“My mother, Lady Nunuk,” Dakota replied with a fair amount of pride in her voice and a slightly annoyed glare at Balethon.
“A Lady... woof. Is she available for hire, just out of curiosity?”
“I don't think so. Mainly because of the week's flight,” Sapphire replied with a chuckle, folding her wing back in as Ralex let go, getting a look at Ray’s back as she turned to admire the stadium entrance.
“Oh you poor thing. May I?”
Ray looked to Sapphire, clearly not sure how to respond to that. Sapphire just shrugged. It couldn't hurt. Well maybe it could actually. She had seen Ralex give the bad news to quite a few young hopeful girls, so she trusted him to know how to handle it. “He knows wings better than anyone I have ever met,” Sapphire replied, trying to sound optimistic. She doubted very much there was any good news to be had though.
Ray relented, turning her back to him and folding out what pitiful remnants were left.
“I’ve not seen something this bad in years… What happened?”
“That’s a long story,” Ray replied, clearly reluctant to go into details on that point.
“You were beaten, weren't you… that’s rot too... they left you. These are not the same injury either.” Ralex, continued as he looked her over, face grim and at times downright disgusted.
“No,” Ray replied, holding back tears as Sapphire went ever to give her a hug.
“There is no way to fix this, not even partially. She doesn’t even have a single full wing finger left... I’m so very sorry.”
“It’s fine… I know,” Ray replied, straightening her back. “It is what it is.”
“You are sure there is no way?” Dakota tried with a slightly heavy voice.
“It's impossible. There is too much missing. Sometimes we can make some prosthetics to get you into the air but you need most of the wing still. She hasn’t got it… I would recommend cutting off the most broken parts, perhaps try and tidy it up a little.”
“If it helps, Tom seems to consider impossible to be rather boring. He might be able to figure it out,” Balethon added, with a hint of optimism. Ray’s face grew a cautious smile and wiping a tear away, as she seemingly thought back to the tales they had told of that crazy individual. Sapphire was really hoping Balethon was right for once. Tom already had the parachute though, so she didn’t think it would be out of the question.
“If he does, then I would very much like to meet him... What about you though? You're in fine shape,” Ralex went, looking at Sapphire, giving Ray a tap on the shoulder. “We could do an exhibition match or even a solo flight just for old times sake. I’m sure some people would pay to see that,” Ralex tried again, to Sapphire's complete lack of surprise.
“Oh, I don’t know. I’m kinda expensive these days,” she replied, trying to sound as important as possible. She knew how this song and dance went.
“So you’ll do it?”
“I mean if you wanna pay for a victory lap then sure, but I’m not racing.”
“I will see what I can do about that. Actually... Hey you!” Ralex replied, shouting at some random guy Sapphire didn’t know who came running over. “Go get the bookie. Tell him Sapphire is back and might be looking to show off for the crowds a bit.
“Why do I get the feeling you are gonna end up racing today?” Dakota questioned, walking up beside Sapphire.
“If the pay is good and they don’t even want me to race why not? I’ve done it hundreds of times, it's just a lap of the track.”
“Yeah, all over a decade ago, and you are not in top shape as it is.”
“Oh come on, if I’m not racing it will basically be a practice lap.”
“Sure it will be,” Dakota replied, making it very clear just how unconvinced she was.