Finally [https://i.imgur.com/AUVnHCW.png]
Chapter 12: Finally! Take to the Skies!
Garfield flagged down the Guild Master.
“Yes, Bearclaw?”
A few nearby adventurers stopped to listen.
“I can get to Foamy Port much more quickly if I travel there on my own.”
“Can you? Well, before you go, at least wait for any information we receive from the palace. The Court Mage, Ms. Kay, will surely provide critical information soon.”
“Would it be faster for me to go directly to the palace? Apparently, I have an open invitation,” Garfield noted.
“Open invitation? Ah, I see. By all means, you can make that decision at your own discretion. Are you able to take anyone else with you to Foamy Port?”
“That’s… probably a bad idea,” Garfield said sheepishly.
“Very well. If you do end up going straight to Foamy Port, please try to find the guild master of their branch. Also, I expect my deputy, Joker, will lead the adventurers arriving from Bretten. Please coordinate with him once he arrives.”
Garfield nodded and stepped away.
“Open invitation to the palace? So you ARE a noble!” shouted one adventurer.
“How will you get to Foamy Port? Are you going to ride your bear?” asked another.
Garfield shrugged off the adventurers and stepped out of the guild with Yttria.
“Are you sure you want to go alone?” Yttria asked Garfield.
“Do you remember that eagle I summoned at the banquet?”
Yttria instinctively nodded, thought for a moment, and then widened her eyes.
“I’m going to summon something a little bigger.”
“You’re going to fly on an animal!?”
“Yes.”
“That’s crazy!” she yelled.
“I’ll be fine.”
“I’ve never heard of anyone… Well, if it’s you… Okay. I’ll follow with the other adventurers. Good luck!”
Garfield hurried to his inn to drop off the bears. He summoned his babysitter again and made haste to the palace. At the gate, they let him in just as he expected. The guards directed him to the royal library where a mage was leafing through a book and scribbling notes. She was attended by two members of the royal guard, but they were being used only as temporary aids, it seemed.
“Are you Ms. Kay?”
“Sorry, whoever you are, but I’m a LITTLE BUSY right now.”
“If it’s about the sea dragon, I’m here to help. The name’s Garfield.”
The mage’s hand stopped writing. “You’re Sir Garfield?”
“Yes. I’m preparing to travel to Foamy Port ahead of the other adventurers. The Guild Master suggested I stop by to collect whatever intelligence we have before I depart.”
“Dammit! Why’d it have to be now!?”
The confusion was plainly evident on Garfield’s face. Kay took a breath and got down to business.
“All right, I’ll tell you what I know so you can head out. However, DO return to discuss magic with me at a later date, okay!?”
Garfield nodded. It didn’t feel like he had much choice.
“This one blurs the line between legend and history. The ocean west of the kingdom is said to house a very large sea dragon matching the brief description we received today. I’m not aware of it being sighted for several hundred years, however.”
‘Oops,’ Garfield thought to himself.
“It was believed to slumber at the bottom of the ocean. Previously, several cities were supposedly pulled into the ocean by the dragon. I’m not sure what caused it to suddenly become active. I haven’t found any records of weaknesses, detailed characteristics, or ways to defeat it.”
Garfield noted, “One adventurer at the guild asked the Guild Master if this dragon could have stirred in response to the divine beast that appeared a few days back.”
“That’s… very possible. The divine beast’s current location is not too far from the shore, all things considered. I’m not sure how sea dragons and hydras could signal one another, but it’s entirely feasible.”
‘I’ll need to check on that,’ Garfield decided.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Anyway, that’s all I have so far. In a few minutes, I’m going to pass along what I have to the guilds and the army. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.”
Garfield thanked the Court Mage. As he was walking away, he heard an echoing voice from behind him.
“Don’t forget to come back here!”
As Garfield was being escorted from the royal library back to the entrance, he crossed paths with the first princess.
“Sir Garfield? What brings you here?”
“I stopped by to ask the Court Mage about the sea dragon at Foamy Port.”
“Oh, is that what everyone’s been making such a fuss about?”
“Yes, and I need to head there myself. Hm… You like observing summoning magic, right?”
“Yes!” the princess shouted immediately.
“Would you allow me to demonstrate a new summon in the courtyard where the banquet was held? It would help me out.”
“I don’t know how it would help you, but yes! Let’s go!” The first princess grabbed Garfield’s hand and led him through the castle to the courtyard. Her younger twin brother and sister, both perhaps ten years old, happened to already be there.
“Before the demonstration, please allow me to introduce you to my younger siblings.”
“I’m sorry, but that will have to wait for next time. I really must move along.”
“G-gosh.” Charlotte didn’t seem too broken up about it, given that summoning was next.
“Stand back. «Summon Creature of the Sky, a Dragon, Riding Wyvern».”
Charlotte covered her mouth in surprise at the arrival of such a large and majestic summon. Her younger siblings just cheered happily. Garfield quickly climbed atop the wyvern and settled into its saddle.
“I promise to return if the sea dragon doesn’t kill me!” The wyvern rose straight up into the sky with perfect balance. The King and Queen watched this occur from a nearby window.
“You said you were offering to make him a Baron?” the Queen asked.
“…Yes.”
“Are you sure you didn’t insult him?”
“…I’ll rework the plan with Ben,” the King said in surrender.
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Garfield was soaring over a forest in the western region of Fenwick Kingdom. He received a magic telegram from Lord Kelvar.
“Master, Gaia Zygós is detecting the call of a sea dragon from the west.”
“Yes, the sea dragon has drawn the attention of the kingdom. Is there anything Gaia Zygós is able to do from its current location?” Garfield asked telepathically.
“The only choices are to ignore the call or to respond in kind. Responding will most likely excite the water dragon further. Gaia Zygós could dominate the sea dragon, but it would need to journey to the shore.”
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“I understand. Stand by for now. I’ll call if I need anything.” Garfield wasn’t sure how to handle this situation. At the very least, he didn’t have to argue with air traffic control to fly wherever he wanted in this world.
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As Foamy Port came into view, the sea dragon stood out like a sore thumb. It was much smaller than Gaia Zygós, but still more than capable of leveling a port town. It was more snake-like than a typical dragon, and it had a bluish-green coloration. As Garfield closed on the port, he saw signs of people east of the town camping in large fields.
He set down near the largest tent he could find, causing people to back away in fear. One adventurer loosed an arrow at the wyvern, who promptly swatted the arrow away with its wing. A man came running over yelling, “Hold! It seems friendly!” Garfield hopped down from the wyvern as the surrounding adventurers visibly relaxed.
“I’m Garfield of the capital branch, Gold-ranked adventurer, also known as Bearclaw. Who’s in charge here?”
The man who had run over spoke. “Me! Bearclaw, I’m the Guild Master of the Foamy Port branch. Technically, the Lord is in charge, but I have operational control of the situation. What is… that?” The Guild Master gestured towards the wyvern.
“As you may know, I’m a summoner, and by exerting my magic to the fullest, I’m capable of summoning a wyvern which can quickly fly me to distant destinations. I also bring word from the royal library about this sea dragon, although it isn’t much.”
“I see! Please, join us in the tent!”
Garfield, the Guild Master, and a few adventurers, ranging from Iron to Gold, sat at the large table in the center of the tent.
“How much damage so far?” Garfield asked.
“Although several sailors and dock workers died in the initial assault, most of the residents and adventurers were able to flee. From what we can see, the sea dragon is rampaging somewhat randomly and isn’t particularly trying to destroy the town as a whole.”
‘Not as bad as I feared,’ thought Garfield.
“The damage is mostly limited to the waterfront area. Considering its size, it could probably crush the whole town if it wanted to. A rumor is spreading that the water dragon is being called by a divine beast that visited the capital.”
“I see.” It was Garfield’s turn to share what he knew. “According to the Court Mage who is investigating this matter as we speak, this sea dragon is most likely one reported to have rampaged hundreds of years ago. It was believed to be asleep at the bottom of the ocean somewhere. It’s possible its awakening is related to the divine beast, but there’s no way to know.”
The Guild Master nodded.
“Bretten is putting together a convoy of adventurers and other fighting forces and supplies, but it will take a while for them to get here. As of when I left, nobody had formulated a strategy for how to oppose such a large opponent.”
“Good heavens… Is there nothing we can do until they get here?” the Guild Master asked, alarmed.
“I don’t know. Technically, the sea dragon and my wyvern are both dragons… Maybe my wyvern could tell it to go away? It’s worth a shot, I guess…”
“I will defer to your judgment. While you are attempting that, I will report to the Lord.”
“Bearclaw?” a Gold-ranked adventurer said. “Are you the guy with the bear that’s more agile than a monkey?”
“Don’t say that in front of the bear… Those words will go right to its head.”
The adventurers looked at each other, not sure how seriously to take that remark.
“I’ll depart immediately. Wish me luck.” Garfield exited the tent and mounted the wyvern. More people came running over to watch as he flew back up into the sky. While transiting towards the harbor, he spoke to his wyvern.
“Tell it that this land is our domain and it should leave.” The wyvern roared an acknowledgement. As they neared the sea dragon, it suddenly stopped rampaging and stared up at the approaching wyvern. The wyvern roared to the sea dragon, who roared back.
After a few exchanges, the sea dragon backed up a bit and lowered its head under the water. A few seconds later, it lifted its head back up.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this…”
The sea dragon opened its mouth and launched a stream of high-speed seawater at the wyvern. The wyvern maneuvered to evade and then climbed to a higher altitude.
“Let’s try a different approach. Tell it its mother was a goldfish and its father was a sea snake.”
The wyvern turned its head around to look at Garfield, stared, then turned back forward. It roared down to the sea dragon while remaining outside the effective range of the dragon’s water attack. The sea dragon tilted its head but did not roar back.
“Ahah! I’ve got it on the ropes now! One more push. Tell it the large dragon it’s calling to hears it but is ignoring it.”
The wyvern roared a few more times. The sea dragon roared back loudly. Garfield couldn’t understand the meaning, but it seemed clear the sea dragon was quite unhappy about being told the target of its affection (or hate?) was ignoring it.
“Okay, I think I know how to end this. Tell it we are the master of the large dragon. We will prove it by having the large dragon call to it right now.”
While the wyvern was roaring the message down to the water dragon, Garfield sent a mental telegram to Gaia Zygós, telling it to call the water dragon. The water dragon, which had been roaring complaints up to the wyvern, suddenly stopped making noise and lowered itself most of the way into the water.
“Tell it, as the master of the large dragon, we command it to stop rampaging on the shoreline.”
The wyvern once again roared the message as directed. The sea dragon released a high-pitched howl which sounded sad more than anything else. It then slowly backed away from the shoreline, turned around, and departed. Garfield continued to circle for a little while but nothing else happened. He returned to the open field to the east and dismounted. The Guild Master came running over.
“I heard you were circling the sea dragon from high above it. What happened?” Apparently, word had not arrived yet.
“My wyvern somehow was able to communicate with the sea dragon. I don’t speak dragon obviously, but it seems like the wyvern convinced the sea dragon to stop harassing the shoreline.”
This was only half true. Garfield had been providing specific messages for the wyvern to convey, but that was a detail not worth sharing.
“The sea dragon… has stopped?” the Guild Master asked, shocked. “Now that you mention it, I haven’t heard any sounds for a while…”
A few moments later, a man on horseback approached with an update. The sea dragon had returned to sea. Everyone nearby who heard the report cheered, some with tears in their eyes.
“Amazing! I can’t believe you somehow managed to scare it off! We’ll need to post lookouts for its return, but I think it’s safe to explore the town and assess the damage. Bearclaw, please join me as I report to the Lord.”
The pair walked over to a different tent and entered. Garfield saw an elderly gentleman and what appeared to be his family.
“Baron Whistleman, I just received reports that the sea dragon has retreated from Foamy Port!”
“What!? Why!?” the Baron shouted back.
“As I told you earlier, Bearclaw here from the capital branch of the Adventurer’s Guild flew in the sky using his summoned wyvern and actually communicated with the sea dragon. Apparently, that was enough to cajole the sea dragon into leaving.”
“My word!”
The Baron hurried over as quickly as his elderly legs could carry him and emphatically shook Garfield’s hand. Meanwhile, the Guild Master continued his report.
“We don’t know for sure the sea dragon won’t come back, but I’ve given the order to start scouting the town. At a minimum, we need to check for survivors or victims. Ideally, we can get an accurate account of the damage and begin overall recovery efforts. According to Bearclaw, help is on the way from the capital.”
“Bearclaw, is it? You simply must teach me how to summon a wyvern. Think of how much more quickly I could travel than on these old legs!”
“Uh…”
“Hahaha!” The Guild Master was not surprised by the Baron’s goofiness. “Bearclaw, don’t mind Baron Whistleman. Don’t take him seriously unless he’s trying to collect your taxes.”
“I think I know how my wyvern feels now.”
“I’m sorry…?” There was no way the Guild Master would get it, after all.
“You clearly don’t have spare resources to put me and my wyvern up for the night, so let me return to the capital. I’ll deliver the news and recommend Bretten focus on providing supplies for rebuilding rather than forces for fighting.”
“Are you sure?” the Baron asked. “It’s getting late and Bretten is quite a distance away. Even that magnificent wyvern of yours must be burdened to make another trip right now.”
“No need to worry. Let me tell you a little summoner’s trick. If I’m flying along and my wyvern suddenly needs to poof out of existence, I can simply summon another wyvern before I fall.” Garfield was probably the only person who could actually use that trick, but at least it would put the Baron’s mind at ease.
“Very well. Good luck with your return, and I’m sure there’ll be a handsome reward for you in the coming days. If I ever need help dealing with a sea dragon again I’ll make sure to request you specifically!”
“Farewell.”
The Guild Master and some other adventurers saw Garfield off. After he lifted into the sky…
“I knew the level of adventurers is higher in the capital, but I didn’t realize the gap was so big,” said one adventurer.
“I’m pretty sure that guy is unusual. You’ll go crazy if you compare yourself to him,” said another.
“Yeah, I’ve never even heard of a person flying around on a creature they summoned,” said a third adventurer.
“Honestly, this changes everything I know about summoning. I’ll look into it next time I’m in the capital,” the Guild Master decided.
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It was already dark when Garfield arrived at the Capital. He actually had some experience flying at night in his prior life, but that was a much different type of flying. Fortunately, the wyvern was capable of making the trip under the moonlight. He set down in the grass behind the Adventurer’s Guild and dismissed his wyvern into smoke. Inside, he found the guild staff hard at work.
“Bearclaw? I heard you had gone ahead to Foamy Port. What happened?”
“Is the Guild Master here?”
“Yes, he’s in his office. May I go with you?
“Fine with me.”
The guild employee joined Garfield as they went upstairs and entered the Guild Master’s office.
“Bearclaw? I’m happy to see you alive and well, but I must confess I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon.”
“I’m here to report request completion and recommend you change the breakdown of support being sent to Foamy Port.”
“What?”
Bearclaw explained the sequence of events, although he left out the details of exactly how he convinced the sea dragon to leave, just as he had at Foamy Port.
“I don’t… believe it.”
“When did the convoy leave Bretten?” asked Garfield.
“Just a few hours ago. They probably made camp for the night. You think we should send runners to turn around the combatants and then load up the wagons with additional supplies?”
“Yes, but how do we arrange that?”
“The fastest way is to run that through the royal palace. Let’s go.”
The trio walked down the stairs. The Guild Master and Garfield departed the guild en route to the royal palace. The employee who had overheard the conversation with the Guild Master went to fill in the other employees on what was going on.
One clerk responded to the employee’s story by saying, “It’s hard to believe that Bearclaw is a Gold adventurer.”
“Lower-half, at that,” clarified another employee.
“Do either of you know of any Diamond adventurers with more impressive accomplishments than Bearclaw?”
“…No,” the rest said in unison.
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Garfield and the Guild Master were ushered into a room where the King and his various advisers were hard at work.
“Guild Master. Sir Garfield?” The King tilted his head. That crown must have been fastened down somehow. The Guild Master proceeded to explain everything Garfield had told him.
“More!” the Court Mage demanded. “Tell me more about what happened! This is fascinating…”
“I must apologize but I’m very tired,” Garfield said, suppressing a yawn. “If there’s nothing else you need to ask me, I will leave the rest to you all and retire.” Garfield wasn’t lying. Flying back and forth to Foamy Port had been exhausting, and he hadn’t reduced his fatigue with magic or tried anything else to reduce the burden.
“Dammit!”
As Garfield approached the door to leave the room, the King called out to him.
“Sir Garfield, did you receive the written letter from Prime Minister White?”
“Yes.”
“Even without considering the events of today, I realize that such an offer was unsuitable. Please allow us to renegotiate that offer in the near future to one that is more aligned with your accomplishments. Please feel free to disregard the letter, although the offer is still valid until we can follow up shortly.”
“As you wish.”