Chapter 4

Glacial Doom slowly rose from her golden bed and walked down it towards a large gateway carved into the rock of the mountain. She made sure that her piled up mountain of gold stayed mostly in place and that her treasures were not stirred up by the movements of her massive body and sent flying through the cave as dangerous projectiles.

In the past, other dragons had had unpleasant incidents in which their own subjects had fallen victim. She imagined that death by gold coin was one of the nicer ways to die. At least with a clean shot through the head - quickly and the final sight was a pile of gold. Given the choice, those affected would probably still prefer to live on for the most part - there was always the odd fanatic.

And what dragon would be happy about a loss in the ranks of his subjects?

Getting good personnel was hard enough! And once you had some, their shelf life was also quite limited. Humans, with their meagre average lifespan of 70 years, were the least economical. No sooner had you trained one properly than you had to look for a replacement. Even with a transgenerational contract that guaranteed a reliable supply, this was a nuisance. That's why she had already distanced herself from them a long time ago.

How annoying, then, when you involuntarily got rid of a subject just because you were in a hurry for the next meal.

Besides —, Glacial Doom glanced at the dark brown tomcat, who couldn't be harmed by a storm of gold coins even if she wanted to, it's just very rude to throw things at your own guests.

Lord Mitten followed the huge dragon into the large tunnel that had been driven deep into the mountain. There were indentations carved into the rock at regular intervals, where precious artifacts and unusual souvenirs were displayed on a stone pedestal. Torches burning with eternal fire were mounted on the walls to the right and left of the treasures. Just for ambience of course, dragons could see perfectly in the dark.

He smiled. Glacial Doom always had a penchant for stylish furnishings, be it in her lair or in the gardens.

"Seems to me you've redecorated again since my last visit?" he said.

The dragon turned to him as it continued walking towards the dining hall.

"You've noticed?" A delighted smile spread across her face.

"I just couldn't see the skeletons anymore! It may be that showing off the remains of my greatest challengers in their heroic gear raises my standing with the other dragons. I was simply sick of the sight. And looking at fleshless carcasses doesn't necessarily help your own appetite either."

"Yes, yes - very stylish. Magnificent but not too over the top."

"Thank you."

The smile widened and a row of sharp fangs as big as himself flashed at him. Her golden eyes sparkled.

"And you haven't even seen everything yet! I really must show you the library, I'm sure you'll love it. And the parlor. We could even go there now —" Glacial Doom paused.

"No, ...not now. Let's eat first."

She turned her head forward again and walked resolutely towards the dining hall. No one had admired her interior for the last hundred years, so what did an hour or two matter.

It seems everyone has to carry one’s burden in this world, Lord Mitten thought.

Compassion spread through him.

It had to be challenging for the dragon. So many ideas and interior design projects and so few visitors to admire the results.

He sighed.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

After her father had died in the penultimate catastrophe, he had cautiously asked her after a while whether she would prefer to move south to her relatives - the few who were still left. But she had refused. Her heart was too attached to the home where she had grown up. And so she had stayed.

Good to have Cold Dawn around for a while, he thought.

Because of his age, she might not consider him a full-fledged companion, but the appreciation of good taste knows no age. And if you can cook well, you can't have too bad a taste yourself. He was convinced of this from the bottom of his heart.

Lord Mitten was happy for his friend.

They had reached the end of the tunnel, which opened up into a magnificent hall in front of them. The floor was made of a single piece of marble. It merged seamlessly into the walls of the circular room and the marble slowly faded into the shimmering, unworked rock on its way to the ceiling. The impossibly high ceiling had been left completely unhewn, with stalactites of various sizes jutting down from it into the room. Chandeliers were attached to the top of them, bathing the room in a warm golden light. The naturally occurring crystals in the ceiling sparkled incessantly, creating the illusion of a clear night sky with its thousands upon thousands of stars.

Lord Mitten took in the room for a moment.

Glacial Doom really is an artist. If I get my own property again in the future, I know who I'll turn to, he thought.

"Why don't you sit down?" said Glacial Doom, pointing forward with an inviting gesture.

Lord Mitten lowered his eyes and focused on the long table in the center of the room. The finest ‘drear’, a woven fabric of spider threads, served as a tablecloth and clothed the low jade table in silver. A silk seat cushion, also made of drear and embroidered with gold thread, had been placed on the floor for him.

How thoughtful of her, he sighed again inwardly. In the future, he would have to pay her a visit more often - even without a meal.

He sat down on the cushion and made himself comfortable. Glacial Doom sat down opposite him. On the floor, because she found all seating options except her treasure mountain inadequate and uncomfortable.

As soon as they were seated, Cold Dawn entered the room through another doorway, ... presumably. Because he was nowhere to be seen. A gilded plate, on which a tentacle of the Kraken was draped, blocked the view of him and floated into the room.

A delicious smell reached Lord Mitten's fine nose before the meal did. Saliva pooled in his mouth.

"Are you sure his father asked you for help and you didn't just kidnap his son after your last visit?"

"Like I said, I win my deals." Glacial Doom smiled smugly.

"And an ice emerald on top of that? You ripped off your brother, dear Glacial Doom."

"Nonsense." A deep laugh rolled out of her mouth. She turned to face her nephew.

"Cold Dawn, did I cheat your father when I took you in?"

The Kraken said "Not at all! My father was afraid until the very end that he had ripped you off. He told me before I left that I should make myself useful to whatever limited extent I could."

"You see?" She turned back to Lord Mitten and smiled with satisfaction.

"And now no more delays, otherwise the food will get cold. Cold Dawn, come and sit next to our guest. If you're clever, you can learn a lot from him."

The plate with the tentacle was lowered onto the table and the young dragon sat down next to the cat, politely making sure to keep enough distance from him.

Lord Mitten had a positive impression of Cold Dawn and could well imagine sharing some helpful advice with him. Especially as, if the younger generation behaved better than their parents and grandparents, he would save himself a lot of work in the future.

As he grabbed a crispy piece of Kraken and shoved it into his mouth, he wondered what books or insights into the workings of magical energy might be helpful to the dragon.

Stop.

The train of thought came to an abrupt halt.

What work? You've retired! No more work as a Guardian! a voice inside him shouted indignantly.

Lord Mitten breathed out slowly.

He began to chew thoughtfully on the kraken meat while his thoughts slowly picked up speed again.

Lord Mitten shook his head in disbelief inwardly. I seem to have been doing too well in recent years for such thoughts to have crept into my head.

Had he learned nothing?

For an oh-so-brief moment, he questioned his intelligence, because what was stupidity if not doing the same stupid stuff over and over again, regardless of experience?

Completely out of the question.

His self-confidence swiftly reclaimed the room and the kraken left his mouth in the direction of his stomach.

Excellent, he thought contentedly.

Far too good to spoil his appetite with unappetizing thoughts. He would deal with the problem that had arisen at a later date, he decided.

Either way, Glacial Doom had earned his support and so had her nephew, if he wasn't too clumsy. Because patience, as he had realized early on, was not one of his virtues.

"No one comes close to Starbound when it comes to telekinesis. You'd be well advised to write his advice deep into your heart," said Glacial Doom as she reached for a juicy slice.

"Ah." Lord Mitten paused for a moment.

He hadn't heard that name in a while.