On all accounts, the Legend of the Seven has been proven impossible. Mages, magicians, wizards, and sorcerers have repeatedly stressed the impossibility of such people to have ever existed. Yet their story inspires confidence in children who hear it. I refuse to succumb to the facts of the modern age and subscribe to the mysteries of the past. I believe in the Mists of Rathul, the Ents of Zan, the Dragons of Durn, the Oceans of Clim-Atz, the Blood Gold Sky, the Hardest Ground, and the Baths of Ryuv! For if they don't exist what use is the wonder of magic?
-Craddus Faul, Famed Historian, Speech at the Annual Scholar's Meet
Luck debated for a heartbeat's length on jumping down on top of Noshm as he passed under him. It would've been as easy as a few silent steps and quick vault over the guard railing. Luck wasn't a complete stranger to knocking people out from above. He checked himself, however, noticing both Ace and Maxworth making no moves.
Those two would know better than him.
"You can't get away with this! Magice will come looking!" The mage yelled, being dragged against his will.
Noshm grinned, stepping aside as an open elevator lifted both victims until they were level with the glass cage. The knight was stoic, tugged roughly by the slightly larger humanoid bots. The robed mage fared less well. He struggled, freezing the bots and deterring their task as much as possible.
They led the two towards a suspended pathway above the glass cage that ended in an open horseshoe.
The mage stared wide-eyed, pausing in his struggle, as a section of the cage below him glowed dimly before opening slightly. A claw slammed against the opening with a sickening screech, almost immediately as the opportunity was there.
"Bastard." He spat.
And it was Noshm's mistake that his attention shifted long enough to gloat as it was in that exact moment that the knight's armor split into itchingly familiar scythes, slicing off the bonds of both him and his allied mage.
The mage yelled arcane words, Luck's Omnilingual scrambling to translate something akin to "Be still and freeze." What followed was the instant freezing of his immediate surroundings. The robot closest him to him flash froze into a sculpture of pristine ice.
"Bout damn time." The ice mage growled, breaking a frozen finger off the encased robot reaching for him.
"Trespassers!" Noshm yelled, fiddling furiously with controls interior to his mechanized legs. "You are in the heart of my creation. Don't think escape is even possible, fools!"
The knight whom Luck had assumed was male had created a larger weapon that drew from her armor. She shattered the frozen enemies with what Luck could only liken to an enlarged baseball bat.
"After that? We'll kill you first, dick." She said.
Luck, Maxworth, and Ace, despite all the commotion, stood stock still, observing the happenings. Luck was trained to remain reactionary in such situations. Maxworth, Luck thought, had similar habits drilled into him. All observed the tidings below with almost cold, cutting eyes. That was, until that last line.
Luck made to look at Ace to find the man staring intently at the knight before he returned to Luck an odd look.
"That... was English." Ace said slowly.
"It was." Luck said slowly, recognizing something in the voice, both he and Ace willing the knight to turn around.
"And that voice." Ace continued. "It sounded like..."
Then, the knight turned, face exposed.
The moment between breaths. Stillness eternal. Round-faced and roughly battered, the intelligence of a Lockyer shone through the cold grime in the form of bright brown eyes. Lifeless, a hole in her head, lying dead in a puddle of her still-pooling blood. Her figure, outlined in a shimmering pool of reflective metal. His sister, alive and well.
Tate Lockyer.
Luck was up, dashing toward the spider-webbed scaffolding against the wall. Moments later, Ace was behind him. Wordlessly, his eyes roamed the vertical jungle gym, darting back to the level of the glass cage, then to his sister fighting on the horseshoe.
His calloused hand found a single handhold before his mind took over, finding paths upwards through the bars, mesh, and railings. Spirit's guidance plotted a course as well. A new sense of balance allowed him to adjust grips and switch between bars with fewer points of contact than he'd usually risk. He hefted himself upward, using his upper arms only for speed. The burn would dissipate in moments thanks to his regeneration. He vaulted over the railing, landing amidst what seemed to be some type of worker bots.
Luck's eyes were focused amber.
Ace, who had been following Luck hauled himself over the guard railing.
"I can't zap them all, Lucky." Ace said simply, as their eyes turned red. "I can try though."
A blast of power sent the first group against the wall while an arc of lightning hopped frantically between four more of the workers, melting parts of their body to slag. And like a blaring alarm, thunder slammed the eardrums of every living being in the large room. Cries went up from below as a large roken began creating problems for the bots beneath.
Noshm yelled something, but Luck's ears were ringing. He didn't have time to parse out his sentence. He only acknowledged openings in the room that hadn't been there before and the large contingent of bots moving towards their level, using the elevators or outright climbing up the scaffolding. It didn't seem they were concerned for the structural support as Luck was.
His chitin carapace flowed throughout his body. Black carapace grew upon abs, shoulders, and arms as he ducked under the saw-blade of a worker, easily pushing the bot off balance and over the edge. His clothes tightened with the carapace finishing and he removed them leaving alone his pants and shoes, sighing at the inconvenience. He heard the bot crash into the floor and found its limbs dented, rendering it useless.
Erok waved upwards, slamming his great hammer against the bot before warding more off. Luck smirked, noticing Nayah missing. Where had Maxworth gone for that matter? He had no time to think more on it.
His stamina was near limitless but he couldn't push them all off. They left fewer and fewer openings, avoiding Ace and moving towards Luck instead when the path allowed. Their simple mass was a problem Luck couldn't immediately overcome.
Around Ace and further up were piles of slag still hot to the touch. Ace had barely kept the space between them free of the bots. Robots had climbed onto the pathway between them. Some held saw-blades, others held drills, but the vast majority seemed to have thumbed hands, which was a sight in itself. Luckily, they didn't know how to use them for combat.
Still, Luck would rather not be literally disarmed. He didn't doubt the strength of his chitin but he didn't want a repeat of the explosion that took chunks from him earlier.
Even here, surrounded by metal and alloy and the artificial, Luck held a connection to nature as strong as if he stood in the most revered of forests. Luck knew, in Aerae, magic was just as naturally occurring as any regular animal. And it was with that mindset that he drew upon one of the few magical species of his Grove.
The aspect of the macid came to him.
Already, his chitin armor coated his body, but he felt the aspects combine and link and connect the way only Nature magic could. In moments, Luck's carapace shone dimly with reflective transparent-green fluid, glands formed right below the chitin to coat the body. Luck felt slight fatigue as there was a harder tug on his mana, but his physical regeneration somewhat made up for it despite the fatigue not being material at all.
The next worker bot that lunged for his arm held on for no longer than two seconds before magically enhanced acid began to eat away at a large part of its limb. Luck shook the decay off, walking forward through the crowd of metal. He made it to Ace, hissing metal behind him as a pathway in his shape was carved through the robots. Add to those odd formations of melted slag and behind them, the scaffolding might've been an abstract art museum of half-made sculptures. He strode up beside Ace who had turned around while keeping a constant stream of lightning forward.
Ace rose an eyebrow before gesturing forward. "You first then."
"No complaints here." Luck smirked, rushing forward.
The acid of the macid was especially effective as its reaction ratio was heavily favored toward the acid. It took a mass degrees larger to dilute the acid completely and its consistency and magic lent itself to spread forward as it ate away at its target. In short, in large masses of melee opponents, the macid was perfect for this situation, especially so given the fact no one but Ace and Erok had any effective countermeasures against simply resilient opponents.
Luck darted among the scaffolding, somehow instinctively knowing how to make the acid inert as he vaulted over guard rails and hopped between metal support poles that wouldn't be wise to eat away at. Instead of succumbing to an uncountable amount of small blows Luck struck in advance against joints where he could and torsos when the opportunity aligned. A single blow was enough to incite the dissolving process.
The workers, though dangerous in droves, proved utterly useless against Luck. He was a black figure, glimmering in clear green liquid that melted his way towards Noshm. It was a few minutes in when Ace decided to stay back and conserve his mana. The workers would simply throw themselves against Luck and there was nothing they could do as they disintegrated. He moved in a slight rhythm, ducking and weaving and striking while moving forward, upward, and across gaps in unstable pathways that went unfixed. Probably due to the fact that no organic creature used the pathways anyways.
They reached the pathway leading directly over the glass cage after what felt like ages.
Noshm stood on mechanized legs, powerful pistons visibly correcting and adjusting as the half-gnome half-goblin glared at Luck. Tate and the blue robed mage stood across from Noshm, the two parties on opposite sides of the horseshoe.
Noshm whispered to himself but Luck's enhanced eyes and Omnilingual allowed him to read the lips of the gnome-goblin. "More intruders? It won't be long now." He growled, staring into one of the opened sections of the walls before he yelled across the gap in the horseshoe. "My combat autolings are returning and then you'll be drake feed, fools! Surrender and I might grant you an easy death!" Flames burst forth from his half-mech.
The ice mage whispered something, jabbing forward in respectable form. "When the Zones thaw you blasted halfling!" Luck deemed him capable. It didn't seem that either had noticed Luck or Ace, however.
A cloud of frost met the flame and violent steam erupted between them. The drake below roared his breath blasting plumes of frost upward from the cage, creating even lower visibility. Luck felt his carapace vibrate with the noise, grimacing at the effect on his ears.
Noshm, in the cover of steam and powered by his mech legs, powered around the horseshoe. Luck caught a glimpse of Tate and the mage reacting before bots blocked his view. They were crawling from below, though they were nowhere near the level of the floor or any scaffolding. Luck looked down to find that Noshm's "autolings" like ants, had created a bridge of themselves to climb up to the horseshoe esque path.
There was banging below and a large chunk of grasping robots toppled over to the floor like a tree before they could latch onto the pathway. Luck peered over the edge and found Erok smashing away like a lumberjack, unharmed but looking tired, at the base of the robot-made tower.
"Lucky." Ace gestured. "I say we just blast through. God, this would be quite the easy task with a gun."
"I agree. He's rather exposed up there isn't he?" He responded. "Have to admit though, magic is pretty fun."
"After you, man."
They, or rather Luck, barreled forward, leaning on his enhanced stamina and strength from his traits as well as Saga's bond to keep his balance and head straight. He left a mass of robots dissolving with a hiss behind him. A saw blade came for his neck, a particularly vulnerable spot, and Luck swiveled right and tripped the bot with an acid-coated leg. He tapped one on the chest and pushed one's face away, acid eating at both in the moments after. The hardest part was moving the bodies out of the way so he could keep momentum.
It wasn't long before they came to the base of the U-shaped path. Now, they were perilously above the hole in the cage. A single clawed hand still scraped at the opening to no avail. They would have to watch their steps.
Noshm, twice as tall as either ice mage or his sister, kept advancing. Jets of flame, rather predictable Luck thought, erupted from the chassis of his legs. In this way, the mage was kept busy while other sections of the gnome-goblin's chassis opened up to fire shrapnel. Close enough to a shotgun Luck thought.
Tate held a shield, still not having noticed him and focusing on the shrapnel. The ice mage cooled the area of flames, raising what looked like small ice people that served only to divert the flames for scant moments. Tate was shoved backward painfully with each sharp explosion of shrapnel.
Luck pulled hard on Saga, still somewhere along the walls.
The shar sensed this. I am with you, Amber Eyes.
Always, Saga.
Luck staggered as a wave of weakness took over him. His mind fogged for a dangerous second, his step faltering, even as his senses enhanced and his nails sharped.
Mana capacity reaching threshold. A magical practitioner of greater skill would have trouble weaving these many aspects together. It is an unprecedented event that your body can hold them in equilibrium. Extended use may be damaging not only to your material self but your magical projection as well. Spirit chimed, a calm voice amid the chaos.
Luck, breathing hard, responded. "You didn't stop me?" He was too tired to communicate mentally.
The Mk3 has no authority to arrest user control unless strictly given access. Advance warnings can only be predicted to an extent, such a sudden draw on another aspect was unexpected. The Mk3 may divert resources to reading surface thoughts and mapping out user behavior if it is acceptable. 46% of users allow such mapping.
Luck reset himself. His breath leveled as his focus sharpened, easily seen in the feline eyes he now possessed narrowing at Noshm. Under his acidic carapace, taut muscles tensed. He took in the sights around his peripheral. Bots unable to reach the necessary height to interfere. A deep bass ringing from the open sections of the wall that could only be combat bots, which Luck assumed were the blade-spheres and gorilla bots. Ace behind him, Maxworth and Nayah missing. Saga somewhere higher along the walls, watching and waiting.
Luck sprinted forward, lighter on his feet than one would assume.
"Fuck off, bastard!" Tate yelled, odd barrels forming in the front of her shield. And then the sound of a ringing gunshot. Bullets? The bullets pinged off his metal chassis. A miss.
Luck dashed into the fight right as Tate's shield flowed up and down her body. She wobbled on her feet but her eyes widened in surprise as she caught sight of Luck. She wouldn't have recognized him. She would've seen a black figure darting low towards Noshm's mechanized legs.
Another jet of flame and in her shield's place a solid wall of perfect sparkling ice erected.
Luck slid under Noshm and kicked violently at both his legs. He was surprised when his carapaced legs rebounded violently. He repositioned but Noshm's pistoned legs got away from him. In a motion too fast for Luck to follow Noshm had his shrapnel gun pointed at Luck's chest.
"Die, intruder."
Luck blinked, two things running through his mind. One, his mana was too low while maintaining these aspects to pause time. Even at rest, that magic took a large chunk of his mana. And two, he was about to get shot in the chest.
He threw his arms up in front of him as he was impacted off his feet, thrown against the floor.
He felt fine. He sprung onto his feet immediately, not taking it for granted. The carapace's kinetic sponges did the trick and the carapace itself remained only scratched. Noshm jerked in surprise, lining up another shot.
A crackle of lightning drew Luck's attention for a second before ozone filled the air and Noshm's half-mech was brought to its knees.
He turned back towards his tired friend. "Thanks, Ace." He called briefly, dashing forward.
"Wasn't me!" He called back.
Just then he saw a sky-blue streak paint the air above. The sounds of whistling wind and crackling lightning followed the color as it danced about jetting blade-spheres.
Tric.
Tric led the blade-spheres on chase, darting into one of the many tunnels. Nearly all of the sharp orbs followed her trail.
Noshm glared upwards and then back down to Luck who was charging him. "Enough!" And a pulse of orange energy erupted from his mech, crackling tendrils of not-quite electricity licking at metal and flesh alike in the span of a second.
Silence.
Then Luck was on the floor. Immobile. For a second he thought there was a weight on him but he couldn't even move his head to check. His body was unresponsive, though at least he breathed. But this didn't bode well. His carapace remained but from the tilt of his head, he could only see Noshm.
Scanning paralysis. Somatic nervous system rendered completely inert. Exceptional Regeneration and Troll's Blood interactions with this type of effect have yet to be observed. Without any outside factors, this paralysis might last hours or longer.
"To think I had to sacrifice the unique mana stones of my own legs!" He roared. The half gnome-goblin dismounted, a small body, maybe five feet tall emerged. He wore dirty leathers, covered in blast marks and ash. Upon his tool belt was an uncountable amount of knick-knacks. He pulled a knife from somewhere and pointed at Luck with it. "You." He spoke. "You've set me back, dirty human. I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" He ran, scrambling on fours at times.
Luck only stared at him, unable to speak as he walked with a knife in hand. Luck was calm despite all this. In terms of victims, Noshm had made the worst possible choice.
The halfling stood above Luck. "Die! Die!" He drove the knife towards Luck's chest. The knife broke.
Luck's mouth did not smirk.
But the halfling wasn't an idiot. And Luck felt his heart somewhat quicken when Noshm disappeared for a moment before reappearing with a saw blade and drill, components separated from his worker bots. A chilling grin crept up the gnome-goblin's face as he worked Luck's carapace. The saw ripped finely at Luck's armor before Noshm gave up and switched to the drill. A crack formed on Luck's chest and he quickly made peace with the fact he was about to experience immense pain. Torture wasn't something new, unfortunately.
He'd be a damn long distraction though.
Then a silver dart launched the gnome-goblin at an incredibly painful speed.
"Hmm, it seems he possesses some type of forcefield, sir." A familiar voice sounded. "Shame. Certain magical shields are easily penetrable with my weapons. This one, not so much."
It was Maxworth.
Luck still couldn't move. "The others are paralyzed. I was unaffected. Erok is below keeping the larger bots busy with Nayah's support. Tric is keeping the smaller orbs busy as well. I did not anticipate your sudden move to help the two strangers, forgive me for being late. They are limp as well." Maxworth said. "That said, I believe I have a gnoblin to defeat. Curious, it seems he inherits the inventiveness of both his ancestor races."
A roar shook the room again, encompassing even the hammering of Erok's blows below. The Frost Drake below sounded angry.
Noshm's voice came into focus as the roar receded. "My work cannot be undone! Ethodthem wills it! A Quest to conquer Last Light. The rewards are immense! None will know a halfling as successful as I!"
It was a foolish dream. He imagined a massive robot emerging from the mountain being pelted by whatever spells or weapons Ardun had at hand. Was it warded against acid as Noshm's mechanized legs were? If something in nature could produce acid as strong as the macid's then what could a devoted mage do? Could his creation withstand every manner of spell? Was is structurally sound and immune to infiltration? The planning and schematics for such a project would be the work of multiple people over the course of decades or even centuries.
Maxworth replied. "That is impossible." And Luck could make out the noise of Maxworth's weapons rebounding. They were fighting then. A forcefield against Maxworth's daggers. Luck didn't discount the odd gizmos and gadgets he remembered hung from the gnome-goblin's toolbelt.
Explosions and sharp cracks littered the suspended pathway. Cold air accompanied another roar from the glass cage below. There was a clash of blades he couldn't see. Another explosion. An explosion again, this time more shrill. Cursing and more cursing.
"What kind of autoling are you?" Noshm shouted in surprise. Another explosion.
"I am not some simple autoling." Maxworth began, a seriousness to his voice. "I am a Gentleman. A race of people created by a magicist that had unlocked the secrets of perpetual motion." Maxworth had an emphasis on his last words as Luck heard his blade strike forcefield again. "Do not forget that you pale in comparison to a true inventor. The Gentlemen, so revered, my creator's life work, were even gifted by the God of Invention with souls. Such was the respect he garnered as a magicist."
"Absurd! That's not possible!" Noshm shouted in disbelief.
"Everything is possible."
Luck's hand twitched.
Exceptional Regeneration cells are adapting and recovering electrical charge between nerves. User's body's bioelectricity is being realigned. Somatic nervous system will return voluntary control in approximately two minutes.
They moved into Luck's vision and he caught Noshm's gaze glance to one of the sections of the room that opened into tunnels. He grinned eerily as something stepped through, just barely visible in Luck's peripheral. He tried to crane his neck, tried to follow Maxworth's own gaze. The metallic man bent his knee.
An orange blast of power shot Maxworth dead center, throwing him off the pathway and over the edge.
Luck tried to follow Maxworth's arc but his head wouldn't follow. At the very least, he didn't fall into the drake cage. But with Maxworth down no one could stop Noshm from killing everyone.
"Finally." Noshm muttered. "Those combat bots take forever to move through the facility. Even my scouting orbs and lifters arrived first." He said this all as he walked over to Luck holding some caustic glowing rocks. He tossed them between his hands, staring at Luck. "Now, you wouldn't happen to want to tell me how you got in, would you? Or better yet, let me know who might miss you?" His smile was all yellow and breath.
Inwardly, Luck grimaced at his stinky clothes. There was no style there. Only a smattering of leather bruised by what looked like failed experiments or backlash from whatever explosions he was throwing around. It didn't look the like he had any form of magic what with all the technology surrounding him.
Luck was sprawled, one arm under him and one across the floor with his legs together. The arm under him twitched. He was slowly regaining feeling, but he didn't need to actually give anything away by testing that himself. Spirit had been feeding him his body's responsiveness every few seconds.
After Luck only deigned to stare at him, "Not that you can talk, but you don't seem like the type to, even if you could." Noshm frowned. He looked down at Luck thoughtfully when there was shouting below. He clicked his tongue. "More intruders." His eyes scanned the entirety of the room. "My combat bots will deal with this. What a mess you made, dirty human."
Mana based forcefield operating at around 50% power. There is a physical aspect to the barrier as evidenced by Maxworth's blows. Prolonged exposure to magically enhanced acid may be enough to drain the remaining power.
What's my body responsiveness at?
87%
He took, of all things, an ugly looking stick out of one of his pouches. "You are a pain. Nothing can set me back though. My creation is almost powered and once I erase you, intruders, I will be free to complete it. If this does not kill you, however, I will simply feed you to the drake."
Warning magical artifact detected. Ice infused wand.
An artifact? A powerful glowing light signaled the flesh in Luck's chest to freeze like a blizzard in his lungs. Pain erupted as lances of pure cold shot deep into his body. Luck doubled over with the impact. Parts of his carapace became incredibly brittle as Noshm recognized progress. "Good. Three more shall kill you." Luck's breath was hard to catch, freezing air coming from his mouth, he even felt his heartbeat coming slower. Repeated punches of cold to the chest. Good, solid, bone-breaking punches of shivering chill. That's what the after effects felt like.
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Noshm threw both hands upward, pointing the wand straight down like a dagger.
100%
Time froze. Luck got his arm under him and rolled out from under the wands trajectory. His carapace had disappeared, having released it to free up mana for the time pause. It was extraneous anyway. Luck could regenerate most things, the carapace was a countermeasure against being delimbed, fire, and pain in general.
Now, with seconds to spare Luck was shirtless, glistening with reflective transparent-green acid. He went for a vicious killing elbow to Noshm's face but a barrier formed inches from impact. It flickered oddly with time still paused. He did this twice more in the span of two seconds.
Time resumed as Noshm's barrier broke with the sound of powering down machinery. Luck's elbow, still going for a fourth hit, shot right into Noshm's face. His elbow landed with a sickening squelch, the result of enhanced muscle and bone density along with years of practice.
His wand clattered to the side, inert and useless. "What...how?" He sputtered, clutching at the bloody mess that was his face.
"Shut up." Luck spat sharply. "How long are-"
Luck noticed Noshm's eyes move down the pathway.
Behind you, Amber Eyes.
And then there was a crash as Luck turned around. He found Saga mid-air, having jumped from above. A tall humanoid robot was moving silently among slag and melted metal, sneaking up on Luck with mechanical steps. Saga's claws sunk into its metal neck before beheading it completely. Saga disengaged with poise, landing perfectly on all fours as the body of the combat bot fell over the guard railing. Saga had probably recovered from the paralyzation due to the regenerative traits he received from Luck.
Luck looked back down to Noshm, now hovering above the shorter gnome-goblin. "How long are my friends paralyzed?" He spoke in angry gnomic.
Noshm's eyes widened as Luck raised his arm, stuttering. "That could be-"
"How long?" He yelled, kicking the gnome-goblin in the ribs. Noshm spattered out green-blue blood.
The gnome-goblin groaned, curling up into himself. "Hours. How are you moving?" He gasped, reaching for something at his toolbelt. "How did you just... How?"
Luck crushed the offending hand eliciting a pain-filled shriek. "Anymore of that and your whole arm goes." He said, his voice as cold as his chest. "You should've let us cross the Frozen Zones unbothered. It would've saved our time, and your life."
Luck dragged the small halfling's body towards the middle of the horseshoe. The drake below roared, encompassing the entire room again. He could feel frozen parts of his chest vibrate in response to the frost drake's cry. He grimaced, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling. Spirit wasn't needed to numb this level of pain.
"P-please, I'll do anything!"
"Enough stalling. You think I don't notice your bots below? They won't reach you in time and if you don't want to risk your own life I suggest you hold off on the energy blasts." Luck, holding the Noshm by the neck, jerked him violently towards the edge of the pathway. "I doubt that'll kill me though. I'm a sticky bastard when I want to be."
Luck was all too aware of the combat variants that had poured through the access tunnels. Spirit's analysis of their capabilities was only assuaged by the sounds of Erok and Maxworth, who had survived the fall, below. It seemed Erok was as unaffected by the paralysis as Maxworth was.
Two meters tall. Energy weapons similar to blade-sphere self-destruct mechanism. They are made of a heavier, denser cousin alloy to the blade-spheres and gorilla bots. Hacking and system interfacing prove futile. The autolings are automated independently, whatever directs their actions is not computer based.
On the end of the horseshoe, both the ice mage and Tate lay still, Luck affording his sister a glance. Ace was the same behind him but for the most part, they were all fine. Luck's eyes were cold amber when he looked back down at his hostage. He believed everyone deserved a second chance, but this gnome had threatened family and friends. Luck was going to kill him, there was no doubt.
But training came before emotion. He would have his fill of information first.
Noshm was large for being so short. Luck had a firm grip on the bloodied gnome-goblin's neck. If not for his massive levels of stamina he would already be out of breath from this simple exercise. Noshm was heavy. The metal plates covering his arms and sections of his skull added to the weight. What Luck couldn't see earlier was that his legs had similar augments, though for whatever purpose Luck couldn't guess.
"Are there others like you in the Zones?" Luck asked, making sure the gnome-goblin knew where his hand was.
Noshm choked. "No." He said, "There is none like me."
There was a pnuematic release of air from one of the sections of metal on Noshm's shoulder and it slid backward revealing a compartment. Suddenly, Luck had a syringe in his arm, pumping clear fluid into his bloodstream. Luck looked down, recognizing the name of the poison as Spirit listed it. It was one of the poisons coating Nayah's glassware in Dersoc.
Efrhm Thrun poison neutralized.
Luck gently pulled out the syringe, made a show of glancing at it as one might a toy, and held it point-first above Noshm's widening and fearful eye. "Now, next time you try that, I'm going to kill you Noshm. I'll do it slowly too so we have as much time together as we need. Tell me why you're trying to take over Last Light."
Noshm wasn't as pathetic as the people from the city. When faced with fear people normally gave in, but Luck could respect the fire and ingenuity in Noshm's eyes, even as the gnome-goblin ran his mouth. "F-for power! I am the smartest bastard child of both gnomes and goblins. A true specimen of gnoblin taking both crafts to their highest plateaus! I will kill you a hundred times over to prove my worth, dirty human. Ethodthem will grant me the power for my deeds!"
"A genius, huh?"
"Yes! A prodigy! I have altered my body. Weapons and modifications, tricks and poisons! I can do the same for you, human! If you will free me I will let you help me take over Last Light and together we can reap the rewards!" He spoke loud, but for all his volume his voice was calm and collected. As Luck understood it, this was a real offer, he could tell that much but Luck wasn't interested.
Pay Heed!
Hidden Quest Branch!: Join Noshm and Conquer Ardun! (Replaces: Free the Frost Drake!)
The gnoblin inventor Noshm invites you to share in his glory and plan to conquer Ardun. Use the magic of the Frost Drake and inhabitants of the Frozen Zones to power his Massive Autoling and march on Ardun!
Rewards: Biological Implants, Treasures of Ardun, Greater Blessing (x2), Greater Power, Greater Magical Trait, Unknown
Accept/Decline
Luck spared the window a cursory glance, wondering at the rewards. His mind raced at the possibilities behind those "Greater" prefixes. His choice, however, was already made. The tug from One with Nature was a part of him, a part of his identity that he welcomed as he entered this world. Besides that, he just wasn't the type to raze a city.
Another window popped up noting that Luck declined the branch and his previous quest came up again.
Pay Heed!
Hidden Quest!: Free the Frost Drake (Replaces: Free the Frozen Zones of Foreign Influence! and Conquering the Frozen Zones!)
A Frost Drake, awakened by Ethodthem, arose from an icy slumber only to succumb to the ambitious Noshm to be used as a mana battery for his greatest creation. After being offered to join in his Quest, you've declined in favor of your values. Free the Frost Drake and stop Noshm's Massive Autoling from seeing the light of day!
Rewards: Chance of Blessing, Chance of Lesser Boon, Ally, Information, Unknown
Luck removed items from Noshm's toolbelt as he spoke. Being thorough, while keeping Noshm, easily subdued. "Unfortunately, I am a druid, and you've both upset the balance of the Frozen Zones and threatened my friends and family. For that, though I respect your ambition, you die." Luck simply kicked Noshm off the pathway, watching as he fell screaming and spitting towards the opening in the glass cage.
Before he even fell through a claw made of ice pierced the gnoblin before retracting back into the cage. The shriek of the frost drake shook Luck's heart like cold air to the lungs. The ice in his chest, the frozen feeling, began to fade and thaw.
The roar came again and this time something in Luck's mind clicked. There was a tug on the knowledge of the Druids of Old that he received as a Greater Boon and his inherent knowledge of languages tied with it. He focused on the roar, its pitch, and its depth. He found himself not within the sound, but outside of it, looking in.
And then he heard words.
"Time unimaginable spent frozen in ice and I awake to captivity?" It roared. "What magical cell have I been imprisoned that withstands high orders of Ice magics?" The deep roar, Luck realized, had been the drake furious in its captivity, contemplating its cell. "I require freedom! To spread my wings! To soar the icy winds above! Free me! I cannot live on prey served without the hunt!" The cage rattled dully, whatever glowing enchantments keeping the drake from escape.
For moments, he simply marveled at the drake that such a creature could exist. He looked at the items on the floor, taken from Noshm's belt. A tablet marked with glowing letters, odd glowing pouches, another wand, a metal cylinder. How could he imprison a creature so magnificent? Luck shook his head, all too familiar what a thirst for power can do to someone.
The Frost Drake had an old tie to nature, but Luck felt with a sureness that the Frost Drake could coexist in this day as well. He opted to leave the problem of the drake for later. The sounds of battle below, which amounted to the dull clanging and smashing of metal, were also not of much concern. From Spirit's analysis, Saga could easily dispatch the scant few combat bots, which were just sturdier metal with energy weapons. The design was somehow of much less quality than the gorilla bots or blade-spheres. He trusted his familiar to deal with them.
With a quick glance below Nayah had finally appeared melting the bots with lances of fire that Luck felt warmed the room ever so slightly. Erok and Maxworth, similarly had no trouble maneuvering around and dispatching the gorilla bots and humanoid workers below with the blade-spheres being occupied by Tric and not having to protect anyone from their harassment.
Somewhat unceremoniously, Luck gathered the comically limp bodies of Ace, Tate and the ice mage. He wasn't shy to joke about their plight. Ace rolled his eyes because he still could and Luck placed him comfortably on the pathway, all the while joking. The ice mage Luck gathered in a similar fashion, though the man seemed slightly unsettled at Luck's lighthearted joking, all things considered Luck may perhaps have seemed mentally unstable. Luck did note that the man, unlike most of the people he had met so far, was decidedly human. Through his joking, he noticed the robed man's calm breathing despite his situation as well as the occasional twitch of his arm despite Noshm's admittance that the paralyzation would last hours.
When Luck moved to grab Tate, who was facing away and still hadn't seen Luck without his hard chitin carapace, the metal surrounding her spiked towards Luck's chest. It stopped inches from his body. Luck, however, was unconcerned at their lethality or sharpness. He wondered at what type of magic allowed her control and what type of metal it was though right now it wasn't a concern. He simply stepped around the spikes and into his sister's view, ignoring the metal cutting into his bare chest and arms.
Tate's brown eyes, the ones he had grown up to find always looking up at him, widened ever so slightly despite the paralysis.
Luck's controlled smirk turned into an uncontrolled grin and then a full-on smile until he finally burst out laughing. "You should see the look on your face, Tee." He smiled. "It looks like you've seen a ghost. Or maybe a demon." He grinned, unable to stop himself from using the title he so loathed for the joke he knew his sister loved.
The metal spikes did not retract.
Tate's eyes searched Luck's face, a measure of suspicion in them. But they calmed down once Luck confirmed it was him. There were a series of methods for a Lockyer to confirm their identity to each other given circumstances where such a thing was necessary. In Luck's case, he liked to think he was the only one knew Tate's old crush.
"You know, Ace is over there limp. Should I lay you right beside him?" He grinned at Tate's glaring eyes even as the suspended metal spikes sharpened a degree.
He gave a softer smile. "It's good to see you, Tee. Really good." Her eyes softened to that and the spikes retracted. "You'll be unparalyzed in few hours time. Or you can drink my blood and see what that does." He smirked at her. "Yeah, I thought not. Well, you can save your questions for later. I know you'll have them. I do too. For now, I'm not sure if you got the Quest, but I'm going to see what I can do about that Frost Drake." She gave him a look. "What's with that look? Come one, I'm sure I'll be fine. You know your older brother, though I suppose you haven't seen me in a while, huh?" Luck laid her comfortably on her side by Ace and the mage, putting her a ways away from them.
"I'll be back." He said.
He walked to what would be the dip in the horseshoe shape, staring down at the glass cage below. He could make out only mist and frost, curling around the opening in a dense fog before spilling off the sides of the glass.
A roar exploded from the opening, sending plumes of icy snow upward like a geyser. "Freedom! Free me from this infernal cage!"
Spirit analyzed the snow. A drake's breath attack. Infused with magic inherently attuned to the Frost Drake. The temperature is low enough to flash freeze near anything. Beware.
Luck nodded, the design of the above pathway was so that anyone standing above the cage was perfectly safe, unless they were pushed off of course, which was Noshm had been intending to do.
He took a seat on the edge of the pathway, letting his legs hang off the side. From here, he could see Maxworth and Erok dealing with the remaining few gorilla bots, even noticing a few combat bots lying among them.
The words came like a churning waterfall, somehow always having been there. He knew that just as well as speaking Draconian, the drakes could be spoken to in the language of the druids as they were as part of nature as they were sentient beings. It wasn't as if his connection to One with Nature drew from some source of knowledge, but there was a definite resonance when the knowledge of the Druids of Old came to the forefront of his mind. They were just simple phrases and wordings, not enough to convey any real meaning to a drake in its own language, but perhaps enough to get a point across with enough gesturing and miming if a drake would even allow it. What really drew everything together as he spoke was his Omnilingual trait, another part of his brain unlocking the language, as if it was always there, which it was.
His voice came deeper than it should've, more powerful as he opted for Draconian. "Rest easy, friend. I will free you." The words were from the throat and stayed there, vibrating between the lower pitches and ceasing with tearing growls.
The thrashing below, of which Luck didn't even notice until now, stopped, leaving the large chamber silent. "Who are you that speaks the language of the Drakes? You sound small, friend."
"The size of your savior matters not I imagine, great drake." Luck grinned to himself, checking the markings on the glass. "Only that you are free." The etchings glowed, indicative of magic. Luck stared at them, somewhat tickled.
"Truer words have not been spoken in eons." The drake replied. "Who has imprisoned me so that I may rip his innards from his gut and freeze his head before I shatter it between my claws?" It roared, this time with such anger that Maxworth and Erok glanced towards Luck in concern. He waved at them, searching for what bothered him about the etchings.
"I've just previously delivered him to you, friend. I believe you've already eaten him from the sounds I had heard." Lost in thought, he allowed some of his sarcasm to leak. Luck chided himself. "Even one as small as I can recognize the sound of our size being devoured."
An inhalation below and Luck thought the drake was about to breathe ice again before he realized it for what it was. "You amuse me, friend. What news then, of my cage? I long to be free, to thank you, and be off. To soar the frozen winds, to explore what has changed in my absence. Perhaps you might tell me, savior friend?"
Spirit, anything on these etchings? They were large, as warranted by the massive cage, so Luck could easily afford a view of them. Straight lines, curves, circles, all stylized almost like water, all flow and ebb. They seem oddly familiar. What am I missing?
Nothing. The flow of mana is working the same way as regular enchantments, however. Even then, the Mk3 has no data on enchantments save for the most basic of ones. These etchings have no match with anything in my database. Spirit replied.
"You're aware you've been asleep, friend?" Luck tuned back into his conversation with the Frost Drake.
"Yes, I chose to hibernate as my kind were hunted, friend. Frozen in ice, I awoke only to be entrapped in this! I had enough time to realize Ethodthem had updated just recently, too much time. Perhaps that is the reason I awoke in the first place."
"I regret to inform you, great drake. I am as new to this world as you are. I've only arrived just weeks ago. All old and new to you, is all new to me. You are trapped, being used as magic battery to power a contraption I doubt your captor actually designed to raze a city I doubt he could."
"Ah, I see. I am curious now, how you look my friend. To think, I was awoken from my slumber for this."
"You will see soon, friend. I will not leave you here. A druid leaves no creature of nature stranded."
"You're a druid? You must be from another plane to have only been here weeks and attain druidship." The rumble came in surprise. "There were not many, if at all, during my time. But now... yes, I feel your tie to nature. A knight of nature, to save me? I suppose it is fitting. I am ever more curious about your appearance then."
"A moment to think, my friend. The magic surrounding your cage is befuddling. I will need peace to think upon it, apologies."
"Of course, your time is yours, friend. I'll not be going anywhere." The Frost Drake joked.
Luck pondered the etchings. He should understand them, because of his knowledge of all languages, a boon he never truly grasped the value of until recently. And he did, to a degree, but there was still something off about them. Then, even if he did understand the language what use was that?
It was evident they were for containment, that much was true. A quick query to Spirit brought up some possible enchantments. Of them, there were many dealing with resistances to physical forces and temperature changes. He assumed those could possibly be represented somehow here.
He rummaged through Noshm's things, still by the edge of the pathway but not so much to be in danger of being knocked off. A tablet, wand, glowing pouches, and a metal cylinder. His attention immediately slid to the tablet, seeming to be some kind of control for the cage. It was a smooth rock but carved intricately with symbols Luck simply couldn't fathom.
He looked for matching symbols on the glass cage until a stupidly simple througt struck him.
The cage, for whatever reason, was upside down. "Really?" Luck groaned, likewise flipping the tablet over.
He understood the etchings as soon as he flipped them over in his head. There were sections carved with an old writing, similar in symbolism to English, yet mixed with odd emphasis on tapering letters and curves of the words. He cared not for most of the other wording, though he noted "drain", "harvest", and something akin to "destroy". The translations weren't perfect but he focused on "release" and ignored the other sections of the tablet.
Instinctually, he reached out with his mana and pressed the button.
A pneumatic hiss exploded from the glass cage, sending frost and ice outward in a ring. The glow of the cage diminished while the whole cube unfolded carefully to reveal something magnificent.
The Frost Drake, all glittering ice, and snow stretched to its full height, bringing its head level to the platform upon which Luck sat. It spent moments looking around and Luck admired the ridges along its neck, the ice-like scales covering the beast. A crown of icicles, as if frozen, lay across its head. The head itself was covered in solid clear ice, like a helmet that allowed the ferocity of the creature's visage still to scare its victims. Teeth as sharp as glass lined its maw. Behind it, wings like the layer of ice upon frozen lakes stretched beautifully and satisfyingly. It rested on all fours, though Luck could barely make out most of its body from his vantage point. Its tail swung around behind it and Luck could hear the crashing of metal as a result.
Pay Heed!
Hidden Quest Complete!: Free the Frost Drake (Replaces: Free the Frozen Zones of Foreign Influence! and Conquering the Frozen Zones!)
A Frost Drake, awakened by Ethodthem, arose from an icy slumber only to succumb to the ambitious Noshm to be used as a mana battery for his greatest creation. After being offered to join in his Quest, you've declined in favor of your values. Free the Frost Drake and stop Noshm's Massive Autoling from seeing the light of day!
Rewards: Chance of Blessing, Chance of Lesser Boon, Ally, Information, Unknown.
He was ready this time, unstartled. Instead, he immediately moved to damage control in case the drake was unstable after captivity.
"The metallic man, the rock individual, and the woman below are all my allies. The three here also helped to save you, friend. My familiar is among them and a small dragon as well, both are friends. The metal creations running around are inventions of your captor." Luck quickly added. "It is good to see a creature as magnificent as you free, great drake."
The drake followed the voice and looked down at Luck. He made a noise Luck now fully recognized as a laugh, or perhaps more closely, a chuckle. "You are indeed small, friend. And indeed it seems it is of no matter." He said. "Worry not. In freeing me, your allies become mine so long as they do not act against me." He looked around, his massive head craning around the room that he filled a good fifth of. And he spoke arcane words that Luck translated.
"Freeze."
And everything did. Everything. Luck pulled on the heatblind as he looked around, eyebrows and hair almost having flash-froze. He was slightly jarred, mouth opened slightly, as every single surface of the room was covered in ice. Even the air itself seemed frozen. The boxes of gems below froze over, leaving faintly hued crystals of ice. The scaffoldings had transformed into an icy cliff and the floor became reminiscent of an ice skating rink. In short, it was beautiful. And no place for a man who was as shirtless as he was.
He stared for long seconds before he caught something move.
Saga moved, padding along the ice, and warily looking up at the Frost Drake. Erok and Maxworth took Saga's flanks and Nayah appeared as well. All the autolings had frozen in place, completely inert. He heard movement behind him and found Tric having perched on Ace's shoulder.
Luck turned around to see the Frost Drake staring intently at Tric. Luck's heart almost jumped out of his chest to find the creature so close. Luck glanced between them, hands in his pockets. Tric was craning her head oddly at the drake and the drake looked to Luck oddly in response.
"You travel with a real dragon, though young. That is indeed a pure lightning dragon, druid. How did you come across such a creature, friend? I thought my cousins were long instinct and living on through drops of blood in other races."
"Ah, Tric is companion to my limp friend you see there in the black. He is quite the lightning mage, though I've yet to meet any other ones for reference."
"Then he must be someone special to call such a creature to his side." The drake said quietly, at least in comparison to its regular volume. "Perhaps my cousins may yet thrive."
"That he may be, great drake."
"Ah, enough with that, druid. What is your name? I am Rever, named after the Rever Ice itself."
"Luck Lockyer, at your service, Rever. A pleasure to finally meet you."
Rever chuckled. "A pleasure to be free of that cage, Druid Lockyer."
He glanced down at the people below and extended a clawed hand. Like an ice sculpture, Rever didn't move, only proving his peace.
He is a friend, Saga.
Then he is mine too, Amber Eyes.
Saga leaped onto Rever's clawed hand and stared back at Maxworth, Nayah, and Erok who followed seconds later. Luck was surprised Nayah came so readily but he noted a real awe in her posture. Luck guessed at the thoughts she might be having of her father's adventures. Rever gracefully lifted and deposited them onto the pathway on which Luck was sitting and swinging his legs. They stepped off quietly and looked around.
Erok's was battered, small chunks of his rock body missing here and there. Luck supposed all that mattered was that the man stood straight and proud, his great hammer resting upon his back as usual. His face was stoic as he looked to Rever. "I had noticed the Quest changing but didn't expect completion so soon. Good job, Luck."
Nayah was untouched, only looking extremely tired. "A real drake. Wow. I've only ever heard stories." She grimaced, adding, "That disgusting halfling, no one should ever be used as a battery."
Maxworth had a blast mark upon his chest and side that Luck suspected came from the orange blast the took him off the pathway initially. His arm was also bent and warped but the man stood unbothered, daggers sheathed. "No creature should be held against their will and word. The Gentlemen know enough of that."
This a true predator, Amber Eyes. Do you see his claws and teeth? His size? Weapons like that would do well in a hunt. I joke, Amber Eyes. I am not so enthralled by a creature so magnificent. We together are stronger than any foe. I am glad you survived the fall and glad you survived the halfling. It is good to see you.
Me too Saga. Me too. It's good to see you too, Saga. Luck chuckled, rubbing Saga's head as he came beside him.
Rever craned his head, blowing a pleasantly chilly breeze over the group to garner their attention.
The crowd quieted as Rever spoke, though they didn't understand him. "What would you ask of me, Druid Lockyer?"
Luck remembered the promised Quest rewards. He would not bar his companions from the rewards but Luck didn't really want anything in return. This was doing what he simply felt was right. It's the same mindset he kept back in the city when could.
"I seek nothing in return, Rever. The reward for me is your freedom to roam free. I cannot say the same for my companions, however." Luck switched to Common while Rever waited patiently. "He wants to know what you all want as a reward."
Maxworth added almost instantly. "Power. Power to break the bonds I was created in. I do not expect the drake capable, but all the same."
Erok regarded the drake for moments before he answered. "What he sees fit."
Nayah looked at Luck, who was grinning at her agape face. "A memory of him. To know that I truly witnessed him." Luck chuckled, that was quite a fitting gift. "I just want to remember this moment. My first adventure." She whispered. Luck imagined she would've been impressed by a camera from home. All the same, it was a desire that Luck supported.
Luck was about to relay all this before a slow voice responded from behind him. "How about Ice magic?" And Luck turned to find Ace grinning, all perfectly mobile.
Luck gave his friend a surprised look. He should've been immobile for hours more.
"Lightning magic." He held open a palm. "Paralysis." He held open his other one before lifting them up and down like scales, looking intensely interested in their movements before looking at Luck sarcastically. "Not that hard to put two and two together Lucky."
"Ah, got it." Luck said before relaying everything to Rever.
"To the Gentleman, I can offer little of what he asks. The power that binds them could perhaps only be unraveled by someone as genius as his creator and thus I grant his blades the essence of cold." Rever breathed and Maxworth's dagger froze in their sheaths. Luck told him this as he broke them out of their ice and examined their blades closely with a nod. Luck was surprised to understand that Maxworth may have been around at the same time Rever was if he knew the Gentlemen's history and creation.
"To the rock man, I grant a great hammer of true Rever Ice," Spirit informed Luck that the Rever Ice was a type of ice as well as a location. Rever broke a spine from his back and clenched it in his claws before the surrounding ice crumbled like a mold to reveal a greathammer identical to Erok's own. "Stronger than most metals, unbreakable, cold and lighter than almost any weapon of the same quality." Luck explained this and Erok nodded in reverence, attaching the hammer to his hip rather easily, but not quite letting go of his other hammer yet.
"To the creature of magic, I know your plight as one hunted by those who seek power. It is a humble being that treasures memories over power or material. For that, I grant you a memory of me as I was. And words of wisdom from one who has lived life longer than most." Rever touched a claw to Nayah's forehead. It held there for five seconds before a tear formed in Nayah's eye. It froze immediately, a perfect teardrop as Luck watched it fall. But Nayah's hand caught it and Luck looked up to find her eyes opened and herself crying freely.
"To the one followed by a lightning dragon, I give insight to the element of frost and chill. I breathe ice to his blood so that it may respond if he has any." Rever did just that, a cloud of frost engulfing Ace's form before almost immediately disappearing. Like a sudden explosion of glittering, cold flour. Ace looked down at his arms, slightly frosted over. "And so it responds."
Rever shifted, his massive heard turned towards the blue robed mage and Tate lying beside him. "And what of them Druid Lockyer? What might they want?"
"I have no idea."
Rever chuckled, Luck becoming used to the noise, but everyone else tensing. "None at all?"
"The robed man is a practitioner of ice. A capable man who trains his body as well as his magic, from what I gather. He traveled with my sister who is beside him. If my sister deemed him palpable company then I suspect he is a good man. As for my sister herself, knowing her I doubt she would want anything in return. That's just how we were raised, Rever."
"A blessing of cold to the robed man then. But as for you, Druid Lockyer, you deny rewards for yourself as well as your sister?"
"There is no need. I help when someone needs help, Rever. It is ingrained in me and my sister both. We seek no rewards when having no need for them."
"Then no rewards for you, small friend. Instead, a gift. I declare you Friend of Drakes." Rever straightened, standing higher than before, looking directly at Luck. His voice exploded with power. "Hear! I Rever of the Frost Drakes, Elder Species, recognize Luck Lockyer as Druid. Know that one approved by the Drakes treads the Frozen Zones, saves Drakes, and demands nothing in return! Hear!" And it was as if his voice traveled across the very essence of nature.
Blue lights swirled from Rever, he calmly watched them as Luck held eye contact. They curled around Luck and something changed and he felt more credible. Whereas when Melthin approved him he achieved the same feeling, now it was as if something more ancient did so. The lights swirled into him and Luck sensed a gong reverberate through his One with Nature trait as if a part of himself approved deeply.
Pay Heed!
New Title: Friend of the Drakes
You are recognized by Drakes of every element as someone stamped with the deepest respect and approval by one of their own. This label marks your soul only visible to Drakes and those with extremely advanced measures. You are favored by Drakes everywhere.
Luck stood up, feeling it rude to continue to sit and bowed deeply, a habit he learned from Mr. Ark.
"It is an honor, Rever."
"You truly require nothing of me, friend?"
Luck sighed but grinned all the same. It didn't seem like the Drake would let it go. "Ah, perhaps less for me and more for the entire group. A way out of this facility would be nice. And if it's not trouble I do assume my friends would not mind an expedient trip to Ardun or rather Last Light as you might know it."
"Unfortunately, it does not seem I will be able to power through these walls. Yes, I know the city by both names. It has been there as far as I can remember. Until the Hunt they had left Drakes alone in peace. Though I can at least bring you closer to the city. It will be no problem as soon as we are free from this place."
Luck explained that particular portion to the group.
Ace chimed in. "Tric says she knows a way out large enough for the drake as well."
"Tric will show the way, though I doubt we can keep up with you on foot." Luck said.
"No matter, you all may ride upon my back. I've not ever given myself to be ridden by any manner of beast or man but today will be an exception. Board, small friends." And Rever aligned his back with the pathway, a place of ice forming for all to rest upon.
Then Tric was leading the way through the winding tunnels upwards. Melted blade-sphere lay strewn about the caverns which alternated from rock to ice and back again. Luck had a while to admire the icy back of the drake. The rest of the group were in similar states, admiring their gifts, and conversing quietly. Maxworth flipped his daggers over and over peering down their edge with a geared eye. Nayah stared absently at her frozen tear, glancing at the back of Rever's head. Erok tested the weight of both his greathammers while Ace stared at his hands with a concentrated look on his face.
Luck took the moment to appreciate the fact he was riding a Frost Drake.