Goldfire Renala’s mausoleum was built into the bottom half of the Peak and its double doors towered over me like an ancient, architectural monument equal to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, but it lacked more esoteric ornamentation. Ultimately it was a set of double doors of perfectly flat stone at least ten times Renala’s current size; even larger than the Peak’s main entrance. Renala slithered back and forth behind me, eager to get a closer look while I scanned doors.
“What can I expect?”
Balin stood beside me, stroking his beard while he admired the flawless stonework, preserved across millenia via forgotten magics.
“It is said the offspring of Goldfire Renala were buried along with her after the Cataclysm. Perhaps their spirits still linger, even after all this time. All of Goldfire Renala’s children were demigods, sired by Lord Bahamut. Their power is difficult to measure, if possible at all.”
I suddenly found my warbow and mundane arrows lacking in firepower. The ghosts of demigods? All of my combat experience involved engaging living targets. Would my arrows just fly straight through an incorporeal being?
I subconsciously counted the arrows slung across my back and shifted my Bottomless Dufflebag so it sat tighter against my body, just below my quiver. I nodded once at Balin and he stood aside. Renala quickly filled the gap, practically shoving poor Balin away. She placed both foreclaws on the edge of the double doors and pushed. An immense, golden circular pattern burst to life where her claws pressed against the stone and slowly spread out until the entire door was covered in the magical writing. Though I understood what each individual item meant, I could not make any sense of the whole array. It was like seeing a bunch of random numbers and letters haphazardly spread across a sheet of paper. There was probably some kind of underlying design, but it was beyond my understanding.
Veins bulged out of Renala’s body as she strained against the doors until they finally began to move on their own with a mountain-shaking rumble and a deafening groan. Renala fell forward, panting heavily, her whole body steaming with heat from the physical exertion. But she shook off her lethargy and marched into the tomb with her head held high, like a princess before her coronation. A grand hallway greeted her and immense braziers the size of small cars hung along the wall high above me. In rapid succession, they lit up with golden flames until they began to spiral down into a staircase and out of sight.
I entered after Renala and the double doors swung shut just as I cleared them. I rubbed my ears when the stone doors slammed into each other then sprinted up to my wyrmling and leapt onto her back. She spared me a small glance then shifted so I could seat myself properly and continued onward. I nocked an arrow on my bow and kept my head on a swivel. Renala seemed to know where to go, so I secured our perimeter, with one eye glued to my Map.
Once we made it to the staircase, sweltering heat assaulted my whole body. It was like being blasted by a sauna. The tomb was built at the bottom of the city, which meant the heat radiating from the spiral staircase originated from the magma chamber. It only intensified the deeper we descended until one side of the staircase suddenly opened up to reveal a gigantic cavern filled with a bubbling lake of lava.
The path ended on an artificial platform in the lake's epicenter. It was large enough to house over a dozen dragons of Renala's size and covered in mounds of Magic Crystals. Scattered among the Crystals were the skeletal remains of many dragons, each one surrounded the largest, central skeleton, half-buried in crystals. The skeletons were twisted in on themselves, as if they were being burned alive from the inside and sought to stifle the flames.
As we approached, I finally understood Goldfire Renala's true size. Even the smallest of her dead children was comparable to a two-story house. Goldfire Renala had to be at least five times the size of the Sphinx of Giza. Her skull alone towered over both of us. I dismounted and climbed the mountain of Magic Crystals to get a better look. Unlike the other, smaller dragons, Goldfire Renala’s posture was peaceful, as if she died sleeping. Mixed in with the Magic Crystals were her huge, metallic scales, each one the size of my head.
Renala yowled once. She crawled up to the tip of her mother’s skull and tried to wrap her whole body around it, wings and tail included. I let her mourn in silence and slid down the Magic Crystal mounds.
Thankfully, there was enough magical energy to support several armies, so I pulled out my Flask of Flowing Water and up-turned it over my head. I kept pouring Mana into it, drenching my whole body in fresh, cool water to stave off the smoldering heat. Even the water I poured began to steam shortly after it left the Flask. Despite my Constitution, my skin was starting to turn pink from a full body heat rash.
A blinding light from behind me attracted my attention and I spun, Flask in my mouth, bow drawn to full, aimed at the source.
Goldfire Renala’s entire skeleton began to glow with the same eldritch array. Like countless ants, they crawled up Renala’s body and started to cover her from head to tail.
«Your Draconic Companion, Renala, is assimilating the Legacy of Gold Dragonfire.
Time until completion: 167 hours and 58 minutes.»
I had no time to worry about being stuck here for a week straight. The many smaller dragon skeletons writhed and were slowly covered in a translucent golden, flaming aura. They roared, but with no lungs, there was no sound. They charged forward toward Renala. The surrounding auras emitted greater heat than the lake, but phased through the mounds of Magic Crystals. The only things that had any physical interaction were the skeletons themselves.
I test fired an arrow at where the heart of one of the dragons would be and clicked my tongue when it flew straight through and landed in the lava. I scrambled back up to Goldfire Renala’s skull to stand between the approaching skeletons and my baby girl.
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“Get away from my baby.”
I switched tactics and activated Select Fire to augment my arrows with three-round burst and explosive rounds. I fired at the closest dragon. This time, I aimed for the skull itself and my lips curled maliciously when they exploded, pushing the dragon back several feet down the mound.
My arms were a blur as I repeated the process. Though my arrows lacked the pure power to deal any significant damage, raining down explosive rounds was enough to force the skeletal dragons away. Gravity did the rest of the work and I watched them roll down the hill of crystals. They immediately recovered and restarted their climb, but without proper wings and without any organs, they were unable to fly or use their breath weapons to force me out of my shooting position.
My Mana bottomed out quickly, but I took a handful of Magic Crystals and renewed my energy as soon as it depleted. So long as I had these crystals, I could fire indefinitely. The real question was: would it last for seven days?
It was finally time to test the limits of my Constitution.
I didn’t start feeling any real strain until the fourth day. I continuously drank water from the Flask held between my teeth. My Quiver of Endless Arrows kept me from running out of ammunition.
I flinched when my bowstring snapped. I threw it at the nearest dragon out of sheer frustration and pulled out a new one. I had a grand total of twenty and broke twelve. At the rate I was shooting, I was going to run out of bows on the very last day. Renala had not moved a single inch and did not respond to any of my telepathic commands. Whatever she was doing, it was so important that she either ignored me entirely or couldn’t respond. I put that thought away and concentrated on the battle.
On the 5th day, my Marksmanship reached B-Rank but I couldn’t spare a second to look at my character sheet. Even when I finally managed to shred a skeleton into shards, it would coalesce and reform with another skeleton. I was making progress in destroying them, but not fast enough to matter. The timer would run out before I ran out of targets.
By the 6th day, my vision was blurry. My fingers were blistering, which meant that the lake’s heat and the sheer, constant friction of my bowstring against my fingertips had eroded my HP away. Even my Constitution, which I relied on since I arrived in Valeria, was reaching the breaking point. No, I was certain I was already there.
By the 7th day, I was on my knees. The only thing keeping me conscious was the threat of imminent death and the cooling sensation flowing into my mouth from the Flask. My vision was long gone. My eyes were dried shut. I relied entirely on my Map, my Reflex Dagger, and my instinctive Marksmanship for target acquisition. Most of my shots I missed, but the sheer volume kept the dragons at bay.
Just keep shooting. Just keep shooting. Just keep shooting.
I was suddenly weightless. The refreshing water ceased to flow from my Flask. I dropped it at some point. A sharp jolt of pain forced my eyes open and my breath out from my lungs in a dry gasp. I couldn’t move my legs, so I used my arms to rotate my body upright. The bottom half of my body was mangled. Blood pooled between the Magic Crystals. One of the dragons finally knocked me from my position and sent me hurtling off the mound with a tail whip. The only reason I didn’t snap in half on impact was because of my Constitution. Even so, my back was broken.
I couldn’t move. I could barely even breathe. The chill of death crept into my body. But I ignored it when the dragons tore into my defenseless, baby girl. Desperation welled up within me.
“Renala, run!”
«Your Draconic Companion, Renala, assimilated the Legacy of Gold Dragonfire.
Legacy Quest Completed.
Devotion has increased to C-Rank. You may choose one Devotion Skill Upgrade, gain a new Skill, or Synthesize a Skill.»
Though I could not see, I could still manipulate the Menu. I already knew what I needed most to survive until the next moment!
«Skill Upgrade: Dragon Whisperer»
Dragon Whisperer (Special)
The user can designate one willing creature with a draconic Aspect to be their Draconic Companion.
Your Draconic Companion gains an additional Attribute Point for each Level.
You and your Draconic Companion share HP pools. Range is based on your Charisma.
Source: God of Righteousness, Dragon-king Bahamut; Devotion (Unique), Communication and Tracking (Unique)
My vision cleared and the pain lessened significantly. The blood from my wounds stopped flowing, although my spine was still snapped. Despite my terrible shooting position, I activated semi-automatic and fired arrows at the skeletons ripping into Renala as she pulled away from the collapsing remnants of her mother. With my bow half-drawn, they didn't do much of anything but distract her attackers for a few moments.
Renala roared and spun, her tail glowing with gold flames. She knocked away her assailants and, after a deep breath, she unleashed bright, gold flames that devoured the aura around the skeletons, reducing them to lifeless husks once more. Even the dwarven made platform, built to resist the lava lake over eons, melted into slag upon contact.
Sweet darkness consumed me.
“That’s my girl.”