I was careful on the way up, slipping on a wet rock and falling off a mountain side is not a good way to go. I stopped at the cave mouth.
“What are we waiting for?”
Cleric asks. I hold my hand up, then raise my staff and slam it on the floor causing the sound to echo into the cave.
“Waylax, it’s the guy who gave birth to a dragon out of his mouth. Thanks by the way.”
I hear a shifting in the cave.
“You may enter.”
A voice grumbles. The party gives me terrified looks.
“I never said I killed this Dragon you just assumed.”
I start walking into the cave.
“When you assume you make an ass of you and me.”
I say back to them. I don't hear them following behind me.
“Well hurry up then, or I’ll ask him to roast you.”
They pause for a moment, and then start running to catch up. We walk until we get to the wide cavern again.
“Ah the little dragon returns.”
Waylax calls from the dark.
“May we light up the room?”
I ask him.
“Oh yes I forget you cannot see in the dark.”
Without a word light fills the room, showing Waylax in all his green splendor, the dragon from my dreams.
“Why have you come mortal?”
Waylax asks.
“Invading my dreams was up there on the list.”
He yawns, and shifts his claws hands laying his head down on them.
“So you want…?”
“What the fuck was that? The thing in my dream that turned into you.”
Waylax pauses for a moment then waves his hand, a wave of green light washes over me making everything go quiet. He waves his hand again, and another wave of green washes over me and brings me into a white room.
“That,”
He says pointing a large claw at the creature that has suddenly phased into existence.
“Is an elemental, although some people call them demons, or spirits. It is a special type of elemental I made in my youth. A gluttony elemental.”
The Gluttony elemental disappears, and suddenly Waylax is in front of me. He reaches a claw down and pokes it into my chest, a green glow rippling around it.
“Let me explain a little more about dragons. The dragons you know from myth and legend aren’t real Dragons. The real Dragons made the gods shiver, and hide under there beds. The Chromatic Queen, and Metallic Sire are shadows of what a Dragon could be. I am a dragon small ‘d’, I was once a simple lizard with a spark of draconic energy in me. My energy was awakened during a great famine, and my hunger knew no bounds. Earning me the name The dragon of Gluttony. Dragon blooded individuals like us must be careful, as all of our power is centered around a corner stone so to speak.”
He lifts his claw, a small lizard floats out of his chest. A darker green like him, with 3 rows of needle like teeth, and long curved claws. A timelapse of the lizard eating everything and anything in sight growing larger and larger.
“My cornerstone is eating. While I can control my appetite now, I birthed a number of gluttony elementals. They devoured each other leaving the last one. Which I’ve imprisoned in your staff. The staff took on an interesting aspect, growing stronger with the variety of food the wielder has eaten. Had I known you consumed an even greater variety of food then me I would never have given it to you. It took a great amount of my strength to force it down. It also awakened your Dragon Bloodline.”
He shakes his head and lets out a heavy sigh.
“Thankfully your Cornerstone was not damaged heavily, but it will take on an aspect of gluttony. Shifting towards Greed, Gluttony, or Envy. dragons have a very hands off approach to raising their own kind. My actions however forfeited that. I will do my best to protect you, but nearly the whole of dragon kind would itch at the chance of raising a new minion. But I will stick to tradition, no help from me figure out your cornerstone on your own.”
I feel the air stretch, it’s hard to describe like gravity is suddenly pulling in more than one direction.
A woman steps into the white space. Her hair drips wet with water, which runs down her whole body. It soaks through one of my dress shirts, which she happens to be wearing. The shirt is unbuttoned and revealing, although a mix of her hair, and the water shawl she wears covers her privates. Her long, and pointed ears peek out of the back of my headset which she is also.wearing. She is very beautiful, and I have the sudden urge to go over and do anything for her. I quash the feeling, and shove it out of my mind.
“This the little bitch you fucked up Laxy?”
She looks me up, and down.
“What are you looking at dickhead?”
She says to me.
“Nothing you just got something on your,”
I point towards my face.
“Oh nope nevermind that’s just your face.”
She squints at me.
“Do you know who you are talking to? I am el-”
“A little bitch.”
I interrupt her. She examines me again.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“Laxy can I keep him, please? Pretty please? Pretty pretty please with a cherry on top?”
She clasps her hands together and gives Waylax puppy eyes.
“No you cannot keep the fledgling Eldra. And yes this is the fledgling who has eaten more than me.”
He grumbles that last line, like I just took his spot on the leaderboard of a game.
“Why are you wearing my headset?”
She tilts her head. I point my finger at my ears. She gets a realization understanding me.
“Oh I was trying to get your Magical Appliance to work. The big metal box, I’ve never seen craftsmanship so fine.”
She pauses for a moment.
“From this world.”
She gives me a knowing look.
“It’s called a computer, I’ll show you when we leave.”
I look around.
“How do we leave?”
The space seemed to fold in on itself, and poof everything was back to normal. Like they hadn’t even gone anywhere. Eldra walked out from behind Waylax. Still in my dress shirt, and with my headset. I turn to the party.
“Get comfortable I’m gonna be here a while. Alright Eldra let’s get this working or figure out how to.”
I walk with her past Waylax, and towards my luggage which is now open. Packs of ramen are strewn about one of them is opened and partially eaten. My filter water bottle is on the ground. My cooking knives are laid out neatly, my computer, and it’s associated wires plus my monitor is sitting out.
I walk over to the tower, and start connecting wires.
“This here is the HDMI it is a type of wire that transmits electrical energy. You plug the HDMI into the back of the computer and the other end into the monitor.”
I pull a small usb out of a side pocket, and plug it into a port.
“This little device uses waves in the air to send a signal to the headset you are wearing sending sounds. If you click the button on the left side, no the one above that button.”
The headset lights up and a robotic voice says.
“Power On”
“Shit!”
Eldra exclaims.
“How the fuck do you keep a small person in there?”
She pulls the headset off.
“Is it a fairy?”
“No electronic signals cause a specially made device inside the headset to vibrate causing aound to come out.”
She nods.
“What is electronic?”
I think for a moment.
“It means electric powered. Electricity is essentially harnessed lightning. However that does not mean shock all of my devices with lightning. They require a certain amount of voltage and amps to work. Those are the intensity, and strength of the electrical discharge.”
She nods her head.
“I think I understand.”
I plug in the power cords to the devices, but with no outlets they are useless.
“These would normally go into a outlet, which is a specially fitted socket that supplies electricity through wires in a house.”
I throw my hands up.
“However we have none of these things so good luck getting it to work.”
“Wait why wouldn’t shooting electricity work? We could do the things you said the foliage and clamps. If we get them right then it would work.”
I shake my head.
“No, no. If you send to much or the wrong amount through, it could damage the computer, and I don’t see any replacement parts lying around.”
I pull out my phone.
“Wanna listen to some music?”
I pull up some Marina and the Diamonds. I had only ‘found’ her music a day before my displacement, but had the forethought to download all her albums ata friends house incase I lost internet.
“This is that electrontit you were talking about?”
She asks looking at my phone. She closed her eyes and listened to ‘Froot’.
“Turn the music off, give me the device.”
She says holding her hand out. Her eyes are still closed.
“Why?”
She lets out a groan.
“You, and your questions. Give me the hand computer that plays the fruit music.”
“No what are going to do with it?”
She groans again, more violently this time.
“I can feel the electrity or whatever inside of it. It’s similar to magical energy.”
I hesitantly put my phone into her hand.
“So, what? You are gonna feel out the device and use it to power my computer?”
She closes her eyes harder as she concentrates.
“Shut up.”
I grit my teeth wanting to retort back.
“Here is your hand computer humey.”
She tosses it gently to me. I snatch it out of the air.
“Hey watch it… dammit I don’t have a good comeback for Nereids.”
Her head snaps to me.
“Your shawl, made it kind of obvious. Plus I’m pretty sure I felt your compulsion. Your jedi mind tricks don’t work on me however.”
“I’m not a jedi whatever that is.”
She hisses at me. I raise my hands.
“Woah it’s a joke, I refer to stories about crazy magical warriors that fight with swords made of light, hate sand, and have the high ground.”
She relaxes, and thinks for a moment.
“Why do they hate sand?”
She asks.
“‘It's coarse, and rough, and irritating, and it gets everywhere.’ or so they say. That’s besides the point however, what were you going to do?”
I ask her.
“HEY LAXY!”
She shouts.
“What is with your incessant need to shout at the top of your lungs constantly? I have been watching you work this entire time. You saw me watching you work.”
Waylax grumbles. A hot breath rolls down my back as he sighs, it’s sulfurous and wet.
“I need your help to make a magic converter.”
He lets out a sigh.
“Very well then, but I expect recompense.”
Waylax reaches up, and plucks a scale from his back. He uses a claw to deftly carve a circle, and a small number of symbols into its surface. He carves a line from the edge of the circle off the side of the scale.
“That should do.”
He places it down near the computer. While I was distracted by Waylax I seem to have missed Eldras part. She holds a shimmering ball of water. Motes of light float inside of it, but the water seems to have a barrier. Like a glass bowl fish tank, except without the glass.
“Fledgey lift the scale, and bring it close to the orb.”
I bend over and pick up the dense scale. Straining to lift it to the appropriate height.
“I have a name you know.”
I edge closer, and raise the scale slightly. She waves her hand, and twirls her wrist. A tendril of water emerges from the sphere, and it attaches to the scale. It runs through the line and circle, some jumps into the symbols.
She begins to walk backwards, stretching the tendril. It eventually becomes taught, and the water starts to drain from the sphere, reducing its size. She reaches her free hand into the sphere, and pulls out a second globe. The two globes are separated by about 6 inches of tendril then merge together into a slightly thicker tendril that stretches towards the scale. Which I am still holding.
She bends over at the computer, and attaches one now very small orb to computers power cord, and the second to the monitors.
“Now set the scale down.”
I lower my arms, careful not to drop it. She walks over to the scale. She says a few words, I don’t understand in the slightest. The scale glows briefly, and pulses with a yellow light.
The light travels down the circle towards the water tendrils, then through the tendrils. It splits at the divide, and travels into the computer. The computer glows briefly and pulses back, the glow travelling back down to the scale. After a moment of nothing. The scale vibrates a little and raises into the air. The symbols glow with light, and what looks like a beam of white light flows down the tendril. When it meets the computers cord, a familiar hum starts up as the fans kick to life.
I walk over and place my finger over the power button.
“The moment of truth.”
I press the button. The screen flickers to life, and my computer starts up.