The Dragon Continent was the only continent where the dominant humanoid group wasn’t human. Orcs, elves, and beast people made up the majority. There were a few pockets of dwarves and goblins, but most were in Iveria. Humans who lived there had migrated from Iveria or came to work there temporarily. Surrounded by a thick fog that one had to navigate through in order to reach, the continent itself was covered with dense forests, jungles, and mountains so high that one couldn’t see their peaks from the ground.

While West Iveria was far less settled than East Iveria, and had forests, jungles, and mountains, the Dragon Continent was ten times as dangerous on average. Most Iverian adventurers didn’t dare enter the interior until they were somewhat seasoned.

Ash and the adventurer’s party left from Orm Point, the most northwestern port from West Iveria on a five-day ship journey to get to the Dragon Continent. Thankfully, it wasn’t typhoon season, but the waters were still choppy enough to make novice sea goers nauseous.

Ash didn’t get seasick, but leading up to the ship journey, he could tell that his companions were dreading it. They’d been to the Dragon Continent twice before, with the second time prepared with nausea medication and charms. Nothing worked.

Brenda could barely heal in the state she was in while sea sick, so no one got healed. Even then, it was a temporary measure and within a few hours, they’d get seasick again.

A few hours into the journey, Ash was standing on the deck chatting with another adventurer, when he noticed that none of his party members were around. Dutifully, he went to check on them.

There was more vomit than he thought in the buckets. He gripped the doorframe and cringed. It’s not their fault...it’s fine. You can fix this. He reached into his pocket for some slips.

Not wanting to sleep in the same cabin as vomit and its putrid smell, Ash charged the magic slips he placed behind their ears before they could stop him. Almost instantly, their sea sickness was lifted.

“What did you use on us?” Brenda asked with irritation. Ash had the distinct feeling she was not happy that he’d shown her up by being able to get their nausea under control when she couldn’t.

“Equilibrium slips,” Ash replied. “It’s earth energy that corrects an imbalance that causes motion sickness. It helps with all nausea and was one the first magic slips I created.”

“This is amazing...I can stand without feeling like I’m going to topple over at any moment!” Reggie said as he stood up and held his arms out. A wide smile filled his face, as if he had been presented with a beautiful new world.

“When did you learn so much magic?” Alana asked as she opened the small porthole to air out the room. Behind her, Clyde and William collected the vomit buckets to empty them.

“Everything you’ve used so far is useful,” Clyde said as he passed to go out the door. “Brenda, you should learn from him!”

Ash avoided Brenda’s scathing glare.

“My aunt said I had talent for it and began instructing me as soon as I was able to comprehend it. Her family comes from an old magic lineage, but they’ve all but died out. Her own son could summon, but not cast, so she taught me what she could before we parted.”

His mother had managed to salvage all the magic books his aunt had given him before they left. During their long journeys, Ash had used them as entertainment, learning something new each day in hopes of helping his mother and brother.

“How long does this slip last?” Reggie reached up to touch the spot where the slip had been placed and disappeared.

“About a week. Don’t worry about any side effects. The effectiveness will start to fade in five days and by the seventh day, it simply won’t work anymore.”

“A week is more than enough,” Alana said with a nod. “Thank you, Ash.”

“No problem. I’ll prepare more when we leave.”

“We’ll pay you for this, of course,” William said as he returned to the room. The bucket they’d been vomiting into had been emptied and returned. “Don’t think we’ll take advantage of you.”

It wasn’t much and everything he’d done so far would benefit him, so Ash didn’t plan on charging them for bonus magic and swordsmanship. However, he wouldn’t refuse. He gave William a nod and a small thanks. “I appreciate it. I can always use the extra money.”

He didn’t catch the look of sympathy from some of the others before he headed back up to the deck to relish the fresh sea breeze. Reggie, Alana, and Clyde joined him, excited to actually enjoy a sea voyage for once. All around them was a turbulent blue-green and sometimes brown sea. A few sea birds had taken to rest on the riggings.

Ash had long noticed an out of place black bird amongst them. It had followed them from Iveria.

“Have you ever been to the Dragon Continent before?” they asked him. Ash shook his head.

“No, my family has gone across East Iveria, but not the Dragon Continent. I’ve met people from there though.” There were many orcs, elves, and beast men, both full and half, who did business and came by their shop. Two cousins who worked at the shop were from the Dragon Continent, and there was that one annoying beast man who kept stopping by in hopes of seeing his mother. He always tried to pretend he was just there for tea.

After all, their tea house was a popular place, and his mother had received many requests to open a tea house on the Dragon Continent.

She’d even received invitations from several prominent orc clans and elven kingdoms willing to give her rent-free spaces to do so, but with the current circumstances of the business expanding their hospitality side, there was no time or resources to allocate for at least another two years.

However, it was in the company’s forecast to build a flagship tea house in the finance district of the Dragon Continent’s main port within five years. It wasn’t just a tea house, but an inn and trade goods store. Bids to try to win her business had already started arriving.

His mother did not like to disappoint future customers, and had sent his brother there for three months the year before to do research on the food and beverage tastes of the local populace. To say that he was catered to hand and foot was an understatement. His brother ended up traveling incognito after half a month to avoid the attention.

Most of what he knew as a human on the Dragon Continent came from his brother, and his brother wasn't technically an adventurer. Most of his time had been in towns, cities, and farming regions, most were on the edges of the continent.

The deeper one went, the more dangerous it became.

“The Teal Dragon Lord, huh?” To both pass time and gather information, Ash chatted up all the older, more experienced adventurers he could find on the ship. He’d even lured a few towards him by sharing tea. A large man with scars across his arms and a head full of gray-black hair rubbed his chin as he sat on an upside bucket without crushing it. “A water dragon, right?”

“I’m unsure, actually. Any confirmation would be greatly appreciated,” Ash said as he seeped the tea. He couldn’t make a fire on the wooden ship, so he used a magic slip to heat up a kettle. That in itself had drawn a bit of a crowd.

“No, the Teal Dragon Lord is an air dragon,” someone said. Ash looked towards another middle-aged adventurer with a hat. He leaned against the side of one of the masts and began to explain. “What you want to do is head north along the coast before going west, into the interior. You want to get to the Silver Zephyr Canyons. It’s a hotspot for air dragons.”

He received several nods of agreement.

“Don’t just dive into the interior after the port, son,” another adventurer told him. “With the denseness of the forest, it’ll take too long to work your way to the canyons. You’ll make better time going around first.”

“Safer, too,” someone else said. Ash nodded, taking this all in with seriousness. William stood nearby, listening in as well. Ash shared his tea and some biscuits from his bag.

“Are these fresh?” someone asked with surprise after they bit into one.

“I have a preservation bag,” Ash replied with a smile. When his family left their home country, they used two subspace bags to carry their things. They were rare and were given to them by his aunt who came from the magic lineage. It was thanks to those bags that they were able to bring so much while appearing to carry nothing but the clothes on their back.

As a child, Ash had found the bags fascinating. He was told that the space within was limited, and it was, but at the time, he felt as if he could fit an entire house inside. He began to look into a way to improve the bag after his mother complained that she wished she could keep food from spoiling.

It took him five years, but he developed such a bag. Now, everyone in his family had one. Even the family pet, who kept food inside.

“A preservation bag?” There was an impressed whistle in the crowd. “Those are expensive.”

Ash nodded, still smiling. Of course, they were. He could only make so many to be sold. All four magic towers on Iveria and the technology of Cloud Continent had yet to catch up with his simple bag that held up to a warehouse of objects, and could keep things hot, cold, or frozen, as well as keep foodstuffs fresh, all at the same time.

His work was also the reason they had such a strong trading company and was one of the reasons why merchant cities were so favorable towards their family.

His aunt didn’t call him a magical talent for nothing. “I worked very hard for the bag. It took years.” Of development and testing before we hit the market....

Seeing that he had put work into attaining it, everyone seemed to nod in satisfaction. Ash spent the rest of the afternoon and evening chatting up other adventurers and taking in their lessons. At night, he approached William on the bow of the ship.

“Your application said you only had four years of experience adventuring,” William said as Ash joined him. William looked over at him curiously. “Has it really only been four years?”

“I’m seventeen and thirteen is the age when the Adventurer’s Guild will accept a member,” Ash replied. “So, by the guild’s standards, yes. Four years.”

William cocked his head. “How long have you really been adventuring?”

Ash shook his head once. “It’s not adventuring. My family had to flee our homeland for reasons. My mother was a single mother with two young children. It was a struggle for all of us, as you can imagine. My mother is very competent, but cautious.”

William seemed to understand. “Thank you for getting information for us.”

Once more, Ash shook his head. “I’m unprepared for the Dragon Continent. Asking experienced adventurers is the best I can do.”

“Still, you received good advice. We’ll do as they said to get to the Silver Zephyr Canyon, and travel along the coast before going inland.” He looked at Ash. “The canyon is supposed to be a nest for dragons. Will you be able to handle them, beast master?”

“Beast tamer,” Ash told him. He gave him a nod. “Just follow my directions, as I’ll need to first make contact, establish a connection, and then act. Dragons are extremely intelligent, but are wary of humans, so no sudden movements. No loud noises. We are also only going in for the urn.”

“We’re not greedy,” William assured him. “The reward for returning the urn is more than enough. I don’t want anyone in the party to get hurt for a few gold coins.”

“The Teal Dragon Lord will have more than a few coins,” Ash replied. “Your party has been to the Dragon Continent before. What did you do last time?”

“It was security escort work. This will be our first time going into the interior.”

That did not fill Ash with confidence. He took a deep breath and seemed to mull it over. When he looked into the adventuring party before he applied for the contract position, he did suspect that their experience was on the low end. However, the quest was retrieval and return, which he himself had an excellent track record of, with and without his brother. Thus, he was confident.

Now, he wasn’t so sure.

If he was with his brother, Ash wouldn’t have a problem if it were both their first times on the Dragon Continent. In fact, Ash felt he could take a bit more risks, as he could depend on Henry. So far, he wasn’t entirely convinced that his temporary quest party would survive on their own, let alone be a team on which he could depend.

He pursed his lips and looked out into the darkness. “When we get to Silver Zephyr Canyon, no, when we step into the interior of the Dragon Continent, if our opponent is an animal, leave them to me. Give me some time to read and communicate with them before we proceed. It may take longer than you’d like, but it’s better to be safe.”

William lowered his head and nodded. “I understand. When the time comes, we are in your hands.”

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Has the time come yet? Ash stood to the side; his lips pursed as he watched William sending a compressed blade of air from his sword towards a grayish-blue wyvern the size of a large horse. It was a technique Ash taught him after much, much trouble.

Clyde had his bow drawn and was leaning back behind a large boulder at the entrance of the canyon, occasionally peaking around it and firing when he had a clear shot. Alana was jumping from rock to rock, slashing away at whatever massive, winged lizard came her way while Brenda’s area healing turned out to not only heal her party members, but the wyverns.

All of this was happening to the out-of-place slow and relaxing background music of Reggie and his iron-stringed lute.

Ash went back to when the morning took a turn.

They had gone up the eastern coast of the Dragon Continent at the heavy suggestion of senior adventurers. It had proven exceptionally smooth, almost as if they were on a quest in Western Iveria, only with even more towns and villages along the highly populated coast.

When they turned west to go inland, the change was gradual on the first day, but by the second, there were no towns, no villages, and even the dirt road had disappeared into a swamp. It took another week and a half of careful traversing to go through three climates in order to reach the base of the mountains.

Silver Zephyr Canyon was clearly marked on a map that they had been following. Aside from feral animals that were larger and more aggressive than what they were used to in Iveria, as well as some bandit groups trying to rob them, the journey to the interior wasn’t too bad.

In fact, there were no demonic creatures. Henry once told him that the energy in the air of the Dragon Continent made it difficult for demonic creatures to survive. There were animals infected by native gasses causing them to be angrier and even more aggressive, which resulted in less beast tamer and more slash and kill. One couldn’t reason with an animal that lost its mind, after all.

However, these wyverns at the entrance of the canyon were perfectly sane.

Ash had long noticed that it was the nesting season, and their sudden appearance had alarmed the creatures. Before Ash could instruct the party to fall back and prepare some food to offer to the wyverns to show they weren’t a threat, William had yelled for everyone to be on guard.

As soon as one wyvern got too close to inspect them, William attacked, cueing the others to, as well. This sent the wyverns into a panic as now; the party was deemed a threat by the entire flight.

Ash lifted his hand and rubbed his forehead.

“Can you fall back?” Ash asked, his voice loud and almost echoing through the opening of the canyon. “They think we’re a threat to their nests and will attack if we continue.”

“We can’t go back now, Ash! They’re too aggressive!”

“Why are all the animals on this continent crazy?” Alana shouted back after Clyde replied to him.

“They’re not crazy, they’re nesting,” Ash said. However, their frantic movements and aggressive response to the wyverns irritated the wyverns. They began to swoop, using their wings to send strong gusts of winds at them and push them aside. Any arrows Clyde shot were thrown off course and it was a constant battle to dodge the swooping creatures. We don’t have the time or energy for this.

Looking away from the party, he surveyed the surrounding entrance of the canyon to look for a clear spot where the wyverns weren’t attacking. Ash climbed up; his calm movements ignored by the wyverns who were focused on the party attacking them. He didn’t pay much attention to the screeching as he reached the top of a large rock on the cliffside and dug through his bag.

Dragons, its subclasses, and lizards were carnivorous and knowing that they would face the Teal Dragon Lord, Ash had prepared meat to win them over.

He pulled out the carefully wrapped pieces of raw pork and sheep, and placed the strips on a wide, flat rock before unwrapping them. He let out a whistle and made inviting cooing noises he learned would calm dragons. It didn’t take effect immediately, but after his third or fourth coo, one of the wyverns took notice of him.

A slate gray wyvern turned towards the sound and then flared its nose. It opened its mouth and tilted its head up, snapping into the air and flickering its tongue to confirm the smell of the fresh raw meat that Ash had kept in his preservation bag.

He didn’t go into battle unarmed, so to speak. He had chosen his contract hire job carefully and made sure he could prepare the necessities the position required before he even applied. Considering that dragons were involved, he needed to purchase meat, which he calculated into the cost of the job.

Ash remained seated, pulling out arm-sized strip after strip of raw meat from his bag, as the slate gray wyvern hovered at the far end of the flat rock, inspecting the offering. Ash continued to make the cooing noises before speaking.

“You can have some. On your left is high quality Iverian wild pig meat, which is used for the highest quality cured pork leg. On your right is the mutton of pasture-raised sheep from the Aonghas region of northeastern Iveria. Only twenty families in the continents raise o’Aonghas sheep,” Ash kept his voice low and even. High pitched noises spooked dragons. “Taste it.” He lowered his voice and used a stick to push forward the meat as the wyvern landed and began to take tentative steps crawling towards the meat. “I’ll let you in on a secret. My family is one of the twenty that raise them.”

The wyvern sniffed the meat and then tilted its head to the side, opening its mouth to bite a strip of mutton before quickly taking three steps back. With some distance between it and Ash, it tossed its head back and swallowed the meat strip whole. Ash watched its eyes grow wide with satisfaction before it walked forward and grabbed two pieces in one bite.

The slate gray wyvern’s actions were soon noticed by the rest of the flight. Ash felt his hair being pushed back as one after another landed on the wide rock and sniffed at the meat. Soon, seven wyverns were hissing and snapping at each other to try to get the remaining meat.

Below, the party had sought out places to hide and rest after the wyverns left them alone. Ash didn’t pay too much attention to them knowing they were safe, but those who caught sight of him craned their necks to see him.

Ash scooted back and was about to lean against the side of the cliff to stay out of their way, when the slate gray wyvern landed in front of him. The wyvern extended its neck and lowered its head to look at Ash.

Then, it nudged his arm.

Ash sighed. “I only have a little bit left and I need to offer it to the Teal Dragon Lord,” Ash told him. The wyvern made a small trilling sound and Ash suppressed his excitement. Trilling was a positive sound. “All right, just a little, but I need you to do us a favor and take us to the Teal Dragon Lord. Can you do that?”

The wyvern tilted his head to the side. Ash held his breath, hoping for a positive response. According to his mother, high level magic creatures had a sort of all-tongue understanding of language. While normal humans and many other humanoids could not understand their audible language, they could understand humans.

Still, without proper training, one way communication could only get one so far.

The wyvern flared its nostrils and then turned his head towards the interior of the canyon. The creature seemed to think for a moment before turning around and letting out a loud screech before throwing its winged arms out.

Ash felt a rush of wind against him as the wyvern flapped his wings and ascended. Ash let out a low, somewhat disappointed breath. Perhaps he was asking for too much.

He wrinkled his nose. At least wyverns weren’t attacking them. He slowly stood up, careful not to make any sudden movements that could alarm the wyverns. He didn’t bother to dust off his clothes. He slung his bag across his body and prepared to climb down to the canyon floor.

He reached for a boulder to steady himself only to see a flash of slate blue wrap around his arm and pull him up. He felt the tug and his feet no longer on solid ground sooner than he realized what was happening. Ash took in a sharp breath and looked down at the ground growing further away, and then up, at the belly of the slate blue wyvern.

The long talons on the wyvern’s back claws didn’t dig into his skin. It was the fleshy portion that gripped his arm. It was more comfortable than talons piercing his skin, but to be plucked off the ground by the arm was still straining.

Ash grit his teeth and winced. He was lucky his arm wasn’t dislocated by the sudden force. “Put me down!” He moved his arm to get the wyvern’s attention.

The creature glanced down and let out a trill that sounded confused. Ash sighed.

“My arm will be torn off if you keep carrying me like this. No arm, no premium rare meat!”

The wyvern’s trilling grew deeper and it circled back, descending as it did so. Ash let out a breath of relief as his feet brushed the floor of the canyon. The wyvern released him, causing Ash to stumble a bit to keep from falling over at the change of speed. He raised his arm and rubbed his shoulder and arm, lifting his head as he watched the wyvern screech and flap its wings as it landed in front of him.

It looked at Ash, as if waiting for him to speak.

As he rolled his shoulders back, Ash looked it over and squinted. “Can I ride on your back?”

Immediately, the wyvern hissed and took two steps back. If Ash didn’t know any better, he’d think it was sneering at him.

He turned the bag flap towards him and reached into the subspace, looking awkward from afar as his arm seemed to disappear. A moment later, he took out a bundle wrapped in butcher’s paper.

“I only have a few of these, but this is Iotaian beef liver. Prized for their rich, fatty cuts of beef, they also have the richest beef liver available on the market. Iotaian cows are only slaughtered twice a year and in very limited numbers,” Ash said as he unwrapped the butcher paper and revealed the dark red piece of meat. “Preserved fresh. Let me ride on your back-”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

Before he could finish, the wyvern had stood up on its hind legs and turned around, extending its wings out and exposing its back. The wyvern looked back at him, and when it seemed that Ash wasn’t stepping forward, it shuffled backwards to get closer.

Ash pursed his lips. “I’m not going to hurt you, but you need to be more cautious when accepting food from strangers. We always tell Effie about stranger danger. I know you’re an apex predator, but it's something to consider.”

The wyvern trilled again and wiggled its tail impatiently. Ash sighed and prepared to climb on. He reached for the wyvern, placing his hand on the creature’s back, when he heard his name.

“Ash! Are you all right?” Reggie sounded frantic. “Shall I play the lute?”

“No, no, I’ve got a deal going with this wyvern,” Ash said. He jumped up and quickly stroked the side of the wyvern’s neck to calm him. He leaned forward and spoke softly. “It’s all right. They’re part of my team. They’re harmless and also want to go to the Teal Dragon Lord.”

The wyvern craned its neck to look at the others. Reggie was the only one who exposed himself by stepping all the way out from behind some rocks while the others were peeking. William was trying to call him back, but Reggie appeared ready to strum his lute at any moment.

It was a bit impressive. Despite being the team’s bard who didn’t engage in direct combat, Reggie was quite brave and Ash respected that.

Ash leaned forward once more. “If you can get five more of your friends to take us to the Teal Dragon Lord, I’ll give each of them one liver and you will get two.”

The slate blue wyvern jerked its head up and began making chuffing sounds that made his body vibrate. A series of replies came from all over the canyon and more than five wyverns encircled them. The slate blue wyvern seemed to be telling them that only five were needed as it turned its head away from a few, who then lowered their heads and flew away with their tails dropping.

Ash felt a bit of pity, as they reminded him of the family pet who sulked when they refused to give him all the food he wanted.

“Ash, what’s going on?” Alana called out in a nervous voice.

“I have a deal. Introduce yourself to a wyvern and carefully climb on their backs. Make sure they are comfortable. They will fly us to the Teal Dragon Lord,” Ash told them.

“You want us to ride a wyvern?” Clyde asked, his eyes wide as he took a stunned step out into the open. “Are you serious?”

Reggie was already holding out his hand to let the wyvern smell it. “Hello, my name is Reginald, but everyone calls me Reggie. May I ride on your back?”

“Reggie!” William paled, but Ash nodded in approval. The wyvern in front of Reggie looked at the one that Ash was riding on. His wyvern let out a chuff of approval and the wyvern turned around, exposing its back. Reggie’s face flushed with excitement.

“Careful where you step. Don’t tug,” Ash told him. Reggie slung his lute strap across his back and climbed up.

“I can’t believe I’m actually riding a wyvern....” he said in a trembling voice. “...Is this the greatest day of my life?”

“Keep your voices low and calm. Don’t scare them,” Ash told them. He looked over his shoulder. “Are you four coming or not? We can take at least a day or two off our time.” He leaned forward, balancing the beef liver in one hand to offer it to the wyvern. The wyvern turned his long neck and opened his mouth, allowing Ash to toss the entire piece in.

Reggie’s eyes were large. “Do you do this often?”

“That’s not something you need to worry about,” Ash replied. He looked at the other four who still seemed hesitant to come forward. He let out a heavy breath. “All right, if you’re not coming, Reggie and I will go first-”

“We’re coming!” William strode forward, unwilling to let his younger brother fly off with their contract hire.

“William, are you serious?” Brenda almost choked. “Those are wyverns!”

“We hired Ash for this very reason,” William said in a stern voice as he also held up his hand so that the wyvern could smell him. “We have to trust him.”

The other three approached with caution, but climbed on to the backs of the wyverns. Once they were on, Ash gently patted the side of his wyvern’s neck. “Let’s go.”

It let out a screech and flapped its wings. Within moments, they were flying through the canyon. With the wind in their ears and hitting their face, it was difficult to say or hear anything. Even if there was no wind, the speed and altitude made the novice fliers nervous.

Ash could almost see their white-fisted grips beneath their gloves. The only one who was having the time of his life was Reggie. He was leaning forward, hugging the wyvern’s neck, but let out excited cries and shouted about what he could see below every so often. Ash used magic to control the wind, allowing him to hear clearly.

Brenda was cursing him under her breath, it seemed.

Worse than that, Clyde was getting air sick. It wasn’t as bad as his seasickness, but he was getting queasy, which could result in him falling off.

Ash debated whether or not to stop for a bit when he saw a fork in the canyon ahead. There was a tall, narrow pillar of stone at the splitting point. It was surrounded by a shallow river that created an oxbow around the massive stone formation that was once part of the canyon wall.

The bottom half had a jagged cliff face while the top half was tiered off. There was a wide, open space in front of a large crack in the stone.

That must be the Teal Dragon Lord’s-

His thoughts were cut off by his wyvern’s screech. Ash winced, gritting his teeth as the sharp noise pierced his senses. The six wyverns began circling around the top of the formation.

“Why aren’t we landing?” Alana wasn’t heard by the others, but Ash heard her.

He was wondering that as well, but his confusion was short-lived. A large shadow fell over them, making the air grow cold. Ash swallowed hard and tilted his head up.

A low, vibrating sound came from the long, scaled neck of the black underbelly of a full-sized dragon. Its wings were bright teal and seemed to sparkle under the sun.

The wyvern subclass had winged arms and legs, but true dragons had four legs and two separate wings. According to what Ash had read, true dragons outranked the subclasses and the most powerful of them were called ‘dragon lords’.

Ash had never seen an actual dragon lord before.

“That’s bigger than I thought....” he muttered to himself as the wyverns descended. He couldn’t keep his eyes off the creature. It was easily as large as one of the family's three-mast trading vessels.

He didn’t realize they had landed until he felt the wyvern beneath him shake its body. Ash quickly snapped out of his thoughts and slid off. First, a deal was a deal.

“Ash-”

“Stand back!” Ash said as he landed behind the wyvern. The wyverns had landed on the flat area in front of the Teal Dragon Lord’s den and, once their riders had slid off, waddled over to Ash while making little trilling noises.

Ash waved for the rest of the party to remain where they were before he reached into his bag and took out six packages of liver. He could feel the excitement of the wyverns in the air as he unwrapped them and presented it to each of them. Their tails swished back and forth as they lowered their heads to snap up their beef livers like the family pet, Commodore, did when he received a treat.

Just as the wyvern he had ridden tossed his head back to swallow the liver whole, a dark shadow fell over them once more. The wyverns quickly shuffled away and took flight, as if fleeing.

“Ash!” William called to him. “Do you need help?”

“No, stay where you are!” Ash said. He remained where he was, as well, looking up at the golden eyes of the Teal Dragon Lord. Ash kept eye contact and bent forward, holding up his arms at his sides. “Keep your heads up, but lower your bodies. This is to show that we are not a threat.”

He heard shuffling several steps behind him as the others quickly followed his orders. In the face of a ship-sized dragon with black horns, glistening scales, and rows of sharp teeth, even Brenda bent at the waist and didn’t seem to care about how awkward they looked.

Ash watched the Teal Dragon Lord’s massive head that was easily taller than he was tilt to the side. Its’ nostrils flared, smelling the air. He lowered its head, letting out a low vibration in its throat that Ash could feel in his bones. From the dragon’s posture, it wasn’t aggressive, but instead, curious.

Ash remained still as the dragon began to sniff him. The Teal Dragon Lord seemed to be satisfied as it drew its head back and sat down on its hind legs. Its two front legs were in front of him, but one reached out. Ash watched as the Teal Dragon Lord’s claw touched the butcher’s paper that had been left behind after the wyverns fled.

The dragon then let out a low chuff.

Ash slowly stood up and reached for his bag. He retrieved another package, unwrapped it, and placed it on the ground before stepping back. The dragon’s movements were smooth and the liver disappeared in an instant.

“Teal Dragon Lord, I humbly ask to trade,” Ash said aloud. “If you have a golden urn embedded with stones, recently...acquired from Iveria, I will trade you five beef livers for it.”

The dragon snorted and turned his head away in disgust. Ash could almost see it asking him if he were joking to offer such a pitiful trade.

“Seven beef livers.” The dragon didn’t look at him. “Ten.” This time, the dragon’s horns moved a bit. It was interested, but seemed to be holding out for more. Dragons were known for amassing wealth for a reason, after all. “You’re playing hard. I can respect that,” Ash said with a nod. “Then, how about ten premium Iotaian beef livers, four o’Aonghas mutton shanks, half an Iverian wild pig, and a dozen fire chicken eggs. You know these are very rare and difficult to get.”

Rumor had it that a dragon once tried to steal Aonghas sheep. It didn’t leave the continent alive.

The dragon was tense. Its eyes darted towards Ash, but seemed to resist.

It turned its head away and Ash’s shoulders fell. He was down to only a dozen livers, six mutton shanks and two wild pigs left. He still wanted to keep some in case of emergency, but it seemed as if he didn’t have much of a choice. He could only hope that the Teal Dragon Lord would give in with his final offer.

A loud caw filled the air. It was a familiar sound to Ash and he turned his head. A large black bird landed brazenly on one of the horns of the Teal Dragon Lord. It continued to caw, but made no aggressive movements. Every now and then, the dragon would snort or chuff. The black bird cawed once more and this time flapped his wings.

The Teal Dragon Lord huffed and stood up. The ground shook a bit as it walked away, leaving them outside as it went into the cave.

“Now what?” Reggie asked in a despondent voice. “Is it leaving?”

William frowned. “If it won’t give it to us, then we’ll have to take it.”

Clyde held out his arm to calm William. “Give him some time. Let Ash bargain.”

“Bargain with what?” Brenda snapped. “More meat? What would a dragon with a hoard of gold and gems want with meat?”

“Hey, this is premium meat,” Ash said with a frown as he looked over his shoulder. “It may not be as much as all the gold and gems a dragon has, but it’s not cheap.”

“Ash, if the dragon lord doesn’t accept the meat-”

“It’s coming out!” Reggie cut off his brother and all their attention turned towards the entrance of the dragon’s den.

With the black bird still perched on one of its horns, the lumbering beast approached them. It lowered its head and placed something on the ground.

The shiny gold and expensive inlaid gems were completely intact. Ash stepped forward. “William, can you check if this is the right urn?” He knelt down to try to find the engraving of the girl’s name.

William was slow to approach, keeping his eye on the dragon before kneeling down to check. He ran his hand over the engraving. He checked the lid. It was still secured, but he managed to open it to check the contents. Inside was a nest of silk cushions cradling a gilded wooden box.

“The remains are safe.” With a somber nod, William let out a low breath. “This is the urn.”

He secured the lid once more and Ash looked at the dragon.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” Ash said as he stepped forward. He began to remove the items from his bag and laid them out for the dragon to see. The dragon sniffed each piece and let out a low, approving chuff. Ash stepped back to rejoin the group.

“This went by much faster than I thought,” Clyde said as he reached out and patted Ash’s back. “Well done, Ash!”

“To think we’d face a dragon lord and live....” Alana added in a low voice.

“All thanks to Ash!” William said with a wide, beaming smile. He slapped Ash’s back heartily. “Excellent work! We left it in your hands and you came through.”

“It’s my job,” Ash replied with a lazy shrug. “I’m a beast tamer.”

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“What’s the matter?” Brenda glared at him. “Don’t tell me you’re not satisfied.”

In a booth on the upper floor of the Orm Point Adventurer’s Guild, gold coins had been separated into six piles on a round table. Five were even, while the last was smaller than the rest in accordance with the contract. Regardless, it was still a lot of coins, which was expected.

The ducal family were informed that the urn had been retrieved and was enroute to their local Adventurer’s Guild for pick up. The payment was released and it was up to the adventure party to split it as they saw fit. The Orm Point Adventurer’s Guild had been surprised that they returned from their quest so soon considering its difficulty, and the rank and skill of the party. What was more, no one was missing or injured.

That alone could increase their rank and skill listing.

“Brenda.” William gave her a silencing look. “Ash saved us more than once and used skills we didn’t hire him for.”

Brenda brushed it off with a wave of her hand. “And we added extra to his pay. Isn’t that enough?”

“It’s more than enough,” Ash said as he finished checking his number of coins. As Brenda said, William had already increased the amount he was supposed to receive as per his contract as he did ‘bonus’ work. Ash nodded and turned towards the banker with them. “Can I have this registered to my account, please?”

The golden-skinned elf who was a guild banker nodded. “Is there any particular currency you’d like it in, sir?”

“Dinari gold standard.”

The elf’s brows shot up and gave Ash a surprised look. “You’re from a merchant city, sir?”

Ash nodded. He reached into his breast pocket and took out a small metal card with engravings and a thin slice of crystal at either end. “Is it possible?”

“Of course, sir. Wait a moment and I’ll be right back.” The elf banker rushed off with the wooden box where Ash had placed his coins. Ash held on to his card and waited patiently.

He smiled at the adventurers. “I don’t want to have to carry so much with me when I travel.” The others nodded.

“It’s rare that I see a coin card,” Clyde said. “Outside of my parents, as they almost strictly use coin cards in the Cloud Continent, most Iverians just carry the coins.”

Ash sighed. “True, but it’s also easier for those who live in a merchant city, especially when they travel. They don’t need to constantly exchange currency. If you can get one, I recommend it.”

“The Adventurer’s Guild has their own, don’t they?” William asked out loud as he seemed to consider it.

“They take a yearly fee, though,” Alana told him.

“Yes, but when you exchange currency, you have to pay a fee. At the very least, a coin card is more convenient,” Clyde replied. “I should use mine more often.”

“You have one?” William looked surprised.

“My parents are from the Cloud Continent, so it’s preferred, but in order not to stand out in Iveria, I usually use physical coins,” he replied with a shrug.

“Where did you get your coin card, Ash?” Reggie asked.

Before Ash could respond, the elf banker returned with a small machine on a tray. There was a smooth crystal that had a series of numbers on it acting as a screen. “Sir, please check your balance. The exchange rate is twenty-seven to one dinari gold standard.”

Ash did the math in his head. “Is there a transfer fee?”

“Not with your coin card, sir.” Ash held his metal card against the machine. He pinched one side, his thumb over a thin sliver of crystal while on the other, another thin sliver of crystal made contact with the machine. The sliver of crystal beneath his thumb glowed and several lines began to glow and extend to touch the other crystal slip on the card. A small beep was heard and the machine screen and the sliver of crystal that touched it turned green. The banker checked it and nodded. “The transfer has been made to your account, sir.”

“Excellent, thank you.”

The banker then turned to the others to ask if there was anything else he could do for them. William requested some information on the coin card of the Adventurer’s Guild and the banker nodded before turning to fetch the document.

“Well, this is where we part ways,” Ash said as he patted his chest. With his business completed, he stood up and looked at the table around him with an amiable smile.

Clyde looked surprised. “So soon? We just arrived this afternoon. You’re not going to join us for a meal?” They came directly to the Adventurer’s Guild as soon as they got off the ship from the Dragon Continent that morning. He’d been away from home for two months and his journey wasn’t complete yet.

“I can’t,” Ash said. “I need to get home. I checked the schedule at the pier when we passed. The ship I need to be on leaves soon.”

Clyde and Reggie both looked disappointed. They stood up, prompting Alana and William to stand as well, and extended their hands.

“In that case, it was a pleasure working with you, Ash,” Clyde said as Ash grasped his hand and shook it.

“Yes, if we ever need a beast master again, we’ll look for you,” Reggie told him as Ash moved to shake his hand.

“Actually, I’m not a beast master.” Ash gave them a weak smile as he let go of Reggie’s hand. William still took his, but looked surprised.

“What do you mean?” William said. “We saw you calming down those animals. You spoke to the dragon and got us the urn without a fight!”

“Yes, but a beast master can actually speak to animals and understand them when they ‘speak’ back,” Ash told them as he shook William’s hand. “I can’t.”

“You can’t?” Alana’s eyes nearly bulged out. “But...but you kept talking to them! They acted as if they understood you!”

“It’s all observation and body language,” Ash replied. “Beast tamers rely on their understanding of animal movements to figure out what they want. A real beast master can speak to animals and they’ll understand. I know a few. But your advertisement at the guild was asking for a beast tamer. Not a beast master. There’s a difference. The latter is an innate gift; the other can be learned by anyone. Beast tamers are less effective, but will suffice for the most part.”

He glanced at their faces and watched as all of them seemed to turn to the still-seated Brenda. She looked up from her drink, defensive. “What?”

“This is all your fault!” Alana pointed at her. “You said to use ‘beast tamer’ because it was cheaper to put on the ad!”

“It was cheaper!”

“We almost got killed!” Clyde choked out.

“He did his job didn’t he? And we got the urn didn’t we?” Brenda said, clutching her cup against her.

“Enough,” William said, appearing exhausted. He looked at Brenda and then at Ash. “Thank you for your help, Ash. I hope the reward money is enough for your mother.”

Ash grinned. “It was no problem, and this...” He patted his chest, where he kept his card. “Is more than enough for Momma’s birthday gift.”

The table went quiet. Alana squinted. “Wait...birthday gift?”

Reggie blinked. “Didn’t you need it because your mother is ill and you need to pay for her medicine because the family business is struggling?”

Was that what they thought? Ash squinted. He never actually explained his situation, as there was no need to, but he definitely did not tell them his family was struggling. Far from it. “I...no, I just...I just needed a part time job to make some extra money. Momma’s fine. Very healthy! She does so much for us and I don’t want to use the money she gives us to buy her a present. I wanted to earn it on my own.”

William furrowed his brows. “Your mother gives you money?”

Ash nodded once more. “Ah, that reminds me.” He patted his back pocket and took out a small, thin metal business card. “A little token of my appreciation for hiring me. I know it’s always a risk hiring temp contract party members. You just never know if their personalities will mesh well with the team.”

He handed it to William who accepted it with both hands. “What is-”

“It’s a coupon for ten percent off tea and a meal at my family’s shop!” Ash told with a bright smile. He adjusted his bag over his shoulder and began to step away. “And don’t worry. I know it’s one card, but it’s good for all of you on your first visit at all locations,” he said, motioning his hand around the table. “Our main shop is in Carthage Harbor! Feel free to drop by at any time. ”

“Carthage...Carthage Harbor?” Reggie’s eyes went wide.

Brenda shot up from her seat the moment she heard the name of the city. “Carthage Harbor? The Carthage Harbor that’s a top tier merchant city just next to the Isthmus of Iveria?” she nearly cried out.

Ash drew his head back a bit, surprised by her outburst, and nodded. Was there any other? “Yes.”

Clyde prodded further. “The Carthage City that founded the Federation of Merchant Cities?”

Ash nodded. “That’s the one.”

Brenda leaned forward, her eyes burning with intensity. “The Carthage Harbor that has the flagship stores of some of the most expensive brands on two continents? The Carthage Harbor that is one of the wealthiest places in the world?”

“It’s just moving a lot of money around because of trade-”

“You’re from Carthage Harbor?” She pointed at his face and Ash drew his head back. She said it with such shock and disdain, Ash couldn’t help but wonder what exactly she thought of him.

“My family has lived there for several years. My mother was even on the Merchant High Council for two years,” Ash told them. The Merchant High Council, or “Merhi” as it was popularly called, unified merchant city-states that made up the Federation of Merchant Cities around the continents. They shared resources, established trade regulations, and protected each other from any encroaching kingdoms.

The Federation’s navy was considered the best and its army acted as guards for land trade and city defense. His mother had been elected in Carthage Harbor, but resigned to an advisor role to better care for Effie. It had been several years now, but his mother’s name still carried significant weight.

Brenda swayed in place and then fell back in her seat. “Impossible...you need so much paperwork just to move there.... The homes cost...cost more than we can make in half our life time....”

“Are you all right?” Reggie squinted at her.

“Everyone, I have to get going. The ship will set sail soon,” Ash said. He patted Reggie’s shoulder. “Once more, if you’re ever in Carthage Harbor, drop by! The name of the shop is on the card!” he said, smiling as he pointed at the card. “Show it to anyone there. They’ll know where it is!”

He gave them one more wave before almost skipping out of the guild hall, eager to return home. He didn’t see Brenda snatch the card from William’s hands or hear the rest of their conversation.

“Give me that!” Brenda flipped over the card and her eyes nearly fell out as she saw the embossed logo of a snake and some sort of beetle. She let out a wheeze, as if seeing the card was like being physically hit.

“What? What is it?” William asked with worry.

Alana glanced at the card still pinched in Brenda’s pale, white fingertips. She also took in a sharp breath. “Snake, Scarab, and Sons....”

William furrowed his brows. He pulled the card back, but Brenda’s grip was like a vice. He looked down at it. “Snake, Scarab, and Sons, Purveyors of Fine Tea....”

“Good gods,” Clyde said in a low voice as he looked towards the door where Ash had walked out.

Rustling was heard as Reggie took out their copy of Ash’s employment contract. He put it on the table and used his hands to flatten it out. “Ash...Atractas...!”

Brenda cried out and covered her heart with her hand “He’s an Atractas!”

“What’s an Atractas?” William asked, looking at the others remaining stunned in place.

“Wills,” Reggie said as he looked at his brother. “The Atractas family owns the largest chain of tea houses and dry goods trading routes in two continents,” he said. “Ash wasn’t earning money for his sick mother. He doesn’t need to; they’re one of the wealthiest families in Carthage Harbor. Ash is a scion.”

Alana stared at the name on the piece of paper. “The scion of the Atractas family was our part time hire....” She looked at the others. “Have we been scammed?”

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Ash let out a whistle as he reached the pier. He went straight for the ticketing office, and searched the wide, warehouse sized building with rows of booths for the ticketing booth for Carthage Harbor. He found it close to the main entrance, as expected of one of the most powerful trading ports on two continents.

There was no line, but there was a large sign noting the number of documents visitors needed to have. The cost of tickets were listed under the names of the ships that were leaving for Carthage Harbor, along with their departure times.

Ash walked around the lines and stanchions, and then waited until he reached the front to be called to the booth.

“How can I help you?” the tired man, who looked just a few years older than him, asked from behind the magically treated glass.

“I need one one-way ticket to Carthage Harbor,” Ash said.

The man began to write something down and then made a small motion of his hand. “Paperwork. You’ll need your travel pass, letter of introduction or trade papers, identification, and proof of citizenship-”

“Here you go.” Ash presented a small, hand-sized, leather booklet with the gold embossed seal of Carthage Harbor and its name in several major languages used on the two continents on the ultramarine cover.

The man assisting him glanced down as the single booklet slid to him and paused. His eyes showed a little surprise. “Oh...you’re a citizen.” He sat up straight when he opened it and saw the name. “Mr. Atractas?”

Ash nodded. “I’ll take whatever fare is available on the Sea Serpent Eight.”

The man almost fumbled his Carthage Harbor travel pass. “You...you need to buy fare to...your family’s ship?”

“My mother is rather strict on procedure,” Ash said with a slight grin. “There should be some left, right?”

“Yes! Yes, absolutely, sir!” The man began rushing to prepare a ticket. “It...it’s five dinari gold standard.”

Ash nodded and took out his card. “Card?” The man nodded at once and pushed forward a small machine like the one at the Adventurer’s Guild. Ash put his thumb over the crystal and then tapped the other end’s crystal against a machine with another, larger crystal screen on it. The amount charged flashed on the screen before a light turned green, confirming payment.

Five dinari wasn’t too bad. He still had plenty earned from the quest to buy the hair pin for his mother. A moment later, the booklet was slapped closed with a paper ticket wedged between its pages and cover. The man stood up and bowed to Ash.

“Here you go, sir! Enjoy your journey!”

Ash smiled brightly as he collected his booklet and ticket. “Thank you!” He tucked his travel booklet and ticket in his inner pocket before following the signs to get to the piers. His ship was on pier twelve, which was one of the mid-sized ship docks.

For both branding and practicality, all of his family’s ships carried the name Sea Serpent and were painted dark brown at the hull, while the keel, rudder, and the area around the figurehead of a sea serpent were ivory. The sails were white with green borders with the largest sail always bearing the symbol of their family’s tea house logo also in green.

He found it without having to look for the pier number by recognizing the ship. The black bird that had followed him landed on one of the mast riggings of the ship. It also seemed ready to go back to where it came from.

He walked to the booth by the gangway and presented his ticket. The attendant nodded, checked his identification, and allowed him to board.

“Second Young Master!” The first mate of the ship nearly choked when he saw the young man casually climbing up the gangway, as if he owned the ship. In a way, he sort of did.

“Hey! First mate Heller! Nice to see you again!” Ash greeted with a grin and a wave. He lifted up his ticket. “Just heading home!”

The first mate nodded his head earnestly. “Of course, Second Young Master! I’ll have the best room prepared at once-”

“It’s fine,” Ash said, waving his hand. “I’ll take the shared room-”

“Prepare the room for the Second Young Master!”

Ash pursed his lips as the order was given. He stood in place as people rushed around him, eager to prepare for his trip. He took a deep breath. Outside of Carthage Harbor, he was a young master comparable to a prince, but once inside the city, he was just a kid who worked at his family’s modest tea house.

“Second Young Master! This way!”

Helpless to stop the sailors on his family’s trading ship, he followed them to what he suspected was the captain’s room. He sighed as a voice greeted him. “Will this room do, Young Master?”

“Captain, it’s more than enough,” Ash said as he turned around. “You really don’t have to do this.”

“Nonsense, Second Young Master. You must have the best and most secure room!” The bald-headed ship captain told him in a firm, determined voice.

Ash nodded and paused. His eyes crinkled up as he looked at the captain. “Secure?”

The Captain nodded. “Yes, Second Young Master. The entire company has received an order to escort you home at once.”

Ash drew his head back. “Escort me home?” His voice became almost a squeak. “By who’s orders....?”

“First Young Master Henry has ordered it,” the eager First Mate told him. Ash shuddered and then paled at the next sentence. “Your brother is looking for you.”