Kaden’s time in Beast Control had taught him a lot about dealing with angry owners and his reasoning was that angry owners and angry mothers had to be a lot alike, in that both were probably at fault for whatever they were angry about. For instance, the [Destruction Wyvern] was probably at fault for the death of all of its young and wanted to complain to him.

“You can kill it!” The [Harvester] shouted. “I’m sure of it.”

“It has a Destruction aura,” Kaden replied, as he approached. He’d never released the [Soul Binding] on the wyvern.

“You can survive it!” other workers called, cheering for him.

Kaden probably could. The ship, on the other hand, would be less likely to survive if she unleashed her full strength aura. Already, the wood planks her claws touched looked five years older than the others. “Hey there. I know, I gave you some bad news. The good news is, one of your eggs survived your temper tantrum. What it really needs is for you to be less involved. You know how it is, you’re a young wyvern, flying free and suddenly you have a clutch of eggs and did you ever really figure out who you were?”

The mother opened her jaws wide, a threatening display.

Kaden summoned the hatchling from his soul, catching it and sheltering it close. “You’re what we call a toxic parent. Not that I would know, I didn’t have parents. I guess we’re looking for something between ‘dead in an erratic dungeon’ and ‘smothering with a destructive aura.’”

The hatchling [Destruction Wyvern] shrieked and buried itself up against Kaden until he pulled it back into his soul.

The mother lowered her head, centering both alligator-like eyes on Kaden.

You have been offered: Oath of the Hatchling.

Oath of the Hatchling - This wyvern will allow you to take a hatchling it was going to murder with its own terrible power. You must swear not to devour the hatchling in your own nest.

“That’s a thing [Wyverns] do? I’m not going to eat it. I haven’t even eaten my [Match Lizard], and it could potentially give me a talent. I swear I won’t eat it. Don’t you want me to offer something like, swearing to feed it? Or give it shelter?”

The [Destruction Wyvern] seemed confused. It sent a memory of howling storms. Of small wyverns venturing out to eat other, smaller wyverns. Of scraping and devouring just to cling by a single claw to a bitter existence. Truly the best years of its life, now that it looked back. Where did the years go? When did it just become an egg machine to ungrateful little monsters that disintegrated and died? It never got to terrify the Enchanted Isle like it always dreamed of.

You have sworn not to eat a hatchling in your own nest.

Optional Quest Available: Not in My Nest - Devour the hatchling in someone else’s nest. Reward - Cloak of Destruction

Kaden read the description and swore to himself. Optional Quests almost always came in pairs, and this one didn’t have a Quest for not eating the hatchling at all, or one for eating the hatchling in a number of different nests. Professor Treadle had once remarked on the dwindling population of Wyverns and now Kaden had a clue about why that was. “All right. If you lay any other eggs—not saying you should—maybe come see me at FangWood?”

The Wyvern gave a low growl that shook the ship and sent workers quivering even further back. Beast Soul worked to translate and wound up glitching several times before finally converting it into something, sort of *I always did want to be president of the nesting site owner’s association. Too many nests with the wrong shape and size rocks.*

She didn’t acknowledge Kaden’s oath, instead turning and vaulting from the bow of the ship to take heavy wing-beats away, not even heading to the island. The ship jerked and twisted, then burst forward, riding higher and higher in the water.

Kaden stayed near the front of the boat, aware of how every eye stared at him, every hand rested near a dagger or a club. Only the Harvester and his first mate remained calm. In fact, the two joked and laughed and pointed at the stack of eggs in their trays. He drew the [Echo Beetle] tin from his pocket.

The [Destruction Aura] had killed all but three and boiled the paint off the tin. One beetle went in Kaden’s ear, another he sent flying back to the egg racks so he could listen in.

“Best haul we’ve had in three years,” Cho said. “Lord Sato will pay everyone a bonus. This will let us fulfill a third of the standing orders.”

The [Harvester] locked his gaze on Kaden, who waved, then pointed to the view. “It’s not natural. Beast-Bound Warriors are so common I could throw an axe and kill two during the ten year tournament. He’s not one. Kill his beast and he probably does’t even drop dead.”

Cho smiled and waved and pointed to the eggs. “Then just make it clear to the Lord that we don’t want him bonding with the Wyvern colony and convincing them to move their nesting site. Or risking them moving the colony just to be nearer. I don’t know what a [Beast Master] can or can’t do.”

“If the Violent Drakin left, it would only be a benefit,” Cho said.

“And if a Fire, and a Life, and a Death follow? What if both breeding pairs of [Life Wyverns] decided to follow the [Beast Master?] No, no profit is worth that risk.” The Harvester leaned back with a grin that didn’t match his tone. “Make sure to compliment him. Give him a [Lifengale] egg on the way out. I’d rather have a second-lifer onboard, to be honest.”

Kaden embraced the ocean wind, the feeling of life in the ocean beneath him, and all the smells. Fish and algae, burning cloth and wood and flesh—From the castle, smoke billowed up.

The gates to the bay opened as the ship approached, and Kaden’s heart pounded as the ship sliced across the calm bay to the docks.

“Honored Guest.” Cho had approached him, carrying a crystal case with an egg in it. “I’d like to offer you—”

“Thank you!” Kaden said, taking the egg and leaping to the dock as the ship came to a rest. He sprinted up the docks, all the way to the cliff top and then to the castle. If the Fiery Dawn Assassins had come back for round two, he’d make the sect a bad memory.

He dispatched the Falcrow to Trella, then Sara, Eve, and Ashi with the same question: “Why is the castle on fire, and is everyone safe?”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Sara’s green parrot returned almost immediately. “Go to the Viridian Sunset Sect. They’re south of the castle, just past the wineworks.”

Before Kaden ever had a class, he’d run with Vip, learning from the [Lightning Chevalier] how to race through the city, and now he used every ounce of that knowledge to sprint through the crowded streets, to a gate with a round door that split in half. Multispeak didn’t translate writing but Kaden knew viridian was a brilliant green, and it matched the color of the walls. “I’m looking for Trella Sonos.”

The two initiates bowed. One on the right spoke. “She was brought here an hour ago. Elders tended her after the Master Alchemist.” He motioned for a young boy with a shaved head. “Take him to Master Chen’s alcove.”

With every step, Kaden’s worry grew like a [Destruction Wyvern] stalking along behind him instead of terrorizing the Enchanted Isle. Where was the Enchanted Isle? Kaden had no idea but with a name like that, it was just asking to be terrorized. No [Destruction Wyvern] would dream of terrorizing Deshun, because there weren’t bragging rights. ‘Look,’ one might say, ‘there’s Split-Claw. She totally destroyed Deshun,’ and all the other wyverns would say ‘Where?’ But the Enchanted Isle, that place was probably a total shit-hole, constantly under attack by every monster with an ounce of self-respect and ambition.

The boy leading him slowed, and bowed his head as he approached a octagonal garden. Vines climbed from the floor to the ceiling. And Trella floated in a sphere of green light, her hair trailing downard as she rotated upside down.

Eve and Ashi stood on either side, feeding mana into the orb.

“Trella!” Kaden said.

Her eyes shot open. “I said, ‘Tell him to wait at the castle.’ I said, ‘accidents happen.’ He still hovers from me spending a little time dead. You can’t make a breakthrough without breaking a few bones, Sara.”

“What happened?” Kaden asked.

Trella twisted to right herself. “Turns out their kind of Alchemy and ours are only mildly compatible. They use the mana in their core, we work with ambient, and their version of [Agony Cloud] is more powerful.”

Elder Chen was a woman who looked not a day over twenty, except for her eyes. Kaden couldn’t say exactly what the problem was. They didn’t look real, or maybe they didn’t look human. Her skin was flawless in a way that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up, but she checked Trella over. “Were you a cultivator, you would be dead! That cloud should have boiled your core. Be more careful.”

She clapped her hands, and the sphere of green disappeared.

Trella landed on her feet thanks to her talents, and bowed to the elder. “Thank you. Mao says you cannot learn without failure but this was a larger failure than I expected. That was only the secondary lab, I’m going back to work. They have entirely different types of reagents. Sara, forget whatever garbage the Mercari sent, you should be negotiating with the Alchemists’ Hall to exchange reagents.”

“Noted,” Sara said. “We had party quests to get cargo here. We have a business quest for S&K Holdings to make cargo voyages. We had mercari quests to deliver their cargo and sell them, and then there’s my personal quests to obtain cargo to bring back. Xiao goods sell well to nobility, but there’s only so much space.”

Kaden spoke up. “I have a ship.”

“Its’s a schooner, it’s not built to carry the same kinds of cargo. Your gold is yours to spend, but I have to say my business profession was screaming at me to warn you. It’s a huge investment that will take a long time to recoup, let alone profit. I would literally fail one of my basic quests if I’d done the same.”

“Trella will handle cargo for it.” He looked to her. “Whatever you tell me will sell best. I’ll invest in cargo. We’ll reap the returns.” He would never get tired of seeing her smile like that.

Ashi had watched the exchange with amusement. “I, too, will invest in this cargo. And while Eve and Sara negotiated, I spoke with the other victims of the Fiery Dawn assassins. One of the captains was in the wrong place and was reborn as a pile of ash.”

“And?” Sara asked.

“They do not like the new captain. We have another ship; will we not need more sailors?” Ashi’s tone said she was certain of the answer. “What I do not have is a [Captain].”

“We’ll promote from our primary crew,” Sara said. “I’ll set it in motion and see if I can rent a ship for some crew exercises. It’ll be expensive but disaster is more expensive.”

That reminded him of something. “I loved my trip. I appreciate you arranging it, Eve. Drakins are just [Wyverns], but I got to tame a bunch, I’m the first Beast Master to meet a [Destruction Wyvern], and I got an egg as a present. Something called a [Lifengale], which I know nothing about beyond it being a small bird.”

Every once in a while, Eve truly smiled. Sometimes it was a meal, sometimes it was Vip rubbing her head on Eve’s lap. Sometimes it was an enemy suffering from multiple stacks of [Plague]. Right now, she smiled at Kaden, and clasped his hand. “You are very welcome. As expected, there’s no progress on a trade agreement because there have been no talks. Instead, I spent the day learning about Lord Sato and Tomoko. And her mother.”

“Dead?” Sara asked. “You can’t be a young princess in a position of power without at least one dead parent. Don’t look at me like that, I don’t make the rules.”

“Imprisoned for leading a coup against the Emperor. Which is why Lord Sato was demoted to running the entrance port. Forced to work with outsiders, cut off from access to the court.” Eve spoke as though addressing the weather. “It means that Sara’s goals are the most reasonable. We should get whatever agreement we can and get out. When this one fails—when Lord Sato is assassinated, we negotiate a new one. I can do that in person, by FarPortal.”

Ashi drew something from Inventory. The musical instrument she’d wanted to buy. “I found the vendor and negotiated to buy the book of songs. It was a foolish purchase, but when I play it, I hear my oldest brother Uri. He taught me the first notes and the first spells, and always said it was his favorite music.” She began to play, and as she plucked notes, her skin shifted colors as mana flowed in different combinations.

“There is value in the world beyond gold,” Sara said. “Not much and not often, but it is out there.”

A bell rang somewhere in the sect, and they began to chant. The plants in the sect began to grow in response.

“Excuse me, honored guests.” A woman spoke, and Kaden glanced back to see Tomoko. Instead of ceremonial robes, she wore gray scribe’s robes with ink and quills and wax candles in loops. “My father will not speak on official business for two more days. But tonight, he would speak with you all, not as Port Lord.”

“That would not be appropriate,” Eve said. “We will wait our turn, be dealt with fairly, and accept the consequences. I am so very familiar with the nature of deals done over dinner between ‘friends.’”

Tomoko’s mouth hung open. “The new contracts will open at the start of business. Surely you want this chance.”

Kaden often found Eve abrasive, cold, or just plain difficult, but he couldn’t help admiring her poise. Or her conviction.

“Thank you for the kind offer. We will wait and negotiate when we can, for what we can,” Eve said.

“I will relay to him your honesty.” Tomoko bowed and quickly ran.

Sara looked ill. “I knew Lord Sato was in trouble, but that seals it. We make the deal, we get the agreement, we leave and come back when the port has new management. Once you start such dealings you will never be free of them.”

“Let the consequences come. We have endured worse.” Ashi went back to playing. “Where are the powerful among them? Where are the great warriors?”

Eve perked at the question. “We’re at the furthest end of the Xiao empire, in a port where people are looked down on for having to deal with foreigners like us. The entire empire is a chain of islands and the further north and east you go, the more powerful the ‘cultivators.’”

“We’re not permitted off the first island,” Sara added. “Not that I want off the first island.”

Trella held up her cloak, looking at holes in it. “I would normally leave the business and the politics to you two, but I think the whole situation stinks and I think if I can save up an attribute point, I’m putting it in luck, because ours is terrible.”

“Why?” Kaden asked.

“Arriving here, now. A week earlier and we negotiate with Lord Sato and leave. A day later and Tomoko’s succeeded in having her father assassinated and we negotiate with her instead.” Trella shook her head. “Just awful luck. Why are you all staring at me?”

“Tomoko,” Eve said.

“Father,” Kaden offered.

“Assassinated,” Sara added.

Ashi didn’t stop playing. “I see it.”

“Can we have this conversation somewhere private?” Kaden asked. “I’m hungry. I’m tired. I want to see this lifengale, and I want Trella to explain how she knows this and why I didn’t.” Kaden couldn’t shake the feeling that things were going to get worse—much worse.