Many groggy faces and droopy eyes idly turned my way in passive greeting as people stumbled towards our rally point in the wee hours of the morning. I recognized some of the people gathered as attendees of the party that Chooka had thrown last night. Most of the rest had presumably attended other parties, seemingly ones with equally ample levels of alcohol available to those who cared to imbibe. Miccen, dwarves, and gnomes represented the bulk of the skilled and technical experts, with orcs comprising most of those who would be performing grunt work and a few remnimi as scouts. Humans were a noticeably small minority, for they tend to not be specialized enough at anything to outcompete other races.
Chooka had indeed hosted an orgy for our going away party, one with a strict dress code of ‘anything but clothes’ being enforced. We did allow people to wear normal clothes to the gathering hall we rented out, but then they had to change before they were allowed into the party proper. The various pots, pans, plants, jars, tools, and other forms of improvised apparel had found their way to the floor before long, but it gave each person in attendance an opportunity to showcase their creativity in the matter. I myself had used illusions to create black bars to obstruct a view at my nether regions, whereas Chooka had somehow conjured up mist and flower petals to just barely obfuscate her own goods. Skull just used conjured shadows that resembled the screaming souls of the damned silently crying out in torment, but it did not dissuade the bold who coveted a chance to press against her exposed and steely muscles.
Nanu had worked the room, shapeshifting as needed into the desired race and gender of whatever paramour that suited her. Combine that majestic wonder with her exotic novelty of being a known dragon and she had been the most popular individual of the night by far. I had not been far behind, and although I lacked the ability to shapeshift into whatever type of person I wanted, simply being a [Dragon Emperor] had many suitors come a-calling.
I had been far more discerning than Nanu as far as what aesthetics and equipment I desired in my couplings, and indeed, Chooka had to coax and encourage me to entreat all the lovely ladies to the delights that I could offer. I was not so much shy as concerned that Chooka or Skull would feel as if I were cheating on them if I enjoyed the company of other women too much. They solved that by rounding up a harem of honeys and tossing me into their midst. The smorgasbord was to be enjoyed for the bounties it had to offer, for when the night ends and the people go home, they both knew with confidence that the two of them and, I guess now Nanu, would be the ones favored most.
Also, they all wanted me to collect Traits and start pumping out baby dragons. It’s like those women all lived in a world where people viewed them in such a way that their only value was to produce offspring or something. I hope they appreciate the sacrifices I make for this family by bedding all these beautiful women who throw themselves at me like drunk girls with daddy issues on prom night. I know Skull just wants a cuddle puddle with the whelps, for she is ever transparent in expressing her desires.
Now, being an [Dragon Emperor], I had a lot of perks at my disposal for Trait collection. For other dragons that don’t specialize in doing the deed, they have a chance to get a random Trait from their lover. Some specialized Templates, like [Succubus], can cherry-pick as they please or maybe even get multiple at a time if they are strong enough. I had the means to do so inherently, and as I could now see what Traits people had, I did begin being more picky than just aesthetics about what partners I wanted.
Traits like [Scales - Tough] and [Scales - Hardened] were all part of the [Scales] set, and apparently, getting the full set does something special. Likewise [Bones - Hardened] and [Bones - Ice] were other examples, and so I could likewise collect the [Hardened] set. Those are examples of basic Traits, but some get more complex, such as [Socialization - Charming (Bad Boy, Quick Witted)], which as you can see, has four different parts to it. My understanding of why a flight needs a dedicated team of sluts to go forth and collect grew with my acquisition of Traits.
Sadly, Nanu only retained a fraction of her Traits from her previous flight. During her time as an Orphan, as dragons without a living Emperor are called, her Traits decayed away. She still had the use of the ones for her current Templates and Blessing, but her repository of what she had collected had withered during her captivity. She made ample effort that night to restore her lost glory, but ultimately, the whole process of finding all the Traits in existence could take a full flight several centuries of effort. She did inform me that duplicate copies of Traits are fine and useful, but the nuances of how they were useful escaped me. In simple terms, it is better to collect new ones than to get duplicates, so that is what I did.
With enough people having one Ability or another to [Cure Disease] or something similarly named, the spread of venereal diseases had become a moot point, except perhaps amongst poor people in cities with terrible public healthcare. Likewise, people of different races could not breed, and dragons had to make a deliberate choice to procreate, so from a purely physical perspective, promiscuity had no appreciable downsides unless toxic emotions got involved. Even Alterez managed to get some action, and I believe at one point I saw Gambino and Bambina eyeing him invitingly from across the room. The three of them and the two [Kuroko] kobolds had wandered off somewhere private, so either he was dead in a ditch somewhere or he would be strutting to this gathering with enough pep in his step to act like he owned the place.
Indeed, my favorite new [Cult Leader] swaggered towards me with a wide grin on his face. Granted, once he started a cult, he would have plenty of devotees who would do anything to please their leader, so he would be drowning in volunteers for bed-warming duty in no time. I had wondered what kind of cult he would start. Probably something around drugs and food, like an occult potluck that had the munchies from all the substances they consumed.
“Morning, Bossman,” the devilish charmer greeted as he sauntered up to me. “Quite the party last night. We should probably throw another one when we herd this gaggle of lollygaggers to the rallying point of this road of yours. Where are we going exactly again?”
“Southeast to a T-intersection that is more or less centered east-west on the continent. It is the middle of nowhere, for it is just where two roads converge between three major trade routes. Nanu and I will be ferrying people over there on our draconic backs, with Bellwright and a few others assisting with what flying vessels they can conjure up.”
“That ought to be a treat and a spectacle,” Alterez commented as he munched down on some breakfast. “I bet not many can claim to have ridden a dragon before, much less survived to tell the tale.”
“Well, a few did have the pleasure of riding a dragon last night,” I replied with a cheeky grin on my face. “As far as I know, most of them are still alive, but I cannot speak for Nanu’s ‘riders’.”
Our grins grew wider and wider as we stared knowingly at one another, until finally, we could contain our mirth no longer and both broke out in hearty laughs.
“Where is she anyway?” Alterez asked as he offered me some sort of burrito for breakfast, which I accepted. “I figured Chooka and Nanu would be here around now.”
“Oh, they are at the guildhall picking up some very important documents that I had drafted just for her. I expect that any minute now, Nanu will be escorting an exuberant Chooka over to us. I’d bet you two silvers that Chooka jumps on me or even tackles me in excitement.”
“That’s a sucker’s bet,” Alterez answered as he held his hands up in defeat. “If you did something to please her, which I am guessing you did by all the sleight of hand you pulled with a certain document that Chooka never got to see during all those damn meetings, then you have something in the works. I may not have been paying complete attention to the contents of the meeting, but I did watch what people were doing. You may be crafty, but I saw what you were doing.”
“Well, if I am charged with wrongdoing, then you will have to take it up with the temples, for I have diplomatic immunity,” I countered as I evaded his baseless accusations of paper-shuffling under Chooka’s nose. “Are all goblins so quick to point the finger at dragons for any perceived wrongdoing? How long must my people endure such persecution and discrimination?” I put on a dramatic flare to my little speech, the back of my hand raised to my forehead as I embellished the situation.
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“Oh, forgive me, good sir,” Alterez pleaded with an exaggerated bow. “Goblins such as myself are strangers to being disenfranchised and wrongfully accused. You are truly a saint to endure such hardships without complaint.”
On and on our little foray into whimsical and passive-aggressive complaining continued until suddenly, the ground rose up to meet me as a pair of arms fiercely gripped me in their embrace.
“I knew there was a reason you are my favorite lover,” exclaimed Chooka excitedly as she nuzzled me into the pavement. “I don’t know how you managed this, but this is the best thing that has happened in my career in a long time.”
“I love you, too. I almost made two silvers on this tackle, but Alterez didn’t take the bait for a wager.”
“Smart goblin,” Chooka replied as she sat upright and pulled a document out of a satchel on her waist. “See here,” she exclaimed to the curious goblin as he leaned in to examine what words were written upon the official-looking paper, “It says I am the new guildmaster of the temporary guildhall that will be wandering around with us as we build the road. This is the best day ever!” she shouted as she raised her hand in the air and wiggled her hips into my chest in satisfaction. “Just think of all the paperwork that will need writing, all the diplomacy and negotiating that will be needed with local leaders and their already-established guildhalls.” Chooka’s eyes unfocused for a moment as she daydreamed about such future possibilities.
I took her distraction as an opportunity to wrangle my way out of the pavement. Being that I was vastly stronger than my physical form would suggest, it was a simple matter of brute forcing my lack of proper leverage to hoist myself upright with a satisfied Chooka in my arms.
“Oh, have you volunteered to carry your new guildmaster in your arms the whole time,” asked Chooka with a cheeky smirk on her face. “I could get used to such treatment,” she continued as she preened for all to see.
“Only if you want your new office to be fuck-all far away in the mountains where you get to constantly hear the sound of stone breaking and rocks falling, instead of, you know, back at camp,” I answered.
“That would put a damper on my relationship with the other guild members,” she quipped before putting her arms around my neck. “I guess I will just have to enjoy it while it lasts. As long as you find your way home to bed me every night, it shouldn’t be an issue that our work will keep us apart.”
Her passive method of airing her chief concern now employed, I took the moment to coddle and cajole her with all that lovey-dovey stuff that makes embarrassed teenagers gag. By the end of it, she had damn-near wrangled a contract out of me, her new authority going to her head as she went mad with power. Her maniacal cackling drew a few looks, so we begrudgingly toned it down by ten percent so as to only cause a scene instead of a panicked stampede of those who may be second-guessing this expedition.
“Should you feel inclined to carry me from time to time,” interjected Nanu as Chooka and I continued our antics, “I would rebuff your gesture of compassion. Likewise, we should plan time to share Traits as well, perhaps twice daily, just to be safe.”
The three of us shared a knowing look at one another at the blatant request for frequent future entanglements in the sheets, but such is either the nature of dragons or just ones that have been imprisoned for two decades. After a few moments of that, I set Chooka down and gave her a swat on the behind to send her on her way.
“I reckon it is about time our glorious new guildmaster took command and started roll call. We don’t want any of these good people left behind.”
Saddened to no longer be in my arms, but excited to round up her posse of new underlings and get this rabble into some semblance of organization, Chooka departed with a little skip in her stride.
“You know,” started Alterez as he watched her go, “nine times out of ten, I would call nepotism in such a situation. However, I honestly don’t think I could find anyone in the guild more qualified than her for this job. That woman has a strange passion for paperwork that verges on the unhealthy.”
“That is why I picked her,” I responded as I walked us over to the oncoming kobold troupe. “She is too qualified and passionate to sit around bored while I am out working, and besides, this is too big to fail and she won’t let that happen.”
Alterez and Nanu nodded in agreement while Skull spoke to the same from my shadow. Three of the kobolds were dressed in blue with neat and form-fitting uniforms that included a skirt and a fancy scarf for Bambina. They each had some luggage on wheels that they rolled along beside them. Gambino dressed in black with three gold stripes on his jacket just above the wrists. He also sported a fancy black hat with gold emblems and flourishing that helped to make him look like he was in charge. They continued strutting past us towards where people would be loading onto or into their transportation mediums.
Nanu and I likewise made our way over, and as other individuals with their own flying mechanisms gathered to their locations, Nanu and I transformed into dragons. Although these days, I felt more and more like a dragon who transformed into a person. After Chooka gave us the go-ahead, I heard three tones in rising pitch as Bambina made an announcement.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of Imperial Airways, it is my pleasure to welcome you aboard flight 403 with service to the middle of nowhere.” On and on she continued as she guided people through the boarding process, calling up individual groups while Gambino clambered his way up my body to sit where my neck meets my shoulders. “Ladies and gentlemen, please turn off and stow away all portable magical communication devices in preparation for departure.” I zoned out for a moment, but it seemed like we were close to leaving, with most of the baggage being stowed away in my pocket dimension.
I had glorified saddlebags on my neck and tail to hold the contents of my [Hoard], and the [Kuroko] kobolds, each now in uniforms more appropriate for manual labor, began checking all the straps and harnesses that would allow those bags and the passengers to remain affixed to me. Their pre-flight checklist complete, they each grabbed a pair of glowing sticks and moved out to marshal the awaiting craft and flying creatures into the sky.
I could not determine if the kobolds actually believed in the actions and steps they took, but they performed their roles seriously enough. I never asked them to do anything specific, they just showed up in whatever outfits matched the scene and began working. I know full well what their dress and behavior alludes to, but how did they know it? Airlines don’t exist in this world, so how did they know about it? Were they pulling memories from my past life or were they somehow enlightened by some yet unknown source? Either way, it was funny, adorable, harmless, and surprisingly useful, as it did help streamline the process and people just went along with it like it was all very normal, despite it being the first time any of them had done anything like this. Blessings are weird, Skills even more so, and the power that they could bring about, often without people noticing, was a little frightening at times.
Before long, I too was in the air, our little convoy slowing down to allow the last to take off to catch up, and, indeed, we progressed at the speed of our slowest member, which thankfully, was some roc and not me. I don’t care much for birds, perhaps because they dare contest the skies where dragons reign supreme, but the poor creature did muscle through despite looking overloaded.
Two descending tones sounded, followed by a large inhale and very muffled speaking. I could tell it was Gambino’s voice, and although my Skills kept the worst of the wind away from my riders, his sound clarity was absolutely terrible.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome aboard. We are currently flying at two thousand feet on our flight from Berkerin to the middle of nowhere. We are expecting a smooth flight and anticipate an on-time arrival in the middle of nowhere at lunchtime. We hope you enjoy your flight.”
The whole affair sparked memories of lives past, and I chuckled at how the kobolds get all the little details just right. My memories were becoming more and more clear over time, especially since that dream with the Spiral-Triangle Man. I didn’t need to encounter things before I knew what they were as often as I did in the past, and I found joy and insight from knowing more culture and technology than I would otherwise know from being raised in a small village in a different middle of nowhere.
We arrived at lunchtime, which is a very broad time frame. A sizable camp of two or three thousand individuals and beasts of burden had already assembled. We touched down outside the camp, and the passengers disembarked and collected their luggage. I was glad to be free of them, for although I like miccen well enough, they never stopped chattering the whole time. Literally, each one talks non-stop and somehow still keeps up with the umpteen conversations going on; it was nearly maddening. As I made my way to the camp, I wondered if that would be the status quo for the next couple years.