Chapter 15

‘Ponzo The Know-It-All’, Ponzo, he really hated that name. The only person that could call him by such a title and live, was sitting at a table in front of him. He was deep in the bowels of the D.M.C.C., the Ddyllewech Magic Community Center.

‘Che’, Ponzo clicked his tongue inwardly, ‘Lizzard Bastard’.

Of course, he kept his words to himself, he wasn’t stupid enough to incur the particularly nasty wrath of this dragon. His mouth was a dam, and like any dam a lake of resentment had filled up his otherwise callous heart. Indeed, the expression of an apex predator, focused on his quarry with sharp intent, was quite unsettling. What he wondered, what he pondered was how the hell did they find him, again.

Ponzo controlled a sizeable portion of the black magic market. Except for competitors on his turf, he never sought out violence, neither did he oppress those in the neighborhoods he controlled. It wasn’t because he was an honorable criminal no, it was bad for business. They were his customers; he could collect more money from happy bees.

‘Innocent until proven guilty’, this was how the dragons operated. It wasn’t the American constitution that founded these ideals, in truth it had been practiced for centuries. The Dyllewech clan was the muse for their inspiration.

Upon his arrest he was immediately brought here to the Information Guild’s Enforcement offices, the I.G.E. Immediately and without delay he was ushered into this interrogation room, where nothing had happened. Ian the meddling dragon, had sat across him for a full day, not speaking, no gestures. He filled up the room with his presence and just abode, completely ignoring Ponzo. He wasn’t present the next morning, however Ian came during noontime, covered in armor reeking of putrid blood. Now he sat in his chair smoking, buried in unidentified matters in his tablet while neglecting a to-go box filled with piping hot delicious goodness. He operated his tablet, pressing, swiping scrolling. Still nothing was spoken.

Ponzo shifted his weight on the uncomfortable metal folding chair that had now become his new place of residence. He gazed at the food, steam escaping from it into the air. It was a reuben. The smell of rye bread and pastrami filled the room. It was relieving to smell something else since the room had been filled with tobacco smoke like water filling an enclosed tank.

‘How did they know my favorite food? Are they tormenting me?’, Ponzo thought to himself, taking great effort to keep his expression stoic.

Of course, Ian knew a reuben sandwich, was his favorite food. Ian quietly took a few unenthusiastic bites and got up and walked out of the dimly lit cold interrogation room.

Closing the soundproof door, Ian nodded to William standing by the door smoking his pipe.

A smirk was on Ian’s face, “He has no idea why we captured him, or what our intentions are, other than relaying his charges upon his arrest. I think I’ll let him stew for a little while longer. That reuben was pretty good let’s get some lunch. I had to hold myself back from devouring it. Humans really can do amazing things with food”.

William chuckled, and remarked in a casual tone, “Speaking of humans, I wonder how the lass is doing”.

After a while they had discussed the simulation, Liam and Radim’s critiques were honest and brutal.

“If it wasn’t for Amy everyone here would have died”, Liam had said, making Amy’s confidence rise.

Now she was alone with Liam. She couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed being alone with another man, especially one as handsome as Liam. He seemed like he was in his mid-thirties; however, in reality he was much, much, much older. Dragons age differently.

Amy was expectant and excited, thus far she had not really practiced magic, it had all been theory, and explanations for why the world was this way.

Unlike all the other rooms she had seen in the magic tower, this training room had stone floors instead of elegantly stained wood. The walls that were smooth and without blemish in any other room in the guild tower; here, from the pots to the marks to the scratches in the wall, they narrated a tale of countless others struggling to improve.

“You surprise me every time you do something Amy”, Liam said as he winked at Amy, “Still, you need control, you have a vast ocean of mana. Amy, do you know which is faster for scooping out water from a lake, your hands or a bucket”.

“Umm, a bucket”, Amy replied confused.

Liam chuckled, “Right, so imagine your mana as the lake, and the bucket as your wand. Well in your case it is more like a water cannon, but I digress”.

Liam studied Amy; she knew he really regretted that she was swept up in the affairs of his world. It was like they plucked her from her own world. But what could they do, the coincidences, which were too many, raised the suspicion that these in fact weren’t coincidences; but something had searched her out with purposeful intent. She was not safe on earth; she was safe temporarily here, but what tomorrow would bring was unknown. They thought like dragons, and she was a human. Amy did not want to hide in a locked room like some princess in a tall tower; thus, she thought the dragons had a point: there would come a time when she couldn’t rely on her protectors, so she needed to protect herself, and actual experience was worth more than reading all the books in their vast library.

Her eyes filled with resolve she waited for her training to begin.

“You have a good spirit, Amy. I am happy to be your Dollwyn, your teacher” Liam nodded as he continued studying her, and with a slight smirk he instructed her, “For four hours, I want you to swing that wand around without using any magic”.

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“Whaaa…!?”, Amy was about to ask more questions in confusion, but Liam was too fast; all Amy could see was half his arm as he rounded the door and promptly left her to her own devices.

Ian watched Ponzo through the glass wall. He wasn’t a particularly good looking human. Ponzo was a little pudgy, older caucasian, average height, thinning hair, and cold eyes. Not a trace of an expression could be found on his face, it was like stone. Yet this inconspicuous earther, had committed so many crimes, that picking a crime to arrest him on, was like a game host reaching into a bowl, overflowing with tickets to select the winner. Ian could close his eyes and point randomly and still select a serious enough crime to warrant incarceration for many years. This man looked more like a middle-aged con-artist than one of the most prominent dark wizards on earth. Yet he was still helpless before the might of the Ddyllewech dragon clan. Ian opened the door, his belly was full from a good lunch, he felt the time was ripe for this bird to sing him a song, and he stepped inside.

Immediately Ponzo eyed him with suspicion, the darting eyes tried to look behind Ian and the briefly opened door, to find anything of use.

Ian produced a different atmosphere than before, rather than indifference he was focused on Ponzo, still glaring Ian smoothly sat in his chair as if he had practiced it thousands of times.

“I require information human”, Ian said with stern eyes that seemed to contain the bitter frost of the coldest tundra in the midst of a record-breaking blizzard.

This was why Ian and Liam had started the name ‘the know it all’, because in the dark places of society Ponzo had an intelligence network comparable to none.

“Tell me what you know about The Dark Wheel. Depending on the quality of intel you give us we may make a deal”, Ian said sitting across from Ponzo, with his hands crossed in a relaxed position.

Ponzo’s eyebrows rose involuntarily at the mention of this name, but Ian could tell he was maintaining his silence. As expected, a group so hidden that a mere mention of their name, was sure to bring about a reaction. ‘We need to investigate them’, Ian thought to himself.

Ian looked to the glass and said, “Charge and process him, I got what I needed”.

Ian donned his gray trench coat as he exited the room, leaving the protesting Ponzo in utter confusion.

The Dark Wheel was an obscure group; the only descriptions came from the informants’ imagination as they were never seen. What they actually did, or where they actually were was unknown. All that could be found was only rumor not truth, and what truth existed was diluted with imagination to fill in what was lacking.

His personality, his compulsion to quantify things, formed a symbiotic effect with his position, his vocation. He would uncover the truth about them, even to the extent of the individual’s favorite foods, he would surely discover all their hidden details, no matter how trivial.

Walking down the corridor, Ian wanted to go to his office and digest, prepare, and plan. He also needed to catch up on reports from the raid council. The mountain of work was soul crushing. He looked to William who was as equally absorbed in his own thoughts. With this dragon who viewed the world from a wider perspective, Ian was freed from some restraints, and could chase after the details.

Before they parted ways, Ian smiled warmly at William exhaling smoke; this once young and immature dragon from his memories, had grown dramatically, magnificently, and he said, “Vice chief William well done, bringing Ponzo in so quickly. Was he in your apartment this whole time? It’s like you had him on speed dial”.

To this William chuckled, an expression that was calm, yet the eyes, his eyes were shining from the praise of his mentor, “Thank you Chief”.

After that Ian was in his office. He looked over his spacious office in a brief inspection. Everything was in its place. The two aqua-marine chairs faced his desk, they were in the perfect position for Ian to notice any detail of whomever was occupying them. Behind that was his two sofas that he had brought from his territory far in the bitter cold north. The table made of golden walnut exclusive to his home and ancestral seat: Dwyladin, betwixt the comfortable furniture. His mahogany bookshelves were all neatly aligned. Not a single book was jutting out.

Satisfied with his space he accessed the virtual office app, that Liam had given him, on his tablet with a few swipes and a press. Papers suddenly littered his desk. First, he wanted to know the situation of the raids in Dduraduum. Ian pulled up a menu with a search function. While the application had littered his desk with stacks of transparent blue papers, the menu screen with the search bar, which was suspended in the air in from, was a soft orange. He conjured a virtual keyboard and typed then hit search. The stacks on his desk diminished as only the ones pertaining to Dduraduum Dandwylloren, the raid council. The first document he picked up was from his friend and prior guild-mate: Toshiharu from the Shinsai dragon clan, who was sent from the clan as a token of cooperation with the Ddyllewech dragons.

Ian began pouring over the contents of the report.

[April 5th 2023 Dduraduum Dandwylloren Report:

Currently the build up of Monsters have far exceeded our projection for this year. The reconnaissance sorties have relayed sightings of innumerable field bosses and dungeon bosses. Most are sentient class. Everyday their numbers increase at an exponential rate. We suspect that there is purpose behind their movements, it seems like they are preparing. This year the Dduraduum raid will be classified as a potential Dungeon Break. Also there has been an increase in incidents of small hordes in the surrounding area, towns, and villages. Although, while troubling, compared to our previous records, the population has not yet exceeded a serious threat level…].

‘A potential dungeon break huh’, Ian thought to himself as he poured through the remainder of the report. It had happened before, a classification given to describe a pontential breach in their long-standing geographical, physical, and magical barriers. It was an event that happened every hundred and fifty years. In other words, this was a generational event for the dragons who lived at an average of 350 years. According to procedures, the dragon clans from that region would be recalled from their various positions, and sent to defend and overlook their ancestral territories that the respective clans were responsible for. Save for those who were exempted, under the laws of his people, due to their responsibilities. This was when the organized wings, like the one he and Liam formed with the three siblings, would perform their duties.

Ian accessed his message app, and started typing,

‘Liam, have you read the report on the raid?’

A slip of paper had formed itself into a bird and flew away disappearing into the clean air and atmosphere of his office. Ian had chosen birds as a preference in the settings for the app due to his hobby. Soon his tablet ringed with a pinging sound, and a bird returned, and unfolded itself into another slip of paper.

Liam: ‘Yes, it seems it is even more important to send Amy out so that we can discover if her wand is connected. She is amazing! It’s a shame she doesn’t realize how much sheer talent for magic she has. Her party is developing as well, William would begrudgingly proud. Speaking of which, I have to return to her training. Even though it is the first day of formal raid training, I will send them out to the territories in two weeks’ time.’

Ian smirked at the thought of Amy, the timid human girl, would become an outstanding raider under Liam’s tutelage. Ian soon accessed another function of his virtual office: it was his guild memo function. Without delay he began typing.

[Due to current circumstances, and until further notice, the Information Guild will be operating at level 5. All personnel participating a level 4 or lower case, will be re-assigned… ]