“What could you possibly offer that I don’t already have?” Ryuudagon boomed from above.
I didn’t only saw his eyes the first time because his body was the same color as the rocky ceiling he clung to. The wingless creature looked more like a lizard than a dragon.
The Earth Dragon Ryuudagon
Quest Monster
Level 45
“I can help you move all this gold to a safe location for one thing,” I said.
Ryuudagon snorted a ring of smoke. “And what makes you think I want it moved? This is my home and I’ll devour any who dare to enter.”
“Like you devoured those dwarves?” I said with a chuckle. “Here’s the thing. The dwarves have given me a quest, an adventurer, to vanquish you and clear out this tunnel. Even if you eat me, I’ll respawn and return and return with more of my kind. Your only chance is to take my deal.”
“Why should I trust a human?” Ryuudagon asked, in a voice that was more of a rasp than a roar. Was he warming up to me? “Tell me, what’s in it for you?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” I replied. “I get to be friends with a dragon.”
“Dragons don’t make friends!” Ryuudagon thundered. “However, your words have wisdom, so I will permit you to move my horde. However, I must warn you. Betray me and I will hunt you to the ends of the world as many times as you manage to respawn.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ll never betray a friend.”
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You have obtained 1,732,446,020,345 Gold!
You have obtained: The Source of All Earth
You have obtained: A slightly broken cage
You have obtained: 3 Dragon Eggs
I have to admit, I was a little tempted to betray my new friend when I saw how much gold he had. Of course, I never would…but the temptation was there as I slid the dragon’s horde into my bag.
“Now, where do you want your new lair?” I asked, hoping to move him as far from the Under Drunder passage as possible.
“You promised me a new home,” Ryuudagon replied. “I leave it to you to find the perfect spot.”
“How fast can you travel?” I asked, wondering if dragons got a version of fast travel.
“I can outrun you,” he explained. “Do you intend to mount me?”
“M-m-mount?” I asked, wondering if I’d offended him. “Erm, no. But I have an idea that will allow me to keep up.”
“Do you now?” Ryuudagon hissed. I could have sworn I saw him lick his lips.
“Yes,” I replied. “I just need to know exactly what kind of dragon you are.”
“I am an Earth Dragon,” Ryuudagon replied. “One of the last greater elemental dragons.”
I peeked over my shoulder to make sure the dwarves had gone before pulling out my deck of blank cards.
Greater Elemental Dragon.
Error…
Greater Earth Dragon
Error: You lack the skill to summon. Correcting to Lesser Earth Dragon.
The words rewrote themselves and a smaller version of Ryuudagon with an oversized head appeared on the card. The actual Ryuudagon looked over my shoulder and snorted a gout of smoke. “What manner of voodoo is this?”
“The kind I’m unsure of,” I replied. “I’ve never tried this before, so I’m not sure how it’s going to work.”
I held the card out in front of me and spoke the name while pushing mana into it. “Lesser Earth Dragon.’
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
The image melted off of the card and grew until it was roughly a quarter of the size of Ryuudagon, and just big enough to ride.
“Hello, Little One,” Ryuudagon greeted my creation.
It looked up but didn’t speak.
“What is wrong with this hatchling?” he asked, snorting smoke at me.
I shrugged. “He’s a summon. Maybe they aren’t sentient.”
“Perhaps,” Ryuudagon said, giving the mini dragon one last look before turning toward what I could only assume led to the surface. “I hope you can keep up.”
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Riding the lesser dragon wasn’t at all as difficult as I thought it would be. I had no problem clinging to the scale plate between its front legs as they churned double-time to keep up with the much larger Ryuudagon.
He led me to the surface and turned to look at me with narrow slitted eyes. “Finding a suitable home won’t be easy. Hollow mountains that aren’t infested with pesky dwarves are hard to come by.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I've got a plan.”
He followed as I put a good distance between us and the passage. When I stopped in front of a towering mountain, Ryuudagon snorted. “While I applaud your choice, there is no entrance worthy of my majestic stature. You’re going to have to try harder.”
I snorted back. “Hold my ale!”
A quick Ping of the mountain showed that there was no cave structure, not even a single air pocket. There were, however, quite a few deposits of ore I was just itching to extract. I dismounted my pet dragon and it dissolved the second it lost contact with my body. The fact that the card was also gone reminded me that using them outside of my heart resulted in their demise.
I climbed a good way up the mountain before I did anything. The last thing I wanted was for someone else to stumble into the cave and find Ryuudagon again. I then took out my shovel and began to Power Dig. While Break Stuff probably would have made a bigger hole, it wouldn’t have made the tunnel I needed.
Ryuudagon made the mistake of standing behind me when I started and was rewarded with a face full of dirt. The initial tunnel was too narrow for him, so I ended up having to dig two more holes to expand it. Once I was deep enough, I switched to the ice pick and used Break stuff. Using all of my considerable stamina resulted in the mountain exploding around me, and burying me in rubble. I was used to it, so I wiggled around and used the skill repeatedly to smash all of the rubble. Various bits of ore were left behind which I dropped into my inventory.
Congratulations! You have reached level 27!
By the time the last of the rubble was cleared out, the chamber I made was more than big enough for the dragon and all his treasure. He even had room to grow. Ryuudagon crawled all over his new home before finally settling down in front of me.
“Well?” he asked, blowing smoke in my face.
I met his gaze with defiance of my own. “Well, what?”
The dragon roared, showering me in spittle from his gaping maw. “You promised to return my horde. Don’t make me devour you.”
“Oh, right,” I said, laughing weakly.
In an instant, I opened my inventory and a sea of treasure spilled out all over the place. While part of me hoped the gold would be enough, I also returned the items as well. The last thing I returned was the damaged cage. Even though I knew Ryuudagon could use it to trap more dwarves, the likelihood was significantly lower of anyone stumbling into his new den.
“Our pact is complete…friend,” Ryuudagon said softly, the last word sounding forced as though no such word existed in the dragon language.
“So,” I hesitated to make my request. “Now that we’re friends, I have a favor to ask.”
“Ah hah!” he roared. “I knew it. You humans only care about one thing. If you want any part of my horde, you will have to pay for it with blood.”
“But I don’t want your treasure,” I said, before quickly amending my statement at Ryuudagon’s shocked expression. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s a nice treasure you’ve got there. I was just interested in you, my friend. Can you tell me about that fire skill you used earlier? What do you call it?”
“My breath?” Ryuudagon asked, snorting twin gouts of flames from each nostril in a demonstration. “It’s nothing special. I suppose I call it Flame Breath. Now, if you want to see something special, watch this.”
Before I could react, Ryuudagon moved to the mouth of the cavern and opened his mouth wide. However, this time, it wasn’t flame or anything lavish that came out. Instead, it looked like he was puking. A steady stream of thick gunk shot out of his mouth and stuck to a nearby wall.
I walked over to investigate the smoldering goo. Smoke rose and a sickening stench filled the room as whatever it was ate away at the solid stone wall.
“Wow!” I said, careful not to touch it. “That’s amazing. What do you call it?”
“You are a curious human,” Ryuudagon commented. “As you can see, that is Acid Spit.”
“Amazing!” I repeated. “Do you have any defensive skills?”
Ryuudagon emitted a loud booming laugh that shook the mountain. “What need have I for defense when I am covered in impenetrable armor?”
“You mean your scales?” I asked.
He puffed out his chest, displaying dull brown scales that looked like sandstone. “Earth Dragon Scales are more versatile than most. They can change states and repair themselves when damaged. That’s why you’ll find no chinks in this armor.”
“What about your claws?” I asked. “Do you ever fight with them?”
Ryuudagon held his claw up and examined them. “When the situation calls for it I suppose. I prefer not to play with my food though.”
That part wasn’t entirely helpful but I decided to experiment with it later. “I have one more question. What is that thing?”
The thing I was pointing at the system had already identified as The Source of All Earth. Only that didn’t tell me anything about it. It looked like a nondescript hunk of rock, hardly out of place in any cave. If I hadn’t examined it because it was lying on top of the treasure, I probably would have left it where I found it.”
“Oh, that thing,” Ryuudagon hissed. “Those happen from time to time. I believe you humans call them hairballs.”
“I think you’re mistaking me for a cat,” I said, trying to hold back my laughter.
“You all look alike to me,” he hefted his two front claws in a draconian version of a shrug.
“Do you mind if I take it?” I asked, trying not to give away my interest in it.
“Help yourself,” Ryuudagon replied, flicking it at me with his tail.
I scooped it into my inventory before asking, “Um, is Tail Swipe another one of your attacks?”
Ryuudagon’s eyes narrowed as his tail instinctively wrapped around himself. “Sometimes it has a mind of its own. I have occasionally used it on pesky humans who annoy me. Would you like a demonstration?”
“No thanks,” I said, backing away. “I think I’ll leave you to settle in. Do you mind if I visit you again sometime?”
“Suit yourself,” Ryuudagon said, already plucking one of his eggs gently out of the horde in his mouth and moving deeper into the shadows.
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Once outside, I fast-traveled back to Under Drunder. From my vantage point above the city, I saw a large procession making its way through town toward the castle. It looked like the dwarves I freed made it back on their own. I jogged down the path to the gate where both guards saluted before pushing the gate open.
The town was empty except for the distant noise of cheers going up near the castle. I hurried over just in time for the king to make an appearance on a balcony high above the gates.
In a voice loud enough to be heard over the din of the crowd, he boomed. “All hail the conquering hero.”