Isabelle grimaced and squinted. A fly had smashed into her left eye right as she was about to open the adult golden dragon’s inventory! Isabelle blinked her eyes back into focus and concentrated again on the adult golden dragon.
[Loot ‘Adult Golden Dragon’?]
Isabelle thought yes.
Inventory: Adult Golden Dragon
Item
Traits
Adult Golden Dragon Hide x20
+20 carry weight
Adult Golden Dragon Scales x20
+25 carry weight
Adult Golden Dragon Bones x20
+16 carry weight
Adult Golden Dragon Skull
+25 carry weight
Adult Golden Dragon Eye x2
+15 carry weight
Adult Golden Dragon Heart x1
+13 carry weight
Adult Golden Dragon Claw x12
+20 carry weight
Dragon Scroll x3
n/a
Gold-lined dragon pillows
n/a
Gold-framed painting by artist known only to the dragon
n/a
Gold nail coverings
+5 damage, +3 dx, +0.5 carry weight
Golden boots
+1 str, +3 carry weight
Golden pitcher
n/a
Golden necklace x4
n/a
Amethyst x5
n/a
Garnet x3
n/a
Lapiz lazuli x2
n/a
Small gold idol
n/a
Golden chalice set
n/a
Banded agate
n/a
Hematite x4
n/a
Azurite x3
n/a
Blue quartz x2
n/a
Emerald x2
n/a
Potion of Invulnerability
+0.5 carry weight
Potion of Excellent Health x3
+50 hp, +0.5 carry weight
Potion of Giant Strength
+50 str, +0.5 carry weight
Gold (69342)
n/a
Well, hell, look at that. This dragon had almost as much gold as Isabelle had had before she’d dumped it all out of her inventory and used the Overlord’s cauldron goo to transfer all of its properties to the Overlord himself. No wonder all those dragons had showed up trying to take him away with them, Isabelle had comparable riches to an adult dragon’s inventory!
That realization reminded Isabelle of something. Where exactly had the wyrmlings gone? Weren’t three of them swarming around the Overlord before that young green dragon had swooped in and taken him away to who knew where? What had happened to them? Maybe her party members knew.
“Hey, Tahsi? I’ve got a question,” said Isabelle.
“Shoot,” said Tahsi. “Unless of course the question is, ‘Can I have some of your delicious bread, Tahsi,’ in which case you already know that the answer is yes.”
“Sorry, that’s not the question,” said Isabelle. “What I’m wondering is—”
“Well, don’t apologize to me,” said Tahsi. He equipped some bread and took a gracious chomp. “Apologize to yourself, you’re the one missing out.”
Isabelle rolled her eyes. “Tahsi, what I’m really wondering is, well, what happened to those three wyrmlings that swarmed around the Overlord?”
“Oh. I don’t know, good question,” said Tahsi. He shrugged. “Ah, shit! My character sheet popped up! At least my stats are really nice now that I’m such a high level. You don’t want to see my character sheet, do you, Isabelle? I think I did a really good job spending all my points.”
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“…I’m good, thanks though,” said Isabelle. She had a feeling that if she did look at his character sheet, she’d only feel frustration and jealousy, even though she was fairly confident that at least her hp was well higher than Tahsi’s now that she’d absorbed all the remaining hp from the adult golden dragon. She called Jingles over. “Hey! I’ve got a question for you, cat!”
Jingles trudged over. “What? I’ve kind of got my own butthole to lick, so I’d really appreciate it if you made this snappy.”
“The attitude is unecessary, Jingles,” said Isabelle. “Assuming you even want to be in this party.”
“Are you kidding, Isabelle? We literally just took down the Overlord and slayed another dragon. The socio-political implications and power potentials of staying in this party would more than make me a complete and utter fool for considering leaving it,” said Jingles.
“How… opportunistic of you,” said Isabelle. “I’ll remind you that it was me, specifically, that just took down the Overlord. And me that slayed the dragon. Don’t get too big for your furry britches, cat.”
“My britches aren’t furry! Yes, my legs are, but I only wear the finest silks over my personage,” said Jingles.
“Whatever,” said Isabelle. “Now, to my question. What happened to the three wyrmlings from earlier? The ones that swarmed around the Overlord?”
“Oh, them? I think they just chased off after the Overlord and the young green dragon like moths to a light,” said Jingles.
“That makes enough sense,” said Isabelle. “I just wanted to be sure I wasn’t going to get snapped back into combat mode unexpectedly before I can even finish looting this beast.”
“That’s fair, Isabelle. Now, I must away,” said Jingles. “My butthole awaits me!”
Isabelle rolled her eyes. Then, she looked into the burlap sack she still held in her hands. “So, Stelas, are you ready for this? I think it’s about time I emptied everything from this dragon’s inventory into you.”
“Oh, happy day,” said Stelas. “Truly, I cannot wait.” His sarcasm was palapable and venomous.
Isabelle took everything out of the dragon’s inventory.
[Notice: you’re over encumbered. Please check your inventory.]
Classic. Isabelle could now barely move, but it wouldn’t be a problem for long. Only, she needed to see what exactly it was that had her over encumbered. After all, some of the items didn’t add to her carry weight and could easily stay in her own inventory. That said, it looked like the besy items, being those that she could craft items out of, would all need to go to Stelas. So, Isabelle opened her inventory to see.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 1783.9/282
Item
Traits
Adult Golden Dragon Hide x20
+20 carry weight
Adult Golden Dragon Scales x20
+25 carry weight
Adult Golden Dragon Bones x20
+16 carry weight
Adult Golden Dragon Skull
+25 carry weight
Adult Golden Dragon Eye x2
+15 carry weight
Adult Golden Dragon Heart x1
+13 carry weight
Adult Golden Dragon Claw x12
+20 carry weight
Potion of Invulnerability
+0.5 carry weight
Potion of Excellent Health x3
+50 hp, +0.5 carry weight
Potion of Giant Strength
+50 str, +0.5 carry weight
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
Well, Isabelle was keeping all those potions in her inventory. So really it was just the cool dragon items that she could craft with going into Stelas’ inventory, after all. Isabelle focused on the top of Stelas’ head.
[Give ‘Adult Golden Dragon Hide x20,’ ‘Adult Golden Dragon Scales x20,’ ‘Adult Golden Dragon Bones x20,’ ‘Adult Golden Dragon Skull,’ ‘Adult Golden Dragon Eye x2,’ ‘Adult Golden Dragon Heart x1,’ and ‘Adult Golden Dragon Claw x12’ to ‘Stelas Stelford?]
Isabelle thought yes.
[Adult Golden Dragon Hide x20 removed from inventory]
[Adult Golden Dragon Scales x20 removed from inventory]
[Adult Golden Dragon Bones x20 removed from inventory]
[Adult Golden Dragon Skull removed from inventory]
[Adult Golden Dragon Eye x2 removed from inventory]
[Adult Golden Dragon Heart x1 removed from inventory]
[Adult Golden Dragon Claw x12 removed from inventory]
“Oh gods, one day you will pay for this,” said Stelas. “Be assured, Isabelle. It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, it may not even be next week or next month, but even now my body is inching forward with every fiber of its being. Forward on its quest for vengeance. Sure, it has not managed to do much more than slightly raise its big toe over the last few days, but just you wait. Oh, yes, just you wait, Isabelle.”
Isabelle rolled her eyes. Whatever case of the blues Stelas had temporarily caught by seeing his boss the Overlord completely forget his existence and then get snatched away by dragons seemed to be wearing off. And that was fair enough, she figured.
Isabelle was ready to get to work and craft. Or was she? Actually, the more Isabelle thought of it, she realized that what she really wanted to do was read the dragon scrolls. Not actually because she wanted to read them, of course, but because if she did she would get to learn to use some breath weapons, and Isabelle was more than eager to get that process started. So, she opened her inventory again, this time only concentrating on seeing the dragon scrolls.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 251.9/282
Item
Traits
Dragon Scroll x3
n/a
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
Three whole scrolls! That meant, of course, that Isabelle would have to force her way through three works of poetry that were surely just as painful as the last dragon scroll she’d read, but it also meant she’d get three new breath weapons! Clearly, Isabelle’s new special ability had been a good choice.
“Hey, Isabelle, now I’ve got a question!” said Tahsi. “Well, two questions.”
“Okay, shoot,” said Isabelle.
“First of all, do you have any dragon scrolls for your trusty kobold companion?” said Tahsi.
“…Don’t call yourself that, Tahsi,” said Isabelle.
“Why?” asked Tahsi.
“I don’t know, it just seems a little odd. Like, over enthusiastic, maybe?” said Isabelle.
“Okay,” said Tahsi. He pouted a little. “Do you have any dragon scrolls, though? Those last few were so, so good, Isabelle.”
Isabelle wondered to herself if they were actually any good.
[Error: no command ‘were they any good?’ found in system]
Isabelle rolled her eyes. Classic system. “Yes, I have three dragon scrolls,” said Isabelle. She held a hand up to still Tahsi’s excitement. “But, I need to read them first.”
“Oh, really? I thought you didn’t like them,” said Tahsi.
“I don’t,” said Isabelle. “But, I get new abilities now when I read them. I get these things called breath weapons.”
“Breath weapons?” asked Tahsi. “What’s that?”
“I mean, I’m not totally certain because I haven’t gotten one yet,” said Isabelle. “But, I have a feeling it lets you cast things like spells with your breath. Kind of like being a dragon, I guess. It’s my new special ability.”
“That’s cool as shit,” said Tahsi. “Boy, Isabelle, when you and Tahsi Jr. have some time to shoot the shit after he’s hatched, you’ll have a lot to teach him about being a dragon. Or half a dragon. I’m not sure, I don’t know how that’ll shake out, really, it’s kind of a waiting game. I just hope he isn’t sterile like a mule or something.”
Isabelle did her best to forget everything Tahsi had just said to her. She nodded and thanked him, ushering him away.
“But Isabelle!” said Tahsi. “I never asked you the other question I had!”
“Okay—” Isabelle said with a sigh, “—what’s the other question?”
“Do you want any bread?” asked Tahsi.
“No, Tahsi, I don’t,” said Isabelle. “Thanks, though.”
Tahsi walked off. Now Isabelle could finally read some of these dragon scrolls! She focsued on them in her inventory.
[Dragon scroll x3 equipped]
All three scrolls sat perfectly in her hands. Isabelle could hardly read three at a time, so she focused on two of them.
[Dragon scroll x2 unequipped]
Now that Isabelle was only holding one scroll, she unfurled it, and gave it a begrudging read.
From Wyrmling to Adult: A Golden Dragon Tale
Way back in the way back when
When humans and dragons were said to be friends
There was a small beast, the relative human age of ten
Just a dragon, young dragon, a dragon as any other
A little golden wyrmling, with an angry big brother
This wyrmling’s brother was fierce, this wyrmling’s brother was bold
Also, this wyrmling’s brother was getting incredibly old
Yes, having an ancient brother as a young wyrmling can be strange
But stranger still was the fact that both dragon’s father had found a new, considerably younger mother whose general behaviour towards her child was mainly to smother
It with kindness and love all through the day, with a joy in her dragon-heart and another wyrmling on the way
Similar stories of age gap relationships in the dragon world are a tale often told
But when the brother from another mother caught wind of this happening he did not react the same, no
He went to his extremely ancient father and he called him deranged
Soon all were estranged
And it was truly a pain
That for a long time weaved its way through the wyrmling’s brain
It was suggested to the wyrmling by its mother to try therapy
But dragon therapists cost a pretty penny
So instead, the wyrmling burrowed deep underground
Alone, asleep, but not really at peace
Still, softly slumbering, and not making a sound
Til one day the wyrmling awoke
To a bright flash of light
Some warlock miners had gotten stuck in the crevice
And they were horribly impolite
They’d urinated on the dragon
And they kept on doing it
They called the wyrmling piss-colored
The piss-colored dragon, they said
But this dragon, though little, knew it wasn’t true
It wasn’t a piss colored dragon, oh no, this dragon was gold!
How could these miners be so brash and so rude
It truly soured the wyrmling’s attitude
Yet piss and piss they did o’er the piss-colored dragon
Until suddenly it flapped its wide eyes open
Please forgive us, they cried
We knew not what we said
We did not mean to tinkle all over your head
And soon they learned that this dragon had powers
And they grew to regret giving it such golden showers
Isabelle took a deep breath and sighed as the scroll finally came to an end. She felt like her brain needed a good scrubbing with soap after that read.
Then, the scroll started to shake. And to shimmer. And, in a burst of light, it disappeared into ash and dust.
[Dragon scroll unequipped]
[Dragon scroll removed from inventory]
Isabelle had to stifle a laugh. Apparently, her reading a dragon scroll and learning a breath weapon from it destroyed the damn thing! She felt kind of guilty, knowing how excited Tahsi had been to read it.
[Congratulations, you’ve learned a new breath weapon: gust of wind]
Hell yes! That sounded pretty cool. Only, Isabelle had no idea how to use her new breath weapon.
[Clarification: Breath weapons act almost as spells, for one exception. They do not use your mana. Instead, they use stm points. This can be a benefit, and a detriment, depending on how you use them. Once you’ve learned a breath weapon, you have to open your mouth and think ‘Use (name of breath weapon).’ If you want learn more about any given breath weapon, think ‘Learn More About (name of breath weapon).’]
That made as much sense as it could. Isabelle definitely did want to know more about her new breath weapon, so she thought, ‘Learn More About Gust of Wind.’
Breath Weapon: Gust of Wind
Cost: 12 stm
Description: A flurry of wind races from your throat and batters all in its bath. You can power this up with more stm. The closer a target is, and the more powerful the attack is, the greater the chances are for such side effects as: flinging enemies into the air, chilling enemies, knocking the breath out of enemies, and staggering enemies
Holy shit. That was pretty powerful! Isabelle almost wished she had an enemy to test it out on, but clearly she wasn’t in combat mode so it wasn’t yet the time. Of course, she did see some birds flying through the air that it would probably work on, but that felt like a little dark, even for Isabelle. Also, who knew if killing them would summon up some giant berserker bird to come kill her, or get her arrested or something. So, Isabelle decided instead that she’d equip another dragon scroll and learn another breath weapon!
“How was that dragon scroll?” asked Tahsi. “It looked like you finished reading it. Can I have it yet?”
Isabelle ignored Tahsi’s question.
[Dragon scroll equipped]
“Isabelle, you aren’t going to start hoarding dragon scrolls away from me, now, are you?” asked Tahsi. “I mean, I guess I understand. They are pretty great, and you were the one who killed the dragon. It’s just, you know, I thought you didn’t like reading dragon scrolls, and they were a huge staple of my childhood, and they give me the most feeling of home I’ve felt since the Ozian Sect destroyed my bakery, so it would be really nice to have them.”
Isabelle sighed. Tahsi was really working on guilting her. Hell, he’d probably level up his speechcraft if he kept going at it. Still, she wanted at least one more breath weapon before dealing with the Tahsi situation. So, she unfurled the scroll in her hands and started reading.
From Wyrmling to Adult: A Golden Dragon Tale cont’d
The wyrmling, feeling self assured though stinking of piss
Opened its mighty jaws and brethed fire on the miners
Soon they were burnt to a satisfying crisp
And the dragon popped them in its mouth and ate them like sliders
Satisfied and awake, the dragon journeyed out of its cave system
Or, at least it tried
For it soon seemed that its ability to maneuver underground had frankly died
Yes, the wyrmling was lost, and wander it did
It soon became happy that it had eaten those miners
Because without it would surely have gone hungry
Soon enough, the wyrmling happened upon a large underground pond
Its smell was putrid, and of its inhabitants the dragon was not fond
Numerous fish-people frolicked and played there all day
Half the time swimming, the other half worshipping what looked to be a big bale of hay
Which of course made the wyrmling feel confusion and dismay
What was hay doing underground, anyway?
The dragon asked a fish person, but of course they didn’t speak dragonese
So the person just screamed and fell to their knees
Soon the fish people were all worshipping the wyrmling and with ease
Would bring their scaly ruler whatever it pleased
Soon a huge wealth of treasure and food was amassed
And what was once a wyrmling felt its youth pass
Not a wyrmling no more, but a young golden dragon
And what was better, it was always in talon’s reach of a flagon
Of ale, which it soon grew quite dependent
Though of course if you told it so it’d only get defensive
Or possibly bite your head off
So the fish people laid low and offered it all that the dragon called for
Royalty was tasty, but royalty was fleeting
For after a particular night the dragon blacked out
In its blackout dream it had had the most wonderful feast
Yet when it had awoken it saw a terrible sight
For in truth it must be said it was the dragon’s subjects that it’d been eating
The scroll shook, and shimmered, and exploded into smithereens.
“Um, Isabelle?” said Tahsi. “Did that dragon scroll just disappear forever?”
[Dragon scroll unequipped]
[Dragon scroll removed from inventory]
“Uh, I don’t know,” said Isabelle.
[Congratulations, you’ve learned a new breath weapon: burst of water]
“Isabelle, be honest. It’s fine, I can take it,” said Tahsi. “Does learning breath weapons destroy dragon scrolls or something?”
“…Yes, I think it does,” said Isabelle.
“Okay. It’s fine, see? I’m fine,” said Tahsi. His lip was quivering, and his eyes were watering.
“Ugh! Fine!” said Isabelle. She focused on the last scroll in her inventory.
[Give ‘Dragon Scroll’ to ‘Tahsi’?]
Isabelle thought yes.
[Dragon Scroll removed from inventory]
Tahsi’s eyes lit up. “Oh, thank you, Isabelle, thank you, thank you so much!! You have no idea what this means to me! Don’t feel like you have to give me one every time we kill a dragon or anything, I understand you need more powers and everything, I just… wow! Thanks so much!” Tahsi equipped the scroll and started reading it voraciously with glee.
Isabelle sighed. Well, at least she got two breath weapons, and she could learn more about her new weapon, too.
[Combat mode activated]
Fuck’s sake, what now? Isabelle turned around. She heard a kobold voice screaming from afar. As she looked, she finally spotted a troupe of about ten guards running towards them with weapons drawn.
“By the order of the Cloud Reach guard!” shouted a Cloud Reach guard. “You and your party are under arrest for an appalling amount of property damage! Stand down, now!”
Isabelle looked around at all the buildings that the adult golden dragon had destroyed. “Wait a second. You’re blaming us for all this? You realize a dragon did this, right?”
“Dragon shmagon!” said another guard. They were rapidly approaching. “Now, stand down! We have anti-magic fields with us, you can’t hurt us, player!”
Couldn’t hurt them? Isabelle would see about that.