Stationed at the western gate of Tuiran stood two guards. As one looked to the other, he spoke in an anxious voice.

“I can hear people in the woods.”

“Yep.”

“Are we going to do something about it?”

“Nope.”

“Why not? Isn’t it our job to investigate things like that?”

“It is, but I’m not gonna get my head eaten by whatever keeps growling. Can you tell whether it’s a bear, a dire wolf, or that dragon folks keep mentioning? I can’t. Guarding this gate is what I’m paid to do, so guarding is what I do.”

“Can’t argue with that… Guarding the gate it is.”

————————

Raya’s smile turned into a frown as she changed gears from her initial enthusiasm. Her head hung low as she prepared to bring up a subject she wasn’t quite finished with.

“I’m still sorry about what Elder Charo did to you, Kira. She told me she would use a Mind Bridge spell to talk to you. I shouldn’t have believed her. Elder Charo isn’t really reliable for things like that. Kira, are we friends?”

As Raya waited for a response, her eyes were drawn upward as she made eye contact with the Dragon. In response, Kira moved her head closer to the goblin woman and nudged her, which almost knocked over the goblin woman.

“Of course we’re still friends, little one. We both got out of it safely.” The response brought the wide smile back to Raya’s face.

“Thanks for saving me from those Dire Wolves, Kira. I was in a lot of trouble back then. There’s no way I could have beaten them.”

Looking up at Kira, she noticed that drool began to drip from the Dragon’s mouth at the mention of the Dire Wolves.

It was clear by the hunger in Kira’s eyes that she wanted more, and for just a moment, those hungry eyes were drawn to Raya.

To Raya’s relief, Kira was quick to shake that thought out of her head.

That one moment had let Raya know that her becoming lunch was a very real possibility, so she found herself wanting to change the subject.

So she was quick to bring up the topic of herbs. The two of them had gathered quite a few, and they could easily gather even more.

“It would be so easy for us to earn coin! Oh, that reminds me.” Raya rummaged through her pocket, attempting to find two specific coins.

It took a moment, but she managed to find two silver coins of the correct size. She then held out her hand containing the two coins and spoke to Kira.

“These are yours. The herbs we gathered sold quite well.” A smile spread across her face yet again.

The smell of coin had changed from a lingering scent in the back of Kira’s mind to a pervasive smell drawing her attention.

Kira found herself feeling compelled to accept the coins. As she lowered her head to the goblin’s hand, Raya stood stock-still, knowing what the Dragon was about to do.

Kira’s mouth closed around the goblin’s hand. Raya knew it would happen, but found herself yet again grossed out as the Dragon’s tongue licked her hand far more thoroughly than she wanted.

Raya could feel Kira swallow the coins. A tug at her arm reminded her of the potential danger, but in equal measure reminded her that she had a new friend she could trust.

“Sho good…”

“Uhm, Kira. I know this is how you do things, but I’m not comfortable with my hand in your mouth more than necessary. Your teeth are very sharp.”

Kira’s eyes locked onto Raya, and she opened her mouth for the goblin to withdraw the now-drenched hand.

“Sorry…”

“I didn’t cast my spell for fun or whimsical interactions. Could you please listen to why I sought you out, Kira?” Joras felt that interrupting the two would be detrimental to his cause, but as his patience dwindled, so did his manners.

Kira’s eyes locked onto him, which caused him to pause for a moment, but with courage gathered again, he was ready to plead his case.

“Kira, I would like to offer you a deal. I need an alchemical catalyst for a personal project, a potent one, and it just so happens that Dragon’s Blood is one such catalyst.”

As soon as he had mentioned Dragon’s Blood, Kira let out a growl, showing clear displeasure at the notion.

“Now either listen or use your words, Kira. Growling doesn’t convey as much meaning as you might think, but it does make Raya nervous.”

Kira’s eyes flocked to Raya, and the elf had been correct. Raya did indeed look unnerved.

The growling stopped abruptly, and Kira turned to face the elf again. She appeared to have calmed down, which was all the invitation Joras needed to continue.

“So, as I mentioned, I need a catalyst, and I am willing to pay for it. I can pay you eight gold for a single vial of your blood.”

Kira didn’t know anything about the economy of this place, so she opted to defer to the only person available for her to rely on. As she looked to Raya, she found the goblin standing with her mouth agape.

“That’s so much coin…” Raya had clearly been impressed by the offer, which just served to inform Kira of how valuable her blood would be.

“No.”

The elf clicked his tongue as he glared at Kira. “How about this: one vial of blood for ten gold, and I will help you learn more about yourself.”

That gave Kira pause. She did need to learn more about herself, but she also suspected that this trade meant far more to the elf than he let on.

As she struggled to speak, even with the spell’s assistance, she managed to ask for what, exactly, he needed the blood for.

The elf launched into a monologue about how his partner had been attacked while out adventuring and how this partner of his was currently dying.

The blood was necessary for a curative potion. With a strong enough catalyst, the potion would be capable of overcoming the affliction affecting his partner.

“So my motives revolve around my own wants and the needs of those I care about. And I don’t particularly care what you get up to once I have what I want.”

————————

I don’t know if I can trust this guy. He feels very questionable and shady. And giving blood to an admitted blood mage sounds like it could be very dangerous. Well, as "admitted" as saying he uses blood magic is.

Who knows what sort of weird nonsense he could get up to with my blood. On the other hand, it was unexpectedly comforting to have someone outright state what they want from me.

Given how late it’s getting, I wonder if he’d be up for talking tomorrow instead. So I whip out my best diplomatic voice and growl my way through asking him about just that.

Judging by his scowl, he doesn't seem overly enthused by the prospect of waiting slightly longer.

Or perhaps the problem is returning to the forest, he looks quite damp and ragged. I don’t think he’s an outside person either.

Maybe I’m getting a bit paranoid here, but I’m still not sure whether this partner of his is actually real. Which is definitely something that would impact my decision.

“Fine, where do you want to meet?” Oh, apparently he is up for it. I suggest the lake, but the grumbling tells me he isn’t really up for the hike.

“I could go instead.” Ooh, great idea, Raya! Then we’d have an excuse to hang out again.

That apparently caused Mr. Elf to lift an eyebrow. “So you might agree to the deal if Raya can go in my stead? Am I really that untrustworthy?”

You kinda are, buddy. The sneaking and suddenly appearing behind us didn’t help.

I’m still not entirely sure about this, so I decide to just outright ask him what kinds of risks I, well, risk if I choose to give blood to a blood mage.

“A surprisingly prudent question… Your worries are valid. With Dragon’s Blood, I would be able to cast some quite devastating spells. There are even some enslavement spells demanding blood. All I can do is promise that I won’t do that. But judging by our brief history, my word means shit.”

For some reason, he seems more sad than angry when he says that. So I consult an expert by asking Raya what she thinks.

For the most part, she just goes into a rant about how he’s always either happy or angry, sometimes both at the same time. Her rant earns her a glare from the guy, which I kinda get.

That’s fair when someone calls out your entire personality like that.

“People around town also talk about him as if he’ll bring ruin or something, but who knows. So far, he has only brought me coin and good deals, so I don’t mind him so much.

But I don’t have to go far before I find someone who would rather have him leave.”

Geez, I feel kinda sorry for him now. Living in a town that apparently hates him speaks volumes about his options.

Raya is still talking and mentions how he sells his wares cheaper than other alchemists in town.

She also brings up how he had given her the Mind Bridge Potion, only asking her to tell him about what happened to Elder Charo.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Using my keen dragon brain, I deduce that Elder Charo is the Old One I bit yesterday.

I came to this conclusion by reading the obvious disdain and smugness radiating from the elf, and also Raya pretty much told me earlier today.

At the very least, he and I agree that this Charo person sucks.

I think for now, I’ll double down on not trusting him. And then ask Raya to check out this story about a partner, since she didn’t actually mention anything about that. Which just adds to the suspiciousity.

The disappointment in his eyes is apparent as he looks at me, but I don’t think it’s actually aimed at me.

“What can I do to make you trust me just a little? I feel like this is excessive, even for strangers…” A good question, so I point out that he could start by introducing himself, which he hasn’t done so far.

“Fuck me… That’s a fair point, and I apologize. I am Joras, I’m an elf from the forests of the midlands. I run an alchemist shop in the goblin town of Tuiran. I’m here because certain herbs grow around these parts, which greatly reduces the costs involved in making the potions keeping my partner alive.”

On the plus-side, he seems far more irritated with himself than me.

“I’m clearly not thinking straight, considering an introduction should have been the first thing I did. Perhaps parting ways for today might just be the better choice before I make an ass of myself a third time... Would the day after tomorrow suit you for a meeting?”

I’m gonna agree to that, since I think we’re getting close to midnight and even Raya is yawning quite a lot.

I tell him that Raya will know how to find me, she just nods, or she’s just nodding off, definitely one of the two.

I give Raya a final boop for the day and take my leave. As soon as I think I’m out of sight, I turn around and head back towards the two to see them off. Gotta make sure they’re safe.

To his credit, Joras just picks up Raya and walks off slowly. That’s definitely a point for him. Now he just needs Raya to confirm his story.

Instead of lingering by the edge of the forest like a creepy weirdo, I head back toward the lake. I wanna see if I can find some place to camp out overnight.

The trees surrounding the lake are mostly firs and a few oaks or something like that. Just like all the other trees I’ve seen around here.

I don’t really have much luck finding shelter at ground level, so I end up just climbing one of the oaky tree and claiming it as my own.

My very own tree fort. I wasn’t really much of a climber in my old life, in part because of city life, but now I’m a climbing machine! These claws are great!

Speaking of claws, I really should learn more about myself, such as how to use my wings or repeat my flamey shenanigans.

I’m not sure which to start with, so flip a coin it is! Oh right, I also need to figure out what the deal is with this coin munching. That’s three things right there.

Three things are enough to qualify for a battle plan!

Good job being responsible, Kira! Sometimes you just need to encourage yourself.

Giving it an appropriate amount of thought, and totally not overthinking it, I end up deciding to try out my wings.

So I leave my comfy tree again and climb down onto the lakeshore. With a few tentative flaps of my wings, I can sorta feel something making sense.

I can do this for sure! I’m a dragon and flying is what we do!

Okay, think of other flying animals, like birds. How do birds do it? Well, they just sorta flap and take off, I guess.

So that’s what I do, which doesn’t prove all that successful. I sorta bang my wings against the ground, which tells me that I need to think about how much I flap my wings.

Next up, jumping and flapping! This approach certainly earns a better result, and does not at all resulting in me momentarily turning into a scorpion.

Now I can properly feel myself getting some lift, but not quite enough for flight. It feels like there’s something I’m missing, but without knowing what, I don't think I can get anywhere.

I’m just stuck with trial and error. It’s tremendously lucky that I’m so sturdy because I have crashed a LOT. I’m definitely missing something.

Next up is realizing the sun is rising and I haven’t slept. I’m not feeling particularly tired, but I guess I really should get some rest since I have been up for quite some time.

I actually do manage to get some rest without falling out of the tree, which is really nice. I also didn’t get attacked by anything, which is also really nice.

This is now my tree of comfyness. It’s a surprisingly good view from up here, even though I’m not all that far off the ground.

It certainly would be more tranquil if someone hadn’t caused a bunch of property damage to the beachfront. Wait… It’s not property damage if nobody owns it! That’s a rule now, I said so.

I’ve decided to just camp out at the lake, which is fresh water, as it turns out. It provides easy access to food and water, and Raya knows where to find me. I am the fearsome lake dragon, hear me rawr!

The lake itself is surprisingly large and quiet. I kinda expected a lot more lakey noises, but it’s just some quiet squelching from the small waves and some whooshing of the wind in the trees.

Not much in the way of animal noises, but I have no idea how obtrusive those are supposed to be, anyway.

So, getting down to business for the day! I am spoiled for choice! I can go explore and learn more about this forest, get some food, or practice dragon stuff!

Delving into what each topic involves. The first one is probably gonna get me lost since I'm not much of a wayfinder, but then practicing that might also be a good idea.

The second thing sounds delicious, and I should probably do that, even though I’m more peckish than outright hungry.

And the third thing would be exploring how to use my dragony superpowers, like fire! Goodness, I can breathe fire, that is so neat! Well, I will be able to once I figure out how I did it, but then that’ll be so neat!

Exploration is certainly a good choice, since knowing more about what surrounds me is obviously smart, but it does seem likely to get me lost.

So I guess I’ll go ahead and try hunting a bit, at least then I can follow the trails back with my super sniffer! Off to the woods I go!

I’m gonna have to not get lost, but I believe in me, so I’ll be fine.

I head off into the woods, and as I stop focusing so much on overthinking, my dragon senses seem to kick in.

I’m suddenly bombarded by a myriad of scents, smells, and odors. I can immediately tell that some scents are familiar, and I know I can smell both deer and wolves.

Luckily, no bears. Those guys are super scary. I should probably have Raya inspect my scales for damage after the fight with that bear. I definitely heard something crack.

I sniff the air a few more times and pick up the fresh smell of deer, convincing me that one has passed by not long ago.

It’s sorta thrilling just thinking about hunting down prey, which is definitely a new thing. Add it to the list of things to investigate!

It doesn’t take me long to pinpoint where the deer went off to, so on my way I go! Well, its way, the deer was here first.

I catch myself thinking about how much easier it would be if I could just swoop down and grab my prey. I really need to learn how to fly.

Stop distracting me, me! Focus on stalking this delicious deer. To my surprise, I seem to actually be quite good at this tracking stuff.

It’s like I can feel the trail in front of me, leading me right to where I wanna go. It doesn’t actually take me that long to find the deer in a large clearing.

Well, herd of deer, there’s a bunch of those guys. Kinda makes me wanna be greedy, but I should definitely resist that urge.

It wouldn’t be great to give in to it and hunt more than I can eat. That’s just wasteful.

Now I just need to pick one out and get ready to chase it down. Or so I think, but they’re all, like, ALL running toward me now, what the heck?! I didn’t do anything yet!

I hear a wolfy howl and, yeah, that makes sense. A pack of wolves is hunting as well, so I quickly climb a tree and wait to snatch up one of the deer.

I can definitely drag it up here, safe from the wolves. It doesn’t take long at all for the deer to pass under me, so I quickly jump down on top of one and strike with my jaws.

Got it! I got one! The feeling of my teeth sinking into its flesh is fantastic. I quickly pull it up into my tree. Evidently, I was a bit rough with it in my rush because it is definitely dead, and I think I broke its neck.

I don’t even bother waiting for the wolves to pass by; I just chow down on this delicious meat. Before I know it, I’m breaking bones and just swallowing large chunks of meat. It’s so damn delicious.

In my definitely controlled and not at all distracted state, the wolves seem to have noticed me up here and are circling my tree.

Luckily, wolves can’t- … Unluckily, wolves CAN climb trees! What the heck!

Suddenly these dang wolves are on me, four of ‘em. They quickly surround me, which I find impressive, since we’re in a tree, but I refuse to compliment them! They’re out to get me, I tell ya!

Using my tail to lash out at one of the wolves to the side of me, it jumps back to avoid the heavy weapon. I take the opportunity to quickly jump to the ground.

During my descent, the wolves are quick to follow; looks like they’re not gonna let me leave.

I quickly make my way toward the clearing. I doubt it would be great to allow the wolves to use the trees for cover because I would definitely lose track of one or two of them among the shrubbery and whatnot.

They’re definitely invested in this whole ‘hunting me’ business, and I can’t say that I approve.

Almost as soon as I stop, they encircle me, ready for a fight.

I lash out with my tail again, but I don’t actually hit anything. One of the wolves takes that opportunity to strike, biting at my front left leg.

They're definitely going for my tendons, trying to hobble me.

The wolf didn’t manage to do much, but its teeth caught on my scales, and I think it managed to pull off a few scales. That is not good.

I had hoped to rely on my scales, but if I end up losing them, I’ll be screwed. I lash out a few times, alternating between biting, clawing, and sweeping, but the wolves are too agile for me, so I can’t seem to connect.

Every time I focus on one, the others take turns attacking me, but I can’t see any particular pattern. I’m growing increasingly anxious about this whole situation, and I’m thoroughly regretting that I didn’t learn to fly first.

It doesn’t take them long before I’m actually bleeding. This freaking hurts! They just keep attacking my legs and I don’t like how well it’s working.

Offense is not working out for me, I still haven’t had a single attack connect. Think, Kira, think! What can you do?

After some not-at-all panicky thoughts and definitely not frantic lashing out, I think I might have something.

I focus on one of them and wait for another to attack. They keep surrounding me in a square formation, and I want one of the connected corners to the one I’m focusing on to attack, so I wait…

It doesn’t take long before the attack happens, and when it does, I fling my wings down and cover it. It tries to rip the membrane, but it isn’t working out for the wolf, so I quickly use the wolf’s panic and strike.

I bite and rip until it stops moving and refocus on the other wolves, but they seem to have taken the opportunity to skedaddle.

At least the fighting is over now, so I look down at the wolf I did catch and… I may have been a bit too eager with the retaliation...

The wolf is a lot redder, flatter, and not in one piece. Okay, yeah, I’d probably run too if one of my friends were suddenly turned into mince.

Looking down at the gross remains of the wolf, I can’t help but think that it’s one more thing I need to think about.

I mean, if I lose focus again, something, or someone, could easily end up as a tasty pile of food, and that would be tragic.

Yeah… I got distracted again and now I’m eating it… These dragon instincts keep sneaking up on me. Well, I got lunch, so that’s nice.

I think it’s time to head back to the lake and lick my wounds. The wolves did a number on my leg scales and I’m bleeding, not a lot, but enough that I should definitely wash the wound. Now which way did I come from…

Yep, I’m lost. All I can smell is blood, which would probably be helpful in some scenarios, but right now, it’s just distracting.

Oh, I can definitely smell the deer blood, so that gives me a direction to start with.

So off I go, I’m just gonna head in that direction and hope for the best. I didn’t stray too far from a straight line when I tracked the deer in the first place, so this should eventually lead me in the proper direction.

All things considered, I’m enjoying my trek through the woods, even if I’m pretty sure I’m very lost. If I could find some water and wash my nose, I’d be able to pick up smells better, but for now, everything is just muted compared to the smell of blood.

I'm not much of a fearsome lake dragon if I can’t find my lake…

I’m not giving up on my lake! My trek continues largely uninterrupted until I realize that I’ve eaten several full-sized animals and I haven’t pooped in two days.

Is that normal for dragons? I have no idea! I don’t feel bloated or anything like that. I’m just fine, maybe a little peckish.

I push that weirdness aside and focus on being lost. It’s quickly becoming clear that I’m very good at being lost because I’m not even panicking or overthinking it. Point to Kira for being calm and collected! Mostly.

Well, I wasn’t panicking until I passed some more trees and saw some freaky shit. A gassy guy standing there and pointing in some direction.

Not like that! He’s like actual gas or smoke or something, with a white elk skull. I think it's an elk anyway, antlers and all.

He’s just pointing with his bony fingers, which look human bony. While I’d like to say he isn’t scary at all, that is not the case; he is very scary, but it’s also nice to not be attacked, so point to the pointing scary guy, I guess.

Well, this isn’t suspicious at all. Some weird shadow man just standing around, pointing off into the distance. On the other hand, I am quite lost, so maybe I’ll just cautiously go in that direction.

I make my way towards whatever is at the end of this direction. The trek ends up taking a decent bit of time. At the end of the journey, you'll find your destination.

Which turns out to be the lake for me, and I was very lost because that took quite a while, and night is approaching.

I think I ended up just going way off course immediately when I left the deer clearing. Oh well, it happens. Time to wash all this grime off!

I rush into the lake, going for a depth at around halfway up my body, and then it’s time to dive a bit! I rub my body against the small rocks at the bottom to get this grime and whatnot off of me, but Raya was so much better at it than I am.

Stupid fancy dexterity and such. Deciding that, while kinda enjoyable, I don’t really wanna scratch up all my scales, I settle in for a soak until it’s time for bed.

Getting out of the lake, I head to my tree and climb up. Time for another snooze. Hopefully, Raya and Joras will return, so I can hear what she says. I'm leaning towards helping him with his problem. It seems like the right thing to do.