“I honestly don’t know. What can help me at this point?” Darin asked. Both dragons looked at him in surprise. Having little to loose, he explained his point of view. “I don’t have a map of the cavern- I mean the Hall of Dreamers. If I did have a map, I doubt I would recognize where I hatched amongst the ledges, nests and stray boulders”
“Boulders, what boulders? Has there been a rock fall?” Blood Claw asked with concern. She knew a great deal of work had gone into tending the cavern. Her fears were soon dispelled by Greed’s laughter. He gave Darin a pitying look.
“Oh you poor, tiny, little hatchling. You clearly don’t think very big.” Greed said, traces of his amusement rippling in his voice. “Those were not boulders, my little friend. Those were eggs…”
“But they- they…oh hell”
“Did you think all of us are born from tiny little eggs, dear hatchling?” Blood Claw asked. Her massive chest was rumbling as she tried not to laugh.
“Well, perspective…” Darin said, it was a weak defense.
“Perspective indeed.” Greed replied. He laughed a few moments, before offering some enlightenment. “Eggs are relative to the size of their mother.” He glanced at Blood Claw for a moment before continuing. “The more magnificent the mother, the more impressive the brood”
“And that doesn’t even take into account all the evolution we have undergone. Nor should you forget the many branches of the bloodline, the sub races of our species. Little hatchling, whatever subspecies you may be, you yourself have drifted far from the rest of us. But we still welcome you, as we would welcome all the Mother’s children.” She explained. He wasn’t sure if she was teaching or preaching, perhaps both. Then again, she had said the dragon goddess could be met.
“Finding out what subspecies I am…” He sighed. The others only nodded in response. “So I have to find the shell fragments, somewhere on the ground, in a poorly lit cave. And I doubt you’d let me live, if my flames got too close to an egg.”
“No, I doubt I would.” She readily agreed. “But perhaps we can provide you with another light source?” Blood Claw suggested.
“I don’t think I could carry a lantern or torch, given my size. Even if I could, I’d have to walk up-right and be blinded by the glare.” Darin replied with a sigh. He appreciated the sentiment, but didn’t see many options.
“But what if you had a ring or amulet that cast light?” She suggested. This time it was Greed’s turn to look unhappy.
“I can’t give him something like that! It cost a small fortune to import them.” He protested. “To make things worse, they take mana to keep them lit, and I doubt he can do much at Level 1”
“You wouldn’t have to ‘give’ it to him. It could be entrusted as a Quest item. But you’re right, nothing can make up for having low mana.” Blood Claw said with a rumbling sigh. She went back to her silent musings. Even Greed seemed lost in thought for a moment.
“So 25 Mana is really low then?” Darin asked. Both dragons swung their heads around and stared at him. Their gazes held an odd fixation, and it was unnerving to say the least. Their mouths were moving, but they seemed to be speaking under their breath. For several moments they stared at him unmoving. “Okay. That’s not creepy at all guys…”
The two older dragons turned to one another, and said as one, “Damn it, Muse!”
“Uh, Sorry?” Darin’s apology came out more like a question. He was still somewhat certain he was dealing with AI. But this meeting was clearly not a scripted encounter.
“Don’t be.” Greed told him, as he put a paw over his face and shook his head. Did a dragon just face-palm? “And no, 25 Mana is quite nice for your level”
“Most of your kin in the Hatchery chose to adjust their stats. In short, they are bigger, stronger and dumber than you.” She sighed. “I really wish players put more thought into their characters. These slow and stupid brutes will affect how others see our race”
“Claw, careful with the 4th wall sweetie. We have appearances to keep up…” Greed said. A moment later his color shifted towards ashen, as he realized what he’d said. In response she leaned over and brushed her neck against his.
“Darin has been a good sport. And he’s a Platinum level customer, I doubt he’ll complain much about a few Class 3 AI making his world seem more realistic. Right ‘Hatchling’?” She asked, turning to face him. He squirmed under their gaze a moment before he replied.
“Honestly, I don’t have a problem with it. I wasn’t quite positive you were AI anyway. You know about players, but you interacted with the world naturally. Your jobs are each rather important, which means it is unlikely that a player would fill your shoes. If you were a player and left for a week, you’d harm the entire race. But both of you emulate life so well, it was hard to say”
“Good emulation.” Greed said with a toothy smile. “Back to your situation, Muse may have given you something interesting. But the way she did it, is a complete pain in the ass”
“We would like to keep you happy, but we can only flex the rules a little bit.” Blood Claw told him. While he listened, Darin folded his claws together as if twiddling his thumbs. She gave him an odd look and continued. “Every core in the server keeps our world alive longer”
“You probably shouldn’t tell him that much.” Greed advised her. “And yes, we can help with a rare perk or two. But I can’t just give him things. There are rules and conditions”
“I understand,” Darin said in a soft tone, “I wouldn’t want to get you two in trouble”
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“I’d like to help you, but I need you to have a quest first. And I would need you to do a few things for me. Then, just maybe, I can help you.” Greed explained. As he did, he kept gesturing with a tilt of the head towards Blood Claw. After a few moments, the black dragon sighed and pointed at her.
“Oh right.” Darin muttered, feeling a bit slow. He pitched his voice in a formal tone when he asked her. “Den Mother, I have a problem. I need to find my egg shell, so that I can grow properly. Can you help me?”
“Poor hatchling, I have not the tools to help you. But I can send you to someone who might.” She seemed to be trying rather hard to keep a straight face. Even as she spoke, she couldn’t keep her chest from rumbling. He was about to speak again when she held up a claw to silence him. She then proceeded to frantically type in the air. Did she just snicker? A moment later, her handy work appeared in front of him.
Quest: A shattered Shell of Hope, part I.
Your creative Muse, has once again made a serious mess.
You need to find and eat your shell(candy coated?) to advance, but it is somewhere in the big, mean, dark cave.
And ‘it is dangerous to go alone’...
...
Seek out the charming, black-scaled merchant and see if he can help you with your quest.
Completion condition: Speak with Greed.
Reward: You will learn the location of his shop, and always be able to find your way back there.
Failure condition: Fail to find him within 2 weeks.
Penalty: You will loose relationship points with both, also they will make jokes about you for years to come...
“Accept” Darin muttered, causing the quest window to vanish. He shot her a dirty look, as she attempted to feign innocence. Greed looked at them with some confusion until Darin spoke to him.
“So, Mr merchant, I-” was all Darin got out before Greed’s laughter filled the room. It took him a while to stop laughing, once done, he completed Darin’s quest. After a few moments of intense typing another message greeted Darin.
Quest: A shattered Shell of Hope, part II.
Greed is willing to help you, if only for Blood Claw's sake.
Still there is one little catch. The item you need is locked in a problematic chest.
If you can open the BLUE chest in the back, Greed would be willing to loan you an item in return.
...
Completion condition: Unlock the BLUE chest in Greed's Lair, then notify him upon completion.
Rewards: Increased relationship with Greed, possible side work in the future, and a light source you can borrow.
Failure conditions: Steal from Greed, break the chests, open the wrong chest, take more than 1 week.
Penalties: Decreased relationship with Greed, worse prices in the future, and be forced to find your shell the hard way.
“Accept,” he grumbled, causing the window to clear. “I have to learn lock picking now?” he asked. The dragoness looked between them in surprise.
“Well, not really. I have the key to the chest, but it’s so small that its rather hard to use.” Greed admitted, then spoke more in his own defense. ”I’m a lot more nimble than most of the other dragons. It’s just that the key and lock were crafted by one of the smaller races”
“Then why did you buy it?” Darin asked, as the merchant handed him a tiny key. No wonder he didn’t want to open that chest.
“Very few merchants will come here, as so few dragons care about outside trade. I end up having to pay terrible prices for whatever junk they happen to have on hand.” Greed explained, there was a pained note in his voice. The question had apparently struck a nerve.
“Ouch. Sorry to hear that Greed. Shall we open the chest then?”
Greed got up, walked into the back and returned a bit later placing a small chest on the table. Well ‘chest’ may have been too generous a term, it looked more like a cobalt jewelry box. The key felt a little large in Darin’s palm, but he held it with ease. Greed was easily ten times Darin’s size, no wonder he hated the thought of unlocking this chest.
After a few seconds of work, the lock clicked open. Darin swelled with excitement as the lid popped up. His first glance at the treasures inside filled him with hope, which was swiftly replaced with dread.
- - - - - - -
Author’s Note: A bit longer than usual, but a bit slower. Alas the eternal war. What I need to tell VS telling it an a way that keeps people interested. As ever: Questions, thoughts, feedback and reviews are welcome.