novelraw Chapter 22: The One That Got Away
Chapter 22: The One That Got Away
The spider spirit essence was obliterated by the fireball, causing Grozz to tremble violently as he suffered severe backlash from the broken connection. Before Garoth could notice him, the goblin scrambled on all fours into the alchemy workshop, clutching the message stone with shaking claws as he tried to activate it to contact the merchant caravan.
Boom!
The workshop's roof was violently torn away, revealing the night sky above - and the cold, dangerous gaze of the red iron young dragon looking down. Garoth spotted the message stone in Grozz's grasp. Fortunately, its runes remained dark, still unactivated.
"Great dragonkind, I offer everything for mercy..." Grozz stammered in broken Draconic, his plea for mercy cut short as dense flames engulfed his pustule-covered body, reducing both goblin and message stone to charred husks almost instantly.
Garoth swept low over the goblin tribe, unleashing torrents of fiery breath. The raging inferno quickly consumed the Rock Gnawer Tribe. Lizard skulls hanging from vines blackened and cracked as the entire settlement became a sea of flames, not a single goblin escaping the conflagration.
The brilliant firelight illuminated the night as the goblin tribe burned to ashes. Circling in the dark sky, Garoth watched the flames below, his throat burning painfully from prolonged breath attacks - far exceeding what normal young dragons could sustain.
"The alchemical tools on this planet are too advanced. I must exercise extreme caution against intelligent species," Garoth reflected seriously.
In eras with less developed alchemy, only noble spellcasters or extremely expensive magical artifacts could achieve long-distance communication. Yet here, even a minor goblin tribe possessed message stones usable without magic. The alchemical prowess on this planet surpassed even the technology of Garoth's previous world, capable of producing spacecraft that explored the cosmos.
"That last goblin speaking Draconic was unexpected," Garoth mused. Grozz's plea had genuinely surprised him. A Draconic-speaking goblin shaman with alchemical knowledge represented significant potential value. At minimum, such a minion could have used shamanic spells to help Garoth develop resistances, while its intelligence made it useful for tasks.
Yet Garoth hadn't hesitated to incinerate it. He refused to waste precious dragonblood on goblins through draconic transformation, nor did he possess the innate spell-like abilities to ensure loyalty. Unlike most magical beasts, cunning goblins were treacherous by nature. Without guaranteed obedience, it might have betrayed him. Ultimately, no matter how special, it remained just a disposable goblin.Blinking slowly, Garoth beat his wings and vanished into the night clouds as if departing. Approximately two hours later, only ashes and dying embers remained of the Rock Gnawer Tribe.
Cough! Cough!
A thin, dust-covered goblin crawled from an inconspicuous ground fissure, its soot-blackened face twisted with terror and hatred. With its tribe destroyed and kin slaughtered, the burning hatred in its eyes overwhelmed even its fear. Staggering past the charred remnants of the settlement walls, the goblin swore an oath - no matter the cost, even selling its soul to devils, it would have vengeance against the damned dragon.
As this thought crystallized, sudden warmth spread across its back - like the breath of some massive creature. Freezing mid-step, the goblin turned with rusted mechanical slowness to face the black-and-red scaled behemoth looming before it.
"Ah, I knew there'd be one that got away," Garoth remarked before his claw came down with a wet crunch. After thorough confirmation that no goblins survived, he grabbed the mangled remains of the Giant-Arm Miner and soared back toward the Iron Fir Hills.
Dawn's first light soon filtered through the clouds onto the massive stone slab where Garoth rested, pawing at a distorted spherical object bristling with pipes.
"Dear brother, what is that?" Samantha asked curiously, blinking. After a night's rest with proper nourishment, her wing injuries had improved noticeably, her previously listless energy gradually returning.
"The engine from an alchemical golem," Garoth answered, examining the crude device - the only intact component from the Giant-Arm Miner. The rough-cast iron frame bore clumsy runes and hammer marks, unpolished seams showing black oxidation. Unplated gears ground together with teeth-grating squeals when manipulated.
This shoddy, low-quality alchemical engine could nonetheless power an eight-meter-tall mining golem. Against such ground-based opponents, even young dragons like Samantha might struggle.
"My inherited memories contain some alchemical knowledge, but it requires dedicated study - too profound to master quickly," Garoth mused silently. Alchemy had only flourished on Bernardo in recent centuries, leaving dragons' inherited knowledge sparse on the subject.
The mental and temporal investment required gave Garoth pause. After consideration, he dismissed the idea of studying alchemy himself - it wouldn't enhance his combat capabilities anytime soon, nor did he wish over-reliance on external tools. While he'd use alchemical items in this advanced world, he wouldn't pursue mastery.
That said, having alchemical capabilities would offer undeniable conveniences. "Though perhaps not necessarily through personal mastery," Garoth reconsidered, glancing at Samantha with a sudden grin. "Simply having an alchemist available could provide benefits - ore smelting, black oil processing, crafting alchemical items."
"Is there something on my face?" Samantha tilted her head, licking her fine-scaled muzzle.
"Samantha," Garoth asked pleasantly, "would you like countless treasures? To one day become the wealthiest red dragon?" Red dragons' pure fire affinity made them excellent alchemists, their natural magical talents allowing deep mastery of the craft with proper dedication.
"Absolutely! That's one of my life's ambitions!" Samantha's eyes lit up, her tail lifting excitedly.