novelraw Chapter 110 36, Day 101, Part 1: Crossing Paths
Chapter 110 36, Day 101, Part 1: Crossing Paths
Ighen sighed as he rose to his feet, giving up on a good night's sleep for the fifth time in just as many days. He crawled out of the canopy that had sheltered him for the night and perched upon a nearby hilltop to gaze at the stars, pondering his father's last question for him.
What are you so afraid of?
He had little in the way of treasure, no children, no friends, and certainly no partner. He also knew that when he died, the only thing anyone would feel would be relief.
So why was he so afraid?
He had always known Hironh to be a bluntstone, ready to fight at any given moment. The red dragon had always written off such behavior as foolishness, but now he could not help but wonder if Hironh ever felt such anxiety himself…why was he not afraid?
Hironh had spared Ighen countless times over the years. Each and every bit of mercy left him feeling more confused and infuriated than ever before, with their last fight crowning them all. Was honor really something so valuable? Ighen had no way of knowing – mercy and honor were privileges won by victory, a concept quite foreign to one such as him.
Up above, a streak of light pierced the sky – a lone falling star. It was hardly an uncommon sight, though this one shone a little brighter than most. Even so, it was gone in the blink of an eye.
For a time he simply stared up at the sky as he allowed his distracted mind to wander.
Suddenly a flicker of movement caught Ighen's eye, and he swiftly flattened himself against the ground. Far up above, he saw a dragon peer over the edge of the Plateau in a wary and suspicious manner. Ighen's pupils widened to their fullest extent, and he recognized Sharnha just as the dragon dove off the Plateau to glide eastwards.
For whatever reason, Sharnha's information hadn't spread across the land as he'd expected it to. He hadn't heard anyone speak about the great metal shell, and the only thing they knew was that Qnaro had been found with a single 'human'.
Alone, the two pieces of information weren't enough to be particularly useful, but together they pointed to only one possibility: the humans were recruiting allies, with Hironh and Qnaro being among their number. Sharnha's secrecy suddenly made complete sense – he must have leapt at the opportunity to ally with the creatures, and that meant he was almost certainly on his way to communicate with the humans.
Ighen tensed and remained still as stone as he waited for Sharnha to put some distance between them. So long as he was careful, the black moon would make his pursuit nearly impossible to detect. Apparently the winds were on his side, just this once, but Ighen hesitated as Sharnha pulled away; was this really the best course of action?
The Brewer clan had just arrived last night, and while everyone expected the arrival of a few clan members, all were surprised to see Vosae herself leading a group of seventeen dragons to the Plateau…including Ighen's own parents.
His father and Vosae were old allies; he must have told Vosae what Ighen had told him…and she had believed it, judging by the fact that the clan leader herself had come all the way from the southern end of the land.
Under normal circumstances, a dragon like Vosae would have surely ignored any information that came from someone like him, but the extraordinary nature of the news backed by his father had evidently swayed her. Given the clan's interest in the crafters, offering further information regarding their location would surely be enough to earn them as reluctant yet powerful allies, even for someone like him.
Could things finally be turning in his favor? It had been years since he had reason to hope that things could be better, but if he could just defeat Hironh then…he just might have a chance.
Decision made, he flung himself off the edge of the cliff to silently glide after Sharnha.
Footsteps woke Qnaro from his slumber, and the golden dragon raised his head to see Jane walking towards him. A glance up at the sky told him that the sun was just below the horizon.
The other allied dragons weren't quite comfortable sleeping near each other yet, and had gone off to sleep in their own spots, meaning the only dragons in the immediate vicinity were himself, Fortitude, Devotion, Fathom, and Celeste, to use their human names.
"Good morning," Jane said, and Qnaro drowsily returned the greeting.
"Did you sleep well?" he asked as he blinked blearily at the human.
"I did. Haven't slept that well in a long time," Jane said, a contented smile on her face as she stretched. A faint gust of wind blew towards Qnaro, and he detected something different about her scent…no, it was her partner's scent intermingled with her own, along with…something else.
"Is now a good time to have an egg?" Qnaro incredulously asked, but Jane only made a desperate clamping gesture over her mouth as the rest of the humans began to trickle out onto the deck.
"Later," she hissed, then paced away a little faster than seemed to be necessary.
Qnaro tossed his head as he stood up and stretched; it seemed that this was an embarrassing topic for humans despite the amount of offspring they had.
Qnaro watched as the humans carried items around the ship in a manner not dissimilar to the busy movements of ants, with Pryce and the Captain directing the other humans around. He was faintly impressed that the Captain seemed to be able to keep track of what everyone was doing; not a single person was idle, at least in Qnaro's inexperienced eyes. Laishaka had explained that they were moving food and tools from the Daybreak to the Horizon, but the golden dragon had a more interesting question on his mind.
"Laishaka, you said that humans did not have patterns," Aurum said, eyeing one sailor who had an odd mark on his shoulder that was shaped very much like a fish.
"We don't," Laishaka said, looking up in confusion. "Oh, those are tattoos. Those are made by putting…color into the skin. It's like drawing."
"Oh!" Aurum said, eyes lighting up. "Can that work on a dragon?" he asked, twisting his head around as he wondered what would look best on his wings.
Laishaka grimaced, her soft face scrunching up. "I don't think that's a good idea."
Aurum blinked. "Why not?" he asked, surprised at the outright dismissal.
"It's…uh…painful?" Jane suggested.
"If humans can do it then it cannot hurt very much," Aurum snorted.
"Er…" She glanced around, and waved Pryce over to explain the situation, though Aurum wasn't sure why the older human's input was needed.
Pryce thought for a moment. "I don't think you should get one either. It's permanent – that means it does not go away."
"Really?" Fathom asked, joining in on the conversation. "So you don't have to keep drawing it? It'll just stay there forever?"
Oddly enough, Jane shot a glare at Pryce, who only shrugged helplessly.
"Very interesting," Fortitude said. Their conversation had caught the attention of all the dragons present, as well as a few passing crewmen. "It reminds me of horn-markings."
Pryce looked to Fortitude, eyebrow raised, "Horn-markings? What are those?"
"Markings made on horns," Fortitude candidly replied. "Stomach-juice from animals can…'eat' things very slowly, and make horns redder. Clay can be used to protect certain parts of the horn, and that lets you 'draw' whatever you want."
"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Pryce asked, turning to Fathom.
"Not many do it," Fathom shrugged. "It is difficult to do alone, and it disappears when horns come off. Usually it's done by dragons who belong to clans, since they can help each other do that sort of thing."
"Horns come off?" Pryce slowly asked.
"Horns grow slowly. Every few years the outside layer breaks and comes off," Fathom shrugged. "Talons do the same thing too."
"When do you think we can try 'tattoos'?" Fortitude interestedly asked.
"None of us brought any tattooing tools with us," Gordon chuckled, pausing for a moment to speak with a crate of supplies in his arms. "But it would take an awfully – I mean, a very long time to draw a tattoo big enough to fit on one of you, and it would be very expensive."
Celeste tilted her head. "What does 'expensive' mean?"
"I'll tell you about that later, it's complicated," Pryce sighed. "But you still wouldn't want to get one, because they start fading over time. In a few decades it'll be all blurry."
"Oh. That is a shame," Fathom said, sighing in disappointment. "But if you can make your own markings, then why are some of them so weird? Like those ones on your face," he said, pointing a talon at Gordon.
"Markings on my face?" Gordon asked, touching his face. "Is there something on my face?"
"Not that I can see," Pryce said, leaning in for a closer look at the supposed markings. "Dragons can see in infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths of light. It must be some phenotype that was never eliminated…" he paused in thought, rubbing his chin. "Do only some people have them?" he asked Fathom.
"I can see…eight people with strange markings right now," Celeste noted. "The others have none. Can you not see them at all? Why do humans have markings if they can't even see them?"
Gordon shrugged. "Well don't ask me, I can't see them. What do these markings look like?"
"It's hard to describe…" Celeste said, tilting her head as she peered more closely. "The markings are ultraviolet in color, and the pattern is a bit like a splash of…blood?"
"It's probably not important, but it might be something worth looking into back home," Pryce noted.
The sound of flapping caused the dragons to raise their heads – up in the sky, a green dragon gradually made his descent onto the beach.
«This must be the second ship,» the newcomer faintly rumbled as he stared up at the two steel behemoths.
«Who are you?» Fathom asked as he leapt down onto the beach.
«My name is Sharnha – now, I'm sorry I did you wrong,» the informant hurriedly added as Fathom narrowed his eyes, «but I brought the chains back, and we're both on the same team now, right?»
«You are very lucky that we don't have time to fight right now,» Fathom snorted. «I assume the fact that you're here means you have something important to tell us.»
«Only the fact that Vosae arrived at the Plateau last night with about a third of her clan,» Sharnha said candidly, immediately spreading concern among the gathered dragons.
«Why did she bring so many?» Devotion asked, her spines stiffening in concern. «I've never heard of her taking so many of her clan with her before.»
«How should I know? It's not like I could just walk up and ask them myself,» Sharnha defensively replied. «The only other thing I can tell you is that they were quick to ask if anyone had seen Qnaro and his human, but that's hardly an unusual question.»
«Who did she bring with her?» Fortitude asked, eyes narrowed.
«I recognized Hakra, Manthk, Apanth, and that new dragonet of hers, Rantha, but I wasn't able to recognize the others,» Sharnha said, looking rather regretful.
«Those are the older and more capable members of her clan,» Devotion frowned. «No one else should know about the ship yet, and yet it sounds like she's expecting trouble…did she bring anyone else with her?»
«Everyone knew this was going to be the largest gathering in living memory. I don't think she needs much more of a reason to bring her best fighters. Besides,» he added, «if they did know about the ship, why go to the Plateau? Even a blind search would give them a better chance at finding it.»
«...You have a point,» Devotion admitted. «Though they might have gone to the Plateau first in case something unexpected had happened. Either way, she's expecting trouble somewhere or somehow. You weren't followed, were you?» she asked, her gaze fixed squarely upon the informant.
«Please, I'm not an idiot,» Sharnha said, puffing out his chest indignantly. «I even stopped in several places to travel on foot or to swim through rivers. I would have arrived much earlier if I hadn't bothered to do that.»
«Hm…regardless, we'll have to be on guard,» Devotion chuffed. «Someone tell our human allies what's going on. They seem to be getting anxious.»
"Who exactly is this 'Brewer Clan'?" Captain Siebert asked once Fathom translated Sharnha's news. "Are they going to be a threat?"
"The Brewer clan is the largest and most powerful clan, which is made up of fifty dragons," Fathom explained. "I don't think we need to change our plans: the Brewer clan still doesn't know about the ships, and it's not as if they can do anything against hundreds of other dragons."
"Still, we should send Sharnha back to the Plateau," Fortitude suggested, "Then he can lead our other allies back here. It will be good to show them your ship."
"We're just about done with the maintenance as well," Siebert nodded. "I suppose there's no reason to wait. Lieutenant Baker, prepare to set sail. The ten volunteers I selected yesterday will remain behind and make whatever preparations we can."
"Understood, sir," Baker saluted, and set about ordering the men to finish up their tasks.
«What strange speech,» Sharnha muttered, «How under the sun can you understand those words?»
«Be grateful you don't have to learn it yet,» Devotion grumbled. «Go back to the Plateau and bring our allies back here, and make sure you aren't followed.»
«Will do,» Sharnha nodded before pausing in thought. «Can I bring something with me to prove that I know where the humans are?»
"How about a group photo?" Callan suggested.
"Say 'cheese'," Scott said, starting the timer of several cameras before racing down to the beach, the young man quickly joining the cross-species photoshoot.
"Why did he tell us to say 'cheese'?" Fathom asked through slightly parted jaws.
"Human culture thing," Pryce said through clenched teeth. "We have to show our teeth to make a noise like 'cheese', and that looks like a smile. Saying cheese is just telling people to smile for the camera."
"Okay, but why cheese? Isn't there a better word you could have used instead of gross, spoiled milk?" Fathom grumbled, causing stifled laughter among the crew as several clicks sounded from the cameras.
"Well, that turned out pretty well," Gordon said, passing the laminated photograph to Jane.
"I wonder how many textbooks this'll be in," Jane mused as she dropped the photo and a handheld mirror into a satchel, then offered it to Sharnha.
«How useful,» Sharnha said, opening the bag to carefully inspect the photograph. «Though these are far more impressive. Is there anything else I need to do other than bring everyone here? No? Then I best be off!» With that, Sharnha launched himself into the air, his silhouette rapidly disappearing into the distance.
Ighen's hearts raced as he landed upon the Plateau, his head swiveling back and forth as he tried to locate Vosae.
Sharnha had slipped free of his pursuit, infuriatingly enough, but a metal shell could only be on a river or a beach, and Ighen had nothing to lose by taking a few hours to check the coastline. He knew others would have done the same by now, and he hadn't expected to succeed, so he was shocked to find not one, but two unfathomably enormous metal vessels sitting upon the beach. The dark made it hard to discern much detail, especially at such a distance, but Ighen was certain that he'd seen several dragons in the area as well.
He'd turned around right there and then. Judging by the lack of pursuit he hadn't been noticed, at least. Now he was finally back at the Plateau, and it was time to speak with the Brewer clan…and his parents.
«Stop right there, wretch,» Hakra hissed, halting his approach to the clearing claimed by Vosae and her clan.
«I know where the crafters are,» Ighen said, ignoring the disdainful look in the elder's eyes. «Take me to Vosae-ǂ, and I'll tell her what I know.»
«Is that so,» Hakra snorted. The blue dragon turned and made her way towards the rest of her clan, apparently granting him passage.
Ighen awkwardly followed the guard-turned guide, and he had to keep his spines from flaring up as he soon found himself surrounded by twenty dragons – including his parents.
«Greetings, Vosae-ǂ…father, mother,» Ighen said, lowering his head diffidently.
The elder clan leader's scales were half-white with age, and her sky blue eyes were certainly intimidating, but no one would have said that the clan leader looked well. Swathes of hide hung loose from her body, and the bags of flesh under her eyes were evidence of her diminished state.
(Art by Rackiera)
However, despite everything, she was still the clan leader, and Ighen did not forget that for an instant.
«Ighen,» Igansa said flatly, her bright blue eyes filled with contempt.
«Did you find something?» Anzath asked, his father's gaze as piercing as ever.
Ighen nodded. «Early this morning I saw Sharnha depart under the cover of darkness. I followed him, and found two crafter ships.»
«Two ships, hrrm?» Vosae hummed deeply as she considered his words. «I suppose there is no reason that they wouldn't bring more than one, but you speak as if you want to trade, wretch,» she rumbled, a note of warning in her words.
Ighen froze, tensing involuntarily – not that there was anything he could do, surrounded by half the clan that he was. «You're prepared for conflict, aren't you?» he asked, hoping that he was right. «That must mean you're planning something against the crafters. Hironh is my enemy, and he is one of their allies. All I ask is that you allow me to duel him free of interference, and I will guide you to the crafter vessels.»
Vosae sat, impassive as the stone she rested on. She gave no indication that she was surprised even when he said he knew where the crafters were; in fact, she snorted at the end of his proposal.
«Well, isn't this convenient,» Vosae drawled. «What do you two think? Should we trust him?» she asked, turning to glance at Anzath and Igansa.
«I do not believe he is lying,» Anzath neutrally replied.
«…Agreed,» Igansa growled, though the look in her eyes made Ighen quite certain that she would kill him herself if he failed to deliver.
«I cannot guarantee that the vessels will not have moved by the time we arrive.» Ighen tried his best to keep the tremble out of his voice, but even he could tell that he was far from successful.
«I suppose that's fair,» Vosae admitted. «Very well, we must leave immediately, but without arousing suspicion. Depart from the Plateau one at a time, and rendezvous at the Great Hollow. From there we'll follow this one to the crafter ships.»
«Are you sure about this?» Hakra hissed, more than loudly enough for Ighen to hear. «He's just a curse who can't even beat that dying ember of a dragon. He'd be a hindrance at best, and at worst he could be lying to us; what if he's trying to draw us away from the Plateau for some reason we aren't aware of?»
«I don't like it either,» Manthk grumbled, «Perhaps a few of us should stay here.»
Vosae lightly shook her head. «We know Hironh is likely allied with the crafters, so I don't see any chance of him betraying us. Besides, leaving a few of you here would hardly accomplish anything, even if Qnaro and the crafter were to arrive early. Any other objections?»
The two objectors shared a glance, then nodded in agreement with this line of reasoning.
«Good. Leave by order of seniority, starting with Hakra. If someone asks you where you're headed off to, pretend you have gone to hunt. Above all else, ensure that you are not followed, understand?»
They all nodded, and Hakra dove off the side of the Plateau.
"Both ships are ready to set sail, Captain," Lieutenant Baker reported.
"Congratulations, Lieutenant; you are now acting captain of the Daybreak. I leave the ship in your capable hands." Siebert paused. "Something the matter, Lieutenant?"
"I know a few more men wouldn't make much of a difference," Baker said cautiously, "but I'd still feel much better if you had more with you, Captain."
"My decision is made." Siebert paused, then quietly said, "It is quite unnecessary to risk the lives of good men for a marginal increase in safety."
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"Very well. Farewell, Captain; I hope we meet again soon." Baker touched his hat, then boarded the Daybreak. Over the course of a few minutes, the anchors were raised and exhaust began to puff out of the smokestacks.
"Good luck!" the departing crew shouted as the ship gradually began to drift away, and those who remained returned with cries of, "See you back home!"
"Well, s'pose I can't say I didn't sign up for whatever happens next." Gordon chuckled as he pulled out a cigarette.
"What is that?" Celeste curiously asked as Gordon brought out a lighter.
"Oh, this? It's just a cigarette," Gordon said, and Celeste stared, eyes wide in horror as he took a long drag before puffing out a lungful of smoke.
"Hey-" Gordon yelped as Celeste flicked the cigarette out of his hands and onto the beach. "What the hell?!"
"Are you-" Celeste abruptly paused. «Father, what is the word for crazy?»
Fathom stared at the smoldering cigarette butt. "Crazy."
"Are you crazy?" Celeste demanded. "Why are you breathing smoke!?"
"It's normal!" Gordon cried.
Fathom slowly turned to Pryce. "Please tell me that this isn't normal human behavior."
Pryce sheepishly rubbed his neck. "I think about…half of all adults smoke?"
Fathom blinked.
«That must be why they do not live very long,» Fortitude chuffed.
"What reason could you possibly have to breathe smoke?" Fathom cried.
"It helps me relax!" Gordon retorted defensively. "And you dragons can spit fire! That's worse than smoke!"
"Our fire goes out, not in," Celeste hissed. "These are opposite things!"
"Why are you all so against something that you haven't even tried?!"
"By that logic you should try eating rocks, just because you haven't tried it before," Fathom shot back.
"Some rocks can be identified by taste, actually," Callan noted.
"Tasting isn't eating!" Celeste groused as she rubbed her eyes in exasperation.
"I suspect they have very efficient lungs, like birds," Pryce explained, "but like birds, they're also very sensitive to noxious gasses, including smoke."
"So what," Gordon huffed, crossing his arms, "am I not allowed to smoke near a dragon?"
"You can breathe poison if you want," Fathom snorted. "Just do it somewhere far away from me."
"You do not breathe smoke, do you, Laishaka?" Aurum asked suspiciously.
"Err…" Jane stammered. "Well…not often…?"
"Before you ask, I don't smoke," Pryce said to Fathom as Aurum gave Jane the most disappointed look he'd ever seen on a dragon.
"Great," Fathom grumbled sarcastically as he rubbed the side of his face with his wing thumb. "I never thought I would be relieved to hear someone say that they aren't a smoke-breather – that's a literal Draconic insult, by the way."
Captain Siebert cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should prepare for the several thousand dragons who will be here tomorrow."
"Yes, we have a plan for that," Fortitude nodded. "We believe that it would be best if the other dragons do not learn about rifles yet. If there is a fight, let us handle it. It is better to settle things between dragons, so do not interfere unless we cannot win – I will tell you if that is the case."
"Sensible," Siebert nodded. "In that case, we'll take shelter in the ship until the fight is over, or if you need our help. Are there any…physical preparations we should complete?"
Celeste tilted her head, then sat on her haunches to examine her foreclaws. "My talons are a bit dull. Do you have any tools to sharpen things with?"
"You mean a file?" Gordon asked blankly. "We've got a few of those, let me get one for you." He returned a minute later, and offered the metal file to Celeste.
*Sssshk*
Celeste blinked, then ran the file along her index talon a few more times, then experimentally ran the sharpened nail along the edge of her wing membranes. "Oh, now that is sharp," she purred, and eagerly began sharpening her other talons.
(Art by Bloov on Discord)
Upon seeing her success the other dragons turned to Gordon with an expectant look in their eyes. "I'll, uh, go and get one for each of you," he said nervously.
Soon the dragons were marveling at the sharpness of their talons, with some testing them on nearby trees before re-sharpening them once again.
"How convenient," Fathom said, flexing his talons. "Faster and easier than using rocks."
«So much easier,» Kharno agreed. «So, anyone want to go hunting with me?»
"What are they doing?" Fathom asked, glancing at the crewmen who were carrying out unfamiliar pieces of equipment, some of which seemed to be telescopes.
Most of the dragons were resting in the sun after finishing their meal, though a few looked on with curious expressions as the humans worked.
"Those are special telescopes that will be used to observe and record measurements for the eclipse happening later today," Pryce explained. "It's actually very important work, which is why we have to be here on the coast instead of some small island out in the ocean."
"Interesting," Fathom said, cocking his head. "Does the Mainland not have eclipses?"
"It has, but there won't be any total eclipses for another twelve years or so, which is why we're doing this measurement here."
"Why is this so important?" Celeste asked. "We know that the moon covers the sun, but there does not seem to be anything that can be measured…except for how long it takes."
"No, we're not measuring that," Pryce said, adjusting his glasses. "It's complicated, but basically a very smart human did a lot of math which proved that light can be bent by gravity – a lot of gravity. Normally we'd have no way to prove that math right, but during an eclipse most of the sun's light will be blocked by the moon, and we can use that to see if the sun's gravity bends the light coming from the stars behind it."
"Oh," Fathom groaned. "This is going to be one of those things that sound impossible but end up being true, isn't it?"
Pryce shrugged. "Well, we don't actually know, which is why we're here."
"At least this is something humans are still learning about," Fathom sighed. "I don't know how many more times I can-"
«There's a group approaching riseward!» Kharno roared out as she landed back in the camp.
«Shit, I knew we shouldn't have trusted that idiot,» Fathom hissed. «He must have been followed,»
"What's going on?" Captain Siebert demanded.
"There's a group of dragons to the west," Pryce severely replied. "We don't know who they are yet."
"Pack it up, inside the ship, now!" the Captain ordered, ushering all crewmen and their equipment into the Horizon.
"Should we start the ship?" Scott asked.
Siebert shook his head. "We can't outspeed them. Shelter first, plan later!"
"We'll talk to them first, then we'll let you know if they aren't hostile," Fathom said, positioning himself outside the door of the ship. Likewise the other dragons began taking up various positions around the vessel, with a few sitting on the deck.
«They're all blue,» Fortitude rumbled. «Which means they must be the Brewer clan.»
«Wait, two of them are purple,» Devotion said, squinting at the skies. «With pale scales…I think those are Anzath and Igansa.»
«Ighen's parents,» Fathom growled. «He must have given them Sharnha's information.»
«We'll talk about that later,» Devotion growled. «Jooral and I know Vosae best, so we'll handle the discussion.»
Fathom nearly protested at her sudden decision, but her tone left no room for rebuke, and the silence that followed proved that the others felt the same.
Vosae was the first to land upon the beach, with her clan following suit behind her. Fathom noted that Anzath and Igansa landed together a short distance away – the two elders possessed deep purple wing membranes, and their pale scales resulted in a light mauve coloration across their bodies, marking them as particularly ancient dragons.
Vosae scanned each of the dragons present as she waited for the dust in the air to settle, her gaze lingering on Qnaro, Hironh, and the elders in particular. «It's been some time, Ghorrah-ǂ, Jooral-ǂ. I assume you're all affiliated with the crafters, then?»
«Indeed, though they call themselves "humans",» Devotion rumbled tightly.
«I see,» Vosae said, and glanced back at the light purple elder. «I must say, Anzath-ǂ, you rather undersold the size of these metal shells.»
«I was only describing them secondhand, though I do not think I could have done it justice either way,» Anzath said, his eyes wide as he took in the ship, an expression shared by all the newly arrived dragons.
That was a good sign, Fathom thought, and he felt himself and the others gradually begin to relax as the Brewer clan exhibited no outright hostile intentions. Still, he doubted that curiosity alone could explain Vosae's presence, and he knew better than to let his guard down around these dragons.
«So, I assume the humans are hiding in that shell of theirs?» Vosae asked. «Will they not come out? I did not think they would be so shy, judging by the number of allies they have gathered.»
Fortitude glanced at Devotion, who nodded. "They're asking for you to come out," Fortitude called out to the ship. "They don't seem to be enemies, but make sure you stay close to us."
"If our allies believe it is safe for us to go out, then Doctor Pryce, Doctor Callan, Mr. Gordon, and myself will speak with the dragons," Captain Siebert said, "the rest of you will remain here with the rifles, be ready for anything, but friendly fire will not be tolerated – that includes our dragon allies, understood?"
"If I may," Pryce said, clearing his throat. "I advise against firing unless one of us is in immediate danger. As Fortitude said, conflict among dragons is nothing new, but peace will be far more difficult the moment one of us inflicts harm upon them."
"And what counts as 'immediate danger'?" Campbell asked, eyebrow raised.
"That will ultimately be up to your discretion, as there likely will not be time for orders," Siebert said, lips pressed into a thin line. "However, know that we are at a pivotal moment in history, and your decisions here will determine how the future unfolds between our species. I recommend giving our allies a chance to protect us before firing, but I know that this is not an easy distinction to make."
"They're asking for you to come out," Fortitude said, her brassy voice penetrating the ship's hull. "They don't seem to be enemies, but make sure you stay close to us."
"That's our cue," Gordon said. He cranked the door open, and the four of them stepped out with arms full of tools – items that Pryce and Callan had decided would be of greatest interest to the Brewer clan.
As Pryce stepped out onto the beach, he saw that the clan indeed consisted entirely of blue dragons. Each individual possessed a slightly different shade of blue, though some were more accurately teal or turquoise in color. Now that they were close, he could see dark red patterns on their horns that bore a superficial resemblance to flames – evidently the horn-markings that Fortitude had told them about.
One dragon stood before all the others, her frosted scales contrasted against the dark indigo blue of her wing membranes. The ones who must have been Anzath and Igansa possessed a greater contrast of color than she did, but unlike them she was the first dragon Pryce had ever seen who looked old.
Her eyes were sharp, and she looked far from weak or senile, but her hide was wrinkled in some places and hung loose in others in much the same way as skin would on an aged human.
Pryce recalled that she was only about a decade older than Devotion or Fortitude, which meant that her somewhat haggard appearance must be a result of something other than senescence – excessive stress as a result of her role, for example, could explain her aged appearance.
"I will introduce you, since they can't understand you anyway," Fathom said, before Siebert could make his introductions. «My name is Hironh-ǂ, and the one with black and white fur on his head is Pryce. I met him about eighty days ago, while Qnaro found Jane Callan fifteen days ago. The tall one wearing the shiny things is the leader of the second group of humans who arrived to help the first.» He paused, then seeing the Brewer clan's confused expressions he added, «Pryce and Jane Callan can understand some of our speech, but they cannot pronounce it very well, so one of us must speak for them.»
«I see. I suppose we should introduce ourselves, then. I am Vosae-ǂ,» she said, gesturing to herself with a wing-thumb. «Those two are Anzath-ǂ and Igansa-ǂ.» She gestured to her two fellow elders.
Then the rest of her clan began to introduce themselves in what appeared to be order of seniority, with a five-year-old dragonet being the last.
«You mentioned a second group of humans?» Hakra asked, eyes narrowed. She was the second eldest of Vosae's daughters, though Vojan, the eldest, was notably absent. If Fathom had to guess, she had likely been left behind to manage the clan's affairs in Vosae's absence.
«There are two groups of humans, each who arrived on their own metal shell,» Devotion explained, casting a look at Fathom that said to let her convey the rest. «Pryce and Jane Callan were the only survivors of the first group. The second arrived yesterday.»
Vosae's eyes darted to the pile of churned up sand, evidence of the Daybreak's landing. «I see,» she murmured, peering at the humans. «And where is this second metal shell now?»
"She is asking where the other humans and the second ship are," Devotion said, translating Vosae's question. "Should I tell them the truth?"
"I don't see any harm in it," Siebert said. "It will be good for them to know that killing us will not prevent humanity from learning about your kind."
Devotion nodded, then turned back to Vosae as she gestured vaguely to the east. «The humans decided that it was best to send some of the second group back home so that they could tell all of the other humans about us, while the rest of the group remained behind to assist the first group,» she explained, then tilted her head. «We were planning on sending a messenger tomorrow to bring those at the Plateau here. How did you find us?»
«Anzath here told me that someone had found a great metal shell,» Vosae said, «Naturally, I had to investigate, and there are only so many places such a thing could be found.»
«Then you must know where Ighen is,» Fathom said, his voice a low rumble.
«Hardly,» Vosae chuffed, tossing her head. «Why would we bother with that curse? He's probably out there blindly searching the shorelines like we were. We merely had the advantage of searching several locations at once – that is how Eosha here found you this morning, before she returned and led us back here.»
Devotion narrowed her eyes. «Is that so…?» she said, a silent question in her eyes as she glanced at her partner.
«You've been awfully civil for someone who's brought so many people with her,» Fortitude said, head tilted skeptically. «Let us get to the point; are you here to be an ally or not?»
«Jooral, you cannot expect me to honestly answer that question when I have only just met these creatures,» Vosae said in reasonable tones. «I was hoping to learn more of their intentions before making a decision.»
"She is asking about human intentions," Fortitude translated.
"Tell her we had only intended to explore unknown lands; we didn't know there would be intelligent people here," Siebert said.
«And what were you planning to do if you found these lands to be…appealing?» Vosae asked, lowering her head to peer closely at the humans – or at least, as closely as she could, with Fathom and the others standing between them.
"She's asking what we would do if we…liked these lands, I think," Pryce said, earning a nod from Fathom. "We can't lie about this," he said, warning Siebert. "It would be too blatant. We'd be idiots if we went exploring with no intent on using what we found."
"Tell them that we planned to make new homes here," Siebert said, "but we can't do that without settling on an agreement, now that we know these lands are taken. Be sure to tell them that we are willing to help each other and trade with dragons in exchange for being allowed to live on your lands," he added to Fortitude.
«Hmph. How generous of you,» Vosae rumbled. «And what exactly would you offer to trade?» she asked, eyeing the ship with a prospective gaze.
«There are three lands in the world,» Devotion began, and Pryce, hearing his cue, picked up the globe and handed it over to Fathom, who gave it to Vosae for her perusal – but not without warning her of the item's fragility. «That is called a "globe", and it is a miniature representation of the entire world. Our land is the smallest of the three, while the humans live on the middle sized one.»
Vosae flattened her spines as she spun the globe around by the base. «This is…a fascinating construct, but it doesn't make any sense,» she said suspiciously. «How could they have created this in the short time that they've been here?»
«The humans have tools called 'cameras' that can record sights,» Devotion explained as Fathom showed them the group photo. «They used other tools to fly a camera up through the heavens and take pictures of the world below. That was how they learned about the existence, shape, and location of our land in the first place.»
Several of her clan flicked their spines, clearly skeptical at such an idea, while Vosae seemed more thoughtful.
«What a ridiculous claim,» Vosae chuffed. «But let's say I believe you. That means they didn't fly here because…they couldn't. Or at least, it was easier to send things on this metal shell of theirs.»
"She's fast," Siebert muttered after hearing Pryce's translation.
"Must be why she's the leader," Pryce whispered back, and turned to Devotion. "She's right. We could have flown someone here, but it would have been dangerous, and then they'd have no way of coming back on their own."
«I see…» Vosae rumbled. «Now, you were saying something about this "globe"...?»
"We have tools, and we know how to create many things dragons cannot," Pryce said. "If you help us live on your land then we can teach you these things, and if you want to move to other lands, we can help with that too."
«But it is not easy to traverse the ocean, is it?» Vosae asked, «if it were, then the majority of the first group would not have died.»
"We don't know what caused the deaths of the first group yet, but the second group had no problems crossing the ocean," Siebert said. "I'm sure that crossing the ocean will not be a very dangerous thing to do in the future."
«I see…Well, it is not a bad offer,» Vosae said, after a moment, «But what would you have done if there was none of our kind to help you? Surely you have some means of defending yourselves against any predators?»
"In other words, she's asking about any weapons we might have," Pryce added onto the end of his translation.
"We have ways of defending ourselves," Siebert said, his hands clasped firmly behind his back. "We do not need help to survive, but it would make things much easier and safer for us if we received help from your kind."
The clan stared at the humans with a dubious look in their eyes, clearly finding the claim quite skeptical. «Could they be bluffing?» Hakra said, earning murmurs of agreement among her fellows. «They look…harmless, to say the least.»
«Let's say we let you live among us,» Vosae stated. «How many humans are we talking about? And how many live on their home land in total?»
«One hundred thousand thousand,» Devotion answered shortly, stunning both clan members and their allies who hadn't learned that piece of information yet.
«One hundred thousand…thousand,» Hakra said, disbelief written across her face.
Vosae narrowed her eyes, then raised her head to its full imposing height. «I believe I have heard enough to see the full story now,» she boomed, «You humans are capable, and others will surely wish to trade and cooperate with you. That alone is not a bad thing, but you won't stop there, will you? You'll make yourselves useful, and sooner or later we'll end up reliant on you.» She chuffed, tossing her head. «It's an old tactic, but it never fails.»
"What's she saying?" Siebert asked, sensing the change in tone even if he couldn't understand a word of her speech.
"She's talking about how much of a danger we are. Retreat to the ship," Pryce urgently murmured, causing the humans to fall back towards the ship.
Devotion lowered her stance, and her webbed spines stood up menacingly. «Get to the point,» she growled as the others began to tense up.
«Ghorrah-ǂ, surely you are not so blind,» Vosae said reasonably, «What could the humans possibly offer you, when their very existence threatens all of us?»
«They have promised to do their best to heal Jooral's wing,» Devotion said flatly, which at least seemed to stun Vosae.
«And you believed them? With no proof whatsoever?» the clan leader asked incredulously.
Devotion snorted disdainfully. «Of course not. They have already shown that they can heal lighter injuries, such as Hironh's broken wing.»
On cue, Fathom half-opened his wings to show their nearly flawless state – a few odd scars were the only evidence that a malunion had ever been present.
«I see,» Vosae said grimly. «And what about the rest of you?» she demanded. «Are you really going to help these 'humans' when you don't even know if you can trust them?»
«The humans are offering to teach us much, and they have been generous,» Helsha huffed, «which is more than I can say about you.»
«You would slay these weaker beings just because you're afraid of what they might offer?» Kharno rumbled, her flight membranes sliding over her eyes in an implicit threat. «I expected better from you, Vosae-ǂ.»
«I am mainly here to help Jooral-ǂ and Ghorrah-ǂ,» Lakath said, «but these humans have done no harm to us.»
«I wish to see the change that they will bring about,» Nanzo nodded.
«We want to explore other lands, and they're offering to take us along,» Karoth laughed. «Why would we not ally with them?»
«We all know you're just afraid of losing influence over everyone else,» his twin brother finished, cackling gleefully at the clan member's angered expressions.
Vosae's eyes narrowed and her spines flattened in dismay as the allied dragons voiced their support for the humans, not a single one changing course. «Please, listen to me,» she hissed, though her beseechment was filled more with anger than anything else – anger, along with a note of desperation. «The crafters can create things beyond our comprehension; what happens when they no longer have need of us? What happens when we become so dependent upon them that we're forced to play by their rules, no matter what they take from us? Surely you cannot disagree that this is the natural conclusion of allowing them to spread their influence!»
«Indeed,» Hakra darkly rumbled. «We must think of the future. It may take ten years, or maybe even a hundred, but the danger posed by the crafters far outweighs any benefit they could give us.»
This argument finally gave pause to the allied dragons, who stood silently in their contemplation.
«I will not say that this isn't a valid concern,» Devotion said, being the first to break the silence. «But we have no valid alternatives. Soon the humans will all know of our existence, and they know where we are. We cannot stop them, and so we must work with them in order to minimize any danger that they may pose.»
«They also freely teach us anything that we ask of them, even if some things are quite complicated,» Fortitude added. «We must be informed if we are to properly defend ourselves, and so the path forward is obvious.»
A chorus of agreements and nods echoed along the allied dragons, and Fathom noted that this argument seemed to sway some of the Brewer Clan, but Vosae had surely brought along her most trusted and loyal clan members, and he doubted that this much was enough for them to disobey their leader.
«I don't know enough humans to say that I trust all of them,» Fathom began. «But Pryce saved my life, and he risked his life to do it. That is why I trust him, and that is why I fight on his behalf – because I know he will do the same to ensure that there is peace between humans and dragons.» He paused and gave that a moment to sink in. «Besides, what's your plan? To kill all of the humans here? And then what? There's nothing you can do to stop more of them from coming.»
«So you say,» Manthk snorted. «But it's clear to us that traversing the ocean is still difficult, even for the humans, and surely not even they can build an endless number of ships like this one. They'll be forced to give up sooner or later, especially after losing a few more ships to the seas.»
«Indeed,» Vosae growled. «Make no mistake, we take no pleasure in doing this, but we will do what we must to protect all of our futures, and we are not afraid to fight. You're outnumbered seventeen to eleven. You can't seriously expect to win against us.»
«You took the words right out of my mouth,» Fortitude laughed, her jaws parted in a wild grin. «Ghorrah and I will just have to work a little harder. Isn't that right, my wings?»
«Indeed,» Ghorrah snarled. «I should thank you, Vosae; it's been some time since Jooral and I last had the joy of fighting together.»
«So be it,» Vosae spat, clicking in disapproval as Rantha nervously padded forth to touch her mother's side with a wingtip.
«Mother, are you sure that this is a good idea?» she asked meekly. «I have a bad feeling about these humans. They have tools that can do so many things, what if they have powerful weapons we don't know of?»
«Doubtful,» Vosae snorted. «They'd need not bother hiding behind their allies if they had such weapons, and if they did…» She paused as her flight membranes slid over her eyes. «All the more reason to kill them now and scare off the would-be invaders.»
«But-»
«Enough, Rantha,» Vosae said, nudging her away. «Icanam, keep her safe and take her somewhere away from here.»
Rantha glanced between her parents, then nodded and dashed to follow her father.
«Oh, one last thing,» Vosae said, then raised her head up to the sky to roar, «You can come out now!»
Some distance away, hidden among the trees sat Ighen, his spines stretched to their fullest as he strained to pick up their conversation. He'd had to sneak up upon the group on foot so as to remain undetected, so he'd only caught the tail end of their conversation – but even that was ridiculous.
«And you believed them? With no proof whatsoever?»
Clearly the clan leader shared his sentiments.
«Of course not,» he heard Ghorrah say. «They have already shown that they can heal lighter injuries, such as Hironh's broken wing.»
The murmurs of surprise that followed shocked him to his core – Hironh was healed? Completely healed? He almost fell over at the revelation, and only barely managed to still himself.
For a moment Ighen was paralyzed, terrified at the prospect of facing a Hironh who wasn't weakened, but in a state stronger than he'd ever known.
Then he quashed down those feelings, determination flowing through his core. This didn't change anything. Hironh couldn't have fully gotten used to his wing in such a short amount of time. Ighen had come close to winning before, and with his life on the line surely he would find a way to do it again.
The dragons on the beach spoke a little longer, but Ighen paid it no mind. Everything else was a distraction now, and he needed to focus.
Vosae's roar tore him from his thoughts – it was the signal to reveal himself.
«Took you long enough,» he growled, masking his fear as he strode out from the cover of the forest. In that moment he had his first good look at the humans, their metal shell, and their allies that stood between them and the Brewer clan.
Then he met eyes with Hironh.
«I knew it,» his old enemy hissed. «You were with them all along.»
«Not exactly,» Ighen growled, «They're here on their own business. I just needed them as witnesses.» Hironh's eyes widened as he said this, and Ighen took in a deep breath. «Hironh, I challenge you to a duel.»
«Oh, I've waited so long for you to say that,» Hironh laughed, and Ighen had to stifle a grimace as the blue dragon's broken wing was revealed to be in perfect condition.
«I see,» Devotion snarled as she glared at Vosae. «You never planned to work with the humans, did you?»
«I'd sincerely hoped to change your minds,» Vosae sighed, sounding surprisingly regretful to Ighen's ears. «At the very least, I'd hoped to get these humans to volunteer more information, but a lizard in the den is a lizard caught, so to speak.»
In the calm before the storm, Vosae confidently announced her final set of orders:
«Make these fools see reason, but take care not to kill them. Once they're dealt with, kill the crafters.»