Chapter 20 - Dragonslayer

“Forward to the camp” Lagakh commands, riding ahead. I mount up, keeping pace with her Honorguard. I watch the sides of the road, making eye contact with Thunderspank’s fan club members, the spankies, who were brave enough to simply run for the hills after the fight. They return my gaze with hatred and awe interchangeably. None step forward to do anything with their feelings.

Once we’re clear of the danger, if you could call it that, I can take in our surroundings properly. The Ganalam Highlands are flat, grassy plains at a higher elevation than the human territories between here and Masstaoir. Tall trees stand here and there, interrupting the mostly empty landscape. I take the scorched ground and snapped treetops as evidence of nearby dragon activity.

A short ride later, we reach our destination.

Ganalam Highlands Base Camp Discovered! Experience gained.

Little more than tents, the base camp is bustling with orcs moving supplies and equipment around. A solitary siege weapon stands out, situated in the middle of the camp on a wooden tower. The ballista has a bolt longer than I am tall, with a wicked looking barbed tip. Anything that hit would need a giant surgeon to get it back out. I follow Lagakh into the command tent, watched from all sides by orc N.P.C.s and players. What, like it’s not typical to ride with the commander of this expedition, the eldest female of the royal family?

“First,” Lagakh begins speaking, leaning over a war map. “we need to thin the herd around the cave entrance.”

Thin the Herd accepted.

Dragon whelps slain 0/10

“Whelps? Like, babies?” I ask, getting looks from everyone in the tent.

“By the time a dragon hatches they’re already ten times smarter than you.” Lagakh tells me. “Maybe twenty in your case.” She gives me a sly smile.

So they don’t have the minds of children, at least. I nod, taking my leave.

The camp is completely still outside, watching my exit. I stand in front of them, waiting for anyone to say something. Lagakh steps out beside me, noticing the quiet commotion. “This is Paragon Earl, my consort. You will treat him with respect or I will teach you respect.” She announces. I try not to look too embarrassed.

The N.P.C.s go back to work without another word. The players move away, congregating somewhere out of sight. I don’t care to follow them, instead leaving towards my quest marker. I arrive in the area close to the mountains, a sloping hillside dotted with dragons. My awe is replaced with screaming pain as one of the whelps breaths fire on my side. The little bastard looks like a long, red salamander with tiny, useless wings. I move to stomp it, missing entirely and getting another lungful of flames for my efforts.

I cast Distribute, sending the growing damage to Bolt. Without the distraction, we easily dispatch the lizard. One of ten.

Humph.

What? I ask mentally, not having heard from Bolt in hours.

I cannot believe you would exclude me from your dalliance with the orc beauty, Lagakh.

Of course I would. Are you kidding?

Why!

You’re a creep! Every time I hear your voice it gives me the willies!

…

Bolt says nothing for a long time. We kill two more whelps before he speaks again.

It is my nature, master.

You can behave differently, even if your instinct is to be a pervert.

Can I? What am I called, when you look at me?

Amorous Thunder God’s Lighting Bolt.

Amorous. I feel nothing but lust and the desire to serve you.

So serve me and keep a lid on the rest.

You would deny me half of my nature?

Yes! Half of your nature is gross!

…

The silence that follows lasts until the quest is complete. I stand in the now empty territory, starting to feel kind of bad about what I’ve said. “Hey, Bolt?”

Yes master?

I’m sorry you were made this way. I’m sorry we’re incompatible, and I shouldn’t blame you for it.

I would like to leave your service at your earliest convenience.

Ok.

From my limited knowledge, I know of a weapon you may craft soon, a hammer. I am usable as a component. My consciousness will not carry on into the new vessel, only my power. This arrangement is equitable, no?

If that’s what you want, sure. I can do that.

We return to the base camp in silence. Am I too harsh on Bolt? I have to really think to understand their situation. The consciousness inside the weapon is a simple-model artificial intelligence. Like an onboard valet, or targeting algorithm. Though they still seem to express feelings, the full scope of human emotions. Esquire had a two-dimensional personality too, only caring about respectfulness and serving me. Bolt is epic quality, if I understand correctly, that means they are not unique. If this copy gets used as an ingredient, Bolt isn’t gone forever.

I pause at the threshold of the camp, considering asking Bolt if they will just be erased. Do they know about the other iterations of themself? Would they understand if I tried to explain? Esquire was ignorant of some game mechanics, I had to rephrase what I said to fit into the fantasy context they understood. Should I feel any more guilty about Bolt than I would killing named non player characters? I shake my head, deciding it’s best for both of us if we just part ways as Bolt described. Their final act can be in service to their master, fulfilling half of their desires, at least.

“Move further into the elder’s territory and slay ten of her drakes” Lagakh instructs me.

Thin the Herd Completed! Experience gained.

Thin the Herd part 2 accepted.

Dragon drakes slain 0/10

“Not going straight for the big one, huh? Mixing it up.” I comment, earning strange looks from the orc leadership. Man, I can’t do anything right in their eyes.

“No, Paragon. The big one would eat you whole.” She informs me. Her hand unconsciously brushes the burn scar on her cheek.

“The eldest dragon did that?” I ask in a whisper

“No.” she says, setting her jaw. “The ancient dragon that birthed it did.” I nod, feeling as though I may have overstepped. I turn and walk out of the tent, returning to the killing grounds on the hill. I have to travel a bit further up to reach the drakes.

“This is going to suck” I remark, looking at the larger, more filled out dragons. These no longer resemble diminutive lizards, these are true dragons. Bodies larger than lions, wings bigger than personal aircraft, one of these drakes could seriously fuck me up. “Guess there’s no helping it” I sigh, looking at the big fat zero on my quest tracker.

I open with Thunder God, not wanting to mess around with this mega lizard. The drake hisses as electricity arcs across it’s body, turning to me and spouting a gout of flame. It’s like a goddamned world war one flamethrower. My entire world is fire, I use Distribute more out of fear than need. As the flames finally die down, I see the drake hovering in the air above me, wing beats blowing back my hair. I count myself lucky to have ranged abilities.

I call down a Thunder Strike, throw, recall, throw, and summon Bolt. After they return to my hand, the drake finally falls, wings riddled with holes. I loot it, unable to skin it, much like the boars and raptors before it. I’m probably missing out on a lot of valuable materials here, but I can only have one gathering and one crafting profession. Skinning and Leatherworking don’t really help me if I want to craft metal armor and weapons. Oh well.

The next drake we pull up on, I use Circular Saw, holding Bolt out infront of me at max distance. The drake is buffeted by lighting strikes, rapidly jerking as its muscles are electrocuted. The drake is at low health by the time my ability dies down, so a few more good throws does it in. For the first time, I use my full toolkit to deal with my opponents. Unfortunately, one of my best abilities, Wall of Swords, has to be anchored to the ground. I try to summon it mid-air without success.

Thinking about the formation of the wall, a bunch of blades crossed over each other, I consider stretching out the design. Willing the blades to move, the wall extends into the air, at least four times the original height, becoming a thinner blanket of blades. I smile, backing up while watching the last drake I have to kill. Despite the reduced mass, the wall is just as immovable as ever, the drake pushing itself against the edges trying to get to me. It scrapes away scales, then flesh, ending its own life on my temporary structure. It falls to the ground in a heap when the abilities peters out.

“Maybe all of my spells have secrets?” I wonder aloud. Avoiding the respawning drakes and whelps, I work my way back to the camp to turn in the quest.

“Now, we put my plan into action.” Lagakh announces.

The Big One accepted.

Lure the elder dragon out of its lair 0/1

“Surely you’ve noticed the ballista loaded with a dragon grounding bolt, Paragon?” she asks me.

“Yes I have.” I nod. “It looks like it would really suck to get hit by.”

“Indeed it would. My father, before becoming Honorlord, had a team of weaponsmiths design a bolt that could pierce the impenetrable hide of an ancient dragon. A team of enchanters then imbued a magic into it that would propel the bolt though any magical shields the dragon had. They forged a weapon greater than any that came before it.” She recounts. “Now, we use it on the child of that ancient dragon.”

“But first I have to get it out in the open.” I point out. Lagakh nods. “Alright, I’d better get going. Give me a kiss for good luck?” I request. She crosses the room, grabs me by the shoulders, and french kisses me. Her smaller tusks clack against mine, not an unpleasant feeling. When she pulls away, I notice the orc leadership in the tent looking away and coughing awkwardly.

“Come back to me. I’m hungry for more.” She gives me a wolf’s smile. I chuckle, nodding. The camp outside of the tent is strangely still, the air takes on a strange, familiar energy. It’s like the battlefield all over again. No one is around, player or otherwise. I must be in an instanced area, like Peter explained to me. I’m alone here in anticipation of the big fight with the dragon. No pressure. I exit the camp, noticing the vacant hills, formerly dotted with dragons. I shrug, climbing the hill towards the cave.

The wide mouth catches the breeze, causing a disquieting howl as I walk into the cave. The rocky terrain slopes down, smooth and slick, a constant drip forming stalactites and stalagmites. From a certain angle, it must appear I’m sliding down the gullet of a great, toothy beast. I gulp. Barely keeping my footing, I make my way to a ledge, overlooking the huge opening in the earth a dragon has claimed as its lair.

The great red monster rests atop a pile of gold, deep as a lake. Glittering jewels, armor, and weapons are scattered among the incalculable riches. A greedy little gremlin in the back of my mind jumps for joy, the fly swatter of reason silencing him in a splatter of gore. The Honorlord wants this hoard. I probably couldn’t get away with taking a single piece, nevermind the whole thing. Maybe the quest reward is good enough to make up for it. Probably not though.

I stand there on the ledge, worried more about the treasure than the guardian. I regret it, only now noticing the man-sized slit pupil watching me ogle their hoard. The great beast rises slowly to its full height, a body that would crush buildings by accident, and a wingspan to cast a shadow over cities. It roars, my eardrums pop immediately and gush blood down my neck. Holding my hands over them, I turn and run, desperate to get away. The slick surface slows my progress even more severely on the way up, I peel my hands from my aching ears to claw at the earth. I cannot hear it, but I feel the earth shake as the dragon approaches.

With no time to spare, I finally get one good handhold after another, propelling myself up and out of the cave, rolling down the hillside in an uncontrolled descent. When I finally come to a stop, I look back up at the cave mouth, relieved to see the snout of the dragon poking out into the air. I almost dare to gloat as the nose stops moving.

A strange greenish brown light circles the cave. In a perfect circle, the earth moves forward and away, a cylinder of rock launching into the air over my head and far into the distance behind me. The dragon performs the same earth-moving magic, over and over, until the mountain is all but erased, leaving a roomy opening for the dragon to casually ascend from its lair.

It pushes their bulky body out, shaking off loose dirt. Extending massive wings, it takes to the air, the wind pushing me onto my back. I quickly get back to my feet, making a break for the camp. Lagakh stands on ground level, shouting orders to two orcs manning the ballista, turning cranks to aim at the sky beast. I watch it circle, tipping its head to get a look at us. It suddenly maneuvers into a rapid descent, wings pressed into its sides, a spear aimed at us.

“Fire!” Lagakh orders. The bolt is released, flying up towards the dragon at blinding speed. To our horror, the dragon casually shifts its trajectory, avoiding the shot completely. Sprinting away, Lagakh and I barely avoid being crushed by the dragon impacting the ground with full force. The earth shakes, knocking us to the ground even beyond the blast zone. I watch the dragon rise to its feet in the cloud of dust, praying it can’t see us.

“What now?” I ask Lagakh.

“I don’t know.” she says. She does not look at me, instead watching the dragon’s outline. I think for a moment before asking my next question.

“Where would the bolt have landed?” I ask. She gives me a look that says do I look like a mathematician? There’s no way she knows the exact trajectory. “Guess?”

“Somewhere on the hillside.” She informs me. “What are you thinking?”

“We can kill it with the bolt, right?”

“Not without the ballista. The beast crushed it and the crew.” she shakes her head. I think harder, finally coming up with a longshot solution.

“Keep its attention off of me.” I tell her. “Please.” I add, remembering who I’m talking to. She nods, resignation on her face. She expects to die here. I get up, running towards the hill. I hear Lagakh yelling behind me, a gust of air marking the dragon’s shifted attention. Desperately whipping my head back and forth, I finally spot the bolt, imbedding deep into the earth. I run over to it, trying to pull it out with raw strength. Even with my superhuman abilities, it doesn’t budge.

The dragon has found Lagakh, who stands tall, brave in the face of certain death. She brandishes her family's signature giant axe, ready to go down fighting. I grit my teeth, unwilling to accept this is the end. Channeling the force of will I projected onto Esquire in the duel, I focus on the bolt. It’s enchanted, with what I don’t know, but my telekinesis is all I’ve got to work with. Lagakh and the dragon trade blows, her axe biting shallow nibbles into the scales, in return, the dragon bats her away like a cat with a ball of yarn. She flies through the air, getting up slower and slower every time. The damn beast is playing with its food.

Anger courses through me, a boiling feeling I recall from my very first day in this world. I was so angry, when I punched a shield, it dented in a clear violation of the game rules. Tapping into the bottomless rage, I redouble my effort to lift the bolt with my mind. The subtle shift almost knocks me out of focus, a sense of relief bubbling up from under the fury. I persist, lifting the bolt into the air through sheer force of will. I aim at the dragon as it breathes deep, preparing to burn everything in front of it, notably Lagakh.

“RAAAH!” I scream, launching the bolt at the side of the beast. The bolt flies, held aloft by my command. In a blink, the tip punctures the side of the dragon, flames sputtering around the tip like a souped up car exhaust. The dragon coughs a ball of fire, wide of its mark. It glares at me, trying to take in another breath, making a whistling sound from the wound that makes it impossible. In the moment of distraction, Lagakh takes a running leap, forcing her axe into the creature’s massive eye. It tries to howl in pain, instead making a strange wet sound. It throws Lagakh off, she lands roughly, not getting up this time.

I change down the hill as the dragon scratches uselessly with its back leg at the bolt. I focus all of my telekinetic Weaponmaster power into my right fist, delivering an empowered punch into the exposed end of the bolt. It rips though the dragon, fully piercing the body in one side and out the other. With one last look of unbridled hatred, life leaves its eyes, and it collapses to the ground. I try to find Lagakh in a panic, not seeing her where she laid on the ground. I yelp in surprise as something pushes me into the dragon’s body, I turn, finding her standing over me.

“Have me before your bloodlust runs cold” she commands.