All The Skills

Lost in his thoughts and self-recrimination, Arthur did not keep track of the conversation.

He came back to it at Valentina’s sharp tone.

“I need you to spread the word among the Sickness seekers. We need to know if there’s any sign of scourge in our uncarded.”

“That would be a mistake,” Whitaker said. “Word will get out and introduce panic. Next thing you know, people will hide their disease—"

Both leaders went very still. Then, as one, looked to the double doors.

A moment later, the bells began to ring. Not the excited high-pitched chimes whenever a Rare egg was laid, but the bone-rattling bong-bong-bong of alarm. The hive was to muster for a scourge eruption.

“Another one,” Valentina said. “Damn.”

Whitaker strode to the door. “It is what it is. You have the hive, Val. I’ll take care of this.”

Arthur caught a glimpse of frustration on Valentina’s wrinkled face. He couldn’t tell if she was annoyed with Whitaker or if she wanted to go out and fight, too. But as she was in her eighth decade, that wasn’t a good idea.

Mastering herself, Valentina nodded to the healers. “Scourge-protocol takes precedence… but keep an eye on the animal populations. If corruption is taking root, it may show there first.”

The men and women bowed and left.

Finally, Valentina turned to snap her fingers at Arthur. “Follow me.”

He had no choice but to follow her as she walked out.

Valentina did not walk fast. She was shorter than him and had such a stiff gait that he wondered why she didn’t use the floating cloud trick to get around.

His silent question was answered when she led him to a luxuriant office, only two doors down from the ballroom. A roaring fireplace sat in the corner, and the whole room was stuffed with polished wood furniture, sitting couches, and one large desk that had a grand view of the hive city vista through floor-to-ceiling windows.

Valentina crossed the room and went to a small stand topped by fluted glassware. “Drink?”

“Uh, yes please?” He was vaguely aware of some kind of protocol between nobles offering drinks and accepting them… but couldn’t remember whether accepting or declining was polite. He went with the option that got him a taste of their expensive booze.

Maybe it would level up his Sommelier skill.

But the small drink she poured him was a brown liquor. Brandy. He took a sip and found it smoother than any he had tried before.

New enhancement gained: Alcohol Resistance (poison class)

Due to your previous experience and your card’s bonus traits, you automatically start this enhancement at level 4.

This is an optional enhancement. Do you wish to activate alcohol resistance?

An optional enhancement His Master of Skills card had never given him the ability to turn off or on a skill before. Was this strictly a function of his new Body Enhancement card, or because he had a pair of cards in the same set?

Either way, the prudent thing was to select Yes. He needed to be as sharp as possible while dealing with Valentina.

She poured herself a more generous glass and then gestured for Arthur to sit down on a leather chair. She sat in the opposite chair and studied him for a long moment… so long he wondered if he was being scanned by some sort of seeking power.

After what felt like an age, she spoke. “I wanted to let you know that I acknowledge and appreciate your help with this delicate hive matter.”

“Of course,” Arthur said.

“To be frank, and I like to be frank, your behavior is already more than I would have expected knowing what I do about your father.”

Arthur choked.

She shrugged, obviously not caring that she had just insulted Baron Kane. Not that Arthur gave a damn either.

“I like to think I take after my mother,” he said.

“Well, I wanted to let you know that your continuing discretion is appreciated and expected. Don’t think I have forgotten you’re interested in the Legendary egg.”

He perked up. “How is it?”

“We’ve had the veterinary healers look it over as best they could. As you heard, none are above the Uncommon rank so there is a limit to what they can discover. However, they agree that if it hasn’t died yet thanks to neglect, it’s not likely to at this point.” She sighed and took a rather large sip of her brandy. “The standard procedure is to introduce likely dragon riders to the egg at once. However, considering it may be in a delicate state, we’re not going to rush the thing now. Especially considering this recent fiasco.”

He tried to keep the disappointment off his face but knew from her look that he failed.

“Legendary eggs are not like Rares,” Valentina continued. “There is a great risk. Not only from the egg but from your other competitors. And I use that word deliberately. I don’t know if you’ve yet written to your father for a higher-tier card, but you may want to consider it carefully. This will be a cause you will be willing to die for.”

Death was a constant companion growing up in the borderland village. Arthur couldn’t say he didn’t fear it, but it was at least a known phenomenon. He couldn’t say the same for the other nobles.

“Will I have many other, uh, competitors?” he asked, then leaned into the lie of Ernest Kane. “I know the state of my noble house, but I have a hard time believing many others would be willing to sacrifice their sons and daughters.”

“And you think the incentive from the crown won’t sway them?” she asked dryly. “How many noble houses wouldn’t sell their first-born sons off to be known by the king? Much less the riches.”

Arthur had no idea what she was talking about, but she acted like this was common knowledge. He nodded his head, playing along.

“One other thing: the recruiter who brought me to the hive. I assume she will be compensated?”

“Of course.” She smiled. “If you do become a legendary rider, you’ll learn that the best way to get people to work is to reward them when they do a good job.”

The words were pleasant, but her smile was edging toward sarcasm. He had the feeling she had a double meaning… but he had no idea what it could be.

“Is there anything else?” she asked.

“Can I see the egg?” he asked, deciding to press his luck.

Again, she looked at him for a long, long moment. “Yes, I do think you’re eligible for a reward, considering. But you must not get too close. Even if I was to show an utterly shameless preference for you, and I’m still deciding if I should, you’re carrying a precious package in your storage, Ernest. I can’t risk it.”

“Forgive me for asking—"

“Oh, just blurt it out,” she snapped. “If already know you need to be forgiven, then you know you’re doing something wrong. Just say it.”

He paused and then nodded. “Why is this Rare so important to you? I know it’s a high level and a shimmer, but… it’s also a pink. It probably won’t be able to fight the scourge like a red or an elemental-based dragon. Don’t get me wrong,” he added, “I want it to live, but I don’t know why it’s important to you.”

Thankfully, she didn’t take offense to his words. She just stared at him and though her face was aged, her eyes were bright and fiery. “We need all dragons to create a healthy, functioning hive. Yes, some pinks are downright scholarly. But it could also be the next tactical genius. We have problems in this hive, and we need solutions. We need thinkers. We need scholars — actual scholars and not those lazy-robed louts you saw earlier today. Furthermore, pink dragons are known as wildcards. They aren’t strictly knowledge dragons. They are meta dragons. And right now, we need that out-of-the-box thinking. We cannot continue forever in this stalemate with the scourge, always reacting and never doing.” She sighed and stood, signaling an end to this conversation. “Now, do you want to see the egg or not?”

He wanted to question exactly what she meant… but he wanted to see the egg more.

Once again, she led him down the hall a short way and then through a door that led to a grand balcony.

There, twenty feet away at the end of the balcony, sitting in the full sun, sat the tiny dark egg. It sat in a woven straw nest, surrounded by braziers of roaring fire to keep the temperature warm. Several dragon-sized divots were carved into the cliff walls directly on either side. Sitting in them within easy leaping range, were large dragons. Arthur recognized them as hive Rares, though he didn’t know their names.

They were guarding the egg — a task important enough so that they were excused from fighting the scourge eruption.

Valentina stopped him and pointed to a chalk outline near his feet. “Stay on this side of the line.”

He nodded absently, all his attention on the egg.

It was a spot of black, bracketed against the deep blue of a high-altitude sky. It seemed to suck in the light around it… and despite the many braziers set up around the balcony, Arthur could almost feel the warmth leaching into the black heart of the egg.

But… it wasn’t entirely black, was it? Gazing straight at the egg, he caught a hint of a deep dark purple. Or perhaps that was a shimmer quality to the egg.

Arthur didn’t realize he was swaying forward until Valentina caught his shoulder. The tiny woman was stronger than she looked.

“I might have to adjust the chalk line further back,” Valentina said. “It seems the egg is growing in strength.”

He and Valentina walked back in silence. She was lost in her thoughts and he was wondering what would happen if he broke away and made a sprint to the egg.

Nothing good, probably.

“Ernest.”

It took a beat to realize Valentina meant him. With a mental shake, Arthur turned to her. “Yes?”

The leader looked straight at him. “You may have noticed I’m not fond of people shirking their duties to the kingdom by hiding away in their guilds.”

She meant the scholars. He nodded, waiting for her to get to the point.

“You’ve already taken some steps to put yourself in good favor. If you could think of some way,” pause “to get the pink dragon linked, I would appreciate it. And I still have enough pull to make it important to Whitaker as well.” Another pause. “Do we understand each other?”

Arthur’s heart began to beat fast. Was she saying what he thought she was saying?

Looking into her steely eyes, he knew that she was.

She had someone following him and likely knew that she had met up with Cressida who was desperate to link with the dragon. The scholars were in disfavor, and she had just said in not-so-many words that she would be willing to overlook certain things.

“Yes,” Arthur said, “I understand.”

“Then you may go.”

Valentina turned her back on him and started to walk away. As she did, a new miniature cloud formed under her feet. It carried her up the next set of stairs and away.

Arthur turned and started his long, long trek back to the lower levels.

It all came down to finding the pink dragon’s card match. Now he had the means, ability, and permission to do what needed to be done.

And then he could focus on the fact that he might have brought scourge into the hive.

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