Path of Dragons

Beneath his palm, the first menhir Elijah had created pulsed with power. It was one of nine that comprised the dolmen that had unlocked so much potential, transforming Ancestral Circle into Roots of the World Tree, giving him the ability to teleport across the world, so long as he’d created a circle to receive him.

But it felt different than it had before. Stronger. The ethereal flows that coursed from one menhir to the next hadn’t been nearly as obvious before, but now, Elijah felt that he could practically see the web of ethera connecting the entire thing. And in the center of that circle was a level of power Elijah hadn’t seen anywhere but his grove.

There was something beneath it, too. Something he couldn’t even begin to understand.

Had the flows grown stronger? Or was Elijah simply more attuned to the ethera, now that he’d reached the second stage of Soul cultivation? He had no idea, though the guide he’d bought had suggested that progression through the stages of cultivation often came with increased perception. At the time, he’d thought that it only meant that his senses would grow sharper. That had been the case so far, with his visual acuity and hearing having progressed far past human norms, especially in his bestial shapes. Yet, he suspected that there was far more to it than that. Perhaps one day he would be able to sense ethera as clearly as he could see the leaves on a tree.

There were Scholars who specialized in studying ethera, after all. So, such a thing was almost assuredly possible. He just wasn’t certain if he would ever reach that point.

“This is incredible,” muttered Biggle, his mouth agape. “How far have we come? Who built this? Is it some relic of the past? I’ve heard about transportation networks before, but this is different than any stories I have heard.”

“Transportation networks?” Elijah asked. “Like the teleportation feature associated with the Branch?”

Biggle shook his head. “No. That is often far too expensive for planetary travel. Normally, there are mages who specialize in such things,” he said. “On my home world, it is still too expensive for the likes of me, but for…ah…more prosperous people, using that network is no great burden. I have never seen such things, though. My village was too remote and far too poor to qualify for a hub.”

“So, what’s the point of Branch teleportation?” Elijah asked.

“Interplanetary transport,” Biggle stated. “There are ships capable of moving between worlds and universes, but that is only viable on a large scale. Or if someone is obscenely wealthy. Or powerful, though the two normally come hand-in-hand, from my experience.”

“I see,” Elijah said.

“This is so cool,” Miguel said, having circled the dolmen, running his hands over each heel stone. “It’s like the one outside of Seattle, right? Except it’s different. The rocks are different, but the carvings are, too. Why?”

“That’s the nature of inspiration,” Elijah stated.

“What is a Seattle?” asked Biggle, struggling to wrap his name around the city’s name. Clearly, he had no idea what it was.

“Don’t worry about it. C’mon. We’re on the clock here,” Elijah said. They had six days to accomplish his goals, and given that one of those goals involved trekking into a swamp, he knew they’d be pushing it to get everything done in time. So, he led his small group away from the Dragon Circle and toward Argos.

“How far have we come?” Biggle asked, struggling to keep up. His short legs were definitely a weakness when it came to trekking across the wilderness. Though it had never seemed to bother Kurik, who was only a bit taller than the gnome. So, maybe it was more to say that the Alchemist’s class didn’t give him the tools to overcome the shortcomings of his race.

“About a thousand miles? Maybe. I didn’t exactly keep track when I was traveling,” Elijah answered. “It could be closer to two-thousand, but I don’t think so. I ended up backtracking a lot in the more mountainous regions.”

“Impressive,” Biggle said, glancing back the way they’d come. They were well away from the Dragon Circle, so he couldn’t see the dolmen. Still, Elijah thought he knew what the Alchemist was thinking.

So, he decided to cut any issues off at the pass, saying, “You will not visit one of my circles without my permission or accompaniment.”

“What?”

“You heard me, Biggle. I’ve been told to watch out for Alchemists. I’ve heard that people like you can get a bit greedy. I’m not saying you’re one of those sorts of Alchemists, but I am cautioning you to leave my things alone.”

“I…see,” Biggle said. “For what it’s worth, I was only curious about how it all worked. I had no intention of doing whatever it is you’re afraid I would do. I prefer to grow my own ingredients, not harvest them from nature.”

“Good,” Elijah said.

After that, the trio trekked across the terrain until, at last, they reached Argos. It had fully recovered from the tempest that had swept through the area, which only highlighted how impressive construction classes were and how quickly they could complete a project. Eventually, they would reach a point where they could easily build structures to rival anything from the old world. And they would assuredly be equipped with all the modern amenities. It was only a matter of time.

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And survival.

In any case, the two guards on duty recognized Elijah, so after only a few moments’ worth of polite conversation, they waved him through. Elijah found it notable that they’d barely even looked at Biggle, indicating that they had encountered non-humans before. Soon enough, he found himself walking into Atticus’ shop.

“Ah, good to see you, friend!” the tall, hawk-nosed merchant said. “I was just thinking of you. And you brought guests! Any friend of Elijah’s is a friend of Atticus. I will even give you a discount. Two percent off any weapon in my shop. Quality guaranteed, of course!”

Elijah grinned at his friend. Even with his morose tendencies of late, he couldn’t help but smile when seeing Atticus. The man was so full of joy for life that it became infectious.

“I have some things I’d like appraised. And I’m sure I’ll want to sell some, too.”

With that, Atticus led them into the back, where they stated the process of identifying each item. The first was the Ghoul-Hide Satchel, which turned out to feature a fifteen-percent weight reduction and a trait called Preservation, which, true to the name, kept any perishable goods fresh for twice the duration as normal.

“A great item,” Atticus said. “I would offer to purchase it, but it appears you have grown quite attached to it. A good call, my friend. One can never carry enough goods.”

Next came the Weighted Gloves, which, according to Atticus, would increase his unarmed damage by twenty percent. Elijah had expected something like that, but he was impressed with the degree to which it would augment his attacks.

The canteen was, predictably, called an Everlasting Canteen, but to Elijah’s surprise, it hadn’t originated with a tower or Rift. Instead, Atticus informed him that it had a creator’s name attached to it: Rajesh Bedi. There was no more information, though Elijah was definitely interested in finding the maker. After all, with something like that, Seattle’s water supply issues could be solved much more easily.

The spear Thor had used was called Ancestor’s Spear, and it had an ability that allowed the wielder to recall it once thrown. Elijah had seen that in action during his fight with the Viking, so he knew precisely how useful such an ability would be. However, he still had no intention of using it himself; he’d grown accustomed to his staves, and he had no desire to change what had worked so far.

Neither had Miguel expressed any interested in the weapon – he seemed to prefer swords, from what Elijah could tell – so he intended to sell it to Atticus. Fortunately, the merchant was willing to pay good coins for the item, probably because Argos had a culture of spear use.

“I blame Delilah. All the young men want to impress her with their spear work. Most of the young women, too,” Atticus said with a shake of his head. “Too bad most are too weak to use this monster. Still, I know of a few strong fighters who would pay a premium for a High-Simple-Grade weapon with such a useful ability.”

After that, they set it aside until they got to the negotiation part. There were still a few items left to go, and Elijah preferred to sell everything together.

There were only two other items for which Elijah had high hopes, and he wanted to save the most interesting one for last. So, he ended up having quite a few daggers and a few Crude-Grade swords appraised – none of which were nice enough to pass on to Miguel, considering that his mother could make him better weapons when he came of age – before finally arriving at the penultimate item – the fanged necklace he’d taken from Thor.

“Interesting,” Atticus said. “It’s called a Wolf Totem. I’m guessing that’s the origin of the teeth, though it’s clearly a system reward.”

“What’s it do?”

“Plus three to all attributes,” the merchant answered. “Powerful. But it’s a Complex-Grade item, so that’s to be expected. The trait attached to it is even more interesting, though. Adds fifteen percent duration to all afflictions.”

“Oh. Nice,” Elijah said. That was as good as a fifteen percent increase to the damage of Swarm, Contagion, and Venom Strike, which meant he was definitely going to wear it. It also explained why the hunter’s debuff had lasted so long. “That should help.”

“Very good indeed, my friend!”

“Alright. I only have one last item to check,” Elijah said, handing over his staff. He’d yet to bond it, largely because, on the off chance that it was unsuitable, binding it to himself would render it worthless. Still, he thought that unlikely, given the name.

“Dragon-Touched Staff,” Atticus said. “Adds fifteen points to Strength and Dexterity, with five to Constitution. It also has a trait that increases the power of all enhancements by a flat five points. That…that is unheard of. Do you know how valuable this is?”

“Priceless,” Elijah said.

“A less honest merchant would steal this from you,” Atticus said, handing it back to Elijah without hesitation. “But they don’t call me Honest Atticus for nothing.”

“No one calls you that.”

“They might.”

“I’ve never heard it.”

“Neither have I, but I assume that’s only because they don’t want to stroke my ego. Everyone knows how humble I am,” Atticus said without a hint of humor.

“Right. You’re the humblest man I know.”

“That’s what I keep telling people!”

Elijah just smiled wryly and shook his head. “Alright – so how much for the pile?” he asked. The collection of items included the nearly worthless – to Elijah, at least – weapons, as well as the Ancestor’s Spear. Elijah also threw in Thor’s armor, though Atticus confirmed that even the best piece was only Low-Crude-Grade, which meant that the set was almost useless for anything but disassembling it for parts. Still, Elijah wanted it out of his satchel, so he insisted that Atticus include it.

The bickering was a long and arduous, though good-natured, process. Every now and then, Miguel would break in to ask a question about something he’d found in Atticus’ storeroom, but the merchant didn’t mind it at all. Eventually, they came to an agreement, with the entire collection bringing Elijah almost fifty silver coins.

Once they exchanged the sum – via folios, which was a new addition on Atticus’ part – Elijah said, “Oh. I meant to tell you this earlier. My sister-in-law is a Blacksmith, and she’s going to be making some new equipment sometime soon. She’s getting her forge set up right now, but I expect her to get to work within a few weeks. I might bring some of her products around, once she’s up and running.”

“Ah…I don’t know, my friend. This is not a place for amateur work…”

“She’s on the power rankings,” Elijah said. “And I think she’s capable of creating Complex items under the right circumstances.”

“Which is why someone of her stature, skill, and no doubt, beauty will be more than welcome to display her wares in my shop,” the merchant said, switching gears without missing a beat. Though Miguel mouthed the word “gross” when Atticus mentioned Carmen’s beauty.

“Thought that might interest you,” Elijah said with a grin. “Just wanted to let you know so you’ll have enough money to make some purchases. Wouldn’t want you to miss out.”

After that, Atticus told Elijah about Thor’s visit to Argos, which elicited quite a lot of genuine laughter from everyone in the storeroom. But in the end, it was soon time for them to get going. Not only did Elijah want to introduce Miguel to the glories of Greek food, but he also wanted to visit Isaak – and maybe Delilah, if she was in town – before turning in for the night.

Because in the morning, they would set off for the swamp, where they would hopefully save some children.

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