Master of the Hoard - Chapter 3 (Patreon)

“The good life doesn't knock on the door.

Joy is a job.” ― Lionel Shriver

"I want my money back! Second-rate piece of crap wannabe dragon body!" That goddamn hurt! I lay still for a while, nursing my smarting neck from where I had managed to impact one of the walls. There were so many things I needed to re-learn and it did not come easy. This was feeling less and less like a game, and rather more like my new life. To my surprise, walking and running came naturally. It was the advanced stuff that took a toll on the body and mind. Jumping, rolling, falling and any kind of attack required a certain level of coordination and mental surplus that I didn't exactly own at the moment. This must be what it felt like to be a baby, or rather in a baby dragon's body. The jocks and martial artist wannabes at work used to talk about muscle memory - I was pretty certain that was exactly what was missing. Not only did I have to learn something new and completely foreign, I also had to forget everything I thought I knew. On top of that, orienting myself while moving was a pain in the neck. Dad humor aside, having a prehensile neck was not as fun as I'd imagined - mostly it was just disorienting. The room Aelis had found for me had been perfect for my exercises - large enough that I could build a good dose of speed, yet filled with enough obstacles that I had to dodge and weave to avoid collisions. To be sure, the floor was covered with a lot of fresh rubble now compared to before my arrival.

The night hadn't been all negative though. I had figured out a lot about my new body. The regeneration skills were excellent - just above 20 health/hour out of a total of 200 and I'd regained my health entirely even though I'd been pretty battered. Even the deep slash I’d taken to my hand… or was it a paw? Anyway, it was already down to an angry red line across my scales. I did not want to think too hard on any heavy injuries or, say, the threat of losing a limb, but beatings, slashings and stab wounds disappeared spotlessly. Heh - and that Deafening Roar ability? I couldn't wait to try it out in practice. Activating the ability with a thought caused a massive roar to escape my throat and I could practically see the air around me warp from the sound waves. A final discovery promised well for staying alive in a monster-filled mountain - the fact that my new body needed little sleep. At least, I wasn't tired yet. I still had no way of telling the time, but I'd been active for a long time and my mind was still operating at top speed. As a testament to the risk that Aelis might have somehow cheated my telepathic skill, I'd pushed several boulders to minimize the available cave opening - good luck trying to swarm me now. I also stayed attentive, training with one eye on the opening. Nobody was going to surprise me with ranged weapons or magic. Magic - the mere notion that we had a world where magic wasn't a fever dream had me smiling a right grin. The hunger was slowly returning, but nowhere near as pressing as when I'd almost succumbed to slaughter the day before. If Aelis and I could find some game on our trip, there would likely be no issue in my wanting to eat her.

Over the night, while I was test-driving my new body, I grudgingly started in on what promised to be a long internal discussion. The old 'What's going on and how should I handle it?' game. Now, it might sound like I was taking everything lightly, but that was very much not the case. The very real possibility of never seeing my ex-wife, not that there was any real love lost there, and grown-up daughter again almost caused physical pain. Still, it wasn't like I hadn't been warned. Not about the dragon thing, no. But the doctors had been threatening me for years. "Your heart is weak. The transplant list is long. You need to exercise more, eat less, drink less, spend less time in front of the computer. Oh, and you need to avoid all sources of stress and create peace in all third world countries while you're at it." Doctors. Bunch of pencil pushers, who wouldn't know what to do with a hammer if it hit 'em in the head. But I digress. What I meant was, I'd been thinking about death quite a bit over the past years and had a bunch of just lovely conversations with the family on the topic. Them telling me what would happen if I didn’t change my ways, me avoiding the issue as much as I could and ignoring where I couldn’t.

With that in mind, the thought of me dying wasn’t as catastrophic to my mental health as I could have expected. My main sensation, apart from the obvious one of loss, was awe at the discovery that there was more to the universe than just that one life. The thought of that was both mind blowing and exhilarating. Liberating, even. On top of that, I'd been made into a dragon? I was still horribly ignorant about the state of the world I found myself in, but I was more than ready to get out there and discover its mysteries and magics. Even though it was feeling more unlikely by the minute, I still wasn't ruling out the possibility that I was in a coma, dreaming up this whole thing, or having some weird hallucinatory experience. Still, whatever was going on, I was going to make the most of this second chance I’d been given. Really make something of and out of my life this time around. In other words: If this mountain had a big-ass dragon throne somewhere, they had better get the pillows nice and comfy for me!

As for now, physical practice was the way to go. I'd spent a lot of time over the night trying to get a simple swipe attack to seem natural. At the moment, I was working on having my tail deliver an over the shoulder spear-like attack along with my swipe. My aim was that I'd end up being able to control my tail independently from my other limbs, but for now I'd make do with slinging two attacks in the right direction at the same time. It was clumsy as all hells, but at least I could usually hit within a couple of feet of the same spot. I was about to switch back to another round or two of running and jumping, when I experienced a strange sensation. If I were to describe it, it felt like when your ears feel clogged from pressure - only inside my head. Slowly, the sensation grew, until it emerged as a familiar voice. "Help me, help me, help ME!"

The final mental shout was punctuated by the appearance of Aelis who practically flung herself inside the cavern opening. She rapidly oriented herself - apparently, her race weren't as nearsighted as actual moles - spotted me and sprinted over behind me. Her mental monologue was rushed and panicked. "A Clencher, Sire. It spotted me and I fled."

There was no need to explain further as the 'it' in question decided to make an entrance into the room. The entrance was delayed a bit by the monster having to squeeze its considerable bulk through the opening, slowly shouldering aside everything I'd painstakingly stacked. The delay gave me a few moments to position myself and look at our attacker properly. My first impression was that of a hairless bear - a massive four-legged beast with a small, ugly head and beady eyes. Something wasn't right about its movement, however. The monster's body seemed to undulate in places and a closer look confirmed that the bulk of the beast wasn't merely flesh and skin - the skin looked like something was rippling underneath the surface.

Whatever a Clencher was, it was short on fear. The moment it spotted me, a shrill roar reverberated through the cavern and it redoubled its efforts to fit through the tight opening. Damn - from the tight fit, I'd wager it was almost as large as me. I decided that I'd be better off going on the offensive and charged in, leaping to the attack with both forearms swinging in claws first. Apparently, the monster was not prepared for this - instead of fighting back, it ducked its ugly  head and movement surged under the skin as it weathered the blows. I grinned in success as I felt both blows connect and my claws sink into the skin - only to hit an unyielding surface underneath. Surprised, I tried for a different tack and bit furiously into its neck, sawing back and forth.

Moments later, I picked myself up from the other side of the cavern, dazed from the impact with the wall. In its fury, the Clencher managed to get its hind legs up and throw me off at full speed. The Clencher’s shoulders were barely bleeding, but the neck was looking like a mess. Whatever armor or defenses it had, it looked like they were unable to protect the neck - or maybe it just couldn't rearrange its defenses fast enough.

A flash from behind me was Aelis' spear flying through the air to embed itself in the huge beast's upper pectoral muscle. "Do not let it catch you, Sire." she yelled, before moving back to hide behind a pile of rocks.

Watching the spear quiver for a bit and then drop straight to the ground, I picked myself up and went on the offensive, again. The Clencher had forced itself through the opening and sped up as well. We met in the center of the room with a huge crash. I swiped a claw, trying to connect with the neck again, but it moved it out of the way in time and forced my body to the side with pure bulk while the monster’s own claws raked furrows down my side. Shit that hurt! In pain and frustration, I shot my tail forward, trying to impale the monstrous head, only to miss completely. It scraped along its neck to land over its back - and that's when I discovered why they were called Clenchers. Along my tail, I felt the movement as the bones inside its body rearranged themselves, moved and clenched down on my tail, pinning it in place. I tugged unsuccessfully at it to get it back, once, twice - and then the Clencher towered above me, as it rose onto its hind legs, ready to let itself fall over me. The beady eyes shot fury at me, even as slobber dripped onto my recumbent form. This survival was turning out to be a lot harder than I first imagined.

My panicked mind froze - and then sprang back to life, as I activated Deafening Roar, forcing the sound straight towards my enemy. The effect was everything I could have  hoped for. The Clencher’s muscles spasmed and released my tail as its huge body toppled to the ground like an avalanche, burying me underneath. I had tried, but was simply too slow to avoid being trapped. Sure, me being used to my good old battered body back home on Earth didn't help, but damn, making this thing turn took forever, it felt like. The end result was not pleasant. My lower body was pinned in place under its heavy bulk and the ugly, scarred head came to a rest upon my chest. I could see clearly from the open, unfocused eyes that the battle wasn't over - merely postponed. The last day's happenings had been one stress factor on top of another and the huge, bloody abomination of nature slobbering on my mid-section could easily have been too much. At the risk of tooting my own horn, I held it together. Barely. With a shrill cry, I let out all my frustration on the Clencher with my one free claw, carving deep into the unarmored side of its neck. The Clencher stubbornly refused to die, however, and as the beady eyes started to regain focus, I once again sank my fangs down into its bloody neck, savaging the torn flesh with all my strength.

There are quite a number of happenings in my life that I do not need to repeat. Losing my virginity, for instance. Having 'the talk' with my parents. Having to explain to my foreman of my first work site why I considered it suitable that the foundation to the house of a snobbish prick now had my butt print in concrete along with the words 'Ass above, so below.' The sensation of savaging the carotid artery of a living creature and feeling its life ebbing out between your teeth? Yeah, that one was definitely going to make it on the list. The worst detail was that part of me enjoyed it in a savage, primal sort of way. There was an obvious chasm between the predator body I was inhabiting that wanted nothing more than to drink the life's blood and start feasting on the body and... well, me.

With difficulty, I pushed the Clencher's body off and fought to my feet. I blinked away the level up pop-up I'd received and stalked unsteadily to the back of the room, where Aelis was trying to blend in with the background. Lowering my head to her height, making not a single bit of effort to hide the rage that was bubbling within me, I demanded, "What the fuck was that?"

"Sire - I, I can explain. First, however, please allow me to verify whether you are all right?”

I decided to acquiesce as she took a full circle around me, looking closely at my wounds before settling before me with a sigh. “They are superficial wounds only. I apologize from the depths of my despair, Milord. We transported the meat back to our home safely when the Clencher must have caught our scent. They are not fast animals, but they are persistent, good trackers and close to impossible to kill for my kind. When I realized it was following us, I attracted its attention to lead it away. I panicked - please accept my most sincere apologies for endangering you."

That... was a much more reasonable explanation than I'd expected. Damnit. What was I supposed to do with all this excess anger? I really wanted to crush her tiny body for the audacity of putting me in danger. I mean really, that had felt too close for comfort. I was beginning to have doubts in my new found abilities, yet I did survive that with minimal training for myself. I started pacing around the room, fuming and growling, until I had cooled down some. At that point, I'd mulled over her explanation further and something was setting off my bullshit radar. I wasted no time, addressing the issue. "Aelis, have you ever heard about dragons being able to see through lies?"

She straightened, almost standing at attention. "Yes, Milord, albeit only in legend. Prismatic dragons are rumored to gain certain legendary abilities."

I smirked. "Well, I am no prismatic dragon. I have, however, several decades of knowledge on dealing with people trying to pull a fast one on me." And telepathic skills to aid me.

Her face wrinkled up as she stuttered, "Sire - I do not..." Confusion emanated from her, along with a serious case of nerves.

"I mean, you're trying to trick me, Aelis. Have you ever heard of the phrase 'lying by omission?' No? It means that while I do believe you aren't straight out lying to me, you also aren't telling the entire truth. Tell me, how often have you and your tribe dealt with Clenchers before?" From the way she'd acted, she held some knowledge on the species.

"We - we try to avoid them wherever we can, Sire." Fear. Tightly controlled, but that was definitely fear.

Stubborn thing. I let a low growl build in the back of my throat. "Answer my question!"

She exhaled lightly. "We... tend to let a single runner lead the animal far away and slip into tiny cracks or tunnels while the remainder of our tribe hides. Clenchers are stubborn beasts and good hunters, but stupid. Given a few days, they will lose patience."

This was me back in my element. Finally, something I was good at even in this new world. I barely held back a grin, It felt like I was back on a site, coaxing out of a temp worker exactly how little he'd been working over the past week. "And the exact reason that you didn't do that this time around?"

Barely understandable, her mental whisper escaped her, "Because I argued that you would be able to handle the Clencher for us and make our area safer." She fell on her face, abasing herself before me in a trembling mess yet again. "Pardon me, Sire. I will accept whatever punishment you deem fair."

My anger flared back up and I rested a claw on her back, pushing down slightly. It was surprisingly hard to not keep pushing. "You almost killed me. Punishment." I savoured the word. "Yes, I will find a suitable punishment. Not right now, however." Let her stew a little. "For now, I will lay out one single rule that goes for you and your tribe both: Ask me for co-operation and I am always willing to listen. Try to do something like this again, and we will be enemies. That will be the end of you and your tribe." She didn't look up from where she was lying, and I prodded her with my foot. "Oh, do get up. We can't talk like this. That's better. See, your idea was good, you just went about it in the most moronic manner possible."

She slowly got up, hope building on her face.  "Are you saying..."

"That I don't mind taking care of the occasional enemy for you? Exactly. Properly warned, it wouldn't even be that much of a challenge. Also, I leveled from that fight - I really don't mind that part."

Silence grew for a moment, more companionable now that the death threats were over with. A sudden realization hit me and I let out a burst of laughter, sounding like a rasping cough. "You know Clenchers pretty well, right? So, that spear you threw... you knew that wasn't going to do any damage?"

"Yes, Sire."

"But you threw it anyway?"

"Yes. I was trying to distract it," She hesitated and then continued, "and earn part of the experience."

Hah. So whatever logic created this weird interface was game-like in nature too. "You leveled from it?"

"I did, Sire."

"Good on you, Aelis. You sly beast, you."

"You are not disappointed, Sire?" Was that surprise oozing from her?

I expelled a rasp of breath through my nose, "Heh. Nah. If you wanted to trick me into killing your enemy, you might as well get some experience from the fight." A small smile grew on her face, right until I continued, "It is, however, going to make thinking up a punishment ever so much more satisfying." That look on her face - I probably shouldn't be enjoying this, but damn. I focused - it was time to dispense with the fun, especially if we were to go investigate an area potentially teeming with monsters. I checked over the pop-ups and my info page before addressing her again. "Right now, however, we're going to talk about another race, Aelis. Dragons. I have attributes from two level gains, but I need additional info so I don't waste them. Tell me what you know about level gains in general and dragons specifically."

Aelis plopped down on her behind as she contemplated my question. This seemed to be her default resting position - it was also unbearably cute, with her looking like a particularly vicious Winnie the Pooh. Mentioning that wasn't likely to be received well. "Well, sire, I suppose it all depends on how you would like to develop yourself. Now, the criteria for leveling are the same for every race in the world. You either level automatically as you age or by surviving battle encounters. Naturally, this is bad news for me and my kinsmen. We are weak enough that survival is not a given and our natural life span is short enough that we will not live to become truly powerful. This, of course, defines how we go about spending our attributes, since we only earn a single attribute point per level. We band together a lot and develop our skills accordingly, making up for our lack of natural stats with numbers, ambushes and manipulating the earth. Would you like me to expand on this, Sire?"

I shook my head. "Not right now. Your words make good sense to me." Tunnels, traps and ambushes. Sounded like the smart move for those challenged with weak stats. "So, how do you decide to spend your attributes?"

"We specialize. A large number of our people are hunters - they spend on Agility foremost and either Strength or Toughness second. This allows us to take on larger prey together if we are well prepared. Next we have our workers, who handle the heavy digging and day to day labor - Toughness and Strength for them. Then we have our scouts – meaning me and five others. We tend to choose Agility and a dash of Toughness. Finally, there's our shaman and apprentices who focus on Mental Power and Control." She grimaced, baring her small, sharp teeth. "Are we envious of those who are naturally graced with a longer lifespan and receive more attributes per level? Of course we are. But we’ve learned how to compensate - and I will admit to a certain additional gleefulness, when we take down an enemy who should be our superior in every manner." She stared out into the air with a wistful smile before shaking her head. "Apologies, Sire. That was irrelevant to our discussion. In addition to the attributes, feats play a crucial role. At fixed intervals, you will be given the choice between different feats. For instance, at level five, I had the choice between Improved Stamina and Improved Senses. I chose the latter, which will grant me the possibility to select Keen Senses at a later level. As a scout, that can often mean the difference between survival and death."

One paw like hand scratched the fur on her head. The other paw wore a crude bandage. "As for dragons, I cannot teach you much. We are worlds apart, both in power and potential. Your kind goes on to rule the mountain or at least dominate your surroundings. Our kind creates tunnels and moves around constantly to avoid detection. What I can tell you... hmmm. Your kind is hugely territorial and suffers intrusion upon your domains rarely and usually only by those few who are indubitably stronger than you. You, Milord, are likely a special case. I have never heard of another dragon bothering to ask the opinion of a lowly creature like myself. Also, at some point, you will evolve, leaving behind your fledgling state and taking on a different color and shape. Frost dragons, fire dragons, poison dragons - I know there are further possibilities, but not the details, nor whether they hold some requirements."

I perked up at that. I had been wondering at the lack of fire breathing capabilities, but if I just hadn't reached that part of my development yet, it made more sense. "See, if you keep it up with the good news, I might end up having to skip your punishment completely. So what would your recommendation be for choosing my attributes?"

She radiated shock at that. "Me? I... would hardly know how to make that decision. Within the tribe, we have amassed a certain store of knowledge regarding requirements for some of the better feats. Are you aware of any such requirements?"

"No. There's nobody I can ask either." But I would have to remember this, if I ever were to get the chance to discuss the possibilities with another dragon, having access to information on evolution and hidden feats could likely be a game changer. Too bad there wasn’t some kind of tutorial on the subject that I could have had access to.

"In that case, my sincere advice would be to select your attributes based on how you would want to live and fight for your survival." The way she said that made it sound like they were one and the same. "Would you want to fight like you just did, with raw and brutal force? In that case, Strength and Toughness are a necessity. If you prefer striking from ambush, dodging and weaving, Agility is the best choice. My guess would be that Mental Power and Control cover spell-like abilities for your kind, but I cannot say whether that would be a solid base for survival. It goes without saying that a dragon such as yourself can afford to spend an extra point or two here and there without ruining everything, given your longevity and power."

That brought a smile to my face. I was pondering her words when she continued, "Of course, with you and your siblings about to go to war, you would need to make your decision wisely."

"... What?"