Master of the Hoard - Chapter 19 (Patreon)

“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi

I wasn't too sure whether dragons could cry from being sad. I'm pretty sure I've seen dragon tears as items in some of the games I've played, but I simply did not know if my body was equipped with tear ducts. At the moment, the question was irrelevant too, as the heat in the room felt heavy enough to evaporate any tears. Still, I wanted to just lay down and have a good cry. When was the last time I'd really cried? I didn’t cry when Cait left me. Or when Dina told me I didn’t have to bother with that long flight to come visit them for Christmas. It must be back in elementary school, in some senseless fight.

I recognized that my thoughts were slightly out of whack and fought my way to my feet. I needed to get out of here, find a place where the air was breathable. Except. Damn. I shook my head as I ambled forward, my head pounding with every step. "The Clenchers. Where are they? We need to trap them again."

Arthor stepped forward and shot a last, suspicious look at the body on the ground behind me before responding. "We managed to catch them. The Clenchers were plenty weakened by the Shadow Tower already and distracted on top of that."

My head felt like playing a game of Pong through blindfolds and ear plugs. There was definitely something going on in there, but everything was distant and dim. "Let's find some air. And water. God, I need water!"

A minute later, we were back in the Clencher cavern, relaxing. I drank from the freezing underground stream until it felt like my stomach would burst and then I drank some more. Finally sated, I sank down to the ground, next to Arthor and Creziel. Talpi were running everywhere, but I refused to acknowledge them, taking the opportunity to rest my head and just breathe. Cool underground air with just a hint of smoke and... Clencher manure. Still, it smelled like paradise to me at the moment.

After a couple of minutes, I felt my clarity slowly returning and turned to the duo of shamans next to me. "Lay it on me. How did we do?"

A rare smile appeared on Arthor's face. "We survived. That's a lot better than expected."

Creziel looked shell-shocked himself. "I can't believe it. We attacked a dragon. We attacked a dragon." His paws were shaking to the point where I wouldn’t trust him with a glass of water.

Arthor's head fell. "We did lose three of ours. One in the initial attack and two when we faced the Clenchers and Crawls." He shook his head and frowned. "Still, with the opposition we faced, we should count ourselves lucky. The Crawls buckled quickly, and we merely had to hold them back as the Clenchers and the Shadow Tower did their work. The real trouble came when the Clenchers ran amok afterward. We were lucky that they had taken the brunt of the attacks from the Shadow Towers or they would have plowed through us right then and there. Truth be told, when you shouted, we were already retreating."

Creziel looked contemplative. "We should be able to replicate the feat in the entranceway to greater effect. A Shadow Tower in each corner and we would only have to let the Clenchers out into the hallway. Then we wouldn't have to put ourselves in danger." When he realized he'd voiced his thoughts as a mental message, he ducked his head in apology. "Sorry. I didn’t mean to disparage your plan, Onyx. Sire."

"Please don't hold back. That's good thinking and something we'll bear in mind for the future. Where is Aelis, though?"

Arthor clearly heard my unspoken words. "Did she make it?" He waved off in the distance. "Out there with the rest of the scouts, making sure there are no stragglers or secondary groups waiting to move in. Now, we will need to talk about all the errors you made during and before the fight - but it can wait. For now, we have time. We can rest, regroup - and level up."

A silence fell over us, almost companionable, and I allowed my thoughts to drift a bit. I looked at the Crawl corpses scattered on the floor around us and shuddered. “They don’t look so tough in death, do they?”

Arthor grimaced. “They were plenty tough. Roth is becoming a beast himself, however. He took on that Crawl lieutenant like it was nothing.”

“Good on him.” I wondered aloud. “How does it work with minions? I mean, normally. How do people go about becoming minions?”

Arthor’s eyes widened and then he shook his head. “Pfah. There you go again, pondering what should be an instinctual reaction for you. Very well. It’s pretty simple: The dragon decides. That’s it. If a dragon finds your tribe and decides you’re dinner, you run. Whoever survives can go about continuing the bloodlines later. If a dragon decides you’ll do for minions instead, you accept your fate.”

I blinked. That was a pretty bleak outlook. Before I could ask, he continued.

“Of course, it’s more complex. Frail creatures like us are usually not chosen for minions. Others simply do not have the intelligence or instincts to act as minions, like Drainer Flies.” The stone in his paw rocked performing an elaborate dance. “Finally, some creatures are strong enough that they will negotiate to become minions. But those are rumors all. Not relevant for us.”

I thanked Arthor and allowed myself to rest and indulge in that sweetest of sweet rewards - post-combat leveling. The red dragon had been worth 13,000 xp. With the Clenchers worth about 3,500 xp apiece, that was a pretty fair indicator of just how strong she was. This brought me spiralling into level 10 and almost all the way to level 11 - and boy, did the system deliver.

The automatic attributes were amazing, as usual, and I enjoyed watching my Agility and Mental Control improve slightly. Every single attribute point, however, I put into Mental Power. I was done with an ineffective breath attack. Of course, the effects were intangible, but I did smile to see my mana pool rise to 250. The notifications were what made my day, however.

[Congratulations. You have evolved.

A dragon grows both through years, experience and violence. You have managed to survive the earliest, most dangerous time for a dragon. From now on, you are a Fledgling Shadow Dragon.

Size modifier increased by one. New size: Very large.

Innate abilities improved. From now on, control over shadows and illusions come easier to you.]

I felt the changes taking hold immediately and growled in both pain and satisfaction. It felt like that sensation when you finally manage to stretch your neck and remove that crick that you've been able to feel for hours, only applied to the entire body. As my body stretched and elongated, I could also feel myself... hardening. It was a weird experience and not easy to explain. Even so, I had no doubt that my scales were more durable and my flesh more resistant. I pulled up my attributes to see how much had changed and whistled.

Personal Info:

Name: Onyx

Race: Fledgling Shadow Dragon. Level 10 – experience towards next level: 6800/10000

Size: Very large

Stats and Attributes:

Health: 124/390

Mana:11/250

Strength: 20

Toughness: 39

Agility: 46

Mental Power: 25

Mental Control: 52

Health regeneration rate: 39/Hour

Mana regeneration rate: 208/Day

Apart from the natural increase in reach, the size modifier had granted me a +10 increase to my Toughness modifier. Just like that. And shadow dragons were not known for their size like red dragons. Suddenly, I understood how the red dragon had managed to be that huge compared to me - it wasn't a healthy diet of Big Macs - simply racial gains and hitting level 10. Maybe something extra that wasn't available to shadow dragons. However, the notification did not stand alone. No, I gained three additional notifications that just rocked my world. Apparently, Deyra, or whoever called the shots, liked for rewards to arrive at nice, round numbers.

First came the possibility to select a feat, like on level 5. Again, I had three selections to pick from.

[Hardened Scales.

Your scales harden and become thicker, more resilient to physical damage.]

[Improved Flight.

Your body becomes more streamlined and agile in flight. Your scales flatten and reduce the air resistance, increasing your speed when airborne.]

[Razor-sharp Claws.

Your claws elongate and become sharper. Your physical attacks will henceforth carve through armor and flesh, rending your enemies with ease.]

So, attack, defense or mobility? The choice wasn’t that difficult for me. I did not plan to spend a lot of time in close combat. No fancy claws for me. Also, to date I’d spotted exactly two caves where I could reliably fly around without risking breaking a wing. No dice. I selected Hardened Scales, shuddering from the chilling sensation of having all my muscles contract at once, like I’d submerged my entire body in a bathtub filled with ice. When the sensation lessened, relaxing into a not unpleasant full-body itch, my scales were harder to tell apart, having merged into a more complete armor. Especially the soft flesh of my stomach was better protected now. Smiling in satisfaction, I checked out the next notifications.

[Congratulations: You have gained a new skill: Bestow Camouflage.

This skill allows you to impart an illusionary layer upon one of your minions. Once applied, the minion can move freely. Standing still, the illusionary layer will make him blend into the background, rendering him almost invisible. The layer is still in place when moving, but vastly more inefficient. Bestow Camouflage does not affect any other senses than sight.

Cost: 10 mana

Duration: 20 minutes.]

[Congratulations: You have unlocked a racial ability: Shadow control.

Within the limits of your own domain, you will be able to manipulate the shadows to a certain extent. You can remove them, deepen them and have them move like living creatures with a single thought. The ability is limited by the size of your hoard and your Mental Power and Mental Control.]

That first one was incredible. I'd be able to send my minions out to investigate almost safely. Of course, if any watchers were blind or had a very good hearing or sense of smell it might become a problem. Or heat sight. Or... okay, maybe that one wasn't as fantastic underground as I immediately thought. The second one, however... I tried to make it work right away - closing my eyes and trying to activate the ability. Except it didn't work. I was about to embark on the whole obligatory round of possibilities, trying out mental commands, when one of my few remaining brain cells kicked in. With a grunt, I got to my feet and walked back to the throne room.

I winced at the sight of the once impressive throne room. Now, pillars and walls alike were covered in soot from the fireballs and stone splinters lay everywhere from the struggles. The red dragon's corpse lay in the corner, carved and spattered with blood like the world's biggest roadkill. Still, the room had exactly what I needed right now - light. I was so used to my sight adjusting naturally from regular sight to the vision I used in the dark, I hadn't even considered that shadows needed light to exist. Eschewing any philosophical considerations, I retreated into my head, searching for the way to activate the ability.

It was just there - like a mental glove that waited to be picked up. I felt the presence of all nearby shadows, their size, thickness, depth and... taste? Something about which kind of fire created the shadow - I wasn't too sure what difference it made. The experience was surreal, but oh so natural. I flexed a mental muscle and the shadow of a nearby pillar deepened and spread further than should have been possible from the size of the fires and the pillar.

It was completely ridiculous, really. My lair was on fire. Literally. The dead Clencher, a few of the items in my hoard, a pile of stuff the Talpi had dragged in, all freely burning,  And there I was, playing around with shadows, like a kid with a new toy. I couldn't help it, though. I was completely absorbed in the process and it was absolutely amazing. Basically, it didn't feel like a new mental muscle or anything - it was more like remembering how you used to rollerblade ages ago. Pull right here and the shadow spread to the point where it almost drowned out the light of the torch. Compress here, and the shadow would become more dense, perfect for a game of hide and seek. Gather these and these and release and a trio of shadows traversed the floor, sliding from one pool of shadow to another. It was fun, intuitive and silly - and I could already feel any number of wicked defensive applications lining themselves up in the back of my head. For now, though, I simply played.

I didn't check the clock, but when I stopped fiddling about with the possibilities, the fires were dying down. The worst chaos around me had abated and a few Talpi were even clustered nearby laughing and enjoying the show. "Playtime is over." I thought and got to work. First task was getting the Clenchers back. I found Jazinth in the Habitat, lost in thought, and recruited her to help me, and soon after, I was corralling three of the surviving Clenchers back into their den. Mid-process I got the chance to check out the efficiency of my new and improved Weakening Fog and I was not disappointed. With my improved Mental Power, I needed one to two breath attacks to weaken the beasts to the point where they were almost falling over. Before, it was somewhere between two and four, depending on my accuracy.

Then, I spent a while exercising my poor abused muscles. One negative thing about the Shadow Tower - it had NO intelligence or settings I could tamper with. As long as any hostile creatures remained within its radius, it would keep weakening them. Meaning, I needed to drag all five unconscious, foul, smelly beasts all the way down the decline and through the doorway into their encampment. Normally, I wouldn't mind, but my wounds were acting up - especially where I had been hit by fire. I ignored the discomfort and pain, powering through until the Clenchers were safe behind closed doors again.

I wasn't the only one toiling. Talpi were cleaning everywhere, gathering bodies and body parts. It would take a while to bring everything back to pristine condition. To be honest, however, things hadn't been that clean to begin with. After fiddling about with the mini map I located the people I was looking for, conveniently gathered at the beginning of the tunnel system. The five of them were arranged around Aelis, munching on something while they spoke. I took a moment to appreciate the madness of it. A few weeks back, I was adding the finishing touch to an elaborate hand-carved bird feeder in my backyard.. Now, I was about to enter an impromptu sitrep with my self-declared lieutenants in order to discuss how we could best defend and grow our borders. Oh, and my lieutenants were this mutated amalgamation of moles and wolves and I was a dragon.

Aelis looked completely unharmed, sitting on her haunches as she drew a map, explaining as she went in their squeaking tones. As I approached, I took my time, taking in exactly how much my  Mental Power had improved. Aelis had always been an open book to me, telepathy-wise, but now things had improved even more. Her emotions were clearer than ever. Even from a distance the sensation of calm concentration emanating from her alongside a sensation of focus as she spoke to the others. Roth sat next to her, nodding along, his usual fierceness being slightly overwhelmed by the blanket of tiredness that clung to him. Creziel was slightly more difficult to comprehend, as he hung back near the tunnel wall, but I sensed his eagerness to participate, muffled by self-doubt. Jazinth kept her distance and stared at the map without seeing. Self-recrimination and anger were heavy on her. Arthor handled the other side of their conversation, asking the scout to clarify details and handing out orders as needed. The impressive part, however, was that I was now able to pierce Arthor's defenses. The primary sensation coming off of him was that of focus and concentration. Behind that, however, lay a weird mixed sensation of annoyance, fondness and anger - and it was all directed at Jazinth. Interesting. I would have to look into that later. For now, however... "I believe Creziel has something he would like to add."

The shamans jumped in surprise. I must be getting more agile than I thought, if I could sneak up on them like this without their noticing. Arthor quickly recovered. "If Creziel wants to add something, I believe he should be able to talk for himself." He turned back to the makeshift map and pointed to something - maybe a side tunnel a bit away from the lair? "This would be perfect for a larder. I am aware that it's a bit of a walk, but it should be safe from stragglers. Also, it's large enough to hold every piece of meat at our disposal with little preparation."

I frowned. Arthor probably didn't even realize he was being a bully, but his dismissal of the reticent Talpus annoyed me. "Creziel probably would speak up, if you allowed him to. Not everybody reacts in the same way and not everybody is as forward as you are." At least I had the added benefit of my telepathic abilities, or I might not have picked up on it either. Though my real point was to allow everyone the opportunity to express their thoughts.

Arthor looked at me, confusion and annoyance written in every pore. "I am not the leader. You should know this - you killed him." He waved his paw dismissively. "But Creziel is allowed to come with something intelligent at any time." He stressed the word intelligent slightly. He could be a right bastard sometimes. I didn’t even need to use my boosted abilities to figure that one out.

"We'll talk about the leader part later. For now… Creziel?" Creziel himself looked horrified to be put in the spotlight like this, but I nodded at him. This was new to me, but I attempted sending a sensation of encouragement in his direction. "Was I wrong, Creziel? It looked like you had something to add to the discussion."

He looked down and then focused on the map, avoiding everybody's gaze. "I – I believe this place would be better." He tapped a spot right below...

"That’s on the far side of the Clenchers' cavern, right? Behind the Shadow Tower?" I asked, puzzled.

He nodded. "It is. When we relocated the natural stream to run through the cavern, we found a natural cave right beyond their cavern. It will take little work to open it up."

Dismissing the timid Talpus, Arthor shook his head. "There's a reason we didn't include that one. It is structurally unsound. You might have known this if you practiced your senses, Creziel."

Creziel looked like he had been struck, but then raised his head to confront the other shaman. Was this a little backbone I sensed? "I am aware of this. However, the reason why it deteriorated was that the stream continued to erode the walls. With the river shifted, this will no longer be a factor. On top of that, the mixture that Onyx has provided will be able to shore up any weakened structures and avoid any future problems. This should net us a few things. First off, the nearby presence of the river keeps the temperature down, which will keep meat from spoiling as fast. Next, it is closer, and we won't waste time marching back and forth every time we need to create a meal. And finally..." Creziel had finally noticed that everybody was staring at him and promptly clammed up.

I studiously did not smile and nodded to him gently. "Go ahead."

"Well, finally, from what you've said, you're planning additional expeditions that should gather more food. This spot will have room for expansion. The other does not, unless we want to spend a lot of energy on it." He shrugged and moved back, eyes downcast again.

Arthor looked perplexed for a moment, then threw up his paws. "Well, why didn't you just say so? You get working on that, Jazinth will work on restoring the traps and I will take charge of the rest."

I smiled at the momentary burst of joy that erupted from Creziel. Then I spoke up. "Sounds like you already have the initial restoration well in hand. However, there are two additional things we need to talk about."

They turned towards me and I indicated Arthor with a claw. "As you said yourself - you're short a leader. You need a replacement. Right away. You've all done pretty good dividing the tasks between you, but you need to make the decision soon. If we were to be attacked without warning, who would your people turn to?"

They shot glances at each other. Aelis was the first one to attempt a response. "That would depend on the situation, Sire. If-"

I interrupted her with a chuckle. Ever the diplomat. "That's exactly what I mean, Aelis. If we're under attack, we don't need a handful of different persons who take charge."

Aelis scrunched up her face. "But, Milord. By making the choice for us, aren't you interfering?"

"No. Our agreement was clear. You make your own internal decisions, but I have the final say. And this is a command: You need a leader. If there is one thing my time as a foreman has taught me, it is that clear lines of command are a necessity.”

Arthor sneered. "I guess you'll want to select who becomes our chieftain too?"

I shook my head vigorously. "I'm not going to interfere with your decision, but there needs to be a decision. I wouldn't mind it if it were one of those here, though. You've shown that you can be trusted to make decisions and not just hide."

The lead shaman shook his head. "I don't care, as long as it's not going to be me."

"Again, you decide. Oh, and I want it handled before some of us leave."

That got their attention. Different sensations emanated from them - surprise, fear, tiredness, and from Arthor, understanding. He got it. Jazinth spoke up for the first time, uncertainty, regret and anger bubbling inside her in a confusing combination. "Leave? Why?"

"We're going treasure hunting." I smiled at them. "It sounds worse than it is - but right now, there's a lair out there, maybe eight hours away, ripe for the taking. We don't know what it holds, but at the very least, it's going to have a hoard - and I want it."

That ended the discussion. There were still a few gripes and complaints, but in the end, I put my claw down and they agreed that it would be done. And it would too. Even through the weak sensations of annoyance, tiny, golden threads of greed and curiosity wafted in every single one of them. They wanted to know what was in the red dragon's hoard every bit as bad as I did.

Once they had all agreed, I dropped the final bomb. "Meanwhile, I will need you to excavate the chamber right next to your Habitat."

Creziel spoke up. "Why?" When my eyes focused on him, he jumped. It looked like he was as surprised as I was that he had given his question voice. He scrambled to explain, "I mean, we can definitely do it before you get back. The cave-in doesn't feel that bad. It's just... it seems like that should be quite a bit down on the list. We don't need any additional rooms right away once the larder is constructed - do we?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I'll let you decide that for yourself. If you want to share your own room with Crawls, that's totally fine with me."

That's when the shouting really started.