Path of Dragons 17 - Chapter 36 - A Glimmer of Hope (Patreon)

“It’s bigger than I expected,” Carmen said, standing on the bridge of the Juniper.  Elijah didn’t miss her slightly widened eyes or the way she fidgeted with the bracelet that would protect her from the caustic atmosphere.  Her reaction was subtle enough that most people wouldn’t have noticed, but Elijah knew his sister-in-law well enough to recognize the signs of anxiety.

“I told you that billions of orcs live in Agmar,” Elijah pointed out.

“I know.”

“Did you think I was exaggerating?”

Carmen shook her head.  In truth, Elijah understood her surprise.  The scale of Agmar defied all reason, especially to someone who hadn’t experienced anywhere comparable.  Even Elijah, who’d lived in She’evoth for a bit, struggled with it.  Like Agmar, that city had been built to accommodate dragons in their natural forms.  And it was sized appropriately.

The façade alone, which had been built into the landmass’s sheer side, spanned dozens of miles in both directions.  It also extended so far down that the edge was lost amidst the mist.  That was just the surface, though.  The city occupied much of the interior of the continent-sized landmass into which it had been built. 

To call it huge would have been a disservice to the scope, and even Elijah had difficulty wrapping his mind around the idea of it, much less the reality stretched out before his field of vision. 

And he’d lived there for weeks as he acclimated to orcish culture. 

“It straddles the uncanny valley, doesn’t it?” she mumbled, leaning forward, her hands on the console.  The Pilot of the Juniper cut his eyes in her direction, but he didn’t say anything.  Carmen pretended not to notice. 

“Yeah. It does.”

If Elijah had seen Agmar represented in a movie, he’d have called the CGI artists who created it hacks.  But now?  Even knowing it was real, he struggled to accept it as reality.

Carmen clearly felt something similar.

The whole crew did, though only a few were represented on the bridge.  The rest were back in the hold, probably doing last-second checks of their equipment in an effort to occupy their minds.  Because they all knew how dangerous orcs were, and doubtless, they expected their reception to be contested.

Did they anticipate a fight?

Elijah wasn’t sure, but if he’d been in their place, he would have been ready for one.  Perhaps that was how they treated the situation as well.  Only a few were combatants, but most Engineers had plenty of devices meant for self-defense.  Furyo was a good example of that. 

Elijah wished he’d come along.

But the dragon Engineer had rotated back to Earth with the last cycle, which meant that he was getting a well-deserved break from the constant danger that came with living in Orveth Kaal.  Even in the absence of attacks, the tension that came from the setting meant that no one could ever quite relax.

Some people had reacted poorly to that kind of anxiety.

Elijah supposed it wasn’t so different from army deployments before the world changed.  Back then, people would be sent to foreign countries – often in the Middle East – where they were expected to work toward the achievement of someone else’s goals.  Cynical people saw it as an exploitation of the military in search of resources.  Others called it power projection meant to protect the country’s place in the world.

Elijah didn’t want to think about that.  Instead, he considered those soldiers, often non-combatants, who spent their time wondering if they were going to drive over an IED.  Or hearing explosions while they slept.  Or fearing another kind of attack. 

Even those who didn’t agree with their purpose for being there had to sympathize with the PTSD that came from that set of circumstances.

The situation in Orveth Kaal was similar, and as a result, everyone on the ship was on edge.  In that respect, Elijah was no different.  Not that he feared overt attack, but he knew just how different the orcs were from his people.  Conflict was definitely not outside the realm of possibility.

So, his fears dwelled more along the lines of maintaining the peace in order to accomplish his goals, rather than protecting everyone.

Did that mean his priorities were skewed?  Maybe.  But there they were, all the same.

In any case, the Pilot guided the Juniper closer, and the cliffs loomed even larger than before.  Elijah pointed to a spot nestled between two hulking warships, saying, “That’s our berth.”

The Pilot glanced back at Elijah as if to ask if he was serious.  Parking there would put them at the mercy of both ships, and what’s more, extricating themselves would also become much more difficult.  Doubtless, he wanted to maintain a distance and simply let the Juniper hover a bit “offshore” while the others descended upon the orcish city via smaller craft.

Elijah wouldn’t allow that.

If they were going to ally with the orcs, they needed to do so wholeheartedly.  Maintaining a distance would only create tension and run the risk of fouling the alliance before it ever got settled.

To his credit, the Pilot did as he’d been ordered and deftly guided the ship into place.  The sound of the gangplank extending came with an echoing finality that none of them could rightly escape. 

Finally, Elijah stepped into the hold, where he saw dozens of massive crates and nearly a hundred people.  All were high demi-gods, but a few were on the verge of stepping up to the next tier.

It would still take them years to bridge the gap, and probably longer to establish the Legacy necessary to gain a good class evolution.  But still – Elijah found it a little frustrating to see how, at least in terms of levels, Earth had begun to catch up to him.

In raw power, they still had a long way to go.

But that was a small comfort to his sometimes-sensitive ego.  Hopefully, he would leave them behind soon, because he expected that he would gain quite a lot of experience when it came to the war with the other dragons.  In addition, he’d noticed that he was getting a steady – if small – stream of progression from Fungee’s off-shoot colonies.  It wasn’t really enough to move the needle in the short term, but over time, it would go quite a long way toward bolstering his leveling speed.

Regardless, the rest of the group looked as anxious as he’d feared.  Briefly, Elijah considered giving them a motivating speech, but he discarded that notion straightaway.  For better or worse, he just wasn’t that kind of leader.  If he could be considered one at all, Elijah was more of a lead-by-doing kind of guy.

What’s more, he recognized that if he spoke, he would probably just end up putting his foot in his mouth.  As much as he recognized that saying the wrong thing at all the wrong times was a problem, Elijah just didn’t spend enough time around other people to work on it.  If anything, his long bouts of isolation made a small problem into a much larger one. 

One day, he needed to buckle down and work on it.

Idly, he considered that it hadn’t been so bad back before the world had changed, but events had conspired to grant him opportunities to gain power. In doing so, the circumstances made him much more socially awkward.  He was okay most of the time, but the reality was that he’d gone far beyond being out of practice when it came to dealing with other people. 

The only saving grace was that, aside from Kirlissa, every transcendent he’d met had shown their own quirks that would have been socially debilitating in less powerful people.  But for them?  People doubtless simply accepted what they couldn’t change.

Or rather, they didn’t want to risk the ire of people powerful enough to destroy galaxies, just for a social faux pas or two.

Thankfully, Carmen stepped up to the leadership role, saying, “Everyone stay together.  For now, nobody leaves the group.  Once we start working, no less than five people together at all times.  You know your assignments.”

Everyone murmured their agreement, telling Elijah that his input wasn’t really needed.  He suppressed the urge to let out a sigh of relief. 

He had trouble enough juggling his own plans, much less guiding other people.  Big picture, he was fine.  Details?  That was where his shortcomings really came into the picture.

In any case, it wasn’t long before Elijah led them through the hatch, across the gangplank, and into Agmar.  The trip across said bridge was a bit disorienting for some members of the expedition, largely because they lacked the ability to fly.  Elijah barely noticed the yawning nothingness below.

Instead, his focus remained entirely on Ok’tarik, who stood at the end of the gangplank, arms crossed and his heavy brow furrowed. 

So, his normal expression.

“You have returned,” the orc said when Elijah reached them.

“Told you I would.  How’s the baby?”

“Makit fades by the day.  The child will come soon,” Ok’tarik said.  Elijah had no idea if that was a guess or if the orc possessed some knowledge he didn’t.

“Then have someone lead my people to the Star Forge.  From there, they can branch out to explore your industrial capabilities,” Elijah suggested.  “Once they have assessed everything, we can make a plan for how to modernize production and improve the end results.”

“Very well,” Ok’tarik said, waving his hand.  A work-slave stepped forward, obviously a guide.  A few moments later, Carmen and the others set out through Agmar.  Elijah almost envied them the chance to see it all for the first time. 

“You guarantee their safety?” Elijah asked.

“I do.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“There is no need for threats between us,” Ok’tarik stated, remaining remarkably calm. 

“I hope not.”

With that, the pair set off toward Ok’tarik’s ship.  It was docked on the surface, so the trip took a few minutes.  Elijah didn’t bother shifting into Shape of the World Serpent or taking the form of the venomwing stalker.  Instead, he relied on Cloud Step, focusing all the while on the swirl of patterned ethera that came with the trait’s activation.

It was easier to discern the basic shape than it had been in the past, but Elijah knew he was still a long way from replicating it without his Footwraps of the Wild Revenant.  In that respect, he envied Ok’tarik, who walked on air as if it was nothing. 

Nobody had ever taught the orc anything, and yet, he seemed to be a natural at manipulating vitality and ethera.  Elijah would never admit it aloud, but he felt that there was a lot he could learn from the warchief.

That occupied Elijah’s mind until they finally reached Ok’tarik’s massive warship.  It somehow seemed even larger and more intimidating than before, courtesy of a new ram decorating the prow.  It was made of some sort of precious gem that glittered blue with flecks of gold, but it had been carved into the shape of a dragon’s skull.

Fitting.

If a little grisly, considering the alliance.

Elijah’s feet slapped down on the deck, and he immediately cast his senses out to check on Makit.  As Ok’tarik had already indicated, the orcish woman was incredibly weak.  Her belly had somehow swollen even more than before, and it seemed almost as large as the rest of her body.

Despite that size, the child within was comparatively small.  Only a little larger than a human toddler.  Elijah couldn’t tell from afar, but he suspected that the infant was almost fully formed. 

He was eager to find out.

So, he and Ok’tarik crossed the deck, ignoring the dull-eyed looks of the rowers and the more aggressive glances from the crew.  Soon enough, they reached the entrance to the cabin, where they found Makit lying amid a bed of furs, completely insensate. 

Or seemingly so. 

The flutter of eyes opening at Ok’tarik’s entrance put the lie to that assumption, though.  Something passed between them.  Was it love?  Familiarity?  Contentment?  Elijah had no idea, and he wasn’t prepared to make that determination.  After all, orcs weren’t supposed to be capable of those kinds of emotions. 

But then again, Ok’tarik was no normal orc.  It stood to reason that his chosen mate would be special as well, even if she’d yet to show it in any other way.

Elijah approached.

Makit tried to fend him off, but she was incapable of moving.  He laid his hand on her belly and focused his senses inside.

As he had anticipated, the child was fully formed.  Eyes.  A mouth.  Ten fingers and toes.  A nose.  A brain and organs.  Everything was there. 

And yet, he seemed content to remain in the womb.

It only took Elijah a few moments to recognize what was happening. 

“The child is draining her,” he said.  “He’s consuming her vitality and ethera.”

“What does that mean?” asked Ok’tarik.

“It means I might be able to save Makit.  If I remove the child, disconnecting him from her, she may yet recover,” Elijah suggested.  “But there is risk.  She still might be too weak to survive.  And the child…the baby might not make it, either.  I believe he will.  He’s strong enough.  But this is entirely unprecedented territory.”

“What do you suggest?” the orc asked, his face a mask of consternation.

“I can’t make this decision,” Elijah stated.  “This is up to you.  And her, if she can give voice to an opinion.  But make your choice soon, because she won’t last much longer.”