Path of Dragons 18 - Chapter 22 - Missing Things (Patreon)

“And then I met a dolphin!” Callux enthusiastically explained.  “She was so little, but I could tell she was super strong.  And she knew you, too!”

“Really?” Elijah asked, leaning forward, his elbows on the table within  his tree house.  The place looked a lot different than it had when he’d left.  Or at any other time in its existence.

Elijah wasn’t what anyone would refer to as a neat freak, but he spent so little time at home that the place had never really felt lived-in.  Sure, there was some evidence of his habitation, like some of the things he’d picked up during his adventures.  However, Carmen had hired someone to come by to clean and organize the place in his absence, which meant that it never progressed to that homey stage most houses reached after a few months.

That had clearly changed.

For one, the place was a wreck, with discarded clothing piled in the corners.  The sink was full of dirty dishes, and it smelled like the trash hadn’t been emptied in weeks.  Elijah knew that wasn’t the case.  Someone still cleaned the place very frequently.  The problem was that Callux was incredibly messy.

That was probably normal for a six or seven year old.

More so because he was nearly seven feet tall and had an appetite to match. 

After being tackled by his son, Elijah had been treated with a rapid-fire recitation of everything Callux had experienced in his absence.  Some of the stories were mundane – like a really interesting flower the young orc saw – but others were decidedly more interesting.  None more than his meeting with the pod of dolphins.

Apparently, over the last decade or so, they had become frequent visitors to Elijah’s island.  He suspected it was primarily because they were treated like royalty and given all the best fish, but the fact that Elijah was well-acquainted with their patriarch probably played a role as well.

After all, that dolphin was one of the major reasons Elijah was still alive.  He’d rescued Elijah after the plane crash, then pushed him across miles of ocean to the nearest dry land.  That had turned out to be the island where Elijah had built his grove.

Of course, Elijah only learned as much years after the even itself, but he knew he owed his life to that guardian dolphin.  So, as far as he was concerned, the grove’s policy of handing out fish to his descendants was well warranted.

“Do you like dolphins?” Elijah asked.

Callux nodded eagerly.  “Not as much as bears, though.”

“Did I ever tell you about the bear I met a couple of years after Earth’s transformation?”

Callux shook his head, so Elijah went on to tell his son about the ursine guardian he’d encountered on his way to Norcastle.  He described the giant mushroom natural treasure and how he’d befriended the beast by feeding it fish.  Callux nodded along, muttering, “I like fish too.”

Apparently – or at least according to their conversation so far – food played quite a large role in Callux’s life.  Given his size, that should not have been surprising.  A growing orc needed plenty of food, after all.

Either way, Callux seemed far better adjusted than Elijah had any right to expect.  Happy, even.  Certainly enthusiastic.  In all, he wasn’t so different from any other child his age. 

Except for his size.

And his intelligence, which wasn’t quite as evident due to the camouflage provided by his immaturity. 

In some ways, Callux’s development made Elijah feel guilty.  Part of that came from the simple reality that he hadn’t been there, and he’d somewhat fooled himself into believing that he was absolutely necessary for Callux’s growth.

He wasn’t.

His son would grow up, whether he was there or not.  And given the number of people in the grove who seemed to have taken Callux’s well-being into their own hands, he would never lack for good role models, guides, or teachers. 

It made Elijah feel a little superfluous.

He was also grateful, though that was an entirely different side of that coin. 

Whatever the case, he spent quite some time listening to Callux’s stories.  He interjected a few of his own, though he mostly just listened.  For his part, the young orc was more than happy to dominate the conversation, and his enthusiasm didn’t wane.  Instead, he hit something of a wall where one moment, he was excitedly talking about chasing the island’s foxes and the next, he was out like a light.

Elijah picked Callux up and carried him to the room adopted by the orc. 

It wasn’t the first time Elijah had tucked his son in, but it was the first time he’d done so in a real home.  Elijah couldn’t help but feel emotional about it, remembering all the times his parents had done the same for him. 

At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it.  But now?  He looked back on those memories with the fondness they deserved.

He was standing near the door and watching Callux sleep when he heard someone else enter the house.  Elijah didn’t even need to consult his locus to know that Carmen had come to visit.

He’d expected it sooner, if he was honest.

Quietly, Elijah backed out of the room and shut the door behind him.  After running his hand through his hair, he let out a sigh, then headed into the house’s kitchen, where he found Carmen raiding the refrigerator, which had been grown into the wall itself and enchanted to keep things cold and preserved.

“You really need to stock your fridge,” she said, picking through the containers of berries and a couple of glass bottles Elijah definitely hadn’t left there. 

“I just got back a few hours ago,” Elijah pointed out.

“Yoohoo.  That’s what I really miss,” Carmen said.  “You remember, right? Those little chocolate milks?”

“I’m not sure how much dairy was actually in those,” Elijah said, though he remembered them fondly as well.  Not that his parents typically bought those kinds of products – they were more into the wholesome, natural food market.  But he and his sister had still gotten them as a treat from time to time.

Carmen’s experience was obviously different, and Elijah imagined her drinking things like that every day.

“I think we should bring them back.  Get some of the Cooks or Chefs on it,” she remarked, testing one of the bottles in the refrigeration.  “You know these are all empty, right?”

“I didn’t, but it doesn’t surprise me.”

“You need someone here full-time to take care of him,” she said, finally finding an unopened bottle. She straightened up, then popped the cap with her thumb before taking a long drink.  When she pulled the bottle away from her lips, she let out a satisfied sigh.  “You know this is beer, right?  Callux hasn’t been drinking it, has he?”

“I have no idea,” Elijah said.  It didn’t really matter, given his suspicion that alcohol couldn’t really affect someone like Callux.  Not the normal stuff, at least.  His cultivation meant that his body would process alcohol just like any other toxin, rendering it entirely ineffective.

There was stronger stuff out there, meant to affect higher level people.  But Callux wouldn’t have access to that kind of thing, largely because it was extremely expensive. 

“I don’t even know how that got in there,” Elijah admitted.  He hadn’t really looked in his refrigerator in years.  “And I thought someone was taking care of him full-time.”

“Let me guess – you thought someone else would take care of it.’

“Uh…”

“Right.  So, someone has been taking care of him.  But they haven’t been taking care of the house,” Carmen informed him.  “You need live-in help.”

“You have someone in mind?” Elijah asked.

“It just so happens that I do,” Carmen revealed, grinning as she did.  “I know a sweet girl who’s great with kids, and she’s very clean, organized, and hard-working.  Cute, too.”

“Oh, God.”

“What?”

“Is this another one of your…uh…I don’t know how exactly to put this…”

“Partner?  Sometimes,” she answered.  “Jezebel is one of our special friends, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“I hate that that’s exactly what I was asking,” Elijah admitted with a sigh.  Carmen and Anupriya had something like an open relationship, the details of which he had no interest in examining.  That she was happy and that it worked for them was all that really mattered.  “As long as she’s responsible.”

“She is.  Even has a class focused on development,” Carmen explained.  “She wants to join the grove and become a teacher.”

“And you’re helping her with that?”

“Of course.  She’s good at what she does.”

Elijah didn’t point out that Jezebel was probably using her relationship with Carmen just to get in good with the grove.  His sister-in-law was more than capable of seeing that herself, and if she accepted it, then Elijah did too.

Besides, Callux really did need someone to take full-time charge of him.

“I’ll meet with her, then.  And if she’s what you say she is, she’s hired,” Elijah said.  Then, after a long moment of silence, he asked, “So, what’ve you been up to?”

As it turned out, quite a bit. 

In the aftermath of the return to Earth, everyone had taken a few weeks to rest, recover, and heal.  After that, they’d turned their attention to everything they’d learned – and more importantly, how they could harness those lessons to improve their next foray into Orveth Kaal.

Did they know for certain that Elijah would allow it?  No.  They weren’t even sure that he would survive, though most assumed he would. Past experiences dictated as much.  Yet, humanity – including dwarves, elves, goblins, and every other race that now called Earth home – had always tried to march forward.  So it would be with what they’d discovered in Orveth Kaal.

“Maya is particularly ready to get back into the ancestral world,” Carmen said.

“Did she get her spine healed?”

Carmen nodded.  “Though she still uses those creepy spider legs when she’s working.”

“Ugh.”

“She keeps saying that the trend will catch on and that her prosthetic is more useful than walking on her own two legs.”

“She would say that.”

Carmen joined Elijah in a short laugh before telling Elijah that they’d all but finalized a new design for the next iteration of the Vengeance.  “Though there’s a lot of debate about what to call it.  Some people want to just go with the same name,” she revealed.  “Then there are others who want more evocative names, usually based on mythology.  The Kraken is a popular one.”

“I kind of like that,” Elijah admitted.  The name reminded him of Cinderwrath, the lava kraken he’d met during the Trial of Primacy.  As far as Elijah knew, she wasn’t technically real, but rather a creation of the trial.  However, he still held out hope that she was a real creature and that she’d returned to the safety of Ignis.

“You’re not the only one.  I prefer something more symbolic, but whatever.  It’s just a ship name,” Carmen said.  “The point is that we’re all ready.  I think we’ll need to use the Star Forge to make some of the pieces, especially the parts for the engines, but this time, we intend to do it right.  No standing on the backs of dragons who don’t know shit about ship design.”

“You don’t know shit about ship design either.”

“True,” she acknowledged, leaning against the counter. “But I know blacksmithing.  And I know a lot of Engineers who do know ship design.  They’ve all congregated in Seattle or Paris, and they’re just waiting for another crack at it.”

“And now that the way is open…”

“We can get started.”

“You know I’m not going to be much help here. I’ve got my own project,” Elijah explained.

She shrugged, then took another sip of her beer.  “Elijah, you never were much help with the Vengeance.  Go do your thing.  But if you want a piece of advice?”

“I’ll take whatever I can get.”

“Take Callux with you.  At least for a while.  He’s not built to be cooped up here,” she said.  “He’s unique, and he deserves a unique upbringing.  Not sitting in the grove and learning about flowers and butterflies.”

“Flowers and butterflies are interesting.”

“To some.”

“To me.”

“Yeah. You’re weird.”

“Ouch,” Elijah muttered.  In truth, he didn’t expect a child to find either subject all that intriguing, but if he was honest, he’d hoped that the grove’s peaceful atmosphere would help keep the worst parts of Callux’s orcish nature at bay.

Maybe that hope said more about Elijah’s prejudice than it did about Callux’s nature.

“But point taken,” he acknowledged. “I intended to take him along anyway.  Fungee probably misses him.”