Ch 48: Fox's Peril and the Child of Eldritch

The dragon team and it's new arrivals head to Dragonroost to visit to the Dragon Queen and discuss the Dragon Gems' theft.

            Riding in special carriages strapped to the backs of a pair of dragons, Richter and the others arrived at Dragonroost as the sun was setting. Located upon a mountain that was basically a towering spire of rock with a winding path leading up around it all the way to the top, countless structures were built into the mountain’s rocky sides, many of them adorned with windmills and some large enough to accommodate even a dragon. Upon the mountain’s summit was a great castle, and as the dragons carrying them landed before the castle’s dragon sized entrance, Johnny tried to shake Marcyl awake as he said, “Hey, rise and shine! We’re here!” Having thrown her schedule out of balance from sleeping too much during the days Richter and Elizabeth researched continuously, it seemed she had been lulled to sleep by the gentle shaking of the carriage’s airborne motion. Her head resting against the wall of the carriage, drool seeping from her mouth, Marcyl murmured, “Mmm, strawberry ice cream…” 

As Johnny let out a snort of laughter, Pyro leaned forward and shook her awake as she said, “Forget the damn ice cream, we gotta go!” Opening her eyes, Marcyl stretched with a yawn, and then sleepily said, “Aww, that was such a good dream too.” Opening the carriage door and disembarking, as they all leaped off the side of the dragon, from where she stood by the other dragon with Fox, Richter, and Cortez, Elizabeth called out to them, “Over here!” As Marcyl and the others joined up with them, Richter said, “Alright, you three just stick close to your teacher and keep quiet. It’s important we don’t agitate them any more than they already are.” With a smug grin, Fox said, “Yeah, just sit tight and leave this to the professionals!” Glancing at Fox in annoyance, Richter said, “Fox, you keep your mouth shut as well.” Acting as though he’d been struck by an arrow, Fox exclaimed, “Ouch man, that’s just not right!”

            Making their way through the large archway leading into the throne room, Richter and company made their way across the stone floor towards the throne, their path made clear by the rows of Dragon Knights standing on either side of them. Torches flickered on the walls and on stands set up in key points in the room, and upon the throne was a beautiful, mature humanoid woman with fiery orange eyes, long red hair, and golden horns on either side of her head that curved in a spiral like those of a ram. She wore a long, flowing gown colored with streaks of fiery orange and deep red, a golden necklace, and a gold crown with an orange gem in it that looked strangely like an eye. Standing to the side of the throne was a younger, teenage looking humanoid girl with brown horns growing up from the sides of her head, her eyes fiery red and her hair short and red with a few streaks of yellow. She wore a brown armored armguard on her right arm and armored brown boots, as well as a body wrap made of bandages on her upper body and a brown skirt. Strapped to her back was a sword with jagged teeth along it like a saw, a blue gem set in the center of its guard. 

Standing before the throne conversing with the woman upon the throne were Sulphir and two others. One was a mature humanoid woman with blue eyes, long black hair with streaks of blue in it, and horns that were like blue circles with black outlines and black spikes growing out of them. She wore both a blue cloak and a long flowing blue dress whose design gave the image of a waterfall. She also had red mascara above her eyes and black lipstick. The other was a teenage looking humanoid boy with green eyes, cream colored hair that turned brown on the sides, and sharp pointed horns growing backwards on both sides of his head. He wore nothing on his chest except for a pair of straps that held a set of glaives securely on his back, and on his arms were long brown sleeves with white fur around the cuffs and the shoulders. His pants were brown and baggy, his shoes brown and white with gold buckles on the sides. 

As Richter and the others approached, they heard the woman with black and blue hair, whose voice seemed slightly deep and bubbly, say, “Tagosa is so vast it’s technically a continent. There are few who could traverse it and steal the one from our dragonshrine on Sagosa all in one day. Vasuki dear, I know you’re the Lord of the wind dragons now, but can you honestly be certain that the thefts all occurred at some point today?” Responding to her, the young male dragon with the glaives on his back replied, “I don’t see how I could be wrong Lady Agana, the winds themselves told me. I could not hear them well enough when they tried to tell me of who it was, but when I thought to ask them of when they were taken, their voice was surprisingly clear.” Glancing at Vasuki skeptically, Sulphir said, “Perhaps we should have you ask them of the perpetrator’s identity again. What do you think Valthrea?” From her seat upon her throne, Queen Valthrea smiled, eyeing the approaching group with her wise gaze as she confidently replied, “I have a feeling we’ll be hearing from the thief soon. Before we go any further, let’s see what our new friends think should be done about our current situation. As members of Angelorum Lux, I’m sure their insight and capabilities could prove useful.”

            Agana, Vasuki, and Sulphir making way for Richter as he approached the throne, Richter stood before the Dragon Queen and said, “Thank you your highness. I’ve heard the Dragon Gems were stolen, but I’m afraid with the limited information I’ve received, I can’t offer much insight on the matter. Can you tell me everything you know?” Turning to the young girl standing beside her, Queen Valthrea said, “Karis here was the one who alerted us of the first theft. Could you tell them everything that happened for me?” Looking less than thrilled, Karis said, “Alright mo… I mean your highness.” Facing Richter, Karis said, “I went to the Fire Dragonshrine while I was off duty. I like to hang out there. It’s quiet and warm since it’s near the volcano. When I got there though, the doors had a huge hole blown into it, and there were a ton of pieces of it lying around the entrance. I took a look inside, and the Fire Dragon Gem wasn’t there. I’m sorry, but I don’t know anything else…” 

With a slight laugh, Fox muttered, “With clues like that, we’ll wrap this mystery up in no time!” Turning to glare back at him, Richter said in a tone of subdued rage, “I told you to keep your mouth shut!” Turning back to the Queen and Karis, Richter said, “Don’t mind him, I’m sure he meant no offense.” Waving the topic away, Queen Valthrea said, “He’s right, we don’t have much to go on. However, it’s a fact that the Dragon Gems will be useless if removed from Rusfa Isles. It’s also a fact that only we dragons should be able to draw on their powers. Whatever the thief is after, it’s rather certain they’ll be making demands of us shortly in exchange for the Dragon Gems’ safe return.” 

Suddenly, the sound of voices shouting frantically came from the direction of the entrance. As the Dragon Knights standing in lines on either sides of the room moved to go investigate the noises, a wave of powerful wind sent them all flying. Turning about as the wave of wind came at them, Fox formed his steel gloves and rushed to meet the wave of wind with an explosive punch. As his punch scattered the wind, Fox muttered, “Alastor!” Stepping into the room with Malum and two other unknown figures in tow, Alastor said, “A brilliant deduction…”

            Swallowing nervously as he saw Alastor, Johnny said, “It’s him again!” A bead of sweat rolling down her face, Pyro said, “Yeah, with backup.” Marcyl merely trembled, knowing full well he still sought the power within her. Knowing this as well, Cortez moved in front of her and said, “Stay behind me.” Forming the twin barreled pistols and crystal glasses of his Fragminis Caelum, Richter said, “Elizabeth, Cortez! Fox and I will handle this! Take your students and remain by the Queen’s side!” Continuing calmly towards them, Alastor said, “I didn’t come here to fight you know.” Rushing at him, Fox leaped into the air and said, “Aww, that’s just too bad!” As Fox came down with his fist trailing flames, Alastor merely raised a hand. Stopping in the air, Fox’s eyes went wide as his body began violently convulsing, and staring up at him coldly, Alastor said, “Did you forget, traitor? Your brother suffered this same punishment when he dared challenge my leadership. Just like him, you still bear the power of the Nameless One I gave to you when you became my Revenant. You only opposed me back at Lorem Academy through a cowardly sneak attack…” 

Fighting against his convulsions, Fox managed to shoot Alastor a defiant grin as he choked, “You always pissed me off… You know?! Even more so… when I learned you chose… to cast aside your family... the most important thing… for people like us who get singled out in the crowd… Do your worst… but I’ll never… serve you again!” Raising his pistols and opening fire with his Radiating Shot, Richter unleashed a storm of multicolored light bullets and crystal bullets at Alastor as he shouted, “Let him go!” Quickly one of the unknown enemies moved in front of Alastor. A skinny looking old man wearing a brown pointed hood, a ragged brown cloak fastened with red strings, and a tattered brown coat with tan cuffs over a gray and white shirt, his pants were brown with the design of a skull on one leg. His eyes glowed red through the eyeholes of his facemask, which covered only the area around his eyes and was brown on the right and red on the left. Strapped to his back was a strange set of scales, spherical weights studded with spikes suspended from thin wires attached to the steel arms of the device. As Richter’s bullet storm came straight at him, the unknown enemy opened his mouth unbelievably wide to reveal his razor sharp teeth, and as he inhaled deeply, the bullets were all sucked into his mouth as he generated an incredibly powerful vacuum. Richter’s attack thwarted, as the gluttonous foe burped, Malum grinned creepily and said, “Now, now, we can’t be stealing snacks from others Famine. Be a good boy and return it.” Opening his mouth again, Famine unleashed Richter’s attack right back at him.

            Quickly forming a crystal wall before him, Richter blocked his own storm of bullets as he thought, “What is that misshapen misfit, a Revenant?!” Seeing Fox’s convulsions growing more violent, Richter clenched his teeth in panic as he thought, “What am I doing?! I can’t just stand here wondering! Projectiles are no good, but thankfully Fragminis Caelum is not my only weapon!” Holstering his pistols in his pockets and holding out his hands, Richter channeled EDE which he formed into crystal material and molded into a crystal spear and shield. Twirling his new crystal spear in his hand, Richter leaped onto his crystal wall and sped across the room at Alastor. Stepping up beside Alastor, the other mystery figure prepared to attack. His body looking as though it were made of molten lava, he had no hair, and only his pure white right eye was visible, the other hidden by the strange combination of eye patch and facemask he wore. His clothes reminiscent of some form of military officer’s uniform, he wore a black coat with gray cuffs over a red vest with gold lines on it, black pants, long black steel toed boots with gray boot cuffs and red laces, and a cape that was black with red lining. In his right hand was a large sword that seemed to be just as molten as his body was, and with a single swing of it, he unleashed a massive wave of fire at Richter as he approached. 

Unable to avoid and chance that the wave would hit the others, Richter raised his crystal shield and channeled EDE into it, forming crystalline material from its edges and expanding its radius to create a great crystal bulwark. The powerful flamewave could not penetrate Richter’s crystal bulwark, but after it had been stopped and Richter had let the bulwark evaporate until it shrank back to normal, he stopped his advance as he found he was surrounded by fiery soldiers hanging in the air around him. Richter had no time to stare at them though, as the fiery beings flew at him one after another with flaming weapons of all varieties, and quickly Richter began to cut them down with strikes from his crystal spear. The burning assailants came faster and faster though, and becoming overwhelmed as he swung with his spear and blocked with his shield, Richter started channeling EDE into his spear. 

Before he could unleash the attack he was planning though, the mystery figure controlling the fiery army flew at him and struck powerfully with his molten sword, and as Richter blocked with his shield, he was blown from his crystal wall by an explosion of flames. Landing hard on the floor with a thud and losing hold of his spear, as Richter sat up and looked over at Fox, he was just in time to see the blade of a sword made of Corrupted EDE burst out of his chest. The sword extracted itself from Fox’s body, and as his corpse fell to the ground, Alastor absorbed the sword into his own body as he said, “I’ll just be taking back what is rightfully mine.”

            Staring in wide eyed disbelief at Fox’s unmoving body, able to do nothing but watch the blood pooling around him, Richter choked, “Fox… no…” Struggling against Cortez, Marcyl desperately shouted, “I’ll heal him! I’ll heal him! Let me go!” Holding her firmly in his grip, Cortez said, “It’s too late! It’s too late Marcyl!” As Richter simply sat there in shock, the mysterious molten warrior walked up to him and raised his burning blade to strike, and Elizabeth fearfully shouted, “Richter, snap out of it!” Suddenly charging forth and sending the molten assailant sailing with a swipe of its claws, a great red dragon with golden ram-like horns appeared from nowhere. Standing beside Richter, who was still sitting there in shock, Queen Valthrea in her dragon form angrily said, “That’s quite enough!” Looking over at his minion as he struggled up after being hit by Valthrea’s attack, Malum said, “That will do War. Stand down.” 

Approaching Valthrea, Alastor said, “Unable to put your people’s survival above the lives of your new allies any longer are you? That is why you didn’t intervene from the beginning isn’t it? You didn’t want to negatively affect our negotiations.” As Valthrea remained silent, Alastor flashed a faint smile and said, “Well, at least you seem to understand the advantage I hold now that I’ve stolen your precious Dragon Gems.” Staring back at him with loathing, Valthrea said, “I do not know what it is you think you’re going to achieve, but even if it’s for the Dragon Gems, I will never see my people serve you. Neither will I turn over these beings that have placed their trust in us. I’ll admit I debated against getting involved, but had I known you’d go so far despite having come here to ‘negotiate’, know that I would be chewing upon your bones right now! I believe it is you who needs to understand the situation you are in!” As the recovered Dragon Knight guards surrounded Alastor and his allies, Agana in the form of a great blue dragon and Sulphir in the form of a great black dragon came to stand on either side of the Dragon Queen as she said, “I am the Dragon Queen, Valthrea the Fire Dragon! If you have come here to speak with me, then I suggest you choose your words carefully…”

            His faint smile gone, Alastor said, “I see your pride as a ruler is quite strong. It’s a pity, but it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to reach an agreement at this moment in time. I’ll give you a little while to decide whether or not you can truly afford to defy me. I have a few matters to attend to anyways.” Looking over at Richter, who still stared in Fox’s direction with a look of horror, Alastor added, “Before I go though, allow me tell you a bit of trivia Malum has shared with me Colonel. It appears your late friend Mr. Marcellus over there had been working secretly with the Seeker to ensure key events in the path of Mr. Greyson’s fate occurred, and as such he holds most of the responsibility for what transpired in Gatria, including the unpleasant business of Mr. Matthews’ dissention.” 

Breaking out of his stupor, Richter rose with a look of rage, and despite being unarmed, he moved to strike out at Alastor as he shouted, “YOU LIAR! DON’T YOU DARE SPEAK ILL OF HIM AFTER WHAT YOU JUST DID!” Stopping Richter by picking him up with her clawed hand, as Richter struggled against her, Queen Valthrea said, “Forgive me, but you’d only bring about your own death as well…” Watching Richter squirm in her grasp, Alastor said, “Whether you believe me or not, when it comes down to it, a traitor truly is still just a traitor.” With that, Alastor raised a hand and formed a dark vortex. Malum and his two minions followed suit, and quickly all four of them took their leave. Breaking away from Cortez at last, Marcyl rushed towards Fox’s body, but as she drew near she came to a halt and dropped to her knees, the loss of a person she’d known however briefly setting in painfully. 

As Pyro and Cortez rushed after her, Marcyl burst into tears, and swiftly Pyro pulled her into a hug as Cortez, unsure what to say, simply said, “I’m sorry Marcyl…” Staring at Fox in silent terror, Johnny merely placed a hand on his chest as he remembered how he’d nearly died from one of Alastor’s blades. Walking over to Richter as the Dragon Queen set him down, Elizabeth said, “It’s not your fault Richter.” As he dropped to his knees and began trembling, Richter stared at the ground and said, “No, it is! I was a fool! Even if he had come alone, I can’t believe I actually suggested attacking Alastor with just the two of us here!” As the dragon rulers returned to their humanoid forms, Queen Valthrea approached Richter and said, “If anyone is to blame, it is me.” Turning to her, Richter weakly said, “Your highness?” With a sad smile, Queen Valthrea said, “I have failed you as an ally. However, there may yet be a way to save your friend.” A look of surprise on his face, Richter said, “What do you mean?” Quickly, Elizabeth said, “I do not know what you have in mind, but I watched that man die with my own two eyes. Do not be so cruel as to give us any false hope!” Nodding, the Queen said, “There is no question he is gone, but I did not make that statement lightly. There is still a chance.”

            As Cortez and the students came over to join Richter and Elizabeth, Richter got to his feet and said, “Please your highness, what do we have to do to save Fox?!” Glancing at Agana, Queen Valthrea said, “Agana, use your magic to heal the wound as best you can and keep his body preserved. This will not work if he deteriorates.” With a nod, Agana said, “Consider it done.” As Agana and some Dragon Knights rushed Fox’s body out of the room, Sulphir said, “Valthrea, just what is it you’re planning?” Turning to him, the Queen replied, “I have not told you or Agana of this yet, and for that I apologize. I simply wanted to be certain, and while they did not get to visit all of the dragonshrines, her coloring is unheard of for water dragons or earth dragons.” Blinking in confusion, Sulphir said, “What? Who are you talking about?” With a smile, Queen Valthrea turned to Marcyl and said, “I’m speaking of course of the youngling they brought along with them. Marcyl Gibwyn was it?” 

With a look of surprise, Marcyl wiped her face and said, “Who? Me? What about my coloring? I don’t dye my hair or anything, it just grows this way.” Staring at Marcyl a moment, Sulphir turned back to Valthrea and said, “It is an unusual color, but there are white wind dragons, and on rare occasion fire dragons as well.” Shaking her head, Valthrea said, “She visited both those shrines. As it was her first time near the gems, they would have reacted just by being in proximity with her, even as a half dragon. Yet according to the leader of the escort I assigned, there was no such event.” Completely lost, Johnny said, “What the hell does it matter what color or type of dragon Marcyl is? Am I missing something?” Turning to him, Pyro said, “Shut up and they might let us in on it!” 

As everyone waited with bated breath for the Dragon Queen to speak, after a tense moment of silence Valthrea said, “We dragons possess different types corresponding to the elemental powers we can gain from the Dragon Gems. Water dragons and wind dragons are especially powerful in healing and purification. Fire dragons usually hold some ability for healing as well, but I was born with a gift for it that surpassed even our best healers. It is through my great gift for the healing flame that I have managed to treat Serius the Unbound, undoing the damage done to his ethereal essence. Whatever effect they had him under, interrupting it caused him great harm. He will recover soon, but I was only able to treat him because he was still alive. Not even my abilities can raise the dead.” Turning to look at Marcyl again, she added, “However, there once was a fifth type of dragon that could. The keepers of the Sacred Dragonshrine, the sacred dragons.”

            All eyes on her, Marcyl was completely oblivious as she said with stars in her eyes, “Ooh, sacred dragons?! Sounds cool!” Suppressing a laugh, Johnny said, “Her? Get real! Johnny Spark ain’t buying it!” Shaking his head in disbelief, Sulphir said, “I couldn’t agree more. There must be some mistake Valthrea, it’s been many millennia since the sacred dragons existed, if they ever existed at all. The Sacred Dragonshrine has never been found.” Suddenly speaking up, Elizabeth hesitantly said, “Are sacred dragons always white in color?” Nodding affirmatively, Valthrea said, “Yes, they are always portrayed as white. Wind and fire can rarely have some white to their color, but I have never seen pure white before.” Seeming to be swept away by her thoughts, Elizabeth murmured, “Eldritch… so you were…?” Overhearing her, Richter said, “Eldritch?” Coming to her senses, Elizabeth did not look at him as she said, “It’s nothing. Richter, I’m sorry but could you and Cortez take the students outside for a moment? I need to speak with her highness alone.” Staring suspiciously at Elizabeth, Pyro thought to herself, “What are you hiding headmistress?” 

Suspicious as well, Richter said, “Elizabeth I’m not going anywhere until this discussion is over. Fox’s life is at stake, if you know something-” Angrily speaking over him, Elizabeth said, “Fine! You can stay. Cortez, please…” As Cortez merely nodded, Johnny started to say, “Hey, Johnny Spark isn’t-” Elizabeth shot Johnny a deadly glare, and he immediately reconsidered, quickly and obediently saying, “Y-yes ma’am!” As Cortez led the students out of the room, the Queen turned to Vasuki and Karis standing over by the throne and said, “You two go as well, and you too Sulphir.” As soon as everyone was out of the room, Queen Valthrea suddenly said, “Call it a mother’s intuition, but Marcyl is your daughter, isn’t she Elizabeth?” Caught absolutely off guard, Richter exclaimed, “WHAT?!” With an ashamed look on her face, Elizabeth said, “Yes…” Turning to her with a look of disgust, Richter said, “What is it with you people?! First Alexander, and now you?!” Facing him in return, Elizabeth said, “I didn’t know! It was only after I read my grandfather’s diary that I found out!”

            With a cynical laugh, Richter said, “You didn’t know? How can you bear a child and not know it’s yours?” Letting out a disgruntled sigh as she crossed her arms and turned away, Elizabeth said, “I wasn’t always the Headmistress of Lorem Academy. I received the position about ten years ago when my grandfather passed on. Before that, I traveled to many of the uncharted corners of the world, exploring ruins and recovering artifacts. In one such ruin, I got careless and was badly injured by a trap set up to thwart intruders. I was saved by a man who called himself Eldritch. He looked like a man of elven descent, but somehow I could tell he wasn’t what he appeared to be. Still, I came to love him during the time he took care of me. He was good with medicine, but if he was a sacred dragon, he certainly didn’t seem to have much in the ways of healing powers.” 

Having expected this, Valthrea said, “Just like the other Dragon Gems, there is a Sacred Dragon Gem as well. A newborn dragon will have some of its powers without the gems, but when exposed to the Dragon Gems their power is increased greatly. However, our powers shrivel to nothing at all if we do not continue to expose ourselves at least once every ten years. That is why they are so important.” Impatiently, Richter said, “What happened next Elizabeth?” Slightly annoyed, Elizabeth sternly said, “I’m not obligated to explain this to you! Shut up and let me finish.” Trying to calm herself a moment, Elizabeth said, “Once I’d recovered, we became something of a team, exploring ruins together across the world. He was very secretive. In hindsight, I suppose he must have feared that if I ever found out he was a dragon, I would be afraid of him. After awhile though, we realized I was pregnant. We were close to Halsa, so we stayed there until I gave birth to Marcyl, not that that was the name I’d given her at the time. That’s when things fell apart. Only a week or so later, I woke up one day to find Eldritch had disappeared with my newborn child.”

            Unable to believe his ears, Richter said, “He just took Marcyl and left?!” Nodding, clearly not enjoying reliving all of this, Elizabeth said, “I decided to return to Lorem Academy. I was distraught, but after awhile I recovered and took up a job as a teacher. Years later, my grandfather came back from one of his field trips with a young half dragon girl. I should have noticed the resemblance then, but how could I have known? My grandfather simply told me she’d been wandering around lost in Renatus Forest, and that she didn’t remember anything. We named her Marcyl Gibwyn, and my grandfather put her through school for two years before he fell ill and passed away. After that, I always looked after her, unaware that she was my own daughter.” Richter watched Elizabeth’s face begin to break as she said, “But then two years ago, I found his diary, and the truth written in it! He hadn’t been on a field trip! He had been hunting Eldritch down for years in order to find Marcyl for me! But when he found Eldritch in Renatus Forest, they wound up fighting each other… Grandfather was a powerful magic user, and even in dragon form, Eldritch couldn’t match him. Grandfather hadn’t intended to kill him, but Eldritch… he wouldn’t… he wouldn’t give in…” 

As tears ran down Elizabeth’s face, Richter stared at her in horror as he thought, “Elizabeth’s own grandfather killed him?! It must have destroyed her, and for her to have always put on such a strong face around Marcyl is just unimaginable!” Hesitantly, Richter reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder as he said, “Elizabeth, I must apologize for what I said. I didn’t know anything…” Wiping her face, with a sad smile Elizabeth said, “None of this is any excuse. For two years now I’ve known, but instead of trying to give her a family, I’ve kept my distance out of fear and shame.” Shaking his head, Richter said, “Don’t be a fool Elizabeth! You’ve always been there for her, just as all her friends have been like a family to her as well. I’ve only known her for a few days, but I can already tell what a kind, caring, and cheerful person she is. The Marcyl I know would never blame you for what happened! You have to make what you can of the time you have left.” With a sad smile, Richter added, “I know all too well how fleeting that time can be…” Elizabeth felt her heart skip a beat as she stared at him in surprise and said, “Richter…”

            As Richter and Elizabeth stared at each other a moment, Queen Valthrea finally said, “Eh-hem.” Quickly they both turned away from each other in embarrassment, and Richter said, “Anyways, if Marcyl is a sacred dragon, does that mean she can actually bring Fox back to life?” The Queen shook her head as she said, “Not on her own. She is a half dragon with only half power. Our only chance is to find the Sacred Dragonshrine and have the Sacred Dragon Gem strengthen her powers. It’s likely we’ll only have one chance. The first exposure always gives the greatest boost. Finding the dragonshrine itself however, will be our greatest challenge…” Smirking, Elizabeth crossed her arms and smugly said, “You obviously have no idea who you’re talking to! There is no ancient ruin or lost temple in this world that can elude me once I set my mind to finding it! Just give me all records and documents pertaining to the shrine, as well as the most detailed map of Rusfa Isles you have.” 

Impressed by her confidence, Queen Valthrea said, “It seems the winds of fate have brought us some powerful allies. I’ll make the arrangements at once.” As the Dragon Queen hurried off, Elizabeth turned to Richter and said, “I’ll need your help as well Richter.” With a grin, Richter said, “Jack Richter, amateur scholar, at your service!” Laughing to herself a moment, Elizabeth said, “I’m afraid that doesn’t sound right at all. How about we go with Professor Jack Richter?” Laughing as well, Richter said, “As nice as that sounds, I hardly think I’d be qualified for such a position.” Elizabeth simply straightened her spectacles and eyed him appraisingly as she said, “You really sell yourself too short. I’m not the Headmistress for nothing you know, I can tell you have the potential to be much more than a mere soldier. It’s true we likely need more soldiers than scholars at the moment, but once this is all over…” Putting on her warmest smile, Elizabeth said, “I was wondering if you might consider taking a job teaching at Lorem Academy.” 

Stunned, Richter said, “A teacher? Me? I… I don’t know what to say. Back on Teramis, all my dreams of becoming a teacher and a scholar were dashed the day I learned I was an energist. I had been thinking of revisiting those goals after this, but to be able to teach at such an institution… It would be a dream come true!” Extending her hand, with a grin Elizabeth said, “Then I think your answer should be clear.” Reaching out and shaking her hand, Richter smiled back as he said, “I suppose you have a point there. Here’s hoping I can live up to your expectations, Headmistress.” The deal sealed, Elizabeth said, “Excellent! Now then Professor, shall we find ourselves a dragonshrine?” Nodding, with renewed determination, Richter released her hand and said, “Yes! That idiot isn’t getting away from me that easily! He’s going to explain to me about what Alastor said, even if I have to drag him back from the grave!”