Book 3: Chapter 22

“It’s strange to be on a continent where adventurers aren’t a thing,” Tafel said with a sigh as she pulled towels and other miscellaneous items out of a portal. The group had been given two rooms: one for Mr. Skelly and Vur, and the other for Tafel, Alice, and Alora. But Tafel had switched with Mr. Skelly, and Alora tagged along because she thought Alice smelled funny. It didn’t matter though because everyone gathered in Vur’s room anyway to discuss their next course of action. “I wonder how their society is set up.”

“It’s simple, really,” Mr. Skelly said, still wearing his full plate armor. “The empress is on top. Below her, there’s her vassals—the nobles. Below the nobles, there are knights, and below the knights, there are the commoners. That’s how things were run back in the north way before that dragon filled with worms arrived. Adventurers rose up from amongst the commoners because the knights were a bit overbearing. I’m guessing the noble who escaped to this land was a purist and quashed all adventurers.”

Tafel’s brow furrowed, and Alice smirked, nudging the demon’s side. “Are you considering overthrowing the empress now?” Alice asked, her voice smug. “Look at her oppressing the common people and preventing them from moving up the social ladder.”

“Well, that’s not really the empress’s fault, you know?” Tafel asked. “She inherited a faulty system, and she might not have the power to implement a change.”

Alice sighed. “I’m not sure why you’re so adamant on defending her,” she said before shaking her head. “You—”

“You’re pretty adamant on starting a war,” Tafel said, cutting Alice off. “Don’t forget about our agreement.”

Alice clicked her tongue. “I won’t. I look forward to the day that I become the leader of this party,” she said. “Then it could finally display its true potential.”

“Oh?” Tafel raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying I don’t know how to lead a party? I don’t want to hear that from someone who was isolated from her previous one.”

“You’re really going there, huh?” Alice asked, her face darkening. “Is that how you want to do this? Shall I nitpick your faults as well, Ms. Dependent on Vur?”

The cup that Tafel had taken out of the portal shattered as grip tightened. “I am not!”

Vur’s gaze went back and forth between the two women. Alora poked his side and whispered, “Something creepy is happening.”

Tafel and Alice both whirled around to glare at the polymorphed dragon. “How are we creepy!?”

Alora blinked. “Eh? I wasn’t talking about you two though?” She pointed at the only window inside the room that was opposite the door. A curtain was covering it. “You don’t feel that?”

“Feel what?” Alice asked, furrowing her brow as she walked over to the window. “If there’s something right outside this window that’s going to try to scare me when I open the curtain, I’m going to kill it.” She spoke in a loud voice towards the window, “You hear that?”

Tafel rolled her eyes. “Don’t be stupid,” she said as she grabbed one end of the curtain and flicked the whole thing to the side. There was nothing there. A faint red glow illuminated the horizon, coming from above the fortress walls. Tafel shuddered as her rune, that was previously hidden, materialized on her forehead, flickering twice. “Emile!?” Her brow furrowed. “Wait, no, that’s not him. It’s not Susan either.”

Vur’s head appeared by Tafel’s shoulder. “Is there a dragon?” he asked, staring at the red glow in the distance. “It feels like there’s a dragon.”

Alice frowned at the two before squeezing next to Tafel and pressing her face against the glass. “Now I feel obligated to say something like there’s a lion out there, but I really don’t feel anything. That’s probably not a normal festival bonfire light, right?”

“Perhaps something sketchy is happening,” Mr. Skelly said. “There’s no good reason to turn undocumented people away from a fortress unless the inhabitants of the fortress are doing something that can only be seen by certain people.” He nodded. “Let’s go take a look.”

“Yeah,” Tafel said, walking away from the window, “let’s go. I want to know what this feeling is.”

Alice sighed as she followed after Tafel. “Guess we’re going then.”

Alora and Vur stared at each other as the three left the room. “They really don’t treat you as the leader, huh?” she asked. She slapped his back. “Have some more self-respect. If you’re a dragon, you have to be in control! Unless you’re the lazy kind who likes letting other people do things for him so you can sleep for longer. Oh my god, that’s it, isn’t it? You’re just like my dad.”

Vur blinked as Alora rushed out of the room, leaving him all alone. He lowered his head and tapped on the rose tattoo on his chest. “Is there something wrong with wanting to sleep for longer?”

“Only when you sleep for days at a time,” Stella said in return, her voice weary. “Vur, do you know how hard it is to lock this stupid genie up? He struggles too much! And he keeps on looking at me with these eyes that say, ‘tie the rope harder.’ If you don’t make your wish soon, then I’ll really feed him to the dragon in your head.”

Vur sighed and turned towards the open door. Maybe Alora was right. He wasn’t respected as the leader of the party because he didn’t act like one. Then all he had to do was get to the glowing red light first and then his party would realize they should’ve followed him there instead. He opened the window, stepped onto the windowsill with one foot, and leapt outside, transforming into a dragon as he soared through the air. On his way up, his tail accidently destroyed a part of the building they were staying in, but he didn’t seem to notice.

But the guards down below did. They screamed and shouted, causing lights to pour out of the previously unlit buildings. Men rushed out of the barracks but froze in place upon seeing Vur fly overhead. They exchanged glances and agreed to pretend they hadn’t seen anything without even saying any words, retreating back inside. There were a few guards who rallied together, including the guard captain, but at that moment, a second dragon appeared in the middle of the fortress without warning, destroying multiple buildings as it stumbled around in surprise. Then it roared before shouting, “Vur, wait for me!” and flew into the air, leaving behind a group of terrified guards and three baffled people.