Chapter 199: Dragon Rider

Chapter 199: Dragon Rider

Name: Archibald Smith, Level: 69, Race: Human, Class: Companion of Daedalus, Titles: Dragon Rider, Hero of Legend, Bravehearted, Warden of Nazareth’gak, Age: Unknown, Highest Stat: Strength, Lowest Stat: Wisdom, Status: Awakening, 80% New novel chapters are published on

Bee read off the line aloud. She was pretty sure that Void knew all this, but Tony didn't. "Level 69. Wow. Master, last time we were down here Scan barely gave me any info.. Also, the added detail on his awakening progress probably means we can get a better estimate of how long he'll be like this for."

Void beeped sagely from the floor, but no instructions or wisdom appeared above him, so Bee continued to study Archibald. Companion of Daedalus. Was this man really the hero spoken of in stories, the companion of such an ancient, powerful dragon? If that was the case...

It took her a few seconds before she felt eyes on her. Looking around for some sort of threat, she met Tony's steady gaze. Their eyes locked for a moment before she cocked her brow in question.

He just shook his head. "That explains a lot. Like, a lot."

In a moment of realization, it clicked with Bee. She searched back through her memory to see if she had ever told anyone about her Scan skill. She was pretty sure that Void knew about it, but she wasn't sure if she had ever told Tony.

"Well, obviously we shouldn't tell anyone about him." Bee said, trying to change the subject.

"Why not?" Tony asked. His tone wasn't challenging, but as if he was honestly curious.

"Well, from what Void showed me," she gestured to the statue, "this was the companion of some dragon. And if he is waking up, we should probably let him be rather than disturb him. And with something this interesting, people would definitely want to come see it. Not to mention I don't want to lose anyone down here in the catacombs.

"But really, we do not need a dragon showing up here and causing trouble. The only person who could even deal with the dragon would be Void, and I don't think we want to rely on his help when we could easily just avoid the issue. We'll just... let the companion wake up himself, then go find his dragon when he's ready."

Tony nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. I suppose we can keep this a secret. Don't have a problem with that. But I am going to want your help with that Scan ability. It's gonna be huge for picking out people and the best places to put them. Okay?"

Bee just looked at him. "I have been helping. Haven't you noticed?"

Tony rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Yeah. That actually makes a lot of sense. Guess it's just weird to know how... Why didn't you tell me?"

"I..." Bee bit her lip. "I kind of forgot. Sorry."

Void sat silently through their whole conversation. So silently, in fact, that Bee almost missed him rolling forward and tapping the knee of the companion frozen in stone. He let out a complicated series of beeps that she couldn't really understand. Still, it sounded cheerful, as if it was looking forward to the future.

Bee was extremely hesitant to question her god, but she was just too curious to hold back. "Master. Do you know more about the dragon and this man? When did you learn about this?"

She tried to bite back the last question, as she wasn't sure she wanted to know. Especially if it acquired this knowledge through some divine power or the like. But it slipped out anyways. Void turned to face her and let out an affirmative beep.

When they first reached the ancient ruins where the third lieutenant lay, everything appeared normal. All of the standard defenses were in place, and they had no problems getting there. No one stopped them or asked about their business. No one seemed to be aware that this site was important for any reason. The only indication otherwise was the very subtle traps and triggers that The Warden's people had set and maintained for so long.

Eventually, they found themselves standing in the central containment room. The pair looked upon the statue still there, radiating the power Harold had expected. Still, he couldn't help but be wary. Amy left to watch outside and ensure he wasn't disturbed as he pulled out various magic implements, one after the other, sometimes flinging dust in the air.

Sometimes he would just look at a tool before putting it away. Sometimes he'd place them around the chamber and check them repeatedly. All throughout the room, Harold paced. He couldn't throw off the feeling that something was wrong. The measurements started to agree with him too, and he had to double-check and reset his mindset several times to ensure that it wasn't just him confirming his biases. But he was right; there was an imbalance of power in the air.

He was thoroughly convinced when he finally left the room that evening to go check on Amy. Despite all the searching, Harold had yet to pinpoint what was causing the issue, but the exhaustion in his brain wasn't letting him make more progress on it tonight.

"Anything happen out here?" Harold asked as he settled down on the rock next to Amy. She looked over at him and just shrugged. She pointed out over the savanna and indicated a lone tree a few degrees off from the setting sun.

"Some big cat chased some antelope a few hours ago. But I don't think that's something we need to worry about." She added the last bit with a grin and bumped her shoulder against his. "How's the investigation?"

It was Harold's turn to shrug. "Something is definitely off. I can't tell what yet, but at least it hasn't gotten out yet. And it's not getting worse at a noticeable rate."

"So what are you doing out here, then?" Amy asked with a worried expression.

"Need a small break. Brain's gone to mush." Harold said, looking out over the fading light. After a few moments, he found a different topic. "Do you have your orders for after this mission?"

Amy nodded. "Nothing I can say, unfortunately."

Harold grunted. Not that he had expected anything else. A couple months of travel had loosened their professional relationship a bit, but operational security made it hard to really get to know someone. If she didn't have orders, he would have been surprised.

"I'm surprised I was able to stay on a mission for this long." Amy said. Harold's eyebrows rose slightly. Was he going to find out more about his travel companion beyond the basics? "To maintain deep cover, I haven't been able to be away from home for long."

"Home?"

"Base. You know."

He did know. He also knew how dangerous it was to start thinking of it as home. "If your orders changed and you were able to be gone for this long, so abruptly too... Well, if I were you, I wouldn't expect to go back anytime soon."

Amy's face froze, and he continued on. "Things are changing, and if you're at all competent, the Warden might need you to take a more active role now."

"You really think so?"

Getting to his feet, Harold placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure of it. Sorry."

Walking back inside the ruins, he got back to work.

It took most of the night, but he eventually found the issue. One of the inner runes had a line drawn through it. A single perfectly straight line ran through the precise etching, disrupting its activity. It was easy enough for Harold to fix; a few scrubs with a wire brush, and the energy balanced once again. The only thing he couldn't figure out was how did it get there?