Chapter Ninety-Seven - Enter the Dragon

Chapter Ninety-Seven - Enter the Dragon

Chapter Ninety-Seven - Enter the Dragon

And so, every day, upon the suns rise, you will gather what puny amount of gold you have collected and shall deposit it upon the ground where I may collect it at my leisure, the blue dragon said.

His voice was a deep, guttural rumble, like a rock inside a drying machine.

I cleared my throat. Hello, mister dragon, I said.

And if you have any virgin princesses, they are now forfeit to me so that I may build myself a harem of such beings that will care for and polish my many scales, Rhawrexdee continued. He was looking up, nose raised and chest puffed out.

Did he not hear me? Hey! I screamed.

The dragon paused, then he lowered his huge head down, neck stretching out behind, until his face hovered a dozen feet away from me. Did you interrupt me? he asked.

Ah... sorry about that, I said. Didnt mean to be impolite.

Oh, well, in that case its all well and good.

Really? Neat! I said.

Of course it isnt! he roared. Who are you to interrupt the mighty Rhawrexdee? He who smote the clouds themselves? The thunder hammer! The scourge of the northern desert!

Lightning cracked ominously in the background.

Oh, that was kinda cool. I shook my head and pretended that I didnt see Amaryllis shaking her head off to the side, or the way Awen was trembling like a leaf. Im Broccoli, Broccoli Bunch, I said.

Rhawrexdee turned his head to the side a little so that he could stare at me with one eye the size of my entire head. I demanded virgin princesses. You do not smell like a princess... you smell like a... The dragon sniffed the air once, then recoiled. Riftwalker.

I crossed my arms. Yeah, so what?

His eyes narrowed. What do you want, little riftwalker? he asked.

I didnt expect the dragon to actually be accommodating. Uh. Well, I guess an apology? You scared all these people, and you broke their tower, which Im pretty sure they worked hard to build.

You think I would apologize?! Rhawrexdee roared. To little humans?

Well, yeah, I said. You broke their stuff. I mean, did they ever do anything to you? Maybe the folks around here had been rude. It wouldnt excuse the destruction, but it explained part of it.

They failed to create a throne of gold upon which I could perch, the dragon said. That is sin enough, is it not? Even now, look, none of them are here grovelling at my feet. They hide and watch us speak like cowards. As if I would eat more than a few of them.

You wanted to eat the townspeople? I asked.

Im a little peckish, Rhawrexdee said.

My mouth worked. No! You cant eat people!

Oh, I assure you I can, the dragon said.

I mean, physically, Im sure you could, youre a dragon so... duh, but its morally wrong, I said.

Rhawrexdee huffed, his breath washing over me and sending my hair flying back even as it filled the air with a scent of ozone. Do you look down upon the wolf for eating a lamb? he asked.

If the lamb can talk, then yeah, I said.Fịndd new updates at novelhall.com

The dragon blinked. Well Im not a wolf and if I want to eat people you cant stop me. I might even eat you, riftwalker or no.

I wont let just anyone eat me, I warned. This entire conversation was going downhill, and fast.

Youre probably all bones anyway, the dragon muttered.

How about, instead of eating people, we become friends? I asked, both because being friends with a dragon would be totally awesome, and because I really wanted to activate my Friendmaking skill.

Rhawrexdee

Desired Quality: Someone who would help him find a girlfriend

Id never do that! I said.

How do you want to do this, little riftwalker? Rhawrexdee demanded.

I coughed to clear my throat. I couldnt hear myself speak whatever language the dragon spoke--it all sounded like English to me--but I could tell it was growly by how hard it was on my vocal cords. Right, lets both tell each other what we want, and then we can work from there.

I want all the towns gold, and I want that princess, Rhawrexdee said. He stomped a massive foot down, tearing another chunk of the tower off. And I want tribute and my weight in cattle.

I nodded along. Okay, okay, thats a start. We want you to not take Amaryllis because doing that is wrong. Also, you cant have the towns gold. Or their cattle.

Rhawrexdee bellowed in rage. Then I will take what I want! he said.

I shook my head. Now now, mister Rhawrexdee, that would be very, very rude. We can negotiate. Like, um... I think I can get the townspeople to not make a fuss about the tower. We can call it an accident, Im sure theyll understand. And as for Amaryllis, um, give me a moment.

I turned to Amaryllis who started to glare at me.

Hey, Amaryllis, how do you feel about dating a dragon?

No, she said.

He is kind of handsome, I needled. Look at his chin.

No, she repeated, this time with wings crossed and a whole lot more emphasis.

I shrugged. That was a no then. What about helping the dragon with, uh, dating advice.

Dating... advice? Amaryllis repeated.

Yeah. We could all help!

Awa, that, that sounds nicer than getting, um, eaten, Awen said.

I nodded, then tried puppy dog eyes on Amaryllis.

She zapped me in the middle of the forehead. Fine. We can help the dragon.

She is very feisty, I like this, Rhawrexdee said.

I nodded to him. She really is. I wiggled on my seat to make myself comfortable, then prepared for the next part of my pitch. Okay, so weve come up with a solution to all... most of your problems, I said

I am listening.

Amaryllis doesnt want to date you, I said. The dragon rocked back, eyes filling with hurt, and then anger. But! But, she is willing to help you. And so am I... and Awen too.

Help me how? he demanded to know.

Simple! Amaryllis knows a bunch about nobility. Awen too. And Im great with making friends! So, in exchange for not destroying the town, well teach you how to date girls. I pointed to Awen. Shes even a wyrmgineer. I bet that would help in making you a nice suit for when you go on dates.

Rhawrexdee considered this. I see. I dont get the princesses now. But I learn how to get more princesses later.

And you get to spend time with us! I said. We could become the best of friends, Im sure!

He huffed. Very well. Let us begin this training then.

Ah, no. Not right now. We actually have a bunch of things that we need to do first, I said. We came here because we wanted to get a class for Amaryllis in the local dungeon. It was just good luck that we were around when you landed.

How long will you make me wait?

I tapped my chin. How about... uh, two days? I asked. We can meet just outside of town. Itll give us time to do what we need to, and to prepare a, uh, training regimen.

I stared up at the dragon, my most friendliest smile on.

I really hoped that my plan would work.

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