Maxwell

Lapis walked around while my mana recovered. She had a pretty good handle on using two feet having only had the form for a few minutes. Then again, she might have taken a humanoid form in that past. The NPCs appeared to have rather extensive backstories, almost as complex as most players. Sometimes even more so, if I was being honest.

“So…” I started not really sure where I was going. “You want to watch me. What exactly does that entail?”

“Exactly what it means. I’m going to watch the show that is your life. I love drama, but as a dragon it is hard to get out and about. I generally cause a panic.”

“I can see that.” I paused before I continued deciding to brave the obvious. “Then… Won’t that still happen even with me at your side?”

“You other-worlders often have pets, summons, and all sorts of creatures that would normally be hunted on sight by your side. I can finally leave this blasted mountain and do some sightseeing.”

“Okay. That makes some sense. Then what about if I’m attacked by say an overpowered vampire dungeon core that was out to make my life miserable?”

“That’s oddly specific.” Lapis did a few stretches as she appeared to think about her reply. I didn’t have any idea how high her level was, but it had to be up there. She was a dragon after all. Even if she wouldn’t deal with Aurora for me, if she had my back then I might be able to make some bolder moves over the next couple weeks. “I guess I’ll just sit back and watch. I’m assuming whoever wants to kill you is also an other-worlder. I’ll just watch them instead. Especially since if they manage to kill you then that means they have more providence than you.”

“Lovely.” I more or less growled in annoyance at the decision. That would make things difficult. “Then don’t expect me to help you out if an adventurer wanting to add dragon slayer to their name comes after you.”

“Ho. Ho. You are cheeky. I can’t say I don’t like that. Very well. We shall set up a system. You do me a favor then I’ll do you a favor.” She gave me her shark-like grin. “If you happen to owe me a favor at the time of your impending death than I shall endeavor to help you.”

I rubbed my head. This was turning into a headache, but at least she might help me out. “Fine! But since you have to use me as a cover, you owe me a favor from the start.”

Blinking, I found myself being held over the edge of the mountain by my throat. “Or shall I just kill you now and go back to sleep?”

“Ok...ay. Okay!” I gasped out in panic. Her hand loosened around my throat enough for me to breath but not fall. “We start out on a blank sheet!” Lapis snickered before tossing me one-handedly over her head onto the snow. I wasn’t sure how to feel about being man handled by a ten-year sized girl. I had to remind myself that she might look like that, but she was a dragon.

Coughing, I sat up rubbing my neck. Lapis looked back at me. “Well? Where we off to, Max?”

“I was heading toward a city or anything interesting. Just generally exploring.”

“Ah. If that is the case, then you want to head that way,” Lapis remarked pointing from the mountain range. I couldn’t see anything but cloud cover, but I assumed there was a city in that direction.

“What is it?”

“A demon lord seal. Should be some treasure or…”

“NO!” I shouted quickly. “For god’s sake, no demon lords.” I would rather avoid accidently unleashing yet another powerful being onto the world. One pissed off vampire was enough for me. “Just… point me in the direction of a town that has elves.”

“Eh… Its been a while.” Lapis rubbed her head while pursuing her lips. “I don’t remember the exact details. I think there is a city in that direction.”

“That will work for now.” I stood up from the snow. I didn’t realize it due to my adenrline, but I was freezing even more so than usual during my mountain treks. I had a vague feeling that Lapis was the likely cause. If she took the chilling air around with her, I was going to have to buy thicker clothes soon.

My mana was about half full. Shouldn’t be more than another half an hour before I could get back on my way. Though, teleporting with a second person was going to burn even more of my mana than if I was by myself. There was a ding, and I looked at my wrist runes.

I tapped on it, and Rowena’s voice spoke into my ear. Finally, something that really said this was a game. “Maxwell. How is the traveling going?”

“I hit an unexpected road bump, but I’m fine. I’m heading…” I checked the direction again to be sure. “heading northwest currently. To the back side of the mountain.”

“Really?” Rowena replied. “I’m not really sure what’s out there so be careful.”

“You got it.”

“I’m going to patrol some. If you don’t arrive back to handle the new arrivals, I’ll fairy them down with Greavefeather, so don’t worry too much about us here.”

“Thanks, partner. Glad you’re at my side.”

Rowena cut the line and I sighed in relief. That was one issue for the day that I could put aside. I really had to find a way that was decently protected and easy to defend for the Gate. It was my lifeline in this game after all. Dropping my hand, I turned back to Lapis. “Anything else interesting other than the demon lord seal?”

“Hmm. If you want to meet another dragon, then you can head down another two peaks. I’ll just say now that he gets much grumpier than I do when you wake him up.”

Dread filled me at the thought of meeting another being like Lapis. She had already nearly killed me twice. Well, to be fair, the first time was more my fault than hers since I was the one to teleport into her barrier. “That will be quite alright. Let’s just head to the town for now.”

“Sounds good.”

~~~

“What sort of people live here?” I remarked as we approached the city. Calling it a city might be a bit of a stretch. What could only be a stump sat in the middle of the city. I could easily make it out from the spot we sat because it had to be several kilometers in diameter. If someone told me that a world tree had been here, I wouldn’t have doubted them.

Surrounding the stump were a mixture of architectures. I could spot a few houses that appeared to be elven. Structures made from wood as part of a tree. These buildings were massive, along the lines of manors and castles. Out further from the stump was a much more common medieval looking city. Most of the buildings appeared to be made from brick and mortar.

To top the mixture off, there was a strange blue crystal type structure along the coast that the city sat against. I couldn’t be sure from the distance we were observing, but it looked like the buildings might be filled with water. Perhaps it was a water dwelling race like mermaids. Either way, it all combined made for an interesting sight. It also stoked my hopes that these people would be more welcoming to strangers showing up. In particular a dark elf.

“Are we going to stand here all day or go check out the city?” Lapis said with a heated tone.

Glancing over to her, I could almost see the excitement rolling from her. When was the last time she got to explore a town? That also served to fill my heart with dread. I really hope we didn’t encounter anyone that wanted to add dragon slayer to their name. With a sigh on my breath, I grabbed her shoulder and teleported us down to the city.

Since I didn’t have any coin, and if Lapis had some she wasn’t willing to share, I teleported us to what appeared to be a deserted alley. I knew if the guards found us, they might throw us in jail or fine us, but I wasn’t too worried. If I had to make a quick getaway. I had the perfect distraction.

“Well… We’re here,” I mumbled. I had wanted to get to a city, but now that I was here, I wasn’t quite sure where to start.

“Want to head back to the demon lord seal?” Lapis asked though she was barely paying me any attention. She almost looked like her body’s age as she looked at everything the alley had to offer. “It smells worse than I remember.”

“No doubt.” The designers knew what they were doing. I was sure I smelt just about everything the body had to offer. Suppressing a gag, I moved to the entrance of the alley. I wasn’t sure what I expected to see, but I was still surprised when I found that all the people on the street were dwarves. It had been hard to make out any of the figures before from the cliff side.

“The little people,” Lapis remarked as she peeked from under my arm. “They taste like iron.”

“Not sure I wanted to know that.” I paused then grabbed her shoulder in a slight panic. “You’re… You’re not going to eat anyone during this little observation trip.”

Her shark fanged grin came out along with a snake like tongue that like each tooth with frightening precision. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

I sucked in a breath before narrowing my eyes at her. “I have a village that relies on me. I at least need your agreement that you won’t eat any of them.”

“Oh? What do you plan to do to stop me?”

“I might not be able to stop you, but as an other-worlder I can revive as many times as I need. I doubt even you want to deal with that sort of headache.”

Lapis pouted before she dropped her head. “Fine. I won’t touch any of your people. You have my promise as a member of the proud dragon race.”

“Good.” I sighed in relief and turned back to the open street connected to the alley. “Let’s go sightseeing like you wanted.” Without any idea what might actually be helpful for the villages, I needed to do some window shopping. Plus, my real objective for coming here was to find people that might be interested in helping a starter village grow. Not that I had any idea how to get them interested in moving to the south. “One problem at a time, Maxwell.”