Maxwell

“Are you crazy?” Rowena slammed her hand down on the table. “She tried to kill us! More than once. Not to mention, she decimated Razz’s town.”

I held up my hand to stop her. “His town was not decimated. It was simply destroyed to the point that most wouldn’t recognize it.” Rowena gave me a nasty glare which prompted me to lower me hand. “Besides, I’m not sure we have much of a choice. We can either help her, or go into all out war once my village’s protection expires. I feel like having a dungeon nearby that wasn’t trying to kill us might be better for our long-term health.”

Rowena’s scowl only deepened. That wasn’t good. She was about to hit me with a rock-solid argument just like when we shared a dorm in collage. It seemed so long ago. There was a crash causing us both to jump. I leveled my hand at the door with a Spatial Tear on my lips only to find Lapis.

She stepped on the dented door that now laid on the ground as she walked into the manor. “What you two talking about?”

Once my heart stopped beating a mile a minute, I lowered my hand and sat back down. “Someone from the dungeon approached me today with a deal. We were… discussing whether we should help her or not.”

Lapis licked her lips before dropping into a chair at the table. I narrowed my eyes at her, but it didn’t do anything. It looked like she was going to be part of this discussion. “Cool. Cool. Cool. Is this the dungeon that curb stomped the goblin village the other day?”

“You know about that?” I thought she was a lazy dragon that slept on her mountain before I met her.

Lapis tapped her nose. “I might have been over a hundred kilometers away, but I have a keen sense of smell. Plus, I have my ways to watch my surroundings.”

“Lovely.” I rubbed my face then nodded. “And yes, it the same dungeon.”

“Oh… I would take the offer.” She started laughing, going so far as holding her stomach. “You do not hold a candle to her.”

I wanted to kick her out of the manor, but I seriously didn’t want to experience a respawn. I just centered myself in my mind for a few moments before I replied. “We’re getting stronger here by the day.”

“Ah, but so is she.”

I threw my hands up in the air. “Rowena! Do you have something to add?”

“First off, nice to meet you Lapis. I’m Rowena. Second, how do you know she won’t just stab us in the back once we’re down helping her?” Rowena leaned forward on the table like a lawyer arguing the case. “What then? Are you going to protect us?”

“I do not know whether she will stab you in the back. My personal go to, is to stab said back first. I’ve never been on the other side of that stabbing. Have you?” Lapis smirked as her eyes took on their dragon slits. Rowena grew stiff but only pursed her lips.

“Fine!” She turned her glare at me. “Do whatever you want Max.” She kicked the chair out behind her before storming out of the manor through the still gapping hole of the front door.

I put my head in my hands. “Was that really necessary?”

Peeking at Lapis, I found her checking her nails like she was at the salon. “Trust me. Best to get rid of the weakest links before they break.”

I slammed my fists on the table and stood up. “That might work for dragons and heartless monsters, but not for friends. Though, I doubt you’ve ever had the opportunity to use that word.” I left the manor before she could reply. I wasn’t in the mood for any more of her smart-ass remarks.

Night was falling, and while there were a few braziers burning along the paths, it was hard to see. My night vision wouldn’t fully kick in for a few more minutes due to the little light there was still in the sky. Looking around, I failed to find Rowena. She must have used her skills to get away faster.

A pair of shining orbs caught my attention. Yip sat on a branch overlooking the manor. I rushed over to the bird. “Yip! Lead me to Rowena. Please!” The hawk looked at me with deep soul searching eyes. I was almost caught off guard by the amount of intelligence I found in them. With the rustle of feathers, Yip launched himself into the air.

Hoping that he wasn’t looking for supper, I followed him. I quickly came to appreciate the speed of flight as Yip zipped through the air. Luckily, it wasn’t for every long. Just a few minutes at most. Coming into a clearing, I found Rowena sitting on a rock staring at the moon. Yip landed on her shoulder.

“What do you want, Max?” Rowena called as I realized I hadn’t thought about what I was going to say.

I put my hands behind my back and slowly approached. “Oh you know. The usual. The moon is lovely, weather is great, Lapis is a bitch. That sort of thing.”

Rowena gave a muffled chuckle. “Yes. She did seem rather unpleasant.”

I walked over and sat next to her on the rock. “What’s going on? It’s not like you to lose your cool like that. Hell, you were basically ice cold when this all started. If it was just me, I probably would have freaked out a lot more than I did.”

She pulled her tail into her lap and started stroking it. The action appeared to be a calming mechanism. “I’ve been… let down a lot in my life. I’ve told others about my preferences. Sadly, most didn’t go as well as you.”

Damn. That’s rough. Even though we’d come a long way, the human race still had some hang up about things such as sexuality. I had no experience with this so I did the only thing I could. I reached out and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “I am great like that. Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll find more people that will accept you for who you are. Fluffy tail and all. Forget what Lapis said. I trust your judgement on all matters. If you think we shouldn’t work with Aurora then I’ll tell her to shove it.”

Rowena shook her head. Rowena stood up with much more prep in her step. I knew this was going to be with her for a long time, but at least I helped her a little tonight. “No. Don’t do that. Lapis is right. It is better to work with her and watch for the knife then to let her work out of sight. I have a feeling she’s more restricted than she lets on. For instants, I’m sure she can’t leave the dungeon.”

“I was thinking the same thing. She does have Kaga working for her. I can’t help but wonder what her deal is.”

“That’s got me confused too. Razz basically has the east part of the forest blocked in preparation for the Inquisition coming. We, while not as quite thoroughly, have the north scouted. I can’t figure where she came from.”

“Random teleport or even just a regular teleport to a zone she’d been in before the great takening?”

“The great takening, I like that.” Rowena tapped her fingers on her arm but finally shrugged. “Probably going to have to ask her if you want answers. For now, let’s work with Aurora. See where it takes us. We just have to make sure not to slack on the village building.”

“Got it! Lots of military build up,” I said with a wink and a finger gun. “Just kidding. We’ll keep up the balanced approach.”