They ricochetted, of course.

The point really wasn't to kill her. But faced with a pouncing draconian, force was the only choice. Showing weakness meant death.

Three rounds between the eyes, neat as you please, and all they did was leave dull streaks of lead on her scales—

And she was at my throat.

"Warning, you are being invaded—"

I slammed into the wall, hard, her cool fingers on my neck the only thing keeping me from bouncing. "Hurghk," I said, trying for eloquence, and jammed the pistol up under the soft scales on her chin.

Draconians have exquisite dangersense. She froze.

I didn't pull the trigger.

"Glurk," I said.

Her fingers slowly loosened.

"Thank—" I coughed. "Thank you. Sorry about that, really. Any chance…" I wiggled my neck, and her grip slackened some more. I carefully pulled my gun back, and she lowered her arm. She stepped back, and I let my gun sag, pointing at the floor.

"You are not prey." Her voice was cool and smooth, like a snake on the forest floor.

"I'm glad we've established that." I stepped forwards, wincing at the new bruises I'd gathered in our lightning negotiation, and she stepped further back.

She was short for a draconian, a little shorter than me. She had amber scales with ash mottling, the sort of fallen-leaves pattern I'd seen on boas and such, running up and down her arms. Her clothes were leather, but meticulously cut and trimmed; almost tailored. Her eyes were shockingly yellow, and her wings fanned off her shoulders in leathery folds. A pair of horns, yellow as old ivory, twisted around her temples like a crown.

She was staring at my gun.

"A weapon?" Her eyes tracked my movements as I carefully tucked the pistol back into my belt, wishing I had a proper holster but not willing to spend magic on one.

"Indeed." I hesitated. "It shoots metal pellets."

She touched her forehead, fingers coming away gray with powdered metal.

"Impressive."

"Thank you."

We stood in awkward silence for a long moment.

"I apologize." She put her arms at her sides and made a short bow.

"No, no, it's fine." I waved her off. "You were hunting, that's how it goes." Antagonizing her would get me nowhere. I had her respect as an adversary, now, and as long as I kept it, she was unlikely to try pouncing on me again. It was difficult to make friends with a draconian, but as long as they didn't think you were weak, it was possible.

"You are… not worldborn?"

"Ah. Um." I blinked at the question, "No, I'm… not a monster. I'm human. We're more like a type of animal." I touched my chest. "No core."

Her brows furrowed in confusion at that. "Animal, but not prey."

"Strange, I know." I shrugged. "We do hear the Voice of the World, in our own way. Although it's not the same as for you— or so I've been told."

"Curious." She looked me up and down. "Never seen a 'human' before."

"Ah, well." I gave a bitter grin. "I suppose it was too much to hope." Looked like this really was a deserted island after all.

"Came with the storm?" She glanced over her shoulder, looking into the sky.

"Yeah, it smashed my ship and threw me ashore." I gave her a long glance. "You might see the wreckage in the lagoon."

She nodded.

Silence.

"Well, uh…" I shuffled awkwardly.

"You have traveled far?"

Her question caught me off guard; more with the sudden wistfulness of her tone than the actual content. For a moment, I saw curiosity, yearning, and innocence in her face.

"…Yeah."

"Tell me?"

And for a moment, it seemed her scales and horns and wings fell away and she was just another lonely person, curious about the wonders that lay outside their town, yearning to go and see, caught by the same wandering itch that caught me when I was twelve and catapulted me out of the backwoods and into the depths of Lavaille's underworld.

"…Certainly." I nodded. "But, I'm going to need food. I have no idea what I can eat in this jungle, and I'm not sure I'm even strong enough to leave this cave yet."

"I can bring you food."

"Then I'll be happy to tell you stories." I gave a firm nod.

She returned the nod and immediately spun and dove from the cliff. Her wings snapped out behind her, and I felt the air move as her innate magic snatched her aloft on the rising thermals.

"For repelling an invading monster with diplomacy, you gain experience in your job Lord of the Land."

I let out a shaky breath as she vanished, and shook my head. I needed… I glanced around at the tiny cave and sighed. Something. Better defenses, for certain. More territory, maybe? Would placing a mark farther out give me more warning? The Voice of the World had tried to warn me... right as her fingers closed on my neck.

Thankfully I had some idea how to deal with draconians, so I hadn't tried to de-escalate without a show of force. Still, I'd have liked more than a split-second to prepare.

I pushed the matter aside. I'd come out here to experiment, and despite the interruption, I still intended to do so.

"Incarnate." I focused my mind, pulling up a memory. The Voice had sad 'Lepidoptera cryogenica has been added to your Archive.' If I could truly create anything in there, then hopefully…

"Ow ow ow!" The magic ripped from my body in an icy storm, leaving me shivering and cold. I wobbled against the wall, feeling nearly as spent as I had yesterday, after incarnating three pistols. A headache set in with fierce vigor, and I groaned at the sudden stabbing pain.

My power swirled together, curling in the air before me. As I watched, a speck of light coalesced in the middle of the flows, growing rapidly in size as it absorbed the power around it. I waited until it began solidifying, the wings taking shape like frost creeping across glass, and put the second half of my plan into action.

I shoved one hand into the middle of that ball of magic and yelled "Mark!"

This time, the rush of power was less distracting. It still hurt, but I didn't go woozy. I felt cautiously for the bead of magic in my head. It was there, but it was thin and soft. I didn't have much magic left, but it must have recharged some last night while I slept. Unfortunately, I still had very little idea what my capacity was, how much any of these skills cost, or how long I'd take to fully recharge.

"Need to learn my limits." I rubbed my head while both skills finished. The swirling light coalesced completely, forming a single small butterfly, maybe the size of my hand, with an ornate ring of glyphs traced across its wings.

"Congratulations on creating your first dominion-bound monster."

"By acquiring a subordinate, your title changes from Knight of Metzli to Chieftain of Metzli. Your Sanctum is enhanced, as befits your station."

"You may now enter the Road of Dreams. Caveat Emptor!"

"You gain experience as a Lord of the Land."

Ahah! I knew I'd been on the right track! Mark could claim 'territory and subordinates'. I now had…

…What, exactly?

I watched the butterfly — no, wait, moth — float in lazy circles around the cavern. It didn't seem bothered by me, but neither did it seem interested.

"Guard?" I tried a simple command.

Nothing.

"Attack?"

No response.

"Wait?"

Nada.

"Eh." I shrugged, and turned back to my Sanctum. I had new things to investigate.

Stepping back through the door, I immediately noticed that the island had expanded. It hadn't been particularly tiny before, but it was now easily triple that. The house had grown as well, from a small village hut to a modest countryside manor, with two stories, whitewashed walls, and a walled-in courtyard with a glittering fountain.

The 'landing' area had increased too. Instead of being just a door on a stone path, there was now a paved circle. A new door had also appeared, immediately adjacent to the cave exit.

I remembered what the Voice had said about the 'Road of Dreams', and looked it over. It was nearly the same as the one I'd come in through; a frame of rough timber with a simple oak door, but there was a symbol engraved on it, of a double curve filled with stars.

It opened easily.

I stood there for a moment, composing myself. The Voice had said 'Caveat Emptor', an ancient phrase that meant something like 'buyer beware' and 'all sales final' mixed together. Was there a market behind here? A store? Some place to barter?

I swung it wide, and found... Nothing?

It looked like more white void. I frowned and stepped in, and everything changed.

It started with a quiet fizzle, like a struck match. A crinkled, glowing line appeared, like fire creeping across paper, which swept across the void like a curtain being lifted, replacing the bright flatness with dark depths.

A narrow, round room appeared, the floor paved in stone and the walls lit with flickering crystals. A ledge curved along the wall with four wooden stands resting atop it, each with a velvet pennon and holding a curio.

Maybe it was some sort of store.

I walked over to the nearest stand. It was a mahogany lectern, holding a thin folio bound in birchwood with an illegible name scrawled across the cover.

"Assess."

As a Trader, I had some idea how to buy carefully.

"This is journal of the former Prince of Metzli. It contains his reflections on the Dominion, the Heart, the Sanctum, and the Convocation. It may represent Wisdom, Knowledge, Memory, or Tradition."

Hum. Convocation? That was new. And there had been a Prince before me? Very interesting. This sure looked useful. I reached out to touch the book, but stopped. I didn't know what the buyer needed to 'beware' yet, but... I should probably finish looking first.

I moved on to the next. It was a teak box as long as my arm, and inside, a ring of blue steel rested on a jewelers mandrel.

Assess.

"This is the False Ring of Gyges, an ancient artifact of monstrous power. It grants the active ability Time Walk, but shatters after a single use. It may represent Regret, Vengeance, Betrayal or Forethought."

I gaped. Then I shoved my hands in my pockets and seized the lining, forcibly quelling my impulse to snatch it up. Ancient artifact? Time walk!? Even with just one use, a time-based ability should be beyond broken. I'd heard stories about them, but I'd never expected to actually see one. Even without knowing what the ring did, I was certain the 'monstrous' in the description wasn't just for show.

"N-next." I tore my eyes away and moved on.

At first, the third looked like a sword on a stand, pommel up and blade down, unadorned, made from a strange, dull orange metal. Closer inspection, however, revealed that the blade had no edge and the tip had no point.

Assess.

"This is the Glorfyn Mace, a potent weapon that deals extra damage against those with fear-based abilities. It grants the skill 'composure' at the level 'phlegmatic'. It may represent Victory, Patience, Sovereignty, or Rest."

A skill, huh? I'd never heard of 'composure', but I'd never studied classes extensively. Skills were always useful, and a calm and collected mindset helped in just about everything, but I didn't particularly think the extra damage against fear-based abilities would help me much. Besides, I liked my pistols.

It was odd, though. Assess was giving me a lot more information than I'd have expected. It was a fairly mediocre ability by itself, even though I'd trained it to some extent. The descriptions I was getting, though, were moderately complete. Usually, the best I could hope for was one or two useful words. Most days, if it could distinguish gems from paste or pick good wine from sour I'd be happy. Here, I was getting a veritable synopsis.

Not to mention these 'it may represent' bits. That was entirely out-of-the-norm. Was it some sort of 'dominion lord' thing, or was it a property of this… Road of Dreams shop-thing?

I frowned and pulled out my pistol. "Assess."

"Edmon Valli's pistol. Crafted from thaumic steel by the master gunsmith Vash Kilen. A finely crafted, reliable and potent weapon."

That was a lot, but it was also all information I'd already known. I'd forgotten the name of the gunsmith, though. Interestingly, it didn't tell me it was a copy.

I looked at the countertop. "Assess."

"A rosewood countertop."

And that's more what I expected from Assess; it could roughly refine my knowledge and guesses. I'd known it was a wooden countertop. I'd thought it was mahogany, but it's not like rosewood was a huge jump.

I shook my head, and moved on to the last curio. It was a crystal vial, twisted and gnarled, resting in crumpled linen and filled with glassy teardrops tinged with ash.

Assess.

"These are the Tears of Tonalzinti. Consuming them grants the statistic Spirit. They may represent Union, Balance, Fertility, or Fire."

A stat? From a consumable? Intriguing. But I'd never heard of Spirit before. That wasn't really surprising, given that most stats were a bear to generate, but more than that… I didn't have any skills that used Spirit. While Spirit might be wildly useful, if it needed skills I'd find it absolutely pointless.

With my exploration done, I walked back to the center of the room and started pacing in small circles, trying to think.

Was this place a shop? Could I… should I try and take something? What was the cost? Could I pay it? Would there be consequences if I couldn't? Caveat Emptor suggested the possibility was there, but it also suggested some sort of trap. Which, to be honest, I wasn't particularly thrilled about.

On the other hand, each and every one of these things was fantastically powerful in their own way. And the Road of Dreams, whatever it was, was connected to my Sanctum. It obviously tied into this whole Lord of the Land thing, which was endlessly intriguing and potentially my best bet for surviving on this island.

I frowned. Chances were, making a choice here was the simplest 'next step' in my class development, like how Incarnate had followed Mark, which had in turn followed Incarnate. If so, the downsides and the upsides ought to weigh out fairly… fairly. The Voice of the World wasn't big on straight-up screwing people over. Human civilization was built on that fact, and the monsters flourished because of it as well.

That being said, there were obviously other ways to advance my class. I hadn't even tested out Summon yet, and I'd like to try claiming more territory. Maybe I should—

"Warning, you are being invaded."

"Ah, shit." I spun and dashed for the door.

"Subordinates have been mobilized to repel invaders."

I skidded out of the 'shop' and dashed into the crevice.

"All subordinates have been defeated."

I watched, bemused, as two white butterfly— moth wings floated to the ground. The draconian I'd met a few hours ago gave me a puzzled look, one arm filled with colorful plants and leaves, the other raised, claws bared.

"I have brought you food." She grinned.

"Thanks." I smiled weakly. "I think."