I was so deep in thought as I flew back to the elf village, that I almost overflew it. This was to be my new life. I was in a body that for all practical purposes was immortal. What the hell was I going to do to keep myself sane? After the city, it struck home about Arienach not giving a damn. I didn’t have centuries of experience behind me to cope. There had to be a direction that would allow me to survive and preferably thrive. I thought again to all of the orcs that had just died in and almost offhand manner. Where the hell was I going to find something to keep me focused? The other dragons wouldn’t even be a challenge. I was already over the village when I noticed it. I had to circle around and find the place where I landed before. I set down carefully to avoid any more damage to the surrounding forest. The elves were waiting as I landed and I detected a faint sense of amusement from them.

Haladoria spoke first; “Greetings lord Michael. How was your discussion with the orcs?”

She had a slight smile on her face, knowing the answer before I spoke, I think.

“Greetings lady Haladoria. They did not wish to speak with me.”

She sighed and looked a little wistful. “I regret hearing that, but it is not unexpected.”

“You can return there when you wish, but there is a lot of work to be done. I cannot help with that as it isn’t in my skill set.”

Her eyes few wide and the two with her stepped back.

“But you said that you were unable to speak with them.”

“They would not talk with me, so I removed them. They will not trouble you or anyone else anymore.”

“You... you... removed them?” Her voice trembled.

“Yes. They attacked rather than talk. Your city is yours again, but it was damaged. There will be much work to be done. All I request is a place large enough for me to land so I can visit with you in the future.”

“Of... of course lord Michael. Of course. We would be honored to have you visit.”

“I was also considering of having a small harbor up by my lair, so if you had any spare cattle, you could sell them to me. Would that be acceptable?”

Her eyes went wide. “Trade? With a dragon?”

“Would that be a problem? Who knows, there might be other things I could purchase as well. It has been ages since I tasted a decent brandy. If you find any others that would be interested, please contact me and I will return. The stone will summon me no matter where I am.”

To me, I sounded like I was babbling, almost desperate. I had a small glimpse of my future and I suddenly understood why Arienach would lose interest in life. It was frightening.

She was looking quite dazed by this point. “Of course... yes.”

I could see the wheels turning as the possibilities started to sink in. I had placed her in a position of ambassador and left it up to her to find others who might reap the profit from the horde of an ancient dragon. Glancing around, I could read shock on all of the faces present. Frankly, I doubted I would get much out of it, besides being a distraction. But it was something. I was still trying to shake off the vision of endless empty years.

Establish trade agreement with the Horiel Clan.

50,000 points

Establish ambassador with the Horiel Clan.

50,000 points

You have established a good will with another race.

10,000 points

Arienach chuckled in my head as I spoke with the elves. “Fair winds to you and I wish you well on your journey. If you have a need, please feel free to use the stone. May we both profit from our agreements.”

Haladoria looked up and smiled. “Clear paths to you, friend Michael. We will do as you suggest and may we both profit. Thank you.”

With that, I took wing and flew back to my lair, my thoughts spinning.

The next few months, I heard nothing from the Horiel. I was busy carving a new channel for the river to follow to where I proposed my harbor town. Dragon fire was a great carving tool and it taught me fine control. The harbor itself showed me the power of the AOE spell that Arienach told me about. I redirected runoff from the various streams around my outer wall of mountains and made two tributaries that circled either side of the chain. I had centered the harbor before two of the largest peaks then, after it was complete, carved an entrance into the inner ring. Looking from the harbor, the two peaks framed my lair, miles distant.

I was called to the city of Calalistos about four months after. It was getting cold and I did not wish to linger in the air, so I ported over the bay... too close to the city, I found. I watched as the water went over the docks. I flew up, but the damage was minimal, thank whatever deity was watching over the city. In chagrin, I flew to the new pad where they had placed the crystal before the sculpture of a dragon that rose up with it’s wings rampant. It was quite beautiful and I was touched. As I landed, there was a large throng that was waiting for me. A few were fearful, but most actually looked happy to see me. Arienach gave off a feeling of great surprise.

“Greetings Lord Michael!” Haladoria shouted.

The crowd cheered. I was stunned.

“Welcome to Calalistos! Please consider this your second home. Be welcome in this land!”

The crowd cheered again. I notice that there were also several shorted people dressed in leather and rough homespun clothes. They had on iron helms and carried double bitted axes. Dwarves, if any thing I had seen before was held true on this world. They cautiously stepped forward. I stared at them slightly confused. Arienach mirrored my confusion.

“What the hell are dwarves doing here? They are mortal enemies of the elves.”

Haladoria introduced them. “Please meet Cornal and Dorvus of the dwarven clan Rockheld. They wish to talk with you.”

“I am honored to meet you sir Cornal and Dorvus.” Though I had no clue which was which.

I heard a whispered “so it does talk.” then louder. “Greetings Lord Dragon.”

I chuckled, though it did almost sound like a growl, making them both back up a pace and their hands moved to the hafts of their weapons. “Tis an honor to speak with you and yes I do speak. I prefer speech to the alternative.”

They broke into a boisterous laughter. “Well said dragon. We came to ask if ya had need for miners or stone workers?”

I smiled, careful to hide my teeth this time. “Now that you mention it...”

The dockside meeting went on for another hour or so. After a time, I asked if they minded if I shifted to talk on a more even level with them. I discarded my human form as I remembered Arienach’s reaction to the thought of scavengers. Instead I went for the elven look. Average height with medium brown hair just past shoulder length and matching eyes. Made my “clothes” black with silver trim.

Once the shock wore off it seemed to ease tension and allowed us to go pub crawling. I was rather surprised when Haladoria and Graniel joined us. We drank and ate and discussed plans. They agreed to journey north after spring thaw as it was getting late into the year. Haladoria also promised a keg of elven brandy for me. When morning came, they begged their beds and I changed and flew back north, not even feeling the cold for the friends and agreements that had blossomed from them. Twas about half way back when the discussion started.

“I do not comprehend what has happened.” Arienach exclaimed.

“Oh? What part?”

“All of it! You give away cattle and offer to buy them back, you free a city and offer a trade route. There has been no profit for you, but suddenly you have them wanting to work for you.”

“Arienach, not all profit is gold. Do we need wealth?”

“Not in the least, however, we do not need trade either.”

“This is true. We do not need trade, we do not need wealth, we do not really need anything. But where else may we conquer? In game terms, we are so OP as to be ridiculous. Why not make our own empire? You admitted to being bored to the point of carelessness. I understand. If we keep doing what dragons do, I can see the next witch winning. Think if we can make an empire that brings together the different races and opens trade and ideas between them.”

“But they will seek power and cause much conflict.”

“Not if the one who is in power happens to be a level 8764 dragon with a known history of removing problems like orcs who don’t play nice.”

Arienach was silent for a time. “You truly seek power over all of them?”

“Not really." I sighed. "I could care less about what they do, so long as they work together to do it. It will keep us and them busy and should work well for both of us. I just hope the other dragons will join us down the road.”

“Now you are being ambitious. But you have been nothing if not a surprise to me since we met.”