Lucas looked over Ronny. He had stabilized but would need more treatment when he woke up. He got up from his spot and walked towards Zoe.

“What was that back there?” he shouted at her while waving his hand at where Arthur had gone. “When was this ever something we were going to do?”

“Don’t give me that look, Lucas. You knew from the start that we were lying to him because we were unsure of how he would react to being lied to. Be glad Arthur didn’t try to outright kill us.”

“When were you going to tell us that you had made a second one?”

“I didn’t lie to Arthur today. I did only recently build it with instruction from the human Elders. I had hoped I wouldn’t have to tell you until we had sent Arthur out on his first true mission. I do admit that I should have told you when you arrived, but we have been so busy that there wasn’t a good time for it.” She turned back to the trackers. “You can keep doing what you are supposed to. Arthur is gone and I don’t think he will try and attack us while we harvest the stuff here. And get some birds here as quick as possible for our wounded soldiers here.”

The trackers sped up their work and some left to prepare the birds.

“Will Arthur come back?”

“I’m not sure but I hope he can come back amicably. We will have to send people to search for him but the lands above the dwarf caves haven’t been charted in a long time. We need to get going and help clean up here. Are there any other questions you would like to ask?”

“What is the power of that thing, and will it turn against us?” said Lucas eyeing the golem.

“This thing's name is Edward, and the answer is no. It will have no problem following orders. You see the human Elders looked over the original designs and realized a design flaw that Arthur has now exploited. He was too much in control and overwrote everything that helped us control him. You saw it today in real-time when he removed the last of it. The answer to the power question is more complicated. Because we used heavily modified slave runes for Edward his power is only as good as the person wielding it. Me in this case. Over time I will get better, and we will adjust things but today proves its power. It used speed and damage over time to do something that Arthur couldn’t. Though with Arthur’s limitations removed he will become as strong as any other of his race.”

“As much as I dislike this situation I know it was ultimately for the best. You saved our lives today. Thank you for that. I just hope that the repercussions of this will be minimal and that Edward here can take up the responsibility of the golem that came before him.”

“I do as well.”

Lucas left her to redirect the trackers. Lucas brought Ronny to the medic dwarf. In his hands was the reigns to two birds. Ronny and the medic were loaded onto one bird while Aria and Kendra were on the other.

“Take good care of yourself. I will meet back up with you soon once we are done here. I am sorry today didn’t turn out for the best,” said Lucas.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” said Aria her eyes red from tears earlier. “I will find a way to fix Kendra. You still have your homeland to protect. The battles already started. Also, remember we still did something great today. We are a part of history now as one of the groups that fought against a dragon, lived, and watched it die. You may wish you could have played a bigger part of the battle with your bow, but you did enough and that is all that matters.”

The two birds took to the skies and flew back towards the dwarven port. Around him workers busied themselves. They were now carving up the silver dragon in full force. They were careful to not damage the materials when they could. The meat would be distributed and used for the dinner feasts in the days to come. Zoe got Edward back in his box ready for transportation.

Lucas looked over at the dead dragon and then at Zoe who was busy at work. ‘The trip back will be awkward. Maybe I can get some of that meat to go. I’m sure the jerky strips they make from it will be amazing.’

------

Arthur flew above the trees on the mountain towards the cave in his mind. Since he had left the battle he kept [Obfuscate] active. He wasn’t sure how well it would keep him hidden but it was better than nothing for now. He wished he could have asked Lucas and the trackers more about tracking while they were available, but it was in the past now. Arthur manipulated the air and wind around him to keep himself stable and moving constantly through the air. Now that he was free from the control sphere’s runes the power of his spells had grown. The ease of his spell manipulation had grown. Whether it was turning a fireball into fire hands it all came to him naturally.

The trees passed under him, and he occasionally adjusted course. As he flew he rose in altitude and snow-covered most of the trees around him. He soon came to Sylvia’s cave. It stood above a drop where broken rocks and a few trees lay. He knew that if he had to get to the cave a day before he would have needed to get inside using the techniques he used to enter the spider cave. He enjoyed the feeling of his bubbling power. Even his senses had grown as his [Mana Sense] adjusted and he got used to his natural dungeon senses. He didn’t strictly need the crystal eyes but they helped him focus his attention more than anything else.

Arthur landed at the entrance to the cave and took his first steps in. The first thing he did was activate night vision and [Detect Life Aura]. The cave walls lit up easier when he cast the spell and he followed its path. As he entered he found that it opened up larger and larger until he was in the domed den of the cave. With his [Detect Life Aura] he quickly picked out the dragon egg amongst everything else in the room.

The unborn dragon's aura was small but powerful. Around the egg was a giant ice throne for it to rest in. Beyond the egg was Sylvia’s treasures. Piles of old weapons, adventurers gear, and good old-fashioned coin littered the ground in loose piles.

Arthur first checked out the weapons. Some of the weapons were broken in half while others had melted. He didn’t find any of them particularly interesting and none of them would be fit for his hands. He left the pile alone. Arthur also passed over the armor pile for much the same reason. When he looked over the ‘money’ pile as he thought of it he found something more interesting. Mixed into the pile of gold and silver were other metals and materials. He sent out his senses through the pile and identified as much as he could.

‘After seeing the other golem then maybe I should work on improving my speed as well. During the fights I saw the spells Aria used to enhance Lucas’s speed and the golem did similar things. With some experimentation, I should be able to recreate the effects of some of the simpler spells. Super Speed and mage armor sound nice to start out with.’

Arthur picked up an old adventurer’s back. He spread his mana through it and made it a part of himself. He then forced the bag to repair itself and seal the holes it held. His adjustments to the bag also made it sturdier than it would have been when it was brand new. He then started filling the bag with a few rarer ores including a few pieces of the ore for his body. The bag was about half full when he was done. Arthur slung it over his back and use a small flow of magic to keep it comfortable for himself.

With Sylvia’s old things sorted he looked over at the egg. It sat there quietly, unmoving. Arthur walked over and knelt by the egg. The egg was a smooth silver that reflected his face perfectly. It was slightly larger than his spread-out hand. He smiled inside as he saw his face. It was one of only a few times he had seen it. His own metal face reflected the image as well creating an infinite loop between the two of them.

Arthur reached out his hand slowly and put his hand to the egg. It was cold to the touch and frost started coating his fingers. He then spread out his power around the egg. He wrapped it tightly like a cocoon. He stopped for a moment when he felt a pulse of mana come from the egg. He looked over the egg before continuing. This time he focused his intent and memories of Sylvia into his actions. This time he felt no resistance. The egg accepted his embrace and once he was done he picked the egg up. He lifted it from the surrounding ice and used his mana to keep it at the same temperature. He noticed it was much heavier than he had expected.

He carefully lifted it up and the egg rested at the top of his backpack. His power kept it safely in place, unmoving and cold. Arthur looked around the cave once more making sure to take a mental image of the place. Arthur followed the same path out of the cave. He lowered himself down the cliff with wind magic unsure of where he should go next.