Chapter 26

Ian strode across the tarmac of the runway, purpose following each step of his six-foot two frame. After two weeks of waiting for any movement from the dark wheel, finally he had a lead. The agents in the information guild, were all looking for any traces of the rumored organization. None were found, yet still how had a defiled dragon, a perversion and twisted version of himself and his kin had suddenly appeared on Earth.

As the source of information for the Ddyllewech dragon clan, the guild had wished to inspect the corpse of the afore mentioned creature, but no body was found. Only the reek of its putrid blood desecrated the sidewalk and pavement. Along with Jeremy nothing remained of the encounter. It was quite a remarkable event for a draegun such as himself. A peek into the workings of their reality. But now Ian had an ominous feeling that the realities would collide, causing casualties to soar. It would be a precarious situation with the human governments, most of whom were unaware of the existence of their world. If the raids, the battles with the monsters that invaded their lands made its way to earth…Ian felt a headache emerging just thinking about it.

Today his mission was to interrogate the quartet that had attacked Amy’s party, in particular the one man who had instigated it. He was a mid-level thug in a crime syndicate that had their tentacles even in the earther realm. Could he find The Dark Wheel hidden in the depths of their hierarchy? He doubted it, he was only hoping to find a shadow of a lead. Surely the timing of it, and the intended victims were too much of a coincidence. It was a stone that needed to be turned over and thoroughly quantified.

As he walked along, his consciousness remaining within the confines of his own thoughts.

“The suspects are ready”, William said standing holding the door of a new Maserati Quattroporte sedan open.

Ian nodded as he stooped to enter the rear of the vehicle. William entered after. They each sat silently busy with their own affairs.

Ian looked up from his tablet at the rearview mirror as he exchanged glances with the driver. The engine hummed a clear powerful tone as the car started.

“The individuals are being held en the Comune di Venetia”, the driver said, “Everyone believes they are in Milan. But after your reports, Julius thought it was better to keep the location secret, and let whomever wants to pry, pry in the wrong location. Wouldn’t want our soon to be informants to be snatched away before they could be useful”.

“As Ddyllewech Dragons, we appreciate your thoughtfulness, and apologize for our rudeness in intruding on the Caeser clan’s domain”, Ian responded in courteous tone.

It was customary, even though each clan cooperated, they were dragons; and dragons even though being protectors and administrators of developed thriving societies are territorial by nature. It would be considered extremely rude if the point of them intruding on the Caeser territories was omitted.

Satisfied the driver departed from the hangar on the runway. Julius: Ian’s counterpart in the Caeser domain. He was the Capo of Le Associazione di Informazione. Unlike the Ddyllewech clan, they had inhibitions of inhabiting the local region on Earth. The Ddyllewech tongue, was the origin of all Celtic languages on Earth, but they chose to leave the humans to their own devices. It led to the misconception that the Celtic tongue originated in Europe by human scholars. Whereas the old rumors and remnants of blazing red haired Native American mummies were actually native Ddyllewech Draegun, not immigrants from Europe. As such the Caeser tongue closely reflected the regional tongue, whereas the Native American languages were vastly different than their origins. But a branch of the Ddyllewech Draegun had settled in Europe Ages ago; it was a big historical event, an example of unity when clans were not as interwoven and barely interacted with one another.

Ian was lost in thought as he thought about the history of the humans and dragons. His clan had helped the humans giving them the gift of language, they worshipped the dragons as serpent gods depicted in some Mesoamerican folklore. Then the worship, which made the draegun uncomfortable had become convoluted, twisted, and rancid. Human greed had grown too fiercely, in requests for more favor they began to sacrifice each other. Horrified at the consequences of their presence, the majority of draegun isolated themselves, leaving only remnants. It was the reason for all the scattered ruins in North America, and mysteriously advanced structures that were isolated in odd places, like a desert in the middle of an ocean. It wasn’t until the influx of European immigrants coming to the North American continent that Ddyllewech began to open up and come out from their seclusion in the far reaches of the west.

Why was human nature so? Why the violence and constant slaughter of their own kind? It was a foreign concept for the draegun to trample upon one another for their own gain. Long had the draegun scholars debated about the reasons why humans acted the way they did. Some opined it was the original absence of speech, or the absence of magic, the need for self-reliance in a harsh environ for such frail magicless flesh. Some draegun thought it was their duty to educate the humans, to help them develop, to subtly curb and redirect their appetite for violence, and their desperate need to gather and accumulate. While others subscribed to the theory that humans were like the draegun in the beginning, but were influenced by some dark magic that twisted their nature, which could be surprisingly tender at times. Perhaps it was related to The Great Cataclysm that shaped the world today. Then the generation before Ian and Liam, the Shinsai in the tower of Waga, invented the Waga Tablet. The only tower that had the necessary natural elements and resources to produce electronics. It ushered in a new era for the draegun and the humans. As the magical-digital technology developed, the draegun become more connected with each other leading to the current global era.

Most Draegun had mixed feelings about humans, and the earthers born out of cohabitation. Rather than accept them wholeheartedly as their own people, they let the actions of the earthers determine their own standing in draegun society. It led to the never talked about, but ever-present rift between Earthers and Draegun. The Earthers received from the Draegun as much as they gave; and likewise, those that caused trouble, received trouble in turn. The Draegun didn’t demean or belittle the humans, they were just separate. With the new technology and subsequent advancement in magic there was nothing but mostly peaceful days, and full bellies as long as one was prudent and diligent. Ian supposed it was like being in a waiting room, then if they showed good character, they were accepted. It was unavoidable, they were different beings, born in different environments with different tendencies. Some were well received, some were tolerated, others were exiled to Earth. An earther’s actions determined their standing. There was a resentment that the draegun did not give as much to the humans or earthers as they should. Some earthers believed magic should be shared with humans, not kept separately as a privilege for draegun and earthers of draegun ancestry. A shadow of a memory collectively refrained the draegun from indulging the humans’ requests, there was something in their past, in the annals of forgotten history that caused their reluctance. Thus, humans would be left separate, uninfluenced from Draegun and Earthers after the magical revolution the Waga Tablet had caused. Still naturally, knowledge was leaked to the humans, and they belatedly created their own digital domain quickly with a resourcefulness that surprised the draegun.

“We are here”, the earther driver said interrupting Ian’s thoughts.

Both Ian and William were silently in their own mind. The events thus far were troubling them. In a magical world such tales would happen frequently; so and so obtains a magical item etcetera etcetra; however, the events surrounding Amy like a maelstrom were different, unusually odd. The connections, the coincidences were deeply rooted in the ancient times of both worlds. New things that had never happened before, were appearing in succession. Some of the Ddyllewech Elders might dismiss such occurrences as usually odd, and mere byproducts of the whims of a magical world, their magical world. To avoid interference as new elders themselves, Ian and Liam had kept the matter only privy to those they trusted, those with more flexible constitutions.

With a polite expression Ian replied, “Gratzi”.

Both William and Ian had stern expressions as they entered the room the main culprit was being held in. Both felt responsible for Amy, and the earther in front of them, had dared to touch her with ill intent. The instinctive protective nature of these two creatures turned wrathful and they burned a hole with their eyes into Piera who had been extradited to the Caesar clan. Piera shifted in his chair wilting before the glowering eyes of two angry dragons.

“Speak”, William uttered quietly, concisely, firmly.

“I, I, I, I didn’t mean to attack the human! I didn’t know she would be there! I was just told Shatira would be there”, Piera said sweat flowing down his face.

“Who told you?”, Ian enquired calmly.

“I don’t know!”, Piera desperately denied knowledge.

William and his massive six-foot-six frame towered over the sitting man as he stood right in front of him.

“Who!”, William said with a loud growl, causing the thug to jump in his chair.

“I don’t know! It was a man he didn’t say who he was, he just said he would pay me a ridiculous amount if I killed Shatira, and that he would help me take over the family”, Piera replied.

“Now we’re getting somewhere”, Ian remarked with a cold expression.

“Please…I can’t say anymore or else…”, Piera desperately pleaded to them.

But he was interrupted by William who obviously could not contain his anger as his Amy, and family were threatened by this gangster, “They’ll kill you. I think it’s too late for that. By the time you took the request they were already preparing to do so. It was your own foolishness that brought you thus far. Why should we help you? You will be exiled to Earth and your tablet will be confiscated. What happens afterwards is none of our concern”.

Ponzo was a different league of criminal, such tactics wouldn’t work with him; but the natural opposing aura of an angry wrothful dragon was terrifying for most earthers. This was a common game between Ian and William in their interrogations.

“Wait, wait, William, if he can give us good information, we might be able to help in return”, Ian extended a lifeline for the poor soul cowering before them.

They weren’t going to leave him to die, they would take measures so that he would only be threatened if he brought attention to himself regardless if he said more or not. If he remained according to their guidelines, he would live an otherwise uneventful life.

“Now who is the man that approached you?”, Ian enquired after successfully setting out the carrot.

“I don’t know, but in our family, Caglia, there is a rumor of the first don in the past who would return, intervene, and a new don would be made. It has happened before, but nobody knows the name; we just call him The Man. He didn’t say he was the first don, he didn’t say much, but he had a very strong aura. It was like looking into a dark hole where no light would ever be found”, the earther enthusiastically offered all he knew.

“What clothes did he wear?”, Ian asked.

Piera looked puzzled. It may seem like a bizarre question but clothes could tell a lot about a person. It was the reason why Ian always insisted on quantifying every detail in a case.

“He had a very expensive black business suit, a scarf, sunglasses, and short grey hair. It was dark but at least I could see that much”, Piera offered obviously trying to emphasize his helpfulness.

Ian looked at William and nodded, “Very good, my associates will review your case upon my recommendation and see to the particulars”, then Ian’s face became like cold stone and his tone became sharp like a blade, “But if you cause more trouble, you will face my wrath!”

Piera silently nodded as he gulped. A threat by a dragon was not something to be taken lightly.

Ian later sat with William in a conference room provided by the Caesar clan. They were discussing with Julius, a common name for a Caesar dragon. Ian had his tablet activated, lying flat on the table with screen facing up projecting an image of Julius from Arbell sitting behind a desk. It was a holo-conference app, very expensive, but necessary for any guild master.

“What do you know about the Caglia family?”, Ian enquired his elbows resting on the table.

“Hmmm”, Julius said as he leaned back and rubbed his chin, “They have been more rambunctious now than ever. There are even whispers of them getting ready to unleash magic upon the world of humans. Something about humans should be under them”.

Ian sighed, he considered himself a movie aficionado, and this was a cliche motivation he had heard from many third-rate movies, “We cannot allow them to operate anymore. I want to take the whole family in starting from the top. Would your clan be willing to indulge us in trespassing on your territories for own purposes? They have information that I want”.

“There may be some belligerent, old, long horned dragons that would object, but they’re not here right now, and they don’t have jurisdiction. My guild will assist”, Julius replied giving his blessing for the operation.

“We have found something that we think should be investigated”, Julius said as he entered the room.

He had said he was stepping out for a holo conference, Amy assumed it was yet another wondrous app made for the waga tablet.

Then he stepped back in to continue the meeting.

Toshiharu waved a gesture with his hands, and an image filled a space in the air, it was a bird’s eye picture taken during the patrol of the raid officials, the Shinsai dragon pointed on the map at a peculiar cluster of rocks. ‘Wait’, Amy thought to herself as she looked closer.

“It looks like buildings”, Amy said excitedly.

“Yes indeed”, Liam said with a warm smile, “After conversing with Radim, we have never spotted such a structure despite thousand of years of raids in that area. It may have some meaning or none at all”.

Toshiharu scrolled to the south east of the map pointing, “It is right on the boundary of the forest, but for safety we will begin raid operations from the south east. It will draw a good amount of the monster population away from that area. Instead of facing monsters you may just come across some of the more unruly beasts that inhabit our lands, but be careful. We’re not expecting a full survey. We just need some eyes to see it and report. If you accept, the remainder of the five hundred points will be awarded to you as a completion reward upon your return”.

Amy was relieved. It was different than the narratives she had read before. The main character running into his foes via plot-based stupidity. No, this was reality, and they were risking their lives by operating in the raid. Amy was expecting objections, but after their close look at death, none in the party were keen on returning to the forefront for now. Furthermore, it would have been an insane amount of neglect if they were sent out again to battle more monsters and have another uninvited guest arrive, especially upon learning that Amy was a target. So, they had been given a less dangerous assignment.

Toshiharu continued, “Once the raid begins in earnest, we won’t be able to spare resources to look at it, and it might vanish afterwards”.

‘It might vanish afterwards’, Amy repeated those lines in her head. It was a seemingly strange remark from a magicless human’s perspective, but it was viable consideration in a magical world where bizarre and peculiar things happened every day.

The party looked at each other, still in their beds, and nodded.

“We’ll accept”, Osgur spoke as the representative.

“Very good”, Liam said.