Part 1

The introduction of the new product immediately captivates the purple eyed madam’s heart. She can try as hard as she could to hide it, but her trembling wicked smile and wildly contracting pupils clearly reveal how badly the sinister glare of black gold has affected her personality – she’s totally mental.

Regular flat wick, double wick, round wick, triple wick, different style of lamps, different grade of oils, its applications of current and future, and so on and so forth, the wicked madam throws a seemingly never-ending chain of questions regarding the product proposed for trade. And even with all the time consumed and wasted, talking about the product, she seems not content. She dumps a cartload of lamps and a plethora of equipment on the table, so that she can immediately test the product in question.

Joined by the master, her smile stretches from ear to ear and her eyes glare brightly. Like a possessed mad scientist’s, she enthusiastically scrutinizes the product systematically, one step at a time, letting hours after hours pass by.

“Sign me in!” BAM! She pounds the table with both hands, snapping and breaking a fingernail. In an instant, the klutzy madam grabs the injured finger and bends down, gnashing her teeth. She then forces a blatantly awkward smile. “Ooops, I did it again, hee, hee, hee~”

What an airhead, or pretending to be. I might as well research and develop making plastics too. I mean, those fake nails. Yeah, that might help her.

Shortly, I confess to her the issues we have in production.

To give a more detailed explanation, I let her read Nina’s journal too. And suddenly, her sweet smile turns sour upon hearing the news. She snatches from my hand the manuscripts and the blueprints for the distillery and the printing press and shoves them right in her face. Having digested the all the materials, she bends down and gives a long sigh.

“Fine, young Linus. This idea isn’t half bad. The Bluths’ with their crafting expertise can probably build these machines, except… I don’t think I can do my role of supplying you with the required metals for this project.” Her palm on her face, she lets out another long sigh.

She then explains that the needed metals become absurdly expensive if not impossible to acquire due to the failure of the mines in the Northern Rocklands. She reports that recently, the dragons inhabiting the region have awoken from their long hibernation and are flying amok. The malevolent flying reptiles infest the mines and the surrounding areas, preying on any beast they can sink their fangs on, including the people, the miners. Thus, obtaining the precious metals becomes extremely difficult and hazardous.

“My boy, you aim to become a champion, don’t you? Then this may be the right opportunity.”

Stroking his long silvery and frizzy beard, the master takes over the discussion. He explains that the crisis may be caused by the River Kingdom military. After all, metals are precious in warfare for their potential as weapons and armor, and the generals could have suggested to the king and his lords to monopolize the supply. The master points out that all that is said are just speculations, but due to his pinpoint analysis of the matter and my knowledge of my former world’s history, I’m convinced.

He says that the crisis may last a while or until a dedicated force of guardians, aka exterminators, have eliminated the pestilence. Only then will the dragons be forced to retreat in their caverns to slumber for a long while. And until then, the price of metals will be high as the government itself is outbidding everyone else on the game table.

I ask the master if there’s anything that can be done, and his response, there’s very little to hope for until the guardians have come. And given how inept most fighters of the current era are at dealing with the flying monsters, he says that most of the time, the guardians just do not respond to the threat. They conserve their forces and arms so in case of a foreign invasion, they can respond; a sound and logical decision.

“You’re also aiming to become a champion, aren’t you, my boy?” The master blinks, stroking his long frizzy white beard.

“Not really my decision, but I should as promised to my old man.”

“Hahaha! You better start learning from your father how to hunt those flying beasts. It’s a champ’s job to deal with those.”

Now that he mentions it, I remember Julius calling his organization ‘Guardians of the Blue Lagoon’. It could be just a wild speculation, but could it be that Julius is playing a game of 4D chess with me, with the journey and the dragons as tests to clear? No way even he can see that far in the future, just no way. But if champions can do it, I might be able to challenge this quest.

“Master, is it possible for me to challenge the dragons myself?” I interrupted the master whose about to grab a cup full of tea. He spills a bit of it on his clothes and jumps in shock.

CRACK! The teacup falls and breaks into fragments. “HOT! Not even as a joke is that proposition funny, though I read of tales of this kingdom’s first champion, whose exploits expressed a similar idea to yours. But can you match his talent?” The master sits back on his chair and strokes his long frizzy and graying beard. He begins to tell a tale of the past under the fluttering flames of the oil lamps.

***********************

The tale of Seymour of the North: The Dragon Slayer

For how the rich lands of the River Kingdom are blessed, it also had been cursed by the gods. From deep within the caverns of the Northern Rocklands, the mythic flying fire-breathing reptiles, also known as dragons, awaken to lay waste in the kingdom’s lands. The menace of the dragons had been known from tales, myths, and legends of the common people. And for a good reason, they are feared as they prey on people, animals, and monsters alike for as long as they don’t meet a greater opposition. This tale tells an exploit done by a man who successfully repelled the threat of dragons.

The year of the crisis was marked the 430th year of the River Kingdom’s calendar. In the wake of the flying menaces, villages were razed and people were eaten as prey for the flying beasts. Just within a year, the flying beasts mercilessly decimated half of the Northern Rockland’s population. Only strong houses of stone and granite towers half-survived the massive onslaught the dragons brought. They stood in the midst of the ruins to serve as grim monuments, reminding the people of the dragons’ terror and the razed villages, towns, and cities that once stood in that desolate wilderness.

This single event marred the entire kingdom in chaos and poverty as foreign powers saw this as an opportunity to start skirmishes on her borders. To make the situation worse, the kingdom’s cities, towns, and villages had to accommodate for the flood of refugees that came from the Northern Rocklands. The kingdom was in dire need of resources as food and essential needs began to deplete.

The suffering of people was so great that the threat of uprising also became a worry to the king. It prompted him to take action. To counter the crisis, the Great River King, Juros, selected a few men in his army to fight the dragons. He selected the best of them, furnishing them with the finest weapons that steel and bronze could afford. The king was troubled as even this much had deprived his fronts of people and weapons necessary for the defense of his lands. Even so, his advisers deemed it wise, so he deployed his troops of elite exterminators in the Northern Rocklands to lure and fight the flying beasts.

The exterminators, being the most noble and valiant men in the kingdom, were thrilled to fight the rumored gigantic beasts. Confident in their skills, they eagerly engage the dragons in combat, luring the flying lizards to their traps. But later on they realized that their petty traps do not work. The beasts’ armor of scales were so thick and tough that the exterminators’ trap of falling logs and rocks were not enough to cause them death nor injuries. The petty toys were thrown off as the beasts shook them off hardly with their scales. And to add to the frustration of the exterminators, the very trap they set became their own menace as they flew back at great speed. Some of the men fell casualty being hit by the massive lump of flying rocks.

Even to their best, their traps only captured a single dragon, one that was the size of a man, and even that one was able to escape by burning the net that kept it captive. These men, call them champions, the best of the best of the River Kingdom warriors, didn’t even manage to carve a single scratch against their flying adversaries’ hardened skin.

Soon, the tide turns against the men and the event was quickly turned into an onslaught as the hunter becomes the hunted. With the absence of Petro’s residents, they being refugees in neighboring regions, the numerous dragons must have been glad to meet the exterminators. Evidence suggests so after the carnage in the Battle of Petro, marked the fourth day of the fifth moon, 430 RK.

The battle started as the dragons organized in the skies of Petro. They breathed fire to scorch the ground the men stood on, spreading fear and panic among their ranks as some of them were set ablaze alive.

Men who survived the onslaught remembered their comrades burning alive. The last moment of their brave comrades were remembered in horrible screams that burned to their memory. They recalled the valiant men’s struggle as they span and tossed on the ground while being incinerated. Seeing the horror, the surviving exterminators were quick to route, seeing their comrades helplessly killed.

Flapping their massive wings, the massive flying predators blew gusts of wind against the routing ranks of men, further spreading chaos and confusion – the men, in odd numbers, were quick to scatter. Hungry for blood, the predators pursue the odd ones running. They landed, stomped, and buried their massive claws against the earth, thus holding their poor victims down.

With their hardened fangs of bronze, the savvy predators tear through their preys’ hardened steel shells like they would paper. They bit down deeply, mercilessly sinking their hardened murderous fangs against the dying soldiers’ warm bodies, penetrating flesh, scraping and cutting their entrails, lungs, hearts, and guts. As their sharpened and jagged teeth and fangs met, their victims’ bodies and appendages were severed and torn apart and away from the massive claws that hold them. Blood rained down as the monsters chomped down their meal.

As witnesses recalled, the earth that day had its generous share of the meal as it drank the warm blood that dripped from the dragons’ mouths and those that spilled out from the fresh bodies. Poor men, they were helpless. Moon, the mother, casted its gentle light on little what remains of them victims that night, showing solidarity, while the shameless wild dogs and vultures fought amongst themselves for the petty left overs.

And Nature wasn’t so kind to them survivors either. Her forests were filled with mysterious creatures and magick curses that preyed upon the surviving men. Some of them fell ill, and some, hunted down as prey and eaten by the horrid creatures inhabiting the wilderness. Their numbers quickly dwindled to more than half.

King Juros was sick to see the remnants of his elite troops. Of course, he could raise more men to combat the plague, but as the results stood, he deemed the quest of fighting dragons an impossible and unnecessary task. Not to mention, it was his original idea to fight the dragons after succumbing to the demands of the uninformed public. His predecessors knew better as history tells him that they dealt with the dragon crisis as if it was natural calamity.

And as his trusted ears and eyes have informed him, rumors of his army’s elite warriors’ shameful defeat quickly spread across the neighboring countries. As it was prudent, he chooses to raise his army back to its former strength in order to defend his land from the invaders. As his advisers told him, he allowed anyone who was fit to join the army in order to fill the numbers. Also, he ordered the total evacuation of people in the Northern Rocklands, thinking it was easier to ignore the trouble for a decade than to lose his men needlessly to the flying monstrosities.

But the cries of the people bothered his conscience. The great plague had not only left some towns ravaged but also turned the spirits of his subject defiant. Mutiny against the king in the border towns and cities became common as the rebels welcome the foreign invaders. The king was not able to bear the fear of being toppled down and the fear of being haunted by his ancestors for the dishonor. Furthermore, it was his responsibility to rule over his subjects. And thinking of the kingdom’s best interest, the king spent sleepless days and nights with his advisers to concoct a plan.

430RK, seventh day of the seventh moon, lightning flashed before the king’s eyes. He had a better idea based from his advisers’ advice of letting the plebeians join the army. Since it was the people, his petty subjects, who demanded the issues be fixed, why not let them fix the problem themselves. With the thought in mind, he initiated on the same day an open-to-all martial arts contest which aim was to select valiant men who would subjugate the dragons. He offered large sums of gold, treasures, and land so as to attract the best warriors in land. As much as his noble generals disagree to the idea, they sent in the tournament some of their elite men to show to the king how superior they were to the plebeians.

The nobles had the upper hand in battle as they eliminated most of the commoners who chose to participate. So it was their great shock to witness firsthand the martial prowess of Seymour, a common free man who came from the rumored lands of the northern continent. Armed with a spear, the man was probably the shortest warrior to have joined the contest, earning him the nickname, Shorty Seymour. Needless to say, he put all of the warriors to shame with his psychokinesis, a talent the kingdom had never heard of. With psychokinesis, it was rumored that his spear was weightless in his hands and that no armor was too hard for it to pierce. It was easy for him to attain the rank of a champion within a few days as he mops the floor with his opposition, the nobles. He held the position of the most valiant man of the land, which remained unchallenged for a month until the king has decided to stop the selections.

On the 24th day of the eight moon, 430 RK, King Juros saw Seymour’s merit. He wanted him to become the head of the dragon subjugation corps. However, Seymour declined the offer, remarking the king to be “incompetent and stupid should you think I or any men can beat dragons with this motley crew of men.” The insult greatly offended the selected elite warriors, nobles, and the king’s loyal subjects alike. It was etched in history. Even so, the king took the criticism constructively asking the man to explain his deed.

Seymour calmly explained to the king that he needed a crew of men who can use the same martial prowess that he demonstrated in combat. As none of the warriors were capable, he pledges to train his corps of selected warriors in the art of psi. The king agreed with the condition that the men can only be chosen from noble warriors. Likewise, Seymour didn’t have any objections.

In a month, Seymour had awakened the hidden psychokinetic talent within his crew of selected men. They swore an oath of absolute loyalty to the king and to each other never to tell the secrets of the art, thus the first platoon of the River Kingdom’s finest Teleknights were born.

430 RK, on the second day of the tenth moon, the dragon subjugation began. Seymour led his team of Teleknights into Petro. Using powerful psychokinetic bows, his men shot the flying reptiles with poison-coated psychokinetic arrows the size of a spear. Charge with mystical energies, the spears penetrated the dragons’ hardened scales causing them to succumb to the quick-acting poison; they dropped like flies from the sky. The knights recalled the falling of dragons, quake inducing. They said the falling creatures pounded the ground heavily, forming huge craters in the ground.

But even with the knight’s newly found powers, the bigger dragons were a menace to deal with, especially the Great Red Dragon, which as accounts report to be the strongest of them all. A force to be reckoned with, the malevolent beast was reported to command intelligence. It was able to communicate fighting strategies with its kin, which made it a nuisance. In one occasion, it singlehandedly dodged poisoned arrows the knights shot. The shots were fired as the knights pursued the flying beast in a forest. As reported, the beast screeched, calling several of its kin to scorch the forest in flames. A section of the forest burned with several knights; they fall victim to the wit of the Great Red Dragon.

With the remaining knights, Seymour armed himself with caution never to fall for the traps the Great Red Dragon lay. After three moons from the incident, the knights never encountered trouble from the Great Red Dragon again, nor did they have any sightings of its dragon underlings. Little did they know that their nemesis will reappear only after a couple of centuries.

It was on that fated day, the fourth day of the second moon of 431 RK, that Seymour declared the threat had passed. For his deeds, Seymour was awarded by King Juros the title of the Governor and Protector of the Northern Rocklands, giving him full autonomous control over the region. Witnessing Seymour’s merits, even the arrogant noble lords of the region during that time never complained nor shown any envy or enmity towards the hero for the appointment. Unfortunately, the peace only lasted during his lifetime. The great hero’s descendants were eventually overthrown by the nobles in the region claiming that the title of the champion was never meant by King Juros to be inherited. The courts of law intervened and decided in favor of the nobles living in the Northern Rocklands, thus up to this day, descendants of champions and commoners alike have to prove their merit as the law declares by any of these three means; (1) win a championship initiated by the king, (2) render heroic exploits, or (3) slay a dragon.

***********************

By the time the master has finished telling his story, drool runs down Ricardo’s left cheek. Same could be said of Faye. I can tell very well how she’s faking being lively after listening to the long grueling story, acting cutesy; but far from it, erm! She fails. Smiling, sipping tea and making noises don’t hide the pooling sticky secretions in the corner of her eyes. But frankly speaking, I myself feel a bit sleepy after listening to such a long tale. I’m amazed at how Nina eagerly listened to the story. Her eyes sparkle as she takes down notes. Her unwavering concentration truly is a trait that makes her fit to be a journalist.

Speaking of the story, I think it ended optimistically as the master mentions that beating the dragons is one way to become a champion, though that is a very risky position to take. But if I don’t act now, our journey will be delayed. I can’t afford the delay especially that our oil company’s success depends largely on the construction of the new distillery. But there may be a way to solve this problem without fighting the dragons.

“Sir Linus, how about we ask Sir Albert for help?” Nina asks.

“My boy, that may work as well. The River Kingdom’s Teleknights dealt with those kinds of problems in the past. Let’s retire for the night and deal with the problems tomorrow.”

Part 2

Early morning, I was accompanied by Nina and Ricardo to the Teleknight’s headquarters. Thanks to Faye’s merchant information network, we are able to acquire all the information needed to locate the place; but that’s the easier part, getting there is by no means a walk in the park. It’s quite an unusual sight for me to see in the morning, but Faye’s place and the area around it, the marketplace I say, is already filled with people, thus the master chose to stay behind. If a little walk is hard enough for him, just seeing swats of people in this area looks already painful. I hope that technology develops fast enough that he’ll see cars in his lifetime.

“Out of the way!” Brandishing his halberd and a big sparkly white smile, Ricardo makes way for us by shoving himself through the thick crowd. He isn’t one bit shy in using his size to intimidate the crowd, but thanks to his effort, walking the market’s busy morning roads becomes easier.

But trouble finds us at the next block.

“Watch it, you!” Ricardo bumps against the back of a stout guy in baggy silken clothes of green and gold. By his looks, he must be a big shot wearing several shiny rings, bracelets, and other accessories in his body. But bad news, the fellow is clutching a massive whip in his right hand. He looks at Ricardo, giving him a nasty glare.

“Get lost! Don’t think you scare me with your massive spear.” remarks the man.

“Sorry about my uncle. Let us go through.” While holding Ricardo back, I bow to the man as a gesture of apology.

“Why, you! Kid, let me beat this arrogant… OUCH!” Nina throws a shin at Ricardo, making him jump in pain as usual.

The man pushes me back and cracks his whip. CRACK! “Stand back! Let me deal with this.” He walks forward and approaches a fellow. The man in question has his hands tied in chains, bare topped, dark skinned, bald, and scrawny. His dark skin tone alone cannot hide his bulging ribs and bones and injuries. Kneeling down, he covers his bleeding wounds with his bony hands.

“Get up, you!” The big shot stomps the fellow at the back, knocking him down. By the sounds of it, he might have broken a few ribs, which is apparent in the fellow’s agonizing groan as he clutches the injured part. People then are quick to gossip and to give piercing judging stares at the man for his malevolent actions. But without a conscience, he stands largely unaffected by the crowd around him. Truly, a tyrant.

“Slave! This is what I get for paying a high price? You, animals at the back! What the hell are you doing there idling! Help this kin of yours stand up, else, you’ll share the same punishment.” The man unleashes his whip for the second time. CRACK!

Chains chatter. Instead of compliance, the slaves move not, returning a hostile glare at the man. Trouble brews as the increasing bloodlust from the fellows contaminates the atmosphere making it dense and hard to breathe. But the offender stands undaunted. Has he no sense for danger at all? Nobody seems to accompany him. Not even a servant points out the severity of the situation he is in. At best, the slaves will beat him up and escape, but…

“Monkeys, you leave me with no other choice. Take this! And this, and that!” With a grim smile, the man whips the fellow on the ground. Bits of skin and flesh peel off with every strike, making the fellow writhe in agony.

It is painful to watch. I can see how Nina is holding back. She has her fist clenched, ready to strike at any moment. Should I make a move?

Eventually, the fellow stops responding to the slave master’s whip lashings. Not even the man’s calls can reach through him, so he is given a few kicks in the side. “Hey, are you done? Hey, answer me!”

The man grits his teeth in frustration and continues to whip the fellow but without a response. Blood seeps through the cracks in the pavement, darkening them. Such brutality, I may not be able to sleep at night should I let it continue.

I clench my fist in preparation to rush in; but unfortunately, events escalate quickly before I am even able to make my move. The fellow slaves charge in with their chains in a towering rage, screaming with bloodshot eyes. The man is caught in a surprise. His smug expression quickly turns to a worried look.

With a little strength channeled to my left foot, I give the pavement a hard kick, allowing me to accelerate in a giant leap towards the man. Even before the slaves reach him, I give him a little punch in the gut as a present, thus knocking him down. Receiving the blow, his eyes popped. Priceless.

Instantly, I pivot to the back in order to subdue the enraged slaves. To my surprise, Ricardo and Nina already has my back covered. The old man hits some of the fellows with his halberd’s pole handle knocking them back substantially. With an ear shattering battle cry, he manages to push the slaves back. Fear drives sanity back to their consciousness, making them cower. The old man keeps them back with his halberd extended forward while sporting his blinding smile as usual.

I turn my attention to the big shot. He kneels down, throwing up what he had for breakfast. With teary eyes, he looks up to me. “Uggh! Kid, you’ll never get away with this!”

“Idiot! I’ve just saved your life.” Wide-eyed, the man looks at his surroundings.

“You bastards, why are you siding with the slaves? That is against the law. You saw them rise up against me, didn’t you? They warrant a death sentence.” The man brushes his baggy pants, stands up, and quickly reverts to his smug persona.

People start chattering. Familiar metallic clanking noises resound from a distance. “Yield!” The crowd parts to give way to Freddie’s squad. Justice has come much to my relief.

Freddie commands his men to tend to the slave lying on the ground. After an inspection, the troops gesture to Freddie, shaking their heads. I can only imply that the fellow’s already dead. He then approaches the man and talks to him. After a while, he interviews me, my companions, and the people on the streets. And then, he round-up the slaves and goes back to the man to give him a pat in the shoulder. He approaches me next, saying “You should apologize to the man.”

“What? I don’t understand, Freddie. The slave’s dead, isn’t he? Then that guy’s a murderer! He must be in the wrong.”

“Right!” Nina and Ricardo nod.

Freddie shakes his head. “No, it’s a matter of law. Slaves do not have rights. Furthermore, they swore absolute loyalty and obedience to their master. For such a deed, the slaves will have to go through a punishment by the whip in public. Give it a rest.”

Anger wells up within my chest, about to explode. BANG! Unintentionally, I slam the killer bat against the ground. Dirt spikes and little pebbles flew grazing Freddie in the cheek. His eyes now furrowed, he shuts his lips tight, a change from his usual calm expression.

“Linus, being a son of a champion, I do not wish to humiliate you. You should know very well what this means.” He points to his bleeding cheek. People start chattering loudly.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve just challenged my judgment. So be it. May the gods decide who is wrong or right. I’ll see you tomorrow morning outside the northern gate.”

Freddie’s men arrest the slaves. They leave with very little explanation about the event that took place. Stranger still, people cast judging looks at me while they whisper to each other. How annoying, but convenient. It seems that nobody wants to associate with our group, which makes it easier for us to move out of the marketplace.

“Sir Linus, How kewl you are! You’ll make a splendid man!” Nina remarks while we are walking towards the Teleknight’s HQ. I ask her and Ricardo about it, and as I talk more, the more I inform them of my ignorance. I cannot paint in words what their expressions are. Surely they look dumbstruck. Only later on I find out that I’ve just challenged Freddie to a duel.

******

Journey Day 14

Sir Linus strategizes Petro’s dragons’ takedown

Nexus, the Young Master Linus decided to seek the aid of the Teleknights to eliminate the threat of dragons in Petro.

He deemed that the move was “necessary” in order to upgrade DK Oils’ distilleries as the dragons hinder the collection of essential materials in building the new facilities.

Master Kong remarked that the earlier thought of fighting the dragons head on was “not funny even as a joke.” He even told the young master the tale of Seymour’s heroic exploits against dragons as a way of giving a precaution. Thus, the young master decided to get the Teleknight’s help under the wise advice of one of his companions.