Lokgrod Redminer looked down at the red dragon. She was now just over four meters long and not including her wings her back stood at an impressive meter and a half. If the dragon chose, she would be able to raise her head far above that point. With the flaring of her wings, she would have a truly impressive figure. With the gleaming red scales and white bone spines, she represented the true dragon image so many dwarves were infatuated with. With his care for many beasts back home, before his entrapment, he could see she was young. It was even more apparent than in their first encounter or when he had held her captive. Her scales were still growing in and many of her spines were still short and blunt. The horns that would one day grow huge and ornate were still but stubs a few inches long on her head. But much of what he observed could not be truly captured in text. The mere presence of the dragon was heating the very air. If he had not been a dwarf, their race blessed to work the forge, he would have found it uncomfortable. As it was it reminded him of the forges back home, even the blasts of magic that accompanied the heat reminded him of the master smith forges and the legendary creations that were made there. He was not sure why nobody had done what he did. Leveraging a familiar pact to gain time and influence to properly tame a creature was a commonly used way of training low-class creatures. Had nobody ever tried what he was doing? Had they simply never found a suitable candidate? Dragons or at least drakes were not especially rare in this part of the country, well at least not green dragons. When he had been free, the harvesting of Drakes had been relatively common. Their bodies and blood could be refined into some of the best attribute potions and elixirs that could be made. He had never been fortunate, or rich enough to buy any. He continued to stare at the dragon as his thoughts meandered from his home to dreams of the dwarven forges. Even with the compulsion from the familiar bond, he would need to build a bond with her. Should outside forces suppress or destroy the skill, he would need a true relationship with her. He sank to one knee and reached out towards the dragon with a hand. He used the familiar bond to send his calm emotions and a desire to pet her. The dragon was slow to respond, her red-gold irises flicking from his face to his hand before she slowly crept up to him and nuzzled his hand. It was far from the joyous response most familiars would greet their masters with but for such a beast like a dragon perhaps this was just their nature. Surely such a beast was different from the common swamp salamanders and dire wolves that he had trained in the past. Those species were well-known pack hunters and had social hierarchies. Drakes were known to mostly hunt alone, save for small family or mating groups. And not much was known about the habits of true dragons, few as they were. They were mostly believed to be territorial and solitary, however. Rue looked up at the hand being offered to her. Without the prodding from the familiar pact and the desires that were sent over it, she would not have known how to react to the gesture. With the sudden appearance of the dwarf, she had been frozen. She had almost forgotten the creature’s existence in the long hours of frustration the challenge had taken. She had to suppress the dire to leap on him, to bite and claw her way towards his demise. But she stayed her claws, he was too powerful. She opened her connection to the familiar bond hoping to find a way to avoid him finding out she was free of the compulsion. She found the voice of the familiar pact whispering actions and thoughts into her head, but no longer did she feel any desire or need to follow them. But reluctantly she did. By walking forward and pressing her snout into the palm of the dwarf’s hand. The creature’s skin was cold and smooth to her senses. It would have been much more pleasant if the hand was hot, or even on fire. She followed the guideline from the familiar pact and rubbed the dwarf’s hand. Her body momentarily tensed as he moved his free hand to her neck, and she prepared to make a desperate run for the labyrinth when she felt him scratch her neck. Just under the back of her jaw. It was strange but also rather pleasant. The firm but soft flesh of the dwarf rubbing her scale-bound muscles was rather pleasant. If only his hand were hotter, she might have tolerated it, well she didn’t have a choice. At least not yet. She would need to grow and level before she could challenge him. “Well…Rue es ya preferred name ye lass?” “Well…Rue is your preferred name yes?” The dwarf spoke for the first time since their bond was created. With the influence and meanings flowing over the familiar link his words were no longer as heavy with dialect unfamiliar to her. Even the translation spell was unnecessary. Rather than hear the words she simply understood their meaning. She replied in the language natural to her, her understanding pushed to more refined levels by her [Draconic Knowledge] skill. The word pained her to say but she knew it would be necessary, to survive and grow. “Yes…Master…Hunt, I kill we feed” The concepts of draconic were simple, and one would struggle to form a sentence recognizable in many other languages. It was made for a set of grunts hisses and other beast-like sounds. Her knowledge helped to bridge the gap but the familiar link likely made the most difference, replacing the translation spell the dwarf had been using. “Come then, we shall hunt together, for food and to… bond.” Rue felt a shiver run up her spine, she did not like the sound of that and the reel of emotions that had been sent over the bond implied that he would try and turn her to his side, by some means. Rue restricted the flow of her roiling emotions from leaking over the bond and send some happy and calming emotions from the dormant part of the familiar bond to try and trick the dwarf. From his reaction over the bond, he seemed to be happy with her reaction but was showing a lot of teeth at her. Was he not aggressively posturing? That was strange, and for now, she would go with him and hunt. At least there would be food at the end of this ordeal. The dwarf got back to his feet and began to walk back down the corridor toward the labyrinth. She felt an urge from the familiar link for her to follow and she decided to match his pace but a few meters behind. As they approached the labyrinth of monsters they passed the room she had been trapped in and she looked inside. Seeing its dark grey walls and drab stone she let out a barely audible hiss. She was careful to make it inaudible to the dwarf and let none of her roiling emotions seep into the familiar link. As they drew within a closer radius the smell hit her, it was the scent of live animals and monsters. Prey. It made her mouth salivate and the dwarf paused looking towards her, sensing through the bond the hunger she was giving off. “Well then, let’s get you fed. Not much down here should be a threat to you even now but ill be keeping you company anyway.” Rue scoffed at the idea of being ‘looked after’ but pushed down her feelings. “Yes…thank you master.” He gestured for Rue to go on ahead of him and she entered a steady lope to reach the entrance. A large stone archway greeted her at the end of the passageway and beyond was a brightly lit tunnel with grass and small bushes sprouting from the ground. The archway was the barrier between a lush underground paradise and the dull grey of the complex. Rue inhaled deeply of the varied smells, her tongue darting out to help analyze all of the different scents. It was amazing that such a lush and green place could exist underground, completely enclosed. The tunnel was about 10 metes wide and twice as tall with the wall lined in brightly glowing crystals that illuminated the room nearly as bright as real sunlight. Rue looked back to see the dwarf staying a few dozen meters behind her watching her intently. It felt like he was examining her and evaluating her every move. Rue turned her mind from the vile dwarf and looked for something to sink her fangs into. As she scanned her eyes across the bushes she caught a flash of white moving amongst the brush. [Deepstone Rabbit Lv12] For such a small animal it was quite high levelled, and rabbits were usually herbivores meaning they would not have leveled from killing. Rue soon discovered the answer to this question and the bush erupted as the small white rabbit bolted towards her. Rue growled as the rabbit approached, charging her with a silvery grey horn on its head and small red eyes full of hunger and hate. The whole creature was maybe a foot in length with a horn about six inches long. Reu looked at the creature's charge contemptuously and summoned her fire. She let the creature reach a distance of five meters before she unleashed hell upon the foolish creature. Searing orange-yellow flames washed over the creature, even with no magical augmentation the rabbit was reduced to a charred lump of black meat within seconds of the flames engulfing it. After the plume of fire subsided, little more than a dried and cracked lump of smoking flesh and bones remained. A tar-like black substance was dripping and smoking, releasing a sweet-smelling odor which rue found quite pleasant. Ding! For Slaying [Deepstone Rabbit Lv12] In Combat +107xp Ding! For Slaying a Foe [8] Levels Below Your Own [-8%] xp -9xp Ding! Devourer Of Flame Leached [10] Xp From [Deepstone Rabbit Lv12] Total Xp Earned From Combat Encounter +98 The only thing that spoiled her mood at the kill was the dwarf making his presence known. “Damn, dragon fire. Quite the sight to see, hahah.” Rue just ignored the dwarf as he was still hanging back and pretended to not hear the comment. She was about to make her way further down the verdant passage when a glint of silver-grey sparkled amongst the black remains. Rue approached the tar-like remains of the rabbit. Its horn was peaking out from the charred flesh of the rabbit. It was so obliterated and cooked that she had no desire to eat it but the horn was calling to her. So she reached a taloned paw out and scraped the now loose horn free from the mess. A small skull came with it but she quickly crushed and broke the skull away from the silver horn. She then bathed the horn in more flames, they boiled and cleansed most of the tar-like substance down to ash and vapor which she blew away. What was left was a relatively clean horn, now making the air shimmer with its residual heat. Unlike real bone, it had not blackened. Giving in to her instinct she reached down with her maw and gave the horn a lick, sampling it with [Mineral Assay]. Silver + Organic, Impure, Precious, Common It was common and impure but the metal was certainly alluring, even when mixed with what looked like bone. Rue picked up the silvery horn in her teeth and walked back to the corridor. She deposited the horn in the corner. It would be safe there while she gathered more, perhaps without burning them. They were shiny and would be some of the first to grace her collection. “Ahhh, ye dragons really do like shiny objects don’t ya, my little dragons collecting a hoard.” What an annoying dwarf, the sheer gall of him to gaze upon her possessions, was he trying to steal them? What was he so pleased about it was her horn. Rue had to suppress the violent urge to curl up over her prize and hiss menacingly at the dwarf.