Chapter Twenty Five

“So it’s a bit complicated actually. Well the knowing about your curse part is simple, I can just see magic with these eyes of mine, and there’s a whole lot of bad magic around your soul.”

“You can see my soul?”

“Well… no. But I can see a dark mass of magic around where your soul is located. It’s pretty strong too, you would probably need a specialist to get rid of it. Well, that or an archmage I guess.”

Shuka let out a sigh of disappointment. It wasn’t exactly new information that the curse was hard to get rid of, but it still wasn’t encouraging to hear.

“So you can see magic now? How did that happen? And is it related to you being so… monstery back there?”

“Hey, I was dragony, not monstery. Seriously, would you call a dragon a monster?”

Shuka could tell from the look she was giving her that the correct answer was not ‘yes.’

“No, of course not. Sorry, I just meant that the two things seem related due to your, uhh… new eyes.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. And yes they are related. And as luck would have it, they are also related to why I was acting so indifferent to you earlier.”

“Oh, great. What’s the reason?”

“I’m part dragon.”

Maryam said it so casually that Shuka thought for sure it was some kind of joke or prank, but it also made an odd sort of sense. Why else would she look the way she did after all. But a dragon? That couldn’t be true.

“Do you mean part Drakkin? The dragon people? Or is this some kind of prank.”

“It’s not a prank, I’m serious! And yes I mean dragon.”

“But… how? Your eyes were normal back at the orphanage, did they awaken or something later?”

“Awaken? No, that’s ridiculous. My mom just filled me with dragon blood and then bam! I’m part dragon. Well okay there was also this big magic ritual, and a two year recovery, but that’s not important. The important thing is I have dragon blood running through my veins so I’m part dragon.”

The more she talks the less I understand. This all sounds so crazy, am I just supposed to accept this?

Xorvos was obviously confused too because he asked the next question.

“Where did your mom even find dragon blood? That doesn’t seem like an easy thing to find.”

“Oh it’s incredibly easy to find as long as you’re a dragon yourself. All she had to do was open a vein and gallons of the stuff just came pouring out.”

It took her a moment to process what she just heard, but when she did the news hit Shuka like a meteor.

“Your mothers a DRAGON!?”

“Yup. And in case that wasn’t enough of a surprise for you she is also an archmage. Servianna, Archmage of Artifice and more importantly, my mom.”

The worst part was, it was actually possible. Shuka remembered Ralisdor telling her about the current archmages, and the Archmage of Artifice was in fact a dragon. A purple one. She even lived close by, relatively speaking. She was meant to be living in the Celestial Empires eastern neighbor in a place called Dragon Crater Valley. Lancrin just so happened to sit on the Empires eastern border and so it was probably only a short travel away. Shuka couldn’t dismiss the possibility of it all being true, even if she wanted to.

I’m hunting deer in a forest and getting cursed by a witch, but she gets adopted by an archmage that just gives her magic powers? Did she steal all of my luck somehow? No, I can’t get jealous, that’s not going to help at all. And besides, it does look like those powers of hers has downsides. I should be happy for her, but it all feels so… unfair.

“So how do these powers… work. Can you just turn into a dragon whenever you want?”

“Oh no, it’s not nearly that convenient. All my dragon parts only come out when I cast magic. The bigger the magic, the more draconic I become. I usually keep the spells pretty small though, going too far, too fast usually causes problems.”

“Wait, what do you mean cast magic?” Xorvos asked. “I thought you, uh… couldn’t.”

“Your right, I couldn’t. I can now though. Purple dragons are like, ninety percent magic so having my blood replaced with theirs made me magic too.”

It was such a simple explanation that Shuka was sure there was more to it than that. She was also sure that the actual explanation was probably a bit too advanced for her though, so she didn’t bother pressing Maryam about it. She was curious about something else she said though.

“You said you can’t use too much of your magic. Why? Is becoming a dragon… dangerous?”

“For me? not really. But it affects my mind too, not just my body. Dragons are creatures of obsession, so the more like a dragon I become, the more obsessed I am. What I become obsessed with is basically whatever I was thinking or doing when I start transforming, which more often than not is a fight. Normally its not too bad, but sometimes I just sort of… forget that I shouldn’t kill people. Not unless I am constantly reminding myself not to when casting magic at least.”

So that’s why she was like that. I heard dragons all had their own thing they get obsessed with, but I never thought it was so extreme. Although it seems to work a bit differently with Maryam. I guess that potion she drank got rid of her transformation and turned her back to normal. Having to vomit up your lunch if you don’t want to go around without any emotions seems pretty rough though, I kinda feel bad about being so jealous now.

“Sorry about getting you to drink that potion, by the way. It didn’t look pleasant, and I can’t imagine it was cheap either.”

“Oh, the vomiting isn’t that bad, I mean half of the process is done while I’m still draconic and draconic me doesn’t give a shit about a bit of discomfort. Well, okay so I give a bit of a shit, but not much! And yeah it’s pretty expensive, but my mother makes them and she’s loaded, so who cares. I could drink gallons of that potion and it wouldn’t even make a dent in her literal hoard of gold.”

…So I think I’m going to go back to being jealous now.

“So, you’ve been asking me a lot of questions, so I think it’s my turn now. Mainly, what’s up with the curse? You said a witch did it, but what’s the story behind that?”

“Well, it’s actually not that exciting. I was out hunting and I accidentally shot a crow that happened to be a witch’s familiar and she cursed me for it.”

“How do you ‘accidentally’ shoot a crow?”

“I mean, I meant to shoot the crow, I just didn’t know it was a familiar.”

“Well, okay, but why would you even shoot a crow in the first place? Do you just kill every animal you come across?”

“No, of course not! Their meats not the best, but it is edible, and their feathers sell really well. I’m not rich like you, so I can’t exactly be picky with what I hunt.”

Shuka wasn’t expecting Maryams accusatory comment, so her response came out a bit more aggressive than she wanted. A bit was all the curse needed though.

“Oh, I’m so sorry for getting adopted, I’ll try to be more miserable for you.”

“I’m not miserable, I just don’t have a lot to be happy about right now. You got your dream given to you on a silver platter by an archmage who decided to adopt you. I actually had to work.”

The air around Maryam changed at Shuka’s comment. She may have been mad before, but now she was furious, and her fury had a presence. It was scary, but… not as scary as Validus.

“You think this was easy for me!? I spent two years in a bed, barely able to move, but sure it was a ‘silver platter.’ And now I’m training my magic every day, constantly afraid of the uncaring monster I become. And I chose this life, because unlike you I actually care about things enough to suffer for them. Do you even have anything important to get back to when this curse gets lifted? Or are you just going to go back to hunting birds for a handful of coins.”

“Who cares, if it’s important? I enjoy hunting so I hunt. I don’t need to be rich or famous, or even be good at what I do to be happy, I just need to like what I’m doing. If you don’t like that then you can just leave!”

The moment the words left her mouth, Shuka regretted them. She remembered when Maryam left the orphanage all those years ago, and how terrible she felt. Now it was going to happen again, and it would be her fault this time. She saw Xorvos, off to the side, looking like he wanted to say something, but… hesitating.

Would he have hesitated a month ago? He’s never not defended me, even at times when even I thought I was in the wrong, but now he’s silent. Am I going to lose him too? Because of one argument that happened weeks ago?

Because, she now realised, she never apologised. Because she spoke to him in an argument, and not a conversation. Because the curse made everything worse, but she knew that wasn’t an excuse.

What am I doing? I haven’t seen my friend in a decade and this is what I say to her? I’ve been so careful with every single word I say to strangers, but I guess I need to with my friends now too. No, I’ve always needed think about what I say to them, now there’s just consequences.

Now Shuka wasn’t angry, or even sad. She was scared. Scared Xorvos wouldn’t forgive her, and scared that Maryam would leave. She was feeling scared a lot lately, and it was hard to top the fear of death, but this was close. So close it felt the same. Maryam shouted something in a language Shuka didn’t recognise and then turned to walk away. It was now or never.

“Wait, Maryam! I-I’m sorry. I don’t care about the money, and I didn’t mean what I said about life being easy for you, so… please don’t leave. It’s been so long and I don’t want to end our friendship like this.”

That stopped Maryam in her tracks. She turned back to look at Shuka, still angry, but conflicted now. She wanted to forgive her, but was too angry too. Xorvos was done hesitating though.

“Please stay Maryam. We could really use your help, and I think Shuka is being genuine. Even if it doesn’t seem like it. Just give her one more chance.”

“…Tch. Fine, I accept your apology. For now. Lets just get back to the curse, I need a distraction.”

It… was a start at least. Maryam was still very obviously mad, but she was staying, so even just for that Shuka was relieved.

“Right, the cure. Well I told my magic teacher, Ralisdor, about it and he told me I needed to find a book on curses for him to help me. Either that or a specialist. Anyway, the library at Rainsburg uhh, didn’t work so we decided to come here. We arrived just a few hours ago, and Ralisdor went off to talk to some friends of his while I… stayed out of trouble in the inn.”

“You have a magic teacher? I thought you were a hunter.”

“Well, I am, but I am also learning magic. It’s more of a hobby kind of thing though.”

“Right. I know the library stays open even late into the night so lets go.”

“Uhh, to the library? Right now?”

“Yes.”

Maryam wasn’t kidding. She may have been more playful before, but since their argument she was all business, with a scowl that didn’t disappear.

“But what about Ralisdor? He told me to stay, and he might worry if he gets back and I’m not there.”

“Yeah, well screw Ralisdor. This is the fastest, most direct route, why would you not take it? If you are that worried about it then Xorvos can stay behind and tell him what’s going on when he gets back.”

“Oh, no.” Xorvos interjected. “Wherever Shuka goes, I go. Even if that means going against what Ralisdor said, your safety comes first.”

This brought a smirk back on Maryams face.

“Well, well, well. Look who’s grown up. Never thought I’d see the day Xorvos rebel.”

Xorvos, grey face turned a shade redder as he protested.

“I’m not rebelling! I would like to stay at the inn, but I know you well enough to not try to stop you. The least I can do is watch your backs while you be reckless.”

“Hah! I take it back, you haven’t changed a bit. And, I’m not being reckless. The library has gotta have the book you need, and I’m pretty sure I can get it for you. And if I can’t then my mom can.”

“Uhh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that. There was a bit of a… misunderstanding at the library in Rainsburg. If I’m around then the librarian might think I want the book for less than upstanding reasons.”

“Ah, so you don’t know about the famous librarian of Lancrin then? I would have thought that teacher friend would have told you.”

“Wait, what’s so special about Lancrins librarian? And what does that have to do with this?”

“You’ll see. So are you coming or not?”

Damn, I was hoping she would just tell me, but I guess that would be too easy huh. But should I go? I don’t want to mess things up, and I also don’t want to make Ralisdor mad. Well, he probably won’t be that mad, and this will give me some more time to make up with Maryam. I can tell she is still pretty mad at me, even if she isn’t showing it. Alright, I’ll do it.

“Yeah, I’ll go.”

“Great, it’ll be just like old times then.”

Yeah, just like old times. Except for now you hate me.

*

The trip took a bit long than it probably should of. Maryam kept on confidently leading the way, getting lost, and then spend three times longer than she needed to asking for directions. Normally Shuka would have been annoyed at how chatty she was, but she wanted to talk to Xorvos, so it worked out.

“Hey, Xorvos. Sorry about the argument. The one at the dungeon I mean.”

He seemed surprised at her bringing it up. And not nearly as angry at her as she feared.

“What are you apologising for? What you said wasn’t wrong. I let my feeling get the best of me and messed up.”

“It wasn’t what I said, it was how I said it. I shouldn’t have yelled, but I was angry too. Look, if you feel guilty at all, I forgive you, but I also just want to apologise. So I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to be angry at me, you deserve better.”

“…well I accept your apology then. But I’m not angry. Well, I suppose that’s not entirely true. But I’ve been thinking. About what you said. And I’m glad you made up with Maryam too.”

“Well, I’m not done yet. She’s still real mad at me.”

“She is? She doesn’t look too mad to me.”

“I think she is trying to distract herself. That’s why she wanted to go to the library now and not later. Or maybe I’m just thinking too much into it. But I don’t think she’s forgiven me just yet.”

The two friends were watching Maryam chatting animatedly with a couple of passerby’s. She had already gotten the directions she needed, but she was still talking to them. Shuka wasn’t really paying attention to what they were talking about, so she was quite surprised when several glowing balls of light flew out from Maryams hands and spun around in a circle around her. Each ball was a different colour and it was clearly magic. In fact, it wasn’t that far off from what Shuka could do herself. The balls of light wasn’t what the strangers were interested in though, it was her now scaled and clawed hands that she now had.

Whats she doing, doesn’t that effect her mind? Is she really willing to do that just to impress some strangers?

The conversation she was having didn’t last much longer and soon enough Maryam was back with Shuka and Xorvos.

“Hey, I got the directions. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to remember them this time.”

“Yes, good job Maryam, but… your hands. Aren’t you worried about your transformation?”

Oh thank the gods Xorvos said it. I’m on thin ice with Maryam right now, but I also really want to know why she did that.

“Oh, these?” She responded holding up her now purple hands. “Nah I’m not worried. It doesn’t affect me that much in the early stages and I made sure I was thinking about the curse thing. If anything, this will help me focus on that more.”

Did she… did she deliberately transform herself so she would think about our argument less? Or does it really not affect her that much. She certainly doesn’t seem that different from normal. Am I just making this all about me when it isn’t? Augh, I don’t know. I can’t mess anything up though.

They Continued on their way to the library, and found it was a mere two blocks away. It was a grand sight, much larger than the library in Rainsburg, and far more ornate. It looked almost like a cathedral, with tall spires rising up above all but the cities towers. There were five floors that Shuka could see, with each floor having its own stained glass window each with a different design depicting a different subject. The windows were beautiful but the walls themselves were also works of art with carvings of all sorts of things embedded into the marble. And it was marble too, not the marble lookalike the rest of the city was made out of. Enchanted too, Shuka saw as she got closer, with enchantments that could probably survive an angry dragon. When they entered through the large double door, Shuka found the interior no less wondrous. Although the walls were harder to see with the rows upon rows of full bookshelves in the way. There weren’t many people this late at night, but there were several small golems running around carrying books and organising shelves. The golems were small metal balls, with four pointy legs stretching out from it like a spider, and two spindly arms that carried whatever needed carrying that came out from the top of the ball. Shuka was somewhat used to golems from growing up in the Vondoom Orphanage, but she was used to more humanoid shapes. These little balls of organisation were almost completely alien to her.

How much money did the library spend on these? Even the Orphanage only has the one golem, but I can see a dozen golems on just this floor alone.

Maryam was significantly less enamoured with the whole building. She had obviously been here before since she walked straight towards the stairs to the next floor without even looking around. Hurrying to follow her Shuka and Xorvos found themselves climbing up to the top floor. It was obviously the floor dedicated to magic, and Shuka didn’t need to look at the window to know that. Half the books glowed, and the ones that didn’t were still written in archaic magic runes. Well, she saw one book being carried by a golem that seemed to be a kids picture book called ‘The A, B, C’S of Magic’ but that seemed to be the exception rather than the rule. Still, the room hummed with magic, and even Maryam slowed down to stare at the tomes of arcane knowledge. She never stopped though, and soon enough she was knocking on a door at the back of the room. It seemed like an ordinary wooden door to Shuka, but she did notice an odd sign that hanged off it. It said ‘Thieves’ Beware! None but the twin Queens of the Sea may enter uninvited. Death awaits for the rest.’

Isn’t this a library? What is a sign threatening death doing here? And who are the twin queens of the sea? Is this a joke, or is it serious?

“Hey Maryam? Uhh, whats with the sign?”

“Well it’s pretty obviously a warning.”

“Right, yeah, but… should we really be trying to enter then if it’s a warning?”

“We’re not going to try breaking in, that would be suicidal. It should be fine as long as we get invited though.”

Shuka looked at the door again and saw that they were not at all getting invited. Maryam didn’t seem discouraged though and just continued to wait at the door. Shuka didn’t really have a better plan so she waited too. A few minutes later the door opened up on its own. That alone could have easily been done with a bit of magic, but what worried Shuka was that it opened up to a dark black void. It reminded her of the dungeon, and that reminder did not bring good memories. Before she could protest though, Maryam was already through the door.

Ahh, is this an invitation? Does it lead into a dungeon? I can’t just stay out here if Maryams already entered, can I? I guess I just have to trust her on this.

Going through the doorway was similar in feeling to the dungeon as well, but when she came out on the other side, it wasn’t a dungeon she was in, but an office. Maryam was already there, and Xorvos came in soon after her, but there was one more person in the room with them. Behind a magnificently carved desk, that dominated the room, was a Drakkin woman. Shuka hadn’t met many Drakkin before, most of them lived on an entirely different continent, but it was unmistakable that was what she was. They were sort of humanoid dragons, covered in scales from head to toe and body features that would look at home on a lizard. This Drakkin in particular had green scales and a sharp look in her eyes. She was wearing a mages robe, but one made with mobility and ease of movement in mind, rather than just comfort, or style. It also had several pouches placed in strategic locations for easy access to spell components. On her desk, with her hand resting on the handle was an ornate wand carved out of some sort of bone or ivory. The magic aura coming off it was strong enough that even a novice like Shuka could tell it was powerful. She looked like a battle mage ready for a war, not a librarian. But there on her desk was a name plate that said otherwise. ‘Head Librarian Visia, Queen of the Sea.’ There was one more piece to the puzzle that led Shuka saw, although the answer it led too didn’t make much sense. Hanging on the wall behind the desk, above a mounted cutlass was a flag. A black flag, depicting a skull with two green dragons curled around it possessively.

She’s a pirate.