Jjhutto_Son of Flame
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B3. Ch. 46 Dragon-Air
🕑 Added 2024-10-21 21:14:48 +0000 UTCTilly stepped back from the broken pieces of boulder while Erash did her thing. He eyed the impatient dragon and rested his hands on his hatchets, attempting to look unconcerned. His mind however was a whirlwind of nervous energy as he realised they had actually done it!
Brokenridge was going to at least partially assist them in taking out some key enemy Factions and hopefully arrive at the Contested Lands significantly ahead of most other elements. Now all he had to do was survive long enough to get a few levels and make it to his fated meeting with Oberron all in one piece.
Erash had not been very forthcoming about her method of flight, and with everything else he had been worrying about, he had pushed it from his mind. Now as the blue fiery script began to glow around the torso sized chunk of rock, all sorts of wild ideas of what could go wrong began to run through his head.
Forget being eaten alive by spiders. What if the dragon just ran him into the side of a mountain by accident? …Well with his Endurance that probably wouldn’t be fatal, but it sure as hell wouldn’t be fun.
The High Priestess interrupted his anxious spiral, ceasing her whispered chant over the rock and turning toward him, her flame-tipped staff glowing ominously. “The spell is very specific, Mr. Tillman, so in the interest of comfort I will attempt to target your torso, leaving your extremities free,” She said, making significant eye contact to make sure he understood the implications… which he wasn’t sure he did.
All he could extract from her wording was that the targeted part of his body would be frozen in the spell while he was linked to the object. She then pointed to a little rock outcropping about thirty feet back from the enchanted rock, “Now I think it would be best if we position ourselves behind and above this object, to help us react in the event of a sudden landing,” she added specifically not looking over at the dragon, he responded to the possibility with a derisive snort, and Tilly stole a glance over to see that he had already set his legs into a ready crouch, eyeing the pair.
Not wasting any further time, Tilly turned and followed the fey princess as she made for the outcropping at a jog, hopping to its top easily, and shifting over so there was space for him to do the same. He made the ten-foot jump easily, not even hesitating to take on something that would have been impossible a few months ago. As he landed, she quickly added, “Now I will be able to adjust my position in real-time, but I cannot affect your link unless both targets are still, so once positioned you are committed until I break the bond. I would say you should be able to flex your will to break free in an emergency, but I honestly don’t think you have the Strength or Wisdom to effect this spell…” She trailed off somewhat patronizingly.
Tilly winced at the dig, and then Erash’s eyes narrowed over his shoulder at the dragon, to whom she realized she might have just revealed too much. She had the grace to look momentarily abashed, before beginning her chant.
“Hurry, Gnat. I tire of waiting. My time has come, and I refuse to be delayed by my lessors.” Brokenridge growled.
Tilly felt Erash’s magic begin to form a tight layer of immaterial energy around his chest, and he breathed in uncomfortably. The magic adjusted, somehow making allowance for the slight movement of his muscles and lungs. Once he was sure he would retain the ability to breathe, he turned toward Hiro, making eye contact.
The defacto leader of the Three-Fold Alliance gave him a small nod, face revealing nothing of his internal thoughts. His crystalline eyes, however, sparkled and Tilly realized that the lapin was amused at the prospect of Tilly hurtling through the air attached to a rock by a magic string.
That realization, plus Shuji’s huge grin of encouragement, elicited a warm chuckle from Tilly in response. He mentally shot a quick request to Kindle as the magic sealed around him, and Erash began waving her staff over herself, activating a ready version of the same spell. Thankfully, Kindle complied without complaint and burrowed into the back of his jacket collar as the spell around his torso became palpable.
She sent him an image of a chick in a warm nest, and then as if it had been included in the conversation the whole time, his armor shifted. The thick leather lining his back and shoulders loosened slightly, creating a warm, hump-back-looking compartment for the phoenix, just outside of the bounds of the spell. Once he realized how stupid he probably looked his chuckle returned with force, as a fool’s nervous grime plastered itself on his face.
Then, in between exhalations, his chuckle was cut off as he felt his torso lock in place, suddenly unable to move. He shifted uncomfortably, not in any pain, but not liking the restraining nature of the enchantment.
“Great One, we are ready to serve. Take us where you will!” Erash announced, tilting her eyes down to her feet in a servile manner. Tilly tried not to scowl at her obvious performance. That paired with her almost cold attitude toward him was starting to get under his skin.
“Finally!” The dragon all but yelled, taking a leaping step forward, and snatching the boulder, which sat like a ping pong ball in its huge claws. Then with a strong beating of his wings and a powerful push upward from his legs, the dragon shot off into the air. Tilly was barely able to register any of this as he was suddenly jerked up and backward at an incredible speed, his torso pulling hard enough to maintain its relative position to the enchanted rock.
The movement knocked the breath out of Tilly and if it wasn’t for his extraordinary Endurance, he probably would have sustained several injuries from whiplash. The ground rapidly fell away beneath them and Tilly had to fight off the urge to puke at the unexpected movement paired with the downward Gs pressing on his body. He squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to reposition his extremities so that they were tensing at the right times to sink with the dragon’s wing beats.
When he finally had the hang of it, Tilly opened his eyes and turned to glare at Erash, who seemed to be sitting comfortably in an invisible armchair of some sort. The scene was made even more bizarre by the blurring of the landscape that slowly became a vague smudge as they ascended into the clouds.
The noise of the wind was almost defining, and instead of making a fool of himself trying to say something, he tried to shove as much of his frustration and disapproval into his stare as possible, glaring daggers at the fey. After a moment, she seemed to feel his gaze and turned away from watching the dragon. She winced at his expression and moved her mouth wordlessly. A slight thrum preceded a pop and the sound of the wind suddenly died.
Her servile expression was gone, replaced by one of slight concern and chagrin. In the face of such a dramatic change, Tilly felt the lines of his face slacken.
“I’m sorry for that…ah, Tilly… It was Shuji’s idea to display some animosity between us before the dragon. Our prevailing worry was that a united front would weaken our chance to obtain a working agreement. However, if we appeared fractured and ambitious, perhaps the dragon would be quicker to agree to a plan motivated by things it could more readily understand.” Her explanation issued forth in a rush, and Tilly could almost feel her desire to be understood.
A mix of feelings met her words; a brief ping of frustration at once again being thrown into one of Shuji’s schemes without warning, and a sudden hollowness at the abruptness of his departure. But none of these were as prominent as the warmth he felt at hearing her use his preferred name.
Then her words registered more deeply, and he shot a concerned look at the dragon flying thirty feet in front of them, “Should you-”
“Worry not,” She said, catching his look, “this is a simple wind-dampening charm, and it will do nothing to help his hearing. I am confident that we will be able to converse temporarily without tipping him off.”
“Why only temporarily?”
“I know not when he will slow or stop, so I fear we must keep this brief. Thank you for your kindness yesterday… It meant a lot to me. The last weeks have not been easy as certain revelations have been made available to me, and I am afraid I have not been the kindest of companions.”
Tilly slowly nodded, “Kind or not, a lot of people are depending on us. It's going to take more than that to distract me from our mission. Now how are you going to stay hidden during the raids? I have a plan for healing and hope to avoid needing your intervention until we confront your father.
Erash blinked slowly a few times, clearly having trouble processing how quickly Tilly let the matter drop. Then as if coming to her senses, she caught up with his question, “Oh, well as to that,” she said, lifting her offhand before them, “You have yet to see the true specialty of my people. I am tied to the elements more than most, but that has not weakened my ability to weave a glamour in the slightest,” then she snapped her fingers and disappeared completely.
Tilly blinked owlishly and lifted his hand hesitantly to wave through the air where she had just been sitting. The jerking rock of the dragon’s ascension began to ease as his hand passed through empty space. However, the howling wind had not returned, “Are you still there?” He asked, whispering for some reason.
“Yes Tilly,” she answered from nearby, her voice taking on a somewhat disembodied quality, “But to maintain two spatial enchantments, and keep myself hidden will take much of my concentration, and if I am not careful, I will use up all of my mana before we arrive. Take this,” she said, and out of nowhere a small twig with a single bud floated over to him.
“It will attach itself to your armor wherever you press it. Snap it if you need me to break the enchantment without revealing my presence. I will be monitoring you from a distance from now on and will only intercede to save your life. For anything short of that, I will limit myself to observation until we encounter my father… Good luck, Tilly,” she finished, her words trailing off as if there was more she wanted to say, but did not know how to say it.
“Hey Erash, I’m glad you’re here… and between you and me, we are going to kick some Corrupt fey ass.” he finished with a fierce smile, as their ascent slowed further, and the sound of the wind returned. Tilly thought he barely caught a girlish-sounding giggle before the howling built back to its full roaring. He turned back toward the dragon and watched as the creature’s flight leveled off above the clouds.
The air was much colder up here, and unconsciously Tilly manifested flames on his body to ward off the chill. They flickered in the wind but continued burning undaunted in a micro version of Flames Wrath. He peeked up at his mana bar one he noticed and found that it was barely being drained by the smaller version of the Ability. Kindle was happily absorbing much of what he was putting off his back, leaving it prickly with cold.
Tilly didn’t begrudge her the snack though, figuring he would be cutting off the technique soon enough. The council had estimated flight time to the first Faction at between 3 and 5 sticks, so he had time to let his stores build back up, even after some use. And he always had his emergency Wisdom booster item if he needed it. He wanted to save it for a true emergency because he had no idea how long it would take to reform as a Legendary Quality item. But he wouldn’t hesitate if it meant saving his life or accomplishing one of their main objectives.
Brokenridge’s angled ascent slowed to a complete stop and he hovered there, flapping his great wings in a steady cadence. This high up, Tilly thought he could detect a slight curve in the horizon… For some reason, Tilly had always pictured Nephesh as flat… but now-”
“You are truly blessed this day.” The dragon spoke, his voice carrying easily to Tilly’s position, “For you will witness what few on this plane have; A dragon entering true flight.” Tilly could almost hear the emphasis on those last two words but the dragon continued, sending forth mental images to Kindle along with his words, “Pay attention little one, for your kind are some of the few to share this Ability with our noble race.”
Kindle sent back the impression of a hawk’s piercing vision, and up ahead Brokenridged bobbed his serpentine head, “Good, we will be arriving in the midst of our first prey’s den soon, prepare yourself, chaff, I don’t want you dying before you collect what is mine.” He finished ominously.
Tilly was about to quip something back when Brokenridge’s body began to glow a purplish color, and his gut warned him to shut up and buckle down. The glow intensified, and Tilly, grabbed the back of his head and tucked it down, pulling his legs up into fetal position and wrapping his other arm around his knees, tensing as much as he was able.
Comments
Zachary Koffink
Warp Speed, Mr BrokenRidge!
Wyatt Hilbert
Thanks for the chapter
