chapter 22

I want to thank rouge for his proofreading support. I know this chapter is a bit late; it is hard to use a computer when your power goes out for several days.

without further ado chapter 22

Chapter 22 – Negotiations

I stared at the elf with my draconic eyes while carefully wording my response, “There is nothing you could offer in exchange for Therin.”

“Surely there must be something, everyone has a price,” lord Ataryo said with a grin on his face.

“I enjoy Therin’s company,” I replied with a toothy grin. “There is nothing that you could offer in exchange. Now, we could come to an agreement to make it look like he’s not a servant to solve your succession issue.”

“Wait a minute!” Therin interjected, “Don’t I get a say in this?”

“Sure,” Lord Ataryo replied, “if that is ok with your master.”

I nodded my head.

“I don’t want to run the business” Therin stated, “Netticë would be the better choice.”

“Yes, she would be the better choice but she is unable to inherit as you well know,” lord Ataryo replied sharply.

“Calm down both of you!” I growled causing both of them to freeze. “You are both family, act like it.” They both stood glaring at each other, after a minute I said, “Now, if you both can act like adults, we might be able to work something out that is beneficial to all.”

“Yes, Fafnir.” Therin mockingly replied.

“At least there is one person in this room can speak reasonably,” lord Ataryo snidely remarked.

“Yes, Lord Ataryo,  and I am the only one it seems.” I retorted looking up at the elves.

“This is getting nowhere fast,” Therin scoffed while leaning back in his chair.

I stared at Therin with displease evident on my scaly face. “Now then,” I said, “how about we resolve this in a way that does not involve me destroying a good portion of this house.”

“Fine,” Therin replied.

“Yes, let’s get back to business” lord Ataryo replied after taking a deep breath. “We were talking about an agreement where we make it look like he is not your servant.”

“Yes,” I replied settling back into the chair, “I can make it look like he has taken a liking to me instead of being enslaved. This would make it so that Therin could inherit in case of your untimely demise.”

“What do you want in exchange?” he inquired, intrigued at the suggestion.

“There are several things,” I replied, “first, you are to find a way to run this place where Therin is the figurehead but is run by others. I will also require your help with a few tasks that I need accomplished. The last thing that you provide staff to help maintain the deception.”

“What kind of staff?” Therin asked.

“The kind of staff that would be expected of an elf that was the heir to a wealthy family,” I replied.

“Just great, I went from bond servant to heir in less than half an hour,” Therin spat. “Most people would be happy. Why does it feel like I’ve been thrown to the wolves?”

“Think of the larger context,” I said to the elf, “not only are the heir of your family, you won’t have to do anything. Your sister will manage it from the background until either you have an heir to pass it on to or until you find a  suck… I mean brother to take your place.”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” lord Ataryo replied with a rather strained smile.         

“It still sounds like too much work.” Therin replied.

“Think of the free time you will gain…” I said, “Think of all the adventures we could have…”

“I will need to think about it,” Therin huffed.

“I trust you will come to the right decision,” I replied with a toothy grin.

“Lord Ataryo. I have told you what I need,” I said, “you can handle most of the details and I will inform you of the resources I require within a few weeks after I take care of a few things. Any objections?”

“Couldn’t you be a bit more specific about your requirements?” he asked a bit vexed.

“No, I don’t want to give away too many surprises,” I replied with a smile.

“Not even a hint?” he probed.

“Construction.” I replied bluntly.

“Of what?” he asked.

“I will give details at a later time when I have determined the full extent of the project,” I chided.

“I understand, I guess you will fill me in on the requirements as the project unfolds,” he replied.

“As long as Therin agrees to be the heir, then yes,” I said.

“It seems that we have come to an agreement, would you care to stay for lunch to deepen our relationship?” He asked.

I thought for a moment wondering if I should accept. “Sure I will join you.” I replied before looking at Therin, “Do you wish to join us?” I asked the fuming elf.

“Unfortunately, I have other matters I need to attend to, so I must decline,” he replied venom evident in his voice.

“I will meet you at the house, later.” I replied.

Therin quickly stood up and left. I jumped off the chair and spread my wings a glided through the room towards the door.

“How about I get a servant to take you to the dining room?” lord Ataryo said watching how close my wing was to knocking something off the shelfs.

“It’s fine,” I assured him while pulling my wings in a bit to avoid hitting the door frame “I am really good at flying.”

We made our way down a rather well decorated hall. There were portraits of various elves which I could only assume were family members. We made traversed a few more hallways and arrived at a rather large room with a large table in the center.

I glided through the room and landed on one of the chairs. Lord Ataryo took a seat right across from me. I settled down on the wooden chair and waited for the food.

“Would you like some denarith?” He asked as a bottle was handed to him by a servant.

“What is denarith?” I asked intrigued.

“It is a traditional dark Elven drink; it is a favorite of mine.” He said as he poured himself a glass

I thought to myself a bit wondering if I should have some. “Sure I will try some,” I replied.

Lord Ataryo beckons a servant to bring a bowl. He poured some of the drink into the bowl and placed it before me. I sniffed the bowl and it smelled kind of good so I wrapped my tail around the bottom of the bowl and took a drink. It tasted sweet and smooth, and it tickled the back of my throat. I quickly finish the rest of the bowl. He looked at me for a second and poured some more of the drink in the bowl.

“See how delicious it is,” he confidently replied, “and this bottle is a very old vintage, it was distilled over 50 years ago and it has been aging ever since.”

As I finished the second bowl, I finally realized that what he meant when he said drink. “This has alcohol in it?” I asked fearing the answer.

“I don’t understand what you mean by alcohol,” he replied a bit confused, “unless you are referring to a fermented beverage, then yes it is.”

“Well crap,” I thought to myself feeling a little warm, “nothing I can do about it now.”  After a few minutes passed several servants brought in two plates and placed one in front of each of us. It was delicious, and I quickly ate the main course. After I had eaten my fill, I curled up on the chair and before I realised it, I had fallen asleep.  

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as always both me and rouge are mostly human let us know if we missed anything. and let me know what you think in the comments.

Chapter 20

Family matters

Fafnir’s POV ——————————————–

“Who was at the door?” I asked, as the elf returned.

“Someone who I would rather not deal with at the moment,” The elf replied sitting back in his seat.

“An ex-wife?” I asked. I heard Atheros choke a bit while he was eating.

“No.” the elf quickly replied, “My sister.”

“Ah, family matters.” I replied, thinking how this might impact my servant’s work.  “Anything I should be aware of?”

“Possibly,” he replied. “If she came to see me then something big must have happened. She is currently in my den, waiting.“

“This is something I have been meaning to ask. I knew you were captain of the guards, but you never told me about your family.” Atheros asked, with his mouth full.

“He is of common birth.” I replied

“Well that is half true,” the elf replied, “while my father is of common birth, my mother is the daughter of an elven lord.”

“Then you are not a commoner?” I asked a bit surprised.  

“I am considered of common birth due to my father.” He replied, “It is an elf thing.”

“Pure Breed or go home?” I asked, finishing the stew.

“What is a pure breed and what does that have to do with going home?” Therin asked confused.

“If you are not of a purely noble birth then you aren’t one at all” I replied. “It is a draconic expression.”

“Something like that…” he replied, a confused look still plastered on his face.

“Well, I would guess it would be rude to keep your sister waiting.” I said standing up.

“It’s fine,” Therin replied, pouring himself another bowl of stew. “She came unannounced, so she can wait.”

I just rolled my eyes as I glided off the table. I walked towards the den to see what this sister of his was like. I poked my head in the door and saw her sitting in a chair reading a book. Her eyes were the same blood red as Therin’s, though her hair was white as snow. Her skin was black as tar and she had on a slim black dress. I flicked my tongue tasting the air, it had a strange sour smell like something had gone rotten. I walked through the doorway and perched myself on one of the chairs, closing my eyes and hoping to nap a bit while I waited for Therin.

“Ah, I didn’t know Therin got a pet.” She said as I heard her put her book down. She then got up from her chair.

“A dragon no less.” She said as she walked towards me.

I opened one of my draconic eyes and met her gaze.

“Are you a good little dragon?” she said squatting down to my eye level.

“If you continue to talk to me like a dumb animal, I will remove your tongue.” I said calmly.

“Huh, a variant dragon?” She said looking at me more closely.

“Wrong, Snack.” I replied lifting my head up.

“Well, you’re not a very nice dragon.” She replied, as she stood back up.

Irritated at the elf, I used a bit of magic as she walked back to her seat and caused her shoes to stick to the floor, making her fall flat on her face.

I heard laughter coming from the hallway; I looked to see Therin bent over.

“I knew something would happen if you came in here !” He choked out between laughs.

“What is the meaning of this brother?” She spat out while she stood back up.

“An object lesson in prudence,” he replied finally containing himself, “though you got off lightly compared to others.”

“What do you mean, and what is this thing ?” She accused, pointing at me

“I will not be referred to as a thing !” I interjected, “My name is Fafnir. Use it.”

The elf jumped back a bit at my words. I watched her take a deep breath before she said, “I’m sorry Fafnir, and I meant no disrespect.”

“You are forgiven; just don’t make the same mistake twice.” I said as laid my head back down.

“So, now that you have had your laugh, can I have my shoes back?” She asked.

“You will be able to retrieve them after the conversation.” I replied enjoying the soft chair.

“Ok, now could we please get down to business?” She asked coldly, as she sat back down in her seat, her shoes left attached to the floor.

“I guess I cannot be avoided, though there are some things we will need to talk about.” Therin replied taking one of the remaining chairs. “First I need to introduce you to Fafnir, the dragon that I am indentured to for the next several years. Fafnir this is Netticë.”               

“What do you mean you’re indentured to?” Netticë asked I could hear the edge in her voice.

“In exchange for breaking the slave ritual that I was forced into after I was captured; I will serve Fafnir for a total of five years.” Therin stated bluntly.

“The dragon can break a slave ritual?” She asked surprised.

“Yes he can.” Therin replied.

“Well this complicates things.” She said staring at me, “Our elder brother lost his arm while raiding a human village.”

“Well, that is unfortunate.” Therin replied.

“So what if he lost his arm.” I said, “What does that mean for Therin ?”

“It means, my draconic friend, that I will inherit the family business and the estate.” Therin stated.

“Why?” I asked, “It is not like he’s dead.”

“He’s now a cripple, which makes him worthless in the eyes of other elves.” Netticë replied.

“Well that’s harsh,” I said a bit surprised, thinking a bit, “if being crippled makes one weak, what does being capture do to your reputation ?”

I heard Therin sigh, “It only really matters if you are rescued.” He responded, “Though as far as the elves are concerned, I tricked you into letting me escape.”

“Right…” I replied skeptically. “I am guessing now that you are indentured to me you are also disqualified?”

“It is only an issue if my father dies while I am indentured.” Therin said dismissing the issue, “After the five years are up there is no problem.”

“Ok.” I replied, “I feel like there is more to it than that, do you care to explain?”

“Therin and our parents did not leave on the best of terms.” Netticë relied.

“Ha,” Therin laughed, “he disowned me in all but name.”

“And there lies the problem.” She said giving Therin a look.

“Can’t they just have more children and pass Therin in the inheritance?” I asked, not seeing the issue.

“It would be rather… difficult for father to do that.” Netticë replied.

“Why…?” I asked

“Our father is not as virile as he once was.” Netticë answered.

I watched Therin roll his eyes as he said, “His SWORD was damaged in an accident almost a decade ago. He can’t sire anymore now.”

“Well then instead of being coy about it you should have just said so.” I replied irritated, “Hold on a second, why can’t you just heal your brother with magic ?”

“There is no healing magic strong enough to replace a missing limb.” Therin replied.

“So what are you going to do, Therin ?” I asked looking at the elf.

“Nothing,” he replied. “I have no reason to reconcile with my parents.”

“Don’t be like that brother.” Netticë replied, “At least stop by the estate.”

“Fine,” Therin replied leaning back in his chair. “I will stop by and see them before I head back out of the city.”

“I will let mother know that you will be dropping by in the next few day.” She said standing up. She walked to her shoe before looking at me. “May I have my shoes now, Fafnir?”

“Sure,” I replied sending a bit of magic to free the shoes. She retrieved her shoes and left.

“Fafnir how long are we staying in the area?” Therin asked after several minutes.

“Well it depends,” I replied, “now that I have found what I am looking for I need to make some plans.”

“Ok. Now that I have proven that I am alive could you tell me what you are planning?” he asked.

“I guess,” I replied after thinking for a bit, “I am planning to create a lair where I can sleep for a while.”

“I have seen you sleep just about anywhere, why do you need a lair?”

I sighed a bit, “I am still a baby dragon, I need time to grow up a bit more and the only place I can do that is in a lair that I create.”

“I could turn my training room into a lair for you.” he replied.

“No, it is not the same. I just need to make a lair and I found the perfect spot a bit to the south.”

“The Iarwaeth Mountain; why would you want to make a lair there ?” he asked.

“It is a perfect spot, a high peak where you have to fly to reach and it is on the border of two countries, which means that neither country can attack me without provoking the other !”

“What are you going to do with the other… wyverns was it ?” He asked intrigued.

“Well I did not see any when I flew by…” I replied, thinking a bit I said, “well no matter, they will either leave me alone… or die.”

Chapter 1

here is the rework of the first chapter... So nice... I wish to thank rouge for his proofreading support

– The Summoning.

 

Deep within in the basement of the Royal Castle.

“My king, the summoning preparations are almost complete.” A blue robed man stated.

“Good,” the king said, “I want you to have Thantos come and see me before the ritual.”

“Yes, my king.” He replied before he dismissed himself.

The king looked over the different magi that were preparing for the long ritual. Magi scurried grabbing various items that were necessary for the ritual. Other were setting  various objects in some form of pattern. “To think that the rumor was true,” the king said to himself,  “we were lucky that news of this reached ears so quickly.” The king noticed  Thantos was approaching him.

“My king.” Thantos said while dropping down on to his knees, “You called for me?”

“Yes, I want to know how preparations are going.” The king asked.

“They are going well; the old scrolls are being copied and inscribed into the floor exactly like the last hero summoning ritual.” He replied still on one knee. “We have also gathered the rest of the materials, we are about to finish the last of the preparations.”

“Well then continue your work; I want the hero here to defeat the demon king as soon as possible, so we can dispose of it before it becomes a threat.”

“Yes my lord.” He said as he stood up to go look over the preparations for the summoning.

The king then leaned back and watched the preparations for summoning.

After a few days the preparations were completed and the day of summoning had dawned. Deep within the royal castle there were over 20 magi gathered. The summoning circle in the middle was inlaid in the floor. The outer part of the circle was made of silver runes. In the inner ring, symbols were all made of gold. In the center of the circle precious gems were inlaid into the stone floor.  The outermost ring of gems were finely cut pieces of lapis lazuli. The middle ring was made of perfectly cut rubies and sapphires which gleamed from the light in the room. In the exact center of the circle was a single large diamond the size of an egg that seemed to glow from within.

“Let us begin.” The king commanded to all the magi.

The magi gathered around the circle and started to chant, their low tones reverberating throughout the room. Thantos took his place at the northern end of the circle joined in. After ten minutes the chanting started to rise and the outer layer of runes rose from the floor  and started to spin. A few more minutes passed. The voices continued to rise as the second ring of symbols rose from the floor and started spinning in the opposite direction of the first. Everyone in the room could feel the mana gathering as a heavy weight pressing on their shoulders.  The diamond in the center of the circle grew brighter as the ritual continued. A few more minutes passed as the ring of lapis lazuli rose like the others and started to rotate. Small sparks started to appear around the circle.  The magi’s chanting started to crescendo as the ring of sapphires and rubies rose off the ground. Suddenly, one of the magi in the circle collapsed. A look of horror spread across faces of all present, but they continued for fear of the consequences if they stopped.  The magi thinking quickly poured more of their own mana into the circle to compensate for their downed friend. The ritual was progressing, but there was a growing tension and sense of dread at the thought of the potential consequences of continuing without their friend. Finally the diamond cradled in the center of the circle rose glowing even brighter as the power contained within the stone surged. The amount of mana in the air made it hard to breath yet the magi still chanted. The gathering started to crescendo. The entire circle collapsed into the diamond, and in a blinding flash of light, a loud boom shook the castle.

“Was the summoning a success?” The king asked as he tried to rub sight back into his eyes.

Regaining his sight, the king noticed in the cradle where the diamond once rested was now a large blue and white egg that glowed slightly. Staring at the egg, he noticed on the face of the egg was the crest of their goddess.

“What happened, where is the hero?” He shouted to the magi that were still standing.

The mage Thantos stood up and moved toward the king. “My king,” he stated as he shakily got down on one knee, “it seems with the sudden death of mage Hagair there was a problem with the ritual. Whatever is in that egg is our new hero.”

“Damn. What are we supposed to do with an egg ?” the king shouted. “How are we supposed to defeat the Demon king with an egg, give him poisoned scrambled eggs?”

“While certainly an option, my king, I don’t think that is wise. That egg has the seal of the goddess.” Thantos replied to the king’s wrath. “I think we should immediately identify what sort of creature the goddess gifted us.”

The king walked out of the room and told a squire to fetch Atheros and bring him here at once. Walking back into the room the king surveyed the magi. They all were all haggard and in the corner he noticed 3 bodies in the corner of the room. The king sighed, he didn’t see when the other two died but their faces were desiccated. The king looked once again at the center of the circle were the mysterious egg laid with the symbol of their goddess emblazed on its surface. The king  walked back to his chair and lamented over how poorly this summoning turned out.

The king was still sitting in the summoning room when the door open. Walking through the door was, the head of the royal scouts, Atheros.

“My king,” he said as he kneeled, “you summoned me?”

“Yes Atheros, we have an issue, I need you to identify the egg over there.”

Turning towards where the king directed,  Atheros’ eyes widened. “My king, where did you obtain a dragon egg?” he asked confused.

“That’s a dragon egg?,” the king said to himself.

“Yes, what happened to its mother and what species was it?”  Atheros asked, “I am not familiar with this coloring.”

“What I am about to tell you is to be kept secret,” the king gravely spoke, “this egg appeared out of the hero summoning ritual.”

“My lord, how is that possible!” Atheros replied with awe in his voice.  

“We have not figured out was the cause. Though we suspect it was the death of Hagair that caused the failure.  My assignment for you is to guard and hatch this egg.” The king stated with a determined look on his face. “This might be a test from the goddess herself. Though I loathe relying on other races, I have no choice in the matter.”

Atheros bowed to the king and left the room  to make preparations for the hatching of a dragon.

Atheros, taking charge of the matter, quickly sent requests to various well know beast breeders and trainers to come and aid him with this special project. Atheros moved the dragon egg and placed it in a large chamber in the lower levels of the castle.  

Several weeks after the egg arrived, Atheros walked into the creche where various breeders were arguing as to why the lights in the room kept going out.

“There were plenty of magi in the castle and they kept the light crystals charged, it seemed that the ones in the crèche were always forgotten.” one of the breeders complained.

“They always come when we ask. So quit your whining.” another said.

The lights in the room dimmed causing all present to fall silent, everyone instantly stared at the egg that had started to stir.

 Looking at one another Atheros said “You don’t think that the egg is causing the lights to dim?”

“I havn’t hurd any dragon do that.” One of the breeders said.

“Well should we put more light crystals in here or less?” Atheros asked.

“How about we call one of dem magi in here and ask them?” Another breeder stated.  

“Sounds like a good idea.” Atheros said and walked out of the room. The other breeders just look at each other as the lights in the room continued to darken.  

About a half an hour later Thantos walked in with Atheros. “So, could out see if the dragon egg is sucking the mana out of the light crystals?”

Thantos started to stare at the dragon egg. After a few minutes he spoke “Yes the egg is absorbing the mana from the crystals. Though what it does with it, I know not.”

“Should we put more mana crystals in the room for it to absorb or take them out?” Atheros asked.

Thantos stroking his gray beard thought to himself. After a few more minutes passed he said, “I truly don’t know, though if it drains mana it must need it for something, so I think it might be a benefit to have more crystals in here.”

“Well then i will have more place.” Atheros replied.

Months passed while watching over the egg.

One day atheros walked in on a maid holding a hammer over the egg. Atheros watched in horror as the maid brought the heavy hammer down.  He screamed “Stop!” as the hammer hit the egg, a clear note rang throughout the room like a bell. Atheros, running, tried to slam into the girl, but he could not reach before the girl hit the egg again causing another note to ring through the room. Atheros slammed into the girl and quickly brought her down.

The guards hearing the loud noise rushed into the room. “Guards, this girl tried to smash the egg, take her to the dungeon!”  Atheros commanded. After the guards took the girl he inspected the egg and was relieved to find that there was not a scratch on the glowing shell. Thanking the goddess for the shell’s resilience he left the crèche and headed towards the dungeon to integrate the maid.

After, almost a half a year has passed since the summoning. As Atheros walked into the room he noticed that the egg was glowing brighter than normal. Opening the door Atheros said to the guards, which were posted due to the incident about two months ago where a group of demon slaves tried to smash the egg, “I need you to retrieve Thantos and the other beast breeders and bring them here.” One of the guards nodding quickly ran down the hall deeper into the castle.

After a few minutes everyone was gathered in the creche, staring at the glowing egg when Thantos asked, “What does this mean?”

One of the beast breeders spoke up, “Maybe it is starting to hatch?”

 

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chapter 21

—–Fafnir’s POV—————–

“I know there are probably good reasons, but why did you have to set up residence as far from your parents as possible?” I asked Therin while perched on his shoulder.

“So I had less of a chance of running into them.” The elf replied.

We made our way toward the north gate where his parents’ estate resides. The houses in the northern were impressive, huge compounds surrounded by walls with intricate designs of various beasts carved into the faces. The guards of the different estates eyed us with weapons ready as we walked past.  

“What do your parents do anyway ?” I asked as we neared the north wall.

“They are alchemists ,” he replied, “though what they produce is not always beneficial.”

“What do you mean by not beneficial ?” I asked intrigued.

“They do produce potions and materials that are necessary in rituals primarily,” he said turning down a side street, “though a good chunk of the business are the poisons that they produce.”  

“Why poisons?” I asked confused, “They can’t be that effective considering healing magic.”

“Yes, most poisons are useless,” he replied, “but these are magic poisons. These can cause your magic to go out of control, or cause thousands of ants to pour from your mouth.”

“Well…” I replied dumbfounded, “Are they even poisons at that point ?”

“Yes, and there are less pleasant ones, not the best way to see the gods but certainly effective.” He said as we approached the gates of a large manor. The walls surrounding the manor were not decorated, they were just jet black. We approached the front gate where two guards barred our way.

“Do I look like I need an appointment?” Therin replied sharply.

“All visitors need an appointment.” One of the guards replied placing his hand on his sword.

“I don’t have time for this,” I thought to myself. “You have one minute to let us pass or you will face the wrath of a true dragon.” I said menacingly.

“Look the dragon can talk,” The other guard said, “that is impressive, but not impressive enough to let you pass without an appointment.”

I took a deep breath before I started to weave a complex spell. A few seconds pass and neither guard moves, starring at both of them I release the spell. The ground around the two guards surge upward encasing the lower half of their body in solid stone.

The guard struggle in vain to extract themselves from the rock as we pass them opening the gates our self.

“That was impressive.” Therin said, “I never would have guessed you would show that much restraint.”

“Let’s get this meeting over with,” I growled “we have better things to do then talk to people who are not prepared to receive us.”

As we enter the courtyard I could see various gardens filled with strange plants.  We got closer to the main house made of the same black stone though there were engravings of various plants inlaid with gold on it. A servant rushed out of the main house towards us.

“Lord Therin, I am sorry, we did not expect you so soon.” the servant replied, “I have been assigned to make you comfortable in master’s study.”            

“I know the layout of the house.” Therin replied, “I want you to have father meet us sooner rather than later as I have a dragon who is not in the best of moods.”

“Yes lord Therin,” he quickly rushed back into the main house.

We made our way into the house and navigating, we arrived at a plain door. Therin opened the door to a rather nicely decorated room. The room contained a desk filled with different papers  and a few ottomans. In the center, the walls were pure black except for one corner where there was an odd symbol on the wall.

“Fancy, what is that symbol on the wall?” I asked.

“That is the symbol of the dark god Mortem,” Therin replied. “a fitting patron considering this family. ”

I jumped off Therin and glided to one of the chairs. I curled up on the soft chair while Therin sai in the other.

“How long do you think it will be before your father shows up?” I asked enjoying the comfortable seat.  

“I would expect that he will be here soon.” Therin replied.

After a few minutes there was a knock on the door as a servant walked in barring a tray filled with various fruits.

“Lord Ataryo will be with you soon, he is finishing with another guest.” The servant said as he placed the tray on the small table in front of us.

I looked at the various odd colored fruits arrayed on the tray, wondering if I could even eat fruits. I stood up from the chair and with my long neck I carefully picked a strange apple like thing from the tray. I grasped it with my fore claws and bit into the reddish green exterior, a bitter taste flooded my mouth as I started to chew.

“You are too trusting.” Therin said watching me. “It has barely been half an hour and you have forgotten that my family deals in poisons.”  

I stopped chewing as I looked at him, thinking for a bit I draw on my draconic breath and let it flood my mouth liquefying its contents. I swallowed the mouthful before saying, “You really think they would try to poison you when you are so important.”

“I never said my parents would do that but there are others would be glad to see me removed.” He said frankly.

“Well let’s hope my breath will neutralize any poisons” I replied tossing the rest of the fruit back onto the tray.

After about half an hour the door was opened to a rather well dressed man. He was 6 feet tall with white hair and violet eyes and a strong jaw. He was calm and collected as he walked into the room.

“Father,” Therin spat as the man walked into the room, “it has been many years.”

“Yes it has been a long time.” He replied sitting down in the remaining chair. “This must be your new pet that Netticë mentioned.”

“I am no one’s pet.” I replied keeping my anger in check.

“It can talk?” Ataryo said with a look surprise.

“Wow,” Therin interjected, “it seems that Your daughter is not as kind as you imagined, or she would have correctly filled you in.”

“What do you mean?” he asked a bit confused.

“Well before my master kills my family, I believe there should be some introductions.” Therin replied. “This is Fafnir, summoned hero of the humans; terror of all who mistakes him for a wyvern. He is my master for the next five years in exchange for freeing me from the slave ritual that was cast on me after I was captured.”

“A summoned hero for the humans…” Ataryo interrupted, “he doesn’t look human to me.”

“There were issues I was told.” Therin replied, “Fafnir, this is my father; lord Ataryo.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said standing up on the chair.

“Nice to meet you as well.” he replied, I could tell he was skeptical.

“How about we get to business,” lord Ataryo said clasping his hands together. “Lord Fafnir, what would It take to buy my son’s contract from you?”

I stared at the elf for a minute before responding, “There is nothing you could offer me in exchange for Therin.”

“Surely there must be something, everyone has a price.” He said with a grin on his face.

 

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