The Dragon Queen of Thelvadore

“Good. Any more questions? If I can answer them, I will.”

The two men exchanged a glance, then both turned back to me.

“I think neither of us has anything more to ask in regards to this taint. There is something else, however,” the director began. Taking a deep breath, he continued, forcing himself to meet my gaze. “You said earlier that you were planning to sign up as an adventurer, correct?”

I gave him a nod in reply.

“Good. I can’t offer to sign you up here, as our branch lacks the magical infrastructure for it. But I can give you a letter of introduction, and prepare some of the paper work for you. In return, I would like to ask you to give the same summary you just gave me, to the director of the branch in Vastell. That was where you were headed, yes?”

“Indeed.” I nodded again, a gesture he reciprocated.

“Good. She would want to know about it. This seems like the sort of threat that we need to take seriously. Especially given the attack that Mister Shiltain and his people had to endure in the first place. Something about it smells.”

The comment reminded me of something, and I silently cursed myself for not bringing it up sooner. “Now that you mention it, I may have more of interest for you, although I doubt you’d want to hear it.”

The resigned smile I received was all the reply I needed.

“The reason I even met Lady Cecily and Lady Lucy in the first place, was that they were fleeing from a pack of… I believe they are called Grunloks? I’m not certain. That said, these weren’t your garden variety beasts. From what I could gather, and from what my two companions told me, it appeared that they were also laced with the void; their mere presence enough to suppress magic. I, sadly, wasn’t paying enough attention at the time, so I can’t comment on the voracity of the claims, but I wouldn’t think either of the two have any reason to lie to me about it. Furthermore, while I dealt with that particular pack, Lady Cecily also told me that there apparently were more sightings of beasts like this all across the continent for quite a while now. Correct?”

The director nodded, leaning back in his seat and scratching his chin thoughtfully. “If you mean beasts that don’t act the way they’re supposed to and make it hard for any mages, then yes. As far as I’m aware, nobody really knows what they are or where they come from.”

“This is simply a hypothesis, and one with very little ground to stand on so far, based on second and third hand accounts. But given the recent attack on Mister Shiltain’s convoy, and the aftermath of it, I have a theory. I believe them to be void touched monsters. Beasts that came into contact with some contamination, yet still hail from this plane.” My expression turned serious. “It would explain a lot of the oddities I’ve been told so far. Such as the strange magic suppression, the strange behaviour, or why the group that attacked the convoy contained humanoids capable of speaking–if only a language nobody knows.”

“What exactly do you mean?” The director asked, tone and expression obviously unhappy.

“It is just conjecture so far, but from all I know about the void, it has the tendency to… corrupt, for the lack of a better word. Technically, corruption isn’t exactly correct, and misleading, but that only holds true if observed from a truly neutral and disconnected perspective. It changes things. Reshapes them. The void is antithetical to magic and to existence, a complete reversal of everything. Unsurprisingly, that will have drastic consequences, when brought into contact with reality as a whole. Those who dabble too deeply in it, who immerse themselves in it, they go mad, even if they survive. And it’s also true that void magick has magic suppressive capabilities.”

“Then what about the humanoids?” Mister Shiltain chimed in.

“That has more of a personal reason, one I’m unsure if I should elaborate on yet. Safe to say, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen such an occurrence.”

See might be a bit of a stretch, but it was true that I had some idea on why exactly there were people within that group.

“What would that mean for us?”

It was nice to see the director focusing on the important aspects. The man was obviously competent in his job, even if I was still a bit curious about his reaction to me earlier.

“For now? Nothing. It is simply a theory so far. I’m sure the guild is already looking into it, trying to find some way to deal with it, but until we know more–far more–this theory won’t change anything in the grand scheme of things. That said, I believe it should at least be interrogated. And given that I will report to the branch in Vastell, I’m certain that they will send someone this way, given the proximity of the attack. So you’d hear about it sooner or later anyway.”

The man nodded. “Alright. I appreciate the concern and the insight. As for now, though, unless there are more questions, perhaps we should return to your request, Mister Shiltain.”

Both the director and I turned my attention to the merchant, who cleared his throat.

“Ah, yes. As I said previously, given the losses we have suffered among the guards, we would like to hire any additional help we can get.” I got the sense that his introductory statement was mostly meant for my benefit, given that the two had been in discussion before I joined them. “I am fully aware that you cannot send out word in any timely manner, although I was hoping to perhaps be able to hire any adventurer who will arrive in this village while we are still present. Considering the delay required for the treatment, it’s not like we can leave immediately anyway. My funds are limited, but I can pay some amount upfront, with the rest of the payment given upon arrival in the next large city with access to the banking system.”

Before I could even think about it, the director turned to me. The fear was still lingering in his gaze, some subdued thing at the back of his eyes, but professionalism had nearly entirely replaced it by this point. It made me revise my opinion of him once again. The man certainly knew how to prioritise. Professionalism like that was worth more than most would give it credit for.

“Right now the only adventurers in town would be My Lady’s companions. We had another group present, but they left earlier today. From what I know of the timing, it couldn’t have been long before you arrived here, Mister Shiltain. It basically leaves us hoping that some adventurers who travel along the road make a stop here.”

The merchant also turned to me, and I already knew what he was going to ask before he even finished the motion. I raised my hand, forestalling his words. “I can ask my companions, but I can’t and won’t decide this on my own. I don’t see them declining, but I also won’t promise anything I can’t guarantee either.”

He nodded, a tired sigh escaping him. “Of course. Thank you for at least considering it.”

That made me smile, and I waved it off. “History might remember me as a terrible evil, but I’m not such a monster to decline help where it is needed. I do have my own reasons to reach Vastell, so if you are fine with it being our next destination, then I don’t see a reason to not at least discuss it. From what I could tell, none of us, by which I mean my companions and I, are in a terrible rush.”

Mister Shiltain gave me a short glance, examining me, before he continued. “I must admit that I am not aware of whatever history may say about you, but from all my interactions with you so far, I couldn’t imagine it being anything but positive. Any help would be appreciated. Vastell wasn’t our intended goal when we set out, but given current circumstances, it is the logical next destination, if only to refresh our supplies and look for more guards. Three more adventurers isn't exactly a lot of additional protection, but we must work with what we have.”

From the corner of my eye I could see the director choking on some words, but he didn’t actually speak up. Perhaps that was where his fear stemmed from? He recognised me as a fellow draconic being, and a greater one at that. I did find it interesting that he didn’t comment about it, however.

Ignoring the Lesser Wyvern in human form, I gave the tired looking merchant a friendly smile. “I think, Mister Shiltain, you’ll be surprised how much difference a single group can make.”

It was clear from his eyes that he was a bit doubtful, but he at least had the good graces not to say it aloud. Not that I could fault him. Who in their right mind would even think about the possibility that they were talking to a dragon, after all?

“If that is all,” I continued, looking between the two men, “I should probably head out and talk to my companions to discuss this.”

The two nodded. The older looking man was the first to get up. “I must also return to my people. Director, I will need a moment to take inventory of the money we can put down as the initial payment for the quest. Once that is done I shall return here, so we can discuss the finer details, if that is acceptable.”

“Of course, Mister Shiltain,” the taller of the two men stood up, giving the merchant a sympathetic smile and holding out his hand for the other to shake. “I will await your return. May Hardrath smile fortune upon your dealings in the meantime.”

“And on yours, Sir Melron.” With those words the other man shook the director's hand, before turning to me. “I imagine we will talk again soon as well, Lady…?”

“de Thal. Vuthe de Thal,” I gave him a warm smile, also getting up and holding out my hand.

Next to us the director gasped for air, and I gave him a sideways glance. He definitely recognised that name, although he did his best to keep that from showing on his face. Trying and failing. At least Mister Shiltain didn’t seem to have realised.

“Lady de Thal.” The man in question nodded, then took my hand and pressed a soft kiss on its back.

Truly a gentleman, although I wasn’t quite sure how to react to that. I knew, from small fragments of memories poking at the back of my mind, that Vuthe was definitely used to this kind of treatment, but I certainly wasn’t. I wasn’t even certain what kind of social bracket I occupied in my previous life, although I was pretty sure it wasn’t one further to the top.

With a final nod, the merchant turned and left. I moved to follow, but the director cut me off.

“A moment, my Lady?” His body language, expression, and tone of voice made it very clear that he really didn’t want to actually talk to me in private, but his eyes held that note of professionalism that I had observed earlier. He didn’t like the idea, but he knew he had the responsibility to.

I smiled, perhaps a bit more predatory than required, once the door closed behind the man who had just left.

“Of course, little Wyrmling.” And with that I sat back down, watching him attentively.

The Lesser Wyvern in human form swallowed audibly, small beads of sweat running down his forehead.

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