Chapter Four Hundred and Forty-Three — Never Steal from a Dragon's Hoard
Chapter Four Hundred and Forty-Three — Never Steal from a Dragon's Hoard Cholondee was expecting us, I think. When we arrived in the rougher parts of town, and especially close to Cholondee's place, we found a bunch of grenoil hurriedly cleaning the buildings and streets.There was a serious and concentrated effort going on to sweep away dust and polish things up. To my eye, as a professional cleaner, their efforts wouldn't be enough to make the city like-new. This part of the city was rough-rough, and it needed more than a bit of cleaning to shine, but it was certainly helping.I kinda liked seeing it, actually. It was proof that Cholondee was actually trying to fix things up. If she really wanted to improve things, then diverting some funds towards renovations and maintenance would really improve the area by leaps and bounds.That would be nice. Cholondee being a good influence on Port Royal would be a positive development. The city was already a nice place, but it wasn't a perfect place for everyone. With some effort, that could maybe change.Or maybe the entire place would be burned down by an angry Rhawrexdee in a few hours? That was also entirely possible."What are you sighing about?" Amayllis asked."I'm worried that Rhawrexdee's going to be... very angry. I mean, he'd be right to be angry, but I'm worried that he'll burn the entire city down. Just breathe down fire on the whole thing. It's kind of apocalyptic, isn't it?"Amaryllis shook her head. "Don't be silly, Broccoli," she said.I perked up. "Oh?" I asked. Amaryllis was good at comforting sometimes, in her own rational way."Rhawrexdee is a blue dragon. He doesn't breathe fire. He'd rain down thunder and lightning and massive bolts of electric plasma. Though, I suppose that would eventually light the city on fire.""Oh," I said. That wasn't exactly the kind of comforting thing I was looking for.Amaryllis chuckled and bumped a shoulder against mine. "Don't worry yourself this much. You'll get ulcers. If buns can get ulcers.""I think we can," I said. "We have human-ish stomachs, right?" I glanced down at my chest and wondered. I'd gained ears and a tail. Did I gain anything else? Did buns have organs like appendixes? Were my insides as changed as my outsides? "Has someone invented X-rays yet?""What?" Amaryllis asked."Ah, nevermind."We'd made it to Chlondee's place in any case. The dragon herself was actually standing up on her hind legs in her yard, pointing some of her minions along with a large stick. They were carrying a big table which they set down, then Cholondee had them lift it up and move it a few steps to the right. Then back again.There were chairs too, and a basket full of supplies nearby that looked like stuff for a small party, tablecloths and cutlery. "Oh, she's taking tea time very seriously," I said."Let's hope we don't ruin her mood too much, then," Amaryllis muttered.I nodded along. The guards at the front of the compound saw us coming, but let us through without a fuss, which is about when Cholondee noticed us.The dragon's eyes narrowed, and she twisted her head up to track the sun. "Watch! What time is it?"One of the grenoil jumped, then fumbled out a pocket watch. "Twenty minutes to eleven, oh great punctual one!" he said."I am punctual," Cholondee agreed. "And also a dragon. Broccoli, Amaryllis, you're not punctual. Or dragons.""Hi!" I said. I tried to sound chipper, but my worries were weighing me down a little. "We're early because there's trouble. Big trouble.""You aren't cancelling, are you?" Cholondee asked. "I just bought this table and it cost me several gold pieces from my horde." She gestured a claw at the table, which was actually quite nice. All lacquered wood with a little pattern carved into the sides. The legs looked a bit dragon-y too."We're not," I said. "But we thought you should know. I went to Booksie's this morning. Someone broke into her shop.""A thief?" Cholondee asked. She spun her head around to look at the grenoil gangsters. "Who robbed Booksie? Didn't I tell you what would happen if you did that? I'd give you to my brother as a snack.""I don't think it was one of your people," I said quickly. There were two of your people there, guarding the front of the shop. They were doing their job. And I don't know if someone stole anything."Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original."Make more sense, then," Cholondee said. "Did someone rob from Booksie or not?"I shook my head. "I think someone robbed Booksie. She's missing. The door was broken, and sh-" I was cut off by a loud slam and cracking noise that made me jump.Cholondee's claw was through the table, and she was glaring hard at me. "Someone stole Booksie?""Maybe?" I said. "It looks that way."Chlondee looked down at the table, then glared at that too. "Someone bring this back. It's defective," she said. "Let them know that I'm a repeat customer, and also a dragon, and that I want a refund or a better table."I felt really bad for whichever poor carpenter had made the table."You haven't told my brother yet," Cholondee said. It wasn't a question. "That's smart. He would be very angry.""Yeah," I said. "We were worried about that. But I think he also deserves to know, even if it might be, ah, a little dangerous?"Cholondee hummed. "Yes. I'll tell him. I suppose this means tea is cancelled.""Not cancelled," I said, "Just postponed! We'll have tea, and bring Booksie with us too, once we find her! We just need to find her first."Cholondee whipped her head around to the nearest group of grenoil gangsters. "Search the city," she growled. "Every alley and every shop. Ask everyone if they've seen Booksie. I want every living soul in Port Royal to know that she's missing, and the consequences if she isn't found."The grenoil snapped to attention, then darted out to do as Cholondee asked."Our friend, Caprica, is asking the sylph embassy already," I said. "We should have their help soon. And I think we should ask the Exploration Guild too.""We're going to need to organise," Amaryllis said. "If this becomes a properly large search, we need to centralise our efforts to find her. Just sending people all over without a clue is only going to cause more chaos. If we organise, then we'll also have a lot more pull. We'll be able to close the city's gates and have everything that leaves the city inspected before it leaves.""Are you volunteering?" Cholondee asked.Amaryllis stood a little taller. "I suppose I am. You could find worse than me. I have some experience with organisational roles, and I'm familiar with your group, the sylph, and the Exploration Guild. Not to mention... Booksie's a friend."Cholondee nodded. "Very well then. I am not suited to paperwork, because I am a dragon. You do that part. Broccoli, have you told the Exploration Guild about Booksie yet? Can they help?""I think they can. There's a lot of people really good at finding stuff there. I'm sure they won't mind helping us find Booksie!"Cholondee nodded. "Go then. I'm going to go tell my brother. You lot, listen to Amaryllis. We will have tea later."Cholondee's wings rose, then came down with a hard beat that almost flung me off my feet. In moments, she was rising above us, wheeling around towards the upper parts of the mountain."Well, at least she's taking this seriously," Amaryllis said as she patted herself down. "Are you heading to the guild right away?""I guess I should," I said. I moved over to Amaryllis and gave her a quick hug. "Don't let all the power go to your head. I'll see you later!"Amaryllis snorted, then pushed me off. "Go! The quicker we move, the quicker we save Booksie."I nodded, then bounded out the front gate. The urgency of everything was pushing me to move faster and faster, until I bounced up and onto a rooftop. It was probably not legal to travel by roof-hopping, but it was much faster, and at the moment, speed trumped legality.The wind whooshed past my ears as I leapt from one rooftop to another, the rough tiles flashing beneath me, every footfall launching me forward with a pulse of spent stamina. The city's unique smell, of fresh mountain air and fresher sewage, filled my senses as I made my way towards the Exploration Guild.Once I was closer to Guild Row, I dropped down onto the street, then took off running on the sidewalk, charging towards the guild.I burst through the doors, making a few members jump, and it took me a moment to collect enough air to apologise."H-hi," I said to the receptionist. "I need... Mathilde... now.""She's in a meeting," the receptionist said. She was looking me up and down, and I imagined that I was a little dishevelled.I shook my head. "Doesn't matter. Emergency." I took a deep breath. "If we don't do something now, the city will be in big, big trouble!"
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Chapter Four Hundred and Forty-Four — Recall
Chapter Four Hundred and Forty-Four — Recall "Did you ever hear the story of the tadpole that called snake?" Mathilde asked as I stumbled into her big office. It was the nicer one on the ground floor of the Guild, and its use as a more impressive showroom showed. The furniture was richer, and the room much larger, with expansive plush seats facing a huge desk that was completely clear except for a tidy pile of papers on Mathilde's left."Um," I said. "I haven't, no," I admitted. "Is it anything like the boy who cried wolf?""Is the story about someone young and foolish who calls for help, only for it to be unneeded, and so they erode the trust of their elders?" Mathilde asked."Yup, that sounds about right.""Then yes, I suppose the stories are similar, if only in the lesson they try to teach. In any case, I don't drop everything for emergencies on a whim. At the moment, you're the tadpole calling snake, so to speak."I supposed that made sense. "Alright. Booksie was kidnapped, Cholondee and the sylph and the gangs of Port Royal know, and soon Rhawrexdee will know too, and we're mostly hoping that he doesn't, ah, thunderbolt the entire city."Mathilde blinked her big froggy eyes. "That does count as an emergency, yes," she said."Oh, good. I was hoping it would be enough," I said. "I wouldn't want to have a bad reputation.""Has the city guard been informed? An evacuation might be in order.""No, not yet. I think Cholondee plans on telling her brother in a, ah, calm way, maybe? So that he doesn't explode the city. I was hoping that the Exploration Guild could help us find Booksie. Chlondee's gangsters and the sylph embassy should be searching already."Mathilde tapped her fingers on her desk in a quick rhythm. "So, maybe we won't need to evacuate.""It would be nice if we could close down all the exits to the city," I said. "To make sure that the people that kidnapped Booksie don't get away with her.""A valid idea," Mathilde said. "It'll cost just about every last political favour I have to convince the guard to close down the exits, even temporarily.""I don't know if political favours will matter all that much if Rhawrexdee goes all dragon on the entire city," I pointed out."And if we happen to save the bride-to-be then the shared back-patting will more than recoup any losses," Mathilde said. "We'll have to lock down the port as well, check every ship that departed recently, and verify if anyone used the teleportation system at the Mages Guild. Very well, I'll start sending messages out. I imagine you wanted some assistance with the search as well?""That would be very nice," I said with a quick bob of the head. "I bet the guild has a lot of good searchers.""We do. But our best isn't here." Mathilde eyed me in a way that had my spine straightening. "What are you going to do now?""Now? Um. return to my friends, I guess? Maybe to the Beaver to tell the others there.""No," Mathilde said."No?""No. Instead, I want you fetching some assistance from outside of the city. The grenoil shepherding the latest batch of prospective members is one of my best trackers. With the speed in which things are developing, it might be worth it to cancel the training mission and get them back as soon as possible.""That's the group that left with Awen and Calamity?" I asked.She nodded. "Exactly them, yes. They left some... three hours ago? I imagine they're at their destination by now.""I can catch up," I said confidently. After all, they were moving as a big group. I'd be free to run after them. I was pretty sure that I could sprint fast enough to catch a group that was probably either walking or travelling by cart.Mathilde opened a drawer on her desk, then plucked a pen from a small holder. She wrote something quickly onto a fresh page, then pulled out a form that she filled with an expert flourish, as if she'd done it a million times."This is your guild quest," she said, handing me the form. I scanned it, and it basically said that I was charged with catching up to a grenoil called Sir jean-Pierre Tissue and relay his new orders: drop everything and immediately begin searching for Booksie. The team of new explorers were to be conscripted as his assistants. "And this is what you'll need to catch up," Mathilde added as she gave me another paper.It was a writ from the guild, saying that Mathild herself would cover the costs of one teleportation on her own tab. The back of the paper was a letter to someone called Mage Procko. It outlined what I'd told Mathilde, but in a sort of semi-officious tone. Mathilde Mariejoy was scrawled at the bottom of the better in barely legible cursive.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences."Teleportation?" I asked."The exploration team was sent down the mountain to a small outpost. Their actual mission for the day is to explore a well-known and relatively safe dungeon that's been acting up. The dungeon and outpost aren't too far. Three days by cart, maybe half a day's distance for anyone with the right traversal skills, but it was still too far for a day trip, and there's a teleportation system in place to the outpost already.""Oh," I said. I nodded. So Awen and Calamity got teleported along with the rest of the new recruits. That was... actually, a really cool way for the guild to show off, which was probably also part of the deal. "Will the mage be able to bring me close?""Very," she said. "He can be trusted. We're old drinking buddies.""I don't have all of my exploration gear," I said."Then consider it a test of how you handle yourself without," Mathilde said. "Time is pressing.""Right!" I agreed. "Right-right! I'm off then. Thanks Mathilde!""That's Guild Master Mariejoy to you," she said as I darted out of the room. I was sure she'd get things moving while I wasn't here. My job was to get that tracker back. I was actually pretty happy to have it, because sitting around not doing anything while I worried over Booksie would have driven me spare.The Mage's Guild building was just down Guild row.The stone structure was covered in arcane symbols and the doorway was framed by two glowing orbs that glowed a soft blue light. I rushed towards the entrance, past mages of various ages and normal people going about their business.I'd been here once before, but it was a long, long time ago, and I'd mostly forgotten how colossal and magical the guild's interior was. "Can I help you?" a young grenoil mage with silver spectacles that seemed a tad too large for his face inquired from behind a polished counter."I'm here to see Mage Procko," I replied, handing over the writ from Mathilde. "Guild Master Mariejoy sent me. It's kinda urgent"The young mage's eyes widened slightly as he read the writ, then he gave a curt nod. "Follow me," he murmured, leading me through a maze of narrow corridors. The walls were lined with bookshelves, filled with ancient tomes and scrolls. Every so often, I'd catch a glimpse of a room where mages were deep in study or practice. This felt like the kind of place that Amaryllis would adore.We stopped before a door covered in arcane symbols. "Mage Procko should be inside," the young mage said before knocking softly.The door swung open all on its own, and I found a large room with desks and bookshelves along the edges, but nothing but a raised dais in the centre. It was a big stone step, and someone had carefully carved some markings onto its surface."Yes?" an older man asked. Another grenoil, this one looking quite a bit wrinklier than the young mage helping me, with robes that had probably been very stately once but which had clearly been on the receiving end of a few too many magical accidents."Hi!" I said. "My name's Broccoli Bunch, I'm from the Exploration Guild. I have this for you, from the Guild Master." I handed the same writ over.Mage Procko took the writ, his eyes scanning over the contents briefly. "Ah, I see. An urgent matter zen," he remarked, his voice carrying a deep timbre, like a cello playing a low note."Very urgent, sir," I replied while shifting from one foot to the other. I wanted to shake him and maybe panic a little, but that would have been rude.He looked me up and down, his gaze sharp and assessing. "You're not equipped as I'd expect an explorer to be. Especially for such a vital task."I shrugged, feeling a bit self-conscious. "It's an emergency, I didn't have time to gear up. Mathilde said it would be a test of how I handle myself without all my gear."He hummed thoughtfully. "Very well. I admire your courage. Ze teleportation circle on zis dais will take you directly to Rockstack. Zey only left a few hours ago.I nodded, eager to get going. "Thank you, Mage Procko."He waved a hand, dismissing my gratitude. "It's ze least I can do. Besides," he added with a sly grin, "Mathilde and I go way back. I owe her a few favours."I stepped onto the dias, then blinked. "Wait, did you say Rockstack?"But it was too late, because I was being gripped around the middle by a powerful surge of magic and flung through nothing at all.
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