Book 2: Chapter 10: A Legendary Meeting

    Lost in his thoughts and self-recrimination, Arthur did not keep track of the conversation.

    He came back to it at Valentina’s sharp tone.

    “I need you to spread the word among the Sickness seekers. We need to know if there’s any sign of scourge in our uncarded.”

    “That would be a mistake,” Whitaker said. “Word will get out and introduce panic. Next thing you know, people will hide their disease—"

    Both leaders went very still. Then, as one, looked to the double doors.

    A moment later, the bells began to ring. Not the excited high-pitched chimes whenever a Rare egg was laid, but the bone-rattling bong-bong-bong of alarm. The hive was to muster for a scourge eruption.

    “Another one,” Valentina said. “Damn.”

    Whitaker strode to the door. “It is what it is. You have the hive, Val. I’ll take care of this.”

    Arthur caught a glimpse of frustration on Valentina’s wrinkled face. He couldn’t tell if she was annoyed with Whitaker or if she wanted to go out and fight, too. But as she was in her eighth decade, that wasn’t a good idea.

    Arthur had never seen her dragon. Rumor said it was so old it couldn’t easily fly.

    Mastering herself, Valentina nodded to the healers. “Scourge-protocol takes precedence... but keep an eye on the animal populations. If corruption is taking root, it may show there first.”

    The men and women bowed and left.

    Finally, Valentina turned to snap her fingers at Arthur. “Follow me.”

    He had no choice but to follow her as she walked out.

    Valentina did not walk fast. She was shorter than him and had such a stiff gait that he wondered why she didn’t use the floating cloud trick to get around.

    His silent question was answered when she led him to a luxuriant office, only two doors down from the ballroom. A roaring fireplace sat in the corner, and the whole room was stuffed with polished wood furniture, sitting couches, and one large desk that had a grand view of the hive city vista through floor-to-ceiling windows.

    Valentina crossed the room and went to a small stand topped by fluted glassware. “Drink?”

    “Uh, yes please?” He was vaguely aware of some kind of protocol between nobles offering drinks and accepting them... but couldn’t remember whether accepting or declining was polite. He went with the option that got him a taste of their expensive booze.

    Maybe it would level up his Sommelier skill.

    But the small drink she poured him was a brown liquor. Brandy. He took a sip and found it smoother than any he had tried before.

    New enhancement gained: Alcohol Resistance (poison class)

    Due to your previous experience and your card’s bonus traits, you automatically start this enhancement at level 4.

    This is an optional enhancement. Do you wish to activate alcohol resistance?

    An optional enhancement His Master of Skills card had never given him the ability to turn off or on a skill before. Was this strictly a function of his new Body Enhancement card, or because he had a pair of cards in the same set?

    Either way, the prudent thing was to select Yes. He needed to be as sharp as possible while dealing with Valentina.

    He wanted to question exactly what she meant... but he wanted to see the egg more.

    Once again, she led him down the hall a short way and then through a door that led to a grand balcony.

    There, twenty feet away at the end of the balcony, sitting in the full sun, sat the tiny dark egg. It sat in a woven straw nest, surrounded by braziers of roaring fire to keep the temperature warm. Several dragon-sized divots were carved into the cliff walls directly on either side. Sitting in them within easy leaping range, were large dragons. Arthur recognized them as hive Rares, though he didn’t know their names.

    They were guarding the egg — a task important enough so that they were excused from fighting the scourge eruption.

    Valentina stopped him and pointed to a chalk outline near his feet. “Stay on this side of the line.”

    He nodded absently, all his attention on the egg.

    It was a spot of black, bracketed against the deep blue of a high-altitude sky. It seemed to suck in the light around it... and despite the many braziers set up around the balcony, Arthur could almost feel the warmth leaching into the black heart of the egg.

    But... it wasn’t entirely black, was it? Gazing straight at the egg, he caught a hint of a deep dark purple. Or perhaps that was a shimmer quality to the egg.

    Arthur didn’t realize he was swaying forward until Valentina caught his shoulder. The tiny woman was stronger than she looked.

    “I might have to adjust the chalk line further back,” Valentina said. “It seems the egg is growing in strength.”

    He and Valentina walked back in silence. She was lost in her thoughts and he was wondering what would happen if he broke away and made a sprint to the egg.

    Nothing good, probably.

    “Ernest.”

    It took a beat to realize Valentina meant him. With a mental shake, Arthur turned to her. “Yes?”

    The leader looked straight at him. “You may have noticed I’m not fond of people shirking their duties to the kingdom by hiding away in their guilds.”

    She meant the scholars. He nodded, waiting for her to get to the point.

    “You’ve already taken some steps to put yourself in good favor. If you could think of some way,” pause “to get the pink dragon linked, I would appreciate it. And I still have enough pull to make it important to Whitaker as well.” Another pause. “Do we understand each other?”

    Arthur’s heart began to beat fast. Was she saying what he thought she was saying?

    Looking into her steely eyes, he knew that she was.

    She had someone following him and likely knew that she had met up with Cressida who was desperate to link with the dragon. The scholars were in disfavor, and she had just said in not-so-many words that she would be willing to overlook certain things.

    “Yes,” Arthur said, “I understand.”

    “Then you may go.”

    Valentina turned her back on him and started to walk away. As she did, a new miniature cloud formed under her feet. It carried her up the next set of stairs and away.

    Arthur turned and started his long, long trek back to the lower levels.

    It all came down to finding the pink dragon’s card match. Now he had the means, ability, and permission to do what needed to be done.

    And then he could focus on the fact that he might have brought scourge into the hive.