Book 5: Home Again

    Arthur walked into a city not surrounded by walls, but merely guarded by bored men who were stationed at points along the roads. They were easily avoided, but he and Cressida didn''t bother. Aside from wearing clothing in slightly strange color combinations, as they had come from another kingdom, the two of them weren''t noticeable if they didn''t have their dragons.

    Once inside the city proper, Arthur looked around. A sense of rightness fell over him like a finely fitting cloak.

    Yes, the translation skills he had received across the world were invaluable and he had leveled them quite high thanks to practice... but there was nothing quite like being home. The air was scented with familiar spices that made his mouth water. The signs weren''t in odd languages he had to think about translating.

    Far off, he heard several very, very late-night drunks singing songs in a bar. One had such a good voice he expected it may be card assisted. He found he already knew the lyrics, courtesy of his time spent in Moon Hive City.

    Then the far-off lyrics took a turn to the bawdy. He and Cressida exchanged a look and a laugh.

    With a grin, she held out her arm and he took it. "Come on. Let me show you the city."

    "And get something to eat," Arthur said. "I could use a taste of home."

    Her smile broadened. "That too."

    It wasn''t exactly home. Wolf Moon Hive sat far, far to the north in a wholly different climate with different grown foods and slightly different customs... but it was a lot closer than he had gotten recently.

    He and Cressida stopped at a small vendor''s cart that sold a type of breakfast pastry with egg baked in. And, wonder upon wonders, they bought three rolls for only a copper.

    Thanks to the dark heart, so much wealth had poured into New Houston in such a short period of time that prices for all goods had skyrocketed. Some vendors were even charging card shards for meals.

    Of course, word quickly got around about which vendors were fat and rich in shards. Before long, those greedy ones often found themselves the target of newly powerful gangs and crime families.

    Sheriffs and under-sheriffs were now busy vying for the top spots in the city and not paying too much attention to simple theft. Not to mention most of the people who were supposed to enforce order had gone down to the Dark Heart to get stronger... and not many had come back.

    Cressida touched his shoulder. "What''s wrong?"

    He started, realizing while he''d been wool gathering, he had outwardly been staring at the warm breakfast roll in his hands like it had personally slighted him. "Nothing," he said quickly, but then at her look admitted, "I was thinking of New Houston."

    He half expected her to ask for more detail, but a pensive look came over her face. "I''ll be glad when we''re fully away from there... but I also feel bad for leaving."

    "Me too." There were so many things he wanted to add -- chief of which was that he and Cressida, with the help of their dragons -- had a good shot at taking over the city if they wanted. But that would mean abandoning the goal of completing his and Brixaby''s card sets, of going back on his word to the Mythic dragons who had saved them, and likely, of defeating the scourgelings.

    Besides, if he and Brixaby took over, one of the first things they would have to do would be to close that Dark Heart forever... and that might just doom the city’s economy.

    Realizing he was about to circle back into useless dark thoughts, he quickly took a bite of the breakfast roll... and regretted it. Yes, there was egg, and butter, and way, way too much flour. It was dry with the pastry so overcooked that it was on the verge of being chewy.

    I could make something better in my sleep, he thought. Even if my Baking skill isn''t as high as my Cooking.

    That was one unexpected side effect from leveling his Cooking skills so high. His sense of taste had developed right along with it. And this... this was hard to swallow.

    “Does your breakfast roll taste funny...” he started to ask, but then trailed off.

    "No." She had taken several more bites in the time that it had taken him to choke down one. "Why? Do you taste something off?"

    "It''s a little... overdone," he said to be polite.

    She would only stop long enough to grab a glimpse of the next shadow along their path before she would whisk them away again.

    Arthur barely had time to get his bearings before the world would change around him. His stomach lurched every time and to his alarm he started to feel nauseated.

    He closed his eyes. That helped because he couldn''t actually feel the jump from one point to another. It was like taking a step forward, stopping, and then taking another step.

    Finally, the steps came to an end. Arthur opened his eyes to find himself at the edge of a linen market deep within the dawn shadow of a tall brick building.

    Cressida bent down with her hands on her knees, taking panting breaths. "That’s as far as I can go."

    Arthur nodded, his mind still whirling. He took a dizzying step to the side and ended up having to reach out and grab a nearby empty cart just to get ahold of something stable.

    "I''m out of mana," Cressida continued, still breathing hard. "But look!" She pointed.

    They had caught up with the blue dragon, which was impressive considering that a dragon flew much faster than a person without card assistance could run.

    Arthur nodded. "When you get mana, send a message to Brix and Joy and remind them to stay put. Catch up when you can."

    Then he took off in a jog. At his level of Running Skill, 29, that jog was the speed equal to a full out run.

    They had reached what he assumed was a rich area, which meant that the buildings were not built so close together. That gave him plenty of alleyways to dart through.

    Nevertheless, a dragon even at slow flight moved much faster than a person. The one he was following pulled further and further away.

    Then before he lost sight of it, the dragon slowed and started to circle in the air. In fact, all three were now making circuits over a point in the city.

    Likely looking for a place to land, he thought and slowed to a quick walk, turning down one corner after another. Each of those dragons was full grown and at least the size of Sams so it wasn''t a surprise they would have trouble finding open area in the middle of a city.

    He was well within a shopping district now. More and more people were coming out of their homes for the start of a brand-new day. He saw quite a few of these glance up to the sky, take note of the circling dragons, and then turn right around and return inside, shutting the door behind them.

    Arthur finally caught up and found that the dragons were circling above a large open-air courtyard, busy with people who were setting up booths for the day. It reminded him of some of the open shopping areas in New Houston -- what people called a flea market.

    Only instead of something ad-hoc or run by families who were looking to declutter their homes, it looked like most of these vendors had been here for years. They set up with brisk efficiency... and with more than a few quick scowls aimed upward.

    Most of the booths and tents were made of colorful fabric that would not do well against dragon wingbeats. Arthur assumed that was why the dragons were taking such a long time to pick out their landing places.

    He was wrong.

    Abruptly, three person-sized lights flashed in the middle of the courtyard -- some card spell that was so strong it felt Rare level. A moment later, those three lights contracted to reveal three people. No, three riders, because they immediately looked up to their dragons and made the universal hive gesture of ''all is well''.

    The dragons did not peel off. They continued to circle, though they climbed higher in elevation which would make it a little easier to stay aloft due thermals and currents. They were clearly keeping watch, though.

    Of the three riders, two were male, one was female, and all wore a large patch on their right shoulders of a red gradient full moon on their right shoulders. Silver at the top that slowly darkened to deep red at the bottom like blood settling in a bowl.

    Blood Moon Hive riders.