Dragon Vòlkan

Chapite Sis (6)

Bati Yon trezo

(Building a treasure)

“It is time for you to collect a starter hoard.” the dragon told the elf very seriously.

“What is that, exactly?”

“A collection of things precious to you. Clothes and smell-good things, food and drink, books, whatever strikes your fancy. I have a load of Dragon Flowers to go into town and the spider needs everything on this list.” He handed her a list of items like flour, almonds and sugar. “They’ll know my standard order of sheep and plucked chickens. Be sure and go to Dragon’s Import/Export, there are people there I want you to meet.”

“You have a store?”

“The name sort of gives it away, doesn’t it? I just want there to be no confusion about who will be angry if the place is robbed. My trading empire is quite vast. One does not collect this much treasure working for someone else or by raiding a few ships. Nowadays you must be an entrepreneur. It takes money to make money and I play big. Once in a while I take out a competitor who’s selling the same thing as me, it causes lucrative price spikes. All’s fair in love and business.”

“I think the expression is, ‘All’s fair in love and war’.” she commented.

“Same thing…” he said with something analogous to a human shrug. “We leave in two hours.”

She thought about whether she had time to bathe and decided she did, and that if it took longer to get ready the dragon would just have to wait. “What is a dragon flower?”

“They are all along the hot pool. They are fed with dragon blood when they are about to bloom, then the flowers acquire magical properties. It is used in a potion of a very old devising. When you add a drop of blood, it will change the drinker into whatever the drop of blood came from. It can also be used as a restorative. If one is sick or injured and has blood from when one is well, it will cure you completely. It can even restore years of life if you have blood that is from a former you. It’s dangerous if the blood is old though, if some defect has crept in it will kill you forever, or it may do nothing at all. At any rate, the flowers are of a priceless value and must be safely delivered to my shoppe. You must keep them safe. Enjoy your shopping trip and return with a smile as you collect your hoard, I would like to see you smile sometimes.”

She was quite excited to go to town, even though she did not expect to see any but humans there, and she tended to consider them rude, not much above orcs. The dragon’s company could be a bit stuffy at times, although he did give her freedom. She especially looked forward to getting soap, lavender and a few treats. Though she didn’t know what would be available.

Violette wondered why the dragon who loved only himself or his treasure wanted to see her smile. Still, she followed his notes very well. She had not looked in a single long wooden box that held the flowers the dragon spoke of. The moon elf had been warned how priceless the flowers had been to his shop. She did fear that once gazed upon she would have a hard time giving them away to be sold.

She was walking down the main street after being dropped off, swinging her box of flowers in one hand and her large purse of money in the other. She was quite carefree, enjoying the sun and the salt air. An almost magic voice beckoned her with a little song in elvish:

Pretty girl walking down the street,

Turn your head my way just for a moment

Shine the moon upon my heart

She looked around for the source and saw a liquor store with darkened windows. The shopkeeper opened the door on to his shaded porch and waved her in. He was a tall black elf wearing sunglasses and a royal blue outfit.

She smiled. She was so pleased to see another elf, even if he was of the mysterious and sometimes sinister Drow race. She knew she was under the protection of the dragon, he dared not hurt her, and she almost believed she was forgetting the speech of her homeland and wanted a conversation. His name was Monsieur Noire.

The upstairs was quite dull, just rows and rows of various spirits, wines, meads and beers. It smelled sweet, there were some snacks lined up at the counter and he told her to take what she liked and follow him. She took some lychee nuts and some dried, mixed fruit and went down the spiral staircase. Here everything was lit by phosphorescent purple mushrooms and the elf removed his shades. The place was very cozy with padded chairs and music from some sort of enchanted box. He offered her elvish wine and took some himself.

When she mentioned the dragon, he did not seem surprised. He asked if she happened to know dragon speech and she said that she did not. He went to his safe, opened it and took out a potion and gave it to her. It would imbue her with dragon speech permanently, he told her, it was made with dragon brain, which made her ponder where he got that. She also knew that in elvish culture a gift required a gift in return. She pursed her lips, and then took the potion.

They chatted for an hour on all manner of topics and finished the bottle. He was so interested to hear news of her homeland and was terribly distressed at her ordeal with the orcs. He wondered why she did not escape from the dragon especially now that she was here. She opined that the dragon would not take kindly to that and they would be hunted to the ends of the earth.

“You realize you could hide with those; don’t you, and pay your way anywhere?” His eyes were on her box of flowers.

“What do you mean?”

“Those flowers are highly magical. We could be anyone and go anywhere.”

“No, the flowers alone do nothing, it requires a potion. The secret of which is heavily guarded.”

“I bought two, it cost me an elvish prince’s ransom, 80 years of savings! For two years I subjected one of them to various tests to determine the ingredients. There are some other rare things in there, but I’ve collected them all. If I had the flowers and the blood of the subject we want to change into, it’s a matter of a week’s compounding.”

She knew the dragon would be angry if he found out, but the idea appealed to her anyway. She sat there thinking and took the last sip of wine. She prayed to her god, Correllon Laurethean but got no clear answer. Finally, she shook her head ‘no’ and rose to leave, he put his hand on hers and begged her to stay a moment.

“Other than getting you out of the dragon’s talons, I have a selfish reason for asking,” he continued, “my half-sister is ill, the other potion was for her. It staved off the disease for a time, but the roots of it were still inside her. She has taken a turn for the worse. If I can’t help her in the next few months, she will certainly perish.”

She could not help but pity the woman, she had always had a special connection with the half-breeds and hybrids of the world. But she knew the dragon would be very angry at this and she just looked down. He pressed his point, asking why it was that only the fabulously rich who had taken their wealth from the poor deserved the dragon’s magical elixir; she had no answer, but felt tears rise within her. “I have other potions to trade; they are very valuable. Surely the dragon would find that a good bargain. Besides, if you decide later to escape, I will give you two potions so that you can change and return to form and I will use a potion for my sister and once I pledge to whoever is neediest in the village. I will make sure the dragon gets the credit for it too, not I myself. To enlarge his name is part of your responsibility, is it not?” Still, she could not do it, but told him she would think about it.

M. Noire told her she was of high moral character and assured her all would be well. She could return anytime and that he would need a week so that he would have time to compound the potions. She stumbled getting up, but he laughed and pretended his catching her was a dance move. He helped her to the door, though he himself did not venture into the sun.

She went now to Dragon’s Import/Export making only a couple quick stops along the way at shops or to chat with people. She was quite generous with the beggars, many of them had never seen a gold coin before. Soon she was surrounded by them and had to hustle into the dragon’s shoppe and put her back to the door.

“The new dragon maiden is always popular!” Said a middle-aged woman with a smile. “I am Anya, the manager here.” It transpired that the lady seemed to know a good bit about her, even the fact that she had been captured by orcs. It made sense that being in the largest business in the only port she might know that sort of thing. She was really taken aback when she called ‘come meet the new dragon maiden’ to someone named ‘Tzapp’ who trundled out of the storeroom. It was a small dragon wearing a gaudy blue and gold cape and a fez. He moved the cigarette to the other side of his mouth and only said “I’m not calling you mother,” to the elf.

There was one more surprise when she was introduced to Gretchen who claimed to be 100 years old. She spent her time in a rocking chair, sometimes knitting or making knickknacks. She claimed to have served the dragon faithfully for forty years. She did not look 80 to Violette, but then her ability to guess human ages was not especially good.

They had tea and cakes, some of which were clearly Elvin style; she was expected! Both the ladies waxed eloquent on their service to the dragon and his provision for their old age. Anya had found a husband, Gretchen had not. Both had been transformed into dragons with potions, borne children, and later changed back, all of it at their own request. The meaning of the concept of intern began to dawn on her anew. She was kind to the ladies as they were kind to her and they made sure a wagon was made ready for her to take the dragon and the spider’s purchases to the rendezvous with the dragon at sunset.

She was gifted anything she liked from the shoppe. Then she went back out to see the rest of the town. Her knapsack was now full of many fine things. A few lip creams made from flowers in a human shop. Though she had mostly traded in the little bits of paper money the dragon had given her to buy pretty things such as a little jewel encrusted box. There had been a number of dried flowers, some powders for a bath as well as rose shaped soap bars she had bought from a human to whom she asked where she could find a local establishment that tended to sell to those who did not fear dragons.

As it turned out, she was told that everyone respected the dragon and called him ‘kommodore.’ While of course they feared angering him and most had no interest in meeting him, they all believed he was fair. At least, no one would admit otherwise, but immediately praised the dragon. Twice he had saved the town from disaster, the first upon his immediate arrival when he had eaten a cruel and greedy mayor and sent the man’s brute squad running for the ships. A second time when pirates appeared on the horizon to raid them he had blown the ship to pieces with his lightning breath and then plundered them. There was a beacon that was to be lit: a normal flame if the town was in danger, a blue flame if there were adventurers hunting the dragon. They all concurred that there were not more raids because raiders knew the place was protected.