Misti and the Dragon Egg

Virgil showed the girl-cat around the Lion’s Heart. This large tavern without windows was lit by torches on the walls and a chandelier. Paintings of odd, ghostly shapes hung from the walls. The wooden floor creaked under Misti’s feet as she walked. The tables and chairs were made of dark oiled wood, and Virgil picked a seat close to the bar. He invited Misti to sit down, and she did so, hiding her backpack under her chair.

The tavern was quiet. An old man sat by the bar, sipping his drink silently. A couple of wood elves in brown leathers were focused on a card game. No sithrax or sindur in view.

“So, Miss, aren’t you a little young to be traveling on your own?” Virgil asked, then he motioned to the bald man behind the bar. “One breess, please. Put it on my tap. Oh, and one hot rhorn milk for the girl.”

The bartender sighed so deeply, Misti could hear it from where she sat. “Sure thing, Virgil, sure thing!” he mumbled in his beard.

Virgil’s attention returned to Misti. “So?”

“I...” Misti hesitated. What could she tell this man that wouldn’t sound crazy? “I’m looking for—” Shoot, what was her name? Oh, no! Misti had forgotten the name of the Fixer’s contact. She closed her eyes to concentrate. Bonnet. Something Bonnet. “Madame Bonnet?”

Virgil frowned. “You’re looking for Agatha?” He sounded confused.

Agatha! That was it. “Yes. I was told I could find her here.”

Virgil looked confused. “Agatha isn’t here anymore, Miss,” he said in a sorry tone. “She went on business to the continents and never returned.”

“What? But Marie told me...”

“Whoever gave you that intel needs to update their ledger!”

Mist had no words. No, this couldn’t be! With Agatha gone, she didn’t have many options. What could she do? Now, she was all alone on this island. How would she ever return home? A thousand realizations crashed on Misti’s shoulders. How foolish she’d been, venturing down this path without any way of coming back!

Misti closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She had to keep her cool. She hadn’t planned on doing this with Agatha Bonnet in the first place, so she’d find a way. She knew she needed to head to the dunes south. She’d find ruins of a temple there, that was what the scriptures said. Maybe this Virgil human could help. The bartender suddenly appeared beside their table.

“One breess, and one hot milk for the child,” the bald man said as he dropped the mugs on their table.

Misti smelled the milk, and her stomach instantly growled. She was famished. She’d not been able to take any coconuts with her, and this smelled exactly like coconut milk.

Virgil gulped a large sip of his breess, whatever that was. Misti mimicked him. She seized her warm cup in her paws and brought it to her lips. She took a sip, then instantly had to spit it out. It was disgusting. It tasted like sindur piss mixed with Bravan cheese. She coughed and coughed again while Virgil laughed his heart out.

“What is that?” Misti asked with a disgusted face.

“That’s rhino-milk. It’s what they feed sindurs with here. It’s very nutritious!”

“What is rhino-milk? Why did you give me that?”

“Speaking of sindurs,” Virgil began, ignoring her cries and questions. “What reason could you possibly have for coming down here? I mean, you’re lucky you’re still roaming around. Had those sithrax taken you, you’d be in chains. The only thing they’d give you would be a scythe or a plow.”

Misti didn’t have any rational response. She took another sip of her disgusting milk. You don’t refuse food and drink someone offers you! Plus, if it was nutritious, bonus for her.

“What’s a breess?” she asked out of the blue.

“Rallisan ale,” Virgil replied, taking another sip. “You’re not going to answer my question, are you?”

“Well, I could ask you the same!” A retort was better than a reply. “Why are you here? Ailura is not the home of humans. How did you know that lizard from earlier? Why do you act like you own the place?”

A smirk stretched across Virgil’s face. “So, that’s how it’ll be. An answer for another.” He downed his breess and reclined in his seat, crossing his arms. “I like your style, Miss. I’m Virgil von Vorhut, I trade in information. I listen, I read, and I know things. Things people like the Reaper want.”

The Reaper—that was the second time Misti heard that name. Virgil held out his hand again. She still didn’t know what was expected, so she made the same movement.

Virgil seized her paw and shook it slightly. “And in the world of spies, we shake hands when we make friends.”

Misti stared at him, surprised, her lips parted. She eventually asked the question that had been burning on her tongue. “Who’s the Reaper?”

“The Reaper owns the Outcast, this district. Anything not sithrax ends up here and answers to the Reaper.”

“Are people afraid of him?” Misti asked. It sounded like it. Why would people otherwise answer to him?

Virgil’s smirk remained. “Even the sithrax are afraid of him.”

Misti paused. “I thought the sithrax were afraid of nothing.”

“Afraid of wood elves or humans? No.” Virgil chuckled. “There is only one race in the world the sithrax don’t want to mess with.” He paused for the reveal. “Dark elves.”

Misti nodded slowly. So, whoever ran this place, was a dark elf, which meant very little to Misti. She’d never met one, only heard stories of a war. The war her parents had died in. That was two regenerations ago, history.

“So,” Virgil began again. “I gave you my answer. Now it’s time for yours.”

Something was odd about Virgil. Maybe it was his insistence. Misti had a good flair for that. Untrustworthy people smelled of something...musty. Maybe it was just the rhino-milk getting to her head. Virgil had saved her, after all.

Misti cleared her throat. She didn’t have much to say, but it still felt like a lot. “I need to go south, to the dunes. To the ruins of the Holy Beacon.”

Virgil opened his eyes wide. “The Holy Beacon? You mean, that old tower at the edge of the island? It’s empty... People say it’s been empty for centuries.”

A...tower? Misti was as surprised as Virgil, maybe even more.

“I...” Misti hesitated. “I need to bring...something there. I mean, return something.”

“What?”

She might as well show him. Since Agatha Bonnet was gone, maybe Virgil could help her get to that place. He’d fended off the sithrax earlier. He could protect her in Kotma Ata.

Misti grabbed her backpack and placed it on her lap. She opened it, showing her new friend the dragon egg. Virgil’s eyes lit up.

His gaze was fixed to the egg for a moment. It was like he couldn’t take his eyes off it. Without moving his head, he looked up to Misti.

“This is a dragon egg,” he stated. “You have a dragon egg.” He sounded so severe all of a sudden. His smirk had disappeared entirely and was replaced by thin lips and an urgent look.

Misti was getting a little scared, but Virgil quickly regained his composure. His smile returned.

“I’ll take you to the tower,” he declared. “I have a horse that can get us there in less than a day.”

“What? You will?” Misti was surprised. And what was up with that sudden change of mood? “A horse?”

“Yes. My horse can get us to the dunes. And I know exactly the person you need to see about,” he pointed at the egg, “This.”

Misti’s eyes rounded, saying tell me more.

“They call him the Blasphemer around here,” Virgil explained. “He’s an outcast, banned from Kotma Ata and other cities. He upset the sithrax by preaching some sort of old religion, saying a holy reckoning was to come if they pursued their brutal ways.”

“And now he lives in the dunes?” Misti still wasn’t sure how this man could help, but he definitely sounded like someone she’d want to meet. A religious man in Ailura, exiled by the sithrax. Was he an old and wise sindur? To be honest, she was excited to meet him.

“No one is supposed to know where he is,” Virgil said, adopting a mysterious tone. “But information is what I breathe. He’s at the tower, beyond the dunes. He knows it in and out. Whatever you need to do there, he will help you.”

Misti was ready to believe the gods had laid this path out for her. It was her lucky day. Virgil would help her get out of Kotma Ata and to the dunes. She’d meet this man, and she’d tell him about her vision. She’d show him the dragon egg. Maybe this man had been placed by the gods on her path. Maybe she’d been placed on his. Regardless, she was confident that she was doing the right thing. Misti couldn’t hide her excitement. She downed her disgusting milk, the taste didn’t matter anymore, and stood up.

“Where can I get some food?” she asked. Virgil raised an eyebrow. “I need to eat before we leave.”

Virgil smiled. He motioned for her to sit back down. His eyes were warm and welcoming. “You can eat here, I’ll order something. Eat quickly, and we’ll make it to the dunes by sundown.”

Misti acknowledged. Her quest could continue, and she could almost see the end of it.