A Dragon's Tale Ch. 41

"Well, it's actually from Luminar Kossel." He said as he scanned it, then cocked his head to one side. "He says he has a gift for me when he comes."

He looked up and frowned.

"I wonder what it is." Beth mused, her eyes sparkling like they always did when she was curious.

"He's a Luminar, maybe he got a copy of the Book of Light for you master!" The Fey's wings fluttered.

"I kind of doubt that, but maybe." Ethan shrugged and went back to reading. "He wants to know if we were planning to return to Nalatia after taking care of the portal on Earth. He says he wants to hitch a ride with us if we are."

"Are we?" Alana asked, hoping that would be the case. She'd only talked to her mother and father once each, and desperately wanted to again.

"I don't see why not." Ethan nodded, grinning at her before he looked back at the letter. "He's asking us to write back quickly so he can send a letter to the wood elves asking for entrance." He looked up. "Why would he need to ask?"

"Because it's tradition." Beth replied. "Luminars are welcomed anywhere, but it's considered polite to ask before entering another kingdom, especially if he wants to do anything in a priestly capacity as a Luminar."

"Oh, well he doesn't have to send a letter then." Ethan replied. "He can just send it to us and I'll send it to the wood elven king via portal stone he gave me."

"Elder Goman could send it for him, and probably would do it for free." Rachel replied. "It would be better coming from Arcanum anyway since it's an official request. I'm sure he would've appreciated it otherwise though; mailing letters can be expensive and can take weeks, or longer."

"Ah, perfect." He nodded. "I could've just passed it along though. It would've taken two seconds and... and..." Ethan cocked his head as he trailed off. Several seconds later, a slow smile began to spread on his face. It eventually got incredibly wide and he started doing that slow chuckle thing people sometimes do when they've just had a great idea.

"What?" Alana asked.

He looked around at them. "How much does it cost to send a letter?"

"It depends on how far, but from Arcanum to Nalatia, maybe a silver or two." Beth replied. "Usually you need to employ someone to deliver it too, which adds cost."

Ethan got a sly smile on his face, then looked at Alana. "Do you know how to enchant a pair of portal stones?"

She shook her head. "I only know a bit of the theory, so I'd definitely want to talk to someone who knows more, like Elder Goman, before attempting it. Why?"

"Because I sense a business opportunity." He replied. "Mail service via paired portal stones. If we had portal stones in every major city, and all of them had a pair in a central location, then you could charge a small fee -- maybe a copper or two -- and move letters almost instantly from one place to another."

"Huh." Rachel cocked her head to one side, and the wood elf couldn't help but notice that she had a very slender, shapely neck.

"Yeah... yeah." Ethan slowly nodded his head, like he was talking himself into something. "Like if Luminar Kossel wrote a letter to the wood elven king, then he could put it through the stone Elder Goman gave me, and then I could pass it through the stone the wood elven king gave me. It would take me two seconds to get a letter from Arcanum to Nalatia and cost practically nothing once it's setup. If we could have stones in every major city, all leading to a central location, then..."

"That's brilliant." Selene said. "It would be faster than the mail back home."

"Thank you, though I am home." Ethan said as he fondly looked around at the Argo and all his wives.

Alana led the charge to give him a group hug at that pronouncement, and even Kendra joined in; awkwardly and last, but she did. Ethan looked immensely pleased with himself, more so than Alana would've guessed even though the idea was brilliant.

Beth's boundless curiosity beat her to asking why though. "It's a great idea Dominus, but you seem unusually happy about it. Why?"

"Because of something your father said." He replied. "He pointed out that I've basically been living off his charity, and I absolutelyhate that. We only have money and the supplies on the Argo because of him. Ever since then, I've been wracking my brain to figure out a way to provide for you ladies, and I think I've finally found it." He looked at Alana. "That is, if you'd be willing to try making portals once all the craziness dies down."

"For you, anything." She nodded. "I need to learn more about it first, but I would be happy to help once I have."

"Perfect, I would make Luminar Kossel our first test case as a favor, but Rachel said Elder Goman will probably send it for him."

"Oh!" Kendra exclaimed.

"What?" Alana asked.

"Speaking of favors, I keep forgetting to tell you." She looked at Ethan. "Luminar Kossel asked me to call in a favor from you, and he asked the same favor of me."

"I do owe him, what is it?"

The dragon huntress's grimaced. "You won't like it."

He sighed. "Yeah well, I'm getting used to that. What is it?"

"He asked that if it was possible -- and he made it clear that he realized it might not be -- but he asked that if it was possible, we wouldn't kill Lady Ekthros when we fight her, but instead capture her alive and bring her to him."

Silence.

The jaws of half the people assembled hung open slightly.

"Why?" Ethan finally said.

"He wouldn't say, but I got the feeling that it was a personal thing." The raven haired woman replied. "I certainly don't think it was a practical thing at all. When I was talking with Elder Goman and Luminar Kossel in Arcanum, Kossel mentioned that he and Lady Ekthros were 'old colleagues' too. I definitely think it's something personal; maybe he wants to kill her himself?"

Ethan growled slightly.

"He did save you." Rachel pointed out. "He defended you from Kendra in Arcanum when you asked for sanctuary."

"And he was the one who convinced us to get married, and he married us too." Alana added. "But still..." She looked at Taloni. "What do you think?"

"I..." The Fey hesitated, then spoke with her teeth clenched a bit tighter than normal. "I'd rather not say."

"Why not?" Ethan asked.

She took a deep breath and her wings buzzed.

Not fluttered.

Buzzed.

For a moment, the sound wasn't unlike the sound a bee or wasp makes. "Because I don't think Illuminar wants me to use bad language master, and I'm not sure I could properly express how I feel without it."

Ethan chuckled but nodded vehemently. "Yeah, I completely understand."

"I do too sir."

"And I Dominus."

"Me also my lord."

"Agreed Drago, I'd prefer to kill the bitch myself."

All eyes turned to Kendra.

"If someone hurts Taloni, I end him." The dragon huntress spoke as if this was a natural consequence; as natural as thunder following lightning, or gravity sending things to the ground.

The Fey teen looked like she didn't know whether to be horrified or happy.

"That's usually my line." Ethan said.

"And I'll let you help." Kendra said with a straight face. Alana wasalmost entirely sure she was joking.

Almost.

"Or I would let you help, if I didn't owe Kossel so many favors." The dragon huntress corrected herself with a scowl.

"How do you know him?" Beth asked.

The raven haired woman hesitated a moment before speaking. "I learned a lot of things from a lot of people in my former profession, and had a lot of teachers."

"What did you learn from him?" Beth asked.

"Things." Kendra replied evenly, then turned to Ethan. "I don't know about you, but I owe him too much tonot grant this favor. Ekthros can live... for now."

"I hate to agree, but I do." He growled, but nodded. "However, she's an arch mage. I'm not sure we could kill her, much less capture her alive."

"He gave me a modified slave collar to prevent her from harming anyone once it's on." She replied. "It's on my airship."

"That's assuming we can get it around her neck without being killed." Alana pointed out.

"I can think of something I'd like to get around her neck." Ethan growled.

"I can think of two things." Kendra flexed the fingers on both her hands. "Sadly..."

"Yeah." Ethan echoed.

"On a lighter note." Alana interjected, not really liking how this topic was progressing. "I think your idea about portal stones and mail is a brilliant idea sir. If we can make just a few paired portals, say in the largest cities like Arcanum, Nalatia, and the other provincial capitals, you could make a lot of gold."

"And even poor people could afford to send letters if you only charged a copper or two master." Taloni beamed.

"Sounds like a plan to me then." He grinned, though his countenance still bore traces of his displeasure with the previous topic. "I think that's pretty far down the road though. I can't see starting that while Lord Delmar is after us, but maybe afterwards."

"Not to be a wet blanket, but that requires reading; what percentage of people in the Ten Kingdoms can read?" Selene asked.

"It depends on who you ask and where you are." Beth replied. "Some places it's nearly half of men, and others it maybe one in twenty."

"How about Ivernia?" Ethan asked.

"Um, I don't remember exactly, but I think somewhere around one in five?" The blonde replied. "I think it used to be much higher, but from what I understand it became less prevalent once Lord Farbrottan started raising taxes a couple decades ago."

"Yeah, he's a problem that needs fixing." Ethan frowned. "I've almost never met people like those in Ivernia. They're good people, some of them very good." He got a strange sort of smile on his face as he said the last part.

"Like Sarah?" Alana asked with a sly grin.

"Sarah is a very good person master." Taloni said with an impish grin.

Dragons can't blush, but the wood elf was pretty sure he would've if he could've.

"Guys, let the poor man be." Selene interjected. "It's not nice to tease people about things they can never have."

Alana looked at the Brazilian woman and got the distinct impression that she was talking about more than Ethan. The chocolate haired elf caught Rachel's eyes, and she seemed to have noticed too. Of course, the wood elf couldn't help but notice the redhead's gorgeous blue eyes.

Without meaning to, she let out a soft sigh.

Rachel blushed slightly, but gave her a small smile in return.

"We're sorry master." Taloni said as her face fell. "I didn't realize... I promise you I won't tease you about Sarah anymore."

"Thanks." He nodded.

Selene still seemed pensive.

* * *

Sarah almost couldn't believe what was happening.

She was sitting on top of the castle's keep on an actual chair, sitting at an actual table eating an actual hot meal... and it wasgood. The sun was peeking through the clouds, and the day was warm enough that it was comfortable in the sun. That made quite a contrast to the cold stone cell that she had been sitting in the last several days. Her arm still hurt where the old woman had cut it, but the pain had faded to a dull ache.

"It's the mountains." The old woman said as she looked out over the ramparts, the sun shining onto her through the clouds.

"What is?" Sarah asked as she looked at them.

Not far from the small castle, mountains rose from the fairly flat plains around them and disappeared into the low clouds. She could just make out the snowline on the mountains above, so they must be very high. However, the mountain range ended fairly abruptly and there was a gap of pretty flat ground for several miles before the mountains picked up again. The castle was anchoring the near end of the gap between the mountains, providing a defense against anything that might try to come through it.

"The reason the castle is cold." The old woman continued, sounding pensive. "It's summer in Ivernia, but this castle doesn't get very warm because of the cold air which comes down from the mountains."

"Oh." She replied, not sure what else to say about that. That made sense, and it should be better now that the old woman had given her a warmer dress. The sun and the meal were helping to warm her up too.

"Thank you for the meal." Sarah said, then took another bite.

It was quite good.

"Again, so sorry about forgetting the anesthesia." The old woman said as she stood in the sunlight and looked out from the crenulations on the keep. Something about her tone and body language really did make Sarah think that she was sorry too, or at least more so than earlier. "I was just a bit excited; it's not often that I can examine a woman with super strength."

Oddly, the old woman did seem quite excited. It reminded her a bit of a child who was about to be given a treat and was excited to open and eat it. For some reason, her excitement reminded the innkeeper's daughter of Taloni a bit.

The woman was looking out over the castle, the sun poking through the clouds and landing on her. She closed her eyes as she turned to face the sun, a faint, contented smile on her face as she soaked up its rays. Something about her seemed so incredibly innocent at that moment; like a little girl playing outside, or a carefree young woman enjoying a holiday at the beach.

It stood in stark contrast to what she had done in the lab less than an hour ago.

"Could..." Sarah looked down for a moment. "Could Lady Ekthros join us up here? I think she would like a hot meal too."

"No." The other woman shook her head as the sun's rays illuminated her face. "She's kind of a bitch sometimes; I don't really like her." Something about the way she said it gave Sarah some pause. It almost seemed... personal. Like the old woman knew Lady Ekthros very well and didn't like her because of that.

* * *

Selene took a deep breath. "You ready?"

It was late afternoon and she was standing in front of the captain's cabin with Ethan in front of her and all his wives around them. She had taken almost the whole day to really get a handle on her deep mana. Now that she had, it was time to bond. Not that she wanted to, but she needed to.

"I've done this five times before, so yeah." Ethan replied to her question, then frowned. "Okay, I don't remember a few of them, but I'm an old pro at this."

"I feel like there should be more fanfare if bonding is such a big deal." The Brazilian woman mused.

"Well, I had wedding before the second one, I nearly died before the first and third... and the fourth, and had a proverbial gun to my head for the fifth. So yeah, usually pretty fanfare filled."

Selene resisted saying 'until now'.

"Well, let's get this over with." She finally said.

"And you're sure you want to do this?" He asked again. "I know I said this before, but this is a lot more permanent than you seem to think it is."

She shrugged. "Either we do this, or we walk away from Smithbond and ignore everything that's happening. I couldn't live with myself if I did that, and I don't think you could either."

"Fair." He nodded. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

Selene raised her hand, Ethan took it.

"Last chance to back out." Ethan said, then added in a reasonable imitation of Yoda. "If once you start down the bonding path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you it will, as it did the dragon huntress." He winked at Kendra

The raven haired woman rolled her eyes.

Selene chuckled. "We need to Yoda." She replied, thinking that a quick medical death and a heart restart would undo it.

"Okay, let's do it." He said.

She closed her eyes and focused on her deep mana. She understood how the others had talked about it being 'below' her normal mana now. She wasn't sure how they saw it, but she saw it like a mirror image of her normal mana. Her normal mana was like a river coursing through a complex series of interlocking gorges or canyons. Her deep mana was exactly the same, only inverted underneath her normal mana in a mirror image. At least, that's how she saw it.

She focused on pushing a drop of her deep mana into Ethan's hand.

It took a lot of work.

Judging by what everyone else had said, it got easier as you got more experienced. However, it was damn hard right now. It felt like trying to move a boulder that was twice her weight and only vaguely round. However, she could do it, it just took a damn long time and was really hard.

She felt him push a single drop of his deep mana into her. She could've stopped it easily, but didn't. It dropped into her 'mana river' like a stone, and seemed hard and unyielding. It reminded her of how Rachel had described Ethan's mana before they'd bonded. It took her nearly three times longer than it took him, but she finally managed to push a drop of her deep mana into him.

Then she felt it.

She didn't believe Ethan before when he'd spoken about how profoundly intimate it was.

Now she did.

She felt a part of herself mix with a part of him. It was a strange sensation, like watching two different color liquids mix, only she was one of the liquids and could feel herself becoming a part of the other, even as the other also became a part of her. It felt utterly foreign and alien to her, and was easily the most personal, intimate experience she'd ever had.

She didn't like it.

It felt... intrusive.

For a moment, she almost felt like she was a part of him and he was a part of her. Like they were two arms on the same torso, or either side of a mirror-imaged soul. She felt stripped bare; completely naked before him as he was completely naked before her.

She hadn't really wanted this in the first place, and she felt incredibly exposed; vulnerable. Ethan was a good guy, but she might've reconsidered doing this if she'd known what it was truly like. She could feel the bond finishing its formation and was about to be glad that it was over when it flared in strength as it completed.

Suddenly, she could see him.

All of him.

It was like she was looking over the side of the Argo and he was the scenery underneath; she could see all of who he was laid out before her. She could see every part of him that he was proud of and every part he tried to keep hidden in shame. She saw how he strove to be good, and the darker impulses he struggled against which pulled in the opposite direction.

Something about those darker impulses drew her attention, and she felt that somehow, the intricate maze of canyons or gorges that that her 'mana river' flowed through seemed to line up. Not with his darker impulses, but with her desire to see better. Something about the complex geometry seemed to make it easier to see into him; to see into his mind.

She looked.

Buried in his subconscious -- or perhaps in his dragon instincts -- were unfulfilled sensual appetites that felt very familiar to her. Appetites whose opposite side she had often--

Then it ended.

She blinked.

The glimpse ended, and she was left with only a vague impression of what she'd seen; a strong sense of who he was. He was every bit as good as she had thought he was, though only because he strove so hard against his darker side. Yet in that darker side -- or perhaps his dragon side -- were sensual appetites that she hadn't been able to see clearly, but something about them seemed so familiar and just...

She suppressed a sigh as a faint itch formed in her nether regions.

* * *

Ethan had almost been looking forward to getting 'the glimpse' of Selene; he supposed that Beth's curiosity must be rubbing off on him. Something about the Brazilian woman's mana was a bit... standoffish. Not like she was snooty, uppity, or that she thought she was better than him -- she didn't -- but there was a reluctance that reminded him a bit of Kendra, but without the biting edge that Kendra's mana had possessed.