26

I knew that Calen would have to make a choice tonight. Either way I would be talking to the lizardmen in the morning. They had to have something to do with one of my quests or they wouldn't show up on my map. I stood up casually, and walked outside the warehouse to lay down in the sun. This priestess of theirs was someone I should talk to.

The fact that she could accurately describe the difference between a regular dragon, and a dragon prince was interesting. I didn't know if they were just referring to me as a prince because I was a dragon or if they actually knew the difference between a dragon prince, and a normal dragon. I needed to find out either way. If they really did have connections to the dragons of the past then they should know where a core or two were. Finishing my oldest quest was something I wanted to get out of the way.

If the lizardmen turned out to be enemies then I could always leave the planet. I only left the settlement one more time that day to kill off another small group of spiders. I let Ethan collect the cores this time. Using my new inspect skill to pick out cores that would be compatible with evolving Ethan's bond. I knew that was what he wanted so the fact that I'd actually been given a quest to fulfill that desire of his didn't bother me at all.

I only found three that the system deemed compatible out of the dozens of cores we collected. It seemed like their was another quality that was required in the cores to be compatible with certain individuals. This quest might actually be more difficult then I originally thought it would be. My tail lashed back, and forth out of irritation. Ideally I wanted to finish this bond advancement quest before the hunt for the spider queen began.

I wanted to start hunting down the spider queen as soon as I regained my ability to freely use mana. I brought back a couple carcasses from the few creatures that hadn't fled the area. Making sure to remove the cores so Aurora wouldn't accidentally eat them, and poison herself. As soon as they hit the ground Aurora claimed them for herself, and drug them into the corner of the warehouse where she could eat them in peace. Like me she was very possessive of her food.

She wouldn't even let me approach even though I was the one that had given her the food. Goliath was able to approach her safely. It made sense since he was her bonded. I'd had a completely different upbringing as a dragon. I'd basically been reborn with the memories of a sixteen year old so I had something to fall back on to curb my aggressive impulses, and sometimes even that wasn't enough.

Like when I went after the balls of the hardening brothers. Literally. I still smirked at those memories. They'd deserved it. Goliath recognized what I was doing when I came back with the dried crud left behind by the spiders guts wedged deep into the scales of my hands.

Goliath had a chance to talk to the mother I mentioned while I was away, and he'd arranged a tentative meeting between the two children by stressing Aurora's potential as a healer. He'd relied heavily on his ace in that situation. He was worn out so I could understand why he didn't want to be the only one keeping Aurora company anymore. Another person to help her spend her bondless energy would give him more energy to fight with when the real fight came. Night passes faster then I liked.

I'd gotten a good four hours of sleep when I awoke before dawn. Savannah, Jax, and Goliath had gone together to patrol the edge of the camp closest to the spiders nest. Ethan had stayed behind with me to discourage any stupid childish attacks. We both left the warehouse together, and made our way to the gate that the lizardmen had launched their false attack against. Calen joined us just as the first rays of daylight rose into the sky.

"So you've decided," I smirked.

"If they're as strong as you say they are it would be stupid not to try," he replied tensely.

He stood outside the gates alone while over a dozen of his guild members watched over us all carefully. Ethan stood in front of my chest below my head. It was a well defended position for a mid to close range person like him.

"Are they here?" he asked before I could add anymore smug comments.

"They never left really," I snorted as the lizardman seemed to just appear in the tall grass.

Their green bellies making them stand out in the blue grass. All they had to do to disappear from human sight is lay down or crouch in the grass.

(I'll be putting this * symbol in before they speak draconic so I don't have to keep saying that they're speaking draconic.)

*"Why did you bring this one?" the lizardman from yesterday gestured at Calen with his long tail as he spoke draconic.

*"He's an ally of mine," I answered, "He's the leader here. I think it would be best if you consider becoming his ally in the fight to come."

*"You are talking about the queen," he growled at the end of that sentence, "You think these weaklings can help."

*"Compared to you they might be weak," I snorted, "But from where they come from they are considered strong."

*"That still doesn't make them worthy," the lizardman looked down on Calen with his eight foot tall stature, "We will handle the queen. We've done it in the past, and we can do it again."

*"They do not know your strength," I sighed, "What's wrong with showing them? I know that I for one could learn from you. Our first clash has let me experience your strength first hand."