Desolate Dealings

Very rarely in my life had I ever asked for anything and when I finally did ask for something, it turned out to be a favor from the strongest being I have ever seen. I was playing a dangerous game, one that might pay off handsomely.

As the saying goes, no risk no reward.

I needed training and taking said training from an experienced creature would always be miles above whatever I could teach myself. Though the creature wasn't human, it was still extremely strong and it knew a lot of things. Things I couldn't access normally.

Hence, I put all my eggs into one big metaphorical basket and asked for a favor.

The dragon recoiled as it heard the question. "Am I hearing this correctly? Did you just ask the creature you were running for your life from, that is.... me, to teach you and make you stronger?"

Its eyes bored into me. This was the moment, it was testing me and I wasn't going to let this opportunity slip through. I stood my ground and stared right back at it, my expression firm and unwavering. This was my chance to let it know that I was not kidding about my want. 

"Stryke.. see... the world isn't a good place. This you know already. So what do I get from this exchange. You seek to use me to grow stronger and I really do not care. But what do I get from this? You see, the best relationships in this land are the ones where both parties benefit. In the same manner, what can you offer me that would make me accept teaching you?" The dragon said as it maintained its questioning stare.

Thinking for a moment, I answered, "I can act as your entertainment. I.... I can also teach you about the outside world. A.....And I can show you how everything has changed. I can even work for you."

The dragon seemed to be reclusive, therefore it probably did not know about the proceedings of the outside world and that would be what I planned to offer it. The one issue with this was, I did not know how much it wanted this information. But still I placed my bets on the one probability that I had something it wanted and I would willingly provide it if it helped me, whether it wanted information, entertainment or even just a labor.

"Is that all you can offer?" It floated up a little and smoothly moved, gliding over the lake and stopping in front of me. "Is that all that you are worth? Information I can easily acquire, entertainment that I can easily acquire and subordinates, which again, I can easily acquire."

For the first time in our conversation, I lowered my eyes. I felt defeated in every sense of the word. I had nothing to offer and the dragon held all the cards in this deal making conversation. Thoroughly and utterly outclassed. That was my situation at this moment.

Hopelessness took over me. I clenched my fists and felt my nails digging into my own palms. I was left shaking with no words for a rebuttal. I didn't have anything near valuable enough for the dragon to covet or even show the slightest interest in.

"How uninteresting."

My eyes shot up back to the dragon and in its eyes I could see it, it was disappointment.

Disappointment in me.

Wait....

Disappointment?

That meant it had something it wanted from me and I had failed in delivering it. Disappointment only comes as a result of expectation, and the dragon expected something from me. This wasn't a lost cause yet.

The whole situation had been a set up. The dragon was most likely willing to help me but it wanted something it return, something only I could provide.

And then an idea popped up in my mind. One that was pretty destructive but it seemed possible. I was able to provide one thing and one thing only to this creature and it had to be this. 

As it turned away from me, I started to speak again.

This time I had a maniacal smile on my face.

"I didn't mean that kind of entertainment. What would entertain you is the growth that I will display as well as the havoc I will cause in the outside world. Eventually I would turn things upside down in the outside world, but with your support the process will be hastened. You would have a part in creating a monster greater than anything the world has ever seen and THAT.... that would be the greatest entertainment you would receive."

The dragon stopped moving and tilted its head at a slight angle letting me appear in its vision again.

It wanted something from me, something it didn't have and something I possessed. The answer to that was simple. Me. I didn't need to gamble everything on providing a service to the dragon, I just needed to bet everything on myself and present that to the dragon.

Because the only thing of value I could offer was myself.

I spread my arms wide open insinuating for the dragon that I was putting myself on the scales for this deal.

Without sparing a moment I pushed further, "Now Dragoon.... What can you provide?"

I was on a roll now. I controlled the flow of the conversation now and I wanted to see how far the thread I held would take me.

I was pushing my luck, I knew that but for the first time in a long while I was having fun. Doing the impossible, I was stopping the unstoppable force.

The worries and regrets in my mind melted away as I gained confidence, confidence in the potential future that awaited me.

Dragoon's head fully turned to me now, the expression on its face a clear smirk. I could recognize that much from its draconic face.

"Heh....Well what can I provide huh?"

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I woke up drenched in sweat. A day without dreams was probably the best my body could do I guess.

This was probably a deep rooted issue with me. My bad experiences with dreams alongside the trauma in me would keep me from having a good nights sleep for the foreseeable future. Maybe one day I would be given a solution to this.

Drinking some water I slipped back into the sheets. My bed seemed extremely comfortable today. It had been a long time since I felt like I could stay in bed and rest and do nothing. Nothing could wake me up or move me from the bed.

WHOOOOSHH

Well... almost nothing.

I turned my eyes toward the window and a pair of eyes were on me as I was in bed and after a few seconds it asked me a question.

"You.... you are going to remain in bed for longer?"

"Mmm yeah"

"You have until Maurice comes back after his errand. After which we will begin boy."

"Okay."

My display yesterday led to a couple of things.

Firstly, our contract was an equal one, as in both parties were equal in the exchange. I had the same value as Dragoon. I didn't even initiate this idea, Dragoon, himself had put forth this option and I just agreed.

I mean, why wouldn't I? A free elevation in position was nice.

Secondly, we had decided to get into a teacher-student relationship. In this case, Dragoon would teach and train me, whereas I just learnt whatever was taught to me.

Both were in my favor, the first one especially. He could get information, labor and other kinds of entertainment from other places, but since I was here already, I decided to provide it. I would get something for it as well. There was no need to miss out on easy opportunities.

I wasn't going to be a picky eater and deny free stuff would I?

Sitting up I pulled out one of the displays and put one of the movies on my device onto it and slid it outside.

"Here watch this till he comes back."

WHOOOSHHH

"A movie?... It's been ages since I last saw one."

I was stretching this equal treatment a bit huh? Just give the creature a little display and keep him distracted for a while. This just gave me an exceptional bodyguard and I could live in this cave of my dreams.

Wait.

I just glossed over something.

It had been ages since he last saw one?

He had seen movies before?

"You have seen movies before?" I asked.

"Yep."

"When? I thought I was the first human you saw in a while."

"You are the first human I've seen in a while yes, you are not wrong. But I did watch movies a long time ago, long before you were even born."

"So you had an equal before me?" Heh, equal. I was an equal to a mythical creature and I would milk this for all eternity.

"No, we weren't equals." 

Well, that just made it better, he had a servant who showed him movies. How lucky was I? I ended up with a better outcome than that poor bastard.

"I was the lesser being in the relationship."

.....

.....

"What?"

What? Owner? Dragoon was a tamed beast? And the owner died? If there was a Waking how had tamed a dragon their name would have been known, what happened there? Also I had just felt pity for that guy a little while back. Fuck him.

He had a better contract than me.

And Dragoon was just divulging this kind of sensitive information like it was nothing.

"Should you be telling me this? Is it not dangerous?"

"Its information about me, and its information I don't plan to hide. I am proud of my origins and my owner. This kind of information is not worth anything to anyone."

"What about your owner? Why haven't I heard of him before?"

"Her. She died a long time ago and she was quite reclusive, not many people knew of her existence after everything went to shit."

"Oh. Was she nice?"

"Very. She was family to us."

Us? There were more I needed to worry about? More creatures with similar levels of strength? 

"Maurice was just a baby when she picked him up as well, he doesn't remember much of her as he gained sentience."

Aaah the Us was Maurice. That made sense.

"So, where is Maurice anyway?"

My sleep had faded away now. The conversation had been too interesting for me to stay sleepy. And now I decided to change the topic to one I could easily swallow. His answers got shorter as I kept the conversation going, his attention occupied by the movie playing on the display.

"On an errand."

"For food?"

"No."

"You can't share this information?"

"I can."

"Soooo what is it?"

"He went to inform the others."

Fuck.

There were more to be worried about. Man give me a break. I had just managed to convince myself that I had nothing to worry about.

"The others?" I prodded, wanting more information. I needed to know what I was facing or would be facing.

"The other Kings of these lands."

It turned its attention away from the display and continued, " I didn't need to send Maurice but it is good manners. One of them already knew about you anyway."

"One of them knows about me?"

"He knew about you the moment you stepped foot in this land. He just knows whatever happens on in here and... and he was the one who told me about you. Hence here you are."

The other was omnipotent? Well what are these creatures and what are these powers? 

What had I gotten myself into?