All the Dust that Falls

Chapter 199: Dragon Rider

Name: Archibald Smith, Level: 69, Race: Human, Class: Companion of Daedalus, Titles: Dragon Rider, Hero of Legend, Bravehearted, Warden of Nazareth’gak, Age: Unknown, Highest Stat: Strength, Lowest Stat: Wisdom, Status: Awakening, 80%

Bee read off the line aloud. She was pretty sure that Void knew all this, but Tony didn't. "Level 69. Wow. Master, last time we were down here Scan barely gave me any info.. Also, the added detail on his awakening progress probably means we can get a better estimate of how long he'll be like this for."

Void beeped sagely from the floor, but no instructions or wisdom appeared above him, so Bee continued to study Archibald. Companion of Daedalus. Was this man really the hero spoken of in stories, the companion of such an ancient, powerful dragon? If that was the case…

It took her a few seconds before she felt eyes on her. Looking around for some sort of threat, she met Tony's steady gaze. Their eyes locked for a moment before she cocked her brow in question.

He just shook his head. "That explains a lot. Like, a lot."

In a moment of realization, it clicked with Bee. She searched back through her memory to see if she had ever told anyone about her Scan skill. She was pretty sure that Void knew about it, but she wasn't sure if she had ever told Tony.

"Well, obviously we shouldn't tell anyone about him." Bee said, trying to change the subject.

"Why not?" Tony asked. His tone wasn't challenging, but as if he was honestly curious.

"Well, from what Void showed me," she gestured to the statue, "this was the companion of some dragon. And if he is waking up, we should probably let him be rather than disturb him. And with something this interesting, people would definitely want to come see it. Not to mention I don't want to lose anyone down here in the catacombs.

"But really, we do not need a dragon showing up here and causing trouble. The only person who could even deal with the dragon would be Void, and I don't think we want to rely on his help when we could easily just avoid the issue. We'll just… let the companion wake up himself, then go find his dragon when he's ready."

Tony nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. I suppose we can keep this a secret. Don't have a problem with that. But I am going to want your help with that Scan ability. It's gonna be huge for picking out people and the best places to put them. Okay?"

Bee just looked at him. "I have been helping. Haven't you noticed?"

Tony rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Yeah. That actually makes a lot of sense. Guess it's just weird to know how… Why didn't you tell me?"

"I…" Bee bit her lip. "I kind of forgot. Sorry."

Void sat silently through their whole conversation. So silently, in fact, that Bee almost missed him rolling forward and tapping the knee of the companion frozen in stone. He let out a complicated series of beeps that she couldn't really understand. Still, it sounded cheerful, as if it was looking forward to the future.

Bee was extremely hesitant to question her god, but she was just too curious to hold back. "Master. Do you know more about the dragon and this man? When did you learn about this?"

She tried to bite back the last question, as she wasn't sure she wanted to know. Especially if it acquired this knowledge through some divine power or the like. But it slipped out anyways. Void turned to face her and let out an affirmative beep.

So it did know more about the pair. But rather than elaborate, it just played the same set of images that it had shown her this morning. The moving illusions that prompted them to come down here. It almost seemed like that was the answer to her second question.

Thinking a little bit, Bee realized what she saw might not have been some sort of Divine Vision that Void had sent. "Did that all… actually happen?"

She got back a simple affirmative beep and couldn't do anything but sit there, jaw agape, imagining Void casually flicking Daedalus the Red into a wall. Well, not just imagining it. She has seen it, even if secondhand. What had happened to make her master so mad at that dragon? Several moments passed before she realized that she had been staring and quickly snapped out of it, catching Tony staring as well.

This was the first time Tony had seen the vision and the images, and Bee couldn't blame him for his reaction. It was quite incredible to see, especially given the contents of the images. Dragons were often put on the same level as gods in myths and legends, or at least second fiddle by a small margin. But for the difference to be this large… Those stories must have been exaggerating the power of dragons or severely underestimating gods.

After they recovered, she realized Void wasn't done with its story. A new set of images with more detail were playing. They told the story of Void hovering in a cave. After redirecting a brief gout of fire, her master apparently struck up a conversation with the dragon. She, unfortunately, couldn't make out the words from the silent and small image.

"Master. When did this happen?"

The response this time came across as a simple text message rolling across the air above Void. "Oh, yesterday."

***

They were silent for the first leg of the journey back up to the castle. Bee was lost in her thoughts, just as Tony seemed to be. Void rolled along ahead of them happily, occasionally stopping to polish a rough spot on the stone floor. Eventually, Bee spoke up.

"Should we have someone waiting for Archibald when he wakes up?" She asked. Tony blinked and looked at her, processing what she had said.

"Do we know how long it will be? It said 80% for awakening. If he was there for thousands of years, it could be that he doesn't wake up anywhere in our lifetime."

"It could be, but it could be relatively soon, too. If it was based on when the lieutenant was freed or killed or something else. And do we even know if the progression is linear?" Bee rebutted.

"Well, I'm just pointing out that if we do have someone waiting down here, they could be waiting for a very long time. And it's not an easy trek to get here and back. Besides, what if he's confused when he wakes up? According to you, he's extremely powerful and could very easily hurt someone."

"Yes, but having him wake up alone sounds almost just as dangerous. That would be awful, wouldn't it? What if he gets out and assumes we're enemies? Or busts straight out of the ground and through the castle somehow?"

Tony mused. "I suppose. What if we left him a note or something? Like a message, letting him know what's going on with the world. He could read that and be at least a little bit less confused when he comes up the catacombs."

"I like that. We should maybe also leave some food. We can put some preserved food and water down there. I can only imagine how hungry and thirsty you might be after such a long rest. It would probably also go a long way toward leaving a favorable impression, so we don't get attacked as soon as he wakes up." Bee agreed.

With a plan settled, a few more minutes went by with no one speaking. Eventually, Bee opened her mouth again. "Oh, Tony. While we're down here, I figured I'd ask. What's going on with the castle? Everyone's acting quite weird."

Tony jerked, tripping over his feet and slightly stumbling a few steps before he caught himself on the wall. His head whipped around to look at her in surprise. He met her confused gaze for a few seconds and shook his head. "Ah, don't worry about it. It's not going to be a problem, promise."

—

Harold and Amy were several days behind schedule. But Harold didn't let that bother him too much. The most important news had already been sent. Hopefully, that would give enough warning that The Warden could take action. He had stayed in one spot for a bit longer, hoping he might get some reply. But none came. So they had moved on to the third lieutenant in the region that they were to check.

When they first reached the ancient ruins where the third lieutenant lay, everything appeared normal. All of the standard defenses were in place, and they had no problems getting there. No one stopped them or asked about their business. No one seemed to be aware that this site was important for any reason. The only indication otherwise was the very subtle traps and triggers that The Warden's people had set and maintained for so long.

Eventually, they found themselves standing in the central containment room. The pair looked upon the statue still there, radiating the power Harold had expected. Still, he couldn't help but be wary. Amy left to watch outside and ensure he wasn't disturbed as he pulled out various magic implements, one after the other, sometimes flinging dust in the air.

Sometimes he would just look at a tool before putting it away. Sometimes he'd place them around the chamber and check them repeatedly. All throughout the room, Harold paced. He couldn't throw off the feeling that something was wrong. The measurements started to agree with him too, and he had to double-check and reset his mindset several times to ensure that it wasn't just him confirming his biases. But he was right; there was an imbalance of power in the air.

He was thoroughly convinced when he finally left the room that evening to go check on Amy. Despite all the searching, Harold had yet to pinpoint what was causing the issue, but the exhaustion in his brain wasn't letting him make more progress on it tonight.

"Anything happen out here?" Harold asked as he settled down on the rock next to Amy. She looked over at him and just shrugged. She pointed out over the savanna and indicated a lone tree a few degrees off from the setting sun.

"Some big cat chased some antelope a few hours ago. But I don't think that's something we need to worry about." She added the last bit with a grin and bumped her shoulder against his. "How's the investigation?"

It was Harold's turn to shrug. "Something is definitely off. I can't tell what yet, but at least it hasn't gotten out yet. And it's not getting worse at a noticeable rate."

"So what are you doing out here, then?" Amy asked with a worried expression.

"Need a small break. Brain's gone to mush." Harold said, looking out over the fading light. After a few moments, he found a different topic. "Do you have your orders for after this mission?"

Amy nodded. "Nothing I can say, unfortunately."

Harold grunted. Not that he had expected anything else. A couple months of travel had loosened their professional relationship a bit, but operational security made it hard to really get to know someone. If she didn't have orders, he would have been surprised.

"I'm surprised I was able to stay on a mission for this long." Amy said. Harold's eyebrows rose slightly. Was he going to find out more about his travel companion beyond the basics? "To maintain deep cover, I haven't been able to be away from home for long."

"Home?"

"Base. You know."

He did know. He also knew how dangerous it was to start thinking of it as home. "If your orders changed and you were able to be gone for this long, so abruptly too… Well, if I were you, I wouldn't expect to go back anytime soon."

Amy's face froze, and he continued on. "Things are changing, and if you're at all competent, the Warden might need you to take a more active role now."

"You really think so?"

Getting to his feet, Harold placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure of it. Sorry."

Walking back inside the ruins, he got back to work.

It took most of the night, but he eventually found the issue. One of the inner runes had a line drawn through it. A single perfectly straight line ran through the precise etching, disrupting its activity. It was easy enough for Harold to fix; a few scrubs with a wire brush, and the energy balanced once again. The only thing he couldn't figure out was how did it get there?

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