Site 2: Rathess
The first thing they said when we arrived was, “Where have you been?”
From the journals of Rivers Between Us, twilight caste sorcerer
Will to Power
Hacking through the invasive vines, creepers, saplings, and saw grasses as they went, Rivers Between Us and the ancient Dragon King Rahadru made their way through the ruins of Rathess. Occasionally the great lizard would pause beneath a broken arch, overgrown and covered in rust brown lichen, but he would pass on swiftly, treading with caution up broken stairways and past courtyards that stank of feral dragon piss.
They stopped at a low rise in the north of the city, Rahadru sniffing the wind and checking for landmarks while Rivers panted, his hands on his knees, and spat a red streak into the bushes.
The dragon king appraised him for a moment and stated, as though pointing out a surprising fact, “You are weak.”
“Yes... uh... you’ve got me there.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and tried to stay standing.
“If I wanted to, I could kill you now.” Rahadru tapped one claw against his belt while he considered the proposition. “I won’t kill you,” he said, nodding his head as though he had made a fair, if somewhat lenient judgment.
“Thanks, that means a lot to me.” He gave up and sat down on a chunk of marble rubble. He asked a question to distract his guide from the delay. “So, this orastery, it’s a big deal, huh?”
“Constructed and fueled by powerful ancient magics, it could help you on your journey, yes.” He turned to look at the youth seated beside him, and the corners of his mouth turned downward. “But is a nestling like you ready for the Sun’s power? You can’t have seen your fiftieth summer. You should be drinking mother’s milk, not god’s blood.”
“I get that a lot. Listen, I have to finish this. Maybe we should keep moving...”
“Why do you have to finish this? Do you seek the adamant circle for the power, or for the...”
“Sure.” Rivers nodded his head.
Rahadru’s unblinking eyes widened. “There were other choices. Some of them were quite good...”
“...oh, well, maybe...”
“...but power is the best reason.” He nodded his great scaled head. “Good choice. But why do you want power? You are small and practically an infant.”
Rivers scratched at the stubble on his scalp. “Well... I kind of have to sneak into a deathlord’s fortress, descend into some kind of labyrinth, and steal a powerful arcane artifact. I don’t think I can do it without the strongest magic in creation.”
“Hmm. Those are hard things to do.” He suddenly narrowed his eyes. “Why do you want to steal from the dead?”
“Um... yeah. I guess... there’s this girl? At least, I think she’s a girl, but she might be a man, or really old, which would be... awkward, and kind of off-putting... but I promised her that I would help her... not be half-dead and enslaved to an ancient zombie-lord of a decaying necropolis.”
Rahadru sighed with profound disappointment. “You were wrong then. You don’t seek this knowledge for power. You seek it for love. This is also a good reason, for a man. But it’s not as good as power.”
“You’re not going to start telling me how stupid I am for doing this, and how I should never have started dating her in the first place and all that, are you? Because I’m starting to get really tired of hearing it.” He rubbed the sweat off his face with a sleeve of his robe, then though better of it and ripped off the sleeve.
“No. You do what you want. You bear the mandate of heaven. If you want to breed with her, it’s your right.” Rahadru sniffed the air again. “If you want to take something from a deathlord, you will need strong magic, for you are very weak. I will help you.”
“Thanks... I guess.” He stood and looked over the ruins. “I guess we should keep moving before this heart to heart lasts any longer.”
“Agreed.”
