Path of Dragons-Chapter 63Book 9: : Duty

They remained in the cave for two weeks – not because they needed the rest, but rather, because the environment offered a perfect opportunity to grind out some experience. For Elijah, the impact was minimal, though even he managed to progress to level one-eighty-four. The dogs were even more affected by the glut of experience, gaining a multitude of levels as they displayed their cooperative abilities.

It was only because the experience had truly begun to dwindle that they decided to leave. On the last day before they intended to make the final push to what they hoped was the end of the challenge, Elijah sat across the cave from Oscar, with the dogs sprawled between them. The snake had just eaten an entire crab, so it was happily curled around its geode.

“This is almost pleasant,” Elijah said. “All we need is a roaring fire and something to roast, and it’d feel like a proper camping trip.”

Oscar nodded, then glanced at the cave’s entrance. After a few seconds, he said, “I like these moments the most.”

Idly, he scratched Jackson’s ears. The poor dog’s fur had grown back, though it was still a little patchy.

“I’m usually alone for this kind of thing,” Elijah responded. “This is better. If I had it to do all over again, I might have chosen a class like yours. Always having friends around sounds infinitely better than some of the things I’ve had to go through alone.”

In reality, though, he knew that Oscar’s pack was both a strength and a liability. They could only go where the weakest among them could survive. On top of that, Elijah wasn’t certain he could have endured the pain of losing another friend, especially when it was his choices that put said companion in danger in the first place. It would have driven him insane.

So, maybe it was better that he was so often alone.

“Did I ever tell you what it was like for me when the world first changed?” Elijah asked.

“Some.”

“I don’t think I would have survived without this guardian panther that lived on my island,” Elijah reminisced. He shook his head, continuing, “No. I definitely wouldn’t have. I don’t know if it set out to protect me or if it was just protecting the island. But without it, I would have been overrun by Voxx.”

“Nasty things.”

Escobar barked in agreement, and the snake shifted slightly at the disturbance.

“Yeah. The panther killed them, though. Rid the island of rifts and spontaneous manifestations. And then, it saved me. Almost died doing so, too. I healed it, and from then on, things were different. I think we might have formed a real bond if…if it hadn’t been killed by a group of people who invaded the island,” Elijah went on. “I spent years replaying that fight in my head. You know, cataloguing every mistake and second-guessing my actions. But in the end, I’m not sure any of it would have made any difference. By the time I got there, the panther was already grievously injured. I had no choice but to give it the release it wanted. It practically begged me for it.”

For a few moments, neither of them spoke, and the silence stretched between them. It was broken only by the snoring from one of the dogs – Freddy, Elijah thought, though with the way they were piled on top of one another into a big, furry ball, it was hard to tell. Then, finally, Oscar said, “The shelter was like that. We were a no-kill shelter, but sometimes, there were dogs that came through that needed to…our mercy. We didn’t do it ourselves. Instead, we took them to another shelter. One that euthanized animals all the time. That was one of my jobs.”

Elijah couldn’t miss the single tear tracing a line down Oscar’s cheek. “There was one that sticks out. A beagle. The tumor in her belly made her look like she was pregnant. Just dropped on our doorstep in a crate. No indications of where she came from. Just…abandoned,” he explained. “I remember scratching her ears as the vet put her down. I knew it was the best thing for her. She was in so much pain. But…”

“But that doesn’t make it any easier.”

Oscar shook his head. “It doesn’t.” He took a deep breath. “I almost quit after that. I love animals. Dogs especially. But if that was the kind of thing I had to do…”

“You didn’t quit, though. Why not?”

“Because somebody had to do it,” he said, lifting his head. His intense gaze felt like it cut straight through Elijah and into his soul. “Those animals didn’t deserve to suffer. They deserved love and a release. That’s what I did. Not because I liked it. It broke my heart every single time. But that’s what they needed.”

Elijah didn’t really have a response to that. He understood the logic behind it. He could feel the empathy in Oscar’s explanation. But he could also tell how difficult it had been for the man. That sort of thing took its toll; he knew that much for experience.

Finally, he said, “I’m sorry it fell to you to do it.”

“I’m not. I hated it. I didn’t want to do it. But it’s better that I took that burden than that someone else would have to.” ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

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After that, the conversation petered out. Eventually, Elijah doled out a few meals. For Oscar and him, he delved into his store of prepared food, but he fed the dogs raw meat he’d taken from their hunting expeditions. They seemed to enjoy it.

For his part, Elijah snacked on a meat pie stuffed with whale, some sort of tangy sauce, and a host of vegetables that he couldn’t identify. The thing was probably six inches across and half as deep, so when he finished, he was incredibly full. Oscar ate mostly meat, discarding his vegetables by feeding them to the dogs.

Apparently, he preferred the carnivore life.

Only a few hours later, once everyone’s food had settled, they began their preparations to depart. Elijah was busy gathering the disposable containers that had held their meals when one of the dogs perked up.

That was the only warning any of them received before a monster appeared at the mouth of the cave.

On the most basic level, it looked a little moray eel, though with scales like a crocodile. But it also featured sharp fins, a much bulkier head, and a beak bristling with sharp fangs. The creature was also at least five feet in diameter, and though it was much shorter than the rock snake, it likely possessed far more mass.

The second it came into view, the snake uncoiled from its natural treasure and struck. If Elijah had had any doubts about the creature’s level, they would have been put to bed in that moment. With a surge of dense ethera, it moved with the speed of inevitability, snapping out and locking its jaws onto the eel.

The eel was not appreciably weaker, though, and with a massive bite, it took a piece out of the rocky snake. For a long moment, the two creatures wrestled, twining together and biting one another.

At first, Elijah thought the snake had the upper hand, but soon enough, it became clear that the contest favored the eel. Like the leviathan he’d killed months before, the creature was equipped with intensely powerful regeneration. So, every bite the snake inflicted upon it was healed after only a few moments.

By comparison, the snake was merely durable. It could take a hit well enough, but it only took a moment for Elijah to realize the truth. With every passing second, the eel dragged the rock snake out of the cave. The serpent didn’t go without a fight, but the eel was the stronger combatant.

And when the snake left the cave, it clearly lost a degree of its power.

After only a few seconds, the writing was on the wall.

Elijah struck, slamming his scythe into the eel. It bit deep, and when he dragged the weapon away, the blade tore a huge gash in the monster’s side. Oscar and the dogs came in a second later, harrying the creature and peppering it with one attack after another.

It went down after only a few moments, but by that point, the damage had been done. The snake was dying.

Elijah and the dogs dragged the guardian back to the natural treasure, but even then, it was too far gone.

On the heels of their recent conversation, it would have been thematically appropriate to put the snake out of its misery. But neither Elijah nor Oscar got that chance. It died before the thought even crossed their minds.

The second its life dissipated, its rocky form fell apart.

“Shit,” Elijah muttered, kneeling beside the guardian. It had all happened so quickly – practically a blink of the eye – and he had no idea how to process the loss. He knew the guardian wasn’t real – not in the sense that the creatures on Earth were – but that didn’t make its loss any easier to bear. Especially after spending weeks in its company.

He, Oscar, and the pack stared at the creature for a long few minutes as they tried to figure out what to do. Then, at last, Oscar said, “Is its body useful? It has no hide. No meat. I don’t know what to do.”

“I don’t think so,” Elijah responded. Sure, its rocky body might have been somewhat valuable, but it was also heavy and bulky. He just didn’t have the capacity to tote it around everywhere.

But then his eyes turned to the geode. It was a natural treasure, and given its location, it was incredibly powerful. Maybe even on the level of the ash lotus or the leviathan’s bones. He only hesitated for a moment before retrieving the pickaxe Carmen had made for him and getting to work carving it out of the rocky ground.

It took a few hours to pry it free, but when he managed it, he was a little surprised at its size. The thing was around four feet tall and bulkier than he’d expected, with what looked like a spreading root system. Fortunately, he had just enough room in his Arcane Loop, though it was an incredibly tight fit.

The good thing was that with every passing day, they went through more of his stores, so the longer they stayed, the more room he would have for loot.

“Silver linings, I guess,” he said to himself. Then, he turned to Oscar and explained, “Once we figure out what the treasure is, we’ll figure out how to divvy it up.”

“You can have it,” Oscar stated. “I don’t need it.”

Escobar barked.

“Unless it is fire-attuned. Then you have to deal with the little one.”

Despite the somber mood that came from the snake’s death, Elijah gave the chihuahua a small smile. “You’re going to love my ash lotus, then.”

Escobar barked again, then jumped into Elijah’s arms. A second later, he was bathing his face in licks. “Calm down, buddy,” Elijah laughed, playfully holding the dog at bay. “You’ll see it soon enough.”

It took a few moments to get the dog to back off, and even then, he raced around the cave, bouncing off the walls and leaving charred pawprints all over the place.

“He’s excitable,” Oscar said apologetically.

“It’s fine. I sometimes forget how much having a happy dog around can help my mood. You’re lucky to have them.”

“I am.”

Soon enough, the time to depart came, and after a reminder to remain silent, they set off into the odd wilderness. It wasn’t long before they were attacked, but by that point, the entire group was well used to fighting together. So, they had no issues winning those battles.

Still, it was a slog, and what’s more, the necessity for silence weighed on everyone as they trekked across the terrain. Unfortunately, there were no more safe havens along the way, so over the next three weeks, they never got more than a moment of respite.

The result was that after following the increasingly dense ethera to the center of the island, the predominant feeling among them was not joy or a sense of accomplishment. Rather, they were all exhausted and ready to finish the task at hand.

Thankfully, it seemed that there was only one obstacle that remained in their way.

It was too bad, then, that said obstacle was nearly thirty feet tall and built like a water giant, though one at least half again taller than any of the others Elijah had seen. It also blazed with so much ethera that he couldn’t properly gauge its overall power. But one thing was certain – it was a higher level than him.

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