Path of Dragons

Healing Rain mixed with normal precipitation as a storm gripped the island, bathing Elijah and his coffee tree in ethera as well as life-giving water. There was a time when he might not have remained outdoors in such a storm, yet he found it comforting and rejuvenating in a way that had nothing to do with the effects of his spell.

It helped that the seasons had once again turned, with spring giving way to summer. With that, the temperatures had risen, giving the rain a soothing cast that paired well with Elijah’s memories.

But he knew it couldn’t last.

Nor did he want it to.

Because soon, his cooldown would be up, and he would be able to return to the Moon Glade and resume his search for his sister. Four years – give or take – had passed since he’d last spoken to her, and though he clung to the idea that she and her family had survived, he knew that the odds were not in their favor. And even if they were still alive – as he fervently hoped – his reunion with them was not urgent. If they’d made it this long, then they would persevere for weeks – or even months – longer, and without his input.

He knew that.

Yet, that knowledge was not the comfort it should have been. Anxiety gripped his mind, telling him that he needed to find them as quickly as possible. He had no idea where that feeling came from, but from a psychological perspective, it was understandable. Until recently, he’d had other things on his mind. But now, finding Alyssa, Carmen, and Miguel was the most important task on his list. As such, for the past months, it had drawn the vast majority of his attention.

And he was impatient to complete the search.

The first step was to finally reach Seattle. From there, he hoped he could find something that would point him in the right direction. Perhaps he could even find them, safe and sound, living in the city.

It was unlikely, though. For all he knew, Easton had ended up on the other side of the world. If that was the case, Elijah had no idea how he was going to find the town Alyssa called home.

He sighed, cutting that line of thought off before it could gain any momentum. He knew the odds. He’d examined all the terrible possibilities that threatened to stymie his reunion with his family. Yet, dwelling on those would do no good for anyone. Indeed, it would send him spiraling into a combination of panic, anxiety, and melancholy.

Elijah refused to let that take hold of his mind.

Instead, he focused on the product of the Miracle Seed. The coffee tree he’d grown had sprouted in record time. Even when Nature’s Bounty was taken into account, it had reached maturity far more quickly than he ever could have expected. Already, the tree had bloomed into white flowers. From there, the petals had fallen free, leaving nubs called carpels behind. Those, in turn, would become the coffee cherries.

Normally, those flowers wouldn’t have appeared for years, but clearly, the tree that had come from the Miracle Seed was special. And that trait was only enhanced by Elijah’s copious use of Nature’s Bounty.

He opened his eyes to see Nerthus standing next to the six-foot-tall tree, his hand on the trunk. Elijah asked, “How is it?”

Apparently, Nerthus had an ability similar to Nature’s Bounty. It was only usable within the general vicinity of his ancestral tree – or of what he referred to as the daughter tree in Ironshore – but it was almost as powerful as Elijah’s own ability. That was a good thing, considering that without it, the subsequent trees they’d planted from cuttings that originated with the eldest coffee tree, it would be quite some time before there were any viable coffee cherries.

Even with Nerthus’ help, it would be a month or two before there was anything worthwhile. But that was fine. If nothing else, the world’s transformation had taught Elijah patience. Things tended to happen when they were ready to happen, and not a moment before that.

Of course, the addition of human interaction definitely threatened to shatter that laissez-faire attitude toward time. But Elijah wasn’t ready to think about that. Instead, he pushed himself to his feet, then stretched his stiff muscles.

As he did, Nerthus answered, “The tree is healthy.”

“Anything else?” asked Elijah.

“What else is there?”

“That…is a good point,” was Elijah’s response. Indeed, for a tree, the only thing that really mattered was if it was healthy or not. Everything else would be weathered in due time. “I think I need to run over to Ironshore before I head back out. Do you need anything?”

“Seeds.”

“What kind?”

“All kinds.”

“Oh. Alright. I’ll see what’s available,” Elijah promised. He wasn’t very optimistic about it, though. Last time he’d asked around about seeds, he’d been told that there were none available. Maybe Biggle had some.

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After that, Elijah ran his hand through his rain-slicked hair, then returned to the treehouse where he took a quick shower, dressed, then gathered his things. Once he’d thrown his cloak over his shoulders, he left the grove behind. As he crossed the island, he swung by a small meadow where the deer had taken up residence. He’d been keeping track of their adjustment via his locus, but it was nice to lay eyes on them.

They greeted him warmly – probably because he’d approached carrying a few grove berries, but Elijah told himself it was because they were truly happy to see him. He didn’t really believe it for a second, though.

He spent the next half hour playing with the fauns before leaving them behind and finding his way to his collection of rowboats. There were only three left, which meant that he’d soon need to spend some time retrieving the couple he’d left on the other shore and bringing them back to the island.

He desperately wanted to avoid that, but it seemed inevitable. Still, he wasn’t going to engage in that particular labor until absolutely necessary. So, he pushed it out of mind for the time being.

With that, it wasn’t long before he pushed one of his last three boats into the surf, hopped in, and started rowing across. The trip was easier than ever, partially due to his increasingly powerful body, but also because, in the wake of the storm, the strait was like glass. So, the boat easily glided across the placid surface of the water.

As he went, he was, as always, aware of the creatures beneath the surface. However, unlike previous trips, he took the time to identify the estranged that should have been obvious. There were only a few – like a giant turtle with tentacles growing out of its shell – but they were there, all the same. Yet, as obviously out-of-place as they were, they felt more at home than the hydra had.

Perhaps they would eventually acclimate and be accepted into the environment.

Or maybe that was his preference for optimism at work.

In any case, it didn’t take Elijah long to reach the docks of Ironshore, and when he did, he was greeted by the customary glances of distrust. They didn’t veer into hatred as they once might have, but acceptance still seemed a little ways off. Perhaps it would never arrive.

Putting that out of mind, Elijah tied the boat off, then commenced with his errands. Not only did he buy supplies to replace those he’d already used, but he also swung by Biggle’s shop to find some seeds. The Alchemist didn’t have any, but he did direct Elijah to a worn-looking elf who lived on the other side of town. That elf – named Rega – was in charge of Ironshore’s farming efforts, and they parted with a variety of seeds that ended up costing Elijah a small fortune. He paid it willingly, though, knowing that Nerthus would use them well.

Besides, the spryggent had never really asked for anything else, so buying a few seeds was the least Elijah could do for his friend.

Next, Elijah took the time to visit Ramik in his office, where he was informed that the city had progressed considerably. Not only had work on the wall reached the halfway point, but the weekly runs through the tower had gone incredibly well. Their people were leveling steadily, with Kurik maintaining his lead as the strongest person in town.

“I even conquered it once myself,” Ramik said proudly.

“You? I didn’t think you were a combatant,” Elijah admitted.

“I’m a Sorcerer by archetype,” he stated. “A Sage by class. No real attack options, I’m afraid. More of an enhancement specialist.”

“That sounds useful,” Elijah said. “How come you never enhanced me?”

“Ah. I tried,” Ramik said. “But the spells were ineffective, I believe because you were already under the effect of a more powerful version of my spells.”

“Huh? I’m not a Sage.”

“Yes. But take my spell, Sage’s Fortitude. It increases the recipient’s Constitution by eight points,” the dapper goblin explained. “If you have a Constitution enhancement that is stronger than that, mine will not take effect. One can only have a single enhancement that affects any given attribute. With some exceptions, of course. With the system, there are always those to worry about.”

Elijah nodded. That made sense, though it did highlight the need to coordinate with any allies in the future.

“So, everything’s going well?”

“Exceedingly so. Biggle is on the verge of finishing some body cultivation potions, and with the increased ethera density, we can likely utilize them to a high degree of efficiency,” he said excitedly. “If we had more fighters, we could become a true power on this planet.”

“Maybe,” Elijah said, of two minds about that. He wanted Ironshore to be secure. After all, he had friends in the city. Ramik was among them. Yet, he couldn’t quite forget the enmity with which some of the citizens held him. On top of that, it really hadn’t been that long ago that Ssethik had tried to kill him. And before that, fifty mercenaries had invaded his island.

That led Elijah to wonder if the collection of gnomes, goblins, and dwarves were truly his allies, or if they were simply too afraid of the consequences of being his enemy. Would they remain his friends if they had enough people to defend themselves? Or if they had the power to defeat him?

Those were good questions.

But for the time being, he chose to trust Ramik because the goblin mayor had yet to give him reason not to. So far, all of Elijah’s dealings with him had been above board.

With that in mind, the meeting with Ramik went on with only a small degree of tension between them. Finally, Elijah excused himself and visited Druid’s Park. As was the case every other time he’d visited, he saw children playing in the area. That gave him some hope, at least.

After he’d ensured that the tree was healthy, Elijah returned to his island. Once there, he gave the seeds over to Nerthus – who became visibly excited by the gift – then retreated to the treehouse where he decided to call it a night. After all, he intended to return to the wilderness in the morning when his cooldown was up. So, he wanted to spend one last night in his own bed.

However, as he lay abed, sleep was not forthcoming. After lying there for a couple of hours, Elijah pushed upright and climbed out of his comfortable bed. A few moments later, he was sitting on his balcony, which gave him a great view of the ancestral tree and the open sky above it.

Stars twinkled down on him, and not for the first time, he found himself wondering if his sister was looking at that same sky. If so, what was she thinking? Did she know he was alive? Was she searching for him, too?

Questions like that assailed his mind until, wrapped in his Cloak of the Iron Bear, Elijah nodded off, only to awaken at sunrise. After taking a few minutes to stretch – sleeping in that awkward position still resulted in more than a few aches and pains – Elijah took a shower, gathered everything he needed, then let Nerthus know he was departing.

Then, at last, Elijah cast Roots of the World Tree, focusing on the personal teleportation function. A second later, his feet settled into the soft earth surrounding the pond.

But he wasn’t alone.

Indeed, he was surrounded.

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