I finally showed my face at dinner, feeling relaxed despite the fact I spent most of the day getting thrown around my mental plane. One noticeable improvement was to the amount of time I could spend in the plane which had been five hours before, but I had managed to double it by forcing myself to re-enter a meditative state with a special pill Kiara had created long ago. That was how I realized that One couldn"t sense the flow of time outside of the plane since he greeted me as usual, without any surprise of my quick return. Although I was still overwhelmed by his speed and skill, I was starting to antic.i.p.ate his attacks and had nearly blocked a few, just nearly though.Alice, Sophia, Lesedi, and Terri were chatting with each other, but stopped and looked at me, causing the hair on the back of my neck rise. A sense of dread crept over and I nearly backed out of the room, but Kiara, Melissa, and Yue entered right behind me. The four of them gave me a knowing smile and I did my best not to swallow in fear as I was pushed in. The three girls sat down and poured themselves drinks while Melissa gave me a concerned look. I sighed and took my normal seat, knowing that there was nothing I could do about whatever it was they were planning.
"How was your day?" Alice asked the trio.
"Quite well, we were able to produce fifteen high-grade Chaos Resistance potions and Chaos Cleansing pills each and handfuls of the mid-grades," Kiara replied with a small, proud smile on her face.
"Impressive."
"Katye has also been very helpful by tending some of the more needy herbs while we work," Yue added.
"Where is she?" Lesedi asked with a chuckle.
I fought back a blush as I shot a look at Alice, who was "conveniently" looking over in Terri"s direction.
"Raz fell into some mud, so she is bathing him before she comes down to dinner," Kiara answered.
Everyone laughed and Ella walked with a tired expression, but still smiling. She plopped down, next to Kiara, and poured herself a gla.s.s of juice. We chatted for awhile before Gustavo and Katye walked in together, talking and smiling. My mood instantly darkened, but I reminded myself of my decision. My condolence, though, was a sour look from the four girls nearest me directed at Gustavo. I just shook my head and pulled out a beer in annoyance. For once, Gustavo was able to pick up on the hints of the other girls as he quickly separated from her and took his seat between Melissa and Ella. Thankfully, the golem set down a tray of food a moment later and I used it as an excuse to stay quiet while I ate.
Midway through the meal, Alice got tired of the strained atmosphere, so she said, "A few of you know, but now that we are gathered, I can tell everyone that there will be a window to send you into the "Rift". The Shaconage Mountains are a hotspot for herbs and valuable metals, so I would like everyone to go... and I do mean everyone." Alice"s eyes rested on Katye with her last statement.
"Me too?" Katye asked, surprised.
"Yes, your magic is improving quickly and it would be great for you to get some live practice in for a change. With the whole group joining and a few loaned items, you shouldn"t be in any real danger," Alice a.s.sured.
"You can"t mean we get to use the zeppelin?!?" Yue exclaimed, excitedly.
"How else could I send you with my best detectors? I"m not risking anything going wrong and they get lost," Alice replied.
Gustavo, Lesedi, and Terri made excited sounds and I couldn"t deny some excitement myself. The zeppelin was a mobile fortress with its own set of formations woven into its very construction and the main deck was lined with mage cannons. There were only two bedrooms and two bathrooms, so we had to share, but there was a kitchen equipped with a stone golem to cook for us. It was the closest we could get to the manor while in the "Rift", so it did wonders for morale.
"Just because I"m loaning it out to you guys doesn"t mean this will be an easy trip. The region I"m sending you into will be dangerous. Uktena patrol the entire mountain range and the Tsitsuyi Mountain will be close by where the Bataie that inhabit it are fiercely territorial. Since you will be using the zeppelin, you will without a doubt draw the attention of various flying creatures. There are large number of Flying Heads, so try not to get swarmed if you see a flock approaching. The biggest danger I"ve "seen" are three Piasa Birds and a pair of Thunderbirds. As long as you leave the Thunderbirds alone, they should ignore your present since they are actually one of the few guardian races of humans.
"The Piasa Birds, though, are trouble. They are dragon birds, so Becca will need to wear a charm to mask her bloodline, but if she is forced to transform, the charm will be destroyed and they will be drawn to her if they are within six hundred miles of her, which they will be. In the event that happens, you need to activate all of the defensive formations and pilot the ship the east, in the direction of the ocean. The Thunderbirds will be patrolling the coast while you are there and, as their natural predators, they may aid you in the fight," Alice explained.
I groaned since the charm made my skin itch, but everyone else adopted a more serious expression. The few times we had to enter into the region of a "dragon" creature ended in a ma.s.sive fight with us getting pulled out just before we were overran. It wasn"t because my full strength was so needed that we were pushed into such a desperate situation, but anything with dragon blood was so hard to kill, even though it had been highly diluted in a few cases.
An idea struck me and I asked, "Do you have a spare charm, Ella?"
"I can make an extra one in the morning, but why?" she asked.
"Well, before, it was only broke when I fully shifted, but I can do this now," I said, pulling out my arm I had hidden under the table while I sprouted my scales. "I want to test if I can use them and maybe even my magic. If I can, my strength will be about Gustavo"s level which means I may not have to fully transform."
Everyone"s expression lightened and Ella nodded, "I"ll have an extra one finished in the morning then, just in case."
"The send-off will be eight in the evening tomorrow, so try to sleep in the day," Alice said.
"Becca, Yue, Ella, and Katye, come by the workshop once you are done, so I can go over your gear before we leave," Lesedi added.
My jaw flexed unconsciously when I heard both Katie"s and my names, but I told myself that even if this was an elaborate trap, I wasn"t going to fall for it. Dinner was mostly over, only Gustavo and I still working on the remaining food since we never let food go to waste in this house. Sophia and Lesedi both stood up and put their dishes in the sink before they walked out of the kitchen. Ella and Yue were the next to stand, but Ella notice Katye was also finished.
"Would you like to come with us, Katye? We can grab Raz before we go to the workshop," Ella suggested.
"I was... I was going to wait for Becca," Katye said quietly.
Part of me wanted to look up and see her face because she sounded almost bashful, but I refused to look away and said curtly, "You should go ahead with them, I"m going to be awhile."
"Oh..." she replied, barely above a whisper.
I heard her stand up and walked away. When the door shut, I felt hand hit the back of my head which I ignored moodily since it didn"t hurt.
"Really, Becca?" Alice asked.
"Drop it, Alice," I replied as I finished off my beer.
"Becca, she"s obviously..."
"I said DROP IT!" I yelled as I slammed the empty can down and jump to my feet, my scales crackling with crimson lightning.
The ironbark table creaked under the force of my fist as a little smoke rose from where the electricity had charred the wood. I quickly pulled my hand, but it was too late as everyone still in the room looked at me with expressions of shock and even a little fear. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, and reopened them as I released it.
"This is why I said I wouldn"t" I said as calmly as I could before I left the kitchen.
I slipped out the front door and stood a few feet out looking up at the full moon. Silently blaming the full moon for my behavior, I crossed over to the training field and headed to the archery range. Surprisingly, I didn"t feel like destroying things, so I decided to practice with my throwing knives while wallowing in my self pity and a new bottle of Kilao. When I reached the target zone, I pulled out a folding chair and a thigh holster with seven identical, golden knives, each less than an inch in width and five inches long.
I pulled one out after I attached the holster and sat down. Lesedi had embossed a dragon wing across the blade and handle was the upper body and neck. Its mouth was open as if it was roaring and Sophia had placed two, tiny yellow sapphires as the eyes of the dragon which acted as the focuses for the enchantments she had placed on them. They had similar enchantments that would return the knives to their place in the holster and, when I filled them with my mana, they would magnify the explosion. Although I wasn"t using enough to cause an explosion, I still put in enough mana to activate the return enchantment which caused the yellow eyes to glow, leaving a trail through the night air.
My bottle was half way finished when I heard a pair of feet walk up. That was one thing about the house that never seemed to change, someone would always fine you when you swore you wanted to be alone, but really didn"t. I looked over my shoulder and saw Terri walking over.
"Alice sent you instead, huh?" I asked with a dark chuckle, throwing another knife.
"Well, I volunteered," Terri said, joining me as she pulled out her own chair.
"I guess Sophia and Lesedi were busy with Katye and the others," I said rather more snarky than I meant.
"You"re being a b****, ya know?" Terri said as she cracked a beer.
I laughed genuinely in for what felt like a long time and nodded my head as I agreed, "Yeah, I guess I am... I know you guys are just trying to help, but honestly, I don"t want it. You were there... something about her sets me off. All of Alice"s texts about dragons emphasizes that they are solitary creatures and now that I am around another person with a similar bloodline its causing me these problems."
"Personally, I think you are just wussing out, but whatever... Give me a set!" Terri said.
I chuckled as I tossed over the second holster. We both made a game of hitting the targets as we drank. Around midnight, Terri dragged me inside to get our gear checked over Lesedi and Sophia. I only agreed once she promised to ensure it was only those two in the workshop since I was drunk and cranky.
The workshop was large with it divided evenly with silver posts that ran from the floor to the ceiling and had a shimmering membrane that kept the heat and ash from the Lesedi"s forge restricted to the back of the room. Sophia and Lesedi were lounging across a couch in Sophia"s section as usual with Lesedi laying Back against Sophia, who would drape an arm around her waist while she read.
"You two weren"t off having "fun", were you?" Lesedi asked with a teasing smile.
I rolled my eyes as I placed my storage ring on the table before taking off my knife holsters and placing it down as well then sat down with a huff in a nearby chair.
"Go easy on her, Lesedi," Terri warned.
I wanted to refute her words and I wasn"t some child, but considering my outburst earlier, I really couldn"t.
"Want to talk about it?" Sophia asked as she waved a hand, causing my gear to float over to her and Lesedi.
"If I say no, will you actually leave it there?" I retorted.
"My, my, you are p.r.i.c.kly tonight," Sophia responded with a light chuckle.
I could only sigh since I knew there was no way anyone would take what I was saying seriously as I could feel that my eyes were golden, giving away my unstable mood.
"You should have seen her after you left," Terri added.
"Really?" I groaned.
"Feel free to break whatever you want as long as you don"t use your magic, I have repairing formations on everything in the room," Sophia chuckled.
"I hate my life," I groaned dramatically as I stared up at that ceiling.
The others laughed while I nursed my bottle. No one in the room would pity me with the way I was acting which is truly what I wanted. With them I could blow off some steam and be a normal person for awhile. It was moments like these I would cherish for the rest of my life.