Path of Dragons

They weren’t real – not as he recognized reality, at least. Elijah knew that without a shadow of a doubt. However, that didn’t seem to matter when he was surrounded by suffering people. Even if those people happened to be humanoid walruses. He had been at it for hours, and he was soaked with sweat that had mingled with precipitation from Healing Rain. He gasped, pulling his hand away from his latest patient.

He was tiny. Barely more than toddler-sized, and with tiny nubs for tusks. He’d also been on the edge of death before Elijah had stepped in and cured some sort of infection by virtue of Healing Touch. It had taken the last of his Ethera, but he’d finally done it. Everyone in the village who’d needed healing had gotten it.

And Elijah had been rewarded accordingly. He glanced at the notifications he’d so far ignored, and he couldn’t help but give a tired smile as he slumped to the ground and leaned against the tree in the center of the square. It felt different from the vegetation on his island. Like the shadow of a tree.

Or a projection, which was probably more accurate.

He leaned his head back and stared at the arboreal canopy, watching the stark white leaves dancing in the subtle breeze. Projection or not, it was definitely beautiful. He stared at it for a long few seconds before reading the notifications.

Then, he moved on to the next one:

Two levels in a single day. It was the fastest pace he’d managed since washing ashore, and he hadn’t even gotten into a fight. That alone made him question his previous actions. If healing was so profitable, then what use did he have for killing?

Of course, he’d yet to kill anything simply to gain kill energy. The crabs and other animals he’d hunted, he’d done so for food. The invaders, he’d killed in order to protect the sanctity of his Grove as well as in a doomed attempt to assist the panther. And the Voxx – well, that was less about killing, and more about simple extermination. He likened it to pest control. Unpleasant, necessary, and ultimately beneficial. Whatever the case, it wasn’t as if he’d set out to murder hordes of creatures for the sake of quick leveling.

Elijah shook his head. He couldn’t even fool himself. While he didn’t think of himself as a bloodthirsty murderer, the reality was that he had enjoyed exterminating the Voxx. He had gotten satisfaction from hunting – and killing – the various animals that were his main sources of food. And the invaders? They were the enemy. He’d known it from the first moment he’d laid eyes on that settlement across the strait, and that impression had been further cemented when they’d tried to kill the panther.

No - he felt more guilty about killing crabs than he’d ever feel about taking out the invaders. That realization probably should have worried him, yet he was curiously ambivalent about it.

He let out a sigh and focused on his status:

His attributes truly were beginning to round out, and though his physical abilities hadn’t really kept pace with his expectations, he was satisfied. Originally, he’d thought that the threshold for peak humanity was the ten-point mark. However, he’d had to reassess that assumption when he’d nearly doubled that point total, and he was still incapable of superhuman feats of physical prowess. Certainly, he felt confident that he’d reached at least Olympic-athlete levels of ability, but he wouldn’t be lifting any cars anytime soon.

Before his latest burst of levels, he’d done a little testing, and as far as he could tell, it would take nearly triple his current totals to reach what he considered truly superhuman territory. For example, when he got to sixty Strength – assuming he didn’t advance his body cultivation, which seemed likely considering that he still hadn’t figure out how to do so – he estimated that he’d be capable of comfortably lifting around two-thousand pounds.

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Of course, that was assuming the gains would be linear. From one-to-ten, they hadn’t been, but ever since, each point seemed to account for around twenty extra pounds of lifting capacity.

Then again, those were only estimates. It wasn’t like he had a set of scales lying around, and “little rock” and “bigger rock” were not accurate units of measurement.

Perhaps when he reached civilization, he could remedy that lack of accuracy. The scientist in him wanted nothing more than to sit down and develop a way to accurately test his current capabilities while putting together a predictive model for what he might expect going forward.

But that would require his survival, which was anything but assured, given Raji’s reaction to the fact that he’d entered the tower alone.

Knowing that he would need all the tools he could acquire, Elijah consulted his spellbook and inspected his new spell:

“Nice,” Elijah said, looking at the description. If it worked anything like Contagion, which was a passive ability that gave his claws the ability to infect his victims with a disease that sapped their Strength and slowly damaged them, the new ability would be a nice addition to his toolkit.

Looking around, he wished he had an opportunity to test it, though he quickly thought better of that desire. If he was forced into battle mode, it would probably mean that the ulthraks he’d just spent hours healing would once again be injured.

“You’ve gotten stronger,” came a soft voice from nearby. The child that had been his last patient had already scampered away, which meant that he’d thought he was alone. Clearly that wasn’t the case, and he lowered his face and looked at the speaker.

“I…I recognize you, don’t I?” he said, looking at the female ulthrak. She was quite a bit smaller than males like Raji, but she was still quite bulky. Still, there was something undeniably feminine about her posture as well as her speaking voice.

“I was the first person you healed,” she said. “I came to thank you.”

With that, she held out a basket filled with some sort of fruit. Elijah took the container, saying, “Thank you.”

“No – thank you,” she said. “I…I don’t think any of us would have survived without your efforts.”

Elijah shrugged. “Anybody would have done the same.”

Indeed, his experience was that most people tended to work together when faced with catastrophe. He’d seen as much after wildfires, volcanic eruptions, and hurricanes. When disaster struck, people tended to step up.

“I…disagree. I don’t remember much about who I…was. Who I am, I suppose. But every instinct tells me that many people put in your situation would have simply killed us, taken our hides, and –”

Elijah gasped in horror. “Your hides?”

“Oh. I…um…I shouldn’t have said that…”

She backed away, suddenly afraid. Elijah held up his hands and said, “I’m not…I would never…I mean…w-why would anyone do that?”

“Ulthrak hides are extremely valuable,” she said. “It is why the goblins hunt us. With ulthrak hide armor, they will be able to hunt, grow stronger, and expand their territory. Did you truly not know?”

Elijah shook his head. The mere notion of killing and skinning sapient beings was absolutely abhorrent. Even if the walrus beings’ hides would make the best armor in the world, there was absolutely no way Elijah could ever use it. And he questioned the morality of anyone who could.

Of course, that wasn’t really fair. If the choice was between that and death, many would choose the path that would lead them to survival.

But Elijah would rather die than take one step down that road.

He had no issues with killing for food. Or to protect himself or his territory. That was just natural. But hunting and murdering sapient beings just because they had some resource you wanted?

A shiver went up his spine.

“No. I definitely didn’t know,” Elijah said. He knew he couldn’t say anything to put her at ease, so he simply shook his head and remained silent. He would have to let his actions speak for him. In that moment of silence, he latched onto something she’d said, so he asked, “How did you know I leveled? And what’s your name?”

“Takha,” she said. “My name is Takha. And I knew because I have an ability that lets me inspect things. The System provides a description.”

“And what does it say about me?”

“That you are a level twenty-two druid,” was her answer. “I’m not powerful enough to gain any more information about you. But that staff…”

“What about it?”

“It glows with Ethera,” Takha said. “Where did you get it?”

“I made it.”

“Truly?” she said, her eyes widening. It was almost like watching a cartoon, her face was so expressive. “You are a great craftsman?”

Elijah shook his head and let out a slight chuckle. “I’m really not. I just needed a good walking stick. I guess I overshot that mark by a little.”

Indeed, the fact that the staff could enhance his spells had been an incredible boon that had saved his life more than once.

Shaking his head, Elijah stood up. The skittish Takha flinched back, but he ignored the movement. She had every right to be afraid, given that she didn’t really know him. He’d healed her, certainly, but who was to say that he wouldn’t turn on her now that he knew the value of her hide? He never would, but caution was absolutely the right decision on her part.

“Now that everyone’s healed, I think it’s time to see what comes next.”

“What do you mean?”

“The tower. I have to conquer it. I’ve chosen to save you all, but I still don’t know what that really means. I hope Raji can point me in the right direction.”

With that, he strode off, quickly passing through the small village to reach the largest hut in the village. The flap that served as the building’s door hung open, so Elijah pushed through it. When he did, he saw that Raji was sitting in the center and eating something from a bowl.

He quickly pushed his bulk upright and said, “What can I do for you? Is everyone healed? I can’t thank you enough for –”

“I need to know what the win condition for this place is.”

“What?”

“The win condition. I need to save your village. That’s my goal. So, how do I do that? I hoped the healing would satisfy the requirements, but that’s obviously not it. So, spit it out. How do I ensure your survival?”

“The goblins,” muttered Takha.

“No. It’s too dangerous!” Raji interjected. “We need him to remain here where he can heal us. That will –”

“The goblins will keep coming. You know that, Raji. And we’ve already lost so many that we can’t stand up to them. Every time they raid the village, we lose more people. Even if we can heal everyone who’s injured, you know we can’t save everyone,” Takhi said.

“I can’t in good conscience –”

“Where are these goblins?” Elijah asked.

“You can’t –”

“You know I’m not going to stay here indefinitely. I’m leaving, one way or another,” Elijah stated. “I just need you to point me in the right direction, and I’ll be out of your whiskers.”

Raji shook his head. Elijah knew why the ulthrak wanted him to stay. He’d already made it clear what he thought of Elijah trying to conquer the tower solo, but he’d also seen the good that could be done via Elijah’s healing spells. Likely, he considered it the only way Elijah could lend any aid.

Of course, Elijah didn’t think like that. Instead, he wanted to at least investigate the situation before he wrote it off as a lost cause. After all, he had abilities of which the ulthraks were ignorant, and he felt confident that he could at least hold his own. Otherwise, Nerthus never would have sent him into the tower.

But he couldn’t say that – not without revealing his secrets and losing any advantage he might have in the event of betrayal. He didn’t want to think the ulthraks would turn on him – he was an optimist, after all – but trust was earned, not freely given. And the humanoid walruses simply hadn’t displayed anything but a willingness to take healing where it was offered.

“Fine,” Raji said. “If you head to the other side of the village, you’ll see a path that leads up to the surface. Once there, look to the west. That’s where the goblins live.”

Elijah nodded, then said, “Thanks.”

Before he left, he looked down at his satchel. The mushrooms and berries he’d brought with him had been ruined by immersion in the salt water, so he asked, “Do you have any rations? I think I might be up there for a while.”

Raji nodded, and Takha pushed the basket of fruit back into his hands. He hadn’t even realized he’d left it behind. Nor did he remember seeing Takha retrieve it. Still, he took the fruit with a grateful nod as Raji left the hut. He returned a few moments later and handed a parcel to Elijah, saying, “Dried fish. It’s not much, but it should last you a few days if you pace yourself.”

“Thank you.”

“Is there anything I can say to keep you from going?” Raji asked. “Our village isn’t much, but you could stay here for a while longer. You would be safe, even if you couldn’t leave.”

Elijah answered, “No. This is something I have to do. But look on the bright side – if I’m successful, I’ll conquer the tower.”

Raji shrugged his massive shoulders, saying, “Doesn’t matter. We’ll just cycle. I’ll forget this ever happened. At best, I’ll finish whatever my commitment is and rejoin the real me. I don’t know. Either way, win or lose, it’s all the same. So long as we don’t die.”

“What happens then?”

“Nothing good,” Raji said, and by the set of his tusks, Elijah knew he would get nothing else out of the big ulthrak.

So, he once again thanked his hosts, then turned and left. As he did, he heard Raji remark, “No way he makes it.”

Takha said, “I think he will.”

“Then you’re just as much an idiot as him,” Raji responded. He said something else, but by that point, Elijah had gone out of hearing range.

He trekked through the village, then when he reached the edge, found the path leading into a tunnel that, in turn, rose at a gradual incline. Elijah followed it, and over the next twenty minutes, the path twisted and turned, steadily climbing until it finally led him to the surface. There, Elijah stopped to marvel at the sight before him.

To his left stretched a vast tundra of rolling white hills, and to his right was an expansive ocean. Glaciers and other blocks of ice floated nearby, completing the biome’s appearance.

“This is all in a tower,” he muttered to himself, glancing at the sky. Night still reigned, but on the distant horizon was the vague illumination that preceded a sunrise.

As the cold seeped into his bones, Elijah was suddenly aware of just how underdressed he was. In the fairly temperate summer of the Pacific northwest, his ragged pants and barely-there shirt offered plenty of protection. But in sub-zero temperatures? Even with his increased resistance to the elements that came with his enhanced Constitution, he knew he wouldn’t last more than a few days before frostbite set in.

Sighing, he realized that he had no choice but to embrace Shape of the Predator, if only because, as a panther, he had thick fur that would protect him from the cold. So, he turned his attention to his rations, then dug into the fruit. He ate as much as he could stomach, then placed the dried fish in his satchel. He wrapped the bag as tightly as he could before finally embracing his spell and transforming into a mist panther.

Immediately, the cold felt less pervasive, placing his decision firmly in the “good idea” column. Then, he dipped his head, grabbed the folded satchel containing his remaining rations between his jaws, and set off to the west. Hopefully, he would quickly find the so-called water goblins so he could at least scout things out.

After that, he’d make a plan for how he was going to defeat them.

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