Chapter 74: Book 4 – Death of the Dragon Prince (1)

 

Plot: Walking down a familiar street, Percival is seen carrying groceries back to his house when he stops at the mention of the mysterious player Novus by the most famous news company. The repeat of the word ‘who is he’ is heard by many and it resounds particularly well with Percival who rephrases it and asks himself instead ‘WHERE is Novus?’. Meanwhile, having sneezed and wondered who was talking about him, Novus is seen brushing away the sand from his travel wear, he descends into a tunnel that houses a door into an underground bunker/household. At the mention of a password at the door, Novus mumbles a word and is let in to see Ultio trying to convince someone to let them through the city. Finally, having gotten angry at the bunch for not letting him and Novus enter, Ultio sets the place on fire and storms off with Novus.

 

Plot: Having arrived at another tunnel, Novus questions Ultio saying that he thought they couldn’t enter until they secured an exit route as well. However, Ultio says that he has exhausted all his contacts and can’t exit the city unless they find someone on the inside that can get them through. Novus shrugs and tells Ultio that he is simply a follower and Ultio knocks Novus unconscious to prevent any sass. Meanwhile, the party of Edna, Circe and the players arrive at the grand dwarven gates to the subterranean world where a waving Goibhniu is already greeting the dwarves with hardy songs and laughter. Percival whispers to Edna and Circe responds to him by saying that any metalhead can spot another metalhead from the sound of their thoughts clanging around in their skulls. The group laugh but are ultimately led into the city through Goibhniu’s connections.

 

Plot: Novus and Ultio open the grate of a cavernous alley that leads towards a stinking sewer full of filth and heat and cast some water freshening magic on themselves as they then cover themselves in dirt to mask the cleanliness. Grabbing their robes once more, the duo head out into the bustling streets full of tinier people looking like equally shrunken people using Ultio’s polymorph magic. Along the way, Novus accidentally bumps into a person on the street that is regularly sized and excuses himself as he leaves. However, the person he bumped into follows him with his eyes for a while as he bids adieu to the dwarven craftsmen he was talking to and heads out into crowd in following. Meanwhile, Edna and crew are headed towards the grand palace of the Dwarven King and are greeted with open arms by the stout sized Dwarven King.

 

Plot: Being welcomed by the king, Edna gives her condolences for the loss of the dwarven king’s beloved brother and other previous king of the dwarven kingdom. The two are revealed to be twins via dialogue and that the king is enraged by the betrayal of the player underneath the previously alive king. The king now has locked the city in a quarantine that will last until they finally catch the perpetrator, Hercules. Meanwhile, Novus and Ultio are seen fleeing down alley way to alleyway as they try and evade a group of armed dwarfs chasing after them. While running, Ultio continually curses at Novus for letting them be discovered and Novus wishes to spare his innocence the guilt. The duo twist and turn and in a climactic scene of almost letting Ultio go all out and turn the group to ashes, Hercules appears and knocks out the guards with a mechanical device.

 

Plot: Hesitant to fight with Hercules now, Novus is about to tell Ultio to run, but Hercules hurriedly stops them and say that he has bigger targets in mind now. The most important thing now is to try and understand why Novus and Ultio are here, so Hercules takes them to his secret base hidden in the bottom of the sewer systems. Meanwhile, at the throne room, the king introduces his player disciple: the jewel warrior. The jewel warrior greets the party and explains that he is close to acquiring the fugitive and some other stowaways that have been trying to escape the city. The king is overjoyed by the potential news and gruesomely decides that Hercules is to be given a special place among the jail so that he may ‘rot in jail forever.’ Meanwhile, Novus is reminded of his previous life as he trudges through the sewer systems in his memory and in real life.

 

Plot: Upon arriving at a small area with multiple hideaways and crooks of every kind, Hercules welcomes the duo to the underground area of the dwarven city. There, he sits the duo down and explains why he is on the run after having realized that the second dwarven king, obsessed with a greater power, was colluding with the HS and that he directly killed him and obtained an item that was supposed to be sent to the HS. Hercules then reveals a gem that even Novus knows nothing about but is obviously important enough for the previous dwarven king to be worried about. Upon asking if there is a way out, Hercules shrugs and says that even with his contacts, he has been unable to find an escape route inside the city. At that moment, a shuffling sound is heard as Ultio asks Hercules if this location has been compromised recently. Hercules denies this but watches as numerous people have already disappeared around them. Suddenly, numerous dwarves burst in under the lead of the jewel warrior and Novus whispers to the other two to trust him and let them be taken.

 

Plot: Back at the throne room, Edna’s group is present when a Hercules that has obvious bones broken is laying across the floor while being given a healing potion. The group wants to hear him out, but the dwarven king instead has Hercules thrown into the lowest reaches of the hell prison along with his two accomplices. The group is obviously displeased but tries to negotiate a deal to finally get through the city now that the fugitives have been caught. In an interlude, that starts with Edna saying that they’ve got to ‘find someone as well,’ a ragged pair of Novus and Ultio are dragged deeper and deeper into the underground cave prison where at the deepest level, the jewel warrior bids them an unhappy life and leaves the duo and a soon after broken Hercules, in the wretched cell with mana restraining devices attached to their necks.

 

Plot: The group looks towards Novus who made them get into this mess and Novus finally begins to act according to what he remembers of escaping the dwarven jail. Firstly, he has Ultio physically break off the mana-restraining collars. Soon after, he has Hercules healed and lastly, he begins to feel along the wall until he finds a crevice with a special switch inside. Twisting the switch, a section of the wall falls away and Novus thanks the late dwarven king for his backup plans in case he got caught. Meanwhile, an uneasy Edna requests to go see the murderer Hercules and the dwarven king agrees to a short meeting reluctantly. However, when guards soon report the prisoners missing, Edna springs into action towards the jail cell with a trailing dwarven king.

 

Plot: The trio continue travelling along the passageway towards the exit as they hear more and more squeaking and eventually, make it to a clearing with a large rat. Originally, this rat king would have been a named monster that would take numerous phases of poison and summoning minions, etc, etc. Now, Novus asks Ultio to leave the rat king on the brink of death for him and a tsundere Ultio agrees and binds the rat king and leaves the rat king within an inch of his life. Novus stabs his sword into the rat and levels up a few times as Hercules complains about not having a great enough follower and Ultio protests that he isn’t a mere follower. Travelling a bit further, the trio manage to escape out of a cave entrance and finds themselves on the other side in the ancient forest that surrounds the other side of the draconic mountains. Casting a dozen concealment spells, Ultio is ready to bring the duo to his home, but Novus explains that Ultio can’t be seen with the two of them and must return ahead of Novus arriving to not arouse suspicions of any relationship. Ultio protests, but Novus explains that he would never do anything to hurt him or his family, it just must act according to his plan that he won’t tell Ultio or Hercules. Reluctantly, the group splits up and Novus and Hercules must trek through the mountains towards the distant dragon home.

 

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Plot: The scene switches to some time later when a curious Edna is seen crouched down inspecting the scorch marks that were left in the area with the previous Rat King and a furious Dwarf King which ‘absolutely must’ catch the ‘Damned Sons of Bitches’ that dared to escape. Edna ponders as she can sense the aura of a dragon that is similar, but different from Novus’ aura from the remains, but doesn’t tell anyone. Soon after, the dwarven king is seen looking towards the mountains beyond and tells the nearby advisor that he must leave for a meeting with the ruler of the mountains behind him, The Dragon King. Meanwhile, Novus and Hercules are seen fighting alongside one another as they attempt to defeat a monstrous animal in the forest.

 

Plot: Level up notifications are heard as Hercules rips apart the opposing enemy with his hand claws. Across the way, Novus is seen levelling up as well after falling to the ground in pain while clutching his chest. However, he soon pops some pills and gets back up while breathing heavily and remarks on how adding points to endurance really does help temporarily like what Adrianne said way back. However, soon after, the group encounters another monster, and the duo must escape. Meanwhile, a luxurious caravan is seen repelling an attack against various monsters as the players get more and more experience. Inside the carriage, the dwarven king explains to a looking-out-the-window Edna that the fugitives are most likely approaching the patrol zones of the dragons already while they are stuck taking the longer safe route that will take a few days.

 

Plot: Sure enough, Novus begins to see traces of a dragon’s flame scorching the surrounding area like that of a young dragon and is met face to face with a golden flame dragon which is curious of their identity. Unexpectedly, Novus doesn’t recognize the identity of this dragon and is confused to not recognize a fellow dragon. The dragon morphs into an easier form and introduces himself as the Dragon Race’s Holy Son which is a title that Novus had never heard of being used in his past life. Confused, but quickly arming himself to defend against an approaching monster, Novus and Hercules battle a monster that tries to attack the Holy Son and successfully defeats it. In the process, Novus’ weakening body is attacked yet again by the vines that are trying to overtake him and the Holy Son acts to ease Novus’ burden. It is surprising, but the Holy Son’s flames work even better than Ultio’s flames as it causes the Earth Devouring Plant to go into a hibernating state. Though this soon concerns Novus over an outbreak of vines later when its strength is recovered, Novus till thanks the Holy Son for his help and is startled when a menacing dragon with scars comes to try and take the Holy Son home. However, the Holy Son says that he has found new friends and the scarred dragon must also bring Novus and Hercules to the Dragon Palace as well.

 

Plot: As the new group of Novus, Hercules and the Holy Son ride on the scarred dragon’s back, the holy son explains the various parts of the dragon kingdom down below as the crew sees dragons of all sizes and shapes and elements. It is explained that the current rulers of the Dragon Palace are the Royal Fire Dragons and Novus seems to sullenly flinch as the holy son tells them they have treated the holy son very well. However, Novus is suddenly preoccupied when he feels a fluctuation in his soul from the origin key of power that lets him know that another origin key is nearby. However, deciding that now isn’t the time, Novus remains quiet as the fluctuations get stronger and stronger as they head closer to the Dragon Palace. Eventually dipping above the clouds, the scarred dragon is right before a majestic palace that brings painful flashbacks to Novus.

 

Plot: Escorted by the Holy Son, Novus and Hercules are treated as highly respected VIPs as they walk amongst the halls that bring back both painful and happy memories to Novus that put him in numerous trance-like states. His last trance is interrupted as a little girl hugs him from out of nowhere while calling him brother before shockingly realizing he isn’t her brother and shuffling away wearily. However, Novus greets her kindly and takes out a gift of her favorite mountain flowers that he especially picked for her, and the little girl lets down her guard and accepts the flowers happily. When the little girl runs off to find her actual brother again, Hercules asks who the girl is and Novus replies that she is the Royal Fire Dragon Princess, Vivian. A young female dragon with a crippled mana vein system that doesn’t enable magic or proper dragon growth, so she enjoys playing catch to feel like she’s flying like a dragon should. Soon after, a familiar Ultio runs past while trying to find his little sister and without anyone noticing communicates to Novus that he understands to say silent about knowing each other. Finally, right before entering the doorway to the throne room where the dragon king is, Novus meets his eldest brother and kindly thanks him for opening the door for them. Finally, Novus kneels as he greets the current Fire Dragon King.

 

Plot: Time passes as Novus is seen training with Ultio to control himself and his prized sword. During the sparring, Novus drops subtle hints about the clues that Ultio needs to find. Meanwhile, the training instructor talks with the Dragon Advisor about how excellent of swordsmanship Novus possesses. However, the advisor seems suspicious of the coincidence of Novus appearing at ‘this point in time’ and looks towards the nearby Holy Son that is attentively watching the sword sparring. The advisor mentions how such great and lucky ‘coincidences’ are always welcomed and leaves soon after. Meanwhile, a rushing Vivian comes to the training grounds to play with Ultio but is shooed away by the training instructor soon after while a compassionate Novus decides to play with her instead.

 

Plot: Being brought to Vivian’s room, Novus goes through memory after memory as he is brought to the deck where he extends magical wings unlike his usual draconic ones and begins to play the catching game where Vivian falls and is caught by a speedy Novus soon after. However, the drops inch towards a sacred region of the space where a group of guarding dragons let Novus off for getting too close to the Sacred Flame due to playing with Vivian. However, Novus can now confirm that the next Origin Key is somewhere inside the Sacred Flame temple. Soon after, the playing is finished as Novus and Vivian are interrupted by a flying Holy Son who tells them that they are required to head to the Supper meal that the chefs have especially prepared for them. The trio head to the meal table but notice a gone Hercules. However, Novus simply shrugs it off and sits down anyway at the table as they prepare to eat.

 

Plot: However, the crowd is shocked as Novus sits down before the king has entered the room and Novus must weasel his way out of it by playing the innocent. Surprisingly enough, as the King enters the dining hall, he allows the act and instead wishes for the surrounding guests to follow Novus’ example and sit down. As everyone sees their meals being brought out, a fragrant scent fills the dining hall, and everyone begins to eat course after course. However, each time, Novus says that due to his upbringing that he can’t eat certain dishes. It isn’t until a particular dish comes out that is said to be Vivian’s favorite that Novus interrupts her eating and says he has her favorite plant for her meal. Novus brings out the same mountain flower Vivian enjoys and turns it into a sprinkling of magical lights that are placed on top of her food under the watchful eyes of everyone. Vivian eats with gusto, and all seems to be fine. Near the end of the meal, Novus gives a toast to the King for providing such wonderful service to them while dropping hints to Ultio of his planning.

 

Plot: As Novus bids farewell to Vivian, Ultio and the Holy Son, he arrives in his bedroom where a fragrant water jug and cup is placed nearby that Novus pours and takes a sip of before getting into bed and pretending to fall asleep. Meanwhile, Favur’s magic is acting against the sleeping agent slipped in the drink and Novus hears the approach of a figure slipping into his room in the middle of the night. The figure begins to rummage around Novus’ stuff in the room before approaching him silently. However, Novus’ hand extends from out of the sheets, and he greets the silent figure of the Draconic Advisor. Startled by the greeting, the Advisor almost slips away, but not before Novus pulls out the box holding the strange gem that Hercules got from the dead dwarven king. The advisor stops and plays dumb, but Novus continues as he greets a fellow Hidden Shadow member and tells that he must meet with the head honcho to give the gem to know that it is safe when the advisor tries to take it. The advisor says he will soon have a chance to meet with the head honcho before long, and that they are almost ready to initiate the plan to give the Origin Key to ‘her majesty’.

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