Chapter 1673 - News From An Old Friend (Part 1)

"There will be no second attempt." Raaz shook his head. "They would have never dared to make a move against me if not for our prolonged absence."

"And my rocky relationship with the Crown." Lith added the part that his father had left out not to make him feel responsible. "I'm not a kid, Dad. You don't have to sugarcoat the truth for me."

"Correct." Raaz nodded. "You may not be a kid, but you'll always be my son. I know how heavy the burden you carry is despite all of your efforts to make it look as if it's nothing. You can't blame me for trying to help you however I can."

"Thanks, Dad." Lith said.

Raaz heard those precious words so rarely that they moved him, making him wish he could do more. Yet he kept walking, pretending that nothing had happened.

"Now that the sowing of my fields has started and with you being a hero again, making another move would be suicidal. Also, you have my word that if they do, I'll not stand in your way. Being good is one thing, being stupid is another."

After that, they didn't say another word until they reached Zekell's house.

They spent lunch talking with the blacksmith and telling him about all the marvels of the Desert while he brought Senton and Raaz up to speed about the most recent events.

"I'm not going to lie, Lutia's growth is good for business, but it's also a pain in the ass." Zekell said after sending out the children to play. "The newcomers blame Lith's enemies  for everything that goes wrong with their business and consider him a threat to their safety."

"This is ridiculous!" Raaz lost his composure, forcing Lith to calm him down. "Lutia has one of the lowest crime rates in the County thanks to the Queen's corps. It's only thanks to Lith that no noble dares to bully us and that none of our caravans get attacked even outside the city.

"Criminals are too afraid of retaliation from Lith or the army. On top of that, the Warp Gate in our barn allows the Kingdom to dispatch troops at a moment's notice. Our village- I mean, our city has never been safer!"

"You are right, but the other merchants see the Warp Gate as another unfair advantage. They claim that the least that Lith could do to compensate Lutia for living under the constant threat of an attack is to share the Gate with everyone so that they can make up for their losses ." Zekell said.

"What a bunch of ungrateful bastards!" Raaz snarled. "Son, I say it's time we go back to the Desert, this place is starting to sicken me. Don't forget about the promise to the children, though. Go fetch our ride, we'll wait here."

Raaz threw at Lith a meaningful glance to which he responded with a nod.

"I thought you brought the DoLorean with you." Zekell scratched his head in confusion. "Besides, Abominus and Onyx will never fit. Isn't it better to just Warp?"

"Not that kind of ride." Raaz said with a smug grin on his face. "You and your wife are invited."

The blacksmith had no idea what was happening, but after living for so long in Lutia he had stopped asking too many questions. After one surprise too many Zekell had grown numb to them.

Or so he thought until the Voidfeather Dragon landed on luminous platforms that appeared a few meters above his workshop.

His breath had the strength of a gust of wind and smelled of sulfur while his red scales glistened under the sun like giant rubies. The creature glared upon the city with his seven eyes, spreading a subtle aura of terror that made it impossible to talk.

"Get on. I don't have all day." Lith, or better, his life-like hologram said from the Dragon's back while sitting on a saddle and holding reins both made with Light Mastery.

"What a magnificent beast." Like all the old inhabitants of Lutia, Zekell was unaffected by the aura of terror.

He instinctively raised his hand to reach the creature and Lith gently lowered his snout to allow the blacksmith to caress it.

"Is it tame?" He asked.

"No, but it owes me a couple of favors." The hologram said loud enough for everyone to hear.

An escalator made of light appeared from the saddle and extended to the feet of the Verhen's. The kids didn't waste a second, running to the top of the ladder without fear.

Zekell looked his wife in the eyes for a second before asking:

"Is it safe?"

"What do you think?" Lith's hologram replied while pointing at the kids sitting on the head of the beast, each one of them glued to a different horn.

A barrier of light enveloped them and the seats they were strapped to.

"Zekell Dragonrider is a heck of a name for a smithy." The blacksmith managed to find to courage to use the escalator only because he was the only one still on the ground and because it would do wonders for the business.

"Can I sell scale replicas of you in my shop?" He asked.

"Which one?" The Dragon replied.

"All of them. Dragon themed jewels for the ladies, weapons for the men, and toys for the kids!" The last part had Aran's and Leria's approval.

"Fine, but I want my share." Lith said with a sigh.

"Sure. I-"

"Grandpa, we want to fly, not sit!" The kids yelled in unison.

After everyone was safely strapped to their respective seat, Lith took off with a roar that made Lutia tremble. At first, Zekell and his wife thought they would die of fright but after nothing bad happened for a few seconds, fear gave way to the exhilarating joy of flight.

The barriers of light let in just enough wind to ruffle their hair and the Dragon moved as lithe and majestic as a hawk. The city of Lutia became smaller as Lith rose higher in the sky until they could see even Raaz's house and the Trawn woods from above.

They flew through the entire Lustria County and Lith made sure to pay Baronet Hogum a visit. He circled several times above his mansion, releasing a powerful aura of fear with each roar until he could almost smell the piss from above.

'Once Hogum investigates the phenomenon, he'll learn who the Dragon belongs to and will get his message. You touch my stuff, and I touch yours.' Lith thought.

***

Heavenly Plume Village.

Solus's cookies were the best she had ever cooked, which wasn't actually much but to her, they tasted like victory.

'Maybe starting my cooking lessons with sweets wasn't such a good idea.' She thought while patting her stomach. 'I need to diet and exercise if I want to lose weight.'

"You need a more delicate touch with the dough, dear." Elina said, dipping a cookie in milk to make it soft enough for human consumption. "If you compress it too much, instead of crunchy cookies you get cookie-shaped rocks."

"Sorry, I'll do better next time." Solus wolfed them down, instead.

'After everything I went through, I deserve a break. The diet can wait for tomorrow..' She thought.