1827 The Enemy of my Enemy (Part 1)

"I owe you an apology and an explanation." Jormun said. "An apology for attacking you the day Xedros turned into a Dragon. I wasn't myself back then. The Unwavering Loyalty array of the Golden Griffon had me under its thumb."

"What about now?" Lith asked.

"Now I'm free from its effect, but I won't deny that my allegiance still lays with Thrud. This time on my terms, though. Are you still interested in hearing why I'm here or do you want us to fight?"

"I have nothing to lose by talking some more." Lith replied. "Besides, neither of our deaths will change much the outcome of the war."

"But if one of us were to die, it would surely help someone we both despise." Jormun completed the phrase for him.

"Good. Explain yourself."

"I'm not here to fight you. I'm not even a General in this war. I'm just a concerned father who came here to limit the interactions between the mother of his son and a creep to a minimum and ended up being played instead."

"Father?" Lith echoed in surprise.

"Unwavering Loyalty array. It's complicated and it's none of your business. What matters now is that I only fight for my son and that Orpal baited me here with the intention of taking his place in a battle to the death." Jormun replied.

"It makes sense." Lith nodded. "I haven't heard reports of an Emerald Dragon ravaging the battlefield and you seem as surprised as I am by this development."

"I am." Jormun nodded back.

"I came here to deliver Orpal his share of the spoils of war. He demanded that Thrud come here in person and I believed him like a moron. I insisted on coming here in her stead without even talking with her, playing right into his hand!"

The Emerald Dragon's eyes burned with mana, and were filled with spite for Orpal and self-loathing for having fallen into his trap.

"My brother has become quite a thinker, Jakra." Lith replied. "No matter how this fight ends, he would be the sole true victor. If I survive, I'll lose some of my most precious friends and he'd hurt me again.

"If you survive, the Kingdom will be weakened and the whole Council will hunt you down. You, Thrud, and your son would become dependent on Meln not only for the war but just to survive."

"My thoughts exactly." Jormun said. "I kept myself out of this war so that even if everything fails, my son and I will still be free men. Yet if I kill you and even one of your allies survives, it will start a blood feud that will never end.

"That's why I've planned for a different ending that will make both of us happy and will make Orpal regret crossing us."

The Emerald Dragon waved his hand, taking a few Davross ingots and several white crystals out of his dimensional amulet.

"I say that the best way to get even with Orpal is that we don't fight at all. I go back to my son and you get compensated for your trouble."

"Why are you giving me that stuff?" Lith looked at the precious materials with greed, yet didn't lower his guard or weapon.

"Didn't you hear me? That's Orpal's share. Even if I bring it back with me, it would end up in his hands. This way, instead, I can claim to have accidentally lost the dimensional ring during the fight."

He played with the enchanted item on his finger until it slipped off, falling right next to the pile of treasure. 

"After all, he asked me to bring such a treasure here. He planned to have us fighting to the death. He has no one to blame but himself for this 'unfortunate accident'. Am I right?" Jormun asked with a sly smile on his face while his guards laughed.

"I accept your offer." Lith replied after confirming that the reinforcements from the Hand of Fate Corps would never get there in time. "I now have nothing to gain from our fight."

"On my three we both put our weapons and spells away. One…" Jormun counted while slowly stepping back toward the old Warp Gate that the Undead Courts used.

He took a hand off his blade to signal his soldiers to stand down and Lith did the same.

"Three." Jormun released the spells he had at the ready and sheathed his Dragonclaw sword, yet the soldiers waited until Lith held his side of the bargain. Only once his aura disappeared and War went back into its bloody scabbard did they lower their weapons.

"I wish you the best of luck, little brother." The Emerald Dragon used the crystal pearl to activate the Gate. "Stay alive. I hope that one day you'll meet my son, Valeron, and see how similar you two are."

"You too, Jakra."

"That's my slave name. Now I'm free and my draconic name is Jormun." He said before disappearing through the dimensional gate.

"Can you shut it down with Dimensional Ruler?" Lith asked.

"I'm sorry, I have no idea how old runes work." Friya replied.

"Pity. At least this mission wasn't a complete failure." Lith shrugged while collecting his bounty.

He knew that letting the Emerald Dragon go meant leaving a loose end. Sooner or later, the two of them would have to fight. Yet the idea of following Orpal's script made Lith want to puke.

On top of that, by keeping Jormun alive, the strength of Thrud's army wouldn't change whereas his presence would keep the Undead Courts in check. Any other choice would have meant putting the lives of everyone on the line for no real gain.

"Hey, there's five of us here. Don't you think we should share?" Friya replied.

"Excellent point." Lith nodded. "You are entitled to 20% of the loot and the rest is mine."

"What?" Everyone said in outrage.

"Tista and Phloria are my apprentices so they get nothing. Solus and I are one thing so I get her share as well." Lith flaunted his status as mentor and the ring on his finger.

"What an asshole!" Many grumbles followed but Lith refused to give away a single piece of crystal or metal.

"Consider it an investment." He told Friya. "The more Davross I put in the Crucible and the more white crystals take root in the mines, the faster the other materials stored there develop.

"I can give you your share now or you can leave it with me until you need it. If you choose the latter, I'm willing to let you grow your own patch of crystals and metals."

"One of these days, I'm going to kill Selia for teaching you how to corner people with bad deals." Friya shook his hand in anger but accepted nonetheless.

"Are you really going to steal from me, lil bro?" The hurt in Tista's eyes was palpable. She didn't care about the magical resources as much as she did about their bond.

"Of course not." He replied. "Let's be honest. At the moment, your skills as a Forgemaster are mediocre at best. You don't have a tower nor the blueprints for a decent weapon or armor.

"Not to mention the fact that once split into five, you'd never have enough metal for a pair of fighting gloves."