Path of Dragons-Chapter 22Book 9: : Loose Ends

“They’re good kids,” said Essex. “The little one, especially. She has fire.”

“How do you think it’ll work?” Elijah asked, sitting atop the wall encircling the training yard and studying the grove trainees hard at work. They’d been going at it for hours, and though their energy had begun to wane, they all seemed committed to the task at hand. “With their archetypes, I mean.”

Essex shrugged, then leaned forward, his elbows on the low wall. “There are different schools of thought there,” the commander of Ironshore’s defense force stated. He had found Elijah only a few minutes before, but he hadn’t spoken until Elijah had broken the silence. “One says that a person can train themselves into certain archetypes. Want to be a Warrior, learn how to fight hand-to-hand. If you want to be a Blacksmith, apprentice at a smithy. That sort of thing.”

“The other?”

“It’s all set by your attunement,” Essex stated. “You remember how it was, right? The aspects and everything? Those are just expressions of your attunement. If you have the right ones, you’ll be offered a specific archetype.”

“Which one do you think it is?”

He let out a breath, answering, “I don’t really know. Probably something in between.”

“Or maybe something entirely different,” Elijah suggested. The reality was that they were very much at a disadvantage when it came to information on how the multi-verse worked. And while some of the guides available in the Branch’s Knowledge Base could remedy that ignorance, most were far too expensive to be a viable source of information.

That was also assuming they could even find the right guides, which was quite a leap, considering how few Scholars had survived the planet’s transformation. Then, of the ones who had, few had the Librarian class available. Such was the curse of being on a newly touched planet.

Elijah hoped that when he went to the Empire of Scale, he would have some of the gaps in his knowledge mended. Then, he could bring that information back to Earth and help to educate the masses.

Although, if he was honest with himself, that last part was about as appealing as jumping straight into another Primal Realm. Meaning, he wasn’t looking forward to either. He’d had his fill of teaching while he was working on his graduate degrees, and he never really wanted to go down that route again.

“Rosabella’s the best, huh?”

“Not really. She’s just the most dedicated,” Essex stated. “Most of the others can beat her in a fight. It’s just that she doesn’t seem to understand the idea of quitting. She’ll fight dirty, too. A good kid, but she’s a bit scary sometimes.”

“Even scarier because she’s so small.”

“Don’t I know it,” Essex stated. “You don’t expect a cute little girl like that to be so vicious.”

“Take care of them, okay? I know that’s asking a lot,” Elijah said. “But I can’t be here all the time. I might get sucked into another Primal Realm tomorrow or a week from now. I need to know their training is coming along.”

“We will train anyone who comes here with the desire to learn,” he said. “That includes those kids. Like I said, they’re good ones. Compared to the other children, they barely even complain.”

“Thanks,” Elijah said. “That means a lot to me.”

The two fell silent as they continued watching. Elijah was well aware that Essex wouldn’t have much of a personal hand in training the children. In fact, much of that burden would fall upon Colt’s shoulders. However, the fact that the man in charge of Ironshore’s defenses had made that promise was quite meaningful.

Eventually, Elijah bade goodbye to Essex, then left the training facility behind. His next stop was predictable – the storefront he’d been given. The sign out front read Elijah’s Fine Soaps, and there were three people carting boxes inside. Each of those contained hundreds of bars of soap, which would go on sale within a day or two.

The clerk – a young man named Milo – showed him around the small shop, but there really wasn’t much to see. Sure, there were shelves labeled with each type of soap, but at present, none of the merchandise had been put out. The only noteworthy aspect of the shop was the sizable storage space, which contained hundreds of crates. More were stored on the island, and even more would go to Argos so that Atticus could stock his shelves, then distribute the remainder.

But that would barely make a dent in the supplies.

Elijah had made a serious investment in making all that soap, and now he wouldn’t need to worry about it for some time. If he played his cards right, it would be years before he needed to make more. And by that point, he hoped to be able to make something far more potent. As it was, the final product from the whale blubber had reached the pinnacle of what mortals could take.

He picked up one bar of soap, which was covered in white paper. The blurb on the back claimed it was a restorative as well as a potent body cultivation aid, while the front displayed a stylized drawing of a tree and the name of Elijah’s soap company. Finally, it labeled that particular bar as being cool aloe.

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After sniffing it, he couldn’t deny that it had an incredibly pleasant aroma.

It was also quite a lot softer than the soap he’d made from orc or boar fat. Apparently, that was just a characteristic associated with using leviathan blubber in its creation.

In all, he was very happy with the results. Sure, the mass-produced soap wasn’t quite as high-quality as his own personal stash – which had been made with thrice leeched lye and properly rendered fat, along with the most powerful herb-infused oils Biggle could produce – but it was still better than any other batch he’d made.

“How much are you charging for this stuff?” Elijah asked Milo.

The weedy young man stammered, “Uh…the pricing dictates haven’t come from Argos yet.”

“Right. Atticus is setting prices.”

Indeed, the soap would be much cheaper for Ironshore and Argos residents, but anyone who wasn’t a citizen of those cities would pay through the nose. They’d also taken steps to combat reselling, but Elijah didn’t know much about that. He had only been assured it was taken care of.

Once he’d finished inspecting his store, Elijah headed out and wandered through the town for a few minutes. Eventually, his feet took him to the Branch, where he checked his messages.

There was nothing from Sadie, but to his surprise, he got a reminder that Lamar’s wedding was only two weeks away. Elijah had hoped to attend with Sadie, but it was beginning to look like she wouldn’t be available. He decided to find out for certain one way or another, though.

So, he soon found himself at the Teleportation Spires. Eryka wasn’t on duty, so he dealt with her subordinate – a tall, gaunt man with sunken eyes and a bald head. Obasi was his name, and Elijah quickly found that he was a lot more personable than his appearance suggested. Still, he preferred Eryka and her clear enthusiasm for her craft.

In any case, it wasn’t long before he was teleported to the spires just outside Svotogorsk, and he quickly headed in the direction of the city. It looked much the same as it had the last time he came through, though the people seemed a bit more restless. Thankfully, the guards recognized him, so he didn’t have any issues getting inside to talk to Ivanka.

Once he was inside the woman’s office, he asked, “So, is there any indication of what’s going on in there?”

“They are still alive. The war progresses, and their fort is secure for now. Beyond that, it is a mystery.”

“I thought your Oracles could communicate with one another?”

“The Primal Realm muddles everything. Too much ethera in the air. We must trust that they know what they’re doing,” the woman said.

“How much longer?”

“It will not be a quick process. That much was clear before the distortion occurred. A few months at the earliest. Perhaps as many as six.”

“Damn,” Elijah said, sitting across from her.

“Wars take time.”

He sighed. “I wish I’d have gone in. It’d be done by now.”

“You think yourself strong enough?”

Elijah shrugged. “I’m not sure. Probably. I know what to expect from Primal Realms.”

“Indeed. You should know that word of your deeds have spread among the highest echelons of society. Isaiah knows what you did.”

“Fuck Isaiah. He probably wants to spin it somehow so he can take political advantage. He had nothing to do with me going into that Primal Realm.”

She nodded, though Elijah couldn’t help but notice that she didn’t rebut his assumption. Instead, after a moment, she asked, “What will you do?”

“Long term or short?”

“Both?”

“In the long term, I suppose I’ll start searching for the other Primal Realms. I still need to get down to the Hollow Depths and see what’s going on down there,” he admitted. “But in the short term? I have to go to a wedding alone.”

He shouldn’t have resented Sadie for being absent. He’d disappeared for months without telling anyone what was going on. And sure, that wasn’t really his fault, but he knew he didn’t have any ground to stand on regarding resentment. Yet, he was annoyed.

After that, his meeting with Ivanka abruptly ended when someone came in to inform her of some managerial problem that required her input. So, Elijah excused himself and headed back to the spires, which he took to Ironshore. And when he arrived, he was a little less annoyed.

Yet, it wasn’t until he saw a familiar face lurking nearby that he truly brightened.

“Atticus?” he asked.

“My friend!” the man proclaimed, throwing his arms out wide. “I was just coming to see you.”

“Really? What for?”

“I’m checking the store, and I need to meet with your mayor. Nice fellow, but I like to see the people I deal with face-to-face.”

After that, the pair headed into town, where they stopped by the shop. Atticus inspected everything, making small suggestions here and there as he reminded Milo that he was a representative of his company. “As such, you must hold yourself to the highest standards,” Atticus stated.

“I understand, sir.”

“Good, good. I’m counting on you,” he said, gripping the weedy man’s shoulder. He gave it a hearty squeeze. “I’m sure you’re the right man for the job.”

Milo beamed.

Next up was a stop by the mayor’s office. Ramik practically tripped over himself to accommodate Atticus, and he quickly suggested that they share a meal. Elijah wasn’t against that, so they soon found themselves in the Stuck Pig, where they enjoyed some goblin barbecue.

“He didn’t even know it was orc, either,” Ramik finished his story with a grin.

“I can’t be the only person who’s uncomfortable eating orc.”

“Only person I know,” Ramik replied.

Atticus laughed. Then, he said, “Mayor Ramik –”

“Just call me Ramik.”

“As you wish. Ramik. I’m not just here as my own representative. I also came on behalf of Argos. Our two cities have developed quite a partnership over the past couple of years, and our council wishes to reinforce that. To that end, they invite you and a delegation to Argos so we can establish a mutually beneficial alliance,” Atticus said. “We are a trade hub. Ironshore has some of the best crafters in the world. It is a natural partnership.”

That definitely made sense, and Ramik quickly agreed to meet with them in a couple of months. After that, the meal took on a much more relaxed tone – especially when the alcohol started to flow. Before Elijah knew it, Atticus was back to his old antics, making friends, telling stories, and otherwise being the social butterfly he was.

At some point, though, the alcohol caught up to him, and Elijah ended up carrying his friend back to the grove where he could sleep off the impending hangover.

For his part, Elijah headed to the hot spring and slipped beneath the waters. He hadn’t drunk much, but the cleansing water quickly purged the alcohol from his body. With his head clear, Elijah spent the next few hours working on his soul cultivation.

As much as he liked spending time with his friends, he knew his small vacation would soon come to an end. Because after the wedding, he intended to head down to the Hollow Depths to check on Miguel and see how he could help with the Primal Realm.