Hello again everybody. Nothing exciting going on here except some rain from Hurricane Nate. You know, the storm is a mixed blessing? On the one hand, no one in their right minds wants to get out and go camping or hunting in the rain thus the traffic down our road has been at a minimum. On the downside, I half expect what traffic there is will deepen the ruts and potholes in the road.
Still, I can't believe it's October. Feels like just yesterday was July and now time is just flying by. Isn't that the funny thing? When we're young time can't seem to pass by quick enough. Once we get older we realize just how quickly time passes us by.
Halloween is almost upon us, then in November will bring the Fall Fast and Thanksgiving, and just a stone's throw away is Christmas. And then the New Year.
Well, time will always march on and as long as I'm able to I'll just keep on typing.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING OR ANYONE IN THE SPYRO UNIVERSE. ONLY MY OCS.
Chapter 24: Plots and Lots Part 1
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Vesuvius paced the halls of his chamber with obvious aggression. He had honestly never thought that such a small nuisance could transform into such a major pain in his tail. The human was small, weak, and socially inept yet somehow he had managed to sway the opinions of not only the King and Queen but the Guardians and even the majority of the nobility. It hadn't helped that Ibikiir, fool that he was, felt obligated to share his collection of human pieces that he had requested and paid for, in gems, to the other dragons of the noble classes and even the commoners!
The human armor, weapons, and other things were of such a unique sort that it sparked the primal desire of dragons to posess such rare treasures and display them as prominent fixtures of their homes!
Even Vesuvius was not immune to the pull of his instincts and glanced at his once marvelous home of antique paintings, tapestries, suits of dragon armor and felt that all of it lacked luster. Here he was, one of the most influential of dragons, and yet no one listened to him about the human.
It wasn't out of concern, no, he knew that if the human stepped out of line that he would be easy to deal with. It was the fact that the human had gotten involved with matters that he should not have, coupled with both Lockjaw's and Ripper's incompetence, it had set him back more than he cared to admit and had cost him valuable time and gems.
Still... all living beings had their weaknesses. It was no secret (at least to him) the King and Queen were trying desperately to have a child and had finally been able to. The Queen may not show it outwardly but she was glowing with the knowledge that soon she would be a mother. The Guardians each had their respective weaknesses but one they all had in common was Spyro, the currently powerless purple dragon who's weakness was the Ancestors damned 'Terror of the Skies' Cynder.
He chuckled at the thought.
(Love. Such an interesting concept. Yet so vulnerable and easy to sever.)
He and his brother were fully of the opinion that dragons needed only power to lead and not care about frivolous things like 'love'. He froze suddenly as he remembered something and a wicked grin creapt over his muzzle.
He'd just remembered that the human also had his own weaknesses. He cared for others. Spyro and Cynder, of course, and Flame and his new love interest Ember, that cheetah who claimed he owed the human a life debt, the female wolf who ran the tavern he lived in, the people of the Slums (he refused to call it the 'Lower Residential'), and now, most recently, two young dragons who he had taken under his charge...
An idea struck him.
He still had options, contacts, and through his brother some knowledge of a few characters of rather shady origins. Soon, they will all see what the human is capable of.
(And I'll be right there ready to incinerate him... personally...)
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As Neal and Lyca walked through the market, he was continually amazed by the number of dragons who gave smiles and nodded to him. He guessed that the dragons trusted the Guardians and the King and Queen enough that, if they said he was no threat to them, they believed it. He chuckled inwardly and remembered how his Uncle Thomas, his Mom's oldest brother, never said even two words about the US Government and then he and Uncle Ted, his polar opposite twin, would always get into the rowdiest arguements every time they so much as glanced at each other.
Still though, it was good that most dragons no longer shied away or showed hostility towards him. Now, there were some dragon merchants who refused to deal with him, like the armorer, Titan, and a handful of Guards who watched him just a little closer than he considered polite like Arctis and his squad. For the rest though, they were all courteous, civil, and all to eager to learn about him, his species, his personal likes and dislikes.
In fact, as he and Lyca approached the cheetah who sold Neal the coffee beans, he lit up and set a basket on the table before him and smiled.
"Attorkor! Look here! Freshly brought in!" Neal nodded and glanced at the beans and then he thought of something.
"Look I never asked you this before but, what do the cheetahs do with these beans?" The cheetah chuckled.
"Our hunters and watchers chew them at night when they need to stay awake. Something about them just seem to help but... more than a few complain of sore jaws." Neal chuckled.
"Have you thought about grinding them?" The merchant shook his head, a bemused expression on his face.
"No. Besides, it's a little hard to chew powder, isn't it?" Neal nodded and then produced a grinder and a coffee pot.
"I actually owe you for showing me these beans. We humans have something in our world quite similar called coffee beans. The Arabs in the ancient times used coffee as a symbol of wealth, then the Europeans got a hold of it and made it popular with the common man and nowadays there isn't more than three-quarters of the human population who doesn't start their day off without having one or two cups of hot coffee." The cheetah gave him an astonished look and then looked back to the grinder and the pot and back to Neal.
"Attorkor... how do I-?" Neal showed him how to grind the beans, then filled the pot of water from a pump nearby and then, with the help of a friendly fire dragon, heated the pot and made a pot of hot coffee that once the merchant tried it he smiled.
"This might be just what the hunters need! Thank you Attorkor, very much." Neal smiled to him, created a few more coffee pots, grinders, and cups and then walked back to Lyca who stood there smiling.
"Helpful sort, aren't you?" He chuckled and nodded.
"Might be. Besides, I always believed that one good turn deserves another. Grandpa always said: 'Someone does something for you, always do your best to do something for them.' That's what I always do." He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him and she smiled wolfishly.
"Affectionate as well? Looks like I chose my mate well." Neal nodded, enjoying the feeling of Lyca next to him.
"What can I say except that I'm really starting to like the idea of you and me being together." Lyca smiled and then pointed to a store.
"There's a wolf I know, name's Alf, he's the jewler who owns that shop. Now, fair warning, he's from the same clan as me so don't be surprised if he comes across as a little... overprotective. He's practically my brother." Neal nodded.
"So then, why a jeweler?" Lyca sighed.
"He's... well... I guess the term is 'runt'. He wasn't that big when he was born and never really took on the physical traits of males of my species. Not that that's a bad thing, not at all, he just, since he wasn't as strong or as quick physically, he decided to be quick with his mind and hands. He met a mole who taught him silver and gold smithing and then taught him gem cutting." Neal opened the door to the store and Lyca walked in and smiled as she thought about something.
"Nowadays, getting a mating band from Alf is almost a tradition in my clan now."
"Aye and a damn good tradition it is." Neal turned to see a studious looking wolf come from the back room and immediately break into a broad smile upon seeing Lyca.
"I would guess by your presense in my shop and the current subject of the conversation that you finally found someone who could keep up with you, eh Lyca?" Lyca blushed and gave a small nod and indicated Neal.
Alf removed the jewelers glasses from his nose and glanced at Neal and then took a sharp breath.
"By the Great Wolf... Lyca... Do you realize that-" Lyca nodded.
"Yes, I know he's a Maester. He's also the male I came to know and love." Alf glanced to Neal who felt Alf's eyes sizing him up with a frown and then nodded.
"Very well then. I will say this though, you hurt her, and Maester or not, I swear you'll regret it." Neal nodded calmly and gave a wry smile.
"From what I've learned of Lyca is that wolves always keep their word so I don't doubt you and given how I feel for her, I wouldn't blame you if you did." Alf seemed appeased by this, nodded and then smiled, obviously something had just occured to him.
"As it is a special case, I mean, it's not every day a wolf claims a Maester, let alone a human, as her mate. Instead of the standard fare, let me show you some of my private works." Neal glanced to Lyca who smiled and waited for Alf to unlock a small case to the side of the main display and lift off the false wood covering a glass case. Almost immediately Neal was stunned by the beauty of some of the pieces and Alf, noticing his surprise, smiled.
"Indeed. Being a Maester is all well and good but to craft pieces like this you need to have been taught what I have been taught. Each piece has taken my full attention to detail and concentration to craft and create. Look well my friends because these treasures rarely see the light of day and only as favors to my closest friends and most discerning of clients."
The designs, sizes, and types of jewelery varied extremely. The first piece that caught Neal's eye was a ring fitted with an emerald surrounded by saphire chips. Then he saw a ring that looked amazingly like a series of silver bands weaved around a gold core. However, it was the last piece that caught his eye. It was a silver ring, engraved with what looked like a series of Celtic knots encircling the ring and a decently sized diamond surrounded by ruby chips.
He indicated the ring to Alf who pulled it and then glanced to Lyca and then back to Neal.
"I also have a reversal pattern of this one. Here, what do you think?"
Neal examined the second ring which had the same Celtic knots but instead was a ruby surrounded by diamond chips. An excited glance from Lyca was all Neal needed to nod to Alf who smiled and then proceeded to take the measurement and then glace back to Neal.
Alright, so then, these matching rings, the private stock, that comes to about one-thousand, three-hundred eighty-seven gold." Neal glanced at Lyca who visually gulped at that price. Neal had expected something but still had no idea about the currency rate in this world and nodded. He reached into his coat, pulled out the gold scrip he carried around just in case, and Alf was all too happy to count it out and return the remainer of the scrip to him.
"I will have them adjusted and they should be ready by the end of the week." Neal nodded his thanks and he and Lyca left the store. As they walked down the street Lyca turned to him.
"Okay, you do know that he probably overcharged you on those rings, the little-" Neal chuckled.
"A fair exchange actually. Besides, as far as I'm concerned, you are certainly worth it. Anyway, I think a few of his designs were just the inspiration I needed to create Spyro and Cynder's betrothal gifts. Besides, my commissions are doing well enough that I can afford to indulge a little... Good God did I honestly just say that?" Lyca glanced at him.
"Yes?" Neal shook his head.
"No you don't understand I just never, in all my wildest dreams ever thought I wouldn't be financially troubled. I mean, my work in the USCG was good as was cropdusting job but... huh... I just realized that doing what I had been doing back in my world, I would have never been able to buy a house... never would have been able to truly strike out on my own with a buisiness... I suppose I'm more indebted to Ignitus than I previously thought..."
"He brought me to this world to save my life and not just to bring a Forger back to the world, his actions laid the groundwork for me to come here... to meet you... to... fall in love with you... I just never imagined myself in this type of life..." Lyca smiled, embraced him, and then kissed him which attracted a few wolf whistles and more than a few laughs and smiles from the crowd.
"I suppose I should be thankful as well." Neal chuckled and gazed into Lyca's eyes.
"You know if this were some cheesy romance story, this would technically be the time the two lovers would break into a song and dance routine." Lyca smiled.
"I don't know exactly what that is but trust me, my singing voice is horrible unless you like howling at the full moon and my dancing is worse." Neal returned the smile.
"Same here. My singing voice could shatter windows and I actually hold the USCG record for most feet stepped on during a waltz." Lyca gained a thoughtful look.
"Oh, I don't know about that... when you were singing while helping rebuild Fen's shop you sounded alright to me." Neal waved his hand.
"Those were old sea shanties and story songs. I just can't come up with a song off the top of my head worth a damn. Then again, you didn't fall in love with me for my singing voice anyway." She smiled and nodded.
"True. I fell in love with you. Once it's official, we are going to have lots of things to talk about." Neal chuckled.
"Guess that's just my lot in life, huh?"