Draconic Discipline

Another day dawned, bringing with it the routine task of transporting medical supplies to a charming little village nearby. The journey, however, was rife with danger, as the road was often plagued by thieves and bandits in spite of it being situated in the middle of an open grassland. It was no surprise then that your employers insisted on sending you, a rogue, fully equipped for battle, to ensure the safe delivery of the items.

At least, that was what they had told you.

The first three times you walked down this alleged treacherous path, you kept your guard up, ready to face any adversary seeking to loot you and your goods. But to your surprise, none ever came your way. Every last trip was peaceful, if fairly boring, and by the fourth delivery, you treated it as if it was just another hike into the Epherothian wilderness.

Today marked your fifth. With a satchel and a rucksack overflowing with healing potions and various supplies, you geared up for yet another delivery. Deep down, you harbored a secret hope for some foes to cross your path, craving a diversion from the monotony. Yet, given the nature of the cargo you carried, it was a perilous wish to entertain.

"I should just bring a companion with me on the next delivery. Mika, that cute village girl who tends to her father's horses maybe?" An adorable farm girl with a petite frame comes to mind, one you seem to be on friendly terms with. "Those freckles of hers are to die for, I swear." An admittedly sleazy thought to be having, you quickly shrug it off out of respect for her and her father with whom you have become acquainted with.

"Ah, focus, focus, you're a friend she trusts, not some--"

Your thoughts were interrupted by a loud, nigh-deafening boom from something crashing into the earth. At first, you thought it was merely a tremor, as was fairly common in the area, but as you turned around, you were struck by the sight of a massive dust cloud, towering over you like a giant spire.

"What the-- A meteor??" You stared at the pillar of dust looming over you that dissipated ever so slowly. A meteor in broad daylight? No, there was something about this that felt different.

As the dust finally settled, you prepared for what might greet you, only to be met by the sight of... a girl? Badly injured, unmoving, and bleeding from several points on her body, but a girl nonetheless, clad in a thin-strap black and red sundress. You jogged over to take a closer look, at which point her draconian features became visible: black horns with a mix of scarlet-orange and golden bronze scales, along with a pair of wings that appeared to have sustained some grievous injuries.

"Hello?" You called out to her. No response. You reached out and lightly shook her arm, but her silence persisted. Though unconscious, her chest appeared to rise and drop in slow, shaky intervals upon closer inspection. "Ohh, she's still alive." You breathed a sigh of relief.

Yet, a grim thought quickly crossed your mind; with such grave wounds, it's unlikely she will remain alive for long. Against your better judgement, you fished out a powerful healing elixir stored away in your satchel, offering a sincere, quiet apology to its intended recipient. You then administered it to the ailing dragon-girl, watching in awe as most of her wounds readily began to heal in a matter of seconds.

"M...Mmh... Nhaaahh!" She woke up with a loud gasp, panting and coughing with an unbridled look of panic on her face. It was only when her eyes found you that her expression shifted. "W-Wha... a human?"

"Are you alright?" You asked her. For a moment, she paused, as if she were still piecing her thoughts together.

"...No. I... I shouldn't even be alive. Ah, I can't even remember what happened prior to m-me getting... "

"You fell out of the sky, and you looked like you were hanging by a thread, but I managed to heal you with an elixir. That should've patched up most of your injuries." For a brief moment, you saw the sorrow on her face vanish, only to return as she shifted her attention to her wings, which remained injured and tattered, though thankfully no longer bleeding.

"...I'm afraid it'll take more than even an elixir to heal them." She said with a low, forlorn voice.

"I'm sorry."

"Regardless!" She abruptly exclaimed, her fingers enveloping yours in a warm embrace. Quite a massive jump from the depressive state she was in a mere second ago. "I... I owe you, human." Her hands, though covered in scales, exuded a warmth that felt comforting, as was expected of her race.

Hearing those words, your face curved into a gentle smile; shortly after, so does hers.

"My name is Skadi," she introduced herself, "I'm a metallic dragon."

"Heller. I'm a rogue hired as a medical courier."

"Is that right? Perhaps I can provide you some company! I would imagine some unscrupulous lot would love to get their hands on some rare elixirs. Someone like me could provide much needed protection, even if I'm essentially flightless."

"Yeah well, who am I to refuse, right? A dragoness of all people for a bodyguard and companion."

"Mm-mmm! It's the very least that I could do if anything."

A shapeshifting dragon offering to be your personal protector, only the most foolish of halfwits would turn down such a proposal. You reached out your hand, and without a moment's pause, she grasped it firmly with an eager shake.

"If you don't mind me asking, what sort of dragon are you? You mentioned being a metallic one."

"I was born from a rare union. My father is a bronze dragon, my mother a copper dragon. Thus, my mixed scales."

"Fascinating. A beautiful combination if I say so myself.." The young dragoness blushed slightly from your unexpected compliment.

"I take it you're still in the midst of a delivery?" You nodded, and then pointed at the cozy little village on the horizon. With the excitement of a child, she promptly sprang to her feet. "Then let's not waste any more time!"

"As you wish, Miss Skadi." Her jovial nature matched her petite frame, perfectly suited to her equally tiny height. She was a head shorter than you, not that it made her less intimidating to look at.

A hazardous road that turned out to be rather secure, a dragon with the features of an attractive, slender girl eager to guide you after you rescued her from certain death, it all made you feel like the luckiest medical courier in the world. You expected that as a rogue you would lead an unruly life, full of discord and quarrel, yet your reality now could not have been farther from that notion.

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At least, those were your thoughts five days ago.

You and Skadi had just returned from dungeon-crawling, intent on acquiring some long-forgotten treasure somewhere within the desolate chambers. Skadi walked ahead of you with a pompous and haughty disposition, having slain a beholder back in the dungeon without so much as breaking a sweat.

"I haven't let loose like that in a long time!" Crimson red sparks emanated from Skadi's body, accumulating around her forearms and claws. "Crushing strong foes makes for excellent sport, I can see why you humans enjoy doing it so much."

The tone in her voice suggested barbarity, if not outright sadism. A far cry from the demure dragoness that you had healed days ago.

"Y-Yeah, I guess you can say that." You responded with a meek tone. "Though I wouldn't count on fighting a beholder of all things as a mere sport."

"Hmph, as if someone such as yourself would understand. A rogue, one that relies on cheap tricks to slay his opponents." Skadi turned around and began walking backwards as she spoke to you, a smug grin affixed to her face. "To call you a coward would be quite an understatement~"

"And I suppose you're any better?"

"..."

"A being who is vastly stronger, taking pleasure in looking down at people weaker than you." Hearing your words, Skadi's grin slowly turned into a dark scowl as you spoke. Alarming, but you remain unperturbed. "Rather pathetic if you ask m--"

"SILENCE!!"

The dragoness' voice boomed, almost supernaturally, the air vibrating so unnervingly that it startled everyone in the vicinity, who all promptly turned their attention to her. Skadi paused before she said another word, after which she marched over to you with a glare that could kill.

"Heller, dearie." She spoke with a tone that was as calm as it was eerie. Sparks that had once lingered around her extremities now had amplified. Voltaic arcs menacingly flared from her arms, it made you wonder if her intention was to murder you rather than intimidate.

"You so much as breathe those words again, there will be one less rogue this town has to worry about." Skadi whispered as she placed a hand over your shoulder. Cold sweat ran down your forehead in a wild cascade, for death practically stared you down surrounded by crackling sparks of voltage.

"I hope I have made myself clear."

You nodded without a second thought. The grimace on her Skadi's face disappeared just as quickly, replaced by yet another conceited sneer.

"Good boy." A sardonic caress on your cheek followed, like a mother fondling her child's face immediately after beating him senseless for disobedience. "Shall we get some lunch? Dungeon-crawling's gotten me rather famished and I would love a decent serving of roast beef."

Without waiting for an answer, she turned around and began walking away, heading towards a nearby diner.

Skadi showed you her true colors a day after you both began delivering together. Dragons were never known for their humble temperament--you should have seen it coming since the moment you met her.

You wonder now if giving her that elixir was the right thing to do.

==============================================

"Haah! Marvelous bedding they have in this hotel!" Skadi dove into the plush, luxurious bed, hugging one of the pillows like a little child on Christmas night. "Almost feels like my own bed back at home."

Regrettably, she had managed to twist your arm into booking an absurdly pricey hotel room where you both could spend the night. No thanks to your newfound fear of her, you did not voice much complaints.

"Ah, that's right. You, rogue, are sleeping on the floor tonight. I'll throw in a blanket or two for you, consider it a generous handout I threw your way."

"What?? But there's more than enough room for us on that--"

"More than enough room for me, yes." On the bed, Skadi laid on her side like a snobbish queen. "Homesick is quite the terrible thing, my dear rogue, and I would LOVE to feel at home even if it's just for one night."

Certainly a ludicrous request, to pay for a luxurious hotel room only to end up sleeping on the cold, hard floor while your freeloader of a companion gets to sleep like a baby on the bed.

"Don't give me that look, human." Skadi piped up once she noticed the unhappy look on your face. "You still owe me for pulling you out of that mimic mishap from the dungeon earlier."

At this point, you were too mentally exhausted to even argue with her. With a heavy head, you simply nodded at Skadi, whose face immediately lit up with an arrogant smile.

"That's what I thought. Goodnight, Mr. Rogue! I'll see you in the morning~"

*****

That night was grueling to say the least; the blankets were warm, but were not soft enough to provide adequate cushion. Sleep was but a distant dream as you tossed and turned in your spot endlessly while Skadi slept like a log on the mattress.

"Agh, damn it..." Desperate for rest, you crawled beneath the bed, yearning for something soft to cushion your weary body. Instead, you found a notebook, with enough dust and wear on it to suggest it had spent decades hidden under the bed.

"Buh, nothing but junk down here." You muttered as you slid back out, notebook in hand. "Ah, whatever, might as well bore myself to sleep by reading this."

Left with little options, you began to read the contents of the old notebook.

"'...While just flashing your glowing hand at the target is sufficient, for best results, it's highly recommended to give them food infused with this spell.'...What? Wait a second..."

You pressed on with your reading. The pages detailed a specific spell's mechanisms, revealing its mechanics and identifying which races were vulnerable and which stood firm against it. It seemed that the more potent a race's innate magical abilities, the more susceptible they are to its effects.

"I guess it means humans are unaffected by it? But what spell is it anyway..."

The next several pages provided an in-depth guide on how to cast it, which manner is most effective, and which race it would work best against.

"Oh, dragons? Fascinating. What can I do with this..."

'Dragons rank among the most vulnerable races when it comes to this spell. The real challenge lies in gaining a dragon's trust, a task that far surpasses the difficulty of executing the spell itself.' One of the addendums read.

"Interesting. But what--"

'I shall leave this Hypnosis Grimoire to you, ████. Far be it from me to wreck such havoc amongst my allies. Your kind is unrivaled in the art of protection, for I doubt even an army would dare retrieve this once it's in your claws, provided they even know of its existence.'

The last addendum at the final page read. In place of a name, there sat a torn hole on the paper, leaving it a mystery as to whom this book and message was meant for.

"...Hypnosis, huh?" For a moment, you stared at the ceiling. In your hands was a tool -- no, a weapon -- capable of subduing even the strongest of creatures that exist in this world.

Your mind then went to Skadi, the thorn in your side that you had the misfortune of picking up almost a week ago. She has a certain amount of trust in you, fragile as it is, and although her presence offers a few advantages, no greater of a need there is right now than for her to treat you with a semblance of decency. You are, after all, the reason she is not just another decaying corpse on the ground.

You could not help but long for the Skadi you knew, if only for a short time, after you pulled her back from the edge of death.

"Well, whatever." You mumbled to yourself, placing the notebook inside your satchel. "I guess if Skadi goes too far with her antics, perhaps I can use this to put her in her place or something."

Though you wished it would never come to that, deep down, you knew retribution was long overdue for the conceited dragoness. It was simply just a matter of 'when'.

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"Put your back into it, you almost had him!"

"I could use a hand, just so you know!!"

"Nonsense, this is good combat practice for someone like you! Try to take him out without using underhanded tricks!"

"I do not have the skills nor the equipment, how many times do I have to tell you that!?"

"Well, too bad, the big guy's on to you now! Sink or swim, Heller!"

Whilst you faced off against a battleaxe-wielding orc, Skadi perched her lazy rear atop a large tree, casually snacking on some bread and less-than-helpfully critiquing your every move with a smirk. Armed with only a pair of kukri knives, just getting within striking range of the orc felt impossible, never mind actually killing it.

"Watch out now, you'll be a red smear on the dirt at this rate!"

A grueling duel that you were not in the least bit prepared for, you did your best evading every attack, every swing, and every stomp the orc threw at you. The battleaxe's head, nearly half the size of the orc himself, swung down to the ground with unbridled savagery--though he never got to land a direct hit, the relentless slamming meant you were constantly knocked off your feet. With each strike, rocks and debris rained down, pelting you square in the dome enough times to make you bleed.

"You won't last long like that!" Skadi yelled with her mouth full of bread. "Oh right, I forgot you're a rogue--you're not supposed to face him head on!"

"Very nice of you to remind me!!"

With a loud roar, the orc performed yet another overhead strike, this time hitting a patch of packed earth. The blade promptly sank deep into the hard soil, unable to be pulled out even with the orc's herculean strength.

"Got you!!" Wasting not a single second, you immediately ran up to the monster, using the axe's haft as a stepping stone to climb up to its shoulders. Before he could even attempt to grab you, deep into his jugular your knives went. With a swift and brutal drag, you carved two giant gashes on his neck, from which a torrent of blood instantly began to gush out. Smeared with gore, you then jumped off right as he began to tip over.

The unruly beast soon fell to the ground, blood pouring from the gaping wounds on its neck as if a pipe had ruptured within its throat. You stared at its twitching corpse for a minute, you yourself on the verge of collapsing both from exhaustion and the injuries you had sustained.

"Bravoooo! Bravo, fine display of might right there, Mr. Rogue!" Skadi sprang down from the tree, her applause ringing out with a hint of irony. The sardonic undertone in her voice struck a nerve, fueling your irritation. "Why, I haven't seen combat like that since I was a wyrmling!"

"...You have anything else to say?"

"What, praises from a dragoness weren't enough for you? You're more covetous than I thought." Sparks flared within Skadi's hand as she stood over the corpse. "Oh well, not like I expected much from a rogue, anyway."

"No, wait--"

A bright flash promptly erupted, reminiscent of a lightning flash and equally as thunderous. Once the glare had faded, what was left of the corpse was now a mere pile of smoldering ashes. That included the battleaxe the orc had been wielding, now nothing more than a smoking shadow imprinted on the soil.

"What, you wanted that battleaxe for yourself?" Skadi turned to you with a somewhat puzzled look. "Don't bother, not like you would've been able to lift that thing off the ground, let alone use it."

"I was going to SELL that!!" You could not help but yell. Somehow, Skadi did not take offense to that. "You saw that massive ruby on that thing, no!? It would've been worth a fortune, and now it's...!"

"Oooohhho, whoops! Well, nothing we can do, I suppose." Skadi said while she kicked the orc's ash up into a cloud. "At least you won't be lugging anything heavy on the way back, so, you're welcome~"

"..."

"So much for that, let's head back to that restaurant. That bread you gave did little more than stroke my appetite."

"..."

"That orc lopped off your tongue or what? Speak up, rogue."

"...Sorry, yeah actually, why not." Skadi turned around as soon as your words reached her.

"Ohh?"

"Nothing like a hearty meal after all that hassle, right?"

"Did that orc crack your head too? Normally, you'd grumble first before agreeing. Oh wait, of course he did~"

Not an ounce of sympathy was visible on the dragoness' face or voice, each word that came out of her mouth only served to push you further into the deep end.

"Food and drinks are on me, along with the hotel stay once deliveries are over." Your voice bordered on being dead, not that Skadi was aware or considerate enough to take notice. "What do you say?"

Her face twisted into a wry smile, followed by a giggle that felt like a jab at your expense. Had she been a human, you would have pummeled her smug face at the first opportunity. The fact that she looked like a young girl would not matter to you in the slightest.

"Mm-hhm, I could certainly get used to having a servant with a fractured skull." She yammered, her voice and tone grating your nerves. "Very well then! I shall expect more of this treatment from this day forward, rogue. Are we clear on that?"