Book 2: Chapter 49: Demands

    Arthur stopped in front of the door to his room, tugged down his shirt and then smoothed it out again. He was already dressed as nicely as he could be, but when faced with the prospect of a private meeting with the leaders, he felt it wasn’t enough.

    Lastly before he stepped in, he activated his Charming Gentle-Person card.

    Valentina and Whitaker stood near the balcony. They faced each other and looked like they were in the middle of an intense, angry conversation. They broke off whatever they were talking about when Arthur arrived. However, a dark mist looking like an angry rain cloud floated over Valentina’s head.

    Carley stood off to the side, looking more than a little intimidated. When Arthur nodded for her to go, she didn’t hesitate to scuttle out the door.

    Should he bow or something?

    Arthur settled for standing at attention until Carley closed the door behind him.

    “Leader Valentina, Leader Whitaker,” he said with a nod to both. “I understand you wanted to speak to me.”

    Whitaker strode forward and made a point of looking Arthur up and down. “I can’t decide if you are the cause of all this recent chaos, or our savior from it.”

    “I don’t understand what you mean.”

    His eyebrows lifted. “You don’t? You just happen to be one of the two to find the blasted egg in the first place. And don’t think I’ve forgotten about the scholar’s guild or that business with our new Rare hatchling. And now it’s come out you’re the one who had a hand in saving most of the Legendary recruits. The real hero of the day—”

    Valentina cut in. “You think that a mere baron’s son arranged all that, Whitaker?”

    “I think once is fine, twice is a coincidence. Three or four times...” Whitaker trailed off with a glower at Arthur. “Well? What do you have to say for yourself?”

    “That I’ve been lucky,” Arthur said, “And...” He wasn’t sure if he should say what was on his mind.

    Whitaker jumped on it at once. “And?”

    Taking a breath, he decided to plunge in. “I feel like I’m the one for this egg. Everything I’ve done isn’t for the rank or to impress the king. I want to link with that dragon. Perhaps it’s made me more willing to take chances that others wouldn’t.”

    His words sounded corny to his ears, but the two leaders exchanged a look.

    Whitaker snorted and some of the tension seemed to fade from the air.

    “Keep that attitude, kid. You’ll need it when the egg tests you to decide whether to eat you alive or not.”

    “You are too old to be this dramatic,” Valentina said, then added. “But you’re not wrong. Now, Ernest... oh, you wish to be called Arthur, isn’t that right?”

    “Yes, please.”

    “Then sit. We three should have a chat.” She gestured to the sitting table outside on the balcony. It was a pleasant temperature outside with a warm sun beaming down. As Arthur gazed out, he saw a sort of shell made of wind in the air. Valentina’s doing, likely enough. He didn’t doubt it would be hard to be observed out here.

    Valentina folded age-stiffened hands together.

    “You may have heard that the egg is no longer in Wolf Moon Hive’s possession.”

    “It’s to be hatched here,” Arthur confirmed, “But no one mentioned where the new hatchling would go afterward.”

    “That is still to be determined.”

    Whitaker snorted. “The other hives have used this catastrophe to take the egg out from under us on the pretense it’s easier to move the egg here than all the recruits back to Wolf Moon hive where ‘it may not be safe’. It’s transparent, ugly politics if you ask me.”

    “No one did,” Valentina snipped, but then sighed. “Though you’re not wrong.”

    “We need that egg,” Whitaker growled. “It was laid at our hive, and we need another Legendary rider. We’re understaffed — dangerously so.”

    Arthur was a little shocked they’d speak so bluntly — they were almost treating him as if he were one of them.

    “I’ve heard there has been an increase in scourge eruptions. Is it that bad?” he asked.

    “It could be,” Whitaker said.

    Valentina hastened to add, “There have been increases before. These things come in waves and the scholars have dozens of theories why. But you may have noticed that our local scholar’s guild is quite... decimated.”

    Arthur winced, remembering the remains of the building.

    “The short of it is the quorum of hive leaders has come to the conclusion that it will be up to the new rider and hatchling which hive they want to go to. To be blunt, Arthur, if it’s you we want you at Wolf Moon.”

    “It is your home,” Valentina added.

    “We can’t... go to a card shop and buy one?” Arthur asked. “I understand if the hive won’t sell us something here, but you have dragons and surely one of the cities...” he trailed off as he caught the hive leader’s expressions. Whitaker looked chagrined. Valentina quietly furious, though the anger wasn’t at him.

    “We have dragons, yes,” she said, “But portal use is approved through the hive leaders.”

    “If I know Ismael, he’ll let us go through to one of the kingdom’s center cities and then shut the thing behind us again,” Whitaker said bluntly. “He’s a snake.”

    “It will take us days to fly back here the long way,” Valentina admitted. “By which point the egg would have hatched.”

    Tess had flown Arthur from the borderland town back up to Wolf Moon in one arduous day. But Tess was a purple dragon with speed and stamina and likely some quickening cards. Valentina’s dragon was elderly, and Whitaker’s wasn’t built for speed either.

    Interesting that in this case a Common out showed a Legendary.

    “We''ll have to make do from our personal decks.” She pulled out a delicate coin purse from her pocket. He realized it was a card anchor when she pulled a card out of it.

    Whitaker beat her to it. He reached for a tattoo on his forearm and flicked a card at Arthur.

    “Here. I’ve been meaning to upgrade it anyway.”

    Moderate Self Repair

    Healing

    Uncommon

    The wielder of this card will be granted the ability to repair minor to moderate wounds and injuries. Severe, crippling, complex, or mortal wounds may be only partially healed. This is an active effect and requires the use of mana.

    “Won’t fix losing a limb or mortal wounds,” Whitaker said, “Also you have to concentrate to keep the card active, so you’re out of luck if you pass out. But it might save your hide if the healers take their time getting to you.”

    It certainly wasn’t the solution to all his problems, but any healing card was a valuable find.

    “Thank you,” he said honestly.

    “I have one I think you’ll like,” Valentina said then hesitated to look at Arthur as if studying him for a hidden quality before she drew out a second from her purse-anchor.

    “Use these two together.”

    Arthur looked and inhaled sharply. He recognized the first.

    Phase In, Phase Out

    Teleportation

    Rare

    This card grants the wielder the ability to temporarily make their body incorporeal to pass through objects, or allow objects to pass through them. Limit is ten seconds of incorporeal time per hour, on a rolling basis. This card does not use mana.

    The second card was intriguing.

    Mana Amendment

    Meta

    Rare

    This card has the ability to amend the abilities of any targeted Rare-tier card to enable it to use mana. This may change the fine details of the card, though it will not alter the target card’s rank.

    He wanted to find out what effect the Mana Amendment card would have right now, but one blaring fact held him back.

    “I’m grateful for the use of these cards,” he said carefully. Cards from the personal decks of Hive Leaders was no small thing. “But I don’t think I can win duels with these.”

    They were hive leaders. Didn’t they have anything more powerful?

    Then again, why would they have powerful secondary cards? Their own Legendary cards and their linked dragons were more than enough power.

    “I don’t expect you to win with these,” Valentina said. “You said you want that little egg? Well, if it wants you, it doesn’t matter how many royal brats are put before it first. Don’t fight to win, Arthur. Fight to survive.”