“That thing is a dragon?”, I stammered at Kiki who was desperately trying to duck back into the cave.

Her voice echoed from the darkness behind me as she ran back the way we came, “I don’t consort with dragons. If it asks, you don’t know me.”

Casting a glance over my shoulder, I began, “What do you mean if it asks?”

A deep rumbling voice replied, “If he asks would be more appropriate. What brings you to my lair? If you say treasure, prepare to be devoured.”

Name

Quetzalcoatl

Class

Wind Serpent

Level

100

Affection Level

Irritable

Suddenly, the treasure in the next room seemed to be a lot farther away. Still, a conversation with a dragon wasn’t something I could do every day. Unless I counted Seiryu, of course, but he was still a baby.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped out into the open and greeted the dragon, “Hello, Lord Quetza, um, quarter. We got trapped down here and I was looking for a way out.”

A loud hissing intake of breath emanated from the dragon that looked like an odd snake. The thing was massive like an overgrown anaconda which was tightly coiled around something that glowed. It had a distinctly dragonlike face that was rimmed with a mane of feathers. A forked tongue flicked out of its mouth as it inhaled through large-scaled nostrils.

It let out another roar, “You reek of that tiger. I am going to overlook your pronunciation of my name. Modern mortals lack the eloquence to pronounce the divine.”

Curious about why he mentioned my tiger, I asked the serpent, “Do you know Byakko?”

The dragon’s head rose menacingly above its coiled body, as though he meant to lunge at me, “You dare to speak the name? That false guardian of the west. It is I, the god of light and wisdom, lord of the day and the wind who rules the west. Does that tiger dare to usurp the west from me? I will lay waste to him. Present Byakko to me at once.”

The realization that Kiki had abandoned me and that this god wanted to eat me had me want to wet myself. However, he only seemed to want to chat, so I obliged, “You do realize that west is a very loose term right? How do you know that you are talking about the same west? Are we talking about the west side? Of what? Los Angeles? The United States? What if Byakko is the guardian of the Asian west? Is he still your enemy?”

Quetzalcoatl lunged suddenly, causing me to flinch at his rapid approach. When I opened my eyes that I didn’t remember squeezing shut, the feathered dragon’s face was inches from mine. Uncoiled, a glowing golden book was revealed on a pedestal that he had been guarding.

Sniffing me again, he hissed, “You reek of him. What is your connection to the false guardian? Answer honestly and I may let you live.”

Beginning to shudder, I whispered, “I summoned him.”

Inhaling once more, the serpent flicked his tongue in my face, “You speak the truth. Where is he?”

Closing my eyes, I attempted to locate Byakko. Failing that, I tried to summon him to my side. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to introduce the two but at least my bond might be able to protect me. Unfortunately, he did not come.

Shaking my head, I informed the god of the west, “I cannot summon him to me. He’s close, within my sphere of influence, but we got separated by a cave-in.”

Quetzalcoatl retreated to his treasure, wrapping himself tightly around it, “Very well. As the false oath maker retreated from my presence, I suppose I could deign to offer you my quest.”

This was a strange twist. Did he mean Kiki? What was her relationship with dragons?

Kalliphae’s voice echoed in my ears. What are you doing, Mel? You should have stayed put. What is that thing?

It seems to be a dragon, and it’s offering me a quest.

She was worried and I didn’t blame her. Don’t get killed, Mel.

Growing impatient with my silence, Quetzalcoatl roared at me, “Do you dare to refuse a quest from a god. Perhaps I will eat you after all.”

I shook my head rapidly and said, “No, Sir Lord of the West Wind. It would be my honor to do a quest for you.”

This was going to be my first quest not offered by the guild. Remembering Kiki’s story about her deal with the pervert, I planned to make sure I didn’t get scammed.

He hissed a laugh and the serpent’s lips curled up in a grin, “Very good. Here is your quest. You shall smuggle me to the surface so that I may once again fly free. Then you will find a new den for me to conceal my treasure.”

I gaped at the creature and said, “Have you looked at yourself recently? You’re massive. There is no way I can conceal you. There are members of the guild coming down here to rescue us as we speak. They are bound to notice you.”

The god uncoiled, displaying the golden book once again, “Worry not mortal. I am compatible with wind and light mana. You are of a light affinity. I can swim freely within your mana. Permit me entry and I shall conceal myself within your core.”

The quest sounded simple enough. There was just one problem. I gave Quetzalcoatl a hard stare and asked, “What about my reward? If I complete this quest then I am entitled to a reward right?”

He bared his fangs at me, “What do you want, mortal?”

I didn’t like the way he snarled the word mortal. Sighing, I pointed at the golden book, “What I require is money. Perhaps you could reward me with that book. I am sure it’s worth a lot of gold.”

The dragon roared, shaking the rocks loose from the cavern around us, “Of course, your desire would be based upon greed. Such is the sin of humanity. However, that is out of the question. This tome is never to be opened. I will devour you if you were to even attempt such a thing. Do you understand, mortal?”

Nodding emphatically, I backtracked, “I don’t need the book. Anything of value will do. I didn’t realize it meant so much to you.”

Seeming to think for a moment, Quetzalcoatl hissed a reply, “Very well. Should you accomplish both parts of my quest, I will find you a treasure of great value. You have my word. I will serve as your personal god of wisdom until I deliver your reward. Do we have a deal?”

So I had to smuggle a dragon out of a cave and conceal its horde somewhere. It sounded easy enough. The only problem was the treasure. He didn’t specify the value of the treasure. At that rate, he could deliver any old trinket and call the quest complete. I decided to negotiate, “The treasure needs to be worth at least 1000 gold.”

The dragon roared with laughter, “If you find a good place to hide my shame, I will make your reward worth ten times that.”

For the first time, I decided to look at the golden book which was only partially concealed within the coils of the serpent.

Item:

Codex Chimalpopocoa

Components

Cursed Mana, Ink, Parchment

Item Rank:

S

Item Level:

1

Item Owner:

Quetzalcoatl

I pointed to the codex and asked, “If that thing is your shame, why don’t you just destroy it?”

Quetzalcoatl roared at me, “Do you think I haven’t tried? The tome is indestructible. If there was a way to be rid of the infernal thing, I would have done it eons ago. As it is, I was driven underground and forced to guard this thing for all eternity.”

Taking a few steps toward the codex, I asked, “May I try to destroy it for you? That would solve your problem, wouldn’t it?”

The dragon laughed once again, “Help yourself. Only be warned, if you open the book, I will not hesitate to devour you.”

Taking a deep breath, I targeted the codex.

DELETE

Nothing happened.

ERROR: THIS ITEM IS INDESTRUCTIBLE

I sighed, lowering my hands dejectedly, “Sorry, I failed.”

Quetzalcoatl tilted his head at me, “Did you even attempt to destroy it?”

Nodding my head, I replied, “Yes. I did. It didn’t work.”

The serpent approached me and flicked his tongue so close that it almost touched my face, “Very well. I need you to verbally accept the quest. Do you agree to safeguard my treasure without looking at its contents, find a new home for it, and escort me from the depths of this dungeon?”

I nodded again, “I agree to do all of those things. You in turn have agreed to give me a reward worth at least 10,000 gold. You will serve as my mentor and guardian until you have paid the debt. Oh, and no eating my friends. For that matter, no killing or harming them either.”

The dragon looked like he was going to be sick the more I amended our contract. I wondered if Kiki would be proud of me. After a moment’s silence, Quetzalcoatl agreed, “It is agreed. For the duration of our quest, I shall treat your friends as my own. If you fulfill the terms of your quest, you will retain the highest possible standing with me along with your chosen reward. Should you fail to conceal my treasure, you will not be paid for freeing me from this place. Do you accept?”

Nodding a third time, I declared, “I agree. I accept this quest.”

He slithered back to the codex and scooped the golden book into his mouth, bringing it to me, “Do you own a magical bag to conceal this for now?”

Opening the fanny pack, I said, “Yes. Does this count as finding a new home for your treasure?”

Quetzalcoatl dropped the codex in my bag, shaking his head, “No. Your bag will conceal the book for about a day. The curse will free it before long. You will have to find me a lair where I can continue to safeguard my secrets for all eternity.”

The pain in his voice when he spoke of the codex made me sad for the dragon. Before I had a chance to dwell on it, he began to coil around me, “Brace yourself and accept me. You are about to feel full. While you have one of the densest cores that I have seen in a very long time, you are about to contain the mana of a god.”

With no further warning, his dissipated around me into motes of brilliant white light. The light engulfed me and entered me from everywhere all at once. A storm of mana raged in my channels, all surging for my core at once. When the energy struck my core, I felt like I was going to explode. The world seemed to explode around me.

A girl played with blood in her basement.

A dragon devoured my dream. What the heck do you have going on in here?

Kalliphae’s concerned voice echoed in the void between dreams. Who are you? How did you get in here? Did you just eat that dream?

Quetzalcoatl roared, making my ears ring. I am Quetzalcoatl, god of life, light, and wisdom. Lord of the day and the winds. Ruler of the West.

Kalli’s laughter was like music to my ears. Did you give yourself that title?

The serpent sounded scandalized. I most certainly did not. My many followers created me to guide them using their combined mana. It was they who bestowed the honor upon me.

The girl was on a roll pressing the serpent’s buttons. You must have done something naughty for you to have to guard that book for all eternity. Is it so bad if somebody reads it?

Quetzalcoatl roared indignantly. You know of my shame? Who are you?

Kalli’s voice rose and she made an announcement that made my heart swell. I am Melvin’s girlfriend. I hear everything he hears.

The serpent hissed. Ah, yes. The boy must have taken a mate. We had such things in my time as well. Very well, you are also bound to the secrecy of the quest. You must not speak of me to anyone or the contract is void.

Is this what it means when someone hears voices in their head?

I woke up to the sounds of Kalli and Quetzalcoatl laughing. The raging mana storm in my soul seemed to have calmed once the god was securely lodged in my core.

With a spring in my muscles that I hadn’t felt before, I rose to my feet. My whole body felt lighter. The chamber that had once housed a serpent dragon was now merely a dark chamber. I turned and made my way back to the breach where Kiki waited for us to be rescued.

She looked up at me and yawned as though she were bored, “Did you have fun with the dragon? I told you they are all jerks.”

Quetzalcoatl roared indignantly, only audible to Kalli and me. How dare she call us jerks. Put her in her place.

Calm down. That’s my sister. I think she had a bad experience.

The dragon was relentless. She is about to have one.

Don’t forget your oath. You promised not to harm my friends.

He corrected me. Only if you complete your quest. Fail and my oath to you is void.

Kalli soothed the serpent. Be nice Quetzy. You know you’re just a softy.

The god of wisdom and my girlfriend began to bicker in my head. Quetzy? How dare you shorten my divine name. You will respect me.

The fiery redhead wasn’t backing down. Earn my respect and perhaps I’ll give you some. Besides, what’s wrong with Quetzy? It’s cute.