Orange dragons tend to live in tropical or volcanic environments, their abilities centered around both the destruction and growth fire can bring. They will reduce parts of their territory to ash and help it regrow into a more vibrant and diverse environment. They also have some control over lightning and nature but tend to only use them to support their abilities to use fire. They are the least aggressive of the chromatics so long as you enhance rather than damage their territory.

Adrian

Quickly he leads me to another room, the room containing the pool table and it is all I can do to not laugh as I see the dwarves using as they talk business to each other.

I don’t pay attention as Thrane introduces me but from all the smiles around the room I can tell they are in for a horrible experience at being caught.

“Who would like to explain to me why you had Thrane trick me into ingesting several dwarven souls?”

Everyone except for the man in the crown look confused. I guess the clan's king is responsible. I take the crown off his head with Translocation Grasp and hear whispers of no mana signature from a dwarf dressed in what I assume are the clothes for their clergy.

“Come to me and explain why you tried to use soul magic to have me possessed.”

“It should not have done anything. It should have been insignificant. I would never try to actually harm you Lord dragon.”

There are angry whispers coming from the various dwarves around the room. None of them were in on it.

“If you want me to believe that swear it on the name of your clan.”

“On the name of my clan I swear that no harm was meant, the effects of what I had Thrane give you should have been insignificant and unnoticeable aside from the knowledge it gave. The only ploy was to get you to feel as you owed us for breaking a great treasure of the clan.”

I am surprised by what he says, and that he said it all so willingly. There is no stronger oath he could have said, at least as a dwarf. Was I wrong? Were they not trying to get some compulsion on me to control me?

“It seems your intent was misinterpreted. I am sorry, but it did ruin the chance for me to fully trust this alliance thing. The most I can be at the moment is a friend to your clan.”

The whispers of the other dwarves do not stop. This has cost him a lot in his court I am sure, maybe I should have done it in private instead? Too late now and I might have needed to force a replacement. . .

“That is reasonable. I am sorry to have soured it with a poor gift.”

“It was not the gift but how I learned about what it is. You are lucky that Thrane has been very honorable with the deals I have had with him so far.”

I need to give them something or I won’t be able to get what material things I want from them. But what the only things I have they want is mana that I can’t seem to directly control and the whole blessing thing. Should I do that? Not much other choice, at least the memories showed me how to do it.

Willingly given blood used to draw a symbol of what I want to give him. I don’t know if mana is involved since the dwarves could not even feel it until after the 'blessing' is given. How do I draw mana? Should I just write it? Those memories didn’t seem to have a pattern in what was drawn on the dwarves.

I pick the scab on the back of my hand and write “some mana” on his head before smearing it. I feel most of what fuels my access of Void Cache empty before I pull back my hand. I feel physically weaker too. Of course this isn’t low cost. I am still going to try doing this for the trio though.

As the waves of fatigue wash over me I turn towards the door as Thrane falls on the floor. Is that good or bad?

“When he gets back up send him to me. I’ll be having my dealing with your clan through him.”

It is a struggle to maintain the figure of strength until I manage to get back to the chairs I was using when I was talking with Thrane earlier. This must be why the dragons in their memories always dismissed everyone after the blessing ceremonies. I need to figure out how to at least move my mana. I do not want to resort to that for them again.

The trio bring me the food from the now absent serving girls, they must have noticed. Did the dwarves? I don’t think so. If they did they either already knew or have better poker faces than their king did. An open secret maybe?

I continue to thumb through the black journal with the trio as they feed me. My stomach does not bulge even after eating over a head's volume worth of food. I need to learn more about void dragons, another need to add to my list of things to learn.

It is an hour before Thrane shows up and bows to me. His appearance slightly different but I am unsure just what changed.

“How can I serve you?”

“Why are you acting as a servant now?”

“This is how the dwarves who were blessed always treated their benefactors.”

“I didn’t do that to you for you to be a servant, you are still Thrane Goldenrock who I am working with for mutual benefit.”

There is a sigh of relief before he stands up. “But what then is my role?”

“Whatever it was before.”

“Well then, is there anything your need”

I let out a sign as he still seems unsure about how he now should act around me, “weapons and armor I guess.”

“There are no pieces of suitable quality and size for you nor your followers, I can lead you to some of the smiths though.”

Well, at least what I end up with will fit. We need some equipment soon though. . . Could I get the dwarves to rush it? Maybe, the more exquisite the item the more they will want to work on it.

We end up leaving the mansion and walk towards a neighborhood with plumes of smoke rising from it. I can hear metal striking metal but once we are close enough to see the smithies set up the hammering stops. Dwarves do not forget in front of non-dwarves, keep the craft their own.

There are several frowns from the interruption, they will have lost work having to stop midway. “Why did you bring outsiders Thrane?” an older dwarf asks from where he stands next to several younger dwarves.

“To bring your business, they are in need of arms and armor and you are the best of our clan.”

“Ye know I don’t make such things anymore. Only the finest and these don’t seem to have the coin or status for my work.”

“I’ll be back in a bit” K whispers in my ear and I miss some of the exchange between the two dwarves. By the time my attention comes back from looking at K's backside as she leaves the older dwarf has changed his opinion.

“My mistake, when would you like to get started with the necessary measurements?” the older dwarf asks.

“Whenever you are ready, don’t worry about working in front of me either, I am already familiar with the how of smithing” I reply, though the ending part is only half true. Unpracticed and unapplied knowledge is not quite familiar. I also feel off when information from that crystal is being used by my mind.

“Shall the women need armor as well?”

I nod in reply and he responds “this way then. The human girl will have to get her measurements when she returns.”

Kythia

Once out of my mate's sight the spring in my step and smile disappears, there are some unwanted females stalking my mate. They have been near that Jasmine woman and I do not approve of their presence.

I am glad my pack sisters have been helping to keep them all out of sight of our mate but it is time to put them in their place, that they do not nor will they have a spot in my pack.

I follow their scent to a small shop that sells food and find the four who have been following my mate around for the past days while they have been trying to catch my mate's eye. There is no one else in the store, save for a waiter and someone cooking in the kitchen, perfect. I walk up to them and feel disgusted at the conclave of scents from many men that each of them hold. Not a recent smell but they clearly have abandoned their prior mates many times for another.

“You will leave my mate alone, you are not welcome.”

“You’re mate, really? You have to brag about him, are you that insecure. . .” one of them replies and I interrupt a growl in my voice.

“I will kill you if you touch him.”

“We are going to do more than just touch.”

I pull some sand from a pouch and blow it at that woman as I cast one of the spells I’m learning from the deathspeaker books rather than my mate, Sands of Time. Her skin losses it sheen as it becomes full of wrinkles and she becomes as an old woman far past her time to bare children.

“Be glad I don’t turn you all into crones or end your lives now. My mate is off limits, do not let me see any of you again” I say as I turn and walk away. I hope this ends their false desire for my mate.

I begin to have a smile again as I go back to him, dwarven arms and armor. I never got to try dwarven armor before but their weapons are good even if they cost too much and are heavier than I like. Gifts for giving him a litter before he even knows if his seed took.

Adrian

K got back just as the rest of us finished being measured, range of motion and did some strength tests to see how much armor we could have. The dwarves were notably discouraged as to how light the elves' armor needed to be. 'barely more than clothes' I think the most common complaint was.

A few of the younger dwarves start putting K through the same stuff I just finished as the older dwarf explains the benefits and detriments of various armors. I only half pay attention as I am aware already. Talia and Lysan should both end up in as light as chainmail can possible be while K and me should end up in something a bit heavier.

We do need it to be low maintenance though. I’m thinking half plate because I like the ascetic and it unlike it’s full plate counterpart should not require assistance getting it on and off. I was expecting the dwarves to talk with us about the armor but we’re instead gently pushed out of the smithy as a few others began to be set up.

“Do we just come back later?” Talia asks.

“That is probably it. We don’t need to watch him make it after all.

Thrane are you ready to meet with someone to set up the meeting you want?”

He nods while grinning with the enthusiasm he always has when he has a chance to make a profit. Do all dwarves have this trait?

Once we are back at the hotel Bryan walks up to me, shit I should have made sure he got some armor too. . .

“Are we going to be here for a few days?” he asks.

“At least a few days, why?”

“I wanted to get some equipment and want to know if we have time to wait on a commission. That and could I have my computer back?”

“Sure, but do you need money?”

“No, I’ve been hoarding what Abagail and me have looted and people pay well for healing magic.”

Do they? I should look into that, we have a lot of people with healing abilities in our group.

“This man is a healer?” Thrane asks interrupting both our conversation and my side thought.

“A paladin, but Adrian, Lysan and Kythia are all better healers than me” Bryan answers.

“You travel with multiple healers? Why would you do that?”

“Most of my friends are skilled at more than one thing. Specialization brings power but there should also be an overlap or what will you do when it is the healer who is hurt?”