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After a few days, Ragnar gets his stitches removed! On top of that, he only has a half day of work, allowing him to get some shiny new armor from the central square, but there's one dragon that never likes it when our favorite hybrid is shopping around town.
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A few days had passed since Klipp found Ragnar by the river. Each day was largely the same, aside from Slaktullr’s aggressive attitude. The red dragon could always feel the Electric dragon’s gaze drilling into him whenever he’d pass by the butchery. Klipp wrote it off as Slaktullr being Slaktullr, but the hybrid couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off with the dark dragon.
The two woke up early this morning. It was finally time to remove the stitches that pierced his webbing. The doctor rose from his seat behind the counter as the two dragons stepped into the clinic. “Let’s get started,” the man sighed. “Sit down and I’ll have these stitches out in a jiffy.” He waved for Ragnar to take a seat and pulled up a stool.
The red dragon unfurled his recovering wing. The torn webbing had fused, leaving a jagged, lumpy scar in its place. The doctor quickly got to work, snipping at the thread and carefully pulling from the webbing.
“Now that your stitches are gone,” Klipp smiled, “I have a new exercise for your physical therapy to add tonight!” The burly dragon laughed. Ragnar groaned. His shoulders and chest still ached from Klipp’s aggressive training regime. On the other hand, the unique diet and exercises Klipp had encouraged were starting to show results. His arms and chest looked a little more defined under his scales.
“Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of downtime today. I’ve got to close the shop early tonight to prep for our trip to Dracaeli next week.”
“You need a week to pack?” Ragnar asked, raising a brow.
“Yes, I need to do a lot of paperwork to shut down the shop for our journey.”
“Why not get someone else to run it?” The hybrid asked with complete curiosity.
“Do you really think that there are any dragons in town willing to take over a small business run by a human?”
“Oh. Right.”
A brief silence fell over the trio.
“Well…I’ll see you back at my place!” Klipp turned to the red dragon and clapped him on the back. “Tonight, we’re gonna have something really good!” gazed up at the skylight. “Anyway, I’ve got to head off to work now. I don’t get a half day!” He waved to the two Earthlings and trotted off toward the mines.
After the dragon had gone, Dr. Patterson spoke up. “Today, I want you to take inventory for me. While I prepare for a meeting at town hall, I need you to catalog everything, so I can figure out what else I need.” He reached under the counter and retrieved a piece of thick paper on a stone clipboard. “Just count how much of each thing there is and mark it down next to yesterday’s inventory.” Patterson grabbed an inkwell and a scaly quill from the countertop, setting them next to Ragnar. “Be gentle with the quill and don’t destroy the paper.”
Ragnar nodded as he got to work. He worked his way across each shelf and down the list of items. The pace was slow, but the work was simple enough.
Eventually, the inventory was completed. The dragon’s handwriting looked more like chicken scratch next to the doctor’s clean, smooth handwriting. He handed the completed inventory to the doctor. “All done!”
“Very good, that’s all I have for you today.” The red dragon started for the door. “Wait!” the older man scrambled around the counter, holding a small bag. “Here’s your pay for the past few days of work. It’d be smart to get more of the items on that list I gave you.”
Ragnar nodded, “Ah!” He pulled the paper from his bag. “Got it right here!” He smiled. The dragon looked comfortable in his body. The days of errands and otherwise normal life made him feel useful like nothing had really changed. The small interactions with the various shopkeepers of Quartz Quarry had gone a long way toward the young dragon feeling at home.
“I recommend you get some toiletries, like scale polish and soap. Your scales are looking a bit dingy.” Patterson scoffed, “You’re lucky you can’t sweat anymore. Otherwise, you’d be BEYOND ripe!” He started laughing, almost to a coughing fit but capped out at a wheezing sound instead as the doctor fought to catch his breath.
“On that cheerful note, I’ll head out.” He waved to the doctor, who was starting to recover from laughing. Since he had time, Ragnar slowly wandered down the streets toward the central plaza. Finally, I get to wander the top level again! He thought cheerfully.
Like before, the second level contained plenty of industrial and practical use items. He walked up to a shop with a symbol of a shoulder pauldron on it. This one was attached to a building, being an armor forge. It sat next to the swordsmith’s shop. This one was better maintained, its stone walls smooth and clean instead of the crumbling, ash-covered walls of the blacksmith’s forge.
As the hybrid stepped across the threshold, a raspy voice called, “Hi there! What can I do for you, sweety?” It almost sounded like an American Minnesotan accent, kind and cheerful. A red dragon turned around, revealing a slim Fire dragon with large arms. She wore a heavy and worn leather apron around her waist. Her underbelly was a beautiful sunset orange while her normal scales leaned closer to a deep magenta.
Ragnar swallowed. “Uh, I was looking for some,” he glanced at his little shopping list, “light armor.”
“Oh! Well, you’re in luck, kiddo!” She hollered, waving the younger dragon over to the stone counter. “I just finished forging a few pieces of armor that should fit you well!” She wore a wide smile. “What armor are you looking for?” She spread her arms over a wall of different metal and leather armor pieces, ranging from pauldrons to breastplates to gauntlets.
Ragnar looked over the wares of shiny metal pieces, eyes wide with wonder like a kid in a toy store. “Could I see a pauldron…and a pair of arm braces.” She smiled her warm smile again.
“Oh! Very good choice, y’know! That pairing is always great for archers, but a pauldron like this,” she picked up a pauldron that stretched a quarter of the way down the arm, “is much better for aspiring swordsmen like you.” She placed the piece over his right shoulder and inspected the look before properly fastening the leather straps around Ragnar’s chest, now creating an ‘x’ shape between it and the messenger bag straps.
She leaned back and grabbed a pair of bracers. “These should work well! They’re a little more flexible than the other ones I make, better for those subtle sword tricks.” She winked before fastening the pieces to his arms and stood back, smiling. “Yes, this combination will do wonders for you!”
She removed the pieces and set them on the counter near the front of the room. “For the price of these…” she inspected a sheet of paper under the countertop, “Would normally come out to 50 gold pieces, but I can be talked down!” She smiled as Ragnar inspected his earnings: 55 gold pieces and 4 silver pieces.
“How about…42 gold pieces?” He asked.
She pondered a moment and shook her head, “No, but I’d settle for 45! I’ll even throw in a free emblem stamping for your pauldron, y’know!”
Ragnar thought a moment, “Sounds good to me! What kind of emblem were you thinking of?” He pulled out the coins and started counting them out in stacks of 5.
“Well,” she looked Ragnar over, “I can see that you’re a hybrid. From the looks of it, you’re a Fire and Wind hybrid?” He nodded. “Yes! I’m never wrong!” she snapped her claws. “I’ve got the perfect stamp for this!” She threw open a drawer and pulled out a metal stamp with a round insignia of fireballs soaring through the wind. “See?”
Ragnar stared at the stamp and nodded. “It looks nice!”
She smiled and plucked the pauldron from the counter. The older dragon stepped over to her stone forge and blew white-hot flames into the furnace. She then set the pauldron near the fire to warm up before placing the metal head of the stamp into the flames. After a moment, she pulled it out and pressed the hot stamp against the pauldron.
She plunged the stamp into a bucket of water to cool and the pauldron into a similar barrel. Clouds of steam filled the shop. The water hissed angrily. Her raspy voice hummed as she plucked the pauldron from the water and set it back on the counter, smiling at her handiwork. “I believe that this might be some of my finest work yet, you know!” She turned to Ragnar. “Oh! I never introduced myself! I’m Blasfalska!” She held out her hand.
“I’m Ragnar, I know it’s kind of a weird name.” He scratched behind his neck before meeting her hand and giving it a firm shake. The other shopkeepers always did a double take when they heard his name. Some even chuckled or laughed in his face, knowing a joke that the hybrid did not.
“Oh, it’s not that weird, dear! You really wouldn’t believe all the strange people I’ve met in my 50 years working as an armorer, y’know!” Blasfalska laughed, causing Ragnar to chuckle along with her.
Ragnar collected his new armor and strapped it all on, waving goodbye to Blasfalska, who enthusiastically waved back. “Stay safe out there! And don’t forget to polish yer armor! Clean armor, clean mind, y’know!”
Ragnar quickly collected most of the toiletries that Patterson had told him to prioritize, leaving him with only 5 gold and 4 silver left. The red dragon slowly trudged down the stone steps to the lower level, but as he reached the bottom, he noticed a familiar black and purple blur in the corner of his vision.
He sped toward the nearest street out of the plaza. He had just started down the alley when he heard a familiar voice, “Hey!”
Ragnar stopped in his tracks and turned around to find Slaktullr standing a few paces away from him. Slaktullr stepped closer, eyeing the red dragon up and noticing the new armor. A smug grin crept onto his snout, “running away?” His voice was mocking.
“Maybe,” the Earthling bit his tongue, “it’s pretty clear that you don’t want me here.”
He laughed, “Of course don’t want you here! Ever since you came to town, Klipp has been spending less time with me. He hardly talks when he picks up meat for dinner.” Slaktullr curled his claws into fists. His voice barely above a growl. “The sooner you get out of here the better.”
“I’ll leave as soon as my wing finishes healing,” Ragnar replied, spreading his injured wing and wincing as it stretched.
Slaktullr’s frown worsened, “Heal up fast, wildfire.” He turned and started to walk away but stopped for a moment and looked over his shoulder. The dark dragon’s piercing, malicious gaze lingered a moment. “And take that lunatic ‘doctor’ with you.”
Ragnar quickly returned home, heart pounding after another confrontation with Slaktullr. He dropped his things in his room and plopped onto the bed and fell asleep.
A few hours later, Klipp returned home with ingredients, waking the tired dragon. He enthusiastically walked the hybrid through the new recipe. Before long, dinner was ready. It was like curry. The cubed beef was soft and tender, bursting with flavor thanks to the creamy sauce that draped over the rice.
After they had finished eating, Klipp brought Ragnar outside and walked him through the new exercise which left his muscles burning and fatigued. As soon as he was done, he trudged to bed and passed out on the stone bed, tail curling around his huddled body like a dear stuffed animal.
<<< PREV | FIRST | NEXT >>>
<<< PREV | FIRST | NEXT >>>
Chapter 5: Once Removed
Written by: Ryker-Wolf
A few days had passed since Klipp found Ragnar by the river. Each day was largely the same, aside from Slaktullr’s aggressive attitude. The red dragon could always feel the Electric dragon’s gaze drilling into him whenever he’d pass by the butchery. Klipp wrote it off as Slaktullr being Slaktullr, but the hybrid couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off with the dark dragon.
The two woke up early this morning. It was finally time to remove the stitches that pierced his webbing. The doctor rose from his seat behind the counter as the two dragons stepped into the clinic. “Let’s get started,” the man sighed. “Sit down and I’ll have these stitches out in a jiffy.” He waved for Ragnar to take a seat and pulled up a stool.
The red dragon unfurled his recovering wing. The torn webbing had fused, leaving a jagged, lumpy scar in its place. The doctor quickly got to work, snipping at the thread and carefully pulling from the webbing.
“Now that your stitches are gone,” Klipp smiled, “I have a new exercise for your physical therapy to add tonight!” The burly dragon laughed. Ragnar groaned. His shoulders and chest still ached from Klipp’s aggressive training regime. On the other hand, the unique diet and exercises Klipp had encouraged were starting to show results. His arms and chest looked a little more defined under his scales.
“Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of downtime today. I’ve got to close the shop early tonight to prep for our trip to Dracaeli next week.”
“You need a week to pack?” Ragnar asked, raising a brow.
“Yes, I need to do a lot of paperwork to shut down the shop for our journey.”
“Why not get someone else to run it?” The hybrid asked with complete curiosity.
“Do you really think that there are any dragons in town willing to take over a small business run by a human?”
“Oh. Right.”
A brief silence fell over the trio.
“Well…I’ll see you back at my place!” Klipp turned to the red dragon and clapped him on the back. “Tonight, we’re gonna have something really good!” gazed up at the skylight. “Anyway, I’ve got to head off to work now. I don’t get a half day!” He waved to the two Earthlings and trotted off toward the mines.
After the dragon had gone, Dr. Patterson spoke up. “Today, I want you to take inventory for me. While I prepare for a meeting at town hall, I need you to catalog everything, so I can figure out what else I need.” He reached under the counter and retrieved a piece of thick paper on a stone clipboard. “Just count how much of each thing there is and mark it down next to yesterday’s inventory.” Patterson grabbed an inkwell and a scaly quill from the countertop, setting them next to Ragnar. “Be gentle with the quill and don’t destroy the paper.”
Ragnar nodded as he got to work. He worked his way across each shelf and down the list of items. The pace was slow, but the work was simple enough.
Eventually, the inventory was completed. The dragon’s handwriting looked more like chicken scratch next to the doctor’s clean, smooth handwriting. He handed the completed inventory to the doctor. “All done!”
“Very good, that’s all I have for you today.” The red dragon started for the door. “Wait!” the older man scrambled around the counter, holding a small bag. “Here’s your pay for the past few days of work. It’d be smart to get more of the items on that list I gave you.”
Ragnar nodded, “Ah!” He pulled the paper from his bag. “Got it right here!” He smiled. The dragon looked comfortable in his body. The days of errands and otherwise normal life made him feel useful like nothing had really changed. The small interactions with the various shopkeepers of Quartz Quarry had gone a long way toward the young dragon feeling at home.
“I recommend you get some toiletries, like scale polish and soap. Your scales are looking a bit dingy.” Patterson scoffed, “You’re lucky you can’t sweat anymore. Otherwise, you’d be BEYOND ripe!” He started laughing, almost to a coughing fit but capped out at a wheezing sound instead as the doctor fought to catch his breath.
“On that cheerful note, I’ll head out.” He waved to the doctor, who was starting to recover from laughing. Since he had time, Ragnar slowly wandered down the streets toward the central plaza. Finally, I get to wander the top level again! He thought cheerfully.
Like before, the second level contained plenty of industrial and practical use items. He walked up to a shop with a symbol of a shoulder pauldron on it. This one was attached to a building, being an armor forge. It sat next to the swordsmith’s shop. This one was better maintained, its stone walls smooth and clean instead of the crumbling, ash-covered walls of the blacksmith’s forge.
As the hybrid stepped across the threshold, a raspy voice called, “Hi there! What can I do for you, sweety?” It almost sounded like an American Minnesotan accent, kind and cheerful. A red dragon turned around, revealing a slim Fire dragon with large arms. She wore a heavy and worn leather apron around her waist. Her underbelly was a beautiful sunset orange while her normal scales leaned closer to a deep magenta.
Ragnar swallowed. “Uh, I was looking for some,” he glanced at his little shopping list, “light armor.”
“Oh! Well, you’re in luck, kiddo!” She hollered, waving the younger dragon over to the stone counter. “I just finished forging a few pieces of armor that should fit you well!” She wore a wide smile. “What armor are you looking for?” She spread her arms over a wall of different metal and leather armor pieces, ranging from pauldrons to breastplates to gauntlets.
Ragnar looked over the wares of shiny metal pieces, eyes wide with wonder like a kid in a toy store. “Could I see a pauldron…and a pair of arm braces.” She smiled her warm smile again.
“Oh! Very good choice, y’know! That pairing is always great for archers, but a pauldron like this,” she picked up a pauldron that stretched a quarter of the way down the arm, “is much better for aspiring swordsmen like you.” She placed the piece over his right shoulder and inspected the look before properly fastening the leather straps around Ragnar’s chest, now creating an ‘x’ shape between it and the messenger bag straps.
She leaned back and grabbed a pair of bracers. “These should work well! They’re a little more flexible than the other ones I make, better for those subtle sword tricks.” She winked before fastening the pieces to his arms and stood back, smiling. “Yes, this combination will do wonders for you!”
She removed the pieces and set them on the counter near the front of the room. “For the price of these…” she inspected a sheet of paper under the countertop, “Would normally come out to 50 gold pieces, but I can be talked down!” She smiled as Ragnar inspected his earnings: 55 gold pieces and 4 silver pieces.
“How about…42 gold pieces?” He asked.
She pondered a moment and shook her head, “No, but I’d settle for 45! I’ll even throw in a free emblem stamping for your pauldron, y’know!”
Ragnar thought a moment, “Sounds good to me! What kind of emblem were you thinking of?” He pulled out the coins and started counting them out in stacks of 5.
“Well,” she looked Ragnar over, “I can see that you’re a hybrid. From the looks of it, you’re a Fire and Wind hybrid?” He nodded. “Yes! I’m never wrong!” she snapped her claws. “I’ve got the perfect stamp for this!” She threw open a drawer and pulled out a metal stamp with a round insignia of fireballs soaring through the wind. “See?”
Ragnar stared at the stamp and nodded. “It looks nice!”
She smiled and plucked the pauldron from the counter. The older dragon stepped over to her stone forge and blew white-hot flames into the furnace. She then set the pauldron near the fire to warm up before placing the metal head of the stamp into the flames. After a moment, she pulled it out and pressed the hot stamp against the pauldron.
She plunged the stamp into a bucket of water to cool and the pauldron into a similar barrel. Clouds of steam filled the shop. The water hissed angrily. Her raspy voice hummed as she plucked the pauldron from the water and set it back on the counter, smiling at her handiwork. “I believe that this might be some of my finest work yet, you know!” She turned to Ragnar. “Oh! I never introduced myself! I’m Blasfalska!” She held out her hand.
“I’m Ragnar, I know it’s kind of a weird name.” He scratched behind his neck before meeting her hand and giving it a firm shake. The other shopkeepers always did a double take when they heard his name. Some even chuckled or laughed in his face, knowing a joke that the hybrid did not.
“Oh, it’s not that weird, dear! You really wouldn’t believe all the strange people I’ve met in my 50 years working as an armorer, y’know!” Blasfalska laughed, causing Ragnar to chuckle along with her.
Ragnar collected his new armor and strapped it all on, waving goodbye to Blasfalska, who enthusiastically waved back. “Stay safe out there! And don’t forget to polish yer armor! Clean armor, clean mind, y’know!”
Ragnar quickly collected most of the toiletries that Patterson had told him to prioritize, leaving him with only 5 gold and 4 silver left. The red dragon slowly trudged down the stone steps to the lower level, but as he reached the bottom, he noticed a familiar black and purple blur in the corner of his vision.
He sped toward the nearest street out of the plaza. He had just started down the alley when he heard a familiar voice, “Hey!”
Ragnar stopped in his tracks and turned around to find Slaktullr standing a few paces away from him. Slaktullr stepped closer, eyeing the red dragon up and noticing the new armor. A smug grin crept onto his snout, “running away?” His voice was mocking.
“Maybe,” the Earthling bit his tongue, “it’s pretty clear that you don’t want me here.”
He laughed, “Of course don’t want you here! Ever since you came to town, Klipp has been spending less time with me. He hardly talks when he picks up meat for dinner.” Slaktullr curled his claws into fists. His voice barely above a growl. “The sooner you get out of here the better.”
“I’ll leave as soon as my wing finishes healing,” Ragnar replied, spreading his injured wing and wincing as it stretched.
Slaktullr’s frown worsened, “Heal up fast, wildfire.” He turned and started to walk away but stopped for a moment and looked over his shoulder. The dark dragon’s piercing, malicious gaze lingered a moment. “And take that lunatic ‘doctor’ with you.”
Ragnar quickly returned home, heart pounding after another confrontation with Slaktullr. He dropped his things in his room and plopped onto the bed and fell asleep.
A few hours later, Klipp returned home with ingredients, waking the tired dragon. He enthusiastically walked the hybrid through the new recipe. Before long, dinner was ready. It was like curry. The cubed beef was soft and tender, bursting with flavor thanks to the creamy sauce that draped over the rice.
After they had finished eating, Klipp brought Ragnar outside and walked him through the new exercise which left his muscles burning and fatigued. As soon as he was done, he trudged to bed and passed out on the stone bed, tail curling around his huddled body like a dear stuffed animal.
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Category Story / All
Species Western Dragon
Size 120 x 120px
File Size 21.9 kB
Listed in Folders
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