DRAGON SORCERER WINGS SPREAD

  Copyright License Notes: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this e-book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Dragon Sorcerer- Wings Spread

  Copyright © 2023 - Sean Oswald

  Cover art copyright - Sean Oswald

  Cover art by Luciano Fleitas

  Table of Contents

  The Story Up till Now

  Chapter 1 - The Devil You Know

  Chapter 2 - Brow Beating Dragon Style

  Chapter 3 - What She Knew

  Chapter 4 - An Oath

  Chapter 5 - Defiance

  Stats 1.0

  Interlude 1 - In the Night

  Chapter 6 - Obstacles at the Door

  Chapter 7 - A Light Work Out

  Chapter 8 - Where’s My Gold?

  Chapter 9 - Once More into the Dream

  Chapter 10 - Fighting to Learn

  Chapter 11 - Waking and Planning

  Chapter 12 - More Human

  Chapter 13 - Straw Man Go Boom

  Interlude 2 - Worthy

  Stats 2.0

  Chapter 14 - Airing Things Out

  Chapter 15 - Are You Really a Dragon?

  Chapter 16 - What Now?

  Chapter 17 - Another Surprise

  Interlude 3 - In the Open

  Chapter 18 - Scrolls

  Chapter 19 - What Forlay has to Offer

  Chapter 20 - Back to the Stables

  Chapter 21 - Flickers of a Dream

  Chapter 22 - Outside the City

  Chapter 23 - Targets of Opportunity

  Chapter 24 - Questioning

  Chapter 25 - Making Use of What I Have

  Chapter 26 - A Night at the Inn

  Chapter 27 - Clearing the Woods

  Chapter 28 - Fireside Discussions

  Chapter 29 - Hunter or Prey?

  Chapter 30 - Too Close

  Chapter 31 - Mist on the Mountain

  Chapter 32 - Dragon vs Baloth

  Chapter 33 - A Hero?

  Interlude 4 - Dragon Rider?

  Chapter 34 - DKP

  Stats 3.0

  Chapter 35 - Back to the City

  Chapter 36 - Gold

  Chapter 37 - Birthday

  Chapter 38 - Unity

  Chapter 39 - Birth of a Dragon

  Chapter 40 - Enter the Dragon

  Interlude 5 - Everyone Plans

  Chapter 41 - Game of Death

  Chapter 42 - Fists of Fury

  Chapter 43 - Crafted Protections

  Interlude 6 - Minion Pimp?

  Chapter 44 - Elevating the Body, Freeing the Soul

  Chapter 45 - The Dream Speaks

  Interlude 7 - Elemental Forging?

  Chapter 46 - Comparing Notes

  Stats 4.0

  Chapter 47 - Flying Free

  Chapter 48 - Proving Themselves

  Chapter 49 - Into the Lair

  Chapter 50 – Room Service?

  Epilogue

  This is the End

  Stats at the End of Book 2

  Cast of Characters and Places

  Other Books by the Author:

  The Story Up till Now

  This began as a story of a young dragon fleeing his home because adventurers attacked. Nico has learned a great deal since then, but most importantly, his magic activated in the presence of a fifteen-year-old farmer’s daughter. Cami and Nico are now bonded through that magic.

  At first, it looked like Cami was the only one benefiting as she gained magical abilities and a small percentage of Nico’s stats. But by the end of the story, it is shown that Nico gains advantages in terms of easier DKP (the dragon equivalent of XP) and very rapid advancement through the age categories (the dragon equivalent of levels) based upon Cami gaining levels.

  Since Nico was initially hiding, he and Cami passed themselves off as youngsters who had discovered their magical ability. Nico’s shape change ability allowed him to so completely take the form of a human that he would be able to fool anything but potentially epic level divination magic.

  The very adventurers who had destroyed Nico’s home became his chaperones. Some, like Galbrecht, the paladin, were more than willing to help because it was the right thing to do. Others, like their rogue, Modessa saw the pair and especially Nico with his strange expressions and mannerisms as a wild mage worthy of death. The other adventurers, including Lisella the priestess of the goddess of healing, Serius, the team leader and a wizard, and Liam the quiet half-elven ranger had varying degrees of acceptance for the pair who kept their bond hidden.

  As they traveled the long way to the Imperial University, it became apparent that Nico was a magnet for monsters, and they encountered a variety of threats related to an ancient threat known as the Horrors. This included mutated monsters and a possessed kraken.

  In exchange for saving her paladin, Miseria, the goddess of healing agreed to hide Nico’s secret, but even then, the truth came out—though not for a lack of effort or breach of trust on the goddess’ part. Eventually, Nico had to reveal his true nature to the others. Lisella became his mentor, offering to teach him how to be the best mage he could be and hinting at other offers. Modessa, in turn, took on Cami as her apprentice.

  Throughout it all, Nico refused to see the humans as his equals. He was a dragon after all and possessed of the memories of his ancestors through the Dragon Dream, a type of genetic memory which just might be more than it seems. It showed him a bit about the past of his kind and the origins of the bond, but left more questions than answers.

  In the end, once they arrived at the university, Nico finally encountered another dragon. This dragon was far from what he had expected and in fact the system no longer deemed her to be part of the same species. Matilda was cut off from the Dragon Dream and as far as Nico could tell was little more than an intelligent animal.

  Now he has to determine how this was done to her and the other dragons who are kept captive. He still has his sister to save and his deep-seated curiosity about humans to satisfy. That isn’t even to mention the fact that old monsters are reappearing and much of it seems connected to him.

  Chapter 1 - The Devil You Know

  I was in a daze. The guards downstairs were suddenly quiet. A minute ago, they’d been calling up the stairs, asking for the dragon rider to come down. That’d be pretty hard, though. The next time the dragon rider in question was going anywhere, was when her ‘domesticated-dragon’ crapped her out.

  Still, I’d learned so much recently, but didn’t know what to make of half of it. One minute, I was certain of the unassailable superiority of dragons. Now, I was confronted by the existence of a dragon, which seemed little more than an intelligent monster.

  How was such a thing even possible? I could blame it on the fact that she… no, she had a name, even if it was a slave name. Matilda had been raised in captivity, as had her parents before her. The system had even created a new designation for her kind of being.

  It wasn’t that, though. I knew to my core that, even if I were held in captivity for a thousand years, I would always remain a dragon. That could never be taken from me—to consider otherwise would rock me to my core.

  No, the simple answer was that there was one significant difference between me and Matilda: she was cut off from the Dragon Dream. As far as the dream was concerned, she might as well not even exist. The Dragon Dream was—at its simplest level—a form of genetic memory which provided me with the memories and experiences of my ancestors.

  It wasn’t like it was all there at my fingertips, though. How I perceived it and what I recalled sometimes seemed arbitrary. With work, however, I could learn most anything my ancestors had known—going back tens of thousands of years. That alone was incredibly powerful, but the Dragon Dream was so much more.

  Much of it I had taken for granted. The Dragon Dream was a way of connecting with other dragons and a way of connecting to the world around me. Words failed me. I already knew I needed to understand more about it. Now, I realized I needed to learn the history of the dream. That would open for me my own history.

  I didn’t need to worry about any of that right now, though. I had a pregnant dragon in front of me who was soon to lay her eggs. She was smart enough that once I had broken the collar on her, that she had immediately killed the one who had sought to ride her.

  This made me wonder, would I come to resent Cami like that? No, I shook my head. I couldn’t afford to think like that now. I had to save Matilda.

  She didn’t deserve bondage like this. Her children certainly didn’t deserve it, either. But being honest with myself, I simply wasn’t set up to save them yet. I might be able to guide her into the wild, but what did I know about surviving in the larger world? I had lived in a cave in the desert for most of my relatively short —well, short for a dragon—life.

  Worse, I realized that I didn’t want to leave the university. I couldn’t shake the feeling
that there was much for me to learn here. I just didn’t know how that was supposed to work now. Then I heard a soft cough behind me.

  I spun on the balls of my feet, my hands reflexively coming up. Maybe I really was starting to get the hang of this fragile form. Standing fifteen feet behind me was none other than Modessa. Seeing her caused a rage to rise up in me.

  Was this what she had intended for me? Was it what she’d done to my sister?

  She seemed wary as she looked at me. “You asked for me?”

  Her words brought me back to the moment. I didn’t know what was happening in this situation. My options, however, were limited. I could change and fly away, or… well, I could try to fly away. If I was being honest with myself, I was scared that the mages here would find a way to trap me.

  I glanced back at Matilda. Whatever had made her so much less than she should be… terrified me. And what could possibly terrify a dragon? I shuddered.

  I was not terrified by the stunted dragon before me… but I couldn’t bear the thought of becoming something like that.

  My mouth twisted as I struggled to form words. The storm of emotions inside of me was too great for me to speak.

  Modessa looked at me. She seemed to be determining if I was dangerous. She took a step forward and when I didn’t react; she took another. Finally, she reached out and touched my arm.

  “I know it doesn’t make it okay, and I don’t expect your forgiveness, but we didn’t mean for you to find out this way,” Modessa said. “Frankly, we didn’t know what we were getting into.”

  For a flicker of a second, I felt something warm rise up within me. It was almost like her words made me feel better, but then I recalled the look in Matilda’s eyes and remembered the look in Sheraleigh’s eyes as I’d fled the cave.

  I jerked my arm back. “Intentions are thin, and words are hollow,” I snapped. “Only actions count.”

  She locked eyes with me for a moment, as though daring me to take action. Then she looked down at the floor and nodded. Her chest rose slowly and then she spoke. “I’ll help you escape if you want. But if you want anything more than that, you’ll need my help. No… you’ll need all of our help. The entire team is onboard.”

  She pinched the narrow part of her nose between two slender fingers. “I don’t even know if this is a good idea, but I know you deserve the chance to show us you’re more than a monster."

  She studied me. “All that remains, is for you to ask for our help. Can accept the help of some humans? Can you do that, if it gets you want you want in the end?”

  I pondered her words. I wanted revenge, but I needed something more. Modessa likely wasn’t the human who had done this to Matilda. Whatever had made her so much… lesser had been done long ago and was part of a system larger than the rogue.

  Modessa might serve that system, but she wasn’t it. Now, I had to decide if it was better to trust her and her friends, or to take my chances with the forces here at the university and beyond. For the moment, I chose the evil I knew rather than the uncertain evils that awaited beyond these walls.

  But thinking about the system of power at the university raised a new question in my mind. The system was separate from the gods, but interacted with them in some way. How could the system allow this to happen to Matilda, or to any dragon? I needed to understand just what this force was that put notifications into my mind and helped me to quantify my growth. That issue, however, would have to wait.

  Modessa shook my arm.

  “We’re running out of time, Nico. You have to decide. I swear on the life of my apprentice that I will do nothing to reveal your involvement here today and I’ll do everything I can to make right what has been done to your people. But you are right, words are empty. We need to act, and we need to do so now.”

  I nodded. “Okay.”

  The rogue started stalking around the room. She took careful note of everything but was careful not to get too close to Matilda.

  After a few seconds of this, she said, “As I see it, we have three big problems and two simpler ones.”

  In my mind, the only problem was how to free Matilda, but I struggled to slow my thoughts down. There was too much at stake here for me to be hasty. I didn’t like it, but Matilda was going to have to play this game for a bit longer.

  I nodded. “The first problem is what to do with Matilda. The second problem is what to do about the humans she ate. But I can’t think of a third mage problem. The lesser issues are the tools which I used to Fabricate my pry claw and the general aura of magic in here.”

  When I mentioned the humans Matilda had eaten, Modessa’s face grew pale, and her chest seemed to freeze mid-breath. That pleased me, but I hid my smirk—or at least I think I did.

  “Good,” the rogue said, “you’re starting to think things through rather than just acting or reacting.”

  Her tone felt demeaning, but I’d heard her speak to Cami like this more than once. If I had to guess, this was her teacher mode. Well, never let it be said that I couldn’t learn.

  I’d take what they had to offer and then use it when the time came to bury them.

  “The third problem is you. You look like you’ve aged three years.” As she spoke, I felt the tingle of magic. She wasn’t using Identify on me, but some other sort of class skill. “Oh… you did age three years.”

  If only she knew the truth. I’d gained far more than three years. I’d gained the power which would normally have come only after decades of growth—and I owed it to the bond with Cami. I remembered the notification.

  You have gained: +10% Age Rank growth per level gained by your companion.

  Retroactive: +70% growth obtained

  There wasn’t time for my mind to dwell on that, but the potential I’d gained was beyond imagining. That was dragon business, though. It was the exclusive prerogative of a dragon… and I supposed their bonded companion. This wasn’t for sharing with others.

  “It isn’t quite that simple,” I kept my explanation curt and to the point, “but if you want me to appear as I did before, I can.”

  My bonded’s mentor arched an eyebrow. “Show me.”

  I needed time to figure out just how much to share with the rogue, but for now I’d at least have to let her see a limited part of my Shape Change ability. Focusing for a moment, I remembered how I’d felt and what I’d looked like before the upgrades. Then I made a few subtle shifts and was back to my eighteen-year-old self.

  Well, chronologically I was still over fifty years old, but my character sheet said I was an eighteen-year-old human once again, and my body and my appearance reflected that.

  Modessa whistled softly. “I can’t even sense anything off about you. It doesn’t read as a disguise or any type of magic I’ve ever heard of before.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “It’s a dragon thing.”

  She pursed her lips. “We don’t have time now, but someday soon, you’re going to need to share more about such ‘dragon things’ with the team if we are going to keep sticking our necks out for you.”

  I didn’t say a word. I simply stood there, staring at her.

  “Terrance’s disappearance is easy enough. I can spin a tale about him running off with a girl. He certainly had enough of a reputation for that sort of thing, from what I’ve heard since being back. Explaining Shavi’s disappearance is going to be more difficult, but what I’m really worried about is that collar. Can you get it back on Matilda?”