.^^ Elder Rashan ^^

— Tommy —

The Estate that Sariel's Family lived in reminded me of a really old Victorian manor, if an old Victorian manor was made of crystalline rose-quartz and obsidian. The columns and large windows were there, as was the square front and gabled roofing, with the tresses properly gilded.

Four stories tall, easily 12,000sq/ft per floor. It was a beautiful home, but it smelled of magic. There was no craftsmanship to this, just someone envisioning something, and snapping their fingers to create it from the sand around us, plus a little metal.

I immediately hated it.

"Welcome to my family's home, Master." Sariel grinned, and flung open the French doors grandly. "I'm Home, Hold the Parades!!!"

Kyrew sighed and flicked his ear, then bowed to a pink-skinned and pink-haired individual that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "Elder, Greetings. We've come home."

The androgynous tiefling nodded slowly, the Golden jewelry they had dangling around and between their horns jingling softly. "It is good to have my relatives come visit me... and who is this?" They asked, gazing at me with their wide red sclera.

I stepped forward, and held a hand out. "Tommy Skøll, Lady of the Golden Coast, and Master of Sariel, here. It's nice to meet you, Elder Rashan." I nodded politely.

They hummed, and daintily gripped my hand, shaking once and releasing it. "Indeed... I was made aware that a member of the Skøll's of the Golden Coast was my grandson's mentor... come, let us have some wine. Normally I would offer tea, but it is time for the midday meal, so you may eat with me, if you like." They sighed, and pulled a cane from the folds of their billowing pink robes, clutching it and making their way into a parlor.

Sariel rushed to assist, letting the elderly Tiefling lean on his shoulder as well. They chuckled softly and pet his hair. "Thank you, little one. How go your studies?"

"I can make so many things!!! I made a Bag of Holding, and a ThunderStone, and a Giant Metal Bird that actually flies, and a Flight Stone, -well, that one broke, but no one got hurt!- and even a magic weapon!" He grinned, and pulled out the dagger he'd made, which turned the air around it a sickly green. "It's a present for Gramma, when I see her. She said that Poison was a weapon she found useful, so I made her a magic poison dagger, with Laernean Hydra Poison!!!"

The elder paused, and looked down at the dagger, then hummed. "Impressive... your studies go quickly, then?"

"Oh, no... well, I mean, I can make a lot of stuff, but this is only the 'tip of the iceberg', that's what Master Tommy says..." he sighed.

They laughed softly, tussling his hair. "Oh enough moping, show your grandmother her gift!" They poked a door with their cane, and it swung open, revealing a dining room, with a few people sitting around a large table, Victorian style again.

Sariel rushed off towards one of them, a woman who looked almost exactly like Kyrew, except for her nose, which was a bit more hawkish. "Gramma! I made you something!" He held out the knife with a wide grin.

She raised an eyebrow, and hummed, inspecting it. "Poison Dagger, Hmm? You made this, you say?"

"Yes! Master Tommy supervised, but I did it myself!" He grinned even wider, somehow.

She laughed, and took it gently, her eyes glowing softly. "Indeed... Impressive... I am pleased, grandson, now give me a hug, I haven't seen you in two years!"

He smiled and hugged her tightly, then went around the table, hugging every person there, of which only two were around his age.

I smiled. "He's very happy to be home..."

Kyrew nodded. "One of the reasons I agreed to this trip... but now I have to deal with-"

"Ahh, Kyrew, Welcome! Come in, daughter of mine. And who is this you've brought?" The woman asked, tucking the dagger in a sleeve, where it disappeared entirely.

The elder grumbled, sitting down at their seat. "We all know you heard her introductions, don't be a Shale! She is Tommy Skøll, her grandmother is the founder of the Golden Circle, and she is now Sariel's Master, until his apprenticeship is finished."

"As she says. Hello." I bowed my head a little.

The elder motioned to the chairs next to them. "Have a seat, Lady Tommy, Kyrew. Sit, eat with me. I do rarely have guests that I like." They snorted at their daughter's offended attempt at a comeback, silencing it.

I smiled and sat next to them, with Sariel sitting between me and his mother. "Ooh! And I got a Familiar from Lord Teagan, he's a super powerful Beast Mage! Saint is a Dire Wolf!" He pulled the puppy out, and held him up to the Elder's Face, where the puppy panted softly, grinning as puppies do.

The elder raised an eyebrow slowly. "A Dire Wolf?"

"Yes?" Sariel asked.

"Ah, I see the horns now, yes... a very good Familiar, powerful. Is he housebroken?" They asked warily, looking nervously at the beautiful multicolored shag rugs under the table.

"Uhm... not really." Sariel sighed, and the Wolf trotted off into the ether.

"Hmm. Well, bring out the food and wine, thank you." They waved, and a previously unseen set of servants entered the room, setting the table with an air of grace, and military-like precision.

Just before I reached for the food, I remembered Sariel saying his grandmother liked Poison, so I did a quick check for poisons, with a spell I'd learned recently, then burnt the poisons out of the food silently, making the food look like it was steaming, for a moment.

I kept track of the servants, and then gripped Kyrew's thigh gently, tapping my Temple nonchalantly.

'What?' She sighed.

I replayed the scenario for her, and noticed one of the servants looking confused, staring into the wine jug, as the people ate and nothing happened.

She stood slowly, and I flinched when her horns began burning a bright scarlet. "Well shit, I thought you were a Bard!" I chuckled.

"Sorceress!" She snapped, then pounced across the table and pressed the servant against the wall.

I saw the dagger before Sariel, but he surprised me with his reflexes, drawing a small throwing knife and throwing it, pinning the man's wrist against the wall.

As the knife he'd reached for clattered to the ground and he screamed in pain, the woman that Kyrew had called Mother sighed. "Honestly, you are getting very worked up over a little Poison. Everyone here smelled it and avoided the wine."

"It was in the food, as well, until I removed it." I frowned.

She paused, and hummed. "Oh, yes... that is an issue. I suppose I must apologize, bringing work home in such a way." She sighed again, and bowed her head to the elder.

"Work?" I asked, confused.

"Oh yes, you wouldn't be aware... I am Lady Aylin Rashan, the Spy-Captain of this Nation, of which Jerel is Capital. Poisoning's happen very often, with me." She shrugged.

"Mm. Not any more." I walked over to the doorway into the kitchen, and carved a Rune into either side, enchanting it with the spell I'd used to destroy the poison; the fully powered spell would actually illuminate the poisons, as it destroyed them, alerting someone to their original placement.

She raised an eyebrow slowly. "How in the nine hells did you just do that?"

I smirked. "A skill that Sariel has already learned, even at his level of attainment. A pittance, really, but I don't do my best work for free. This will remove poisons, rendering the food safe to eat when it passes through the doorway."

Sariel grinned when she glanced at him. "I used that type of magic to make the dagger." He explained softly.

She nodded slowly. "I see... his apprenticeship to you will be more useful than I'd previously anticipated... good. But now I'd like if you could do the same to my office?"

I raised an eyebrow. "For free? No. Anyway, the food is rather bland, now that I've removed the poison, and ruined the meal, so I apologize for that... oh, I know! I'll cook something as an apology!" I grinned and pulled Sariel into the kitchen before they could protest.

The servants stared at me in shock, but didn't stop me as I began to build a shepherds pie from what could be found in the kitchen. I didn't know why I was feeling pie, but I was. Potatoes were apparently a rarer crop, down here, so I pulled some of my personal camping rations, which did include full potatoes for meals on the trail.

I checked everything I used for any form of poison, and after it was built, I cooked it in a ceramic deep-dish tray, using my hands as heating plates and a cantrip of wind to ensure proper ventilation and cooking throughout, while keeping the heat close in a box around the dish and my hands.

In just a few more minutes, it was finished, so I took it out and set it on the table. "Tadah! Shepherd's Pie! A traditional dish from the Golden Coast! I'd've done surf and turf, but I didn't see any Steaks and Lobsters in your kitchen, and I didn't have any on me." I explained, and hummed happily, setting out new plates.

The Elder hummed, and nodded. "It seems to have all the necessary food groups... baked into a dough sleeve, like a meat pie."

"Much like a meat-pie, Yes, but a little different. Bon Appetìt!" I chuckled, and dug into my plate of the delicious concoction, moaning in happiness. They had an enormous spice cabinet, and I had not spared their tastebuds.

Sariel giggled when one of his cousins (I assumed,) poked at the mashed potatoes with a fork, then whispered in his ear. "Just eat it, it's good!"

I smiled and sipped the wine that I'd brought out to pair with the meal, a strong red that smelled nice enough to me. "Anyway! That was a whole situation, wasn't it?!? Now, I wonder if either of you knows where I might find information about the Blue Dragons that are causing so much noise around here? The Empress asked me and my sister to handle it, and I'd hate to disappoint her." I hummed.

The elder raised an eyebrow slowly. "The Empress? Ahh, you mean the empress of the Silver Ridge... yes. We pay homage to our queen, here, before the Empress, so I was confused for a moment. Aylin would have the sources to know that information, I assume... dear?" They looked at their descendant expectantly.

Aylin cleared her throat carefully. "Well, I must admit their whereabouts are not easy to track down-"

A distant crash made me pause, and everyone looked up, towards the sound. "Well that didn't sound good..." I hummed, and whistled softly for Sariel, walking out the door and looking for the origin of the sound.

I smelled electricity, and ozone, but not much else, which was confusing, until I remembered that the Dragons who lived in the desert were blue, and they were Storm Dragons, despite the fact that that didn't make any fucking sense. I mean, logically, you'd think Storm Dragons would live up on mountaintops, not burrow!

I shook the thought, and climbed the wall of the compound, to get a better viewpoint. "Hmm... and that did jack squat, these pillars make everything invisible after a good hundred meters. Smart for them, annoying for me." I muttered, and hopped down, as Sariel joined me, Kyrew and his grandmother right behind him.

"Did you see what it is?" He asked calmly.

"No, but I smell ozone, which means Blue Dragons. Seeing as I was sent here to exterminate and/or relocate Blue Dragons, I believe I'm on the right track. Let's follow the scent." I nodded and darted off, towards one of the outside walls, which wasn't far off, thankfully.

Running alongside it, I quickly realized that while Sariel could keep up with me, (he'd built boots that made him faster, which was an interesting day,) the others had no such abilities.

I grumbled and picked them up, throwing them onto my shoulders casually. "You're slowing me down, but I like the idea of a few heavy hitters with me. Stop complaining." I snapped at them when they protested, and doubled my speed.

The wall was curved, and I followed it towards the direction of the noise, finding them rather quickly. Four Blue Dragons, 3-4ft tall at the most, were breathing lightning on the sand, turning it into glass nests around themselves. The guards that had appeared to deal with them laid against the nearby walls, unconscious or worse.

"Sariel, Kyrew, you deal with the guards, heal 'em up best you can. Ariel, or whatever, I hope you have some useful abilities. These are tranquilizers, take the two on the left." I tossed them onto their feet, then handed Aylin two tranquilizer darts.

She frowned at me. "I am at least three times your age!"

"Good for you, now hop your granny ass to work!" I snapped, and spanked her ass roughly, sending her offended (and supple) booty towards one of the Dragons. Kyrew laughed loudly, and then darted over to the wounded guards, with Sariel next to her, before her mother could swat at her.

I walked towards the first of the Dragons, and sat on the edge of his new little nest. "So! How we doing this, my friend? You attacking me, or going about your business elsewhere?" I asked calmly.

It cocked its head slowly, and then simply reared its head back, and spat a bolt of plasma and lightning at me. My shield talisman flew up of its own accord, and the spell scattered off into basically static, barely tickling me.

"Got it, attacking it is." I nodded, and tackled the dragon around the chest, the small size of the creature making it easily restrained. I shoved it into the Vault, after a quick injection of tranquilizer into its gums, and then approached the second, doing the same.

Then I looked over, and saw Aylin still wrestling with the first one, covered in scratches, her hair a little singed and frazzled from the lightning. I sighed and captured the third, then walked over, and picked the dragon up by the back of the skull, injecting it with the tranquilizer, and dropping it into the vault.

"And here I assumed you would be useful, from the way you introduced yourself." I shook my head in disappointment, and tossed her a healing potion, walking past her towards Sariel and Kyrew. "Any casualties?" I asked.

Kyrew sighed. "Three, out of 15. The rest have stabilized for now."

"Alright, well, we need to seal up this hole, but not until my party goes and finds the source of the Dragons, following these tunnels. A temporary seal would be appreciated." I nodded.

She cleaned her bloody hands off slowly, and nodded, walking over to the wall and touching the crystals, which grew over the hole slowly but surely. "There we are... I can't believe they would attack here, of all places. Blue Dragons are shy creatures, they would have to be incredibly desperate to come to a populated area like this one."

"Mm. We'll figure it out." I looked around, still smelling ozone, and followed the scent as more guards arrived, carrying their wounded away. I snagged one of them. "Is this the only incursion? Any others?" I asked.

"A few more came through, but they were near the Daisha Estate, so I'm sure it'll be handled." She nodded.

"Daisha... Ah, right. Alright, good. I need you to organize a small search party, and follow this tunnel back to its source stealthily. If you find more dragons, leave them be, and get that information back to me, Tommy Skøll." I released her, and began jogging in the direction of Sandy's family home. Sariel and Kyrew tagged along, while Aylin stayed to make herself useful.

I expected another four Dragons, or perhaps a smaller group, from how nonchalant the guard had sounded, but instead, I found nearly twenty baby Blue Dragons, plus one adolescent, seeming to direct their attacks against the people fighting them. Cassidy and papa were the first I saw, as she was shining like a beacon, and he was covered in lightning. Sandy showed herself in her Sand Demon form, and then another just like her appeared, making me tilt my head.

"Sandy, I didn't know you could duplicate yourself!" I called out.

One of them stopped, and glanced at me. 'That's my mother, actually. It's good to see you're alright. We assumed you were the cause of the explosions.'

"Well that's just rude, I haven't exploded anything yet! I even tranquilized four baby dragons on the other side of the city!" I settled my fists on my hips, glaring.

She laughed softly, and slammed her staff into the adolescent. 'Yes, my apologies, but to be fair, you do like blowing things up.'

"Completely unpardonable, I demand restitution!" I snickered, and then hummed. "Cover your faces, everyone? Thanks." I tossed a flashbang into the center of the pile of dragons, and covered Sariel's eyes.

The resultant flash severely disoriented the dragons, as I'd hoped of a burrowing species, so I waded through them as they flailed about, and wrestled the adolescent to the ground, tranquilizing him and shoving him into the tarp-bag that connected to the vault.

I followed up with as many as I could before they recovered, but they didn't recover: apparently the effects of bright, sudden light did to these burrowing species' what it did to moles and badgers, effectively tasing them. The family and I cleaned up the rest of them rather quickly, having no more serious opposition.

"So! Do I smell apple pie?" I asked, grinning at mother's incredulous look.