Path of Dragons

Book 4: Chapter 69: A Question of Priorities

The winter sun hung high in the expansive blue sky, unobscured by even the wisp of a cloud. A hawk cried overhead, and a cold breeze cut across the grasslands. Elijah didn’t feel it. Even without his Cloak of the Iron Bear, which protected him from the cold, he wouldn’t have paid much attention to his surroundings. Instead, the whole of his focus was on the notification he’d received after killing the guardian boar. Not only had he reached level eighty-seven, but he’d also gained the opportunity to evolve one of his spells.

He'd done so once before, so he’d been looking forward to upgrading the rest of his spellbook. Still, it wasn’t as simple as gaining more power. It would be that. But it also represented a choice, and one that he knew would prove difficult. It was that decision which occupied the bulk of his attention. He focused on the notification:

The options seemed pretty straightforward to Elijah. The first choice would make Touch of Nature more powerful when he cast it on himself, while Nature’s Bloom and Spreading Roots would give his heal extra effects. In the case of Nature’s Bloom, it seemed like each heal would have a secondary heal associated with it. By contrast, Spreading Roots would have an area of effect component.

The question was what sort of power increase he should expect. Each evolution meant that the primary effect of the spell would grow stronger. Every guide he’d read was adamant about that. However, the additional effects were based on his Legacy, which was something of a record of his actions.

Some people would only receive one choice, and in those cases, it was almost always just a mundane increase in power. Often, the name of the spell didn’t even change, and it gained no extra effects. Three choices was the maximum number the system would offer, which meant that Elijah had been doing something right in his progression. He’d never made choices based on augmenting his Legacy – in fact, he’d never even heard the word, at least in reference to the system, until quite recently – but it seemed that he’d done so anyway.

Regardless, he had an interesting choice before him.

The first option was clearly the best, so long as he only considered his own needs. Having a potent self-heal would help him survive against tough opponents. Elijah only had to think about Guardian’s Renewal to recognize that as a fact. However, it felt wrong to only think of himself. What would happen if Miguel was injured and, because he’d taken Mother’s Embrace over the other two options, she perished? What about Carmen or Nerthus? The others he cared about?

He would be emotionally destroyed.

Was a better chance at survival the right decision? Maybe. Then again, without knowing exactly what the difference was, he couldn’t be certain. What if it was only ten percent better than the other two? Logic suggested that, because it was more limited, it would be far better, but he simply couldn’t be sure.

The other two choices were assuredly better for healing other people, but in different ways. The second, called Nature’s Bloom, seemed to specialize in healing a single target, while the third’s description implied that it would be good for a large group.

As Elijah trudged through the plains, he discarded the third option. He had yet to encounter a situation where he needed to heal a large group of people quickly. Normally, when he was responsible for that kind of healing, there was no time limit. So, as much as he liked the idea behind the Spreading Roots evolution, he didn’t see very many situations where it would be required.

That left the first two.

Mother’s Embrace was more than tempting. Normally, he fought alone, and an ability to heal himself more quickly was very attractive. However, he’d survived as long as he had with the old version of Touch of Nature, hadn’t he? And he had Guardian’s Renewal to pick up the slack.

Besides, couldn’t Nature’s Bloom serve a similar function, but without the drawback of only really helping himself? Looking at it completely logically – or from his perspective, at least – Elijah’s choice seemed clear. After all, his archetype – and to a lesser extent, his class – was based on versatility. So, pigeonholing himself by limiting his options was antithetical to the idea behind his archetype.

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Plus, he kept thinking of situations where the lives of his loved ones might hinge on his ability to heal them, and in those cases, failure simply wasn’t an option. He’d rather put himself in a little more danger than fall short when his family or friends needed him most.

So, without further hesitation, he made his decision. When he chose Nature’s Bloom, another notification appeared before his inner eye:

Elijah felt the quest complete, which was something of a surprise. Obviously, his previous actions had already satisfied the requirements, which shouldn’t have been that shocking. Yet, he had expected to have at least one task to complete, much as he had when he’d evolved Ancestral Circle into Roots of the World Tree. In any case, he checked the new spell’s description:

It was better than Elijah had hoped, especially if the base spell – even without Seed of Renewal – had improved as much as he expected. He wouldn’t know for sure until he tested it out, though. That made him a bit nervous – testing a new spell in a tense situation always left him wrought with anxiety – but he couldn’t properly gauge the efficacy of the spell until he tried to heal some damage. Perhaps he should find some more people in town to test it on.

Or head back to Argos.

Regardless, Elijah was happy with his choice.

As he continued his trek, Elijah used his spell, but considering he was entirely undamaged, it was difficult to determine its potency. It did help to stave off his fatigue, so that was helpful.

It was near sunset when Khotont came into view, and by the time he reached the formerly Mongolian city, darkness had fallen. Still, he was allowed through the gap in the berm, which actually took a bit of doing, since his bundle was so enormous. With the help of the two guards, he managed to squeeze through, though they were amazed that he was able to carry such a huge burden.

The streets were still packed with people, but the crowd of pedestrians parted easily before him. Some even recognized the hide for what it was, and gasps followed Elijah all the way to the zahiral ger, where he found that only a few administrators were present. When he announced that he had killed the boar that had terrorized the region for weeks, he got their attention. And when he asked to make a deal, someone hurried off to fetch a member of the council.

Soon enough, two council members arrived. Both bore the signs of enormous stress, but they still looked hardy enough. Elijah told them that he’d killed the boar, then proved it by setting his burden down and untying the rope that had kept the collection of meat, bones, and other pieces of the boar together. Thankfully, the cold climate had kept it all preserved.

“I can’t use all this meat,” he said. “Nor do I want all the bones. So, here’s what I’m thinking. I’ll take what I want, then you can buy the rest.”

Elijah had done a little window shopping the last time he’d been in town, so he knew roughly what that much high-quality meat would be worth. The bones, though, were a mystery, so he decided to treat those like other natural resources he’d seen in his travels. Bones were probably not quite as popular of a material for creating weapons as high-grade metals, but given the power of the boar, it would be very useful for the right crafters.

The negotiation went far better than Elijah expected, and he ended up accepting sixty gold for the materials. In addition, they’d chosen to throw in a bag where he could store his portion of the meat and brains.

“It will keep everything fresh for at least a month,” the councilman said. “Up to five-hundred pounds. After that, the bag will be no more useful than a normal bag of its size.”

“Thanks,” Elijah answered. It clearly worked similarly to the bags he’d used before the orc invasion, so he was familiar enough with what to expect.

“Do you need someone to prepare the hide? We have a couple of good Leatherworkers here,” the other councilwoman said. She was the same older woman Elijah had seen the first time. “Tsas is nearly strong enough to reach the power rankings.”

That was true of half the population, it seemed. There were so many people on the verge of reaching the ladder that the distinction only meant that they were competent. Still, that meant that this Tsas – which the system translated to mean Snow – was a viable option for his project. However, Elijah intended to prepare the hide himself, much as he had with the bear hide that had become his Cloak of the Iron Bear.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said. “I would also like to free the gambler in your custody.”

That decision wasn’t made on a whim. Elijah wanted to know more about the man’s organization. Was it a powerful group? Or was it only the possessor of an ostentatious name? He intended to find out.

“That…can be arranged,” she agreed. Likely, her quick agreement meant that he’d accepted less than the meat and bones were worth, but Elijah couldn’t take them all with him. So, he’d resolved to only take the best pieces, including most of the fat, the choicest cuts of meat, and the most intact bones.

And, of course, the hide, which was the most useful part for him.

In any case, once the deal was done, he accepted a transfer to his folio, and someone fetched the pack that would keep his portion of the meat fresh. After that, he supervised the loading of the pack while a small army of workers descended upon the rest of the pile of pork.

They’d finished loading it in only a few minutes, and Elijah started rolling the hide up. It only barely fit into his Ghoul-Hide Satchel, but that was alright. He intended to take it back to the grove soon enough.

Finally, the gambler – Wilhelm – arrived. Elijah shoved the Preservation Pack into the man’s hands, saying, “Carry this. You’re coming with me.”

The pack was filled with five-hundred pounds of meat and fat, and even though it cut that weight by a significant amount, it was still quite heavy. And Wilhelm clearly hadn’t worked on his physical attributes. He tipped over, with the pack landing on his chest.

Elijah rolled his eyes. “Seriously? Come on, man…”

Wilhelm grunted, kicking his legs as he tried to push the pack aside. Elijah took pity on him, reaching down to lift the pack himself. When he was freed, Wilhelm gasped for breath, saying, “I…I do not have much Strength…”

“Obviously,” Elijah muttered. “Follow me.”

“Perhaps you didn’t see, but night has already fallen,” Wilhelm said, pushing himself to his feet. Though he held himself with prim propriety, his stay in the jail had clearly taken its toll. His clothes were torn and dirty, and judging by the odor wafting Elijah’s way, his clothes weren’t the only thing in need of a good cleaning. Finally, his thin blonde hair was in disarray, and he bore a wisp of facial hair that made him look like a teenager who had yet to be taught to shave. “We should stay here. I know a fantastic inn next to the best gambling hall in town. And –”

“No. Come with me, or you can go back to jail.”

“Um…”

Elijah sighed. “I swear I won’t hurt you. In fact, I just want to know more about your organization.”

“Ah. I see,” the man said. Then, he looked at the two guards who’d brought him to the zahiral ger, and his complexion paled. “Right. I think I will take you up on your generous offer.”

“Great. Let’s go,” Elijah said. Then, he bade goodbye to the councilors before striding out of the building. Wilhelm hurried to follow.