The Innkeeper
Chapter 1526: The dragons

So there he was, standing in front of a dragon, its green scales shining with a deep, alluring lustre. Now Jack's stature was not the greatest, an obvious trait considering his race. But the dragon was, oddly enough, not so large either.

The dragon was, at most, the size of an adult Great Dane, not that such a thing prevented it from having the most powerful aura Jack had ever felt.

But if Jack felt immense pressure being in the presence of a dragon without any protective equipment, then Tiny-Sparkles had it a dozen times worse, for the unicorn, who was still covered in red juice from partially eating a strawberry spirit, had suddenly been summoned right in front of it.

As the unicorn had not been prepared to meet the dragon so abruptly, its brain shut down, and he just stood there, stunned.

"How peculiar," rumbled the dragon as he stared at the unicorn's horn. "Instead of being negatively affected by your dwarfism, your body has become a more potent container for spiritual energy, while the strength of your horn has somehow increased. It's almost as if being shrunk has concentrated your abilities. I wonder if this is a natural trait of unicorns."

Tiny-Sprinkles could, naturally, not respond at all. Similarly, Jack did not presume to speak before his turn either, and instead looked down towards his feet.

He did not even think, for he knew that even his own thoughts were not hidden from Dao Lords. He simply waited until the dragon was done.

"No wait, I see you have quite a colorful history. Your higher magic concentration is not because of your size, but because you… hmm, how peculiar. I can't see the exact details. Let me see… ah, here we go. Yes, as a child you bathed in the blood of a dying Mythical creature, which caused several mutations in your body…"

For quite a while, the dragon seemed to focus on Tiny-Sprinkles, looking through the many secrets its body held. Even Jack himself had never asked his crew about their pasts, so all of this was a revelation to him as well.

It did not take long, however, before the dragon turned his attention towards Jack.

"You stink," the dragon said, though his tone was not disgusted. It was more like he was making an observation, just as he had been looking into the unicorn. Though, before he continued his observation, a gust of air blew around Jack, taking away the stench that had been haunting him for so long.

Jack nearly fell to his knees out of relief when the smell, but managed to keep himself standing.

"Strong body. Stronger than usual, though the soul age and physical age don't match, yet they fit each other perfectly. A new soul born in an empty body? No, not quite. How peculiar, even your history is hidden from my view… let's see… no, no it's still hidden no matter what I do. How odd - your past is protected, but your present isn't."

The dragon stretched its wings, and it was good that Jack was looking down or else he may have had inappropriate thoughts about the scene before him. The dragon's wings were much too small in comparison to its body, though with the amount of power the dragon wielded, it hardly needed wings to fly.

With a single flap, the dragon rose, and with another it flew towards Jack, allowing the dragon to observe him from up close.

"Yes, I smell the scent of mischief on you. I think… yes, I think I will like you. Very well, tell me what you have to say."

As Jack heard the dragon's words, something entirely unexpected happened to him. His body froze, entirely incapable of moving. But from within his body, a projection, entirely identical to Jack, stepped out, and kneeled.

"My Lord, my name is Jack, and I have not yet decided on a last name for myself," the projection spoke out loud, his voice filled with worship. "I proclaim to everyone that I am on a mission to free the fairies from whatever curse holds them as slaves, and while that is largely true, I secretly have two other missions.

"The first is to grow stronger, and make my ship stronger, so that I can sail the universe unimpeded, and adventure and explore to my heart's content. This mission is both simple, and yet impractical and entirely out of reach for someone like myself. The second mission is to find a place, a realm, or some space that is entirely hidden and undetectable from the outside universe. The reasons for my second mission are… the reasons for my second mission are… the reasons for my second mission are…"

The dragon raised its paw, pausing the projection that seemed unable to speak about the reasons for the second mission. Jack, of course, knew what the reasons were, but he dared not think about that at all. Fortunately, it seemed like the dragon was not too interested either.

"Tell me why you have sought us out," the dragon said, speaking to the projection.

"My Lord, I have heard tales of your immense power, and have also heard that you and your brothers are under some kind of self imposed isolation. Yet the stories say that while you have isolated yourselves, you also seek out reasons to venture out of the bounds of your realm.

"I come bearing news of a New Age Expo, being held by the latest Mature realm in the universe, known as the Artica Realm. While the Expo is originally for the close allies of the Artica race, meant as a show of strength, they will not turn others away as they seek to carve out their own place in the universe.

"Right now, all allies they have are based on business, and do not have a strong foundation. Enemies constantly keep an eye on them, searching for the slightest weakness. Such an opportunity may serve the Folklore realm well, which is why I thought of informing my lords about it."

"And what do you seek in return?" the dragon asked, its thoughts completely masked.

"Originally, I sought to accompany you to the Artica realm. The unique laws of that realm present an opportunity for me to grow stronger, and break into the Earth Immortal realm while circumventing the curse that haunts my race.

"Yet as I journeyed here, I saw that which I should not have seen, and since then I have been plagued by a Karmic stench that revolts me to my very soul. My very being craves freedom from this punishment, yet I have also promised my crew to bring them to the Artica realm so that they too may enter the Earth Immortal realm.

"Caught between a deep desire and an obligation, I have been utterly distraught. Yet I know, no matter how much my suffering, I will always choose to honor my promise to my crew. So, my only request of you, my lord, is to allow me to accompany you to the Artica realm if you decide to go there."

"Alright, you are dismissed. I will let you know of my decision shortly," said the dragon, causing the projection to fade away, as if it had all been an illusion.

Jack suddenly had the most bizarre feeling. He felt as if the one speaking so subserviently to the dragon had not actually been a projection, but had been himself instead. It was just that, while he himself was the one doing the speaking, in his memory it looked like he was looking at himself, giving the illusion of some kind of a projection doing the speaking.

The dragon grabbed Jack and Tiny-Sparkles, as if picking up a couple of dolls, and carried them deeper into… deeper into wherever they were. Since he could not really move, Jack could not see much - just the walls that he was facing.

"Brothers, it's time for a vote," the green dragon suddenly roared, its voice so devastatingly loud Jack felt as if his ear drums had popped - alongside his heart and every other organ in his body. Yet somehow, he remained entirely unharmed.

"Another opportunity has been brought before us to leave the Folklore realm. Shall we venture forth?"

Jack could not see the other dragons, yet as he heard their voices, he could associate the voices to the legends they likely belonged to.

"Nay," said Wrath.

"Not interested," said Pride.

"Nopesie daisies," said Lust.

"Never!" said Greed.

"Ugh," said Sloth.

"I thought you went out to grab take out," said Gluttony.

Yet Envy, the green dragon, seemed to have expected such a response from his brothers, which is why he just chuckled.

"But what if I told you that the one who brought forth the opportunity is very peculiar, and has secrets that even I cannot see through?"

The green dragon placed Jack on a pedestal right in front of his brothers, like a prized possession, attracting the other dragon's attention.

The next thing he knew, Jack was being stared at by seven different dragons, each one with scales of a different color.

"How interesting," said Pride, the purple scaled dragon.

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