Dragon Adventurer collection Page 2

  Nothing. Well, kinda. It actually felt kinda good. Like taking a nap in a sunbeam.

  Could be a trick though…I thought I had heard once that sometimes it was supposed to take a while to feel a burn? I risked a glance at the hand. It looked...fine? Other than the scales and claws that is. The skin didn't even seem to have the red tint you get after a warm bath.

  As I considered this, the banging came again, this time accompanied by a shout that rocked the building.

  “Hello! Is anybody in there!”

  I nearly dropped the lamp again.

  Why were people here? Well, actually that probably shouldn't be a shock. If my home had changed as drastically on the outside as it had on the inside, it would attract some attention. On that note, while I questioned it a little bit, I was pretty sure that this place was my home. The floor plan was still the same, and the cave and my recliner were still here.

  Anyway, whoever was still outside…maybe if I was quiet they would go away?

  The next bellow put that hope to rest.

  “Apologies in advance if you’re in there, but please respond, or we’re going to have to break the door in for your own safety!”

  Well, shit.

  I put the lamp back down on the hearth and ran toward the front door.

  “One!” the voice called.

  I made it to the hallway, passing my den as I went.

  “Two!”

  I made it to the entrance way. The peephole it had once had was gone, replaced by a small window with iron bars across the front.

  “Three!”

  I heard my tail begin to rattle as I watched through the bars seeing a small dark shape rushing at the door. The force of the impact threw it off of its hinges and sent it flying toward me. While my rational brain was still trying to make sense of what I was seeing, a new little clump of instinct from somewhere in the back of my brain began to call out orders. I clenched my clawed toes, digging into the stone below me as I reached out to try and stop the door.

  I caught the door with almost no effort. My fingers pierced into the wood, stopping its flight.

  Honestly?

  It was kinda shocking. It felt like somebody had thrown a cheap pillow at me.

  “I told you to go lighter this time!” a feminine voice shouted.

  “I'm sorry! It’s still hard to judge!” That was the voice that had been shouting before. He sounded a bit sheepish now.

  “If there are Changed in there, they are already freaking out, and now you’re breaking in their door!”

  “I said I was sorry!”

  “Look...” the woman sighed. “Let’s just get in there and look around.”

  Huh... I took a moment to lean the door against a wall before turning to look at my uninvited 'guests.' As the door thudded to the ground, the man and woman who were arguing both looked up at me. The man came up to about mid chest on me. His body was thick, but with muscle, not fat, and he had a long beard that he had tied up under his chin with some string. There was something off about his eyes. He kept squinting as if the light was too bright. It made him look like he was glaring. His clothing was of the same design as what I was wearing, except that he had chosen to wear a set with a hood. He had a mace hanging from his belt and a simple wooden shield on his back.

  The woman was about a foot taller than the man. As I dropped the door, two cat ears swiveled to point at me before flicking back. A black-furred tail that matched her hair whipped back and forth for a moment before settling back behind her. She was lean but not thin. Her clothing looked just like ours. She stared at me, with golden catlike eyes, out of a face of Asian descent. On her back, I couldn’t help but notice that she had a very authentic looking bow and a quiver of arrows.

  “Ummm...well then. I'm, errr...I'm glad you’re alright,” the man huffed. “I'm sorry about your door.”

  The cat woman held out her hands showing them to be empty. “Were not here to try and hurt you. We're part of the new city Search and Rescue team. May we come in and talk to you?” she asked, talking in a soothing tone. “That’s Robert and I'm Sarah. We know what you must have gone through. We’re both Changed ourselves. We’re here to help.”

  Looking at the two of them, it was extremely obvious that they had changed just like I had. It was a relief to know that I wasn't alone.

  My tail began to slow its rattle. And I could see the woman seeming to relax a little. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering what my own reaction was when I first saw it. “Come in, please.” I gestured inside. “I’m Jake.”

  As I led them in, I thought I remembered that there was enough seating in the den for all three of us.

  “Was your house originally like this?” Robert asked.

  “The layout seems to be the same, but no. Not really.”

  “Same as the others,” Sarah commented, glancing at Robert. He nodded.

  I threw them a glance as we entered the den. “This has happened to a lot of people?”

  Robert grunted. “You could say that.”

  I gestured to a small couch across from my easy chair. As they took a seat, I sat as well.

  Right on my tail.

  With a wince, I stood quickly, reaching behind me to rub the offended appendage. Robert looked confused, but Sarah looked at me with sympathy as her own tail twitched in her lap.

  “Take it you haven't sat in a chair since the change? You'll get used to pulling your tail out of the way.” She gave a wry smile. “It only takes a time or two before you start to remember.”

  “I’ll bet.” I threw her a small smile before sitting again, this time making sure that my tail wasn't behind me.

  “Well,” Robert leaned forward and clasped his hands. “I guess we start by asking how long you've been awake for.

  “All of the clocks are gone, but I think it’s only been a few hours?”

  Robert looked surprised. “You just woke up?”

  “I think that makes Jake our new longest sleeper.” Sarah looked at him.

  Robert nodded. I guess I must have been looking as confused as I felt, since Robert began to explain. “As far as we can tell, whatever happened took place on June 5th. Everybody we’ve talked to has the same story. They were going about their business and then a burst of pain, and they passed out.”

  “We don’t really know how long it’s been since then. All methods that would have kept track are gone. Since it’s still warm and the days are still long, our best guess is that it’s only been a few weeks max,” Sarah cut in.

  “People started waking up about seven days ago. The first to wake up were those of us who were still one hundred percent human. Were still getting in numbers, but those first wakers were very few in number. Most people changed in one way or another.” Robert looked over at me with an appraising eye. “For the first five days, people woke up in waves. And each day they were more different than the day before. You’re the first one I’ve heard of that has woken up since day five.”

  Sarah was considering me. “Jake, you don't seem too different than the day-five change. Maybe the changes stop at five?”

  “Who knows?” Robert waved the question off. “The more important thing is to get you out of here.” He pointed at me. “This area is their hunting ground, and who knows when they might show up.”

  “Hunting ground? Are there monsters?” I was a bit worried. If this all was caused by my wish, then that was entirely possible.

  “Yes.” Robert had the fire of hate in his eyes.

  “No.” Sarah shot him a look. “People.”

  “People?” I was a bit worried by their tone.

  Robert looked down at his hands.

  “It started on day five. We began to run into groups of people calling themselves Inquisitors.” Sarah closed her eyes as she spoke. “They were hunting any Changed they could find. He’s right. This area is dangerous. Before you choose if you want come with us, I should say that you will be asked to pick up a profession and work. Our community can’t af
ford to give anyone a free ride. But you'll be safer there than anywhere else in the city.”

  My first thought was that I really didn't want to leave my home. On the other hand, I didn't know how long any food in the house would last, and these two had already shown that my home wasn't made to keep out uninvited guests.

  After a moment to consider the options, I nodded.

  Sarah’s face lit up, and Robert came out of his gloom enough to smile.

  “Good! Pack up what you need.” Sarah smiled.

  “Normally I would offer to wait outside to give you a bit of privacy, but would you mind if we waited in your entryway? It’s a bit safer.” Robert asked me.

  “Not a problem. Give me just a moment, and I'll be ready.”

  “Give it a proper go. If there’s anything I’ve learned in the past few days, it’s that quite a few of the altered items have some new tricks they can do.” Robert stood up and stretched. “Not that you can just tell without playing with them. Just, if anything seems out of place or weird, it might be worth bringing.”

  With that, both he and Sarah headed out of the room.

  Well… I guess I had to pack. And first I needed something to pack in. I used to have a set of luggage in my room. Maybe it was still there?

  I got up and stretched, my fingers brushing the ceiling. That was still gonna take some getting used to.

  With a shake of my head, I began to try and find my big old black suitcase.

  I searched what my closet had become. I didn't find it. But I did find a large black-leather backpack that I could probably use to start with. Not sure how much it’d hold, but I’d just have to keep my eyes open for something else while I went. I quickly shoved all the clothing from the closet into the bag. Followed by putting on the leather pants and jacket. They were stiff things, but they were by far the sturdiest-feeling things I had ever worn. Nothing else in this room caught my fancy.

  Moving on, I hit my bathroom, grabbing some essentials. Then to the kitchen. The lamp was still lit on the hearth, casting its shadows around the room. I stopped to look at it for a moment. It didn't feel right to leave it here, but there was no way I was going to put it in the backpack. I moved through the room, trying to gather up as much food as I could. As I looked, I found a hemp sack that I began to shove the food into, managing to get a fair bit in before it filled up. I even managed to find a water skin, although it was empty.

  Leaving the food in the hallway, I moved to the den, where I finally took the time to go through the bookcases.

  As I read through the titles, I found book after book that I thought might be useful. The downside? My backpack only had room for two. Maybe I could carry more in my arms? I was having trouble deciding on which two I should pack. In the end, I chose Of the Bodies of Dragons and Fire Magic for Dolts. I was a bit insulted by the name of the second one, but if it taught me magic, well, I would deal with it. I made a small stack of other books that I was going to try to carry in my arms.

  I dropped the books by the sack, and then headed down into the cave. There were several items I wanted to try to bring along. First, though, I dropped the backpack on my gold hoard and shoved as much gold as I could into every available pocket. I didn't know why. It just…felt right. I couldn't fit that much, but at least it was something. I would have to see if I could come back for more later.

  As I went around the room, I found a shoulder-strap bag that looked like what used to be my book bag, and packed it full of items off the walls. A box of rings, a handful of semi-precious gemstones and some random jewelry pieces all made their way inside. Then I moved on to the good stuff. A set of scale-mail gauntlets I had commissioned from a guy who did reproduction pieces of medieval armor. I paused as I picked them up. They had been made of steel with a red lacquerer applied to make them seem like dragon scales. They had a strange texture now. I didn't have time to look them over, though, and threw them in the bag. Next was a set of 6 daggers of varying sizes. I had picked them up from a seller at my local Renaissance festival. They had been expensive, so I had spread the purchase out over seven years, one per visit. It cumulated in the great sword I got this year after my windfall.

  Oops. Almost forgot that those two were waiting on me. No time to reminisce.

  After sheathing the daggers, I tossed them all in the bag and then grabbed the handle of the great sword. Picking it up, I almost toppled over backwards. It was far lighter than I could ever remember it being. It felt more like one of the toy foam swords that kids play with than a real one. I put it down to fill the last empty spots in the shoulder bag with more gold. Then I swung on both the bag and the backpack, grabbed up the great sword and headed up the stairs.

  It had been about 20 minutes by now, and I knew I had kept them waiting for long enough. I ran into the kitchen to grab the lamp and tied it onto the bottom of the backpack. It was still flickering away, but I managed to tie it on in a way I hoped was safe.

  Stepping out into the hallway, I added the hemp sack to my load and, with a bit of struggling, managed to lift the stack of books as well. It still felt strange. I should be breaking my back with a load like this, but I could barely feel the weight.

  I walked out to the entryway where Sarah and Robert were standing peering out the door. As I approached, I saw Sarah’s cat ears twitch, and she quickly looked back at me.

  She sighed. “Really? You forgot the kitchen sink.”

  Robert turned back to look and gave a snort of laughter. “You look more like a pack mule than a person right now.”

  “You’re not going to be able to carry all of that.” Sarah pointed at my load. “We have a couple-mile hike ahead of us.”

  “I’ll be fine.” I knew I must look stupid but all of this was important.

  “It’s always the same.” Sarah shook her head. “Haven't you ever heard that you can’t take it with you?”

  “He’ll learn, just like everyone else.” Robert shook his head. “Let’s go home.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Chapter 3

  Leaving the house was difficult. Not so much because it was hard to leave my home, I mean it was, but more because I had to maneuver a little to get my load out onto the street. Sarah was still shaking her head as she watched me. Robert was just looking on in amusement. After I got out, it seemed like Sarah was going to say something as she glared up at me, but Robert patted her on the back and shook his head. With a sigh she turned and began to walk up the hill toward downtown.

  This was my first chance to look around at how the outside world had changed, and plenty of changes had happened. The houses all appeared to be made of the same sandstone and mortar combo that my house was, topped with thatch roofs. The street had changed too. The sidewalks were gone, replaced by long troughs of stone running in front of all the homes. Stone slabs acted as bridges from the houses to the street. The street itself had gone from asphalt to cobblestones.

  It was a bit unnerving…more than all the houses having been altered, or walking with a dwarf and a cat girl, it was the lack of people that was the strangest thing. I peeked around the stack of books that I was carrying, looking at the houses that we passed. All of the windows were dark with no sign of movement. As I looked, I realized that most of these houses had gotten the same treatment that mine had, with doors or windows showing signs of forced entry.

  I looked ahead at my two guides. They both seemed pretty relaxed at a first glance, but as I watched, I saw that Sarah’s ears kept flicking about, and she had her bow loosely held in a hand. As for Robert, he was holding his mace and shield in hand as he trudged along.

  As we reached the top of the hill, all these other thoughts were shoved out of my mind. “What the hell?”

  We were looking out over what had once been the center of the city. I could still see some of the skyscrapers, but there were only a third of what should have been there. It was almost as if the city had been overrun by mother nature. Most of the space that the city had once sprawled over was now a mas
sive forest. Winding tributaries, showing as blue lines, cut through the green and emptied into a river. The only sign that the city had ever been there was a thick path of gray and tan that weaved along the river and spread its way up the hill to us. This seemed to be all that remained of the city’s buildings.

  “Kind of a shock, isn't it?” Sarah walked back to me. She pointed at the remains of the downtown skyline. “That’s home.”

  Robert called to us from a little further down the road. “Come on you two, we’re burning daylight.”

  About an hour into our walk, Robert and Sara came to a halt.

  Robert called out in a loud voice. “Requesting entrance to Asylum!”

  I started as a voice came from one of the houses to our right. “Granted!” It wasn't until I heard the voice that I noticed that, here, the houses on either side of the road had their doors and first-floor windows barricaded.

  The others began to walk on. I hesitated for a moment, glancing into the darkened buildings, before hurrying to catch up.

  Robert gestured at my load. “I’ll admit, I expected you to ditch that stuff by now.”

  I shrugged. “I wasn't sure I was gonna be able to carry it all this far, but it’s not as heavy as I thought it would be.”

  “Not as heavy…” He shook his head. “You’re carrying three full bags, an armful of books and a sword that’s bigger than I am. That’s a lot of weight, and I don't even know what’s in the bags.”

  “Some metal, at least. I can hear it.” Sarah shook her head. “You do realize you’re not human anymore right? I’m not sure what you are, but its strong and tough. When we first met you, you caught that door no problem. And then there’s the strength and endurance you’re showing now by carrying all that stuff. I know that we haven’t explained it to you yet, but I’m going to recommend that you join an Exploration team. You even have a weapon already.”

  “I don't really know how to use it…” I was kind of embarrassed by all the praise. Well, at least I thought it was praise.

  “Hah!” Robert laughed. “As if any of us really know how to use these medieval-age toys of ours. It’s only been a week since we all woke up!” Sarah raised an eyebrow and he amended his statement. “Well, a few of us do know. Sarah’s been doing archery and hunting with her father since she was a little girl. But most of us don't have a clue. That’s one of the reasons I use this thing.” He hefted his mace. “Metal ball into foe. Easy enough, right?”