She sat down next to him, wondering what he was going on about, and looked at him.
"Okay. Now close your eyes and extend your mana senses downward. You will see it and recognize it imdiately."
She did as asked, and almost imdiately, she felt the imnse vein of power passing directly underneath them. And crossing into it, another massive one.
"Ley lines! And big ones! Did we always have this here?" she asked, opening her eyes.
"Well, unless soone changed the Ley line positioning under the palace, I think we did," Astaroth said, chuckling.
"Such a thing is impossible," a voice said, coming from behind them.
Phoenix jumped in fright, realizing soone had snuck up on them, and lit her hands on fire. But a finger snap later, her fire was extinguished.
"Calm down, Queen Phoenix. I am no enemy."
Her head snapped in Astaroth's direction, noticing he was still sitting there calmly, and she wondered who this man was.
"Did I co here at a bad ti, Aravelle? I can co back, if so."
Phoenix looked at the two of them, who seed so casual in each other's presence. And yet, she had never heard Astaroth talk about him.
"Who is this man, Astaroth?"
"Hmm? Oh, right! I haven't introduced you two. I'm sorry. It must have slipped my mind, with all the crap that keeps piling up lately. Phoenix, et—"
"Aravelle," the man interrupted.
"Aravelle of the Dragons. Progenitor of magic, and original proprietor of this tower. As well as a man you helped, in an era lost to ti. But I don't expect you to rember , since I looked much younger back then."
Phoenix looked at him long and hard, trying to replace this man in her mories. But nothing ca up.
Looking at his colourful robes, ornate with all kinds of dragons on them, she wondered if he had a dragon fetish, or if the title had another aning.
But then, her mory flashed with a person's face. One who was the master of a certain green dragon who had tried eating her in a dungeon they had completed not too long ago.
"You! I know you! Where is that slimy green shit?! He still owes a reward!"
Astaroth choked on his saliva, her words making him rember the anger Phoenix had been in when they had left the dungeon.
'Is that why she was mad? Did the dragon skimp on rewarding her for her help?'
Aravelle started laughing, the acidic words a refreshing thing for him. How long had it been since soone talked to him like an equal, apart from the arrogant young man sitting on the dais before him?
"Did my dragon not compensate you for its life intact? That sounds about accurate for a green dragon. There is a reason they associate green with the colour of greed."
Phoenix fud in place, reminded of the slight she had been a victim to.
"Logith, co on out," Aravelle called out.
A small gout of green smoke suddenly ca out of his chest, before expanding and transforming into a human shape before their eyes.
As the smoke parted, it left them with a woman whose sickly white skin held greenish hues, and whose forehead contained a few stray scales. Her body was covered with a furisode-style wear, black with green clouds embroidered into it.
"What do you want, you immortal prick?" the woman asked, looking at Aravelle, her back turned to the two others in the room.
But Phoenix imdiately recognized the voice. Even though the intonations were a bit lighter, given the smaller size, it was undeniable.
This was the green dragon that had wronged her.
A firebolt crashed at the green dragon's feet and forced her to turn her head.
"You. You owe a reward," Phoenix growled, her eyes darkening.
The woman's face paled, which felt oddly impossible, given her already very pale skin. She snapped her head back toward Aravelle, her eyes wide.
"Why did you call out? Let back in! Hurry!"
Aravelle raised an eyebrow. Logith the Venomous was begging him to hide?
What kind of sick joke was this?
"Hurry up, you bastard! She'll burn us all just to get her way!" Logith exclaid, stepping toward Aravelle.
"Then give her what she wants. Is it that much to ask, you greedy dragon?" Astaroth chid in.
The dragon hissed at Astaroth, recognizing one of her kind's aura within him.
"No one asked you, boy!" she seethed.
"Please Aravelle! This isn't funny. Whatever I did, I apologize. Just let get away from her. I'll do anything!" she begged, grabbing onto the man's robes.
Aravelle snickered.
"You really left an impression on her. She's grown hundreds of tis stronger in the last thousand years, and still, she fears you. Even though she should be able to snuff you out like a candle. Strange," Aravelle said, scratching his chin, looking like a scientist watching an experint unfold.
"Look at , you oversized lizard in human clothes! You. Owe. . A Reward!" Phoenix erupted, her body catching fire.
"EEK! Stop! Stay away, you madwoman!"
But Aravelle had seen enough. He waved his hand, snuffing out Phoenix's flas once more, and chuckled.
"Alright. Let's get this sorted."
With a loud sigh, Logith hung onto Aravelle's robes.
"Thank you. Now let inside."
Aravelle smirked at the woman.
"Oh, you aren't in the clear yet. I said, let's settle this. She says you owe her a reward, and I can guess she's telling the truth. So give her her due and let's be done with it. I still have a conversation to have with them, so quite wasting my ti."
The dragon in disguise grimaced, feeling forced to part with sothing precious. She hated giving out her stuff, regardless of how valuable or not the stuff was.
"Oh, fine!" Logith exclaid, raising her hands to the ceiling.
"People always want stuff from dragons. It's never 'Here take this, venerable dragon.' Or 'here is an offering, fair dragon.' No. It's always 'die, foul beast!' Or 'I'm here to take back our kingdom's wealth, you filthy monster!' When are people going to respect us?!" Logith complained, stomping her way to Phoenix, who eyes her like a predator.
"Here! You greedy woman! You should be called a dragon. Unbelievable how people have beco greedy these days!" Logith complained, slamming her hand onto Phoenix's chest.
Imdiately, a heat coursed through her body, which, in normal circumstances, wouldn't affect her. But this ti, it felt like liquid magma was coursing through her veins, as they turned green for a mont, pulsing roughly, burning her body up.
"Argh! What the fuck did you do to ?!" Phoenix shouted, falling to her knees and rolling up on the floor.
"Oh, now you complain? I gave you what you asked for, you greedy girl. I hope you use it well. Now, I'm going back to rest. And I don't want to et you again!" Logith said, sending both her arms over her head.
She walked back to Aravelle, who, this ti, let her back inside his body, as she turned to green smoke again, disappearing inside his chest.
Phoenix writhed in pain on the ground for a few minutes, before the pain subsided, and she could breathe normally. She was already angry at the dragon, and now she was furious.
But she could feel sothing was different inside her. A power was there, that wasn't before.
She took a mont to reach out to it, and a ball of flas appeared over her hand, a vibrant green. She looked at it, her eyes filled with intrigue.
"Now that this has been settled, let's get back to why I am here, shall we?" Aravelle said, sitting in front of Astaroth on the ground.
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