Once Seth was fully dressed once again, he turned to face the draconic woman, who had reclined herself in one of his chairs out of boredom. It seed that, now that she didn't have to put on her intimidating air, that she allowed herself a chance to relax.
Clearing his throat, in a vain attempt to regain any credibility and power within the conversation, Seth cut her a stern glance that just seed to amuse her even more.
"Alright, This is how it's going to work. You need , for so reason, and You gave orders, but I don't follow orders. Especially not from soone I don't know or trust in the slightest.
You want to threaten so more, go right ahead. But the only way to properly start any kind of cooperation, and to get the results you want, is for us to trust each other. Even if it's just going to be a bit.
You want answers to your questions, well I've got plenty of my own. So we take turns. For every question one asks, the other gets to ask a question in turn. Both questions must be answered, and I think it goes without saying that lying when you answer will not be beneficial to you. So be truthful."
As he spoke, Seth grabbed a nearby chair and dragged it across the room before placing it in front of the draconic woman. He plopped himself down into the chair and leaned back, lounging as if the simple armchair was a throne and this bedroom was his kingdom.
He made sure to recall his dagger, placing it back into its sheathe, as a show of friendliness despite the organ liquefaction threats that had been muttered only monts ago. Not to ntion the fact that the dagger was ultimately useless against this foe, it was a gesture of open communication nonetheless.
The Dragon smiled softly at his little speech, a smirk of bemusent as if she was talking to a child that was trying to convince her why it should be allowed another cookie or watching a puppy proud of finally catching its own tail.
One of the many rings that adorned her gauntlets fingers flashed briefly, before a rolled slip of crimson paper appeared in her hands. However, Seth never got to read what was written on the paper, nor did the Dragon read it either.
As soon as it appeared in her hands, the scroll burst into a ball of fire. Each end of the scroll combusting into a different colour, with one set of flas being erald and the other a silver fla that seed almost tallic.
The scroll was quickly consud by these flas, which dispersed when they reached the middle. As the ash drifted through her fingers, a symbol appeared on the dragons hand. The hand in which she had held the scroll.
At the sa mont, the exact sa symbol drew itself onto Seth's palm.
"Hmm, Very well boy. I agree with your terms, they have been bound. Now, answer the question. Why did you ignore my instructions?"
Seth chuckled softly, he wasn't surprised that she deed herself as the one that should go first. But he also laughed at the answer that ford in his mind, mainly because it was being influenced by whatever the symbol that had appeared on his hand was.
He recognised it as a rune, with all his studying and creation, how could he not recognise it as such? But it was a rune he did not yet know the aning of, although judging by the answer that was trying to force itself from his lips, he could guess that it had sothing to do with truth.
Whatever that scroll was, he was bound by the rules that he had set forth. He was unable to lie, the truth was eager to force itself out if he did not answer in a prompt manner. Knowing this answer was harmless, he let it slip out while his mind went to work picking at the wording of his own rules.
"It's simple. I didn't know they were instructions. You implanted a location in my mind and rambled about soone who would be saved. I an who even is 'He' anyways? I'm not gonna go to the other side of the country for soone I don't even know."
"He is the entire reason you exist in this feeble little life, He is the progenitor. It is simply disrespectful your people aren't worshipping Him for what he has given you, and have dared to forget Him.
As if that disrespect isn't enough, are you truly claiming that my instructions were unclear to you worm?"
"Yes. I am. You can't just give soone cryptic information and think that counts as instructions. You are a dreadful leader."
Anger flared in the Dragons eyes once more, those erald lights glowing so bright behind the black veil of her hair that it seed they were about to erupt into flas next. But as she opened her mouth to chastise Seth more, no words escaped her lips.
They seed to catch in her throat as she choked on them, a sensation that clearly befuddled her at first, before her rage lted away and was soon replaced with a slight amusent as she realised her own fumble.
Leaning back in her chair, she gestured for Seth to ask his second question, since she had wasted her own in her anger-fuelled rant.
That exchange did tell Seth sothing about the magic bound rules, however. They indeed had to take turns, just like he said, but whatever entity was acting as judge it was clearly not the Dragon herself. It was impartial, and was a stickler for the wording. It didn't care what the question was, nor if you ant that as your official question.
Every question counted. So Seth would have to be careful with how he worded things.
Not just that, but while their answers had to be truthful, they didn't have to be the entire truth. They could be vague, dismissive, and omit important details. So long as they were technically true, it would be allowed.
As for his question? Seth was taking his ti to contemplate it, a fact that did not seem to bother the dragon in the slightest. In fact, the fact that he had tricked her and was taking his ti seed to amuse her even more.
There were many questions Seth wanted to ask, many that he desperately wanted the answers to, but he had no idea how long this conversation would last for. He needed to pick them carefully.
His last question had been important, but the answer was less than he had hoped for. Eventually, after a minute of silent contemplation, a single question kept gnawing at Seth's mind, pushing itself into the forefront above all others.
"Why ?"
The dragons smile widened ever so slightly, a soft chuckle escaping her blackened lips as she leaned back in her chair.
"You are Death-touched."
Seth clicked his tongue at the answer. It had to be truthful that being 'Death-touched' was at least part of why she chose him, but whatever that ant Seth had absolutely no idea. He could ask her, but the answer was no doubt vague on purpose.
It was simply laying there, luring him into asking more questions to clarify her useless, if truthful, answer. Clearly, he was not going to get many chances to trick her again.
"What assurances do you need to hear to follow the instructions you were given?"
"Actual instructions, for a start. Not a vague location jamd into my mind, and an assurance that I'm not being sent on so suicide mission or lead to my death. Is that the purpose of this mission?
"No, it is not. I can assure you that if you do as instructed, you are not being sent to your death intentionally. However, any injuries or death sustained during is not my fault, the world is dangerous. I also cannot speak for what happens if you do not follow these instructions. After all, It is just you I need."
Well... That really was not an assuring answer. It was always because of the implication, that damned thing. Veiled threats aside, he had burned a question to at least confirm this was not a trap. So, that was sothing, although it wasn't exactly comforting.
"Now that you have heard this, will you do as you were told like a good boy?"
"...I suppose I don't really have much in it. So, yes. But it will be on my ti, not yours."
With the way this conversation was going, and how focused she was on her so-called 'instructions' Seth had a feeling that this would be his final question. He was still a bit annoyed that he had to burn one for that assurance, but it was worth it to hear here say that under the binding truth.
With one final question, he had to make it the perfect one. Did he ask more about this 'Progenitor', perhaps ask about the Dragons identity and how she got this powerful or where she ca from. He could even ask about the scroll used to bind them in the first place, although he felt like she would give a vague answer to that too.
As Seth pondered and pondered, the Dragon Lady simply lounged in her chair. She crossed her legs, gazing at Seth with eyes filled with amusent and curiosity. She could see the conflict on his face as he battled between the multitude of questions, it was an expression that she couldn't help but chuckle at.
In truth, she would be disappointed if he didn't take this ti. Although she liked obedience, nothing was worse than dealing with a mindless brute whose brain was the only muscle they didn't work out. Intelligence was important for a minion, it ant they were reliable, that they wouldn't fail at the first obstacle.
It made her confident in her choice, even if it was mainly due to limited options. But when she heard this minions next words, his final question, her intrigue in this little human was truly peaked.
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