Striga and Donis made their way through the Baoruin sandy streets, with it's warm wind blowing against their faces and warming their bodies. The sun shone down and gave them no respite from the arid winds, though to Donis, it felt like the sun was his saviour after his brush with Variis.
The town itself, while a little beat up, was cute. It had some nicely decorated buildings, with relatively intricate carvings on the sandy looking cement they were made from. The streets lined neatly with streetlights that held room for magical lighting. He had yet to see them turn on, but seeing nothing inside the containers made him think they were magical in nature.
The more of the world he saw, the more Donis realised that this world operated entirely on magic. Science was either an unexplored subject, or just not entirely needed when magic seemed to fill the gaps that science could bridge.
The wide and open streets that were lined with wooden steps and pathways gave a much needed break from walking in sand just outside of Baoruin. He saw old women sweeping sand away from the doorways of their homes, wearing a light clothing that covered their entire bodies and faces included. Thinking about it, if they were gonna stay for much longer, Donis wanted to invest in the attire. The sun feels nice, but it's a little too oppressive.
Striga led them to a market square where Donis could see hundreds of little stalls holding their wares in small containers. Figuring they were to keep the sand out, Donis paid little attention to them. Yet what the merchants held intrigued Donis. They had lots of rare ingredients that Donis didn't see even in Vernaic, which made little sense to him.
Approaching one of the stalls, Donis asked the merchant behind his little counter where they get their wares. It turned out that the town had no real exports outside of one region specific ingredient – Perilite.
Perilite was an ore that could only be mined in sandy areas. It had a very specific property of being incredibly absorbant of anything it comes into contact with. That specific quality could be used to further refine it, or give it uses it normally wouldn't have. If it was filled with any mana type, it would change it's basic properties to resemble an ore that is rich with the required mana type. Filled with Fire Elemental Mana it would become a molten metal that conducts fire runes much better than other metals.
It wasn't a top tier ore, but it gave the town an export in which it could use to it's advantage. Where they lived it was produced in near limitless quantities. This allowed the merchants to buy up the ore at a cheap price, and trade it with the incoming merchants looking to buy Perilite. It was a shaky balance, but the people living here had little choice.
Moving past the market, Striga stopped in front of a random looking building, but Donis knew that she wouldn't stop here for no reason.
"Is this his house?" asked Donis, covering his face from the ever present sun.
"No. This is my mothers home. I oughta give her a visit, maybe see how she's doing," said Striga with no emotion in her voice.
"Sure, lets head in," said Donis, not thinking too much about it.
Striga walked up to the door and held her hand for a split second before knocking on the door. She sighed and the two waited. They waited for a few minutes but no answer came. Donis looked at Striga wondering if they should continue waiting or if they should move on, it was her call.
"Let's keep going, it doesn't look like they're home," she said turning away from the door and Donis.
A little worryingly, Donis agreed to continue to Dr. Gilberts home. They walked through a few more narrow alleyways but they eventually came to a building which seemed a little extra compared to the aesthetic the rest of the buildings gave off.
It had a balcony, a terraced path and even the door seemed cleaners. It was the little things that gave away the house. Walking up to the door, Striga knocked without hesitation and they resumed waiting.
This time they heard someone shuffle behind the door. With a series of loud clicks, the door opened slightly, leaving just enough room for the man behind the door to peer through.
"Who are ye?" said the man in a thick, but high pitched local accent. It was a little nasaly, an it held on to the e's a little longer but it was still easily understood, and didn't require the [Systems] subtitle function.
"We're here because we have a few questions about something odd happening with my friend here, and we were told by the Royal Informants (RI) that you'd have some answers regarding it. It's potentially to do with the All-Father," said Striga succinctly.
"Oh… Come in, come in, I think I can make some time for ye," said Dr. Gilbert.
They followed him in and Donis immediately cast [True Inspect].
[Name: Boron Gilbert]
[Age: 103]
[Level 88][12% EXP]
[Mana State: Essence]
[Health: 2,450]
[Mana: 4,780]
[Occupation: Draconologist]
[Strength: 70]
[Perception: 95]
[Agility: 85]
[Intelligence: 93]
[Title: Unquenchable, Dragon Aficionado, Eidetic Memory, Sand Storm, Monster Pacification.]
He was a man that looked like he was in his late 30's. Dark brown hair, brown eyes, a strong jawline, a sharp nose but with wrinkles accumulating around his eyes. He didn't look imposing, but he looked like commanded respect at the same time. Something one would gain over years at being an expert in their field.
He worse the typical outfit the locals wore, a beige coloured loose top with a toga-like overall. A scarf that covered his head but still looked like it would let the breeze through.
After bringing them into his home, looking around they saw that the entire place was filled like a lucrative study. Bookshelves, trinkets, auspicious looking trophies and laminated pieces of paper hung up on walls. There were skulls of many different types of creatures, and if Donis were to take a guess they were probably all different types of dragons Dr. Gilbert had studied, or was studying.
Seating them down near one of the windows, Dr. Gilbert brought out a nondescript bottle and poured everyone a glass that he made appear from his storage dimension ring that he wore on his left hand. It was placed where one would normally have their wedding ring, which struck as odd to Donis.
"So, cut to the chase, what's the problem?" said Dr. Gilbert taking a swig from the glass.
"Donis, would you like to explain?" asked Striga as she followed Dr. Gilberts example.
"Uh, sure," said Donis.
He explained the entire scenario to Dr. Gilbert, emphasizing on the whispers that Donis was hearing during the whole event, explaining how the eyes kept getting bigger and describe even their colour. Dr. Gilbert listened intently, and followed up with questions pertaining to Donis's Combat Job. When he heard Donis was a Dragonfury mage, his mouth almost broke with how low it went.
"Hmm…" said Dr. Gilbert as he stood up and began pacing around the room.
He paced up and down, taking the occasional swig from his glass, but spoke no words for about 5 minutes. Uncertain of what to do, the two at the table stayed quiet. Though Donis had an unnerving feeling, remembering that he's over 100 years old.
"Okay, I have a hypothesis,"
'Oh here we go,' sighed Donis.
"Seeing how Donis is now actually not fully human, but part dragon, he may have gotten the attention of someone else under the All-Father. The All-Father wouldn't normally pay attention to mortals at our levels. It was either one of his subjects, or another entity entirely. I think it might be another entity because you didn't immediately get peered on when you chose your Combat Job."
Though if it does belong to another entity, who it would be escapes me. So let's entertain the idea that it was someone under the All-Father. Why would they look at you? Well, as most people know, the All-Father has an intrinsic connection with all living and non-living dragons out there. Yet few people know that the connection is actually a gift bestowed upon other dragons by the All-Father. So there is the potential that it wasn't him."
You turned into part dragon, so they were most likely just scouting you, and seeing who you are as you probably appeared abruptly in their "radar". Knowing the sentient Draconic races, they wouldn't come here to check you out. You're too weak. Even the weakest sentient Draconic races are hundreds of times stronger than you are right now. They wouldn't bother. I believe you guys are safe right now," finally finished Dr. Gilbert.
'Fuck me I was right. He's a fucking old babbler. Just tell me I'm safe, no need to give me your "wise" conjectures,' screamed Donis mentally.
"That's very useful, thank you Dr. Gilbert. It feels good to have some peace of mind, knowing that the fucking god of Dragons didn't personally spy on my student here," said Striga with a hint of relief in her voice.
"No worries. Though for taking up my time, I will have to charge you, I hope you don't mind," said Dr. Gilbert sitting back down.
"Not at all, experience requires compensation," laughed Striga, pulling out a pouch of Erzi.
"Though we do have another question. Why did the Sandracons attack us so close to the town, and where were the guards?" continued Striga.
"Sandracons, this close to the town?" asked Dr. Gilbert, an eyebrow raised.
Striga and Donis recounted their events of what happened not 5 minutes away from the town. Emphasizing the numbers and the ferocity of the Sandracons.
"They must have gotten the hunger mutation. That's terrible news. What you saw was actually a small pack of them, and if they're this close to the city, the rest of them mustn't be too far away. I'm glad the two of you alright, but I'm pissed at the security of the town. Why am I even paying taxes when the local milita don't even warn of us these dangers," scowled Dr. Gilbert.
"Eh, the government has always been lazy around here, why are you surprised?" laughed Striga.
"Should we go and warn them? This isn't like a small issue or anything. I nearly died!" pointed out Donis.
"Excellent idea lad. Do their job for them, and go warn them. They may even return the favour if they're in a charitable mood!" laughed Dr. Gilbert.
"They're not going to give us anything, are they?" sighed Donis.
"Jack shit," laughed Striga.