Valerian had not wasted any more time. He walked right into the Magus Tower. As soon as he arrived, he found a few mages and mage-apprentices waiting for him.
They guided Valerian to Oswald's private workshop and left.
"Enter, Lord Jata." Oswald's voice came through the large wooden doors.
Val, already a little impatient, did not stand on ceremony and pushed the doors open then walked in only to stop soon after.
The scene that greeted him would disgust any normal being. Tables with sprawled dissected corpses whose organs were placed in semi-transparent green liquids. The scent of death and decay was heavy.
All this did not faze Valerian. What caught his attention was a male vampire that crucified on the wall. It was still awake and aware, its intestines and organs were pulled out through its stomach but had not been cut off.
Its skin was pale and nearly reptilian. It hissed, screamed and roared angrily in every direction. Its fangs were out and it was clearly hungry and insane. Valerian watched it for a moment and as if it sensed his gaze, the trapped vampire turned its gaze toward Valerian. Their eyes met momentarily.
The vampire began to hiss and roar in Valerian's direction. It had seen a new food source and wanted to attack. Valerian frowned. His eyes flashed red for a moment. The other vampire immediately stopped hissing.
It was as if had a brief moment of sanity and fear. Its fangs involuntarily retracted and it was as though it became docile and sleepy. Its strength seemed to wane and its head sank into sleep.
"How dare you hiss at me?" Valerian said, his tone not hiding his disgust.
This was one of the progeny of the vampires that Valerian had cast out of the genealogy and the Crimson Empire.
Because he had expelled them from the 'vampire family tree' these night crawlers were a different race. Valerian had no control over them as their progenitor but that did not mean he could not instil fear and influence the weaker ones of the species.
The fact that these abominations still existed shocked him and somehow they had managed to retrogress even further would be funny if it was not worrying. A problem for another day.
"Lord Jata, welcome to my laboratory." Oswald came out of the dark with bloody hands.
Valerian did not immediately reply. He looked at the regressed vampire for a few moments longer.
"How are your wounds healing?" Valerian finally asked. The two of them had fought, both had sustained injuries but Oswald's were more severe.
Oswald coughed. "I am still healing but I cannot let that interfere with my work."
"Your work? The pursuit of knowledge is worth you crippling yourself?" Valerian asked.
Oswald waved his hands and the doors closed.
"The pursuit of knowledge is what got me into my current situation. Now I am looking for a way to fix my mistakes."
"Oswald, I have been alive long enough to know when someone wants something from me."
The magus had a self-deprecating smile.
"You are right. I will be direct." Oswald stood up straighter. "Are you able to kill a dragon king?"
...
...
...
The magus was deathly serious.
"Explain further, Oswald." Valerian did not pick fights with dragons easily.
"In my youth, I was arrogant and obsessed with power. In my hubris I sought out a great sorcerer to become my teacher. I offered anything he desired for the knowledge to advance my talents to the peak of human ability.
"He agreed and in return, he wanted what was most precious to me when the time came to collect the debt. I agreed, I did not care, I was hungry for power and knowledge but I was a fool. I studied with him for years.
"When I finally left his mountain, I went out to make a name for myself. I completed quest after quest, victory after victory and finally joined a party. We were invincible, we became nobles, settled down and I married the girl I loved in the party.
"We had a child. I stopped pursuing the peak and turned my focus closer to home. We moved to the territory given to us by the king at that time and lived a life of bliss. On the child's fifteenth birthday, my master came and demanded his compensation."
"You are a fool." Valerian's tone was emotionless but his eyes mocked the mage.
"Yes, he wanted my son. I was not having it. I challenged him. It was even more foolish. He gave me knowledge but he did not increase my ability and he was not even human, he was dragon royalty. He transformed that day, killed everyone and gave me a lifelong injury that does not heal then left with my son.
"He is the reason I have not been able to advance past [S] rank. It was fifty years ago and I am still wounded. I have been researching for ways to kill him since then, it seemed hopeless but I still tried, it was hopeless till I met you."
Valerian laughed. He gave a genuine and hearty laugh. "What in the name of Idris makes you think I would help you? You made a deal, tried to renege and he enforced it. This dragon was well within his rights."
"That is true. I did not know how I would win you over to my side but after that battle, you did not leave. You stayed. I was not sure why until you came to the tower. You want something from me, do you not?"
Valerian's eyes became sharp. "Nothing that I cannot take."
"Yet you have not. I assume that there is a reason for that too. So I will force an accord with you."
Valerian became a series of afterimages and ran right to Oswald. He shattered a mana shield that Oswald had set up for protection as if it were glass. For a moment, mana rained down as dust and shards while Valerian looked at the magus' eyes.
He then wrapped his hand around the mage's throat, lifted him off the ground then slammed him onto the floor.
"You cannot force anything of me. You seem to have failed to learn from you list of failed encounters with those whose power dwarfs yours." Val's fangs popped out. "Believe me, what you have can be taken and although taking it will not provide the all I need, I can still do it and live with the loses."
"F-fix...m-m-my...mis...take and...my...l-life..is..y-yours." Oswald said, still stubborn.
Valerian let go of the grip he had on the magus' throat.
"You will die as soon when the terms are fulfilled. You have to be willing." Valerian said.
"I will gladly die. Spill that murderer's blood and my life is yours."
"Your soul will be at risk. You will not enter the land of the gods."
"Look around you. I have long since forsaken them."
Valerian sighed.
"We have an accord." Valerian said. "Where is he?"