Luck be Damned

23

^^ the 'Hoard' ^^

— Alice —

The memory stored in the Scrying Eye, (a lecture on obscure magical theories that supposedly required a Fifth Year's curriculum to understand,) ended, freeing my sight up as the lesson came to a close, and I raised an eyebrow at Cala; she'd apparently been inspecting me thoroughly, knowing I couldn't see her. "What do you need, my dear?"

Instead of flinching guiltily, as I'd expected, she hummed. "My aunt wants to send us into a Dungeon. I'm not sure it's a good idea, being you only have a month of training under your belt."

I smiled at her indulgently. "Is that so?"

She nodded seriously. "Yes. Regardless of how powerful you are, I'm unsure if you're mentally prepared for the challenge of a Dungeon. They don't just send physical attacks at you; most monsters have a Mental Attack, a sort of ability that causes you to be afraid of them, or confused. I've trained for my entire life for such things; I've gone into Dungeons with my mother every day since I turned six, like most of my people. You? You're used to winning. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, necessarily, but having never Lost, you are unprepared for this. That's my opinion." She explained, sitting in front of me.

I nodded slowly, adding a layer of mental protection to my Sigils before responding. "I appreciate your concern, my dear, but it is unfounded... how about this: I will worry about myself, like I have for so very long and through three separate lifetimes, and if at any time you feel I am in over my head, feel free to tell me, but I assure you I am fully capable of handling most anything thrown my way."

"And if you aren't?" She asked, frowning concernedly.

"Worst case scenario, I die. Oh no. How sad. After having died twice, a third time doesn't seem so bad. At least this time I won't be being drowned by a client who has a rather unhealthy 'appreciation' for waterlogged corpses." I waved a hand dismissively at the concept.

She blinked rapidly, and then shook her head in confusion. "Oh!... I'm... uhm?" She stuttered.

"Now, if that's all, let's get going; I'd rather move at night, not during the day." I dusted myself off and stood, letting my armor change from my meditation garments to my scaled armor.

"Right... Uhm..." She scratched her head slowly, attempting an apology a few times, too quiet for a normal person to hear; the words couldn't make it past her throat, it seemed.

"Who is coming with us, as Chaperone?" I asked in an off-handed fashion, moving forward casually while belting on my sword.

"Besan and my Aunt, I think... or maybe Adrian and Victor, cause they're your mentors? It hasn't been settled yet, they're debating if we're ready." She shook herself and answered, still a little demure.

"I see. Come along, we'll handle this quickly. Zara, dear, meet us in front, Alright?" I called up to the Dragoness that was in the rafters. A month of growth had made her and her siblings almost twice the size of ponies, a little bit larger than a fully-grown Clydesdale, at least eight feet tall at the shoulder.

Amoj, in a message he'd sent through Lukira, had explained that this would taper off around this time, and they'd not have another growth-spurt until they were about ten years old, and then again every decade after that, growing less each time. At 157, he'd had 15 growth spurts, and was about thirty feet tall, so it was a decent measurement. Zaire had been almost 45 feet tall, and Amoj claimed they were around the same age, from different clutches, so I imagined there were outside factors involved.

Zara stretched her newly-grown wings leisurely, then hopped down into the room, nuzzling Cala. "Hello, pretty one! We will hunt together again today! Excitement!!!" She laughed heartily, then slipped out the bay window I'd put in when she got too wide for the door; the entire wall was two panes of Sigil-Carved Crystal, -entirely invulnerable to most physical or magical impacts,- that led out onto the large balcony which was her landing pad.