Blood Magic

5: Gratitude

.^^ Dragon Ring ^^

— Athenos —

I dodged the flailing dragon's paw, mostly on instinct, as my eyes were glued to the Giant Crystalline Apple Tree that had grown in front of James when his shielding talisman hadn't been up to holding back the dragon. It was designed to protect against magical attacks, not physical ones.

The new tree, however, has proven to be incredibly sturdy, as the dragon's tail was visibly broken, the heavy, bladed end flopping uselessly on the stout tail, while the tree had only lost some bark.

James's voice came from behind the tree, Muffled a bit. "I'm okay!"

I hid behind the tree before the dragon could attack again, and looked for James, then paused, looking at the tree. "Are you inside a tree? Really? Your first day as a Mage, and you find yourself inside a tree?" I sighed, and darted out of cover, throwing another fireball at the dragon's eyes, to make him close them.

James emerged from the tree like a mirage, and then grinned. "That was AWESOME!!!" The dragon snapped its blurred gaze to him, and he gulped. "Oh bloody hell..."

He ducked the swipe of the dragon's left claws, and grabbed the knife from his bag, running under the dragon.

I wanted to go after him, but logically I knew he would need me to distract the dragon from whatever her was doing, so I made more fireballs. A better battlemage could have likely done more damage, but I could at least pester the dragon.

A few copies of myself threw illusion magic at him in the shape of fireballs, which made him flinch, and only one in four was real, though as we switched places as he closed his eyes, it was hard to tell for him.

Soon enough, I heard a sound like metal grinding against crystal, and a giant icicle grew on the dragon's arm, in its armpit.

He shrieked in pain, and bit the area repeatedly, until the ice shattered. Then James appeared on top of his arm, and sliced again, with that same sound of metal on crystal.

The armband fell away in two halves, as the ice crystals grew in front of James, and allowed him to dodge the dragon's jaws a second time.

He grabbed the two halves of the artifact, and sprinted over to me. "He's all yours, Doc!" He laughed breathlessly, visibly shaking with an amalgamation of emotion, mostly terror and excitement, if his grin was any measure.

I hummed and nodded, eying the dragon, who had stopped for a second to lick his wounds, and sniff the place where the band had been. "Are you a bit more calm, now? I'm a doctor, here to help you, not fight you. This isn't in my job description, you know? I sew up cuts, not make them." I called to the dragon.

James translated, and I waited for the dragon's reply.

He snarled something, curling up into a disk, and snorted fire lazily at us.

"He's not letting you turn him back into a human." James shrugged.

"Well that just won't do, we've already accepted payment." I frowned.

"Technically I did, and I did what I said I would, to do my best to turn him back. I thought removing the armband would turn him back." He shrugged again.

Before I could answer, the dwarf reappeared, and hummed, nodding to James, and speaking in Dwarfish. I caught 'Debts Payed', and breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he looked at me. "Is it at all possible to turn him back?" He asked, his accent making the words thick, but understandable.

"There's a few ways, sure. I have the original artifact, so I could reverse it, if I could get the magic through his scales. You know dragon's scales are mostly immune to magic." I shrugged.