Dracopical Isles: Rise of the Underground

Chapter 12

Returning back to the site, the two men are greeted with further irritation from the mage as he continues to speak with Allister. Upon noticing Midna's body being absent from where it was supposedly found, he certainly had questions.
"Well where could it have gone?" The old man growls. "Unless we care to say the thief took the dragon's body with them and in such a hurry, I would say I'm suspicious."
Allister shakes his head, arms folded, looking down at the scattered flakes of sapphire scales and charred rope mesh replacing what had been a whole dragon corpse. "There'd be no way for one or two thieves to rapidly take off with a dragon corpse that big."
Approaching their leader, Allister turns around to see that his two comrades had returned - unsurprisingly, both empty-handed. 
Allister nods in greeting, "Anything to report?" He then looks at the second one in particular. "Anything jump you Sash, my brave man?"
Sash, the second comrade, almost immediately spills out what he and Honz witnessed in response. "We saw a dragon, Sir. Almost certain it was a Sorcerant - a green Sorcerant."
"What?" The mage immediately snaps upon hearing this, not giving Allister the chance to reply. "You didn't discover the thieves? Only a dragon?" He gives the two men a rather disbelieving glance.
Honz is the one who nods. "Afraid so. It was clear as crystal through the branches above."
Shaking his head, the mage scoffs at him. "Nothing but a coincidence, I say. If you're implying that that dragon stole my books, why would that be? How could that be? A fully grown Sorcerant would be too large to squeeze down there." He points to the cellar.
Honz and Sash glance at Allister. The hunter had been quietly paying attention to the brief exchange. Now with eyes on him, he speaks, turning to the mage. "Don't forget, my good Sir, this is a Sorcerant we're speaking of. They have a good head and magic intelligence."
The mage frowns back. "So? How would that explain it wanting my books then? Preference?"
By now, it shouldn't be a surprise for the mage to want clean answers. First his cellar is ransacked, then said thief managed to escape for the time being, the female Sorcerant's body had also disappeared, and now there are claims that the dragon did it. Why would it want the books? Sorcerants despise dark magic, don't they? It taking the female's corpse could possibly be understood, but going through the trouble to snatch two spell books? This whole case just keeps getting more and more confusing, and they still haven't figured out who's responsible for the female's death and delivery yet. Even after having Allister explain the dragon tracks to him for further support of the idea, he's still left scratching his head. 
Now it comes to the mage's mind that this visit to the fallen site had just been a big waste of time. No progress was found and great misfortune was all there was - nothing satisfactory to bring with him back to his hospital room. 
The mage leaves the site with a simple farewell, limping his way back to the hospital. Allister and his two comrades remain for a moment longer, further discussing this sudden course of events. It then comes to mind, perhaps now could be the time for Allister to begin hunting this green Sorcerant down.

Returning back to the tower, Emeraldus boosts Slim in through the weathered entrance first before climbing in himself. Stopping to take a breather from his hurry, Emeraldus sits down with a relieved, "whew". Soon following, he turns a rather irritated eye towards Slim. 
The slinky Alchemy puts the books down to take a seat as well, a nervous chuckle escaping his lips. 
"Well, that was sure a close call, right Boss? Heh heh.."
Emeraldus snorts. "Wouldn't have been if you just followed my orders."
His gruff tone makes Slim duck his head, returning Emeraldus' gaze with an embarrassed grimace. He chuckles again.
"Yeah, about that, Boss.." Slim begins, trailing an anxious claw in circles across the floor. "..I uh.. have a rusty memory.. it is another reason the Alchemies don't like me.."
Hearing this, Emeraldus heaves a heavy sigh whilst shaking his head to the side. That makes things a tad more difficult now. Great… Well, at least it's not a case of dealing with a dragon that's completely handicapped.
"..Erm, speaking of that.. why do you need these books again?" Slim's voice brings Emeraldus' thoughts back to reality. 
Giving his head a brief shake, Emeraldus rises to his feet. He turns to pick up the books for himself, tucking both under his arm, before bringing them to his study desk towards the left of the room. He doesn't bother to answer Slim's question, which leaves the Alchemy staring at him from behind with a raised brow. Still a bit anxious, Slim doesn't dare to ask him again, remaining silent as Emeraldus sets one book aside to have a look at the other. 
Lifting a forelimb to speak, Slim takes a hesitant breath. Should he even try to get Emeraldus' attention? Does the Sorcerant even want to say? Although this seems kinda strange, given Slim could've sworn Emeraldus had told him before.. Maybe he's just.. too focused? 

Emeraldus takes his time, flipping through each page at his leisure. He reads every spell thoroughly, attentive to find one that he could use for Midna. There are many to pick through, though so far none are exactly what Emeraldus needs. 
The dark magic spells all seem to require easy ingredients, including some that are used in other magic types; Though there is one particular ingredient that frequently shows up in the recipes - and that would be "souls". Some ask for human souls, others animal souls, and some even ask for young souls - all depending on the brew. Although it isn't just the "special" ingredients that differ it from other types, the way to prepare it is also unique. Chants and rituals are just a couple. Death seems to also be quite common - hence the souls. 
The longer Emeraldus remains in the books, the more his scales seem to prickle. His instincts can already sense the dark magic in each paragraph and they do not like it, but he must do this - for Midna.
Eventually, Emeraldus finally finds something doable - a resurrection spell. It may not restore Midna back to how she was completely, but it will reanimate her body and soul. 
A chuff escapes Emeraldus - this one just might work. 
Upon hearing Emeraldus' pleased utterance, Slim lifts his head from where he had been dozing on the floor. His half-asleep eyes gaze at the green Sorcerant with curiosity. Did he find something at last?
"... Boss..?" Slim speaks with a soft and drowsy voice, being cut off by a yawn. 
A slight grin stretches Emeraldus' lip. "I found it," He says with a nod, half to himself, as he flips to the next page to dig into this spell. 
Sitting up, Slim tries to shake the sleep out of his brain. "Found.. what..?"
Almost immediately, Emeraldus begins to read, his levels of interest bringing him to say a few pieces aloud.
"...Requires up to 100-1,000 souls depending on mass…"
"...A charm or bewitched object is necessary for proper transmission…"
"...carving the bones to replace the function of magic circulation, so the lungs and throat and/ or the blood vessels should allow casting to continue unhindered... "
"...Only takes 30 minutes for the body to ripen…"
"...No chant required…"
His grin deepens, bringing what could be described as a slightly mad glint to his eyes. So far, this is perfect. It may be risking the dangers that are said to accompany such magic, but Emeraldus' heart is firmly rooted - he wants his mate back!
"Boss..?" Slim repeats, now more awake.
Looking over his shoulder, Emeraldus returns the Alchemy's gaze with his smile.
"Alright Little Alchemy, tell me, what's your name?"
"Huh?" Slim pauses, perking his head, now a bit more confused than curious. "My name..?" At first, this comes as a slight surprise - not exactly what he was expecting to hear as a reply.
Emeraldus continues. "Since you're gonna be my subordinate from here on, I should know what to call you." To which, Slim cocks his head, still a little confused. "I don't think you'd want to constantly be hearing 'Little Alchemy' would you?"
It takes a few seconds longer, but finally the lightbulb flicks in Slim's brain. "Ohhh," He nods upon understanding. "Okay Boss, it's uh.. It's Slim. They call me Slim."
Emeraldus lifts a brow. "Your name is Slim?"
"It used to be 'Slimy', but yes." Slim nods, though rather sheepishly as his claw begins to trace circles again. 
"Huh," Emeraldus looks away for a brief ponder. Is that how Alchemies name each other? Using whatever their peers decide? Wouldn't that make them nicknames instead? It's strange, but Emeraldus was not born an Alchemy dragon so he can't be so sure. 
"Alright then, Slim," Emeraldus begins afterwards, using the slinky Alchemy's proper name. "We got some work ahead of us. We're bringing my mate back, that's what we're doing." He finally restates his reason.
"We are?" Slim repeats with his own slight grin, but then shakes his head to clear it. "Um, how, Boss?"
"With this," Emeraldus holds up the book to reveal the exact pages of the spell. "The recipe is simple enough, and the ingredients shouldn't be that difficult to find, though what does concern me is the requirement of souls.."
Slim cocks his head again. "Souls?"
Emeraldus continues whilst reskimming through the pages. "It does not say what type of souls, though it is required to include the soul of whom you wish to resurrect… hmmm," His mind begins to wonder. "... Would prey work..?"
Slim only shrugs. He's never made magic brews from a spell book as an Alchemy, so he's completely leaping into this blind. Though one thought does come to him, however.. "Erm… I think I know a guy who uses the soul stuff…" Slim begins, which catches Emeraldus' attention. "His name.. I don't think I remember.. was it.. Don-key..?" That's probably not it. "No,"
"Is he a dragon? A human?" Emeraldus speaks, trying to urge Slim's memory.
Slim gives his chin a tap. "Both I think.. he can become a human."
Emeraldus' eyes narrow. "A shifter?"
The lightbulb in Slim's mind flickers again. "Yes! That's what they call it! He is a shifter dragon.. erm, I think."
The optimism brightens in Emeraldus that much more, now to think that they could have even more assistance with this other dragon figure. The chances are well in his favor - Midna is coming back!