Trapped in Another World With No Magic

Chapter 64.3: Bonus Chapter: Hekate and the Dragon's Hoard Part 3

Xyreko greets Hekate and Geirahoel as they approach the shuttle ready to take them to Shaiulvalgarro's Hoard, also known simply as the Dragon's Keep. This will be the second time in less than a week that either of them has returned, having otherwise abandoned the keep after Morthybargaron's defeat at the hands of the Harbinger of Calamity.

The caretaker of the Citadel bows her head politely, greeting the two of them. "Your magnanimous Greatness; your unparalleled Grace; good morning. Do you have everything you'll need?"

"Yes," replies Hekate. "Thank you for taking us."

"My pleasure. Though, I must confess, it will be a remote golem piloting the shuttle." She gestures at the pilot, who is already in the cockpit and preparing the shuttle for takeoff. The leading golem adds, "Fortunately, this is excellent timing, as I will be sending a transportation receiving pad to allow my golems to move more reliably to Shaiulvalgarro's Hoard, as well as more efficiently."

"Just a receiving pad?" asks Geirahoel. "Can't we use one to return?"

"The two of you are welcome to use the return spell, of course. Our beloved Daniel asked me not to place a sending pad in case the old mine is captured by our enemies. We can send one last gift to them if that is the case."

Geirahoel and Hekate glance at each other, only able to speculate what horrors Daniel could concoct as a 'parting gift' for enemies capturing one of their strongholds. Given that it could range from anywhere along the lines of 'instant death' via a rifle to total annihilation via the god-killers, there's a lot of open ground for him to cover in between.

For now, they focus on the trip. "That makes enough sense. Will you be needing help?"

"I won't object, of course, but you may carry out your own missions. Setting up the receiving circle will take time. Once complete, I'll begin sending golems in force to begin clearing out the treasures hoarded within."

"Be gentle with my flowers," warns Geirahoel. "Daniel likes-... I mean, I worked very hard to grow them, so I don't want my effort to be wasted."

Hekate smirks at the orange dragon, who is looking at Xyreko at the moment. She makes that claim, but she didn't worry about her 'precious' flowers for all of the months that she has been at the Citadel, never once wanting to return before. As soon as she finds out that Daniel likes flowers, she's ready to travel the whole world to find every single kind to grow for him.

And, then try to deny that's what she's doing.

Xyreko gestures at the shuttle, "Ready whenever you are, ladies."

Hekate and Geirahoel nod approvingly, making their way onto the shuttle with their thanks. The shuttle ride is quiet, since Hekate and Geirahoel generally have one thing in common; their love for Daniel, and they're both essentially caught up on things about him. Otherwise, it could stumble across an awkward topic like Hekate's past before Daniel, or Geirahoel being nearly killed by him. Fortunately, both of them are content enough simply riding together in peace as the golem pilots them to the ancient dwarven mine.

The shuttle lands, and the villagers of the Unity of the Great Dragons approach. Upon seeing Geirahoel and Hekate, they kneel, speaking in the draconic bridge language. "[Greetings your Imperial Greatness Hekate, your majestic Grace Geirahoel. You honor this humble servant with your presence.]"

The draconic bridge language, often referred to as Yaulrent, is a simplified form of true Draconic, a language probably preceding the births of every living dragon in the world. Yaulrent was formed for slaves, servants, and worshippers to communicate with the dragons, while minimizing the struggle to pronounce some of the more difficult sounds that only dragons and feldroks can typically make. In fact, the 'true names' the dragons had to give Daniel in order to form the magic contracts are their Yaulrent equivalents, serving the purpose but not actually being the dragon's true name.