FEB 13 Tuesday.

I study the odd words in front of me while petting Entropy as we rest inside my little underground haven.

The past few days have been more of the same as it is becoming a trend. I've been mostly exploring the area more and waiting for Larimar to show up. I check the market from a distance once or twice a day. So far she hasn't shown up, but I still have plenty of time to wait.

I've also spent a good amount of time over the past few days working on the magical shield for Larimar and studying the odd Dragon language. Aurora was only able to teach me a few dozen basic words, and only able to write out seven of them so I have little to work with so far.

The writing language is something else entirely and is both complex and simple at the same time. The words are made up of only two things, overlapping groups of circles and lines, that's it, nothing else. Some lines have curves and the circles can be a bit off, but that's all it seems to be.

From what I've seen and experienced the circles are the main component here. Where they are placed, their size, and if they are overlapping is also important. I don't really have enough to do anything but copy them for now, as I only have a few examples to work with.

The written language does make sense to a degree, it takes time to write anything down but a Dragon has no shortage of that, and being so simple makes it easy to write out, just time-consuming. Each word also has several circles and lines in it, it is built with simple pieces but is a complex language to learn to read, there again the time investment doesn't really matter.

If you are going to live for centuries or millennia, why worry over spending an extra few years learning to read properly? It does mean it would take me a long time to really learn the language. Luckily for me, the spoken language is much more manageable and doable.

I'm able to make all the sounds needed for the words I've seen so far and it isn't as complicated to do. It's a very blunt language, from what little I've managed to put together, but it's relatively easy to learn about. It's not looking to be too much harder than learning to speak Griffon at least.

It might actually be a bit easier with the experience I got from learning Griffon. I don't have an unlimited amount of time though and I'll need to leave in a while, so how am I going to learn the language? Well, I just have to translate and copy as much as I can before I leave the Dragon Lands, and I need someone versed in the language for that.

As for why I even want to learn the language? Well, a large part of me wants to copy and preserve such knowledge. I was a librarian for years and I find it sad in a way that such a language is just being forgotten and erased with time. Especially when it could be recorded and preserved so easily.

Another part of me simply thinks it would be interesting to learn. It could also be interesting if used in Chanting, the practice of adding words to the spells you use to improve the effect. It is known that different languages affect Chanting a word during spell casting in different ways.

No one is sure why, hell we barely know why Chanting helps with magic at all. I could attribute it to several things, collective will, or Harmony, but it doesn't really matter why. The reason I didn't use casting in the past was that I saw it as a risk not worth taking.

Chanting can go horribly wrong if done improperly and has some less-than-pleasant effects on the caster. But they are useful to have and can improve a spell significantly if done right. Back to my theory though, I think a language's source can also affect a spell when Chanting in that language.

It's not a massive theory, and I don't have a great way to prove it, but I do find the idea interesting. If nothing else, being able to Chant in Dragon would eliminate a danger of Chanting, namely your opponent overhearing your words and predicting what spell you are going to cast.

If they can't understand me I can speak as much as I like, but honestly, Chanting is more of a side effect of learning Dragon. I'm mostly driven by curiosity and I want to preserve it, I also am not going to be testing Chanting in Dragon anytime soon, or maybe at all.

Mispronouncing words while Chanting can end very badly, and this language is literally dying and knowledge of it is somewhat incomplete. I could mispronounce a word and not even know I'm doing it, fuck that, Chanting is a risk as it is and I don't need to add that into it.

I close my illusionary notebook and decide to check on the Array I finished yesterday, and that I've had charging for a few days now. This shield is not just an item I'm making for myself and as such I've spent my time making it more interesting and impressive to look at, I am selling it after all so it needs to look good.

In my cave, floating several feet in the air, in the full gem Array made from seven one-foot diamond cubes. I decided to make an interesting design with the knowledge I've gained about Dragons. As a start, I've used a modified Stasis spell to have the central gem anchor in a location and not fall or move unless desired.

Six of the diamonds float in a spinning ring around the central diamond and a five-foot wide ball-shaped shield surrounds them all. A dragon can pick up the shield like a ball and move it around to anchor it anywhere they want to. This small shield also blocks any magic from leaving out but allows magic to move inside.

It's a solid shield but won't stand up to much damage, its only purpose is blocking the magic and letting a Dragon move it instead of grabbing the delicate gem directly. I blocked magic from leaving so a Dragon doesn't smell the magic-filled diamonds and decide that it's a good snack.

Beyond that it's a simple thing, you tap the shield twice and a shield covering a four hundred foot radius area is covered in a powerful magical shield. Only the owner can pass through the shield, and I control that by adding a very simple magical link from a modified linking spell, just like the one around my apartment.

My last problem is actually transportation, I'm not really sure how to move this thing without a Dragon getting too tempted for their own good. I could just be honest with Larimar, I could tell her I have something to trade but can't bring it there? That's probably my best bet actually.

The Array is basically full now and everything is good to go. I finish checking the Array one last time before turning to Entropy. "We're going, Girl." She chirps and melds into my shadow seamlessly. I've made sure to spend more time with her inside the cave, poor girl is still too scared of the Dragons.

She is getting better though and when we come back from the market she's no longer on edge, I'm taking things slow with her for now. I exit my cave and start to make my way to the market, on the way I have to pass a few areas that Dragons seem to frequent more often than others.

Dragons may not be the most social, but they still are to some extent. They seem to like telling stories the most, old ones or new ones. It is a consistent topic that I've overheard. Who would have guessed that Dragons are the type for gossip? Then again there is not really much to talk about here.

As I move through some rocks I pass a grouping of lava pools and sense several young Dragons there. I pay them no mind but still cast a flame shield over myself just to be safe, and it seems to have been a good decision. Seeing the Dragons come into view I see a few I recognize.

Garble and his two friends, along with a smaller orange Dragon and a few others I don't recognize around the same age. I've seen Garble's two friends a time or two after our first meeting, I think they all live close to this area. I really shouldn't be surprised to run into them again actually, but I'm not here to cause trouble so I just keep walking after seeing them.

They spot me as I move through the relatively flat and clear area, and apparently, Garble has something to say about that. "HEY! It's that fucking Pony!" He yells, more to himself than the others with him while standing up and pointing at me. I look over at them again and see them all staring back, so I smile and wave, having a bit more fun acting overly friendly.

They all give me odd looks and I notice that the smaller orange Dragon is who I thought it was, Smolder. She laughs a bit and looks at Garble, "You mean the one you wussed out of fighting?" She asks in a taunting tone, giving her brother a knowing look, and a few of the other Dragons laugh as well after hearing that.

I stopped walking as this seemed like a problem. Garble goes from glaring at me with narrowed eyes to glaring at them and me. "Shut it! This fuck is creepy! Look at them!" He demands while pointing at me, I just keep my smile and wave a little more at them. "OH! You think that's funny!?" He snaps his head to me and bares his teeth.

I tilt my head a bit. "Somewhat, but you're not wrong. I am acting creepy." I yell back over the distance between us in a friendly and relaxed tone, enjoying getting to mess with them a little more. "Anyway, have a good day, I have things to do," I say and turn to start walking off. But that seems to have come off the wrong way with him.

Apparently, Garble took my relaxed and friendly mood personally. "You smug fuck! Get over here!" I turn on a dime as he starts moving towards me quickly. I turn and see he's now running at me with a snarl and his teeth bared, his claws digging into the stone as he runs on all fours, I really don't want to deal with this shit, but it is kind of my fault now. :I pushed his buttons too much, fuuucck:

I could do several things, but this is partly my fault, so I keep it simple and not serious. He's a few dozen feet away so I have time to act, I pick up a small rock with my space magic and quickly move it. I cast a very overpowered Sticking spell on it and placed it directly on his back, right in between his wings.

He feels it but doesn't react in time, I cast an overpowered Stasis spell on the rock as well and it is locked in place. His forward momentum is stopped with a hard jerk as the small rock stops him from being able to move, his strength not enough to move the rock. "What the fuuuuu-!"

His words are cut off as he's suspended in the air with his legs a few feet off the ground as I move the small rock into the air. I leave the rock like that, with him now trapped in midair. I smile at all of them again, the other Dragons looking varying degrees of confusion and shock. "That will stop working in a bit. Don't even try your fire." I say with a completely dead serious tone and a stone-cold expression to match as I lock my eyes with Garble.

Garble tries to move, flailing his limbs and flapping his wings, but that rock is not moving. His lack of traction or anything to push against makes it certain he can't overpower the spells on the rock. He glares at me but falters at seeing my abrupt shift in mood and expression.

I stare him down for a moment and shift to a neutral expression after he doesn't move. "Appearances are deceiving, and you made the right choice last time. Have a good day." I switch back to my friendly tone and continue to walk to the market like nothing just happened.

"Hey, Hey! Pony! How the hell am I supposed to get down?!" He tries to get my attention but I ignore him and watch as he tries to reach for the rock. It's out of his reach though, and the other Dragons seem a bit too occupied laughing at his misfortune to help. "By fire, what is this bullshit!" He complains, still very angry.

I don't hear any more shouting after that as I make some distance between us and start to chuckle, I do feel a little bad though. Not a lot, he made the choice to run at me with his teeth bared, but I did sort of push him a bit far there. Maybe next time I'll be more myself, and not some creepy overly friendly pony, then again it is funny.

Still, it's not like I hurt him. Those spells won't last too long, half an hour for the Stasis spell. I overpowered the Sticking spell more because I wasn't certain if his scales would make it ineffective. It should wear off after a day at most though, he'll be fine and the only injury he suffered was to his pride.

I put that all out of my mind for the moment and crested a hill overlooking the Market, and to my excitement, I spotted Larimar on the outer edge of the market selling things. I quickly make my way over and wait a few moments for a different Dragon to trade with her before approaching. "Hello, Larimar." I greet her while walking up to her.

I approached from her side and she shifted her body a little to crane her neck and look at me. She's silent for a moment before nodding in greeting, "Pony." She knows my name, yet doesn't use it. I'm sure that's another thing about Dragons so I don't react to her not using my name. "Not many of you come back to the Dragon Lands so quickly." She says with her normal neutral tone.

She moves her tail silently and I look at the hill of things she's brought with her. "Oh, I never left. Spent a few days doing other things." I say back and spot a few things that seem interesting. "Either way, I came to make a deal with you." I will be blunt with my intentions.

She tilts her head a bit, showing some reaction to my words. "And it is even less common for any to stay." She adds before going silent for several seconds. "Information is no cheap thing, and I've heard about you from a few others, you are very persistent." I nearly question her in confusion but chuckle after a moment.

She just tricked me into confirming I've been staying by asking me a question she knew the answer to, it's a small but noticeable thing. "You are an interesting Dragon." I compliment her and point to something in the pile. "Yes, information is very expensive. How much for that?" I ask pointing to a bundle of cloth in the pile, it seems to be in decent condition and would be nice to have for my little cave camp.

She looks at the cloth and moves it over with her tail. "Two hundred." She says plainly and I start to count out the bits without much hesitation. It's not a large roll, but it's not going to be cheap here of all places. "So, what do you have to offer for the information you want?" She asks while taking the bits from me.

I nod. "Something that should cover it, but it's large for me and not something I want to parade around, definitely not here," I say truthfully, getting into the feeling of dealing with this Dragon. She's straightforward, but more intelligent than most others, something I can respect.

She breathes out some smoke slowly. "So you wish to have me go somewhere else for this deal?" I nod as it would be easier. "Ssss, tell me this, Pony. How dangerous are you?" She asks after a beat of silence.

I shrug after thinking for a moment. "I'm not one for violence, as long as it's not needed," I answer vaguely, not giving much of anything away with my tone. "Tell me Larimar, what have you had to do to get to this age?" I ask a question back, both out of curiosity and because it seems right to ask a question of my own.

She locks eyes with me and smiles a bit. "A great many things." She answers just as vaguely as me. "Where and when?" She asks while I pick up the bundle of cloth and stick it to my back with a spell. "Oh, and don't try anything Pony, for your own sake." She adds with that same unchanging tone.

I nod seriously. "I need information, conflict is a bad way to get that." I think for a moment. "Whenever you have time today we can meet here. I don't know any good landmarks, but it's not far from here." I explain while looking over the white cloth for any imperfections or holes.

She again goes silent for a while before nodding. "Agreed. It won't be too long, but you will have to wait." She says and I just nod again before walking away to sit down in an empty space not far away. I take out my deck of cards and just start practicing card tricks with my magic to pass the time and train my space magic more.

She's right and it doesn't take long, around an hour later it's nearing the end of the day and she picks up her things and flies off somewhere unseen. She comes back half an hour later and lands at the edge of the market, I walk over and look up at her. She's no longer lying down as I walk over to her and towers over me in every imaginable way.

Several other Dragons notice us but seem wise enough to realize this is not their business. She moves her head down to look at me. "Well Pony, lead the way." She says calmly and I start to trot, moving quicker than normal. Even at my faster-than-normal pace she barely needs a steady stride to keep up with me.

I make sure to take a slightly longer route to avoid where I stuck Garble and it doesn't take us long to reach the little valley. "I'll go grab it," I say and she just stops without saying anything as I head down and find my cave quickly. I drop the cloth and I have to maneuver the Array for a bit to get it outside, but once it is I move it with me back to her.

As I walk up to her I notice she's lying down on her belly and I watch her eyes track both me and the Array with focus, now showing more interest in all this. "It seems you do have something to trade for after all. Good." She moves her head closer as I approach her. "So, what do you want? And why do I want that?" She asks, sounding more invested than before.

I move the Array closer between us. "I want to learn a great many things. From how you all live, to your language, and many other things. But nothing really secretive, at least I don't believe so." I answer her and then I tap the shield twice after walking next to where I placed it. "This is what I offer."

Her eyes jerk a bit but she doesn't react as a shield forms around both of us, large enough to even encompass her curled-up body. She studies the shield for a long moment and I point to it. "Hit it." A second after I say the words her tail springs from its position and slams into the shield like a whip.

SNAP The sound of the impact is fairly loud, but the shield remains unmoved and undamaged by her blow. Before I can even say anything else she lashes out with a clawed hand, slamming into the shield again and dragging her claws along the barrier wall.

Her claws do more damage, but it amounts to some slight warping of the shield before it moves back a split second after she pulls her arm back. "A shield, and not a weak one." She looks back to me and the Array. "It is not often I am, surprised by something new, something interesting." She says while moving her head close to look over the Array.

I'm surprised at her actions but brush it off as I did give her permission. "It is a shield, nothing truly extraordinary though." I point to the diamonds in the Array, that have now lost a little of the glow they were giving off. "That took a small chunk of the magic inside, it will take an hour or two to recover that much, and it won't last too long against someone like you. So, are you interested?" I ask knowing the answer is probably yes.

She smiles a bit and nods slowly. "I need more details, but yes, you have my interest." She doesn't immediately agree and I can once again see that sly side of her. I'm getting a better feel for her and it's becoming clear why this Dragon has lived so long, she's a trickster, or simply a good liar maybe?

She doesn't rush things and age has clearly taught her well. "Sure, the shield is simple, no one but you can move through it, not even me when I'm done," I state that part clearly as I am able to pass through as it is. "That's the Array, you move it and place it anywhere, just tap it twice to turn it off or on. There's not much else to say actually." I explain quickly.

She reaches out a claw and taps it gently, turning off the shield. She moves it around for a moment, letting it float midair a few times. "And how do I trust you? Many have come for my hoard with many tricks before." She still has a flat tone, but it's clear she's making a threat, just a subtle one.

I nod, having expected as much. "Nothing but my word. I have everything I need and anything you have I would rather just trade for. I don't need enemies after me, I deal with enough things as it is." I smile at her, somewhat enjoying the way she is dealing with me. "I could say the same about trust, I can't do much if you just take that right now." I reason.

She huffs out some smoke. "No, we both know that is untrue." I raise a brow and she looks me right in the eyes. "You said it yourself, you are a predator. Stealing from a predator is, unwise." She moves the Array back to where it was. "I agree to a deal, what are your specific terms?" She asks to get right down to business.

I just keep my smile and don't acknowledge her words. "I'll be here for a few weeks, I don't have a schedule though. How about this, for the duration of my visit you spend your time here, answering anything I ask whenever I ask it. You can also refuse to answer as long as it's within reason." I make my offer.

She titles her head in apparent thought. "This, for a few short weeks?" I nod in the affirmative. "You are horrible at deals." She states matter of factly and I nod again. She's silent for a few minutes before slowly nodding, "Very well, but I will not be here at night, from sunrise to sunset, and no more." She states her conditions.

"Deal," I answer immediately, I thought she was going to have me meet her somewhere or try to limit our time more than that. Getting to talk to her this much is more than enough, and I can explore at night just the same so this won't really hamper me.

I motion to the valley. "A few others live here I think, there is a larger valley next to this, you can probably see it from up there." She looks to where I am pointing and nods again. "That will work, and I'd appreciate it if you don't mention what I traded you until I leave." I don't make it a demand as it's not really too important, just something I'd like.

I move the Array close and modify the spells a small bit, removing a very small link that attaches to me and attaching it to her. "It's now only linked to you. It's late, you can meet me there tomorrow if you don't have anything pressing to do." I offer and look to the evening sky, as it is almost night already. "It will be a pleasure to speak with you, Larimar," I say as a temporary goodbye.

She keeps that slight smirk. "Sssss. Maybe. Shade." She uses my actual name this time before picking up the Array and holding it for a moment before flying off into the distance pretty quickly. I feel the strong wind from her wings and smile in anticipation.

It seems I have a lot to look forward to tomorrow.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading. :]
Current year is 996

Not too much to say about this one, I tried to spice it up with a bit of Garble, but it's mostly setup.