Path of Dragons

"You did it?" asked Sadie, pushing her food across her plate. It wasn't that she hadn't enjoyed the salad. Rather, she was a little distracted by upcoming events. Now that she'd advanced her body cultivation to the third stage – with no small degree of effort and quite a lot of help from Nerthus and Biggle, not to mention Elijah's soap – she was ready to focus on what really mattered.

Carmen set what was left of her sandwich down and answered, "I did. I took the evolution. Forgemaster. Exotic rarity. I had other options, but this one was the most direct evolution of Blacksmith."

"Not completely, though?"

"No," the stocky woman answered. She shook her head. "I had Master Smith available, but it was just Uncommon. Figured the step up in rarity would make up for the class being diluted by other things."

"What other things?"

She shrugged. "The way it was described, leadership type things. I'm guessing it's like when I chose my Specialization," Carmen explained. "There was one tied to the Forge of Creation. I guess this is something like that. I'm still a Blacksmith, but I'm a leader, too. I'll only know for sure once I start leveling again and see some of the new abilities. The extra stats'll be nice, though. Can never be too strong."

Sadie could agree with that assessment – especially considering what was coming. War was on the horizon. She could taste it in the air. The only question was on what front they'd be fighting.

At least Ironshore was safe, though. With all the traps Kurik had deployed, any attacking force would pay a steep price to even reach the city itself.

"How's the army going?" Carmen asked. "They using the gear properly?"

"They're trying to," Sadie answered. Over the past couple of months, she had spent a lot of time training with Miguel, Colt, and the city's nascent defense force. Some of the newer members had taken to the changing fighting style quite well, but most of the higher level fighters were still struggling to adjust.

"Predictable," Carmen said after Sadie offered that explanation. "It's a process. They'll get it eventually."

"Where's Miggy?" Sadie asked.

"Tower. He and Isaak went in a couple of days ago," Carmen answered. Her voice only carried with it a slight quiver, but Sadie could recognize a mother's worry when she heard it. "They'll be fine. They took Jess with them. She's not the highest level out there, but she has talent as a Healer."

"Ladies," came a gruff voice only a second before Kurik plopped down. He didn't hesitate to steal a tomato from Sadie's salad. After popping it into his mouth, he asked, "So, what'd you want from me?"

"I would prefer if you didn't eat my tomatoes."

"They're good, though. And you weren't eatin' 'em."

"Order your own food if you want something to eat," Sadie said with a roll of her eyes.

"Not really hungry. C'mon. Spit it out. I got things to do."

She let out a sigh. "Fine. I'm gathering support for the war."

"War? Somebody attackin'?"

"Eventually, but that's not what I'm talking about," Sadie answered. "You know about the situation with the trolls, right? There's a Primal Realm down there, and the dark elves can't handle it on their own. They've asked for our help."

"Hmm. Maybe they shouldn't've attacked us first, then. Let 'em die, I say. We'll sweep in after they're all gone, take care of those trolls, then conquer the Primal Realm. Two rocks with one pick, far as I'm concerned."

Carmen interjected, "The attackers weren't sanctioned by their leadership."

"Says them. If you believe that, I got an untapped mithril vein to sell ya."

"I think it's complicated," Carmen stated.

"It doesn't matter. We need them," Sadie pointed out. "They need us. The Primal Realms aren't a problem we can solve on our own. There's not enough time. The sooner everyone realizes that, the better off we'll be. If we never figure it out, then this planet is doomed.

"And before you just say to let Elijah take care of it, I'll point out that he's just one man. Even if he goes from one Primal Realm to another without break or delay, he's going to come in just under the deadline. The Elemental Maelstrom took months to conquer. They're just going to grow more difficult and time-consuming as the planet's ambient ethera rises. We need to learn to work together, Kurik. And as one of the most powerful people on the planet, you need to accept your part in it."

For a moment, Kurik went silent. Then, he just shook his head, saying, "Damn. I ain't been scolded like that since I was little."

"You deserve it," said Carmen.

"Not disputin' that. But what can I do? I'm barely ascended."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Wait – you made your decision?" Sadie asked. Then, he narrowed her eyes. "You do feel a little different."

"Damn right I made my decision. Right or wrong, I had to pick somethin'."

"What did you choose?" asked Carmen.

"Thorned Saboteur. Still tryin' to wrap my head around what it means, but I don't need to tell you that. Seems I'm not th'only one as recently ascended."

"That sounds very nature-y," Carmen remarked.

"Yeah. Always had a decent attunement to it. Guess livin' and workin' next to that idjit has its consequences. Where is Elijah, anyways? If you're preparin' to fight a war, shouldn't he be part of this little meetin'?"

Sadie answered, "He's somewhere near New York. He had some things he wanted to take care of up there."

Indeed, he was investigating another war. Sadie had argued against it, but she'd lost that argument.

"Let me guess – he met somebody with a sob story, and he went to go solve the problem?" Kurik posited.

"Ah…that is distressingly accurate," Sadie answered, which drew a laugh from Kurik. In truth, the issue was a little more complicated than that. But at its core, it boiled down to Elijah wanting to save people – so long as they were right in front of him.

"So, you in?" Carmen asked.

"Wait – you're goin'?" Kurik asked in return.

She shrugged her muscular shoulders, which were exposed by a sleeveless tunic. Then, she pushed a stray hair behind her ear. "Armies need crafters too. Plus, I made some new gear I want to test out."

"And nothin' for me?" Kurik asked. "I'm hurt."

"Bring me some materials before we go, and I'll see what I can do."

He grinned. "Might just do that. Could use a new weapon."

"Does this mean you're coming?" Sadie asked.

"Oh – I thought that was clear when I sat down. 'Course I'm comin'. You need me, I'm there. Same as always. What's the first step?"

As it turned out, Sadie had the entire sequence planned. The next step was to talk to Essex and borrow some of Ironshore's best and brightest. Not the older, more experienced fighters. Sadie needed the ones whose paths weren't yet set in stone. Then, she intended to head out to gather more allies before beginning an abbreviated training regimen.

"How long we got?" Kurik asked.

"A few weeks. Most of that will be spent in preparation, but we also need to train everyone in how we do things. An army needs standards. Rules. Regulations," Sadie stated. "Otherwise, this entire plan won't work."

Kurik and Carmen both agreed with that, and soon, the discussion turned to how best to implement Sadie's plans. They both had good suggestions, with Carmen's input being particularly insightful. She had some experience managing crafters – after all, she had quite a few apprentices – so she knew a little about logistics. Meanwhile, Kurik's eyes lit up when it came to discussions about establishing defensive positions.

"Might need to talk this out with Nerthus, though. My new class is a bit finnicky about my materials. Ain't a huge deal. I can still work with my old traps. Just want to get the most out of it all."

Soon enough, their meals were finished, and discussion concluded. Carmen headed off to put the finishing touches on her latest project – a pair of hatchets for Oscar – and Kurik went straight to the island.

That left only two more stops before she went to the Conclave Spires.

The first meeting was with Essex, who was unsurprisingly resistant to the idea of sending his greenest recruits to fight the echoes of an elder race.

"They'll be slaughtered," he stated without hesitation. "Most of them are barely even classed, much less prepared for something like that."

"We won't immediately send them into battle. The dark elves have towers. They know how to raise an army. I intend to use their infrastructure to slowly build our forces until we can push the trolls back," she responded. "I just need to know how many you can give me."

Essex tapped his fingers against his desk. "Three hundred."

"Five."

"Three. I can't spare more than that, Miss Song. I won't leave Ironshore undefended."

"If we fail, it won't matter."

"Then don't fail. I can give you three hundred. That's it."

Sadie leaned back in her own chair. "Fine. Over the next few weeks, I need them cycled through towers in teams of six."

Ironshore had access to four towers. There was the one close to the island, one near what had been Norcastle, Argos' tower, and now, the one on the western edge of Philadelphia. Each of those were easily accessible via Conclave Spires, and if they were done properly, they only took a day or so each to conquer. If everything went right, the three hundred could gain a lot of collective levels in a few weeks – especially with as green as they were.

More importantly, they would gain practical experience by putting their lives on the line and learning to depend on their fellow soldiers.

After working out a few details with Essex, Sadie moved on to the next stop. Hunting down Oscar wasn't difficult. The dogs had become quite popular among the townspeople, and it only took a few questions to direct her to Druid's park, where she found the pack entertaining a group of children.

Oscar held himself characteristically apart.

When Sadie asked him for help, he immediately agreed, which she suspected came from his desire to get back into the action. Or at least more so than any real interest in the greater good.

Next, Sadie took the Conclave Spires to Philadelphia – the new set had already been built – and met with Lamar and Helen. That was where her plan hit its first snag. Both were sympathetic to her aims, but neither wanted to leave their settlement unguarded. The truce between them and whatever Vinny called his faction still held, but it was tentative enough that they couldn't leave their people undefended.

The compromise was that Helen and a group of young scouts she'd been training would head down to the Hollow Depths, leaving Lamar and most of their fighters behind.

Finally, Sadie headed to Svetogorsk.

Her arrival was met with no small amount of enthusiasm. The army she'd led through the Eternal War welcomed her with open arms. The meeting with Ivanka and Jari was decidedly more sedate.

"I can give you a thousand men," Ivanka stated. "And Jari. They won't be the best, but they are not the worst, either."

"You know what's at stake," Sadie said. "Svetogorsk has the most powerful organized army on the planet. Earth needs you."

"Earth will rise to the occasion. This is what I offer. There will be no negotiation in this matter," Ivanka responded. She flicked her eyes at Jari. "Unless you wish to take command. Then, you could do what you wished with Svetogorsk's forces."

"I can't."

"You won't," Ivanka corrected.

"It's the same result. Either way, I'll take your thousand men. Please send them to Ironshore when you're ready. I will pay their teleportation fees," Sadie stated.

"I do not know why you resist. This is where you belong. Surely, you see that," Ivanka stated.

"I disagree," Sadie said, rising to her feet. "Thank you for your cooperation."

"Of course."

With that, Sadie turned and left the woman's office. Traveling through the bunker-like city left a sour taste in her mouth, so she was happy to finally return to Ironshore – and then the grove. However, when she reached the island, she couldn't help but wish that Elijah was there to greet her.