Dorian snagged a set of wooden branches, slicing them off the mid-sized tree with ease. They were sturdy pieces of some type of wood, strong and flexible. He cleared any stray leaves off them and held them under his arm, dragging them alongside the dead deer off to the side near the river.
He took a few careful glances around.
These mountains were a dangerous area, but he hadn't yet encountered any Grandmaster Class beasts in this valley itself. The area here seemed like a place that was relatively safe.
Even if he did encounter any danger, he could just activate the King Class Aura he had stored in his Soul. None of the beasts he had seen had too high levels of intelligence, so more likely than not they would fall for it and run off in fear.
It was time he really treated himself, for once, he decided. He felt really good after letting his emotions loose the other day. With his powerful trump card protecting him, he could afford to relax.
After setting the branches and the dead deer down, Dorian quickly began to clip some of the wood. He began forming a small stack of wood for a fire, creating a pyramid shape.
He took two of the longer branches, and stabbed them into the ground on opposite sides of the small wooden pyramid. They rested about five feet above the pyramid stack of wood.
"Hmm." He said aloud, looking at the dead deer.
"I think I'm supposed to remove the intestines or something like that, right, before cooking?" He rubbed a claw against his forehead, trying to remember.
On Earth he had been a simple university graduate. He knew a lot about math and physics, had participated in a couple dancing clubs on campus, but he had hardly been the type to go out camping.
He shrugged,
"Whatever, I'm a Dragon. It'll probably be fine."
He turned around and took one of the longer branches. He shaved the ends of each side to make it pointed, measuring it so it was about the length between the two wooden stakes in the ground.
He poked two holes in the stakes, making sure they were high up, and double checked to be sure the last piece of wood could connect them.
He then turned to look at the deer, licking his lips.
"Time to get cooking!"
..
WHOOSH
A small gust of wind blasted outward as the flying ship made out of magic dissipated, falling into nothingness.
William looked around the mountainside they had landed on, his eyes careful.
The journey here had taken a very short time. The ship the Space Wizard had created was able to move through space at an abnormally fast speed, blinking through the sky. It also had the ability to hide the presence of those on board, meaning it could be flown in dangerous areas.
They had touched down in the middle of the mountains, very close to where William had hunted down that Ironhide Wolf.
According to Oblong, it was because of the presence of several Grandmaster Class beasts lurking in the upper region of the mountain peaks, as well as him sensing something through his Fate Magic. Landing directly in the valley between the shattered peaks would probably lead to them being detected and attacked even through the Space Magic protection when they were high in the sky. It was far safer to land on the side of one of the empty mountains.
They could deal with the attacks of several Grandmaster Class beasts if they needed to. But, it would be much safer if they could avoid them, and if they started a ruckus it might alert whatever anomaly they were trying to find.
What exactly they were looking for Oblong hadn't made clear to William. Just that they would know it when they saw it.
It only took them a few short minutes to reach the valley where William had found the Ironhide Wolf. Once they reached it, however, Oblong had called them to a halt.
"Hmm…" The fat Fate Wizard sat on the ground, rubbing his chin. A look of curiosity covered his face.
"Has anything notable in history happened in this area in the past?" He abruptly turned to William.
William was slightly taken aback by the abrupt question. He thought about it hard before coming up with a response,
"Legend has it that a stray hunter found a great treasure here, more than 800 years ago. There's also a legend that a great flood of beasts rushed from these mountains after a blinding meteor crashed here, swarming and almost destroying the predecessor of Yor City. It's part of the reason for Yor City's great walls."
Oblong paid close attention as he spoke, rubbing his chin a second time. He turned to his companion,
"I don't like it, Graxital. There's something weird here, a strange aura of death."
The Black Lightning Wizard shrugged. He was currently scanning the nearby area, keeping on alert. The warriors they'd brought had set up a small perimeter, protecting them from any surprises.
"We can't turn back now. We'll just have to push through." His voice was cool.
Oblong struggled to his feet, his portly figure trembling slightly. The Royal Wizard Aymon watched this all dispassionately, a slight hint of mockery in his eyes.
"Yes, be that as it may be…" Oblong began, motioning with his hands, "I still think we should make our path carefully and-"
Before he could finish speaking, however, one of the Master Class Black Iron Guards rushed forward, his helmet pulled up to reveal a face of absolute confusion.
"Uh, milords." The guard's gruff voice cut off the wizards as he bowed, and then stood at attention.
"Yes man?" Oblong said, his voice going back to its regular cheer.
"We… uh-, found something, sir." He said, stumbling over his words.
"Found something? Well, what is it? Don't just leave us at that, man." Graxital broke in, a look of annoyance on his face.
"Uh-… um, I- I don't know how to describe it. You'll need to see for yourself sir." The man wiped a sheen of sweat from his forehead, motioning behind him, where a small trail of smoke was rising into the air.
..
"
"Careful Salum." Gaia muttered, stroking her Blood Wolf slowly as it chomped down on the corpse before her. She gazed at it lovingly.
A large, 3 meter Blue Furred Ape lay on the ground, dead, red blood flowing from its body into the huge wolf. A strange red aura seemed to merge the two beings together, giving them an odd, unholy appearance.
They currently stood in the midst of the Nebra Mountains, very close to a pair of oddly shattered peaks. An eerie air filled this mountain range, making both her and Brutus shiver. Something unnatural, something deathly had happened here.
Blood Magic, the magic that all of her kind used, was incredibly diverse, with many different applications. There were so many branches that it was called a virtually unlimited type of magic.
Even the humans studied blood magic, seeking to unlock its mysteries. They were no match for nobles like themselves, however. Their pitiful skill was nothing next to masters like herself.
"It's just a Blood Wolf." Brutus' voice crudely cut into the moment, ruining Gaia's quiet appreciation of Salum.
Gaia spun around, glaring at the hulking vampire. Her eyes spat daggers at him as she responded,
"Salum is a beautiful boy, far more than just a Blood Wolf. He is more deserving of love than you, Brutus." Her eyes took on an unhinged look as she responded, a dangerous aura starting to rise around her. Small lines of red light began to hover around her arms and hands.
Brutus grinned as he saw this,
"You want to go at it again now, Gaia?" He clapped his hands together. Immediately, two blood red gauntlets appeared, gleaming brightly in the midmorning light.
A look of fury appeared on the female vampire's face as she struggled to control her emotions. Slowly, she took a deep breath, rolling her eyes as she turned back to look at Salum, a sour look on her face.
"We'll eat more later, Salum. Let's keep moving." She said, stroking the Blood Wolf once more. It slowly got up, moving away from the corpse of the Master Class beast.
She gave Brutus one more glare before following the wolf as it headed into the valley between the two shattered peaks, where a lone, plume of smoke rose into the sky.
..
Dorian grinned in delight, wiping off his claws in the nearby river.
Making a spit had turned out exactly as he wanted, and creating a fire had been even easier. He looked back at the roasting deer corpse, salivating already.
The sizzling fat, the taste of warm, cooked meat rolling on his tongue, the juices melting in his mouth…
He could already imagine it. He did a happy little dance as he walked around the fire, pleased, his luscious green scales glimmering in the sunlight.
"I don't have any seasoning or sauce…" He muttered, scratching his head. He took a brief glance around, failing to find anything that looked like a seasoning or sauce.
And, if he was perfectly honest, he had no idea what type of plant would act as a seasoning. Were seasonings even made from plants? Parsley was, he knew that. But what was salt made from?
…salt?
He shrugged again, blaming his lack of interest in cooking or chemistry. If he'd known he was going to be reborn in another world where magic exists, he would have prepared much more extensively. It's not like he asked to be here.
*sizzle*
A sizzling sound woke Dorian from his thoughts, the deer on the wooden spit roasting smoothly. He walked up to the spit, turning the deer over.
"Should I have removed the skin?" He queried, deciding the next time he cooked he would try that in the future.
As he watched the meat cook on the fire, he leaned back for a moment. He felt like he was in a cowboy western, living out on the American frontier. Cooking food in the wilds of the wilderness, far and away from civilization.
While the Wild West didn't exactly have dragons in it, the image still filled Dorian's mind.
A tune of a song he'd heard recently, on Earth, rose up in his mind. He slowly began to hum it, tapping his clawed foot to the beat.
..
A hundred meters away, the group of human mages and warriors slowly crept through the underbrush, sneaking about. Soon, they reached an opening in the trees, where they could peer into the center of the valley, where the river ran through.
Near the center of the valley, the group could make out a small green dragon, standing next to what appeared to be a large deer cooking over a fire.
"Halt!" Graxital whispered fiercely, staring at the small dragon in confusion. William froze with him, his heart pounding nervously.
"Do you hear that?" Graxital held his hand up, motioning at his ears, and then towards the center of the valley.
William strained his ears, listening as best he could. Vaguely, he could make out an odd string of noises… coming from the small green scaled dragon.
"Country roooads… Take me hoooome… To the plaaaace! I beloooong!" An odd but melodious voice continued, echoing in the small valley, seemingly coming from the same small dragon before their eyes,
"West Virginiaaa! Mountain Mamaaaa! Take me hoooome!"
Oblong stared at the small dragon with an unknown look in his eyes, both his hands held out in the air giving off a sense of loss,
"Is it… singing?"
