Book 2: Epilogue

It had been a long journey—riding essentially non-stop from Forest’s Edge to the capital, only stopping to sleep. Every other waking moment, Karl had been on the road.

He’d been a messenger for a long time, and other than trips to the front line in the south, he’d never been concerned about the messages he carried. However, the one he had now was different. He couldn’t explain why exactly—but something about it felt serious. And that was ignoring the fact that three messengers had been sent with the same letter, in case something happened to the others on the road. Karl was a messenger—what could possibly happen?

As he rode into the capital, he was quickly escorted to the palace, where things moved alarmingly fast. The guards who stopped him immediately passed him to the steward of the estate, who in turn escalated the matter to the chancellor, who then handed him off to another man Karl only knew as the King’s adviser.

From there, he was led to two of the finest doors Karl had ever seen in his life—each flanked by an incredibly intimidating guard.

With a gesture from the adviser—whose name Karl still didn’t know—the great doors were opened, and he was ushered into the grandest hall he had ever laid eyes on. The walls were draped with the kingdom’s banners, each bearing the sigils of the powerful houses currently in the King’s favour.

At the head of a long table sat a man who, to Karl, looked no older than his thirties—despite having ruled the kingdom for as long as Karl had been alive. The King sat upon a throne-like chair, surrounded by a handful of councillors. All eyes turned toward Karl and the adviser as they entered.

“Gerald, what is the meaning of this intrusion? Who is this man?” The King’s voice was soft, but carried unmistakable authority.

“Your Majesty, this messenger comes bearing the Obsidian Seal on his document,” the man said, bowing deeply.

Karl quickly followed suit, uncertain whether he should bow, kneel, or both. He’d never delivered a royal message before. He was far out of his depth.

“Very well, Gerald. Read it. Everyone who needs to hear it is present,” the King said, gesturing for him to proceed.

Gerald took the letter from Karl, briefly presenting it to the King, who broke the magical seal. If it had been tampered with, the message would have been destroyed instantly.

Once the seal was undone, the King tossed it back to Gerald, who unfurled the parchment and began to read.

“Your Majesty, on this day I have witnessed events that bring our kingdom into peril. The Tempest Dragon that resided within Mount Divinus has broken free,” Gerald read aloud.

A frown formed on the King’s face, and murmurs spread among those seated.

Gerald continued, “It began with a battle against the Guardian of the Dark Forest—a Green Dragon we have had no contact with in any recorded history.”

The King’s expression darkened further.

Karl heard whispers ripple through the chamber.

“A second dragon—this close?”
“It lost? It’s dead?”

With a gesture from the King, Gerald read on.

“It next appeared at the town of Forest’s Edge, where it interacted with a boy from our kingdom—a Chef and orphan of Dunhearth by the name of Trevor. It is believed he also possesses a third, continent-destroying threat as a companion, in the form of an Ancient Shadow Cat.”

That last line broke the room’s composure.

“That’s preposterous! Who would believe such a tale? Who sent this prank?” one of the nobles snapped.

“Nonsense! How could a dragon have been there this whole time and no one knew?” another scoffed.

“A boy getting a Shadow Cat as a companion? This lord and messenger must be drunk to waste our time with such—”

“Silence,” the King said softly, raising his hand. Instantly, the room fell quiet.

After a moment, Gerald spoke again. “Your Grace, I can attest to the authenticity of the seal. If these were falsehoods, the lord who wrote it could not have sealed it.”

“I understand, Gerald,” the King said, leaning back. “I am concerned about the content. We have someone who has come into contact with two beings capable of destroying our kingdom—and a boy, no less. Boys are often hot-tempered and easily influenced.” He sighed.

“We need to meet this child immediately,” he said at last.

Orders were issued rapidly. Two groups of Imperial Guards were dispatched to the Adventurer’s Guild for information. The largest contingent was sent to Dunhearth to investigate the boy and the events leading up to this report.

Karl watched in stunned silence as the room turned into a flurry of movement—a full mobilisation unfolding before his eyes.

But he hadn’t been dismissed, so he stood there awkwardly until the King finally addressed him.

“Thank you, messenger. I did not catch your name, but with what you’ve learned here today, I will require you to remain in the palace for a time. Gerald will arrange a room for you. It will be temporary, but you will be richly compensated for the inconvenience.”

Karl blinked, stunned. Stay in the palace—and be richly compensated?

That sounded amazing

***

Despite the eventful journey from Dunhearth to Boltron, he didn’t think it was terrible. There had been some of the best food he’d had in a long time. He regretted alienating Trevor early on—he honestly hadn’t known that mentioning the front line would have that effect. He’d thought it was common knowledge.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

According to Saddie, in the days that followed, it was common knowledge—to everyone except those raised in the orphanage. Jordan thought that was a great injustice, but what was done was done.

When he finally made it to Boltron, he was in awe of the size of the city. What should have been an easy task—finding work—became a challenge very quickly, as the few places he found were already full of apprentices. The only workshop that wasn’t full had no lodgings available.

That was of course until the mountain broke, and the dragon attacked.

He’d been lucky that day. He’d found some day work at the docks helping to repair a mast when the city was struck. What followed was both a blessing and a curse. So many buildings were damaged that carpenters were in incredible demand, and he was quickly found by one of the masters he’d visited earlier.

He didn’t even need to go to them.

He was offered a wage far better than he’d expected—and even a room to live in.

The downside was the work itself. It almost broke him. From sunup to sundown every day, he worked non-stop repairing houses across the city. It was exhausting—but great for his levels.

It was one night at the inn, after a long day of repairs, that Jordan first heard the rumour: that a boy had caused all this. That he had brought a beast that angered the gods.

No name was mentioned, but it didn’t take a genius to guess which beast—and which boy—that referred to.

Did Trevor really cause all this damage?

How was that even possible? He was a chef—and a low-level one at that.

Maybe it was just the ramblings of a drunk.

***

Lily had been having a great time. She’d been eating the best food she’d ever had—so much better than the raw meat of her kills. At this point, she needed to figure out how to keep this boy around. Humans lived such incredibly short lives.