A true dragon's gaze carries an immense weight of dread.
Baron Todd looked up, his crimson eyes filled with terror, entirely stripped of his earlier arrogance. Yet he still struggled to maintain an air of aristocratic composure. Keeping his hands clasped behind his back, he forced his voice to remain steady.
"You are the dragon known as 'Flying Flame,' correct? Might I ask what pressing business brings you to my domain?"
Cassius sensed the fluctuations in the Weave and knew the baron was already shaping a spell. His expression darkened slightly.
"Is this how you treat a guest who has traveled from afar, Baron Todd? With crude spells, rather than noble courtesy and hospitality?"
Realizing his plan had been uncovered, Todd's face turned pale. Hurriedly rummaging through the vials and pouches hidden inside his finery, he produced several bat hairs he had prepared in advance and hastily chanted his spell.
"*Darkness!*"
As the bat fur disintegrated into ash, a dense, pitch-black fog erupted outward with Baron Todd at its center. The magical gloom rapidly expanded into a spherical area fifteen feet in radius, swallowing him whole. Not even creatures with darkvision could pierce this magical obscurity, nor could any nonmagical flame illuminate it; even low-tier illumination spells beneath the second circle were entirely useless.
Cassius merely watched in silence before offering an unhurried compliment.
"A fine spell, Lord Baron. If you were facing ordinary humans, they would surely freeze in terror, left with no choice but to let you quietly drain their blood amid the frightening dark."
His tone abruptly turned frigid.
"Have you forgotten, however, that you are facing a dragon?"
Cassius spun violently, his massive, muscular tail sweeping out with devastating force. The sphere of black mist tore open, roiling and dispersing; it could block out light, but it offered no protection against physical blows. Lurking within the darkness as he prepared his next spell, Baron Todd took the full brunt of the strike.
*Bang!*
He was sent hurtling through the air, crashing down more than ten paces away. Fortunately, Todd possessed a regenerative trait; though the impact had shattered his bones and torn through his flesh, the wounds began knitting back together at a visible rate. Spitting up a mouthful of blood, the baron struggled to reach into his robes and pulled out the dried stomach of an adder.
"*Melf's Acid Arrow!*"
A shimmering green arrow shot toward the red dragon.
"*Shield.*"
With a cold sneer, Cassius willed an invisible barrier into being before him, stopping the hurtling projectile dead in its tracks. The acid arrow burst violently into a corrosive mist, yet Cassius remained completely untouched.
"A spellcaster?!"
Todd stared in horror. A dragon mage—there was no worse nightmare.
Desperation driving his mind, he immediately began weaving another spell.
"*Misty Step!*"
A puff of silvery smoke was all that remained where the baron had stood. Dragging his battered body, he rematerialized dozens of feet away beside the estate's stone wall, where tangled vines hung down in thick braids.
Cassius flapped his wings and advanced with calm deliberation, his voice smooth and untroubled. "Save your strength, Lord Baron. These petty tricks of yours... are not worth mentioning."
Flames ignited deep within the dragon's slitted eyes.
Seeing the red dragon close in, Todd strained his exhausted mind to construct yet another spell model. He yanked down hard on a hanging vine. Miraculously, the other end shot straight into the air until the entire length hung suspended perpendicular to the ground, moored to nothing in the empty sky. In the split second before the dragon's claws could seize him, Todd scrambled up the vine and vanished, the vine disappearing into thin air right behind him.
"*Rope Trick?*" Cassius mused with amused interest.
This spell was renowned as an escape method exclusive to mages, allowing the caster to use a rope-like object to slip into a miniature extradimensional space that lasted for the spell's duration. Neither physical attacks nor spells could pass through the entrance, yet creatures inside could peer out into the world as though looking through a window where the rope had hung. However, the moment the spell ended, everything inside would tumble out.
Huddled within the extradimensional pocket, Baron Todd's pale face was taut with anxiety, terrified that the red dragon might notice something amiss. Had he needed to breathe, he would have been gasping for air.
Outside, Cassius spoke as if to himself.
"An interesting little spell. But as I said before... your parlor tricks mean nothing to me."
As the words left his mouth, a shimmering barrier erupted outward from the red dragon, engulfing the entire courtyard.
"*Globe of Invulnerability!*"
Like a crystal goblet struck by a hammer, the extradimensional space shattered. Baron Todd was ripped from his hiding place and dropped heavily onto the ground.
Staring into the yawning maw of the red dragon, the baron collapsed onto his knees, all his haughtiness vanishing into frantic pleas.
"No, no! Don't kill me! I am the son of Duke Brad, a baron of House Lackman, the Eagle of the North Wind! If you spare my life, my family can give you mountains of gold—far more than you could ever gain by killing me! Great dragon, I... I am willing to submit to you!"
As a wizard, Todd possessed enough worldly knowledge to understand the insatiable greed inherent to red dragons.
Cassius looked down, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I only require you to accept three conditions for our cooperation."
"I accept! I agree to all of them!" Todd blurted out before the dragon could even finish, terrified that this notoriously capricious and brutal beast might reduce him to cinders on a whim. Even if the red dragon before him seemed unusually rational, who could say when its temper might flare?
Cassius gave a slight nod.
"First, I require all of your spell scrolls. Remember—every single one. Consider it compensation for your trespass into the territory of Cinder Nest. This is the prerequisite for our partnership.
"Second, I welcome trade and am even willing to provide you with gold. In exchange, however, I want access to all your goods, including weapons and armor. Hart will serve as the master of this 'friendly trade' caravan.
"Third, I will dispatch a few minions to protect the caravan. Incidentally, they will also be stationed here in Sige Town to ensure your safety—the safety of my dear collaborator."
"Aren't you afraid that I might betray this arrangement?" Todd probed tentatively.
At least on the surface, the dragon's terms seemed relatively lenient; he hoped to use this opening to gain the dragon's trust.
Cassius let out a scornful scoff. "Lord Baron, as I said, we are here to cooperate. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement. Think about it: without trade with Cinder Nest, without gold, and without a capable military, you and your barony are nothing. You are merely an expendable breadbasket, vulnerable to being wiped out by a single northern raid. I believe... you understand exactly what I mean."
The red dragon's pupils flared, burning with an inner, incandescent fire.
Chapter 45