ax_main | Loki and Cal - Yorkland, Day 2

Cal wanders down into Loki's den looking for a kidnapped teenager.

Cal had planned to take it easy, and take a couple of days off from any Slayer's Take missions, but you didn't turn down a job that paid as well as this. Not even if it meant a surefire encounter with the dragon-slash-mage that lived in those caves below the town. The rumors about him varied wildly from one person to the next - most of them said he was male, but even that wasn't a hundred percent - so Cal had very little idea what to expect. A quest, a challenge, a fight? He'd find out soon enough.

It was the first time Cal had heard about him kidnapping someone, and it turned out that he hadn't kidnapped just anyone, but the kid of some of the wealthiest people in town. It might not be easy money, in the end, but it would be a huge sum of money, all the same.

It sucked that Caleb hadn't had any extra fire resistance potion, and Cal had used his for the salamanders, but hopefully it wouldn't come to that. At least he'd had the sleeve of his leather armor repaired from that bit of fun.

But first, he'd try stealth, and see where that took him. He tried to stay quiet as he neared the stairs he had been told led down to the dragon's den. Hopefully the dragon would be too busy with his new - pet? friend? - that he wouldn't be paying attention. Of course, that meant that as Cal focused on whether he heard anything from down below, he missed a step and almost went tumbling down, only just finding his balance. Not exactly discreet, and he stayed still for a few seconds, just listening. Nothing. He resumed his way down the stairs.

A sleek, black cat stepped out of the shadows as Cal reached the base of the steps. There were two tunnels branching out behind the cat and it was unclear which direction it had come from. The cat looked up at Cal, green eyes catching the flicker of light from above.

Its fluffy tail flickered. Then it turned and slunk off down one of the paths.

A cat. Okay. Cal might have thought it was a random cat, if it wasn't for the shine of light in its eyes. It made him pause and notice that they were green. On a black cat. And he was looking for a green and black dragon. There were coincidences, and then there were coincidences. Someone liked their color scheme.

"Hey, buddy," Cal whispered to the cat as he crouched down, shifting his sword in its scabbard so it wouldn't clang against the floor as he did. He bit-n-tugged on the tips of his (brand new) glove and pulled it off, then held his hand out to the cat tentatively. "How's it going?"

He was, of course, on high alert. But that didn't mean he was going to be an asshole to what might really just be a cat. The dragon-mage's cat? Cal had seen weirder things in his short life.

The cat paused and looked back at Cal. It chuffed amusement, confirming this was no natural cat. Clearly he understood Cal’s words. He didn’t come closer. Cal was armed after all. Who knew what other items he might be carrying?

The cat beckoned, tail curling, head inclining, and then continued to head for the tunnel.

"This can only go well," Cal muttered under his breath as he pulled his glove back on. He unsheathed his sword (just in case), and followed the cat down the tunnel, keeping an eye out for anything that might look like a trap, or be perfect for an ambush.

The corridor was completely dark. As Cal stepped forward an orb of light flickered into existence over his head.

Cal looked up at the orb of light, then back at the cat. "Thanks, I guess?" This was becoming weirder by the minute.

The cat stayed just within the edge of the light, blurring in and out of shadow.

The tunnel looked like a cave at first. The ground was dirt and stone with stalactites dangling overhead. As the orb moved deeper with Cal, there was a sheen from the walls. They were unnaturally smooth. An intricate blue mosaic covered each side.

What the fuck was going on? Cal inspected the mosaic for a few seconds, then resumed following the cat. "If you're taking me somewhere to try and eat me, I'm gonna be really pissed," he said, conversationally. Mostly pissed with himself, for following the cat, but what was he gonna do? He didn't think he had any scroll or potion to help him deal with this situation, and while he kept his sword out, he wasn't going to use it on a cat.

Well. Not unprovoked, anyway.

A deep voice chuckled. The sound seemed to come from the end of the tunnel as well as back from where he’d come. “You’re poorly seasoned. I can’t imagine you’d taste spectacular.”

Cal glanced around himself, then settled on facing forward, and pressing on. "Not sure if I should feel insulted."

“How delicate is your ego?” The voice inquired.

This was not getting any less creepy, and there still seemed to be nothing in the hallway ahead, from what little light the orb over his head offered. "It'll weather this blow," he answered without missing a beat.

“Are you a hero?”

The cat was still wandering forward, unperturbed by the conversation.

Now that was a more difficult question to answer. Did Cal really wanna get into it with the disembodied voice of a mage he didn't know, and couldn't trust?

"I get paid for my trouble," he settled on. That wasn't very heroic.

The light above him flickered, then broadened to illuminate the end of the passageway. The path was a dead end. There was a giant grandfather clock against the stone wall.

The cat sat in front of the clock and started grooming its fur, ignoring Cal and the conversation.

“And what trouble did you bring today?”

Cal didn't feel like he was bringing trouble so much as seeking it, but that was probably a question of point of view. "Looking for somebody, that's all. People say a black and green dragon stole Alix Tessmacher this morning."

“Do they,” the voice asked dryly. The question echoed through the corridor.

"Alix's parents would like their kid back," Cal went on. Why had he decided to do this one on his own? This was not the way he had envisioned things going.

“Oh, I’m sure they would.” There was scorn in the tone now.

"You'd never taken anyone before," Cal remarked. He was still on his guard, but he was also very happy to talk, instead of fighting a magic-wielding dragon. "That people know of. Why now?"

The door on the clock swung open forcefully enough that the cat jumped back. With a reproachful glance it leisurely padded into the clock and disappeared from sight.

Cal started, too, on edge as he was, then sighed quietly. "You're a weird conversationalist," he told the empty room, and walked over to the clock to inspect it, and its insides.

The face of the clock was ticking, but there were no internal mechanisms in the body. It was a door leading to yet more darkness. The voice didn’t respond. Cal’s options were to stay where he was alone, turn back, or press onward into the mysterious nothingness.

Cal looked at the orb that had been provided him with light, then back ahead at the impenetrable darkness that lay behind the clock. "Right," he muttered to himself, and then whispered the command word for his sword under his breath. It lit up, and he held it aloft, ahead of him, as he cautiously stepped through the clock.

He probably had a death wish.

The air went cold and darkness wrapped around him. There was a moment where the world seemed to drop out from under Cal’s feet, sending him plummeting, only to stop abruptly. No jarring impact.

One moment he was in freefall, and the next he was in a large cave, well lit by sconces along all the walls. A great beautiful carpet covered most of the stone floor. Elegantly painted screens sectioned off parts of the cave. There was a small table with tea set out, one of the settings recently used and abandoned with a half finished cup in front of it.

Oh. And behind that table was a large black dragon, sitting comfortably in front of a blazing fireplace.

“You’re either determined or reckless,” the dragon commented, in the same voice that greeted Cal on his way in.

"I'm pretty clearly both," Cal pointed out, lowering his sword without sheathing it. He took a few steps forward, glancing around to make sure the dragon was the only potential threat. "Where's the cat gone?"

“Off to avoid tedium. Now that you’re here, and I’ve had a better look at you, it’s safe to say I’m not going to eat you.” He gestured to the table. “But you’ll also not be taking my guest. So unless there’s another bargain you wish to make, help yourself to a cup of tea, and then you can go tell your employer they’ve wasted your time.”

"Guest?" Cal echoed dubiously. "Is that what we're calling prisoners these days?"

“Sometimes we call them family,” the dragon said coolly. “Do you take money from any hand that pays you? Or do you serve mostly the wealthy?”

"The poor can't really pay," Cal pointed out. Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer. It gave him time to think things over, anyway.

“If coin is your only interest.”

"Different question altogether," Cal replied, staying where he was. Whatever else Loki was, he was also a fucking dragon. Cal wasn't coming close if he could help it.

A dragon that reached down with his dexterous tail and plucked up a tea cake. Then ate it delicately. Once the morsel was finished he asked, “Is there anything else you wanted, or just absconding with teenagers?”

"Teenager on teenager? Way less creepy than dragon on teenager, for the record," Cal pointed out. Death wish, seriously, because he added, "I'm not leaving without Alix."

Like fuck he would leave the kid here.

The dragon looked at Cal squarely, fire glimmering in his bright green eyes. “Then you won’t leave. I don’t care how much you were paid. My bargain supersedes any deal you may have made. He is not going back to that house. So settle in, bounty hunter, or go back to your employers and tell them they have no son. No sum of money will drag him back. And I will not treat the next envoy so kindly.”

Cal swallowed when the dragon's eyes seemed to light with green fire. Right, okay. If it was just about the money, this was definitely when he would have turned around and left. He was alone; there was no shame in walking away from a fight with a dragon. And besides, he was supposed to be taking some time off. But this was a kid, and Cal didn't take kindly to abductions.

It didn't mean he was going to pick a straight fight, though. Loki was strongly associated with bargains; Cal could try to work with that.

He looked down dejectedly, then back up at the dragon. "What was the bargain?"

He puffed a small stream of smoke. “I may be a monster, but I respect the privacy of an agreement. The terms of the deal are not for you to know, nor to question.”

So Loki drew the line after abducting kids, but before breaching confidentiality. However that worked. Typical dragon bullshit. Cal sighed. "Fine." Full on death wish it was. He stalked towards the nearest painted screen and called, "Alix! You here?" loud enough for the words to echo throughout the cave.

The dragon's tail smashed down in front of Cal. “You will leave the boy alone,” he annunciated.

Cal jumped back from the tail just in time, and turned back towards the dragon, sword up. "Look, I don't know what kind of fucked up love dungeon you've got going on, but this kid doesn't deserve that." But also, Cal stood no chance, and death wish or not, he needed a better plan than 'go up against Loki on his own', or Alix wouldn't be any better off.

Cal glared up at the impressive beast. "You want me to make a bargain? Fine. What will it take for you to let him go?"

Green eyes narrowed. Then, slowly, the dragon said, “Kill the father.”

Fuck, seriously? Self-sacrifice was way easier than sacrificing someone else. Sure, Tessmacher was a renowned asshole, but that didn't mean Cal would kill him in cold blood.

So that meant his only actual viable option was to leave, and come back with reinforcements. "Fine," he agreed (lied), through gritted teeth. "How the fuck do I get out of here?"

There was a clattering sound. A young man with red hair, distinctly similar to Tessmacher senior, came scrambling into the room. There was a dark bruise shadowing his cheek. It was too small to be the dragon’s doing, and was distinctly similar to the impression of a ring.

“No,” Alix Tessmacher exclaimed. “Don’t kill him.”

"Are you okay?" Cal asked him immediately, keeping the dragon within his field of vision, but now focused on the kid. "Did he hurt you?"

The boy's hand went to his cheek. “Please. Can you just... tell him I wasn’t here?”

The dragon huffed with annoyance. “I’m going to eat the next guy that comes looking. You were supposed to stay hidden.” He settled his tail between Cal and Alix, trying to keep a barrier between them.

Cal completely ignored the dragon - death wish? But then again, if the dragon hadn't eaten him yet, he figured he wouldn't now - and took a few steps along the tail, to walk around it, his gaze on Alix. "Your dad? You don't wanna go back?"

The boy shook his head. His eyes brightened with tears. "Please don't tell them you found me."

"No one is taking you against your will," Loki said, tone more reassuring than threatening. "I'll leave the door shut until you're settled elsewhere."

"So you want to be here?" Cal double-checked, still ignoring the dragon. (Well, his words, anyway. If the beast made a move, Cal's attention would seriously refocus.)

“He promised he’d keep me safe,” the boy explained.

Cal was beginning to get an idea of what was going on here, but like fuck he trusted that dragon. "What'd you bargain for that?"

Alix looked down.

"Hey," Cal said quietly, walking around the dragon's tail, but keeping a small distance from Alix. He didn't want to freak him out. (His priority should've been not to piss Loki off, but again, blatant disregard for his own life.) He stopped a small way away, and waited for Alix to look up at him. "It's okay. I'm on your side. I won't tell them where you are. I just..." He glanced at Loki. "I need to know you're okay here. What'd you bargain?"

“A theater,” he said quietly. Pink colored his cheeks. “I promised that when I come of age… when I come into my grandmother’s inheritance, I’ll open a theater. And I’ll ignore my father. And be who I want to be. With… with who I want to be with.” He peeked up at the dragon. “Also, I think I have to literally say ‘fuck that guy’ when we open the building.”

“Literally,” the dragon agreed. “Verbatim. Really soak it in. Are you satisfied? Can we get back to preparing Alix’s emancipation?” This really would have been easier if killing the old man was on the table.

"...yeah," Cal agreed, after a beat, more confused now than he had been before (which was an impressive feat). What the hell kind of bargain was that?

“Great. I really didn’t feel like killing anyone today. Or turning you into a doormouse. It’s such a hassle.” The dragon sighed.

"I'm glad we spared you that," Cal deadpanned, unimpressed, then sheathed his sword. He looked up at the dragon. "Can I help? I can run interference with his parents, if need be."

The dragon sat back, tail sliding away. “That would be very welcome.”

"How long?" he asked. "And where should I draw their focus?"

“You can confirm he isn’t here. A few days should be enough.” Loki sighed and tapped Alix on the shoulder before he withdrew to his seat in front of the fire. “The nonlethal incentive for his father to drop this is coming.”

"Hey, I'm willing to help, but a few days is... It's a big ask." It would require something a lot more elaborate than Cal had had in mind. It wasn't impossible, per se, but it definitely wouldn't be easy, or even sure to work.

“Just confirm he wasn’t here. There are things at work that should handle the rest.” There was no great reason for having let Cal in, and Alix would have a new home before the next stranger waddled in.

Cal nodded, and turned back to Alix. "You ever need to get in touch with me, you can leave word at the Slayer's Take." In short, he still didn't trust Loki. He gave the guy a small smile. "Here's to hoping you never need to. Good luck."

And with that, he looked around for a way out, since he was hardly going to be able to fly up the way he'd fallen.

A completely new door marked “exit” was behind him. “Safe travels, freelance hero.” The dragon bid.

“Thank you,” Alix followed up earnestly.

Well, that was handy. Cal raised a hand over his shoulder in a sign of goodbye, as he headed for the door.