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Book 3: Chapter 38: Water Cranes

The dragon whipped around so quickly that Arthur had to duck to keep his head from getting knocked off by his large tail.

It only took a moment for Laird to see that there was no threat – the final room was indeed empty except for the cards along the wall.

Then he turned to Arthur, eyes narrowed in displeasure.

“You said that I was to be the first out of your Personal Space.” He eyed Brixaby meaningfully.

Ah… whoops. In all the excitement, Arthur had forgotten about that little detail.

Brixaby swelled up in indignation. Before Arthur could get a word in, the little dragon buzzed right up in Laird’s face, above the muzzle and between his eyes. “Arthur is my rider. Of course he sought me out instantly on arrival. We are a partnership, and half his cards wouldn’t even work correctly without me!”

“Not half my cards…” Arthur started, feeling a little sidelined.

Laird, however, coughed out a laugh that had a burst of hot air behind it. The sudden change in air pressure sent Brixaby tumbling back, but with a blur of wings, he regained his spot, looking murderous.

“I suppose I should just take it on good faith you two didn’t… peruse the combat cards before setting me free.” Laird’s voice practically dripped with sarcasm.

Arthur kept his expression as bland as he could, though he let a little exasperation leak into his voice. “I’m a man of my word.”

“Man? You are still a pup, half-grown. Though…” Laird took another look around the room, then the shelves which didn’t look picked clean, “I suppose your little trick to get us in here has worked.”

“I’ve held up my half of the bargain,” Arthur lied, “It’s time to hold up yours.”

The dragon turned a hard glare at him. But it only lasted a moment.

“Spoken like a true Legendary rider. Even if,” he glanced at Brixaby, “still one with much learning to do.”

Then he pulled out his rune net from his extra-dimensional space.

Laird's space wasn’t nearly as large as Arthur and Brixaby’s. But the addition of the net made all the difference.

He made a motion of dipping his clawed hand in and out as if he were scooping out water from a bucket. But with each motion, Cressida, and Joy appeared.

That had been the final terms that had won Laird over – Arthur and Brixaby wouldn’t get Cressida and Joy back until Laird was released from Arthur’s Personal Space, first. Aside from Brixaby, they were the smallest dragons and only just able to fit in his net. Seeing them, Arthur removed Shadow from his Personal Space. The two dragons had been a tight fit.

“It worked.” Shadow looked around, seeming stunned. “I didn’t allow myself to think it would…”

“Because you’re a pessimist, my friend,” Laird rumbled.

“But where are the cards?” Joy stretched her neck to look around, then made a loud gasp when she spotted the far wall. “Oh! I didn’t see over your back. There they are. Let’s take a look. Why are we all standing here? Let’s get our cards.”

“All the cards,” Brixaby said, eager and enthusiastic as if he hadn’t seen them before.

The two dragons took off to the shelves.

"Wait." Laird slammed a large foot in front of Joy. It was effectively like planting a tree in front of her. She skittered to a stop.

The old Joy might have looked shocked, or more likely, tried to instantly make better friends with Laird. Joy, as she was now, went from excited to angry, lips pulled back over green-tinged fangs. She flexed her still unsheathed green forearm, but at Cressida's quiet word, she didn't attack.

For his part, Laird looked at Joy with interest but no overall concern. Arthur got the impression that this was a test for her as much as it was Laird throwing his weight around.

"I will not allow a free-for-all where we stuff in the first combat card that we see," Laird said.

"You aren't in charge," Brixaby snapped, but then added, "But yes, we will choose our new cards carefully. Then Arthur and I will give away the rest to those willing to fight, as we all agreed on."

"I don't see any problems then," Laird said, with a smile full of fangs.

Tired of watching the dragons fight for the top of the hierarchy, Arthur pushed past them all and strode, deliberately, to the far wall of cards.

Cressida gave him a concerned look, but quickly matched stride to join him. With a smug glance Laird's way, Brixaby flew beside Arthur.

Arthur carefully controlled his expression to look alert and very interested in the cards, as if this were the first time he was setting eyes on them. Thankfully, the wall was rather wide — built on the scale of dragons, no doubt, and it allowed everybody to get a good place for viewing.

"Oh, there are so many," Joy burbled happily. "I was worried when I only saw this one wall's worth of shelves, but there are so many types of cards. Cressida, how do we decide?"

"I would suggest carefully," Laird rumbled. "Choose something that would complement your existing cards."

Joy thought about it for a moment, then she shook her head. "No way. It would be super boring if everything revolved around my poison claws, or my quest powers — not that I know how that would happen— but I think it would be more fun to be like a bag of random tricks. Don't you?"

Laird gave her a dismissive look, and without an answer, plucked a card from the top shelf. One Arthur hadn't seen it before.

"What's that?" he asked.

Laird glanced at him, and Arthur wondered if he was going to answer at all. Then the dragon said, "A Common card meant to help me control the temperature of the flame." He glanced at Joy. "It will complement my existing cards nicely."

Arthur tried—and failed—to keep a sense of dismay off his face. Had he seen that before, he would have considered it a top contender for Cressida's powerset.

"Arthur," Cressida said, turning to him with a card in her hands. "What do you think of this?"

She held up the card that he had been hoping she would pick: Ember Rain. He tried not to feel too smug.

"I think that would be perfect for you," he said, honestly, "You're not going for… uh, a random bag of tricks like Joy?"

"Someone has to be the traditionalist here," she said with a light laugh.

"No way, Cressida. Don’t pick that. I found the perfect card for you." Abruptly, Joy barged in, practically dancing from foot to foot in excitement. "And it's one of the few Rare cards, too." She paused. "One of the rare, Rare cards?"

Cressida ignored the wordplay. "What is it?"

Proudly, Joy displayed the card. It was an intricately etched card with the outline of elegant cranes flitting around the back of the card, some spearing fish in inky water, and others dueling with pointed beaks. As this was a Rare card, the movement of the pictures was intricate and beautiful. One crane stabbed the other, and the second exploded into... were those water droplets?

"Water Cranes?" Cressida asked.

"Yes," Joy said, nodding. "The ability to summon cranes made of water. That goes perfectly with your flame bears! Ohh, can I name one? Like how you named Whicker?"

"Is this card in the same set as your flame bear summons?" Arthur asked.

It would be an incredible stroke of good luck, though… maybe not considering Arthur and Brixaby had just gained a point to their temporary luck stat. Maybe Cressida would be the one to benefit, considering she was their retinue rider.

But his hopes were dashed a moment later as she shook her head. “No, the cards in my flame bear set are well documented. They’re all different flame summons. This is just a similar card, except it’s water.”

Brixaby buzzed to Arthur’s shoulder to get a closer look. “Cranes? Why aren’t they sharks? Sharks are much fiercer.”

“Sharks can’t swim through the air, silly,” Joy said. “Cranes can fly.”

“Yes, but cranes are not made of water—”

Ignoring the dragon’s bickering, Arthur watched Cressida. She held each card in her hand, biting her lower lip. He wished dearly he could tell her that he’d already picked out a card – and a good one at that. But not now with Laird and Shadow so close.

Finally, Cressida said, “I’ll take the Cranes.”

“Yay!” Joy cried.

Brixaby groaned.

“It’ll compliment your flame bears well,” Arthur said. “Brix? Joy? Have you found one for yourself yet?”

“Sure have!” Joy said.

“Wait, really?” Arthur was a little taken aback, surprised that she was able to find two cards in such a short period.

Brixaby looked startled too and quickly flitted back to the shelves.

Joy proudly showed her card:

Strike Where They’re Going to Be…

Common

Meta

The wielder of this card will intuitively grasp the flow of a single combatant while in battle. This passive ability will enable the wielder to anticipate movements and intentions and strike at the optimal time.

“I can’t use it now, of course,” Joy said easily, “But I think it will be nifty when my core stabilizes. I’ll be able to poison scourgelings so much more easily!” she held up her green claws as if in triumph.

“Not exactly a surprise – a meta dragon choosing a meta card,” Laird said, around a yawn.

In answer, Joy turned and stuck out her forked tongue at the other dragon. He chuffed.

Brixaby, meanwhile, roared out, “I have found the perfect match!”

He buzzed down, a card clutched in his claws. He pushed it at Arthur.

Night-Mare Fire

Uncommon

Illusion

Upon activation, an illusion of flames will grow outward from the length of the spine. While the illusionary night-mare effect is active, any sentient being the wielder touches will experience a vision of their deepest terror. This card uses mana.

“You… really want this card?” Arthur asked, unsure. He’d seen a dozen or so other cards with more potential than this. Also, while it didn’t say so, he had the feeling that the mana cost would be high. That was usually the case with illusion-type cards.

Finally, he wasn’t impressed with the horse-type name-play and was surprised that Brixaby would lower himself to that kind of joke.

But Brixaby’s red eyes glinted. “I’m certain.”

His dragon had something in mind. Deciding to trust him, Arthur gave him the card.

“It seems, Arthur, you are the last to choose,” Laird said.

“What about Shadow?”

The riderless dragon had slunk back away from the library so smoothly that Arthur didn’t realize he’d stepped away until that moment.

“I’ve chosen,” Shadow said and didn’t volunteer anything else.

“I’m surprised you haven’t picked a card – or two – by now.” Laird watched Arthur closely as if seeking a deception.

Arthur shrugged easily. “I wanted to get my dragon and retinue rider settled first.”

“Hmm. Well, if you allow me to make a suggestion…” Laird reached to the top shelf which was much higher than Arthur could view without a ladder.

If Arthur wasn’t focused on his own deception and watching Laird for signs he’d figured it out, he might not have caught the sleight of hand.

Laird acted like he pulled a card from the shelf, but for a split second, the tips of his claws disappeared in thin air.

He withdrew a card.

“This might synergize well with your current deck,” Laird continued.

20 Point Spree

Uncommon

Body Enhancement

The wielder of this card can use a once in a 24-hour boon to temporarily increase their base attribute by twenty points. This effect lasts ten minutes. Afterward, the chosen attribute is reduced by 50% for one hour.