Chương 105: 2-3 Grumpy helper

The next time Josef opened his eyes, he came face to face with the slitted eyes of a predator looking down on him. Squinting his eyes, he rubbed the remainder of his sleep out of them.

"Bezzo? You're back! Where have you been?" The reptile huffed at him.

"Took your sweet time to wake up. Just what herbs did grandma put you on?"

"She didn't-""Nevermind, this is for you." Josef's denial died on his lips as Bezzo plunked a heavy satchel down on his stomach. The metallic clink of coins was audible from within.

"I figured you wanted to avoid the black market for as long as possible, so I took the liberty of selling our magic cores and the surplus gear we picked up. Could've also had those boss gems looked at, but I have no idea where you stashed them." Right, he had never explained his hoard skill to him, had he?

"Thanks, but it's fine. I wanted to look into analyzing those on my own, anyway." He still had that gadget from Aifreed, which the elf had used with the core they gained from that filth elemental boss, but never finished because of his incapacitation.

"Damn, that's a lot of money," he couldn't help but exclaim after taking a quick look inside."

"That's because I've only taken my share of the whole. You can figure out how to split the rest on your own." Then Bezzo continued plainly, like reciting a shopping list.

"I also made sure the guild got all the tokens we looted on the way without knowing they came from us. We can't ask for compensation for our efforts like that, but the guild should be stretched thin enough as it is."

"Sounds like you were keeping busy, but you didn't have to-" Josef began, only for the reptile to cut him off once more.

"Do it all on my own? What, were you going to come along and show our face all over Highsend, now that half the town wants to get their hands on you?" His words held an exasperated admonishment.

"Don't be stupid." Josef could only lower his gaze and surrender.

"You're right. Sorry." It made him feel the weight of his recuperation, having to sit around while others either waited for him or got shit done.

"It's fine, I'm used to it." Bezzo's voice carried a bitter undertone.

"With a brother like this, I always needed to be responsible for the two of us."

"Do you resent him for that?" The unexpected question hit the reptile like a slap. For Josef, it felt like a legitimate concern, having too much responsibility pushed on someone at a young age. However, society on Aurum could see these things differently. Seconds passed in silent contemplation as the lizard looked at his older brother with sadness in his eyes.

"No. I just wish things had gone differently. For both our sakes." His words had faded into nary a whisper by the end. Before Josef could muster an answer, Bezzo suddenly chucked something else at him. Turning it over in his hand, it looked like a chicken egg-sized ruby with glowing red swirls within. It was beautiful and radiated an almost unpleasant level of heat. Even without knowing what exactly it was, he understood that the gem was likely very expensive.

"Enough of that. Take this crystallized fire and don't lose it. This little thing should help heat my brother up. At least it did the last time," he looked down at Zippa's pale form with uncertainty.

"But it's probably better to wait until after you remove that white mana from him. We can't afford to waste that gem."

"So this will literally reignite him?" Josef mused.

"I'll make sure it won't go to waste then. If you're handing me this, I guess you'll be heading out again?" Bezzo nodded.

"We can't all just lie around all day. I've got stuff to do, so don't expect me back soon." He sounded very nonchalant about it, but his eyes wouldn't meet the human's.

"Stuff, huh?" He was obviously holding something back. Least of all, because Bezzo wasn't one to leave his brother's side for long. That much had become very certain in the time they had known each other.

"Fine, lizard man. Keep your secrets. Just come back safe, or I'll have Zippa hunt you down."

"I will." Without further ado, the reptile turned around and ascended the stairs out of the basement, only to stop near the top.

"By the way, someone at the black market was very insistent on sending you a gift. They told me that you should take better care of this one. I added it to the coins." Before he was even fully out of the room, Josef was already digging through the coins, his hands closing around a familiar wooden plaque.

"How did he know?" He pulled out a token identical to the last one he had gotten from Vasaj. Something that would help hide his face from strangers. An effect that was very convenient now that people were actually looking for him. But would it still make him look like some indistinct elf once he grew scales on his face? For that matter, did this one make him look different from the last? Josef didn't like that. That old elf knew too much about him, and he knew too little in turn.

Still, it was better than not having a way to disguise himself, so he'd hold on to it for now. Just as he was about to tuck the token away, though, a scaly hand clamped around his wrist, stopping him. Onyx, glaring at the object with disdain in his eyes, snatched it up.

"Since when are you working for that elf?" It sounded less like a question and more like a threat.

"I don't. He recognized me as a Drake when we went to the black market to identify a gem. He wormed himself into our business afterwards. Gifts with obvious expectations and all that," Josef sighed tiredly. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"You mustn't trust him or his help," the wyrm sounded grim.

"Sounds like you know some things about him?" A rumbling growl rose from Onyx's throat.

"Too little, but none of it any good. I've met him before when he brokered a deal with the bishop." He spat in disgust after mentioning that elf. It didn't even surprise Josef that Vasaj had something going on with them. If the elf was as focused on gaining power as he appeared, then playing all sides would provide the most opportunities.

"What was it about?"

"He approached Sanctum about buying the remains of those who died under its care." Josef caught the implication.

"He knew they were killing people, and reached out on his own?" The wyrm nodded.

"Just why would he buy corpses? Aside from how vile that is, there can't be any money in it, right?" Onyx, however, showed him the depth of his naivety.

"The pens," he said, as if that explained everything.

"It's how the slavers' district is often called. You know, that place nestled next to the harbor, at the bottom of the castle's cliffs." He recalled one of his early lessons on the city's layout, before Dizzy and Zassa had allowed him to venture out on his own. None of them liked that place, but especially Cana had reacted badly.

"I…" he swallowed.

"Do I even want to know what use they'd have for… that?"

"Food," his worst expectation was put into one word.

"The unclean tribes relish in embracing their forbidden urges."

"Wait, they're cannibals? I thought they'd…" The reptile gave a dark, humorless laugh.

"Feed them to their slaves? Like they'd waste a single extra coin on those. No, these vermin pay a lot to indulge in their desires. Besides, it's not cannibalism unless they eat their own kind." Josef felt like throwing up.

"Those were living, thinking people. That's… that's just wrong."

"Feel free to go over and tell them your opinion. I'm sure that will go well." Then, in renewed seriousness, Onyx continued, "So keep away from Vasaj. If you think this is bad, remember that he deals with this and worse, while wearing a smile on his face. Not even dungeons produce monsters like that."

"I know. He just makes it hard to deny his help when it always comes with convenient timings," he went through a brief explanation of how Vasaj had funded and secretly helped their own foray into the dungeon to save Cana.

"I honestly just don't know how to handle the bastard."

"You don't," the advice sounded absolute.

"Whatever ideas you can come up with to outmaneuver him, he'll have seen them a dozen times over, while doing worse to others. There's only one way to deal with that." A questioning frown was etched into Josef's face, and he looked at Onyx for further explanation. The wyrm crushed the token in his grip, threw the remains on the floor and ground them into the stone beneath.

"By not dealing with him at all. Burn all bridges and stay away from him."

"I doubt he'll accept that." Josef looked at the floor with some heartbreak. There went the easy way to hide his identity. Suddenly, he understood just how easily Vasaj had sunk his teeth into him. It only took one well-picked gift to create a dependence that would have him come back despite his feelings on the matter.

"He'll try to worm his way back under your scales. But if you remain steadfast, he will eventually have to give up. By that point, you must be ready to crush him, or he will end you." Kill the elf before he could kill him in turn. Josef had a sinking feeling that it would really come to that, should he try to cut Vasaj wholly out of his life. After all, he himself had explained the weight of a Drake's existence, the doors his status could open.

If that kind of power stood in the way of his ambitions, how else would he react?

"I understand." He did, even if he didn't like it. But that's what many of his decisions had come to lately. He hoped things wouldn't escalate that far, but it was best to prepare for the worst.

"Thank you, Onyx. Seriously." The wyrm turned away with a scoff.

"Like I could watch you get played by that slimy worm. You'd bring shame to all Drakes."

"No worries." Josef shook his head in quiet disbelief at the reptile's shift in demeanor.

"I don't need that guy to accomplish that." An angry glare met a playful grin, and they both remained locked into a staring contest for several seconds. Josef was the first to break the silence, settling his smile into something more serious.

"That's why… I'd like to ask for your help. I have no idea what I'm doing, really. Both as a Drake and as a fighter."

"You ask a wyrm on matters of being a Drake?" Onyx's voice was strained with something he couldn't identify.

"Did you forget that I'm a failure?"

"A failure couldn't leave my imprint in a wall with a single strike," he laughed, as a vivid memory of the impact flashed through his mind.

"Sure, I had plenty of plans on how I could have hung on and fought back. But if we're being honest, I never had a real chance to beat you, if it wasn't for our own positions interfering. Besides, I don't trust the decisions of those dragons. They must've been wrong about you."

"Don't say that! They'll…" For once, it was the wyrm who was shaken. His fists clenched so tightly, Josef expected him to draw blood.

"I'm not gonna brown-nose them after what was done to me. Or to you. I'll cuss those stupid lizards out as much as I want." For a second, he thought Lapis would scream into his ear, outraged by his words. Fortunately, the dragoness appeared to still be recovering from her latest expenditure. Onyx looked like he had genuinely paled from his words, but Josef didn't take them back, putting all his defiance in his gaze as he stared up at the reptile. Eventually, the former Drake nodded.

"Fine, have it your way. But don't ask me to pamper you. If you start crying, I will call this off." Seeing the human's triumphant smile, he added, "Hurry up with your recovery. I can't wait to beat you up." Josef swallowed concernedly.

"About that, I wanted to ask if you have experience with domains? Mine's fucked up and fixing it would probably help me recover." He was sure that Onyx must have had one of his own, at least while his heartstone was still in one piece. In his opinion, the insights of another 'mortal' would be worth more than the condescending drip-feed he could expect from the dragoness.

"Great, starting right with the complicated shit. I taught myself, so don't expect any miracles." He silently cheered at the reptile's proclamation. Those were exactly the kind of insights he had hoped for.

"So, should I call you teacher from now on?" he teased.

"Do that, and I will walk out and never come back." Onyx growled, sounding entirely too serious.

"And bring out your stupid board-game. This will take a while to explain. Wouldn't want you to fall asleep halfway through."

"Fine by me, you big grump." In Josef's heart, the ultimate victory had already been secured. Eventually, they all fell to the allure of checkers.