Ultimate Level 1

“How is he doing?” Tanila asked as Max appeared in the room she was sitting in.

“You didn’t even flinch?”

“I knew you were going to return in a few, and besides, who else would use a purple portal to magically show up in a random tavern in a random town in the dwarf kingdom?”

Nodding, he moved to where she was sitting and leaned over to give her a kiss on her head.

“Rakonath has grown… like doubled in size. All in just two weeks. Aerthen says he might double again in the coming month or two.”

“Really? That quickly? I’m guessing it’s because of what he ate?”

Taking a chair out of his dimensional storage, Max turned it backward and leaned against the chair, as he sat just a few feet from her.

“Yes. I even gave both of them a magical sword I had collected from Igarra. Both of them were excited to eat them, and I learned that dragons have a magical core that grows inside them. It is formed from the creatures and items they eat.”

Tanila had already closed her book and had been holding it on her lap, but now she stored it and retrieved a journal he had seen her writing in occasionally. Next came a pencil, and she jotted down a quick note.

Max shrugged.

“I’m not sure it’s that simple. Aerthen said he needed time to digest what he had eaten. Someone as powerful as Riniya isn’t the normal meal for a dragon, especially one his age. Right now, she isn’t certain how long it will be before she has completely absorbed it. She is worried that if I continue to feed him items and people like her, he will actually suffer.”

“And those cows?” she asked, looking up for a moment from her journal.

“Useful but not as necessary. Which makes me wonder if all those stories I heard as a kid were simply just that… stories. I don’t suppose there were any books you read on dragons back home.”

Shaking her head, Tanila jotted down a few notes and stored her book.

“The ones in my father’s library were nothing more than stories like what you most likely heard. He might have some with facts about dragons, but I don’t have access to a private stash I know he keeps hidden away somewhere.”

Rising to his feet, he stored his chair and held out his hand.

“I’m guessing we need to hurry back to Fowl’s place. We’re supposed to leave in a few hours.”

Taking his hand, Tanila rose and drew close to him.

“You’ve behaved yourself better than I thought. Perhaps I can reward you later once we get to the capital.”

Kissing her deeply for a moment, Max laughed as he looked up into her eyes.

“I should learn to behave more often.”

***

Fowl and his siblings all stood there in a circle, one large dwarven group hug, each of them whispering to each other.

A few yards away was Batrire with her mother and father, doing the same thing, except she was sandwiched between the pair, looking like the force of Jataic’s embrace might crush her.

“Dwarves are a bit… touchier than I imagined,” Cordellia stated as she stood next to Max and Tanila. “I mean… those two couldn’t keep their hands off each other, but most dwarves didn’t show this kind of affection in the city.”

“Family is different,” their mage replied. “You’d be surprised to see how much affection is displayed, especially between the parents and a young dwarf.”

“Like what? Twenty years or less?”

Both women looked at Max, who was grinning.

“That’s the age most elves are still acting like children,” Cordellia muttered. “I have… cousins, you would call them, who used to wear me out, always wanting to play games I had no desire to be part of. Alas I didn’t always have an option to not take part in them.”

“And here I was thinking how great it would be to have that kind of affection,” Tanila said. “Touch was limited after a certain age, and anything that came from that point on was rarely something I desired.”

Max shifted slightly, feeling uncomfortable about the difference between his life growing up and the lives of the two women sharing theirs.

I… I guess I never considered how different all the races really are, even after what I witnessed between the different ones on the other planet. Some were affectionate, others not. Here is the same way.

You are different because of how you were raised. While we could discuss the concept of nature versus nurture, I believe, Max, that you are a product of the love you got at home. When I searched your memories, most of them were filled with a mother who tucked you in every night and told you she loved you. Your father worked beside you, teaching and talking, and rarely did he ever yell at you or have to resort to physical punishment.

Even your sister and you have a relationship I think some might describe as rare. Had you grown up in an environment like Tanila has described… you might have easily given in to the hunger early on.

Do you still believe that everything is chance? That I was given you by chance? All the small things that seem impossible to work out… part of me just can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Caleb had gotten you.

Bob chuckled, and Max knew exactly what his skill thought about that.

He would have killed you… he would have killed everyone he could if given the chance. Of that I have no doubt.

“You there?”

Tanila’s poke caused him to cut off the conversation he was having and nod.

“Sorry, lost in my thoughts on how I want to treat my wife and children. I don’t want there to ever be a day when you or they aren’t 100% certain that I love them.”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Children? As in multiple?” Tanila asked, cocking her head slightly and grinning.

“Dozens!” Max proclaimed, causing Cordellia to start laughing.

“Um… perhaps two or three at most,” their mage got out as she shook her head. “I’m not sure I could do dozens.”

***

As the carriage moved down the road, the walls of Nomgrom began to disappear from sight, Max sat there watching his friend as he stared out the window.

Fowl was rubbing Batrire’s hand and had a small but noticeable smile on his face.

“You okay?”

His dwarven friend nodded.

“Yeah… just grateful for this… for you… for everyone in here. It’s like a dream, and even though I feel like this next part might not go as well as I had hoped, having had those two days with my brothers and sister meant more than I could describe. Getting to laugh with them, eat with them, hear the stories of what has been taking place was a comfort to my soul.”

“It appears they missed you as much as you missed them.”

The hardened warrior bobbed his head, looking over at Batrire, who was breathing quietly. She was asleep from a long night of drinking and late conversations that had worn her out.

“Family… you of all people know the importance of it, Max, and that is why I tell everyone you are my half-brother. It sounds foolish or more of a joke in your world, but to a dwarf, that means something far greater than you might realize.”

“Like what?”

Brown eyes focused on Max as the dwarf chewed on his beard.

“When I marry Batrire, she will become my wife, and her family will become my family. Her entire family, which you only got to meet for a brief moment, will now be as close as blood. If they needed someone to defend them, I would be obligated and happy to do so. Just like blood. Even though they are my half-family, they are still family. Does that make sense?”

“It does,” he replied. “Similar to what we call in-laws, but I think for you much stronger. I’ve told you before as well that I always wanted a brother, especially one that looks up to me.”

Both men chuckled quietly, trying not to wake up the three women who were asleep, all them enjoying the gentle movement of the carriage and the rest from the busy days before.

“Thank you also for when you came up to defend me from my brother back there,” Fowl said after a moment of silence.

“Of course. You’re family.”

“No… it’s more than that. Heldon was a fool… his actions were wrong but also right. Since I was cut off from the family, my being home and the news that was spreading created conflict for them as a whole. My being who I am and their lack of acknowledgment of me puts them in a bad light. He had to come and challenge me. To not do so either means he didn’t honor my mom and dad’s command or that they were okay with me being a liar and causing my family to lose face.”

“Similar to Jataic doing what he did at the alehouse?”

Fowl shook his head and frowned.

“No… her dad was just being a fool.”

Rubbing his head softly, Max tried to mentally note how confusing dwarven family and societal rules might be.

“Uh… how so?”

“He was just a pissed-off father. Batrire left on her own, had the skill given for such an adventure, and I had the skills that complemented hers. No one could blame the pair of us for leaving except him. Did I make matters worse by how quickly I left? Sure… but then again, I was being forced from my home by my parents. With nowhere to live and only a small amount of money I had been storing and saving since the day I knew what I wanted to be, there wasn’t time for me to sit around.”

“And you couldn’t stay in Nomgrom because of all the drama they were causing?”

“Correct,” Fowl stated. “I could have tried, but that wouldn’t have been good in the long term. Every day I was in town made it harder on my brothers and sisters, forced to choose between seeing me in secret or even acknowledging me in public. I… I saw my mother a day after I was kicked out as I walked down a street toward Batrire’s parents’ place. She was on the same side as me, and the moment her eyes met mine, she crossed over and moved to the other sidewalk, not looking at me again. It was that moment I knew I had to go.”

Frowning, Max felt the pain of what his friend was sharing. He could understand just part of it, having had to leave his home suddenly and knowing how hard it had been on his family.

“What Heldon did was required, and what you did… that is what a half-brother does.”

“I’m just glad you were able to convince him to not hurt himself. Had he broken his hand like Jataic had on you… I might have laughed.”

Fowl chuckled softly and nodded, a slight grin appearing behind his beard.

“He thanked me later for stopping him, especially after word reached him about how that had gone for Jataic. Even Motak mentioned how grateful they were that you didn’t take offense or do anything that was within your right as my half-brother.”

“Do you think you could write up a list of what I’m allowed to do or not do?” Max asked. “Or is there a book on dwarven etiquette I can read?”

“Bah, you’ll have to ask Batrire. She’ll know more about books than me. I still make mistakes and pray to Ockrim that I don’t do something stupid when we are in Nalgrun. A lifetime as a dwarf doesn’t mean I know everything.”

“That’s because you don’t pay attention like you should,” Batrire muttered, her eyes still closed as her head shifted on his shoulder. “Still, you’re learning. Even if you deny it, I know you must have put a few points into intelligence.”

Fowl chuckled and squeezed her hand, turning his head till he could kiss hers.

“We’ll we’re hosed then,” Max stated, flashing a grin at his friend. “A dwarf that doesn’t have any ideas on social etiquette in his own capital and a human who has managed to piss off a good chunk of the elven population as well as the nobility. We’re the perfect pair for getting in all sorts of trouble.”

A groan came from their healer as she opened a single eye and glared at him.

“I swear… I’d threaten to shave you bald, but that’s an empty one at best. You two better let me do most of the talking, or we’ll end up in more trouble than I want to think about.”

Fowl shook his head.

“Please… what are they going to do to us? Who can stand against the power of my beard and his bald head?”

Batrire sat up and frowned. Two seconds later, she sucker-punched Fowl in the arm.

“Don’t be stupid. You and I both know the King’s Guard has just as much power as you and I. While I doubt that they could take Max, it would make our life and our family life very difficult if you act like a donkey.”

“The King’s Guard. You mentioned before that Fowl could join them because of his skills.”

Batrire nodded slowly, taking her icy glare off their warrior and sharing it momentarily with Max.

“Yes… and if word gets out that he has those skills, it will make for an interesting time in the capital. Some might be excited about such an opportunity, but if we want to continue in the tower, we’ll have to be smart. Pissing off what many consider the strongest group in the entire three kingdoms isn’t a good move.”

Max frowned and shook his head.

“I thought the Faction teams were the strongest group. I mean, aren’t they?”

“No… she’s right,” Tanila said as she shifted on the seat and sat up. “Even my father knows the rumors and stories of that group. When a dwarf has the power and strength to be part of it and pass a secret test, they leave any Faction they are part of and join.”

“So if he was forced to join?” Max asked.

“I’d have to leave you all,” Fowl replied.

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