More Bad Luck!
"Then I will begin," said Hemet. "And tell you of the Ice Queen Shards, a treasure of the Mythic class – the highest grade of treasure there is. A treasure that can shape the history of entire worlds!"
"Hopefully, it isn't going to be some world-ending disaster, seems like there's way too much of that going around here already," said John.
"Ah, I do agree on that, my young dragon friend, but this treasure is one that will bring peace. This, I know," said Hemet, and that word, 'peace', something that stood out so sorely against the backdrop of the constant war and conflicts John had been hearing about, made Joh perk up his head.
"For it will-," began Hemet before the ship rocked violently. The normal lights, projected from crystals located in the ceiling, went out for a second, and then blaring red warning signals pulsed from the crystals instead.
"John, my friend, check the third screen!" said Hemet as he leaped into action, sitting in front of the control stone. "Tell me what the readings on the gravity engine say!"
"Got it!" John leaped across the room in one single bound and trained his eyes on the third screen that projected a diagram of the ship and its innards. He narrowed his draconic eyes, his pupils narrowing to thin slits as he focused, which was when he was reminded:
"Uhm, I can't read," said John.
"Ah, is that so? No worries, my friend. Let me see-," said Hemet as the imp kept his cool. He simultaneously pressed sigils on the control stone rapidly while multi-tasking to read details about the gravity engine.
"Well, the engine is highlighted red, so something must be wrong," said John obviously, wanting to try and be at least a little bit of help.
"Indeed. It seems that the flame breath of the fire bats have melted key magiscript circuitry," said Hemet. "The coolants on the engine have failed, meaning this ship is mere minutes from exploding upon itself.
Had the safety systems been in place as they should have, then this disaster would not have crept up on us so suddenly.
Alas this ship is junk."
"Great," groaned John. "Why does literally nothing seem to go right with this damned ship?"
"A fair question," said Hemet. "I had thought dwarven engineering far better than this, but perhaps it is not good to stereotype.
Regardless, we must leave now. I will open the hatch and we will fly out. The treasures from the captain's room – take this with you and get as much as you can."
Hemet tossed his bag of holding to John, and he grabbed it by threading his horn through its drawstring. "You sure? This is basically the only thing on you. If we get separated and you don't have this, you're toast."
"Toast?" asked Hemet. "I am bread?"
"Dead. Burned like toasted bread. It's a figure of speech," said John.
"Ah, the draconic tongue is quite poetic," said Hemet with a smile and a nod. "But no worries, John. Take that bag as a sign of trust. Otherwise, it could be that I have you put all the treasures here, and when we escape, I simply fade away from you with all the loot for my own."
The ship rocked again, and this time, several small explosions blasted through the metal walls of the room. Sparks and small fires started to grow from them.
"Go, my friend. We have little time," said Hemet. "Meanwhile, I will unscrew the Passage Seal in the ship so we may access the Gate we must reach."
John nodded and sped through to the other room, flying and twisting his body so he fit through the narrow corridors. This reminded him that he needed to get a smaller, more humanoid form soon, like the one that Mel wore in his Inner World.
Otherwise, John would stick out sorely in a world full of things that wanted to kill him. Not to mention he kind of wanted to still fit through doors.
In the captain's room, John took everything of value he could smell mana from. He opened up the bag of holding by loosening the drawstring with the tips of his scaled lips, and then tossed things into it with his mouth and his front legs.
First, John threw in the captain's magical sword. Then, his box of mana crystals that stored his idol concert recordings, totally not because he wanted to see the recordings, but because the crystals had mana stored in them.
He also took a pair of robes to wear just in case his human form was inconveniently naked, and he pretty much expected any little inconvenience capable of hitting him to hit him at this point.
Unfortunately, though, that was about it for valuables that had the scent of mana in them.
John tightened the drawstring of the bag, tossed it up, looped his horn through it, and made his way back out.
The hatch was open, howling wind billowing through it, and Hemet stood right outside of it.
"Ready!?" he shouted over the wind.
"Yeah!" said John. "Got the Passage Seal!?"
Hemet smiled, baring needle-like sharp teeth, and raised a circular piece of grey metal carved in with glowing insignia showing a crystal-tipped staff crossed over with a leaf and a horn.
"Alright then, hop on!" said John, for he knew Hemet's wings were cut off.
Hemet leaped onto John's back and said, "To ride a dragon! I am truly privileged!"
"Yeah, well, don't get used to it. It feels pretty uncomfortable," said John as he dashed forwards, through the hatch and into the heights below.
He fanned out his wings, this time expecting the sudden change in wind pressure, and glided downwards in a smooth, controlled descent.
Meanwhile, the Gravship above continued to bellow out a symphony of explosions, until finally, it blew up in a brilliant blue ball of fire. The shockwave of the explosion hit John from the back, but he was ready for it and did not lose his balance.
His grasp of flying had become far better since his first flight. To the point where he could now afford to crane his neck back and look at the explosion.
It looked like a miniature blue sun was hovering in the air, circling rapidly as flares of fire laced with chunks of melted metal and sparks scattered every which way.
Then, the explosion collapsed upon itself, drawing everything inside of it, the metal and flames all compacting into a singularity of molten blue slag that then crumbled into ash.
It was as if the Gravship had never existed in the first place. That was how clean the explosion was.
John looked back at Hemet and realized the imp was looking straight ahead, not giving the explosion a second glance.
"You aren't looking?" said John. "It looks pretty cool, though it would have been a lot cooler if that ship actually stayed intact."
"Heh. Fire and explosions are not my thing," said Hemet.
"Right, you being an ice demon and all," said John.
"Yes…yes you could say that," said Hemet as the imp grew quiet, the normal energy in his voice fading, and John wondered whether something was wrong.
Best to ask later. For now, John wanted to find a good landing spot.
John soared through the air, feeling the winds glide past him, and he felt free. It was totally different from walking on solid earth because you knew you were bound by gravity to the dirt, but up in the air, where he total mastery of where he went, left, right, up, down, he felt freer than ever before.
Especially without pesky fire bats to harass him.
Until John heard the familiar, rapidfire fluttering of bat wings. More fire bats rushing up from below.
"Not again!" John groaned. Did he always have to jinx his bad luck?
"They are here because of-," began Hemet.
"The energy surge. I know. From the ship blowing up." John shook his head and counted the incoming bats.
Only three of them, no big deal, no wait –
The three bats parted, revealing a much, much, bigger bat.
Almost twice their size with flames wreathing the claws on its feet and wings. Its fur seemed to end into curls of flame, making it seem like the bat's fur was almost made of fire.
What did he just say about jinxing his luck!?
John sensed an immediate smell of ash from that one. From the acrid intensity of it, he determined the bat was at the Medial Mystic core grade. A hard fight.
"A firebat matriarch," said Hemet. He stood on John's back, the claws of his feet finding solid purchase on John's back scales. He got his bag of holding from John's horns and reached into it with a hand.
When his hand came out, it was encased in a gauntlet made of ice with a single white crystal embedded on the palm. "But this time, I need not waste time piloting.
I will fight by your side, my friend, and together, we will triumph."