Dracopical Isles: Rise of the Underground

Chapter 16

"Son of Medusa!" Emeraldus snarls upon pacing around the tower room. "Now that we got a human hunter on our tracks, not even here is safe!"
Watching his boss spit curses back and forth, Slim's frown deepens.
Now that Allister knows where Emeraldus is nesting, there could only be a big, red target on their backs. If there's one thing you do not want the enemy to know above all else, it's where you live.
As he proceeds to grumble, Emeraldus busies himself collecting stuff off his shelves and putting them in boxes. He shoves each, as they're filled, into a corner, before commencing onto the next one when all available space is taken. Just simply looking at this and it's not too much of a stretch to assume - Emeraldus is moving out. The green Sorcerant orders Slim to do some packing as well, but with the less fragile accessories.
"Ya sure we need to fly the coop, Boss? So soon?" Slim asks upon moving a bag of herbs.
"Of course I am," Emeraldus growls, carrying a rolled up rug. "I am a single father of three, my mate is gone, I'm being hunted, I'm busy with a project.. I am not risking a stupid human's desire to turn me into a mantelpiece!"
Slim flinches at his master's earnest tone. Emeraldus sure sounds serious about this, and by the reasons he gave, it's fairly sensible to be.
"Wh-where will we go then, Boss?" Slim asks with a slight stutter.
In response, the green Sorcerant hands the Alchemy another box to fill, "I will find it. Stay here and keep packing." Before turning to leave the tower immediately.
Taken a little by surprise, Slim is left gaping as Emeraldus kicks out into the air without another word. Not being given time to properly react, Slim pauses a moment to digest his new orders. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he stares down at the empty box in his grasp.
"Erm… Right Boss,"
Trying his best to be careful, Slim grabs more things to pack away. To be on the safe side, he continues with the less fragile things until there's nothing more to take. By afternoon, the tower appears to be nothing more than just a storage room full of boxes and bags. Just about everything has been packed up.
Now what?
Out of a mix of boredom and curiosity, Slim goes over to the fireplace to peek inside the cauldron containing Emeraldus' eggs. They still look fairly healthy - sparkling and smooth. The gem that is embedded onto each shell continues to glimmer like pure crystal, though with a slight tint of color now.
After a while, Sorcerant eggs will have their gems change color to match the magical abilities of the offspring. One can predict what magic type the hatchling(s) will be just by the gem alone. Sorcerants can inherit a number of different abilities - most common being fire, lightning, water, and ice. Some may even have more than one. The gems will turn red, yellow, blue, and/ or cyan respectively. Though something seems a bit off about Emeraldus' eggs.
By the conditions of the egg shell, the developing offspring should be healthy, but the color of their gems seems to speak of something abnormal…
Instead of one of the traditional colors, the gems seem to be of a duller shade, perhaps almost colorless. One gem has a tint of white, another silver, and the last black. Unless that happens before the official color sets in, this is a little worrying.
Looking over both shoulders, Slim makes sure Emeraldus isn't just returning before gingerly grabbing an egg out of the cauldron - the one with the blackening gem. Now able to get a closer look, it further confirms the suspicion - the gem is indeed turning black. What does the gem do if the offspring dies? Or is about to die? Do they lose their color? Alchemy eggs become pale and flakey when they die, so how is it for Sorcerants?
Oh man, Emeraldus would completely lose his mind if his children pass away. The only bit of hope Slim has, however, is that the eggs otherwise appear to be in good condition. Whatever is going on, it's possibly got something to do with the offspring's magic, if anything. Hopefully not life threatening.
Slim gently puts the egg back.

A couple hours pass and finally the likes of Emeraldus return to the tower. He is still wearing the same sharp gaze he left with upon landing inside. He found nothing so far that could fit all his things, but there's still plenty of land to visit. If anything, he should move somewhere that's outside of the Sorcerant neighborhood. An idea like that could throw the humans off significantly, and make finding Emeraldus again take a lot longer - that is, if they're that desperate.
Slim, who had decided to take a break, is now fast asleep in his room, completely oblivious to his master's return. Luckily for him though, Emeraldus is much more interested in further cleaning to bother with him.
All the hurry empties the tower by nightfall. By now, everything is either in a box, a bag, or shoved into a corner. Emeraldus even moved his nest more towards the entrance of the tower, as if to guard his things now that they're all ready to be carried out. Though, only one thing seems to be a bit more of a challenge to decide. Should he hide his eggs? He can't leave them over the fireplace overnight.. and his paranoia makes him fear that if he kept them in the nest with him like usual, they'd suddenly disappear when he wakes. Although the chances of that happening are next to none, can you really blame Emeraldus at a time like this? His eggs are the most important to keep safe out of everything else. He just can't afford to lose them under any circumstances. Them, and maybe Midna's body, but his unborn children are indescribably precious compared to herbs and magic equipment.

Unfortunately the anxiety kept Emeraldus up past midnight and eventually he ended up falling asleep before he could make a decision.
Later that morning, by the time Slim wakes to peer out of his room, the green Sorcerant is seen sitting, hunched over, crown of head resting on the floor with eggs sprawled between his forelegs. He didn't even make it back to the nest.
Upon noticing his master in a rather awkward sleeping condition, Slim purses his lips in an expression of slight embarrassment. Not wanting to disturb his master, the Alchemy gingerly tries to close the door to his room again. Though as soon as the knob clicks into place, Emeraldus' eyes snap open like popcorn kernels.
"Sweet mother of..!" He exclaims, quickly coming back to his senses and lifting his head off the floor. The startle makes his forelimbs scramble for a second, causing the eggs to roll a few inches away from underneath him. Next second, he immediately gathers all three, counting each to make sure none are missing.
After realizing that everything is still okay, Emeraldus releases a huge sigh of relief.

Just as quickly as before, Emeraldus takes off in search of a new expanse of territory to move into, while Slim is left behind for supervision. The Alchemy is left with some fresh prey to feed on whenever he gets hungry, so he won't have to leave on his own again. For all Emeraldus is aware of, Slim probably just got lucky last time to have found his master and survive the circumstances.
After some assistance from a few of the other neighboring Sorcerants, Emeraldus is directed to a portion of nearby mountains. Close to the sea coast and protected by jutting rocks, an empty cave resides. The neighboring Sorcerants say its former owner hasn't been seen in months and it just might serve well. Quickly, a small patrol is sent over to investigate with Emeraldus to make sure all is clear and fit for moving in. Aside from a few dry skeleton remains and old, rotted nesting material, the cave is fairly vacant. It will do.
Some of the Sorcerants even offer to help move stuff in - anything for a neighbor in need. Emeraldus is pleased to have a few more helping hands, though he makes sure to keep Slim hidden from the neighbors so no awkward questions may be asked about the Alchemy dragon. Since Slim has put quite a bit of work into packing, might as well reward him with a day off, plus he's still got a bit to wait before he'll be able to fly again.
Eventually, all is emptied from the tower and into the cave, though setting every single thing back up again in this new place can be done later. Emeraldus only unpacks the most important of his things.
After thanking the other Sorcerants for their help, it is then just he and Slim again.
Gaping at all the new space and having a genuine sense of home himself, Slim feels rather content. "It is a good choice, Boss. Looks like home to me."
Emeraldus only sneers slightly in return - figures for an Alchemy to say.
It isn't too difficult to find a new spot for his nest and eggs. Small cubbies tucked into numerous corners serve as decent hiding spaces. Even Slim gets his own personal hideaway. Though due to there being no pre-furnished fireplace, Emeraldus has to make a new one. Collecting wood from outside and grouping together a few stones, he makes a doable fireplace for the time being. Ingredients for brewing are left in their boxes and shoved nearby.
At the end of the day, the cave is as Slim had described it - a good choice.