Dracopical Isles: Rise of the Underground

Chapter 4

Slim's words kick up suspicion in Emeraldus. So this Alchemy knows about what happened to Midna? Why is that? Thinking over everything he had said: the lady Sorcerant and her "not being alive", wondering if he deserved "this", and the supposed "plan", there is really no other explanation - he was there. No doubt about it, he will have answers. Nostrils flaring and pupils turning to diamonds, Emeraldus proceeds to stalk the lone Alchemy. 
Slim continues on his trudge, still carrying on the solo conversation, though now more disheartened. "Woohoo, look at me," He says sarcastically, eyes glued to the ground ahead of him. "I'm a rich and powerful Alchemy dragon. I can make silver and gold out of dirt, and I can make monsters out of an ant and a shrew. I am a stuck up meanie who cannot do anything good or right." Ranting on about how displeased he is with his race, Slim's mood just falls further and further. There couldn't be anything worse than being the unwanted outcast, of not just your neighbors, but your own kind. No other emotion fits the picture, and there are no more words to describe it. Heaving a heavy sigh, Slim lowers himself to the ground, his sorrowful head resting on his forelimbs. The sullen state of his mind has drained the life out of his muscles, and suddenly he loses the strength to walk any further. He might as well just give up at this point. 
"Well Slim," He sighs. "I suppose this is how it is supposed to go for us.. yes? Nobody likes the Alchemy dragon, and no Alchemy dragon likes Slim…" Shaking his head in downcast disappointment, "What a load of Bull dragon crud…"
Quiet steps draw closer to the miserable Alchemy from behind. Emeraldus slowly emerges from the surrounding brush, creeping up upon Slim like a panther in the shadows. Now is the perfect time to get some answers.
Slim doesn't stir an inch as Emeraldus gets close enough to tower over his resting frame. As if to get his attention, Emeraldus snorts an audible puff of breath as he proceeds to eye Slim with his suspicious expression. With a slow turn of the head, Slim looks up over his shoulder at the big, green dragon. Heart leaping up into his throat so fast he could've sworn it had stopped for a moment, he yelps at the sight of Midna's mate being no more than an inch or two away from him. Being such a sudden fright, Slim's muscles all lock into place, refusing to move. For a split second, instinct takes hold of him and a brief reflex of firebreath hiccups in his throat. Had Emeraldus heard him talking, he wonders? If so, how much of it? Just as his muscles all froze, so did Slim's voice. Nothing but a pathetic wheeze comes out of his mouth when it opens. 
Not even flinching, Emeraldus rests a claw-pointed hand on Slim's back to hold him where he is.
"So," He begins, brows furrowed sternly and nostrils dilated. "Tell me everything that you know, little Alchemy." 
Taken from these words, Emeraldus probably heard most, if not all, of Slim's talking. A strained gulp forces its way down his throat and a tiny croak of a voice finally comes out.
"Um, I uh.. erm…" His thoughts are moving too fast for his tongue - the adrenaline in his veins is urging his brain into overdrive. Where does he even begin to explain? Scrambling hard like a hamster on its wheel, he seems to be going nowhere besides the very first sentence that just so happened to come to mind in his defense: "Tell about what..?" 
Lowering his head so that they're staring nose to nose, Emeraldus growls. His hand weighs down a little heavier upon Slim's back in a threatening squeeze. "About this 'lady Sorcerant', how do you know about her?" The words make Slim's heart drop. A dewy sweat breaks out upon his forehead like a cold water bottle left out in the sun. "Why was she taken by the humans?"
With all that's going on in his head at once, Slim's only apparent option is to speak flying by the seat of his pants. He's gotta think fast, as his life could be on the line with Midna's mate. Sure, he thought about giving up, but not like this.
"Er, look man, I dunno nothing about no 'lady Sorcerant'," Was Slim's reply, a slight voice crack exposing his utter anxiety. Emeraldus curls his lip to expose sharp fangs which makes Slim chuckle nervously following.
"Then would you mind explaining what all that chatter was about?" 
So Emeraldus believes that it was the humans who were responsible? Good, but still, how to talk about it without risking the truth?
Back to organizing his words on where to begin, Slim tries his hardest to piece together a little excuse.
"Oh th-that was just uh.. uh…" A stutter accompanies Slim's reply. "Just a 'ch-charity' thing for the hu-humans, yes.!" 
This may or may not have sounded convincing, but putting emphasis on 'charity' hopes to offer a little. Literally anything besides the truth could be a potential life saver in this situation - according to Slim's fearful, spinning brain.
"Funny," Emeraldus lifts a suspicious brow. "What I heard was this 'Slim' being 'bait', 'her' mate going to wreck the 'humans', fishing out a different 'plan', and that 'she' would still be 'alive' if this 'Slim' had kept his mouth shut." He puts emphasis on a number of different keywords in order to potentially hit any weak spots in the Alchemy dragon's explaining - hoping to get as much truth as possible and making excuses more difficult.
Nothing but a forced grin stretches across Slim's face as if trying to get on Emeraldus' good side.
"L-look boss, I-I was bait for her. Someone d-dropped a tree on me a-and left me there while I called for help," He says, a bead of sweat trickling down his temple. "The l-lady came to try and help but the guys who d-dropped the tree on me roped her up! I swear on the ancestors..!"
Emeraldus continues to eye him sternly. "And who are these.. 'guys'?"
Biting his tongue for a moment, Slim takes a bit longer to respond. When he finally does open his mouth, the words come at a slower pace. "It was this criminal guild who got her, these humans I was talking about." He gulps hoping to have sounded at least slightly credible.
Emeraldus does not exert any more pressure upon his back, though he lifts a brow. "That's a strange excuse for an Alchemy that just got kicked out of his ring." Hinting at what Slim had said a little earlier during his rant, Emeraldus hopes he hit a weak spot.
"The guys didn't want me to tell you where she was. You know how bad a rep we Alchemies have - they was just worried I was gonna get them in trouble with ya, y'know?" It seemed almost as though Slim didn't completely listen to Emeraldus' statement. Though with the current situation demanding quick thinking, can you really blame him? 
"And the ring?" Emeraldus pushes.
"The fellas kicked me out after the incident, ya see. After seeing how I was a human's tool for the death of your lady, they didn't want me around anymore, hehe.." Slim uses a claw to give his chin a nervous scratch, beads of sweat further dampening his face. "Risky business to keep a guilty Alchemy with the team, yes?"
Emeraldus narrows his eyes. "Are you speaking the truth?"
Slim nods rapidly in anxious expression, causing little bits of sweat to be thrown off as sprinkle drops. "Nothing but it since you started the conversation, man."
Even if Emeraldus were to keep questioning him for surface details, Slim appears to have his mind firmly set on this "human thing". Might as well dig a little into that.
"Then tell me about these humans." He says.
Without hesitation, Slim spills out as much as he can come up with for an answer.
"The humans are a bad sort. They deal in illegal magic goods. Y'know, the type blood mages use to cook up those dark rituals of theirs? This guild is a provider. They kidnap all sorts of races for their ears, tongues, skin, and pretty much anything with magical energy in it. They even got one of my buddies a while back to try and get him to spill our Alchemy secrets so they could rip off some good recipes to make their products last longer." He stops there, waiting for Emeraldus' response.
The big male dragon is silent. Looking away to think, Emeraldus has a moment to digest what Slim had told him. During the next minute or two, Slim stares up at Emeraldus in anxious anticipation, half bracing himself for an angry attack, and half begging silently that the Sorcerant would believe his words.
The heart-pounding atmosphere is finally broken with Emeraldus snorting thoughtfully. What Slim had said makes sense according to his understanding. He knows well that humans hunt dragons for what they provide in magic, as well as food. Both of which seemed to have been placed on Midna for she had been carried off to a bar and grill. There's also that elderly mage that wielded dark magic. With all that in mind, it wouldn't come as a surprise to know that they had planned to use Midna for such purposes. Afterall, Sorcerants are known for their magical capabilities.
Emeraldus nods to himself. "Hmmm, then maybe that is why…"
"Erm, boss?" Slim speaks, bringing back Emeraldus' attention to the Alchemy. "Ya gonna uh… let me go?"
A low rumble in his throat accompanies the big male Sorcerant as he pulls his hand away. With the threatening weight lifted off his back, Slim doesn't hesitate to crawl away towards the cover of the trees. He peeks over his shoulder at Emeraldus briefly to see him still standing his ground. In return of the Alchemy's stare, Emeraldus growls dismissively, "Get out of here."
Without a second thought, Slim bolts away, the last sight of his silver scales flickering into the shady woods.
Emeraldus, now left to himself, opens his wings and takes off into the air. During his flight back to the nest, he ponders the conversation. So the humans used an Alchemy to bait in his mate? Seems like it would be a decent plan, but why did they release the Alchemy? Unless maybe he escaped on his own? Unfortunately for Emeraldus, there are still some questions left unanswered. At the very least, however, he has an explanation for Midna now. 

The former bar and grill had undergone incredible damage. For the humans, there's no way they could fix the place with what's left. As far as they're aware of, the building is now just a ruin of ash and splinters. The mage, after having a day to recover, is very disappointed with the destruction of his business. He is still weak, but lucky for him, his spirit remains strong.
"Darn dragons and their filthy, hostile temperaments!" He growls, crinkling up the newspapers in his hands foretelling the recent disaster.
On the other end of the room, a doctor enters to check in on him. "How're we doing today, Sir?"
As the said doctor observes the bandaged up parts of the mage's body, unwrapping the soft, white fabric to expose the gauzed bruises and cuts, the elderly man responds. "Would be better if not for that dumb, diabolical lizard." He sets the papers aside on a nearby, bedside table with a disappointed harrumph. 
"That may be, but be glad you're still alive," The doctor says redressing a scratch on the mage's shin with ointment. "I suppose you have insurance, yes?"
"Insurance?" The mage repeats with a chip of frustration. "You think insurance is gonna cover my building? That dragon destroyed everything!" He folds his arms in contempt, raising his voice a tad at the ending statement.
"It depends on the insurance you have available Sir, but forgive me for assuming."
The mage heaves a heavy sigh, sweeping a frustrated hand over his face and down to his chin. Who even brought in that Sorcerant? He certainly doesn't remember ordering one to be delivered to the bar and grill. Yet this one was still alive and well enough to bring destruction to the entire building. A surprise gift perhaps? Maybe even an attempted rebellion? Thinking about it, what are the chances that a Sorcerant would decide to destroy a building after wandering on into the back storage? Unless it had good reason to, it probably wouldn't have cared. Even if it was obvious that dragons were being butchered there, it is still a bit of a stretch to take actions to that extent just for that reason alone. It is too late to go looking for clues now anyway, for there's next to nothing left in the remaining rubble.
"I must have a word with my employees…" The mage sighs, shaking his old, graying head. "... So I can get to the bottom of this incident."
Even though he lost a few to the dragon's rage, there's ought to be at least a couple of employees that would know something. Also seeing as how he has no other options for collecting important information…
The attack was so sudden, it almost seems fishy. And so the mystery looms in the mage's mind, and the questions only succeed to bring more and more of the word, "why?" and "who" is responsible for provoking the dragon in the first place?