Dracopical Isles: Rise of the Underground

Chapter 6

"Cigoura!" The loud roar of his alpha rings within the mountainous chambers of the Alchemy nest. "Cigoura!!" It calls again rattling the gravel amongst the cavern floors with great volume.
The elder Alchemy comes running as fast as his feet can carry him in response to his alpha's voice.
"Great Highborn, Cigoura! Get your scrawny tail over here, now!!"
Cigoura's heart pounds hard against his chest feeling rather concerned about her tone. It is so loud he can feel it vibrating through his bones. What could have his alpha be so demanding of his presence?
"Yes, Alpha??" He calls to her down the proceeding chamber, hoping that his acknowledgement of her yelling would be enough to get her to stop.
"Come down to my chamber, Cigoura! Now!!" She repeats shaking the ground with another roar. The shifting of small pebbles underfoot nearly makes Cigoura stumble on his run. A slight misstep makes him slip across the ground for a second, knocking him off balance. The demand in his alpha's tone had turned Cigoura's body onto autopilot, making him flee blindly down to where she resides. Not even a slight bump to the head or tight squeeze between stalagmites stops his hurry. He is nearly out of breath by the time he skids to a clumsy halt before her scowling face.
"Yes.. Alpha?" He says between gasps.
The alpha Alchemy utters a deep, guttural growl from a curled lip. "Don't ask me, you know why I called for you!"
Cigoura heaves a heavy wheeze. "Forgive me.. Alpha.." He says with a winded voice. "I am.. so out of breath that I cannot think.."
The alpha keeps her unhappy scowl on the elder Alchemy, her nostrils dilated to allow slight strands of steam to rise into the air. She rolls her crooked jaw once to fix it back into place after all her shouting to get Cigoura moving.
At first, there's not much that Cigoura can recall that would leave his alpha in such a foul mood, and with him out of everyone else - or at least not off the top of his head. The pounding of his heart continues to ring in his ears as he still tries to regain himself. He gives his head a slow shake in an attempt to still his racing mind before looking up at the alpha's face.
"Remind me, Alpha.. what did I do?" He says, his voice still winded but slightly resteadied.
Her snarl returns at his question. "You tell me, Cigoura. I couldn't help but notice your posse has fallen short by a member." She flexes her claws upon the stony ground. "Where is Slim?"
At the mention of his name, Cigoura's breath returns more easily with answers. His eyes widen and his jaw drops a little out of surprise - perhaps even slight anxiety.
"What about Slim?" Is his first reply, not even hiding the fact that he's shocked to have been asked.
"Where. Is. Slim?" His alpha repeats with a more earnest and direct tone, her head craning forward to emphasize how serious she is.
Cigoura shakes his head again in apparent disappointment, a sigh escaping his lips. He had not thought that the alpha would notice or even care that the dumb, forgetful Alchemy was no longer around. He hasn't even been all that useful to the clan - aside from maybe being a thing to poke fun at for one's own amusement. What chills Cigoura's blood is that his alpha had noticed so quickly. Slim hasn't been gone any longer than a day or two. He had told the story to his ring, but not anyone else as of yet. Had one of his troops secretly spill the beans for the alpha to hear? Whatever the reason, answers are currently unavailable at the time being.
Cigoura remains silent as his thoughts process this. Hearing no replies from her following Alchemy, the alpha proceeds to push for answers.
"Is he ill? Is he injured? Why is he not with your ring?"
Cigoura keeps a fixed stare at the ground beneath his forelegs. "No Alpha, he's gone."
This causes the alpha's brows to rise out of perplexion. "Gone? Why is that? Did the Sorcerant kill him?"
Cigoura shakes his head. "He left to go his own way. He is no longer with the clan."
He leaves out the part that it was he who kicked Slim out for obvious reasons. Now being confronted about it, Cigoura comes to think that it probably wasn't the best idea to go behind his alpha's back and get rid of an Alchemy member, but surely there would be many that would agree with him that it's better this way. Not very many Alchemies, if not any at all, like Slim. He's nothing but a nuisance with his failing memory and meek physique. Having him gone would be much more beneficial for everyone. Even Cigoura's own troops didn't appreciate Slim being on the team. Why did they even let him on in the first place? Well - because their alpha said so! Even now, it bewilders Cigoura to think about why the alpha would even accept such an Alchemy to be worthy of such duties, let alone be upset about his absence.
Her growl brings him back from his staring off. "Then get moving! Go find him! Who said he was excused to run away, not me!"
This order immediately brings out a protest from Cigoura, his jaw dropping slightly beforehand.
"Alpha, are you sure about that? Slim has not been useful at all. Cannot even remember half of what he's supposed to do."
"A member is a member, Cigoura," His alpha grumbles. "I would not care even if he was without limbs! Go out there and find him!"
Cigoura grimaces upon hearing his alpha say that. She's not budging an inch. "But Alpha, nobody..!"
He is then interrupted by her loud, angry snarl.
"I said go find him!! No 'buts' about it! If you continue to question me, I may consider resigning you from your position! Do you want that, Cigoura?"
Just as that sentence ends, Cigoura blurts out an abrupt "No" with a rapidly shaking head. "No Alpha! I will do as you day!" He is forced to submit out of fear for losing his duty as leader of a ring. For any Alchemy, such a job is an honor. It is not an easy thing to achieve as one must meet very specific requirements - one of which being worthy of trust. At first, this would be pure flattery, but come to hold that for long enough and you may realize how much it can limit you. In Cigoura's case, it is being trustworthy to follow orders with utmost loyalty. Any unnecessary questions or protests can cost him. It may not always be a fun job, but it is a position of respect.
"Good," His alpha nods, though still with her frown. "Now away with you! I do not want to see you again until Slim has returned, understand?"
Cigoura bows in compliance. "Yes Alpha, I understand. Neither me nor any of my troops will be seen until Slim is back in the clan."
The alpha nods, snorting a dismissive puff of steam from her nostrils as Cigoura rises and proceeds to leave her chamber. He stares off as his limbs carry him away on the path towards collecting his ring members for the search. He pauses momentarily to kick a pebble or two out of agitation. Well what do you know - Slim is gone and he's still a bother, but now there's the alpha's wishes to have him back. Quite obviously, nobody here wants that - aside from the alpha of course. So.. will they now be forced to spend the next few years with that Alchemy misfit? While it may be a good thing that the alpha has mercy for Slim, but here amongst so much criticism, it's probably not the best environment. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. The other Alchemies just fail to see the use in keeping Slim around, and this doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon. Sure he may be a member, but even then, there are standards that must be met to make one a good member. What to do now?
The same amount of shock comes out of his ring when Cigoura shares the alpha's orders.
"You are kidding!" One alchemy exclaims. "Does the alpha not realize what she is doing?"
Cigoura curls his lip in expression of his own discontentment. "I would have tried to explain, but she was so insistent that I don't think she would have listened anyway."
"So what now?" Another alchemy chimes in, copying Cigoura's scowl. "We bite our tongues and fetch Slim?"
Cigoura remains silent, his eyes looking down at the ground. This is followed by grumbling protests from the other ring members, many of them bristling. Reluctant and discomforted, it is obvious that no one wants to get moving on the search, hoping to delay the task as much as possible with their mumbling. Could there be no way to work around this?
Cigoura proceeds to ponder his thoughts. How can they follow the alpha's request without bringing Slim back? Snorting with agitated discomfort, Cigoura sighs.
"Unless we had some way to convince the alpha that Slim can't come back," The voice of one of his alchemy troops begins. "I don't think we may have a choice."
Another snorts in reply. "Like what? Tell her Slim is dead? Without proof, that's just asking for punishment."
It is then those words spark an idea in Cigoura's mind as if in the flick of a light switch. His brows lift and a small hint of a grin stretches across his face. He looks up at his ring. "Yes, that is a very good point. If Slim is dead, he can do nothing. If he can do nothing, then the alpha won't need him anymore." Cigoura nods. "Yes, that is what we'll do."
In response, his alchemies are rather confused, and others slightly surprised.
"Are you saying we should kill Slim, Sir?" One asks.
"No," Cigoura says, further to the confusion of his troops. He continues. "Killing Slim ourselves puts us in a bad position - especially if we get caught, but if we can simply convince the alpha that he's dead..." His tone now sounds hopeful as opposed to the former disappointed.
The same alchemy that had asked lifts his brows in understanding. "Ah. Now I see." A steady nod follows.
Although it is a good start, it doesn't excite everyone. One Alchemy adds, "But we will still need proof of that, Sir."
"I know that," Cigoura nods to him, still with a smirk. He turns his eyes to the whole group. "Here's the deal, we'll have until tomorrow to think about this plan. The end goal is simple - we return empty, state Slim is dead, and have the alpha convinced. How we go about this.. we shall discuss later."
More of the ring is convinced now, but a small few still exchange uncertain glances. For some, until tomorrow may not be enough to pull together some potential ideas, so that task is left to those with the intellect for quick thinking. Cigoura himself probably would think of a majority of the plan anyway, so essentially, it's give or take.
"Those are my orders for you," Cigoura says. "Now go busy yourselves with the task and don't waste any time."
Half nod, others say "Yes Sir" before departing. Soon they're all gone, leaving only Cigoura left standing there in the chamber. He silently nods to himself. As risky as it may be to try, he is certain that Slim cannot return to the clan regardless of what the Alpha says or thinks. Everyone knows it - he is sure even Slim does, despite him never admitting it. He's just insecure - too afraid to actually leave without some sort of push. Knowing that Cigoura himself had the idea to provide that push, makes the elder Alchemy grin.
The alpha doesn't understand. She can't keep all members on the same path - some must be released for the greater good. Sometimes, there's a whole 'nother path destined for a dragon, and fate is no liar. No matter how hard you try, it is forever set in stone, and Slim.. is one them.
Cigoura is now confident in his choices after giving the topic some thought. One day, the alpha will thank him; Perhaps one day, even Slim will thank him.