Path of Dragons-Chapter 32Book 8: : Vacation’s End

“No armor?” asked Sadie.

Elijah stuffed the last of his wardrobe into his Ghoul-Hide Satchel, saying, “Flying under the radar.” He raised his hand, showing off the jewelry on his finger. “I’m even using my ring.”

“Has that ever worked for you before?” she asked, neatly folding her own clothes. She’d bought an entirely new wardrobe for the trip to Seattle, and she’d even purchased a couple of the new dimensional bags to accommodate her expanded options. For his part, Elijah had stubbornly stuck to his Ghoul-Hide Satchel, even though it held less than the best bags available in the city.

“Not really,” he admitted. By that point, she’d heard most of his stories – even his more embarrassing escapades, like his troubles with the Ring of Anonymity. “But in my defense, I don’t usually care if people know who I am. It didn’t used to matter that much, even when I was on the progression ladder.”

That list had gone defunct when the Trial of Primacy had begun, which Elijah had hoped would give him a little less notoriety. That hadn’t really happened, though. Apparently, he was quite famous, as much because of his placement on that list as because of his actions in the Trial of Primacy itself. Stories had spread, and according to the rumors in Ironshore, everybody knew a little bit about him.

Some of those rumors twisted the truth, and he was certain that a lot of people had gotten the wrong impression of him. However, one thing he couldn’t deny was that he now had name recognition – which would probably make things difficult when he went to Seattle. Not only would he need to deal with normal people recognizing him, but it didn’t take a leap of logic to imagine that some of the powerful invitees would see his presence as a challenge to their own standing.

Elijah had no interest in those sorts of games, so he’d chosen to keep his identity a secret. Even if someone discovered his identity, he would endeavor to be the bigger man and not rise to the inevitable challenges.

Hopefully, he would be successful, because if it came down to a fight, people would get hurt. Lots and lots of people, most of them innocent.

“You know it’s not going to work, right?” Sadie pointed out.

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“No – it works. I had one of the guards in Ironshore test it out.”

“Not the ring. I’m talking about the whole charade. It only takes one look to establish that you’re not a normal person,” she said. “It’s the way you carry yourself. The obvious power of your gear. You even have an aura about you that’s hard to conceal. Face it – your time staying out of the limelight is over, Elijah.”

He shook his head. That was probably true, at least so long as he stayed on Earth. “What do you suggest, then?” he asked.

“Blind them with the light.”

“What?”

“You can’t hide who you are, so don’t even try. Go in there, head held high and power on full display. That way, if someone does challenge you, they can’t hide behind the excuse that they didn’t know who you were,” she advised.

“Is that why you’re going in full armor?” he asked.

“I always wear my armor. You never know when the next attack is coming. I learned that pretty early on.”

“Blind them with the light,” Elijah mused. Given context, that philosophy made sense. Sadie definitely wasn’t the sort to sneak around – especially given that she’d just commissioned a set of shining, white-and-gold armor. But was that the right route for Elijah?

She certainly wasn’t wrong, though. For all that Elijah wanted to be treated like a normal person, his experiences in Ironshore made it clear that those days were long past. And while he didn’t expect people in other parts of the world to react to his presence with quite so much outward fear – which he definitely noticed in Ironshore, even if he tried to convince himself otherwise – he had to expect something similar.

He sighed.

“I never thought being famous would suck so much,” he muttered to himself.

“Poor you,” Sadie said, stepping close. She put her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes. Smiling slightly, she added, “Being the second most powerful person in the world must be such a burden.”

“Second?”

“After me. You might have more levels, but I’m a stronger fighter. I think we both acknowledge that.”

“I definitely do not acknowledge that.”

“It’s okay. There’s no shame in being wrong from time to time.”

“Funny,” Elijah said. “I was going to say the same thing to you.”

He leaned in for a kiss, and for a moment, he thought things were going to get fun. However, after only a second or two, Sadie pulled away. “We don’t have time.”

“There’s always time. We’re not on a schedule or anything. That’s one of the perks of being the special lady friend of the most powerful man on Earth.”

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“Special lady friend?”

Elijah grinned again. “An expression my mom used to use. Besides, it’s not like we’ve addressed what to call this.”

Sadie didn’t respond to that clear signal that Elijah wanted to know where he stood with her. They were together, but would that last after they left the grove and returned to the real world? They certainly hadn’t discussed it, and with the trip to Seattle looming over them, it seemed like time had finally run out. After all, they were on the verge of leaving.

“I say you should wear your armor,” she said, changing the subject. “And get out that huge staff of yours.”

Elijah’s grin widened.

“Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“What? I didn’t say anything.”

“You were thinking it.”

“Are you a mind reader now?” he asked.

“Don’t need to be to know what you were thinking just now,” she said. “Come on. Finish packing so we can get moving.”

In the end, Elijah decided to follow Sadie’s advice. So, he donned his new armor, settling everything into place before placing the Antlers of the Wild Revenant on his head. With a flick of his mind, he activated the Hidden Authority Trait, obscuring it entirely. He couldn’t even feel it on his head, though it still offered the same attribute bonuses as well as the more mundane protection of wearing a helmet. He could even arrange his hair without jostling it.

Once he’d done that, he deactivated the Ring of Anonymity. If he was going in full armor, he couldn’t very well pretend to be John Smith, a level fifty Healer. As he finished packing, Sadie donned her own armor. Unlike him, she didn’t need to do so manually. Somehow, Carmen had managed to imbue it with a trait that let her affix it into place without all the straps and harnesses that usually came with that sort of thing.

When she was finished, he let out a low whistle of admiration.

“What?”

“You know what. You look completely badass.”

She blushed, but Elijah wasn’t certain how much of her modesty was put on. After all, she’d seen herself in the mirror, hadn’t she? The armor itself was predominantly pearl-white, but with enough gold trim to give it a little extra color. Bold, sweeping lines gave it an authoritative, yet elegant look that was only highlighted by the graceful scrollwork adorning the pauldrons.

If she left her helmet off, the set gave off a noble aura. But the second she’d settled the helm into place, she seemingly became an avatar of justice. The helm obscured her face – except for her eyes, which glowed with bright, white light.

If Elijah had seen her coming for him, he might have felt a twinge of fear.

Then there was the sword. It was basically the same length as her old weapon, but it was at least six inches wider. Double-edged, with an intricate crossguard featuring a single red gem, it was a true greatsword that looked like it could cleave a boulder in two. Even strapped to her back, it gave off an air of menace that Elijah had rarely felt from an item.

Sadie hadn’t revealed the full breadth of benefits she’d gotten from the set, but Elijah knew they were significant. In all, the gear fit her like a glove, highlighting just how beautiful, deadly, and implacable she could be.

Elijah wasn’t ashamed to say that he was a little jealous of the set, though mostly, he was just happy that she had a set of armor that would keep her safe. Going forward, that was what was most important.

“Are you ready?” Elijah asked, straightening his satchel, then grabbing one of Sadie’s packs. She could have easily carried it herself, but trying to tote around two backpacks was pretty awkward. Thankfully, she didn’t object.

“I guess.”

“You don’t sound like you’re looking forward to this,” he remarked.

“My grandfather will be there. So will Nico.”

“Seems like they might have other priorities,” Elijah pointed out. “It’ll take a year or so before the Primal Realm recovers, but they should be training their people while they have the chance. If they don’t, there’s no chance they’ll be able to conquer it when the time comes.”

“I know, and I’m sure they do too. They’re not stupid.”

“I never said they were,” Elijah responded, though he harbored plenty of doubts about Nico’s intelligence. Tianwei was a different story altogether. The old man didn’t get where he was without having some intelligence to back him up. He wasn’t physically dangerous, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t manipulate someone with real power into acting as his lackey.

Or worse, that he couldn’t take the opportunity before him and gain some strength of his own. If that happened, he would prove to be a difficult adversary. In a lot of ways, it made sense to simply get rid of him now and be done with it, but even as that thought crossed Elijah’s mind, he realized that Sadie would never forgive him for going down that road.

He was still her grandfather, after all. It would be different if it came down to a fight, but if Elijah simply chose to assassinate Song Tianwei, he’d probably end up having to fight Sadie as well. Even if she knew he was right.

He reached out to grab her gauntleted hand and said, “It’s going to be fine. It’ll work out.”

“You can’t know that for certain.”

Elijah shrugged, then said, “Well, I am the most powerful person in the world. I think I can make it happen.”

She rolled her eyes, but gave his hand a comforting squeeze. “You’re an idiot. Let’s go.”

With that, the pair did one last sweep of the treehouse to ensure they hadn’t left anything behind. Then, they headed downstairs to say goodbye to Nerthus. The spryggent took their farewell easily enough, saying that he would tend the grove in their absence. Elijah and Sadie had already said their goodbyes to everyone else, so after that, there was nothing else to do but head to Seattle.

Elijah had already decided not to use the Spires, though. Instead, he would open a portal to the Circle of Spears, then head to the city on foot. Sadie chose to keep him company. So, with that decided, Elijah cast Roots of the World Tree, and an arch of flowering vines grew out of the ground. The interior shimmered briefly, then solidified into a picture of the oasis surrounding his dolmen.

“Keep it real, Nerthus,” Elijah said with a wave. Then, he led Sadie through to the other side. The first thing that hit him was the heat. It wasn’t entirely uncomfortable – not with the Cloak of the Iron Bear around his shoulders – but it was definitely noticeable. So, they wasted no time before Elijah shifted into the Shape of the Sky and let Sadie climb onto his back.

She didn’t enjoy that method of travel, but she also didn’t want to spend most of a day walking across the desert. Elijah took a moment to ensure that Snappy was alright – the turtle didn’t even surface – before he headed toward the city.

Only twenty minutes later, Seattle came into view.

And even from a distance, it was clear that it had changed significantly. Not only had the broken and crumbling buildings been removed, but in their place had grown a shining metropolis that looked like it belonged in a utopian science fiction movie.

Elijah landed, then resumed his human form. His scales shimmered briefly before he got them under control, though he barely noticed the struggle. Instead, his attention firmly latched onto the drones high above.

It seemed that Isaiah was still intent on watching everything.

With that in mind, Elijah and Sadie began the mile-long walk toward the city.