The Dragon Capital

The general brought in soldiers who surrounded the rock to guard the place. Tishow was carrying a backpack of provisions, which, of course, no one thought of. After discussing the details of the mission once more, everyone agreed in silence.

After opening the portal, Liam first brought the students back to the Academy and then contacted Nood via crystal.

"Master, we are here, all is well, we just got out of the lake."

"What do you see?" Liam asked worriedly.

"I see a field hospital and tents with people in them."

"And the monsters?"

"They're gone, Master, maybe they've been taken away, I don't know," the apprentice reported, shaking water from his ear.

"Well, take a look around. We'll be in touch," Liam said and let go of the crystal.

It's time to move on.

"How are you going to open the second passageway?" the marshal asked him a question.

"I don't know yet.

The men stared at Liam. Why make such a fuss if you don't know if you can get to that other place?

Suddenly, Ronu jumped out of the open portal.

Squinting against the bright light, he looked at the men with a satisfied smile. The general met him with a sword gleaming in the sun, but Liam lowered his arm.

"We meet again!" said the man cheerfully. "Shall we go on, then?"

Liam, who was most interested in continuing the search, froze in disbelief.

"Ronu," he said to the man, "where have you been?"

"I was just following your dragon."

"You saw Zhu-Er?" Liam exclaimed.

"Yes," the man nodded.

"You couldn't free him?"

"No."

"What happened out there?" The marshal interjected.

"You'll see," the man turned and jumped into the portal.

Everyone froze for a moment, but when Liam took the first step, the general overtook him and entered the portal first.

"Pfft," the marshal followed him.

Liam had no choice but to go last, resenting his partners. Walking through the thick darkness, he found himself in a strange twilight world. He took a few uncertain steps and someone held him back.

He froze, staring, and saw the general beside him. Not only that, but he made a sign with his hand to remain silent, and Liam nodded. Liam was sweating, the hot air making his body melt.

Liam shrugged unhappily. Surprisingly, instead of a dreary black planet, they seemed to find themselves in a botanical garden. Lush vegetation was crowding them on all sides.

Liam kept chasing away pesky midges that tried to sit on his face. Footsteps were heard somewhere ahead. Everyone froze and listened.

A large crowd of people walked past them three meters away. They were speaking in a language they could not understand, and Liam shuddered involuntarily at the strangeness of what was happening.

When they were gone, Ronu called everyone to him and held a council.

"So, as you can see, this is not at all what you expected."

"But isn't this where those monsters came from?"

"No," the man said solemnly," there's another way in.

"Really?" The marshal rolled his eyes.

"But there isn't Zhu-Er, and that's the absolute truth because he's here."

"But what is this place?

"It's an entry-level world. I don't know how, but it developed in parallel with the others, but it's completely isolated. That's why our knowledge and technology are not here."

"A primitive world?" The marshal asked.

"Do they eat people?" Liam competed for the prize for the"dumbest question.

"No, that's different," Ronu rubbed his chin, choosing his words.

"What's the matter?" The general was impatient.

"When your beautiful dragon appeared here, or rather, not so... When your Zhu-Er descended upon this impressionable world, it created a furor."

"What does that mean?" Liam asked.

"It's about time, for starters," the man interrupted him, "time flows differently here than it does everywhere else."

Everyone was thinking intensely, trying to understand Ron's convoluted story.

"Who is he, anyway?" The general couldn't stand it and turn to Liam.

"He was helping us find a cure for Cal." The Head answered patiently.

"He's a herbalist?" said the General.

"You could say so," Ronu interjected ironically, "may I continue? I can't wait to surprise you."

All became silent.

"Well, by the standards of this world, Zhu-Er came down here about two hundred years ago.

Everyone's jaws dropped. The general coughed and Liam rubbed his temples, trying to get this information into his dumbfounded head.

"Is this some kind of joke?" asked the marshal, who had regained the power of speech.

"Not at all. Because of this amazing event, the life of society was cardinally changed. Religion, justice, education, medicine, social norms, and so much more were created. At the same time, the sacred dragon has been proclaimed the protector and patron of this world. He has lived in his palace for nearly two hundred years."

Ronu almost choked to death for a moment, then took a breath and continued:

"He is served by the best of the best servants, bringing him the most delicious food. Parades and festivals, tournaments, and contests are held annually for him. It is considered a terrible insult to offend the dragon, and to see him is the rarest of luck. The locals believe that if you happen to see their lord, then the whole year will be happy. The local people bring him to bless their children, and he also grants permission for the marriages of the high-ranking officials."

"Zhu-Er is the lord of this world?!" Liam was barely able to utter to the stunned Liam.

"That sounds like nonsense," the marshal said.

"Impossible!" The general agreed.

"What shall we do?" Liam asked again.

"Well, as you've seen, to get near a dragon is not easy, not impossible for ordinary people. But for you and me, it's not difficult. But will Zhu-Er want to leave this life? And what damage would be done to this society if he were to disappear?"

Liam felt a dissonance in his soul. His dragon had become a deity to an entire world, changing its history. Two hundred years had passed for him. Perhaps he had already forgotten his master or was angry with him. What will their meeting be like? Wouldn't Zhu-Er hate, Liam?

Seeing his doubts, the general said:

"You are, of course, his master, but given what has happened, you must give him a choice and, if anything, let him go."-

Liam listened to the general and sighed, he was right. You couldn't just walk away, leaving things as they were. After all, there was a chance that Zhu-Er was homesick and wanted to come back. And if not, Liam would let him go free in good conscience.

"Is there any way to see him?" Liam asked Ronu.

"Yes, I've followed the palace servants. The servants rotate every four hours and then are thoroughly searched. The guards check to see if they've taken anything out of the palace because it's considered...

"We get it, even the dragon's poop is sacred," the marshal sneered.

"Well, yes, that's how it works," he smiled at Ronu.

"And how do we get into the palace?" asked the marshal.

"We have to catch and replace the servants."

"It's a rather strange plan, but what about appearances?" Pittsu did not become complacent.

"Oh, that won't be a problem, it's customary to wear masks here, by the way, here you go, these are yours."

Ronu took out perfectly matching dragon masks. Everyone looked at each other.

"I hope this is a joke?" The General asked.

"No, I'm afraid not," Liam answered for him, "this society seems to be obsessed with dragons."

"Unfortunately, yes," Ronu confirmed, "their annals say that it was the dragon who created their world, and now imagine what it's like to live next to an undying deity."

"Unthinkable," Liam said and put on his mask. "How do I look?"

"It'll do, but you'd better not talk to me," the marshal followed suit.

They emerged from the sweltering, damp forest, and followed the road toward town. Along the way, they met farmers' carts and traders, men, women, and children, all wearing monstrous masks to hide their faces.

The world itself was buried in greenery. Dense forests and mountains were stretching far and wide. A wide river flowed in front of the entrance to the city, and the city itself behind the wall was like a giant hill.

At the very top, surrounded by parks and gardens, was the royal palace of Zhu-Er. Its roofs were blue and silver, naturally related to the dragon's appearance.

As they entered the city gates unobstructed, the men kept turning their heads, marveling at the wealth and prosperity of the capital. Even the streets were lined with colorful precious stones.

The blue stones were especially prized. Liam walked and counted how many times he came across a tourmaline, a topaz, an amethyst, and even a sapphire. And it was all just embedded in the sidewalk!

Watching the reactions of Liam and his friends, Ronu wanted to show them that "amazing and beautiful things are near." The first thing he did was to take them to a large tavern. They took a table outside and could admire the cityscape and the colorful attire of the inhabitants.

Since Ronu had learned the local language, he communicated with the waiter. They were brought what he ordered. As one could assume, the table was filled with fish, probably caught by fishermen in the same river, a lot of vegetables, fruit, and a jug of fragrant wine.

The men faced the problem of how to eat while masked and looked around cautiously at the other visitors. It turned out that everyone carefully took their mask away from their faces with their left hands, and with their right hands they stabbed the food with a special long fork and ate it that way.

When they were sure no one was looking at them, they began to eat.

When they had eaten enough, the men leaned back on their seats. Everyone thought that the journey had been unexpectedly more pleasant than they had expected.

Ronu stood up and invited the men to follow him. Liam rubbed his sleeve and asked how they could pay for their meal.

"No, we don't have to pay," the man surprised everyone.