Berserker: A LitRPG Urban Fantasy Adventure (Apocosmos Book 1) by Dimitrios Gkirgkiris (phonics readers .txt) 📕

the orb back into my inventory and turned to Rory who was about to explode with anger.

“Ye can’t be thinking of consorting with a dragon, lad,” he said angrily. “They’re cunning beasts. They only bring trouble.”

“Well, he can’t hurt us from in there,” Louie said.

“Dragons don’t need their fangs or firey breath to hurt others, small one. The words of dragons, the ideas they plant in the minds of mortals can be more dangerous than a whole army of orcs.”

“But you heard his story,” Louie insisted. “He was a good dragon. He was protecting people. That’s why he’s in there now.”

“And I’m the president of the Dark Energy Marketplace,” Rory replied sarcastically, putting his hands on his waist and puffing his chest. “Just because he told us a story doesn’t mean it’s true.”

“Then let’s make sure that the story is true,” I suggested. “I can ask Leo if he knows anything about this incident. And even if he doesn’t, he’ll know of a way that we can find out the truth about it.”

“I don’t like this, lad,” Rory said, shaking his head. “I don’t like this one bit.”

“We’ve got nothing to lose,” Louie said.

“Ye keep him in the bag for now. I don’t want him listening to our conversations.”

“We’ll only let him out if we want to ask him something,” I suggested. “At least until we verify his story. Are you okay with that?”

“Fine,” Rory said.

I retrieved the orb from my bag. “Sorry about this. We need to be cautious,” I said.

“I understand,” the dragon replied. “It’s good to talk to goodly folk again.”

“How did you end up in the warehouse? Did you know those people?” I asked.

“Before that time, I was… the orb sat behind a glass wall for countless years. I was part of a collection, I suppose. I never saw the owner of the collection though, for there was always light shining on the orb.”

“Wait. Ye can see?” Rory asked.

“I can indeed,” the dragon replied. “Think of this orb as a translucent prison that contains my soul. I can see and hear but nothing more.”

“You said you never saw the owner of the collection you were part of?” Louie prompted, as Rory looked around the apartment as though suddenly concerned the dragon would see something it shouldn’t.

“Indeed. Until someone came and removed the orb from the collection. I presume it was a robbery. Since then, the only times I’ve been out of an extra-dimensional bag was when I was sold to the incubus, and when I was placed in that storage room.”

“Abrathion was the incubus?” Rory asked.

“I don’t know their names.”

“I assume that means you have no idea what the book next to you was?” I asked.

“The book arrived yesterday. I didn’t hear them say anything about it.”

“Ye didn’t ask them what they were going to do with ye?” Rory asked.

“I didn’t initiate communication with them,” he replied. “I don’t favor socializing with infernal creatures. No doubt they thought that locking me in that room would break me and make me want to talk to them, provide them with knowledge. But they didn’t account for a dragon’s strong will.”

“Then why are you talking to us?” I asked.

“I’ve lived for thousands of years and I know good people when I see them,” he replied. “I might have waited a bit longer before making contact with you but preposterous comments about dragons laying eggs tend to… unnerve me.”

“And ye’re willing to share all yer knowledge just for a speaking partner?”

“If you’re thinking of asking for information that might bring harm to others, dwarf, you might as well ask a brick wall,” the voice answered. “I can aid you in return for my sanity. That seems like a fair deal to me.”

“Deals with dragons never benefited anyone other than the dragons,” Rory snorted.

“I’m sorry you feel that way, dwarf,” Ommanth replied. “I hope that with time, you’ll come to change your mind.”

“I doubt it,” Rory said.

I interjected before the conversation was completely derailed. “Ommanth, I’m sure you’d be a valuable ally and counsel, but you must understand that we need to be careful.”

“Absolutely,” the dragon said.

“We’ll need to keep the orb in the bag until we can verify you are indeed who you say you are. I hope this is acceptable to you.”

“I’m willing to stay in there as long as you need and answer any question you think might help put your mind at ease about my identity and intentions. I sincerely hope we can start a healthy friendship. With all three of you.”

“I hope so too,” I said. “Goodbye for now.”

“Goodbye, Ommanth,” Louie replied.

“Alex, Louie, Rory. Goodbye,” the dragon said, and I placed the orb back in my inventory.

“Well that was interesting,” I said. “At least we know what one of the items is now.”

“Take good care, lad,” Rory warned. “Ye need the item to keep you hidden from anyone who might be seeking for ye or the book. But ye don’t need to talk to the beast. And I don’t trust a word it says. Cunningness and exploitation run in the blood of all dragons.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I assured him. “You don’t need to worry.”

“I’ll be careful too, Rory,” Louie said.

“Bah,” the dwarf threw his hands into the air, apparently not wanting to talk about the issue any longer. “Shall we continue counting our loot then?”

“I guess we’ll have to do it on the floor since your table and my couch have been destroyed.”

“Better get to it then,” Rory said and we all returned to what we’d been doing before we found out that we owned an orb containing the soul of a dragon.

We finished counting the cash just before the break of dawn. Of course, we had no idea the dawn was about to break, since Rory’s dark apartment seemed to have been specifically designed to make you lose track of time, in the same way casinos are made without any windows, only here we weren’t going to lose our children’s college