Chapter 5: Class: Dragon Warlock
"W-w-where did you come from?!" Calista demanded.
"I’ve been following you the entire time," Lazula confessed, crossing her arms and leaning against the outside wall of the cabin. "I was able to sneak onto your boat flawlessly."
"But, Calista had us cloaked," Sam pointed out. "How could you tell where we were?"
"That only works for sight," Lazula said with a cackle. "A Storm Witch like me can sense bioelectrical auras within all living organisms. I knew where you both were the entire time. But I wouldn’t expect a sheltered society that only allows Paladins, Clerics, and Monks to know that."
Calista glared at her. "Why are you here? What do you want?"
"I’m hitching a ride to Shannarport with you," Lazula declared.
"Absolutely not," Sam said firmly, crossing his arms.
"You can’t stop me, buddy!" the witch replied with another laugh. "I do what I want!"
"How did you get to Luminary’s Landing in the first place?" Calista asked. "Surely you have your own boat somewhere? Can’t you just leave the way you came?"
"I was a stowaway on a cargo ship," Lazula revealed, then she turned to Sam. "I ran to hide after you went all dragony, and then watched from the shadows. I knew sooner or later you’d inevitably end up at the docks."
"If they had executed me, you would have had to find another way to Shannarport," Sam said after a sigh. "What would you have done then?"
Lazula shook her head. "If it had come to that, I would have saved you."
He raised his eyebrows. "Wait, what? You would have saved me? Why?"
"Because getting that copy of Maglidorean’s Ancient Book of Spells from your Vault was only part of my mission," she explained. "I was also instructed to make you look into that Mirror of True Faces to break the seal on your draconic blood so that you would awaken your real Class - Dragon Warlock."
"WHAT?!" Sam and Calista said in unison.
Lazula grinned. "Of course, I didn’t expect my hex to end early - or the arrival of your little girlfriend here - or that you’d look into the mirror all on your own."
Calista blushed profusely. "I-I’m not his girlfriend! W-w-we’re just friends!"
Lazula rolled her eyes. "We’ll see how long that lasts!"
Sam looked down at his hands. "I don’t even know what a Dragon Warlock is or how I’m supposed to be one..."
"Warlocks come from bloodline pacts that people make with powerful archfey beings," Lazula revealed. "In your case, it seems someone further up your family tree made a pact with a dragon."
"But if someone else made the pact, why does it affect me?" He inquired further.
"Because it’s a bloodline pact," the witch replied. "It extends to all future generations of the bloodline until the original objective of the agreement is fulfilled, or until the pact is broken."
"Does that mean there is some dragon out there who has plans for me or something?" he asked.
"Possibly. I don’t know. I wasn’t told the motives behind the mission." Lazula replied.
Sam was so confused by the whole situation, but then something dawned on him. "Wait a minute - how did you know about me? Who sent you? Was it a woman with red hair?"
Calista raised her eyebrows. "Oh! You’re thinking maybe your mother hired her?"
Sam nodded, then looked to Lazula, waiting for her to answer.
The witch shrugged her shoulders. "I never met the client. My captain accepted the job from them and then delegated it to me."
"You don’t seem like the military type," Sam said.
"That’s because I’m not!" she replied. "I meant my pirate captain!"
"You’re a pirate?!" Calista shrieked. Lazula nodded.
"Damn, I wish I knew who the client was," Sam said, then sighed. "I’d love to meet your boss and ask him about who arranged for all this."
Lazula grinned. "Don’t worry - you can ask him yourself! The last part of my mission is to take you to see my captain after you Awakened!"
"WHAT?!" Sam and Calista cried out in unison again.
"He’s waiting for us at Shannarport, so since you’re already heading there, it won’t be too much trouble to meet him," Lazula explained.
"What does he want with me?" Sam asked. "Is he going to introduce me to the client? I’d love to get to the bottom of all this."
Lazula shrugged once more. "No clue. He didn’t tell me. Maybe he will let you meet the client? Who knows."
Calista turned to Sam. "What should we do?"
He thought for a long moment, then answered. "If there is a chance that this client is my mother, then I have to try and meet her. I feel like she’s the only one beyond the Seelie Court who would know anything about me. If she sealed my dragon powers away back when I was six years old, then perhaps she wanted to make sure they were unsealed again before I Awakened as one of the Dawn Archon Classes."
"If that’s the case, then she must have wanted you to live a normal life until you became an adult," Calista added. "I wonder what her overarching goals are for all of this. Or if it’s not her - then whoever it is - what plans they have for you."
Sam nodded. "Yeah... Even if it’s not my mother, I’m looking forward to meeting them and getting some answers. But... I miss her so much... I really do hope it’s her..."
"Me too," said Calista as she reached out a hand and placed it on Sam’s shoulder, smiling at him.
"Me three," added Lazula, who just grinned again when they looked at her funny. "What? If you’re both happier, then it increases my chances of moving in on that threesome!"
Calista groaned as she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Sam just busted up laughing. He couldn’t help but find it kind of hilarious.
They continued to sail forward, setting out towards a destiny of great significance - and untold dangers...