The World Dragon's Heir

Chapter 542: A Pleasant Surprise

Dominic sensed movement, and turned to see one of the veiled maids entering the room.

“Did something happen, or are you here to drag me back to official duties?” He asked.

“Both.”

Dominic sighed. “What went wrong?”

“Nothing wrong. The airship is back with another load, and I am informed that you will want to be there when it lands. Then, Her Highness has asked that I return you to your office, as she has no intentions of doing more of your paperwork.”

Fahad and Dave both laughed at the expression on Dominic’s face.

“Alright, let’s go to the airship docks first. How has the new design been doing?”

“It’s got every Nobleman and member of the Merchant’s Guild drooling over it. They’ve done two round trips a day since they got airborne, and they’ve tweaked the spells to improve mana efficiency, even at full load.

You can ask them about the technical details the next time you are free.”

Meaning, not right now. Or today at all.

Dominic waved goodbye to Dave, and Fahad gave him a sloppy salute as he headed for the training grounds.

Dominic looked off into the distance and sighed as he realized he would be jogging over to the airstrip again.

“We’ve got to do something about this travel time.” He realized.

“I am told that the Techno Wizards are working on a transit bus for the city. It’s based on a light transport vehicle with an extended rear seating area, but it should be perfect for the city.

However, you shouldn’t have to run around for too much longer. Or you can take the truck? There is one parked here that belongs to the Duchy.”

Dominic shook his head. “I’ve got more than enough enhancement to get over there as fast as hopping in the truck. As long as you can keep up, we’re fine.”

The maid nodded. “We’ve been working on our enhancement spell gems. I might not be as fast as you are, but I suspect that you don’t intend to sprint.”

They joked as they made their way through the city, and Dominic waved periodically when someone looked his way. They could all see that he was in a rush to get somewhere, so nobody tried to stop him.

The airship was just tying down at the cargo docks when he arrived, and Dominic skidded to a stop, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

The airship was full of goats. Not just one layer, someone had built a second cargo level, so they could load even more goats inside.

It was absolute chaos.

“Boys, where did you get all these, and where is the farmer?” He called as the Dwarves tried to keep the animals under control.

“Farmer’s dead. Was poisoned when we met him, but didn’t say anything until after we had loaded.

Where the hell is Dave?”

That was their only hope at this point. If there was anyone who could keep a load of goats under control, it was the Mountain Trolls.

The Daves on bodyguard duty waved as they ran over, and began shouting in Trollish for the goats to behave and start making their way toward them.

To the shock of everyone who did not know Dave, the animals instantly behaved, and began to form two orderly lines out of the cargo hold of the aircraft.

“I swear, it’s got to be a form of magic, but the trolls swear that it’s just a natural understanding.

The real question is: Where are they planning to take all those goats?

We lost the goat herder on the way here, we didn’t have a spell strong enough to deal with the toxin that he was exposed to. So, they’re going to have to find somewhere for them.” Gully, the airship team leader announced.

“Give them to someone? Oh, that’s now how it works at all.

Dave looks like he’s taking them to an open field on the other side of the Manor compound, so that he can keep them for himself.

You brought him goats, and he has taken that as a sign that they’re a gift.”

The dwarf laughed at Dominic’s consoling tone. “Better than leaving them in my airship. Do you know how long it’s going to take me to clean all that?

But we’ve got something else that we thought you would like to see.

That’s why we called you out.”

The Dwarves cleared the racking that had been assembled for the goats, and opened a wall to reveal the rear cargo area, which contained a large array of household supplies. Presumably, they were from the farmer, but what they revealed next brought a smile to Dominic’s face.

Four mechanical donkeys and a mechanical warhorse.

Complete with battle armour painted in the livery of the Dagos Royal Family.

“Now, it’s going to need a bit of paint before we let anyone else see it, but I thought that you might appreciate a proper ride of your own.” Gully explained.

Dominic stepped up to the mechanical warhorse and placed a hand on the construct’s neck.

It was in what most would call ’idle mode’ at the moment. It’s bonded operator had died, and like a bonded magitech item, it needed to be reset so that it could be used again.

“Well, at least we won’t need to shatter the spells to use it, the old operator is dead.”

The Dwarf nodded. “Killed during the fighting outside Kinewen. His horse continued to the next waypoint, which was the farmer’s house, as he used to run a highway Inn.

So, he brought it with him, looking to trade it for land. But now that he’s gone, I suppose it’s yours for the taking.”

“I suppose that it is. Does he have any next of kin?”

“None left. They all went to the city a few weeks ago, looking for work. They would have been there when the flooding started, as the old man waited until the waters were at his doorstep before running off with the herd.”

“Alright then. We will get him a proper burial and I will make a note of the debt in the ledger. If someone comes to claim it with proof of identity, I will pay them for the horse.”