Supreme Magus novel Chapter 3359

Chapter 3359 A New Page (Part 2)

Once everyone was done, Erghak gave the signal to put the item back into the pile and step away.

"What do you think you are doing, kid?" An amethyst-scaled Dragon grabbed Aran's wrist in a steel vise.

"I'm not doing anything and you're hurting me!" Aran struggled and failed to break free.

"What's happening here?" Erghak's voice was calm, but his gaze was cold and hard enough to force the other Wyrm to release his prey.

"I saw the human taking something from the pile." Calling the boy human instead of hatchling sounded like condemnation to half those present and like an insult to the rest.

"I'm not a thief!" Aran said in outrage.

"That's a serious accusation, Shabar:" Erghak replied. "Are you certain?"

"I couldn't be more certain even if it was my own treasure that got robbed." Dragons had keen eyes that could notice a single missing coin or just out of place.

"Aran?" Erghak looked straight into the boy's eyes without softening his gaze one bit.

"I didn't take anything. I swear!"

"Please!" Shabar scoffed. "We all like treasures, but stealing from the dead at his own funeral is low even for a human."

"I'm not talking with you, Shabar." Erghak replied. "Don't make me repeat myself. You have already disrupted Valtak's funeral and there's only so much time until the sun goes down. If the moment is lost, I'll hold you responsible!"

"Me? I'm not the one who saw something shiny and thought I could pocket it without anyone noticing. Being a kid is no excuse for such rotten behavior."

"Shut up." Quashol grabbed Shabar's shoulder, draining the heat from his body and with it his strength. "The longer you speak the more you sully the funeral."

The Wyrm would have liked to reply, but his jaws were frozen together.

"Aran, I have to search you." Erghak said. "If I find nothing, the rude uncle and I will apologize to you. Okay?"

"Okay." Aran stood still while the Fire Dragon placed his hand on the boy's head and used Invigoration to check for hidden pockets or dimensional items.

"The Hatchling has nothing but his clothes and a bunch of handkerchiefs." Erghak said, restoring Aran's honor and drawing countless glares on Shabar's sorry figure. "See? I told you, a Verhen never lies." Aran said while puffing his chest out with pride. Lith, Solus, and Tista looked around nervously, neither confirming nor denying the boy's claim. Kamila had a hard time repressing a peal of laughter at their evident discomfort,

but managed to keep it in thanks to her Constable training.

"Are there any objections from the Fire Dragon Brood to add this fellow Dragon to the pyre?" Erghak asked receiving no answer except for one raised hand. "Elder Ronak?" "Not an objection, a request." The Elder Wyrm took a childish drawing of him and his father out of his dimensional amulet. "Can I add something of mine as well?"

"Me too." Said an old female Fire Dragon holding a badly crafted fire crystal in her hand.

One after the other, the Fire Dragons pulled out small items of great sentimental value that bound them to Valtak.

"Unless you all object to your own proposal, I couldn't turn it down even if I wanted. And I don't." Erghak took a crudely purified silver bar the size of a pencil out of his dimensional amulet. "I guess our Hatchling has just added a new page to our tradition." The Fire Dragons nodded solemnly and gave Aran a small bow that lasted long enough for everyone to remember that the Hatchling wasn't just a guest. He carried the blood of a Fire Dragon, making him one of the Brood.

Aran became beet red from the attention while his mind went blank.

"I'm not of your Brood, but I ask to add my share to the lot." Quashol pulled out a letter from his breast pocked after the Fire Dragons had placed their gifts on the pyres.

"Sure." Erghak nodded.

The Father of All Ice Dragons left the letter under a heavy gold coin and moved to Aran's side.

"It contains all the things I couldn't say to Valtak over the millennia because of my stupid pride and my apologies for abandoning him when he needed me the most." He said. "Why are you telling me?" Aran looked around like a trapped mouse, feeling the burden of such confidence.

"Because it's only thanks to you that my stupid pride failed to stop me again. Quashol replied. "I had your same idea but lacked the guts for it. Now Valtak won't have to wait until we meet again to listen to my whining and I'll live what's left of my years with a lighter conscience. Thank you, Hatchling."