Taste of Magic: Ambassador's Voice

The lines on the ember wyrm's body began to glow and the ice around it began to crack. Alistair and the others watched in horror how more and more cracks spread through the ice until it finally shattered.

"Don't give it time to recuperate! Attack all at once!" Guildmaster Arianne shouted and charged into the clearing towards the wyrm. Other adventurers who had brought out the barrels, charged in alongside her while the archers began shooting arrows from all sides.

Alistair activated speeding past them all, straight at the wyrm. He seemed to be even faster than before, no doubt thanks to the boost provided by his bloodline ability. He channeled all his energy into his sword, hoping to pierce into the still sluggish wyrm.

But it had turned out to be not as sluggish as they had thought. Before Alistair could reach it, flames erupted from those unique glowing lines on its body. They weren't nearly as strong as the flames that it could spew from its mouth, but he could still distinctly feel the heat as he approached the monster.

Afraid of getting burned, he stopped some distance away from the monster. The arrows that flew at the wyrm burst into flames when they got in range of the wyrm.

"Leon! Use water from the melted ice to douse this monster," Alistair called out as he noticed a puddle by the wyrm's feet. No doubt it was from the ice that had previously encased it.

Leon blinked a few times, still not quite comprehending the situation, then snapped back to reality. "At once!"

The mage waved his wand and the water around the ember wyrm's feet began to bubble up and rise. But the monster didn't wait around for the water to encase its body again. Instead, it jumped high up, over Alistair and other adventurers.

"This is bad!" The Guildmaster hissed and ran towards the wyrm with her mace raised high for an attack. However, it released another heat wave from its body, stopping her in her tracks. If it weren't for the cloak, then she surely would have suffered horrible burns.

But despite Guildmaster's attempts to get the monster's attention, its eyes were poised on Leon. The mage went pale when it realized that the wyrm knew that he was the one among them manipulating water.

It's going to try to go for Leon first. Without him, we have no hope of stopping this fire monster.

The ember wyrm moved closer to Leon, the paralysis slowing down its movements.

"Run, Leon! You fool!" Arianne yelled and the archers released another flurry of arrows. But just like before they burst into flame without doing any damage while the mage stood frozen in place from fear.

If only I had a shield… Dammit! I have to stop it somehow but with those flames spewing everywhere, I can't even get close.

Despite the hopelessness of the situation, Alistair activated to zip past the ember wyrm and stand in front of Leon. Perhaps he could at least distract the monster for long enough for the mage to regain his bearings and run. The wyrm hissed at his sudden approach but kept staring past him at Leon.

"I am your opponent! Me!"

Alistair said and tapped into the last remains of his bloodline ability. He felt the lightning power that had been building up in his body trying to burst free. So he didn't resist it and let it loose. With a wide sweeping arc, he slashed at the wyrm. A bright burst of electric energy flew at the monster. However, it managed to avoid the hit at the last moment, moving its body barely out of the way.

No!

As he felt the power of his bloodline recede, Alistair was left standing without any clue of what to do. The ember wyrm was just too strong for them to defeat. He had no shield, no more bloodline power and he couldn't even get close to the monster to damage it.

"Dammit! Whatever you do, do not let it reach the town! Even if you have to die to stop it!" Arianne yelled and ran at the monster. But it hit the woman with its tail, sending her flying. Leon was scrambling away, falling over rogue roots and branches. The wyrm noticed that and turned to chase after him.

Alistair tried to block its path again, but the wyrm apparently had grown tired of him and swatted him away with his tail just like he had with Arianne. He collided painfully with the ground, barely able to keep a hold of his sword. As he landed, Alistair did his best to get up on his feet as quickly as possible, but he knew he wouldn't make it in time.

The ember wyrm was steadily closing the distance between itself and the mage despite the paralysis. Bright flames were beginning to form in its maw and it was locked onto Leon.

Time seemed to slow down as everyone watched the scene in horror, nobody able to stop the monster from its advance. All seemed lost, but then Alistair noticed something dark blur among the trees from the direction of the town. It ran past the mage and stood in the ember wyrm's path.

"Look here, you fiery beast!" Melina yelled from the back of Gilbert's black stallion, not a single shred of fear in her eyes. She looked miniscule on the giant horse's back and even tinier when compared to the monster in front of her. A flurry of emotions went through Alistair as he saw the girl stand in the way of the powerful monster.

What is she doing here? Is she insane?!

The ember wyrm hissed and for a moment it seemed that Melina would be reduced to ashes before anyone would even get a chance to do anything about it. But she jumped down from the horse and pulled something out of her bag. At first, Alistair couldn't see what it was but the monster reacted instantly.

The flames around its body died down and its mouth closed. It was growling but for some reason, it didn't seem inclined to attack anymore. Alistair didn't understand what was happening, but he would not squander this chance. He began moving closer to the monster, ready to jump at it using his .

"Nobody come closer!" Melina ordered, looking at Alistair. It seemed ridiculous that this little peasant girl, an orphan no less, would command him, a son of a duke, to stay away from a fight. But there was some unseen power inside those striking blue eyes of hers. He didn't dare to disobey her. Some little voice deep inside of him told him to trust her, even if logically it made no sense.

"Girl, do you want to die?!" Guildmaster was ready to rush forward and the ember wyrm hissed, the lines on its body resuming its glow. Alistair blocked her path.

"Don't interfere," he warned her.

"Hey, look here! Forget about them," Melina called out to the beast and waved the thing she had pulled out of the bag earlier in the air. The wyrm instantly calmed and looked at her with eager eyes.

Guildmaster's livid expression changed into a confused one. Much Alistair's surprise, Melina was holding a tartlet in her hand. For a moment, he wondered whether he was having some weird fever dream.

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"That's right! Look here! Doesn't this look tasty?" Melina smiled, waving the pastry around. The monster's eyes were glued to it and it began to salivate. However, it was still acutely aware of all the adventurers surrounding him and did not let its guard down.

"Throw your weapons away," Melina instructed.

"What? Are you insane?!" Guildmaster yelled, and the wyrm reacted with a sharp hiss. It was insane, Alistair had to agree with the Guildmaster. Who threw their weapon away in front of such a monster? But could their measly weapons even do anything against it?

"Please, trust me. It'll be alright!" Melina looked at them pleadingly. Her earnest expression and clear gaze triggered something within Alistair. Another vision flashed before his eyes.

Melina, much older and dressed in grand mage's robes, looked at him while they stood in an alien landscape, surrounded from all sides by centaurs, their bows ready to pepper them with arrows at a moment's notice.

"Trust me, Alistair! Lower your sword," she told him with the same clear, unyielding gaze.

He hesitated for a moment and then dropped the sword in his hand. "I'll always trust you."

When Alistair blinked again, the vision was gone. Usually, they were disorienting and confusing, but this one was clear. It told him what he had to do. He dropped his sword to the ground and lifted his hands to show that he was unarmed.

"What are you doing?" Guildmaster growled.

"Listen to her." He said firmly and looked over his shoulder at other adventurers. They did not want to listen to him. "It is an order!"

Everyone shifted uncomfortably. Alistair had not exercised his birthright before, but everyone knew that they could not disobey orders from a noble. The first one to respond was Remi.

"Listen to Melina," the elf said and dropped her bow to the ground.

Guildmaster looked from Alistair to Remi and then to the wyrm, carefully observing them. It was not attacking. After a moment, the Guildmaster gritted her teeth and dropped her mace. "Drop your weapons."

Other adventurers followed suit, discarding their weapons and lifting their arms.

"There! You see, everything is fine. There's no need to worry," Melina cooed at the monster and took a step closer to it. It growled at her, so she stopped but outstretched the tartlet closer. "I mean you no harm. All I want is to give you this treat. Doesn't it look nice?"

The ember wyrm salivated again and took a tentative step closer to Melina. Then another. Everybody watched how the large beast got closer and closer to the frail girl. But even when the ember wyrm was just a meter away from her, Melina showed no fear. Instead, she set the tartlet down on the ground and took a step back. "Enjoy!"

It sniffled at the pastry cautiously, but whatever it smelled, it must have liked it, because it opened its mouth to lick the pastry. Alistair's heart almost stopped—he worried it would just unleash a fireball at the girl at point blank rage. But instead, it kept licking eagerly at the tartlet, until it finally closed its mouth around it and swallowed the treat with great satisfaction.

The bright lines on its body stopped glowing and grew dormant.

"Tasty right?" Melina smiled and then pulled out another tartlet from her bag. "How about another one?"

The ember wyrm looked extremely excited at the prospect, moving dangerously close to the girl. Nobody dared to even breathe as she held out the tartlet in her tiny hand. Alistair jerked forward when the monster reached down to eat it, worrying that it'd just bite her hand off. But instead, it licked it off with its tongue, crunching at the treat with great pleasure.

"Very good!" Melina cooed and pulled out another tart. "There's no need to attack anyone is there?"

The wyrm almost seemed giddy to see another treat and… it was wagging its tail? Alistair and other adventurers watched as she held out the tart again, and this time when the wyrm leaned in to eat it, she gently patted its forehead. The monster didn't seem bothered by her touch at all. Instead, it began sniffing at her body, unabashedly pressing its snout all over her.

Alistair thought his heart would jump out from fright. But Melina just giggled as it happened upon some ticklish spot of hers. He couldn't believe his eyes.

Just a few minutes ago we were fighting this beast and losing. It was about to kill Leon. Yet Melina has subdued it with a tartlet in mere minutes. It's just… amazing!

"You're a good wyrm, aren't you? You won't attack anyone, will you?" She cooed, pulling out another tart. The ember wyrm gobbled it up in a matter of seconds and then looked at Melina with its large eyes. They gazed at each other for a long moment as if they were having some hidden conversation.

After what felt like an eternity, the wyrm leaned down and pressed its forehead against Melina's. Both of them closed their eyes and then the wyrm began to shrink. Before Alistair could understand what was happening, it had shrunk down to the size of a large gecko and swiftly crawled up on Melina's shoulder.

She pulled out yet another tartlet—Alistair had to wonder just how many of them she had—and offered it to the now small version of the ember wyrm. It began to nimble at it enthusiastically, looking awfully cozy on her shoulder.

"I can't believe it…" Guildmaster Arianne stared at the sight with what appeared like a smile. Alistair had never seen the woman smile, yet even she couldn't contain her emotions after seeing Melina's marvelous achievement. "This girl just tamed an ember wyrm with a few tartlets."

"Melina, that's amazing!" Remi ran up to the girl, looking at the little wyrm in wonder. It was too busy eating the tartlet to pay any mind to the elf. "If I had known that I could entice the beast with a tart, I would have made some myself."

Alistair returned his sword to its sheathe and then slowly made his way to Melina, wondering if any sudden movements could perhaps trigger the monster.

"I'm afraid that this isn't just a normal tart," Melina said, a pang of worry crossing her face as she saw everyone approaching her. Most kept their distance, especially Leon who was a good twenty meters away from the scene.

"First of all, I must thank you," the Guildmaster addressed Melina and bowed low towards her. Everyone else, including Alistair, followed suit. "Without your interference, I'm afraid many of us would have died today."

"Indeed. It was the most amazing display of courage, Miss Melina," Alistair added, feeling genuine awe for the girl.

She shifted uncomfortably from one leg to the other, a gentle rosy blush spreading through her cheeks. It was such a peculiar sight—a girl who tamed an ember wyrm blushing while the said beast sat comfortably on her shoulder. It appeared that this day was filled with peculiarities.

"Thank you!" All of the other adventurers bowed to her as well while warily eyeing the wyrm.

"I just did what anybody else in my shoes would do," she said.

"No, that is not something anybody would do. Or something that anybody could do," the Guildmaster's expression grew tense again. "How did you manage to calm the beast with just a tart?"

"It's because of feyfruit," Melina said.

"Feyfruit?"

"Miss Melina won the feyfruit in the cooking competition in Pertia, if I remember correctly," Alistair explained.

"That's right. Master Gilbert informed me that monsters find this fruit irresistible."

"Oh! So you are Gilbert's apprentice. Now it's starting to make more sense," Arianne hummed thoughtfully. "But I can't believe that Gilbert would send his apprentice into such a dangerous situation even if he had high confidence in these tarts. There was never a guarantee that they could actually calm the beast."

"Oh, no, he didn't. I came of my own volition."

"Why would you endanger yourself like that?" Alistair asked sternly. While he was most certainly taken aback by her bravery, he also couldn't deny that it was very foolish and dangerous. Melina looked at him and for a moment he could see deep pain in her eyes.

"I just didn't

want anyone to get hurt."

"Oh, Melina just has the soul of a hero! She did what nobody else could in a way nobody else could imagine. We should celebrate!" Remi cheered.

"I-I have a m-more important question," Leon suddenly squeaked out, hiding behind some trees.

"What is it?"

"What are we going to do with the ember wyrm now?"

Everyone looked at the creature sitting on Melina's shoulder. Quite honestly, he wanted to dispose of the beast, but he knew that showing any signs of aggression towards it would only force it to attack everyone again. Not to mention that it looked like it had fully recovered thanks to feyfruit in the tarts.

"I'm afraid that this ember wyrm is now bonded to me. It'll stay with me in the bakery," Melina said.

What?!