A Benevolent Evil Dragon

"You didn't need to exhaust yourself." I hear only a grumble in response, but I continue nonetheless. "You will need to handle this thing by yourself when we get close to town. I doubt people will believe I am a horse, and I can't hide in plain sight."

I do my best to not rattle her too hard. If I were to sprint… I'd probably get tired every three hours and need to nap a day away but I'd get to the town in the second round. As it stands, though, I got her to about a third of the way through and she managed to bring us to about two fifths of the way there…

"You should have stopped the moment you realized there was an incline."

However she didn't, which is why she is laying down on the furs, barely able to do anything other than grumble in pain. Healing magic would be great around now so I could fix her muscles, but sadly I have yet to figure out anything even close to it. I have mother's healing rune memorized, but there's a tiny problem with that… she loved overdoing it. Her healing spell is the equivalent of using an ultimate on a one hp target. There are so many intricate moving pieces of nature, life and a tiny bit of the usual mix of blood, bone, flesh and for some reason mind, which makes it impossible for me to even pretend to cast it.

So for now the plan is to just keep being a coach horse and let her rest. I should also take a quick detour. Sugar, water and a quick shower always got me back on my feet, so maybe it'll work for her. Hopefully. I don't know if her being ragged and tired will be a plus or a minus for the story of the passing by mercenary.

At least the bit of mana I am syphoning from the pouch around my neck is helping with my fatigue, even if just marginally. I've also figured out that at least one of the abilities of silver. It filters chaotic mana into a mix, by itself. Problem is that it quickly darkens if I make the mistake of breathing too much mana into it, and when it gets dirty it stops doing anything. It even stops pulling mana. I only need to rub the surface a bit for it to stop, and I think I saw it receding slowly, so-

"You're stuck in your head again." My head turns around before my mind does, causing me to stop abruptly and for Edith to shout a curse as she's thrown about. "Gods… Heart, I'm starting to think you love rattling me every which way! Anyways, you get thoughtful quickly, huh…"

I scrutinize her expressions but I can't find anything other than genuine concern, so I sigh and nod. "Heart? No, not important. I apologize. Recently, I've not even tried to stop myself, but I clearly should." I sigh, shake my head and start picking up speed again, but with my mind more focused in the moment.

Edith on the other hand turns to a softer tone as she denies my apology. "Don't get serious now, it's not that. I'm sure it's normal for you and yours to think and ponder all the time. It's just… mom always says the mind's a familiar prison. Sometimes it looks like you're stuck festering in it, so…. yeah… be careful, please?"

"You are right. I let my body speak as it wants, my mind think as it wishes… I feel foreign and familiar all in one… I should probably confess tha-" My ears extend, my head raises in an automatic motion, then I slow down and dash into the treeline, only barely managing to whisper shout as I vanish from sight. "Caravan!"

From the woods I see Edith scrambling to put on a pair of boots taken from one of the bandits, then she got behind the wagon and started pushing. She wasn't quick, after all she was too tired for that, but she was moving at a decent pace that people would hopefully not question. Ducking low, with only my brand new ears moving like satellite dishes. I focus a bit and my attention falls on the girl, letting me hear clearly as she whispers curses under her breath. She seems to panic slightly, but a quick use of sound magic lets her know that I am right here with her.

"Heart? How… I can hear you like you're whispering in my ear!" She looks around, but it seems forest military camo was the right use of my chromatophoric scales. Once more I thank my memory bank… my soul for holding nifty things within.

"I can hear ya just fine." Ho, tone shift. Using the normal sound rune is like using a soundboard, so I need to focus on every which word rather than let my mind put together the meaning of my thoughts. I can speak more like myself like this. Interesting. "Ignore. Spell's made for range and precision, but it's basically a squeak. Only reason you hear it is that I'm aiming straight into your ear. Downside, if I slip up I will blow your drum. Upside, magic earpiece. Now quiet, crossroads after the next bend, big caravan running on the other path."

She tries to say something but she notices, and by extension is noticed by the caravan. There's a dozen wagons and two fancy carriages, escorted by a few mounted soldiers and at least a few missfits… Mana. I smell the mana coming from a few of them, approaching slowly so my big eye would get at least a bit of insight into what we're dealing with.

A few soldiers see the bloody, damaged wagon without a horse, they see the old sack tied to the front of the wagon, with suspiciously spherical things inside that is very much soaked in dried blood, and they make no attempt to hide their suspicions. A few of them, together with one man that has visible mana in him walk over to Edith, who just greets them with a poker face.

"Greetings, fair lady!" A suspiciously blonde soldier, taller than the rest, is the only one to talk, smiling brightly, almost in a disarming manner..

One soldier slowly walks around the other side, clearly wanting to get a good look at what she's carrying. The man with mana in him, a rather uniform mix of earth and nature, is whispering an incantation, but it's in Kamish so I didn't get what he was attempting to do, at least until I saw a familiar eye like rune appear on his forehead. I saw that once before, it appeared when… Yvonne… I don't remember what she said however, but I remember the pattern. When she used it, she seemed afraid of me… I think for a moment as I look at him narrowing his eyes, particularly on her hand, despite it looking healthy. I can see the mana in his body stirring, as if he's ready for a fight. Primitive mana sight is my best guess.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"-sadly nobody was left alive by the time I came across them. Leader of the bandits claimed the mother ended her girl and then herself… Body was still a bit warm, must've been an hour or two before I got to them.." Edith makes a pained expression that seems to put at least the blonde man at peace. Few would be able to fake that.

"I see… You say it was a band of seven, yes? Did the man use magic to make his sword shimmer and flow like water?" Huh, they had a reputation.

Edith seems uncertain how to answer that, so I chime in. "Repeat after me, give it your own spin though. He didn't get to cast anything, but he had a water affinity. Took a lot to burn him." She seems uncertain for a moment, but I continue. "Brown with green streaks in the back's using magic to look at your mana. Don't know what he sees, but he likely knows you've got magic. If he does see your affinity, the honesty would be a boon." That thankfully convinces her.

"He did not get to, sir. He had his guard down, thought me easy prey. He did not burn easily, however, so he might have been a user of water. He also had a decent sword with an engraving on the pommel."

The man nods slowly, then points at the sack, showing a wry smile. "Taking the heads to Lord Glozko for the reward, then? Lech's gang had a good bounty on them."

She nodded, recounting my idea from earlier. "Yes, I am. I am not of these parts, as you've guessed. I didn't know they were famous, but I guessed they might have had something on their heads. They were well equipped for vagabonds."

"Yes, lady sorceress, they were." She flinches a bit at his words, drawing a raised brow from the magic user behind. "Heard they were from the border. No one's sure if that town belongs to Agard or to His Royal Highness, so they got in. Defected five years in when they realized the war is just a pretext for the border nobles and that they throw the likes of them in the meat grinder. Heard he stole some crystals to turn himself witch. Thug that survived the war is bad enough, give him the abstract powers of a witch and you're bound to see that small group going about, pillaging villages like it's nothing. They been a thorn in the Baron's back for the past year. Used to be eleven before a few knights of his saw the band, but one of the knights also died so the lord really wanted them dead. He'll probably look the other way to the grave robbing, but I suggest selling all you got in his town and being more careful to look the part if you want to claim this kind of stuff yours."

She nods as we are both reminded that laws exist and we don't know them. I miss not having to deal with society already.

"Either way, thank you for dealing with them. If they were around, we might have been their target. I got confidence in my men and these mercenaries, but still it wouldn't have been bloodless. I would've offered you a horse if it was my call, but my lord is not the giving sort. Instead, how about this. Between here and the Baron's town there's a small path. It's narrow so you need to leave the wagon close to the road, in the bushes. Still, if you follow the path it will lead towards a beautiful lake. Some folk say it's water's run through silver from the mountain. It'll help you recover a bit."

I look over and see the caravan almost passed by. The men notice as well, so they bid farewell and leave her alone, apparently without any further conflict. Luck was on our side, in the end. I hide a while longer, then when they're out of earshot I go and take over work horse duty.

"To think they've been doing this for that long… And they were soldiers on top of it all…"

"It's common." I say, without much thought. "If the bandit's wearing decent armor and uses something like swords and bows, they're a soldier or guard of some kind. Defectors often resort to banditry because the punishment is death either way."

I feel the way she looks at me, but I say nothing. For a moment I wanted to just come out and say it all, but I don't know the ramifications of that decision. I need to know more before I come out and say I am a failed slave of the gods turned man eating dragon…

After hiding the wagon as well as we could, we wandered for a few minutes before coming at a pretty big problem.

"Did he not say which way to go?"

"No… Just to go a while on this road…"

We both frown as the path we've been following towards this supposed silvered lake splits into two. One goes higher, one goes lower… I don't really have the energy to do two roads… I need a nap soon…

I scrutinize the paths again, but this time I hear a faint something that draws my attention to the lower road. "I think I hear a feminine voice singing…"

Edith looks at my head, noticing it's pointed downwards, and she just goes for it, slowly, carefully not to trip in the parts where it seems to be just a bit too steep. It is clear almost the closer we get to it. I can hear the splashing of water, the sound of a woman singing a beautiful tune, the feeling of mana in the air… Turns out there might be pockets similar to mother's out there… that would certainly help.

Edith seems a bit shy as we get to the edge of a clearing, the woman having her back towards us, long black hair cascading into the water, hiding her almost completely as she is submerged to her shoulders. Edith clears her throat, causing the woman to stop singing and instead flinch and turn her head the tiniest bit, not enough to look our way at all.

"Ah, sorry for disturbing you…" I hide behind bushes as Edith approaches, getting her attention. "Please continue, it was beautiful!" The woman looks forward again and resumes her song. It is indeed beautiful. I can hear the maidenly love in her heart as she reaches high notes, reminding me of a couple's honeymoon. I can feel the sadness as her song slows, then the image of a slowly growing flower envelops my mind. I sit there, taking in the music and the mana as Edith strips and approaches, ready to get in the water…

And suddenly it stinks of rot. Rot doesn't smell bad to me in this body of mine, but this scent is foul. I look at my scales and I see the faint shimmering of my protection going off just as my mind clears. This mana… Mind and death, with just a bit of water, nature and earth to hide these two. As Edith dips a foot in the water I dash out, seeing the unmoving body of the woman suddenly turning with inhuman speed, showing her pale rotting flesh, her body with inhuman proportions and even a smiling maw filled with sharp, yet clearly rotting teeth.

The monster goes for Edith's throat, but it is stopped both by her hand exploding with chaotic fire and my own addition, a beam of chaos mana that I only imbued with the imagery and desire to reach the monster. I see iridescent light hit her in the chest, then flow like water around it, only to stop as it hardens into stone. The monster's torso falls to the ground from the weight, being stuck as Edith burned her head. By the time I reach the two, the monster is mostly dead, but managed to break the stone which now began melting into the ground.

I smash the body for good measure, before finding myself suddenly in the library. Damnit… this is not the spot I'd like to take my nap in.