A Benevolent Evil Dragon

Before doing dinner preparations, we actually had some time to see if there's anything useful in the town. As Lech said, there was a scribe in town, but he didn't have his own shop. Apparently he was here temporarily and lived in Jan's home, working to help him with some paperwork before probably going back to where he came from. Or at least that's what the gossiping ladies were saying.

Edith was a young girl with a wild streak, but from all the pressure of her old home she apparently knew how to be the perfect polite girl and suck up to older ladies. Just like back on earth, women were the way to know everything about what's going on in a town, while men were how you learned extremely specific and weird stuff about obscure topics. Like where to find a dick-shaped rock in these woods. Or maybe it was a tree? There's only so much guesswork and interpretation of behavior can do when it comes to foreign languages and broken Vernian.

I wasn't going to send Edith to prod them though, again, she was a young and beautiful girl with the wild allure of an imperial sorceress, so no shot I'm making her deal with mannerless idiots…

I blink. Possessiveness. I need to be careful about that one. Guess with mother gone, I am more conscious of Edith as part of my hoard. Shit. Regardless, not putting her in any needless danger, the ladies were helpful enough.

While this town lacked a true book shop, there was an apothecary who was also the local witch. She was old, cranky, but supposedly kind and gentle with her patients. Her husband was dead, her granddaughter was her apprentice and she had a soft spot for curious younglings, which she sometimes taught stuff to. Glozko also liked the woman somehow, because she had quite a few books and scrolls as teaching material, something someone of her position wouldn't easily get. It was all about plants and the like, and it was not in Vernian, but getting a look at them would be helpful for when I actually learn the local language.

Even if we can't find a way for me to transcribe the books into my soul, Edith could try and learn some important things about healing before we leave. It's currently our biggest blind spot. If she also learns about where to find a lot of mana, it would be all the better. I am exhausted already from having to be constantly vigilant and having to hide and sleep for most of the day. If we find a way for me to go into an environment meant for a dragon, I might be able to finally rest properly, even if there's stronger monsters around there.

Speaking of monsters though, my stomach rumbles, which is quite bad. Edith just got to the old lady and I would have wanted to learn more, but I need to leave. This place has livestock, even if not in large quantities. My instincts tell me to just nab a chicken or five, maybe even eat a whole pig, but I know that would spell my end, so I need to go out and hunt.

Problem with that, though, I need to hunt far away from town. Despite having fish, bread and a lot of gardens all around, people and especially the baron still eat wild meat. That means that I need to not stumble across the hunters working here. If one of them sees me, I'd have to kill to silence them and I would very much prefer to keep my kill count strictly filled by people that deserve it and not unlucky fellows.

I whisper to Edith that she's on her own for a while, then make my way deep into the forest. The bag around my neck has grown quite heavy and loud, but I don't mind too much, since the second I start stalking it stops making sound. Perks of being somewhat related to birds, my body is all about that innate gyroscope. Even my head, now that it's on a slightly longer neck, has its own auto-stabilizer.

A twig snaps in the distance, I walk away from it. The crunch sounded very human, which is quite a pain. My body trembles as I remember the taste of human flesh… then I just feel sick, or at least pretend I am. My fangs demand flesh and refuse my reasoning for staying away from easy prey. My claws want to rend flesh from bone, and are getting more and more insistent…

Only my nose is still on my side and takes me away to some actual food. Not deer, not boar, not monster either… I do however find a beehive. A proper big and wild one at that. I can smell the sweetness of the processed accumulation of sugar inside there… Autumn is coming, which means the hive is being overfilled so it would survive the cold. My stomach rumbles. There is no big prey around. The damn humans scared them all off… probably with their regular hunts. I could try and eat small stuff, rabbits, hedgehogs, squirrels, other rodents and tiny things. But I can't. The energy expended catching those is much more than the energy I get back… Even if I go and fish I won't likely catch enough to satisfy my needs.

I think about having Edith simply buy me a big slab of meat… but no, I would eat a whole pig, not a leg. It would stand out if she bought that much flesh when she is supposed to eat on the baron's dime… I sigh and hope that this world doesn't have a honeybee problem like my old one does, then I approach. The bees seem alert despite the fact that I have yet to do anything… They rush out of the hive, fly towards me, then split apart and fly either around me or around the nest. I am confused until I look with my central eye at the hive.

It's built around a gem of poison mana, every single bee around me having a bit of it glowing in their abdomen. I worry that I am about to be attacked by an angry swarm of deadly bees, when a huge one climbs out of the entrance. That's clearly a queen, and said queen looks my way. She buzzes her wings, makes a dance, then goes back inside. The bees flying around stop doing so, instead either spreading out towards the distance, or landing back on the nest. I sit still and watch as the insects start biting into their own nest, cutting away a third of it and letting it fall to the ground. I see the bees as they bite away sealed chambers, containing half grown larvae and carry them away from the fallen piece.

Inside the nest, in the new gaping hole, I see both the queen and a bit of the gem that gave the insects their mana. I see her eyes which hold an intelligence above its species as she observes me. I take a step forward and she doesn't even flinch, instead just moving her antennae. The closer I get the more I feel a myriad of little smells, pheromones that might mean a lot to the bees, but are hard to decipher for me. The only one that smells similar to what I have learned from humans is the most prevalent, namely anxiety. They are ready, if I decide to attack, but they are also hopeful I will not. They paid tribute to the beast they have no chance of defeating. This will set back their hive a lot, will lead to the death of many of them, but it will mean they survive today.

I nod towards the queen, bite into the fallen piece, walk and spin in the shape of an eight, like she did, though having no sense for the subtlety of her tongue, much like she doesn't for my own, then I step away. I think for a moment, though, and realize that I don't feel right. True, a bit of myself wants to just take the gem from her and simply eat her whole swarm if she strikes back, but a different part of me is too proud to take this much from a smart being and not give anything back. I cannot pay for it with protection, I will soon leave this place. In that case, I pay with what I have on me. I approach her, making her flinch this time, but I do not open my mouth to kill her, instead I take a single gold coin from my bag and carefully push it into the nest, touching the gem. Gold generates a bit of mana based on the mana that flows into it, so this should help her crystal along.

I bow my head towards her, then leave. It's strange, in a way… Thinking about my primal impulses makes me realize that I would feel more badly about killing her than I would about killing Ronald and his crew, given the chance. My entire sense of morality is completely messed up…

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However, as always, I leave that thought for the future. Right now I need to eat and survive.

I fucked up. I ate my fill once I found a shallow part of the river, where I could simply spear fish with my tails, then took a nap since I needed to conserve energy and the large influx of riches meant I could better refill my reserves but not run indefinitely. I wanted to be fresh since I didn't know how long this might take, but I ended up sleeping most of the day away. I forgot that I am using more mana in order to hide from people, channel my hearing and attention, and continuously whisper with Edith, so of course the influx did not offset my needs.

At least we ended up with a whole hour to discuss little details and excuses. Perks of being used to thinking of every horrible outcome imaginable, I can think of most ways the baron could try to catch Edith in a lie. Really, the biggest problem currently would be them seeing her for a peasant pretending to be a noble and executing her for that, I bet it's a crime or something. Hell, being a witch seems to be a crime unless you're in good terms with the local power structure, and we… I crippled two noble kids, which will come back to bite us soon enough. Best not let him think she's a lone, weak witch.

I almost feel like kissing her when I hear that after talking a bit with the witch, who seemed to be busy healing a man with his leg almost bitten off, she went out and sneakily inquired about the price of stuff. We were way off with that in our estimates, and while Lech's sword is still our most expensive item, once we cash in all the stuff we had we could end up quite rich. The family that died on the way apparently came in and sold wares for their entire town twice a year. They were always loaded when they went back, and ended up with a lot of silver and a few gold coins from the baron, which was how their little village would afford their own witch.

If the baron was to buy everything from us, including the weapons which were real money makers despite their rough shape, we would have enough for me to be capable of casting spells without worry of blacking out quickly. Based on his mood tonight we would decide if we sell the wagon itself too, or if we hire a local craftsman to fix the damn thing before we leave. Having it would be helpful since once the privacy is back, Edith will have a good place to sleep on the road and I would have where to rest mid travel instead of having to always nap out in the open and run to catch up to her. If we need to make ourselves scarce, though, we'll try to sell it and the horse, then run away in the night. I'm not above committing arson to escape if they pull anything.

"Why do you seem more scared than me?" whispers Edith as she approaches the mansion. The man's house is walled off and placed at the edge of town on a slight hill. Very feudal of him… I am surprised he didn't send a carriage for Edith. Is this maybe an insult?

"Apologies. I am the anxious sort. I am thinking of all the ways this could go wrong, all the slights and insults he could try to hurl your way to discreetly evaluate you. I am almost tempted to just fly away with you right now. The loss of profit and becoming criminals is preferable to losing you, so keep that in mind."

All I could do was watch from afar as she was welcomed by Jan's guards. There were men around the clock watching his home, but thankfully there is one place where I can hide without alerting anyone. While Edith does her best to act refined as she is taken to a terrace, I scale the wall after a man passes by, drop down and quietly rush for the tiny pond he has in his courtyard because of course he has a pond in his courtyard. I left the bag hidden outside, so it won't get damaged while I cosplay an alligator and it won't give me out by clanking all the way.

By the time I am set up and hidden by the decor, I get a pretty good view of the table, my head fitting snugly between the reeds. I take stock of all the people around, but despite the large number I can only see the baron and his right hand man sitting at the table. The reason this strikes me as odd is that I can see a woman wearing a beautiful dress that is looking down at the whole thing, probably the baroness. Weird to have a guest and not welcome them with the whole family…

"I don't like this. Soldiers don't seem poised to attack, but be ready anyways." I whisper to Edith, who looks unsure and seems to choke a bit on her drink, before focusing back on her conversation.

"As I was saying, I am very thankful for the hospitality, but I must ask that we focus on the trade at hand. I wouldn't want the foodstuffs to spoil and for all that your town is a beautiful place to rest, I have my own goals. I wish to distinguish myself as a sorceress, and that cannot be done so far away from proper conflict." Seeing as that wind girl was working as a mercenary while being a daughter of a knight, it meant that at least noble women were treated more fairly around here. Figured this was as good a cover story as any for her line of work.

"Yes, yes, I am sure you are eager as all young ones are. However, do not think that this place is overly peaceful. After all we have our own troubles here, troubles I am sure you could handle quite well. If honor and prestige is what you seek, then there is scarcely a better way to earn it than to drive off dangerous monsters." He leans back in his chair, looking her way.

Edith seems nervous, unable to even eat. "That is certainly a good way of spreading my name, though I would not expect someone as powerful as your lordship needing to ask me for such a favor." Quick deflection with a small jab, just as practiced. Even nervous , she doesn't lose her cool, which is for the best.

The man, to his credit, doesn't seem too insulted. "Wisdom demands that I ask you to pay back my own favor. I understand your point of view, but power is hardly all there is to a sorcerer. Why do you think I did not kill the songstress myself and instead put a bounty on its head? Same reason I am asking you to handle these beasts. I am not suited for either of them."

Instead of continuing, Michal takes over by clearing his throat. "In truth they are not difficult to kill, much like the songstress, but they have their tricks that neither I and my men, nor milord could properly handle." By his expression and tone, it seemed like he was trying to be a mediator. Which is a strange deflection from the quick threat that Jan flashed by saying this is repayment… The baron continues before either of us digest the situation properly.

"Indeed, even a young witch could deal with them, if only she had the right talents." The man almost stabs through the table as he says this, which makes Edith flinch. Before she can even pretend to be insulted, the man continues. "Which is why I expect that you, an imperial "sorceress" will handle this quite neatly. Once that is done you will get a proper reward as well as payment for the goods you brought, including those weapons, and may leave my lands at your leisure."

Edith frowns, takes another sip of the drink, some wine if I were to guess, then puts on an indignant tone as she acts outraged. "I came here as a traveler and a guest, Lord Glozko, and while I appreciate the welcome I do not appreciate the insinuation that I need to earn my ability to leave this place. Detaining a foreign noble without cause cannot possibly be good for your standing." I can hear a faint tremor in her voice. She is scared and I am angry, my wings floating to the surface, ready to push me towards her.

Jan doesn't seem even the least bit perturbed. "Oh but I am not insinuating that at all, lady Feur. I think I have been quite thoughtful and fair towards you, despite having many reasons not to be. Now, I am afraid that it is your choice if I will continue being fair, or if I should act as the law demands, sor-ce-ress." He accentuates the final word by tapping his finger and zapping the table, leaving clear scorch marks in the shape of his lightning.

Edith's hand shines a bit, clearly her mana responding to her worries and fucking with the spell a bit, but thankfully this dress had sleeves, so only her hand under the table shines up slightly. I, on the other hand, don't know what to do. They knew it, from the very beginning they knew. I don't know what gave it away so instantly, but we're fucked if they act. I breathe deeply to calm myself then whisper towards Edith.

"Alright, listen closely. We're draining these bastards dry for this."