Chapter 41: Tom the not bandit

The motley crew of girls continued walking but as they approached the second village their formation fell apart even more with Eel now dragging behind - Emily dictating the pace with her little, weak legs. Reason for this was Eel was no acting as a backpack with her feet half dragging across the ground all the while rubbing her face between those cow ears to refill her ‘Emilium’.This resulted in the physically far weaker Lyada taking up the gear she previously carried and Fuka nervously looking around due to paranoia. Although she never said it, it was quite clear she had developed some new tendencies after the back to back threats last time they went on a journey. It had only been just over 2 weeks since then after all.She wasn’t the only one as it was evident Eel’s confidence had originally taken a hit… But that quickly vanished as unlike what was confidence? Could you eat it? Does it run fast? Can she hunt it? All questions the little dragon would ask with a serious face if she didn’t already have a dictionary memorized.Emily put more effort into learning about the world and it’s secrets which she seemed to be able to do quite easily in her dreams. Having an adopted mom who worked for the person in charge of the place information is stored - the mind (certainly ain’t the rubbery meat cauliflower) - gave her privileges. She even proudly exclaimed she learned a really strong magic for learning a lot about the socio-economic situation between the eastern and western halves of the world.Lyada just continued being Lyada.“At first I thought Fuka was being paranoid but now I understand… Mother, this is so boring~!” <Eel>“Hey, shouldn’ there be something about not usin’ ya ancestors name in vain!” <Fuka>“Actually the religion under {The Infinite Mother} believes in times of stress calling upon one's idol would be a good way to relieve stress and thus increase productivity…” <Emily>“Nerd.”<Lyada>“Muu…” <Emily>“Don’t bully my Emily just because she’s smarter than you, if I had a dragons breath I’d burn your bum.” <Eel>“Wouldn’t throw up rocks or water?” <Lyada?“I-...” <Eel><Fuck she’s right! Mother is a water dragon and the other half is earth… Wouldn’t that evolve into mud? That wouldn’t be very regal… I guess I’ll just not use my breath if that happens. I have standards to upkeep and how am I going to be suave if I’m busy heaving mud - not to mention the odor would stop me from getting the babes?!

Could be good for laying some traps down though depending on the viscosity of the mud but I didn’t like the taste of mud last time I tried so it will spoil my meal. It would be tragic if that happened...>“W-wasn’t Eel’s scales more metallic than dirty though? Perhaps the water purified the rock to become the higher ‘Metal’ element which would also work well considering she also has a strong blood element from her Demonic bloodline. In fact, according to some legends including those from the Church worshipping her Mother is a title inherited from {Mother Nature - Gaia Primordial Goddess of Life}. Which would mean there would even be a strong possibility of those three affinities melding into the Life element which would also-” <Emily>“Nerd” <Lyada>As she spoke she only spoke faster and faster before Lyada interrupted her causing her head to drop down.“*Cough* I meant ta say; I’m not lookin’ for trouble but surprised there hasn’ been any. Ye were bein’ chased down by two of the scariest people on this planet ‘n’ yet you’re completely fine!” <Fuka>Eel just shrugged her shoulder with a grin.“They don’t seem to care about me due to being so weak with no support. Fufufu~!” <Eel>“That… Isn’ somethin’ you should be proud of…” <Fuka>As they walked on without looking at one another nobody noticed the strange look on Emily’s face when Eel said ‘no support’. However, due to her usually being quiet nobody noticed her being ‘more quiet’ which was lucky. She sucked at hiding things according to Eel who had long since found her ‘secret safe’.The chaotic yet harmonious atmosphere was broken soon enough though.“Something happened” <Lyada>Catching everyone's attention Lyada pointed ahead where there was a medium sized wagon that seemed to have veered off the path - landing into a muddy ditch and ending up half buried in the mud. The thing was a fairly regular looking carriage if you were trying to be suspicious - with a large door on the back leading into a ‘room’ that was fully sealed other than the door. “Here we go~.” <Eel>“Time to use your breath.” <Lyada>“I’m not a mud dragon and dragon breath doesn't work that way! Also I haven’t developed my [Dragon Arcane Gland] yet…” <Eel>Fuka just sighed at her companions' antics and looked over at the driver ( as well as assumed owner) of the wagon to see what was happening. The owner was a bald middle-aged wearing a white shit that tightly clung to his muscular frame - a scowl seemed to be permanently on his face. Along with the scowl there was also a scar down the side of his face. It certainly did him a favour if he wanted to join in for a spot of crime.He was grumbling while pulling and pushing the wagon angrily as if he was ever going to get it out like that. Of course everyone there wasn’t surprised at his aggressive natureThe other three girls all looked each other and seemed to agree to cautiously approach but were interrupted by Eel who walked over without a care in the world. A smile on her face to meet a new person and situation as she patted on the man's waist to get his attention before she jollily continued on.“Yo~ you look like you need some help - I can easily get this thing out the mud for you!” <Eel>It’s then the three remembered ‘Eel Jr’ and ‘common sense’ had never really met face to face before. But they also quickly sighed in acceptance - after all how could they judge a dragon by human standards? A man may look dangerous to them but to a dragon a human was a human. The best case scenario would be a dragon treating them as if they were an individual instead of as a ‘human’. She wasn’t even related to humans in any way as her mother was a tree loving {High-Elf} and even then the elves certainly didn’t understand her as can be seen from Ali’s frustrations!“Er sure? I would appreciate that quite a lot young lady - sorry to bother you.” <Bandit Looking Man>“No bother at all~! Journey to Goberz has been quite boring so far.” <Eel>“Ah, heading up Goberz to escape this mess of a country? Certainly a good country for girls to go so it makes sense - though up north could also be good the border is far more airtight. Down the south is obviously a no go while nobody is sure what to think about with the east! Us men aren’t as lucky though since Goberz may as well be a tourist trap - good for a while but no infrastructure to support us… Not to mention I don’t swing that way and I'm not much of a gambler either.” <Bandit Looking Man>Fuka couldn’t help but blink for a bit - how can a man like that be more well spoken than her? Sure it was setting the bar low but from his tone and vocabulary he seemed like quite the upstanding individual who was also fairly knowledgeable about the whole situation of the nearby countries. This was in a day and age where some people didn’t even know the next closest city to their village. It was quite shocking!Of course Eel wasn’t surprised and continued to chat up a storm with the man while Emily plodded over to give a few bits of information here and there. This would cause the scary looking man to compliment her getting a happy little sway from her hips. Eel of course had no issues whatsoever with lifting something so ‘light’ so didn’t even bother to touch it - just stinking the butt of her spear in between the spokes of the wheel before lifting it up and dragging it back to the correct path.“You’re really a great help Elizabeth! If you want I can give you a ride since I’m traveling up to {Moolesh Mountain Town} anyway - I may be slower than you if you run but old bessy here can at least carry a pound or two!” <Bandit Looking Man Called Tom>“Er although we’re thankful for the offer-” <Fuka>“Thanks Tom, let’s get going~!” <Eel>Fuka would just sigh and give up. She wasn’t the party leader anyway and even if this was a plot to ambush them with a bunch of bandits… Well Eel wouldn’t be opposed to it based on her eating habits. Of course, if Emily wasn’t wary it also gave her some confidence. Afterall she spent some time being a normal person for awhile so had some common sense. Then again both were little girls…Fuka just decided to do her go to move when it came to figuring out these two munchkins - give up.