Chapter 10

The story was not a happy one. That was obvious of course, considering her night terrors and extreme fear of dogs.

It started with her, her family and her friends, all in a nice sea side village. The village itself was called Lurolona, was a community of nearly all demi-humans. The Lord overseeing the land was a kind man, a human, who directed (not 'ruled' really, just supported the community) the village, saw to trade, made sure the rest of the kingdom was playing fair with them, and was generally well liked, if not adored by the villagers.

Then the first Wave happened. The Lord and his Guards did their best, rallying the people, saving who they could, and just... Doing his job as the Lord. Sadly, he was killed in the attack. Raphtalia and her parents were separated from the rest of the villagers in the panic. Of course, any monster will chase easier prey, and it was a Three Headed Black Dog who caught up with them.

Bloody from wounds, her and her parents were cornered on a cliff by the sea's edge. And Raphtalia watched, as she herself was thrown into the water by her father, the Beast attacking them.

In the end, she pulled herself out of the water, and back up the cliff to the top of the hill. All the monsters had been slain, but the cost had been catastrophic. The Lord was dead, most of his soldiers were dead, many of the villagers were wounded or worse, and many of the buildings were wrecked.

But, even so, the people rebuilt. Or tried to. Shortly after the survivors started picking up the pieces, a group of men on horseback showed up. At first, and rightly so, the survivors thought they were bandits. But when the Elder of the village threatened them with retribution from the Lord and the Castle Knights in the area...

Then leader of the 'bandits' said, "We ARE the Castle Knights!" And killed him.

Raphtalia stopped her story as I stood up suddenly. "Sir?"

I felt cold fury ignite in my gut. There was something else too, something close to incandescent irritation at being unable to just... walk up to the King and throw him through a wall or something. So instead, I pulled a pickax out of the Shield's inventory, nearly losing my balance with the sudden weight of it, then switched my Shield to the Pickax Shield.

I then started smashing the now nearly weightless tool into the stone around the nearest cluster of 'Light Metal'.

I was dimly aware of the other three, but at this very second, I knew I had two choices. One, leave the mine, figure out a way to murder everyone with a title above 'peasant' in the kingdom, do so, then figure out a way home while the kingdom burned around me.

Or exhaust my rage on something else, so I could think clearly while I was too tired to move.

This place was just so screwed up... so backwards... Weird 'game' mechanics, weird monsters, all this magic yet the people were helpless, and the nobility were either 'good' or 'irredeemably evil'.

Then the Summoning... Once again taken away from my home. Once again put into danger. My body and power had been changed and taken away. Add that to being summoned by a bunch of people who didn't actually want my help apparently...

False accusations... Thrown into a Slaver's Shop... Forced to buy slaves to even start what I was supposed to be doing here... wait...

I stopped slamming my pickax into the stone, and felt my entire body start burning with built up fatigue. The crash was so severe I basically just started falling backwards as soon as I let go of the pickax, but Usa was there to stop me from hitting the floor.

"Sir!" He sounded panicked, but managed, even one armed, to get me laying down properly. "Ah, Raphtalia! Bring the bandages!"

My hands felt like I'd dipped them into molten metal, and after a moment of clenching my jaw to stop myself from screaming, I felt water being poured over them, then bandages being wrapped around them.

"You should have given us pickaxes as well." Raphtalia chided, "You've been hitting the wall for almost an hour... I think? But we collected what you dug up!"

I felt like an idiot, as usual after doing something stupid that stopped me from doing my job. I also felt like I'd been yelling a lot. And I was hungry, again.

"Good work you guys." I said, "Once I catch my breath we can pull apart that Dog, and-"

"We did that too." Usa said. "We found an easy way to the water, so Clive and Raphtalia skinned and cleaned it."

"I... don't want to eat it though." Raphtalia said, "But Clive doesn't mind!"

"Gr." Followed by his tongue licking the top ridge of his mouth.

I sighed, "It's good to have reliable friends." I said. "Sorry for losing my temper."

They laughed nervously, "I guess you don't want to hear the rest? Until you bought us, it gets even worse..."

"Sir, you act like you've dealt with this before." Usa said.

"I have." I admitted, wondering if I should start a story of my own. "My world doesn't really have slavery. Or corrupt nobility. We do have monsters though, and most of my world is so focused on the monsters, that 'slaves' and 'corruption' really don't have time to fester like they do here." I sat up, Usa's good hand on my back to help, and looked around.

"Sir also seems to know what to do with a pickax." Raphtalia said.

In my irritation and anger, I'd chipped a lot of glowing clusters of Light Metal off the wall. Basically everything I could physically reach. The three of them had put it all into a pile, out of the way, along with the butchered Dog. With a grunt, then some limping as my body protested, I went to the pile and started feeding stuff into the shield.

Two-Headed Black Dog Shield conditions met.

Two-Headed Black Dog Shield: equip bonus: Alert Shield. Equip effect: dog bite

Light Metal Shield conditions met.

Light metal Shield: equip bonus: Defence 1. Equip effect: magic defence up

Huh... Like the Rope shield, it had a 'mastery effect', and a 'equip only' effect. I'd work on it later. The beast however had all kinds of useful bits. Good teeth, reasonably tough fur, meat that would probably turn into good jerky even if only Clive and I would eat it. For now however, I let the Shield store it all.

"Raphtalia? You can tell the rest of the story if you want. I'm too exhausted to do that again."

"Can we..." Her stomach grumbled, and mine did as well before hers fell quiet.

"Sure. After that, we'll all dig some more of this stuff up, so we can sell a bunch of it and upgrade our equipment.

She was right, the rest of the story WAS worse.

The soldiers had captured the women and children, and killed the men. Shortly after, Raphtalia and everyone she knew, had been sold. Her first 'owner' seemed like a nice person, but her night terrors had her sold off again.

Her next owner was a fat noble who seemed to delight in beating Demi-Human children. I felt that anger start to burn inside me again, and I had to stop her.

"What was his name?" I asked.

She stopped in mid sentence, and with the speed of someone who didn't want me to ask a second time, she replied, "Idol Rabier." She said quickly.

"If we get a chance, I'm going to kill him." I said flatly, wishing my blistered hands could close into fists without hurting so bad, "I might have been summoned here to stop the waves, and I will. Not because I care about the world, but because I care about people." Thinking about my hands though, I pulled a bit of medicine from the Shield and started smearing it over my hands. Felt like aloe instead of alcohol thankfully.

"You would still commit murder, even if they are the people you are supposed to protect?" Usa asked.

It was an innocent question. I was sure he hated slavers just as much as I did, and certainly held no love for the ruling class of Melromarc. I could have been wrong, but it felt more like a question you'd ask someone to get know them better.

"I have a saying, and I try and live by it. I fight people, I hunt animals, and I kill monsters." I said, motioning to the three of them as 'people', the bits of discarded Dog we didn't plan on eating or using for materials to signify 'animals', then pointing in the direction of the way out for 'monsters'. "People can look like monsters, but monsters can also look like people."

Clive seemed to understand, as did Usa. But in this world, they were actual adults. Raphtalia seemed to get the idea, but looked... doubtful. She was however, on board with the idea. "I would like to be there too." She said.

"I don't plan on leaving you out, or leaving you behind. But one thing at a time. Food is almost ready."

After all that time walking here, fighting, then digging at the walls for materials, we decided to head back in the morning. This gave us a bit of time to consider what to do, and how to do it. After dinner, we did some more training, (with me as the 'training dummy' since my defence was so high they couldn't actually hurt me if they wanted to), some reading lessons, a bit of foraging (mostly herbs and some wood for cooking la... ah damn it, not again...

Wood Shield Unlocked. Equip bonus: collection skill 1

... That would have been nice before I lost my temper inside the mine. But the effect was pretty drastic. The next time I plucked an herb (a simple spice that seemed to go with everything) the Shield glowed and the herb seemed to become healthier and more fragrant. Medicinal herbs also seemed to just... speed grow a little as I plucked them.

Raphtalia, much recovered from her time in a cage with the help of (still so bitter bleh) medicine and lots of food, was able to use the short bow a little too. Not nearly as well as Clive, but at least she was able to draw the thing now. I also spent a bit of time teaching her 'how my big brother Bell used a dagger'.

Usa and I practised Whip techniques. Though, I was just using the Rope Shield.

When the sun had gone down, we took shelter in the storage shed, set up our camping gear, and had Raphtalia leach us more letters.

"So." I started as Raphtalia handed me the story book and I put it back in the Shield. "We have a bit of a problem... Well... sort of. I'm getting to the point where I don't care what the King thinks. But unless he is just going to forget about me, I'm supposed to be 'released' from the castle prison the day after tomorrow."

They nodded, but didn't add anything.

"If I show up in town early, I'm sure someone will notice. But, we need equipment, and Riyute, as nice as it is, doesn't have what we need."

"Is there a reason you want to rush things?" Usa asked.

"We need to be as strong as possible for the Waves. And to do that, we need equipment. I don't know if you see the same things I do, but killing easy monsters will be pointless very soon. I mean, aside from the things they drop."

"And we will need better equipment to fight tougher monsters." Raphtalia nodded, yawning wide enough that I could see her back teeth. "sorry..."

"If I had access to proper equipment, and had time, I could just make the stuff myself. Since I can't, well, there's a guy in town, thankfully near the outer edge of town, who makes good stuff for reasonable prices." I wondered if he thought I wouldn't be returning for my commission...

"Will the guards even let us in?" Usa asked.

"I'm sure we can figure something out." I smiled, "Anyhow..." I glanced at my status window, saw that the Shield had finished making this world's equivalent to a protein shake (Nourishing Beverage), and took four of them from the inventory. "A body requires proper fuel, or it will eat itself."

"I wish it didn't taste so bland..." Raphtalia sighed, "I'm sorry..." When she realized what she had said.

"I value honesty, remember?" I replied, taking a deep breath and downing the entire cup in one go. "It's like drinking sandy water. But my stomach hasn't been growling as much at least."

I didn't sleep well that night. It wasn't bad dreams, or my emotions bubbling from just how screwed up this kingdom was. No... It was pain. A bone deep pain that felt like my joints were grinding together, while my bones were cracking apart. Growing pains. It had been a lifetime ago since I'd felt them, but I knew exactly what they were, even after all this time.

"Stupid king..." I grumbled as I made breakfast. I couldn't sleep until my usual 'just before sunrise' so I just rolled out of my bedroll and started cooking in the fire pit outside the supply shed. "Stealing part of my alchemy set... can't make pain killers... stupid world with stupid bitter medicine and no easy access to stupid sweets..."

'EXP 25'

There was a 'snap' and a squeak of pain from behind some small boulders. I gave the stew pots another stir, stood, then hobbled over to find out what had just stepped into my spike trap. Ah, Usapil. Stupid world and its obsession with ball shaped monsters...

I pulled open the trap, a simple thing of springy wood, vine and sharpened stakes, pulled the dead critter out of it, then took it by the stew pot and pulled out my utility knife.

"I'd almost bet Chime could fix this world's problems..." I said to the dead critter as I went about skinning it. "Or Spot. Give him enough time, and someone to translate for him, and he'd win just because he's the best boy."

"Sir?" It was Raphtalia, looking like I felt, in pain, sleepy, and wondering why things were so irritating. "Couldn't sleep? Oh..." She saw what I was doing, "I wondered why I gained a level just now."

"Sorry if I woke you." I replied, motioning with my chin at the stew pots, "Keep an eye on those for a moment please? I'm going to draw some more water."

"Yes Sir." She nodded, scrubbing the back of her hand across her eyes, then standing next to the two pots. "Um, why do you use two ladles?"

I grunted and groaned as I pulled up the bucket from the well, the old pulley suspended above it squeaking with excess friction. I was pleased to note it wasn't as difficult as it was the last time I did it though. "It's so that stuff from one doesn't get into the other. Usa either doesn't like, or can't eat, red meat. So to make extra sure he doesn't eat any, I use a different ladle in each pot."

"It's only a little though..."

With a grunt, I got the bucket over the rim of the well, then started lugging it back towards the fire pit, "True." I nodded, "But, what if you had a spoonful of poison, and someone ate it. Would you use the spoon after? I mean, it's only a little."

She looked suitably horrified, but 'shock' was a good teacher.

"Besides." I said with a smile, "I take pride in my cooking. The instant I find something to use as a sweetener? I'll add it to the medicine I give you, or those boring Nourishing Beverages." I paused, "Hey... You're getting taller too."

She blinked at me, then stood as straight as she could, "I am!" She smiled, "So are you, but if it wasn't for your ears, I'd be taller!"

I looked upwards, as if looking at my ears, "Maybe." I allowed, "Anyhow, let me wash this a bit, then wake the others. After breakfast, we'll do a little morning training."

Yes, that was the first day I had 'enforced' the After Breakfast Training. It couldn't be nearly as intense as it was back in Orario, but we weren't all super powered. With Raphtalia killing the Dog yesterday, I had noticed that levelling up here was similar to how it was in Orario. I mean, she had jumped a good three or four metres to stab the Dog. I had jumped almost two metres straight up to get on its back.

So, with that in mind, I was going to do my best to instill as much 'skill' as I could while we grew in 'power'. Much like I'd done when I got to Kuoh, except now, I was just as weak as they were, save for the fancy Shield.

The trip back to Riyute wasn't very exciting. There were a few monster encounters, I tried out my newest shield, sighed at how it looked (it made it look like I'd mounted the Two-Headed Dog on my shield as a trophy), then was quite pleased at how it worked. Each of the two heads could come to life and bite at what ever I'd just blocked.

I also made a ball. My newest (and first actual, true, 'offence capable') shield had caught and popped a Balloon in its mouth like a ball, and I saw the wistful look on Raphtalia's face. So at lunch, I took out my tailoring kit and a bunch of Balloon Skin scraps, and made a ball. And yes, I used as much of the first Balloon she'd killed (the red one, if you'd forgotten) in its making. I couldn't inflate it, so I stuffed it with more Ballon Skin (since by now we had more than we could ever need really), and it turned out rather nice.

And just to amuse ourselves the rest of the way back, we'd kicked the ball down the path until we got within sight of the town, calling out (or grumbling. Clive was a pretty expressive grumbler now that he was getting comfortable with none of us being annoyed at his lack of 'words') each other's names as we kicked. A simple team building exercise that could be applied to combat.

We arrived in the village, and basically went straight to the hunter's lodge. It was a little busier this time, and the four of us, all dressed like hunters (except me, since I'd given my cloak to Usa since his shirt and cloak were ruined now), pulled every eye in the place.

For the most part, it seemed as if a hunting party had returned, and the dozen or so men and women (mostly men, and only one rough looking cat-girl) were cleaning up. There were pelts of Usapil on a table, a heap of Mush caps on another, feathers from something I hadn't encountered yet (that looked too small to be from one of those Filolials), and the back room 'butcher shop' the Old Hunter had come out of last time was open, and it was in use.

"The hell? Anyone know these guys?" One asked, getting a bunch of shaken heads, "Ha, like a circus act." Said another, "Say that again nya..." Threatened the cat-girl with a growl before coming towards us.

She crouched down a couple paces away, "This isn't really a place for children nya..."

Then from behind all of them, yes, stepping out of the butcher room, a familiar voice called out, "Oh, The Shield Hero. You came back."

Silence.

I looked up at the cat-girl, smiled, and looked past her, "I have to apologize in advance for ruining some of your equipment." I couldn't stop my tail from swishing at the cat-lady's leg as I went by, since she reminded me of home, but I made my way to the nearest clear table.

Clive, helpful soul and understanding of my vertical deficiency, got a stool from someplace and set it down at the table so I could stand on it. Then, after a little (theatrical) hand waving over the Shield's shiny green gem, I pulled the the two heads from it's dimensional storage. "But we brought something home for your wall."

With a soft thump, the fur of the two heads flopped to the table. We did our best to field prep it for just this occasion, skinning the fur, cleaning the fleshy bits left on the underside of the hide, trying not to deform it too much when removing the bones, that kind of thing. But the four of us had no knowledge of taxidermy past that.

"By the Four..." Someone mumbled. "It must have been huge!" Another commented, "Where did they find it?" Someone asked.

"This was the only monster we found in the mine. It was living part way in..." I looked to Clive, who said, 'gr? Gr!' and took out the folded up map we'd found and flopped it on the table. "Here. The track here is ruined," I motioned to the dotted line that led over the river that went through the cavern, "But..."

And I pulled a shard of the crystalline 'light metal' out of the shield as well, "The mine is clear."

There was a cheer, and honestly, it felt really good to hear it. I might have even started to get misty eyed before I caught myself. "You did it!" The Old Hunter grinned through his white beard, "The town has been starving for that ore!"

"Well, if you find someone who will buy it from me, we can fix that." I said, "Better yet, just tell me where I can find them, and maybe give me an idea what it's worth?"

"Sir..." Usa started.

"Right, thank you." I nodded to him, "Does this clear our debt, Sir Hunter?"

"Of course!" He nodded.

"How about..." I pulled out the rest of the fur from the Black Dog, "You throw in a little touching up for this? I'm no expert on this world's methods, but if you treat that for us," I motioned to my party, "so it's ready for making into something protective, I'll give everyone in this lodge right this second, a cup of healing salve." There was another cheer, and I looked around the room, "And YOU! Yeah! You! In the back with the whip! Show my friend here how you use that thing!"

There was good news, and bad news. The bad news, that really wasn't all that bad, was the merchant who usually dealt with the ore, was absent. Because of the local mine being closed, he had to go further. This raised the price of his goods, starved the town of the money he would have bought it for from the miners, and kind of ruined my plan for getting into Melromarc.

The good news, by some stroke of luck (I made Usa blush by calling him a Lucky Rabbit), he showed up just after dinner while my Party and I ate. I also told the innkeeper we would be staying, and with a shrug he said, "Well, you did pay for two nights, even if they weren't in a row."

Speaking of Usa, he got a few more pointers from other hunters on how to use his whip. Raphtalia, since she was there, got some lessons in, and Clive, while he only fired about half as fast as the other archers, totally showed up the local hunters with his archery skills. The seamstress, while disappointed by Usa ruining the clothing he'd gotten from her, was glad he was okay, and all too happy to replace it. For a fee of course.

It was just as we were planning to go out and find him after we'd eaten, that the merchant we were about to look for showed up at the Inn.

"Sir? Is that..." Ever alert and perpetually a little nervous, Usa motioned with his chin at the man who just walked in.

He certainly had the look of a successful merchant. He was a shorter man with a 'well padded' look that was just this side of 'fat'. He also wore brightly coloured clothing, and while dusty from travel they were certainly well made. He also wore jewellery. Nothing excessive, but the middle finger of his left hand had a gold ring with a thumbnail sized emerald set into it, and his vest was closed by a gold pendant with an oval of polished jade set in the middle. His 'personal care' past that of being a little overweight, was also a step over average. His red hair, under the red-with-gold-trim cap was clean, and he had a neat little triangle of a beard on his chin.

I could also tell there was magic on him... someplace. A little of my sense for that kind of thing had been returning, and now that I was 'growing into' the ability again, I was feeling it around me.

"I think so." I nodded, "Master!" I called out, making exactly two people turn their heads towards me, the Innkeeper and the well dressed (and fed) gentleman. "I'll pay for your food and drink if you talk with us a bit!"

"Remember you said that!" The innkeeper said.

And suddenly being given a way to save a little money, the merchant smiled, "Of course!" Then to the innkeeper, "My usual then." Getting a nod from him before coming over to my table.

On his way over, I wiggled my rear closer to Clive on the bench, "Raphtalia, sit next to me? Usa, move over a little to make room? Thank you." By the time he'd gotten to us (he was in no hurry), we'd shuffled around and moved our plates to match our new arrangement.

"Ah thank you." The Merchant said as he got up onto the bench, "I'd heard someone was looking for me when I went by the Lodge. Was it you?" He paused to get a good look at me, "Well, the Old Hunter did say I'd be surprised!"

He seemed to have no issue with me, or those around him, being demi-human. That might have just been because of the Old Hunter, or maybe because this had a chance to bring profit.

"Well, I heard the mine near town had a bit of an infestation. So, my party," I motioned with a hand to each of them, "and I cleared it out. And since we were there, we borrowed some pickaxes and dug a bit of light metal up." I didn't pull the shard of metal out of my shield this time, but took one out of a pouch, "I know it's not how you usually do things on your way through, but can you make an exception just this once, and buy it from us?"

His round face lit up at the sight, and the news, and he looked across the table at me, "How much do you have?"

"After dinner." I said, hearing and feeling both Raphtalia's and my own stomach grumble. "You've had a long day, and her and I are still growing."

After dinner, the Merchant took us outside to his wagon. Sleeping next to it, curled up in a spiky looking ball, was one of those domesticated dragons. It raised its head as we got closer and started to get to its feet, but the Merchant just waved at it, "No no, get your sleep." The dragon then paused, and curled back up like an unconcerned dog. "It isn't much, I know, but since the first wave, times have been a little thin."

'Not much' still seemed pretty successful to me. The wagon itself was large, with a simple wooden frame over it that was covered in cloth, like you'd see in an old fashioned western. Inside though, it was stuffed with goods. Several crates, some barrels, a couple rolls of fabric, the scent of dried fruit (no you just ate! Shut up you bottomless pit!). There was just enough space in the middle to allow a walkway, but otherwise...

"Huh." I commented, feeling my (somewhat neglected) merchant soul wake up, "You might not have enough room for it all."

He looked down at me, "Just how much do you have?" He asked.

Now that there were less people around, I waved a hand over my shield and took a shard of crystalline metal out that was about as long as my leg. Then another... and another... until I could hide behind the pile I'd made. "About three times this much?"

"Five?" Raphtalia guessed.

Clive held up seven fingers.

"Sir did an awful lot of mining." Usa said quietly. "You were very upset."

The Merchant blinked at the pile, then just over it at me. "Oh my... And you want to sell it all to me? I'm not sure..." He frowned and reached into his ample vest and took out a little abacus made of copper and polished wood. His thick fingers were quite nimble as they flicked over the little calculator, "I must be honest, I can't afford this right now. I'd be going in to debt to buy it, and would be stuck in Melromarc until I sold it for enough to buy goods for my return trip."

An honest merchant? I couldn't help but smile, "Well, we can't have that. But, we'll sell what you can buy, and give you a little extra if you can do us a favour."

He looked hopeful, then seemed to catch on to something, "You're... That Shield..."

"I might be who you're thinking about." I said, "But, we need a little... extra service from you. Nothing difficult, and you'd be making the trip there anyhow. AND!" I held up a finger, pointing at his nose, "You'll have to forgive me for selling what you don't buy."

His own merchant soul rose up to meet mine, "So long as you sell it after I have! I can see myself being willing to do you a favour."

I pretended to wince, "Very clever! But I must accept!" I sighed, pretending to be defeated by a superior opponent, "I am currently a little unpopular in Melromarc, and my party and I need to get to Erhard."

"Oh? Well well! That shouldn't be difficult at all!" He declared, looking a bit shocked a moment later at his own admission.

"Well, since it wont be too difficult, I will give you say... five percent extra on what you buy from me, for the service of getting me to into his shop." I smiled. "You may have the service of my party on the way there as well, since I cannot be seen entering the city."

It was his turn to look defeated, my compliments making him careless, and my offer to have the other three guard his wagon as a 'bonus' basically making it impossible for him to ask for more. But he took the 'loss' with grace and extended his hand. "Deal. We leave in the morning right after breakfast."

"I'll even pay for that, if you don't sleep in." I reached up and shook his hand.

I was... less than thrilled with the plan to smuggle me back into the city. However, it was a plan that had succeeded.

At least, it had succeeded in another world, under similar circumstances. Kaede, a demi-human rabbit, or 'Bunny Hume' from Orario, had done something similar. Put what you want to hide in a barrel that was behind at least one row of other cargo, and put something on top to discourage searches. In this case? Our new merchant friend loaded up two empty barrels with Light Metal ore, one empty barrel with a grumpy fox (me) and put other cargo on top of all three.

Thankfully, what ever was in this barrel last smelled nice, was clean, and I wasn't also stuck in a stockade. The top of the barrel was also not sealed, just in place. So if I really needed to I could just stand up and jump out.

I didn't know how long it would take, but a short while into the trip I heard someone throwing up. A moment later, I heard the Merchant say, "Oh, poor girl. You'll get used to it."

Ah, motion sickness.

So, I tapped on the side of the barrel a couple of times, then said, "Usa, tell her to look as far into the distance as she can, and let herself sway with the cart. Small sips of water too."

A moment later, the sharp eared rabbit man repeated my words, and I heard Raphtalia groan, "I'll try sir! But please stay quiet, we're..."

Usa had to finish for her, "We're almost there sir."

The wagon eased to a halt, and I heard the dragon pulling it rumble deep in its chest. "Hold merchant! Your pass?"

"Of course!"

A pause, "Seems in order!" Another pause, "Didn't think you'd deal in slaves too. Not much to look at."

Another voice piped up, "By the three! That's an ugly beast."

"Oh, you'll have to forgive Clive. Can't choose our parents after all!" The merchant replied, "Don't worry, he knows not to stray out of sight, and he helps keep my dragon company when I'm doing business." There were three sets of laughter.

An honest merchant, but an adept liar when he needed to be.

"Right, see that you keep them from causing trouble. Bad enough we summoned one, don't need more of them running the streets."

"Oh? Summoned? I've been away a while, just returning from Zeltoble. Have the Heroes of Legend been summoned then?"

"There has. The Sword, Spear and Bow heroes have been doing great things in Melromarc already!"

"The Shield Hero... He was caught burning down someone's home and thrown in the castle dungeon."

"Oh my! How terrible!" The merchant said, "Well, I hope they learn their lesson."

"Hardly matters. In two weeks the first Wave will happen, and he probably won't survive to bother us anymore."

A new voice spoke up, from the opposite direction, "I hate to bother you! But we'd like to enter the city as well!"

"I'll find another merchant to get me up to date. Is that all Sir Knight?"

"It is! Move along!"

The wagon got rolling again, and I couldn't help but smile. They thought I'd end up dead during the Wave? That I needed to be taught a lesson? Well then... Oh, I'd been taught a lesson. But they wouldn't like what I learned.

There were other lessons in that conversation too. My newest acquaintance used a different 'oath' than the guards. By the Four, and by the Three. There seemed to have been a change in local 'religion'. Recent enough for someone who I guessed to be in their forties to use a different saying.

The anti-human stance seemed more focused on the nobility and knights, than the peasants and working class.

Merchants needed a pass.

Barrels weren't very comfortable to stand in.

I was hungry again...

The wagon stopped again maybe ten minutes later, long enough to consider trying to drink one of those bland Nourishing Beverages in the confines of the barrel. But I resisted when I heard Erhard's voice outside the wagon.

"Welcome back!" He paused, "Hmm, a little unlike you to buy slaves."

"Oh no, these aren't slaves, they're hired help." The Merchant replied, "Hired help who has also cleared up a bit of a problem." There was a theatrical swish of cloth, "Behold! The mine by Riyute has been cleared!"

"Gr." Said Clive.

"That's amazing news. You're not going to be too rough on me with the price, are you?" Erhard asked, seemingly not shocked by the lizard man.

"Not at all! I wouldn't think of it. These four have given me a little advance on the ore, and soon the villagers of Riyute will be back into full production!"

"Four?"

"Come come! Help my customer get these inside!"

I was really glad I'd gone to the bathroom before we left. But after some grunting, some rough motion, a comment on my barrel being a bit lighter than the others, a sudden thump as my container was set down, and a quiet 'ring-click' as Erhard's shop door closed, I stood up.

"Phew!" I said, looking around. "Erhard, thank you for your purchase."

The bald weapon smith looked at me, then to the merchant, "Four. I see." He walked over to me, and grabbed the back of my shirt. Without apparent effort he picked me up and just... let me dangle in front of him.

"What's this I hear about you starting a fire?" He asked.

"I was there, yes." I admitted, "The smell of smoke woke me up, and I had to break the latch on my door, and the door of the Matron's room. I then had to cut her ropes, and she jumped out of the window with me in her arms."

Before he could comment, I waved a hand, and a coil of rope flopped to the floor at his feet. Bits of it were cut, some of it was singed, and my nose could already detect a bit of a smoky smell from it.

"I was then taken before the king a few hours later, and thrown into his dungeon. Except, his dungeon was apparently a hard target to hit, because I ended up in a cage at the slave market." I looked past his angry face, "Raphtalia, Usa, Clive. My party members, and yes, my slaves. I bought them with money they didn't steal from me when they captured me, and have just solved your ore shortage with their help."

His anger faded, though he was still frowning (and holding me off the ground still). He looked over his shoulder, "You! Was your arm always like that?"

"Since birth, sir."

"He been treating you all right?"

"He has fed us very well!" Raphtalia said, though her stomach chose that moment to growl, "sorry... it's been a few hours and I was motion sick..."

"Food, clothing, medicine, training, weapons." Usa said while Raphtalia held her stomach and blushed.

Clive just nodded with an agreeable, "Gr gr!"

"He even gave me an incredible deal on the metal!" The merchant added.

Erhard set me down on the same shoe stool I'd used the first time I'd been here, "Fine." He turned to the merchant, "I'm guessing I'm going to be really busy right after this. So lets get our business done."

The door closed on the merchant with another quiet 'ding-click' of the door, and Erhard looked back to me.

"You, are a strange kid." He said, crossing his arms, his eyes intense, like he was trying to look through me.

"You don't know the half of it." I smiled, "But now the reason I'm here, instead of out there fighting monsters." I waved a hand over the shield, and a shard of Light Metal ore appeared in my hand, "I would like to commission some labour from you. I have my own personal supply of metal, lots of other materials, and four people who can follow instructions."

He looked at me, then the others, "Going to need more than just..."

Another wave, and the Black Dog pelt appeared. As well as some of its bones. Another wave, and I had leather and fur from Usapil. Eggug shell. Balloon skin. Teeth. Discarded metal from tools at the mine...

"The guard at the gate said we had two weeks until the Wave. We need weapons and armour that are up to the task. Can you help us, Erhard?"

He looked at the pile of monster materials, then sighed heavily as he turned around and flipped the sign on his door around to (I think) 'Closed'. "It's bad to keep kids up past their bed time, so we're going to have to work hard!"

"Be sure to listen to his instructions." I said.

"Yes Sir." (Gr!), they replied.

Notes!

And now, Kodori gets to see how this world's black smith works... mwahahahaha!

Thank you for reading! And if you want to see any full colour art, join the discord!

aKAQg4bnYu for the discord!

And my actual book, Were Too? is on Inkitt.

And! I'm looking into getting some story themed merchandise made. Join the Discord to find out more!