We sat in the Guildmasters office. I was forced to sit on a more sturdy bench due to my weight being too much. The chair I had originally sat in groaned nastily so I had to quickly move to my present seat on the hardwood bench. (This is a problem. How did I gain so much weight so quickly) I ran one of my hands through my hair in slight frustration. I would hate to suddenly weigh too much and have to sit on the floor constantly. Sam got to sit in one of the chairs across from the guildmaster as we heard him speak to us.
" It would seem that you have angered a certain nobleman in Weremar Lady Carnac." He pulled out some yellowed parchment with some black mark's scrawled on it and pulled out a pair of glasses from the drawer.
" I wonder what you could possibly do to aggravate the royalty of your country to the degree of being hunted." He stated as he suddenly looked at us over the top of his glasses. He then pouted a little at the contents of what he read and put it down on his desk. What sat there was a perfect drawing of Sam's face and some letters that read as follows.
" Lady Carnac has been abducted by a criminal mastermind. The demand for her release has been established at the royal jewels of the Carnac family which were given to the thief. He still remains at large and has her prisoner. Anyone who comes forward with information leading to her whereabouts and arrest / execution of the criminal will be rewarded the Carnac's family jewels and a sum of 100 gold coins. You can't be serious!" I shouted.
The guildmaster turned and faced us.
" It would appear dragon breed that you are a criminal and are to be either killed on sight or arrested. I would suggest staying out of bounds of the kingdoms reach. They try to bully and ensnare the weak willed and shallow minded. I saw the damage you did to protect your charge. And if you were really her abductor you would have killed to get out of here with or without her. Either that or she would already have been sold or killed by now."
He put his feet up on his desk. His boots were made of a dark leather with a pitch black sole.
It was obvious that he was done talking. We got up and left the office. Sam leaned in close.
" What do we do now?" She asked quietly.
"We find legion and leave. Head for the Main City. Then we get a ride off his rock." I stated calmly.
She nodded as we walked. We entered the guildhall and where it was originally bustling with activity, it was quiet as a church. We walked through and out the doors without a problem and managed to get through the crowded streets back to the hotel. Legion was sitting in the room waiting while carving something out of a wood block.
" We're leaving the city." I told them as I leaned on the door quickly. Their head turned and nodded.
" Alright. It feels like we've been here long enough anyways." They replied. The tools they had accumulated were put into a bag and slung over their shoulder as they went to leave. I saw the bunch of tools and couldn't help but say something.
" I don't remember you having money. Where'd you get the tools?" I cocked my head to the side a bit. Legion looked back at me.
" One of the Smith's was getting rid of some of his old tools. We offered to take them off his hands. He didn't have a problem with it."
They turned forward and kept walking. I shrugged. ( Dwarves are dwarves....) I thought. I went back out the inn and paid the receptionist as I went. All the money I had recieved from the dwarves was almost spent. I only had a few silver coins left so I might have to hunt a few monsters and sell the materials. Maybe get a small job at a smithy till we had enough money to move on.
I counted my silver coins. ( 20 left.... this should do till we reach the capital.) I thought as I went forward. Sam was waiting outside the inn door with her hammer slung across her back and a bag slung across her shoulders.
" Will we be flying or walking?" She asked curious as to what mode of transport we were going to take. I neared the fountain of the guardians and put down a map of the continent I had gotten from a stall for 30 coppers. I stared at the map, contemplating the contours and the possible routes to go. I got an idea. The idea churned into a plan.
"We go on foot through the mountains here." I tapped the paper and dragged my claw lightly toward a patch of forest. " We will cross the mountains and through these woods in the north to hinder anyone following us and leave fewer tracks. Taking the main roads will make us targets so we will endure the harsh environments for our best hope of survival."
I looked at Sam and she nodded. I didn't look at Legion. They would be fine one way or another. " The only problem would be if winter catches us in the mountains. We only have so much food and if it gets too cold I can only do so much before I freeze. And that being said you would be in the most danger of the cold Sam. I can heat myself. You can't."
She nodded again as a thoughtful expression crossed her face. We started walking again as we planned. Before we left the city we stopped by a clothing shop and purchased a fur cloak for Sam. It would keep her warm if we did end up in the middle of a snow storm.
We left the city through the same gates we entered. There were still no guards or watchmen of any kind. ( This place is strange as ever. Not so much as a peep from the law enforcers) I thought. I was confused as to how these people could be so relaxed. Turning my thoughts from the subject I focused on the journey we were about to make. We ventured north and at our first crossroad we left the paths to traverse the mountains.
The lands were rocky and seldom flat as we got closer to them. When we got to them I realized how much of a mistake I had made in my decisions. There are so many reasons dwarves didn't dare come here of make trails through the mountains. They were steep cliff-like walls that greeted us. From far away it seemed to be steep but not this steep. I glared up the wall. I shook off most of my clothes as Sam blushed deep red and turned around in surprise. "I'll need to shapeshift if we are to climb this. " I said a little sheepishly.
Sam nodded with her back turned to me. I quickly changed into my dragon form and pulled my shield wings behind me like a platform.
" Get on. We need to keep moving." I said trying not to sound too demanding. Legion hopped right on as Sam slowly got a grip and lifted herself up. ( Why isn't she as strong as she was before) I thought concerned about her. ( Did breaking the contract make her normal again?) I thought. She never said anything about backlash of any kind. But thinking about it wouldn't help. As soon as she was settled I started my climb. I dug my claws into the mountain and started upward. My claws sank into the earth like a knife in butter. I did my best to keep moving. As I climbed I thought about the various things we had talked about on the way through the settlement. I decided on the mountains instead of flying to keep a low profile and stay out of the public eyes for a time. Flying made myself an easy target seeing as I was a huge beast. Not to mention people would spread word of they saw a monster my size flying close to a town. Sam had agreed meanwhile Legion didn't have a care in the world and simply went along with it.
I continued my climb I was a good 50 feet above the ground. Another 100 or so to go. I started to feel a slight burn in my front legs as I hauled myself up. It took another 15 minutes of climbing before I got to the top of the cliff. When we got up here Sam and legion got off as I morphed back. My arms burned so we rested for a few moments at a clear patch in the rocky landscape. I rested my arms and we settled for a bit of lunch. We had Roasted Cuckoo and Broad Leaf Sandwiches. They were essentially Chicken clubhouses that the inn lady had prepared for us before we left. They were good. Since coming to this world very few things reminded me of home food wise. But this did the trick. I didn't get any abilities but the material was stored away and placed into the most necessary places by Gluttony.
We continued our journey after an hour of rest. We continued up the mountain despite the steep terrain and the cold winds that swept past us like a broom sweeping the mountains. We only encountered a single beast as we ventured upward. It was a mouslike creature made of stone. It had ruby eyes with a diamond nose. Even I knew what this thing was when I saw it. My tomes had mentioned this creature before. It was a jewel mouse. Very slow, but had excellent defensive abilities. Normally found close to mines, loves to consume metal and jewels. The only thing the book didn't mention was there size. It was as Large as a house. Classification was Destruction Class at its sheer size. Very dangerous was all my senses told me. The one perk about the mouse though. Very skittish and would avoid people at all costs. As soon as we showed up it ran off. Or to be more precise it waddled off. The ground rumbled under its weight as it quickly waddled. Sam's eyes were filled with disappointment as it ran away. "That would've made such excellent jewelry." She said sadly.
I patted her shoulder. "Best not to provoke something that can level a settlement just by rolling around. That thing would have given me a run for my money." I said as I passed her heading for what looked like a cave.
Sam's face turned into a look of confusion.
" How could that beast be a challenge for you Ignis? In dragon form you could kill it easily."
I turned to her. " Not while protecting you. That mouse has ruby eyes and a diamond nose. That means it can not only breathe fire but can use a special magic of its choice. It is heavily fire resistant and can mold the earth at its whim. And from the size of it I would wager that would be a Kilometer radius it could move. It's best that we didn't fight it."
I turned again to the cave and started laughing. " Besides. You'll have all the jewelry in the world with this sort of loot." I said as I pointed in. Sam's jaw hit the floor as she stared into the cave. It was a jewel mine. Dwarves must've abandoned it years ago for some reason, but there were jewels everywhere. I entered and started placing them in my bag as Sam and Legion did the same. " Today we've certainly hit a lucky spot." I said gleefully. Unfortunately my glee didn't last for long as a roar shook the mine.
What was that Sam said fearfully.
" I'm not sure." I replied. " But if it's one thing I'm certain of we overstayed our welcome."