The elf looked at the stall which the tentacles were inspecting down to the fox girl trembling beneath it. She sighed and decided to temporarily drop the matter.
"We came to the AG to do a job and by hell or high water I will see that we do it. Slime monster hiding out in bandmate or not."
Lily whooped in the air above them. "Our first job as adventurer apprentices, heck yes!"
Fey smiled. "At Least it should be an easy one for newbies, hunting slimes is like a new adventurer's initiation. They say you aren't a true adventure until you have gone on a slime job."
"Ugh. Lame. I've had enough of slime monsters for one lifetime thanks. You try and be the unwilling mother to one and see how you feel about it."
"It's worse than that Flora, the jobs in the city sewers."
"Oh come on! Why are you so bad at picking good jobs Ella, the sewers? WHY!"
The elf glared up at the gnome. "Because it pays very well and it was the best I could get in the all of thirty seconds I had before the AG descended into utter chaos. Now are you coming or not? This is to save our band mate and friend you remember? You know the one who tried to save your life down in the dungeon."
Flora let out a long exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes. "Goddamit you are way too good at this controlling captain shit."
"When I say we are going to do something I mean it, now come."
She took a few steps and then paused. A large blonde minotaur was standing in her path. The minotaur raised her hand and waved meekly.
"Uh, hi again."
"I'm still not marrying you!"
"N-no! It's not that, I uh, might have gotten a little carried away, it's just imagining such a thick masculine thing stretching me-"
"Get on with it." growled Ellaria.
The minotaur coughed into her fist, blushing slightly.
"Er, right. I couldn't help but overhear that you are going to the sewers to hunt slimes, although why one of you has a freaking slime monster inside- nevermind, getting side tracked- this is your first job here in Bine as you are new to the city yes?"
"Uhm, yes, we are in need of money for, uh, some reasons."
"Well I can make up for what I did a little perhaps, I am quite familiar with the city, and I know much of the sewers. I would be happy to guide you and make things easier?"
The blonde minotaur looked at them hopefully.
"Maybe she can help us avoid the stinkiest parts..." said Flora.
"R-really can you do that?"
The minotaur nodded. "You just need to kill slimes right? Well I can take you to the part of the sewer that's used more for flood mitigation than sewage, that shouldn't smell quite as bad I believe."
"I love her already," said Flora. "Welcome to the team new vice-captain. Lead the unsmelly way."
"What's your name?"
The minotaur shifted on her hooves awkwardly.
"It's Astrid. You can call me Astrid."
"That's a pretty name," said Lily as she floated down on top of Fey's back.
"Well, Astrid, you had better show us the best way down."
"Right, follow me."
-----------
Astrid the minotaur led the band through the city until they came across an old rusty iron door at the back of a deserted alley. After some difficulty opening it, in which Fey had needed to lend her unusual strength, they had forced it free and descended into the dark damp gloomy sewers of the city far away from any natural sunlight.
Ellaria gestured and a dozen flames spluttered to life floating around the band. Astrid and Vivi eyed them nervously. Deeper, then deeper they walked, the slimy greasy walls and path along a river of suspiciously tinted water the only feature of the splitting tunnels they trod.
A rat ran shrieking as Vivi passed by. She wrinkled her nose and nearly gagged. "Oh gods why does this place smell so terrible?"
"It's a sewer Vivi, and I'm still mad at you. Don't forget your punishment is inevitable."
Vivi took a step away from Ellaria out of instinctive caution.
"It's awful down here," said Flora. "My poor sense of smell, I'm suffering!"
Vivi shot her an annoyed glance. "You don't have a sense of smell anywhere near as good as mine! and you float! You don't even need to touch anything! Whereas I have to walk on the ground, where there's been- all over the- oh I don't even want to think about it."
"Well it's your choice not to wear shoes foxy. And shorts apparently."
"Wummy did that, I'm not wearing shorts by choice… W-wait Wummy!"
The fox girl's pregnant looking stomach suddenly writhed as though tentacles were shifting below the surface. She bit her lip and shuddered, her thighs clenching together.
"What's wrong? What is it?"
"It- It's something is disturbing it! I think s-something is coming!"
"A monster?" said Astrid. She shrugged her shoulders and unholstered a broad-bladed hand axe from her side.
"She's right, I can hear movement," said Ellaria, her flames flaring brighter.
The band readied themselves, staring at the nearest tunnel corner, just waiting for the coming attack.
A ball rolled around the corner. A shiny blue ball.
The band stared.
"Oh, it's just a slime."
Ellaria flicked her fingers and a normal regular fireball struck the slime and it ignited. The slime made a squeaking noise before it promptly popped and died, a splatter of slimeyness pattering across the stonework.
"Yawn." said Flora. "Truly you chose the most challenging of jobs El."
"It pays well, if it's a good paying job then it doesn't matter how easy it is."