Strax stepped out of the carriage and, taking his first few steps, he spotted the soldier he had saved earlier. The man was visibly exhausted, his body weary and panting. Although he was a bit older than the other soldiers, he still maintained a certain vigor.
"Are you alright, old man?" Strax asked, his tone mixing concern with a hint of irony.
The soldier lifted his head, trying to force a smile. "I'm fine, young man. Thank you for the help." He made a hand gesture, a sign of gratitude and respect.
Strax turned to assess the situation of the others. The bandits who had attacked were being contained, and the chaos was starting to settle. "And the others? Everyone safe?"
"The group is intact, but so are injured," the soldier replied, taking a deep breath. "We still need to check the carriage and ensure nothing was damaged or stolen."
Strax nodded, understanding their situation. "Good luck with that. I have to bring my wives here. I made a deal with that strange woman inside. If you need help, just let know. I'll be following your journey," he said, and the old man nodded as the soldiers began to organize the situation.
As he watched the activity, Strax noted the soldiers' efforts to restore order. They were working diligently to reverse the chaos the bandits had caused. It was a scene of teamwork and resilience, sothing Strax respected, even if it was on a battlefield.
"I hope I don't regret doing this whole thing. Connections... I guess they'll be better than gold in the long run. That woman... the veil covered her face, but she seed quite ordinary... still...
what a strange feeling..." He murmured, beginning to move.
He needed to et his wives and set a few things straight, especially about this supposed agreent... A few minutes passed, and Strax finally reached the carriage. It wasn't far, but he still had to walk, and in a way, he was still tired from the battle, making it difficult to move.
"Hello." He said, scratching his head as he saw his wives extrely furious... I an, he had been gone for almost half an hour in the midst of a battle, them being calm would indeed be very strange...
"You better have a good explanation for this crap, or you're sleeping on the couch for the rest of the year." Samira said. If she were a supernatural woman, her eyes would be red and threatening, but to him... she just looked incredibly cute when she was angry, and well, he couldn't help but laugh at the situation... "Pff..." He tried to hold back, but her pout won him over easily...
Strax looked at Samira, trying to maintain a serious expression, but the sight of her pouting and angry was simply irresistible. "I have an explanation, I swear. It's just that—" He began but was interrupted by a softer, more understanding voice. "Are you hurt? You look exhausted," Monica asked, concern evident on her face as she approached with Beatrice by her side.
"Yes, it was a bit more complicated than I expected, I had so... problems," he replied, relaxing a little at her tone. "But we managed to handle the situation. And now, we have a few things to discuss."
Samira still had her arms crossed, clearly unsatisfied. "We still haven't received any explanation about what happened. And you're late. We were about to go after you, so this delay better be well justified, because if not..." She was genuinely furious compared to the other won... "How irrational..." He thought, smiling, and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I know, I know.
I went to help the group that was being attacked. I didn't want to worry you, but it was necessary. Now, I think we've gained sothing good..."
Beatrice tilted her head curiously. "Sothing good? What do you an by that?" "A contract..." Strax said, a bit hesitant to speak but began his long explanation.
A few minutes passed...
"Really, you deserve a beating!" Samira said, landing a punch on his stomach. "Urgth! Calm down!" Strax said, protecting his stomach from the blow. "I got more things! Calm down!" He said, holding back her third punch. "Damn you!
You almost got yourself killed!" she said, still fuming.
"I agree with her, screw this crap. We aren't starving to act like immoral bandits." Monica said with a judgntal look. The real problem wasn't what he wanted or what he got, but how he got it. "They're right, you... didn't you act a bit recklessly? I an, you could have died if the woman hadn't shown rcy and stopped to talk...
She was an idiot, I would have killed you imdiately." Beatrice said, shrugging, being the least concerned of them all. "Well, given you have Ouroboros and Tiamat, I'm sure they wouldn't have let that happen, right, girls?" Beatrice questioned, speaking directly to the two weapons that trembled slightly, and Strax kind of nodded.
The two swords disappeared as they slowly transford into two won who imdiately...
"What the hell is this?! From three to five?!!" Carlos, who had just returned after taking a leak, saw five won in front of Strax. "Y-You! What the hell is this?" he questioned Strax, who was still recovering from Samira's first punch but had his usual mischievous smile. "They were always here; you just didn't notice," he said, looking at him.
"Really? I didn't notice? Are you going to say— Oh crap, spirit swords?" Carlos questioned, seeing that sothing Strax usually carried was missing. "Bingo!" Strax said, composing himself. "et Ouroboros and Tiamat," Strax said, and the won looked at Carlos with no interest. "Tsk, boring human," Tiamat said, turning away from him.
"Stupid human," Ouroboros did the sa.
"Stupid human? Look at this guy here! He's human too! Besides, the one who's asking to die is him! How am I the stupid one here?" he questioned, feeling extrely wronged. "For your information, I'm smarter than most of the organization!" he said, trying to assert himself to them, but Tiamat and Ouroboros just sighed even deeper.
"Humans with weak egos, powerless to overco absolute strength, so tiny," Tiamat said with more class than Ouroboros, who... "She said you're a dope who can't even seem smart."
"You talk as if he's not human!" Carlos said, looking at Strax, who imdiately smiled at him. "Oh no, no, no, you're kidding !" Carlos said, and Strax just looked at him, his eyes changing in a blink, revealing a draconic reptilian eye. "I may be human, but...
well, let's say things aren't always as we want..." he said, and Ouroboros and Tiamat imdiately looked at him, as if instinctively called to his side. "Calm down," he said, returning to his normal eye.
"You're a D—" "Shh, no one can know about this yet... You don't want your head flying around, do you? I an, a draconic physique used correctly by a human wouldn't be good to attract attention, if you catch my drift," Strax said, his aura perating the area, leaving Carlos with no escape. "Oh crap... why did I get into this ss..." Carlos thought.
"It's best you listen to him, human." It wasn't just him... "Two more..." he murmured, seeing the eyes of the two won. "Crap, crap, crap, this is bad! That's why this idiot is so different, not just his appearance!" Carlos thought, completely desperate.
"Damn... I need to finish this trip soon; I want to stay away from this lunatic." Carlos thought as he turned to sit again at the reins of the horses, which seed agitated by the presence of these two people.
"Back to the matter at hand..." Beatrice murmured, trying to completely ignore how Carlos was acting, "They would surely help you, right?" "If this idiot accepted... I would have torn that strange woman apart with my fangs," Ouroboros replied, but... "And what about you?" Beatrice questioned, and Tiamat just shrugged.
"When it cos to talking, he always listens to , but if she tried anything, I would probably kill her without much effort. Even though my power is almost zero, I'm still stronger than all of you combined," she said, shrugging.
"They get along badly, but they are the sa," Beatrice murmured to Monica and Samira, who nodded. "So... tell us more about the agreent..." Samira said, and Strax, now recovered, nodded.
"It's simple, we just need the girl who was in a coma or whatever to wake up. According to this woman nad Lyana, she has a serious illness," Strax explained. "When she wakes up, we'll have a little chat and decide the terms. Given that I've already protected her once, we might gain sothing... And honestly, if she's looking for a legendary cure or sothing like that, it's our luck.
She must have money and status, we could have connections with her, expanding our knowledge." Strax said, looking at them.
"Then that's it... You're trying to create a base so we can be independent when the ti cos... It's smart... but also too reckless, considering how you've been handling things." Samira said, putting her hand on her head, clearly worried. "Any more details? Anything that might help us think about it?
I an, anything at all, even where they're from could be enough." She questioned, and Strax shook his head, indicating no.
"Lyana seed like a normal woman, though she could completely hide her presence. As for the girl... I couldn't see anything beyond the veil." Strax explained. "Veil?" Samira asked. "Yes, white and all. I could only see so strands of her hair, which were sowhat black, and that's about it."
"Why would soone be wearing a veil? I an..." Samira tried to think, but nothing ca to mind. "Well, everyone has their fashion choices."
"Carlos, let's move forward. I told them we'd join them until this mysterious woman wakes up."
"Understood."
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