“Ahoy!” I called as cheerily as I could manage, giving an exuberant wave as I stood to the side between them and the simple wooden bridge. The quartet continued to approach, and each of them acknowledged me in a different way. It gave me lots of time to analyze each one.
Human.
Name: Unknown.
Attire is indicative of a pious individual.
She was short, with dark skin and long braided white hair. She carried a large staff looped at the top and wore light grey robes embroidered with sigils of some kind. She gave me a polite smile at my greeting and a simple nod.
Halfling.
Name: Unknown.
Lute indicates a musician of some kind.
She was even shorter with leather armour and dark black skin. She carried a guitar-looking thing, apparently called a lute. Thanks, System, it had actually told me something useful. She tipped her hat, adorned with a long colourful feather.
Elf.
Name: Unknown.
Attire indicates some kind of outdoorsman.
He carried a bow. He was blond with long hair and a dazzling smile, which he shot in my direction. He was indeed the most rugged-looking, his cloak worn from use, and his boots muddy. Of course, the long pointed ears were a sight to behold. Real elves, what a world.
Dragonborn.
Name: Unknown.
Armour indicates a formidable fighter.
Then there was the most intimidating of the ground, a massive, scaly red lizard. He? I actually wasn’t sure. They wore heavy plate mail and carried a longsword at their side. As if the horns and scales weren't terrifying enough. Still… the gleeful, excited wave they gave me totally threw me.
What a sight to behold, all of them really. Adventurers. Noble heroes protecting the innocent, going on quests, fighting back monsters. I swallowed my urge to fangirl over them; it wouldn’t be the best first impression.
I awkwardly fiddled with my hands. “I don’t suppose you fine folks could point me towards civilization. I’m afraid I’ve gotten rather turned around,” I grimaced.
They all glanced at each other, coming to a stop close but not too close.
“Of course,” the elf grinned. “Where ya headed?”
“Wherever’s closest,” I smiled wider. “I’ve not fared so well out here, as you can probably tell.” I desperately hoped that my charm would smooth over my inability to actually provide a destination.
“Well… the elf hummed, “Appleby’s an afternoon walk that way, it’ll be dark before you’d reach Draycott the other way.”
I nodded. “Appleby’s it is,” I nodded, relieved to have a semblance of direction now.
“You’re hurt,” the white-haired woman stated simply.
“Yeah, I was… uh… apple picking, and took a tumble,” I offered. I knew well enough to mention nothing about slimes. I could only pray my lie was convincing.
“Will you allow me to heal you?” she asked, hurrying forward even while the others stayed back.
“Um…” I blinked, “absolutely.” Why in the world would I refuse something like that?
Her hand glowed a light blue before she pressed it to my chest. Really, she palm-stuck me in the boob, but considering the immediate warmth that flowed through me, I could forgive a minor groping. “Oh shit,” I gasped. The temperature increased, for a brief moment, almost painful at the locations of my injuries. And then it evaporated, leaving me only with a pleasant tingle and finally feeling like I was back to myself.
You regained 6 HP and are fully healed.
“Amazing,” I laughed. “Wow. You’re amazing. Thank you so much.”
“I am merely doing my duty,” she smiled, blushing slightly at my genuineness.
“This is so cool, I mean, real adventurers,” I grinned stupidly. Okay, I could only hold myself back so much.
“Adventurers?” she blinked.
“I like it,” the large dragonborn chuckled. “Sounds better than mercenaries.”
The elf scoffed dramatically. “We’re already called the Tavern Crew. Adventurers is a stupid name.”
I blinked. Not adventurers? Though… what exactly was the difference between mercenaries and adventurers? Maybe it was just a matter of terminology? They certainly were dressed for an adventure. I was gobbling up every ounce of information I could absorb.
“I’m Martrix,” the halfling smiled politely, less interested in her friend's hijinks.
She offered her hand for me to shake, and I did. “Pamela,” I replied.
“A pleasure,” she winked, breezing past the gesture before I had a chance to properly splutter. “Our pious cleric is Frida. That there is Kimrel,” she added, pointing to the dragonborn. “And the snooty elf is Petven.”
“Hey!” the elf protested in mock offence.
Martrix shot him a look. “We’re headed for Applyby, you’re welcome to tag along,” she continued, turning back to me cheerily.
“That would be amazing,” I smiled. “And… best to make sure I don’t get lost again,” I added solemnly.
She chuckled. “That would definitely be wise.”
I put weight on my now-healed ankle. Fuck, this magic thing really was amazing. I was so annoyed I hadn’t had the chance to make use of it. Stumbling into these four had been a stroke of luck. And after the last day of chaos, I really needed another lucky break.
“Ask if they have food. Ask if they have food! I’m hungry. Just don’t tell them I’m here, I need to be incognito,” Candy piped up.
I wanted to refuse on principle. But at the rate my stomach was growling, food sounded like an amazing idea. “I don’t suppose… you have anything to eat?” I asked awkwardly with an apologetic grimace as I crossed the bridge with them. “It was a long night,” I added, to both be honest and sound pitiful.
“Oh sure, yeah, we can spare something,” Martrix nodded. “Don’t even worry about it.”
“You like jerky?” Kimrel rumbled, slipping their pack off one shoulder to rummage through it. They retrieved a bundle a moment later and offered it to me.
“Thank you,” I spluttered, feeling on the verge of tears as I took it. God, people being nice was so amazing. Unwrapping it, the dried meat admittedly didn’t smell or look great, but I was hungry enough that I didn’t care.
It was very salty. I didn’t care, gnawing through each piece with gusto.
“Yes! More! Devour it all!” Candy encouraged with delight. She really was a fucking dork, even if I hated her.
“So uh… what brought you peeps out here?” I asked, swallowing a dry lump of meat. Even now, uninjured, I had to hurry to keep up. These people were athletic, all far stronger than I, literally. Not that [Analisis] gave me any insight as to how much stronger, but it wasn’t a stretch to assume I was totally outclassed.
“Ahh, a very important mission,” Petven nodded solemnly.
Kimrel replied at the same time. “Slime hunting,” they replied simply. “We get paid to exterminate any that get too close to Draycott.”
Candy gasped in horror. “They are the enemy! Pamela, they mustn't know about me. It pains me to admit, but I am not strong enough to devour them. Just act normal, don’t let them suspect a thing.”
Considering she was drowning out what Kimrel and now Martrix were saying, she wasn’t exactly helping with that. I tried to speak inside my head only to her.
“Would you shut up? I’m not an idiot. And stop trying to monologue, it makes you sound stupid,” I snapped.
“I’m trying to be villainous," Candy protested. “And that's how they talk in all those moving pictures you watched.”
“Just how much access do you have to my memories?” I demanded with dawning horror.
“I was just poking around a bit,” she defended.
“Uh… Pamela?” Frida asked. “Are you still not feeling well?”
“No, sorry, I’m fine,” I laughed nervously, realizing they were all staring at me. “I just… zoned out. I didn’t sleep much last night.”
“I was just asking where you’re from,” Martrix repeated.
“Ohhh…” Oh fuck. “Well, I’ve moved around a lot,” I added, trying to buy some time as I racked my brain for how exactly to avoid answering this question. It would have been easiest to give a random city, but I didn’t know the geography here. I couldn’t just bluntly lie.
The truth probably seemed like a bad thing to admit. Best case scenario, they just thought I was loony. Worst case… I had no idea. I hadn’t thought slimes were a big deal, and I had been very wrong. I needed to be careful. Worse, long-distance travel probably wasn’t very common either without fancy vehicles. The only answer that would make sense would be a village that was close but not too close. And that didn’t solve my issue of literally only the names of two possible destinations on this road.
Fuck. What was the best way to dodge a question? Babbling a nonsensical answer was the best I could come up with.
“Well, I’ve moved around a bit doing odd jobs. I’m from up north originally, but I’m hoping to become a uh mercenary eventually, though I’m not exactly sure I’m cut out for it,” I chuckled.
“It’s tough work,” Martrix nodded.
“But someone has to do it. Just make sure you are strong. And that you have good teammates,” Kimrel added with a smile.
I let out a sigh of relief. Thank fuck that had worked. Also, they were so nice. Why was everyone here so nice? It was just great.
“Yeah,” I added absently. “It’s a long-term goal. And given my sense of direction, maybe a really long-term goal.”
Everyone chuckled at that despite it being a very dumb joke. But hey, I could be charming when I had to be… ish.