After giving what she thought was enough time for Ben to catch his breath, Liza hoisted him up and sat him on an upside-down bucket.

*ugh*

“You can begin,” she said.

Looking at Liza’s serious complexion, Ben decided to not complain about the pain and began his tale.

“Ok… My name is Ben Pryce and my circumstances are a bit unbelievable, thus I’ll skip them for now. It will suffice to say that I was a prisoner. Anyway, I was looking out of the window while having dinner when I spotted your dragon…”

“Hold it right there, you have been calling Boro a dragon. Are you completely sure? I mean, the shape is all wrong and where are his wings? Isn’t he just a mutated serpent of some kind?”

“Hum? Ah! Perhaps your dragons are like western dragons? Do you have something I can draw on?”

Ben looked around. He was in the basement of an abandoned house that was inhabited by kids from the slums. The only things there were buckets (used as chairs), old blankets (used as beds), some crates (the tables) and mushrooms. Lots of mushrooms. He crossed eyes with Popis, who just shrugged.

“Our stuff is back at the inn,” said Liza.

“That knife in your hand will do,” replied Ben, looking at the pocket knife Liza was still holding in her left hand.

Liza eyed him for five long seconds before giving him the knife. Ben got up, grabbed the bucket he was sitting on and approached a clump of mushrooms for better luminosity. He took the knife in hand and began engraving on the bucket the likeness of a western fantasy dragon. It wasn’t his best work, but considering the tools and circumstances, it was good enough¹.

“Yeah, that’s it! That’s a dragon,” said a surprised Liza.

“Right, where I come from that’s a western dragon and him,” Ben pointed at Boro “is what we call an eastern dragon.”

“Wow, so Boro really is a dragon…” said Liza dazed, “Saint Mifros! Boro IS a dragon!” she continued after the information really sank in.

Liza looked up at Boro who was still floating in the air. No matter how she looked at him, he was not scary as a dragon should be. In the end, he was just Boro, a cheeky little serpen… dragon who ate a lot… and could rip a man’s throat with ease.

Analysing things further, she felt no need to look at or treat him any differently. Ever since they met he was friendly to her and behaved like any other tamed monster. Since that was the case, so what if he really was a dragon? The only problem would be if other people knew this.

“Keep the fact he’s a dragon secret, just call him Boro like I do. I am already having a hard time keeping people from finding out he can fly. If they discover he is a dragon on top of that we are done for.”

“Ok,” responded Ben.

“I can see why that would surprise you though, seeing a dragon going about in the streets,” said Liza.

“Right? I had just arrived in this place and boom! Right outside my room is a dragon! I opened the window to get a better look and that’s when he came flying towards me. I panicked and…”

“Wait again. Earlier you said he came inside to eat?”

“Yes. He flew inside and…”

“How much food?” asked Liza.

“Huh?”

“How much food we’re talking about? How many dishes were there?”

“A lot? There was a table full of stuff,” replied a confused Ben who didn’t understand what was going on.

“Ok, good. I thought we were over the phase that they would go after anything that smelled nice. But if it was a ton of food it’s understandable,” Liza smiled.

Ben looked at her relived and somewhat proud expression and was at complete loss.

[What logic is that? If there are enough dishes it’s ok to break in someone else’s property to eat it? Even killing a guard for doing so?] thought Ben, astonished at that “reasoning”.

“Alright, keep going,” said Liza.

“What? Oh, yes… so Boro went inside to eat my dinner and then that guy over there, Eliot, right? Then Eliot broke in as well, tossed Boro aside and ate what was left. The guard outside my room rushed in because of the noise. He attacked Eliot once, but he dodged and when he attacked again… Eliot… Eliot killed him …” said Ben with difficulty.

“Wait! The guard attacked twice?” asked Liza, almost jumping with excitement.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Eliot dodged the first and the second strike, then hit the man on the head,” said Ben, taken aback.

Full of enthusiasm, Liza ran to Eliot and grabbed his arms, shaking them up and down.

“You did good, Eliot! You held back! You didn’t kill him right away!” said a happy Liza who started jumping around.

Eliot thought she was playing and began jumping as well. Since he was stronger, he ended up dislodging her and they spun around in circles, holding each other’s arms. The children thought that looked fun and imitated them. Soon, there were a lot of people jumping and spinning in place as laughter filled the room.

Ben watched mystified. It resembled some folk dance back on Earth, but his mind was focused on other things.

[These people… might be dangerous.]

After everyone was tired of jumping and whirling around, Liza stood in front of him once more, blushing slightly. She cleared her throat.

“Ahem, please continue.”

“That was it, really. You shouted, they climbed down and I escaped with you guys,” Ben finished saying.

Liza let out a long breath. “Ok, so that’s what happened. We’ll help each other out to escape the city and after that we’ll go our separate ways.”

“No, wait! Please, you guys can’t abandon me! I would be done for!” exclaimed a fearful Ben.

“Look, I don’t know you. You screwed us up once and are still holding back information. Why should we trust you? Why should we let you follow us around? What are you aiming for?”

“Please, I’ll be helpful! I’ll do anything you want! My only aim right now is to survive! This world seems like a dangerous place, I will be dead if you leave me alone!”

Ben was clearly desperate. Liza narrowed her eyes.

“You will be helpful and do anything I want? First, start by telling me exactly who you are and why you were locked inside the lord’s mansion. In a cosy room and served with plenty of food instead of the dungeons, I might add.”

“That… I think you wouldn’t believe me…”

“Try me,” said Liza.

“Like I said before, I am called Ben Pryce. I am 25 years old and not from this world. The place I came from is called Earth and it doesn’t have magic or mana, I assume that’s why I had a mana rebound after only eating a regular meal. I was brought to this world by the mages of Earl Frederick Hampshire, who wanted my help for something, gods know what. And that’s the truth,” said Ben looking straight at Liza, trying to appear as trustworthy as possible.

Liza clicked her tongue. In a fast motion she readied her bow, nocked an arrow and pulled the string all the way back. She pointed the weapon at Ben’s head.

“You were right, I don’t believe you. Stop playing games and tell the truth or I’ll pierce your head.”

Ben trembled violently. He struggled to keep his posture and stared into Liza’s eyes.

“I told you the truth.”

“You are keeping to your story till the end?”

“I am!” said Ben, his knees almost toppling over due to the shaking.

Everyone else looked at the scene in astonishment and held their breaths. Liza let the arrow go. It flew, passing millimetres away from Ben’s right cheek and splintered against the stone wall.

Ben’s knees finally gave in. He touched his face with trembling hands, confirming everything was still there. He felt dampness coming from his crotch and the acrid smell of urine. He’d soiled himself.

“Ok, I guess you’re telling the truth, though I still find it unbelievable…”

Boro floated down, put one of his small claws on Ben’s shoulder and nodded his head, knowingly. He was the very picture of a friend consoling his buddy. Liza was rather perplexed with their closeness. Everyone else was looking at Ben with some pity in their eyes.

“Are you always this mean?” said a half crying Ben.

“Mean? You think I was mean? Oh boy, maybe you really aren’t from around here. Many others would’ve you killed the moment you rattled to the guards, or they would’ve wounded your leg during the chase, making you their scapegoat.”

“Well, that…”

“You were malicious towards us once and then asked to join in. What did you think I would do? Say jolly good, please come along good chap, you seem trustworthy? Hell no! I need to look you in the eye and judge where you stand when the cart is broken and the highwaymen are coming.”

“The cart is what? Highwaymen?”

“What I meant is that I needed to evaluate if you would have our backs in dangerous situations.”

“Oh, you mean like when shit hits the fan…” said Ben, slowly standing up despite his shaking legs.

“What? Why would shit hit a fan? That’s disgusting!”

“Ugh… forget it. I’ll change up, if you don’t mind. Man, I really want a bath…”

The offhand comment about bathing got a little bit under Liza’s skin. Ben, even with all the stuff that happened today, was the cleanest person she had ever met. She didn’t understand how anyone could be so tidy, make their skin look so good and smell like that, even after running for their lives for a good fifteen minutes.

She clicked her tongue in annoyance. Amongst the people she met or knew, she used to be the neatest, but now he made her feel dirty and smelly. It was not a good feeling.

Ben came back after a minute or two, wearing a fine linen shirt and breeches that were tightened around his waist with a fancy leather belt. On his feet were exquisite leather shoes. They were small and well crafted, unlike the ones worn by the common population.

“Where did you get those?” asked Liza, raising an eyebrow.

“I stole from the mansion, it was inside the wardrobe. Never mind that, you haven’t given me an answer yet, please, let me join you!”

“Alright, but I will be keeping an eye on you.”

“Huh? That’s it? After all that?” asked Ben, feeling a little angry.

“Well, yes. I asked you a few questions and you answered. Then I threatened your life and you held your ground without begging or changing your tune. But most importantly, Boro seems to like you and I trust his instincts.”

Ben turned to look at the dragon that was floating in front of him. [Thank god I gave you my only chocolate bar,] he thought with a distant look on his face.

Liza interpreted that look as dissatisfaction.

“What, you said I was mean but now it seems you are not satisfied? Should I do a tougher inquiry? Torture you a bit? Or maybe we should make a magical contract?” she said.

“What?! Oh, no, no, thank you. Glad to make your acquaintance and be working together from here on out… er… what’s your name miss?”

“Liza Branwen. You already know Eliot and Boro.”

*clap* *clap*

“Ok, are you guys finally done? Let’s eat dinner then,” said Popis.

She rummaged through her things and distributed a piece of stale black bread, a cup of milk and one or two nuts of different varieties to everyone.

“Since we have guests and I’ll get paid tomorrow we won’t be miserly today, let’s enjoy ourselves,” she said, smiling.

“Hurray, we get a full bread each!” exclaimed the children.

Liza and Ben felt stabs of pain in their hearts. Eliot and Boro had displeased expressions, but they didn’t make a fuss, after all, they had eaten earlier.

[I usually get to eat at least dried meat with each meal… and they…] Liza thought. She knew that there were a lot of people in poor situations like this everywhere. It made her feel morose.

[This is considered not being miserly? A feast? Damn… these kids…] Ben thought, his eyes threatening to tear up.

Even though Ben was fearful of eating due the mana rebound, he couldn’t refuse after receiving so much consideration from someone who’d so little. Plus, he couldn’t just stop eating forever, thus he ate.

The dinner was merry, with the children talking and laughing. Only Liza and Ben felt conflicted inside, lost in their own thoughts.

“Hey, Popis…” said Liza.

“Hum?”

“These mushrooms on the ground and the walls, they’re called Ghost Mushrooms. You can eat them when things get too tough, but only in small quantities. They have laxative qualities, if you eat too much of them it will do you more harm than good.”

“Oh, we know. We found out the hard way. Thanks for your kindness.”

“I…”

“It’s ok, you don’t need to pity us. Times are hard, but we get by.”

“You saved us back there and now we are eating your sparse food, I need…”

“It’s ok,” interrupted Popis. “I’ve just returned the favour. You saved Nicola from a bad situation, offered him food and a place to spend the night. Now I am doing the same to you and your friends. We owe each other nothing.”

Ben was quietly listening to the conversation. He found hard to believe Popis was only a kid with her attitude and outlook on life. They remained silent for a moment, watching the other kids relish as they ate their meal.

“Thank you,” Liza said after a while.

“Don’t mention it.”

Afterwards, feeling spent from everything that had happened today, they all went to sleep on the blankets scattered around the floor. Soon the sound of snoring and sleep talking where the only things heard in the basement.

Ben kept tossing and turning on the thin blanket, feeling the hard ground beneath him. Now that all the agitation was gone he was finally digesting everything he went through on this day.

The reality of the situation was starting to hit home. From early on he understood this wasn’t a dream, but a small part of him hoped dearly and against all logic that it was.

One scene kept replaying on his head every time he closed his eyes. The guard falling to the ground, his dented helmet ringing as it hit the floor, the blood slowly flowing from underneath. Ben felt queasy.

“Hey, what’s going on? Are you in pain again?” whispered Liza.

“A little, but is not that bad this time, thank god. It’s just…”

“What?”

“I saw someone die today. Eliot killed the man that was guarding my room. Whenever I close my eyes I remember his dull eyes, the blood, the smell… and I feel like throwing up,” muttered Ben.

Liza didn’t say anything immediately.

“I don’t know what’s like where you come from, but if you want to survive here you’ll need to get used to some things with haste. Killing is one of them,” she said.

“I could never kill someone!” the ethereal voice of Ben responded, rising its volume.

*Shush*

Liza pressed her finger against her lips, asking him to be quiet. “Leave it at that for now. Start worrying about such things after we escape Starfall,” said Liza. “Try to get some sleep.”

The snores around the room continued unabated. Ben shuffled around in his blanket trying uselessly to find comfort and closed his eyes again.

[Will it come to that?] he thought.

-

¹That bucket later became known as “the dragon chair” and it was highly coveted by the children during mealtime.