Ball of Nothing

After settling Zero in, Truen prepared to leave alone.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come along?" the doctor asked. Truen smiled and patted his friend's head.

"I'll be alright. Why don't you take some time to find out more information about Derby Desert and the gnomes? Any news about the desert poppy would be nice as well."

Zero agreed and waved goodbye to Truen. It would be more efficient if they split up to work separately in a town like this. Only a fool or a strong person with too much time to kill would stay here leisurely.

Zero took a look at Bob who transformed back to his human form after Truen left. The dragon felt slightly uneasy when he was trying to size up the innkeeper. The legend about him being a retired S rank adventurer must be true. If he was the old Eternal Dragon that everyone feared in his prime, Bob could easily smack that man into unconsciousness with a swipe of his claw. However, as he was now, Bob couldn't even take on Ruth. As such, he had to be careful.

Zero was planning how to complete his information gathering when he ended Bob's sullen mood. "What's wrong?" he asked.

His dragon summon sighed. "Sorry, master. That innkeeper is just too strong. I will only be a hindrance to you on this trip. We're currently in that man's territory and I can't help but feel uneasy. Why did he let us stay in a room when we haven't paid? Are we hostages now? Will he allow us to leave?"

Zero grinned. "Only one way to find out," he said and motioned for Bob to transform back into that black gecko. Bob was nervous but obediently did as told and climbed onto Zero's palm.

The doctor inspected the room and placed a few basic spells for detection. Then, he peaked out of the window through the gap in the blinds. Sure enough, there were a group of suspicious-looking thugs waiting for him and staring at the window. Ever since he was outside holding onto the sand walkers, these people have started gathering. It didn't seem like they were here to welcome him and Zero would rather avoid having to tussle with them and find out what he needed.

First, he had to play a few tricks to weasel his way out and secure an escape route. Like Truen, Zero didn't entirely trust the people in the inn or in Deadman Town. He didn't like the idea that some shady people were taking care of Ela and Grigoria. He had to secure their safety first.

Bob helped Zero to look out for suspicious people as Zero used a low-level illusion spell to cover his escape from the window. The stables weren't too far from the inn and all Zero needed was to buy some time. He was a fool to believe that the S rank innkeeper didn't know about their little trick but seeing as nothing happened, Zero took it as an approval. The low-level illusion was enough to fool the men staking watch over his room outside.

Bob kept an eye on the situation as Zero quickly cast quick spells to both mounts. Ela and Grigoria hadn't been harmed and Zero felt a sense of relief. They must be hungry and thirsty in this arid climate and Zero pitied them a little. Withdrawing some of the good feed and water from his inventory, Zero watched as the sand walkers ate.

Bob felt a chill when a shadow loomed over Zero's small hooded figure. He wanted to alert his master but that piercing stare and directed killing intent made the dragon shiver helplessly. His instincts paralysed him and he urgently contacted Zero via party call.

"Hm?" Zero blinked when Bob screamed at him to run. He didn't run as urged to but turned around slowly to see a hulking figure covering the blinding evening sun.

"Hello," Zero smiled and squinted. He couldn't make out the person's face but he knew danger when he was staring at it.

The man didn't budge so Zero stood up. He didn't even reach the man's shoulder and it didn't take a genius to figure out who was the better combat fighter between them. Zero backed away but maintained a steady stare. His chin was tilted down as a sign of cautiousness. While he is strong, Zero didn't want to attract any unwanted attention in a town like this.

"What are you doing here?" the man demanded in a deadly voice and Zero met his stare steadily.

"I was feeding my mounts."

The silence between them made the tension rise but neither of them backed down. Whoever that man was, Zero wasn't going to allow him to attempt anything funny. He cast spells on the sand walkers so they would be safe from getting stolen or poisoned or harmed. However, if Zero and this man fought it out in the stables, the structure would collapse and Zero didn't put anti-crushing charms on them.

"Your mounts?" the man asked and Zero gulped but nodded.

The man shifted his gaze to the sand walkers behind Zero and nodded. "Good mounts for the desert. But you feed them wrongly. In a weather this hot, cold water is bad for them. Makes the sand walkers ill and sleepy."

Zero's eyes widened at the tip and stiffened when the man approached him. He took a step back to ready himself for an attack but it never came. Instead, the scary man turned left to the water trough and filled an empty wooden bucket. Curious, Zero stayed and watched.

The scary man poured in some kind of grain and used magic to heat the water up. Then, he added some citrus fruit slices and mixed it. Last but not least, some sour berries were added before the bucket was brought over.

"This is...?" Zero asked and stepped aside when the scary man poured the bucket into two smaller tray feeds and pushed them over to the sand walkers.

"Food that helps sand walkers cope with the weather. Grain for energy, citrus fruits for cooling them down and sour berries to quench the thirst. Why are you at the stable? Your brother got you a room because it is dangerous outside."

Zero blinked. Although this man looked scary and was certainly dangerous, Zero wasn't detecting any ill intentions or lies coming from him. Could he actually be a good person with just a scary face? Zero judged him too quickly.

"I just wanted to check on Ela and Grigoria before I went to ask around for information about the desert. My brother and I are looking for something and someone but we've never been to the desert before."

The stablehand frowned at Zero. That scrawny wood elf with freckles was saying something strange. If elves had entered the desert they wouldn't be this skinny and foolish. Since the innkeeper had taken a liking to these elven siblings, it wasn't his job to judge them.

"In Deadman Town, no money means no talk. Rules are rules."

Zero understood it at once and grinned before hopping over to the stablehand. "How much for one question?"

His child-like charms made the stern stablehand crack a grin. Although it still looked scary, Zero felt slightly better when he knew that the man was capable of other expressions outside of a death glare. Maybe this big oaf was just an awkward person and needed time to warm up to others. Zero could work with that.

The stablehand didn't know how a boy could be cute but even with freckles and small eyes, this elf was adorable. That smile was very bright and it made the huge man slightly flustered. He looked away quickly to hide the blush creeping up his neck and grunted. "No bloodstone, no answer."

Zero pouted and grabbed the stablehand's arm, shaking it lightly like a stubborn child who didn't get what he wanted. "Come on! Aren't we friends already?"

Friends? Was this elf serious? As a mercenary who was abandoned by his party and left for dead in Deadman Town, it was Dwayne who picked him up, fed him and offered him a roof. For the last ten years, he had never had friends. His job was simple. If Dwayne didn't like someone, he didn't tend to their mounts or protect them. If Dwayne liked the customer, he would kill anyone who tries to mess with the customer. He never had a friend in his whole life but this boy whom he had just met was offering to be friends.

"Name. Trade name for question."

The doctor laughed and proudly pointed to himself. "I'm Zero! This is Bob. Nice to meet you!"

Smiling awkwardly and feeling warm at knowing the name of his first friend, the stablehand introduced himself.

"They call me Brutus."