But for a Slime

* * *

The lone tree watched as the strange full degraded left the clearing. It had been quite a tense night for the poor tree, but there was no violence from the degraded. When they’d had their conversation, it was surprising how comfortable, and comforting, it had been to be in the presence of it. The degraded was so different from any other degraded, full or partial, in all the time it had been here. When the degraded had called for a blessing and to seek for a way to protect the innocent, it felt touched in a way it had not felt in a long time. Few ever trusted one of the natural, and yet this degraded had no fear of resting calmly in its grasp. Such peace was unusual, but the degraded’s purity was something that shocked it more than anything else. No, it was still animal, and it still killed, as almost all animals did except those who were prey, but this degraded truly only preyed for what was needed, or it had preyed so few times that it was almost prey! But its health and strength gave lie to that as it was an omnivore and needed meat for a strong body.

When the full degraded took action to care for the innocent, it found itself moving almost without thought, a subtle touch and a soft flowing of power and it granted the degraded’s wish. After granting the wish, a hint of hesitancy flooded it, felt only once since time immemorial, and fluttered though it’s thoughts. On an impulse, it had granted the degraded a blessing and a subtle balm of calming as the degraded’s heart had been pounding furiously in fear or worry. It had been shocked by its own actions. The balming was a simple gift and did not last long at all, but the blessing; it had not granted that since the degraded had given up the natural. It had been surprising to see how well the degraded had taken to its blessing, but it was also gratified. As the group of full degraded left it’s clearing to continue their journey, it expanded its senses fully, finding no other near. Almost shyly, almost fearfully, it slid from its home and lifted a hand, waving goodbye. Go well and protect!

* * *

Today’s journey passed much more easily as Joe more readily understood the rules of the road. They’d passed many adventurers on the road as the got closer to the city, but Joe knew better than to intervene. The family joining them also proved to be fun companions as the children danced around them and played. There had been one moment when he felt intense fear from the whole family and a bit of danger from the mother as she prepared to defend her young. The young girl had come too close while playing and ran into him, tangling his feet and causing him to stumble a bit. He’d turned around quickly, afraid for the girl’s wellbeing but quickly realized that the family thought he was angry at the girl. He ignored the family’s fear and mother’s bristling defense and knelt next to the girl, dredging up his poor vocabulary to try to talk to the girl.

“You OK?”

The girl had pulled back in fear when he’d quickly knelt down next to her and brought up his hand to rest it on her shoulder, instinctively pulling back from his hand. When the words came out, she seemed to blink in surprised confusion and he tried again.

“You OK? No hurt?” Joe asked in his poor attempt at the local language.

The girl’s fear melted a bit before she nodded a little hesitantly. Joe smiled and clapped her shoulder before nodding, beaming a bright smile for the kid’s benefit.

“Good! Good!”

Joe grimaced slightly as he had very little else he could say but then quickly smoothed his face, not wanting to terrify the girl. He pulled her in for a hug then stood quickly and dropped her on his shoulders before turning and walking on down the road. He’d seen the mother raise her hand in worry, but he ignored it and continued on, smiling with the girl and resorting to physical comedy to get her laughing again.

He heard Garnedell speaking quickly to the mother and father behind him, likely explaining, and he turned to smile at the parents, “OK! OK! Go!”

He gave a beaming smile and a thumbs up before turning to continue on their way. They continued this way for a while, the girl giggling gleefully from her high perch, but she soon found herself bored and Joe dropped her back down so she and her brother could continue their rushing cat and mouse play.

After that, the family warmed up to him significantly, and Garnedell and the boy soon pestered him for more training tips and practicing hints. Joe showed up couple moves that were easy enough to show while walking, but spent more time during their lunch break to really give them a good training routine: a simple punching routine, or kata. Garnedell took it very seriously and Joe spent a good amount of time correcting his form and stance. The boy also did well for his age, although soon tired and Joe smiled as he ruffled his hair in return and offered praise for his effort.

They were soon on their way again, and traffic continued to increase in density. It was shortly after lunch that Joe found another farmer struggling to protect himself from some ratfoxes as those around him moved on, completely unconcerned for the man’s fate. Joe called to Garnedell quickly, and by now Garnedell knew the routine and the two took off at a decent run towards the struggling farmer. When they got closer, Garnedell called out to the man, and Joe quickly recognized the eager cry for help. The two slid up to the cart and Joe dropped his bag at Garnedell’s feet before quickly terminating the two ratfoxes, much faster than he’d expected. He’d even found himself almost instinctively sliding past a ratfox’s slash and Joe recognized the oddity of his reflexes. When he’d finished off the two wild animals, he returned to his bag but stopped in some surprise when he realized he’d gained an audience.

A loose crowd of people had gathered around, staring with some surprise at what Joe had done, some obvious groups whispering or outright talking loudly together at the sight. Joe thought nothing of it and simply slipped his pack back on before looking for the farmer family they’d been with. He waved at the farmer… no… he’s a merchant! Hah! Not a farmer. He waved at the merchant before returning to the farmer family and wound their way onwards to the city. The crowd had parted to let him pass, but those who’d been on there way to the city soon were following behind him, a soft murmuring following their steps.

The family had quieted by then, and the two children were much more subdued as they walked, and Joe finally decided to ditch the following crowd. He beckoned Garnedell and the family to follow him into a clearing and they settled down for the day. Joe walked off into the nearby woods and began picking up fallen branches for a small fire. Garnedell seemed a bit confused at first, and then shrugged before beginning to unpack the bag. When the crowd realized they’d decided to stop for the evening, most muttered then pushed on their way to the city while several groups stopped and seemed to discuss their options. They looked ready to settle, but most saw that the sun was still quite high in the sky and they left.

As the last of the crowd had moved on, Joe came out of the forest carrying some sticks but seemed more focused on following the crowds walking down the road to the city.

Calling softly, Joe caught Garnedell’s attention, “Garnedell. Stop. No pack!”

The boy stopped unpacking and stood up quickly, surprise and worry on his face as he wondered why Joe was calling for him. But when he looked up, he saw Joe looking down the road cautiously and Garnedell stopped and waited, a bit confused by what Joe was doing. After the last of the crowd had rounded a curve in the road, Joe came back with a smile and threw the sticks to the ground.

“Come on, guys. Let’s go,” Joe stopped himself and forced himself to switch from English, “Uh… we go!”

Joe pointed down the road, and Garnedell and the father realized what Joe was doing and they both laughed with some humor. They all quickly packed back up and Joe and the family were soon back on the road. The deception had only taken about ten minutes, and Joe figured they would make the city easily enough.

About thirty minutes later, Joe heard another call for help and jogged forward, but when he came around the corner, he saw the distraught civilian had already received help from a group of fighters in uniform. Joe looked and saw they easily had the fight in hand, but considering they’d offered to help, he figured they might be willing to accept his. He glanced back to Garnedell to ask but he was already shaking his head no.

“No go, Zhoe!”

“No?”

“No.”

“Who boy. Who girl?”

“Boy. Girl. City… City…” Garnedell ended in some frustration before simply stating a foreign word Joe hadn’t learned yet.

Joe considered Garnedell’s statement but couldn’t quite piece together Garnedell’s meaning and used their default reply when he didn’t know the meaning of a word. Garnedell struggled for a bit, grumbling under his breath for several minutes, but then the boy smiled and laughed before he ran up to his sister and grabbed something from her arms. He yelled at his sister, almost taunting her, then she seemed to understand what the boy was playing at and began shouting for … She’s shouting for help! Garnedell laughed and quickly joined in the game and came up to stop the boy, bringing his spoon spear to bear on the boy before grasping him and restraining him. He then marched him somewhere then mimed placing him in a room and locking it with an imaginary key. After that, the boy stood at the door, banging on it and begin crying. After the short impromptu play was done, they all looked towards Joe with some expectation, and Joe smiled. Huh… that was easy enough. Police, or probably guards. The city’s protection or personal army? Huh… I’ll go with guards.

“Guards,” Joe said with some certainty and a smile, laughing a bit at the groups antics.

Garnedell considered for a moment before repeating the word. The two repeated the English word several times, then Garnedell signaled he understood and it was Joe’s turn to learn the local version. After twenty or thirty repetitions, Joe smiled as he indicated that he understood the new word well enough and soon they were all back on their way. Huh… should be easier and quicker now. No need to stop to help the locals so we won’t get any annoying attention. Traffic on the road had increased such that now there was almost always someone on the road with them coming from the other direction, and they could sometimes see the people in front of them or behind them. Several horseman had passed them and one quick moving group of adventurers had passed them on foot as well.