Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Trouble

Chapter 15: Trouble

The two of them, Karl and Thomas, were sleeping. With Thomas having a blanket over himself, and Karl just resonating heat, they were as snug as two peas in a pot. The bare meadow looked like someone had let loose a herd of mutated goats on it, yet, the two knew the truth.

But the green creature that was observing them did not. It looked at the big dragon, then at the sleeping chubby human. The goblin's tribe could eat for days with all that meat from the dragon alone. The human would be a good side dish.

The goblin knew from experience that the best time to ambush someone was while they slept. So, it rushed down the slope, to where his brethren stood in wait.

"Small dragon, fat man," the goblin told them in his simple way of speech.

"Guards? Barriers?" The goblin chief asked. Already salivating at the prospect of having dragon meat for himself.

"None," the goblin scout grinned, and his grin, as nasty as it was, was returned.

"Quiet, charge," the chief commanded, and the goblin war band moved out. One of the goblins moved to Karl, and tried to inject it with the paralyzing potion it had on hand. But Karl was not a dragon in truth. He was a slime.

The goblins were surprised when the dragon's scales opened up, and swallowed their goblin brethren whole. Then, the goblin's face contorted, and wounds began to appear on its skin.

"What?" The chief couldn't understand what sort of dragon this one was. He had never seen such a thing.

"Huh?" Thomas blinked at the goblins, and the patted Karl awake. "Karl, we have company."

The slime-dragon let out a puff of smoke, as it opened its eyes. It saw the goblins, tilted its head, and then looked at its stomach, where one was already dead and dissolving.

"They are the enemy, Karl. Kill," at Thomas's command, the goblins made a step back. The slime-dragon stood up, and prepared to pulverize the goblins. Then, they began to run out of the meadow.

The summoner was not about to let them wander around so close to the ranch. He got on top of Karl, and pulled at his horns. The dragon went after the goblins in a full gallop, snatching them every so often, and forcing them down his gullet.

Goblins are not smart creatures. Everyone will tell you that. They are born from the earth, already grown. Hatched from eggs, and with knowledge passed by whatever God deemed it fit to create them. That knowledge did not include the common sense of not leading a dragon to the tribal grounds.

Fire soon reigned over the huts, which didn't take much to see the entire den razed to the ground. Thomas was grinning from ear to ear. As far as his first battle went, Karl had done all the heavy lifting. Yet, he had to reason with himself that he was a summoner. As such, he was there to make sure that the slime-dragon had another source of mana, should he need it.

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"Good job, Karl," Thomas patted the slime at the side of his neck, and then got down to the charred ground. Everyone knew that, after an adventurer had handled with the thread, the looting commenced. The adventurer had never thought that he would loot anything. Seeing as he would have been a part of a party if he had stayed in Orestria, that would have been the party's leader.

The summoner was not in a party, however. He just had Karl, and that was all. So, he began to loot in the smoldering ruins. A golden ring here, a silver earring there. Small loot. Yet, once sold, it could net Thomas quite a lot.

What he didn't expect to find, was a harp. It was made entirely out of silver, and had vine motives on it. Jenna, Thomas's mother, had made him learn the harp, long ago. He had not touched one in quite a bit, so, he knew that he was rusty.

Still, something called out to him. He took the hand-held harp in his hands, and began to play. All around him, vegetation sprung up. He grinned. Owen would like this ability very much.

The dark-haired adventurer placed the harp in his bag, together with the rest of the loot, and looked around. If Karl had not leveled everything to the ground, perhaps he would have been able to see where the chief's hut was. As things stood, everything was a pile of rubble.

Thomas let his mana search for any magical artifacts, as anything else would not give off any signals. Finding none, he decided that what he had now was enough.

Getting up on top of Karl's back, he stirred him back to the meadow. They slept the rest of the night without anyone bothering them, and the former receptionist went to the farm house at the crack of dawn.

"What is with the bag?" Owen asked, as Thomas handed it to him.

"There was a goblin den nearby. I got all their treasure. You should see what this harp can do," Thomas pulled out the harp from the bag, and began to play it. The nearby pumpkin patch pulsed, and the pumpkins began to grow at an enviable speed.

"This is..." Owen had no words. Suddenly, he felt that it would be a wasted talent for him to just make the adventurer paint a fence. "Come with me, I will lead you to the field."

The summoner nodded, and followed Owen. The fields were massive, and Thomas lost all hope of being able to paint the fence that surrounded them.

"Play, and I will give you one silver coin per day, instead of fifty coppers," the old man told him. "I take it you want me to sell all of this?"

"Yes. You can keep ten percent from the winnings. Seeing as I am no longer welcomed in Orestria because of Karl, you are the only one who can do me this favor," Thomas prepared the harp, as Owen nodded.

"I will take no percentage from your winnings. You saved my ranch from a goblin den. I will not rob you," the farmer then turned around, as the summoner began to play and the wheat on the field began to grow and ripen.

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