The Bizarre Adventures of a Half-Elf

10. The Dragon's Shadow

Charlotte's ears had buzzed all night long from the fibrous voices of the Spriggans screeching at them. Instead of suffering through the unending chatter of the tavern below, the Half-Elf had called up several pints of ale to her room in an attempt to knock herself out. Unfortunately, this only succeeded in making the room spin around her.

But eventually, the exhaustion took over her, and she fell asleep clutching a pillow over the top of her head.

She awoke the next morning with half of her body hanging off the edge of the bed, the pillows and blankets strewn onto the floor, and a gorgeous line of drool trailing from the corner of her mouth.

"Ugh," she groaned to herself, blinking hard towards the sunlight that streamed in from the window where she had forgotten to close the curtains. The rogue lazily rolled out of the bed, accidentally kicking empty mugs across the room with her bare feet.

Charlotte sat on the hardwood floor in her chest wrap and soft linen pants, legitimately contemplating staying in today to nurse her pounding headache. "Ugh, can't let down my little team," she eventually yawned, before using the footboard to help her stand up.

She used a small hand-mirror to fix her ponytail, which had become unkempt strands of wavy hair curling themselves into insufferable knots, and smoothed down the top of her head and bangs.

Once dressed in her usual repertoire of thin leather armor over black clothing, she sheathed her swords on her back and headed downstairs without bothering to fix the state of her room.

The Half-Elf dragged herself over to the small copse that her companions had gathered around, mentally preparing herself for interaction. She barely even noticed the newcomer as she walked towards one of the tree trunks, until the female Woad Elf gave a timid wave.

"Hm? Oh. Who are you?" Charlotte asked, realization finally setting in as she turned her back to the tree and slid down to sit at the base.

"My name is Lydia. I heard that you all are adventuring, and I had hoped to lend my arrows," the woman smiled, gesturing to the quiver on her back.

The dual-wielder scanned Lydia up and down for a moment. She couldn't have been much older than Charlotte was, which was twenty-and-two, and she wore the traditional Woad Elf leathers over dark green tights and a grey tabard. Her hair was a chestnut brown color, and she kept it cut short along her jawline. It actually made her short ears look kind of cute as the tips poked through. The way she held her longbow told Charlotte that this girl knew how to use it well.

"Your arrows are welcome, Lydia. I am Charlotte. Try not to mind me today, I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Had some fun, did you?" Lydia gave her a suggestive grin.

It took Charlotte a moment to realize what she was asking, but when she did, she quickly shook her head. "No, no. Nothing of that sort. It's been quite some time since I did... That. Oh look, Elric's here." The Half-Elf quickly diverted the attention away from herself, in case any of the others had happened to be listening.

"No doubt here to give us something boring to do," a muffled voice grumbled from the other side of the tree Charlotte was sitting against. She looked around the trunk to see a bundle of white robes laying there.

"Oh. It's you," she sighed.

"Yes, it's me. And you are disturbing my sleep," Timoré huffed.

"Then I've already done some good today," Charlotte shot back, letting herself smirk a little.

Timoré heaved a heavy sigh without moving position, before announcing with heavy sarcasm, "You are a treasure to the world, truly."

Before she could think of a retort, Elric began to report to the group. "It seems as though our disruption of the Black Skulls attack the other day has shaken them enough to allow the Crimson Guard to resume normal patrols. However, the bandits still plague the roads, and it's difficult for merchants to get by without paying some sort of toll. I think it would benefit everyone who lives here if we try to take care of it."